Was Earthrise (And its Associated Selects and Exclusives) REALLY Worth it?

[GotBot]

Last year, we asked if Siege was really worth it after a year of doing guilty or innocent of the price hikes. The result was close. This year, a year like no other, we ask if Earthrise (and it's associated Selects and plethora of exclusives) was truly worth it. This refers not only to money invested, but also time, effort to hunt and overall enjoyment of the hobby.

https://youtu.be/FPv_v3_Q5mQ

[Alliniere]

For me, this year, no, but I think that is largely the result of COVID, making distribution a disaster. I had to get the entire Earthrise line from online retailers, not because of lockdowns, but because they just didn't show up! The coneheads entirely elude me unless I want to pay 300$....

I don't mind exclusives, but everything I wanted to preorder tended to sell out before I was even able to put one in...

The toys are great, I don't think I will need another Optimus, I loved the modulators, it is all swell, just... A nightmare to get

[Ras]

Really like the figures this year, a lot. Problem is I couldn't even get several of the mainline items. I really don't want to order from the states or anything like that. Toys r Us website is very hit and miss. I need a more normal retail experience rather than being more systematic about it. Its fine, I'll miss stuff that probably should have been readily available, but I am kinda ok with that. I tell myself it's COVID related, but I am not really sure how true that is as collecting mainline retail in Canada has been a problem for a long time. I can say that Hasbro definitely left a decent amount of money on the table due to not being able to get the product out there. Not a good situation for anyone, especially Hasbro. I wonder if there are a bunch-load of shipping containers out there that will show up at some point and inundate the retail channel with 'old' product.

[DDVA16]

Nice review. Agree overall, but covid played a huge roll in this past year for collectors.
I think until covid goes away (or at least easier to go out), we'll see this continue, already see it with Kingdom.
Online is worse to get items when they sell out or cancel pre-orders on us.
Hopefully won't be as bad (fingers crossed)

[Whisky Tango Foxtrot]

We finally got near-perfect representations of G1 Optimus Prime and Soundwave (if you count the Netflix Trilogy stuff) out of it, so I'd say it was worth it for that alone. Aside from those I've skipped most of the line, though. Bought Starscream since my Universe 2.0 version is showing its age, and I've got an Exhaust in my BBTS Pile of Loot waiting to be delivered, but aside from that it hasn't been that interesting.


Still, with four figures bought it's done a lot better than Siege (where I only bought Hound) or Titans Return and Power of the Primes (which I skipped entirely.)

[GotBot]

All terrific points and analysis. This was an odd year as "worth it" includes the offerings we got, which was largely excellent but also the way business was done and was it worth the frustration, hassle time snd effort.

[NightshadeX]

As others have said, the toys from Earthrise have been great, with some deep cuts like the Quintessons and Alicons, and great Earth modes of core characters. But it was the distribution and relegation of core characters to nearly impossible to get exclusives that has been burning me out.

I will say, Earthrise has pretty much ticked me off about Siege. I love Jetfire and Omega, but the double-dipping for so many others (Datsuns, Seekers, Ironhide/Ratchet, Ultra Magnus soon, possibly the Sideswipe molds) in one year or less, and making most of the earthmodes exclusive, has soured me...

I'm still crossing my fingers I somehow get the Ironhide/Prowl combo from my Amazon.com order and the coneheads from Amazon.ca but who freaking knows... Argh...

[RNSrobot]

For as much as I overall disliked Siege, ER was a much better line. Top-notch toys in Smokescreen (and bros), Doubledealer, Prime, Fasttrack, the base guys were great, Sky-Lynx, Scorpononk, Quintesson, Allicon, Runamuck. Wow!

The downside is like Nightshade. Another pile of seekers. Another pile of Datsuns. Etc. And the Micromasters are still a flaming pile of meh outside of the tapes.

The sheer number of exclusives that WEREN'T deep cuts is a problem. Rotorstorm, Bug Bite, Sandstorm, G2 Megs as exclusives? Sure! Ironhide, Prowl, Dirge, Thrust, Ramjet, Ratchet as hard to find exclusives? Less... good.

Prices have largely knocked me out of the hobby, so it is what it is.

[fishtifer]

Earthrise got me back into collecting new Transformers - After years of buying Generations (CHUG) figures and trying to find that perfect G1 inspired look I got tired of having to go through all the new gimmicks and the figures seemed to just go downhill so I had stopped collecting during Power of the Primes and sold a good portion of my Generations collection. I skipped most of Siege, although I would stare at Ultra Magnus every time I came across one as he was the best version they released so far, but $70 was pretty steep for me and I found the other Siege characters were kind of ugly. Then in 2020 I finally caved and got Ultra Magnus on sale at Toys R Us for like $28, and then I had to get Springer too.

Then they finally release the Quintesson Judge and I was back in the game, Earthrise figures are looking like the best versions yet, expensive, but cheaper than Masterpiece, especially if you get them on sale. So I got the Quintesson Judge, Arcee, Sunstreaker, Starscream, Bluestreak, and Allicon. Now I've got Studio Series Hot Rod, Kup and Jazz on preorder - I didn't pay any attention to Studio Series as I don't understand buying Bayverse figures that are now obsolete, especially after the Bumblebee movie made the Bayverse designs look even worse. Now I am also trying to find the Thundercracker/Skywarp TRU exclusive 2 pack and the Netflix Optimus and Soundwave but man Walmart exclusives and scalpers are taking all the fun out of collecting!

It's bitter sweet being back, these are some really great G1 looking figures but with the pandemic and working reduced hours I feel a little guilty spending money on Transformers and going into stores doing non essential shopping, risking getting the covid looking for new hard to find figures. I also collect Star Wars and some Marvel Legends and Hasbro just keeps pumping all this shit out, jacking up the prices, and releasing more exclusives during a pandemic. Good to know you care about our wellbeing and safety Hasbro!

[Magnimus]

Siege also got me back to collecting and its figures as well as those of Earthrise have been some of the best G1 updates since Classics in terms of sculpting and engineering. However, the ever rising price points as well as the well-documented quality control issues have left me no choice but to give up on the hobby. After I get the reissue of Combiner Wars Devastator and the various Beast Wars Kingdom figures I want, I’m stepping away from Transformers again. It’s just too damn expensive for what we actually get.