The Energon Pub

[fenrir72]

@JZGR

Wasn't the Sky Lynx and Omega Supreme blueprints/records discovered accidentally in the Tomy archives after their merger?
At least thats how I understood the back story.

Anyways, a mystery that hopefully will be answered by another lucky strike.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

@JZGR

Wasn't the Sky Lynx and Omega Supreme blueprints/records discovered accidentally in the Tomy archives after their merger?
At least thats how I understood the back story.

Anyways, a mystery that hopefully will be answered by another lucky strike.

We'll never know, but we do know for sure that the merger is a blessing with those two Encores

[fenrir72]

That and the possible Shockwave re-issue. I'd like another Shockwave because though mine (the Takara version)is minty and all,his back pack is kind of loose despite my TLC.

[craggy]

since this thread is all about misunderstanding and pedantry, (as well as one awesomely interesting original question...which I didn't need to re-read 40 times to understand) I feel I should point out that Trademark is not only for names. Distinguishing features of any design could be trademarked. A red robot with blue legs and head that turns into a truck is a fairly familiar idea, one that we associate with Optimus Prime. I'm sure if there was some serious financial competition to Hasbro that used the same basic ideas they'd claim trademark, despite (presumably) some obvious differences between the 2 robot characters. Then of course there are companies with Registered Trademarks, like their logos or colour schemes or such.

First TF released that was a Hasbro original would have to be one of the movie guys I think.

Which is the oldest toy design to have appeared in the Transformers line? Megatron?

[Jelze Bunnycat]

since this thread is all about misunderstanding and pedantry, (as well as one awesomely interesting original question...which I didn't need to re-read 40 times to understand) I feel I should point out that Trademark is not only for names. Distinguishing features of any design could be trademarked. A red robot with blue legs and head that turns into a truck is a fairly familiar idea, one that we associate with Optimus Prime. I'm sure if there was some serious financial competition to Hasbro that used the same basic ideas they'd claim trademark, despite (presumably) some obvious differences between the 2 robot characters. Then of course there are companies with Registered Trademarks, like their logos or colour schemes or such.

I thought that fell under patents?

First TF released that was a Hasbro original would have to be one of the movie guys I think.

Which is the oldest toy design to have appeared in the Transformers line? Megatron?

Of the Diaclones it would have to be the Insecticons, since they came out before the Car Robot and Microchange sublines. Of the non-HasTak lines I'm not sure.

[craggy]

aren't patents for very specific designs? like the dimensions and shape of a coke bottle are patented, but the idea of a bottle that is thinner in the middle can't be?

like I said, pedantry. let them eat a particular brand of cake!

[fenrir72]

Maybe Mykltron should have reworded the question

"Which was the first TF figure designed specifically by Hasbro that wasn't adapted from previous Japanese toy lines?"

That is to be more specific.

I'd second that craggy, U.N.C.L.E. Megatron and/or Soundwave could be one of the oldest in their catalogs. Iirc the Insectrons where like set up as the Diaclone's foes (that's how it was portrayed in my 1982-83 not yet Blitzwing catalog).

[Mykltron]

Maybe Mykltron should have reworded the question

"Which was the first TF figure designed specifically by Hasbro that wasn't adapted from previous Japanese toy lines?"

I spent ages trying to make my question as easy to understand as possible You've summed it up perfectly.