Hasbro is in love ...
Gabi T.M. D'Galvatron
This thought hit me while I was scratching my head over the pic of the
supposed OP pic from the movie .
And while that pic may be of OP or someone else , I started to think
about just how many and how often we have been "hit" lately by a cab OP
.
It started (I think) with the Armada Deluxe "bendy" Prime , and was
followed by MP Prime (wich costing $50 coud not have had an added $20
trailer by Hasbro's bean counetrs) and the idea was then followed by
Titanium Prime and Prime from the new "classics line" .
So , do you think that Hasbro has given up on the "Prime = Trailer"
concept and are just not making any effort when they can't come up with
a "cool" concept for a trailer or am I just rambling here ... :-) .
-Gabi
Deathsauras
just sits there & does nothing. A trailer splitting in half to form a
rapair base/battle station is so damn lame-o & beyond suckitude.
I'm a fan of the Trailer forming super armor parts for a super mode
figure.
Hasbro's just trying to save the parents,kids,collectors & so forth
money. delete the useless trailer & shave money off the price of the
figure. this sounds like great marketing strategy to me.
Anyways if anyone's so "DAMN OBSESSED" with wanting a useless trailer
for prime.
it's beyond easy to find a trailer that'll match up in size &
dimensions.
Thunder 06
> So , do you think that Hasbro has given up on the "Prime = Trailer"
> concept and are just not making any effort when they can't come up with
> a "cool" concept for a trailer
I think they're just trying to put a little more variety into it. Not
every single Prime has to have a trailer and be a truck and I think
they've now also come to that conclusion.
But that's my two cents... :)
t.k.
Steve-o Stonebraker
> This thought hit me while I was scratching my head over the pic of the
> supposed OP pic from the movie .
Why would that pic make you think that he won't have a trailer in the
movie? Because there isn't one in that one picture?
> It started (I think) with the Armada Deluxe "bendy" Prime , and was
> followed by MP Prime (wich costing $50 coud not have had an added $20
> trailer by Hasbro's bean counetrs) and the idea was then followed by
> Titanium Prime and Prime from the new "classics line" .
I think talking about "Hasbro's bean counters" is a little patronizing.
There's a *lot* more to it than just adding the cost of more plastic. For
one thing, major retailers generally prefer not to have really expensive
toys for sale. They don't sell as well as cheap toys. Going from $50 to
$70 -- even assuming that's all it would cost -- is a big jump in that
respect. Further, including a trailer would have made the box for the toy
take up at least twice as much space, if not more, and shelf space is very
valuable to the stores. They don't want a small number of items taking up
a lot of room. Both of these factors are not Hasbro's fault, nor are they
the retailers' "fault". They are very reasonable concerns.
> So , do you think that Hasbro has given up on the "Prime = Trailer"
> concept and are just not making any effort when they can't come up with
> a "cool" concept for a trailer or am I just rambling here ... :-) .
Considering an Optimus Prime with a trailer was released in each of the
Unicron Trilogy toylines... I'm going to say "no". They are definitely
still making the effort.
--Steve-o
--
Steve Stonebraker (sst...@gmail.com) Physicist and All-Around Geek
www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~sstoneb/ AIM: srstoneb Y!IM: sstoneb
Autobus Prime
I wonder how a separate trailer would sell. Suppose Hastaktomy
manufactured a battle base-trailer, able to couple to Prime, and sold
it separately in smaller numbers? They could pack it with a small,
cheap Transformer who could also tow it -- similar to Armada Overload.
That way you wouldn't be selling an incomplete toy.
Cordially yours:
Autobus Prime
w/minicon Farebox.
Gabi T.M. D'Galvatron
Deathsauras wrote:
> I'm not a fan of spending $15 to $20 bucks extra for a trailer that
> just sits there & does nothing. A trailer splitting in half to form a
> rapair base/battle station is so damn lame-o & beyond suckitude.
I thought it wa damn cool ... back in 1987 .
In 2006 it's still nice .
> I'm a fan of the Trailer forming super armor parts for a super mode
> figure.
They are nice ... but the repetition in wich it is being used in the
cartoons has become foolish and boring and follows an all too
predictable "formula" in storytelling .
> Hasbro's just trying to save the parents,kids,collectors & so forth
> money. delete the useless trailer & shave money
Maybe , but again isn't OP supposed to be a semi-truck ?
So far we've had a few semi-trucks , two fire trucks , one race car and
the "castraded semi" wich you seem to favor .
> Anyways if anyone's so "DAMN OBSESSED" with wanting a useless trailer
> for prime.
> it's beyond easy to find a trailer that'll match up in size &
> dimensions.
I haven't seen all that many fan created trailers to prove your your
statment .
-Gabi
Gabi T.M. D'Galvatron
Thunder 06 wrote:
> I think they're just trying to put a little more variety into it. Not
> every single Prime has to have a trailer and be a truck and I think
> they've now also come to that conclusion.
>
> But that's my two cents... :)
> t.k.
I can see the need for variey , so you've got a point there .
But seeing 20th Prime without a trailer ... , I can still remember that
the first analogy that came to my mind was that seeing Prime like that
was like seeing Megatron without a Really Big Gun on him somewhere .
It was just Against Nature ... ;-)
/kidding/
-Gabi
Gabi T.M. D'Galvatron
Steve-o Stonebraker wrote:
> On 18 Jul 2006 22:16:44 -0700, Gabi T.M. D'Galvatron wrote:
> > This thought hit me while I was scratching my head over the pic of the
> > supposed OP pic from the movie .
>
> Why would that pic make you think that he won't have a trailer in the
> movie? Because there isn't one in that one picture?
I'm not even 100% convinced that that was Prime in that pic , so I have
yet to draw any conclusions on that basis alone .
But if it was Prime then it coud be that there is a no trailer option
... , but is Mr.Bay & Co. will keep insisting that we see very little
of what's really going on that we'll just have to wait .
>
> > It started (I think) with the Armada Deluxe "bendy" Prime , and was
> > followed by MP Prime (wich costing $50 coud not have had an added $20
> > trailer by Hasbro's bean counetrs) and the idea was then followed by
> > Titanium Prime and Prime from the new "classics line" .
>
> I think talking about "Hasbro's bean counters" is a little patronizing.
> There's a *lot* more to it than just adding the cost of more plastic.
OK , you choose your own terminology then .
I for one am still amazed that they managed to slide 20th OP under the
49.99$ pride tag . I'm thinking it should have cost a bit more .
Having said that , Hasbro _did_ relise more expensive toys than that --
far more expensive ones if I think back on how much Fort Max cost back
in relative 1987's economy , so a 75$ 20th Prime woud still have been
cheaper 3 years ago than a Fort Max back in 1987 .
> For
> one thing, major retailers generally prefer not to have really expensive
> toys for sale. They don't sell as well as cheap toys.
I understand that , but are you going to tell me that the
Primus-Unicron-Starscream size is just a product of someones egomania ,
or Hasbro did their market research thing and decided to make'em BIG ?
>Going from $50 to
> $70 -- even assuming that's all it would cost -- is a big jump in that
> respect.
True , but unless I'm mistaken , $50 alone is an expensive toy ,
expensive enough that a parent might very well think that 4 that money
, little Johnny could get 3 gifts and not just one .
> Further, including a trailer would have made the box for the toy
> take up at least twice as much space, if not more, and shelf space is very
> valuable to the stores.
That's a possibility , not a definite conclusion .
If the trailer coud have split open (even without haveing anything
inside , Prime coud have stood inside it with little added space .
> They don't want a small number of items taking up
> a lot of room. Both of these factors are not Hasbro's fault, nor are they
> the retailers' "fault". They are very reasonable concerns.
Yeah , but I wasn't thinking just about Masterpice Prime .
The last well thought out trailer was Armada Primes trailer , and it
seems that they broke the mold for trailers with that one .
I mean HOW can you top that ?!?
(even though I think Laser Primes trailer is cooler)
As Thunder pointed out earlyer , Hasbro may be going for variety , and
that I can accept .
What I cannot acccept is a gut feeling that we are being spoon fed an
"OP without a trailer is still OP" mentality .
Sure , it's a bit of an eccentric POV , and it's not like I can't live
without a trailer ... -- I have yet to buy one for my 20th Prime , and
I have had him for ... almost 2 years now .
I just love semi trucks , and the same way that G1's Megatron's fusion
cannon just ... projected an impressive and respectable aura of power
... , in that way OP's semi trailer mode projected the same thing to me
, a raw , nearly unstoppable power .
And I miss that feeling of "whoa" ... and I also feel that a semi truck
cab alone is not nearly that projecting , nor as dominant , nor as
(dare I say it ;-) ) -- majestic .
Long nose , flat nose -- it does not matter (to me) all that much , as
bouth look ... Prime .
But no trailer makes me ... question the sanity of the universe ... --
yeah , that's it ! :-)
> Considering an Optimus Prime with a trailer was released in each of the
> Unicron Trilogy toylines... I'm going to say "no". They are definitely
> still making the effort.
Armada Prime = impressive
Energon Prime = still trying to forget that abomination ... , allthough
some friends tell me it's not that bad .:-)
Cybertron Prime = fire truck , not semi truck . No trailer there .
-Gabi
Deathsauras
Optimus Prime 2 different ways & price points. (1)Have a $40 movie
prime with trailer. (2)Have a $25 movie prime with no trailer.
This way Hasbro pleases both camps.
Greenboy
"Deathsauras" <Death...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1153358376.9...@75g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
Kind of like the Armada large, what was it, $40 pants Prime, and the littler
$10 Prime, the one they've just rereleased for the Cybertron line. Right?
Greenboy
Thunder 06
> It was just Against Nature ... ;-)
That's true. Megatron *has* to have a really big gun on him somewhere or
he's not Megatron. :)
t.k.
SteveD
wrote:
>Hastaktomy
New Best Word Ever.
It looks like it should mean "I sold all my toys." :)
-SteveD
Deathsauras
Greenboy wrote: "Kind of like the Armada large, what was it, $40 pants
Prime, and the littler $10 Prime, the one they've just rereleased for
the Cybertron line. Right?"
Greenboy I was actually referring to this example below: (1) 1984
Optimus prime cab + split in half repair bay trailer $30. (2)1984
Optimus Prime cab only,not split in half repair bay trailer $15.
I'm not referring to having the super armor combiner trailer be sold
seperately. I'm not referring to the prime cab toy getting 2 totally
different molds & sizes.
Basically have the split in half repair trailer as a option in 2
different size price classes. with or without.
crazysteve
> concept and are just not making any effort when they can't come up with
> a "cool" concept for a trailer or am I just rambling here ... :-) .
I think it's a matter of Hasbro grouping their Optimus Prime toys
into as many size classes and price points as possible. More often than
not, Hasbro offers Prime in a number of different sizes and prices.
Ever since Beast Wars they've made a 'big' and a 'little' Prime
available in each mainstream line. Ever since Armada, Prime has had
some sort of trailerless deluxe size class counterpart to the monster
huge size class one, (although in Energon you could only get the
trailerless version in a two pack with Megatron). So there are
trailers, just not at the deluxe and smaller price points. If they had
trailers they wouldn't be deluxes-they'd be megas or supers. If
anything I think Hasbro is putting more thought into their assortments
instead of giving up or being unable to come up with ideas for
trailers. They do trailers or huge trucks, just not at the smaller size
classes which there are more of in relation to the super/leader size.
--
crazysteve with rubber tires