More G1 reissues on the way: Cassettes!

After offering a number of classic Generation One figures in fairly authentic replica packaging, Wal Mart is apparently planning to continue these releases. Some of Soundwave’s cassette minions will apparently be hitting the store shelves soon, so keep your eyes open.

The report offers these details:

Another great G1 reissue is coming to the market. Via TF-Factory on Weibo, we can share for you images of the G1 Ravage & Rumble and Laserbeak & Frenzy reissues.

These are sure the perfect complement for the G1 Soundwave & Buzzaw reissue revealed a while ago. Soundwave’s cassettes come in classic G1 2-packs with no differences compared to the original releases (Rumble is the red guy, Frenzy is blue guy as in the original toys), but Laserbeak seems to have shorter laser guns.

There is no information about price or release date at this time.

Thanks to TFW2005 for this story.

New Wal-Mart G1 reissue: Optimus Prime?

Thanks to TFW2005 for the following report. It’s possible that the next Wal-Mart G1 reissue with be Optimus Prime, without his trailer, interestingly. The report came from the Transformers Never Die Facebook group, who shared the image from the 22nd Bahamut Gamer Party 2018. Further facts will be needed to determine if this reissue is headed for the United States or not, but in the meantime this is a very nice possibility for the Transformer collector.

Addition: new pictures available here.

New Masterpiece Dinobot Images

Thanks to Loopaza Mega Store for sharing images of the upcoming Masterpiece Dinobot from Figure King #238 on their Facebook page. The photos give us a useful size comparison with the other Masterpiece Beast Wars figures, as well as a good look at all the accessories that will be available with this very show-accurate figure.

This month’s Figure King of Transformers covering the full details of coming up Masterpiece MP-41 Beast Wars Dinobot, fully transforms between Robot and Beast mode, with 2 color LED lighting effect on his eyes and more.

Mattel snubs Hasbro’s latest acquisition approach

We won’t be seeing that Barbie/Transformers crossover just yet.

Mattel Inc has rebuffed Hasbro Inc’s latest takeover approach, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, casting uncertainty over the potential combination of the world’s two largest toy companies.

Mattel’s rebuttal indicates that Margaret Georgiadis, who took over as the company’s chief executive in February, is seeking to drive a hard bargain in negotiations with Hasbro, even though Mattel’s stock has significantly underperformed that of Hasbro in the last year.

Mattel has informed Hasbro its proposal undervalues the company and does not take sufficiently into account the potential for regulators to reject the deal based on antitrust concerns, the sources said.

The terms Hasbro has proposed could not be learned, and it is not clear whether negotiations between the two companies will continue. The companies have engaged in multiple rounds of deal talks over the last two decades.

Read the rest of the article here.

Transformers finalists for Toy Hall of Fame, do not make the cut

Transformers almost made it to the The National Toy Hall of Fame, according to this USA Today article.

The annual inductees are chosen on the advice of historians and educators following a process that begins with nominations from the public. To make the hall of fame, toys must have inspired creative play across generations. Historic and modern versions of the winners are displayed in the hall.

This year’s finalists were: the board games Risk and Clue, the Magic 8 Ball, Matchbox cars, My Little Pony, the paper airplane, PEZ candy dispenser, play food, sand, Transformers, the card game Uno and Wiffle ball.

Sadly, Optimus and Megatron lost out to paper airplanes, Clue and the Wiffle Ball.

Is this the replacement for Botcon?

Hasbro has applied to trademark the name “Hasbrocon”. The application was filed on  Monday, 9th of May 2016. With all the rumors that this years Botcon could well be the last, it’s not a stretch to wonder if Hasbro plans to run their own convention to promote their various brands.

Category: Organizing and conducting conventions, exhibitions, fan clubs and gatherings for entertainment purposes and in the fields of toys, animation, comic books, fantasy, gaming, popular culture, science fiction, television and film

Thanks to “Transformers at the Moon” for this information.

KRE-O Transformers Cybertron High KREON Class of 1985 30-Pack Review

That’s quite a title for a product! But it’s such a fun product that who cares.

The KRE-O Transformers Cybertron High KREON Class of 1985 30-Pack is exclusive to San Diego Comic Con 2015 at the HasbroToyShop booth (#3329) for SRP of $60, and a limited quantity will be made available on HasbroToyShop.com after the show as well.

It’s another yearbook, 30 more characters introduced in the Transformers brand 30 years ago, which means this time it’s harkening back to 1985. Unlike last year’s inaugural KREO Class of ’84 set, this new Class of ’85 set has a lot more style, and calls back to some 1985 gems like Jolt cola (“Volt Cola”), The Goonies (the treasure map), and several pieces from Back to the Future (the Jetfire Be Good song disc, the Grays Sports Almanac, the flier with the newspaper front page about the clock tower). (…more)

Official Details on SDCC 15 Hasbro Transformers Exclusives

San Diego Comic Con starts July 8th, and Hasbro is bringing a trio of great exclusives to the convention via their HasbroToyShop booth, as well as being made available in select quantities from the HasbroToyShop.com website after the convention. Here’s Hasbro’s official details and images for Devastator, the Combiner Hunters, and the KRE-O Class of ’85 set.

(…more)

Botcon 2015 Hasbro Generations Combiner Wars Reveals

Over in St. Charles, Il., Botcon is going strong and Hasbro has just revealed their final 2015 and first couple of 2016 Generations Combiner Wars waves of Legends, Deluxe, Voyager, and even Leader-class figures, and with that reveal comes these official images of so many great figures. Figure reveals include the Combaticons – Onslaught, Blast Off, Brawl, Swindle, and Vortex combining to form Bruticus – plus Legends Shockwave & Buzzsaw; and combiner Sky Reign formed from Sky Lynx, Hound, Trailbreaker, Wheeljack, and Smokescreen; and even more.

Some of the images are of renders rather than physical pieces, but are clearly super-accurate. Check them all out after the break, and make sure to click the mid-size image to see the much larger full-sized. (…more)

Combiner Wars Stunticons / Menasor Review

Transformers Combiner Wars had a mission, in wave 1 it was Superion so for wave 2 it was completing his rival, Menasor. The Stunticons are nearly defined by how they differ from their rivals, the Aerialbots: where the Aerialbots are Autobots patrolling the skies, the Stunticons are Decepticons punishing the roads. Where the Aerialbots have guns, the Stunticons have melee weapons. Where the Aerialbots work together in harmony to form Superion, the Stunticons are a ruled by the iron fist of Motormaster and have clashing personalities leading to the chaos that is Menasor. Where Superion is a heavy G1 throwback, Menasor is a more modern style. As part of the Transformers brand’s May Mayhem, the last classic member of the team, Wildrider, is getting released as a shared online exclusive on May 22nd.

As part of this review, the focus will be on their vehicle modes as a group, their robot modes as a group, and of course on their combined form, Menasor. (…more)