Board Thread:General Nerf discussion/@comment-51577-20140611213050/@comment-51577-20140612213313

Well, with Transformers, fans have very different reactions towards redecos and retools. If a redeco/retool follows a pattern established back in the 1980s (like Starscream into Thundercracker or Skywarp), fans will buy them all, and even complain if Hasbro doesn't do all characters. Redecos that don't follow a pattern established during Generation 1 (like Bumblebee into Cliffjumper), especially without any change to the tooling? Cue a lot of complaints. Redecos into all-new characters that aren't rooted in Generation 1 at all? Lots of complaints, though novelty ideas (like totally wacky or creative decos, homages to non-G1 characters etc.) may get positive reactions from a certain percentage of the fandom.

The most controversial type, though, is the same-character redeco. "Stealth"-type Bumblebees with yellow and black swapped between most of his parts are still the least detested version. But "Bumblebee with flames", "Bumblebee with green windows", "Bumblebee with his racing stripes modified", "Bumblebee with sponsor decals" etc., or "Optimus Prime with his colors reversed", "Optimus Prime in gray" etc., the "main" characters in particular are subject to so many bizarre redecos (often sold as part of multi-packs) that even OCD completists curse Hasbro for milking their wallets.

And that's not even counting running changes, although those are usually improvements to a toy (such as fixing a design flaw, adding additional sculpting or deco details).

Compared to that, Nerf is tame.