The Energon Pub

News Credits: 650 · by **ScottyP** » Sun Dec 29, 2019 11:52 pm

^ It made that release a fun novelty. Couple that with its de facto KB exclusive status with the vaporware CE Sideswipe, meaning it was never more than $25 2005 dollars, that made for a fun time.

MyFigureCollection.net collection · by **Emerje** » Mon Dec 30, 2019 7:17 am

ScottyP wrote:^ It made that release a fun novelty. Couple that with its de facto KB exclusive status with the vaporware CE Sideswipe, meaning it was never more than $25 2005 dollars, that made for a fun time.

Sideswipe was the KB exclusive, I got mine from a KB Toys Liquidator store and never saw them at regular stores. Astrotrain was a Hasbro Toy Shop exclusive, though I could have sworn I saw him at TRU, but I guess my memory is off.

Emerje

by **cruizerdave** » Mon Dec 30, 2019 11:39 am

Whoa! The Op without his trailer was a big stretch for $50. Soundwave is a larger figure and comes with an additional figure, so that's almost fair.
But this?
Astrotrain for $50? No way! He's a small figure with one accessory. Uh, uh, nope, not me.

You'd think Walmart and Hasbro would catch on after every year having to mark these down and sell them on clearance.

News Credits: 10 · by **transformers_va** » Mon Dec 30, 2019 1:59 pm

I'm okay with paying the higher price, as long as it means that they will still be making Transformers. The more money they bring in, the longer the toyline will exist - which in my books is a great thing

FYI, for anyone using Brickseek, the Astrotrain UPC is: 630509894437 / SKU: 327496966

News Credits: 65 · by **Wolfman Jake** » Mon Dec 30, 2019 3:11 pm

Checked my local Walmart last night while out shopping. No sign of G1 Astrotrain yet (or Siege Astrotrain, for that matter), but they had a TON of "Classic Animation" Optimus Primes warming the shelf. Seriously, they had almost two dozen of them.

MyFigureCollection.net collection · by **Emerje** » Mon Dec 30, 2019 4:16 pm

cruizerdave wrote:You'd think Walmart and Hasbro would catch on after every year having to mark these down and sell them on clearance.

Just means they sell enough at full price so that anything they sell on clearance is pure profit. These do tend to sell out initial stock pretty quickly with only restock going on clearance in most cases. These probably don't cost much to make, the molds are already made and the packaging isn't that expensive so I'm sure they're making money off them despite how it looks on the surface.

Would be nice if they remembered they had established a lower price point with Hot Rod.

Emerje

News Credits: 241 · by **Jelze Bunnycat** » Mon Dec 30, 2019 6:54 pm

Emerje wrote:
ScottyP wrote:^ It made that release a fun novelty. Couple that with its de facto KB exclusive status with the vaporware CE Sideswipe, meaning it was never more than $25 2005 dollars, that made for a fun time.

Sideswipe was the KB exclusive, I got mine from a KB Toys Liquidator store and never saw them at regular stores. Astrotrain was a Hasbro Toy Shop exclusive, though I could have sworn I saw him at TRU, but I guess my memory is off.

Emerje

Commemorative Series Astrotrain was meant as a TRU exclusive, to be released alongside Stepper/Ricochet, but TRU decided to cancel the line due to low sales. Stepper/Ricochet managed to slip into stores, but Astrotrain didn't. On the side, that version was re-released in Asia in 2012.

There's something to be said about the amount of decos that toy has gotten, as Astrotrain:

1) US
2) Japan
3) e-Hobby Prototype-inspired
4) Platinum Edition

News Credits: 1642 · by **D-Maximal_Primal** » Mon Dec 30, 2019 7:26 pm

youch, that price point hurts.

I want him, but not $50 want. Ugh, 2 $50 Astrotrains in a short time too

News Credits: 4838 · by **william-james88** » Tue Dec 31, 2019 2:31 pm

Well it turns out the G1 reissue of Astrotrain, now available at Walmart, doesn't actually match the original G1 toy. As can be seen below, the purple is much darker. This makes it a different deco in the end and something different rather than a straight G1 reissue. The images come from stevenmh who posted them on the TFW boards. The official images, which you can see below, did show a darker purple but we weren't sure if it was due to lighting or not. And now we know.

View Larger Image

News Credits: 456 · by **Sabrblade** » Tue Dec 31, 2019 2:35 pm

Is there the slightest possibility that the colors of that vintage copy could have faded over the years?

News Credits: 8 · by **Flashwave** » Tue Dec 31, 2019 2:39 pm

This is great for the Nostalgia factor, and I'm glad they're doing it, however getting a $50 G1 Astrotrain out at the same time as a $50 Siege Astrotrain really seems to drive home the let's wait for this to hit clearance Factor for me. That may also because I have the white reissue from several years ago.

News Credits: 241 · by **Jelze Bunnycat** » Tue Dec 31, 2019 2:39 pm

Sabrblade wrote:Is there the slightest possibility that the colors of that vintage copy could have faded over the years?

True, but that would probably also cause the white to yellow. We need a bigger sample size :-?

News Credits: 4838 · by **william-james88** » Tue Dec 31, 2019 3:02 pm

Sabrblade wrote:Is there the slightest possibility that the colors of that vintage copy could have faded over the years?

My G1 astrotrain also has that more grape purple we see in the vintage one above. As do the pics in the seibertron gallery. Take that as you will.

by **hausjam** » Tue Dec 31, 2019 4:02 pm

I still prefer my anime color Encore reissue.

News Credits: 456 · by **Sabrblade** » Tue Dec 31, 2019 4:11 pm

hausjam wrote:I still prefer my anime color Encore reissue.

You mean eHOBBY, there was no Encore Astrotrain.

by **hausjam** » Tue Dec 31, 2019 4:33 pm

I still prefer my anime color eHOBBY Astrotrain.

MyFigureCollection.net collection · by **Emerje** » Tue Dec 31, 2019 5:01 pm

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
Emerje wrote:
ScottyP wrote:^ It made that release a fun novelty. Couple that with its de facto KB exclusive status with the vaporware CE Sideswipe, meaning it was never more than $25 2005 dollars, that made for a fun time.

Sideswipe was the KB exclusive, I got mine from a KB Toys Liquidator store and never saw them at regular stores. Astrotrain was a Hasbro Toy Shop exclusive, though I could have sworn I saw him at TRU, but I guess my memory is off.

Emerje

Commemorative Series Astrotrain was meant as a TRU exclusive, to be released alongside Stepper/Ricochet, but TRU decided to cancel the line due to low sales. Stepper/Ricochet managed to slip into stores, but Astrotrain didn't. On the side, that version was re-released in Asia in 2012.

If I know he got a HTS release I probably already know all that, right?

I'm indifferent about the purple being darker, doesn't really effect anything unless you're comparing side by side. It's the gray that should have been darker.

Emerje

by **Ultra Markus** » Tue Dec 31, 2019 6:45 pm

who cares its still purple and i still want it

News Credits: 251 · by **Mindmaster** » Tue Dec 31, 2019 8:31 pm

The in-hand images lack the red ab decals, while the stock images (minus the in-box one) have said decal. And I thought Earthrise Optimus was confusing. :BANG_HEAD:

News Credits: 4838 · by **william-james88** » Tue Dec 31, 2019 10:04 pm

Mindmaster wrote:The in-hand images lack the red ab decals, while the stock images (minus the in-box one) have said decal. And I thought Earthrise Optimus was confusing.

Arent they stickers? The guy probably chose not to put them.

News Credits: 251 · by **Mindmaster** » Tue Dec 31, 2019 10:14 pm

william-james88 wrote:
Mindmaster wrote:The in-hand images lack the red ab decals, while the stock images (minus the in-box one) have said decal. And I thought Earthrise Optimus was confusing.

Arent they stickers? The guy probably chose not to put them.

Are they stickers? I dunno, I never owned the original. :lol:

But you bring up a fair point, I didn’t think about owner’s discretion. I forgot the stickers for these reissues are applied by the owner.

News Credits: 30 · by **DeathReviews** » Wed Jan 01, 2020 7:14 pm

I'm still amused by how the G1 box artists had to distort the character to make it look like it's more poseable than it actually is. The figure does not have the bendable shoulders and elbows that the box art conveys, nor can it in any way move its legs the way the painting depicts. Truth in advertising, Hasbro!