The Energon Pub

[EvasionModeBumblebee]

You say that but the best selling tf toy of 2017 was this bumblebee figure below, a poor redeco of an older Bumblebee mold, which actually sold out at initial retail even though fans mostly ignored it AND prices had gone up by 33% globally.

Huh, I didn’t know that! That’s pretty interesting, I didn’t pick it up since it wasn’t accurate to Bee in TLK.

Studio Series Bumblebees have - at least in my observation - sold very well compared to their wavemates. I’ve only seen Clunker Bee and SS-49 twice ever, while the rest of the deluxes from their waves are everywhere. Same with Off-road Bee, I see that one way less than Shatter or Roadbuster.

[Nemesis Primal]

WWII been looks to have some cammo painted on vehicle mode now, the original was plain green.

No, the original release has that too, it's just very faint and was way more visible in the pre-release shots like these. Doesn't look to me like anything changed here unless they actually made that darker, I'm pretty sure the box even uses the exact same render.

[TF-fan kev777]

WWII been looks to have some cammo painted on vehicle mode now, the original was plain green.

No, the original release has that too, it's just very faint and was way more visible in the pre-release shots like these. Doesn't look to me like anything changed here unless they actually made that darker, I'm pretty sure the box even uses the exact same render.

*Goes downstairs to look*

You're right, geez my eyes suck; and the lighting in my basement (but mostly my eyes).

[Jelze Bunnycat]

so no reason to buy any of these.

Not if you already have them, only one appears to be different. I'm assuming the rerelease is an opportunity for those who missed out. I'd rather buy one of these than pay eBay prices for the original release.

Actually, 2 out of the 3 have some changes. SS15 comes without all the extras, so if someone only wanted the car and Charlie they now have a cheaper option. WWII been looks to have some cammo painted on vehicle mode now, the original was plain green.

And IF they managed to fix the tolerance issues on Shatter, that would make it 3 for 3. That is the one I'm most curious about. I don't really care about the screen accuracy, it would be a fun toy if it didn't fall a part.

Huh, ok, then that makes it weird the other two still have their original entry number and not a new number like the ROTF Bee with Sam. That's what has me confused.

Same number with a "BB" extension I reckon.

[william-james88]

For anyone wondering why Hasbro would release more Bumblebee toys, try this: next time you go to walmart or Target, go to the TF section and check how many Bumblebee toys are available to purchase for any parent shopping for one these days.

Here's an example of what I found in stores today, for instance.

No bumblebees

[Sabrblade]

^ I wish my stores looked that well stocked.

[william-james88]

^ I wish my stores looked that well stocked.

No bumblebees though (for any parent looking).

[chuckdawg1999]

My question is, how many Bumblebees will be found loose or MIB, MISB on the secondary market 5-10 years from now? Just because parents buy them, doesn't mean kids want them.

[william-james88]

My question is, how many Bumblebees will be found loose or MIB, MISB on the secondary market 5-10 years from now? Just because parents buy them, doesn't mean kids want them.

Hasbro should only care about the primary market, that's the only one that results in money for them. And right now, Bumblebee has been consistently selling well in the primary market.

[Emerje]

^ I wish my stores looked that well stocked.

No bumblebees though (for any parent looking).

Which is obviously why Hasbro likes to stick Bumblebee's name on as many products as they can, be it his own movie, Bumblebee Cyberverse Adventures, or Buzzworthy Bumblebee. "Did the kid say he wanted a figure of Bumblebee or from Bumblebee? Whatever, this says Bumblebee on it, I'll buy it."

Can't believe Hasbro hasn't done another multi generation box set like the old Legacy set. Pack together Deluxe figures from one of the movies, the Netflix figure, and Cyberverse.



Emerje

[chuckdawg1999]

^ I wish my stores looked that well stocked.

No bumblebees though (for any parent looking).

Which is obviously why Hasbro likes to stick Bumblebee's name on as many products as they can, be it his own movie, Bumblebee Cyberverse Adventures, or Buzzworthy Bumblebee. "Did the kid say he wanted a figure of Bumblebee or from Bumblebee? Whatever, this says Bumblebee on it, I'll buy it."

Can't believe Hasbro hasn't done another multi generation box set like the old Legacy set. Pack together Deluxe figures from one of the movies, the Netflix figure, and Cyberverse.



Emerje

Ya know, I'd buy that set and I'm sure a lot of other people would to get Netflix Bee.

My question is, how many Bumblebees will be found loose or MIB, MISB on the secondary market 5-10 years from now? Just because parents buy them, doesn't mean kids want them.

Hasbro should only care about the primary market, that's the only one that results in money for them. And right now, Bumblebee has been consistently selling well in the primary market.

I'm sure there's somebody at Hasbro concerned about optics, and the optics wouldn't be good with a ton of hardly played with toys out there. Keep in mind I love Bumblebee and would always buy a new figure of it, just not the older movie designs.

[First-Aid]

Hasbro's goal is to recapture the magic of Transformers...that perfect balance that made G1 such a huge hit, that caused the resurgence during Beast Wars, Animated, Movieverse, and Prime. The last couple series have been flops (RiD2 and Cyberverse). The question is this: can Hasbro figure out WHY. Personally, I can tell you why: because it's all about Bumblebee. ALL about Bumblebee. He's the feature, the emphasis, the plot, the be-all end-all of those series...and that dramatically limits what can be done writing-wise. The series I mentioned had a diverse cast, not a single focus: it allowed for better writing, diverse plots, and a wide array of directions to take as well as less redundant toys. Yes, they are aimed at kids, but I think that if you hook the parents and they can enjoy the show too you're going to secure a bigger market share. When a show does nothing but annoy parents (looking at YOU, you purple piece of shiesse dinosaur) I think it damages the brand and parents are less apt to buy it.

Examples of shows that won both adult and children audience include the Golden Age of Cartoon Network: Dexter's Laboratory, Power Puff Girls, Johnny Bravo; Scooby Doo, Batman the Animated Series and its spinoffs (Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Superman the Animated Series); Flintstones; Teen Titans; Ultimate Spiderman; Ren and Stimpy. All of those cartoons STILL hold a massive appeal today thanks to good writing, focusing on a diverse cast, and the appeal to both adults and children. Shows that appeal to children only tend to annoy adults (F*$%@ing Barney) and shows that focus on adults tend to go over children's heads. G1 found that perfect balance, as did Beast Wars, Animated, and Prime- those are, from a marketing standpoint, the Gold Standards. The Movieverse- as absurd as it was for us as fans- ended up appealing to kids thanks to BB, but Hasbro seems to have latched onto that as a Golden Goose because it was unexpected and are riding it right in to the ground. One can hope that the next iteration after Cyberverse has more balanced appeal.

[bacem]

Hasbro's goal is to recapture the magic of Transformers...that perfect balance that made G1 such a huge hit, that caused the resurgence during Beast Wars, Animated, Movieverse, and Prime. The last couple series have been flops (RiD2 and Cyberverse). The question is this: can Hasbro figure out WHY. Personally, I can tell you why: because it's all about Bumblebee. ALL about Bumblebee. He's the feature, the emphasis, the plot, the be-all end-all of those series...and that dramatically limits what can be done writing-wise. The series I mentioned had a diverse cast, not a single focus: it allowed for better writing, diverse plots, and a wide array of directions to take as well as less redundant toys. Yes, they are aimed at kids, but I think that if you hook the parents and they can enjoy the show too you're going to secure a bigger market share. When a show does nothing but annoy parents (looking at YOU, you purple piece of shiesse dinosaur) I think it damages the brand and parents are less apt to buy it.

Examples of shows that won both adult and children audience include the Golden Age of Cartoon Network: Dexter's Laboratory, Power Puff Girls, Johnny Bravo; Scooby Doo, Batman the Animated Series and its spinoffs (Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Superman the Animated Series); Flintstones; Teen Titans; Ultimate Spiderman; Ren and Stimpy. All of those cartoons STILL hold a massive appeal today thanks to good writing, focusing on a diverse cast, and the appeal to both adults and children. Shows that appeal to children only tend to annoy adults (F*$%@ing Barney) and shows that focus on adults tend to go over children's heads. G1 found that perfect balance, as did Beast Wars, Animated, and Prime- those are, from a marketing standpoint, the Gold Standards. The Movieverse- as absurd as it was for us as fans- ended up appealing to kids thanks to BB, but Hasbro seems to have latched onto that as a Golden Goose because it was unexpected and are riding it right in to the ground. One can hope that the next iteration after Cyberverse has more balanced appeal.

I forgot for a moment that barney exist, so when you said "purple piece of sh** dinosour", i genuinely wondering what parents has against BW megatron. It was when yoy finally mentioned barney that it clicked on me.

[TulioDude]

Hasbro's goal is to recapture the magic of Transformers...that perfect balance that made G1 such a huge hit, that caused the resurgence during Beast Wars, Animated, Movieverse, and Prime. The last couple series have been flops (RiD2 and Cyberverse). The question is this: can Hasbro figure out WHY. Personally, I can tell you why: because it's all about Bumblebee. ALL about Bumblebee. He's the feature, the emphasis, the plot, the be-all end-all of those series...and that dramatically limits what can be done writing-wise. The series I mentioned had a diverse cast, not a single focus: it allowed for better writing, diverse plots, and a wide array of directions to take as well as less redundant toys. Yes, they are aimed at kids, but I think that if you hook the parents and they can enjoy the show too you're going to secure a bigger market share. When a show does nothing but annoy parents (looking at YOU, you purple piece of shiesse dinosaur) I think it damages the brand and parents are less apt to buy it.

Examples of shows that won both adult and children audience include the Golden Age of Cartoon Network: Dexter's Laboratory, Power Puff Girls, Johnny Bravo; Scooby Doo, Batman the Animated Series and its spinoffs (Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Superman the Animated Series); Flintstones; Teen Titans; Ultimate Spiderman; Ren and Stimpy. All of those cartoons STILL hold a massive appeal today thanks to good writing, focusing on a diverse cast, and the appeal to both adults and children. Shows that appeal to children only tend to annoy adults (F*$%@ing Barney) and shows that focus on adults tend to go over children's heads. G1 found that perfect balance, as did Beast Wars, Animated, and Prime- those are, from a marketing standpoint, the Gold Standards. The Movieverse- as absurd as it was for us as fans- ended up appealing to kids thanks to BB, but Hasbro seems to have latched onto that as a Golden Goose because it was unexpected and are riding it right in to the ground. One can hope that the next iteration after Cyberverse has more balanced appeal.

Disagree with you on a few things,but that's okay.I personally feel for example that Cyberverse has a very focusedstoryline and solid chracters.I don't Prime has reached the same levels as Beast Wars or Animated.

[william-james88]

Hasbro's goal is to recapture the magic of Transformers...that perfect balance that made G1 such a huge hit, that caused the resurgence during Beast Wars, Animated, Movieverse, and Prime. The last couple series have been flops (RiD2 and Cyberverse). The question is this: can Hasbro figure out WHY. Personally, I can tell you why: because it's all about Bumblebee. ALL about Bumblebee. He's the feature, the emphasis, the plot, the be-all end-all of those series...and that dramatically limits what can be done writing-wise. The series I mentioned had a diverse cast, not a single focus: it allowed for better writing, diverse plots, and a wide array of directions to take as well as less redundant toys. Yes, they are aimed at kids, but I think that if you hook the parents and they can enjoy the show too you're going to secure a bigger market share. When a show does nothing but annoy parents (looking at YOU, you purple piece of shiesse dinosaur) I think it damages the brand and parents are less apt to buy it.

Examples of shows that won both adult and children audience include the Golden Age of Cartoon Network: Dexter's Laboratory, Power Puff Girls, Johnny Bravo; Scooby Doo, Batman the Animated Series and its spinoffs (Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Superman the Animated Series); Flintstones; Teen Titans; Ultimate Spiderman; Ren and Stimpy. All of those cartoons STILL hold a massive appeal today thanks to good writing, focusing on a diverse cast, and the appeal to both adults and children. Shows that appeal to children only tend to annoy adults (F*$%@ing Barney) and shows that focus on adults tend to go over children's heads. G1 found that perfect balance, as did Beast Wars, Animated, and Prime- those are, from a marketing standpoint, the Gold Standards. The Movieverse- as absurd as it was for us as fans- ended up appealing to kids thanks to BB, but Hasbro seems to have latched onto that as a Golden Goose because it was unexpected and are riding it right in to the ground. One can hope that the next iteration after Cyberverse has more balanced appeal.

How were they flops? I have seen no evidence by any metric that they were. Plus did you see how much some of those RID toys sell on the aftermarket? Wow!

[chuckdawg1999]

Hasbro's goal is to recapture the magic of Transformers...that perfect balance that made G1 such a huge hit, that caused the resurgence during Beast Wars, Animated, Movieverse, and Prime. The last couple series have been flops (RiD2 and Cyberverse). The question is this: can Hasbro figure out WHY. Personally, I can tell you why: because it's all about Bumblebee. ALL about Bumblebee. He's the feature, the emphasis, the plot, the be-all end-all of those series...and that dramatically limits what can be done writing-wise. The series I mentioned had a diverse cast, not a single focus: it allowed for better writing, diverse plots, and a wide array of directions to take as well as less redundant toys. Yes, they are aimed at kids, but I think that if you hook the parents and they can enjoy the show too you're going to secure a bigger market share. When a show does nothing but annoy parents (looking at YOU, you purple piece of shiesse dinosaur) I think it damages the brand and parents are less apt to buy it.

Examples of shows that won both adult and children audience include the Golden Age of Cartoon Network: Dexter's Laboratory, Power Puff Girls, Johnny Bravo; Scooby Doo, Batman the Animated Series and its spinoffs (Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Superman the Animated Series); Flintstones; Teen Titans; Ultimate Spiderman; Ren and Stimpy. All of those cartoons STILL hold a massive appeal today thanks to good writing, focusing on a diverse cast, and the appeal to both adults and children. Shows that appeal to children only tend to annoy adults (F*$%@ing Barney) and shows that focus on adults tend to go over children's heads. G1 found that perfect balance, as did Beast Wars, Animated, and Prime- those are, from a marketing standpoint, the Gold Standards. The Movieverse- as absurd as it was for us as fans- ended up appealing to kids thanks to BB, but Hasbro seems to have latched onto that as a Golden Goose because it was unexpected and are riding it right in to the ground. One can hope that the next iteration after Cyberverse has more balanced appeal.

Be-all-end-all? Did you mean Bee-all? Get it?

[william-james88]

My toysrus was nicely stocked but as you will see, not one Bumblebee to be found. Sold out from every line. There's a demand out there that Hasbro has to supply.

[First-Aid]

My toysrus was nicely stocked but as you will see, not one Bumblebee to be found. Sold out from every line. There's a demand out there that Hasbro has to supply.

What's in the case packings that are on the shelves right now? Are they sold out or have that simply not gotten any because of the case packing?

[william-james88]

My toysrus was nicely stocked but as you will see, not one Bumblebee to be found. Sold out from every line. There's a demand out there that Hasbro has to supply.

What's in the case packings that are on the shelves right now? Are they sold out or have that simply not gotten any because of the case packing?

To name a few:
Ss jeep bee
Warrior cybertronian bee
Deluxe cyberverse bee
Cyberverse trooper roll call bee
One step bee
Scout bee

So yeah, sold out.

[Sentinel_Primal]

Finally managed to acquire Overload after I got sick of Target's "back-ordered" claims. Found him while picking up cards for my cousin and uncle. Thankfully he was still the $30 they charged online, but curiously, he ran up as a voyager, not a leader

[william-james88]

The Transformers Buzzworthy Bumblebee line sure is odd. I am still baffled by the use Bumblebee's evergreen design on the box when so far no toy in this surprise line sports that design and now it's quite odd that this line is being found at retail when it still has not been announced. Maybe it's just to have more Bumblebee toys on the shelves, who knows. The Studio Series rereleases (or prerelease for one of them) have been found at Target. So this might be a Target exclusive line, once again we know very little about this line. The toys found were BB-15 15 Bumblebee & Charlie, BB-26 WWII Bumblebee, BB-40 Shatter and BB-74 Camaro Bumblebee & Sam, which all sport their Studio Series numbers.
But that is not all, fans were also surprised to see another Buzzworthy release that none of us knew was happening, a rerelease of the giant movie One Step, also at Target. The deluxes are 19.99 and were found in Georgia according to this Reddit post, while the giant one step is 29.99 and was found in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, by sdtessmann. For those wanting it, the DPCI# is 087-16-7189.

[chuckdawg1999]

Stupid question since I can't tell from the packaging. Is that car Shatter or jet Shatter?

Merry Christmas my friends!

[Rodimus Prime]

It's car Shatter, I'm pretty sure.

[william-james88]

It's car Shatter, I'm pretty sure.

Yup!
Also really curious to see how long the studio series bees will last. This will show us if there is indeed that much demand afterall.

[morganprime]

The packaging really throws me off. It looks like Cyberverse but Studio Series?