Transformers and the TMNT Effect..

[Mumps]

The repaints are getting very bad... I don't mind them if they have a new head. Like Thrust for example. With that colour and new head, it's almost like a different toy all together.

But repaint after repaint is just dumb... Sure, there are some I will buy. G1 seekers for example. But those characters appeared in the show! I know that was the whole point. Get kids to buy SS, TC and SW buy having all 3 look exactly the same in the show, just different colour. Worked on me, haha. But all of these Bumblebee repaints are rather annoying. But hey, as long as the parents are buying them, and it gives Hasbro more money to create new moulds, thats ok with me.

[Cheers Ian]

Kids like Bumblebee.

The majority of the movie figures are purchased either for or by children.

Therefore lots and lots of Bumblebee's = Profit.

I think Hasbro is well aware of the collector community, that's why we got the awesome Classics/Universe line and nice G1 nods and Universe compatible figures in the movie line (ex Breakdown, Bludgeon, Lockdown)

The movie line is Hasbro's cash cow and they are going to pump out as many variants of the popular characters as possible. It's not going to change anytime soon.

Have you ever seen a Batman line? We should consider ourselves lucky.

Cheers!
-Ian

[UltraPrimal]

I don't mind repaints as long as they're different. At least in the last movie line there was a red Cliffjumper and a black Bumblebee. This movie line it's all yellow Bumblebees! Yellow with black stripes. That's all I see. Why don't they do something different? Put some flames on him to match Prime or something.

[Goaliebot]

I guess it doesn't bother me because I only buy 1 of each mold - I don't buy repaints. Sure there could hypothetically be a new mold in place of another BB repaint, but realistically I know that a new mold fig is many, many times the cost to Hasbro of a repaint so...

I mean, I guess I assume there will always be X new molds plus Y repaints released each year. As long as I get the figures I like out of X, I don't much care what Y is...?

However - empathy moment - if I were a completist it would drive me MAD. That and the rare overseas exclusives and the convention exclusives. Yikes.

[GMfan]

Originally Posted by Scrapper6

Beast Wars:
Dinobot/Grimlock
Cheetor/Tigatron
Tarantulas/Black Arachnia
Waspinator/Buzzsaw
Terrorsaur/Lazorbeak

Except for the fact that these were redecoed more then the times you listed...I won't even count the Japanese versions as that would make the list bigger.

BW Dinobot/ BW Grimlock/ Fox Kids Dinobot/ Dinobots Grimlock/ 10th Ani. Dinobot
BW Cheetor/ BW Tigatron/ Fox Kids Cheetor/ Shadow Panther/ 10 Ani Cheetor
BW Tarantulus/ BW Blackarachnia/ 10th Ani Tarantulus (though cancelled there was the Halloween edition planned as well for Blackarachnia...)
BW Waspinator/ BW Buzzsaw/ Fox Kids Waspinator/ 10th Ani Waspinator
BW Terrorsaur/ BW Laserbeak/ Botcon Fractyl/ Dinobots Swoop

I don't why people get all bent out of shape for redeco's (ya they aren't repaints)....it's been happening since Transformers started and it ain't stopping any time soon no matter how much we bitch or hate on them.

[Team Jetfire]

Originally Posted by GMfan101

I don't why people get all bent out of shape for redeco's (ya they aren't repaints)....it's been happening since Transformers started and it ain't stopping any time soon no matter how much we bitch or hate on them.

Exactly.

A good portion of the origional 1985 toy line were based on re-paints and re-tools.

Besides, we are not getting the TMNT Effect. We are getting repaints that make sense. TMNT had waves and waves of non-sensical re-paints and re-tools that had nothing to do with the origional toys. These figures were often comical, goofy and terrible IMO. The same can be said with the old Real GhostBuster line of toys. They had re-paints and re-tools that would make 'Pizza slinging Ralph' look down right awesome.

[Mighty_Galvatron]

Too lazy to read this entire thread, but what I will say is that those original TMNT toys with the shell that opened to hold an armory were the best thing ever in TMNT toys. The end.

[justprime]

I just wanted to add a bit of perspective here we keep talking about repaints, repaints,... beast wars etc let me ask this of all you folks... do you rember G-1,... with the exception of a few mini bots (which were resculped/reworked) ,the seeker jets (which actuly followed the cartoon as far as the different characters a justified repaint) & bruticus/arielbots,...how many repaints? I can not remember vary many and they certainly didn't come back to haunt over and over again....I know that each new year brought new charaters and what was left of the old were carried over till there were none left.(even though the next years check list showed the previous years toys ) I remember collecting them at that time and that to find the previous years transformers I had missed was almost impossible, (NO ebay at that time),... it seems that there was a lot more new product every year and a lot less repaints in the G1 era.Justprime

[Bruticus82]

Justprime brings up a good point about G1 repaints/remolds, things like the seekers, or the autobot cars (ironhide/ratchet being an example) were out concurrently. It's not like they would release iron hide one year, then ratchet the next, then a yellow rescue ratchet, then a black iron hide.

I suppose the economics of that era just don't make sense for hasbro anymore. Higher production costs, fewer toys sold, competition with computers and PS3 and Wii and all those things...

[Sun Swipe Prime]

Originally Posted by justprime

,... it seems that there was a lot more new product every year and a lot less repaints in the G1 era.Justprime

The key word here is "seems" if you look at the number of transformers they put out in G1 vs the number they put out now, I'm betting G1 gets dwarfed. How many bots were there in the first year or so of Transformers. I'm guessing, so someone set me straight here, but wasn't it like 13 autobots and probably the same number of decepicons? That many probably get put out in one wave now.

And remember G1 transformers are just a repackage of Diaclone/microman/etc. from Japan, so none of first waves of G1 transformers were new molds, just reuse of old ones.