The Energon Pub

I think we'll have to agree to disagree on that. I think there was far better figures produced, new unicron beats that design into the mud.

Sabrblade wrote:And all of those toys could do stuff or be easily handled by kids. Unicron's original toy would have been this big, heavy plastic ball that had no play features in planet mode.

Unicron's planet mode would have been much bigger and heavier for kids to manipulate.

Castle Greyskull, Snake Mountain, Eternia Playset, Cats Lair, Thundertank, Mumm-Ra's tomb, the Technodrome, the USS Fragg, Cobra Terror Drome, TMNT Sewer playset, the Turtle Blimp, Fort Kerium etc etc etc

While being among the biggest G1 figures, Unicron would have not been an unprecedented or out of place oddity in the 80's toy aisle. Kids then weren't daunted by such things. Also it is conjecture how heavy the original toy would have been.

Sabrblade wrote:They'd have a much easier time running around with (but not bouncing) a basketball or a soccer ball, and an even more fun time actually bouncing said basketball or soccer ball.

Not if you're playing Transformers

Sabrblade wrote:Conversely, the Armada Unicron toy's planet mode had more playability not just because of all of its fun gimmick features (mostly related to Mini-Con interactivity) but because it was just the right size: Small enough and light enough to be easily handled by kids (much small than the huge G1 toy prototype's planet mode) while simultaneously big enough and massive enough to still be imposing.

You're comparing the playability of an 80's Transformer [prototype image] to one from 2003

Sabrblade wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:The fact it actually had independent limbs, makes it the best looking figure of its size, the G1 line ever produced...

That's not really fair to say since, had it been made, it would have been the only toy of its size. The thing was between Scorponok and Fort Max, height-wise.

It would have been associated with the City Bots, as contemporary Super Robots, due to the size.
Just the prototype image along makes it look a better and more articulated figure than Metroplex or Trypticon, and that image doesn't even feature stickers, which would definitely have been included in the final release.

Sabrblade wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:And all of those toys could do stuff or be easily handled by kids. Unicron's original toy would have been this big, heavy plastic ball that had no play features in planet mode.

Unicron's planet mode would have been much bigger and heavier for kids to manipulate.

Castle Greyskull, Snake Mountain, Eternia Playset, Cats Lair, Thundertank, Mumm-Ra's tomb, the Technodrome, the USS Fragg, Cobra Terror Drome, TMNT Sewer playset, the Turtle Blimp, Fort Kerium etc etc etc

While being among the biggest G1 figures, Unicron would have not been an unprecedented or out of place oddity in the 80's toy aisle. Kids then weren't daunted by such things. Also it is conjecture how heavy the original toy would have been.

All of those were playsets. Made for direct interactivity with smaller action figures. Full of fun little features meant for said interactivity.

Unicron's prototype planet mode was not a playset. It didn't have any built-in interactivity for the smaller TF figures. It wasn't like the War Planets toys, it did nothing. It's was more practically a piece of furniture.

Thisss. All of those things were playsets chock full of features. Turrets, drawbridges, elevators, firing missiles, armories, vehicle bays, you name it. Unicron? Unicron had electronic lights and sounds, plus a stand that turned into an arm-mounted gun and a planet crust section that turned into a laughably tiny arm shield... and that was it. Feature and accessory-wise, Unicron was a joke compared to those playsets.
The Takara version was smaller and would have had a moon accessory (a carryover from the unproduced Micro Change Planet Robot design that inspired Unicron; this would ultimately be realized as Armada Dead End), but again wouldn't have really done much. Based on the cord it may in fact have been a glorified lamp.

Sabrblade wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:They'd have a much easier time running around with (but not bouncing) a basketball or a soccer ball, and an even more fun time actually bouncing said basketball or soccer ball.

Not if you're playing Transformers

Carrying around that Unicron toy in planet mode would have the same effect of carrying around a basketball, with the only exception being that said basketball would be easier to carry around since it wouldn't be as heavy.

Well, Unicron would have had lights and sounds, but that was it. He didn't even have a working planet-mouth. AllNewSuperRobot, you can't really compare Madballs because those were small and cheap.

Sabrblade wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Conversely, the Armada Unicron toy's planet mode had more playability not just because of all of its fun gimmick features (mostly related to Mini-Con interactivity) but because it was just the right size: Small enough and light enough to be easily handled by kids (much small than the huge G1 toy prototype's planet mode) while simultaneously big enough and massive enough to still be imposing.

You're comparing the playability of an 80's Transformer [prototype image] to one from 2003

Yes! Because the Armada one was of manageable size and weight for kids that it could be more easily played with in planet mode, let alone all of its additional play features that further enhanced the planet mode's playability.

Bingo. And if you still don't think that's fair, compare him with Metroplex and Trypticon: the figures he would have shared the shelves with. He's still found wanting.

Sabrblade wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:The fact it actually had independent limbs, makes it the best looking figure of its size, the G1 line ever produced...

That's not really fair to say since, had it been made, it would have been the only toy of its size. The thing was between Scorponok and Fort Max, height-wise.

It would have been associated with the City Bots, as contemporary Super Robots, due to the size.
Just the prototype image along makes it look a better and more articulated figure than Metroplex or Trypticon, and that image doesn't even feature stickers, which would definitely have been included in the final release.

The city-bots were playsets. Their cities were built to incorporate features for the smaller toys of the line. Unicron's planet mode wasn't.

Bingo. Metroplex and Trypticon were packed with features in altmode, Unicron's toy had almost nothing; his planet mode couldn't even chomp like it does in the movie. And there's also the fact that Unicron's robot mode was fairly lackluster. Metroplex: Heavily armed coolness. Trypticon: Godzilla-esque motorized walking dino with guns. Unicron: Fat, minimal accessories, no features besides lights and sounds, and didn't even have his signature wings. So he would have had rather limited appeal even to those who saw the movie (which a lot of fans hadn't at the time, because it was poorly promoted and came out during the same summer as fare like Star Trek IV) and even less to the parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles doing the actual spending.

Sabrblade wrote:And as for articulation, Unicron's prototype looks to have only had articulation in its shoulders and that's it. That's about on par with 1984 Bumblebee and Cliffjumper! And even that's just a guess since IIRC no pics of the prototype have ever had the arms positioned in any other pose besides "straight down next to the torso". Whereas Metroplex had articulation in the shoulders and hips (sideways hips, but still).

Well, that's not true. Every picture of the planet mode proves he has shoulder rotation. And his legs would have to fold up. But that's it.

Also, G1 Metroplex does have forward and back hip movement. Just look:


You'd never get him into those modes if the hips only bent sideways

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Where was the logic in making a kids film to sell toys and not selling a toy of the star?

But they did make Hot Rod. Twice!

Seriously though, Unicron had a lot going against it. They were struggling with it during development which wasn't helped by late animation changes and a product that barely looked like the on-screen version and had no real play gimmicks. Plus by the time they would have finally got him out they surely would have been working on Fortress Maximus and Scorponok, two figures that surely they must have known would have overshadowed Unicron in every way possible.

BTW, people forget this because he's a city bot, but Metroplex is not a particularly big figure by today's standards. Unicron would have been a much bigger figure and not even have half the playability.



As for an actual release selling today, it wouldn't. Reissues sell because of nostalgia for figures people had as kids, but nobody has nostalgia for a figure that was never released and most people don't know existed. Especially when there are better versions out there today. It would sell to hardcore fans, I'm sure I would buy one, but that's it.

Emerje

As a kid I would have LOVED Unicron. I would have played the Hell out of that thing. Because of his presence in the movie.

Of course playtesting the thing before the movie had kids uninterested. He's just a big ball! They didn't know he ate an entire planet and bargained with the main villain at the time.

That said he'd probably have been waaaaaay out of my parent's price range. But I definitely would have enjoyed having the planet eater as a kid. The movie is the entire reason I want a gigantic one now. Heck, one of the Unicrons I have in display right now is in planet mode - that's my preferred mode for him.

I think there's a fair amount of collections who'd want a G1 Unicron. I just don't know if there are enough collectors who'd want that. Or an actualisation of that old Arcee proto, if we're just tossing in unlikely new G1 toys.

Sabrblade wrote:

Gauntlet101010 wrote:That said he'd probably have been waaaaaay out of my parent's price range.

Just outta curiosity, were Fort Max and Scorponok also out of their price range?

Omega Supreme was barely in my parents price range.

Sabrblade wrote:

Gauntlet101010 wrote:That said he'd probably have been waaaaaay out of my parent's price range.

Just outta curiosity, were Fort Max and Scorponok also out of their price range?

At the time they were out, yes. My childhood TF lineup was quite limited. I think the priciest ones were Ultra Magnus and PM Prime ... and I had to beg for Prime. Unicron would have been a non-starter.

That's right fellow Seibertronians, as of this writing the HasLab Unicron project stands at 2,045 orders! Given when the orders were opened, versus where they stand now, and the August 31st deadline, it would appear Unicron stands ready to come into existence and devour your collections!

You can place your pre order for Unicron by clicking here

Seibertronians, Cybertronians, Marvel fans, IDW fans, Armada fans, Beast Wars fans, G1 fans, G2 fans, Transformer fans new, old, and everywhere and everyone in between: this won't happen without your support! If you're one of the fans who can don't hesitate, act now, and put in for your pre-order for this testament to how awesome and grand our hobby can be. Unicron is an icon of the Transformers brand and its history. This project is another example of how our fandom sits in its rightful place amongst the likes of Star Wars and Power Rangers and G.I. Joe, the other dream factories of our youths and adulthoods.

Enjoy the images from the previous articles on this topic and click on the Hasbro link to place your order. And as always make sure to stay tuned to Seibertron for the ultimate in Transformers news!


From HasLab
Transformers: War For Cybertron Unicron
2,045 Backers
Target 8,000

Funding ends in:
34
Days
1
Hours
5
Minutes

"The Lord of Chaos. The Planet Eater. The Chaos Bringer. Unicron stands alone as the most menacing figure in Transformers lore, capable of devouring entire worlds and civilizations. He debuted in the 1986 film Transformers: The Movie and his insatiable appetite nearly brought the entire universe to its knees.

But his legacy transcends both space and time.

“I have summoned you here for a purpose.” - Unicron

Transformers fans may be mere humans, inhabiting a miniscule planet hardly worth consuming, but they are some of the most passionate fans out there. That’s why HASLAB, the Hasbro Pulse crowdsourcing platform, is the place to awaken such a massive project.

Introducing the first ever Transformers HASLAB project: Transformers War For Cybertron Unicron.

“Then it pleases me to be the first.” - Unicron

Join us in a historic opportunity to celebrate the legendary Unicron with a figure whose features, detail, and scale are worthy of his gigantic legacy.

This campaign will move into production when it reaches its minimum goal of 8,000 backers. All support must be received by 11:59 PM EST on August 31, 2019. If the campaign is successful your payment method will be charged on August 31, 2019. Orders are estimated to ship in early 2021.

*Limit of 5 per transaction."

I wish I could back but I can't. I really hope this gets funded.

6,000 backers in a month ... that's a lot of people who may still be humming and harring about it.

Probably should've given payment plans and opened it world wide. Just sayin'.

Sabrblade wrote:

Burn wrote:Probably should've... opened it world wide. Just sayin'.

That's what TakaraTomy Mall, RobotKingdom, BBTS, TFSource, and Hobbybase are all trying to do to help in this figure's backing.

Because I'm sure RobotKingdom, BBTS, TFSource, and Hobbybase are allowed to put in as many orders as they want.

Until proven otherwise, I work on the assumption they have different employees ordering in lots of 5.

Burn wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Burn wrote:Probably should've... opened it world wide. Just sayin'.

That's what TakaraTomy Mall, RobotKingdom, BBTS, TFSource, and Hobbybase are all trying to do to help in this figure's backing.

Because I'm sure RobotKingdom, BBTS, TFSource, and Hobbybase are allowed to put in as many orders as they want.

Until proven otherwise, I work on the assumption they have different employees ordering in lots of 5.

See it’s your application of ingenuity to positivity that I find so endearing Burn

I’ll never afford one but I’m a booster I hope everyone who can get 5 gets 5. It’s an iconic year in the brand.

Stargrave wrote:

Burn wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Burn wrote:Probably should've... opened it world wide. Just sayin'.

That's what TakaraTomy Mall, RobotKingdom, BBTS, TFSource, and Hobbybase are all trying to do to help in this figure's backing.

Because I'm sure RobotKingdom, BBTS, TFSource, and Hobbybase are allowed to put in as many orders as they want.

Until proven otherwise, I work on the assumption they have different employees ordering in lots of 5.

See it’s your application of ingenuity to positivity that I find so endearing Burn

I’ll never afford one but I’m a booster I hope everyone who can get 5 gets 5. It’s an iconic year in the brand.

I'm mostly hoping that What/however TakaraMall is doing it *adds* or is "taken into consideration" to Haslabs 8000 marker... That said TakaraMall did GrandMax on their own...

Will be interesting to see how this shakes out... Especially if BBTS/3rd party can "double dip" with if Haslab falls through, they can try and boost Takmall.

Alternatively- if Haslab meets funding Goal, will Takaramall still be "campaign driving" or just opended up for all (since at that point I assume the molds and factories will have been warmed up.

i think they should make the chompers inside move like its chewing and have some extras like small moons to eat

I found this cool article on jedibusiness.com showing a timeline of reveals for the sail barge just to maybe give us a rough template of what we might see in regards to bonus material for Unicron being revealed a piece at a time. It also gives some perspective of where Unicron’s orders stand right now.

“The Jabba's Sail Barge HasLab project was announced and started on 2/17/2018 and ran until 11:59 PM EST on 4/3/2018. It took until 3/30/2018, only a few days before the campaign was over, for Jabba's Sail Barge to be funded fully with 5,000 supporters. However, once it had reached its goal it skyrocketed to 8,810 backers quickly.

Hasbro did a phenomenal job keeping fans interested throughout the entire crowdfunding campaign, here is a look at what happened while we were all biting our fingernails hoping that the Barge would reach its goal:

2/17/2018 The Sail Barge Press Release
2/23/2018 Sail Barge Close-Up Photo Gallery (Unpainted)
3/2/2018 The Sail Barge Is Coming To Canada!
3/12/2018 Sail Barge Booklet Preview
3/15/2018 Mark Boudreaux And The Size Of Jabba's Sail Barge Box!
3/19/2018 Hasbro's Jabba's Sail Barge Q&A On Instagram
3/21/2018 Entertainment Weekly's Jabba's Sail Barge (Painted Version) Reveal
3/21/2018 A Look At The Included Power Of The Force Yak Face Figure
3/21/2018 Video Of Painting Jabba's Sail Barge
3/21/2018 Jabba's Sail Barge Photo Gallery Painted/Press Photos
3/22/2018 JediBusiness.com's Google Hangout With The Star Wars Team
3/29/2018 How Many Klaatus? (video release)”

This Unicron is a real kick in the balls for me, I picked up the platinum edition Unicron THE DAY BEFORE HASLAB ANNOUNCED. So like, I want it, I really do. But I cant justify it at this stage. At the last minute though...we'll see

Today it's 2050 backers.
Let's hope a flow of backers will come exponentially because it's a bit slow. The fact that the thing cost 575$US doesn't help because not many people are ready to pay that amount on a collectible.

On the doll front, an event at Volks USA, 80 675$US dolls of a special edition were for sale. All of them sold in around half an hour. But here, it's 8000 units of this bot. That's freaking HUGE. But compared to a Dollfie Dream, were they are about a single mold (already made years ago) that is "repainted" over and over, this Unicron will be his own thing and the initial mold must be built and paid for.

I do wonder where is the profit cap in units numbers? 2000? 4000? 6000? If the profits are low despite the high numbers of units produced, this mean that it's really a gift for us fans.

Could somebody clarify please, I must have missed some details.

Is it that they need 8000 pre-orders and they will only make 8000 or however many pre-orders they end up with and then that is it. No more ever.

Or will they only be putting this figure into production if 8000 people pre-order but then they go on to produce more for general sale?

Thanks.

Someone over at TFW named backhawkdown posted something comparing Unicron and the Sail Barge's backing rates over time that gives some good perspective about where Unicron is at backing-wise:

backhawkdown wrote:with 34 days left in the campaign Unicron is at 2046 backers. On March 1st (34 days left) the Barge was at 2131 backers; that’s about about 4% ahead.

The Barge finished with 8,810 backers. If Unicron finishes the campaign with only a difference of 4% that would put Unicron at 8400 backers.

The major differences to consider is that the Barge hit 2000 backers in 6 days before slowing to 66 per day for almost the next month. It’s taken Unicron longer to hit 2,000 but it’s averaging more backers after the first 6 days.

Over the next 28 days the Barge only received another 1,829 backers — a little over 66 per day before capturing over 4,000 backers in its last 6 days. It will be interesting to see how many backers per day Unicron gets for the next 28 days. As of now it’s averaging more per day after the first six days than the Barge did but I am only looking at a small amount of days for Unicron versus the entire 28 days total for the Barge then dividing it by those 28 days. It’s not perfect but paints a pretty decent picture of the performance which still indicates being fully funded.

Ravage XK wrote:Could somebody clarify please, I must have missed some details.

Is it that they need 8000 pre-orders and they will only make 8000 or however many pre-orders they end up with and then that is it. No more ever.

Or will they only be putting this figure into production if 8000 people pre-order but then they go on to produce more for general sale?

Thanks.

My original understanding was that only 8000 were going to be made but that's been put in limbo by what Takara have said (or what people are interpreting what Takara are saying) In short, no idea though I reckon they'll only make enough as they have orders...

Thank you ZeroWolf.