The Energon Pub

What is the most used mold in the history of Transformers toys (including minor re-molds like head sculpts)?

I think it might be the classics Seeker mold, off the top of my head I count at least 11 different toys it's been used for.

FellintoOblivion wrote:I think it might be the classics Seeker mold, off the top of my head I count at least 11 different toys it's been used for.

I see your eleven and raise you 29 (although I cheated an used the interwebs)

• Classics Ramjet
• Classics Skywarp
• Classics Starscream
• Timelines Dirge
• Timelines Thrust
• Timelines Ramjet (G2)
• Timelines Thundercracker
• Timelines/Shattered Glass Thundercracker
• Gentei! Gentei! Dirge
• Henkei! Henkei! Ramjet
• Henkei! Henkei! Skywarp
• Henkei! Henkei! Starscream
• Henkei! Henkei! Ghost Starscream
• Gentei! Gentei! Thrust
• Henkei! Henkei! Thundercracker
• Universe Acid Storm
• Universe Starscream
• Generations Dirge
• Generations Thrust
• Generations Thundercracker
• United Dirge
• United Ramjet
• United Skywarp
• United Starscream
• United Thrust
• United Thundercracker
• Timelines Bitstream
• Timelines Hotlink
• Timelines Sunstorm

Does he beat Bumblebee then? The legs of the 08 concept camero got used in every deluxe re-release and for Cliffjumper so I say it's Bumblebee's legs.

I'm assuming the Kreon body doesn't count?

Mykltron wrote:Does he beat Bumblebee then? The legs of the 08 concept camero got used in every deluxe re-release and for Cliffjumper so I say it's Bumblebee's legs.

By a long shot. The '08 Camaro Legs were not used for Battle Blades or later molds, tho they share basic transformation.

Does anyone know how many uses the original G1 seeker mold had, counting all the various reissues over the years?

RiddlerJ wrote:Does anyone know how many uses the original G1 seeker mold had, counting all the various reissues over the years?

I don't know myself off of the top of my head, but just out of curiosity (in case I or someone else decided to try and check later) are you talking strictly about uses as Transformers toys, or would you wish to include Diaclone uses of the mold?

Yotsuyasan wrote:

RiddlerJ wrote:Does anyone know how many uses the original G1 seeker mold had, counting all the various reissues over the years?

I don't know myself off of the top of my head, but just out of curiosity (in case I or someone else decided to try and check later) are you talking strictly about uses as Transformers toys, or would you wish to include Diaclone uses of the mold?

The original mold counts, IMO.

yeah original Diaclone seeker jet mold or maybe the Bumblebee or Cliffjumper minibot mold might have a lot of uses throughout the years.

craggy wrote:yeah original Diaclone seeker jet mold or maybe the Bumblebee or Cliffjumper minibot mold might have a lot of uses throughout the years.

Not really. Bumblebee, Cliffjumper and Bumper may look similar, but they're unique molds in their own right despite similar transformation.

As for the G1 Seeker mold... Let's count:

• Diaclone F-15 Robo High-Speed Fighter Type (Starscream)
• Diaclone F-15 Robo Acrobat Type (Thundercracker)
  
• G1 Starscream
• G1 Thundercracker
• G1 Skywarp
• G1 Thrust
• G1 Dirge
• G1 Ramjet
  
• G2 Starscream
• G2 Ramjet
  
• Takara Reissue Starscream
• Takara Reissue Thundercracker & Skywarp
• Takara Reissue Thrust & Ramjet
• Takara Reissue Dirge
  
• Commemorative Series II Starscream
• Commemorative Series III Thundercracker
• Commemorative Series IV Skywarp
• Commemorative Series VII Dirge
• Transformers Collection Starscream
• e-Hobby Sunstorm
  
• Encore Starscream
• Encore Thundercracker & Skywarp
• e-Hobby Sunstorm re-release

That should be all of them, not counting variants.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

craggy wrote:yeah original Diaclone seeker jet mold or maybe the Bumblebee or Cliffjumper minibot mold might have a lot of uses throughout the years.

Not really. Bumblebee, Cliffjumper and Bumper may look similar, but they're unique molds in their own right despite similar transformation.

true, I wasn't talking about that though, rather the numerous international variations in colour and numerous reissues over the years (in keychain form, multipacks, etc)

edit: G1 Prime has to be up there in numbers too.

craggy wrote:

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

craggy wrote:yeah original Diaclone seeker jet mold or maybe the Bumblebee or Cliffjumper minibot mold might have a lot of uses throughout the years.

Not really. Bumblebee, Cliffjumper and Bumper may look similar, but they're unique molds in their own right despite similar transformation.

true, I wasn't talking about that though, rather the numerous international variations in colour and numerous reissues over the years (in keychain form, multipacks, etc)

edit: G1 Prime has to be up there in numbers too.

Yeah, gotta love those South American recolors. And the G1 Prime cab is just nuts.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:That should be all of them, not counting variants.

e-Hobby black and ghost Starscreams?

LOST Cybertronian wrote:

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:That should be all of them, not counting variants.

e-Hobby black and ghost Starscreams?

Woops... I ever forgot the Lucky Draw Secret Starscream

Wasn't the G1 seeker mold RE-MOLDED to make many of the others? Didn't Ramjet, Dirge, Thrust, etc. have remolded wings and such? And some had coneheads and others didn't? If so, then weren't they technically separate molds?

GuyIncognito wrote:Wasn't the G1 seeker mold RE-MOLDED to make many of the others? Didn't Ramjet, Dirge, Thrust, etc. have remolded wings and such? And some had coneheads and others didn't? If so, then weren't they technically separate molds?

Retools do count towards the total as they have parts in common, in this case the main body. Whether or not they're made from the very same mold or a copy of the mold, I'm not sure.

What you must keep in mind is that we're kind of using the term incorrectly: more accurate would be "mold-set" (I believe the proper term is actually "tooling"). Molds are the individual pieces, and you need multiple molds for a complete figure (single-color figures like Arms Microns aside). As of late, Hasbro has made a habit of switching out molds in a set, resulting in figures like the Coneheads or Beast Hunters retools, or simply casting two different heads simultaneously and discarding the obsolete one (the so-called pretools).

GuyIncognito wrote:Wasn't the G1 seeker mold RE-MOLDED to make many of the others? Didn't Ramjet, Dirge, Thrust, etc. have remolded wings and such? And some had coneheads and others didn't? If so, then weren't they technically separate molds?

I think most would agree that the basic Seeker mold remains the same throughout. The only ones to have any different parts are the Coneheads, and in that case it is only the wings and weapons. The heads in their cases were created simply by not completely transforming the heads. This is unlike the Classics seekers, who for the Coneheads did have a unique headpiece, but I've never heard anyone argue that they didn't count as a use of the Classics Seeker mold, even with a new head and new wings...

Yotsuyasan wrote:

GuyIncognito wrote:Wasn't the G1 seeker mold RE-MOLDED to make many of the others? Didn't Ramjet, Dirge, Thrust, etc. have remolded wings and such? And some had coneheads and others didn't? If so, then weren't they technically separate molds?

I think most would agree that the basic Seeker mold remains the same throughout. The only ones to have any different parts are the Coneheads, and in that case it is only the wings and weapons. The heads in their cases were created simply by not completely transforming the heads. This is unlike the Classics seekers, who for the Coneheads did have a unique headpiece, but I've never heard anyone argue that they didn't count as a use of the Classics Seeker mold, even with a new head and new wings...

What may be good to know is that for BotCon 2010 the planned Freebie was actually Action Master/Shattered Glass Thundercracker, not Slicer. The required Seeker body mold was in use by Hasbro for Generations Thrust at the time. AM/SG Thundercracker was eventually made a year later.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:And the G1 Prime cab is just nuts.

Well, The many releases of Optimus Prime lists 18 releases, and that is in addition to the original 1984 release, doesn't include any pre-Transformers Diaclone releases, and also doesn't include any releases as Ultra Magnus.

So, 18 + 1 (1984 release) + 2 (for Diaclone Convoy and Diaclone Powered Convoy) + 5 (Ultra Magnus: 1986, 2000, 2000 "Shining", 2001 "Yokokuhen", 2002 Commemorative Series) = at least 26 uses of the mold for Optimus's cab, and I am sure I am omitting some.

Let us tally some of out larger contenders at the moment...

29 = Classics Seeker (LOST Cybertronian's list)
26 = G1 Seeker (JelZe GoldRabbit's list, plus Black, Ghost, and Lucky Draw Starscreams)
26 = G1 Optimus Cab

So it looks like, at the moment, the Classics Seeker is winning. (Although it is close, and as I said, I wouldn't be surprised if I missed a few uses of the G1 Optimus Cab mold, so if anyone can think of at least four more, it can still pull into the lead!)

Edit:

Actually, looking at that "The many releases of Optimus Prime" list again... I'd originally only counted bullet points, and on closer inspection some of the bullet points contain more then one variant. So rather then 18, that list is closer to 22. Plus it doesn't include the "EXILE" or "A Bathing Ape" variants, which would be what, another 4?

So:

34! = G1 Optimus Cab!
29 = Classics Seeker (LOST Cybertronian's list)
26 = G1 Seeker (JelZe GoldRabbit's list, plus Black, Ghost, and Lucky Draw Starscreams)

Hang on, hang on, if we're counting Hasbro and TakaraTomy releases separately, add another 7 for the Seeker mold: 6 G1 Takara releases plus the Good-Bye Megatron set.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Hang on, hang on, if we're counting Hasbro and TakaraTomy releases separately, add another 7 for the Seeker mold: 6 G1 Takara releases plus the Good-Bye Megatron set.

I didn't think we were if it was what was supposed to be effectively the same release, hence why I didn't include separately in my list the original American and Japanese releases of Optimus Prime/Convoy. Various re-issues (including multi-pack releases) I'd count separately, so I suppose I'd agree with adding 1 for the Good-Bye Megatron set. But if you want to include six more for the original Japanese release of the Seekers, we'd have to add 1 to the Prime Cab's count as well. (Actually, I suppose we could arguably add two, as the Canadian and American releases of Pepsi Optimus Prime were different...)

I suppose, technically, they are additional uses of the mold, though... So, adding everything just suggested:

36 = G1 Optimus Cab
33 = G1 Seeker
29 = Classics Seeker

So even if the wings were different, a la Dirge or Thrust, the main body was probably being cast from the same mold. That would make sense.

I can't think of anything that would even come close the the Classic seeker for most-used.

GuyIncognito wrote:So even if the wings were different, a la Dirge or Thrust, the main body was probably being cast from the same mold. That would make sense.

I can't think of anything that would even come close the the Classic seeker for most-used.

not even the G1 Optimus cab that Yotsu and JelZe have counted up as having more uses?