Some of you may well remember UK fans moaning that Combiner Wars Wave 2 was skipped at UK retail in early 2015.

Cases of a revision wave have been showing up at UK retail for £6.99 as Omegastooprime reports in the UK Sightings Thread

The cases are definitely grey imports, as we didn't receive the "with comics" versions in the UK. Nobody has reported which importer has brought these in either. The case assortment a revision of the Wave 2 case, which features the comic version of Dragstrip in place of one or both the Air Raids. Nobody has reported finding Air Raid yet.

The toys have been found at a chain called Guess How Much? a discount store I hadn't heard of before. No location was given in the initial report but I've seen this photo taken in their Doncaster store tonight:



They've not many stores, see their store locator for details but if one discount chain has them the chances are others will soon.

What with CW Sky Lynx & Blackjack showing up at TK Maxx too the 2016 Silly Season has got off to a decent start here.

 

Who really saw this coming.

first I saw some of the Wave 3 CW deluxes at a K-Mart on the weekend, now this.

 

Does this really count as released in the UK? Like I've not seen that shop in the entire North West and have also never heard of it

 

My friend bought some of the toys and supplies the information I asked for. Yes, Air Raid is in the assortment, making it This revision case which BBTS had featuring 1 Dragstrip, 1 Air Raid and 2 each of Dead End, Breakdown & Off Road.



The rear shows the import label:



And it's our old friends MBC of Chorleywood with grey importing form going back over 20 years!

 

No, not UK released as it's not Hasbro UK stock.

HOWEVER, there's a long history of stock being grey imported, and a lot of it was done by the firm who's brought these in. If they've got them the likes of B&M, TK Maxx and Home Bargains will probably have them shortly. At this time of year places like TRU & the supermarkets also end up with grey imported stock, hence the phrase silly season, as they try to fill their shelves. Grey imports account for the B&M Voyagers last year and the Prime Voyagers before that. In the more distant past the Christmas 1998 BW Grimlocks & Fuzors and the vast majority of the post wave 1 Beast Machines in the UK also came into the country that way.

 

Good Lord is distribution bungled all over. That or these were deliberately concealed to make it look like they were selling faster/better than they really were. Because who the hell would've jumped through even a single hoop if they'd known they could get them for $7?*

*Yeah yeah I know £ but aren't the British always complaining about a 1:1 ratio in spite of whatever actual exchange rate is in place?

 

They might show up at B&M/Home Bargains as well then.

Need a new Motormaster, mine has became far too loose.

 

Thanks @payres you are god among us nerds  

 

Nah, just been interested in grey imports as a topic for years, ever since the Chinese stocks came over in the early 90s and gave us load of toys we'd never previously had. I can remember walking into a pop up shop in the Woking shopping centre Christmas 94 and seeing LOADS of Chinese Headmasters and Japanese carded GI Joes. IIRC MBC were involved then. In the late 90s Hasbro UK mucked up the Star Wars line, a license to print money, by not bringing in new figures. MBC brought in case loads which Woolworths snapped up.

In effect there's three tiers to how you might obtain a TF in a shop in the UK:

Hasbro UK release - what you'd see normally.

Grey Import - overseas stock, bought in by an import firm and sold, these days, mainly in discounters. Almost always a label on the back saying who bought it in & distributed it.

Comic/Speciality Shop imports - what's for sale in FP & the like, that's been specially imported in. Usually higher prices.

 

By comparison CW deluxe were £14.99 and Titans deluxe are somewhere between that and £20!

 

Hell of a price. I'm originally from England and I think I remember/a deluxe costing my dad around 8 pounds when he got me Waspinator in the 90s. Also this kind of reminds me of finding Fuzors Silverbolts for 3 quid in Sterling Save, I suppose that was the doing of this awesome import company.

 

>_<

 

I love the store name!  

Reminds me of shopping at Walmart or a TRU with broken price-checkers.

I sure hope something MAGICAL like this happens in the USA this Xmas season!  

 

Incomplete list of grey imports availabe in the UK:

Dark of the Moon Deluxe Bumblebee - United States/Australian/New Zealand/Asian packaging - weird version with orange windows (also found in the Netherlands)

Beast Hunters Voyager Shockwave - United States/Australian/New Zealand/Asian packaging

Thrilling 30 Leader Jetfire - United States/Australian/New Zealand/Asina packaging
All Thrilling 30 Voyagers plus Fall of Cybertron Blaster - United States/Australian/New Zealand/Asian packaging
The final two waves of the Thrilling 30 Legends two-packs (Gears, Acid Storm, Cliffjumper and Nemesis Prime) - Canadian/Latin American packaging

Hero Mashers Bumblebee & Strafe two-pack - United States/Australian/New Zealand/Asian packaging

The final wave of the Age of Extinction One-Step Changers (Rollbar, Prowl, Strafe and Megatron) - Canadian/Latin American packaging
Waves 2 and 3 of the Age of Extinction Voyagers (Hound, Galvatron, Drift and Slog) - Canadian/Latin American packaging

 

It`s nice some folks out there in the UK can kna sorta finish up on their MEASOR  

 

Well apart from the lack of motormaster

 

Not just Shockwave, many Animated/Prime/BH Voyagers were grey imported United Kingdom Transformers Sightings

There's photo evidence of the DOTM Dinobot Minicons at United Kingdom Transformers Sightings

This thread on the TMUK forum might be worth a read as it discusses the distribution of UK toys from BW through to RiD.

Grey Imports affected TFs in the UK very early on - anyone remember the "Mexican Lead Paint TFs"? You'd hear tales of people finding US catalogues in their toys - I got a 1985 with Ironhide and oh the wonders! I can also recall buying Joustra Diaclone carded Windcharger & Gears winter 86 from a Christmas pop up shop. The few Fort Max reports could be down to grey imports (or people winding you up!)

The 1990s Chinese TFs (original boxes, no catalogues, several toys not available in the UK) were grey imports and I've got a feeling my Autobot Cyberjets, bought from a pop up Christmas shop c1996 were too. BW etc as linked above. The Entertainer's round of Armada/Universe/Energon exclusives are almost certainly grey imports.

When I get the opportunity I'll get someone on my loft (can't get up there myself anymore) to retrieve my cardbacks and I'll have a look at what's got an import sticker on it...

 

Need me that Air Raid!

 

I had one! Grimlock, bought from a cheapo shop in Bridlington.