The Energon Pub

I feel that hasbro might’ve improved their distribution overall and this might be in part due to the less confusion regarding waves per year, but I personally think that toys r us’ demise has meant that hasbro has to work harder in the distribution stakes to get product out to a more diverse number of retailers...

This year has been fantastic, though thanks to the British retail distribution system, things never turned out that way for us brits though some Titan Returns toys did show up at the bargain shops...I'm thankful that the specialist toy sights have picked up the slack.

I'm also a fan of brand unification but I think that Takara went along with the idea to cut costs down on their side of things especially with the increase of popularity of their individually owned ip like Diaclone V2 and their transforming train franchise.

I feel like I said the this same thing last year, but it still holds true. I'm a serious GIJoe collector and just a casual TF collector. Anyone seen any new GIJoe product at retail in 2018? Nope. The line is dead with no retail product and no mention of it on Hasbro's website. It was hanging on by a string their club being extended, but it too is now dead along with their exclusives that were terrible and expensive this year for the most part. As iconic as GIJoe was Hasbro going all the way back to the 60s, it's GONE.

What is the point to all this? Transformers are VERY alive! Great product, great variety, great availability. Love this while it's still here and booming.

Overall it was a good year for many collectors. BUT! Still far from perfect.

There was SS, POTP, Cyberverse, Movie Bee, G1, Bot bot? and Siege.

Out of all of those lines I was only interested in 2 (PotP and Siege) and out of those 2 only Siege has the best quality so far. PotP's line overall was a disappointing 5/10 in quality (Popeye arms Starscream). Terrorcon's and a few Legends being the only figures that really stood out IMO.

This year my focus will be on Siege and hopefully some decent exclusives and whatever's to come in the next WFC line in December. But that's basically it for me.

william-james88 wrote:



The brand unification

The only way this would have been a good thing is if Hasbro stepped up thier paint game to Takara's level. Instead, Takara took a giant step backward, and lowered themselves to hasbro's cheapass level.


Overall, while I didn't think it was neccasarly a bad year, it wasn't a good year for Transformers. Very few decent (for me) MP figures were released, the main lines, I felt, were "kiddiefied" more than ever. MP Dinobot turned out to be the second biggest disapointment MP figure I've ever purchased, and I was so looking forward to him, it was kinda like a punch in the testicles.




On the positive side, we did have two amazingly bright points to the year: Studio Series and The Bumblebee movie. SS has had a few duds in the line, but overall its been excellent. Bee movie was the Transformers movie we always should have had.

Here's the thing: The brand being divided like it was is likely responsible for the quality control issues that hit the Prime Wars and Legends lines (especially Legends, if their thread is any indication). Yes, Takara being able to price figures individually allowed them more flexibility on features and paint, but the double-dipping on production like that was obviously not working out in the long term.

To a minor degree with PotP (how was that kiddified?) and to a major degree with the first Siege we've been seeing an improvement in quality control.

My goal was just to spread some positivity and breakdown the massive changes that have come in 2018 and it's impacts, which have been rather huge. The negative aspects and point of views have 100% been ignored, but that's because I knew I could count on you guys (especially the Facebook comments, wow) to covert for me

And of course, I want discussion on these forums, so thanks to all for contributing. I don't really have a dog in the race, aside from wanting to spread positivity and I thak all those who said some nice words. Now onto some replies!

Randomhero wrote:A lot of people were and are still upset POTP was shorter than previous lines and name off all the characters we didn’t get but when I see those complaints, I’m reminded of all the complaints people said about how combiner wars just redecoed and retooled the same figures over and over and let’s be honest, that’s what would have happened 3 times over if we got one or two more waves.

Yeah, and we are seeing that with the select series, but I think thats also smart. Those who want redecos can still get them, and those who want to see fully new toys at retail also get their wish. Everybody wins And thanks for the very nice comments.

cruizerdave wrote: Had the Japanese version of Predaking been similar, with more individual weapons, some improvements on the individual bots, maybe some big robot weapons it may have become a must have for me.
As it was, I passed.
I like that it is a blow against elitism in the hobby [nothing is more tedious than guys going on about "I only buy Japanese versions"], but sometimes the Japanese versions really were substantially better.

Maybe I am too positive, but knowing how Takara does feel they owe the best to fans, I feel that the product released is something they are proud of (just as their Abominus) and the fact that it had to serve both markets means we are probably getting a better product than if it was only released through Hasbro. Unlike the constructicons, the predakons feel heftier and less hollow. They feel like voyagers and not overzised deluxes, and no one is lacking any essential articulation (like elbows, dear lord was that embarassing from Hasbro). So the brand unification may mean we are getting better products and for sure it means we are getting products Takara is proud to sell to it's Japanese customers in 3 collector oriented lines (MPM, Generations and Studio Series).

DecepticonFinishline wrote:Anyways, I would say that distribution still needs work.

Oh for sure, but I didnt want this year to go unnoticed since the fact that nothing was skipped (which I know should be the norm) has not happened in a while, especially not since we have had 3 main lines. And with Hasbro rereleasing wave 2 aplenty, it really feels like they were listening to fans more than ever before to assure we got all our toys.

Cheetron wrote:My only complaints about this year were the mess that was hasbrotoyshop and the throne of the primes. My other was never seeing POP Optimal Optimus at retail. I had no problem finding anybody else. Just those two figures.

Yeah that sucked but it showed us that we could just skip that and buy it from amazon japan for cheaper, thanks to brand unification. Also, I see some comments were deleted but one referred to how this year was not better for international collectors, which I find hard to believe. This is the first year that international collectors had easy access to a SDCC/HTS Exclusive item, Throne of the Primes (though Amazon Japan or any other Japanese e-tailer), which was the high profile exclusive of the year in the west. I fail to see how this is not a massive improvement over any other year when purchasing an SDCC exclusive was basically impossible for anyone outside the US.

Caelus wrote:My own collection is 99.99% Hasbro, so it doesn't really phase me one way or the other, but when someone happily says, "Yay, now other people won't be able to have nicer things than me!" that feels like the pettiest application of communism.

Why are you quoting something no one ever said?

Randomhero wrote:He’s talking in general. A lot of places found everything. Even Optimal Optimus is being sighted all over the place and now on clearance to make way for Siege getting unloaded in mass

Just because you didn’t see a certain thing doesn’t mean his over view is wrong

Also, the comments I am reading show that some fans don't know what "skipping a wave" means. If a toy was found anywhere in the US at Walmart, Target or Amazon, then it was not skipped.

Just to give an idea at how much of an improvement 2018 was, for years now I would send my completionist friend Scotty P a box of mainline Hasbro toys that were not released in the US but released in Canada. So, RID Heatseeker, The weaponiser minicons, TLK Dragonstorm ect. This is the first time where I don't have to send anything since all of it was readily available in the US in some way or another.

Galactic Prime wrote:The last wave of POTP has not been released in Canada, so.... Yeah, wave 4 missed. No last female Autobot

Come on man, would it hurt to just google that first? http://lmgtfy.com/?q=novastar+found+in+canada

ausbot wrote:And Don't get me started on Botcon and the collectors club, these were the only places to get really obscure versions of characters, I doubt I will ever get my Xaaron figure now because you will never see him at retail but one day funpub would have probably got to him.

Its pretty nuts that instead of a known character like Xaaron, the club focused on characters that only existed because they created to sell their own exclusives (like all of Shatterred glass). And Hasbro's POTP Select series shows that we can get some obscure versions of characters (Arctic Camo Megs, Ricochet). Also, for those who like Shatterred Glass and club stuff, now with the club gone we had our first readily accessible Shatterred glass toy sold at brick and mortar retail. Something fans would have never thought possible.

Rodimus Prime wrote: As for exclusive pieces, I haven't noticed any difference in availability. They might start out cheaper, but Amazon is similar to eBay in that the prices go up after initial release. Sure, no TCC might be better for you, because you live in Canada, but I live in the US and to me it makes no difference. It's still bad.

Well yeah you are comparing primary market prices to secondary market prices (meaning, eventually everything is expensive, which is true). But if we compare apples to apples, buying exclusives at Amazon (or Walgreens) when they first come out is like half the price of exclusives from the club cost when they first come out. I don't see how that is so small a difference. Instead of Wreckgar being available at Walgreens for $20 (or at amazon Japan for any international fans) and everyone buying as many as they want for a junkion combiner, I could easily have seen that release as this year's Botcon exclusive troop building set at $150 for a 4 pack. I don't think I am wrong in thinking more fans are pleased with the the scenario we got

Lore Keeper wrote:Great article! I do have one disagreement with your assessment of the brand unification, specifically that having fewer choices is a unanimously good thing. I understand the feeling of not being able to afford the shiny nice things that someone with more income than me has. But, eliminating that option not only hurts Mr Moneybags, it hurts you too. Because you may decide you'll put the money aside, maybe do some extra budgeting because you really want that shiny nice thing. Heck, I did it with Grand Max and Greatshot, even though I never buy Legends otherwise. Eliminating unique figures would prevent me from ever having those figures in my collection. Perhaps you really really want that Devastator with more accessories and better articulation. You can have a chance at getting it or have it not exist. Also, it can suck to see people flaunting their ridiculous collections that we can't afford, but is it better to take that away from them? I for one do not believe in taking something from someone just because I can't have it.

Sorry if thats how it came across, that was not my intention. Its more the false presumption that something is better only because it costs more. Objectivity and Subjectivity was being confused due to import fees and it was getting ugly. I tried reworking what I meant, hopefully it reads better.

And please be aware that my argument was only for slightly different versions of the same figure, it had nothing to do with unique figures which are still a thing as we saw with Grand Max. I mean an obscure redeco like that coming out in 2018 alone would be another reason why this year rocked so hard. We even got that Unicron of Light which until now was only available as a 1 out of 10 lucky draw toys. So this year was a great sign that we are indeed still getting exclusive Takara redecos even though we have brand unification in the mainlines (the later which really helped people complete their Prime Master collection).

With tastes being so different among people (we have a comment saying how Dinobot was the best thing of this year and another saying how that figure being a dissapointment is a reason for this year sucking) I thought looking at the management decisions of the toy brand was a better approach since we would be looking at facts and positive results rather than just looking at my subjective viewpoint of how this year had good figures.

Ironhidensh wrote:

william-james88 wrote:
The brand unification

The only way this would have been a good thing is if Hasbro stepped up thier paint game to Takara's level.

Isn't that what Siege is all about? That sideswipe has more paint than any deluxe of the past decade.

Ironhidensh wrote: Very few decent (for me) MP figures were released, the main lines, I felt, were "kiddiefied" more than ever.

If you mean there is currently more product just aimed at kids, then yes for sure. We currently have 4 main lines and 2 are just for kids. But objectively that is one hell of an improvement over every other year when 100% were made with kids primarily in mind and none were specifically made for collectors. You mentioned Studio Series, which you find to be a success. Hasbro would be happy to hear that coming from a fan because that is the very first wide market toyline aimed specifically to collectors (with attention to scale, movie backdrops, releasing characters we never had, better decos). Think about it, we never did have a "black series" line before in Transformers, and now we do. As for POTP, all they did was improve on the CW toys to have the deluxes hide the combiner pegs better, and give us different designs. So I don't see how that would be seen as a step down from that line engineering/complexity wise.

I hope my replies were satisfactory, I love you all. Peace and joy in the new year

That's a fair enough point about Wreck-Gar, I'll concede it. However, that's only one example. Would you say the same about Nemesis Prime (the culprit I was thinking of when I made the point) or even PoTP Blast Off?

Caelus wrote:The notion that brand-unification means we aren't missing out on the hard-to-get Takara versions of figures seems a bit skewed. I liked PotP, but there's no mistaking that the toys were standard-fare Hasbro products, lacking that extra little something that made many Takara products so appealing. Brand-unification didn't seem to make better figures available in the U.S., it just made the figures in Japan worse. So rather than say, *no one* is missing out on hard-to-get Takara figures, it seems like it would be more appropriate to say that now *everyone* is missing out on the hard-to-get Takara versions.

My own collection is 99.99% Hasbro, so it doesn't really phase me one way or the other, but when someone happily says, "Yay, now other people won't be able to have nicer things than me!" that feels like the pettiest application of communism.

He's on to us, comrades!

Rodimus Prime wrote:That's a fair enough point about Wreck-Gar, I'll concede it. However, that's only one example. Would you say the same about Nemesis Prime (the culprit I was thinking of when I made the point) or even PoTP Blast Off?

Sorry for taking a while to answer, I wanted to respond well but there was other stuff to get to first.
So yeah about Nemesis, compared to how that would have previously been released if the club was still around we were way better off with the way things turned out here. The club usually stayed away from doing bigger molds. The two that I would compare this to would be their Scorponok and their recent Megatron, which are two big molds. One was only in a boxset (scorponok) which reminds me how lucky we were for that not to have been the case for Nemesis. Boxsets costs hundred of dollars (the average price by was around $300 for Botcon Boxsets right?) so instead of having to spend that money, Hasbro has let buy Nemesis on his own. Hasbro did do boxsets last year with Titans Return but their original price was far cheaper than any Botcon boxset we ever had. Plus each of those boxsets contained an original transforming mold, something we could never get from the Club, and only cost 1/3 of a club boxset.

Anyways, back to Nemesis, the only other comparison to how the club would release a mold like that recently was with the Transmetal Dragon Megatron. And you know that was a chore to get. If they would have released this nemesis Prime themselves it would have been one of those centrepiece items and you would have to actually show up at Botcon, make sure you had your advanced ticket or whatever (there is some particular procedure) to get this toy that would have cost at least $100. With Nemesis being released by Hasbro on Amazon it was practically half that and you didnt have to go to Botcon and wait in line to get it. Sounds like a win to me. Plus Nemesis came with a new exclusive transformer (that bird sword) something the club wouldnt be able to give as an extra. Not sure if they would also retool both heads and give 3 additional weapons (which are all new molds as well).

As for Blastoff, that one's easy. The club would never have been able to give us that toy. They cannot release a toy that would conflict with the sale of a toy from Hasbro or Takara. So since we already had Unite Warriors Blastoff, the club could not release a Blastoff themsevles (using that mold). So our only hope of getting that Blastoff, even if the club existed, was to wait for a Hasbro release. And the fact that it got released is great since unlike the fact that Blastoff was a jet in the original Hasbro release was the only main downside to that release. So now we can complete our Bruticus with a shuttle blastoff without having to fork out money for a Unite Warriors set.

So yeah, I only see positives/ameliorations over the systems we had in place before for exclusives, no matter where one is located.

You win. Nemesis still costs around $100 now. It's the only version I like.

Rodimus Prime wrote:You win. Nemesis still costs around $100 now. It's the only version I like.

Haha, but really my point is we all win. Why weren't you able to get Nemesis when he was still ship and sold by Amazon? I know he was Prime exclusive at first but he did become open to all. Send me your address in a PM, he is still available on amazon.ca at his original price so I will see if he can ship out to you.

I didn't get him because I had picked up PoTP Prime and I was (and still am) so disappointed with it that I wanted nothing to do with the mold. Besides, I don't collect black Primes, the only one that I have that even comes close is Car Robots Black Convoy. As I said in the other thread about figures that disappointed us, to me the only redeeming quality of the figure is the color, as it makes the robot mode decent and the eyesore of the vehicle mode less glaring. Over time, I had come to not dislike the figure, but I still don't see a place for him in my collection, unless he's discounted, which will probably never happen. Thanks for the gesture, but I'm at a stalemate with getting it, and I have other figures much higher on my list. Maybe later, or if I win the lottery and have abundant amounts of money to throw around.