The Energon Pub

Sabrblade wrote:

Cobotron wrote:Edit: Also, I've been thinking, why couldn't they use this crowd founding to do small stuff? Fans have been pining for 5 mil based accessory packs for years.

I'm not paying 5 million bucks for an accessory pack.

YOU! You know what I mean.

There's some rumblings on line and it's not from this Destitution Class behemoth trouncing around Cybertron's surface. Thanks to fellow Seibertronians D-Maximal Primal and help from Sabrblade we've learned the word is that Transformers (possibly Siege, possibly not despite those blast effect pegs on his big mug) Unicron is going to be available in Japan through the TakaraTomy Mall!

The original post was found at Autobase Aichi on Twitter:


Here's from TakaraTomy directly:

"Wonder Festival 2019 summer Takara Tomy Transformers booth information.
The Wonder Festival 2019 Summer Takara Tomy Transformers Booth, which will be held at Makuhari Messe on Sunday, July 28, 2019, will be full of content!
7/24 (Wed) Blue-ray & DVD will be released from the movie "Bumblebee" corner, The "Masterpiece Rio Convoy", which was announced at the toy show the other day, and became a topic, "Legacy TV-kun," We are planning to exhibit the contents of the group's crowdfunding program!
In addition, we will exhibit Hasbro's global crowdfunding program "HASLAB Uniclon" just announced!
In addition, we will exhibit the latest products of SS, SIEGE and Generation Select."

Global crowd funding you say? This would seem to indicate outside of North America. From further into the announcement which is also the translated text from the image above:

"Hasbro's global crowdfunding plan just announced It will be decided to sell "HASLAB UNICLON" in Japan at Takara Tomy Mall!
We plan to start bookings by the 1st festival day.
On this occasion, it was decided to decorate the prototype at the one-fest venue.
Please check the huge transformers of unmatched size in the past by yourself.
Thank you for your support of crowdfunding!"

And in an update just this morning from Snakasblog:
"7/17 addition : According to the one fess announcement of TAKARATOMY TF official site, there seems to be handling at TAKARATOMY mall in Japan. I think that this sales method is also probably crowdfunding, but there is a statement with reservation start soon."

Now whether this is an opening for crowdfunding, or just a statement that if approved it will also be available in Japan (possibly elsewhere in the world too) is yet to be seen. We provide the posts from these various translated sources and ask you to decide. Let us know in the forums and as always stay tuned to Seibertron for all the latest Transformers news!
*To clarify this story Takara IS taking orders for this item just like Hasbro is.*

https://twitter.com/s250_MKII/status/11 ... 66336?s=19

Back view, confirming shellformer backpack:

Pull the curtain back! Pull it back!

More elegant than the Armada toy's huge pair of plates

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:More elegant than the Armada toy's huge pair of plates

At least those were treated as wings and were removable.

Yeah the backpack is pretty chunky, but honestly I think it’s a small price to pay for a Unicron that actually is completely spherical in planet mode.

All things considered that's a pretty tight backpack. We all knew he was going to be a shell former since that's the nature of spherical alt-modes. I'd rather have this than panels that just come off lazily.

Maybe this a chance for people outside the US to participate.

Stormshot_Prime wrote:Yeah the backpack is pretty chunky, but honestly I think it’s a small price to pay for a Unicron that actually is completely spherical in planet mode.

I dont think there is anything small about the price we have to pay for Unicron.

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:

megatronus wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:

megatronus wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:1. What are you getting so worked up over? He's not kvetching about anything. You know how you said "Is this a retail figure? No."? Sabrblade's pointing all that out as reasons why it wouldn't fly as one, and thus has to be a fan-backed thing.

Yes, he acknowledges that it is not a retail figure... which is exactly why complaining about the lack of interactivity with retail figures is odd and potentially unreasonable. Kvetching is the right word, unless Sabr comes in and clarifies that he wasn't, in fact, complaining, which is a possibility.

It's a very strong possibility. In fact, it's such a strong possibility that I'm baffled as to how you interpreted his post as complaining at all.

My plain reading: Sabr is complaining that Unicron is a ball with no additional features, and that only 'super-rich' people would throw money away to have it. I'm honestly baffled you could read it any other way, and yet I'm open to the possibility that my interpretation is wrong.

Funnily enough, you're completely ignoring the possibility that my response was reasoned counterpoint rather than angry rant.

My plain reading: Sabrblade is pointing out to all the people whinging about Unicron being done as a pricy fan-backed HasLab product, why he has to be done as a pricy fan-backed HasLab product. Which is that he is designed purely to pander to G1-nostalgic fans, with no gimmicks to woo general consumers with and an altmode that currently has decidedly limited appeal outside of G1 nostalgic fans. Appealing near-only to G1-nostalgic fans is not a success strategy at retail, especially not for something so pricy. And thus, the only way he's viable is as a crowdfunded thing that forces the sufficiently-moneyed among fans to put up or shut up.

Thankfully, Sabr is articulate enough to speak for himself - he doesn't need you for a mouthpiece.

Besides, you're totally eliding my point. When one says "at least the titans had X" the implication is that one is bemoaning the lack of X in Unicron. I'm saying X doesn't make sense on this Unicron toy - I obviously agree that a crowdfunding approach is appropriate given the scale and the target audience. You are again missing that.

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:

megatronus wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:

megatronus wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:2. Sounds like you're mainly experienced with TR Fort Max's base/city mode. But, uh, you seem to be mistaken about something: The base/city modes are the primary altmodes for those figures.

Two things. First, I'm not missing anything - what you said here does not at all disprove or contradict my point. Second, you're missing the forest for the trees in trying to make this about semantics rather than addressing my core argument.

You are missing something. Let me make myself plain (and bold the part of my reply you overlooked): Fort Max's base mode is the only one where you can remotely justify calling it a "half-assed concoction" that relies too much on "primary" altmode parts (and even then I wouldn't go that far, especially not in terms of play and interactivity).

Why must you make me wade into trees? Again, you're missing the forest.

The trees: instructions for all 3 Titans list the vehicle as the primary mode, with the base mode as secondary. Again, this is a semantic point, but I consider the instructions to be the official word on what is primary vs secondary. But let's be clear: the limitations of the Titans' size and the budget the designers dealt with meant the robot was prioritized, so neither of the other two modes were particularly amazing on these Titans, with the base / vehicle relying heavily, by necessity, on the vehicle / base parts unfolding or reconfiguring.

I am not "missing the forest" because IMO the only "forest" worth addressing was your dismissing the base modes as "half-assed concoctions".

megatronus wrote:I consider the instructions to be the official word on what is primary vs secondary.

Not the greatest idea, with as often as instructions screw up.

megatronus wrote:The forest: the play patterns and interactivity rely on the exteriors and alt-parts unfolding and reconfiguring, but that ability to create a base that interacts fully with smaller bots is harder to implement on a spherical shellformer like Unicron, especially one which tries to make the robot mode look as clean / G1-accurate as possible. For that reason, I find the complaint about lack of interactivity unreasonable.

As far as I can tell, this forest is growing out your exhaust port, because as far as I can tell Sabr isn't complaining.

So not only are you obnoxiously obtuse, but you're a troll, too.

I feel much better writing you off. Thanks for the peace of mind.

Well I was planning on displaying unicron facing the wall, so this means a no from me... Of course I'm joking a) I'm in the UK so not eligible and B) I can't afford that much.

Sabrblade wrote:*sigh*

Megatronus, we super-nerds with money are the only ones who actually want to own something as weird as a giant ball-on-a-stick because we are the only ones who have the nostalgic and sentimental attachment to this silly thing that makes us want to own it, so it makes worlds more sense for them to market this to us weirdos instead of the mass market casuals that wouldn't find this ball-on-a-stick as a appealing as we do.

I agree with you wholeheartedly!

My problem with your original post was the packaging - calling it a 'ball on a stick' is the outsider view of what this is. We're insiders. We get why it's attractive and desirable, and I didn't appreciate the seemingly mocking tone of the outsider views when this scratches our shared insider emotional itch.

I also take issue with the super-rich label - people who do not fall into the category, strictly speaking, want and are seeing whether this toy can fit into their budget. Besides for coming off as condescending or resentful towards those with greater financial means, which is not a sin, it seemingly cordons this figure off in the minds of some who might otherwise reach for it.

william-james88 wrote:

Stormshot_Prime wrote:Yeah the backpack is pretty chunky, but honestly I think it’s a small price to pay for a Unicron that actually is completely spherical in planet mode.

I dont think there is anything small about the price we have to pay for Unicron.

LOL!

I want to see the side view - I care less about the backpack existing and more about how protruding it will be.

Similarly, I hope the leg panels pack in a bit more tightly once they figure out the tolerances ahead of production.

ZeroWolf wrote:Well I was planning on displaying unicron facing the wall, so this means a no from me... Of course I'm joking a) I'm in the UK so not eligible and B) I can't afford that much.

I’m with ya.


That’s my problem with anyone who complains about hallow bits in the back or a backpack. You’re not gonna display him facing a wall! And no ones gonna see him except you. Are people literally having parties and showing off collections to eachother or gonna be sharing their toys at recess? The only person who’s gonna see it is the one buying Unless you literally buy this tuff to take photos and just want recognition on message boards for what you have. And at the end of the day you’re gonna get it(whatever it is) play with it for a month or two and then toss it on a shelf and move on to the next figure or figures and take it down once in a blue moon.

That’s why I don’t collect as much as I used to. Metroplex comes off the shelf 2-3 times a year? I change him, check him out and back to the shelf till another Titan comes out.

I know it’s not a nice thing to say but it’s all gonna end up in a landfill someday and that’s why I’m not contributing to the crowdfund for unicron. Too much for ending up in a landfill someday. I live my toys but they’re not gonna be played with 24/7

I have never got the complaints about backpacks, at the end of the day there are pieces of the transformation kibble that can't be worked into robot mode, particularly in the bayverse. I'd love to own this Unicron but I can't afford it, 500 quid is somewhere between a 1/6 and an 1/8 of my current account.
Particularly because at some point in the future I do want to get the Optimus being made by Senpower. (If you want to know why Google it)

Agent 53 wrote:I have never got the complaints about backpacks, at the end of the day there are pieces of the transformation kibble that can't be worked into robot mode, particularly in the bayverse. I'd love to own this Unicron but I can't afford it, 500 quid is somewhere between a 1/6 and an 1/8 of my current account.
Particularly because at some point in the future I do want to get the Optimus being made by Senpower. (If you want to know why Google it)

Okie dokie
*googles Optimus Prime Senpower*

Randomhero wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:Well I was planning on displaying unicron facing the wall, so this means a no from me... Of course I'm joking a) I'm in the UK so not eligible and B) I can't afford that much.

I’m witch ya.


That’s my problem with anyone who complains about hallow bits in the back or a backpack. You’re not gonna display him facing a wall! And no ones gonna see him except you. Are people literally having parties and showing off collections to eachother or gonna be sharing their toys at recess? The only person who’s gonna see it is the one buying

I don't usually mind, but dynamic poses can look funky

megatronus wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:

megatronus wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:

megatronus wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:1. What are you getting so worked up over? He's not kvetching about anything. You know how you said "Is this a retail figure? No."? Sabrblade's pointing all that out as reasons why it wouldn't fly as one, and thus has to be a fan-backed thing.

Yes, he acknowledges that it is not a retail figure... which is exactly why complaining about the lack of interactivity with retail figures is odd and potentially unreasonable. Kvetching is the right word, unless Sabr comes in and clarifies that he wasn't, in fact, complaining, which is a possibility.

It's a very strong possibility. In fact, it's such a strong possibility that I'm baffled as to how you interpreted his post as complaining at all.

My plain reading: Sabr is complaining that Unicron is a ball with no additional features, and that only 'super-rich' people would throw money away to have it. I'm honestly baffled you could read it any other way, and yet I'm open to the possibility that my interpretation is wrong.

Funnily enough, you're completely ignoring the possibility that my response was reasoned counterpoint rather than angry rant.

My plain reading: Sabrblade is pointing out to all the people whinging about Unicron being done as a pricy fan-backed HasLab product, why he has to be done as a pricy fan-backed HasLab product. Which is that he is designed purely to pander to G1-nostalgic fans, with no gimmicks to woo general consumers with and an altmode that currently has decidedly limited appeal outside of G1 nostalgic fans. Appealing near-only to G1-nostalgic fans is not a success strategy at retail, especially not for something so pricy. And thus, the only way he's viable is as a crowdfunded thing that forces the sufficiently-moneyed among fans to put up or shut up.

Thankfully, Sabr is articulate enough to speak for himself - he doesn't need you for a mouthpiece.

Besides, you're totally eliding my point. When one says "at least the titans had X" the implication is that one is bemoaning the lack of X in Unicron. I'm saying X doesn't make sense on this Unicron toy - I obviously agree that a crowdfunding approach is appropriate given the scale and the target audience. You are again missing that.

No, I wasn't missing that. I saw and understood that. I was counter-arguing that A. as I saw it, Sabrblade wasn't bemoaning the lack of a base mode at all, he was just listing it as a reason this Unicron lacks outsider appeal, and B. Therefore, how could it be a ridiculous complaint when it didn't seem to be a complaint in the first place?

megatronus wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:

megatronus wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:

megatronus wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:2. Sounds like you're mainly experienced with TR Fort Max's base/city mode. But, uh, you seem to be mistaken about something: The base/city modes are the primary altmodes for those figures.

Two things. First, I'm not missing anything - what you said here does not at all disprove or contradict my point. Second, you're missing the forest for the trees in trying to make this about semantics rather than addressing my core argument.

You are missing something. Let me make myself plain (and bold the part of my reply you overlooked): Fort Max's base mode is the only one where you can remotely justify calling it a "half-assed concoction" that relies too much on "primary" altmode parts (and even then I wouldn't go that far, especially not in terms of play and interactivity).

Why must you make me wade into trees? Again, you're missing the forest.

The trees: instructions for all 3 Titans list the vehicle as the primary mode, with the base mode as secondary. Again, this is a semantic point, but I consider the instructions to be the official word on what is primary vs secondary. But let's be clear: the limitations of the Titans' size and the budget the designers dealt with meant the robot was prioritized, so neither of the other two modes were particularly amazing on these Titans, with the base / vehicle relying heavily, by necessity, on the vehicle / base parts unfolding or reconfiguring.

I am not "missing the forest" because IMO the only "forest" worth addressing was your dismissing the base modes as "half-assed concoctions".

megatronus wrote:I consider the instructions to be the official word on what is primary vs secondary.

Not the greatest idea, with as often as instructions screw up.

megatronus wrote:The forest: the play patterns and interactivity rely on the exteriors and alt-parts unfolding and reconfiguring, but that ability to create a base that interacts fully with smaller bots is harder to implement on a spherical shellformer like Unicron, especially one which tries to make the robot mode look as clean / G1-accurate as possible. For that reason, I find the complaint about lack of interactivity unreasonable.

As far as I can tell, this forest is growing out your exhaust port, because as far as I can tell Sabr isn't complaining.

So not only are you obnoxiously obtuse, but you're a troll, too.

I feel much better writing you off. Thanks for the peace of mind.

It's no excuse for me being a jerk, but it felt to me like you were being the obtuse one... sorry...

How does this make me a troll, though? I get that it makes me a jerk, but how does it make me a troll? Amd I am asking this in all seriousness because now it's feeling like there's a line I've crossed without even seeing it, on top of the ones I know I crossed...

Okay. Enough. Both of you. Each of you has made points and the other countered. It is now descending into mudslinging. If you want to continue this debate (especially about what constitutes an internet troll), feel free to do so in PMs. This thread is for giant Unicron toy talk only. Thank you.

Sabrblade wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:More elegant than the Armada toy's huge pair of plates

At least those were treated as wings and were removable.

They're fairly awkward wings that get in the way of his ring wings tho

And hey, looking at Unicron from behind in the movie, he does have some of his planet-mode crust on his back rather than it being flat like the Armada toy, so there's that.

Now are the 8000 the number of individual people who order, or the individual orders? Like, if Bruce Wayne ordered 5, would that add 1 or 5 to the overall total?

Ahem... Hasbro / Takara. You would have ALL of your backers in less than half an hour if you'd allowed people outside of Japan (and USA?) to participate.

Just saying.

I'd buy that giant-ass Unicron in a heartbeat! But noooooooo, I'm not allowed.

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:More elegant than the Armada toy's huge pair of plates

At least those were treated as wings and were removable.

They're fairly awkward wings that get in the way of his ring wings tho

And hey, looking at Unicron from behind in the movie, he does have some of his planet-mode crust on his back rather than it being flat like the Armada toy, so there's that.

The big shells in Armada were also depicted in the show, which made them a lot more acceptable to me. When they're tilted up like that, I think they're actually kind of cool. This new backpack on the other hand, totally breaks the illusion for me.

-Kanrabat- wrote:Ahem... Hasbro / Takara. You would have ALL of your backers in less than half an hour if you'd allowed people outside of Japan (and USA?) to participate.

Just saying.

I'd buy that giant-ass Unicron in a heartbeat! But noooooooo, I'm not allowed.

I think the idea is that u could reach out to power collectors like me who r in the US that could help you out somehow.