Swapticons (new gimmick line)

Donocropolis

Olde-Timey Member
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
I wish I could understand how people are getting past those heads. It's frustrating because I like everything else about these. I still see the potential. There's things I would want out of this line. But then it's just ruined.

The heads are definitely the weakest part, but I guess they don't bother me too much as the "robot modes" are pretty secondary to how I would use these. If and when I buy some, they're pretty much going to be in various combined beast, vehicle, or beast-hicle mode 90% of the time, so the poor heads won't be much of an issue.
 

LordGigaIce

Another babka?
Citizen
I wish I could understand how people are getting past those heads. It's frustrating because I like everything else about these. I still see the potential. There's things I would want out of this line. But then it's just ruined.
The head designs look they intentionally made them as obnoxious as possible. It's the Gen Alpha version of the extreme 90s grossout aesthetic that gave us Beast Machines' look.
 

lastmaximal

Administrator
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
Obnoxious is the word. The recent face switching Mighty Muggs had a similar vibe. (Although that had some decent ones.)

It's an odd graffiti stylizing ish look that doesn't quite hit and instead lands somewhere in weird Dreamworks face territory.
 

Dvandom

Well-known member
Citizen
The new molds look like they're trying to make more like Scorponok, where they sort of have individual altmodes. Like, not only does it look like an entire Snarl has his head rammed up the cloaca of an entire Grimlock, Slipstream has her own wings which make her look like a plausible jet on her own.

---Dave
 

Undead Scottsman

Well-known member
Citizen
New Swapticon listing courtesy of Jtprime17 over at TFW2005


Swapticons:

TRA SWAPTICONS TARANTULAS ARACHNIA
Product Number: G2428

TRA SWAPTICONS TERRORSAUR LAZORBEAK
Product Number: G2429

TRA SWAPTICONS SCORPONOK DOUBLE PUNCH
Product Number: G2430

TRA SWAPTICONS RHINOX BACKSTOP
Product Number: G2431

TRA SWAPTICONS IRONHIDE RATCHET
Product Number: G2432
 

Donocropolis

Olde-Timey Member
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
New Swapticon listing courtesy of Jtprime17 over at TFW2005


Nice! If I do only get a few of these, Terrorsaur/Lazorbeak and Scorponol/Double punch will be good ones for mixing and matching with Grimlock/Snarl.
 

Steevy Maximus

Well known pompous pontificator
Citizen
So…not sure if it has been reported (or if anyone really cares), BUT…

I saw wave 2 here in southwest Okeehoma. Not sure what the “release cadence” for this sort of line will be, but there ARE listings for a wave 3. So I guess we’ll see. Does feel like Wave 2 is hitting a little later than it was seemingly intended, though.
 

Donocropolis

Olde-Timey Member
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
I've been watching for wave 2. I haven't bought any of these yet, but I do think I'm going to buy the Dinobots and possibly the set with Clench.
 

Steevy Maximus

Well known pompous pontificator
Citizen
They ain't dead yet! Might be, though, the modest slate of Spring 2026 offerings are all being reported by Hasbro pressers as "Walmart Exclusive".
First up is a new 5 pack, Dino Mission, with some weird cross faction combinations. Featuring Beast Wars Dinobot + Beast Wars Megatron, DECEPTICON Skar + Autobot Slug, and a G2 flavored Grimlock.

Next is Wave 3 of the 2 packs, showcasing Blackarachnia and Predacon Tarantulas joined by Terrorsaur and Lazorbeak (not Laserbeak)

 

Sabrblade

Continuity Nutcase
Citizen
I've seen them both at normal Walmarts and the grocery store-only Neighborhood Walmarts.
 

Donocropolis

Olde-Timey Member
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
I've been watching for the Dinobots set, as I think I'm gonna have to buy it. Now knowing that there are MORE Dinobots to mix and match, I'm finding myself even more certain that I have to have them.
 

lastmaximal

Administrator
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
They ain't dead yet! Might be, though, the modest slate of Spring 2026 offerings are all being reported by Hasbro pressers as "Walmart Exclusive".
First up is a new 5 pack, Dino Mission, with some weird cross faction combinations. Featuring Beast Wars Dinobot + Beast Wars Megatron, DECEPTICON Skar + Autobot Slug, and a G2 flavored Grimlock.

Next is Wave 3 of the 2 packs, showcasing Blackarachnia and Predacon Tarantulas joined by Terrorsaur and Lazorbeak (not Laserbeak)

The faces are still meh (I do kinda dig the missing tooth on Slug). I am appreciative of the G2ness of that Grimlock, as well as the specificity and appropriateness of Lazorbeak.

Oddly, for all that, they seem to have used Skar instead of Scarr. I wonder if it was a mixup or the latter was no longer available.
 
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CrockAlley

Well-known member
Citizen
This line is my first bit of FOMO/gotta get 'em! I've had in a while. Not being able to order this stuff on the normal collector store websites is freaking me out! I haven't seen wave 2 at all, and it hasn't shown up on walmart.com as far as I've seen. But they are just staring to pop up in ebay. Here's hoping the full release of wave 2 is incoming.
 

Donocropolis

Olde-Timey Member
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
This line is my first bit of FOMO/gotta get 'em! I've had in a while. Not being able to order this stuff on the normal collector store websites is freaking me out! I haven't seen wave 2 at all, and it hasn't shown up on walmart.com as far as I've seen. But they are just staring to pop up in ebay. Here's hoping the full release of wave 2 is incoming.

I've been keeping an eye on my local Walmarts for Wave 2 as well. I don't want/need a LOT of these, but I do want the Dinobots and probably Clench, so I've been waiting. Forever, the shelf was full of Wave 1 packs that didn't seem to be moving, but after Christmas, almost all of them were gone, so I'm hoping that they'll actually stock some Wave 2.
 

Steevy Maximus

Well known pompous pontificator
Citizen
Guess what? Even though I just found wave 2 a few weeks back, today I come across Wave 3! From the looks of it, a given case seems 2x each of the two new sets, with refreshes of Prime/Magnus. I wasn’t sure if the lone jet pack was fresh stock or leftover from the wave 2 case. And certainly too many of the RodiBee sets to make an accurate determination.
Very clearly, none of the other wave 2 sets were being offered in the wave 3 assortment.

I was actually kind of surprised at how fast the wave 2 case sold through, assuming the jet pack was the lone leftover.
 

Steevy Maximus

Well known pompous pontificator
Citizen
Apparently, there is still a little life left in this line. Amazon Singapore listings have revealed wave 4:
Rhinox and Backstop (Rhino with Transmetal Rhinox colors)
Ironhide and Ratchet (Ambulance)
Double Punch and Scorponok (Scorpion)

As is increasingly typical, the designers are making some DEEP cuts that get my nerdy juices flowing! Rhinox and Backstop are pretty typical, with the combined rhino really evoking the Transmetal Rhinox with the teal across the spine. Ironhide feels a bit out of place, all things considered. Hasbro has clearly not had significant issue in mixing in second tier characters, so it’s surprising to see both Ironhide and Ratchet in a single release when someone like First Aid or Armada Red Alert might have been more thematically fitting.

But the nerdy folks will probably be all over the scorpion set: it’s basically an all Double Punch homage deal, with the Predacon version referencing the rare Botcon Japan repaint, while Scorponok references the original Action Master Elite, with the combined deco making for a unified Double Punch scorpion mode. Double Punch? More like a TRIPLE punch of nerdy deep cuts.


Distribution remains to be seen. The line has become a Walmart retailer exclusive in the US, so it remains to be seen if this wave gets any US-based distribution. Or, possibly, any distribution at all. The line hasn’t seemed to spike significant interest and it’s possible that these might not see release like many later releases in the Robot Heroes assortment from back in the day.
 
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