SDCC 2014 Coverage - Hasbro Transformers Panel Summary: Updated with Generations and RID Video Clips!

megatronus wrote:

Twitchythe3rd wrote:

SW's SilverHammer wrote:

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote: And I'm predicting 4 teams, given that Hasbro has said there will be 16 Deluxes in all.

As unlikely as it is, Ima roll a hard six, and bet on monstructor.

I'd say Superion, Menasor, Defensor, and a Bruticus that doesn't suck are most likely. Still gonna hope for Predaking.

They just did Bruticus as part of the FOC line. Do you really think they'd do another one so soon?

got something from a friend at the panel,
Combiners are scramble, and they're using a different system from the foc combiners

SW's SilverHammer wrote:

megatronus wrote:

Twitchythe3rd wrote:

SW's SilverHammer wrote:

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote: And I'm predicting 4 teams, given that Hasbro has said there will be 16 Deluxes in all.

As unlikely as it is, Ima roll a hard six, and bet on monstructor.

I'd say Superion, Menasor, Defensor, and a Bruticus that doesn't suck are most likely. Still gonna hope for Predaking.

They just did Bruticus as part of the FOC line. Do you really think they'd do another one so soon?

got something from a friend at the panel,
Combiners are scramble, and they're using a different system from the foc combiners

The point is they did the character fairly recently, not that these combiners use the same "system".

love the look of these guys, gonna be an addition to my stunticon shelf for sure. will decide wether this Menasor or Intimidator go on my classics shelf when this one comes out.

but one thing bothers me, why does Superion have a helicopter leg?

megatronus wrote:

SW's SilverHammer wrote:

megatronus wrote:

Twitchythe3rd wrote:

SW's SilverHammer wrote:

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote: And I'm predicting 4 teams, given that Hasbro has said there will be 16 Deluxes in all.

As unlikely as it is, Ima roll a hard six, and bet on monstructor.

I'd say Superion, Menasor, Defensor, and a Bruticus that doesn't suck are most likely. Still gonna hope for Predaking.

They just did Bruticus as part of the FOC line. Do you really think they'd do another one so soon?

got something from a friend at the panel,
Combiners are scramble, and they're using a different system from the foc combiners

The point is they did the character fairly recently, not that these combiners use the same "system".

I was just sharing something, wasn't about bruticus, just combiner wars

I'm reserving judgement on the combiners till we see the actual finished product. These were obviously rushed to be on the show floor and are still very much in the prototype stage. It does explain why the new Voyager Prime looked so bad though, it was designed to be Motormaster.

They're alright i guess. I'd probably buy them once refined.
Those feet on both combiners are pretty teeny weeny though. I'd like to NOT have to buy a 3rd party upgrade to fix that. That's my only gripe really.

It's Hasbro. It is what is. They FINALLY sorted out their combiners to become "reasonable" but too little too late if you ask me. I've seen WAAAY better combiner figs for years now with 3rd party stuff. It's like watching the slow kid in class finally figure out how to do long division after getting it wrong time after time ,failing, while everyone else blasts past him to the next grade.

Oh.....and why are those shoulder cannons pointing back at Superions head?
I also noticed how bad the hands are. No articulation and look how the weapons peg in!! They peg in to some silly little hole between his thumb and wrist. Look at that tiny wee axe in menasors hand ....or should i say hatchet. Yeesh. Keeep trying Hasbro. Please.

MGrotusque wrote:It's Hasbro. It is what is. They FINALLY sorted out their combiners to become "reasonable" but too little too late if you ask me. I've seen WAAAY better combiner figs for years now with 3rd party stuff. It's like watching the slow kid in class finally figure out how to do long division after getting it wrong time after time ,failing, while everyone else blasts past him to the next grade.

Because of course budget restrictions or the fact these need to be sold to kids (and thus be safety-tested and be relatively simple) has absolutely nothing to do with it. Nope. Must be that Hasblow can't do combiners and that Transformers should be given to iGear so we can have a masterful recreation of every animation blunder-induced variation in Optimus Prime's model.

Oh.....and why are those shoulder cannons pointing back at Superions head?

It's a hastily-readied prototype. It's not finished and it was awkwardly posed/transformed.

Menasor...Menasor... YYYYEEESSS!!!!!!!!!!!

Hasbro have tried to do combiners for years and still can't get it right. They might have finally done it with these but we will see when better, official pics get released. Yes, third parties can do better because they aren't designed with kids in mind. this is exactly why Hasbro needs to start looking into doing a high end line. they know the collectors are out there and are willing to drop the cash for great designed products but they are letting other companies rule the roost. They can still produce the kids stuff, I have no issue with that. The best example is LEGO. There is a company that mainly produces kids toys but they have a very successful collector range of large, expensive models that adults can buy and enjoy.

Delta Magnus wrote:

MGrotusque wrote:It's Hasbro. It is what is. They FINALLY sorted out their combiners to become "reasonable" but too little too late if you ask me. I've seen WAAAY better combiner figs for years now with 3rd party stuff. It's like watching the slow kid in class finally figure out how to do long division after getting it wrong time after time ,failing, while everyone else blasts past him to the next grade.

Because of course budget restrictions or the fact these need to be sold to kids (and thus be safety-tested and be relatively simple) has absolutely nothing to do with it. Nope. Must be that Hasblow can't do combiners and that Transformers should be given to iGear so we can have a masterful recreation of every animation blunder-induced variation in Optimus Prime's model.

Oh.....and why are those shoulder cannons pointing back at Superions head?

It's a hastily-readied prototype. It's not finished and it was awkwardly posed/transformed.

I know you think your being witty and super smart and i'm also a fan of sarcasm. But i think you've completely forgotten how pretty much every new combiner Hasbro has ever done in the past decade was almost a complete abomination of nonsense. Yes i understand about child safety laws and budget restrictions but that has nothing to do with properly proportioned and aesthetically pleasing combiners. The combiner formula was established in the 80's and they seemed to have completely forgotten how to do it till just now.

Combiners are looking good, even the Stunticons, now that I've seen pics of the individual figures. Still, I don't really collect Stunticons so I'll likely skip. The Aerialbots are looking very kibble-heavy, but what can you do. Something's gotta give, I'd rather have awesome bot & combiner modes and sacrifice a bit of vehicle mode realism. So far these are must-buys for me. I just hope Hasbro doesn't screw it up by making them neon colors or something like Fruiticus.

One thing I am really glad for is that they're kicking AoE to the curb instead of dragging it to death for 2+ years like the last few movie lines. Thank Primus.

I wonder if anyone got pics of the RiD2015 toys? Curious to see how they turn out. I may skip the line if it's mostly kid-focused, but I might pick up a few gems if there are any.

kirbenvost wrote:Combiners are looking good, even the Stunticons, now that I've seen pics of the individual figures. Still, I don't really collect Stunticons so I'll likely skip. The Aerialbots are looking very kibble-heavy, but what can you do. Something's gotta give, I'd rather have awesome bot & combiner modes and sacrifice a bit of vehicle mode realism. So far these are must-buys for me. I just hope Hasbro doesn't screw it up by making them neon colors or something like Fruiticus.

One thing I am really glad for is that they're kicking AoE to the curb instead of dragging it to death for 2+ years like the last few movie lines. Thank Primus.

I wonder if anyone got pics of the RiD2015 toys? Curious to see how they turn out. I may skip the line if it's mostly kid-focused, but I might pick up a few gems if there are any.

Great point.

Superion and Menasor look spectacularly awesome. However, I've got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach that these figures would be cancelled or hard to find in stores like Thundertron. I just can't take this feeling from me.

Mindmaster wrote:

Nice for pointing that out!

I love it when Hasbro helps me save money by putting out stuff like this

Post updated with video clips!

http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/ ... ips/30898/

The new show reminds me of TRON: Uprising. Which makes sense, as they're animated by the same studio.

well the new show looks umm... odd

All I have to say about the combiners is, real hands, real feet, I'm in. I did notice on Superion that Powerglide just attaches to what looks like the classic gun so I'm glad I don't have to use it if I don't want to.

Kinda bummed that the assortments will be breaking up the teams, would've like one wave to be one team. Yes I am a bit worried that certain limbs will be hard to find.

Nice to hear we're getting Transforming Kreos, just as long as they're not built to rule.

Is that Platinum Prime/Grimlock set the leader set we saw at Bot Con? Word of advice, DON'T ORDER OFF KMART.COM trust me.

New combiners? Possible combiner action in the comics? I'm one happy fan Plus if most of you dont like them, then all the more for me

Also to whoever brought up Lego and their adult collector products, your forgetting one simple thing, those adult items are still made of Lego, which have gone through the safety tests etc. Hasbro can't just package what they normally make every day as an adult thing. Although having said that isn't he mmasterpiece line for? Hasbro seem to be doing fine the way they doing .thing

I hope these guys are available in a gift set, trying to track these guys down separately is gonna be a nightmare!

Beside that, nerdgasmic!

Just saw pics of new RiD toys. Bumblebee doesn't look too bad! The 1-step toys are obviously simplistic. This looks like it's going to be a line I can probably pick and choose a few from. If there's a larger Optimus Prime toy I'll get it, along with my usual favorites.

I recognize that cartoon art style. That's the same look as Di-Gata Defenders, Speed Racer: The Next Generation, Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, Iron Man: Armored Adventures, etc.

Poor Superion. Imagine having knee joints ABOVE the bottom of your hip pockets. Walking up stairs, hell even walking over bumpy ground is going to be hard work.


No nerdgasms over this one.

Menasor? Maybe. If the individual robots are unique and good.

Seibertron.com will shortly have images from the presentation too - watch this space!

Now the long, agonizingly-boring wait for new toys in the displays.

Am I the only one who noticed that the hands and the feet of the combiners are the same pieces? That's clearly the thumb on the back of the feet and the toes in front are the things protruding off the fists. The fingers flip out from under the foot like Kenzan's. I don't mind it at all though.

I'm really looking forward to these as I can get a whole combiner for the cost of one piece of a third party one. Factor in sales and the random coupon and you might even be able to get two for the price of a center piece.

Not only is the price just right, they really don't look that far off from Uranus or Intimidator. People just really need to get over themselves with all the Hasbro hate.

As for there possibly being four complete combiners, my money's on Computron and Predaking or Abominus. Computron is the current plaything of third party companies with a second version next year I believe. Predaking was the previous and two of the three aren't even completed yet. Abominus because Hasbro might want to get the jump on the third parties and also because the only other one is the Cyberverse version.

Or they could throw us a curveball and make Piranacon, Monstructor or Grimstone?. Well, there's also The Beast. lol

I had watched the clip on YouTube. The show looks nice. I wonder what the toyline will consist of?

^ Interesting about the combiner hands & feet, nice catch! I don't mind either, they look convincing in both modes.

MGrotusque wrote:I know you think your being witty and super smart and i'm also a fan of sarcasm. But i think you've completely forgotten how pretty much every new combiner Hasbro has ever done in the past decade was almost a complete abomination of nonsense.

Nope. The Energon combiners were decent and well engineered (to the point where it's possible to get more articulation out of them than was originally designed with zero cutting). The individual robot modes were solid and poseable, with good vehicle modes and nice colours, and the combined modes were actually pretty well proportioned, and decently articulated (especially considering previous offerings). Also they had absolutely no partsforming aside from the hands and feet, which formed some really nice weapons in the uncombined modes (and also resulted in CANNON HANDS).

Sure they weren't exactly Hercules quality, but they were like £6 a limb, and £9 for the torso- and they were made when the line's budget was nearly exhausted. For what they were, they were brilliant. They've aged badly, but then toys do- technology marches on.

FoC Bruticus could have been a lot better, but then he had a lot asked of him- his components had to form an arm AND a leg (or a torso in Onslaught's case) in addition to a vehicle and a robot, based on models that relied on animation magic to transform. Coupled with the economy forcing budget restrictions and the usual stringent safety tests these things have to undergo, I'd say he turned out alright. Blast Off can be compressed into a much better arm-mode, and let us not forget that FOC Bruticus is one of the only combiners ever that (aside from combining the weapons, which is optional) requires absolutely no partsforming whatsoever. Now that's impressive.

The other thing is that the main reason Hasbro hasn't made many good combiners...is because Hasbro hasn't made many combiners full stop. It would be like accusing them of never making any good toys that turn into penguins- there's only been 1 (technically a Takara release but still).

Yes i understand about child safety laws and budget restrictions but that has nothing to do with properly proportioned and aesthetically pleasing combiners.

Actually it has everything to do with that. Making a toy transform into a good-looking, well-articulated robot and a vehicle, and then turn into a part of a larger robot (which often is based on a character from a crappy Saturday morning 80s cartoon who transformed with the power of bad animation), which in turn must look good and be well articulated, takes clever engineering, which requires a lot of effort and, you guessed it, money. Thus, budget restrictions will inevitably hamper the chances of a good-looking combiner. Coupled with the fact that kids probably won't appreciate figures overly intricate figures (especially ones that break through simple play due to the huge amount of hinges and tabs) you can see exactly why those factors have something to do with it.

The combiner formula was established in the 80's and they seemed to have completely forgotten how to do it till just now.

If by the combiner "formula" you mean "robot forms torso, 4 other robots form limbs" then yeah, it was established in the 80s. If you mean "how to make a good toy" then no.

Let's not forget that most of the G1 combiner toys were total shite as well- much worse than anything Hasbro has brought out recently. Half of the combined mode's body was made of extra junk that had nowhere to go when they weren't combined, the combined mode has terrible articulation (and the individual robots were basically tiny bricks), quite often the combined form looked like garbage anyway (Bruticus is ridiculously squat, Devastator is a hideous shade of pastel green and is a gangly mess, Superion has birthing hips, Menasor is wearing a hoodie, Predaking is obese and Computron is a towering block of random techy parts) and the combined forms often had major structural issues (like Superion's oh-so-fragile hips). I'll take Energon Devastator over the G1 toy any day.

Things change. The target audience changes, the economy changes, technology changes. It's not the 80s anymore. Things are different. Not everything has to be G1.

And of course, for all you complain about how Hasbro should accommodate the collectors instead of the children, put yourself in their shoes. On the one hand you have a huge audience who will be happy with anything so long as it looks cool. On the other hand you have a much smaller audience who will denounce your stuff as the worst thing ever if it isn't made exactly to their (often conflicting) specifications- in other words, a nano-engineered spot-on replica of a character from a badly animated, dreadfully-written Saturday-morning merchandising cartoon from the 80s. Now which would you rather cater to?

The panel and new reveals may be over, but the coverage of San Diego Comic Con is still coming! Thanks to our (boss)man on the scene, site owner Seibertron, we have our gallery of images shown at the Hasbro Brand Panel! The gallery ranges from recaps of already-released figures, soon-to-be-released figures, and newly revealed figures, such as the Generations: Combiner Wars Aerialbots, Stunticons (whose leader, Motormaster, like Bombshell, has reclaimed his true name), and our first look at a handful of toys from the new Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015) line, including our first look at the Warrior-class (the new Deluxe-class) Bumblebee! The full gallery can be viewed here.













Enjoy these images for now, as later in the day we'll get the official images of these new reveals!

Mykltron wrote:Poor Superion. Imagine having knee joints ABOVE the bottom of your hip pockets. Walking up stairs, hell even walking over bumpy ground is going to be hard work.


No nerdgasms over this one.

Menasor? Maybe. If the individual robots are unique and good.

Hey Look at where the Knees are!! I guess he can walk up those stairs after all.

Mykltron wrote:Poor Superion. Imagine having knee joints ABOVE the bottom of your hip pockets. Walking up stairs, hell even walking over bumpy ground is going to be hard work.


No nerdgasms over this one.

Menasor? Maybe. If the individual robots are unique and good.

He has actual knee joints, you know. Or at least appears to.

GIMME THAT WARRIORS CLASS BUMBLEBEE!!!!

There's no way i would swap out these for my 3rdp combiners .

But there individual bot modes don't look that bad . i will pick these up to mess around with for there bot modes and keep the 3rdp in combined mode .

Motormaster pulls off the mold a hell of a lot better than prime . MM is a must buy .

Edit . Shame Breakdown looks like he's made of Lego , Still it's about time this happened .

Shuttershock wrote:

Your pic is broken. It doesn't allow hotlinking.

Sabrblade wrote:

Shuttershock wrote:

Your pic is broken. It doesn't allow hotlinking.

It's going for me.

mooncake623 wrote:

Mykltron wrote:Poor Superion. Imagine having knee joints ABOVE the bottom of your hip pockets. Walking up stairs, hell even walking over bumpy ground is going to be hard work.


No nerdgasms over this one.

Menasor? Maybe. If the individual robots are unique and good.

Hey Look at where the Knees are!! I guess he can walk up those stairs after all.

Hey, we replied to the exact same comment to say the same thing at the same time! Weird.

Sabrblade wrote:

Shuttershock wrote:

Your pic is broken. It doesn't allow hotlinking.

Huh, weird. I can see it fine.

Oh well, just a joke about Swerve and combining anyway.

And... now the pic is working.

Sabrblade wrote:GIMME THAT WARRIORS CLASS BUMBLEBEE!!!!

What was warrior class? hope it isn't tiny maybe its a rename for the deluxe or Voyager classes though it is time for a new bumblebee since my alliance version getting worn out and it looks beast

Menasor looks like he has a giant bow tie!

Autobot tap out wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:GIMME THAT WARRIORS CLASS BUMBLEBEE!!!!

What was warrior class? hope it isn't tiny maybe its a rename for the deluxe or Voyager classes though it is time for a new bumblebee since my alliance version getting worn out and it looks beast

Warriors = Deluxe.

Autobot tap out wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:GIMME THAT WARRIORS CLASS BUMBLEBEE!!!!

What was warrior class? hope it isn't tiny maybe its a rename for the deluxe or Voyager classes though it is time for a new bumblebee since my alliance version getting worn out and it looks beast

It's a renamed Deluxe Class.

So how tall are these combiners?

I am officially un-miffed!

....

Oh wait...these toys don't turn up in my area....

those combiners look awesome but unless the prices drop im going to have to pass, it would cost me almost $85 for one gestalt. Thats not including the time & gas wasted looking for them. And i have the feeling that they are not full size deluxes. As for the rest theres nothing that stands out, RiD looks worse than TFP & AoE. strongarm looks ok but not a must have. And i see that they are keeping with the one step changers instead of bringing back legions, i hope that changes but i doubt it.

Blasphemous Prime wrote:So how tall are these combiners?

Don't take this as fact, but based on how they looked in the little clip, they're roughly Leader-class, more or less.

His right arm looks like a brown space shuttle and has a purple Decepticon hand so Combaticons confirmed?

Kinda annoyed that Wildrider has been completely replaced by a new character. So close Hasbro, but you just couldn't stick to the core team. I can get over Slingshot being renamed and given a helicopter mode, at least he still looks like Slingshot in bot mode, but Offroad is definitely not Wildrider.

Emerje

Ooh, I am liking that Superion. A little odd that one of them seems to be a helicopter, now. But I suspect that won't be too hard to get over.

Powerglide being made into a sixth member who becomes a weapon is also a bit strange. (And also explains why, unlike most recent Legends, he doesn't come with a Targetmaster partner... He is one!) As long as it doesn't effect his individual modes, however, it shan't bother me.

Menasor looks a bit naff. Of course, maybe that's the fact that not too long ago I plunked down for the Fansproject version, talking. Although that head sculpt on the Hasbro one is kind of awful.

If Menasor and the recently announced Optimus Prime are repaints of each other, I wonder if that means that we might get Autobot based repaints of the other Stunticons, to make a new Autobot combiner? Almost seems foolish not to do that. If they do do that, I might give Menasor a pass and just get the Autobot version. Then I can continue to enjoy my Fansproject version, but at least own a version of the Hasbro molds to help assuage any lingering guilt over the fact that I'm ignoring my usual preference for official toys over third party ones when both options are available.

Do it, Hasbro! Let me have my cake and eat it, too!