Thanks to our ground team at Botcon 2015, we now have word on the show exclusives this year, as well as the production numbers:
Freebie Figure: Zaptrap (Gen. Shrapnel repaint)
G2 2-Pack: General Optimus Prime (Gen. Roadbuster repaint) Sergeant Hound (Gen. Scoop Repaint) LE 1,100
Diaclone 2-Pack: Diaclone Skids (black Gen. Skids repaint) Diaclone Hoist (red Gen. Hoist repaint) LE 1,500
Waruders 4-Pack: (Gen. Waspinator repaints) LE 2,000
Stay tuned in to TFW2005 as we bring you all the Botcon 2015 news!
Obsidian X
This years Botcon toys are up now. I just grabbed me the kreons, diaclones, G2s and the customizing class toy.
barrelks
Sometimes it is easier for us lazy folk to spend a little more then to have to part out the rest. I know I am sitting on a few figures from past boxsets (bagged) that I have been too lazy to sell or have sat on, and even more where I eventually picked up an empty box cheap to make my bagged set a boxed one even though I didn't really plan on keeping all the figures. I really need to decide if I want to track down a box for this year's set, or sell the rat out of it.
Guessing a lot of them are international buyers. Cheaper (or comparable) to just buy it from them then to buy a club membership, non-attendee set, and pay the shipping overseas from the club.
Automorpher
^ What surprised me more was TFSource actually sold out on Boxset.
& they were asking for USD $500…
Omegax80
Two weeks I think? They have to sort through inventory to prepare shipping out the non-attendee stuff.
Speaking of which, I am very surprised they have stock left of the box sets. With all the clamoring over the Pretender, one would have thought it to be a sell out. Then again, it appears people would rather spend $200 on eBay for it than spend $400 on the box set.
Lbsammills51
I've not paid attention to this before, so how long usually before Fun Pub posts whatever they brought back with them to the club store?
That's a good point.
(And I'm still bitter about G2 Sideswipe, and Animated Minerva.)
Dragonclaw
Sadly the G2 year was the year where the most obvious G2 bot was Sideswipe…the ultra limited custom class figure
I think Fub Pub's biggest issue is 3rd party…WAY more than it's a Hasbro issue….
Convention figures come at a substantial premium. Most being in the $45-90 range when all is said and done…for a recolor that might have a new head (other than the BIG exception this year with the Pretender shell). When financially it becomes a choice between the Botcon box set or something like Feral Rex, Ordin, Warbotron, Sever, Dystopia (or even several of these once we factor in travel and hotel expenses it becomes a much harder choice and when FP is limited to Hasbro recolors trying to make molds fit different characters rather than having the freedom of a new sculpt custom made to look like who the company is selling, I think it digs them a hole. That isn't to BLAME FP, it's simply a collecting face of life. 3rd party has taken a HUGE chunk of the collector dollars out there. Hasbro is still cheap when found at retail and isn't affected anywhere near as much since they can still be impulse buys. FP having to compete with 3rd party at the higher price points leaves them at a distinct disadvantage. It says a lot when I see people's haul threads and just how much of it is 3rd party…
The late registration certainly hurt…I myself would have gone, but money that was free early on had to be diverted elsewhere by the time registration went live…life happens…
FP has hurt itself in the public eye, I know I've seen a lot of fellow fans, even hardcore ones simply walk away. I will likely be joining up this year but haven't for the last 3…and I used to be about as hardcore as you get.
We didn't see the steamroller affect this year with the add-ons. Add ons sell REALLY well when a few of them go for BANK in that first day because the "flippers" at the show see dollar signs and buy them out come Saturday and Sunday as word spreads "Did you see what _______ went for! I gotta buy a few more" It creates a frenzy that is really GOOD for FP. In the last few years we have seen people hit very early with low BINs just trying to get a little extra to pay for their trip and once those get snapped up by the first "gotta have it now guys" it eliminates the early bidding wars that drives the prices up for those first few weeks and keeps the 'gotta buy more' excitement at the show. I didn't pay much more for my add-ons than FP's cost + tax and I got them during the show. (was going to just pick up a couple wasps but I figured at $169 + tax at the show and I got my 4 pack for less than $200 so I may as well…). I probably could have saved more if I had waited on my Diaclones and Hound but I didn't pay a lot even there. Until we see another OMG gotta have it frenzy I think FP will have a tough time with sell through.
Autovolt 127
This is true.
But yes they need to have a better unified theme and not just cram everything they were able to get approved into something.
I have a similar mentality except I don't own any of these G1.5/G2 figures. :/
WishfulThinking
I put all my late-Euro "G1.5" stuff alongside my G2 stuff. 2/3's of the U.S. 1992 G2 line was that stuff repainted anyway.
Thundershot
I agree for the most part. But Scorch, Double Punch, and Slicer really weren't G2 at all. They had original symbols. Don't get me wrong, I love the untapped potential of the characters of that era, but were most assuredly not G2. Two of them were even Action Masters.
Lbsammills51
Yup. I group "G1.5" in with G2 for practical purposes, though I'm aware of the distinction. I would welcome any further Euro G1/G1.5 characters as part of another G2 set as well.
G.B. Blackrock
I think you'll find that a lot of us consider "late Euro G1" to be sufficiently "G2" for discussion purposes unless we're being technical. Yes, we know they're not really G2, but so long as the distinctive faction logos are on them, they're close enough.
That said, the inclusion of Sky-Byte and SG Ravage (although I give that one a pass since it comes with the Hound mold) does still water the set down a bit. (And a couple of those late Euro G1s are still left out)
Thundershot
The G2 set wasn't "through and through" by any means.
Pyro was late Euro G1 and rereleased in G2.
Streetwise was a G1 character in an unreleased G2 paint job.
Clench was late Euro G1 and rereleased in G2.
Breakdown was a G1 character in his G2 colors.
Sky-Byte was from RID.
Rapido was late Euro G1 and released in G2.
Cindersaur was a G1 character in an unreleased G2 paint job.
Double Punch was late Euro G1.
Scorch was late Euro G1.
Ravage was Shattered Glass.
Slicer was late Euro G1.
5 of those characters had nothing to do with G2 other than being released close to it. Still a good set, but it wasn't a unified theme unless it was "late euro G1 and some G2".
I think the Machine Wars Botcon figures were great. I think Strika and Obsidian look awesome. But I think they shouldn't have been in the main set. They should have been a "Beast Machines" two pack. As a collector, I REALLY want the rest of the Machine Wars updates (Prowl, Hubcap, Soundwave, Megatron, and Optimus).
videriant
Unfortunately, it's the chicken or the egg of doom scenario. FP can't really change prices unless they produce more the 2,000 or so they are producing and they can't produce more then the 2,000 or so unless they can sell that many, even at a slightly lower price.
One thing is the fact that fans love completing sets. And not having the second duocon may have hurt.
I would disagree. Botcon is a niche market and I'd calling only selling out 1 of 9 sets in three years (or 2 of 12 if you include custom) really bad. I don't think it's time to hit the panic button yet but it is a time that require flexibility and adaptability.
G.B. Blackrock
That Seeker set certainly demonstrates how important the right molds/characters can be to a successful exclusive. The highest production numbers in BotCon history at 2500 sets, yet they still sold out so quickly.
I wouldn't too much emphasis on their being the last at-convention set to sell out, though (Primal Prime also sold out in 2014, but that *is* a bit different). 2013 was only 2 conventions ago, after all. Hardly long enough ago to proclaim a drought.
dragon516
2010 was my favorite set too. 2011 was also very coherent.
dragon516
I think the last set of at con exclusives that sold out was the seeker set in 2013. I think FP has really lost touch with what interest us in both character selection and mold choices. 2013 was horrid in mold execution and only some of the characters were cool. 2014 was decent but was a bit mish mash. 2015 was interesting to a certain degree but the molds were abit lacking.The high end dollars is occupied by masterpiece and 3rd party with alot of people so if FP wants to charge those prices, they need to really step up their game.
Omegax80
I liked the 2010 set, it was a G2 theme through and through. The 2007 set, Classics, was also a great set (until the seekers got released at retail) but still, that Dreadwind sits on my shelf right next to Universe Darkwing. The Machine Wars idea was good, I liked that series, but I think some the wrong molds got used. They also included characters not originally in Machine Wars which was a bit odd. That's just me though.
In terms of value, since the 2015 box and bagged sets are already available in the club store, watch the after-market values TANK.
Unless you WANT to pay $200 for Pretender Oilmaster, just buy the set and sell what you don't want.
Thundershot
That's how I feel as well.
I love the figures the club makes, but the boxed sets are often so haphazard… because they're trying to force random characters around their own fiction instead of taking a connected group of characters (pretenders, action masters, diaclone, G2) and making an awesome new story using them.
This year had a step in the right direction with the attendee figures. Unreleased G2 and Diaclone.
The best boxed set was still 2011, IMO. It was a cohesive team of characters, regardless if you wished to abide to the club fiction.
videriant
I think there's too many factors going on to really determine which has the most and least affect.
* Even though the club said the exlcusives would be more limited it seems that the production count was still high (to me).
* The TFSS figures fills a lot of holes and competes in price with Botcon exclusives.
* The greater amount of 3P offerings compete with Botcon exclusives.
* The MP line growing as it has been competes with Botcon and it's more CHUG offerings.
* SDCC and Platinum additions are also competing, as SDCC used to be one, repainted figure and has now evolved to several premium painted figures.
* The lack of a movie (even one directed by Bay) year means less overall attention to TF's.
I'm too lazy to look but even three years back there was a thread discussing Botcon's future.
robwhit1
I wish the box sets weren't just a bunch of random characters thrown together with some wild theme. If you go shattered glass, then make the whole set SG. Same for G1, pretenders, ect. Also, don't offer a single figue from a group and just ignore the partner(s). The fact that we don't have flywheels just makes me think they are asking for failure.
However, I would not appreciate changing the box set packaging. I love the ability to play with the figures and still keep the display quality you get from box set. I have every botcon box set and if they changed the "box", they would loose some of the appeal of collecting them.