Upcoming Generations Figures 2013-2014

[GoktimusPrime]

I really hope Hasbro Australia releases these babies here!!

I hope Hasbro fixes the issues with Blitzwing's shoulders on Doubledealer, otherwise I'm passing that one up unless it gets a local release and I find it on sale. (-_-)

I'm really impressed that they've invested so much into the Beast Wars moulds, considering that it's unlikely that they will get to do another repaint with either unless you count the Fox Kids editions.

They could easily repaint/retool Waspinator as Buzz Saw (wouldn't surprise me if they've already designed the alternate head). Rhinox doesn't have any immediately obvious redeco potentials I can think of -- but I'm sure Hasbro can think something up. I would never have thought that Blitzwing could be done as Doubledealer either. Perhaps they could repaint him as a new Maximal called Landmine (see what I did there? )

Can anyone give me a rough idea of size, as it's been a while since I bought a Transformers toy

Rhinox is a Voyager and Waspinator is a Deluxe. Deluxes I'm familiar with - unless they've changed since the original BW days. But what is a Voyager? Are they akin to a Mega or Ultra from the old days?

And what sort of price are we looking at for these respective size classes?

Voyager is pretty much what a Mega was in BW. In terms of prices, at standard RRP you're looking at about $30 for a Deluxe and $50 for a Voyager. We haven't seen Ultras for some time, but they cost $70 now.

[SuspectimusPrime]

They could easily repaint/retool Waspinator as Buzz Saw (wouldn't surprise me if they've already designed the alternate head). Rhinox doesn't have any immediately obvious redeco potentials I can think of -- but I'm sure Hasbro can think something up. I would never have thought that Blitzwing could be done as Doubledealer either. Perhaps they could repaint him as a new Maximal called Landmine (see what I did there? )

I was never sold by Buzz Saw or Laserbeak for that matter. However if this new mould is nice enough, I could buy into that (for that same reason, I find it hard to buy into Thundercracker despite really liking the character).

A bit off topic now, but I can't wait to have Deluxe Waspinator armed with Targetmaster Waspinator! *mind blown*

[Verno]

The future of BW homages will be interesting.

Unlike G1 (which had a cast of thousands and each of whom got either into the TV show or Comics [or both] at some point), Beast Wars had a cast of about 20 characters - IE, those that appeared in the TV show.

Repainting the Waspinator mold into Buzz Saw would be easy enough, but there is little point in my opinion.

Masterpiece and Generations lines in the past have had iconic G1 characters -- characters that people grew up watching and reading. These lines appeal to people that were G1 fans when they were kids and are now being enticed back in with new iterations of their favourite characters.

But Buzz Saw wasn't in the BW TV show, so a repaint such as he is unlikely to entice anyone back in.

Also, G1 had similar models for multiple characters. The Seekers are a perfect example, as are Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. So repaints are easy and more readily accepted. Beast Wars didn't have that. Cheetor/Tigatron and Tarantulas/Blackarachnia were as close as we got, but there would be outrage if Hasbro (in this day and age) tried to simply repaint a Tarantulas toy into Blackarachnia. Their models are too different, albeit both being spiders.

Some are saying that Rhinox could be repainted into his Predacons version as seen in the episode 'Dark Designs', but that is a reference to such a fleeting (and non-important in the scheme of things) event in BW that it's again pointless.

The reproduction of old BW characters like Wolfang or B'Boom into new bodies, while being welcomes by a fan like myself, wouldn't bring about the sense of nostalgia and memory for people that were fans of BW all those years ago. Sure they appeared in the Comics, but really only long-standing BW fans bought them anyway.

Hasbro, if they do wish to produce more BW toys, should concentrate on the main BW cast from the show, and avoid repainting them all together. The rest of the Generations line (the G1/2 bots) will allow for enough repaints to help line their pockets. Leave the Beast Wars guys out of it.

[GoktimusPrime]

You're assuming that all BW fans are exclusively fans of the show, but this isn't true for everyone. Many of us are also fans of the toyline - remember that the toys did come first (oh the interesting 'continuities' I used to create with the toys before the show came out! ). Remember that the toys already boast impressive sales - becoming the 3rd best selling boys' toy within its first year. A lot of G1 characters are still popular with fans even if they never appeared in the G1 cartoon, e.g. Whirl, Roadbuster, Top Spin, Twin Twist, Deluxe Insecticons etc. Yes, many of those characters did appear in the G1 comics, and Buzz Saw did appear in the BW comics too.

And keep in mind that a redeco is a low-investment cost for Hasbro since they've already developed the mould for Waspinator. They'd just be trying to milk more money out of that mould.

Hasbro, if they do wish to produce more BW toys, should concentrate on the main BW cast from the show, and avoid repainting them all together. The rest of the Generations line (the G1/2 bots) will allow for enough repaints to help line their pockets. Leave the Beast Wars guys out of it.

It's not done just out of greed -- repaints help to keep the cost of toys down. If Hasbro don't do repaints, then the cost of toys would go up. Redecos help Hasbro to milk more money out of the same mould which goes to offset the cost of R&D in developing these moulds. Also you have retailers like Wal*Mart demanding new product from Hasbro all the time, and redecos are a cheap and easy way to satiate that retailer demand without expending more money on R&D new moulds all the time (which would further drive up costs). Redecos are a "necessary evil" unless you're prepared to pay $50 for a Deluxe.

And I'll take Waspinator redecoed as Buzz Saw any day over another random repaint of Bumblebee! Heck, I wouldn't even mind seeing Waspinator redecoed with a G1 Bumblebee style head and called "Bumblebee" (seriously, it's a name that totally suits Beast Wars, and if they ever did Generations K-9/Wolfang, I'd like to see a redeco called "Hound" -- I've heard that Hasbro had lost the rights to those names at the time that BW came out which is why they didn't use them).

[Verno]

You're assuming that all BW fans are exclusively fans of the show, but this isn't true for everyone. Many of us are also fans of the toyline - remember that the toys did come first (oh the interesting 'continuities' I used to create with the toys before the show came out! ).

But I'm not talking about long-standing Fans -- I'm talking about guys my age (27) and a couple of years younger who loved watching Beast Wars as a kid and relate to characters like Dinobot and Rattrap. They were fans of the show, but didn't carry their interest forward into the following iterations of Transformers.

I've met many people who remember Beast Wars because of the show. And because of the show they bought the occasional toy, which were usually show characters.

If Hasbro is to capitalise on the nostalgia of these (now) mid-20-year-olds (as they have done with these Generations lines for the G1 fans), they have to produce the characters from the show, not guys from the Comics of 2006-07 or background characters from the initial toyline.

A lot of G1 characters are still popular with fans even if they never appeared in the G1 cartoon, e.g. Whirl, Roadbuster, Top Spin, Twin Twist, Deluxe Insecticons etc. Yes, many of those characters did appear in the G1 comics, and Buzz Saw did appear in the BW comics too.

But G1 had the TV show and Comics running simultaneously. Beast Wars was just the show. The comics came a decade later and were targeted squarely at the older fans. Sure, it used the depth of characters that weren't featured in the show, but it still focused on a select few characters - Razorbeast, Snarl etc. Even this isn't enough to warrant pouring money into new toys of them.

And keep in mind that a redeco is a low-investment cost for Hasbro since they've already developed the mould for Waspinator. They'd just be trying to milk more money out of that mould.

It's not done just out of greed -- repaints help to keep the cost of toys down. If Hasbro don't do repaints, then the cost of toys would go up. Redecos help Hasbro to milk more money out of the same mould which goes to offset the cost of R&D in developing these moulds. Also you have retailers like Wal*Mart demanding new product from Hasbro all the time, and redecos are a cheap and easy way to satiate that retailer demand without expending more money on R&D new moulds all the time (which would further drive up costs). Redecos are a "necessary evil" unless you're prepared to pay $50 for a Deluxe.

But the BW models don't lend themselves to being repainted like the G1 models do. You can't turn give a gorilla a quick splash of paint and call it a shark, but you can take G1 Prowl and turn him into Bluestreak or Smokescreen. G1 lends itself to repaints -- Beast Wars does not.

And I'll take Waspinator redecoed as Buzz Saw any day over another random repaint of Bumblebee! Heck, I wouldn't even mind seeing Waspinator redecoed with a G1 Bumblebee style head and called "Bumblebee" (seriously, it's a name that totally suits Beast Wars, and if they ever did Generations K-9/Wolfang, I'd like to see a redeco called "Hound" -- I've heard that Hasbro had lost the rights to those names at the time that BW came out which is why they didn't use them).

Don't tempt them, mate. Hasbro will pull that 'Bumblebee' trigger anytime they can. In fact, you're more likely to get a Bumblebee version than a Buzz Saw.

[griffin]

A small sample of my photos, for anyone who hasn't looked at the global fansites yet.
(the rest of my pics will be processed when I get home)

Rhinox & Doubledealer


Goldfire (they lost the Goldbug name) & Skids


Waspinator


Swerve and Cosmos.


Doubledealer & Rhinox

[Bidoofdude]

Goldfire/Goldbug's blue looks very bright. Is it like that IRL?

[Cat]

You're assuming that all BW fans are exclusively fans of the show, but this isn't true for everyone. Many of us are also fans of the toyline - remember that the toys did come first (oh the interesting 'continuities' I used to create with the toys before the show came out! ). Remember that the toys already boast impressive sales - becoming the 3rd best selling boys' toy within its first year. A lot of G1 characters are still popular with fans even if they never appeared in the G1 cartoon, e.g. Whirl, Roadbuster, Top Spin, Twin Twist, Deluxe Insecticons etc. Yes, many of those characters did appear in the G1 comics, and Buzz Saw did appear in the BW comics too.

And keep in mind that a redeco is a low-investment cost for Hasbro since they've already developed the mould for Waspinator. They'd just be trying to milk more money out of that mould.



It's not done just out of greed -- repaints help to keep the cost of toys down. If Hasbro don't do repaints, then the cost of toys would go up. Redecos help Hasbro to milk more money out of the same mould which goes to offset the cost of R&D in developing these moulds. Also you have retailers like Wal*Mart demanding new product from Hasbro all the time, and redecos are a cheap and easy way to satiate that retailer demand without expending more money on R&D new moulds all the time (which would further drive up costs). Redecos are a "necessary evil" unless you're prepared to pay $50 for a Deluxe.

And I'll take Waspinator redecoed as Buzz Saw any day over another random repaint of Bumblebee! Heck, I wouldn't even mind seeing Waspinator redecoed with a G1 Bumblebee style head and called "Bumblebee" (seriously, it's a name that totally suits Beast Wars, and if they ever did Generations K-9/Wolfang, I'd like to see a redeco called "Hound" -- I've heard that Hasbro had lost the rights to those names at the time that BW came out which is why they didn't use them).

They couldn't/can't do a yellow bee and name it Bumblebee, or a dog named Hound. It's too generic, so isn't covered. I've read theories that that is what made them pass over the names, and then that's what lead to Bumblebee being snapped up by another company.

A yellow car named Bumblebee = fine.
A yellow bee named Bumblebee is not protected, as that's a common term for it.

It makes a lot of sense.

[GoktimusPrime]

They couldn't/can't do a yellow bee and name it Bumblebee, or a dog named Hound. It's too generic, so isn't covered. I've read theories that that is what made them pass over the names, and then that's what lead to Bumblebee being snapped up by another company.

A yellow car named Bumblebee = fine.
A yellow bee named Bumblebee is not protected, as that's a common term for it.

It makes a lot of sense.

So how did they get away with using the name "Tarantulas"? Because that's an accepted plural for "tarantula."* Would simply pluralising the noun make it passable? Bumblebees and Hounds... hmmm... or maybe they could modify the spelling. They might not be able to have a toy iguana called Iguana, but they could call it "Iguanus." Maybe they could do "Bumbelbee"... not sure how they could modify Hound... Hownd looks dumb (though arguably not much worse than Bumbelbee or Grappel ). I wonder if they could get away with "Maximal Bumblebee" and "Maximal Hound"... that could be tricky... I know that Hasbro wasn't able to use "Autobot Jazz" with the Alternator version of Binaltech Meister, so the Alternator toy was also called "Meister" (IIRC it was because Alternators fell under the domain of being replica/model cars and not action figures, and they wouldn't allow a Mazda RX8 to be called Jazz at all since it would infringe on Honda's trademark).

Also... now that Doctor Who has become a revitalised franchise since BW came out, I wonder if Hasbro can still get away with using the name K-9. They might have to call him Kay-Nine... or just go with the original Latin "Canis."

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*Although some would argue that the proper plural should be "tarantulae," but English being the "ye wut-eva" random language that it is, "tarantulas" has become an accepted plural (much like how "octopus" can be pluralised as "octopi" or "octopuses"). Interestingly enough, this board's automatic spell check is telling me that "tarantulae" and "octopi" are wrong, but "tarantulas" and "octopuses" is correct, even though from a linguistic traditionalist POV it should be the other way around

[Zommael]

So how did they get away with using the name "Tarantulas"? Because that's an accepted plural for "tarantula."* Would simply pluralising the noun make it passable? Bumblebees and Hounds... hmmm... or maybe they could do the "Grappel" thing and make it Bumbelbee or Hownd. Okay, I'll admit that looks stupid (just as "Grappel" does).

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*Although some would argue that the proper plural should be "tarantulae," but English being the "ye wut-eva" random language that it is, "tarantulas" has become an accepted plural (much like how "octopus" can be pluralised as "octopi" or "octopuses"). Interestingly enough, this board's automatic spell check is telling me that "tarantulae" and "octopi" are wrong, but "tarantulas" and "octopuses" is correct, even though from a linguistic traditionalist POV it should be the other way around

Actually, the correct plural is "octopodes", as the origin of the word is Greek, not Latin.