Toy Fair 2013

« Toy Fair 2013 »
Not pictured: falling chunks of ice.
Date	February 10–13, 2013
City	New York, NY
Venue	The Times Center

Toy Fair 2013, hosted in New York City from February 10–13, boasts "over 25,000 attendees, 345,500 square feet of exhibit space, 100,000 products with over 7,000 never before seen in the world, 1200+ exhibitors, [and] 1000 global media representatives."

MediaWiki was invited to Hasbro's 2013 Collector-Fan Media Day at The Times Center on Saturday, February 9, and wiki contributors Matt Karpowich and Greg Sepelak attended. Following a presentation starting at 1pm, fan representatives were allowed into Hasbro's product showroom.

Coverage

Venue and showroom

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Rescue Bots

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Notes

• The Transformers brand presentation noted the large number of Rescue Bots fans, but did not specifically touch on new products.

Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters

Cyberverse

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  Cyberverse Soundwave

Notes

• Cyberverse Legion wave 2 will consist of Soundwave with Sonic Saw, Prowl with Justice Hammer, and Hun-Gurrr with Dragontooth Saw.
• Cyberverse Commander wave 2 will consist of Starscream with Thunder Talon and Shockwave with Hyperflux Cannon.
  • The general Beast Hunters press release stated there will be 11 Cyberverse Legion figures, 9 Cyberverse Commander figures, and 3 Cyberverse Vehicles to collect.

Deluxe Class

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  Skystalker!

Notes

• Wave 3 will consist of Ratchet with Dragon Grinder Drill, Dreadwing with Dread Assault Cannon, and Skystalker with Cryostrike Disc Launchers.
  • The Beast Hunters press release stated there will be 16 Deluxe figures to collect.

Voyager Class

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  Grimwing with Blackbeak
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  Ultra Magnus in vehicle mode

Notes

• Wave 2 will include Shockwave with Hyperflux Cannon and removable beast armor. Shockwave was intentionally designed with removable armor because a "core version" of the character had not been previously released.
• Ultra Magnus with the Forge of Solus Prime and Grimwing with the Blackbeak Grapple Launcher are slated for later. Grimwing is an Ursagryph (a combination of bear and falcon), stated to be designer Lenny Panzica's favorite mythological creature. Panzica specifically requested the audience be informed of this fact.
  • The Beast Hunters press release stated there will be 6 Voyager figures to collect.

"Ultimate" Class

Notes

• While the slide for Beast Fire Predaking stated that he was a Target exclusive, the presenters indicated that was an error when asked about it in the showroom.
• According to design director Joshua Lamb, the "spinning dragon cannons" on Beast Hunter Optimus Prime's back were inspired by a dragon-headed fountain he and designer Lenny Panzica saw while on a visit to TakaraTomy in Japan.

Bot Shots

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  Bot Shots Warpath Launcher

• In the interest of time, most of the Bot Shots slides were skipped.

Construct-Bots

Notes

• A $34.99 Construct-Bots "Optimus vs Predaking" set was mentioned in the general Toy Fair Beast Hunters press release as coming out in October of 2013. The set was not otherwise seen or referenced at Toy Fair itself, outside of a brief allusion to the Beast Hunters theme extending to the Construct-Bots line.
• When asked about the pronunciation of "Construct-Bots" (the presenters spoke the line name aloud as "construct-a-bots"), they indicated that the Autobot and Decepticon symbols on the packaging act as an "a" sound.
  • The Construct-Bots press release stated there will be 8 Scout sets and 10 Elite sets to collect.

Generations

Legends Class

Notes

• The Generations press release mentioned there will be Legends figure/partner sets for Megatron and Starscream, two releases not otherwise seen or referenced at Toy Fair itself.

Deluxe Class

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  Twintwist cardback

Notes

• The idea of packing comics with the Generations Deluxes was inspired by Jivoin and Lamb's time on the Marvel brand, specifically the Marvel Universe comic 2-packs they both loved.
• The Deluxe comics packs will begin shipping in the fall of 2013.

Voyager Class

• Joe Kyde was said to be the designer behind the Voyager Triple Changers, putting a lot of love and late hours in them.
• The Triple Changers have been in development for at least two years (!) to ensure that their alternate modes were distinct rather than "well, that's close enough, it looks kinda like something" and to smooth out their transformations.
• Designer Lenny Panzica apparently gave Blitzwing a ten out of ten.

Platinum Edition

• The Grimlock versus Bruticus 2-pack was inspired by the "classic" battle between the two in Transformers: Fall of Cybertron. It was originally developed for the Asian market.

Masterpiece

• The Masterpiece toyline will be re-introduced with a new logo that incorporates Japanese, meant to showcase the Japanese heritage of Transformers.
• The first two releases in the rebooted line will be Acid Storm and Soundwave with five cassettes (Buzzsaw, Frenzy, Laserbeak, Ravage and Rumble). Both will be Toys R Us exclusives and feature new package designs.

Titan Class

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  METROPLEX HEEDS THE CALL OF AWESOMENESS
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  Bio!

Notes

• GIANT METROPLEX
• Metroplex's creation was inspired by his appearance in the Fall of Cybertron trailer. At 24+ inches tall (they were shooting for an even 25", but couldn't quuuuite make it), he's intended to be the largest Transformer ever (and does, in fact, have two inches on Fortress Maximus). The Hasbro Asia team have nicknamed the figure "big baby".
• Metroplex was designed to be in scale with Legends class figures, and includes a Legends class version of Scamper.
• Features include light-up eyes, a flip-down visor, articulated pupils that can look around (controlled from behind), and electronic speech.
• According to one of the Hasbro presenters in the showroom, Metroplex will include a sheet of stickers for additional detailing.
• The box-art for Metroplex depicts a green Trailcutter with a different head and an orange Springer with wings in place of rotors in vehicle mode, suggesting planned releases for Hoist and Sandstorm.

Kre-O

Micro Changers

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  Micro Changer Wave 2 Acid Storm
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  Micro Changer Wave 2 Bulkhead
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  Micro Changer Wave 2 Groove
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  More Groove!

Notes

• Micro Changers wave 2 will consist of: Blot, Bombshell, "Acidwing," Bulkhead, Groove, Arcee, Powerglide, Scourge, Vehicon, Lugnut, Perceptor and Hoist.
• Micro Changers wave 3 will consist of: Beachcomber, Kickback, Guzzle, Huffer, Long Haul, Nemesis Prime, Cheetor, Thrust, Ramjet, Seawing, Sharkticon and Nosecone.

Micro Changers Combiners

Notes

• Micro Changers Combiners wave 2 will consist of Defensor (First Aid, Hot Spot, Blades, Streetsmart), Piranacon (Snap Trap, Overbite, Nautilator, Tentakil), and Abominus (Prime-styled Windrazor, Rippersnapper, Sinnertwin and Hun-Gurrr).

Autobot Command Center

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  Mock-up "Autobot Command Center" Arcee

• The first dedicated playset of the line, the Autobot Command Center, includes a command tower, repair bay, prison, weapons rack, and Kreons of Prime-style Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Arcee, and Shockwave, plus a beast-only Rippersnapper.

Customizable figure assortment

• A series of limited edition, short-run Kreons will be made, with foil embossing, and a lot of extra parts that can be stored on a rack, some chromed and clear-plastic. These will include Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Ironhide, Megatron, Starscream and Soundwave. Unlike the Micro Changers, they will not be blind-bagged.
• The racks included with the figures can connect to the Autobot Command Center repair station, allowing one to "build out" their arsenal of accessories.
• As of Toy Fair, the customizable assortment did not have an actual name, but it will have one by the time it debuts.

Notes

• The event was kicked off by a presentation from Hasbro Studios Vice President of Development Mike Vogel, who wore a Twilight Sparkle t-shirt and teased the upcoming season of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic with a song clip.
• The presenters for the Transformers brand team were Global Brand Director/marketing director Jerry Jivoin and Senior Design Director Joshua Lamb. Jivoin began by outlining how the Beast Hunters masthead will encompass the main Prime line and stretch into Kre-O, Bot Shots, and Construct-Bots.
• The Beast Hunters toys were said to have a street date of February 11, 2013. Whether any stores stuck to that date was another matter.
• The official Transformers website will go to a full Beast Hunters theme on February 18, 2013.
• IDW will be releasing Beast Hunters comics by the team of Johnson, Scott, and Padilla, evidently following up from Rage of the Dinobots.
• The Transformers presentation proper started with an expanded version of the Prime clip shown at the 2012 New York Comic Con, featuring Shockwave explaining how he created Predaking, the "ultimate Autobot hunter," by cloning "fossilized remains." The third season is scheduled to premiere sometime in the spring of 2013.
• Between Autobots, Decepticons and Predacons, there will be 40 characters in the Beast Hunters segment. Out of those 40, 13 will be Predacons.
• For the Generations assortment, Hasbro teamed with IDW to devise the character selection - "what you see in the books is what you're going to see in the toys".
• Presenting for the Kre-O team was Senior Brand Manager Angus Walker.