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.

[Sky Shadow]

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.

I find it interesting that the three final 'economically unviable' Autobot cars are three without canonical remoulds. With the exception of Hound, Skids and Tracks, all the other Autobot cars that have already been done were inherently more economically viable than these ones, since they could be used for more than one original 1984-1988 G1 character.

[GoktimusPrime]

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?"

To date the only reissue that's ever been made from a formerly broken mould that had to be partially reconstructed was Convoy/Optimus Prime. And the fact that HasTak has reissued this mould 6+ times shows that they really are trying to get as much bang for their buck for their trouble. With a character as popular and iconic as Optimus Prime such an effort could be justified, but I'm not sure if Wheeljack would sell as well to justify the expense.

I'm quite sure that Takara would have reissued Wheeljack if they thought it was viable for them to do so.

[sideswipes brother]

IMO if they can reissue Omega, Skylinx etc then they can bring back Sunstreaker, dinobots and the like. Just do it Takara....just do IT!!!
I dont care how out of pocket you are...you are here to please me...ME!!

[GoktimusPrime]

IMO if they can reissue Omega, Skylinx etc then they can bring back Sunstreaker, dinobots and the like.

The Omega Supreme and Skylynx moulds weren't lost, destroyed or damaged like Sunstreaker, the Dinobots etc. The only thing that prevented Takara from reissuing them before was the fact that they're non-Takara moulds, they're owned by ToyBox, which was acquired by Tomy. Since Takara merged with Tomy they acquired the rights to these moulds and thus were able to reissue them.

Just do it Takara....just do IT!!!
I dont care how out of pocket you are...you are here to please me...ME!!

Of course. TakaraTOMY and Hasbro employees absolutely don't need to make money or have families to feed. </sarcasm>

[griffin]

Having some experience in the plastics moulding industry, I know that you need really durable (reeeally expensive) moulds/tools to produce the hundreds of thousands of plastic parts Takara/Hasbro need to produce, compared to the couple of thousand that the bootleggers make (which are produced with much cheaper, short-lived moulds/tools, that they can replace cheaply as they are damaged/broken).

[liegeprime]

Of course. TakaraTOMY and Hasbro employees absolutely don't need to make money or have families to feed. </sarcasm>

As per CC "Hogwash!"
and from an infamous gal "let them eat cakes"

*throws more spores at your face*

Waasssss oncccce aaa maaaaaannnnn!!!

[sideswipes brother]

Having some experience in the plastics moulding industry, I know that you need really durable (reeeally expensive) moulds/tools to produce the hundreds of thousands of plastic parts Takara/Hasbro need to produce, compared to the couple of thousand that the bootleggers make (which are produced with much cheaper, short-lived moulds/tools, that they can replace cheaply as they are damaged/broken).

But, these reissues arent mass released are they? By that i mean that i heard they only produced about 10,000 per reissue.

[GoktimusPrime]

They're mass released. The production run is smaller than mainstream TFs like Animated or the movie toys, but it's still a mass production. It's by no means a limited production like what HasTak do for exclusives (e.g.: conventions, e-Hobby etc.), and even then, these exclusives are typically repaints/retools of recently produced moulds.

And there have been numerous times when reissues have even shelf-warmed. A classic example was God Ginrai... I don't know about Toowoomba, but here in Sydney that toy shelfwarmed really badly at import stores. At the end prices were slashed to $20 in an effort to clear dead stock! The Micromaster gestalt reissues also moved slowly, as did some TFC reissues... I remember seeing prices of some TFC reissues being reduced to $65. And there have been reports of Encore Omega Supreme and Metroplex shelf-warming too.