Seibertron.com answers Seibertron.com's Q&A
Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 11:09 pmAfter partaking in the Hasbro Q&A program for the past two years, we decided to try something a little different. As some of you know, the restrictions imposed upon the websites can make for some lame questions being sent and for lame answers to be received. This time around, Seibertron.com answers each and every one of the questions that our fellow Seibertronians asked. We did our best to answer the questions as truthfully and straightforward as possible. Please understand when reading the following answers that these were provided by Seibertron.com, and not by Hasbro or any entity associated with Hasbro. The answers were not approved by Hasbro either. The answers are simply from Seibertron.com as we do our best to answer your questions.
It is our hope, that by taking the time to answer the questions you intended to be answered by Hasbro (of which we could only submit two), that many of the more casual fans who visit this site (which far outnumber the die-hard fans) will be able to sit back for the next few minutes and enjoy our attempt at answering your questions to the best of our ability. I'm sure that there are many answers below to which the more casual fans did not know the answer.
All of the answers were provided to the best of our ability. Some of the questions required the use of a magic 8 ball. Some of you might know more than us. Some of you might know better answers; if you do, let us know so that we can be informed as well. By all means, please feel free to discuss the questions and answers on our forums.
Without further ado, here is our attempt at answering the questions you sent us to send to Hasbro. Enjoy!
It appears Hasbro dropped the official transformation because it was either too complex or was never really planned out from the get-go with the toys we ended up with at retail. If you check out YouTube, there are several fans who've attempted to come up with some very creative ways to combine these 3 figures. Here are a few examples for you to view:
If there is an official transformation, we may never know. Hasbro has yet to reveal an official transformation despite being asked by fans many times.
Hasbro has yet to reveal what their plans are for 2012. Hasbro generally only lets us in on what they're through the next 6 to 12 months out.
The Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon toys will most likely start showing up on store shelves in late May about five or six weeks prior to the release of DOTM on July 1st, 2011. Hasbro's Toy Fair 2011 event is most likely on February 12th, the Saturday prior to the official Toy Fair. At this Toy Fair event, Hasbro will most likely reveal their DOTM toy line. It is possible that some of the toys from DOTM might start leaking as early as December 2010 as we've seen in the months leading up to the release of the previous Transformers films.
Is has been stated in several places that we will definitely get a Transformers: Prime toyline. I'd expect to see them on the shelves by the fall of 2011 if not sooner. If I can find some sources stating this again, I'll post them.
Cliffjumper will be released in the next month. After that, it is unknown what their plans are. I've heard rumors of a WFC Starscream toy. I hope they can release this prior to DOTM so that we can get Thundercracker and Skywarp as well. If a Starscream toy is not released by the time DOTM toys hit the shelves, I wouldn't count on one until the next iteration of the Classics Universe is released ("Classics 4.0" if you will). If we don't see one by then, I wouldn't count on ever getting one.
It would be awesome to have these drones made, but I'm sure these would be way down the list long after well known established characters like Jetfire, Starscream, Jazz, and Shockwave ever get toys of their own. As for the Decepticon drones in the upcoming Transformers: Prime cartoon series, that could be a possibility depending on how large the toy line is fleshed out.
Hasbro doesn't seem to like the big guys any more. Not sure how Star Wars keeps getting $150 Millennium Falcons and $100 AT-AT and GiJoe keeps getting large playsets, yet they don't think that a $100 or $150 Omega Supreme or Trypticon would sell. Hasbro has stated in the past that large Transformers playsets don't sell or something along those lines. Considering that there hasn't been a Hasbro released Transformers "playset" since 1987 (or 1990 if you want to count the Micromaster bases), I've never been sure where this statement comes from unless it comes from their market-researchers research (best guess?).
The Liege Maximo and The Fallen are two separate characters. In the Transformers: Exodus novel, Megatron references Liege Maximo and his "treacherous" brother The Fallen.
As for the evil Alpha Trion, he is derived from the Shattered Glass alternate universe where the Autobots are evil and the Decepticons are good. It is unknown where the Shattered Glass universe splintered from the mainstream Transformers realities.
Hasbro revealed at BotCon 2010 that they're working on the very details about the "original 13". The artwork they showed for some of those characters at BotCon 2010 was stunning. Hopefully more will be revealed at BotCon 2011. If I recall correctly, Hasbro stated that this part of the mythology will be explored further in 2013.
Regarding a "Generations" Leader class toy, I think without a cartoon to appeal to the kiddies, it most likely comes down to profits. The deluxe class is the best selling size class of Transformers toys. I'm not sure where the other size classes rank, but I'm sure profitability is a factor as well. I imagine the profit margin is greater on a deluxe class figure versus a leader class figure. Without the cartoon pushing the larger products, I think they'd have a harder time selling the Leader class figures in the Classics line once the fans bought them up.
This is mostly pure speculation on my behalf. I welcome all of you to share your thoughts and feel free to debate this with your fellow Seibertronians.
Hasbro stated something about his name not being able to be used at BotCon 2010. I thought they said something about "Straxus" being the name for another product or company but I can't find anything on Google to back up what I remember. After doing a few other searches, I came up with Straxis.com which is the name of a website development company in Oklahoma. Could this be why Darkmount wasn't called Straxus in the US (similar to Outback being called Fallback due to Outback Steakhouse and Hasbro siding with extreme caution).
My understanding is that Hasbro can make any Transformer based off the Transformers robot characters that appeared in Marvel Comics. Unless Marvel started their own transforming robots comic line, I can't foresee them ever having a use for Spanner, Straxus, Impactor, Emirate Xaaron and other Marvel created Transformers robot characters. However, they cannot use the human characters that Marvel created such as Circuit Breaker, G.B. Blackrock, and Death's Head. Though I wonder about Buster Witwicky.
Fellow Seibertronian staff member Dead Metal had this comment to add to our answer:
For those of you who don't know, Circuit Breaker (as Circuit Breaker, not Josie Beller) and Death's Head both appeared (albeit extremely briefly) in other Marvel comic books prior to their debut in Transformers comics which is how Marvel retains the rights to those characters.
I am not a lawyer and I do not claim to have legal expertise in the field of copyrights and trademarks. If someone who has more familiarity with situations such as this or can point out examples from other similar situations, please feel free to add your thoughts and comments to this thread to share your knowledge with us.
To the best of my knowledge, it is an original design. Whether fans like it or not is still up for debate.
My magic 8 ball says "Concentrate and ask again". Joking aside, I'm sure Hasbro will continue to look at past themes used amongst combiners during the brand's 26 year history to see how those themes could be worked into the current Power Core Combiners brand. I'm also sure they'll take a lot of creative liberties that are best suited to this line. "Concentrate and ask again" indeed.
This is a damn good question! Magic 8 ball -- what do you think? "Signs point to yes".
Hasbro answered this question for ASMzine.com recently: "While the Power Core Combiners have been seen in the movie-verse continuity, established in a Cyber Mission web episode, they basically exist on their own. For reference, the episode is currently available on http://www.transformers.com and http://www.hubworld.com. The concept of Power Core Combiners can also translate to other continuities similar to Mini-Cons."
I'm pretty sure the black Sideswipe is the last in the Human Alliance line for the time being. I wouldn't be surprised to see the concept revisited with the Dark of the Moon line next summer, but nothing has been announced officially yet pertaining to this. Stay tuned!
Depends on your definition of the obvious. We've seen images of the figures through an early spring release. What we haven't seen yet is what's going to come out March through May -- if anything at all. Perhaps Hasbro has a few more tricks up their sleeves before Dark of the Moon hits store shelves in late spring / early summer 2011.
Have we seen anything past the end of this year? I think all of the new PCC toys that we are aware of are scheduled to be released by January 2011. I'm not sure if this is a good sign or a bad sign for the Power Core Combiners line.
After doing a little bit of homework on Google, I found that Hasbro recently answered this question for ActionFigurePics.com: "Currently the plan is to continue the Power-Core Combiners line up until the release of the Movie 3 line with new teams and figures."
I'll answer this with Hasbro's own quote from October 2008.
"Yes we are aware that there has been a rise in collector complaints about certain Transformers products. We can assure you that all products are quality tested to strict controls and it is something that Hasbro prides itself on. Given the huge increase in volume we have experienced in the Transformers range the likelihood of certain products sometimes not meeting consumer expectations slightly increases, however we always try to service our customers needs when a problem arises."
Anyone else care to share their thoughts on quality control issues? What have your experiences been with Transformers quality control?
I would safely say the answer to this is "no".
I would safely say the answer to this is "no" as well, however, I'm pretty sure this question was asked at BotCon 2010 and we were given the typical "no plans at this time, but is something to consider" answer. I can't seem to find this via Google though. Can anyone else find this quote online?
Most likely simply to make their product slightly different than Takara Tomy's product. In this case, Takara Tomy's product for the Asian market resembled Red Alert's cartoon colors whereas Hasbro's version resembled the original toy from 1985. I think this was especially important for Hasbro to do since Takara Tomy's version of this toy preceded the Hasbro version by over a year. Many die-hard fans already purchased the Japanese version so by making the Hasbro product different, it gives fans a reason to purchase the new version even if they already own the original version.
This is an interesting question. The first comment I want to make pertains to Thundercracker. I'm almost certain we'll get him at some point. It should just be a matter of time. And patience.
I'm sure a lot of decisions about what products should carry over from country to country depend upon a core group of people at each company. I'm sure profitability plays a large factor in this as well as how to capitalize on each unique market. Profitability isn't a bad word folks. You want these companies to make money. The more money they make, the more Transformers we'll get. And the better Transformers designs we can get because more money can be dumped into research and development.
I also think some of it has to do with when a certain product can be brought to the market. What might be a good time for a product to be released in Japan might not be a good time for a product to be released in the US. I'm sure both companies are very wise to fans such as us using the Internet to import toys from other countries. Why release the identical figure in both countries when you can delay the release and come up with an alternate (or better) paint scheme on the latter release to capitalize on profits? The Red Alert toy mentioned above is a great example of this.
When one thinks of this less from a fan or collector's perspective and more from a business perspective, these types of decisions start to make more sense. Making more sense doesn't necessarily parallel making fans happy so take this for what you will.
Anyone else care to share their thoughts on Rated X's question(s)?
I think this all comes down to cost and getting this toy/mold to fit within the confines of the deluxe class price range. The more complex the tooling, the more expensive the toy (or the less profitable a toy depending on how the toy is sold or marketed). I think the upcoming Scourge toy is victim of this as well. Someone at Hasbro or Takara Tomy surely had to say "Hey, why aren't we making Fracas to go with this?" I will be the first to point out that my argument here can quickly be flawed simply by pointing out that Nightstick got made with Cyclonus. Maybe this has to do with the changing markets, or the cost of plastic or not enough time to design Thunderwing's drone and Scourge's partner Fracas.
From my personal opinion, I think Thunderwing having a drone would've been confusing in today's market and for many fans unfamiliar with the Pretender concept. It is my belief that the Thunderwing toy, as are any Pretenders homages going forward, are an amalgamation of the Pretender shell and inner robot since the Pretender concept isn't being used.
I wouldn't count on Thunderwing's drone ever being released separately. No need for this.
This would be interesting to know, but I would think legal issues would prevent Hasbro's ability to disclose this answer in a straightforward answer.
What do you think Magic 8 ball?
[ flash ]
These are actually a great set of questions for which I do not have an answer. Does anyone have some light they could shed on these?
WFC Cliffjumper, a WFC Bumblebee repaint with a new head, is the last of the WFC figures for the time being. Hasbro hasn't mentioned anything other than (if I recall correctly) a possible WFC Starscream figure but I have a feeling that might have fallen off the radar as they gear up for the Dark of the Moon toyline. It is possible they could be saving other WFC toys for a later date or a possible "Classics 4.0" line after DOTM. Cliffjumper is scheduled to begin appearing in early 2011, which means he should start popping up around the beginning of December at some stores or online retail outlets such as BigBadToyStore.com and tfsource.com.
Hmm ... I can't imagine this has anything to do with giving Mattel some good old fashioned competition at long last? Kind of makes you wonder, if RPMs / Speed Stars is successful, how long it will take for Mattel to come up with a line of transforming robot toys to compete against Hasbro's Transformers to return the favor.
It doesn't appear that this trend will be happening any time soon. The most obvious choice would've been Scourge with Fracas, but poor Fracas won't be seeing the light of day any time soon -- at least not in an official capacity from Hasbro. This was such an obvious choice that it almost makes us wonder if they're counting on one of the 3rd part companies to make a Fracas figure for us. Guess ol' Nightstick will have to go play with Scraplets all by himself.
Hasbro answered this question for tformers.com back in May 2010. Here's what they said to them:
"While we understand your passion for the traditional combination figures from G1, Energon, etc., however, the great part about Transformers is that things can change over time. So it is not a question of difficulty or costs, but more about how can a great concept like combination be re-imagined and re-invented.
For example, in creating the new Power Core Combiner line, we wanted to establish a "system" of play that allowed kids the opportunity to not only play with the teams of figures, but also have the ability to create their own teams by collecting more and more figures.
Additionally, we also wanted to expand the story line of Combiners, thus the reason and rationale for drones, mini-cons and certain characters all working together as a team."
The Power Core Combiners concept appears to be it for now. Hopefully one day Hasbro will give us Combiners done right in the style of FansProject Munitioner and Explorer and their incredible Bruticus.
More recently, Hasbro answered a similar question but pertaining to G1 combiner reissues in lieu of the Seacons/Piranacon reissue. This answer was originally posted on KittysPryde.com: "We do not have any plans to be re-releasing any of the other classic combiners at this time."
I'm sure Fort Max, and his Decepticon counterpart Scorponok, both have to be on Hasbro's radar to tackle at some point. Hasbro's been working their way through updated versions of our favorite classic 80s Transformers so I'm sure these two have to be in the works or at least an idea on the table.
Would anyone else like to see them use the Energon Scorponok mold but done in his original Headmasters colors as part of the continued "Classics" line?
Hasbro provided answers for this to ActionFigurePics.com and KittysPryde.com.
"Unfortunately, we do not have any plans to release these figures in the near future."
"Unfortunately, we do not have plans to release them at this point in time."
Questions similar to this have circulated since the reissues began about ten years ago (hard to believe, huh?). It's a good question, one to which we'd all drool at a real answer, but Hasbro and Takara Tomy have kept the lid shut on this answer. For whatever reason, the Japanese exclusive characters don't seem to do real well as reissues (Ricochet, God Ginrai, and Star Convoy come to mind) so it'll probably take a while for some new ones to get reissued from Takara Tomy.
As for Soundblaster and Twincast I don't foresee Hasbro releasing these ever. I think this is one of those instances where Hasbro knows that die-hard collectors of these characters would've already bought the Japanese version so there's little need to release those Japanese exclusive characters here in the states.
As for Blitzwing and Hound, I'm surprised these didn't get released about 4 or 5 years back when the reissues were real popular as well. I can't help but wonder if the small pieces that are included with both of those figures might be considered a choking hazard and possibly don't meet American safety standards. Or maybe they just never got around to them.
I'll do my best to answer these but some of these are bordering on the "can't ask about future products" restriction Hasbro has in place on Q&A.
1. The "Challenge at Cybertron" Cyclonus and Rodimus will be coming out in an exclusive two-pack later this year, called "Battle in Space", with a Matrix of Leadership accessory and an exclusive comic book. Galvatron will not be included in this set.
2. We haven't heard anything yet. Considering the lack of Transformers characters that have made it to the comic scene recently yet haven't been translated to toy form, I think we can safely say that the answer to this question is most likely "no", unfortunately. It sure would be nice to get an updated Overlord though, wouldn't it?
3. Thunderwing repainted as Black Shadow would be truly awesome. I doubt Hasbro would do this, though it is possible. I could certainly see Takara Tomy doing this. At a minimum, I could see this as a future BotCon exclusive since Black Shadow falls within the obscure character realm on which the BotCon folks have been focusing. Time will tell. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
4. While it is possible since they could just repaint the Blurr figure white, I doubt Hasbro would do this simple to avoid confusion about the Drift character.
5. Scourge with a new head to become Devcon would be interesting. Not my first pick, but an interesting option nonetheless. I'm hoping for some minor repaints as Sweeps ala Jetstorm and his drones in Beast Machines.
6. Just Bumblebee and Cliffjumper. See one of the above answers for an image of Cliffjumper if you haven't seen him yet. He should be on shelves in about two months or less.
Hasbro seems to want to stay away from the Pretenders concept, which is evident from them releasing several homages of Pretenders characters as regular Transformers minus Pretender shells. I'd love to see the Pretenders concept revisited with today's toy technologies as well though. Speaking of Pretenders ... where's Alice from ROTF?
Hasbro recently answered this question for RavingToyManiac.com: "For the Transformers brand, we are always looking forward to finding new ways to re-imagine our favorite characters. We have not re-released all of the 1980's figures as we believe this would be a stale treatment of our beloved characters. Instead, we look at Transformers as being the most up-to-date technologically advanced sentient beings. Based on this, we feel that they would continually update themselves so that they would remain "Robots in Disguise" versus staying in their 1984 vehicle form and sticking out like a sore thumb!"
Hasbro recently answered this question for us in our most recent Q&A: "We're thrilled that fans chose to honor Dinobot during the first Transformers Hall of Fame induction however there are no plans for Beast Wars figures at this time."
There is at least one more planned release of the Starscream mold which is next year's TCC exclusive G2 Ramjet figure. While Hasbro hasn't announced a Thundercracker figure yet, I can't imagine that they'll leave fans hanging for too much longer. I'd expect a Thundercracker release in the next year or two. I'm sure there are a lot of fans that would also like to see someone make a Sunstorm repaint from this mold as well. Keep your fingers crossed!
This is all that has been discovered so far. Stay tuned to the news at Seibertron.com to see if other special interactions are uncovered!
It is our hope, that by taking the time to answer the questions you intended to be answered by Hasbro (of which we could only submit two), that many of the more casual fans who visit this site (which far outnumber the die-hard fans) will be able to sit back for the next few minutes and enjoy our attempt at answering your questions to the best of our ability. I'm sure that there are many answers below to which the more casual fans did not know the answer.
All of the answers were provided to the best of our ability. Some of the questions required the use of a magic 8 ball. Some of you might know more than us. Some of you might know better answers; if you do, let us know so that we can be informed as well. By all means, please feel free to discuss the questions and answers on our forums.
Without further ado, here is our attempt at answering the questions you sent us to send to Hasbro. Enjoy!
Leviathan wrote:Hey Hasbro just wondering if the Cycle Sisters (Arcee, Chromia, and Elita-1) do combine and if they do, are you going to post the way to combine them?
nemesis primus wrote:Considering that at Toyfair 2010 your representative announced that arcee combination instructions will be online, with elita-1's recent release when can we expect to see these instructions?
It appears Hasbro dropped the official transformation because it was either too complex or was never really planned out from the get-go with the toys we ended up with at retail. If you check out YouTube, there are several fans who've attempted to come up with some very creative ways to combine these 3 figures. Here are a few examples for you to view:
If there is an official transformation, we may never know. Hasbro has yet to reveal an official transformation despite being asked by fans many times.
Leviathan wrote:Another question is What is it that you plan on doing with transformers as a toyline after the third movie and TF: Prime?
Hasbro has yet to reveal what their plans are for 2012. Hasbro generally only lets us in on what they're through the next 6 to 12 months out.
The Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon toys will most likely start showing up on store shelves in late May about five or six weeks prior to the release of DOTM on July 1st, 2011. Hasbro's Toy Fair 2011 event is most likely on February 12th, the Saturday prior to the official Toy Fair. At this Toy Fair event, Hasbro will most likely reveal their DOTM toy line. It is possible that some of the toys from DOTM might start leaking as early as December 2010 as we've seen in the months leading up to the release of the previous Transformers films.
Is has been stated in several places that we will definitely get a Transformers: Prime toyline. I'd expect to see them on the shelves by the fall of 2011 if not sooner. If I can find some sources stating this again, I'll post them.
GEEWUN wrote:Dear Hasbro,
Will we be seeing any new (unannounced) War for Cybertron Figures in the near future?
Cliffjumper will be released in the next month. After that, it is unknown what their plans are. I've heard rumors of a WFC Starscream toy. I hope they can release this prior to DOTM so that we can get Thundercracker and Skywarp as well. If a Starscream toy is not released by the time DOTM toys hit the shelves, I wouldn't count on one until the next iteration of the Classics Universe is released ("Classics 4.0" if you will). If we don't see one by then, I wouldn't count on ever getting one.
nemesis primus wrote:Would you ever consider creating autobot/decepticon drones based on the create-a-character in war for cybertron that will allow two alt modes?
It would be awesome to have these drones made, but I'm sure these would be way down the list long after well known established characters like Jetfire, Starscream, Jazz, and Shockwave ever get toys of their own. As for the Decepticon drones in the upcoming Transformers: Prime cartoon series, that could be a possibility depending on how large the toy line is fleshed out.
dkreed7 wrote:Are we getting war for cybertron starscream any time soon?
And are the any plans to make more war for cybertron figures?
nemesis primus wrote:Are there any plans to create figures of war for cybertron omega supreme and trypticon?
Hasbro doesn't seem to like the big guys any more. Not sure how Star Wars keeps getting $150 Millennium Falcons and $100 AT-AT and GiJoe keeps getting large playsets, yet they don't think that a $100 or $150 Omega Supreme or Trypticon would sell. Hasbro has stated in the past that large Transformers playsets don't sell or something along those lines. Considering that there hasn't been a Hasbro released Transformers "playset" since 1987 (or 1990 if you want to count the Micromaster bases), I've never been sure where this statement comes from unless it comes from their market-researchers research (best guess?).
Tristar wrote:Are Liege Maximo and The Fallen the same being? If not How did Liege Maximo become corrupt? Why did, if Alpha Trion is one the orignal 13, he Attack Nexus Prime(maximus) In the Transtech Universe? Will any of my questions be answered in fiction in the forseeable future IE in the next year?
The Liege Maximo and The Fallen are two separate characters. In the Transformers: Exodus novel, Megatron references Liege Maximo and his "treacherous" brother The Fallen.
As for the evil Alpha Trion, he is derived from the Shattered Glass alternate universe where the Autobots are evil and the Decepticons are good. It is unknown where the Shattered Glass universe splintered from the mainstream Transformers realities.
Hasbro revealed at BotCon 2010 that they're working on the very details about the "original 13". The artwork they showed for some of those characters at BotCon 2010 was stunning. Hopefully more will be revealed at BotCon 2011. If I recall correctly, Hasbro stated that this part of the mythology will be explored further in 2013.
earltheyeti wrote:I've noticed that the Classics and Generations lines (the nastalgia ones that follow the Generation 1 styling) have stayed confined to the smaller scales (i.e. deluxe and voyager class.) Why is this? Are there plans to produce some figures in the Ultra or Leader class size?
(I, for one, would really go for a G1 style leader class Optimus Prime or voyager class Starscream.)
Kingpun wrote:Would carrying over a Leader class toy from a previous toyline allow for more new Leader class characters to be produced for a new toyline? Like how certain deluxe and voyage characters from Transformers '07 found their way into the Revenge of the Fallen toyline. Or is the marketability and demand for characters in the Leader size scale still too small to allow for one subline alone to carry what would be around 3 or 4 new unique Leader molds, in addition to 2 or 3 reused molds? Allowing for around 6 or 7 unique characters in one line?
Regarding a "Generations" Leader class toy, I think without a cartoon to appeal to the kiddies, it most likely comes down to profits. The deluxe class is the best selling size class of Transformers toys. I'm not sure where the other size classes rank, but I'm sure profitability is a factor as well. I imagine the profit margin is greater on a deluxe class figure versus a leader class figure. Without the cartoon pushing the larger products, I think they'd have a harder time selling the Leader class figures in the Classics line once the fans bought them up.
This is mostly pure speculation on my behalf. I welcome all of you to share your thoughts and feel free to debate this with your fellow Seibertronians.
Bumblevivisector wrote:I have a few related questions about the just-released Generations Darkmount figure. Specifically the fact that his being a Decepticon who'd only appeared in Marvel's Transformers comics meant they had the rights to his proper name of Straxus, and therefore Hasbro couldn't use it. I'd like to know if this will hamper any future efforts to do figures of toyless TF characters created for Marvel continuity, or if some deal has been worked out since then. I'm no legal expert, but considering Hasbro also currently produces Marvel Comics figures, and even a Marvel/Transformers Crossover line, this issue being a stumbling block sounds extremely silly to me.
But if it will continue to be an issue, will it make producing characters from the Marvel U.S. books (ex: Scrounge, Wipe-Out) tougher than ones from the Marvel U.K. series (ex: Impactor, Flame, Macabre)? And will Disney's recent buyout of Marvel Comics add further complications? (I know we'll never see a Transformer actually called Darkwing again)
You released a K.B. Toys exclusive figure called Jhiaxus last decade, despite that being a character created for the Marvel Transformers: Generation 2 series. Was that not a rights issue because the toy was just a random repaint and not a stab at an actual likeness of the character, or did Marvel just happen to not bother copyrighting that particular name?
Hasbro stated something about his name not being able to be used at BotCon 2010. I thought they said something about "Straxus" being the name for another product or company but I can't find anything on Google to back up what I remember. After doing a few other searches, I came up with Straxis.com which is the name of a website development company in Oklahoma. Could this be why Darkmount wasn't called Straxus in the US (similar to Outback being called Fallback due to Outback Steakhouse and Hasbro siding with extreme caution).
My understanding is that Hasbro can make any Transformer based off the Transformers robot characters that appeared in Marvel Comics. Unless Marvel started their own transforming robots comic line, I can't foresee them ever having a use for Spanner, Straxus, Impactor, Emirate Xaaron and other Marvel created Transformers robot characters. However, they cannot use the human characters that Marvel created such as Circuit Breaker, G.B. Blackrock, and Death's Head. Though I wonder about Buster Witwicky.
Fellow Seibertronian staff member Dead Metal had this comment to add to our answer:
Dead Metal wrote:Straxus was called Darkmount due to the Straxus toy Trademark being already taken. Marvel does not own the name or the character, that is part of the deal between Hasbro and the companies that provide fiction. All characters that are created for and first show up in Transformers movies, comics, books and cartoons are the property of Hasbro, and that includes their name and likeness. The only way Marvel could claim ownership to Straxus is if he showed up in a non-Transformers comic before his first TF fiction appearance. Jhiaxus was a Marvel comic Transformer and he's still part of TF fiction and even has a toy. Somewhere out there is a toy with the name Straxus making it impossible for Hasbro to use the name for their own products.
For those of you who don't know, Circuit Breaker (as Circuit Breaker, not Josie Beller) and Death's Head both appeared (albeit extremely briefly) in other Marvel comic books prior to their debut in Transformers comics which is how Marvel retains the rights to those characters.
I am not a lawyer and I do not claim to have legal expertise in the field of copyrights and trademarks. If someone who has more familiarity with situations such as this or can point out examples from other similar situations, please feel free to add your thoughts and comments to this thread to share your knowledge with us.
adamassc wrote:Is hftd Sunspot's coloration a homage or an original design?
To the best of my knowledge, it is an original design. Whether fans like it or not is still up for debate.
adamassc wrote:Can we expect the Powercore Combiner line's five packs to continue being based on previous combiner teams?
My magic 8 ball says "Concentrate and ask again". Joking aside, I'm sure Hasbro will continue to look at past themes used amongst combiners during the brand's 26 year history to see how those themes could be worked into the current Power Core Combiners brand. I'm also sure they'll take a lot of creative liberties that are best suited to this line. "Concentrate and ask again" indeed.
adamassc wrote:Where do the powercore combiners fit in storywise? Are they movieverse, Generations, or a standalone continuity?
This is a damn good question! Magic 8 ball -- what do you think? "Signs point to yes".
Hasbro answered this question for ASMzine.com recently: "While the Power Core Combiners have been seen in the movie-verse continuity, established in a Cyber Mission web episode, they basically exist on their own. For reference, the episode is currently available on http://www.transformers.com and http://www.hubworld.com. The concept of Power Core Combiners can also translate to other continuities similar to Mini-Cons."
EdgeAsus wrote:What other Human Alliance toys are going to be coming out other then the Black Sideswipe? Also How many more Generation ones are going to be coming out other then the obvious?
I'm pretty sure the black Sideswipe is the last in the Human Alliance line for the time being. I wouldn't be surprised to see the concept revisited with the Dark of the Moon line next summer, but nothing has been announced officially yet pertaining to this. Stay tuned!
Depends on your definition of the obvious. We've seen images of the figures through an early spring release. What we haven't seen yet is what's going to come out March through May -- if anything at all. Perhaps Hasbro has a few more tricks up their sleeves before Dark of the Moon hits store shelves in late spring / early summer 2011.
noodles2go wrote:Are you going to continue with the Power Core Combiners line?
Have we seen anything past the end of this year? I think all of the new PCC toys that we are aware of are scheduled to be released by January 2011. I'm not sure if this is a good sign or a bad sign for the Power Core Combiners line.
After doing a little bit of homework on Google, I found that Hasbro recently answered this question for ActionFigurePics.com: "Currently the plan is to continue the Power-Core Combiners line up until the release of the Movie 3 line with new teams and figures."
noodles2go wrote:Is the quality control in the Power Core Combiner figures going to be better? Many people have complained of loose ball joints, too tight or too loose power link joints, as well as drones not properly automorphing as they should. I have experience this on many occasions myself, and have had to return a couple items due to this.
Quaternion wrote:Hasbro,
How do you plan to improve quality control?
For example, I've returned MP Grimlock twice now for different QC issues and others have QC issues with this $70 figure as well: http://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=68503. If I pay $70, I expect acceptable quality.
Cheetron wrote:Across every line of Transformers product we've seen a multitude of Quailty control failures. From paint aps, to poor designs, to the wrong parts in the wrong position and even your products have broken due to the very thin plastic they're made of. My question is: Are you planning to improve on this and make you toys better?
It's early for me and my mind is foggy. If anyone want to improve on this, please make it sound better. lol.
I'll answer this with Hasbro's own quote from October 2008.
"Yes we are aware that there has been a rise in collector complaints about certain Transformers products. We can assure you that all products are quality tested to strict controls and it is something that Hasbro prides itself on. Given the huge increase in volume we have experienced in the Transformers range the likelihood of certain products sometimes not meeting consumer expectations slightly increases, however we always try to service our customers needs when a problem arises."
Anyone else care to share their thoughts on quality control issues? What have your experiences been with Transformers quality control?
backpack wrote:Are there any plans to release drone packs for PCC so that we can mix/match create our own teams?
I would safely say the answer to this is "no".
joeformer wrote:Ive asked this a million times with no luck but id like to try again lol. With the addition of the new little mini human figures that come with the screen battles. any chance of making some in scale figures for the generations and movie line with articulation?
backpack wrote:Generations Human Alliance? Yes/No/Maybe So?
I would safely say the answer to this is "no" as well, however, I'm pretty sure this question was asked at BotCon 2010 and we were given the typical "no plans at this time, but is something to consider" answer. I can't seem to find this via Google though. Can anyone else find this quote online?
It Is Him wrote:Re: Generation Red Alert's deco. Why did Hasbro choose toy colors over TV show colors?
Most likely simply to make their product slightly different than Takara Tomy's product. In this case, Takara Tomy's product for the Asian market resembled Red Alert's cartoon colors whereas Hasbro's version resembled the original toy from 1985. I think this was especially important for Hasbro to do since Takara Tomy's version of this toy preceded the Hasbro version by over a year. Many die-hard fans already purchased the Japanese version so by making the Hasbro product different, it gives fans a reason to purchase the new version even if they already own the original version.
Rated X wrote:My question is a follow up to a question asked at the Botcon 2010 Hasbro pannel. The question asked at Botcon was "Why cant the USA get the repaints or redeco's that Takara makes in Japan ?" Hasbro answered the question by stating "The USA has its market and Japan has its market and the two were not meant to combine." A good example in reference to this question is Henkei Classics Deluxe Thundercracker not getting a USA version like his 2 counterparts.
My question is:
Who decides what the "USA market" or "Japan market" should be and what is the process for doing it ???
Sombody ultimitly has to make decisions. Tell us who and how these decisions are made.
This is an interesting question. The first comment I want to make pertains to Thundercracker. I'm almost certain we'll get him at some point. It should just be a matter of time. And patience.
I'm sure a lot of decisions about what products should carry over from country to country depend upon a core group of people at each company. I'm sure profitability plays a large factor in this as well as how to capitalize on each unique market. Profitability isn't a bad word folks. You want these companies to make money. The more money they make, the more Transformers we'll get. And the better Transformers designs we can get because more money can be dumped into research and development.
I also think some of it has to do with when a certain product can be brought to the market. What might be a good time for a product to be released in Japan might not be a good time for a product to be released in the US. I'm sure both companies are very wise to fans such as us using the Internet to import toys from other countries. Why release the identical figure in both countries when you can delay the release and come up with an alternate (or better) paint scheme on the latter release to capitalize on profits? The Red Alert toy mentioned above is a great example of this.
When one thinks of this less from a fan or collector's perspective and more from a business perspective, these types of decisions start to make more sense. Making more sense doesn't necessarily parallel making fans happy so take this for what you will.
Anyone else care to share their thoughts on Rated X's question(s)?
Gandalf wrote:At BotCon this year, someone on the Hasbro panel stated that you were unable to get Generations Thunderwing's "drone" to transform. Why couldn't it have been a Minicon/Targetmaster like with Universe Cyclonus? Would you consider making this drone into a Scout class figure in the future, under a different name if needed?
I think this all comes down to cost and getting this toy/mold to fit within the confines of the deluxe class price range. The more complex the tooling, the more expensive the toy (or the less profitable a toy depending on how the toy is sold or marketed). I think the upcoming Scourge toy is victim of this as well. Someone at Hasbro or Takara Tomy surely had to say "Hey, why aren't we making Fracas to go with this?" I will be the first to point out that my argument here can quickly be flawed simply by pointing out that Nightstick got made with Cyclonus. Maybe this has to do with the changing markets, or the cost of plastic or not enough time to design Thunderwing's drone and Scourge's partner Fracas.
From my personal opinion, I think Thunderwing having a drone would've been confusing in today's market and for many fans unfamiliar with the Pretender concept. It is my belief that the Thunderwing toy, as are any Pretenders homages going forward, are an amalgamation of the Pretender shell and inner robot since the Pretender concept isn't being used.
I wouldn't count on Thunderwing's drone ever being released separately. No need for this.
omega666 wrote:I see custom Transformer figures that improve on the original figures. Does Hasbro ever see these custom figures and try to use the ideas to make newer figures better? (I don't have a specific example)
This would be interesting to know, but I would think legal issues would prevent Hasbro's ability to disclose this answer in a straightforward answer.
What do you think Magic 8 ball?
[ flash ]
emeraldbeacon wrote:Many recently-released figures seem to be, either clearly or obscurely, homages to others released in the past. In general, what is your approach towards creating figure assortments, in terms of new and unique designs versus homages to older figures or ideas?
Some recent toys have clear, yet undocumented, interaction capabilities (such as Skystalker/Mindwipe, Seaspray/Breacher, and Lockdown/Ratchet). Are there any other such pairings, either on the market now or coming soon, that the fandom has yet to 'discover'?
These are actually a great set of questions for which I do not have an answer. Does anyone have some light they could shed on these?
dkreed7 wrote:Are we getting war for cybertron starscream any time soon?
And are the any plans to make more war for cybertron figures?
Galvatrondestroyer wrote:will we see anymore WFC figures in Generations? the two i have and the other two ive seen reviews on are really great figures
Please bring on some more!
WFC Cliffjumper, a WFC Bumblebee repaint with a new head, is the last of the WFC figures for the time being. Hasbro hasn't mentioned anything other than (if I recall correctly) a possible WFC Starscream figure but I have a feeling that might have fallen off the radar as they gear up for the Dark of the Moon toyline. It is possible they could be saving other WFC toys for a later date or a possible "Classics 4.0" line after DOTM. Cliffjumper is scheduled to begin appearing in early 2011, which means he should start popping up around the beginning of December at some stores or online retail outlets such as BigBadToyStore.com and tfsource.com.
autobot-jolt wrote:I've got one that's really different, but I'm just curious to know, where did Hasbro get the idea for RPM's?
Hmm ... I can't imagine this has anything to do with giving Mattel some good old fashioned competition at long last? Kind of makes you wonder, if RPMs / Speed Stars is successful, how long it will take for Mattel to come up with a line of transforming robot toys to compete against Hasbro's Transformers to return the favor.
-L- wrote:Any Chance we'll be seing more of the Masters concept (i.e. Head Masters Target Masters or Power Masters) especially after seeing the Success of Generations Cyclonus w/ Nightstick?
It doesn't appear that this trend will be happening any time soon. The most obvious choice would've been Scourge with Fracas, but poor Fracas won't be seeing the light of day any time soon -- at least not in an official capacity from Hasbro. This was such an obvious choice that it almost makes us wonder if they're counting on one of the 3rd part companies to make a Fracas figure for us. Guess ol' Nightstick will have to go play with Scraplets all by himself.
Rodimus723 wrote:Are there be any planes to go back to the original combiner concept, but with modern sculpting techniques?
-L- wrote:Also is there going to be any modern application of the G1 Combiner (using 5ish ACTUAL characters instead of 1 character and 4 drones)?
Hasbro answered this question for tformers.com back in May 2010. Here's what they said to them:
"While we understand your passion for the traditional combination figures from G1, Energon, etc., however, the great part about Transformers is that things can change over time. So it is not a question of difficulty or costs, but more about how can a great concept like combination be re-imagined and re-invented.
For example, in creating the new Power Core Combiner line, we wanted to establish a "system" of play that allowed kids the opportunity to not only play with the teams of figures, but also have the ability to create their own teams by collecting more and more figures.
Additionally, we also wanted to expand the story line of Combiners, thus the reason and rationale for drones, mini-cons and certain characters all working together as a team."
The Power Core Combiners concept appears to be it for now. Hopefully one day Hasbro will give us Combiners done right in the style of FansProject Munitioner and Explorer and their incredible Bruticus.
More recently, Hasbro answered a similar question but pertaining to G1 combiner reissues in lieu of the Seacons/Piranacon reissue. This answer was originally posted on KittysPryde.com: "We do not have any plans to be re-releasing any of the other classic combiners at this time."
-L- wrote:And Do you think we will be getting a New Fortress Maximus even if it's just the IDW Maximus?
I'm sure Fort Max, and his Decepticon counterpart Scorponok, both have to be on Hasbro's radar to tackle at some point. Hasbro's been working their way through updated versions of our favorite classic 80s Transformers so I'm sure these two have to be in the works or at least an idea on the table.
Would anyone else like to see them use the Energon Scorponok mold but done in his original Headmasters colors as part of the continued "Classics" line?
StarscreamLeader815 wrote:Do you have any plans to release Transformers Animated Wingblade Optimus? It would fit good under the Generations line.
Hasbro provided answers for this to ActionFigurePics.com and KittysPryde.com.
"Unfortunately, we do not have any plans to release these figures in the near future."
"Unfortunately, we do not have plans to release them at this point in time."
Optimus5678 wrote:Are they going to reissue generation one favaroties like Hound, blaster, blitzwing, that takara has done? Would they consider reissues based on japanese characters such as Twin Cast Soundblaster Raiden, Minerva, overlord, go shooter, Artfire, Star Saber, Victory Leo cause these would make some awesome addtions to anyone's collection
Questions similar to this have circulated since the reissues began about ten years ago (hard to believe, huh?). It's a good question, one to which we'd all drool at a real answer, but Hasbro and Takara Tomy have kept the lid shut on this answer. For whatever reason, the Japanese exclusive characters don't seem to do real well as reissues (Ricochet, God Ginrai, and Star Convoy come to mind) so it'll probably take a while for some new ones to get reissued from Takara Tomy.
As for Soundblaster and Twincast I don't foresee Hasbro releasing these ever. I think this is one of those instances where Hasbro knows that die-hard collectors of these characters would've already bought the Japanese version so there's little need to release those Japanese exclusive characters here in the states.
As for Blitzwing and Hound, I'm surprised these didn't get released about 4 or 5 years back when the reissues were real popular as well. I can't help but wonder if the small pieces that are included with both of those figures might be considered a choking hazard and possibly don't meet American safety standards. Or maybe they just never got around to them.
Chupacabra Convoy wrote:1: Will the Classic Three pack that has Rodimus, Cyclonus, and Galvatron ever make it to state side retail stores? Or at the very least, can we see a Generations Armada to go with Cyclonus?
2: Given the popularity of Last Stand of the Wreckers, are any of the "new" characters (Overlord, Ironfist, Impactor, Pyro, Guzzle, and Rotorstorm) are being considered for a toy design? (Not sure if this is against the rules. If it is, I apologize in advance.)
3: Will Thunderwing get repainted as Black Shadow?
4: Can Drift's Toy head be swapped with Blurr's for a Deadshot release?
5: Is the Generations Scourge's alternate head mold Devcon?
6: Do any of the War for Cybertron toys have alternate head molds like the rest of the newer Generations molds?
I'll do my best to answer these but some of these are bordering on the "can't ask about future products" restriction Hasbro has in place on Q&A.
1. The "Challenge at Cybertron" Cyclonus and Rodimus will be coming out in an exclusive two-pack later this year, called "Battle in Space", with a Matrix of Leadership accessory and an exclusive comic book. Galvatron will not be included in this set.
2. We haven't heard anything yet. Considering the lack of Transformers characters that have made it to the comic scene recently yet haven't been translated to toy form, I think we can safely say that the answer to this question is most likely "no", unfortunately. It sure would be nice to get an updated Overlord though, wouldn't it?
3. Thunderwing repainted as Black Shadow would be truly awesome. I doubt Hasbro would do this, though it is possible. I could certainly see Takara Tomy doing this. At a minimum, I could see this as a future BotCon exclusive since Black Shadow falls within the obscure character realm on which the BotCon folks have been focusing. Time will tell. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
4. While it is possible since they could just repaint the Blurr figure white, I doubt Hasbro would do this simple to avoid confusion about the Drift character.
5. Scourge with a new head to become Devcon would be interesting. Not my first pick, but an interesting option nonetheless. I'm hoping for some minor repaints as Sweeps ala Jetstorm and his drones in Beast Machines.
6. Just Bumblebee and Cliffjumper. See one of the above answers for an image of Cliffjumper if you haven't seen him yet. He should be on shelves in about two months or less.
Arlekkin wrote:I saw the picture of Skullgrin on Darkmount (Straxus)'s instruction, and so far I wasn't that impressed, and I was wondering if Hasbro had thought about of doing any of the Pretender's shells in figures like the Battle Beasts, reminiscent of Takara's Masterforce animated series?
Hasbro seems to want to stay away from the Pretenders concept, which is evident from them releasing several homages of Pretenders characters as regular Transformers minus Pretender shells. I'd love to see the Pretenders concept revisited with today's toy technologies as well though. Speaking of Pretenders ... where's Alice from ROTF?
Arlekkin wrote:Another thing which is really annoying me is this. Some characters which in the original series had a cybertronian/futuristic form are getting earth alt modesin Transformers Universe/Generations. Are we gonna see any Cybertronian form in the Generations lines (apart from the War for Cybertron figures)?
Same thing goes for characters like Blaster whose alt forms are tools/appliances. Are we gonna see any transformers in the generations line with such alt forms rather than vehicles?
Hasbro recently answered this question for RavingToyManiac.com: "For the Transformers brand, we are always looking forward to finding new ways to re-imagine our favorite characters. We have not re-released all of the 1980's figures as we believe this would be a stale treatment of our beloved characters. Instead, we look at Transformers as being the most up-to-date technologically advanced sentient beings. Based on this, we feel that they would continually update themselves so that they would remain "Robots in Disguise" versus staying in their 1984 vehicle form and sticking out like a sore thumb!"
Arlekkin wrote:In an interview I've read that someone from Hasbro would like to see a new Rhinox and a new soundwave.... Are we gonna see any new figure from the Beast Wars series in the Generations line?
Hasbro recently answered this question for us in our most recent Q&A: "We're thrilled that fans chose to honor Dinobot during the first Transformers Hall of Fame induction however there are no plans for Beast Wars figures at this time."
Arlekkin wrote:Are we going to get any other repaint or retool of the starscream mold? A nice Sunstorm or a revamped Predator Talon wouldn't look bad in my collection.
There is at least one more planned release of the Starscream mold which is next year's TCC exclusive G2 Ramjet figure. While Hasbro hasn't announced a Thundercracker figure yet, I can't imagine that they'll leave fans hanging for too much longer. I'd expect a Thundercracker release in the next year or two. I'm sure there are a lot of fans that would also like to see someone make a Sunstorm repaint from this mold as well. Keep your fingers crossed!
emeraldbeacon wrote:Some recent toys have clear, yet undocumented, interaction capabilities (such as Skystalker/Mindwipe, Seaspray/Breacher, and Lockdown/Ratchet). Are there any other such pairings, either on the market now or coming soon, that the fandom has yet to 'discover'?
This is all that has been discovered so far. Stay tuned to the news at Seibertron.com to see if other special interactions are uncovered!
