That has to be old stock they found in a warehouse. There's no way someone picked those molds to do new runs.
Transformers: Age of the Primes toyline discussion || update: stock renders of upcoming Alpha Trion, Micronus, Flatline, Fireflight, Skydive, ++
- Thread starter TriBlurr
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Haven't investors been getting on Hasbro for excess stock? Sounds like they just found some unsold product in a warehouse sweep.
Sunstreaker I can kind of see (the recent reuse was in a store exclusive multipack). But SIEGE Prowl would be some stunning tone-deafness. That is, unless there's some exclusivity hoopla that's managed to stay in effect this long (we never did get a straight reissue of either that Ironhide or non-dead Earth mode Prowl). This despite also-Amazon exclusive Dirge and Ramjet both getting released elsewhere.
There's no stand-alone version of Prowl to reissue aside from the Siege one; they'd have to reissue the two pack entirely, and that Ironhide probably isn't too popular now that the SS version is out. Otherwise they'd need to generate new packaging for him and at that point it's no longer a reissue, it's a product repack.
Sunstreaker is a weird choice given we're getting an '86 version next year.
Siege Prowl has been listed on a couple sites as a pre-order for this fall, so I think this was intentional. (We may be discussing this in the wrong spot, though.)
So many lines, reissues, and recolors have made things so blurred it's hard to guess, honestly. I'm reminded of when Classics/Generations and Reveal the Shield overlapped in such a confusing manner even TfWiki openly griped about where to put things in G1 or Live Movie headings.
It's simple; They're all 'CHUG'.
For my nickel on Prowl and Sunstreaker, this is what I’m suspecting:
Prowl is probably getting dusted off because the character just hasn’t been available in a hot minute outside of higher budget retail exclusives and whatever the eff is going on with Earthspark. He’s also a name/character Hasbro likes to keep in circulation. And, as I recall, the last rerun actually sold out so there might actually be a bit of demand for the character or mold.
Sunstreaker might be intended to compliment Sideswipe (the Target Devastation exclusive).
Given how not all hands talk to each other in a company and how far in advance production plans are made, the decision to rerun these particular figures might have been made before future plans had been finalized.
Prowl is probably getting dusted off because the character just hasn’t been available in a hot minute outside of higher budget retail exclusives and whatever the eff is going on with Earthspark. He’s also a name/character Hasbro likes to keep in circulation. And, as I recall, the last rerun actually sold out so there might actually be a bit of demand for the character or mold.
Sunstreaker might be intended to compliment Sideswipe (the Target Devastation exclusive).
Given how not all hands talk to each other in a company and how far in advance production plans are made, the decision to rerun these particular figures might have been made before future plans had been finalized.
To clarify, I wasn't necessarily looking for a reissue, more an alternate release like the Dirge and Ramjet I mentioned. But that's on me, I should've said "rerelease" or sometbing instead of "a straight reissue"; I just meant to distinguish that from retools like Dead Prowl. To get a Siege reissue instead of that just feels very "we have Prowl at home", purely out of circumstance rather than intent.
As Steevy Maximus notes, we are getting a handful of reissues (the Phantomstrike Squadron one being notable) and this may have just been one more on the to-do list there.
I do hope that between SS86 (however close to done they are on that) and AOTP, Hasbro finds more room for package refreshes of previous exclusives or harder to find stuff. Prowl, Runabout, Thrust, Earth mode Hound...