Animated Rodimus Minor & Ironhide to be US TRU Exclusives

[Kyle]

At least we'll be able to obtain them somehow... (though more expensive). Not as bad as it could have been...

[Tober]

Surely he will get a Japanese release as well. Might end up being cheaper too.

[GoktimusPrime]

He is. I remember them saying they were either gonna give Ironhide a new head or give a new head to the Wasp recolour of the Bumblebee mould.
It was one or the other and they went with Ironhide

Why can't they do both? Guh, given the choice I wish they went with Wasp, considering that he's a more canonically significant and recurring character. (-_-)

[Golden Phoenix]

Why can't they do both? Guh, given the choice I wish they went with Wasp, considering that he's a more canonically significant and recurring character. (-_-)

They have a budget to keep to. Remoulding is expensive.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Guh, given the choice I wish they went with Wasp, considering that he's a more canonically significant and recurring character. (-_-)

+1 - between G1, Classics/Universe, and Bayverse Ironhide there are enough Ironhides to choose from already. But then, I'd rather they'd left off on Cybertron Ratchet altogether and gone with a Voyager Strika - or even a Slipstream remold - instead.

[SharkyMcShark]

Wasp already has his own entire mold though, I'd say it's fair they give a new head to Ironhide.

[GoktimusPrime]

erm... are you talking about Waspinator? Cos I was talking about Wasp, which afaik is just a straight repaint of Bumblebee.

They have a budget to keep to. Remoulding is expensive.

I thought each toy had an individual budget (down to the last drop of paint). And even if they could only afford to retool one toy, again I would still opt for Wasp over Ironhide.

I prefer to see preferential treatment being given to characters of greater canonical significance. And one way of keeping costs down would be to retool the Activator Bumblebee mould instead of the Deluxe. It worked with Animated Cliffjumper. I would personally much prefer a retooled Activator over a non-retooled Deluxe. If I saw Deluxe Wasp in the store as a straigt repaint, I'd be undecided about buying it. But if I saw an Activator Wasp w/ retooled head, then I'd buy it before you could say antideestablishmentarianism.

[Sky Shadow]

erm... are you talking about Waspinator? Cos I was talking about Wasp, which afaik is just a straight repaint of Bumblebee

Sharky's saying that the Wasp character got an entire toy tooled for him (and shelfwarmed, by the way) so it's only fair that Ironhide should be the one to get the retooled head.

[griffin]

Ironhide was planned with Ratchet, so the mould tree has both heads (the factory just uses one and disguards the other with each figure). As such, it would be more of a waste not to produce Ironhide.
Wasp was a late idea, so would require more expense to produce a new mould for the head, so it was more affordable to have the straight redeco and just explain it according to events in the episode.
(according to the Hasbro panel at BotCon 2009)

[Zippo]

Ok, so I do want to get these two, more so than Ratchet and Arcee.
Sigh. Stupid expensive toys I like.