tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37301459.post8896583978047885470..comments2024-01-16T22:15:10.766-08:00Comments on ROBOPLASTIC APOCALYPSE: Astro Major starring in: "Curse of the 1986 Clearance Robots!"Evil King Macrocranioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01693211146604544544noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37301459.post-33136566152161734322009-09-22T07:50:44.683-07:002009-09-22T07:50:44.683-07:00Evil King Macrocranios, as an aside to your query ...Evil King Macrocranios, as an aside to your query over shelf life, i recall seeing thundercracker and skywarp in our local zayres in 1989. although highly uncommon we did run across this from time to time when we were out looking for some deals. we had a ton of the first gen stuff well into 1987 sitting in toystores all over south florida. some markets snatched it up and some didn't. i don't know if i ever had a better feeling than walking into lionel playworld and seeing the constructicons, insecticons and dinobots all sitting there....not knowing that they were even in existance. sweet days.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37301459.post-67865281203713928542009-02-23T13:51:00.000-08:002009-02-23T13:51:00.000-08:00EKM: As an addendum, the Animated series is alread...EKM: As an addendum, the Animated series is already getting cancelled just as it was gaining steam. This coming season is it. Strange when more people seemed to like it than dislike it.<BR/><BR/>And I see no reason why Universe is being put on hold. I'd say I'm happy to save some money this year on new toy robots, but I know I'll just end up squandering it on other useless shit.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37301459.post-86552023097730034502009-02-23T12:22:00.000-08:002009-02-23T12:22:00.000-08:00Tell me about it! I do think Hasbro is figuring ou...Tell me about it! I do think Hasbro is figuring out ways of identifying popular figures within case assortments so they can bring them back later if there's a market for them. But I think the days of whole waves being available for over a year are long gone. They do that with Star Wars a lot. I really wanted a deluxe Animated Bumblebee but I took too long to get one and for a while they deleted him from the assortments. Then in January he started showing up again. It was like getting a second chance. But if the figure isn't popular then that small 4-6 month window is about all some people get nowadays.<BR/><BR/>Why they do so many radically different and short lived product lines under the same brand name is beyond me. I think the age compression phenomenon that marketers talk about may play into it, too. With the toy playing kid demographic getting younger and younger it probably makes sense to try to put as much out there as possible and see what sells while the current generation of kids is still buying them. But I don't see why what appeals to one generation won't appeal to the next. I don't see why Animated can't last five years.<BR/><BR/>And yeah, dS, you're right about Frenzy in the catalogs. I am so loathe to use the catalogs as a source of info that I forgot about that one.Evil King Macrocranioshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01693211146604544544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37301459.post-40933424986830442102009-02-23T10:56:00.000-08:002009-02-23T10:56:00.000-08:00If anything, the constant flux of the Transformers...If anything, the constant flux of the Transformers brand by Hasbro these days is as much to blame for the short shelf life of current figures.<BR/><BR/>If Hasbro could stick with one specific TF line (preferably a non-movie one) for a few years, perhaps we'd get to see some longevity of specific figures. Instead, if you don't pick up something seemingly within six months of it's release, it can be tricky to find brick and mortar sometimes. Rather sad.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37301459.post-83298448664019236712009-02-23T09:49:00.000-08:002009-02-23T09:49:00.000-08:00Wasn't Frenzy around for at least two years? Like ...Wasn't Frenzy around for at least two years? Like Bumblebee he was in the '84, '85 and 86 catalogs. That would be at least three years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37301459.post-69974174433419873812009-02-23T08:18:00.000-08:002009-02-23T08:18:00.000-08:00I forgot to mention the Darth Vader Death Star has...I forgot to mention the Darth Vader Death Star has only been around <A HREF="http://www.tfarchive.com/toys/checklists/star_wars_marvel_crossovers.php" REL="nofollow">for a little under a year and a half</A>. I know it seems longer.Evil King Macrocranioshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01693211146604544544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37301459.post-70864747059204859422009-02-23T08:16:00.000-08:002009-02-23T08:16:00.000-08:00That'd be a great question for the Hasbro Q&am...That'd be a great question for the Hasbro Q&A and <A HREF="http://www.parrygamepreserve.com/newsDetail.php?jID=900" REL="nofollow">questions are due in today</A>. <BR/><BR/>I suspect the answer has to do with what single figure case assortments sell well. Jetfire was his own case assortment so I'm guessing retailers kept ordering it and Hasbro kept shipping them until the two year mark. I don't know of any Hasbro robot that shipped to retail for more than two consecutive years. Bumblebee and Jetfire would be the only examples I can think of with two year longevity.Evil King Macrocranioshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01693211146604544544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37301459.post-11892680115717436662009-02-23T07:01:00.000-08:002009-02-23T07:01:00.000-08:00I wonder how many toy lines are affected like this...I wonder how many toy lines are affected like this. I still see the same Darth Vader Transformer on the shelves and it's been around for years. How does Hasbro decide?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com