Below you will find a tag cloud of the most popular news story tags. Simply click on the tag to view all associated stories. Tag clouds are not always the most useful output of tagging, and so you can also browse the news stories using our tag index by clicking on the tag index tag below the tag cloud.
From this section you can browser through all of the possible tags that may have been assigned to a news story. The number of stories tagged to each tag appears within brackets after the tag name. E.G Megatron (456) means that 456 news stories have been tagged with the phrase "Megatron". To navigate, simply use the top bar to browse by the first character of the tag phrase.
Thanks to TFWorld2005 for pointing out that JustIToys have updated their website with in packaging pictures of their MP5 Upgrade Package, which is now ready to ship. The package contains the stock and scope for MP5 - Masterpiece Megatron.
You can see JustIToys page here.
| Discuss: Read on
IDW Publishing has published the following preview in it's Art Du Jour section of their website, previewing the Transformers Profile book.
Simon Furman (Transformers: Beast Wars: The Gathering) and Ben Yee (consultant on the Beast Wars TV series) team up to present an all-encompassing, unifying resource book highlighting the characters, worlds and technology from all generations and incarnations of BEAST WARS. From AIR HAMMER to WOLFANG and beyond, and featuring all-new art from a host of the greatest TRANSFORMERS artists like Don Figueroa, Nick Roche, Rob Ruffolo, and many more, this is the series everyone's been clamoring for! This special series will be comprised of three 48-page, ad-free editions.
Click on the image to preview:
| Discuss: Read on
Win a pair of tickets to see Transformers at the IMAX in London!
To help promote the Transformers Movie release onto the IMAX cinemas, Paramount Pictures UK have once again team up with Transformers At The Moon to give you the chance of experiencing the magic of IMAX and Transformers.
The prize on offer is a pair of tickets to see the Transformers film at the IMAX in London on any of the days the film shows (a full list is included below).
To win the tickets simply email transformers@themoon.co.uk with the correct answer to the following question (putting IMAX COMPETITION as the subject).
Q: What ancient artefact are the Transformers searching for?
1) Tutankhamun Mask
2) The Matrix
3) The Allspark
4) Vector Sigma
As the film starts this Friday, 21st, so we'll be closing the competition on Thursday 20th.
Good luck.
Below is a full list of the times which the Transformers Movie is showing at the IMAX in the UK.
| Discuss: Read on
If, like us, you own the two Metalforce Optimus Prime toys from Time House, licenced by Takara in 1999 / 2000, you may want to check on your Metallic Optimus Prime toy.
We keep pur Metalforce Collection figures in their original bubblewrap, in the boxes, with all their accessories, and having taken both toys out to photograph I noticed extreme damage to the Metallic Optimus Prime figure. The toys had not been removed from their packaging for several years (I'm not sure when we last got them out, 5 years ago may). The regular Optimus Prime toy was fine, but the Metallic Optimus Prime toy's chest had faded away, looking like a chemical reaction to the bubble wrap, or lack of air.
As I noticed this when taking a gallery, you'll see what I mean when I upload the images later in the week, but if you own this toy, and keep it boxed, we'd urge you to check on it's status as soon as possible.
The Metallic Metalforce Optimus Prime toy sold for around $400 at one stage, but it's price soon dropped with more detailed tranforming version of Optimus Prime / Convoy released on the market.
| Discuss: Read on
Two TFWorld2005 members have reported spotting the Transformers Movie Thundercracker and Rescue Ratchet (G1 coloured Movie Ratchet) in UK stores.
| Discuss: Read on
Below is a full list of the times which the Transformers movie is showing at the IMAX in the UK.
| Discuss: Read on
TFWorld2005 have once again been sent some Hasbro stock images of the Transformers Movie Battle Set toys. The sets include a Deluxe sized Transformers Movie figure along with small human pieces (in most cases). The sets include Towline / Bumblebee (new mold, missing legs), Scorponok with US Army, Bumblebee with Sector Seven, Barricade with Sam, Mikaela and Frenzy.
You can see the images here, though you need a TFWorld2005 login.
| Discuss: Read on
The Allspark has
been blessed with the chance to bring you the entire script for the
unpublished The Wreckers issue #4, the “final” installment in the
Wreckers maxi-series. The title was originally meant to be an ongoing
story, but evolved to serve as an interstitial comic, linking the
Wreckers and the Universe title, but that plan never came to fruition.
| Discuss: Read on
A quick website correction, the toy gallery for the Transformers Super Link Lucky Draw Gold STD Convoy has now been corrected to show the images of the correct toy, rather than the Gold Rodimus figure which was previously linked on that gallery.
We apologise for any confusion caused.
| Discuss: Read on
Hi just to let everyone know that ANIME CENTRAL starts tonight at 9:00pm on sky channel 199 with TRANSFORMERS HEADMASTER on at 11:30pm for one and a half hours, so tune in and enjoy.
News by Coolbolt
| Discuss: Read on
The Titan Transformers comic, issue 3 is released this week. You can see our gallery of the issue in our Transformers Comics area as well as reading what Simon Furman has to say about the issue below (originally posted on his blog).
Quick reminder that the third superlative issue of Titan’s (UK) Transformers comic/magazine is out (officially, the London Comicon pre-release aside) this week.
The packed issue features an all-new
original comic strip (by me, with art by Andrew Wildman) featuring
Ratchet (the new movie version). Want to know where he ended up after
Devastator unleashed his foldspace warhead at the end of last issue?
Well, all is revealed within. Plus, loads more strip, exclusive
features (including a Ratchet profile and an Ironhide vs Starscream
head-to-head) and competitions (a chance to win a whole range of
Transformers books, including the revised/updated Ultimate Guide). Oh,
and a nifty collectable TF keychain (two varieties, natch).
| Discuss: Read on
TFWorld2005 have received more official stock images of some of the Wave Four toys from the Star Wars Transformers line. You have to be a member to see the images which have been posted in this topic.
| Discuss: Read on
Paramount Pictures have updated their website with details of the UK IMAX showings for Transformers.
"NEW Transformers IMAX Screenings!
Tranformers the movie is hitting the bigger screen at IMAX sites in
London, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and Bradford. The movie will
also feature brand new, exclusive footage. Contact your nearest iMAX
cinema to find out more."
We shall be running a competition, in association with Paramount Pictures UK, to win tickets to an IMAX screening on the 21st September. Details are being currently being finalised, but we hope to open the competition at some point tomorrow.
| Discuss: Read on
Last friday, NTFA reported that The Scandinavian DVD release of the live action Transformers movie has been set as December 4th. The DVD will include Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish subtitles and is available for pre-orders already by now.
| Discuss: Read on
CORPORATION: Trying Times for Transformers Toymaker
With the Steven Spielberg-produced Transformers a summer smash in
theaters worldwide, these should be happy days for Tomy, the Japanese
company that makes the shape-shifting toys on which the blockbuster
film is based.
Yet with news headlines dominated by made-in-China scandals
involving toymakers such as Mattel (MAT), there's no fun in Toyland.
Tomy, like so many other Japanese and Western toy companies, relies on
factories in China to manufacture most of its toys, and that Chinese
sourcing is now causing big problems.
On the heels of Mattel's Sept. 4 announcement of a recall of
Barbie accessories and other toys due to worries about dangerous levels
of lead paint, the share price of Tomy, which has product-licensing
agreements with Mattel, is languishing at a four-year low. Tomy shares
fell 2.6% on Sept. 5 in Tokyo trading, marking their lowest level since
August, 2003. The stock price is down more than 22% this year, compared
to a 6.2% drop for the Nikkei index.
Quality problems associated with Chinese production are the
biggest immediate concern for investors. On Aug. 17, Tomy said it would
recall Chinese-made toy cars that it markets and distributes for Mattel
in Japan after finding lead in the paint. That move wiped 10% off the
stock price, although the company bravely insists it has no regrets.
"We want to provide consumers as much proof as possible so as to
guarantee the quality of our products," says Seiichiro Wasahara, a
spokesman at the company.
Bringing Back Old Fans
While the China scandals dominate
the headlines now, Chinese factories aren't the only problem for Tomy.
Just as worrying, at least in the longer term, is that the company's
main market, Japan, is shrinking as the population ages. Statistics
show just how bleak the future is. By 2030, the National Institute of
Population & Social Security Research predicts Japan's population
of 127.7 million will fall by almost 10% and that youngsters will
number fewer than one in 10, from around 13.6% now.
To fill the void, the company is targeting adults for one of
its hottest toy rollouts in years. To coincide with the release of
Transformers in Japan, Tomy is rereleasing dozens of the morphing robot
toys that the company hopes will be a hit with generations X and Y.
"The Transformers have had an image in Japan of being only for
children," says Masahiko Yamazaki, who leads Tomy's marketing effort.
"We'd like to bring back old fans and create a new market for adults."
|
|
The need to appeal to a broader audience is clear. In the past,
Japan's toymakers had plenty of toy and game tie-ins to TV programs and
movies for kids. But with Japan's youth population rapidly declining,
they're being forced "to expand the market by increasing the targeted
age range," says Fumiaki Ibuki, editor of Toy Journal.
Tough Competition from Astro Boy
The prized demographic
in Japan: baby boomers' kids, who are now in their 20s and 30s. These
consumers, known as junior boomers, have cash to burn and kids with
whom they are eager to share memories of their childhood.
When Takara [later bought by Tomy] first released Transformers
in the U.S. in 1984, the giant robots that could morph into cars,
planes, and other vehicles were a novelty. A year later, they were
introduced in Japan to rave reviews. But the toys' popularity ebbed a
few years later, and only the most die-hard fans have remained loyal.
What's more, Tomy's Transformers now have to hold their own against a
slew of other robot characters -- from Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy to
giant flying robots such as Mazinger Z and Gundam -- that have proven
far more enduring.
That's likely to make it a hard slog for Tomy in Japan, where
the company has exclusive rights. [Hasbro (HAS) owns the Transformers'
marketing license in the U.S. and other key overseas markets.] Though
300 million Transformers toys have been sold in more than 130 countries
over the years, Japan has only accounted for 10% of sales.
No Earnings Transformation Expected
But that hasn't
deterred Tomy. Ahead of the film's release, the company sold 16
different robot characters from the movie, and this month another two
dozen will appear in stores worldwide. There is even a collaboration
with Nike (NKE), called Free 7.0, which looks like a sneaker but
contains a robot inside, and an Apple (AAPL) iPod version is expected
soon. Eventually, 80 different products are slated for release.
Tomy says it hopes to do more than $50 million in Transformers
sales this fiscal year, through March, 2008. That might be possible,
but sales in Japan so far have been disappointing, according to Mizuho
Investors Securities. Says Shoji Morita, an analyst at Okasan
Securities: "In the U.S., there are many success stories of a hit movie
leading to a hit toy. In Japan, however, hit products are always
connected to TV anime or TV programs such as Pokemon and Gundam."
In fact, few expect the Transformers to help Tomy's earnings
much. Tomy produces Transformers for U.S. toymaker Hasbro, but the
Japanese company's profit margins from the arrangement are miniscule,
and Transformers-related sales have amounted to less than 10% of the
company's total.
But even if the Transformers flop, some analysts think Tomy
will still get by. In the first quarter, Tomy's operating earnings
swung to a profit of $500,000 from a $2.6 million loss a year ago, and
sales rose nearly 15%, to $342 million. Etsuko Tamura of Mizuho
Investors Securities says Tomy's Tomica trains and Barbie-look-alike
Licca-chan dolls are big enough sellers to lift the company's profits
this year. For the financial year, she projects operating profits will
grow 57%, to $40 million. If only Tomy's stock price could show a
similar recovery. "It's disappointing as we've had healthy revenue
growth," says spokesman Wasahara.
From Yahoo business news.
| Discuss: Read on
Archadis
Choose Your Fate
Ep 12: Dinobots Revealed
OTFCC 2003 (USA)
US Sheet 1
Transformers Animated
