From your lips to Hasbro's ears.
Transformers: Age of the Primes toyline discussion || update: Voyager Skybyte and Heatwave
- Thread starter TriBlurr
- Start date
From your lips to Hasbro's ears.
New Rodimus reshell, please.
Yeah, a good few updates are well worth seeing. Override was a low bar to clear, though. But I'm only holding back on Hot Shot and Starscream to wait for redecos I like better, which is tough because the molds look so fun. I'd like to say the same for Animated Bee, but I'm passing on that mold until we get one that isn't made of so much clear plastic.
Also damn, I should get around to looking for a good deal on an Animated Op and the DNA kit. I'd forgotten about that waist gimmick...
Well... can I offer the suggestion that it's not about you?
...
There's a whole new generation of fans and collectors in their teens and early 20s who were either babies or not even born when this stuff was new. If an 18 year old collector wants an Animated Optimus or Cybertron Hot Shot they can pay way too much on the after market... or they can pay retail for the new version available at Walmart right now.
That's another reason why despite my earlier reservations about Generations tackling Cybertron and onward I've come around on it. It helps give collectors who weren't collecting back then a chance to get a version of these characters.
It's not always about us Olds
I don't disagree with any of this, but I don't think any such generational gatekeeping was really the intent of The Predaking's statement. It's the old "I don't know if I'm wowed enough to rebuy", which is perfectly valid to feel at this stage of version 4.2 of some characters and designs. Especially for those of us with space/storage concerns, it seems to be a fair thing to articulate.
It HAS been rewarding to put those reservations aside and get back into the G1 cast through WFC on, but I've also had to come to terms with the need to start clearing out the older CHUG things. Some are just more fun and less fiddly. But at the same time, there are some that are more lateral moves that I'd not be in a rush to replace (one reason I feel comfortable waiting on a Hound is the Universe/Henkei Hound was so good). I can understand waffling on something new a bit or feeling content with one's existing version. Especially since that attitude doesn't really say "this shouldn't exist for anyone else" anyway.
Two things-
First of all, no "I'm not going going to get the new thing" doesn't mean "this shouldn't exist for anyone else" but... like... this was the comment that kicked off this part of the conversation.
Bolded emphasis is mine. And this is the comment that The Predaking was agreeing with. Bla bla bla... transitive property... bla bla bla... Yes. Gatekeeping was absolutely something that kicked this discussion off and what I wanted to push back against.
Secondly... Classics '06 was a huge deal for me because it's why I stayed collecting. Had it not happened there's a chance I'd have faded away after the UT. Cybertron came out when I was in my final year of high school and toy collecting very much wasn't on the forefront of my mind. Classics '06 was something fun for me to spend some pocket change on in uni, and it got me re-interested in the scene and I'm still here.
On some level I kinda feel a bit sad at how outside of Mirage, I've replaced everything from that line. Bumblebee's still in storage, Optimus is on the Optimus shelf, but Mirage is the only Classics '06 guy on the main collection shelf these days.
Thing is, given my attachment to those figures, I'd have not replaced them if I didn't think the new versions were worthwhile. Netflix Bumblebee and ER Optimus supplanted their Classics versions because they were mostly what I'd always wanted from those characters. T30 Jetfire replaced Classics Jetfire because his sleeker anime super robot look just hit in a way Classics' bulkier design didn't.
Notably though? I passed on Siege Jetfire because I still really like my T30 Jetfire.
Which is the other side of this. No one ever said you have to buy every release. Do you have Cybertron Hot Shot? Yes? Do you like him? Yes? Is space a premium? Yes, ok, then it's totally fine to skip the Legacy version. Your wallet will appreciate the break.
From SS '86 Prime and 'Bee to the rumoured SS '86 versions of Soundwave and Megs... I will happily say "no I'm good with what I have" and pass on figures. Figures that look amazing.
No, I'm not saying these shouldn't exist for anyone else, and I routinely sing their praises and I'm happy for people who want them have the chance to get them.
Thing is each and every one of us as individuals has a responsibility to decide what we want from our collection and purchase accordingly.
No one is forcing us to buy everything and the person who buys every new release even if they don't need or want the product is, to be frank, a moron.
It's why Phazer's comment- and Predaking's agreement with it- was something I felt the need to reply to.
Maybe they don't need new versions of Cybertron, Animated, or movie characters. If not, awesome! Save some cash!
But to claim that there is no point to these new takes on those characters is gatekeeping. And it's an ugly side to any fandom.
I'm arranging my collection onto shelves now, and I'm running into that. There's some characters that I have new, fantastic versions of, but the older one I also still have was uniquely fun in some way. Sometimes I just put them in different groups (Siege Springer with the '86 movie cast, Thrilling 30 Springer with the Wreckers, etc.) or repurpose them (planning on swapping 2008 Sideswipe and Sunstreaker's heads to make them my Tigertrack and Spin-Out)
I didn't like TM2 Cybershark's grey and neon green look, but his original color scheme (blue, off-white, copper) has always been one of my favorite color schemes and I'd be interested in seeing it applied to the TM2/Sky-Byte molds, even if it's not technically the correct use. I might be alone on that though.
Yeah, Tm2 Cybershark always looked bad too me, like they ran out paint budget and just slapped what few bits of paint they could on him. Its part of why I liked Sky-Byte becuase his colors and paint really bring out all the details that get washed out on the original deco.
I don't disagree with any of that, but I do think mountains have been made out of molehills (well, molehills that could have been... Phrased better?) for some of it. And I'll leave it at that. It's entirely your right to read it that way, and the idea of letting things be available to later generations in whatever feasible form is one I agree with.
I should have specified TM2 Cybershark, heh.
But yeah, for all those valid flaws I am oddly fond of that color scheme. Green, blue, silver, orange highlights, and that green face... It shouldn't work, and doesn't, but I like it and figure some changes in color distribution would go a long way.
I don't think I ever did get the original Deluxe. I think once I got the sawshark retool I didn't bother to look it up anumore. Maybe if I see the reissue for a decent price locally.
That's what I keep coming back to. There are plenty of younger collectors and fans out there happy to have accessible and affordable versions of these characters. If Hasbro doing this means they have more chances to get designs they want without having to deal with the predatory after-market for 15-20 year old vintage stuff, that's awesome.
If that means that they release some figures I feel comfortable passing on, then that's good too. Breaks are nice.
If they really want to go nuts, remold him into TM2 Hellscream.
Or, I guess, Ellscream now.
Or, I guess, Ellscream now.
Hexscream should be a witch, or at least the hat.
Edit: I meant "or at least have the hat" but I think I like the original better.
Yeah, a lot of stuff from that era feels like it should be easy to come by for cheap because it was for a long time, but I recently started looking for an Energon Wing Saber (long story) and oof.
Only vaguely relatedly, part of me wants a Legacy update of Classics Optimus Prime just to see how people react to the announcement.
In my experience: Energon Wing Sabre has NEVER been cheap on the aftermarket, and has only gotten worse. My current big annoyance on that front is Universe Lugnut, who for some reason goes from pretty much the same prices as Wing Saber.
Wing Saber's special. He's a figure everyone wanted because he combines with Optimus. In two configurations.
The rest of the Energon line isn't too hard to come by for cheap. But Wing Saber is exceptional, even if he is just a brick in robot mode.
The rest of the Energon line isn't too hard to come by for cheap. But Wing Saber is exceptional, even if he is just a brick in robot mode.
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The one way to figure out if a toy will be expensive on the aftermarket is to see which characters I see for cheap in stores and then pass on, only to decide I want later. THOSE are guaranteed to rise in value.
Classics Prime is still my main G1 Prime. An updated version with better hands and ankles would be up my alley.
As my Classics Prime has gotten kinda ratty from old age (more aesthetically than functionally, fortunately), I'd be keen to see what a re-do looks like.
That said, I've also looked at the 3D printed hands and feet that are out there, and think that would almost be a better option.