JP Generations 2021 book for Autumn 2021

[griffin]

I actually got one this time... now to see if there is anything else worth buying to "save" a little on shipping, or to just send the book on its own.

[griffin]

The first part of a translation of a translation, of an interview with TakaraTomy designer Shogo Hasui... talking about the design process, and some tidbits on WFC Jetfire, Omega Supreme, Sixgun.

Foreword:
We interviewed Mr. Hasui Shogo, who as a key figure on (Takaratomy’s) overseas product team collaborates with Hasbro, and asked about the latest development on the WfC trilogy, and several other designs by Mr.Hasui.

–Please tell us your relationship with Hasbro during development of the Generations line.
H: Generations is a product line co-developed by Hasbro and TakaraTomy. TT sell the products in Japan and Hasbro in all the other countries and regions.


–Practically, how do the two companies collaborate? What’s the process like?
H: Firstly Hasbro work out budget and sell price, molding investment and other budgets. We (TT design team) calculate the amount of plastic and number of molds allowed(within budget). Within this budget limitation, how we can design more interesting products and the compromises we make, is decided between the two companies. What TT want, what Hasbro want, we try our best to lay it all out on the table, and decide on the general design direction and what compromises to be made. This type of design collaboration is quite unusual, but it had been in place before I joined Takara 20 years ago. We all have Yoke san to thank for his effort on making this unique collaboration possible.


–Back in Yoke san’s time, this (type of collaboration)must’ve been confusing?
H: Yeah, the common practice back then was “I designed this product, let’s discuss how much we can sell it for”. He elevated the mindset from “let’s design a product at this price point” to “let’s see what fun ideas we can put in within this budget”. It took a lot of effort for this change in mindset to happen.


–Every year there’s a design concept (gimmick) for Generations, how do you decide on that?
H: The previous Prime Wars trilogy started from a rough concept by Hasbro, and we decide what characters can be made from this concept. But it’s different for the WfC trilogy. Hasbro design manager John Warden came to me direct, asking for input from the very beginning. We started from a topic along the lines of “we’ve done pretty much all of these characters in the classics format in the past”, what are we doing from this point on? Then we talked about further plans into the future. We considered making less known characters, but in the end decided on creating a world and play pattern that includes all the characters, where fans can immerse themselves into. Countering popular play patterns like “combining” or “city bot”, we suggested developing a “mix-matching weapon and armor” play pattern, which will be across the board in the new line.


–Cog or Six-gun being add-on pieces to combine with other figures is a very creative idea.
H: Within the parts count limitation, if we put too much focus on individual figure’s weapons or armor, the quality of the figure itself would be negatively effected. To avoid this we considered producing “weapon packs”. We looked at the fiction in the past when researching, and imagined Six-gun being part of “a Transformers race that can come apart as individual parts to enhance other transformers”; then we kinda expanded on this idea which ultimately evolved into “selling Cog and Six-gun as weapon packs”. We actually had made the suggestion to include weapons across several figures which combine into a Cog like mini character; although the idea wasn’t taken on board at the time, this concept eventually gets realized in the WfC line.


— Do you share your ideas with Hasbro on the actual design of products?
H: The Siege line-up began as Hasbro’s proposal to include all the well-known big names, then TT would adjust and distribute into each wave and price point. And (TT) proposed adding ankle pivot and waist rotation across the line to better pose out with weapons. Being mindful of the scale was Hasbro’s proposal. I’d suggested this to them in the past, the idea of so called “chain marketing”, where after buying one figure collectors would want to buy the others in the line; for example UW Devastator and PotP Predaking are close in size, then collectors would want to display them together. Hasbro took up my idea, so for this new line we would keep bot mode scale and a unifying aesthetics in mind (when designing).


–Omega Supreme is not only in size, but also in aesthetics and transformation, very faithful to the G1 cartoon. We fans are really touched.
H: Because I was involved with establishing a new (Commander class) price point, I had to entrust this design task with Kunihiro san. But I really wanted to be part of this project, so I drew up some “Omega Supreme size and appearance” sketches, and gave suggestions like “Omega’s face better not show any emotion”. Of course I didn’t do this just for Omega Supreme; I always slip our Generations team members files like “this character’s trait is this”, it’s indeed a strange behavior (laugh).


–The Commander class in question, is Jetfire right?
H: Jetfire had been done a couple of times already, but I was never involved. Firstly I really like this character, so the design process was such a joy. The sticking point for me personally, is I really wanted a Jetfire that transforms from “that jet” to “that robot design”. I imagine a lot of fans are like me, (would want to) take no hints from “that particular toy” back in the day(laugh), but to focus 100% on recreating the cartoon look. Actually when we first started on the project, Jetfire had a different Cybertronian alt mode, but I insisted on “‘bot mode is already so faithful to the cartoon, fans will be thrilled if the alt mode is too”, so we eventually settled on the current look.


–Compared with other products, (Jetfire) feels a bit different; there’s a lot details that use linked mechanism. A luxury feel to it overall.
H: Really? Maybe my love for Jetfire was too strong (laugh). Because of the the new Commander price point, we could experiment on some new ideas. I explained that we could work out parts count based on price point, but the details of these parts, or their weight hadn’t been set. So here’s how we designed this new Commander class: starting from Titans class Devastator, we took off head and body, worked out the weight limit for Jetsfire backwards from the parts count of what’s left on Devastator – Scrapper, Long Haul and Mixmaster. We then throw in all the details and gimmicks into we could within this limit, and there was Jetfire.


–A 5mm port flips out when the fist is closed, what a mechanism!
H: Originally it was a Hasbro proposal to add an arm mechanism that rotates between 5mm fist and splayed out hand. But there’s not enough space left in the arm, so I came up with this mechanism. It wouldn’t be there if it weren’t for Hasbro’s participation.


–The handle bars underneath the jet fuselage is also interesting
H: It was intended for Ironhide or Thundercracker to grab onto. Jetfire’s alt mode is actually a cargo jet, so in order to hold other characters firepower 5mm ports were put under the wings too, and the bottom of the jet was designed to interact with Six-gun.

[griffin]

The second part of a translation of a translation....

PART 2:
Foreword: The latter part of the interview with Mr. Hasui focuses on the design process of the Earthrise line and products like Studio Series Devastator.
–Please share with us a bit about the upcoming 2020 product line WfC Earthrise.
H: Siege is about the war on Cybertron and the Transformers escaping Cybertron. Earthrise follows it and talks about after the Cybertronians landed on earth. Basically all the characters would scan an earth mode and re-format; it also talks about how they encounter new characters such as the Heasmasters on their way to earth.

–If the plot followed G1 (Japanese G1) history, the Micromasters would also be a critical part?
H: Yeah of course we added the Micromaster element. On top of that, Ironworks has a base alt mode; the crane hook can turn into a weapon, and certain parts can become sole platforms for other characters. The weapon and armor element would also continue.


–We can tell from Ironworks’ base mode, he can be combined in several different configurations.
H: Originally I only designed him as mini base; then I kept adding new elements (into the design), in the end it turned into a more versatile figure than planned. The concept of the original Micromaster toys was to connect mini bases together into a small town. We continued on with this idea here, and made an individual mini base like building blocks that can be configured in multiple ways. Collectors can build their base with their own creativity, and it can connect with other figures too. It’s also worth noting that the clips on the tracks are the same design as the parts on Omega Supreme (so they can interconnect too).


–Able to convert into those classic earth alt modes so beloved by older TF fans, the Earthrise figures feel like serious remakes of the G1 toys.
H: The original intent of the “Classics” series was to pass the “classic of the past” onto the “fans of now”, and it also had the mission as the main TF toy line to pursue the awesome designs that rooted in the original Transformers. The TF mythos not only have animation, but also multi faceted character portrayal from years of multi media content such as comics and games. If you looks closely the Earthrise toys not only inherited the old G1 toy look, but also elements from the original artworks, American comics, new reboots (of the same character) from other series. We would intentionally combine elements from both Japanese and US side of things if there are differences into the new design; amalgamating the history of a character to design the toy, this is what I call “Generations”.


–But it feels like this trend of respecting the past, has been accelerating in the past couple of years.
H: Yeah, because Hasbro had started to be more aware of this, and more focused on the consistency and unification of characters. For example (they) started to propose “Starscream should have traits like this and that”, and acknowledge more and more what makes a certain character recognizable. I think this has to do with the more G1 accurate toys we(TT) had been producing in CHUG form over the years, like UW Devastator, which won over collectors, which in turn started to influence Hasbro, and made them respect these characters’ original design and portrayal more and more.


–Can you please talk a bit about the SS Devastator that’s currently in the works?
H: The majority of combiners so far were designed by multiple people, however this time the 8 figures that form SS Devastator have been done by myself only.


–Because it’s Studio Series, it’ll be faithful to the movie?
H: Precisely. In order to recreate the movie design, I abandoned the “building block” type of of combination that’d been used for combiner designs so far. Instead (I) borrowed from “Yose-e”(???, a form of Ukiyo-e, usually a composite form made up by smaller individual forms; see example below), whereby the individual components’ limbs are used as intertwining muscle lines, forming a very special structure as the end result. However, different to UW Devastator where the 6 components were designed all at once, this time the 8 individual components were designed in sequence according to the planned release. schedule.


–This approach is unheard of!
H: We did it this way because SS Devastator isn’t like the previous combiners being released all at once, but like the other SS toys, released as individual figures scattered cross the product line, and with different gaps between the release dates. (We focused on)them being fun figures as individual releases; combining is only one of the selling points. Therefore, the development requirement was to focus on quality of individual components while integrating engineering required for combining. But! the development time allocated for each component was not much different to other non-combining figures! Different to non-combining toys, for a combiner I needed to produce the combining drawing on top of individual drawings. It was immensely difficult to meet the deadlines~


–We thought the combined form was worked out before designing the individual components
H: Yeah, a rough combing concept had been decided on at the beginning, but it the details weren’t worked out; so when designing one component, I’d consider “the connection point with the next component will roughly be here, so I’ll leave a slot here”; basically plan forward into the next component. However the completed form was only in my head, so no one could share my workload. It’s kinda like the work of the mangaka of a weekly published manga, dropping all kinds of foreshadowing in the story(laugh).


–This must be a first for you as well?
H: Yeah, and this was also the first time designing toys of the same group spanning across two years. Crossing into a new year, budget would have been adjusted; parts count allowed for the same price point would be different in the new year. Making adjustment on design for this took a lot of effort too.


–Please share with us anything else you can on the 2020 line please.
H: Aside from Ironworks, Earthrise will have other base bots can be added into your base combination. Also the figure will keep the 5mm port system, so you can still armor up/customize your favorite character. I designed 4 figures in Wave 1: Cliffjumper, Ironworks, Wheeljack and Starscream. Because of the focus on scale, mini bot Cliffjumper is a small dude just like the old cartoon. But I designed him with lots of features, which I put a lot of time and thoughts into; the skis and a customizable large weapon were also included in the alt mode.


–You are nicknamed ‘Mr.Starscream”, it’s been a while since you did a Starscream hasn’t it?
H: Yeah it has been a while and I was thrilled. However due to scheduling, the time given to me for this figure was only half of that of other Voyagers. But in this limited time frame, I reused part of previously used engineering, and also allowed for future small remolds and repaints. There are some characters from Siege that continue to be active in Earthrise, but the alt modes changed from Cybertronian to earthen; so we decided to reuse some parts from Siege on the same figure, to showcase that it’s the same character. We hope collectors can compare them side by side, and experience the difference and discover more fun in playing.

[griffin]

Ooops... those previous two posts were from the 2020 Generations book.

The Soundwave's Oblivion website has done up a translation of the interviews that's in the 2021 Generations book... Japanese Transformers designers Yuya Onishi and Takashi Kunihiro (one working at TakaraTomy since the 1980s and the other one working at TakaraTomy in the last 10 years).

Interview(s): Yuya Onishi
Translated & Interpreted by Jeremy Barlow © Soundwaves Oblivion 2021. With thanks to Delvon for sending me the scans.
Interview from Hero X Transformers Generations 2021 (May 2021)
Yuya Onishi Design Team Leader

PROFILE
Yuya Onishi was born in 1984 in Osaka. He majored in mechanical engineering at university and was in charge of the development of white goods in a consumer electronics research and development group. He studied car design at a vocational college and joined Takara Tomy in 2011. With an understanding of the entire product line he is currently the team leader as well as a designer himself.
“I want to give our customers an “unforgettable experience” that only toys can offer.”
From consumer electronics to the toy industry.

-Onishi-san, how did you end up in the Transformers team?
I joined TakaraTomy in 2011 and then the Transformers team in 2012. Back then my time was split between overseas and domestic products. I worked on “Beast Hunters” for Hasbro; domestically I worked on “Triple Combination Transformers Go!” and a bit on “BeCool” (our version of Bot Shots). That was the start of my Transformers career.

-We see that your name was everywhere in 2016. You were in charge of the Transformers collaboration with KDDI as well as a collaboration with the milk drink manufacturer Megmilk Snow Brand.
You’ve done your research (laughs).

-You came into the toy industry from a completely different industry didn’t you?
Yes, I worked in a consumer electronics research department where there are between 40 or 80 people who oversee a single product. It isn’t possible for an individual to have responsibility for everything. I’ve always wanted to make things in my career and I happened upon Takara Tomy. In my first year I helped out at store demonstrations and toy shows. I learnt so much from Shirai-san (who is currently in charge of publicity) and I told him Transformers are really fun (laughs). That’s how I ended up in the team.

-What drew you in specifically?
I came into this industry as I wanted the opportunity to be able to design a product from start to finish by myself. You can do this with Transformers. Moreover you can do anything with cars, planes and robots (laughs). I felt my dream had come true, I had the autonomy to do what I wanted with a Transformer that other teams weren’t particularly focussing on. I love watching science fiction and mecha and I think it was “Darkside Moon” which really made me think about what I could do if I joined the Transformers team.

-What did you think when you finally joined the team?
I felt a bit out of my depth, the other team members had been making Transformers for years. I had only researched toys but really only started designing when I joined the team. I didn’t want to end up in a complicated situation where I couldn’t keep up with the rest of the team.

-You’ll soon be working on Drift from the 2014 “Lost Age”?
Since “Lost Age” the robots have had very human proportions and I’ve been thinking about how to give them more impressive transformations.

-You were also involved with the 2016 MP-28 Hot Rodimus?
The vehicle mode design sketch was drawn using car design techniques and it ended up really impressive. I majored in mechanical engineering at university and also studied car design. This leads to a complicated story. As I can draw, I thought it would be my strength (even if I had little knowledge of toys) so I drew designs whenever I had the opportunity. I drew the concept of Kenzan’s car mode from “Transformers Go!” when I had just started in the team.

-I’ve heard there are a few teams who develop their own designs rather than outsourcing.
I think it’s one of my strengths that when designing I can effectively take into account all possible details and include them into the design.

Studio Series Hot Rod
-Moving back to the present, the Studio Series Hot Rod seems to be the definitive version.
I was delighted to be in charge of Hot Rod and it really was a challenge. This is the thrill of developing a Transformers toy. Since I joined the team I’ve watched “The Movie” and it soon became one of my favourites as it’s so memorable. Of all the characters, Hot Rod is my favourite. When I helped with the Masterpiece version I kept looking back to The Movie for reference. The G1 version is an exceptional toy and I had it with me throughout the development of the 86 Hot Rod. When fans talk about Hot Rod they all have the G1 version in mind. For years I’ve always wanted to make a product which is of the same standard as the original Hot Rod. When I showed the 86 version to Kunihiro-san he said “It’s wonderful.” which made me really happy.

-With a toy like Hot Rod is it difficult to fit all the robot parts, with all their different dimensions, inside the vehicle mode?
Very difficult. With regards to the proportions I always hand draw the outline before I use CAD and with this I drew a number of designs which were all different from each other. After
drawing all night I thought “this is the perfect Hot Rod”. After leaving it for a day I reassessed the width of the shoulders and copied the design I had in my dreams.

-Personally I was pleased to see the wheel placement behind the shoulders and the fact you spin the arms around switching left to right.
I wanted it to give it a dynamic transformation for the end user to experience. For me, the tyres always have to be at the back. When a black tyre is on the front of the arm it makes the arms look short.

-In the Movie, each time Hot Rod transforms it’s animated differently isn’t it?
My main reference was when Hot Rod transformed for the first time when he caught Daniel. When I think back on it I cherish the inspiration I had from it. Rather than focus on the transformation scenes I focused on the scenes where he fought the squid underwater. I wanted to achieve that level of articulation rather than a static pose like the usual robots. This Hot Rod was meant to lead the way for the Studio Series and I thought being able to achieve that level of movement seen in the Movie was an important factor.

-The response overseas was very favourable.
Yes, I saw the responses earlier, I’m pleased you’ve seen them too.

Kingdom Series Rodimus Prime
-Was it ever considered that Kingdom Rodimus Prime would transform as a whole rather than split in two sections?
On this occasion I didn’t have a choice. Hasbro wanted this version to be heavily based upon the original G1 toy. As it was going to be a Commander Class figure I had to think about what I could do to add value.

-The trailer is very luxurious. The rear hatch even has working pistons right?
That’s the commitment from the Hasbro designers. Right at the beginning I wanted to make a trailer worthy of a Prime.

-I’m surprised with the pull out draw underneath the trailer.
That was my commitment as product designer (laughs). Personally I don’t like excess parts, I’m driven by what I can offer. So here is somewhere you can store Rodimus’ accessories with space for other parts as well.

-Rodimus also has a separate vehicle mode.
After discussions with the Hasbro designer, I had a good idea about the shape of Rodimus’ vehicle mode. In contrast to Hot Rod’s supercar style, the clearance between the underside of the car and the ground make Rodimus look like an SUV. I wanted to see a considerable contrast when you compared the two. When you transform him into robot mode the tyres on the arms open up and lock back into the arm to create a sense of unity. It was an idea I came up with to achieve both the SUV style Hasbro wanted and a guarantee of articulation in robot mode.

-I’m pleased he scales well with Galvatron.
This was a coordinated effort with each designer. I think the scale of the lineup as a whole will give a sense of realism as we head towards the final battle of the War for Cybertron Trilogy.

Working as a Team Leader
-Onishi-san, I hear it is now your responsibility to supervise the entire team.
I act like a team leader or design director. As I touched upon with the height comparison, I ensure we keep on track with such details so the products reach the end user as they were initially intended. Sometimes a team member has their own idea which can cause everything to fall apart (laughs). The role is to provide a balance as a whole. For example, when you step back and look at War for Cybertron Siege, the story is based on Planet Cybertron and you have lots of very fine detailing included all over the toys. With Earthrise everything has a much simpler look. It gives you that sense of unity for the trilogy.
Speaking of the Transformer toys as a whole, the line up has a wide range of target demographics and concepts. Guidelines are clarified and discussed with each designer for the difficulty of the transformation and how you transform them.

-Onishi-san, what is your involvement with Masterpiece Skids?
I was conscious of wanting to return to the origin of “What is a Transformer?” The whole team was brought together to discuss the direction of a “Masterpiece which would please Transformer fans”. We hope you are looking forward to it.

-I think your stance on toy design, Onishi-san, is to ensure the end users are always happy.
Around the time of “Lost Age”, I saw the story on SNS of a child who was finally able to buy Drift after saving his pocket money. I thought that toys which leave that impression on children are wonderful. I’m glad I came to work at a toy company. It made me want to give users that “impressive experience” that only toys can give. Toys are usually found strewn on the floor and sometimes people get bored of them and throw them away. As each designer is responsible for a huge number of products each year, the time to work on them is limited. But by making each one as carefully as possible you may be able to create a product which will be kept forever. Unlike art, this job isn’t about self expression but about what you can make that others will want. With this strong desire I want to work with my team to create Transformers which are loved all over the world. Thank you for your continued support.


Interview(s): Takashi Kunihiro
Translated & Interpreted by Jeremy Barlow © Soundwaves Oblivion 2021. With thanks to Delvon for sending me the scans.
Interview from Hero X Transformers Generations 2021 (May 2021)
Takashi Kunihiro
PROFILE
Takashi Kunihiro, born in 1960 in Shiga, joined Takara in 1980. He started developing Transformers in 1985 for “The Movie” and has been in charge of the design teams behind many of the lead protagonists. In the 90’s he played a lead role developing the Brave series.
“Hot Rodimus was a lot more complicated in the beginning.”

Masterpiece Movie Optimus Prime
– First off, could you please tell us about the Bumblebee Movie Optimus Prime which we have specially photographed today?
The Studio Series SS-30 Optimus Prime designed by Onishi was really well received and based on that feedback we decided to brush up on the design and release a Masterpiece version.

– What sort of things did you brush up on?
The base model Optimus made for SS-30 is really cool but it was made before the movie came out. There were changes made to the CGI model which we weren’t able to add to the toy so it felt unfinished. Our direction therefore was to make a movie accurate version. I feel that we certainly improved the accuracy by using the CGI model featured in the movie as a reference. I wanted to do it justice by reproducing the plump thighs and the way the tyres fit on the side of the legs which gives it a very impressive look. There is also a rounded section on the robot’s back and I wanted to get that shape right.

– The vehicle mode is very reminiscent of the G1 style.
As it isn’t a licensed vehicle we were able to reproduce it from its fleeting appearance in the movie. Putting it plainly, when speaking of Convoys there is always a cab with legs behind it. I can’t change this but I was able to shift sections to the legs to make them look thicker. As the lower body has to carry all the weight I opted to use diecast metal parts. The metal parts are clearly visible in vehicle mode but they aren’t visible in robot mode.

– The chest windows aren’t dummy sections either.
The movie series introduced the split chest appearance. I sometimes use dummy chest windows but as this is a Masterpiece, I didn’t want to do this. Therefore there is a mechanism so when you press the left and right sides, the windows tilt diagonally.

– The trailer isn’t included either.
I was secretly able to include connector ports which are compatible with Masterpiece Ver 3.0. That trailer has a square connector so I simply included square holes enabling you to attach it.

-Could you please let us know any stand out features.
The front section of Optimus’ gun is long and cool looking. That’s why the toy gun is long. When you pose it and leave it standing there, it just looks cool.

War for Cybertron Unicron
– Unicron has finally shipped. Could you please tell us your thoughts on this largest Transformer in history.
Ono made Unicron 35 years ago, didn’t he? If you try to use the planet’s curved surface as a body, that’s what happens. But you can’t mess with the spherical shape. It was never sold and it has taken 35 years to put it into production. Thank you for everyone’s support. As it was a crowdfunding project, there was a very real possibility it would never have been made. Therefore I wasn’t able to spend my entire budget so I used the same mould for the left and right sides of the figure therefore the screw holes were visible both at the front and the back. I therefore prepared detailed covers for the screw holes.

-It’s the first Transformer to hide the screw holes.
There is always talk of covering the screw holes but as this was a crowdfunding project that we created with you, we are asking you to fill the screw holes yourself as a rite of passage (laughs)! They are detailed covers so we’d like you to add them, please try it.

Memories of Transformers The Movie.
– Can you recall any memorable events?
It was just after I joined the company, the third Transformer I designed was for the movie. Both Hot Rodimus and Rodimus Convoy’s intended price points were changed right in the middle of production so I had to remake them from scratch.

-So you not only had to remake Rodimus Convoy but also Hot Rodimus!?
I had only made prototypes for the basic transformation sequence. The actual transformation would have been far more elaborate. I think those prototypes are long gone by now…….

-I really want to see the complex version of Hot Rodimus.
It wasn’t great, it was designed by someone who had just started for the company. Well, it was awful (laughs). I did try to make the updated version as similar as I could.

-On the contrary, the finished version of Hot Rodimus was quite a complicated toy for its time.
Thank you. One of the designers who joined the company later on did call it a masterpiece. If you look at it now you can see the mistakes such as the outline of the car mode. These issues have been fixed with the more recent versions of Hot Rodimus.

-I’ve photographed the prototypes for Rodimus Convoy and Wheelie before. It’s impressive that they were much larger than the finished products.
Rodimus Convoy did shrink, didn’t he? I remember working on it thinking “I’m going to make a big hero for Japan.” Galvatron on the other hand was huge in comparison!

-Have you seen the remade Kingdom and Studio Series versions?
The current direction is remaking and improving upon the old figures whilst still maintaining the nostalgia and I think the fans are happy with this. Hot Rodimus is very well made isn’t he? Transformers is a very old and long series, the people who make them change and the Generations change. Speaking of Cyclonus for example, at the time my senior instructor was designing Cyclonus the same time I was working on Hot Rodimus. With Transformers Henkei I had the opportunity to remake Cyclonus. I designed it so the nose cone could fold inside the robot body. Now younger staff members are remaking it for Studio Series. I’m deeply moved when I think about it. I’m already over 60 (laughs)!

[griffin]

While on the topic of translated interviews from Japan, another one of the "Japanese to Chinese to English" translations has surfaced, also from 2020... Shogo Hasui, from the July 2020 issue of Figure King.

This is a great read (a MUST read) for anyone who bought Earthrise Scorponok... to understand what went on behind the scenes for this figure, and why it ended up the way it did.

FOREWORD: This project was riddled with chaos. Even veteran designer Mr. Hasui still needed the help of “magic” to pull off the design of Earthrise Scorponok. This interview will bring you a behind the scene look on that, and more on the latest of the WfC trilogy.

–Please tell our readers why Scorponok was chosen as the Titan class figure this time around.
H: The character selection was basically Hasbro’s request. According to Hasbro’s survey(fan votes) Scorponok is really popular among fans, so they strongly proposed on making him the Earthrise Titan figure. Because the story of “Earthrise” actually takes place on earth, this request took us by surprise. Hasbro hoped this Titan figure would be able to interact with the previous Titan class figures, and give fans the opportunity to enjoy the base bots and their related toys; so we introduced this character in the Earthrise line.

–Was the “Double Head On” feature decided on from the get go?
H: Yeah, it was the earliest proposal from Hasbro. Even if we (TakaraTomy) did the proposal, it would no doubt be the same in this regard. Probably because this had been mentioned before when we were having general discussions with Hasbro. All in all, Scorponok having dual Heasmasters was decided on at the very early stage. In addition, Hasbro also hoped the aesthetics would be close to <Rebirth>, as well as triple-changing (‘bot, scorpion and base mode); they had decided on these from the proposal stage.

–As a Titan class figure, what first came in your mind when it comes to upgrades(from the G1 toy)?
H: It would have to be a comparable size with Titan Fort Max. The original G1 toy was too small compared to Fort Max; since these two are arch-enemies, they should then be the same size so they can be displayed next to each other. We thought fans would think the same.

–Although slightly shorter than Fort Max, Earthrise Scorpornok has a bulky upper body; he certainly does look the part against Fort Max!
H: But I went through hell to achieve this! (laugh), because budget was less than expected. The proposed budget this time around, was only enough to produce 3/4 of Siege Omega Supreme’s molds. With molds reduced by this much, but the figure needed to be bigger in size than Omega Supreme, we thought this was nigh impossible. Hasbro proposed to reduce the size accordingly–and of course it’d be much easier (for us)–but thinking about the fans that waited for years for a worthy Scorponk alongside Titan Fort Max, we just couldn’t accept a smaller size.

–Then how did you achieve this size?
H: I used “magic” (laugh). Firstly I explained to them how critical his size is, so there’s no way down the size reduction route. Then we started from cutting back on accessories, but even then the number of molds was over budget; in the end we thought if we were limited on the number of molds, we could use one mold to produce two completely same parts. Although we added some symmetrical parts in the end, the right/left hand and right/left legs are completely swappable mirrored design, which could be cast from the same mold. Also we had to give up the clear visor part as well, and use the saved area of this mold to increase areas in other molds, thus increasing volume of the figure.

–You went through all this to get to the current size.
H: All in all, with a bottom line of not compromising the aesthetics in mind, we tried everything to get him as close to Fort Max in size as possible. For me personally, aside from Scorponok, at the time I also had Studio Series Devastator and another big ticket product which I can’t name now in development concurrently. They were all big projects with very high difficulty so it was really stressful for me. During that period there was one day where the transforming Scorponok prototype and SS Overload’s final gray model were completed on the same day……(sad laughter)it was really a nightmare.

— Can you talk about the character design this time in more detail?
H: Scorponok as s character has appeared in the American <Rebirth>, Japanese <The Headmasters>, and Marvel comics. So how we could combine elements from these different portrayals into one design was no easy task. Specifically, Hasbro proposed “Titan class, dual headmaster, and based on <Rebirth>”, so we used these as a starting point where we added more elements from other versions of the character.

–The Marvel version is particularly different to the others right?
H: The comic Scorponok is about the size of Optimus, so we said F that. But we did design kind of a comic-esque muscular V shaped upper body, as well as make the small Titan master closer in look to the Marvel version.

–The ‘bot mode of the Head Master used the JP <HM> design. What was the thought process?
H: Truth be told the concept design of Scorponok was pretty much done back when we were still finalizing the design on TR Trypticon. But in the poll after Fort Max, Scorponok didn’t win; so when we were redoing all these Headmasters, he didn’t get a a chance to be remade. Back then we actually proposed to Hasbro to release him as a Deluxe class Headmaster only in the style of the JP <HM>. Because the Japanese version was such an impressive character, we thought even just releasing him as a single headmaster it’d be good for the product line. At least he could (in toy format) interact with the Decepticon line up. Although the proposal wasn’t taken on board at the time, this idea of having the Japanese Headmaster ‘Head On’ stuck in my head, and it’s finally realized this time.

–Please let us in on some hidden features if there’s any, like swapping heads with Fort Max.
H: This wasn’t planned intentionally but in the end it worked? (laugh). It’s probably Zarak stealing Fort Max’s body… In ‘bot mode the scorpions legs are stored inside the body in ‘bot mode, but we still made the chest panel openable and it could house a Titan Master inside This was inspired by a <Rebirth> scene where he captures an enemy, but of course it can be used as a pilot seat too.

–So as the designer, what are the selling points for Scorponok?
H: He’s a double headmaster but also has the neck articulation to look down. With double knee joint, ankle rocker, and claw articulation, a lot of effort went into articulation too. He can be put in poses that suit his menacing size, so I hope fans can also enjoy playing with a gigantic toy this size. The scorpion mode was also designed as an articulated transport mode. With universal ports all over, and the upcoming Weaponizer (Fasttrack), I hope fans will be able to use their imagination and create their own powerful Scorponok.

–Siege Omega Supreme and Earthrise Scorponok give off impressions they’re so fun to be played with.
H: Probably because both had their robot mode designed first, then transformation designed around it. Scorponok had more development time scheduled, so we were able to have the mold technicians come to Japan and iron out joint and mold issues one by one with me. For example originally I’d designed the scorpion tail to become the shield for ‘bot mode, however after the technicians pointed out adding heavy load bearing joints on the arms would be detrimental to other parts of the figure, we abandoned this idea. Being able to interact with production staff this closely, I think it helped increase our product quality too.

–The Generations line has grown a lot lately.
H: The original ‘Classics’ line started as a preview line for the movie 1 products. I thought this was a great position to be in, because back then there was the Movie line, and also the Animated line which were both very progressive in design; so Classics had the room to go for the “(traditionally) good-looking robots” aesthetics. Then it evolved into a main toy line that closely follows the foot steps of G1. This time there’s even animation directly based on these CHUG format toys. On the other hand, because it’s a line that’s had such a long history, the same character could’ve been remade in different series; so in order for us to get the fans to buy the same character again, we constantly improve on engineering and articulation, and also increase interactivity and weapon expandability etc. throughout the whole line. All of these efforts were recognized and acknowledged by fan and this is the reason why this line got to continue to this very day.

–Please talk a bit about the design direction in general.
H: For Siege, to demonstrate the alien nature tech on TFs, a lot of mechanical details were added. However Siege has included earth alt mode, so I referred to Studio X’s concept art because their design was heavily based on real life vehicles. I also borrowed from the details on MP products with a real life vehicle mode. Also worth noting, the character designs from recent years have been really faithful to older works (mainly G1), for example this Scorponok. If you think he looks quite like the G1 cartoon character, then it’s our success.

— Please talk a bit about what you think of the (Siege) cartoon.
H: I had the honor to visit POLYGON Pictures, the production company, and watched a couple of clips during production. Looking at the toys so faithfully recreated in animation, I was really touched. It felt to me that the production staff are big Transformers fans, and the show is really a labor of love. So I really wanted to find out what happens next in the show; and as a designer there’s a show that makes people want to buy the toys you designed, I feel really honored.

–Finally, can you please share your outlook for the WfC trilogy.
H: Keeping the robot modes in scale, all the characters you guys were expecting will be there. There will even be “this character gets a toy too!?” kind of surprises. Please stayed tuned.