The Energon Pub

[Jelze Bunnycat]

Ok, why have the product codes jumped back to "C"? Right now we're in the "E" to "F" range, why "C" again?

Ok, looking at my lists, they did skip the latter half of "C" and all of "D", going straight to "E" for PotP...

[Sabrblade]

$45 for a deluxe?

And using molds that already exist?

Am I missing something?

Its all golden and shiny and from Japan. Look, its shiny!!!!!!!

And they were Japanese convention exclusives produced in limited quantity.

And how does that affect the price on these? Different production run, so the limited availability of the originals is irrelevant and in poor taste to use that to jack up the price.

Basically. poor attempt at scalping unsuspecting buyers.

What do you mean by "different production run"? These aren't new. Takara didn't just suddenly make more of them. They're leftovers that got sold out within an hour after they were first put up on Hasbro Pulse.

[Emerje]

$45 for a deluxe?

And using molds that already exist?

Am I missing something?

Its all golden and shiny and from Japan. Look, its shiny!!!!!!!

And they were Japanese convention exclusives produced in limited quantity.

And how does that affect the price on these? Different production run, so the limited availability of the originals is irrelevant and in poor taste to use that to jack up the price.

Basically. poor attempt at scalping unsuspecting buyers.

What do you mean by "different production run"? These aren't new. Takara didn't just suddenly make more of them. They're leftovers that got sold out within an hour after they were first put up on Hasbro Pulse.

In fact I'd be shocked if inside the box isn't the Takara Tomy box just like they do with Selects and MPs.

Most likely this is something Hasbro had allocated some time ago and had been holding on to since Hasbro Toy Shop had closed and Pulse hadn't yet opened when these were released in Japan. If these were leftover stock Takara Tomy found they would have sold them themselves rather than hand them off to Hasbro for no real reason two years later.

Emerje

[Jelze Bunnycat]

$45 for a deluxe?

And using molds that already exist?

Am I missing something?

Its all golden and shiny and from Japan. Look, its shiny!!!!!!!

And they were Japanese convention exclusives produced in limited quantity.

And how does that affect the price on these? Different production run, so the limited availability of the originals is irrelevant and in poor taste to use that to jack up the price.

Basically. poor attempt at scalping unsuspecting buyers.

What do you mean by "different production run"? These aren't new. Takara didn't just suddenly make more of them. They're leftovers that got sold out within an hour after they were first put up on Hasbro Pulse.

In fact I'd be shocked if inside the box isn't the Takara Tomy box just like they do with Selects and MPs.

Most likely this is something Hasbro had allocated some time ago and had been holding on to since Hasbro Toy Shop had closed and Pulse hadn't yet opened when these were released in Japan. If these were leftover stock Takara Tomy found they would have sold them themselves rather than hand them off to Hasbro for no real reason two years later.

Emerje

I bet their appearance in the Selects manga has nothing to do with their sudden release...

[Sabrblade]

I bet their appearance in the Selects manga has nothing to do with their sudden release...

You could say that about any of the Primus Vanguard members made from old toys.

White Gallant Convoy got some decent focus (complete with his own combiner mode) in one of the God Neptune chapters, and his toy hasn't been on the primary market in five years.

Same with Purple Wicked Convoy currently working some agenda of his own in his teaming up with Megatron Omega, and his toy is from four years ago.

Or the two Straxuses also working with Megatron, both of whose toys are ten years old, each.

[Gauntlet101010]

I'm inclined to think that whoever made that manga knew something about upcoming toys and tossed them in. It seems like too much of a coincidence otherwise.

[Sabrblade]

I'm inclined to think that whoever made that manga knew something about upcoming toys and tossed them in. It seems like too much of a coincidence otherwise.

Sakamoto is aware of upcoming toys, yes, but it's the Japanese Selects toys that the manga is specifically advertising. That's why it exists in the first place.

But, Sakamoto is also known for throwing a truckload of fan service into his works, having put slews of older toys into both the Legends and Selects manga. In his playing around with the Primus Vanguard concept, he's put a whole bunch of old toys into each of the group's seven Orders based on their color coordination. And with the golden-colored Primus being at the heart of it all, he needed gold-colored toys to fill out the ranks of Primus's personal team, so he used the Golden Lagoon toys to do so, as well as the old e-HOBBY gold chrome redeco of Jazz from 2002, and the non-toy gold/brown Mutant Soundwave that was previously hinted at in the Convobat and Magna Convoy manga chapters so as to continue that loose thread that was left unresolved, just as he's done with the Straxus story thread that was also only hinted at but now explored here too.

If this had been a new production run of the Golden Lagoon figures, it wouldn't have been so limited as to sell out within a single hour, and all of the other major e-tailers like BBTS, TFSource, etc. would have gotten a piece of the pie as well instead of just Hasbro Pulse. And, most notably, if Takara had done a new production run, they themselves would have offered it on one of their own platforms like TakaraTomy Mall. They wouldn't just give it to Hasbro and not sell it themselves at all.

[Gauntlet101010]

Well ... he didn't need to include golden coloured toys at all. He could have just left it.

[Sabrblade]

Well ... he didn't need to include golden coloured toys at all. He could have just left it.

Exactly. He didn't need to. But he did because that's what he does. He gives us awesome stuff like that in his manga works.

And, well, sometimes he also gives us, er, less-than-awesome stuff that people would rather forget about.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

I bet their appearance in the Selects manga has nothing to do with their sudden release...

You could say that about any of the Primus Vanguard members made from old toys.

White Gallant Convoy got some decent focus (complete with his own combiner mode) in one of the God Neptune chapters, and his toy hasn't been on the primary market in five years.

Same with Purple Wicked Convoy currently working some agenda of his own in his teaming up with Megatron Omega, and his toy is from four years ago.

Or the two Straxuses also working with Megatron, both of whose toys are ten years old, each.

What I meant was that Hasbro may have noticed the toys appearing in the manga and then decided it was a good time to finally release the long-held batch. TakaraTomy may have had no intention, Sakamoto was unaware of them, boom comes Hasbro.

[Overcracker]

$45 for a deluxe?

And using molds that already exist?

Am I missing something?

Its all golden and shiny and from Japan. Look, its shiny!!!!!!!

And they were Japanese convention exclusives produced in limited quantity.

And how does that affect the price on these? Different production run, so the limited availability of the originals is irrelevant and in poor taste to use that to jack up the price.

Basically. poor attempt at scalping unsuspecting buyers.

What do you mean by "different production run"? These aren't new. Takara didn't just suddenly make more of them. They're leftovers that got sold out within an hour after they were first put up on Hasbro Pulse.

In fact I'd be shocked if inside the box isn't the Takara Tomy box just like they do with Selects and MPs.

Most likely this is something Hasbro had allocated some time ago and had been holding on to since Hasbro Toy Shop had closed and Pulse hadn't yet opened when these were released in Japan. If these were leftover stock Takara Tomy found they would have sold them themselves rather than hand them off to Hasbro for no real reason two years later.

Emerje

I have to agree with Emerje.

This being unsold Takara stock, found seemingly just now, and handed to Hasbro instead of selling it themselves seems awfully convenient and unlikely.

Hasbro either had the intention if selling them before, and never got around to it due to lack of an outlet, or simply decided to make a small production run now and sell them, going as far as giving them an altered box with the "As sold in Japan" legend.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

Hasbro either had the intention if selling them before, and never got around to it due to lack of an outlet, or simply decided to make a small production run now and sell them, going as far as giving them an altered box with the "As sold in Japan" legend.

The "C" product code points to that being the case, dating back to the end of Titans Return... Except Beachcomber has an "E" product code due to him being a PotP figure, and Starscream uses the Prime Armor from Dreadwind/Blackwing.

[Emerje]

I bet their appearance in the Selects manga has nothing to do with their sudden release...

You could say that about any of the Primus Vanguard members made from old toys.

White Gallant Convoy got some decent focus (complete with his own combiner mode) in one of the God Neptune chapters, and his toy hasn't been on the primary market in five years.

Same with Purple Wicked Convoy currently working some agenda of his own in his teaming up with Megatron Omega, and his toy is from four years ago.

Or the two Straxuses also working with Megatron, both of whose toys are ten years old, each.

What I meant was that Hasbro may have noticed the toys appearing in the manga and then decided it was a good time to finally release the long-held batch. TakaraTomy may have had no intention, Sakamoto was unaware of them, boom comes Hasbro.

They specifically said they released them that day because it was the 35th anniversary of the The Golden Lagoon episode (11/4/1985). It had nothing to do with the manga, that was just a coincidence.

Emerje