I don’t know if Hasbro would do that as it’s apparently illegal in the U.S. to put something inside food that isn’t food and has nothing to do with that food. Popsicle sticks, sticks from corn dogs and the like are ok, but not toys. I like the idea though, maybe they can do it for other world markets.

I just noticed the sword as well. That put him on the want list.

I think you’re right about the red guy, it looks like he has a guitar/bass neck and headstock on his chest. And I think that’s an Amp way over to the left as well. Gonna get a complete band out of these guys.

 

The Pineapple one is fantastic! I didn't notice the sword Nemi.

 

Ah the whole Kinder egg law. They can always pack it in the box with the egg rather than in the egg. In Europe we got flavoured water with little RID figures in it - I wonder if they were illegal in the US too - since technically the toy can be seen as attached to it not in it.

I just mentioned an egg as it's an obvious ommision (as is a traditional wrapped Xmas gift with a bow on it - or even a bunch of flowers) or a heart shaped box of chocs.

You know what they could do - if they were smart... Team up with someone like Chocolate makers and do actual size Transforming 'Qualtity Street'
with a nice shiny wrapper effect on the decos - they'd look neat. Pack them in with the real chocolates or put one inside each tin (though perhaps seperately bagged) - not that I expect Hasbro UK has the wit to do something creative like that - but existing mould could be lent out to someone like Kenningtons to use - as they are Hasbro's more regular brand partner for chocolate products and character mugs.

Speaking of which mugs and shirts would be fun to have for Bot Bots.

the fella in the top left of the instruments photo reminded me of a Vintage style radio - could be an amp though quite easily.

 

Ooohhhhh... I'm still gonna pretend it's a Dilophosaur.

 

Building out the prior list with new info:

Series 2 has one apparent complete reissue, and adds 37 new.
Series 2 8-packs
---Spoiled Rottens: Big Cantuna, Sour Wing, Grumpy Clumpy, Atomic Freeze
---Swag Stylers: Ollie Bite, Frizzle Fry, Chic Cheek, Prince Perfumius
Series 2 5-packs:
---Shed Heads: Grrr'ila Grimes, Tool Bag, Drillit Yaself, Spots the Rock
---Music Mob: Pink Key Pop, Dizzy Bones, Dumbeats, Songwave, Grampiano
---Backpack Bunch: Bottocorrect, Steve From Accounting, Short Edge, Bogus Pocus
Series 2 single (*=co-pack)
---Spoiled Rottens: *Grumpy Clumpy, *Atomic Freeze
---Techie Team: Glitchface, Technotic Sonic, TV Cop
---Toilet Troop: Capt Swoon, Poo Sham (reissue?)
---Sugar Shocks: Javasaurus Rex, King Candyhooves, Sippyberry
---Music Mob: *Songwave, *Pink Key Pop, *Dumbeats
---Jock Squad: The In-Sole, Tropic Guzzlerush, Ice Sight
---Greaser Gang: Sir Botcha, Must Turd
---Swag Stylers: *Frizzle Fry, *Ollie Bite
---Shed Heads: Sandy Man
---Lost Bots: Hamurai, PB Junior, Over Pack

Series 3 adds 32 new.
Series 3 8-packs
---Goo Goo Groupies: Shushifier, Bottle O-Tears, Nampy, Crib Watch, Highroller
---Fresh Squeezes: Bunches, Trend Blend, Avocando, Sensei Spiney, Smerg the Sad
Series 3 5-packs:
---Playroom Posse: Pop-O the Clown, Quackles, Q.U.R.O.B.O 6000, Cuddle Wuddle, Kikmee
---Season Greeters: Yule B. Bored, Sugar Breath, Stringaling, Meltz Down
Series 3 single
---Goo-Goo Groupies: Drippy Pup, *Nampy, *Shushifier
---Lost Bots: Greeny Rex, Strike Four
---Spoiled Rottens: Slimey Slurps, Disgusto Desserto
---Swag Stylers: Makeover N. Over
---Sugar Shocks: Treat Elite, Choc-o-Lawless
---Jock Squad or Season Greeters: *Meltz Down
---Fresh Squeezes: *Sensei Spiney, Latte Spice Whirl, *Smerg the Sad
---Music Mob: Dingledeedoo, Axwell, Calamity Keys
---Playroom Posse: D-Pad Chad, *Quackles, *Q.U.R.O.B.O 6000

Observations from pics:

Spoiled Rottens
---new sculpts: milk carton, pear/apple, tuna can, cheese
---redecoes: 2x Sippy Slurps, Plopfather, Angry Cheese, Venus Frogtrap

Music Mob
---new sculpts: speaker, 2x drum set, 2x piano, 3 whatevers at top center, bottom center and bottom right
---redecoes: Clogstopper, Pucksie

Swag Stylers
---new sculpts: 2x crown-top perfume, watch, backpack, 3 whatever-they-ares on left
---redecoes: Wellread, Dimlit

Fresh Squeezes
---new sculpts: pineapple, grapes, avocado
---redeco: Rootwing, two(?) Sippy Slurps

Playroom Posse
---new sculpts: teddy bear, jack-in-the-box, purple-and-yellow thing, duck, soccer ball
---redeco: ?Screenfiend-looking red guy on right

Season Greeters
---new sculpts: tree, candy corn, pumpkin, snowman
---redecoes: Goob Tube, Frohawk

Goo Goo Groupies
---new sculpts: baby bottle, pacifier, 2 bots at center-left whatever they are, stroller (Highroller)
---redeco: Screenfiend

These 69 new bots (and I'm sure there are more to these waves unrevealed) now account for 130 out of 190-ish when combined with Series 1.

 

Personally not really a fan of them and it's been ages since I've had any but........weird. Not real Licorice "OMG WHAT PITS OF HELL SPAWNED THIS STUFF!!" kind of weird but it's one of those candies you either like it or ya don't. It's sweet with I guess an artificial corn kind of taste. Texture you'd think it'd get stuck to your teeth but it's more like a chewy cookie if you made it out of gummies. Sorry if that's confusing but Candy Corn is just weird.

Why not both? It's rotten apple Dilophosaurus. It'll probably be pretty small so who's going to really argue Dragon vs Dino.

 

We have kinder egg type things in the US. Its a different brand called Yeti. And we have Kinder Surprise.

 

Guys, I don't think Poo Sham is a re-issue. In the earlier art image of all those Botbots we've discussed for a while now, there's a pink Poosham redeco you can just see the bottom half of near the top left corner. They're reusing the name, but it'll be different colors.

 

I want that Candy Corn one!

 

I also immediately thought of Dilophosaurus as well. Jurassic Park's (very innacurate) portrayal has been etched in my mind-more so that I recently rewatched the original trilogy!

 

Okay, so to both help me and others, I'm trying to match all the names to the new toys, both seen and unseen. Some are really obvious, others I'm a bit unsure about, others I have no clue. Help on the ???s would be appreciated, the Swag Stylers are tough to pin down in particular:

*EDITED 2/14*

SERIES 2:
SPOILED ROTTENS:
Sour Wing-- rotten apple
Grumpy Clumpy-- milk box (red/white bot near the back)
Atomic Freeze-- Red Sippy Slurps redeco
Big Cantuna-- One of the two sardine cans
Slimey Slurps-- Green Sippy Slurps redeco
Disgusto Desserto-- Plopfather redeco
Name Unknown-- moldy cheese
Name Unknown-- Other sardine can
Name Unknown-- Venus Frogtrap redeco
Name Unknown-- rotten sandwich, Angry Cheese redeco

SWAG STYLERS:
Ollie Byte-- Shark/I don't know what that jewelry thing is
Frizzle Fry-- Hair drier
Chic Cheek-- ???
Prince Perfumus-- Purple perfume bottle
Name Unknown-- Pink/red perfume bottle
Name Unknown-- Ring
Name Unknown-- Other ring
Name Unknown-- Watch
Name Unknown-- Backpack, Overpack redeco

MUSIC MOB:
Pink Key Pop-- pink keyboard (seen near top of picture)
Dizzy Bones-- maraca
Dumbeats-- One of the two drumsets
Songwave-- speaker
Grampiano-- One of the two pianoes
Name Unknown-- gray Pucksie redeco
Name Unknown-- Other drumset

SHED HEADS:
Grrr'ila Grimes-- ???
Tool Bag-- Totes Magotes redeco from art
Drillit Yaself-- Unseen, Major Lee Screwge redeco
Spots the Rock-- Unseen, Slobber Rock redeco

BACKPACK BUNCH:
Bottocorrect-- Unseen, Screen Fiend or Ms. Take redeco???
Steve From Accounting-- Unseen, calculator???
Short Edge-- Unseen, ruler, redeco of Slappyhappy???
Bogus Pocus-- Ms. Take redeco???

SINGLE-PACK EXCLUSIVES:
Glitchface (Techie Team)-- Screen Fiend redeco
Technotic Sonic (Techie Team)-- Songwave redeco
TV Cop (Techie Team)-- Goob Toob redeco
Captain Swoon (Toilet Troop)-- Sudsbeard pink redeco from art
Poo Sham v2 (Toilet Troop)-- Poo Sham v1 pink redeco from art
Javasaurus Rex (Sugar Shocks)-- Cup of java, new mold
King Candyhooves (Sugar Shocks)-- Unilla Icequeencone redeco
Sippyberry (Sugar Shocks)-- Sippy Slurps redeco
The In-Sole (Jock Squad)-- Athletic shoe
Tropic Guzzlerush (Jock Squad)-- Unseen, Arctic Guzzlerush redeco
Ice Sight (Jock Squad)-- Protective Goggles, remold of Dr. Moggly
Sir Botcha (Greaser Gang)-- Sriracha bottle, new mold
Must Turd (Greaser Gang)-- Fottle Barts redeco
Sandy Man (Shed Heads)-- Unseen, Grit Sandwood redeco
Hamurai (Lost Bots)-- The skull-faced ham from the art
PB Junior (Lost Bots)-- The Angry Cheese PBJ redeco from the art
Over Pack (Lost Bots)-- Backpack

SERIES 3:
PLAYROOM POSSE:
Pop-O The Clown--Jack-in-the-box
Q.U.R.O.B.O. 6000-- By process of elimination, the yellow/green/purple thing in the middle of the picture
Cuddle Wuddle-- teddy bear
Kikmee-- soccer ball
Quackles-- rubber duck

SEASON GREETERS:
Yule B. Bored-- Christmas Tree
Sugar Breath-- candy corn
Stringaling-- Silly String can, redeco of Frohawk
Meltz Down-- Snowman
Name Unknown-- Yuletide Log TV, redeco of Goob Tub

GOO GOO GROUPIES:
Shushifier-- pacifier
Bottle O-Tears-- baby bottle
Nampy-- By process of elimination, whatever that blue-and-yellow bot is with the large shell halves
Crib Watch-- baby listening monitor, redeco of Screen Fiend
Highroller-- stroller

FRESH SQUEESES:
Bunches-- grapes
Trend Blend-- smoothie, green Sippy Slurps redeco
Avocando-- avocado
Sensei Spiney-- pineapple
Smerg the Sad-- By process of elimination, the Rootwing redeco ("Smerg" is probably a play on "Smaug" from LOTR)

SINGLE-PACK EXCLUSIVES:
Drippy Pup (Goo Goo Groupies)-- The dog in the center of the Goo Goo Groupies Pic. Not sure what it turns into.
Greeny Rex (Lost Bots)-- Unseen, Stinkosaurus Rex redeco?
Strike Four (Lost Bots)-- Blue Batsby redeco from the art
Makeover N. Over (Swag Stylers)-- Professor Wellread redeco as a makeup kit?
Treat Elite (Sugar Shocks)-- ???
Choc-O-Lawless (Sugar Shocks)-- Unseen, Remorsel redeco
Halloween Knight (Season Greeters)-- Jack O' Lantern
Citrus Guzzlerush (Jock Squad)-- Unseen, Arctic Guzzlerush redeco
Terror Tale Torch (Jock Squad)-- ???
Rink Stink (Jock Squad)-- Unseen, maybe another Pucksie redeco, or possibly an ice skate???
Latte Spice Whirl (Fresh Squeeses)-- orange/brown Sippy Slurps redeco
Dingledeedo (Music Mob)-- Bell, redeco of Clogstopper
Axwell (Music Mob)-- Red guitar (see lower right-hand corner of pic)
Calamity Keys (Music Mob)-- The other piano
D-Pad Chad (Playroom Posse)-- Speak'n Spell-kinda thing; red and yellow

EDIT: Take it back, you're correct, Crib Watch is a Screen Fiend redeco.
It would appear they're getting a LOT of mileage out of Sippy Slurps, though (or at least his general design).

 

Comments bold, some formatting to breakup text wall  

Groups without comment snipped.

 

Fixed "grand" mistake.

I thought so at first, but look carefully--the one in robot mode is teal and gold, the one in can mode is silver, pink and purple. (The one in can mode also has black eyes, the one in bot mode yellow.) They're definitely two different toys.

Possibly, but Hasbro usually does some kinda of play on words, I don't think they'd literally call a tool bag "Tool Bag". Not quite sure what to make of that one.

Good call, did not think of that. That's definitely Grumpy Clumpy, then.

 

@Beastbot X Not so much mistake, just a bit of trivia--very few folks know the differences and I'm kinda fuzzy on 'em myself, just that grands are big enough to roger your significant other on   and the world's tallest man was so big it took repurposing the case from one to get a coffin big enough for him.

 

I found some of these first the first time today. It was the five packs. However I don't really understand the distribution in the packs as there seems to be quite an overlap between them. I'd assumed that each pack would have set figures in (apart from the blind one, of course), and you could just buy packs and get four in one pack and then four different in a different pack and so on and build up a collection without duplication apart from possibly the blind figure. But each of the packs had at least one visible that was also visible in another pack, so if I bought all the different packs I'd end up with several duplicates. Surely the point of the packs is to make it easier to collect these without much duplication? At £10 per five pack, with one blind and at least one visible duplicate to another five pack, that kinda puts me off buying any at all. In the end after ten minutes of umming and ahhing I left the store without buying any.

I don't know if I'm explaining all that very well. Does that make sense?

 

sadly for our wallets, duplicates are unavoidable if you want a complete set, even the guides out there showing how to get a complete set focus on minimizing your dupes. The dupes are supposedly to encourage trading and I believe there is a trading thread somewhere in this forum...

 

That's unfortunate. Also really not into the hassle of trading and there'll always be some super rare figures that nobody will want to part with and a glut of common figures nobody will want to take.

Forcing duplicates onto the customer in multipacks is a crappy move really when it's not particularly cheap to buy these things and there's going to be a large number to collect. I might buy one pack new, just because there won't be any duplicates. Or maybe more if they go into deep discount later on. Handled differently I'd have likely been all over these.

I think I'll mainly just wait and see what the car boot sales turn up over the next year. These are just the kind of toys that will be like 10p each on somebody's stall at some point. I amassed a huge Bakugan collection that way.
I'm disappointed more than anything.

 

Blind bag toys are the same business model as baseball cards. You get duplicates there too. You do what kids have done with their duplicates for 100 years: find a friend who collects them too and trade. The more friends that you have who collect them, the better your odds of trading off your duplicates.

Of course, that's a little harder when you're an adult buying these. You might get arrested hanging out on the playground with your BotBots. LOL

 

It's not the 'blind' aspect of these that bugs me. It's the visible figures in the multipacks overlapping with the others in multipacks. With blind buying you pay your money and take your chance (unless you're feeling out Lego Minifigure packs). With these though you can already see through the bubble that you're going to end up with specific duplicates. In which case I don't feel the need to willingly buy that situation. It'd almost be better if the entire of the multipacks were blind too.

 

Chris, this is just the latest in the long history of Dick Moves by a company that's devoted itself to making them an art form. You're not gonna change it, the options are bite the bullet or walk away.  

We DO have a Barter Thread here...