Generations  Generations / BLOGs

OPINION: Five Things Other Than The Matrix Of Leadership Standing In HasLab Unicron's Way

With under two weeks left, HasLab Unicron, the largest Transformer ever made in potentia, is hovering around a third funded. While we do expect another burst of backers near the end of the campaign as frequently happens... that number's still kinda scary. And we've spent a lot of time watching, waiting, and above all wondering: could we have been in a better place with this right now? And honestly, we think so. There are a lot of variables as to when and how might be the best time to get toy collectors to drop nearly six hundred bucks, and in many ways we feel that Unicron is not positioned to do so as well as it could have been.

Disclaimer

First off, let's start with a large and important disclaimer: We Want Unicron To Succeed, And Recommend Backing Sooner Rather Than Later If You're Interested.

Even though most or all of us here at TFormers don't intend to buy the beast for ourselves (or just plain can't), we have friends who want one very dearly... and honestly, some of us would just love the opportunity to one day see one up close. So please understand that what we write here comes from not the jeering perspective of someone who wants Unicron to fail, nor shallow concern-trolling from someone who pretends to be a supporter, but from fans who want very much to see it succeed.

And here's five obstacles that Unicron will have to overcome before he comes to your home to consume your bank balance.


5. The Time Of Year

SDCC was a rough time to do this. The first HasLab project, Jabba's Sail Barge from Return Of The Jedi, was launched shortly after Toy Fair. That was a great time because there's usually a bit of a toy release lull around then as retailers prepare for the Easter and summer shopping seasons. And most importantly of all, this is when Americans are beginning to file their income tax returns and receive their refunds. It's... maybe best to ask for the big money when people are most likely to have it! Summer is when people are frequently spending money on long-planned vacations if they're spending at all, and the back to school shopping season and holiday shopping seasons are looming large.


4. The Generations Preorders That Launched At The Same Time

Unicron is also possibly a hard sell you've also launched preorders for effectively the entire back half of the year the same weekend.

LOOK AT THIS. This all happened within the space of three hours the Thursday night of SDCC. By our rough estimate, if you were to preorder every single item on this list, it would set you back about $570 before shipping.

Hey, that number sounds familiar...


3. MP-44 Optimus Prime

So say you're not into all that Generations stuff and you're only into big, fancy Transformers - like Unicron! Problem solved, right? No competition there?

Uh.

MP-44 Optimus Prime, the most expensive Masterpiece to date, is due out in late August, right about when the Unicron campaign is set to end. What's it cost? ...somewhere in the neighborhood of a Unicron. Not quite as much, but definitely enough that some collectors will inevitably end up having to choose between the two.


2. The Slow Reveal

There's also the gradual reveal of information we're getting on Unicron, which we feel may be counterproductive at this stage. At first you might think that this is because, as a product in pre-production, they have to be careful about what they promise and what they can do. It's logical. But every time we think that... we get another reveal like the inside of Unicron's face. Maintaining buzz and excitement for the project is an understandable goal, but for the amount being asked for a project that is to be delivered later, it's probably a better idea that potential buyers know exactly what they're being asked, as much as it's possible to reveal that, with as much time as possible left to make a decision.


1. How Close To The Goal Are We, Really?

This one is basically nobody's fault. As an international company with partners who have rights concerning the sale of Transformers in other territories, Hasbro's hands are tied here in their ability to directly count pre-orders for the figure. But what this means is: say that hypothetically there's a ton of orders in China, Japan, Australia, etc. that might make that total bounce up and make people sit up and say "Oh wow, this is actually going to happen, we should get in on this." We don't know that one way or the other. Crowdfund campaigns have a certain momentum once they look like they're going to succeed, and Unicron could use that.

There are a lot of preorders up for Unicron in different parts of the world right now. Do they count towards this 8,000 unit threshold we have to hit to get the figure made, and if so how many units will it add to the currently worrisome total? Language on TakaraTomy's solicitations for the figure suggest 8,000 is the global target number, but that's about the only info we've gotten on how this works, and we're not going to know for sure until the last possible second.

Unless they're already including overseas sellers and international shipping fan channels' totals in the overall total - and oh boy do we hope not! - we have no way of knowing how much farther there really is to go. Maybe Unicron's doing way, way better than we thought and we're worrying about nothing! But from what we can actually see, this really could be going better. We wish it was!

On the bright side: it's doing better than Cookie Monster. Poor Cookie.

Data Center

Member Comments

Last 10 comments - ( Read All Posts )
Reluttr 2019-08-20 @ 7:49 am
6 hours ago, chuckdawg1999 said:

Another point that might be a reason that people aren't going in on this is the fact that this is Hasbro, the company that brought us Prime Airacnid, Armada Sideswipe, Prime Wars P/CP and countless other "bad" toys and toys misassembled leaving the factory. Imagine paying close to $630 (tax and shipping) only for Unicron having some defect and your only options are sending it back, or trying to fix it yourself. 

I'd like to echo this and remind people of another glaring problem. This thing has not been through safety testing yet, so who knows what will be changed, or even if this thing can be actually delivered.

Need a example? Compare the prototype pictures of Siege Omega we were shown to the more recent production samples. The hips are completely different and to a lot of people look pretty bad.

Oh, and one more thing to consider. Everyone keeps talking about how heavy this figure is, could you imagine Metroplex-tier ratchets on a nearly 20 pound pound figure? I hope having functional fingers is not a major part of your day job.

Clownpants 2019-08-20 @ 7:47 am

THE UNICRON ABS DONT DO THE THING LIKE IN THE G1 MOVIE WHERE GALVATRON STANDS ON HIS CROTCH WHILE THE UNICRON RED ABS AND CHEST FOLD OUTWARDS AND FOR THE GEM-LIKE ABS. AND THE ABS FOLD OUT AND THE CHEST DOES THE THING .

Agent G 2019-08-20 @ 1:55 am

You forgot to mention sloppy paint apps.  I can't find myself able to commit to spend almost $600 for a Siege line character after the disastrous paint apps that were applied to Jetfire.  It was a beautifully sculpted design ruined by cheap paint apps.  Unicron looks like a solid design but what am I going to get when it comes off the line?  I can't expect it to look as clean as that prototype.  That is for sure.  Until hasbro addresses that, it's a hard sell for me.

chuckdawg1999 2019-08-20 @ 1:26 am

Another point that might be a reason that people aren't going in on this is the fact that this is Hasbro, the company that brought us Prime Airacnid, Armada Sideswipe, Prime Wars P/CP and countless other "bad" toys and toys misassembled leaving the factory. Imagine paying close to $630 (tax and shipping) only for Unicron having some defect and your only options are sending it back, or trying to fix it yourself. 

Post Your Comment Now! (membership required)

Transformers Shops

Advertise Here on TFormers.com

Shop Online for Transformers United

Transformers Shopping



More Generations News & Reviews



Advertise on TFormers.com








This site uses cookies for site configuration, advertising, and analysis. By using this site you accept our policies - Read Full Site Policy OK
Sign Up For The TNI Newsletter And Have The News Delivered To You!


Forums Communities: Toy Fans - Marvel Fans - Transformers Fans

@ToyNewsI Socials: Facebook - Twitter - Instagram

@MarvelousNews Socials: Facebook - Twitter - Instagram

@Tformers Socials: Facebook - Twitter - Instagram

@JediInsider Socials: Facebook - Twitter - Instagram

Entertainment News International (ENI) is the #1 popular culture network for adult fans all around the world.
Get the scoop on all the popular comics, games, movies, toys, and more every day!

Contact and Support

Advertising | Submit News | Contact ENI | Privacy Policy

©Entertainment News International - All images, trademarks, logos, video, brands and images used on this website are registered trademarks of their respective companies and owners. All Rights Reserved. Data has been shared for news reporting purposes only. All content sourced by fans, online websites, and or other fan community sources. Entertainment News International is not responsible for reporting errors, inaccuracies, omissions, and or other liablities related to news shared here. We do our best to keep tabs on infringements. If some of your content was shared by accident. Contact us about any infringements right away - CLICK HERE