Pictorial and Video Review for Flame Toys Transformers 01 Drift

Drift looks awesome! Although the only real way you can tell that it is a transformer and not a gundam is the autobot symbol.

That Drift looks so sweet

While we wait for more news to come from the New York Toy Fair 2018 floor and presentations, we have a teaser from Flame Toys (distributed by Bluefin in the US) and their upcoming model kits - of which we previously saw Optimus Prime and Starscream - courtesy of Twincast Mainframes regular guest Mr Starscream!

The models, after the Autobot Leader and Decepticon second-in-command, will apparently feature the likes of Hound and Bumblebee, with some interesting accessories for both! Respectively, Hound will have his shoulder cannon and more guns and blades than his live-action Age of Extinction counterpart, while Bumblebee also borrows from Paramount and ILM, and will include a heli rotor, a hammer, and plenty of attitude. Check it out below, and expect more images over the weekend here at Seibertron.com!

Ooooh, model kits, my favourite! I might have to get one of these...

those are some gundam-ass designs there. although i will say starscream looks pretty dang good. maybe i'll check them out.

These have my interest, love the designs (okay maybe not bee but love that starscream) any one know how big they'll be? Just so I know which gundam scale to put them next to...gundam v transformers here I come!

Okay, these look freakin' amazing... except Bumblebee. I feel like he'll look better w/ color.

hmm...I'll definitely get Prime if it isn't obscenely priced (I'll probably get two and make a nemesis if it turns out well)

model kits cant say i saw that coming, i am interested though especially in starscream but the real question is whats the price and quality like? Are these going to be as good as the stuff bandai puts out or will they be cheaply made & overpriced like everything else hasbro does?

Liking all of these so far, Hound will probably look better in color and even if his torso isn't as square as I would like it to be, it will look good anyway. Bumblebee looks a bit odd compared to the others with a more G1 look but no complaints from me about that.

We return to the Javits Center in New York City to bring you more images from the showroom floor, as megatronus and Seibertron are roaming the area to cover more licensed products featuring Transformers!

First up is an addition to yesterday's post about Flame Toys' (distributed by Bluefin in the US) upcoming model kits and non-transforming action figures, as shown with their beautifully painted and poseable (and expensive) Drift. The former, priced around $30 USD, currently feature Optimus Prime and Starscream, along with Hound and Bumblebee in the future, while the latter sees grey prototypes of IDW character interpretations of Tarn and Star Saber. Take a look below!

"Drift. The former, priced around $30 USD" $ 30 USD or $ 300?

So beautiful!

fenrir72 wrote:"Drift. The former, priced around $30 USD" $ 30 USD or $ 300?

Hopefully it's only 30

I believe you mean $330 USD... https://www.tfsource.com/flame-toys/transformers-drift/

AFTRHR wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:"Drift. The former, priced around $30 USD" $ 30 USD or $ 300?

Hopefully it's only 30

Prowl of Petrex wrote:I believe you mean $330 USD... https://www.tfsource.com/flame-toys/transformers-drift/

Exactly, 'the former'. Referring to the first of the two things in the previous sentence, also then explained after the comma: the model kits of Starscream and Optimus Prime.

This was apparently not clear enough, as other have pointed out, so I apologise for the unintentional confusion!

These model kits look pretty nifty! I would not mind picking one of those up. Bee looks very cool to me, especially with him hammer

Flame Toys presents us with some photographs of Tarn via their Twitter page. This figure is a highly detailed, non transforming collectible. It appears that this figure will be poseable and in images below you will notice that a lot of intricate sculpting went into this work of art. Flame Toys figures of this type run about 300$ each. Before the colors had been finished, Tarn's prototype was displayed at ToySoul 2017 in Hong Kong. Fans of IDW's More Than Meets The Eye and Lost Light comics should be familiar with Tarn as the powerhouse of the DJD. If you have not already read IDW the comics, we highly recommend checking them out.

That does look really nice, but not being able to transform at that price does take half the fun out of it. What we need is a proper IDW Masterpiece line from Hasbro. Or better yet it would be nice if Hasbro stopped being self conscious and let a third party (not a "third party" but a real licensed one) make some Transformers that transform for a change.

Emerje

That is really nice, when a figure looks that good it doesn't need to transform! (In my opinion at least I understand that others would prefer it to transform.

Holy flying fudgeballs & frozen fiddlesticks, now that's a spicy meatball!

Unfortunately, the absence of Transformation renders this item ineligible for inclusion in my collection, but holy fudgepacked fistula, it sure is pretty!

I got a Tarn figure that looks better and it transforms.

That looks really, really nice, but...eh. The MMC one looks almost as good for a much lower price, and it transforms. Plus IIRC even the IDW production crew love that figure.

I will say though if I had money to burn I would grab him, transformation or not. The paint on that thing is astounding.

WOW, Tarn looks FAN-flippin'-TASTIC! The fact he doesn't transform is also a no-buy for me, but that does not mean he ain't gorgeous.

Thanks to site sponsor TFsource, we have new images of Flame Toys upcoming figure: IDW Tarn! Tarn is based off of his IDW More Than Meest The Eye appearance, complete with removable Face insignia and giant double fusion cannons. The figure, ironically for a guy addicted to transformation, does not transform, like the rest of the Flame Toys figures, but he is very posable and highly articulated. He is currently available for $369.99.

Check him out below, and let us know what you think in the comments section below!

Enter Flame Toys Transformers Tarn! The second figure in their highly limited series, Tarn may be the most impressive Masterpiece of a figure yet! Reborn from IDW comic greatness, Tarn is highly articulated and features a detachable face mask! Features two buster guns that can combine together, 3 LED's, and super posable formed of high quality ABS and plenty of Die-cast. Tarn stands 21CM/8.3" tall and is highly articulated, the pinnacle piece of every Transformers collector! Officially licensed Transformers merchandise by Hasbro.

Set Includes:
- 1 x Tarn Figure
- Detachable Face Mask
- 3 built in LED lights
- Linkage Articulation Gimmicks
- Super Posable with Diecast parts for solidity and Heaviness

While a shame about the price, that is a thing of beauty.

there are probably12 babies that will be born exactly 9 months from today... all because this sexiness was unleashed upon the public.

Meanwhile Hasbro could've made a decent Tarn using TR Blitzwing or TR Galvatron's mold (or his own mold) last year.

Instead they'd rather be greedy renting the name out to 3P companies. So here are the controversial ironies about highly coveted CHUG TF figures that are putting me off as a collector.

-Hasbro gives the name of Tarn to a 3rd party company with crazy articulation but no transformation, yet has a price tag close to $400.

-Hasbro makes a long awaited Shockwave that's Voyager class size under this cheap Cyber Batallion line with barely no articulation.

This isn't a 3rd party figure. Flame Toys is officially licensed.

Even so, I do wish we would get official toys of the DJD, but considering they are a torture squad and only ever have been, kinda hard to justify as a toy

YoungPrime wrote:Meanwhile Hasbro could've made a decent Tarn using TR Blitzwing

NOPE

Would have looked like crap

And we know that from this reprolabels set that no one wants

https://toyhax.com/for-titans-ret/2453- ... -tarn.html

william-james88 wrote:

YoungPrime wrote:Meanwhile Hasbro could've made a decent Tarn using TR Blitzwing

NOPE

Would have looked like crap

And we know that from this reprolabels set that no one wants

https://toyhax.com/for-titans-ret/2453- ... -tarn.html

yeah not even close

Ultra Markus wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

YoungPrime wrote:Meanwhile Hasbro could've made a decent Tarn using TR Blitzwing

NOPE

Would have looked like crap

And we know that from this reprolabels set that no one wants

https://toyhax.com/for-titans-ret/2453- ... -tarn.html

yeah not even close

this is much closer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKCIDCu3shw

I want it. At some point I will have it.

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:This isn't a 3rd party figure. Flame Toys is officially licensed.

Uh, this is the very definition of an official 3rd party figure, not the KO stuff that people mislabel as 3rd party. 1st party would be Hasbro and any company they own, such as Playskool (Rescue Bots) or Galoob (Titaniums). 2nd party would be an outside company that works with Hasbro to produce figures, like Fun Publications. 3rd party would be a company that produces figures on their own with an official license, there's numerous examples of this like Funko, the Loyal Subjects, Kids Logic, etc.

And for the that matter licenses are expensive, you're paying for bot a name and a likeness and Hasbro doesn't give them to just anyone. Flame Toys has to produce something that'll make them a profit at a small production run. Hasbro doesn't allow 3rd parties to make transforming figures so they have to go all out on a figure that makes up for that loss.

Even so, I do wish we would get official toys of the DJD, but considering they are a torture squad and only ever have been, kinda hard to justify as a toy

How is that any different from all the other killer Decepticons? Or for that matter any super villain toys? How many children did Darth Vader personally murder in Episode III again?

Emerje

Emerje wrote:2nd party would be an outside company that works with Hasbro to produce figures, like Fun Publications.

Not really. The second party, traditionally speaking, is the consumer. So us.

Emerje wrote:How is that any different from all the other killer Decepticons? Or for that matter any super villain toys? How many children did Darth Vader personally murder in Episode III again?

Emerje

I watched that scene again the other day (watching random star wars clips) and man, I know George Lucas has his faults, but that shot with the cute little kid asking if everything will be ok is PERFECT.

Emerje wrote:

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:This isn't a 3rd party figure. Flame Toys is officially licensed.

Uh, this is the very definition of an official 3rd party figure, not the KO stuff that people mislabel as 3rd party. 1st party would be Hasbro and any company they own, such as Playskool (Rescue Bots) or Galoob (Titaniums). 2nd party would be an outside company that works with Hasbro to produce figures, like Fun Publications. 3rd party would be a company that produces figures on their own with an official license, there's numerous examples of this like Funko, the Loyal Subjects, Kids Logic, etc.

And for the that matter licenses are expensive, you're paying for bot a name and a likeness and Hasbro doesn't give them to just anyone. Flame Toys has to produce something that'll make them a profit at a small production run. Hasbro doesn't allow 3rd parties to make transforming figures so they have to go all out on a figure that makes up for that loss.

Even so, I do wish we would get official toys of the DJD, but considering they are a torture squad and only ever have been, kinda hard to justify as a toy

How is that any different from all the other killer Decepticons? Or for that matter any super villain toys? How many children did Darth Vader personally murder in Episode III again?

Emerje

like with console games for example 1st party hasbro owns 100% 2nd party hasbro owns partial 3rd party is an independent company that may have a licence to produce the product
then what of these other companies that make add ons or upgrades or whole figures unofficially without a licence, still third party?

epic action master.

$369.99

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

For a Transformer who not only does not transform but is supposed to be addicted to it.

william-james88 wrote:

Emerje wrote:2nd party would be an outside company that works with Hasbro to produce figures, like Fun Publications.

Not really. The second party, traditionally speaking, is the consumer. So us.

You're thinking in terms of transactions, not production companies. In transactions the first party is the seller (and sometimes the manufacturer), the second party is the consumer, the third party is actually the supplier. First, second, and third party mean different things in different places.

Ultra Markus wrote:like with console games for example 1st party hasbro owns 100% 2nd party hasbro owns partial 3rd party is an independent company that may have a licence to produce the product
then what of these other companies that make add ons or upgrades or whole figures unofficially without a licence, still third party?

Yes, it's basically the same as game development, but slightly different Microsoft and Rare are both first party companies since Microsoft owns Rare and Microsoft makes the consoles, therefore they're first party games. When Rare used to make games for Nintendo they were a second party company since they weren't owned by Nintendo, just funded by them to make games on Nintendo consoles, but the games were still technically first party since they were published by Nintendo. In this case a third party is a company that makes a game for a console independent of the maker of the console(s), like Capcom making a Street Fighter game for various consoles.

Add-ons and upgrades are simply aftermarket parts, sort of like non-OEM (original equipment manufacturer) parts for cars and computers. Since you're typically replacing an existing official part they don't really fall into the whole party scheme.

Unlicensed figures don't really belong to a party either since they aren't related in any way to Hasbro. Technically and legally speaking they're knockoffs of Hasbro's licenses and properties. I'm sure the only reason why Hasbro doesn't go after them is because it would cost more to try to shut them down than they lose from them existing.

Emerje

Emerje wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Emerje wrote:2nd party would be an outside company that works with Hasbro to produce figures, like Fun Publications.

Not really. The second party, traditionally speaking, is the consumer. So us.

You're thinking in terms of transactions, not production companies. In transactions the first party is the seller (and sometimes the manufacturer), the second party is the consumer, the third party is actually the supplier. First, second, and third party mean different things in different places.

Ultra Markus wrote:like with console games for example 1st party hasbro owns 100% 2nd party hasbro owns partial 3rd party is an independent company that may have a licence to produce the product
then what of these other companies that make add ons or upgrades or whole figures unofficially without a licence, still third party?

Yes, it's basically the same as game development, but slightly different Microsoft and Rare are both first party companies since Microsoft owns Rare and Microsoft makes the consoles, therefore they're first party games. When Rare used to make games for Nintendo they were a second party company since they weren't owned by Nintendo, just funded by them to make games on Nintendo consoles, but the games were still technically first party since they were published by Nintendo. In this case a third party is a company that makes a game for a console independent of the maker of the console(s), like Capcom making a Street Fighter game for various consoles.

Add-ons and upgrades are simply aftermarket parts, sort of like non-OEM (original equipment manufacturer) parts for cars and computers. Since you're typically replacing an existing official part they don't really fall into the whole party scheme.

Unlicensed figures don't really belong to a party either since they aren't related in any way to Hasbro. Technically and legally speaking they're knockoffs of Hasbro's licenses and properties. I'm sure the only reason why Hasbro doesn't go after them is because it would cost more to try to shut them down than they lose from them existing.

Emerje

since unlicensed figures are no way related hasbro should feel free to draw ideas from them since they wouldn't get into any trouble for copyright infringement in some cases i think they may have
besides the best way hasbro can beat these companies is release the official versions of the figures they were trying to make

Ultra Markus wrote:since unlicensed figures are no way related hasbro should feel free to draw ideas from them since they wouldn't get into any trouble for copyright infringement in some cases i think they may have
besides the best way hasbro can beat these companies is release the official versions of the figures they were trying to make

In a sense this is what Hasbro is already doing. Takara Tomy is the ones that work out the transformations and they definitely prefer trying to beat the KOs rather than copy them when it comes to Masterpieces.

Emerje

Oh here we go again...

Personally I have no sympathy for HasTak whatsoever with their apparent "struggle" against 3Ps. Perhaps if they made better products in the first place people wouldn't feel the need to buy upgrades or alternatives to HasTak's output. When figures have terribly applied stickers instead of paint, worse and worse QC and plastic quality, and the former alternative to at least some of the shortcomings (Takara's improved releases) is removed as an option under the guise of "Brand unification" then quite frankly if they go belly up and the Transformers license either goes to another company or goes public then they'll have gotten what they deserved. Even MPs aren't doing so well, with increasingly bizarre design choices, skyrocketing prices and again, increases in QC issues.

>B-But it's illegal! It's unlicensed and violates IP laws!

IP laws as they stand only exist thanks to the greed of Disney, lobbying the US government to indefinitely delay Mickey Mouse and co from going into the public domain. Every time it gets close to the date the Mouse will finally go public, they petition to get the laws changed again. And so it goes on, and on, and on.

Seriously. That's literally it. IP law is a farce and should be treated with naught but contempt.

>B-But even fanart is technically illegal! HasTak are entirely within their rights to take them down!

If you honestly are the kind of person who thinks the full weight of the law should be thrown against fanartists, I have nothing to say to you. You're clearly too far gone.


TLDR: IP law only exists because of powerful crooks, and it should be ignored whenever possible if it means we get better figures.

So your whole defense for being OK with KOs is that you don't like Disney? Sure...

Fan art and KOs aren't even on the same level. Fan art is drawings, sculptures, digital art, etc. usually done on commission, sometimes small print runs that really don't make any real amount of money, certainly not enough to bother Hasbro or any other companies for that matter. Hasbro did try to block them once at BotCon, but quickly came to their senses. There's actually a legal exception for derivative fan art under fair use laws as long as they aren't an outright reproduction of official art.

KOs are mass produced by companies purely to make money off Hasbro's IP. That's all. No fair use protection here no matter how pretty the figure may be.

Emerje

Thanks to the official Twitter account of Flame Toys, the licensed makers of non-transforming highly detailed and posable action figures of Transformers characters, we have the reveal of the next figure in their higher end line, after Decepticon turned Autobot Drift and Decepticon Justice Division leader Tarn - taking another cue from the IDW Publishing comics, we have the Autobot leader himself, Optimus Prime!

We had seen art of this figure previously,but this is the first time we have a prototype of the figure itself, featuring the serious ab crunch, angry looking face, and even more serious ginormous punching fists. Check it out below!

This is a prototype sample of Optimusprime.鉄機巧 4th project. It is still being revised. #FLAMETOYS #鉄機巧 #TRANSFORMERS #optimusprime

I seriously dont see why anyone would buy this. For people who want a transformer, theres MP-10. And for the art loving community, theres Statuemus Prime from Imaginiarium. But a posable statue is increibly pointless.

Emerje wrote:So your whole defense for being OK with KOs is that you don't like Disney? Sure...

Congratulations on missing the point entirely. What I'm saying is that were it not for Disney, then Transformers (and for that matter, a great deal of properties) would be in the public domain. Disney literally gets laws made for them so that they will never lose control of characters whose original creator is long, long dead.

Fan art and KOs aren't even on the same level. Fan art is drawings, sculptures, digital art, etc. usually done on commission, sometimes small print runs that really don't make any real amount of money, certainly not enough to bother Hasbro or any other companies for that matter. Hasbro did try to block them once at BotCon, but quickly came to their senses. There's actually a legal exception for derivative fan art under fair use laws as long as they aren't an outright reproduction of official art.

See that's just the thing. If you use this comparison, most "KOs" as you call them (despite KOs referring specifically to stolen molds) are entirely original tooling, engineering and design, and thus would be covered by derivative product/fair use protections. Beyond looking like an existing character (and "But it looks like our character!" is about on par with Apple trying to claim ownership over rounded rectangles) they are entirely original products. Now I don't support actual KOs where an existing product is actually duplicated. But 3P stuff IMO is fair game, as it is in effect engineering fanart.. they certainly put more effort into a lot of their stuff than HasTak do.

KOs are mass produced by companies purely to make money off Hasbro's IP. That's all. No fair use protection here no matter how pretty the figure may be.

So basically it's got nothing to do with the actual principle of the thing, it's solely because these companies are successful enough to challenge HasTak.

To which I say "Good". That's how competition is supposed to work. If someone else makes a better product than you, and they are as a result more successful, then you have two options. You can either improve your own product or you can appeal to a different market.

Rated X wrote:I seriously dont see why anyone would buy this. For people who want a transformer, theres MP-10. And for the art loving community, theres Statuemus Prime from Imaginiarium. But a posable statue is increibly pointless.

I don't really like it myself but I don't think a posable non-transforming figure of a Transformers character is all that pointless. There's been times I've really not given a damn about transformation and wish the robot mode was just done as best as possible. Moreso with the complex movie designs that may have parts impossible to reproduce well in toy form but even some G1 characters in my opinion. I've never really cared for Galvatron's cannon mode and would be quite happy to have a non-transforming figure of him that paid full attention to just a good robot mode. The Titans figure fails hard in both of those AND the extra space ship mode it was forced to have just to give the darn Titan Master a cockpit to sit in. But I have the added problem there that I want a grey Galvatron cos my fave version of him is the Marvel UK comics one and most of them only come out in purple...

Awesome. I’ve been waiting for this one. I’ve admired their work with Drift and Tarn looks like it will be even better. However, those are not characters that I’m going to drop $300-400 on. Now Prime, I may. I’ll be following to see the finished product and price.

Looks pretty good, but cost is an issue

Black Hat wrote:

Emerje wrote:So your whole defense for being OK with KOs is that you don't like Disney? Sure...

Congratulations on missing the point entirely. What I'm saying is that were it not for Disney, then Transformers (and for that matter, a great deal of properties) would be in the public domain. Disney literally gets laws made for them so that they will never lose control of characters whose original creator is long, long dead.

Fan art and KOs aren't even on the same level. Fan art is drawings, sculptures, digital art, etc. usually done on commission, sometimes small print runs that really don't make any real amount of money, certainly not enough to bother Hasbro or any other companies for that matter. Hasbro did try to block them once at BotCon, but quickly came to their senses. There's actually a legal exception for derivative fan art under fair use laws as long as they aren't an outright reproduction of official art.

See that's just the thing. If you use this comparison, most "KOs" as you call them (despite KOs referring specifically to stolen molds) are entirely original tooling, engineering and design, and thus would be covered by derivative product/fair use protections. Beyond looking like an existing character (and "But it looks like our character!" is about on par with Apple trying to claim ownership over rounded rectangles) they are entirely original products. Now I don't support actual KOs where an existing product is actually duplicated. But 3P stuff IMO is fair game, as it is in effect engineering fanart.. they certainly put more effort into a lot of their stuff than HasTak do.

KOs are mass produced by companies purely to make money off Hasbro's IP. That's all. No fair use protection here no matter how pretty the figure may be.

So basically it's got nothing to do with the actual principle of the thing, it's solely because these companies are successful enough to challenge HasTak.

To which I say "Good". That's how competition is supposed to work. If someone else makes a better product than you, and they are as a result more successful, then you have two options. You can either improve your own product or you can appeal to a different market.

Nope that’s not even remotely how that works but okay. Pretty sure I’m not gonna change your mind on that nine sense but I will say this. It’s everyones right to own some they created and not your place to think it shouldn’t.

I will say this. I own IP. I created a comic and spent ten years working on it and hearing someone say no one should own anything and it should be a free for all. Yeah....no