What Hasbro chose to relaease in the UK back in the 80's
Paul Cawley
>I wonder what would happen if a situation similar to the eighties happened
>again today? Back then Hasbro sourced toys from other toylines
>(Jetfire,Deluxe insecticons, Roadbuster, whirl, Skylinx and shockwave).
One thing I could never figure out is why certain toys from the US range
never made it to the UK, in the case of both TF and GI Joe.
E.g. - Those mentioned above (except Jetfire), Trypticon, The Predacons,
Swoop etc.
GI Joe - Dreadnok Torch, Chuckles, Sneak Peak, Crystal Ball etc.
On average we lost a good few TF's in every range, and also at around 5+
Joes from the mane range, plus loads of vehicles etc.
Nowadays I would just buy them off the net (amazing thing for this stuff!),
but back then, unless you were going to the US, that was it!
I realise the UK market is smaller, and also that the cost of some of the
larger toys (Fort Max, Terrordrome, USS Flagg), would make them unlikely
candidates for the ship here, but whey pull figures from 'sets' e.g. - a
Dinobot, a Dreadnok?
The former post gives an insight into worldwide licensing (amazed Sgt
Slaughter ever made it, even with the rename!), but surely there is more to
it than this?
Any ideas?
Cheers,
Paul
John Porter
I can't really speak for GI Joe, because I not knowledgable enough in
that area. Having said that, ISTR GI Joes and original Joe-style
figures were sold over here by Palitoy as Action Man: Action Force in
the early 80s, and Hasbro didn't launch the proper AF line until 1986
- four years after it started in the US. With that in mind, I wouldn't
be surprised if there were a lot of omissions from the American range.
From what we've ascertained from discussion here on ATT over the
years, it seems like there were lots of different reasons why certain
Transformers didn't make it over here:
- Safety issues (Swoop and his beak seem like likely candidates here)
- Economies of scale (smaller country/less consumers means it's harder
to make selling certain toys viable. The UK might have been able to
handle Scorponok, but the market wasn't big enough to handle him and
Fort Max in the same year. Same deal with Metroplex and Trypticon
probably).
- Weeding out the duds. Since most of the toys in G1 hit the US before
they were due to go on sale here, it's possible that the
peg/shelfwarmers who didn't do well were removed from the UK lineup.
Conversely, the demand for some of the early toys might have been so
high that Hasbro could only supply the bigger markets - Megatron in
the first year might have been a victim of this.
- Legal/rights issues: This category probably covers toys like Sky
Lynx, Omega Supreme, the Deluxe Insecticons, Whirl and Roadbuster etc.
Some of those toys were being sold here by other manufacturers (e.g.
Omega Supreme was put out over here by Grandstand under the
'Convertors' brand name, and I also saw Galactic Man/Shackwave on sale
over here at least once)
Of course this phenomena isn't exclusive to G1. We missed out on a few
toys in Beast Wars, and great big chunks of Robots in Disguise, though
nowadays it seems to be more because Hasbro UK just don't give a damn
anymore than anything else.
--
John Porter // jo...@starstrikersOWNSPAMMERS.net
StarStrikers: Raising Hell in the City of Angels!
Read the webcomic at http://www.starstrikers.com/
Desperado00
Nor to the UK. After all, you got Overload, the G2 Powermasters and
Lightformers, the Transmetal basic figures with the videos, and a few others we
here in the US didn't get. Overall, the UK appears to have gotten the thicker
end of the shaft than the US, but fans in every country have gotten shafted
somehow.
-----
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Desperado00
Eh...yeah...make that Overlord.
Jon Talpur
news:20030722164904...@mb-m04.aol.com...
> >After all, you got Overload,
>
> Eh...yeah...make that Overlord.
> -----
That's true. But the US (and it seems, most of the world) got such figures
as Shockwave, the Constructicons, the Predacons, Omega Supreme, (the chance
to get) Reflector, Blaster, Trypticon and Fortress Maximus. That's not even
covering the multitudes of figures not released by Hasbro UK by incompetance
rather than choice in recent years.
Jon
thomas
"Jon Talpur" <atalpu...@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:bfk912$5kl$1...@sparta.btinternet.com...
> "Desperado00" <despe...@aol.com> wrote in message
> news:20030722164904...@mb-m04.aol.com...
> > >After all, you got Overload,
> >
> > Eh...yeah...make that Overlord.
> > -----
>
> That's true. But the US (and it seems, most of the world) got such figures
> as Shockwave, the Constructicons, the Predacons, Omega Supreme, (the
chance
you guys didn't get the Constructicons???? wow - that would drive me crazy -
my parents didn't buy it for me back then but still I atleast got to see it
over and over again at TRU...I think that was a good thing but I'm not sure
now.
thomas
Ray Furbanks
> I saw a post here earlier regarding TF Fans being Toyrange-ist...
>
> >I wonder what would happen if a situation similar to the eighties happened
> >again today? Back then Hasbro sourced toys from other toylines
> >(Jetfire,Deluxe insecticons, Roadbuster, whirl, Skylinx and shockwave).
>
> One thing I could never figure out is why certain toys from the US range
> never made it to the UK, in the case of both TF and GI Joe.
> E.g. - Those mentioned above (except Jetfire), Trypticon, The Predacons,
> Swoop etc.
> GI Joe - Dreadnok Torch, Chuckles, Sneak Peak, Crystal Ball etc.
Hahaha dude you were so spared from having to get three of the
crapiest Joes ever made, Sneak Peek, Chuckles and Crystal Ball.
Granted Chuckles was good if only for his gun and holster, and the
U.K./Euro only Tiger Force Sneak Peek was cool, but there's nothing at
all of value in Crystal Ball.
> I realise the UK market is smaller, and also that the cost of some of the
> larger toys (Fort Max, Terrordrome, USS Flagg), would make them unlikely
> candidates for the ship here
Well think about this, in Japan the USS Flag cost about $500 and was
strictly limited in special order sales from Takara.
--Dave
Morg
> - Weeding out the duds. Since most of the toys in G1 hit the US before
> they were due to go on sale here, it's possible that the
> peg/shelfwarmers who didn't do well were removed from the UK lineup.
Everything you've said was spot on, but I would disagree with this part for
a few reasons:
1. If something is a pegwarmer, then not trying to sell it in another market
is weird. We got a lot of US stuff (no packaging changes, Hasbro Pawtucket
on the back) which were leftover stock from the US. If we didn't get items
based on the pegwarmer theory then we would have never received the
Jumpstarters, Duocons, Battlechargers, Pretenders....and so on :)
2. The UK is Hasbro's dump bin for unsellable stuff. We had tons of Mexican
TFs imported as Hasbro couldn't shift them there ad we had a lot of other
stuff like that. Sixshot got a fairly major release over here but it came 3
or 4 years after it was released in the US and was available only in
discount shops, same goes for other stuff we never officially got like the
Menasor and Superion giftsets.
> Conversely, the demand for some of the early toys might have been so
> high that Hasbro could only supply the bigger markets - Megatron in
> the first year might have been a victim of this.
I seriously doubt it. Hasbro had production facilities in Macau, China,
Mexico, France and Canada at least, so I can't see there being a shortage. I
think it is far more likely that Megatron fell victim to economics as the
Autobot toys consisted of £1.99 (minibots), £6.99 (cars) and £19.99 (Prime)
whereas the Decepticons were approc £3.99 (cassettes), £7.99 (jets) and
£14.99 (Soundwave). The Deceps were a lot more than the Autobots and already
had a high priced piece (Soundwave), so Hasbro probably figured that the
market wouldn't have supported 2 high-end Deceps. The 1985 range didn't have
any high price-pointed 'Cons (no Shockwave or Devastator GS) so Megatron
would be ideal for release then.
With the licencing issues for the Deluxe Insecticons, Autobots, Omega
Supreme, Shockwave, Sky Lynx etc, Hasbro only had rights to the characters
in the US and Canada. As you said, in some cases these were available
through other companies in the UK (Shockwave and Omega Supreme), but it was
mainly due to Hasbro buying limited (read as cheaper) rights (US and Canada,
with no animation rights in most cases).
Morg
--
www.skywarp.co.uk
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Thomas Hamann
a bit, and, finally, wrote the following in the sand around the rock:
>
>"Jon Talpur" <atalpu...@btinternet.com> wrote in message
>news:bfk912$5kl$1...@sparta.btinternet.com...
>> "Desperado00" <despe...@aol.com> wrote in message
>> news:20030722164904...@mb-m04.aol.com...
>> > >After all, you got Overload,
>> >
>> > Eh...yeah...make that Overlord.
>> > -----
>>
>> That's true. But the US (and it seems, most of the world) got such figures
>> as Shockwave, the Constructicons, the Predacons, Omega Supreme, (the
>chance
>
>you guys didn't get the Constructicons???? wow - that would drive me crazy -
>my parents didn't buy it for me back then but still I atleast got to see it
>over and over again at TRU...I think that was a good thing but I'm not sure
>now.
The Constructicons were released in Europe...at least twice.
If the UK never got the first G1 versions (which I doubt, as the rest
of Europe did get them...), they DID get the Euro-exclusive
combiner-parts-less yellow 1991 Constructicons.
Metroplex was sold in mainland Europe, while Trypticon was a contest
prize (and, perhaps, also available in shops). The Deluxe Autobots,
Insecticons, Shockwave, Omega Supreme (perhaps only for a very short
time), the Predacons (only in Italy, apparently...), and the Pretender
Monsters (import and again Italy...) were available in mainland
Europe. pre-Shockwave was also sold as Galactic Man up to the early
90s in Holland.
Thomas Hamann
--
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Rec.Arts.Anime.Models Posting Policies: http://evilskylark.tripod.com/faqs.htm
"...you ain't no different than Ben Laden..." - The emminent Dr. J ranting about me on alt.toys.transformers.
Hotmissile
> The Constructicons were released in Europe...at least twice.
>
> If the UK never got the first G1 versions (which I doubt, as the rest
> of Europe did get them...), they DID get the Euro-exclusive
> combiner-parts-less yellow 1991 Constructicons.
The UK did get both sets of Constructicons. I know, because I bought
four of them. And then finally got Scav & Scrap last year. IIRC
though, we got the green Constructicons quite late. Maybe even in
"Classic" teritory. Quick check: Did the yellow Constructicons have
any names or tech specs?
> Metroplex was sold in mainland Europe, while Trypticon was a contest
> prize (and, perhaps, also available in shops).
Once again, I owned Metroplex, but I never saw Trypticon.
> The Deluxe Autobots,
> Insecticons, Shockwave, Omega Supreme (perhaps only for a very short
> time), the Predacons (only in Italy, apparently...)
I don't recall seeing these in shops ever. I think my cousin had
Shockwave, but it may have been Galactic Man / Shackwave.
> and the Pretender
> Monsters (import and again Italy...)
We did get these. I didn't, though.
>
> Thomas Hamann
Did someone earlier in this post say the UK didn't sell the RiD
Trains? Some people reported seeing them on ATT, but I had to get mine
from Holland, would you believe? (Thanks, Thomas.)
Mic // Hotmissile
Farrell
news:2qbviv099of8dpcg2...@4ax.com...
> Thomas Hamann said what!?
> Did someone earlier in this post say the UK didn't sell the RiD
> Trains? Some people reported seeing them on ATT, but I had to get mine
> from Holland, would you believe? (Thanks, Thomas.)
>
remember now
but, we didn't officially get the pred 3, skybyte, scourge, etc, etc, etc,
etc
only stores like Forbidden Planet stocked some (or all) of those (I
personally got Skybyte from FP)
--
Capt
http://www.tfhl.net
"That's it - screw CNN, from now on - I'm going to rely on Porn sites,
for news...." -=[Clawz]=- in alt.games.half-life
Cradok
news:bgo9kf$phte9$1...@ID-47035.news.uni-berlin.de...
> "Hotmissile" <hotmi...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:2qbviv099of8dpcg2...@4ax.com...
> > Thomas Hamann said what!?
> > Did someone earlier in this post say the UK didn't sell the RiD
> > Trains? Some people reported seeing them on ATT, but I had to get mine
> > from Holland, would you believe? (Thanks, Thomas.)
> >
> the trains were only available from 1 chain of stores...Toy..something
can't
> remember now
Toymaster. They were FOB, if I remember correctly, and they seem to be the
main place that orders FOB items, but I think that they only ever got in two
cases over here, and when I found them, there were only two Rail Spikes
left. Roches Stores in Ireland - I don't think there's any equivalent
anywhere else - got some in as well, so I was able to get the whole set.
> but, we didn't officially get the pred 3, skybyte, scourge, etc, etc, etc,
> etc
> only stores like Forbidden Planet stocked some (or all) of those (I
> personally got Skybyte from FP)
I think that they were FOB too, but nobody actually ordered them, not even
Toymaster. Possibly still smarting from the masses of BM Primals and RiD
Megatrons which nobody ever bought.
Farrell
news:Q9OXa.26093$pK2....@news.indigo.ie...
> "Farrell" <SPAM...@tfhl.net> wrote in message
> news:bgo9kf$phte9$1...@ID-47035.news.uni-berlin.de...
> can't
> > remember now
>
> Toymaster.
yeah..them
> They were FOB,
uh, FOB?
Thomas Hamann
<hotmi...@hotmail.com> screamed his special catch-phrase, and the
result was this:
>Thomas Hamann said what!?
>
>> The Constructicons were released in Europe...at least twice.
>>
>> If the UK never got the first G1 versions (which I doubt, as the rest
>> of Europe did get them...), they DID get the Euro-exclusive
>> combiner-parts-less yellow 1991 Constructicons.
>
> The UK did get both sets of Constructicons. I know, because I bought
>four of them. And then finally got Scav & Scrap last year. IIRC
>though, we got the green Constructicons quite late. Maybe even in
>"Classic" teritory. Quick check: Did the yellow Constructicons have
>any names or tech specs?
>
all 6 Constructicons and the front art for all 6.
>> Metroplex was sold in mainland Europe, while Trypticon was a contest
>> prize (and, perhaps, also available in shops).
>
> Once again, I owned Metroplex, but I never saw Trypticon.
>
In Holland, Trypticon was a contest prize for a contest that was held
in the Pannini sticker album. The same album was sold in Belgium and
France, with the same contest. One Trypticon was drawn per month per
country, IIRC.
>> The Deluxe Autobots,
>> Insecticons, Shockwave, Omega Supreme (perhaps only for a very short
>> time), the Predacons (only in Italy, apparently...)
>
> I don't recall seeing these in shops ever.
The first 4 were in various catalogues. AFAIK, the Deluxe Autobots and
Deluxe Insecticons were actually released in Holland. I've seen a
Dutch toy shop catalogue scan showing Shockwave, so he should have
been released here.
>I think my cousin had
>Shockwave, but it may have been Galactic Man / Shackwave.
>
Shockers is purple, Galactic Man/Shackwave is grey.
<wishes he had bought Shackwave 15 years back...>
>> and the Pretender
>> Monsters (import and again Italy...)
>
> We did get these. I didn't, though.
>>
>> Thomas Hamann
>
> Did someone earlier in this post say the UK didn't sell the RiD
>Trains?
AFAIK, they were released in extremely limited quantities.
Karl Thurgood
news:2qbviv099of8dpcg2...@4ax.com...
>
> Did someone earlier in this post say the UK didn't sell the RiD
> Trains? Some people reported seeing them on ATT, but I had to get mine
> from Holland, would you believe? (Thanks, Thomas.)
They showed up right at the tail end of RiD, as a special order
item that few shops bought. I can confirm that in Edinburgh they
showed up in only one store. Jenners had a couple of sets in - they shifted
in a week, partly courtesy of me picking up a set
for my mate
Karl
Karl Thurgood
news:3f2e85d4...@news.wxs.nl...
> >
> >you guys didn't get the Constructicons???? wow - that would drive me
crazy -
> >my parents didn't buy it for me back then but still I atleast got to see
it
> >over and over again at TRU...I think that was a good thing but I'm not
sure
> >now.
>
> The Constructicons were released in Europe...at least twice.
>
> If the UK never got the first G1 versions (which I doubt, as the rest
> of Europe did get them...),
Got them as grey market reimports apparently. We never saw them
up in Scotland though.
> they DID get the Euro-exclusive
> combiner-parts-less yellow 1991 Constructicons.
Yep, got those.
> Metroplex was sold in mainland Europe, while Trypticon was a contest
> prize (and, perhaps, also available in shops). The Deluxe Autobots,
> Insecticons, Shockwave, Omega Supreme
Never available in the UK to my knowledge. We didn't get quite the same
line as the mainland for some reason (its a Hasbro UK thing, their a law
unto themselves).
Karl
Morg
> The Constructicons were released in Europe...at least twice.
>
> If the UK never got the first G1 versions (which I doubt, as the rest
> of Europe did get them...), they DID get the Euro-exclusive
> combiner-parts-less yellow 1991 Constructicons.
Yes, we did get the combiner-parts-less yellow 1991 releases and apparently
we also got some green ones around that time too. Bear in mind though that
the UK is a separate market from Europe and we got different toys because of
it.
> Metroplex was sold in mainland Europe, while Trypticon was a contest
> prize (and, perhaps, also available in shops). The Deluxe Autobots,
> Insecticons, Shockwave, Omega Supreme (perhaps only for a very short
> time), the Predacons (only in Italy, apparently...), and the Pretender
> Monsters (import and again Italy...) were available in mainland
> Europe. pre-Shockwave was also sold as Galactic Man up to the early
> 90s in Holland.
From that list, the UK got Metroplex and the Pretender Monsters (PMs were
store exclusives to Woolworths, first via mail in and then released in
stores).
Morg
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Cradok
>
> uh, FOB?
I have no idea what it actually stands for, but it's basically special order
items. I don't know the difference between FOB items and normal ones,
though, although FOBs are supposedly usually more trouble to order than
they're worth.
James Wilson
> If the UK never got the first G1 versions (which I doubt, as the rest
> of Europe did get them...), they DID get the Euro-exclusive
> combiner-parts-less yellow 1991 Constructicons.
The green Constructicons showed up in the UK in Woolworths stores late 80s,
possibly even 1990. They were grey imports, as the ones I have are US
carded. Some original carded Minibots showed up at the same time (Bumblebee,
Hubcap, Beachcomber, Seaspray and a couple of others).
James
--
G1 TF instruction scans
http://www.tfracetrack.com/instructions/g1/
Thomas Hamann
<mr_thurs...@yahoo.co.uk> screamed his special catch-phrase, and
the result was this:
>"Thomas Hamann" <unzn...@lnubb.pbz> wrote
>> The Constructicons were released in Europe...at least twice.
>>
>> If the UK never got the first G1 versions (which I doubt, as the rest
>> of Europe did get them...), they DID get the Euro-exclusive
>> combiner-parts-less yellow 1991 Constructicons.
>
>Yes, we did get the combiner-parts-less yellow 1991 releases and apparently
>we also got some green ones around that time too. Bear in mind though that
>the UK is a separate market from Europe and we got different toys because of
>it.
>
(as well as US, Mexican, and Canadian).