Demanding more of the Classics line

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sid burn
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Demanding more of the Classics line

Post by sid burn »

Hey everyone,

New to the site, I just started collecting again, and the entire reason was the Classics line of toys

Now I read that it was a filler line until the movie line comes out

Give me a break, collectors make up a huge part of the tranformer consumer market and I know I would purchase wave after wave of the classic line

my question is, is there a precedent of collectors influencing the decision by hasbro to continue a line that was scheduled to end?

If so, I would want to be a part of a movement to extend the life of this line

who wouldnt want to see deluxe prowl, wheeljack, ironhide,warpath,sunstreaker, side swipe and even cosmos

and thats just the autobots,

I would pay through the nose to get a voyager class Blitzwing

let me know what you guys think
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Re: Demanding more of the Classics line

Post by Ackula »

Originally posted by sid burn

my question is, is there a precedent of collectors influencing the decision by hasbro to continue a line that was scheduled to end?


Not very likely.
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sid burn
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Post by sid burn »

Seems like a shame to just let it end without any effort to keep it going

its not like Hasbro cannot make it happen, and they certainly would make money off the line

I personally will be emailing them directly

even if it makes no difference in the end, gotta do something
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Post by Denyer »

Originally posted by sid burn
Give me a break, collectors make up a huge part of the tranformer consumer market
More than 80% of TF buyers aren't adults buying for themselves, or at least those are the statistics Hasbro are working by.
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Post by dotCommunism »

I don't see how it's possible for the Classics line to continue at this point, just from a logistics standpoint, especially with that movie coming out in just a few months. Of course there's always the chance it could come back after the movie line, but I wouldn't count on it, especially since there's a cartoon already planned and that will have its own supporting toyline.
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Post by Ackula »

Hasbro is going to be putting all their effort towards the movie tie-ins at this point. I'm sure that from a logistic standpoint they look to make more money off a toy line from a potential hit summer movie than a line that is not supported by any TV show or film.

My guess would be that with the new CN cartoon slated for sometime in 2007, they would be focusing on that as a toyline after the movie hoopla has finally died down. A toyline without a cartoon to support it just isn't going to do as well for Hasbro as far as profits go.

There may be alot of adult TF fans and collectors but just like Denyer said, the main audience that the toys are marketed towards are kids. And an action figure line with a supporting cartoon is much more appealing to kids than one without. I'm not an expert on this by any means but I'm sure if you looked at the statistics, toys without some form of cartoon used for advertising the line just do not sell as well as those with one.

In my own experience I have observed this with my son, whom before watching any TF cartoons, displayed no interest at all in the toys. After he began watching the cartoons he was suddenly hooked and began wanting all sorts of figures from the line that the cartoon represented. As we progressed from watching one series to another his interest would shift to the action figures represented in the new series he was watching. However he has expressed no interest at all in any of the Classics line despite the fact that they are currently whats on the shelves here at this point in most stores. The only exception to this is that he went Minicon crazy while we were watching Armada and had me buy him all the Classics Minicon sets.

In fact he has expressed nothing but disdain for the fact that his favorite character from the G1 movie, Bumblebee, no longer looks like a VW bug..which is his favorite type of car. This is coming from a 7 year old by the way :laugh:
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sid burn
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Post by sid burn »

yeah, everything said in response rings true, I suppose I was hoping for some way to keep the classics coming

its too bad though, even at 20 % I wish there was a more prominent desire from hasbro to cater to the fans that brought TF to the level that they now enjoy

I know I wasnt the only one salivating over the skywarp target exclusive and that was just a repaint

it looks like there is a considerable market for this line and its too bad that it comes under the radar in terms of Hasbro's interest

I understand that kids will always be the prime target for toy manufacturers but I dont see why that has to be the final word on the transformer toys

I cant imagine that hasbro would actually lose money on the classics line but I suppose my basis for all this is nostalgia and not logistics
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Post by Cliffjumper »

Other way to look at it is that for adult collectors of a kids' toyline, we do alright, what with the Titaniums, Alternators, Classics, BW10 (and that's just from the toys - as well as that there's things like comics, DVDs and other merch aimed largely at us old bastards), even Universe to some extent... And that's before you add on that lots of adult collectors (not myself, but plenty of others) like the 'kid' line figures as well. There's a lot of stuff done for us olders, and while it is a shame Classics isn't running for years, it being discontinued is hardly a reason to throw a Jihad at Hasbro :)
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Post by another tf fan »

mmmmmmm jihad ....

I love the classics line, but Hasbro didn't try to deceive us, they were blatant in saying it was a filler line. Don't feel cheated Sid.

Oh, Cliffy, I'm an adult collector who very much liked the mainline toys. At least most of Cybertron and some of Energon. There were homages (Cyb Smokescreen and Blurr, Energon Downshift) that were very much aimed at the nostalgia market. So Hasbro doesn't forget us even when the collector lines are not around.

But I'm not going to keep a candle burning for a post movie revival of classics or alternators. I think the movie will be so successful that Hasbro will have it's hands full supporting the line.

Maybe we will get more comic book influenced toys for our collector market. More War Within stuff and even some IDW types. 350 Z Prowl anyone? (I know we won't see a modern Porsche Jazz, too bad.)
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Post by Cliffjumper »

Originally posted by another tf fan
So Hasbro doesn't forget us even when the collector lines are not around.


Yeh, there's been some stuff they (or Takara, or whoever) have done - Energon Downshift/Constructicons, some of the recolours like Powerlinx Thrust/Hot Shot, the 'G1' Spychangers from Universe - Hell, even Unicron was a bit of a nod to fans... Similar sort of things with repaints - like Armada Starscream. Sure, Thundercracker and Skywarp were a way of getting two more cheap figures out there, but at the same a lot of fans wanted the three for old times' sake, or wanted that mould, but in their favourite's colour.
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Post by Tetsuro »

Originally posted by Cliffjumper
Other way to look at it is that for adult collectors of a kids' toyline, we do alright, what with the Titaniums, Alternators, Classics, BW10 (and that's just from the toys - as well as that there's things like comics, DVDs and other merch aimed largely at us old bastards), even Universe to some extent... And that's before you add on that lots of adult collectors (not myself, but plenty of others) like the 'kid' line figures as well. There's a lot of stuff done for us olders, and while it is a shame Classics isn't running for years, it being discontinued is hardly a reason to throw a Jihad at Hasbro :)
Hmmm. For a toyline not having a cartoon series to support it, Classics seem to be selling like hot rocks over here.

I am still very disappointed to not see the Classics line continue, though.
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Post by another tf fan »

Classics aren't having any trouble selling here, either. wave one is virtualy gone and wave two is seeling fast.
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Post by Prime07 »

I too really wish the classics line would continue. I'm a strictly Gen1 fan and loved it when the classics line came out.

I'd like to see especially, Ironhide, Wheeljack, the rest of the Dinobots, Jazz and the rest(From season 1 anyway).

But what are ya gonna do? :(
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Post by Cliffjumper »

Originally posted by another tf fan
Classics aren't having any trouble selling here, either. wave one is virtualy gone and wave two is seeling fast.


I dunno, though, would a filler line really have shipped in the same quantities as a 'regular' one?
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Post by Denyer »

When there's not another main line on the shelves, most likely.

The line does seem to have gone down well.
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Post by Cliffjumper »

Originally posted by Denyer
The line does seem to have gone down well.


And with a little luck, be something we'll see more of in the future if the performance has been as good as previous lines... IMHO it's been nicely done from a commercial point of view - how well will such an overtly fannish line sell, and there's no reason really why kids can't enjoy them either (despite looking fabulous, Bumblebee is no more complicated than most toys), and it's been as much of a cautious toe in the water as a filler line... Who knows after Heroes, y'know? Classics seems to be the first 'retro' line (a description which probably applies to G2, MW, LoC, the reissues) to really do quite well, though it's difficult to evaluate from such a short run.
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Post by Clogs »

Oh, I will soon have all three Armada Seekers! Happyhappyjoyjoy!

I have no complaints about the Classics line at all. OK, I'll own that some of the moulding isn't exactly thrilling, but then there's Jetfire... My eldest son, who is coming up to 10, was not overly thrilled by Classics, but he demanded Bumble as he believed it would his one chance to own him (having been banned from even breathing on my G1 original golden VW version). On the whole, I think that the adults have been at the Classics.

With the movie coming up, I will expect this line to fade away and we'll see just oodles of movie toys. I fear that this might make for toys that we will wince at, but there will be good surprises there, I'm sure, given some of the items we've already glommed. And there's still the MP line, Alternators etc.
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Post by Cliffjumper »

Originally posted by Clogs
With the movie coming up, I will expect this line to fade away and we'll see just oodles of movie toys.


Erm, that is what's actually the plan...
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Post by Target »

Is there anyone we can contact / Petition to keep this line going? :)

----edit---- dam I can't spell today :D
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Post by Cliffjumper »

Originally posted by Target
Is there anyone we can contact / Petition to keep this line going? :)


Yeh, I'm pretty sure if we cobble together an online petition, or email Hasbro Customer support, they'll cancel the movie and funnel all the money into Classics.
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