Generations ReReleases

[Philip Ayres]

There's a subtle, but emerging, trend of Hasbro re-releasing Generations toys. We're used to later waves repacking earlier toys - though this in itself did go away for a year or so - but now it's getting a bit more widespread and straddling different lines.

Sometimes it's a direct rerelease in different packaging.

For example:

Astrotrain, Rung, Smashdown and the Battle Squad are in Siege and Earthrise.

Optimus Prime, Starscream, Wheeljack and Arcess are in Earthrise and Kingdom.

For others it's a deco update, while still being the same character. A large portion of the Netflix line.

Then there's the Headmasters with a minor mould change as well as the Deco changes.

Or the Takara combiner updates/some of the Netflix boxed toys, which have deco updates and some bonus bits thrown in.

Now I'm used to paying for the same mould as different characters (Datsuns, Lambos, Jets etc) but as the same character, just with something slightly different? That's a harder sell to me, especially if it is just a deco tweak. And I do wonder how well some of the "same deco, different packaging" toys can be selling?

[Toph]

1) Not everyone has been collecting as long as we have
2) The ones being repackaged and rereleased are either very difficult to find in their original line (rung), or increadibly popular characters/toys.

[The Doctor]

Repacks used be the way of things so happy to see them back.

With miner paint decos I would now just wait and see which one appeals to me most.

-Ralph

[Toph]

I'll say the way Earthrise and Kingdom are doing it is significantly improved from the eay they did it in the past- final wave composed of a seemingly random selection of wave 1/2 repacks, plus one shortpacked new toy.

They don't have it perfect yet (smashdown packed with rampdude, and rung packed with rampcobra is pretty dirty, instead of packed together), but it's still a massive improvement.