Encore Cassette reissues and Henkei Minibot sets!

[kup]

Takara will be releasing a Cassette set including Rewind, Eject, Ravage and Laserbeak. They are also releasing Henkei legends of the minibots characters including Beachcomber, Bumblebee and Brawn as "C-18 Attack Team Minibots" and Wheelie, Warpath and Cosmos in "C-19 Spy Team Minibots"

http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/generation-1-1/new-generation-one-cassette-reissues-and-henkei-minibots-166413/

Personally, I will not be getting any of the cassettes as I already own them in reasonably good condition but I wish they would release Ratbat and Overkill as well as the combining cassettes.

[Sky Shadow]

Takara will be releasing a Cassette set including Rewind, Eject, Ravage and Laserbeak. They are also releasing 2 more sets of minibots including Beachcomber, Bumblebee and Brawn as "C-18 Attack Team Minibots" and Wheelie, Warpath and Cosmos in "C-19 Spy Team Minibots"

http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/generation-1-1/new-generation-one-cassette-reissues-and-henkei-minibots-166413/

It seems that Bumblebee must be released yet again :rolleyes:

Personally, I will not be getting any as I already have all these bots in reasonably good good condition but they are great for those beginning to collect minibots!

I don't think you have the minibots, Kup - they're Henkei versions of those Legend things.

[kup]

I don't think you have the minibots, Kup - they're Henkei versions of those Legend things.

You are indeed correct. I will fix my post. Thanks

Mod: Please fix my thread title

[GoktimusPrime]

Gah! I already have enough Laserbeaks and Ravages (both originals and reissues) - but my Rewind's gun is thoroughly chrome-worn and my Eject has no guns (and has sticker wear) - so I wanna get the set for the Autobot cassettes. If anyone is only interested in Ravage and Laserbeak please LMK and maybe we can do a split order - you can keep the box. :)


I don't think you have the minibots, Kup - they're Henkei versions of those Legend things.
Heh. For a moment I was puzzled as to why they would reissue Bumblebee, Cosmos and Warpath again (esp. Bumblebee - I already have three different reissues of G1 Bumblebee (and one variant reissue)). But I got excited for a moment at the prospect of getting a reissue Brawn (mine has a busted shoulder joint) and Beachcomber (my Beachcomber's in good condition but I wouldn't mind another XD).

[Paulbot]

Updated the thread title.

I would prefer Encore reissues of Brawn, Beachcomber, Warpath, Cosmos & Wheelie. The TF Collection reissues are pricey (well not so much Kup & Wheelie) and although I have all those figures they are well loved and 23-4 years old.

I would get the cassettes. You can never have enough of Ravage and Laserbeak.

[kup]

Thanks Paul

[roller]

ack!!! i just need Rewind, anyone in WA not want theres?

[1orion2many]

:eek:Those Minibots look like Maccas toys:p.

[Robzy]

Awesome news about the Cassettes! I wish they'd reissue Rumble and Frenzy though! :o

[GoktimusPrime]

I suspect that they've lost the Rumble/Frenzy mould. :(

I'm glad they finally decided to reissue Eject/Rewind though after getting Flipsides and Rosanna!! (such teases!)

[kup]

I still want a Ratbat and Overkill.

Getting Ratbats in the secondary market is too much of a minefield as its impossible to tell the fake ones from pics.

[GoktimusPrime]

Love yer sig. :)

I'd personally like to get Slugfest (so I guess they should reissue Slugfest and Overkill together - my Overkill is missing his weapons so I'd get both) and I really want Grand Slam and Raindance. Squawktalk and Beastbox would be nice but not that essential for me.

[blackie]

oh how i long for a complete encore set of all the cassettes :D

[gamblor916]

Nice that they're reissuing Rewind and Eject, though it would have been better IMO if it was with Ramhorn and Steeljaw or other cassettes.


I still want a Ratbat and Overkill.

Getting Ratbats in the secondary market is too much of a minefield as its impossible to tell the fake ones from pics.

I may part with one of my Ratbats. PM if interested.

[kup]

I may part with one of my Ratbats. PM if interested.

PM Sent!

[kup]

After looking at the Promo Warpath pics and the final carded product from Hasbro, I am tempted to wait till Henkei releases their Legends set as its likely to be painted more like the Promos.

http://www.tfw2005.com/resources/universe-classics-20-legends-autobots-269/warpath-1903/

The risk of bad QC is also very small at this size level.

[GoktimusPrime]

Steeljaw's already been reissued. Ramhorn would be good though as he's never been reissued before.

[Zippo]

Oh, I am now torn.
I was just going to get the Hasbro Legends (and already have Wave 4 at BBTS) but since they are coming to Henkei land, I may have to tell myself that I can wait another 4 months to get these.

Man the Decepticon's are really outnumbered for the Henkei releases.

Cassette reissues, espy Eject and Rewind who I don't have. However I wish for Ramhorn and Frenzy/Rumble.

[liegeprime]

Sigh, rumble/frenzy mold has been proliferating the KO market, couldnt they retro mold it perhaps? The KOers seem to be able to do it, why not HAsTAkTom Themselves, theyve got nothing to loose as buyers want the real toy not KO's. So its a good investment AFAIK. I would want to see is a reissue of the japanese exclusive tapes - the 4 autobot dinosaurs, Noizy, Graphi, Sauru and forgot the last one's name, anyways, that would seriously put down an end to that ridiculously overpriced bidding thats going on whenever these guys are up on ebay. Plus the fact that these are the only tapes I have left to collect.

But these reissues are a welcome blessing especially for those that dont have the mold or are wanting to replace their worn out ones.

[roller]

Heck!!! Just release a giant box set of ALL cassettes, with the little clear cassette holders, like the minibot box

I want Enemy

[liegeprime]

I want Enemy

There was one well actually 2 auctions that I spotted within the last 2 months - been telling Tober about it everytime. Its not so great a toy anyway, the Op mask is better.

[roller]

There was one well actually 2 auctions that I spotted within the last 2 months - been telling Tober about it everytime. Its not so great a toy anyway, the Op mask is better.

if you see it super cheap, you buy it for me and i send pennies via air internet:)

[k.wong23]

mm i want this right now. Gimme.

[GoktimusPrime]

Sigh, rumble/frenzy mold has been proliferating the KO market, couldnt they retro mold it perhaps? The KOers seem to be able to do it, why not HAsTAkTom Themselves, theyve got nothing to loose as buyers want the real toy not KO's. So its a good investment AFAIK.
Because it's an extremely expensive thing for TakaraTOMY to do. Takara reported that reissuing Convoy was hideously expensive because they'd lost the moulds for the arms and they had to be reconstructed from scratch. Apparently doing that alone cost Takara an arm and a leg (no pun intended!). Now with a toy like Convoy they could get away with it - and on top of that look at the number of times Takara have milked that mould... that's got to be the single most reissued Transformer of all freakin' time.

As for why it's so much more expensive for Takara(TOMY), I suspect that it would include reasons such as:
+ Higher quality/standards
+ Legal fees (e.g. licensing et al.)
+ Marketing fees
...there would be a whole bunch of factors in legally reproducing a Transformer that bootleggers would overlook - hence why KOs are so evil, aside from the intellectual theft it's such an unfair form of competition because they're exempt from so many costs that legit companies are bound by. As Eric Siebernaler explained, when developing a Transformer every minute detail is budgeted for, right down to every last drop of paint.


I would want to see is a reissue of the japanese exclusive tapes - the 4 autobot dinosaurs, Noizy, Graphi, Sauru and forgot the last one's name, anyways, that would seriously put down an end to that ridiculously overpriced bidding thats going on whenever these guys are up on ebay. Plus the fact that these are the only tapes I have left to collect.
I personally don't care about those tapes - it's not as if they really did anything noteworthy in G1 canon that I care about (can't even remember them ever appearing off hand). If they reissued them I'd quickly grab them for sure - but if they don't I'm not going to actively seek them out.

It was the same with Ginrai, Stepper, Soundblaster, Twincast, Star Convoy etc. - I got these reissues just because they were there. I wouldn't have bought these toys if they'd never been reissued.

[liegeprime]

Well Im not actively seeking them out ( dinotapes) as well, it's more of so I can finally own one ( in a very cheaper price).

Prolly why they keep reissuing the Prime mold even if its getting pink coloring is indeed to make up for the arm and leg it cost them. :)

Quality wise, well there's a questionable thing now gok. As Ive noticed that the plastic quality they use now for the newer reissues ( encore) are kinda KOish in quality. Ive recently bought the seeker 2pack ( as well as Encore Screamer) and the feel of the plastic compared to just a recent reissue booktype (hasbro though) seeker is well, it just feels cheaper. The gloss aint there, the places where the sprue cuts are visible, plastic weighs lighter. Mebbe its just me, but the later reissues are getting KOer and KOer in QC. :(:(

Hopefully these cassettrons dont suffer from that cheap KO plastic feel coz theres not much plastic to use on em, and if they break easy due to the poor plastic, well, its not a pretty pic.

[heroic_decepticon]

yeah, I agree that the later reissues are suffering from poorer and poorer quality, even when compared with the earlier reissues.

It would be great to get these casettes even if it was just for the freshness and newness. They'll probably be cheap like the mini-bot set, just cant beat the prices when compared with vintage toys.

[kup]

Please keep in mind that there is a big difference between Quality Control (QC) and Quality of materials used in Manufacture.

Quality Control issues is when a figure is sent from the factory to the retailer with manufacturing errors or mishaps such as misapplied paint, missassembled or missing parts, etc. It has nothing or very little to do with the quality of the materials they used.

For example, Henkei uses much higher quality materials when manufacturing figures but their Quality Control is severely lacking so a lot of figures with manufacturing 'mishaps' get through from the factory to the retailer.

[orionpax1]

Sweet cant wait for these need to replace my eject he is looking a bit worse for wear dont have the others (anymore) and at least use someone else instead of bumblebee (so over used)

[jaydisc]

This is great news on all fronts. This also seems to go against previous reports I've heard that KOs prevent reissues.


For example, Henkei uses much higher quality materials when manufacturing figures

Is there a source for this or is this your personal assessment. If the latter, on what basis?

[GoktimusPrime]

This also seems to go against previous reports I've heard that KOs prevent reissues.
These cassettes haven't been KOed have they?

[Rampage]

These cassettes haven't been KOed have they?

Ravage & Laserbeak have been none of the others in the encore pack have been though

[GoktimusPrime]

Were they KOed before or after their initial reissue? Laserbeak was first reissued in September 2003 with TFC Soundwave and Ravage was first reissued in March 2005 w/ TFC Soundblaster. There have been known cases of G1 TFs being KOed after they've been reissued (e.g.: Predaking) but I'm not aware of any TFs that have been KOed before being reissued.

[Sky Shadow]

Were they KOed before or after their initial reissue? Laserbeak was first reissued in September 2003 with TFC Soundwave and Ravage was first reissued in March 2005 w/ TFC Soundblaster. There have been known cases of G1 TFs being KOed after they've been reissued (e.g.: Predaking) but I'm not aware of any TFs that have been KOed before being reissued.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean, Gok. Heaps of toys have been knocked off before being reissued. Metroplex is a recent example. Plus there are heaps of KOs that haven't been reissued yet like the Dinobots, Mirage, Ratbat etc.

EDIT: Okay, now I understand (I'm on 7.2kps dialup at the moment so it took the previous pages of this thread ages to load.) But yes, as I said, Metroplex is a recent example of a KO before a proper reissue.

[GoktimusPrime]

When Takara started doing G1 reissues people were asking why they wouldn't release guys like the Constructicons, Menasor etc., which at the time were being heavily KOed. Takara then made a statement saying that they didn't wish to compete with bootleggers and gave that as the reason for why they wouldn't reissue Devastator, Bruticus, King Poseidon (Piranacon) etc. despite having those moulds.

I'd forgotten that Metroplex had been KOed before Encore Metroflex... but then we are hearing reports that Encore Metroplex is shelf-warming which I guess would only justify their previous policy about not wanting to compete with bootleggers. :/ The fact that Metroplex is such a large and expensive toy wouldn't help either - but the lack of sales wouldn't be doing any favours for anyone at TakaraTOMY wanting to reissue other TFs that have been KOed.

The Dinobots, Mirage, Sunstreaker etc. are a different case though - I believe HasTak have stated that they have lost these moulds so it's no longer feasible for them to reissue them as it would require completely reconstructing these moulds from scratch which, as we know from Takara's experience with the partial reconstruction of the G1 Convoy mould, is extremely expensive. So a complete reconstruction would be too cost-prohibitive.

There is a better chance for Takara-TOMY to reissue moulds that they haven't yet lost or destroyed yet. We know for sure that they still have the moulds for the G1 Combaticons and Seacons. You could try and petition HasTak to reissue these moulds, but I wouldn't bank on your chances of success. :/ And no, I don't count the OTFCC Seacons as a true "reissue" (any more than G2 Sideswipe being a "reissue" of G1 (1984) Sideswipe). (-_-)

[FFN]

Those Henkei Legends are rather... randomly assigned. Bumblebee and Beachcomber (spy and pacifist) are in the Attack team? Warpath the trigger-happy tank is in the Spy team? What?


Is there a source for this or is this your personal assessment. If the latter, on what basis? Kup hates Hasbro's guts, in my observation.

[kup]

Kup hates Hasbro's guts, in my observation.

And you are too much in love with them, in my observation ;)

My assessment is based on comparing figures of the same release (eg Universe Silverstreak and Henkei Streak) and then getting a second opinion from another collector who doesn't have a bias.

That still doesn't excuse shoddy QC though. That is what is making me reassess Henkei purchases more than the materials used.

[GoktimusPrime]

Those Henkei Legends are rather... randomly assigned. Bumblebee and Beachcomber (spy and pacifist) are in the Attack team?
Yin to his yang! Seriously though - being a pacifist doesn't necessarily mean that you can't kick butt (it's just that you're reluctant to do so). Most of the best fighters out there are pacifists (e.g. warrior monks, Zombie-slaying priests (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7xN3Z7890o) etc.). ;)


Warpath the trigger-happy tank is in the Spy team? What?
Forget triggerhappy, he's also LOUD. That's pretty hilarious. :D

[Golden Phoenix]

Warpath the trigger-happy tank is in the Spy team?

They never said they were a good spy team, although he could act as a distraction

[kup]

They never said they were a good spy team, although he could act as a distraction

lol, I can see how that may work!

POW, KAZZAM, KAPOW!

[Golden Phoenix]

lol, I can see how that may work!

POW, KAZZAM, KAPOW!

Look! An obvious distraction!

[kup]

Look! An obvious distraction!

Well if you are walking down the street and suddenly you hear some dude randomly shouting "BANG!, BOOM!, KAPOW!" Wouldn't you turn around to see what the hell is wrong with him? :p

[GoktimusPrime]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Warpath%20Vs%20Kickback%20Photocomic/photocomic_warpathvskickback05.jpg?t=1229926808

[doubleclouder]

its really high time they get reissued

I was bidding on this exact 4, except that they are vintages, and yea on ebay. Auction ended for 120 USD for these 4 loose items, like what..?!?!

I hope all of them get reissued, i really love them! Hope the bot casette tapes get reissued too :D

[STL]

Awesome news. Tech spec cards galare, here I come!

And I also will ignore the Hasbro Legends then. I don't like buying doubles of Legends, they're especially not worth it generally. Unless of course the packaging is as good as Deluxes are.

[sideswipes brother]

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TAK10904&mode=retail

You must be kidding on this price right??????

[blackie]

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TAK10904&mode=retail

You must be kidding on this price right??????

wonder how long it will be till RK have it on preorder for 30% less?

[MV75]

Up for EARLY BIRD preorder on HLJ along with quite a few others (universe henkei).

Yes I'm still dirty over noone mentioning the early bird jazz preorder when it happened, so it's my mission to do it myself now.

[Zippo]

wonder how long it will be till RK have it on preorder for 30% less?


Already up
http://www.robotkingdom.com/services/eshop/main.php?action=details&CatType=Category&II=TFECR15&lang=us&CatID=41_99

[MV75]

Just remember that rk shipping is at least 2x that of hlj.

[sideswipes brother]

I refuse to buy this reissue. Why???

A. There are only 4 of them.:(
B. I already own a reissue Ravage and Lazerbeak x2.:)
C. Each one is no bigger than a minibot and therefore i cannot justify the price they are asking.:mad::eek:

Will consider it if they come down in price.

[doubleclouder]

i am sure in time to come, there will be more of them!
i guess the problems with reissues is that some of us already have the vintages, and it hurt us one way or another. heh

[sideswipes brother]

Up for EARLY BIRD preorder on HLJ along with quite a few others (universe henkei).

Yes I'm still dirty over noone mentioning the early bird jazz preorder when it happened, so it's my mission to do it myself now.

I know what you mean. I missed a few early bird specials on HLJ website. But in my defence IMO their search engine is pathetic.
BUT, the real reason i'm posting today is to tell my fellow transfans that despite my last post i'm pathetic and i caved and ordered this set from HLJ. What a total hypocrite i am when it comes to TF's.

[roller]

in the end

the most important thing is, you have the figure in your possession

[MV75]

I know what you mean. I missed a few early bird specials on HLJ website. But in my defence IMO their search engine is pathetic.
BUT, the real reason i'm posting today is to tell my fellow transfans that despite my last post i'm pathetic and i caved and ordered this set from HLJ. What a total hypocrite i am when it comes to TF's.

While I too have the ravage and laserbeak that came with my encore and commemorative soundwaves, my excuse to justify this set is that I really want the other two. I never had them, and I see this as the only way I will get them as I don't trust ANY of these on Ebay with the KOs so prevailant. Plus I want these to go with my TFC blaster. :)

Now all we need is ramhorn, slugfest, overkill and rumble/frenzy. I'd be very happy with that cassette set, as again, I don't trust ANY 2nd hand version of any of these.

So in a way, the KO scumbags have forced me to really want these as I know these are the real deal. Hear that hasbro/takara? We want legitimate versions of what is being KO'd.

[GoktimusPrime]

It's also good to know that you are supporting the official industry and not giving a cent to illegal bootleggers. It's like paying more for a legit DVD, CD, shoes, clothes etc. over an imitation - sure, you pay more, but at least you know that you're supporting the people who actually created the product. It's also part of having integrity as a collector - you want to collect Transformers, and not counterfeit imitations of Transformers. *nods* :)

[heroic_decepticon]

yeah, I really hate KOs as opposed to unofficial products (like eg Classics Ultra Magnus Amour or Auto-scout).

I had resolved that when I could afford it, I would buy a really nice MOSC version of the G1 Rumble and Ravage set because as a kid, that's what got away from me (in terms of it being no longer available when I finally convinced mum to buy). The KOs just prevent me from ever buying this online because like MV75 said, I just can't trust that its genuine. Most times, sellers either don't know they are KOs or claim that they are genuine anyway.