WFC Kingdom toys now on their way to stores here

[griffin]

Kingdom is coming boys and girls.
For all of those people who bought Transformers toys from an Australian store in December, you helped make it one of the best years for the Brand, even with all of the Covid lockdowns and it being a non-Movie year. Stores have been cleaned out (at least one Kmart in Brisbane had ZERO Transformers toys left after Christmas), and it helped clear out the 2020 toys at Hasbro.

So, thankyou everyone for making it a great year for Transformers in Australia.


The good news is, as of today, the first wave of Kingdom toys is now on it's way to Australian retailers, which should mean they should start showing up in stores in the next week, depending on who wants them and how long they process the stock at their various warehouses. So keep an eye out for them, and let us know if you find them first.

Also... being sent out with the Kingdom toys this week, are the Studio Series 1986 toys. We had a small amount get an advance release just before Christmas to Kmart, BigW and Toyworld... but now they are being properly released to all retailers who sell Studio Series, in much greater numbers.


Now the bad news... it probably means that we might not see any more 2020 stock in stores, like the last waves of Earthrise now that Kingdom is released. Also, due to various issues and delays from the global pandemic last year, the Quintesson Pit and wave 1 R.E.D. toys are confirmed to NOT be coming to Australia. We were hoping they were coming here as they were on the Hasbro wishlist last year, but after all this time since their global release, we assumed that we missed them, and have now been told as much. Not sure if we might still get other waves of R.E.D. toys, as this is just wave 1 that we missed so far.

[kovert]

... it probably means that we might not see any more 2020 stock in stores, like the last waves of Earthrise now that Kingdom is released.

It is great to hear the new 2021 stock is about to arrive. What is extremely disappointing is retail stores always skipping a wave. With wave 2 being released only in the last few months of 2020, I thought this might happen.

[dirge]

It is great to hear the new 2021 stock is about to arrive. What is extremely disappointing is retail stores always skipping a wave. With wave 2 being released only in the last few months of 2020, I thought this might happen.

As griffin has informed us before, Hasbro AU can only order by size class. So... depending on when the retailers order more stock and then when they place orders, waves can be skipped.

Earthrise Wave 3 HAS popped up here in NSW, but only at some Big Ws and it flew. I was lucky enough to find them, but I had to quite a bit of searching as my first Runamuck was faulty - finding a second one involved checking man Big Ws, as the 3 closest to me never got the wave!

[SMHFConvoy]

It is great to hear the new 2021 stock is about to arrive. What is extremely disappointing is retail stores always skipping a wave. With wave 2 being released only in the last few months of 2020, I thought this might happen.

I'm quite forgiving because last year was unprecedented and at the same time keep an eye on chains like the reject shop, toymate or Casey's because they have on occasion gotten in waves that were skipped

[Sutton]

I might be naive or something, but I'm probably a lot less forgiving of this sort of thing - with technology and logistics where it should be at in 2021, there's not really an excuse for this sort of thing. There's a big enough chunk of Hasbro's business that goes towards adult collectors that they could try using a different delivery/supply model than the one from 1982.

Hasbro has made it VERY difficult to get some characters this year - soooo many exclusives. They go and make the definitive G1 CHUG Prowl and Bluestreak, but then make them exclusives? And then every seeker other than Starscream - if I wasn't so close to completing my collecting goals, I'd be considering getting out of the hobby altogether.

[dirge]

I might be naive or something, but I'm probably a lot less forgiving of this sort of thing - with technology and logistics where it should be at in 2021, there's not really an excuse for this sort of thing. There's a big enough chunk of Hasbro's business that goes towards adult collectors that they could try using a different delivery/supply model than the one from 1982.

Hasbro has made it VERY difficult to get some characters this year - soooo many exclusives. They go and make the definitive G1 CHUG Prowl and Bluestreak, but then make them exclusives? And then every seeker other than Starscream - if I wasn't so close to completing my collecting goals, I'd be considering getting out of the hobby altogether.

What really makes this difficult is that Hasbro US decides the exclusives... and while they may well be reasonably accessible in the USA, they're often an absolute pain to get here.

I wish the store exclusives were general store releases here, like Hasbro Asia are able to do in HK, Taiwan and the Philippines. Hopefully soon!

[JJJ]

So what I'm taking away from this (because most of Kingdom will not be for me) is that I should press the button on that Quintesson Judge that an Australian importer has because it is now almost certain that I will never see one on a shelf, right?

Done, and a good thing too, it was the last one in stock. And I've no idea where else in Australia I might have acquired one.

[Omega Metro]

So what I'm taking away from this (because most of Kingdom will not be for me) is that I should press the button on that Quintesson Judge that an Australian importer has because it is now almost certain that I will never see one on a shelf, right?

Done, and a good thing too, it was the last one in stock. And I've no idea where else in Australia I might have acquired one.

I feel better now that I bought Trailbreaker and Sunstreaker from Amazon the other day at slightly exorbitant prices.

[JJJ]

Yep, I got fed up with waiting for BigW to put out the rest of the W3 case (they put some Runamucks and Fasttracks out at the start of December, and have stubbornly refused to put any more stock, except Studio Series Leader Shockwave which turned up yesterday, out since - the section is horribly bare, as are a few other parts of their toy shelves), and bought those exact two deluxes from where I just grabbed the Judge.

[SMHFConvoy]

I might be naive or something, but I'm probably a lot less forgiving of this sort of thing - with technology and logistics where it should be at in 2021, there's not really an excuse for this sort of thing. There's a big enough chunk of Hasbro's business that goes towards adult collectors that they could try using a different delivery/supply model than the one from 1982.

Hasbro has made it VERY difficult to get some characters this year - soooo many exclusives. They go and make the definitive G1 CHUG Prowl and Bluestreak, but then make them exclusives? And then every seeker other than Starscream - if I wasn't so close to completing my collecting goals, I'd be considering getting out of the hobby altogether.

I'm taking the pandemic into consideration, it affected everyone globally and drastically reduced the workforce including people in logistics.

[griffin]

There must be stock somewhere in the world of wave 3 Deluxes, because they didn't really show up much anywhere. Maybe they might get dumped here cheap for a BigW sale later this year. At least, it might be something some of us will have to hope for if we don't want to pay secondary market prices.
(we never got Siege Apeface here, despite all those 2019 Siege Megatrons & Thundercrackers before Christmas 2020... so you just never know what we will get and what we will miss)

As dirge noted, the US exclusives coming here is dictated by Hasbro America.
And missing waves of regular lines here can just come down to not needing a restock before the cut-off in China of that wave (some waves can end up only being a couple months apart)... like if not enough retailers are interested in a particular size class (like the Battlemasters) to need more imported into the country as often, or if we were allocated too much stock of an earlier wave by Hasbro America.

[griffin]

Still no Kingdom toys found yet?
I was hoping we'd see something somewhere by now... even if it has only been 6 days since they started shipping to retailers, as Toyworlds are usually pretty quick putting stuff out... and Kmarts are desperate for new stock.

[nalops]

Going to Carindale and Garden City tomorrow so I'll let you know.

[JJJ]

They've hit Brisbane. (https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/australia-transformers-sightings.87156/page-116#post-18711119)

[Krayt]

And Morayfield.... why is QLD getting everything first!!??

[nalops]

And Macgregor. I have a feeling I'll miss out seeing as the earliest I can go check is Tuesday.

[JJJ]

And Morayfield.... why is QLD getting everything first!!??

Don't they usually? It's generally been Morayfield where the first Australian sightings have been reported over at TFW2005.

[griffin]

Mr Toys looks to be the fastest to get them out to stores, which is why its all SE QLD stores yesterday.

[Paulbot]

Mr Toys looks to be the fastest to get them out to stores, which is why its all SE QLD stores yesterday.

Come on Victoria Toyworlds don't let us down

These things will be everywhere soon though so I'm hoping there's not the mad kind of rush we saw with the initial release of Studio Series 86 waves.

[dirge]

Some sightings on FB in the ACT (Toyworlds) I believe.

[griffin]

These things will be everywhere soon though so I'm hoping there's not the mad kind of rush we saw with the initial release of Studio Series 86 waves.

Ha.... don't count on it. Just like the Netflix and ss86 toys, people will be rushing to Mr Toys stores for these.
On the plus side, at least these new toys showed up at a smaller retailer first, so they get some sales before the cheaper stock shows up at the national retailers.

[Flukey]

The two major retailers in BigW and Kmart are currently going through their big back to school push, with their current catalogues Finishing up next week, so wonder if we might start seeing Kingdom and SS86 once these are completed?

[Tha_Phantom]

Some sightings on FB in the ACT (Toyworlds) I believe.

Toymate Penrith in NSW too. Got the whole first wave of Kingdom now. Happy. :)

[JJJ]

The two major retailers in BigW and Kmart are currently going through their big back to school push, with their current catalogues Finishing up next week, so wonder if we might start seeing Kingdom and SS86 once these are completed?

I certainly hope so. Their shelves grow ever more bare, and the staff just keep spreading stuff out to make it look like there's stock...

[Flukey]

Toymate Penrith in NSW too. Got the whole first wave of Kingdom now. Happy. :)

Not all stores have them at the moment just checked their website and store availability. https://toymate.com.au/transformers-generations-war-for-cybertron-kingdom-deluxe-class-assorted/?_ga=2.82898646.1163598150.1610620685-672142457.1589450347

But nice to see them starting to roll out here in NSW as we seemed to had lagged behind when the last Netflix waves popped up

[Flukey]

I certainly hope so. Their shelves grow ever more bare, and the staff just keep spreading stuff out to make it look like there's stock...

Unless you want Siege Megs and Thundercracker!! :D

[LuminisPrime]

Given the way retailers here dragged out with Earthrise waves last year, I think I will just end up going through Superbuy. That is where I ended up getting the wave 2 and 3 deluxes as well as Siege and studio series stuff we didn't get and some at pretty good prices as well.

As much as I want to give Australian retailers the business, if I can't get them or miss out, at least I have other places to go to.

[Tha_Phantom]

Not all stores have them at the moment just checked their website and store availability. https://toymate.com.au/transformers-generations-war-for-cybertron-kingdom-deluxe-class-assorted/?_ga=2.82898646.1163598150.1610620685-672142457.1589450347

But nice to see them starting to roll out here in NSW as we seemed to had lagged behind when the last Netflix waves popped up

Yeah definitely worth making some calls before visiting.

[reillyd]

They're now starting to hit ebay from sellers in Qld and Victoria at astronomical markups (e.g 50 for a deluxe). While its possible they were imported, it likely means stock has hit shelves in those states and they're scalping it to flip. These should all see a wide release (beyond just Toyworld and Toymate) so try to avoid feeding the scalpers.

[griffin]

Some people have been getting some Kingdom toys from their Zing/EB pre-orders... which I should imagine would be in all states (if not, it would be within a day or two).

Unfortunately, Zing & EB were delivery only, so won't show up in stores... unless they have too much unsold stock sitting at their main warehouse and send it out to random stores.

[nalops]

As much as I want to get Kingdom toys, I might have to cool my Transformers spending for a while. I already have quite a few open pre-orders I'll need to pay off soon. Hoping I can find them later in the year. Always layby if I really have to I suppose.

[nalops]

I do hope Myer get Kingdom toys in. Still have a $20 voucher to use there.

[Skyfire]

I do hope Myer get Kingdom toys in. Still have a $20 voucher to use there.

I'm sure they will, and at shelf warming numbers. I've literally seen 10 Ironworks or Grapples (with dust on them), 8 Astrotrains and 5-6 of the same Studio Series deluxes at a time, and taking a few weeks to deplete. Combine that with the Super Weekends like right now (usually equating to 20% off) and you'll be smiling nalops!

I actually hope that Myer doesn't get Kingdom in yet, so they can move from wave 2 ER to wave 3 ER rather than bypassing wave 3. Then, by the time they get Kingdom, most people would have secured theirs, leaving a bunch for Myer's sales.

Toymate has put up Leader ($89) and Core ($19.99) listings on their website (in addition to the deluxes reported earlier):
https://toymate.com.au/shop/?search_query=transformers+kingdom

[nalops]

I'd be happy with that. I have until October with the voucher. Do wish I had a Toymate close to me.

Edit: Hyperdome is technically close but I tend to bus everywhere and it's not easy to get to from where I live.

[Flukey]

Im not interested in the beast war figures but what G1 are we seeing with the current release of Kingdom deluxes? warpath and Huffer?

[Paulbot]

Im not interested in the beast war figures but what G1 are we seeing with the current release of Kingdom deluxes? warpath and Huffer?

Warpath is the only G1 in the wave 1 deluxes, Huffer (and Arcee) in wave 2

[Flukey]

So from what I can see so far on the current release is that Cyclonus might be the hardest to locate out of the voyagers, with 1 being put out to every 2 Optimus Primal

[Skyfire]

So from what I can see so far on the current release is that Cyclonus might be the hardest to locate out of the voyagers, with 1 being put out to every 2 Optimus Primal

Perhaps it also shows that people are not tired of G1, despite calls for more Beast Wars. Releasing the 86 Movie figures (Scourge) so close may also have increased Cyclonus's popularity. Cyclonus is also scarce in Singapore, where I follow the news, and Singapore gets heaps of TFs. Optimus Primal is, I think, going to be joining his friends Grapple and Snapdragon clogging the shelves. Inferno will be the next problem (2 Dinobots to 1 Inferno in a case).

[1AZRAEL1]

I really do hope we see more of Wave 3 Earthrise, I wanted Fasttrack. But I don't really care enough to import. Seems I feel that about most stuff these days, except the last Micros wave I've ordered online.

Was lucky enough to find Cyclonus at Penrith on Monday so grabbed him. Honestly a good figure. Might even replace my CHUG one

[mharry]

I tried buying some kingdom deluxes through Kmart online.
Behold.
https://i.imgur.com/63HbAPr.jpg
Random selection sucks.

[Omega Metro]

I really do hope we see more of Wave 3 Earthrise, I wanted Fasttrack.

Hopefully Popcultcha will get them in a few months. They only had wave 2 deluxes come ‘In Stock’ a few days ago. Which is funny as Target and Kmart are clearing them out.:rolleyes:

[Skyfire]

Wow, Kingdom Cyclonus has really sold out fast. I've been watching it play out over East, then WFC-KD came to Perth. 3 weeks ago Cyclonus appeared at Toymates in Perth and only lasted a few days. And now with the Target/Kmart wave in the last week in Perth, he has been snapped up just as quickly. Next should be the Myer/Big W wave - will he do the Myer Grapple/Snapdragon shelfwarm shuffle? Or will he succumb to armada-building or scalping?

They really should have packed Voyagers the other way around - 2 G1s for 1 Beast War. I can see the same rush to buy Inferno when he comes out.

[SMHFConvoy]

Wow, Kingdom Cyclonus has really sold out fast. I've been watching it play out over East, then WFC-KD came to Perth. 3 weeks ago Cyclonus appeared at Toymates in Perth and only lasted a few days. And now with the Target/Kmart wave in the last week in Perth, he has been snapped up just as quickly. Next should be the Myer/Big W wave - will he do the Myer Grapple/Snapdragon shelfwarm shuffle? Or will he succumb to armada-building or scalping?

They really should have packed Voyagers the other way around - 2 G1s for 1 Beast War. I can see the same rush to buy Inferno when he comes out.

Yeah, I really just want Cyclonus, hopefully he gets repacked with future waves

[Skyfire]

Just in case people have missed these reports in the state sightings, Myer has embargoed Kingdom wave 2 (looks like they have skipped wave 1). WA, Vic, NSW and Qld have had reported instances of toys being scanned at the registers as not purchasable and removed from our hands/the shelves. They are holding stock until 29 March, for a sale, which would be consistent with the Easter school holidays.

Oddly enough, morg176 reported (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php/3187-NSW-Transformers-Sightings?p=640485#post640485) somone buying them up at Shellharbour. Perhaps that person just got lucky and the system allowed it.