Transformers turns 41 on Transformers Day, and Hasbro marks it with 2026 price increases that push Voyager class from $34.99 to $42.99. Exvee fills in for Brian as the crew picks apart the hikes and asks fans to stay respectful toward the Transformers team. Shockwave’s fan-voted sea creature mode is a whale, Studio Series 86 Soundwave sells out on preorder, and Battersea gets a non-toy Titan mascot. Hot Wheels Nemesis Prime, Age of the Primes Big Convoy, DNA Design’s Fallen kit and a very whelming Popsicle round out the news. In What We Got This Week, Matt finally has the Devastator he always wanted.

News

Transformers 2026 Price Increases Hit Voyager Class Hardest

Leader class goes from $55.99 to $59.99 in 2026, and Deluxe class from $24.99 to $27.99. Voyager class jumps $8, from $34.99 to $42.99. Exvee thinks Voyagers have been on borrowed time, noting no Voyager triple changer since Earthrise Snapdragon. Don points out that Brawl and Swindle, both Voyager combiner parts, will now cost about $85 together. Exvee adds that the timing is bad, with all three core Seekers due in 2026 for about $128. Rob asks whether tighter margins will make obscure characters a harder sell inside Hasbro. Diecast urges fans to keep it respectful toward the Transformers team, who don’t set prices. The crew’s advice is to vote with your wallet. [Source: TFW2005]

Fan Vote Turns Shockwave Into Shockwhale

Four fan votes ended in a Transformers Day reveal: Shockwave’s sea creature alt mode is a whale. Collider ran the exclusive, written by longtime friend of the show Rob London. Exvee notes the concept art borrows Skybite’s engineering, though Hasbro says the toy will be an all-new mold. He expects it in 18 to 24 months. One host would happily pay $60 for it, while still mourning the lack of a Hearts of Steel Shockwave. Matt pitches a line of nautical Decepticons, including Squidwarp and Starfish Scream. [Source: Collider]

Studio Series 86 Soundwave Sells Out on Preorder

Studio Series 86 Soundwave is a $59.99 Leader class figure with new Laserbeak, Ravage and Buzzsaw cassettes. It sold out at many retailers on day one, including Hasbro Pulse. One host will stick with Legacy Soundwave, while another needs the upgrade and likes the new Ravage. The promo photos show cassette mode missing a panel, and Ravage’s missile pod looks mounted wrong. One host finds Soundwave’s smooth surfaces the most Sunbow-like yet, but worries he won’t match Studio Series 86 Megatron. [Source: Hasbro Pulse]

More Transformers Day Preorders

Studio Series Alpha Trion from Transformers One also went up at about $43, and several hosts are skipping it. One host has tentative preorders for the new Barricade and Arachnid. A Nemesis Prime redeco of Optimus Prime drew the harshest reaction, with the crew struggling to spot any difference for $60. One host would rather put that money toward Missing Link Ultra Magnus. [Source: not found]

Battersea Store Unveils a Non-Toy Titan Mascot

Nate from the Transformers team clarified that the teased Battersea reveal isn’t a Titan class toy. It’s a Titan-type mascot for the Battersea Transformers store, a former power station turned shopping center. Fans can vote on a name: Turbine Maximus, Metro Boss or Autobot Powerplex. One host favors Metro Boss, and another likes Powerplex for the power station link. The crew thinks the design could someday become a new Metroplex. The store also carries a limited Blokees advent calendar, which leaves one host a bit salty. [Source: TFW2005]

Hot Wheels Nemesis Prime Sells Out in Minutes

Since last week, the Mattel Creations Hot Wheels Nemesis Prime was announced, shown in hand, released and sold out. It sold out within a minute or two, just like the Optimus Prime version. It also came in cheaper than the $80 Optimus Prime. Don couldn’t get one, and one host missed it while working. [Source: TFW2005]

Takara Tomy T-Spark Shows a Transformers x Evangelion Optimus Prime

The first art for Takara Tomy’s T-Spark Transformers x Evangelion figure shows Evasion Mode Optimus Prime from Age of Extinction in Evangelion colors. The crew thinks it works surprisingly well, since the design already has shoulder fins. The purple, black and green scheme reads more clearly as Evangelion than earlier attempts. One host doesn’t want it but wants to see how the colors play out in alt mode. [Source: TFW2005]

Mark Maher Shares Age of the Primes Big Convoy

Mark Maher posted photos of Age of the Primes Big Convoy on Instagram. The helmet now has the correct lighter blue, fixed since the darker San Diego Comic-Con sample. Chris already owns the 2004 Universe version in Nemesis colors and doesn’t plan to buy it. He would consider an Ultra Mammoth repaint, though. Don notes the cheapest loose, complete Ultra Mammoth on eBay runs $295. [Source: Instagram]

DNA Design Fires Up The Fallen

DNA Design’s DK-74 upgrade kit for Age of the Primes The Fallen adds big flame effects and a Decepticon-style mask. The crew thinks the flames are a little over the top. The flaming chainsaw is the star, and it also comes separately in orange or purple. Don preordered two chainsaws, though he hopes the chain comes off. One host grabbed an orange chainsaw for about $10.99 at Big Bad Toy Store. [Source: TFW2005]

Official Transformers Popsicle Bars Arrive

Popsicle now sells officially licensed Transformers frozen bars, and the photos speak for themselves. One host bought them, and the face on the first bar didn’t even have level eyes. The flavor is strawberry, or strawberry and blueberry. Even the CG bar on the box looks, in Don’s word, whelmed. [Source: TFW2005]

What We Got This Week

Diecast

At the American Dream Mall’s Hasbro game center, Diecast won Transformers plush from the claw machines, including Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Chase from Rescue Bots. His tickets earned a BotBots mystery two-pack. A Guardian Robot cost 60,000 tickets, or about $320. The mall’s Toys “R” Us was mostly Blokees, and he picked up a metallic gold-box Blokees EX Bumblebee. Mixmaster gives him the last leg of Devastator and is fine, but not $43 good. He also got Skydive and needs only Fireflight for Superion. With these prices, he may stop buying some of this.

Don

Don got Fireflight from Hasbro Pulse and is one figure from completing Superion. He also ordered MDLX Jazz from Entertainment Earth to reach free shipping. It joins his MDLX Optimus Prime, Rodimus and Sideswipe.

John

John got Alpha Trion, Onyx Prime and Flatline. Alpha Trion is solid, with an odd cape, a book and a quill that John mistook for a shiv. He still prefers the Alpha Trion from the Rise of a Hero two-pack. Onyx Prime is still sealed but looks awesome.

Matt

Matt’s Alpha Trion arrived with a misfired ankle pin, which he fixed. He bought two Skydives, one for the Aerialbots and one for Superion. A second Scavenger and Mixmaster complete his Constructicons and Devastator. Matt says Devastator locks together rock solid and scales well with the other combiners, unlike the Combiner Wars version. He also bought a second Missing Link Sentinel Prime, one to keep boxed and one to play with.

Rob

Rob had nothing in Transformers this week.

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