Generations Selects Smokescreen now available for pre order at Takara Tomy Mall

Soooo... when we put out a Selects toy in the US, it's for retail price and Takara puts it up on the Mall for about that price. When Japan does it, it's super expensive, apparently because it's a Takara Tomy Mall exclusive. That be some BS, mate.

Lore Keeper wrote:Soooo... when we put out a Selects toy in the US, it's for retail price and Takara puts it up on the Mall for about that price. When Japan does it, it's super expensive, apparently because it's a Takara Tomy Mall exclusive. That be some BS, mate.

Takara's been doing it for forever. Everyone just said that it was the cost for a premium paint job, but they kept doing it after brand unification.

O hey, product code: E8372

So they're using the actual toys for photos now? Color me surprised. So that means the number on left door is indeed inverted on the figure itself.

Lore Keeper wrote:Soooo... when we put out a Selects toy in the US, it's for retail price and Takara puts it up on the Mall for about that price. When Japan does it, it's super expensive, apparently because it's a Takara Tomy Mall exclusive. That be some BS, mate.

I agree. it isnt fair. And it has nothing to do with paintjob or anything, its simply because this toy is an exclusive in Japan. if it was not an exclusive in Japan, you could get it for a little over $50 from Amazon japan. Like this guy here https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%BF%E3%8 ... 71M0X6HQT7?tag=seibertron00-22&

Or this guy (better example) https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%BF%E3%8 ... 62A2F90N9F?tag=seibertron00-22&

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:O hey, product code: E8372

So they're using the actual toys for photos now? Color me surprised. So that means the number on left door is indeed inverted on the figure itself.

Well, maybe and maybe not. That's definitely a nearly finished sample they've photographed. That doesn't mean we won't see some last minute changes, though, and here's why. Hasbro Pulse has the item on "Preorder" until mid May. Why would they cap the preorders like that when they don't really do that for other items? Because, Smokescreen is probably being made to order. They're going to produce however many are needed to fill the preorders submitted by mid May and then a little extra to cover any post release interest and customer service replacements. There's potentially time, if this is the case, to correct that error on the tampographing. This can also explain why Takara Tomy can release this in September while Hasbro is having us wait until October. Japan will be the first to get these when they are finished in the factory, as they are closest to the factories is Vietnam. then North America will have to wait until they get their shipments via boat.

Wolfman Jake wrote:

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:O hey, product code: E8372

So they're using the actual toys for photos now? Color me surprised. So that means the number on left door is indeed inverted on the figure itself.

Well, maybe and maybe not. That's definitely a nearly finished sample they've photographed. That doesn't mean we won't see some last minute changes, though, and here's why. Hasbro Pulse has the item on "Preorder" until mid May. Why would they cap the preorders like that when they don't really do that for other items? Because, Smokescreen is probably being made to order. They're going to produce however many are needed to fill the preorders submitted by mid May and then a little extra to cover any post release interest and customer service replacements. There's potentially time, if this is the case, to correct that error on the tampographing. This can also explain why Takara Tomy can release this in September while Hasbro is having us wait until October. Japan will be the first to get these when they are finished in the factory, as they are closest to the factories is Vietnam. then North America will have to wait until they get their shipments via boat.

So they put product codes on the samples too? Interesting.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:So they put product codes on the samples too? Interesting.

Maybe? I don't know for sure, but the factory has to put through a few samples of what the final product will be for Hasbro and Takara Tomy to approve for mass production so that their aren't big flaws that make it to retail. (Obviously, mistakes still get through from time to time.) The product code might be part of this process, so that Hasbro can see that it's in the right place, etc.

This "sample batch" approach was the case frequently with figures put out by the old Transformers Collectors Club. Often, mistakes would crop up with the production versions compared to their advertised versions because they didn't get the initial samples in time to give feedback to the factories before they went into production. Or, sometimes when getting the samples in hand, they made some last minute changes for better aesthetics or functionality or whatever, altering the initial plan advertised.

Emerje wrote:

Nemesis Primal wrote:Does that make more sense?

It makes sense, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's right. So far we're just bouncing around theories. What we need is more numbered figures or an outright answer from Hasbro on the matter.

Emerje

Fair enough. Theorizing is always fun though, so why not?

On the subject of theorizing, I had a thought: do we think the Cybertron Defense Hot Shot that's possibly coming from the Hound mold will be a Selects figure rather than a mainline release? It would make the numbering for both Siege and Selects make a bit more sense.

On topic regarding Smokescreen though, I personally think that in terms of this mold, Prowl < Smokescreen < Barricade, but none of the three make me want to get them yet. Hopefully Bluestreak will change that, and then having a version of the mold in-hand will help me formulate a final opinion on Barricade. I do hope Bluestreak's windows/tires are the same smoky color as Smokescreen here, rather than Prowl's clear.

Generations Selects Star Convoy mini-comic:
https://takaratomymall.jp/shop/g/g4904810139751/

https://takaratomymall.jp/img/goods/490 ... /comic.pdf

Comic reads left to right unlike most Japanese manga.

Was it really necessary to start another line? Don't we have enough different lines going at the same time? Generations, Cyberverse, Studio Series, Botbots etc. Was this stupid Selects line really necessary? Couldn't they just release these figures in the regular Generations line?

Aimless Misfire wrote:Was it really necessary to start another line? Don't we have enough different lines going at the same time? Generations, Cyberverse, Studio Series, Botbots etc. Was this stupid Selects line really necessary? Couldn't they just release these figures in the regular Generations line?

It's just a way to say it's a Generations figure but not one being distributed through traditional retail channels. Just pretend it's "Generations", same as "Transformers Generations: War for Cybertron: Siege" or "Transformers Generations: Combiner Wars" or "Transformers Generations: Thrilling 30" and so on.

ScottyP wrote:

Aimless Misfire wrote:Was it really necessary to start another line? Don't we have enough different lines going at the same time? Generations, Cyberverse, Studio Series, Botbots etc. Was this stupid Selects line really necessary? Couldn't they just release these figures in the regular Generations line?

It's just a way to say it's a Generations figure but not one being distributed through traditional retail channels. Just pretend it's "Generations", same as "Transformers Generations: War for Cybertron: Siege" or "Transformers Generations: Combiner Wars" or "Transformers Generations: Thrilling 30" and so on.

I feel like this is a catch-all line for cool stuff, but, primarily, it seems Hasbro's using it to get full 'usage' out of thier molds (i.e. repaints of molds) without clogging the main retail line, seems pretty win-win to me, and if something cool is made by TT, they can just toss it under this banner now, since it's been pretty well established

Hellscream9999 wrote:

ScottyP wrote:

Aimless Misfire wrote:Was it really necessary to start another line? Don't we have enough different lines going at the same time? Generations, Cyberverse, Studio Series, Botbots etc. Was this stupid Selects line really necessary? Couldn't they just release these figures in the regular Generations line?

It's just a way to say it's a Generations figure but not one being distributed through traditional retail channels. Just pretend it's "Generations", same as "Transformers Generations: War for Cybertron: Siege" or "Transformers Generations: Combiner Wars" or "Transformers Generations: Thrilling 30" and so on.

I feel like this is a catch-all line for cool stuff, but, primarily, it seems Hasbro's using it to get full 'usage' out of thier molds (i.e. repaints of molds) without clogging the main retail line, seems pretty win-win to me, and if something cool is made by TT, they can just toss it under this banner now, since it's been pretty well established

But a bit confusing to keep track of, for sure. I mean, I don't know how even classify it as it covers both Siege and non-Siege lines, like how Reveal the Shield covered both the Movie and G1.

I believe *Selects* mostly will be made up of retools/repaints of whatever Generations line is current, or at least, very recent (PotP & Siege). I would expect next year to start seeing Select Series use of Siege & whatever is next. I doubt that selects will be used for repaints of toys from lines like Cyberverse, SS, Masterpiece etc..., at least I hope not.

The only real confusion I see would be with exclusives from other online retailers such as Amazon. I presume last years Amazon exclusives did well in order to warrant more (presumably Greenlight & Lancer..) However it may have been a bit of a stopgap measure to cover the transition of the loss of TRU, and until Hasbro could fully rebrand their online shopping website. While Pulse is not perfect, it is leaps and bounds better than HTS ever was both technically and aesthetically. I just hope they keep housecleaning as old product moves out, and new product comes in.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

Hellscream9999 wrote:

ScottyP wrote:

Aimless Misfire wrote:Was it really necessary to start another line? Don't we have enough different lines going at the same time? Generations, Cyberverse, Studio Series, Botbots etc. Was this stupid Selects line really necessary? Couldn't they just release these figures in the regular Generations line?

It's just a way to say it's a Generations figure but not one being distributed through traditional retail channels. Just pretend it's "Generations", same as "Transformers Generations: War for Cybertron: Siege" or "Transformers Generations: Combiner Wars" or "Transformers Generations: Thrilling 30" and so on.

I feel like this is a catch-all line for cool stuff, but, primarily, it seems Hasbro's using it to get full 'usage' out of thier molds (i.e. repaints of molds) without clogging the main retail line, seems pretty win-win to me, and if something cool is made by TT, they can just toss it under this banner now, since it's been pretty well established

But a bit confusing to keep track of, for sure. I mean, I don't know how even classify it as it covers both Siege and non-Siege lines, like how Reveal the Shield covered both the Movie and G1.

How about just a 'universal retool line'? I don't think the line has any exclusively original molds yet, so I think this is just a way for them to get repaints/retools out that would otherwise have been shot down, or would have bloated new waves and potentially kept them from hitting stores.

Hellscream9999 wrote:

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

Hellscream9999 wrote:

ScottyP wrote:

Aimless Misfire wrote:Was it really necessary to start another line? Don't we have enough different lines going at the same time? Generations, Cyberverse, Studio Series, Botbots etc. Was this stupid Selects line really necessary? Couldn't they just release these figures in the regular Generations line?

It's just a way to say it's a Generations figure but not one being distributed through traditional retail channels. Just pretend it's "Generations", same as "Transformers Generations: War for Cybertron: Siege" or "Transformers Generations: Combiner Wars" or "Transformers Generations: Thrilling 30" and so on.

I feel like this is a catch-all line for cool stuff, but, primarily, it seems Hasbro's using it to get full 'usage' out of thier molds (i.e. repaints of molds) without clogging the main retail line, seems pretty win-win to me, and if something cool is made by TT, they can just toss it under this banner now, since it's been pretty well established

But a bit confusing to keep track of, for sure. I mean, I don't know how even classify it as it covers both Siege and non-Siege lines, like how Reveal the Shield covered both the Movie and G1.

How about just a 'universal retool line'? I don't think the line has any exclusively original molds yet, so I think this is just a way for them to get repaints/retools out that would otherwise have been shot down, or would have bloated new waves and potentially kept them from hitting stores.

Then there's the 35th Anniversary line to consider....

hopefully *35th* is just still part of the Siege mainline, but with slightly different packaging...

o.supreme wrote:hopefully *35th* is just still part of the Siege mainline, but with slightly different packaging...

Lol, first there was War for Cybertron: Siege, next there will be war for Cybertron: 35th Anniversary...

Talk about a time skip

So basically the Selects line is just the old Universe line.

Aimless Misfire wrote:So basically the Selects line is just the old Universe line.

That's a good way to look at it. And really, what's wrong with that?

I look at Selects as Universe and TFCC's legitimate love child..

I would be surprised if we didn't start seeing some "Studio Series" repaints in the "Generations Selects" line down the road. After all, the Studio Series is still a "Transformers Generations" imprint. It's just that it's concurrent with the other Generations mainline in stores, "War for Cybertron Trilogy." Generations Selects may be where we get some movie repaints that would otherwise clog store shelves or confuse or disinterest more casual consumers, like Blackout into Grindor, Rampage into Skipjack/Yellow Rampage, and Scavenger into Demolisher. Maybe they could even give us some more troop-building fodder, like additional color options for the KSI Sentries. There is still a LOT of ground to cover with the movie series in terms of on-screen characters, both major and minor, and using the Generations Selects line to keep the mass retail selection closer to the A and B List characters would be a smart decision by Hasbro and Takara Tomy.

Wolfman Jake wrote:I would be surprised if we didn't start seeing some "Studio Series" repaints in the "Generations Selects" line down the road. After all, the Studio Series is still a "Transformers Generations" imprint. It's just that it's concurrent with the other Generations mainline in stores, "War for Cybertron Trilogy." Generations Selects may be where we get some movie repaints that would otherwise clog store shelves or confuse or disinterest more casual consumers, like Blackout into Grindor, Rampage into Skipjack/Yellow Rampage, and Scavenger into Demolisher. Maybe they could even give us some more troop-building fodder, like additional color options for the KSI Sentries. There is still a LOT of ground to cover with the movie series in terms of on-screen characters, both major and minor, and using the Generations Selects line to keep the mass retail selection closer to the A and B List characters would be a smart decision by Hasbro and Takara Tomy.

Why would they put any under the selects line when it has to run until the end of 2020? Maybe - MAYBE - they would do a set of repainted constructicons to avoid them being on shelves again, but one could make the argument that running all the parts of devs at one time on store shelves could be a good thing; beyond that, they would just use them to fill out the waves for this and next year, I would think.

I am pretty happy with the line, some more obscure repaints or completed teams are good with me!

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:I am pretty happy with the line, some more obscure repaints or completed teams are good with me!

The best part is, I feel this is the platform hasbro needed to get guys like star convoy to us, and, possibly, more victory-type stuff, so long as they can be retooled, I doubt hasbro cares now

You'll notice everyone happy is american, and thats because sadly no where else internationally do we have a clue of how to obtain these exclusives. Kinda sucks. Grotusque and Arcee were never made available for people outside the US, I am scared this will be the same.

william-james88 wrote:You'll notice everyone happy is american, and thats because sadly no where else internationally do we have a clue of how to obtain these exclusives. Kinda sucks. Grotusque and Arcee were never made available for people outside the US, I am scared this will be the same.

Maybe it's worth emailing your respective e-tailers and express interest and ask if it's something they can stock/have access to?

Hellscream9999 wrote:

william-james88 wrote:You'll notice everyone happy is american, and thats because sadly no where else internationally do we have a clue of how to obtain these exclusives. Kinda sucks. Grotusque and Arcee were never made available for people outside the US, I am scared this will be the same.

Maybe it's worth emailing your respective e-tailers and express interest and ask if it's something they can stock/have access to?

Thats where it sucks. My respective e-tailer IS hasbro pusle since they ship to Canada. but their shipping is ridiculous. So it's like, it is available technically but at the same time, its not. Basically no different than you using a forwarding service to get a TTMall exclusive in terms of shipping costs.

Just tried preordering Smokescreen on Hasbro Pulse, and they don't say it, but there's a limit of 1 that you can preorder. If they really are being made to order, then why not allow you to order as many as you like? Put an order in with BBTS instead.

Bounti76 wrote:Just tried preordering Smokescreen on Hasbro Pulse, and they don't say it, but there's a limit of 1 that you can preorder. If they really are being made to order, then why not allow you to order as many as you like? Put an order in with BBTS instead.

its to avoid scalpers

william-james88 wrote:

Bounti76 wrote:Just tried preordering Smokescreen on Hasbro Pulse, and they don't say it, but there's a limit of 1 that you can preorder. If they really are being made to order, then why not allow you to order as many as you like? Put an order in with BBTS instead.

its to avoid scalpers

Right, and I get that but wouldn't allowing you to order as many as you like allow everyone who wants one to get one at a fair price, and nip scalpers in the bud at the same time? Besides, in the past, Pulse has usually allowed you to order a limit of 2- they've always stated a limit on how many. This time, they don't tell you there's a limit until you try to add more than one. It just seems silly to not state a limit.

Bounti76 wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Bounti76 wrote:Just tried preordering Smokescreen on Hasbro Pulse, and they don't say it, but there's a limit of 1 that you can preorder. If they really are being made to order, then why not allow you to order as many as you like? Put an order in with BBTS instead.

its to avoid scalpers

Right, and I get that but wouldn't allowing you to order as many as you like allow everyone who wants one to get one at a fair price, and nip scalpers in the bud at the same time?

I dont understand this statement. Isnt that exactly what happens when the limit is 1? Everyone who wants one can get one at a fair price.

william-james88 wrote:

Bounti76 wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Bounti76 wrote:Just tried preordering Smokescreen on Hasbro Pulse, and they don't say it, but there's a limit of 1 that you can preorder. If they really are being made to order, then why not allow you to order as many as you like? Put an order in with BBTS instead.

its to avoid scalpers

Right, and I get that but wouldn't allowing you to order as many as you like allow everyone who wants one to get one at a fair price, and nip scalpers in the bud at the same time?

I dont understand this statement. Isnt that exactly what happens when the limit is 1? Everyone who wants one can get one at a fair price.

On this, you are indeed correct.
Kinda wish more places did that.

Manterax Prime wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Bounti76 wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Bounti76 wrote:Just tried preordering Smokescreen on Hasbro Pulse, and they don't say it, but there's a limit of 1 that you can preorder. If they really are being made to order, then why not allow you to order as many as you like? Put an order in with BBTS instead.

its to avoid scalpers

Right, and I get that but wouldn't allowing you to order as many as you like allow everyone who wants one to get one at a fair price, and nip scalpers in the bud at the same time?

I dont understand this statement. Isnt that exactly what happens when the limit is 1? Everyone who wants one can get one at a fair price.

On this, you are indeed correct.
Kinda wish more places did that.

Yeah, I guess the only people this hurts are one's with datsun-bro shrines and they might want two of him, but if you have to have 2 that badly, just order one from bbts

Hellscream9999 wrote:

Manterax Prime wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Bounti76 wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Bounti76 wrote:Just tried preordering Smokescreen on Hasbro Pulse, and they don't say it, but there's a limit of 1 that you can preorder. If they really are being made to order, then why not allow you to order as many as you like? Put an order in with BBTS instead.

its to avoid scalpers

Right, and I get that but wouldn't allowing you to order as many as you like allow everyone who wants one to get one at a fair price, and nip scalpers in the bud at the same time?

I dont understand this statement. Isnt that exactly what happens when the limit is 1? Everyone who wants one can get one at a fair price.

On this, you are indeed correct.
Kinda wish more places did that.

Yeah, I guess the only people this hurts are one's with datsun-bro shrines and they might want two of him, but if you have to have 2 that badly, just order one from bbts

Or do two orders , or have 2 accounts, whichever is permissible.

william-james88 wrote:You'll notice everyone happy is american, and thats because sadly no where else internationally do we have a clue of how to obtain these exclusives. Kinda sucks. Grotusque and Arcee were never made available for people outside the US, I am scared this will be the same.

Grotusque and Arcee were shared exclusives with TRU in the US, I'm surprised they didn't turn up there everywhere. Grotusque did get that box set with Repugnus from Takara Tomy that anyone could buy.

Emerje

Emerje wrote:

william-james88 wrote:You'll notice everyone happy is american, and thats because sadly no where else internationally do we have a clue of how to obtain these exclusives. Kinda sucks. Grotusque and Arcee were never made available for people outside the US, I am scared this will be the same.

Grotusque and Arcee were shared exclusives with TRU in the US, I'm surprised they didn't turn up there everywhere. Grotusque did get that box set with Repugnus from Takara Tomy that anyone could buy.

Emerje

No, they didnt turn up. Plus that boxset kind of sucks if you already got repugnus and it double sucks that you end up having to pay import prices. the point is not that its unobtainable. Anyone can create an account and use a forwarding service. it's about it being obtainable at the same fair price/cost for everyone. I dont think you americans know how good you got it sometimes (not directed at anyone in particular, just think about that next time I post pics of a toysrus).

I simply meant that anyone who wants one can get one, but what if you want more than one? With exclusive or limited figures, I like to order two- one to open and enjoy, and the other to keep in box in case the first one breaks and can't be fixed, or I end up not liking the figure enough to hang on to a second one and decide to sell it. What it all comes down to is it seems silly to cap it at one when they've capped it at two in the past- especially when there's no indication that there even IS a limit until you try to up the quantity to two (which it lets you do) and only tells you when you try and add both to your cart. It's just not clear and a bit of a letdown.

Hellscream9999 wrote:

Wolfman Jake wrote:I would be surprised if we didn't start seeing some "Studio Series" repaints in the "Generations Selects" line down the road. After all, the Studio Series is still a "Transformers Generations" imprint. It's just that it's concurrent with the other Generations mainline in stores, "War for Cybertron Trilogy." Generations Selects may be where we get some movie repaints that would otherwise clog store shelves or confuse or disinterest more casual consumers, like Blackout into Grindor, Rampage into Skipjack/Yellow Rampage, and Scavenger into Demolisher. Maybe they could even give us some more troop-building fodder, like additional color options for the KSI Sentries. There is still a LOT of ground to cover with the movie series in terms of on-screen characters, both major and minor, and using the Generations Selects line to keep the mass retail selection closer to the A and B List characters would be a smart decision by Hasbro and Takara Tomy.

Why would they put any under the selects line when it has to run until the end of 2020? Maybe - MAYBE - they would do a set of repainted constructicons to avoid them being on shelves again, but one could make the argument that running all the parts of devs at one time on store shelves could be a good thing; beyond that, they would just use them to fill out the waves for this and next year, I would think.

Check the Studio Series thread several weeks back. I speculated on the remaining characters to be included in the line to get every on screen character and character version represented. It will take us well past SS-99. With the rate of distribution over the past year and a half, we're not going to get close to even 100 figures by the end of 2020. Either the Studio Series will be going on for several more years, or Hasbro and Takara Tomy will put some of the lesser known or desired repaints in the Generations Selects line.

william-james88 wrote:You'll notice everyone happy is american, and thats because sadly no where else internationally do we have a clue of how to obtain these exclusives. Kinda sucks. Grotusque and Arcee were never made available for people outside the US, I am scared this will be the same.

I know how you feel. I'm American & I'll NEVER be able to complete my Combiner Wars collection thanks to Botcon & the Collectors Club. I'll never be able to add the Predacus boxed set to my collection. And I can't afford the TFCC prices. I'm not paying scalpers over $100 for a straight repaint of a little $10 or $20 deluxe. And unfortunately the Prime Wars trilogy is the main thing I collect. I'm not interested in Masterpiece, Cyberverse, Legends scale or the movie crap. And I can't afford 3rd party. Botcon & TFCC totally screwed me.

Aimless Misfire wrote:I'm American & I'll NEVER be able to complete my Combiner Wars collection thanks to Botcon & the Collectors Club. I'll never be able to add the Predacus boxed set to my collection. And I can't afford the TFCC prices. I'm not paying scalpers over $100 for a straight repaint of a little $10 or $20 deluxe. And unfortunately the Prime Wars trilogy is the main thing I collect.

I understand this 100%. At first I was worried, because I jumped into CW kind of late. Fortunately, somehow, I was able to obtain most of those TFCC & Botcon exclusives, tired to jump on them as early as possible, at *relatively* reasonable prices....

All I can say is, try to just have patience. I had to wait quite a while to get Generations Metroplex at a decent price, but I finally got one. As for some of those other exclusives. Yeah I still need Flash Sentry, and 4 of the Ratchet Build-A-Figures to be truly complete, but that is not something that keeps me up at night, and I'm pretty much resigned to never having them. I have my search options always going, but unless I inherit a fortune form some obscure relative, it isn't happening.

Since the Selects appear, more or less, to be available to all parties at normal prices in Shipping in the United States, Japan (and I'm guessing Philippines, and perhaps some other Asian markets)....Hopefully Hasbro will begin to look at the rest of the world, and address the issue of having these available at fair/equal shipping prices for all fans.

Will-as you said in an article not to long ago, the strategy with the one year Generations line seems to have worked, so things appear to be getting better in terms of availability, slowly, one step at a time. *Hopefully* a strategy to make online exclusives available to all interested parties at fair shipping prices is on Hasbro's agenda.

o.supreme wrote:Will-as you said in an article not to long ago, the strategy with the one year Generations line seems to have worked, so things appear to be getting better in terms of availability, slowly, one step at a time. *Hopefully* a strategy to make online exclusives available to all interested parties at fair shipping prices is on Hasbro's agenda.

Yeah that startegy worked, I am glad it did. Funny how something so simple as just alligning with the calendar can make a world of difference.
As for the exclusives, what I find weird is that my same article praised that part too. last year worked really well with exclusives since hasbro partnered with Amazon, who has global reach. So repugnus, blastoff, nemesis prime and counterpunch were much easier to get than exclusives of the past for a lot of people outside the US (though I heard it was still tough for Australia due to their more intense laws that even Amazon cant beat). Ideally, Pulse would be its own amazon store where Amazon would fulfill international orders, I really felt that's where things were going, especially since it worked well last year.

I haven't really seen the new strategy as a success yet. For Titans Return it wasn't the line enders that were hard to find, it was the other late waves, they weren't even easy to find online. For Power of the Primes, after the strategy was implemented, most of us never found Novastar or Optimus Primal, which was supposed to be the crown jewel of the line, in stores. Novastar could occasionally be found at retail price on Amazon (that's how I got mine), but it was only recently that Primal came down. To me that's a failure.

Now, I'm hopeful that my theory is right about the line using War for Cybertron front and center means it'll follow the same strategy as Studio Series and really be a three year line that just looks like three one year lines. That would certainly help fix the "line ender" problems, but that's yet to be seen.

Emerje

Someone really needs to tell hasbro that the symbols on the door are upside down from the ones on the hood....

Emerje wrote:For Power of the Primes, after the strategy was implemented, most of us never found Novastar or Optimus Primal, which was supposed to be the crown jewel of the line, in stores. Novastar could occasionally be found at retail price on Amazon (that's how I got mine), but it was only recently that Primal came down. To me that's a failure.

I ordered Novastor from Amazon as well, but did end up seeing her at retail a couple of times. As for Optimus Primal, yeah that was kind of a *bad comedy*. I did see him once or twice at a Target store, But that was it, and it was really really late, like literally the LAST PotP general release, so much so that it overlapped with my first Siege sightings.

I would be curious to know, for the winner of a *Fan poll*, how many fans actually did see him at retail, and how many fans are still wanting one that never got one? I was never interested in it, but my son wanted the SDCC version, so of course we got that---which is another oddity- in this case, the regular release was pretty much overshadowed by the Convention Exclusive, that may be a first as well.

o.supreme wrote:I would be curious to know, for the winner of a *Fan poll*, how many fans actually did see him at retail, and how many fans are still wanting one that never got one? I was never interested in it, but my son wanted the SDCC version, so of course we got that---which is another oddity- in this case, the regular release was pretty much overshadowed by the Convention Exclusive, that may be a first as well.

I was actually glad that the SDCC version came out first, saved me $50. Well okay, only saved me about $35-ish, as the only time I saw the regular version in stores is when Target put all of PotP on clearance in December. And I still passed on it.

My original plan was to get both, and make the SDCC version Nemesis Primal. And then I got the SDCC version and found it to be a really lame toy, with a boring transformation. It makes a pretty decent action figure, but a really meh transformer. The completionist in me would have gotten the SDCC verison no matter what for the prime masters, so this is a case where the messed up distribution worked in my wallet's favor.

o.supreme wrote:I would be curious to know, for the winner of a *Fan poll*, how many fans actually did see him at retail, and how many fans are still wanting one that never got one? I was never interested in it, but my son wanted the SDCC version, so of course we got that---which is another oddity- in this case, the regular release was pretty much overshadowed by the Convention Exclusive, that may be a first as well.

I never saw him at retail once. I was lucky in that I managed to get him as a Christmas gift, and the person I received it from happened to finally find ONE copy of the figure at Target about a week and a half before. Never found another copy of him.

TF-fan kev777 wrote:My original plan was to get both, and make the SDCC version Nemesis Primal.

You rang?

o.supreme wrote:I ordered Novastor from Amazon as well, but did end up seeing her at retail a couple of times. As for Optimus Primal, yeah that was kind of a *bad comedy*. I did see him once or twice at a Target store, But that was it, and it was really really late, like literally the LAST PotP general release, so much so that it overlapped with my first Siege sightings.

I would be curious to know, for the winner of a *Fan poll*, how many fans actually did see him at retail, and how many fans are still wanting one that never got one? I was never interested in it, but my son wanted the SDCC version, so of course we got that---which is another oddity- in this case, the regular release was pretty much overshadowed by the Convention Exclusive, that may be a first as well.

With all the various channels, I am pretty sure that everyone who wanted an Optimus Primal got one, be it one version or another. And the SDCC one is still really cheap online at Amazin japan for whoever wants one.

Anyways, about that part I bolded, I dont see anything bad about that, or anything that would be worth trying to fix in any way. There will always be a last toy released, it happened to be this one. He was the final leader scheduled anyway. As for the overlap, that's a good thing. You want that overlap, because it means that retailers are indeed seeing these as two different lines and they arent waiting for one to be sold out to put the other on the shelves.

Thinking I will probably end up getting Rick O'Shea. Wasn't gonna, but I think I prefer to have Novastar and Moonracer displayed as individuals rather than as part of the Inferno combiner with Jazz and Wreck-Gar. Could just add Rook and Alpha Bravo to Inferno, but I really like Rook a lot as an individual too so that leaves one limb needed for Inferno.

Got a few more suggestions for eventual releases in this line. They could keep milking the Moonracer mold for all it's worth and make Flamewar. A repaint of Siege Ironhide into Energon Tow-Line is a pretty natural fit as well. Not sure if those might be either too obscure or not the right type of obscure for this line; it's kinda hard to tell; but they are easily doable options. Oh, and I think I've mentioned this before, but PotP Optimal Optimus into Primal Prime and Apelinq is an obvious choice too. No remolding needed and it'd be a non-traditional Optimus figure repainted into the good old red and blue colors. Easy money.

Has anyone seen this?

This is amazing news!! They're gonna make a Pirahnacon after all! Snaptrap here is a heavy retool of Hun-Grrr:

Thanks to a tip off from fellow Seibertron user, Sjeng, an image has surfaced from a yet as unknown, Japanese magazine. This image shows none other then Snaptrap!

He's presumably a Voyager Class as he appears to be a heavy retool of Power of the Primes Hun-Grr. While this certainty looks legit (reinforced by the just visible and recently announced Generations Selects Smokescreen on the right hand side) take this news with a pinch of salt until we can confirm the source of the image.



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