The Energon Pub

Equus Maximus wrote:I'm A G1'r, I'll Probably Catch Some Flak For This, But, I Want To Add My Two Cents Worth.

I Like The PCC Line, They Harken Back To An Era When I Could Transform My Warriors For Battle Without Having To Pull Out The Instructions Every Freakin' Time, Just To Make Sure That I Didn't Twist The Parts The Wrong Way, Snapping The Toy In Half (Yes, That Has Happened To Me).

I Have Enjoyed How Much More Realistic The Figures Have Become, But I Have Figures I'll Open, Transform Once To See How They Look, Then I'll Never Touch Them Again, Because I Don't Want To Go Through Fifty Steps (Usually Badly Illustrated) Each And Every Time To Play With Them (The RiD And Movie Figures Are Particularly Bad About This).

I Would Buy An Entire Line Devoted To Slightly Simplified Transformers, But For Now I'll Just Be Happy With The PCC's That We Are Being Treated To.

Quick Comment On The Drones For The PCC Line: I'm Fairly Neutral On This Part Of The Discussion Because Before I Ever Collected Transformers, I Collected Shogun Warriors, Godaiken Warriors, Plus, Some Voltron Robots. These All Had Various Vehicles/Creatures That Formed Parts Of A Greater Whole, So It Just Takes Me Back To When I Was Crazy About Those Too.

Thank For Your Time.

A little off topic here... but I couldn't help but notice you capitalized every first letter of every word in your post... Is there a reason for this? I mean, I know some people spell in all lower case and in some annoying cases, caps, but I don't believe I've ever seen this?

Btw, I agree with how great it is that they are simple to transform for the most part. It makes me want to toy around with them more than others I have where I'm afraid I'm going to break them if I transform them more than a couple times, or simply forget how it transforms.

Julie85 wrote:I got Huffer, Searchlight, and Backwind, and I have to say I'm somewhat disappointed with them. Caliburst's head broke off the first time I transformed him. Skyburst's drones don't auto-transform as well as they're supposed to, and he is difficult to stand up.

I still don't know how Caliburst's head could have broken off while transforming... I mean... It doesn't even move! I don't deny it happened, but I'm going to blame that on sheer bad luck. Must've been a crack in the plastic when it was molded.

What I really want to know more than anything aside from our raves and rants is, where is the proof that these guys are failing? Do we have any numbers or facts to back up these allegations? I've seen equal love hate behind them, and at least at the stores I frequent very often, see them coming and going from shelves quite often, in some cases much much more than any of the HFtD line and Generations. Remember, seeing a fully stocked shelf of them doesn't mean they are shelf warmers, the stores restock every day. I know these guys are moving in my area because I'll see them empty one day and full the next.

noodles2go wrote:A little off topic here... but I couldn't help but notice you capitalized every first letter of every word in your post... Is there a reason for this? I mean, I know some people spell in all lower case and in some annoying cases, caps, but I don't believe I've ever seen this?

I point you to his sig:

Please Excuse The Way I Type, I Have Been Doing This For So Long, It Would Be Near Impossible To Retrain...

Would've saved you from putting him on the spot like that. In other words, don't let it bother you.

Blozor wrote:For instance, there's only one Transforming figure and the rest are drones. It's like Energon Optimus Prime all over again.

Very true, but in all fairness, even Energon Prime has them beat. His drones did something. Each one of them. A weapon, two arms, a claw, and they could all form feet, plus they connected to Omega Prime.

The PCC drones do none of that. You can't even get them to swap limb locations. One can't be a foot and a hand.

Even Energon did better than PCC in that department. PCC is an evolutionary step backward, honestly.

zenosaurus_x wrote:Another thing that bugs me...the whole point of Combiners is for a larger and stronger robot.
These basically form armor that makes them the size of an average TransFormer.

Well, in all fairness to Hasbro, on the size issue, taking a Scout Class figure and four drones and turning it into a posable Voyager Class sized combiner robot with articulation is pretty impressive.

I think they focused too much on the combination aspect and cutting costs by using drones and having new product out, to the point that they let it all suffer.

They basically threw ideas together, slapped the toys together, and shoved 'em on shelves and called it a day.

Problem is, it doesn't work like that. Or it shouldn't. We, and kids, deserve better.

PCC could lead to some great innovations, there are some minute positives to the line, but as of right now, their full potential is not being realized and it's cryin' shame.

Hasbro dropped the ball on this one.

Autobot032 wrote:

noodles2go wrote:A little off topic here... but I couldn't help but notice you capitalized every first letter of every word in your post... Is there a reason for this? I mean, I know some people spell in all lower case and in some annoying cases, caps, but I don't believe I've ever seen this?

I point you to his sig:

Please Excuse The Way I Type, I Have Been Doing This For So Long, It Would Be Near Impossible To Retrain...

Would've saved you from putting him on the spot like that. In other words, don't let it bother you.

Hah, my bad for not even noticing that part (I tend to ignore sigs). In any case, it didn't bother me, I was more intrigued than anything. Just wanted to know his reason, which apparently were already answered albeit a bit vaguely. Now if it were all caps... then I'd be bothered.

Wow, just read this thread. I am disappointed. I really loved the idea of PCC, and now im totally on the fence. I am going to purchase doubleclutch at some point though. He reminds me of Go-Bots puzzler and that toy was the only Go-Bot i really liked. Wonderful post OP, and as always great responses.

As a collector that has been with the Transformers brand since the beginning (My First transformers was G1 Prime) I personally love PCC, I always love a new concept, and I love this result!

TurbofireJames wrote:Wow, just read this thread. I am disappointed. I really loved the idea of PCC, and now im totally on the fence. I am going to purchase doubleclutch at some point though. He reminds me of Go-Bots puzzler and that toy was the only Go-Bot i really liked. Wonderful post OP, and as always great responses.

Doubleclutch is actually the worst PCC you can buy, and that's been fairly unianomous. He has the most design flaws and bad qc issues... So if you are on the fence, he definitely won't sway you to team PCC love. Any 2 pack or the combaticons however, will probably make you more inclined to love these guys. There are a few bad apples (mostly from five packs) but the rest are quite fun.

I'm someone who has to transform it to know if it's screwed up or not, And my Animated Starscream, though fun to transform, needs work.The PCC look ok. The only flaw I see is the one my custom built constructicons had. They don't look like they transform.

TurbofireJames wrote:Wow, just read this thread. I am disappointed. I really loved the idea of PCC, and now im totally on the fence. I am going to purchase doubleclutch at some point though. He reminds me of Go-Bots puzzler and that toy was the only Go-Bot i really liked. Wonderful post OP, and as always great responses.

Buy Puzzler. You'll be happier.
I'm serious.

Autobot032 wrote:I didn't mention Jetfire, though. I was talking about Optimus, only. "Jetfire Prime" has little to no play value, this is true, but that combo has nothing to do with what I was talking about. That's not really a fair assessment. Taking the weakest part of the figure (which really isn't Prime, seeing as it just tabs and slots on his body that are used and nothing else) isn't fair at all.

Kids, transforming Optimus back and forth from robot to vehicle, like a pro and outclassing some adults is what I was getting at. That and that alone. No Jetfire.

I know, I know. I kind of went off in my own direction on the matter. But at the same time, sorry, I gotta say the form is in play. Or not, in this instance. Bad design on a kid toy, potential for a perfect display piece for us older collector's notwithstanding, is still bad design on a kid toy. But, to stay in your example this time, Prime himself is a bit of a pain, regardless of age. Still, gotta give kudos for them trying to find the actual vehicular form and a much better representation of the movie's robot form.

That said..

Autobot032 wrote:I'm not really sure what point you were trying to make, other than an excuse to jab at Jetfire's toy. Which is fine, but it doesn't make a great deal of sense at the moment.

I was making my own point, which in a topic about Powercore combiners, makes just as much conversational sense as talking about Movie Optimus alone. As I'd mentioned earlier in the topic, these are toys. I know kids within my family (varying in age range) that can take the Movie II Optimus Primes I got for them last Christmas and work it with the ease of a person who has the Rubik's Cube process memorized and can match all the colors in under a minute. Then again, there's those (varying age) gave up on trying to figure him out.

This is why I dig the Powercore combiners most. Not because of anything I could personally like out of the line, but because they're quick, easy, cool, and fun toy sets.

someone on here made mention that Mudslinger was the unsavable commander. I am curious why? I just bought Mudslinger and the Destructicons and I feel they're the best 5-pack I've gotten thus far. The drones connect properly, they automorph nicely, Mudslinger looks good in all three modes, and he holds together as a Gestalt.

So I have contracted the madness. I've always been intrigued by them, but never had the guts to get one. When we would see them in store my gf always was really drawn to them and thought they were an awesome idea and well priced.

So, I had a sneaking suspicion that she might get me a pack for my b-day. Sure enough, she got me Bombshock and the Combaticons....and I love them (actually we both do)! They don't seem to have any QC problems (everything's tight, auto-gimmicks work, etc.). I thought it would be kinda cool, but the auto-morph gimmick is a lot more fun than I though it would be. I really love fiddling with these guys!

Anyway, I think I may be on the lookout for more of these.... (haha, and yes, I realize , most will not reach the Combaticon bar).

Ive gotta be honest, i loved the concept of mini gestalts, ran out to get the Aerialbots pack and played with them for less than 5 minutes before they went back in the box and straight on ebay. absolutely garbage. it barely stood up and one of the drone ports was misassembled so i needed a screwdriver to plug the commander in. it really destroyed my faith in the line ive loved for 25 years. but today i was out shopping and i saw Huffer and Smolder, bought them on sight (dont know why, got Generations Bumblebee and Legends Ravage too) and i love them. theyre the scout sized figures i wish id gotten from the movie line, Breacher is the only scout i truly like. fine they arent perfect but they beat most of the scouts ive come across (other than the annoying plug in ports, but im thinking about removing them).

Im sticking with generations as my line of choice (coz its 83 kinds of awesome), but a few of these figures really click with me. I feel like a traitor supporting the PCC line but they just work for me. other than the dinobots though, im not touching the 5 packs since the 2 ive had hands on with are too unstable, and tbh next to 2 bruticus's with the crossfire upgrade (yeah i know its overkill) they just look pathetic and feeble.

sorry, just thought id throw my opinion in there

Stumpybot wrote:Ive gotta be honest, i loved the concept of mini gestalts, ran out to get the Aerialbots pack and played with them for less than 5 minutes before they went back in the box and straight on ebay. absolutely garbage. it barely stood up and one of the drone ports was misassembled so i needed a screwdriver to plug the commander in. it really destroyed my faith in the line ive loved for 25 years. but today i was out shopping and i saw Huffer and Smolder, bought them on sight (dont know why, got Generations Bumblebee and Legends Ravage too) and i love them. theyre the scout sized figures i wish id gotten from the movie line, Breacher is the only scout i truly like. fine they arent perfect but they beat most of the scouts ive come across (other than the annoying plug in ports, but im thinking about removing them).

Im sticking with generations as my line of choice (coz its 83 kinds of awesome), but a few of these figures really click with me. I feel like a traitor supporting the PCC line but they just work for me. other than the dinobots though, im not touching the 5 packs since the 2 ive had hands on with are too unstable, and tbh next to 2 bruticus's with the crossfire upgrade (yeah i know its overkill) they just look pathetic and feeble.

sorry, just thought id throw my opinion in there

That's the problem with Power Core Combiners. The sets are pure and utter rubbish. Just trash from the word go. On the other hand, some of the Commander molds are really great Scouts.

I don't care for the Mini-Cons much, but they do add to the figure, unlike the drones.

Problem is, those goofy ass connector points are sitting there saying "I do more." Having a feature and not using it usually bothers me.

At first I really liked the PCC idea, even though they were kind of cruddy looking in the pictures.
Bought Bombshock and Smolder, and they are pretty cool. They aren't the best, but they're ok.
Here's my question:

How are you guys so mad over these toys? They are certainly not perfect or even nearly, but when Animated and/or the movie toys were criticized this harshly, everyone came out of the woodwork to decry those who disliked them.
I know, I know, personal opinion. I am all for that, even when invoking the priviledge consists of just typing louder that the movie toy haters are naturally stuck in the past. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but it really has started to seem to me that there is such a vocal outrage over the PCCs because the concensus is that they stink, so it's safe to unlike them. If someone says they dont see a need for another movie style Bumblebee even the mods stand there and say that the line is popular and there's demand and its all for kids and all the other worn out lines. But no one really seems to like these guys so it's cool to let fly with all this pent up angst.
I don't care, it doesn't bother me. I don't really like or dislike these toys, and yes, I understand that there's the set list of pre-programmed responses that accompany everything TF related (*.* is for kids, not adults.....G1 is old, stop living in the basement....2deep4u.....stop trying to be cool by agreeing with critics....etc) but honestly? I hate to say this, because it's the reason why we all gather here on Seibertron, but they are just toys.

Back on topic(?): Smolder just rocks, but yeah, the drones are a cool idea but overall this just doesn't seem to be working out right. So, I agree with people saying they're bad toys, so when your witch hunting begins you can go a little easy on me.

I used to think these looked cheesy, but they're starting to intrigue me now that I know more about them. I may buy a two-pack.

I don't care that the only part that transforms is the commander unit, nor the fact that it lacks complexity, and I do not care that they are small.

I do care that even with the complex part's of transformation removed, the arms still have no elbows or hands. Also the combination does not even hold together well, and is not that aesthetically pleasing.

If it's not fun or sturdy, how is it even a good kid's toy?

PCC 2-pack = Good.

PCC 5-packs = Bad...real bad.

Nuff said.

I like the line, though it does have its flaws. In this case, it's size. They're small. Really, really small.

I miss the age of large, chunky toys. Everything seems to be getting scaled down nowdays to cut costs.
This seriously effects what is at heart a pretty neat concept. If the commander was, say, deluxe sized and the drones were scaled accordingly, the result would be a much sturdier and better articulated figure. It would also be more impressively scaled compared to other deluxes as a gestalt. As it stands though, the fragility necessitated by the tiny size and the resulting instability remains my pet peeve about the line as a whole.

Despite this, I'm still buying them, but I cannot help but think about what could have been....

Vicalliose wrote:I do care that even with the complex part's of transformation removed, the arms still have no elbows or hands. Also the combination does not even hold together well, and is not that aesthetically pleasing.

If it's not fun or sturdy, how is it even a good kid's toy?

Let's see. No elbows, bad & not fun toy. Guess all those G1 toys that roped us fogeys in weren't really fun toys at all. No hands, bad & not fun toy. They don't have any weapons to hold at all, those little Powercore fellas peg in to various spots, so giving them functional hands (which, in Transformers, usually translates to a fist with a hole in it to hold a gun) wouldn't make much sense now would it. Besides, there are hands of sorts, little representations of digits, like the Aerialbots missile fingers on one arm and hook-like claw on the other. Displeasing aesthetics, bad & not fun toy. Given that applies on an individual case by case preference, don't quite see how one individual not liking the look of an item negates the line. Were that the case, any given line of The Transformers would have been instantly killed off by whatever group of naysayers were in play at the time. Doesn't hold together well, bad & not fun toy. I would agree to that, but the only case I've personally come into contact with for these is DoubleClutch's combined mode pegs for his arms. I see no reason to burn down the tree for one bad apple.

But, the biggest point for me to make here would be, my kid loves them. So does my next-to-youngest nephew. By observation alone of the intended consumer for these products, I can say they appear to be quite fun.

I will buy drone limbs from people that do not want theirs.

Especially from the Rallybots.

I just can't get past how cheap these things look in-package. I love the idea and concept, but the execution is so low budget. They look like low quality KOs to me.

Prime Riblet wrote:I just can't get past how cheap these things look in-package. I love the idea and concept, but the execution is so low budget. They look like low quality KOs to me.

Yeah I was thinking the same thing.

OptiMagnus10 wrote:

Prime Riblet wrote:I just can't get past how cheap these things look in-package. I love the idea and concept, but the execution is so low budget. They look like low quality KOs to me.

Yeah I was thinking the same thing.

They don't seem so low quality to me... I've picked up several of both 2 and 5 packs and none of them look or feel like KO's to me. The commanders are quite solid, Huffer and Searchlight both have taken a swan dive from the shelf onto a hardwood floor and neither have broke, chipped, or had anything happen at all,(well except Huffers head popped off) The 5 packs however do suffer in the QC department(at least the two I've gotten.) But looks wise their look like anything I've seen from Universe, Armada, ect...


You guys are entitled to your opinions of course, but I just don't see how they look KO quality?

I agree that everyone is entitled to their own opinion on the matter. I also understand why a lot of people like them. That said, I can understand why a lot of people DON'T like them as well.