WTF @ TFW - 308 - June 12 2014

Discussion in 'WTF @ TFW Transformers Podcast' started by Vangelus, Jun 13, 2014.

  1. Grimdragon

    Grimdragon Active Member

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    Hey Vangelus, TJ, Aaron, and Seth, I'm not sure if this is the right place to post questions but here goes. I was working on a review for Dinobot Slash when i noticed something that hit me like a ton of bricks. This Slash is rocking the same color scheme as Slash the Evil Turtle from TMNT. My first question is, do you think this is just coincidence, or was it intentional as a nod to the Turtles, who are also getting a Bay film? Second question, as reviewers, how do you deal with new things you notice while shooting? Final question, given how many Beast Wars characters have been given new figures and how Hasbro is somewhat getting into those Evolution 2 packs, do you think it would be a good idea for them to make an Evolution 2 pack with Slash and a more show accurate Universe 2.0 Dinobot? Thanks for taking the time to look at these.
     
  2. JDK

    JDK Seen Your Member

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    For the listener asking about selling, one other option that can be handy because it notifies you on your mobile device is Facebook. There are a number of Transformers BST groups, but the most reputable would be the Cybertron Cafe. They have a feedback system and the mods are very involved. There's also Transformers collecting,trading,buying and selling... and, though it doesn't have a feedback system or BST rules, the Reprolabels group does get a lot of eyes. If you find someone through Reprolabels you could always see if they have feedback in another group.
     
  3. abuddah

    abuddah Well-Known Member

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    I have few pleasures in life. Podcasts are one of them. Another is being able to get dynamic, modern engineered versions of The Transformer toys of my youth. Which is why it saddens me to hear Vangelus go on some wild crusade to push third party companies towards original IP. What is the motivating factor behind this? Hasbro doesn't have an issue with it, why should you? You're essentially saying your more of a fan of cool toys that have more than one form rather than the mythology of The Transformers. That's an odd stance for the host of TFW2005.
     
  4. LordGigaIce

    LordGigaIce A Chair!

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    The thing is Hasbro does have a problem with it. The reason these companies still exist is because they're based in China, where Hasbro can't get at them from legal perspective. That won't protect them forever though, and Hasbro will being the legal hammer down on them in some form or another. When they do it's going to be the companies that are able to produce original, non-IP infringing, products that are going to survive.
     
  5. Vangelus

    Vangelus Long Live the New Flesh Moderator Content Contributor

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    I certainly don't feel like I'm on "some wild crusade to push" any of those groups, so I'm sorry if I've misrepresented myself in regards to independent companies. I enjoy the Transformers-related stuff they do.

    But we're a half-decade into the biggest push of it, and I feel like they've all got more to show us, and that "The Transformers" as a creative boundary is only going to serve to limit the best of those companies in the long run. This has gone on long enough to make the fear of the legal hammer dropping feel less inevitable with each passing year. If anything, it's more likely the combination of market fatigue + the increasingly common "give me what I want so I get what I want" attitude within that market that'll bring that scene down.

    In general, I am eager to see talented independent transforming robot toymakers establish their craft the way that they want to. It's already an uphill battle for any of them to make most anything that isn't G1-relevant, and that too is a problem in my opinion. When I talk about them heading into original IP, that's even farther away in the hypothetical timeline than them being able to comfortably produce something based outside of the vocal majority's preference of Transformers milieu. And in the case of my favourite independent companies? I am becoming more of a fan of their toymaking than their contribution to a collector's neo-classics or Masterpiece TF shelf.

    I believe you're reaching too far when you say that "I'm essentially saying I'm more of a fan of cool toys that have more than one form rather than the mythology of The Transformers." What does any of this have to do with my fandom for the fictional mythology of this franchise? There's plenty of that, whether or not independent groups make legally-gray takes on its characters. That line is putting words in my mouth, and also straight up confusing when I'm happy to talk about current and past video media, comics, toys, etc.
     
  6. Vangelus

    Vangelus Long Live the New Flesh Moderator Content Contributor

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    Yo this doesn't have to do the counter-aggro G1 hate thing either - that treads into the territory of telling independents what to do, just in the other direction.

    I want them to be able to make what they really want to make, full stop. It's one of the essences of being an independent entity. If they're good at transforming robots and can get away with making original designs that are hardcore just characters from any iteration of The Transformers, AND that's what they want to do, then sure. That's the baby step I'd like to see the entire independent and unofficial TF toy scene take on the whole.

    And in the long term, I want to see the best of them move into original IP as well. Not just because it's legally safe (I really really don't think this is the danger it once felt like, at this point), but because going outside of the Transformers-reference bubble feels like what some of them want to do with some of their projects.
     
  7. LordGigaIce

    LordGigaIce A Chair!

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    I don't think the threat of the legal hammer coming down has diminished in any real way. The only reason these companies haven't been handed C&D orders is because China and their lacklustre copyright laws protect them. If China today decided to enforce IP and copyright laws on par with western standards then Hasbro would have a legal team assembles to take these independent companies down no later then tomorrow.
    I think the lack of any meaningful action is due to Hasbro's legal team just trying to figure out the best way to deal with these companies and the protection China grants them. Banning them from BotCon for a year (and a half???) may have been the first attempt at this, and I'm sure we'll see some other initiatives taken by them before long.

    I'm basing all of this off the fact that the ability to protect your IP is determined by your willingness to protect your IP in the past. It would be in Hasbro's best interests to go after these independent companies in some way, even if they can't get to them directly.
     
  8. Renidragon

    Renidragon Toys on my table!

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    So I just watched the Optimus Prime Designer Desk video - You're right, definitely a 2-minute commercial, but I kinda liked hearing a Hasbro guy using terms we all use regularly. It was like a commercial aimed at the collectors instead of kids. I've watched the Vangelus video and after this, I kinda want one now. I would really like to know more about the actual development, though, so bummer that there wasn't any of that. On to the rest!
     
  9. Gavitron

    Gavitron Spawn of a Glitch

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    I have to agree that despite the infomercial feel, the Designer Desk videos were cool to watch, for me the engineering is a big part of why I love Transformers and more design related media is always appreciated.

    Vangelus, "te she" is pinyin as such the e should be pronounced more like "er", I expected more from an award winner (shakes head disapprovingly). Sadly, it seems like Black Rhino and Snow Mastiff got very little love on the toy front, just some vinyl figures and a few robot toys which were re-purposed for the Armor Hero franchise.

    Great podcast as always, thanks guys.
     
  10. Lumpy

    Lumpy Taylor Swift Action Master Super Mod

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    I'm late to this, but the wrestler in question was John Morrison.

    Also, the selling stuff was really interesting to hear you guys talk about. You had some great information. I still sell a lot here, do sidewalk sales at my LCS and recently did my first convention too. A good time for sure, made some good money, cleared out some space. The only other bit of advice that I would give is instructions might not add value to a sale, BUT parents are more willing to drop money on a figure with instructions. I've had parents push a kid towards a figure when they were looking at something without, even if the price was a bit more.
     
  11. nazgul777

    nazgul777 Well-Known Member

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    Primal Rage! I don't really have anything else to say, and I'm resurrecting a long dead thread, but woo! Primal Rage! I love the franchise, and if I say it enough maybe whoever bought Atari and the rights will stop squatting on them and do something new with Blizzard and the gang. Woo! Primal Rage! Google crawls!