Yeah, That's kind of where my brilliant idea crashed head-first into reality. You could 3D print some panels without too much trouble. Rings would be feasible but a lot trickier, given the size. I have a large 3D printer but even that would require multiple parts. It could be feasible though.

Of course, the reality is that I already have a custom Unicron Head from bot sculptor (which is bigger than a human head) I have a 300mm+ Cybertron planet-scape on order from the same customiser, I'll have Zeta's in robot mode standing atop of said Cybertron sculpt like in the movie and will have Hasbro's in planet mode hanging from the ceiling (if I can find a way to ensure it doesn't pull half the roof down) I really don't need ANOTHER giant robot Unicron. So I won't be doing that level of customization. But I'm sure someone will.

Yeah I know. But it would be an awesome selling point and a much better add-in than the half melted Galvatron figure. Of course, the fact that the above-mentioned Power of the Primes Optimus really only needed a couple of screws to be removed to make it work and they didn't bother to actually make it a function of the toy, highlights that Hasbro are oblivious to so many awesome opportunities.
At this point I'll settle for a couple more mini-figs (Maybe a Cyclonus and Scourge? or a battle-damaged Megatron and a half-reformatted Megalvatron with the purple grid-lines to show the full transition between characters) I actually don't expect anything new at all though.

 

Taking it off is easy. Getting it back on is the tricky part.

Yeah, after seeing how Zeta's Unicron transforms, I'm SUPER underwhelmed with the planet mode kibble. Granted, that one large plate with the opening teeth is cool, but not $600 cool. Zeta showed that you can make a Unicron fully transform into a sphere with ALL of the planet parts hidden in robot mode, and I can't imagine they have more than a fraction of the resources available to Takara-Tomy-Hasbro. I know there's a lot of work put into the surface details on the Haslab version, but that HUGE backpack and leg piles shatter it for me.

I honestly don't see them getting more than 7,000 backers, and my guess is that it'll be closer to 6,000. They'll undoubtedly get a couple hundred at NYCC and a few hundred from online retailers, but I don't know if it'll be enough to bump the count up to 8,000. We'll see, though. They have 27 days and around 2300 backers to go. Not counting those who cancel, of course...

 

They'll get more than a few hundred online orders. There are affiliates in multiple countries selling this, a number of the regular online retailers that sponsor this site are selling it, Takara are selling it to their local audience, probably Hasbro Asia in China and SE Asia?
I would guess somewhere up to 50 additional retail outlets have this available.
And if those 50 outlets only sell 20 each, that's another thousand.

I'm an Aussie and I know of at least 6 others on these boards alone who have ordered from our local affiliate. There's bound to be plenty more in Australia alone who have bought it and I don't know about.
I'm sure Takara alone will sell at least a couple of hundred.

I'm not saying it's a shoe-in to get legitimately funded, but there's a bunch of buyers we aren't seeing in the current total.

Plus, and this is the biggest point, we may never know. Hasbro are the only ones with access to the portal and the only ones who will know final sales and production figures. They could tell us they made 8000 and only make 5000 and how would we ever know?

 

Oh wait they do? Dang I'll probably cancel mine then. Not because of Zeta, that looks just as aggravating for different reasons. But because Zeta has shown the 3Ps are willing to take this on and someone will likely improve it. As another poster stated, I've commented on every one of Haslab's videos that they PLEASE indicate the possibility of removing all that leg garbage easily for display. Of course I wouldn't usually expect a reply from a manufacturer, but in THIS case they want my money BEFORE they build it so I think it warrants breaking a rule.

Anyway I still worry about how absurdly BIG he is and I look all over, I still don't know where I'd even put him. He doesn't have the universal charm that the Lego UCS Millennium Falcon has so I can't give up that spot on my living room mantle.

I have no doubt this will be seen as a direct cause-and-effect between 3rd party and Hasbro however, and wouldn't be surprised if it really ended up being the straw that breaks the IP camel's back...

 

Absolutely astute post.

The shell vs non shell aspect falls into a distinct question: do we (we as in the designers and engineers, not "we" as in us the collectors) care enough about the planet mode to make it a priority (as in, accuracy, detail, etc.)? Yes means compromises, while no means, by default, you prioritize robot mode. It's obvious which company chose which.

Warden said they couldn't figure out how to store the plates internally without having cosmos proportions. Zeta proved that you can do it and still have a relatively perfect sphere. But now that I've watched both videos side by side...it's pretty clear that Warden meant they couldn't figure out how to integrate the shells without compromising on the planet size of approx. 15.7" in diameter (excluding rings). I have no idea how they came up with the diameter needing to be that size but you could tell from zeta's video that integrated transformation means a compressed planet mode. It's hard to tell, but I'd say the zeta planet mode has perhaps a 9 to 10 inch diameter (for relative size, an NBA basketball is approximately 9.5 inches, on average). Now if you consider Hasbro's unicron, despite the larger robot size the planet mode still maintains a smaller "loss of volume" vs zeta's because the shells have allowed for some degree of compensation when you compress a vertical object into a sphere.

That is why warden said they couldn't figure out how to do it...they wanted to maintain the planet at a certain diameter relative to the robot height in order to preserve the planet mode's size...which again is an effort to be movie accurate since the movie actually does the opposite physics: the planet mode is considerably larger than the robot mode.

This means that Hasbro conscientiously wanted this to be a display piece accurate to the source material in ways they identified that has an overall basic transformation schema, vs. a figure prioritizing robot mode that does not strive to imitate any sort of "mass shifting" and lets the altmode scale fall according to the transformation. Both approaches have been used by Hasbro and 3rd party to endless degrees.

What people are ridiculing Hasbro of is their inability to merge both of the above concepts in their design of the largest transformer in canon. And that is quite unfair.

And before anyway calls me an apologist... this is the first year in 7 years that I've spent more money on HasTak than 3rd party (due to mp44, and unicron if it goes through).

 

The haslab counter has gone down by 4 from a few days ago and yahoos are acting like its hundreds of cancellations.

Now that the 3rd party is life snobs are campaigning for people to go to zeta and make haslab fail...... might be a good time for haslab to come up with an exclusive deluxe or voyager figure ..something that wont be sold anywhere else.... even if its just a repaint of titans return hot rod into pointblank (something easy for them to do) would be nice to steal the thunder away from zeta.

dont get me wrong.. i've already preordered zeta's figure on show z ....... but to hell with the people campaigning for the official transformer company to fail..

 

all you people talking about removing his shell to display planet mode separately... he’s not a freakin egg that hatches a baby unicron lmfao. he’s supposed to be a solid planet that TURNS into a robot.

i understand how this is a more attractive option to maximize your display options and to justify the $600 tag, but after watching the zeta transformation video, it made me think twice about backing this guy (and i was about to purchase two, so i’m not trying to hate here) and how i almost gave up my main focus in what i’d want in a transformer in place of sheer size.

watching the zeta engineering gave me a sense of satisfaction that i immediately recognized was missing after i saw hasbro’s transformation - i wanted something more involved, but that’s just me. also, i mentioned this before, but little details like the lack of fully articulated fingers that can splay on a figure this size while it’s pretty standard in smaller 3p figures is inexcusable.

i also mentioned in the zeta thread that i believe they’re catered to different audiences:

hasbro: playability, durability, planet accuracy, and sheer size over complexity. also probably why this is marketed under “war for cybertron” instead of “masterpiece”

zeta: kibble-free bot mode and integrated planet bits at the expense of planet mode accuracy (arm transformation sequence, fugly planet mouth teeth)

i’m cautiously waiting for final zeta reviews, but its engineering really intrigues me. as for hasbro... seeing how this seems like the start of the unicron wars, i hope someday hastak steps up with a more intricate “masterpiece” unicron that suits my collection needs, but i do hope this guy gets funded so that those of you that’re looking forward to this project can get to enjoy him.

who knows, i may have fomo the night before and end up ordering him after all  

 

I agree with the majority of this, but I just don't see Haslab Unicron as being very playable. I remember reading about how all of the city bots had additional bots and the Big Millennium Falcon had an escape pod to add playability to large toys, since large toys are fairly hard to manipulate. Haslab Unicron does have an impressive size, and his planet mode is super accurate, but the playability is largely limited to his opening maw. Between his weight and the huge backpack, he probably realistically needs the large stand to stay upright, whereas the smaller Zeta figure can be posed and balanced and manipulated much easier. Plus, Zeta has all of those little inside detail easter eggs like the monitors and the immune system claws and just neat little extras that make me want to see what all they did with the toy. Granted, the WFC Unicron has a lot of detailing, but it's WFC detailing that's just sort of there.

Hasbro is definitely going for the shock-and-awe centerpiece figure, and that works for a lot of people, but that's not my particular cup of tea. If I'm going to buy a transformer, I want to be able to fiddle with it.

 

yea i agree with that. i was more referring to the integration of random 5mm pegs, the articulated planet mouth, and the detachable and damaged head, but yea there aren’t a many “hidden chambers” as zeta.

i don’t doubt hasbro’s claim in his ability to stand and pose without a stand, and my “playability” claim is also referring to how it’s easier to transform him from one mode to another due to the simpler transformation. the lack of a bunch of smaller panels mean that he should be easier to pose without small panels becoming undone. i can see his transformation being more enjoyable to those that actually want to “play” with the figure, whereas zeta’s complicated engineering will make it a chore for some, requiring those like us that actually have the patience to appreciate the sequence and willing to allocate a longer amount of time to transform him.

 

One thing people are forgetting that the Zeta robot mode bits are planet surfaces so you might end up with a very mismatching colored planet.

 

I'll have to keep an eye on that. It has been moving really really slow from what I have been observing. I think it only had 40 people sign up over the week, where it used to be that almost daily

DISCLAIMER: These are just my observation from checking ever so often. The above statement should not be taken as fact, there is no scientific basis

 

as of right now its lost 5 from 3 days ago. its moving in the wrong direction but its not some monumental movement against the haslab unicron ..

 

I'm shocked. Oh man. Wow. I guess some people are going with Zeta or have other priorities.

 

Yeah but it not being funded by the original date was already one humiliation for Hasbro, them having any net loss is a second. This is counting any new orders they got being outweighed by the ones they lost.

 

I just don't see it happening. 2400 backers at this stage seems like an impossible ask.

It was never about the time of the campaign, IMO. It's about the cost and the product being released that reflects the lack of backers.

 

After seeing these posts about Zeta Unicron, I decided to check out the 3rd party thread about it only to find discussions about Nazis and swastikas.

 

 

why are people ignoring hasbro's numbers are not the only numbers to account for?
there are 3rd parties like BBTS, EB, etc.......
speculating on hasbro's numbers only is kind of dumb at this point. we have no idea what the other parties' numbers are and considering the payment process with them, chances are they are probably high. i doubt there are few of us that want this figure. afterall, 8000 is not a lot when you think about just the US and Canada alone. plus, this is a one and done figure.

let the backlash begin.

 

i have no doubt even with the zeta unicron this will get funded ! as @goldenboy1on1 states the online stores ect are still to throw their pre order numbers in the pot which i bet will push it to above what they need

 

apparently 8000 is a lot though, because of their $575+ asking price - otherwise this figure would've been funded already.

if this campaign fails, the #1 reason will be because of the exorbitant price. secondary reasons would then include the massive size (which i personally like, but others have said is too big for them), lame/lazy transformation engineering (as proven by Zeta's effort), and inaccurate robot mode (the figure only looks good from the front - from the sides and back he looks like crap, and also you need to completely ignore the lower legs, haha!). but mostly it's the ridiculous price...

(this figure being a "one and done" doesn't make the price any easier to swallow. and i'm saying this as someone who typically prioritizes Hasbro over 3P versions, and would still like to have this figure.)

 

So what you're saying is you're tarring the whole thread and everyone in it with the same brush?

That's.....odd.