Transformers Venting thread!

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

I It does say 'Original' near the top of the page but without any context to it. Do they mean that these are original (new) moulds rather than repaints of pre-existing moulds? That's mostly true. The word "exclusive" doesn't crop up anywhere either. <shrugs> :confused:


Going from previous experience on the site, that orange original mark is on such figures such as:

Grand Maximus (https://takaratomymall.jp/shop/g/g4904810963691/)
Greatshot (https://takaratomymall.jp/shop/g/g4904810963752/)
Repugnus and Grotusque (https://takaratomymall.jp/shop/g/g4904810120193/)
Black Convoy (https://takaratomymall.jp/shop/g/g8000000000342/)
Pink Bumblebee (https://takaratomymall.jp/shop/g/g4904810963738/)

Which seems to indicate some type of TTmall only option, or at the very lease, not regular retail.

As opposed to
Hun grrr (https://takaratomymall.jp/shop/g/g4904810115144/)
Blot (https://takaratomymall.jp/shop/g/g4904810115120/)

Which do not have the original mark.

I think its a fair interpretation that the "set" would be more than just the normal guys packed in a box.

I don't care that it's not an exclusive TBH, but I wonder why they bothered marking it with the 'original' like that:confused:

[GoktimusPrime]

Yeah, the inconsistency at least seems odd. Unless they're planning on releasing Hun-Grr and Blot as regular retail figures. Or it could be that they forgot to add those marks to those two pages. Maybe you should call them and ask as sometimes errors on websites go undetected until someone asks. I remember when Encore Ironhide and Ratchet came out and the online survey for those toys weren't running until I called TakaraTOMY and asked them about it -- then about a day later it was working. :)

[Galvatran]

One of my pet hates is seeing returned toys at the retail store that has deliberately been damaged or switched to get a full refund.

It happened today at Target Werribee. (Why am I surprised). There was a Studio Series 01 Bumblebee that had it's roof detached & returned in car mode (it's boxed in bot mode). Obviously this individual got off on transforming BB at least once then didn't bother to transform it back to bot mode for a full refund. So... this returned toy is now discounted for $17 (normally $34) BUT who the f**k is gonna buy it now? :mad:


While I'm here... saw the one-armed Optimus Prime statue at Toys'R'Us Toyworld. It could have gone to a loving home.

[M-bot]

In what can best be described as an attempt at TF customising alchemy, I just melted a TR Triggerhappy.

(Thankfully one of the $10 ones. And I saved all the pins and screws, so not a complete loss)

[SharkyMcShark]

One of my pet hates is seeing returned toys at the retail store that has deliberately been damaged or switched to get a full refund.

It happened today at Target Werribee. (Why am I surprised). There was a Studio Series 01 Bumblebee that had it's roof detached & returned in car mode (it's boxed in bot mode). Obviously this individual got off on transforming BB at least once then didn't bother to transform it back to bot mode for a full refund. So... this returned toy is now discounted for $17 (normally $34) BUT who the f**k is gonna buy it now? :mad:


While I'm here... saw the one-armed Optimus Prime statue at Toys'R'Us Toyworld. It could have gone to a loving home.

The closest I ever got to buying a TLK Nitro Zeus in the wild was one that had been returned to Target Midland that had one of the boosters snapped clean off.

What an expletive.

[CHILENO20]

In what can best be described as an attempt at TF customising alchemy, I just melted a TR Triggerhappy.

(Thankfully one of the $10 ones. And I saved all the pins and screws, so not a complete loss)

"Farewell Triggerhappy! Farewell!" (Best Galvatron voice:D)

**Misfire & Slugslinger looking on very worried**

[M-bot]

I hate having more ideas for TF customs than I have time to execute them. Wish I had the ability to be as prolific as Snaketales.

[CHILENO20]

I hate having more ideas for TF customs than I have time to execute them. Wish I had the ability to be as prolific as Snaketales.

Amen to that!

[Jetfire in the sky]

In what can best be described as an attempt at TF customising alchemy, I just melted a TR Triggerhappy.

(Thankfully one of the $10 ones. And I saved all the pins and screws, so not a complete loss)

Definitely not someone who cares for the environment then :confused::p

Yeah, nah, our year twelve muck up day involved burning our big foam couches, the very dark black smoke billowing out wasn't the grandest moment of my life. :D :eek::(

[M-bot]

Definitely not someone who cares for the environment then :confused::p

Yeah, nah, our year twelve muck up day involved burning our big foam couches, the very dark black smoke billowing out wasn't the grandest moment of my life. :D :eek::(

To be fair, it was more a “warped beyond repair or restitution” rather than “properly melted”.

I have sometimes pondered our hobby - while each of us individually only has a tiny stake in the toy industry, it is one that consumes a huge amount of plastic materials each year. I wonder if my carbon footprint is significantly bigger than it would otherwise be as a result.:confused:

[Jetfire in the sky]

To be fair, it was more a “warped beyond repair or restitution” rather than “properly melted”.

I have sometimes pondered our hobby - while each of us individually only has a tiny stake in the toy industry, it is one that consumes a huge amount of plastic materials each year. I wonder if my carbon footprint is significantly bigger than it would otherwise be as a result.:confused:

Yeah, what comes out of chimneys for our little hobby would shock us I think. China's stricter pollution controls is part of the reason for the move to Vietnam made toys.

[davieanix]

Just something that has been bothering me a bit since the Bumbleebee trailer hit.

I’ve noticed a lot of the fandom really crapping all over the G1 designs in the film, ranging from comments that they don’t fit in with the Bay films, to looking like scenes straight from a video game. In fact the backlash seems to be a lot larger than I expected.

Back in 2007, the reaction to the Bay designs were mostly frowned upon, and people seemed to want the G1 blocky aesthetic. Now that we are getting it, people are loving the more alien look.

I get that things change, and I’m certainly not having a crack at anyone’s opinion, but it seems really hard to please some people. If it’s a continuity issue, then all I really have to say is none of the other movies seemed to care about continuity either. Almost all of them had aspects that didn’t match up or follow on from previous installments or even through to the next. So if the Bee movie wants to use G1 designs and won’t explain them, this is fine by me.

Last of all, I remember lots of comments about fans hating the human aspects of the live action films, even so far as wanting just the Transformers just to stay on Cybertron. This seems to be exactly what the scenes in the Bee movie will be... without the real world backdrops and human interaction, a whole movie like that would absolutely look ripped straight from today’s generation of video games. But people still aren’t happy.

Again, not having a dig at what people like or don’t like. I’m just a little bit surprised. I’m actually really excited for Bumblebee, and I like both Bay and G1 designs.

[TaZZerath]

I’ve noticed a lot of the fandom really crapping all over the G1 designs in the film, ranging from comments that they don’t fit in with the Bay films, to looking like scenes straight from a video game. In fact the backlash seems to be a lot larger than I expected.

Personally, I internally squealed when I saw themthanks to the "Geewun" in me :D

Here's my take on it.

Back in 2007, most TF fans had were the cartoons and toys from the 80's onwards and their designs. They were, lets face it, simple, chunky robots with charm, and even with Beast Wars changing things up, for the most part there were still a lot of relatable "humanised" elements (faces, body structure, etc)

That was 11 years ago, and a whole new generation of fans have come along since then. For them, the Bayverse designs are the "simple chunky robots with charm" the rest of us thought we had. So the spiky, alien, crazy up close in your face murderbots are what drives them crazy.

Different aesthetics appeal to different age groups. I like SOME of the Bayverse designs but CHUG is where I'm firmly cemented.

And Prime can stay away from my face, thank you very much.

[SharkyMcShark]

Just something that has been bothering me a bit since the Bumbleebee trailer hit.

I’ve noticed a lot of the fandom really crapping all over the G1 designs in the film, ranging from comments that they don’t fit in with the Bay films, to looking like scenes straight from a video game. In fact the backlash seems to be a lot larger than I expected.

Back in 2007, the reaction to the Bay designs were mostly frowned upon, and people seemed to want the G1 blocky aesthetic. Now that we are getting it, people are loving the more alien look.

I get that things change, and I’m certainly not having a crack at anyone’s opinion, but it seems really hard to please some people. If it’s a continuity issue, then all I really have to say is none of the other movies seemed to care about continuity either. Almost all of them had aspects that didn’t match up or follow on from previous installments or even through to the next. So if the Bee movie wants to use G1 designs and won’t explain them, this is fine by me.

Last of all, I remember lots of comments about fans hating the human aspects of the live action films, even so far as wanting just the Transformers just to stay on Cybertron. This seems to be exactly what the scenes in the Bee movie will be... without the real world backdrops and human interaction, a whole movie like that would absolutely look ripped straight from today’s generation of video games. But people still aren’t happy.

Again, not having a dig at what people like or don’t like. I’m just a little bit surprised. I’m actually really excited for Bumblebee, and I like both Bay and G1 designs.

I was one of the 'looks like a video game crowd'.

I can't muster any angst at the actual designs themselves, but the quality of the CGI doesn't look great.

[Autocon]

Looks too shiney with the cgi. On earth the metal is more realistic.

[Batfan007]

Just something that has been bothering me a bit since the Bumbleebee trailer hit.

I’ve noticed a lot of the fandom really crapping all over the G1 designs in the film, ranging from comments that they don’t fit in with the Bay films, to looking like scenes straight from a video game. In fact the backlash seems to be a lot larger than I expected.

Back in 2007, the reaction to the Bay designs were mostly frowned upon, and people seemed to want the G1 blocky aesthetic. Now that we are getting it, people are loving the more alien look.

I get that things change, and I’m certainly not having a crack at anyone’s opinion, but it seems really hard to please some people. If it’s a continuity issue, then all I really have to say is none of the other movies seemed to care about continuity either. Almost all of them had aspects that didn’t match up or follow on from previous installments or even through to the next. So if the Bee movie wants to use G1 designs and won’t explain them, this is fine by me.

Last of all, I remember lots of comments about fans hating the human aspects of the live action films, even so far as wanting just the Transformers just to stay on Cybertron. This seems to be exactly what the scenes in the Bee movie will be... without the real world backdrops and human interaction, a whole movie like that would absolutely look ripped straight from today’s generation of video games. But people still aren’t happy.

Again, not having a dig at what people like or don’t like. I’m just a little bit surprised. I’m actually really excited for Bumblebee, and I like both Bay and G1 designs.



Ironically, the "designs" don't look like the games eg WFC and FOC, and neither do the upcoming "siege" toys, which lack cybertronian modes or really anything related to cybertron at all.
But BOTH fit with the more hands on hasbro more "unified" media approach they have ben hinting at in recent months.
Translation = Homogenization of TF Media aka the Death of Creativity.
Not that I don't like the various designs and stuff, but even as a hardcore G1 fan myself, it's a bit too much. Let's have something new please.

[GoktimusPrime]

Travis Knight's Cybertronian Modes:

CON: Having Earthen alt mode kibble (e.g. truck parts) on some of the Transformers on pre-Earth contact Cybertron doesn't make sense. It also breaks visual continuity with the previous Bayformers films which showed them in their metallic Protoform forms before acquiring Earth modes.

PRO: We can tell who's who and the Transformers no longer look like generic piles of moving scrap metal! :D

Yeah, I'll take the Knight's Cybertronian designs over Bay's metallic Rock Lords, thanks. :)

Although one minor thing in one of the trailer that seems off to me... Bumblebee's HUD has text in English. :confused: Shouldn't it be in Cybertronian? Even have it in Cybertronian text that 'transforms' into English for the benefit of the audience, like the Cybertronian subtitles that we saw in the first live action film (that was pretty neat IMO). :) Also... makes no sense that the Cybertronians would be speaking to each other in English. Although Bayformers was inconsistent on this point so... eh. :p

[UltraMarginal]

Whether it's the same elements of the fandom kicking up a stink now as it was in 2007, we'll never know. some people are just hard to please.

I do agree that the Cybertonian scenes do look a bit 'video gamey' and perhaps it's a by product of having less of a production budget this time around. If it's a budget thing, they may have decided to make sure the Earth based footage looks realistic and to make the Cybertronian based footage, less realistic as a compromise to having the earth based robots not look like they fit in. Besides it's quite possible that Cybertron doesn't have a sun and all the available light is artificial.

perhaps they're doing it like Transformers Prime did when all the 'flashback' scenes were still image water colour paintings. I recall hearing that there is another movie in the works that is entirely animated and set completely in space and on Cybertron, perhaps this is precursor styling for that entire film.

Either way, I'm more than willing to give Travis Knight and team a chance and I'm really looking forward to figuring out how I'm going to get to see the Bumblebee film in Cinemas.

[TaZZerath]

Either way, I'm more than willing to give Travis Knight and team a chance and I'm really looking forward to figuring out how I'm going to get to see the Bumblebee film in Cinemas.

Motion seconded. I have been getting VERY excited, levels I haven't felt since the 2007 film.

[GoktimusPrime]

I do agree that the Cybertonian scenes do look a bit 'video gamey' and perhaps it's a by product of having less of a production budget this time around. If it's a budget thing, they may have decided to make sure the Earth based footage looks realistic and to make the Cybertronian based footage, less realistic as a compromise to having the earth based robots not look like they fit in. Besides it's quite possible that Cybertron doesn't have a sun and all the available light is artificial.
The Bumblebee movie has the smallest budget of all the live action films. In fact, here's a graph I've made comparing the budget of each film.
https://image.ibb.co/j5mPr9/budget_transformers.jpg
The average budget for a Bayformer film is US$203M, meaning that the budget for Bumblebee is pretty much half that amount.

But IMO the story matters more than the visuals, and I think that fans overall prefer movies with better stories and more modest budgets over huge spectacles with inferior stories. Take Star Wars for example. Here are the budgets for each of the main "saga" movies, and the budgets for the Original and Prequel Trilogies have been adjusted for inflation.
https://image.ibb.co/jvwePU/starwars_budget.jpg
As you can see, the Original Trilogy by far had the smallest budget. The Prequels had a much bigger budget, and thus far the Sequels have had massive Disney budgets. I don't know about you, but I consider the cheap Original Trilogy to be the best.

[Thurmus]

It could also be that they haven't finished the CGI yet. Or those scenes may not even be in the movie. There have been many trailers where separate footage was used in the trailer and not the film.

[FatalityPitt]

So yeah, I ordered a G1 Reissue Bumblebee from Cotton On yesterday, and to my pleasant surprise, it arrived at my place this morning. It was delivered in less than 24 hours :D

But alas, the GENIUS who packed the box decided to FOLD THE CARD AND CRAM IT INTO A SMALL BOX!... I was planning on keeping it MOC... Not sure what to do with it now, whether I should open it or keep it Mint-On-CREASED-Card.

I can't get too angry, since the person who packed it was most likely a normie who wouldn't understand MOC Action figure collecting.

A heads up for those reading this, if you order the G1 Minibots from Cotton On, I recommend you tell them to refrain from folding the card.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DqMI_7sVsAA4AU9.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DqMJFkNUwAEOu-j.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DqMJKSPU4AAFpcE.jpg

[Omega Metro]

I will be complaining if mine turn up like that tomorrow.

[GoktimusPrime]

YIKES! :eek: Yeah, I'd make a complaint. Either ask for a replacement or partial refund.
Similar thing happened to me with my Machine Wars Megatron, although the toy was loose. The card was bent in half by a Customs officer while repacking my box very roughly (a lot of other boxes and cards were scratched and dented)

[High_Q]

So yeah, I ordered a G1 Reissue Bumblebee from Cotton On yesterday, and to my pleasant surprise, it arrived at my place this morning. It was delivered in less than 24 hours :D

But alas, the GENIUS who packed the box decided to FOLD THE CARD AND CRAM IT INTO A SMALL BOX!... I was planning on keeping it MOC... Not sure what to do with it now, whether I should open it or keep it Mint-On-CREASED-Card.

Sorry to hear about your damaged card.

Like you, I bought two G1 reissue Bees from Cotton On over the weekend. Super fast delivery, but they put both my carded figures in a single soft satchel bag, no padding, no bubble wrap, no protection whatsoever. :(

Miraculously, neither were damaged. At first, i was upset at the packing, but then considered that this is a clothing retailer, and as you said, they probably don't sell toys to serious toy collectors often, much less MOC/MISB collecting.
Given that i wasn't able to find the Walmart reissues online anywhere other than at scalper prices, I'd rather give my money to Cotton On and risk a damaged card.

[GoktimusPrime]

My Mini-Bots were packed in a box with crumpled paper padding. Guess I got lucky.

[Autocon]

My Mini-Bots were packed in a box with crumpled paper padding. Guess I got lucky.

Guess you ordered more than two

[FatalityPitt]

YIKES! :eek: Yeah, I'd make a complaint. Either ask for a replacement or partial refund.
Similar thing happened to me with my Machine Wars Megatron, although the toy was loose. The card was bent in half by a Customs officer while repacking my box very roughly (a lot of other boxes and cards were scratched and dented)


Sorry to hear about your damaged card.

Like you, I bought two G1 reissue Bees from Cotton On over the weekend. Super fast delivery, but they put both my carded figures in a single soft satchel bag, no padding, no bubble wrap, no protection whatsoever. :(

Miraculously, neither were damaged. At first, i was upset at the packing, but then considered that this is a clothing retailer, and as you said, they probably don't sell toys to serious toy collectors often, much less MOC/MISB collecting.
Given that i wasn't able to find the Walmart reissues online anywhere other than at scalper prices, I'd rather give my money to Cotton On and risk a damaged card.

I'm not sure if I should go so far as to ask for a replacement or partial refund, since the toy inside the packaging is perfectly fine with no visible QC issues. It is tempting though, especially since returns and exchanges are free (https://cottonon.com/AU/information-about-returns.html). But I feel I should give Cotton On some allowance this one time since they are a clothing retailer and their staff probably don't know a thing about toy collecting.

But at some point today I'll send them a message saying something like "I'm really appreciative of the fast shipping, but I recommend your staff be mindful of packaging because some collectors really do care about that stuff..."

As for anyone about to make an order, if you can, make sure to tell them your packing preferences if you plan on keeping the toy MOC.

[Vairn]

I would ask for a full refund of my damaged product, being a clothes retailer isn't an excuse since they have sold more than just clothes for a long time.

I hope I don't have a similar issue with mine (I ordered all 4) so hopefully, they got packed propper. Otherwise, I will be taking them to a store asking for a refund.

[BigTransformerTrev]

I wasn’t even aware these were at CottonOn till I read this thread! :eek:

I just ordered quite a few things - hope they turn up undamaged as 4 of them are intended to be MOSC

[GoktimusPrime]

But at some point today I'll send them a message saying something like "I'm really appreciative of the fast shipping, but I recommend your staff be mindful of packaging because some collectors really do care about that stuff..."
^Excellent idea. :)

[SuspectimusPrime]

So yeah, I ordered a G1 Reissue Bumblebee from Cotton On yesterday,

Cotton On is selling Transformers? I had to Google that and see it on their website to believe it. What a world we live in...


I'm not sure if I should go so far as to ask for a replacement or partial refund, since the toy inside the packaging is perfectly fine with no visible QC issues. It is tempting though, especially since returns and exchanges are free (https://cottonon.com/AU/information-about-returns.html). But I feel I should give Cotton On some allowance this one time since they are a clothing retailer and their staff probably don't know a thing about toy collecting.

But at some point today I'll send them a message saying something like "I'm really appreciative of the fast shipping, but I recommend your staff be mindful of packaging because some collectors really do care about that stuff..."

As for anyone about to make an order, if you can, make sure to tell them your packing preferences if you plan on keeping the toy MOC.

The intended use of the product does not need to be explicitly stated. Products should not be sold as soiled or damaged unless otherwise stated.

They should not need to know specific knowledge about toy collecting or standards as an online seller. There's a world of reasons for customers to return items, and not properly controlling the quality/safety of the product going out of their warehouse is foolish.

Having said that, if whoever it was wanted to damage the packaging to give the actual product better protection the smarter thing to do would be to fold the backing card inwards over the bubble. :rolleyes:

[BigTransformerTrev]

So yeah, I ordered a G1 Reissue Bumblebee from Cotton On yesterday, and to my pleasant surprise, it arrived at my place this morning. It was delivered in less than 24 hours :D

But alas, the GENIUS who packed the box decided to FOLD THE CARD AND CRAM IT INTO A SMALL BOX!... I was planning on keeping it MOC... Not sure what to do with it now, whether I should open it or keep it Mint-On-CREASED-Card.

A heads up for those reading this, if you order the G1 Minibots from Cotton On, I recommend you tell them to refrain from folding the card.



I ordered this morning - then went back an hour later to add a note like this and it was already shipped! :eek:




The intended use of the product does not need to be explicitly stated. Products should not be sold as soiled or damaged unless otherwise stated.

They should not need to know specific knowledge about toy collecting or standards as an online seller. There's a world of reasons for customers to return items, and not properly controlling the quality/safety of the product going out of their warehouse is foolish.


Well said! Got Predaking from Amazon and the box was all dented because there was NO packaging material whatsoever! :eek::mad:

Emailed them complaining and got a meager apology back. Complained again so they gave me $15 credit, which is useless to me unless I order something else :rolleyes:

[Omega Metro]

My 4 arrived today in a box with air cushions. Perfectly fine but a bit warped which I think is Hasbros fault.

[FatalityPitt]

I sent them an email. Hopefully they learn from their mistake and prevent potential future refunds and exchanges. Hopefully no one else experiences what I did.


My 4 arrived today in a box with air cushions. Perfectly fine but a bit warped which I think is Hasbros fault.

Glad yours came out OK. I wouldn't mind if the card is slightly curled, since I can fix that by putting it under a heavy book to flatten it out. What really sucks is when they fold the card to such an extreme that it becomes irreparably creased.

[DELTAprime]

I hate Seibertron putting #Jointhebuzz on all their Bumblebee Movie post. It's like they are part of Hasbro's PR team, and I hate modern PR.

[TaZZerath]

I hate Seibertron putting #Jointhebuzz on all their Bumblebee Movie post. It's like they are part of Hasbro's PR team, and I hate modern PR.

This. Though I’ve just learned to tune it out as of late.

[BigTransformerTrev]

Well I just doubled the price of my Predaking - drove to the post office to see if it had arrived and hit a side post and put a rip in my Ute tyre - $257 :(

[UltraMarginal]

shiiit!

[TaZZerath]

Well I just doubled the price of my Predaking - drove to the post office to see if it had arrived and hit a side post and put a rip in my Ute tyre - $257 :(

Oh slag!

https://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/0/04/Dinobot_Hunt_Slag.jpg

[FatalityPitt]

Well I just doubled the price of my Predaking - drove to the post office to see if it had arrived and hit a side post and put a rip in my Ute tyre - $257 :(

Gosh, that sucks. Didn't you buy a Predaking from Amazon, and it arrived dented because they packed it poorly? Man, it's hard to collect things MISB these days!

[BigTransformerTrev]

Well I just doubled the price of my Predaking - drove to the post office to see if it had arrived and hit a side post and put a rip in my Ute tyre - $257 :(


shiiit!


Oh slag!




Gosh, that sucks. Didn't you buy a Predaking from Amazon, and it arrived dented because they packed it poorly? Man, it's hard to collect things MISB these days!

Yep, though I ordered two and one was for another Ozformer mate and they were posted to him. I haven't examined it yet but knowing the guy he is he probably kept the pretty battered one and sent me the one with only minor damage.

But yeah, feeling pretty stupid and out of pocket. Especially since it turns out for the first time ever they delivered the package to our farmhouse and it never went near the post office :o:rolleyes:

Your sympathies are appreciated guys :)

[BigTransformerTrev]

Got a bit annoyed. Got a message from our in-laws saying that they are going away for a full week from before Xmas to after and did we want to catch up before they leave to exchange presents/catch up etc.

A while ago I had discussed with his parents and booked in my nephew to come see the Bumblebee Movie for my sons birthday on the 22nd. We are even driving all the way to Bathurst (where they live) to see it as it's the nearest cinema to us (over an hour away).

So they just totally forgot and then started giving us a spiel about how they had already booked the cat in to a pet babysitters etc and had planned this trip weeks ago etc. For everyone this event was the least effort for them. My sons other mates parents are driving from Rylstone, Kandos and Lithgow respectively so going a long way which we really appreciate. All the in-laws had to do was save the date and drive 5 minutes down the road.

Anyway, it became a bit of a thing. No accusations but when they said they didn't know about it I was able to screenshot texts and FB PM's where we had discussed it. It wouldn't be such a big deal but my son adores his cousin and it would be a real disappointment if he wasnt there. So at this rate we are hoping there is a morning session (meaning we and the other families have to leave at like 8am :rolleyes:) so his cousin can be there before his family has to hit the road. It's a damn annoyance.

[TaZZerath]

You haven't had a good run of it of late have you mate! Hope you get to see it as planned.

In-laws suuuuuuck sometimes. But then again my whole family is like that. Minimal effort required but ends up with maximum carnage and us looking like the bad guys.

[GoktimusPrime]

The figures themselves aren't the only part of Cyberverse that's seen a drop in quality ;)
They just don't write 'em like they used to.
https://i.ibb.co/DCNGqKz/meme-functions.jpg
In all fairness, it's not isolated to Cyberverse; TLK Functions are just as lame. And no, I don't accept, "It's for kids" as an excuse. G1 was for kids too. We were all kids in 1984 and we recognised superior quality in writing when we saw it. It's why we were more attracted to Transformers lore than we were to the likes of say Challenge of the Go-Bots, Turbo Teen and other 80s properties that have barely seen the light of day until IDW decides to awkwardly cross them over with the Transformers (quit riding on our coattails and get your own titles!)

[BigTransformerTrev]

Got a bit annoyed. Got a message from our in-laws saying that they are going away for a full week from before Xmas to after and did we want to catch up before they leave to exchange presents/catch up etc.

A while ago I had discussed with his parents and booked in my nephew to come see the Bumblebee Movie for my sons birthday on the 22nd. We are even driving all the way to Bathurst (where they live) to see it as it's the nearest cinema to us (over an hour away).

So they just totally forgot and then started giving us a spiel about how they had already booked the cat in to a pet babysitters etc and had planned this trip weeks ago etc. For everyone this event was the least effort for them. My sons other mates parents are driving from Rylstone, Kandos and Lithgow respectively so going a long way which we really appreciate. All the in-laws had to do was save the date and drive 5 minutes down the road.

Anyway, it became a bit of a thing. No accusations but when they said they didn't know about it I was able to screenshot texts and FB PM's where we had discussed it. It wouldn't be such a big deal but my son adores his cousin and it would be a real disappointment if he wasnt there. So at this rate we are hoping there is a morning session (meaning we and the other families have to leave at like 8am :rolleyes:) so his cousin can be there before his family has to hit the road. It's a damn annoyance.



In-laws suuuuuuck sometimes. But then again my whole family is like that. Minimal effort required but ends up with maximum carnage and us looking like the bad guys.

And now when I texted the showing times I got an irate message back 'You know, the protocol is that the hosting parents pay for everything'. Eg - this is an inconvenience so you can pay for it.

I mean, for frags sake! So we told them we are paying for all the kids tickets for the Bumblebee movie but adults have to pay for themselves. So now they are only sending their son. Obviously they would rather not show up for their only nephews birthday rather than pay for an extra movie ticket so one of the adults can come along and help out :rolleyes:

[SharkyMcShark]

I personally find that the friends/family that don't make an effort if that involves them spending their own money are the best friends/family.

[Autocon]

Half the family forgot my birthday. Wont worry about them.

[Paulbot]

I’ve been opening some TFs I’ve had for a while and it’s like one disappointment after another. I don’t know if I’m being more picky/fussy or if quality is going down. I think it’s more the former but the latter is also true. But it’s possibly also just a sign of fatigue after 35 years. I think I want to get rid of more stuff and setting a very high bar for what I keep.

[ampoldj]

Half the family forgot my birthday. Wont worry about them.

Well as soon as i removed my birthdate from facebook, only my wife remembers it. I'd say you're still lucky to have half of the family as i only have my better half ;)

[GoktimusPrime]

I brought Generations Rattrap to work today; was planning on bringing a different BW TF every day in honour of Larry DiTillio's passing... and one of the beast legs has fallen off and I have no idea where. :confused:

[UltraMarginal]

I’ve been opening some TFs I’ve had for a while and it’s like one disappointment after another. I don’t know if I’m being more picky/fussy or if quality is going down. I think it’s more the former but the latter is also true. But it’s possibly also just a sign of fatigue after 35 years. I think I want to get rid of more stuff and setting a very high bar for what I keep.

Looking at the list you posted on Twitter the other day there were a few in there that were less than stellar toys I thought.

I skipped inferno as I thought it was a repaint for repaints sake.
The voyager Alpha Trion was a bit meh in general, as were most of the voyagers in that line I thought.

The Elita-1 is OK, I'm happy to have her because of the potential other combiner and she's the only incarnation of that character we ever had. Also, I've heard she does it better than the starscream version of the mould.

Blitzwing was a surprising letdown to me, I'm not sure what I expected but I prefer the previous generations version.

Dreadwind and Blackwing are nice updates, but I feel they should have had dedicated voyager moulds with powermasters and a new core transformation rather than rehashing aerialbots.

The Ss Grimlock looks great but I'm a bit disappointed with his articulation and lack of tabbing bits together in dino mode.

I can't comment on the siege stuff, and I've skipped the other movie stuff you have as I'm happy with what I've already got.

So I don't think you're being harsh, perhaps you're not being selective enough in your purchasing given your collection reducing habits over the last couple years. On the other hand, you've had a chance to play with these, now you can sell them for a bit less second hand, you probably got 5 or 10$ worth of entertainment out of them.

[GoktimusPrime]

Blitzwing was a surprising letdown to me, I'm not sure what I expected but I prefer the previous generations version
I quite like TR Blitzwing, although admittedly I only paid $15 for it. ;)

[Firestorm]

I had to cancel my pre-order for Masterpiece Beast Wars Megatron from HLJ on Monday because I wasn’t going to be able to afford it this fortnight.
This morning I wake up to find they have charged me for Megatron and he’s now sitting in my pile of loot
And now my account is overdrawn :mad:
I mean, part of me is happy since I didn’t end up missing out on this masterpiece. But now I am broke till next Thursday.

[GoktimusPrime]

The tips of the wing mirrors on my DOTM Deluxe Sideswipe have yellowed despite the fact that this toy has always been stored in a dark toy room. The yellowing is also uniform and does not seem to be occurring on any other part of the toy as would be more typical on toys suffering from photodegradation. I suspect that the yellowing may be occurring as a result of the rubbery plastic simply ageing.

Not massively devastated as I was never a massive fan of this toy (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=10588). :rolleyes:

[Firestorm]

Just opened my POTP Nemesis Prime I got form HLJ a little while ago.
One of the hinges on the leg panels broke when first transforming it. Now I can’t get it back into robot mode :/

[GoktimusPrime]

Just opened my POTP Nemesis Prime I got form HLJ a little while ago.
One of the hinges on the leg panels broke when first transforming it. Now I can’t get it back into robot mode :/
Contact them for a refund/exchange?

[Firestorm]

Contact them for a refund/exchange?

Yeah, that’s probably what I’m gonna do.
Looks like they still have some in stock. So hopefully I can exchange without issue.

[Jellico]

I have no love for the Movieverse but with Siege so late I have been buying some. I had Drift, Cogman, and Crosshairs sitting on the table as cars and it hit me.

Their alt modes are just sexy in a way the Generations cars aren't and it probably comes down to being licensed.

Worse we will probably never see a licensed Generations figure. Grrr.

[GoktimusPrime]

I think that's one of the great strengths of Movieformers (on the whole) is that we have seen a lot of licensed or otherwise realistic looking Earthen modes. It doesn't matter what you think about the films, a good toy is still a good toy (and vice versa with bad toys). And when we play with our toys we can head-canon them into whatever we want - we're not bound to whatever is presented in canonical media.

It's really that "Robots in disguise" element that I think is lost when we look at alt modes that don't look like real things. This has long been the case with Transformers; we know that G1 started gradually losing popularity when they shifted away from licensed vehicle modes and gravitated more towards fantasy modes. Compare the 1986 Autobot Cars and Jets with those that came before (e.g. Bluestreak vs Blurr or Starscream vs Scourge etc.). The Early G1 ("Gee Wun") years are by far the most popular for G1 fans and it was certainly the height of G1. We see increasingly fewer fans with interest in the Middle and Late G1 years. It's little wonder the the bulk of G1 MPs are based on characters from the Early years (1984-86), or "Retro Gee Wun" characters like Road Rage, Cordon etc. Star Sabre is the only MP I can think of who's based off a Middle G1 (1987-89) character and I can think of zero Late G1 (1990-93) MPs.

I don't mind CHUG toys having alt modes that are approximations of real things rather than being licensed. Compare say Universe/Henkei Sideswipe with Siege Sideswipe for example. The former was produced when HasTak didn't have the Lamborghini licence so they had to make it a vague approximation of a Lamborghini. Siege Sideswipe on the other hand is still an approximation but not at all vague. It's practically a Lamborghini of a fictitious model. But I personally prefer Henkei Lambor because even though it doesn't have distinctive Lamborghini parts on it, it looks more like an actual car than Siege Sideswipe. Things like having tail lights, exhaust pipes, number plates etc.
https://i.ibb.co/vJrP0Zz/SIEGE-sideswipe02.jpg
Yes, I know that it's because Siege Sideswipe is meant to be Cybertronian (although that's the most Lamborghini looking Cybertronian not-a-Lamborghini I've ever seen!).

[SharkyMcShark]

I have no love for the Movieverse but with Siege so late I have been buying some. I had Drift, Cogman, and Crosshairs sitting on the table as cars and it hit me.

Their alt modes are just sexy in a way the Generations cars aren't and it probably comes down to being licensed.

Worse we will probably never see a licensed Generations figure. Grrr.

I found it especially pleasing with regard to the amount of aircraft Transformers that were either directly licensed or near approximations

F-22 Raptor (Starscream and other seeker repaints)
F-35 Lightning II-ish (Breakaway, Thrust)
Harrier-ish (Dirge, Jetblade)
Mig 29 (Dreadwind, Overcast, Fearswoop)
V-22 Osprey (Incinerator)
CH-53 Stallion (Blackout, Grindor, Evac)
Su-47 Berkut-ish (Terradive, Space Case)
Eurofighter Typhoon-ish (Hatchet)
A-10 Warthog (Powerglide)
Albatros D.III (Ransack, ROTF Divebomb)
SR-71 Blackbird (Jetfire)
Boeing E-767 (Air Raid)
Su-37 Terminator-ish (TF07 Divebomb - a repaint of a Cybertron figure to be fair)

Then there were a few figures that looked realistic but were entirely fictional (as opposed to near approximations) - the helicopter Tomahawk transforms into, the jet that Nitro Zeus transforms into, and the cargo plane that Stratosphere turns into.

Basically, the aviation nerd in me was very happy... but also bitter at the same time that we never got a toy from the F-18 Hornet based generic seeker character in the ROTF video game.

[Jellico]

Real vehicles have a mythology all of their own which the Transformer piggybacks on. The only way the Seekers could have been cooler was to be F14s and Bandai beat them to it. Countach were on every boy's wall from the mid 70s. A real squared off semi could evoke the trucker ethos in a way that streamlined Classics Prime never could.

I would argue the best fantasy alt modes had similar mythologies. Do I need to say more than "dinosaur "? Rocket base with a gigantic tank? A living city? Working mythologies compared to the forgettable monstrous chimeras we got later.

[Thurmus]

Real vehicles have a mythology all of their own which the Transformer piggybacks on. The only way the Seekers could have been cooler was to be F14s and Bandai beat them to it. Countach were on every boy's wall from the mid 70s. A real squared off semi could evoke the trucker ethos in a way that streamlined Classics Prime never could.

I would argue the best fantasy alt modes had similar mythologies. Do I need to say more than "dinosaur "? Rocket base with a gigantic tank? A living city? Working mythologies compared to the forgettable monstrous chimeras we got later.

How good would the F-14 Seekers have been? My head may have exploded back then.

[Raider]

Countach were on every boy's wall from the mid 70s.

Still my dream car to this day!

[ampoldj]

Still my dream car to this day!

Still on my wall today ;)

[Tober]

Yeah, I had those posters too.

Interestingly enough, apparently the Countach was a horrible car to drive.

It looks great and goes really fast in a straight line, and that's about it for the good points. Bad points include a really uncomfortable interior, almost no rear visibility and poor steering...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtQPjgzV1kA

[Raider]

Yeah, I had those posters too.

Interestingly enough, apparently the Countach was a horrible car to drive.

It looks great and goes really fast in a straight line, and that's about it for the good points. Bad points include a really uncomfortable interior, almost no rear visibility and poor steering...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtQPjgzV1kA

I watched this YouTube video of a modern review of the car. It was amazing how terrible it was to drive, its layout and interior. But I don't care about any of that!

[gamblor916]

I still have my Countach poster as well. It stills looks futuristic decades later.

[DELTAprime]

The Countach has been ruined for me by a recent episode of The Grand Tour. The Italians in the '80s were not amazing engineers.

[GoktimusPrime]

My Classics Jetfire has started yellowing. :( I already have Generations Jetfire and I intend to get Siege Jetfire, so I'm not sure if it's worth replacing Classics Jetfire. I do like the Classics Jetfire toy so I don't want to be without one; if I choose to get another one I would sell my current one (obviously at a cheaper price).

Hhrrmmm... might wait until after I get Siege Jetfire to see how I feel... having a 3rd CHUG Jetfire might negate my desire to replace my Classics one. <rubs chin>

P.S.: Speaking of Jetfire, apparently Harmony Gold's Macross licence expires in 2021. Anyone reckon this would allow Hasbro to acquire it and finally do things like...
* Make a new toy-accurate Jetfire toy
* Obtain a new Macross VF-1S mould and repackage/repaint it as Jetfire
* Reissue G1 Jetfire if the mould still exists
<rubs chin again>

[SharkyMcShark]

My Classics Jetfire has started yellowing. :( I already have Generations Jetfire and I intend to get Siege Jetfire, so I'm not sure if it's worth replacing Classics Jetfire. I do like the Classics Jetfire toy so I don't want to be without one; if I choose to get another one I would sell my current one (obviously at a cheaper price).

Hhrrmmm... might wait until after I get Siege Jetfire to see how I feel... having a 3rd CHUG Jetfire might negate my desire to replace my Classics one. <rubs chin>

P.S.: Speaking of Jetfire, apparently Harmony Gold's Macross licence expires in 2021. Anyone reckon this would allow Hasbro to acquire it and finally do things like...
* Make a new toy-accurate Jetfire toy
* Obtain a new Macross VF-1S mould and repackage/repaint it as Jetfire
* Reissue G1 Jetfire if the mould still exists
<rubs chin again>

I'd love a new G1 toy style Jetfire (to be completely clear, something better than the T30 version). I actively dislike the fat bloated whale looking Skyfire inspired versions.

[Jaxius._]

Now that we don’t have TRU where at retail will we see Titans Big W has gotten some but in small numbers, apparently toyworld got Predaking but I never saw him. And let’s not even bother with Myers

So where will us Aussies get our Titans
I was going to preorder Omega but everywhere is sold out already which is annoying. In 6 months we will be looking at paying $300+ for him if he’s anything like Metroplex

[griffin]

Hasbro Australia sells stock to Amazon Australia so Predaking was listed there (but it was still cheaper to buy it from the US Amazon)... so Omega Supreme should show up there. If not, Amazon America will have it.

[GoktimusPrime]

I just ordered Siege Omega Supreme (and Jetfire) off Mighty Ape.
Never ordered from them before so I hope that they prove to be reliable.

[Jellico]

I just ordered and received through them with something else. Not Transformers specialists, but above and beyond customer service.

[Tha_Phantom]

Not Transformers specialists, but above and beyond customer service.

Agreed, Mighty Ape refunded me with minimal hassle for a set of defective Platinum Coneheads.

[GoktimusPrime]

I just ordered and received through them with something else. Not Transformers specialists, but above and beyond customer service.

Agreed, Mighty Ape refunded me with minimal hassle for a set of defective Platinum Coneheads.
Good to hear, fellas. :) I've just become really wary of unfamiliar online stores (especially those in Australia*) after having been burnt thrice. :(

----------------------
*Yeah, I know that Mighty Ape are Kiwis. Australasia. :)

[Jellico]

They are tricky(in a good way). Eg. I had to explain the difference between Wave 1 and 2 of Siege. They seem to be very reliant on what their suppliers tell them.
And they are relatively expensive so they won't be my first port of call.

But that customer experience. Really really good. I have to call them out and you have to consider them on that alone.

[griffin]

The US Target website doesn't post to shipping forwarders like Shopmate. :(

Target.com doesn?t ship to international freight forwarders or addresses outside the United States.
I ordered the Target exclusive SS-31 Battle Damaged Megatron the other day, and found out the next day that the order was cancelled... after chasing up a reason, I was directed to fine print buried very deep in the shipping conditions (quoted above). Shopping at a number of US retailers in the past (including Walmart and TRU) I've never come across that before, and don't know why Target have that sort of restriction, as it would impact on their potential sales (like their exclusive items).
I really hate having to ask US friends to receive and ship toys to me, as I can't really return the favour.

[BigTransformerTrev]

Was so pissed on Saturday! We booked tickets months in advance for a kids Transformers Interactive Stageshow at Panthers Penrith. On the day drove 2 1/2 hours to get there, and as we were checking into our hotel 90 minutes before showtime the announcement came over social media that the show had been cancelled! (http://www.bigangrytrev.com/venue-cancels-transformers-interactive-show-at-last-minute/). :mad::eek::mad:

Why? Because despite shocking weather and gale-force winds having been predicted and talked about every night on weather reports for a full week beforehand, these idiots still decided to fly the actors in from Melbourne that morning for an 11am show. Ludicrous! And no there wasn't other shows that they had to do in Melb which prevented them coming earlier as all the equipment had been at Penrith for days. It was simply that the venue didn't want to have to shell out for accommodation for the 'talent' (D-grade actors in transformer costumes) on the Friday night. :rolleyes:

So many kids and parents disappointed - my son was heartbroken! :( All that build up and travelling and so on just to have his show snatched away at the 11th hour. And the venue never admitted fault which was extra insulting. I know other Ozformer members found themselves in the same boat as us and there was a lot of outrage on social media (before Panthers started deleting the posts from angry parents).

[DELTAprime]

This takes toy swapping to a new level of super-villainy.

https://twitter.com/yarnolj/status/1168280407709814789

[Dimi194]

This takes toy swapping to a new level of super-villainy.

https://twitter.com/yarnolj/status/1168280407709814789

WTF WHY

[TaZZerath]

This takes toy swapping to a new level of super-villainy.

https://twitter.com/yarnolj/status/1168280407709814789

Oh my word, this is a whole new level. I'm worried about the world being held to ransom in a few years if this supervillain amps up his game...

[M-bot]

SO. MANY. QUESTIONS.

First and foremost, did the villain paint that Nightbeat into Refraktor colours IN ORDER to do that swap?

(And seriously, this is a crime against customising just as much as a crime against retail).

[Dan]

I have never seen anything remotely like this. Boxes damaged and contents missing - sure - but altered and returned? Never! There was that story about people switching the voice boxes of Barbie and Action Man but that sounds like more fun.

[Miss Kitty Fantastico]

So what are we calling this guy, Frakbeat? I kind of want him to be canon now. Like, he's an Autobot who desperately wants to be a suave secret agent, but he's awful at it and his best idea was to repaint himself and pretend to be Reflector to infiltrate the Decepticon base. All the Decepticons see through the 'disguise' right away but don't know what to do about him, because he's so obvious they can't bring themselves to think that he's serious, they all assume he's trying to get captured as part of some insanely convoluted scheme, so they've convinced themselves the smart thing to do it play along with him, even though he keeps injuring them by jumping into their arms and turning into a car in an attempt to be a camera. Megatron's been away for a couple of weeks, when he gets back nobody will admit anything's weird because they're not sure who they can trust, so he starts trying to work out what the scheme is as well, by the time the Autobots come looking for Frakbeat a Decepticon civil war has broken out between fifteen different factions even though there's only twelve Decepticons there and Shockwave's holding himself at gunpoint because he's convinced he's going to betray himself.

[TaZZerath]

So what are we calling this guy, Frakbeat? I kind of want him to be canon now. Like, he's an Autobot who desperately wants to be a suave secret agent, but he's awful at it and his best idea was to repaint himself and pretend to be Reflector to infiltrate the Decepticon base. All the Decepticons see through the 'disguise' right away but don't know what to do about him, because he's so obvious they can't bring themselves to think that he's serious, they all assume he's trying to get captured as part of some insanely convoluted scheme, so they've convinced themselves the smart thing to do it play along with him, even though he keeps injuring them by jumping into their arms and turning into a car in an attempt to be a camera. Megatron's been away for a couple of weeks, when he gets back nobody will admit anything's weird because they're not sure who they can trust, so he starts trying to work out what the scheme is as well, by the time the Autobots come looking for Frakbeat a Decepticon civil war has broken out between fifteen different factions even though there's only twelve Decepticons there and Shockwave's holding himself at gunpoint because he's convinced he's going to betray himself.

Instant headcanon :D

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

So bummed. Found a way to access walgreens for a siege ratchet, when I go to get the link its gone from the site. Bummed. Takara doesn't seem to have plans for him. So bummed.

[GoktimusPrime]

The 25th Anniversary Unicron that I recently got had the wrong planet kibble (shell parts), which was from the Generations Platinum Edition Unicron toy. I contacted the seller who said that the Pt Ed toy had been long sold, but he gave me the name of that buyer. So I contacted him and confirmed that his Pt Ed Unicron has 25th Anniv kibble, so we've posted our respective kibble to each other.

All sorted now, but was pretty weird for a while! I did manage to take some photos of this Unicron with mismatching parts which I'll probably post later for the lolz. ;)

[snaketales]

I had occasion to pose a Tf1 Bumblebee next to a Studio Series WW2 Bumblebee today... WW2 Bee seemed almost commander size in comparison

[DarkHyren]

Minor irritation, but stores that sell opened returns/store damaged items at full price as if they're brand new annoy me.
Case in point:

https://i.imgur.com/a7JrpTV.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/LCuO1Zj.jpg

Who in their right mind could look at this and go "yeah this is suitable for sale", it should be marked down if they intend on selling it.
The customers obviously don't want it as this is the only Transformer of note in the store and has been there like this for a month or two.
On the plus side, at least it's the correct toy in the box. Kmart in Minto NSW for anyone that's curious.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

That's pretty bad form. Sheesh.

My Vent. I bought Rung, for uh, I don't know why... He was cute? I don't read Tf comics anymore and I have no idea who or what he is. Never mind, I am sure Tf wiki can help me out with a quick character description and what he is.

Sadly no. It has a paragraph about someone not remembering his name and says he is the ship's spyche doctor or something. However from Gok's review in the Battlemasters review thread there is more to Rung than just that. But without having to read the whole damn page on him (which I am not gonna do), I can't tell why he is significant.

[Paulbot]

That's pretty bad form. Sheesh.

My Vent. I bought Rung, for uh, I don't know why... He was cute? I don't read Tf comics anymore and I have no idea who or what he is. Never mind, I am sure Tf wiki can help me out with a quick character description and what he is.

Sadly no. It has a paragraph about someone not remembering his name and says he is the ship's spyche doctor or something. However from Gok's review in the Battlemasters review thread there is more to Rung than just that. But without having to read the whole damn page on him (which I am not gonna do), I can't tell why he is significant.

Big spoilers for the MTMTE/Lost Light Comic, in the last issues it was revealed

spoiler Rung is Primus in the IDW comic universe but due to complicated reasons to explain quickly everybody has forgotten that, including himself. He transforms into a device that created the Matrix of Leadership end spoiler

He was very popular character in the James Roberts comics but if you're not a fan / haven't read those.

Many people freely discuss this spoiler these days, captioning photos of the toy with it, and I wish they didn't.

[GoktimusPrime]

Sadly no. It has a paragraph about someone not remembering his name and says he is the ship's spyche doctor or something. However from Gok's review in the Battlemasters review thread there is more to Rung than just that. But without having to read the whole damn page on him (which I am not gonna do), I can't tell why he is significant.
He's god. He was originally Primus, a member of a pantheon of 5 gods known as the Guiding Hand which was comprised of:
* Primus = god of life and light
* Solomus = god of wisdom
* Epistemus = god of knowledge
* Adaptus = god of transformation
* Mortilus = god of death

Primus/Rung transforms into a Matrix forge -- yeah, he created the Matrix. After the God War, Primus ended up being rendered "permanently forgettable." Primus also forgot who he was and became a psychiatrist & psychologist known as Rung (his name being a reference to Carl Jung (yeah, I know :rolleyes:)). Rung would eventually remember who he was, but then he transformed into his alt mode and forged twelve Matrices and (along with his friends) saved the day. Forging 12 Matrices caused Rung to disintegrate and soon everyone, including his friends, forgot that he ever existed.

Btw, how far along is the Japanese translation of the IDW comics? When I was last in Japan in 2017 I picked up a copy and it was 7 years behind. If they haven't picked up the pace then Japan may not catch up this Primus/Rung story until 2025. :eek:

[Paulbot]

Many people freely discuss this spoiler these days,
And some go further, giving plot spoilers too :rolleyes:

The first few issues of the MTMTE and RID series were recently translated and published in Japan. Cool covers.

https://news.tfw2005.com/2019/08/10/idw-more-than-meets-the-eye-robots-in-disguise-japanese-edition-covers-394352

[GoktimusPrime]

It'd be nice if people could try and measure toys properly for reviews. I've been looking at review threads for some Legends/Scout Class toys to compare it with Earthrise Cliffjumper's estimated height of 8.89cm [Google], and I'm seeing some different review threads for retools/repaints of the same mould with different heights reported by different thread authors. :eek: :confused: I'm talking about differences as much as two centimetres, which for an action figure is pretty big. This is kinda like saying that someone is 1.9m tall (like griffin) when they're actually only 1.7m tall (like me :p). I know that we're not working with rocket science here and measurements don't have to be super exact, but uh... if we could try to even get it right to the nearest centimetre... that'd be great.

e.g. if one person were to measure a toy at 8.89cm and someone else measured it at 9.13cm... both can just round it off to 9cm.

P.S.: yes, I know that I can just measure these toys for myself, but it's late and I just wanted to have a quick look before going to bed... it'd be nice if the info on review threads were more accurate for quick referencing. Cheers.

[Trent]

So you spent the time to trawl the internet for a bit of super unimportant info and then typed up a massive reply instead of going and grabbing your own figure to measure?

That is a level of laziness that almost approaches my own. Where you lose points is the complaining part. I wouldn’t have been bothered to complain. I would have just gone to bed.

[Paulbot]

If I want to know the height of a Transformers I go to Dave Van Domelen's reviews (https://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/index.shtml). He's usually pretty consistent in listing the height of the robots (and length of vehicle). I've been reading his reviews for 20 years and I think he even stills posts them to A.T.T.!

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Big spoilers for the MTMTE/Lost Light Comic, in the last issues it was revealed.....




Btw, how far along is the Japanese translation of the IDW comics? When I was last in Japan in 2017 I picked up a copy and it was 7 years behind. If they haven't picked up the pace then Japan may not catch up this Primus/Rung story until 2025. :eek:

Ah, OK, thanks for the exposition guys. AT least I know I can rely on this pplace for good info :D

As for the JP IDW comics, I have no idea. After my teen-early 20s splurge of comics, I haven't gotten back into getting them and haven't bothered reading any English comics since some issues of the Sonic The Hedgehog comic I used to get. I don't even know where to go looking for comics locally :) That's how out of touch I am at the moment. :rolleyes:

[GoktimusPrime]

I don't even know where to go looking for comics locally :)
Says the person living in a country that uses more paper to print comic books than toilet paper [Schodt]. ;) Try any bookstore which are practically everywhere. I came across my Japanese IDW comic at a little bookshop in a train station. And second hand comics are dirt cheap over there.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Says the person living in a country that uses more paper to print comic books than toilet paper [Schodt]. ;) Try any bookstore which are practically everywhere. I came across my Japanese IDW comic at a little bookshop in a train station. And second hand comics are dirt cheap over there.

lol, very true. Let's rephrase what I said to

I don't even have the inclination to buy and read IDW Transformer comic books

As for the toilet paper, I suspect the reason that helps your above info is that the paper here is so.... crumbly....

[griffin]

I don't have any of the Earthrise toys yet, and this is something that had been mentioned somewhere else already, but now I'm realising what this means for me...


Every pack includes a piece of the Transformers Universe map and a red decoder to unlock the map's hidden paths! Collect other Earthrise figures to piece together the full map!

Each Earthrise toy comes with a piece of a map of the Transformers Universe (not sure which universe or what it covers), and you need to get all of the Earthrise toys to get the full map... and it must be a big impressive map since there are likely to be about 50 Earthrise toys. (unless there are only a small number of parts, with each part released with several different toys)

Now, as good as it might be for some people to have re-released Siege toys in the Earthrise toyline if they couldn't find them during Siege's release, but what about those people who managed to get most or all of the Siege toys... they now have to re-buy several Siege toys if they want to complete the full map (if every toy has a different piece of the map).
Or what about the people who aren't completists, or can't afford to be, but end up getting most of the map and can't complete it.

At least with the Cybertron build-a-map, it was only four parts, with one part released with each wave of toys. (and I really hope this is the same this time... if anyone has any info on that, from their first Earthrise toys, let me know)

[Paulbot]

I don't have any of the Earthrise toys yet, and this is something that had been mentioned somewhere else already, but now I'm realising what this means for me...



Each Earthrise toy comes with a piece of a map of the Transformers Universe (not sure which universe or what it covers), and you need to get all of the Earthrise toys to get the full map... and it must be a big impressive map since there are likely to be about 50 Earthrise toys. (unless there are only a small number of parts, with each part released with several different toys)

Now, as good as it might be for some people to have re-released Siege toys in the Earthrise toyline if they couldn't find them during Siege's release, but what about those people who managed to get most or all of the Siege toys... they now have to re-buy several Siege toys if they want to complete the full map (if every toy has a different piece of the map).
Or what about the people who aren't completists, or can't afford to be, but end up getting most of the map and can't complete it.

At least with the Cybertron build-a-map, it was only four parts, with one part released with each wave of toys. (and I really hope this is the same this time... if anyone has any info on that, from their first Earthrise toys, let me know)

Check out the map here with all the pieces from wave 1

https://twitter.com/ikkadkarf/status/1230156275507351552

You use the red decoder to read planet names on the map (Junkion and Caminus are two of the planets labelled)

Sorry to say Earthrise Astrorain and Smashdown's boxes comes with part of the map

[griffin]

Not happy....

[Paulbot]

It might show up complete as a poster packaged with an exclusive or maybe Scorponok? Or maybe the Japanese Generations 2021 Book next year?

You could also probably ask for pieces your missing from others here as not everyone will collect it.

[dirge]

You could also probably ask for pieces your missing from others here as not everyone will collect it.

Yeah while I doubt I'd buy anything which is a repack (maaaaybe Astrotrain), I'd happily give away my map pieces. I throw the packaging & paperwork out with my CHUG toys anyway.

[DELTAprime]

Griff. I still haven't bought an Astrotrain. If I do get the Earthrise version of him I can send the packaging to you.

[CyberiusPrime]

My vent is how come 1 voyager and 4 deluxe figures cost approximately between $150 to say $200
But they make a combined or come in a set and we suddenly get ripped for more money than that?!?!

Argh damn my love of combiners

[Sinnertwin]

My vent is how come 1 voyager and 4 deluxe figures cost approximately between $150 to say $200
But they make a combined or come in a set and we suddenly get ripped for more money than that?!?!

Argh damn my love of combiners

Are you referring to the Seacons sets? They are pricey for what they are

[DELTAprime]

In addition to the Seacons being a limited production run, there are 6 of them instead of the usual 5.

[CyberiusPrime]

Are you referring to the Seacons sets? They are pricey for what they are


It is just not the seacons
The Unite Warriors sets were definitely marked up.
Also the latest iteration of Predaking.

Titan Devi i get as he is 6 voyager models.

People are putting a premium on Volcanicus and Abominus which is crazy

[DELTAprime]

Unite Warriors was a premium Takara Tomy line, not standard western retail figures. Predaking was Titan Class like Devastator, not Voyagers or Deluxes. Also, the secondary market is the secondary market.

[CyberiusPrime]

Unite Warriors was a premium Takara Tomy line, not standard western retail figures. Predaking was Titan Class like Devastator, not Voyagers or Deluxes. Also, the secondary market is the secondary market.

Lol just having a vent.

The biggest problem I have is the secondary market.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Honestly, it does seem like aftermarket prices for Abominus and Volcanicus are pretty crazy.

[GoktimusPrime]

The biggest problem I have is the secondary market.
I unsurprisingly don't experience this problem. :p #FOMOlyfe

[griffin]

Each Earthrise toy comes with a piece of a map of the Transformers Universe (not sure which universe or what it covers), and you need to get all of the Earthrise toys to get the full map... and it must be a big impressive map since there are likely to be about 50 Earthrise toys. (unless there are only a small number of parts, with each part released with several different toys)

Now, as good as it might be for some people to have re-released Siege toys in the Earthrise toyline if they couldn't find them during Siege's release, but what about those people who managed to get most or all of the Siege toys... they now have to re-buy several Siege toys if they want to complete the full map (if every toy has a different piece of the map).
Or what about the people who aren't completists, or can't afford to be, but end up getting most of the map and can't complete it.

At least with the Cybertron build-a-map, it was only four parts, with one part released with each wave of toys. (and I really hope this is the same this time... if anyone has any info on that, from their first Earthrise toys, let me know)

After having a look at the Earthrise packaging at Melbourne Toyfair, I noticed that any of the toys that are on card (Micromaster and Battlemaster), you need to cut the map piece out of the middle of the card, while the Deluxe and Voyagers (and probably leaders too), need to be cut out of the inner insert. Since I keep the packaging, and don't want to cut any of it up, I don't need to worry anymore about the two toys I wouldn't be buying, as I won't be trying to collect the entire map now.
Also... seeing online the 12 parts released so far, the map isn't really anything I'm that interested in now either, as it is a rather boring assortment of lines and random names.
So, thanks to those who offered to help out, but I'm not wanting this "map" at all, to waste time and effort chasing up 50-60 parts of it.

[M-bot]

I’ve noticed that the map that comes with one of my Earthrise wave 1 deluxes (sorry, can’t remember which one) has “Dead Universe”, on it, same as Sky Linx. So maybe there are double ups and not all toys need to be obtained for a complete map.

[Tha_Phantom]

I’ve noticed that the map that comes with one of my Earthrise wave 1 deluxes (sorry, can’t remember which one) has “Dead Universe”, on it, same as Sky Linx. So maybe there are double ups and not all toys need to be obtained for a complete map.

Potentially could be random?

At any rate, I'll be hanging on to all the Earthrise cards/packaging and give to whoever collects them. Close friends will get first priority so please don't message me. I shall offer what's leftover on here and only charge postage.

[griffin]

I’ve noticed that the map that comes with one of my Earthrise wave 1 deluxes (sorry, can’t remember which one) has “Dead Universe”, on it, same as Sky Linx. So maybe there are double ups and not all toys need to be obtained for a complete map.

People who have read the IDW comics, have said that there are several entry points to the Dead Universe, which is probably the case with this map as the two parts that have Dead Universe on them so far, are not identical.

This topic on TFW has had all of the parts posted up and pieced together (https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/earthrise-map.1187835/), and in post #3 you can see the map piece for Cliffjumper has the Dead Universe words has a red map line going through it, while the Skylynx map part (at post #65 of the same topic) has a red map line at an angle on the right side of the words.

[GoktimusPrime]

Another way to build the map might be for people to contribute scans, then just do your own colour print outs. Would be one way of building the map without mutilating packaging.

[SMHFConvoy]

Not really venting because I knew it was coming but I pulled universe Megabolt (https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Megabolt) out of storage and triggered the flip up cannon/helmet gimmick, when I went to reset it the hinge connecting the helmet snapped off. The tabs that lock his arms in giant head mode had already broken off years ago.

So I cleaned up the helmet sanded back the broken bits and he now has a removable helmet.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

I love that Megabolt toy.

My vent. I was cruising the shops looking at toys, and wanted to look more, but didn't want to touch anything because of virus paranoia

[GoktimusPrime]

I love that Megabolt toy.

My vent. I was cruising the shops looking at toys, and wanted to look more, but didn't want to touch anything because of virus paranoia
You silly sod. :p Just wash your hands after touching stuff.

Megabolt Megatron was arguably one of the best toys of 2002. Although it helps that there were only two new TF moulds released in 2002 (him and AAOP). :rolleyes: Man 2002 was a frustrating time to be a TF collector! :rolleyes:

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

You silly sod. :p Just wash your hands after touching stuff.

Yeah I know, but japanese shops rarely have soap in the toilets. Plus I had a train ride before getting home and didn't want to risk touching my face.

It was only movie toys on the shelf anyway, so temptation was extremely low :p

[SMHFConvoy]

Megabolt Megatron was arguably one of the best toys of 2002. Although it helps that there were only two new TF moulds released in 2002 (him and AAOP). :rolleyes: Man 2002 was a frustrating time to be a TF collector! :rolleyes:

The engineering on him is great, the head mode could almost pass for a Quintesson, switch out the crab legs for tentacles.

[SharkyMcShark]

:rolleyes: Man 2002 was a frustrating time to be a TF collector! :rolleyes:

I was 12 and had sporadic internet access so was convinced that the brand was sadly dead.

[GoktimusPrime]

:mad: Damnit (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php/26970-Toy-Review-Generations-Selects-Turtler?p=625172#post625172) :mad:

[Seraphim Prime]

:mad: Damnit (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php/26970-Toy-Review-Generations-Selects-Turtler?p=625172#post625172) :mad:

Wow! So frustrating!

Out of interest, did you glue the arm in the position for combined mode/beast mode or for robot mode?

[GoktimusPrime]

Wow! So frustrating!

Out of interest, did you glue the arm in the position for combined mode/beast mode or for robot mode?
Robot mode.

[Keidatron]

I hate that they package TFs in robot mode. I haaaaaate it. It is far more satisfying to turn it from alt mode to robot out of the package. There is no joy of discovery when its already in robot mode. I know that might sound weird given we see pictures of the robot all over the internet well in advance and all over the packaging itself but dammit it's not the same.

[GoktimusPrime]

Strongly agree. Cos spoilers much!

Having said that, because a lot of toys are packaged in robot mode these days, I find it a bit annoying if I need to find a YouTube video when working out a difficult transformation (most recently did this for MP Convoy ver 3.0), and reviewers start it from alt mode and then transform to robot mode. Even in some of those "Just transform it" videos. I can understand it in reviews because you don't want to ruin the surprise, but if you're making a video to explicitly showcase how to transform a toy and not review it, then I think it makes sense to start in the order of which the toy is packaged in. There are a few videos that show you how to transform the toy both ways - but I had to search through a few videos before I found one that did that for MP Convoy - and it's not as simple as reading the video title. I'd click on each video then "scan" by moving my mouse cursor along the progress bar to see if the video shows transformation from robot to alt before then searching again and repeating the process. :rolleyes:

Also, there are a small handful of exceptions where I'm glad the toy was packaged in robot mode, but these are toys that have fantasy alt modes rather than realistic ones. One example is Siege Omega Supreme. I avoided watching or reading any reviews of this toy before I got mine, and I'm so glad that I did because I was very delighted to discover that his forearms don't separately disconnect and reconnect to form the rocket! I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this toy has minimal partsforming! I feel that this would not have been as much of a surprise if the toy had been packaged in rocket base mode. But ultimately it's really about savouring the surprise and not having the first experience of marvelling a good toy's design and engineering being spoiled for you. Because it'd be as silly as say watching a Star Wars movie where the opening text crawl just tells you a major plot point that you didn't already know! <wry.laughter>
https://i.ibb.co/d479DvM/temp.jpg

[Krayt]

Strongly agree. Cos spoilers much!
. Because it'd be as silly as say watching a Star Wars movie where the opening text crawl just tells you a major plot point that you didn't already know! <wry.laughter>
https://i.ibb.co/d479DvM/temp.jpg

It wasn’t a spoiler! The message was heard before the movie....

“At last the work of generations is complete,” Palpatine said. “The great error is corrected. The day of victory is at hand. The day of revenge. The day of the Sith!”

So that started a search.... where did the voice come from? Is it really Palpatine? Cue Ben wreaking havoc!

[SMHFConvoy]

The amount of b*tching going about gen selects Rotorstorm, they've given you something you wanted but oh, oh the f**king moaning about it being a *repaint* of Siege Spinster.

Just the entitled attitude of fans these days, these figures were planned years in advance, at the time it may not have been in the budget to give him toy accuracy let alone a new mould for the head.

And don't at me, I literally do not care why you feel slighted by a toy company.

[Sinnertwin]

It's a symptom of the modern world. Too much disposable income, freedom and internet access.

[DELTAprime]

The amount of b*tching going about gen selects Rotorstorm, they've given you something you wanted but oh, oh the f**king moaning about it being a *repaint* of Siege Spinster.

Just the entitled attitude of fans these days, these figures were planned years in advance, at the time it may not have been in the budget to give him toy accuracy let alone a new mould for the head.

And don't at me, I literally do not care why you feel slighted by a toy company.

I just wanted a minor remould of a new head to go with that the paint. It would have taken it from lazy repaint to being about as good as you can do without a brand new mould.

[Seraphim Prime]

I think the Gen Selects Rotorstorm is on the whole amazing!

The way they've deco'ed the chest to look like the cockpit is inspired.

The head is the only let down for me. The head is so distinctly Spinister that to see it tried to be anything else just doesn't work/ I appreciate that it wasn't in the budget, but it would be something I leapt at if there was fix or upgrade for.

[GoktimusPrime]

I cannot wait to get Rotorstorm! Late G1 is sorely under-represented in CHUG and it's just fantastic to see more love for characters from the later years of Gen 1. :)

Okay, having a new head would have been preferable, but I'm perfectly happy to get Rotorstorm with Spinister's head sculpt too. After all, CHUG Pyro/Spark is a straight up repaint of Universe Inferno without any new head (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php/8462-Toy-Review-BotCon-2010-toys), but in echoing Deonasis' thoughts, a new head would have been nice but the existing figure is still much appreciated anyway. I feel the same about Rotorstorm. If we can accept Pyro with an Inferno head then I'm sure we can get over Rotorstorm with a Spinister head. At least the body and alt mode match up, unlike CW Blast Off 1.0.

P.S.: That BotCon 2010 review thread reminded me that there are a few more characters that I needed to tick off on the How much of G1 would you like to see as CHUG? thread (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php/27256-How-much-of-G1-would-you-like-to-see-done-as-CHUG-toys). I've also marked all BotCon exclusives in red, and looking at all the Late G1 CHUGs I can see that Overlord is the only Late G1 character that's already been done as CHUG. And only by a technicality since that is a Hasbro G1 list (if we included Takara G1 then Overlord would be Middle G1, meaning that the current number of non-convention exclusive Late G1 CHUGs = 0). But yes, let's complain about a head sculpt on what will be the FIRST unequivocally non-con exclusive Late G1 CHUG toy. :rolleyes:

[UltraMarginal]

Spinister is fine, I guess. I really like the mould but I don't think it really suits the character, or original toy. If I come across it for cheap I might grab it but there's every chance that the third installment of this trilogy might have a more representative version of the character.

[1AZRAEL1]

I don't own the Spinister, so might get this one. I have the TFCC figure, literally a few weeks before he was revealed. Sure the head doesn't evoke Rotorstorm, but you can bet there will be a 3P head coming already. And hell if I get good with printing, I might make one myself. I'm already getting my dad to do some printing for me to upgrade another helicopter into Rotorstorm though.

But yes, there's alot of people in this world turning into petulant children.

[Tha_Phantom]

Let's not write off the head just yet, as the listing for it does mention a new head sculpt. This could be the yellow eyes/blue eyes Prime thing all over again.

Edit: also like the doors on MPM Ratchet. Recent pics have shown that the doors have been adjusted to match the rest of the paintwork. (https://news.tfw2005.com/2020/06/30/transformers-masterpiece-movie-mpm-11-ratchet-additional-stock-images-413835?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook&fbclid=IwAR1maMutK1HXrzCmYafddLyErMSLVRIZcXRXtb2Gn hLrhQr7tEjRZlVFp0Q)

[dirge]

The amount of b*tching going about gen selects Rotorstorm, they've given you something you wanted but oh, oh the f**king moaning about it being a *repaint* of Siege Spinster.

Just the entitled attitude of fans these days, these figures were planned years in advance, at the time it may not have been in the budget to give him toy accuracy let alone a new mould for the head.


100% agree.

1) Rotorstorm, the original toy didn't actually even HIT the USA back in 1992. For American fans, this is actually his first mass release they've got access to.
2) It's such an obscure toy/character, the fact they're doing him at all is a plus, in my books
3) Biting the hand that feeds much? Be happy that Hasbro are giving you the character
4) Generations Selects exists. They've set up a series JUST to give the collectors access to things that probably wouldn't fly at mass retail... they didn't have to DO that.

[Unicran]

Sure. Don't bother with repaint job. Just plonk him in a box & clearly label him as Rotorstorm. Anyone who says otherwise is an elitist sob.

[dirge]

Sure. Don't bother with repaint job. Just plonk him in a box & clearly label him as Rotorstorm. Anyone who says otherwise is an elitist sob.

[mod] This post feels like it's purely trying to stir the pot (IE troll). If that's not the case, please clarify your statement.

[griffin]

As an objective fan that is happy to praise and objectively criticise Hasbro, without fear of losing the current relationship that I have, I have to echo a previous criticism I have made against Hasbro.

Botbots...

Having multiple packs of duplicates, forcing people to be stuck with several spares just to get the ones they want, or the full set.
Each series should have had all of the figures released as single packs, and have multipacks just contain one theme or tribe, so that each multipack has no duplicates.

I just finally completed the set for Series 4 (the blue bubble packs), and since we have only had the single packs released in Australia so far, this was only possible by importing the multipacks from Amazon, and securing the last elusive toy from ebay (at significant cost).

The result is ending up with just over 160 Series 4 Botbots, and there are only 69 different toys. That's about 90 duplicates, or about an extra $300 spent, because each time I ordered the multipacks from Amazon America, it was a random selection, so it would take several purchases to get the packs I needed... and even then, I still decided it was probably cheaper to hit up ebay for the last toy I was missing, than to take a chance on getting the multipack it was released in.

Looking ahead to Series 5, there are only 60 different toys in that series, but Hasbro are releasing the same number of single packs, 5-packs and 8-packs that they have released in the previous Series that had about 70 toys. That means a lot more duplicates, and a lot more money needing to be spent completing a set, or to just collect the ones that you want, because the odds are worse.

This is NOT a kid-friendly concept, from a "kids" toy company, and Hasbro should be ashamed of (still) having this practice forced on kids (and collectors), to make them buy more product than they want to purchase, or can afford to purchase. If it ends up limiting the amount of product that kids can purchase out of the larger number of packs being released, it will result in retailers being stuck with slower moving product in later Series, and kill off what could have been a long-running (VERY) profitable toyline.

[Tha_Phantom]

I know your pain, griffin. I decided to grab the series four multipacks from eBay after it became evident they weren't coming here. Think I paid something like $200 for four sets which breaks down to $10 per BotBot.
Lucky I'm not a completist, but there were a few I wanted from the multipacks that you can't get separately.

[Sinnertwin]

Why not have a dedicated BotBot BST thread for this sort of thing here and/or on the FB page?
Maybe a minimum spend of $20 or something to make postage worthwhile if not trading? I dunno, I guess the seller can work that one out

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Not a full-fledged Vent exactly, but one or two things that have occurred over the past few days that I wish Hasbro/Takara would do.

1) Scrap the clear plastic windshields when they're part of a larger/major part of the figure, and just do it in black/painted solid colour as appropriate. These days it seems like most of the clear windows/windscreens just reveal a bunch of folded-up robot parts inside the toy, and make the section less sturdy to boot. If that's the case I'd rather just have solid-colour black/light blue/silver/whatever, regular non-translucent plastic, and have the toy less prone to breakage as a result.
It hasn't been an issue for me with windshields etc, but my Arms Micron Breakdown's head broke a year or two after I had it 'cos the whole thing was made out of clear plastic for the light-piping. That kind of sucked. :(

2) Make toys of the same character, in the same line, of the same size-class headswap-compatible. Studio Series Shatter has two different heads across two different Deluxe toys, but you can't switch them out. Same thing for the Siege and Earthrise Voyager-class Seekers. Having the ability to swap heads would mean you could have battle-mask/no-battle-mask versions of characters (e.g. Movieverse characters/toys), and mix things up a bit with heads for the seekers. It'd involve a little bit more design work (though not much), but it'd open up a small-yet-significant option for customisability and make having multiple versions of the same character/mold feel like a bit less of a waste/duplication.

[Krayt]

So I got 3 soundbarrier, and just picked up 3 Slitherfang....

“Hey, i should make them a hexagon....”

But it didn’t look quite right.... the slithers are 4mm shorter than the barriers.

Surely they should have made all the ramps the same size!

[GoktimusPrime]

Gens Select Turtler was made available for order again on Takara TOMY Mall but it quickly sold out so I couldn't get one :(

[Tha_Phantom]

Discovered a crack in my Daytonus yesterday so had to buy a replacement. Thankfully I was able to get one for $20 posted on eBay, but still annoying I've had to repair/replace more figures from RID 2001 than any other era in my collection.

https://i.ibb.co/qM99KvB/received-346375853051710.jpg (https://ibb.co/d066FRB)

[SharkyMcShark]

Discovered a crack in my Daytonus yesterday so had to buy a replacement. Thankfully I was able to get one for $20 posted on eBay, but still annoying I've had to repair/replace more figures from RID 2001 than any other era in my collection.

https://i.ibb.co/qM99KvB/received-346375853051710.jpg (https://ibb.co/d066FRB)

The first TF I had that just plain broke was from RiD - one of the door ball joint/sockets snapped.

[Tha_Phantom]

The first TF I had that just plain broke was from RiD - one of the door ball joint/sockets snapped.

Would that be Prowl by any chance? I had that happen to me a year or two ago with Supercharged Prowl.

[SharkyMcShark]

Would that be Prowl by any chance? I had that happen to me a year or two ago with Supercharged Prowl.

Sorry I walked away from my computer mid post and then just hit post when I got back - yes it was Prowl. The one that broke was the standard (all white) Western RiD release.

I've owned the Car Robots Super Mach Alert (blue and white) version, and the OFTCC2003 Sideswipe variant that haven't broken.

[High_Q]

Would that be Prowl by any chance? I had that happen to me a year or two ago with Supercharged Prowl.

Mine too! It's cracked but not (yet) snapped, so i have left it in bot mode. :(
I need to get a mint on card replacement Prowl (standard Car Robots Mach Alert) because it's the figure that got me back into TF collecting after losing interest when Masterforce concluded.

[Tha_Phantom]

yes it was Prowl. The one that broke was the standard (all white) Western RiD release.


Mine too! It's cracked but not (yet) snapped, so i have left it in bot mode. :(

Sucks that it happened to both of you as well. Guess I'm rarely gonna mess with Prowl from now on, which is a shame as he is one of my favourites from that line.

[Seraphim Prime]

Happened to me too - but I regularly pulled apart my ball jointed figures as part of how I played at the time, so it was to be expected. I got a replacement one a few years ago and the door has been fine.

You just have to be more careful with the clear plastic not to do something or angle it such that it feels like it being wedged open, because it will shear rather than bend like other more nylon based joints.

[Seraphim Prime]

Opened my Selects Hubcap yesterday and the back of the car is missing! :mad:

Zing is all sold out based on the website, so I'll have to take it up with Hasbro direct, but not hopeful based on previous attempts for replacement parts :(

[Paulbot]

I saw someone on Twitter (overseas) that had the same missing part. It's this stuff that makes the closed and obscured boxes a risky prospect.

[Autocon]

I would open in store :p

How do you miss such a large part?

[DELTAprime]

OMP had to cancel both my Centurion Drone and Dirge & Ramjet preorders because Hasbro screwed them over.

FU Hasbro, FU for making me go to a scalper on ebay for these items you should be making more of in the first place.

[GoktimusPrime]

Opened my Selects Hubcap yesterday and the back of the car is missing! :mad:

Zing is all sold out based on the website, so I'll have to take it up with Hasbro direct, but not hopeful based on previous attempts for replacement parts :(
Call around some local Zing stores or go to any Zing/EB store and see if their computer can tell them which stores have one in stock.

[Tha_Phantom]

***This is my own personal experience and may not apply to you!***
I've been noticing more and more lately I've had to modify my CHUG toys to get them to function as they should. For instance, I've spent the last 2 days going back and forth filing down the inside of Select Tigertrack's shoulder cannon and then applying clear nail polish inside so the missle fits in just right. I think I'm finally there, but this has been a very annoying process.
The list of toys I've had to modify this year include:
- Earthrise Grapple (I know everyone had to file down the crane pegs)
- Earthrise Ironworks (filing down a 5mm port)
- Studio Series Blitzwing (filing down part of an arm so the wing can sit flush in alt mode)
- Earthrise Snapdragon (filing down cockpit window so it opens easily)
- Selects Hubcap (filing down an arm so it can swivel properly)
- Selects Tigertrack (filing down 5mm port on shoulder cannon, filing down blemish on leg)

That's just the figures I've been able to fix. I've also had to do a few returns on figures this year as well. Maybe I'm becoming less tolerant of such imperfections, maybe the QC has dropped this year or maybe I'm just really unlucky. I hope 2021 is better for me (and others if it's also happening to them).

And yes I am aware of my consumer rights, but I try to avoid resorting to exchanges where I can. My vent is that it's becoming more and more necessary. :(

[DELTAprime]

***This is my own personal experience and may not apply to you!***
I've been noticing more and more lately I've had to modify my CHUG toys to get them to function as they should. For instance, I've spent the last 2 days going back and forth filing down the inside of Select Tigertrack's shoulder cannon and then applying clear nail polish inside so the missle fits in just right. I think I'm finally there, but this has been a very annoying process.
The list of toys I've had to modify this year include:
- Earthrise Grapple (I know everyone had to file down the crane pegs)
- Earthrise Ironworks (filing down a 5mm port)
- Studio Series Blitzwing (filing down part of an arm so the wing can sit flush in alt mode)
- Earthrise Snapdragon (filing down cockpit window so it opens easily)
- Selects Hubcap (filing down an arm so it can swivel properly)
- Selects Tigertrack (filing down 5mm port on shoulder cannon, filing down blemish on leg)

That's just the figures I've been able to fix. I've also had to do a few returns on figures this year as well. Maybe I'm becoming less tolerant of such imperfections, maybe the QC has dropped this year or maybe I'm just really unlucky. I hope 2021 is better for me (and others if it's also happening to them).

And yes I am aware of my consumer rights, but I try to avoid resorting to exchanges where I can. My vent is that it's becoming more and more necessary. :(

That seems incredibly unlucky. The only issues I've had are the Grapple peg holes and My Snapdragon's Headmaster's screw had stripped the thread on the plastic. (A little glue and it was fine).

[Tha_Phantom]

That seems incredibly unlucky. The only issues I've had are the Grapple peg holes and My Snapdragon's Headmaster's screw had stripped the thread on the plastic. (A little glue and it was fine).

That's good to hear! I do hope it's just me.

[Silverbolt]

There is a dishonest collector in my local area.
Ive have noticed occasionally a toy will appear on shelves at the local Kmarts or Big W's that does not match it's box.
It looks like someone is buying new toys, but returning the box with an old toy in it.
Today i spotted a 2010/11 Deluxe Optimus prime in a Siege Scrapface box.
Its frustrating and I'm not even sure if the workers care that they've been stitched up.

[Bidoofdude]

***This is my own personal experience and may not apply to you!***
I've been noticing more and more lately I've had to modify my CHUG toys to get them to function as they should. For instance, I've spent the last 2 days going back and forth filing down the inside of Select Tigertrack's shoulder cannon and then applying clear nail polish inside so the missle fits in just right. I think I'm finally there, but this has been a very annoying process.
The list of toys I've had to modify this year include:
- Earthrise Grapple (I know everyone had to file down the crane pegs)
- Earthrise Ironworks (filing down a 5mm port)
- Studio Series Blitzwing (filing down part of an arm so the wing can sit flush in alt mode)
- Earthrise Snapdragon (filing down cockpit window so it opens easily)
- Selects Hubcap (filing down an arm so it can swivel properly)
- Selects Tigertrack (filing down 5mm port on shoulder cannon, filing down blemish on leg)

That's just the figures I've been able to fix. I've also had to do a few returns on figures this year as well. Maybe I'm becoming less tolerant of such imperfections, maybe the QC has dropped this year or maybe I'm just really unlucky. I hope 2021 is better for me (and others if it's also happening to them).

And yes I am aware of my consumer rights, but I try to avoid resorting to exchanges where I can. My vent is that it's becoming more and more necessary. :(

I've found myself similar frustrated with breakages. I am naturally someone who breaks toys a little more than others, and more often than not they make me treat the figure like fragile glass afterwards.

Some of my mishaps:

- Encore 20a Hook (sliding torso rail piece snapped off)
- Thrilling 30 Whirl (little triangles/points on back of his legs broke off)
- Thrilling 30 Crosscut (whole right arm broke off at the socket, unfixable)
- United Ramjet (post on little mini torso wing broke off)
- Generations 2010 Thundercracker (post on torso wing broke off, same as Ramjet)
- Platinum Edition Swindle (small taps on the main torso piece snapped)
- Siege Shockwave (pulling on the hose to disconnect eventually snapped it)
- POTP Swoop (minor issue, beak went loose then doesn't full close after adding nail polish/glue to joint)
- Earthrise Grapple (common post issue- really disappointing)

Quite recently as well, the post from my MP Grimlock's sword broke off and is stuck in the little hole it slots into, which really sucks as he is one of my favourites. Some of these issues are my fault for pushing too hard, but a lot are just simple things you would normally do when playing with or transforming the figure, which can be really frustrating.

[DELTAprime]

Ok, I got a QC issue today.

My 2 standard Quints from Amazon arrived along with my Pit of Judgement from RK.

On the standard Quints they ship with two faces removed that have to be placed by the end user. Unfortunently one of the faces on one of my standard Quints was a real pain in the ass to put on the body.

It seemed like the top most clip on the face was not properly moulded and took a tonne of effort to force into the slot.

All the other faces went on super easy.

[Sinnertwin]

When you're a MISB collector, life's easy :)

[GoktimusPrime]

There is a dishonest collector in my local area.
Ive have noticed occasionally a toy will appear on shelves at the local Kmarts or Big W's that does not match it's box.
It looks like someone is buying new toys, but returning the box with an old toy in it.
Today i spotted a 2010/11 Deluxe Optimus prime in a Siege Scrapface box.
Its frustrating and I'm not even sure if the workers care that they've been stitched up.
:eek: You should report it. At least get management to prompt staff to be more vigilant in future.

[snaketales]

My robot heroes Shrapnel has gone all sticky. None of my others seem to be affected

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Yay, yet another round of US Target Earthrise exclusives that we probably won't get over here!

[DELTAprime]

Yay, yet another round of US Target Earthrise exclusives that we probably won't get over here!

Here's a link to Thrust at RK in case you missed my other mention of it.

https://www.robotkingdom.com/e78445l00.html

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Here's a link to Thrust at RK in case you missed my other mention of it.

https://www.robotkingdom.com/e78445l00.htmlCheers, I'm more after the Runabout, so that might be an option.

Still right over the 'FU rest of the world here feed our scalpers' bit that Hasbro has been pulling a lot lately though.

[DELTAprime]

Cheers, I'm more after the Runabout, so that might be an option.

Still right over the 'FU rest of the world here feed our scalpers' bit that Hasbro has been pulling a lot lately though.

I totally get that. I had to hit up two scalpers on ebay the other week because Hasbro didn't supply OMP with any more than a token amount of the Drone and Coneheads. It's totally infuriating.

Also here's Runabout's page on RK. I forgot to look him up earlier. Glad I didn't miss out.

https://www.robotkingdom.com/f01255l00.html

[Seraphim Prime]

Managed to break my Studio Series Jetfire’s axe by getting it stuck in his fist and torsioning the plastic trying to twist it out. :mad:

[Fungal Infection]

With all the exclusives coming and selling out, I think it's time to finish up with Transformers collecting for the time being. I have no issues with store exclusives as long as I don't have to resort to scalper pricing or paying through the nose for them. The same happened with Macross and their limited release chogokin valkyries. Might just stick to Lego for the time being until the passion ignites again.

[nalops]

In my pursuit of secondhand Transformers on Gumtree and Facebook, I've realised there's something that annoys almost more than anything else: bad postage quotes.

1 seller on Gumtree wanted $30 for postage. It was a Xiaomi Soundwave and no way would it be close to that. Just didn't even respond.

Another seller on Facebook who, when asked how much postage was, just said 'I don't know'. I said, 'no worries. Thanks anyways,' and didn't pursue it further. At least say, I'll get a quote/ask post office or something....

[SMHFConvoy]

That tablet soundwave would be $8.95 postage Australia wide, it's definitely 500g or under. Probably either overseas, only say that because Gumtree is part of eBay.

[SharkyMcShark]

In my pursuit of secondhand Transformers on Gumtree and Facebook, I've realised there's something that annoys almost more than anything else: bad postage quotes.

1 seller on Gumtree wanted $30 for postage. It was a Xiaomi Soundwave and no way would it be close to that. Just didn't even respond.

Another seller on Facebook who, when asked how much postage was, just said 'I don't know'. I said, 'no worries. Thanks anyways,' and didn't pursue it further. At least say, I'll get a quote/ask post office or something....

I had a similar issue with eBay about four years ago. Bought a loose Animated Hot Rod from a seller in NSW for I think $45+19 (or thereabouts) postage. When it reached me I saw that the AusPost sticker on it said that the postage cost was $7.20 (or whatever the basic fee was at the time).

Contacted him asking him why it was $19 shipping and asking if he'd refund the rest and he went absolutely ballistic (stalked my social media, stalked my work website). I just walked away from it - I don't need that kind of unpleasantness in my life for $12 difference.

[nalops]

Gumtree seller was supposedly in Australia. Guess they could've been overseas though but I'd be upfront about it then, especially when your first postage quote is $30.

Yea, absolutely not worth dealing with that.

[Flukey]

Man I hate it when Amazon emails me between midnight and 6am alerting me of certain items being available via the US, only to be gone by the time I get a chance to click on the link!

Was advised the earthrise Coneheads were available at 2:15 this morning and obviously they are gone now!! :mad::mad:

Same thing HAS happened with Studio series Prime No.44 on numerous occasions! :mad:

[Jaxius._]

In my pursuit of secondhand Transformers on Gumtree and Facebook, I've realised there's something that annoys almost more than anything else: bad postage quotes.

1 seller on Gumtree wanted $30 for postage. It was a Xiaomi Soundwave and no way would it be close to that. Just didn't even respond.

Another seller on Facebook who, when asked how much postage was, just said 'I don't know'. I said, 'no worries. Thanks anyways,' and didn't pursue it further. At least say, I'll get a quote/ask post office or something....

Surely everyone knows postage is $8.95 minimum. As a seller not knowing that to tell a buyer seems stupid

[snaketales]

Got my TFA Blitzwing out for a photo last night and his plastic helmet felt slimy and what looked like rust stains on it.
Gave it a clean but something to keep an eye out for.

[GoktimusPrime]

In my pursuit of secondhand Transformers on Gumtree and Facebook, I've realised there's something that annoys almost more than anything else: bad postage quotes.
Eep. :eek: Another reason why I prefer to buy my TFs first hand. :/

[Bidoofdude]

In my pursuit of secondhand Transformers on Gumtree and Facebook, I've realised there's something that annoys almost more than anything else: bad postage quotes.

1 seller on Gumtree wanted $30 for postage. It was a Xiaomi Soundwave and no way would it be close to that. Just didn't even respond.

Another seller on Facebook who, when asked how much postage was, just said 'I don't know'. I said, 'no worries. Thanks anyways,' and didn't pursue it further. At least say, I'll get a quote/ask post office or something....


That tablet soundwave would be $8.95 postage Australia wide, it's definitely 500g or under. Probably either overseas, only say that because Gumtree is part of eBay.

Unfortunately many use the postage costs as a way to make the bulk of their profit. eBay and presumably Gumtree (?) take a cut only from the list price, not the shipping quote, which is a way to get around paying much in fees. I wish there were more means to report listings with exorbitant shipping costs, but it doesn't seem to be really going away anytime soon.

[TAAUBlaster]

Unfortunately many use the postage costs as a way to make the bulk of their profit. eBay and presumably Gumtree (?) take a cut only from the list price, not the shipping quote, which is a way to get around paying much in fees. I wish there were more means to report listings with exorbitant shipping costs, but it doesn't seem to be really going away anytime soon.

Ebay (at least) have been taking a cut of postage costs for quite a few years now. Which is a bit of sham seeing as they are in no way involved with the postage of the item for most sellers - unless they specifically use Ebay postage labels.

[DELTAprime]

I personally hate the ebay Global Shipping Program. While it doesn't overcharge for postage, it forces people to use the fastest postage possible therefore making it rather expensive to buy items from overseas.

I would rather save $20 or $30 and wait a couple more weeks to get my Transformer.

[Autocon]

Ebay owns Gumtree. Gumtree is free last i used it but used more at your own peril.

[Defcon]

When I search for Transformers on facebook there is a local seller who sells Transformers from the Netflix series for an approx 50% markup. I noticed for Wave 1, about the first time they were on shelves and locally they sold out quickly. I missed out but noticed this seller had them on facebook at a markup. Now Wave 2 has shown up recently and by coincidence the seller also has these for sale now. This person is an obvious reseller. I can understand if the person imported these and is selling off extras, or if the stock is from 6 months ago, or if the stock is plentiful on the shelves, but the Netflix releases have been rare. He is also selling some much older stuff, and some older siege figures. Anyway sorry if some locals miss out the Netflix releases, cause maybe someone is not enjoying them strictly for collecting. Hope I'm wrong.

[Autocon]

Its the world we have made.

[kovert]

When I search for Transformers on facebook there is a local seller who sells Transformers from the Netflix series for an approx 50% markup... This person is an obvious reseller.

Super frustrating. :(

[GoktimusPrime]

The only way to vanquish scalpers is to starve them of income. We all vote with our wallets.
If a toy is a priority purchase for me then I'll either pre-order it or purchase it ASAP after release (depending on order of priority). Non-priority toys would be the ones that I don't pre-order or immediately purchase in stores, which means that I'm fine with never owning those toys. Either way I don't feed the scalpers.

[Defcon]

Some resellers are so random, not all have the same objective. Some buy up sets and sit on them and sell them later when they disappear from retail, I can understand this as income, and I really dont have a problem with it as long as the product they are buying is not rare. But how many resellers would ever see this as a problem, almost nil. I will never buy something marked up if its a new release at retail. Im prepared to wait or miss out. So people who buy new releases just arrived at retail, just to sell them are opportunists. I cant see this as income something else drives them. Maybe the profits are meant to reduce personal expenses, because maybe the reseller is also a collector who is trying to fund other personal purchases? Anyway its an annoying practice no matter the reason.

[Defcon]

I?m not the only one I know, but the seekers and coneheads as exclusives is aggravating!! I could of just bought them and paid more than I should have, but couldn?t bring myself to accept the price. I?m like saying to myself I could buy a Titan instead. They should of been in the selects range, at least we can get those.

[Seraphim Prime]

Opened my Selects Hubcap yesterday and the back of the car is missing! :mad:

Zing is all sold out based on the website, so I'll have to take it up with Hasbro direct, but not hopeful based on previous attempts for replacement parts :(


Good end to the story. Zing had a replacement in Burwood.

[GoktimusPrime]

Maybe the profits are meant to reduce personal expenses, because maybe the reseller is also a collector who is trying to fund other personal purchases? Anyway its an annoying practice no matter the reason.
There are so many better ways to reduce the cost of toy collecting without inconveniencing other collectors.
Also, the beauty of having set price points is that we can predict how much toys will cost months in advance, giving us the chance to save up before the toys are released.
e.g. G1 Studio Series. We know which figures are Deluxes and Voyagers, and we have a rough idea of how much a Deluxe and Voyager costs - even if you just save up for max RRP, yeah, you're set. It's not like in the days before Beast Wars when we didn't have set price points. Or disposable incomes because it was the 80s to mid 1990s and most of us hadn't started working yet. :p

[Defcon]

There are so many better ways to reduce the cost of toy collecting without inconveniencing other collectors.

Yes 2 minute noodles, cut down on junk food and snacks, don?t buy coffee, and also don?t buy any new clothes. I have used these ideas to cut down on spending otherwise I feel like , well I know I am overspending, then I enjoy my purchases less. But sometimes I?m not bothered because I?m so used to it, it?s a hobby that costs money.

[SMHFConvoy]

Looking at add on sets and upgrade kits for TFs on Thingiverse and Cults and while looking at the ER Astrotrain kit I realise that I've lost or my Astrotrain never came with a 2nd missile pod -_-

Guess that's part of the reason why I got a 3d printer but still... -_-

[Seraphim Prime]

I think it only came with one - an off choice I know, but i don't think you could store two within the tender.

[DELTAprime]

This really ****es me off. Porsche will license their cars to an R rated game with graphic violence, graphic sex, and drug use, but they won't license their cars to Transformers.

https://twitter.com/CyberpunkGame/status/1320859271538552832?s=20

[Flukey]

Man I hate it when Amazon emails me between midnight and 6am alerting me of certain items being available via the US, only to be gone by the time I get a chance to click on the link!

Was advised the earthrise Coneheads were available at 2:15 this morning and obviously they are gone now!! :mad::mad:

Same thing HAS happened with Studio series Prime No.44 on numerous occasions! :mad:

FMD..I've been sent three emails today notifying me, at different times of the day, that Transformers Toys Generations War for Cybertron: Earthrise Voyager WFC-E27 Seeker Elite 2-Pack Action Figures being available on amazon and amazon.au and each time I have been doing things, this morning I was down grabbing a coffee and just now I was putting the kids to bed and and even being 10 minutes late she's gone already!!

I guess those are the joys of this hobby!!

[Seraphim Prime]

Listening to Radio Free Cybertron and listening to the hosts talk about how the Netflix figures are stuck warming shelves, while they flew out the door here how Hasbro AU had only managed relatively limited stock because of the order numbers that Walmart initially put in.

[GoktimusPrime]

My Generations Selects Centurion came missing its radar dish for Trailbreaker. :mad:
Willing to swap for one of the Energon Cubes or little Optimus Prime figurine (for use with HasLab Unicron) in case anyone is interested.

[Flukey]

Kind of venting on myself this evening and The way this Hobby has taken hold of me over the last couple of months!

Dont get me wrong, Im really enjoying being a big kid again and I love the smile it puts on my Little Boy and Girls face when they get to play and hold the figures

But I feel that when I see sales, certain figures at the right price or new releases are on the shelves, if I dont grab it now and then, I'll miss out and kick myself down the tack having to go the expensive route...I think that's my impatience to wait things out kicking in!

And because of this, have I mentioned how much I hate exclusives HA!!

[reillyd]

There are so many better ways to reduce the cost of toy collecting without inconveniencing other collectors.

I don?t want to steer this too far off topic (this is for venting, dammit!), but kind of curious what those ?better ways to reduce the cost of toy collecting? might be? Short of signing up for a retailer account through a toy distributor like EntertainmentEarth, I can?t think of any way to reduce the cost. Especially if you?re paying retail (unless you mean things like store discounts or cash back schemes?)

I?d seriously considered doing just that - opening a business ($79 gets you an ABN these days) getting a retailer account and importing exclusive items (like generations select) that I know we won?t be getting at retail. Buy a case, take one for myself, and then flip the remainder (even if at a slightly lower price than I paid for, if it discounted mine and helped others out). But its the darn shipping that?s so expensive these days (at least for a consumer account - maybe they offer discounts for their wholesale clients?). Likewise importing toys direct through companies like RK, the bloody shipping.

I?m spending a fair proportion of my somewhat limited budget on JUST THE SHIPPING- NOT THE TOY ITSELF.
It?s getting so bad that I?m only ordering relatively small lightweight toys because anything bigger I?m going to get reamed by the cubic/volumetric shipping pricing.

I miss the days when surface mail was a reliable option, and you could save money if you weren?t impatient.

Anyone with solutions, I?m all ears.

[Sinnertwin]

Where are you buying your figures from, Reilly, that hurt so much with postage?

[SMHFConvoy]

Who told you that an ABN is $79? They're free.

[kovert]

With so many exclusives lately, shipping has become major part of the cost especially if you want tracking.

(It's the business name registration via ASIC that incurs a fee - yearly or every three years.)

[Jaxius._]

Scalpers complaining when you point them out
Theres people on Facebook who have bought 8 netflix bees to sell on ebay for inflated prices to ‘buy things at ebay prices’ and another one complaining no one wants to spend $50 on a $29 toy

Like it’s not even a 3 month old toy

[Sinnertwin]

Blame the people that keep scalpers in business.

[GoktimusPrime]

Blame the people that keep scalpers in business.
^This so much. The best way to eradicate scalper scum is to never buy from them.

[GoktimusPrime]

Something that mildly bothers me about the character art on the Studio Series 86 boxes... the fingers are all out of proportion.
https://i.ibb.co/fpvBJ3p/temp.jpg
It's no secret that on a human(oid) hand, the longest to shortest digits are the middle finger, index finger, ring finger, pinky finger and thumb. I know that the Transformers are alien robots, but most G1 Transformers are designed as anthropomorphic robots; they have humanlike faces and body proportions etc. And in the original G1 designs, they all had proportionately humanlike hands (as you can see on the fist sculpts, G1 packaging art, G1 comics, G1 cartoon, books etc.) - it's already established in G1 canon that they're meant to have humanlike hands.

Obviously it's not a deal breaker as I've already purchased all of these toys, but it's just something that has not gone unnoticed. It's also made me decide not to keep the boxes. I'll keep the diorama backgrounds, but I'll be chucking out the boxes. The rest of the art is fairly nice (except for Kup's expression of constipated dull surprise :p), but yeah, not convinced to keep the boxes.

[DELTAprime]

I hate all these exclusives and their limited availability. This year I had to pay way too much on ebay for Skywarp and Thundercracker, Ramjet and Dirge (which I still don't have as the seller is in Japan and TT Mall haven't sent their stock out yet) and Netflix Soundwave.

[JJJ]

Yup, I'll possibly never get hold of the Coneheads, which I consider essential parts of a G1 collection.

Why did you end up paying too much for Netflix Soundwave?

[DELTAprime]

Yup, I'll possibly never get hold of the Coneheads, which I consider essential parts of a G1 collection.

Why did you end up paying too much for Netflix Soundwave?

My local Kmart never got him. They only got sent more of Wave 1 when Wave 2 was being sent to other stores.

[JJJ]

I'm sick of Hasbro's crappy distribution, the last-wave-of-the-line fade out, and the slacker laziness of Big W shelf-stackers (have I mentioned how they put out exactly one half of a case of Earthrise W3 deluxes and would not get the rest?).

I finally have Sunstreaker and Trailbreaker on the way, but could I get them from a damned shelf? No, I had to buy them from a Melbourne importer. At this point I am convinced that they never will show up on shelves in Mildura; the next re-stock I see will have Kingdom or even SS86 toys.

But at least I know the whole last-wave-is-a-mirage thing exists so I can do something about it. Did not know about it for Siege's last wave...

[nalops]

They'll probably show up close to next year like how Siege Wave 5 started showing up randomly late last year.

[Skyfire]

I miss toy shopping in Singapore. One of my favourite places is Takashimaya, where people right now are seeing this (https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/attachments/20210113_195033-jpg.28916386/).

[klystron]

I'm really annoyed that I've been put into a position to chose either to possibly miss ER Sunstreaker or pay a premium/inflated price. I chose to pre-order at a higher than normal/retail price, but I'm not happy about it. (At least it was an online Aust business). I dont even think its that good a figure. On top of the higher price, I will probably have to buy toyhax labels and upgrade kit since its inexcusable that he does not come with a weapon. (C'mon Hasbro, seriously?).

[Skyfire]

I'm really annoyed that I've been put into a position to chose either to possibly miss ER Sunstreaker or pay a premium/inflated price.
You gotta get him klystron, he's there in your thumbnail! :p But, yes, this whole wave 3 business is rather annoying (for you, me, JJJ and many others), especially after walking past a million Ironworks.

[Omega Metro]

I'm really annoyed that I've been put into a position to chose either to possibly miss ER Sunstreaker or pay a premium/inflated price. I chose to pre-order at a higher than normal/retail price, but I'm not happy about it. (At least it was an online Aust business). I dont even think its that good a figure. On top of the higher price, I will probably have to buy toyhax labels and upgrade kit since its inexcusable that he does not come with a weapon. (C'mon Hasbro, seriously?).

Ended up paying about $43 each for Sunstreaker and Trailbreaker on Amazon. It’s the Ironhide/Prowl 2pack that has me concerned and angry. Managed to get Skywarp and Thundercracker for a great price. But it shouldn’t have to be so difficult and expensive to get these core characters. Luckily I’m only after Warpath from Kingdom wave 1. Oh and Thrust.

[High_Q]

I miss toy shopping in Singapore. One of my favourite places is Takashimaya, where people right now are seeing this (https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/attachments/20210113_195033-jpg.28916386/).

I think i recognise that shelf at Takashimaya's toy dept, though i think it stocked Gunpla and toy cars in 2009. :D
I enjoyed their occasional toy mega clearance sales in the basement open area. Just boxes of toys piled up.

I would walk through some random alleyway in Singapore, and there would be a collectibles shop selling overpriced vintage toys.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

I miss toy shopping in Singapore. One of my favourite places is Takashimaya, where people right now are seeing this (https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/attachments/20210113_195033-jpg.28916386/).


I think i recognise that shelf at Takashimaya's toy dept, though i think it stocked Gunpla and toy cars in 2009. :D
I enjoyed their occasional toy mega clearance sales in the basement open area. Just boxes of toys piled up.

I would walk through some random alleyway in Singapore, and there would be a collectibles shop selling overpriced vintage toys.

Its interesting seeing different countries having different set ups.

I have a Takashimaya near me and its an expensive department store. I don't think they even have a section for toys.

[High_Q]

Its interesting seeing different countries having different set ups.

I have a Takashimaya near me and its an expensive department store. I don't think they even have a section for toys.

That's sacrilegious! ;) Back in the golden age (the 80s), in Singapore, we had Isetan, Daimaru, Tokyu, Seiyu, SOGO, Yaohan, all of which had massive toy departments. Tokyu was the best, with a proper toy department selling children's toys, and a separate novelty item/mancave/party section. The European dept stores there and then, on the other hand, stocked only wooden toys and $60 miniature model trains.

[Skyfire]

Tetsuwan, after thinking Taka in Japan was like the Singapore one, I was sorely disappointed when I visited Tokyo :(.

You know, High_Q, that red shelf/pillar in Singapore Taka has been iconic for TFs the last several years. The toy section used to be in another area of that floor many years ago. But TFs have been there since recent times, and above the TV is the locked glass cabinet where the really good stuff like Masterpieces and Japanese TFs are kept. Plus that red shelf is not the only shelf - there are 2 or 3 others next to it, all full of TF goodness. Ugh, so much selection compared to Aussie general retail shelves. I remember the 80s in Singapore too and the wacky thing is there were SO MANY G1s that I got disappointed as a kid because I couldn't afford them all. I had to choose carefully. If I were an Aussie kid going to Singapore now, it'd be the same! Seriously, that one shelf has a Netflix, ER wave 2, ER wave 3, Quintesson Judge voyager, Kingdom deluxes and leader, SS86 deluxes and voyagers, other SS, Gen Selects, Street Fighter and Top Gun, plus the cabinet:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50848849642_6abec7b4ec_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2ktkDsb)

Plus Chinese New Year sales coming! Plus Optimus Prime red packets! :mad:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50848694256_ce4e8c7900_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2ktjRg7)

[Seraphim Prime]

Tetsuwan, after thinking Taka in Japan was like the Singapore one, I was sorely disappointed when I visited Tokyo :(.

You know, High_Q, that red shelf/pillar in Singapore Taka has been iconic for TFs the last several years. The toy section used to be in another area of that floor many years ago. But TFs have been there since recent times, and above the TV is the locked glass cabinet where the really good stuff like Masterpieces and Japanese TFs are kept. Plus that red shelf is not the only shelf - there are 2 or 3 others next to it, all full of TF goodness. Ugh, so much selection compared to Aussie general retail shelves. I remember the 80s in Singapore too and the wacky thing is there were SO MANY G1s that I got disappointed as a kid because I couldn't afford them all. I had to choose carefully. If I were an Aussie kid going to Singapore now, it'd be the same! Seriously, that one shelf has a Netflix, ER wave 2, ER wave 3, Quintesson Judge voyager, Kingdom deluxes and leader, SS86 deluxes and voyagers, other SS, Gen Selects, Street Fighter and Top Gun...


This is moving from venting to discussion, but is there a cultural difference between Aussie retail and Singapore retail that they're happier to sit on stock for longer periods?

Or is it that we are comparing collectibles stores, which are generally happier to sit on stock for longer, with our general retail stores like Kmart that want higher turnover times.

[Skyfire]

Sorry if my rant is getting long winded :). This time of year I would sometimes be in Singapore enjoying all the TF goodness. And that's the thing, Takashimaya is just a department store, not a collectibles shop. It's the level of DJs - if Myer or DJs had stock like that, we'd all wet out pants! And the general and higher end toys seen recently at Taka can be found at TRUs and other (lower level) dept stores like Metro, OG and BHG. And then there's the Asia exclusives like 4-5 ER Thrusts just sitting there on some shelf (I kid you not).

I don't know how the retail works differently in Singapore, but they seem to have more stock generally and do re-orders more, maybe reflecting kids' (and kidults') greater interest in toys? At least our TFs are cheaper here.

Annoyance subsiding, wait for next year...

[Seraphim Prime]

Sorry if my rant is getting long winded :).

Sorry - I was more commenting on my own enquiry and turning of a rant into a discussion - not yours :)

[nalops]

Someone on FB is trying to sell their Unicron pre-order for $1600!!!!??? I have no words.

[griffin]

Unicron is very unlikely to ever be re-released... so if there is demand from people who missed out, or couldn't afford it (or had to cancel their pre-order during covid), I think the secondary price might go up a fair bit when it gets released.
In America, most people had to pay during the pre-order period (for a really expensive toy they wouldn't get for over a year), which was just a couple months to save up all that money, so a lot of people would have had to skip it and then regret it later... for us and many other countries, we've had almost a year and a half to save up and pay it off, so it wouldn't have seen to be as much of a risk or burden for more of us who were interested.

[nalops]

I've chosen just to accept the 100 for my pre-order that I'm letting go but I can see why people would want more. In saying that, I don't think it's fair to make someone pay almost double and justifying it by saying people shouldn't have been lazy/ stupid for missing out like this person was, especially when it's their spare one. Grrrrrrrr. Sorry, I had that bottled up.

[griffin]

It's unfortunate for anyone who had to offload one for equal or less than what was paid... but ultimately it is just capitalism (and some luck) - supply and demand... especially on the secondary market.
Unlike what some people say about toys "needing to be sold for what they were at retail for", they wouldn't sell a house or car for the price they paid for it 5, 10 or 20 years later... the car wouldn't sell, and they could be giving away a house for half of what it could have given them.

BotCon exclusives were a classic example of secondary values. Ignoring 1996, the early years (1994-1998) didn't sell out, or increase much in value until about 2000, because it was a fairly niche event, and very few fans were online to know about it. Then during the peak years of popularity (2006-2010), the demand of each year by those who couldn't attend (or missed out when many of those years sold out their limited number of pre-registrations) forced the secondary prices to go through the roof.
The Beast Wars year (2006) sold out everything at the event and had such demand, the prices on some went up by 5 to 10 times their original (already expensive) prices... it actually convinced me to not miss any more BotCons, as it was cheaper to fly to the convention, than to chase up all 15-odd toys on the secondary market at double or triple their original prices. Over the next 4 or 5 years, I probably saved money by going all the way over there to secure the toys at their original prices, compared to fighting for them on ebay and paying postage to Australia.
But then, in the last few years of the convention (2013-2016), almost none of their toys sold out at the event, and many from these years were the ones that were collecting dust in their warehouse and discounted heavily when they had their closing down sale in 2017. The secondary market for many, particularly outside of America, was still at or slightly above their original prices, but within America (and if you had contacts) the secondary value of many from those last four years were less, making it a loss for anyone trying to offload theirs that they bought at the convention.
It also didn't help that FunPub were producing about 30-40 toys each year at the end of their run, which for collectors means less money you have available per toy if you are needing to buy more toys at once. You either have to be selective to secure what you want, or risk missing out by spending more time trying to find a cheaper option.

An auction with more than one interested buyer would give us a more accurate value of an item, as the buyers set the value of an item, not the seller.
I think when Unicron is released in most countries in 1-2 months time, check out ebay auctions (not buy-it-now listings) of sealed Unicrons, and the more common sale prices will show us how much the demand has affected its price.

[Tha_Phantom]

Someone on FB is trying to sell their Unicron pre-order for $1600!!!!??? I have no words.

That person used to be a member here. Just block them and move on, they aren't worth your time.

[Sinnertwin]

People wouldn't have batted an eyelid if he'd had said yeah, it's $1600, but it's an import, shipping, GST, import taxes blah blah blah just looking to get back what it cost yada yada yada

[Handsprime]

Mild vent:
I tried to see if I could collect all the Transformers Pop Vinyl figures, I managed to pick up Jetfire to no issues, and when I thought this was gonna be easy, turns out I completely ignored Nemesis Prime which is not easy to find, and at prices I’m not willing to pay for a simple redeco. Argh.

[nalops]

Nemesis was available via Popcultcha but I imagine it sold out fairly quickly.

[Bidoofdude]

Was transforming my Power of the Primes Snarl with very little force and the back/tail split piece snapped randomly in the middle in my hands. The part was made of glossy grey plastic. I can still nestle it in fine in both modes, but I’m hoping this is not a major problem that will start showing up with all my dinobots.

[DELTAprime]

Sigh. I got a slightly defective WFC K Rodimus. His right arm isn't connected properly to the shoulder. There is a metal post with barbs that are meant to have dug into the plastic to keep the arm connected. But on mine, the barbs only provide enough friction to hold the arm on and not enough to withstand the pulling pressure of transformation. Fortunately, it's not a bad enough issue to make me return it.

[Golden Phoenix]

Ugh. Today while dusting I gave Combiner Wars Dead End a big 'ol stress mark on the roof piece which holds onto the windscreen.
It's at least hidden on the underside of here
6512

I had no issues with any of the others that share the same moulding. So frustrating.

[GoktimusPrime]

Picked up T-Wrecks from Casey's Toys yesterday but mine is defective as the hips won't separate. I tried using knives and a nail file to try and wedge it open to no avail. Dropped a hobby knife on my ankle during the attempt. :(

Thankfully I still have the receipt, but yeah... this one is getting exchanged or refunded.

[Krayt]

Picked up T-Wrecks from Casey's Toys yesterday but mine is defective as the hips won't separate. I tried using knives and a nail file to try and wedge it open to no avail. Dropped a hobby knife on my ankle during the attempt. :(

Thankfully I still have the receipt, but yeah... this one is getting exchanged or refunded.

They are all super tight compared to Megs....

[Jaxius._]

I won't be the first to complain about prices and exclusives but man how can a $50 Netflix Soundwave that i could get from Kmart now go for no lower than $100?!?!
I understand it was rare but jesus, i wish hasbro would reissue things like this instead of Arcee or wheeljack.

[JJJ]

I won't be the first to complain about prices and exclusives but man how can a $50 Netflix Soundwave that i could get from Kmart now go for no lower than $100?!?!
I understand it was rare but jesus, i wish hasbro would reissue things like this instead of Arcee or wheeljack.

Well that's the thing; they were (deliberately) under-produced. And ridiculous prices are the natural consequence of under-production.

What I want to rant about is why Hasbro seemingly has no desire to meet demand. It has been established for decades that meeting demand will always make you more money than not doing so, and will also cover the costs of any left-overs (of which there need be none, in this day and age). There is no reason for these things to be scarce.

[DELTAprime]

My local Kmart missed the Nextflix Soundwave wave. I felt lucky paying only about $80 for one including shipping.

I still need to find a WFC E Dirge, Ramjet and Sunstreaker plus the upcoming WFC K Red Alert, Ranger and Puffer.

Given how many actual nightmares I've had in recent years about missing out on limited edition Transformers I really think this limited edition BS is not good for my mental health.

[1AZRAEL1]

Think I paid 80 odd for one through Saviers, then picked up another for about 40 bucks on one of the sales pages. Missed seeing any of him locally.

[Skyfire]

Looking at the WFC Kingdom Red Alert (Earth mode), I wish the thighs and forearms were white or at least the head was black.

Red Alert is another remake of a G1 toy with great likeness, engineering and posability (the War for Cybertron and 86 Studio Series lines have produced the best moulds ever made for many figures)... with odd colour choices that are not quite toy or show accurate. There are so many examples (ER Optimus Prime's grey inner lower legs, Huffer's grey feet, Inferno's grey head wings and ladder...), it seems deliberate to avoid colour accuracy - I guess they don't want to cannibalise their Masterpiece line.

The sad thing is that these WFC moulds are as close as they'll probably get to recreating the G1 toys/characters with great structural likeness, so why not go the whole 9 yards and actually get the colours/patterns accurate (toy, cartoon, show or comic accurate... not something out of place and not a mishmash of all of the above).

[Ultra Mackness]

Roaming around Highpoint SC to the north of Melbourne. Visited 3 major toy shops, all of which had the wave three kingdom core class dracadon. Across the three stores there were over 20 of them. And not one single Soundwave. Might not be the case, but it just feels like scalpers got in on this one.

[Jaxius._]

I managed to preorder the last pit of judgement set at an online store last year, only to now find out that they won't be getting it

I'm happy to get the refund but was really hoping to get that set mainly for the baliff and the other little things exclusive to that set.

Hopefully i also get the quintesson that was in that order because i missed out on them and the alicons because i thought they may hit retail after christmas like TR Blitzwing did at Big W

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Was wondering why Takaratomy hadn't sent me my Ark toy in December and so a quick lok at their shop page shows me it was quietly shoved back until Mid February. Their product page still lists it as a December release though. Shonky buggers

[griffin]

Was wondering why Takaratomy hadn't sent me my Ark toy in December and so a quick lok at their shop page shows me it was quietly shoved back until Mid February. Their product page still lists it as a December release though. Shonky buggers

TTM have updated their listing to February (https://takaratomymall.jp/shop/g/g4904810177944/)... so it just took some time.