The Energon Pub

ScottyP wrote:I would love to see this, with original molds too. A G1 style Drift, other now "standard" characters like Lockdown, Lugnut and Barricade, maybe an RiD Strongarm or some of the imaginary cassette bots like Stinger would all be amazing to me. Edit: forgot to mention this initially, but some totally 100% new characters would also be fantastic here.

I could definitely go for a Drift in the style of an '84 car and a Slipstream in the style of a smaller Seeker. Not to mention a Windblade that's a little like a Seeker, but with a unique transformation.

I'm sure I've seen customs of Alpha Bravo made from G1 Blades.

Emerje

This is a very interesting prospect, but I think expanding the G1 toyline now would be too niche for mass retail, and maybe even for an exclusive line. G1 figures are appealing because of either nostalgia or history. Older collectors like them because they have personal connections to that era of toys, and newer collectors like G1 figures because they represent the beginning of the franchise. What all collectors expect from new Transformers toys has evolved as the franchise has evolved. At this point, it must be very few people that still see G1 figures as purely toys, and not as relics to be appreciated for the impact they had personally and culturally (not that they aren't toys, or that they can't still be used for fun, but who's going to play with their complete G1 Jetfire or Constructicons in the same way they did in the 80's?).

With the standard practice of creating new toys for old characters with new standards of functionality and engineering, reissuing older figures become opportunities to experience a piece of Transormers history, rather than to be truly definitive representations of these characters. To try to retroactively make history by making toys that didn't actually exist at that time would defy the main appeal for both demographics.

Would it have been nice for there to have been a G1 Arcee, Unicron, Devcon, or other Junkions? Sure! Would they be needed now, now that we have multiple options of updated versions of those characters that do much more and integrate into a modern collection? For most, I would guess probably not.

I hope they continue to do reissues, for G1, Beast Wars, and other lines. They're great for giving new fans a glimpse into the origins and development of the franchise and to see how far we've come. But Transformers doesn't need to fabricate authenticity.

That said, if they did a G2 Megatron in G1 colours I would scoop that right up.

Emerje wrote:

ScottyP wrote:I would love to see this, with original molds too. A G1 style Drift, other now "standard" characters like Lockdown, Lugnut and Barricade, maybe an RiD Strongarm or some of the imaginary cassette bots like Stinger would all be amazing to me. Edit: forgot to mention this initially, but some totally 100% new characters would also be fantastic here.

I could definitely go for a Drift in the style of an '84 car and a Slipstream in the style of a smaller Seeker. Not to mention a Windblade that's a little like a Seeker, but with a unique transformation.

I'm sure I've seen customs of Alpha Bravo made from G1 Blades.

Emerje

Oh man, I'd even settle for a G1 drift made from G1 Springer. Thar would be sweet.

That's a little too "movie" for my liking. For me G1 Drift has to be a die-cast car, preferably a licensed one.

Emerje

sol magnus wrote:G1 Headmasters. That is all.

This. Absolutely.

Sure, I'd like new retro style figures in G1-style, but before they do that

(off topic) how about Hasbro or Takara just reissue the existing 80s Headmasters deluxe toys? It's a shame there's nothing celebrating this year as the 35th anniversary of Headmasters other than the MPG trainbots, who were in the Japanese show but aren't themselves Headmasters.

Instead, we've gotten the same early G1 toys reissued so many times with different packaging or decos. And now Hasbro's reissuing BW vintage but skipping over 87-89 G1 figures.

Cool convo.

I don't think it would work.

It would have to be something like those Fast Action Battlers. Simple transformation > cheap and one size for all the characters. Still wouldn't feel retro at all.
We already have ReAction non-transformable figures.

And Hasbro G1 Reissue, Takara Book Reissue, Takara Encore has already been done guys.

I think, what might work, is Again G1 reissue's but:
- No Die Cast (cheaper production)
- Less extra hands/guns/missiles (cheaper production)
- Minimal mold/addon upgrades like Ironhide head, better Seeker face, Megatron uses Browning mold (is WAY BETTER) with a G1 head. The Datsun bro's are good as they are.

Something like that, no completely new molds because we got Generations and those cheap Walgreens like G1 characters + the more kids directed cartoon G1 figures.

But I don't think there will be a market for it.

What I would like Hasbro to do is Reissue the Euro Exclusive Canon Masters and Predators (or Turbo Masters en Scope Masters) and reissue a bunch more of G2 figures (not the lame G1 repaints).

Just do that.

High_Q wrote:Instead, we've gotten the same early G1 toys reissued so many times with different packaging or decos. And now Hasbro's reissuing BW vintage but skipping over 87-89 G1 figures.

They did repeat G1 reissues a few years ago because Walmart wanted G1 toys to tie into the '80s vibe of the Bumblebee movie and those were the easiest molds to access. It was successful enough to stick around longer. They started to do Beast Wars reissues at Walmart to prepare for the '90s BW vibe of ROTB which would have been more obvious had the movie not been pushed back an entire year. Wouldn't surprise me if they do another large roll out of reissues next year instead of just one or two at a time like they're doing right now. Maybe they'll reissue the 10th anniversary 2 pack this time around.

Emerje

High_Q wrote:Instead, we've gotten the same early G1 toys reissued so many times with different packaging or decos. And now Hasbro's reissuing BW vintage but skipping over 87-89 G1 figures.

Those reissues, in both cases, are indirect movie tie ins.

By pure coincidence, looks like Hasbro gave us an answer to what a retro line would look like if it wasn't just reissues, with this hot rod figure below. While yes, it is the G1 toy reissued again, it is a new release of something fans had asked for a while (have a representation of Hot Rod with the colours he had in the film). So, if we were to get an alpha bravo, it could be a redeco of Blades (for instance) and Windblade could use the G1 starscream mold as a base with it's own different set of wings. And the price point ($30) is not so out of reach that it could be sold at retail alongside other kids toys, just like other retro lines do.

Thinking about it they probably could use the Starscream mold for Windblade with minimal new tooling. The main wings are the obvious part, but a new face would be an easy enough swap and her hair can be sculpted in where the vents normally are on the sides of the head which would still be hidden in jet mode. The usual guns could be replaced with swords and maybe swap the fists for ones with 5mm holes (not the Megatron gun fists from Starscream).

Emerje