There was another Hasbro retailer solicitation making the rounds, which points towards the point-of-sale abbreviation for the 2025 toy line being TRA GEN PRIME. Not entirely sure what that stands for, but I'm sure we'll find out eventually.

Anyway, here are some of the names of toys that have been popping up:

TRA GEN PRIME DELUXE SOLUS PRIME
TRA GEN PRIME DELUXE AIR RAID
TRA GEN PRIME DELUXE FIREFLIGHT
TRA GEN PRIME DELUXE ANIMATED WASP
TRA GEN PRIME DELUXE ALCHEMIST PRIME
TRA GEN PRIME DELUXE CRASHER PR
TRA GEN PRIME DELUXE SWINDLE
TRA GEN PRIME DELUXE MICRONUS
TRA GEN PRIME DELUXE VENOM
TRA GEN PRIME DELUXE SKY DIVE
TRA GEN PRIME DELUXE SLINGSHOT
TRA GEN PRIME VOY PRIMA
TRA GEN PRIME VOY ARMADA RED ALERT
TRA GEN PRIME RESCUE BOTS HEATWAVE
TRA GEN PRIME RID SKYBYTE
TRA GEN PRIME VOY ALPHA TRION
TRA GEN PRIME VOY FLATLINE
TRA GEN PRIME LDR THE FALLEN
TRA GEN PRIME LDR G2 GRIMLOCK
TRA GEN PRIME LDR ONYX PRIME

Well.

That list almost reads like a weird mash-up of toys we've already gotten, specifically from Combiner Wars and Power of the Primes. But, it looks like there is going to be a strong focus on creating toys for the original thirteen Primes, instead of just selling us tiny little Prime Master figures to represent them as during PotP (a toy line that ended abruptly before all thirteen were ever made available at retail anyway).

There seems to be a renewed focus on encouraging fans to collect the entire toy line, because you can't very well buy a single one of the Thirteen without wanting to own them all. Likewise, the inherent collectibility in the Scramble City teams is that you buy them as a set, not as individual members.

In some ways it feels like we just barely got the Aerialbots and Combaticons, until I remember that Combiner Wars was in 2015, ten long years ago. That's practically a lifetime in toy years. Combiner Wars did a few characters dirty, so I'm willing to jump back in if there's a stronger focus on cartoon fidelity, instead of the way Combiner Wars turned characters into redeco versions of each other like Blades/Vortex or Slingshot/Blast Off. And Swindle was one of the most disappointing Combiner Wars toys to me, so I'll be delighted if they can finally pull off a good-looking cartoon look for him.

Venom will effectively finish off the last of the Deluxe Insecticons, as the others are already accounted for. I wonder if he's going to be an all-new mold instead of another recycled 1984 Insecticon.

My guess is that G2 Grimlock will be the Studio Series toy in either a blue or turquoise color, representing a G2 version of him that was actually sold at retail (instead of that weird yellow tiger striped nonsense, which nobody is nostalgic about).

I don't hate the idea of them redoing the Aerialbots and Combaticons (and, I suppose, the Protectobots too, eventually). I mean, the new Stunticons demonstrated that there's a market for them, certainly. (They did an amazing job with four of them, and also Breakdown exists.) I still feel like there are a number of much-needed G1 characters who have never gotten neo-G1 updates in any way, shape, or form, but I recognize the need to balance the obscure characters with the slightly more recognizable ones.

Zob (my mucus is so thick right now that I can't even sniffle)

Feel better, Zob! Feels like, this time of year, so many folks are ill or managing various long-term chronic respiratory issues. No fun, and not easy under the best of circumstances.

JB

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Equate-Mucus-Relief-Expectorant-Extended-Release-Tablets-Guaifenesin-1200-mg-28-Count/193082173

Works like a charm.

I actually liked the Combiner Wars Aerialbots, or at least, the 1:1 KOs that are so plentiful online for about $35 total.

That said, I'm all in for a new team, especially as I expect them to be significant upgrades in terms of accuracy and quality. And Slingshot. #justiceforalphabravo

I'm not fond enough of the Scourge mold to buy it again, so a truly accurate bespoke Alpha Trion fulfills one of my grails.

There's only one combaticon, Swindle, so I'm not sure they are doing both Superion and Bruticus.

There were a number of other Swindles over the years, and both TF:Animated and Earthspark have prominent Swindles that don't combine (maybe there are four dead Combaticons in TF:Animated in some background shot or something...)

My guess would be Animated Swindle, which would be excellent. He was voiced by Fred Willard, and the original toy is incredibly fragile because of clear plastic getting brittle.

It could also be Armada Starscream's minicon or something.

GustavoWombat wrote:

> There's only one combaticon, Swindle, so I'm not sure they are doing both Superion and Bruticus.

It's likely he would have been solicited as "Animated Swindle" instead of just "Swindle" if that were the case. But, you're right——we don't know for sure.

My thinking is that this is just an early listing for 2025, and doesn't represent the entire year's product. The others might just not have shown up in retail computers yet. (When Combiner Wars first began, we got four Aerialbots and one Stunticon. They don't always have the teams ready all at the same time.)

Zob (typing on my phone is hard)