Thanks to 2005 Boards member griffin-of-oz for reporting that Masterpiece MP-34S Shadow Panther Is Coming To TRU Australia as an Online Exclusive.
ToysRUs Australia usually gets direct imports from Transformers toys that are released in Asia, which includes Takara Tomy toys and HK exclusives. This time, the most recent Beast Wars Masterpiece: Shadow Panther (sold via Takara Tomy Mall in Japan) is listed at ToyrRUs Australia website.
You can pre-order Shadow Panther for just AU $110 (US $90 approximately) plus shipping. This is a very nice price compared to previous releases which had been more expensive. If you live in Australia this is a great chance to get MP Shadow Panther for a fair price, but think fast since pre-orders will be open for just 2 weeks until February 25th. Then you will have to be patient until October 2018, when pre-orders will be finally delivered.
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Nighthawkblack
Has there been any update on this since the fall of Toys R Us. Do you think this will be fulfilled by October?
PoweredConvoy
I bought Shadowpanther with the tan rhinox in the 2 pack via Japan. But before the Hasbro Employee Store (used to be in a separate location before moving on site) closed, they had $2 Shadowpanthers. I picked up one there.
Randy
Smokescreen38
In any case, @Verno make a great point Shadowpanther has a history of being a Japan "exclusive" in the loosest possible sense.
Did anyone else pick up some Japan Beast era stuff directly from Hasbro? I scored Lioconvoy and Longrack this way…I treasure those figures to this day.
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Digger
Aw heck yeah mate ! Bout time we got an mp exclusive, may get this
CelticMutt
Yeah, West doesn't always refer to Western Hemisphere. It usually refers to Western culture, which includes any colonized country where the Western European colonists became the dominant cultural force. So both the US And Australia would be Western, but India or Kenya would not be. I think.
Rockdown
I think that 'the west' is used to refer to countries wherein people of European descent are the majority.
[Wing_Saber-X]
lolz
Starscream Gaga
I wouldn’t call Australia “West”. I mean, we’re called “Down Under” for a reason.
Niv3k
Odd choice, but cool for the people that want one nonetheless.
Verno
Shadow Panther: Finding ways to sneak into the West since 2000…
griffin-of-oz
For those who haven't been around for a while, or take much notice of what happens in Australia… from time to time ToysRUs Australia gets offered from Hasbro Australia, direct imports of Transformers toys that are released in Asia (which includes TakaraTomy toys and HK exclusives).
After a little break following the Unite Warriors boxsets in 2016, ToysRUs have a new TakaraTomy toy on offer, this time as an online exclusive – Masterpiece Shadow Panther (the redeco of Cheetor with some new parts).
It is now up for preorder at ToysRUs Australia, for just AU$110 (plus shipping – which for most people will be about AU$10). (that would be about US$90, plus about US$8 shipping)
That compares to the Japanese retail price of 8000yen, which is about AU$100… before shipping. (some HK sites have it for just under AU$90, but that's also before international shipping)
The only real drawback here, is that this stock is to be released in October, compared to August in Japan and Asia… but if you are willing to wait, this is one of the rare occasions that the price here (in Australia) is on par, or better, than in Asia.
Pre-orders close February 25th though, so you only have two weeks to think about it. (unfortunately, it is an 8 month wait between paying and receiving the toy)
It is online only too, so this item is not expected to show up in their stores, and it is not known if they will cut off pre-orders after a set amount, as they note that there is a limit of 2 per customer. (so they might not even have excess stock for sale in October on their website)
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