Talk:Mold

I have no idea where we could FIND this, but man, an image of the actual steel-cut molds used for a TF toy would be pretty awesome. This article should probaly go into detail on the process and expense involved. --M Sipher 22:04, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

Seconded.

I like how this article is shaping up, particularly the links to related articles. There's a whole network of toy-related articles that are kinda hard to find outside of digging through the Toys category (see Brick, Articulation... I'd like to see more of a hierarchy for them so they can all be grouped and cross-linked. Most of our content is organized by franchise. What kind of home should there be for stuff like this that isn't bound to one particular franchise? -- Repowers 22:12, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

The movie DVD's "Their War" featurette has a brief sequence of the Leader Prime mold being filled with liquid plastic. Screencaps of that will probably be the best we can do. --Thylacine 2000 23:23, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

• somewhere* I have a picture of the mold for a GIJoe rifle - would that work? -hx 02:38, 17 January 2008 (UTC)

Too small, I think. Ideally, we'd have the "small car" variety mentioned at BC. --M Sipher 02:49, 17 January 2008 (UTC)

Possible disambiguation humor

This article is about the metal forms used to create toys. For the Transformer toys that actually sprout mold, see Pretender Monster{{#switch:{{#sub:Pretender Monster|-1}}

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Blurry

From what I can gather, this article is blurry with regard to the distinction between plastic inhection mold, the technical device used to create parts for toys, and "mold" as in "sculpt", a basic build for a toy that can be redecoed or retooled.

After my massive overhaul of the Retool article, I guess I should get started on improving this article next.--Nevermore 07:01, 5 July 2009 (EDT)

Wrote a new section explaining how exactly plastic injection molds work. Does anyone know more about die-cast molds? How do they differ from plastic injection molds? Is the metal also injected? Are the parts still connected on trees? Are diecast molds smaller than plastic molds (such as in the case of Alternators/Binaltech, where both die-cast and plastic molds exist for the same parts of the toy sculpts)?--Nevermore 07:47, 6 July 2009 (EDT)

Plastic, diecast and... rubber?

What about rubber parts, such as tires? Are they also cast from molds?--132.252.185.42 09:13, 7 July 2009 (EDT)

If I'm not mistaken, the "rubber" tires on TFs are actually plastic, just a very pliable form - not real rubber. That's why they crack and break and split in ways that actual rubber doesn't. Hooper_X 16:55, 7 July 2009 (EDT)

Optimus Prime Speculation

In the lost molds section, there's some speculation about the G1 Prime mold being lost: "It is also speculated that the original Generation 1 Optimus Prime mold is long gone, as most reissues share the toolings of the Generation 2 mold." Is that really speculated? I would've thought Hasbro/Takara went with the G2 mold because of the improvements made to the joints and because it was used more recently, thus requiring less restoration. Why go through more trouble with the G1 mold if the superior G2 mold is available? I'm also puzzled by the phrasing "most reissues". This sounds like there would be some that do not share the G2 tooling, thereby contradicting this speculation. --Tigerpaw28 18:38, 11 January 2011 (EST)

Question

If the Constructicon molds are lost, then how is TakaraTomy able to release Devastator in the Encore line? --AmazingSpiderGuy 11:17, 13 July 2011 (EST)

They were rumored to be lost, apparently the rumor was wrong. Or maybe Takara was able to get ahold of the molds the bootleggers have been using for years. Or they may have been recut based on existing toys (this is unlikely, due to costs). --Khajidha 11:30, 13 July 2011 (EDT)

I suppose that would explain it. I'd be weary of the molds if they came from bootleggers. We might wind up with an official G1 Devastator that's even worse than the crappy bootlegs! --AmazingSpiderGuy 12:04, 27 July 2011 (EST)

Another Question

I don't know if this is the place for this kind of question, but I'm curious. The rights to a mold can revert to its original owner but the character remains in HasTaks hands. So what is keeping them from building a brand new toy just like, say, the G1 Shockwave mold. Where is the line that crosses from mold to character?Riddlerj 19:35, 17 March 2013 (EDT)

i'm not sure where the legal boundary would be, but i maybe

• 1) HasTak might err on the side of legal caution about releasing a toy so similar to another company's mold,
• 2) HasTak might not want to release a toy so similar to another company's mold since consumers might (accidentally or deliberately) buy toys produced by the other company, thereby supporting HasTak's competition
• 2a) By the same token, the other companies won't sell toys using those molds because it could amount to free advertising for their competition. (For example, Bandai might never use the Tonka GoBots molds again, because they look exactly like HasTak-owned Transformers characters. Any profits Bandai might gain from selling "gObOtZ!" or whatever, could be negated by the possibility of consumers wanting to supplement their collection with "the rest of the Transformers"--that is, HasTak's Transformers.)
• 3) unless the toy is an exact reproduction of the original (and therefore essentially using the mold owned by the other company, at least as pertains to this conversation), TransFans will complain if HasTak offers toys that don't have improved articulation, better proportions (skinny legs on that Astro Magnum guy), greater show-accuracy, etc. So if HasTak has to make a whole new mold anyhow, they'll probably aim for more modern toy-making standards and aesthetics rather than mimicking outdated classics.

You might also read the article about knockoffs regarding what's legal, what people do even though it's illegal, and what happens (or doesn't happen) to the people who do the illegal stuff.

--Rhymus (talk) 03:36, 6 January 2014 (EST)

redeco/retool parts and accessories

Do Sunstreaker (G1) fists and Trailbreaker (G1) fists come from the same molds? If so, is that worth mentioning on those characters' respective pages, the way we mention that Hoist (G1) uses (mostly) the same mold as Trailbreaker, and half of Power Core Combiner X's drones share molds with half of Power Core Combiner Y's drones?

Trailbreaker and Sunstreaker use different missiles, though, right? But if their fists share a mold, the missiles should fit either figure, right?

Do any other figures use the same fists and/or missiles as Inferno (G1)/Grapple (G1)/Hauler/Artfire? Do THOSE fists/missiles fit into the forearms of Sunstreaker and/or Trailbreaker/Hoist?

...i need to go to sleep before i start asking things like whether Hoist's forearms will fit missiles from a Mirage (G1) launcher, or if a Sideswipe (G1) launcher will hold Sunstreaker's fists.

--Rhymus (talk) 02:52, 6 January 2014 (EST)

Flash

I've been trying to figure out a way to discuss flash on this page but am unsure of how to incorporate it in a good way.

For those unaware, flash is excess plastic or metal the leaks out through mold seams when the die is injected. This results in flaps or tabs of excess material that are normally trimmed away during assembly at the factory.

I bring it up because I have noticed lately that it is not being cleaned off of certain toys very well. One example was my copy of Cyberverse Deluxe Grimlock, which had some excess plastic still attached to the nubs inside his hip socket which made it pop off easily. Trimming them off fixed the issue.

This doesn't seem like a subject that needs its own page. But how should it be addressed? --King Starscream (talk) 12:33, 26 May 2020 (EDT)

Rattrap no longer lost?

With the release of Vintage Beast Wars Rattrap, does this confirm that the mold is no longer lost ala Terrorsaur? --EndymionDragon

In some sense at least. It is possible they recreated it (though that would be expensive) by reverse engineering an original toy-- some knock off manufacturers do this. In this case the mold wasn't found so much as remade. I don't know if we have any evidence about how it happened, or if we ever will. Waverod ✈️ (talk) 17:38, 12 October 2021 (EDT)

Photos

Found here. Anyone know the original source (other than "Hasbro")?--Nevermore (talk) 08:06, 18 January 2022 (EST)

Right here https://old.hasbropulse.com/blogs/haslab-preview/haslab-transformers-victory-saber-backer-update-ready-for-tool-start-copy -MahXyme/MahXymal (talk) 10:41, 18 January 2022 (EST)

Siege megatron on their way out?

Like I've seen 2 instances of miner megatron with loose knees Poliwag06 (talk) 01:40, 16 July 2023 (EDT)

Miner Megatron is misassembled, not degraded. TheLastGherkin (talk) 07:50, 17 July 2023 (EDT)

Expansion of the article and lists

The early 2000s G1 counterfeits primarily used original G1 molds that probably wound up in Chinese warehouses during the Hasbro Asia 1989-94 reissue period. These line up pretty closely with the classic characters that have NOT seen official reissue due to "lost"/"broken" molds. Sunstreaker, Wheeljack, Mirage, the Dinobots, all fall into this number. After a close inspection of a ZJ KO Springer, he is also certainly shot from the original mold. Notably, their Menasor is clearly a re-cut, as it is much lower quality, with many curved surfaces looking like a low-poly N64 model, which makes me wonder if the Stunticon molds weren't misplaced beyond the reach of the counterfeiters after the G2 run.

Regarding degradation, it's also worth noting that almost all G1 toys 1984-1985/6 had at least TWO copies of the mold running in parallel to increase production throughput. The first is usually a Diaclone/Microchange pre-TF mold that already shows some wear (look at Windcharger's hood/shoulders), with a 2nd freshly-cut tool being brought online by mid model year. The 2nd cut tools are often the ones modified for later reissuing and redeco work, with the 1st often going offline during the original G1 run.

All four Dino Cassettes are EITHER new molds BASED ON the counterfeit releases, or they ARE the counterfeit releases. They match the counterfeits perfectly, but the originals only vaguely. It's most obvious when looking at the faces.

Lastly, It seems to me that Encore Devastator and Walmart Vintage G1 Devastator are both unique molds not tied to the G1/G2 mold, and not tied to each other, unless they have been reconditioned to the point of wiping out the telltale signs of date stamp modification. I'm thinking the original molds were permanently modified for G2 (deleting arm block triggers, larger pistol pegs, etc)

I leave this to the professionals to update the article if desired, email me with any questions or if further substantiation is needed!

Lost Masterpiece Molds

There have been rumors going around forums and whatnot for the past few years (seemingly originating from the leaker crowd) that the tools for at least MP-44, 45 and 47 (including the tools for that Cliffjumper test shot that's made the rounds since ~2020) were lost/stolen after TakTom pulled from the factory that produced the figures (primarily in response to the breakage issues on Hound and Optimus Prime). This is in part why MP-49, MP-44s, and MPG-12 are incredibly stripped down compared to the original MP-44 and have minor molding differences, as it was technically a new tooling made in response to the loss of the original. This is also partially why the trailer has never been re-released. This would also explain why MP-45 and MP-47 never saw reissues or reuses.

Would it be reasonable to add these to the list of molds rumored to be lost? Paladin Denn (talk) 01:05, 13 May 2026 (EDT)