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[canprime]

Ok, so let's make the thread.  What do you think?  Here are some of my thoughts.

My first thought on this is that Hasbro wouldn't make such a big deal about this, and be all secretive until Toyfair if is wasn't a biggie.  By biggie, I mean a top tier "want' by fans, and not size wise.

Next, it has to be something in the 83-86 range.  Why?  Well after 86 has some really great vehicles, but nothing that fans are really screaming for before a lot of other stuff.  Also, 82 is pretty much done.  I would love a Cobra Missile Command, HAL, MMS or JUMP, but 3 are not big enough to warrant this kind of announcement and the other is a cool playset, but I don't think Hasbro wants to offer us a cardboard playset and make a big deal of that.  Everything else 82 has been (re)made.  That leaves 83-86 to draw upon.

Next it has to be something mid-large in size.  Nothing HUGE like a playset/base (C'mon a new 83 Headquarters), and nothing small like the Devilfish (WHICH I WOULD LOVE RE-RELEASED).  So that limits the options further. 

Then it becomes a bit of a game of chance, or basically taste.  Some vehicles are fairly universally loved, while others are popular, but risky. 

So, here is what I have as the "short" list for possibilities:

83:  Dragonfly & Wolverine.  I have considered the APC, but see it as a longshot.  The Wolverine would be nice, but the Dragonfly would be 1st from this year.  Also, they may still have the mold, or parts.

84:  Killer WHALE, Slugger, Vamp II.  Slugger is another longshot and Vamp II would be great, but again doesn't scream for this kind of announcement.  The ASP would be nice, but too small.  That leaves the Killer WHALE, however cost has to be a big problem for this mold.

85:  Bridge Layer, Mauler, Moray, C.A.T.  The C.A.T. would be ok by me, but I think it would be a horrible choice, and a bit of a cop out.  The Bridge Layer is cool, but not cool enough.  The Mauler might have most mold parts, and the Moray should have the whole mold.  They are both top tier choices for fans.

86:  Night Raven, STUN, HAVOC, Tomahawk, Thundermachine.  I just feel the STUN, HAVOC and Thundermachine are longshots.  I can't really say why for sure, but personally they don't warrant the "big reveal" next year.  The Tomahawk and Night Raven are good possibilities as well, however the Night Raven is probably just too big to be cost efficient/profitable/sellable.  The Tomahawk might make it, and Hasbro loves their aircraft, but again it might cost too much.

So trying to think like a fan and Hasbro at the same time, makes my head hurt.  HOWEVER, if I were to pick a top three for possibilities I would go with:

MAULER
MORAY
TOMAHAWK.

[ARROW]

A WHALE is about the same size as the Skystriker--and technically has about the same number of parts. The vane assemblies on the fans are notoriously difficult to find intact, and that makes restoring a WHALE very hard.

I know, I'm trying to do just that.
It would be a grand item to re-issue, and looks really cool still. IF they can re-engineer the vanes assemblies, it would make it more desirable than the original--which is saying something.
I'd LOVE to see the WHALE again, and it would be my first choice.

The MORAY is a mold they already have and have re-used it several times over the past 10 years. I've restored my vintage sample just a couple of months ago, and its a beautiful item for the modern 25th+ figures. It looks really nice with a crew of Lampreys and Eels.

The Mauler was recently started by the Club--MOST of the tooling exists, but some was damaged......it would take less investment to re-do the damaged parts and re-issue that, but......would the Mauler be as "impressive" as some of the other possibilities? I dunno.
I think, of the list........maybe the Dragonfly stands to be the most likely, because it can be re-used in several schemes: stock, Tiger Force, etc--but then the same could be said for the Mauler as well.

[olyeller01]

In one of the Q&As from last year, I asked Hasbro how they made the new SkyStriker so closely resemble the old one.  They replied that they used CAD and basically scanned an original, then figured out how to make the new tooling necessary. 

Since the process obviously works so well (and will only get better the more they do it), that means any vehicle out there would be on the table.  Even one like the Mauler, which we know had some broken molds. 

My money is on the Tomahawk or the Mauler though, since Hasbro made such a big deal about it.  Ya never know though, they DID have a Flagg in their SDCC display case last year 

[Sundance]

can we have a Mauler please and can you do a Z Force homage re-paint release?

[Blitzkrieg]

Ok, so let's make the thread.  What do you think?  Here are some of my thoughts.

My first thought on this is that Hasbro wouldn't make such a big deal about this, and be all secretive until Toyfair if is wasn't a biggie.  By biggie, I mean a top tier "want' by fans, and not size wise.

Next, it has to be something in the 83-86 range.  Why?  Well after 86 has some really great vehicles, but nothing that fans are really screaming for before a lot of other stuff.  Also, 82 is pretty much done.  I would love a Cobra Missile Command, HAL, MMS or JUMP, but 3 are not big enough to warrant this kind of announcement and the other is a cool playset, but I don't think Hasbro wants to offer us a cardboard playset and make a big deal of that.  Everything else 82 has been (re)made.  That leaves 83-86 to draw upon.

So trying to think like a fan and Hasbro at the same time, makes my head hurt.  HOWEVER, if I were to pick a top three for possibilities I would go with:

MAULER
MORAY
TOMAHAWK.

I agree with your deductive reasoning/process of elimination.

The Mauler was close to being recreated by the club had the turret mold allegedly not been damaged, which means assuming Hasbro didn't dump the rest of the molds needed to make that tank, the turret could be remolded to complete the tank. I believe last year's Hasbro panel featured the Mauler being re-released as part of their "What could have been" slides.

The Moray was re-released both by the Club and at retail within the past 10 years, so although a cool vehicle and potentially accessible, I don't think it has quite the amount of fan enthusiasm behind it to warrant a high-profile re-release.

Besides the (2-seater) Skystriker, the Tomahawk is the one vehicle that seems to be at the top of most fanboys' lists for re-release. Back in the day, although the vehicle was large, Hasbro managed to fit it into a pretty compact box, like they did recently with the Skystriker. If Hasbro wanted to make a splash at Toy Fair, this is the vehicle that I feel would garner the most media/fan attention. Reissuing it with sliding or removable side panels and enhanced side guns with gunners' chairs (ala Clone Wars) would be phenomenal.

Blitzkrieg   

[Blitzkrieg]

A WHALE is about the same size as the Skystriker--and technically has about the same number of parts. The vane assemblies on the fans are notoriously difficult to find intact, and that makes restoring a WHALE very hard.

I know, I'm trying to do just that.
It would be a grand item to re-issue, and looks really cool still. IF they can re-engineer the vanes assemblies, it would make it more desirable than the original--which is saying something.
I'd LOVE to see the WHALE again, and it would be my first choice.

The WHALE would certainly turn alot of heads at Toy Fair (though not as many as a re-released Tomahawk, IMHO). For me to get excited about a WHALE re-release, it would need to have a number of enhancements... too many to justify the cost.

Blitzkrieg

[Sundance]

i thought it was the wheels they had trouble with on the Mauler?

one enhancement they really need to make with a reissue Mauler, is to put a Ma Deuce on the top of the turret at the commander's hatch...