MP-21R Red Bumblebee

[spiderken17]

Another MP I don't want, I am actually happy about that.

[Shirokaze]

Well I certainly didn't see that coming. Easy pass

[Bladestorm]

Where does Ironhide fit into this schedule now?

I'm curious about the history of red Bumblebee... what is his Transformers history? Is he another Japanese speciality or does he have US origins as well?

That gives us one per month from Japan for the last seven months of the year, with a couple being limited edition releases.

June - Convoy reissue
July - Gold Bumble(bee)
August - Blue Bluestreak (limited release)
September - Tracks
October - Road Rage
November - Thundercracker (limited release)
December - Red Bumble(bee)

[DELTAprime]

Given the cheap price I might get him if there is the toy accurate faceplate face included.

[griffin]

Where does Ironhide fit into this schedule now?

I'm curious about the history of red Bumblebee... what is his Transformers history? Is he another Japanese speciality or does he have US origins as well?

Ironhide doesn't have a release date yet. Probably in the first few months of 2016.

As for the history of the 1984 red Bumblebee toy, there have been a few different stories floating around through the years... including one about the red Bumblebee, yellow Cliffjumper and Bumper toys being an excess of stock of the Minibots from before Transformers started, that Hasbro bought up just to stick in their own packaging.

But according to one source, it was intentional, to help pad out the product line in the first year (at least in the eyes of Retailers who wouldn't have noticed that they were the the same toys).

[GoktimusPrime]

it's hard to say if Cliffy will be in the works due to licensing

Would there be any issue with licensing since TakaraTOMY's reacquired the Volkswagen/Porsche licence for Bumblebee?

[DELTAprime]

Would there be any issue with licensing since TakaraTOMY's reacquired the Volkswagen/Porsche licence for Bumblebee?

The Volkswagen brand has seemingly been squeamish about their licencing (search for "war toys"). There are no Volkswagen's in Need For Speed for instance, which involves breaking traffic laws and running from cops and generally doing illegal activities. The other brands that Volkswagen owns however have no issues like Lamborghini, Audi and Bugatti. Porsche is also owned by Volkswagen but they are more picky with their licencing, not because they are squeamish like Volkswagen, but because they think the Porsche brand is super valuable and as such they don't licence it out to just anyone. There are only two licences for Porsche in videogames for instance. One is held by EA who make Need for Speed and Real Racing the other is a more restrictive licence held by Microsoft who makes Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon. The more restrictive licence means Microsoft has to sell the Porsche cars in a separate expansion pack, normally $20+. I could see Porsche requiring TT to charge a higher price for CJ or Jazz than a regular MP.

[drifand]

Passing up on red blue green pink bee.
Just want new characters.

[Lord_Zed]

I like the way they are doing these old toys variants and Diaclone homages. He needs the toy accurate face though.

Given the cheap price I might get him if there is the toy accurate faceplate face included.

+1

[Magnus]

The Volkswagen brand has seemingly been squeamish about their licencing (search for "war toys"). There are no Volkswagen's in Need For Speed for instance, which involves breaking traffic laws and running from cops and generally doing illegal activities.

Since VW have given permission to release Bumblebee as a licensed Beetle, I'm wondering if VW may have since changed their 'war toys' position, at least with regard to Transformers, since they would have seen that the association with the Transformers brand was positive for GM.

In the case of Need For Speed, it depends on the game. Some games have Volkswagens, some don't. Volkswagens appeared in Need For Speed: The Run, from 2011, but not in Most Wanted or Rivals.