Love the design, the only problem i had with Ectotron was the headsculpt but with this they nailed that too.

 

anyone want Speed Racer crossover??

 

Personally this is a pretty extensive retool of ER Sideswipe Imho. Pretty much spot on of what the Delorean will look like as a fully transforming Autobot.

 

Im pretty sure almost everyone knows this but gigawatt has siege or cybervese primes gun

 

There's really very little of sideswipe still there to be honest. The entirety of the arms including the shoulders/hands and the upper legs plus crotch. Some of the internal framework that holds the figure together is probably reused too but it's hard to tell.
The entire body shell of the car is new and the entire lower leg section is new including the leg panels and the feet which look similar but are new parts.

 

Yeah, but that version also has the 2015 license plate.

 

Hmm. Yes, I will pay $800 for a toy that was suppose to go live for preorder yesterday

 

Never even seen the other 2 figures you're talking about. In any case the Junkion has been released with three different head sculpts and that one was originally from BotCon.

The other two are of course Wreck-Gar and a similar but different head sculpt which was released with a similar color scheme. I actually own that one as well and initially mistook it for that brown version with the different head till I compared Junkheap with the images of Scrapheap online. It doesn't help that their names are also very similar.

Where did they say that?

They said a variant would be released on October first. That's literally the definition of the word variant. If it's the exact same figure then it's not a variant.

And I'm still waiting for you to tell me where it said that only the packaging would be different. That press release doesn't say anything about what would actually be different only that a variant would be released. Zero information was given about what the variant would actually include.

Really? Because again they've done this literally thousands of times before. I don't think they care. Hell this one isn't even a huge deal because the exclusive is from Wal Mart. They've had more exclusive figures before that weren't in huge major chain stores. Even I have a Wal Mart... there's literally nothing else here except that damn Wal Mart. I have to go out of town to get to a Target, Toys R Us, Walgreens, or any other store... though we are suppose to be getting a Walgreens sometime in the near future but it seems like it's taking forever for that place to change over from Rite Aid.

Hell there's even entire molds that have never seen a mass retail release at all and only exist as exclusives. This is nothing compared to that.

I don't need to show evidence because my claims are SPECULATIVE. I never claimed to know for a fact what the variant would be. I only SPECULATED on what the differences COULD be.

You're the one claiming facts, you're the one who has to show evidence of those facts. I never claimed to know anything, I very clearly said this was only speculation and nothing more so I have nothing to prove. And as I said before, your claims would not be an issue if they were also speculative but you're claiming to know for a fact exactly what the variant is I am waiting to see your proof of that claim.

I can't because they didn't tell us anything about what the variant was. All I can do is speculate about what the variant MIGHT be.

And no they wouldn't have said that, and they didn't. They didn't say jack shit about it other than it'll be released in October. We'll have to wait to find out exactly what the variant actually is. Of course you claim to already know so HOW DO YOU KNOW!?

Who said anything about a stripped down figure? You keep assuming things that no one ever freaking said.

I have thought about it... it makes perfect sense. What you're saying makes no sense.

This isn't just a Hasbro thing by the way, this is a business strategy a LOT of different companies have been using for longer than any of us has even been alive. Even the freaking post office does it with stamps... FREAKING STAMPS!

If they start mass producing something that is suppose to be an exclusive then it's not an exclusive. Why would Hasbro tell us in the same press release that they plan on mass producing the exact same figure in October when the initial release is meant to be an exclusive? That makes no sense.

This happened in the past... not wish Hasbro, but with other collectibles where something was originally released in limited quantity as an exclusive only to later be mass produced. The problem is, as soon as they started mass producing people felt ripped off because they over paid for exclusive and then their value plummeted when they were no longer exclusives.

Hasbro telling us that more would be produced in a few months completely unchanged would be telling us... this isn't an exclusive at all and there is no variant. But Hasbro said there would be a VARIANT released in October they did not say that more of the exact same figure would be released in October. They said that this release was an EXCLUSIVE released in LIMITED QUANTITY to 1,954 pieces which is not actually true if they plan to release more of the exact same figure in October.

It says that in the freaking press release!

"A second variant release of the figure will be available starting October 1, 2020 via HasbroPulse.com and select retailers around the world"

Am I the only person who actually read it?

PROVE IT, where does it say that?

Here I'll do your job for you since apparently no one has actually read this thing.

"The GIGAWATT figure is available now for pre-order at Walmart.com with only 1,985 pieces available that feature an exclusive, limited edition numbered package in honor of the 35th anniversary of the first film's release – July 3, 1985."

I have a sneaking suspicion that part I highlighted there is the only thing you actually read. Here's the thing though. No where in there does it say that ONLY the packaging will be different. Just because that's the only part you actually read doesn't mean it's the only difference. That is you jumping to conclusions based on NOTHING. This doesn't actually tell us ANYTHING about what the difference is between this version and the second version that's coming in October.

Yes there will be a limited edition numbered package but that means absolutely nothing. Every limited edition item ever made has a number like that. That can't be the only difference because that number doesn't mean anything if we know there's more coming in October. We know there's a variant coming in October, they said there would be a variant. If nothing is changed then it's not a variant it's just more of the same thing.

I know what I'm talking about, I have no idea what YOU are talking about.

How did they botch it? That was one of the best years... At least as far as exclusives, cause honestly that's the only set I would actually want. The Shattered Glass that came later was pretty interesting too but BEAST WARS!

Nope it it was still called Botcon all way up till they closed.

Right which means they were officially licensed by Hasbro so what's your problem?

Hasbro owns the rights to the brand and the molds. If they were not Hasbro then they were illegally stealing their trade marks and would then be considered knock offs rather than officially licensed figures. You can't have it both ways. Either they're licensed by Hasbro or they have nothing to do with Hasbro make up your mind.

I haven't made any false claims... except that he didn't have Mr. Fusion, didn't realize it was a removable part and I already admitted to that mistake.

How does that even make me wrong? I never said anything about how many releases there were. The number of releases isn't even relevant, the point was about variants not about how many releases there were for that particular mold. You're really grasping at straws with that one. You completely missed the point of the example and turned it into something it wasn't in the first place.

OK I'll give you that one. Still not the point though.

Look... see this.



Toys R Us Exclusive.

See this.



Mass retail variant of the same figure. Different head, different paint job.

There are hundreds of other examples just like this going all the way to G1. I have yet to see a single example of a "variant" where only the packaging changed. Hasbro is famous for their repaints, retools, and remolds. They're not really known for releasing totally unchanged versions of the exact same figure in different packaging.

The only example I can think of where that happened is Armada Unicron and that's only because stores had an over stock of those things so they got repacked and put back on the shelves after they didn't sell the first time.

They didn't even do that for the Clones. And I think a lot of people would of been happy with totally unchanged figures in the new packaging because of how difficult it was to obtain the original release of those figures. One of of each clone was originally released in a Autobot vs. Decepticon 2 pack which I believe was also a Walgreens exclusive if I remember correctly. The only 2 were in $100 sets with mostly repaints of other figures most people already had and weren't willing to buy just to get the one clone that they each come with. If they were both released in 2 packs it probably wouldn't of been as big a deal as it was but as it was half of each set cost $100 each since you couldn't buy them individually. Those sets were also store exclusive at either Target or Toy R Us... I can't really remember but it's not important to my point. The important part is that you can now get the Decepticon clones at least. Hopefully they'll do the same thing with the Autobot clones, without paying over $100 for them. The much cheaper rerelease in the 2 pack of Pounce and Wingspan are not exactly the same as the original releases that came separately. They're very similar and until I looked at side by side images of them I didn't even notice they were repaints, but they are in fact repaints.

Even G1 Optimus Prime has several variants as he's been reissued multiple times at this point. He has the shorter smoke stacks for safety reasons cause Hasbro legally can't release him anymore with the longer smoke stacks he had in the 80's. There's a version that was released with a comic boon and electronic display stand which has painted on Autobot insignias rather than stickers... which is better since his stickers don't have a flat surface on his shoulders to stick to properly, a more recent version I've seen at Wal Mart which doesn't have the trailer and I believe is still using tampagraphs rather than stickers, and probably some other releases I've either forgot about or just didn't know existed. Some times the only difference with those figures is a slightly different shade of red or blue but there's always some variation otherwise there's really no point in releasing it again.

The whole point of these figures is so Hasbro can keep making money off the molds for as long as they can. If they don't change anything they can't really justify releasing it again because no one will have any reason to buy a figure they already own unless it's been altered in some way. No one in this fandom cares about the packaging cause it's TRANSFORMERS you're going to want to actually TRANSFORM the figure... Transformers might actually be the only franchise where no one displays these things in the packaging... unless you're buying multiple copies of figures, keeping one in package and transforming the other(s, plural if they have more than 2 modes) so you can display each figure in every mode.

I've got a G1 Soundwave in the box but that's mostly just because I put him in there with all his Cassettes so the loose parts wouldn't get lost and because I don't really have a spot to display them. Normally I don't keep the packaging, and the cassettes packaging I tossed, the plastic insert I tossed, literally all that's in there right now is a loose Soundwave a bunch of cassettes. They wouldn't all fit in there together with the insert cause of course Soundwave only came with Buzzsaw, all the other guys were separate... though without the insert there's more than enough room and then some... those plastic trays take up a lot more space than the toys do.

They'll be able to sell to people who missed out on the first release but they would of picked it up anyway. They can't sell something someone already owns cause they have no reason to buy it again. Unless there's something different with this version that makes them want to buy both versions.

I would of bought 3 of these things if they wanted to release it three times with variants based on each of the three movies. But we've got the first two movies represented here with some removable parts. Which is fine it doesn't actually change that much between the first two movies except for those parts. The only thing that's missing and would totally make it worth it to buy this mold twice would be a rusted repaint with a train hitch and a hood panel to replicate the Back to the Future 3 design.

It would also be interesting if they remolded Astrotrain into the time train from the end of that movie.

Back to the Future 3, parts of it at least, were filmed near where I live. The actual train they used to push the car up to 88 miles per hour is in walking distance from my house. It's weird seeing the train station in Lego form because that is an actual real world train station. It's currently mostly serves as a tourist trap, the train only runs a few miles and comes back to the same station, but they do still run.

I only bring this up because their gift shop is stocked with a lot of merch from Back to the Future 3 as well as other movies and TV shows that were filmed here so I wouldn't really have much of an issue getting the figures if they got them in stock there. It'd have to be related to trains or Back to the Future 3 though cause it is called "Rail Town" and it's the only one of those movies that was actually filmed here. They only promote the movie cause it's part of the history of the park... and it brings in revenue for the park. So yeah... they need to represent Back to the Future 3.

 

Any news when pre-orders will be live?

 

I do wish the hood transformed a bit more comprehensively - unlike Sideswipe's streamlined hood the DeLorean has a rather large, square, and boxy hood that makes the bot mode too square and boxy - but I guess it makes the thing look more G1. I can live with it.

 

Huh...neat.

I guess the size difference isn't too bad after all.

 

it came and went in 30 seconds, thanks to scalperbots... Now the wait until October 1st begins for the non-Walmart exclusive version.

 

For real?  

 

Reading this thread is like going through the 5 stages of grief

 

This turned into a real shitshow.

 

Ok but you'll miss Godzilla in September.

 

for real. Only two people got pre-orders in this entire thread, and there's a buttload of dingus scalpers on Ebay with them listing from $700 to $1985 dollars, with some with at least 5. All because Walmart sucks...

indeed

I'm still waiting for my volcanoes.

 

Scalping should be illegal

 

This argument is made every time... It's only scalping if someone pays the asking price. Can't blame resellers for collectors being impulsive. Once someone pays their price, scalping becomes fair game.