The Energon Pub

Courtesy of the Transformers Galaxy Hong Kong Fans Group facebook page we have a few new images of the Beelzeboss "Growing Pains" conversion kit for United Bumblebee. This set has been delayed for quite some time, hopefully these images mean we're getting close to the set's release.

curse these wonderful Head and Gun upgrades! I want it.

Damn I wish I could find a United Goldbug!

That's Windforcelan's Goldbug that he did a few months back, didn't know that he did it for Beelzeboss, I think they might have originally made the upgrade for RTS Bumblebee, since Windforcelan's original version had those stripes on his chest.

Well I have to admit that this turned out better than I thought it would. The CAD prototype photos several months back didn't do the final version justice after the paint apps. I guess I'll be the first commentor to bring up the RENDERFORM version. I've already ordered two of those so I'm hesitant to get one of these (plus I only have one UNITED goldbee). However if the price is right on this I may have to get one just for that awsome box art. Plus those twin pistols may come in handy for something.

I got the Renderform version in hand. It just looks better.

However, this came out pretty good. I think ill get it as well. I repainted a RTS Bumblebee red before I had a Cliffjumper. So this head would make a great classics Chase.

I've had this on preorder since forever from TFSource. Looks great so far.

I wish that more 3rd party companys used light piping (I'm looking at you igear)

Wow! Finally I'll have something to do with my RTS BB. Well, Im expecting it would be $30 less when it comes out to the market. Dang!my wallet is getting juiced by this 3rd party company!

I think I will be picking this up. I kinda like it a lil better then Renderform's design. I do however have his on pre-order as well, but in black. Might use that one for Bugbite now.

Hopefully this comes soon. It feels like it's been forever since I ordered. It'll be nice to get the figure it's intended for off of my desk too, lol!

I seriously hope we don't get a true Classicsverse Goldbug right after I get this, but yeah, I think I'm gonna have to grab this.

Delicon wrote:I seriously hope we don't get a true Classicsverse Goldbug right after I get this, but yeah, I think I'm gonna have to grab this.

We got a "gold Bumblebee" with Goldbug's color schemes at Legends scale.

The Transformers Galaxy Hong Kong Fans Group have received their Beezleboss "Growing Pains" Goldbug conversion kit and posted some nice images of the set installed on United Bumblebee. The set includes a new head and two guns. Check out the images below.

Wow, 7+months worth the wait, Nice one El Duque, I really like the look of this build, the sculpt and the guns are Solid, and the Guns really fit the bill, At first glance I thought the colour was off, then realised it's made of a slightly translucent shiny plastic that gives it a kind of metallic effect under certain light, I like that a lot. Big respect to Beelzeboss for another good quality upgrade.

Really hoping that I find this set and a United Goldbug at Cybertron Con. They look great together.

I gave in and bought it. But my Renderform version will stay on Goldbug and this version will be used for Chase.

Rated X wrote:I gave in and bought it. But my Renderform version will stay on Goldbug and this version will be used for Chase.

Great idea. Glad I've got a spare Classics Cliffjumper!

So, I'm liking these goldbug upgrades (this and Venksta's), but only have a spare Classics BB. Is there any reason everyone uses Unite; is Classics not compatible with the head molds?

beastorm wrote:So, I'm liking these goldbug upgrades (this and Venksta's), but only have a spare Classics BB. Is there any reason everyone uses Unite; is Classics not compatible with the head molds?

Yes classics is compatible since it's the same toy. Everyone is using United Bee for Goldbug is that because he is actually shiny gold color.

Shin_hibiki wrote:

Great idea. Glad I've got a spare Classics Cliffjumper!

Far be it from me to try and tell you or anybody what to do, but here's something to consider...the Cliffjumper mold (even though identical to the original Classic Bee) is more rare than the plethora of Bumblebee Classics that are floating around out there (especially after the Reveal the Shield version was released). If I remember correctly Rated-X painted one of his extra "disposable" Bee's solid red for his Chase figure, correct me if I'm wrong there "X" (see I pay attention LOL). So you might wanna investigate that as an option, that way you could keep the Cliffjumper stock for future resell or as an investment in general. I know painting can be intimidating if you've never done a figure before but it's fun to me and the pay off of having a custom character is a great feeling. Plus by painting a figure solid red it looks better as Chase (to me) as opposed to the paint scheme that Cliffjumper has with those silver streaks that came on the American Hasbro version.

Beastorm wrote:

Is there any reason everyone uses Unite; is Classics not compatible with the head molds?

Seriously? Did you just ask that? I'm kidding, I'm just picking on you. The reason everyone is using the United version is because TAKARA painted their version of the Reveal the Shield Bumblebee solid gold. And this is the character Goldbug we're talking about so all the fanboys (including myself) knew exactly what we wanted to do with that version the second we saw it for the first time. I suspect TAKARA did that on purpose knowing that fans would use it or refer to it as Goldbug, plus they had already produced a solid yellow bumblebee under their "Henkei" line a few years before, so there was no need to make another one etc (but sometimes I wish they would run another line of those G1 solid yellow bee's, I still havn't been able to track one down here in the states for less than $120).
Yes all of the heads are interchangable and compatible with one another, it's just that some color schemes look better than other. And also in case your not aware Venksta or RENDERFORM customs has designed a Bumper and Hubcap custom head kits that should be ready for release sometime this summer, I'm not really sure what his release schedule is. Anyway, this opens the doors to all types of different mix and match opportunities with all of the different colored Bumblebee molds out there. I have three different versions so far and I'm going to use the WalMart Legacy Bublebee Classic (that came in a three pack for those unfamiliar) as Hubcap and the RTS Bumblebee as Bumper. Cant wait!!!
Hope this explanation helps.

G1 Legacy wrote:Plus by painting a figure solid red it looks better as Chase (to me) as opposed to the paint scheme that Cliffjumper has with those silver streaks that came on the American Hasbro version.

I was thinking about taking a little thinner to it and wiping off the extraneous paint. I've never tried that on a large scale, though, so I'm not entirely sure what effect it would have on the plastic. Anyway, it's kind of a moot point until I actually get the heads--I've got them both ordered, but neither has arrived yet.

I think it looks really good and well crafted. I'd buy this set if I had money

shin_hibiki wrote:

I was thinking about taking a little thinner to it and wiping off the extraneous paint. I've never tried that on a large scale, though, so I'm not entirely sure what effect it would have on the plastic

YIKES! Dude, I'm not sure you took away from that what I was trying to convey there.
(Or maybe you did and your just screwing with me now LOL)
I was saying that if it were me, I wouldn't do ANYTHING permanant to a classics Cliffjumper (other than switching out a head or body part with a 3rd party kit). True it's not impossible to find one, but they are getting more rare and harder to come by so the second you do something to permantley alter it beyond repair that value goes down the toilet. And you don't have to take my word for it, go to EBAY and do a search on Classics Cliffjumper and you'll see that they're consistantly going for $50-$60 dollars Mint on Card and around $35-$45 loose.
And you said you had an extra one if I'm not mistaken? I would hold onto that puppy because the value has nowhere to go but up. Man, just the thought of someone taking paint thinner or mineral spirits to a Cliffjumper makes the hair standup on the back of my neck. LMAO And forget about the topic of destroying a cliffjumper figure for a moment, but I wouldn't think that paintthinner being used (in the amounts that it would take to remove that silver) could possibly be good for plastic in the longrun. I'm sure there may be some that will pipe up and disagree with me on that, but I wouldn't wanna try it.
I know I'm just repeating myself here but I was saying earlier that it would be cheaper to just find and paint a bumblebee some new shade of red to make a Chase figure. Go back to EBAY and now look up Reveal the Shield (RTS) Bumblebee. You can get a new one of those for like $10-$15 still new on the card and maybe even cheaper if your patient and know where to look. I know Cliff is already red, I get that. But fifty bucks, is fifty bucks.

I would just hate for 6 or 7 more years to go by and that Cliffjumper to skyrocket to a few hundred dollars on the aftermarket. You might be kicking yourself later. But hey, it's your figure. You can blow it up with fireworks if you wanna. It's no skin off my back

G1 Legacy wrote:YIKES! Dude, I'm not sure you took away from that what I was trying to convey there.

I got it, bro. I just have a different view of what I should do with my spares most of the time, that's all. Besides, intentionally stockpiling stuff for the purpose of future speculation has rarely gone well for me. It's not really what I'm about.

G1 Legacy wrote:I know I'm just repeating myself here but I was saying earlier that it would be cheaper to just find and paint a bumblebee some new shade of red to make a Chase figure. Go back to EBAY and now look up Reveal the Shield (RTS) Bumblebee. You can get a new one of those for like $10-$15 still new on the card and maybe even cheaper if your patient and know where to look.

I could look in my basement, 'cuz I have a spare one of those, too. However, full-body repainting is not my forte. I have a lot of projects where I'd like to do that, but I generally lack the skill!