Toy Sightings Agglomeration
Last Updated (by column)
(1) 2/25/24 | (2) 3/16/24 | (3) 3/3/24

Note: I've had something of a last straw moment with Walmart around here, so I won't be going into their stores as much and Amarillo sightings will become less common, mostly Target.
If you are still sending me sightings reports at the eyrie.org address, there's a very good chance they'll be lost in the spam. Please send to my gmail address (still dvandom).

Sightings Report Request

    If you're sending me a bunch of sightings from different locations at the same time, please divide them by the toy, not the location, since by-the-toy is how I organize this page. It just makes it easier for me to enter the info if all the sightings for a given thing are clumped. Thanks.



SIGHTINGS Main TF Page Dave's Online Nest Opera of the Dvandom
Movieverse
Rise of the Beasts (2023)
Bumblebee (2018)
The Last Knight (2017)
Age of Extinction (2014)
Dark of the Moon (2011)
Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
2007 Movie
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Generations:
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EarthSpark
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Side Lines
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Non-TF
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    Note that toys may be out in places I haven't mentioned, if I don't get a report from somewhere I don't post it. When I stop mentioning specific cities, it usually means the toy is in wide enough release that I'm not going to bother listing individual sightings anymore. Note: I am not going to cover package variations unless there's actual content variations (such as the case of the Primus with and without Unicron heads).

Please include both the location (city) and store in sighting reports.

TRANSFORMERS TOYS

SUB-LINES
(Official Transformers, but not the main line.)

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Target Exclusives

   With TRU effectively gone (two stores opening by the end of 2019 doesn't really count), Target is stepping up on the exclusives. The Buzzworthy Bumblebee line seems to be their main trade dress for exclusives, building on their 2018 Bumblebee movie exclusives but often having nothing to do with Bumblebee.

CODE RED: Strangers Things Collaborative pizza delivery van. 1/12/24: Amarillo TX, $45 shelf price (even if it's a Voyager mold, that's a lot of licensing tax). I got mine online on sale, it's in the review queue.

BUZZWORTHY TROOP BUILDERS: You know, a proper "troopbuilder" set contains multiple copies of the same generic trooper, like a box with three regular Stormtroopers and one that has a little bit of extra paint that marks him as a squad leader. But not this set! It has one Animated Universe Autotrooper (Siege Ironhide mold in white with two choices of head), G2 Universe Cybertronian Trooper (Deluxe Skullgrun mold in white and teal with two head options), Decepticon Seeker (Earthrise Starscream mold in the unnamed blue-purple color scheme from MtMtE part 2), and Quintesson Trooper (Earthrise Alicon with two head options and a more cartoon-accurate deco). Want multiple Autotroopers? Too bad, gotta buy multiple sets, or do some trading. 11/2/23: Pensacola FL. (First reported-to-me sighting, but I've been seeing people customizing these things online for weeks, so either their Targets got 'em early, or these were specialty store shipments.)

DEAD IRONHIDE AND PROWL: Buzzkillworthy, amirite? Retools of Studio Series 86-24 Ironhide (as 86-24BB) and Earthrise Prowl (as 86-20BB) with battle damage and "argh I am dying" faces. 8/13/23: Burke VA. 8/19: South Carson CA. 9/6: Amarillo TX, $56. I gave the set a pass, the gag's a little too specific for me to want more of either mold just to get death scenes. If it lasts long enough to go on clearance, I might reconsider. (Later note: I picked it up for 66% off.)

BUZZWORTHY LEADER GRIMLOCK: Studio Series #07 Grimlock in Buzzworthy packaging. 8/8/23: Amarillo TX. 8/19: South Carson CA. 10/12: Pace FL.

BUZZWORTHY SMASH-CHANGER SCOURGE: RotB Scourge as a Smash-Changer. 8/8/23: Amarillo TX. Almost bought it, then thought better of it. Even when the gimmick works, Smash-Changers are bricks. 8/19: South Carson CA.

BUZZWORTHY TOW-LINE: A headswap redeco of Scraphook as RiD01 Tow-Line, the "neon" colored parking law enforcer. 8/2/23: Sterling VA, appears to be a dedicated case. 8/8: Amarilllo TX. 8/19: Hacienda Heights CA, Manhattan Beach CA, South Carson CA.

ONE-STEP CHANGERS: Cyberverse One-Step Changers Prowl and Starscream in Buzzworthy packaging, no changes to the toys. 5/24/23: Redondo Beach CA. 6/21: Amarillo TX.

JUNGLE MISSION: A three-pack of Deluxes, it appears they will all get individual Deluxe releases with little to no change in mold or color. Cheetor (robot cheetah), Nightracer (unlicensed sportscar), and Wheeljack (VW Minibus). $55 price point. 3/30/23: Amarillo TX. 4/1: Torrance CA. 4/2: South Carson CA. 4/6: Redondo Beach CA. 5/24: Down to half price some places. Note, future Buzzworthy RotB toys will go on the Movie Toys page.

ORIGINS JAZZ: aka "Jazzworthy Jazz," as he showed up in the first G1 episode. 3/12/23: Baltimore MD. Also somewhere in VA. 3/18: Vauxhall NJ. 3/22: Torrance CA. Note, there's multiple reports of paint damage to the chest due to how it's packaged. 3/23: Amarillo TX (and no damage, but of course I pre-ordered from Pulse). 4/6: Redondo Beach CA.

BUZZWORTHY SILVERSTREAK: With blue accents, appears to be in a dedicated case. 3/30/22: Manhattan Beach CA, Springfield VA. 3/31: Amarillo TX, Pensacola FL, South Carson CA. 4/2: Quincy MA, Braintree MA. 5/18: Gaithersburg MD. 8/8/23: Forgot to mention the other day, but it's hit Ollie's closeout stores.

Walmart Exclusives

TOXITRON COLLECTION: More G2-than-G2 garish decos explained away as being the result of toxic waste exposure.

  • DELUXE: Dead End (actual G2 deco), Jazz (never used G2 scheme, very orange and red), "Laser Cycle" (the planned but never released Jazz redeco of Road Rocket, but since this would involve a gender swap they did not call this Jazz), Mirage (unused G2 concept art), Sideswipe (unused G2 concept art). I'm not sure a case actually contains all five, if it does the shortpacks are probably Dead End and Sideswipe (since I found two of each of the others on the shelves but only those). 7/22/23: Jazz, Mirage, and Laser Cycle in Amarillo TX. 8/4: Found the rest in Amarillo TX.
  • VOYAGER: Cloudcover (unused G2 design for Ramjet, but this one has Dirge's head sculpt, Earthrise mold). 7/31/23: Amarillo TX.
  • LEADER: Grimlock ("tiger stripe" unused deco), Toxitron (G2 Laser Optimus Prime mold in existing Toxitron colors). 7/22/23: Grimlock only, Amarillo TX. (I passed on it.) 7/31: Both Grimlock and Toxitron, Amarillo TX. (I picked up Toxitron.)

RETRO STARSCREAM and HOT ROD: G1 reissues in movie-accurate colors. Starscream has a small Megatron gun and fists remolded to be able to hold it, I think. $34. 1/17/23: Amarillo TX (Starscream only).

SPEEDIA 500: A big cluster of new and old molds bound loosely by the theme of characters appearing at (if not necessarily racing in) the Speedie 500, Velocitron's general election.

  • DELUXE 1: Blurr (Studio 86 retool with a new front end in vehicle mode), Clampdown (police redeco of the most recent retool of Sideswipe with a new head, he's there to ticket the racers), Cosmos (good luck ever finding one, new mold and shortpacked), Burnout (black redeco and headswap of Legacy Skids), and Roadrocket (head swap redeco of Legacy Arcee). 7/31/22: Pace FL. (Cosmos already gone when the sighter got there.) 8/3: Amarillo TX, also no Cosmos. 8/5: Canyon TX, Cosmos found (but not by me). 8/15: There seems to be a second assortment with more Cosmos and Clampdown in it, hitting various places (including Amarillo) this week.
  • DELUXE 2: Decepticon Crasher (Mirage using the Battle Against Time mold but the 3-pack face mold), Shadow Strip (G2 Drag Strip). 12/24/22: Minneapolis area. 1/27/23: Dumas TX.
  • VOYAGER: Override (new mold), Autobot Hauler (green deco of ER Grapple, someone gotta clean up the wrecks). 8/3/22: Amarillo TX, Canyon TX. 12/24: Now on clearance for $25, I grabbed a Hauler.
  • LEADER: Scourge (RiD2000 redeco of Legacy Laser Optimus Prime). 7/31/22: Pace FL. 8/8: Amarillo TX. (I passed on it, I didn't like the mold enough to want more of it at $56.)

LEGACY DELUXE: All based on Kingdom molds. Nightprowler (Cheetor redeco based on an unreleased Universe toy), Buzzsaw (head-swap redeco of Waspinator, based on BW Buzzsaw), Sandstorm (tan and red redeco of Scorponok based on a BotCon exclusive from the late 90s). 5/18/22: Amarillo TX. 5/26: Pace FL.

VINTAGE BEAST WARS DELUXE WAVE 3: Cybershark, $25. And I finally noticed that the techspecs use the four-icon system that Legacy does. 4/17/22: Amarillo TX. 4/30: Weymouth MA. 5/26: Pace FL.

VINTAGE BEAST WARS DELUXE WAVE 4: Wolfang and Retrax, $28. 12/5/22: Amarillo TX. Part of an aisle display of other $28 toys like holiday color Imperial Scout Trooper (Black Series).

VINTAGE BEAST WARS SCORPONOK: In 1990s-style packaging, the old "Mega" figure is now $42 at Walmart. I did not buy one to see what small mold differences there might be, but it is a more show-accurate color scheme. 1/29/22: Amarillo TX. 2/3: Pace FL. 12/24: Now available at Ross for $15, so I snagged one.

Amazon Exclusives

    The Kingdom set is Battle Across Time, pairing a Cybertronian with a beast warrior of some sort.

MIRAGE and GRIMLOCK: A heavily retooled Siege Mirage updated for a more Earth-like mode, and a head-swap redeco of Voyager Dinobot.

SIDESWIPE and SKYWARP: An updated Sideswipe retool that resembles Earthrise Sunstreaker in vehicle mode, plus a head-swap of Airazor as BWII Skywarp (from the combiner team). 12/24/22: They've been showing up at Ross for a few weeks now, sorry I forgot to mention it.

Other Store Exclusives

MEDIX: A Crankcase retool with Crosscut's head and Minerva's guns added in, this is the Walgreens co-exclusive for 2023. 12/1/23: Available (but probably just briefly) on Pulse. Scored one, woot. 1/6/24: A few Walgreens around Southern California have it (the rest have Minerva). 1/7: Walgreens in Amarillo TX.

MINERVA: A co-tool of Legacy Arcee with a different head and lightbar. Walgreens co-exclusive with Hasbro Pulse, tends to be a "show up and sell out" item online. 12/22/22: Walgreens in East Torrance CA. 12/23: Gardenia CA. (I did find some battered boxes in Amarillo TX a few months later but forgot to note it here.) 1/6/24: Reportedly still showing up in some places instead of Medix.

AUTHENTICS: Replacing the repackaged Legion figures that have been perpetually available at stores like Dollar General. The "Bravo" assortment has Legends-sized figures for $5-6, first wave being Bumblebee, Megatron, Optimus, and Starscream. These are simplified designs in the same vein as the Cyber Battalion figures. The "Alpha" assortment adds a few joints and is closer to Battalion size, but is still very simplified, and packaged on a large blister card, $10-12. In 2023-24 the blister packages got replaced by open-window boxes, and for a while the Titan Changers were thought to be the new Alpha class. 10/28/23: Optimus Primal (gorilla) and a repackaged first wave Bumblebee Bravo class at Family Dollar in Amarillo TX ($6.15). 11/1: Titan Changer Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and Grimlock in plastic-free packaging for $12 at Dollar General. Optimus and Bumblebee looked horrible, Grimlock looked bad but not so bad I didn't buy one. Turns out it was very bad too. 11/3: Bravo wave 6 at Dollar General for $6, included Optimus Prime in addition to Primal and BB. 12/6: Soundwave added into the Titan Changer assortment. $15 at CVS in Amarillo TX (I picked it up because I had a couple of "expires today" discounts on my card, so I got it for $9). 2/25/24: Actual Alpha Class Bumblebee (repackage) and Starscream (mostly F-15-ish) at Ross in Amarillo TX for $6 down from $20 (yeah, I doubt they'll actually be that much anywhwere).

CYBERTRON BATTLERS: Non-transforming soft plastic figures with five points of articulation and somewhat indifferent paint, proportions are kinda in the Rescue Bots style. Evergreen designs of Optimus Prime, Megatron (no heels so falls over easily) and Bumblebee, $5. 11/3/23: Dollar General in Amarillo TX.


Transformers BotBots

    Gotta catch a mall!

SERIES 6: Currently pre-orderable on Amazon, for Fall 2022 shipping. Only entire cases available as of Spring 2022. Includes some vehicle sets linked to the Netflix cartoon. Shipped in November, my review is now up (see Side Lines in the navbar up top). As of November 2023 they're showing up at Ross.


Transformers Rescue Bots/Classic Heroes Team

    In 2022, the branding changed to Classic Heroes Team, dropping Rescue Bots entirely. But they're still basically Rescue Bots.

CLASSIC HEROES TEAM REPACKS: Repackages of "Basic" class sports car Bumblebee and truck Optimus from back in the Rescue Bots days. 1/21/21: Target in Amarillo TX.

CLASSIC HEROES TEAM GRIMLOCK: Robot to dinosaur, new mold. $10.88 at Walmart. 8/1/22: Seems to have been a dedicated case, Walmart in Amarillo TX. By November 2023 they're at Ross, as are Primal and Megatron (tank).

CLASSIC HEROES TEAM OPTIMUS PRIMAL: Robot to missile-backpack gorilla. 8/11/22: Walmart in Amarillo TX.

CLASSIC HEROES TEAM MEGATRON: Drill tank, but in otherwise G1-ish colors rather than hazard stripe miner colors. 8/11/22: Walmart in Amarillo TX.

CLASSIC HEROES TEAM MEGATRON (GATOR): No sightings yet as of 12/24/22, but pictures have shown up of a gator Megatron, first time he's had that mode in wide release since 1996-7. I eventually got it online from Macy's (they bought the TRU name), a year later still haven't seen it on shelves.

CLASSIC HEROES TEAM STARSCREAM: Cute little jet, might be released at the same time as Megatortron.

RESCUE BOTS ACADEMY AUTOBOT RATCHET: No idea when this actually came out, I saw it at Walgreens on 12/17/23 but for $18 so it stayed on the shelf. Looks to be the Medix ambulance mold with a new head and possible other mold changes. 12/17/23: Walgreens in Amarillo TX. $17 on Walmart.com, but that might be a third party markup.

MAIN LINES


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The Movies
   Due to the huge amount of Movie-specific product, this gets a separate sightings page. Updated: 3/16/24.


Transformers: EarthSpark

    With a new show on Paramount Plus, Cyberverse's replacement as the "line for kids that has a cartoon" is set in an alternate G1-style universe in which the war ended over a decade ago and left a handful of Cybertronians stranded on Earth...with Megatron having done a face turn. A new breed of Terran-born Cybertronians (with birthing processes reminiscent of Armada's Mini-Con plates) bond with humans and need to be kept secret because the Autobots' human allies are maybe not trustworthy. Terrans are their own factionless faction so far. First season came out in late 2022, toys started in 2023.

TACTICON WAVE 1: The cheapo size class, these transform into brickish robots that are meant to be finger puppets. This wave is the inevitable Optimus, Megatron, and Bumblebee. $5 each in tiny boxes, and I wonder if they had to resist the temptation to make them blind boxes. 1/23/23: Walmart in Canyon TX. 1/24: Walmart in Amarillo TX. 4/2: Target in Amarillo TX.

TACTICON WAVE 2: Hashtag, Arcee, and reships. 8/11/23: Target in Amarillo TX, $6.99. Someone beat me to the Arcee, and at $7 this class is now definitely overpriced. 9/15: Forgot to mention that I found Arcee there on 9/1. Spotted both at Walmart in Amarillo TX today for $5 each.

TACTICON WAVE 3: Wheeljack (straight redeco of Bumblebee, didn't even change the head, big pass from me), reship of Optimus. 1/11/24: Walmart in Amarillo TX.

TACTICON WAVE 4: Terran Twitch (extremely chibi drone mode).

1-STEP FLIP CHANGERS WAVE 1: Because this class ain't going away, it just gets slightly renamed every few years. Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, and (shockingly not Megatron) Wheeljack. 1/17/23: BB and Optimus at Target in Amarillo TX. I guess Wheeljack is shortpacked? I did find it a few days later at the same Target.

1-STEP FLIP CHANGERS WAVE 2: Swindle (sort of a Hummvee) and Soundwave (stealth bomber, throwback to Cybertron Trilogy, sort of). 3/30/23: Target in Amarillo TX.

1-STEP WAVE 3: Megatron (transport plane) and Terran Twitch (drone), shipping with more of wave 1. 8/6/23: Walmart in Amarillo TX.

1-STEP WAVE 4: Breakdown (redeco of wave 1 Wheeljack). 3/12/24: Target in Amarillo TX.

1-STEP WAVE 5: Elita-1 (new mold, total brick robot), Skullcruncher (gator, I guess).

WARRIOR CLASS WAVE 1: Like previous Warriors, they involve some sort of attack gimmick, and are a bit on the cheap-feeling side. Elita-1 (weird SUV thing), Optimus Prime, Skywarp (a femmebot in this universe). 1/13/23: Target in Torrance CA, Manhattan Beach CA, South Carson CA. 1/14: Target in Amarillo TX (Skywarp and Optimus only). 1/23: Walmart in Canyon TX (no Elita). 2/2: Target in Amarillo TX (all three).

WARRIOR CLASS WAVE 2:: Terran Thrash (motorcycle) and Megatron (cargo plane, sort of). I ended up ordering them online.

WARRIOR CLASS WAVE 3:: Terran Jawbreaker (Pachycephalosaur with a lot of junk in the trunk) and Starscream (minor redeco of the crappy wave 1 Cyberverse Warrior). 6/6/23: Walmart in Amarillo OH. Yeah, still no sightings of wave 2.... 12/8/23: Target in Amarillo OH.

WARRIOR CLASS WAVE 4: Repackage/redeco of the Warrior class Shockwave from Cyberverse.

WARRIOR CLASS WAVE 5: Bumblebee (sports car, new mold), Terrain Twitch (new mold, robot legs become drone arms?).

DELUXE CLASS WAVE 1: Back to the Build-A-Figure gimmick on these slightly more complex figures that are to scale with the Warriors, more or less. The first BAF is Dr. Mandroid (who has 7 parts but that includes two choices of left arm) who won't be complete until wave 3. This wave is Bumblebee ("mid-life crisis" car), Megatron (cargo plane), and Terran Twitch (Cybertronian flying drone). 1/12/23: I found just a couple of Megatrons at Target in Amarillo TX. $20 at Target. Dunno if Megatron was longpacked, or just unloved. 1/13: Just Megatron and Bumblebee at Targets in Torrance CA, Manhattan Beach CA, and South Carson CA. The case assortments might be kinda messed up? 1/17: Bumblebee added to Megatron at Target in Amarillo TX...maybe someone who bought them all earlier decided to return one? 1/23: Just Megatron and Bumblebee at Target in Pace FL. 1/24: Walmart in Pace FL. 1/27: Walmart in Canyon TX. 1/28: Walmart in Amarillo TX (finally found Twitch).

DELUXE WAVE 2: Optimus Prime (truck), Shockwave (walker tank), and repacks. 5/26/23: Target in Pace FL. 5/27: Target in Amarillo TX (Optimus only, fortunately I got Shockwave from Pulse today). 7/24: Walmart in Amarillo TX (both).

DELUXE WAVE 3: Grimlock (T.rex), Terran Nightshade (art deco owl). 1/9/24: Nightshade only, Walmart in Amarillo TX.

DELUXE WAVE 4: Repackage of the Cybertronian-mode Starscream from Cyberverse, with a redeco of the Mandroid arm that came with Shockwave.

DELUXE WAVE 5: Prowl (oddly, a redeco of Cyberverse Deluxe Hot Rod) with no Mandroid parts, Terran Thrash (new mold, no sidecar).

SPIN CHANGERS WAVE 1: This is the largest size class so far. A human figure placed on the partially transformed robot makes it automatically spin-change the rest of the way into (brickish) robot mode. Each also has an accessory that can be used by the human partner. Bumblebee with Mo Malto, Optimus Prime with Robby Malto. 1/13/23: Targets in Torrance CA, Manhattan Beach CA, South Carson CA. 1/14: Target in Amarillo TX.

CYBER-COMBINER WAVE 1: Bumblebee and Mo in a lanky exo-suit, or Twitch and Robby in a similar but bulkier exo-suit, borrowing from the Energon-style top-and-bottom combiners. Bumblebee has four modes (car, robot, top half, bottom half), while based on the package Mo has three (exo-suit, top half, bottom half) although I'm confident a vehicle mode about as good as Spike's Exo-Suit's is possible as a fanmode. $30 price point. 1/14/24: Target in Amarillo TX. Just Bumblebee/Mo. 1/18: Full wave at Target in Amarillo TX. (It's possible that the Robby/Twitch ones were in the mythical "back" on the 14th.)


Transformers: Generations

    The War for Cybertron trilogy wrapped up with Kingdom, and Generations shifted to Legacy, which is a bit more aggressive about homages to characters other than just G1 and Beast Wars, with a thin "interdimensional battle" premise. Some redecos and retools of WfC toys do show up, though.

LEGACY CORE CLASS WAVE 4 (EVOLUTION 1): Slug (Triceratops), Sludge (Brontosaur), and Soundblaster (redeco of Kingdom Soundwave). The Dinobots will combine into a slightly larger robot. 1/25/23: Target in Torrance CA (Slug only, oddly). 3/2: Target in Pace FL (Sludge only).

LEGACY CORE CLASS WAVE 5: Legacy Bomb-Burst in new packaging, Legacy Evolution Thundercracker (yet another redeco of Kingdom Starscream), Grimlock (Dinobot), and Nemesis Prime (black redeco of Kingdom Core Optimus). 2/7/23: Partial case at Target in Torrance CA. Just Thundercracker and Bomb-Burst. 3/16: Another partial case, just Nemesis Prime and Grimlock at Target in South Carson CA. 4/2: Just Thundercracker and Grimlock at GameStop in Amarillo TX ($12). 9/4: Walmart in Amarillo TX (grabbed a replacement Nemesis Prime, since my first one lost its head).

LEGACY CORE CLASS WAVE 6: Scarr (anyklosaur maybe), Swoop (pterosaur), Starscream (repackage of Kingdom toy), and reship of Grimlock. 5/24/23: Target in Redondo Beach CA. Note, Amazon and Hasbro Pulse both list this wave as coming in August. 5/28: Target in South Carson CA. 6/16: Target in Sterling VA. 7/4: Target in Amarillo TX. 7/6: Target in Pensacola FL. 7/18: Walmart in Amarillo TX.

LEGACY CORE CLASS WAVE 7: Snarl (stegosaur, final Dinobot) and repackage of Core Optimus Prime. Hasbro Pulse shipped these in mid-September, no brick and mortar sightings yet. 10/16/23: Walmart in Pace FL.

LEGACY CORE CLASS WAVE 8 (UNITED 1): Tasmania Kid (BW2), Bouldercrash (not-Rock Lord motorcycle), and Energon Galvatron. Target in South Carson CA. (Just Taz and Galv, and I forgot to put the date, oops!) 2/16: Target in Pace FL (full wave). 3/3: Walmart in Loudoun VA (Tas only); Target in Loudoun VA (Tas and Megs).

LEGACY DELUXE WAVE 4 (EVOLUTION 1): Armada Universe Hot Shot, Breakdown (in regular Legacy packaging), Needlenose with Sunbeam and Zigzag, Scraphook (Junkion truck). 2/16/23: Scraphook only at Target in Amarillo TX. I found it all on its own in the books section, suggesting to me that someone grabbed the entire peg's worth, then checked their budget later and dumped Scraphook because they were too lazy to put it back in the toy section. 2/20: Just Scraphook and Hot Shot, Target in South Carson CA. It appeared to be a full case of just those two, so the waves are going wonky again. 2/23: Needlenose and Breakdown, Target in Amarillo TX. (Breakdown's packaging is not quite regular Legacy, it has the QR code on top like the rest of Evolution.) 2/25: Just Needlenose at Target in South Carson CA; full wave at Walmart in Amarillo TX. 3/2: Target in Pace FL. 3/20: Target in Torrance CA (just Hot Shot and Scraphook). 3/22: The rest of the wave in Torrance CA.

LEGACY DELUXE WAVE 5 (EVO 2): Crashbar (Modulator Junkion motorcycle), Crosscut (Skids retool), Animated Universe Prowl (motorcycle), Shrapnel (Insecticon). 3/31/23: Gamestop in Amarillo TX. $25 each, the one I checked only had Crosscut, but one across town had more. (A couple days later I checked that one and got Prowl and Shrapnel.) 6/16: Partial wave at Target in Sterling VA. 7/18: Walmart in Amarillo TX (complete wave). 8/30: Walmart in Perdido FL. 10/9: Case of just Crashbar and Prowl, Target in Torrance CA.

LEGACY DELUXE WAVE 6 (EVO 3): Axlegrease (retool of Scraphook), Beachcomber with Paradise Parakeet, Autobot Devcon (extensive Studio Blurr retool), repack of Tarantulas. I have never gotten a sighting report of these, they sold out very quickly on Pulse, and as of 12/1/23 only seem to be available for at least double price from scalpers. Did the main shipment get lost?

LEGACY DELUXE WAVE 7 (EVO 4): RiD15 Strongarm (extensive Elita-1/Minerva retool), ShadowStriker (combo of Universe and Cyberverse versions), and Detritus (tan Hound, an extensive retool of Siege Hound), Insecticon Bombshell. 10/3/23: Target in City of Industry CA. (No Bombshell) 10/11: Strongarm only at Target in Amarillo TX. (Bombshell is already out of stock everywhere but scalpers online, of course.) 10/13: Now just Detritus at Target in Amarillo TX. 10/14: Target in Burke VA (someone already grabbed Bombshell, or he wasn't there at all). 11/27: All except (you guessed it) Bombshell, Walmart in Pensacola FL. 12/19: Entire wave at Target in Amarillo TX. 1/6/24: Entire wave at Walmart in Amarillo TX.

LEGACY DELUXE WAVE 8 (UNITED 1): Animated Universe Bumblebee, Rescue Bots Universe Chase, Infernac Universe Magneous, Cyberverse Universe Windblade. 1/9/24: A shelf full of just Bumblebees at GameStop in Amarillo TX.

LEGACY VOYAGER WAVE 6 (EVOLUTION 3): Dirge (Earthrise, repackage and very minor redeco) and Nemesis Leo (black and gray Leo Prime). 8/19/23: Target in South Carson CA. 8/27: Target in Torrance CA, Burke VA. Dirge is shortpacked. 9/14: Target in Pensacola FL. 9/15: Nemesis Leo only, Walmart in Amarillo TX. 1/6/24: Dirge only, Walmart in Amarillo TX. (I left it there, I have enough of that mold family.)

LEGACY VOYAGER WAVE 7 (EVO 4): Bludgeon (Tarn retool), Trashmaster (Junkion dump truck). As of 10/3/23, there's been some sightings in Targets, but none sent directly to me (at least one in New Jersey). 10/12/23: Target in Pace FL. Bludgeon appeared to be shortpacked. 10/14: Target in Burke VA. 12/24: Just Trashmaster at Target in Amarillo TX. (The store wasn't even that badly crowded.)

LEGACY VOYAGER WAVE 8 (UNITED 1): Thundertron (Zoids-like lion) and Animated Universe Optimus Prime (truck). 2/23/24: Target in Amarillo TX. (I ordered Prime from Pulse, it hasn't shipped yet.)

LEGACY LEADER WAVE 1: Laser Optimus Prime (homage to the G2 toy), repackaged Galvatron (without damage effect deco). 3/31/22: Target in Pensacola FL. 4/2: Target in Braintree MA, Dorchester MA, Randolph MA. 4/3: Target in Amarillo TX (someone beat me to Prime). 4/4: Target in Bloomington IL. 4/7: Target in South Carson CA (Galvatron only). 4/22: Walmart in Canyon TX (gone before I could get there). 4/30: Walmart in Navarre FL. 5/5: Walmart in Amarillo TX (oddly, set up as a hanging sidecap), although the sidecap had Voyagers and I found Laser Op in a random blank spot near TFs). 5/18: Target in Gaithersburg MD.

LEGACY LEADER WAVE 2: Blitzwing and one presumes more Laser Optimus Prime. 4/25/22: Target in Cleveland OH (sighting courtesy of the AllSpark, I don't have any sighters out there). 6/21: Walmart in Sacramento CA. Very slow trickle. 7/2: Walmart in Amarillo TX (I didn't see it, someone else did, hopefully it's still there tomorrow). (It wasn't.) 9/20: Target in Pace FL. (I ended up buying it online.) 10/5: Target in Torrance CA. 10/26: Target in Amarillo TX.

LEGACY LEADER WAVE 3 (EVOLUTION 1): Transmetal II Megatron (dragon, no chrome). Dedicated case. 3/28/23: Target in Manhattan Beach CA. (I got mine on Pulse a while back.) 4/30: Target in Torrance CA.

LEGACY LEADER WAVE 4 (EVO 2): Prime Universe Skyquake, sort of a cross between the Euro-exclusive late-G1 Skyquake (aka Machine Wars Starscream) and the Prime version, including the Euro version's "dock a smaller jet on top" feature (with Needlenose filling that role). 4/2/23: GameStop in Amarillo TX ($56). 4/30: Case of Skyquake and TM2 Megatron, Target in South Carson CA.

LEGACY LEADER WAVE 5 (EVO 3): Armada Megatron and a repackage of Blitzwing. 6/12/23: Megatron only, Walmart in Amarillo TX. 6/25: Megatron only, Walmart in Pace FL. 7/6/23: Both at Target in Pensacola FL. (7/8 spotted both at Walmart in Amarillo, but that was a sighting I hadn't checked at the time for Blitzwing, it had been there a while.) 8/26: Running change puts one of each of these plus one Skyquake, Target in South Carson CA.

LEGACY LEADER WAVE 6 (EVO 4): Prime Universe Dreadwing, redeco of Skyquake. 10/13/23: Target in Amarillo TX. (I passed, it's not a bad mold, but if I'm going to get a second copy it's gonna be a G2 Skyquake.)

LEGACY LEADER WAVE 7 (UNITED 1): Tigerhawk (Fuzor) and repackage of Laser Optimus Prime. 1/9/24: Laser Optimus at GameStop in Amarillo TX. 2/27: Full wave at Target in Amarillo TX. 3/5: Target in Burke VA. 3/9: Tigerhawk only, Target in Pensacola FL.

LEGACY COMMANDER CLASS: Motormaster, whose trailer turns into a skeleton upon which you hang the rest of the Stunticons to make a show-accurate Menasor. 7/31/22: Street date at Target, I was able to order one for local pickup today. And it got cancelled, and is no longer available at all online. Sounds like someone left in an automatic street date and forgot to cancel it when product failed to show up. 8/4/22: Target in Manhattan Beach CA. 8/5: NOW Target in Amarillo TX has it. Too late guys, I got mine from Amazon the other day. 8/6: Target in Hawthorne CA.

  • MENASOR GIFT SET: Available irregularly on Hasbro Pulse as of 9/27/23 (it'll "sell out" and then get restocked), this is the whole Stunticon group selling at about the price of a Titan. Breakdown has a new head and all of them have toy-style decos (the originals were cartoon-style).

LEGACY EVOLUTION COMMANDER CLASS: Armada Universe Optimus Prime, which has had its price bounce all over even in MSRP. Like the original, a more Deluxe sized cab/robot combines with the trailer for a super robot. Unlike the original, the super robot can move its legs and doesn't have a motorized gimmick. So far no meatspace sightings sent to me, but I got it on Amazon.

LEGACY TITAN CLASS: Metroplex. No, not the G1 version, this is a redo of Cybertron Metroplex, who sort of turns into a bucket excavator if you have very blurry vision. MSRP is up to $190, I may not bother getting this one unless I actually see it on the shelf. Definitely not ordering it online. 7/24/22: Target in South Carson CA. Case of two. 7/26: Target in Amarillo TX. (I picked it up, but between RedCard and some Target Circle offers I had saved up, I managed to save about $30 on it.) (The same Target has had three on the shelf for about a month as of 9/1.)

LEGACY EVOLUTION TITAN CLASS: Nemesis, the Decepticon starship from G1, now able to turn into a female robot. I got it online around mid-2023, but have not gotten any brick and mortar sightings as of 12/1/23.


OTHER STUFF

Note: I will be less detailed about sightings on this side.
OTHER TF STUFF
(TF-themed but probably not transforming)

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    STUCK ON STORIES: A set of Evergreen-design Transformers faces on suction cups that go onto board book pages. Optimus, BB, Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, Windblade, Hot Rod, Shockwave, Ratchet, and Hound. 1/28/24: Ollie's in Amarillo TX, $6.

    ROLEPLAY CYBER-SLEEVE: A gauntlet that can pop out a clear green blade a few inches long, and fire Nerf darts. Sized to fit snugly on a child's hand, so I didn't bother picking one up. $15 price point. 1/14/24: Target in Amarillo TX.

    STRETCH ARMSTRONG BUMBLEBEE: G1 Bumblebee robot mode as a Stretch Armstrong toy. This seems aimed more at second tier stores like Walgreens or Meijer, but might show up at bigger stores (if not necessarily with the rest of Transformers). Amazon has it for $10. 1/6/24: Walgreens around Southern California.

    NERF ELITE 2.0 GUNS: Nerf carbine-style guns with Optimus Primal or evergreen Bumblebee deco. No special molding, just a sort of image wrap. $20 each. 12/7/23: Target in Amarillo TX.

    LEGO OPTIMUS PRIME: This has been available online and at stores like Barnes & Noble for a while, but seems to finally be hitting the major toy retailers. 9/24/23: Target in Amarillo TX ($180).

    HALLOWEEN COSTUMES: I fully expect the usual plush-muscles costumes to hit the big stores, I'll reserve this entry for unusual entries. 9/4/23: Optimus and Bumblebee masks at Dollar Tree ($1.25). They're kid-sized, with the eye holes level to my own eyes the bottom of the mask is right below my lower lip. But hey, wall decor.

    PODPALS: Like vertical Tsum-tsums, basically plush cylinders with little felt-covered cardboard feet. First assortment I saw was evergreen designs of Megatron, Optimus Prime, and Bumblebee, $5 at Family Dollar. About 7-8" tall and 5-6" in diameter. Label claims it's for ages 0+. 7/7/23: Family Dollar in Amarillo TX.

    ReACTION BEAST WARS: More retro-Kenner style figures, now of Beast Wars characters: Megatron (clear purple plastic), Cheetor, Optimus Primal, and Blackarachnia. The case seems to be about half Megatron. $18 each, meh. 6/29/23: Target in Amarillo TX. 12/7: A burning red Optimus Primal has shown up as a Target exclusive on Target.com.

    RACERS: These are softish rotocast vehicles with the chibi head and left arm of the robot sticking out of the roof. Optimus Prime and evergreen-style Bumblebee, possibly more. $5 at Five Below. 5/14/23: Five Below in Amarillo TX.

    DZNR PLUSH: "What's Inside Edition" plushes of G1 Megatron, Optimus Prime, and Bumblebee in the big-headed Pop style, with their left sides in wireframe form inspired by how Megatron looked during his change to Galvatron. $10 at Walmart. 1/12/23: Walmart in Amarillo TX. 4/30: Walmart in Torrance CA.

    SUPER SHOGUN OPTIMUS PRIME: Super7 scaling up one of their ReAction figures to the size of the late-70s Shogun Warriors toys, 2 feet tall. Not likely to show up in any regular brick and mortar stores, just specialty shops. 11/18/22: Spotted at a comics and games shop in Amarillo TX for $350. (Hard pass.)

    REMOTE CONTROL TRANSFORMING OPTIMUS PRIME: No, not the $700 Robosen one, this is a $70 Jada toy. 7/3/22: Target in Amarillo TX.

    SQUEEZELINGS: Rubbery big-headed figures that aren't actually squeezable but the joints are springy. Think of the softest plastic generally used in a Transformers toy, and now make an entire figure out of that. No actual joints, they always snap back to their molded pose. $3 blind bags (series 1 is the usual G1 quartet: OP, Megs, BB, Starscream). 6/21/22: Dollar Tree (in the Plus aisle) in Amarillo TX, $3.

    MICROMACHINES: I guess the tiny vehicle license is non-exclusive, because there's also officially licensed MicroMachines. Two 8-packs (one for each of the first two Bay movies) at the $20 or so price point, and a big Bumblebee that turns into a base, inhabited incongruously by a Barricade MicroMachine ($35-40). 4/27/22: Available on Amazon. 6/16: Four-packs (each is half of one of the 8-packs) at Target in Amarillo TX, $10.49. 8/24/22: Bumblebee playset spotted at Tartget in Amarillo TX. $35, and every copy on the shelf was missing Barricade, because it's really easy to steal from the package. If you do want this toy, maybe order online. 11/30/22: Series 2 starting to show up. Found #05 (DotM set of yet another Optimus Prime, top-down Sideswipe, redeco dead meat Ratchet, and junker semi with no trailer Megatron) and #08 (AoE set of Optimus Prime in a different mold, black deco 70s Camaro Bumblebee, Stinger, and truck Galvatron) at Target in Amarillo TX. Did not see the other two yet, #06 (DotM Bumblebee, Sentinel Prime, Leadfoot, and Topspin) and #07 (AoE Hot Rod, Crosshairs, Bumblebee, and Jolt I think). 12/8: Found set #06 (Leadfoot and Topspin are in combat mode) at Target in Amarillo TX. 5/14/23: Five Below is carrying two-packs for $5 each, as seen in Amarillo TX.

    NANO METALFIGS: Jada's too-shiny-for-my-tastes die-cast metal figures have finally expanded into Transformers, over a year after their "Rides" line did vehicle modes. An 18-pack of shiny robots a few centimeters tall, suitable for a gaming table or a Titan display, for $11.72 at Walmart. All from G1, twelve Autobots and six Decepticons. The back of the box includes some small scenery bits you can cut out and pose the figures in front of. The paint is laid on pretty thick (I tried stripping the paint from a Harry Potter one many years ago, never did get it all off), but the mold detail underneath is decent if you want to try the strip-and-repaint route. 4/12/22: Walmart in Amarillo TX. 3/3/24: A sort of Series 2.1 set has been out here and there for a while, but I haven't been checking Walmarts much lately and no one has reported these. It's mostly repacks, but has a few new molds (Galvatron, Alpha Trion, Waspinator) and some new redecos (Tigatron from Cheetor, a mostly blue Bitstream from the flying Seeker mold, and the original Optimus Prime and Megatron molds in Electrum plating). Shelf price $20, but it rang up as $15.50 for me, so possibly on clearance already. It has the Series 2 box playset bits.

NANO METALFIGS SERIES 2: Another 18-pack, a mix of redecos and some new molds (including Beast Wars characters), now priced at $20. 10/25/22: Walmart in Amarillo TX. (Seems to be an exclusive, as does the first set.) 8/18/23: Target in Amarillo TX, in a different package (landscape rather than portrait, no cut-out scenery on the back). $20.

    ReAction Figures: Mostly limited to specialty retailers, Target has picked up some on occasion, mostly the Dead Optimus Prime color variant. $18, which is about $13 more than I think they're worth. 10/9/20: Dead Optimus and shiny Megatron at Target in Amarillo TX, South Carson CA. 7/30: "Cyberchrome" versions of Optimus and Megatron at Target in Amarillo TX. 12/22/21: Gold Megatron at Target in Amarillo TX. 12/26: Also gold Optimus Prime at Target in Amarillo TX. 5/6/22: The gold (well, electrum) variants are clearanced. New at Target in Amarillo TX are Fallen Evolution Megatron (translucenst dark purple plastic with almost no paint) and Fallen Leader Optimus Prime (full color, but retooled to have an open chest with exposed Matrix). 9/22: Toy-color Galvatron and G2-color Grimlock (dino mode) at Target in Amarillo. Open-chest Optimus on half off clearance now.

    R.E.D. WAVE 1: These are like super deluxe Actionmasters or G1 Robot Replicas, depending on when you got into the hobby. Non-transforming, with a focus on being screen-accurate. Short for Robot Enhanced Designs, think of them as another stab at the "Black Series" concept (Studio Series was the first). First wave is Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Soundwave, all G1. (Second wave has Arcee from Prime and Cheetor from Beast Wars.) According to TFWiki, these are a Walmart exclusive, although there's nothing on the packaging to indicate that. 10/2/20: Walmart in Amarillo TX. 10/27: Walmart in Mt. Zion IL. 10/31: Walmart in Pace FL.

R.E.D. WAVE 2: Arcee (TF Prime) and Cheetor (Beast Wars), plus some reships. Easy enough to spot, since the subline logos are on the tops of the boxes. 3/26/21: Walmart in Amarillo TX. 3/28: Walmart in Columbus GA. 4/4: Walmart in Pensacola FL.

R.E.D. WAVE 3: Coronation Starscream (G1 with crown and cape accessories), G1 Bumblebee (pretty big, not to scale with the other G1 figures, more Masterpiece scale). 7/12/21: Walmart in Amarillo TX. 8/5: Walmart in Pace FL.

R.E.D. WAVE 4: Reformatting Megatron (redeco in dark purple with gridlines as if he were about to be turned into Galvatron) and Optimus Primal. 11/29/21: Walmart in Amarillo TX. 12/2: Walmart in Burke VA.

R.E.D. WAVE 5: Ultra Magnus (Optimus Prime redeco without the Matrix), Knock Out (Prime, suffers a bit from chest flattening). 1/2/22: Walmart in Amarillo TX.

R.E.D. WAVE 6: Shockwave (G1) and Galvatron (G1) in new less-plastic packaging (including pictures of accessories on the side instead of having a separate window to show them). 9/26/22: Walmart in Amarillo TX. Now up to $25.

   I've stopped tracking most of the "artifacts" stuff, since Transformers has reached the cultural saturation point where you can be pretty sure there'll be party supplies, water bottles, t-shirts, and so forth readily available.

NON-TF STUFF
(Things a TF fan might be interested in.)

    KID CONNECTION ROBOT TRANSPORTER: Very hollow but large robot (kinda like the "Cyberverse back when it was a subline for Transformers Prime" Optimus Prime-styled base, with ten cute little bots with mix and match parts. "Transforms" into a carrying case. $20, you might have to search a little since Kid Connection toys often get stuck wherever there's room (I got mine in a Pink Aisle). Walmart's store brand, more or less. 8/1/23: Amarillo TX. (Not available online yet.)

    MARVEL MECHSTRIKE MECHASAURS EPIC SERIES: So, this year's Mechstrike theme is Ultron ripping off Sauron's gameplan and bringing back dinosaurs or something, and the heroes get robot critter partners. The Epic Series has a 4" figure with decent articulation plus a robot beast partner that disassembles into power armor add-ons. Iron Man gets the only actual dinosaur (a Stegosaur named Iron Stomper), Black Panther gets a sabertooth cat bot, and Captain America (Sam Wilson version) gets a sort of giant primitive bird named Redwing. Redwing is easily the worst-looking on its own of the three partners. Price point at Walmart is $24. There's also a cheapo class that seems to just be a less-articulated 4" Hulk with a couple of ceratopsian bot heads he uses as gauntlets. 4/25/23: Walmart in Amarillo TX. I got Iron Man, kinda meh. 8/11/23: Wave two at Target in Amarillo TX. This is "Primeval Ultron" with T.rex armor, and $10-11 non-armor figures Iron Man (Pachy cannon) and Thor (Stormbreaker shoved up the butt of a baby robot Stegosaur).

    DICELINGS: 2" diameter 20-sided dice that unfold into Dungeons & Dragons monsters. Not Transformers branded, even though a lot of the trade dress is similar and they're from Hasbro. First wave has four monsters: two dragons (same transformation but almost entirely different molds), beholder (makes for a poor d20), and owlbear. Review here, since as not actual Transformers they don't go anywhere on the regular reviews pages here. 1/10/23: Target in Amarillo TX. (Also available on Pulse.) 1/28: Walmart in Amarillo TX. 2/5: Target in Torrance CA, Woodland Hills CA, South Carson CA. So far, all in-store sightings, my own included, have been of incomplete waves. It's possible that cases do not have all four, or that Walmart and Target are sending partial cases to their stores. 2/7: Torrance CA got a second partial case in with the Owlbear. 4/27: Wave 2 (Displacer Beast, White Dragon, blue Beholder) at Walmart in Amarillo TX. 5/4: Wave 2 at Target in Torrance CA. 6/18: Wave 3 (Mimic, brown Owlbear, green dragon) at Walmart in Amarillo TX. 10/3: Wave 4 (clear Displacer, repacks) Target in Manhattan Beach CA.

    HOT WHEELS HAUL-TERATION: Part of the Super Rigs line, in which an existing Hot Wheels car is paired with a thematically appropriate tractor trailer carrier. This uses Zombot as the base car, while the Haul-teration trailer transforms (badly) into a robot, with the tractor part becomes a jetpack. An interesting curiosity, worth the $9 Target wants. 12/2/22: Target in Amarillo TX. And likely pretty widely available at this point, since it has a 2021 copyright stamp.

    SWITCH & GO: VTech has brought back the brand, with vehicles that turn into dinosaurs and have light and sound gimmicks. 7/31/23: "Hatch & Roaaar Egg" sets, where the small ($11-12) size is disassembled in a plastic egg. Wave includes a T.rex racecar, a velociraptor racecar, a pterodactyl chopper, and a triceratops racecar. Only saw T.rex on the shelf, Amarillo TX. 8/4: The rest of the current wave includes at the $11-12 level (light and sound, already assembled) T-rex Muscle Car, Wolf Fire Chief (notable as being not a paleocritter), Triceratops Race Car; $20 level (light, sound, LCD faces, other gimmicks) T-rex Race Car (projected flame images), Gorilla Muscle Car (chest-pounding action), Velociraptor Race Car (projected flames); $30 price point expands the number of sounds and the range of things shown on the LCD screen, Velociraptor Helicopter (spinning rotors), Velociraptor Jet (launches spinning rotors), and Dragon Roadhog (also not a paleocritter, projected flames). These are what I spotted at Walmart in Amarillo TX, there may be more. 11/12: One more showed up, the "2-in-1 Spino Speedster," which is a vehicle combiner of a large Pterodactyl that becomes the back half of the car, and a Spinosaurus that becomes the front half and can be launched out to automorph.