Reveal the Shield due Spring 2011 for the UK

Discussion in 'Transformers News and Rumors' started by Red leader, Nov 17, 2010.

  1. Fort Max

    Fort Max Too many is never enough. Veteran

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    Until I get a new job I'm going to be missing out on a lot of awesome toys no matter who is selling them. If some RTS figures come out here and get discounted then that's about all I'll be able to get.
     
  2. Mighty.Maximal

    Mighty.Maximal Banned

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    Hasbro don't seem to be showing much interest in distributing RPM twin packs either there's a big gap in the middle of the line - and all the singles & doubles i've seen in recent months have been in clearance retailers only ;

    I can only guess that some of them may have been American or Asian market only as I've never seen quite a few of them such as the long pointy Starscream for example (only seen the short fat one on a single card).

    It's interesting to see items previously only in twin packs now sold on single cards such as Mudflap & Skids.

    As for Stealth Force I think they are OK but I'll leave them on the tray when I buy them I won't be pushing them about.

    Though I might break that trend if they release the Speedstars Stealthforce Striker bike in the UK as I can see that working great as a ride for Gi Joe size figures. (if it's the correct scale?).

    The Autotransforming Optimus Prime is actually rather good fun for about a day - I'd not slag that off as it's rather clever really.
     
  3. Rotorstorm

    Rotorstorm Wreck n’ rule

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    I think thats part of the problem i think, in the uk transformers fiction is harder to come by besides the movie so the only things that sell are movie stuff (if the wave assortments are changed often enough, hasbro has a bad habit of shipping loads of the first 3 waves then not much if anything after that.) and G1 homages that fans and parents remember from when they were younger so pick for their children based on the nostaglia factor.

    This explains why animated shelfwarms (not enough promotion with the cartoon not well promoted on nicktoons and not aired on terrestrial tv as well as TRU UK over ordering the animated later non exclusive waves once they became discounted.)

    why wave 2 and 4 of ROTF has hung around longer than even wave 3 of universe did (a peculiar situation where they sold well until the assortment stayed the same for 6 months straight!)

    This is all not helped because fans have seen it happen many times before so opt to import as it at least guarantees getting the new product that otherwise may never appear on store shelves.

    Hasbro probably think that transformers don't do that well in this country as a result of these errors on their behalf (despite Toys R Us saying they're the most popular product of the past 25 years) and have decided to try their luck with stealth force even though it's going to fall flat because as mentioned earlier, it's simply underwhelming.
     
  4. Kraken

    Kraken Is a vegiesaurus, Lex. Veteran

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    Haasbro UK sucks so much ass it's unbelievable. That's it, as of now I officially will not buy another transformer from a bricks and mortar store (unless I can get up to Norwich at some point ;) ) all my shopping is gonna be done online through Kapow and eBay.

    Screw you Hasbro distribution department, screw you big time. :banghead: 
     
  5. Roanstalker

    Roanstalker Great Baan Gaan fan

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    Generations not coming here past Wave 2 sucks so bad. I guess I'll have to use Kapow now.
     
  6. bcm77

    bcm77 Not A Proper Fan.

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    Hasbro's attitude to European collectors is one of the reasons I don't bat an eyelid when 3rd party companies rip off their IP's.

    As a collector I learnt long before I got back into TF's that relying on retail stores to get stuff in the UK is an exercise in futility.

    Going the online route usually costs a bit more but it's much more reliable and saves a lot of wasted time and petrol money.
     
  7. Goatboy

    Goatboy Well-Known Member

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    Unfortunatly I'm starting to agree with bcm77. I want to buy from local brick and morter stores but the random nature of the distribution in the UK is a joke.
    *sigh* I just hope Kapow gets more stock of the PCC Dinobots and Kup and Scourge as there pre orders are sold out.
     
  8. Mighty.Maximal

    Mighty.Maximal Banned

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    The only problem with buying online is it's rather more hastle when you get a faulty toy. and you can't select a toy with a nice paint job.

    A current example would be Axer where a lot of them have wonkily placed Decepticon logos on the hood of the car.

    Toys R Us, ASDA and others don't really have much of an excuse though they could do a lot better job if they are ordering from other sources.

    ASDA does a shamefuly poor job of toy distribution.

    I've long wondered if I should write a short and cutting e-mail to ASDA that simply says why are you so much less capable of running a toy department that does not look like a discounter like The Factory Shop - full of unbranded tat and the same wave of stuff for months on end and despite Xmas being the largest buying season for toys their seasonal isles are full of Xmas tree decorations, and gift sets of chocolate or perfume and the toy isles of many ASDA are not on inch bigger than the rest of the year.

    Even the mediocre job of toy selling Tesco & Sainsbury's do outstrips the lackluster nature of Morrisons and ASDA's toy selections.

    They don't even have enough sense to stock lines that Sainsbury's & Tesco do well on turning over. I'm not expecting them to sell Leaders.

    But many ASDA's don't even sell Transformers Deluxes - even when they have equal square footage to TESCO branches in the same town.

    But they overstock on unbranded tat that does not sell one single unit for months on end.
    ASDA are incapable at selling toys in a sensible fashion it seems in anything other than big city branches..
     
  9. Skyquake87

    Skyquake87 Well-Known Member

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    This thread has answered a lot of indignation I've felt about hasbro's european arm. at least i now know where we stand. Still, a shame hasbro us seemingly think the rest of the world isn't worth spending any time or effort on. i guess there is the danger in the UK at least of swamping the market with too much product which, amusingly, seems to be the problem now with RPMs, Stealth Force, ROTF, Animated, Universe, PCC, HFTD and Generations all jostling for shelf space - a more considered approach might be to just keep to a core line that consumers can identify with and scrap everything else. lets face it, generations is an indulgent fan pleasing line anyway and not likely to be of interest to some kid who just wants a jazz toy like in the films.

    Anyway, to the point that you have eloquently made. I recently bought a box of used ROTF/ Universe Transformers toys from a seller on ebay who was getting rid of toys her son no longer wanted, that whilst still in good nick (i.e. there joints are still pretty good and there's no snot and mud on the things) did have a lot of parts missing - ball jointed feet, hands, panels as well as more traditional losses like missiles and missile launchers. Transformers are, I think, too complex with too many fiddly parts to whitstand rigourous play. I can quite understand that parent's reaction to her child requesting a new Transformer. A deluxe rrp's at around £15. Thats a fair bit of money to spend on something thats likely not to last out six months. At least, I think it is (but then i think TFs are getting too expensive now - £30 for a voyager? no thanks). I don't think its because children are playing with them in a particularly different way to when we played with ours, but the definite shift to improving posability and articulation reduces the toy's ability to be played with in the same way, as say a toy made five years previously.

    I think thats why Hasbro Europe are missing a trick. Instead of promoting the wretched Stealth Force, they should get on board with the PCC toys which are actively designed to be played with. I know a lot of older fans laugh them off as crude, unsophisticated lumps, but then they're completely missing the point that toys are supposed to be played with - not left mouldering on a shelf for all eternity.The PCC range seems to me to designed with children in mind, they are tough, durable little figures and are relatively inexpensive from Argos at the moment (20% off the rrp since mid October). They are also great fun, with the combination and exchangable drone limbs. I think its such a shame that they are not making more of a fuss over the range and bigging up the play patterns with these toys. As much as it pains me to admit it , the Armada/Energon/Cybertron ranges seemed much more of a hit with parents because they were simpler toys and could take some hammer, which is one of the reasons those lines did so well.
     
  10. Gingerchris

    Gingerchris Telly-headed Tyrant

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    Yeah, it seems there's a critical point when a figure goes from being nicely intricate and well-articulated to something that cannot stand up particularly well to normal child play. I know if I was a parent buying figures that were always coming apart and bits getting lost I'd quickly stop buying from that toyline. Of course that doesn't mean things have to go too far back the other way and all we get here are Stealth Force and whatever.
    You probably won't have any success. I sent several emails to Assda trying to get Generations stocked in my local branch and all that happened was they sent me loads of emails thanking me for my email and nothing concerning Generations ever actually happened.
    Still, give it a whirl. Sending them your less than complimentary opinions of them is good for the soul at least.
     
  11. Bass X0

    Bass X0 Captain Commando

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    Probably not a typo, eh?

    Anyway, this makes me feel better about getting Generations toys from China - I have Thunderwing on his way. Should recieve him sometime next week.
     
  12. Gingerchris

    Gingerchris Telly-headed Tyrant

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    Indeed not. :D 

    As much as I've really tried to resist it I guess I'm going to have to give up trying to track down TF in normal stores and start buying online. I sometimes pick up bits here and there from my local(ish) brick and mortar import shop but I'd much prefer the hunt and non-import prices that occur with official UK releases.
    I'd love to give the mainstream stores here and Hasbro my cash the traditional way but they're determined that I can't. Clicking a mouse and then waiting however long and hoping the postal sevice doesn't lose, steal or damage my ordered item just isn't as satisfying as wandering into a store and finding a new figure to buy. Or being able to easily return something faulty. I suppose at least there'll be the satisfaction that I'll actually be able to get the products I want by buying online though.
    End of an era for me I guess.
    Either that or I just jack the whole thing in.
     
  13. Skyquake87

    Skyquake87 Well-Known Member

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    I like picking up toys from shops too. Its much nicer to flick through the racks (er, or pegs) and see whats out there (Home Bargains has become another source for me over the last few years). i think knowing that we will miss out on some toys has just put me in the frame of mind of just getting the decent figures of what's available. I would like HFTD Terradive and Tomahawk figures (for example - them being the only apparent new mould figures in the current Deluxe offering), but if i can't get them at more reasonable UK rrp's (well, i say reasonable, deluxes are what £13 normally?) then i'll go without. its not life or death.
     
  14. Bass X0

    Bass X0 Captain Commando

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    I got my Thunderwing for just over £18 from Ebay.

    Thats £13 retail cost plus travel costs to go to the store to get him if he were to be released here. The difference is the cost of getting a toy much earlier or in this case the toy not being sold at retail here. Neither do I have to waste time keep going to the stores to see if a toy is there or not.

    £18 does sound a lot for a deluxe but it can be justified if you think about things like travel costs and stuff.
     
  15. Fort Max

    Fort Max Too many is never enough. Veteran

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    Depends how far do you have to go to get to the shops though.

    Personally, for as long as I'm out of work this hobby is just too expensive, just under £20 a throw for a deluxe is too much money.