Rated X wrote:Well the deluxe Prime is G1, but The truck mode is sacrificed, to make the robot mode look so cool. I think the odd angles on the truck due to it’s transformation were enough to avoid paying a licensing fee. That is just my opinion. The voyager version was completely different so people buy both. Also, that’s just my opinion.
Well, it's also a FACT that they have had 0 licensing issues re-releasing the original G1 mold countless times, nor are they having issues releasing MP-10, even in the US even though it's clearly the same truck as the original G1.
Rated X wrote:As far as Kup and Blurr, I think Hasbro took a gamble that young kids would enjoy earth vehicles more than Cybertronian vehicle modes. That is unless those Cybertronian vehicle modes are being featured in a video game like WFC, which Kup and Blurr were not.
Yes, that is a valid point, but they turned Scourge into something else (I'm guessing to have a more realistic aesthetic) and they pretty much left Cyclonus alone.
Rated X wrote:ot Rod (Rodimus) on the other hand is a perfect example of how they didn’t bother to modernize the alt mode because the car doesn’t exist, thus no licensing fee is required. They could have made him a “not” Ferrari or “not” Maserati, but my guess is Hot Rod’s alt mode was just too iconic to mess with. The Prowl/Bluestreak/Smokescreen alt mode was almost 100% G1. They barely changed it up, just enough to avoid paying a licensing fee to Datsun/Nissan. The Starscream mold also has only minor differences to a real F-15 Strike Eagle. And the Ravage that came with Hound turned into a cassette, even though they never made a classics Soundwave that holds cassettes.
Yes, all of that is quite true, but they could have easily made them all more G1 if they wanted to, especially Optimus/Ultra Magnus. Like I said, refer to MP-10.
Rated X wrote:So yes, in my opinion I think the whole “neo” theory about the classics line is just a myth. I believe if Hasbro didn’t have to pay licensing fees, almost all classics figures would feature the original real life vehicles used in G1. I don’t know for sure, but I believe in 1984-85 the licensing fees were either a whole lot cheaper, or maybe Hasbro/Takara were exploiting legal loopholes that have since been closed. I always found it funny that most post 1986 movie figures featured Cybertronian alt modes or extremely futuristic earth modes. I’m not buying into the whole “It is the year 2005” crap. I think Hasbro/Takara got hit with a lawsuit from some car company and decided to stop using real cars. Maybe that’s why Encore hasn’t released everything pre 1986 by now. Once again, just my opinion. It does make sense.
Myth or not is irrelevant, just LOOK at the toys. It isn't about why they did it, simply the fact that they DID. This is why an old VW Beetles doesn't fit in my Classics shelf. But if that doesn't bother you, then that's great, get it. I won't because to me, it stands out like a sore thumb.
As for lawsuits, even though we could have no real 'Lamborgini' in Classics for Sideswipe and his repaints, they did reissue the original G1 toy, which is a Lamborgini Countach, so I'm guessing either licensing doesn't apply to reissues, or their license to use that model still existed. That simply means that Hasbro obviously wanted to use the new Lamborgini for Classics/Generations Sideswipe, but couldn't, so they changed it just enough, otherwise they would have used the old Countach which they must have still had licensing for since they were legally allowed to reissue the G1 toy.