Seems to me that only 2 new figures for Prime are coming out soon.

Kup and Rumble.

Outside of those 2 DELUXE figures what other DELUXE figures are planned by Hasbro? Have we seen the end of this line already here in the States?

And before you mention the various Voyager Ultra Magnus , Skyquake , and Dreadwing I know they are coming out soon.

Seems like Japan has more planned then Hasbro right now concerning this line.

Also I noticed Shockwave is coming out for the Takara AM line and they just started the Generations line with TG Optimus and Jazz planned.

Have we seen the end of the AM line as well?

 

Kup and Rumble are Wave 5, and IIRC Wave 6 is all repacks.

There will *probably* be at least a wave 7 before the year is out.

I don't think the line is over as far as Hasbro are concerned, but it does seem to be pretty apparent it's not doing what Hasbro want, so they're probably just on a go slow while they figure out what to do.

Next year....i suspect we'll see a bigger focus on smaller toys, Bot Shots, Cyberverse....and more of the much bemoaned exclusives.

 

Great job Hasbro, instead of strengthening your main line you simple neglect it? 3P groups around the world are thanking you for your stupidity.

Wasn't Prime green lit for season 3 already? This show needs WAY more characters and WAY more figures. This is one fo the thinnest mainlines I have ever lived through...and Beast Machines had a small cast. Maybe once they finally get moving forward with story and Silas and his crew become that third "-MASTER"(spec on my part) faction we will see a lot of new characters/bots on the show and hopefully toys.

 

Really though how many more off screen characters can Prime push? Also at this point it is too early for repaints of every mold.

I think they need to introduce more characters to kick some life back into this line.

 

CGI kinda limits the number of characters they can have.

Animated was able to go wild with the number of TFs they guest-starred and introduced, but that is more difficult with a CGI show like Prime (or BW/BM), which is unfortunate for a merchandise based show like Transformers.

 

Never took that into account. Thank you for your input.

 

We have no idea what's going on past the first wave of the line refresh. Since we know the show's going on for another season, I think it's safe to assume that the toyline will be continuing as well, perhaps with a new name or something like that.

 

Considering how hard it is to get certain molds right now, I'm all for re-packs and keeping show characters in rotation 'til the day when every fan can get the characters they want.

 

At least people might get a second chance at First Edition Deluxes later this year and a chance to buy the Voyagers at a more reasonable price.

 

To be fair, there's is another known use of the Kup mold and at least 2 more Bumblebee repaints, but with the current situation that the show is in, this is it. Oh how Prime is lacking so much variety nowadays.

 

That was a prediction. You are calling Hasbro stupid based on someone's hypothetical.

 

Beast Wars had a ton of off screen characters as did Beast Machines, there's no reason why TF Prime can't as well.

I agree, after 40 or so episodes we REALLY need more characters in the show, even if they're just guest appearances every now and then.

 

Does Canada STILL not have RID Wave 2 BTW?


I think Hasbro put too much stock in what they could do w/o Paramount, nevermind on a channel with fairly limited viewing figures...that in turn may limit the budget for the cartoon.

IMO, it does need a wider cast though.

 

Not just a cast, but a wider audience. Putting Prime on say Cartoon Network would make toys fly off shelves much faster than on a channel that some people have to pay more for.

 

I'll be honest, the stupid fucking case assortment's didn't help. People gave up, because Hasbro has to know the retailers are stupid to buy so much of one stock, when the new wave comes out, that should be the only one and up they can purchase.
I really hope a lot of the flubs in this main line make Hasbro realize they had some fault's. Now I'm not saying "EF YU HASBLOW11!!!!!!one1111!!!one1!!!!" Or anything like that, I'm still buying their product, as mundane and cheap as it feels, for more money (-_-) but they did have lot's of faults with it. The first movie line was such a huge success, the case assortments were fine and you could find whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted. Yeah they were ordered more by retailers, but doesn't mean you can't make well stocked and assorted cases.

 

No, Hasbro has been dropping the ball lately. I know they are trying new things and doing A LOT of good.(I am not a HASBLOW guy) They just seem to be neglecting the property in terms of Deluxe Class and up.

I will admit, they got it going with the Cyberverse stuff and I guess Botshots have their charm too. But I am a main line collector and right now the pickings are very thin.

Prime the show is starting to get odd. You have this increasing number of Decpeticons (Vehicons and Insecticons anyone) and 4 bots over and over and over again. I think we have seen more bots from the past dying that actual Autobot characters on the screen.

What the show needs is a crew of Autobots to arrive (5ish) and change the landscape of the show.

Wave 2 Voyagers came out this week, Leader Class Prime and BB showed up two weeks ago. Deluxes? Still holding strong at wave 1.

Too soon. Waaaaay too soon. lol

 

Yes.
And it's on CN in other countries, so it's not impossible. I think this will happen, but when It's too late. Like after the show ends and the toy's are on sale.
Also, they don't really needed the exact CGI renders to make a new toy. Just make a design that fit's the aesthetic, or use some game/book characters, give them a working bio, and you're in business, just like Beast Wars/Machines and the movie figures. (say what you will about the movie's, aside from Dark of the Moon, those toys were a huge success.)

 

This.

Developing a full CGI model for a character on a show like Prime is so forbiddingly expensive you just can't do it just to fill out a background, or bring in a one-off character. That's why Skyquake got recycled into Dreadwing, Makeshift and Tailgate were barely seen (and likely unfinished models) and Seaspray never seen at all before being kablooied. And Cliffjumper got more airtime as a zombie than when he was alive.

Which of course leads to the dilemma of how to sell toys of the same 10 characters over and over again...

EDIT: By the way, here in Scandinavia we've still only seen wave ONE of the Prime toyline, so you guys don't know how good you have it. lol

 

Well, we've already gotten two retools in the deluxe line (Hot Shot from BB, Dead End from Wheeljack), we know of a possible third retool for Ratchet (different head in the instructions, like how most of the Generations head retools were found I.E. Skullgrin from Darkmount), there's a Stealth Bumblebee-esque repaint already in the pipeline, and it's only a matter of time before Arcee's deluxe gets the Flamewar treatment like her Cyberverse toy did. Oh, yeah, and the one show-accurate repaint; Tailgate, so far is only getting a repainted Clifjumper cyberverse when the perfectly good Cliffjumper deluxe would also deserves that repaint instead of Hasbro shoving another round of Bumblebees into a case assortment.

Well, part of the problem is how abysmally Hasbro is handling the Voyager sized toys. Dreadwing's wave is only NOW just hitting stores, Bulkhead and Starscream manage to be rarer than their First edition counterparts ever were at retail, and both Thundertron and Ultra Magnus are still a ways off.

 

this line has been so disappointing but really its Hasbro fault for not pushing it, yet ramming the DOTM line down the retailers throats