Without knowing how the toy collecting community feels regarding the BAF gimmick, I was curious why Hasbro hasn't jumped on the bandwagon for TFs. Is it because there's still more to a TF figure than just ball joints and mushroom pegs (hinges, pins, etc.)?
But looking at the way the Siege figures are put together I can see it working. You can have the main core of the body (chest, shoulders, waist and upper thighs) all be one piece, you can then have the limbs (elbow/forearms/fists and lower thigh/knee/shins/feet) be the other pieces and finally the head (connected via ball peg or on a panel that snaps on a via friction pin).
The main reason I thought of the BAF for TFs was as an idea to offer the ultimate BAF: Unicron.
Taking Siege as an example again, you could have had every figure across the entire Trilogy contribute a piece to build a mammoth figure as big or bigger than Fort Max and Metroplex. Sure, they could just release a complete Unicron, price it at $250-$300 and see how it sells.
Maybe Unicron is too hard to pull off considering the size of his head alone would be as big as a basketball lol. Maybe break him up and sell the pieces separately (head, torso/shoulders/hips/thighs, arms/fists and lower legs/feet) IDK just throwing ideas out there.
But for a basic BAF I think it can work, for those repaints/retools and/or 3rd tier/cult favorites. Or if Hasbro really wants you to buy a complete wave they could offer a brand new character. Again, just throwing out ideas.

 

No BAFs.

They work for Marvel Legends because MLs are mostly humanoid figures- you only need so many body molds, and can just switch up smaller things like heads and accessories. That way when it's time to make a new BAF, there are plenty of potential characters that are simple headswaps or even just redecos to cut the cost of individual figures and put wave budget towards the BAF.

Aside from the obvious Datsuns and Seekers and the like, most Transformers are unique in terms of their bodies. Unless you want the toys to be severely simplified, or a CW-style repaint-fest, there's no way to just wedge an entire extra figure into an existing wave budget. Better to just save whatever the BAF would be as a standard release for the next wave.

Besides, most ML BAFs are 6 or 7 pieces. Deluxe TF waves only have 3 or 4 characters, so BAFs wouldn't even work unless you suggest also splitting the pieces into the Voyagers or Leaders which might ease the cost issue but would be a nightmare price-wise and in terms of being able to find all the damn things.

This all coming from someone who doesn't mind and even appreciates the BAF system for Marvel Legends. It just won't work for Transformers.

 

The Gestalts are basically BAFs.

 

There's that as well.

Plus, if Titans and combiner boxsets barely even sell at full price, I don't see Hasbro forcing us to pay even more across a bunch of figures just to get one that could retail for $250 as OP says.

 

Yeah, if anything, either they have to make sacrifices to make something like a deluxe-sized figure... or they the Build-A-Figure something like... something small to make that work. Heck, Arms Micron is sorta like an build an-figure too come to think of it. Well, more in the sense it came with an miniature kit, an sprue tree containing parts to build the micron/minicon. Though it led with some of the figures lacking accessories as an trade-off, Though most of those molds got "retooled" so they could have more 5mm ports, though that is kinda not the best example, considering it isn't really the traditional BAF set-up. It was also Japan-exclusive, though it gave me an idea.

 

And we all know fans hate the small BAFs anyways... thankfully Hasbro moved away from the likes of Puck and Hit Monkey.

 

Transmutate was a BAF

 

I’ve never liked the idea of a Build-a-fig. If you want a BAF in any given wave, you’re essentially forced to buy figures you might not want otherwise. I fear that if they included BAFs with Transformers, either prices would go up again (which no one wants), or quality would go down (another thing no one wants), unless they increase the budget for BAF waves.

Also, they tried it once with Transmutate in the Beast Wars 10th Anniversary series. I don’t know how popular it was at the time, but considering the obscurity of the character and the hideousness of the design, I can’t imagine it had much appeal to anyone outside the hardcore Beast Wars fan demographic.

 

Put me down for "No" on the B-A-Fs. I don't like them in MLs and don't really want them in Tfs either. I don't want to be forced to buy an entire wave of figures just to get the BAF parts especially when I might have little to no interest in the other figures. I know there's ebay but don't really want to resort to paying a possible mark up for just the BAF parts. Then there is the BS thing of people stealing the BAF part by switch 'n return or out right taking the part.

Then from a cost and accessory point of view, I'd be afraid accessories or some other aspect of the figure would be sacrificed in favor of BAF and to keep costs at the same level.

I'd rather they take the BAF and release the whole figure on it's own. Wouldn't mind this for ML. I'd gladly pay $30 or so for a larger ML scale line of figures instead of the BAF.

 

I think BAFs could work if the part was a weapon.

 

This is the correct answer.

 

I'd take a weaponize split across a wave. Make this how deluxe seige bumbleebee happens.

 

No BAF in TF. This topic/thread has been done a million times before and the outcome is the same: Everyone finally says no. It's a terrible idea to begin with, disastrous in terms of Transformers. Utter garbage at that point, really.

Combiners are the best case scenario and even then we seem to be fortunate enough to receive a boxset of them in the end. BAF is something that needs to DIE. Besides, with Selects and Pulse exclusives, Hasbro can find a place for out of place figures. Using ridiculous gimmicks and expensive "subscription" systems is a great way to turn off a fanbase.

We should consider ourselves blessed that we DON'T have to do what the poor, unfortunate Marvel Legends collectors. Good grief, no.

 

See, I went in thinking something like the GIJoe Steel Brigade figure (which I owned) where you created a background and it was YOU as a Joe. If they had something along the lines of remolds/repaints you could order in short supply, say a green version of the Universe Prowl mold, I'd hit that shit like it was my job.


But since the OP is referencing that terrible idea where they rook you into buying a shit figure you don't want to get a shin that you need for another figure? Nope, not at all.

 

As someone who doesn't purchase Marvel Legends I have to ask, do the releases that have the BAF cost more?

As for having to purchase figures you don't want, pretty sure that's the strategy for the BAF, you have to ask yourself if the BAF it is worth it to you to chase all the parts.

 

For Legends, usually there will be at least one figure in each wave that doesn't have a BAF part, and they cost the same amount as the figures that come with parts ($20). Multipacks are also usually valued at $20 times the number of figures in the set.

And yeah, I get that that's the strategy, I'm just not a huge fan of the business model. With Marvel Legends, they do a lot of obscure comic characters alongside movie characters in each wave. So if, for example, you only collect movie figures, and the BAF is a movie figure, you have to buy the comic characters (or track down the BAF parts on their own online). It's just a bit of a hassle.

 

They can do it more often because of the multiple use for the body mold, that is true, but TFs are guilty of mold sharing as we very well know. While the number of shared molds are limited that's really all that is needed. I mean, just with Siege alone were going to have 4 uses for the Prowl and Starscream molds each and were barely a couple waves in. And those are just the repaints. So Hasbro can easily make a random seeker as a BAF.

I don't remember where I referenced the Nike+ idea of customizing sneakers and adapting the idea to TFs via the Hasbro Pulse shop. You have a few molds to choose from and you have around 10-15 color options to customize your "one of" figure, but at a slight premium (instead of $20 for a deluxe perhaps $45, etc)

 

BAF are an artificial way to force marvel fans to buy figures they would have ignored if not.

Why would we want that ? Why are there people asking for this ? There's no benefit for us, the customers.

 

No

 

No