Lost Molds?

[GoktimusPrime]

I thought the Constructicons werent lost molds before since they made them during G2. I just thought the reason they didn't want to reissue them is because Hastak don't wanna compete with the tons of KO's that were part of the first wave that proliferated the market.

Yeah, Takara said this back in 2000-2001.

Wonder what process (red tape, tax) and how much monetary value would it take for them (HasTakTom) to retromold these lost ones, since the KOers seem to be able to do so with ease? They did it for Jazz the first time didn't they? Surely with all the figures floating around (KO and otherwise) still it's not that hard for a global toy mega company to achieve what a garage KOer can....

Convoy was reconstructed from an armless G2 Prime mould (and that hideously expensive according to Takara), Jazz was recast from the G2 mould and Soundwave was recast from a retooled Soundblaster mould.

Afaik there's never been a reissue made from a completely rebuilt lost mould. And the only reissue made from a broken mould was Convoy - and we know that HasTak continue to milk that mould for all it's worth!

Remember that bootleggers are working under completely different conditions to HasTak - it is an unfair playing ground. I don't think it's fair to compare HasTak with illegal bootleggers.

They keep saying to us its expensive to do a remold, but then how much of this is true and how much is all just because were too lazy to do so and are just as Cobra commander puts it...

"Lies, Lies! Insubstantiated fantasies, LIIEEESssss"

*throws more spores at your face*

[Adzma]

Wonder what process (red tape, tax) and how much monetary value would it take for them (HasTakTom) to retromold these lost ones, since the KOers seem to be able to do so with ease?

From the bottom of the moulds page:

Many of the current bootlegs of Generation 1 toys are reverse-engineered from existing toys; instead of stealing or copying the original toy's mold, the bootleggers cut new molds based on the toys themselves - creating a copy of a copy.

I suppose you could call it effective but the problem is you'd never be able to get a perfect size so in theory the parts wouldn't fit together as well as professional moulds. I do agree that Hasbro and TakTom should at least repair someone like Wheeljack since he's one of the original Autobots and a character who actually had meaning, not like those lazy 1985 characters who just showed up out of no where and were like, "Sup?" Replacing lost moulds on the other hand wouldn't be, as Hasbro and TakTom would put it, economically viable.