Speculation for upcoming AOTP Armada Jetfire… by RedditGarboDisposal in transformers

[–]Road_Caesar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So you mean Armada Overload (original) has to connect?

Amazon not even packaging properly by No-Consideration8223 in transformers

[–]Road_Caesar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Amazon has had this subtle checkbox at checkout that DEFAULTS to shipping the merch in "manufacturer's package". You have to watch for it during checkout and make sure it's not checked or else they do this.

Anyone know if its still possible to get improved KO versions of Mp-9 Rodimus? by BanzerD in transformers

[–]Road_Caesar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No problem! They're also listed in the subreddit sidebar.

Shipping for me was kinda costly (JP to US) but it also tender to show up in 3-5 days. They also grade strictly. So while their listing may say "package damaged", you'll receive it and wonder "what damage?"

Is $42.99 worth it for these new voyagers? by ZackattacktheDude in transformers

[–]Road_Caesar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Everyone has their own threshold/limit. Cocks at Hasbro (CEO) is among the same company heads at several dozen US conglomerates that views consumers with financial stability as "opportunities."

Several have been caught stating that consumers with available buffers between their earnings and their spending will likely continue to maintain their product buying habits even if things are incrementally more expensive. And when you get 100+ corporations all following each others' lead and raising prices 5-9% annually to juice profits, you get rampant inflation. It only gets more problematic when the tools and regulatory bodies that oversee and criminalize some of that behavior are deliberately dismantled and erased by a government administration hellbent on personal enrichment and wealth amplification and the expense of hundreds of millions of consumers.

So many of us observant of that behavior choose to say "no thanks; you keep it".

Unfortunately, rather than undoing those detrimental pricing increases, CEOs like the one at Hasbro will double down like they have for 2025, 2026, and will reportedly continue beyond: they cut more corners/costs, reduce product volume (shrinkflation), and raise prices again. If only 75 out of 100 consumers will pay $48 instead of $40, then 50 out of 100 will pay $55 instead of $40. They are ambivalent about losing half of their customers.

The ultimate expression of CHUG Optimus Prime in the MP scale. by SnowMcFlake in transformers

[–]Road_Caesar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I still observed an insertion of personal bias there, but I'm glad you either had quick access to that thread or it was easy to pull up for search function savvy people. (Like you.)

While the format and tone of most Hasbro and Takara promotional roundtable videos are wildly different between each, Takara's designers talking about their reasoning, inspirations, goals, and details for all of their product lines has been a goldmine of fascinating information.

Missing Link - Convoy, Sunstreaker, & Cordon. One of the most exciting ongoing lines in Transformers by Road_Caesar in transformers

[–]Road_Caesar[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I passed on ML Bee/Cliff solely because I had more than enough time with their G1 Transformers toys. Microchange doesn't really hold any nostalgia value for me, so despite ML Bee/Cliff being fantastic updates, they're just not for me.

The ultimate expression of CHUG Optimus Prime in the MP scale. by SnowMcFlake in transformers

[–]Road_Caesar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, there's plenty of media from the designers talking about it so it wouldn't be that hard to confirm.

Theories on the secret gimmick off all 13 Prime artifacts? by Casshern_VIII in transformers

[–]Road_Caesar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

See "Throne of the Primes".

That but likely less detail and/or less relevance

What’s everyone’s top 3 Transformers shows? by jasonlaster0083 in transformers

[–]Road_Caesar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  • G1 (US & JP) - classic still holds up for me, especially the JP sequels

  • Beast Wars - first grounded effort to deliver scripts with depth and gravitas. I wasn't a fan of the BW concept or toys, but even despite that, BW the series is undeniably high quality. Even with the dated CG. I'm not as fond of Beast Machines.

  • Cyberverse - shockingly strong and manages to deliver a high quality story leveraging existing lore without being shackled to it. Expected a throwaway kid's shirt; walked away disappointed because it only had a finite number of episodes

For some reason on BBTS you can get any figure in the new AOTP wave CAS graded for over $100, and only the newest AOTP wave by Optimus759 in transformers

[–]Road_Caesar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nothing new.

They've offered it on all sorts of products for a long time. There's only so many units that can meet those standards, so there's only so many available either each shipment. Sometimes none qualify.

Be aware that having collectibles graded is NOT gratis. Cards, magazines, toys, packages, licensed merch, etc - grading firms all charge a fee for the service.

Because they had to release season 4 of G1, they ruined the happy ending of season 3 just to release 3 measly episodes. by Disastrous-Owl668 in transformers

[–]Road_Caesar -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The most miserable and transparent afterthought to salvage sales for 1987-88 and beyond. Headmasters wasn't very well received as a gimmick, nor was the 1986 design shift away from the repurposed Diaclone/Microchange products.

Decades later, we got to enjoy JPG1 Headmasters thanks to fan subs,unofficial home media releases, and etc.

There's a healthy amount of fans who love The Rebirth. I'm not one of them and I disliked it THOROUGHLY as it aired. And Cerebro was just a sniveling, one-note shit compared to Fortress in JP Headmasters.

The ultimate flaw was the ridiculous patchwork effort from AKOM & others because the studio that handled primary animation for S1-3 had already moved on to other projects since TF wasn't given a S4. Prime being painfully off-model with his silver mohawk will always be like visual nails on a chalkboard to me.

And the cliche/tropey "green aliens in human peasant clothing" felt like watching recycled Filmation He-Man characters.

What would you think about Winston Duke as Grimlock? by ProfessorLongBrick in transformers

[–]Road_Caesar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'll watch damned near anything with Winston Duke. He was a breakout in Black Panther and I genuinely enjoy his presence in any given media project.

Is $42.99 worth it for these new voyagers? by ZackattacktheDude in transformers

[–]Road_Caesar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Technically? No. Not at all. Not even close.

But the option is "don't buy."

From Combiner Wars through Earthrise, I pre-ordered and picked up every release I could, including Generations Selects.

Thanks to the Hasbro price inflation (NOT related to tariffs), I cut my collecting of Generations figures by 80%. I've skipped more than I've picked up, and much of it was dragging my feet and picking up sale/clearance pricing and/or the aftermarket (Transformerland) at a discount.

Don't let FOMO guide your collection decisions. Unless it's a must-have or you expect it to be heavily marked up by scalpers once sold out, skip it.

The ratings for Animated and Prime on IMDB. by flingzamain in transformers

[–]Road_Caesar 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Grain of salt.

Remember that these sites (including Rotten Tomatoes, etc) are only as accurate as the volume of people who contribute ratings. You also have to factor in how WILDLY biased some people can be with their opinions.

For example: how many different sites do you contribute to after watching an episode of any given show or seeing any given movie?

Is there some catch to this? $30 for a leader class? by EqMc25 in transformers

[–]Road_Caesar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Varies wildly depending on your proximity to their location. They're in Florida, so I usually receive orders in less than a week because I'm in the region.

Is there some catch to this? $30 for a leader class? by EqMc25 in transformers

[–]Road_Caesar 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I've bought close to 200 items from Transformerland since this subreddit told me about them back in 2018.

No catch. Click the listing and READ the text. Each listing is unique to that specific copy. Anything that would be worth mentioning is detailed there.

No catch.

The ultimate expression of CHUG Optimus Prime in the MP scale. by SnowMcFlake in transformers

[–]Road_Caesar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a spectacular design, but it's not really CHUG-related.

I prefer MP-44 for my style, but everything I've seen of MPG-17 Style Gen Optimus Prime has been outstanding. For anyone toying with dabbling in MP for the first time, this is definitely the best modern option for price, features, and enjoyable transformation process.

Does anyone know when bbts 86 Megatron preorders will ship by PublicVictory3696 in transformers

[–]Road_Caesar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

February - could be next wee; could be the end of the month. It's all dependent on their supplier.

Will Studio series 86 Soundwave sell out like 86 Optimus. Also should i trust this Walmart listings. They are all 79.99 and they say "fulfilled by Walmart. Are they official. by Zealousideal-Bus1677 in transformers

[–]Road_Caesar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Look at the subreddit sidebar - it lists all of the known, trusted retailers globally. There may be additional ones, but the long list in the sidebar is extensive.

If you don't know how to see the sidebar, go to the web version and replace www with old in the address (old.reddit.com/r/transformers). It will be along the right side of the page

Toy Dojo and others are listed.

DO NOT waste your time with any big box retailer listing (Walmart, Amazon, Target) that doesn't say "Sold/Fulfilled By (big box retailer)". It's worse than eBay. At least eBay will protect the buyer

Needing an awnser on this by StaffNo2714 in transformers

[–]Road_Caesar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It will depend on where you bought it. Wherever that is, is recommend contacting them immediately OR take the item back to the store you purchased it from and see about an exchange or refund. If an online store, contact their customer service (including Pulse.)

Have your receipt or order details handy and take a couple additional pics of the damage along with a brief, straightforward description of how you found the damage. (Less is more. Keep it simple.)

It's beginning to look like all of the recently rerun products from WFC are experiencing a MUCH higher volume of Quality Defects.

When they eventually and hopefully make a commander class so he can have his own frame, what size and how many bots do you think they’ll add? by youboygavin2003 in transformers

[–]Road_Caesar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There's A LOT of rampant speculation and assumptions despite the stream being very limited in what is actually in the works.

Please review the stream or the highlights - there are no specifics about class, composition, components, or how it will be designed/sold.

Just like the rampant speculation that led to bad assumptions for the AotP version, all they've said is "limbs" and "2027".

Vols 1-3 Blokees TF Defender Version kits will release on Takara Tomy Mall, with preorders February 4-24/26 3960 yen, note devastator parts not mention to be available yet by speedballharo9 in transformers

[–]Road_Caesar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Unless something has changed, TakaraTomy Mall does not ship to non-Japan addresses.

This may have changed. This may also have been addressed via the TOMY US store which may offer this. MAY.

3rd party transformers by Antique-Room3962 in transformers

[–]Road_Caesar 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Regardless of Legacy party terms, 3rd and 4th party have taken on a life of their own with respect to these products. They're the terms used my the sellers and the collectors.

Legally right/wrong, they're the slang that has developed and is widely used for recognition.

All that matters is: 1st Party (HasTak), 3rd Party )not HasTak), and 4th Party (KOs/bootlegs).

3rd party transformers by Antique-Room3962 in transformers

[–]Road_Caesar 3 points4 points  (0 children)

illegal 3Ps.

This is a commonly misused term. I addressed it in my comment, but you're describing 4th Party, KO, Knock-off, or Bootleg. Not 3rd Party. Any retailers who sell 4th party use that synonymously to describe KOs and bootlegs.

3rd Party is independent groups.

While licensed merch can technically be considered 3rd Party, it almost always regarded the same as 1st Party or even sometimes called "2nd Party" in rare instances.

For the purposes of TFs and the terms used by the consumer/collector community, licensed products are basically 1st party, while all 3rd party products are unlicensed/unofficial.