War For Cybertron - Earthrise

[griffin]

I wonder if Hasbro pressured Takara for consistent paint apps to prevent competition, or did Takara just underestimate how much of their base was overseas collectors? When it was different colours I was often on the fence, but extra accessories like arms-microns made it essential to buy a TakaraTomy spare

I wouldn't be surprised if it was Hasbro telling them to keep the toys the same, just to increase their own sales, from those western collectors who might have been buying the Japanese versions if they had better colours or accessories (which would be people like me who would pick and choose the various figures from Japan or Hasbro that appealed to me).
I used to buy a fair few regular retail toys from Japan, but this year it has dried up almost completely, thanks to the mainlines being identical and the over-priced Masterpiece toys limiting what I am comfortable with on the high-priced end of the scale. As such, I've only bought four of this years TakaraTomy TFs so far, missing a number of 2019 MPs and some one-off rarities.

[Tha_Phantom]

I wouldn't be surprised if it was Hasbro telling them to keep the toys the same, just to increase their own sales, from those western collectors who might have been buying the Japanese versions if they had better colours or accessories (which would be people like me who would pick and choose the various figures from Japan or Hasbro that appealed to me).

Not gonna go full PoKeYmAn LiCeNsE level of conspiracy theory here, but I thought it was simply a cost-saving measure for Takara. I mean, even the packaging is near-identical if not exactly the same between Takara and Hasbro now.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

I mean, even the packaging is near-identical if not exactly the same between Takara and Hasbro now.

They put a sticker over the English name in the box.

I relly like the look of Cliffjumper. He's small all right, but he IS a minibot. Whether the accessories make him to deluxe size though is another thing.... Kind of curious to know, will we get an Earthrise Cosmos? :P

[griffin]

Gallery of Wheeljack, from a youtube video, comparing it to several Siege toys.

[griffin]

Some more official images, this time from Japanese product listings - Starscream, Cliffjumper and the Military Patrol.

Starscream is really starting to make me think of like the Deluxe Generations mould that they squeezed out 30-something toys from... so expect to have at least a dozen different toys from this mould (and I'm sure that they've designed the mould to accommodate coneheads). My concern is that this "Voyager" class will have been shrunken down yet again, and we'll be paying $50 for a toy that is not much bigger than the $25 Deluxe GEN Seekers, making it twice as expensive to collect the cast then it was last time.

[Paulbot]

You'd think by now (35+ years later!) they could do this without the tip of the plane hanging off the back of the head. The front on view looks maniuplated to hide it (compared to the front on action shot - given how high it sits in the back view)

And seriously, the back of Starscream looks like an Authentics or Cyberverse toy. So plain (not plane!) and the wings look hollow.

Grr. I'll probably end up buying three of it.

[reillyd]

I've seen detailed video close ups now of the Earthrise artwork, and SPOILER ALERT
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There is a tiny little Galvatron to be seen floating in space
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END SPOILER ALERT

[Sinnertwin]

You'd think by now (35+ years later!) they could do this without the tip of the plane hanging off the back of the head. The front on view looks maniuplated to hide it (compared to the front on action shot - given how high it sits in the back view)

And seriously, the back of Starscream looks like an Authentics or Cyberverse toy. So plain (not plane!) and the wings look hollow.

Grr. I'll probably end up buying three of it.

Same lol
And the multitude of repaints. I'm low key hoping there isn't 31 variants like the CHUG's


For those keen as a bean, Amazon.com has the 4 deluxes up for a 31/03 release at $20 USD a pop

[BigTransformerTrev]

I wouldn't be surprised if it was Hasbro telling them to keep the toys the same, just to increase their own sales, from those western collectors who might have been buying the Japanese versions if they had better colours or accessories (which would be people like me who would pick and choose the various figures from Japan or Hasbro that appealed to me).
I used to buy a fair few regular retail toys from Japan, but this year it has dried up almost completely, thanks to the mainlines being identical and the over-priced Masterpiece toys limiting what I am comfortable with on the high-priced end of the scale. As such, I've only bought four of this years TakaraTomy TFs so far, missing a number of 2019 MPs and some one-off rarities.

Not gonna go full PoKeYmAn LiCeNsE level of conspiracy theory here, but I thought it was simply a cost-saving measure for Takara. I mean, even the packaging is near-identical if not exactly the same between Takara and Hasbro now.

I'm inclined to agree. All these figures would be being made in the same factory. Saves changing paint or doing two separate runs - must be cheaper in the long run.

And would Takara agree to something to boost Hasbro sales if it meant damaging their own? As I've done the same as Griff - I used to have bi-yearly shipments from HLJ, not any more. Nearly all the CW combiner groups I got the UW versions as well due to different paint and sometimes differently done characters. That way I could have the Gestalt set up with the individual bots as well. Didn't bother with the Predacons and Terrorcons as there was no difference, I just got the Hasbro versions.

I suppose it boils down to how much influence Hasbro has over TT. I really don't know personally.

[Sinnertwin]

Look on the bright side, you save money for those of you that used to double dip.