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[Overcracker]

Stupid question …. Those Chinese KO’s of the G1 Dinobots, aside from using cheap plastic and suspect parts, seem to be the same molds as the originals. Couldn’t Hasbro just take one and modify / reverse engineer it and use it to make more?

Yes and no. It costs a HUGE amount of money to do what you're suggesting, the last and as far as I know only time Hasbro has done something like that was during the Pursuit of Cobra line for the Skystriker. They had to pay a collector for one and they only went through the expense because they knew they were going to release the jet enough to cover the costs. If I remember correctly the retail for the Skystriker was around $50 the same as the last reissue of G1 Prime.

Knowing all that, and what the current reissues go for, would you be willing to pay probably closer to $100 for ONE Dinobot? Keep in mind you have to buy it within the first month of release and not use any kind of gift or discount card for the retailer and Hasbro to see it as a success.

Didn’t they do just that with Rattrap last year for Walmart’s Vintage line?

The mold was clearly already not viable all the way back in 2006, when they used Transmetal Rattrap for the 10th anniversary. And only last year did they give us an original Rattrap, from what TFwiki claims are a brand new set of molds.

Vintage Rattrap - TFWiki

Or was that a different process?

[Jelze Bunnycat]

The question then becomes, why hasn't Hasbro or Takara ever done that in all these 40 years?

Basic economics I'm guessing. Would you rather allocate budget for new molds to restoring vintage toys that appeal to a limited target group, or to brand new toys with articulation, or features that increase playability for a broader audience? You may note that the "restored" molds are limited to parts (BW Cheetor's gut gun, G1 Jazz's head) to smaller toys (W Cassettebots, BW Rattrap).

[Sabrblade]

The question then becomes, why hasn't Hasbro or Takara ever done that in all these 40 years?

Basic economics I'm guessing. Would you rather allocate budget for new molds to restoring vintage toys that appeal to a limited target group, or to brand new toys with articulation, or features that increase playability for a broader audience?

The aforementioned Vintage Beast Wars Rattrap says "Hi".

[-Kanrabat-]

The vintage Cartoon Soundwave and Blaster are available at last at Walmart.ca, but I'm skipping them. For the price they go for, my current G1 accurate reissues does the job aplenty. Plus the differences are not drastic enough for me to double-dip, like for Starscream.

[chuckdawg1999]

Stupid question …. Those Chinese KO’s of the G1 Dinobots, aside from using cheap plastic and suspect parts, seem to be the same molds as the originals. Couldn’t Hasbro just take one and modify / reverse engineer it and use it to make more?

Yes and no. It costs a HUGE amount of money to do what you're suggesting, the last and as far as I know only time Hasbro has done something like that was during the Pursuit of Cobra line for the Skystriker. They had to pay a collector for one and they only went through the expense because they knew they were going to release the jet enough to cover the costs. If I remember correctly the retail for the Skystriker was around $50 the same as the last reissue of G1 Prime.

Knowing all that, and what the current reissues go for, would you be willing to pay probably closer to $100 for ONE Dinobot? Keep in mind you have to buy it within the first month of release and not use any kind of gift or discount card for the retailer and Hasbro to see it as a success.

Didn’t they do just that with Rattrap last year for Walmart’s Vintage line?

The mold was clearly already not viable all the way back in 2006, when they used Transmetal Rattrap for the 10th anniversary. And only last year did they give us an original Rattrap, from what TFwiki claims are a brand new set of molds.

Vintage Rattrap - TFWiki

Or was that a different process?

I think they made a new set of production molds, the original steel molds are still around. The original Steel molds for the Dinobots and others were lost. Didn't help with Rattrap since the toy ended up a floppy mess.

[Emerje]

It's possible they or Takara Tomy had already made that Rattrap mold a while ago and didn't use it, like maybe for the 20th anniversary that didn't get celebrated properly.

There's a big difference between reissuing a Skystriker and reissuing Grimlock. Not only is there a much larger world wide fanbase for Grimlock but there's also more realistic reuses for the mold. Not only are there multiple ways they can repaint it (original, cartoon, comic, G2 decos), but there are more opportunities to use it later and it wouldn't take up much store shelf space like a giant jet. I doubt it would be $100 if they're really dedicated to using it like other reissues. At most $60, at least $45, even more optimistic $35.

Emerje

[william-james88]

While they were available on the website, it was unsure if the Walmart exclusive 40th anniversary Trasformers G1 Soundwave and Blaster eeissues wouold find their way in stores as well. However, we have several reports of them being found at stores across Canada. The particular images below are from a Quebec Walmart and are courtesy of TF fan Daniel. These reissues go for $66.97. We have a review below of these products, enjoy.

[Dino-Snarl]

Nice! They arrived 2 months ago from the online order.

[-Kanrabat-]

There's not enough difference between these and the regular G1 for me. So for the price, that's an easy pass.

But for those who still don't have any of them in their G1 form, they are must-haves.

[Brokebot]

I'd like to see more cassettes for Blaster, but I guess that ship sailed 40 years ago.