Review for Transformers Earthspark One Step Flip Changer Optimus Prime Shows New Gimmick

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

william-james88 wrote:Working on reviews for the Warriors and they are all over the place. While Optimus is a very solid budget deluxe class toy, with good proporitons and articulation, that Elita 1 is ROUGH. Lacking lots of crucial articulation, no knees for instance.

Leave something for the rest of us.

I'll leave Skywarp

that's a true gift right there!

All kidding aside, I'll take it. I liked that mold and most people missed the trick of using the landing gear to lock the torso so once you do that it's an ok figure.

News Staff making news kinda reminds me of this old, ooooold, before he was famous Bob Saget bit on some random sketch comedy show where he was a news reporter, reporting on an accident that he caused. The punchline was "Waxwhatever, where we don't just report the news, we ARE the news."

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

william-james88 wrote:Working on reviews for the Warriors and they are all over the place. While Optimus is a very solid budget deluxe class toy, with good proporitons and articulation, that Elita 1 is ROUGH. Lacking lots of crucial articulation, no knees for instance.

Leave something for the rest of us.

I'll leave Skywarp

that's a true gift right there!

All kidding aside, I'll take it. I liked that mold and most people missed the trick of using the landing gear to lock the torso so once you do that it's an ok figure.

News Staff making news kinda reminds me of this old, ooooold, before he was famous Bob Saget bit on some random sketch comedy show where he was a news reporter, reporting on an accident that he caused. The punchline was "Waxwhatever, where we don't just report the news, we ARE the news."

Hahaha.
You also have the other 2 one steps.

Whomever makes the videos, I'm grateful to them! I never followed RiD toys until I binged the show, so it's great to have almost real-time (close to the toy's release) reviews.

RotorstormNZ wrote:Whomever makes the videos, I'm grateful to them! I never followed RiD toys until I binged the show, so it's great to have almost real-time (close to the toy's release) reviews.

Thanks and you are welcome.

I am in utter disbelief that this first round of toys have not appeared in the US for the holiday season, a real missed opportunity.

william-james88 wrote:I am in utter disbelief that this first round of toys have not appeared in the US for the holiday season, a real missed opportunity.

It is, but it's also not the first time. Prime took a while to get into stores after the false start with First Edition, and I remember Animated toys not being in stores until well after season one aired.

Emerje

Emerje wrote:

william-james88 wrote:I am in utter disbelief that this first round of toys have not appeared in the US for the holiday season, a real missed opportunity.

It is, but it's also not the first time. Prime took a while to get into stores after the false start with First Edition, and I remember Animated toys not being in stores until well after season one aired.

Emerje

Yeah, Animated's toyline was slow to start because of all of the excess 2007 Movie toys taking up all the space on the shelves at the time.

Prime's toyline, however, was deliberately held back. While the shelves were still filled with DOTM toys at the time, Hasbro wanted to push the Prime cartoon as a TV show first, one that didn't necessarily need to be supported by toys. So they held back releasing the toys until after DOTM to let the cartoon stand on its own merits, but that just made the fans mad and want the Prime toys even more, instead of them initially learning to appreciate the show as a show first and foremost. That was back when Hasbro was trying to pass themselves off as a media company more than just a toy company, but that all came crashing down after the failure of the Battleship movie.

Sabrblade wrote:

Emerje wrote:

william-james88 wrote:I am in utter disbelief that this first round of toys have not appeared in the US for the holiday season, a real missed opportunity.

It is, but it's also not the first time. Prime took a while to get into stores after the false start with First Edition, and I remember Animated toys not being in stores until well after season one aired.

Emerje

Yeah, Animated's toyline was slow to start because of all of the excess 2007 Movie toys taking up all the space on the shelves at the time.

Prime's toyline, however, was deliberately held back. While the shelves were still filled with DOTM toys at the time, Hasbro wanted to push the Prime cartoon as a TV show first, one that didn't necessarily need to be supported by toys. So they held back releasing the toys until after DOTM to let the cartoon stand on its own merits, but that just made the fans mad and want the Prime toys even more, instead of them initially learning to appreciate the show as a show first and foremost. That was back when Hasbro was trying to pass themselves off as a media company more than just a toy company, but that all came crashing down after the failure of the Battleship movie.

Thanks for the history lessons. That is still at odds with what may be happening here since 2022 got less kid focused transformers toys than originally planned due to the ROTB toyline delay. So there's a glut on the market and a bunch of Earthspark product that could fill it and while it is doing exactly that in Canada and elsewhere, it isn't being done in the US.

william-james88 wrote:I am in utter disbelief that this first round of toys have not appeared in the US for the holiday season, a real missed opportunity.

My BBTS preorder is supposedly supposed to get fulfilled this month, we will see, especially since BBTS appears to be about a month ahead of stores for the earliest TF sightings lately

william-james88 wrote:I am in utter disbelief that this first round of toys have not appeared in the US for the holiday season, a real missed opportunity.

I don't know what's going on but the only way we'll find out is to ask and ask a lot. All I know is I want my butt finger transformers.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:All I know is I want my butt finger transformers.

Even knowing the context, this is so frikkin wrong

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

william-james88 wrote:I am in utter disbelief that this first round of toys have not appeared in the US for the holiday season, a real missed opportunity.

I don't know what's going on but the only way we'll find out is to ask and ask a lot. All I know is I want my butt finger transformers.

Your butt has fingers?

Twitch just shipped from Pulse, I think I'm at least as excited about her as I am about Victory Saber, who is also on the way.

AcademyofDrX wrote:Twitch just shipped from Pulse, I think I'm at least as excited about her as I am about Victory Saber, who is also on the way.

Really? Huh. Hopefully that is a sign BBTS is about to get them, theirs are $4 cheaper, otherwise I'd jump now

Twitch has great poseability and fantastic use of translucent parts. I'm not doing the light piping justice, it's incredibly exciting in-hand. Those big round eyes just pop. I think she'll be my desk bot for a while.

My biggest criticism is that some joints are a little loose and others are a little tight, and combined with the range of motion, it makes tabbing everything together for alt-mide very difficult. Some of the connections are a little unusual too. It's not perfect, but when I don't try to make it perfect, I'm very satisfied with the result.

Usual disclaimer applies: Cyberverse and Earthspark Deluxes are not the same as Generations Deluxes. It's a huge step over Warrior class though, and a great toy on balance.

AcademyofDrX wrote:Twitch has great poseability and fantastic use of translucent parts. I'm not doing the light piping justice, it's incredibly exciting in-hand. Those big round eyes just pop. I think she'll be my desk bot for a while.

My biggest criticism is that some joints are a little loose and others are a little tight, and combined with the range of motion, it makes tabbing everything together for alt-mide very difficult. Some of the connections are a little unusual too. It's not perfect, but when I don't try to make it perfect, I'm very satisfied with the result.

Usual disclaimer applies: Cyberverse and Earthspark Deluxes are not the same as Generations Deluxes. It's a huge step over Warrior class though, and a great toy on balance.

She looks good, I am excited for her!

AcademyofDrX wrote:
Usual disclaimer applies: Cyberverse and Earthspark Deluxes are not the same as Generations Deluxes. It's a huge step over Warrior class though, and a great toy on balance.

It definitely feels different from a Generations deluxe especially from a design perspective, but for Twitch and BB, I don't feel I'm getting less from these than what I get from a generations deluxe. What do you think?

william-james88 wrote:

AcademyofDrX wrote:
Usual disclaimer applies: Cyberverse and Earthspark Deluxes are not the same as Generations Deluxes. It's a huge step over Warrior class though, and a great toy on balance.

It definitely feels different from a Generations deluxe especially from a design perspective, but for Twitch and BB, I don't feel I'm getting less from these than what I get from a generations deluxe. What do you think?

I never even saw any of these new deluxes in store but if they are like Cyberverse, they definitely feel cheaper and smaller in hand. They were less expensive too so it balance things out.

Are the Earthspark deluxes sell for the same price as SS or Gen deluxes?

-Kanrabat- wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

AcademyofDrX wrote:
Usual disclaimer applies: Cyberverse and Earthspark Deluxes are not the same as Generations Deluxes. It's a huge step over Warrior class though, and a great toy on balance.

It definitely feels different from a Generations deluxe especially from a design perspective, but for Twitch and BB, I don't feel I'm getting less from these than what I get from a generations deluxe. What do you think?

I never even saw any of these new deluxes in store but if they are like Cyberverse, they definitely feel cheaper and smaller in hand. They were less expensive too so it balance things out.

Are the Earthspark deluxes sell for the same price as SS or Gen deluxes?

They are $30 CAD, which feels fair (by comparison). Though I would say Cyberverse deluxe Slag feels as quality as any Legacy deluxe toy.

william-james88 wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

AcademyofDrX wrote:
Usual disclaimer applies: Cyberverse and Earthspark Deluxes are not the same as Generations Deluxes. It's a huge step over Warrior class though, and a great toy on balance.

It definitely feels different from a Generations deluxe especially from a design perspective, but for Twitch and BB, I don't feel I'm getting less from these than what I get from a generations deluxe. What do you think?

I never even saw any of these new deluxes in store but if they are like Cyberverse, they definitely feel cheaper and smaller in hand. They were less expensive too so it balance things out.

Are the Earthspark deluxes sell for the same price as SS or Gen deluxes?

They are $30 CAD, which feels fair (by comparison). Though I would say Cyberverse deluxe Slag feels as quality as any Legacy deluxe toy.

To me it feels like a step up from the Cyberverse Deluxes, though I didn't get Slug or Cheetor. The transformation complexity and poseability are definitely up there with Legacy, though it didn't have the kind of heft or solidness I expect in Generations. On the other hand, it's very similar to smaller figures like Black Arachnia, so maybe I'm not taking a wide enough view of the line.

I also need to take back my criticism of the alt-mode: once I slotted the weapon in and adjusted some of the tabbing, it all locked together really well. I don't like fiddling that much, but it's an acceptable trade-off given how well it poses.

The next thing I need to do is dig out a flight stand. She has a port in her back and everything about her design suggests she should be in the air. I'm having more fun with her than I usually get from Generations, so maybe I'm approaching this the wrong way. Maybe I shouldn't see animated Deluxes as less collector-friendly than Generations, but as more play-friendly.

DeathReviews wrote:"Optimus, help! My LEGS are fused together!"

Awesome, i checked your channel it's amazing.

DeathReviews wrote:"Optimus, help! My LEGS are fused together!"

That's dope! I checked your channel, amazing work!

With two days to go I feel the need to state again that there was ZERO Earthspark toys on shelves in the US for the Christmas shopping season.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:With two days to go I feel the need to state again that there was ZERO Earthspark toys on shelves in the US for the Christmas shopping season.

I never saw a single one at my local Walmart nor even at my local Toys R Us. Must be a Montréal thing.

AcademyofDrX wrote:To me it feels like a step up from the Cyberverse Deluxes, though I didn't get Slug or Cheetor. The transformation complexity and poseability are definitely up there with Legacy, though it didn't have the kind of heft or solidness I expect in Generations. On the other hand, it's very similar to smaller figures like Black Arachnia, so maybe I'm not taking a wide enough view of the line.

I also need to take back my criticism of the alt-mode: once I slotted the weapon in and adjusted some of the tabbing, it all locked together really well. I don't like fiddling that much, but it's an acceptable trade-off given how well it poses.

The next thing I need to do is dig out a flight stand. She has a port in her back and everything about her design suggests she should be in the air. I'm having more fun with her than I usually get from Generations, so maybe I'm approaching this the wrong way. Maybe I shouldn't see animated Deluxes as less collector-friendly than Generations, but as more play-friendly.

Definitely, I see everything you see and you write it out perfectly. I only mention Slug because he felt like a step above the other deluxes in that Cyberverse line. Others had a lot going for them (like Megatron and Bee) but there was something about them that held them back.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:With two days to go I feel the need to state again that there was ZERO Earthspark toys on shelves in the US for the Christmas shopping season.

This is absolutely bonkers. I was certain these would be in the US for the holiday season, now is the time to sell them with a whole line made up of perfect gifts for young transformers fans in gift giving season, plus as a tie in with a brand new show on air. Something was fumbled. They won't be as necessary next year when the entire ROTB line, also aimed at kids, will be on shelves during the holiday season.

Amazon has the drone one and Elita-1 up for pre-order with a January 1st stock date.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:With two days to go I feel the need to state again that there was ZERO Earthspark toys on shelves in the US for the Christmas shopping season.

still nothing. Pulse fulfilled preorders for the 3 deluxes, but that was it.

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:With two days to go I feel the need to state again that there was ZERO Earthspark toys on shelves in the US for the Christmas shopping season.

still nothing. Pulse fulfilled preorders for the 3 deluxes, but that was it.

I got ONE Deluxe (Twitch) and ONE Warrior (Elita-1) coming next week from Amazon. That's all they have available. They have a listing for Megatron under its code name but it's sold by third parties.

Right after I posted this I went to the Megatron listing and found that the Flip-Change Bumblebee and Wheeljack are up for pre-order but under their code names. Prime was available too but only by third-party sellers.

I hate code names, I hate having to look for them, and I hate ordering figures piecemeal because figures might sell out and not be restocked.

2 months late but for those still interested, the Earthspark line has finally arrived to US stores. The deluxes, one steps and warriors have all been found in a Target in New Jersey. Below are reviews for most of the figures to give you an idea of the figures if they interest you.

If you have found them, share your sightings with our community in the sightings section and on our boards in your region related thread.

This sighting was originally posted by AutbotJazz1 here.

william-james88 wrote:2 months late

Was there a release date previously announced that they missed?

RotorstormNZ wrote:

william-james88 wrote:2 months late

Was there a release date previously announced that they missed?

The toyline should have been out when the show debuted and for the holiday season.

I ended up canceling Twitch because the delivery date changed to "We don't know when the figure will ship" the same as the flip changers that Amazon has in stock. I got Warrior Prime instead.

"Finally"

I really thought this line would end up heavily delayed like Animated and Prime.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:I really thought this line would end up heavily delayed like Animated and Prime.

The toys were in the hands of the retailers for months now so it was a matter of time. Either this or we see it all at a liquidator, which is what is happening in the UK.

Glad they are finally showing up, hopefully BBTS finally gets the deluxes.

I do think, after skimming Chuck's review, that I need Elita. I love her design so much, girl-boss for the win!

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:Glad they are finally showing up, hopefully BBTS finally gets the deluxes.

I do think, after skimming Chuck's review, that I need Elita. I love her design so much, girl-boss for the win!

Her lack of basic articulation is real rough though. That warrior Optimus excels in that department by comparison.

william-james88 wrote:

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:Glad they are finally showing up, hopefully BBTS finally gets the deluxes.

I do think, after skimming Chuck's review, that I need Elita. I love her design so much, girl-boss for the win!

Her lack of basic articulation is real rough though. That warrior Optimus excels in that department by comparison.

I am going to get Deluxe Prime, so I will be skipping him. Only character I have any immediate plans to purchase twice is Megatron, both his toys look fun and I love his design.

She has enough articulation, you are talking to someone who bought and enjoyed a lot of Cyberverse despite the limitations of the line as well, for me a good character can offset some toy limitations.

william-james88 wrote:

RotorstormNZ wrote:

william-james88 wrote:2 months late

Was there a release date previously announced that they missed?

The toyline should have been out when the show debuted and for the holiday season.

Ah, I missed Hasbro's announcement about that.

RotorstormNZ wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

RotorstormNZ wrote:

william-james88 wrote:2 months late

Was there a release date previously announced that they missed?

The toyline should have been out when the show debuted and for the holiday season.

Ah, I missed Hasbro's announcement about that.

Just to be clear, Hasbro never announced anything regarding this toyline. I am just saying that these toys should be out with a show's debut and for the holiday season. The whole point of this toyline was to have new stuff on the shelves for the holiday season, as we saw with the specially made displays in Canada, that were even in the special holiday aisle. I'm just going by business logic here and what should happen.

But they never promised anything.

Found these guys earlier today but unfortunately a huge pass on these. They are charging $24.99 and the quality is that of Cyberverse or 5 Below figures. They look so cheap in hand but the price is steep. All the Megatrons had that swirly look on the silver plastic and he is TINY. Not a good look for this line at that price point I say hold off for inevitable clearance on these.

The Earthspark line arrived in the US earlier in the week, two months after the show debuted on Paramount +, but there were some classes missing. Well, those classes, the Tacticon and Spin Changer class, have now been found as well. The images below come from a Puerto Rico Target and were taken by Electro Rush, though they have shown up in various states in the US. We have reviews for all of these below, starting with a review from chuckdawg1999 for Spin Changers Optimus Prime and Bumblebee.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Don't kid yourself, the Spin Changers are gimmick first and only. Of the two Optimus has the most articulation since its arms bend due to the transformation, but the gimmick works slightly better with Bumblebee. The figurines are nice but feel out of place with Prime and Bee. These are definitely best enjoyed by a younger audience.

Well, that's one way to give TFs intended for younger kids in-scale human figures that won't just instantly get lost.

Broken, mutilated, scuffed up, and possibly chewed on, yes, but not immediately.

morganprime wrote:Found these guys earlier today but unfortunately a huge pass on these. They are charging $24.99 and the quality is that of Cyberverse or 5 Below figures. They look so cheap in hand but the price is steep. All the Megatrons had that swirly look on the silver plastic and he is TINY. Not a good look for this line at that price point I say hold off for inevitable clearance on these.

Everything you write makes sense, these arent targetted towards you (or us) in general. A small megatron won't speak to anyone who cares about scale, but to a parent, getting the main bad guy for $25 instead of $35 for a voyager, that speaks to them and their wallets. I did get all the deluxes, to do reviews, and while I don't recommend the megatron to anyone, I feel I get as much for my money with Twitch and Bumblebee as I do with Legacy Skids or Skullgrin. It's a different look and feel for sure, but those two had an enjoyable and novel transformation. I expected Bumblebee to be a bore, but that figure surprised me and the alt mode won me over. It felt like an improved version of the original deluxe generations/IDW design.

As for clearance, that could be inevitable in the US since these toys missed the 2022 holiday window but in Canada the deluxes are almost completely sold out at the Walmarts I go. They sold well for the holidays.

Also, as far as money goes, these are cheaper in Canada, so there's that too affecting my thoughts on value. They are $30CAD/$22 USD here. It's not a huge difference from $25, but that slightly lower price point makes them feel like they are in a seperate class from the Legacy toys.

Wasn't the MSRP listed at $20 for Deluxes like Cyberverse? What happened there?

Emerje

Emerje wrote:Wasn't the MSRP listed at $20 for Deluxes like Cyberverse? What happened there?

Emerje

Hasbro confirmed that was a mistake

Apologies, yes, the correct price for the figures would be $24.99. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Just a thought, Since Earthspark is on Paramount+, one of the lesser subscribed streaming services, could it be possible that not a lot of people are watching it, and thus, there's no interest in the toy line?

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Just a thought, Since Earthspark is on Paramount+, one of the lesser subscribed streaming services, could it be possible that not a lot of people are watching it, and thus, there's no interest in the toy line?

Well, ostensibly, not a lot of people watched Cyberverse on TV, either (the Sunday morning 6am time slot sure did it no favors), yet that show had a huge toyline whose presence continues to linger on the shelves and pegs to this day.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Just a thought, Since Earthspark is on Paramount+, one of the lesser subscribed streaming services, could it be possible that not a lot of people are watching it, and thus, there's no interest in the toy line?

It's lesser suscribed but it's also not an exclusive show. It's on Nickelodeon as well, so that means it's both on network and on a streaming service, so double the potential that other series like Prime had.

But anyways, the biggest correlation with toy sales is not with advertising or shows, it's the time of year. You won't find much interest here on the boards since the toyline isn't targetted at us.

But the toyline had a great interest in Canada simply for having affordable Transformers toys on shelves during the holidays as can be seen in this before and after pic of my local standee showing that 77% sold within just one month (that being the month of december).

william-james88 wrote:

Emerje wrote:Wasn't the MSRP listed at $20 for Deluxes like Cyberverse? What happened there?

Emerje

Hasbro confirmed that was a mistake

Apologies, yes, the correct price for the figures would be $24.99. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Ironically, Pulse just yesterday listed the deluxes as back in stock, and they were $19.99 instead of the preorder $24.99. I ordered all 3, saved $15 from any preorder I would have made