New Video Review of Transformers Kingdom Wave 3 Core Class Figures

So is this "Prime vs Prime" reviewer the only one allowed early access or something?

DeathReviews wrote:So is this "Prime vs Prime" reviewer the only one allowed early access or something?

He's not 'allowed' anything. He buys the toys from factory workers who steal them.

Currently watching emgo's review of roddie

sol magnus wrote:

DeathReviews wrote:So is this "Prime vs Prime" reviewer the only one allowed early access or something?

He's not 'allowed' anything. He buys the toys from factory workers who steal them.

Or he gets them from certain stores who recieve stock earlier as is the case with the Takara Selects gestalts who shipped early from In Demand Toys. This is how UK fans got Earthrise Scorponok and Skylynx before many others in the fandom.

ZeroWolf wrote:

sol magnus wrote:

DeathReviews wrote:So is this "Prime vs Prime" reviewer the only one allowed early access or something?

He's not 'allowed' anything. He buys the toys from factory workers who steal them.

Or he gets them from certain stores who recieve stock earlier as is the case with the Takara Selects gestalts who shipped early from In Demand Toys. This is how UK fans got Earthrise Scorponok and Skylynx before many others in the fandom.

Well, I'm glad there's at least SOME legal thing going on here - but since he never shows the box on the retail releases (and I saw an entire text chain confirming what I said), it only kind of raises my opinion of the whole thing.

Sabrblade wrote:

Overcracker wrote:Hue differences in paint and plastic do not translate to a lazy deco.

The general applications are the same, And yes I already said the grey vs the tan and that the red needed to be deeper. That's just hue differences, not deco differences.

The deco is the same. There are no real paint applications missing, just different hues used. Maybe because of the different plastics. Hard plastic vs the heavy rubbery skin Kingdom Megs has.

The original's pink, baby blue, copper, and green are all gone. That's half of the original toy's eight colors missing from this version.

Counting the tan replaced with gray makes over 50% of the original toy's colors removed from this version.

Overcracker wrote:It's the same hue difference between the Original Megatron and Kingdom Megs and even MP Megs.

Kingdom Megs has a deeper purple than the original Beastwars Megs which was much closer to grey. But nobody is complaining Kingdom Megs does not exactly match the original.

Kingdom Megs was trying to be cartoon-accurate. The cartoon model's colors were always different from the original toy's.

Where is the green you’re talking about!? The eyes? It’s still there, in exactly the same places, just a more yellowish green instead of bright green. Again, it’s a hue difference, as others have pointed out. I don’t see multiple shades of blue on the original either, just metallic blue (definitely NOT “baby blue” by any stretch). Are you talking about the face? It’s not that much lighter than the blue elsewhere on the original figure. There’s some neon pink/red still on the hip blasters of the new version, but that’s all you get, as it doesn’t come with the missiles the original toy had. The rest of the neon red plastic of the original is structural, and minimal at that. Did you want them to paint those structural parts in the new mold, or did you want them to cast another plastic color just for that, when the mold probably isn’t even set up to do that anyway. The reddish bronze paint on the original’s helmet is gone, but the new one’s red plastic is a good approximation anyway. It just happens to match the red of the rest of the body. Would you rather it have been painted another (inaccurate) hue just to mildly contrast the rest of the rusty red on the figure?

The only real sticking point might be the colder gray plastic. Hasbro might have done well to use that weird brownish gray plastic they seem to love from Titans Return Power Master Optimus Prime and G1 Blaster reissues. The exact hue of the original’s “tan” plastic is hard to really peg down, as it differs by photograph. The fictional artwork isn’t even consistent on the gray color. Just check the old 3H Comics.

If you don’t like it, don’t buy it, but it’s far from a “lazy deco.” It’s quite faithful to the layout of the original with some hues adjusted. I think it points out that the original’s deco wasn’t anything amazing to begin with, honestly.

ZeroWolf wrote:

sol magnus wrote:

DeathReviews wrote:So is this "Prime vs Prime" reviewer the only one allowed early access or something?

He's not 'allowed' anything. He buys the toys from factory workers who steal them.

Or he gets them from certain stores who recieve stock earlier as is the case with the Takara Selects gestalts who shipped early from In Demand Toys. This is how UK fans got Earthrise Scorponok and Skylynx before many others in the fandom.

The truth is in the packaging or lack thereof. If he has the packaging, he'll show it off. If not, then it's stolen and delivered loose.
That's why he rarely talks about the Golden Disc Cards.

Oh I wasn't saying that was the case for everything, in fact my example was primarily about the Takara Selects stuff that he was attacked over despite in demand toys Shipping those exact same figures.

I still prefer the conspiracy theory though the 'Factory thief' is actually working on behalf of Hasbro to build up hype for certain figures (see how there was no leaks of Rhinox for instance but wreck-gar did leak). Why would Hasbro do this (aside from the hype train?) To get around YouTube T&C of course! They always have plausible deniability. After all it wasn't them who gave the youtuber the figure...it was the thief.

Yes, I'm cynical enough to believe that a corporation would do this in order to manipulate a fandom to make more money. After all I'm betting there's more that don't care these are stolen figures then those that do. By a large margin.

ZeroWolf wrote:Oh I wasn't saying that was the case for everything, in fact my example was primarily about the Takara Selects stuff that he was attacked over despite in demand toys Shipping those exact same figures.

I still prefer the conspiracy theory though the 'Factory thief' is actually working on behalf of Hasbro to build up hype for certain figures (see how there was no leaks of Rhinox for instance but wreck-gar did leak). Why would Hasbro do this (aside from the hype train?) To get around YouTube T&C of course! They always have plausible deniability. After all it wasn't them who gave the youtuber the figure...it was the thief.

Yes, I'm cynical enough to believe that a corporation would do this in order to manipulate a fandom to make more money. After all I'm betting there's more that don't care these are stolen figures then those that do. By a large margin.

Ah, I see.
I think your conspiracy theory is actually close to the source: workers want to send off the figures that reviewers would want their first dibs on, so they choose the most impressive ones (which would probably be the same as the ones Hasbro's proud of).
That's why we saw Galvatron leaked to multiple reviewers and Magnus to a lesser degree.

I really don't care about them being stolen, I just think it's something that people should be conscious of.

Ahh, more stolen goods from our resident Transformers tealeaf...

I hear he's started a website to sell all of his collectibles:

- https://youtu.be/CMfNvpIklFg

Admittedly, the fact that many of these early reviewers have none of the product collateral materials (package, instructions, trading cards, etc.) makes their mysterious access seem a bit dodgy. If these were legitimate releases, they'd have all the associated material...

Emgo316 has posted a video review of the highly anticipated Kingdom Commander Class Rodimus Prime. Complete with his packaging, card, and ALL the accessories, including the smoke effects for the smokestacks, accessories that were missing from the Prime VS Prime review. He also shows more functions of the toys.

Another interesting fact is that Emgo was able to do this review because a friend from Australia sent it to him because they began appearing in his area. In which store Rodimus appeared in Australia? That was not said. But our fellow Australian Seibertronians should keep an eye out when Transformers hunting.

Without further ado, here's Emgo's video review of CC Rodimus Prime:



Are you more excited than before for this figure now that you have seen ALL of it's features? Let us know!

^Sightings of Galvatron, Rodimus Prime, and T-Wrecks have been confirmed by various Australian Transformers fans. I don't always watch emgo, but if he does seemingly get something *early* he always has the packaging, and an explanation right in his video.

This whole debate yet again? Just call him out on it and have him disclose his source! I know some retro game YouTubers that deal with clone consoles have disclosed where they got their stock, either review sample sent ahead or bought with their own money, so why can't toy reviewers do the same?

I've emailed and messaged Prime "Tealeaf" Prime and he's never responded. As stated before, he's never produced packaging, nor given any official disclaimer that his toys were provided by Hasbro and that his videos are sponsored content (which is a huge rule at YouTube).

For the most part the man simply gets stolen goods and reviews them before others.

I find his behaviour deplorable, which is why I unsubscribed and blocked both his account and channel from my third party YouTube apps (you can also do it via scripts in Chrome, etc, I believe).

Why Seibertron doesn't just take screenshots and simply not provide links to his channel is beyond me. That's what another site has done.

Jelze Bunnycat wrote:Just call him out on it and have him disclose his source!

ALL of the early reviewers HAVE been called out on Youtube, some people have even gone beyond allegation and called them straight up thieves in the comments section (I'm not taking sides here, just providing information). They don't have to respond, and seemingly just ignore such things. Personally I am the kind of person who would work diligently to clear my name if I was accused of something that was untrue, some people just don't care though...

o.supreme wrote:^Sightings of Galvatron, Rodimus Prime, and T-Wrecks have been confirmed by various Australian Transformers fans. I don't always watch emgo, but if he does seemingly get something *early* he always has the packaging, and an explanation right in his video.

Yup. Emgo is squeaky clean. The only times he don't have the packaging are for most G1 figures (understandably so) and the brown boxes or baggies for the upgrade kits. Otherwise, the packaging is always present safe for some extremely rare exceptions. And if those happen, there's always a "why".

Regarding Rodimus himself, I'm even more exited than before. The only flaw of this set is the trypophobia inducting trailer interior.

And that's why I watch Emgo! The man is legit.

primalxconvoy wrote:Why Seibertron doesn't just take screenshots and simply not provide links to his channel is beyond me. That's what another site has done.

All for the sake of neutrality (i.e. not playing favorites) and "Innocent until proven guilty" I reckon. More importantly, posting such screenshots and not disclose the source is downright theft.

Jelze Bunnycat wrote:

primalxconvoy wrote:Why Seibertron doesn't just take screenshots and simply not provide links to his channel is beyond me. That's what another site has done.

All for the sake of neutrality (i.e. not playing favorites) and "Innocent until proven guilty" I reckon. More importantly, posting such screenshots and not disclose the source is downright theft.

I brought it up not to have Seibertron stop 'supporting' it, just that I think its sh---y. I watch the videos, so in some sense I too, 'support' it. But nothing he says (or TonTon, same deal) has anything to do with whether I purchase or not purchase any given figure. I'm just an information w---e, like most of us.

People care less about 'stolen' Factory samples then you think. But if it was really a problem, would Hasbro have stomped it out by now? The fact that they haven't, seems to me at least, to show they're happy with things as they are (realistic reason being it doesn't affect their bottom line one iota), after all publicity is publicity, and has any 'stolen' Factory toy ever been badly reviewed?

ZeroWolf wrote:People care less about 'stolen' Factory samples then you think. But if it was really a problem, would Hasbro have stomped it out by now? The fact that they haven't, seems to me at least, to show they're happy with things as they are (realistic reason being it doesn't affect their bottom line one iota), after all publicity is publicity, and has any 'stolen' Factory toy ever been badly reviewed?

Hasbro's 'look the other way' policy is fine by me. And yes, the reviews are generally favorable (although Tracks may have veered uncomfortably a bit), so it's good word of mouth for them.

ZeroWolf wrote:and has any 'stolen' Factory toy ever been badly reviewed?

anyone who saw last years ER Ratchet review by tonton when he called the toy "stupid" because the character was "stupid" that was some comedic gold right there...

both badly reviewed AND reviewed badly in this case.

o.supreme wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:and has any 'stolen' Factory toy ever been badly reviewed?

anyone who saw last years ER Ratchet review by tonton when he called the toy "stupid" because the character was "stupid" that was some comedic gold right there...

both badly reviewed AND reviewed badly in this case.

That review cracked me up lol he was so mad at the lack of paint and whatever else

I think he said siege ratchet was good

It is a shame if there is in fact theft involved. I for one would rather watch any other known YouTube reviewer rather than Emgo. I have personally seen enough reviews to prefer NOT to watch his for reasons of my own.

IMHO there is at least 1 fair reviewer (on the subject) currently over Emgo who get the job done I think with many more to come!


I'm not one that needs to see the freakin' box the figure came in, in fact to hell with it!

Nemesis Destron wrote:It is a shame if there is in fact theft involved. I for one would rather watch any other known YouTube reviewer rather than Emgo. I have personally seen enough reviews to prefer NOT to watch his for reasons of my own.

IMHO there is at least 1 fair reviewer (on the subject) currently over Emgo who get the job done I think with many more to come!


I'm not one that needs to see the freakin' box the figure came in, in fact to hell with it!

Who is this reviewer whom you speak of?

Man, you guys are kinda late on this. Kingdom Rodimus has been sighted over here at Big W shops for like, a few weeks or so now.
https://news.tfw2005.com/2021/05/22/tra ... lia-433957

Emgo's got lots of his "signature stuff" in his videos, like "transclearance", "sad pac-man," saying Deluxe/Voyager/Leader class in all 4 languages, "you grow old..." and box throwing shticks that I find very repetitive. Got ultimately, they amount to a few extra seconds more per video, no big deal and not that annoying. Since IMO he does put a lot more extra effort (e.g. the sketch comedy) in each of his video than the average YT reviewer does so I do appreciate that. He's up front about sources and sponsors AFAIK so like some people already said here, he's legit.

cloudballoon wrote:Emgo's got lots of his "signature stuff" in his videos, like "transclearance", "sad pac-man," saying Deluxe/Voyager/Leader class in all 4 languages, "you grow old..." and box throwing shticks that I find very repetitive. Got ultimately, they amount to a few extra seconds more per video, no big deal and not that annoying. Since IMO he does put a lot more extra effort (e.g. the sketch comedy) in each of his video than the average YT reviewer does so I do appreciate that. He's up front about sources and sponsors AFAIK so like some people already said here, he's legit.

I appreciate all of his little phrases and lingo
It is pretty repetitive but I enjoy the positivity and enthusiasm in the reviews. The effort is definitely there as you said, emgo is easily my favorite reviewer

I enjoy when he makes a comparison with "MAGNUS" as well as "GEEWUN ___ preciousssss"

Razorbeast88 wrote:

cloudballoon wrote:Emgo's got lots of his "signature stuff" in his videos, like "transclearance", "sad pac-man," saying Deluxe/Voyager/Leader class in all 4 languages, "you grow old..." and box throwing shticks that I find very repetitive. Got ultimately, they amount to a few extra seconds more per video, no big deal and not that annoying. Since IMO he does put a lot more extra effort (e.g. the sketch comedy) in each of his video than the average YT reviewer does so I do appreciate that. He's up front about sources and sponsors AFAIK so like some people already said here, he's legit.

I appreciate all of his little phrases and lingo
It is pretty repetitive but I enjoy the positivity and enthusiasm in the reviews. The effort is definitely there as you said, emgo is easily my favorite reviewer

I enjoy when he makes a comparison with "MAGNUS" as well as "GEEWUN ___ preciousssss"

I also think some people take "PARTSFORMING?! WORST TOY EV.... Shhhhhhh." personally.

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Razorbeast88 wrote:

cloudballoon wrote:Emgo's got lots of his "signature stuff" in his videos, like "transclearance", "sad pac-man," saying Deluxe/Voyager/Leader class in all 4 languages, "you grow old..." and box throwing shticks that I find very repetitive. Got ultimately, they amount to a few extra seconds more per video, no big deal and not that annoying. Since IMO he does put a lot more extra effort (e.g. the sketch comedy) in each of his video than the average YT reviewer does so I do appreciate that. He's up front about sources and sponsors AFAIK so like some people already said here, he's legit.

I appreciate all of his little phrases and lingo
It is pretty repetitive but I enjoy the positivity and enthusiasm in the reviews. The effort is definitely there as you said, emgo is easily my favorite reviewer

I enjoy when he makes a comparison with "MAGNUS" as well as "GEEWUN ___ preciousssss"

I also think some people take "PARTSFORMING?! WORST TOY EV.... Shhhhhhh." personally.

I wouldnt doubt it hahaha that's another thing I like, he shuts down a lot of the whining and most of his criticisms are more relevant "in my personal opinion"

There's a plethora of great reviewers out there, and all of them aren't using stolen toys to bolster their ratings. Sure, some might review KO or 3P toys (which might go against the morals of some TF collectors) but at least they usually cite their sources and/or put some genuine effort into their reviews. I have managed to enjoy reviews from China, Japan, the UK, Vietnam, Australia and US, including:

- Benscollectibles/BensKOllectibles
- Mangmotion
- peaugh
- The Lazy Eyebrow
- Toy Polloi
- wotafa
- Bootleg Toys Vietnam (who, ironically, DOESN'T review stolen toys from a nearby factory)
- Bots and Bits
- JobbytheHong (NSFW)
- Kuma Style
- SirToysDotCom
- TheHenshinGuy
- THECOLLECTOR75
- Toyhax.com

I'm sure there are others (I used to watch Optibotimus, and some others).

At the risk of outing myself as a weirdo, I've never watched a transformers toy review. Like ever. Certainly not for anything I didn't receive yet. The only times I can think of watching any type of review was to modify or fix a known issue like the TR Trypticon hip fix.

I just kind of like experiencing each new mold/figure all on my own first, especially the transformation.

TF-fan kev777 wrote:At the risk of outing myself as a weirdo, I've never watched a transformers toy review. Like ever. Certainly not for anything I didn't receive yet. The only times I can think of watching any type of review was to modify or fix a known issue like the TR Trypticon hip fix.

I just kind of like experiencing each new mold/figure all on my own first, especially the transformation.

For me, I've also watched them AFTER I've bought a toy, do see reinforce my own biased opinions about them or, like you, to look for "fixes" to problems.

No sure what to think. I don't remember the last time, "leak" information was supposed to be legal. And, and, and, we all like to read and watch "leak" materials, but complains about it. smh. Maybe we should put a disclaimer on the news, saying something like, stop here if don't want spoilers or "leak" info.

primalxconvoy wrote:

TF-fan kev777 wrote:At the risk of outing myself as a weirdo, I've never watched a transformers toy review. Like ever. Certainly not for anything I didn't receive yet. The only times I can think of watching any type of review was to modify or fix a known issue like the TR Trypticon hip fix.

I just kind of like experiencing each new mold/figure all on my own first, especially the transformation.

For me, I've also watched them AFTER I've bought a toy, do see reinforce my own biased opinions about them or, like you, to look for "fixes" to problems.

I often watch reviews purely for the entertainment. Even for things I'll never buy.
My favorite entertainer reviewers being Thew, Emgo, and Jobby the Hong. Especially Jobby. That guy is NUT!

-Kanrabat- wrote:

primalxconvoy wrote:

TF-fan kev777 wrote:At the risk of outing myself as a weirdo, I've never watched a transformers toy review. Like ever. Certainly not for anything I didn't receive yet. The only times I can think of watching any type of review was to modify or fix a known issue like the TR Trypticon hip fix.

I just kind of like experiencing each new mold/figure all on my own first, especially the transformation.

For me, I've also watched them AFTER I've bought a toy, do see reinforce my own biased opinions about them or, like you, to look for "fixes" to problems.

I often watch reviews purely for the entertainment. Even for things I'll never buy.
My favorite entertainer reviewers being Thew, Emgo, and Jobby the Hong. Especially Jobby. That guy is NUT!

I forgot Thew, and I'm already subscribed to him!

primalxconvoy wrote:And that's why I watch Emgo! The man is legit.

My only issue is the inflections he does with his voice, just like most youtubers do, just give a f'ing review without your own silly sound effects and such, If I want to be entertained Ill watch a movie.

primalxconvoy wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:

primalxconvoy wrote:

TF-fan kev777 wrote:At the risk of outing myself as a weirdo, I've never watched a transformers toy review. Like ever. Certainly not for anything I didn't receive yet. The only times I can think of watching any type of review was to modify or fix a known issue like the TR Trypticon hip fix.

I just kind of like experiencing each new mold/figure all on my own first, especially the transformation.

For me, I've also watched them AFTER I've bought a toy, do see reinforce my own biased opinions about them or, like you, to look for "fixes" to problems.

I often watch reviews purely for the entertainment. Even for things I'll never buy.
My favorite entertainer reviewers being Thew, Emgo, and Jobby the Hong. Especially Jobby. That guy is NUT!

I forgot Thew, and I'm already subscribed to him!

I literally only watch Thew for the entertainment. I don't consider what he does actual reviews. If I want to see a product showcase, I'll watch someone else. Thew I just find fun to watch. He could "review" a fork and I'd still watch it.

Not all reviewers are necessarily our "cups of tea", but all the ones we've mentioned aren't receiving stolen goods, which makes them at least worthy of my time, even if I don't watch their full video or subscribe to them. PVP and his ilk, on the other hand, aren't.

Possible first sighting? Nah. Rodimus Prime came out in Big W stores here in Australia about two and a half weeks ago. Pretty readily available too. It'll be on sale there as of next week. A number of waves get skipped here, so it's nice to get a win with an early release every so often.

I've had my Kingdom Rodimus sitting on my desk for the last week. I can confirm, it's a lot of fun. And worth the commander class price point. There are a lot of parts involved.

I like how Emgo has obviously played with the figures a lot before doing the review. He really looks closely at the ins and outs of transformation and a lot of the play patterns involved.

william-james88 wrote:Id expect his crotch To be fully blue like the original TWrecks. That definitely stops the colour layout from being 100% what the original had.

I've mentioned this before, they should have taken the pointless white paint from his chest, below his neck, and used the cost of that asset to properly paint in his belt blue. Would have gone a long way in improving the figure.

I'm hoping for a third party head and some ToyHax labels to fix the belt.

Emerje

Emerje wrote:

william-james88 wrote:Id expect his crotch To be fully blue like the original TWrecks. That definitely stops the colour layout from being 100% what the original had.

I've mentioned this before, they should have taken the pointless white paint from his chest, below his neck, and used the cost of that asset to properly paint in his belt blue. Would have gone a long way in improving the figure.

I'm hoping for a third party head and some ToyHax labels to fix the belt.

Emerje

I hope more "mainstream/accessible" 3P companies start doing add-on kits for regular figures. Currently, there only seems to be kits for titan class figures and then either 3D printed stuff, Toyark or Nonnef (all of which are either unavailable, or cost too much).

I love Emgo. He enthusiastic, positive and entertaining. All of his reviews are fun and I like his Big Build series with the parts works Enterprise D.

He's great fun!

~ Grim

It’s CRAZY watching people lose their mind about something that for those of us in Australia is no big deal, as the toy has been available for purchase since last week.

And to see accusations of theft being tossed around with no proof. Bizarre.

For the conspiracy theorists who still believe someone is smuggling toys out of a factory (going to be pretty hard to slip Rodimus under your shirt), the toy is available for purchase at Big W as part of their toy sale. It secured an exclusive release of an early batch to coincide with their annual toy sale. You can see it displayed in the toy catalogue at www.bigw.com.au if you still think its stolen. It’s available at the non-sale price of 149 AUD, but next week when the sale starts will be available for only 109. Now that’s actually super cheap and under the suggestered retail price….. but there’s a catch, in that its limited to about 6-12 per store.

I’ll be waiting until next week, but we’re already having people buy the full six or twelve units at the higher price, because they’re selling it to people in the US or planning to eBay it. Sad, but there are scalpers everywhere.

I have a good relationship with Hasbro. I receive their marketing packages as do other major Transformers reviewers, fan site owners and other comparable media outlets. I'm around 99% certain that these early samples are not from Hasbro. You know when you get something from Hasbro because it comes in a super nice one-of-a-kind press kit package, generally along with other items as well (unless it's SDCC Fortress Maximus or something like that).

The factory leaks issue has been ongoing since the early days of eBay. I used to buy early samples directly on eBay back in the day to photograph on Seibertron. While the practice may be in the gray area, we also don't know for sure what the story is behind them. I've always had the mindset that it's up to Hasbro to fix leaks at the factory. We also have no idea what business agreements they have with their factories either or what the agreements are pertaining to factory samples, factory defects, factory extras, etc. I've never seen a binding contract between Hasbro and their factories, and I doubt any of those debating this issue have either.

If Hasbro wants to shut that down, they could get their lawyers involved with it, make a public statement about it, clarify what these samples are, and clamp down on early samples becoming available. That's their fight. Because we can argue and debate about it until the sun explodes and we'll have accomplished nothing other than arguing about something we really don't know much about.

I don't want to see this discussed in this topic, but I am curious how many of you attacking the reviewers for getting early samples also purchase 3rd party products or KO products to have in your collection, which is another area that I think is a little clearer what the rights and wrongs are.

Long story short, we should keep this conversation and news about the actual products instead of debating this issue about factory leaks and YouTube reviewers. If you want to have that debate, please debate it in a separate topic and keep topics about the toys on-topic. Thanks.

Seibertron wrote:I have a good relationship with Hasbro. I receive their marketing packages as do other major Transformers reviewers, fan site owners and other comparable media outlets. I'm around 99% certain that these early samples are not from Hasbro. You know when you get something from Hasbro because it comes in a super nice one-of-a-kind press kit package, generally along with other items as well (unless it's SDCC Fortress Maximus or something like that).

The factory leaks issue has been ongoing since the early days of eBay. I used to buy early samples directly on eBay back in the day to photograph on Seibertron. While the practice may be in the gray area, we also don't know for sure what the story is behind them. I've always had the mindset that it's up to Hasbro to fix leaks at the factory. We also have no idea what business agreements they have with their factories either or what the agreements are pertaining to factory samples, factory defects, factory extras, etc. I've never seen a binding contract between Hasbro and their factories, and I doubt any of those debating this issue have either.

If Hasbro wants to shut that down, they could get their lawyers involved with it, make a public statement about it, clarify what these samples are, and clamp down on early samples becoming available. That's their fight. Because we can argue and debate about it until the sun explodes and we'll have accomplished nothing other than arguing about something we really don't know much about.

I'm curious how many of you attacking the reviewers for getting early samples also purchase 3rd party products or KO products to have in your collection.

Long story short, we should keep this conversation and news about the actual products instead of debating this issue about factory leaks and YouTube reviewers. If you want to have that debate, please debate it in a separate topic and keep topics about the toys on-topic. Thanks.

Thank you. Where is the topic/thread to discuss this?

primalxconvoy wrote:Where is the topic/thread to discuss this?

Someone should start one if they want to have that debate/discussion.

I was watching Death's Review of Core Class Optimus. Not a first to be sure, but it is the first I've seen to compare one of the newer Core class with any of the Previous Legends Class figures...which begs the question...Why the name change? I mean I know this particular size of Transformer disappeared for two years during Siege and ER to focus on Micromasters. But now that it is back (under a new name), it just doesn't seem to make sense. Sure the toys have slightly better engineering and articulation than previous Legends class. But the same could be said for all other toy class sizes, and their names haven't changed. Was it maybe to avoid conflict with another Hasbro line (Marvel Legends?).

I was just curious what anyone else thinks? Sure in hindsight does it really matter? No...but since June, by all appearances, is going to be a slow news month, we have to drum up some sort of conversation, otherwise it devolves into other things that go off topic, which I am guilty of myself, and I apologize. Just trying to keep the ball rolling is all.

I know a LOT of people have praised the Core Class. I mean they are great as a more economic way to obtain smaller versions of famous characters, but they just don't fit anywhere in my collection. If I were collecting all BW characters, then sure Rattrap would be a must, but poor Vertebreak and Dracodon don't have much going for them other than if someone is just awed by something new. They aren't fossilizers, they aren't previously established characters. It's just the "oh cool a Dinosaur!" factor, I guess Hasbro hopes to sell, in two different colors .

I've actually found myself lately going back and picking up some of the previous CW. TR, and PotP Legends class that I skipped because I now have a use for them. Fortunately because of their small size none of them are too expensive. The TT Transformers Adventure ones though Yeesh.... I am glad I got those a few years ago...

My best guess on renaming the Legends class to Core class was likely something as simple as wanting a new name for the class when the revived it that avoided any of the Legends/Legion confusion from the past.

I could see something as simple as the marketing team saying we want to revive the Legend class, but not specifically for smaller bots who only fit at that scale. Rather we will include all the core characters in a smaller more affordable scale for kids/parents and fill in the rest with smaller bots who fit the scale. Well, if it is mostly core characters, why not call it Core class?

As for Vertebreak, she actually is a pretty fun little bot to play around with. Plus she has a unique transformation for a dino alt mode in that the dino head becomes the cod-piece.