John, Brian, Matt and Don dig into the BotCon 2016 “Dawn of the Predacus” box set, built to mark Beast Wars’ 20th anniversary. Ravage and Transmetal Tarantulas raise hopes, then the Tripredacus Council lets most of the panel down. Brian calls the tribute insufficient, and Don wishes the club had celebrated Robots in Disguise’s 15th instead. The crew also argues BotCon should reveal its souvenir toys early.
Is This Enough for Beast Wars’ 20th?
The box set is themed “Dawn of the Predacus” and celebrates the Beast Wars 20th anniversary. [Source: Seibertron] Brian calls it completely insufficient if this is the whole celebration. Matt has no connection to Beast Wars but wants the set because it is a combiner. Don cites ExVee’s point that 2016 is also Robots in Disguise’s 15th anniversary. He would rather have seen Fire Convoy, Ultra Magnus or a five-piece God Fire Convoy.
Robots in Disguise vs. Beast Wars
Don prefers Beast Wars’ story but thinks Robots in Disguise has more beloved toys. Brian calls Beast Wars the rebirth of Transformers and Robots in Disguise a filler line between Beast Machines and the Unicron Trilogy. Matt says the return to cars is what brought him back. John sees Robots in Disguise as the turn back to G1 vehicles and names that led to Classics. Brian and John agree the era’s toy engineering now feels dated.
Ravage and Transmetal Tarantulas
Ravage uses the Combiner Wars Breakdown mold with a cat head, and Tarantulas uses the Rook mold. Brian’s hopes were high at first, until he remembered they don’t turn into beasts. Matt loves the Rook mold but not Breakdown. Don spins fiction for a Secret Police Tarantulas who needs a bigger body to take down larger foes.
The Tripredacus Council
The council is C-Clamp, Ramhorn and Cicadacon. C-Clamp reuses the Scattershot tooling in similar reds. Cicadacon is a Skydive repaint, after a quick on-air correction from Air Raid. The panel reads Ramhorn as a hint at a future Nosecone. Brian finds them too red and says BotCon fiction can’t make him like the toys. He would have bought a Maximal combiner such as Magnaboss. Don briefly mixes the council up with Beast Machines before the crew corrects him. None of them can picture the combined form, though Don floats “Monstrous” as a GoBots nod.
Will It Sell?
Brian says a BotCon set only has to sell through, and this is not the Beast Wars set that would be their biggest seller. Matt can’t gauge demand. Don expects many fans to pick pieces up on the secondary market. Matt might buy Ravage and Tarantulas loose but still wants the set as a combiner.
Reveal the Souvenir Toys Early
John argues the club should announce souvenir toys well ahead of time to sell a lukewarm box set. Brian compares this to an attachment rate at retail. Don suggests Cyclonus troop-builder limbs as a souvenir. Matt skipped this year’s box set, bought Battletrap separately and got the Diaclone souvenir set. Don wants only the free convention exclusive kept secret. John credits Tony Fitz with the point that BotCon now releases more toys a year than Hasbro once did.
Contributors: John, Brian, Matt, Don
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