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From one of the Hasbro websites comes official images of three upcoming redeco gimmick toys, in all their shiny/glossy photoshopped glory. (so won't look anything like that as a real toy)
Wave 5 - 1-step Patrol Mode Strongarm (black deco) and Gold Armor Grimlock (grey Gen1 deco)
Wave 5 - 3-step Night Ops Bumblebee (black with yellow deco)
In fact, the real colours can be seen here for comparison - Strongarm - Grimlock - Bumblebee.
Got all excited by first few words of the thread name - then it's nothing more than even more redecos :(
New characters Hasbro please! Where is a toy of that tanker monster thing ?
It seems that with most of the RID size classes, the first three waves are new moulds, the next 2 waves are redecos, and the last waves of the year are mostly just repacks of older toys in new assortments and ratios.
Then next year we start again with wave one having new moulds (which we saw the first wave of Legions at SDCC - Windblade, Thunderhoof, Drift).
It's as if the first half of the year is for new toys, while the second half of the year is old stock and redecos.
Even Generations is the same, with the first three waves supposed to be out by June (but delays mean we are still just seeing the third wave appearing in countries at the moment), with everything in the fourth wave originally scheduled for 2nd half of the year, being redecos (with some new heads).
I wonder if the strategy is to make sure that it prevents new moulds from being wasted if a line is wrapped up early or stores cut back on the last few waves. Because it is a waste of their money creating new moulds to only see a limited release, or not released at all.
At least if the last 2-3 waves are redecos or re-release toys and the line fails to survive its projected life-span/waves, Hasbro have made their money back on all the moulds.
But if they space out the new moulds so that even the final wave has something new (like the Movie Power Battlers - Junkheap, Vehicon and High Octane Bumblebee), they risk losing money on those moulds if stores don't restock right up until the final wave.