thedistinctroom wrote:If he comes with a gun, doesn't that seem contrary to the wishes of
Volkswagon to not be involved with licensing their vehicles out to companies that would use them for their "War Machine" toys?
There are a few different possibilities -
1) Volkswagen changed their minds. After all, other cars they own (Audi/Lamborghini) have been featured heavily in TF fiction lately, and while the toys so far were not officially licensed (until MP Lambor and co.), upcoming ones might be. They like money as much as HasTak, I'm sure.
2) TakaraTomy's existing licenses they have for the Tomica line of diecast cars may be good enough in Japan. This doesn't mean Hasbro will have the same luxury, however.
3) The sculpt may be just different enough from the real-world car that they can get away with it. See very many recent TF figures based mostly on real cars but are different enough to not need licensing.