Wow, harsh. I'm not looking to say that MP Ironhide and Ratchet are among the better MPs, but I'm hard-pressed to think of a SINGLE Ironhide/Ratchet Deluxe that I'd actually call as good....
The BotCon 2005 ones made from the Energon Tow-Line mold?
ER Op is fine in the "if this is the last G1 Optimus we get than it's a pretty good one to go out on." but he's Optimus Prime so that was never going to be the case; Hasbro will forever be looking at cashing in on him, so we're getting this no matter what, in which case, bully for those looking to upgrade or who missed on out on Op in the first place.
They're okay toys, but no. Especially not with those heads.
Personally, I am quite happy with my Earthrise Optimus Prime and I don't see myself replacing him anytime soon.
Thats kind of how I feel about it as well. It will have to be an amazing update for me to drop the money on another red semi truck thats G1.
All this does is make me long for the days when they weren't so focused on doing the Sunbow G1 models as toys.
I want to go back.
Please.
I want to go back.
Please.
But back then is when fans were whining and demanding that Hasbro focus more on doing the Sunbow G1 models as toys.
Yes, its such a shame that the line that focuses on screen accuracy, is in fact, focusing on screen accuracy. What is the world coming too?
To be fair, Studio Series was once the least G1 line that Hasbro had and it's not a surprise people are a little miffed that it's just become yet another venue for G1 toys, to the point of getting multiple redos of figures that already got toys recently in WFC. (Ironhide/Ratchet, Arcee, Ultra Magnus, now Optimus) while there's still a ton of movie figures that haven't gotten anything yet.
Considering the Rarity of things like Earthrise Ironhide/Ratchet, Prowl; how bad Earthrise Arcee was; they kinda made sense to get redos. Ultra Magnus also being more animation then Toy based, when Kingdom had that element covered, also feels like its worth it. Plus there's a limited amount of characters they can do from the 86 movie. I'm hoping they give us more Stand alone Cassettes for Soundwave; since WFC Ravage is horrible. And people really seem to want a bird-head Laserbeak without paying over $100 for him. And really, did you all really expect Hasbro to NOT do a new G1 Prime for the 40th anniversary?
I'm a G1-er in general, though not exclusively so by any means. As such, I've actually been very pleased with the mix we've been getting lately. The mix of actual G1 figures (including some pretty deep cuts), different-series existing characters in a G1-esque aesthetic so that they can mix right in with with my current collection, and brand new wacky ideas/characters (all the various shades of weaponizers/armorizers/Rock Lords/etc) is pretty much exactly what I would have designed as my line of choice.
As have I. I take it was a positive sign of the times that the first Optimus to get a Commander slot was NOT G1.
It's more necessity than anything. While yes, there are movie designs that SS hasn't touched, those are few and far between. At least when it comes to marketable characters. The marketable movie characters have all had SS releases. Sometimes multiple times.
So faced with the prospect of winding down a successful retailer line due to a decreasing roster of potential releases or keeping it going by shifting gears, it's no surprise they did what they did.
Especially if they can sell it to retailers as a compliment to a successfully selling Generations WFC/Legacy line.
The brand was in a very different place when the UT was conceived.
