Quote Originally Posted by dirge View Post
Around 1993 I found a G1 Ramjet at a Sydney Toys R Us. For $7 no less. No idea how or why it was there, but I nabbed it all the same!
That was released in 1992, as a number of Gen1 toys were officially released in China, and Australia managed to get some as well. Ones that I remember on the shelves were Ramjet, Cyclonus, Starscream, Soundwave, Blaster, Optimus, Beachcomber, Bumblebee, Seaspray, Hubcap (there were some others, like combiners, but I'm not positive on them).
I remember trying to buy as many as I could afford on my meager allowance at that time. That was the renaissance of TFs for me, and it followed soon after by the gold packed Classics and Gen2.

http://highendtfs.com/?q=node/15
It makes it obvious why certain figures were released as gold-packed Classics and Gen2, because the moulds were only recently being used for Hasbro's release of TFs into China in 1989.

As for a *real* old sighting, there was an old member up in Gladstone, called Leroy/Windrazor. About 2000, he found a case of Autobot Targetmasters (Pointblank, Sureshot and Crosshairs) at a Toyworld! He kept half of them, and I think dirge, myself and someone else managed to score some cheap Autobot Targetmasters. I think that really is a case of 'finding a lost case of stock in a warehouse somewhere', *years* later.

For me, I saw RiD toys at a Toyworld in Warwick (a country town south west of Brisbane) 2 years ago, which would have made them about 5 years old.

That reminds me of a number of TRU stores sitting on Supreme sized Cheetor toys for about 5 years before they finally got rid of them.