Toyfair Australia 2011 TFs display

[griffin]

Prepare to be disappointed, if you've seen the US Toyfair reports, photos & videos. Our display was rather small and didn't appear to have anything
new this year. And this year, they were more strict on the photos. I was allowed to take some overall photos, and was only able to take 4 before
one of the other Hasbro people rushed over to tell me that I shouldn't be taking any photos.

I guess Hasbro US want all the fame and glory when it comes to them encouraging full coverage of their Toyfair display, and telling other
branches to not allow it. :mad:

WARNING - MOVIE TOYS/SPOILERS


http://www.toycollectors.com.au/atf1113.jpg

The main Hasbro display.
Only featured Movie toys this year, which isn't surprising, but would have been nice to see some other lines thrown in on the side to mix it up a little.

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/atf1104.jpg

A closer look at the Main Line, MechTech

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/atf1106.jpg


And the big bad boy, Ultimate Optimus Prime with Trailer (slated for Aug/Sep, for *about* AU$150)

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/atf1109.jpg


The smaller figures (used to be called Legends and Scouts - now called Legion and Commander) and playsets, called Cyberverse.

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/atf1105.jpg


The Gimmick lines (Activators, Go-Bots, Revving Robots, Roleplay, Masks), to be called Robo Power

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/atf1107.jpg


And finally, the Speed Stars, covering Minivehicles, Stealth Force, Battle Chargers and Mini Changers 2-packs.

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/atf1108.jpg


Additional Transformers themed items in other lines include, Star Wars Crossovers (now in 3 size classes)

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/atf1111.jpg


A new product to compete with Lego, called Kre-O, launching with Transformers first

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/atf1110.jpg


And a new Playskool Heroes line called Transformers Rescue Bots
(no photo, as I was stopped before I could get to it)


At the front of the Hasbro Exhibit was a yellow Camaro done up to look like Bumblebee.

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/atf1112.jpg


A list of Transformers toys on display...

Mechtech
- Deluxe - Bumblebee, Starscream, (Jolt), (Topspin), Roadbuster, Sideswipe.
- Voyager - Skyhammer, Optimus, Ironhide, Shockwave
- Leader - Sentinel Prime, Bumblebee, Ironhide
- Ultimate - Optimus Prime
- (A Super Secret item that they decided to hide from public display when I got there, and made me promise not to even say what it is until it is
confirmed sometime in the next few weeks. But it is BIG... big news... something that isn't going to be released in America! Stay tuned for an update in the coming weeks)

Cyberverse
- Legion (was Legends) - Barricade, Crankcase, Crowbar (D), Bumblebee, Autobot Skids, Autobot Topspin.
- Commander (was Scout) - Sentinel Prime, Powerglide, Blackout w/ Scorponok, Ironhide, Optimus, Megatron
- Action - Bumblebee mobile Battle Bunker, Starscream Orbital Assault Carrier
- Ark set - Autobot Ark w/ Roller

Robo Power
- Activators - Bumblebee, Optimus, Starscream
- Go-Bots - Sideswipe, Bumblebee
- Revving Robots (was Powerbots) - Bumblebee, Optimus
- Optimus Cyber Blaster (fires nerf type darts)
- 3D Cinemasks (Optimus, Bumbebee), Battle Mask (Bumblebee)

Speed Stars
- Minivehicle - (Revealer) Barricade, (Metal Heroes) Optimus
- Mini Changers (2-pack) - Sideswipe Vs Starscream, Bumblebee & Sentinel Prime
(back of packaging also had - Crumplezone Vs Bumblebee, Optimus Vs Starscream)
- Stealth Force Basic - Barricade, Classic Leadfoot, Bumblebee
- Battle Charger - Optimus, Bumblebee
- Stealth Force Electronic - Optimus, Bumbelbee

Star Wars Crossovers
- Class 1 (new 'Legends' size) - Grevious/Grevious Starfighter, Obi Wan(?)/Episode 2 Starfighter, Anakin(?)/Episode 3 Starfighter
- Class 2 (was Basic) - assorted wave 1-3 Series 4 (black) packaging figures
(back of Quad-changer packaging also had shown - AT-TE (green)/Clone Captain Keeli, Troop Transport (blue)/Clone Commander Wolffe, ATT
(brown/orange)/Battle Droid Commander)
- Class 3 (was Deluxe) - Anakin/Vader quad-changer

Kre-O
- Starscream (Gen1), Optimus (Movie), Bumblebee (Movie)

Playskool Heroes - Transformers Rescue Bots
- Firestation Prime (big playset) w/ Heatwave vehicle (non-convertible)
- Bumblebee Garage (small playset)
- Figure Pack (human figure + small vehicle)
- Robot Pack (convertible robot)
Note - Figure Packs and Robot Packs pair up, on the packaging and with their colours.
(Figure pack + Robot pack) Charlie + Optimus, Cleveland + Boulder, Cody + Heatwave, Jack +Chase, Sawer + Blades.


Q&A tidbits:
- MP Rodimus, and just about every US TRU exclusive for 2011 should end up in AUS TRU stores this year.
- The Transformers: Prime cartoon is not yet signed up to a network in Australia, and won't be aired here before the Movie Season ends (Sep/Oct).
- They want to continue releasing as much non-Movie figures as possible during the Movie season, because they (Generations etc) are selling better
than the yellow packed 'movie' figures. But I think this will still be limited to what non-movie toys Hasbro US have available during that time.
- We shouldn't see any more Reveal the Shield assortments, which means missing Voyager Deep Dive, and maybe the Scout wave with Rumble,
Downshift and Bodyblock. We missed certain AA waves (like Voyager Highbrow) because of stores like Kmart ordering a massive amount of
wave 1 figures and not needing to re-order for ages.
- The TF3 Preview toy (Optimus with 3D glasses) found in US TRU stores last week is not being released here, or anywhere else, as it was
apparently a Cartoon Network promo, and only TRU America was able to take them at such short notice.

[1AZRAEL1]

Kind of annoying that they won't allow photos, but at least you snuck some in :)

Not really alot that tickles my fancy, not much of fan of the movie figures anwyay, but I will probably by that Kreo Starscream, looks pretty cool for LegoKreo


Q&A tidbits:
- MP Rodimus, and just about every US TRU exclusive for 2011 should end up in AUS TRU stores this year.

Worried about the price tag for this, wonder if he will shelfwarm.


- The Transformers: Prime cartoon is not yet signed up to a network in Australia, and won't be aired here before the Movie Season ends (Sep/Oct).

And companies wonder why people download shows. That kinda sucks, was looking forward to seeing it on local tv.


- They want to continue releasing as much non-Movie figures as possible during the Movie season, because they (Generations etc) are selling better
than the yellow packed 'movie' figures. But I think this will still be limited to what non-movie toys Hasbro US have available during that time.

Well that's good to see. A filler line that is selling really well. Hopefully that continues.


- We shouldn't see any more Reveal the Shield assortments, which means missing Voyager Deep Dive, and maybe the Scout wave with Rumble,
Downshift and Bodyblock. We missed certain AA waves (like Voyager Highbrow) because of stores like Kmart ordering a massive amount of
wave 1 figures and not needing to re-order for ages.

I wanted to get Rumble, hopefully we still do see him. Stores order so much stock that they don't need to order more is silly on their part. I like seeing stores trying to sell figures that came out yonks ago.

Thanks for the wrap up, was good to see some of this.

Edit:

I just noticed this


- (A Super Secret item that they decided to hide from public display when I got there, and made me promise not to even say what it is until it is
confirmed sometime in the next few weeks. But it is BIG... big news... something that isn't going to be released in America! Stay tuned for an update in the coming weeks)

I hate secrets lol. But I can't wait to see what this big news will be.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Yeh, shame about the stopping of photos. Surely most of the stuff has been seen before?

What were your impressions about the Trailer combining Prime Griffin? Was it impressive in the plastic?

[Hursticon]

Bloody photo Nazis! :rolleyes:

Indeed, cheers for the write-up Griff, I too would like to hear your thoughts on Ultimate Optimus, like ROTF Leader Optimus size comparison maybe... :p

Also, any signs of a Voyager Soundwave??? :o

[reillyd]

That's an awesome photo spread, well done Griffin!

You said nothing new though, but Skyhammer is new isn't it? I can't make out from the photo but is it some kind of aerial fortress or spaceship?

[Demonac]

I can probably answer some of these questions.
Skyhammer is a voyager class helicopter.
We couldn't really 'compare' the Prime to anything. It is nice & heavy, and seemed fairly sturdy. Being the first day of a trade show, I didn't want to risk transforming it & making a shambles of it.
There was no Soundwave there.

[optimus1]

Nice report griffin (on what you were able to say/take photos of)

I like the part on Rodimus coming to Aus :)
Less so on the TRU part :(

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

We couldn't really 'compare' the Prime to anything. It is nice & heavy, and seemed fairly sturdy. Being the first day of a trade show, I didn't want to risk transforming it & making a shambles of it.


Thats fair anough I guess. But did it have an 'air' to it? You know, that feeling you get when you look at an awesome transformer? Fort Maxx has it, Spec ops Jazz has it. For me, Wincharger has it. Any good vibe, is kind of what I am asking, as vague as that may be...:o

[Hursticon]

We couldn't really 'compare' the Prime to anything. It is nice & heavy, and seemed fairly sturdy. Being the first day of a trade show, I didn't want to risk transforming it & making a shambles of it.

Thanks for that Demonac, I guess we'll just have to wait until they're on shelf to get an idea eh? ;):)


There was no Soundwave there.

http://i1032.photobucket.com/albums/a409/Darkone666au/Webpics/Maggie-s-about-to-cry----maggie-sim.gif

Not even a mention? :(

[Sam]

Cool, thanks for sharing. :)

[Lord_Zed]

Yeah, cool report now we know what is coming. Shame no mini Human Alliance
bots though.

Are they calling scouts Commander because of Powercore influence I wonder.

[Hursticon]

Are they calling scouts Commander because of Powercore influence I wonder.

That seems to be the opinion, at least State-side anyway. ;)

[Sky Shadow]

Thanks Griffin!

The Ark would be a cool playset to have.

[liegeprime]

hmm kinda dissapointed on the no photos thingie, not much to see though I guess. Yeah, Ill prolly get the ark, not much going on Tf wise for the movie anyhow. Aaaaaaw we'll miss Rumble Frenzy:(:(!! darn I hope this one doesnt get scalped.

[griffin]

Bumblebee wasn't the only special guest at this year's Toyfair...

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/atf1114.jpg


http://www.toycollectors.com.au/atf1115.jpg


(added in some back-of-packaging picture items from SWTFs & Speed Stars that were in the display)
(also added into the first post at the end, about the TF3 Preview figure found in America last week - as I'm remembering stuff since the original posting)

[Fonecrusher]

Thanks for that Demonac, I guess we'll just have to wait until they're on shelf to get an idea eh? ;):)



http://i1032.photobucket.com/albums/a409/Darkone666au/Webpics/Maggie-s-about-to-cry----maggie-sim.gif

Not even a mention? :(
I feel your pain man, I'm crossing my fingers for a decent DOTM Soundwave too!

Anyway I know there was no CHUG stuff shown but did Hasbro drop any hints in regards to when the next wave of Generations stuff will hit? Would be nice to get a timeframe on when the likes of Scourge and Wheeljack will arrive, I've held off ordering them because I keep thinking they will arrive soon...

[UltraMagnus]

Thanks for the photos griffin.

You have made me at ease... at least no new toys after generations warpath for quite some time. My wallet can breath!

[FFN]

I don't think they can reveal Soundwave at least until BotCon, unless it gets leaked beforehand.


(Copying my reply from TFW2005)

It's possible the secret item is the solicited TakaraTomy Leader class Jet Optimus Prime. But it's a bit unclear what this product actually is. The solicitation (which was reported by one of TFW's sponsors, but we didn't get to see) used a screen capture of Optimus Prime with his Jetfire armour from ROTF... but that wouldn't seem to make much sense given Prime has a new jetpack (that is not the Jetfire parts) in the movie, as seen in the recent trailers

I'd think that this a retool of ROTF Leader Prime (with the new detailing from the updated Prime design) and either Jetfire armour, or the new jetpack and weapons seen in the trailer.

[griffin]

I was actually more surprised that they didn't have the Voyager Megatron on display, which I wanted to see in person (because I just really don't like the look of it in photos).


The Global fan forums are blowing that 'secret' teaser out of proportion. I said 'big news' not 'big toy'... as in big news for us AUS fans (for a change).
Unfortunately TFW frontpaged that one section of my Toyfair report, so now more people are speculating what it means, instead of just the dozen or so people who would have looked at a news item that had 'Australia' in the topic title.

I wanted to hype up the local fans here, not enrage the American fans over something that could be anything from a Legends to a Leader toy (and to be honest, doesn't have anything to do with them). The only thing that should have been of concern to American fans is if we had something on display they didn't... which I don't think we did (but I suggested a Mod to check it out anyway).
And yet, they only focussed on the one thing that doesn't affect them.

They don't understand that we have such a small market, we are less likely to get in the big 'regular' stuff, let alone extra big things... because when we do, TRU price it at $250. :p


EDIT - it's been fixed up now, with it removed from the TFW frontpage posting. :)

[gantz]

Griff, were you able to snap any pics of other Hasbro items, such as Marvel?

[KaRNiV8L PRiME]

A Super Secret item that they decided to hide from public display when I got there, and made me promise not to even say what it is until it is confirmed sometime in the next few weeks. But it is BIG... big news... something that isn't going to be released in America! Stay tuned for an update in the coming weeks

Transformers Animated Season 3??????????

[5FDP]

Worried about the price tag for this, wonder if he will shelfwarm.


It's TRU man. Expect it to be a LOT ;)

[griffin]

Griff, were you able to snap any pics of other Hasbro items, such as Marvel?

They had on display some Thor and Captain America toys, but the photos I posted were all I was allowed to take this year. Hasbro US said no photos, but our local marketing manager was nice enough to let me take those above.

[Hursticon]

I'm not surprised by the American reaction, A lot of them come across as not even knowing that a world exists outside of America - Hell they spat the dummy over Australia getting the Premiere Airing of the 1st Movie... :rolleyes:
You watch, they'll have a big song and dance and it'll turn out that we aren't getting an exclusive figure but something less tangible like a Hasbro Australia Store or something. :D

[Mr Ed]

Looking forward to the Super Optimus Prime with trailer!

Those Wrecker NASCARs look good too!

[reillyd]

I wondered if the "secret" exclusive might be a non-toy licensed Transformers merchandise, like those wicked Easter tins. Bin the chocolate eggs though, they're nasty low-grade.

[KillinSpoon]

Man, that Camaro is beautiful... What I would give to own a 2011 SS

[JuzMel]

Glad you managed to sneak some photos before they stopped you Griffin. When and where was this toy fair held? Sorry haven't been keeping up with everything here lately.

But thanks for the photos and sharing! The new packaging for DOTM reminds me of some of the other Robot toys out there like the mecha robots or something.

Are some of the toys similar to the other figures from the previous movie series? Optimus prime with the trailer looks really massive. Is he the same size as Ultimate bumblebee or bigger?

[griffin]

Toyfair was on last weekend. They usually have it in March at the Melbourne Convention Centre.
Most of the toys are new, but expect a fair few redecos from previous Movies thrown in.
The big Optimus is more about Devastator size.

[Demonac]

The Big Optimus wasn't that big! :P
The 'wings' give an illusion of size.
However, unless that was a prototype, when combined it didn't have any articulation at all.

[Hursticon]

The big Optimus is more about Devastator size.


The Big Optimus wasn't that big! :P
The 'wings' give an illusion of size.
However, unless that was a prototype, when combined it didn't have any articulation at all.

I think Griffin may of ment height? - More so than bulk anyway but at any rate that is pleasing to hear. :cool:
LOL, Vangelus of TFW isn't going to be happy to hear about the Articulation side of things! :p:D

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Been lookig thoguh this again, and I gotta admit that I am underwhelmed by the packaging. Looks kind of bland to me, although you do have a good view of the toy with the big window.

[Hursticon]

Been lookig thoguh this again, and I gotta admit that I am underwhelmed by the packaging. Looks kind of bland to me, although you do have a good view of the toy with the big window.

Sort of reminds me of the '07 Movie packaging really.

[JuzMel]

The big Optimus is more about Devastator size.


The Big Optimus wasn't that big! :P
The 'wings' give an illusion of size.
However, unless that was a prototype, when combined it didn't have any articulation at all.

Heh he did look a little stiff from the photos, but knowing me and being a nutter for Optimus and Bumblebee, I'll probably still get it anyway.

Let's hope the price drops to about AUD$84 again like devastator did the last time. Started from AUD$150 too! :p

[FFN]

Are you guys sure there's no articulation? Because photos show the trailer leg bits having what appears to be knee and hip joints of their own, the hip plate seems to be three parts (center and two flaps) and the elbow joints on the base Prime figure appear to be unencumbered by the gloves.

[Demonac]

It could have been a prototype..or had VERY stiff leg joints, but I couldn't seem to bend the knees.
The arms are unposeable while holding that massive cannon in front of his face.

[reillyd]

Any more news or hints on this Australian exclusive?
Is it locked in, or did it fall through?