There Will be TWO Transformers Henkei Exclusive Starscream Repaints

I really don't care who it is...I'm going to buy it Though I really do hope for some off the wall kind of choice. If it is Thundercracker I'm not going to care, seriously. I have my 2007 set, glad I got it, but it's not leaving my collection so it's value is technically ZERO anyway. I have never cared about value and I don't see my collection as an investment. I know a LOT of people who do and they seem to have less fun collecting IMHO

If I had my druthers though he'd be something new...maybe a desert camo jet named Sandstorm...I dunno...

That image just popped into my head, and that would actually be pretty damn awesome.

G2 Dirge... That unreleased fakey-prototype with the teeth and eyes on the nose. Botcon Sideswipe is giving me an itch for G2 classics!!!

And I honestly don't care if TC shows up and hurts secondary markets as Hasbro has the right to re-release any product they have ever made whenever they wish. I understand why some may be upset, but there are some people who sneer and have utter contempt for the secondary market and is upset at *ANY* collector trying to make over retail with a figure.

If it is the best financial decision and the biggest draw, then go ahead Has/Tak. But if Sunstorm, or ghostscream or whatever makes the best, most wanted exclusive, then release those. What I *DON'T* want is to expect Has/Tak to make a poor business decision to benefit me personally that would harm the line or the franchise, which is what lots of the Botcon seeker people wanted at the time.

Do we have any president on these types of exclusives and the costs associated with them? Do we think these will be 50$ exclusives available at online stores or will this be an eBay bid war?

yeah, if it is not bitching about the evils of KO'S then he has gotta be railing about the BOTCON elites(OMFG it's all about those damned seekers) that everyone does not own.....

Paid off a lot of debt and spending power is almost at full power. I am hoping for a new seeker (ghost of Screamer, Sunstorm, black Screamer) if they do Thundercracker I will pass since I got the '07 one, at least the ones who missed out will hopefully get a chance to get one

I assume you mean precedent? lol I think it'll be something along the lines of Galaxy Force Soundblaster, if I had a guess.

Spellcheck FTW...

Speaking from personal experience, you're correct.

If it is Sunstorm and its not overly expensive (and I'm allowed to buy it, heaven forbid if its another exclusive) then I want it!!!! If it's another Starscream repaint, then forget it but can someone please tell me how to navigate through that site, it's all Japanese or something. Email me or leave a message in my PM, thanks.

maybe G1 decos Skywarp and Thundercraker (like the modif for US classics starscream to JAP henkei starscream)
but they are exclusive...mmm, i think if takara want release SKY & THUNDER, they release them on mass release...

so i vote for a black starscream and a ghost starscream

Thundercracker and Skywarp are my guess.

If at least ONE is Sunstorm I'll be happy.

yeah, that's what im thinking too...and i hope we get sunstorm as a US regular release instead of making him an exclusive...however, if he is an exclusive, and hasbro doesnt announce their own sunstorm, i'll totally be tracking this down...

I hope one of them is Sunstorm. That would put a smile on my face. The other could be either Starscream's ghost or Thundercracker. Wouldn't matter to me.

2nd exclusive seeker? Great news! REDLINE, where are you? lol

Watch it be Air Raid! Then you'll all be pissed because they didn't release the rest of the Aerialbots (and even if they did, you'd all be pissed if they didn't combine). And why not? I'm still waiting for my Classics Blitzwing... Dammit!!!

Anyway... Air Raid FTW!!!

That would stink if it was Air Raid. He looks nothing like a Seeker. And he needs a mini-plane on his back.

Everyone had to know this was coming. Whether you didn't want to believe it or didn't care about it, there was no way Takara was going to let Hasbro or Fun Publications keep them from releasing Thundercracker or Skywarp. Especially with Takara's tendency to repaint figures.

Except we don't know WHO the 2 exclusives are gonna be yet.


Don't get your hopes too high yet.

I also think it's going to be Skywarp and Thundercracker.. I hope..

pm me with your price

skywarp and thundercracker! yes!

In a way I hope it's not TC and SW as I want them(2 of each) and don't want the ridiculous price of exclusives.Hopefully Tak/Tomy will release them both on a mass retail instead.

I like how people think it's going to be Sunstorm or the Rainmakers. LOL?? Yeah right!!

Try Thundercracker and Skywarp. Or maybe a Black Starscream.

I'd really, really love Hasbro or Takara to do an all translucent (aside from the head/face) Sunstorm in orange and yellow. I've been asking since Universe ver.1

2? i'm defenitly saying 1 will be ThunderCracker, and i hope the other will be Sunstorm!

I'm going to go w/Skywarp & Thundercracker on this one,completing the original Seeker trio.I will probably get both of these guys if that's the case.

It's definitely Thundercracker and Skywarp. I just know it. >_<

i think it'd be hilarious if the picture is only for one of the exlcusives, and the other one uses the ramjet mold, but does it in thundercracker blue...that'd be great....

I would love Sunstorm and Skywarp but Skywarp and Thundercracker would also be good (and yes I do own Botcon Thundercracker). It honestly doesn't matter though since any of those is going to be mine!

:: Drops out of lurk ::

I'm curious, is it even *possible* for it to be Thundercracker? I would expect Master Collector/Fun Publications to pitch a shitfit if their exclusive was swiped. I'd have to assume part of the contract with Hasbro, and with Takaka for actually producing those runs of figures would consist of exclusivity. Have any other convention sets seen reissues in other countries?

No, but they usually aren't core characters that we're talking about either. Most of the past convention exclusives have been characters that are either created for the set or may or may not be popular in Japan. I'd say they could be done, but they'd have to be different from the ones released at Botcon. Of course, the only ones whom could really answer that questions will probably just give you a cryptic PR response...

How could they even DO Skywarp and Thundercracker, considering all the trouble Hasbro went through to explain the value of exclusives and keeping them exclusive, etc?

Anyways, their boring, bring on new characters or wierd schemes like orange and lime green.

that's why i asked here.. legalese confuses the heck out of me.

What made me wonder as to whether it was possible or not was the last couple sets.. the Ironhide/Ratchet versions of Energon Towline or the pre-earth BW guys all being official core characters as well, though they dont seem to have the same sort of demand.

Takara can do whatever they want to do in regards to Transformers. Irregardless of what Hasbro has done. Now ordinarily Takara wouldn't probably have any desire to do a figure similar to a Botcon exclusive, but Thundercracker is most likely a special case because of his role in the original series/line. I'm sure if they did do him, he'd be quite different from the Botcon figure any way.

Randy

what if takara did the exclusives as all ghost seekers?

Not sure that is true... Hasbro made those figures and owns the molds. Henkei exists because of cooperation, not out of Takara's right to do whatever they want. Takara only gets to do what hasbro allows them to do just like when Takara owns molds, Hasbro is limited in what they can do with them.

Official Vegas betting odds on which character the redeco of Henkei Starscream will be:

Skywarp- 1:1
MTMTE Generic Purple Seeker (Air Warrior): 2:1
Sunstorm- 3:1
Thundercracker: 5:1
MTMTE Generic Green Seeker: 5:1
Ghost of Starscream: 7:1
Black Starscream: 7:1
Autobot Air Raid (Hey, he's a F-15): 11:1
Predator Talon (He's also a F-15): 17:1
Action Master Thundercracker: 19:1
Entirely new and innovative scheme: 30:1

Except Takara is the "parent" company in regards to Transformers. If Takara decides to do something similar to a Hasbro product for their own market, there's probably very little Hasbro can do or say on the matter. But that said, they do make deals with each other(Henkei), and have worked together(Armada, etc.). But in the end, Takara is still the big dog.

Besides, both companies are already guilty of "stealing" each other's exclusives for mass release in their own market, Alt. Nemesis Prime being THE biggest example of this. Takara mass released the same toy, in the same exact packaging for their own market, at the same time it was being offered as a SDCC/HTS exclusive. If Takara's willing to do that, well...

what? no they didn't. They released a similar version, for their Wonderfest, and it was even MORE limited than Hasbro's was, and by a MILE at that. You can easily still score a Hasbro one for double-figures, but good luck finding a Takara one under 200-300.

Anything is possible. Noone other than FP and Hasbro legal guys know the exact wording of the exclusive contract. I'd be very surprised if Hasbro sold the "Classics" character rights of Thundercracker and the other seekers to FP. If it's anything like StarWars exclusive contracts of the past, the wording for exclusiveness is very specific (ie exact toy line, color scheme, size, packaging art, in some cases a limited time window as well) which would mean Takara can "legally" produce Thundercracker.

One thing people are forgetting is that Skywarp was also an exclusive. If I was a Hasbro executive, I'd be A LOT more concerned about pissing off a major buyer/ retailer like Target than a small company like FP. No matter the decision, some will be happy others won't.

If I was a betting man, I'd place money down on TC and SW. That said, I'd love to have a ghost Starscream. I'm a sucker for clear /translucent figures.

Hmm... it doesn't answer TFs specificly, but it does give some idea of how Hasbro makes contracts for convention deals.. so it's something to use as a basis. Makes TC seem at least a possibility in my eyes, as opposed to a definately no chance.


That's probably a good point, but I dont think Target would be as concerned about what they do overseas as much as FP would be (though that's entirely speculation on my part). Does Target HAVE a Japanese division? If so, maybe 'Warp'll simply be released there in Japan, and the exclusives are someone else.

Hasbro themselves actually released Ultra Magnus in a two-pack with Prime in Asia, so I'm going to venture a guess that Target wouldn't bat an eye to Skywarp's release in Japan (IF that happened, obv). And after all, "Target exclusives" have a wider reach than other chains, perhaps because Target itself has no real presence outside the US. Allspark Powered Deluxes, Movie Scouts, Magnus of course, etc. Arrangements on a smaller scale with a collector-based group like FP are probably a different story.

I really doubt its action master Thunder Cracker because in Japan they did not do the Action Masters. But for sure one is sunstorm by one could be some random decepticon like the green one or the what ever color it is. But Ghost Starscream sounds really cool.

Hasbro owns the molds, but no more than Takara owns them. Takara owns everything Transformer, no matter how little involvement they may have in the production of an item (all of Classics was engineered by Takara, even though the idea originated with Hasbro).

It has been pointed out numerous times that Takara can release anything that Hasbro releases (this was even mentioned in regards to the Botcon 2007 figures at Botcon 2007). Granted the Hasbro team said Takara is aware of what Hasbro does for Botcon, and would probably never release Botcon exclusive exactly as it was released for Botcon - but that won't stop them from releasing their own Thundercracker, Dirge, and Thrust if they so desire. It's not like they'd make them exactly the same as the US versions.

While the first part is true, Nemesis Prime was not mass released by Takara. As I'm sure you know Black Convoy was very different than Nemesis Prime (metal & very different color scheme). Plus Black Convoy was limited to only 1,000 pieces which I guarantee is much less than the number of pieces of Nemesis Prime released.

Do you honestly think that Target cares if Takara in Japan releases a Skywarp? Never in a million years would that even register as the smallest of blips on their radar. It's not like he'd even be the same exact figure for one thing. Maybe if Wal-Mart had the same exact figure at the same time, then yes they'd probably be a little upset with Hasbro, but even then it wouldn't be worth their effort.

Randy

Am I the only one that remembers Asian sellers flooding Ebay with SDCC Alt. Nemesis Prime's before and after the SDCC? Hell, that's how I got mine.

Seekers: taste the rainbow

Target is looking for all the Transformers they can get at the moment. It is exceptionally unlikely that they would care about a similar-looking product in a foreign market.

I've been expecting and kinda hoping for Japanese versions of the three remaining Seekers since the Henki line was announced. I had no problem with this as it means while they would still be expensive, they'd at least be affordable. However, this "store exclusive" has me worried that my theory will be proven false....

And here's a question: Would FP care if TakaraTomy released Dirge, Thrust and TC at this point? I mean, the set is sold out. They don't have anymore in their possession. They can't really profit from it anymore. What does it matter to them if Japanese versions become available?

But if they do then they will get a lot of money from Transformers Fans And ill brake down the door to get them