India Transformers Sightings

Please use this thread to report Transformers sightings in India.

Wow, zero posts here -- ever. Well, I just got back from a two week trip to India and I was surprised that I did find Transformers there. I couldn't find any in Delhi, but I did find a store in Bangalore on Brigade Rd. (Sapphire Toys) that had deluxe and leader class figures. I picked up a Barricade for ~$12 USD including taxes. It appears to be UK version of the toy, other than the "Funskool" sticker on the front and bottom of the package. I've included images of the ad that was on the outside of the store and of the package.

haha this hasnt been updated for 6 months! but just thought i'd post that its not a UK version...funskool india has introduced transformers in india, a joint venture between hasbro and MRF apparently...and its just as good as the original hasbro or takara versions, i believe...i have a movie deluxe bumblebee which i replaced with a premium series bumblebee and they both are identical, apart from the premium's 'super detailed deco' which is a bit different and more movie accurate.

Huh. I guess I assumed it was the UK version because the bottom talks about contacting the rep in the UK, but I didn't ever compare the package to the US version. So, basically I have the normal toy (which I expected) in the normal US packaging, but with some fancy stickers? Nice!

And I have no doubt the quality is the same, though I still have never opened it:



...and you can't even see the stickers in that picture... <sigh>

I live in India, the sideswipe was released

Man. No sightings reported here till now? Geez. I live in india and already all the dark of the moon toys have arrived here. They came here much before the movie even came out!

A relatively new collector who started collecting in the US and resumed after moving back to my home country. Let me tell you one thing, it is damn tough to find any good figures over here. With sporadic distribution, lack of multi brand stores, and disinterested sellers, it became my mission to locate the good and worthy stores where Transformers are available in decent variety, quantity and regularity.

I'm based in New Delhi, the capital city of India. I have finally zoned in on 3-4 (out of over 100 scouted) stores where the availability of Transformers and other toys and action figures is good. The sellers in these shops were motivated and genuinely interested in talking to me about everything in the store, about toys import partnerships, availability of Japanese niche products, cut throat competition in online retail etc. Other places had sales reps going through the motions of selling.

Cutting the long story short, I'm reviving this thread for all those hidden members on the boards who hail from these parts of the world. I know a couple of you are in Bangalore and Mumbai, but let's not stop that from pooling in our resources to get better stuff in the country.

My regular haunts in New delhi are -

Ram Chander and Sons, Connaught Place - Has a variety of toys, and the owner himself is a TF fan. I've been having some insightful conversations with him whenever I drop in. Recently landed DOTM HA Soundwave and FOC Shockwave from there.

Maya Toys, Aurobindo Marg - Flooded with PRID of all classes and varieties.

Toy Park, Karol Bagh - PRID and couple of DOTM deluxes. Scored DOTM HA Basic Icepick from here.

ToyLand, Shankar Market - PRID stuff here too, but I scored DOTM Nitro BB, Evilbee and HA Roadbuster last month.

I'll update this thread with whatever I find in the city as well as the country, but suffice it to say that the market is flooded with PRID lines with good availability of all figures, including Vehicons. Pity I am not into the Prime series or toys. A few DOTM toys can still be found here and there, and only this week a fresh batch of Generations FOC has started coming into some stores. Scored Optimus, Shockwave and Jazz all in a day. Plus next week's shipment supposedly has Fruticus coming in.

Lastly, and the biggest surprise is, the price of all deluxes is a standard INR549 all inclusive which comes out to ~$11. The DOTM HA Soundwae that I scored today, cost me only INR1499 ($27). Yay!!

hi guys,

I am planning a short vacation to India. Will be visiting my hometown, Trivandrum and a few days in Delhi and Bangalore. Are there any places where you get the Asian exclusive or Takara's TF toys?

You might find Hasbro Asian Exclusives at some stores and hobby shops, but TakaraTomy stuff is simply not there in India.

All the best! Have a great stay in India.