The Energon Pub

Why indeed!

Va'al wrote:(mmm subtle finger movement)

Ha! I was gonna make a comment on that but you beat me to it

Va'al wrote:Why IS everything from the beginning? Why indeed...

(mmm subtle finger movement)

Huh?

Got everything sorted, ready to get started Swerve?



Wanna check the instructions first?



What cha got there buddy? A Torso?



Looks like he is going be about the same size as you.



Oh, that was just a waist, well I guess a little bigger then.



What cha got there, bud?



Ah, a leg. Tall feller, huh?



Yup!



Give the bot a hand...



Or two.



Kids and their cosplay.



I believe you have something of his.



That's probably a good idea?



Good job Swerve! Buildatron is complete!





Transformation is surprisingly a little on the complex side.





Alrighty then. So this was a fun build. I think it took a little over two hours to finish. The instructions were very clear except for one thing. They forgot to tell you to put screws in some spots. It's pretty obvious that screws go in those spots because of the screw holes and the parts will not stay together without them, but still a little confusing. There is also two different types of screws, but the odd ones are clearly illustrated in the instructions and make perfect sense. The only written instructions are about screws actually and in Chinese. Good thing I have google translate.



Um, wot?



Oh, well that clears that up The read characters actually says "NOTE:", but I was having a bitch of a time grabbing a screen cap. Now I was using live translation for the lulz, but if I took a pic and manually selected the characters, it translated the text very well. Basically it said "Don't over tighten the screws."

The arms have a lot of screws in them, but they are also doing a lot of stuff, but not nearly as much as the torso. Some of the transformation joints are just like the c-clips of other transformers and with force can be removed. The barrel and the scope parts-form of course.

As far as build quality, it feels like a $15 model kit. The plastic is nice and a few of the clip on parts gave me cause for concern, but no breakage or stress marks. The grey is very dark in person, just like in the pics. Could definitely use a lick of silver paint. The scope has clear purple lens, but it's hard to see in the pics. I may apply some silver paint to the inside of them.

Like I said, transformation is very complex for a scout class sized figure and give me a real MP wannabe vibe. The legs are very combiner wars legs dial up a notch or three. The torso serious does some flip flop spin around reversey magic. The bummer is that during transformation and play the figure does feel a little fragile or floppy, nature of a model kit I guess. The nice thing is that some joints are held together by screws, so you can control just how tight they are. The arms are completely asymmetrical, but damn if you can tell that from just looking at him. Overall a very clever design.

Articulation is a little limited due to the joint designs. Even though he has ball jointed hips and ankles, the surrounding plastic gets in the way. The shoulders don't move as much as I'd like either and that surprised me considering how much is going on there for the actual joint. Again, it's just plastic limiting movement.

Overall I'd say this kit is a win, even if considering the price of the official toy at $30. It was a fun build that makes a damn fine and fun Scout/legends class Megatron with way more going on then Hasbro or Takara would ever pull off in this size class. I'd dare to say you wouldn't be off base calling this a mini masterpiece model kit

KEWEL! Can't wait!

Some reviews of the actual 3P toy show and relay a common consensus that the swing arm piece that the gun barrel attaches to breaks easily, so watch out for that.

You think a pre-assembly coat of paint would work? Are the tolerances real tight in a way that you'd get a lot of rubbing and scrapping?

Silk, not lemon too tight. All day, erry day!

Cobotron wrote:KEWEL! Can't wait!

Some reviews of the actual 3P toy show and relay a common consensus that the swing arm piece that the gun barrel attaches to breaks easily, so watch out for that.

You think a pre-assembly coat of paint would work? Are the tolerances real tight in a way that you'd get a lot of rubbing and scrapping?

Silk, not lemon too tight. All day, erry day!

Yeah, I think pre-assembly would work great. Wash the plastic well and spray right on the sprues. May require some touch up where the sprues are cut. I think the paint will hold pretty well as there is plenty of space to move things around.

I also feel it wouldn't be a big deal to take back a part and paint either. The arms have some spots that wouldn't need paint and seeing it together might help. Those areas painted would make assembly tough.

But several light coats would do it

Which arm? His right doesn't move much, but the left flips around to the other side and turns upside down.

carytheone wrote:Which arm? His right doesn't move much, but the left flips around to the other side and turns upside down.

Well, not one of his arms, but the piece it's attached to for transformation. I'm trying to find the review, but am coming up short. It's a thin black piece that in robot mode rests against his back.

Cobotron wrote:

carytheone wrote:Which arm? His right doesn't move much, but the left flips around to the other side and turns upside down.

Well, not one of his arms, but the piece it's attached to for transformation. I'm trying to find the review, but am coming up short. It's a thin black piece that in robot mode rests against his back.

His left, I know the part. That's the arm that does the most movement and has all kinds of floating parts. Pretty brills actually. Seems like a none issue if you take it slow.

Champion of the pit! The BBQ pit that is

there is a voyager size version thats already built

Bumblebee21 wrote:there is a voyager size version thats already built

And?

Great, thanks for the pics and impressions, Cary! He looked fun to build, no doubt.

The last time I spent 2hrs trying to be as meticulous as possible, was when I applied Fort Max's stickers. :p

Looks like a fun 2 hour build. I always love watching Swerve at work

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:Looks like a fun 2 hour build. I always love watching Swerve at work

Swerve is the cherry on top for Cary's wonderful pics!

Excellent build Cary!! Silk, not lemon too tight. Google Translate is the best I say, no paint. He looks nice!! AND, you can throw him at people and not feel bad if it gets scratched

bodrock wrote:Great, thanks for the pics and impressions, Cary! He looked fun to build, no doubt.

The last time I spent 2hrs trying to be as meticulous as possible, was when I applied Fort Max's stickers. :p

NP, stickers make me crazy. Did you ever see my Devy all stickered up? If you back track in the way back machine you can find them. Took a long time, but still looks great

bodrock wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:Looks like a fun 2 hour build. I always love watching Swerve at work

Swerve is the cherry on top for Cary's wonderful pics!

HAHAHA yeah, that dude puts his nose in everything. There were talks of replacing him, but no one really made any suggestions or arguments for or against.

itscramtastic wrote:Excellent build Cary!! Silk, not lemon too tight. Google Translate is the best I say, no paint. He looks nice!! AND, you can throw him at people and not feel bad if it gets scratched

I'm kinda lazy and probably won't take him apart to paint silver. I may at some point add some splashes here or there. I will at the minimum add a 'Con symbol to his chest.

I played with him a good bit last night and he is real fun to transform and pose. 15 cyberbuckaroos on aliexpress with free beat up box shipping. My second Meguntron.

While checking out the pics of Devastator getting stickered-up with Arcee (!), I said this multiple times: HOLY S#@% THAT LOOKS AWESOME

As for a new host on the Cary Show.....hmmmm....maybe we need a list of 5 (including Swerve) to vote on!

Never heard of that thing before. Cool! I do kinda miss Gundam'ing...

Cary. The. One.

Don't you dare replace Swerve. He is your signature camera guy! Just like Rewind is mine, Alpha Bravo is the Italian Stallion's, and that little I think diaclone guy is Cobo-the-Cowboy-Trons!

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:Don't you dare replace Swerve. He is your signature camera guy! Just like Rewind is mine, Alpha Bravo is the Italian Stallion's, and that little I think diaclone guy is Cobo-the-Cowboy-Trons!

*Pops into existence* I guess I need a mascot, then...but who...

...also, yes, keep Swerve!

Sigma Magnus wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:Don't you dare replace Swerve. He is your signature camera guy! Just like Rewind is mine, Alpha Bravo is the Italian Stallion's, and that little I think diaclone guy is Cobo-the-Cowboy-Trons!

*Pops into existence* I guess I need a mascot, then...but who...

...also, yes, keep Swerve!

rewind

Sigma Magnus wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:Don't you dare replace Swerve. He is your signature camera guy! Just like Rewind is mine, Alpha Bravo is the Italian Stallion's, and that little I think diaclone guy is Cobo-the-Cowboy-Trons!

*Pops into existence* I guess I need a mascot, then...but who...

...also, yes, keep Swerve!

I thought Chromewind was your mascot?

But with a mascot, he/she must come to you. You cannot force one. It is a figure that just naturally feels right with you all the time and is one that you thoroughly enjoy and love more than others somehow.

I guess Chromewind works? But Rewind is your buddy, Max, so I figured there shouldn't be overlap...

...but I guess the entire TR Headmaster team (plus Rewind) could work as well.

I need to get on the mascot thing. But who?! AND WHY?!

Also, no changing Swerve. No reason to.

If I had a mascot I think it would he CW Blackjack. I don't know why, besides that he's a wonderful Legends toy, but it just feels right. Might have to think about how I could use him in photos.