Toy Fair 2013 Coverage: Masterpiece Soundwave and Acid Storm Confirmed for Wide Release

It's cool that Soundwave just comes with all of his cassettes. Makes getting them and him a simple process. Though I wonder how much the whole thing will end up costing? Maybe around Optimus (he needs another run btw, not even close to enough were shipped)? Possibly even less? Either way. Interesting that we're getting Acid Storm, too. Pretty random though.

Mkall wrote:What is known is that Soundwave will come packaged with all 5 of his cassettes!

And THAT...is all I need to know! Even if Metroplex really is bigger than ol' Fort Max, THIS news is even bigger to me. Although, dammit, I love Soundwave so much that this is one of the few MP toys I want the Takara and Hasbo versions of, but there's too much else to save up for...

Well soundwave, to me, is the best news so far. Ill be on the lookout for him and the triple changers to buy, not sure about metroplex. Metroplex could get made cheaply by hasbro to keep their cost down. If his plastic is thin and cheap looking I'm going to pass on him.

Already read about it in the initial news coverage. Nothing new, basically. I still expect images of Acid Storm and Soundwave (and friends) soon.

And the biggest question just dawned on me: Which one will be named Rumble, and which will be Frenzy?

Yes, I know how their new FOC Disk figs doled out the names, but rather that trying to start the umpteenth pointless RIRFIBRIBFIR debate, I'll place a wager that the package takes advantage of them both being in the same Hasbro box for the first time and refers to them collectively as "Rumble & Frenzy" leaving us to decide who's who, just like Dreamwave G1. If their bio mentions them having phase-shift-chromatic armor that lets them switch back and forth between the two color schemes, leaving their REAL colors in doubt, I might just die of a fan-gasm.

Bumblevivisector wrote:And the biggest question just dawned on me: Which one will be named Rumble, and which will be Frenzy?

Given the trend of Prime Rumble being blue and FoC Rumble being blue, I'm fairly certain the blue guy will be officially called Rumble too. Nothing stopping you from naming him Frenzy tho.

This is great news I reckon... One of the reasons he wasn't on my shopping list was the costs involved in getting all the tapes.. I'm surges its price will be less than the cost of importing the figure and tapes...

YES!!!!! GIVE ME THAT SOUNDWAVE!!! I NEED IT!!!!

Excellent!

Didn't really care about a release of a hasbro soundwave.

But now I'm excited! .
I would say his price would be 80$ with all the cassettes?

Didn't really care about a release of a hasbro soundwave.

But now I'm excited! .
I would say his price would be 80$ with all the cassettes?

SOUNDWAVE!!! With 5 cassettes...Rumble, Frenzy, Ravage, Ratbat, Laserbeak.



Looks like I won't be saving any money this year!

Megatronsdemise666 wrote:Didn't really care about a release of a hasbro soundwave.

But now I'm excited! .
I would say his price would be 80$ with all the cassettes?

He's somewhere between MP Starscream and MP10, so there's $74 USD right there. Cassettes, if sold individually, would probably go for Scout prices ($10 USD), and there's five of them. We're probably looking around $120 USD.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

Bumblevivisector wrote:And the biggest question just dawned on me: Which one will be named Rumble, and which will be Frenzy?

Given the trend of Prime Rumble being blue and FoC Rumble being blue, I'm fairly certain the blue guy will be officially called Rumble too. Nothing stopping you from naming him Frenzy tho.

Yes, I sort of already responded to that in the part of my post you didn't quote.

Seriously, no one else would like to see official fiction acknowledging Rumble and Frenzy being able to switch back and forth between their color schemes, as the ultimate in-joke on the irresolvable debate: a compromise that leaves everyone dissatisfied? It would also rationalize one coloring goof in the Movie.

Lemme guess. Once again, both MPs will be goddamn TrU exclusive unavailable for Québec because they are too retarded to print French on the boxes.

It made me rage greatly considering that those stupid packagings ARE printed IN Québec.
Oh the irony.

it better not be a store exclusive and if it is better not be TRU. Either way the price point better be realistic and not that crap they pulled with Grimlock. Acidstorm should be between $40 & $50 Soundwave $60-$70. But we all know acid storm will be $80 & Soundwave $150 especially if TRU gets them.

Megatron Wolf wrote:it better not be a store exclusive and if it is better not be TRU. Either way the price point better be realistic and not that crap they pulled with Grimlock. Acidstorm should be between $40 & $50 Soundwave $60-$70. But we all know acid storm will be $80 & Soundwave $150 especially if TRU gets them.

Plus, they will force demand by making then not available in all the TrU (not counting Québec that they hate so much).
Then, like OP, they will increase the price by 20$ when stock get down.

TrU is not known to stay classy.

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Megatron Wolf wrote:it better not be a store exclusive and if it is better not be TRU. Either way the price point better be realistic and not that crap they pulled with Grimlock. Acidstorm should be between $40 & $50 Soundwave $60-$70. But we all know acid storm will be $80 & Soundwave $150 especially if TRU gets them.

Plus, they will force demand by making then not available in all the TrU (not counting Québec that they hate so much).
Then, like OP, they will increase the price by 20$ when stock get down.

TrU is not known to stay classy.

Dear Hasbro,

Make them available to all retailers and stop making Toys "R" Us the dominant seller of Masterpieces in North America.

Warm regards,

-Mindmaster and pretty much most of the fanbase

Bumblevivisector wrote:Seriously, no one else would like to see official fiction acknowledging Rumble and Frenzy being able to switch back and forth between their color schemes, as the ultimate in-joke on the irresolvable debate: a compromise that leaves everyone dissatisfied? It would also rationalize one coloring goof in the Movie.

I'd buy that for a dollar. Or $3.99 whatever the price of the current comics is. I'm not against the idea that a lot of TFs can change colour at will. It'd explain their turning grey when dead in the movie, excuse animation errors and it could be written off as a racial inherent talent that not everyone possesses explaining why some bots are always the same colours. It could be hardwired into their CNA.

Mindmaster wrote:Dear Hasbro,

Make them available to all retailers and stop making Toys "R" Us the dominant seller of Masterpieces in North America.

Warm regards,

-Mindmaster and pretty much most of the fanbase

I think Hasbro gets a lot of flack from the fandom for the TRU exclusives, but I don't think they're to blame (necessarily).

We all know Masterpieces have historically performed poorly at other retailers, and TRU seems to be the only retailer willing to pick up that slack. From a business perspective, I'm sure Hasbro would love to have a wider presence at the big box department stores, but those stores are probably unwilling to play ball.

Even with Masterpiece Optimus, I'm fairly certain that Hasbro manufactured to the quantities TRU decided to order, so throw stones at TRU for vastly underestimating demand. Same with the price point - Hasbro set the suggested retail of 99.95, and sold product to TRU at prices based on that suggested retail. It's TRU that jacked up the price.

What we're seeing now is a symptom of poor performance in the past. If we were able to have Target or Wal-Mart go to bat for Soundwave, we might be able to end the vicious TRU epidemic, but I wouldn't count on it.

I wish Hasbro's online Toy Store had the gumption to sell this stuff directly. That may be the most realistic (if not likely) solution to this short-supply, TRU & scalpers market.

Give me some photos, I don't have time for predictions, Hasbro.

Too bad it's too late to cancel my MP Soundwave order from BBTS. Anyone wanna buy a brand new MISB Takara Soundwave?

XDMan wrote:Give me some photos, I don't have time for predictions, Hasbro.

It's probably going to still look the same:



Maybe put in a few subtle changes here and there like they did MP10, but that's it. Be patient, brah. Hasbro will deliver.

'cause everyone is CLEARLY waiting for an Acid Storm... /sigh

*goes back to saving pennies for a 110% overpriced Starscream import*

DinobotSix wrote:'cause everyone is CLEARLY waiting for an Acid Storm... /sigh

I'm actually interested in Acid Storm. If he's all camo-y like his Universe Deluxe was, I'd get him.

Great news, I cannot wait to pick up both!

This makes me happy that i cancelled my pre order at the last minute. I wasn't feeling the 200 dollar ,after shipping, price tag on Soundwave.
I had a feeling he would get a Hasbro release. Now i just gotta wait and deal with the frustration of TRU and the scalpers scooping them all up as soon as they hit the shelf. sigh
Maybe he was worth the 200 hundred after all.

I just realized I made a faux pas. I posted that I was excited about getting Ratbat...we're not actually getting him, are we? Buzzsaw instead. Is that correct?

Even though Ratbat would have been the more logical choice to me, given that Buzzsaw only showed up in one, maybe two episodes of G1, and Ratbat's involvement, though brief, in the movie.

Then again, there is the deluxe "Senator" Ratbat. Though I doubt he'll see U.S. release.

Nemesis Maximo wrote:I just realized I made a faux pas. I posted that I was excited about getting Ratbat...we're not actually getting him, are we? Buzzsaw instead. Is that correct?

Even though Ratbat would have been the more logical choice to me, given that Buzzsaw only showed up in one, maybe two episodes of G1, and Ratbat's involvement, though brief, in the movie.

Then again, there is the deluxe "Senator" Ratbat. Though I doubt he'll see U.S. release.

Don't be too hard on yourself. Even if he is a vicious, unstoppable killing machine, we all forget about Buzzsaw occasionally.

I lay odds on a $100 price point, later jacked up to $125 after the initial (short) supply is purchased. Still, I'm happy we're getting him. Guess I'll need to sell yet another of my body's redundant organs.

All I need to know is price. Anything under $200 will be a steal

chuckdawg1999 wrote:All I need to know is price. Anything under $200 will be a steal

Right on man, anything would be a steal! But if I had to guess actual retail price (cue the Price is Right theme ) I would say about $89.99. Sorry Acid Storm but you suite me as a deluxe seeker and that's that but to SW...c'mon Hasbro here is my money.

If Soundwave is going to be a TRU only release, we better make sure we are prepared for plenty of aggravation. It will start at $149.99, will be scarcely available both in-store and online, will sell out, magically re-appear, go up to $189.99, and the influx of complaints about eBay scalpers will be burning up the forums from the first sighting. Then, there will be people like me without access to a store having to depend on the TRU site, which is it's own nightmare.

All I can say, if it is indeed TRU only, is good luck. To all of us. And pick up extras if you can. Of course the "one per customer" rule could effect that as well, if the store follows it.

*** SIGH ***

Don't know how I feel about acid storm... Not sure if I need a masterpiece version, and definitely not picking up the sunstorm.

Awesome news about Masterpiece Soundwave but I already have the Takara Version, but this does make me rethink about buying the Takara Masterpieces cassettes

So does this mean we're not getting Sideswipe?

glad i decided to hold off on getting the takara version. getting all the cassetes is a nice suprise.

Lets see. Takara: about 200 for Soundwave. Plus 120 for the Frenzy, Rumble, Ravage, and Buzzsaw. Total: roughly 320 plus shipping. Hasbro: I'm guessing no more than 200 for all 6 figures. Go Hasbro

IJK Productions wrote:Lets see. Takara: about 200 for Soundwave. Plus 120 for the Frenzy, Rumble, Ravage, and Buzzsaw. Total: roughly 320 plus shipping.

Anyone paying that much only has themselves to blame. I paid $139 for Soundwave and with how things are shaping up, I'll be paying around $70 for both Cassette sets (+ shipping of course). People seriously need to shop around and preorder.

In terms of the price difference, if this winds up at around a $190 price tag like some people are saying, the price difference will be minimal.

Im in the UK and have paid about $330 including shipping for SW including all cassettes (not sure if I am going to have to pay import tax though). Whilst it would be pretty painful if SW was over here for that price to me is worth the extra money just to ensure I get him (plus the takara box is a bit nicer).

On the other hand, if Hasbro see the takara versions going for that much why would they charge only $90 for SW or $20 for 2 cassettes rather than the $200 and $50 / $60 they go for on the net? Cant really see that much of a mark-down happening myself.

PadForce wrote:Im in the UK and have paid about $330 including shipping for SW including all cassettes (not sure if I am going to have to pay import tax though). Whilst it would be pretty painful if SW was over here for that price to me is worth the extra money just to ensure I get him (plus the takara box is a bit nicer).

On the other hand, if Hasbro see the takara versions going for that much why would they charge only $90 for SW or $20 for 2 cassettes rather than the $200 and $50 / $60 they go for on the net? Cant really see that much of a mark-down happening myself.

The reasons Japanese items cost so much are multiple. The main reasons are:

- Conversion from Yen to US Dollars
- Import Duty
- Profit margin set by the middle man (ie. the stores that carry such items)
- Shipping

With Hasbro supplying directly over the world, most of those costs are offset.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

PadForce wrote:Im in the UK and have paid about $330 including shipping for SW including all cassettes (not sure if I am going to have to pay import tax though). Whilst it would be pretty painful if SW was over here for that price to me is worth the extra money just to ensure I get him (plus the takara box is a bit nicer).

On the other hand, if Hasbro see the takara versions going for that much why would they charge only $90 for SW or $20 for 2 cassettes rather than the $200 and $50 / $60 they go for on the net? Cant really see that much of a mark-down happening myself.

The reasons Japanese items cost so much are multiple. The main reasons are:

- Conversion from Yen to US Dollars
- Import Duty
- Profit margin set by the middle man (ie. the stores that carry such items)
- Shipping

With Hasbro supplying directly over the world, most of those costs are offset.

Yeah, being UK most of those factors are different but I am happy anyway, even if it is £50 cheaper in the end whenever (if) it gets to the UK that extra £50 ($75 odd) is worth paying now to definitely get it.

Not that I'll have any chance in hell of seeing either of these in Australia. Pretty much goes for most of the figures shown at the toy fair this year. I kinda feel that we get jacked here Down Under. I mean, all I seem to be able to find are a buttload of Bumblebees of all persuasions, Cyberverse (which I'm just not interested in), or the play sets. I haven't seen any decent Generations stuff on the shelves since I bought Wheeljack ages ago. I really wanted Wreck-Gar but never, ever laid eyes on it. I'm hanging for FoC Magnus and Starscream but doubt I'll ever see them. Grimlock? Fat chance. Any of the Masterpiece figures? Pffft! As if! I saw a Hasbro cartoon-accurate-colour-scheme Starscream years ago and nothing since. And it's not like I live out in the middle of nowhere either. I live in Melbourne and check the TRUs and Kmarts and Big Ws and Toyworlds. Nothin'.

Mindmaster wrote:I'm actually interested in Acid Storm. If he's all camo-y like his Universe Deluxe was, I'd get him.

Yeah, I'm sure some folks will be happy for a variant seeker and I actually like his colors. So, by all means enjoy!! =)

It sure seems odd though, to release a character which is never named in G1 and leave the main seeker and one of the most popular characters of the franchise in an inferior mold from 6 years ago and out of production? The idea seems poorly conceived. I could see if they were releasing a Generations Deluxe of Acid Storm for the kiddos, but an MP for a collector market? Especially the North American collector market, which doesn't strike me as the same level of hardcore (and thus more likely to buy obscure characters) as the Asian collector market. Why not an Ultra Magnus from the mp10 mold instead? At least he's a popular G1 character. *shrug*

More than just an apparently odd decision to release Acid Storm, it's just the overall feeling that Hasbro apparently sees little to no value in the North American "collector" market, that strikes me as strange. I'm not angry at Hasbro. They're the ones who have to work hard at running a business and turning a profit. I respect that. I just think they're missing an opportunity to make a nice little profit by intelligently embracing their collector market.

As someone else mentioned, they've said NOTHING about Sideswipe or Red Alert and I guess no word on mp17, 18 and 19 yet either?

Ah well. At least Takara is MAKING these wonderful figures available...so I guess I should be glad for what we DO get! Even if I can't afford to buy many of them.

As to pricing, I have to think that if Hasbro Soundwave is coming with 5 cassetes, he's gonna be over $120...I just can't see 6 MP grade transformers in one kit, costing less than $120. I wouldn't be surprised to see $129.99 at release.

Mindmaster wrote:I'm actually interested in Acid Storm. If he's all camo-y like his Universe Deluxe was, I'd get him.

Yeah, I'm sure some folks will be happy for a variant seeker and I actually like his colors. So, by all means enjoy!! =)

It sure seems odd though, to release a character which is never named in G1 and leave the main seeker and one of the most popular characters of the franchise in an inferior mold from 6 years ago and out of production? The idea seems poorly conceived. I could see if they were releasing a Generations Deluxe of Acid Storm for the kiddos, but an MP for a collector market? Especially the North American collector market, which doesn't strike me as the same level of hardcore (and thus more likely to buy obscure characters) as the Asian collector market. Why not an Ultra Magnus from the mp10 mold instead? At least he's a popular G1 character. *shrug*

More than just an apparently odd decision to release Acid Storm, it's just the overall feeling that Hasbro apparently sees little to no value in the North American "collector" market, that strikes me as strange. I'm not angry at Hasbro. They're the ones who have to work hard at running a business and turning a profit. I respect that. I just think they're missing an opportunity to make a nice little profit by intelligently embracing their collector market.

As someone else mentioned, they've said NOTHING about Sideswipe or Red Alert and I guess no word on mp17, 18 and 19 yet either?

Ah well. At least Takara is MAKING these wonderful figures available...so I guess I should be glad for what we DO get! Even if I can't afford to buy many of them.

As to pricing, I have to think that if Hasbro Soundwave is coming with 5 cassetes, he's gonna be over $120...I just can't see 6 MP grade transformers in one kit, costing less than $120. I wouldn't be surprised to see $129.99 at release.

This is great for those who wanted Soundwave but either can't find or can't afford the Takara version. I have him and it truly is a masterpiece. I will still be getting the Takara cassettes because I normally buy my Masterpieces from them but again, this is great for those who can't afford them.

Hero wrote:So does this mean we're not getting Sideswipe?

I was at the Toy Fair and the Hasbro rep said that the Sideswipe/Red Alert is a licensing issue. Sounded like he was going to say something more but didnt. He didnt exactly say "It's a licensing issue" but he said yes when asked if it was a licensing issue but I thnk there was more to it than that judging by his reaction to the question.

Another rep we spoke to talked to us about the plastic situation. He mentioned, plastic cost, weight etc etc, that designers even put the figures on scales to make sure they are within maximum weight requirements and explained that is the reason for so much hollowness in the figures. They want to make the nicest figure possible but all the requirements make it very hard. Details and design have to be compromised.

When we asked another rep about availability of Soundwave, he said they will be making it more accessible than OP which he knows was difficult to find. They could only allocate so many units to certain stores and some never got them. Probably based on sales of those store,location,etc. I have a feeling they said this about Prime when Thundercracker was hard to find. We'll have to wait and see.

I asked how much Soundwave was going to be and he started to say he didn't know, but interrupted himself and said, well, I do know but I can't say.

Mindmaster wrote:

Megatronsdemise666 wrote:Didn't really care about a release of a hasbro soundwave.

But now I'm excited! .
I would say his price would be 80$ with all the cassettes?

He's somewhere between MP Starscream and MP10, so there's $74 USD right there. Cassettes, if sold individually, would probably go for Scout prices ($10 USD), and there's five of them. We're probably looking around $120 USD.

Yeah but optimus prime was 100$ and that was with a trailer and roller.

So soundwave will be 80-90$

Mindmaster wrote:

Megatronsdemise666 wrote:Didn't really care about a release of a hasbro soundwave.

But now I'm excited! .
I would say his price would be 80$ with all the cassettes?

He's somewhere between MP Starscream and MP10, so there's $74 USD right there. Cassettes, if sold individually, would probably go for Scout prices ($10 USD), and there's five of them. We're probably looking around $120 USD.

Yeah but optimus prime was 100$ and that was with a trailer and roller.

So soundwave will be 80-90$

lowman_x wrote:Not that I'll have any chance in hell of seeing either of these in Australia. Pretty much goes for most of the figures shown at the toy fair this year. I kinda feel that we get jacked here Down Under. I mean, all I seem to be able to find are a buttload of Bumblebees of all persuasions, Cyberverse (which I'm just not interested in), or the play sets. I haven't seen any decent Generations stuff on the shelves since I bought Wheeljack ages ago. I really wanted Wreck-Gar but never, ever laid eyes on it. I'm hanging for FoC Magnus and Starscream but doubt I'll ever see them. Grimlock? Fat chance. Any of the Masterpiece figures? Pffft! As if! I saw a Hasbro cartoon-accurate-colour-scheme Starscream years ago and nothing since. And it's not like I live out in the middle of nowhere either. I live in Melbourne and check the TRUs and Kmarts and Big Ws and Toyworlds. Nothin'.

Actually this stuff should see retail here (I managed to score Prime and Thundercracker at retail), but you need to keep on TRU about it. I actually wish I'd know you were caught out with the MPs- I could have hooked you up between the TRUs where my fiance is and where I am.

If you get stuck when these MPs hit, let me know and I'll see if I can track him down in the ACT and the Central Coast/Newcastle areas in NSW.

Bowspearer wrote:

lowman_x wrote:Not that I'll have any chance in hell of seeing either of these in Australia. Pretty much goes for most of the figures shown at the toy fair this year. I kinda feel that we get jacked here Down Under. I mean, all I seem to be able to find are a buttload of Bumblebees of all persuasions, Cyberverse (which I'm just not interested in), or the play sets. I haven't seen any decent Generations stuff on the shelves since I bought Wheeljack ages ago. I really wanted Wreck-Gar but never, ever laid eyes on it. I'm hanging for FoC Magnus and Starscream but doubt I'll ever see them. Grimlock? Fat chance. Any of the Masterpiece figures? Pffft! As if! I saw a Hasbro cartoon-accurate-colour-scheme Starscream years ago and nothing since. And it's not like I live out in the middle of nowhere either. I live in Melbourne and check the TRUs and Kmarts and Big Ws and Toyworlds. Nothin'.

Actually this stuff should see retail here (I managed to score Prime and Thundercracker at retail), but you need to keep on TRU about it. I actually wish I'd know you were caught out with the MPs- I could have hooked you up between the TRUs where my fiance is and where I am.

If you get stuck when these MPs hit, let me know and I'll see if I can track him down in the ACT and the Central Coast/Newcastle areas in NSW.

Keep on them, Lowman, it's the only way.
Kmart's been getting the new range of Generations, Bot-Shots etc. If either of you are after a certain figure and are having difficulty finding them, drop me a PM with your email. I'm usually the first to get a look at all the new TF coming into work.

Megatronsdemise666 wrote:

Mindmaster wrote:

Megatronsdemise666 wrote:Didn't really care about a release of a hasbro soundwave.

But now I'm excited! .
I would say his price would be 80$ with all the cassettes?

He's somewhere between MP Starscream and MP10, so there's $74 USD right there. Cassettes, if sold individually, would probably go for Scout prices ($10 USD), and there's five of them. We're probably looking around $120 USD.

Yeah but optimus prime was 100$ and that was with a trailer and roller.

So soundwave will be 80-90$

Even without the trailer and Roller, Optimus would have been around $74 USD. Take into account the size of Soundwave's cassettes. They're around Scout-size (which goes for around $10 USD). Fifty dollars worth of Scouts going with something that already costs $74 USD. $124 USD.