A post from Mark "Markclonus" Maher of Hasbro is making the rounds, talking about the original plans for the Velocitron versions of Override and Cosmos that we'll be seeing soon.

The budget was limited, but Mark is a huge Cosmos fan and wanted to squeeze him into the assortment somehow, so his initial proposal was a modified Origin Bumblebee. Cosmos would have been an Origin Bumblebee with a different chest and head, basically. But, TakaraTomy worked their magic and, even with the limited number of new molds they were allowed to use, managed to come up with an entirely new toy. No recycling required.

The same thing happened with Override. The new version of the character was initially conceived as a partial Studio Series Hot Rod retool, and would have had Hot Rod's rear end in car mode, and Hot Rod's legs in robot mode. But, TakaraTomy was able to devise a way to make her an all-new toy instead of reusing parts.

I love getting to hear about this kind of inside baseball about the development of my favorite toy line. I also love that Mark is such a huge Cosmos fan. I love him, too, and I'm super excited for the new toy.

Zob (First floor! Movie theaters, shoe stores, and fast food restaurants!)