It was clear that the big draw for Hasbro this year was the new Transformers movie. While we were able to shoot images of only FOUR toys, we were allowed into another room to see all of the Transformers movie toys.
Here are some of the highlights:
TRANSFORMERS MOVIE ULTIMATE BUMBLEBEE
(Approximate Retail Price: $89.99; Ages: 5 & up; Available: Fall 2007)
Fans of TRANSFORMERS will love seeing BUMBLEBEE come to life on the big screen and this fall, they can experience the ULTIMATE BUMBLEBEE action figure, which is among the most realistic and technical TRANSFORMERS toys ever. The impressively styled Chevrolet Camaro Concept car changes into the beloved AUTOBOTS character, which stands an imposing 14 inches tall. BUMBLEE will “come to life” with robot animatronics action in both car and robot modes. Working headlights, battle sounds, and music, including Devo’s “Whip It”, all add to the interactive experience.
This toy was really impressive, and to me is the standout of the line. It is HUGE, and looks really sweet. No metal, but real rubber tires. Supposedly it will come preloaded with 7 songs. I took some video of this toy in action that I will post later.
TRANSFORMERS MOVIE LEADER assortment
(Approximate Retail Price: $39.99; Ages: 5 & up; Available: June 2007)
It’s Prime time! OPTIMUS PRIME and other popular TRANSFORMERS characters from the movie are represented in Leader scale figures, which feature lights and sounds in vehicle and robot mode. Additionally, the figures feature new “Automorph Technology”, a gearing mechanism that allows some parts to move automatically. The Leader scale includes OPTIMUS PRIME and MEGATRON.
We were allowed to take pictures of Prime but not Megatron. Prime looks great in truck mode but I am still not sold on robot mode. Hasbro had a real challenge here in translating the movie designs into toy forms. Megatron looked cool, but its design and construction really reminded me of beast wars.
TRANSFORMERS OPTIMUS PRIME VOICE CHANGER HELMET
(Approximate Retail Price: $29.99; Ages: 5 & Up; Available: June 2007)
The OPTIMUS PRIME VOICE CHANGER HELMET, authentically detailed to look like the character in the movie, allows kids to imitate OPTIMUS PRIME and sound like a TRANSFORMERS robot for the first time! The OPTIMUS PRIME VOICE CHANGER HELMET features 3 modes:
• VOICE CHANGER: Make your voice sound like a robot!
• BATTLE PHRASES: OPTIMUS PRIME speaks iconic phrases
• CONVERSION SOUNDS: Hear OPTIMUS PRIME change from a truck to a robot and back!
TRANSFORMERS ARM BLASTER assortment
(Approximate Retail Price: $29.99; Ages: 5 & up; Available: June 2007)
Quickly changing from either STARSCREAM’S jet or OPTIMUS PRIME’S truck, these powerful TRANSFORMERS ARM BLASTERS offer kids the unique opportunity to role-play the galactic battle which AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS have waged for centuries! One pull changes the toy from vehicle mode to blaster mode, unleashing the power of a Nerf dart blaster. OPTIMUS PRIME comes with 3 Nerf darts and STARSCREAM comes with 4 Nerf darts.
TRANSFORMERS CYBER STOMPIN’ ROBOT assortments
(Approximate Retail Price: $19.99; Ages: 4 & up; Available: June 2007)
The CYBER STOMPIN’ ROBOT features 12-inch robot-only versions of BUMBLEBEE and OPTIMUS PRIME, the heroes of the TRANSFORMERS movie. Designed to enable easy play for younger fans, each of the figures feature robot stomping sounds, battle sounds and phrases and light-up eyes!
We were not able to get shots of these, but I really think this is one of the cooler toys in the line. They took the hard lines of the movie prime and smoothed them out to make something that looks really cool. Nice action features, cool proportions, this one is a winner.
MOVIE NEWS
The Hasbro reps were tight-lipped, but we were able to glean a few bits of information about the movie. For example, we didn't know the main plot of the movie. We found out that the ALLSPARK is here on earth. Each Transformer has a SPARK, which is their soul. The Autobots and Decepticons battle it out to gain control of the Allspark, which is in the hands of a boy and girl on the run. there is also a section of the military that knows about the Transformers called Sector 7. they have developed their own machines to combat the Transformers (my guess is it is Scorponok).
We got a sneak peek of the Transformers Video game. This game will be available cross-platform and you will be able to choose to fight as either an Autobot or Decepticon. It has GTA-style gameplay with smaller free-roaming cityscapes. Everything in the game is able to be destroyed or used as a weapon. The game is in a rough state right now, but it looks like it has promise. One thing that worries me though is that the game is FILLED with product placement. PEPSI billboards, BURGER KING restaurants and more litter the game.
This toy was really impressive, and to me is the standout of the line. It is HUGE, and looks really sweet. No metal, but real rubber tires. Supposedly it will come preloaded with 7 songs. I took some video of this toy in action that I will post later.
TRANSFORMERS MOVIE LEADER assortment
(Approximate Retail Price: $39.99; Ages: 5 & up; Available: June 2007)
It’s Prime time! OPTIMUS PRIME and other popular TRANSFORMERS characters from the movie are represented in Leader scale figures, which feature lights and sounds in vehicle and robot mode. Additionally, the figures feature new “Automorph Technology”, a gearing mechanism that allows some parts to move automatically. The Leader scale includes OPTIMUS PRIME and MEGATRON.
We were allowed to take pictures of Prime but not Megatron. Prime looks great in truck mode but I am still not sold on robot mode. Hasbro had a real challenge here in translating the movie designs into toy forms. Megatron looked cool, but its design and construction really reminded me of beast wars.
TRANSFORMERS OPTIMUS PRIME VOICE CHANGER HELMET
(Approximate Retail Price: $29.99; Ages: 5 & Up; Available: June 2007)
The OPTIMUS PRIME VOICE CHANGER HELMET, authentically detailed to look like the character in the movie, allows kids to imitate OPTIMUS PRIME and sound like a TRANSFORMERS robot for the first time! The OPTIMUS PRIME VOICE CHANGER HELMET features 3 modes:
• VOICE CHANGER: Make your voice sound like a robot!
• BATTLE PHRASES: OPTIMUS PRIME speaks iconic phrases
• CONVERSION SOUNDS: Hear OPTIMUS PRIME change from a truck to a robot and back!
TRANSFORMERS ARM BLASTER assortment
(Approximate Retail Price: $29.99; Ages: 5 & up; Available: June 2007)
Quickly changing from either STARSCREAM’S jet or OPTIMUS PRIME’S truck, these powerful TRANSFORMERS ARM BLASTERS offer kids the unique opportunity to role-play the galactic battle which AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS have waged for centuries! One pull changes the toy from vehicle mode to blaster mode, unleashing the power of a Nerf dart blaster. OPTIMUS PRIME comes with 3 Nerf darts and STARSCREAM comes with 4 Nerf darts.
TRANSFORMERS CYBER STOMPIN’ ROBOT assortments
(Approximate Retail Price: $19.99; Ages: 4 & up; Available: June 2007)
The CYBER STOMPIN’ ROBOT features 12-inch robot-only versions of BUMBLEBEE and OPTIMUS PRIME, the heroes of the TRANSFORMERS movie. Designed to enable easy play for younger fans, each of the figures feature robot stomping sounds, battle sounds and phrases and light-up eyes!
We were not able to get shots of these, but I really think this is one of the cooler toys in the line. They took the hard lines of the movie prime and smoothed them out to make something that looks really cool. Nice action features, cool proportions, this one is a winner.
MOVIE NEWS
The Hasbro reps were tight-lipped, but we were able to glean a few bits of information about the movie. For example, we didn't know the main plot of the movie. We found out that the ALLSPARK is here on earth. Each Transformer has a SPARK, which is their soul. The Autobots and Decepticons battle it out to gain control of the Allspark, which is in the hands of a boy and girl on the run. there is also a section of the military that knows about the Transformers called Sector 7. they have developed their own machines to combat the Transformers (my guess is it is Scorponok).
We got a sneak peek of the Transformers Video game. This game will be available cross-platform and you will be able to choose to fight as either an Autobot or Decepticon. It has GTA-style gameplay with smaller free-roaming cityscapes. Everything in the game is able to be destroyed or used as a weapon. The game is in a rough state right now, but it looks like it has promise. One thing that worries me though is that the game is FILLED with product placement. PEPSI billboards, BURGER KING restaurants and more litter the game.