>>5492336>Why don't figures these days use the symbols like G1 did anyway?They're called rubsigns, and Hasbro has in fact used them relatively recently (if you can consider 5 years recent).
The latter half of 2010 had the original Generations line run concurrently with the short-lived Reveal the Shield subline. It was a strange mix of Bayformers and Classics-style toys, with its primary gimmick being the rubsign faction symbol. This is the line that gave us figures like Deluxe Jazz and Wreck-Gar, as well as pic related.
I don't think we ever got an explanation as to why rubsigns weren't a regular thing, but I suspect it has something to do with tampographing being cheaper and simpler, with rubsigns also being seen as just a gimmick feature.
