Hasbro Toy Fair roundup

hasbro_logoToy Fair was last weekend, and all the toy companies were showing off all the new stuff we’ll covet and want to buy. It’s a little overwhelming, so Poe has asked me to highlight some of the good stuff coming out this year from Hasbro.

Hasbro has a LOT on their plate. Not only do they have Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen coming out in June, they also have Transformers: Animated, as well as the Universe/Classics/25th Anniversary line to show off as well.

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Transformers Animated or Universe didn’t get too much love at Toy Fair, but we did get some nice pics of upcoming figures.

For Animated, we’ve got a G1-inspired Arcee coming out, and yes, she is pink with speckles of glitter. We’ve also got a re-paint of Soundwave in black. Many fans will scoop him up and call him Soundblaster, as he appeared with a new black paint job in the Japanese series Transformers: Headmaster. He also comes with a new accessory, Ratbat, keytar, something DEVO might use. Transformers Universe has upcoming Deluxe Class Ratchet, Ultra Class Inferno, and several Legends class mini-bots, inlcuding Hot Rod, Cosmos, Wheelie, and Warpath.

Just like with Transformers: the Movie, Hasbro is releasing a slew of toys and products for Revenge of the Fallen that we’ll no doubt be seeing on shelves for the next two years. Along with new legends, deluxe, voyager, and leader classes of new and old characters, we’ll also be getting a few whoppers.

The toy that seems to be generating the most buzz is the two foot tall, four foot wide Devastator, who will retail for about $100. We’ve gotten our fist good look at the Constructicons, who will be available in the set of six, as well as individual deluxe and voyager classes. The mysterious uni-cycle bot that appeared in the ROTF teaser is Demolishor, who is an excavator. Long Haul, a green dump truck, Rampage, a Caterpillar bulldozer, Scrapper, a Caterpillar scoop loader, Hightower, a Truss Crane, and Mix Master a Mack concrete mixer.

We’ll be getting a new Leader Class Optimus Prime, who has obviously been doing Weight Watchers as he seems to have shed some kibble since his last incarnation taking on a slimmer, more movie-accurate appearance. Much like the first film, Hasbro is going to release two preview bots. This time it’s the much-anticipated Soundwave (we’ve already seen dozens of poorly-transformed pictures) who is actually a triple changer, forming a Cybertronain Spy Satellite, and spacecraft of some sort. In addition Bumblebee will be making his debut ahead of the pack along with Soundwave.

We’ve also gotten a sneak peek at several other new characters in the film, including the googly-eyed duo Mudflap and Skids, who appear in the film respectively as a red Chevrolet Trax and green Chevrolet Beat.

We’ll also see some new sub-lines this time around, the most exciting of which being the “Human Alliance.” First up is a set with Bumblebee and Sam. Bumblebee appears to have considerable more detail and articulation than that of his deluxe counterpart. The humans will be about two inches tall, and will be able to sit inside the driver’s seat. So for those of you who bought Mutt Williams on clearance at Wal-Mart, you’re out of luck!

Another new gimmick will be the RPMs, which are Hot Wheels-like cars that look like the bots’ vehicle modes, and when you stand them up have the robot mode on the undercarriage. Another one for the kiddies is “Gravity Bots” which one can only presume will automatically transform by standing them up.

We’ll see several sub-lines returning, such as the Revoltech-like Robot Replicas which I am sure will be warming toy shelves forever; Fast Action Battlers; and movie Robot Heroes. Also making a return is the product tie-in with Mr. Potato Head. Following in the footsteps of Darth Tater, Idaho Jones, and Optimash Prime is Bumblespud. This TransTater will take on a likeness to Bumblebee as seen in the movies, whereas Optimash Prime was obviously related to his G1 counterpart.

There certainly has been a lot to take in, and while some of the new products appear to be very cool, I can’t help being left with a feeling of “meh.” But I certainly can’t wait to see a lot of these toys up close and in person. Though I think I’m going to be passing on a lot of it, there’s a lot of interesting things for Transfans to feast their eyes upon!

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Much like the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Hasbro seems to be pulling out all the stops for the debut live-action motion picture G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra.

Therefore, about 99.999% of everything shown at Toy Fair pertained to the film. Fans of the 25th RAH Line don’t have a lot to look forward to this year, except Dr. Mindbender and six other figures they’ll just throw away, unless of course you’ve been holding your breath for Chuckles. Two online exclusive Cobra Island theme 7-packs will be released, one Joe team “Assault On” and Cobra “Defense Of”.

In addition to the popular 3.75″ figures, we’ll also be getting 12″ movie figures, action battlers, Combat Heroes, Rapid Rollers, vehicles, and the first new G.I. Joe play set in who knows how long, The Pit. There’s also the Accelerator Suit Duke figure who everyone seems to have dubbed as Robocop (and for good reason).

All of the main characters will get their 3.75″ toyetic forms, Duke, General Hawk, Scarlett, Snake-Eyes, Ripcord, Heavy Duty, and Breaker. As well as Cobra baddies, Destro, Baroness, Storm Shadow and Zartan.

There will be an assortment of vehicles each including their own 3.75″ figure, including Cobra’s own Party Wagon, personal sized tanks, ATVs, and a Mutant Module, sorry, that would be a “Mole Pod“.

The big release is the G.I. Joe Pit, which sort of reminds me of the Mobile Command Center released back in the ’80s. It fold out and has multiple levels of fun written all over it.

The Action Battlers are reminiscent of the Sigma Six figures, only without the great articulation. They seem to be more cartoonish compared to the rest of the movie figures. Out first will be Cobra Viper, Duke, Snake Eyes and Stormshadow. Each will have some sort of button-pushing “action” feature. Also for the kiddies and collectors are G.I. Joe Combat Heroes based off the film.