HasLab Victory Saber passes the halfway mark in under two weeks, and Diecast pitches early-bird pricing to keep backers coming. Eaglemoss’s $600 Transformers Generation One chess set struggles on Kickstarter, even with a Wreck-Gar piece added.
Dengeki Hobby shows new images of Decepticons Forever Ravage, and Kingdom Shadow Panther and Waspinator turn up first in Chile. In the haul, John finds Trax a letdown and Shattered Glass Blurr a winner.
News
HasLab Victory Saber is just under 6,000 backers, past halfway in under two weeks, though progress has slowed. Unicron took far longer to reach 6,000 and needed an extension to hit 8,000. Diecast thinks Hasbro should reward early backers with lower prices, such as $179.99 for the first block of backers. Another host suggests tiered pricing by time instead. Don notes backers pay at the end, which gives people time to budget. One host argues Hasbro should reveal the next unlock tiers early, since the $14,000 tier is Victory Leo’s cannon. Nobody doubts it will fund. [Source: Hasbro Pulse]
Eaglemoss Chess Set Kickstarter Wreck-Gar Stretch Goal?
Eaglemoss’s Transformers Generation One chess set costs $600 for the full set, or $50 for a single Optimus Prime piece. Brian was the first backer and quickly canceled once he realized it was from Eaglemoss. It sits around $82,000 of a $300,000 goal with 15 days left. Pieces stand six inches tall. Starscream is the Decepticon queen, Alita One the Autobot queen, and Arcee is a pawn. One host says Eaglemoss overestimated the overlap between decorative chess buyers and Transformers fans. Another host thinks a statue series that doubled as a chess set would sell better. Wreck-Gar is added at $100,000, shown only as art. [Source: Kickstarter]
New Images of War for Cybertron Ravage via Dengeki Hobby
Dengeki Hobby shows new images of the Decepticons Forever Ravage set, a TakaraTomy Mall exclusive due in February. One host expects it to be easy to get through Hasbro Pulse, like the Quintesson Pit of Judgment. He calls it a better Ravage than the Metals X9 Jaguar in robot mode. Don hopes for a Selects Tigatron from the mold, and the crew recalls the prototype orange tiger Tigatron. [Source: BWTF]
First Look at Transformers Kingdom Deluxe Shadow Panther and Waspinator Packaging
Kingdom Shadow Panther and Waspinator showed up first at retail in Chile. That confirms them as wave 4’s new figures, leaving Slammer and Pipes for wave 5. A leaked Puffer comes in a two-pack with what may be a GoBots Road Ranger redeco. One host thinks Puffer looks better than Pipes. [Source: TFW2005]
What We Got This Week
Diecast got the Mirage and Rung Grimlock two-pack but has not opened it yet. He also got the vintage Beast Wars Optimus Primal reissue from Walmart, with a huge box and thinner cardboard than the original.
Don got Bumblebee movie Studio Series Thrust, whose colors stand out, and will sell his Starscream from the same mold.
John finally opened Studio Series Galvatron with the correct shoulders. The proportions look odd standing, but they shine in action poses. Trax is a letdown, with floppy legs that won’t lock, despite a great head sculpt. Shattered Glass Blurr is the version of the mold he will display, and he loves the pack-in comic.
Brian got Cyberverse Thunderhowl in the new packaging, forgetting he already had it, and the new Cyberverse Cheetor. He also got the vintage Beast Wars Optimus Primal and Megatron reissues, plus Cheetor and Rattrap. At Ollie’s he bought two F1 Rescue Bots Heatwaves for $5 each, one for his daughter’s fifth birthday. He also got a boxed Robot Masters Gigantic Bomb.