BotCon discussion, on the ground and after the fact

[Dominic]

The Insecticons are definitely a tempting set.


I saw that Unicron prototype in person about 10 years back. Those pictures do not do it justice. It is even worse up close. (I heard the one I saw sold for about $12K.)

-Dom

[andersonh1]

No. This has been underplayed, but this thing is Hasbro's TF exclusive for SDCC this year.

Yes.

Here's hoping I can find it online for a decent price then. That's a nice set.

[Onslaught Six]

It is, but only if you don't already own 3/5ths of it like I do. And technically 4/5ths since Buzzsaw is just Laserbeak with different stickers.

[JediTricks]

More photos have been added, the final round. That includes shots of Animated Arcee, Rodimus Minor, Cyb Ratchet, and Goldfire Grimlock (or "Golfire" on his tag), more shots of G1 Unicron from other angles, more shots from the booth and the floor, the Customs Contest entries, and 3 very special galleries that I hope my fellow TransFans will enjoy:

The Death of Optimus Prime

The Fallen

Let that be your last battlefield

(Big thanks to Mirage for getting my attention on that first one!)

No. This has been underplayed, but this thing is Hasbro's TF exclusive for SDCC this year.

They made no mention of that. They said they were going to try reissues again at the panel, but I didn't see or hear anything about SDCC.

I saw that Unicron prototype in person about 10 years back. Those pictures do not do it justice. It is even worse up close. (I heard the one I saw sold for about $12K.)

That's why I took more photos of it on Sunday, they are in the "Hasbro > Display Booth" folder. Half of Unicron's face is just sticking out the back of the top. Still, it is a piece of TF history, but that is where it should remain.


And now back to work on the write-up for the Hasbro panels...

[andersonh1]

It is, but only if you don't already own 3/5ths of it like I do. And technically 4/5ths since Buzzsaw is just Laserbeak with different stickers.

I do own the TF Collection version of Soundwave and Laserbeak, and I have my original Ravage, but I like the presentation of the figures in this set. This is something I'd buy to keep sealed and enjoy displaying. Good to hear it may not be confined to SDCC after all.

Reissues would work just fine if they weren't overpriced. A wider distribution than just TRU would probably be warranted as well.

[Onslaught Six]

They made no mention of that. They said they were going to try reissues again at the panel, but I didn't see or hear anything about SDCC.

Exactly--underplayed. But we already had this announcement ages back:
http://tformers.com/transformers-first- ... /news.html

[JediTricks]

I'm running super late for an appointment, but I spent all that time since my last post writing up the Saturday panel with nearly every Q&A. Here ya go:
http://www.actionfigs.com/index.php?cat ... cleid=3097

Will respond more soon, ask anything you need to of me regarding my write-up and I'll try to clarify.

BTW, I picked up a Hybrid Convoy at the show unopened for $50!!!

[Onslaught Six]

BTW, I picked up a Hybrid Convoy at the show unopened for $50!!!

Niiiice. I remember it being thereabouts when it came out, so to find it for the same price now is great.

EDIT:

- Universe deluxe Sunstorm from the Classics mold? Team member Joe never has a problem with Sunstreaker, always possible. And they love that mold. Stay tuned, it's not planned but on a short list.

You mean Sunstorm.

At 2:54pm, Hasbro closed the panel by mentioning that the swine flu knocked out travel from Japan, that the Takara team was supposed to be there as well but couldn't fly out, they wished them well and were sad to not have them there as Takara is a part of the bigger team. Yoka was even going to wear a special helmet. Then they thank us for 25 great years of Transformers.

Awww! That sucks, because I love hearing from the Takara team, they're so much more insightful (IMO) than the Hasbro team.

And this is only sorta-kinda related, but it's interesting to see which figures were designed by who. For example, Classics Bumblebee and Mirae and Hound were all designed by the same guy, and some of it really shows.

[138 Scourge]

Well, dammit.

Hopefully the Soundwave shows up in stores, but then, I got the SDCC exclusive from a couple years back for a rrreeeaalllyyy good price (look, I know, but ten bucks for Titanium Menasor? Yeah, you pass that up.), so hope springs eternal. I want one just to have a third Ravage and a proper Ratbat. So whutevah, I should be able to make it happen.

EDIT: Not a hundred percent sold on the Perceptor, but those Insecticons? Oh, those I'd get in a damn heartbeat and not even care.

[andersonh1]

I'm running super late for an appointment, but I spent all that time since my last post writing up the Saturday panel with nearly every Q&A. Here ya go:
http://www.actionfigs.com/index.php?cat ... cleid=3097

Great writeup. Lots of good info here, and it sounds like there was a good give and take between Hasbro reps and the fans.

- Hasbro is trying G1 reissues again, including these next 2...
- TRU G1 Insecticons. There's an insect robot character in the movie, so it fits with that. Designers endeavored to include their vac metal from the originals.
- TRU Perceptor. The character is in Animated, so it made sense. Also will sport the vac-metal, but no missile launcher (clarified in the Sunday panel as the launcher will be there but not fire).

I'm definately looking forward to these. If the reissues "include" these two, does that mean that others are planned?

- Lockdown. Gets a huge audience reaction. He's very thin, lanky, even moreso than the Animated figure he's based on. Hasbro says Animated is so great, has some special characters, so they took some and popped them into a realistic expression. They tried to change up Lockdown, make him real but true to the character. They expect to show off the deco on Sunday (and they do).

That's an interesting idea, taking an Animated character and transferring it to another aesthetic. I might have to take a look at this one when it comes out.

- Bludgeon. Movie-style tank in jungle colors, green and orange. Bot mode has robotic skull chest and evil Samurai theme like he should. Samurai sword comes out of the main turret's cannon. The smaller sword has a Mech-Alive reveal where it comes out over his shoulder.

I'm looking forward to seeing an official picture of this one at some point. I have a complete original Bludgeon, and I'd enjoy a good homage to the character.

- Future of TF:Universe? The movie line extends through Spring 2010. Then in Fall of 2010, another Universe-inspired line (name still TBD) will be kickstarted again in Deluxe scale at least.

- When Universe comes back, will it stay around a long time. The great thing about the Universe line is that it provieds flexibility. They don't think it's something they say "well, let's do from this period to this period", it's a platform for flexibility. The concept of the Universe line keeps a lot of options open. The team really likes Universe. When they create lines that are more adult-fan targeted, it's harder to keep going with retailers. When it goes away, it's not because of poor sales, but because Universe has to make way for other lines.

That's good to hear. Universe has been my favorite line, and I'd enjoy seeing some more G1 updates. There are plenty of figures who could still use a good remake.

- A lot of Fansproject-type stuff, do you see how much people want them, how they could be cheaper if they were mass-produced? Greg answers for this in a serious tone. These are things Hasbro wouldn't do because there's no mass appeal, not to say they aren'g good ideas. But it's becoming blatant infringement on Hasbro's Transformers intellectual property, and that's serious stuff. They had to work on correcting the fans' takes on knockoffs last year. Some of these fans project-type stuff have GONE TOO FAR. It's opening Hasbro's eyes to the reality of what used to be a fun fan sharing exeperience now becoming counterfeits, infringement on their I.P.. They don't like it, it's gone too far, and they're looking hard at it.

- With what's been said about Fansproject type things, what's Hasbro's official policy on individual fans' infringement of IP, customs and costumes and whatnot? They don't want to get into an "official" stance, as each one would require an indvidual stance, but in general when it's done in fun for personal use, that's what keeps the brand going, fun with the brand. When it becomes someone's business to make money off someone else's IP, that's where it gets into area that's not good. Hopefully this answers the question, there's been latitude over the years and it's been taken advantage of. Another utterance of "goes too far" to close the answer.

No kidding. I had wondered for some time how City Commander or Battle Roller could be made without Hasbro putting a 'cease and desist' order on these guys who are making money off someone else's ideas. When you boil it down, the fan projects are essentially theft, no matter how creative and well-received they are by the fanbase. So I"m not surprised by Hasbro's reaction.

- Universe deluxe Sunstorm from the Classics mold? Team member Joe never has a problem with Sunstorm, always possible. And they love that mold. Stay tuned, it's not planned but on a short list.

As long as we get the creamsicle orange version, I'd be happy.