There's also Ultra Magnus, but he's yet another A-list Autobot leader. And there's also Ratbat, Exosuit Witwicky, & Firebolt, but they can be seen as glorified pack-in accessories. Seasons 1 & 2 have definitely been the focus for G1 so far.

Yeah, I'm absolutely okay if they never get around to doing much of anything with the 'Masters (Head, Target, Power, Micro, or Action for that matter, and Pretenders too for good measure).

I know some people will always, for one reason or another, prefer the brick & mortar hunt, but I gave up on that so long ago now (with just a few exceptions) I can't remember for sure when exactly it was that I made the switch to getting nearly everything online. I think I started getting some things online around 2000-2001, by about 2005 it was most things via online, and the last 10 years or so have been nearly exclusively online purchases. This was partly because it's easier and faster, and partly because, like you said, so much wasted effort. Scalpers, employee indifference, lack of understanding, and puzzling distribution all made it very easy to make the switch.

The TRU situation is a sad one, but honestly, it changed nothing for me personally in getting any figures, TFs or otherwise. With the exception of a few TRU exclusive Marvel Legends figures, I hadn't bought anything from a TRU (physical or online) in the last 15 years or so.

I'm not too fussed with how they may or may not handle future NA Hasbro MP releases, since I'm just gonna keep sticking with TT Japan/Hasbro Asia preorders.

 

I tend to put Ultra Magnus in the pre-Transformers category. It's more well-defined than "A-lister," which gets a lot of open interpretations.

 

I much prefer the way Japan handled headmaster's. Much more logical, if I can use that word here, lol

 

Going back to Dinobot's interview, there are some interesting things that pertain to what's been discussed here lately:

TakaraTomy Masterpiece Dinobot

(A) I considered it a moment, then I added more expression with different face pieces. The squinting and wide-eyed faces gave the figure more emotion and expressiveness. With the added base, the accessories are more elaborate and extensive than before. Although most of the accessories were decided early on, we added the base during development. After all, it's really two action figures, so I wanted to display it dynamically in both modes.In order to support a character this big, the base needed to be large. This is what led me to design the power base display stand. Because of its modular design we can add to it with future releases, with any character hypothetically able to connect together by the stand. As the name suggests, it's designed after the idea of the connecting bases in Diaclone. It is possible to connect vertically and horizontally, and the patterns on it also connect with each other. Objects that were plot devices, such as the Golden Disks, are also included, as this was an important object for this character from the first episode, not just for Megatron who will show up later. This is for the twenty-something fans today who are younger than the fans of G1. Beast Wars was released at the perfect time for their age range, something I appreciate.

(Q) I'm so glad to see Dinobot get the Masterpiece treatment, but what about the Predacons?

(A) I agree. Regarding the "Masterpiece" Beast Wars, my first goal was Dinobot and my second was Megatron, so I would like to reach that milestone as well. As an aside for these two characters, Dinobot is actually supposedly to be bigger than Megatron. However, those statistics were exclusive to the Japanese side of Beast Wars, and if you look at the cartoon Megatron is clearly bigger. It's the official size, which is why it's on the packaging, but it's not necessarily the height in the cartoon. So any future Masterpiece Beats Megatron would be closer to the height seen in the animation.

(Q) Can you tell else more about the future of the Masterpiece line?

(A) The original plan for Masterpiece was to make all of the original Autobot cars from Transformers, however it's more challenging to actually produce than it seems on paper.

 

I imagine the only Pred that could be bigger than Megatron is Rampage. I mean mayybbbeee Inferno but that would be it beyond Megatrons other forms. Interesting read though that they are strict to the show for scale.

 

Yeah they're basically saying that the heights listed on the packaging don't actually mean anything.

The most interesting thing from this interview for me reading it now is the difficulties of actually completing the Autobot cars that they mention (which is probably licensing issues, but maybe also lack-of-appeal of certain minibots?).

Also interesting how they very explicitly state that they're aiming for the now twenty-something crowd of BW fans (realistically including 30-somethings too).

 

How old is that interview? A year? Interesting as being just turned 31 that's pretty close to the mark. The marketing and design team def has a pulse on the fandoms desires.

And yeah it's nice to at least confirm there desires to finish the cars. Wish they had the same urgency with the Decepticons

 

I think this makes perfect sense, re: target consumers. I was saying this just the other day, that fans of the original 84 are realistically a market that’s going to start to dwindle in the next decade for a host of reasons. Them looking at how to get the line to expand with Beast Wars is smart, and again, a clear reason why they’d have pivoted to it from the movie cast.

 

If they made Headmasters and Targetmasters in Masterpiece quality Takara Tomy would have my money .

 

I'm turning 30 this year and BW was my bread and butter - it's definitely a planned strategy. That said, with regard to them following the cartoon, since it was mentioned, Inferno would be around Dinobot size, maybe a little bit smaller, while by contrast Rampage is considerably bigger - Transmetal Megatron is usually seen as slightly bigger if not the same size as his original body, and Rampage is one of the largest characters in the show. The only ones who supersede him in the show are Depth Charge (technically matched but more mass due to the "wings"), Tigerhawk, Transmetal 2 Megatron, and biggest of all, Optimal Optimus. I definitely think that after Blackarachnia, we'll either get another Maximal like Rattrap or Rhinox, and then following that, we'll get a potentially less popular Predacon - someone like Terrorsaur, who still has a following but not as unpopular as Scorponok.

I'd love for them to prove me wrong and roll out Inferno right away, though - he's one of my favorite characters in all of Transformers, and would be a visually striking and unique toy out of everything on an MP BW shelf, since there's almost zero red characters in the show.

 

Sure... that does make perfect sense though right? As fandoms 'come of age' and move into the 'adult collectors' market it make perfect sense for TT to consider catering for them. I'm actually in the G1 age group (born 1978) but for Transformers Fans 10-20 years younger than me (I work with one actually) Beast Wars was their jumping on point. If anything this gives RID or Armada fans a slither of hope they may find their needs catered for by the MP line in say 5-10 years time. I find that super encouraging as the MP line has at times felt a bit stagnant for me.

Once again it's a sort of "Well duh" situation, I'm sure there are a heap of considerations that go into deciding which characters the tackle and which they don't. It's not as simple as we've done A so it must follow that we do B. We've seen this time after time. Thats why I find all this talk of "finishing' particular groups so pie in the sky.

 

Honestly, once they finish the main maximal (Ratrap and Rhinox) and get Megatron and Black Arachbia out, theres only a few more I'd be crazy interested in.

I'd love to see Tarantulas, I think hes probably a no brainer for a future MP. I think Waspinator is similar too.

I wouldn't be shocked if we dont get Terrosaur or Scorponok. Tho I'm sure we will get some 3P substitutes

 

Yup absolutely makes sense. I’m just highlighting that it reinforces a point I made a few pages back:

As much as I’d love less popular G1 characters, I can’t deny other generations of fans ultimate versions of their Optimus + Megatron + A-listers. And in fact, just like MP-41 did, it may very well turn me onto these ‘newer’ cartoons.

That said, if TT separate their customer base by age group then no doubt they’ll continue G1 for a good while. I wonder what cut-off age they think people stop collecting. Need to look into those TT survey pages again.

 

I do think that G1, the cast from the first 3 years in particular, has more legs than any other era, however. Those first 3 years have informed either directly or as inspiration every single thing that followed to such an extent that you can’t have following successful periods that have lasted well like Beast Wars or U3 without G1, and that extends the relevance of the period. Also, it helps that Hasbro and Takara keep going back to it as the basis of the franchise.

While I do think that the generation of fans of G1 that the Sunbow part of the G1 line serves will slowly taper off, I also think it’s conceivable that if this line survives for 20 years, we could see a new version of the G1 continuity cycle back in eventually, similar to the more current IDW/Seige versions of the characters because that’s what kids today are seeing.

 

Yeah I have pretty much all of my a listers or will by June with Dinobot. My top 3 at least. G1 megs BW megs and BW dinobot. In a perfect world TT will continue on the BW tradition after season 1 and give us Rampage and TM2 Dinobot. Then I'm in heaven.

 

I figured you'd put him into that group.   Still, since he has the "show" transformation scheme as opposed to the "figure/Diaclone" scheme, I kinda feel he doesn't quite fit there so well. And Magnus was the intended Matrix-recipient, not what's-his-face. If that don't make you A-list, nothing will!  

I take that as possibly meaning engineering challenges. Which I think could easily be a problem with some of the remaining characters, like Mirage, Trailbreaker & Hoist, pretty much any Minibot, etc.

 

Yeah sure, if kids now are still getting versions of Optimus, Ironhide, Megatron, Shockwave etc then they still have the option of returning to that original cartoon, to see where it all began, and then being turned onto MPs. Especially if they are introduced to the MP line through their show. Since it's the original show, it's possible that multiple generations have always returned to it. Still, I'm not sure how many come in that way. How many BW fans were introduced to the MP line by that, and are now buying other G1 MPs?

So one day we might get Masterpiece versions of Siege releases? Sure why not  

I'm pretty much the same for G1. Got my three favourite Autobots - Optimus, Ironhide and Bumblebee, and two of them are getting remade into even better versions for my tastes. Would love a Jazz and Mirage, maybe God Ginrai, and then everyone else is really icing on the cake. Once we get a new Starscream every other Decepticon after Megatron and Shockwave is just a bonus to me too.

I wonder how many other people feel the same about the G1 line? I know everyone has their favourite characters, but I imagine for a lot of folks that one or more of their favourite characters has already been made.

I dunno, after the magic they seem to have pulled off with Dinobot, and what they've achieved with Prime (no vehicle parts showing in robot mode), I think they'd be able to manage alright with these other designs. Maybe you're right, maybe I'm overestimating them, but I don't think I am  

 

Oh no, now I'm getting predictable!  

Where would you fit Ironhide and Ratchet, who are also very much "show" and not "figure/Diaclone" scheme?

 

Dinobot , and Megatron are the 2 that really blow my mind when it comes to the transformations . I think ( as of right now ) those are Takaras real shining moments . Those 2 seem to be the absolute hardest IMO , to really nail down well , and they knocked them out of the park . Optimus has tons of room to hide stuff . It was only a matter of time before they figured it out . How you hide stuff in a Walter P-38 though?! As for Dinobot , they couldn’t even use his CGI transformation to go by ! So hats off to them for all the work they put into those guys .

 

FUCKING WHAT?????