On the 30th of March Thumbs Up UK Ltd were in attendance at Paramount UK's
Transformers Movie preview showing. We spoke briefly to them at the event, as
well as posting a few tip-bits of information on our site a few days later.
Since then Thumbs UP UK Ltd have sent a press release to various Transformers
fans sites, to drum up more insterest in their product. We have been priviledge
to speak to Thumbs Up UK Ltd once again, this time to bring you lots more information,
in the form of a Q&A session, reagarding their Transformers Movie light-up Transformers T-Shirts and USB keyrings.Transformers At The Moon: First of I'd like to thank you again for allowing us to speak with you, both at Paramount's Invite only Transformers Movie preview (on Friday 30th March) and over the phone. What I'd like to do is start of with a few generalised questions, to let the Transformers fan community know who you are. After that we'll get into some more specific questions regarding the items you're producing (the Transformers USB keyrings and "those cool" Transformers t-shirts).
Transformers At The Moon: Could you tell us a little about your company, Thumbs Up UK Ltd? Your history, items you produce etc.
Daniel: Thumbs UP UK have been around for just over three years now and we produce USB gadgets, innovative PC products, radio controlled toys, novelty toys and accessories, licensed t-shirts, licensed memory sticks and kids footwear wheel attachments.
Some of products include the infamous USB humping dog and USB Poledancer, as well as the Stealth Switch which is a special footpedal you can hide under your desk, that you can press if your boss comes along when you're surfing the web or playing games at work.
Transformers At The Moon: You've gained a licence for producing items relating to the new Transformers Movie, both t-shirts (with lights and sound) and USB keyrings. Can you tell us a little about the licensing you have? (Basically details on other Transformers products you hope to release, distribution details (I know you covered these over the phone). Regarding the t-shirts, keyrings, could you tell us a little on the styles, designs, colours, sizing (both t-shirts and storage capability of the usb sticks).
Daniel: We have distribution rights for the UK for Transformers Light Up T-Shirts, both for kids and adults, Shaped USB memory sticks (1GB and 2GB), and kids footwear wheel attachments. We can also distribute these throughout Europe. The different styles can be seen on www.amazingtransformers.com which will be up and running very soon. We're looking into making the t-shirts in colours other than black and would welcome any feedback on this. What do you think people would like?
Here's some more detailed information and specifications of the shirts.
Light Up T-Shirts
- Very bright illuminating Transformer licensed t-shirts
- Real light up effects
- Looks excellent in day and night
- Various flashing sequences
- 100% cotton shirt
- Small and light weight battery pack
- Hand wash only
- Ideal for Children and Adult fans!.
- Sizing
Adult Size:
Small : 89 - 94 cm / 35 - 37 inches
Medium: 97 - 102 cm / 38 - 40 inches
Large: 104 - 109 cm / 41 - 43 inches
Extra Large: 112 - 117cm / 44 - 46 inch
Children Size:
Small : 58 cm / 23 inches
Medium : 62 cm / 24.4 inches
Large : 69 cm / 27 inches
Transformers At The Moon: How much do you know about Transformers and their history?.
Daniel: I remember being glued to the screen when I watched this as a child and was fascinated by the concept of normal cars and planes becoming super robots. When I heard the upcoming film was going to be live action and not a cartoon, I got very excited, then when I saw the recent footage, I was blown away! I'm going to make sure I'm at the premier!
We've recently caught up with some more of the Transformers history and love the original movie. The UK comics are really great stuff too. Eric Idle was in the old film as well, wasn't he? And we thought the Dinobots were awesome hopefully they'll turn up in the sequels!
Transformers At The Moon: You guys got a great reaction at the Transformers Movie preview, and that was just from "industry folk". Have you had any phone calls (other than ours) from people / companies in attendance?
Daniel: Yes, loads! Empire magazine mentioned us in their review of the movie preview and just on the basis of that article we had several fans requesting these t-shirts from us! When we went for a meal in Leicester Square after the preview we even had people come up to us and asking where they could get them!
We also recently exhibited in CeBit Germany and had enquiries from thousands of German fans all wanting to know where they can purchase them.
They're not on sale quite yet, but if any retailers want to get in touch with us via our website with regards to stocking them, they're more than welcome!
Transformers At The Moon: When you made the t-shirts, did you have kids in mind, teenagers / adults or a mixture?
Daniel: When developing this range, we knew that there would be loads of guys and girls our age who remember the fantastic cartoon series. We also were aware that these fans would like to introduce their children to the phenomenon and so we've prepared adult and kids ranges!
We know that Transformers have a big following that's never gone away, but that adults and long-term fans, as well as clubbers and mecha-fans in general would probably want the classic logos. Kids love the characters though, so we wanted them to be able to show their favourites on a shirt.
Basically, we wanted to make something for everybody. Come on, who doesn't want a light-up Transformers T-shirt?!
Transformers At The Moon: Where you / are you aware of the Transformers fan community?
Daniel: We're well aware of the vibrant fan community and how important Transformers are to them. It's important to us to keep in touch with the fans so that we can give them what they want, and we're sure our Transformers range will make them happy!
Transformers At The Moon: There have been lots of Transformers t-shirts produced in the past. Can you tell us what makes your t-shirts different to these?
Daniel: These T-shirt will produce comments like' wow, where did you get that from' and 'oh my god, look at that, how do you do that' etc! In the past, fans of movies can pay up to £20 just for a normal generic licensed t-Shirt with a simple logo or image.
Our t-shirts have a light up feature and because they are printed onto a panel which is attached to the t-shirt the print quality is perfect. These T-shirts will retail for £20 or £15 for the kids ones and so offering excellent value for the consumer.
Transformers t-shirts have always been different to other licensed shirts, as they're quite iconic with a certain style of their own that it's been important to us to continue. Our shirts continue this style whilst being completely innovative too.
Transformers At The Moon: The shirts seem to be battery powered, could you tell us a little about how the lights work, what type of batteries it uses, rough life-expectancy of the batteries?
Daniel: The battery pack is connected to, and lights up, a revolutionary panel that can light up individual small panels shaped to a specific design. There are several display options which allow the user to change the flashing sequence. The light up panel will last for 14-16 hours if left on constantly (using four aaa batteries) providing lots of public attention for the whole day or through the whole night till morning, if you're a hardcore clubber! You've got complete control over it and can switch it off when you want, though, so a set of batteries should last for a good while.
Transformers At The Moon: As the t-shirts have lights, and possibly sounds, does this effect how the t-shirts should be washed / ironed?
Daniel: Sound is a future development, but we do have T-shirts in our current range that are sound reactive, like the T-Qualizer Shirt. This is a graphic equaliser that moves with the music with a sensitivity switch for when it's really loud!
For washing our T-shirts, you simply disconnect the battery pack and then cool hand-wash them. They can be ironed anywhere, apart from the panel, so they're not very difficult to look after at all.
Transformers At The Moon: You mentioned that you currently only have rights to produce items based on the Transformes Movie. With some of the cast signed on for sequels, and Dreamworks having plans for a 3 movie deal are you hoping that Transformers and Thumbs Up UK Ltd will have a long future together?
Daniel: Transformers and Thumbs Up will have a long future together as the take up for these T-Shirts and other forthcoming products has been huge. We will be the official licensee for all sequels with regard to these products too.
Transformers At The Moon: What, are the chances, of Thumbs Up gaining general rights to the Transformers line, so you would be able to produce items based on old Transformers imagery / trademarks?
Daniel: The licensor is not allocating licenses for the retro series at present, however, as we have already asked!
Transformers At The Moon: The feature of the t-shirts is moving lights, in an image of the Transformers character name (Bumblebee, Barricade etc) or the characters face (Optimus Prime). One of the obvious possibilities which comes to mind is a "Transforming T-Shirt", where an image could change from "Vehicle mode to robot mode". Would this be something you'd think of doing?
Daniel: Way ahead of you! We have already discussed this with our designer, who is currently hard at work creating this concept! Watch this space!
Transformers At The Moon: Who comes up with the designs you're using?
Daniel: The licensors' style guide is clearly important, but we have a genius in-house designer who bases our products on this. So, we're given the material to work with, but the way we go about using this is our own.
Transformers At The Moon: On the USB keyrings, details of which are very thin on the ground, can you tell us a little more about these items. Over the phone you mentioned that they would be the Autobot / Decepticon logo, which changed shape into the USB stick.
Daniel: We are hoping to have a couple of designs with 1gb and 2 gb capacities. They can also sit on your desk and look very real! Expect some more information about these soon.
Transformers At The Moon: Could you give our readers some idea of the companies / website which should be stocking the items?
Daniel: We've been talking to online outlets like Play.com, I Want One Of Those, Firebox.com keep an eye on these. We also expect several major retailers will be selling the products on the high street too.
Transformers At The Moon: When can we expect to see them on the shelves? (you mentioned around the 20th June).
Daniel: Six weeks before the film release.
Transformers At The Moon: What type of price can people expect for both items?
Daniel: T-Shirts retail for £20, although the kids ones should be £15. The USB stick prices are still to be confirmed.
Transformers At The Moon: Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Daniel: Just to say a big thank you for taking an interest in our products finally, I'd also like to invite anyone with any queries about stocking these items to get in touch via our website at www.thumbsupuk.com
I'd like to thank Daniel from Thumbs UP UK Ltd for taking the time to answer my questions, as well as Alistair from Evolution PR for his help. As Daniel mentions, Thumbs Up UK Ltd are interested in finding out what colours, other than black, that you (the Transformers fans) would like to see the t-shirts made in. You can either post your requests on our message board, in this thread, or alternatively by emailing us. We'll be collating the answers together and sending it on to Daniel and the rest of the Thumbs Up UK Ltd team.
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