WTF @ TFW - 186 - February 9 2012

Discussion in 'WTF @ TFW Transformers Podcast' started by Vangelus, Feb 12, 2012.

  1. G1Wheeljack

    G1Wheeljack Well-Known Member

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    Well Confiscate my Heart is probably my favorite section of this episode :lol  You guys did some great coverage on both Bruticus, I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on what we saw of him at Toy Fair. Though personally I see Vortex as something else:

    [​IMG]

    Maybe it's just because I've been watching Go-Onger lately, but the colors and the giant windows on Vortex in the stock photo really remind me of Toripter.
     
  2. AlanGarou

    AlanGarou Well-Known Member

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    Just a heads-up, the weapons Darksteel has -are- remolded from Starscream's. They gave the plug-in part two blades instead of the one that Starscream had so it looked more like snake fangs, and they made the extending part's blade thinner and more curved so it looked like a scorpion's stinger. Plus the 5 mm. pegs have holes down the center that weren't there on the ones Starscream had. Also, the fang bit has some sort of weird glyph or sculpted stain on the side that doesn't have the peg.
     
  3. Airspeed

    Airspeed Well-Known Member

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    Regarding RID Optimus, his chest section does lock in really tight, it takes a decent amount of force to click it in, but once you do it is really tight. Mine's shoulders are pretty tight two and I can move them without the chest popping out.
     
  4. Vangelus

    Vangelus Long Live the New Flesh Moderator Content Contributor

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    So I've heard! I'm looking forward to seeing it in person. :D 

    We are not "falling for PR spin", we are basing our opinions off of multiple pieces of information garnered from panels and others in the toy industry. I don't think we were very sheepish either.

    The retailers are a factor because they are sometimes shareholders and the primary source of business for a product producer. To lay 100% blame on Hasbro is a fallacy due to not only retailer power, but also the nature of warehousing, orders, and distribution.

    Letting the retailers off the hook by shaking a fist only at Hasbro (and treating Hasbro as a singular-minded entity) is terribly misguided. I understand some people are upset but I entirely disagree with the notion that we are either sheepish or "falling for PR spin".

    Where was this PR even spun for us to "fall for it"? Other than a distrust of what designers and other convention guests have stated numerous times at panel Q&As?
     
  5. T16skyhopp

    T16skyhopp Well-Known Member

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    I too enjoy the texture on Megatron.I think its snazzy!

    I am digging Bruticus, in both colors we've seen him. (Official pics and toyfair proto/sample).

    Obviously the extent of the "compromised to combine"-ness won't be known until folks have it in hand, if the game doesn't feature "scramble city" combining, I would rather have had the individual bots only be focused on one limb IF it could detract from the aforementioned compromising. Either way, I think they all look cool and fun and I want them. Hope this risk pays off for Hasbro.
     
  6. Aaron

    Aaron Master of Crystalocution Moderator Content Contributor

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    We really are a set group at this point. However a good starting point would be getting the name of the show right. ;) 

    Things like quality can be laid at the feet of Hasbro. However much of your other complaints are retailer issues. Hasbro ships container loads of toys to Walmart and Target that then ship them to their stores. So if my Target gets PRID and yours doesn't, that isn't Hasbro, that's Target. Things like size are an issue of the economy. At the last couple of Hasbro panels they have discussed the issue, that costs are rising between materials and transport and labor. So we can get smaller toys at the same costs or the same size toys at higher costs. It seems like they are trying to split the difference, and are still looking for a settle out point.

    I know it isn't really right out of a prototyper, but the super regular texture, laying on the long axis of each piece gives that feel. I think if you're going for texture something matte or irregular wouldn't miff me the same way. Not a deal breaker at all, just an oddity.

    Yeah, well, uhm, no, you're the stupid head. :p 
     
  7. Vector Squidma

    Vector Squidma Smalltime Casual

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    On a side note regarding RiD Prime, you can get his gun to stay extended easily enough by unscrewing the whole gun and pulling the spring out, but I'll agree that it should have locked in the first place. Oh, and with Megatron you can keep the sword out by just manually rotating the blades forward, they're kind of loosely held in place by friction, not attached to the actual gear assembly, which I would like to think is intentional.

    Oh! And I finally got around to sending you guys a voicemail! One which culminated in me hurling my cellphone across the room (I wanted to give you a nice *click* and um...this was what I came up with...)
     
  8. Kaymac

    Kaymac I'M REALLY FEELIN' IT!

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    At Toyfair they mentioned there will be 40 Deluxes in Generations in 2013. This is probably not all new molds of course. It would be very easy to get to that number with a couple of combiners, so I think TJ's idea might be right. Hasbro is trying combiners again.

    If they make a Breakdown and Dead End based on the WFC characters, and used Onslaught again as Motormaster, with new Cybertronian designs for Drag Strip and Wildrider, oh MAN that would kick ass.
     
  9. Mechafire

    Mechafire Shadow Broker Moderator News Staff

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    So not only are you guys a bunch of backpatting circlejerkers, but you're also sheep now?

    God DAMN
     
  10. tubbsii

    tubbsii KILL ALL HUMANS

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    I'm definitely enjoying the prime toy discussion. I'm surprised guys didn't discuss the shockwave jazz or optimus toys... As an "ex-canadian"(i have dual citizenship, how would that make me an ex...screw it) i didn't know about king vangelus...or canada actually having a military. The other transformers my question were cyclonus and jazz.
     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2012
  11. dbbdp

    dbbdp New Member

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    Love ya, but you guys have taken Fun Pub more to task over Twitter posts and $60 dinners than Hasbro not delivering the goods! I can understand a couple figures slipping through, but now entire chunks either go missing or exclusive to secondary markets.

    Both parties are at fault. To lay 100% blame on retailers is a cop-out. I live in the Houston area, which has a healthy economy and great distribution. Been collecting for 18 years and this hasn't been a problem until the model shifted in 2010. And like I said, it's worse for Star Wars. Most of last year's Clone Wars figures never saw a release!

    That press release was complete spin! Translation: "Go away and stop e-mailing us." The First Editions and the later Dark of the Moon waves were promoted for nearly a year and went into production. Retailers like TRU and BBTS took orders and got some stock. That's not a miscommunication. It's Hasbro not following through.

    I'd like to see TFW along with other news sites to approach Hasbro with these issues. Get a real answer, too! Not this "we’re always looking for ways blah blah blah..." bs they never follow through with. Later DotM waves can be repacked on Generations, but probably won't. Since the FE voyager molds aren't translucent plastic and gimmick ridden, they don't fit in with what Hasbro has planned with RID. The second Entertainment Pack is apparently now an overseas exclusive. I'm sorry, but it's not just retailers.

    The retailers don't solely dictate Hasbro's case ratios, which characters to design, or what to pack in. Most of the movie line is made up of characters that aren't in the movie, and that’s just poor planning.

    "The economy" I think is often used as a scapegoat. Remember the panel (NYCC?) where Hasbro stated the figures would be larger again when Mechtech went away? Well, Mechtech didn't go away and now we're paying almost $10 more for some crappy light-up gimmick. Your average Star Wars figure used to be the figure and their appropriate accessory at $6-7. Now it's the figure, accessory, junky gimmick, stand, die, and game card for $10.

    There's a difference between a couple bucks materials cost and cramming the bubble with junk. Are they raising prices to comp costs for wasted molds? Who knows.
     
  12. Kaymac

    Kaymac I'M REALLY FEELIN' IT!

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    Not sure if serious.

    This was recorded before ToyFair where they were shown off for the first time.

    They will most likely cover them in the next episode.
     
  13. tubbsii

    tubbsii KILL ALL HUMANS

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    Then as vangelus said a "gold bladed cock",to paraphrase a bit.
     
  14. Ezilla82

    Ezilla82 Total Randomness Personified

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    I thought the comments on FOC Vortex and Blast Off were hiliarious. One looking like a spiked bladed flying male sexual organ and the other a gigantic, flying death church were the funny moments in this podcast and well I can't wait for FOC Bruticus to show up. So thanks Vangelus for those comments even though one of them was from Twitter. That made my day.
     
  15. Aaron

    Aaron Master of Crystalocution Moderator Content Contributor

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    It would be great if we could really dig answers out of Hasbro like a toy reporting versions of Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, but it isn't going to happen. Hasbro keeps closed doors about what what goes on and short of someone dedicating their lives to getting a job as a Hasbro designer then burning all of that to give us an inside look of what happened in one window of time. So instead we "put up with" the Q&A sessions and trying to wring out as much information as we can get at panels and special events.

    There is a lot of data that goes into what gets out in stores and what doesn't. When Hasbro starts a line they are looking a year or more ahead as to what is going out there, and they will solicit those toys. Note the word solicit. They offer those toys up for order, and hope that someone is going to buy them. So then you have to remember the line that I dropped in the show.

    We aren't the ones buying toys from Hasbro most of the time, it is the retailers. If Joe Walmart buyer looks at Hasbro's closed door sales pitch and doesn't like what they're selling, they won't buy. We got to learn a bit of that process on that wonderful Hasbro tour back in '06. Hasbro brings people from each major retailer in and shows them upcoming toys, way upcoming toys. For example, we were shown a mock-up of an early movie Prime Helmet that looked like a G1 Prime. They were told that it needed XY and Z to be sold, and then they did that.

    First Edition seems to have been part of that. Toys R Us bought in on the first wave, and it seems they didn't go for a second or the Voyagers. Hasbro/TakaraTomy went through the effort of making a whole whack of molds, I would bet dollars to doughnuts that they wanted to put all of them into every store, ever. But if the retailer doesn't want those toys then they aren't going to put them in the store. I don't want to be cliched but it is really as simple as that.

    Finally, as far as end of line cases go, it is the same issue that we get EVERY time there is a change over. The last wave or so out of the line often doesn't show up because no retailer is going to try and push out "old" product when there is new product to be had. Other markets work in different ways. In Japan toys often come in small orders or of a full case for one toy. If a store wants Vehicons they order Vehicons, they don't get 2 Bumblebees, 2 Arcees, 2 Starscreams, a Cliffjumper, and a Vehicon.
     
  16. GogDog

    GogDog Logic's wayward son Veteran

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    You what? He's right. Hasbro totally produces toys then laughs as they take them away from us at the last possible second. They totally get their rocks off by not selling us the figures they spent tens of thousands of dollars creating the molds for. It's all so clear now.

    Brb, going to get my monthly fleecing done.
     
  17. Bumblebee765

    Bumblebee765 Wrecker

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    Don't worry Vangelus; I still use Outlook too! :D 
     
  18. dbbdp

    dbbdp New Member

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    If anyone else remembers, when a line launches you'd see a good dose of wave 1, some of wave 2, and maybe some wave 3 if you're lucky. Since 2010, there has been nothing but wave 1 for months. That goes for Transformers, Star Wars, Marvel Universe, etc.

    Let's say your average joe, be it kid or collector, sees DotM and goes into Wal-Mart. Chances are they're looking for prominently featured characters like the dreads, Dino, Que, Soundwave, heck even Wheelie and Brains. They're going to be out of luck. That's like a Marvel line without Spidey or Star Wars without a jedi.

    That's why I think both parties share the blame. That overproduced first wave stagnates. Even with Animated's bad time slot and virtually no repeats, the figures in my region still moved at a decent pace.

    Come on, Gog. That's not what I'm saying at all. I have never been a "damnyouhasblo!!1" guy, but they've been making it tough. What I'm saying is maybe Hasbro needs to be planning their waves better so the product moves and we get back to healthier distribution.

    So you can't shuffle your feet and say, "Aw shucks, it's those gosh darn retailers!" It's silly to have to resort to the secondary or import market for new figures. Do you think Hasbro is underutilizing sites like HTS, BBTS, and EE?
     
  19. Sideways77

    Sideways77 #1 flareup simp

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    Sure you don't want a RiD Bumblebee, Vangelus? I'll give one away... cheap. Cheaper than you may expect.

    Also, will there be a ToyFair exclusive episode, like with TFCon or BotCon? I can guess none of the teams probably attended, but it's still an idea.
     
  20. KnightHawkke

    KnightHawkke Flynn Lives

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