Rumor: Possible Transformers Generations 2020 Listings

RKillian

The KMart that's been in my town for as long as I can remember is closing in December.

There are still TFA (Force Awakens) figures on its shelves.

Same, and same. My local store is going into clearance right now, closing mid-December. Hell, out of the 11 Kmart stores left in MI (where Kmart was originally headquartered) 8 of them are closing.
SMH

Kazimir

I don't really know the official story, but it's my understanding the G1 Thunderclash is the original toy, and its the Machine Wars Optimus that is the retool. That's exactly what I'd want in WFC; a Leader class Thunderclash from a mold intended to be Thunderclash, who looks like Thunderclash, which is then retooled into Machine Wars Prime, or whatever they wanna call it. Just like the original.

"Machine Armor Optimus Prime" has a nice ring to it.

All I know is when we get Thunderclash, I want him to share a mold with a MW Optimus Prime, just like the original. I’ll buy them both.

orangeitis

Of course there's precedent. But wouldn't you want a Thunderclash that actually looks like Thunderclash instead of Optimus Prime with a Thunderclash cosplay? I see no harm in the two molds sharing parts, but I'd rather advocate for more unique molds between characters that are originally not mold mates. Maybe that's just me. =/

I don't really know the official story, but it's my understanding the G1 Thunderclash is the original toy, and its the Machine Wars Optimus that is the retool. That's exactly what I'd want in WFC; a Leader class Thunderclash from a mold intended to be Thunderclash, who looks like Thunderclash, which is then retooled into Machine Wars Prime, or whatever they wanna call it. Just like the original.

orangeitis

Of course there's precedent. But wouldn't you want a Thunderclash that actually looks like Thunderclash instead of Optimus Prime with a Thunderclash cosplay? I see no harm in the two molds sharing parts, but I'd rather advocate for more unique molds between characters that are originally not mold mates. Maybe that's just me. =/

I look at my CHUG Pincher as an example:

Okay, so what we establish is that having ANY figure is better than having NO figure. The first Skullgrin wasn't the best fit for the character, but it beat the hell out of how well they did Pincher. SPOILER ALERT: They've NEVER done a CHUG Pincher at all.

@RKillian : i too can still find TFA at retailers over here! Its INSANE! Prior to the sequel trilogy, merch based on PT and OT would have cleared years ago! X)

Goldlock

Yeah, I would be exactly the same with those tweaks to Earthrise Optimus – it'd basically make for the perfect Prime. I'm convinced the fist issue is just so they can try and force-feed us another "Malibu Stacy WITH NEW HAT!" scenario in about a year's time with blue hands.

Ah, I had no idea about that much of Gundam's history. It's funny how they're able to keep pumping out Wing and Seed merch because of their place in saving the franchise, but Beast Wars only gets the odd breadcrumb every 4/5 years for achieving the same thing with Transformers. Hopefully all this speculation about a coming Beast Era revival is at least partly on the money!

I don't even mind when they do go in circles with Optimus, as long as it's more than just G1 or "G1 styled" every time. I really enjoyed getting Seige's Cybertron Optimus update (even with its faults) for a change of pace, and I'll happily buy updates like Siege Jetfire or Omega, that bring something new enough to the table, even though they're yet more old characters based on old designs. I'm 100% in for the likes of Impactor too, or any characters that haven't received legit figures in the past, whether they're G1 or not.

I agree about the Titans too, even though we've had some misses here and there, they've been huge fun to get every year or so! Only trouble is, who will they do to keep the size class going, once they've finished all of the big G1 guys in the next few years?

I think we just got to be patient with BW. I have been waiting for a new (or reissue with better paint apps) CHUG BW T-Rex (season 1) Megatron but alas, it has not yet appeared.

My concern is that in terms of customer demographics : most of the kids that grew up with BW, grew out of collecting…unlike the G1 kids.

As a result, demand for G1 merch is always going to be higher.

That’s the case with other, older franchises too…somehow its almost always the first “series” that props up the franchise. Example, Star Wars and Gundam.

Gundam has its ups and downs too. And it really serves as a good example as how a franchise can “peak” and “drop”…it was pretty dire in the 90s! LOL!

With regards to TFs, I hope one day we get something akin to the Studio Series for G1 and BW. Right now, all the “best” (for me) G1 updates are all over the place. Example, best CHUG versions for the Datsun brothers were in the first few CHUG series, best Tryticon was in Titans Returns (?), best Jetfire in Siege and so on.

With regards to the future titan class figures…its hard to say. They can release Japanese combiners or re-do tge G1 combiners, release Skylynx?

I'd also call that Botcon version of Thunderclash disappointing at best, but yeah, TC is a long-shot. But, I still hope having an Optimus Prime repaint built-in increases the chances of seeing TC in a line with Micromasters.

Thundershot

Yeah, it's likely not TC… I wish though. The clues were… (paraphrasing) armored car.. hasn't had an update.. correction, an update but not a very good one… and no 3P has done him (to catz knowledge).

While the armored car is iffy, Doubledealer seems the most likely candidate. Thunderclash had a Botcon update.. and has a 3P offering..

Also, if Hasbro plans to have a mercenaries faction, DD would work well in that group..

I agree, though Thunderclash has some merit. I agree Doubledealer fits into the Mercenary gimmick, but Thunderclash fits into the base-mode gimmick quite easily.
This would've worked in TR too, so it's hardly a sure thing, but Thunderclash could conceivably be an Optimus retool with a new trailer. Think how they made Siege Ultra Magnus into Galaxy Convoy.

I'm still holding out hope that the armored car leader catz was talking about turns out to be Thunderclash. It's a long-shot and there are points against it, but I'm still hoping. I know I am not the only fan waiting for the chance to buy a Generations Thunderclash. And a new Machine Wars Prime.

DracoPrimal

The "Kmart Kurse" seeps into surrounding businesses.

Its name is Eddie Lampert. Its scheme is to run the company into debt, buy the land under the stores to "help" the company, and continue this process until all of the land is owned by its hedge fund. Home Depot's board/shareholders caught on to what it was doing and kicked it to the curb where KMart found it. Sadly, Sears caught this virus when its financial trickery allowed KMart to buy them despite being by far the weaker of the two organizations.