ALL THINGS TRANSFORMERS!!!!

[lerath666]

Alternators Wheeljack wasn't a Lancia Stratos, it was Ford Mustang GT.

The Lancia Stratos Turbo rally car with the number #459 is thought to be owned by a private collector which presumably made negotiations a bit trickier.

If this is true,

Wheeljack = My most wanted Autobot car that's not Sunstreaker!
Bumblebee = Easy Pass!

SHOCK-Advised!
Don't get your hopes up.

The new ones will be released by Takara first and they don't usually have a presence at SDCC.

The only Masterpieces Hasbro are likely to show are Soundwave and Acid Storm.

Not certian. did the private collector put the decals and numbers on the vehicle? or did he purchase it that way. if it's his work, I COULD see it being a problem. if not, then I Don't see it being an issue, unless the collector is just a colossal douchbag.

Bumblebee seems like a surefire U.S. release. They can milk that cow more than they any Autobot not named Optimus Prime. Would be a good decision to pursue him.

Doubtful. I just don't see Hasbro paying VW the liscensing fee to use the bug.

they MIGHT, but i Doubt it.


as for his guns... they could just toss them with another release.

 

[koolkollectibleskhai]

My head has frickin exploded!!! I cant believe we're finally going to get Bumblee and Wheeljack in MP form!!!

 

[karamazov80]

That's assuming the initial contract didn't allow for U.S. distribution. But if that is the case, I would guess that character is even more popular in the U.S. than he is in Asia. If they've invested in the technical development of that figure already, and if the negotiation for the first deal happened, it's easy for me to imagine it being worth Hasbro's while to negotiate for a second contract. But who knows what really goes on behind closed doors, and what factors play into these decisions? The fact that no U.S. release of MP-11 Starscream happened leave me a bit confused as to Hasbro's thought process with these things.

 

[teemu]

to me it just means takara is going after the entire 84 G1 cast

this is something many of us wanted for years

 

[Gakken85]

That's assuming the initial contract didn't allow for U.S. distribution. But if that is the case, I would guess that character is even more popular in the U.S. than he is in Asia. If they've invested in the technical development of that figure already, and if the negotiation for the first deal happened, it's easy for me to imagine it being worth Hasbro's while to negotiate for a second contract. But who knows what really goes on behind closed doors, and what factors play into these decisions? The fact that no U.S. release of MP-11 Starscream happened leave me a bit confused as to Hasbro's thought process with these things.

I think that's just how it works. They negotiate to release it in Japan. I don't think they do contracts for anywhere else.

I feel like that's the only way they can secure it, as it's a small enough market. You're talking huge corporations - getting a contract to sell in the US is a whole nother beast and I'd imagine that Hasbro would have to do it.

Hasbro spends as little as possible on their releases, as you can tell by their paint and packaging. But that's mostly because American collectors are cheap! haha

 

[thecorsair]

Not certian. did the private collector put the decals and numbers on the vehicle? or did he purchase it that way. if it's his work, I COULD see it being a problem. if not, then I Don't see it being an issue, unless the collector is just a colossal douchbag.



Doubtful. I just don't see Hasbro paying VW the liscensing fee to use the bug.

they MIGHT, but i Doubt it.


as for his guns... they could just toss them with another release.

There was never a road version of that model of the Stratos, there were a very small number built ( two or three ) for the rally team and that was it.

So it would have been purchased with the racing livery on it.

As it's the last surviving one I can only surmise that the owner used that fact to squeeze more money from Takara....smart business

Re:the licensing thing,

Didn't one of the Hasbro people say a while back that they'd need to negotiate seperate deals with Lamborghini & co?

 

[c2close]

Are there any listings for preorder at HLJ with regards to mp-21 and mp-20? Thanku

 

[Silent Bob]

Awsome news!!!
It's not Sustreaker but Jack has me all kinds of excited.
Really interested to see the scale of Bee and hope this opens up all the mini bots.
Hopefully this now makes Jazz a shoe in.
Now I'm already impatient to find out who MP 22 and 23 are !!

Bob

 

[lerath666]

There was never a road version of that model of the Stratos, there were a very small number built ( two or three ) for the rally team and that was it.

So it would have been purchased with the racing livery on it.

As it's the last surviving one I can only surmise that the owner used that fact to squeeze more money from Takara....smart business

Gotcha. It never having been a street model makes all the difference.

As for the liscensing and hasbro thing, Yes, you are correct.

Somehow I think it's more than just an educated guess...

The proof is in the listing.

"
Note - This is a preliminary listing and information is subject to change."

the ONLY information that COULD change, is what MP-20, and MP-21 are.

It's a guess on the part of BBTS.

 

[DPrime]

The proof is in the listing.

"
Note - This is a preliminary listing and information is subject to change."

the ONLY information that COULD change, is what MP-20, and MP-21 are.

It's a guess on the part of BBTS.

It just doesn't seem like something they would do without some kind of actual information. I really doubt it's just speculation on their part - that doesn't seem like anything a business of their status would do.

 

[thecorsair]

Are there any listings for preorder at HLJ with regards to mp-21 and mp-20? Thanku

Not yet. It was the first thing I checked when I read the news.

Silent Bob,
I reckon the release schedule may have been altered due to the sales of the Nissans and we could get a few other cars pretty close together.

Sunstreaker will likely be held off until after Tiger Track and G2 Sideswipe have been out a while....I reckon he'll be one of MP26-30 but I could see Mirage and Hound being in MP22-25.

If I'm to have any intrest in MP Minibots they'll have to be super deformed as a realistic Porsche 924 mode for Cliffjumper wouldn't be G1 toy or cartoon accurate.

 

[karamazov80]

I would infer that they received this information from reasonably reliable sources. So, it wouldn't be official, but more than a guess. Bad business practice to list things for sale unless they're pretty damn sure they are going to be made available.

 

[DPrime]

Sunstreaker will likely be held off until after Tiger Track and G2 Sideswipe have been out a while....I reckon he'll be one of MP26-30 but I could see Mirage and Hound being in MP22-25.

That's a good point. They'll want to milk every mold as much as possible and how many might have skipped Tigertracks had Sunstreaker been released or officially announced?

If I'm to have any intrest in MP Minibots they'll have to be super deformed as a realistic Porsche 924 mode for Cliffjumper wouldn't be G1 toy or cartoon accurate.

I'm quite interested in seeing how 'Bee pans out with regard to this as well.

Smokescreen seems to indicate that they're not being slavish to real-world automobiles in terms of alt mode... and of course cartoon accuracy seems to be the biggest factor overall. I tend to think it'll be somewhat deformed. Maybe not quite as "Chibi" as the original toy but enough so that it looks like Bumblebee.

Cliffjumper might be a little more difficult to pull off in this regard but I have faith in Takara.

I would infer that they received this information from reasonably reliable sources. So, it wouldn't be official, but more than a guess. Bad business practice to list things for sale unless they're pretty damn sure they are going to be made available.

Yeah, this is what I'm thinking. I imagine doing otherwise would probably sour relations with both producers and customers - it'd be a rather bad business move, I think.

"Subject to change" is pretty standard, after all.

 

[lerath666]

Well, here is what we DO know.

Amiami, HLJ, and TFsource don't have them listed yet.
BBTS has guessed in the past, and been mistaken.

make no mistake, i'd be delighted to be wrong.

 

[Spiderwebb13]

TFsource have them listed now too. I just checked, but don't know about the others.

 

[lerath666]

Ok, that's a bit more encouraging. once Amiami and hlj list it, it's a lock.

 

[thecorsair]

That's a good point. They'll want to milk every mold as much as possible and how many might have skipped Tigertracks had Sunstreaker been released or officially announced?



I'm quite interested in seeing how 'Bee pans out with regard to this as well.

Smokescreen seems to indicate that they're not being slavish to real-world automobiles in terms of alt mode... and of course cartoon accuracy seems to be the biggest factor overall. I tend to think it'll be somewhat deformed. Maybe not quite as "Chibi" as the original toy but enough so that it looks like Bumblebee.

Cliffjumper might be a little more difficult to pull off in this regard but I have faith in Takara.



Yeah, this is what I'm thinking. I imagine doing otherwise would probably sour relations with both producers and customers - it'd be a rather bad business move, I think.

"Subject to change" is pretty standard, after all.

Had Sunstreaker been announced after Red Alert that would have been it for Lamborghinis for most people.

This way Takara get more use out of the mold and some extra cash towards a mold with less repaint potential such as Wheeljack, Hound or Sunstreaker.

The basic skeleton of the Bumblebee mold should also be a big money spinner eg,

Bumblebee ( yellow, red, G2 gold chrome, Bugbite, Glyph )

With a new body shell and headsculpt,
Cliffjumper ( red & yellow )

Cliffjumper body shell with new headsculpt,
Hubcap

New body shell and headsculpt
Bumper

If Takara did all of those they may even have to make a new set of molds at some point.

EDIT
It's just ocurred to me that the MP Bumblebee announcement should effectively kill iGear's along with Cliffjumper and any other Minibots they may have in the works.

Which opens up an opportunity for them to finally get Impactor into production.

 

[Solid_Slug]

My head is still intact, but it is most likely that I will get these as well. I'm actually really eager to see how Bumble looks like. Though I was hoping to see Megatron V2.

 

[Boba Ben]

I thought Bumblebee would be priced a little lower since he's usually smaller, but maybe they'll make him about the same size as the other cars.

Bring on Masterpiece Shockwave and Astrotrain.

 

[Gakken85]

You're paying for the name brand son! haha