Transformers Toy Rumours (must note a source)

[DaptoDog]

Possible first look at a new MP Thundercracker using the new MP Starscream mold. If true these repaints are coming faster than most expected.

[Sinnertwin]

Possible first look at a new MP Thundercracker using the new MP Starscream mold. If true these repaints are coming faster than most expected.

The opening credits pose is quite nostalgic too.

[DELTAprime]

Hopefully, for you MP collects, Takara will make Thundercracker, Skywarp, Thrust, Dirge and Ramjet all general retail this time around and not limited exclusives.

[Sinnertwin]

Hopefully, for you MP collects, Takara will make Thundercracker, Skywarp, Thrust, Dirge and Ramjet all general retail this time around and not limited exclusives.

But then how can they charge more for the same toy in a different colour scheme made by the same people in the same factory?

[griffin]

But then how can they charge more for the same toy in a different colour scheme made by the same people in the same factory?

Each production run has a base cost (setting up, test run, etc) to factor in on top of the cost of materials and labour, so then the more units that are produced, the cheaper it is per unit... which is why exclusives can be more expensive, as the base cost is spread across less units.

[griffin]

Images have surfaced of four redeco Deluxe Generations toys, that could be upcoming Selects or Netflix toys, but are yet to be officially revealed.
These were loose samples, so could have been leaked images from the factory or from a Hasbro employee.
We have two "rust" redecos of Barricade and Ironhide, as well as redecos of Cheetor (said to be toy accurate colouring) and Paleotrex (said to be Sparkless).

[griffin]

With Earthrise now over, one question that will probably never be answered is, what was WFC-E28 meant to be?
According to one person dropping a lot of plausible leaks for 2021, they claim that it was meant to be another Sideswipe... possibly a remould into an earth mode.

[Sinnertwin]

Each production run has a base cost (setting up, test run, etc) to factor in on top of the cost of materials and labour, so then the more units that are produced, the cheaper it is per unit... which is why exclusives can be more expensive, as the base cost is spread across less units.

Its funny how the cost suddenly jumps when TT designate them as exclusives, isn't it?

While the base costs may be the same ( which after the 1st run should be streamlined anyway) everything else isn't.
You're not investing in R & D, you're using less raw material, less packaging, less man hours, you're not creating new moulds to inject, all you're literally doing is pulling the moulds out of storage and changing colours.

[dirge]

Its funny how the cost suddenly jumps when TT designate them as exclusives, isn't it?

While the base costs may be the same ( which after the 1st run should be streamlined anyway) everything else isn't.
You're not investing in R & D, you're using less raw material, less packaging, less man hours, you're not creating new moulds to inject, all you're literally doing is pulling the moulds out of storage and changing colours.

The costs include:

- designing the new packaging art
- designing the paint deco
- creating test shots etc to see how the repaint looks, ferrying them back and forth from the factory to the head office in Japan
- signing a contract with the factory, negotiating whatever has to be negotiated (and possibly a second contract for the box!)

There could be other costs. And while this stuff is bread and butter for a company like TakaraTomy, if a designer takes two weeks of working time to finalise that redeco, there's a cost on the books for that.

Granted, these costs ARE a lot lower than a new mould, but these costs are spread across a much lower production run for exclusives than mass release toys. I have no idea what the ratio of a mass release to a limited release is, but if you compare how many ER Cliffjumpers made it to Australia - likely 4 figures - vs the few hundred Hubcaps (and factor in that not all countries will have gotten Hubcap), I wouldn't be surprised if it's 10:1 or higher. $0.05 repaint cost per toy on a mass release toy means $0.50 per toy for it's limited repaint.

(I am just using Cliffjumper vs Hubcap as an example, I know we're talking MPs).

[griffin]

Possibly two of 2021's GEN Selects toys have been found listed somewhere, but they have product codes from middle of last year... so maybe they were planned to be out in 2020 but were pushed back to this year (or they have been cancelled, as the source of the listing was not given, so it could just be old preliminary listings that haven't been deleted yet).

• Tra Gen selects Voyager G2 Ramjet (16 in a case)
  Product Number: F0465
  EAN: 5010993828715
• Tra Gen selects Deluxe Transmutate (24 in a case)
  Product Number: F0483
  EAN: 5010993828685

Ramjet is obviously another use of the Ramjet/Sandstorm mould. Transmutate is a complete unknown though. GEN Selects have never had a new mould (yet), so is it a redeco of an existing WFC toy... or did they plan to re-issue the previous Transmutate toy from 2006?

If it is a redeco of a WFC toy (or even a PWT toy), what mould would work? Because a fan-focussed toy should be more authentic than a retail release, and Transmutate didn't have an alt-mode. (FunPub did a Transmutate toy using the TFPrime Arcee motorcycle mould, but it was designated to be her pre-Beast Wars mode on Cybertron... if the GEN Selects toy was a Deluxe motorcycle, the last one we had was Wreckgar/Groove, which was probably a bit too bulky because it was a combiner limb.)