I’ve been thinking about this “ hybrid” word TT has used to describe Skids and have found a few things while inspecting the line drawing. As @Liampope said, (paraphrasing) this drawing is too specifically detailed NOT to be the final product. I agree. I’ve circled in:
Red (parts inspired only by Toon)
Blue (parts inspired only by the Toy)
Green (parts common during the Shogo Hasui era)
Everything else are common parts shared between them all. The Red parts are the Toon looking head and half rounded cylindrical knees. The Blue parts are the unmistakable Toy looking shoulder configuration. The Green parts are the Hasui era hands, that are on mushroom pegs like MP Sideswipe or the Datsun Bros were. The current hands are either non-removable or pinned like Sunstreaker, Hound, Prime v3, Bumble V2, even Arcee. Also the way the back takes a 90 degree turn and clips onto the body seems to be more of a Hasui era approach. Like how the Datsun Bros or Sideswipe’s back looks. Wouldn’t current MPs fold it 180 degrees and try to compress the back for a compact look? The overall greeble texture of the surface is also be considered Hasui era stuff. So if you took the head and knees from the toon, the shoulders from the toy and mix it up and you get a Hasui era figure because that was his philosophy from the start. Taking inspiration from the parts of the character we remember the most about and make that now. Hasui=hybrid. Of course, I’m ready to be wrong when we learn more.

 

Is the BW line not selling particularly well? I know that older MPs, like Cheetor aren't available through Amazon Japan anymore and have gone up in price on the outlets that still have them in the states, and that multiple figures like Dinobot, Optimus Primal, and Megatron command significant prices on the secondary. It is true that, except for Cheetor, they haven't been able to justify a repaint that makes sense though. I just hadn't heard anything about the line selling poorly compared to G1 bots. I was hoping that with the anniversary this would be a big year for Beast Wars MPs.

 

His broad shoulders with long arms are also from Hasui era

 

It sells well enough, but they could probably use one of those spots for something that sells better.

 

Like Skids?  

 

He just might 
I'm sure there are fans of the Honda turbo that will pick this up, like Lambo guy picking up a Sunstreaker

 

It has such a toy look, I would rather it had the toy head.

 

Thats super disappointing to hear. Can you share the sales data? I'm curious how they fared compared to G1 line, and haven't seen anything except FY reports which don't brake down toy line sales by individual figure.

 

More like Tigatron is still up at amazon jp at 50% 3 months after release. With the exception of Primal and maybe Dinobot it's still pretty easy to pick up a unused or used copy.

 

The wrists are Hasui, but the hands themselves are toon/modern. They have individually articulated index fingers, and they have the more rounded style of fingers (not like Hasui's blockier style)

But yeah as you said pretty much everything else should be shaded in green of the whole body.

 

I didn’t look at the hands too closely as well but you’re right, they are smoother.

It’s almost as though his furthest points are the most cartoon like. But if you travel along you see more of the hybrid quality. Which is a good way to go about it imo. You see the most obvious details and he’ll match the modern collection at a glance.

 

With the idea that Skids might be pioneering a new Hybrid-style Masterpiece "sub-line", who else do we think might follow his footsteps? I'm kinda wondering if maybe that's where they slot in the Raiden they teased, since he was quite toy-accurate when he appeared in Headmasters, and a more simplified design base for the individual robots keeps the full set costs down, plus allows for more stable components (less parts to worry about).

But other than that, where else could they go? Would they really dip into, say, the Omnibots? Other late/Japanese G1 that stayed fairly toy-accurate?

 

Bumper

 

The Omnibots I could definitely see being made as a similar type of release.

 

Bumper and Omnibots are defiantly good candidates for something like this, Deluxe Insecticons anyone?

 

Absolutely, and they would be fabulous to see.

 

Not sure where the rights to the Deluxe Insecticons lie, because the toys were licensed from another company in the 80s. Not sure if it's something that HasTak can get in trouble for, or not. Although they did do a semi-accurate version of Chop Shop, as Megatron's partner for those Legends "Targetmaster" two-packs. Although maybe the figure's smallness could help them escape legal issues.

 

True, I actually think the Deluxe insecticons are another gobots situation where the designs are owned by Bandai. But as you pointed out, they have done two semi-accurate Chop Shops. Maybe they would have to spice up the designs a bit to make them different?

 

I was thinking the Dinobots, particularly in altmode. The toy has a lot more robotic detail than the toon.

 

Constructicons. A real cartoon-accurate Devastator really wouldn't even be possible, much less desirable. He will definitely have a good amount of toy detailing added in.

Plus they're in-show characters. I'm side-eyeing all you guys suggesting Takara will suddenly go off the rails into toy-only characters.