Transformers Figure Subscription Service
In 2012, Fun Publications revealed the Transformers Figure Subscription Service. With this, a greater number and variety of exclusive toys from the Timelines toyline could be made and sent out to members of the Transformers Collectors' Club.
Subscription details
The Subscription Service was an optional add-on to Fan Club membership. Each year's lineup consisted of six exclusive Transformers. As they were not part of a themed box set like BotCon toys, they could pull from a variety of universes and styles. Toys were shipped out one per month for six months, though the order the toys were shipped in was kept a secret.
Payment for each year could be made in one lump sum, or split into three smaller payments on a regular schedule. Obviously, missing a payment deadline meant no more toys get shipped to the delinquent until things are caught up.
Any toys left over from each shipment were subsequently put up on the Fan Club's store (except for the 2014 "bonus" figure) for individual purchase by anyone with a Fan Club membership, though at a slightly higher price tag than the per-unit cost of the full subscription.
Toys
Series 1.0 (2013)
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The initial year had some hiccups in its delivery. Meant to start shipping in early 2013, the toys did not actually get shipped from the factory until summer, under the mistaken notion that they were part of the BotCon 2013 toy assortment. Thus, they ended up shipping in the latter half of the year. | |||||||
Series 2.0 (2014)
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For 2014, the Service changed things up quite a bit. First by offering a seventh "bonus" figure for subscribers that was not made available for individual purchase, and then by adding Mini-Con partners to three of the toys by making use of the Arms Micron molds which had previously not been available in the U.S. Another manufacturer's delay occurred, causing the initial shipment to be scheduled to arrive in Dallas in the final week of May 2014 and start shipping to customers in the first week of June 2014. | |||||||
Series 3.0 (2015)
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| Series 4.0 (2016) |  | ||||||
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In a change from the previous lineups, the fourth edition of the service features a unifying theme based on Combiner Wars with individual figures derived from the Mayhem Attack Squad, an underrepresented-in-toy-form Wrecker, and a long-beloved misconception. Five of the figures combine into Thunder Mayhem. | |||||||
Series 5.0 (2017)
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Yup. The fifth series features 2 Pretenders! Meanwhile, Toxitron, Counterpunch, and Fractyl can combine into Wreckage, with the two missing spots being filled by either last series' Impactor and Bluestreak or Combiner Wars Alpha Bravo and Offroad. | |||||||
Notes
- The Transformers Subscription Service was preceded a year earlier by a similar service for the G.I. Joe Fan Club, also run by Fun Publications. That Service though had 12 toys a year, due to the much lower cost per figure to manufacture.
- 2016 would be the last year Fun Publications had the license to run the fan club from Hasbro. Accordingly, the TFSS 5.0 was to be released in the second half of 2016. However, manufacturer delays pushed the final figures to a late February/early March 2017 release. Additionally, due to the delay, the figures were to be shipped in shipments of 2 figures at a time, with the final shipment being 2 figures and the bonus figure.
