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Ahh, okay then. It was my understanding that since neither company actually owns factories in China anymore and just hire them out, it may be down to who deals with the factories directly.Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
I'll ask around and see if I can get corroboration of this from Hasbro's side :)
Takagi's full name? The wiki is sorely lacking in information on Takara employees.
I place the blame one firmly on your shoulders, too :pQuote:
Originally Posted by FFN
(okay, maybe not, but it sounds like fun...)
Something like that is pretty obscure, even for a wiki.
It would make sense that only one of the two companies would deal with the factories, really. Mr Factory Owner (*not his real name) would have a contract with Takara-Tomy to build toys. TT tend to handle most of the engineering anyway, so they're the ones who would pass on the instructions.
I told Mr. Takagi that I thought that Takara made TF toys and he said yes. I don't know if they actually own factories in China or outsource to Chinese-owned factories - I didn't get into that much detail... I was only calling him to see if Takara could help me produce some convention-exclusive toys for Sabretron 2004 - and that's when I learnt about the whole "non-cross-market-contamination" clause between Hasbro and Takara. He told me that Takara couldn't help me unless I went through Hasbro Australia first, then Hasbro AU would put an order through to Takara and they would manufacture the toys. Hasbro AU told me that I would have to make a minimum order of 1000 units before they would manufacture an exclusive toyline for an Australian convention... considering that approx. 200 people attended Sabretron 2004 I'm glad I didn't go down that path (that and the fact that there was no way we could afford to pay for something like that).
Buuuuuuuuut I digress... I don't know Takagi's full name. I only called him Takagi-san. :p I spoke to him in 2003 and I'm not sure if he's still in that position atm or not (assuming he hasn't been transferred/promoted/sacked/other then I'm assuming he is) ;)
N.B.: In Japan you don't normally address people by their given names. It's considered impolite. Even most of friends are addressed by their surnames (e.g.: Takagi-kun/chan etc.)
2 cheap repaints later and this is all they can come up with? A giant G1 grimlock?!? This is an outrage! The paintjob better be something special.
I know we were expecting to be dazzled, but seriously could anyone really come up with a superior design concept? The last thing I would want is an impressive looking T-rex that transforms into beast wars megatron :p
Who said that it's going to be an oversized G1 Grimlock?Quote:
Originally Posted by Lint
Unless they radically redesign it, that is what it looks like. Make the pic larger and analyze the design. It transforms in a very similar way to G1 Grimlock only that the tail tips hide in the boot's back section instead of hanging on the sides.Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
We really should wait for a better pic. An out-of-focus, smallish prototype pic like that can hide a lot of details that can make-or-break a figure of that size & value.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lint
In other words, it has a very G1-accurate robot and dino modes. That's a good thing IMO. It is certainly _not_ and upsized G1 Grimlock. The G1 Grimlock toy was never sculpted, articulated or proportioned in that way.Quote:
Originally Posted by kup
http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/tr...imlock_toy.jpghttp://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp33/saxa_00/1-2.jpg
P.S.: is he holding a crown? If so, that's kinda interesting as Grimlock was only ever really a crown-wearing self-proclaimed king in the comics.
The transformation sequence looks remarkably similar to G1 Grimlock. Adding a few ball joints and modern articulation does not really add to the complexity of the transformation engineering. To transform, all you need to do i splace all the limbs back in a G1 position and transform.Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
BTW He is holding his waiter tray from Season 3. Based on everything revealed so far, there is no hint that the designers are remotely aware of the comics which makes sense since the only Grimlock the Japanese really know is the cartoon version.
It's got to be more than just making it a more articulated robot mode. Seriously. Look at those lower legs - particularly the left leg where you can have a peek of some of the engineering inside it... that's nothing like the G1 toy. Also notice how the dino mode tail kibble is absent on the MP mould. Where did it go? To me that already suggests that there is some difference in the transformation. Also, the body proportions are quite different. One thing that always looked ungainly on the original Grimlock toy was the way his head was set so far back and his chest protruded really far forward. The MP mould appears to have resolved that issue making the proportions far more humanoid. While it may appear relatively easy I'm guessing that there's quite a few steps in the transformation to force the chest unit to compact itself like that.
There's also an LED gimmick in the right fist - I suspect it's something like the G2 Laser Rod gimmick to make his sword light up... which means that there would be some electronic block inside the body which of course would limit the engineering too - the body won't be able to flip itself inside out like MP Convoy.