The Energon Pub

Mon May 04, 2015 5:11 pm

I hope they one day run out of ideas and give us a full line of thoughtfully designed GI Joe crossovers — with MASK sized Joe characters included that could drive the vehicles. If they looked right out of the cartoon for their vehicle modes (HISS tank, rattler, sky striker, etc.) I would eat that up.

We'd buy repaint jets for the seeker jets in blue and black. They could do a Metrotitan Terrordrome. Broadsides aircraft carrier! Rolling Thunder Prime. Repaint second year with snow, night-ops, urban and sand camo sets..

Could be an amazing line... and jump start GI Joe, which seems like it's had a lull the past year or so (?).

Till then...

*rolls around military vehicles from Machine Wars line... while looking out the window longingly*

Mon May 04, 2015 6:59 pm

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
RodimusRex wrote:I saw ATB Megatron and Starscream once at a Kaybee but I gather their national release was canceled.

The black and purple one? Then you must be from Ohio, as that's where their (test-market) release was.

There's a general sense at the tail end of G2 that everyone (after getting reformatted as cars for the Go-Bots subline) suddenly got reformatted as military vehicles that looked straight out of G.I.Joe.

I have noticed that just now, as some Machine Wars releases have that army design going for them. Really odd.

I actually saw ATB Megs/Starscream to two stores in the 90s. One was Ohio. The other was a Kaybee outlet store in Dalton, Georgia after Beast Wars launched. They tended to get oddities in and had a full display of ATB Megatron/Starscream and a number of the G.I.Joe Manimals. All I can figure is that Hasbro had a warehouse full of these they shipped to obscure Kaybee outlet locations, probably to avoid diluting their brand with produced but canceled products. I figure the idea was you siphon it off at a low price somewhere that's low visibility where people are looking for cheap toys to pacify their kids.

Warwolf warmed the shelf for months.

At the time I had no clue that these were shelves full of unreleased figures. I thought they were weird store exclusives or other toylines Hasbro was repackaging as G.I.Joe since this was around 1997 when they hit. I had no clue at the time they were acting as a clearing house.

My family would go to Dalton once a week and I would stare at that two pack of ATB Megs/Starscream, on the fence about whether to buy it. I never did but it's one of those missed purchases that still kind of stuck with me even during times when I stopped collecting toys. I'm not sure I want to know what they go for now. I think it was $20 and they cleared out the display of them at $15 a piece. There were two left and I stood there staring at it like a gambling addict, resolute not to buy more toys. Finally, I ran down to the bookstore at the other end and spent my money on Star Trek CCG cards instead because my family was waiting on me to finish up shopping and go to dinner. Never saw it again.

But I think I've been slightly obsessed with late G2, especially now that I have internet and saw that some of those figures I saw were rare... and some of the figures I hunted for based on the catalogs were never produced.

I'm onboard for any late run G2 homages Hasbro, Takara, or the Clubs want to produce. It's weird but I think I developed a big connection to stuff like G2, New Adventures He-Man, Ninja Force G.I.Joe... Because it was a time when all these childhood favorites died and it wasn't sure if and when they'd come back. And when they did come back they were rebooted. And even stuff like IDW's G1 comics is pretty heavily reconfigured.

The Japanese continuations I discovered in college and they seem interesting. But General Optimus is really the end of the line for G1 Prime as far as Hasbro goes. Even Masterpiece is nostalgia based. There was no NOSTALGIA with G2. They were doing everything they could to transform and hawk these characters. It was like the opposite of nostalgia. It was this desperate attempt to be relevant, making Autobots who looked like energy drinks and turning Flint and Baroness into ninjas. I don't think anyone would LET YOU do that now.

So with General Prime being about as "far out" as Optimus Prime can get, I'm absolutely on board for an homage.

Mon May 04, 2015 9:41 pm

I know I'm late to the party, but I'm pretty jazzed about this set.

Mon May 04, 2015 11:54 pm

RodimusRex wrote:Sorry. I meant Power Master (also called Powered Master)

Yes to "Power Master", but not quite to "Powered Master". The "Powered Masters" were the three big Japanese-only Autobot toys from the Transformers: Zone toyline and series. Dai Atlas, Sonic Bomber, and Roadfire.

It can get confusing sometimes with there being three very similar terms used for three different things:

"Powermaster" = 1988 successor of Headmasters and Targetmasters with little engine figures that unlock the robot modes of the larger figures.

"Powered Master" = three 1990 Japanese TF: Zone toys that transform into vehicles, robots, bases, and combine in vehicle and base modes; Dai Atlas is motorized while Sonic Bomber and Roadfire have springloaded transformations.

"Power Master" = four 1995 Europe/AU/NZ G2 toys with a pull-back motor gimmick

Tue May 05, 2015 8:03 am

RodimusRex, as you can tell some of us can get pretty... exact with spelling and accompanying definitions. :oops:

Especially for the purposes of TFWiki, our encyclopedia for anything from the mundane to the crazily obscure (and influencing toy bios and character personalities from time to time :lol:

)

G2 is a true treasure trove of unreleased figures and concepts, and some are just so crazy they need to see release in some shape or form. I especially want to see this:

G2 "Gator" Mirage concept

Tue May 05, 2015 9:33 am

Krok-Out... is that you?? :-?

But seriously, I'd love a classics Mirage in these wild colors... though I was never stoked about the weird deco. Just his numbers and original deco would kinda be nice.

On that note, I'd love a G2 blue FOC Grimlock, since that's certainly the better version of him.

And Hauler. Did I mention Hauler?

But yeah, I'm loving the redux unreleased figures. Great idea to throw those in. Really throws a bone to the serious fans. Props to the club.

Tue May 05, 2015 11:44 am

With Axiom Nexus being the setting for this year's story (meaning almost anything is allowed), and with Packrat being in the set, I keep hoping for the Club to finally give us this:

Tue May 05, 2015 1:08 pm

Sabrblade wrote:With Axiom Nexus being the setting for this year's story (meaning almost anything is allowed), and with Packrat being in the set, I keep hoping for the Club to finally give us this:

Too bad AOE molds are off the table. They cold've used Generations Strafe for that.

Tue May 05, 2015 1:11 pm

RiddlerJ wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:With Axiom Nexus being the setting for this year's story (meaning almost anything is allowed), and with Packrat being in the set, I keep hoping for the Club to finally give us this:

Too bad AOE molds are off the table. They cold've used Generations Strafe for that.

Accept no substitutes. It's TM Terrorsaur's mold or nothing! [-(

Tue May 05, 2015 1:14 pm

So are they done with the reveals, or will they show the rest of the figures we can get outside of the convention set?
I'm curious if we actually get Fractyl to go with Packrat, as well as that Rodimus mentioned in Megatron's bio.

Tue May 05, 2015 1:27 pm

Rodimus Prime wrote:So are they done with the reveals, or will they show the rest of the figures we can get outside of the convention set?
I'm curious if we actually get Fractyl to go with Packrat, as well as that Rodimus mentioned in Megatron's bio.

Typically, the next thing to come is the registration, with the at-show figures trying to be kept a secret until the con itself, but there are the occasional leaks from stolen items, like the rumored General Optimus Prime we've seen as a redeco of Roadbuster.

Tue May 05, 2015 1:30 pm

Rodimus Prime wrote:So are they done with the reveals, or will they show the rest of the figures we can get outside of the convention set?
I'm curious if we actually get Fractyl to go with Packrat, as well as that Rodimus mentioned in Megatron's bio.

Those were all the Official Reveals, as the Club only shows off the box set beforehand. The Attendee Exclusive, Souvenir Sets and Customizing Class figures will be revealed at the Con itself (if they haven't been leaked beforehand).

Tue May 05, 2015 1:33 pm

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
Rodimus Prime wrote:So are they done with the reveals, or will they show the rest of the figures we can get outside of the convention set?
I'm curious if we actually get Fractyl to go with Packrat, as well as that Rodimus mentioned in Megatron's bio.

Those were all the Official Reveals, as the Club only shows off the box set beforehand. The Attendee Exclusive, Souvenir Sets and Customizing Class figures will be reveal at the Con itself (if they haven't been leaked beforehand).

But wouldn't it make more sense to reveal at least the Souvenir Sets, to further entice those on the fence about going?

Tue May 05, 2015 1:36 pm

Rodimus Prime wrote:
JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
Rodimus Prime wrote:So are they done with the reveals, or will they show the rest of the figures we can get outside of the convention set?
I'm curious if we actually get Fractyl to go with Packrat, as well as that Rodimus mentioned in Megatron's bio.

Those were all the Official Reveals, as the Club only shows off the box set beforehand. The Attendee Exclusive, Souvenir Sets and Customizing Class figures will be reveal at the Con itself (if they haven't been leaked beforehand).
But wouldn't it make more sense to reveal at least the Souvenir Sets, to further entice those on the fence about going?

This is Fun Pub/the Club. These guys think people like secrets/surprises. Like how they always wish people to keep secret which Subscription Service figures arrive in which order, and how they never tell us what the 7th "mystery" figure is.

Tue May 05, 2015 1:46 pm

Rodimus Prime wrote:
JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
Rodimus Prime wrote:So are they done with the reveals, or will they show the rest of the figures we can get outside of the convention set?
I'm curious if we actually get Fractyl to go with Packrat, as well as that Rodimus mentioned in Megatron's bio.

Those were all the Official Reveals, as the Club only shows off the box set beforehand. The Attendee Exclusive, Souvenir Sets and Customizing Class figures will be reveal at the Con itself (if they haven't been leaked beforehand).
But wouldn't it make more sense to reveal at least the Souvenir Sets, to further entice those on the fence about going?

That's never been done, and I don't think they'll be starting now. However in 2008 they did reveal the Attendee Exclusive SG Ricochet after the sets sold out.

Tue May 05, 2015 2:06 pm

Yeah, I think it's a good balance now. In the olden days, you had no idea what ANY of the exclusives were. There was a huge crowd on their toes trying to see what the exclusive(s) were.

Wed May 06, 2015 2:31 pm

delete

Thu May 07, 2015 6:57 am

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
Rodimus Prime wrote:
JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
Rodimus Prime wrote:So are they done with the reveals, or will they show the rest of the figures we can get outside of the convention set?
I'm curious if we actually get Fractyl to go with Packrat, as well as that Rodimus mentioned in Megatron's bio.

Those were all the Official Reveals, as the Club only shows off the box set beforehand. The Attendee Exclusive, Souvenir Sets and Customizing Class figures will be reveal at the Con itself (if they haven't been leaked beforehand).
But wouldn't it make more sense to reveal at least the Souvenir Sets, to further entice those on the fence about going?

That's never been done, and I don't think they'll be starting now.

Doesn't mean it's not a good idea.

Thu May 07, 2015 10:00 am

I think FunPub knows a little surprise is a good thing... like Christmas morning. Surprise toys makes us all feel like kids again. You don't want to take that away from a few thousand people do you!? ;-)

Fri May 08, 2015 2:31 pm

BotCon 2015 box art... Packrat is the only one I think looks good

Fri May 08, 2015 2:40 pm

MartianSpyGirl1996 wrote:

BotCon 2015 box art... Packrat is the only one I think looks good

So the official, trademarked names are:

Maximal Packrat
Battletrap
Autobot Stepper
Megatron
Oilmaster

Only two need prefixes it looks like. Box looks really good, better than last year's.

Fri May 08, 2015 2:42 pm

Sabrblade wrote:With Axiom Nexus being the setting for this year's story (meaning almost anything is allowed), and with Packrat being in the set, I keep hoping for the Club to finally give us this:

I would scream with joy... so if this is one of the add-ons and you hear a sudden, bloodcurdling scream, then that's me! :oops:

Fri May 08, 2015 2:47 pm

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
MartianSpyGirl1996 wrote:

BotCon 2015 box art... Packrat is the only one I think looks good

So the official, trademarked names are:

Maximal Packrat
Battletrap
Autobot Stepper
Megatron
Oilmaster

Only two need prefixes it looks like. Box looks really good, better than last year's.

Not sure how I feel about the art...

Fri May 08, 2015 3:28 pm

At least it has a theme and matches. I think my biggest frown so far was the one year they put toy photos on the cover of the comic. We've all come to expect some awesome group drawing... and by preference, a poster in quasi-G1-back-panel of some space battle with the characters in it. Those can certainly show up on the cover of the box.

Looking back, I loved the Stunticon box set. For the ones with "battle scene" style, G2Redux jumps out as a favorite. Last year was great with Scorponok... same for Shattered Glass and Invasion... Very nice.

Really, mixing it up every couple of years is okay in my book (like this year, Machine Wars, etc.) They've kept the same box size and tech spec style, Those are pretty critical to me.

Fri May 08, 2015 3:29 pm

Thanks to The Transformers Collectors' Club's twitter we get the reveal of the Box Art for the BotCon 2015 Cybertron's Most Wanted convention exclusive set! This set includes Maximal Packrat, Battletrap, Autobot Stepper, Megatron and Oilmaster! Check out the reveal we've mirrored below, and remember keep your optics tuned to Seibertron.com for the latest in news and updates!