I could kinda see the argument about them interacting with competitors, however if the bottom line is money at the end of the day I am pretty sure that would win out. There hasn't really been an update to what the situation is currently about these licenses and I wonder what is up with them currently.

It would be nice to remove or definitely prove some of the near mythic circumstances behind these licenses. I include Cliffjumper and Mirage in this as well, as I'm sure other folks do too.

 

No my friend, Raiden is not a Headmaster

Ok, he appeared in that show, but he is a combiner with trains as members and the members are traditional Transformers  

 

Damn, I want a better angle of that pic of Hound’s and Wheeljack’s alt modes to get a better look at how Hound scales with the other cars. He doesn’t look as big as FansToys Willis did in alt mode, but I’d still like to get a better view.

 

You guys are speeding past the very real possibility that Takara doesn't consider the Stunticons important enough to get MPs in the first place. I personally remain about 85% sure that non-A-list, non-Diaclone-era-mold characters just aren't going to get made for this line. I know it's an unpopular position, but, well...

 

Ahhh, ok.
I'm only very slightly familiar with the Headmaster version.
If these are just regular Transformers, I'd be down for that.
Having had a Father who bought and sold Lionel and HO scale trains, it would spark some happy childhood memories.

 

A-list alone, no but a porshe, ferrari, lambo, terel and evil convoy probably has more than enough cache as they finish the diaclones off. Some people would pick it up because its a Transformer,some because its a giant robot combiner and some would pick it up just for those 4 licensed cars. Them branching out to the car show is most likely a sign there are still plenty of licensed cars they want/plan to do.

 

I don't think the Stunticons are anywhere near A-listers...BUT they are sexy cars, so they'd definitely fit the bill with what the MP line has been fond of doing to date. If there were no such thing as licensing challenges, I think they'd probably be TT's most desired and likely combiner. That said, I don't know how desirable any MP combiner is to TT, nor do I think the Stunticons will EVER happen even if TT wanted to do them for the reasons I've already stated.

I don't think MP licensing offers enough profit to these companies to really move the needle. If it's something that appeals to them, great, free money and exposure! Win/win. But if it doesn't appeal to them, I don't think it offers the kind of money that most of them would compromise their values over.

 

But not necessarily for the Masterpiece line.

I tend to agree. I don't really know what the motivation is for the car companies to make these kinds of deals. I can't believe it's a large amount of money, nothing close to how much they make selling cars, and as for exposure... does a person buying a licensed replica of a car translate into that person later buying the actual car? I doubt it.

 

3 toyotas,2 porshes,a honda,a trans am, and whatever Mirage is are the last of the licensed vehicles, Im guessing. Huffer and Gears most likely wont need licenses. Besides redos and naybe a RID car they'll find some other licensed bots somewhere.

 

the stunticons were originally programemd to be part of the diaclone jizai gattai line ...

 

Technicality. Jizai Gattai was cancelled. Intentions mean nothing. Only what actually happened.

 

Totally agree. Every mould in the line so far has been either leader/A-list characters so popular they can support redecos of themselves, or a mould from multiple characters can be made - and they’ve all been from the first three years of the show (actually, with the exception of Ultra Magnus, Hot Rod / Rodimus, Ratbat and Star Saber - who was market-tested before release - all the moulds are from the first two seasons).

Also, when they’ve been cars, they’ve been licenced.

Go through the entire list of MPs released so far. There’s not a single exception. (Well, alright, technically at the moment Nightstalker is, but we all know Steeljaw will be made from him some day).

They’re also yet to do anything with more than two modes. My suspicion is that they are reluctant to make a vehicle mode that isn’t a perfect replica of the real thing - which eg a tank with a cockpit in the middle of it would not be. But that’s only my best guess (also the engineering would be insanely complex and I suspect would result in so many seams everywhere the thing would look awful).

And with the exception of Bumblebee, they’re yet to do minibots. My suspicion - although the only evidence I have for this is the interview Hausi did when he was discussing the first Bumblebee they did (MP-22) - is that they aren’t sure about what size to do them. Hausi said they endlessly debated whether to Bumblebee’s alt mode should be roughly in scale with the other Autobot cars, even though that would mean he would be a taller robot, or whether they should reduce his size (which is what they did in the end). But while it’s one thing to do that with a Beetle, are they going to do that with a full-size truck cab? I just get the feeling they won’t.

So, if all this continues into the future, it doesn’t actually leave too many left. By my count:

Leaders

Galvatron (who is iconic enough to support a toy-colours repaint)

Multicharacter moulds

Skids/Crosscut
Blaster/Twincast
Eject/Rewind
Trailbreaker/Hoist

I'll leave the door open for, possibly the original three Insecticons and their clones (Shot Hole, Salvo and Zaptrap), but personally I can't see it - I think the moulds would be too expensive to make for the profit margin. Again, with the exception of Bumblebee, we've not really seen any MPs at that mid-size point, and I think there's a reason for that.

Jazz and Stepper would obviously be on the above list if they didn’t have the licencing problems, but they do so they're not.

...Aaaaaaaand that’s pretty much it I’m afraid.

It just bears repeating. The only Masterpiece moulds made so far are either for A-listers/leaders iconic enough to sell though repaints of themselves (Prime, Megatron, Grimlock, Hot Rod, Shockwave) or for multiple character use (everyone else). And - worth adding - they haven’t gone down the Chug route of crowbarring old characters into another character’s mould (current example - Grand Slam from the Flywheels mould).

Someone like Mirage is not only mired in licencing problems, he also doesn't have a repaint character. I mean, I know he was red in a gift set at some point, so they could make up a character from that in an Exhaust style, but I can't see it.

Basically, if we’re to get any new moulds other than the five mentioned above - Galvatron; Skut; Blastcast; Ejwind; Troist - TT will be changing their entire approach to the line so far.

Now, that’s not to say they won’t do that. The line has taken some diversions before - moving to a consistent robot mode scale; bringing in Beast Wars; the more cartoon style etc. But I think it's far more likely that the line will head off more into the direction of Beast Wars, and then major characters from yet other lines (Energon or whatever) as they will ultimately be far more likely to make money than ticking off every last character from Season 2.

(I’d love nothing more than to be wrong - my own fantasy MPs would include Runabout, Searchlight and Slapdash, all of whom I’m going to say won’t happen because there’s no repaint options for them).

 

I'm not saying 'exposure' necessarily translates to that person buying that car later in life...and even if it did, by that point there's no profit in it for the car company as it's a used car. I'm looking at it more from a stance of 'look how relevant our brand is...we have toys being made after us!' But keep this in mind...TT is paying THEM for that! As minimal as any gain may or may not be, it costs the car company nothing. On the contrary, they receive direct, upfront money for it. Like I said, if the idea appeals to them, it's a win/win for THEM...not a win/win as in both the car co. and TT win (not saying TT doesn't win, but that wasn't my point)...but rather the car company gets paid to have their name put out there more. Better than free advertising! Even if it only resulted in one additional car being sold...you were paid on top of selling that one additional car! The 'exposure' part is to keep the notion that the brand appealing and desirable.

 

Haven't made a good post here in a while, so I'll step up to play just a bit here  

I tend to agree, sadly. While I REALLY want to see TakaraTomy fill this line out, the longer we go on, the less I see of it. Add to the fact that we've now got Beast Ear stuff thrown in the mix, and the focus of the line has at least shifted somewhat.

 

I believe more minibots will be done eventually, but maybe not all. Brawn, Cliffjumper, and Windcharger seem most likely.

I believe Jazz and Mirage are high enough priorities that TT are always trying to get them done.

I believe Galvatron, Arcee, and Wheelie will get done. Maybe Perceptor. The other big name S3s are doubtful.

Skids and Hoist/Trailbreaker are going to get done, there should be no question there.

I think Chromedome and Convoys without an armored super form are likely, super form Convoys unlikely, and anyone else post S3 very unlikely.

I think the main trio of Insecticons will get done, simply because of how big those three insects are among boys, and adults with nostalgia (thank you Kamen Rider).

I think one triple changer (either Blitzwing or Astrotrain) will get done, essentially as a trial run. For one reason, just to see if they can and make it look good, and for another to see if fans will accept the high price a triple changer is going to require. Past that seems unlikely but not impossible.

I have always thought, and will continue to think that anyone who expects MP combiners is fooling themselves. I don't think the other Dinobots or Reflector will happen.

 

Don't forget Blaster. Seems an odd choice to do Steeljaw and not his boss.

Reflector I wouldn't rule out either.

 

I question this. I think it's a possibility...I wouldn't be shocked by it, but I definitely think it's less than a 50/50 chance.

Trailbreaker and Hoist I think are more likely than not to happen, but I no longer think they're locks. Biggest reason is I don't know if TT finds it a better bet to just redo their A and B list characters over C-listers with lackluster alt modes. Or in Skids case, a Z-lister with a lame alt mode. Is the bottom of the list Z or F? I dunno...

 

Heeeeeey long time no post, how goes the speculation?

 

Hasbro and takara killed Masterpiece movie series in cold blood.