Canadian Preorders For Transformers Premium Finish Line Up At Ages 3 and Up

The Bee mold wont be improved though, so it means it will be just as unpleasant to transform.

Overcracker wrote:Whoever setup Prime, clearly has no idea how an axe is supposed to be held. Why would you attack with the spike at the back, rather than the full blade.

That spike is for piercing armor, while the main blade is for heavy slicing, something that armor may be able to resist. The total force between the two may be same, but the pressure (force per square inch) is greater with the spike.

Anyway, bee looks nice, makes me want a Premium Finish Camaro Bee now.

Which year?

william-james88 wrote:The Bee mold wont be improved though, so it means it will be just as unpleasant to transform.

Hopefully better to pose with improved tolerances.

william-james88 wrote:The Bee mold wont be improved though, so it means it will be just as unpleasant to transform.

That, I'm well aware. After seeing Emgo's video review, the only unpleasant part is to deal with the top shell of the car. Appart that, it doesn't seem too bad.

-Kanrabat- wrote:

william-james88 wrote:The Bee mold wont be improved though, so it means it will be just as unpleasant to transform.

That, I'm well aware. After seeing Emgo's video review, the only unpleasant part is to deal with the top shell of the car. Appart that, it doesn't seem too bad.

That's right, but it was more than enough for me to hate.

Sabrblade wrote:It's a heavily desaturated Nova Storm.

That's such a strange thing to do. Nobody is going to care if he looks dead and there is that other dark yellow Seeker in the show that looks a little like this. You'd think they'd realize that pic would just cause confusion.

Anyway, decided to go with BBTS, the price is only slightly higher than AmiAmi and for some reason Amazon Japan isn't reducing prices like they usually do.

Emerje

Emerje wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:It's a heavily desaturated Nova Storm.

That's such a strange thing to do. Nobody is going to care if he looks dead and there is that other dark yellow Seeker in the show that looks a little like this. You'd think they'd realize that pic would just cause confusion.

Anyway, decided to go with BBTS, the price is only slightly higher than AmiAmi and for some reason Amazon Japan isn't reducing prices like they usually do.

Emerje

The reduced Amazon japan prices sometimes only kick in a week later

william-james88 wrote:

Emerje wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:It's a heavily desaturated Nova Storm.

That's such a strange thing to do. Nobody is going to care if he looks dead and there is that other dark yellow Seeker in the show that looks a little like this. You'd think they'd realize that pic would just cause confusion.

Anyway, decided to go with BBTS, the price is only slightly higher than AmiAmi and for some reason Amazon Japan isn't reducing prices like they usually do.

Emerje

The reduced Amazon japan prices sometimes only kick in a week later

Yeah, but usually they wont take international orders until then, and they're currently taking orders. We'll see.

Emerje

I'm not really interested in this line yet, but I am curious to see what ends up in here and what it looks like.

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:I'm not really interested in this line yet, but I am curious to see what ends up in here and what it looks like.

No interests because you already own the molds, or the molds are not interesting enough to pay extra?

On my end, I skipped on SS18 because it looked too bland but this version here is just what I needed.

The Studio Series side of this Premium Finish line has my interest. Extra paint details are always appreciated for the live action movie figures. The War for Cybertron Trilogy side of things is far less exciting so far. I don’t really see a need for a show accurate Optimus Prime in my collection, nor for any of the other Siege molds, especially not Megatron and Ultra Magnus.

Soundwave would be interesting, but only if it’s the Netflix mold with better paint apps, like restoring the red pin stripes on his batteries and wrists and color matching his yellow/gold paint on his chest and tape door. Or, if he comes with a Buzzsaw figure at last. I hope Wheeljack’s Netflix version is already close enough to the show that his Premium Finish figure will instead feature a brighter white plastic, his correct racing numbers, and more sponsorship logos and paint details to really make it “premium.” I’d also love a redo of Springer, even if still the Siege mold, without battle damage and with a few more G1 screen accurate touches and on-model color choices, like gray instead of bluish gray plastic, but I’m not getting my hopes up.

Premium finish Bee and optimus preorders went up on pulse today, June 3 estimate, $35 bee, $54 optimus.

alekese wrote:Premium finish Bee and optimus preorders went up on pulse today, June 3 estimate, $35 bee, $54 optimus.

YOWSE

Yeah, Prime was always a nope for me, but Bee looked really nice and was a "maybe". Seeing the price confirmed him as "no way in hell".

Edit: Actually seeing the price of deluxe and voyager, the rest of the line is also "no way in hell" for me.

I wouldn't buy any of these figures even if the price wasn't ridiculous...
The decos... I can't decide if I think they're boring... Or just lame.
It's going to be very interesting to see how long this line lasts.

Sowndwave76 wrote:I wouldn't buy any of these figures even if the price wasn't ridiculous...
The decos... I can't decide if I think they're boring... Or just lame.
It's going to be very interesting to see how long this line lasts.

Maybe for Optimus. But if you genuinely say that Bee's paint is "lazy" and "boring", you're not paying attention at all.

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Sowndwave76 wrote:I wouldn't buy any of these figures even if the price wasn't ridiculous...
The decos... I can't decide if I think they're boring... Or just lame.
It's going to be very interesting to see how long this line lasts.

Maybe for Optimus. But if you genuinely say that Bee's paint is "lazy" and "boring", you're not paying attention at all.

It looks better than the previous version. So if that means it's 1-2 steps above "lazy" or "boring", cool, I guess.

william-james88 wrote:

Nemesis Reformatted wrote:I wonder if they'll ever stop pushing Optimus Prime & Bumblebee on us. I wish they would stop trying to turn Optimus Prime & Bumblebee into Batman & Robin.

Great comparison. Would DC ever stop pushing Batman on us? Don't think so.
But I don't see what the issue is. It means that even though we are comparing 35 year old characters to 80 year old ones, in the eyes of today's kids, both are as popular. That is an amazing achievement for the Transformers brand we love so much.

The issue is that Transformers is about 2 massive armies. Not just 1 character. Same with GI Joe. GI Joe is about 2 armies, not just 1 character Snake Eyes. If DC wants to push Batman that's fine, Batman is just 1 character. But even if Snake Eyes, Wolverine & Bumblebee are popular, that doesn't mean they have to take over the entire franchise. They all became popular as members of a team & they should stay that way. We don't need this artificial PUSHING that Hasbro keeps doing. Bumblebee, Wolverine & Snake Eyes shouldn't have their own movies. My favorite Autobot is Wheeljack, when am I going to get a Wheeljack movie? Why doesn't Hasbro push Wheeljack? He's popular too.

Hasbro has been releasing 50 million toys of Bumblebee every year since 2007. But they refuse make 1 Ransack, Venom, Barrage, Squeezeplay, Fangry, Horri-bull, Joyride, Pointblank or Slapdash. Or any of the Pretenders. And what about 3rd party? They won't make those characters either.

The direction Hasbro took the franchise is just plain stupid! Now everything revolves around Bumblebee. He has his own movie, he has his own toy line, Bumblebee Adventures, now he has another toy line, Buzzworthy Bumblebee. When is this insanity going to end??? There will come a time when everybody finally gets sick & tired of Bumblebee. And I can't wait!

Nemesis Reformatted wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Nemesis Reformatted wrote:I wonder if they'll ever stop pushing Optimus Prime & Bumblebee on us. I wish they would stop trying to turn Optimus Prime & Bumblebee into Batman & Robin.

Great comparison. Would DC ever stop pushing Batman on us? Don't think so.
But I don't see what the issue is. It means that even though we are comparing 35 year old characters to 80 year old ones, in the eyes of today's kids, both are as popular. That is an amazing achievement for the Transformers brand we love so much.

The issue is that Transformers is about 2 massive armies. Not just 1 character. Same with GI Joe. GI Joe is about 2 armies, not just 1 character Snake Eyes. If DC wants to push Batman that's fine, Batman is just 1 character. But even if Snake Eyes, Wolverine & Bumblebee are popular, that doesn't mean they have to take over the entire franchise. They all became popular as members of a team & they should stay that way. We don't need this artificial PUSHING that Hasbro keeps doing. Bumblebee, Wolverine & Snake Eyes shouldn't have their own movies. My favorite Autobot is Wheeljack, when am I going to get a Wheeljack movie? Why doesn't Hasbro push Wheeljack? He's popular too.

Hasbro has been releasing 50 million toys of Bumblebee every year since 2007. But they refuse make 1 Ransack, Venom, Barrage, Squeezeplay, Fangry, Horri-bull, Joyride, Pointblank or Slapdash. Or any of the Pretenders. And what about 3rd party? They won't make those characters either.

The direction Hasbro took the franchise is just plain stupid! Now everything revolves around Bumblebee. He has his own movie, he has his own toy line, Bumblebee Adventures, now he has another toy line, Buzzworthy Bumblebee. When is this insanity going to end??? There will come a time when everybody finally gets sick & tired of Bumblebee. And I can't wait!

If Bumblebee toys didn't sell, they wouldn't get made kids love Bumblebee, end of story, Transformers are made primarily for kids after all. Also as for the direction hasbro took things, I'd say it worked out brilliantly for them and made a ton of money.

ZeroWolf wrote:If Bumblebee toys didn't sell, they wouldn't get made kids love Bumblebee, end of story, Transformers are made primarily for kids after all. Also as for the direction hasbro took things, I'd say it worked out brilliantly for them and made a ton of money.

Exactly. I'm so sick an tired of hearing people complaining about Bumblebee that I'm actually at the Hospital on my deathbed.

Bumblebee is the "gateway drug" for Transformers. Get the kid interested in the franchise first. Then the kid will notice the rest of that universe and get interested in other characters. Same thing for the Bay movies.

It's thanks to Bumblebee and the Bay movies that we are now in the BEST Transformers times since ever with all these "mini Masterpieces" in both the Generations and Studio Series lines. That includes Movie toys as well. Plus most exclusive repaints are now easy to access and there's more than ever thanks to the Select line.

Jesus. It's like complaining that "dad is never home and always at work" when he's the only one working and supporting the ungrateful family by giving them their super comfortable lifestyle.

-Kanrabat- wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:If Bumblebee toys didn't sell, they wouldn't get made kids love Bumblebee, end of story, Transformers are made primarily for kids after all. Also as for the direction hasbro took things, I'd say it worked out brilliantly for them and made a ton of money.

Exactly. I'm so sick an tired of hearing people complaining about Bumblebee that I'm actually at the Hospital on my deathbed.

Bumblebee is the "gateway drug" for Transformers. Get the kid interested in the franchise first. Then the kid will notice the rest of that universe and get interested in other characters. Same thing for the Bay movies.

It's thanks to Bumblebee and the Bay movies that we are now in the BEST Transformers times since ever with all these "mini Masterpieces" in both the Generations and Studio Series lines. That includes Movie toys as well. Plus most exclusive repaints are now easy to access and there's more than ever thanks to the Select line.

Jesus. It's like complaining that "dad is never home and always at work" when he's the only one working and supporting the ungrateful family by giving them their super comfortable lifestyle.

Well put. I get being angry that your favourite characters don't get updates but there's a very large group like that, every toy reveal will disappoint someone. However, this isn't the fault of Bumblebee. Bee sells so we get more figures (better designs, better engineering) across the board. These figures may not be for everyone, but they are for someone. If that leads them to want more. Then I say, good job Bee.

The only logical lines for a deluxe insecticon release is generations/selects. The fact that there are other lines really heavy with Bee is irrelevant to getting deluxe insections. They wouldn't be coming in SS or SS86, and I'm guessing a fan of them wouldn't want them in Cyberverse either. Oddly enough Cybervers might be the best line to work around the trademark issues, by kid-ifying them, but wouldn't work for most collectors. Buzzworthy Bee takes away nothing from generations/selects, so its existence is irrelevant to the lack of deluxe insecticons.

There have been a total of 2 Bumblebee toys in generations/selects since Combiner Wars. TR Legends and Netflix Deluxe. That is it. That is all the competition the deluxe insecticons are getting from Bee.

Instead the real barrier to getting any deluxe insecticons would be the availability of deluxe slots/molds in gnerations/selects and the designs teams insistence of cramming "cybertronian" and "earth" models for as much of the season 1 cast into WFC as possible even though many of those same characters had deluxe combiner wars figures. Many had 3 deluxe figures since Combiner Wars in generations, while Bee has only had 1 legend and 1 deluxe.

Sowndwave76 wrote:It looks better than the previous version. So if that means it's 1-2 steps above "lazy" or "boring", cool, I guess.

That's why I'm curious to see how they handle some of the other figures from this line, because VW Bee is missing a lot of details. No silver trim on the armor pieces in robot mode, its missing the yellow on the hands and under the headlight chest pieces in robot mode. Also not fond of the brownish plastic. Definitely more detail than the standard one, but still not a ton.

I'd like to pick up an SS 07 Ratchet, and at the prices the normal one is currently going for, getting the premium version probably isn't much more. Interested to see how it looks!

-Kanrabat- wrote:

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:I'm not really interested in this line yet, but I am curious to see what ends up in here and what it looks like.

No interests because you already own the molds, or the molds are not interesting enough to pay extra?

On my end, I skipped on SS18 because it looked too bland but this version here is just what I needed.

I have the molds already, and they haven't done a mold I like in colors that are worth the price. I'll wait and see what kind of colors they do on the later SS figures

Takara Tomy Mall officially revealed the next two figures to get the Premium Finish treatment and interest in these will definitely vary. First up is PF SS-02 Optimus Prime based on his likeness from the Bumblebee movie. Paint details are much improved over both the original Voyager and the Takara Tomy exclusive 35th anniversary repaint, now featuring more accurate reds, ample amounts of silver paint (including the stacks this time around), more paint on sculpted details and extra scuffs and grime throughout the entire figure. It's a tempting upgrade over the original Voyager. He's due out in November for ¥6,380.

A little less exciting is PF WFC-02 Megatron. This is by no means a rerelease of the Netflix based figure, but it is another Netflix battle damaged figure which we've already seen twice-over in that line. It does do a better job with the battle damage, giving it a little more depth and realism rather than being a bright silver figure with some black marks on its chest. It'll be a hard sell for many people when he too is released in November for ¥6,380.

































Keep in mind that Takara Tomy Mall is once again desaturating their Seekers for these photos, that's just a standard Studio Series Starscream above.

So what do you think, are the new decos enough to get you to add these to your collection or replace your previous versions? Or is that Megatron mold now well past its expiration date and no amount of paint can make it better? Let us know in the Energon Pub Forum!

These also just went up on BBTS a bit ago. I like all the painted detail on both but since I already have 5 or so of the siege/Earthrise Megatron mold, I'm just gonna stick with Optimus for now.

Many have missed out on that Optimus so it would make sense to get that version instead of buying the normal one from Ebay. I imported mine so I don't need that one. A beauty though.

As for that Megs, for the enthusiast of that mold only.

So, wait, is that a custom skywarp, or a new reveal?

Hellscream9999 wrote:So, wait, is that a custom skywarp, or a new reveal?

Nothing of the sort. It's just a standard figure that have been Photoshoped. Look up the previous pictures for one more "new reveal" seeker that was in fact, a shipped rainmaker.

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Hellscream9999 wrote:So, wait, is that a custom skywarp, or a new reveal?

Nothing of the sort. It's just a standard figure that have been Photoshoped. Look up the previous pictures for one more "new reveal" seeker that was in fact, a shipped rainmaker.

Yeah it's just Studio Series Bumblebee Movie Starscream with its colours muted.

Hellscream9999 wrote:So, wait, is that a custom skywarp, or a new reveal?

Emerje wrote:Keep in mind that Takara Tomy Mall is once again desaturating their Seekers for these photos, that's just a standard Studio Series Starscream above.

Emerje

Yeah, it's to make Starscream look like Optimus killed him.

"Do you know me? I have to deal with rebellious Autobots, traitorous backstabbers, and incompetent lackwits in a bid for cosmic domination. That's why I carry one of THESE."



But yeah. Seriously. This mold AGAIN? This deco - AGAIN? Not unless I see it in a bargain bin for $5 or something....

DeathReviews wrote:Not unless I see it in a bargain bin for $5 or something....

Does Japan have bargain bins? Cuz, otherwise, you won't be seeing this in US stores at all.

Releasing a Premium finish Megatron seems absolutely bonkers when that same toy has not 1 but 2 releases in the netflix line with a similar themed finish (premium battle damage).

"Give me your money!"

william-james88 wrote:Releasing a Premium finish Megatron seems absolutely bonkers when that same toy has not 1 but 2 releases in the netflix line with a similar themed finish (premium battle damage).

Yup.
Especially when Japan also got the Netflixes.

Seems Hasbro/Takara are dead set on m liking that siege mold for every last cent its worth.


For BB Prime, ahh,. just a Jetta Toys KO with nicer candy red paint for 20 bucks less than that. So I can happily skip it.

Also, surprised this is only the second use of the BB Prime mold. I was expecting to see Evasion mode levels of re-use.

Overcracker wrote:
Also, surprised this is only the second use of the BB Prime mold. I was expecting to see Evasion mode levels of re-use.

No Nemesis version yet.

That's unexpected.

Overcracker wrote:Also, surprised this is only the second use of the BB Prime mold.

Third use. There was the 35th Anniversary redeco Takara released in a 2-pack with Vintage G1 Optimus.

Sabrblade wrote:

Overcracker wrote:Also, surprised this is only the second use of the BB Prime mold.

Third use. There was the 35th Anniversary redeco Takara released in a 2-pack with Vintage G1 Optimus.

You right... totally forgot about that one. That just shows how relevant that release was.

Looks like both are up on Pulse now too.

https://hasbropulse.com/collections/tra ... 2-megatron

https://hasbropulse.com/collections/tra ... imus-prime

I’m unimpressed.

TF-fan kev777 wrote:Looks like both are up on Pulse now too.

https://hasbropulse.com/collections/tra ... 2-megatron

https://hasbropulse.com/collections/tra ... imus-prime

For the curious of mind - they're charging $53 each for these, before taxes! You don't even get any extra accessories, and I severely doubt that they replaced any of the softer plastic with die cast metal. Sorry, but unless that 'premium' paint is actual sterling silver, it ain't worth no fifty smackers.

DeathReviews wrote:

TF-fan kev777 wrote:Looks like both are up on Pulse now too.

https://hasbropulse.com/collections/tra ... 2-megatron

https://hasbropulse.com/collections/tra ... imus-prime

For the curious of mind - they're charging $53 each for these, before taxes! Sorry, but unless that paint is actual sterling silver, it ain't worth no fifty smackers...

Yup. And BBTS has pre-orders up for $55.
https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/ ... ils/166696
https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/ ... ils/166692

Don't think a nice paint job qualifies for that kind of markup.

DeathReviews wrote:

TF-fan kev777 wrote:Looks like both are up on Pulse now too.

https://hasbropulse.com/collections/tra ... 2-megatron

https://hasbropulse.com/collections/tra ... imus-prime

For the curious of mind - they're charging $53 each for these, before taxes! You don't even get any extra accessories, and I severely doubt that they replaced any of the softer plastic with die cast metal. Sorry, but unless that 'premium' paint is actual sterling silver, it ain't worth no fifty smackers.

For once, I agree 100% with you. The difference in price compared to the deluxes is reasonable. But for some reason, the voyagers are nearly double! WTF?

07 Megatron should be in the next reveal, I'm really interested to see how they paint it.

EvasionModeBumblebee wrote:07 Megatron should be in the next reveal, I'm really interested to see how they paint it.

Accurate chest or no buy.
But we all know they will never go the extra mile.

"[Optimus is] due out in November for ¥6,380...

Amazon Japan price is cheaper for both:

- https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/dp/B096LYXTNQ/?tag=seibertron00-22&

- https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/dp/B096M1S5HV/?tag=seibertron00-22&

However, Prime is TLTL, after all the amazing OSKO releases (plus the same sized Nemesis and SG Prime recoloured KOs) and Megatron is as infested with cr@pple-damage paint as always, so both are easy passes for me.

DeathReviews wrote:

TF-fan kev777 wrote:Looks like both are up on Pulse now too.

https://hasbropulse.com/collections/tra ... 2-megatron

https://hasbropulse.com/collections/tra ... imus-prime

For the curious of mind - they're charging $53 each for these, before taxes! You don't even get any extra accessories, and I severely doubt that they replaced any of the softer plastic with die cast metal. Sorry, but unless that 'premium' paint is actual sterling silver, it ain't worth no fifty smackers.

For Hasbro, Japanese products mean Japanese prices. Regular Voyagers in Japan are (without tax) ¥5,060 (US$46.50) and the PF Voyagers are ¥5,870 (US$53.50) so Takara Tomy is basically saying the premium paint is worth $7. If this was a Hasbro backed product they'd probably be $40 since the price of Voyagers have gone up. They aren't cheap, but as someone who bought a lot of Takara Tomy Legends figures just to have the best looking versions of the Prime Wars Trilogy characters I'm unphased.

Emerje

Fellow Seibertronian Snuffles, wrote in to let us know that they found new listings on Big Bad Toy Store for some upcoming toys of the Premium Finish line.

Those are:
Transformers Studio Series SS-03 Voyager Megatron (Premium Finish)
Transformers War For Cybertron WFC-03 Leader Ultra Magnus (Premium Finish)

We knew we'd be getting '07 Megatron since the preview images had his silhouette in a familiar pose. Hard to think of how a premium finish for a fully painted figure would be like. As for Magnus, this is most probably the Siege mold as this line seems to be Takara's way of giving us the most screen accurate deco for bots found in the Netflix series.