I was imagining how funny it would be if Hasbro decided to troll the fans who imported and/or scalped the Walgreens Exclusive Brainstorm by taking the Triggerhappy mold, retool and colour it up as a superior Brainstorm toy (packed with TM Arcana and a gold briefcase-time-machine accessory); and release it as part of wave 5 or 6. It would also be the most common figure in the case.
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I don't see what would be wrong with that. Making the TR Brainstorm mould more easily available to fans can only be good for the fandom. Hasbro has done this sort of thing before, and while I can understand that it can be frustrating for individual fans who may have shelled out more for the previous limited editions, ultimately the wants of the many outweigh the wants of the few.Originally Posted by FatalityPitt
e.g. Classicsverse Thrust, Dirge and Thundercracker were initially only released as BotCon exclusive figures. TakaraTOMY then released them as convention exclusive "Gentei" figures. Either set were limited and expensive to get (about $50 a figure). I personally got Gentei Thrust and Thundercracker to fill those gaps in my collection. But then Hasbro released all of those figures as regular store-available Generations figures for $25 each here. I was finally able to get a CHUGUR Dirge, and yeah, even though it sucked for me that I paid too much for my CHUGUR Thundercracker and Thrust, I was really glad that Hasbro eventually made the right decision to release them as mass produced regular store figures.
Hasbro released Thrust first and although I already had Gentei Thrust, I went and bought Generations Thrust as well. I gave that Generations Thrust toy away for free as a trivia prize to a board member here - I never bought it to keep it, I just bought it to show my support to Hasbro about this decision (re: voting with my wallet). And then Hasbro released Thundercracker, and I went and bought that figure too despite already having Gentei Thundercracker (although in this case, I kept the Generations figure because Hasbro fixed the mould degradation issues that Gentei Thundercracker has).
I don't know if I'd go and buy a mass store release of TR Brainstorm because frankly that figure doesn't interest me all that much, and also because this isn't the first mass release CHUGUR Brainstorm toy anyway (re: Generations & LG Brainstorms). I was more willing to support those Seekers because they really should've been released back in 2006/7. Do I regret "wasting money" on Gentei Thrust and Thundercracker? Not really, because there was no way that I could've known that these toys would be mass released by Hasbro years later. So yeah, if people desperately want the TR Brainstorm mould, then they may feel the desire to shell out a premium price for it, but if it comes out as a regular release figure later, then the majority of fans benefit. The release of Generations Thrust was of no benefit to me, but I'm happy that others were able to benefit from it.
And if Scalpers end up losing all their money on their depreciated stock of Brainstorms, then suck excrement to them! Scalpers are a despicable lot and they fully deserve any karma that comes their way. It's mostly the honest fans who stand to gain from a mass release of previously limited toys.
I wasn't implying it'd be bad, in fact I'd love for that to happen since the only Brainstorm I have is the original G1 (missed out on the voyager from several years ago and I can't afford to import the TR exclusive or legends). I was just imagining the look on the faces on some of these jokers in the US who'd go to Walgreens to buy up multiple copies of TR Brainstorm to sell at hyper-inflated prices to poor foreigners like us on eBay; only to realise there's a better Brainstorm about to be released worldwide.
If they do a general release Brainstorm, I hope they use the Triggerhappy mold. Seeing photos of Triggerhappy, I think that mold is more appropriate for Brainstorm compared to the Blurr mold.
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That's more like it!
Not to say that the Walgreens Exclusive is bad (far from it). I would have even bought it myself if it were more attainable. But since learning of the Triggerhappy mold and watching video reviews of it, I'm thinking to myself "this looks SO like Brainstorm.. It would have taken Hasbro/Takara less effort to retool from this than from the Blurr mold - And it would have been a good toy"
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That's pretty nice, I don't have the TR brainstorm simply because for the moment, I'm happy with the voyager one but I might get that if it were ever released. What are the odds they release 3 different brainstorm moulds in 3 years??
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Blurr is a great toy. Triggerhappy is a great toy. Brainstorm should feel lucky to be consider a retool of either.
Like seriously, Blurr and Triggerhappy are by far my favourite two Titans Return deluxes. I love them both!
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Haven't got Triggerhappy yet, it after seeing a video review I'm looking forward to him, but I did like Blurr so much I bought both the Takara and Hasbro versions and stuck Nightbeat's head on the Hasbro version so I'd have a reason to have them both on my shelf.
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In the TR Autobot Breakaway review thread a comment was made that the toy was disappointing due to the lack of Getaway's distinctive shoulder pads, and okay, fair point, but I don't know if I completely agree with this sentiment, and here's why.
Classicsverse isn't about replicating G1 toys with modern day engineering. The toys are distinctly identifiable as their G1 counterparts, but they're not necessarily enslaved to the idea of being G1 accurate. To me, Classicsverse is more like how HasTak would make these characters today using contemporary design/engineering. Masterpiece on the other hand is more about 'translating' G1 toys with a slavish dedication to aesthetic fidelity.
Look again at the Classicsverse/G1 Comparison thread and have a good look at a lot of these toys. Many of them "lack" iconic features of their G1 counterparts. e.g.
* Classics Optimus Prime has no smoke stacks on his shoulders.
* Mirage's weapons look nothing like the G1 toy's rifle or rocket launcher.
* Grimlock's overall design and transformation is a significant departure from his G1 counterpart. I know that he's not everyone's favourite toy, but I like it. And I like it a lot better than Generations/FoC Grimlock which has a more G1-like appearance and transformation.
* Much of RtS Windcharger's body looks nothing like G1 Windcharger (either the toy or show model), yet it's an arguably better toy than the more G1-accurate looking Combiner Wars Windcharger.
* Sunstreaker lacks the iconic yellow shoulder pylons and the limbs are totally different.
* Sideswipe & Red Alert's lower leg appearance and transformation is utterly unlike the G1 figures.
* Inferno has no ladder or wings.
* Boobglide. 'Nuff sed.
* The lower legs on the Nissans are inverted compared to their G1 counterparts.
* Voyager Nerf Megatron looks very different from his G1 self, and just as well because if he were G1 accurate then he'd raise legal issues!
...and so on and so on and so on... you get the picture.
And yet people have long loved Classicsverse figures despite their relative lack of G1 accuracy, and I think that it's because G1 accuracy isn't the staple of the appeal of Classicsverse. They're more like modern upgrades of these characters, like a "Transformers: Generation 3." And these "G3" Transformers generally tend to look a lot more like their G1 counterparts compared to some G2 Transformers such as G2 Mirage, G2 Power Master Ironhide, G2 Gobot Ironhide, G2 Jetfire (with Decepticon insignias!), G2 Gobot Optimus Prime, G2 Gobot Megatron, G2 Frenzy, G2 "Rave Party" Soundwave et al.
Classicsverse are very immediately identifiable as the character that they're meant to be, whereas some of these G2 figures you'd look at and wonder what the designers were drinking when they came up with them. I love both CHUGUR and MPs. I collect both CHUGUR and MPs, and it's because both lines scratch a different itch. Classicsverse shows me what G1 characters would be like if they were made as regular/mainline toys today. MPs gives me toys which are slavishly accurate renditions of G1 (or BW) characters. I love both for different reasons.
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