Since we’re back in action, we might as well drop some bombs like the good old days!
It turns out that a rather obscure and previously-thought unattainable release has found its way into the hands of a lucky stateside collector and we have the scoop! The proud owner of this true modern grail piece has taken the time to share with us a little bit about how it came to be in their possession but before that, let’s take a trip down memory lane to see where it all began…
In 2018, the world was rocked by the establishment of Hasbro’s Studio Series toyline, and along with it, an incredible leader class Blackout figure. They took it a step further in China and built a promotion around two special customized repaint figures of Studio Series 01 Bumblebee and Studio Series 08 Blackout. These were not for sale, per se, but served as prizes for Transformers buyers on Taobao. Only 88 copies of this ‘camo’ Blackout were produced for the promotion, and is the closest thing we’ve had to a lucky draw release in quite a while. The demand for this figure has grown in wake of Studio Series’ longevity up to this point, but it has been generally forgotten by those that can easily dismiss a non-factory-generated and region-locked prize figure. See general details of this release on the wiki.
Until now.
Five years and a pandemic or two later, Sangzhong Blackout has ventured across the sea and into the hands of a happy Transformers collector, let’s call him Spiky. Spiky was sharing some brand new pictures of this unicorn-like figure and we just had to ask him a few questions.
Collecticon: How did you come across such a rare piece like the Chinese Blackout?
Spiky: I was given a notice about the Chinese blackout about a week ago on multiple discord servers. A helpful discord user that I will not name now held it for a while and was trying to sell it off. Of course this purchase was leading up to TFcon so it was either now or never as I’m sure I would not have had the funds afterwards.
Collecticon: How long had you been trying to get ahold of one of these?
Spiky: This piece was something that I never actively look for on my time. This painted Blackout was something I knew I would just have to wait for someday to show up on the Internet.
Collecticon: What drew you to this piece in particular over other rare or hard to find figures?
Spiky: The fact that it is sort of the only figure of its kind. As an artist myself, having an artist’s touch on an exclusive lucky draw is very special to me.
Collecticon: What condition is the piece in and are you satisfied with it?
Spiky: The piece came brand new in the box, although I was worried about scratching the gorgeous paint on this figure so it was taken out. I plan to move it into a case later to keep it protected for as long as possible. The condition of the figure itself seems to be fine. It’s exactly what I expected and I am fully satisfied with happiness. Due to the nature of the packaging, I had no problem taking it out while the Studio Series boxes look good, they cannot show the pure beauty of the paint itself sitting on a shelf. This Blackout is not like a normal lucky draw. It is meant to be seen from all angles with an excellent cloud cover type camo all over it.
Collecticon: Was the Scorponok that accompanies this toy included and is it notable compared to the production version?
Spiky: Scorponok was not taken out of the packaging as it is completely identical to the original release.
Collecticon: Borrrring!!! Anyway, Now that you have such a rare prestige piece in your collection, what do you have your eye on next?
Spiky: With every purchase I try to get stuff that is harder to get. More exclusive and more limited, although I’m not really sure where to go from here… All I can say now is I will always keep my eye out for the next rare lucky draw to show up on the Internet.
Collecticon: Well, here’s the big question a lot of people want to know. How much did it set you back if you don’t mind sharing?
Spiky: In all I paid around $800 for it and the cost of the item was not anything I wasn’t expecting a while ago when it was released. I did think to myself someday I would pay a large amount for this figure. Compared to other items in my collection, this was on the more expensive side but at this point I’ve gotten used to it because I have purchased multiple prototypes and rare lucky draws in the past.
Collecticon: That actually sounds pretty reasonable. Any plans to sell this in the near or far future?
Spiky: As special as this figure is, I assume someday it will be sold off. A lot of very rare and exclusive figures go through my household and most of them don’t stay for more than a year.
Collecticon: Well I hope I can be first in line!!
Thanks for sharing with us Spiky and we hope you enjoy this incredibly rare piece for years to come!