Hasbro acquires Porsche licence for Transformers

[High_Q]

Yep. I don't know why people are still speculating about this.

Because the chibi one(s) we've seen may not be official Takara product, and even if made by Takara, that doesn't mean they will/can be released.
Having said that, i think you guys are right. Based on the design and engineering, those look like an official product, and will be released as an MP. But with a chibi MP Cliffjumper being my most anticipated MP, i just don't want to put my hopes up only for it to be dashed.

[Tha_Phantom]

Because the chibi one(s) we've seen may not be official Takara product, and even if made by Takara, that doesn't mean they will/can be released.
Having said that, i think you guys are right. Based on the design and engineering, those look like an official product, and will be released as an MP. But with a chibi MP Cliffjumper being my most anticipated MP, i just don't want to put my hopes up only for it to be dashed.

I'd be utterly amazed if it turns out not to be an official Takara product, given that we've seen a few copies in various stages of development from different leakers. Also no 3P or KO company have come forward to claim ownership either. If it is a hoax then it's a very well coordinated hoax.
I do take your point that even if it's legit it still may not be released, but the recent Superbowl trailer has got me feeling pretty confident.

[High_Q]

I do take your point that even if it's legit it still may not be released, but the recent Superbowl trailer has got me feeling pretty confident.

OK, that's a cryptic comment. Is that a reference to the upcoming but long delayed THE FLASH film? I'm really looking forward to it. :P

[Tha_Phantom]

OK, that's a cryptic comment. Is that a reference to the upcoming but long delayed THE FLASH film? I'm really looking forward to it. :P

Haha, nah, I'm only here to discuss Transformers. This is what I was referring to:
https://youtu.be/qXBsJW4LOCQ

[High_Q]

Haha, nah, I'm only here to discuss Transformers. This is what I was referring to:
https://youtu.be/qXBsJW4LOCQ

Yes, that makes more sense. Fingers crossed for official news about MP Cliffjumper and Hubcap before the full set of the next MPG is released. Lol

[Cat]

I'd be utterly amazed if it turns out not to be an official Takara product, given that we've seen a few copies in various stages of development from different leakers. Also no 3P or KO company have come forward to claim ownership either. If it is a hoax then it's a very well coordinated hoax.
I do take your point that even if it's legit it still may not be released, but the recent Superbowl trailer has got me feeling pretty confident.

Yeah I'd be amazed if it's a hoax. It screams TakTom MP design. FansToys did debut their own Masterpiece Cliffjumper around the time these pics debuted, but they're clearly very different, and it's very clear which is FansToys's style and which one really does appear to be perfectly done in the vein of an official MP. It's simply too good. And the idea that no 3rd party group would come forward and claim this sculpt that has more interest than FansToys, considered the king of third-party Masterpieces, is absurd, really.

This really is a case of hearing hooves and advising you not to think zebras first. It simply has to be legit, or I'll eat a hat.

[GoktimusPrime]

and even if made by Takara, that doesn't mean they will/can be released.

I think this may be the reason for current speculation. Porsche may not permit TakaraTOMY to release an MP Cliff as a deformed 924 Turbo. After all, MP-21 Bumble(bee) was released with a realistically proportioned Volkswagen Beetle Type-1, and it was half a decade later that TakaraTOMY released MP-45 Bumble as a super deformed Beetle.

So it depends on what terms/conditions Porsche decide to impose. We may end up with:
* immediate release of the deformed 924 Turbo, as per the prototype
* release of undeformed 924 Turbo, à la MP-21's VW Beetle
* Cliff with a Porsche mode that can transform between being deformed and undeformed, with the toy packaged in undeformed 924 mode, à la MP Sunstreaker/Cordon/Spin-Out's standard/Super Tuning Lamborghini Countach mode.

So yeah, having the Porsche licence is no guarantee that they can do a deformed Porsche 924 Turbo Cliff. But it would mean that they can do an MP Cliff, which in my books is already a massive win. I'm honestly not fussed if they do Cliff as a deformed or undeformed 924. I'm perfectly happy with MP-21 and skipped MP-45; but I understand that for the majority who prefer these toys to look just like the cartoon models, you're gonna want the deformed vehicle mode. But it's not as if the undeformed Beetle hurt MP-21 sales.

[High_Q]

So yeah, having the Porsche licence is no guarantee that they can do a deformed Porsche 924 Turbo Cliff.

If we get an MP Cliffjumper with chibi alt mode, it'll be the first licensed chibi Porsche that Tomy has released. Even though Tomy has released many Porsches in their Tomica scaled (e.g. 1/64 scale) model lines, Tomy has not released Porsches through their chibi Choro-Q line in 2 decades. Takara did release a few Choro-Q 'Porsches' in the 80s, but I don't think those were licensed (back then, the Diaclone cars and original G1 releases weren't licensed either, AFAIK).

[Cat]

If we get an MP Cliffjumper with chibi alt mode, it'll be the first licensed chibi Porsche that Tomy has released. Even though Tomy has released many Porsches in their Tomica scaled (e.g. 1/64 scale) model lines, Tomy has not released Porsches through their chibi Choro-Q line in 2 decades. Takara did release a few Choro-Q 'Porsches' in the 80s, but I don't think those were licensed (back then, the Diaclone cars and original G1 releases weren't licensed either, AFAIK).

You're right, those were all unlicensed back then. Iirc the first toy that required a license was Sideburn from RID, and that's the way things have been since.

[Tha_Phantom]

You're right, those were all unlicensed back then. Iirc the first toy that required a license was Sideburn from RID, and that's the way things have been since.

It's quite amazing to think it took a little over 15 years of Transformers before car licenses started being acquired. Especially given the accuracy of some alt modes in early G1.