G1 Hot Rod Reissue (And What It Means for the Future)

[Zobovor]

It's been reported a few different places now that good old Hot Rod from 1986 is getting yet another reissue, and it will evidently be a Walmart exclusive:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Transformers-Vintage-G1-Autobot-Hot-Rod/465091453

For those who may not recall, the Rodimus Major edition from 2002 was a pretty authentic reissue experience, but that was 16 years ago. Also, the new packaging is much more closely styled like the G1 packaging, as compared to the tiny, cramped Rodimus Major box.

I can't help but feel as though this is related to Toys "R" Us closing down. Hasbro was evidently shopping around for another retailer for exclusives. This kind of makes me wonder if they're going to offer the domestic Masterpiece toys to Walmart as well, who hasn't gotten one since Skywarp in 2009. But, now I'm getting off track a little.

It seems like Hasbro is dipping their proverbial toes back into the G1 reissue market, and they're starting off with a surefire hit. Rodimus Major tends to go for around $80 on eBay these days, so the demand for reissues is still high. The only other character who would be a better choice is Optimus Prime. Despite the fact that he's been reissued multiple times, I see him as an inevitability if this new reissue turns into a series of reissues.

One thing that Walmart will be able to do, that Toys "R" Us was not able to do, was order in larger quantities to (hopefully!) bring costs down. The Toys "R" Us markup on the Commemorative Edition reissues was exorbitant; they charged $29.99 for Autobot Cars when they could have still turned a profit at $20. Walmart has the power to buy in bulk and sell for cheap, and it stands to reason that a lower retail price will draw in more consumers and thus end up turning a greater profit than a higher initial price that fewer consumers can afford.

So, let's assume for the moment that a new reissue line is successful. Which characters should Hasbro include? Personally, I don't want to see them copy the entire Commemorative Edition line all over again, because I still have all those toys and they're still in great shape. I have no need for replacements. However, certain characters do have innate nostalgia appeal, and I feel like another G1 reissue series would be incomplete without Jazz and Starscream. (Hopefully Starscream would not inherit the floppy cockpit from the Target reissue of Dirge/Ramjet/Thrust.)

I know some molds are damaged and unrepairable, but I also know that it's possible to reverse-engineer new molds from existing toys (and they've been doing this since the very first Optimus Prime reissue; the molds for all the die-cast parts had to be recreated by Takara). For the moment, let's assume that Hasbro theoretically COULD reissue any G1 toys that they wanted to.

The existence of the unlicensed Zhong Jin fakes from China means I have little or no desire for official reissues of Wheeljack, Mirage, Sunstreaker, etc. With that said, I cannot deny that the Dinobots would be wildly popular if Hasbro chose to bring the G1 toys back.

There are characters who have never been reissued in any form, though, and I find myself wanting these more than any others. Blurr. Wreck-Gar. Even Broadside. (I know deep down that Broadside would be a horrible idea, and would warm shelves at Walmarts all over the globe.)

What do you all think?


Zob (has decided that Ready Player One is essentially Pixels, only with more obscure pop culture references)

[Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People.]

On Thursday, May 24, 2018 at 1:33:59 AM UTC-5, Zobovor wrote:
> It's been reported a few different places now that good old Hot Rod from 1986 is getting yet another reissue, and it will evidently be a Walmart exclusive:
>
> https://www.walmart.com/ip/Transformers-Vintage-G1-Autobot-Hot-Rod/465091453
>
> For those who may not recall, the Rodimus Major edition from 2002 was a pretty authentic reissue experience, but that was 16 years ago. Also, the new packaging is much more closely styled like the G1 packaging, as compared to the tiny, cramped Rodimus Major box.
>
> I can't help but feel as though this is related to Toys "R" Us closing down. Hasbro was evidently shopping around for another retailer for exclusives. This kind of makes me wonder if they're going to offer the domestic Masterpiece toys to Walmart as well, who hasn't gotten one since Skywarp in 2009. But, now I'm getting off track a little.
>

Wow, I thought Walmart must have had a Masterpiece since then and Hasbro poor distribution just had it missing my state...

I guess I never realized.

> It seems like Hasbro is dipping their proverbial toes back into the G1 reissue market, and they're starting off with a surefire hit. Rodimus Major tends to go for around $80 on eBay these days, so the demand for reissues is still high. The only other character who would be a better choice is Optimus Prime. Despite the fact that he's been reissued multiple times, I see him as an inevitability if this new reissue turns into a series of reissues.
>

Every independent shop nearby has tons of Optimus Cabs and half a dozen trailers on hand in case anyone wanted G1 Optimus.

> One thing that Walmart will be able to do, that Toys "R" Us was not able to do, was order in larger quantities to (hopefully!) bring costs down. The Toys "R" Us markup on the Commemorative Edition reissues was exorbitant; they charged $29.99 for Autobot Cars when they could have still turned a profit at $20. Walmart has the power to buy in bulk and sell for cheap, and it stands to reason that a lower retail price will draw in more consumers and thus end up turning a greater profit than a higher initial price that fewer consumers can afford.
>

I always assumed the markup to $30 was Hasbro's doing, not TRU. The collector market demanded a higher price tag, these weren't made to appeal to the masses but the collectors. They're bricks to the masses, who want more recent toys instead of characters from before their time. Remember these are still toys aimed at collectors. Bulk is not the aim here. TRU sold the Insecticon trio for $25 and they stuck around forever. They went on clearance, as did some of the other TRU reissues.

> So, let's assume for the moment that a new reissue line is successful. Which characters should Hasbro include? Personally, I don't want to see them copy the entire Commemorative Edition line all over again, because I still have all those toys and they're still in great shape. I have no need for replacements. However, certain characters do have innate nostalgia appeal, and I feel like another G1 reissue series would be incomplete without Jazz and Starscream. (Hopefully Starscream would not inherit the floppy cockpit from the Target reissue of Dirge/Ramjet/Thrust.)
>

Just about all of the Autobot cars are $30-70 online for the G1 in good shape. The notable characters for the most part were in the last reissue series. If we reissued the Targetmasters they would only have appeal to the hardcore collectors, as they didn't have a lot of cartoon time. Micromasters and Actionmasters would have the same problems.

Reissue Springer, Sandstorm, Blurr, Kup, Scourge, Cyclonus, Octane, Blitzwing, Astrotrain might go somewhere, but again I can get any of them as their G1 version in 25 minutes or less.

We need some hard to get, Omega Supreme, Skylynx, Metroplex, Shockwave, Whirl, Roadbuster, but I know many molds Hasbro might not have the rights to anymore.

> I know some molds are damaged and unrepairable, but I also know that it's possible to reverse-engineer new molds from existing toys (and they've been doing this since the very first Optimus Prime reissue; the molds for all the die-cast parts had to be recreated by Takara). For the moment, let's assume that Hasbro theoretically COULD reissue any G1 toys that they wanted to.
>

If Zhong Jin can do it, then Hasbro or Takara can.

> The existence of the unlicensed Zhong Jin fakes from China means I have little or no desire for official reissues of Wheeljack, Mirage, Sunstreaker, etc. With that said, I cannot deny that the Dinobots would be wildly popular if Hasbro chose to bring the G1 toys back.
>

There are a lot of perfect condition g1 toys on the secondary market. Dinobots might sell well, but Tracks, Sunstreaker, Wheeljack, too easy to find still.

> There are characters who have never been reissued in any form, though, and I find myself wanting these more than any others. Blurr. Wreck-Gar. Even Broadside. (I know deep down that Broadside would be a horrible idea, and would warm shelves at Walmarts all over the globe.)
>

I think they could do a minibot cars multipack, Bumblebee, Brawn, Windcharger, Huffer, Gears, Cliffjumper, and then a Beachcomber, Seaspray, Cosmos, Warpath, Powerglide, Hubcap. And then possibly G2 redeco set for an Amazon exclusive.

> What do you all think?
>
>
> Zob (has decided that Ready Player One is essentially Pixels, only with more obscure pop culture references)

Pixels had more twists and turns and wasn't as predictable.

[Rodimus_2316]

I'll keep checking my local Walmart for it. :)



- Rodimus_2316

[Zobovor]

On Thursday, May 24, 2018 at 7:16:01 AM UTC-6, Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People. wrote:

> Every independent shop nearby has tons of Optimus cabs and half a dozen

> trailers on hand in case anyone wanted G1 Optimus.

Serious collectors already know they can find used toys at second-hand shops, eBay, etc. But, then, serious collectors probably already have Optimus Prime and Hot Rod. Reissues at Walmart probably aren't marketed towards those people. They're marketed towards people who grew up on G1 and have kids of their own now, who will be strolling down the toy aisle when they suddenly go, "Oh, wow, I remember him from when I was a kid! He was awesome!" Impulse purchase. Bam.

Also, there is enormous appeal in getting toys in brand new condition. Given a choice between a vintage G1 unit and a nearly-identical reissue, I'll take the reissue every time. They're made of new materials and have fresh paint jobs and new stickers. I'm not going to put some sorry-assed 34-year-old toy on my display shelf that's got sun damage and peeling stickers and chipped paint and cracked tires and worn chrome and loose limbs. I want a toy that I can display with pride and fiddle with occasionally, not one that's going to crumble into plastic shards the first time I try to transform it.

> I always assumed the markup to $30 was Hasbro's doing, not TRU.

Hasbro sells the toys to retailers at wholesale. At that point, it's up to the retailers how much they want to sell them for. It makes sense to sell them for a high enough markup to cover overhead and make a small profit, but sometimes Walmart will sell toys for less than what they paid, especially during Christmastime, as loss leaders to lure customers into the stores. Hasbro doesn't care what the stores do with the toys; Hasbro's business is concluded with them after selling them at wholesale.

I'm not saying Hasbro can never influence the retail prices on toys, but I always thought the MSRP was just that——the manufacturer's SUGGESTED retail price.

> Reissue Springer, Sandstorm, Blurr, Kup, Scourge, Cyclonus, Octane,
> Blitzwing, Astrotrain might go somewhere, but again I can get any of them as
> their G1 version in 25 minutes or less.

In perfect condition? With all their weapons?

> We need some hard to get, Omega Supreme, Skylynx, Metroplex, Shockwave,
> Whirl, Roadbuster, but I know many molds Hasbro might not have the rights to
> anymore.

I doubt we'll see any toys with Bandai origins, so that likely excludes Jetfire (who would be wildly popular). Omega Supreme and Sky Lynx and Metroplex seem like possibilities, at least. Takara was already able to do official reissues, so we know the molds still exist and are up-to-date.

> I think they could do a minibot cars multipack, Bumblebee, Brawn,
> Windcharger, Huffer, Gears, Cliffjumper, and then a Beachcomber, Seaspray,
> Cosmos, Warpath, Powerglide, Hubcap. And then possibly G2 redeco set for an
> Amazon exclusive.

The Mini Autobots idea sounds great. And I am all for any and all tributes to G2.


Zob (my five-year-old daughter is watching the computer-animated Spirit cartoon and she just said, "They're trying to murder horses!")

[No One In Particular]

On 5/24/2018 1:33 AM, Zobovor wrote:

> What do you all think?
>
>
> Zob
>

How about some of the toys that have suffered from GPS over the years?
I'm thinking predominately of Laser Rod Electro here, but there are others.


I would imagine if the reissue thing takes off we'll probably see all of
the "core cast" at some point; Optimus, Starscream and repaints,
Soundwave, Bumblebee, and so forth. Obviously we won't see Gunatron,
but we will likely see some version of Tankatron. Or possibly Galvatron
maybe.

All assuming it goes any further than Hot Rod of course.

Brian

[Zobovor]

On Friday, May 25, 2018 at 9:03:36 PM UTC-6, No One In Particular wrote:

> How about some of the toys that have suffered from GPS over the years?
> I'm thinking predominately of Laser Rod Electro here, but there are others.

I would love to see reissues of all the Laser Rods! They were amazing toys back then, and they still are today. However, the fact that they've never been brought back in any form whatsoever suggests to me that the electronic component is prohibitively expensive. I was blown away that they only retailed for $9.99 back in the day. That was a steal even in 1994 dollars.

> I would imagine if the reissue thing takes off we'll probably see all of
> the "core cast" at some point; Optimus, Starscream and repaints,
> Soundwave, Bumblebee, and so forth. Obviously we won't see Gunatron,
> but we will likely see some version of Tankatron. Or possibly Galvatron
> maybe.

I still say that if G1 Megatron was re-shelled so that he turned into a space gun and not a realistic firearm replica, he should be fine. He would need an orange barrel, realistically, but aside from that he could still use the same engineering and still transform into a semblance of his original self. The actual remolding would take some doing, but if they want to tap into the nostalgia market, I think this would be a "close enough" reissue of the G1 toy.

> All assuming it goes any further than Hot Rod of course.

Time will tell!


Zob (tick... tick... tick...)

[Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People.]

Gun toy restrictions are tightening up. Nerf guns skirt the laws in some states. It's not ust the color anymore many states don't allow gun shaped neon toys if they can be painted to look semi realistic from a distance. We live in an era where police mistake cell-phones for guns and we have yearly statistics for toddlers finding and firing real guns. I have a squirt guns from the dollar store when I was a kid that were designed to look like a Luger or an Uzi. They're more illegal now than if I wanted to own the actual firearm hey are based on.

[Optim_1]

On Sunday, 27 May 2018 01:00:26 UTC-4, Zobovor wrote:
> On Friday, May 25, 2018 at 9:03:36 PM UTC-6, No One In Particular wrote:
>
> > How about some of the toys that have suffered from GPS over the years?
> > I'm thinking predominately of Laser Rod Electro here, but there are others.
>
> I would love to see reissues of all the Laser Rods! They were amazing toys back then, and they still are today. However, the fact that they've never been brought back in any form whatsoever suggests to me that the electronic component is prohibitively expensive. I was blown away that they only retailed for $9.99 back in the day. That was a steal even in 1994 dollars.

I think the Laser Cycles are similar toys and have the electronic components. They were redecoed for the Robotmasters line. I have the Robotmasters version.

think this would be a "close enough" reissue of the G1 toy.
>
> > All assuming it goes any further than Hot Rod of course.
>
> Time will tell!
>
>

I have little hope that Hasbro or Takara plan to release the rest of G1. The reissue line has already been rebooted thrice before by Takara. On the Takara side, it was the Collector's Collection; then the Transformers Collection; and then Encore.

The Dinobots are popular so I'm hoping Hasbro or Takara will finally reissue them. The Zhong Jin reissues of them has flaws. They are too tight. I broke off the tip of Snarl's tail because I had to use a knife to pry apart the tail. I have two versions of Swoop, regular version and gold wings talons version, but for both versions, the missile launchers don't fit into the wings whose peg holes are too small.

I'm hoping for the the Zhong Jin reissues to continue. Why did they stop!?

[Zobovor]

On Monday, May 28, 2018 at 7:46:08 AM UTC-6, Optim_1 wrote:

> I have little hope that Hasbro or Takara plan to release the rest of G1. The
> reissue line has already been rebooted thrice before by Takara. On the Takara
> side, it was the Collector's Collection; then the Transformers Collection;
> and then Encore.

Well, to put things in perspective, the first reissues we got were in 2003, and it's now 2018. If 2003 was the first year of G1, then it's now 1999 and we're already in the first year of Beast Machines. I'd say enough time has passed to do reissues all over again, if that's the direction they choose to go in.

> The Dinobots are popular so I'm hoping Hasbro or Takara will finally reissue
> them. The Zhong Jin reissues of them has flaws. They are too tight.

Yeah, I have that same problem with their Constructicons. If they were to reissue the Dinobots, I suspect they would have to do extensive work on the molds... or recreate the molds entirely from scratch. And, really, the Zhong Jin Dinobots have pretty much saturated the marketplace, so I don't know. It's the same reason Takara kept saying for years that they would never reissue the Constructicons... because there were far too many bootleg versions already out there.

> I'm hoping for the the Zhong Jin reissues to continue. Why did they stop!?

I can only assume Hasbro or Takara got 'em with a cease-and-desist order. I think they were safe as long as they were only copying toys that Hasbro and Takara had never reissued, but once they started doing Sideswipe and Red Alert and Optimus Prime, they could have hit 'em with a patent infringement suit.


Zob (sad face)

[Optim_1]

On Monday, 28 May 2018 18:44:49 UTC-4, Zobovor wrote:
> On Monday, May 28, 2018 at 7:46:08 AM UTC-6, Optim_1 wrote:
>
> > I have little hope that Hasbro or Takara plan to release the rest of G1. The
> > reissue line has already been rebooted thrice before by Takara. On the Takara
> > side, it was the Collector's Collection; then the Transformers Collection;
> > and then Encore.
>
> Well, to put things in perspective, the first reissues we got were in 2003, and it's now 2018. If 2003 was the first year of G1, then it's now 1999 and we're already in the first year of Beast Machines. I'd say enough time has passed to do reissues all over again, if that's the direction they choose to go in.
>

They might do reissues again but I doubt they would reissue the rest of G1. They would reissue the big characters: Optimus, Megatron, Starscream, Hot Rod, and so on and then stop. Takara has rebooted three times before.

And since these reissues are aimed at collectors who were kids back in G1 days, it is easier to find more collectors in 2003 than in 2018 as collectors get older and leave behind their childhood. I'm in my forties and I am surprised that I am still interested in G1. Would I still be interested in G1 10 years later?

Most of us already have the earlier reissues of Optimus, Megatron and so on. Just finish the rest of G1 instead of rebooting.

[Zobovor]

On Tuesday, May 29, 2018 at 2:28:01 PM UTC-6, Optim_1 wrote:

> And since these reissues are aimed at collectors who were kids back in G1
> days, it is easier to find more collectors in 2003 than in 2018 as collectors
> get older and leave behind their childhood.

You've got a point there. Though I hate to admit it, interest in 1980's nostalgia seems to have been gradually pushed out in recent years, in favor of 1990's and 2000's.

However, I think we're experiencing something of a transcendence with Transformers. Characters like Optimus Prime have permanently entered the pop culture lexicon and in some ways he's become timeless. He's up there now with Mickey Mouse and the Ninja Turtles and other characters that just about any kid today can readily identify. You don't have to be a kid of the 1980's, or the original target audience, to know and like the character.

Consider that Batman and Superman were introduced in the 1930's and they still have a huge fan base today. The same goes for Spider-Man or the Hulk or Iron-Man, who were introduced in the 1960's. Kids today still buy toys of those characters.

> Most of us already have the earlier reissues of Optimus, Megatron and so on.
> Just finish the rest of G1 instead of rebooting.

I wonder if that would be as successful. Characters from 1984 will always take center stage, I think. They have the most nostalgia appeal and would draw the most casual fans. Even 1985 characters (Smokescreen, Red Alert, etc.) aren't as universally well-known as Soundwave and Bumblebee. I think Titans Return was as close as we'll ever get to reissues of the 1987 toys, honestly. The later into G1 you get, the more and more obscure the characters become. The number of people who would get all nostalgic about Tenta-Kil or Backstreet are vanishingly small compared to people who would impulse-buy a reissue Jazz or Starscream.


Zob (will probably buy them all regardless of how many more G1 reissues there are)