Big Bad Toy Store have updated their website with some new Takara Tomy pre-orders. The Device Label Broadcast is re-listed. Now it appears that for some reason the US sites still think this figure was cancelled.  As we correctly have reported all along the toy was never cancelled.  What happened was the figure was delayed three or four time, and after the last delay stores stopped taking pre-orders as they were told that the figure would not be out until the summer of 2010, when it was originally due in August / September 2009.

Also listed is a new Device Label Cheetor , a third recolour of the Ravage mold, Alternity Starscream , Alternity Skywarp (based on a Okamora Orochi and finally a Disney Label Buzz Lightyear.

Thanks once again to BuzzBolt for providing us with more information on the Transformers toys currently in stock at Toys R Us.  Obviously not all stores will have every item available depending on the size of the store.

Following on from Sunday's report on the Transformers Animated stock, the Bumper Battle cars are also available.

For the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen line a variety of Robot Heroes, Legendsm Scoutm Deluxe and Voyager class are available, along with Fast Action Battlers and Robot Replicas.

Current stock includes:-

Devastator
Superion (combiner set)
Deluxe Twin Pack of Wheelie and Sideways
Deluxe + Voyager Pack of Hoist and Mixmaster (G1 colours)
Movie Promo Pack of Whirl and Bludgeon.
Bumblebee Blaster
Optimus Prime Cannon
Bumblebee Voice Changer Helmet
Optimus Prime Voice Changer Helmet

For the Transformers Universe line :-

A mixture of Robot Heroes
Voyager Blaster
Voyager Dropshot
Voyager Blades
Voyager Treadbolt
(each carton contains one of each figure)

Ultra Silverbolt
Ultra Countdown
Ultra Darkwing
Ultra Powerglide
(Ultra Figures consist of 2 varieties at the moment, one is normal a box of 4 consisting of 2 of each and we also have the 25th anniversary figures with the same contents).

BuzzBot also mentions that the Voyager figures have been reduced for quite some time and after 6 months policies govern that we either return the item to it's previoius RRP or adjust it to a new sale price or deal.

ToyNews, the UK Toy Industry publication, has printed a story regarding a slump in US toy sales in December 2009.

Data from NPD Group shows sales were down two per cent through November 2009.

Sales in the US were $16.03 billion for the year to November, down from $16.38 billion in 2008 and $21.3 billion in sales for the preceding 12 months ended in November 2009 compared to $21.77 billion for the corresponding period of 2008.

The categories that recorded a rise in sales year-to-date (YTD) and in the 12-month year-on-year (YOY) period through November included building sets, up 22 per cent YTD to $761 million and up 25 per cent YOY to $1.02 billion.

Action figures/accessories/role-play, were up by six per cent YTD to $1.25 billion and up seven per cent YOY to $1.62 billion.

Arts & Crafts was up by four per cent YTD to $2.25 billion and up four per cent YOY to $2.7 billion and the catch-all 'all other toys' category, up four per cent for both measurements.

Games and puzzles sales were flat YTD through November but declined by one per cent for the 12-month period; minus puzzles, game sales rose one per cent for both time periods.

Commenting on the possible causes of the gains, NPD toy analyst Anita Frazier said: "Building Sets and Arts & Crafts are two supercategories that have benefited from consumer value.

"Both super categories include toys that provide hours of entertainment for kids, and in the case of arts and crafts, with many products at lower than average price points."

Declining toy supercategories included plush, down 13 per cent YTD and ten per cent YOY; Youth electronics, down 13 per cent YTD and 11 per cent YOY; Vehicles, down nine percent for both measurements.

Outdoor and sports toys, fell by eight per cent YTD and nine per cent YOY; Infant/pre-school, down five per cent for both measurements; and dolls, down two per cent YTD and one per cent YOY.

ToyNews, the UK Toy Industry publication has published an article on it's website concerning recent changes at Hasbro UK.

Hasbro has new UK senior management, after the firm reshuffled its European personnel.

Mark Hoijtink adds the UK and Nordic markets to his current responsibilities of Iberia, Germany, Austria and Switzerland as General Manager, Northern Europe reporting to European President, John Harper.

Foye Pascoe (pictured on their site), currently UK Sales Director and Deputy General Manager is promoted to Country Manager, UK reporting to Hoijtink.

Jonathan Evans moves to the newly created position of General Manager, Customer Strategic Marketing Europe, also reporting to Harper. Evans will

s250 has provided TFW2005 with a new Transformers War for Cybertron Optimus Prime.  The figure appears to be a dexlue and s250 reports that it appears to still be a testshot. Feel free to compare the new image to the original grey hardcopy that was seen before.

The older image ...

­The-Arker.com have posted images of two new Transformers RPMS.  The toys are based on Defender Optimus Prime and Soundwave (with a car based on the Animated Soundwave character).

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A big thanks to Buzzbolt00 for sending us through a list of the current UK Toys R Us Transformers Animated stock.  He also included a footnote regarding which backstocked items are still available at some stores along with a note on Animated Arcee.

TFW2005.com member Kenucme has spotted some Wave 2 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Robot Heroes "scene assortment" figures within a Walmart store in Killeen, Texas. The toy spotted were the Desert Devastation and Shanghai Showdown sets.  Desert Devastation contains Robot Heroes figures of Devastator, Skids, Mudflap and Captain Lennox.  The Shanghai Showdown set contains Demolisher, Optimus Prime, Skids (ice cream truck), Mudflap (ice cream truck, Sideswipe and Sideways.

The new Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen legends class two-packs containing Offroad Skids, Rally Mudflap and Smokescreen with Starscream which will be released within the US as Target exclusives, ad therefore will most likely turn up within the UK at Tesco, have already been released in Target stores within Eastern Australia, according to TFW2005.com board member SydneyY