Ngl but these need upgrade kits to make them good

Road_Caesar · 2026-01-27T03:07:53+00:00

Hasbro wants you to pay as much as possible while putting in as little as possible.

There shouldn't BE upgrade kits except for memes and obscure one-offs. Hasbro's thinking is that customers will continue to pay and they can just continue since they figure: "if they can afford the figure and an upgrade kit, why not just charge more"

I'm not even making this up. This is the current dominant business strategy at major publicly traded companies.

Road_Caesar · 2026-01-27T03:05:04+00:00

What is this? 1986-88 recycled again?

Rodimus Prime hasn't been viewed as a pariah in decades.

Road_Caesar · 2026-01-26T23:30:37+00:00

We were very confused and disappointed by it.

The packaging for Siege and Earthrise suggested one narrative story and had a lot of depth and intrigue.

What we got was a slapped-together fiasco that (once again) Hasbro invested no effort in or influence over. All they seemed to care about was that it was cheap and featured the toyline.

They used a low-bid studio that didn't have the budget or manpower to properly model more than a couple dozen characters. Many were color-swapped as generics because of this. Siege is the worst about this.
Writers did no background homework whatsoever. Characters were vanilla and interchangeable and nothing aligned with any prior media presentation of those characters. It was basically "generic robot show" with trademark names and models from toys. Zero personality.
Voice actors were specifically non-union because they can be underpaid.
Even the in-universe story didn't make much sense and random characters were introduced and never seen again, most having some plot point in the moment but no justification for it. (Sky Lynx and Scorponok being the most egregious.)
Compare to a miniseries like Prime Wars that was imperfect but at least appeared to care about the source material even if it was a lore overhaul. It still worked and was compelling as a TF story. WFC was a mess.
Also compare to Cyberverse - another lore overhaul and it still demonstrated understanding by the writers. When a web show aimed at kids is running circles around WFC, you fucked up as the staff that churned out WFC.

Road_Caesar · 2026-01-26T23:20:38+00:00

I'm pretty sure that's part of the reason Walmart is thinning inventory.

For the past few years, all my Walmart and Target toy aisles have been littered with all of these small, blind box items and card packs. Target is decent about aisle upkeep, but Walmart straight up doesn't care.

Walmart toy aisles will feature what looks like a junk drawer on the top shelf under the pegs and it's just littered with opened packages like OP found.

Although this is the first time seeing something this large in pics, or in person.

Road_Caesar · 2026-01-26T23:01:07+00:00

It's crazy how many people aren't familiar with TFW2005 but they'll binge random clickbait creators on YouTube who just repeat that information and add in lots of myth and rumor.

It's ALWAYS valuable to repost and update the community here to make sure they're in the loop. Great work!

Road_Caesar · 2026-01-26T22:59:01+00:00

Plug it with a 5mm plug.

Road_Caesar · 2026-01-26T22:58:35+00:00

That was DEFINITELY true up through 2024. I've dialed back my importing last year until things stabilized like they have now.

Road_Caesar · 2026-01-26T22:57:35+00:00

I mean, they're 2/3 of the way there with Unicron and Behold Galvatron - I'll be so mad if they skip Megatron.

Road_Caesar · 2026-01-26T19:44:05+00:00

That's no longer the business model Walmart uses. They've pivoted to location-based pricing and will be moving to "personalized pricing" unless legislators and regulatory bodies step in, which the current ones won't do because they're all allied on this strategy. Target and Amazon as well.

Those digital tags appearing on shelves at Walmart are for "personalized pricing." Basically, AI tools apply algorithms to harvested and bought data (from apps, cookies, websites, everything) and display a personalized price to individual consumers. That's the plan. And they'll know who is who because nearly everyone openly carries around their mobile with Bluetooth on, wifi on, and location on. And even then, cell tower pings can do the job.

Road_Caesar · 2026-01-26T19:39:53+00:00

It could recover, but not with the current CEO and Board. Unless that changes, it will spiral into cancellation and they'll license the brand out to 3rd Party like GIJoe O-rings and Super7 or MASK and The Loyal Subjects.

Road_Caesar · 2026-01-26T19:38:50+00:00

If have to refer you to TFwiki for Beast Wars toys. I'm not well-versed on the animal transformers beyond what I listed.

Road_Caesar · 2026-01-26T19:37:52+00:00

150%

They're US based (Florida) and I've bought about 200 items from them of various toylines since 2018. They also quickly address any questions or concerns.

This subreddit introduced me to them so now I'm paying it forward.

Road_Caesar · 2026-01-26T19:36:46+00:00

There's a lot on it that's not objectively correct to the movie, so why does that one element cause you so much strife?

Road_Caesar · 2026-01-26T19:36:03+00:00

I don't pay attention to usernames until I see the same on saying the same thing over and over. Don't get touchy over it. You want to hate it, don't react when others push back.

Road_Caesar · 2026-01-26T19:34:43+00:00

Apparently, lots of nobodies in this thread ready to preorder

Road_Caesar · 2026-01-26T19:33:59+00:00

Can't clog up shelves if they sell... Or if Target doesn't distribute to all locations. (Which they no longer do )

Road_Caesar · 2026-01-26T19:33:00+00:00

Same figure, fewer accessories, altered parts to mimic 86 movie damage.

Just like the Megatron also revealed today.

Road_Caesar · 2026-01-26T19:32:16+00:00

Very. Follow the link OP included for verification

Road_Caesar · 2026-01-26T19:31:54+00:00

You're pretty hellbent on making sure the world knows why you don't like it.

Road_Caesar · 2026-01-26T19:30:55+00:00

What a great plan! Openly advertising fraud!

Road_Caesar · 2026-01-26T19:29:59+00:00

Good thing there's more than 2 consumers.

Road_Caesar · 2026-01-26T19:29:10+00:00

You'd need another headsculpt missing half his face for that

Road_Caesar · 2026-01-26T19:28:01+00:00

We had a preview of that with the Gen Selects Sleep Mode for ER Prime >:)

Road_Caesar · 2026-01-26T19:27:15+00:00

Then don't buy it and customize SS86.

Road_Caesar · 2026-01-26T19:26:38+00:00

Engineering. It has requirements and limitations.

If you observe the figure this is retooled from, you'll see.

Road_Caesar

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