The Energon Pub

[Jelze Bunnycat]

Ok, I may have been off with the "Master" bit (jumping to conclusions is a bad habit of mine ), but Legout was still reconstructed with a surviving point of reference, that much is certain.

That being said, not expecting anything we haven't seen before just yet.

[william-james88]

Finally, if I'm not mistaken, Platinum Series Trypticon was the only "new" reissue in recent years (we could thank BWII Gigastorm for that), and Piranacon before that (BWII God Neptune), everything else had a basis in either the TRU Commemorative Series, TF Collection, or even Encore.

I am pretty sure at least one of the coneheads had never been reissued since G1 and was finally available in the platinum box set. Or were they all reissued before?

[Sabrblade]

Round 1 of voting is up, and it's Perceptor vs. Astrotrain:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BrP5UjxngRa/

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Dirge was reissued before, but not Thrust or Ramjet. However, new wings and weapons aside they're still the Seeker mold.

[no-one]

Round 1 of voting is up, and it's Perceptor vs. Astrotrain:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BrP5UjxngRa/

After a quick skim, it seems like Astrotrain is leading the charge.

[ZeroWolf]

Following on from the story yesterday, Hasbro has opened the first round of voting to decide which classic G1 toy is reissued in sprint 2020 at Walmart. Thanks to fellow Seibertron user, Sabrblade, for bringing this to your attention! The first round is Perceptor vs Astrotrain, with presumably Thundercracker vs Skywarp being the second round. Follow this link to take part in the vote (Instagram or Facebook account required to vote).



Which do you want to see on the shelves again? Have you already voted? Let us know in the Energon Pub and stay tuned to Seibertron for all the latest news and reviews.

[o.supreme]

Seems like they way overproduced Hotrod. Of all the reissues, I've seen Starscream 3 times, and Devastator 2 times, and I've NEVER seen the minibots in store, but I always see Hotrod, and plenty of him.

[no-one]

Seems like they way overproduced Hotrod. Of all the reissues, I've seen Starscream 3 times, and Devastator 2 times, and I've NEVER seen the minibots in store, but I always see Hotrod, and plenty of him.

Yeah, they've been keeps shelves cozy since they hit. I had a feeling we could get HR at close out prices. In my area, Starscream isn't doing much better. I'm hoping to roll up on a discount at somepoint. Devy on the other hand is here today and gone tomorrow.

I guess it's not just Decepticons that love combiners.

[Seibertron]

Seems like they way overproduced Hotrod. Of all the reissues, I've seen Starscream 3 times, and Devastator 2 times, and I've NEVER seen the minibots in store, but I always see Hotrod, and plenty of him.

Yeah, they've been keeps shelves cozy since they hit. I had a feeling we could get HR at close out prices. In my area, Starscream isn't doing much better. I'm hoping to roll up on a discount at somepoint. Devy on the other hand is here today and gone tomorrow.

I guess it's not just Decepticons that love combiners.

Man what area do you live in that has Starscream? I haven't seen him in stores since the weekend before Halloween. The results on brickseek don't seem to be correct for the NW Chicago suburbs so I'm having difficulty getting my hands on one. I thought for sure there'd be a lot of stock available in time for the Bumblebee movie, but it doesn't seem like it at the moment.

[no-one]

Seems like they way overproduced Hotrod. Of all the reissues, I've seen Starscream 3 times, and Devastator 2 times, and I've NEVER seen the minibots in store, but I always see Hotrod, and plenty of him.

Yeah, they've been keeps shelves cozy since they hit. I had a feeling we could get HR at close out prices. In my area, Starscream isn't doing much better. I'm hoping to roll up on a discount at somepoint. Devy on the other hand is here today and gone tomorrow.

I guess it's not just Decepticons that love combiners.

Man what area do you live in that has Starscream? I haven't seen him in stores since the weekend before Halloween. The results on brickseek don't seem to be correct for the NW Chicago suburbs so I'm having difficulty getting my hands on one. I thought for sure there'd be a lot of stock available in time for the Bumblebee movie, but it doesn't seem like it at the moment.

South Louisiana (but my work takes me all over Louisiana and Mississippi). Been a while since I've been on a hunt though.

I'd offer to nab one for ya the next time I spot one, but USPS shipping is a beast right now. Cost almost $10 to ship Cobotron TLK Cogman.

[ScottyP]

Legout took that to the top with the whole figure reconstructed, thanks to the master being found intact.

Again, another assumption being stated as fact. C'mon you guys. State your opinions all you want, but please refrain from stating assumptions as facts.

It's not an assumption. I'm the one who found official confirmation about Legout's components being all new molds extrapolated from the original toys' wooden two-ups. Those Dino-Cassette reissues ARE newly-made brand new molds. Legout even has a slightly (but noticeably) different face from the vintage version as a result.

They are indeed new toolings/molds and that's factual. There is a little more involved than two-ups, maybe Hasbro will share sometime. I cannot say how I know this under promises of anonymity. I know how that sounds (save your "he tell me" meme-ing, random reader thinking about it) but sometimes that's just how it goes

Anyway, I think it's wise to now assume the "rules" for reissues are dead and buried. While previously reissued products can definitely serve as good guideposts,

run wild with your hopes and dreams for Black Zaraks and unbroken Monstructors and Raidens because this is your Transformers adventure

[o.supreme]

Probably sounding like a noob on this however, I wonder, with the issue of "lost molds" and such, why couldn't new reissues be reverse engineered from existing toys?

I mean we got 3 of the Dinobots in G2, but to say the molds are "too degraded" to ever reissue them again, when there are plenty of existing G1 Dinobots to draw from. Perhaps it may be too time consuming or costly to do so, if that's the case, i understand, but I'm not sure why it would be *impossible*

[william-james88]

run wild with your hopes and dreams for Black Zaraks and unbroken Monstructors and Raidens because this is your Transformers adventure

Give me Dino King NOW!

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Seems like they way overproduced Hotrod. Of all the reissues, I've seen Starscream 3 times, and Devastator 2 times, and I've NEVER seen the minibots in store, but I always see Hotrod, and plenty of him.

Yeah, they've been keeps shelves cozy since they hit. I had a feeling we could get HR at close out prices. In my area, Starscream isn't doing much better. I'm hoping to roll up on a discount at somepoint. Devy on the other hand is here today and gone tomorrow.

I guess it's not just Decepticons that love combiners.

Part of it with Hot Rod might be the kerfuffle over him being boxed backwards, which the MISB collectors to whom cutting the tape and turning the tray around is heresy made much wailing and gnashing of teeth over , and the surge of extra stock ordered to amend that.

Probably sounding like a noob on this however, I wonder, with the issue of "lost molds" and such, why couldn't new reissues be reverse engineered from existing toys?

I mean we got 3 of the Dinobots in G2, but to say the molds are "too degraded" to ever reissue them again, when there are plenty of existing G1 Dinobots to draw from. Perhaps it may be too time consuming or costly to do so, if that's the case, i understand, but I'm not sure why it would be *impossible*

It's the cost and difficulty. They have to consider it worthwhile (like, say, if there's a hype train to ride). It's almost certainly been done with Optimus Prime, who is considered worth it because because Optimus Prime. but others aren't as guaranteed to make back the investment. Also, finished toys aren't necessarily optimized for extrapolating molds from.

Also, there's a difference between a mold being too degraded - as in, worn-out or coming apart - to use again (as is confirmed to be the case with Wheeljack) and a mold being missing in action - they may or may not still have it but don't know exactly where it is in their umpteen warehouses (think the Ark of the Covenant at the end of Raiders) if they do. This is known to be the case with G1 Mirage, the G1 Dinobots (in these six cases I would bet they got mislaid when the G1 molds got hustled back into storage after G2 canceled all pending G1 redecoes to focus on new molds), a couple unreleased G2 Go-bots, Beast Wars Basic Rattrap, Insecticon, and Armordillo and speculated to be the case with Sunstreaker (conspicuously absent even from Encore and its e-Hobby Diaclone-based redeco parade) and probably the Aerialbots, Stunticons, and Protectobots. A mold merely being lost might actually reduce the desire to recreate it since there's always the hope it will turn up again one day. And molds thought lost have resurfaced. The original Basic-class Terrorsaur, missing or presumed missing when he didn't show up in the Beast Wars Telemocha line, resurfaced in 2014 when used for a version of AoE Strafe.

There's also a difference between a mold being missing and simply lying fallow (they know where it is, they just don't use it). They probably still have Scorponok, Overlord, the unreissued TFTM toys, and so on, they just haven't yet deemed them worth reissuing for some reason or other.

[no-one]

Perhaps it may be too time consuming or costly to do so, if that's the case, i understand, but I'm not sure why it would be *impossible*

If there's one thing life has taught me that nothing is impossible if enough money is tossed at it, but how much would the fans be willing to pay for said molds?

[Jelze Bunnycat]

Probably sounding like a noob on this however, I wonder, with the issue of "lost molds" and such, why couldn't new reissues be reverse engineered from existing toys?

Like KO companies are doing with dubious results at best?

Seriously tho, ever heard of the principle that a copy of a copy will be worse than the original? No kidding, try photocopying a photocopy, use the new copy to make another copy, and repeat that 100 times. Or even better, look for that series of downloaded then reuploaded Youtube videos. The results are fascinating.

[o.supreme]

Probably sounding like a noob on this however, I wonder, with the issue of "lost molds" and such, why couldn't new reissues be reverse engineered from existing toys?

Like KO companies are doing with dubious results at best?

well yeah, but I always figured that was because of using inferior materials. When I got a "Raiden" at a flea market about a decade ago for $15, I wasn't the least bit surprised when screws fell off and parts broke before I even got it into combiner mode (and this coming from someone who at one timed owned the original toy). I assume & would use the same standard of materials they did originally, if that was a viable option.

[william-james88]

Seems like they way overproduced Hotrod. Of all the reissues, I've seen Starscream 3 times, and Devastator 2 times, and I've NEVER seen the minibots in store, but I always see Hotrod, and plenty of him.

Yeah, they've been keeps shelves cozy since they hit. I had a feeling we could get HR at close out prices. In my area, Starscream isn't doing much better. I'm hoping to roll up on a discount at somepoint. Devy on the other hand is here today and gone tomorrow.

I guess it's not just Decepticons that love combiners.

Part of it with Hot Rod might be the kerfuffle over him being boxed backwards, which the MISB collectors to whom cutting the tape and turning the tray around is heresy made much wailing and gnashing of teeth over , and the surge of extra stock ordered to amend that.

Not in this case. With exclusives, all toys go to 1 retailer. So there is no ordering or reordering. Hasbro themselves cant sell it to someone else, nor can they retain any stock, all stock goes to Walmart. Same reason why everyon in the US near a walgreens will have no trouble getting wreck gar, all the wreck gar stock is going to them.

The reason we see more Hot Rod is simply because more was made of him.

We newsed the amount of figures made for distribution in Canada a while ago but here it is again:

Devastator: 228 cases x 4 / case = 912
Hot Rod: 810 cases x 6 / case = 4,860
Starscream: 735 cases x 6 / case = 4,410
Bumblebee: 170 cases x 3 / case = 510
Swerve: 170 cases x 2 / case = 340
Tailgate: 170 cases x 2 / case = 340
Outback: 170 cases x 1 / case = 170

Its just math, more are done so more are left unsold and thus liquidated.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Well, I was speculating that Mall-Wart had demanded more of him be made because of the kerfuffle and that that contributed to the volume.

[william-james88]

Well, I was speculating that Mall-Wart had demanded more of him be made because of the kerfuffle and that that contributed to the volume.

Devastator also came packaged backwards so its not related. Plus, if Hasbro were to replace items, you wouldnt be seeing the badly packaged ones in stores, they should instead be destroyed. Anyways, we know the facts, more of Hot Rod were made than any other release and he was priced rather high, and was previuosly rereleased with very little new to offer fans in this release, so this outcome is only logical. Not much need to speculate here.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Thank you for the clarification.

[Wolfman Jake]

I picked up G1 Starscream while at Walmart yesterday. He was the only one left on the shelf. I was deciding between him and Hot Rod, and I'm glad I went with Starscream, as I was able to order Hot Rod today from Walmart.com for $15! I'll be picking him up at store later today. I've never seen the minibots on the shelves around here, but I've seen Devastator a few times. The price was a little hefty for an impulse buy, though. I hope more of him show up when I've got the money to spare.

Given the choice between Perceptor and Astrotrain right now, I would much rather have Astrotrain. We've gotten G1 Perceptor quite a few times already over the past decade or so, most recently with extra new accessories that a reissue for this Walmart line probably wouldn't include. We did get an Astrotrain reissue a few years ago, but in weird colors.

I know Seibertron mentioned he'd like to see Perceptor done with a new animation-accurate head. That would be pretty cool. They did use the retooled G1 Bumblebee with his cartoon head, but that molding already existed, thanks to Takara. I don't know if Hasbro would bother making new tooling like that for Perceptor. I also wonder how Astrotrain's colors will turn out. I'm expecting Hasbro G1 toy accurate, but I'd love to see the white replaced with gray for a more cartoon appearance.

[o.supreme]

I'm not big on the choices available, but if I were to vote, I'd go with whichever one had been the longest out of general release. The only Re-releases I ever got were the TRU ones from 2002-2004, which included all on this list except Perceptor, but like others have said, I know he's been released since then, probably the others as well.

Just for grins, I looked up the last release of each. This includes world wide releases, not just North America. I may be wrong on some, as I swore there was a Platinum Edition 3-pack of the original 3 seekers, but couldn't find any info on it.

Astrotrain (2012) (re-issue of TRU Commemorative series release from 2005, in Hasbro Asia Markets)
Thundercracker & Skywarp (2008) Encore series
Perceptor (2015) Platinum Edition with Blaster & Casettes

[TFanPage101]

Hoping for Astrotrain.
I mean, didn't we already get Perceptor from a pack with Blaster. I think it's about time Astrotrain got a new reissue.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

If we're gonna go by previous releases:

Astrotrain
TF Collection (black and white)
Commemorative Series (black and white)
e-Hobby (colors inspired by prototype)
Platinum Edition (vaguely looks like Victory MachTackle)

Perceptor
TF Collection
e-Hobby Magnificus
Universe 2008
Platinum Edition

Ok, that's no help...