Takara Missing Link G1 Series

[unluckiness]

The sales have little to do with the design and everything to do with being Optimus. The toys are literally the G1 transformations with a few added joints; it’s cool but not all that impressive. People in their garages have been doing that for decades now.

 

[Exatron]

I would absolutely be interested in Megatron, the Constructicons, Rodimus, and Hot Rod. Outside those, I don't have a ton of interest. The G1 toys were a blast 40 years ago, but I've just largely moved past them.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

Missing Link Devastator is the Devastator I've wanted all along.

 

[Sabrblade]

Missing Link Devastator is the Devastator I've wanted all along.

While Crazy Devy Devastator was the Devastator made along the way.

 

[ZacWilliam1]

The Seekers are an obvious one to do but seems like one of the hardest. How much can you change the Parts-forming and such before it stops being Missing Link which prides itself on being exactly the original aesthetic but fully poseable.

Soundwave seems very easy, but do you articulate up the cassettes?

I'd buy Brawn though I'm not sure how they'd do his arms. Also his tiny feet are barely sufficient to hold up a non poseable toy.

Doing Prowl seems obvious as it gets you Blue Streak, Smokescreen and most of Jazz easy enough.

Most of the original Autobot cars should be fairly doable prospects. Ironhide and Ratchet would be interesting to see.

-ZacWilliam, moving beyond 84 the Dinobots or at least Grimlock would probably be a huge seller and Ultra Magnus is at least something they could consider since they did Prime.

 

[Haywire]

I wonder when Bandai's going to respond with some Missing Link style Chogokin. There's a few that would tempt me.

I would be tempted by Missing Link-style Machine Robo figures...

 

[ZacWilliam1]

I would be tempted by Missing Link-style Machine Robo figures...

I'd be down for Leader 1, Cy-Kill and then anyone else I owned as a kid I guess.

-ZacWilliam, I'm still sad I missed out on the Spay-C toy from the last time they did Machine Robo

 

[CoffeeHorse]

While Crazy Devy Devastator was the Devastator made along the way.

Missing Link will still somehow cost less than buying all the Crazy Devy sets.

 

[unluckiness]

That's not saying much. Buying a kidney costs less than going completionist on Crazy Devy.

 

[Rhinox]

I'm mildly interested in this line, but the price really keeps me from indulging in my curiosity. Especially with the minibots. 40 bucks is too much. At least for me.

 

[Arazyr]

I'm splurging on Bumblebee and Cliffjumper from this, but only because I have a small sub-collection of the G1 BB/CJ design figures, and these would be a crowning addition.

 

[Haywire]

I'd be down for Leader 1, Cy-Kill and then anyone else I owned as a kid I guess.

-ZacWilliam, I'm still sad I missed out on the Spay-C toy from the last time they did Machine Robo

From the Action Toys run, I wish I'd picked up Steam Robo and Buggy Robo, but they were getting pretty fiddly, and I was trying to budget better, so I didn't go completionist on them.

My personal wants for a Machine Robo Missing Link series would be Baron Von Joy, Turbo, and Flip-Top for the Guardians and Zero, Twin Spin, and Stinger for the Renegades. Oh, also Bug Bite, if only to compare with Bumblebee.

 

[Shockwave 75]

I'm splurging on Bumblebee and Cliffjumper from this, but only because I have a small sub-collection of the G1 BB/CJ design figures, and these would be a crowning addition.

Yeah, I splurged on the trailer-less Optimus at a toy show a while back, but Bee and Cliff are over $50 each here in Canada. No thanks!
I'd have been all in at $30, MAYBE even $40, but between $53-$56 each, depending on the retailer, I'm out.

 

[G.B.Blackrock]

Do we think this line may not last very long because of the R&D costs?

I think this line may not last very long because it's a 40th anniversary thing.

I mean, if it were successful enough, I've no doubt they would continue it, but besides the "costs" of R&D, this seems like a lot of extra WORK that they probably never had any intention of sustaining for long, so it's probably only intended for this fairly narrow window of time.

 

[Haywire]

Wasn't the Masterpiece line announced to be folding into the MPG series? If the Missing Link figures sell well (and continue to do so), I could see them continuing the line to fill the space left by Masterpiece. (Similar complexity/parts count, but without the need to be combiners as well)

That said, Transformers is said to be a pretty niche market in Japan, so I would imagine these would have to sell REALLY well to continue beyond the 40th anniversary.

 

[Sabrblade]

I think this line may not last very long because it's a 40th anniversary thing.

True, but, in the past, we've gotten anniversary things that people didn't expect to continue beyond their respective celebratory years yet did, so I wouldn't necessarily see the anniversary aspect as an immovable roadblock, which is why I singled out the R&D costs.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

If this were intended as a short term line just for the anniversary, I imagine they'd be doing something more interesting than Minibots right now.

 

[The Mighty Mollusk]

Bumblebee is a main enough character to justify it, and Cliffjumper can reuse basically all of the actual engineering with a new car shell and face, so he's not a huge extra investment from there.

 

[Donocropolis]

Yeah, they're limited as to iconic characters that are also possible to do. Megatron probably isn't going to happen. The seekers are likely impossible due to the amount of partsforming that they do. Soundwave and Grimlock are definitely candidates, though.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

Bumblebee is a main enough character to justify it

Is Bumblebee particularly big in Japan though? Takara doesn't seem to push him like Hasbro does.