MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

Shelfwarmer

2009-08-15T16:30:40Z

91.86.63.157:

{{disambig2|toys from a long time ago that still haven't been sold|toys that have lots of [[kibble]]|Shellformer}}
[[Image:ShelfwarmersTRUGermany.jpg|right|300px|thumb|You ''know'' something is wrong when you see toys from no less than ''four'' different lines, released several years apart, all side by side on the same store shelf.]]
'''Shelfwarmer''' is a colloquial term for a toy that either fails to sell well or is over-produced, leaving residual quantities on store shelves for months or even years after its original release, generally far in excess of other toys from the same waves. Just like a "benchwarmer" in sports, who contributes nothing to the game except sitting on a bench and keeping it warm with his butt, a "shelfwarmer" does the same thing to a toy store shelf by sitting on it for prolonged periods of time.

A related term is '''pegwarmer''', used to refer to toys packaged on cards (which thereby hang on pegs), rather than in boxes.

==Shelfwarmers and you==
The inherent problem with just coming up with a list of shelfwarmers is that... well...it varies from locality to locality. Some toys will sell like gangbusters in one state or country, and yet warm shelves forever in other places. On occasion, a toy that's considered rare and hard to find in the United States can very well end up as a shelfwarmer in other countries. (''Energon'' [[Ultra Magnus (Energon)|Ultra Magnus]] is a rather infamous example of this.) Usually, this is due to the toy being only shipped to US stores in limited quantities, often even getting [[Shortpacking|shortpacked]], whereas European stores get those toys in solid [[Case|cases]], with nothing but multiples of the same one or two toys.

Toys might even shelfwarm based on the store to which they're distributed, disappearing instantly in [[Target]], but sitting for months in Wal-Mart.

This has led to some heated (or at least obstinate) debates online over which toys are/were vicious shelfwarmers. But nearly everyone agrees that [[Injector]] just wouldn't go away until he was only available for a buck.

==Shelfwarmers in Generation 1==
The toy industry and the [[fandom]] were very different things during the original toy line's run. Due to the much much ''slower'' turnaround time on retail toy shelves in the Eighties, any given toy could stay on the shelves for two, three, or even four years, and this would be a sign not of shelfwarming, but of the toy's longevity and success. Toys like Optimus Prime and Starscream stayed on the toy shelves for many years because they '''were''' popular, not because they weren't, with chains getting new shipments of older product on a regular basis. This makes it hard to gauge if there were shelfwarmers—toys that outstayed their welcome—compared to the toys in modern lines, which are only meant to have a shelf life of a few months.

That said, there certainly were some Transformers which stayed on toy shelves during Generation 1 for way longer than should be expected. The most prominent example would be the [[Jumpstarter|Jumpstarters]], over-produced in such numbers that even today they are legion in the aftermarket. The smaller [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]] were also seen to hang around on shelves long after they had ceased to ship.

==Shelfwarmers in ''Beast Wars''==
It was ''[[Beast Wars (toyline)|Beast Wars]]'' that stuck the concept of shelfwarmers in the fandom's head. The fandom was maturing, communicating thanks to the internet, and starting to notice these sorts of patterns. At the same time, the attitude of retailers was changing, and the distribution system as well as a consequence, and toys no longer had the multi-year shelf lives they had in the 1980s. Toys now shipped in multiple [[wave]]s per [[size class]], and toys that were on the shelves an entire year were suddenly unsuccessful.

Toys that were noted for their shelfwarmosity in ''Beast Wars'' included [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]], [[Injector]], [[Scavenger (BW)|Scavenger]] and [[Transquito]]. Some reports even had Transquitos holding five or six years after their initial release. Now ''that's'' a shelfwarmer.

==Shelfwarmers in later series==
As the fandom became more aware of the concept of shelfwarmers and [[Hasbro]] changed its strategies in selling toys to retailers, documenting what is a shelfwarmer and what isn't became more and more acute. Toys had much shorter shelf lives, which Hasbro extended by adding [[Redeco|redecos]] and [[Retool|retools]], and by revamping lines and packaging on a much swifter basis. ''[[Armada (toyline)|Armada]]'' had the "Unicron Battles" as a mid-line [[subline imprint]] with a new packaging style roughly halfway through its lifespan, and then the entire line became ''[[Energon (toyline)|Energon]]'' roughly six months after that. Turnover times have become swifter and swifter.

In addition, fans have become more and more impatient with toys. In more recent times, the term "shelfwarmer" has started to become more specialized, basically to mean, "Toy that stays on the shelves longer than its casemates." That said, there are still some toys that just didn't sell, even in the more recent Transformers series, and which haunted shelves for many long days. In addition, as said before, distribution is slightly different in other countries than it is in the USA, so some toys don't ''have'' any casemates their turnover frequency could be judged against — which is also part of the problem: For example, ''[[Armada (toyline)|Armada]]'' [[Scavenger (Armada)|Scavenger]], [[Movie (toyline)|live-action movie]] [[Swindle (Movie)|Swindle]] and [[Bonecrusher (Movie)|Bonecrusher]] ended up as royal shelfwarmers in many European stores because they were the ''only'' toys from their respective [[Size class|size classes]] those stores would ever get from Hasbro.

Each series has had its own quintessential shelfwarmers to varying degrees. In North America, ''Armada'' clogged shelves with flocks of [[Laserbeak (Armada)|Laserbeaks]] and fleets of [[Smokescreen (Armada)|Smokescreens]]; ''Energon'' made sure you couldn't help but find [[Ironhide (Energon)|Ironhide]]; ''[[Cybertron (toyline)|Cybertron]]'' gave us unmoving armies of [[Mudflap (Cybertron)|Mudflaps]].

==Demand vs. availability==
As was already touched upon earlier, there are some toys which were very hard to get in some regions, but available so freely in other regions that they warmed shelves. Certain toys were in ''desperate'' demand in the fandom when they were difficult to get, but didn't do so well when released more widely. One online example of this phenomenon is [[Battle Unicorn]]. This ''[[Beast Machines (toyline)|Beast Machines]]'' toy was part of the very last wave of that series' product, and was barely shipped to retailers. As such, it was ''very'' hard to get; so rare, in fact, that the online store Big Bad Toy Store made a large special order for them from Hasbro—but despite the fandom's previous clamouring for the toy, they're ''still'' sitting on a lot of that stock.

The original releases of ''[[Alternators]]'' [[Tracks (G1)|Autobot Tracks]] and [[Jazz (G1)/toys|Meister]], which only shipped in two [[wave]]s each, also demanded a high rise in aftermarket prices... until Hasbro decided to re-release them as part of a semi-relaunch of the ''Alternators'' line. Now, Tracks and Meister suddenly became major shelfwarmers.

A similar thing happened with ''Alternators'' [[Nemesis Prime (G1)|Nemesis Prime]]: In North America, he was released only at the San Diego Comic Con and via the [[Hasbro Toy Shop]] website (for the few people who were able to get him from there), and was very difficult to get. Fans of the ''Alternators'' line who really, desperately wanted the toy were furious about its release only at a non-Transformers convention and complained at length about it not being easily available. Then suddenly the toy turned up in Australia. It hit the retail store Toyworld in massive numbers, and at half the price of usual Alternators. But...no one wanted it. The American fans had gotten over it by that point, and no one in Australia gave a damn.

Boy, did that thing sit around for ''ages''.

==The new movie and shelfwarmers==
As stated before, Transformers fans are much more aware of shelfwarming than in previous days, and they are very quick (if not ''too'' quick) to call toys shelfwarmers. Any toy that sits on a shelf longer than its casemates is likely to be labeled as a shelfwarmer by the fandom nowadays. (Silly fans. Wait...this article is written ''by'' fans. Uh...)

With the [[Transformers (2007)|2007 ''Transformers'' movie]], the playing field was changed slightly. Suddenly, Transformers were '''big''' again. Toys were in short supply, and any toys that stayed on the shelves for very long did so very conspicuously. That said, even some of the least popular and most expensive toys shifted incredibly quickly around the [[Christmas]] period. Then the movie hype ended.

Movie hype is a very fickle thing, indeed; toys which were incredibly popular months before suddenly were out of the public consciousness. This meant (depending on your region, and availability, remember) that some of the later 2007 movie toys would stay on the shelves for months and months, and in some cases even as the 2009 movie toys hit the shelves. And more often then not, share the same shelves with their new counterparts, dooming them from ever getting out of the store. Think about it, would you rather have the original leader class [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] or the shiny new one from ROTF?

[[Category:Fandom]]
[[Category:Toys]]

Soundwave (ROTF)

2009-08-15T14:45:31Z

91.86.63.157: /* Burger King */

{{faction|decepticon}}
{{disambig3|Soundwave}}
:''Soundwave is a [[Decepticon]] from the [[Revenge of the Fallen (franchise)|Revenge of the Fallen franchise]] in the [[Live-action film series|live-action film]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:ROTF Soundwave sat.jpg|thumb|right|375px|Just wait till he [[Kiss Players|tentacle rapes]] that other satellite!]]

'''Soundwave''', the Decepticon communications officer and one of [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron's]] staunchest supporters, doesn't just master the frequencies that carry information across our planet, he revels in them. Stationed high in the upper atmosphere, he is fully capable of taking over communications on a planetary scale. Whether he uses this to direct civilization or destroy it remains to be seen.

{{quote|Decepticons: mobilize. It is time.|Soundwave gives the rally cry|[[Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]}}

== Fiction ==
=== Titan Magazines ''Transformers'' movie comics ===
[[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] was in talks with Soundwave to get him to join in the attack on Earth and be in [[Michael Bay]]'s next documentary. Soundwave is known for talking in several frequencies at once, apparently just to be annoying. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 15|#15's Star Screams}} Starscream doesn't trust Soundwave but notes his intelligence, and so views him as a worthy successor in the event of his death. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 21|#21's Star Screams}}
AS [[Grindor (ROTF)|Grindor]] flies into Las Vegas He asks Soundwave what exactly he is looking for and Soundwave repliess by saying one of the lost. To Grindor it means nothing, but Soundwave tells him he is not to ask questions. Soundwave can see what he see`s, and Grindor asks him to go easy on the autopilot. Grindor arrives at an older part of Las Vegas and Soundwave tells him thatbeneath the shell of the area is ancient knowledge and that Grindor is to extract it.
After destroying several cars Grindor is ambushed by the NEST team and [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]]. Soundwave states that the hunters have become the hunted, and sates that the humans will soon realise that Earth first belonged to the Decepticons. He asks Grindor if he has secured the memory treee and commandss that it be brought to him. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2.3|Learning Curve}}

=== IDW ''Transformers'' movie comics ===
[[Image:Defiance4Soundwave.jpg|thumb|left|100px|No full body shot in the movie or comics.]]
Soundwave was assigned by [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] to take command of the newly built ''[[Nemesis (ROTF)|Nemesis]]'' with the sarcophagus containing [[The Fallen]]. Soundwave's task was to find a planet with a star [[Solar harvester|harvester]] that could be used to free their mysterious benefactor. Soundwave left [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] just before the outbreak of war. {{storylink|Defiance issue 4}}

[[Image:SoundwaveAllianceIssue2.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Alas, poor Dreadwing. I knew him, Ravage.]]

Presumed dead for years, Soundwave arrived on [[Mars]] one month after Megatron's death. He quickly took stock of the situation, scanning both [[Dreadwing (Movie)|Dreadwing's]] remains, and an imprint of [[Frenzy (Movie)|Frenzy's]] body. He contacted [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] after his battle with [[Wreckage (Movie)|Wreckage]], informing him that he had sent troops from his ship to Earth, with more waiting in stasis. As Starscream headed for the ship, Soundwave informed him he still had orders to follow. {{storylink|Alliance issue 2}} As more and more Decepticons made planetfall on Earth's surface, Soundwave assumed the form of a satellite and silently observed their operations from orbit. {{Storylink|Alliance issue 4}}

{{-}}

===Titan Magazines ''Revenge of the Fallen'' comics===
Soundwave directed [[Grindor (ROTF)|Grindor]] to [[Las Vegas]] to find some old car and cut it open to get its "memory tree". While he refused to explain things to Grindor, he referred to the car as "one of the lost", a redundant shell with ancient knowledge, and the "tree" appeared Cybertronian. [[Seeker (ROTF)|Hmmmm.]] When [[NEST]] showed up, Soundwave appeared contemptuous of them and their [[Human|whole species]], noting Transformers owned this world ''long'' before mankind. To Grindor, he simply said to get the "memory tree" to him and not get captured. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2.3|Learning Curve}}

===''Revenge of the Fallen'' film===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Frank Welker]] (English, Italian), [[Horst Lampe]] (German), [[Daisuke Gōri]] (Japanese)

[[Image:ROTF-Soundwaveface.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Next time, Gadget. Next time.]]
Soundwave received a transmission from [[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]], who was tailing [[Mikaela Banes]], and instructed him to obtain a surviving shard of the [[All Spark]] in her possession. He found a satellite transmitting a conversation between [[NEST]] and the [[United States military]]. Tapping into it with his tentacles to listen, Soundwave overheard [[Theodore Galloway]] mention another shard of the All Spark in storage at [[Diego Garcia]], and of [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]]'s burial in the [[Laurentian Abyss]]. Formulating a plan, Soundwave ejected [[Ravage (ROTF)|Ravage]] (who was equipped with [[Scalpel]] and the [[microcon]]s comprising [[Reedman]]) to Diego Garcia to steal the shard, which his minions used to resurrect his leader.

Soundwave remained in space, tapping into the satellite he had found, even as [[The Fallen]] led the Decepticons to Earth following [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]]'s death. He tracked down [[Ron Witwicky|Ron]] and [[Judy Witwicky]] in [[France|Paris]] (making a threatening phone call to Judy) and later blocked the NEST team's phone signals to General [[Morshower]] in an effort to block their back-up during the battle at the [[Egypt]]ian [[pyramid]]s. {{storylink|Revenge of the Fallen (film)}}

{{note|In the comic, Megatron rendezvous with Soundwave after killing Optimus, making the demand for Sam Witwicky himself, which Soundwave broadcasts through the satellite he clutches. {{storylink|Revenge of the Fallen Movie Adaptation issue 2}}}}

===Battle bios===
Soundwave can fire bursts of destructive sonic energy with his Sonic Cannons. However, these cannons are not usable in the vacuum of space.<ref>Soundwave's [http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/discover/Battle-Bios.cfm Battle Bio] at Hasbro.com</ref> Hmmm...

==Toys==
===Revenge of the Fallen===
====Deluxe Class toys====
[[Image:Soundwaverotfpreviewtoy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|War fork!]]
*'''Soundwave''' (Deluxe, 2009)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''RD-04'''
**''Accessories:'' 1 Ravage missile

:Part of the initial Movie Preview wave, Soundwave is a [[Triple Changer]], transforming into a satellite and a Cybertron jet, which are not exactly what could be described as "distinct" from one another. In all three modes, Soundwave features a spring-loaded missile launcher which fires a missile intended to resemble [[Ravage (ROTF)|Ravage]], in reference to the scene in the film in which he launches the feline fiend down at Earth. In his (rather stocky) robot mode, Soundwave has blue light piping in his visor, but it is disabled, having been painted over in red; his other modes feature a second, armored version of his face. He features numerous red and gold [[Paint operation|paint application]]s which are ''very'' cleverly and subtly positioned around his body to replicate similarly-colored and -positioned details on the [[Soundwave (G1)|original Soundwave toy]].

:The configuration for the satellite mode depicted in the toy's instructions is not the way Soundwave appears in the film, featuring a different angling for the panels on his shoulders. It's not a big change, but transforming the toy in accordance with his movie appearance ''does'' help to distinguish the jet from the satellite a little, since otherwise, virtually the only difference is in the positioning of the large panel "wings".

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2009/Decepticon/Soundwave/soundwave.htm More information on Soundwave at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

*'''Gathering at Nemesis''' (Toys "R" Us-exclusive box set, 2009)
**''Accessories:'' 1 Ravage missile
: A three pack (technically four pack if you want to count Ravage), also featuring The Fallen, and a silver Voyager Class Megatron from the first movie toyline. Soundwave will be [[redeco]]ed in predominantly blue as an homage to the original Soundwave. It is unknown at this time if this The Fallen will have color differences.
{{comingsoontoy}}

{{-}}

*'''Soundwave Black Ver.'''{{fact}} (Deluxe, 2009)
**''Accessories:'' 1 Ravage missile

{{comingsoontoy}}
{{-}}

==Merchandise==
===Burger King===
[[Image:ROTFMerchandise-BurgerKingSoundwave.jpg|thumb|right|200px|It's Soundwave without Soundwave!]]
*'''Seeking Soundwave''' (2009)
**'''Accessories:''' 2 blue solar panels
:The [[Burger King]] version of Soundwave is a representation of the communications satellite which Soundwave hacked into in the movie. The dishes have tendril details added to them. Peering into an opening in the top gives a sort of periscope effect, although as there is only one mirror, everything looks backwards.
{{--}}

==Notes==
[[Image:EarlyMovieBlackout.jpg|right|200px|thumb|A Soundwave-headed Blackout from an animatic.]]
[[Image:Rotf-soundwave-face.jpg|thumb|right|200px|This [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|guy]] would love to tear this head off, wait.. you're sure this is Soundwave's real head?]]
* Soundwave was originally supposed to feature in [[Transformers (2007)|''Transformers'']]; he fulfilled both [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] and [[Frenzy (Movie)|Frenzy]]'s roles, hacking into the CIA headquarters as a portable stereo, then [[size changing|morphed]] into a Humvee to track down [[Sam Witwicky]].<ref>Details from an early script draft [http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/showpost.php?p=2213120&postcount=297 summed up here], [http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/showpost.php?p=2214148&postcount=303 confirmed as authentic by Roberto Orci here].</ref> [[Michael Bay]]'s decision to minimalize the amount of morphing in the film resulted in a change to a helicopter who openly attacks the army. Soundwave and [[Ravage (ROTF)|Ravage]] were changed to [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout]] and [[Scorponok (Movie)|Scorponok]] as the film's location was changed from a jungle to a desert.<ref>[http://boards.transformersmovie.com/showpost.php?p=234188&postcount=2008 Roberto Orci confirms that Ravage was replaced by Scorponok at the official movie boards]</ref><ref>[http://boards.transformersmovie.com/showpost.php?p=234188&postcount=2008 Roberto Orci confirms that Ravage would have appeared in a different terrain at the official movie boards]
</ref> Soundwave's name remained attached to the separated portable stereo character for a while, but Hasbro felt the resulting character did not properly represent the original Soundwave—he was first renamed Soundbite, but eventually ended up with the name Frenzy.

*According to the trade paperback, Soundwave was a major character in the third draft of ''[[The Reign of Starscream]]''.

* In early drafts of ''Revenge of the Fallen'', Soundwave came to Earth and scanned a black Chevrolet Silverado pick-up truck form. Hasbro based the Cybertronian satellite form's robot mode on this abandoned concept, particularly a Cybertronian version of the Chevy grill and small headlights on the lower torso. [[Josh Nizzi]]'s heavily G1-esque head design was also used (although the final head design was also incorporated in a manner akin to anti-[[kibble]]). Hasbro's description and arrangement of Soundwave's toy as a triple changer runs counter to the filmmakers' intent to introduce the technology in the next film.<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen-will-not-feature-triple-changers-165854/ News from TFW2005.com on September 23, 2008,] detailing [[Roberto Orci]]'s confirmation that there would be no triple-changers in ''Revenge of the Fallen''.</ref>

*Even though [[Frank Welker]] returned to voice Soundwave for the movie, his voice was not vocoded, but rather synthesized in the same way all the other Transformer voices in the movie were. Because of this, the voice he uses is much closer to that of "The Cave of Wonders" from [[Wikipedia:Aladdin (film)|Walt Disney's ''Aladdin'']], also voiced by Welker. However, in the ''Revenge of the Fallen'' video game, Soundwave's voice ([[Peter Jessop]]) is vocoded in a manner similar to that of ''Animated'' Soundwave's first voice, only with a more musical tone.

*Even though ''Revenge'' features mostly domestic voice actors for the foreign market dubs, [[Frank Welker]] voiced Soundwave not only in English, but also in the Italian dub. As a result, in the Italian dub of the movie, Soundwave speaks with a strange, foreign accent. Welker is also ''incorrectly'' credited for voicing Soundwave in the German dub<ref name="germandub">[http://215072.homepagemodules.de/topic-threaded.php?board=215072&forum=11775323&threaded=1&id=511643&message=7158760 List of German dubbing voices]</ref>, even though Soundwave's actual German voice actor was Horst Lampe, who previously also voiced [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] in the German dub of ''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Transformers Animated]]''.

* Soundwave is unique among the Decepticons introduced in ''Revenge of the Fallen'' because he survives ([[Scalpel]]'s fate is ambigious). All the others are presumably killed, meaning if all our information only came from the films, then the only Decepticons alive are the original triad of Megatron, Starscream and Soundwave, along with the oft-overlooked [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]].

== References ==
<references/>

[[Category:Decepticons]]
[[Category:Revenge of the Fallen characters]]
[[Category:Spies]]
[[Category:Triple Changers]]