Well, it's done. Rodimus is the last one. Anything beyond this point is kitbash territory.

Although I'm saddened to see the Alts go because of the superior detailing and realism, I'm glad that toy technology, interest and 20 years in the making have made this line. I won't miss characters like Swerve, Camshaft and Rollbar.

I'm love G1 since I saw it's birth but not a G1 purist by no means. So I won't miss the line because of that. It will just be because some great toys will no longer be with us. I've matured and I use that word very loosely but so has my collection.

 

And petitions won't work because we could have all the signatures but at the end of the day, total sales controls stats controls popularity controls production.

Obvious repaints: Frenzy, Trailbreaker (dodge ram)

... and Red alert (from Prowl).

I'm okay with them cancelling the Alts, since I haven't seen one in a store in a year and a half anyway. In fact, I thought it was established a long time ago that Rumble and Ravage would be the last ones?

 

Of course, I'd still like to see Skids repainted as Ironhide and a blue "Frenzy," and I see no reason why they couldn't be done as exclusives in the future. In fact, there's no reason why they couldn't be sold through HTS, other than the fact that Hasbro doesn't like to keep their online store in stock for whatever reason. If I can get Hot Rod without anything resembling last year's debacle, I'll be happy.

I am not surprised that the Alternator line is dead. Even though we did not get all the molds or characters we wanted, it was pretty much a G1 Fan's dream.

 

If Hasbro could create a new line that is in the same scale and detail as Alternators but associated with the movie, I am sure that it would not be hard to get car licenses for molds now. With the Alternator line, car companies began having Hasbro change the weapons to be less lethal. Since there was no cartoon to market the toys, who could blame the car companies.

 

Now that the movie is out, it is a completely different story. It would surprise me if other car companies aren't coming back to Hasbro wanting back into the sequels (If you haven't seen the movie, count how many times the word 'eBay' is said).

ugh, I dont care if this "won't work" godammit, i am gonna try, and as i said , i dont really want the alt line back in the same form. I am serious about the "model kit" aspect. if all has/tak had to do was develop a toy, license etc. then make a mold, I would love to do the rest. building a toy from scratch, painting it , etc. , gives me a a sense of satisfaction. I am pretty sure i am not alone. I would just hope that the zoids mess wouldnt be repeated. i loved zoids, but charging 100 dollars for a 40 dollar toys, that i have to build myself, ugh. I am just saying charging 20 bucks for an alt toy , that they dont even have to paint or assemble, would have to boost profits.

 

btw, i think the perfect idea for an alt show would be a fast and the furious type show, I am not a fan of those movies, but a GTA/ cannonball run would be great. it could even have a differnet story than the main TF story. kind of like mutant X, which was like an alternate universe of X-men. I think that having them all being cars would only make sense if ALL autobots and decepticons were one size only, that would limit the size of the foms they could take. (i know that some wouldn't like this, but I personally like change, I.E. if every show was a scooby doo show, we would never have transformers, to begin with)

 

and the movie toys are crap, that is my opinion. there i said it. I will sya that leader OPT. and the voyager ironhide and ratchet are tempting though, i think i am waiting to see the G1 repaints before i break my boycott. arcee is awesome, just wish that she wasn't in the "robot Hotspot for a face" club

 

and to the comment about the alt line turning into the over priced bumblebee...ICK

i saw that and all i could see was a damned furby/teddy ruxpin, EWWWWW

make a robot that does something, not just dance and play bad music

Now that the movie is out, it is a completely different story. It would surprise me if other car companies aren't coming back to Hasbro wanting back into the sequels (If you haven't seen the movie, count how many times the word 'eBay' is said).

I'm going to guess that they'll be sticking with GM, since Hasbro and GM now share the same agent, and since car companies don't seem to like to compete against each other for product placement in these movies.

 

Heh, I saw the movie at the theater near eBay, which was filled with employees (given free tickets outside) who cheered at every mention of their company.

Now that the movie is out, it is a completely different story. It would surprise me if other car companies aren't coming back to Hasbro wanting back into the sequels (If you haven't seen the movie, count how many times the word 'eBay' is said).

I'm going to guess that they'll be sticking with GM, since Hasbro and GM now share the same agent, and since car companies don't seem to like to compete against each other for product placement in these movies.

yeah

 

but on-topic, I have officially lost all interest in realistic cars that turn into G1-looking robots. Yuck.

I wouldn't mind a series of movie toys with Alt-scale and complexity, though I know that won't happen. Seriously, on-topic, I lament the passing of Alternators but I haven't even bought one since last year's SDCC NP debacle. I picked up 2 online during the chaos and I hope to get a Roddy this year but aside from that I've lost a lot of interest. Maybe it's the price tag. Maybe it's the crappy distribution. I only ever saw 1 Alt Mirage with paintwork so crappy I couldn't justify spending the money, and 2 Dodge Ram Primes with such badly scratched plastice on their hoods and doors that I couldn't even begin to figure out how to fix it. I never saw Camshaft AT ALL. NEVER. I saw a ton of Ravages and Rumbles recently but couldn't afford them (that price tag again). So yeah, bad distribution, spotty QC, high price (which apparently still makes too little profit to justify continuing the line), a desperate need to concentrate on other, more promising and profitable lines--no big surprise the Alts are going down. I was pissed when I read it but after some thought I understand, and am ready to let it go. If you want Alt Megatron buy MP-05 and the accessory kit. If you want Alt Soundwave get the MP3 player version. Alt Starscream? MP. Or make your own. Let this line die and bring on the new stuff. After moving I don't know where to put my Alts anyway.

Now that I have some time, I can write a few things down to share.

 

Binaltech/Alt's to me is the rebirth of the G1 cars. I have almost all the different versions, and some day intend to have 1 of each variant (no doubles, like won't get Binal Shockwave and Alt Shockwave, have Alt so that's it)

 

These toys are just awesome. For my friends 30th birthday, since he was a diecast car collector, and especially Chevy, I got him BT tracks. Out of all the car's he has since he has gotten married and moved into his new house, the only one of his car's he has on display is the Tracks I gave him.

 

Years ago, I made a custom Mustang Nascar pace car. Made intricut decals and paint job to get it just right. Sent it to the person running the sports car page which featured pictures of the real car, and he was AMAZED not only at the car I created, but that it was a Transformer!

 

If the line is dead, it is a shame. However the last 2 incarnations, Rumble and Ravage I am hesitant to get and will only do so because they need to complete the line for me. That and either Alt or BTA Roddie.

 

This line along with the classics line were the last ones in recent times to really WOW me. Enough that I had to get the entire assortment. The new main stream toys, including the movie toys, just do not do it for me. Room and $ constraints just puts a big stop sign in the road to buy.

 

Why the corp starts and stops interesting lines like this in the first place is a mystery. The WST, the PVC figures, both were also really nice, would have loved to have gotten the original G1 characters in PVC form, but it's as dead as the original movie Brawn.

 

What we CAN do is to keep them making convention repaints. Nemesis prime was very good, and the new roddie might also be good. Still have not decided if I want to get that or the die-cast BTA my self. At any rate, there are tons of molds and color variant possibilities they could make for us later down the line.

 

I'd say a White Dodge truck as Ultra Magnus would make good sense.

 

There is also custom's one could make. I have a custom Honda Prowl that's now Red Allert with stickers from Trans Repro.

 

If there is to be a petition to be started, work on new toys special events and things like E-hobby. (Clear Mirage any one?)

 

For the main stream stores, they are going to be all about the movie. Heck it's going to probably bring the line into the main stream for old fan's and new, and those special long lost fans. It's not just our bag any more.

 

Who knows, we might finally get a transforming Pepsi Machine like the old 80's classic TV commercial, coke bot vs pepsi bot...