SS Jolt got me thinking about this. He's been consistently using an old concept art design for years and years, then finally he gets his proper on-screen look. Which is great, especially since no clear shot of Jolt's face even existed until now, but it'd have been neat to have the old version as an option given how it was *the* look for so long.

Wouldn't work for everyone, but things like Mutant Masks or the early G1 toys that got heavily redesigned for the cartoon. Stuff that's often already included in the molds....

 

I could see it maybe for certain characters if a changing face feature is a part of their character like Optimus Prime having either plated or unplated faces in certain mythos. But for other characters to have alternate heads based on just different expressions, then I would have to pass.

 

G1 toy accurate heads would be incredible.

 

I would love to see this as a more common practice. Like the battle mask accessory with Studio Series VW Bumblebee. I would have loved to got accessories like that for characters like Animated Bumblebee or Prowl.

In the 3P scene, Iron Factory includes alternate head sculpts with some of their releases. Their Megatron and Scourge figures include numerous alternate parts to create various display options.

That’s what I love about alternate head sculpts, they provide different display options which is a big interest to me.

 

Just for expressions? No.

But... for figures who have multiple takes of their irigal sculpt? Yes. By that I mean dark helmet Megatron. Marvel Blaster. Gold faced bumblebee.

 

Nah, I don't know why consensus these days seems to be adding random flotsam and jetsam and meaningless "features" at the expense of actually creative and well-designed toys is the way to go. With how tiny the figures are these days, the faces would be so easy to lose and damage and so hard to put on, and the effect would be barely noticeable.

 

I mean. They can't even get the normal faces right.
I wouldn't want alternate faces for SS Kup and Blurr or Kingdom Cyclonus. Unless the alternate faces actually look like the characters.

 

I would prefer a single good head/face, for the reasons many people above me have already stated.

However, I would prefer multiple head/faces over getting a Skywarp & Dirge who are permanently screaming at all times.

 

I don't know if they're still doing it but at one time a few years ago hasbro was designing the heads for the repaint at the same time as the rest of the toy and included it in the molds and then just recycled the unused part. It wouldn't cost that much to paint it and include it, especially if it's the same character and same paint colors.

 

I like crazy faces…most people seem to not to…so I’d love to see some alt heads every now and then.

 

I'm pretty sure that any alt heads or alt hands would spend most of their life in a plastic bag in the accessory junk drawer. The first time around I might play with it a little bit but once its on the shelf its hard to imagine digging around to get out an "Angry" face to swap it and put it back on the shelf.

So for mainstream, I'd rather the budget go into accessories or filler pieces.
Totally support it (almost expect it) for Masterpiece level figures though.

I guess this is less about the full line - but it would be great for things like Yellow Eye Optimus Prime where fans would love it or Chromedome / Brainstorm where their US and Japanese heads were totally different.

 

Considering alternate heads/faces were a common inclusion in TF toy mold designs since at least the mid 2000s (a most recent example being the 'toy head' used on Blackarachnia's "Worlds Collide" Peg Bundy recolor), I'm almost surprised formalized alternates included in the box aren't occasionally used.

 

If it's for Masterpiece then yes.
If it's for Leader / below for retail, then no. The gimmick, for me IMO, is that they transform from alt to bot and vice versa. Giving them alt hand/face/accesories will most likely just raise their price and/or sacrificing something else.

For things like alt hand/face/accessories, I'd rather we go for things like R.E.D, or revoltech kind of line, aka the not transformable one.

 

Only in instances where it makes sense. Blaster for example… Sunbow, Marvel, Toy, IDW.

 

I agree with what has been said about alternate faces taking away budget from things that more dramatically improve the toy. For example, it feels like we get less paint on figures these days as a cost saving measure, and I'd hate to see paint become even more sparse to save budget for an alternate face that I'd likely never used.

Also, to pick on the 'Marvel legends does it' idea, Studio Series Hot Rod comes to mind. It's probably the closest thing we've seen in non-MP Transformers to the "Marvel Legends" style of product release, where he comes with a bunch of situationally useful accessories to round out the character. It's a good figure, but those accessories (and the engineering) clearly came at a cost, given that how small the figure is for the price point. I would not like to see more characters get this treatment, gaining some neat accessories at the cost of size or other aspects.

 

Definitely. Many times I'd prefer a toy accurate head to some of the accessories we do get. I'd also love to see an improved hand system. Even if it meant some parts forming.

Probably in the minority on that, but mainline hands aren't great. With the exception of Rodimus, his hands are admittedly impressive imo.

 

I remember they used to do that with GI Joe back in the day. Packets with several extra guns and backpacks. Usually molded in different colored plastic than the originals.

I'm hopeful that 3D printers and scanners will become simplified enough for me to consider in the next few years. I'd happily take the onus off Hasbro if I could sculpt it, scan it, print it myself.

 

I would not give Hasbro any new ideas when they are still struggling with giving us proper paint jobs...; like hello? why is the rectangle on Earthrise Optimus Prime's crotch not painted?

 

I think it'd be good when a character has two+ established head designs on what is essentially the same body. If a character has two substantially-different whole-body designs/colors, then you might as well make a whole redeco/remold in addition to the face.
I also think it'd be fine to make toys with more easily detachable heads/faces just to allow alternate heads/faces more easily in the future (such as an accessory pack, or even fan creations).

 

I don't think adding a swappable faceplate to contemporary figures is a good idea, especially since parts-wise that could be easy to lose (and, if you're a kid like me, you like having your Transformer being able to carry all of their own stuff instead of putting stuff aside in a plastic sandwich bag).

I'm fine with alternate heads for alternate mold usage.