Transformers Collaborative idea

[GoktimusPrime]

Another issue with Machine Men x Transformers crossovers is the legal issues it would create for TakaraTOMY, making the products unsellable in Japan. While Tonka (and thus Machine Men) were acquired by Hasbro in 1991, this isn't the case in Japan. TakaraTOMY's rival Bandai still owns the rights for Machine Robo. This is why even Machine Men references in Transformers are always obscured to the point where Bandai cannot sue Takara(TOMY).
e.g.

• "Go-Bots." While Bandai owns the designs and likenesses for Machine Robo, they don't own the names that Tonka made, and are now owned by Hasbro. Having said that, when Takara released the e-Hobby Go-Bots, to be extra cautious they never named the individual toys on the packaging or inserts; they were only named on the e-Hobby web site. This is like Sunbow changing Jetfire's name to "Skyfire," not a strict legal necessity, but done as extra precaution.

• Transformers Go-Bots never look like their Machine Men counterparts (thus not using Machine Robo's likenesses). e-Hobby Bug Bite is basically a reissue of white G1 Bumblebee with a retooled head and a silver face instead of red. Bad Boy, Treds and Pathfinder are reissues of Powerglide, Warpath and Cosmos respectively in their prototype colours (Treds just coincidentally has similar colours to Go-Bot Treds). Road Ranger and Smallfoot have unique colour schemes unrelated to their Machine Men namesakes. Subsequent versions of Bug Bite and Road Ranger have followed suit.

• While Fracture/Crasher does sport her Machine Men colours (at least, the variant used in the cartoon), it is still basically Mirage with Crasher/Porsche Man's colours. Legacy Crasher has the body of Kingdom Mirage but with Siege Holo-Mirage's head; none of the toy was ever tooled to resemble Porsche Man.

• Armada Leader-1 only bears the name of Leader-1, a trademark now owned by Hasbro. Nothing about the Mini-Con itself bears any resemblance to F-15 Man.

...etc.

I a lot of Machine Men fans may have acquired the more recent Machine Robo toys from Bandai/Action Toys; basically the closest you'll ever get to a Machine Men-accurate 21st Century upgrade. But don't expect Hasbro or TakaraTOMY to make anything like this.

[ThornOfUnicron]

Just noticed the digibashes I crudely made are gone.

[griffin]

Just noticed the digibashes I crudely made are gone.

The images were hotlinked, so the host may have blocked their use on other sites.
If you have the URL links to the images, you can post those up for people to look ago.