I said something similar recently about bomber Megatron, it only needs the rough head sculpt and the name. The rest is just making it look cool! Indeed, in a recent thread I suggested using the Dinobots as a starting point for Beast Wars or vice versa parlaying. As you're getting at, recognisable is the key whether child or overgrown child!
This may be the UT brat in me, but I'd love to see one of the anime series get adapted first for no other reason than test the waters for a committed non-G1 line, then move into the more radical departures like BW. Or have the Beasties get their own line while Generations leaves G1 and moves onto Ut, with a big crossover in the form of RiD 01, with Generations handling the autobots and Beast Series handling the predacons.
Yeah, it is basically about managing the 'risk' to both Hasbro and fan base. And I mean that's all any property really is these days: TMNT? MOTU? Thundercats? Needs old and new fans to stand it's best chance of surviving. That's what recent She-Ra is all about, and why there's gonna be two MOTU cartoons. The last 'cats cartoon was a full-on ongoing tale to try and hold interest, a risk in itself! If you want to go wider Toy Story has enough humour/action for adults AND kids, and that's true of Star Wars, all the Marvel properties, Dreamworks... Stuff generally works better with a couple of combined demographics. As a slightly random aside, Mattel nearly went under because of Star Wars. Kids were polled, they liked futuristic wars in space and barbarians (that I can't fathom... Conan?!). The end result was a billion dollar toyline in 1980s money where sci-fi met loin cloths that hasn't really been successful since! Companies will play it safe until time and shareholders demand otherwise!
SO what I'm hearing is the collectors gotta shift from toys to stock and leverage Hasbro into making what they want?
This is $20. A glorified one step. The plastic is terrible, the paint is horrendous, and look at the fixed head. No knees and a stupid gimmick. If this is the future of the $20 price point, then Transformers is finished. Hasbro thinks consumers are too stupid to see that they put a discount store toy in a large box and asked $20 for it because the box is big. Check out the waste in that package. I'm not really into eco-shaming, but this is crazy. Honestly Hasbro should be paying people to take this crap instead of parting with hard earned cash. Giving this to a kid is cruel and unusual punishment. Whoever green-lit this needs to be fired. Of course the retailers are also to blame, pushing for higher margins. I put a landed price from Vietnam around $3.10 and a wholesale of $7.50 for $20 retail.
Can Bumblebee just turn into something that looks a bit like a VW beetle? Not licenced, not another ugly Golf lookalike and definitely not another fucking muscle car. It’s becoming more impossible with each new show to actually see Hotshot because BB has literally just become the same character.
The first Ultra Class looks even worse... But yeah, when a shocking, floppy 'deluxe' Megs is $20 in a box two thirds too big and alongside that thing, it's safe to assume Hasbro are intent on ripping you off completely. My guess is the profit margins are so high on just a box of those things that they won't even care if a few boxes don't sell. And Christ, how much are they making on the lower class toys?
I forget which thread, but I saw some people suggesting releasing Beast Wars characters under the names of G1 characters they have vague things in common with and I absolutely hate the thought of that. characters aren’t renamed to sell better, they’re renamed because Hasbro can’t legally use the original name. When BW finally gets some love, I have a good feeling it’ll be given the same love and care that G1 has, and that includes letting the characters keep their scrapping names!
Legally, Hasbro can use Slag. They don't because that's another word for whore in the UK, or something to that effect, therefore they named him Slug to sell the character better, rather than avoid a legal issue. Are Beast Wars names swear words in reality or in universe? No, but what does it matter what name the toy is sold under so long as the toy itself is true to the character it represents?
Agree. Given that since 1984 there have been different names on the box depending where you are in the world, it’s really your own choice what you want to call them. Shockwave is sometimes called Laserwave and sometimes Shockblast but he’s always Shockwave to me and that’s all that matters. If you get upset by what the box says you’ll end up causing yourself all kinds of mental distress. You have to accept that the names have to be something you ascribe in your own headcanon. Makes it more fun as far as I’m concerned. Call them Bill or Harry or Jocelyn if you like. It’s one of the joys of the hobby.
As a BW fan, I dont blame G1 fans for anything Hasbro doesn't produce. I can blame [a fraction of] them for being elitist, selfish, bigoted jackasses, sure, but that applies to all other parts of the fandom as well, not just BW fans. There was this little movie that came out last year where he was a VW Bug, but you might've missed it. I think it was called "Bumblebee" or something...
I'd rant about seeing so many "whuts teh best toy for dis charactow" in one day, but then again I haven't had breakfast yet so it might maybe should wait til I've had something to eat. But I will quickly say "please just use the wiki and look for reviews. Form your own opinion from visuals instead of asking the biased for their opinion. And hey, if there's no good review out for the figure, you could at least be the first to make a good one even if you don't like the thing." Rant over, eggs fry.
At least when Armada and the lines came out, they were solid toys with weight and actual density to them, plus a few surprises with an earnest effort at being good, and not cheap
There has never, ever been a CHUG version of bumblebee that turns into anything close to a beetle. That’s what I’m referring to. One movie, one CHUG-grade SS figure against five-ish CHUG Golfs and muscle cars and at least ten different non-CHUG muscle cars. Not trying to be snarky or anything, but it’s incredible their (arguably) most famous character has no bog-standard, toy/cartoon accurate figure, when TR and POTP gave D-list characters that treatment.
That’s a fair point, but renaming a character after an established character in their continuity who they coexist with is just wrong to me. Like a Hot Rod that was released with the name Bumblebee to sell better or a Bulkhead named Hound- Wait Bay already did that one.