Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

BeastProwl wrote:

Seibertron wrote:

Gauntlet101010 wrote:They probably added in Scramble City functionality so Ruination could be different from Bruticus.

I'm assuming this as well. Which was a nice thought, but it seems like this needed more thought put into it if that was one of their objectives with this set.

I dont think that was the objective. I think they realized that you can make a new robot out of this, so why not retool it?

Not 'the' objective, 'one' of their objectives.

It's that Blast-Off arm, I could almost live with the stupidity of not making Onslaught a voyager if that one arm didn't look so shitty whatever you try and do with it. Soon as I have another set of the regular releases Blast-off is coming off and staying in bot-mode......forever.

Well, I'm glad I preordered the G2 set, the cheapest of the bunch. See, BBTS won't allow returns once an item's been opened, but Amazon will. Now, I'm not condoning such an action, nor am I saying I will even go that far, but after spending that kind of money, I don't want to get ripped off. Now, I know some of you will say "But there are reviews! There are videos showing how awful he is! Don't want to get burned? Don't buy it!" But here's the problem: People need to have hands on experience with an item to truly know whether or not they want said item.

For example: PRID Airachnid. Most people HATE her toy. I can see why. However, I'm quite satisfied with the figure and don't regret the purchase. Is she perfect? Oh hell no. Quite the opposite, in fact, however, I do like her. Maybe it's because it's a quirky mold? Maybe it's because she's the only Airachnid we have coming? I don't know, and I agree that's not a strong argument for her figure, but I do actually like the figure. I'm not lying when I say this. I transform her frequently. I actually like the transformation and how streamlined she becomes in vehicle mode.

I need to be able to do the same with FOC Bruticus. He might end up being a favorite of mine. He also might end up being a pile of $#!7. (Chances are the latter, but I'm hoping for the former.)

At first, I was appalled by the PRID figures. After seeing First Edition, I was spoiled. However, the PRID only figures (such as Wheeljack, Airachnid, etc.) are good. In fact, if F.E. hadn't existed, we might not be complaining about PRID at all. On the other hand, figures such as Breakdown are deserving of First Edition status. (He's really that good...) Thing is...they look good in both modes (usually), they transform in neat ways (so they're not boring, but not tear inducing either), and they're affordable.

Bruticus, on the other hand, has been expensive so far, and will continue to be so.
SDCC: $100.00
Retail: $75.00 (plus tax!)
G2 Exc.: $65.00 (plus shipping!)
And he's not living up to that price. The individual figures seem to receive some praise, some more than others, but they're still a mixed bag. The transformations SCARE people because tabs can break. (Some already have!) The vehicle modes are just pure asshattery on most. The combined mode is just...(insert ridiculously foul language here) That's a LOT to ask of us, especially when we know HasTak's capable of so much more. So. Much. More.

When FansProject makes two limbs and a bunch of accessories and makes a respectable Bruticus out of the Energon monstrosity that HasTak screwed up on, it should tell you something.

I now own a Maketoys Giant. (Yellow version.) Fantastic set. Amazing build quality, impressive designs (overall and individually), and it LOOKS good. The asking price ($350.00+) is excessive, I agree. Hercules, even more so. ($600.00? P*ss off.) But, they're still blowing HasTak out of the water. HasTak IS capable of making figures on the level of Maketoys and FP and TFC. They are. In fact, after seeing ROTF Optimus (both Leader and Voyager classes) and HFTD Starscream, plus several others in the ROTF line, we KNOW HasTak can make magic happen.

...they're choosing not to. It's not that 3rd party's beating them to the punch. It's not that they're trying to appease kids. It's not that they're worried about laws. It's that they're trying to make money with the least amount of work, and they're taking the path of least resistance to do so. Granted, the economy is CRAP right now and everyone's pinching pennies where and when they can, but HasTak's going about it the wrong way.

Shrinking figures, cutting paint apps, stripping features AND charging MORE? Bad, bad form.
At least with 3rd party, you know they're gonna screw you on their prices, you can see it coming from a mile away. But a duo of companies known for reliable quality (not perfect, but reliable) and fantastical designs screwing you and doing their darnedest to hide it and continue doing it? Bad. Disrespectful to us. Fraudulent.

Changing factories and plastic type? Not going to fix much of anything.
Hiring 3rd party designers? Not going to change anything.
HasTak chooses to go crappy with their works, lately. It's a choice.

...it's a choice.

If we're being fair, Herc had some toy-breaking flaws and I think the same was said of Yellow Giant. Replacement parts are nice and all, but it doesn't really negate the fact that there was some serious flaws on some seriously expencive figures. I'd actually still like some good, fanmake, hip joints for Exgraver to be on the safe side.

That said ... yeah, Hasbro can do better. I have some ideas as to why they can't really. Time being one. How long was Herc teased before he was finally complete? And not counting the upgrade set that JUST came out. 3rd party guys can take for-freakin'-ever! I dout the same can be said for Hasbro.

I think 3rd parties can spend more on R&D too. The comment made that the Energon Combiners had to repeat limbs based on the budget was an eye opener for me. How much less did they have to work with compared to TFC, who had 6 large, weighty figures?

And I think the marketing department may have screwed us over. I think the lack of uniform color schemes on the likes of Devestator has something to do with making the bots "interesting" for kids. The closest we got to the old teams were the Animated Dinobots ... and even those didn't share the exact same color scheme like the G1s did. I blame the marketing department for Bruticus' colors.

I'm talking out of my ass with these points, but I think I'm in the ballpark.

I really hope the weak/brittle connector tabs are fixed by the retail and G2 releases. This thread has convinced me to withhold getting the SDCC version and wait on the TakaraTomy version instead.

Well, I have already agreed with myself on getting all the Fall of Cybertron figures (not necessarily every version), and due to my love of video games and transformers, a combo of both is impossible to pass up for me. I actually like Bruticus from the pictures and reviews I've seen, and the only problem for me are the retail colors and the pointless exclusivity of the game accurate version (wasn't able to get one ). Thankfully blast-off and onslaught aren't all that accurate in color, so I can only hope that TakaraTomy will release a version that is even more game accurate and hopefully it would be in the United line so it's not paintless with crappy stickers and have obtrusive micron ports.

Well, I hate to come out of left field with this, but Hasbro's RoTF Legends Devastator was a damn good combiner. A lot of people seem to forget about that.

WolfDawg wrote:Well, I hate to come out of left field with this, but Hasbro's RoTF Legends Devastator was a damn good combiner. A lot of people seem to forget about that.

Sadly, the elements didn't have individual robot modes.

RAcast wrote:

WolfDawg wrote:Well, I hate to come out of left field with this, but Hasbro's RoTF Legends Devastator was a damn good combiner. A lot of people seem to forget about that.

Sadly, the elements didn't have individual robot modes.

Actually it did. The big supreme lights and sounds one didn't and it was made of 6cons instead of the 7 in the legends class one.

STINGRAY749 wrote:

RAcast wrote:

WolfDawg wrote:Well, I hate to come out of left field with this, but Hasbro's RoTF Legends Devastator was a damn good combiner. A lot of people seem to forget about that.

Sadly, the elements didn't have individual robot modes.

Actually it did. The big supreme lights and sounds one didn't and it was made of 6cons instead of the 7 in the legends class one.

Oh...whoops! Yeah I'm tired, I read Supreme and that was all I saw. xD Yeah, the Legends one is pretty great...I just wish I had all of it, lol. I got a Takara Mixmaster and Long Haul in a lot I bought once, but no others.