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The first thing thats on my nerves isn't anything new but its been bothering me more and more lately. I really hate, I mean REALLY hate, the silver faction logos that Hasbro paints on seemingly all of their figures. Nearly all of the animated line and quite a few of the generations line have silver logos. And don't forget about the RTS line that have the rub symbols instead of any visible faction logos. It bothers me so much that I'm considering getting an order from Reprolabels and putting fact stickers over the silver logos on all of my figures where this problem occurs. the only reason I haven't done it yet is because I like to keep my figures in a original, unaltered condition. I do open the boxes and display the figures but I still like to keep them original. However, I'm feeling that my need to have appropriate faction symbols is going to win out over my want to keep them unaltered. Has anybody been done this road before and covered/changed their faction symbols with stickers? Did you regret the decision? Were you satisfied with the way the figures looked with the stickers?

My second issue isn't really anything new either but I'm more curious how badly people are experiencing it. I'm talking about the general lack of availability of the new figures. There have been a couple of threads lately about "where is this figure" and "why is this figure so hard to get". But for me, in my neck of the woods they are all hard to get. Walmarts, TRUs, Targets, Kohls, there is not a new transformer to be found anywhere. The newest wave of figures I've seen around here is the Generations wave with Dirge. the only RTS figures I've seen for months have been the Roddy/Cyclonus two pack. And thats it. No Jazz, Tracks, Perceptor, Kup, Scourge, Wheeljack, Thundercracker. I'm sure that I'm forgetting some. I have yet to see any of these figures out in the wild ANYWHERE, for months. And its really starting to steam my clams a little bit. I like to save money. TRU's prices might be high but they are better than paying full price plus shipping on every figure. I hate getting new figs shipped to me. I prefer to use the online ordering for figs that are out of production that I missed. How bad has this issue been in your area? Post your thoughts below.

The first thing doesn't bother me in the slightest. I repaint and mod figures and that often means they have no faction symbol anywhere. They know what side they're on and that is what counts!

As for the distribution problem: I live in England. It's been a problem for 27 years. Yes I'm annoyed, but I've lived with it since the 80s so it's nothing new. I've pestered Hasbro about it several times and so have other Brits. Try doing the same yourself. You'll need to send an email several times before you stop getting the copied and pasted reply about 'passing your views on to the marketing team'. Pester the local stores as well.

1) I prefer the red and purple faction logos, too. I can't go so far as to say hate, though. Can't give you any feedback on Reprolabels. Never used them, although I'm tempted to try.

2) I'm extraordinarily frustrated with the distribution problems with Transformers. I'm not sure what genius decided to put two Windcharger figures in a case with 8 shelfwarmers.

I've been fortunate to snag every figure I'm looking for except Grapple, Windcharger, Rumble and Heavytread. I'm not confident on getting any of those, though. I never did find the last wave of Universe Legends. I had to buy the Henkei pack, plus shell out on eBay for a properly-colored Wheelie.

You will probably need to rethink your opinion on buying online. Probably over half the figures from the most recent toy lines I got online. With gas prices, shipping costs may be a wash. Sometimes, online retailers don't charge tax, so you might save there. Also, Hasbro Toy Shop often has special codes for discounts which pretty much pay for taxes or shipping. BBTS's Pile of Loot cuts down on shipping costs.

I once read some great advice on this board. I forget who said it, but it was, "When you see a figure for a price you are willing to pay for it, buy it." You might kick yourself for it when it goes on sale or on clearance later. Or you might be thankful when you see others scrambling to pay double or triple for the figure on eBay. Heck, it doesn't matter how much I'd be willing to pay for Legends Rodimus, I never could find him.

Another question for those who know more: How much of this problem is due to distribution and how much is due to production numbers? Did Hasbro produce five Backfires for every one Windcharger? Why does it seem that way? If he's produced in less quantities because he's in the last wave, why release popular characters in that wave? What's the reasoning here?

I like the silver faction symbols.

Yes, it's difficult to find the figures I want, but I always manage to get them eventually. You just have to have a lot of patience. I guess it helps that I have a TRU that I literally drive past twice a day, so I stop in a few times a week. Between TRU, Target, Walmart, and HTS.com, I eventually find every figure I want. And if worse comes to worst, there's always eBay. Like the person above said, you need to get over your refusal to buy online. HTS.com usually has promo codes that will almost cancel out the shipping cost if you buy a few figures. I recently bought Wheeljack and Lugnut from HTS.com, and I paid $35.56 including tax and shipping. If I had bought those same figures at TRU, I would have paid about the same amount, maybe more!

Bully, thank you. Grapple was one that I missed in my first post. Never seen him in the wild either. I wasn't really looking for feedback on Reprolabels. As Myk mentioned his repaints (which are fantastic) I have a few re-paints of my own. Unlike Myk though, I don't consider the job done until the proper faction symbols are in place. I have experience with Reprolabels. They put out a great product. The feedback I was looking for was if anybody regretted putting the stickers on there that were not supposed to be there. You know, taking that original figure and altering it to an un-original atate.

Think the collector who keeps all of his figs MIB. But on a whim one day, he opens a figure because he wants to transform it just one time. Did he regret opening the box? Immediately or somewhere down the road?

I don't know why the symbols bother me so much. I don't mind the silver and black symbols on any of the movie figs. I guess my G1 preference just comes out in the other lines. If a G1 inspired Optimus Prime is release, it needs to have a red autobot logo on his shoulder. If he doesn't, they might as well have painted his head red because it just wouldn't look right to me.

Guy, getting to the stores isn't the problem. Same as you, I drive by a walmart and a TRU everyday. Plus, there are literally a dozen Walmart in a 20 square mile radius of my house. Getting to the stores isn't the problem. Seeing the figures in the stores is the problem. Gen Dirge and Cybertron Megs and Soundwave are still on the shelves here. Plus remnants of the ROTF line. Human Alliance Skids was on clearance at TRU for 19.99 yesterday.

Seeing these figs on the shelf makes me think that the stores here just haven't turned their inventory over yet. But it also worries me that I might not see them at all with DOTM looming. And I know for a fact that those junk figures will dominate the shelves over the remnants of the Gen/RTS line.

The silver symbols bother the hell out of me too.

It's a left over bad taste from the movie franchise that should have stayed with it.

As for distribution... Literally NOWHERE here in Memphis has gotten ANYTHING since the batch of Deluxes that included Blurr and Dirge, and THAT was about a month and a half late. The only exception is the DOTM Preview Cyberverse Prime, which is clogging the shelves of every single retailer.

Now THAT is frustrating.

Not a fan of the silver symbols either. I don't really experience the distribution issue since I've pretty much gone completey online with TF purchases. I can see how it would be frustrating for those who don't have that luxury though.

I don't mind the silver logos to much.

Local retailers haven't gotten ANYTHING new in stock since August. I hardly even bother to stop in and check anymore. It's unreal...

I hate the silver logos. The logos should be the appropriate colors.

I live within 15 minutes drive of 3 Targets, 2 TRU's, and 2 Walmarts. The most recent thing I've seen on any of those shelves is the Rodimus/Cyclonus two pack and Generations Dirge and Skullgrin and Thunderwing. The rest is movie shelf warmers.

I used to try to avoid ordering online, but now I find it much more convenient, and it costs about the same as driving around looking for them individually. I ordered a 4-pack of Wheeljack, Kup, Scourge, and Thundercracker for $59.18, with shipping. It works out to $14.79 per figure. Considering deluxe figures are now $13.77 (w/tax), that's a pretty good price. I am willing to sacrifice $1.02 for all that convenience.

I also do not like the silver faction symbols or the new rub signs on RTS. I was actually looking at a few of them (RTS) that were all in a row, each with a big black spot in the center of the chest, imagining what they would all look like with reprolabels instead, but like the first poster I have a real hard time bringing myself to alter them from their original form. Also in regards to rub signs - I do think it's pretty cool they brought them back, but with G1 they were in addition to, not instead of the visible ones.
In regards to distribution, its the same thing hear in the Northeast. Lots of shelfwarmers,ROTF, generations wave 1, HFTD. It's very frustrating. Same thing with GIJoes and Star Wars. Wave after wave have been released that I've never seen in the wild. One TRU has 10 hooks of Star Wars guys made up of 4 different figures(and the worst ones). I'm getting really temped to ask them what the heck is going on next time one of the employees asks me if I've found everything I was looking for.

Silver faction symbols are quirks that I wish Hasbro didn't do, but I don't dislike them as much as the rub symbols. Thank god I ordered some bot/con symbols from Reprolabels last month. My first time and boy do they make figures look better. Fixes my neo shelf right up.

As for distribution, I too lately have been going the online route. It's just to much to go searching around for toys that just aren't there. Not only that, but there is no guarantee that you will ever get what you want. I never saw ROTF Highbrow, good thing he wasn't on my list. Only figure I'm currently concerned about not getting by hunting or online is Windcharger. I'm hoping that he is gonna pop up somewhere, anywhere.

I, for one do not agree - on both counts.

Insignia colors are important, but really not too important. I mean, it is an identifier showing allegiance - akin to war combatants spotting enemy targets in battle. So, the importance of faction allegiance colors really depends on if the individual is a veteran of a war or is on current active duty in a war. You know how most soldiers get ink of their battalion insignia after serving a tour? Well I'd like to think the silver and bronze insignias are tats. The big war is over, and knowing thy enemy is a matter of proximity to recognized enemies (if you are unaware of the allegiance of the former). - I digest (blue harvest).

Rubsigns are an awesome concept, just the execution is a bit old school. Reveal the Shield would've been awesome if the insignia was revealed through a black light (an item on which Hasbro would have pulled a nice profit - or could have included as a throw in on one of their multi-packs like BiS).

Finally... and I'm wrapping it up... we should be happy that this last wave of RTS and Gens are even getting released. Hasbro could have easily just pulled the plug. If you want 'em, bite the bullet and hunt 'em or spend the $ online. They're there, complain only if you don't have the money to buy what you desire. The breaks of Capitalism.

I don't mind the silver insignias all that much. When you think about it, having a visible colored insignia that screams "Hey! I'm a Autobot/Decepticon!" makes the whole concept of being in disguise kinda stupid. Silver/Bronze insignias blend in more with vehicle mode, better disguising the fact that it's not really a vehicle.

As for distribution, ordering online is the best option with how things are right now. The nearest Wal-Mart to me still had HFTD pegwarmers/shelfwarmers and the Generations wave with WFC Soundwave and Megatron. I personally think stores are trying to coast into DOTM with this older stuff.

The silver faction symbols don't bother me at all. In fact I think they blend with the figures better. I don't think the Transformers are too bothered by a lack of color seeing how they are war machines. To each their own though.

Bad distribution is not Hasbro's fault. It's whoever is currently holding the case assortments from us. The Target distribution center in my area has 50 confirmed cases of the Generations figure with the Warpath assortment, but Target won't let them get out to stores right now because they're being idiots.

robofreak wrote:
Bad distribution is not Hasbro's fault. It's whoever is currently holding the case assortments from us. The Target distribution center in my area has 50 confirmed cases of the Generations figure with the Warpath assortment, but Target won't let them get out to stores right now because they're being idiots.

Here is a lot of what I am betting the problem most realistically is.

The stuff is there, but remember the adage, garbage in, garbage out. First in is first out so old stock gets shelf warmed while new stuff is there but wont move out till the old is sold.

We all have stores piled with old crap or stores with zero, no in between, think about it Hasbro will sell them as much as they order, after that, its not their problem

Also something else I was thinking of, most of the new crap and alot of the current crap have same numbers and dont differentiate well as all figure wise.

Is new non movie stuff being held up for the DOTM crap release date????? I think this is a partial issue as well.

3.8TransAM wrote:

robofreak wrote:
Bad distribution is not Hasbro's fault. It's whoever is currently holding the case assortments from us. The Target distribution center in my area has 50 confirmed cases of the Generations figure with the Warpath assortment, but Target won't let them get out to stores right now because they're being idiots.

Here is a lot of what I am betting the problem most realistically is.

The stuff is there, but remember the adage, garbage in, garbage out. First in is first out so old stock gets shelf warmed while new stuff is there but wont move out till the old is sold.

We all have stores piled with old crap or stores with zero, no in between, think about it Hasbro will sell them as much as they order, after that, its not their problem

Also something else I was thinking of, most of the new crap and alot of the current crap have same numbers and dont differentiate well as all figure wise.

Is new non movie stuff being held up for the DOTM crap release date????? I think this is a partial issue as well.

this would actually make alot of sense. i mean if theyrelease it all when the movie is in full effect they could move the product alot easier.

wurd... wurd...

So what you're saying is those who are buying these "rare for now" figures at premium jump off a bridge prices are in danger of making fools of themselves buying from scum of the earth scalpers and hoarders that feed on collector addiction to allow scumbag practices pay for their own scumbag collections - run on sentences be damned?

Not that I'm judging... I would do the same thing if I wanted to douche out.

If this is the case with retailers holding back stock for the movie em-Bay-rassment, what a relief it would be.

Honestly, the silver faction symbols don't bother me.

What DOES bother me is the second issue. I cannot tell you how sick I am of seeing Scourge and Kup on the sightings part of the main page with "56" and "57" sightings, while my area in ass-end of the universe Michigan has squat.

This used to not happen.

Remember the old days when waves of merchandise would pass through stores like Milk of Magnesia through a cow? It arrived, it sat on the shelves for a while where it sold or didn't, THEN it went to closeout, thus freeing the pegs for NEW stuff. Not so in this economically screwed state of things. An example would be Y'All-Mart where stuff that is over a year old rots at regular price for eternity. Do you have any idea how long I've waited for that old ROTF Beachcomber/Deadlift set to drop to ANYTHING other than the regular price of $16? Everybody is holding onto their profits for dear life creating a backlog of new merchandise that ain't making it onto the pegs. Remember, most of these stores don't even order anything unless they're out of the old stuff. Lets face it, to them, Deluxe Transformers are Deluxe Transformers; they see no real distinction between ROTF or HFTD or RTS. The shelves are full of Tuner Mudflaps, Sea Ravages, etc and they ain't gonna move them and reorder until they sell. At regular price. And that's the bottom line.

I like the silver/neutral/metallic colors, actually. I generally collect figures with realistic alt modes, "cartoony" red and purple would clash with that (especially in insignias that are nicely incorporated into a logo, like Mindwipe & Skystalker). Though I must admit I like RotF Lockdown's shade of purple.




Distribution is.... ugh....... (though not as annoying as all the "just have patience" and "now you know how us Brits feel" posts)
The whole last year had been bad, though. NEST was sort of late, had bad distribution near the end, followed by a ridiculous drought, which eventually lead to a flood of, like, 5 figures, which have yet to go anywhere after several months + Christmas + several more months.(and the upcoming Movie flood looks..... bad)
It doesn't help to live on the East Coast, were it normally takes a few extra months for new stock to roll in.

I don't mind too much of the silver symbols as well, as long as they are there and not the wrong one. As for the rubbish rub sign, I removed all of them and replaced with Reprolabels stickers (with some trimming around the side). Not just the RTS figures but also the Classics ones. And I love them much better.

About the distribution problem, this time feels even worse and I've already gave up and stop hunting for months.