True but they could make the gimmicks non-intrusive so that they have the gimmick their for those that want to use it with unicron but have it also be so that those who don't have unicron can enjoy the figure on its own.

 

Eh...I don’t think most consumers would know or necessarily care about a $575 figure and whether or not what they see on store shelves goes with it. Average consumers who buy the desert skiff at retail don’t necessarily know or care that the sail barge was being presold/crowdfunded over a year before. While I certainly hope we get some fun tie-in mass-retail releases there are no guarantees. Only hopes and speculation. I too want to believe there will be additional figures and releases. Given the release date, it will tie in with the third chapter of the WFC trilogy. We will see.

As for more extras, there are no certainties that Hasbro has shown all their cards. A month ago we saw the poster art. This week we saw the speed drawing video. It is entirely possible the poster will be included. Wishful thinking, perhaps. The only time we will know exactly if anything else will be included or not is when the campaign comes to an end.

 

Well, I exaggerate... "line designed around him..." but if there aren't Legends-scale or Micromaster versions of the '86 Movie characters on sale around Unicron's release, even I will admit Hasbro has dropped the ball. Such a subline would appeal to kids, adults, both owners and non-owners of Unicron... and can be marketed whether Unicron himself exists or not. There'll just be that extra dimension of play if he does.

I'm more specifically talking about extra figures or ships, stuff that would take time to design and test, and the extras I think most people mean when they say "extras." Marcelo could've drawn the poster in a couple of days, if he took his time. That's not hard to throw in at the last minute.

 

I know this is a little off topic, but I just finally got around to opening the Siege Jetfire, and I have to say, I'm a little worried about the quality of Unicron. Don't get me wrong, Jetfire looks decent enough, but the quality of the plastics used has me concerned that some of the panels of Unicron, specifically the "shell" pieces around the legs, will be made with a similar "rubbery" plastic. I guess for an $80 figure, I was expecting a solid feeling figure that felt sturdy and durable in hand.
Is anyone else concerned that the lighter, softer plastic will be utilized on Unicron? For a nearly $600 figure, I would really like to know that it's a solid figure without flimsy parts.

 

I feel it’s basically gambling. You’re betting $600 that Hasbro delivers a prefect robot. And based on my last 2 Hasbro purchases (SS BLackout missing a panel piece right out of the box and SS Leader Prime with his unpainted windshields) those are some long odds.

 

Certainly, Hasbro doesn't have a body of work behind them which would lead us to believe that this will be exemplary. I don't expect to see die cast in the figure or metallic ratchets, but at the same time I'm a transform once and display on a shelf kind of guy. I do hope that there is a paint application on it.

 

He’s also 19lbs. They aren’t making him out of paper

 

Absolutely not off topic, and I think concern for QC issues is a fairly large reason why some people are hesitant to jump in.

The possibility of QC issues has been brought up, but people fixated on the idea of "breakage" QC, akin to Trypticon or "durability".

But I'd also be worried about design flaws. There have been numerous Transformers, in all classes and types, from cheap legends to Masterpiece level, that just have stupid design issues that ruin an other wise good toy. Pegs that are too big/small to fit snugly in their hole, transformation schemes that have massive clearance issues, panels that don't align, transformations that involve too much stress on a joint, transformations that can't hold together. Transformation steps that need so much force or flex that you worry you're going to break a piece by doing it.

PotP Swoops legs in beast and limb modes is a good example. So is TR Blitzwings leg assemblies. MP-44's weird double knees possibly (correct me if I'm wrong, haven't been keeping up there to know if the knee's were actually properly communicated IN THE INSTRUCTIONS).

Issues that designers SHOULD have seen and either didn't or ignored.

Sometimes, in production figures, running changes can fix these issues, but this couldn't be the case in Unicron.

Sometimes, the issue can be fixed by the user with small mods or larger scale fixes that involve taking things apart. This definitely SHOULDN'T be the case in Unicron.

These issues are why I've generally shied away from buying larger/expensive figures straight away these day, instead waiting on reviews to see if the figure has design flaws.

 

So how much longer until this is over and we can have an answer one way or the other?

 

My guess is late on October 6, potentially early morning October 7. I don’t think this will reach 8000 backers before everything is added (etailers and affiliates). At that point, we will probably know whether this hit 8000 or, if it didn’t, whether Hasbro will still produce it anyway. I have seen the “jokes” about another extension but think that is very unlikely.

Edit: In the event that they add up everything earlier and feel confident announcing 8000 backers or that they will make it anyway, it could also be announced during NYCC.

 

I rewatched the Q&A youtube video and some of the quotes were "beautiful engineering", "best version of Unicron", "focus of our figure... wanted to create the most accurate Unicron", "wanted to perfect that conversion". I understand that pulling these quotes out of context can be misleading, but I think the gist of the conversation was that they feel really confident in Kuniharo and his designs. With so much spotlight and publicity and this being a flagship piece, I'm certainly hoping that Hasbro knocks it out of the ball park.

 

I certainly don't want to get roasted or create a flame war, but I found a certain Youtube reviewers discussion to be very discussion worthy. To his defense, BSF qualified his statements as speculative and unverifiable, but there was a sliver of conspiracy that Hasbro is influencing etailers to buy more. I say sliver, because this is no different from any big box retailer discussing business with companies. But I agree, I think its 8000 or bust on Oct 6th.

 

I’ve seen it, he was articulate and compelling. If they had to stretch the affiliates to get the 1500, I don’t think we will see much more (if any) from those channels.

I don’t believe that 1500 number included etailers based other sources here (including direct responses from etailers). If etailers are being asked to carry a heavier load, I think we’ll hear about that outside of BSF. As with everything else, we’ll see.

 

Emphasis on "if", I don't think anyone's provided evidence.

 

Hasbro's gonna look silly designing a toyline around a product that only 6,000 people plan to buy anyway. The last-ever Botcon made 1450 sets of the main figures, so Unicron is like what? Four Botcons?

 

I can see another 800 to 1000 e-retailer preorders and another 200 to 300 regular individual preorders with this. From the numbers that keep fluctuating, I don\'t see them making the 8000 number they were hoping for.  But I can see Hasbro saying F-it and just produce what number of orders they get though.  I think Hasbro put all their eggs in one basket and all that Zeta toy incident with them kind of affected people\'s perception of Hasbro too.  I think in about a week we will more than likely know one way or the other how well this campaign is going.  I can also see Hasbro throwing out one last bone to try an entice more people to buy their creation.  Hopefully it doesn\'t look so last minute like the Galvatron pvc figure.  

 

I opened Jetfire weeks ago and he was awesome....... I just opened omega supreme and he's awesome. plastic feels as plastic should....

The only thing with unicron I'm worried about is the soft plastic spikes straps pieces ... heat might warp them in shipping and we'll have to get out hair dryers and put them back right ourselves. but its nothing damning. of course im just assuming they will be soft plastic... it just looks like parts that hasbro would do soft plastic with...

 

It's not so different from when they designed Titans Return around Scorponok being the Titan, only for Trypticon to win the poll. It seems a bit off in hindsight, but it turned out fine. I think Unicron's absence from the 2021 toyline will be more glaring, but we'll weather it. If anything is obvious right now, it's that Hasbro expected WAY more fans to be supportive of a $600 30" Unicron. Hopefully now they know we're all bark and no bite.

 

Reason for divorce? He brought two to display in both modes and a third one to attempt to customise it into Primus/Cybertron.