Following our previous report of the G1 Hot Rod Reissue Stock Spotted At Walmart, now we have our first proper sighting of the Walmart exclusive G1 Starscream reissue in the US.
2005 Boards users Gerald Cokes and Silvershot were able to find G1 Starscream at Walmart stores in Gallup, New Mexico and Burbank, California respectively. This great reissue of the Decepticon Air Commander is priced around $35-37.
Happy hunting to all fans! Time to dash to your local Walmart to try to grab Starscream for your collections!
FireSkyJet
Anyone who doesn’t have him, Walmart has Starscream in stock again online: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Transformers-Vintage-G1-Starscream/987345462
Jazz342
Just an fyi, these guys aren't even supposed to be on sale until next week. The stores that have, put them out ahead of the MOD which is set the 1st week of October.
EAKSGEEKS
Oh I will sir
RKillian
I would love to see a retro line designed exactly like the original GoBots and early G1. With so few parts and smaller sizes, the real cost would be modern vehicle licenses.
RKillian
Do you remember being a kid in the 1980s? $10 was real money then. Minimum wage was barely $3. I saw Suburban Commando, starring Hulk Hogan, for $1 in a second run theatre because the chains charged $3. McDonalds charged 30 cents for a hamburger. Super Mario 3 was a $40 or $50 cartridge in 1990 although early NES titles sold closer to $25. By 1992, I had to mow four lawns to pay for G2 Starscream. $10 was not nothing back then like it is today. My cousins' kids destroy $400 subscription-tethered mobile phones where $90 for a GameBoy was once deemed absurd.
ZapRowsdower
My kids are currently watching 80s Gobots cartoons! You kind of hit the nail on the head there!
I could absolutely show them both cartoons and test which one is better. And given your description of Cyberverse… I bet Gobots does better. But the issue there is that there's ZERO chance of getting new Gobots toys, so it feels a little wasteful to even show them the cartoon. My son loves Rock Lords now; how do I explain that it's been 30 years and no one has even thought of re-visiting "rocks that turn into robots"? Luckily, I did grab some off eBay some years ago, and he's currently carrying Nuggit around like it's his best friend!
I guess what I'm trying to say is this: BRING BACK GOBOTS!
ZapRowsdower
You're right about the prices – you definitely know the history better than me. But that said, I was speaking personally, given my own toy budget. I'm not as nostalgic as some of you (I owned LATE G1 toys like Throttlebots, mostly). So spending $35 on a toy that's very simple… when (as you said) more recent releases are as expensive or more (i.e. Leader class toys are $45-50??? )… yeah, I'm asking Hasbro to make these cheaper.
Putting aside your "inflation" or "prices are higher, duh! It's been 20 years!" type of arguments? There are ways for corporations to manufacture toys cheaper (i.e. larger quantities), and there are ways to sell these that don't involve using an incompetent chain like Wal-mart. As I suggested in a different thread, you could create a G1 subline that gets permanently stocked in all the chains (in either the TF section or adult collectible section).
But do recall: Hasbro has historically snubbed the G1 fans with a contempt toward their 80s TF history! It's only recently that the movies have tanked so badly that Hasbro finally allowed a full G1 re-visit. And again, let me point out that rather than release more G1 molds, they chose to make NEW molds. Hasbro prefers to re-invent the wheel, even if there's demand for that 80s wheel. In other words, Hasbro heavily resists releasing G1 products… it's impossible to say if they've done their research and KNOW these toys will have limited sales OR if they're so stubborn that they're clearly ignoring a profit opportunity.
I say STUBBORN. The reason? Nostalgia has been a powerful selling force for YEARS now… and Hasbro has only recently begun to really capitalize on that. They could have led the nostalgia marketing… but despite having some of the most memorable 80s characters, they've lagged and simply followed. That lack of innovative spirit is financially harmful and limits the G1 releases. But these are my opinions (based on Hasbro rep quotes at previous cons AND general market observations about competitor behavior and Hasbro behavior). We don't have sales figures to declare any opinion more accurate, and we've certainly not seen Hasbro fully invested in an original G1 toy line. Would a G1 toy line fail and prove Hasbro's conservative approach intelligent? Or could a G1 toy line succeed in a way that pushed the brand back toward its proper roots (and away from the failing Bayverse)?
ZapRowsdower
I have this recurring dream where I'm in an 80s/90s toy store and find all these cool TFs. But just before I can buy them, the lights go out and I can't check out. It's kind of a nightmare (by the end), but it's also a cool dream (at the beginning).
My advice? Go to a TF convention (or toy con)! Even if you can only do it once a year, if you want that feeling of reliving the past… go to a con!
Canbot
Now that the G1 reissues are finally beginning to make their way into US retsil stores, the topic can also finally get to more regular complaints: price.
Then quality control.
Then scale.
Theeeeennnn repeat the process in about eight months. HUZZAH!
worldsgreatest
It would be refreshing if people who balk at these prices just admitted that they're (as consumers) cheap, and not that these reissues are expensive. Cause they ain't.
BenjaminXavier
the Seeker jets were $12-14 in the 80s, so the current price is about right with inflation. Also: there are new parts and new paint apps
OCProwl
But $10 in 1984 is about the same as $25 today…
Venixion
Well to be fair, its not Hasbro's only classic toy that got a big price boost.
The Jem and the Holograms dolls they licensed to Integrity were $100+.
The Loyal Subjects Joes are $12.00
The 35th Anniversary MLPs are $10.00 when they were originally $5.00.
Stygian360
Ironic that a toy that was probably $10 at retail when it first premiered on shelves in the 80's has gone up in price so much as to be out of reach of most kids today. When is a toy no longer a toy and is instead a "collectable"? Well here's your sign. To be fair most kids today would find the brick-like nature of 80's TF's laughable, but maybe not. Price them lower and mass produce them and who knows, maybe lightning could strike twice.
betsuni
In the first post in this thread.
Walmart Exclusive G1 Devastator Gift Set Reissue + G1 Starscream + G1 Legion Pack
Hotshotprime43
Well I will go check out my Wal-Mart later to probably only find more terrorcons that I already have…
conleyh2006
Anyone have the sku for walmart for these reissues
BIGGUY007
And so it begins…yet again.
madhatprime
I think its a fair price actually. The Toys R us commemorative reissue was $40 and didn't come with the extra Megatron Gun accessory. Plus the Walmart one has painted eyes, a first for the figure.
EAKSGEEKS
I just wish we were in times past
Same he's missing something