Q1 is the Toy Fair Season. Of course as always UK Toy Fair by British Toy & Hobby Association is opening the countless fairs including Nuremberg, Australian, China and the biggest one of them all… New York. But unlike other Toy Fairs, the UK Toy Fair is closed for the general public and is only open to interested parties such as investors and potential licensees. They are especially careful after the G. I. Joe toy leaks in 2009.
At the UK Toy Fair, Hasbro is the biggest exhibitor on the show floor. This year, the main highlight is Transformers.
Grant Gie; the European Franchise Manager of Hasbro spoke to the media recently regarding the Transformers presence at UK Toy Fair 2015. TFW2005 listens to what Mr. Gie has to say:
Speaking about the Transformers toys in general he said “It was magical and let children essentially get two toys and two play patterns in one. However, the real magic was in the detail and execution of the product.”
“The iconography has become globally popular so our key characters such as Bumblebee and Optimus Prime, as well as the Autobot and Decepticon shields are instantly recognizable and translate onto products from all categories.”Since licensees are very important to the brand, Mr. Gie stated “What we try to ensure is that our licensed partners strive to activate our brand DNA in all products. ‘More Than Meets The Eye’ – that can work well and provide consumers with a point of difference when executed on product”.
He then talked briefly about the past year.“The toys over the last 30 years have changed very little… until 2014, when we completely re-designed the line. The Paramount movie showcased our characters in high-speed action sequences converting from robot to vehicle mode at the blink of an eye. Hasbro wanted to bring that same movie magic to our product line.”
Next he spoke about the upcoming Transformers: Robots In Disguise and the future of the Transformers Franchise. You can read all about it, after then jump. “We are in development of a multi-year animated TV series which starts in quarter one 2015 with Transformers: Robots In Disguise” said Grant Gie. “Robots In Disguise begins a brand new chapter in storytelling, filled with great humor, lots of fun adventure and animated in a cooler, lighter, brighter style that we know kids are going to really love”.
And finally, he spoke about the future of the brand we know and love. “I have seen some unbelievable concepts for upcoming years, so it’s exciting to see that even after 30 years we continue to push the boundaries of toy design and can revolutionize our products by bringing magical new ways to play.”
Transformers is not the only highlight at this year’s toy fair. Hasbro is also celebrating the 80th Anniversary of world’s most famous board game; Monopoly. New toys from My Little Pony: Friendships Magic can also be found at the Hasbro booth.
UK Toy Fair 2915 is happening on 20th – 22nd January at Olympia, West London. Hasbro can be found at Gallery 620.
We thank journalist Billy Langsworthy; who is almost always associated with Transformers toys in UK, for all the valuable info. We look forward to hearing cool info from the UK Toy Fair on 20th January. But even if we don’t hear much, we can expect the info from the New York Toy Fair 2015.
Keep your optics turned to the TFW2005 Front Page for the best Transformers News Coverage… in the world. TFW Team is getting ready for the Toy Fair Season. Are you?
Autovolt 127
I wished there was a little bit of Transformers there.
Lazerwave
Mummy and Lighthouse don't matter to me. I just want to see closer picture of Black Knight Ghost and Mystery Plane with Headless Horseman.
Purple Heart
Yeah actually, they may have the Mummy Museum and LightHouse set there.
Maybe not though, Lego still does tend to favor Toy fair above all.
Lazerwave
Ok. But the bright side is I might see more Scooby Doo Lego.
Purple Heart
Ah Nuremberg, Theres always a shit-ton of Lego there.
Never really any Transformers though.
Lazerwave
When's that?
Dinobot Nuva
We might get another little trickle of news from Nuremberg Toy Fair before NYC.
Lazerwave
So now we got to wait 20 days for something.
Jalaguy
Not on Generations. Reports seem to indicate that Hasbro only had RID and Rescue Bots stuff in their private showroom.
It's not exactly surprising that they'd save the collector-orientated stuff for NY Toy Fair, where they do their "Collector-Fan Media Day" that they invite fan-sites and whatnot to.
ssjkazer
So no info at all?
General Tekno
I don't see the point. UK Toy Fair doesn't get all the really awesome new stuff anyway; they save that for Toy Fair in NYC, where Hasbro's displays aren't "no photos" rooms anyway (not to mention they tend to do press packets of the upcoming new toys).
Last time we got a major Hasbro leak from a UK show was with Rise of Cobra, if memory serves.
LegendAntihero
The press should bring high tech hidden cameras so we can see what the new toys will look like. Even if Hasbro decides not to attend again because of the leaked photos, I'd be worth it cause there's not much point in them being there if we don't see what they have
Lazerwave
I think the Toy Fair is over.
Ironhide4
Very disappointed no leaks yet have to say.
payres
BBC Report on UK Toyfair
BBC News – Toy Fair: Are these the toys you'll be buying this Christmas?
No TF News but might be interesting background to some
Ravenxl7
True, but I wouldn't expect the specific Hasbro reps at a Toy Fair to both know what TakaraTomy have in the plans and reveal said plans. Besides, while it was a part of the same article on Seibertron, the stuff about possible future Masterpieces had nothing to do with the news coming from Toy Fair.
unicronic
Balanced is the best way to describe it, thanks.
Unclejoe420
At least it's just under a month to the NY Toy Fair, and possible pix..
incapable hulk
I think the right term is "balanced".
With Silverbolt, Hasbro really struck the right balance between fun, intuitive and complexity.
Afterburner
Hasbro does often know what TakaraTomy is working on when it comes to TF, even if they aren't participating.