BotCon - Hasbro Panel

by Moonbug in Transformers Convention News on Saturday, 26th April 2008 17:44:55 BST

TFormers were posting "live" news from the Hasbro panel at BotCon, which you can find below. We've not corrected the grammer, so this is in the original state. You will also find articles from both The Allspark and Seibertron which have more detailed information than the TFormers version. Update 2 Added TFWorld2005 roundup (with even more information).

Hasbro Panel Roundup (TFormers Report)

Panel includes: Greg Lombardo, Aaron Archer and Forest Lee

ANIMATED

$700 million box office on "Transformers" movie.
#1 action figure toy brand NPD Data.
Movie Deluxe action toy of the year at Toy Fair.
"Transformers" movie DVD #1 in the usa in 2007.
Toy Launch June 22 for Animated toys.
Full licensing program will launch in August when stores reset their toy displays.
Deluxe Sentinel Prime coming in September 2008.
Deluxe Swoop coming in September 2008. He looks really sweet and has a mace weapon.
Deluxe Elite Guard Bumblebee coming in September 2008.
Leader Ultra Magnus coming in September 2008. Pics show a very cool looking figure as discribed in Animated panel. The Hammer does not light up but he does have a transformation feature.

UNIVERSE

Universe is not a storyline unto itself. It is a compliation of stories.
Universe Deluxe Ironhide coming October 2008. License plate says Oregon. Mid level transformers difficulty. Looks like vehicle is a modern SUV/van.
Universe Deluxe Sideswipe coming October 2008. Same mold as Sunstreaker, new hands. they have the wrong head in the photo and the chest I thing turns around. (mold news was released last year)
Universe Ultra Silverbolt coming August 2008. Will have sounds in robot and jet including the transformation sound. Gun sounds and Jet sounds too.
Universe Ultra Storm Cloud coming in September 2008. Redeco of the Powerglide figure.
Univsere Legends coming August 2008.
G2 Megatron and Jazz coming August 2008.
Robot Heroes: Kick back/Ironhide, Thrust/Blaster, Megatron/Silverbolt, in Oct 08.

Fall 2008 exclusives

San Diego Comic Con Hasbro toy shop - Nemesis Prime with blue windows. There is a Japan exclusive that will have red windows.
Comic Cons Hasbro Toy Shop Titanium 6" War Within Skywarp.
Wal-mart off-screen Deluxes Sept 08 Breakway, Fracture, Crankcase.
Target Universe comic packs nov 08: Dirge, Road buster, Pringer, Ratbat. These sets are Deluxe figure with a voyager figure and a comic.
KMart 12 pack in September 2008.
TRU 6" Titaniums in September 2008 - War Within Prowl, War Within Grimlock.

25 Years Sneek Peek - 1984-2009

25th anniversary culminates with movie 2.
Animated will continue.
Thanksgiving release to kick off G1 re-issue of original Optimus Prime US version also include reprint of issue 1 comic from marvel and more then meets the eye 3 episode digital re-master DVD and a sound box with Cullen quotes. 5 panel window package. Silver foil 25th anniversary logo with classic type package.
They will be celebrating all eras of TFs not just G1.
Universe Deluxe Hound w/ Ravage. The clips on the back of Hound fit Ravage. Shoulder cannon on Hound comes off.
Universe Deluxe Cyclonus w./ Nigtstick Targetmaster. Nightsitck can be held by Cyclonus. Almost looks black. Very nice.
Universe Deluxe Beast Wars Cheetor.

The Allspark Version (More details then above)

Animated Toys:

Animated toys wave 1 due 6/22, same as the ones hitting Cincinnati now.
Animated will be a full TF line with retailers planning a fall reset.
Swoop has a mace on a chain.
Sentinel Prime is "awesome."
Elite guard Bumblebee repaint: mostly dark dark gray, a dark tan, and mustard yellow
Ultra Magnus: "awesome" (Galenraff does not have a thesaurus with him). Hammer does not light up.
All the other Animated toys are "already leaked."

Universe/Classics 2.0:

UNIVERSE IRONHIDE will be a Deluxe size red SUV with Oregon plates.
Ultra Silverbolt, which we've seen already online, will have sounds in both modes, including a transforming sound.
Deluxe Sideswipe with a new head from the Sunstreaker mold (already known).
"Stormcloud" Powerglide redeco....black, purple, with some green.
Universe will have new mold Legends: tank Megatron, Jazz, Brawn, Beachcomber.
Universe Deluxe Hound WITH tape Ravage, who will fit in Soundwave. Ravage looks "amazing."
Deluxe Cyclonus with Nightstick, "Awesome!" (Galenraff still does not have a thesaurus.)
Universe Deluxe Cheetor, new mold!
Cheetor: switch changes eye color from green to red and mouth opens

And there's more! Click below for Robot Heroes, some anticipation-worthy redecoes, a couple of guys whose names start with War Within, and the Q&A!

Misc:

New Robot Heroes:

G1 Kickback v Ironhide
G1 Thrust v. Blaster
BW TM Megatron vs. Fuzor Silverbolt
BM Cheetor vs. Tankor
RID Prime vs. Megatron
More Robot Heroes will be shown tomorrow, but that's all the new products for the panel.

Looks like SDCC Prime will be the first version we saw, with blue windows and Decepticon logos.
Another SDCC exclusive: Titanium Skywarp, from the Thundercracker mold!
There will be more Wal-Mart exclusives labelled "Offscreen deluxes."

Breakaway - Cybertron Hot Shot in white red blue
Fracture - CRASHER DECO ON CLASSICS MIRAGE
Crankcase - dark (green maybe?) Cybertron Red Alert

Target will also get some exclusives: Universe "comic packs."

Dirge - Voyager Cybertron Starscream in blue
Roadbuster - Cybertron Defense Hot Shot
Springer - Evac in green
Ratbat - Cybertron Sideways in purple

Toys'R'Us will have Titanium War Within Prowl and Grimlock in September!
25th Anniversary culminates with TF2... "save your money" for 2009.
Thanksgiving G1 prime reissue includes:

short stacks
Marvel issue 1 reprint
DVD remaster of More Than Meets The Eye
Logo soundbox w/ Peter Cullen voice quotes

Official statement on G1 knockoffs in a nutshell: they're illegal, not condoned, hasbro is pursuing legal action. They urge people not to buy even from dealers upstairs.

Q&A:

Masterpiece Thundercracker: no guarantees, but it's on the short list of things they want made as an exclusive.
Attacktix is dead.
No plans for more Titaniums, since they're out of new tooling.
Hasbro "strongly hinted" a G1-style Arcee is being worked on.
Not many off screen characters for animated. Oil Slick was a exception to the rule.
Any chance of a Sari toy? They want to find a way to bring human characters to market, but its not in the cards right now.
Someone asked about making new molds from old toys like the knock-offers do: no plans, they don't know what Takara may do, but it's difficult & expensive. So, no plans to "do it right."
No change in Alternator status. Still no plans to continue the line.
We'll see some larger Robot Heroes in the future.
The Aveo Swerve toy was done by GM and Hasbro as a promo deal rather than a license deal and was never created for sale. Hasbro has no rights to produce it, and while they may pursue it in the future, Galenraff tells us the "tone of voice was not promising" so at least for now it doesn't sound like something they'll be doing.
The 25th Anniversary toys other than G1 Prime (Thanksgiving) will arrive at the end of this year and beginning of next. The figures they showed will be wave 3 or 4 of Universe.
Some combiners may be worked into the 25th Anniversary plans.
Still no plans for reissuing the G1 Dinobots.
Also no plans for GI Joe crossover toys.

Seibertron Report (more details on Universe Hound and Ravage)

TRANSFORMERS MOVIE
Over $700 million box office worldwide
#1 DVD in the USA in 2007

TRANSFORMERS TOY LINE
#1 action figure toy brand (npd data)
Movie Deluxe - action toy of the year
#1 fans

TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED
2008 Product Update
Toy Launch - June 22nd
Deluxe Sentinel Prime - Sept 08 street date
Deluxe Swoop
Deluxe Elite Guard Bumblebee - Sept 08 street date (going to be doing more themed repaints due to the equity that they have in some of the main characters)
Leader Class Ultra Magnus - Sept 08 (HUGE round of applause)

TRANSFORMERS UNIVERSE
Deluxe Ironhide (turns into a red SUV) looks so much better than Botcon version) has a license plate that says Oregon on it)
Deluxe Sideswipe (had wrong head in photo which was a black Sunstreaker head) - August 2008
Ultra Class Silverbolt - everyone laughed that they had his name wrong as "Sliverbolt", 1/2 was through transformation has transformation sound, other sound effects in robot mode such as gun firing
Ultra Storm Cloud - repaint of Powerglide (Numbers on jet say "MM-88" ... guess what that stands for? Basically an updated color scheme for Micromaster Storm Cloud)
Deluxe Hound with Ravage (new mold ... Hound transforms into a green jeep like vehicle, Ravage transforms into a cassette who will fit in Soundwave and also attaches to Hound, Ravage does not have weapons, hound's cannon will fit on shoulder or in hand)
Deluxe Cyclonus w/ Nightstick Targetmaster (new mold) ... looks frikkin' badass! Attaches to vehicle mode or in his hand, also "plugs" into his hand like the Japanese Headmasters series
Deluxe Cheetor (looks pretty cool, new mold, tail is his weapon, no spots on tail due to the type of plastic, will have two throwing star weapons like animated Prowl, little switch on back of cheetah mode that opens jaw and switches eyes from blue to green)

TRANSFORMERS UNIVERSE LEGENDS (NEW MOLDS!!!)
Tank Megatron (looks similar to G2 version, realistic dark green)
Jazz
Brawn (looks awesome!)
Beachcomber (looks awesome!)

ROBOT HEROES
Kickback vs. Ironhide
BW Megatron vs BW Silverbolt
Thrust vs Blaster
BM Cheetor vs BM Tankor
RID Optimus Prime vs RID Megatron

2008 EXCLUSIVES
Nemesis Prime (Japanese version will have red windows) (Comic-Con / HTS exclusive)
6" War Within Skywarp (Comic-Con / HTS exclusive)
Breakaway (Cybertron Hot Shot repaint) - Walmart
Fracture (Classics Mirage repaint) - Walmart
Crankcase (Cybertron Red Alert repaint) - Walmart
Mini-Con 12 pack (Kmart)
WW Prowl and WW Grimlock as TRU exclusives (Sept 2008) - have no plans to release Cosmos, Arcee, WW Bumblebee/Cliffjumper or Shockwave. Too expensive to tool up for these molds and they're not profitable enough.

UNIVERSE COMIC 2 PACKS
Target exclusives - include a Voyager and a Deluxe
Deluxe Roadbuster versus Voyager Dirge (Cybertron Hot Shot II repaint / Cybertron Starscream repaint)
Deluxe Ratbat versus Voyager Springer (Cybertron Evac repaint vs Cybertron Sideways repaint)

25 YEARS (1984 - 2009) SNEAK PEEK
Continue with Animated (might show some more stuff tomorrow)
Reissue of Optimus Prime with silver roller (launch November 2008) with reprint of Comic and digitally remastered DVD of More Than Meets The Eye), autobot logo sound box (like GiJoe sound boxes) with some of Peter Cullen's quotes
Flip open packaging looks awesome for 25th Anniversary Optimus Prime
25th Anniversary line will be celebrating all years of Transformers (showed logos for all series from Beast Machines to G2)

TFWorld2005 roundup

HASBRO preview panel

Slides/presentation:
Thanks for a great 2007, working on product line for movie and laying groundwork for future projects
Movie stats: 700M box office
#1 DVD in USA
Movie toy stats: #1 action figure brand (npd data)
Movie deluxe-action toy of the year
#1 fans!
Animated 2008 product update:
Animated toy launch June 22 nationally, leaders and others in august
Season 1 on DVD in august
Deluxe Sentinel Prime Sept 08 little darker blue than on show
Deluxe Swoop Sept 08, metallic dark gray, big mace
Deluxe Elite Guard Bumblebee Sept 08, black and gold 2-tone car, silver lights
Leader Ultra Magnus Sept 08, hammer, spot on show colors
Universe 2008 product update
Deluxe Ironhide Oct 08 SUV, large backpack, clear windshield, Autobot symbol thru glass
Deluxe Sideswipe Oct 08, wrong head in photo
Ultra Silverbolt Aug 08, large wings, TF, blaster and jet sounds
Ultra Storm Cloud Sept 08, Powerglide in purple deco w/gold mask
Legends green tank Megatron, Jazz
Robot Heroes Kickback/Ironhide
RH BW TM Megatron/ Fuzor Silverbolt
RH G1 Thrust/Blaster
Exclusives:
SDCC july 08 Classic nemesis prime
SDCC july 08 Titanium 6” Skywarp
Walmart sept 08 Breakaway redeco cybertron Hot Shot
Walmart Fracture classic mirage redeco
Walmart Crankcase cybertron red alert
Target Dirge cyb starscream/Roadbuster CD Hot Shot
Target Springer cybertron evac/ Ratbat cybertron sideways
Kmart legends cybertron 12-pack seen in booth
TRU titanium 6” WW Prowl
TRU titanium 6” WW Grimlock
25th anniversary 2009:
Thanksgiving 08: G1 Optimus Prime reissue w/TF comic #1 and MTMTE 3-part DVD
celebrating all eras of TF:
Universe deluxe Hound w/Ravage, MTMTE tribute, Ravage hooks to back of Hound, he will fit in Soundwave
Universe deluxe Cyclonus w/Nightstick, gun can mount to hand and hand retracts
Universe deluxe BW Season one Cheetor, very cheetah, cat mode head move and mouth feature w/eye color change from Green to Red
Legends Brawn very cartoon accurate
Legends Beachcomber
RH BM Cheetor/Tankor
RH RID Prime/Megatron
Paraphrase of Hasbro statement on KOs counterfeit g1:
They are aware
Do not condone
Reiterate they are not made by Hasbro
No assurances of quality
Pursuing the matter w/legal dept
Q&A:
Movie 2: going well, consistent with first film, wait and see on product
MP Thundercracker? 25th anniversary, on the radar
Animated movie characters in the line? No
Attacktix? Not at the moment
Titanium 6” Bumblebee/Cliffjumper/Cosmos/Shockwave? No
Sari toy? Looking at it
Commercial reinforcing branding to raise KO awareness like in 80s? The movie and show reinforce authenticity and push genuine characters
Universe Arcee? Just because you haven’t seen it doesn’t mean it’s not being worked on
Robot Heroes playsets/gestalts? There is push for broadening, variations and expansions on the way
Gestalts/gift packs? Difficult and time consuming to do them right, potentially 25th Anniversary trying to work in
Hound/Cyclonus when? Wave ¾ of Universe, end of 08, beginning of 09
Universe Swerve, how did come about? GM initiated idea of promotion exclusive for European outlets, Aveo chosen because of wide European distribution, created to be given away, may look at doing in future but that wasn’t ever planned to be sold
How long will Universe go on? Idea is a place to cover all eras, hope is to keep over many years, wide open opportunity to celebrate brand, hope to see it expand and contract depending on other lines and timeframe
TF/GI Joe toyline? Doesn’t make sense to blend them quite yet, won’t benefit either brand now
Oil Slick a non-show character
Universe Wheeljack, Trailbreaker, Sunstorm, Headmasters? Looking at them all
Cartoons on Blu-Ray? Don’t know of any current plans
Movie Megatron in sequel? He has risen many times…
Legends assortment dist improvement? The price point is more likely at drug stores vs. large retailers (Archer had to buy MP Starscream on eBay because of the dist, they hear you!)
Acid Storm origin? Based on G1 rainmaker, indeed
Music Label Soundwave, gut and make Classic Soundwave? Tooling all Takara, their chip format not used in the west
Where is Animated breakfast cereal? That would top the Prime piñata!
Henkei planning Skywarp and Thundercracker as exclusives? Don’t know the exact plan but they respect each other’s exclusives, can’t speak to it, deco would be different from the Botcon and Target versions
New Scrapmetal mold for Universe? Never considered them for 25th Anniversary, not realistic
Signal Lancer? Dispensor? No
Accessory weapon packs? No
Why do you kill my wallet? Repaints, exclusive packs, extending the movie line, more accurate decoes? We make a range to look for what all types of fans want, wanted to prove ourselves with first movie, extended the line with Premiums, redecos of key characters, wanted to refresh for kids who didn’t see movie until DVD release and want them last winter/spring
Energon DVD? No plans, Paramount focusing on Animated and Cybertron
Movie larger Bonecrusher in sequel? Any guys on movie one are on table, if opportunitity arises
Movie sequel reusing molds of returning characters? Trying to bring as much newness as possible, redo in better scales, better features
Classics Sunstorm? Always an option, depends, seeker mold on top of list for exclusive re-use
Animated Prime trailer? He’s using trailers in Animated, looking at it
Mirage repaint, looking at go-bot characters? Probably not
City-formers? Trying to figure out how to bring them back, on short list
Animated characters showing up in Universe? Still not the plan
Transformers.com, thanks for design notes! Thanks, the PR team initiated that and has plans to expand fan site discussion from Star Wars to TF
Why repaint some molds but not others? Kind of depends on the re-use, the success of the alt mode, preference on realism in Universe based on warm response of movie’s realistic alt modes and continuing momentum
Why does mass market get toys a lot sooner than Diamond/comic shops? Don’t know
Any Diamond exclusives? Minimum order quantity restricts them to the big retailers
Alternators making a return? Not at the moment. There’s a strong, vocal fan base, but a small fan base, Licensed cars kind of used by movie lines now
Ever thought of expanding into model kits? Concepts have been considered but it would need to fit into product line