Transformers: Age of the Primes Thread: ll First Post All Listings II Update : April 12th, 2027 Bonus Wave: Repaint fun, Beast Wars, G2, Machine Wars
- Thread starter TriBlurr
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It's from before Arcee left with the kids.
There's a lot to like about how Ratchet was done but I just can't deal with the mold's quirks. While the gigantic kibble panels are gone, I just don't like the bulky torso sitting directly on top of the itty-bitty waist and the stick figure arms.
Just checking, we don't have any news or rumors yet about what's coming next year to follow AotP, right? I know I'd seen some discussion a while back on one of the TFW news posts, but I couldn't get enough context as to whether it was discussing rumors, speculation, wishes, etc. I figured I'd see some news posts or discussions soon if there was anything to it, but haven't seen anything yet. We only have one more AotP wave to be fully revealed, and we've got to be only a handful of months from a full official reveal for AotP's successor, so I'd imagine next year's stuff would have to be leaking soon.
Nope. There's (unfounded) speculation that it'll be something like the Heralds of Unicron as a follow up to Age of the Primes, but we've actually have gotten most of those characters over the last few years so it doesn't really make sense for it to be the line.
My vibe is that Hasbro is going to do some major gear shifts for the Generations segment for 2027. We’ve already seen “Studio Series” expand from Transformers feature films to video games (made and unmade) with rumors of comic-centric offerings on tap for 2027. It also appears to me that sales have, in fact, softened in the Generations segment as a whole*.
We KNOW from prior comments from the brand team that Age of the Primes was initially sketched to be a 3 year initiative, but was cut short. We KNOW Earthspark, as a brand initiative, was a failure that has resulted in at least a couple years of planned product support to be “dumped”. We KNOW Paramount is pushing the development of a new Transformers film, but we also know that such a film is probably at least 2-3 years down the line. We don’t know for sure about animation development, but Cyberworld is still sketched to be a “thing” at least through next year, so I don’t entirely expect a new Transformers animation project until 2028 (or 2029 depending on film status).
My feeling is that “Classic Generations” is due for some sort of Major structural overhaul. We’ve been building on the same “style” of figures since 2019’s launch of Siege. Since the launch of Legacy in 2022, Classic Generations has been pretty much just a “grab bag” of characters without much of a cohesive “concept” to the line as a whole**, to varying degrees of success depending on your preferences especially as it came to characters from more stylized series.
I suspect that Studio Series is going to transition into being the full on “collector line”, focused on media-accurate representations of characters, with “Classic Generations” being overhauled into something closer to what we saw prior to Siege, with each line being more “its own thing” than a single building collection. That or “Classic Generations” is getting scuttled or merged with the “Authentics” to be a “third pillar“ of the franchise, with Cyberworld being for the younger/simpler toys, Classic/Authentics being the lower cost “transitionary line” with traditional converting toys, and Studio Series being the pure collector line.
*This isn’t a “Deth of teh line!” Type comment. We’ve seen Hasbro reduce the number of waves per year, with more reruns, and we saw ”same year” AND years old overstock pop up in the Black Friday bundles a few months back, especially for ”Classic Generations”. Clearly something isn’t quite working.
**Age of the Primes has a “theme”, but only in regards to pushing out the Primes. Most of the individual character choices are still the same “grab bag” nature.
We KNOW from prior comments from the brand team that Age of the Primes was initially sketched to be a 3 year initiative, but was cut short. We KNOW Earthspark, as a brand initiative, was a failure that has resulted in at least a couple years of planned product support to be “dumped”. We KNOW Paramount is pushing the development of a new Transformers film, but we also know that such a film is probably at least 2-3 years down the line. We don’t know for sure about animation development, but Cyberworld is still sketched to be a “thing” at least through next year, so I don’t entirely expect a new Transformers animation project until 2028 (or 2029 depending on film status).
My feeling is that “Classic Generations” is due for some sort of Major structural overhaul. We’ve been building on the same “style” of figures since 2019’s launch of Siege. Since the launch of Legacy in 2022, Classic Generations has been pretty much just a “grab bag” of characters without much of a cohesive “concept” to the line as a whole**, to varying degrees of success depending on your preferences especially as it came to characters from more stylized series.
I suspect that Studio Series is going to transition into being the full on “collector line”, focused on media-accurate representations of characters, with “Classic Generations” being overhauled into something closer to what we saw prior to Siege, with each line being more “its own thing” than a single building collection. That or “Classic Generations” is getting scuttled or merged with the “Authentics” to be a “third pillar“ of the franchise, with Cyberworld being for the younger/simpler toys, Classic/Authentics being the lower cost “transitionary line” with traditional converting toys, and Studio Series being the pure collector line.
*This isn’t a “Deth of teh line!” Type comment. We’ve seen Hasbro reduce the number of waves per year, with more reruns, and we saw ”same year” AND years old overstock pop up in the Black Friday bundles a few months back, especially for ”Classic Generations”. Clearly something isn’t quite working.
**Age of the Primes has a “theme”, but only in regards to pushing out the Primes. Most of the individual character choices are still the same “grab bag” nature.
Yeah, not sure I like any of that. As directionless as the current Whatever The Generations Mainline is without a strong fiction/media anchor, I'll take that and Whatever Studio Series Is Now. It's basically two collector ish targeted lines, and all that needs to happen is a clearer focus on what they're each covering.
Keep it all the hell away from Authenticscorewhatever.
There are many more pressing reasons to address (that have landed these and other lines on clear out retailer shelves) than the themes or character lineups of each line.
Keep it all the hell away from Authenticscorewhatever.
There are many more pressing reasons to address (that have landed these and other lines on clear out retailer shelves) than the themes or character lineups of each line.
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So one is the actual prime toy, the other is the generations toy... and where the hug did they get red knee pads?
He should have posted comparison pics of the Japanese Go! toy, which was show-accurate.
The Hasbro Prime toy was released during the Aaron Archer era, a time when Hasbro cared less about media accuracy and more about "what looks cool and appealing to kids" for mass retail toys, even if that meant giving the toys bizarre wacky colors that didn't match the character color schemes at all.
Also, the pics of the Hasbro Prime toy he used are of a fan custom. The actual toy doesn't have any red on its head:
And then there's the Japanese Prime toy that used the Knock Out mold instead, which this new AOTP toy looks even more like than Smokescreen's own toy mold:
There's a lot that I like about the Beast Hunters original. Aside from the unfortunate stack of kibble layers on the forearms, a lot about it feels decently dynamic and "right". The US colors were fine, and I did appreciate the extra red and yellow. Shame they never made the Deluxe in the actual Beast Hunters blue/yellow that the Legion class mold got.
So far this team seems to have struggled with the Prime designs, mostly because they tend to be shoehorned into sharing molds with others (Arcee, Knock Out, maybe this, Bulkhead sorta). This does have a great altmode and neat robot mode (just not a particularly good Prime Smokescreen), so I want to see who else they make out of it.
So far this team seems to have struggled with the Prime designs, mostly because they tend to be shoehorned into sharing molds with others (Arcee, Knock Out, maybe this, Bulkhead sorta). This does have a great altmode and neat robot mode (just not a particularly good Prime Smokescreen), so I want to see who else they make out of it.
Funnily enough, I think the easiest thing to reuse this mould as would be Prime Bumblebee.
I can see that, although my mind went to RID2015 Jazz first.
Here's hoping for more fun options.
Here's hoping for more fun options.
You got a source for that? The only quote from the brand team I can recall about AotP's two year runspan is that they didn't want it to take 3 years to get all Thirteen primes out.
Also Earthspark (and Cyberworld (and Cyberverse for that matter)) are kids lines and that's done by a separate team as Hasbro and isn't really a direct influence on Generations outside of the occasional homage figure. Meanwhile, even though both the PotP Trilogy and WfC Trilogy had accompaning fiction, it's been five years and both Legacy and Age of the Prime coasted through without a cartoon tie-in, so I don't think that will really have an affect on Generations gonig forward.
On top of that SS '86 Astrotrain- a figure everyone seems to hate- has sold out on Hasbro's in-house online storefront. And that's with the price increases.
I'm not saying that sales aren't down- Hasbro's sales for everything not MTG took a dip in the last financial report- but overall they seem to be in a strong position relative to the general crappiness of the market.
Fans have always been predicting doom and gloom but the claim that Hasbro cut AotP down from three to two years is a new one because I can't remember that being reported ANYWHERE.
Just a reminder my dude: the hate reflected HERE isn't necessarily reflected by the entire collector community: they are not all here. We are naught but a tiny ice cube on a big honking iceberg.
Or they're using artificial scarcity to hide the poor sales. There's both a war and a depression on.
Or they're using artificial scarcity to hide the poor sales. There's both a war and a depression on.
I was one of those who grabbed that Astrotrain when I could. I did it because my nephew is a huge train fan, and I got him the Galaxy Shuttle repaint when it deep-sale'd, I figured it would make sense to get him an Astrotrain that was not the same mold. I may Reprolabel it or leave it as-is depending, but while it's not my cup of tea, I know it IS his.
I myself just grabbed a Studio Series Shockwave, which I have noted *I* have issues with as I see a lot of lost features for the price. But I liked Heavy Weapon Mode Bruticus, so I took it as a package, rather than a part.
I myself just grabbed a Studio Series Shockwave, which I have noted *I* have issues with as I see a lot of lost features for the price. But I liked Heavy Weapon Mode Bruticus, so I took it as a package, rather than a part.
my source tells me that for 2027 they are going to cancel all generations and all transformers will be called transformers bricks and they will all be bricks like g1 but also because of budget cuts they won't even have any articulation at all and you 'transform' them by just lying them down
btw my source is that i made it the hug up
btw my source is that i made it the hug up
I'm old enough to remember in 2014 when Hasbro was going to wind down Generations, and those upsized Legends we saw at the end of Beast Hunters were the future.
Then Combiner Wars got revealed.
Then Combiner Wars got revealed.