The Random Transformers Thoughts Thread

[griffin]

why do the simpler easier to mold shelf warming rid warriors COST $4 more than the complex (sort of) CW deluxe class figures?

No idea... but, the customer demographics are different.

(for those not knowing what Jaxius is talking about, these are the prices here of these two size-classes)
GEN Deluxe (US RRP - $17) - - 25 KM... 29 BW... 30 TW/TG/TRU/M...
RID Warrior (US RRP - $15) - - 29 KM/TG/BW... 30 TRU... 32-35 TW...

The RID toys are are like regular gimmick toys, they are aimed at parents and "gift" purchasing by those who most often buy random toys in a toyline (or even random toylines) and don't know that RID Warriors are cheaper than GEN Deluxes in America ($15 Vs $17). As such, they could be made to pay more for it, and not question it if it is in their budget.
The GEN toys are aimed at committed collectors (new or old) who are there to specifically buy certain toys, and are more likely to factor in pricing, because they buy often enough to be familiar, or they have been online about their hobby. As such, they would purchase from alternate sources, like importing, if it is cheaper.

I would like to think that Hasbro Australia have done this intentionally, so that the RID (and gimmick) toys are subsidising the Generations toys here, because they are aware of the two target demographics... knowing that if they have to raise prices due to the dropping AU$, the RID toys will still sell here at higher prices, but the GEN toys are less likely to.

[BigTransformerTrev]

Well yet again we are on our cross state drive. For the first two hours Orion has been sitting in the back in his TFPrime tshirt watching season 1 of Animated while I've been driving in my G1 shirt listening to the soundtrack to the 86 movie.

My daughter went to sleep and my wife's being playing in her iPad - both in self defence I think

[Jaxius._]

I saw an ad for hasbros star wars micro machines. this got me thinking wasn't micro machines the competition (of sorts) with the micro masters of the time at the tail end of g1. Did Hasbro gain the trademark all those years ago?

[BigTransformerTrev]

I saw an ad for hasbros star wars micro machines. this got me thinking wasn't micro machines the competition (of sorts) with the micro masters of the time at the tail end of g1. Did Hasbro gain the trademark all those years ago?

Micro Machones were all the rage and were grabbing a big slice of the toy market so Hasbro essentially nicked the idea for Micromasters. Different trademarks - like Lego and KreO.

Hasbro is not above plagiarism

[griffin]

I saw an ad for hasbros star wars micro machines. this got me thinking wasn't micro machines the competition (of sorts) with the micro masters of the time at the tail end of g1. Did Hasbro gain the trademark all those years ago?

Micromasters were made by Hasbro to copy/compete with Galoob's Micro Machines (a bit like creating Kreo to copy/compete with Lego).

But just like Kreo, Micromasters didn't last, and around the 1990s, Hasbro started buying up a number of smaller toy companies instead of competing with them.... which included Galoob (Micro Machines), Tonka, Kenner (Gobots & Star Wars), and a few others.

So now brands like Micro Machines are owned by Hasbro, and it's just been a while since they last sold them (I think the Star Wars Titaniums in around 2008 were considered "Micro Machines" as they had Galoob on the packaging).
The reason for the Star Wars Micro Machines this year is because Mattel gained a license to do diecast Star Wars vehicles under their Hot Wheels Brand, and Micro Machines from Hasbro was probably allowed by Disney, as long as they are "micro" sized so that they don't clash with Mattel's license (Hasbro can produce action figures and vehicles with their exclusive license, but Mattel must have gained a license to exclusively produce diecast vehicles that are Hot Wheels sized).

[griffin]

That reminds me... Micro Machines in the 1980s had commercials voiced by John Moschitta (the voice of Blurr), as he had the worlds fastest voice.


Sorry... I HAVE to post up a link to his Fedex ad.

[GoktimusPrime]

I saw an ad for hasbros star wars micro machines. this got me thinking wasn't micro machines the competition (of sorts) with the micro masters of the time at the tail end of g1. Did Hasbro gain the trademark all those years ago?

Also, there was an economic recession in the early 90s (many of us G1ers will remember Paul Keating describing it as "The recession we had to have"). With more families tightening their belts, it meant that toy companies like Galoob and Hasbro were looking at ways of downsizing toys to make them cheaper and give people better value for money.

And I gotta say, one of the best things about collecting Micromasters was the incredibly awesome value for money! You could grab a Micromaster Patrol with your pocket money and get four Transformers in a single purchase. Six if you bought a Combiner Squad (which were a bit dearer). For birthdays or Xmases, you could get a boxed Micromaster playset, which included its own Micromaster figure, and of course, they all joined up to create a big Micromaster metropolis! And boy did our collection counts suddenly growing at an exponential rate!

[Handsprime]

And I gotta say, one of the best things about collecting Micromasters was the incredibly awesome value for money! You could grab a Micromaster Patrol with your pocket money and get four Transformers in a single purchase. Six if you bought a Combiner Squad (which were a bit dearer). For birthdays or Xmases, you could get a boxed Micromaster playset, which included its own Micromaster figure, and of course, they all joined up to create a big Micromaster metropolis! And boy did our collection counts suddenly growing at an exponential rate!

I love little toy metropolises, I used to collect Hot Wheels citys back in the day, you know when you could make a little metropolis with highways and such

nowadays its just stuff to add to your hot wheels tracks. I'm upset i got rid of all my hot wheels city stuff they were fun

[Paulbot]

And boy did our collection counts suddenly growing at an exponential rate!

True - Micromasters make up more than a quarter of my G1 collection count.

Micromasters were made by Hasbro to copy/compete with Galoob's Micro Machines (a bit like creating Kreo to copy/compete with Lego)

Some younger fans might not realise how closely they imitated Micro Machines back then. The four pack, the reflective silver foil under the vehicles, even the original design of the 'Micro' brand on the TF boxes is suggestive of the Galoob packaging. And of course the TV advertising for the Micromasters: "The Most Incredible Micros Of All. They're Not Just Small"!

vs

Image sources (reuploaded, not hotlinked): TF pic, Mirco Machine pic

[prjkt]

I saw an ad for hasbros star wars micro machines. this got me thinking wasn't micro machines the competition (of sorts) with the micro masters of the time at the tail end of g1. Did Hasbro gain the trademark all those years ago?

I used to have heaps of Star Wars and Star Trek Micro Machines as a kid.... no idea where they are though...