gothsaurus wrote:Looking back, I have liked them throwing in a rare UK or Japan character (or actionmaster), as well as the odd "new" characters like Autotroopers, Toxitron, Flak, Landshark and Elita 1. I'm forgetting them, but they've actually been in there occasionally. I guess Flak and Landshark were the last "original" characters we've gotten? (anyone able to confirm or deny?)
Weren't all of those characters already established to some degree in fiction though? I'm talking completely new characters, not just characters that never had toys (not that there's anything wrong with doing those either, I'm just saying).
Landshark I'll give you, but really he's just another Sharkticon/Gnaw homage when it comes down to it (at least if I'm thinking of the correct Botcon figure/set).
Toxitron was a cancelled G2 character/figure, Flak was in the comics (I think?) and Elita-1 was in the G1 cartoon (Optimus Prime's one and only love interest).
Again, there's nothing wrong with that, but figures/characters that were invented for the cons just seemed a lot more interesting to me, like Antagony, Catscan etc. but maybe I'm in the minority here. I can understand that these homages can be a surefire hit with many of the fans and that not every collector may be open to new character concepts, but I just find it a lot more interesting than adding yet another <insert name of G1 character here> to my shelf, especially if it's just a repaint of a mold that was never really meant to be that character anyway and they're obviously just kinda shoehorning it in with a new paintjob and a new head or doing yet another 'evil' SG repaint/'good' SG repaint.
I find it far more interesting and desirable when they create new concepts and characters. It makes the exclusives feel much more 'exclusive' and unique, to me at least. And if it's a mold I like at all, it's even more desirable.