Transformers Legacy toyline

[LordGigaIce]

We might get Brave-y figures but nothing directly referencing Brave characters. Bandai owns the Brave franchise now.

And it sucks. Brave is awesome, shares A LOT of design DNA with Transformers, and I'd love Brave re-issues or even just using it to enrich the Transformers line.

But TT can't do anything with it, and Bandai only seems interested in using it as a spot filler in some of their more premium lines.

 

[LordGigaIce]

They're very strict about copyright to the point where unauthorized uses have to be mosaiced out or otherwise censored for broadcast. This goes even for things that are clearly parodies, as those aren't covered as fair use there unlike in most other countries. It’s not often enforced but it affects the way they make their media.
View attachment 17396
Family Guy can make entire skits about Transformers with full character models and names, for instance, but even the DVD release of this gag anime featuring a background Convoy bust for a few seconds has to censor it with some sort of gremlin or get sued.

At least once I’ve heard of, an entire episode of an anime got pulled from broadcast and edited due to the animators drawing a background character too close to another anime's character. The laws are also why Toei is so triggerhappy in copyright striking anything with Dragon Ball or One Piece content on Youtube. I heard their laws got reformed fairly recently so I dunno how that affects things.

This is also why we don't see more GoBot homages in Transformers. AFAIK Hasbro has the rights to the GoBot franchise, and can release media to that effect (the 80s series on DVD, the IDW comic miniseries) but making toys of those designs is a no-go because Bandai still owns the Machine Robo IP.

The only reason we occasionally get Crasher/Fracture is because there are real black, white, and red F1 race cars Hasbro can legally claim were the inspiration, not the Machine Robo's Porsche Robo.

 

[PrimalxConvoy]

They're very strict about copyright to the point where unauthorized uses have to be mosaiced out or otherwise censored for broadcast. This goes even for things that are clearly parodies, as those aren't covered as fair use there unlike in most other countries. It’s not often enforced but it affects the way they make their media.
View attachment 17396
Family Guy can make entire skits about Transformers with full character models and names, for instance, but even the DVD release of this gag anime featuring a background Convoy bust for a few seconds has to censor it with some sort of gremlin or get sued.

At least once I’ve heard of, an entire episode of an anime got pulled from broadcast and edited due to the animators drawing a background character too close to another anime's character. The laws are also why Toei is so triggerhappy in copyright striking anything with Dragon Ball or One Piece content on Youtube. I heard their laws got reformed fairly recently so I dunno how that affects things.

Thanks for the info. Copyright in media and products, although similar, aren't the same though.

I've added some of my thoughts behind spoiler tags, due to page length/off topic concerns.

Spoiler

Also, there are examples of "knock-off" TFs in other Japanese media, like the NSFW "Panty and Stocking" episode, "Trans Homers".

And don't forget the "totally not for profit, honest" copyright lawyer's dream/nightmare that was the animated intro to the "Daicon IV" convention.

Doujin and other fan-made anime/comics/etc are also a thing too.

As for YouTube, Japanese media have always been fairly trigger-happy about allowing their media to be online and/or shown outside their markets. Such companies have, like many other aspects of Japan, arguably slow to change or adapt. I think at one time, NHK itself wasn't able to show reruns of its own shows at its only streaming service/website. I'm not sure how much of this has changed now but that's how things are in Japan. Yes, the copyright can be infamous when it comes to online/foreign access (in order to control the market) but in terms of homages and suchlike, in not sure if it's so strict.

Of course, as a disclaimer, this is all my opinion. I'm in no way an expert on the subject and the info you supplied was rather interesting. I might add it to the Knockoff Transformers thread we've got here as there's a section about how copyright and Transformers are linked. Cheers.

 

[unluckiness]

Yeah, parodies can happen with the permissions of the rights holder. The point is in most other places, you wouldn’t even need permission at all. That’s how strict their laws are and why Takara would be very careful around them.

For fandom works, as I understand, they are technically against the IP laws but the companies choose to not enforce them.

And it sucks. Brave is awesome, shares A LOT of design DNA with Transformers, and I'd love Brave re-issues or even just using it to enrich the Transformers line.

But TT can't do anything with it, and Bandai only seems interested in using it as a spot filler in some of their more premium lines.

As far as Bandai is concerned, the only Braves are Gaogaigar and sometimes Might Gaine.

 

[LordGigaIce]

As far as Bandai is concerned, the only Braves are Gaogaigar and sometimes Might Gaine.

Boooooooooo

 

[Shadewing]

This is also why we don't see more GoBot homages in Transformers. AFAIK Hasbro has the rights to the GoBot franchise, and can release media to that effect (the 80s series on DVD, the IDW comic miniseries) but making toys of those designs is a no-go because Bandai still owns the Machine Robo IP.

The only reason we occasionally get Crasher/Fracture is because there are real black, white, and red F1 race cars Hasbro can legally claim were the inspiration, not the Machine Robo's Porsche Robo.

We get more then Crasher. Bugbite is a Gobot Homage, so is Road Ranger; they might not be using their gobot looks or colors; but they are still the characters. For another that's actually in ment to look like the gobot is Deadlift being Spoons.

 

[LordGigaIce]

We get more then Crasher. Bugbite is a Gobot Homage, so is Road Ranger; they might not be using their gobot looks or colors; but they are still the characters. For another that's actually in ment to look like the gobot is Deadlift being Spoons.

Bugbite and Road Ranger aren't the original Machine Robo/GoBots designs though.
And with Deadlift/Spoons it's the same deal as Crasher/Fracture. There are actual forklifts that look like that to give Hasbro an out.

 

[Rhinox]

Dude, I almost had a crisis over this the other month. I was standing in a gamestop staring at the reissue scorponok, and realized I (still) had the original, and I bought it in high school.

I graduated in 2000, I'm ******* forty. Where did the time go?

I feel this so damn much.

 

[Dekafox]

Twice, even.

I really loved this use of the mold, because other than the kibbliness it felt a lot conceptually like a lost S1 BW character. "Ultra Mammoth" has all the energy of Waspinator or Optimus Primal as a name if you set aside the existing history of those names and just look at it fresh.

And it sucks. Brave is awesome, shares A LOT of design DNA with Transformers, and I'd love Brave re-issues or even just using it to enrich the Transformers line.

But TT can't do anything with it, and Bandai only seems interested in using it as a spot filler in some of their more premium lines.

Well SOMEONE'S doing something with it:

The 10th Brave, Sworgrader's getting a manga at least. No anime though, but there'll be some sort of figure eventually I expect. It's another crossover type story ala Baan Gaan and Brave Saga, and they're actually bringing the never-made Photogrizer in as the 9th Brave as part of it(he's the silver one below Star GGG). The basic alt mode of Sworgrader's a food truck from what I recall reading.

J-Decker made it into Super Robot Wars 30 as well, though that was a year or two ago now.

Bandai's also still willing to license it out:
Upcoming Kotobuya kits: Dino Geist (12/23), Great Exkizer Gold Ver. (2/24), Great Fighbird, Da-Garn & GX Parts, Pegasus Saber, Land Bison, Seven Changer, Super Build Tiger (out now), Great Baan Gaan

And there's a couple other expensive collector lines from non-Bandai companies doing non-GGG and non-Might Gaine things:
fully transformable Evolution Toy Fighbird should be soon(unless it got delayed again) and Granbird for December, can form Great Fighbird
Metamor-Force Fire Dagwon slated for December 2023 and Power Dagwon for April 2024, both are transformable and can form Super Fire Dagwon (though the DagFire component of both is non-transfomable)

Nothing Takara lined up though.

 

[LordGigaIce]

but there'll be some sort of figure eventually I expect

I hope so. Brave is awesome.

 

[Shadewing]

Bugbite and Road Ranger aren't the original Machine Robo/GoBots designs though.

To be fair; Transformers already has a yellow VW beetle and red and blue semi...

 

[LordGigaIce]

To be fair; Transformers already has a yellow VW beetle and red and blue semi...

I'd love it if Hasbro leaned into the IDW GoBots miniseries and just started selling a Bugbite to Bumblebee and Road Rager to Optimus Prime evolution two-packs

 

[Haywire]

Bugbite and Road Ranger aren't the original Machine Robo/GoBots designs though.
And with Deadlift/Spoons it's the same deal as Crasher/Fracture. There are actual forklifts that look like that to give Hasbro an out.

And, the transformation is way different; Spoons' forks end up on his shins, Deadlift's are on his forearms.

...and I would love a Bumblebee/Bug Bite 2-pack with identical Beetle modes and their vastly different robot modes. A "Choose Wisely" pack, so to speak. Won't ever happen, both for the reasons above and VW would seem to be a bit sensitive about their vehicles being associated with badguys, but a fan can dream...

 

[Sabrblade]

Better than a two-pack, a Bumblebee/Bug Bite triple changer with two robot modes.

 

[Steevy Maximus]

It just dawned on me. Despite his name, Big Convoy is actually supposed to be the exact same height as both Lio Convoy and Optimus Primal. If we do get a new updated Big Convoy figure at the correct height he is supposed to be at, then he won't really be as big as his name implies.

Hasbro’s been a little looser when it comes to size vs complexity. Remember we got a Deluxe sized Hot Rod in the Voyager price point due to complexity and accessories.
Given Big Convoy’s bulk, Hasbro could well go back to the “smaller leader with extra junk” angle we saw with Coronation Starscream or many of the WfC Leaders. As the “One Robot Army”, I don’t think it’d be a stretch to see Hasbro throw in a bunch of weapons to pad out a figure that “cost” between Voyager and “Normal” Leaders.

Not saying it’s not possible but there’s a reason why some Japan-only characters get toys and the others don’t. As has been noted before, just because they do obscure stuff every once and a while doesn’t mean they do it full time. They have many more universes to work with, with characters more popular to more people

That and I think it comes down to simple market dynamics and the availability of product: BW2 Galvatron is a pink/purple dragon that transforms into a drill tank and robot. In the past year-ish, we’ve gotten a red/gold Transmetal Dragon Megatron, purple G1 Galvatron, a probably Energon Galvatron figure next year. So we’ve got (or will get) multiple purple figures sporting the Galvatron name, while they also have a large dragon figure already available (and possibly again if Hasbro opts to give Cryotek a mass release in the near future).

RIGHT NOW, BW2 Galvatron feels like he’s stepping on toes of more potentially popular releases. That’s not to say he won’t ever happen, but I can also see why Hasbro might not want another purple Galvatron dragon at a hefty pricepoint on the market at this moment or the near future.

LioConvoy had the benefit of a design that played well to multiple markets and demographics. Magmatron has a distinct hook that has cross market appeal (dinosaurs that combine into a big bad guy). That’s probably why those two made the cut before stuff like BW2 Galvatron.

Big Convoy looks like Optimus Prime and will probably have "Prime" in his name somewhere. We'll see him at some point. There's just a bunch of other Primes they also need to get to.

Magnus Primal? Maximus Prime/Primal? Loxodonus Prime? Mammus Prime/Primal?

 

[unluckiness]

Big Prime sounds likely if they continue the naming convention but it kinda gives off second-rate Soundcloud rapper vibes.

 

[Sabrblade]

With this current Hasbro team, I feel like they probably would have used the name "Lio Convoy" for his Legacy toy had the name been available for TakaraTomy to use in Jaoan at the time (it seems to be back now, but for some reason the "Convoy" name was apparently off limits to Takara at the time of the Legacy toy's creation).

 

[PrimalxConvoy]

Big Prime sounds likely if they continue the naming convention but it kinda gives off second-rate Soundcloud rapper vibes.

Grandis Prime?

 

[LBD "Nytetrayn"]

Mammoth Prime?

With a double-meaning there.

 

[Steevy Maximus]

Mammoth Prime?

With a double-meaning there.

Eh, I just think that’s a little on the nose. Even with the standards of this franchise