Via Aggressivecomix.com we can share for you a very interesting Interview With Takara Tomy Senior Product Designer Takashi Kunihiro About HasLab Unicron.
Long-time Transformers designer (starting with G1 toys), Takashi Kunuhiro talks about some interesting facts about designing the Chaos Bringer figure: when he heard about the project for the first time, the people he talked to for references or advice, the original size he planned for this figure, and of course all the challenges involved in the designing process.
You read the interview here or a text version after the jump. Click on the bar to join to the ongoing discussion on the 2005 Boards. Unicron has just passed the 7000 backers barrier and we are sure you want to share your impressions with us.
Unicron is almost here folks. With only four days left for the Haslab Unicorn to be funded, the biggest Transformers figure of all time has 6,873 backers of the 8,000 needed to see the project made. As the final push begins, a slew of announcements were made yesterday, including that the figure now has 15 points of articulation in his hands and fingers, and backers of the project will receive access to an exclusive digital comics bundle from IDW. Today we are excited to share a new Q&A with Takashi Kunihiro, Senior Product Designer at Takara Tomy and Transformers about the design process behind Unicron, how it all came about, and more!
How did you first hear about this project?
2 years ago when we heard that Unicron has been selected as part of the Haslab project I was ecstatic! Being on the same platform as Star Wars, I felt happy that Transformers in now seen in the same spotlight. My immediate thought was that I wanted to make this at least 100cm in size. But very quickly after, I had a feeling of “this is going to be an extremely complicated project” and as I looked around the room with other senior designers we all felt the same without saying a word.
Where did you even start with the idea of designing this giant toy?
There were a lot of trial and error at the beginning of this project. The biggest setback was how we started our thinking from looking at the previous largest Transformer toy we’ve created and that’s Titan class Fortress Maximus. My first instinct was that Unicron has to be at least twice as big if not more than Fortress Maximus. So I consulted with Ono-san, our senior designer who made the original G1 Fortress 30 years ago and see if there’s anything we can learn from his development of the toy.
So how did the learning of Fortress Maximus apply to Unicron?
I quickly realized that it doesn’t. Not in the slightest bit. Ono-san had a lot of creative liberty within Fortress as long as he can create a big, cool robot that convert into a big base. On the other hand, our Unicron is inspired from the 1986 movie character where he has distinct Robot and Planet mode design.
Then what would you say was the biggest challenge in designing Unicron?
The biggest challenge is to make the planet mode a perfect sphere with absolutely no space/crack from any 360 angle. As if that’s not a challenge enough, Unicron has unique robot features so I knew the conversion steps was going to be extremely complicated to build. Another challenge worth mentioning is that even if I wanted to recycle parts like his horn, the size varies as robot vs planet mode so I couldn’t. Therefore, we ended up with twice as much as parts for Unicron and much heavier toy than Fortress. Speaking of weight, if I made this toy as big as 100 cm like my first instinct, there was no way plastic could hold that much weight to create the Unicron shape.
Lastly what do you want to say to all the TF fans?
Through hardship and challenges we’re at the last stretch of the Unicron crowdfunding period. I believe we’re at a cross road in Transformers history where the largest converting Unicron will be made or it may end as a dream. The choice is yours.
BB Shockwave
Who's us? You work in some toy factory too that you have this insider knowledge?
And obviously, these days I doubt Hasbro would ever just leave the molds behind in the factory. That was 1984, let's not forget. Molds have not leaked ever since, I think, other KOs are made by using the toys to make new molds.
Qabiri
I mean, the picture is right there. Could they be a little bit wider? Sure. Much wider? No — we’ll have to agree to disagree here. I have a hard time looking at this figure and thinking the one thing that is wildly off is the maw, but then I’ve certainly harped on weirder, small stuff on other figures before, so I can respect the point of view
BB Shockwave
I really doubt Hasbro is making profit on this. Maybe a tiny bit, but otherwise, what we paid and the 8000 preorders were needed as the absolute minimum to get this on the road. If you look back on the topic, other people explained better than me how much these molds and engineering costs. I seriously doubt Hasbro asked some financial consultant to calculate to the cents how many preorders they needed to come off of this without investing anything. Hell, they already invested a LOT because they made the model and prototype by the time the kickstarter began. It was not scummy – it was a risk on their end. Unicron had many, many more moving parts than Jabba's barge, and Transformers isn't as super popular as Star Wars. They took a risk and it paid off, but if you imagine Hasbro making huge profit on us and greedily laughing in their creepy castles like Mr Burns, saying "Eeeexcellent…." then you are being unrealistic.
Delta Beam Dale
Based on this image, I'd say he's about 3½ Fort Maxs' wide from wing to wing
samisham
XXLMagnus
My dudes … it’s about what’s IN the box, right? *i need that Brad Pitt meme, stat!*
BB Shockwave
If you think children are interested in buying sets and characters for the first 3 SW movies that most kids I meet today NEVER saw (I can attest to this, sad as it is) then you are really deluded. But hey, thanks for the unneeded sarcasm nobody asked for!
Also your username has a spelling error, the movie was called black hawk down. [/sarcasm rigth back atcha]
samisham
That's actually a pretty cool way of looking at it and he can probably still do something similar.
mx-01 archon
I see it not as a transformation, as supported by the fiction, but as an alternate "playset" mode that sort of represents the corridors and trenches the Autobots have to fight through inside of him.
samisham
I have kind of a weird question. How many Gen Metroplex/TR Fort Max shoulder lengths wide would you say Unicron is in each mode with the wings/rings?
It'll help me rearrange my bedroom around Unicron.
DesertDog
I glad that they cut the city mode. I have a hard enough time figuring out why Unicron even needs feet, let alone trying to figure out where he’d find a rocky world large enough to support his weight and why he’d bother to land on one rather than devour it. I love the Planet-formers but they kinda give me a headache.
It does give me serious Spanner vibes though.
Not looking forward to next winter but this figure should brighten the worst of it.
Delta Beam Dale
Guess they did eff right off with it then, huh? But you may have some probs if the base mode makes your mind go there with such adversity
Jeddostotle7
It is just concept art, and that mode was cut from the figure (although I'm sure fans will find a fanmode that's close).
Chris Bot
They can eff right off with that "City Mode". That thing looks vulgar, what with his legs splayed open with a big phallic ramp between them as if to say, "Come into me". Gross.
C16
They're still much wider than the figure has.
PlanckEpoch
This is me here. Couldn't care less about the box. I paid for Unicron, not a box that's just going to go into a closet until I clean it out or the day I die.
pokemonsdoom
Don't care what box he comes in. I just want unicron.
octobotimus
Looking at the current cost in the box editor, ordering the same amount as were funded would be about $13.50 per box. This means with Hasbro's extra funds you really wouldn't need to pay extra at all if they had a nice box. Its actually pretty cheap when you factor in the grand total of unicrons sold and that Hasbro is a large company.
stad
I don't think there's any dispute that they could've made a ''nice'' box. Personally, I'm glad not to pay extra for packaging, considering it's not a ''vintage'' type figure.