Encore Devastator

[Zippo]

Wait, I don't recall having ever seeing a Thrust or Ramjet reissue. Are there e-hobby reissues of them?

Yep, back in 2002 (or 2003)

[sideswipes brother]

Wait, I don't recall having ever seeing a Thrust or Ramjet reissue. Are there e-hobby reissues of them?

Yes, released around 2002 and they were the limited to 1000 pieces kind. I have Ramjet, Thunder and Warp. I am Desperately looking for a Thrust but having no luck finding one for under $300.

[GoktimusPrime]

The price of the mould then depends on how many you want to make. A mould will usually make 10k pieces. If you are selling mass retail and will continue to use the mould then i suspect it will be more. The Devastator mould would cost Takara between 60-70k AUD but I am sure they will continue to use it for the next 10 years

The only reissue mould that I can think of that HasTak have repeatedly reissued for approx. 10 years was the original Optimus Prime. I mean, if demand for Devastator was so big enough - like big enough to rival the popularity of Optimus Prime - then that might justify a decade's worth of Devvie reissues and thus the initial expense.

Hence why all the henkeis are being reissued easily.

Yeah but Classicsverse moulds are new and I suspect fairly in-tact. The only Classicsverse mould I can think of that started deteriorating was the Starscream mould (ya know, all those Seekers), as evidenced by Gentei Thundercracker and Skywarp. I don't have Generations Thundercracker, but I haven't read/heard any complaints about that mould suffering from the mould degradation issues that his Gentei counterpart had. But I reckon repairing a recently degrading mould might be easier than trying to restore or rebuild a 26-27 year old deteriorated mould - or building one entirely from scratch if the mould is too far gone or has been lost.

In 2000, no google, facebook, smartphones, broadband home access, tablets... you get the drift!

But we did have a forum and the #transformers IRC channel on austnet!

I think it was more about a willingness to do so rather than a financial hit.

...well, let's just say that you're right... it seems that they've at least changed their mind about Devastator. Hopefully if this toy sells well enough, they might change their mind about other figures that they've yet to reissue too. At the end of the day, we can all communicate to TakaraTOMY with the universal language -- money!

Wait, I don't recall having ever seeing a Thrust or Ramjet reissue. Are there e-hobby reissues of them?

Not e-Hobby, they're part of the "Collectors Edition" reissues, which are convention exclusives. And yeah, something like only 1000 of each were ever made, making them freakishly rare. But in any case, we know that TakaraTOMY probably still have these moulds -- they really ought to reissue them as Encores.

But I have no idea how well Encore Skywarp/Thundercracker sold (I bought a set even though I have G1 Skywarp and Thundercracker - so I've done my bit in showing support for more Seeker reissues) -- but if they sold well enough then I hope that might persuade TakaraTOMY to consider reissuing Ramjet and Thrust as Encores. All depends on how well they sold I suppose. Anyway, if you wanna see what reissue Ramjet and Thrust look like, click on the links below:

Reissue Ramjet
Reissue Thrust

[sideswipes brother]

I LOVE those collectors edition boxes. They look awesome.

[5FDP]

RK has it for pre-order now. About 80 or so available. Mine was $125 shipped

[GoktimusPrime]

I don't like their bland and generic nature. I much prefer reissues with G1 repro boxes -- even the book boxes of TFC and Commemorative Edition are have more individual effort put into them. But of course, Takara uses these generic boxes for some of their limited exclusives where it's not worth the expense of making more individualised packaging. So I get why they do it... but I can't say I'm a fan of it. I tried selling some of my eHobby boxes before, and only sold one (Deepcover's box to gamblor916 )... other than that, I had no takers!

And of course, having these generic boxes keeps the cost of the reissues down. One thing I like about collecting Japanese exclusives is that they're actually reasonably cheap! (I'm talking about their RRP, not their inflated aftermarket prices which I don't go for) For example, Collectors Edition Ramjet and Thrust sold for just 6000JPY, which is the same RRP that Encore Skywarp and Thundercracker sold for. But of course, the Collectors Edition figures are hideously rare! But just awesome for those who could get them at the time -- like a friend of mine whose friend went to the convention where Collectors Ed Red Alert and Sideswipe were sold and he picked up a set for him. My mate was SO excited! And I was happy too cos I got to review them.

[Jay-Tron]

I'm so excited about this reissue. I've wanted Scrapper for the past 25 years, as a 5 year old my neighbour owned him and I used to play with Scrapper in the sandpit in the backyard. Now I get to have the entire Constructicons brand new! Yesss

[Gutsman Heavy]

I only ever had the yellow, non-combining Constructicons, this is a big deal for me!

[5FDP]

I'm so excited about this reissue. I've wanted Scrapper for the past 25 years, as a 5 year old my neighbour owned him and I used to play with Scrapper in the sandpit in the backyard. Now I get to have the entire Constructicons brand new! Yesss

I know exactly how you feel. Seeing other members here get burnt by accidentally buying KO's, I have stayed away from buying any of the Constructicons aside from Scrapper which I bought MOSC. November can't come soon enough

[Soundwarp]

OMG My jaw just fell off.....

I have a real one and like 5 sets of fakes.....

Must have new ones