2018 Transformers fan vote

[griffin]

The 2018 Transformers fan-vote has begun. Vote on the Transformers facebook page (or any of their other official social media sites that is taking votes), and check out the art and story behind each of these pairings here on the Hasbro Pulse site (text copied below).

War for Cybertron is an up-close, gritty, three-part look at the battle for the fate of Cybertron. These are beloved and familiar events from Transformers lore told through the eyes of the heroes and villains in a story of conflict and consequence, where in order to gain what you want, you must be willing to lose everything you have.

For the first time fans can vote on a pair of characters who will become part of the Generations lineup as Deluxe Class figures. Choose wisely…these rivals will have to share the same shelf…even though they may not like it!

CHOOSE YOUR RIVALS

SPINISTER vs. WHEELJACK
Saboteur vs. Scientist
It’s saboteur vs. scientist as Spinister and Wheeljack lock circuits in a battle of wits. Who will come out ahead as they play a high-stakes game of cat and mouse.

NEEDLENOSE vs. TRACKS
Brother vs. Brother
Brother is pitted against brother as these two family members choose to fight on opposite sides of the war. When their loyalties are tested by the trails of combat, which bond will hold stronger: family or faction?

IMPACTOR vs. MIRAGE
Mirage vs. the Mercenary
The Wreckers, led by Impactor, are a highly skilled team of mercenaries who are at their best when the odds of survival are at their worst. They're exactly the kind of soldiers the Autobots need on their side. Can Mirage persuade them to join the Autobot cause?

Vote for your favorite character pair and help shape the future of the Transformers universe!

Voting ends in about 3 days time, so it is not long at all for you to have a say in which of these three pairs will be released as Deluxe toys in next year's Generations toyline.

It looks like two winning toys will be released after this fan vote, but since they have three pairs to vote on next week (which would result in 3 winners), maybe there will be multiple rounds to end up with two winners.

I realised the other day that the voting format is likely to be a vote on one of those three pairs, not a vote on one character in each pairing.... which now obviously gives us the "two toys" that they were mentioning.

[BigTransformerTrev]

Between various Generations lines and the TFSS I’ve got new versions of all these characters so it’s a bit on a non-issue for me. A shame they didn’t tackle characters that hadn’t had the treatment yet - maybe like some proper Headmaster Horricons or Action Master Elites.

Maybe even that clock that killed Hitler

[M-bot]

I’m keen on a newer, better model Mirage and Impactor, so they got my vote.

[Autocon]

When did tracks and needlenose become brothers?

Id vote impactor

[DELTAprime]

When did tracks and needlenose become brothers?

I'm guessing in an upcoming issue of IDW.

[BigTransformerTrev]

When did tracks and needlenose become brothers?

I'm guessing in an upcoming issue of IDW.

Older issues of IDW from a few years ago

[reillyd]

When did tracks and needlenose become brothers?

They weren't. It was retroconed in recent IDW. In G1 continuity they aren't related. If the vote doesn't go ahead they still won't

[griffin]

So, there is no word or even a hint at future voting rounds... this single vote on one of three pairs, over just 3-4 days, looks like it might just be it.

Is this the least interesting fan vote so far?
This may just be me and my opinion, but it just seems so uninspiring, not just because of what this year's fan vote is about, but because previous years seemed so much more interesting or epic.

Results of previous votes may have been polarising to fans, but the voting process back then was often quite involved when creating new characters, or featured iconic characters when voting on a new toy for an old character.
This time it just seems so simple (a short voting period for one of three options, with little fanfare or promotion), and features characters who probably wouldn't even make it on the short list of the Hall of Fame fan-vote... and the two that are most iconic to fans and the general public, just recently got Generations toys (Mirage and Wheeljack).
Tracks is the only one of the six that didn't see a Prime Wars Trilogy era toy, and even though three of them were limited FunPub toys, they are out there if fans of those characters really wanted them.

I expect that the winning toys will be Deluxes, or else they wouldn't fit in with the other Generations toys that are similar to these characters (other Autobot cars, Targetmasters), and that won't allow the designers to do too much with the engineering and details, or else these will cost as much as Masterpiece toys.

And the worst of it, is that if the resulting two toys are very nicely done, it is an annoying tease that we then won't get the other four produced.
I would have preferred several rounds of voting, eliminating characters in a head to head showdown, resulting in two winners... making it more interesting with each round, and we wouldn't be too upset about the loosing options being a tease of toys we'll never see, because there would be too many losers.

[DELTAprime]

The best comment on the Facebook page for the vote is something along the lines of "Just give us Spinister, Needlenose and Impactor".

They are three characters Hasbro has not done properly in G1 form. To only give us one of them is a bit painful for collectors like me that want a full G1 cast from 84 to 92 in CHUG.