It was a busy weekend at MegaCon, but the highlight for Transformers collectors was definitely the Hasbro Pulse booth. I had the chance to catch up with Evan from the design team, who brought along some fascinating “instruction models”—these are essentially early, durable prototypes used to finalize the transformation steps. If you’ve been following the rumors, seeing these in the plastic, even in their unpainted grey state, makes the upcoming year feel a lot more real.
The biggest news is undoubtedly the Studio Series 86 Constructicons. Fans have been waiting for a definitive, movie-accurate Devastator, and Hasbro is finally delivering the full team. Right now, Hook and Long Haul are shipping out or available for pre-order at retailers like BigBadToyStore and Target for around $90, with Scrapper and Bone Crusher hot on their heels. Evan mentioned that they’ve moved away from the “Scramble City” style of interchangeable limbs to focus on a rock-solid, specific build. This means better ratchets in the waist and ankles, allowing you to actually pose this massive titan without him toppling over. They even designed the engineering so you can recreate the iconic scene where he crashes into the Ark. While the core figures are impressive on their own, a lot of collectors are already looking at the DNA Design DK-70 upgrade kit, which adds some extra bulk to the shoulders and articulated hands to really finish off the look.
Beyond the big green giant, the conversation shifted to the HasLab Liokaiser project. This is a real love letter to Transformers: Victory fans. The crowdfunding campaign was a massive success, ending with over 23,000 backers and unlocking every single bonus tier. Unlike versions we’ve seen in the past that cut corners, this one includes all six original members plus a seventh “deep cut” character, Death Cobra. The most exciting detail is the return of the “Chest Force” gimmick, where the small animal partners actually detach to become weapons. Since the backing period is officially closed, anyone who missed out will have to keep an eye on the secondary market when these start landing on doorsteps in late 2026.
Looking further down the road, Evan dropped some hints about what’s coming after 2025. With the 30th anniversary of Beast Wars arriving in 2026, the team is well aware that fans are dying for updated versions of Depth Charge and Rampage. While they couldn’t confirm anything specific yet, they hinted that the end of this year is when we’ll start seeing the reveals for that milestone. Between the new “Age of the Primes” Sky-Byte and a cartoon-accurate Trypticon redeco, it’s clear that Hasbro is leaning hard into the nostalgia that collectors actually care about.
