The Energon Pub

I'm really liking that Bulkhead.

Sabrblade wrote:The article states twice that this is supposed to be Prime Bulkhead. That is not Prime Bulkhead.

Does the article also mention the word "inspire" or something or other? I can't access it due to site restrictions on my laptop. Because if it does, then they are in the clear a bit.

william-james88 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:The article states twice that this is supposed to be Prime Bulkhead. That is not Prime Bulkhead.

Does the article also mention the word "inspire" or something or other? I can't access it due to site restrictions on my laptop. Because if it does, then they are in the clear a bit.

It says that this is "Voyager Prime Universe Bulkhead" and "Bulkhead's design is inspired by The Transformers: Prime series." That's far more explicit that mere deco inspiration.

And it only calls out Skids as being "updated with a Generations-style design," not so for Bulkhead.

The only thing in this design that's inspired by Prime Bulkhead is his robot mode head. Everything else is just "generic green military guy", which Bulkhead's design was so much more than.

Sentinel_Primal wrote:

william-james88 wrote:Let's get to Bulkhead, that figure looks super simple for a voyager and while I can understand the use of fake parts, it looks really bad when you can see his fake wheels right there in truck mode

I think they're supposed to replicate spare tires that military trucks tend to have stored right there

Hasbro: includes spare tires directly inspired by real-life model
Fandom: fake parts, bad design



Oshkosh FMTV pictured above (per Pinterest)

I would have liked a Prime Bulkhead more than a G1 version, but I already have a Prime Bulkhead, so I'm covered. Undecided on this one.

Not feeling Bulkhead, vehicle mode seems too squished. seems like it might have a possible animated 'Headmaster' accessory down the line either from them or one of their workers side companies Robot mode aslo just doest seem physically imposing enough for bulkhead and just seems awkward proportions more than anything else. Quite a bit of hollows an dthe effort to give him shoulder wheels over WFC red alert baffles me.
Not sure a selects redeco will sway me on this one and cant really see it being good as Optimus either.

Skids...Im guessing like most wfc transformers, G1 remains the true mini MP. Nothing about it seems quality, the axe thing seems so misplaced over a scooter/weapon but glad it comes with mutiple weapons.Then Generations toy might not scream Skids but its a really cool design and toy. I might pick up a selects redeco if its something I dont have already but my moneys going towards the MP over this and I dont get why anyone wouldnt track down the G1 reissue over this.

AcademyofDrX wrote:

Sentinel_Primal wrote:

william-james88 wrote:Let's get to Bulkhead, that figure looks super simple for a voyager and while I can understand the use of fake parts, it looks really bad when you can see his fake wheels right there in truck mode

I think they're supposed to replicate spare tires that military trucks tend to have stored right there

Hasbro: includes spare tires directly inspired by real-life model
Fandom: fake parts, bad design



Oshkosh FMTV pictured above (per Pinterest)

I would have liked a Prime Bulkhead more than a G1 version, but I already have a Prime Bulkhead, so I'm covered. Undecided on this one.

Honestly I wish they had made the vehicle look more like the oshkosh there, would make him looks rounder. The issue for me is bulkheads shape. geewun-ified or not, Bulkhead has always been a big roundish boy with stumpy/stocky build. here he is a big box with long legs. literally reminds me of the time for Halloween where I cut a head hole and arm holes out of a carboard box and wrote robot on the front of it in black marker. It just feels wrong for Bulkhead. Again, sumo prime it kinda works, though still too square

I gotta disagree with the article. RTS Lugnut was not a 1:1 translation of Animated, but he was in the same family. Bomber. Twin engine, glass bubble nose.

Why is this Bulkhead closer to Movie Hound than he is to either of the characters who got named Bulkhead? Its a bit off.

I like it okay, but its not the steroid-Hummer truck mode I was hoping for. I was using Siege Hound as a placeholder though and I am not sure this is actually better than that

Skids looks Straight G1, but I wish he had a bit of body filler like SS86 Jazz got. That spinal column is hollow as heck. Least he doesnt have thr clown shoe feet

Well I never became a fan of Bulkhead in either TFA or TFP so this is an easy pass. And I agree about it being a bayverse Hound toy with a Bulkhead head on it, as if it was a last minute change. Should have stayed a bayverse Bulkhead, and that's what he should have been called in the movies as well.

As for Skids, he seems way simple, but I have yet to have a deluxe Skids in my collection, so if I don't find a suitable alternative, I'll probably pick this up to fill out the roster.

I have to say, this is not a good 1st impression of the Legacy line. If it doesn't improve, I'll be strangely relieved, as I won't have to keep buying TFs.

those weapons suck

I have no strong opinions either way as I wasn't planning on getting any of these, probably will skip most of Legacy anyway... I just wonder how many messages John Warden is getting asking him to come back to Transformers

Posted by william-james88 on October 20th, 2021 @ 12:11pm CDT
Honestly, they both look like a pile of ass

Read my mind. I am a near-exclusive Beast Wars fan, so these don't look the best. They look like extremely high-effort Cyberverse figures. Skids doesn't look too bad, but isn't Bulkhead a fan favourite? Maybe shouldn't have remolded Grapple instead of cooking fresh...

I’m pretty sure these promotional photos of Skids are mistransformed in robot mode. The windshield backpack should sit much higher behind and above the head, as it does in the G1 toy, Sunbow character model, and recent Masterpiece figure. Otherwise, he looks great. I also like this “G1” version of Bulkhead, as I’ve wanted one for years, but I think the “Transformers Prime” description is at best confusing, if not completely misleading. I still have the “First Edition” Bulkhead, which is already a fantastic representation of Prime Bulkhead and an amazing piece of engineering in its own right.

Bulkhead wouldn't be so bad if his upper body wasn't just a box.

Bulkhead is an Inferno/Grapple remold. Lazy and weird.
So I'm so going to but it!

As for Skids, he's PERFECT!

Oh, so that's their take on Bulkhead? Uh. Nice idea, but I'll pass.

I remember people speculating that JP93 was based on a potential Skids. Looks like that's out the window.

Was the older Gen Skids too small in vehicle mode? That's the only thing that makes me kinda want a new one. This one looks fine. Like Skids. But also doesn't blow me away or anything.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:Oh, so that's their take on Bulkhead? Uh. Nice idea, but I'll pass.

I remember people speculating that JP93 was based on a potential Skids. Looks like that's out the window.

Was the older Gen Skids too small in vehicle mode? That's the only thing that makes me kinda want a new one. This one looks fine. Like Skids. But also doesn't blow me away or anything.

Gen Skids had wierd clown shoe feet eith no heel and could be backheavy in some poses due to the over the shoulder cannons the V mode was fine and the toy was a lot of fun to play with. I also really liked thr Crosscut and Rally Car redecos it got. Just not the huge but also somehow useless feet

o.supreme wrote:I have no strong opinions either way as I wasn't planning on getting any of these, probably will skip most of Legacy anyway... I just wonder how many messages John Warden is getting asking him to come back to Transformers

These were probably designed by Warden given the design time...

I don't really care for these, more power to the people who actually want them.

Those transparent plastic weapons look like a nod to Energon/Super Link to me. I wouldn’t be surprised if they interact with the leaked “Energon Monster” figures as the unifying gimmick of the line. We know Armada/Micron Legend Starscream is coming, as well as Cybertron/Galaxy Force Metroplex. The Unicron Trilogy will be well represented in Legacy, but will they all be G1-ified like Prime Bulkhead? The leaks of Cybertron Metroplex look much more on model to the non-G1 source material at least, but who knows at this point. Friday can’t come soon enough!

ZeroWolf wrote:

o.supreme wrote:I have no strong opinions either way as I wasn't planning on getting any of these, probably will skip most of Legacy anyway... I just wonder how many messages John Warden is getting asking him to come back to Transformers

These were probably designed by Warden given the design time...

I don't really care for these, more power to the people who actually want them.

I kind of doubt it, but we may never really know. I mean Warden's team entered at the tail end of T30 (the last 10 or so toys, you can really tell the difference). It was firmly stated that Kingdom was the last line they "worked on", but they may not have entirely finished Kingdom, similar to how they entered. The New design team may have had more to do with late Kingdom figures than the previous one. I guess the only exception would have been if Skids was planned a couple years prior to have been part of Kingdom, and got pushed off, but Bulkhead is defintely not theirs I would imagine.

So Skids was never on my radar to begin with outside of "Maybe I'll get some repaints" (which was also my reaction to at least half of the WFC G1 Autobot cast), and this reveal has not made me magically change my mind. I'll consider some repaints, but that ugly head-block-panel thing has got to go. The Energon axe-gun is a solid addition in my book though, cool to see that will I guess be the gimmick for the line based on this.

As for Bulkhead...honestly? That works for me. It's not a 1-to-1 Prime Bulkhead by any means, but he's got the head sculpt, wrecking ball/mace, and the colors down, the alt mode is basically a more realistic version of his Animated alt mode, combining in some AoE Hound influence doesn't ruin it for me, and I'm really glad he isn't just a lazy retool of Grapple or something. It is a bit jarring to see a Bulkhead that isn't round, but I feel like I've recovered from that already at this point, and his round-ness got toned down in RiD 2015 anyway. I do wonder why he has shoulder wheels when no version of Bulkhead nor AoE Hound has those-

AcademyofDrX wrote:

Sentinel_Primal wrote:I think they're supposed to replicate spare tires that military trucks tend to have stored right there

Hasbro: includes spare tires directly inspired by real-life model
Fandom: fake parts, bad design



Oshkosh FMTV pictured above (per Pinterest)

...ohhhhh, never mind then.

-Kanrabat- wrote:Bulkhead is an Inferno/Grapple remold. Lazy and weird.
So I'm so going to but it!

...he shares some transformation/engineering cues for sure, but I'm pretty sure that's a fully unique mold. I don't see a single shared part.

william-james88 wrote:I will say this is making me **** scared about Knockout.

If it helps to alleviate and/or temper your concerns and expectations at all, current rumors have Knock Out as an SS86 Jazz retool with at least a new head and a full alt mode reshell (no mention of weapons yet, but I assume those'll be different as well, hence the at least), and details came out about Arcee overnight that make her sound the most source-accurate of the Prime gang so far.

I wonder if this Energon weapon gimmick means that Armada Screamer's sword(s) are gonna be clear again like the T30 figure, would that upset people?

So....that is essentially in un-Animated version of Animated Bulkhead? Huh. Interesting blocky take on a very non-blocky bot. I'll have to see him in person.

That Skids...wow. I know the Geewunners will be thrilled, but to me it looks very amateurish and blocky. Yes, that's the original toy looked like, I get it. But for the love of Primus, it's 2021- can't we streamline it a little bit? I'm really trying hard to stay off my soapbox on "Move On From G1", but this really takes the cake..

...also worth noting, considering other contents of the line we know about: the 5 mm pegs on Bulk's shield look suspiciously Mini-Con compatible, I wonder if that means anything...

And hey, maybe Energon weapons is a hint that the "Energon Monsters" really are just renamed Energon Terrorcons like I've been suspecting/hoping.

While Bulkhead's design is... unexpected, both he and Skids look pretty good.