It wouldn't have been called Transformers and you're right those characters wouldn't exist but Mego might have had a hit with it, it's all just conjecture at this point. It's possible that Mego's interpretation on the concept could have struck a chord as well, not a guarantee but possible. I bet Marvel would have been involved somehow.
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We can speculate Mego could have done some type of transformable toy line or maybe even had folded it into Micronauts. But would it have become the enduring pop culture success like Transformers? Hard to say. But how many people actually remember the Convertors line? We also have to keep in mind how emotionally invested kids were into the characters. It was more than just the fun gimmick of changing one toy into another. Kids loved the characters. When Optimus Prime died kids literally went running from the theaters crying.
The if Mego had lasted long enough they would have done Transformers is like Star Wars killed Mego to me. Neither really holds true, in my opinion.You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated old mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but you don't believe in such myths. One dark and stormy night, a light appears in the topmost window in the tower of the old house. You decide to investigate... and you never return...Comment
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We can speculate Mego could have done some type of transformable toy line or maybe even had folded it into Micronauts. But would it have become the enduring pop culture success like Transformers? Hard to say. But how many people actually remember the Convertors line? We also have to keep in mind how emotionally invested kids were into the characters. It was more than just the fun gimmick of changing one toy into another. Kids loved the characters. When Optimus Prime died kids literally went running from the theaters crying.
The if Mego had lasted long enough they would have done Transformers is like Star Wars killed Mego to me. Neither really holds true, in my opinion.Places to find PlaidStallions online: https://linktr.ee/Plaidstallions
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I compare it to the SW myth because losing SW didn't kill Mattel or Hasbro. Mattel didn't get SW so they made MOTU and Hasbro didn't get SW so they made RAH GI JOE. They lost SW and still thrived. They made their own success without SW.You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated old mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but you don't believe in such myths. One dark and stormy night, a light appears in the topmost window in the tower of the old house. You decide to investigate... and you never return...Comment
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I didn't disagree with that. I said they very well could have made a some type of transformable toy line. But would it have been Transformers or a Transformers equivalent? No, you take Hasbro out of the equation and the phenomenon doesn't happen. Transformers was toy lightening in a bottle. The rare chance where everything fell into place. Without Hasbro you end up with something like Convertors. A very nice line of transformable toys that barely anyone remembers.
Converters was a lame effort by "Select Toys" to cash in. There was no PR of any kind and yeah, it withered on the vine. Mego would have tried harder than that and where it would have ended up, we'll totally never know.
The Star Wars myth can actually be disproved, I'm actually working on that right now. It's boring and complicated but it can be dispelled, the other didn't happen, so it's an annecdote at best.
The only truth to any of it is, Mego would have been first in line for the option.Places to find PlaidStallions online: https://linktr.ee/Plaidstallions
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The SW myth to you as like the Transformers one to me. A frustrating myth that will just not go away.
Edited to add. I'm hopefully not coming off as unpleasant or hostile. That's not my intention. I'm not always as good at getting my points across as I'd like to be and these 80s toy lines are kind of a passion of mine.Last edited by Werewolf; Apr 1, '19, 7:06 PM.You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated old mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but you don't believe in such myths. One dark and stormy night, a light appears in the topmost window in the tower of the old house. You decide to investigate... and you never return...Comment
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Other than Micronauts I don't remember any of their in house brands having any kind of comic tie-in. Eagle Force didn't and that was going to be Mego's next big thing. Maybe a cartoon or comic was in the early planning stages but it never happened. Hasbro had a cartoon and comic ready on roll out with the toy line. Also, for me a big problem with the Micronauts comic was most of the characters in the comic weren't available as toys. No Marionette or Bug and only a generic Space Glider. With the Transformers comic and cartoon the characters in the comics and toon were the same as the toys.
Marty Abrams was one of the most outspoken proponents of changing that law including testifying in Washington but he never got to cash in on it. Hasbro and Mattel got that gravy.
We're not going to agree on this but seeing as Mego sold over a hundred million bucks of an unknown Japanese toy line without a cartoon series, I stand by my statement that they could have had a hit with the concept. It is feasible, it certainly wouldn't have been as dishwater dull as the "converters" example.
The SW myth to you as like the Transformers one to me. A frustrating myth that will just not go away.
Edited to add. I'm hopefully not coming off as unpleasant or hostile. That's not my intention. I'm not always as good at getting my points across as I'd like to be and these 80s toy lines are kind of a passion of mine.
Thank you for clarifying because it does read as if i'm angering you here.
I'm not trying to crap on the success of Transformers or 80s toylines, they clearly have made a lasting mythology, I'm just saying part of their success was the concept, they were fun toys. If Mego's version sold half as good, it would have been a big hit too.Places to find PlaidStallions online: https://linktr.ee/Plaidstallions
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it certainly wouldn't have been as dishwater dull as the "converters" example.
Thank you for clarifying because it does read as if i'm angering you here.
Edit to clarify: To be clear I don't argue that Mego could have made a line of transformable toys. But that is not the same as actually making something like Transformers that goes beyond the gimmick and has characters that people love and connect with. Optimus Prime was the Superman for a lot of 80s kids. Maybe Mego could have done a transforming line and had maybe the success of the second tier line Gobots. But some 30 plus years later no one is wanting a Scooter Gobots movie let alone even remembers the character and Gobots had a pretty decent level of success. But they still weren't Transformers.Last edited by Werewolf; Apr 1, '19, 8:23 PM.You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated old mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but you don't believe in such myths. One dark and stormy night, a light appears in the topmost window in the tower of the old house. You decide to investigate... and you never return...Comment
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I only used Convertors as an example because, like the Transformers line, Convertors used licensed molds from various Japanese lines. The point was, transforming toys had been imported long before Transformers, Gobots and Convertors and were never even a blip on the market before Hasbro's Transformers concept.
Not at all in fact I appreciate your knowledge and input. I just have to disagree Mego would have ended up with anything comparable to the lasting pop culture appeal and level of success as Optimus and Bumblebee.Places to find PlaidStallions online: https://linktr.ee/Plaidstallions
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