Haslab Unicron

Discussion in 'Transformers News and Rumors' started by bearytrek, Jul 15, 2019.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. onnsake

    onnsake champ

    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2010
    Posts:
    2,969
    News Credits:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    262
    Likes:
    +6,638
    Yeah, I'm so confident in this thing succeeding, I've promised to eat a hat if it doesn't.

    I have zero stakes in this....I'm just tired of the whiners.

    Not sure what hat I'll eat if it fails though. I might have something old in my closet I can cover in barbecue sauce. I've never eaten clothing before. But I'm a man of my word.
     
    • Like Like x 7
  2. superman27344

    superman27344 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2018
    Posts:
    360
    Trophy Points:
    142
    Location:
    North Carolina
    Likes:
    +789
    Ebay:
    Facebook:
    YouTube (Legacy):
    Now I have to say, I really want to see someone eat a hat. I was just not in support of the figure, but if a person will actually eat a hat, a real hat, not a cake shaped like a hat, then I am rooting for it to fail just to see this. I dont know why, but I feel like watching someone eat a real hat would be entertainment that would last generations, lol.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  3. Rated X

    Rated X Banned

    Joined:
    Sep 13, 2011
    Posts:
    4,143
    Trophy Points:
    262
    Likes:
    +3,795
    Well the Grand Max free pretender drive fsilure kind of made it obvious that the number of "high end" collectors didnt even hit 3000. Peoples arguement seems to be "oh, but this is Unicron" ans I'm like so ? Some people legitimately cant afford it. Some people are just cheap. But in the end the number 329 million doesnt really mean much once you start subtracting such factors like age, gender, incarceration, homelessness, and other factors that are likely to make someone not a Transformers collector, let alone a high end Transformers collector. Were lucky that number hits 2000 in North America. Maybe if you start adding regular and fair weather collectors then you might hit the 10, 000 mark. Remember kids buy these things to play with too which I dont really count as collectors. Not to mention scalpers who buy at least 25% of the stock and lock it in their mothers basement. To Hasbro, a toy sold is a toy sold. They dont get this because they just go by numbers.
     
    • Like Like x 3
  4. Fenrys

    Fenrys Formerly Tigatron2002

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2002
    Posts:
    60,382
    News Credits:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    492
    Location:
    Virginia, United States
    Likes:
    +124,595
    grand max also had two things against it that made it a less attractive venture though. 1, it was a repaint and 2. it was a japanese exclusive character so a chunk of the fan base would be even less familiar with him
     
    • Like Like x 3
  5. Lex79

    Lex79 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 26, 2016
    Posts:
    4,625
    Trophy Points:
    222
    Location:
    Italy
    Likes:
    +5,723
    John D. Rockerduck will gladly lend you a bowler.

    Anyway, I really hope for your digestive apparatus that this gets funded.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  6. KRPH

    KRPH Combiner Collector

    Joined:
    Jul 30, 2019
    Posts:
    420
    Trophy Points:
    142
    Likes:
    +454
    Twitter:
    I don't even have the cash to give to them, and I just wish they cancel this as soon as they don't meet their quota.
     
  7. byk500

    byk500 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2015
    Posts:
    1,123
    Trophy Points:
    197
    Likes:
    +1,297
    I was thinking after August, a new thread must be created.
    I propose “bend the knee” “eat the crow”

    Or something along those lines. The good thing is it can go both ways
     
    • Like Like x 3
  8. Fenrys

    Fenrys Formerly Tigatron2002

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2002
    Posts:
    60,382
    News Credits:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    492
    Location:
    Virginia, United States
    Likes:
    +124,595
    i mean, thats kind of what happens if they dont meet the quota, but they still have till the 31st
     
    • Like Like x 2
  9. TFXProtector

    TFXProtector TFW2005 Supporter

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2011
    Posts:
    27,039
    News Credits:
    8
    Trophy Points:
    392
    Likes:
    +38,503
    I think is the biggest problem with all of this. The shareholders. Almost everyone on the board and pretty much all of the investors are in it for the money and don't actually realize what goes into the process and what actually makes the buyers/audience happy. They're incredibly disconnected.

    I do think this is part of the reason why 3rd party does so well in some areas. Like the Transform Element Optimus or the Magic Square Optimus versus Takara-Tomy's MP-44. 3rd parties really have no one to answer to, so they just go for it. Has/Tak have too many people sitting around with their hands out and they have to cut corners to make things fit a specific mold, so to speak. We, the collector/fan, suffer for it.

    It also doesn't help that they make the oddest choices for character selection at the worst times. People have been complaining of too many Optimus and Megatron pairings, yet we always get one. Siege was the first mainline series in a while to not give us a single Bumblebee, not even a hint of one. CW was another one, but then we found out he was coming in TR, so it was undone. Shareholders and questionable decisions are what's really holding Has/Tak back. But...shareholders are a necessary evil if we want anything because Hasbro can't operate on their own as-is. Last we heard, they were bleeding money and laying people off, so...yeah.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  10. kibble

    kibble Seeker style, yo!

    Joined:
    Aug 3, 2009
    Posts:
    14,250
    Trophy Points:
    312
    Likes:
    +5,125
    All the obsession over the supposed 19 lbs claim...I realize that's what they're feeding us so naturally people will react to it as gospel, but color me highly skeptical that it actually ends up being true... FT Omega Supreme, who is all about making their crap overly hefty, is 10 lbs. The KO of MP-10 that's slightly bigger than this Unicron and FULL of DIE-CAST comes in at 18 lbs... But yet you're telling me this guy is going to weigh 19 lbs WITHOUT the stand? Yeah...I'll believe it when I see it.
     
    • Like Like x 7
  11. Predaking1973

    Predaking1973 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2014
    Posts:
    592
    Trophy Points:
    172
    Likes:
    +414
    I think you're confusing "shareholders" with "executive board members." I own common shares of Hasbro stock so that makes me a "share holder" and I don't have any direct influence on the day to day functions of the company. Executive board members also do not have a direct impact or influence on the day to day decisions that are made by the rank and file execs and managers at Hasbro. The UNICRON figure was most likely a planned work for about 4 to 5 yrs. There are stages and levels that a project has to go through before it makes it to the "final" stage in any company public or privately run.
     
    • Like Like x 6
  12. autobotsrollout

    autobotsrollout Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2012
    Posts:
    1,599
    Trophy Points:
    232
    Likes:
    +3,336
    People are saying this can be used as an MP Unicron...... everyone knows that its actually in line with Siege because you can see the little pegs on him ...

    They are saying the Zeta MP Unicron is only going to be like 17-18 inches...at that point it would be silly to use theirs as MP unicron when you have a nice one from Haslab that's much bigger.

    Companies hold share holder meetings and I assure you... those with tons of stock.... get a say so when they actually care enough to give a say.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 16, 2019
    • Like Like x 2
  13. G.B. Blackrock

    G.B. Blackrock Autobot Ally

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2004
    Posts:
    8,701
    News Credits:
    11
    Trophy Points:
    337
    Likes:
    +8,983
    It's been a while since I directly owned shares in any specific company, but when I did, I'd regularly get to vote on various policies (usually new board members). I had votes in direct proportion to how many shares I owned. Thus, my influence was always minimal, but it's clear how those with significant numbers of shares would have a significant influence.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  14. Mobb One

    Mobb One Godmaster

    Joined:
    Jun 8, 2008
    Posts:
    2,962
    News Credits:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    312
    Location:
    Manhattan, NY
    Likes:
    +2,076
    That is also exactly the reason why 3rd parties (with no one to answer to, presumably, aside from the initial private investors) are the size that they are and many (save for the large few like Fanstoys and Keith's companies) exit operations within a few figures in. Meanwhile Hasbro exists as the current entity because of shareholders, the largest of whom you can be sure are very in touch with shopping trends and developments in the toy industry, which just translates to cost trends vs. buying trends of parents, compelled (or not) by the wants of their children. Wants of children...not collectors. Unicron is probably the first Transformers toy that Hasbro ever produced that is literally strictly only for collectors. Hasbro...not Takara. Meaning, Takara, who is so much more collector-oriented than Hasbro, can't even get around to producing a combiner in the longest running Transformers toyline in history (Masterpiece) whereas Hasbro swings for the fences in their first offering to the same market (the collector market).

    Takara can't afford/doesn't want to assume the risks involved with releasing an MP combiner. 3rd party is only relatively just now getting around to feeling comfortable with 20"+ figures like Gabriel and Constructor and the current crop of Superions and Menasors some 10 or so years after the release of Fansproject City Commander. But Hasbro goes for Unicron in their first like-minded attempt. Sure, it's engineered by Takara's expertise, but no way in hell would Takara ever do this on their own without Hasbro's assumption of the risks involved and their ability to propose a project like this because of their size as a publicly traded corporation.

    I'm just saying..."be careful what you wish for."
     
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2019
    • Like Like x 2
  15. KRPH

    KRPH Combiner Collector

    Joined:
    Jul 30, 2019
    Posts:
    420
    Trophy Points:
    142
    Likes:
    +454
    Twitter:
    And perhaps other elements coming from the other two chapters of WFC.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  16. geekatron prime

    geekatron prime The Grammar Police must be on strike.

    Joined:
    Aug 27, 2016
    Posts:
    6,251
    News Credits:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    282
    Location:
    New York
    Likes:
    +16,160
    Well finally got the money put together and became backer 2,596. :) 
     
    • Like Like x 13
  17. Predaking1973

    Predaking1973 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2014
    Posts:
    592
    Trophy Points:
    172
    Likes:
    +414
    Yes, there are quarterly shareholder meetings but I think you're overreacting to what actually goes on in those meetings. Hollywood has basically educated the general American public to think there are insidious secret backroom meetings where deals and wheels are spun at a large company like Hasbro. ABSOLUTELY FALSE!! I used to be a senior VP of sales and operations at the nation's largest medical waste hauling company and had to endure the quarterly investors call. All that is discussed on these calls are planned financials, quarterly gross sales, losses due to seen and unforseen circumstances, and what the organization will be or not be doing for the next quarter as well as the rest of the year. Key investors and representatives of key investment companies then have a certain amount of time to ask questions. That's pretty much it people... No backroom deals with uber rich old men smoking $500 cigars giving illuminati hand signals and nods of disapproval/approvals. That is all Hollywood garbarge that makes a great movie BUT that's not real life at a real publically traded US company that has the FTC breathing down their necks daily!
     
    • Like Like x 7
  18. Matty

    Matty @StayingInTheBox Veteran

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2009
    Posts:
    16,586
    News Credits:
    30
    Trophy Points:
    347
    Likes:
    +5,067
    Twitter:
    Instagram:
    Well said.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  19. Predaking1973

    Predaking1973 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2014
    Posts:
    592
    Trophy Points:
    172
    Likes:
    +414
    Wait, did you own common shares or corporate shares?? Those who own "common" shares DO NOT have decision making abilities of any kind. You only have the ability to control whether you buy or sell more or less of the common shares. Again, what type of shares did you own and how were you able to vote on key aspects of a publically traded company? By the way, individual citizens DO NOT have the ability or capability to own corporate shares unless you work for said organization directly. When I was a senior exec, I was given a set number of corporate shares and when I wanted to sell those shares I had to get corporate approval to sell them back to the company.

    When the average American sees or reads articles of Warren Buffet buying and selling off millions of shares of stock those are common shares bought off the public stock exchanges in NYC or Chicago. He has major influence at companies because his investment companies buy and sell millions of shares which then influence other large shareholders and investment firms to buy or sell too.
     
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2019
    • Like Like x 1
  20. superman27344

    superman27344 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2018
    Posts:
    360
    Trophy Points:
    142
    Location:
    North Carolina
    Likes:
    +789
    Ebay:
    Facebook:
    YouTube (Legacy):
    I am still not understanding why everyone harps on weight anyway. Yes it would make shipping cost more, but since when does weight equate to value automatically? Quickcrete comes in 80 pound bags and no one is paying out the ass for that, lol. I understand that people are trying to say that more weight means less hollow plastic areas but does that really matter? Will knowing that this thing is that heavy truly make it more enjoyable on the shelf as you gaze upon it? I dont even truly understand why people want die cast over plastic. Dont get me wrong, its cool to have the old g1 stuff and the nostalgia of the clunky metal parts, but I remember that the die cast parts lost paint very easily and it was also easy to break something right where the die cast and plastic met. I know I went off on a tangent there, but its just strange comparisons and arguments I see being made to justify the price of this figure and even others. I think in reality the only justification one needs is if they want it, they want it and if they dont want it, they dont want it.
     
    • Like Like x 5
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.