Chris recaps RFC’s roundtable with Hasbro’s Lenny Panzeca and Ran, from green Dracodon to why the Ark became this year’s Titan. Hasbro says it watches fan feedback and hopes to keep online engagement going after conventions return.
The crew vents about hard-to-find retailer exclusives, while Diecast still waits on his Unicrons. Chris lands a genuine Generations Selects Star Convoy from AliExpress, and Brian fills G1 and video game gaps.
The Pains of Retailer Exclusives
John’s question of whether G.I. Joe Classified is failing sparks a wider talk about retailer exclusives. One host warns that collectors who give up on exclusives eventually stop buying altogether. Brian argues the failure sits with retailers like Target, which buy only what their exclusive deals require. Another compares the shortages to the conservative 2007 movie and 2008 Iron Man toy runs, and points to the Earthrise Seeker two-pack getting a second run as a hopeful sign.
News
RFC News Desk 139 – Hasbro Roundtable Interview Highlights
Chris and Phil Skyjammer joined a fan roundtable with Hasbro’s Lenny Panzeca and Ran. Lenny explained in detail why the Dracodon redeco of Vertebreak is green. The Ark became this year’s Titan because Hasbro felt the G1 Ark had never transformed. The team shares fan-built Weaponizer and Fossilizer monsters internally, and Mark is a big fan. They read social media and fan podcasts, and the combining play pattern could continue past Kingdom. Hasbro hopes to keep online fan events after conventions return. Core Class figures will reach online retail later. The Shattered Glass packaging is premium e-commerce packaging. [Source: TFRadio]
What We Got This Week
Chris ordered Generations Selects Star Convoy from AliExpress for about $60 shipped. It arrived genuine, down to Hasbro-branded packing tape. He now has a copy to handle and a spare to keep pristine.
Diecast got the Pulse retro Skullcruncher, though he hoped the shipping notice was his Unicron. He also got Dr. Wu’s Squawktalk and Beastbox and a second Ultimate Expanse from Target’s half-price sale.
Rob got Kingdom Voyager Dinobot, which looks great as a robot but fought him on the first transformation. Chris tipped him to an Amazon Warehouse deal on Kingdom Voyager Cyclonus. Rob calls Cyclonus excellent, fun to handle and his favorite Kingdom Voyager so far.
Don got ReAction Gold Armor Bumblebee on clearance for $9 and Studio Series 72 Starscream on sale. His big pickup is Fans Toys Seaspray 2.0, about $45 after a gift card, which is far more accurate than the lanky first version.
John got the second wave of Kingdom Deluxes. Airazor surprised him, Huffer feels like a classic G1 throwback, and Ractonite is still sealed.
Brian picked up Transformers video games at McKay’s, including Rise of the Dark Spark and Transformers Prime for Wii U. He also found a carded Universe Silverbolt. At Walmart he got the Netflix DCS Army Drone, two Sparkless Bots and Deep Cover. Toward completing G1, he got boxed European Motivators Flame and Lightspeed, repaints of Laster and Braver from Road Caesar. Sealed Fox Kids Rhinox and Waspinator round out the week.