John, Diecast and Ant from TFU.info preview New York Comic Con 2015 and what Hasbro might show. The crew expects the Combiner Wars Machinima cartoon to finally get real footage. They also bet that Computron and the Technobots close out Combiner Wars before Titan Wars takes over. The episode ends with a frank look at a Transformers brand spread thin across retail shelves.
The NYCC 2015 Panel Schedule
John walks through the schedule. The Hasbro Transformers Generations panel runs Thursday at 8 p.m., with IDW, Activision, Machinima and Hasbro all sharing one hour. IDW has its own panels Friday and Saturday. John finds the late time slot odd and expects everything to be crammed into that single hour. [Source: Seibertron]
Combiner Wars Cartoon Expectations
All three want real footage of the Machinima Combiner Wars cartoon after a thrown-together sizzle reel. Ant notes the toy line is almost a year ahead of the show, which makes character choices tricky. He likes the move to direct-to-streaming. Diecast hopes for at least a five-minute preview and thinks online release reaches more fans than a Cartoon Network time slot. The crew expects a “hard PG” tone, with Ant guessing at more violence and permanent character deaths. John is wary of being dark for its own sake.
Transformers Devastation on Day One
Diecast has Transformers Devastation preordered for its October 6 release. He expects Activision to show downloadable content at the show. John predicts the day-one patch size and hopes future DLC adds real characters and movesets, not just skins.
Combiner Wars at a Crossroads
John feels Combiner Wars has burned through its ideas fast. It is not even a year old, yet it already feels like year three of repaints. G2 Superion, Victorion, Bruticus and G2 Menasor are all known quantities. Ant notes the line is four or five repaints deep into the Alpha Bravo and Breakdown molds. He still doubts Hasbro will end a line while launching a cartoon to sell it.
Speculating on Computron and the Technobots
Diecast expects deluxe Technobots but fears one new mold and a pile of repaints. Ant thinks Star Wars could crowd Transformers out of Hasbro’s showcase. The crew maps likely molds: Scattershot is known, Nosecone could come from Brawl or Rook, and Afterburner could use the Takara Groove mold. Ant floats a Wave 2 2016 release after Sky Lynx, plus a Legends-class Strafe. Diecast pitches Legends Wheelie, and John pitches a Legends Grimlock as Computron’s centerpiece. Ant also reads recent trademarks as a sign that Legends will fill out the G1 Minibots.
Titan Wars and Blaster
John recaps the Titan Wars tease from the BotCon booth art, which showed Blaster, Soundwave and Fortress Maximus line art. A grainy photo of Titan Wars Blaster with a base mode followed. Ant expects only an official tease at NYCC, with the big reveal at Toy Fair. Diecast hopes the Machinima show folds Titan Wars in from the start.
The Movieverse and a Brand Spread Thin
Neither guest expects movie news at NYCC. John lays out the brand’s many fronts, and Ant notes Rescue Bots quietly outlasts every other Transformers series. Ant thinks the line is great for the brand but hard on collectors. He expects Kre-O to end and Robots in Disguise to go on hiatus. He also flags the coming Beast Wars 20th anniversary. Diecast wants Transformers to win back shelf space and wants retailers to group Rescue Bots with Combiner Wars. John notes how different Robots in Disguise and Combiner Wars look side by side on the pegs.
Wrapping Up
Ant and Diecast both hope to see more Beast Wars figures. Diecast mentions Rattrap and Waspinator and wants the rest of the cast in modern form. The two plan to call in to Radio Free Cybertron’s Wednesday live show from the NYCC Hasbro preview night.
Contributors: John, Diecast, Ant (TFU.info, guest)
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