The Energon Pub

Studio Series Snarl will actually be a blue-and-white wolf!

Sludge continues to look great, excited for him

Love the art!

But...it makes me wish Sludge came with a BUNCH of mini Sharkticons. Like Wheelie and Daniel, but smaller and more of them.

Sludge looks excellent! I think I'll need to get all the team when they show up down here.

RotorstormNZ wrote:Sludge looks excellent! I think I'll need to get all the team when they show up down here.

I highly recommend all of them.
*edit*
I don't have Sludge yet, but from everything I've seen he's just as good as the first two, and imo probably better than Slag.
For mainline figures, they are the highlight of my collection.
I love Cyclonus... Scourge, Sweep, and Galvatron are all up there, too.
But those Dinobots. They're just phenomenal.

Sowndwave76 wrote:

RotorstormNZ wrote:Sludge looks excellent! I think I'll need to get all the team when they show up down here.

I highly recommend all of them.
[...]
But those Dinobots. They're just phenomenal.

Everything I've seen and read has made me want them, and I had no attraction to anything SS86*. I'm not even a dinobot fan and FoC Grimlock's the only version of any that I've ever owned, but there's just something irresistible about these guys. They look so right!


*Unless they release Shockwave and Megatron...

RotorstormNZ wrote:

Sowndwave76 wrote:

RotorstormNZ wrote:Sludge looks excellent! I think I'll need to get all the team when they show up down here.

I highly recommend all of them.
[...]
But those Dinobots. They're just phenomenal.

Everything I've seen and read has made me want them, and I had no attraction to anything SS86*. I'm not even a dinobot fan and FoC Grimlock's the only version of any that I've ever owned, but there's just something irresistible about these guys. They look so right!


*Unless they release Shockwave and Megatron...

There's no official word on how long SS86 will last.
But unfortunately, because a mainline-release Megatron will never have a pistol alt mode again, he will probably never be a part of this subline. Shockwave on the other hand, is one I could see taking a voyager class slot down the road, IF SS86 continues.


Sidenote: Wreck-gar and Sweep are seemingly starting to shelf-warm with Coronation Starscream.
There are STILL 7 Coronation SS's on the shelves at my Target.

Sowndwave76 wrote:There are STILL 7 Coronation SS's on the shelves at my Target.

Consider yourself lucky? Mine still has 6 Grindors from before Christmas.

Sowndwave76 wrote:Sidenote: Wreck-gar and Sweep are seemingly starting to shelf-warm with Coronation Starscream.
There are STILL 7 Coronation SS's on the shelves at my Target.

Isn't that the ideal situation? Having the TF aisle stocked with the latest TF toys?

william-james88 wrote:

Sowndwave76 wrote:Sidenote: Wreck-gar and Sweep are seemingly starting to shelf-warm with Coronation Starscream.
There are STILL 7 Coronation SS's on the shelves at my Target.

Isn't that the ideal situation? Having the TF aisle stocked with the latest TF toys?

I always thought so. I've only seen Starscream once at one Walmart in a mangled box a few weeks ago and it still sold. This same Walmart never got Slug and Grindor. My other Walmart has gotten those two restocked a few times and even stocked again about a month ago after the Leader shelves had been empty since Christmas so they're still being spottily distributed from the warehouse. Logistics issues mean we're going to see a lot of stuff like this. I've seen both Sweep/Wreckgar and Soundwave/Hot Rod restocked at the same time over the past month.

Emerje

Part of my thought with that observation is just not liking how I'm starting to see how some product isn't selling.
I get this is just an opinion, but I really don't see how Coronation SS was a good business decision...
No one is going to be able to convince me that Starscream, let alone the coronation version has some mass appeal to kids. On top of that, the $52-ish cost.

And sure, the same can be said about both Wreck-gar and Sweep... Neither of those necessarily have much appeal for a kid either. But obviously a $20 difference is substantial for a lot of parents.
Especially when we're talking about the cost of a toy. Not a pair of shoes... Or a new jacket... Or even something like a new backpack for school.
Even if you're not a parent, you have to understand this. "You", meaning "anyone".

But overall, no, I can't complain about what my local stores are getting in terms of TF.
I'm starting to believe that never seeing ER waves 2 or 3 was simply a one-off of a tough time in general.

Sowndwave76 wrote:Part of my thought with that observation is just not liking how I'm starting to see how some product isn't selling.
I get this is just an opinion, but I really don't see how Coronation SS was a good business decision...
No one is going to be able to convince me that Starscream, let alone the coronation version has some mass appeal to kids. On top of that, the $52-ish cost.

Starscream is one of the most popular characters in the franchise, even if that's because Hasbro made it that way. I'm sure it's primarily with parents that recognize him and buy him for their kids. But i do think the 50 buck price point might be a bridge too far.

Also "You already have that toy" because he's a slightly-tweaked Earthrise with extra stuff.

I'd buy him tho, I don't have Earthrise yet and the chair would be a nice prop to have.

Sowndwave76 wrote:Part of my thought with that observation is just not liking how I'm starting to see how some product isn't selling.
I get this is just an opinion, but I really don't see how Coronation SS was a good business decision...
No one is going to be able to convince me that Starscream, let alone the coronation version has some mass appeal to kids. On top of that, the $52-ish cost.

And sure, the same can be said about both Wreck-gar and Sweep... Neither of those necessarily have much appeal for a kid either. But obviously a $20 difference is substantial for a lot of parents.
Especially when we're talking about the cost of a toy. Not a pair of shoes... Or a new jacket... Or even something like a new backpack for school.
Even if you're not a parent, you have to understand this. "You", meaning "anyone".

But overall, no, I can't complain about what my local stores are getting in terms of TF.
I'm starting to believe that never seeing ER waves 2 or 3 was simply a one-off of a tough time in general.

Waves are made to stock a shelf for at least 3 months. So don't worry about it not selling yet. Some places don't reorder and just get their stock all at once.

sol magnus wrote:Starscream is one of the most popular characters in the franchise, even if that's because Hasbro made it that way. I'm sure it's primarily with parents that recognize him and buy him for their kids. But i do think the 50 buck price point might be a bridge too far.

Not directed at you... But I think there are plenty of collectors and fans who lose sight of the fact that there are tons of people who grew-up in the 80's and have almost zero recollection of this franchise. So there could and most likely is zero push or influence for those people to buy their kids these toys.
It's just as unlikely that a 7-11 yr old has much if any knowledge of G1 Starscream. Or why he'd be packaged with a crown, cape, and throne.

And yes, just a small example to emphasize the impact of price point--
Two days ago I stopped by my Target to look for Legacy Kickback...
A mom and her 6-ish yr old (yes I'm guessing) son were looking at the Jurassic Park toys.
The kid was saying something about wanting one of the dinosaurs (I didn't even look at which one; I was minding my business), and then the mom literally says,
"Do you have $63 for that? That's not happening, especially on a random outing".
Her tone wasn't harsh, but matter-of-fact.
I don't live in some "elite", super-rich area, but Liberty, MO isn't exactly a slummy part of the KC metro either...
Point being, if there were kids who wanted any of the 7 Coronation SS's left on those shelves, they'd be gone.

william-james88 wrote:Waves are made to stock a shelf for at least 3 months. So don't worry about it not selling yet. Some places don't reorder and just get their stock all at once.

Fair point.
Buzzworthy Cliffjumper, B-127, and even Kup have been moving from what I've seen.
Everything else seems to be stalling-out.
But we'll see. I'm stopping by there again this afternoon.

Sowndwave76 wrote:Buzzworthy Cliffjumper, B-127, and even Kup have been moving from what I've seen.
Everything else seems to be stalling-out.
But we'll see. I'm stopping by there again this afternoon.

For Starscream in particular, I wouldn't take too much meaning even if all 7 are still there in your store. That may not even tell you how well he is moving in your particular area.

Target has weird assed distribution issues, which is most likely what you are seeing. Those 7 you saw last time may not in fact be the same 7 you saw the time before and could have been restocked.

In the past year, I've seen 1 store put out 12 SS Voyager Bee movie Thrust at once, sell 6 over 3 weeks and then bump it up to 15 on the shelves. This was extra weird because he was supposed to be in a case with SS86 Wreck-Gar, but only Thrust showed up.

A different store put 15 Kingdom T-Wrecks out at once between the aisle and an endcap. When the endcap got re-purposed they only left 6 on the shelf, which didn't run out for months. It wasn't because the 6 sat there and then all of a sudden sold, they were selling, but being restocked as they went from the ones in the back. No way in hell they sold 9 on the last few days the endcap was up.

Its almost like sometimes Target accidentally sends a store a pallet instead of a case, and that may be the case with your store. If they got a ridiculous amount (10+) they might only be putting out 7-8 at a time and restocking as they sell, and you wouldn't really know the difference unless you were timing your visits with when they are stocking to actually see how many they put out. In the case of Thrust getting bumped up to 15, I did just that and was shocked to see them putting more out.

Target can be randomly weird, so I wouldn't rule that out as a possibility.

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

Sowndwave76 wrote:Buzzworthy Cliffjumper, B-127, and even Kup have been moving from what I've seen.
Everything else seems to be stalling-out.
But we'll see. I'm stopping by there again this afternoon.

For Starscream in particular, I wouldn't take too much meaning even if all 7 are still there in your store. That may not even tell you how well he is moving in your particular area.

Target has weird assed distribution issues, which is most likely what you are seeing. Those 7 you saw last time may not in fact be the same 7 you saw the time before and could have been restocked.

Yeah, I've never seen 7 of those on ANY shelf here in Maryland. It seems an impossible number.

Target may have random distribution, but since my last post about SS86 Starscream, at one point it went from 7 to 6.
But for almost a week now, it's up to 8.
I was just there roughly an hour ago.

Anyway, does anyone have any idea as to when Sludge is going to be released/shipped?
I get it, right now Amazon has his release for date for End of July/early August.
But being wave 2, doesn't it have to be earlier than that?
At least by a month?

Sowndwave76 wrote:Target may have random distribution, but since my last post about SS86 Starscream, at one point it went from 7 to 6.
But for almost a week now, it's up to 8.
I was just there roughly an hour ago.

Anyway, does anyone have any idea as to when Sludge is going to be released/shipped?
I get it, right now Amazon has his release for date for End of July/early August.
But being wave 2, doesn't it have to be earlier than that?
At least by a month?

Release dates have been worst case scenarios for a while now after Hasbro got tired of constantly having to announce delays on Pulse. The actual release date is usually a month or two up from that, though sometimes it can be later. I still haven't seen Legacy at Walmart and only seen one of each Deluxe and two Bulkheads at Target.

Emerje

Sowndwave76 wrote:Target may have random distribution, but since my last post about SS86 Starscream, at one point it went from 7 to 6.
But for almost a week now, it's up to 8.
I was just there roughly an hour ago.

Anyway, does anyone have any idea as to when Sludge is going to be released/shipped?
I get it, right now Amazon has his release for date for End of July/early August.
But being wave 2, doesn't it have to be earlier than that?
At least by a month?

I didnt get Slag ubtil August '21. He came right on schedule (hard as that may be to believe.)

sol magnus wrote:

Sowndwave76 wrote:Target may have random distribution, but since my last post about SS86 Starscream, at one point it went from 7 to 6.
But for almost a week now, it's up to 8.
I was just there roughly an hour ago.

Anyway, does anyone have any idea as to when Sludge is going to be released/shipped?
I get it, right now Amazon has his release for date for End of July/early August.
But being wave 2, doesn't it have to be earlier than that?
At least by a month?

I didnt get Slag ubtil August '21. He came right on schedule (hard as that may be to believe.)

But wasn't Slag supposed to be released during the second half of the year?

Sowndwave76 wrote:

sol magnus wrote:

Sowndwave76 wrote:Target may have random distribution, but since my last post about SS86 Starscream, at one point it went from 7 to 6.
But for almost a week now, it's up to 8.
I was just there roughly an hour ago.

Anyway, does anyone have any idea as to when Sludge is going to be released/shipped?
I get it, right now Amazon has his release for date for End of July/early August.
But being wave 2, doesn't it have to be earlier than that?
At least by a month?

I didnt get Slag ubtil August '21. He came right on schedule (hard as that may be to believe.)

But wasn't Slag supposed to be released during the second half of the year?

He was, and August is indeed the second half of the year. Sludge will be on shelves in the summer. Might be earlier than said date, might not.

Sowndwave76 wrote:

sol magnus wrote:

Sowndwave76 wrote:Target may have random distribution, but since my last post about SS86 Starscream, at one point it went from 7 to 6.
But for almost a week now, it's up to 8.
I was just there roughly an hour ago.

Anyway, does anyone have any idea as to when Sludge is going to be released/shipped?
I get it, right now Amazon has his release for date for End of July/early August.
But being wave 2, doesn't it have to be earlier than that?
At least by a month?

I didnt get Slag ubtil August '21. He came right on schedule (hard as that may be to believe.)

But wasn't Slag supposed to be released during the second half of the year?

Keep in mind, SS Leaders only come in 3 waves per year unlike WFC which had 4 waves at the leader class (granted with more repacks). So the second wave of SS leaders will typically be later than the second wave of WFC or Legacy.

Edit: I found my Slag on July 4th last year, so second half of the year was right on.