August Q&A answers!!!

[Ultra Magnus]

1. <submitted by LD2062> As we are all sure, Hasbro is aware of the "gold plastic syndrome" that affected many G1, G2, and Beast Wars figures. Even though the last reported case came from a Beast Wars figure, the problem always took years to manifest. That means that when collectors see such figures as 2007's Protoform Starscream, or Animated Swoop from 2008, there is reluctance to buy. What steps have been taken in order to ensure that problems like "gold plastic syndrome" do not happen again in the future/are not happening with the figures being released today?

Hasbro: When we used gold metallic plastic in the past we discovered, along with many of you, that it becomes brittle over time. As we became aware of this situation, we took the necessary steps to reduce the amount of gold fleck included in the plastic to eliminate this issue. Ultimately, this should no longer be an issue due to these corrective steps that we have taken.


2. <submitted by Minerva> Earlier there have been questions regarding Hasbro’s view on custom fan-produced upgrade kits (City Commander Armor, ROTF Superion appendages etc.) for Transformers figures, and it’s been made clear that Hasbro does not condone the unauthorized production and sales of their toy designs or intellectual property. Even so, these items seem to have become popular and sought-after by Transformers-fans all over the world, as sometimes the figure offerings feel incomplete without the add-ons (trailers for the Primes and Magnuses, for example). Due to this interest, has Hasbro any plans of releasing any upgrade kits, add-ons or similar, even if it were only in a direct to customer format through your website?

HASBRO: "As we have stated in the past, the unauthorized sale of Transformers merchandise is illegal. Hasbro has very stringent quality testing guidelines that all official Transformers merchandise must adhere to for the safety and expectations of our consumers. Also, there are many official licensees that pay to be a part of the Transformers franchise. It is not fair for legitimate businesses to pay to be a part of the franchise while others profit without the same requirements. From a manufacturer standpoint, Hasbro is in the business of mass market toys. We have licensees that do some smaller run, more niche products like statues or the collector club for example.

As for your specific question, we certainly understand the request for specific customizing kits and are considering the best manner to move forward with this request. "


3. <submitted by Jose> In a globalized world like the current, we come to see every new item Hasbro is releasing on their website, however when I go to the toy shops, I can barely find anything. While I understand there may be certain promotional items for some shops (i.e., Toys R Us), I reckon you may be missing potential good sales by not making all your products available worldwide. It seems there are plans to keep releasing re-issues of classic G1 castings (such as: 25th anniversary Optimus, or the TRU exclusive Soundwave from 2007), but here in Chile we can only get them through private sources and not from a retailer. Is it possible to improve products' world wide distribution?


[This question did not receive an answer from Hasbro]












Okay, that is it for this round.

Keep those gears turning, as the next round is just around the corner!

[Jose]

Man. Did I put the finger on some sensitive spot, or do I have bad breath?

I hope the questions will follow in some concrete action!

[Time Traveller]

Don't take it personally, Jose. Every round sees a fistful of unanswered questions.

[Jose]

Don't take it personally, Jose. Every round sees a fistful of unanswered questions.

I don't. But I do take it with humor. Lets you tame a situation.

[Ultra Magnus]

For more answers from this. and previous rounds, be sure to stop by http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Hasbro_Q%26A .

Note that many of the answers that did not get submitted by TFL in this round were either in the July or August rounds from other sites.

There is another round in just over a month, so expect a thread for more questions in roughly two weeks!!!

[Time Traveller]

, so expect a thread for more questions in roughly two weeks!!!

But of course, feel free to discuss some ideas freely before then!