I was going to link to the message board where I found this information this morning, but they posted screenshots for some reason instead of just typing it out, so the text isn't searchable. Oh, well. One message board gets info and they all get it, eventually.

So, supposedly the upcoming Studio Series '86 Leader-class Springer is actually an all-new toy, bigger than the Siege release. This is actually good news, since I was worried they were just going to take the Voyager and throw some extra stuff in the package to justify the price point.

Sandstorm is a bit bigger than Springer, reportedly, and it may combine elements of the G1 toy and cartoon design—the helicopter tail rotor is mounted above his head like the toy, but his head is blocky and has a mouth like he does in season three.

There's a Core-class version of G1 Bumblebee coming, but his vehicle mode doesn't particularly resemble a Volkswagen Beetle.

The rumored Core-class Steeljaw has the proper thickness for the lion's mane, as seen in the movie and season three, with parts folding on top of themselves to make the necessary volume.

The Deluxe-class version of G1 Optimus Prime is slightly smaller than the G1 cab, has yellow light-pipe eyes and fists that don't swivel. His head and chest and abdomen are styled to resemble the G1 toy. (This is not the Missing Link toy, by the way.)

Zob (seriously, bring on all the cassettes in Core-class format)

On 1/21/2024 3:14 PM, Zobovor wrote:
> Sandstorm is a bit bigger than Springer, reportedly, and it may combine
> elements of the G1 toy and cartoon design—the helicopter tail rotor is
> mounted above his head like the toy, but his head is blocky and has a
> mouth like he does in season three.

Oh, I wish that were true about the mouth. I hope 3rd parties fix this.

https://news.tfw2005.com/2024/02/06/transformers-legacy-united-leader-sandstorm-revealed-503643

Zobovor wrote:
> The Deluxe-class version of G1 Optimus Prime is slightly smaller than the G1 cab, has yellow...

I think the deluxe 40th Prime is gonna be tough to find! This is only tangentially related but I was watching a YouTube toy podcast:

https://www.youtube.com/live/Cqfhe2QY-tQ?si=4SBVQLDsSAbifrg3&t=3184

where one of the hosts is a toy shop owner and he had bad news for this year's toy collectors. He said all major toy company factories are decreasing production on this year's lines across the board. Expect Hasbro and Mattel to not completely fulfill orders that are placed.

It looks to be a bad time for TFs to have a 40th anniversary. Mainstream releases like United will probably dry up toward the end of the year. It's gonna be an ugly Christmas for toys.

This year is not the year to wait for anything to go on clearance because it won't. If we thought distribution was bad before, this will be one of the worst years ever. Finding stuff at retail will not be reliable. You have to preorder through BBTS or Entertainmnet Earth or wherever as soon as possible and even then you may not get it.

The latter half of this year will be a buy it when you see it or it'll be gone forever scenario. (If you even see it at all!)

GoBackaTron wrote:

> Zobovor wrote:
>> The Deluxe-class version of G1 Optimus Prime is slightly smaller than the G1 cab, has yellow...

> I think the deluxe 40th Prime is gonna be tough to find! This is only tangentially related but I was watching a YouTube toy podcast:

> https://www.youtube.com/live/Cqfhe2QY-tQ?si=4SBVQLDsSAbifrg3&t=3184

> where one of the hosts is a toy shop owner and he had bad news for this year's toy collectors. He said all major toy company factories are decreasing production on this year's lines across the board. Expect Hasbro and Mattel to not completely fulfill orders that are placed.

> It looks to be a bad time for TFs to have a 40th anniversary. Mainstream releases like United will probably dry up toward the end of the year. It's gonna be an ugly Christmas for toys.

> This year is not the year to wait for anything to go on clearance because it won't. If we thought distribution was bad before, this will be one of the worst years ever. Finding stuff at retail will not be reliable. You have to preorder through BBTS or Entertainmnet Earth or wherever as soon as possible and even then you may not get it.

> The latter half of this year will be a buy it when you see it or it'll be gone forever scenario. (If you even see it at all!)

As a toy shop worker, we preordered Hasbro products in 2022 that still haven't shown up or have been heavily allocated or canceled. Some of the Legends Spiderman waves we got 1 case or 0 instead of 12. Got only 4 cases of the first wave of the Ahsoka show Black Series. We got 2 Legacy Armada Prime instead of 12, we got 0 Nemesis and 0 Studio Ultra Magnus, and these items are on Hasbro Pulse with Hasbro complaining that their sales are so very bad. Maybe if they distributed their toys they would be sold out of a lot more and not need to clearance them.

My store had our orders canceled for the waves that had the Legacy Stunticons, and the Studio series Ironhide/BB Ironhide,/Sideways/ an a lot of these showed up on the Walmart 2 packs. Maybe they wouldn't have so many leftovers if they hadn't canceled so many orders.

Most of the big box stores are stuck with 2022 toy still on the shelf, with ne stuff showing up rarely and only 1 case. I saw Studio Frenzy exactly once and that was when I got him.

Meanwhile Playmates is everywhere with their 8 inch articulated Godzillas and tons of objectively cheaper to buy Turtles, where Hasbro is still stuck with nothing but Beast Flex Changers, Lando, and retro card Lady Jaye they're asking for $25-30 for

Hasbro is playing the victim but Hasbro's biggest abuser is Hasbro.

On Sunday, February 18, 2024 at 4:40:29 PM UTC-7, GoBackaTron wrote:

> He said all major toy company factories are decreasing production on this year's lines across the board. Expect Hasbro and Mattel to not completely fulfill orders that are placed.

Obviously I don't run a multi-billion dollar toy company, but... given that their sales are down, you would think the solution would be to sell more toys, not fewer toys.

> Finding stuff at retail will not be reliable. You have to preorder through BBTS or Entertainmnet Earth or wherever as soon as possible and even then you may not get it.

I have found that to already be the case for a number of years now. There's something to be said for the comfort and familiarity of checking retail stores on the regular, and there is a certain "thrill of the hunt" when it comes to finding stuff in the wild, but honestly I've been much happier and far less frustrated ever since I started ordering online. That's probably how I do 90% of my collecting now, if not more, and it eliminates most (but not all) of the problems with never being able to find stuff. There have been a few times when my pre-orders have been cancelled, but that's the exception rather than the rule.

Zob (plus, I love getting stuff in the mail, so...)