The Energon Pub

News Credits: 3 · Sat Jan 28, 2017 10:27 pm

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Thank you Combiner Wars for getting me back into collecting Transformers!

Now with more articulation than ever.

News Credits: 3 · Sun Jan 29, 2017 12:01 am

For my first Masterpiece, I wanted it to be Galvatron. The 1986 movie had left such a lasting impression on me and, imho, he was indeed a worthy successor to Megatron. He was stronger, unhinged, and didn't have to shrink and be handled by another 'Con to fire - clearly superior in all ways! Except he was owned, or at least mentally destroyed by Unicron.

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But regardless, his bad ass look couldn't be denied! So imagine my disappointment when all I could find for MP was a third party offering that didn't really look like him....but then DX9's Tyrant came along. He's not 100% perfect, but DAT FACE sure as hell is! As my first "MP", I couldn't have been happier, and thus, many pics were taken.

News Credits: 3 · Sun Jan 29, 2017 1:48 am

I am very impressed with Mastermind Creations - having never read IDW's MTME until recently, I had no idea who Tarn was....but it was basically love at first sight. I mean, why hadn't any Decepticon worn their insignia before him?!

This is my first figure from MMC, and not only is the design spot-on, but the quality is there - tight joints and maximum poseability. Some light-up features would have added, but what's here is perfection.

News Credits: 6188 · Sun Jan 29, 2017 3:09 am

Some really nice photography in here, nice! Keeping an eye out for DJD shenaningans. :APPLAUSE:

News Credits: 3 · Sun Jan 29, 2017 3:35 am

Thanks Va'al! I think Tarn may be my new favorite bot!! ;)^

News Credits: 3 · Sun Jan 29, 2017 11:26 pm

Sometime in the year 2003, Takara released their first Masterpiece, MP-1 Convoy.

I stopped collecting Transformers, circa 1987, when the G1 animated series disappeared from the network I had been watching after episode 30 of season 3. That episode just happened to be the return of Optimus Prime, and to me, it was a perfectly fine ending.

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The toy line continued on, with Headmasters, Powermasters, Target Masters, Pretenders, etc., but it wasn't until the past 3 years I got back into Transformers, and wanted to share my joy of them with my kids.

So that meant I missed out on all the Masterpieces since the line began - and if you've seen them, you know that they're costly and primarily for collectors.

For me, that meant I had to prioritize, and in some cases, compromise on the price -- which ultimately meant KO or 3P.

Of all the Transformers, it was Optimus Prime who embodied all that was heroic and good, at times to a fault. But his MO, combined with Peter Cullen's talent endeared him to me and millions of others, and continues to do so now with the Michael Bay movies. :michaelbay:

So what better way to honor him, than to get the biggest version of his MP10 incarnation? I bought Weijiang's MPP-10 for $90 (and later another $80 for the trailer!), and even though it's a KO, I feel it does Optimus justice. Towering Justice over most all TFs, in fact....

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News Credits: 3 · Mon Jan 30, 2017 4:20 am

Worth waiting for: Tarn.

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News Credits: 3 · Mon Jan 30, 2017 8:31 pm

I want a Datsun Fairlady Z. For real. To drive.

That said, I owe this desire all to G1's vehicular model for Prowl & Bluestreak. Especially the latter, since I'm still not particularly lovin' police. :saint:

Anyway, Bluestreak was always cool to me, even if he never particularly shined in the animated series or comic - I just liked his tech spec bio & look, and his sole survivor story especially appealed to me.

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As my first official Masterpiece, he was a complete impulse-buy from TRU. I felt $65 was a bit much and initially passed on him since I had two figures of the G1 original already - the MP didn't have die-cast and wasn't blue, so why bother?

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Well, then my buddy bought him "on my behalf", as we enable each other constantly....so how could I say no?

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He looks perfect, and is truly a masterpiece....but again, only for collectors, since I was afraid of breaking him with every twist & turn during transformation.

TL;DR: Bluestreak looks great, but handle with some care.

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News Credits: 131 · Wed Feb 01, 2017 7:18 am

Hey, nice place you got here with some good stuff going on. Tarn looks amazing and I'm loving that pic background. Mind if I lurk a bit in the corner?

News Credits: 23 · Wed Feb 01, 2017 7:44 am

Love the pics and the mini stories.
Keep it up

Cary you always lurking in dat corner.
crazy corner lurker

News Credits: 131 · Wed Feb 01, 2017 7:48 am

Bumblebee21 wrote:Love the pics and the mini stories.
Keep it up

Cary you always lurking in dat corner.
crazy corner lurker

In closets, under beds, dark alleys, shrubs, nearby; whatever it takes.

News Credits: 3 · Wed Feb 01, 2017 10:26 am

carytheone wrote:
Bumblebee21 wrote:Love the pics and the mini stories.
Keep it up

Cary you always lurking in dat corner.
crazy corner lurker
In closets, under beds, dark alleys, shrubs, nearby; whatever it takes.

You're more than welcome, cary! I'm not so great with board etiquette, so there's no such thing as lurkers here - just us ninjas. 8-)

Your banner reminds me -- I'd like to do more photo challenges!

Welcome Bumblebee21! Just wondering -- do you have an absolute favorite incarnation of Bumblebee? As much as I like his MP, it's mainly cuz he's a VW bug....but I prefer the recent Legend's face.

News Credits: 131 · Wed Feb 01, 2017 10:36 am

bodrock wrote:
carytheone wrote:
Bumblebee21 wrote:Love the pics and the mini stories.
Keep it up

Cary you always lurking in dat corner.
crazy corner lurker
In closets, under beds, dark alleys, shrubs, nearby; whatever it takes.

You're more than welcome, cary! I'm not so great with board etiquette, so there's no such thing as lurkers here - just us ninjas.

Your banner reminds me -- I'd like to do more photo challenges!

Welcome Bumblebee! Just windering -- do you have an absolute favorite incarnation of Bumblebee? As much as I like his MP, it's mainly cuz he's a VW bug....but I prefer the recent Legend's face.

Thanks. We'll I'm working on a new photo challenge for this month, I just need to be proactive and pull the trigger. If you follow the links you can find all the old ones. They're more or less dead but feel free to post. As far as etiquette goes, I just try and stay within the OPs topic, but conversations evolve.

Can I play fav Bee too? MP Bee is a joy, but I'm going to go with classic Bee as my fav. He's a nice size and seems like a great update to G1. The little legion one and the new legends one seem to have a very similar transformation to the classics mold. I'm fond of the thrilling 30 lengends Bee as well, but he is for my WfC/FoC display. Dat WfC Bee jump started me into collecting TFs.

Can you really have enough Bees?

Edit: here is a link that'll give you access to all our previous TFPCs

transformers-photo-challenge-p1732270.php#p1732270

News Credits: 3 · Wed Feb 01, 2017 10:39 am

I always liked this Bee, but missed out on the original release.

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He looks like a good mix between old and new, as well as a more mature version of the li'l spy. I even like the RiD version, so no, I guess you can never have enough Bee, Cary!

Thanks for the link!

News Credits: 3 · Wed Feb 01, 2017 11:37 am

Wow, I get the love here, Cary.....!

News Credits: 3 · Wed Feb 01, 2017 12:12 pm

You never forget your first...and mine was G1 Soundwave, back in 1984. I was convinced, even then, he was the best $10 toy ever.

He was a mini-cassette player (I was a young audiophile, and didn't care that he was non-functional), looked like a bad ass robot, and even came with a mini-cassette that could also transform!

When I first saw an episode of Transformers and heard that iconic voice, Soundwave instantly became my favorite bot. Although his chest-piece broke off decades ago, my original remains intact...and is still going strong.

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But the fact is, as my favorite 'Con I wanted the definitive version of him - and after more than 30 years, I finally got him in the form of Asia's re-release of Hasbro's MP13.

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More of an expensively awesome update to the original, and including 5 instead of one mini-cassette minion (along with a few other goodies!), he looks as good as I'd hoped -- a perfect mix between the G1 toy and the cartoon I grew up with.

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Unfortunately, the plastic used for his chest piece doesn't feel much better than the original, and the ease of popping in & out multiple tapes is trickier than I'd like.

But I'm still so happy to have him, finally! He will always be SUPERIOR in my eyes...

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News Credits: 131 · Wed Feb 01, 2017 12:22 pm

Soundwave is my favorite TF as well. He and Laserbeak got a lot of playtime when I was carytheweeone.

Ive just always loved the guy; the voice (dat voice), the minions, the boxy design, the way he made a great real world robot in disguise, just a great toy!

I nabbed the MP US release and man did it bring back all the tingles. ;)^

I'm pretty much down for any version of SW and it's going be hard to pass the new RID one.

News Credits: 3 · Wed Feb 01, 2017 6:29 pm

I hear that, Cary! I thought Soundwave's TF Prime incarnation was also cool - but did he ever speak?!?

I have yet to transform the smart pad version of him from the recent SDCC....

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News Credits: 131 · Wed Feb 01, 2017 7:09 pm

bodrock wrote:I hear that, Cary! I thought Soundwave's TF Prime incarnation was also cool - but did he ever speak?!?

I have yet to transform the smart pad version of him from the recent SDCC....
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I don't remember him ever making any noise, just emotes or the like on his face. He was a straight badass though.

It's been hard to not order that Soundwave pad. I'm interested in your thoughts on the figure.

News Credits: 23 · Wed Feb 01, 2017 10:17 pm

my favorite bee is g1 and the movie
the movie bc i grew up with the movies but only like the first one now. and he was my fav charaacter
g1 bee bc its bee and how can you not live him
the mpp is the best version altohugh it could be a little yellower

News Credits: 3 · Wed Feb 01, 2017 11:28 pm

Bumblebee21 wrote:my favorite bee is g1 and the movie
the movie bc i grew up with the movies but only like the first one now. and he was my fav charaacter
g1 bee bc its bee and how can you not live him
the mpp is the best version altohugh it could be a little yellower

G1 Bee definitely holds a special place in my heart, even if his face was nothing like the cartoon's. I also liked his Bayformers incarnation, but don't actually own any movie-version of any of the TFs -- I'd say it's cuz I'm not trying to go crazy with the collection....but the truth may be simply that I adore the G1 versions too much. :HEADHURTS:

MP Bee definitely could be more cartoon-yellow, for sure. But him as that VW bug is classic in so many ways.

I have to have pics of MP Soundwave and Soundpad, now, Cary! We can compare them then....

News Credits: 6188 · Thu Feb 02, 2017 4:20 am

bodrock wrote:You never forget your first...

Niiiiice, such a good ensemble shot!

News Credits: 15 · Fri Feb 03, 2017 1:59 pm

Well hey, look at that, Transformer pictures!!

Nice place you got here, bodrock! I'll just mill about pointing, praising, and commenting :michaelbay:

News Credits: 3 · Fri Feb 03, 2017 3:05 pm

Batman & Robin. Mario & Luigi. Tango & Cash (?).

I love dynamic duos.

I had Brawn & Blues(treak) in my love letter to the latter above, but here are some others I had fun with.

I'm open to suggestions and would love to see other ideas (pics!!)! :HEADHURTS:

(Plz note: these are only professional relationships!)

News Credits: 15 · Fri Feb 03, 2017 3:17 pm

bodrock wrote:I want a Datsun Fairlady Z. For real. To drive.

YEE!

bodrock wrote:

The Datsuns are some of the best MPs. Once you get that transformation down they are a dream to go back and forth with. I have the TRU versions of Prowl and Bluestreak and picked up a KO of MP18B from a member on the boards here. The KO does have some QC issues, but I couldn't see spending full price for a 3rd version of the same mold. Although I still want Silverstreak.... :lol: