The Energon Pub

by **Treetop Maximus** » Wed Jul 28, 2021 2:39 pm

They can do whatever they want but my problem with it is there are some sick designs getting wasted on trash toys like that Gradius Starscream.

When I was 4 years old I had Beast Wars B'Boom and I could get it between beast and robot just fine.

News Credits: 174 · by **Hellscream9999** » Wed Jul 28, 2021 5:57 pm

Sabrblade wrote:
Mistaken_Table wrote:As far as I remember, there was always just 1 line of transformers out at a time. Then universe/classics happened.
It goes further back than that, when Machine Wars was out at the same time as Beast Wars.

I only saw machine wars at K-B toys, was it exclusive or do I not remember things very well :???:

News Credits: 1350 · by **ZeroWolf** » Wed Jul 28, 2021 6:02 pm

Hellscream9999 wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:
Mistaken_Table wrote:As far as I remember, there was always just 1 line of transformers out at a time. Then universe/classics happened.
It goes further back than that, when Machine Wars was out at the same time as Beast Wars.

I only saw machine wars at K-B toys, was it exclusive or do I not remember things very well

It was I believe, may be one of the reasons the line didn't do too well. It would have been interesting had it been more well recieved, and led to later waves, would they have been further repaints or would it have tied into Beast Wars :-?

We'll never know...

MyFigureCollection.net collection · by **Emerje** » Fri Jul 30, 2021 1:26 am

Nemesis Reformatted wrote:And I couldn't stand the Filmation MOTU cartoon. In 81 MOTU was aimed towards teens but in 83 the cartoon dropped it from teen to toddler. As a kid I loved the more mature realistic cartoons like Transformers, GI Joe, M.A.S.K., Robotech & vehicle Voltron.

All of this stuff was made for little kids under 10, including the 81 MOTU comics. Nobody made action figures and cartoons (for US TV) for teens and adults in the 80s. "More mature realistic cartoons". :lol:

Emerje

News Credits: 100 · by **-Kanrabat-** » Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:18 am

Emerje wrote:
Nemesis Reformatted wrote:And I couldn't stand the Filmation MOTU cartoon. In 81 MOTU was aimed towards teens but in 83 the cartoon dropped it from teen to toddler. As a kid I loved the more mature realistic cartoons like Transformers, GI Joe, M.A.S.K., Robotech & vehicle Voltron.

All of this stuff was made for little kids under 10, including the 81 MOTU comics. Nobody made action figures and cartoons (for US TV) for teens and adults in the 80s. "More mature realistic cartoons".

Emerje

Forgot to react to that because I facepalmed so hard, I knocked myself out. 8-}

As a young child in the 1980's, I never saw those show as "mature". At all. Because I've seen "mature". See, as a Québécois, our Saturday mornings at Radio Canada was filled with "cartoons" imported from France. France was really into anime hardcore so in Québec, we got so many anime by extension. The "toy commercials" cartoons were relegated to the other one French language channel out of 3. Those shows didn't last for long because Karens went to war against those and won.

Anyway, back to Radio Canada's anime. Those anime were filled with mature themes and they never shied to show actual DEATHS on screen. Goldorak (U.F.O Robo Grendizer), Albator (Captain Herlock), Le Petit Castor, Astro le Petit Robot (Astroboy), Demetan, Cat's Eye, and so on. Those shows were awesome and they made me a weeb decades before "weeb" was a term. Japan don't treat their children like idiots and it shown.

Then, after around 1987, Radio Canada ditch ALL anime and the Saturday mornings literally turned into the Disney Chanel. No "toy commercial" cartoons" either at the other chanel, and the Karens even killed the French dub of the WWF. At 12, I felt like a nostalgic old fart...

Speaking of old farts, kids these days are damn lucky. Because we were too poor to have Cable as a child, I was stuck with only 3 French channels. A 4th one appeared when I was 11 though. That new channel only shown old show at it's beginning so I watch a lot of Flintstones (dubbed in Québécois French). I didn't knew a single English word at the time so I never watched the 2 English channels we had. That 5 or 6 chanel total.

Kids these days have an infinity of options with a million chanel and the internet at their fingertips. So they are not stuck at watching subpart shows or shows they don't like.

These days, if kids want to watch Transformers, they can watch any shows at any time however they want, whenever they want.

Karens be damned. :michaelbay:

News Credits: 56 · by **o.supreme** » Fri Jul 30, 2021 9:45 am

I think what happens is sometimes some fans take the events of TF:TM, and even GI Joe:TM (which arguably had a higher degree of violence), and project it onto the entire series, which isn't quite accurate.

While I do agree that all the toy-based animated series from the 80's were marketed towards younger children, I could see some of them at least being enjoyed by teens and even adults, even if they weren't the target audience.

I mean I know pop culture overall would like to place villains such as Megatron, Cobra Commander, Skeletor, and Mumm-Ra in the same villains old folks home. However, while they all had silly moments at times, I'd say Skeletor was by far the silliest. I remember my Dad complaining about how awfully silly he was, not so with some of the other villains.

The same could be said today. I've shown my kids a TON of older shows, but they have their own interests. I can enjoy some of the shows my kids watch. Others I just have to leave the room, because clearly, they aren't intended for me.

Also to be fair, the OP mentioned Robotech and Vehicle Voltron. Those shows had to be edited quite a bit to remove the more violent aspects of their original anime counterparts (Macross, Southern Cross, Mospeada) and for VV (Dairugger XV which IMHO is absolutely amazing and highly underrated). But with Robotech, I know the romance angle still came through quite a bit. But that is to be expected, even from an edited anime- a different culture that doesn't dumb down shows for kids as often.

Just as a brief example- Try watching the Dungeons and Dragons animated series vs He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (both premiered in 1983). Yes they are both for kids, but there is defintely a tonal difference.

by **TFfan1** » Sat Jul 31, 2021 5:00 pm

Ah, reminds me of when I was a wee sprog with my Armada figures. I'm glad the target demographic enjoys the toys. As someone who grew up with the Unicron Trilogy, I'll always be able to appreciate simple figures with fun gimmicks, although I do wish Hasbro would cut down on collector-aimed content and focused on the kids, I feel like it isn't fair they get the short end of the toy quality stick.

News Credits: 241 · by **Jelze Bunnycat** » Sat Jul 31, 2021 5:12 pm

TFfan1 wrote:Ah, reminds me of when I was a wee sprog with my Armada figures. I'm glad the target demographic enjoys the toys. As someone who grew up with the Unicron Trilogy, I'll always be able to appreciate simple figures with fun gimmicks, although I do wish Hasbro would cut down on collector-aimed content and focused on the kids, I feel like it isn't fair they get the short end of the toy quality stick.

I wouldn't say the short end per se, ever compared them to other toys of the same age range?

by **Ultra Markus** » Sat Jul 31, 2021 7:27 pm

well g1 was also geared towards kids as was everything else in transformers up until playschools gobots and now rescue bots
do they think kids nowadays are less capable of playing with more complicated toys? :-?

News Credits: 241 · by **Jelze Bunnycat** » Sat Jul 31, 2021 7:36 pm

Ultra Markus wrote:well g1 was also geared towards kids as was everything else in transformers up until playschools gobots and now rescue bots
do they think kids nowadays are less capable of playing with more complicated toys?

It's easy to think so, but I like to think it more as "more accessible" by lowering the difficulty bar. From One-Step to the Deluxes, and the option to "upgrade" to Generations, there's something for every difficulty and comfort level... like most of G1 did, really, not counting the My First Transformers range.

Speaking of Gobots...

Sabrina-Online #271: "He could just play with the packaging instead"

News Credits: 100 · by **-Kanrabat-** » Sat Jul 31, 2021 7:43 pm

Ultra Markus wrote:do they think kids nowadays are less capable of playing with more complicated toys?

Know what? I think so.
Fisher Price Little People were 3X smaller back then in the late 1970's early 1980's. The Tonka trucks were made out of steel. Transformers at the time were quite complex for a kid so the "Rescue bots" equivalent were Gobots. But even then, metal and tiny parts galore. I played with a mechanical robotic arm that you control with 2 joysticks. It was hard but fun.

Also, playing "dangerous" games outside at recess and out of school was a thing.

But in current year, even grown adults are treated (and act) like toddlers . A result for overprotecting our children since at least 3 generations.

Siiiiiigh.................

News Credits: 56 · by **o.supreme** » Sat Jul 31, 2021 10:50 pm

I tend to agree. I mean I remember I was 9 when Jetfire came out in 1985, and my 11 year old friend got him. It was complicated, but not beyond our ability to enjoy. Transformers were definitely seen as a superior toy but also very expensive. My parents could get 4 He-Man figures for the cost of 1 average Transformer. Also if it came to choosing between one expensive Transformer vs a Castle Grayskull playset, obviously one goes a lot further than the other. Still, while I obviously am not a fan of Cyberverse, I understand their place. There is definitely some wide range for sure. The same age that targets Cyberverse also can attract some of the more complicated Lego sets, so there is some variance for sure.

Some 9 year olds might enjoy Cyberverse, and some might be into WFC, and some might be into SS.

News Credits: 4838 · by **william-james88** » Sun Aug 01, 2021 6:45 am

Ultra Markus wrote:well g1 was also geared towards kids as was everything else in transformers up until playschools gobots and now rescue bots
do they think kids nowadays are less capable of playing with more complicated toys?

Was all of G1 geared towards 3-5 year olds? I dont think so. With Cyberverse, you cover a younger audience and you can replicate the speed of transformation seen on screen with the one steps. Plus, G1 also had super simple toys too like the jumpstarters. Optimus prime and Bumblebee were ridiculously simple toys too. Cyberverse is bringing that spirit of easy transformations that some G1 toys had but standardising it per class and ensuring greater cartoon accuracy.

o.supreme wrote:I tend to agree. I mean I remember I was 9 when Jetfire came out in 1985, and my 11 year old friend got him. It was complicated, but not beyond our ability to enjoy.

The generations lines is 8 years old + these days and the toys are more complex than G1 Jetfire. So theres no indication that they are dumbing things down for kids of the ages you mention. They just have a wider variety of product for a bigger age range from birth to pre adolescence.

The cyberverse line isnt meant for 8 year olds or over.

News Credits: 1350 · by **ZeroWolf** » Sun Aug 01, 2021 9:14 am

Also rather then dumbing down, companies want to save money where they can, this is we lost metal content and other things as the cost to male the toy rose, so Hasbro did what they could to make sure the profit ratio was the same.

News Credits: 56 · by **o.supreme** » Sun Aug 01, 2021 10:11 am

I've not seen any WFC toy that is more complicated than the original Jetfire. That Macross Valkyrie design is pretty great from an engineering point of view. Only Masterpiece and 3P have I seen that are more complex.

Also if Cyberverse isn't for 8 year olds who is it for? 6-7 that's a pretty small range considering Rescue Bots is 3-5.

News Credits: 1350 · by **ZeroWolf** » Sun Aug 01, 2021 10:34 am

o.supreme wrote:I've not seen any WFC toy that is more complicated than the original Jetfire. That Macross Valkyrie design is pretty great from an engineering point of view. Only Masterpiece and 3P have I seen that are more complex.

Also if Cyberverse isn't for 8 year olds who is it for? 6-7 that's a pretty small range considering Rescue Bots is 3-5.

It has over lap with rescue bots.

News Credits: 4838 · by **william-james88** » Sun Aug 01, 2021 12:30 pm

o.supreme wrote:I've not seen any WFC toy that is more complicated than the original Jetfire. That Macross Valkyrie design is pretty great from an engineering point of view. Only Masterpiece and 3P have I seen that are more complex.

Also if Cyberverse isn't for 8 year olds who is it for? 6-7 that's a pretty small range considering Rescue Bots is 3-5.

5 is pretty old for rescue bots, 4 is borderline. They are ideal for 2-3. Cyberverse is 3-7, some classes work for younger kids, some for older. It has overlap with rescue bots. The boy in the video posted was 3.

And lots of generations toys (including the SS line) are more complicated than G1 Jetfire. Any Jetfire released in those lines was either as complex or more complex. Feel free to ask that question in either of those discussion threads for further discussion or confirmation.

News Credits: 1642 · by **D-Maximal_Primal** » Sun Aug 01, 2021 6:01 pm

couple things to catch up on.

Cheetor looks really good, I am very excited for him. He looks great! and a lot bulkier and more show accurate. Lovin' it.

Meteorfire is strangely fun, i still enjoy him, and the show did a good job of making me like him too.

Iaconus is not very good, but I am happy to have him. I am going to call my Kingdom ark bot Iaconus after this war titan.

News Credits: 4838 · by **william-james88** » Thu Aug 05, 2021 10:33 pm

People have been showing a lot of images of barren Transformers shelves lately, which doesn't just suck for us collectors but for kids wanting to buy toys with their birthday money or parents looking for Transformers toys. Well, looks like a new Cyberverse Dinobots Unite Subline is slowly making it's way onto Canadian and American shelves to start bringing more life to them. Canada just got the Dinobot combiners Bumblebeswoop and Slugtron. They retail for $36 CAD and were found at Walmart. Those two are the only ones that come in the cases being sent so the other dinobot combiners will appear in a different wave. The bigger Roll and Change Optimus Prime and Bumblebee toys were also found at Walmart and can be seen in the same image.

In the US, things are starting really slow with the first items coming to shelves being the reviled scout class figures. Reports come from all across the US. They are all rereleases with nothing new, but they do include Ramjet who some liked since he does give the illusion of fully transforming from one mode to the next. More are bound to come, especially since they are appearing in Canada.

If you have found them, share your sightings with our community in the sightings section and on our boards in your region related thread.

News Credits: 650 · by **ScottyP** » Fri Aug 06, 2021 12:51 pm

The reality of how messed up supply chains are right now hit me when some local Targets did their late summer toy reset and didn't even have Cyberverse stuff to fill the space with. Not finding desirable stuff is typical, but usually there's at least plenty of kid product when these hit. Not this time.

Obviously this is all anecdotal and potentially localized, but I've been collecting for a long time and brick and mortar has never been this devoid of TF product. I don't blame the stores or even Hasbro, stuff is just clogged up.

MyFigureCollection.net collection · by **Emerje** » Sun Aug 08, 2021 7:03 am

ScottyP wrote:The reality of how messed up supply chains are right now hit me when some local Targets did their late summer toy reset and didn't even have Cyberverse stuff to fill the space with. Not finding desirable stuff is typical, but usually there's at least plenty of kid product when these hit. Not this time.

Obviously this is all anecdotal and potentially localized, but I've been collecting for a long time and brick and mortar has never been this devoid of TF product. I don't blame the stores or even Hasbro, stuff is just clogged up.

It's been the same here, especially after both Walmart and Target clearanced out the 1 Step figures. All that's left is some peg warming Deluxe figures (mostly Megatron and Shockwave). I've also been surprised by how empty the Rescue Bot section is. Though one of my local Walmarts did restock a bunch of RB Optimus and Bumblebee figures (vehicles, not the current Dino stuff), but put them on the Cyberverse 1 Step pegs. Oops, let's see how long it takes for those to get moved, if ever.

Emerje

News Credits: 100 · by **-Kanrabat-** » Sun Aug 08, 2021 10:23 pm

Finally decided to get that seeker squadron pack. These figures are pretty neat but I wished that the bonus member was Splitstream instead of Thrust and that TC was clear like his teammates. Plus no landing gears make the planes tilt around.

Still for what they are, they are well worth the 13$CAN each toys.

News Credits: 19 · by **blackeyedprime** » Mon Aug 09, 2021 12:05 pm

I'd not seen Jazz yet

https://www.thetoyshop.com/action-toys- ... 4605_E3522

Seems okay for what it is. Flattest feet ever though?

News Credits: 331 · by **chuckdawg1999** » Mon Aug 09, 2021 4:02 pm

blackeyedprime wrote:I'd not seen Jazz yet

https://www.thetoyshop.com/action-toys- ... 4605_E3522

Seems okay for what it is. Flattest feet ever though?

It's a re-shell of Prowl

News Credits: 4838 · by **william-james88** » Wed Aug 11, 2021 5:01 pm

That didn't take long. After only a week of being found in Canada, the Transfomrers Cyberverse Dinobots Unite Roll N Change Optimus Prime and Bumblebee are appearing at US Walmarts as part of the back to school reset currently underway. Regardless of what you feel on the line, it's good to have some Transformers toys on shelves and we hope that means more is underway. Both are $50 and that hefty price tag is due to them being larger than even ultimate class Cyberverse figures, with more accessories (detachable armour) and lights and sounds. Intrepid TF fan Cardion took a bullet for all of us and bought the Optimus Prime figure on Amazon to see what it was all about and was rather surprised by this child's toy. You can read the full review below but in short, they seemed impressed with the auto converting gimmick which is more involved than previous attempts and they were surprised by the articulation in the upper half after assuming (as we all did) that this figure was just a brick. Of course, the gimmick being involved means there are lots of steps to get it back to vehicle mode and the lower half of the body is almost devoid of articulation as we all could guess.

Enjoy the pics and the review along with this video showing the gimmick.

First impression: He's okay.

The Negatives: The primary auto-transform, which is his big selling feature, is on a hair-trigger. This made him a bit of a pain to transform into truck. Plus, the auto-transform still requires a bit of shoulder manipulation. Also, those legs are both immobile and can do the splits. Pretty crazy.

The Positives: Upper body was more flexible and articulated than I expected. His head sculpt is a gorgeous show accurate representation, and his head can pivot! I love his weight. He feels very solid. I can imagine 8-year old me going crazy over the light and sound clips (very short though). The sword and claws are a nice touch, although I'm not a fan of the chest armor. He sizes pretty well with my one large Cyberverse Megatron.

Overall: Good toy. Fun. Probably could have waited for him to go on sale for $45 or $40 though. For what he is, I'm super-glad I got him.