Once again, Stor&Liten is providing us with brand new stock images of Studio Series Deluxe Class Transformers: Bumblebee movie Dropkick and Voyager Class Revenge of the Fallen Starscream (ID number 22 and 21 respectively).
Dropkick; who is the highlight of the two, comes with his Bell AH-1 SuperCobra attack helicopter mode and does not feature a triple changing gimmick. However, his official artwork on the box features car kibble belonging to a blue AMC Javelin. Speaking of which, his boxart backdrop is a reused one from Studio Series Thundercracker.
Starscream is in his ROTF tattooed F22 Raptor mode and comes with his sawblade. His backdrop is from the Forest Battle, arguably the best action scene from the Michael Bay Transformers Live Action Movie Series.
You can check out all the images, attached with this news post.
Kotori Sonoda
So Bayverse does very well there? So the movies must be popular there then.
interesting, how Bayverse sells well there but stores still don't stock SS past the first wave yet.
Here both POTP and SS sell, although POTP seems better stocked.
ObakaChanTachi
Anything non-Bayverse sells very poorly here. Wave 1 of POTP is a common sight and I still catch a handful of Titan Returns and RIDs every once in a while.
It's amusing to me that they bothered to throw out everything TLK in a year yet still keep dusty somethng-year old toys glued to shelves. It's not like someone out there would still bother hunting store to store for a TR Blurr… right?
Stigcrafter
Nothing but respect for my Dropkick
Also is it just me or does the RotF starscream look to white?
deathzero23
If not, I'll not buy everything from Siege. Only those nearest imagery of G1 characters I like.
Like Hound and Sideswipe.
Kotori Sonoda
I would be glad to pay the price too, if I can find him lol. I was actually banking on people passing on him for price reasons, but no, apparently there are many out there who think like me hahaha
that said I'm only excusing the price since it's bayverse. If Siege has the same pricing, it better have the same "wow" factor SS has.
deathzero23
I would like to assume that the ones snagged Jazz regardless of it's price for a 3-inch robot are Jazz Fans.
Imagine, Marvel Legends price for 3-inch robot. I felt we're just paying it full because of the silver paint apps
….And they didn't painted Megatron in lighter shade of Grimlock's.
I guess the two biggest demographics of buyers of Studio Series are:
– Completist and Fans for the Bayverse.
– Collectors having a "The First 5 Autobots Only" rule.
Kotori Sonoda
what's funny I was expecting Jazz to stick around since they're asking PHP1400 (26 dollars) for him, but no, he's nowhere to be found!
what about the other lines like POTP? Just curious how it is for your country.
deathzero23
Because of the Over Ordering Trend the stores is doing, I'm gonna get first the Wave 2 and Wave 3's of studio series figures I want little by little and I'm not gonna panic on shortage of Wave 1.
There's gonna be another version of SS-01 Bumblebee with "custom faded" paint apps so I'll get that than SS-01.
Ratchet isn't "a must" for me. Prime? while I like the engineering, He's small. I may opt to get Blackout to start chasing Wave 1's.
Grimlock? If he rans out short there's an OS KO version of it. No worries.
There's no need to get gaga over Wave 1 now. Since it's overstocked and most buyers are somewhat reprehensive of themselves buying it due to pricing. I can still spot some wave 2's Megatron, Brawl and Ironhide. What I don't find easily are Jazz and Lockdown.
Kotori Sonoda
hahaha yeah, I totally mistyped that.
Yep, they're really common. Unlike their wavemates, Stinger who hasn't had decent representation yet, and Bumblebee, who despite people getting tired of him actually sells really well (I was very surprised how well the W1 TLk deluxe sold). meanwhile people look at Ratchet and think the MTB or DOTM is better, and Crowbar they think "oh hell, it's another berserker"
yeah, they totally went overboard ordering those if that were the case. Alongside them and white Prime, I think I also saw Hot Spot once or twice, but now it's back to Onslaught and Scattershot.
deathzero23
^fixed it for you
Yeah crowbar is stagnant as well… it's like Ratchet and Crowbar are destined to be together on Sale
My wild guess is that Playkit over ordered the wave of Onslaught and Scattershot.
When there was TRU Members Exclusive Sale, those two are the ones being piled up by TRU to be sold. Same thing with CW Leader Seekers at that time. I was there just to get Onslaught at 500 pesos or around Titan Master price range.
Kotori Sonoda
Oh, not to mention Crowbar! Man, I can't wait when "Crankcase" shows up here… he's gonna join his brother in warming the shelves.
Well, at least the leader seekers Magnus supposedly showed up too but I never saw him.
Ah, the white POTP prime. I saw at least one FB post claiming a fight was about to break out because of that lol
those Onslaughts and Scattershots mystify me, where the hell did they came from? They suddenly showed up recently. Did playkit have a warehouse full of them sitting all these years? I might actually buy a Scattershot for the hell of it one day (already have Onslaught)
Ah, same. I saw Sky Lnyx in a certain store – he stayed there for weeks, I was just waiting for my first paycheck back then. My paycheck hits and he's gone! never saw him again.
deathzero23
Yeah, SS Leader Classes are easy finds & nobody wants a SS Ratchet
We had boat loads of CW White/Battle Core Primes some months ago.
Then it got hyped up. Then some fools online trying to sell their Battle Core Primes in hilarious and crazy amounts.
Someone was even hoarding Battle Core Primes thinking he'll make big money from it.
Like some opportunist have balls to place reservations on B&M stores just to hoard Battle Core Primes.
Yeah, Sky Reign and Optimus Maximus limbs was all over everywhere.
CW Wheeljack was the last one nobody wants but needed some love
We can still spot some Onslaughts and Scattershots in some key areas today.
I felt bad I never got Sky Lynx then. I spot him once (but have to buy much important).
Then was never restocked again.
ObakaChanTachi
In my country it’s 100% Wave 1 for SS.
The funny thing is, back for TLK I got Wave 2 early before half the other world did. Sadly despite the headstart Wave 3 and Hot Rod never came.
Kotori Sonoda
Combaticons yeah, but Aerialbots? I couldn't even find Skydive when the later waves started to show up. I think the Optimus Maximus and Sky Reign limbs hung around too.
as for SS… what TK/TRU needs to do is order more deluxes, like damn. The leaders and voyagers are easy to find in comparison.
deathzero23
Over ordering Wave 1's?
That exactly happened here in PH.
Studio Series Wave 1 still clog the shelves.
Like 2/3 of studio series displayed are all Wave 1.
the 1/3 or 1/4 it's wave 2.
I don't know why there's this "fixed tendencies" of over ordering Wave 1's.
Because when the toyline hits X-Mas Sale 50% off, wave 1's are the ones getting on sale.
This kind of practice compromises later waves' fate in terms of stock availability.
I'll put THREE SCENARIOS happened here..
Thrilling 30 Generations.
– Too much earlier waves, later waves never got any regular restocks.
– Victims: T30 Arcee, Chromia (it's like a One and Done release)
Combiner Wars.
– Too much Aerial Bots, Combaticons & Protectobots they reach sale.
– Victim: Sky Lynx is not restocked much. He's the 1st one got a rare status and never seen again.
The Last Knight.
– Too much Wave 1
– Victims: Hot Rod only displayed once and never restocked again. Cogman never made it here.
Funny thing is that.
They're gonna over order Wave 1's.
Then they'll "control" the orders of the next waves.
The last wave of figures getting the short end of the stick or ended up as the collateral damage of over ordering wave 1's.
I know that "Projecting" sales doesn't have an absolute math.
The question is, is it gonna be always like this?
Retail Practice-wise?
The trending practice is..
Over-Order Wave 1 > Order Wave 2 at 2/3 of stocks > Order Wave 3 at 1/3 of stocks.
NotRamjet97
But there's a difference between a toy line for a movie and Studio Series. SS they can do whatever they want with, really. TLK they probably had issues with Paramount, not wanting to spoil things, keeping in mind when the movie came out, times it would be most seen, etc.
Shin Densetsu
I don't agree, I've repeated elsewhere numerous times elsewhere how I felt the TLK line was doomed by its casepacks. Hell yea I wanted Cogman! Did I find it? Hell no and that goes for many others. I even literally went halfway around the world or more to a country that actually had wave 3 and lo and behold, even there it was everyone else but Drift.
The reality is, you frontload waves with repaints of older figures and save the new for last, well guess where they end up? TJ Maxx, Ollie's, ROSS. Oh and hey just like the Everyman, I too, cannot find Cogman at those stores!
Yup, Nevermore has it right. Proof is how it's selling in my area. This doesn't reflect the entirety of the world, but it's worth noting that at this point, I'm starting to see wave 2 more frequently and consistently. Good on whomever at Hasbro came up with these casepacks. Light in a long-dim corner.
Nevermore
The problem is that stores will always over-order wave 1 of anything. All this theoretical stuff makes perfect sense in a world where stores are operating under reasonable principles with their ordering and stocking policies, but after all these years of recurring patterns, toy companies have to face reality and accomodate for the fact that wave 1 is, without fail, what will end up being available in stores for months on end. If reality doesn't live up to the theoretical model, you can blame reality all you want, but ultimately you should really adjust the theoretical model to accurately reflect reality.
Realistically, Studio Series is doing it right by putting the heavy-hitters in the early waves, when the line is still fresh and retailers can be expected to stock the figures heavily, while relegating the more obscure characters to later waves, which stores are less likely to stock because they're still full of wave 1. Or, alternatively, if the popularity of the early wave characters actually helps them sell, stores have space for the later wave figures. That way, everyone wins!
Fallout
yo, i just wanna say, i remember when you were some shitty kid freaking out over everything, but this is a smart post. you've grown a lot and that's awesome.
User_136440
I'm not justifying what they do, merely pointing it out.
Yeah that's more the problem, stores go mad with wave 1 (of anything) and wonder why it's not shifting (and that's got nothing to do with what stores are stocking but rather over-estimating how much they'll sell of a limited assortment). It also doesn't help that here in the UK imports from Asia are available from online sellers before they hit store shelves, so collectors will tend to go with that in case they figures never show up at all.