The Energon Pub

Rated X wrote:Hasbro needs to keep their hands out of the fiction and stick to making toys. Leave making characters to the animators and artists. Keep the corporate guys in the office and out of the fiction making decisions.

Every decision hasbro makes in terms of fiction is ONLY for the purpose of selling toys. For better or worse, toys is their main focus, always was. In Hasbro's eyes, fiction will always be secondary.

Times change, I'm personally looking forward to this as it could lead to even more fun in the future.

Oh to answer the Facebook question there is a few parents I know that let their kids (6-10 years) use FB but have them linked to their email addresses so they can keep their eye on them

Where do I go to vote, though?

Blackstreak wrote:Where do I go to vote, though?

Find the transformers app inthe google playstore on your phone

Blackstreak wrote:Where do I go to vote, though?

Through the transformers app or on Facebook

william-james88 wrote:

Rated X wrote:Hasbro needs to keep their hands out of the fiction and stick to making toys. Leave making characters to the animators and artists. Keep the corporate guys in the office and out of the fiction making decisions.

Every decision hasbro makes in terms of fiction is ONLY for the purpose of selling toys. For better or worse, toys is their main focus, always was. In Hasbro's eyes, fiction will always be secondary.

And of recent, the communication has even gone (relatively) both ways!

william-james88 wrote:

Blackstreak wrote:Where do I go to vote, though?

Find the transformers app inthe google playstore on your phone

Now why did I never figure out there'd be something like that avaible? Jees. Thanks for the heads-up. I'm gonna download that right away.

william-james88 wrote:

Rated X wrote:

leokearon wrote:

Rated X wrote:

gothsaurus wrote:Also... some really great points by Seibertron above. Repaints are what fund this whole franchise... and pay for all the safety testing, research and development, expensive molds for the toys, copyright and trademark purchases...

This is at least a fresh way to throw us the ball regarding repaints. It's a fun notion.

Hasbro/Takara have also done a great job working in some heavy retools to make the "repaints" that show up something more exciting. Sandstorm/Springer are some of the best examples. Huge props for the design team for planning that so well. Hoping they keep some of that coming for these combiners. (And seeing a comparison between Motormaster and Prime, I have full faith that they will.)

While I can understand some of the repaints are done for so called "funding" people forget hasbro is a lot bigger thab transformers. If im correct, isnt TMNT owned by hasbro too? Over the years how many TMNT figures have been straight repaints? (maybe a few retools here and there but definitely not the abuse the TF brand has endured) You dont see a TMNT fan poll to create a fan made fifth turtle ? Choose the color of his headband, weapon, personality, etc. You dont see it because it would be really stupid and the fans would blast it to hell. So why is the same concept so embraced by TF fans ?

TMNT is owned by Playmates

I dindnt know that. But you still sidestepped my question. Why is it that transformers the only brand of action figures that abuses the repaint ?

What? Hotwheels constantly does repaints, so do all the Marvel Iron Man/War Machine figures, as well as the Mattel Batman figures over the years. And so did some turtle toys for their torso and legs over the years. The ninja turtles themselves are just repaints of one another by principle. They all had red bandanas in the comics but when they had to make a television show, they needed them to look a little different so that kids would want to buy all four. Hence why they had different colored bandanas.

Hot wheels, really ? Toy cars are not action figures. If that was the case then Chevy, Ford, and Lincon all do repaints. I did mention that other non robot action figures often retool torsos. But no other action figure based franchise is guilty of making repaints for the sake of making repaints like transformers. I remember back in th. G1 days, during season 3-4 there were no repaints. Every character got its own mold. WTF happend? Some would argue hasbro got smart. I would argue that they got stupid.

Rated X wrote:I dindnt know that. But you still sidestepped my question. Why is it that transformers the only brand of action figures that abuses the repaint ?

This might show your lack of knowledge of other brands. Repaints are a huge part of all toy lines. Look at Lego mini-figures! Masters of the Universe, GI Joe and other action figure toy lines swap limbs, torsos and accessories to give you a new figure. You can't do that with Transformers so we end up with more traditional repaints like Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp. TMNT might not do repaints but they keep putting out the same toys year after year (something I wish was done with more popular Transformers characters).

Even video games and movies (and I'm sure if you look closely comic books) re-use assets to help speed along a "new" product.

Re-using assets or modifying existing assets is a part of the programming world too. I re-use old code all the time that I already wrote, modifying it, etc, instead of writing code from the ground up.

You are too harsh on Hasbro. Your anti-companies tirades is wearing thin.

Rated X wrote:If that was the case then Chevy, Ford, and Lincon all do repaints.

Car companies do that already. What do you think Lincoln is? What about Pontiac and Oldsmobile? How about Lexus? They're all the same cars from Ford, Chevy, GMC, and Toyota just repackaged with different logos, some different trim or interiors, etc. The Chevy Cavalier and the Pontiac Sunfire were the same cars.

Many companies do this to maximize profits and to reach new customers who might be interested in one version but not the other. Same with Hasbro with Transformers and the same with other toy brands.

Seibertron wrote:

Rated X wrote:If that was the case then Chevy, Ford, and Lincon all do repaints.

Car companies do that already. What do you think Lincoln is? What about Pontiac and Oldsmobile? How about Lexus? They're all the same cars from Ford, Chevy, GMC, and Toyota just repackaged with different logos, some different trim or interiors, etc. The Chevy Cavalier and the Pontiac Sunfire were the same cars.

Many companies do this to maximize profits and to reach new customers who might be interested in one version but not the other. Same with Hasbro with Transformers and the same with other toy brands.

Don't forget about Mattel with their onslaught of Barbie repaints and remolds which they also repurpose for Disney Princess dolls (who have new heads but the same bodies).

My Little Ponies also only have a few bodies with different colors and different paint jobs.

Moose Toys' Shopkins line also repaints molds.

Garbage Pail Kids back in the 80s (and I'm sure the current ones as well) reused artwork but called the character a different name. GPK 8a Adam Bomb and the less popular re-use 8b Blasted Billy?

Open your eyes next time you are in the toy aisles. Repaints and remolds are used regularly by most toy companies!

Rated X wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Rated X wrote:I dindnt know that. But you still sidestepped my question. Why is it that transformers the only brand of action figures that abuses the repaint ?

What? Hotwheels constantly does repaints, so do all the Marvel Iron Man/War Machine figures, as well as the Mattel Batman figures over the years. And so did some turtle toys for their torso and legs over the years. The ninja turtles themselves are just repaints of one another by principle. They all had red bandanas in the comics but when they had to make a television show, they needed them to look a little different so that kids would want to buy all four. Hence why they had different colored bandanas.

Hot wheels, really ? Toy cars are not action figures. If that was the case then Chevy, Ford, and Lincon all do repaints. I did mention that other non robot action figures often retool torsos. But no other action figure based franchise is guilty of making repaints for the sake of making repaints like transformers. I remember back in th. G1 days, during season 3-4 there were no repaints. Every character got its own mold. WTF happend? Some would argue hasbro got smart. I would argue that they got stupid.

Dude, you say I cant compare TFs to Hotwheels, but you cant compare TFs to other standard non transforming figures either. You know why? because they are totally different. For one, they dont transform. And why can't I compare TFs to car toy lines, its as different from a tf as a star wars action figure is, and plus toy cars was the initial origin on the diaclone line (they just happened to transform too). Its really all apples and oranges. Those other action figures find another way to recoup costs by having many of their figures just be retools of one another, and have a totaly different development cycle than TFs. If you preffer the way other toy lines recoup their design costs, then just collect those instead. Whining without understanding the differences amongst toylines and toys in general is just pointless.

william-james88 wrote:

Rated X wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Rated X wrote:I dindnt know that. But you still sidestepped my question. Why is it that transformers the only brand of action figures that abuses the repaint ?

What? Hotwheels constantly does repaints, so do all the Marvel Iron Man/War Machine figures, as well as the Mattel Batman figures over the years. And so did some turtle toys for their torso and legs over the years. The ninja turtles themselves are just repaints of one another by principle. They all had red bandanas in the comics but when they had to make a television show, they needed them to look a little different so that kids would want to buy all four. Hence why they had different colored bandanas.

Hot wheels, really ? Toy cars are not action figures. If that was the case then Chevy, Ford, and Lincon all do repaints. I did mention that other non robot action figures often retool torsos. But no other action figure based franchise is guilty of making repaints for the sake of making repaints like transformers. I remember back in th. G1 days, during season 3-4 there were no repaints. Every character got its own mold. WTF happend? Some would argue hasbro got smart. I would argue that they got stupid.

Dude, you say I cant compare TFs to Hotwheels, but you cant compare TFs to other standard non transforming figures either. You know why? because they are totally different. For one, they dont transform. And why can't I compare TFs to car toy lines, its as different from a tf as a star wars action figure is, and plus toy cars was the initial origin on the diaclone line (they just happened to transform too). Its really all apples and oranges. Those other action figures find another way to recoup costs by having many of their figures just be retools of one another, and have a totaly different development cycle than TFs. If you preffer the way other toy lines recoup their design costs, then just collect those instead. Whining without understanding the differences amongst toylines and toys in general is just pointless.

Cars get repainted in real life. If youre going to use hot wheels as your star example, you might as well use cabbage patch kids and call different ethnic backgrounds and nationalities "repaints".

Rated X wrote:I remember back in th. G1 days, during season 3-4 there were no repaints. Every character got its own mold. WTF happend? Some would argue hasbro got smart. I would argue that they got stupid.

You're remembering incorrectly.

Targetmaster Hot Rod
Targetmaster Blurr
Targetmaster Kup
Targetmaster Scourge
Targetmaster Cyclonus
Targetmaster Artfire
Targetmaster Stepper
Rewind
Eject
Frenzy (plastic black feet version, lack of stickers variation with Ratbat)
Soundblaster
Twincast

The running changes of Ultra Magnus, Metroplex, Hot Rod, Kup, Blurr, Rodimus Prime, Sandstorm, and Springer should also be considered as well. All of those figures lost die-cast pieces and paint apps which were replaced by plastic. Not repaints, per se, but along the same lines of re-using existing assets and making those products more profitable to the company.

1988 honorable mentions: Black Zarak and Grand Maximus.

One could also make the argument that the Battlechargers and Throttlebots are remolds of each other but it's probably best if we leave them out if this discussion despite the re-usage of parts (though we would consider them remolds if released today).

It's also very important to note that back in the 1980s that toys had a much longer shelf life than they do now. Consumers and retailers demand that new products be on the shelves. The same version of Optimus Prime can't have a 2 year shelf life any more. G1 Soundwave was sold for 4 years! That's unprecedented in this world we now live in where a toy product is lucky if it lasts 6 months on the shelves before being blown out and replaced by a recolored product or whatever the newest trend is.

Rated X wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Rated X wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Rated X wrote:I dindnt know that. But you still sidestepped my question. Why is it that transformers the only brand of action figures that abuses the repaint ?

What? Hotwheels constantly does repaints, so do all the Marvel Iron Man/War Machine figures, as well as the Mattel Batman figures over the years. And so did some turtle toys for their torso and legs over the years. The ninja turtles themselves are just repaints of one another by principle. They all had red bandanas in the comics but when they had to make a television show, they needed them to look a little different so that kids would want to buy all four. Hence why they had different colored bandanas.

Hot wheels, really ? Toy cars are not action figures. If that was the case then Chevy, Ford, and Lincon all do repaints. I did mention that other non robot action figures often retool torsos. But no other action figure based franchise is guilty of making repaints for the sake of making repaints like transformers. I remember back in th. G1 days, during season 3-4 there were no repaints. Every character got its own mold. WTF happend? Some would argue hasbro got smart. I would argue that they got stupid.

Dude, you say I cant compare TFs to Hotwheels, but you cant compare TFs to other standard non transforming figures either. You know why? because they are totally different. For one, they dont transform. And why can't I compare TFs to car toy lines, its as different from a tf as a star wars action figure is, and plus toy cars was the initial origin on the diaclone line (they just happened to transform too). Its really all apples and oranges. Those other action figures find another way to recoup costs by having many of their figures just be retools of one another, and have a totaly different development cycle than TFs. If you preffer the way other toy lines recoup their design costs, then just collect those instead. Whining without understanding the differences amongst toylines and toys in general is just pointless.

Cars get repainted in real life. If youre going to use hot wheels as your star example, you might as well use cabbage patch kids and call different ethnic backgrounds and nationalities "repaints".

They are, what are you not getting. Every company reuses assets to minimize cost. TFs do it through redecos and have done so from day one. If you dont accept that, leave the hobby.

Sabrblade wrote:

Rated X wrote:One of my beefs with repaints is that hasbro isnt using them in the same fashion they did during the 1980s. Back then the cartoon dictated repaints. Repaints were reserved for "brothers" hence seekers, datsuns, cassettes, etc.

That is completely false. Hasbro created the Seekers redecos, Datsun redecos, cassette redecos, etc. before the show or comics even existed. The toys were already redecos of each other before there was ever a cartoon or even any fiction whatsoever. The cartoon had zero bearing on which toys got repainted since the repaints already existed before the show was even put into production.

Some of them were even already redecos back in the days of Diaclone and Micro Change, and which were just carried over into Transformers.

The toys dictated the cartoon, not the other way around.

Rated X wrote:Now hasbro gives you a repaint in the next wave and pretty much dictates the repaints that have nothing to do with any cartoon, comic, etc. Hasbro needs to keep their hands out of the fiction and stick to making toys. Leave making characters to the animators and artists. Keep the corporate guys in the office and out of the fiction making decisions.

You do realize that Hasbro has its own studio now, right? It's Hasbro Studios who makes the cartoons these days, so now the collaboration between the toy makers and the show makers is even greater than ever.

No matter which came first, the chicken or the egg, that doesnt change the fact that the post diaclone G1 era was virtually repaint free. 1986-1988. I dont think hasbro re-introduced the repaint in such extreme numbers until micromasters started coming with mini battle stations.

Rated X wrote:No matter which came first, the chicken or the egg, that doesnt change the fact that the post diaclone G1 era was virtually repaint free. 1986-1988. I dont think hasbro re-introduced the repaint in such extreme numbers until micromasters started coming with mini battle stations.

Dude, did you even read this post:

You're remembering incorrectly.

Targetmaster Hot Rod
Targetmaster Blurr
Targetmaster Kup
Targetmaster Scourge
Targetmaster Cyclonus
Targetmaster Artfire
Targetmaster Stepper
Rewind
Eject
Frenzy (plastic black feet version, lack of stickers variation with Ratbat)
Soundblaster
Twincast

You seem to remember only what you want to remember and that makes your whining all the more nonsensical.

I'm hoping for a team of former gladiators from the pits of Kaon!

Seibertron wrote:

Rated X wrote:I remember back in th. G1 days, during season 3-4 there were no repaints. Every character got its own mold. WTF happend? Some would argue hasbro got smart. I would argue that they got stupid.

You're remembering incorrectly.

Targetmaster Hot Rod
Targetmaster Blurr
Targetmaster Kup
Targetmaster Scourge
Targetmaster Cyclonus
Targetmaster Artfire
Targetmaster Stepper
Rewind
Eject
Frenzy (plastic black feet version, lack of stickers variation with Ratbat)
Soundblaster
Twincast

The running changes of Ultra Magnus, Metroplex, Hot Rod, Kup, Blurr, Rodimus Prime, Sandstorm, and Springer should also be considered as well. All of those figures lost die-cast pieces and paint apps which were replaced by plastic. Not repaints, per se, but along the same lines of re-using existing assets and making those products more profitable to the company.

1988 honorable mentions: Black Zarak and Grand Maximus.

One could also make the argument that the Battlechargers and Throttlebots are remolds of each other but it's probably best if we leave them out if this discussion despite the re-usage of parts (though we would consider them remolds if released today).

It's also very important to note that back in the 1980s that toys had a much longer shelf life than they do now. Consumers and retailers demand that new products be on the shelves. The same version of Optimus Prime can't have a 2 year shelf life any more. G1 Soundwave was sold for 4 years! That's unprecedented in this world we now live in where a toy product is lucky if it lasts 6 months on the shelves before being blown out and replaced by a recolored product or whatever the newest trend is.

I forgot about the Mini-Bots in 1986 ...

Swerve
Outback
Tailgate
Pipes

william-james88 wrote:

Rated X wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Rated X wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Rated X wrote:I dindnt know that. But you still sidestepped my question. Why is it that transformers the only brand of action figures that abuses the repaint ?

What? Hotwheels constantly does repaints, so do all the Marvel Iron Man/War Machine figures, as well as the Mattel Batman figures over the years. And so did some turtle toys for their torso and legs over the years. The ninja turtles themselves are just repaints of one another by principle. They all had red bandanas in the comics but when they had to make a television show, they needed them to look a little different so that kids would want to buy all four. Hence why they had different colored bandanas.

Hot wheels, really ? Toy cars are not action figures. If that was the case then Chevy, Ford, and Lincon all do repaints. I did mention that other non robot action figures often retool torsos. But no other action figure based franchise is guilty of making repaints for the sake of making repaints like transformers. I remember back in th. G1 days, during season 3-4 there were no repaints. Every character got its own mold. WTF happend? Some would argue hasbro got smart. I would argue that they got stupid.

Dude, you say I cant compare TFs to Hotwheels, but you cant compare TFs to other standard non transforming figures either. You know why? because they are totally different. For one, they dont transform. And why can't I compare TFs to car toy lines, its as different from a tf as a star wars action figure is, and plus toy cars was the initial origin on the diaclone line (they just happened to transform too). Its really all apples and oranges. Those other action figures find another way to recoup costs by having many of their figures just be retools of one another, and have a totaly different development cycle than TFs. If you preffer the way other toy lines recoup their design costs, then just collect those instead. Whining without understanding the differences amongst toylines and toys in general is just pointless.

Cars get repainted in real life. If youre going to use hot wheels as your star example, you might as well use cabbage patch kids and call different ethnic backgrounds and nationalities "repaints".

They are, what are you not getting. Every company reuses assets to minimize cost. TFs do it through redecos and have done so from day one. If you dont accept that, leave the hobby.

Theoretically you might be right in terms of plasticButnt ethnic repaints were not made to be considered new "characters" based on their skin color like transformers repaints are. Thats some semi-racist thought there bro, but im sure you didnt mean it that way.

Sabrblade wrote:

Rated X wrote:Theoretically you might be right in terms of plastic. Butnat ethnic repaints were not made to be considered new "characters" based on their skin color like transformers repaints are. Thats some semi-racist thought there bro, but im sure you didnt mean it that way.

Not all repaints are new characters. We've gotten a TON of same-character repaints from Hasbro since 2002.

Since before that even. Beast Wars Fox Kids come to mind as well as the canceled G2 figures like Combat Hero Optimus Prime and Megatron.