The Energon Pub

News Credits: 4877 · Tue Sep 07, 2021 1:43 am

I want to get back to a discussion we were having here back when we learnt Arcee would be repacked in this line. Many said that it was the wrong figure to put because it wasn't good and there wouldn't be demand, leading it to shelfwarm. I agreed the figure was bad but gave Hasbro the benefit of the doubt that they knew something we didn't know about the demand/shelf presence/wave algorythm and basically said I didn't think we'd see a board shelfwarming compared to the other toys in the line.

Now we are almost 3 quarters into the year, with that second wave having reached the shelves for a while, I think we can wrap up that discussion.

From what I have seen, in the end, there was no widespread shelfwarming. There definitely is shelfwarming in some places, but we've been seeing many reports of there simply not being any toys (at least until the recent restock some stores are having). Plus there are some areas (such as my neck of the woods) where she is indeed still readily available in stores but so are her wavemates. So she isn't being singled out, there's just a lot of wave 2.

So in the end, repackaging her simply meant another toy on the shelf for whoever wanted it, I guess Hasbro knew something we didn't. The line sells very well and it should be stocked better in the US, that's my main take away.

News Credits: 51 · Tue Sep 07, 2021 2:35 am

...I dunno, while I don't think I've seen any of Kingdom shelfwarm, Arcee was definitely the closest candidate. Every time I saw a store stock Wave 2, Arcee always took the longest to sell, to the point where my closest Target had 4-5 Arcees as their only available Deluxes for multiple weeks in a row. When comparing that to the other Kingdom figures ranging from either selling at a regular pace to selling out and never coming back long enough for me to see after the first time, that seems like a noted difference, even if it isn't to the extent of shelfwarming.

Of course, this was back in the time before a month and a half ago, when I could actually FIND any TFs in a retail store, as you alluded to. I finally broke down and ordered Wingfinger off Amazon, since they apparently had one with some beat-up packaging that brought the price down a bit from Hasbro's new mandated $23 Deluxe nonsense and I was buying something else anyway, but I'm real concerned about Wave 4 availability (especially since I want basically all of Wave 4).

News Credits: 101 · Tue Sep 07, 2021 3:57 am

I got my amazon shipping notices for both Rodimus Prime and the Ark.
Looking forward finally having them!

MyFigureCollection.net collection · Tue Sep 07, 2021 7:39 am

I feel like the only reason why Kingdom Arcee is selling well in stores is because people are just desperate for something new to buy and she's often it. Target.com tells a different story.

Target Arcee.JPG

There's no other Earthrise figure available on Target.com and it's always listed right next to the Kingdom version, both in stock and ready to ship.

Emerje

News Credits: 42 · Tue Sep 07, 2021 7:45 am

Yeah, I think distribution is still too screwed up to confirm or deny Arcee's shelfwarming status mainly because nothing is really being given a chance to shelfwarm. It would have been interesting to see how it played out if distribution was normal, but I don't think we'll see a return to the previous normal for some time, if ever.

News Credits: 4877 · Tue Sep 07, 2021 3:42 pm

TF-fan kev777 wrote:Yeah, I think distribution is still too screwed up to confirm or deny Arcee's shelfwarming status mainly because nothing is really being given a chance to shelfwarm.

Is that really a bad thing though? All of us have our wave 1 and wave 2 toys right? I remember some who prescribe to the notion that a TF display with plenty of toys still on the shelves won't get stocked with the latest toys, wouldn't this new normal ensure that only the latest toys get stocked? Kinda like the picture O Supreme shared where while there was not a lot of TFs, it was mostly new stuff people wanted.

News Credits: 51 · Tue Sep 07, 2021 4:35 pm

william-james88 wrote:
TF-fan kev777 wrote:Yeah, I think distribution is still too screwed up to confirm or deny Arcee's shelfwarming status mainly because nothing is really being given a chance to shelfwarm.

Is that really a bad thing though? All of us have our wave 1 and wave 2 toys right? I remember some who prescribe to the notion that a TF display with plenty of toys still on the shelves won't get stocked with the latest toys, wouldn't this new normal ensure that only the latest toys get stocked? Kinda like the picture O Supreme shared where while there was not a lot of TFs, it was mostly new stuff people wanted.

Ideally yes, but if that is happening (like my Target claims), they're selling out/getting scalped so quickly after each restock that it's giving the illusion that the retailers just aren't stocking anything except gimmicky Cyberverse toys that won't leave, at least in my experience so far, and that is a bad thing for basically everyone else shopping at that store for Generations anything.

News Credits: 56 · Tue Sep 07, 2021 4:41 pm

Nemesis Primal wrote:Ideally yes, but if that is happening (like my Target claims), they're selling out/getting scalped so quickly after each restock that it's giving the illusion that the retailers just aren't stocking anything except gimmicky Cyberverse toys that won't leave, at least in my experience so far, and that is a bad thing for basically everyone else shopping at that store for Generations anything.

I've had this problem as well. It is a balancing act for sure, that I don't think any major retailer has quite figured out yet, especially with issues getting product to stores.

True, nobody wants a repeat of TR where repack wave 4's clog shelves until end of 2017 (not allowing waves 5 and 6 to get to most areas). But the way it's been going in 2021. where new product gets purchased (or scalped) so quickly is not good either (for consumers at least, it is fine for the stores an manufacturers). Finding the balance, like I did at a Target yesterday (just enough new product to keep demand alive) is rare.

News Credits: 65 · Tue Sep 07, 2021 11:14 pm

My "Battle Across Time" Maximal Grimlock and Autobot Mirage 2-pack finally arrived today! I was disappointed when this new Earthmode Mirage was first revealed. While the alternate mode does look more like a typical F1 race car, the robot mode was less on model, in terms of color layout and deco choices, and worse yet, wasn't designed to mount the shoulder cannon like the G1 toy, cartoon model, and Siege release of the premold over 2 years ago. Well, I had a hunch I would be able to do a few easy parts swaps between the Siege and Kingdom version of Mirage to get a much more screen accurate representation of the character than either figure by itself. Take a look at the picture I took before and after the process below and decide for yourself if you like the results.

Old Hotness on the Left - New and Busted on the Right:

After swapping the Kingdom legs and arms unto the Siege torso at the mushroom pegs (and retaining the Siege weapons):

Vehicle Mode (Almost Works!):

I love the way the robot mode comes out. I get almost all of the colors and details where I want them and the shoulder cannon can actually mount on Mirage's shoulder. The vehicle mode mostly works exactly as the Siege version of the mold, but they remolded the forearms and legs enough that you can't peg the back end of the vehicle completely together, particularly where the air intake meets the driver's cockpit. It sits fine, but there is nothing to keep it in place if not resting on a flat surface. Maybe someone could engineer a few new plastic pieces that can secure it all together? That's really the only big downside to this modification, but the transformation still mostly works. You just lose some functionality/playability in vehicle form, but if you just want to display either mode on a shelf, you're fine, really. Plus, the best part of this mod is that it is totally reversible and doesn't take any special tools to do. You can just pop the legs off at the mushroom pegs at the hips and the arms at the shoulders and swap them between figures. I did have to use a pair of pliers and some protective cloth to get the legs to fully pop back in to their joints, but the arms require almost no effort. The guns are identical, but you do want to stick with the Siege shoulder cannon, with the black barrel and gray missile, for maximum G1 cartoon authenticity. What do you think?

Wed Sep 08, 2021 2:16 am

It's the other way around on my end Blackarachnia is a shelfwarmer and we only ever got like 2 Earthrise Arcee figures (I bought 1 one them months ago) I frequently visit my Nexus hobby store every weekend and a CoolShop Kids store and Blackarachnia is shelfwarming the CoolShop store. They even have unsold stock of Age of Extinction Legends Hound.

News Credits: 4877 · Wed Sep 08, 2021 7:47 am

It's as many if not all of us predicted, the Transformers Kingdom wave 4 toys are being found at retail before being revealed. Below you will see images of deluxe Waspinator and Shadow Panther in package and being unboxed. These were found at the Chilean toy store Irion.
The sighting was posted on the Transformers Chile Facebook page.

Wed Sep 08, 2021 8:09 am

Those purple wings look terrible. The it's fine on the eyes but the wings are just :SICK:

News Credits: 6 · Wed Sep 08, 2021 8:35 am

Meanwhile, my Walmart is still full of wave 1 deluxes.

News Credits: 17 · Wed Sep 08, 2021 8:44 am

Wolfman Jake wrote:My "Battle Across Time" Maximal Grimlock and Autobot Mirage 2-pack finally arrived today! I was disappointed when this new Earthmode Mirage was first revealed. While the alternate mode does look more like a typical F1 race car, the robot mode was less on model, in terms of color layout and deco choices, and worse yet, wasn't designed to mount the shoulder cannon like the G1 toy, cartoon model, and Siege release of the premold over 2 years ago. Well, I had a hunch I would be able to do a few easy parts swaps between the Siege and Kingdom version of Mirage to get a much more screen accurate representation of the character than either figure by itself. Take a look at the picture I took before and after the process below and decide for yourself if you like the results.

Old Hotness on the Left - New and Busted on the Right:

After swapping the Kingdom legs and arms unto the Siege torso at the mushroom pegs (and retaining the Siege weapons):

Vehicle Mode (Almost Works!):

I love the way the robot mode comes out. I get almost all of the colors and details where I want them and the shoulder cannon can actually mount on Mirage's shoulder. The vehicle mode mostly works exactly as the Siege version of the mold, but they remolded the forearms and legs enough that you can't peg the back end of the vehicle completely together, particularly where the air intake meets the driver's cockpit. It sits fine, but there is nothing to keep it in place if not resting on a flat surface. Maybe someone could engineer a few new plastic pieces that can secure it all together? That's really the only big downside to this modification, but the transformation still mostly works. You just lose some functionality/playability in vehicle form, but if you just want to display either mode on a shelf, you're fine, really. Plus, the best part of this mod is that it is totally reversible and doesn't take any special tools to do. You can just pop the legs off at the mushroom pegs at the hips and the arms at the shoulders and swap them between figures. I did have to use a pair of pliers and some protective cloth to get the legs to fully pop back in to their joints, but the arms require almost no effort. The guns are identical, but you do want to stick with the Siege shoulder cannon, with the black barrel and gray missile, for maximum G1 cartoon authenticity. What do you think?

I really like what you've done here. Mirage is the only Siege figure that I didn't upgrade to the ER/Kingdom versions due to the obvious deficiencies you call out. I'm personally not going to drop the $50 needed to make the modifications you describe, but it's a perfectly valid choice, and even with the alt mode issues you describe it seems like an improvement on the base Kingdom design.

News Credits: 2 · Wed Sep 08, 2021 9:05 am

Dr. Caelus wrote:Meanwhile, my Walmart is still full of wave 1 deluxes.

At least you have those. My WalMart's Transformers section is full of an oxygen/nitrogen gas mixture.

News Credits: 11 · Wed Sep 08, 2021 9:40 am

william-james88 wrote:It's as many if not all of us predicted, the Transformers Kingdom wave 4 toys are being found at retail before being revealed. Below you will see images of deluxe Waspinator and Shadow Panther in package and being unboxed. These were found at the Chilean toy store Irion.
The sighting was posted on the Transformers Chile Facebook page.

The first thing I noticed with the packaging is that the little cave painting style symbols you see above the alt mode picture are gone, and now it's just a blank space. I hope there's some kind of running change that adds a symbol, but I'm not expecting one.

News Credits: 56 · Wed Sep 08, 2021 9:47 am

Much like Rhinox, I'm hoping, this would be a prime opportunity for a standard fan to be the first to obtain, and do a full review of Slammer.

News Credits: 6 · Wed Sep 08, 2021 11:02 am

So I bought Kingdom Wheeljack…

4E30F8E3-4019-401F-A76E-8EF031C31BDC.jpeg

And now after opening him do I see that his right hand still has the sprue peg.

4BEEE0D5-CD07-47EB-965D-0104E23B8FBF.jpeg

What should I do?

News Credits: 462 · Wed Sep 08, 2021 11:31 am

New Golden Disk card from the Waspinator/Shadow Panther wave.

https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/waspinator-and-shadow-panther-in-package-images.1220058/page-5#post-19524658

The text translates to
Becomes
Darkarachnia..
Herald of Unicron

News Credits: 241 · Wed Sep 08, 2021 11:39 am

Ig89ninja wrote:So I bought Kingdom Wheeljack…
4E30F8E3-4019-401F-A76E-8EF031C31BDC.jpeg

And now after opening him do I see that his right hand still has the sprue peg.
4BEEE0D5-CD07-47EB-965D-0104E23B8FBF.jpeg

What should I do?

In such cases I use my small nail clippers and if necessary a small nail file to smooth it out. Be careful not to go below the edge of the piece when filing; sprue marks sometimes are just raised bumps.

News Credits: 56 · Wed Sep 08, 2021 11:49 am

Sabrblade wrote:New Golden Disk card from the Waspinator/Shadow Panther wave.

https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/waspinator-and-shadow-panther-in-package-images.1220058/page-5#post-19524658

The text translates to
Becomes
Darkarachnia..
Herald of Unicron

Kind of like all the cards for PotP. Is there a place on TF wiki where all the different information about the Golden Disk cards are collected?

News Credits: 241 · Wed Sep 08, 2021 11:53 am

o.supreme wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:New Golden Disk card from the Waspinator/Shadow Panther wave.

https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/waspinator-and-shadow-panther-in-package-images.1220058/page-5#post-19524658

The text translates to
Becomes
Darkarachnia..
Herald of Unicron

Kind of like all the cards for PotP. Is there a place on TF wiki where all the different information about the Golden Disk cards are collected?

Like with the Power of the Primes Cards? Here you go:

Source: Golden Disk Destinies

News Credits: 42 · Wed Sep 08, 2021 11:54 am

Sabrblade wrote:New Golden Disk card from the Waspinator/Shadow Panther wave.

https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/waspinator-and-shadow-panther-in-package-images.1220058/page-5#post-19524658

The text translates to
Becomes
Darkarachnia..
Herald of Unicron

Out of all of the names they could have chosen, they went with that?

News Credits: 56 · Wed Sep 08, 2021 12:01 pm

Jelze Bunnycat wrote:Like with the Power of the Primes Cards? Here you go:

Source: Golden Disk Destinies

Perfect. Thank you

News Credits: 12 · Wed Sep 08, 2021 12:03 pm

Autobot N wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:New Golden Disk card from the Waspinator/Shadow Panther wave.

https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/waspinator-and-shadow-panther-in-package-images.1220058/page-5#post-19524658

The text translates to
Becomes
Darkarachnia..
Herald of Unicron
Out of all of the names they could have chosen, they went with that?

Yeah its pretty lame. Might as well have been taserface