Hoping they do a Brawl and maybe a Bonecrusher as well
I need more tiny tanks in my life.

 

I hope these aren't hard to figure out which one is which by feeling them or something. All I really want is Starscream and Hound. They look the best to me right now. Watch me get a black BB or something I never wanted  

 

I'm curious if the figures have 3mm-compatible hands, cuz' they look like they have those. I have a good number of Kre-o weapons i want to try on those little guys. Especially on Crosshairs.

 

I can confirm that there is a little window on the back of the bags, so you can at least see the color, which on these makes them pretty easy to identify.

 

Sweet! Thanks! Are these little guys supposed to drop soon? I know they're out in some countries already.

 

Sighted at a Toys R Us and allegedly available (on unacceptable terms) at at least one Target in the Seattle area today. Sorry I can't be more specific, but when you have a stalker threat hanging over your head...  

 

They do have 3mm hands, but due to the type of plastic, the grip on them isn't totally consistent.

 

So it's abit loose?

 

Some are a little loose, some are a little tight. It's a flexible plastic so it's not exact.

 

So, some other things we know about future release... I used to be a consultant to the lead designer for one of a Hasbro subsidiary's produt lines way back, so I know how they operate.

Right off the bat, Hasbro generally likes to cut costs wherever they can--the Beancounters usually like at least 25% of any release after the first to be re-used sculpts to cut tooling costs. I'm surprised they started by doing "Doubletaps" right with Wave 1 this time, though--back when I was working with the A&A team, Rich liked to get around the sculpt limit by using a new sculpt twice in the same set so it was still something new, and not as much retread.

Do not that this basic list is not mine, I copy-pasted from a post here, but I am adding my own commentary about what to expect in bold italic.
Wave 1:
--Optimus Prime
--Double-tapped sculpt Bumblebee, Knight Strike Bumblebee
--Sideswipe
--Crosshairs
--Hound
--Double-tapped sculpt Grimlock, Shadow Armor Grimlock
--Starscream
--Soundwave
--Blackout
--Lockdown
10/12 = 83% new sculpts this set
Wave 2:
--Drift
--Mirage
--Sqweeks
--Megatron
--Shockwave
--Barricade
--Brawl
--Starscream redeco Thundercracker
--Blackout redeco Grindor (given that they don't know the difference between the Pave Low and it's bigger brother the Super Stallion, nor do they care going by previous Grindor as an unmodified Blackout redeco)
--Berserker/Crankcase
--Hot Rod
--Re-issue Knight Strike Bumblebee
9/12 (at best) = 75% new sculpts this set, 79% overall


Future Waves:Rumors
--Sentinel Prime
--Frenzy
--Jazz
--Ravage
--Scorponok
--Laserbeak
--Elita 1
--Jetfire
--Stinger
--The Fallen
--(Starscream redeco) Skywarp--'cause they're morons if they don't

I'm gonna need some help from you guys sorting sculpts by movie, but I think our first place to look for future waves is film characters not on the Wave 1/2 lists and other groups that are already partially or mostly represented like the Seekers. Personally I'm hoping for TF1 or G1 (or both!) Starscreams to show up... and since some piece of human garbage stole my Bot Shots collection (yeah, I was one of the few who liked those little guys) the roster from those might be a good start point too. (Does anybody still have the list on those by wave? I just found a large lot on eBay I'm thinking about buying to replace what was stolen.)

 

^That sucks about your Bot Shots! I had mine displayed until I moved to a new place a month or so ago. Some of the screws and pins rusted.
The uniformity makes them look good all lined up together. I even made a custom Bots Shots Landcross!

As for the Tiny Turbo Changers, it seems most retailers here are using black permanent marker to cover up the little window, and putting a "no feeling the packages" sign up. Or they put the box out and they will randomly select one for you at the counter. Not risking my NT$250 on a random draw.

 

Roller, here's some inside info: Hasbro always tries to pack two complete sets per case. How you exploit this is, find a buddy who also wants a set, and go halves on buying an entire sealed case.

 

So, I've done some WAG-ing in Excel with a spreadsheet, and here's how I'm sizing the line up. I'm not counting the Wave 2's as being confirmed for any version until I see 'em.

Transformers
Released/Confirmed New: S1 Blackout, S1 Bumblebee
Released/Confirmed Redeco/Rerelease: S1
Still Need: Bonecrusher (Buffalo MPCV new sculpt), Brawl (Mod. M1 Abrams new sculpt), '70s Camaro Bumblebee (new sculpt), Frenzy (boombox new sculpt), Ironhide (GMC Topkick new sculpt), Jazz (Pontiac Solstice new sculpt), Optimus Prime (Peterbilt 379), Ratchet (Hummer H2), Scorponok (robot scorpion) "USAF" Starscream (redeco)
Potential New Sculpts: 9 / Potential Redecos: 1

Revenge of The Fallen
Released/Confirmed New: S1 Bumblebee, S1 Starscream
Released/Confirmed Redeco/Rerelease: S2 *Grindor (Blackout sculpt), S1-S2 Knight Strike Bumblebee, S1 Sideswipe (Corvette Stingray)
Still Need: Arcee (Ducati 848), Brains (laptop), Chromia (Suzuki B-King), **Constructicons (too lazy to list 'em all, *multiple* Devastators worth), Insecticon (robo-bug), Ironhide (GMC Topkick new sculpt), Jetfire (Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird), Jolt (Chevy Volt), Mudflap (1/2 ice-cream truck), Mudflap (Chevy Trax), Optimus Prime (Peterbilt 379 w/SR-71 Blackbird parts), Ratchet (Hummer H2), Ravage (robotic jaguar), Scalpel (microscope), Scorponok, Sideways (Audi R8), Skids (1/2 ice-cream truck), Skids (Chevy Beat), Soundwave (Cybertron satellite), The Fallen (Cybertron whatever-he-is), Wheelie (toy Ford F150 monster truck)
*Note: CH-53E Super Stallion is a MUCH bigger aircraft than CH/HH/MH-53 Sea Stallion/Super Jolly Green Giant/Pave Low; because they're both similar-looking big Sikorskys with the same cockpit other than the PL avionics "chin and cigar" Hasbro lumps 'em together
**Note: It would be REALLY nice if they could make the Constructicons to both transform on their own AND combine into Devastator
Potential New Sculpts: BUTTLOAD / Potential Redecos: ?

Dark of the Moon
Released/Confirmed New: S1 Bumblebee, S1 Sideswipe (Corvette Stingray), S1 Soundwave (Mercedes SLS), S1 Starscream
Released/Confirmed Redeco/Rerelease:
Still Need: The Dreads (3x Chevy Suburban), Devcon (SCUD missile TEL), Ironhide (GMC Topkick new sculpt), Laserbeak (robot bird), Optimus Prime (Peterbilt 379 w/trailer--maybe this release just a trailer if they tool the Peterbilt right), Ratchet (Hummer H2), Sentinel Prime (Rosenbauer Panther), Shockwave (whatever-he-is), Space Case (Sukhoi Su-47 Berkut), Wheeljack (Mercedes E550), The Wreckers (3x Chevy Impala)
Potential New Sculpts: 11 to 12 / Potential Redecos: 4

Age of Extinction
Released/Confirmed New: S1 Bumblebee, S1 Optimus Prime, S1 Grimlock (robot T-rex), S1 Hound (Oshkosh SAM truck), S1 Lockdown (Lamborghini Aventador)
Released/Confirmed Redeco/Rerelease: S1
Still Need: '67 Camaro Bumblebee (new sculpt), Drift (Bugatti Veyron), Drift (Sikorsky S-97 Raider), Galvatron (Freightliner Argosy cab-over), Junkheap (Isuzu Giga trash truck), Optimus Prime (Marmon cab-over), Scorn (robot mutant Spinosaurus), Slug (robot Triceratops), Strafe (robot mutant Pteranodon), Traxes (?4x Chevy Trax, different colors), unknown McLaren MP4, unknown Aston Martin DBS
Potential New Sculpts: 12 / Potential Redecos: 3

The Last Knight
Released/Confirmed New: S1 Crosshairs, S1 Knight Strike Bumblebee, S1 Optimus Prime, S1 Shadow Armor Grimlock
Released/Confirmed Redeco/Rerelease:
Still Need: Canopy (unknown alt), Cogman (Aston Martin DB11), Dragonstorm (robot 3-head dragon), Hooligan (VW Van), Hot Rod (Citroen DS), Hot Rod (Lamborghini Centenario), Megatron (unk new alt), Mohawk (Confederate 61 bike), Nitro (A-10 Warthog), Onslaught (Western Star 4900 tow-truck; poss. Optimus mod?), Skullitron (robot wyvern), Sqweeks (Vespa scooter), Steelbane (robot wyvern - Skullitron redeco?)
Potential New Sculpts: 11 / Potential Redecos: maybe 1 or 2

Outside TCU
Released/Confirmed New: ?
Released/Confirmed Redeco/Rerelease: S2 Thundercracker (Starscream redeco)
Still Need: Skywarp (Starscream redeco), G1 Starscream (Starscream redeco)
Potential New Sculpts: ? / Potential Redecos: 2 or 3

Uncertain Version
Released/Confirmed New: S2 Barricade (black Saleen S281 or blue Ford Mustang, probably same sculpt either way), S2 Brawl, S2 Drift (Bugatti Veyron, Sikorsky S-97 Raider or Mercedes GTR), S2 Hot Rod (Citroen DS or Lamborghini Centenario), S2 Megatron (jet, tank or Mack truck), S2 Mirage (most likely Ferrari 458), S2 Sqweeks (most likely Vespa), S2 Berserker/Crankcase (if Crankcase, most likely Suburban)
Released/Confirmed Redeco/Rerelease:
Still Need:

Rumors
New: Elita-1 (MV Agusta F4 bike), Frenzy (boombox), Jetfire, Ravage, Scorponok
Redeco/Rerelease: ?