The Energon Pub

[blurrprime]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1xJ15nuaqU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8azPnG26Xg

[tamo536]

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transform ... tchet.html

Review of animated rescue ratchet and gallery

[fenrir72]

Heard the delay by BBTS, due to the huge amount of pre-orders no doubt. The wait is worth it brothers.............I guarantee it! (no I don't receive any monetary compensation from this rant hehehe

[metaphorge]

I think it would cool if they created armors for Optimus Prime and Nemesis Prime. Optimus Prime could be a Powermaster/Super Optimus Prime armor and Nemesis Prime's could just be a repaint of Ultra Magnus' armor made to resemble Menasor.

Dunno if this would be beyond the capacity for their engineering skills, but it would be pretty sweet if they could design a set for Nemesis Prime that would serve as both Motormaster and Menasor (with places to clip on Dragstrip etc.)

[wmpyr]

The best and most hilarious review I've ever seen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYGtG5NfwkU

[Overcracker]

Peaugh has put up a video review on this much anticipated set from the Collectors club.

For those of you still unsure about it take a look here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/peaugh?ob=1

[Autobot032]

Classics (Universe) Ironhide And Sideswipe review

IRONHIDE

Vehicle mode pros:

Detailed. (molded in, not painted.)

SUV instead of a mom's taxi van.

Wheels roll nicely and freely.

Vehicle mode cons:

Bland red/blue/gray/black mix of colors. (nothing to break up the monotony.)

All of the cracks, crevices, lines, etc show up in abundance. (quite a turn off the more and more you look at his vehicle mode.)

Not exactly stable. (The hood is pinned down by two round posts/tabs, and if it weren't for them, his hood would never stay down. His whole front end seems like it wants to pop loose.)

Transformation pros:

Complex. (satisfying, even though it's imperfect.)

All of the pieces have somewhere to go. (Kinda neat in how it works, though his backpack is absolutely ridiculous.)

Transformation cons:

Complexity causes pieces to snap off if you look at them funny. (I've had more pieces of kibble snap off of him during transformation, than Classics Galvatron's left arm. Always having to snap something back in place, and I worry about the day one of these pieces finally break. Not to mention, you can see they were going for an Alternators/Movie figure transformation scheme and it's just a little too much for this figure.)

Construction. (Like I mentioned above, he's a bunch of pieces, and they come off at the drop of a hat. Just feels terribly flimsy during transformation.)

Robot mode pros:

Looks good. (No seriously, he does. Imperfect, but good. He's what G1 fans have been clamoring for. If G1 had been made like this, I wouldn't have turned my back on it.)

Poseable. (Though limited. Why his head isn't on a ball joint, is beyond me.)

Chest looks great. (Love the panel with the Autobot symbol that slides into place in the chest. NOTE: this step is skipped in the instructions. Why, I dunno.)

Robot mode cons:

HAS A BLUE FACE! (Not silver like we hoped, it's blue! Allspark baby blue!)

Bland, again. (Still the same monotonous color scheme, no extra colors or paint applications to break it up.)

Without modification, head won't come out all the way. (Looks like a hunch back, not sure it was planned that way either. Had to Dremel in two different spots (pelvis, spine) to get his head to come up to a reasonable level, and it's still not all the way up!)

Pelvis doesn't lock into place. (So in time, as the joint loosens, he'll become floppy when picked up, like a ragdoll.)

Weapon doesn't want to work with the hands as well as it should. (The hands will actually fit inside the gun, so you don't actually have to fold the hands in like the instructions show. But it's a pain getting it lined up just right.)

Overall:

Ironhide is quite confusing...

His transformation is complex enough to be satisfying, but too complex for his design.

His robot mode has some terrific features, but doesn't want to be solid at the waist.

His vehicle mode looks good on display if you don't pay attention to the lines, but it isn't exactly the most stable.

He suffers from the dreaded Prowl Paint Syndrome. (Tacky and comes off easily from the hood and roof. I've already had to repaint him. While I was doing that, I decided to add all of the paint they didn't. Even made him show accurate, as much as possible.)

Oddly enough, the cons seem to outweigh the pros, but there's something really quite enjoyable about him. I want to hate him, but I genuinely like him...a lot.

Now, do you see why he's confusing?

I can't explain it, but I have to recommend him. He's better than you'd expect, and worse than you'd imagine. lol Maybe it's quirks that sell him, but I do recommend him, and his positives are quite awesome.

A solid (yes, solid)

Classics Sideswipe

Vehicle mode pros:

Nice and solid. (Unlike Ironhide, this one you can actually play with.)

Stands out, much more than a straight repaint. (Pearlescent plastic FTW. The sheen adds to his overall look.)

Vehicle mode cons:

Rear end/legs don't want to seal tightly. (Always a slight gap. Nothing terrible, but it bugs my OCD.)

Transformation pros:

Head comes up without any problems from the windshield. (Doesn't sit cockeyed like Sunstreaker's! Although with a bit of fiddling, Sunstreaker's can be corrected as well.)

The minor difference between Sunstreaker and Sideswipe is just enough to differentiate the two to make them feel like completely different figures. (It shouldn't, but it works. Well.)

Transformation cons:

N/A

Robot mode pros:

The different head helps. (Of course, but beyond that, he looks fantastic in this new body type.)

Robot mode cons:

The shoulder holes are too small for the handle of the gun. (I had to use a drill bit to widen it enough to accommodate the gun. Yet, Sunstreaker can handle it just fine. My guess is the head wasn't the only mold change. Why they'd modify it is beyond me, but it absolutely would not fit without modification.)

Overall:

This new mold is a terrific update for the brothers. Both of them wear it well, and they look good doing so. It's nice to see that this time, they're actually twins, even if the transformation sequence is different for each one.

I also recommend Sideswipe. One of the nicer Classics molds. If the first run of Classics had been like this, I'd have continued to collect them.

A solid

[zero-kaiser]

Evening all :p

just wanted to share with you all that ive started doing video reviews of my TF collection... so far ive only managed to upload one.. but theres another 9 vids to go up later tonight

feel free to pop over and take a look... cant promise theyll be as through as Peaugh.. or as funny as Vange1us... but over time i hope to get quite the catalogue going

anyway.. if any of you do stop by, feel free to comment!!

http://www.youtube.com/user/zerokaiser85

[DMSL]

Review of Classic Henkei Hot Rod compared with G1 Hot Rod and Universe Prowl.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_b7svAbBVQ

[closet_rat]

I think BB's greatest flaw is too much caffeine & not enough sleep.

This guys was obviously rushed out the factory in time for the film, but more love & time was put into the Concept Bee.

I've been doing some serious research into bringing this BB on top, from considering buying a CJ, just to steal the chest auto-morph, to figuring out how to de-bulk the feet...

If I can get the ideas off the ground, it should make a pretty good splash.

Even so, he's still my favorite mold of BB, just b/c he looks like he's hiding in a car body --he's not too removed from the form, and there's nothing about him that's as perfect as the concept version.

I like that, and was pissed when he re-formatted in the film.


**and yes, I have both versions, and think concept looks sweet, I just feel cheated when I stand them side-by-side, as classic could've been so much better than he was...

[Peaugh]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYhyRTUyOaE

Enjoy, he's AWESOME!

[DavidT]

Very Nice review of FansProject City Commander .....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYhyRTUyOaE


.

[DMSL]

I added two new reviews:

Transformers Universe Classic Tankor/Octane:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVhqzuzfDfs

Transformers Quintesson Judge:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scpHGpW7weo

Please comment, rate and enjoy!!!

[StopMotionSR]

Video review of City Commander Upgrade armor!!!


here it is and im sorry for the length. theres a lot to talk about!!!
<object width="425" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/iI7MSNzUl_0&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/iI7MSNzUl_0&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="349"></embed></object>


and if that didn't come up!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI7MSNzUl_0

[payload]

I did my first video review of a transformers toy, and figured i'd share it with you guys. I did the review of acid storm. Keep in mind this is my first video review of a transformer toy ( Be Kind ). I plan on trying to do atleast one review a week from here on out if my schedule premits it.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_kxAPIxGIU

[robotrik]

Nice one dude, keep'em coming

[payload]

Thanks i've always wanted to start doing video reviews, but usually just don't have the time. Now that winter is closing in I'll have a little more free time and can start doing some reviews.

[payload]

Well here is my latest video review i just got up. This review is of Universe/Classics 2.0 Sunstreaker. I hope you enjoy. Thanks!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4VgY4a5Rhw

[Valandar]

Just a quick overview of the City Commander:

1 ) His trailer mode was incredibly tight. I halfway thought I was going to break it, but it turned out to be made of sterner stuff than I thought, and just means the tolerances on the mold are very accurate

2 ) The 'comic book' instructions are awesome, plain and simple.

3 ) All of the armor bits just snap right on like nobody's business, neither too hard to put on nor too loose.

4 ) The BFG is do-able, but as I normally display only "ordinary" weapons, it'll probably stay in my "Subspace" shelf unless I want to do a battle scene.

5 ) Cliffjumper wants the BFG...

6 ) Standing next to the Classics he looks awesome. Though, to be honest, I usually have Cybertron Prime (sans trailer) as my Classics Optimus. He ends up around the size of an Ultra.

7 ) My only critique is the fact that the head is on a pivot joint, not a balljoint.

[diosoth]

7 ) My only critique is the fact that the head is on a pivot joint, not a balljoint.

The balljoint exists, try rocking on it gently. Mine was frozen at first, they painted the neck before attaching the heads.

I was going to do toy reviews but I decided I was wasting time on it. One of them has survived, dvandom hosted this on his site as it was already done-

http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Japan/MP3wave

[Valandar]

7 ) My only critique is the fact that the head is on a pivot joint, not a balljoint.

The balljoint exists, try rocking on it gently. Mine was frozen at first, they painted the neck before attaching the heads.

I was going to do toy reviews but I decided I was wasting time on it. One of them has survived, dvandom hosted this on his site as it was already done-

http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Japan/MP3wave

It is? Thanks!

And I'd assume that review, by the URL, is about Music label Soundwave...

[coolpop]

Just received my BT-22 Convoy, long anticipated and it was really worth the wait. Let me first kick off with the packaging.

To my surprise, Takara decided not to "borrow" Alternator's packaging for this figure as they did in last year's WF exclusive BT-17 Black Convoy, they simply enlarged the traditional Binaltech packaging style and made the Convoy fit. Some collectors have complained that they received their figures with the sides double taped, and they also noticed there were noticeable red paint touch-ups on the figure. Well, my piece is single taped all around, and the two paint chips I found weren't tampered with. I like it that way.















Unboxing the figure. The box is fairly easy to unpack, unlike other TF lines, you have to jump through fire burning bladed hoops just to free up the toy. Inner blister clamp pack has 3 tapes, cut open then remove a long twist tie and this beauty is in your hands now. Immediately I would inspect the figure for common reported problems, like paint chip (this is inevitable with painted on die-cast, but newer releases of BTs seem to be more common than original releases), uneven paint application, hood can't close properly (probably due to mis-transformation), and the front bumper has big gap.



As mentioned above, my piece has 2 noticeable paint chips, a rather big one on the hood and a tiny one at the outer left side of truck bed (see pics).




Good thing my hood can close tightly and front bumper doesn't leave too big of a gap. Paint application is great, flows evenly across both diecast and plastic parts.


The only part of my figure that doesn't close tightly is the tailgate, whenever I push to close it, it will spring out about 3mm (see pics & comparison with BT-17)




BT-22 has identical sculpts and details with BT-17, they shared the exact same mould, even the mould stamps are identical. However, my
figure's head paint is a bit messier, it's just not as smooth as BT-17.




Check out how they weighted out:
In package BT-22 is heavier




Just the figures alone, both are identical!




Let me continue to show packaging comparison of BT-22 & BT-17












Instruction sheets comparison


Weapons comparison


BT-22 shares all the greatness of BT-17, as well as the weakness. This figure again has great paint application, superb detail, extremely high resemblence of the actual vehicle. I estimate over 80% of figure's exterior panels are in diecast. All joints are tight. Range of movements and poseability are not too good with this figure, when in bot form his hood (chest panel) rests too high and often blocking Prime's face, so most of the pictures need to be taken direct frontal or from higher vantage. Personally I love the alt form of this figure, that's why I took more of the pictures in car mode rather than bot form. Talking about bot form, only his front view is worth displaying, his side view and back views look really bad (like a partially dissected truck standing up). Let's get on with pics.

Vehicle mode:
























BT-22 vs. BT-17










Bot form (BT-17 just won't go away)




















As previously promised to darkie13, I have done a mini gallery of BT-17 Black Convoy, due to the number and size of the pictures (in 800x600), I will not post them here on the forum but provide a link to photobucket album. Here it is:


Thanks for reading this long post, any comment or suggestion is welcomed.

Cheers,

Coolpop

[Powersa]

Great review and pics. You got more than one BT-17s (loose and new)?

[coolpop]

Great review and pics. You got more than one BT-17s (loose and new)?

You guessed right!

[Powersa]

I'm jealous, lol. Btw I received my BT-22 Convoy from Carlos today. I love it!