Thursday, July 12, 2012

FoC Op Ed



That image is Generations Fall of Cybertron Optimus Prime. As everyone already knows he is on the smaller side due to rising oil prices. However I think it's clear that there is more to it than that.
Take note of the number of screws shown. Ten screws. Two in each shin, two in each forearm and two in the torso. There is also a metal pin in each shoulder. Aside from the pins the screws don't play a role in the figure's articulation. The entire toy, except the shoulder pipes, is articulated entirely using the friction from plastic on plastic joints. This is a huge difference from the War for Cybertron figure which has a lot more parts and more pins and screws than I care to count.
This works rather well as Hasbro seems to have perfected mold tolerances. FoC Jazzes knees and elbows are ratchet joints yet each joint consists entirely of two pieces of plastic gripping each other. Hasbro has found new ways to cut back the number of parts on these figures thereby saving on the overall production. This would be great if the savings were passed on to us.

I don't mean for this to be some Hasbro bashing thread as they've treated this fandom too well over the years. I will always hold up Dispensor whenever anyone tries to claim Hasbro doesn't care about us. What I am getting at is the state of the toy industry and what it will mean for us going forward. $15 deluxe figures hurts more and more. I'm concerned with this trend. Will it continue? Will it stabilize where it currently is? Will it improve as Hasbro adjusts to the new price point?
I'm hoping for the latter.

2 comments:

  1. I'm not sure what to make of it. I tend to get irrational and defensive when I see people immediately jump on Hasbro for "a toy sucking" - case in point the pictures of Voyager Grimlock from SDCC, the first thing someone said was "looks crappy". I mean, could we get a hold of the thing first? But with OP here, I think you're 100% right to be concerned Cheat. Unless the world economy improves and oil drops, we're in for some big changes and more expenses. Having OP be smaller than Jazz seems like someone should have said "wait guys, lets just wait, make a Voyager Class Prime with this mold and release another smaller guy for now". But I know the thought process. TF toys won't sell unless you have Prime heading them up on the shelves. I'm still going to buy him, because I want to support Hasbro, but I share your concerns buddy. BIG TIME.

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  2. I'm curious how dose oil effect the toy company's? Is there any way to petition for the the company to not be hurt by this oil problem?

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