APS-03 Human Alliance Barricade & Soundwave

[griffin]

The tradition of HK exclusive items continues, with a diecast Frenzy as boombox to come with this HK exclusive 2-pack of Human Alliance toys (which is still not known yet to be any different to the regular versions).

The release date is noted as January 23rd.

[Bladestorm]

Hmm...

Wonder how easy this will be to get. MP-10 Asia Reissue was impossible to find at any stores here in HK and I had to buy him online.
Guess I'll be going a-huntin' on the 23rd as I'd love to get Barricade...

[griffin]

This is out now... but not cheap, with places like this one in HK selling it for about US$120 (that's double what the Human Alliance toys were originally sold for in 2010/2011 - at US$30 each).

Still no idea yet if they have different paint apps, as I haven't seen any photos posted up yet.... and the bonus Frenzy boombox isn't worth the extra US$60.

The early word is that they DON'T have new or improved paint decos... which is a shame and surprise, considering the spectacular decos on the last two APS toys, and the markup on this 2-pack over their originals.

[Deonasis]

I don't have the originals to be sure but the decos do look fairly standard still.. http://snakas.blog95.fc2.com/blog-entry-4282.html?sp . Definately no silver paint for Soundwave

[griffin]

Well there you go... absolutely nothing premium except the price.
US$60 for a tiny plastic boombox.


I know that Hasbro HK have been doing this for a while now (pricing things according to their secondary value rather than at normal retail profit margins of the regular release toys), but even this is a new level of price-gouging for them... which we've seen is now inspiring Hasbro US to do the same with their Platinum Editions (especially the Gen1 sets), because enough fans just keep buying them.

[Bladestorm]

The interesting thing about these releases is they are REALLY HARD to source on the ground here in HK too. I haven't found a shop on either side of the harbour with this release or the previous Skywarp in their stock or on the shelves. So either they are being snatched up by pre-orders or seem to be almost exclusively for the online (overseas) retail market...
I was hoping to find a store with these guys to figure out what the real markup on them was (and I have a son who would LOVE a movie version of Barricade... but not at those prices!)

[DELTAprime]

So for someone with a Soundwave shelf is HA Soundwave worth having or should I just stick with the Deluxe DOTM Soundwave?

[SharkyMcShark]

HA Soudwave is the definitive version of that character if you're including movieverse Soundwaves on your shelf. The only negative thing I can say about it is that the paintwork is lacklustre, something not fixed at all with this release, but it's definitely a figure worth having.

[griffin]

The HA version is definitely better than the Deluxe version (and comes with a Laserbeak too).
But since both versions of Soundwave had a limited release, they can both be hard to find and can be expensive.

[Hursticon]

HA Soudwave is the definitive version of that character if you're including movieverse Soundwaves on your shelf. The only negative thing I can say about it is that the paintwork is lacklustre, something not fixed at all with this release, but it's definitely a figure worth having.

The HA version is definitely better than the Deluxe version (and comes with a Laserbeak too).

"D" to the "I" to the "Double T" - "OH!".

The Deluxe is just junk, slightly redeemed by that black redeco but still a crappy mold ; hence it's such a massive missed opportunity that this HA re-release did not receive a nice silver paint job - I can only imagine that something inherent with the mold's surfaces are what is preventing them from applying paint to it.

But since both versions of Soundwave had a limited release, they can both be hard to find and can be expensive.

Absolutely true, with every passing day making them harder and more expensive to come by.