The Energon Pub

[Immortal Starscream]

Are you trying to act like Action Masters aren't Transformers? They're G1, which everyone knows is the only real Transformers. Kids these days, no respect for the history.

Dude... they were a dumb concept then and they are now. Why take away the main gimmick of a toy and still say it's that? Yes, they had transforming items with them, but... any regular toy can have equipment that changes forms, so that's not even special.

I 100% agree with you, BUT ... Action Masters exist. If every other gimmick is getting a modern take, then why not Action Masters?

Having collected several last year, they have NOT held up well at all (much like a few G1 figures), so a modern update with decent joints would not go astray at all.

Amen.

And I think with that Banzaitron, they nailed it. Even with the "transforming" pet.
Too bad that for me and you, it's a 100$ figure.
If a Canadian online retailer pick him up and the overall price is cheaper than importing from the USA, I'm thinking of getting him regardless. I'll wait for a video review though, to see if he'll be a kind of "Masterpiece" Banzaitron.

Oddly enough, while I agree that the action master gimmick was absolutely dumb. the toys themselves were actually kinda cool and a lot of fun. Kind of like M.A.S.K. on cybertronian steroids. While I still have my megatron, I sadly lost his tank over the years, but that was one of my fave vehicle toys. If action masters was a subline more akin to battlebeasts, where they are all new characters instead of our beloved main cast, I have a feeling it would not get the hate it gets now.

Despite my feelings that these look odd, coupled with the fact that I also have to echo the sentiment that $55 is a hard pill to swallow (particularly with the R.E.D. line out there), as someone who owns some Super7 ULTIMATES toys I have to say that so far they have been worth the price of admission. my Ultimates Baxter Stockman is easily one of the biggest, coolest and most impressive things I own. (emphasis on the huge, he towers over a lot of my other toys)

Given the recent announcement of the Thundercats Thundertank coming, we might even see eventual vehicles (all be-it ridiculously expensive ones) for this line.

sadly, even with all that, this line is still not for me. Though obviously I will have to buy the Starscream.

[AcademyofDrX]

sadly, even with all that, this line is still not for me. Though obviously I will have to buy the Starscream.

Since my toy budget has been threatening to overtake my expenses for food and sometimes even rent, I have to say that sadly this line is for me.

There are too many toy companies with too many product lines for too many franchises. I'm going to have to start flipping stuff to stay in this deep. As a fan, though, it's a good problem.

[Glarryg]

Probably going to break down and get that Banzai-Tron, 'cause I loves me some Banzai!

Glarryg

[Mr.MicroMaster]

To quote Beauty and the Beast “That’s too expensive!”

[griftimus prime]

they sucked then and they suck now. hasbro should have already made these things into great transformable figures.

[ZeroWolf]

they sucked then and they suck now. hasbro should have already made these things into great transformable figures.

Hasbro isn't making them.

[Jeddostotle7]

Ehhhhhhhh...

The idea of Actionmaster remakes itself? Sure, why not. But these don't look great, to me at least. Articulation looks very, very limited- single jointed elbows and knees, no torso joints at all, no bicep swivels etc. And for a minimum of $55 a figure, there's better things I could be buying for that money. I feel like if you're gonna do non-transforming Transformers for that price they should be super-articulated to compensate.

Banzaitron does LOOK cool though, I will say that.

If they're anything like Super7's other Ultimates figures (they will be), the minimal articulation in these promo images/test shots is not representative of the final product. The final figures will almost certainly have articulation on par with other 6-7 inch lines in terms of points of articulation, if potentially slightly sub-average in terms of range.

[Emerje]

they sucked then and they suck now. hasbro should have already made these things into great transformable figures.

Should have, but probably wouldn't have stopped Super7 from making these since we already have a great Bombshell. Two Action Masters and two fan favorites (and Ghost Starscream before normal Screamer) means this line is going to really mix things up. Wouldn't surprise me if future waves mix in AM Optimus and Megatron. Hopefully we see some really out there characters like Autobot X and Gilthor, both of which would be great at 7".

Emerje

[Sowndwave76]

Ehhhhhhhh...

The idea of Actionmaster remakes itself? Sure, why not. But these don't look great, to me at least. Articulation looks very, very limited- single jointed elbows and knees, no torso joints at all, no bicep swivels etc. And for a minimum of $55 a figure, there's better things I could be buying for that money. I feel like if you're gonna do non-transforming Transformers for that price they should be super-articulated to compensate.

Agreed. And not only should they be more articulated, there should be more going on visually. For me, either more screen-accurate, or more stylized and "animated". I guess I mean more dynamic-looking in both paint apps and even sculpt. This in-between appearance looks really blehhhh.

[Jeddostotle7]

Ehhhhhhhh...

The idea of Actionmaster remakes itself? Sure, why not. But these don't look great, to me at least. Articulation looks very, very limited- single jointed elbows and knees, no torso joints at all, no bicep swivels etc. And for a minimum of $55 a figure, there's better things I could be buying for that money. I feel like if you're gonna do non-transforming Transformers for that price they should be super-articulated to compensate.

Agreed. And not only should they be more articulated, there should be more going on visually. For me, either more screen-accurate, or more stylized and "animated". I guess I mean more dynamic-looking in both paint apps and even sculpt. This in-between appearance looks really blehhhh.

If they're anything like Super7's other Ultimates figures (they will be), the minimal articulation in these promo images/test shots is not representative of the final product. The final figures will almost certainly have articulation on par with other 6-7 inch lines in terms of points of articulation, if potentially slightly sub-average in terms of range.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

Ehhhhhhhh...

The idea of Actionmaster remakes itself? Sure, why not. But these don't look great, to me at least. Articulation looks very, very limited- single jointed elbows and knees, no torso joints at all, no bicep swivels etc. And for a minimum of $55 a figure, there's better things I could be buying for that money. I feel like if you're gonna do non-transforming Transformers for that price they should be super-articulated to compensate.

Banzaitron does LOOK cool though, I will say that.

If they're anything like Super7's other Ultimates figures (they will be), the minimal articulation in these promo images/test shots is not representative of the final product. The final figures will almost certainly have articulation on par with other 6-7 inch lines in terms of points of articulation, if potentially slightly sub-average in terms of range.

I'm curious: what types of joints have you seen on the others? Hinges, swivels, or combination thereof?

[Jeddostotle7]

Ehhhhhhhh...

The idea of Actionmaster remakes itself? Sure, why not. But these don't look great, to me at least. Articulation looks very, very limited- single jointed elbows and knees, no torso joints at all, no bicep swivels etc. And for a minimum of $55 a figure, there's better things I could be buying for that money. I feel like if you're gonna do non-transforming Transformers for that price they should be super-articulated to compensate.

Banzaitron does LOOK cool though, I will say that.

If they're anything like Super7's other Ultimates figures (they will be), the minimal articulation in these promo images/test shots is not representative of the final product. The final figures will almost certainly have articulation on par with other 6-7 inch lines in terms of points of articulation, if potentially slightly sub-average in terms of range.

I'm curious: what types of joints have you seen on the others? Hinges, swivels, or combination thereof?

Pretty standard accoutrement. Swivel/hinge (and/or balljoint) shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, hands, ankles, etc. Bicep swivels as well, usually at least waist swivel if not also ab crunch (although the crunch is usually reserved for particularly human-shaped ones).

[bodrock]

I was interested, but not at that price.

[ZeroWolf]

Greetings Seibertronians! Thanks to a tweet by Super7, the officially licensed manufacturer of Transformers ReAction and Transformers Ultimates figures, we now know the next two waves of the Ultimates line, and it incudes a few surprises. Yes, we have already spoiled one of them in the post header.

To jog your memory:

Wave 1:

Ghost of Starscream
Optimus Prime
Bombshell
Banzai-tron
(All G1)

While the next two waves will be:

Wave 2:

Megatron
Grimlock (dino mode)
Bludgeon (pretender)
Tracks
(Again all G1 based)

Wave 3:

Tarn (IDW)
Megatron G2
Aligatorcon (G1)
Wreck-Gar (G1)



So yes, Tarn will be getting immortalised in plastic once again, allowing those who would like an official representation of him (if just non-transforming) on their shelves.

Will you be picking up any of these?

Shout out in the Energon Pub and stay tuned to Seibertron for all the latest news and reviews!

[-Kanrabat-]

I'm looking forward Bludgeon. Hope he'll look nice and bad-ass.
High chances I'll be getting him.

[blackeyedprime]

Bludgeon might convice me to buy one of these

[Mindmaster]

Bludgeon I think would be interesting to see. Tarn once again getting a non-mainline, non-transforming figure...

[Emerje]

Bludgeon is going to be a must! He's the first Ultimates that could potentially fit with WFC figures. And considering all the stuff the Action Masters came with he could possibly come with his little inner robot form with limited articulation.

Emerje

[chuckdawg1999]

Stupid question, do the action master partners transform at all?

[Jelze Bunnycat]

Stupid question, do the action master partners transform at all?

I don't think Needler does, but Razor-Sharp maybe. The originals' transformation wasn't much really, just an extension swinging out and the gun attached for the first wave including Banzai-tron, and swing out the head as a helmet for the EU wave including Bombshell.

[Dead Metal]

I might pick one up since I am kinda interested. The picks we got to see so far are a bit disappointing though.
The Ultimates line in general seems to be kinda inkonsistent?
The MOTU stuff kinda look like the original Matty Collector Classics, the Thundercats seem to be in the same style.
The Conan ones look like they're trying to be realistic, but have weird muscles. The TMNT look like giant versions of the original toys just made more ugly.

[ScottyP]

Really pleased to see these lineup choices. A couple of them are a little boring, but that's ok if they're the hedges against bets like Tarn. Bludgeon and dino Grimlock being in a wave gives me late Marvel G1 vibes and I'm here for that. Ultimates seem like a fantastic place to do Pretender shells.

I hope Tracks is also an Action Master, but given Banzaitron and Bombshell have that specifically called out and he doesn't it seems highly unlikely.

[chuckdawg1999]

I might pick one up since I am kinda interested. The picks we got to see so far are a bit disappointing though.
The Ultimates line in general seems to be kinda inkonsistent?
The MOTU stuff kinda look like the original Matty Collector Classics, the Thundercats seem to be in the same style.
The Conan ones look like they're trying to be realistic, but have weird muscles. The TMNT look like giant versions of the original toys just made more ugly.

For the TMNT line, they could only recreate the toy aesthetic since NECA has the rights to the animation look. As you said, some of those figures look ugly.

[YoungPrime]

What is with Hasbro authorizing these non-transforming Tarns????!

Do they want 3rd party to continue eating their lunch? The irony is sick considering this was a character in comics who constantly ran through transformation cogs. And then there's the price for this line..... If some of you love it, fine, enjoy!

To me it feels like HasTak is painting themselves in the corner by releasing the same G1 characters from Seasons 1-3 over and over again, while I can name a good thirty characters that haven't seen any CHUG love in the past 15 years except for maybe that overpriced BotCon mess.

Other than that BW movie what else does Hasbro have in store fore retail two years from now? I mean other than 20 more OP's Bee's, Megatron's and Starcreams...

[ZeroWolf]

What is with Hasbro authorizing these non-transforming Tarns????!

Do they want 3rd party to continue eating their lunch? The irony is sick considering this was a character in comics who constantly ran through transformation cogs. And then there's the price for this line..... If some of you love it, fine, enjoy!

To me it feels like HasTak is painting themselves in the corner by releasing the same G1 characters from Seasons 1-3 over and over again, while I can name a good thirty characters that haven't seen any CHUG love in the past 15 years except for maybe that overpriced BotCon mess.

Other than that BW movie what else does Hasbro have in store fore retail two years from now? I mean other than 20 more OP's Bee's, Megatron's and Starcreams...

If rumours are correct, possibly UT based figures, which will please a lot of people.