Thanks to our friends over at Unicron.com for covering the final panel at the very first Hascon today. This panel did not include any new toy reveals, but did provide us with various information regarding the Transformers toy creation process as well as Earth Wars. Lastly, we get some new information regarding the next Animated series for Titans Return. Here are the highlights:
- Power of the Primes Concept art shown – Including Prima and Megatronus which appear to be heavily remolded versions of the Skyshadow/Overlord Leader mold. This is described as concept art, so a toy may not be planned. The designs themselves share small similarities to Thunderwing
- Discussion of the process of making Transformers toys. From design, to packaging, to Takara and into our hands
- New Earth Wars footage of Volcanicus and Predaking. We get to see a little bit of how Volcanicus performs in the game as well as the final game models for both characters.
- Titans Return Machinima Animated Series – Several new details were shared on this. A sizzle real was shown consisting of footage from Combiner Wars and some behind the scenes of the voice actors recording their lines. The show will now be 11 minute long episodes, 110 minutes total. The show will premier in November on the Go90 App and will air twice a week.
You can watch the entire panel at the link above or click the title bar to view a screen shot of the Power of the Prime Concept art.
artiepants
yeah, i've seen very little TR product at retail in the last year, but for the first 6-9 months Galvatron shelf warmed hard.
Purple Heart
Same. I live in distribution hell.
Fenrys
There is almost no titanmasters, voyagers or leaders near me. It's why I've resorted to online shopping the last few years, and bbts is beginning to make that more difficult
Purple Heart
Here in southeast Tennessee it is bad, very bad. I mean I've found voyagers and leaders but mostly just fuckloads of wave 1.5 and mixed with 3.
Fenrys
Nothing is shelfwarming near me in virginia
Purple Heart
There were a lot of repaints planned for CW that never came to be, but yes. I think this indicates someone has been wanting this since CW.
Here in the United States for sure. There is one walmart near me where they have nealry 12 of each.
WarInTheFloor
Man I want to know where Galvatrons and Sentinels are pegwarming. Sentinel is high on my list of things I want to find in person at retail, as is Galvatron. I would likely consider trion if I saw on in person also. I have never seen any of those here.
Housewife2000
Is anyone else getting the feeling that someone in the design team really wants a Starscream combiner? Despite the paint scheme ignoring it, CW Galvatronus is clearly moulded with a Seeker chest a crown head (see DoctorsTARDIS' digibash below right), and now we're getting a voyager Starscream that turns into a King Starscream combiner torso. Second time lucky, I guess?
Fenrys
They did a search of the name in safe for work mode apparently haha
T-Hybrid
*spits coffee*
Man, gotta think somebody in the naming department got fired for that gap in research.
Crim
I've only seen two Broadside's in my area, granted my local stores are never really well stocked (I blame Hasbro) but still. There was a ton of wave 1's from TR and TLK clogging the aisle to promote the movie so it kind of makes sense nothing else would be coming in.
Soundwinder
Broadside didn't so much as shelf-warm here as he existed. Which stands out compared to the rest of the Voyagers, but hardly shelf-warmed since they moved eventually.
Seriously, distribution for anything but TR Deluxes and TLK Wave 1 has been garbage in the DC Metro area.
artiepants
still can't believe they released Broadside 2x per case instead of carrying forward Prime, then doing a revision with Megatron. Seriously.
(also, still can't believe they actually released Broadside with that can't-even-call-it-a-jet mode. SERIOUSLY.)
Dramatic Spoon
Yeah, Trions didn't shelfwarm here either.
Now Broadside on the otherhand…
Crim
I only saw a few Trions in my area, enough that I feel lucky to have grabbed one after it had been just stocked. Sentinel, Galvatron and Astrotrain have been shelf warming here.
Fenrys
I think you're referring to the characters original name, nexus Maximus, hasbro originally shot down the nexus prime name but changed it to prime after realizing it shared a name with a sex toy
Monari
You can buy the Nexus Prime box set at any Adult XXX superstore nearest you most likely, although you're on your own when it comes to finding someone to combine with.
AzT
Emiliano Santalucia
…And while I rejoice for Eldor and He-Ro, at Hascon my bosses showed a concept board filled up with my sketches! (minus the two characters on bottom left)
Edwardmus Prime
Alpha Trion sold pretty well over here. So did Sentinel. He was at least long cleared out by the time Christmas stock rolled around in October. Sentinel was less favored than his wave mate, certainly, but Alpha Trion and Galvatron have ended up shelfwarming the most. Probably because two trucks full of them came around in December.
I would be more of the idea that anecdotes wouldn't mean empirical data. My experience seems to differ from that of others, and someone may well step in with yet another situation. What's noteworthy is that Galvatron, a G1 and not "new" character, ended up shelfwarming. People out here hate Astrotrain too. Like, there's not even that many of him and the same two are still there.
If anything shelfwarms, I am sure it's because the stores order too much for anyone in the immediate area to buy. In less affluent neighborhoods, a high sales price contributes as well. Then if there aren't that many families, toys will sell less too. Characters? Everyone is obscure unless they are Megatron, Optimus, Bumblebee, Starscream, Grimlock or Windblade (maybe thanks to the movies, Hound may be getting there too.) Obscurity is sure not an excuse to skimp out on the characters a line is named after.
T-Hybrid
Trion didn't shelfwarm nearly as bad as Sentinel, and that would be mostly because he came in a case with the Galvatron everyone wanted and was an obvious pretool of the Astrotrain most everybody was waiting for.
Not to mention stores always over-order Wave 1. Always.