Hunt For The Decepticons

[KnightBeat]

TFW2005 posted an Hasbro annoucement earlier today promising new toys and related items. The post mysteriously disappeared a few minutes later. I'm not sure of the reason for the removal - it may be an early announcement, a mistake in the text, or a change in their software. Whatever the reason, my RSS reader was able to grab a copy of the text. See below for a list of TF toys that are allegedly being released in the next year:

* Fall 2010 will bring the launch of the new packaging look.
* NEST National Redemption Program will run in the Spring with a Hunt for the Decepticons Promotion in the fall.
* 3 TV commercials focusing on A) Core B) Combiners C) Battle Ops Bumblebee
* New Hasbro network programming will begin
* Video game from Activision War for Cybertron
* 6 New Webisodes plus flash comics
* Core Play: 10 assortments, 4 of which are new - focus is on boys 5-9 and collectors using popular movie characters
* Young Kid Action: 2 assortments, 1 of which is new
* Role Play: 3 assortments, all 3 are new
* Deluxe Movie Figures: Melee Bumblebee, Ironhide, Ratchet and Sideswipe
* Deluxe Generation Figures from Activison 2010 game: Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, Megatron and Soundwave plus Autobot Drift
* Voyager Figures: Ratchet, Optimus Prime and Sea Spray
* Leader Class: Starscream with light up eyes and chest
* Battle Ops Bumblebee: Guardian duty and battle mode - lights, sounds and speech
* Power Core Combiners: Scout Robot, Mini-Con and Scout Vehicles interact
* Power Core Combiner 5-Pack combined in robot mode
* Activators: Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, Megatron, Starscream and Ironhide
* Role Play Masks: Bumblebee and Optimus Prime
* Role Play Weapon: Optimus Prime's Energon Sword with lights, battle and conversion sounds and phrases from Prime
* Role Play Costume: Characters like Optimus Prime in small and medium for kids

[dyrl]

Voyager Seaspray? Intriguing.

Pete

[blueshift]

Some nice info there, but nothing particularly inspiring. Guess I need to see things to really get excited.

Will the sword say 'GIVE ME YOUR FACE'? :v

[Philip Ayres]

I think we've seen most of this already....

[Philip Ayres]

Most of the info first appeared HERE

[The Doctor]

Seaspray? Yay!

-Ralph

[grahamthomson]

Seaspray sounds interesting! I wonder if we'll be getting some form of Universe 3.0?

[kayevcee]

It looks like he's either Movie-style or game-related. I can't imagine Universe getting much of a look in this year. At least not till NEST is out of the way. The game-related assortment is smaller than I thought, although that may just be the first wave.

-Nick

[Jaymz]

A few of these were at the London Toyfair. War for Cybertron Bumblebee and Prime, Voyager Seaspray, a couple of the Power Core Combiners. I didn't have time to make an appointment, so I only got a quick look at them, hopefully Nigel will have some more info when he goes.

[Nigel]

I do, indeed.

Hasbro UK are a funny lot - they seem to change the way they let people on their stand every year. This year it was by guided tour. (The last couple of years, I've been taken on by my account manager; this year Hasbro weren't allowing that and my account manager wasn't even going to be allowed onto the stand himself until late today, at the end of the Fair. What a strange way to treat your distributors.) I wasn't asked to sign a non-disclosure form this year so I guess it's all okay to discuss.

I'll start with what won't be seen this year. I asked, "I've heard on the grapevine that Animated is returning this year?" The response was no, accompanied by a look that I couldn't read, which could have been "er, no", "I don't know what you're talking about" or "how do you know that?" I'm informed that it's on the phasing plan, which means it'll be released at some point, but I'm now choosing to consider the release date as the 12th of Never. I also asked about Robot Heroes; the rep told me that there wouldn't be any, though she would check with someone else at the end of the tour. As it turned out, I didn't get to find out, as she took a couple of people who'd been late for the tour to see a couple of things they missed.

On to what some might consider to be the lesser brands. Marvel Crossovers will continue; there will also be an Iron Man 2 Crossover, a repaint of the existing Iron Man/jet figure. I don't recall if there were Star Wars Transformers on display. The RPMs range also continues. There were various new moulds and repaints on display from the diecast-like range - 100 to collect apparently. The most notable one I noticed was Drift, an odd car with oversized wheels that didn't really resemble anything; an original design or WFC tie-in, I wonder? There were BOGOF dump bins on display, so hopefully there will be a widespread promotion soon. There will also be a new Bumblebee-based track set. Elsewhere under the RPMs banner will be a radio-controlled Barricade and a new line that was the stand-out item for me, though it won't be to everyone's tastes: Stealth Force. These are roughly Deluxe and Voyager sized vehicles that reveal an array of fold-out weaponry at the touch of a button; the best piece was the electronic Optimus which has a transformation sound whilst the weapons fold out.

The year's main line is split into first and second halves. ROTF continues for the first half. Several new toys and repaints were on display, most of which I think have been seen, including Bumblebee from the 2-pack, Bludgeon and Dirge. I think there were some new Legends on display. Seaspray is Voyager class; he was displayed in vehicle mode and it looks like a space on the deck is intended for carrying Scouts. Leader Starscream was displayed in vehicle mode.

The second half of the year will see new a new packaging design. ROTF will contine, but the ROTF subtitle will disappear from the packaging. Some toys will be released in gold coloured packaging as part of a "Hunt for the Decepticons" promotion to tie in with the website. Battle Ops Bumblebee was displayed in robot mode (Leader Class, I believe.) Power Core Combiners consist of 2 packs and 5 packs. Huffer was on display along with another 2 pack character. In robot mode these are actually a bit smaller than Scouts but of course come with the smaller partner robot. The 5 packs combine in the traditional torso and four limbs arrangement. The 2 packs and 5 packs can be combined together. The 5 pack on display, in combined robot mode, was comprised of a jet arm and I can't remember the others! D'oh! A flyer that was available showed what appears to be a new Bruticus - it's comprised of a transport with twin cannons for the torso and what looks to be a Jeep, two tanks and a drill tank.

War For Cybertron Optimus and Bumblebee were displayed as vehicles. I don't know when they're due.

I didn't see any new licensed Transformers products.

I might as well do a quick round up of other brands while I'm here. Iron Man 2 is Hasbro's big boys' property for the year - the 3.75" figures looked nice. If it hasn't already been seen, Star Wars fans will be blown away by the huge AT-AT; the Clone Wars cartoon theme continues. Spinmaster's Tron Legacy range has some innovative features, such as holograms, light trails and cycles that can ride up walls; 3.75" figures and diecasts are in the range. Hasbro was showing Marvel 3.75" figures again - including the now-26th-anniversary-the-daft-so-and-sos Secret Wars comic packs - so hopefully they'll actually materialise this year. There will be Toy Story Buzz and Woody Mr Potato Heads. Tomy's new Harry Potter range aims to cater to a broad market, with much of the audience now older. Tomy will be releasing figures in various sizes and a van for the A-Team film. Getretro will release Merlin action figures in the autumn. I was disappointed but not surprised to hear there'll be no GI Joe this year.

[blueshift]

Ace stuff! Any chance you could get a scan of that flyer? (Or when you say available, was that just on display?)

[Bogatan]

I'dlaugh if the Bruticus was response to that new add on kit for the Energon version. Hasbros people seem pissed off enough to try going head to head with them.

Nigel what di the other 2 pack look like and what sort of size are the five pack toys? How do the two pack nd five pack combine together? Can Huffer replace one of the limbs or add to the 5 pack set.

Andy

[The Doctor]

Thanks for the info, Nigel.

-Ralph

[Philip Ayres]

I read Elsewhere of new Legends.

[Nigel]

Jan 28, 2010 17:51:57 GMT blueshift said:

Ace stuff! Any chance you could get a scan of that flyer? (Or when you say available, was that just on display?)

LOL I knew someone would ask that. I didn't have the time to do it yesterday as I had tickets booked for an early screening of Avatar 3D Imax - and I thought someone else would have done it by now to save me the trouble. I'll try to get it done later today.

Jan 28, 2010 18:13:54 GMT Bogatan said:

Nigel what di the other 2 pack look like and what sort of size are the five pack toys? How do the two pack nd five pack combine together? Can Huffer replace one of the limbs or add to the 5 pack set.

I honestly can't remember what the other 2 pack looked like. That's the trouble with having a group tour - you can only really get an overview of a range and can't take the time to examine everything closely. I think it may have been an olive or green colour.

It wasn't explained how the 2s and 5s combine and I couldn't really tell just from a brief look at the robot modes. According to the flyer they can combine in dozens of unique combinations.

[blueshift]

Jan 29, 2010 9:43:00 GMT Nigel said:

Jan 28, 2010 17:51:57 GMT blueshift said:

Ace stuff! Any chance you could get a scan of that flyer? (Or when you say available, was that just on display?)

LOL I knew someone would ask that. I didn't have the time to do it yesterday as I had tickets booked for an early screening of Avatar 3D Imax - and I thought someone else would have done it by now to save me the trouble. I'll try to get it done later today.

Ace! Actually I think your report was the first UK Toyfair news, you got a mention on the front page of the Allspark (I made sure there was a plug for your site in the first post of the thread there!)

[Nigel]

I discovered that when I was looking at my website stats earlier. Thank you.

[legios]

I see a lot of other sites are suggesting that Seaspray is a boat. This surprises me slightly as - given the previous use of the name, Hasbro's tendency to use vehicles that appeared in the film as the basis of the extra characters, and your description of it having the central vehicle deck - I was thinking it was likely it was a hovercraft, like the Marine LCAC glimpsed briefly in the ROTF.

Good to hear Bludgeon was on display - it is the only second movie toy that has really piqued my interest.

Not surprised at the lack of GI Joe. The movie line seems to have done painfully poorly at retail around here so it doesn't entirely surprise me.

A good roundup there Nigel. Most thorough and interesting, thank you.


Karl

[Philip Ayres]

Toyfair Flyer Scan with Voyage Seaspray, PCC Huffer and PCC Bruticus combiner

[Nigel]

Ah, there we go, I knew someone would scan it. Sorry I didn't get it done yesterday, but my tax return is taking precedence.

The page is actually A4. The scan is just over half of one side; the main thing of note on the top section ("Spring/Summer 2010") is a picture of a print ad featuring Soundwave and Bumblebee from the NEST Battle Pack, which appears in this month's trade magazines. I wouldn't be surprised if that appeared in children's comics shortly. The other side is mainly text outlining promotional activity for Hunt for the Decepticons. The only product picture is of the gold packaging which is basically a gold version of that shown in the scan.

[blueshift]

Seaspray in robot mode
www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/attach/4/2/0/1/1/Seaspray-Transformers-2010_1264927556.jpg
Eeeeeeh looks very ROTF aesthetic to me Not as much as some, but from the same stable as Longarm

[Bogatan]

Yup little moive vibe about it but more traditionally blocky. While the movie toys are selling so well it doesn't surprise me some of that aesthetic being used in other lines.

I like the general movie look just not all the panels and points and edges so this is a good compromise for me whichever line it ends up in. The only thing I'm less sure of is the colour. Its good so much of the original colour scheme is in place but it doesnt work for me. More bright yellow I think is needed.

Andy

[blueshift]

All this movie stuff has really helped my wallet though!

[Philip Ayres]

Yeah like Seaspray.

[Nigel]

Seaspray reminds me of G2 Dreadwing - look at the way the front appears to fold down to become the chest.

[blueshift]

There's something really off about it to me, which is a shame because Seaspray is amazing. Maybe the lack of personality. As I said, very Longarmish

[Philip Ayres]

Loose Sea Spray @ TFW2005

[grahamthomson]

I like the look of that Sea Spray very much indeed! And I love the idea of his flippers!

[The Doctor]

I hear Victor Carolli's (sp?) voice when I read the text here:
www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/attach/3/9/4/0/7/transformers-seaspray-2_1265079383.jpg

Nice looking figure.

-Ralph

[Nigel]

Flippers?!

I don't really see why a robot needs goggles and breathing apparatus, but I like the continuity of design between the mouthpiece pipes and the front of the vehicle.