TRANSFORMERS: Age of Extinction Toy Madness @ 2200

The most eagerly anticipated toy event of the year took place yesterday, 16 May 2014 at Toys"R"Us Forum. There's lots to see so let's get to it.

Fans queued as early as 3pm to be first to get their hands on the Transformers: Age of Extinction toys. Queue numbers were given out in the evening. This was a good move on the organiser's part so as to prevent queue cutting. This was important as there were several special gifts and redemptions for a limited number of people.

What special offers you ask? Well there's the pair of Transformers: Age of Extinction Movie preview tickets for the first 150 customers who purchased the Platinum Edition Optimus Prime & Grimlock set. Buying that set also gets you a Transformers bag which includes the 2" Opitmus Prime Then & Now figures and movie poster, limited to the first 300 customers.  

If you were the first 100 customers who purchased $250 worth of Transformers: AOE products, you could get yourself one deluxe chrome figure. There were four different ones to choose from. These do not transform in case you're wondering. There were other redemptions as well like free stickers and vouchers.

By 9pm the queue had snaked down two floors. There were various activities held before the start  

The cast of "Ah Boys to Men" (ABTM) made a guest appearance. They spoke of their favourite Transformers and sang a reworded, Transformers version of the ABTM theme song.  

Question and Answer sessions were conducted and fans could win big prizes. And I do mean big. For instance, this lucky fan walked away with a Platinum Edition Optimus Prime & Grimlock set. How cool is that! 

Optimus Prime and Bumblebee were available for photos during the event.

Think you have the fastest fingers? You could prove it at the conversion challenge. This booth could be found on the 2nd floor. I think not many wanted to leave the queue for this. Especially not with the Q&A going on.

While the activities were going on outside, the store was being prepared inside. I have more pics in the gallery.

The aisles and shelves stood ready. With the start time fast approaching, a countdown began. And with a mighty roar from the crowd that Grimlock could be proud of, fans made their way into the store.

The most popular figure of the night? It has to be the Platinum Edition Optimus Prime and Grimlock set. It's a Toys "R" Us exclusive and if you were early you could get preview tickets.

Wave 2 of the deluxe assortment was launched at midnight. I felt the timing of this could be brought forward. Many had already left by that time. Another thing is I did not see the Voyager Galvatron or Hound. I thought they would be released at the event.

At the entrance of the store on a counter stood the gold chrome Leader Class Optimus Prime. Who's the top spender? We'll just have to wait and see. 

This was an awesome event. I think the organisers did an excellent job. The queues were orderly and well managed. They gave out great prizes for the contests and had great offers for fans who came early. It was well worth the wait. I think a lot of people went home happy. 

Star Wars launch event next year please!

To see more pics, click here.

Thanks for viewing!