Hey gents. I like to do thought experiments at times. While we do lament Hasbro's decisions, this thread is not to second guess. It is merely to see what we could of had with Dark of the Moon. I will assume each mold got its usage. I will also assume that wave 6 and 7 would of come out. I will also not deal with exclusive. Mainline only.
I would of changed Cyberfire Bumblebee into Cliffjumper. He could keep the same weapon. In my opinion, we needed an updated movie Cliffjumper. Instead of Cyberfire Bees shelfwarming, I think that even if it was a straight repaint without a remolded head Cliffjumper would of sold well. I would like the coloring to be similar to his War for Cybertron deluxe toy. Note, I am fine with the two moldings of BB. The movie was about a teched out flair to the cars. It is logical that Bee would of gotten a figure representing a 'clean' alt mode and one that is teched out.
Armored Topspin could of been Twintwist. I would want a different head for this one, but he could of been a 'toy only Wrecker'. Also, I would of loved Wreck and Rule on his box bio. I do know why they did not do this.
Rescue Ratchet could of been First Aid. Again, a different head is in order (one that is more youthful and less gorilla looking). Remember in the 'Movie Trilogy' line we were getting a G1 repaint of Ratchet anyway. This at least is a different character. Also, the reference would of been more subtle as a different character got Ratchet's original movie color scheme.
Oh, and throw in Skywarp somewhere in the mix.
I am fine with the first versions being near 'paintless' in so much as I understand their desire to make money back on the mold. The latter versions (like Thundercracker) get the premium paint schemes.
Leaving the remaining guys the same (possibly moving Cyberfire Bee to the 'movie trilogy line), I think Hasbro could of made more money with a greater variety of characters with minimum cost.
