The Energon Pub

I just picked up my first Dark of the Moon figure from my local Wal-Mart. Wow, Leader Class Sentinel Prime is pretty f-ing cool! His dull grey plastic is gonna have to get some coats of metallic, but he looks really cool, in my hands finally. I love how his chest is formed, and the way his wrists are made make for a pretty badass pose. And his fingers are hinged like ROTF Primes looked, but these move. Really lovin the primes. Sentinel being the only DOTM character available at my Wal-Mart, besides leader Bumblebee, and he's not on my list. So, until the Dinobots sit down to watch a good game of Jeopardy, make mine Seibertron!!

gtrslngr1981 wrote:So, until the Dinobots sit down to watch a good game of Jeopardy, make mine Seibertron!!

"Me Grimlock no form answer in form of a question!"

Just got my Sentinel today too. Though he looks cool, I have to say I'm somewhat disappointed in how back-heavy he is. He has a tendency to flop over backwards quite easily, and his ankle joints are a bit flimsy which doesn't help the matter. Also, the left shoulder's clip keeps popping out every time I move the arm.

Was somewhat looking forward to this figure being one of the more solid offerings in the line too.

Cobalt Prime wrote:Just got my Sentinel today too. Though he looks cool, I have to say I'm somewhat disappointed in how back-heavy he is. He has a tendency to flop over backwards quite easily, and his ankle joints are a bit flimsy which doesn't help the matter. Also, the left shoulder's clip keeps popping out every time I move the arm.

Was somewhat looking forward to this figure being one of the more solid offerings in the line too.

Ratchet his knee joints forward one click, ratchet his hips back one click, make sure the boxxy end of his ankles are firmly planted against the bottom of his legs and he should stand quite firm.

From there, pose him as you wish.

My only problem with him is his instructions - the photos are actually LESS clear than the line art of previous lines. Well, that, and the panels just don't like to line up well and take a LOT of fiddling.

Valandar wrote:My only problem with him is his instructions - the photos are actually LESS clear than the line art of previous lines. Well, that, and the panels just don't like to line up well and take a LOT of fiddling.

1.) Form the legs as needed for vehicle mode.

2.) Place the shield on it's storage spot to keep the assembly together.

3.) Make sure the tail light pieces are pushed down and in place. (Pay close attention, you'll see they're meant to sit a certain way.)

4.) After placing the arms inside the legs, make sure the tabs on his forearms are facing outward toward the sides of the vehicle. (Also, make sure the backs of his hands are facing the same direction as the tab.)

5.) Put all panels in their place according to the directions from this point on and he'll transform as intended and lock together firmly.

I've got two complaints:

He's too back-heavy, as mentioned above, making him difficult to pose unless he's leaning forward.

His hand is too weak to grasp his shield firmly, so the shield is only loosely held in his hand.

After viewing all the figures that have come out for DOTM, only Sentinel Prime evokes the same feeling of excitement in me the very first time I returned to Transformers because of TFTM. The size, the transformation process, everything. This is definitely more so for me considering how small the DOTM Voyager figures are. Good because it does save me a bundle of cash this time.

Except for being too back heavy, I have no complaints. The most impressive transformation bits for me are his chest, followed by his legs. I wish there was some way to lighten his back load though. His poseability is nowhere near even the first movie Prime's. I'd like him to do far more than just stand.

Bonecrusher27 wrote:I'd like him to do far more than just stand.

He's really good at the "laying on his back" pose. It's seems to come naturally to him.



I think what bothers me most is that it's such an easy problem to fix. They wouldn't have needed to reconfigure the whole figure; just add a heel to the back of his feet.

I'm sorry, but after looking at the actual toy on the shelf, I must say that it is not good to look at. It's just ugly. No way I'd spend $40 on it. The truck mode actually looks pretty good, but the robot mode is 90% fail. The red is the only thing I didn't find completely repulsive.

Back to your swooning...

Rodimus Prime wrote:I'm sorry, but after looking at the actual toy on the shelf, I must say that it is not good to look at. It's just ugly. No way I'd spend $40 on it. The truck mode actually looks pretty good, but the robot mode is 90% fail. The red is the only thing I didn't find completely repulsive.

Back to your swooning...

We're saying it's pretty good but has a few issues. Are we "Swooning"? No. Are you trolling? Looks like it.

gtrslngr1981 wrote:I just picked up my first Dark of the Moon figure from my local Wal-Mart. Wow, Leader Class Sentinel Prime is pretty f-ing cool! His dull grey plastic is gonna have to get some coats of metallic, but he looks really cool, in my hands finally. I love how his chest is formed, and the way his wrists are made make for a pretty badass pose. And his fingers are hinged like ROTF Primes looked, but these move. Really lovin the primes. Sentinel being the only DOTM character available at my Wal-Mart, besides leader Bumblebee, and he's not on my list. So, until the Dinobots sit down to watch a good game of Jeopardy, make mine Seibertron!!

Aside from DOTM Megs off of eBay, Sentinel Prime was my first Mech Tech figure. He was next to Leader Bumblebee too on May 13th. The entire load came in on May 15th. I dont use Sentinel for my mini battles when im bored but I agree he is an awesome figgie.

Rodimus Prime wrote:The truck mode actually looks pretty good, but the robot mode is 90% fail. The red is the only thing I didn't find completely repulsive.

Back to your swooning...

Actually it's interesting. Besides the back heaviness, the only that disappointed me was the colour of the red. More a purplish hue than fire engine red. But well we can't all have everything can we.

I wonder if removing the batteries would help lessen some of the weight in his back?

I've had the same problem with his left shoulder and the shield holding. Got him to stand quite nicely though, after some fiddling. And his chest is a cool transformation, one reason why I wanted Sentinel. Maybe some mods will need to be done, and like I mention in my post, I really need to add some paint apps to bot, not flesh, the whole character out. I usually modify and paint almost every character I get, I just don't post my pics too much. Hopefully I will get to sometime. I also bought voyager Ironhide and Megatron yesterday. Not to bad, I just hope a leader Megs comes out that's as good as his voyager class.

gtrslngr1981 wrote: I just hope a leader Megs comes out that's as good as his voyager class.

+1

As far as Sentinel Prime, he stands just fine. Just takes a bit of fiddling around to get it right.

Autobot032 wrote:I wonder if removing the batteries would help lessen some of the weight in his back?

I have been wondering that as well.


New question. What are the small ports for on his forearms? Do the smaller classes have smaller mechtech ports? I only have leader SP and voyager IH at the moment.

The ports on the forearms, I have put the shield there as an arm cannon, otherwise I'm not sure. I guess it's up to imagination. And woohoo! I just picked up Barricade!

Fiddle with the knee ratchets and you can stand him up fine. I was totally thinking about taking himback until I clicked em a bit foward and got his shield in just the right place. Now he stands in a epic pose with no assistance at all..I like him so far, Im planning on doing a over haul on his paint scheme or lack there of LOL..

gtrslngr1981 wrote:I just picked up Barricade!

DELUXE Barricade? How the hell did that happen?

Cobalt Prime wrote:Just got my Sentinel today too. Though he looks cool, I have to say I'm somewhat disappointed in how back-heavy he is. He has a tendency to flop over backwards quite easily, and his ankle joints are a bit flimsy which doesn't help the matter. Also, the left shoulder's clip keeps popping out every time I move the arm.

Was somewhat looking forward to this figure being one of the more solid offerings in the line too.

That's just another example of how harmfull embedded electronics is to TF toys: the space necessary for 2 AA batteries prevents the design of having an "optimal transformation". The result is the extra back-pack on some Leader Class figures, like Leader OP and now Leader SP. I understand that the flash lights & sounds make the toy more attractive to kids, but they could have designed it for 2 AAA batteries instead.

Back to Sentinel Prime: Is Takara going to release a MPM edition with better paint-apps and a less dull red color ?
Any clues or rumors ? In another tread I was informed that Takara Leader OP has the same appearance as Hasbro's version.

Mykltron wrote:

gtrslngr1981 wrote:I just picked up Barricade!

DELUXE Barricade? How the hell did that happen?

LoL target has put out alot of wave 2..I already got topspin, skyhammer and barricade..Barricade I'm giving to my nephew, Skyhammer and Topspin are coming home with me....