New / better quality images of the upcoming Astrotrain and Blitzwing Platinum G1 reissue UPDATE
Sunday, March 29th, 2015 6:50PM CDT
Category: Toy NewsPosted by: william-james88 Views: 27,627
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The new pictures, mirrored below, can be magnified extensively, so please click on them to see the bigger version.
UPDATE: While it has been said that Blitzwing is an homage to Flywheels since both have similar alt modes in similar colors, Astrotain's colors were always a mystery. However, it may be that Astrotrain is an homage to Victory's Mach & Tackle which were a purple and white space shuttle and a red-orange truck, only sold together, which combined to make a robot which has similar colors to the ones found on this Astrotrain (unlike flywheels though, both these vehicles also had their own robot modes).
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Posted by fenrir72 on March 29th, 2015 @ 6:53pm CDT
Posted by Agamemnon on March 29th, 2015 @ 6:59pm CDT
william-james88 wrote:-Kanrabat- wrote:Astrotain still manage to be misstransformed twice.
Also, why the weird collors again?
I know the train is mistransformed, but where<s the other time he is in those pics?
Isn't the tail wing on the chest in bot mode sitting too low?
Posted by Jelze Bunnycat on March 29th, 2015 @ 7:02pm CDT
william-james88 wrote:-Kanrabat- wrote:Astrotain still manage to be misstransformed twice.
Also, why the weird collors again?
I know the train is mistransformed, but where<s the other time he is in those pics?
The other is in robot mode: the tailfin needs to be slid upward just a tad. Then again, the animation model omitted it, having it tucked away in the chest. I'm still at a loss for his colors though.
Posted by -Kanrabat- on March 29th, 2015 @ 7:09pm CDT
william-james88 wrote:-Kanrabat- wrote:Astrotain still manage to be misstransformed twice.
Also, why the weird collors again?
I know the train is mistransformed, but where<s the other time he is in those pics?
The tailfin (or V) is supposed to be on top of the robot chest like so:
Posted by RAcast on March 29th, 2015 @ 9:15pm CDT
Posted by Super Megatron on March 29th, 2015 @ 9:24pm CDT
Posted by Ultra Markus on March 29th, 2015 @ 11:45pm CDT
Posted by Deadput on March 30th, 2015 @ 12:45am CDT
And Blitzwing can be Flywheels!
Posted by Deadput on March 30th, 2015 @ 12:49am CDT
Ultra Markus wrote:so why the lame color scheme? couldnt go with similar to g1 colors in some way or at least something that doesnt look so wacky!
I guess Hasbro either wanted to try some new colors to see how it would sell or their homaging the decos of some obscure character or their ocs.
Or some people were really craving Ice Cream.
Posted by Tsutsukakushi on March 30th, 2015 @ 2:12am CDT
Which HasTak would have colored this toy in Fywheels colors. Instead of doing that Double Dealer repaint.
Posted by RhA on March 30th, 2015 @ 3:44am CDT
Posted by frogbat on March 30th, 2015 @ 4:16am CDT
Posted by RhA on March 30th, 2015 @ 5:56am CDT
frogbat wrote:yup that's what i'll refer to these in my head. the wtf edition.
Wtfsrotrain and Blitzwtf.
Posted by Alpha Dominus on March 30th, 2015 @ 8:05am CDT
Posted by joevill on March 30th, 2015 @ 8:08am CDT
Posted by GuyIncognito on March 30th, 2015 @ 8:25am CDT
Blitzwing/Flywheels needs some Reprolabels to give it some detail, and then it'll look pretty cool.
I'd buy this set if it were a reasonably-priced US retail release, but I'm guessing this set is going to be at least $100 US, right?
Posted by gothsaurus on March 30th, 2015 @ 11:48am CDT
Posted by william-james88 on March 30th, 2015 @ 2:29pm CDT
mirageandjazz1197 wrote:
I guess Hasbro either wanted to try some new colors to see how it would sell or their homaging the decos of some obscure character or their ocs.
Yup, they are. Remember how Blitzwing is homaging Flywheels, who is made up of 2 seperate vehicles which then connect to form a robot ?
Behold ladies and gentlemen, the source of the homage.
I give you....
Victory Mach Tackle
As seen on the pics, the robot with all those weird colors (akin to this astrotrain release) is made up of 2 seperate vehicles which combine, one being a white and purple Shuttle and the other being a bright red-orange truck.
The notable difference though is that both those vehicles do have their own robot modes though, and are more akin to the energon superlink autobots. But they were sold together to form the bigger robot which combines all those crazy colours.
Notice how the chest mirrors the same thing on Astrotrain when you tuck in his back shuttle fin?
Posted by william-james88 on March 30th, 2015 @ 3:20pm CDT
Posted by Mr_Autobot411 on March 30th, 2015 @ 4:16pm CDT
Posted by -Kanrabat- on March 30th, 2015 @ 4:26pm CDT
william-james88 wrote:mirageandjazz1197 wrote:
I guess Hasbro either wanted to try some new colors to see how it would sell or their homaging the decos of some obscure character or their ocs.
Yup, they are. Remember how Blitzwing is homaging Flywheels, who is made up of 2 seperate vehicles which then connect to form a robot ?
Behold ladies and gentlemen, the source of the homage.
I give you....
Victory Mach Tackle
As seen on the pics, the robot with all those weird colors (akin to this astrotrain release) is made up of 2 seperate vehicles which combine, one being a white and purple Shuttle and the other being a bright red-orange truck.
The notable difference though is that both those vehicles do have their own robot modes though, and are more akin to the energon superlink autobots. But they were sold together to form the bigger robot which combines all those crazy colours.
Notice how the chest mirrors the same thing on Astrotrain when you tuck in his back shuttle fin?
Oh, I LOVE that cute li'l thing! Also, proof that duo combiners work well.
Really, I'd like a return of the Energon Power Links, but better executed with better bot modes.
Posted by gothsaurus on March 31st, 2015 @ 9:08am CDT
Posted by william-james88 on April 1st, 2015 @ 10:30pm CDT
And just in case you weren't caught up, it seems we have a better idea of what the wacky Astrotrain colors are meant to homage. While Blitzwing's colors homage Flywheels, Astrotrain appears to homage the Mach Tackle set from Takara's Victory (which features a white and purple shuttle and a red/orange truck).
It is still unclear which retailer will get the exclusivity to these figures.
Posted by MartianSpyGirl1996 on April 1st, 2015 @ 10:48pm CDT
Posted by megatronus on April 1st, 2015 @ 10:52pm CDT
I was at Kmart the other day, and there were 8 Platinum Insecticon sets just sitting there. Really, just a shame. I bet they really would have moved at $59.99.
Considering I bought the previous TRU reissue for $17.50 (yea BOGO 50% with the TRU Perceptor reissue!!!) that $79.99 price point is just brutal.
Posted by RhA on April 2nd, 2015 @ 1:05am CDT
Posted by Rated X on April 2nd, 2015 @ 1:26am CDT
Posted by chuckdawg1999 on April 2nd, 2015 @ 1:27am CDT
Posted by william-james88 on April 2nd, 2015 @ 8:23am CDT
chuckdawg1999 wrote:I'll buy these just because. So is this the new thread for the Astro-Blitz talk?
You can use either, its up to you. But since the other platinum releases dont have a thread of their own and all the info regarding this line is here, I thought it would be best to keep all the news here as well. Like that someone can come on this thread and search for the relevant info they want instead of finding a certain info elsewhere and stuff being scattered.
So the news (t least when I write it) will be here with all the platinum news, but you can post wherever you wish since both threads exists.
Posted by MartianSpyGirl1996 on April 2nd, 2015 @ 8:40am CDT
Rated X wrote:I dont get why they didnt do these homages in the classics molds instead of bricks ?
So Hasbro can drain more money from the collectors
Posted by Jelze Bunnycat on April 2nd, 2015 @ 8:48am CDT
MartianSpyGirl1996 wrote:Rated X wrote:I dont get why they didnt do these homages in the classics molds instead of bricks ?
So Hasbro can drain more money from the collectors
I'm calling it an experiment, and leave it at that. If it proves successful, expect a few more of those. Flywheels was a Triple Changer in the Marvel and IDW comics, so it has some precedent.
Really, it's no different from e-Hobby's offerings, except not renamed and more accessible.
Posted by william-james88 on April 2nd, 2015 @ 8:54am CDT
MartianSpyGirl1996 wrote:Rated X wrote:I dont get why they didnt do these homages in the classics molds instead of bricks ?
So Hasbro can drain more money from the collectors
I think it's more because these were the same size. The classics molds are a deluxe and voyager.
Posted by crazysteve on April 2nd, 2015 @ 9:13am CDT
MartianSpyGirl1996 wrote:How much did these retail back in the '80s, and what year did they come out exactly?
They ranged from $9.99 to $11.99 depending on which store you went to. But that was 1985 dollars. The inflation adjustment makes the equivalent cost approximately twice that in today dollars.
Using an online inflation cost calculator I looked up the adjusted cost of each side of the 9.99 to 11.99 range and found the following:
9.99 in 1985 dollars = 21.79 in 2015 dollars
11.99 in 1985 dollars = 26.16 in 2015 dollars
If you had a time machine and went to 1985 and explained to them that all you had was 2015 money, you would have to use 21.79 dollars from 2015 to buy one triple changer in 1985. This is because 20.15 dollars don't buy as much as 1985 dollars did.
Going along with this scenario, buying two triple changers in 1985 with 2015 money would cost somewhere in the range of (21.79 x 2) = $43.58 to (26.16 x 2) = $52.32. So the equivalent of somewhere between $44 and $52 in 2015 money is what these would have retailed for back in the day, depending on which store you went to.
I've noticed that when it came to the old giftsets, the price of the set equaled the total cost of the individual members at retail. There were no real cost savings in buying the giftset. It all worked out to pretty much the same price.
The bottom line is that if all other things were equal and only inflation was accounted for, if Hasbro sold an Astrotrain/Blitzwing giftset in 1985 then the approximate inflation adjusted retail price would be in the neighborhood of $44 and $52 today.
I'm pretty sure these guys originally were in stores starting around mid '85.
Posted by gothsaurus on April 2nd, 2015 @ 9:34am CDT
All of these affect the price of the reissues G1 toys and help drive up the price.
Actually, I think Hasbro IS onto something. They are combining the reissues into logical sets, which saves a lot on packaging materials and costs. (Take the 3-pack insects and jets for example.) I think that was a great business decision and a win for both of us.
It's funny, the difference of about ten bucks makes me think these triple changers are "affordable" but the Insecticons aren't. Weird how we perceive value and deals.
Bottom line, it helps me to split the cost between the toys to help gauge if it's an okay value. Would I buy the individual toy for that price?
Posted by william-james88 on April 2nd, 2015 @ 9:51am CDT
gothsaurus wrote:I'm guessing the other factors involved are that these are now a niche market (for collectors), which means smaller numbers... and the oil prices, which affect the cost of plastic production. We can see how Hasbro/Takara are trying to minimize the plastic used in the new toys to help cut costs. Plus there is still die cast metal, which is its own production adventure.
I thought the same once, but I was eventually corrected. That has been debunked. It is not true that increase in oil prices results in increas in plastic prices because plastic is not made from that same oil whos price you (or anyone) are referring to. The oil used for plastic is not used for fuel.
Higher oil prices do augment costs, however, since we need fuel to transport the toys and an increase in those costs must be covered, but that is an increase that is felt by everyone regardless of the amount of plastic usage.
Obviously, plastic has it's own cost, so using less plastic does cost less, but I did want to state that the price of plastic is not related to the oil prices.
And in any case, fuel is actually cheaper now than its been in a while. There has been a massive dip in prices due to excess volume drilled in Alberta Canada.
Posted by gothsaurus on April 2nd, 2015 @ 10:03am CDT
AND great point too that transportation costs ARE impacted by crude oil prices. And on that point, lighter toys mean less fuel costs. Same for smaller packaging. Smaller boxes mean more can fit in a truck or ship.
I'm glad I'm not responsible for dealing with all of this. It's a lot to manage behind the scenes... and make it come out with a passable toy and price.
Posted by Giant Purple Griffin on April 2nd, 2015 @ 10:25am CDT
Posted by william-james88 on April 2nd, 2015 @ 10:33am CDT
Giant Purple Griffin wrote:Am I the only one who would have preferred a reissue of Flywheels to a reissue of Blitzwing painted like Flywheels?
I would have preferred that too. My deal is if you will reissue something, make it either the same as the original toy (hence a REissue) or make it so taht it is accurate the the show.
I thought the Predaking and Omega Supreme reissues were smart. They kept the original toys and color schemes but updated them ever so slightly to make them seem a tad bit more modern, while remaining true to both the toy and the show.
Posted by gothsaurus on April 2nd, 2015 @ 11:44am CDT
That said, what are everyone's TOP picks they'd love to see along side these Platinum sets? I'm trying to think of some much-loved fan favorites that are also rare. Monstructor and Raiden jump out, especially because of gold plastic syndrome in the original. Grand Max also would be amazing since they have the Fort Max mold and have recently used it.
Dinobots also jump out.
Posted by MartianSpyGirl1996 on April 2nd, 2015 @ 1:15pm CDT
william-james88 wrote:The official Transformers site has just revealed the price of the Astrotrain and Blitzwing Platinum set to be 65.99$US (approx retail). This is less than the 79.99$ price tag of the Insecticon Reissue.
And just in case you weren't caught up, it seems we have a better idea of what the wacky Astrotrain colors are meant to homage. While Blitzwing's colors homage Flywheels, Astrotrain appears to homage the Mach Tackle set from Takara's Victory (which features a white and purple shuttle and a red/orange truck).
It is still unclear which retailer will get the exclusivity to these figures.
Exactly where I was going with this So even with inflation, these are still an additional 2/3rds (66%) markup, for repaints that they didn't have to put any money into engineering for this release... what the hell? Sorry Hasbro, but I'm not paying you for being greedy... that's what you have the movies for
Posted by william-james88 on April 2nd, 2015 @ 1:25pm CDT
It will be called the Platinum Edition Autobot Intel Ops set, featuring what looks to be mostly unchanged reissues of G1 Perceptor, Blaster, Steeljaw, Ramhorn, and Eject.
There are some additional accessories, some of which look to perhaps be microscope slides, as well as extra red pieces. The glare and size makes it hard to make out the extra details, so let us know what you make of this set and it's extra accessories in the Energon Pub forum.
Posted by Sabrblade on April 2nd, 2015 @ 1:29pm CDT
Posted by william-james88 on April 2nd, 2015 @ 1:31pm CDT
Sabrblade wrote:The lack of Rewind is likely to upset many a Rewind Fan.
The mold is probably lost (I kid, I kid)
Posted by Noideaforaname on April 2nd, 2015 @ 1:36pm CDT
Sabrblade wrote:The lack of Rewind is likely to upset many a Rewind Fan.
Maybe they're saving him for a Chromedome reissue.
Posted by MartianSpyGirl1996 on April 2nd, 2015 @ 1:56pm CDT
Noideaforaname wrote:Sabrblade wrote:The lack of Rewind is likely to upset many a Rewind Fan.
Maybe they're saving him for a Chromedome reissue.
Off topic alert:
That'd be cool if they did release a set of those 2 for SDCC with a Pride theme like this:
Since Comic Con is geared more towards adults, Hasbro wouldn't have to worry about offending parents. SDCC is only a few days after pride month, California is like the mecha of pride, and we'd get some great reissues... maybe pack it with issue #16 of MtMtE. I think that'd be a fun quirky set, perfect for SDCC (Knights of Unicron anyone?)
Posted by gothsaurus on April 2nd, 2015 @ 2:01pm CDT
Posted by william-james88 on April 2nd, 2015 @ 2:05pm CDT
Posted by gothsaurus on April 2nd, 2015 @ 2:13pm CDT
Posted by william-james88 on April 2nd, 2015 @ 2:20pm CDT
gothsaurus wrote:Trypticon... where are your photos, my friend?
He was the only one that we never got any sort of proof on. The last thing we had was this from a while back at a closed doors show:
US re-release tripticon, conheads set, blitzwing & astrotrain set, Perceptor & Blaster set: cassettes included looks like to be the animals, and the shoulder cannon on perceptor has some special purpose, rumored to be able to view slide shows
And hey, now we get why this person was adamant about mentioning slides in terms of perceptor. This set gives us new slide accessories now, encouraging the play value of the microscope.