Rumour: Animated Toys to be released Mid 2008? Stealth Bumblebee and More.
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007 3:52PM CST
Categories: Cartoon News, Rumors, CollectablesPosted by: i_amtrunks Views: 53,093
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According to a TFW2005 member who has received his December/January Collectors Club Magazine, the Animated Toyline will not be appearing on shelves around February or March, but instead will be appearing around June 2008, with a full Release by August 2008. No reasons as to why are given.
From the same source, the rumoured "Stealth Bumblebee" looks like he will be getting a release, with an inverted colour scheme (black with yellow stripes) and will also feature his Battle Mask as a new head.
Finally the 4th Club Exclusive figure has been announced: Topspin will be a redeco of the helicopter mold from the Energon Bruticus Maximus team.
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Posted by Darth Bombshell on November 28th, 2007 @ 3:57pm CST
i_amtrunks wrote:Finally the 4th Club Exclusive figure has been announced: Topspin will be a redeco of the helicopter mold from the Energon Bruticus Maximus team.
Have they even released Breakaway yet?
Posted by MaikeruSama on November 28th, 2007 @ 4:03pm CST
Posted by MaikeruSama on November 28th, 2007 @ 4:03pm CST
Posted by thedistinctroom on November 28th, 2007 @ 4:03pm CST
Posted by omegaprimussupermode on November 28th, 2007 @ 4:03pm CST
Posted by Agent 007 on November 28th, 2007 @ 4:05pm CST
Posted by Dr. Z on November 28th, 2007 @ 4:16pm CST
Mr.Bond007 wrote:cool so this means more movie stuff for the spring
It's only cool if it means more new molds than just Landmine, Incinerator and Stockade. Because repaints are mehhhh (especially the movie ones).
Posted by Wheelimus Prime on November 28th, 2007 @ 4:18pm CST
Posted by Lapse Of Reason on November 28th, 2007 @ 4:19pm CST
Darth Bombshell wrote:i_amtrunks wrote:Finally the 4th Club Exclusive figure has been announced: Topspin will be a redeco of the helicopter mold from the Energon Bruticus Maximus team.
Have they even released Breakaway yet?
Yes, last June.
Posted by No Death for Prowl on November 28th, 2007 @ 4:20pm CST
Posted by Dr. Z on November 28th, 2007 @ 4:26pm CST
Posted by Overcracker on November 28th, 2007 @ 4:29pm CST
Concept Camaro Bumblebee w/ Battle Mask, Animated Toys Delayed and Club Figure Announced
Briggs' thread came first.
Posted by opjet on November 28th, 2007 @ 4:56pm CST
toys coming out 2008 because that
gives more time to save money
make room in my room plus lets me catch on
any other tf i need to get
any one agree with
Posted by Jazzz on November 28th, 2007 @ 5:03pm CST
black with yellow stripes. awesome
Posted by Dr. Caelus on November 28th, 2007 @ 5:43pm CST
Posted by Liege Evilmus on November 28th, 2007 @ 6:18pm CST
So I'm gonna send Hasbro a calender with with "THIS IS WHEN PEOPLE BUY THIS STUFF THE MOST" writen all over December in sharpie black.
Then again I don't wanna destroy the joy of buying full lines buring off peak season.
Posted by StryderPrime on November 28th, 2007 @ 8:27pm CST
Do tat mean......
That the Classic 2.0 will be push back 2
and
Y the Hell they goin 2 push it back when the show bout 2 premire in another month with no toys 2 go with it.....
Posted by Megatron Wolf on November 28th, 2007 @ 8:36pm CST
Posted by Pirate Man on November 28th, 2007 @ 8:50pm CST
Where the hell is the pink and blue one and for that matter where is the Bumblezoid?
Posted by darkqueen01 on November 28th, 2007 @ 9:23pm CST
Posted by Bumblethumper on November 28th, 2007 @ 9:40pm CST
What'll really suck is if in the meantime I get tempted by some of these lousy repaints that I promised myself I wouldn't waste my money on.
Posted by Dr. Z on November 28th, 2007 @ 10:16pm CST
"I am your second robot friend!"
"Megatron must be stopped... again!"
"It's time to help Bumblebee..."
Posted by gogleman374 on November 28th, 2007 @ 10:19pm CST
If the series Sucks, and the toys arent realeased till then I will curl up in a corner and cry myself to sleep.
Posted by touch_of_Jazz on November 28th, 2007 @ 10:28pm CST
Posted by Bumblethumper on November 29th, 2007 @ 12:10am CST
touch_of_Jazz wrote:I can see why a delay would seem somewhat logical. Perhaps Hasbro wants to see how well the new series is received by fans and those new to the series before committing to mass production of it's product.
The toys are already designed. I doubt they would intentionally wait for the series to flop before releasing them. If that happens, they'll be a lot harder to sell.
I'm guessing that between the overwhelming success of the movie series, and stepping up production to meet demand and christmas, they are probably behind hand with production on future series. In addition, there was talk about shifting production to Thailand and Vietnam, which may also cause delays.
Posted by Autobot032 on November 29th, 2007 @ 4:17am CST
That's one heck of a delay. Hopefully (for their wallets sakes) the show will keep kids completely enthralled until June. Although, a buffer of five months is very much like eternity to a five year old.
I have a feeling we're going to see another round of Movie toy issues.
"Do you have Animated Optimus Prime?"
"No. We know. The show's on the air. No, there are no toys for it yet. No, we don't know why. Try eBay."
Kids will grow impatient and tired quickly and not care once the figures come out. Heck, I switched from TFs to TMNT in a heartbeat, then on to Batman The Animated Series, and back to G2/BW.
Sooo...yeah, this is not a smart move. I realize they have their reasons (legitimate or otherwise) but I think this could be a big mistake.
And if it pushes back Classics/Universe 2.0...I'm gonna be P.O.ed. BAD.
...I wonder if this has something to do with the writers strike?
Follow me for a second...
Kids follow the cartoon.
Kids buy the toys.
It's a symbiotic relationship, of course.
However, with this strike seemingly unending...perhaps they're spacing out what episodes they do have to keep interest going, then release some of the toys, then try and produce more episodes.
Of course this is really stretching it, but it's a guess.
Posted by voice of hoist on November 29th, 2007 @ 4:47am CST
Posted by Bumblethumper on November 29th, 2007 @ 5:16am CST
Autobot032 wrote:...I wonder if this has something to do with the writers strike?
Follow me for a second...
Kids follow the cartoon.
Kids buy the toys.
It's a symbiotic relationship, of course.
However, with this strike seemingly unending...perhaps they're spacing out what episodes they do have to keep interest going, then release some of the toys, then try and produce more episodes.
I don't think this will be a problem... animation writers are in a different union and are not affected by the strike.
Posted by Bumblethumper on November 29th, 2007 @ 5:25am CST
voice of hoist wrote:This strikes me as a really dumb move by Hasbro. The toy release simply has to follow the cartoon release in quick succession. If they were delaying the cartoon because of toy production delays, that would make a whole lot more sense.
I wouldn't really call it a dumb move, more like they messed up. How can they delay the cartoon when it's already slated to appear in Cartoon Network's schedule?
Posted by Menbailee on November 29th, 2007 @ 7:40am CST
Posted by NuclearConvoy on November 29th, 2007 @ 11:05pm CST
2) More time to save for animated = excellent.
3) Dammit, I was hoping for one limb to be construction gear.
Posted by Creature SH on November 30th, 2007 @ 7:42am CST
Posted by Dr. Caelus on November 30th, 2007 @ 3:08pm CST
And if they're going to be doing movie repaints for a little bit longer, I'm crossing my fingers for a repaint of Dropkick as G1 Kickback!
Yeah, fat chance, but a guy can dream, right?
Posted by Autobot032 on December 2nd, 2007 @ 6:35am CST
1.) Loose and packaged figures are hitting eBay already. If it was due out in June, these specimens would hit closer to the release date. (Tells me they've already got batches of the figures pre-made, but they're waiting for more so they can *FLOOD* the shelves and not hear about any shortages.)
2.) As stated before, many of the new lines premiere in the late Summer/early Fall season, and this one would be way too early. (I think it would also be the first of the TF lines to do that as well. IIRC...all of the TF lines, from the '80s on came out in the fall.)
3.) As stated before, the Movie line is still out there and they most likely don't want to have to compete one against the other in terms of sales. (Makes sense too, I mean the Movie line is dying a slow death and coming to an end, and Animated is their main focus. Gives it more of a wide berth and breathing room on it's own.)
4.) Classics/Universe 2.0 is definitely coming out this fall and will have it's own spot on the shelves, but it'll still compete with Animated. (Difference is...the Movie line HAS to make money and they have to move it now, now, now. Contracts and whatnot. Whereas they can take their sweet time with C/U2.0 and let it build in popularity due to us collectors. Oh sure, kids will want a piece of that pie as well, but not as much with Animated plastered on their screens.)
Now, if this *is* the case, and they're holding it back to meet demand...it's a baaaaad idea.
The Movie did stellar box office business with big names attached to it, which helped the adults get into buying the figures. The robots were a hit with people of all ages, especially the kids who were the main buying force of the line. If it wasn't a collector or parent or other adult, it was a kid and they all wanted a Movie figure. (As evidenced by the empty shelves on Black Friday....after a full balls to the wall restock, the likes of which I've never seen before.)
Animated doesn't have a movie to push it through. Collectors are polarized on it. A lot of adults will be turned off by the aesthetics.
Will it sell? Sure. Will it do as well as the Movie line? No.
Because of this, if they plan to meet demand (and a little over) will it raise hell on the pegs and shelves and restocks will be few and far between (especially on subsequent waves)? Yes.
There's the problem. We're gonna be stuck with shelves full of these figures because they'll want to meet the demand of the public, but I think they'll sorely overestimate the demand and we will suffer for it.
Alternators suffered to make room for the current big lines at the time (Armada, Energon, Cybertron) and most people didn't even get to see half of the Alternator figures that were for sale.
For example, the Wal-Mart in Hermitage had Alternators Optimus Prime, Mirage, Ravage and Rumble, but most times even if they were in stock (which was rare) you couldn't find 'em. No room because the pegs and shelves were covered in Cybertron stuff. In fact, the Ravage & Rumble Alts weren't even in the Toys Department. No, they were in the seasonal foods aisle on the other side of the friggin' store and no one paid attention to them. Dust collected, so they move a few over to Toys, they sold out almost instantly, the people were directed over to foods, then (and only then, weeks later) were they finally sold out. (although they are sitting on one last Rumble as we speak.)
The same thing will happen to C/U2.0 because of the space requirements of Animated. If we're even that lucky.
Now, I could be very, very, very wrong on all of this (and I'd like to be, so I'm crossing my fingers) but if I'm right...this is going to suck.
For everyone involved.
Posted by Smokescreen85 on December 2nd, 2007 @ 2:11pm CST
Posted by Mr-Valkeyreion on December 30th, 2007 @ 4:58am CST
Posted by Grimlock_nessmonster on December 31st, 2007 @ 4:46pm CST