Botcon 2009 Hasbro Designers Panel

Yeah, I was surprised by how much some of these molds-- Bludgeon and Lockdown in particular-- will fit right in with Universe.

I'm really curious how far they got with the Ultra or Voyager scale Galvatron, like if it would be possible to revisit down the road...

The more I read about Bludgeon, the more awesome he sounds, lol. I'll definitely be getting him when he's released, and he'll be going on the shelf with the rest of my Classics Decepticons.

It's amazing how many figures have been added or subtracted from my to-get list because of Botcon. I'm now only getting two of the Constructicons, and the biker-chick-bots have been take off of the list. I've also added two more scouts, Leader Starscream, the new Voyager Ironhide, Lockdown, and Dirge (going to repaint him as Ramjet though). And that's just the Movie stuff, lol.

I do have a couple questions for those who were there, and saw what some of these figures look like, if anybody is willing to answer them, lol. Let's see here...

-Ironhide- reading the descriptions of this guy, he seems to be a new mold, or at least I can't see the current voyager housing all those weapons. How is this mold's accuracy to on-screen Ironhide compared to the original one? (in both modes).

-Dirge- is his mold Dirge specific? Basically, does his mold lean more towards just Dirge, or could the same mold be easily used for the other two cone-heads?

-Skystalker- by the sounds of him, I'm guessing he's a Decepticon. Am I correct? (just making sure before I add him). Also, what, if any, real life jet does his alt-mode resemble?

-Breakdown- I'm just sort of curious about how this one looks, in both-modes. I'm thinking about getting him, as it would be nice to have another non-military themed Decepticon.

That's pretty much it, lol

Edit: Hey, my 10,000th post Almost three years since I joined here (will be exactly three years this Saturday). Man...I need a life, lol.

I'm not sure, but I from what I remember through news and discussions, at a voyager or ultra size he was supposed to be electronic with a light up barrel and sounds like the original. That may have just been an idea from the concept stage, as they also wanted him to be a triple changer in that he could become a 4 legged walking tank as well. It seems neither of these ideas ended up in the final toy, although there is a bit left from the scrapped 3rd mode like those little legs inside his tank treads.

So far I like everything I've heard, might wait on Leader 'Screamer cuz of the price (so many Figures, so lil $$$.)
So let me get this straight... Transformer fans where @ the panel updating this thread from the room... and no one...NO ONE! could get a camera phone shoot of Leader 'Screamer or ROTF LOCKDOWN! REALLY....REALLY?!?!

No one got the shot because Hasbro asked for no cameras.

It's that simple. Some of us like to abide by the rules. Is a blurry shot of slide really worth next year perhaps not having the ability to post live from the event, or even not having an roundtable like this? The answer is clearly no.

Is Bludgeon going to show up in the movie itself, or is he toy-only?

Just a toy, he was canned from the last uni line and given a slight redesign so he can be sold in either the movie line or the next uni line.

How do they fit with the movie style? I don't suppose they have chicken legs, multi-toed feet or insect heads? But I presume they have to make some concessions to not be out of place.

Crappy paintjob/detailing?

It actually is the current Voyager mold, I have no doubt about that, just heavily remolded with TONS of new guns.

Any of the coneheads could fit, I think, though Thrust would need the obligatory wing remold. I'd be surprised if he isn't repainted again down the line.

Decepticon, it sounds like. I forget if they actually named his faction or not. (It was in the gray prototype stage, so no actual faction was on the toy.) There's a drone jet in the movie that they said the alt mode of this was taken directly from. It's generally diamond-shaped.

He is pretty much spot-on G1 Breakdown in vehicle mode. I've completely forgotten what his robot mode looks like, mostly because there wasn't anything about it extraordinary awesome OR bad that I remember-- all the other more noteworthy new molds have just taken over Breakdown's space in my brain.

It's a bit more fragmented movie-style. Honestly, other than that I don't recall there being a whole lot of movie aesthetic to him. I think he'd fit in better with Universe than the Movie line. Same with Lockdown-- particularly in vehicle mode, Lockdown leans more towards the Animated look compared to the Movie aesthetic.

Ok, the retools just sound extensive enough to make him a new mold. Still, he definitely sounds interesting enough to get. I'll either rename him or the Ironhide I already have.

Cool. It's nice to see the cone-heads getting more attention. I may wait to see if they repaint him in Ramjet's color scheme then.

Cool. Didn't know if his faction was named or not. Diamond-shaped makes me think of the F-117 Nighthawk. I could be wrong, but it's the only jet I personally think of as diamond-shaped. The gerwalk-mode and axe should make this mold interesting.

Sounds cool too. Not a huge Stunticon fan, but I do like the look of Breakdown's alt-mode.

Bludgeon and Lockdown sound awesome. Bludgeon will definitely be going with my Classics Decepticons. Not sure who I'm going to display Lockdown with, but I'll most likely be getting him anyways. Most likely either the Movie Decepticons or my classics Decepticons.

Thanks for answering my questions

More diamond-shaped. I mean shaped, more or less, like a literal diamond, at least from a top-down view. I'm pretty sure it's a drone plane, i.e. no real cockpit. I honestly haven't seen anything like it before, though I'm not exactly a military aircraft buff.

If the panel had had an actual Q&A we might have been able to find out the model of aircraft. I'll try and find a real-life equivilent.

Oh, ok. Definitely sounds more like a Cybertronian designed air craft then. If so, then it fits in with their comment about wanting/planning to make more Cybertronian alt-modes in the future. I can't really think of anything man-made that has a diamond-shape to it from above.

No, it most definitely is Earth-based. Honestly, take that Nighthawk you posted, make it flatter and smaller, then give it the diamond shape, that's generally what you've got for Skystalker's alt mode. Again, they said they based it off of a military drone jet used in the movie, so I imagine it's got a real-life counterpart, even if it's just a "concept" counterpart like the Chevy Beat, Spark, or Corvette Stingray. I'm sure after we see the movie I can come back on and say "okay, it was the drone jet used in scene X".

Similar to this but imagine the wingspan being about twice as long as the nose-to-tail distance.

How do the new ratchet and lockdown look

What about the Boeing X-45?

This might help: List of unmanned aerial vehicles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Or judging from the descriptions, maybe these:
Lockheed Martin Polecat - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
File:X46.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
File:NG-X47B.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
BAE Taranis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switchblade_(aircraft)

No, Fosterlager was there too, he's got it. Spot-on, man, your Google-fu is mighty.

Ratchet looks more movie-accurate than the voyager, particularly in the legs. I think to give him skinnier legs they had to give him a bit of butt kibble, though.

Lockdown is pretty much spot-on his Animated design but movie-ized up a bit. Still very obviously Lockdown.

I hope Ratchet is a BIG Deluxe though, the voyager is pretty close to in-scale already...

Is Lockdown based on any real life car? Like one of those customized muscle cars? How does he looks like?

So by this, we mean that he's simply a white Lamborghini? I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed. Already half the Autobot and Stunticon ranks have been derived from the Universe Sunstreaker/Sideswipe mold (going by kitbashes alone). I was kind of hoping we'd get a different car type.

Still, and good toy is a good toy... can't wait till we see some leaked pictures for these.

zmog

Thanks for taking the time to give some clarification... I'm stoked for these molds. I'm going to have to pick your brain again( or anyone else that was there).

I was wondering this myself. Was it modern or vintage, and reminiscent of any exiting model? I always pictured Lockdown as a seventies musclecar.

It's been said that Lockdown appears to have a similar transformation to the Animated toy... does he share the problems of wide hips and sloping sholders?

It's interesting that they're doing stunticons at scout class. I really liked the direction they took with Deadend/Detour. I'm hoping Breakdown will be even better.

Anyone who was there, how accurate is HA Barricade? Let's say on a scale of 1 to 10.

Judging by what I remember of the size of the missile in his missile launcher compared to the rest of the toy, I'd guesstimate he's Universe Hot Shot-sized. So... a fairly small deluxe.

Lockdown looks like his Animated car self. Only his spikes are bigger and the bumpers aren't quite as exaggerated. Really, he doesn't look that realistic in vehicle mode. Or robot mode. Like I said, he's surprisingly close to the Animated aesthetic while putting in a bit of "movie-ness".

Well, as close as they can get without it actually being a licensed car and thus having to shell out money for it.

Sloping shoulders, I can't honestly recall. Wide hips, yes, though not quite to the extent of the Animated toy. The transformation is very similar, if not exactly the same.

Putting the 1st movie Barricade at a 7 on that scale, I'd rate HA Barricade a 9. Not completely movie accurate, but more fragmented and closer than his deluxe figure.

man i wanna see lockdown

That's very cool looking. Do want.

Those are not.

Ratchet, sounds cool, I'll probably get it.

Lockdown, with comments like yours I'm really wondering why Hasbro is doing this, remaking a very recent toy with a slightly different style, that's not their usual mo at all.

Not that I'm complaing, Lockdown si awesome and I'll buy it without doubt.

In fact I want to start a petition/movement to get Hasbro to insist on having Lockdown in movie 3. I bet Bay would go for it, his style is right up Bay's alley.
Then Hasbro would be able to go nuts and do an Alternator/HA style Lockdown including his gloriously silly death metal interior.

Speaking of HA's, Barricade sounds awesome, I thouth the deluxe was pretty accurate, especially as it wa sone of the first toys we got in the 07 line but the HA sounds awesome. I just got Bumblebee yesterday and it's both a great toy and a really nice display piece so I'm very keen to see Barricade.

Can anyone who was there give a better description of the scout Scattorshot? Looking at various sites, I've seen it described as a tank/truck/minesweeper. Thanks in advance!

that's too bad (never really liked the spikes in vehicle mode). I like that they stay true to the character, but a little realism wouldn't go amiss when they've taken so many liberties with G1 characters.

I was hoping for something a little more like this:



- but I'll probably like it just the same. Did they give him a hook or chainsaw or anything?

So.... does Lockdown look like he could go with Universe as well?

Ok, that makes sense, and looks good. It'll be interesting to see what he looks like.

I can't wait to see pictures of Leader Starscream. He and Jetfire will probably be the only two Leaders I get from this line, depending on what repaints the Leader figures get.

I've been wandering about this too.

seconded!

Leader Starscream is pretty much the most movie-accurate "mainline" toy I've seen in the line. I literally was not able to tell any real difference between his toy robot mode and the CGI robot mode (beyond the obvious "million moving parts" on the CGI mode). His vehicle mode is also extremely accurate, with just a tad of underside kibble near the back. Really, 9.9/10. He looks amazing. If you don't like something about Voyager Starscream just wait. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

Kinda loosely based on his original Cybertron alt mode, but more rounded and with more guns. That's about as specific as my memory is allowing me to get. Robot mode has a bit of upper back kibble, but otherwise looks pretty beefy.

He has the hook (completely with the stylized angular look) on his right hand, the long face, everything. I cannot overstate just how much like Animated Lockdown this toy is.

I think he'd fit in better with Universe than any other toyline, honestly, since Universe has been so much of a catch-all lately.

thanks for all the clarification Bb X!

Scattershot

Imagine a truck, like pickup kind, that would look right at home in a mad max movie, with two symetrical cannons, one on each side of the truck bed going over the cab.

In other words, AWSOME

Sorry if this has been asked already, but does Ratchet look like he'll fit in ok with the Movie line? And is his Alt mode the same as he has in the movie?

Ratchet's a total movie line figure. His robot mode really emulates his CGI model. The alt. mode is altered a bit from the movie, but is still a Hummer based rescue vehicle.

Awesome. I wonder how much they altered it?

Anyways, I have another "might've already been asked but I missed it" question: does the Frenzy figure that comes with HA Barricade transform into anything or is he pretty much just like the other HA human figures?

It was a gray prototype only. It had skinny legs and movie accurate. The arm was designed to hold animated Lockdown's EMP.
For Lockdown they were using Animated Lockdown's head, so the design was not final.
Frenzy is very posable and is designed do fit in either Barricade's seats or chest, or shoulders. It does not seem to transform into anything in particular.

Kinda like how the one that came with Deluxe Barricade just folded into a rectangle with a grill on front to fit in Barricade's chest?