More Cartoon-Colored G1 Reissues Coming—Thundercracker, Perceptor, Shrapnel, More?

[Zobovor]

Seems like Hasbro isn't anywhere near finished with the reissues of G1 toys in cartoon colors.

When all is said and done, there will be at least seven of them. We've gotten Hot Rod and Starscream already (though Hot Rod seems not to have made it to brick-and-mortar stores, sadly) and we know that Hound is on the way, eventually (I assume he's number three).

But, apparently Thundercracker and Perceptor and Shrapnel are among the toys that are also planned.

There are pictures of Thundercracker already:

https://news.tfw2005.com/2023/03/03/first-look-at-transformers-retro-g1-thundercracker-reissue-476799

Thundercracker is designated as "TRA GEN RETRO 4." Perceptor is "TRA GEN RETRO 5," and Shrapnel is "TRA GEN RETRO 7." So, assuming they're going sequentially, there's at least one more that we don't know about yet.

Thundercracker is a beautiful sky blue! So gorgeous. The G1 toy has never been produced in these colors before, and I kind of love it. He could even be reappropriated on a G1 display shelf as one of the very light blue-colored Decepticon jets from the cartoon pilot episode, if you wanted (he wouldn't have stickers, though).

Shrapnel seems like an odd choice, to me, though I suppose they might be doing all the Insecticons eventually. I wonder if they'll swap out the chrome for a light grey or something?

Looking at the various G1 molds that might be available, and which characters really need a cartoon-colors version, Soundwave immediately comes to mind. If he had an opaque light blue chest window, and red-painted eyes, and a flat grey color instead of metallic paint, I would absolutely bite.

Kup seems like another no-brainer, especially since they've done Hot Rod. We've never gotten a version of the G1 toy in grey colors, not even when Takara did their reissue and was looking for ways to recoup development costs. Galvatron would be good, too, but he would end up being expensive unless they took the electronics out or something. (Takara actually did do a cartoon version years ago, but it's hard to find on the secondary market now, plus it was actually a very light lavender color and wasn't wholly accurate.)


Zob (doesn't need to buy all these G1 toys over again, but that's never stopped me before...)

[Travoltron]

Thundercracker is an absolute must-buy. I've always wanted him in those
colors. The original dark blue toy can play the role of the generic jet
from now on.

Perceptor... unless they're giving him a new head, I don't see what the
point is.

Shrapnel: I REALLY don't see the point here. I assume they're going
paint his eyes red. Maybe they can change the insect legs from yellow to
gray.

The ones that really need recolors are the 1986 movie molds. They're all
screwed up in some way or another. Even Ultra Magnus is the wrong shade
of blue.

[Zobovor]

On Monday, March 6, 2023 at 6:16:29 PM UTC-7, Travoltron wrote:

> Thundercracker is an absolute must-buy. I've always wanted him in those
> colors. The original dark blue toy can play the role of the generic jet
> from now on.

Yeah, I'm super excited. The only reason I never painted my G1 Thundercracker is because he was complete and in such great shape. I assume they're also going to do Skywarp, maybe in a charcoal grey instead of the pitch black. And then... I know this is a pipe dream... but maybe they can do some of the generic Decepticon troops as well. I think there's a slight chance it could happen.

> Perceptor... unless they're giving him a new head, I don't see what the
> point is.

So if they wanted to go all-out, then his turquoise color would be a sky blue, and his black color would be a charcoal grey, and maybe the deep blood red would be a lighter shade. Maybe all that vac-metal chrome would be redone in a pearlescent white. Basically, the same colors that the Studio Series toy was produced in. A new head sculpt would be great, but I wonder if that's in the cards? Would it upset the purists too much?

> Shrapnel: I REALLY don't see the point here. I assume they're going
> paint his eyes red. Maybe they can change the insect legs from yellow to
> gray.

I think the thought process here is that they're looking at characters who are prominent in The Transformers: the Movie, and Shrapnel gets a few key moments—eating his way into Autobot City, getting shot and colliding with Blitzwing, attacking Daniel on the Planet of Junk. And, we haven't gotten Insecticon reissues since... 2009? That's fourteen years. Plenty of time. And I'm sure they won't do Shrapnel without also doing Bombshell and Kickback.

If he was a charcoal grey color, and maybe had an opaque chest window, and red eyes like you said, it would be pretty visually distinct. (The only reason he had grey insect legs is because the legs on the Diaclone toy were vac-metal chrome, I think. Same deal with Swoop's talons and Slag's horns.) Anyway, that would be very different from what we've gotten before. But, it's clearly a cash grab.

If we assume that the number of G1 toys they can reissue is a fixed, finite number, though, then I can appreciate that at least this time they're trying to do something different instead of just selling the same old G1 toys for the third or fourth time. They're mixing it up.

> The ones that really need recolors are the 1986 movie molds. They're all
> screwed up in some way or another. Even Ultra Magnus is the wrong shade
> of blue.

I suspect a G1 Ultra Magnus reissue would be expensive in today's marketplace. But, I wouldn't hate a cartoon colors version of him. Imagine if they redid his face to get rid of the goofy eye holes, and painted his upper legs white? Yeah, that would be amazing. And I think you're right, all the movie toys could benefit from a cartoon makeover. But, from all indications, we'll never get official reissues for Blurr or Cyclonus or Scourge or Springer. I'm sure Takara would have dug those out of mothballs a long time ago, if it was a viable option.


Zob (taking most of the week off and planning to do nothing useful)

[Joseph Bardsley]

Gosh, these look beautiful. I hope that at least some of them make it to Canada.

Imagine sharing news like this with ATT circa 20 years ago. Who would have believed it? It's a lucky time to be a fan, in some ways...

JB

[Irrellius Spamticon]

Am I the only one who wants a reissue to further grow my current Sharkticon army?