I'm not quite sure how i feel about "Re-Buying my favorite Bayformer/movieverse figures. I started with Battle Blades Bumble Bee and that was just a surprise that I did that considering that I don't buy repaints or copies of figures I have. But the remold was so damn good! It was on of the best figures out there...so good that I have been hesitant on buying any new figures on less reviews I find on line say that the latest toy measures up. The main factor was the ease of transformation...Battle Blades transforms so much better than his movie 1 counterpart.

 

Then comes Sidearm Sidesswipe. Damn did I ever take for ever to buy this toy. In all reality when I purchased the first Sideswipe I found myself very disappointed cos it was nowhere near the quality of Movie 1 concept Bumble Bee. But there were still cool aspects of the figure. Then i got his nemesis Sideways on a whim and found that Sideways was a better mold...more detail, raw and realistic (with exception to the red plastic). Sideways was so intricate. So when i finally got Sidearm I was surprised how well it was done. What made buy the figure was the ease of transformation I saw on the videos and (believe it or not) the fact that the toy needed to be moded. I love a toy that has all of these hidden features that hasbro kind of "blocked off" that with a few scrapes of a knife, becomes available. So I got Sidearm. And this guy beats Battle Blades BB hands down. BB is still one of the best figures out there because he has every feature you ever wanted in the figure and then some and he is as close as one could get to movie accuracy...but Sidearm is so dead on. So far out of all of the movie figures Sidearm Sidswipe is the only figure that looks closest to their CGI model. Don't believe me? Look at your Sidearm Sideswip (if you got one) and compare it to the CGI illustration. Right down to the car doors used as his winglet foils (sorry Hasbro but the doors hang down and have a purpose) and the big forearms and to the actual scene where he used guns not blades. This figure is movie accurate!

 

Now the next one on the list is the New Battle Blades Prime. Great...I have the other voyager (Robo-Vision) and yes, that toy has a mess of flaws but i still like it in package. I know I will eventually get the new prime...hell it is close to the movie look and has features the leader one does not have.

 

But I guess what I am really writing about is how does everyone feel about re-buying some of your toys because ... they are effectively better than the first versions you got. Is anyone thinking of giving away or rid of the obsolete version?

 

Really...I am going to be hesitant about getting anything from the Movie 3 line just because Hasbro probably won't get it right the first time and that there will be a killer more movie accurate version a year later.

 

On a brighter note I have heard down the pip-line that there is a new voyager movie Starscream which is getting the same scaling down treatment as leader Prime to voyager Prime. Not sure what it will be labeled (Battle Blade Sidearm Starscream???) I am happy that i held out for a better voyager Starscream and passed on the leader toy (just too damn big). It's speculation that this will happen but I do hope it does. I heard it from someone in marketing who stated that making the bigger toys is just not as cost effective and that with Battle blades Prime, it was evident that one could make a great quality toy in such a small package.

 

Oh well lets hope we see another killer remold of a great toy.

There's a bit of a problem with this topic.

 

Battle Blades Bumblebee, Sidearm Sideswipe, and Battle Blades Prime are new toolings ( aka new mold), and not a retooling of previous molds (remold). One of the ways this could be told, is the transformations are completely different from the original toys.

point still remains: 1 character - 40,000 different molds and repaints

It all depends. For instance, I went out and snapped up DLX Ratchet, Sidearm Swiper and DLX Ironhide (i've just received Battle Blades 'Bee, so I can't comment on that toy yet). I thought Ratchet and Sidearm Swiper were far superior to their previous molds--especially Ratchet. I no longer even acknowledge his Voyager toy. Ironhide, IMO, was a waste of money. It doesn't suck, but it's also not particularly good. I should have just stuck with his voyager toy(s).

 

It just all depends on the execution, and even if the execution is stellar, is the new mold offereing something the previous mold did not? For example: I've already got ROTF LC Prime. I have no need to go buy Battle Blades Prime simply because this toy possesses a Bayverse Matrix. It's just not enough to justify buying this toy because the original mold knows virtually no weakness. It's just redundant. The only way that would be worthwhile to me would be if:

 

1) his buster cannon looked better--didn't look like much from what I've seen;

2) he offered a little more detailing that was missing in the LC toy to make this toy even more faithful to the CGI;

3) retractable battle mask (HA Jazz has really set the tone here with his retractable visor)

 

That would be enough for me. In a truly perfect world, the designers would have already figured out a way to incorporate that very noticeable back-kibble into the base mode and make the base mode look ever more faithful to the CGI, but far be it from me to cry 'FOUL' over a LC figure with this phenomenal level of engineering. If it turns out to be true that there is a voyager approximation of LC Screamer, then unless this new toy has Screamers jet engines on his back in his base mode, or a more CGI accurate upper chest, why would I bother? I have already committed myself to refraining from purchasing another Bumblebee until his little shoulder (?) winglets are incorporated into his design, and his feet incorporate his wheels in a fashion accurate with regards to his CGI design. Otherwise, I'm just repeating myself.

 

It's got to have something worthwhile to offer.

Another question I should have added here is who here will be more to wait till Hasbro makes a much better version of the new toys coming out for TF 3? I'm not talking about better repaint, mind you, just a new Mold that is better than the first run.

 

I remember that I couldn't wait to get my first Sideswipe and when I got it...I was really disappointed in the work that was done. I thought the quality and innovations in the toy went down from the first movie. To see that a figure like Sidways (who's barely even seen in the film) had better love than a stronger character.

 

Is it possible that first run molds are just out there to get match the demand based on the film and the real toy comes out later?

I'm confused. Are you asking for the many toys that are based off of just one character, or many characters that are based off of just one toy? :shrug

Another question I should have added here is who here will be more to wait till Hasbro makes a much better version of the new toys coming out for TF 3? I'm not talking about better repaint, mind you, just a new Mold that is better than the first run.

 

I remember that I couldn't wait to get my first Sideswipe and when I got it...I was really disappointed in the work that was done. I thought the quality and innovations in the toy went down from the first movie. To see that a figure like Sidways (who's barely even seen in the film) had better love than a stronger character.

 

Is it possible that first run molds are just out there to get match the demand based on the film and the real toy comes out later?

 

I honestly think it has more to do with the level of toy technology that is now available. The toys are, simply put, being made better. The engineering is better, the articulation has benefitted immensely from that, and we now have a consistently high standard of DLX toys to choose from that are offering more than most of the LC and VOY figures available. You see it in the MP figures (from Optimus to Megs, to the MP Seeker Mold, to the beauty that is MP Grimlock to the DIVINE LIGHT of RIGHTEOUSNESS that Rodimus seems to be), and you see it BIG TIME in the Bayverse. Match up the DLX toys from the 1st movie to ROTF/HFTD to RTS/GEN, and you will notice a difference. And there is a yawning chasm in terms of sheer quality from the LC figures from the 1st movie to the 2nd. It's just engineering, plain and simple. The figures are being drawn up better in the design process and executed better.

 

I don't know that pushing a 'first run' mold as basically a market-study (if I'm understanding you correctly) would be economically feasible for Hasbro/Takara with regards to this particular brand. I mean, I don't know-I could see that if we were discussing a toy line for something like, oh, say Generator Rex. or the Regular Show.. The 'TF' name is going to pretty much sell itself for the most part. What it definitely seems that they WILL do is flood the market with as many toys of the core characters (Optimus & Bumblebee) as possible. If anything, with the multi-million dollar Bayverse machine behind them, Hasbro/Takara can almost define which characters will generate the most money, I'd think (remember: Bumblebee was not truly a star that could stand on his own right as arguably the biggest star in one of the biggest money-making franchises in motion picture history until the Bayverse made him one--and I do mean MADE him, seeing as how 'Bee has said 2 lines of dialogue between BOTH movies).

It just depends on the figure if I'm going to buy it again or not. But some are new molds

Another question I should have added here is who here will be more to wait till Hasbro makes a much better version of the new toys coming out for TF 3? I'm not talking about better repaint, mind you, just a new Mold that is better than the first run.

 

I remember that I couldn't wait to get my first Sideswipe and when I got it...I was really disappointed in the work that was done. I thought the quality and innovations in the toy went down from the first movie. To see that a figure like Sidways (who's barely even seen in the film) had better love than a stronger character.

 

Is it possible that first run molds are just out there to get match the demand based on the film and the real toy comes out later?

 

I honestly think it has more to do with the level of toy technology that is now available. The toys are, simply put, being made better. The engineering is better, the articulation has benefitted immensely from that, and we now have a consistently high standard of DLX toys to choose from that are offering more than most of the LC and VOY figures available. You see it in the MP figures (from Optimus to Megs, to the MP Seeker Mold, to the beauty that is MP Grimlock to the DIVINE LIGHT of RIGHTEOUSNESS that Rodimus seems to be), and you see it BIG TIME in the Bayverse. Match up the DLX toys from the 1st movie to ROTF/HFTD to RTS/GEN, and you will notice a difference. And there is a yawning chasm in terms of sheer quality from the LC figures from the 1st movie to the 2nd. It's just engineering, plain and simple. The figures are being drawn up better in the design process and executed better.

 

Dont forget Scouts. That size class continues to impress with home runs like Skystalker and Breacher.

Dont forget Scouts. That size class continues to impress with home runs like Skystalker and Breacher.

don't forget about ejector, the brave little toaster that'll rip your face off.

 

As much as most of these redo type figures are amazing, I normally regret buying them. If i wouldn't have the original (say, ROTF leader prime or the concept camaro bumble bee ) I probably would overlook the flaws of the redo (battle blades prime / BB) and enjoy it more. However, I almost always buy the toy and say wow this in incredible, but the original did this and this better and I wish they would've fixed this and may be they should've fixed it this way...

 

Still, I'm curious if hasbro improves leader prime and voyager starscream as much for the new movie as they did for ROTF.