BotCon 2010 toy speculation

(At Paulbot's suggestion, I've moved this post and replies from the BotCon topic)

Now that the theme is known for this year's BotCon, and we've seen two figures already, speculate what else the dozen or so convention toys will be (character and mould).

Okay, throwing it out there...

What are the odds that out of the 12-odd various figures this year, they had the 5 G2 Stunticons? I know fans have done custom Gen1 Stunticons from Classics/Universe toys, so it could be a possibility to have the G2 set, and maybe have them as the main villian in the comic perhaps?

They are already using the Universe Inferno mould, so could a black/grey version work as Motormaster (because it is very blocky)? Classics Optimus as Motormaster just doesn't work for me without a trailer.

Then they could use Mirage as Dragstrip, Sideswipe as Breakdown, Sunstreaker or Sideswipe as Wildrider, and Silverstreak as Dead End.

And as an incentive to make people buy all the different convention toys, they have the five Stunticons spread out in the separate sets (in the registration set, the attendee figure, and in the pairs sold at the convention).

But to quote Demonac, 'its too good an idea to trust fun pub to do it'. Which I'd have to agree with... :(

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Originally Posted by griffin

Okay, throwing it out there...

What are the odds that out of the 12-odd various figures this year, they had the 5 G2 Stunticons? I know fans have done custom Gen1 Stunticons from Classics/Universe toys, so it could be a possibility to have the G2 set, and maybe have them as the main villian in the comic perhaps?

They are already using the Universe Inferno mould, so could a black/grey version work as Motormaster (because it is very blocky)? Classics Optimus as Motormaster just doesn't work for me without a trailer.

Then they could use Mirage as Dragstrip, Sideswipe as Breakdown, Sunstreaker or Sideswipe as Wildrider, and Silverstreak as Dead End.


But to quote Demonac, 'its too good an idea to trust fun pub to do it'. Which I'd have to agree with... :(

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i wonder if they did do that which they probably wont if they would do G2 Protectorbots aswell to keep with a G2 unrealesed theme, but i think that would ruin it as i think people would want other G2 characters like maybe even the illumanators(hot rods)

Oh man, they should have done the movie scout brakedown as g2 breakdown.

Interesting thoughts on the stunticons Griffin. I'd rather see Encore menasor though. :) Then an ehobby g2 repaint.

I think the Stunticons idea is great.

I wonder if some smaller TFs could be used as Botcon Exclusives?

Howabout Micromaster Constructicons in Yellow and Purple, or Orange and Purple with the names Mixmaster, Decepticon Hook, and Decepticon Scrapper returning (insead of Quickmix, Hightower, & Buckethead)

Micromaster Defensor could be repainted to give us G2 Protectobots (Prowl renamed to Streetwise, Red Alert renamed to Autobot Hot Spot, Streetwise renamed to Leadfoot and Hot Spot renamed to Sizzle). And Micromaster Superion could give us G2 Aerialbots (with Ro-tor renamed Autobot Blades - he got a promotion and joined the Aerialbots?)

Possibly more likely:

Classics Mirage as Leadfoot could be cool, but would his teammate Manta Ray be bothered with a sex change so he/she can be a repaint of Cybertron Thunderblast?

The helicopter limbs of Bruticus Maximus would make a remarkably good repaint base for a new Powerdive

And quite unlikely, as it's far too early to do this, but ROTF Mindwipe and Skytalker as G2 Dreadwing and Smokescreen would be wonderful.

G2 starscream oh please, would look a little boring tho

G2 Ramjet pls

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Originally Posted by Paulbot

And quite unlikely, as it's far too early to do this, but ROTF Mindwipe and Skytalker as G2 Dreadwing and Smokescreen would be wonderful.

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Movie toys are supposed to be off-limits, but not sure if that includes off-screen characters like those two...

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Originally Posted by Gutsman Heavy

G2 Ramjet pls

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Oooh Im for this one! - and the mold is still available - Henkei Classics Conehead :D:D!

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Originally Posted by griffin

Movie toys are supposed to be off-limits, but not sure if that includes off-screen characters like those two...

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I believe the reason for the movie toys being off-limits is because of the nature of the agreement between Hasbro and Paramount. I believe this covers all toys under the RotF banner, not just the ones that appeared in the movie. (Case in point - RotF Lockdown still has the Dreamworks and Paramount logos on his packaging).

What this means for the yellow-package Transformers figures I don't yet know.

I would love to see Hooligan but I don't know what mold could be used, maybe Cybertron Thundercracker or Energon Starscream (although that was used a couple of times last year).

Not exactly G2 but I would love a AM Thundercracker repaint.

Could happen kup - Pyro's not exactly G2 either.

The news of a Glyph redeco of Classics Bumblebee (with G2 Breakdown at BotCon this year) - if they had a theme one year of past BotCon Characters, like a reunion of sorts, I think it could make an interesting story, and probably some nice homage toys. Or could even give us toys of characters that missed out on toys first time around (like Cataclysm, who was a great red herring for BotCon 2000).

Generation 2 - Redux!* Convention Set:

A five-figure boxed set which includes Autobot Spark, Streetwise, Clench, Breakdown, and Skybyte

The brochure is out if anyone wants to review it

Any guesses on which mold is going to be used for Sky-Byte? The only one that springs to mind for me is Energon Sharkticon.

but EN Sharkticon has already been used last year

My guesses...

Streetwise - Universe/Henkei Prowl or Alert (if Streetwise is revealed to be a non-Gen2 colour scheme, it pretty much guarantees a Gen2 Sideswipe figure this year, as both toys were black and red)

Clench - Deluxe Armada Optimus (Clench is a nosed truck, like Movie Optimus, and the last nosed truck I can think of that hasn't been used by FunPub yet is Armada Optimus)

Skybyte - Energon Sharkticon (would be surprised if they use something else)

I'm really hoping for a G2 Sideswipe - perhaps in an extra 2-pack with something else??

As for Clench, I hope it would interesting if the didn't use Armada Prime as griffen suggest. I wouldnt know what other mold they would use :confused:

I'd love to see the G2 Dinobots as repainted Animated - but would not know what colours they would use for Swoop :p

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Originally Posted by iceburn

but EN Sharkticon has already been used last year

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You're thinking of Energon Mirage (the voyager boat), which was Banzai-Tron last year.

Apparently, the Energon Sharkticon mould has never been reusued for a redeco or anything. Which is rare for Hasbro to not use a mould more than once.

hahaha..wasn't thinking right. you're right

With the recent speculation of a Scorponok redeco and a Hound/Ravage redeco as BotCon toys, I wanted to see how that affects the Gen2 balance in this Gen2 themed BotCon.

So far known - Spark, Clench, Breakdown, Streetstar/Streetwise, Skybyte.
Likely - Gnaw, Rapido, Scorch, Ravage.
Possible - Doublepunch, Slicer.

When Sorted into their eras:

Gen2 Original toy/character
- Rapido

Gen2 redeco of a Gen1 toy/character
- Breakdown
- Streetwise (called Streetstar for legal reasons)

Hasbro Euro Gen1 (later repacked into Gen2)
- Spark
- Clench

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Hasbro Euro Gen1
- Scorch
- Slicer
- Doublepunch

Hasbro Gen1
- Gnaw

Robots in Disguise
- Skybyte

FunPub's Shattered Glass/Mirror-verse
- Ravage

(And IF they rework Streetwise into Streetstar after having to rename it, then that's a JP Gen1 toy, throwing the balance even further away from Gen2 content.)


So how many Original toys were actually produced for Gen2?

38!

Yes, 38 (plus 6 original characters using existing Euro Gen1 moulds), and all FunPub could produce in their Gen2 theme/homage set this year is one (Rapido).


For those playing at home, the 38 Gen2 original toys -
Dreadwing, Smokescreen
Windrazor, Terrordive, Eagle Eye, Afterbuner
Rapido, Windbreaker, Skram, Turbofire
Jolt, Sizzle, Volt, Electro
Roadrocket, Roadpig
Manta Ray, Leadfoot, Ransack, Powerdive
Roadblock, Dirtbag
Air Raid, Strafe, Jetfire, Skyjack, Spacecase, Hooligan
Highbeam, Firecracker, Doubleclutch, Motormouth, Gearhead, Blowout
Ironhide, Meanstreak, Bulletbike, Staxx

And the 6 Gen2 Original Characters using existing toy moulds (but would still qualify for a Gen2 homage theme) -
Jetstorm, Deluge, Gobots, Drench
Archforce, Sureshot

How hard could it be to do redeco homages to half a dozen of those 44 Toys/Characters that Originated in Gen2, so that this year's set of toys would be considered without a doubt, Generation 2?
Instead, all we have (so far known) is one, with 4 other characters that originated in Gen1 and the rest from other eras.

What a wasted opportunity.
I doubt we'll see another BotCon that homages Gen2, as it's one of the least popular eras by fans.

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Originally Posted by griffin;

What a wasted opportunity.
I doubt we'll see another BotCon that homages Gen2, as it's one of the least popular eras by fans.

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As you pointed out griff, it never was that popular to start with, so funpub must have decided to take the safe route and choose characters that really are g1 characters to entice classicsverse collectors. Like you said, wasted opportunity indeed. Personally, completely giving this year a pass. :( onlythinf I wouldve been interested in was breakdown's head... ^^;

Your point is a good one, Griffin. And as much as I love the homages this year, the theme shouldn't have been entitled "Generation 2". If the Official Transformers Collectors' Club refers to Post-US G1 (and even post-1985 toys like Gnaw!) as "G2" it only goes to cement fans' incorrect use of the term.

As I was posting it up on TFW2005 (still debating on if I should risk posting it on the Club forum), I realised that the 8 Axelerators/Jets were Euro Gen1 like Pyro/Spark and Clench, which removes the only figure I creditted as being Gen2-original (Rapido).

As such, I put forth the question - should the set really be labelled as Euro themed, rather than Gen2 themed, as more figures are Euro themed than Gen2 themed.

(reworked post)

It was brought up a while back when the boxset figures were revealed, that it wasn't very Gen2. Now that more figures have shown up that could also be BotCon toys, I had a look at the ratio of actual Gen2 characters in a set that is labelled as Gen2.
The result is thinking that this set is wrongly labelled as Gen2, as the majority of figures are European, not Gen2..

This follows the recent speculation of a Scorponok redeco and a Hound/Ravage redeco as BotCon toys, throwing out the balance even further away from Gen2.

So far known - Spark, Clench, Breakdown, Streetstar/Streetwise, Skybyte.
Likely - Gnaw, Rapido, Scorch, Ravage.
Possible - Doublepunch, Slicer.

When Sorted into their eras:

Gen2 original characters/toys:
(none)

Gen2 redeco of a Gen1 toy/character
- Breakdown
- Streetwise (called Streetstar for legal reasons)

Hasbro Euro Gen1 (later repacked into Gen2)
- Spark
- Clench
- Rapido

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Hasbro Euro Gen1
- Scorch
- Slicer
- Doublepunch

Hasbro Gen1
- Gnaw

Robots in Disguise
- Skybyte

FunPub's Shattered Glass/Mirror-verse
- Ravage

(IF they decide to rework the character of Streetwise into Streetstar after having to rename it, then that's a JP Gen1 toy, throwing the balance even further away from Gen2 content.)

Last year was great to have homages to several Euro characters, as does this year with Pyro/Spark, Clench, Slicer, Doublepunch, Scorch and Rapido. But why not call it a Euro theme, and do a proper committed Gen2 theme later with actual Gen2 Characters?

If the 11 figures above are all correct and no others show up, we have:
5 Gen2 toys (Breakdown, Spark, Clench, Streetwise, Rapido)
Vs
6 Euro toys (Spark, Clench, Rapido, Scorch, Slicer, Doublepunch)
Less than half are Gen2 related.

So how many Original toys and characters were actually produced for Gen2 you ask?

36 -
Dreadwing, Smokescreen
Jolt, Sizzle, Volt, Electro
Roadrocket, Roadpig
Manta Ray, Leadfoot, Ransack, Powerdive
Roadblock, Dirtbag
Air Raid, Strafe, Jetfire, Skyjack, Spacecase, Hooligan
Highbeam, Firecracker, Doubleclutch, Motormouth, Gearhead, Blowout
Ironhide, Meanstreak, Bulletbike, Staxx
Jetstorm, Deluge, Gobots, Drench
Archforce, Sureshot

I wonder if they tried to do redeco homages to some of those 36 Toys/Characters that originated in Gen2, so that this year's set of toys would be considered without a doubt, Generation 2?
I know that the BotCon people can't reveal the at-Con toys, but I'd be interested in seeing if anyone can at least say if we will be getting any toys from that list of 36? Or if they were just really unlucky and had every submitted Gen2 redeco idea rejected by Hasbro.
As it stands, all we have (so far known) is 5 Gen2 characters that originated in Gen1, and the rest from other eras.

I'm a huge fan of BotCon (travelled over 300,000kms to 10 BotCons so far), and am keen to get the toys - I'm just puzzled as to the Gen2 theme this year, if it doesn't look like we are getting toys or guests that are Gen2 themed.

I must admit I was a little disappointed when I heard about Breakdown being part of the G2 set, but I let it go as he has BotCon sentimentality. When Streetwise was announced I also accepted it as it would provide the set with balance - EuroG1 v EuroG1, G2 recolour v G2 recolour, Sky-Byte as a sign of things to come (hence putting RiD in continuity, between G2 and Beast Wars).

To say that they aren't G2 toys is a stretch of the truth - the toys (excluding Sky-Byte)in the Boxed Set were all released as part of America's G2 line-up, and that is how most fans remember them. So technically it is a G2 box set.

The concention exclusive figures don't always necessarily tie in directly with the box-set's theme, but are designed to complement it -

Rapido - Was originally EuroG1, but like Pyro and Clench was also rereleased as G2
Scorch, Slicer, Doublepunch - Technically not G2, as you said, but colour scheme and the fact that they're Euro G1 means that they can be semi-included.

Gnaw (not G2, but the colour-scheme is similar, and he probably ties in to why Sky-Byte is there)

SG Ravage - no G2 Ravage, and since they had to do something with the mould if they were doing a Hound redeco, why not make something that complements a previous set?

From memory, the advertising pitch early on pitched this set as a what happened on Earth once the main cast left? It sets up the idea that while the G2 comics may have focused on the core cast on Cybertron, there were still other battles happening around the Universe with a core team being stationed on Earth to act as its continued protectors. They kinda supposed to be the characters that time forgot, hence why I like the use of the EuroG1 characters, as they are often the characters that the fandom forgets.

As for the suggestions you made about characters that were actually G2 moulds, from memory, Jetstorm, Deluge, Gobots, Drench were again originally released as part of EuroG1 as the Aquaspeeders, so would run into the same complaints raised regarding the current figures. Archforce and Sureshot were, again from memory, originally released in the US as G2 Megatron and Optimus Prime, and it wasn't until they were released in Europe that they became Archforce and Sureshot, so again would come under similar criticism.

The other characters I suppose have validity, but would not be as marketable as a set as Pyro, Clench, and other G2 characters.

Even though some of the figures aren't "technically" G2 they tend to have the spirit / essence of G2.

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Originally Posted by Seraphim Prime

To say that they aren't G2 toys is a stretch of the truth - the toys (excluding Sky-Byte)in the Boxed Set were all released as part of America's G2 line-up, and that is how most fans remember them. So technically it is a G2 box set.

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I think it's "a stretch" to say that Streetwise was "released". :)