The Energon Pub

News Credits: 3 · by **Midnight_Fox** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 3:04 pm

shockblast2 wrote:
And I call bs if they are telling you that they are justified in their price point.

Show me where I said that, I'll wait. It's not about "justifying" anything, it's about the reality of how pricing works.

You can call what you're doing what ever you want(that's called justifying, BTW

), doesn't change the fact that there are a ton more things than the cost of material that goes into pricing a product.

You're an accountant for a company that does injection molding? Good for you, now go ask the higher ups and the people who actually decide on pricing for your company the things that go into it. They'll be glad to tell you you're way off base on this issue.

by **gothsaurus** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 3:46 pm

I'd add that until someone can bring some actual documentation (FanPub's accounting), all the pricing discussion is like a Wiki with no references.

The thing I think someone COULD be justified in saying would be that the prices SEEM to be too high — or not of acceptable value... and that FunPub should work to bring down figure prices by (insert clever ideas here). I might even agree with that.

Changing subject, I guess my own complaint is that the event staying in California is prohibitive in distance and cost to many people. Travel and hotel is expensive to that area. BUT since they have made the exclusives available by mail order (and opened up the custom class toy to the public) — I'm content to just skip the event now. (Though a bit melancholy doing so.)

I do miss traveling to new cities, new restaurants, old friends, digging through tables of robots, rubbing elbows with voice actors. Here's hoping Botcon won't make CA its permanent home.

News Credits: 3 · by **Midnight_Fox** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 3:57 pm

gothsaurus wrote:I do miss traveling to new cities, new restaurants, old friends, digging through tables of robots, rubbing elbows with voice actors. Here's hoping Botcon won't make CA its permanent home.

Agreed. It's a fun time and I'd love it to move around again.

News Credits: 4 · by **craggy** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 3:59 pm

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Which begs the question: Do any of the G.I. Joe cons have exclusive toys, and if yes, do they retool them from regular toys? I know Hasbro has done it for SDCC's Crossover toys, but this is a little bit different, isn't it?

the GI Joe Cons do have exclusives. They're certainly made up of different combinations of parts from time to time, although I'm sure they've done straight repaints as well. I think they can do new parts, as IIRC the Sgt Slaughter and Rowdy Roddy Piper figures had the celeb likenesses, and I think there have been new heads. The fan club exclusive figures definitely get new heads sometimes.

But it's a hell of a lot easier for parts to be swapped between a couple of Joe molds and run up in matching plastic colours, than it is to swap bit between TFs. For the most part Joes (at least from the same eras) use the same construction, whereas you can take any 5 random deluxe TFs and chances are you'll have 3 or 4 different methods of attaching the head, let alone the miracle of any of the other parts being able to be swapped without hindering transformation.

by **gothsaurus** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 4:14 pm

Yeah, and also the parts are also gang-molded with all the hundreds of parts for the rest of the figure... which means hundreds of molds.

I heard from Hasbro at a con that the giant metal molds for ONE transformer collected together take up about the size of a tractor trailer. Those get stashed in warehouses after the toy is manufactured. Locating, moving, and reassembling them into working order in a factory (and there not being any degradation or breaking of the mold) isn't an easy task.

News Credits: 456 · by **Sabrblade** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 4:35 pm

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:The Energon Kicker w/ High Wire set done up as... Rorza, the Rocket-cycle Racer from Rigel III!

You sir, are a genius.

Maybe not. According to reports from others I've brought this idea up to, both the Energon and Super Link Kickers are quite fragile figures that are doomed to break. :-(

by **gothsaurus** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 4:38 pm

There needs to be a webpage devoted to Transformers that are really breakable. Gold plastic, Kicker, Alternators Megs...

News Credits: 241 · by **Jelze Bunnycat** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 4:47 pm

Sabrblade wrote:
JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:The Energon Kicker w/ High Wire set done up as... Rorza, the Rocket-cycle Racer from Rigel III!

You sir, are a genius.
Maybe not. According to reports from others I've brought this idea up to, both the Energon and Super Link Kickers are quite fragile figures that are doomed to break.

Tell me about it, my Superlink Kicker has a broken off hip joint :sad:

by **gothsaurus** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 4:55 pm

I have so many figures in boxes that I've heard about breakage... I'm expecting to open the lids and find everything crumbled to dust.

Laser Rods, I'm talking about you.

News Credits: 293 · by **shajaki** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 5:34 pm

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:
JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:The Energon Kicker w/ High Wire set done up as... Rorza, the Rocket-cycle Racer from Rigel III!

You sir, are a genius.
Maybe not. According to reports from others I've brought this idea up to, both the Energon and Super Link Kickers are quite fragile figures that are doomed to break.

Tell me about it, my Superlink Kicker has a broken off hip joint

broken leg on mine...

News Credits: 251 · by **Mindmaster** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 6:54 pm

Lulz, my Energon High Wire and Kicker are still kicking around, no sign of breakage at all! :DANCE:

News Credits: 456 · by **Sabrblade** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 6:57 pm

Mindmaster wrote:Lulz, my Energon High Wire and Kicker are still kicking around, no sign of breakage at all!

Your Kicker's O-ring is still intact? Lucky you, mate.

News Credits: 251 · by **Mindmaster** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 7:10 pm

Sabrblade wrote:
Mindmaster wrote:Lulz, my Energon High Wire and Kicker are still kicking around, no sign of breakage at all!
Your Kicker's O-ring is still intact? Lucky you, mate.

To be fair, I've barely handled the pair over the years, only during remodeling days (which are rare on their own)

News Credits: 3 · by **Midnight_Fox** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 8:30 pm

Mindmaster wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:
Mindmaster wrote:Lulz, my Energon High Wire and Kicker are still kicking around, no sign of breakage at all!
Your Kicker's O-ring is still intact? Lucky you, mate.

To be fair, I've barely handled the pair over the years, only during remodeling days (which are rare on their own)

Same here. My Kicker's just fine and I never handle him.

Edit: Maybe the "jawdropper" is Kicker repainted/remolded as a Pretender shell. :lol:

News Credits: 251 · by **Mindmaster** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 9:07 pm

Midnight_Fox wrote:Maybe the "jawdropper" is Kicker repainted/remolded as a Pretender shell.

That's... actually not a bad idea. Though I feel he'd make a better homage to how the Japanese Headmaster Juniors looked in the Masterforce anime.

News Credits: 456 · by **Sabrblade** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 9:12 pm

Mindmaster wrote:
Midnight_Fox wrote:Maybe the "jawdropper" is Kicker repainted/remolded as a Pretender shell.

That's... actually not a bad idea. Though I feel he'd make a better homage to how the Japanese Headmaster Juniors looked in the Masterforce anime.

And Shuta did have a motorbike in episode 1:

by **ausbot** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 10:44 pm

I hope for either a Rom the space Knight or a repainted Armada/Energon Tidal wave.

News Credits: 293 · by **shajaki** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 10:52 pm

how about broadside made with the tidal wave mold? thatd be sweet! but he'd be on the pirate side... which is inherently evil... decepticon.. nevermind..

News Credits: 456 · by **Sabrblade** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 11:14 pm

They're not using Armada molds anymore.

And ROM deserves better than a mere Fun Pub use.

by **ausbot** » Wed Mar 26, 2014 3:15 am

They may not use Armada molds any more but Tidal wave was part of Energon as well, and they said a suprise Energon mold so it still works.

News Credits: 456 · by **Sabrblade** » Wed Mar 26, 2014 7:31 am

ausbot wrote:They may not use Armada molds any more but Tidal wave was part of Energon as well, and they said a suprise Energon mold so it still works.

Being reused for Energon doesn't make it an Energon mold. That logic is flawed.

by **gothsaurus** » Wed Mar 26, 2014 9:40 am

I'm guessing Ausbot was throwing that in to say the mold had been used more recently, implying it might be easier to locate and/or might be more available.

But I'm guessing you heard them issue a blanket statement saying Armada was "out."

News Credits: 456 · by **Sabrblade** » Wed Mar 26, 2014 9:47 am

What I'm trying to say is, the Club has confirmed that the molds for this year's toys will be Classics/Universe/Generations/etc. style molds, one Energon mold (which the Tidal Wave mold is not since it wasn't made for the Energon line), and perhaps more Prime molds besides Cannonball (who is the only Prime mold in the boxed set).

by **gothsaurus** » Wed Mar 26, 2014 10:15 am

Thanks for the reminder of the breakdown, Sabrblade.

All things considered, the Energon line is full of win at this point. Not because ALL the molds are great, but because...

"BASICS" were almost all exceptional molds (in my opinion). I found these way better than anything in that class from the Unicron Trilogy.

"DELUXES" can combine with earlier Botcon/TFCC exclusives (like Nightbeat). Big win.

"COMBINERS" can merge with club exclusive Nexus Maximus. Great there, too.

Most larger class bots have already been used (Galvatron, Scorponok, etc.) Probably unlikely.

Bottom line, I think whatever the Energon character is... it should add a lot of "play value" to our Botcon/Club lineup. Can't be a bad thing.

News Credits: 456 · by **Sabrblade** » Wed Mar 26, 2014 10:18 am

gothsaurus wrote:Bottom line, I think whatever the Energon character is... it should add a lot of "play value" to our Botcon/Club lineup. Can't be a bad thing.

Unless it turns out to be the Ironhide or Jetfire mold.