Hasbro Q&A/July 2009

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Question archive, and links to the answers from, the July 2009 Hasbro Q&As.

Questions

ActionFigs.com

1. What is the philosophy behind which characters get turned into leader-class figures? Why do Starscream and Brawl get leader-class figures while stuff like Bonecrusher, Blackout/Grindor, or The Fallen do not? What does the decision-making process there look like? And what can fans who want some of those to get made do to persuade Hasbro to go for it?
2. While we have now heard and understand why Hasbro didn't produce ROTF Constructions that both combined and transformed (although there are still fans who disagree with your reasons), there still remains other questions being asked about these guys. Why produce only 4 of the significant ROTF Constructicons as individual figures yet leave out others like Scrapper and Hightower? And how did such seemingly non-toyetic robot designs like one with only a head and arms and wheels with no body or another with a 'jackhammer' uni-leg come about when, even for the movie aesthetic, they are pretty far out there for a movie basically about a toy line?
3. Comparing the 2007 movie line's "Automorph" concept to the ROTF line's "Mech Alive" concept, it seems like Mech Alive comes up pretty short. Not only does Mech Alive seem not as dynamic or fun, but largely there is a sense that the whole thing doesn't even fully deliver on the concept except on 1 figure (voyager-class Starscream), either because of underwhelming features (Breakaway's spinning gatling gun, Skids & Mudflap's moving chest panels and head-bobbing, Rampage's moving jackhammer pistons Sideswipe's knee armor, Wheelie's faction logos, The Fallen's slide-out energy panels, Megatron's spinning gears), or Mech Alive gimmicks that get packaging mentions but were dropped from the final toys (Sideways' spinning blade and untold left arm gimmick, Chromia's non-existent spinning gears, Starscream's pop-out missile launchers). What does the TF team feel about the matter, do they agree this was a bit of a dropped ball, or are fans not really "getting it"? Will we see Mech Alive continue into TF's future the way Automorph has been carried forward beyond the '07 movie line?

• ActionFigs.com answers.

AllSpark.com

1. How many Human Alliance figures are scheduled for the Revenge of the Fallen toy line? And when you decide to end the Revenge of the Fallen toy line, is there any chance that this fan-popular sub-line will continue? There are still plenty of human and not-so human characters that could use toys. Like Daniel with Arcee, Spike with Hot Rod, or Una and Chak with Transmetal Cheetor!
2. After Perceptor and the Insecticons, how many other reissues are planned? Or if there are currently no plans for more reissues, but it's something that you'd like to look into in the future, which figures would you personally like to see reissued in the US market?
3. "Revenge of the Fallen" has brought with it a more adult-aimed Transformers, both in terms of toy complexity and the adult humor sprinkled generously throughout the movie. What will this mean for any future toys and fiction--including comics, toy bios and cartoons-- that Hasbro may have planned for the movie continuity? Would a movie continuity cartoon revert back to the more child friendly stories as we've seen with the past few years, or would it keep a flavoring of the adult themes that Michael Bay brought to the films?

• AllSpark.com answers.

TFViews.com

1. While many of us understand the need for Hasbro to tighten up on its intellectual property, there are some lingering questions about the ramifications it may have. We get that someone making money off your IP is unacceptable, and we see the difference between that and individuals making their own personal stuff for fun. What about sellers that have sold items with semi-official sanction, such as the Lukis Brothers, will they be grandfathered in based on past precedent (example: the Vector Sigma accessories)? Will Hasbro attempt to fill the void left by now banned fan-company items? Clearly the demand for these items is high enough in collector circles to create the unlicensed cottage industry which Hasbro reasonably feels goes too far, yet you’ve also made clear that there’s no room in the Hasbro market plan for those sorts of collector-oriented extras. So might Hasbro be willing to actively find an appropriate licensee who will be able fit those sorts of complimentary pieces into their own business model?
2. With some Transformers figures there are specific elements obviously designed into the item, yet go un-noted in the the marketing materials such as packaging, photos, and instructions - the “undocumented features”. Sometimes these are unfinished and thus understandably left out (such as Universe Galavatron’s walking tank mode). However, others are inexplicably complete and yet go unsaid, such as ROTF Knock-Out’s “wings” (from his removable cowling panels), 2007 Leader-class Brawl’s 2 sound fx buttons, Universe Cyclonus being able to have Nightstick plug onto his forearm in place of his hand, Animated Ratchet designed to accept Lockdown’s EMP Generator accessory, Universe Sideswipe/Sunstreaker’s gun being able to plug into holes on their shoulders, even proper transformations like the backpack height and triangular panels flanking ROTF Sideways’ head. How does the development team feel about these designed features going undocumented? Has Hasbro considered a possible official outlet for ‘correct’ transformations and undocumented features? And does Hasbro keep track of this sort of thing?
3. In the current team’s experience, would you discuss any figures that have turned out significantly better or worse than expected? We mean those standout items that the team just wasn’t expecting to succeed or fail for whatever reasons, maybe going from the prototype to production stages something went very wrong or came out ahead of expectations, perhaps a figure that fans were supposed to love but didn’t or that you didn’t think they’d love but they did. And what TF toys for you guys would you revise if you could, and what ones do you consider utterly perfect as their finished products went?

• TFViews.com answers.