You mean that instead of scrapping all those ROTF repaints (ANOTHER ROTF Bumblebee? Warming shelves to no-end), you can't release moulds that you've already made?
I understand, yes, you want to streamline everything. Either it's Movie or Universe. At first.
Now you've evolved the Movie line to HFTD. Ok, I'll bite.
Your other line is Generations. Oh, that's the line that evolved from Universe? OK, OK, sure.
Hey wait there's that new line, what's it called - Power Core Combiners! But wait, didn't you say that you DIDN'T want to diversify your lines?
And then you have your Masterpiece Grimlock coming out. And your Piranacon.
My point is, if you could spend the marketing and the money and the risk of diversifying your fan base and market share by creating the Power Core Combiners, which have no cartoon to advertise them... why couldn't you do that with Animated?
Look at all the unused moulds that you promised but ended up actually producing in quantities so little, it's hardly worth the investment put into them.
Hydrodive Bumblebee
Come on. You mean you couldn't take Payload (a recolour of Long Haul, who wasn't that popular to begin with since he's still warming shelves) and replace him with this?
Blackout
This one is even more unjust. It's a completely new mould, for crying out loud. It shares the name of a popular figure from the original movie, and ostensibly ROTF as well. You couldn't take Night Ops Ratchet (which ain't even a homage, like Rescue Ratchet was) away to make space for this?
Wingblade Optimus PrimeIt's a Prime. Don't you love releasing recolours of Primes again and again and again? Why couldn't you give this one to us? Of all the toys you decided not to release, you had to pick Optimus Prime! You couldn't scrap Defender Optimus Prime or Grindor (or even both) for this?
Rodimus Minor
I don't know what to say. I don't like Rodimus, but many do. He's a flaming red sports car. He's got projectiles and a pretty cool bow for a weapon. Yet you'd willingly release a recolour of an unpopular figure based on a character that didn't appear in the movie instead?! What hair-brained people work at marketing? Who makes these decisions?
Cybertronian Ironhide
Yeah, he's a recolour. More accurately, he's a retool. But you gave me Tuner frigging Mudflap instead. Why? What makes you think I want to buy a recolour of a retard instead of Ironhide? Ironhide, it's Ironhide, the guy you make out to be all flavours of awesome in the film, who you'd create an entirely new mould for because he's just so cool. But you gave us Mudflap instead.
Cybertronian Ratchet
Seriously. You'd give us shit like Night Ops Ratchet but you won't give us Cybertronian Ratchet? The one you made two heads for so you could recolour him into Cybertronian Ironhide? You know the marketing possibilities of selling Ratchet & Ironhide as a two-pack? Nah, you decided to give us a gay recolour of Dirge, Jetblade.
Arcee
Apart from Wingblade Optimus Prime and Rodimus Minor, I think Arcee is one of the most unfortunate victims of the lot. And in return for her, we got April O Neil's skinny spindly helicopter with a name that makes no sense. Or maybe it was a vampiric recolour who, oops, already shares the same name with another original figure!
What's my point? My point is that instead of releasing all those fugly recolours, we could have gotten these Animated repaints. And if they can diversify the Transformers brand with cheesy named subline like Power Core Combiners (who are good toys in and of themselves), they can diversify it by continuing their EXISTING LINE. We could have gotten
Hydrodive Bumblebee instead of Payload
Blackout instead of Night Ops Ratchet
Wingblade Optimus Prime instead of Defender Optimus Prime
Rodimus Minor instead of Autobot Gears
Cybertronian Ironhide instead of Tuner Mudflap
Cybertronian Ratchet instead of Jetblade
Arcee instead of Dead End
Even if, let's say, I removed Tuner Mudflap and Dead End (both recolours of Movie characters), that doesn't explain bloody Thrust or Evac making the cut over Animated, both recolours of non-Movie characters. Isn't there a rule somewhere that says that characters who have appeared in fiction before trumps characters who haven't?
And then instead of properly releasing the PROMISED 6 Activators from Animated (Fireblast Grimlock, Soundwave, Cliffjumper, Dirge, Armour Up Optimus Prime, Battlefield Bumblebee) (and Soundwave is a brand new mould too), you give me 2 KNNCCB recolour twinpacks of Scouts and 1 KNNCCB recolour twinpack of Deluxes!
More salt in my wound! No Freeway Jazz or Electrostatic Soundwave or Toxic Oil Slick or Fugitive Waspinator or Vortex Blurr or Mercenary Swindle! Roadbuster Ultra Magnus or Shadow Blade Megatron! None of that! For my poor Leaders, you gave me Shadow Command Megatron (not even battle damaged lah, screw you), and Battle Charged Ultimate Bumblebee (did not the previous shelfwarming teach you ANYTHING?) I get Sea Attack Ravage and Backfire and Brimstone and Crankstart and Oil Pan and Tuner Skids (!!! WHY???) and Electrostatic Jolt?
To summarise, of all the recolours, we could have gotten
Roadbuster Ultra Magnus instead of Battle Charged Ultimate Bumblebee
Shadow Blade Megatron instead of Shadow Command Megatron
Freeway Jazz instead of Sea Attack Ravage
Electrostatic Soundwave instead of Electrostatic Jolt
Toxic Oil Slick instead of Tuner Skids
Fugitive Waspinator instead of Blowpipe
Vortex Blurr instead of "Road Rival Showdown" Beachcomber vs Deadlift
Mercenary Swindle instead of "Windy City Chase" Slapdash vs Trenchmouth
Fireblast Grimlock instead of Backfire
Soundwave instead of Brimstone
Cliffjumper instead of Crankstart
Dirge instead of Oil Pan
Armour Up Optimus Prime instead of Thrust
Battlefield Bumblebee instead of Evac
That's $633 you could have gotten from me, Hasbro, and from many other collectors, had you used some sense in your marketing. Even with 20% off, it's still $506.40. $500 per collector. You lost it for some shelfwarmers! Sigh.
That is why I have lost so much faith in you, Hasbro. Please do something right about your unreleased moulds for Animated. Please.
