It was announced a few weeks ago that the next Japanese Transformers Reissues would be Trailbreaker and Hoist. Today the site e-hobby posted some pics showing these new reissues. They have some subtle differences to make them more cartoon accurate. Trailbreaker (black one) used to have red eyes and they have now been painted blue. Hoist (green one) used to have yellow eyes and they are also now painted blue.
Hoist was released a few years ago here in the U.S. as a Toys R Us exclusive. I already have that one, so I will not be getting this new one. Trailbreaker on the other hand has been reissued once before in Japan in 2001, but it was a very limited convention exclusive. I have been hoping for his release again for a few years now. In fact he was originally to be reissued at Toys R US, but the U.S. reissue line was cancelled just before.
They are both selling at U.S. online stores for about $35 a piece. I however got in on an early bird special from a Japanese site and got locked in at a $28 price. Once you stick on the shipping from Japan it evens out to about the same price as the U.S. stores, but by ordering from Japan I get them a little quicker than from ordering local.
With Trailbreaker I will only need 2 more figures to have all the ’84 and ’85 autobot cars. Unfortunately it has been said that the molds for the last 2 I need have been either damaged or lost. There is a Chinese company making Knock Offs of these that are very good quality and I might have to go that route to complete the set.
Trailbreaker and Hoist are due to be released at the end of December, so just in time for Christmas.
Bellow are some comparison pics of the old vs the new.
