There is a massive market for "plays with" Transformers, and off-brand changing robots have been available for years. While many recent projects seem to focus on bringing Hasbro's trademark characters to life in new and increasingly expensive formats, the BMOG Toys project on Kickstarter instead aims to make something wholly new which is compatible with your existing collection. Their Bio-Mechanical Ordnance Gestalts exist as a pile of pieces which individually arm your robots in disguise or other toys, but can also combine together to make a creature of some sort. The first project, the Ursenal vs. Mantax set, is on Kickstarter today and will end on Friday, December 13.
Much like LEGO or Glyos, the pieces were designed to fit together and encourage building. Each piece fits together with a 5mm peg and hole form fit, making them compatible with numerous toy lines including most modern Transformers as well as Battle Beasts playsets, some Zoids Blox toys, and numerous action figure lines dating back to the 1980s. Chief of the BMOG Tribe Trent Troop sat down to answer our questions in his undersea lair earlier this week, and can be read beneath this obtrusive advertising block.
16bit.com: What will the BMOG packaging be like? Boxes? Clear plastic baggies? Header cards like Glyos/Outer Space Men?
Trent Troop: In an effort to keep prices low, each figure will come bagged with their sticker sheet.
16bit.com: Will the parts be attached to sprues for the customer, like Zoids?
Trent Troop: Yes. The figures will come sprued, model-kit style.
16bit.com: How will these be sold post-Kickstarter? Will you be selling direct, online (Entertainment Earth, BBTS, etc.), or to any brick and mortar chains?
Trent Troop: This isn't fully settled at this point. We've had some interest from online retailers and we will be pursuing that distribution model. We are looking into direct-sale solutions as well. At this time we do not have plans for brick-and-mortar chains but if the opportunity arises we would certainly follow through.
16bit.com: Are there plans for larger BMOG robot figures or characters to use the guns that themselves do not break down into smaller weapons?
Trent Troop: Yes and no. We have some larger robot style figures conceptualized that could use the weapons but these too would be designed to disassemble. Depending on response, however, we may explore some other avenues in terms of non-disassembling figures for some of the non-BMOG characters from that universe (as of yet to be revealed!)
16bit.com: Are there plans to combine multiple BMOGs together into a large, giant item? For example, buy 5 Ursenals and assemble a Voltron-esque robot, or combine your first few releases together?
Trent Troop: I wouldn't be surprised if that functionality is already there, though we haven't got it pre-planned for the first several releases. The building-toy feature of toys allows for surprising combinations. Once I had two Ursenals on-hand I came up with a combined warrior-robot mode, which is pictured on the Kickstarter page. This wasn't something we had planned but it came together anyhow. I am really looking forward to seeing what builds the fans come up with.
16bit.com: Will subsequent series be sold on Kickstarter, or just released normally through your store or other means?
Trent Troop: We are still looking into these options and it is difficult to say with certainty until the Kickstarter campaign ends.
Image Gallery
Images courtesy Chris "Vangelus" Ho via Matthew Karpowich.
And that's it! Special thanks to Trent Troop and the great Matthew Karpowich for their assistance in making this happen.
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