- New Transformers collectibles launched recently including the $200 Trypticon.
- Many items have sold out.
- Stock is spotty which is to be expected for Transformers.
Hasbro has recently opened up pre-orders for a new batch of collectors-focused toys and those with the money to spare have already bought out the most expensive offering of the wave – the $200 giant robot dinosaur Trypticon.
This wave of toys is made up of additions to the new Age of the Primes toy line as well as the long running Studio Series offerings.
To get an idea of what the demand for the figures looks like, we checked out the American version of Hasbro Pulse. Below are the toys from this wave, their pricing and if their pre-orders are in stock or sold out. You can click on the name of the toy to be taken to its store page.
Trypticon | Generations Selects Age of the Primes G1 | $199.99 | Sold out
Optimus Prime | Studio Series Leader Class Age of Transformers: Extinction | $54.99 | In stock
Shockwave| Studio Series Leader Class Transformers: Dark of the Moon | $54.99 | In stock
Topspin vs Spinister | Wreck ‘n Doom Collection | $49.99 | Sold out
Jazz | Studio Series Deluxe Class Transformers: The Movie | $24.99 | In stock
Optimus Prime | Studio Series Deluxe Class Transformers: Devastation | $24.99 | Sold out
Wheeljack (Que) | Studio Series Deluxe Class Transformers: Dark of the Moon | $24.99 | In stock
Ironhide | Studio Series Voyager Class Transformers: War for Cybertron | $34.99 | In stock
If the sold out / in stock status of any of the toys has changed, that’s normal stock fluctuates and we’ve seen availability change on a dime, even when shopping directly from Hasbro on Pulse. This situation is also seen on other third party stores like Amazon.
Trypticon selling so fast is a bit of a surprise, not just because of its high price, but also because this is not a new toy, but rather a recolour of the Titans Return version from 2017. That being said 2017 was quite some time ago already, so giving collectors another chance to pick this titan up, albeit in different colours, seems to be going over well.
Another surprise is the Optimus Prime based on his appearance in the Transformers: Devastation game. This figure was met by quite a lot of disdain at it reveal for having a rather poor truck mode and other sacrifices in its construction. Despite this it has also sold out.
It especially hurts seeing toys based on Transformers games like Devastation and War for Cybertron as these games continue to be delisted and unplayable for most people. The recent cancellation of Transformers: Reactivate opened up old annoyances in the Transformers community as fans beg for access to these old games as they’re left with a lack of content around the franchise.
Circling back to the aforementioned toys, the availability on Hasbro Pulse in your region and from third party stores will vary greatly, so check out your local listings for more.
For us South Africans, don’t even bother. As we discussed in our gift guide around toys for 2024, the Transformers brand is essentially dead in the country. The few toys that do arrive do so months late with insane markups like these terrible transforming masks of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee which are the only new toys launched in SA after more than a year of empty shelves.
That Optimus Prime mask, for example, has a RRP of $35 in the USA according to Hasbro. At the current exchange rate that’s only around R657. Even if we assume the high South African sales tax of 15 percent VAT, that’s only around R756. How much are we expected to pay for this item? It’s current non-sale price on Takealot is R1 299.
