OFFICIAL TRANSFORMERS TOYS NEWS

Tetsuro · Post by **Tetsuro** » Mon Apr 27, 2015 10:11 am

Inaction Master wrote:Or a new kind of Pokemon.

To sound like a pokemon, it'd have to be abbreviated to something like "Thundoof".

Those antlers def. make me think of a pokemon tho!

Knightdramon · Post by **Knightdramon** » Fri May 08, 2015 11:24 am

First coloured pic of Road Rage in bot mode

RK on FB

EDIT: Clearer image at BBTS here
EDIT2: Even better images at Anime export http://www.anime-export.com/product/25495

Nifty. Twincast repaint of the mini Blaster, plus...unknown human?

Tetsuro · Post by **Tetsuro** » Fri May 08, 2015 7:31 pm

Would be amusing if the Black Tracks repaint was a Finnish exclusive, similar to the Diaclone toy...

...except the Transformers market in Finland is completely shit these days.

Post by **zigzagger** » Sat May 09, 2015 12:03 am

Not bad, not bad. And that sure is a pretty shade of red.

Though, why must Takara insist on taking pictures of both Tracks and Road Rage posed at a slight angle? Makes it tricky to work out some of the differences in remolding.

Knightdramon · Post by **Knightdramon** » Sat May 09, 2015 11:22 am

Yes, the cherry red does pop out in comparison to the flatter red on Sideswipe and Prime.

I'm curious to see what flame deco they will use for this one. Much like Tracks, fully coloured robot pics are shown before the fully coloured vehicle.

Really liking the [now clear] diaclone and cartoon repaints we are getting.

And this makes it 4 releases in a row, month-wise, from July [G2 Bee] all the way to October.

I'm itching for the eventual Ironhide reveal. Oh yes. Maybe at Tokyo Toy Show in June?

numbat · Post by **numbat** » Sat May 09, 2015 6:50 pm

Road Rage does look cool, but I'm still on the fence with Tracks, and am unlikely to pick up a Diaclone repaint. I'll wait and see... I love Corvettes. I would really like a yellow version...

Very much looking forward to seeing how Ironhide turns out.

Post by **Sades** » Sat May 09, 2015 8:33 pm

RED. RED MAKES YOU GO FASTERRRRR

Honestly like the red, still not sure about the figure. Though it seems nicely posable. I think it's growing on me.

Unicron · Post by **Unicron** » Thu May 14, 2015 2:00 pm

Think this qualifies for this thread:

TFW2005 is reporting a image shared on Twitter by TakaraTomy designer Hisashi Yuki. It's a silhouette of Defensor, with what appears to be a deluxe Groove as the right leg. Very interesting

Rack 'n Ruin · Post by **Rack 'n Ruin** » Thu May 14, 2015 4:10 pm

Unicron wrote:Think this qualifies for this thread:

TFW2005 is reporting a image shared on Twitter by TakaraTomy designer Hisashi Yuki. It's a silhouette of Defensor, with what appears to be a deluxe Groove as the right leg. Very interesting

Oooh. That is interesting. Could be something I'd import as a set.

Knightdramon · Post by **Knightdramon** » Thu May 14, 2015 7:06 pm

My speculation---

Hasbro has already a mould for the motorcycle technobot that can be generic enough to pass as Groove.

Takara delayed their defensor enough to be able to use -that- mould around the time hasbro comes out with Computron [all but confirmed on listings].

Which then really, really begs the f*cking question---why even bother with the [so far] 3 new combiner members [Alpha Bravo, Offroad, Rook] if you had plans already to release the full original line up?

Is it a backlash from all the bitchy whining from the fandom over something original done for once, or was this always the plan? If so, why not invest on a whole new combiner with those 3, a new main body and another member?

Post by **Warcry** » Thu May 14, 2015 7:16 pm

Knightdramon wrote:Which then really, really begs the f*cking question---why even bother with the [so far] 3 new combiner members [Alpha Bravo, Offroad, Rook] if you had plans already to release the full original line up?

After the way it's all played out, I don't think Hasbro ever did plan to release the originals. It doesn't seem like they saw the backlash coming at all. Slingshot and Wildrider are online/Diamond exclusives that just appeared out of nowhere, which just screams "panic move" to me. I mean, surely if this was part of some diabolical scheme to trick fans into buying the new characters first before releasing the originals, then Slingshot and Wildrider would be available at retail for maximum profiteering?

It's just been handled way too sloppily for it to be intentional.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Thu May 14, 2015 7:20 pm

As has been said before, having new combiner characters to keep team members on shelves for kids as waves come and go is a sensible move. I don't think it would have hurt to have the original characters out first though, it wouldn't have made any difference to child buyers and it would have stopped fan moaning.

Well, some fan moaning.

A fan moan.

Of course, the decision to do the Technobots might have been made after the Protectobots were put into effect, meaning Hasbro weren't expecting to need two bikes anyway.

Thunderwave · Post by **Thunderwave** » Thu May 14, 2015 7:51 pm

Warcry wrote:After the way it's all played out, I don't think Hasbro ever did plan to release the originals. It doesn't seem like they saw the backlash coming at all. Slingshot and Wildrider are online/Diamond exclusives that just appeared out of nowhere, which just screams "panic move" to me. I mean, surely if this was part of some diabolical scheme to trick fans into buying the new characters first before releasing the originals, then Slingshot and Wildrider would be available at retail for maximum profiteering?

It's just been handled way too sloppily for it to be intentional.

I have to agree with this. Takara has been known to do the occasional thing without Hasbro. Seeing the fan backlash over Japan getting the "missing" members might of spurred them into releasing them in other markets somehow. The fact you can order them on Amazon but not the other online retailers says a lot (especially considering BBTS has had exclusives before).

That said I'm still really pleased with Alpha Bravo and Offroad, even though I'll be getting Slingshot and Wildrider as well. Having a few extra combiner limbs that can be swapped out at will doesn't offend me and I rather like both molds. If Takara does drop a full sized Deluxe Groove I really hope Hasbro takes a similar tack and releases him like Slingshot and Wildrider. If not I may just import Defensor from Japan and pick up a Rook on the side. I rather like the cut of his jib.

Skyquake87 · Post by **Skyquake87** » Thu May 14, 2015 9:34 pm

I am puzzled why a large company like Hasbro seems to take some cues from twittering, fickle old farts on message boards. There's engaging with your consumer base, but being dictated to by them..? And a tiny sliver of your consumer base too...*

Or am I wrong and is this all some clever marketing ploy that none of us understand?

*Maybe its like those customers whom shout the loudest and cause the most aggravation generally getting their way, irrespective of whether they are right or not, just because its easier to shut them up than actually brass tack the reasons why things are the way they are, and that there are normally very good reasons for whats available and what isn't.

Post by **Denyer** » Thu May 14, 2015 9:57 pm

IIRC old estimates put the adult collector market at about 10% of the sales for ordinary retail lines. That's probably increased as a result of kids giving less of a shit and parents being priced out, particularly with video games (and ad-supported tablet games at that) offering better value.

Unicron · Post by **Unicron** » Thu May 14, 2015 10:39 pm

Warcry wrote:After the way it's all played out, I don't think Hasbro ever did plan to release the originals. It doesn't seem like they saw the backlash coming at all. Slingshot and Wildrider are online/Diamond exclusives that just appeared out of nowhere, which just screams "panic move" to me. I mean, surely if this was part of some diabolical scheme to trick fans into buying the new characters first before releasing the originals, then Slingshot and Wildrider would be available at retail for maximum profiteering?

It's just been handled way too sloppily for it to be intentional.

Basically covers my thoughts on the matter.

I'm awaiting the full reveal before making the final decision, but I'm probably going with the Takara version like I did with Superion. Price on the preorder came in close enough to retail on the Hasbro Aerialbots, and there's the convenience of getting them all at once without having the track down pieces across waves or getting the 'proper' member via wherever it's available.
Still, depending on how Legends Groove works/looks with Defensor (have we seen pics of that yet?), I may snag one anyway. Thinking about picking up an Alpha Bravo just have to have the option too.

Post by **Clay** » Fri May 15, 2015 12:50 am

And now for the latest episode in the ongoing Exhaust saga, US-based TFSource managed to fulfill preorders for Exhaust... by opening product and repainting the toy themselves. Also, they didn't tell anyone that ordered the toy that they were doing this ahead of time, so customers are only finding out as it arrives.

I had an Exhaust from TFSource show up today myself. This doesn't bother me much personally because they matched the red pretty well which means that I spray some white on the hood and recreate the original deco, but otherwise? I'd be rather objectionable. Even granted that TFSource included a little card that says that it can be returned at their cost with no questions asked, it's sour grapes if someone only ordered Exhaust from them since you can't get another one for the same price elsewhere at this point.

However, the paint apparently comes off with fingernail scratching, leaving the original* deco intact.

*What it left the factory with, not the untouched Marlboro logo.

Post by **Sades** » Fri May 15, 2015 1:51 am

Wat...

Who... really?

That was probably a bad choice.

Funny as **** to me, because I didn't buy one. But, oh man.

Question I'm seeing that I would like an answer to is how it's painted... is that paint strippable in a way to leave what's underneath?

never mind... looking at pictures, it looks like it's all paint. I thought it might be a decal or something.

As for why they didn't tell anyone... I think they might possibly be banking on people not wanting to go to the trouble of sending it back once they have it in-hand. Stupid as hell, as I can't imagine a lot of those buyers are going to want to deal with them again after this.

Basically, this and this.

Unicron · Post by **Unicron** » Fri May 15, 2015 10:15 am

Not an awful solution to the Exhaust problem, depends on how their choice of paint matches the texture and color of what's on the figure.
Though I think they should have aimed for a paint that would wash off rather than one that has to be scratched. Something like the 'permanently affixed' barrel plugs a lot of the recent Megatrons have gotten.

Still kind of BS that they did it unannounced, but maybe they had to in order to avoid some kind of problem

Thunderwave · Post by **Thunderwave** » Fri May 15, 2015 10:41 am

Unicron wrote:Not an awful solution to the Exhaust problem, depends on how their choice of paint matches the texture and color of what's on the figure.
Though I think they should have aimed for a paint that would wash off rather than one that has to be scratched. Something like the 'permanently affixed' barrel plugs a lot of the recent Megatrons have gotten.

Still kind of BS that they did it unannounced, but maybe they had to in order to avoid some kind of problem

I figured they might do something along the lines of the old American prohibition era blocks of grape concentrate. A little note in the box along the lines of "We had to add paint to comply with American copyright laws. What ever you do, don't do X and remove the paint".