Transformers Unicron Transformation Video

I like that it can stay on the stand throughout the transformation.

this thing has so far to go

Much bigger than a basketball

I am so happy that I have backed this thing. It's even more impressive in person and I'm loving the fact that you can transform him while he remains on the stand too. They need to keep leaking more content every few days if they want to increase backers in time for the deadline. I still believe Hasbro will reach it's goal of 8000 backers, but to ensure it they should include an exclusive figure closely associated with Unicron from the '86 movie, similar to how Haslab included that heavily coveted Yakface figure. They should also leak preliminary packaging concept and box art to entice backers.

That photo of Takashi Kunihiro is just fantastic!!

Burn wrote:

william-james88 wrote: The only case where its beneficial is indeed with Unicron since that is not accessible anywhere else.
But for everything else, Hasbro Pulse doesnt do any favours to me more than it does to you, hence why I still never resorted to them. I preordered those sdcc revealed exclusives (like Refraktor) from a local importer/collectable because it was the cheaper option than going through them.
It would probably be the same or cheaper for me to use a mail forwarding service than order from Pulse directly. And you can use a mail forwarding service too.

YOU.HAVE.THE.OPTION.
Don't sit there and try to put you and I in the same boat. We're not. You actually have the option to access Hasbro Pulse. The rest of the world DOES NOT.

Is it the same as other services? Maybe, probably, I don't know for certain, but my point is, YOU.HAVE.THE.OPTION.

Some of us are hoping to hell some of our local online retailers can some how get Unicron so we don't have to deal with customs and import charges etc, markups etc.

Sure would be nice to deal directly with the source, but some of us don't have that option.

You are right, for sure. I mentioned Unicron, he is the one good thing Hasbro Pulse has done for Canadians. But he is very much the exception and at this point, I was hoping to show some solidarity, even if our situations arent identical.

All I was trying to say before you stepped in was that Hasbro has been stepping into the distribution directly with Pulse. It's mainly benefitted the US though, since the canadian option is still treated as an export and there is no option for other countries. But at least it's a starting point. I feel for you, of course, I don't want you to think I don't. I do wish we could have local/domestic versions of pulse, or associate programs with established local/domestic distributors to help us all.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Personally, as it is the 35th anniversary, I would have been happy with a G1 "reissue" style release of this guy:



Who wouldn't have need the sketchy practice of crowdfunding to begin with...

funny, I mentioned that this figure known as the Grail should be released in a very limited number for the 35th Anniversary of the movie to Ben and John at the Vince Dicola concert, if for nothing else to troll all of the people complaining about the WFC Unicron price and size.

Regimus Prime wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Personally, as it is the 35th anniversary, I would have been happy with a G1 "reissue" style release of this guy:



Who wouldn't have need the sketchy practice of crowdfunding to begin with...

funny, I mentioned that this figure known as the Grail should be released in a very limited number for the 35th Anniversary of the movie to Ben and John at the Vince Dicola concert, if for nothing else to troll all of the people complaining about the WFC Unicron price and size.

When I was a kid about the time before the 86 animated movie came out I heard a rumour of a sweepstakes for a chance to win a Unicron toy that was huge then it never happened years later I saw this prototype and thought that that was it and understood why it never happened

Ultra Markus wrote:When I was a kid about the time before the 86 animated movie came out I heard a rumour of a sweepstakes for a chance to win a Unicron toy that was huge then it never happened years later I saw this prototype and thought that that was it and understood why it never happened

Oh, the days of schoolyard rumors. Kids were vicious and cruel back then.

Sabrblade wrote:

Ultra Markus wrote:When I was a kid about the time before the 86 animated movie came out I heard a rumour of a sweepstakes for a chance to win a Unicron toy that was huge then it never happened years later I saw this prototype and thought that that was it and understood why it never happened

Oh, the days of schoolyard rumors. Kids were vicious and cruel back then.

I wish schoolyard rumours would be the only thing schoolkids could be victim of these days.

william-james88 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Ultra Markus wrote:When I was a kid about the time before the 86 animated movie came out I heard a rumour of a sweepstakes for a chance to win a Unicron toy that was huge then it never happened years later I saw this prototype and thought that that was it and understood why it never happened

Oh, the days of schoolyard rumors. Kids were vicious and cruel back then.

I wish schoolyard rumours would be the only thing schoolkids could be victim of these days.

I was kind of excited to envision such a toy but quickly forgot about it when fortress Maximus came out

2269.

24 days left.

Sabrblade wrote:

Ultra Markus wrote:When I was a kid about the time before the 86 animated movie came out I heard a rumour of a sweepstakes for a chance to win a Unicron toy that was huge then it never happened years later I saw this prototype and thought that that was it and understood why it never happened

Oh, the days of schoolyard rumors. Kids were vicious and cruel back then.

But my friend's mother's boss's cousin's dog walker's son totally owned one! He got it from his neighbor who worked for Hasbro and knew he liked Transformers!

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:No, no, no. I don't care what the comics say. Scorponok is a City Bot!

Except when he wasn't. He gets called a city bot, but he doesn't have a city mode. Metroplex, Trypticon, and Fort Max all have city modes, but not Scorponok. Did the cartoon even specifically call him a city?


But personally I want both a Titan and I guess a Commander class or a "old" Leader class to go with Titans Return PM Prime.

ZeroWolf wrote:I wonder how much the Neo Unicron would have retailed for though people would have derided that for accuracy to the movie version.

I'm guessing that if he had a proper appearance in BW Neo (I'm pretty sure he didn't, if he did I couldn't find pictures) the figure would have been at least accurate to that. We also know that the figure wasn't very big, at best it was a little bigger than an Ultra at the time (about the same height, but bulkier) so it wouldn't have been a particularly expensive figure.



Back on topic, Hasbro did say that if Unicron got funded they would look for ways to get it released internationally so there's that. Really putting a lot of pressure on us North Americans (and Japanese I guess).

Emerje

Emerje wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:No, no, no. I don't care what the comics say. Scorponok is a City Bot!

Except when he wasn't. He gets called a city bot, but he doesn't have a city mode. Metroplex, Trypticon, and Fort Max all have city modes, but not Scorponok. Did the cartoon even specifically call him a city?

base.PNG

base2.PNG

Emerje

Firstly, lets not be pedantic. A Decepticon "defence base" aka a Fortress, is just as much a City as Fort Max with his visible shin cannons on display in City Mode.

Secondly,



Around the 4:00 mark, Zarak refers to Scorponok as a City.

Regimus Prime wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Personally, as it is the 35th anniversary, I would have been happy with a G1 "reissue" style release of this guy:



Who wouldn't have need the sketchy practice of crowdfunding to begin with...

funny, I mentioned that this figure known as the Grail should be released in a very limited number for the 35th Anniversary of the movie to Ben and John at the Vince Dicola concert, if for nothing else to troll all of the people complaining about the WFC Unicron price and size.

There would be no trolling at all. This guy as a "reissue" would sell and was far more sought after than any Kickstarter. He would probably garner interest from a lot more than 8000 people with money to burn, too

You really don't like this unicron do you

ZeroWolf wrote:You really don't like this unicron do you

I have no problem with the figure itself. Personally, I simply take issue with the crowd funding model. Yet also with the almost elitist attitude of those that have backed this, against its detractors.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:You really don't like this unicron do you

I have no problem with the figure itself. Personally, I simply take issue with the crowd funding model. Yet also with the almost elitist attitude of those that have backed this, against its detractors.

Yeah, the crowdfunding model does look bad (at least to me). I would never purposefully fund money for a toy company just so they can make more toys. That's what buying Hasbro toys on the shelf is for. In my opinion, I think they should use their own money for production but it looks like Hasbro is preventing itself from losing money via crowdfunding.

OptimalOptimus2 wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:You really don't like this unicron do you

I have no problem with the figure itself. Personally, I simply take issue with the crowd funding model. Yet also with the almost elitist attitude of those that have backed this, against its detractors.

Yeah, the crowdfunding model does look bad (at least to me). I would never purposefully fund money for a toy company just so they can make more toys. That's what buying Hasbro toys on the shelf is for. In my opinion, I think they should use their own money for production but it looks like Hasbro is preventing itself from losing money via crowdfunding.

There was a company [October Toys] that acquired the license to Skeleton Warriors. They tried almost exclusively to fund the line through crowd funding. They got two figures into the line before the money dried up and they promptly vanished. Now they were a small time toy maker, smaller than Boss Fight Studios. They had little choice but to go down that road and even then couldn't make it work long term.

Hasbro could have made a regular release of Unicron, just as they did years ago with Armada. However, Jabba's Sail Barge gave them the option to change tact and basically make figures on demand. It is concerning for the number one toy maker in the world to even look towards crowd funding. Let alone the fact that with everything HasTak has produced there are always issues. From Marvel Legends to Masterpiece. I have no doubt at all this Unicron will not be the exception to the rule, either.

Emerje wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:I wonder how much the Neo Unicron would have retailed for though people would have derided that for accuracy to the movie version.

I'm guessing that if he had a proper appearance in BW Neo (I'm pretty sure he didn't, if he did I couldn't find pictures) the figure would have been at least accurate to that. We also know that the figure wasn't very big, at best it was a little bigger than an Ultra at the time (about the same height, but bulkier) so it wouldn't have been a particularly expensive figure.

BWN Unicron.PNG

Looks like it might have been about the height of Optimal Optimus, or maybe the two Car Robots Super class figures who were a bit bigger.

As for his appearance in BWNeo, he didn't have his physical body in that show (he was resurrected as a purely energy being), so he simply tried to make Cybertron his new body, possessing the planet only temporarily.

I did always wonder where they got the Neo design for him from? The closest the show got to a Unicron "Body" was a slightly altered Galvatron.

If you're an Australian Transformers fan that has been lamenting over how difficult it is to order a HasLab Unicron at a decent price then EB Games and Zing Pop Culture have a deal for you! That's right, Australian EB Games and Zing Pop Culture stores are currently taking orders for Unicron and they're offering what appears to be the best deal worldwide. That's right, even better than the HasLab crowdfund itself! Here's the deal: the price is only $848 AUD which is about $575 USD, the same exact price as HasLab is asking at the current exchange rate. All that they asks for is a $100 AUD deposit (refundable if the crowdfund fails), while HasLab expects the full price upfront. That's not all, EB Games is also offering free shipping, HasLab doesn't (unless you renew your Pulse Premium membership). And if you're like my parents and afraid to buy anything online then you can also walk right into an Australian store and place your order and pick it up there. Hows that for service?

This is a rare and exceptional deal for Australian fans so try to make the most of it! And if you do let us know in the Energon Pub forums below, we'd love to hear from you.

I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that this absolutely the best possible outcome for Australian fans.

A few online retailers have been taking orders, but with EB Games/Zing we have a national franchise (who have begun to start carrying more TF exclusives) to deal with offering much more stability, PLUS, it's in partnership directly with Hasbro with any pre-orders going towards the overall 8,000 total required.

Then we have time to save up. Oh that is such a deal maker!

If it gets funded ... I'm going to enjoy walking into my local EB Games to collect him, the young bloke working there geeked out a little when I went in to pick up Ectotron, I can only imagine what their reaction will be to Unicron.

And yes, that means I'm officially a +1.

If we had that kind of deal going here I would honestly consider buying two, that's more than enough time to tuck away enough to cover that.

Emerje

I wonder if EB in Canada is taking pre-orders in store? I see they finally put Ratchet pre-orders online at EBGames.ca.

Is there a post somewhere collecting all the options so for for international buyers?

I 100% agree with Burn.

and I'm another +1. I'm alittle, lot excited.

Fans here have spent the last 2 weeks investigating oddball international shipping forwarders, distant international friends, paying someone to receive it and forward it, taking it as a extra checked piece of luggage, all these ways of ordering and getting it here to Australia, then Zing/EB Games came through. I've been very impressed with some of their exclusives of late.


I might even consider buying a second but I'm going to find it very hard to justify.

So, we only have to put in $100 at first but then how does the rest get paid? Do we have to immediately after it gets funded?

Congrats my Aussie friends! This is fantastically fantastic news!

Burn wrote:PLUS, it's in partnership directly with Hasbro with any pre-orders going towards the overall 8,000 total required.

Is this confirmed anywhere? I want to be absolutely sure this is the case.

megatronus wrote:Congrats my Aussie friends! This is fantastically fantastic news!

Burn wrote:PLUS, it's in partnership directly with Hasbro with any pre-orders going towards the overall 8,000 total required.

Is this confirmed anywhere? I want to be absolutely sure this is the case.

EB Games only deals with Hasbro directly. And the fact that there is no markup goes with that as well. I would consider it now implicit that Hasbro is giving the wolrdwide option through partnership with EB Games, as they do their Masterpiece figures.

And on that note, congrats Burn, I am very happy for you.

I thought the HasLab stuff was only available for funding in the US though?
IT almost looks like there are a number of places putting together orders for if the crowd funding goes through but aren't including in the crowdfunding.

william-james88 wrote:

megatronus wrote:Congrats my Aussie friends! This is fantastically fantastic news!

Burn wrote:PLUS, it's in partnership directly with Hasbro with any pre-orders going towards the overall 8,000 total required.

Is this confirmed anywhere? I want to be absolutely sure this is the case.

EB Games only deals with Hasbro directly. And the fact that there is no markup goes with that as well. I would consider it now implicit that Hasbro is giving the wolrdwide option through partnership with EB Games, as they do their Masterpiece figures.

And on that note, congrats Burn, I am very happy for you.

I was unclear - what I want to confirm is whether the orders through EB Games will count towards the 8000 total. I don't doubt the partnership with Hasbro exists.

This is HUGE news! Congrats, my Ozzie friends on this deal.

If this were an option here in the USA, I would also 100% throw in my money. $100 this month, $100 next, month, etc would absolutely be affordable. But it's the single lump sum NOW that will 100% prevent me from buying into this.

As a quick note. If you buy through Hasbro Pulse, shipping to CONUS is free. It is specified in the Shipping Policy.

2317.

What numbers are people thinking that we'll get from this news about EB Games and Zing? Does anyone think that once the word gets out that we'll get an significant number of backers (like an extra 2K) from Australia?

Emerje wrote:That's right, even better than the HasLab crowdfund itself! Here's the deal: the price is only $848 AUD which is about $575 USD, the same exact price as HasLab is asking at the current exchange rate. All that they asks for is a $100 AUD deposit (refundable if the crowdfund fails), while HasLab expects the full price upfront.

False. HasLab does not charge anything up front. There is no deposit, and no money is expected unless the crowdfund is completely fulfilled. It is right in the agreement. I am not sure if this is a misunderstanding on the part of the poster, but it needs to be noted. Of course, you might be referring to overseas sales only, in which case I apologize for misunderstanding you.

DarthFoozar wrote:

Emerje wrote:That's right, even better than the HasLab crowdfund itself! Here's the deal: the price is only $848 AUD which is about $575 USD, the same exact price as HasLab is asking at the current exchange rate. All that they asks for is a $100 AUD deposit (refundable if the crowdfund fails), while HasLab expects the full price upfront.

False. HasLab does not charge anything up front. There is no deposit, and no money is expected unless the crowdfund is completely fulfilled. It is right in the agreement. I am not sure if this is a misunderstanding on the part of the poster, but it needs to be noted. Of course, you might be referring to overseas sales only, in which case I apologize for misunderstanding you.

By up front, he meant later this month if the project is a go. Australia doesnt have to pay more than 100$ until the toy is released (i think)

Found this on Twitter and thought it was funny;

That's amazing

william-james88 wrote:

DarthFoozar wrote:

Emerje wrote:That's right, even better than the HasLab crowdfund itself! Here's the deal: the price is only $848 AUD which is about $575 USD, the same exact price as HasLab is asking at the current exchange rate. All that they asks for is a $100 AUD deposit (refundable if the crowdfund fails), while HasLab expects the full price upfront.

False. HasLab does not charge anything up front. There is no deposit, and no money is expected unless the crowdfund is completely fulfilled. It is right in the agreement. I am not sure if this is a misunderstanding on the part of the poster, but it needs to be noted. Of course, you might be referring to overseas sales only, in which case I apologize for misunderstanding you.

By up front, he meant later this month if the project is a go. Australia doesnt have to pay more than 100$ until the toy is released (i think)

Correct. Paying in full in August 2019 instead of at release in 2021 is paying upfront, there's mo other way to describe it.

Emerje

Stargrave wrote:Found this on Twitter and thought it was funny;

Heh, 100 years ago was also both the year after World War I ended, and nine years after the wizard went to Oz.

Sabrblade wrote:

Stargrave wrote:Found this on Twitter and thought it was funny;

Heh, 100 years ago was also both the year after World War I ended, and nine years after the wizard went to Oz.

Wasnt the wizard already in Oz and Dorothy was the one who arrived?

Rainmaker wrote:So, we only have to put in $100 at first but then how does the rest get paid? Do we have to immediately after it gets funded?

Nope. Not until he's ready for release. So we have a good 18 months to put the money aside.
(I have already renamed an old account I wasn't using to "The Chaos Bringer")

megatronus wrote:

Burn wrote:PLUS, it's in partnership directly with Hasbro with any pre-orders going towards the overall 8,000 total required.

Is this confirmed anywhere? I want to be absolutely sure this is the case.

EB Games Unicron Page wrote:EB Games in partnership with Hasbro is giving you the opportunity to preorder the Cybertron Unicron figure locally, here in Australia, with all preorders counted towards the crowdfunding 'Backers' target. For this future to become a reality, Hasbro requires 8,000 backers worldwide and every order placed counts to this target! You have until August 31st so get your preorder today!

From here. Zing says the exact same thing, just changed the company name.

Rodimus Knight wrote:I thought the HasLab stuff was only available for funding in the US though?
IT almost looks like there are a number of places putting together orders for if the crowd funding goes through but aren't including in the crowdfunding.

EB Games/Zing have been building a relationship with Hasbro. They're the first non-US major retailer to come on board with HasLab so here's hoping other major retailers in other countries get in as well.
(Of course, Hasbro should have had this sorted BEFORE launching the campaign)

unicron1200 wrote:What numbers are people thinking that we'll get from this news about EB Games and Zing? Does anyone think that once the word gets out that we'll get an significant number of backers (like an extra 2K) from Australia?

lol ... no. I'd be surprised if we even contribute 1,000.

william-james88 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Stargrave wrote:Found this on Twitter and thought it was funny;

Heh, 100 years ago was also both the year after World War I ended, and nine years after the wizard went to Oz.

Wasnt the wizard already in Oz and Dorothy was the one who arrived?

She arrived after he did, as seen in the James Franco movie Disney made.

Australia definitely came out on the good end the deal, wow!

That's also awesome that they count towards the goal. Now if only other countries could get that kind of deal. If they did, we will make it for sure

As mordhelm pointed out... The claim that you need Hasbro Pulse Premium to get free shipping is false. It is included in the 575 price.

-Percepter

FYI, a question was asked of EB Games. Their orders DO count towards the 8,000, BUT, they won't be giving those numbers to Hasbro until August 31st (AU time I imagine).

So Australian orders won't show up on the counter until the last day or so.

Burn wrote:FYI, a question was asked of EB Games. Their orders DO count towards the 8,000, BUT, they won't be giving those numbers to Hasbro until August 31st (AU time I imagine).

So Australian orders won't show up on the counter until the last day or so.

So that is likely indicative of the other online retailers taking preorders for Unicron as well. Noice. It's a shame that it keeps us in the dark about the actual count, but still, Noice.

unicron1200 wrote:

Burn wrote:FYI, a question was asked of EB Games. Their orders DO count towards the 8,000, BUT, they won't be giving those numbers to Hasbro until August 31st (AU time I imagine).

So Australian orders won't show up on the counter until the last day or so.

So that is likely indicative of the other online retailers taking preorders for Unicron as well. Noice. It's a shame that it keeps us in the dark about the actual count, but still, Noice.

Not necessarily. EB Games/Zing are dealing directly with Hasbro, we know this for fact. The online retailers MAY be dealing with Hasbro, they may also just have individual employees ordering batches of five.