Botcon 2015 Hasbro Product Preview Panel

Discussion in 'Transformers News and Rumors' started by Jacer, Jun 20, 2015.

  1. reluttr

    reluttr Well-Known Member

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    Actually they did tease Computron, just no one noticed it because he is a bunch of retools.

    [​IMG]

    You can clearly see he is made up of the Groove mould as the right arm *the split tires on the forearm*, Slingshotter/Fireflight Mould as the the left arm *the folded up wings*, the Breakdown Mould as the right leg *combiner foot accessory matching and general shape of the limb*, and the Drag Strip mould as the left leg *general shape of the limb plus matching knee kibble*. The central unit is a slightly retooled silverbolt, you can already tell they retooled the nosecone into the large cannon that was on the g1 toy.
     
  2. Lazerwave

    Lazerwave My Most Prized Treasure

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    So wait, Computron is coming before Bruticus? Then why didn't they reveal that yesterday?
     
  3. reluttr

    reluttr Well-Known Member

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    They probably felt Bruticus was the more popular character.

    Plus if they showed off computron then people would automatically assume we was getting a grove in a similar fashion to how we got breakneck and slingshotter. Potentially harming Takara's "exclusivity" of the character use of the mould. Keep in mind that was a selling point Takara had used on the defensor listing.
     
  4. Bountyan

    Bountyan Well-Known Member

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    I'm pretty sure that silhouette is Ultra Prime. Thus the Drag Strip and Breakdown legs. Computron being Fall 2015, but announcing Bruticus first makes no sense.
     
  5. reluttr

    reluttr Well-Known Member

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    I thought that myself, but there are features to the silhouette that don't match up to the prime design. First off the gun is completely wrong, its shaped more like silverbolts barrel, it even has the tiny grooves moulded into it.

    Then one arm is defiantly a jet, which Ultra Prime doesn't have.

    Finally the most damning thing is the torso. The head shape isn't right, the silhouette has antenna and lacks a central crest where Ultra Prime has a pronounced central crest and blade like things on the side of his head. Then there is the kibble behind the head. Ultra Prime doesn't have anything on its back that would look like that. The placement would be closer to silverbolts jet kibble, but its not shaped right. Also the overall shape of the torso just doesn't match up to the prime mould.

    There are 2 possible reasons they didn't show it off. One is that Takara has some sort of agreement in place where hasbro cant say they are using the Groove mould until a grace period passes... or more likely, Hasbro is going to save it for SDCC because it will ultimately net more media coverage as a new announcement there than it would at Botcon. Which, if this is a fall release, will help push it during the holiday shopping season.
     
  6. Probe

    Probe Well-Known Member

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    Could it just be superion with a Drag Strip leg?
     
  7. Bountyan

    Bountyan Well-Known Member

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    I don't see a jet. The only limbs I can make out for sure are the legs. Which don't even match Computron anyway since Computron never had two car limbs. And this silhouette is probably made from artwork rather than an actual photo of a toy. It's either Optimus Maximus or a generic thing as an intro to the Fall 2014 toys which are Optimus Maximus and Galvatronus. We know Optimus Maximus is wave 4, Bruticus is wave 5, and Sky Reign is wave 6. Computron isn't until wave 7 at least.
     
  8. Prime Jetscream

    Prime Jetscream HE PULLS THE STRINGS AND HE MAKES THEM RING

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    Bruticus and Sky Reign have been labeled only as "2016 Wave 1" and "2016 Wave 2" respectively.
    To me, that silhouette's left arm looks either like a jet with a stubbier, blockier end (Strafe?) or the Groove mold, and I would be lying if I said the forearm didn't look like it had the split rear tire on it, plus some exhaust pipes.
    I want to believe. But it would also suck if he had a retool of Dragstrip as the usual "new guy" limb.
    It isn't Prime, though. It has the blocky hip Superion has, and the molded "missile" shape that hangs next to the arm port.
     
  9. Fort Max

    Fort Max Too many is never enough. Veteran

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    Good spot, could well be a teaser, otherwise they would have probably just used some of the existing art.
     
  10. incapable hulk

    incapable hulk I am the Liquor

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    I don't think the central unit is a retooled Silverbolt. The thighs look thicker, as does the body. Also, the gun is not Silverbolts (the shape actually looks Scattershots G1 rifle) and overall the shape looks squarer.
     
  11. Ribieconvoy

    Ribieconvoy Well-Known Member

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    I dunno, I don't really have a lot of problems with the retooling in Combiner Wars. If it were any other line, it'd have its share of remolds and retools anyways. I do, however, think they could stand to be much more creative about what they're doing with those remolds.

    A white Optimus? How about making him Thunderclash?

    A SECOND entire wave of Autobot cars that aren't supposed to combine in the first place, creating a FIFTH dedicated Autobot combiner team versus the two Decepticon combiners? Why not throw in something like a Brawl retool as Warpath for some variety?

    I feel like just stuff like that- the extra creative spice- would be lessening the blow a lot of people are feeling from the Combiner Wars line's necessary cost-saving measures (designing figures with robot modes, vehicle modes, and two limb modes from scratch every single time would take much more design time).
     
  12. Anguirus

    Anguirus Well-Known Member

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    I have to agree. I mean, this is why Sky Lynx landed with a bang, and even Cyclonus/Galvatronus got our attention, while the continuing Stunticon->Autobots just feel obligatory.

    I don't really mind them though. They aren't the line's superstars. They are make-ups for people who don't want to go back and collect the Universe line.

    Anyone else remember way back when, one of the Hasbro guys at a convention actually being a bit hornswoggled that people would deliberately collect every figure in a line? They don't really "design" lines to avoid repetition of molds in that way. They design waves to have variety in and of themselves, but they don't think about how to screw obsessive collectors into buying an inferior version of something you already have. They assume that people will pass on stuff that's not for them, rather than hatred-buying.
     
  13. Afterburner

    Afterburner For your health

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    You're right in that they clearly don't understand collectors. But they can't expect collectors to be happy if they don't bother to understand us, even on products specifically aimed at us. So they can't have it both ways. That's what is always so interesting - the shock that collectors aren't happy. Spend 5 minutes on the board and you would know.

    Repainting and remolding is not the issue, it is making sure you do it appropriately. Essentially Combiner Wars has become a very watered-down version of Classics, featuring combiners. Frankly, it's just a mess of product. I don't see any reason why they couldn't have taken a different approach and gotten the same if not better results at retail.

    By the way, TakaraTomy, unlike some companies, doesn't lie or need to lie to promote their products. So Groove is their tooling. No smoke and mirrors. I don't doubt based on precedent with this line that Computron would be full of remolds that barely work as said characters, but I doubt you are seeing anything in that slide.
     
  14. Anguirus

    Anguirus Well-Known Member

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    I'm sure they do keep an eye on the board, but that's only a piece of the pie. People are more likely to post if dissatisfied, and the most vocal posters are the most likely to be the most dissatisfied. Moreover, on that end of things they've got to screen out the actual trolls.

    I'm part of a local collector's group on Facebook, and they are into MPs, 3Ps, real high-end stuff. CW is fairly popular with them, and regardless there's none of this anger over, well, much of anything.

    ?
     
  15. G.B. Blackrock

    G.B. Blackrock Autobot Ally

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    I could just as easily put that the other way around. If they're likely to get the same results either way, why not use the approach they're using?

    While I see no need to defend any of these particular mold re-uses, I can recognize that Hasbro's longstanding business model of reusing molds has enabled them to do a lot of product I do like, so I really see no reason to complain that they also make product I'm happy to leave on the shelves.

    Could Hasbro make even more money if they handled things differently? Maybe. I won't say "no." But given the risks they'd incur by such changes, I can hardly fault them for going with something that's already meeting (if not exceeding) their own expectations.
     
  16. Clinch

    Clinch Banned

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    I can't help but feel questions were wasted in particular the kreo and collector card questions.
     
  17. G.B. Blackrock

    G.B. Blackrock Autobot Ally

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    Honestly, I feel this way every year.

    Sure, there's some sense that Hasbro doesn't always give straight answers to questions (I understand. They sometimes can't), but I leave almost every panel frustrated at the questions that managed to get asked in the limited time available, vs. the more important (at least to me) questions that somehow never surfaced, despite being discussed widely prior to the convention as things fans want to know more about.
     
  18. Hollywood Hoist

    Hollywood Hoist Well-Known Member

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    How does Hasbro not understand collectors. Not every collector buys everything from a single line. The repaints into Autobot cars seems to have a mixed result some love it as it gives them their Masquerade set and also an opportunity to get missed characters or replace characters they weren't happy with the initial release.

    How can a company be expected to please everyone? Yes there are people who buy everything in a line, but I hardly think that is the norm.

    So far all their repaints/remolds have been great. I never expect Hasbro to make a 4th unique mold jet for Slingshot, the fact we got 3 says a lot. Back in the Energon days the combiner had 2 repaints, no remolds just repaints and that was the main line.

    Spending 5 minutes on this board only tells you what the vocal people think. There are a lot of fans/collectors who don't voice their opinion on these different subjects. I look at any given poll on tfw, and most of them have maybe a couple hundred responses. So unless there are only a couple hundred collectors out there, you can't base what the "collectors" want based on those results or even what is written in individual threads.

    These threads are not random samples of collectors, but the opinions of the ones who have a strong enough opinion to spend time to type it.

    Everyones "appropriate" is going to be different.

    Based on what I've seen at the stores in my area the approach Combiner Wars has taken has been hugely successful, look how quickly they sell out in stores and online. Those repaints Slingshot and wildrider are gobbled up as soon as they are available. Would those figures still sell if they were all unique molds? Yeah, would it cost Hasbro more money to make them unique molds? Yes. Is the return on investment on unique molds worth it? Probably not, as the sales increase wouldn't justify the added cost. So in the end we get some repaints and remolds, but on the other hand we're getting more combiners as a result.

    I'm not sure what your definition of a "mess of a product" is, but I've enjoyed all the combiners released as well as the ones coming out. Are they perfect? No, but very few figures if any are universally loved. Even 3rd party creates products that some fans don't like.
     
  19. Autovolt 127

    Autovolt 127 Get In The Titan, Prime!

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    I agree with you.
     
  20. Clinch

    Clinch Banned

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    I wholeheartedly agree there.