It probably depends on if they’re doing any conscious Autobot/Decepticon pattern. I don’t think either Grimmy or Soundwave need a license, so either slots in nicely as a larger release for a year, especially if they need repaints and/or they’ve blown their licensing budget on other characters perhaps?

Also, I guess if the Studio Series works out well, that may be where we see a lot of ‘86 focus since its never blown up in the MP line. I’m curious to see if it changes a lot as they wind down the Bay years. It could be a great way to do higher-end pieces that meet Hasbro’s price point needs without risking as much in MP.

 

Are you refering to these?

 

I don't think that would happen. They seem to not like to repeat themselves with accessories. MP-52's accessories are entirely different from MP-11's, for example.

 

Is this real from Takara themselves or...?

Also, I'm wondering if anyone could clear up whether or not Takara has acquired the Porsche license yet as of now? I'm aware that the recent SS86 jazz isn't officially licensed, but I'm curious if we could be seeing an MP Jazz in the very near future...?

 

No, it’s a fake from a few years back.

And we don’t know. Heck, we don’t even know for sure if SS86 Jazz is licensed or not.

 

Yes, that’s the one! I guess it is very different from the SS version...

 

Nope 3rd party designer posted these on facebook along with Blaster and Hoist back in 2016.

 

We don't know. Some claim that the license has been acquired some time ago (no proof), some expected or hoped SS Jazz would be licensed (and thus the MP would follow) but that's still unclear (but seems a bit unlikely), and some think Porsche will not grant the license for different reasons (either because of price, demands by Porsche or Porsche's contribution to the Nazi's and continuing German guilt over WW2).

The truth is, we don't know. Nobody knows save TT, and they won't come out and say either way (because it could hurt negotiations). The only way we will likely know is if a Transformers is revealed that's a licensed Porsche, but untill this happens nobody knows. This is why it's such a shame that due to pandemic the SS Jazz reveal wasn't at a convention. Because then fans would've asked if it was licensed and in either case we would've had an answer for the MP: yes, thus MP; no, and possibly hints about difficulty. (IIRC a former Hasbro employee did say it would never happen.)

 

Grimlock could costs less of than you think, if they pull out the electronic.

But MP44's accessories cannibalize the MP10 accessories.
And Grimlock is a pre-reboot masterpiece, when the line had not yet a precise direction. The blackboard of accessories is totally blank, to me.

 

I personally think the fact that SS Jazz is an approximation of a Porsche rather than an accurate representation of the car is a pretty bad sign.

I'm very certain it isn't licensed, as otherwise it would've definitely been called out in the item description. Something like "transforms into his iconic Porsche mode" rather than "transforms into race car mode".

Still not gonna give up hope for a licensed MP down the road though!

 

but by that same logic, MP-8 didn’t come with Wheelie, so a new Grimlock could



re. SS86 Jazz
I think it’s too close to the real car, that even if it isn’t officially licensed, it should still have been made with some kind of permission or authorisation from Porsche (is that kind of thing possible? Any reasons why not?)

Otherwise, what’s stopping them from making an MP Jazz that has a car that looks the same (apart from some kind of pride that they only want to release licensed cars?)?

 

I would say because they work with porshe with other stuff, no use straining a relationship over one figure......but SS Jazz is definitely close enough to recognize what car its supposed to be. Sideswipes have looked lambo-ish while never looking like the actual car, this is a different situation.

 

I'm not going to go further than them not refering to it as a Porsche and the clear differences (while ER Bumblebee is an accurate VW Beetle), does not make it likely that is is licensed. And thus if SS Jazz is an indication (and not saying that it is), then this would mean TT still haven't gotten the license to make a Porsche Transformer (even though they contacts with Porsche and release Porsche licensed toys -- again, the war toys argument and Porsche's history would then make sense).

I'm not a lawyer (thankfully, although the pay is good), but in the past @Enterlaw claimed to be one and he once said: if you can identify the car without doubt, it needs a license; and also that there was no difference between license and permission (in case of a heavily deformed car).

Then again, Has/TT have released so many figures in their main lines that were very clearly based on existing cars and sometimes very close to those, and they rarely needed a license. Parhaps this is the same situation as with 3rd party: close, but different enough. With the Abrams Star Trek movies there was talk that as long as it was 25% different they didn't need a license from CBS (the owners of ST after the Viacom split). And recently CBS lawyers claimed in a Star Trek Discovery court case that the writers copied the allowable amount. So there's definitely a rule in place that says it can be the same to a certain extend, as long as it's different enough.

But again, not a lawyer.

 

In the Universe/Generations line, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were modified Lamborghini Gallardos and unlicensed. If this Jazz turns out to be unlicensed, then they did the same thing here. Make it look very similar, but enough subtle differences to avoid licensing.

 

If they do a new MP Grimlock next year, and he comes with Wheelie, everybody will say "Ehh, they're just copying what SS86 did." And they'd be right. That is just copying what SS86 did.

 

So with Takara bringing the old school guys back for Raiden and Starscream, what have the regular team been working on.

 

Good question! If they keep bringing in guests they might as well have Hasui come in for Jazz and Bruticus.  

 

I'm wondering why we haven't seen a new BW MP reveal yet. Normally we get one around the latest figure release date. Makes me wonder if they've got everyone working on Raiden because the project requires 6 MP figures developed at the same time. At least I hope they are being developed together. There's an interview with Hasui about how they faced some difficulties due to the Studio Series Devastator releasing figures over 2 years. The price of plastic (and most likely factory wages) actually went up over that 2 year period and caused some negative changes to Overload. That's my understanding anyway. The issue with developing a combiner like that is if there are issues discovered later, they cannot go back and fix the figures already released. i think it's better to develop all the combiner members at once but that may not be possible.

 

I think because they stretched Starscream out,and is there any BW MP worth teasing out over the next 9 months? Add in Blackacrachnia and Tigatron haven't performed as well as earlier BW Mps. My hope was maybe December,instead of Wonderfest so they could most likely reveal something G1 and maybe a repaint or even tease TC or Skywarp.

 

Which one comes out first, Skywarp or Thundercracker? Where's your money folks?