Categories:Toy News, Reviews Posted by:william-james88 Topic Options: View Discussion · Views: 97,585
Amazon has released its new exclusive, the crash combiner set of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. Chuckdawg1999 reviewed it so that we can now have as much info as possible about it. Here are his thoughts on the set below.
chuckdawg1999 wrote:Here's something new. It seems like Amazon wanted another exclusive set of Transformers, and Hasbro responded with the return of Crash Combiners. If you remember RID 2015 Combiner Force, you remember these fun figures, the definition of a fidget toy. There's not much articulation, it's all gimmick, and the gimmick is fun!
Categories:Toy News, Reviews Posted by:william-james88 Topic Options: View Discussion · Views: 85,652
Some Transformers Cyberworld toys are coming in early, like the Chomp & Battle Grimlock. Chuckdawg1999 got his hands on one so we have a review for you below. It should be said though that this is a figure meant to interact with other figures, like the configuration with Optimus Prime. So since the other figures are not out, that whole aspect isn't shown.
chuckdawg1999 wrote:This is a fun figure, but I wish some of the other figures were released at the same time to really take advantage of all the features.
Categories:Toy News, Collectibles Posted by:william-james88 Topic Options: View Discussion · Views: 78,238
Not to put salt in the wound, but we now have new images of a completed Blokees Devastator, and while the individual alt modes will be available in the US (in blind boxes), the combining kit won't be. It can still be imported though the Show Z store though, read this article for more details on that. The images are from Weibo User Mangangwan.
We also have some unfortunate news to share, Blokees will be raising the prices on their site on May 19th. As you can read in their announcement below, they say the cost increases are a bullet they just cannot judge. Blokees was very strong in the price front, offering a fun model kit at a very reasonable price, so it's understandable that this hurts them since it gnaws at their price leader advantage, in terms of Porter’s classic competitive strategies. The good news though is that the situation they are referring to is tariffs and they could be temporary, meaning the price increase could be temporary as well.
Categories:Toy News, Collectibles Posted by:william-james88 Topic Options: View Discussion · Views: 89,867
There's lots going on with the Blokees line. Did you know for instance that all those Constructicon alt mode toys are made to combine into Devastator? They do need an extra kit of combining bits though, G1 style, and that will be a problem for Americans since the US distribution arm of the Blokkes company has confirmed to fans that the add on kit will not be distributed to the US. They cite a licensing issue. You can, however, order it from the Show Z Store, along with the complete sets of Blokees needed to complete Blokees Devastator. They are absorbing the extra costs of tariffs too, so you don't pay extra once the toys land in the US (so they say). All links are below.
That Chapter 3 also has lots of new charcters we didn't have yet, which are all revealed in this video below and they include:
Shattered Glass Optimus Prime
Jazz
Hot Rod
Grimlock
Soundwave
Skywarp
Golden Megatron
Transparent Shockwave
Long Haul (alt mode for Devastator)
Scrapper (alt mode for Devastator)
Mixmaster (alt mode for Devastator)
Shattered Glass Optimus Prime in vehicle mode
Chase figures are Metallic Grimlock, Metallic Soundwave 6 Ravage, Special Galaxy Type Grimlock, Special Galaxy Type Soundwave
And lastly, we have official images for their Galaxy Version Wave 7 Transformers One set that they revealed on Twitter. This set includes:
B-127 Cogged
D-16
Alpha Trion
Elita-1
Orion Pax Cogged
Starscream
Soundwave
Shockwave
Silver Tracker
Megatron Final Form (with a Metallic deco version as the chase figure)
Categories:Toy News, Company News Posted by:william-james88 | Credit(s): Investing.com Topic Options: View Discussion · Views: 73,765
A lot can change over a week-end these days. The CFO and COO of Hasbro, Gina Gedder, was answering questions at the JP Morgan conference and bank analysists did not waste anytime asking about the impact on tariffs. This is when we learnt that Hasbro had many plans and strategies and one involved simply no longer distributing product in the US. While Transformers are made in Vietnam (which currently has a 10% import tax), a huge bulk of Hasbro product is still made in China (Marvel Legends, for instance) and that had an import tax of 145%. At that rate, it's basically a ban for Hasbro since that means more than double of costs. Even redistributing the added cost among other products (including Transformers) was untenable and it was revealed that they were thinking of just not distributing to the US, or just not make it. And if they were to continue making the product, it would only be sold outside the US.
We were leveraging all of the different levers in our P and L to offset the tariff. Where pricing made sense and we thought it was tenable, we were planning to take it. And again it wasn’t like one product got everyone got the same rate. There were some products that maybe got a little and then there were some products that were getting more. There were some products that we just chose no, we’re not gonna actually produce anymore because it doesn’t make sense with that cost infrastructure to produce it and ship it into The US. Interestingly, some of the new complexity we added was some of the portfolio was only going to be for the international markets. Like we hadn’t really ever taken that approach before where you’re tailoring the product line by market, but it was something that we were prepared to do at the [145% tariff] scenario.
While Ms Gedder states that Hasbro never took that approach of catering to different markets like that before, this is something we saw with the Transformers brand in the G1 era where some product was only sold outside the US. But now that the import tax is lowered to 30%, for now, they can work out different pricing strategies to continue US distribution for their products, though it may include raising prices. If they would though, it would probably just be increases in the US since it has been confirmed, from a Canadian retailer Toysnowman, that the MSRP in Canada is not increasing for any Hasbro product. And they order months in advance so that means people outside the US probably wouldn't see a price increase.
This is extremely telling for the future of the Transformers brand though since it confirms that Hasbro, as a company, will not simply keep distributing toys if it isn't financially viable. While it sounds obvious, it does mean that if demand lowers due to increased prices, Hasbro is far more likely to just cease production/distribution rather than bring prices down. Basically, they answer to their shareholders and not to the consumers.
The presentation also focused on what they find to be the future of the brand in terms of growth, which is games. And that includes board games and card games (Wizards of the Coast) as well as their in house video game development. Transformers did not come up in the discussion on growth.
Categories:Toy News, Events Posted by:william-james88 | Credit(s): see article for sources Topic Options: View Discussion · Views: 73,593
The Shizuoka Hobby Show 2025 has been going on since the beginning of the week and Takara, along with other Japanese toy brands, were showing their wares. Below we have images of the following products:
- Adamas Machina AMT-01EX Rodimus Lost Light Ver (non transforming, licensed)
- Adamas Machina AMT-02 Predaking (non transforming, licensed)
- Takara Masterpiece MPG-17 Optimus Prime Style Gen
- Takara MPG-18 Masterpiece Hauler
- Transformers x Evangelion Collaboration silhouette image
- Missing Link Anime Bumblebee and Cliffjumper in the C-09 Cybertron 2 pack Hero Set
- Takara tripe crossover Optimus Prime figure for Tomy Zoids/Diaclone/Transformers called Shield D Prime
- Macross 7 Transformers crossover figure, Basara Convoy
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Category:Toy News Posted by:william-james88 | Credit(s): Gamestop Topic Options: View Discussion · Views: 67,549
The US and China have confirmed the tariff rate of 30% for the next 3 months for US imports from China. And now Gamestop has unveiled their latest prices on preorders, which are around 30% higher than the previous MSRP (still visible on Hasbro Pulse's site).
Here are the current prices on preorders:
Deluxes: 31.99 (28% increase from MSRP)
Commanders 119.99 (33% increase from MSRP)
Titan Star Optimus Prime 209.99 (40% increase from MSRP)
At the moment of writing, Entertainment Earth still has the 10% prices increase as opposed to the full 30% while Hasbro Pulse has all their preorders as unavailable.
Also, it is important to note that the 30% tariffs only apply to businesses. Individuals ordering from China now have an additional tax rate of 54% for imports (with a max of $100)
Categories:Toy News, Reviews Posted by:william-james88 Topic Options: View Discussion · Views: 62,211
Many fans were curious about Takara's Transformers Wild King line and we have some video reviews to share with you. This will give you the best idea of what this line entails.
chuckdawg1999 wrote:Wild King is an entertaining line thus far. The transformation is simple, but still fun, and I appreciate the stock transformations for the limbs.
chuckdawg1999 wrote:If I'm honest, overall, I like Volca and Leafback more than Longlight and Hydrophant. Prime is a simpler transformation that's more fun, but Megatron is the overall better figure.
Images of the second wave popped up last week on Amazon Japan and you can see them below.
These will all release on June 28, 2025.
WKB-05 Ignite Leo
WKB-06 Spirituan
WKB-07 Drill No Horn
WKB-08 Thunderbeak
Categories:Toy News, People News Posted by:william-james88 Topic Options: View Discussion · Views: 58,185
The tariffs have been a big part of the discussion for toy collectors all over the internet. We are currently waiting to see when Pulse updates their site with new prices, since right now no one can actually preorder anything anymore. Part of the discussion surrounding the topic was the idea to bring toy manufacturing to the US like never before. The issue is that, unlike Lego, Transformers toys and other action figures are made up of parts that need manual assembling. So labor becomes a much larger expense and it's always been handled in Asia due to cost. There is a video below of a car from Mattel being made and you can see how the labor component comes into play, as an example. All this is just to give context to the recent words from Mattel CEO, Ynon Kreiz, where he was asked if manufacturing in the US would be cheaper now that tariffs are in place. He simply answered "we don't see that happening".
The interview is very interesting for those curious about the toy industry He did follow that by saying that there is a toymaker association that is currently lobbying for toys to have zero tariffs. The logic behind that is that while the manufacturing component is done outside the US, all other steps of toy production are done in the US with Americans being hired as designers and engineers to make the toys. So the end product consumed by Americans is not an entirely foreign product. At least, that's how the CEO's words could be interpreted, he does get very word salad-y. The good news is that he said he didn't foresee Christmas shortages.
Trump did reply to those comments but misspoke, referring to Mattel as a country.
Categories:Toy News, Events Posted by:william-james88 | Credit(s): Dengeki Hobby Topic Options: View Discussion · Views: 51,873
Evangelion is no stranger to the Transformers brand with Takara releasing an MP Optimus in Evangelion colours in the past. Well we have info from Dengeki Hobby that Takara will announce new Evangelion Collaboration products for their Transformers and Zoids brands at the Shizuoka Hobby show next week. As the previous Takara/Evangelion collabs, all shown below, these are likely to be redecos of existing products. Also, this year is the 30th anniversary of Evangelion.
Category:Toy News Posted by:william-james88 Topic Options: View Discussion · Views: 65,998
We had posted that Hasbro was warning fans that preorder prices on Pulse would only be offered through the 8th. Well as the date nears, retailers are raising their prices and fans are getting alerts from Amazon that upcoming Transformers toys have risen in price. Entertainment Earth has updated their prices on both in stock and preorder prices and here is the list:
Deluxes 26.99
voyagers 37.99
leaders 59.99
Commanders 97.99
Titan Star Optimus Prime 163.99
Titan Trypticon 218.99
There are also reports about the MSRP for deluxes being 27.99 and voyagers 36.99, so we'll see what the correct prices are once Pulse updates their listings the 9th.
Categories:Toy News, Company News Posted by:william-james88 Topic Options: View Discussion · Views: 68,864
Hasbro's CEO Chris Cocks warned early on that Hasbro would pass on any extra expenses they may incur from tariffs to consumers, and that it would disproportionally affect toys bought by fans so that toys targeting only kids and families would rise less in price. And it looks like that will be happening very soon. A message has been popping up on Hasbro Pulse that preorder prices can be locked in for the next few days but that will end May 9th at 12:01. So you have until May 8th to place preorders on the items you want, as prices will probably be higher on those same items going forward. Now prices going up was not said in their notice, but if not then why warn fans?
Categories:Toy News, Collectibles Posted by:william-james88 Topic Options: View Discussion · Views: 64,407
Entertainment Earth has a new listing for an upcoming Hot Wheels case. This one is for the Color Shifters line, and if you are unfamiliar with it, we have a video review below as an example. What’s cool about this upcoming case/wave is that it includes a Transformers car. It doesn’t specify the character though but it’s most probably Optimus Prime as that is the only mainline casting that was made from the ground up for a Transformers car.
Here is the description and content details:
Hot Wheels Color Shift 1:64 Vehicle 2025 Mix 3 Case of 10:
Hot Wheels Color Shifters vehicles rev up the fun of sensory play with cars that change color when dipped in water! When kids dunk or splash their 1:64 scale Color Shifters vehicle with icy cold or very warm water, it instantly changes color. Change the water temperature and the deco changes back. It's like having two cars in one – hit the road, race the track and then change color and race again.
This Hot Wheels Color Shift 1:64 Vehicle 2025 Mix 3 Case of 10 (977C) includes 10 individually packaged vehicles and includes:
1x Barbaric
1x Vw Drag Bus
2x Transformers
1x Nissan Skyline Gt-R (R32)
1x Mattel Dream Mobile
1x Trak Tune
2x El Segundo Coupe
1x Fast Felion
Categories:Site News, Twincasts Posted by:megatronus Topic Options: View Discussion · Views: 72,863
The Seibertron.com Twincast / Podcast is back to discuss the Alpha and the Omega... Prime, that is. Your host ScottyP is joined by Aaarnhide19, Counterpunch, Kuhlio, Megatronus, and xRotorstormx to discuss the latest Haslab, odd looking alt modes, and see whether Transformers can break into the sports market in a way Starting Lineup simply could not. This, and more.
Episode #374 “Omega Crime” is available directly and in our RSS Feed, and should appear on Apple Podcasts and many other Podcatcher sites within 24 to 48 hours of when you see this news post.
Here's what we discuss in this episode:
Based on The Thirteen's art, we get a peak of what just might be Alpha Trion's alt mode. Wild speculation ensues.
With the complete cast ready to rumble, we move on to discuss our thoughts on the latest Haslab, and the QC issues that seem to plague Omega Prime.
The latest NFL collaboration has been announced, and they definitely look better than those shoe Transformers from a few years ago.
Supreme Optimus Prime came and went. Pour one out for our [luxury street wear cash grab brand that personifies the dark side of our hobby] homie.
We wrap up the episode with Bragging Rights that takes less time than you'd expect considering there are six people to go through.
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Category:Toy News Posted by:william-james88 Topic Options: View Discussion · Views: 79,601
TF fan Kevin posted images as a response to our post about Zuru’s Transformers themed blind balls. Now we know the content, which also includes a sticker, a card and kinetic sand. You can check the images below. These should be out in the US in the summer.
Category:Toy News Posted by:william-james88 Topic Options: View Discussion · Views: 81,413
There is a major issue with the torso sliding mechanism on the Haslab Omega Prime, which is causing internal breakage and cracks on the abdominal area. While the severity of results will differ from copy to copy, it is a structural issue, and anyone with the toy will see that this specific area of the toy requires more force than it should. Some people have opened up the body and found the fins that cause the friction all bent out of shape. We have images from various fans like Optionzero showing that.
Fellow Seibertronian ScottyP has a detailed fix below that should be done before attempting to transform the toy.
ScottyP wrote:Yeah they messed up the measurement on something by the tiniest degree, but when 90% of the assembly work is plastic on plastic, that can have nasty effects.
When the toy comes in, partially transform the cab of OP to inspect it but don't use the torso slider. At all. Don't try it. It has the high ground.
Assuming it isn't cracked already: Tools you will need
Small phillips-head screwdriver
Sandpaper or sanding sticks, maybe something around 400 grit
Optional - a second sandpaper or stick at a higher grit to do final cleanup. I used 1,000 grit
Towel or cotton swab to cleanup any plastic dust
Steps for Omega Prime Preventive Maintenance
Remove the head + backpack assembly. This is three screws. There is a pin in there, but it doesn't matter because only one end of it is gnarled. It will split down the middle.
Look at OP's back. Remove the two small screws from the back of the gray piece that connects to the arms. These two are smaller than the others, so set them aside in a different pile.
While still looking at OP's back, remove the four screws holding the torso together and separate the front and back sides.
Look at what's still assembled. The dark gray piece that was partially inside the torso is our target for this mission. This is where you should put the torso parts back on, but only one at a time just to get a feel for the fit. Notice how that dark gray piece feels way too tight? That's our problem. Those red inner teeth are going to be the minimum of what gets destroyed without doing this fix.
Hopefully obvious but just in case - set both torso parts aside again.
Optional but helpful - Remove the two screws from the middle joint that holds the pieces which slide in bot mode/fold over each other in cab mode, then separate the red middle piece and remove the gray part that is inside the torso when assembled.
Sand down the sides of said dark gray part a little bit.
Test fit it in the front and back of the torso to see if the dark gray piece can sit snugly without having to apply excessive force.
Test sliding action as best you can to see if the dark gray piece can slide snugly but easily without a massive amount of friction.
Repeat step 7 until satisfied with steps 8 and 9. This will take some iteration and you may have to judge it on vibes. You can do it.
When satisfied you've sanded enough, grab a high grit and polish up the sides a but, then remove any extra plastic dust. Don't breathe this! Remember, you're only cleaning up edges here, not grinding down further.
Put things back together, curse Hasbro, put it all down for a few hours, then come back and enjoy. Or skip some of those steps, up to you.
It's an easier fix than all that text makes it look. Annoying, but easy. Good luck out there y'all.
Categories:Cartoon News, Toy News Posted by:william-james88 Topic Options: View Discussion · Views: 102,890
We thank Sabreblade for posting about the recent episode for Takara's Wild King line. But that is not all he did, he has also been helping fansub these episodes. Below you will have the first two episodes in Japanese with notes on how to have English subtitles on Youtube. AND there is also an upload for those same episodes with fansubs. We have fan subs for the first 3 episodes and for the 4th, we have the Japanese upload which you can translate with the youtube trick highlighted.
We thank Sabrblade for his notes, and his help in the translation. Let us know if you likes these episodes!
Sabrblade wrote:The first two episodes of the Wild King cartoon have been uploaded by Takara in one video:
If you turn on the closed captions and switch the language to auto-translated English, you can get a not-terrible English translation of the dialogue with a decent understanding of what the characters are saying.
Also, at the end of the video is a toy advert for Optimus and Lightlong's toys, which shows the full transformation of each. Optimus's toy transformation is nigh identical to that of the Generations Thrilling 30 Legends class Optimus toy from 2013.
Sabrblade wrote:The fansubber uploaded a newly revised version of their fansub for the first two episodes. It's a much better translation quality overall. Still a few small typos here and there, and the episode titles in English are incorrect, but an overall significant improvement than before.
Sabrblade wrote:Fansub of Episode 3.
This time, I and a few others actually got to help contribute to this translation after reaching out to the fansubber to help polish it up. One minor typo slipped by us at the beginning ("Elemental Energy" should be "Element Energy"), but everything else is up to spec.
Sabrblade wrote:Episode 4: "The Kindhearted Hydrophant".
We get three new Energy Beast characters: the titular Hydrophant, a Spinosaurus with Earth-element Ground Energy, and a fire-element lion named Ignite Leo. The Spinosaurus's name is a bit tricky to determine at this point, but it's something like "Spirituan" or "Spirichuan" (スピリチュアン). Every Energy Beast has something related to their element in their names, but the ground/earth elemental aspect in his name doesn't seem to be as obvious.
Another unseen character, Drillnohorn, gets name-dropped in the episode by Lightlong.
Categories:Toy News, Reviews Posted by:william-james88 | Credit(s): see links in article Topic Options: View Discussion · Views: 73,263
Takara's exclusive Wild King line is out now and fans are posting images online. Many also got the free weapons kits that are redecos of the FOC Grimlock weapons in 4 different colors. While the images show us the various configurations, we also now get a sense of scale. Optimus and Megatron are voyager height, slightly taller than the generations Optimus toys from the recent lines. The limb bots are deluxe sized. The images do confirm that the limb bots don't differ much in tooling from on to the next aside from their front and back removeable animal bits. You'll let us know what you think!
Categories:Toy News, Collectibles Posted by:william-james88 | Credit(s): Entertainment Earth Topic Options: View Discussion · Views: 71,516
Have you ever seen those blind bag type spheres in stores? A few companies do it, like Zuru, and their next blind ball set will be Transformers themed. It will be a set of 10 non transforming figures and vehicles showing the main characters in their evergreen looks. The gold Bumblebee alt mode will be the chase. These should be out in late summer, you can check out the images below.
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