Upcoming Generations Figures 2013-2014

[Verno]

You're assuming that all BW fans are exclusively fans of the show, but this isn't true for everyone. Many of us are also fans of the toyline - remember that the toys did come first (oh the interesting 'continuities' I used to create with the toys before the show came out! ).

But I'm not talking about long-standing Fans -- I'm talking about guys my age (27) and a couple of years younger who loved watching Beast Wars as a kid and relate to characters like Dinobot and Rattrap. They were fans of the show, but didn't carry their interest forward into the following iterations of Transformers.

I've met many people who remember Beast Wars because of the show. And because of the show they bought the occasional toy, which were usually show characters.

If Hasbro is to capitalise on the nostalgia of these (now) mid-20-year-olds (as they have done with these Generations lines for the G1 fans), they have to produce the characters from the show, not guys from the Comics of 2006-07 or background characters from the initial toyline.

A lot of G1 characters are still popular with fans even if they never appeared in the G1 cartoon, e.g. Whirl, Roadbuster, Top Spin, Twin Twist, Deluxe Insecticons etc. Yes, many of those characters did appear in the G1 comics, and Buzz Saw did appear in the BW comics too.

But G1 had the TV show and Comics running simultaneously. Beast Wars was just the show. The comics came a decade later and were targeted squarely at the older fans. Sure, it used the depth of characters that weren't featured in the show, but it still focused on a select few characters - Razorbeast, Snarl etc. Even this isn't enough to warrant pouring money into new toys of them.

And keep in mind that a redeco is a low-investment cost for Hasbro since they've already developed the mould for Waspinator. They'd just be trying to milk more money out of that mould.

It's not done just out of greed -- repaints help to keep the cost of toys down. If Hasbro don't do repaints, then the cost of toys would go up. Redecos help Hasbro to milk more money out of the same mould which goes to offset the cost of R&D in developing these moulds. Also you have retailers like Wal*Mart demanding new product from Hasbro all the time, and redecos are a cheap and easy way to satiate that retailer demand without expending more money on R&D new moulds all the time (which would further drive up costs). Redecos are a "necessary evil" unless you're prepared to pay $50 for a Deluxe.

But the BW models don't lend themselves to being repainted like the G1 models do. You can't turn give a gorilla a quick splash of paint and call it a shark, but you can take G1 Prowl and turn him into Bluestreak or Smokescreen. G1 lends itself to repaints -- Beast Wars does not.

And I'll take Waspinator redecoed as Buzz Saw any day over another random repaint of Bumblebee! Heck, I wouldn't even mind seeing Waspinator redecoed with a G1 Bumblebee style head and called "Bumblebee" (seriously, it's a name that totally suits Beast Wars, and if they ever did Generations K-9/Wolfang, I'd like to see a redeco called "Hound" -- I've heard that Hasbro had lost the rights to those names at the time that BW came out which is why they didn't use them).

Don't tempt them, mate. Hasbro will pull that 'Bumblebee' trigger anytime they can. In fact, you're more likely to get a Bumblebee version than a Buzz Saw.

[griffin]

A small sample of my photos, for anyone who hasn't looked at the global fansites yet.
(the rest of my pics will be processed when I get home)

Rhinox & Doubledealer


Goldfire (they lost the Goldbug name) & Skids


Waspinator


Swerve and Cosmos.


Doubledealer & Rhinox

[Bidoofdude]

Goldfire/Goldbug's blue looks very bright. Is it like that IRL?

[Verno]

You must have read my mind, Griff --a shot of Rhinox's back!

It looks like that entire back section is one big piece.

[griffin]

People have always asked in the past for views of the backs, especially the bigger toys, so made sure I got some if it were possible.

[Verno]

People have always asked in the past for views of the backs, especially the bigger toys, so made sure I got some if it were possible.

You're a marvel mate.

I've been trying to figure out just where all of his rhino hide goes when in robot mode. It seemingly vanishes into nothing!

[MayzaPrime]

I think Skids looks alot like the Transformers ride exclusive Evac.