| Hasbro Interview at the Philadelphia International ToyExpo 99' 03/13/99 |
Hasbro: Hey how you doing? Me: Fine, how are you? Hasbro: Fine thanks, these are pretty cool aren’t they? Me: Yeah, Are any of these actually going to be made? [ pointing to the stills ] Hasbro: Well I’m not sure. They are just in development for now. But I would love to make them. We have them out here to get peoples opinion on them. What do you think of Optimus over there? Do you like the classic, modern, or manga look? Me: Well I think the classic looks the closest to original Optimus Prime character. So I would say that’s the coolest looking one of the group. Hasbro: If these were to be made they wouldn’t transform at all. They would be more along the lines of the Spawn line but with greater articulation and weapons. Me: Oh if your going for an action figure then I would go with the Manga Prime, it’s a lot cooler looking. Wow the Blue Streak is a dead ringer for the original toy. Hasbro: I was trying to keep close to the original look for most of them. But we also had to keep the body types somewhat universal. Like Blue streak could easily be remolded into Smokescreen and Prowl. But we also wanted to update the look a little as with the Bumblebee and Optimus.
Me: Was this stuff planned for the 15th anniversary of the toys? Hasbro: Not really even if we got the go ahead on it, it would take till to at least 2nd quarter of 2000 to get these rolling. Me: Ahh. Do you know if there are any plans for the 15th anniversary? Hasbro: Not that I have heard of. Me: Oh ok. Last year I saw the foam model for Optimus Prime and was wondering if they were going to be making that. Hasbro: I saw that model too. It was pretty cool. But I don’t think there are any plans on making it right now. Me: What are the chances that these toys or any new Transformers will be made? Hasbro: Well there already is the Beast Wars line, and a new line called animorphs. Me: I already am a fan of Beast Wars, but I think Animorphs is really for young kids in my eyes. I would like to see a return to more classic look. Hasbro: Well you might be surprised with the direction the Beast Wars is going to go in then. I know that Beast wars is the new focus of the Transformer line and there are plans to keep it going with a new show and new characters. Me: Any info on the new show or toy line? Hasbro: Sorry I’m not directly involved with that, all I know is its going to be under a different name, Beast Machines or something. Most of the information hasn’t filtered down yet, but the cartoon will still be there and there are plans for new toys for it. Me: So there is no chance for a return to the classic look of the 80’s line? Hasbro: Depends on fan demand for it. If I could I would come out with this line in a second, I think it would be a good seller and have fan support. I already have ideas for other pieces, Me: Like what? Hasbro: I would love to make a scale model Devastator [about 2 foot high. (he made a hand gesture for the size)] I think it would make a great exclusive. Me: Wow that would be an awesome piece to get. I know so many people who would love to see this stuff happen. Is there any way to help this along? Someone we could call or Email? Hasbro: Well you could try emailing Hasbro from their Web page that might get threw. I wouldn’t do it from the Beast Wars site thou, I don’t think anyone even reads the mail from there. Or you can try calling the customer support lines and telling them you would like to see them make stuff like this. [ I swear to god this is an exact quote about the BW site ;) ] Me: I’ll have to pass that info along to my friends. Would you mind if I took some pictures of the Stills? Hasbro: Go for it. I wouldn’t mind at all. Are the pictures going in a magazine or a website? Me: They’ll go on my site. And I’ll share them to a fan list I belong to. If that’s ok? Hasbro: Won’t bother me at all. Me: Thanks for all the info. Hasbro: No Problem thanks for stopping by. |
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