This is where the fun begins.

I'm all in for Studio Series becoming a "Black Series" line that gives us screen-accurate figures from across all generations of Transformers. Modern figures of Generation 2, Car Robots, Animated, etc. would be glorious (although it would honestly be hard to top the original Animated figures in terms of quality; those were some of the best-designed figures ever).

BUT, I also hope Hasbro keeps creating new Transformers concepts and content as well, instead of just regurgitating the past like a giant corporate ouroboros that only grows by eating its own tail. (I have no idea if that metaphor makes sense.) We never would have gotten Beast Wars or Bayverse or Animated or Prime if the creators hadn't been willing to make something new and different. Heck, even G1 was a new creation once, hard as that is to imagine now!  Variety and creativity and new ideas are never a bad thing.

Of course, there are exceptions...

...BURN IT WITH FIRE!

 

I don't know why there's so much arguing here. Just because they start making 1986 movie figures it doesn't mean that the SS line will go full G1. There are just so many characters they can use from the film while there are a way more from the Bayverse.

 

If it’s any consolation, I’m 22 years old and I feel old and crotchety everyday.

 

I'm not one of those people, though. I know there's still life in it, but not as much as people wish there was. The way you worded it was this:

There aren't "plenty" there are a good bit more than a few, but plenty isn't the word I'd use. It'll be repaint central at that point. Some background characters don't deserve a toy, some of them don't even transform. The fact we got an in-scale Brains and Wheelie is mystifying to me. (I love it, don't get me wrong, but I'm mystified.) Protoform Starscream and Optimus are proof that just because you can make a figure, doesn't mean you should. Some of the Decepticon drones are utterly pointless as toys. The Dreads are pretty cool because of figures like Hatchet, but until they make those (aside from the reuse of the molds they've been wringing of every penny they can...) I don't think any of us have any room to talk about what's coming and what isn't. It's clear that Has/Tak are just going randomly as they go along... They could prolong the lifespan with awful "life support" or they could kill it off tomorrow. I normally wouldn't say that, but Hasbro's done things in the past with figures and waves that just make my jaw drop when I look back on it all.

If the line lasts "forever" so be it. If it doesn't, also, so be it.

This, pretty much.

Exactly. Too many people are worried about that and we have ZERO reason to be so worried. Seriously. It's honoring ONE movie, on its 35th anniversary. It's padding to extend the line and work on the "actual" SS molds while we're given these. It'll be Bay/Knightverse 'round the clock in the blink of an eye. Good grief, while it makes sense, I'm angry at Has/Tak for doing this. So much strife and back and forth for toys.

 

Not necessarily. Just using Spidey as in example I can name at least 6 different continuities from the last 10 years. In terms of design and tone they are largely distinct. But what's important is that they pretty much ALL got solid toys. The same can not be said for TF. Itd been G1, movie or nothing for a while at least since prime ended. Not counting the NuRid or Cyberverse because those are not really collector type toys.

 

And odds are if it breaks out of the Bay films, it'll start pulling in other continuities as well.

Very similar to RED.

 

I don't mind repaints, if the toy is good enough. And considering the movieverse uses lots of repurposed character models, there is technically canon precedent.

Also, are you trying to tell me that having an army-buildable line of Decepticon drone soldiers that transform into those sick gunships wouldn't be the bees knees?

There's so many things they could hypothetically do to extend the lifespan of Studio Series. Genericons that turn into random vehicles to fill out the DOTM troops, toys based on unused concept art, rehashings of the incredible non-screen toys of toylines past, Seekers... I could go on and on. This isn't to even get into the thought of cost of production VS sales risk/benefits, just purely from a "we need characters to make toys of" angle.

 

1.) Yes, canon precedent exists. *nods*

2.) Oh, I'd buy them, but they're not making them and now I wish they were. Bees would be jealous cuz they'd be walkin' like House.

3.) Oh, like I said, they'll probably stretch it out on life support. Whether or not it's the sensible thing to do still remains to be seen.

 

Glad we could reach a mutual agreement on the matter  

My ideas of course are purely speculative. But it's fun to dream of what could be. And hey, I'm not in the company, so I can't really say anything to the decisions of who gets a figure and who does not. I approach it from a fangirl perspective, not a toy company employee one. It's easy to say what I would do if I was in charge of these decisions, but I'm not privy to the reality of the job, the limitations of what can and can't be produced realistically.

It's probably just the best idea from a marketing standpoint to expand Studio Series to encompass all of the movies, not just the Bayverse. To which I say, if it keeps the line alive, bring it on!

 

That would be neat if they made a mold out of those, especially with an alt mode that take the appearance of the decepticon protoforms. And maybe serve as a weaponizer.

Also a Studio Series Longarm and "Recon Arcee sisters" based on the motorcycle that Lennox uses in the first movie would be rather sweet to see.

I would love to see them tackling the movie game-exclusive stuff. Like ROTF Game Warpath would be awesome to see in toy form. Heck, it be neat to see a Movie equivalent of that Selects Centurion Weaponizer pack, like have a Voyager-priced figure multi-pack with multiple movie props and weapons. Imagine them releasing something like DOTM Darksteel out of Studio Series Sideswipe which came with a box full of those accessories. Heck i think that be a neat way to include Alternative heads.

 

I like the way you think!  

Warpath for sure, I'd love to see new takes on the drones from the first game too. Oh, and the DOTM Aerialbots!

 

It's on tfw2005.

 

Im a fan of g1 yes i admit it, born in 1985 i turned 35 a few years ago got into transformers due to heavy metal war and starscreams ghost. ill admit i have had a bit of a love hate relationship with the bay movies. i liked sam, hated the designs (up until aoe but the next film went straight back to the generic insectoid robots), loved the military guys, hated the cringe humour, loved the action, hated that the story was about the humans. for me the transformers were the main characters and were just essentially a rag tag bunch of military guys in armour, heck thats why i was happy to have bay in the first place as the characterisation style in armageddon would have been perfect, harry as optimus aj as bumblebee, bear as ironhide, rockhound as ratchet, jazz as lev heck you could have has col sharp as ultra magnus it would have been beautiful!

I thought that the bumblebee movie should have been the bridge between the two fandoms the perfect compromise of the knights in armour designs with a bayverse spin combined with a decent story ...it never happened. I thought maybe siege barricade was a perfect example of where hasbro should take the brand inclusive of everything under the evergreen style...but everyone ignored him or complained he was too g1.

as a uk fan dealing with hasbro uk's terrible distribution i have a different perspective on the chug line than a few of you. i have collected it since the original classics and every time it gets a reboot I see one or two waves in my local stores and then i have to search speciality stores and online the second a movie or nurid/cyberverse appears. studio series is filling shelves in 5 stores 2.4 miles away but earthrise is limited to two stores around 9 miles away.

personally though i want the studio series to continue as i think its fantastic you guys are getting that stuff (if the make a legends version of the xbox former i might pick it up ) im just happy that this news means i might be able to save money (minimum wage is a terrible thing for a geek) and not have to pay triple to go to stores which add a premium on top of the standard price just to have a complete decent collection of the original cartoon (i was using the original classics cliffjumper for years till his new one came out so im rather picky).

 

Hahahahaha, okay, I just need to clean up the drink I spat out laughing at this. The reality in front of me is that THERE'S G1 EVERYWHERE AND IT'S SELLING REALLY WELL EVERYWHERE. The reality in front of me is that Hasbro has tried some different things, and pivots away from those when they don't work - most recent case in point were the absolutely rubbish initial Cyberverse toys, which they've improved on immensely on the next run.


So here's a fun fact that's actually true - Hasbro has occasionally made the odd Beast Wars figure inside the Generations line - Rat-trap, Rhinox, Waspinator, etc, as well as the occasional Armada or Beast Machines update.

If these had sold INCREDIBLY WELL, then logically, they would make more. A lot more. They'd infer from those sales that there was a strong desire from the fans to make more. You would have to be a complete idiot to not realise that Hasbro would keep stacks of sales data relating to what they make to help inform the direction they take the company.

Ebay is also a good indicator of what figures actually sold well, based on aftermarket prices - most of those classics Beast Wars updates can still be had for a reasonable markup.


And a few angry fans commenting over and over and over and over about how what 'all the fans' want doesn't actually mathematically equal 'all the fans'.

People are much more likely to take the time to come on to message boards and comment about what they're angry about, than what they're happy about. So just because 9 / 10 posts says 'we need more Beast Wars', it DOESN'T mean that 9 / 10 fans think we need more Beast Wars. Worse, when it's actually just the same person posting 9 times. All of this is OPINION and not FACT. You need to learn the difference or you're just going to keep getting disappointed.

And that's just Beast Wars, which is a highly regarded transformers show. RID, Armada etc....those do not have the same pull, I'm afraid. They are niche as hell. Get over it.


I'd personally love to see a whole line of Beast Wars updates - if they were done well I'd buy every single one - but you'd have to be crazy to think Hasbro is going to make that happen on the basis of a small number angry neckbeards demanding it.

 

I actually agree with all of this. As someone who used to like but doesn't care about the movies anymore, (I still like AoE but I acknowledge how stupid it is) I only collect the toys for the sake of good toys, and I've been a big G1 fan - some of my favorite characters are G1 bots (Hound, Bluestreak, Aerialbots, Hot Rod...) - and collected CHUG even during Siege, but I'm also a huge fan of Beast Wars, Armada, Cybertron, and Animated, so I can unbiasedly say that most of the arguing in this thread is some Bayverse fans who are already predispositioned to hate specifically G1 and its fans because in the Bayverse's beginning the loudest complaints were "it isn't G1" and blame G1 fans for Bayverse' bad reputation and death, (which it brought on itself) rejecting G1 characters in the toyline that will certainly be Bayformers' last hoorah, (somewhat understandable, I absolutely can't see the Bay aesthetic ever coming back after SS) even though it's in celebration of the 35th anniversary of the Transformers' iconic cinematic debut featuring characters beloved and unforgotten to this day.

But I can still relate a little bit, indirectly; as a fan of many parts of Transformers that aren't G1 or Bayverse, Generations has still had a track record of giving other eras the shaft and half-assing most of the homages they do. That combined with Siege being 97% G1 and Earthrise being 100% G1, and leaning even more into slavish cartoon accuracy not dissimilar to the modern MP line, G1 characters in the Studio Series line is easy to interpret as Hasbro saying "All that does not become G1 shall become Void..." but the rumors of WFC part 3 focusing on Beast Wars for its 25th anniversary are telling me that it's just entitled paranoia and even if there is some G1 bias at Hasbro, they have two huge anniversaries to celebrate and can't fit it all into one line.

 

You, and people who agree, have got to stop this. It's not just this board. If you're not happy with the board, find another option. I mean, you can almost set your watch to this kind of post...

I've been to worse internet places, you have no idea what '99/00 was like...

 

I was making a joke at the expense of the board, it wasn't a serious complaint.

Which makes this response amusingly ironic.

 

No, it doesn’t. It’d be ironic if he were made of iron.

 

Okay Brickwall

 

I don't think the end of Studio Series will be the compete obliteration of Bayverse that some fear/hope it will be.

The Bayverse aesthetic, more specifically the extreme examples of it, i.e. "character literally made of vaguely defined shards / metal man with no vehicle kibble" are probably done for. I also doubt we're going to see many robots that resemble, Skids, Mudflap, Wheelie, or Brains.

However, I think some of the more popular concepts and visuals from it will reappear in the near future. Like for example, Long-nose truck Optimus with energon swords, muscle-car Bumblebee with an arm cannon, Silver Sideswipe with swords, Pick-up Truck Ironhide, Truck Megatron, F-22 Starscream, Barricade, and Blackout. I could also see Crosshairs making a comeback, because he has decent name value and there is a bizarre lack of green Autobot cars.

Also Hasbro would be really dumb to not try and capitalize on the 20th anniversary of TF2007 in some way. Generations-ified toys of the 13 robot cast perhaps?
Maybe Fancy Studio Series re-releases?