The Energon Pub

Interest's gone in this one. The only thing cool and effort put into this crossover figure is the packaging. As I'm not a box collector, easy pass just like all TF crossovers after Gigawatt.

I have a spare TFP Vechicon (the one that turns into a plane) that I can turn into my own Draculus/Batmanus just by adding bat ears and some minor paint job. Besides, mold-wise, I think that either of the 2 Vechicon molds (the normal TFP & First Edition TFP) fits into the Dracula character better. They can pull off Dracula poses much better and look more slender. But they do not turn into a bat in alt-mode, so I understand why they chose the too-obvious Mindwipe instead.

cloudballoon wrote:Interest's gone in this one. The only thing cool and effort put into this crossover figure is the packaging. As I'm not a box collector, easy pass just like all TF crossovers after Gigawatt.

I have a spare TFP Vechicon (the one that turns into a plane) that I can turn into my own Draculus/Batmanus just by adding bat ears and some minor paint job. Besides, mold-wise, I think that either of the 2 Vechicon molds (the normal TFP & First Edition TFP) fits into the Dracula character better. They can pull off Dracula poses much better and look more slender. But they do not turn into a bat in alt-mode, so I understand why they chose the too-obvious Mindwipe instead.

TF Prime Soundwave seems the more obvious choice to me. Just add a face. You can even make Laserbeak into a bat-like familiar.

Looks pretty cool, and I wouldn’t mind having one, but I think I’ll just wing it instead of preordering from Target. Them futzing with my preorder for Breaker kinda ruined preordering from them in the future for me, I hate their preorder system

Rodimus Prime wrote:

primalxconvoy wrote:

NOBODY LOVES WHEELIE wrote:Makes me think could Weirdwolf / Wolfman be next?

I was thinking the same thing.

What if they used Fangry instead? The wolf head at least looks better.

Agreed. Vampires turn into bats, but werewolves don't turn into wolves (usually) they turn into humans. Rework the legs so he doesn't have a tail, lose the wings and we'd have something cool. Of course with the current trend the Wolfman would be the original version which isn't as toyetic.

Emerje

More images of Draculus on blastatime's instagram account

Why are other countries getting figures that are US exclusives first? I remember a few years ago reading that Hasbro felt the Asian market was stronger and frankly bought Transformers more but is that still a thing? If Draculus is ready to go I really hope the ship date gets pushed up so some of us have it in hand by Halloween.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Why are other countries getting figures that are US exclusives first? I remember a few years ago reading that Hasbro felt the Asian market was stronger and frankly bought Transformers more but is that still a thing? If Draculus is ready to go I really hope the ship date gets pushed up so some of us have it in hand by Halloween.

Where it is stated that there's any figures made to be specifically "US" exclusive? I don't think that was ever a thing.

Having been ill for a bit, I missed out on seeing this sooner. As someone who loves the Universal Monsters, this might be the worst crossover figure for me so far. A minimal Mindwipe retool with an extremely cheap looking little bit of cloth.

The Mindwipe retool, I recall people guessed a while back. But the lack of effort is extremely disappointing. When the nicest thing most people comment on is the boxart, it speaks volumes.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Having been ill for a bit, I missed out on seeing this sooner. As someone who loves the Universal Monsters, this might be the worst crossover figure for me so far. A minimal Mindwipe retool with an extremely cheap looking little bit of cloth.

The Mindwipe retool, I recall people guessed a while back. But the lack of effort is extremely disappointing. When the nicest thing most people comment on is the boxart, it speaks volumes.

It's not really minimal. They redid the entire chest. Compared to Tyranocoon which just got a new head.

I agree on the loth cape - IMO TFs should just never have one, but it's easy to leave out. What else would you change about the figure to make it better?

They also gave the figure SS86 Scourge's hands so there's that
Both open hands

Gauntlet101010 wrote:It's not really minimal. They redid the entire chest. Compared to Tyranocoon which just got a new head.

I agree on the cloth cape - IMO TFs should just never have one, but it's easy to leave out. What else would you change about the figure to make it better?

Wings fold down into capes. It is a simple design idea that has been done with everything from Batman to Transformers EG Beast Machines Megatron

The issue is that they didn't want to give The Count an all new mold. Which would have greatly aided the figure. Dracula is supposed to look intimidating. The bat thing, is an aside to most fiction.



The hands were a nice addition. But, they should have stripped away more of Mindwipe than just his chest and head. More customisation, to make him look the part.

They make an all new mold for Maverick. A one off Top Gun character, with no extended media. Something considered hideous by many critics, I've seen and read. But a character more iconic than the Transformers themselves, they don't bother to go all out?

I hope someone makes an OSKO of this at some point. The mindwipe mold (in bot mode, at least) isn't going to be very intimidating next to, say, a Seeker.

I do wonder at what went into the decisions behind some of these figures design-wise.

I can't even begin to speculate why Maverick was an all-new mold as opposed to Draculus. Maybe it's because Dracula doesn't have a new movie coming out? Maybe they don't believe 100& in the concept, so they went for a retool than an all new mold?

A retool of SS86 Scourge turning into a coffin instead of a space-boat would have been a much better idea and design than this.

-Kanrabat- wrote:A retool of SS86 Scourge turning into a coffin instead of a space-boat would have been a much better idea and design than this.

Why would he turn into a coffin when Dracula, and many other vampires from mythology, have always turned into bats?

Burn wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:A retool of SS86 Scourge turning into a coffin instead of a space-boat would have been a much better idea and design than this.

Why would he turn into a coffin when Dracula, and many other vampires from mythology, have always turned into bats?

There's a joke involving Robot Chicken there...

Burn wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:A retool of SS86 Scourge turning into a coffin instead of a space-boat would have been a much better idea and design than this.

Why would he turn into a coffin when Dracula, and many other vampires from mythology, have always turned into bats?

Dunno about the Robo Chicken thing, but the coffin is pretty iconic and would be much easier to do as a concept. Not all vampires turn into a bat and Dracula could do much more.

To be true to the Dracula mythos, the Dracula Transformers should have been a TRIPLE-CHANGER: Drac, Bat, Wolf.

-Kanrabat- wrote:Not all vampires turn into a bat

Not all vampires sleep in coffins either.

Burn wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:Not all vampires turn into a bat

Not all vampires sleep in coffins either.

NO vampires turn into coffins.
But a Dracformers could.

I think the figure is fine for what it is. If it was an all-new mold it would be better, but that's true of just about all of these guys.

Transforming into anything but a bat seems counterintuitive. Sure a coffin would also make sense, but it's kind of boring.

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Burn wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:Not all vampires turn into a bat

Not all vampires sleep in coffins either.

NO vampires turn into coffins.
But a Dracformers could.

So you've basically just defeated your own point you were trying to make and reinforced mine.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:They make an all new mold for Maverick. A one off Top Gun character, with no extended media. Something considered hideous by many critics, I've seen and read. But a character more iconic than the Transformers themselves, they don't bother to go all out?

I think they were banking on the movie being out at the same time as the toy and helping drive interest before covid threw the whole movie release schedule into chaos. Maverick would have been much more relevant to current media if things didn't go haywire. It actually wouldn't surprise me to have a second run of Maverick show up if/when the movie ever comes out.

Weird there wasn't even a tie-in comic for Maverick, in the meantime.

RE: Dracula

The Scourge Mold might have made more sense in terms of a cape too. Also ala Bram Stoker's original novel, Dracula travels via sleeping in large caskets. Filled with his native soil. He only really transforms into wolf throughout the story. So the coffin altmode would make sense for him.

Meanwhile, Universal Dracula started the bat thing. While also turning into a wolf and sleeping in a coffin...

*sigh*

Then Weirdwolf is going to be the Wolfman
&
Skullcruncher as Creature of the Black Lagoon.

So what about Frankenstein?
Hardhead, maybe?

Or let's get really stupid!
Apeface and Snapdragon as
KING KONG & GODZILLA!

I know one of us morons would buy it.

I'd totally buy a Godzilla or, even better, MechaGodzilla. Preferably from Studio Grimlock.

King Kong is more preferably made from Optimus Primal.