Haha, dang, so that's where Wheeljack's gun went :p
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Haha, dang, so that's where Wheeljack's gun went :p
:rolleyes: Ooops! Well, I can confirm at least at Big W Menai they were very chill about the return, even before I explained "this figure is meant to have a sword and this one a gun but they both came with guns"
<random rantage>
I'm gonna cop flak from lovers of obscure-referencing toys here, but I'm personally not a fan of Hasbro prioritising toys based on aborted G2 prototype variants over CHUG toys based on the regular G2 versions. We're getting G2 prototype coloured Dorito-Jazz, but we've never had just a regular CHUG G2 Jazz toy. G2 Jazz is a part of people's childhoods; i.e. 90s kids who had this toy. That Dorito Jazz is part of nobody's childhood.
Heck, even the Diaclone, Microman and other pre-TF redecos are still part of people's childhoods. Diaclone and Micro Change toys were also released in North America and Europe (as Diakron, Trasformer, Diaclone etc.). Heck, I explicitly got Galactic Man Shockwave because I grew up with "Shackwave" from Tandy, since the original G1 Shockwave toy was never sold in Australia. That Galactic Man Shockwave is from my childhood (as it would be for a lot of 80s kids). Magnificus is also from my childhood, because I had a (probably counterfeit) Microman Perceptor toy from the Sydney Royal Easter Show. Heck, even red Diaclone Ligier (Mirage) would've been from some people's childhoods (at the very least, kids in Japan who had that variant). Nobody the hell ever grew up with Dorito Jazz!
I don't mind if they want to make these more obscure repaints as limited exclusives, like Gens Selects or Hasbro Pulse etc. But it's weird that we're getting these toys before their regular versions... and will this mean that we may never get the regular versions? Will a regular CHUG G2 Jazz never see the light of day? The abandoned prototype G2 Sideswipe looks weird, but at least we have had a regular G2 Sideswipe toy in CHUG. So I don't mind if they do it afterwards; it means that the aborted-G2 Sideswipe CHUG hasn't supplanted the regular one.
Thank you for attending my TedTALK. :p
</rantage>
I'd still like the old 'new head, maybe new extra piece/weapon' remold-into-obscure-old-character-homages we used to get to come back as a regular thing. I used to really like seeing updated Action Master or Micromaster etc. characters coming out as mild retools, it helped update old characters and gave us a chance to experience new molds without having the same character over and over again.
Like, come on Hasbro, you've still got all these unused characters from weird little groups like the Aquaspeeders and Stormtroopers, Predators and Turbomasters, how about some of those guys?
There was a G2-styled CHUG Jazz in the 'Ultimate Gift Set', albeit in the TF2010 mold and the deco wasn't an exact match.
Given how much Hasbro seems to love repainting figures into obscure variants I'm fully expecting an Action Master Jazz from G1 in addition to every obscure G2 variant they can possibly find before the SS86 Jazz mould is retired.
So I held off from purchasing the Botcon version of Nacelle in the hope that they'd do another one from the Earthrise seeker mould.
Well, it turns out we have gotten a revisit of Nacelle, but from the Siege tetrajet mould.
I'd wager most fans won't care either way, but for me the appeal of owning it was that the inspiration for the character came from a G1 Thrust prototype - which the Tetrajet mould takes away from.
Not a big deal, just a minor annoyance. I still won't go and chase the Botcon one as I've heard it's prone to breaking at the wings. So I guess I'm without a Nacelle. :rolleyes:
Yep. It seems slightly odd to me that they used the Tetra Jet mould instead of the Earthrise Thrust mould given Nacelle's origins as a prototype for Thrust.
Would have preferred a Thrust retool, but the Tetrajet version fits with how she was portrayed in the 2019 IDW comics, so with this set as a comic based set it makes sense. I like that the highlight of the chest vents points towards the VTOL engine of the Thrust prototype.
Still would have wanted the Thrust version...
I guess if Nacelle was in the IDW comics as a tetrajet, it makes sense to have this one released as part of the IDW comics toys that are all coming out on the same day... but like other fans, I would have preferred it homage the original concept toy rather than an IDW version that I didn't even know existed until now.
Both concepts are so very very niche that more people would probably know of the BotCon toy than either of those two concepts (the original concept or the IDW character), so the popularity of this toy will probably just come down to how well it looks as a redeco toy... and we already have two blue tetrajets for people to compare this one to.
To be fair, G2 Jazz, really isn't a repaint. It's more of a decal change.
That said, I think this is due to the retail situation in America at the moment. Unless its a Gen Selects release, they need to release a group of figures in a theme. Probably realised they could get more repaints out and brownie points with this set than standard G2. Down the line, I'm sure we'll get a proper G2 Grimlock... doubt we get a G2 Jazz though... or a metal vac Beachcomber :(
*Raises hand.Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
Yup, this is me.
The original G2 Jazz was mostly a restickered toy, although with slight retooling, namely the addition of a hole on the roof for the gun and narrower feet. The mouth also has more of a smirk due to mould degradation (which continued to plague preceding reissues of G1 Jazz until it was fixed for Encore [well, technically for Comm. SeriesQuote:
Originally Posted by KELPIE
Ricochet^Stepper). In the context of a CHUG G2 Jazz it'd be a redeco though. :)
This is why I'm a Magnificus completist. I own every Magnificus action figure ever made. Yep. All 3 of them. :p Nothin' like being a big fish in a small pond. :D :pQuote:
Originally Posted by KELPIE
The legacy wave with Crankcase is on sale at target so i thought id finally get Crankcase seeing as i have been wanting to try him out and for $19 who can complain
Went to 4 different targets (which is like most of the targets that still probably exist now) and nothing
Can definitely see the Nest repaints will be the next to clear
I've lost count of the number of Transformers toys that I've seen in shops today with parts/accessories removed by vandals. :(
I think that windowless boxes will be the way of the future. We're already seeing it with Leader Class figures, as well as those little Tacticons. I personally don't mind it. I've noticed that some Marvel toys are already windowless. Just include good photos of the toys.
Windowless boxes will only happen if and when Hasbro decides that returns/losses are costing them too much (and this cost outweighs the benefits claimed by marketing of having open boxes, both in terms of securing sales and the perceived value of corporate citizenship ratings). Their announcement some months back about the items that were moving to closed boxes notably did not include Transformers.
Oh really? Dang. Just last night I was thinking how great it was that I'd never seen a single case of that in person here, compared to all the reports of it happening in the US. I thought it's great how sensible our people are. So much for that.Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
It's happening here in HK too. :(
I think it really depends on your local area. At work, we don't have this issue at all. In fact, the last time we had any problems with someone doing anything with a Transformers toy was a Leader Class where some kids decided to open it so they could look at the toy because they couldn't see it without a window. I was asked to inspect it and ensure they didn't steal anything from the box.
Not necessarily, as next year's Legacy United Leader class will have windows too, unlike the last two years which had solid boxes... so even more toys to steal parts from. :(Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
Those various movie toys that were basically just on a backing card, made it really easy for people to pry off parts, when you can get your whole hand around the toy... especially the heads.
True. And I have spoken to retail workers who said that theft was just as bad with plastic windowed boxes, and that plastic vs open windows makes no difference in their experience.Quote:
Originally Posted by JJJ
It seems the "cost" doesn't just come from theft. It looks like they're changing it up for the other figures, because the Marvel and Star Wars fans just stopped buying. So they needed change what they were doing.
Black Friday sales, great, might grab some bots i have been wanting, not only has my local JB suddenly gotten rid of all their transformers but the next nearest has minimal stock. All i wanted was legacy Shrapnel and Bombshell and they aren't even avaliable online at JB either.
I miss when Kmart and Target and the like stocked generations more regularly.
I knew that the Legacy Armada figures didn't have Minicons (red Hotshot excepted). But I only just figured out about 30 minutes ago when I went to put OG Armada Minicons on the Legacy Armada figures that there's a distinct lack of Minicon ports also.
Not happy JaAm.
A rant about prices but what’s new I suppose.
EB/Zing has always charged a little extra i can accept that. But how can Kmart sell SS86 brawn and SSROTB Wheeljack at $32 (a perfectly reasonable price and equal to what deluxes have costed for years) but JBHIFI who over the past year or so has essentially cornered the market on Transformers charge $40-$45 a deluxe, yes i know there are online stores like Gamesman but how can JB get away with charging so much, have you seen how much stock they have on the shelves i can still buy year 1 Legacy figures there 2 years later.
I just have a real issue with how our biggest physical stores have all but dropped stocking Transformers (hopefully kmart continues with SS at least) while JB puts their prices up to nearly what the next size class costs.
It is curious that the general retailers that used to stock Generations (Big W, Kmart, Target, Toymate, Toyworld and Myer) have no or little (recent) stock. That has perhaps allowed JB to raise their prices. I would love to know the thinking of the people who have been responsible for JB's foray into TFs (I remember their tentative start and have watched them become full blown). For a while, I thought Big W and Kmart practically abandoned Studio Series until SS86 Ironhide and now Scrapheap and Brawn turned up, missing whole waves. I keep waiting for Legacy United to appear online or in-store but maybe they never will or will start at wave 2 or something.
I've been price matching JB for a while, online and in-store, and have a 70-80% success ratio. Most times they don't care about "assortment" and the requirement of "an identical item" as long as the item is part of the toyline. When the general retailers drop their website listings (completely drop the line) is when I will feel the pinch more. Price matching is a bit of a chore though and I would much prefer the general retailers to get back in the game.
Hasbro sets the recommended retail price. This is directly connected to the price at which they sell to retailers (see below for variation).
Kmart/Target/Big W can afford to bring in a smaller profit margin per unit by selling vastly more quantity than JB and EB, who, due to the much smaller turnover of stock, need a larger profit margin per unit.
In addition to this, Kmart et al may very well have an arrangement whereby they actually pay Hasbro less for stock than other places, precisely because they place such big orders. JB & EB will almost certainly not have that option.
Following on from that, Kmart et all may be in a position to strong-arm Hasbro on prices, just like Coles and Woolworths do to their suppliers, and Malwart does to everyone in the US. JB and EB would be laughed at if they tried this.
(there's also a diversion into transport that I won't bother with, but in the same way as above Kmart et all pay less for that than JB & EB too, and places like The Gamesmen pay even more again)
Yes, deluxes did cost around $30 for years. The key part there is that that price is years old (also, lower than RRP - the benefit of buying from a place the size of Kmart). When prices stay static for an extended period of time, they tend to change, when they change, quite dramatically.
I don't want to sound snotty or anything, but I keep seeing the same complaints here and elsewhere and this really is, to me, basic economics. People seem generally to understand that the above is why Coles and Woolworths sell for so much less (yes, even taking into account their huge price hikes and gouging) than other supermarket chains such as IGA and especially anyone not a chain, such as a local grocer or butcher or corner shop; so why is the pricing of Transformers seemingly seen differently somehow?
Let's not forget that after the death of the previous Hasbro CEO, the current Hasbro CEO decided it would be a great idea to raise prices across the entire company's lineup. So the fact we are paying more isn't entirely on Woolworth's and Coles's heads in this case.
Also, Toymate, Toyworld, and Myer are small fry in the Aussie retail space. They will not be getting any deal from Hasbro on pricing.
As for JB HiFi's price matching policy, the CEO spoke about that and said essentially he would rather take some of you're money than get none of your money. It's an unfortunately uncommon business tactic.
<snip>Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaxius._
Remember that JB Hi Fi, EB Games and Zing all have price match policies. And I know that JB Hi Fi will also price match online prices; I've gotten them to price match Amazon Australia a couple of times. So yeah, if you can find the same item for a better price elsewhere, get them to price match.
Unless my local store is high on their own BS, which is totally possible, EB Games only price matches on games, not "loot".Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
Playing around with Legacy United Origin Wheeljack (the first Transformer on TV and the first transforming one, yay!) made me watch the very first episode again and it's always bugged me that when he and Bumblebee encounter the Decepticon welcoming committee, who are straight in front of them and fire shots into Wheeljack's windscreen, Bumblebee gets out and fires his pistol in the opposite direction. What?!?
People who do this annoy me. Just steal the whole thing you coward.
https://i.imgur.com/PbWKuEG.jpeg
I see the hamburger wrapping... they got a Minecraft lion.
I have a BWII Thrust. I know I do. I picked it up years ago in Tokyo and kept it unopened waiting until I found a BWII Dirge to go with it.
I found a BWII Dirge in Hong Kong, and shipped it back to Oz.
Now I can't find my BWII Thrust. :(
I KNOW it's got to be in one of my boxes or SOMEWHERE vaguely logical, but I've looked through pretty much all of them and he's just not showing up in any of them.
TakaraTomy alternates between windowless boxes like Hasbro, plastic windowed boxes and windowless cardboard boxes. I understand that Hasbro has made a commitment to go plastic-free, but I would personally prefer entirely windowless boxes vs these open windowed boxes. I don't know if they're any better in theft deterrence; it could be that these open window packages simply make theft more visible/noticeable to us. But either way, I think that windowless boxes just look nicer. And if windowless boxes do help in making opportunistic shoplifting that one bit harder, then that's all for the better.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lint
Here's an example of Hasbro vs TakaraTomy's Studio Series Blaster/Eject packaging:
https://i.ibb.co/rtbPbDP/temp.jpg
Here's a photo of some Transformers on sale at Harajuku Kiddy Land in Tokyo last Friday:
https://i.ibb.co/xh4hNBW/temp.jpg
You can see a combination of plastic blisters on the EarthSpark Deluxes, windowless boxes for SS Blaster/Eject, and every other toy having open window packaging.
Unfortunately not being able to see the product itself does impact sales. Sure for the collector market who follows news and reviews the packaging not having a window may not affect the ability of the product to sell but for the general retail consumer the product which can be seen is far more eye catching and reassuring than playing the 'whats the product in the box?' game. I recall a bunch of Fast & Furious Hot Wheels collector packs which shelfwarmed like crazy even on clearance because the cars were packed in a black box with only some pretty unromantic side profile diagrams of the cars on the back of the box (not even stock photography). In the transformers world we see the same thing with Commander and Leader Class offerings because the general retail consumer isn't going to drop 100 bucks or more on stock photography. Same goes for the minimalistic cardboard box Generations Selects line, almost everyone of which ends up on clearance because the product is not designed to draw attention to itself.Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
So while I am frustrated by the open windows, I can understand why they must exist.
Ordered ss86 prime from JB, gets delayed, then Myer gets it in stock so i cancel JB and order it there. They sent me ss86 Springer instead, the receipt says ss86 prime but that’s not what’s in the box, so time to return it and hope third time is lucky.
I really hate the Gens Selects boxes. I found some of them at a store and it tookme so long to work out where to look to see what box was what. Sure, they were the TT Seacons, which were online, so I guess the box art doesn't matter so much, but damn, it's ugly.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lint
In a way the box plays an important part of the experience of the toy. I was just recently appreciating the joy of the TT Legends Boxes. Great colours and artwork. Nicely placed figures inside the box. Relatively consistent sizes. Beautiful to look at.
Broke my Energon Demolisher arm as I was in the process of repacking them to go into storage ahead of a new baby in the new year.
Everyone hates Gens Selects boxen. They work in the U.S. where these toys are pre-order exclusives, but their blandness sucks for retailers in Asia (and specialist stores in Australia).
Seraphim: congrats, dude! :)
So I did the Windblade model kit on the weekend that I’ve had for years and never bothered with. Constructing the head, upper torso and lower torso were pains but the limbs and wings were fine.
What was really annoying was connecting it all together. The ball joints connectors were that tight on her head and torso pieces I basically smashed her getting them together and had to rebuild. Then where the arms join to the shoulders were that loose that they would not stay in no matter how many times I reconnected and now they have some discreet black electrical tape holding them on.
Has anyone else had this issue with the kit and if so how does the Arcee one compare? That’s the other kit I have and if she’s like Windblade I’ll be in no hurry to attempt her.