Spotted Online – TFWiki.net Facebook Post About “Lazy” Hasbro

This Facebook post has led to an entertaining discussion about Transformers: Combiner Wars (Amazon.com search*) toys and the Hasbro approach to reusing molds. This commonly known as a redeco (see the TFWiki), and Hasbro has been using this practice since the very beginning of the Transformers line.

Visit the TFWiki!
Visit the TFWiki!

The Facebook thread has led to an entertaining discussion about the practice of toy redcos — and why! — and I suggest reading this if you’ve ever wondered about such things. One group member in particular has been giving clear and strong responses in the discussion:

Zachary Finkenstein Transformers has involved significant redecoes since the very beginning and the fact is the toy industry and retail market has changed A LOT since the 1980s. The simple fact is that the average mold MUST be used 2 or 3 times to make back the cost of its creation. And given that modern retail demands new product every few months rather than once a year as it was back then, those reprints become doubly necessary.

You can join the discussion here.