The Energon Pub

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Does that mean Computron's face will look like Superion's in the comics? I dont know, I hope not.

At the very least, should it look like that in any forthcoming Hasbro-licensed fiction, I'd suspect the most likely candidate for said fiction to be Machinima's Combiner Wars cartoon.

Besides, Computron cannot possibly exist in the comics. Strafe is on the Lost Light, Scattershot is on Cybertron, and the other 3 died 4 and a half years ago, so yep.

Also Kanra: I love the version of Galvs. Awesome choices!!

[Kurona]

Does that mean Computron's face will look like Superion's in the comics? I dont know, I hope not.

At the very least, should it look like that in any forthcoming Hasbro-licensed fiction, I'd suspect the most likely candidate for said fiction to be Machinima's Combiner Wars cartoon.

Besides, Computron cannot possibly exist in the comics. Strafe is on the Lost Light, Scattershot is on Cybertron, and the other 3 died 4 and a half years ago, so yep.

Also Kanra: I love the version of Galvs. Awesome choices!!

The Protectobots were like, scattered about everywhere before Combiner Wars forced them all into a group escorting Mirage iirc. If Hasbro wants them to, IDW'll shove in Computron somehow.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Does that mean Computron's face will look like Superion's in the comics? I dont know, I hope not.

At the very least, should it look like that in any forthcoming Hasbro-licensed fiction, I'd suspect the most likely candidate for said fiction to be Machinima's Combiner Wars cartoon.

Besides, Computron cannot possibly exist in the comics. Strafe is on the Lost Light, Scattershot is on Cybertron, and the other 3 died 4 and a half years ago, so yep.

Also Kanra: I love the version of Galvs. Awesome choices!!

The Protectobots were like, scattered about everywhere before Combiner Wars forced them all into a group escorting Mirage iirc. If Hasbro wants them to, IDW'll shove in Computron somehow.

Eh, doubtful. The protectobots were all united a year in advance of combiner wars on the Lost Light, and it made sense for them to be together. Besides, I would be very upset if they tried to do that as that means 3 characters dead from 5 years ago come back to life magically? Yeah.... no thank you. Plus, it's not like they all need to be in the comics. Look at Sky Reign

[Sabrblade]

Does that mean Computron's face will look like Superion's in the comics? I dont know, I hope not.

At the very least, should it look like that in any forthcoming Hasbro-licensed fiction, I'd suspect the most likely candidate for said fiction to be Machinima's Combiner Wars cartoon.

Besides, Computron cannot possibly exist in the comics. Strafe is on the Lost Light, Scattershot is on Cybertron, and the other 3 died 4 and a half years ago, so yep.

Also Kanra: I love the version of Galvs. Awesome choices!!

The Protectobots were like, scattered about everywhere before Combiner Wars forced them all into a group escorting Mirage iirc. If Hasbro wants them to, IDW'll shove in Computron somehow.

Eh, doubtful. The protectobots were all united a year in advance of combiner wars on the Lost Light, and it made sense for them to be together. Besides, I would be very upset if they tried to do that as that means 3 characters dead from 5 years ago come back to life magically? Yeah.... no thank you. Plus, it's not like they all need to be in the comics. Look at Sky Reign

Nightbeat came back cuz of his new toy. Even Kup came back.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Does that mean Computron's face will look like Superion's in the comics? I dont know, I hope not.

At the very least, should it look like that in any forthcoming Hasbro-licensed fiction, I'd suspect the most likely candidate for said fiction to be Machinima's Combiner Wars cartoon.

Besides, Computron cannot possibly exist in the comics. Strafe is on the Lost Light, Scattershot is on Cybertron, and the other 3 died 4 and a half years ago, so yep.

Also Kanra: I love the version of Galvs. Awesome choices!!

The Protectobots were like, scattered about everywhere before Combiner Wars forced them all into a group escorting Mirage iirc. If Hasbro wants them to, IDW'll shove in Computron somehow.

Eh, doubtful. The protectobots were all united a year in advance of combiner wars on the Lost Light, and it made sense for them to be together. Besides, I would be very upset if they tried to do that as that means 3 characters dead from 5 years ago come back to life magically? Yeah.... no thank you. Plus, it's not like they all need to be in the comics. Look at Sky Reign

Nightbeat came back cuz of his new toy. Even Kup came back.

Yeah, but those 2 had a chance. Nightbeat was killed and swallowed by the dead universe, and Kup was banished to the dead universe. Dead universe = cheap bring character back to life plot point. Nosecone was chewed up and then blown up. Afterburner and Lightspeed were the ones at the core of Kimia when they blew it up. That is a lot harder to bring someone back from.

[Sabrblade]

Yeah, but those 2 had a chance. Nightbeat was killed and swallowed by the dead universe, and Kup was banished to the dead universe. Dead universe = cheap bring character back to life plot point. Nosecone was chewed up and then blown up. Afterburner and Lightspeed were the ones at the core of Kimia when they blew it up. That is a lot harder to bring someone back from.

Should Hasbro ever demand it, the writers can find a way.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Yeah, but those 2 had a chance. Nightbeat was killed and swallowed by the dead universe, and Kup was banished to the dead universe. Dead universe = cheap bring character back to life plot point. Nosecone was chewed up and then blown up. Afterburner and Lightspeed were the ones at the core of Kimia when they blew it up. That is a lot harder to bring someone back from.

Should Hasbro ever demand it, the writers can find a way.

Yeah yeah, I just wish they wouldn't sometimes. I'm ok with Nightbeat cause I love the character and the way kinda actually made sense, same with Kup.

[ZeroWolf]

This has been an interesting read for the last couple of pages. I agree wholeheartedly agree with hasbro's ideological stance of wanting to do new things for new fans and not wanting to be chained to very old material but I don't think they go far enough for them to truly believe it. Actually seems like they're stuck between a rock and a hard place a lot of times, after all what old fans want may be a lot more expensive than what new fans like. It's a very hard thing to try and sort out, but it may just be possible (I have no idea how save for copying the takara approach but until we know all the ins and outs of that, it's just a crazy idea. What works in one market may not work in another)

As for Takara, respecting what has come before is a big part of Japanese life so there is a lot of cultural differences at work.

As it stands it's a good thing we have a lot of choice, to accommodate those like me who care little about g1 and those who want better representations of their childhood heroes.

[King Kuuga]

This has been an interesting read for the last couple of pages. I agree wholeheartedly agree with hasbro's ideological stance of wanting to do new things for new fans and not wanting to be chained to very old material but I don't think they go far enough for them to truly believe it.

"Doing new things" is introducing Alpha Bravo, Offroad, and Rook into the canon and somewhat altering the existing characters' decos and shapes. It's not making Nosecone literally the same as Brawl with a drill bit instead of a cannon barrel, or giving Superion and Computron identical heads when they could at least sculpt a face in.

[ZeroWolf]

No that stuff smells more like budgeting problems and cutting corners to ensure other things are done. This is conjecture of course unless someone knows hasbros internal finances and how departments receive money.

I also believe takara is more lenient in giving more to their tf department but that's not an easy thing to change, as attitudes have to change with it.

[william-james88]

Yeah I read that quote and that was why I posted this in response:

"...full of sound and fury. Signifying nothing."

I saw that but only after I wrote my post, and thats exactly what it is, nothing. Its all just one cop out answer, very similar to what politicians give when they dont know what to say or dont want to tell you anything.

There was another quote Sabreblade got though but I dont know if there is a transcript of it. Its when he asked why a deco is used and he was told that its up to the designer's preferences and thats it. Sabreblade, do you have that quote to give to us?

Actually the tail wing on Hasbro's is more accurate to the g1 toy as far as paint.

Does that one debatable detail make Hasbro's more toy accurate than Takara's as a whole? Lets be serious here.

To be fair, there's very little difference in detail otherwise on this mode. A black line, the nosecone being slightly larger, the cockpit having it's lines in a different colour, and...
... an autobot symbol on the nosecone...
The differences are much more apparent in Robot Mode, with Takara's in particular having the face being full orange (which kinda blurrs out the detail; I much prefer the blue specs on Hasbro's)

Totally. And the funny thing about all this is that Takara wasnt aiming for toy accuracy but toon accuracy. However, since the cartoon brought in elements of the toy (like the black line on the back), it becomes a feedback loop. My aim was just to show that Hasbro being toy accurate is more something that we came up with or that we are telling ourselves (with good reason since vertain details match the toys more than the cartoon sometimes). But it was never something they were strictly going for to the point that a takara toy trying to be show accurate ends up being even more toy accurate than hasbro

[Insurgent]

I think the Hasbro = toy accurate, takara = animation accurate only applies to Masterpieces. Everything else is Takra = animation, hasbro = whatever they feel like.

[Sabrblade]

There was another quote Sabreblade got though but I dont know if there is a transcript of it. Its when he asked why a deco is used and he was told that its up to the designer's preferences and thats it. Sabreblade, do you have that quote to give to us?

Which one was it?

I think the Hasbro = toy accurate, takara = animation accurate only applies to Masterpieces. Everything else is Takra = animation, hasbro = whatever they feel like.

Sometimes there are cases with toys based on comic designs that have the situation is unpredictable.

Like, with toys like Orion Pax, Megatron, Trailcutter, Skids, Windblade, Targetmaster Flanker vs. Phaser, Jetfire, and Ultra Magnus, it's "Hasbro = comic accurate, Takara = even more comic accurate than Hasbro".

But, with toys like Swerve, Tailgate, Targetmaster Chop Shop, Hoist (w/ a blue visor), Whirl, and Roadbuster, it's "Hasbro = comic accurate, Takara = toy accurate".

And, with toys like Legends class Starscream, Legends class Megatron, Brainstorm, and Generations Springer vs. Transformers: Legends Springer, it's "Hasbro = comic accurate, Takara = show accurate".

With toys like Legends class Optimus Prime, Bumblebee vs. Bumblebee Goldbug, and the Mini-Con Assault Team, and Hasbro vs. Takara Generations Springer, it's "Hasbro = comic accurate, Takara = whatever they want".

With toys like Waspinator, Armada Starscream, Rattrap, Tankor, Arcee, Chromia, Rhinox, Sky-Byte, Skrapnel, Bombshell, Cosmos, Powerglide, Metroplex, Megatron, and Armada Megatron, it's "Hasbro = character's traditional look, Takara = character's traditional look but with even more effort or extra/different paint apps to achieve said look".

And there's probably even more variations for just the Thrilling 30 toys and the CW Legends and Leaders alone.

[jay5]

Fellow Seibertronian MemphisR56 did us all a favor by making a spreadsheet in light of the fact that every new Generations figures announced at SDCC 2015 was a retool or repaint of a pre-existing mold.

To be fair, MemphisR56 is just sticking to Hasbro and Funpub releases as part of the Scramble City concept (or else you would even get Scourge using that Truck Cab torso). Here is the spreadsheet which he has titled Repaint Wars Revengeance:

For those of you keeping score on the repaints,

I made a spreadsheet.

Curious if this spreadsheet is still complete and whether it has been updated. And is there one that also counts the UW series? Thanks!

[william-james88]

There was another quote Sabreblade got though but I dont know if there is a transcript of it. Its when he asked why a deco is used and he was told that its up to the designer's preferences and thats it. Sabreblade, do you have that quote to give to us?

Which one was it?

It was the one where someone asked Hasbro staff about the deco choice for Afterburner and the response was that decisions of that level are left to the designer. It was probably the same quote where we learnt that the designer made SDCC Brainstorm have the colours of his comic incarnation. I cant find that anywhere.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

Curious if this spreadsheet is still complete and whether it has been updated. And is there one that also counts the UW series? Thanks!

The UW series isn't that severe, thankfully. Just one use per head, which adds only one or two more per mold to the total list. The only exception is Convoy/Optimus Prime, who got a black redeco, no head switched out.

I did something similar, basically organizing all releases by base mold, head and company released, plus an overall head mold inventory (not counting FunPub ones) for good measure. Trust me, the totals are big

[o.supreme]

Looks like G2 Bruticus has not been included yet... Also I am curious why there are two entries for Onslaught & Brawl. A color variance in a particular characters toy (most likely unintentional) isn't in my opinion another use of it.

[william-james88]

Looks like G2 Bruticus has not been included yet... Also I am curious why there are two entries for Onslaught & Brawl. A color variance in a particular characters toy (most likely unintentional) isn't in my opinion another use of it.

Also, did any of those come to pass. From my understanding the running change was dropped.

[-Kanrabat-]

Also Kanra: I love the version of Galvs. Awesome choices!!

I think it will be worth it to buy the Perfect Effect P-09 Bruticus hands/feet kit just for him.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Also Kanra: I love the version of Galvs. Awesome choices!!

I think it will be worth it to buy the Perfect Effect P-09 Bruticus hands/feet kit just for him.

Potentially yes. He is a really nice choice and good head-canon

[Sabrblade]

There was another quote Sabreblade got though but I dont know if there is a transcript of it. Its when he asked why a deco is used and he was told that its up to the designer's preferences and thats it. Sabreblade, do you have that quote to give to us?

Which one was it?

It was the one where someone asked Hasbro staff about the deco choice for Afterburner and the response was that decisions of that level are left to the designer. It was probably the same quote where we learnt that the designer made SDCC Brainstorm have the colours of his comic incarnation. I cant find that anywhere.

I don't remember a question about Afterburner. You sure it was me?

[-Kanrabat-]

Also Kanra: I love the version of Galvs. Awesome choices!!

I think it will be worth it to buy the Perfect Effect P-09 Bruticus hands/feet kit just for him.

Potentially yes. He is a really nice choice and good head-canon

Holy crap... 60-ish Canadian dollars for the kit, even shipped, is WAY too much. That's almost the price of one deluxe per limbs!

So...

[william-james88]

There was another quote Sabreblade got though but I dont know if there is a transcript of it. Its when he asked why a deco is used and he was told that its up to the designer's preferences and thats it. Sabreblade, do you have that quote to give to us?

Which one was it?

It was the one where someone asked Hasbro staff about the deco choice for Afterburner and the response was that decisions of that level are left to the designer. It was probably the same quote where we learnt that the designer made SDCC Brainstorm have the colours of his comic incarnation. I cant find that anywhere.

I don't remember a question about Afterburner. You sure it was me?

No I am not, sorry. I know i read that quote somewhere though, dont remember where.

[Sabrblade]

There was another quote Sabreblade got though but I dont know if there is a transcript of it. Its when he asked why a deco is used and he was told that its up to the designer's preferences and thats it. Sabreblade, do you have that quote to give to us?

Which one was it?

It was the one where someone asked Hasbro staff about the deco choice for Afterburner and the response was that decisions of that level are left to the designer. It was probably the same quote where we learnt that the designer made SDCC Brainstorm have the colours of his comic incarnation. I cant find that anywhere.

I don't remember a question about Afterburner. You sure it was me?

¸
No I am not, sorry. I know i read that quote somewhere though, dont remember where.

Well, now ya got me curious, so hope said quote is findable.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Also Kanra: I love the version of Galvs. Awesome choices!!

I think it will be worth it to buy the Perfect Effect P-09 Bruticus hands/feet kit just for him.

Potentially yes. He is a really nice choice and good head-canon

Holy crap... 60-ish Canadian dollars for the kit, even shipped, is WAY too much. That's almost the price of one deluxe per limbs!

Yep. Little bit expensive sounding. At least the HFG are pretty good