The Energon Pub

Till-all-R1 wrote:Nice score! I only hope this means more will be circulation other stores, the frustrating thing is Cosmos does not have listing on Walmart to see which store it might be at nor is it recognized on brickseek. Basically flying blind here and every store but one is way too far away to check on a whim.

You might be flying blind no matter what. All the stores by me are swimming in Road Rocket, Blurr or Burn Out. None of them show up as available at any of the stores near me and Walmart's website.

It's very odd. Most of the stores I go to, you can see product movement from week over week, but one particular Walmart I go to hasn't really shown any change. In 3 weeks, even after black Friday. They have the same 6 SSBB Arcees, 6 SSBB Ironhides, 1 Preceptor ( I thought would sell immediately). As well as 6 each of Velocitron Blurr, Road Rocket, and Burnout.

At this point, I honestly think Walmart chose to get the Legacy Beast and Velocitron exclusives in lieu of deluxe wave 2 ( and maybe wave 3). Unless anyone can confirm seeing deluxe wave 2 or 3 at a U.S. Walmart?

@ o.supreme, definitely an interesting thought you have. I can say I haven’t seen any of wave 2 at a Walmart and in my AO, we have 7 within 50 mile radius. Which a couple of those, just don't stock anything new. In addition, the Walmart that is up the road from me, wave 1 has taken up much of the space, plus the ones you mentioned. The only sighting of wave 2 was Elita-1 at a local Target. In fact, while i was near KC, i stopped into a Target there and they had 2 from wave 2. Who knows!

The only thing past wave 1 that I've seen in a US Walmart has just been the wave 2 core assortments and those have just been in the last week or so in the bins of smaller stocking stuffers in the main aisle.

I've seen wave 2 Voyager and Leader at Walmart, but no deluxe

o.supreme wrote:I've seen wave 2 Voyager and Leader at Walmart, but no deluxe

Same here, and only just recently.

I've only seen wave 1 Deluxe at Walmart, wave 1 and 3 Deluxe at Target. What happened to wave 2? Feels too late to blame COVID and logistic issues when most of us saw every figure (or at least one figure from every wave) from WFC at least once in the thick of it.

I've seen Jhiaxus and Blitzwing at Walmart for a couple months now, but not at Target. It's too early to complain about not seeing wave 3 Voyagers or Megatron yet.

I've only seen Core wave 1 in stores, that goes for Studio Series as well.

Emerje

My sightings thus far:
Walmart
Core Wave 1
Deluxe Wave 1
Voyager Waves 1 & 2
Galvatron
All 3 Beast repaints
All of Velocitron Wave 1 (although Override specifically didn't show up until recently)

Target
Core Waves 1 & 2
Deluxe Wave 1
Voyager Wave 1
Leader Waves 1 & 2
Red Cog
Buzzworthy Silverstreak, Terrorsaur (who is currently taking up every Deluxe price tag/peg my Target has), Dinobot, & the Creatures Collide set

The most recent figures at my stores:

Target
Legacy
Core: Wave 1
Deluxe: Wave 1, plenty of Red Cogs, one returned damaged Wild Rider (never seen again), one Crankcase (never seen again)
Voyager: Wave 1, 2
Leader: Wave 1
Studio Series
Core: Wave 1
Deluxe: ROTF Sideways, one scratched-up SS86 Arcee (never seen again)
Voyager: SS86 Wreck-Gar, SS86 Sweep (lots of 'em), one SS86 Ironhide (never seen again)
Leader: SS86 Coronation Starscream (lots of 'em)
Buzzworthy Bumblebee
Deluxe: Silverstreak, B-127, SS86 Kup, Terrorsaur
Voyager: Dinobot
Multi-packs: Creatures Collide, Energon Escape, Heroes of Cybertron
1-Step Changers: Sky-Byte, Mega 1-Step Bumblebee
Cyberverse
Ultra: Skullcruncher, Sludge (rarely)
Deluxe: Arcee, Bumblebee, Starscream
Ultimate: Shockwave
Smash Changers: Optimus Prime
Other
A few of the Micro Machines Transformers toys, the big RC Optimus Prime toy, Tonkanator

Walmart
Legacy
Core: Wave 1
Deluxe: Wave 1, Legacy Beasts
Voyager: Wave 1, 2
Leader: Wave 1, 2
Studio Series
Core: Wave 1
Deluxe: BB Brawn, BB Ratchet, BB Wheeljack, BB Arcee, BB Ironhide
Voyager: SS86 Wreck-Gar, SS86 Sweep (lots of 'em)
Leader: SS86 Coronation Starscream (lots of 'em), one SS86 Sludge (never seen again)
Velocitron
Deluxe: Wave 1 (minus Cosmos)
Voyager: Wave 1
Leader: Wave 1
Cyberverse
Warrior: Snarl, Windblade
Deluxe: Arcee, Bumblebee, Thunderhowl, Cheetor, Slug
Ultimate: Shockwave
Smash Changers: Optimus Prime
RED
Galvatron, Shockwave, Ultra Magnus
Vintage Beast Wars
Terrorsaur
Other
Jada Toys Nano Metalfigs: Series 1 18-pack, Series 2 18-pack

Emerje wrote:

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

Rodimus Prime wrote:He really is a fun mold. I hope Hasbro finds another use for him somehow. SG Cosmos would have been a no-brainer IMO.

I would say the no-brainer use is going to be Pathfinder, along with a green Warpath for Treads. I'm actually suprised Treads hasn't happened yet.

Perhaps a future Buzzworthy release? Though Cosmos would require a new head and I'm not sure what alternate they may have included with the mold if any.

Emerje

It is 100% certain that Cosmos has an alternate head. We just don't know if we'll ever see it.

Cranky and Pointy arrived today, which is a bit like me now there is so many plastic circles in my bed. Hasbro needs to stop pretending they are platic free and use the plastic to give the bots the bits they should have (or at least put some faction logos where they should be). Both seem nice bots and are the only ones I wanted form the wave (inferno when he is cheaper).

Pointblanks the weaker of the two. Not much point in a nice big clear canopy if nothing can sit in him. Articulation is pretty restricted but I still think I prefer him over a TR repaint like the Takara legends Manga suggested. I've not transformed him yet. Think I prefer the G1 toy still. The arms could have done with a double joint or just being a bit longer to help them bend and the proportions.

Crankcase is great other than his rear cannons. The paint on the rear seems very similar to bee dropkick car mode, whilst shiny and nice, likely to scratch. Hopefully he will get some more trigger masters to join him at some point.

So I got Point Blank recently and, YIKES! That is one rough toy. Big, sure, but that upper half is really reminding me of armada's articulation. He feels really restricted. Car mode aint looking great either.

william-james88 wrote:So I got Point Blank recently and, YIKES! That is one rough toy. Big, sure, but that upper half is really reminding me of armada's articulation. He feels really restricted. Car mode aint looking great either.

Blame the OG design for that. Those shoulder pads ain't made for Cirque Du Soleil antics.

My real complaint is that he doesn't come with his shield/spoiler like the OG G1 toy. Plus those gaps on the back of the legs are sad. I bought an upgrade kit for those so let's hope someone will make the spoiler/shield soon.

Nemesis Primal wrote:My sightings thus far:
Walmart
Core Wave 1
Deluxe Wave 1
Voyager Waves 1 & 2
Galvatron
All 3 Beast repaints
All of Velocitron Wave 1 (although Override specifically didn't show up until recently)

Target
Core Waves 1 & 2
Deluxe Wave 1
Voyager Wave 1
Leader Waves 1 & 2
Red Cog
Buzzworthy Silverstreak, Terrorsaur (who is currently taking up every Deluxe price tag/peg my Target has), Dinobot, & the Creatures Collide set

I'm glad it's not just me that is only seeing wave 1 stuff. I hit the jackpot the other day when I found a couple SS86 Ironhides, and one each of SS86 Sludge and Legacy G2 Megatron at assorted stores. Never seen Cosmos, don't expect to. I've seen wave 2 voyagers and the occasional Blitzwing, nothing from Deluxe wave 2 or beyond. And by the time anything new shows up I've given up and bought it online. Anyone know what the deal is? Any predictions? I assumed with Walmart it was the redeco beasts and then velocitron taking up space. For target though I dunno. Too many Buzzworthy Terrorsaurs and raw chicken Dinobots?

Also briefly speaking of Beast Wars, the reissues are extremely hard to find for some reason. I only saw Cybershark once other than the time I got him, and haven't seen Wolfang or Retrax at all.

Forgive me but I have two things that have probably been repeated as nauseum:
1) Cosomos looks like SUCH a fun toy and I'm so frustrated I haven't seen him near me (Whanganui, New Zealand)
b) when is Tarn due for release?

RotorstormNZ wrote:Forgive me but I have two things that have probably been repeated as nauseum:
1) Cosomos looks like SUCH a fun toy and I'm so frustrated I haven't seen him near me (Whanganui, New Zealand)
b) when is Tarn due for release?

1) Cosmos is part of a Walmart-exclusive subline, and is short-packed at that.
b) Tarn is part of next-year's line.

Sabrblade wrote:

RotorstormNZ wrote:Forgive me but I have two things that have probably been repeated as nauseum:
1) Cosomos looks like SUCH a fun toy and I'm so frustrated I haven't seen him near me (Whanganui, New Zealand)
b) when is Tarn due for release?

1) Cosmos is part of a Walmart-exclusive subline, and is short-packed at that.
b) Tarn is part of next-year's line.

Only Walmart exclusive in some countries. One has to check which of their local retailers tends to get the toys that are Walmart exclusive in the US. Also, he is not short packed everywhere, as is evident in the UK where he comes in solid cases.

I do not know what the situation with that toy is in New Zealand.

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:I got Transmetal II Megatron this weekend, and I want to gush about him some, because he is really good. He is by far my favorite Legacy leader so far.

He has a great presence to him to start. When you flush out his wings like they were meant to be out, he takes up so much space and casts a hell of a shadow. And the paint work on his wings is really good. i love the fading effects on them, and the translucent plastic was used great.

I am OK with the face, I know the problems with it, but I am OK with it.

I love the ponytail still being there, even if head articulation is a little hindered by it. But the entire sculpt with the ponytail is really good.

I do wish the arms had a little more beef to them, but considering the original had that look to it, I'm not that bothered.

His components in both modes tab in pretty solid, so you can manipulate him and mess with him a lot without fear of having him come apart.

The transformation is pretty logical, but it is a fun thing to do. I love how the arms work to get his torso solid and dynamic.

His dragon mode, PHEW! I LOVE IT! It has such a great presence to it, even better than robot mode. He can throw some great shapes, and he looks fierce. The flame effect works well in this mode too, I appreciate that accessory.

So yeah, Megatron gets my seal of approval. He is really damn good. I love him.

Ohh I want a dragon Megatron...

Soon...

So I stopped into a Walgreens near my work in hope of finding Minerva. They put out a full case of deluxes in the holiday aisle. Unfortunately it was Kingdom wave 4.

-Kanrabat- wrote:

william-james88 wrote:So I got Point Blank recently and, YIKES! That is one rough toy. Big, sure, but that upper half is really reminding me of armada's articulation. He feels really restricted. Car mode aint looking great either.

Blame the OG design for that. Those shoulder pads ain't made for Cirque Du Soleil antics.

My real complaint is that he doesn't come with his shield/spoiler like the OG G1 toy. Plus those gaps on the back of the legs are sad. I bought an upgrade kit for those so let's hope someone will make the spoiler/shield soon.

I'm OK with the lack of that center wing thing, because Peacemaker fills that in and looks pretty good there.

I agree the arms are limited, but I honestly still really enjoy him, and they are still mostly functional, he will throw the shapes I like.

Anyways,, have some more Megatron

Trying something new, hope it helps!

...in what may be a new record, JTPrime found Legacy listings for 2024 already?

We thank JTPrime17 for finding more listings for us. What's interesting about these is that their assortment codes and Legacy subheading show us that these are toys planned for 2024 (we already know all mainline Legacy toys coming out in 2023). It's only leaders and voyagers for now, but that's a record for the earliest we know of releases. Here they are:

Tra Gen Legacy UNI LDR BW Tigerhawk
EAN: 5010996192226

Tra Gen Legacy UNI LDR G1 Sandstorm
EAN: 5010996192233

Tra Gen Legacy EV LDR Optimus
EAN: 5010996192141

Tra Gen Legacy UNI Voy Animated Optimus Prime
EAN: 5010996192189

Tra Gen Legacy UNI Voy Prime Thundertron
EAN: 5010996192172

Tra Gen Legacy UNI Voy Cyber Starscream
EAN: 5010996192165

Tra Gen Legacy UNI Voy BW Silverbolt
EAN: 5010996192158

That's a big mix of G1, BW, UT, Prime and Animated. We also have a listing for G2 Grimlock (redeco of Studio Series 86 Grimlock) which is the leader for a upcoming capsule. Those are exclusive sublines, like the velocitron line. It's unknown if this will be for a subline found at Target, Walmart or Amazon.

Tra Gen Legacy Capsule LDR G2 Grimlock
EAN: 5010996143112
Product Number:F7517

Welp, judging by this lineup, I guess Hasbro is just about done with me buying Transformers.

Thundertron...

Boy, a whole decade later and Hasbro is still trying to promote the character that most of the fandom simply does not care about at all.

I'm reminded of when his original toy was first unveiled back at BotCon 2012 and the Hasbro folks were really excited about it, but nearly the entire audience in the room simply reacted with "Who?"

I think about less than 10% of the people in that room even knew who he was from having read the Exiles novel beforehand. And I was among that small amount who recognized his name from the book.

Funnily enough, all of the original toy's redecos have received more love and attention by the fandom than said original toy ever did.