This is the thing I keep coming back to when people on here are asking for a V3 Prime or Seekers - it could be all-Hasui again in a few years, or another style trend. With the lead time on a lot of these figures, it's just not really realistic to expect remould and redesigns all the time.

I sort of think that they plan a number of larger, mid-size, and smaller (carbots and smaller) characters a year, almost like they have 10 resources, and each of those classes have a value that subtracts from the resources like some kind of worker management game. If you do a big guy (Megs), a mid-size guy (say Grapferno), you only have room for 2 small ones, and then Sunny goes up on resource cost by 1 because of additional design, license, etc cost.

 

Sounds like we're getting Trailbreaker and Hoist next year, so maybe Bluestreak+ or Bumblebee+ will coincide with Trailbreaker (Divide and Conquer) and Wheeljack+ will coincide with Hoist (Key to Vector Sigma)? I hope so!!!

I see the lack of Soundwave+ or Optimus+ to coincide with Megatron's release as a big missed opportunity. Weird that they tweaked Soundwave for his reissue anyway (more vibrant and opaque visor, blue around the visor, interior of forearms painted silver).

 

It could just be that they want to keep Soundwave more or less as is for whatever reason. His chrome is a lot more muted than some other releases, and he's a pretty popular character all-round. Prime they can do whenever too and sell it well, he's Prime, y'know?

 

Yeah, but like Sideswipe+, a Soundwave+ wouldn't need to be drastically different. I'd want them to keep the chrome and silver (RA+ and Sideswipe+ both still have silver rims), but give him grey feet, a blue tinted window, vibrant red visor like on the recent reissue, and leave his shoulders and back unpainted blue. That'd pick up both the customers who want/need a Soundwave, and a guy like me who already has one but wants the + release.

 

MP's news:

 

Any idea if this will be leader size or looking at a scale more in line with G1 MP's?

 

It will be a head taller than MP-10, it can even move the trailer from the mp-10.

 

Yeah, that is kinda wishful thinking but seeing as all the season one Decepticons we have left come in pairs (Constructicons, Insecticons & Reflector) I would like the next G1 bad guy to be pulled from that lot and I still feel like it will sometime before TT throws a Galvatron our way.

But just like you said, it would be boring if TT gave us a Constructicon. At first people would flip out that Devestator is on his way but then the idea of him would become stale over the course of time it would take for them to finally give us all the Constructicons and I don't see them dumping all of them on us at once. Insecticons would probably need to be a 3 pack to keep from also becoming stale and obviously Reflector would be a 3 pack. Dipping into season 2 we have Stunticons and Combaticons (still combiners)... So does that pretty much just leave Astrotrain as the last S1/2 standalone Decepticon?

So maybe next year might actually yield Hoist/Trailbreaker(Likley) Dinobot(confirmed) Astrotrain and Waspinator with BW Megatron being announced this time next year for early 2019.

Edit: Astrotrain or Blitzwing for the remaining non-pairing/combining season 1/2 Decepticons

 

Isn't the Hasbro release considered the Optimus+?

 

Imsecticons could be cool, but i still have hope about the constructicons, i F E E L, that Takara should impress us with an official MP combiner in the market, it could be impossible due the costs.

 

When does Hasbro MPM10 come out?
I haven't even seen MPM Bee on BBTS or TFS yet.

 

No. While the Hasbro Optimus has painted blue eyes and more vibrant blue and red (which, unlike TT's, is sadly unpainted), MP-10+ would need all blue boots, whiter thighs, no silver trim around the windows, bluer windows, all red forearms, no silver stripe on the cab, and a blue undercarriage for the trailer. It'd also need the silver TT Roller.

 

MPM Bee was on AmiAmi for preorder and available on The Chosen Prime now. Looks like a late June release.

 

Why is MPM03 Bee listed as an end of June release on TCP and end of August release on HLJ?

 

I used blue text because I disagree that we'll see another change in the MP line which causes different problems - I think the line is getting more and more cohesive and focused.

I think you're reasoning is sound enough, takjng into consideration the amount of factories they have producing these MPs, and the amount they probably expect people to purchase per year.

However I think we're getting a quiet end-of-year because it's a movie year, and we're getting the MPM line.

Having said that the summer and to some extent autumn months are always the quietest on the MP front.

It's funny, it seems the silver painted arm-speakers and blue around the visor are left-over instructions from the 2nd Hasbro run. The new visor colour is definitely nicer, though. Surprised they didn't change that for the MP-10 reissue.

Before 12+ I wasn't expecting much from the subline, but after the tiny differences I can definitely see 18+ and 20+ with confidence, even a 17+ and maybe 19+ (I'm sure he'd look so much better with an off-white face instead of silver).

13+ I can definitely see happening, too, but he would be quite a high price point for the + line, so that needs to be factored in. I think pairing him with Blaster his nemesis is the biggest incentive for that, especially considering how off he'll look next to Blaster's off-white face (he looked ok enough next to Megatron that maybe that didn't warrant the repaint yet - ok enough for me to repurchase him anyway!).

Wheeljack+ didn't come with Ratchet, and 18+ didn't come with Ironhide, but they could be released alongside their reissues.

The first release of 14+ made sense because Inferno even has that cradle included specifically for Red.

12+ makes so much sense because people late to the line would want Sideswipe for Sunstreaker, and people who already have Sideswipe might want a more toon one to go with the rest of the line. Really clever business move, especially making him a mainline release.

 

I forget, were the release dates supposed to be simultaneous? Hasbro wanting it out there ahead of the film's release date makes sense to me.

 

I thought release dates were July/August/September.

BBTS just responded back to me that they haven't received any info on preorders as of yet. So they haven't posted Bee yet. Same with TFS.

 

I hate to say they wouldn't be doofy enough to not release simultaneously, but that's logic that has failed Hasbro and TRU before. If they don't do it same-day, they'd be guaranteeing most existing collectors would just end up importing.

 

The MPM's suffers from being released in different stores like TRU and some japanese retailers in different time, that's why some stores still hasn't the pre-orders or stock, amazon looks like is going to wait until these are just released.


Anyhow, speaking of other topic, i can see sunstreaker being repainted to fill the MP releases the next year, repaint i could buy for sure.

 

So, now that we've got Primal and Cheetor and have seen Dinobot...who is the next BW MP? They've done 3 (depending on how you count Dinobot) Maximals and would only need Rhinox and Rattrap to complete the OG crew. The engineering for Tigatron is in place thanks to Cheetor, so we've got that possibility. Finally, they could change gears and throw a Predacon out there. I'd think Megatron or Waspinator first if I had to guess.

If it goes Maximal, I think they'll tackle Rattrap next. If Predacon, then I suspect Waspinator since I doubt they'll do a figure as large as Megs right after Dinobot.