I wonder if Takomy would show a better profit on the BT's if they went the Alt route of being all plastic instead of diecast. I have to believe that if the the toys were cheaper to make they could sell them for less and that they would sell better in Japan.

Yeah it would piss a few fans off, but if the trade off is no more toys, then I think most of them would suck it up for the sake of the line.

 

You mean Smokescreen #7. Hasbro did release #8.

 

I think Hasbro will push Takomy hard if they are considering ending their precious money making line.

It's not going anywhere yet, though may slow down while corporate restructuring takes place at TakaraTomy

 

I believe it was asked some time ago, and the response was that the lack of die-cast isn't really a cost issue, since the metal used is so common and cheap. It has more to do with weight.

 

I think he was actually thinking of Smokescreen #1/2, the retool.

 

Damn you for catching my error!!!  

 

I also think it is actually cheaper to make molds for metal that plastic. Plastic however is cheaper to aquire. The metal just weighs more.

 

Hasbro aren't going to let go of Alternators.

Aside from the income generated in the partnership betwen Hasbro and Takara, Tomy are probably also interested in their Japanese only toys being markted in the west.This might mean more Zoids, it might mean something else... so for their part, they're not going to antagonise Hasbro.

At the Hasbro end of things, Transformers aren't going to change much.

As for Binaltech...... if the line is left as it is or not, depends on if it's deemed to be making enough money.

If it's not enough,the push will probably be for a toy with a lower retail price... the most expedient solution to that would be Alternators in Binaltech packaging.

 

I'd be sad if they discontinue Binaltech/Alternator but it'll save me whole bunch of money and besides we still have those Fakernators to collect. Dunno about rest of you but I like what I've seen from their website and can't wait to get ahold of them, just don't know where I can buy them exactly.

 

collectablekingdom.com had the first two anyway........ can't vouch for their reliability.

 

Good. I don't have to worry about buying Swerve.

 

Doesn't anyone else remember the nigh identical collection of threads we had about two months ago?

Takara haven't announced a reissue for a while. Maybe the reissues are cancelled! OMG! NO MORE REISSUES! Well, obviously they sold badly. They must have done! The line has been cancelled!

Oh, wait. They've just announced Blaster.

Exactly the same thing here. The release schedule is a bit bumpy because of the merger and getting the ordering systems working together. This is happening to pretty much all of Takara's lines. And a few weeks from now we'll get new stuff announced, and all these paranoia threads will seem pretty daft.

Phazer