Last Friday I also found some new RPMs at BigW Garden City - the new Diecast ones.
They look and feel so much better, making the original plastic ones look like knockoffs. And they are priced at the new lower $4.74, compared to old $8-10 price, making them more competative to Hotwheels/matchbox.
I found 7, but the card backs suggest that there are at least 11 new ones out in the first assortment, which includes 'Metal Heroes', 'Nest' redecos, and 'Stunticon' redecos.
Below are the 7 new diecast ones on the right, compared to 4 similar plastic ones on the left.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/1007a.jpg
Metal Heros series (8)
1 - Bumblebee (above)
2 - Jetfire (above)
3 - Optimus Prime (above)
4 - Soundwave (missed)
5 - Barricade (missed)
6 - Ironhide (missed)
7 - Sideswipe (above)
8 - (unknown)
NEST Global Alliance series (3)
1 - Bumblebee (missed)
2 - Optimus (above)
3 - Ironhide (above)
Stunticon series (3)
1 - Bumblebee (above)
2 - Barricade (not out yet)
3 - Lockdown (not out yet)
(other series will come out later)
I think it is good to have a re-release of the main characters in diecast, otherwise these better RPMs still won't sell because they would only be weird redecos or unknown characters.
The downside is that the diecast ones are now too heavy for the Devastator Trackset to launch (which might have been a factor for doing plastic RPMs in the first place). And Jetfire is too wide to fit as well, even with the wings folded up.
