The Energon Pub

[Hellscream9999]

Here's all the Wreckers!

It's so cool to have a full set of armored Wreckers in the same scale - they look really good together!

Wreckers bot .jpg

Wreckers alt.jpg

Hot damn they are a great looking team! Great job!

I saw Blackout once when he came out, and he was the one I bought. Outside of that, I didn't see him. The leaders around me haven't really sat at all, when they show up, they go

I was in the exact opposite situation, where all the studio leaders were huge shelfwarmers at all the stores around me for ages

[EvasionModeBumblebee]

Here's all the Wreckers!

It's so cool to have a full set of armored Wreckers in the same scale - they look really good together!

Wreckers bot .jpg

Wreckers alt.jpg

Hot damn they are a great looking team! Great job!

I saw Blackout once when he came out, and he was the one I bought. Outside of that, I didn't see him. The leaders around me haven't really sat at all, when they show up, they go

Thank you very much!

I remember seeing Blackout and Grimlock a few times, but not as extensively as like DOTM Megatron, which I could find nearly everywhere for quite a while.

Jetfire and Overload both disappeared from retail after just a couple sightings, only to briefly reappear more recently (was thankfully able to snag them both when they showed back up)

DOTM Prime was in my experience the most uncommon, I think I only saw it once at retail. So glad I preordered mine!

Actually, kind of on this topic, are there any non-exclusive Studio Series figures that anyone hasn’t seen at retail? I’ve never seen Shadow Raider, and I only saw Clunker Bee twice, both times months after that wave had come and gone.

[TF-fan kev777]

I was late to the game on studio series, so I can't be 100% sure, but I think I've seen every regular retail release so far. Shadow Raider stands out as one I only saw once or twice. His awesome color is why I remember only seeing him a couple times.

Overload was also somewhat scarce, but I already had mine once he started showing up so I really wasn't paying as much attention to studio series at that points since I was all caught up and they were slowing things down ahead of having to share the line with the SS86 stuff.

[Nemesis Primal]

It's probably worth keeping in mind with all this talk about Blackout's availability that that first year of SS when he came out was the only year of SS to have only a single Leader wave available, so comparing his availability to those that came after is a bit of a false comparison since that Grimlock/Blackout wave was theoretically getting restocked all year as opposed to only half the year to make room for another wave.

[o.supreme]

That is one thing I will say for SS. Although I don't collect them, I cant think of any particular toy from any size class that really shelwarmed, even the least popular ones.

TR Deluxe Repack wave 4 flooded most Targets in my area in the end of 2017. And Siege Shockwave, well that prevented most walmarts and Targets in my area from ever getting ANY ER leaders in stock.

Now in 2021. I don't think I've seen any Target or Walmart have their TF section stock more than 50%. And TBH, it's usually more like 20-30% or less. Studio series seems to be the contestant that has a good incoming/outgoing flow. Kingdom just goes out, and seemingly hardly ever comes in, not nearly enough to meet the demand. And now that Cyberverse is finally clearing out after nearly a year of stagnation, we get word of more of those toys ...yeesh...

[TF-fan kev777]

That is one thing I will say for SS. Although I don't collect them, I cant think of any particular toy from any size class that really shelwarmed, even the least popular ones.

Copter Dropkick. It didn't help that he was repacked 2 waves after his initial release. At one point the closest Target to me had both of the SS Deluxe pegs 4 deep with Dropkicks. For about 3-4 months and missed later waves because of it. Other stored faired better, and only had a few on their pegs, so that is where I found other waves until Dropkick finally cleared out in my store.

[EvasionModeBumblebee]

Got another random shot of Dino:

[LinaNui]

Got another random shot of Dino

The Dino shoot looks great, but I got real excited for a second when I saw the blackout arm and thought you had Grindor lol.

[EvasionModeBumblebee]

Got another random shot of Dino

The Dino shoot looks great, but I got real excited for a second when I saw the blackout arm and thought you had Grindor lol.

Thank you! It is Blackout, but I wish I had Grindor as well xD

I’ll definitely be picking up Grindor when it becomes available though!

[william-james88]

That is one thing I will say for SS. Although I don't collect them, I cant think of any particular toy from any size class that really shelwarmed, even the least popular ones.

TR Deluxe Repack wave 4 flooded most Targets in my area in the end of 2017. And Siege Shockwave, well that prevented most walmarts and Targets in my area from ever getting ANY ER leaders in stock.

Now in 2021. I don't think I've seen any Target or Walmart have their TF section stock more than 50%. And TBH, it's usually more like 20-30% or less. Studio series seems to be the contestant that has a good incoming/outgoing flow. Kingdom just goes out, and seemingly hardly ever comes in, not nearly enough to meet the demand. And now that Cyberverse is finally clearing out after nearly a year of stagnation, we get word of more of those toys ...yeesh...

I dont get your issue with Cyberverse, your entire post shows that the lines are stocked independently of oneanother, so they don,t hurt you. Cyberverse is the line that's there to make sure a parent sees transformers toys for their kids for any occasion. Just ignore them as you do other toylines you dont collect, like rescue bots. The Transformers toy brand has reached a wonderful level where it has a variety of products that are made for all sorts of different demographics, some of which clearly dont concern you. The line is literally made up of evergreen designs, and its a youtube kids show, they can stay on shelves for a long time.

Speaking of shelfwarming, I'm glad that's not the case with the SS toys in your area. It is in mine though. It didn't stop any restocking of course but still, the arcee sisters have shelfwared as hard as any toy in my recent memory (aside from TLK Snarl, that guy is a legend). Here are pics of the same store through the seasons, and the bike sisters are ever present, either at the forefront or behind a newer toy.

[-Kanrabat-]

In my Walmart, it's the SS ROTF Soundwave that overstayed it's welcome. Even then, he sell eventually. Now only 2 of this Soundwave remain, with ONE SS HotRod. That was it westerday.

Then a lone Kingdom Arcee and Vertebrax.

One Netflix Rustycade.

To finish, a bucket full of Cyberverse one steps and scouts.



My Walmart barely bother to stock anything.

[EvasionModeBumblebee]

Just a heads up for everyone:

While I haven’t checked for myself, I’ve seen several reported sightings that Walmart’s are restocking Studio Series deluxe wave 5 (Clunker and WWII Bumblebee, Barricade, DOTM Sideswipe, “Crankcase”).

I think id like to get Clunker Bee, so I’m keeping my eyes peeled.

[-Kanrabat-]

Just a heads up for everyone:

While I haven’t checked for myself, I’ve seen several reported sightings that Walmart’s are restocking Studio Series deluxe wave 5 (Clunker and WWII Bumblebee, Barricade, DOTM Sideswipe, “Crankcase”).

I think id like to get Clunker Bee, so I’m keeping my eyes peeled.

Must be a localised USA thing. Because I stupidly missed out on SS Barricade way back then and it would be bound to a miracle to see the damn thing pop in my area ever again.
Hell, if they restock anything at all, it's a miracle.

[william-james88]

We had already seen Grindor in package and now we have a better look at the figure, including a comparison to Blackout. This figure is very movie accurate since the computer model used for Grindor's robot mode in the film was the very same one as Blackout. The alt mode is painted differently to simulate the different alt mode Grindor had in the film. We also get a good look at the itty bitty Ravage figure that comes with him. These images were posted by TFSource on Facebook. Let us know what you think.

[-Kanrabat-]

Grindor look really improved over Blackout.

I'll be taking him home!

[LinaNui]

It's sad that a repaint is my second favorite (only behind Dino) figure of the year so far. He looks so great and even though he is supposed to be larger than blackout, you can stretch the legs to make it look that way on the shelf! Hopefully I can find him soon at a store!

[jtanimator]

Don’t mean to stir up hate or anything, but seeing this just continues to baffle me as to why they didn’t include ravage with ROTF satellite soundwave. Ive thought it through so many times. After getting the soundwave figure in hand, his mold is crappy (IMO), he has virtually no paint on him, his transformation is not at all complex with any high parts count, he’s not an unusually big deluxe, and they didn’t even have to spend money on a licensed alt mode. The only accessory he came with was a tiny (way too short) satellite stand. How did they put all of those mentioned features on DOTM deluxe soundwave AND give us a little lazerbeak, but they couldn’t do it with rotf soundwave? Where did the budget go? Lol. And I know that’s kind of a rhetorical question, cause there’s the inevitable “because hasbro are scams and money grabbers” responses. But I just had to get that off my chest lol.

But yeah, I’ll grab this grindor just for ravage lol.

[DMSL]

Still too small compared to other figures. Grindor was huge compared to Prime, Megs and Screamer.

[Rodimus Prime]

I missed put on Blackout and never got him on the 2ndary market. I want Ravage and if I do get this pair in my headcanon Grindor will be Blackout, since the differences are small and Blackout was overall more important to the story, even if he still died in a senseless crappy way.

[Ig89ninja]

I missed put on Blackout and never got him on the 2ndary market. I want Ravage and if I do get this pair in my headcanon Grindor will be Blackout, since the differences are small and Blackout was overall more important to the story, even if he still died in a senseless crappy way.

If Blackout survived the first movie and died in ROTF, he would have been even more of a legend than he already is.

[EvasionModeBumblebee]

Even though they didn’t remold the alt mode, I am impressed that they changed the deco to match a CH-53, especially with the numbering and that gray area on the front. Very excited to get it!

[wreckgar38+1]

Blackout has been greenlit for MPM. The absolute earliest we see him is 2023, but it's much more likely to be 2024 for him.

[LinaNui]

I have some SS and other figures up for sale on a different thread here. I have seen some people saying that they regret not picking up some figures, well maybe I can help with that! Check out the link to the thread below!

selling-wfc-and-studio-series-us-based-p2107360.php#p2107360

If this is not allowed I'll delete the post.

[o.supreme]

PvP SS Grindor



I could be wrong, but does Ravage share at least some engineering with the Siege Lionizer Battlemaster? there wasn't a size comparison, so I'm not sure. It could be larger, but just looked really small next to Grindor.

[Tuned Agent]

Greetings Seibertronians! YouTube reviewer PrimeVsPrime is back at it again, this time with a video review of the upcoming Studio Series leader class Grindor and Ravage!

Grindor a redeco and slight retool of the previous leader class Blackout. He sports a new, dirter deco to represent his appearance in the forest fight in Revenge of the Fallen. While Grindor's alt mode did not receive any retooling, his helicopter mode has been decoed to emulate the CH-53 Sea Stallion he transformed into in the movie. The most notable feature, however, is Grindor's retooled hands. They now have additional articulation in the wrists and fingers, fixing the main problem many had with Blackout. Grindor also comes with a small Ravage figure, replacing the Scorponok figure that came with Blackout.

Special thanks to fellow Seibertron users O.supreme, and Dominus Prime, for sharing this news with us!

The review is embedded below for your convenience.



What do you think of Grindor? Are you excited for the retooled hands? Will you be getting it for Ravage? Let us know in the Energon Pub forums!