Unicron has come to Hasbro’s HasLab funding platform

Following up on Jabba the Hutt’s Sail Barge from last year, HasLab is funding a pair of projects in 2019. Just announced is the mighty Unicron.

HasLab returns

Hasbro’s HasLab is something pretty unique. No, funding platforms aren’t anything all that special, that’s true. But still, HasLab is very different from anything else out there.

A platform created and run by one of the biggest toy-makers in the world, you might even wonder why there’s a need for something like it. COuldn’t Hasbro just commission any projects they want? Don’t they have the money? Well, yes and no.

The projects that we’re seeing come out of HasLab are not anything that you’d find mass marketed in a retail store. You’re not going o walk into Target and see Jabba’s favorite cruiser on the shelf. It’s too big (footprints are a consideration in retail) and way too expensive.

That last point too, even has to be factored into something like an online purchase. Sure Hasbro could have made the Khetanna and marketed it as an exclusive to their Hasbro Pulse online store. But how many people would actually buy the $500 item? They could easily get stuck with loads of them, and that’d no doubt cost their bottom line a pretty penny.

Enter HasLab though, and all of that goes away. The things that come out of the Lab are made to order. If the orders don’t come in, Hasbro doesn’t make the toy.

The chaos bringer

A few days ago, Hasbro shocked the toy-collecting world with the reveal of… Cookie Monster. A life-sized Cookie Monster, but Cookie Monster nonetheless. The Sesame Street muppet was revealed to be the next item in the HasLab queue, which left more than a few collectors disappointed.

While there are plenty of Sesame fans out there, it wasn’t quite what people were thinking. They wanted something more along the lines of a new Death Star or a 25th Anniversary version of the G.I. Joe USS FLAGG… or Unicron.

Well, guess what? Hasbro has two projects for 2019, and if you were in that boat, then you’re going to like the second one, because it is indeed the planet-eating, Cybertronian god called Unicron.

Unicron is easily the biggest Transformer ever, clocking in at 30″ tall. That’s a good deal bigger than even the massive Fortress Maximus Titan-class figure from a few years back.

He also is set to sport a stunning 50 points of articulation. Unicron’s got all the usual posability, plus finger, eye, and even tooth articulation. And yes, he transforms.

Light years better looking than the old Transformers Energon version of Unicron, the HasLab edition would be a complete planet when converted. And at a whopping 19 pounds, he’d even come with his own stand to keep this monster upright on your… shelf? Actually, you might need a table.

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Costs and more

As you might imagine, Unicron won’t come cheap however. That’s the whole point of HasLab. The figure will cost you a beastly $574.99 USD, and again, there’s no guarantee that he gets made. Hasbro needs eight thousand backers by this August the 31st to commission the project. That’s more than the Sail Barge needed, though that required a massive amount also and it got done.

I’ve seen quite a bit of talk this morning about that price tag on Twitter. I clearly remember there being chatter last year too, about Hasbro not being fair to fans with crowd-fundings like this one.

But I think you have to be honest about it, because the sheer size and cost of the figure is too much for standard retail. As I mentioned above, it’d never happen at all the traditional route. Basically, it’s HasLab or it’s nothing (to borrow a phrase from Nerf).

If you want to check out more on the figure or back it, click here to go to the Hasbro Pulse page for it.