Re: Why the Perception of Getting More Repaints than Ever Shows how Good Transformer Fans Have it Now
Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2019 7:28 amI’m sure you mean well by collectors, but I don’t think the accessibility of repaints, particularly of minor or “enticing” characters is the issue collectors seem to have. The problem seems to be with the restriction on toy personality, innovation and individual quality. Here are some areas where I think your article could address the discussion further:
1. Quality of Character Representation
For a brand name with a strong emphasis on individual characters, the toys are currently a poor attempt at making each toy’s character feel distinct. Younger fans who are invested in the Siege line will probably look back at their shelf to find only 7 or 8 molds dominate their entire collection.
I understand that seekers were always supposed to be clones of the same jet, and likewise Ratchet feels at home as the white repaint of Ironhide. But there’s no reason why Barricade, Elita-1, Crosshairs, Greenlight, Novastar, Lancer and Slamdance should be repaints of their respective mold predecessors, other than to cull production costs. Most niche’ characters are not receiving a genuine update to their traditional form, alternate mode, transformations or gimmicks. Even classic characters such as Soundwave or Shockwave are fixed in the strange limbo of having their robot modes portray their personalities quite well but have alternate modes which do not capture the feel of their original toys or character theme.
At best, this homogenization of character profiles in toys allows Hasbro to produce a larger range of figures at lower costs to them with less production time. This may have allowed them the budget to reintroduce city-formers. At worst, personality in Transformers toys is now more generic and safer than ever. I grant there is a greater spectrum of G1 characters available, but it’s hard to feel very invested about the character of background seeker number 3.
2. The End of Botcon Exclusives
Many fans were upset to see their Botcon exclusives annual routine come to a close. Admittedly I never read any complaints about the saturation of repaints at Botcon, though this was unsurprising. It’s hard to blame Fun Pub with such a limited design budget. Accessibility of exclusives may have soured some collectors, but almost all of Fun Publication’s molds also saw a widespread retail release. Seasoned collectors were the main audience to obsess over obscure repaints, which just so happened to be the only demographic which could afford exclusives anyway. There was no strong demand among younger collectors to have these exclusives released at wide retail.
Given less production constraints, Botcon exclusives probably would have been new action figures instead. This was something that Marty Isenberg and Derrick J. Wyatt wished for Botcon 2011, but instead had to base most of the Stunticons on Autobot toys. With a retail production budget, there’s no good excuse why minor characters shouldn’t receive a brand-new toy, and following in Botcon’s footsteps by repainting toys to represent these characters isn’t exactly ideal.
3. Definitive versions and Long-term Iterations
The Siege and Generations Select lines lure collectors by finally delivering just about every G1 cartoon character imaginable. This is an exciting opportunity for old school fans, but collectors should remember that definitive or ‘last word’ Transformers toys are a very rare occurrence. Most G1 Transformers will probably receive new figures within the next half decade and many of them could surpass their repaint counterparts.
There is absolutely nothing preventing Hasbro/Takara from making a new Slamdance for another combining-themed line, or a new Crosshairs for a target master reboot, for example. These repaints may seem like rare characters now, but they are in no way definitive versions.
Instead of releasing a wide variety of minor characters as repaints, figures would benefit from having a focussed design with attention to quality and detail. This is probably why the 2010 Generations and Reveal the Shield lines were so well appreciated by fans, and why many of their figures stand as the definitive versions of the characters on the shelves of collectors today. I know I still love my RTS Windcharger.
4. Limitation of Innovation and Visual Styles
Many fans consider War for Cybertron: Siege and Generations: Select to be synonymous with the ongoing Generations/ Classic line. This is something your article mentions itself.
However, the aims of the early Classics lines and Siege are very different. The Classics line wasn’t just about making modern versions of G1 toys; it was about modernizing and paying tribute to all Transformers characters. Obviously G1 would receive a huge focus, but the designers were originally encouraged to tweak the toys a little such as making Onslaught a non-combining Ultra-class figure, swapping out Inferno’s ladder, trying new ways to integrate Nightstick with Cyclonus, removing Bumblebee’s weapons, or packaging an entirely new Ravage figure with Hound. Even non-G1 characters such as Lugnut or Dinobot could receive updated designs which were refreshing.
The sky was the limit with the 2006-2011 classics figures and personally, I don’t think the new Siege toys carry its legacy very well. As a serious fan of the Beast Era and Transformers: Animated, I feel incredibly alienated by retail Transformers today. Accessibility for toys I’m hunting down is lower than it ever has been. We seem to be stuck in this void where everything must look like a blocky G1 toy, with rectangular forearms, a gun, and a Cybertronian vehicle mode. Some characters and their toys benefit from this visual style, like Optimus and Omega Supreme, but within the entire Transformers cannon there are far too many losers.
Wrap-up
Fans shouldn’t be afraid to ask for more from Hasbro, and collectors shouldn’t feel like they miss out if they don’t buy a disappointing figure. Transformers lines oversaturated with repaints will continue to exist as long as collectors will buy them.
Once upon a time, the Transformers Live Action films were the main Transformers lines, and fans were more than happy to give Hasbro a kind word of disapproval. Now we have an entirely new movie line of generally great quality which is almost universally praised. These improvements don’t happen overnight. It’s up to collectors to stick with their guns and voice their concerns, otherwise we’ll be stuck buying multicoloured fembot repaints forever.
1. Quality of Character Representation
For a brand name with a strong emphasis on individual characters, the toys are currently a poor attempt at making each toy’s character feel distinct. Younger fans who are invested in the Siege line will probably look back at their shelf to find only 7 or 8 molds dominate their entire collection.
I understand that seekers were always supposed to be clones of the same jet, and likewise Ratchet feels at home as the white repaint of Ironhide. But there’s no reason why Barricade, Elita-1, Crosshairs, Greenlight, Novastar, Lancer and Slamdance should be repaints of their respective mold predecessors, other than to cull production costs. Most niche’ characters are not receiving a genuine update to their traditional form, alternate mode, transformations or gimmicks. Even classic characters such as Soundwave or Shockwave are fixed in the strange limbo of having their robot modes portray their personalities quite well but have alternate modes which do not capture the feel of their original toys or character theme.
At best, this homogenization of character profiles in toys allows Hasbro to produce a larger range of figures at lower costs to them with less production time. This may have allowed them the budget to reintroduce city-formers. At worst, personality in Transformers toys is now more generic and safer than ever. I grant there is a greater spectrum of G1 characters available, but it’s hard to feel very invested about the character of background seeker number 3.
2. The End of Botcon Exclusives
Many fans were upset to see their Botcon exclusives annual routine come to a close. Admittedly I never read any complaints about the saturation of repaints at Botcon, though this was unsurprising. It’s hard to blame Fun Pub with such a limited design budget. Accessibility of exclusives may have soured some collectors, but almost all of Fun Publication’s molds also saw a widespread retail release. Seasoned collectors were the main audience to obsess over obscure repaints, which just so happened to be the only demographic which could afford exclusives anyway. There was no strong demand among younger collectors to have these exclusives released at wide retail.
Given less production constraints, Botcon exclusives probably would have been new action figures instead. This was something that Marty Isenberg and Derrick J. Wyatt wished for Botcon 2011, but instead had to base most of the Stunticons on Autobot toys. With a retail production budget, there’s no good excuse why minor characters shouldn’t receive a brand-new toy, and following in Botcon’s footsteps by repainting toys to represent these characters isn’t exactly ideal.
3. Definitive versions and Long-term Iterations
The Siege and Generations Select lines lure collectors by finally delivering just about every G1 cartoon character imaginable. This is an exciting opportunity for old school fans, but collectors should remember that definitive or ‘last word’ Transformers toys are a very rare occurrence. Most G1 Transformers will probably receive new figures within the next half decade and many of them could surpass their repaint counterparts.
There is absolutely nothing preventing Hasbro/Takara from making a new Slamdance for another combining-themed line, or a new Crosshairs for a target master reboot, for example. These repaints may seem like rare characters now, but they are in no way definitive versions.
Instead of releasing a wide variety of minor characters as repaints, figures would benefit from having a focussed design with attention to quality and detail. This is probably why the 2010 Generations and Reveal the Shield lines were so well appreciated by fans, and why many of their figures stand as the definitive versions of the characters on the shelves of collectors today. I know I still love my RTS Windcharger.
4. Limitation of Innovation and Visual Styles
Many fans consider War for Cybertron: Siege and Generations: Select to be synonymous with the ongoing Generations/ Classic line. This is something your article mentions itself.
However, the aims of the early Classics lines and Siege are very different. The Classics line wasn’t just about making modern versions of G1 toys; it was about modernizing and paying tribute to all Transformers characters. Obviously G1 would receive a huge focus, but the designers were originally encouraged to tweak the toys a little such as making Onslaught a non-combining Ultra-class figure, swapping out Inferno’s ladder, trying new ways to integrate Nightstick with Cyclonus, removing Bumblebee’s weapons, or packaging an entirely new Ravage figure with Hound. Even non-G1 characters such as Lugnut or Dinobot could receive updated designs which were refreshing.
The sky was the limit with the 2006-2011 classics figures and personally, I don’t think the new Siege toys carry its legacy very well. As a serious fan of the Beast Era and Transformers: Animated, I feel incredibly alienated by retail Transformers today. Accessibility for toys I’m hunting down is lower than it ever has been. We seem to be stuck in this void where everything must look like a blocky G1 toy, with rectangular forearms, a gun, and a Cybertronian vehicle mode. Some characters and their toys benefit from this visual style, like Optimus and Omega Supreme, but within the entire Transformers cannon there are far too many losers.
Wrap-up
Fans shouldn’t be afraid to ask for more from Hasbro, and collectors shouldn’t feel like they miss out if they don’t buy a disappointing figure. Transformers lines oversaturated with repaints will continue to exist as long as collectors will buy them.
Once upon a time, the Transformers Live Action films were the main Transformers lines, and fans were more than happy to give Hasbro a kind word of disapproval. Now we have an entirely new movie line of generally great quality which is almost universally praised. These improvements don’t happen overnight. It’s up to collectors to stick with their guns and voice their concerns, otherwise we’ll be stuck buying multicoloured fembot repaints forever.
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