So, as fans we've had several cases where we think Hasbro should have managed a specific line differently. Which lines would you have changed if you could, and how? And why do you think they didn't go that route (I know the issue for a lot of my plans would be either "pricing" or "engineering")?
I'll start with the lines that I was most hyped every time...and disappointed by their actual execution every time: Prime Wars Trilogy.
General:
- a greater focus on characters who already had the focused gimmicks or new fan-vote/lore characters like Victorion, Optimus Maximus and Sentinel Prime/Infinitus; only then other characters who didn't have the gimmick before would be added.
- to fit the above, more non-G1 characters with said gimmicks would be included.
Combiner Wars:
- rather than a gun/hand/foot and a built-in connector, each Deluxe would come with a gun which can split into two components: a knee connection/hand and an elbow connection/foot.
- the Deluxes would also have a gun mode for the combiner, even if it's as simple as "slightly rearranged alt-mode with weapon attached in front"; in this form the gun/hand/foot/connectors would be used in its combined form as the grip.
- Voyagers would carry additional chest armor for their combined mode, with a hidden merged Spark detail, which would become drones or shields/weapons for their individual modes.
- each team would have six members: one Voyager torso and five Deluxe limbs/gun, including all original members and one new character (except the Seacons, obviously).
- at least one animal-themed combiner in the line, so it wouldn't all be vehicles.
- every Legends class toy could become weaponry or armor for the Combiners, like an Armada Powerlinx; however, they wouldn't officially be part of any team and could be used interchangeably for combiners with the same engineering.
- Leader class would have one gimmick or transformation related to combining, from splitting into multiple components (Magmatron, Sky Lynx) to Powerlinxing with the Legends class (Armada characters and other Mini-Con users) to merging with part of their vehicle mode for a super mode (Ultra Magnus, Car Robots/RID2001 Optimus Prime); might even have included 2/3-component or non-Scramble City combiners.
- more extensive retools (we saw they were possible with Titans Return; if they had taken that approach sooner this line wouldn't be so lambasted for its retools and redecos).
- most regular releases would be a new team; save most straight redecos for the exclusives (both variants like G2 paints and new redeco/rerelease characters like Ruination and the Japanese-exclusive Scramble City combiners).
Titans Return:
- rather than being all Headmasters, the Titan Masters would be divided into three "Grades": "Head-Grade", aka Headmasters; "Target-Grade"/"Battle-Grade" aka Target/Battlemasters; and "Power-Grade" aka Powermasters.
- all Target/Battle-Grade Titan Masters would be able to be used both as regular weapons (like the American continuity) or joined at the wrist like Universe/Kingdom Cyclonus (like the Japanese continuity).
- every Grade of Titan Master would be compatible for all sizes, but how many Grades the larger sizes would be compatible with would depend on the size class: Deluxe (or "Single-Threat Masters") would only be able to use one Grade of Master; Voyager (or "Double-Threat Masters") would be able to use two of the three Grades; and Leaders (or "Triple Threat Masters") would be able to use all Grades
- as such, Voyager class characters would include one new Titan Master partner to the pairing, while Leader class would include two.
- the added vehicle/beast of the individual Titan Master - called Transtector in reference to the Japanese concept - would replace the weapon mode with a "upgrade mode" to bulk-up the Titan Master for Voyager and Leader classes.
- Voyagers and Leaders would also include Transtectors to replace the helmets of Leaders and pop-up additions of Voyagers.
- individual Titan Masters would be more focused in redecos (Japanese versions of American characters and toys) and individual unpartnered Masters (Headmaster Warriors/Teens).
- characters who usually have more than one Master partner of the same Grade (Double Targetmasters, Overlord, Doubledealer, Armada Sideways) would come with only one Titan Master partner, with the other being sold individually.
- more base-mode Transformers (ie Grandus, Thunderclash) for a greater link to the Titans, since it would be impossible to make more than two of that size class for a single line.
- more Action Masters as Deluxes to use their partners for Target/Battle-Grade Titan Masters.
Power of The Primes: this one I actually had two different approaches, one completely divorced from what they went with and another based on what we got.
General:
- more characters added to the Evolution gimmick; biggest example would be Shockaract, with Matrix of Conquest, a Deluxe Hunter robot with Cybertronian jet mode and evolved form with crab and tank modes.
Original Approach:
- the gimmick of the line would instead be the "Artifacts of the Primes": each non-Prime figure would have one weapon or tool representing one of the legendary artifacts of Transformers lore, with gimmicks that could be activated by a Matrix Core like a Cyber Planet Key (ie: lights and sounds, pop-up super modes and features, splitting into individual tools...).
- non-Prime characters would range from regular Transformers to using the gimmicks of the previous lines, as some sort of closure to the trilogy.
- the Primes would still have an Evolution gimmick, this time also including some Voyager class toys with Legends base forms; instead of Artifacts, they would be the only toys with Matrixes and respective cores.
- not all Voyagers or Leaders would be Primes.
- all of the Thirteen would be included as some of the Voyager/Leader Primes, with the unevolved robot being their disguise as regular Cybertronians - except Megatronus, who instead would evolve into The Fallen - and unique Matrixes based on their artifacts (ie Prima with the Origin Matrix, Solus Prime with the Creation Lathe, Nexus Prime with the Infinite Combinatronic/Enigma of Combination...).
- Thirteen, however, would remain as a Prime Master/Matrix core for Optimus Primal's Matrix of Leadership.
Adapted Approach:
- the Prime Masters, instead of being combined with the Pretenders (which ended up giving us neither the Pretenders nor the Thirteen), would be modeled on their original designs from Covenant of Primus and use Decoy Armor based on alien species which have heavily interacted with Transformers (human, Nebulan, Battle Beast/Beastformer, Lithonian, Quintesson, Vok, Ejoornian...).
- EVERY Prime Master would have a Decoy Armor, even the ones packed with exclusives (the inconsistency is one of the things that killed the gimmick for me); the sole exception could've been be Thirteen, who'd use the Matrix casing instead of Decoy Armor.
- the combiners would be compatible with the Combiner Wars system, only adding the Prime Master gimmick to the gun/hand/foot/connectors and chestplate/drone-shield.