The Energon Pub

Fri Dec 11, 2009 2:59 pm

I really wanted to like the Superion add-on set. The other bits from them looked great but I didn't really care too much for the all grey look, just too proto-typey. Also my universe superion was very loose. Joints were floppy, individual figures were all over the place, and stuff kept popping off. He is one of the only figures I have ever actually returned to a store. Ruined the whole thing for me. Maybe I got a bad deal, but it ruined my excitement... Plus I want G1 superion, for all his faults I like the G1 gestalts. The lack of 5 seperate molds was also a huge buzzkill for me.

News Credits: 5 · Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:01 pm

Lets get some pre-orders up here people. Defender just filled that little dead spot left after the cancellation of DL Blaster. Hoepfully he is a little bigger than deluxe size, that's the only way to make it worth the scratch.

I might have to pick up that Bruticus Maximus mold depending on how this looks!

News Credits: 1452 · Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:54 pm

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News Credits: 9 · Fri Dec 11, 2009 4:48 pm

Seeing how much happier I was with my Energon Superion after adding the Crossfire 1 kit, getting a similar set for my Universe Bruticus ( I only have Barricade and the chopper twins for the energon one) and my Nexus Whoever is a lock. just get the per-orders links up.

News Credits: 4 · Fri Dec 11, 2009 4:51 pm

Defender looks awesome. I'm gonna have to replace the Botcon Springer currently on my shelf though, but I can't wait! The diecast is a real unexpected (but hopefully not too expensive) surprise.

And the Bruticus Maximus set looks like a whole lot more stuff than the last upgrade. I hope it's still compatible with my Energon figures. Because that's what it's going on.

Come on FansProject, only 1 more Energon combiner set left to upgrade! And let's see some pics of Protecter too!

News Credits: 9 · Fri Dec 11, 2009 5:14 pm

I wonder if for Bruticus if they will need to release two variants for energon and universe, seeing the colors for them varies a lot more that the Superions that just needed different visors for Storm Jet/Silverbolt???

I guess we'll see soon.

Fri Dec 11, 2009 5:49 pm

Springer looks great, even though I won't be able to afford him. I still can't wait to see color pictures of him. I also really, really want to see more of that Bruticus upgrade set; that I probably will get.
:grin:

News Credits: 49 · Fri Dec 11, 2009 6:35 pm

Trikeboy wrote:The Bruticus set is definetly an upgrade set. Look at the following picture:

It looks like the parts of Bruticus upgrade combine into the trailer for the Barricade mold. Also note the 4 blade propeller for Vortex.

Springer, I'm sold but will wait for final colours and price before commiting.

I had done this fan-mode for that mold a while back, and from the outline it looks like they use it for the vehicle mode, with some weapons added on.

Fri Dec 11, 2009 6:45 pm

Its Springer !!! Who gave him the siily name....just say Springer !!!

Fri Dec 11, 2009 6:47 pm

Guys, if an upgrade set is 70-80 bucks, this Springer mold is easily 200+ Flat, sadly...

Fri Dec 11, 2009 6:52 pm

I said in an earlier post i wouldn't be surprised at 150$. If we are talking about plastic, its probably not too much more raw material than the City Commander. But in terms of design, assembly and paint... it will be a good amount going into putting it together and finalization. I am fearful of their price after all that, but I have to appreciate the engineering.

This is a custom figure... the fact that they make more than 1 is just a nice bonus so there is less competition, but you are still paying for a custom figure basically.

News Credits: 402 · Updated Oct 21, 2022

Rated X wrote:Its Springer !!! Who gave him the siily name....just say Springer !!!

Yes it's springer, but it's illegal to sell any product in North America using a name trademarked by another company. Hasbro has Springer trademarked, thus if FP wishes to have any retailer sell it, it must use a different name.

Besides, if you buy him are you really going to call him Defender because that's what the printing on the box says?

News Credits: 335 · Sat Dec 12, 2009 12:43 am

Simply Amazing.

I knew Defender would knock it out of the park. Can't wait to see more, and I'm sure everyone else is chomping at the bit to see it too.

Bruticus I called, and I'm glad I did. I want those two more then anything official at the moment.

Sat Dec 12, 2009 1:51 am

yeah, definately an add-on set for Bruticus, you can tell by his thighs. To bad both of the legs look like the tank mold, but I am super stoked for how much the right arm actually looks like a shuttle.

Definitely getting Springer, and if the Wreck-Gar figure turns out as well then he's on the list to (unless they change their mind)

News Credits: 11 · Sat Dec 12, 2009 2:59 am

Ungie wrote:Guys, if an upgrade set is 70-80 bucks, this Springer mold is easily 200+ Flat, sadly...

IceWilly wrote:I said in an earlier post i wouldn't be surprised at 150$. If we are talking about plastic, its probably not too much more raw material than the City Commander. But in terms of design, assembly and paint... it will be a good amount going into putting it together and finalization. I am fearful of their price after all that, but I have to appreciate the engineering.

This is a custom figure... the fact that they make more than 1 is just a nice bonus so there is less competition, but you are still paying for a custom figure basically.

I disagree. Let's say Defender turns out to be deluxe class. The City Commander upgrade set essentially turns a small voyager toy into an ultra, with a lot of extra left over which forms the BFG. There's easily a lot more plastic there than a deluxe figure, and it's actually got a lot of paint as well. Springer has a pretty basic color scheme, really all they have to do is mold it in grey, green, and black, and paint the yellow and other details. City Commander already has 4 different colors of plastic. Paint is cheap. And I don't know much about the cost of die-cast, be we've had that debate before, and considering the cost of oil these days, it can't be much more than molding a part out of plastic.

There is a high degree of design and engineering, but it's honestly not much more advanced than City Commander, aside from the necessity of articulation. I don't think it would factor in to extra cost at all, because once the prototype is finalized, all they have to do is create the molds and then make as many copies as they need.

Maybe - and maybe being a big one - extra cost would come from the assembly if there are more parts.

And remember, this is Fansproject. They're the most popular of the 3rd party developers, and thus far they've done pretty well in keeping their products relatively affordable. If I recall correctly, they even specified the online retail price for the original City Commander release because they wanted to make sure it was still affordable. There's also the factor of demand. The more units they make, the cheaper it gets per unit.

All things considered, if this turns out being a deluxe or even voyager-sized figure, I can't see it being more expensive than City Commander.

News Credits: 9 · Sat Dec 12, 2009 6:47 am

God damn this looks better than any Hasbro triple changer. Here's hoping and praying for a decent price...
:PRAY:

News Credits: 5 · Sat Dec 12, 2009 12:09 pm

Sold! That looks brilliant, can't wait to get Protector and Defender.

Not sure about the Bruticus upgrade since I don't have the base figures, but interested to see how they turn a helicopter into a space shuttle.