The Energon Pub

[william-james88]

Burger King has been a partner to the Transformers movies for years and it looks like they will continue this tradition with the Transformers One movie. All we have to go on so far is a post from Twitter showing a Bumblebee toy that would come in a kids meal. This doesn't transform, of course, but it does have a backpack gimmick. You can see the images of the toy below.

[o.supreme]

I just had BK for lunch today . Anyway.... I remember back in 2007, we got some kids meals from BK for my son and they had (basically statues) for the 1st TF live action film. I remember around the same time when McDonalds had (I think) the last actual Transforming, Transformers toys to come with a kids meal (from TFA).

Here we are 17 years later. Now we get a hollow action figure, but I guess the plus is it has some articulation? ... . I guess with the rising cost of materials, and the fact that the toys for these meals cant cost more than ..."maybe": a dollar to produce, well never see an actual transforming TF for the young kids in a Restaurant meal.

After my kids aged out, I always had friends whose kids were growing up, it was sort of a right of passage for me to give the child of one of my friends their first TF (which was usually a kids meal toy), all I can say is that things have not improved over the years.

[TulioDude]

Im expecting the rest of the cast now.
Since they won't have the ability to transform right away, these toys are accurate!

Day 1620 of waiting for Transformers Armada Masterpiece news.

[Sabrblade]

I just had BK for lunch today . Anyway.... I remember back in 2007, we got some kids meals from BK for my son and they had (basically statues) for the 1st TF live action film. I remember around the same time when McDonalds had (I think) the last actual Transforming, Transformers toys to come with a kids meal (from TFA).

Here we are 17 years later. Now we get a hollow action figure, but I guess the plus is it has some articulation? ... . I guess with the rising cost of materials, and the fact that the toys for these meals cant cost more than ..."maybe": a dollar to produce, well never see an actual transforming TF for the young kids in a Restaurant meal.

I think it's more of a licensing situation. Think about how many official Transformers products there are nowadays, and how scarce there are fully transformable one not made by Hasbro and/or Takara directly. It seems Hasbro wants the conversion gimmick of the brand to be kept in-house and not let other officially-licensed parties to release their own convertible products anymore.

It's very similar to the current situation with BotCon having finally reacquired an official license for official Transformers toys as this year's boxed set of convention exclusives, but only by going through Yolopark instead of Hasbro proper, resulting in this year's official exclusive Transformers toys being of the non-transforming variety.

[Emerje]

I think it's more of a licensing situation. Think about how many official Transformers products there are nowadays, and how scarce there are fully transformable one not made by Hasbro and/or Takara directly. It seems Hasbro wants the conversion gimmick of the brand to be kept in-house and not let other officially-licensed parties to release their own convertible products anymore.

I don't really understand this. Normal third party figures I get, they're just licensing the characters for their own uses. But this is an official movie product to promote Hasbro's own movie, it's made to make Hasbro money directly. I can't believe non-transforming fast food toys are anything other than a cost savings and has nothing to do with the reason why third party figures (traditionally) don't transform. I don't see the connection. I'm more akin to believe these don't transform because it would be harder to sell Hasbro's own budget figures in stores. Why would parents buy kids an $8 Optimus Prime when they've got a transforming one at home that was "free"?

Emerje