Thanks to 2005 Boards Fc203, we got word that the Target Exclusive Titan Changer Music FX Bumblebee Is Out At US Retail.
This figure is part of the “Bumblebee Greatest Hits” sub-line imprint which is exclusive to Target in the United States and available via Argos in the UK. A nice Titan Changer Bumblebee that can transform in 2 steps and plays car sounds in Chevy Camaro mode, robot sounds in robot mode, and music sounds in both modes. This figure was found at Target in Pasadena. Fc203 also shared a video with the sound effects in robot mode which you can watch here.
With this sighting, we have spotted the three “Bumblebee Greatest Hits” releases. We had already reported Soundwave & Doombox (redeco of Titans Return Leader Class Soundwave) and the Bumblebee Cassette Pack (a redeco of Age of Extinction One-Step Changer High Octane Bumblebee, packed with Decepticon Frenzy, Buzzsaw and Howlback cassettes).
Happy hunting! Click on the bar to share your impressions on the 2005 Boards!
RandomDude1337
Huh, I actually saw this at Target a few days before this was posted, though I didn't say anything about it since I thought someone already posted it here
EDIT: Yeah, here's the pic, taken on Sept 22, 5 days before this was
Nagatem
I actually saw those the day after the cassette pack was spotted but I didn\'t realize it wasn\'t already out yet, thats my B
sorry guys
King Glurch
I dunno man, those Go-Bots were pretty neat.
ZapRowsdower
Plus, let me add, that as a parent, I do NOT appreciate how f*cking large this thing is. It's a BS method to jack up the price of toys for minimal production cost.
These giant "Titans" just eat up space. Anyone remember Go-Bots???? Stop pushing kids to fill the house with crap toys, Hasbro!
View attachment 28089788
I think you hit the nail on the head: HAsbro needs to evolve to current times. And if these toys sold so well, we'd see quality improvements over time, not thinner plastic, less parts, and less paint apps. Hasbro also needs a winning app or media product to push these – but if you think about it, there's a good reason Hasbro is developing media wings under its umbrella of products! As these toys continue to sell poorly (and quality decreases to match the poor sales), Hasbro will eventually STOP making these toys. Period.
That's really the game plan: why bother spending money to figure out why kids don't want TF toys? Why not make a movie or media product they want, and then have the licensees lose their money on these failing, physical products? It's not exactly laziness here: Hasbro may not have the ability to sell toys to kids properly anymore… and they're clearly investing in other avenues to combat that.
EDIT: Given the success of licensing the TF brand, I think Hasbro should do what a lot of other companies do: farm out their toy brand! Why not partner with 3Ps to sell products for collectors at B&M? The only negative is giving 3Ps a foot in the retailing door that would allow a MakeToys or MMC to eventually create their own TF brand that could be a hit with kids and adults (i.e. the reason Nintendo dropped its partnership with Sony during disc-drive development). Given the way Hasbro uses TMs and Patents (and how they went after Mattel's Bumblebee), it's far more likely Hasbro would have the TF brand crash and burn before ever letting another company make converting toys. Oh well.
User_124141
I will make him rap
Michael Payton
There has to be a way to design these things where they don't look so ruddy cheap. The hollow kids toys are bad enough, but these in particular are just Odd Lots level cheap in both appearance and plastic quality. Some of the plastic on these are so thin the boxes are heavier.
Young Toys in South Korea has kids robots toys that are much more expensive, but they only release a few big toys a year. Their quality is exceptional. They're basically Tonka tough and transform. There's even a combiner or two a year too. Their smaller robots are Legends scale and you can find many of them on Amazon Prime for less than a US Deluxe The quality of product is there.
We don't need fifty new toys across four or five product lines every year, every year for eternity. Especially as Hasbro switches more into a media brand. Make two a month. One small, one larger. Then offer five or six MP scale toys a year for the oldest fans. Keep them in production as evergreens, where retailers can order a new run whenever they need something. They can change the paint deco or box designs from time to time.
This is a different market than the 90s or the 00s, Hasbro needs to rethink its products if they want to keep making toys for the 2030s, 2040s, and beyond.
King Glurch
I don't remember the counter at McDonald's ever being understocked.
RodimusZero
You can say that again… this whole line is just f*ing sad… I would be embarrassed to release some of this if I worked at Hasbro.
The igniters of Dropkick and Shatter look ok, and I know we have the Studio Series and all now, but it's just heartbreaking to
see that TF in 2018 has come to… this.
I used to get all kinds of excited walking down the toy isle looking at good, finished-looking products,
now when I visit the TF aisle, I feel like I've walked behind the counter at McDonald's to
where they keep the Happy-Meal toys…
I'll add one more thing before the "it's-for-kids" mafia jumps on me,
I'm sad for kids these days!!—like, this is seriously what Hasbro expects you to be happy with? F that!
e prime
Retail exclusives aren\'t what they used to be.
Fc203
Yeah hasbro is remolding it for CyberverseView attachment 28089419
Automaster
Likewise, I was all, what? There was a really big BB not that long ago from nuRID right?
Fc203
Not yet thankfully
King Glurch
Oh, titan changer. I thought you were saying that you found a titan class Bumblebee.
Fc203
View attachment 28089282
Found this at target in Pasadena tx they had ss ironhide too