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EVENT COVERAGE: BotCon 2013 Hasbro Display
Beast Hunters, Masterpiece, and Metroplex...
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As always, Hasbro had a strong presence at BotCon with a series of display cases to show off toys coming out throughout the rest of this year. Here’s all the great stuff convention attendees got to see!
The Generations line continues strong this year as Hasbro re-brands it with a 30th anniversary logo for 2014. On display were a variety of items from it beginning with my favorite small scale Legends and upcoming toys of Optimus Prime & Autobot Roller (August, $9.99), Megatron & Chop Stop (September, $9.99), Starscream & Waspinator (September, $9.99), and Bumblebee & Blazemaster (August, $9.99). Sliding up the scale a bit we get to the Deluxe Transformers headlined by a new muscle car Bumblebee (August, $12.99), Megatron as a stealth bomber (August, $12.99), Thundercracker (September, $12.99), trucks sharing some elements in Trailcutter and Hoist (both $12.99, August and September respectively), and the cool Orion Pax (August, $12.99); all of these Deluxes also come with a comic book from IDW. The Generations Voyager series has multiplied with the next three releases being Triplechangers. August brings Blitzwing and Springer, while Sandstorm follows in September (all $19.99). But that’s not all...
We first brought you news of the new Generations “Titan” class at this year’s New York Toy Fair, and the proof was in attendance at BotCon: Metroplex! Not only was this massive bot on display at the Hasbro booth, but Big Bad Toy Store had them in stock in an exclusive pre-sale event for $150. This incredible new toy stands over two feet tall in robot mode and features two more modes, articulated fingers, tons of weapons, an additional Scamper toy, and a plethora of special features. Hardcore fans could be seen lugging this big guy around with them, and it’s going to be no different at San Diego Comic-Con with a new exclusive version (see our story about the Hasbro panel for more info).
The main toy line for Transformers takes its name from the current television show, Transformers Prime Beast Hunters. In the coming months that too will expand across its different price/scale points as evidenced by the toys on display at BotCon. Joining the great little Legion toys is the Air Vehicon (July, $5.99), a welcome army builder addition to the Decepticon forces. On the other side are two new Autobot Commanders: a green-tinged Beast Blade Optimus Prime (August, $8.99) and Trailcutter repaint Huffer (August, $8.99). The main line Deluxe series gets a new Knockout (August, $12.99), a highly anticipated Arcee update (August, $12.99), and a new Predacon in Vertebreak (August, $12.99). The Energon Driller with Bumblebee (July, $19.99) is the latest Legends-scale vehicle, while the Voyager series adds a very cool new deco of the Decepticon leader in Sharkticon Megatron (August, $19.99). Finally, Hasbro had on display the massive Beast Hunter Optimus Prime (August, $59.99) which we first saw at New York Toy Fair.
Later this year the Beast Hunters line will also launch a spinoff of its own at retail, the “Predacons Rising” series of toys exclusive to Target and other partners. BotCon attendees got a sneak peak at the Legion 2-Pack Night Shadow Bumblebee & Blight (October), Commander 2-Packs of Shockwave & Bombshock (October) and Predaking & Optimus Prime (September), Deluxes Skylynx (September) and Nova Blast Bumblebee (October), Voyagers Dark Steel and Cryofire Predaking (September), and the Legion-scale Abominus combiner (September).
For the young and young at heart, Hasbro continues its Kre-O and Rescue Bots toys with mountains of Micro Changers on display alongside Beast Hunters Kre-Os, transforming Rescue Bots heroes, and more. More noteworthy was the large amount of space devoted to the Construct-Bots, the new constructible building toy line. A unique series, these fully transformable toys feature interchangeable parts so you can mix, match, and create your own unique Transformer. Upcoming releases include Scout, Elite, Triple Changers, and the massive Ultimate Optimus Prime vs. Megatron set.
Like other popular toy lines, Transformers offers a multitude of exclusives through various channels, and a section of Hasbro’s BotCon display was devoted to them. The Platinum Edition series (bringing back classic and recent favorites with new decos and paint jobs) will see upcoming (re-)releases of G1 Predaking (September), Grimlock vs. Bruticus (August), and Ultra Magnus (July). A unique gold “Linkin Park Soundwave” was on display, but with a curious lack of information as to when or how this item will be available. Finally there were two incredible new Masterpiece items, the Starscream repaint complete with digital camouflage Acid Storm (July) and the highly anticipated Soundwave (July) that comes with five cassettes!
Hasbro also shared some of its booth space to show off some cool items offered by its partners including an amazing new pop-up book, comics, Loyal Subjects blind box vinyl figures, Rescue Bots Super Paint Book, and more. This display case was next door to an incredible Beast Hunters diorama that featured dozens of toys from the different scales battling it out in a high tech environment. There were lots of cool little scenes to enjoy, and very perceptive audience members even caught sight of a previously unannounced toy in the mix, the upcoming Prowl!
- Scott Rubin
