Canada is now into the #BotBotsChallenge one more time. 2005 Boards member Oniconvoy is reporting that the Botbots Series 2 Bakery Bytes 5-pack was spotted at Canadian Toys”R”Us in Burlington, Ontario.
Happy hunting to all Canadian fans! Keep reporting your sightings around the world on the 2005 Boards!
Ulster Magnus
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Strafe
I think about this guy a lot and how cool it would have been to have a little regenerating translucent Energon crystal guy.
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Thanks, guys. I’d make a million of them if I can crank out more ideas.
Diamondback
BIG missed opportunity here. Mattel does Advent Calendars for most of their major lines, BB's and Micromasters should have both gotten their turns as ACC's or Easter baskets. (And for all the less-than-great about them, Tiny Turbos back in the Bayverse days too.)
Let's see. Jurassic AC's are usually ten repack figure-packs plus a redhat dinosnack (repack), eight fence sections (ditto) and a JP Gate and bunker (both ditto) for about $35. (Dinos alone normally $40.) A pack of 24 redeco Botbots… well, three 8-packs would normally be $45. We can assume less if they're all redecoes, even less cost if Hasbro gets cheap like the Gumball and Claw packs with stickers and crap. Then again, MM's averaged about $10/2-pack, so an MM or Minicon AC would baseline at $120 unless you deduct a LOT for redecoes or again get cheap by filling some compartments with blast effects, stickers or cheap cardboard "display scenery." You'd need each compartment to average out to about $3 content value a day, so each door with a $5 bot needs a $1 door-of-crap…
f-primusunicron
that bee with a pair of tiny wings would be just PERFECT
Max Tower
I wonder if Botbots woukl be better served by a series of Animated shorts that detailed some fun point to do with each "theme" using a select set of characters.. something along similar lines to Miraculous Chibi.
If they focused in on a few the more stand out designs or ones that might fit someone's "gifting" idea I'd totally buy a plush of 'Steve from Accounting' (for example). But I can see several that would make a fun gift shop release.
I think it is a small shame the toys and cartoon don't match more though.
I don't expect them to do much more with this brand as I always got the impression they "didn't get it" though I wouldn't rule out them having another go only with "named" Transformers characters.
Like this concept for a Botbots Bumblebee who turns into a Honey pot.
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As for the old series 6, I find it really strange that they didn't at least find a home for the unreleased giftsets.
I do think they could still easily just release the original "cancelled" line it is just a case of finding someone who'd take them to be worth making them.. they'd not have to do much work (unless they did something silly like loose the moulds or documentation).
The Colour-change figures were really delayed too but still sold in the end. I can't help but think that even if they don't want to release them as is / as was they could find out uses for them like in blind packets or as a Transformers Advent Calender or Easter Egg.
Heck I think the gold ones would be something appealing to find a use for as they require a lot less attention as they are just one colour usually.
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I agree that getting the tolerances horribly wrong isn't helpful though especially for something that is going to be handled by in some case quite young kids… also i'd note that a lot of these collectable miniature food lines that are still around are crazy expensive even when they are just made of cardboard in some cases.
I always feel kinda sad that the G1 purist types just huff and automatically dismiss Botbots though as it gave me exactly what I wanted from Transformers as a brand lots of new characters and some variety.
Besides surely they must be cheaper to make than some of the larger toys since they lack things like metal pins.
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But Botbots really did and does deserve better. (much like Poor ol' Miraculous Ladybug does too).
Hasbro seem oddly shy of small Transformers now though, we are seriously lacking for cassettes and also for Minicons too.
Diamondback
Imagine if these and the series had been a thing WHILE the toys were being designed… we might still have BB's today.
marvel b
I love these so much
vvvTheONEvvv
Fuck…
I would buy a postcard collection of these.
The quackles holding up cuddle wuddle is freakin' gold!
Strafe
I made some Botbots Valentines!
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Venixion
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Diamondback
Ironically, one of the guys I used to deal wit regularly at WOTC now drives my buses occasionally, and that was his view from the inside too. The only thing Hasbro really wanted to keep of Wizards was Magic because it's absurdly low cost, absurdly high volume and absurdly high margin.
Venixion
That would explain a lot
Strafe
Thank you!
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bearytrek
missile launch!
Skreeonk
I do miss Botbots. For the past few years I had gotten them as stocking stuffers for the kids; it kind of became a tradition. Didn't this year, and stockings just weren't the same. I might have to grab a few here and there to stockpile for future Christmases…
On a fun note, I discovered that Sugar Breath can hold candy corn on his back, like rockets:
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Diamondback
If my reading of patterns is correct, Hasbro has a long history of halfassing things when they want out of a line. Sometimes I think D&D4e was MEANT to fail as a way to gut WOTC and downsize its portfolio, since they only had one design team for everything and all were canned.
NemiMonkey
Well that certainly puts the leaked Series 6 checklist into perspective now. Why they wouldn't just go ahead with that instead is beyond me since 90% were just repaints from what I can tell.
Diamondback
My read is they didn't really WANT to do it but had a contractual obligation so they did the bare minimum to say "see, we pushed SOMETHING nd the contract is fulfilled." Just like when they played Admiral Ozzel to Universal's Darth Vader on 2015 Jurassic…
NemiMonkey
WOW you guys were not over exaggerating with the tolerance complaints on series 6. Ended up with 2 Quacked Up and both are loose in the head rotation. On one the duck head doesn't want to stay on and both have insanely tight joints. It was an absolute chore just to get them into duck mode and I'm pretty darn sure both have stress marks on their arms. Speaking of arms one was pretty bent out of shape it doesn't like staying on.
Quackles has his hug enforcers but man it's such a let down how they turned out. Part of me just doesn't want to mess with them. I did want a Lady Loofah and a Don Melon(Melione?) but I just don't want to waste more money and spin that QC wheel again. Way to end the line there Hasbro, could have ended with a nice clean sprint but you decided to trip yourself up and end up in a heap inches from the finish line.