The Energon Pub

[Autobot032]

Before anyone squawks, I did use the search feature and found nothing that encompasses the entire line, just random hauls and random figures.

Let's stsrt with Cyberverse first.

Legion Class figures:

Some of these are rather impressive. Paint decos on such a small figure really stand out. Yet, for me, none of them really grab my attention and call out to me. Ratchet and Crowbar have been the only exceptions so far.

I'm sure there must be more impressive molds I've yet to give a chance, so my assessment is admittedly biased.

Commander Class figures:

Now, these do impress me. Enough that I've bought several. I bought Optimus from the preview pack (paint apps) and then his trailer/base set just to get the trailer. A pretty impressive set. The robot has quite a range of posability for such a small size. The trailer's gimmicks are really neat, plus the ability to connect to other sets just gives it open ended possibilities for kids.

I bought Sentinel so I could use him in the Ark, once I got my hands on it. (Which I did. More on that in a moment.)

Not quite what I was expecting. Not nearly as impressive as Optimus. Flimsy feeling too.

Two of the Commanders did impress me though... Powerglide and Hatchet. I'm not sure which one is more impressive, but I'm leaning towards Hatchet. He's possibly the largest of the Cyberverse figures, in both vehicle and robot mode. (I'd say he's a small Basic/Scout Class figure when you compare him to past lines.)

Powerglide's a conundrum. When I opened him and transformed him for the first time, I was impressed. He felt like a real Scout Class figure, just a bit smaller. The build quality was strong and firm and he felt solid in both forms. So, imagine my surprise when both Optimus and Sentinel felt like a Kabaya Candy Toy, to me. I'm not saying they're bad figures, but Powerglide definitely had some work put into him. They feel like something you've put together as a party favor, Powergilde feels like an actual figure. I can't be the only one to notice this.

Anywho, onto the bases...

The Ark is a lot of fun. Fully customizable. It can hold C-clamp weapons, it can hold both full sized Deluxe/Voyager/Leader and Commander sized weapons by plugging them into the holes it's covered in. The same thing on the inside too. The Automorph (not officially labeled as such) transformation really does look neat when transforming it. The smaller bases can connect to it as well (think Scramble City, but on a much grander scale) so you have plenty of options, and kids with their imaginations have almost limitless options and ideas.

Still, I'm not entirely sold on Cyberverse as a whole.

So, now here's your chance to list your favorites, your recommendations, your reasons why you aren't interested.

Scout Deluxe and Voyager size changes...

This has been a problem for many. On the plus side, the Scouts have become the Human Alliance basics, and include a human driver and sometimes a companion bot as well. All for $10.00! You can't beat that! Not to mention, they're triple changers!

On the flip side, however, Deluxes and Voyagers have suffered for it. Barricade for instance, might be quite possibly the smallest Deluxe this line has to offer. He's not much bigger than the HA Basics in both vehicle and robot mode. Yet he's the most screen accurate Deluxe in face, chest and arms. So it's a real toss up with that guy. The other Deluxes, such as Bumblebee and Sideswipe, not nearly as downsized as one might initially believe. Some, but nothing drastic. Still quite a bit of bang for your buck.

Ironhide is the Voyager that has suffered the most. He's barely taller than HFTD Battle Blade Bumblebee, yet he's one of the more CGI accurate designs to come along. (I bought him and recommend him, btw.)

I realize they had to make compromises somewhere along the line to make room for the new weapon system, and keep prices low. I'm just not sure downsizing the figures was the best option. I mean, paint apps are minimal anyway, why not cut more of those and keep the figures a tad bigger?

What are your thoughts on the size changes? For? Against? Let it all out.

Leader Class:

Now, this is a mixed bag. You have Sentinel, Bumblebee and Ironhide. Sentinel is an exceptional figure once you figure out his transformation. (No thanks to his ridiculous instructions. More on those in a minute.) I know he's a tremendous cheat, but a well designed and visually impressive cheat. To the unsuspecting, you'd never imagine that a pointy and rounded figure would change into a boxy firetruck. Yet he does, and he looks fantastic in both modes.

Bumblebee, this was just a cash in that failed. There's no need for a Leader Class Bumblebee when we've had figures roughly the same size that did more and looked better. Currently the worst shelf former of the line.

Ironhide. In hot demand, full of neat gimmicks, but has his own problems. An out of scale robot mode. A terrible amount of backpack kibble that looks awful. Weapons that flop around in robot mode. Blue Jean legs. Simplistic transformation. Yet his vehicle mode is really nice. Well, except for the glaringly obvious robot hanging down from underneath. At least Sentinel does a pretty good job of hiding it. It's not immediately obvious to most. Bumblebee, I can't speak for, I've not really paid attention much to his vehicle mode, or the figure itself, for that matter.

Rumor is we're getting three new Leaders for 2012 (three a year and we've hit our max for this year), and that they'll be Megatron, Shockwave, and one left unnamed as of yet. If this is true, which I hope it is, I'm hoping Megatron and Shockwave have the complexity and impressive design of Sentinel, and not as weak as Ironhide's.

Ironhide's selling out because, well, it's Ironhide. With what happened in the movie, and this being the first time he's just massive, he's a hot seller, but I do think that'll cool down after a while. Sentinel seems to be the only Leader Class that tends to sell out and stay sold out. I haven't seen him at retail except a random K-Mart or TRU since he's been available. My Wal-Mart sold out of him and hasn't been able to restock him since. I want the next Leaders to be that hot, that desirable.

What are your expectations?

Onto the paintapps...

These are without a doubt, some of the WORST I have ever seen. For the most part, they're applied right without much overspray and they're centered right, which is just shocking. However, the paint chips, scratches and even rubs off if handled incorrectly, problem is...general handling will damage the paint. It's ridiculous. I'm already going to have to touch up several figures, one of the worst culprits is Roadbuster. Geez...the Amp logo just wants to come off that plastic like it's a life mission.

Anyway, I've rambled long enough and got the spark going. Post away and let's get this campfire going.

Feel free to post your opinions, your ideas, your complaints, etc.

[RhA]

Sentinel is just a great toy. Initially I didn't feel the design, but now I own the toy and I mus say that it's one of my favorites in all three movies. What helped is his portayal in the movie, it added 'pow' to the figure. Somthing that doesn't happen to me that often. Last example I can remember is GodGinrai, which was years ago.

I recently bought voyager Prime, that guy is pure win. I can totally get behind his offbeat design. We've already seen near perfct Primes in ROTF, the DOTM voyager Prime is a good sidestep.

[Dean ML]

Autobot032, I agree 100% with everything you said, except that I don't care about the Cyberverse or HA at all. I think paint apps and scale are the only drawbacks to this line for me.

Leader Ironhide was also a total missed opportunity. He makes me nervous about how the future leader class figures will turn out. On the other hand, Sentinel is right up there with leader Starscream and Prime.

[Autobot032]

Autobot032, I agree 100% with everything you said, except that I don't care about the Cyberverse or HA at all. I think paint apps and scale are the only drawbacks to this line for me.

Leader Ironhide was also a total missed opportunity. He makes me nervous about how the future leader class figures will turn out. On the other hand, Sentinel is right up there with leader Starscream and Prime.

I'm not interested in the HA figures all that much myself, especially the larger ones. However, I might be swayed on the basics due to the ones that turn into Mechtech weapons. There's one from the second wave, a motorcycle (I can't think of his name), he comes with a companion robot and a human driver. Something like that for $10.00 most certainly catches my eye.

If we received more value for our dollar such as this, I'd be willing to buy more and take more risks on figures and designs that don't win me over at first.

For me, the movieverse Leaders breakdown like this:

ROTF Optimus
DOTM Sentinel
HFTD Starscream
ROTF Jetfire (still undervalued, if you ignore the combined mode, he's pretty impressive.)
TF07 Brawl
TF07 Megatron

We need a lot more of the top 3, some of the bottom 3, and not too many Ironhides.

Sentinel is just a great toy. Initially I didn't feel the design, but now I own the toy and I mus say that it's one of my favorites in all three movies. What helped is his portayal in the movie, it added 'pow' to the figure. Somthing that doesn't happen to me that often. Last example I can remember is GodGinrai, which was years ago.

I recently bought voyager Prime, that guy is pure win. I can totally get behind his offbeat design. We've already seen near perfct Primes in ROTF, the DOTM voyager Prime is a good sidestep.

I tried to like Voyager Prime. I even thought the Japanese version with the Mechtech trailer looked really nice. Something's just off about it for me though. I do love the weapon, however. That gun is terrific.

[amtm]

I agree with a lot of what you said, Autobot032. Here's my more detailed take.

1. Color schemes of much of the line are god awful. See HA Bumblebee and Skids as well as most Deluxes for examples.

2. Size reduction really bugs me. I'm guessing it's all about cost-cutting, but it creates a problem when everything suddenly isn't in the same scale as the previous two movies.

3. The mech tech concept of interchangeable "transforming" weapons is fine, but the execution is horrible. The weapons are almost larger than the bots! And they for the most part don't resemble any kind of weapon enough to be instantly recognizable, meaning they come off as shapeless hunks of plastic your dog threw up. They should have skipped it and left the toy size alone.

4. New molds for familiar characters in the Voyager and Deluxe size are also unwelcome. The old ones looked a lot better, in my opinion. See Ironhide, Optimus, Skids, etc. Also, I don't see the need for a lot of them when there were superior molds such as Battle Blades Prime available already. Seems like a lot of wasted energy reinventing the wheel (or should I say reinventing Jetfire's grandfather?). I'd much rather have completely new characters.

6. All of that said, Human Alliance is my favorite thing that came out of the movie lines. I find the Basics a tad small and lacking in some of the niceties of the larger Human Alliance toys, but I'm still glad to have lots of them, as it makes the "robots in diguise" thing more meaningful and is part of what I always wanted Transformers to be able to do as a kid. I'm not a huge fan of the weapon modes for most, except Thunderhead where the mech suit is the main attraction, but it's nice to know they have one if I want to use it.

7. Hatchet and Powerglide are awesome, except that Powerglide's a little tail-heavy in airplane mode. I'm not interested in the other Commanders for the most part, as they are just rehashes of characters with better, larger toys.

8. The Ark is pretty cool. The autotransformer stuff works very smoothly for the most part, and I like how everything folds up and tucks away. The ominous hum sound effect after closing it is really cool, too, though I'm not a huge fan of electronic gimmicks as I feel they just get in the way. It also looks like it could be painted in a lot of interesting ways if you're patient enough.

9. As far as the Voyagers go, I do really like Skyhammer. He's got an awesome look in both modes as well as a cool transformation, and fits nicely in helicopter mode on top of Leader Sentinel Prime's firetruck mode.

10. Sentinel is a great new Leader, but I don't like his face (as with most of the movie bots) and I wish the red plastic were darker. Ironhide looks ok but the massive underkibble and window kibble in truck mode really bug me. I am waiting eagerly for Megatron and Shockwave, as I hated the previous movie Leader Megatron designs, and this is our only shot at Shockwave for the movies (for now). But Bumblebee was a total waste of time and money. He's crowding all the shelves where Sentinels and Ironhides and so on should be.

11. I like the fact that we have a movie Laserbeak. I hate his head and alt mode. So far the movies have failed to deliver beast bots with decent alt modes--EXCEPT with Hatchet. They need to take a page out of the book of whoever designed Hatchet and use that as the bible for all future movie beast bots. Anyway, I really do hope we get that remold with a new head shown in some pics.

So from this line I'm interested pretty much only in new characters or new molds that I feel are an improvement over what was available in the previous movie lines.

[SKYWARPED_128]

I agree with just about everything you said, Autobot032.

While a nice gimmick to have, the Mechtech weapons just don't justify the down-scaling of the main figure. Besides, depending on the placement of the pegs, some of the bots look ridiculous with such oversized, unwieldy weapons on their wrists. Could stand the way the canon on deluxe DOTM BB looks mounted on his arm, and it looks out of place with him holding it. Ended up giving the canon to Classics Cliffjumper.

As for paint jobs, the detailing and finish on my deluxe Roadbuster is atrocious.

That said, I do love LC Sentinel as well as the upcoming HA Soundwave. Sentinel might be back-heavy, but he cuts a majestic yet menacing figure on my display shelf with his double-blades and shield.

HA Soundwave looks good from the pics, but I do hope he get a nice silver paint job like HA Jazz. The pale gray plastic just don't cut it.

I've suddenly fallen head over heels for DOTM Skyhammer, and it's thanks to that custom repaint I saw. With the head repainted in appropriate colors, the whole fig was brought to life. The awesome bot mode and helicopter mode just intrigues me, all of a sudden. Strangely, I didn't care much for him when I initially saw the promo pics.

[Mykltron]

Bumblebee ... Currently the worst shelf former of the line.

He transforms into a shelf? That's a new direction for TFs!

[Genocide G2.0]

First thing off the top of my head as it was the last thing bought Ultimate Optimus Prime my god how small is his head he has giant hands and feet why!!the hell did they not make a giant helmet.

The other thing with him is the sound affects from his gun it say his name like he's started around of Mortal Kombat wtf.

[Dean ML]

I love DotM voyager Ironhide but I want more figures that are appropriate for the voyager class. Namely a new Ratchet mold and some Dreds.

[Autobot032]

Bumblebee ... Currently the worst shelf former of the line.

He transforms into a shelf? That's a new direction for TFs!

>_<

[Optimus1138]

I wish that they hadn't downsized the figures, but, believe it or not, as obsessed as I am with scale, I'm glad they did it rather than cut even more paint apps. The paint apps are already quite poor and minimal on some figures. I really hope we get Reprolabels sets for some of them, especially the remaining Wreckers.

For each size class, here are my ideas for new figures in the DOTM/Movie line, including repaints:

Deluxe:
-Mirage
-Crowbar (with a police car vehicle mode)
-Hatchet (with an SUV vehicle mode)
-Weaponized Roadbuster (with more paint apps in robot mode!)
-Vortex (remold of Tomahawk, like the Takara version)
-Breakdown (remold of Mirage with a new head, new weapons, and a G1 Breakdown-like color scheme)
-Drift (red, black, and white repaint of DOTM Sideswipe)
-I don't know what he'd be called, but a black repaint of HFTD Sidearm Sideswipe
-A remold of Evac (the figure we're supposed to get based on the ride) in G1 Roadbuster colors with new weapons and a new head
-A G1 colored repaint of Soundwave (mainly blue in vehicle mode, maybe with red/silver/gold accents, and mainly blue and silver in robot mode, with gold and red accents)

Voyager:
-Decepticon Protoform (would turn into one of the fighters the Decepticons used in the Chicago attack)
-Ratchet (new mold)
-A movie-accurate (or Galvatron-colored, which would look pretty cool) repaint of ROTF Voyager Megatron

HA:
-'74 Camaro Bumblebee

Leader:
-Megatron (with shotgun and cloth cape)
-Shockwave (with removable Driller-like tentacles that can be attached to his back, like Doctor Octopus; this is an idea I got from someone either on this board or on TFW2005)

I would also like weapon packs. They should be about $7-$10 each, and should include both normal (non-transforming, non-MechTech) weapons like guns and swords and MechTech weapons, all in neutral colors like black and grey.