Hasbro offers sneak peeks into the future of Transformers...
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Saturday at BotCon brought the first of two major Hasbro events, the Review and Q&A Panel. It was held in the large convention hall, where a row of seven Hasbro Marketing Directors, Designers, Writers, and Brand Managers spoke to a packed house. Fans were eager to see and hear what lies in the future for the Transformers toy lines, and they were not disappointed.
Sadly, there was no photography or video of any kind allowed, so you’ll just have to visualize.
After thanking the audience for its support of Transformers (and Hasbro by extension) even in this economy, the panelists began a slideshow of upcoming products in the 2009-2010 line. The first was the relatively new Human Alliance series, typified by a Deluxe Transformer and a human partner. Unfortunately, a technical issue prevented any images from appearing at this point of the slideshow. Hasbro’s reps promised new pics in the panel on Sunday.
So, next up were Store Exclusives. Target will see a series of 6 inch transforming Titanium toys including an Optimus Prime redeco, Thrust (Starscream redeco), and Hot Zone. While all of these have been leaked online before, the panelists did reveal the upcoming Revenge of the Fallen Voyager-sized Fallen figure. This Target exclusive is resplendent in a red and yellow deco that they refer to as “Fallen on fire.”
Toys R Us will be getting a new Commemorative Series Generation 1 set, the Insecticons! All three of the original bug-bots will be back, complete with vac-metallized parts and decos as close to the originals as possible. That set will then be joined by the next G1 re-issue, Perceptor! In the film line, TRU will have an exclusive Battle Pack of Deluxe-sized Soundwave in G1 deco and Voyager-sized Megatron.
Finally, Wal-Mart will see Masterpiece Skywarp, a highly anticipated redeco of the Starscream mold. Like the previous Masterpiece releases, this one will be slightly different than its original Japanese release. The U.S. Skywarp will feature a paint scheme more like the character from the classic animation, and “less realistic.”
Next up for Hasbro was the Transformers Animated line for the recently cancelled television show of the same name. The panelists assured us that there are new products coming out now, and that the line will continue into 2010. In the Deluxe scale will be the previously unveiled Electrostatic Soundwave with Ratbat and Arcee, plus a few surprises. All new images were shown of Rodimus Minor, a supercar in silver and black with a huge double-loaded bow. Cybertronian Ratchet depicts an earlier version of the character with an interesting tracked walker mode. A redeco of that toy will appear as Cybertronian Ironhide with a new head sculpt. Finally, Fugitive Waspinator is a repaint of Bumblebee in green, yellow, and translucent purple.
The Voyager scale will see the repainted bright and shiny Goldfire Grimlock and Hydrodive Bumblebee, previously seen on the internet. Blackout will be a helicopter positively loaded down with gatling cannons. The Autobot leader gets an upgrade in Wingblade Optimus Prime, a Deluxe sized Prime with tons of extra parts. Starscream sees another repaint in blue as Thundercracker.
Of course, the Revenge of the Fallen line will be the bread and butter of Transformers for the next year or so. Two new tiny Legends figures were shown, Soundwave and Wheelie. Then it was on to the Scout class, which continues to provide excellently sculpted toys with loads of personality in small packages. Brakedown is a sports car with G1 deco, Skystalker is a stealth bomber, and Scattorshot is a missile truck with ram prow whose cool robot mode wields dual pistols.
The Deluxe scale started out with a big surprise – Lockdown, an Animated character re-done in film style! The vicious bounty hunter looked pretty cool in a slightly more realistic car mode and familiar robot form. Ratchet comes to the smaller scale in a stripped down humvee mode with firing “EMP” missile launcher. Dirge is based on the harrier mold, complete with the traditional conehead. All three of these include “mechalive” features.
The large Voyager scale will have a new Jungle Attack Ironhide in a full redeco. With a bumper that turns into a crossbow and multiple guns and knives that all combine into a huge super-weapon, this is one heavily armed Autobot! Next up was another fan pleaser, Bludgeon! This Decepticon’s sturdy tank mode gives way to a Samurai-inspired robot form complete with katana and wakizashi.
A single image of the Human Alliance Barricade with Frenzy figure was the final slide before the panel gave way to a varied and lengthy Q&A.
When asked if there will be any releases of Transformers Animated in widescreen, the panelists told the inquirer to “talk to Cartoon Network.”
The Transformers Universe line will continue through Spring of 2010, then pause for a time while the movie line takes center stage. In the Fall of next year, though, both Universe and Classics will get a kickstart.
A fan wanted to know if Hasbro planned on creating a toy of Drift, a popular character from IDW’s comics. One of the panelists coyly remarked that the fan should come back to Sunday’s panel.
