Walgreens Exclusive Transformers Titans Return Brainstorm Found at Walmart
Wednesday, August 31st, 2016 7:22AM CDT
Categories: Toy News, SightingsPosted by: Va'al Views: 35,088
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Here's a curiosity from Transformers Titans Return, and the oddities of its distribution: fellow Seibertronian Brakazar76, based in Bowling Green, Kentucky, has found not one figure, but a whole box of the Walgreens Exclusive single-packed deluxe Brainstorm. Now, nothing odd here, right? Except the Walgreens exclusive was found at a Walmart store - check out the proof below!
What do you make of this? Has something odd happened in distribution, or has the deal with the two stores changed? Let us know in the Energon Pub discussion.
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Posted by Microraptor on August 31st, 2016 @ 7:33am CDT
Posted by Brakazar76 on August 31st, 2016 @ 7:43am CDT
Posted by Cobotron on August 31st, 2016 @ 7:50am CDT
Very curious indeed.
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on August 31st, 2016 @ 8:04am CDT
Posted by william-james88 on August 31st, 2016 @ 8:05am CDT
Posted by william-james88 on August 31st, 2016 @ 8:18am CDT
Kidding aside, none of us are realizing how good we have it and any complaint we may have has been around since the very begining.
Here are some pics in anticipation of the upcoming titan masters:
Shuffler
"Sawback"
Toraizer
Posted by ScottyP on August 31st, 2016 @ 8:20am CDT
Posted by Brakazar76 on August 31st, 2016 @ 8:20am CDT
Posted by Kurona on August 31st, 2016 @ 8:29am CDT
Posted by Sabrblade on August 31st, 2016 @ 8:41am CDT
Posted by Microraptor on August 31st, 2016 @ 8:46am CDT
william-james88 wrote:Jut got Hardhead the other day and ... urgh. I dont know what you guys see in him. I mean people speak of hollow transformers but this guy takes the cake. The entire back is hollowed out (see pics below) and they even hollowed out the gun. I mean come on, at least make a cool sculpted design out of it. But no, just chunks missing from the gun. And there are literally no paint apps. Golden age of TFs my butt.
I can't tell you how much I agree with this.
Posted by RAR on August 31st, 2016 @ 8:56am CDT
But at least Vintage hardhead comes with 2 guns and is quite tall, I'd say a greater point in favour of even hollow cheap looking modern toys compared to late 80's ones is they have more joints now than then...
But Vintage Hardhead is just a fun toy.
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on August 31st, 2016 @ 8:58am CDT
Kurona wrote:Dammit WJ, you had me going there for a second
He had me going too. I really thought he was taking a dump on the TR guy
Posted by william-james88 on August 31st, 2016 @ 8:58am CDT
Anyways, here is another proposition: Brainstorm will be exclusive to Walmart Canada. Exclusivity is at a national level and Walmart Canada has been known to pick up Exclusives for stores that arent wide spread. Like that two pack of AOE Flip and Change Grimlock and Optimus that was KMart exclusive, or more recently the Platinum RID toys. And they mistakened the country it was heading to.
This would be awesome news for Canada since wallgreens is practically non existant here.
Posted by Terrsolpix on August 31st, 2016 @ 9:00am CDT
Posted by Sigma Magnus on August 31st, 2016 @ 9:14am CDT
william-james88 wrote: Glad you guys are having fun with what I wrote. But seriously, I just got G1 Hardhead and when I handled him I saw all the complaints people were having now but doubled. I think people forgot how these toys were like.
That, and they might be stuck behind a barrier of ERMAHGERD MAH CHELDHERD
... *ahem* Nostalgia filters aside, personally, I respect the G1 toys, but I am of the opinion that they are not 'good' toys, at least not by today's standards. I'm honestly surprised that the reissues sold at general retail sell well enough to people other than collectors to actually be worth making...
Posted by Kurona on August 31st, 2016 @ 9:15am CDT
And I think if I found a G1 Nightbeat or Hot Rod at retail I'd go for them. I love them so much.
Posted by william-james88 on August 31st, 2016 @ 9:30am CDT
Sigma Magnus wrote:william-james88 wrote: Glad you guys are having fun with what I wrote. But seriously, I just got G1 Hardhead and when I handled him I saw all the complaints people were having now but doubled. I think people forgot how these toys were like.
That, and they might be stuck behind a barrier of ERMAHGERD MAH CHELDHERD
... *ahem* Nostalgia filters aside, personally, I respect the G1 toys, but I am of the opinion that they are not 'good' toys, at least not by today's standards. I'm honestly surprised that the reissues sold at general retail sell well enough to people other than collectors to actually be worth making...
They have their charm and some are fun for playability (like the Return of Convoy bases). In terms of playability, G1 Fort Max is as great now as he ever was and Scorponok still feels very modern in his city mode and scorpion mode due to all the articulation his claws had. And Skylynx is still a very good toy. I also like Pradaking and the deco on the G1 Dinobots and Insecticons make them look like jewels. And G1 Megatron has a fun transformation and really cool playability, its just his look and articulation that is off. I find the animal casettes really fun too. G1 ravage looks better than MP ravage. But others like Blaster, Soundwave, the Seekers and Optimus Prime really show their age and cant be compared to today's standards. Until Titans Return I did hae a soft spot for the headmasters because of all that playability bt it has been perfectly recreated and perfected in Titans Return.
Posted by CarelliCollectables on August 31st, 2016 @ 9:51am CDT
Cobotron wrote:Someone got their Wals mixed up.
Very curious indeed.
Even more curious - I contacted Hasbro to ask about this and this is the reply I got:
Daniel,
I apologize for the information you've located on the internet; however, the Titans Return Brainstorm is not an exclusive to any specific retailer. The information in the link you provided is not correct.
Regards,
Veronica
Posted by RodimusConvoy13 on August 31st, 2016 @ 9:53am CDT
Rotoraptor wrote:Cobotron wrote:Someone got their Wals mixed up.
Very curious indeed.
Even more curious - I contacted Hasbro to ask about this and this is the reply I got:
Daniel,
I apologize for the information you've located on the internet; however, the Titans Return Brainstorm is not an exclusive to any specific retailer. The information in the link you provided is not correct.
Regards,
Veronica
Posted by Sabrblade on August 31st, 2016 @ 9:55am CDT
william-james88 wrote:Pradaking
Posted by CarelliCollectables on August 31st, 2016 @ 10:02am CDT
RodimusConvoy13 wrote:Rotoraptor wrote:Cobotron wrote:Someone got their Wals mixed up.
Very curious indeed.
Even more curious - I contacted Hasbro to ask about this and this is the reply I got:
Daniel,
I apologize for the information you've located on the internet; however, the Titans Return Brainstorm is not an exclusive to any specific retailer. The information in the link you provided is not correct.
Regards,
Veronica
Yea - pretty much. I responded with a link to the official SDCC card for this figure that clearly says "Walgreens" on it -
http://www.bwtf.com/files/news/hero/138 ... 1276_o.jpg
and I also provided them a link to the head of Walgreens Toy purchasing dpt "Steven Ann" who was providing details on twitter - but weirdly enough his entire Twitter account is now gone...
http://tformers.com/sdcc-2016-titans-re ... /news.html
Posted by Va'al on August 31st, 2016 @ 10:07am CDT
Rotoraptor wrote:Cobotron wrote:Someone got their Wals mixed up.
Very curious indeed.
Even more curious - I contacted Hasbro to ask about this and this is the reply I got:
Daniel,
I apologize for the information you've located on the internet; however, the Titans Return Brainstorm is not an exclusive to any specific retailer. The information in the link you provided is not correct.
Regards,
Veronica
#BRAINGATE
Posted by YoungPrime on August 31st, 2016 @ 10:14am CDT
Nope, still don't believe it. He could've grabbed Brainstorm online and took a picture of him with the receipt of another TF purchase (It's not like the reciept says Brainstorm). Smartphones are more common than wallets, so why not take a picture of some Brainstorms on actual pegs in a Walmart aisle?
Posted by CarelliCollectables on August 31st, 2016 @ 10:16am CDT
YoungPrime wrote:>:oP Hmmm......
Nope, still don't believe it. He could've grabbed Brainstorm online and took a picture of him with the receipt of another TF purchase (It's not like the reciept says Brainstorm). Smartphones are more common than wallets, so why not take a picture of some Brainstorms on actual pegs in a Walmart aisle?
That theory would be a lot more believable if any of these figures had actually been sited at Walgreens already....
That's also a whole hell of a lot of trouble to go through just to troll fellow collectors, so it makes little sense to assume that's what happened without reason.
What's more likely?
a) Hasbro mistakenly sent WG Exclusive items to a Walmart?
b) This figure is not actually a WG Exclusive?
c) Someone found the figure, purchased it, drove to another store, purchased a different deluxe figure, and then took a picture to trick people about which store they got it at?
Uhmmmm I'm going to go with A or B there.
Posted by Autobot N on August 31st, 2016 @ 10:18am CDT
Posted by Delicon on August 31st, 2016 @ 10:25am CDT
I also have received Target exclusive gelato.
99.9% sure a case just slipped through to the wrong spot, which explains why it wasn't in the system.
Posted by RNSrobot on August 31st, 2016 @ 10:26am CDT
Posted by william-james88 on August 31st, 2016 @ 10:26am CDT
YoungPrime wrote:>:oP Hmmm......
Nope, still don't believe it. He could've grabbed Brainstorm online and took a picture of him with the receipt of another TF purchase (It's not like the reciept says Brainstorm). Smartphones are more common than wallets, so why not take a picture of some Brainstorms on actual pegs in a Walmart aisle?
The receipt has the UPC unique to branstorm, this is real.
Posted by YoungPrime on August 31st, 2016 @ 10:28am CDT
Rotoraptor wrote:YoungPrime wrote:>:oP Hmmm......
Nope, still don't believe it. He could've grabbed Brainstorm online and took a picture of him with the receipt of another TF purchase (It's not like the reciept says Brainstorm). Smartphones are more common than wallets, so why not take a picture of some Brainstorms on actual pegs in a Walmart aisle?
That theory would be a lot more believable if any of these figures had actually been sited at Walgreens already....
That's also a whole hell of a lot of trouble to go through just to troll fellow collectors, so it makes little sense to assume that's what happened without reason.
What's more likely?
a) Hasbro mistakenly sent WG Exclusive items to a Walmart?
b) This figure is not actually a WG Exclusive?
c) Someone found the figure, purchased it, drove to another store, purchased a different deluxe figure, and then took a picture to trick people about which store they got it at?
Uhmmmm I'm going to go with A or B there.
Cool, how about you go out and start the hunt on Brainstorm at local Walmarts or even Target and TRU for that matter and if you spot one I'll buy you a Coke.
Posted by Va'al on August 31st, 2016 @ 10:33am CDT
#BRAINGATE continues! According to fellow Seibetronian Rotoraptor, Hasbro currently claims that our information on the exclusivity of the Transformers Titans Return Brainstorm is not accurate - this would explain how the figure made it to Walmart instead of Walgreens.
Rotoraptor wrote:Cobotron wrote:Someone got their Wals mixed up.
Very curious indeed.
Even more curious - I contacted Hasbro to ask about this and this is the reply I got:
Daniel,
I apologize for the information you've located on the internet; however, the Titans Return Brainstorm is not an exclusive to any specific retailer. The information in the link you provided is not correct.
Regards,
Veronica
However, we were told and shown at San Diego Comic Con 2016 that Brainstorm would indeed be an exclusive, and definitely to Walgreens. You can see this in the image below:
To add to all this, the original Twitter account that first confirmed the exclusive status, Steven Anne, has now been deleted. Some are speculating that the box was just a mistake in delivery, but that does not explain the email from Veronica at Hasbro.
Which begs the question: who is Veronica? Are they intentionally lying about toy agreements, or is this an honest mistake? If you rearrange the letters of Veronica, you obtain 'I've no car', an allusion to the fact that the employee may be crying for help due to lack of funds to buy transport, or expressing rage at those darn machines. Veronica also almost sounds like Arcana, the original Brainstorm's Headmaster partner. Brainstorm has been proven recently to be a double-crossing agent working for the Decepticons - could this be part of a bigger plot? Is our universe only one of many, as originated in his suitcase?
Stay tuned for more.
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on August 31st, 2016 @ 10:39am CDT
I love it.
Also confusing as all get out. But mistakes happen. Cool find nonetheless!
Posted by CarelliCollectables on August 31st, 2016 @ 10:42am CDT
Hi Daniel,
Thank you for your email.
I understand and appreciate your frustrations and will be happy to check into this further for you. Please keep in mind all information, including which retailers the product will be released to, and release dates is always subject to change. However, I've shared this email thread with our team and will notify you once I hear back.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Regards,
I guess I'll update if they provide any additional information, but it seems like we might just be left to wait and see how this all shakes out.
Posted by RodimusConvoy13 on August 31st, 2016 @ 10:43am CDT
#Braingate
Posted by CarelliCollectables on August 31st, 2016 @ 10:44am CDT
RodimusConvoy13 wrote:When you're told that Brainstorm is a Walgreen's exclusive, but someone finds it at Walmart. Then Hasbro says it's not exclusive at all.
#Braingate
I would be thrilled if it turns out not to be. For some reason none of the Walgreens in Philadelphia seem to even have Toy Departments, and the few that do don't sell larger or more expensive toys like Deluxe class transformers. If it does turn out to be exclusive, I'm going to be stuck paying obscene ebay markup.
Posted by Va'al on August 31st, 2016 @ 10:47am CDT
Rotoraptor wrote:Hi Daniel,
Thank you for your email.
I understand and appreciate your frustrations and will be happy to check into this further for you. Please keep in mind all information, including which retailers the product will be released to, and release dates is always subject to change. However, I've shared this email thread with our team and will notify you once I hear back.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Regards,
You will see that there is no name attached to the response - has Veronica been 'disappeared'? Will we ever find out who they really were? How far does this story go? And will Europe ever see Brainstorm in any form of retail? (No.) These are the questions we are trying to answer.
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on August 31st, 2016 @ 11:15am CDT
Posted by nycPrime on August 31st, 2016 @ 11:31am CDT
Posted by Bronzewolf on August 31st, 2016 @ 11:37am CDT
Rotoraptor wrote:Cobotron wrote:Someone got their Wals mixed up.
Very curious indeed.
Even more curious - I contacted Hasbro to ask about this and this is the reply I got:
Daniel,
I apologize for the information you've located on the internet; however, the Titans Return Brainstorm is not an exclusive to any specific retailer. The information in the link you provided is not correct.
Regards,
Veronica
#BRAINGATE
Posted by Bronzewolf on August 31st, 2016 @ 11:41am CDT
Dr Va'al wrote:#BRAINGATE is still roaring! Rotoraptor updates us on the situation at Hasbro, as they try covering up their misstep in revealing the existence of a terrifying conspiracy!Rotoraptor wrote:Hi Daniel,
Thank you for your email.
I understand and appreciate your frustrations and will be happy to check into this further for you. Please keep in mind all information, including which retailers the product will be released to, and release dates is always subject to change. However, I've shared this email thread with our team and will notify you once I hear back.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Regards,
You will see that there is no name attached to the response - has Veronica been 'disappeared'? Will we ever find out who they really were? How far does this story go? And will Europe ever see Brainstorm in any form of retail? (No.) These are the questions we are trying to answer.
Do you suppose, that waiting hands on eyes,
Veronica has gone to hide?
#braingate #wakeupsheeple
Posted by Va'al on August 31st, 2016 @ 11:44am CDT
But wait, let us look at the message more closely...
nycPrime wrote:Interestingly enough, I recently did the online chat thing with Hasbro's customer service. And I received outstanding service. And the customer rep I dealt with was none other than Veronica. Same Veronica? We may never know.
Our intrepid reporters tried the same thing, and...
We were denied access. Maybe we do not exist. Or do we? We must go deeper, fellow Seibertronians.
We will stop at noth-- ooh shiny!
Posted by Evil Eye on August 31st, 2016 @ 11:50am CDT
Might.
Posted by Va'al on August 31st, 2016 @ 11:54am CDT
Delta Magnus wrote:For once I'm actually glad of Hasbro's incompetence if only because there's a chance we might actually get this figure in Britain.
Might.
That bad of a misplacement?
'This box is for New York, says here.' 'Ok, York it is.'
Posted by Evil Eye on August 31st, 2016 @ 11:56am CDT
Dr Va'al wrote:Delta Magnus wrote:For once I'm actually glad of Hasbro's incompetence if only because there's a chance we might actually get this figure in Britain.
Might.
That bad of a misplacement?
'This box is for New York, says here.' 'Ok, York it is.'
I more meant from the whole "no exclusivity deals" angle, but that works too.
Posted by Va'al on August 31st, 2016 @ 12:07pm CDT
Delta Magnus wrote:Dr Va'al wrote:Delta Magnus wrote:For once I'm actually glad of Hasbro's incompetence if only because there's a chance we might actually get this figure in Britain.
Might.
That bad of a misplacement?
'This box is for New York, says here.' 'Ok, York it is.'
I more meant from the whole "no exclusivity deals" angle, but that works too.
'Send it to the London store'
'...'
Europe
England
Greater London, an administrative region
Greater London Authority, an administrative body
Greater London Council, an administrative body from 1965 to 1986
London (European Parliament constituency)
Greater London Built-up Area, an urban area
City of London, a district of London
Central London
London Bridge
Diocese of London, an Anglican diocese
London postal district, a post town
County of London, a county from 1889 to 1965
London County Council, an administrative body from 1889 to 1965
France
London, Burgundy
Scotland
Bay of London, a bay on the island of Eday, Orkney
Americas
Canada
London, Ontario
London (electoral district), a federal electoral district from 1867 to 1968
London District, Upper Canada, a district from 1798 to 1849
Chile
London Island (Cook Island, Tierra del Fuego), an island east of Londonderry Island and south of Cockburn Channel
USA
London, Arkansas, a city
London, California, a census-designated place
London, Indiana, an unincorporated community
London, Kentucky, a city
London, Michigan, a township
London, Minnesota, an unincorporated community
London, Ohio, a city
London, Texas, an unincorporated community
London, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
London, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community
Oceania
London, Kiribati
Space
8837 London, an asteroid
Posted by Bronzewolf on August 31st, 2016 @ 12:13pm CDT
Dr Va'al wrote:Delta Magnus wrote:Dr Va'al wrote:Delta Magnus wrote:For once I'm actually glad of Hasbro's incompetence if only because there's a chance we might actually get this figure in Britain.
Might.
That bad of a misplacement?
'This box is for New York, says here.' 'Ok, York it is.'
I more meant from the whole "no exclusivity deals" angle, but that works too.
'Send it to the London store'
'...'Europe
England
Greater London, an administrative region
Greater London Authority, an administrative body
Greater London Council, an administrative body from 1965 to 1986
London (European Parliament constituency)
Greater London Built-up Area, an urban area
City of London, a district of London
Central London
London Bridge
Diocese of London, an Anglican diocese
London postal district, a post town
County of London, a county from 1889 to 1965
London County Council, an administrative body from 1889 to 1965
France
London, Burgundy
Scotland
Bay of London, a bay on the island of Eday, Orkney
Americas
Canada
London, Ontario
London (electoral district), a federal electoral district from 1867 to 1968
London District, Upper Canada, a district from 1798 to 1849
Chile
London Island (Cook Island, Tierra del Fuego), an island east of Londonderry Island and south of Cockburn Channel
USA
London, Arkansas, a city
London, California, a census-designated place
London, Indiana, an unincorporated community
London, Kentucky, a city
London, Michigan, a township
London, Minnesota, an unincorporated community
London, Ohio, a city
London, Texas, an unincorporated community
London, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
London, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community
Oceania
London, Kiribati
Space
8837 London, an asteroid
So, in conclusion, Outer Space will probably see brainstorm before Europe does.
Posted by Delicon on August 31st, 2016 @ 12:20pm CDT
Posted by Va'al on August 31st, 2016 @ 12:26pm CDT
Delicon wrote:As I said, cases get shipped to wrong stores all the time. This #braingate stuff is silly at best.
We will not be deterred by this distraction. We will persist. We will beat this horse so dead that pots of glue will get fed up with us. #TheToyIsOutThere
And by out there, we mean...
Bronzewolf wrote:Dr Va'al wrote:
Space
8837 London, an asteroid
So, in conclusion, Outer Space will probably see brainstorm before Europe does.
Posted by Nemesis Maximo on August 31st, 2016 @ 12:27pm CDT
Delicon wrote:As I said, cases get shipped to wrong stores all the time. This #braingate stuff is silly at best.
Is it, though? IS IT?!