The Energon Pub

Speaking of ditching some ding dongs, I need to bail. Opening a store in the am

You got fun stuff on your shelves Cobotron, and I wanted to intriduce you to somethig else that might fit right in if ever you come across it online. You know that takara go shark?



Well I think this is homaging an older takara toy from the brave series: Captain Shark!



But the best part is his robot mode, check this out:



Look at the hands!

And look at the face:





There is apparently a sonokong release but it isnt easy to track down.

Here is a review for anyone curious : http://www.collectiondx.com/toy_review/ ... n_shark_dx

Will you missed the most important feature : dat hat!

Oooohhh! Well hi there sthailor. I like your hat and your nasthty hook!

That guy is awesome. He reminds me that I need to show you guys Galleon from Diagunder(sorry) Webdiver. He is a dragon pirate who transforms into a pirate ship. RRRrrrrr?

C and P-ed from the Toy Haul Thread

Oldbotron wrote:With this haul my birthday is officially over, but the party is just starting!
Let the Middle Age begin!



Three of these Microman figures complete lines I started collecting 14 and 16 years ago.

And since I am one, I got some oldies, but goodies.

But you boys already saw that.
I went down to the dungeon and grabbed some bits I need for the Microman Biomachine, gimme a minute and I'll put him together.

I couldnt take it and bought my last remaining Biomachine to complete the mecha. At least I saved money on the others

WILLY!
cool though. From the bay?

I just spent 45 minutes digging for instructions.
I'll try to get some pics up before bed time.

Cobotron wrote::shock: WILLY!
cool though. From the bay?

I just spent 45 minutes digging for instructions.
I'll try to get some pics up before bed time.

Wait you cant just use the ones that came with Kong and look at the pics for the rest?

And no, not from the bay, from amazon. 21$ US + free shipping. Not terrible compared to the other prices I have seen for it. 11$ US more than I paid for the others after shipping, I can live with that. Of course, that meant I would be getting this instead of other things I was thinking of getting at the moment, but I feel it was the best option. At least I have a complete set of something and a nice big exo suit. Looking forward to seeing yours!

There are a few things I would love to see if and when you have time:

The combined form of the Microman Kit Machines

How micromen can interact with the seperate peices of Endeavor

There are no images of this online.

Alright. Well that took more than a minute.

Here they are,Takara's Microman Machine Force.
This four man team came out back in 2004. Back then I had acquired 3 of the four members, and 11 years later I have finally completed the squad.
Machine Force are one of several iterations of this modern group of Microman toys which are commonly referred to by the blanket titles, Micro Force or Master Force, and are the most recent reboot of Microman. Micro Force being the first iteration to use this super articulated action figure body frame.
The figures in Machine Force have always been my favorite because, design wise they pull from the aesthetics of the original 70's and 80's toys. Their sculpt homages the old toys in many ways. Most notably the translucent and chromed chest plates. And of course what would Microman be without their signature chromed heads?
Whats interesting about the Biomachines, is they pay homage to so many aspects of the old toy line. Each Biomachine can be piloted by a figure, and has many modular pieces that can be rearranged on the vehicle or even adorned by the pilots as armor and weapons. All very classical Microman concepts.
The vehicles can also be combined to make a giant robot or mech suit called Bio Suit, a la Diaclone Diabattles style, but most importantly paying homage to Robotman, or as he is known in Micronauts, Biotron.

The four characters have an interesting back story which draws from the ancient Chinese mythological stories of the hero, Monkey and his entourage. In Japan known as Tripitaka or Monkey Magic.

In order we have Hack (Pig), Godoh (Fish), Xeku (Monkey), and Trinity (Priest)

Here is the team with their respective Biomachines.

Machine Mirror, Machine Stinger, Machine Kong, and Machine Tiger

The team with the armor and weapons pieces from their Biomachines.


BIOMACHINE, COMBINE!!!


Bio Suit

Oops! I just noticed, in this pic I left the roll cage piece down. Leaving Bio suits nipples exposed!

Bio Suit's super cool shades.



Now look at that head sculpt. It's just oozing with sweet Takara design style.

Close up of Trinity piloting Bio Suit.


I had such a blast after 11 years finally getting to assemble Bio Suit. While the Machine Force figures have been a mainstay on my Microman shelf, the three Biomachines I had sat in storage for all this time. I got one new toy, but it was like I got four new toys that I had never experienced. Although all that chrome is a pain to photograph, he looks out standing in hand. the chrome is bit intimidating as is the durability of all chrome. The toys are a bit fiddly, but an absolute joy to play with in all their Takara goodness.

If you would like to learn more about Microman Machine Force and the entire world of Microman, you can visit my favorite Microman reference at http://www.microforever.com/2004BM01Mirror.htm

Wow, that's a lot of info I had no idea about!! Very cool stuff Cobotron

It looks absolutely gorgeous Cobotron! As far as microman combiners go, would you say this is a good one? Does it take what was learnt fro the previous ones (which I am sure will always be great simply from nostalgia) and ameliorate it?

william-james88 wrote:There are a few things I would love to see if and when you have time:

The combined form of the Microman Kit Machines

How micromen can interact with the seperate peices of Endeavor

There are no images of this online.

Yes Will, I love those ideas. I would really like to catalog all the Microman reboots post 1999. Coming off the heels of Beast Wars and correlating with TF Car Robots/RID, I feel like it was an awesome time period and design era for Takara and for TFs, and Microman.
While digging for the Biomachine instructions I pulled out the Kit Machine instructions too.

Now, should I put off Beast Machines for more Microman?


Cram, I hope you enjoyed learning something new.
How are ya Brother?

All that shiny

That was a fun ride and those pics are great. Makes me want to pick up one microdude just to experience what it's all about. Tanks fer the lesson.

You shall now be known as Chromotron!

william-james88 wrote:It looks absolutely gorgeous Cobotron! As far as microman combiners go, would you say this is a good one? Does it take what was learnt fro the previous ones (which I am sure will always be great simply from nostalgia) and ameliorate it?

Well Einstein, I had to look up ameliorate.

Honestly I prefer the likes of the Robotman combiners from the Magneforce line. As in Dean and Endeavor, because they use at their core a 5mm peg system which makes for endless combination possibilities. They also employ the magnet system which is fun.
Bio Suit uses varying size pegs and ports, which makes him a one trick pony, but I was pleasantly surprised by his stability and articulation. And he is BIG too. An inch(ish) taller than MP-10.

Cary, It would be my honor to guide you on a sampling of Microstuff.

Another quick look at something from that last haul.

The 1970's were a funky time, let me tell you. People wore bell shaped pants. Cars were the size of boats. 3 inch tall superheros from outer space didn't were shoes. I was born.

This is an exclusive reissue set called, 20th Century Exhibition MICROMAN Birth of Acroyer set Reissue. The set includes one Microman figure, and one Acroyear (the bad guys). These are reissues of the very first MM (lovingly referred to by fans as "Barefoot") and the first Acroyear action figure. The figues are great reproductions and come in this garish contempo (circa 2000)green deco.


All the old classic Microman figures came in varying types of "sarcophagi". These particular ones have a belt clip, for play on the go, i.e. the back seat of Dad's 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass.





Micro FIGHT!


These two take me way back to playing with my brother's Micronauts. I nabbed this set because I need more Acroyears on my shelf, and another Barefoot is always welcome.

Cobotron wrote:Cary, It would be my honor to guide you on a sampling of Microstuff.

The honor would be all mine. I'd wanna dip my toes with a everyman microman (is that even the right thing to call them?). Something a little more modern because it have no nostalgia. They do look cool and I like very posable figures. I got into the short lived stikfas for a while and used to clog up my Instagram feed with them. I have a couple, but they've been misplaced in the move. Unfortunately their joints started getting very loose.


Anyway, I'd love your one figure recommendation to wet my microvirgin whistle.

So you like Endeavor better than exosuit, interesting. I like how the exosuit is almost as big as prime, seems like crazy value then. You get a lot of toy with each figure. I am looking into Endeavor now, found some good links online but I have to translate the review. Do you know how many micromen he comes with?

Some fun things I wanted to share. Firstly, have you ever tried the Dean and Endeavor combination?



Also, I stumbled upon a fun microman set: SL Convoy & Kicker





How big is Endeavor, as big as a modern day voyager TF or bigger?

Oh and I was reading reviews on the TFs repurposed as Microman playsets (Action Master Prime and Rocket base) and one of the main things people had a problem with was how those were kinda against the whole Micromen premise. They are 2&1/2 inch tall aliens who try to blend into our world (hence why they use a microscope as a tank, more o that in the Things your TF can do thread). So then why are they driving a truck all of a sudden? Or on a rocket base. Are they actually using the literal ation master prime truck toy as a vehicle for them since he happens to fit their size? In the fiction of micromen, is that rocket base simply the rocket base toy in a kid's room that they are commanding?

I found that super meta.

I'm feeling that guy with the Autobot logo on his chest (Kicker?). His color scheme is nice.

So Will, do I sense the inklings of a top 5 list forming here?

I did know that Kicker was a Microman Will. I kept meaning to tell you that but, then we would get lost on a tangent of new things. The Takara Kicker was a fully functional Microman figure, but the Hasbro version was neutered. His wrists and ankles were fused, and he lost the ball joints in his hips and shoulders. to many small swallowable parts me thinks.

Cary, Kicker would be a cool place to start. He is built on the same body type as the Machine Force figures. the most articulated Microman figures to date. If you liked Stikfas you would like these kind of MMs. Kicker is cool because he is already tied in to TFs. They had a single packed Kicker at our new favorite seller, but he is gone now. I just checked. I was a click away from putting him in my cart with this last haul, but he "kicked" me over budget.

I think the whole Master Force style lines of Microman are great, but for some reason I like the previous lines better. They were less articulated, but the design style was cooler (IMO). Also I just liked the scale better. They had more vehicles and bases and better play value. Heck, they had a Playstation that turned into a space base, and two Gameboys that transformed into robots. If that's not right up your ally, I don't know what is.

Those series were called Magne Force and LED Powers or Laser Microman. I got some LED Powers in this last haul and plan to shoot some pics, so you can hang til I get those up. OR, hit up my Microman shelf and see if you see anything you like. And also, you could click that link I put at the bottom of the Biomachine post to go to the most comprehensive Microman fan site there is.

william-james88 wrote::-? So you like Endeavor better than exosuit, interesting.

I do. Again he is part of the Magne Force line and only scales with that size figure.

Do you know how many micromen he comes with?

None.

Firstly, have you ever tried the Dean and Endeavor combination?

No. Because I only have Endeavor, but GAWD that looks awesome! when I bought him they were going for about $50 each and I was a starving artist then. I chose Endeavor because I love green and orange, and I had a bunch of flying vehicles already and thought it would be cool to have some land based ones.

How big is Endeavor, as big as a modern day voyager TF or bigger?

Big
and sorry, I was wrong. Bio Suit is a little shorter than MP-10.

Oh and I was reading reviews on the TFs repurposed as Microman playsets (Action Master Prime and Rocket base) and one of the main things people had a problem with was how those were kinda against the whole Micromen premise.

Long before Microman had Microchange, they had plenty of Moon bases, battle stations, and vehicles. They brought their tech with them from the Microverse. It wasn't until later that they started hiding their tech in everyday Earth objects like cassette players and hand guns.
The Action Masters truck works for me. They could have built it themselves, but I like your theory better. They retro fitted little Timmy's Tonka truck to be their battle wagon that could hide in plain site as a toy.

Cobotron wrote:Cary, Kicker would be a cool place to start. He is built on the same body type as the Machine Force figures. the most articulated Microman figures to date. If you liked Stikfas you would like these kind of MMs. Kicker is cool because he is already tied in to TFs.

Kicker, yes, I like that. I searched for him and I really like his none chrome version. I'll keep an eye out for one and hit the searches.

Heck, they had a Playstation that turned into a space base, and two Gameboys that transformed into robots. If that's not right up your ally, I don't know what is.

You bastard! I haven't searched for those yet, but once I see them, I will never be able to pry them from my mind. To the google cave!

I hope you guys accept collect calls from the poor house.

carytheone wrote:I'm feeling that guy with the Autobot logo on his chest (Kicker?). His color scheme is nice.

So Will, do I sense the inklings of a top 5 list forming here?

The only list I can think of involving this would be top 5 G1 toys who are better as Mircomachines and Diaclone toys. All I have so far are these 2:

5.
4.
3.
2. Perceptor
1. Ironhide/Ratchet

carytheone wrote: I searched for him and I really like his none chrome version. I'll keep an eye out for one and hit the searches.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I think the non chrome version is the Hasbro. Unless the chromed out one is exclusive to that two pack will posted.

You bastard! I haven't searched for those yet, but once I see them, I will never be able to pry them from my mind. To the google cave!

You don't have to go far. Let me help.


thats Micro Boy Blue Gun in the back. those are the Microman LED Poweres figures.


They are manning the Microstation.

I hope you guys accept collect calls from the poor house.

Nope, but you are welcome to crash here.

william-james88 wrote:The only list I can think of involving this would be top 5 G1 toys who are better as Mircomachines and Diaclone toys. All I have so far are these 2:

5. Blaster
4. Soundwave
3. Megatron
2. Perceptor
1. Ironhide/Ratchet

There. Finished the list. You're welcome!

I hope I dont sound like a greedy a hole but the fact that Endeavor doesnt come with any micromen is a little bit of a deal breaker at the moment. Of what I am getting only Izam would work, right? The 2005 magnet dude is the same size as the Biomachine dudes right? I guess the idea now would be to see how much I like Izam in comparison to the others and see if I want more and then get the robot for them to interact with.

And the reason why Dean is only getting more expensive is because Sonokong did not reissue him, only Endeavor which is quite cheap now all things considered (1/8 the price of MP 10).

I dont know if you know about Sonokong, Carry, but it is collectors' mana from the heavens. Toys that may have commanded crazy prices once end up cheaper simply because Sonokong licensed some takara toys to distribute in Korea (I am guessing South). I was able to get my most wanted Beast Wars TF of all time through them (Big Convoy) as well as a bunch of Beast Wars Neo and a redeco of one of the most expensive Japan exclusive G1 Transformers, Sky Garry for less than 30$. And these all come with way better box art.

Anyways, long story short, the Koreans also rereleased Microman stuff, so things can be aquired for cheaper. I am mentionning them to you because one that may interest you a lot would be LED Powers Trailer:



Does it look familiar? It is the truck that comes with Action Master Prime. And it comes with a Microman, Edison, from the series Cobotron recomends. Here is a review if you are interested: http://that-figures.blogspot.ca/2011/02 ... -with.html

It is also only 35$ which is a lot of toy for that amount (compared to what we get for 50$ these days): http://www.toyarena.com/product_info.ph ... son-p-1435

Cobotron, this listing is cheaper than the other we found. Let ms know how much it costs to ship to your neck of the woods.

Cobotron wrote:

william-james88 wrote:The only list I can think of involving this would be top 5 G1 toys who are better as Mircomachines and Diaclone toys. All I have so far are these 2:

5. Blaster
4. Soundwave
3. Megatron
2. Perceptor
1. Ironhide/Ratchet

There. Finished the list. You're welcome!

Why do those work better as microman toys? I can see how the Megs set can be interacted with but what about the others?

Because they are Microman toys.

**** Will, where is Toy Arena? In the states? If so you just opened a can of MICRO WORMS!!!

Here you go Cary. And the base comes with a Magne Force figure called Magne Conan.
http://www.toyarena.com/product_info.php/microman-playstation-micro-station-p-1430