Why the Perception of Getting More Repaints than Ever Shows how Good Transformers Fans Have it Now
Tuesday, July 16th, 2019 9:45am CDT
Categories: Site Articles, EditorialsPosted by: william-james88 Views: 21,531
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The Transformers Generations mega line now has an entire toyline just for repaints. It is called Generations Selects. Added to that are other exclusives rumoured (like a Reflector 3 pack in toy colours) or confirmed (like Siege Ratchet) which are all based on repaints. Of course, some may have different heads (like Hero Megatron), and different parts (like Ratchet) but basically it comes down to getting a lot of similar looking toys in different colours.
The general public has taken notice and the complaints have been piling.
Actual comments on facebook regarding recent reveals of repaints:
Now, are there truly more repaints than before? Of course not. So why does it feel like there are? Well for the simple reason that now repaints are no longer out of reach of people. Here are some repaints from 2015 where the complaint was minimal.
Every figure above was only available if you either attended certain events, or if you paid for a subscription and they were always at least twice the price of a retail figure. This made a lot of people ignore them and out of sight, out of mind.
Now, for 2019, what Hasbro has done is basically keep the same output of toys and repaints but make them more available. You no longer have to go to a convention to get them and Americans can now buy them for the same price as non exclusive figures. Them being more accessible means that they are cheaper on the secondary market or importers, which many international fans depend on as a last resort. Them being accessible means more fans can join in on the conversation and complain. So complaining about repaints is actually a luxury many didn’t have before, due to previous repaints being too expensive or inaccessible for anyone to care.
I would also argue that the repaints we are getting are far more enticing than the previous inaccessible repaints many missed out on (as shown in the previous example). Unlike those, the repaints in the Siege and Generations Selects line are for bots that share the same body type, for the most part. I mean, think about it, we are finally getting a good looking generations Ratchet (with no fake chest and in perfect scale), all the Datsuns, all the fembots, and all the seekers you could desire.
We are living in a new golden age of Transformers, people, and I for one am happy to share this time with you.
The general public has taken notice and the complaints have been piling.
Actual comments on facebook regarding recent reveals of repaints:
So I'm still paying for the same figure just in different colours???
Hasbro always remold,repaint their product, this is why third party always better than original
OMG MAKE IT STOP.
Please God no more repaint/retools. I hoped the repaint wars were over.....not by a longshot.
I knew Siege was gonna be repaint city just like the Prime Wars trilogy. It started out strong Wave 1 but then the seekers came, Prowl and his brothers, Sideswipe and Red Alert, Ironhide/Ratchet/Crosshairs, Soundwave and now Soundblaster. We are getting a grey Shockwave too. Hasbro getting lazy again.
Now, are there truly more repaints than before? Of course not. So why does it feel like there are? Well for the simple reason that now repaints are no longer out of reach of people. Here are some repaints from 2015 where the complaint was minimal.
Every figure above was only available if you either attended certain events, or if you paid for a subscription and they were always at least twice the price of a retail figure. This made a lot of people ignore them and out of sight, out of mind.
Now, for 2019, what Hasbro has done is basically keep the same output of toys and repaints but make them more available. You no longer have to go to a convention to get them and Americans can now buy them for the same price as non exclusive figures. Them being more accessible means that they are cheaper on the secondary market or importers, which many international fans depend on as a last resort. Them being accessible means more fans can join in on the conversation and complain. So complaining about repaints is actually a luxury many didn’t have before, due to previous repaints being too expensive or inaccessible for anyone to care.
I would also argue that the repaints we are getting are far more enticing than the previous inaccessible repaints many missed out on (as shown in the previous example). Unlike those, the repaints in the Siege and Generations Selects line are for bots that share the same body type, for the most part. I mean, think about it, we are finally getting a good looking generations Ratchet (with no fake chest and in perfect scale), all the Datsuns, all the fembots, and all the seekers you could desire.
We are living in a new golden age of Transformers, people, and I for one am happy to share this time with you.
This article was last modified on Tuesday, July 16th, 2019 9:58am CDT
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Re: Why the Perception of Getting More Repaints than Ever Shows how Good Transformers Fans Have it Now (2029322)
Posted by steals_your_goats on July 16th, 2019 @ 9:48am CDT
Posted by steals_your_goats on July 16th, 2019 @ 9:48am CDT
People just like bitching about things. The ONLY repaint in this line that doesn't really make "sense" is Crosshairs. Every other repaint is justified. The Datsuns are supposed to be the same. The seekers are supposed to be the same. Ratchet and Ironhide are supposed to share a mold. I could understand the complaint during the prime wars but not now.
Re: Why the Perception of Getting More Repaints than Ever Shows how Good Transformers Fans Have it Now (2029324)
Posted by gothsaurus on July 16th, 2019 @ 10:03am CDT
Posted by gothsaurus on July 16th, 2019 @ 10:03am CDT
I agree wholeheartedly. The figures being more accessible to the masses and cheaper is great.
On the flip side, I do truly miss the conventions, and surprise reveal of exclusives there... (and in the mail.) That has always been a fun experience.
I also deeply miss the stories, comics, art, lithographs and lore they developed as part of Botcon. Now, we are getting a lot of great characters, but we are missing the development for all of them.
(I wish they could devote some one-off comics to these new characters — Spotlight comic and bio. Could be a six issue art using the Rainmakers and three other new characters, for example. Each one gets a cover and bio, but the story could have a short arc.)
But I digress, peppering in a few new characters is great. Excited about Barricade, Orthia and the Rainmakers.
On the flip side, I do truly miss the conventions, and surprise reveal of exclusives there... (and in the mail.) That has always been a fun experience.
I also deeply miss the stories, comics, art, lithographs and lore they developed as part of Botcon. Now, we are getting a lot of great characters, but we are missing the development for all of them.
(I wish they could devote some one-off comics to these new characters — Spotlight comic and bio. Could be a six issue art using the Rainmakers and three other new characters, for example. Each one gets a cover and bio, but the story could have a short arc.)
But I digress, peppering in a few new characters is great. Excited about Barricade, Orthia and the Rainmakers.
Re: Why the Perception of Getting More Repaints than Ever Shows how Good Transformers Fans Have it Now (2029325)
Posted by Glarryg on July 16th, 2019 @ 10:06am CDT
Posted by Glarryg on July 16th, 2019 @ 10:06am CDT
I think this is a pretty good time to be collecting, too. People complained about all the repaints and remolds in Combiner Wars, and I thought it was a small price to pay for figures that were a huge advancement from the G1 combiners. You had a lot of similar figures to be sure, but you had combiners with knees, elbows, and hips that could actually move (and without the dinky connector-heads)! There are so many more display options with today's figures that I have no problem with repaints.
That said, the recently-revealed Stormbringers could have been a little more creative, color-wise, and not so "background character-accurate."
Still, though, am awesome time to be a collector. These are the kinds of figures we could only dream about in the '80s!
Glarryg
That said, the recently-revealed Stormbringers could have been a little more creative, color-wise, and not so "background character-accurate."
Still, though, am awesome time to be a collector. These are the kinds of figures we could only dream about in the '80s!
Glarryg
Re: Why the Perception of Getting More Repaints than Ever Shows how Good Transformers Fans Have it Now (2029328)
Posted by Nexus Knight on July 16th, 2019 @ 10:15am CDT
Even then, that Crosshairs looks really good in robot mode, making the lackluster vehicle mode (at least in his case, works for Ironhide and Ratchet IMO) endurable at the very least. I love these repaints. If you're a collector, but don't have a lot of money, but still like variety, you have a choice of what character you want from a particular mode. Example - I would prefer Skywarp, not a huge Starscream fan. However, my brother prefers Thundercracker. Neither of us try to buy a figure the other owns. But with Hasbro not hesitating to repaint this mode, we both get the joy of the Seeker mold and can still have a sense of uniqueness about our individual collections. True, the Seeker one is a mold so easily redone (I've counted seven uses of this mold, counting the Storm trio), but it illustrates what I like about this "golden age of Transformers".
Posted by Nexus Knight on July 16th, 2019 @ 10:15am CDT
steals_your_goats wrote:The ONLY repaint in this line that doesn't really make "sense" is Crosshairs
Even then, that Crosshairs looks really good in robot mode, making the lackluster vehicle mode (at least in his case, works for Ironhide and Ratchet IMO) endurable at the very least. I love these repaints. If you're a collector, but don't have a lot of money, but still like variety, you have a choice of what character you want from a particular mode. Example - I would prefer Skywarp, not a huge Starscream fan. However, my brother prefers Thundercracker. Neither of us try to buy a figure the other owns. But with Hasbro not hesitating to repaint this mode, we both get the joy of the Seeker mold and can still have a sense of uniqueness about our individual collections. True, the Seeker one is a mold so easily redone (I've counted seven uses of this mold, counting the Storm trio), but it illustrates what I like about this "golden age of Transformers".
Re: Why the Perception of Getting More Repaints than Ever Shows how Good Transformers Fans Have it Now (2029330)
Posted by Ultra Markus on July 16th, 2019 @ 10:18am CDT
Posted by Ultra Markus on July 16th, 2019 @ 10:18am CDT
Repaints that are separate characters are great but Im not a big fan of repaints that are just the same character with a power boost or something
Re: Why the Perception of Getting More Repaints than Ever Shows how Good Transformers Fans Have it Now (2029332)
Posted by gothsaurus on July 16th, 2019 @ 10:19am CDT
Posted by gothsaurus on July 16th, 2019 @ 10:19am CDT
Glarryg, you nailed it about Combiner Wars. Hasbro finally nailed it with a strong, versatile connector port with CW. Separating that from the head opened a lot of doors.
It's still kind awkward when the CW version is the best version of a character. LOL. :-\
It's still kind awkward when the CW version is the best version of a character. LOL. :-\
Re: Why the Perception of Getting More Repaints than Ever Shows how Good Transformers Fans Have it Now (2029335)
Posted by william-james88 on July 16th, 2019 @ 10:30am CDT
Like Cyclonus? I don't mind so much.
Posted by william-james88 on July 16th, 2019 @ 10:30am CDT
gothsaurus wrote:It's still kind awkward when the CW version is the best version of a character. LOL. :-\
Like Cyclonus? I don't mind so much.
Re: Why the Perception of Getting More Repaints than Ever Shows how Good Transformers Fans Have it Now (2029339)
Posted by Immortal Starscream on July 16th, 2019 @ 10:42am CDT
Posted by Immortal Starscream on July 16th, 2019 @ 10:42am CDT
For me, its the way these repaints are being handles that I really like. Unlike most previous repaints that clog shelves, these guys are all basically bonus figures that are being sold on the side of the line. this makes them like the con exclusives noted previously but more accessible, and ultimately optional if you don't care for them, even more so then general release figures found at retail.
some of these are must haves for me. seeker squadron? yes please. Shackwave? (radio shack galactic man shockwave) hes a total win for me, since I never had the hasbro version of the g1 wave, I only ever had galactic man. crosshairs is the only fail for me.
people do tend to forget, this franchise was founded on repaints.
some of these are must haves for me. seeker squadron? yes please. Shackwave? (radio shack galactic man shockwave) hes a total win for me, since I never had the hasbro version of the g1 wave, I only ever had galactic man. crosshairs is the only fail for me.
people do tend to forget, this franchise was founded on repaints.
Re: Why the Perception of Getting More Repaints than Ever Shows how Good Transformers Fans Have it Now (2029340)
Posted by gothsaurus on July 16th, 2019 @ 10:42am CDT
Posted by gothsaurus on July 16th, 2019 @ 10:42am CDT
The Unite Warriors Cyclonus. Man. He's snazzy.
Re: Why the Perception of Getting More Repaints than Ever Shows how Good Transformers Fans Have it Now (2029341)
Posted by Stargrave on July 16th, 2019 @ 10:42am CDT
Posted by Stargrave on July 16th, 2019 @ 10:42am CDT
Amen! Thank you Will!
Repaints, two or more characters sharing the same mold, it’s an inherent part of the fandom and honestly none of these are really a stretch. I personally find it a time to celebrate whether you want all these or not whether you get all these or not. It is a great time to be a Transformers fan.
Repaints, two or more characters sharing the same mold, it’s an inherent part of the fandom and honestly none of these are really a stretch. I personally find it a time to celebrate whether you want all these or not whether you get all these or not. It is a great time to be a Transformers fan.
Re: Why the Perception of Getting More Repaints than Ever Shows how Good Transformers Fans Have it Now (2029342)
Posted by ShrimpShogun on July 16th, 2019 @ 10:45am CDT
Posted by ShrimpShogun on July 16th, 2019 @ 10:45am CDT
Skywarp and Thundercracker and both repaints. 
Re: Why the Perception of Getting More Repaints than Ever Shows how Good Transformers Fans Have it Now (2029343)
Posted by gothsaurus on July 16th, 2019 @ 10:48am CDT
Posted by gothsaurus on July 16th, 2019 @ 10:48am CDT
Well said. It is a time to rejoice!
And truly, knowing Hasbro has to sell a few repaints of each mold to break even on their R&D, safety testing, etc.... we shouldn't even bring it up as a fandom. It's part of the process. We should be guessing and wondering what the repaints will BE. Not moaning or debating if repaints should exist... or bad mouthing them for doing it.
And truly, knowing Hasbro has to sell a few repaints of each mold to break even on their R&D, safety testing, etc.... we shouldn't even bring it up as a fandom. It's part of the process. We should be guessing and wondering what the repaints will BE. Not moaning or debating if repaints should exist... or bad mouthing them for doing it.
Re: Why the Perception of Getting More Repaints than Ever Shows how Good Transformers Fans Have it Now (2029353)
Posted by leokearon on July 16th, 2019 @ 11:08am CDT
Posted by leokearon on July 16th, 2019 @ 11:08am CDT
It is hard to complain about repaints/retools given that the first two years of TFS were based on largely repaints and retools.
Also if they are based off an existing character doesn't it make sense to repaint/retool them. So course some effort has to be put into the toy, just getting a Sideswipe and repainting him Red and Blue and calling him Optimus Prime won't really work or would it.
Being a Digibahser complaining about retools/repaints would make me a bit of a hypocrite, but hen again mine are for fun and again I put effort into them.
Also if they are based off an existing character doesn't it make sense to repaint/retool them. So course some effort has to be put into the toy, just getting a Sideswipe and repainting him Red and Blue and calling him Optimus Prime won't really work or would it.
Being a Digibahser complaining about retools/repaints would make me a bit of a hypocrite, but hen again mine are for fun and again I put effort into them.
Re: Why the Perception of Getting More Repaints than Ever Shows how Good Transformers Fans Have it Now (2029356)
Posted by mech_dh on July 16th, 2019 @ 11:09am CDT
Posted by mech_dh on July 16th, 2019 @ 11:09am CDT
I personally don’t mind a lot of repaints (combiner wars might have pushed the limit a bit) because it gives others a chance to pick up a figure they missed the first time around. For example, I was disappointed when generations nightbeat was changed from a jazz to a bumblebee repaint because I wanted to get my hands on the RTS jazz mold.
Re: Why the Perception of Getting More Repaints than Ever Shows how Good Transformers Fans Have it Now (2029357)
Posted by leokearon on July 16th, 2019 @ 11:09am CDT
That's what i do, new toy announced and I'm going who could this also be?
Posted by leokearon on July 16th, 2019 @ 11:09am CDT
gothsaurus wrote:Well said. It is a time to rejoice!
And truly, knowing Hasbro has to sell a few repaints of each mold to break even on their R&D, safety testing, etc.... we shouldn't even bring it up as a fandom. It's part of the process. We should be guessing and wondering what the repaints will BE. Not moaning or debating if repaints should exist... or bad mouthing them for doing it.
That's what i do, new toy announced and I'm going who could this also be?
Re: Why the Perception of Getting More Repaints than Ever Shows how Good Transformers Fans Have it Now (2029363)
Posted by DecepticonFinishline on July 16th, 2019 @ 11:22am CDT
Posted by DecepticonFinishline on July 16th, 2019 @ 11:22am CDT
I don't mind repaints if it serves a purpose. I am ON this Seeker train. I want to see all the Diaclone bois, too. Clampdown. Exhaust. Delta Magnus. Tigertrack. All of em.
I DO mind repaints when it's the same character IN THE SAME LINE FOR NO REASON. Titans Return is the worst example of this, featuring 4 Optimus'. (I mean, I get why Delta Magnus happened, but then we never got God Bomber, AND it was in an expensive box set with other less than necessary figures. I seriously only wanted Nautica and the clones out of those.)
***EDIT***
I FORGOT ABOUT THESE COMPLETIONIST WALLET LEECHES.
I DO mind repaints when it's the same character IN THE SAME LINE FOR NO REASON. Titans Return is the worst example of this, featuring 4 Optimus'. (I mean, I get why Delta Magnus happened, but then we never got God Bomber, AND it was in an expensive box set with other less than necessary figures. I seriously only wanted Nautica and the clones out of those.)
***EDIT***
I FORGOT ABOUT THESE COMPLETIONIST WALLET LEECHES.
Re: Why the Perception of Getting More Repaints than Ever Shows how Good Transformers Fans Have it Now (2029364)
Posted by Toizarus on July 16th, 2019 @ 11:28am CDT
Posted by Toizarus on July 16th, 2019 @ 11:28am CDT
I think what's made it more noticeable is that fact that this year they've plumped for just about all of the the obvious repaint characters - the Seekers, the Datsuns, Ironhide/Ratchet etc - at the same time. This has flooded the line with lots of very similar looking figures: there are now seven colour-variants of the seeker mold on sale in this first year alone. Four Datsuns.
Does this mean that next year/series we'll be seeing lots more variation among the design of the molds? I doubt it.
I do also think there's cause for complaint when they start shoe-horning characters into molds that don't suit them. I was looking forward to Crosshairs until I saw the mold they'd used, which killed my interest almost completely. Barricade dropped into the Datsun mold has the same effect. How many Femmebots share the same mold now? Four, plus almost-Chromia? Slamdance is a rather poor use of the Flywheels mold. There are folks looking for a Blaster using the Soundwave mold. I hope that if they do go that way they at least find some budget to remold some of him as well as the obligatory new head.
And while it's great that US fans can pick up Select figures for the same RRP as normal ones, for eveyone else it means shelling out more for a repaint than for the original character the mold was designed for. Still much less than the OTFCC figures, but still....it reduces the value of the proposition. Paying slightly more for a figure was fine for the likes of Deluxe Groove, Grotusque and Punch/Counterpunch - these were unique figures (until Wreck-gar was announced, anyway). But for a repaint there's very little incentive other than if you particularly love that character.
I do like that Select figures have placed repaints within the reach of everyday buyers and not just the die-hards that could afford dropping $400 on an exclusive set but this line is starting to look VERY cheap due to the flood of similar fare.
Does this mean that next year/series we'll be seeing lots more variation among the design of the molds? I doubt it.
I do also think there's cause for complaint when they start shoe-horning characters into molds that don't suit them. I was looking forward to Crosshairs until I saw the mold they'd used, which killed my interest almost completely. Barricade dropped into the Datsun mold has the same effect. How many Femmebots share the same mold now? Four, plus almost-Chromia? Slamdance is a rather poor use of the Flywheels mold. There are folks looking for a Blaster using the Soundwave mold. I hope that if they do go that way they at least find some budget to remold some of him as well as the obligatory new head.
And while it's great that US fans can pick up Select figures for the same RRP as normal ones, for eveyone else it means shelling out more for a repaint than for the original character the mold was designed for. Still much less than the OTFCC figures, but still....it reduces the value of the proposition. Paying slightly more for a figure was fine for the likes of Deluxe Groove, Grotusque and Punch/Counterpunch - these were unique figures (until Wreck-gar was announced, anyway). But for a repaint there's very little incentive other than if you particularly love that character.
I do like that Select figures have placed repaints within the reach of everyday buyers and not just the die-hards that could afford dropping $400 on an exclusive set but this line is starting to look VERY cheap due to the flood of similar fare.
Re: Why the Perception of Getting More Repaints than Ever Shows how Good Transformers Fans Have it Now (2029366)
Posted by durroth on July 16th, 2019 @ 11:32am CDT
Posted by durroth on July 16th, 2019 @ 11:32am CDT
honestly I still think crosshairs makes more sense than crosshairs from the kup/orion pax mold. I'm not in love with the cartoon accurate head and the forearms are the wrong color but otherwise it's a better match to his vehicle mode. Really the only major change I would make if I had control would be to tampo the hinge area of his chest/windshield piece black, make the red redder and replace the black plastics on the forearms and grill with blue.
Re: Why the Perception of Getting More Repaints than Ever Shows how Good Transformers Fans Have it Now (2029367)
Posted by Scramjet on July 16th, 2019 @ 11:32am CDT
Posted by Scramjet on July 16th, 2019 @ 11:32am CDT
I'm not at all mad about all the repaints, especially since all of the characters that are coming out are just like they were in the G1 and just like they have been since. Every time there's a Starscream you know you are at least getting Thundercracker or Skywarp. Every time there is a Prowl, a Bluestreak or Smokescreen. Ironhide = Ratchet, so on and so forth. I agree with Decepticon Finishline, when it's the same character repainted for no real reason OR the same character in different size classes (deluxe to voyager, voyager to leader) is when I'm annoyed. That repaint or different size class could've been used for a different character.
It's a great time to be a Transformers fan. I just wish I didn't buy all the bots over the last few years so I could buy these now instead
It's a great time to be a Transformers fan. I just wish I didn't buy all the bots over the last few years so I could buy these now instead
Re: Why the Perception of Getting More Repaints than Ever Shows how Good Transformers Fans Have it Now (2029371)
Posted by gothsaurus on July 16th, 2019 @ 11:38am CDT
Posted by gothsaurus on July 16th, 2019 @ 11:38am CDT
Have to say, if putting the dino cassettes with movie bots was the only way they could figure out (cost and logistic wise) to get those out to the masses, then good job.
Keep them coming. Still four more cassettes we're watching for.
Keep them coming. Still four more cassettes we're watching for.
