If Hasbro put you in charge?

[Toph]

A thread I started over on the TCC board, that I feel has enough substance not to let die ofver there.

If hasbro came to you, and put you in charge of the franchise, what would be your call?
Would you create something entirely new? Would you revisit an older continuity, or reboot an older continuity?
What would be your focus?
I love hearing/seeing peoples answer to this question. There were some fun responces back there, and I'm betting some brilliant ones here.

Here's what I would do:
I would bring the focus back to variety. Variety in characters, as well as a variety in alt modes. Because it seems when TF is at it's most successful, there is a huge variety in the line.
My set up would have a strong tie between the cartoon, toys, and comics. The Show would be the primary source of fiction, following the main characters and the main plot, while the comics would fill out the gaps with less important plots, and the secondary characters.

Transformers: Timewar

Shockwave creates a time portal, and with it, Megatron plots to go back in time and destroy the Autobots. The autobots find out, and show up to shut it down. In battle, the device is destroyed, and Optimus, Megatron, and most of the decepticons vanish, misplaced in time.
Just as they vanish, the timeline itself changes, into a dark, post apocalyptic version of reality. Being at the heart of the storm, the Autobots were saved from the changes.

But in this new reality, a mad decepticon tyrant by the name of Galvatron rules over Earth and Cybertron, from Decepticon Headquarters, Metrotitan (Formerly Autobot City, Metroplex). With his generals, Cyclonus and Scourge, Galvatron commands an endless legion of Monsterous Terrorcons and Demonic Sweeps.

Ultra Magnus orders the Technobots to rebuild the device, and scan the temporal stream to find Optimus.
They find several contacts in multiple points of earth's history.

In Prehistory, they discover a group of Decepticons known as the Sauricons (Spinosaur, Kronosaur, Brachiosaur, Ankylosaur, and Quetzalcoatlus), and send the Dinobots to fight them.
Toys: pretty much updates of the Dinobots.

In Ancient Egypt, they find the Predacons have arrived. Razorclaw, Rampage, Headstrong, Tantrum, and Divebomb set out to rule Egypt. Because he who controls ancient egypt decideds the fate of the future of Earth. Ultra Magnus sends the Maximals to stop them. Cheetor, Airazor, B'Boom, Artimus (as an Ibis), and Albinotron step up to bat.

In the 1400s, they find Thunderwing becoming a warlord, with several decepticons "Pretending" to be dragons and seamonsters. Ultra Magnus dispatches the Autobot Pretenders, to overthrow Thunderwing and Bludgeon.

1650s, they find Trypticon, Cannonball, Flamewar, and the Seacons, and dispatch Broadside, Depthcharge, Elita-1, Chromia, Flareup and a few others.
Toys: Trypticon and Broadside would be the leader or supreme class toys of the line. They would both transform into a pirate ship (Tryp) and one of the Royal Navy (Broadside). The rest would transform into boats, cannons, or seamonsters.

1920s, the Technobots locate the Stunticons. With a rumor that Megatron may be present, Ultra Magnus leads a squad himself, consisting of Prowl, Kup, Electro, and Volt.
Toys: All vehicle modes contemporary to the time period.

1940s, The program the Technobots created for controlling the time dilation proccess, Computron, discovers many hits through the forties.
They locate an autobot fugitive known as Wasp in the southwest of America, and send Bumblebee and Cosmos to capture him. In a battle, Cosmos (Now carrying Bumblebee and Wasp), is shot down over a relatively obscure town in New Mexico, and unfortunately is taken into the custody of the US Airforce. Rumors of a cover-up exist to this day.

Over Europe, they find the greatest concentration of Decepticons, consisting of the Seekers, Lugnut, Blitzwing, the combaticons, and many more. Even rumors of Megatron himself.
Ironhide leads a taskforce of specialist autobots. Hound, Warpath, and the Aerialbots, to name a few.
Toys: Again, contemporary vehicle alt modes. Some with a dash of retro scifi.

1950s, Computron picks up some activity in South Korea. The Protectobots are dispatched, and encounter the Combaticons.
Toys: Hotspot (Hospital Bus), First Aid (Ambulance), Groove (Motorcycle), Streetwise (Jeep), and Blades (Chopper), can all combine into Defensor, a fortified MASH unit.
The Combaticons are also contemporary, only with Blast Off converting into a jet, or Mustang fighter.

1960s, Computron gets a strange hit. A cabal of humans has taken control of several powerful decepticon warriors, and hatch an insane plot to rule the world. Lord Zarak, and his associates have "Mastered" Scorponok, Skullchruncher, Weirdwolf, and Mindwipe. They've also employed Soundwave, Doubledealer, Ransack, Crumplezone, and Counterpunch as their henchmen. Computron sends Brainstorm to set up a supersecret orginization to infiltrait and stop them. With limited resources, Super Agent Downshift relies on Wheeljack and his gadgets to help him through all sorts of situations. But, even someone as good as Shift... Downshift needs help from Moonracer, and Agents Overrun and Camshaft.

1970s, Nightbeat follows a clue to Optimus' whereabouts, that takes him to 70's San Fransisco, where he encounters the Decepticon Barricade, who's embedded himself as a crooked cop. But when he gets in over his head, only one fembot can pull his tailpipes out of the fire... the foxy Override.
Show: Nightbeat would be voiced by Jeffery Combs, and Barricade would be voiced by Richard Roundtree.

Contemporary Modern, Hotrod himself leads several autobots to modern earth, following a lead that maybe the mythical Vector Prime is in hiding. Hoping to convince him to help.

In The Distant Future, the time wars have been lost, and barily remembered. The Galaxy is now ruled under the empire of the evil Overlord known as Gigatron, and his generals. the good King Atlas is the last force that stands in their way. Their most powerful ship, the Ark is commanded by Wingsabre, and his second, Ginrai. Computron senses the swirling energies of the Matrix turning up. Jetfire traveles into these... star wars... to recruit the help of these autobots in finding it. When found, the Matrix reacts with Ginrai, reawakening forgotten memories... he is Optimus Prime reborn. Together, Jetfire returns to the Nexus Point with Star Prime, to help with their battles.

And in their own post apocalyptic setting, Springer enlists the aid of a gang of transformers, seemingly made out of scrap and junk, lead by an oddball named Wreck-gar. He also picks up a decepticon mercenary for hire, by the name of Lockdown. Together with Arcee, Blurr, Roadbuster, and Whirl, they manage to get their way through the hordes of Terrorcons, and make their way into Metrotitan, where what they find horrifies them. Optimus Prime, bound into a machine that extracts the Matrix' energy, to create the Terrorcons and Sweeps that make up Galvatron's army.
Optimus is no longer strong enough to survive without the life support he's on. And they can't get him back to the Technobots before he passes on.
So now, their only hope is to find Optimus in the past and prevent this terrible timeline from happening in the first place.

-I feel that this would provide a ton of variety. Realistic modern vehicles, realistic animals, robotic animals, futuristic vehicles, monsters, giant TFs, tiny TFs, realistic retro vehicles. Homages to multiple eras, as well as plenty of room for new characters, too.
Also, the key characters hasbro likes to pimp out could likewise be represented in multiple alt modes, in multiple size classes.

For the toys I would start doing something very different than how Hasbro handles things, and more in line with collector and parental sensabilities and rising material and fuel costs.

I would focus everything on Scouts. That would be the heart and core of the line, just like Deluxe is now. No gimmicks.
I'd raise the price point to $10, and make them slightly more worth while, maybe with an accessoriy, or a little more involved.
But the majority of the line would be Scouts. Where now Prowl, Barricade, Sideswipe, Hotrod are all deluxes, they'd be Scouts.

I would keep doing what they're doing with the Cyberverse, putting notable characters in it, so they'll be available in kid friendly prices. But I'd also start using them more for the mainline. With the renewed focus on smaller size classes, the two scales suddenly become more compatable with the mainline.

I would actually focus on characters in appropriate classes, all revolving around Scouts. The basic idea is this-
Tiny (Legends)
Small (Cyb Commanders)
Medium (Scouts)
Large (Deluxe)
Brutes (Voyagers)
Giants (Ultra, Leader, Supreme)

So my new line would break down as such:

Legends- Would carry on pretty much as is. But all the absolute smallest characters would be focused in this line, like G1 Wheelie, Movie Arcee, G1 Rumble.
Basics- New name for the Cyberverse commanders. This is where the former Scout type characters would go. G1 Minibots, and the like.
Scouts- Like I said, the new backbone for the line. The medium sized characters go here. G1: Prowl, Ironhide, Starscream, Swoop, combiner limbs. Movie: Bumblebee, Barricade
Deluxe- Cut back on this scale dramatically, reserve it for the large sized characters. Up the price to $14.99, and make them a little more bang for the buck. This is where the larger types go. G1: Snarl, Slag, Shockwave, Optimus, Megatron, combiner cores. Movie: Ironhide, Ratchet.
Mega- Formerly Voyager, This is the last of the mainline. The brutes usually end up here. G1: Grimlock, Jetfire, Scorponok. Movie: Starscream, Megatron, Optimus.

On special occasions, maybe two or three each per year, around christmas. They would not have perminant places on the shelves.
Ultra- This begins the reign of the giants. Very special characters end up here. G1: Sludge, Broadside, Ultra Magnus (deluxe cab, combining trailer). Movie: Brawl
Super- Formerly Leaderclass. Movie: Blackout.
And once in a blue moon, for very special occasions, when the franchise is doing really well:
Supreme- Designed to be as much a playset as a transformer. Designed to be fully compatable with smaller scale classes. G1: Citybots, designed to be scaled with Legends. Movie: The Ark? Designed to be as much a playset and base for the basics and scouts, as a toy in it's own right.

But personally, I feel Hasbro is clinging way too tightly to the Deluxe, which is not serving them anymore. And the reason Scouts keep failing in a way that Cyberverse isn't, is because unlike in BW, BM, and UT, Hasbro is not supporting them. They just will not put notible characters in the class, like they do with the Cyberverse commanders. Instead, they filled the class with great toys, but no one that every got any fiction, or made any appearance that would make kids care for them the way they build the excitement for the deluxes.
Back in the day, we got MAJOR characters in that class... Rattrap, Terrorsaur, Scattorshot, Arcee, Backstop, Ransack, Silverbolt. But when they kicked the class back up again for RotF... in the hordes of Bumblebees, why didn't he show up? Why not Arcee, or Wheelie? When Hasbro felt it was failing, why not kick it over to Generations, and fill it with the fan favorite classics (Instead of waiting to the very last minute)?

I personally feel that DotM was the biggets failed opportunity Hasbro had to completely overhaul the line. Everything could have started absolutely fresh from that point on. Transformers could have been completely reinvented for the modern consumer, instead of adhearing to a model that is quickly becoming dated.
Every new series could have easily launched with the scouts as the backbone. Classics is mostly completed, so a new focus wouldn't have been as annoying to the longtime collectors.
Plus they could start over with the classics, keeping longtime fans in it for many more years to come.

[Toph]

Another idea, not as complexe as my timetravel one.
Basically, I was thinking about Cybertron... in concept, it was just about the perfect TF series. But it's execution belittled it's potential, and it's being shoehorned into the UT, AND being an anime pretty much got rid of the rest.

So, my idea would basically reboot/reimagine Cybertron the way G1 has gotten it's reimaginings (ALA DW and IDW).
This new Cybertron-like series would be a full multi-year mainline, and not just apart of a larger continuity.

Transformers 13
Many many generations ago, several groups of transformers left Cybertron, to colonize the rest of the universe. As time goes by, this fact becomes legend, and then myth, and then into a fairy tale.
Cybertron lives in absolute peace, lead by Alpha Trion.
One day, a strange transformer appears, calling himself Vector Prime. He presents to the cybertronian council of elders, a vision of the future that he says must not come to pass. In this vision, a mad dictator by the name of Megatron plans on aquiring devices known as "Keys" from the Thirteen original colonies.. With these keys in his possession, he plans ro raise an army and invade the Autobot Homeworld, to awaken an entity that slumbers at it's core. An Entity that must neverawaken. Megatron plans to awaken Unicron.

After deliberations with the council, Alpha Trion dispatches Sentinel Prime, Grimlock, and Jetfire, along with a small special taskforce to investigate these claims.
Only Jetfire returns, claiming megatron destroyed Sentinel, and Grimlock was lost in the process.
The council promotes Sentinel's protogé, Optronix, to Optimus Prime. Their only chance is to locate the colonies, and find the keys before Megatron does, and learn their secrets.

With Vector's guidance, Optimus, accompanied by Jetfire, Hotshot, and Red Alert travel to a quaint little planet called Earth. Taking disguises based on local vehicles, they infiltrate and investigate, locating the lost ship, the Ark.
But, Megatron's seekers have located it as well.
They awaken the crew, and gain their help to stop the Decepticons from aquiring the Key. Though, not all of the occupants of the Ark turn out to be friendly. Several join with Megatron's Minions.


And pretty much the story goes like this. The autobots and decepticons travel to several themed worlds, much like Cybertron.
The colonies were started by the thirteen original transformers. In this story, they're not nessisarily the original 13 TFs to exist. But they carry special significance. They're the thirteen that began all cybertronian civilization, and wished to spread it through the galaxy. Cybertron grew into a wise and peaceful society, under the guidance of Alpha Trion (His inclusion will not be revealed to the cast until a much later date).
Gaia, upon arriving on earth decided to allow the tranformers to sleep, and the organic lifeforms to florish.
The Fallen conquired a planet, turning it into a warrior's civilization, which eventually spawned Megatron and the Decepticons.
And so on.

Returning, would be all the planets seen in Cybertron. Plus several new worlds.
Each world would have it's own cast, and it's own leader.

Cybertron- The Autobot's homeworld, lead by Alpha Trion. The main theme would be "pre-eath." Alien vehicles, and such.
Earth- the Human planet, and lead by Evac, who developes a love for the humans he protects. The main theme would be realistic vehicle modes, and "G1" type characters.
Cast: Evac, Bumblebee, Jazz, Ratchet, Ironhide, Prowl, the Stunticons. The usual suspects. On this world, Optimus would have a fire truck altmode, with a very strong G1 robot mode.
Velocitron- The Speed Planet, lead by Override. Just like in TF: Cybertron, everything is geared to racing, with futuristic sleek altmodes. Rarely do things escilate to violence, as the citizens prefer to settle their disputes with racing.
Cast: Override, Mirage, Smokescreen, Rodimus, Blurr, Drift, Ransack, Crumplezone, and the like.
Animatros- The Beast Planet, lead by Scourge. A brutal, organic planet. The cybertronians that settled here were forced to take beast modes to survive. Society tips back and forth between "Survival of the Fittist," and "let Nature guide the way" phylosophies, depending on the current ruler. The Brutal Scourge prefers the former, though when his tempur cools off, he is capable of reason.
Cast: Scourge, Grimlock, Cheetor, Snarl, Terrorsaur, Waspinator, Tarantulas, Rhinox. Just about any animal mode TF.
Gigantron- The Giant Planet, founded by the Minicons. They constructed transformers of epic size to do their construction projects.
Cast: Minicons, Trypticon, Metroplex, Devestator, ect.
Apocalyptia- The War Planet. Founded by The Fallen, and the violent nature of this world has given rise to Megatron and the Decepticons. Though not every denizen feels Megatron's way is the right way, and have started a resistance group called The Wreckers.
Cast: Ultra Magnus, Springer, Warpath, the vaguard upgrades of Hotshot, Red Alert, and Scattorshot.

Plenty of other planets, an ocean planet, a planet full of jagged peaks ruled by Starscream and dominated by fliers. Not every colony would or could be visited, but the sky's the limits, really.

Like my previous idea, it's designed to get the most diversity possible, as well as being able to deliver multiple toys with different alt modes for prominant characters like Optimus.

There are also lots of twists and turns, such as the revelation Alpha Trion and Vector Prime are members of the 13 (Maybe the last living?), the revelation that Cybertron is not Unicron, but Primus. And upon Primus' awakening, it draws Unicron into this timeline after his previous destruction (Leading to the third half. Unicron dominating the Decepticons, in a much smaller size, like his appearance in the Cybertron toyline).


I could go on and on, but I think I've rambled this on for long enough.

[Philip Ayres]

If Hasbro put me in charge I'd bring back the Universe line and mercilessly turn out my list of "toys that should have been repainted as something else" (long term users groan)

Armada Hoist as Scavenger - green for white, purple for brown, orange & blue
Armada Wheeljack as Armada Autobot Wheeljack - white for black and grey for white, fix the broken Autobot symbol (ditto bellow for that last bit)
Armada Wheeljack as Sideswipe - red for black and black for white
Armada Wheeljack as Sunstreaker - yellow for black and black for white
Armada Wheeljack as Red Alert
Night Slash Cheetor as Cheetor - yellow for black & grey, clear green for clear orange.
Waspinator as Bumblebee - yellow for green, black for grey, dark clear blue for the wings and lightpipe. Similar to Buzzsaw but just different enough.
Armada Demolishor as Sixshot - green for Red, white for beige, green for the dark grey and silve for the light grey.
The orange version of Tigatron with the green swapped for red as Beast Wars Hooligan.
Yellow/Orange classics Starscream as Sunstreaker
Black/Gold Classics Starscream as eHobby Starscream

I'd repaint the Machine Wars Wrecker Truck three times: Once in green and orange as Hoist and once in Red & Blue as Optimus and once in Red & Yellow/orange as Rodimus with a flame deco. (these take their que from a KO Iown in the Prime colours with flames which looks better than any of the official colours)

The Star Sabre minicon team twice in clear red and clear purple.

An all black or all white space team.

An all white Beast Wars Ultra Optimus Primal as Yeti Ultra Magnus

A green Combat Hero Megatron
A blue cab/red back Combat Hero Prime
An all white Combat Hero Prime as Ultra Magnus

I'd get the Legends back on the shelf with some of those superb Japanese repaints we've seen recently.

I'd also redo Powermaster Prime with a new, decently articulated cab and the changes to the trailer/super mode we outlined when I reviewed it.

I'd get Star Sabre on western shelves.

I'd bring back Micromasters and make sure ever playset toy I ever issued had a Micromaster ramp connector. There's be a new, gold, DOTM ARK with RTS Optimus and some MM ramp connector moulded into it

[The Doctor]

I would make the whole line nothing but Action Masters and it would die in glorious shimmering fire.

-Ralph

[Philip Ayres]

An ark with Micromaster Ramp connectors? You'd want that surely..

[blueshift]

I would go back to big fun toys with fun gimmicks, that looked iconic and were easy for actual children to play with. So more like Armada than the movie line.

Also I'd dispense with every single figure ever being some sort of homage. Look forwards not back!


Jetty - your idea sounds pretty much like Cybertron to be honest. Cybertron was an EXCELLENT toyline - a great setup that allowed for a wide variation of types of toys in the same line. Genius! You could have tech vehicles, realistic vehicles, animals, anything you wanted! The show itself was pish though.

The problem with having 13 worlds if you need a good range of figures for each world. I think 5 was a decent number, though it's a shame the giant planet wasn't a bit more fleshed out. You still got a good number of 'types' of figures per planet.

The one thing I disliked was the cyber planet keys. there wasn't much you could do with them toywise. It would be better if they intereacted with the figures in a more interesting way (shields? Or clipped in to become armour like with Vector Prime?) or just buttons. Or do something to make them more collectable. Anything really!

[The Huff]

I'd get the vehicle scales right so there is more playability:

Legends- motorbikes etc
Scouts - cars
Deluxe - trucks
Voyager - Jets etc.

Would also have more subgroups with gimmicks (like Triggerbots etc) within each line so we have the 'teams' that G1 had. Made collecting and keeping track of characters a lot easier.

Also only one version of a character but kept on sale for longer. You used to have at least a year to collect them before they were refreshed. Nowadays certain figures can disappear within a month.

Toy catalogues in the toys packaging too - anyone remember getting the latest years toy leaflet and then waiting for 'that certain one' to come out that you see & wanted?

Of course, this is what I personally would like. If I were looking at it in a marketing money-making way my view might change.

[Philip Ayres]

Mar 7, 2012 21:07:04 GMT blueshift said:

The one thing I disliked was the cyber planet keys. there wasn't much you could do with them toywise. It would be better if they intereacted with the figures in a more interesting way (shields? Or clipped in to become armour like with Vector Prime?) or just buttons. Or do something to make them more collectable. Anything really!

Some of the later planet kets with Armada repaints and the like had a Minicon socket in the back of them that let them be used as shields. See www.tfu.info/2006/Decepticon/Demolishor/demolishor.htm www.tfu.info/2006/Decepticon/Demolishor/demolishor.htm and www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/SamsClubOptimusPrime/optimusprime.htm for examples

[Toph]

UGH! The board ate my post. The ONE TIME I didn't copy it first.
Here's the clipnotes:

Mar 7, 2012 21:07:04 GMT blueshift said:

Also I'd dispense with every single figure ever being some sort of homage. Look forwards not back!

QFT

Jetty - your idea sounds pretty much like Cybertron to be honest. Cybertron was an EXCELLENT toyline - a great setup that allowed for a wide variation of types of toys in the same line. Genius! You could have tech vehicles, realistic vehicles, animals, anything you wanted! The show itself was pish though.

The problem with having 13 worlds if you need a good range of figures for each world. I think 5 was a decent number, though it's a shame the giant planet wasn't a bit more fleshed out. You still got a good number of 'types' of figures per planet.

The one thing I disliked was the cyber planet keys. there wasn't much you could do with them toywise. It would be better if they intereacted with the figures in a more interesting way (shields? Or clipped in to become armour like with Vector Prime?) or just buttons. Or do something to make them more collectable. Anything really!

Yeah, I feel that Cybertron was the perfect toyline. fairly non-intrusive gimmicks, all around solid toys, and huge variety. Plus great concepts presented in the fiction.

My goal was to use what made Cybertron so great, while getting rid of the parts that I feel didn't work.
I didn't make it clear, but the cyberkeyes, how I'd use them would be more of a plot maguffin, and wouldn't be a major part of the toyline. And if they were, more intigrated (Like you desire).
Also, I did say they didn't need to visit every single colony. It's always good to have mysterious ones never seen.

[Toph]

Mar 7, 2012 22:42:14 GMT Philip Ayres said:

Mar 7, 2012 21:07:04 GMT blueshift said:

The one thing I disliked was the cyber planet keys. there wasn't much you could do with them toywise. It would be better if they intereacted with the figures in a more interesting way (shields? Or clipped in to become armour like with Vector Prime?) or just buttons. Or do something to make them more collectable. Anything really!

Some of the later planet kets with Armada repaints and the like had a Minicon socket in the back of them that let them be used as shields. See www.tfu.info/2006/Decepticon/Demolishor/demolishor.htm www.tfu.info/2006/Decepticon/Demolishor/demolishor.htm and www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/SamsClubOptimusPrime/optimusprime.htm for examples

It was only the straight armada repaints that did, because they didn't bother remolding them to be compatable with the keys, it was easier to remold the ketes to be compatable with them.
Wish they'd done that from the start.
IMO, more figures needed to at least have storage space for them, like Armorhide and Snarl.

[Deleted]

Complete ReBoot. (almost)

Cybertron, Autobots, Decepticons, Earth. Keep these.

No Optimus, Megatron, Starscream, Bumblebee etc Brand new characters, no mention of Primus, Unicron, the 13.

Would be interesting to see if fans got behind it or shunned it.

Just getting a little bored of each new iteration just being here's the guys you know but this setting, backstory, origin is different

[kayevcee]

I would have one rule of thumb for all figures. If a child can't realistically be expected to transform a deluxe figure inside 60 seconds with practice, it doesn't get made. Voyager? 90 seconds. Leader? 2 minutes. 3 tops. The big movie toys with their tablecloth-sized instruction sheets (FILLED WITH LIES) were remarkable feats of engineering but they were Not Good Toys.

Also: articulation. Not every figure needs 25 joints. Kids aren't bothered- the only other action figures with as much articulation are Star Wars (also by Hasbro, aimed as much at adult collectors as kids), Marvel Super Heroes (also by Hasbro) and WWE. Doctor Who, Power Rangers, Ben 10, Scooby Doo, you name it- they all have figures with more limited articulation and it really doesn't impact their popularity. If a TF doesn't need to bend its elbows to transform, and making the arms one piece would save costs, leave 'em out.

Mar 7, 2012 22:11:45 GMT The Huff said:

Would also have more subgroups with gimmicks (like Triggerbots etc) within each line so we have the 'teams' that G1 had. Made collecting and keeping track of characters a lot easier.

Also only one version of a character but kept on sale for longer. You used to have at least a year to collect them before they were refreshed. Nowadays certain figures can disappear within a month.

Definitely! Kids who couldn't afford lots of TFs or (like most) who had eclectic toy tastes could still get all the members of the sub-group they liked, like the triple-changers or the Jump-starters (oh yes, I would bring back the Jumpstarters) or the Sombrerobots who have special hats that turn into animal partners and so forth.

With wallets being lighter right now I'd probably go all-out on the Cyberverse concept- make 80% of the line sub-£10 figures with only deluxe & voyager size figures of the most important characters. Then in the run up to Q4 when parents are looking for something a bit bigger I'd bring out the big guns. Literally- reissue some of the G1 baseformers as Cyberverse playsets, maybe with new tooling for better interaction. We know Metroplex's mould is still viable, then Scorponok, Overlord, Dai Atlas (maybe all of Big Powered) for kids to set their small army of pocket-money figures up on or to transform and play with as giant robots/vehicles.

TRANSFORMATION SHOULD TAKE NO LONGER THAN 3 MINUTES.

-Nick

EDIT: Hmm... a line of tiny figures with occasional giant playsets directed squarely at the Christmas/birthday market. I'm sure I've seen that concept somewhere before.

[blueshift]

Mar 8, 2012 23:28:40 GMT kayevcee said:

Also: articulation. Not every figure needs 25 joints. Kids aren't bothered- the only other action figures with as much articulation are Star Wars (also by Hasbro, aimed as much at adult collectors as kids), Marvel Super Heroes (also by Hasbro) and WWE. Doctor Who, Power Rangers, Ben 10, Scooby Doo, you name it- they all have figures with more limited articulation and it really doesn't impact their popularity. If a TF doesn't need to bend its elbows to transform, and making the arms one piece would save costs, leave 'em out.

I have to disagree there, as a kid some basic articulation was important. Shoulders definitely, elbows perhaps, but they HAD to be able to sit down! How else would they have a dinner party?!

[The Doctor]

My standard articulation test is : 'can they rub their tummy and pat their head at the same time?'. That is literally my benchmark. I don't care what other articulation they can/can't do.

-Ralph

[Philip Ayres]

Mar 8, 2012 23:28:40 GMT kayevcee said:

I would have one rule of thumb for all figures. If a child can't realistically be expected to transform a deluxe figure inside 60 seconds with practice, it doesn't get made. Voyager? 90 seconds. Leader? 2 minutes. 3 tops. The big movie toys with their tablecloth-sized instruction sheets (FILLED WITH LIES) were remarkable feats of engineering but they were Not Good Toys.

ROTF Leader Optimus & Jetfire. We were all there and saw what happened.

[Toph]

Mar 8, 2012 23:38:44 GMT blueshift said:

Mar 8, 2012 23:28:40 GMT kayevcee said:

Also: articulation. Not every figure needs 25 joints. Kids aren't bothered- the only other action figures with as much articulation are Star Wars (also by Hasbro, aimed as much at adult collectors as kids), Marvel Super Heroes (also by Hasbro) and WWE. Doctor Who, Power Rangers, Ben 10, Scooby Doo, you name it- they all have figures with more limited articulation and it really doesn't impact their popularity. If a TF doesn't need to bend its elbows to transform, and making the arms one piece would save costs, leave 'em out.

I have to disagree there, as a kid some basic articulation was important. Shoulders definitely, elbows perhaps, but they HAD to be able to sit down! How else would they have a dinner party?!

Definately agree. Basic articulation is a must. In the eighties when I was a kid, the figures that had more articulation got played with more. Soundwave got played with more than Blaster, because he moved better. Optimus got played with more than most for the same reason.
And for a fair few years, the top TFs in my collection were the Laserrod Jolt, Laser Prime, Hero Megatron, and the few Cyberjets I had. Because of the newfound articulation.

For a human actionfigure, the benchmark is the DC Infinite Heros (Not the new "enhanced" figures everyone raves about, the standard ones). Rotating shoulders, Elbows, T Crotch, Knees, and Neck (Waist is optional. Doesn't detract much missing it, and doesn't add much).
And for Transformers, the benchmark is RtS Windcharger.
I agree that over articulation is bad (A lot of the older Marvel Legends were over articulated), but I don't think TFs are over articulated. Of all the problems TF has, articulation is not one of them. I speak out because even in an era where Articulation was not often considered by *any* toymaker, I always preferred decent articulation over just about anything else.

[Shockprowl]

If I were in charge?

A life-sized, fully transforming, PROWL!!!!



Oh and I'd more Masterpieces. Soundwave, with his cassetts. Shockwave. Both 12inches high. Nice big figs.

[Philip Ayres]

MP Prowl too?

[Bogatan]

Mar 8, 2012 23:28:40 GMT kayevcee said:

I would have one rule of thumb for all figures. If a child can't realistically be expected to transform a deluxe figure inside 60 seconds with practice, it doesn't get made. Voyager? 90 seconds. Leader? 2 minutes. 3 tops. The big movie toys with their tablecloth-sized instruction sheets (FILLED WITH LIES) were remarkable feats of engineering but they were Not Good Toys.

Also: articulation. Not every figure needs 25 joints. Kids aren't bothered- the only other action figures with as much articulation are Star Wars (also by Hasbro, aimed as much at adult collectors as kids), Marvel Super Heroes (also by Hasbro) and WWE. Doctor Who, Power Rangers, Ben 10, Scooby Doo, you name it- they all have figures with more limited articulation and it really doesn't impact their popularity. If a TF doesn't need to bend its elbows to transform, and making the arms one piece would save costs, leave 'em out.


TRANSFORMATION SHOULD TAKE NO LONGER THAN 3 MINUTES.

-Nick

Gotta disagree, theres a reason that 20 years later I still love Actionmasters, they gave a level of articulation that had been missing from transformers. I agree in some cases its gone over board but if it isn't harming the toy I dont have any issue with it.

Having said that there is a place for simpler (lets say Armada ) transformations. My friends sons are big Transformers fans and for Christmas/birthday (twins born new years day) I bought them Powerglide and Guzzle which they found too hard and lost interest in after a while. I also took over a huge load of old toys MOTU TMNT and old Transformers. What the ended up playing with were Armada Megatron and Laserbeak. Big chunky and simple. They loved them. But they were 5. By 8-10 though part of what still made Transformers interesting was the challenge of Transforming them for the first time.

The big movie toys are brilliant though, like Transformer themed puzzles. They wont be for everyone, but those looking for a challenge they are the pinnacle of Transformers design.

[Shockprowl]

Mar 11, 2012 9:13:13 GMT Philip Ayres said:

MP Prowl too?

Of course!!! ;D

[The Doctor]

I also demand suction cup action features and bendy arms. Like what the mighty Robo Force had.

-Ralph

[primenova]

One thing Hasbro should have done back at the end of G1 - Action master toy of Hound.

Why wasn't there one? he would have been good in I think its Rad's green car. I expect they where planning on Sunstreaker to go with battle armour action master Sideswipe.

[dyrl]

I would probably continue the Beast Wars shows and toy line...

[blueshift]

May 29, 2012 14:24:22 GMT primenova said:

One thing Hasbro should have done back at the end of G1 - Action master toy of Hound.

Why wasn't there one? he would have been good in I think its Rad's green car. I expect they where planning on Sunstreaker to go with battle armour action master Sideswipe.

No, they had the right balance between old and new. Slavishly returning to the past is dangerous, like a snake eating its own tail.

[The Doctor]

I liked the mix of old and new chaps in the AM line.

-Ralph

[Toph]

Definately agree with the mix of old and new. That is something that is terribly missing today, and I think that's one reason why TF seems to be floundering.
The only time we get any new character is if they're written into fiction first. Hasbro has all but completely stopped creating new characters.

[shadowynne]

Well I’m all over jetty's size class ideas as this is pretty much how I feel.
I think I would really do an overhaul of the G1 but characters generations/classics style but with an updated feel to it. I would also flesh out the line with other characters from connected fiction like comics and beast wars as well as trickling in new characters. Al least 1 per faction once a year.
Also I would even up the factions. It always pissed me off that in the toylines they would release a load of one faction with maybe 1 or 2 of the other faction. You always need good guys AND badguys so you can battle it out!
As for articulation, man as a kid to me it mattered! My GI Joes got more play time than star wars even though I preferred the star wars universe. For me the absolute must haves for articulation are...
Head- swivel minimum, preferred ball joint
Shoulders should move up and out, if you can’t point your gun that’s just not cool...
Elbows should be hinge with a bicep swivel or a ball. Once again not being able to realistically hold a two handed weapon used to fill me with rage as a child.
Waist, a swivel is nice but I can live without it...
Hips at least a simple swivel, ball joints preferred the character should be able to sit down giving more play value with accessories and playsets.
Knees not absolutely necessary but does increase playability as above. Hinge is adequate, ball preferred.
Ankles always nice but I can live without.
Wrists, not necessary but swivels can really improve playability with weapons/accessories.

I would not have this much articulation for all lines though. Legends would have basic articulation. Shoulders, hips minimum. I think the legends line should be easily affordable for pocket money. More articulation for larger more expensive lines.

I would not use lights sounds gimmicks for the main lines. Transforming is enough gimmick. I would include accessories. Every bot needs a weapon! Weapon should be able to be stowed in all modes.

I would have gimmick lines that would be separate from the standards (like botshots) aimed directly to kids.

I would definitely have head/target/power masters! I love having little robot buddies!

And definitely combiner teams! I loved them as a kid just so neat!

[Toph]

Cast one REVIVE on this thread.

Transformers: Continuum
But I'd like to see a new series like this. Much preferable to the clusterf*** that is the "Aligned" Continuity.

A multi-year toyline and fiction that ties very closely. Idea is based around a smaller cast of core characters, since Hasbro doesn't really do variety anymore. Each character gets multiple toys, with multiple different designs. Each character would get at least two separate figures. One representing the cybertronian form, and one representing a contemporary alt mode.
Each would be designed by the same team or toymakers, and as such, actually looks like they're intended to represent the same character (As opposed to WfC/FoC and Prime. No more BS like that)
The fiction would be closely tied together and told primarily through the animated series (Which I accept will be done with CGI). There would be game and comic tie ins, but neither will be key elements of the universe. And they will be heavily monitored by the editor for this overall story to make sure EVERYTHING WORKS TOGETHER, and no one does whatever the hell they feel like, contradictions be damned.
And this universe will be set to be able to be completely refreshed, which is something transformers needs to go through, every so often. I believe part of the reason Prime is floundering so badly is because we've had largely exactly the same thing for the last 6 years, with virtually no variety.


Fiction
To be told over a two or three year TV series story arc with supplemental stories told through comics primarily, and videogames second.
The primary story will be told in two ways. It will follow our characters on an earth of the generic "near future," and will follow the "standard" struggle of Optimus and Megatron. However, at the same time, it will tell the backstory of the transformers, their origins and such in the form of relevant flashbacks, similar to how WB's Arrow tells of Ollie's time on the island as an ongoing story and makes it relevant to the "now" story.
Characters and situations will borrow influences from virtually every source, from G1 cartoon and comic, to Marvel G2, to the UT, RiD, and IDW. Prime and movies, Animated, and RiD.
Among the things I'd do, is get rid of the mystical mumbo jumbo behind "Prime," and turn it back into a title or rank. Most likely a title akin to a cross between President and Pope. In the tradition of Nova Prime, it is bestowed upon a transformer by a council, whom they feel best embodies the hope that Nova Prime instills.

Backstory- While the transformers preexisted, early on in their forgotten history they came to be enslaved by the Quintessons. After millions and millions of years under their rule, the Quintessons have forged the Cybertronians into two major races. Worker Sect, and Military Sect (Each sect having different classes, such as Scientist Class for the workers, and Soldier Class for the military for example).
Eventually, two members of each sect rose up and worked together to inspire the cybertronians to throw off the shackles of their oppressors, and create a golden age. These two came to be known as Galvatron, the soldier who Galvanized the workers and military into a solid fighting force, and Nova Prime, who shone such bright hope on them he was like a Nova shining in the sky.
The Data Records of this time are few and far in between, and what exactly happened to Galvatron and Nova remains a mystery. Though it is long assumed that they have long since passed. Some even question if this time period even really happened, likening it to a religious myth.
However, what is known is that the Golden Age lasted for more than half a billion years.
Eventually, a group of transformers began feeling oppressed by the decisions of the politicians, and feeling as though they were intentionally kept as second class citizens. Forced to fight in Gladiatorial Pits, and sent off to die in wars, or toil away digging mines and building construction projects. Seldom allowed to indulge in scientific interests, or other more intellectual ventures. Eventually one uniting voice rose from the crowd, gaining serious influence. A Mech known as Dezarus, who began a civil war, fighting for equal rights for everyone, and becoming known as the Destrons.
The Destron Cause began to become more and more corrupt as Anarchists, rogues, and scoundrels all flocked to it. Eventually Dezarus fell to power hungry minions who wanted to rule everything. With Dezarus gone, the Destrons fell into disarray, and fragmented into multiple factions, lead by multiple warlords. The likes of Straxus, Overlord, Scorponok, Soundwave, Shockwave, Clench, Skyquake. Starscream, Thunderwing, Bludgeon, and the former senator Ratbat create havoc across cybertron, doing unimaginable harm. Many destrons who feel this is not the cause they signed up for, now defect to the autobots, including Grimlock.
However, another rises from obscurity. An obscure gladiator known as Megatron creates another group he called the Decepticons, and one by one took out or subjugated the warlords, forcing them to pledge their loyalty to him, or be destroyed. Unlike the Destrons, the Decepticon Cause intended total domination of Cybertron, and destruction to all who will not kneel.
Megatron's debut into the greater war came with his brutal killing of Sentinel Prime, claiming the Creation Matrix for the new Decepticon Cause.
With the Matrix under his control, he began creating droves of manufactured decepticon drones known as Vehicons. Disposable soldiers, each with a spark of their own.
In this darkest of times, the council of primes, lead by Alpha Trion and consisting of Ultra Magnus, Vector Prime (One of the few Primes to retire feeling he was too old to be a frontline leader in a war), Star Sabre, Ginrai, Jetfire, and Maximus (Fort Max), chooses a young optimistic data clerk named Orion Pax, and transforms him into Optimus Prime.

From here, the show begins, set on earth in the near future, with the struggles of a young Optimus Prime against Megatron, and relevant victories and defeats being told through flashback. The history of the golden age, quintesson age, the Destron uprisal, and Age of Warlords can be told through comics, games, and novels. And spotted upon in the show.

On earth, similar to Animated, Movies, and Prime, the Autobots consist of a tight cast, with the occasional guest stars.
However, I would chose an entirely different cast than the normal ones hasbro constantly reuses, while acknowledging the fact that we'll never be rid of Optimus, Megatron, Bumblebee, and Starscream.
Personalities would be a cross between various existing versions, with new traits added in.

Autobots:
Optimus Prime- I would do something dramatically different that what we've seen before. As this overall story would be told in three distinct time periods (Past, Present, and Future), Optimus would be given three different personalities.
-In the flashbacks, to represent a young optimus, he'll be brash and bold, and take many risks. His personality will be a cross between Animated and RiD. He'll suffer many losses that shape who he is today.
-In the modern setting, his personality will be based more on a cross between Armada and G1. He'll be a lot more conservative and cautious. Older and wiser. Seeing the grander picture, he's a lot more hesitant to risk the lives of his soldiers, and those under his protection (Humans).
-In the follow-up series (More to come), he'll be even older. Tired and world weary, he'll be much more like what we've seen in Prime.
NOT voiced by Peter Cullen.

Bumblebee- like I said, cause we'll never get away from him. Make sure Bumblebee can TALK! And I'd also base him more on his G1 personality. We haven't seen that in a long time. Voiced by Josh Keaton

Red Alert- mix elements of every Red Alert. Has sort of a loopy personality, a bit like G1. Female like Animated, and form/style follows armada influences. Voiced by Mae Whitman

Inferno- The big bruiser of the team, and Red's protective big brother. He's the eternal protector of the weak, and will do everything he can to protect the innocent. Voiced by Brad Garret.

Perceptor- Hasn't really been used in a meaningful way in a long time. Plays more or less his traditional role. Based somewhat on his RtS toy. Voiced by Brent Spiner

Blurr- Fills a similar personality type that we see in Armada Hotshot, G1 Hotrod, Animated Bumblebee, and Prime Smokescreen. Young, eager, brash, and convinced he's the best there is. Voiced by Jason Marsden

Decepticons:
Megatron- Completely merciless and cunning. Draws most, personality wise, from Animated. Visually, he borrows most from Armada. Voiced by Mark Hamill

Starscream- Like bumblebee, we'll never get away from him. Subjugated by Megatron, he plots to remove Megatron from power. Extremely cunning, he is the cleverist of all decepticons. With a deep sense of honor, he once worked side by side with Dezarus, and believes in Dezarus' original cause. Voiced by ?

Scorponok- Once a leader of his own faction. Like Starscream, Scorponok was subjugated and enslaved by megatron, forced to do his bidding. Simular relationship as we saw between Megs and Scorp, in Energon. He's the decepticon egghead this go round, with mad scientist tendencies. Voiced by Tony Todd

Spinister- Because he's seldom been touched. Voiced by Phil LaMarr

Barricade- Pretty much straight adaptation of the movie character. One of the few great things FROM the movie franchise. Voiced by ?

Fracture- Loosely based on the gobot, but largely new. A supercar, Sideswipe has a bit of a crush on her. Voiced by Jennifer Hale

There would be several reoccuring characters, but the two most prominant are:
Hound- a pacifist autobot, abandons the war when he falls in love with earth. The only thing that will cause him to fight is to protect nature. Works with park rangers to protect wildlife from poachers.

Alpha Trion- Pretty much Alpha Trion. Voiced by Rene Auberjonois

Shockwave- a sinister and cold decepticon. One of the few that Megatron fears. And the only one he feels threatens his position. Voiced by David Warner.

This storyline with these characters would run for two to three years. After which, the series would refresh with new characters, a new plot, and possibly a new style.

Plot:
50 years after the fall of Megatron, Starscream has helped to largely bring about peace. Most decepticons have surrendered and are imprisoned for war crimes, or have been reformed. The transformer race is healing itself from millions of years of civil war.
Likewise, earth has undergone a revolution, itself, with it's close ties to the autobots. Cybertronian tech has advanced the human's understanding of science and the universe by hundreds of years. The transformers have also undergon a revolution of their own, being advanced with new tech that have come about from human imagination.

But the fragile peace that is enjoyed in this new Golden Age comes under threat when Galvatron and Nova Prime return with a new, second generation of neo cybertronians, and a mysterious leader named Jhiaxus... but is everything as it seems.
Galvatron and Nova disapprove of the state of Cybertron. Many transformers rush to their side, but Optimus feels something is off.
Unbeknownst to everyone Galvatron and Nova Prime have become Fallen... emmesaries of a mysterious being known as Unicron. Optimus fears the only thing that can expose them for what they really are, is the long lost Creation Matrix.

Again, accepting that many names are mandated by hasbro, we'll never be free of Optimus or Bumblebee.
The cast for this series/season is mostly different from the first. It's also not as tight nit and finely focused. It will also be stylistically different. As the first series was more traditional, as we've seen in G1 type series and in the UT. This series will have more organic shapes to it, as the transformers have become more adapted by newer tech, experementing with more biological type systems.

Autobots:
Rodimus Prime- Optimus' hand picked replacemet. It is he, who Optimus sends on the quest for the Matrix. Hotheaded, through the course of the series, and with the help of his two best friends (Brainstorm and Override), he must learn to calm his temper, and reign in rash actions. When he retuirns with a depleted Creation Matrix, he is acknowledged by the counsil as the new Prime. Voiced by Will Friedle

Brainstorm- Completely mad scientist. Builds devices just to see what they do. Always seems to produce the perfect gadget or tool for whatever task is at hand. Voiced by David Tennent

Override- Hotrod/Rodimus' confidant. She's the only one, outside of Blurr who can give him a run for his money in the speed department. A strong leader in her own right, she joins the Matrix Quest to help keep Rodimus cool, and Brainstorm focused. Voiced by Danica McKeller

Warpath- the brute of the group, warpath loves blowing stuff up. He's also a brilliant military stratigist. His kind and easy going personality tends to make his enemies, and even his friends underestimate his true genious. He's much older and wiser than he seems. Though, he does have a habit of talking to himself... a lot. Voiced by Aasif Mandvi

Nightbeat- The autobot's master slueth, Rodimus chooses him to aid in tracking down the Matrix. Paranoid to begin with, Nightbeat never accepted that Galvatron and Nova are what they claim to be, and wants to do anything he can to bring them down. Has a hunch that when the matrix was lost, it was soon found by another missing decepticon: Thunderwing.. Loosely based on The Question. Voiced by Jeffrey Combs

Springer- Warrior. Down home do-it-yourself country boy type. Voiced by Nathan Fillion

Neo-Cybertronians/Decepticons:
Jhiaxus- Dispatched by Galvatron to either destroy Rodimus and his crew, or find the Matrix first. In many ways, just as brutal as Megatron. Largely based on Furman's portrayal in G2. Voiced by Hector Elizondo

Slipstream- Cruel and cunning, she is the leader of the Sweeps. Characterization inspired by Azula, from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Voiced by Grey DeLisle

Cyclonus- Mostly included to complete the Galvatron/Scourge/Cyclonus trinity. Voiced by ?

Lockdown- A bountyhunter hired to track Rodimus. Pretty much straight Animated adaptation. Voiced by Lance Hendrickson

Flamewar- Pilot of the decepticon ship, Flamewar is a mole embedded in Jhiaxus' crew by Starscream. Voiced by Maria Canals-Barrera

The Sweeps- created by Scourge's Chaos Matrix, the Sweeps are pack of relentless, and seemingly endless trackers that fill the role of the Vehicons from the first series.

Reoccuring characters:
Optimus Prime- Takes a backseat in this series, and does not get used much at all. Since the end of the war, Optimus has become an ambassidor for the transformers, amongst many different races. Especially Earth. He's older now, tired and wise. Personality has evolved into more or less what we see in Prime.

Nova Prime/Scourge- Possesses the Chaos Matrix, granted to him when reformatted by Unicron, which he claims is the Creation Matrix. It is full of Unicron's dark power. Based loosely on a cross between IDW's Nova Prime, and RiD Scourge. Voiced by Keith David

Galvatron- Mostly based on IDW's Galvatron. Voiced by Ron Perlman

Starscream- Defects to reform the Decepticons when Galvatron and Nova return, pledging his loyalty and the decepticons to them. It is revealed at the end of the series that Starscream was working undercover for Optimus, all along.

Most of the original cast will have occasional appearances, but these four would be appearing the most, but not in every episode.

Toys
Would follow my earlier statement for downsizing.
Each character would get multiple toys, representing different alt modes they may have. All designed by the same team, so they all mesh well, and are obvious at a glance intended to represent the same character.
Since it would be a bit tedious to list every toy, I'll just mention a few stand outs.

Scorponok- Scorp would get two toys. Cybertronian form would transform into a starfighter that's a direct homage to his Cybertron toy. His earth form would be a direct G1 homage. Neither toy would be a triplechanger. Both would be voyagers.

Optimus Prime- Earth Mode. Cab and trailer, sold probably at leader class pricepoint. Cab robot himself would be a true deluxe, if not on the large deluxe side (Not the downsized modern deluxe). His trailer would transform into a Mobile Field Command Base.The sides of the trailer open up banana style (Simular to the trailer with the G2 Laserrod), and would have a ton of molded detailing to represent computer consols, communications equipment, and such. The floor of the trailer lifts and becomes an emergency field medical bio bed. The trailer is equiped with two non-transforming remote drone units. An All-Terrain Ground Unit (Basically, Roller), which can also tow the trailer when Optimus is preoccupied. And an aerial stealth drone. which launches and can silently fly over any area for Optimus to spy behind enemy lines.
Basically, I'd like to see a trailer base that actually functions as a field base for the autobot commander, instead of "It's a base because we say so" like the G1, RiD, and Cybertron trailer bases.

Basics (Cybverse commanders)- Flamewar

Scouts- Bumblebee, Blurr, Perceptor, Red Alert, Barricade, Spinister, Fracture, Vehicons, Hound, Hotrod/Rodimus, Brainstorm, Override, Nightbeat, Slipstream, Lockdown, Sweeps

Deluxes- Optimus Prime, Alpha Trion, Starscream, Shockwave, Rodimus Prime, Springer, Cyclonus, Nova Prime, Galvatron

Voyagers- Inferno, Megatron, Scorponok, Warpath, Jhiaxus.

And after this season/series, the entire line would refresh completely. Still remaining in the same Continuum continuity, we would jump ahead a few thousand years, and reimagine the Beast Wars.

[Toph]

This came to me while I was tinkering with TCC Scourge, and realized he looked like a black knight.

Don't have an even halfway decent name for it. And I admit now it'd play out better as a comic than a cartoon.

The basic concept is a midieval fantasy that's set on Cybertron. Earth never really comes into it. Or if it does, it'd never be the focus. Revisiting the colonial ideas presented in TF: Cybertron, but instead of offworld, they're coexisting "kingdoms."

Of course, this Midival fantasy has a TF twist. And is hardly low tech. Each kingdom is a Citystate, with a capital city.
I have different transformers filling in traditional Midieval fantasy roles. Kings, Queens, Wizards, Advisors, Generals, Knights, and so on. Each "kingdom" is ruled by a Prime.
We have Citystates, which are governed by capitals. For instance, the capital of Cybertropolis, in the Citystate of Iacon.
And our story follows the war of two Citystates, which eventually drags it's neighboring states into it.

Citystate: Iacon, Capital: Cybertropolis.
Ruled by Sentinel Prime
Army: The Autobots
Notable characters: Alpha Trion (Wizard type), Prowl (Advisor), Ultra Magnus (General), Orion Pax, Ironhide, Bumblebee, others (knights), Perceptor, Wheeljack, others.

The people of Iacon are generally peaceful, and prefer endevours of learning. When Sentinel is taken offline from a surprise attack by the Decepticons, they are left without a Prime.
Iaconians are a hodgepodge of Cybertron. Many hailing from other kingdoms. As such, Ultra Magnus was originally a Kaonan bedfore he moved to Cybertropolis, and pledged his allegiance to Sentinel.

Citystate: Kaon, Capital: Darkmount
Ruled by: Nemesis Prime
Army: The Decepticons
Notable characters: Megatron (General), Shockwave (Advisor), Scourge (G1) (Wizard), Starscream, Cyclonus, Soundwave, others (Knights)
After deposing the original Prime of Kaon, Straxus Prime, Megatron, Starscream, and Shockwave installed a puppet to the throne. Someone that they can manipulate from the shadows.

Citystate: Velocitron
Ruled by: Rodimus Prime
Notable characters: Override (General), Brakedown (Advisor), Lightspeed (Wizard), Jazz, Clocker, Blurr, Speedbreaker, others (knights), Ransack, Crumplezone, Mudflap, Motormaster, others
A kingdom that gets dragged into the war between the Autobots and Decepticons.

Citystate: Animatros
Ruled by: Scorponok Prime
Notables: Grimlock, Rhinox, Cheetor, Skylynx, Skybyte, Waspinator, Shrapnil, Kickback, Bombshell, others
Yet another kingdom that gets dragged in.

And... you get the point.
I'd bring in Don Figuroa, Guido Guidi, Nick Roche, and Alex Milne to work up the designs for this project, instead of leaving it to people who have no concept of how to create a working transformer. They would also work very closely with the Hasbro team to make sure everyone is on the same page. Would probably have Simon Furman and Nick both working together as "showrunners" coordinating all the fiction, too.