Price revealed for Platinum G1 reissue Astrotrain and Blitzwing

How much did these retail back in the '80s, and what year did they come out exactly?

This gives me hope that the Coneheads won't be prohibitively expensive.

I was at Kmart the other day, and there were 8 Platinum Insecticon sets just sitting there. Really, just a shame. I bet they really would have moved at $59.99.

Considering I bought the previous TRU reissue for $17.50 (yea BOGO 50% with the TRU Perceptor reissue!!!) that $79.99 price point is just brutal.

Ah. Now we wait for availability.

I dont get why they didnt do these homages in the classics molds instead of bricks ?

I'll buy these just because. So is this the new thread for the Astro-Blitz talk?

chuckdawg1999 wrote:I'll buy these just because. So is this the new thread for the Astro-Blitz talk?

You can use either, its up to you. But since the other platinum releases dont have a thread of their own and all the info regarding this line is here, I thought it would be best to keep all the news here as well. Like that someone can come on this thread and search for the relevant info they want instead of finding a certain info elsewhere and stuff being scattered.

So the news (t least when I write it) will be here with all the platinum news, but you can post wherever you wish since both threads exists.

Rated X wrote:I dont get why they didnt do these homages in the classics molds instead of bricks ?

So Hasbro can drain more money from the collectors

MartianSpyGirl1996 wrote:

Rated X wrote:I dont get why they didnt do these homages in the classics molds instead of bricks ?

So Hasbro can drain more money from the collectors

I'm calling it an experiment, and leave it at that. If it proves successful, expect a few more of those. Flywheels was a Triple Changer in the Marvel and IDW comics, so it has some precedent.

Really, it's no different from e-Hobby's offerings, except not renamed and more accessible.

MartianSpyGirl1996 wrote:

Rated X wrote:I dont get why they didnt do these homages in the classics molds instead of bricks ?

So Hasbro can drain more money from the collectors

I think it's more because these were the same size. The classics molds are a deluxe and voyager.

MartianSpyGirl1996 wrote:How much did these retail back in the '80s, and what year did they come out exactly?

They ranged from $9.99 to $11.99 depending on which store you went to. But that was 1985 dollars. The inflation adjustment makes the equivalent cost approximately twice that in today dollars.

Using an online inflation cost calculator I looked up the adjusted cost of each side of the 9.99 to 11.99 range and found the following:

9.99 in 1985 dollars = 21.79 in 2015 dollars
11.99 in 1985 dollars = 26.16 in 2015 dollars

If you had a time machine and went to 1985 and explained to them that all you had was 2015 money, you would have to use 21.79 dollars from 2015 to buy one triple changer in 1985. This is because 20.15 dollars don't buy as much as 1985 dollars did.

Going along with this scenario, buying two triple changers in 1985 with 2015 money would cost somewhere in the range of (21.79 x 2) = $43.58 to (26.16 x 2) = $52.32. So the equivalent of somewhere between $44 and $52 in 2015 money is what these would have retailed for back in the day, depending on which store you went to.

I've noticed that when it came to the old giftsets, the price of the set equaled the total cost of the individual members at retail. There were no real cost savings in buying the giftset. It all worked out to pretty much the same price.

The bottom line is that if all other things were equal and only inflation was accounted for, if Hasbro sold an Astrotrain/Blitzwing giftset in 1985 then the approximate inflation adjusted retail price would be in the neighborhood of $44 and $52 today.

I'm pretty sure these guys originally were in stores starting around mid '85.

I'm guessing the other factors involved are that these are now a niche market (for collectors), which means smaller numbers... and the oil prices, which affect the cost of plastic production. We can see how Hasbro/Takara are trying to minimize the plastic used in the new toys to help cut costs. Plus there is still die cast metal, which is its own production adventure.

All of these affect the price of the reissues G1 toys and help drive up the price.

Actually, I think Hasbro IS onto something. They are combining the reissues into logical sets, which saves a lot on packaging materials and costs. (Take the 3-pack insects and jets for example.) I think that was a great business decision and a win for both of us.

It's funny, the difference of about ten bucks makes me think these triple changers are "affordable" but the Insecticons aren't. Weird how we perceive value and deals.

Bottom line, it helps me to split the cost between the toys to help gauge if it's an okay value. Would I buy the individual toy for that price?

gothsaurus wrote:I'm guessing the other factors involved are that these are now a niche market (for collectors), which means smaller numbers... and the oil prices, which affect the cost of plastic production. We can see how Hasbro/Takara are trying to minimize the plastic used in the new toys to help cut costs. Plus there is still die cast metal, which is its own production adventure.

I thought the same once, but I was eventually corrected. That has been debunked. It is not true that increase in oil prices results in increas in plastic prices because plastic is not made from that same oil whos price you (or anyone) are referring to. The oil used for plastic is not used for fuel.

Higher oil prices do augment costs, however, since we need fuel to transport the toys and an increase in those costs must be covered, but that is an increase that is felt by everyone regardless of the amount of plastic usage.

Obviously, plastic has it's own cost, so using less plastic does cost less, but I did want to state that the price of plastic is not related to the oil prices.

And in any case, fuel is actually cheaper now than its been in a while. There has been a massive dip in prices due to excess volume drilled in Alberta Canada.

Yeah, I wasn't necessarily implying crude oil... just saying if the cost of what they make the plastic out of goes up, plastic price goes up. But I get your point.

AND great point too that transportation costs ARE impacted by crude oil prices. And on that point, lighter toys mean less fuel costs. Same for smaller packaging. Smaller boxes mean more can fit in a truck or ship.

I'm glad I'm not responsible for dealing with all of this. It's a lot to manage behind the scenes... and make it come out with a passable toy and price.

Am I the only one who would have preferred a reissue of Flywheels to a reissue of Blitzwing painted like Flywheels?

Giant Purple Griffin wrote:Am I the only one who would have preferred a reissue of Flywheels to a reissue of Blitzwing painted like Flywheels?

I would have preferred that too. My deal is if you will reissue something, make it either the same as the original toy (hence a REissue) or make it so taht it is accurate the the show.

I thought the Predaking and Omega Supreme reissues were smart. They kept the original toys and color schemes but updated them ever so slightly to make them seem a tad bit more modern, while remaining true to both the toy and the show.

Yeah, sadly we're subject to whatever usable molds can be located in the Asia factory warehouses. There are a load of older molds I'd love to see reissued.

That said, what are everyone's TOP picks they'd love to see along side these Platinum sets? I'm trying to think of some much-loved fan favorites that are also rare. Monstructor and Raiden jump out, especially because of gold plastic syndrome in the original. Grand Max also would be amazing since they have the Fort Max mold and have recently used it.

Dinobots also jump out.

william-james88 wrote:The official Transformers site has just revealed the price of the Astrotrain and Blitzwing Platinum set to be 65.99$US (approx retail). This is less than the 79.99$ price tag of the Insecticon Reissue.

And just in case you weren't caught up, it seems we have a better idea of what the wacky Astrotrain colors are meant to homage. While Blitzwing's colors homage Flywheels, Astrotrain appears to homage the Mach Tackle set from Takara's Victory (which features a white and purple shuttle and a red/orange truck).

It is still unclear which retailer will get the exclusivity to these figures.

Exactly where I was going with this So even with inflation, these are still an additional 2/3rds (66%) markup, for repaints that they didn't have to put any money into engineering for this release... what the hell? Sorry Hasbro, but I'm not paying you for being greedy... that's what you have the movies for

Big News to all G1 enthusiasts! Thanks to ACToys, we finally have a clear image of the upcoming reissue of Perceptor and Blaster, which will be released under the Platinum line.

It will be called the Platinum Edition Autobot Intel Ops set, featuring what looks to be mostly unchanged reissues of G1 Perceptor, Blaster, Steeljaw, Ramhorn, and Eject.

There are some additional accessories, some of which look to perhaps be microscope slides, as well as extra red pieces. The glare and size makes it hard to make out the extra details, so let us know what you make of this set and it's extra accessories in the Energon Pub forum.

The lack of Rewind is likely to upset many a Rewind Fan.

Sabrblade wrote:The lack of Rewind is likely to upset many a Rewind Fan.

The mold is probably lost (I kid, I kid)

Sabrblade wrote:The lack of Rewind is likely to upset many a Rewind Fan.

Maybe they're saving him for a Chromedome reissue.

Noideaforaname wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:The lack of Rewind is likely to upset many a Rewind Fan.

Maybe they're saving him for a Chromedome reissue.

Off topic alert:
That'd be cool if they did release a set of those 2 for SDCC with a Pride theme like this:


Since Comic Con is geared more towards adults, Hasbro wouldn't have to worry about offending parents. SDCC is only a few days after pride month, California is like the mecha of pride, and we'd get some great reissues... maybe pack it with issue #16 of MtMtE. I think that'd be a fun quirky set, perfect for SDCC (Knights of Unicron anyone?)

Ha! Yeah, that would be a great way to dish out 5-6 colors of a mold. We'd eat that up! I'd love it, but I also doubt Hasbro would want to take a stance... especially with all the turmoil in Indiana and Arkansas. (I'm currently in Arkansas... watching the arrows fly.)

With that photo, we now have mages of every single platinum release we first saw in this picture

Trypticon... where are your photos, my friend?

gothsaurus wrote:Trypticon... where are your photos, my friend?

He was the only one that we never got any sort of proof on. The last thing we had was this from a while back at a closed doors show:

US re-release tripticon, conheads set, blitzwing & astrotrain set, Perceptor & Blaster set: cassettes included looks like to be the animals, and the shoulder cannon on perceptor has some special purpose, rumored to be able to view slide shows

And hey, now we get why this person was adamant about mentioning slides in terms of perceptor. This set gives us new slide accessories now, encouraging the play value of the microscope.

That set looks amazing!I usually stay away from classic figures because of the poor articulation but I may go for this.

This set looks great! Good to see Blasters cassette buddies include here even if there is no Rewind. Even Perceptor looks like he comes with added accessories. The best part is they didn't give us wtf editions ala Crazytrain and Schlitzwing.

Definitely picking that set up. I never had Blaster or Perceptor as a kid so this set is going to be great. I love the cassette Transformers.

Schlitzwing!

MartianSpyGirl1996 wrote:

william-james88 wrote:The official Transformers site has just revealed the price of the Astrotrain and Blitzwing Platinum set to be 65.99$US (approx retail). This is less than the 79.99$ price tag of the Insecticon Reissue.

And just in case you weren't caught up, it seems we have a better idea of what the wacky Astrotrain colors are meant to homage. While Blitzwing's colors homage Flywheels, Astrotrain appears to homage the Mach Tackle set from Takara's Victory (which features a white and purple shuttle and a red/orange truck).

It is still unclear which retailer will get the exclusivity to these figures.

Exactly where I was going with this So even with inflation, these are still an additional 2/3rds (66%) markup, for repaints that they didn't have to put any money into engineering for this release... what the hell? Sorry Hasbro, but I'm not paying you for being greedy... that's what you have the movies for

I think you need to check your maths again.... Even at the smaller number of the range from the wonderful post on inflation, we're looking at $44 to $67, or an increase of $23. That's just over a 50% markup (with $22 being exactly 50%). From the higher one, $52, it's $15, which is, let me get my calculator...a little under 30% markup. Still a little high, but there could be other factors for this, like a smaller run. The larger the run, the more the initial costs of setup are spread out over the cost of the figure.

Now, I'm not saying Hasbro is not over-pricing these. (Certainly, they are more than I would spend.) But, I'm not sure I would go along with price gouging opinions...

I didn't realize that Blaster and Perceptor were going to be packaged together.


That's awesome!

william-james88 wrote:Big News to all G1 enthusiasts! Thanks to ACToys, we finally have a clear image of the upcoming reissue of Perceptor and Blaster, which will be released under the Platinum line.

It will be called the Platinum Edition Autobot Intel Ops set, featuring what looks to be mostly unchanged reissues of G1 Perceptor, Blaster, Steeljaw, Ramhorn, and Eject.

There are some additional accessories, some of which look to perhaps be microscope slides, as well as extra red pieces. The glare and size makes it hard to make out the extra details, so let us know what you make of this set and it's extra accessories in the Energon Pub forum.

Jesus, what will be the price of this awesome set? 200$?
This is a Platinum I'm looking forward to.

william-james88 wrote:

US re-release tripticon, conheads set, blitzwing & astrotrain set, Perceptor & Blaster set: cassettes included looks like to be the animals, and the shoulder cannon on perceptor has some special purpose, rumored to be able to view slide shows

And hey, now we get why this person was adamant about mentioning slides in terms of perceptor. This set gives us new slide accessories now, encouraging the play value of the microscope.

It's a little weird isn't it? These aren't exactly priced for kids, and yet they give them a kid-friendly play feature and most adults are going to leave in the box. I really have no idea who they're trying to target with these reissues. It's the same with painting Astrotrain up as Machtackle; why pass up the opportunity to bring over the real Machtackle and rest of the Multiforce here instead? The molds aren't lost, they were just used in 2004 as trading figures the same time as the Micromaster combiners were. I'm sure there are people who would pay the Insecticon prices for a Landcross reissue. Then we could get the purple and gray show accurate Astrotrain fans have always wanted from Hasbro and the proper Hasbro Blitzwing reissue we never got.

As for this set, it looks good, but replacing Rewind with a bunch of kid stuff is annoying. Then again I already have these guys so I'm not buying it anyway. I'm guessing the red V shaped thing is for feeding the slides under Perceptor's scope. It has a hinge so it can be straightened out. Not sure what the second function could be. The slides probably have pictures of Decepticons on them. I wonder if the scope is now red tinted and if any of the tapes will have enemy specs on them like some of the past and more recent tapes have.

Emerje

Sabrblade wrote:The lack of Rewind is likely to upset many a Rewind Fan.

Good thing I already have rewind!


(got it from a second hand store along with G1 Bombshell and a broken Kickback.)

Yeah, that's a LOAD of extra stuff... to then leave out Rewind. Still, very curious about the new bits.

Hmm interesting. I would like to have a reissue of blaster myself but the lack of a rewind is frusterating. I think

Sabrblade wrote:The lack of Rewind is likely to upset many a Rewind Fan.

Yes But I wonder if that is due to design. He is the most popular autobot mini-cassette due to MTMTE

I'm not sure if i'll get these or not. I already have preceptor and I think I personally would rather have a Twincast.

that nail man...

BERSEKAEL wrote:that nail man...

If that price point ($65-ish) is true, then that's a time warp back to 2002 and the first Commemorative Series baby! I hope it comes with a sub-prime mortgage application and a no spending limit credit card for applicants with less than 520 credit scores too

No but really, it's weird that this would have what really, truly is a great price compared to the Insecticons of all things. Glad they popped for the additional accessories, I'd have no interest in this otherwise. Though, this was an opportunity for wacky cassette repaints not taken, but I can get over that.

ScottyP wrote:If that price point ($65-ish) is true, then that's a time warp back to 2002 and the first Commemorative Series baby! I hope it comes with a sub-prime mortgage application and a no spending limit credit card for applicants with less than 520 credit scores too

No but really, it's weird that this would have what really, truly is a great price compared to the Insecticons of all things. Glad they popped for the additional accessories, I'd have no interest in this otherwise. Though, this was an opportunity for wacky cassette repaints not taken, but I can get over that.

Where are you getting that price point?

The 65$ price revealed was for the astrotrain and blitzwing set. Are you referring to that?

Quick question. It was said above that the average G1 toy was about 10$ back then (for the triple changers). How much was it for the individual Predacons? 20$?

william-james88 wrote:

ScottyP wrote:If that price point ($65-ish) is true, then that's a time warp back to 2002 and the first Commemorative Series baby! I hope it comes with a sub-prime mortgage application and a no spending limit credit card for applicants with less than 520 credit scores too

No but really, it's weird that this would have what really, truly is a great price compared to the Insecticons of all things. Glad they popped for the additional accessories, I'd have no interest in this otherwise. Though, this was an opportunity for wacky cassette repaints not taken, but I can get over that.

Where are you getting that price point?

The 65$ price revealed was for the astrotrain and blitzwing set. Are you referring to that?

Woops! I was indeed. It's still in line with original Comm. Series pricing though, so the point remains even though I referred to the entirely wrong set I'm gonna go get more caffeine now.

ScottyP wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

ScottyP wrote:If that price point ($65-ish) is true, then that's a time warp back to 2002 and the first Commemorative Series baby! I hope it comes with a sub-prime mortgage application and a no spending limit credit card for applicants with less than 520 credit scores too

No but really, it's weird that this would have what really, truly is a great price compared to the Insecticons of all things. Glad they popped for the additional accessories, I'd have no interest in this otherwise. Though, this was an opportunity for wacky cassette repaints not taken, but I can get over that.

Where are you getting that price point?

The 65$ price revealed was for the astrotrain and blitzwing set. Are you referring to that?

Woops! I was indeed. It's still in line with original Comm. Series pricing though, so the point remains even though I referred to the entirely wrong set I'm gonna go get more caffeine now.

It is? I find that surprising because that makes it a little less than 33$ per triple changer. That's how much the commemorative reissue was? The insecticons are only 15$ more and you get a third toy, making them about 27$ each. And its not like the insecticons are so much smaller than the triple changers. And they even come with new accessories (energon cubes).

william-james88 wrote:

ScottyP wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

ScottyP wrote:If that price point ($65-ish) is true, then that's a time warp back to 2002 and the first Commemorative Series baby! I hope it comes with a sub-prime mortgage application and a no spending limit credit card for applicants with less than 520 credit scores too

No but really, it's weird that this would have what really, truly is a great price compared to the Insecticons of all things. Glad they popped for the additional accessories, I'd have no interest in this otherwise. Though, this was an opportunity for wacky cassette repaints not taken, but I can get over that.

Where are you getting that price point?

The 65$ price revealed was for the astrotrain and blitzwing set. Are you referring to that?

Woops! I was indeed. It's still in line with original Comm. Series pricing though, so the point remains even though I referred to the entirely wrong set I'm gonna go get more caffeine now.

It is? I find that surprising because that makes it a little less than 33$ per triple changer. That's how much the commemorative reissue was? The insecticons are only 15$ more and you get a third toy, making them about 27$ each. And its not like the insecticons are so much smaller than the triple changers. And they even come with new accessories (energon cubes).

I seem to recall paying roughly $36 dollars for the last release of both the Insecticons and Perceptor.

william-james88 wrote:It is? I find that surprising because that makes it a little less than 33$ per triple changer. That's how much the commemorative reissue was? The insecticons are only 15$ more and you get a third toy, making them about 27$ each. And its not like the insecticons are so much smaller than the triple changers. And they even come with new accessories (energon cubes).

All the Autobot cars and Decepticon Jets were $34.99 originally back then, though I think Hot Rod was maybe $29.99 in that first wave. So this would have been stuff like Jazz, Prowl, Starscream, and later on even Rodimus Prime, and Astrotrain (though it only ever hit Hasbrotoyshop and KB Toys at discount) was intended for that price point. (edit: so in other words, not the Insecticons, who were put out as a set of three at roughly the same pricepoint 6 years ago)

The reality is most folks didn't pay that much for them, as Series III-VII (and half of VIII and IX, with Sideswipe and Astrotrain being weirdly MIA for a long time) of the Commemorative Series shelf-warmed, and shelf-warmed like a boss. The markdowns were amazingly awesome. I think my Comm. Series Rodimus Prime was $9, Thundercracker and Skywarp about $15 each, Grapple, Bluestreak, and others around that too.

There was a consequence to this, however. Due to their failure at being a not-so-limited, yet still TRU exclusive line, every G1 reissue in the US market since then has been some form of exclusive, whether that be SDCC, a particular retailer, HTS, online, etc. and the perception is that the quantities produced are in much lesser numbers. Had this line succeeded, it's very well possible many of the reissues that Takara has put out over the years would have gotten out here as well, such as Trailbreaker, Ironhide, Ratchet, and the other Coneheads that are only now happening. Plus, had Ricochet/Stepper not absolutely bombed at retail, an Artfire would almost have undoubtedly happened.

To this day, let it be a lesson for "Clearance" shoppers - there's nothing wrong with waiting for a clearance, but keep in mind the message it sends to the retailer, who knows those numbers and gets them to Hasbro some way or another by direct reporting or by behavior in placing future orders.

While this is awesome, I have the TFC Blaster. So all I need is a Commemorative Perceptor and I'm good.

Both the Platinum Conehead seeker set (With Dirge, Thrust, and Ramjet) and Triple changer set (with Astrotrain and Blitzwing) are now available for pre-order at TFSource.

They are listed at 99.95$ and 79.95$ respectively. Both of these are priced higher than anticipated, basing ourselves on the price of the Conehead set sold in Singapore at an equivalent of 78.89$ USD and the suggested retail price of 65.99$ for the Triple changer set on the Hasbro website.

Yeah, but $30 each for the coneheads? I'm in. Definitely more worth it in my opinion than the Insecticons... C'mon, BBTS!!

Agamemnon wrote:Yeah, but $30 each for the coneheads? I'm in. Definitely more worth it in my opinion than the Insecticons... C'mon, BBTS!!

Oh me too. If Canadian has similar prices (like 110$-120$) count me in! The deal with the seekers, in contrary to the insecticons, is that they come with so many damn accessories, and many are vital to the presentation (like their HANDS!). So getting a complete one is much harder AND much more in demand. I am glad Hasbro only sees it as three toys slightly bigger than the insecticons and just pricing it that way.