The Energon Pub

[RiddlerJ]

Yeah, I like the Hasbro versions of these guys better. These are more G1 accurate but their original toys were smaller and could get away with simpler paint jobs.

I would like that Groove but as long as I, at least, have A Groove for the Protectabots, I'm happy.

[Rated X]

I hope the inevitable Alpha Bravo into Vortex retool has some serious bodywork done to make him less obviously a grey Alpha Bravo.

I think you got it backwards buddy. The head mold was always meant to be vortex, they just painted it to resemble slingshot. The alt mode is a generic helicopter that can pass off as either being military or rescue for both blades and vortex. (hence the missiles) In other words, alpha bravo is the lazy repaint. But you can put him in your shattered glass colection as SG Vortex...problem solved !

[steals_your_goats]

I hope the inevitable Alpha Bravo into Vortex retool has some serious bodywork done to make him less obviously a grey Alpha Bravo.

I think you got it backwards buddy. The head mold was always meant to be vortex, they just painted it to resemble slingshot. The alt mode is a generic helicopter that can pass off as either being military or rescue for both blades and vortex. (hence the missiles) In other words, alpha bravo is the lazy repaint. But you can put him in your shattered glass colection as SG Vortex...problem solved !

Or you could just keep him as the character he is. That's always a possibility.

[DMSL]

They look really nice, BUT...Takara please make the Aerialbots' guns black. Not the feet/hand/gun contraption, but the individual guns, it would look much better. Also that exhaust pipe weapon sucks, please include a proper gun.

[Evil Eye]

I hope the inevitable Alpha Bravo into Vortex retool has some serious bodywork done to make him less obviously a grey Alpha Bravo.

I think you got it backwards buddy. The head mold was always meant to be vortex, they just painted it to resemble slingshot. The alt mode is a generic helicopter that can pass off as either being military or rescue for both blades and vortex. (hence the missiles) In other words, alpha bravo is the lazy repaint. But you can put him in your shattered glass colection as SG Vortex...problem solved !

Vortex's head is generic as all hell. I'd prefer it if they gave him a completely new headsculpt and a new vehicle shell, possibly resembling an Apache attack helicopter. That way he could look completely different to Alpha Bravo.

And Alpha Bravo can't be a "lazy repaint of Vortex" because CW Vortex isn't even out yet.

You know what I wanna do? I wanna get hold of a G1 Superion set and a G1 Vortex, repaint Vortex to resemble Alpha Bravo and replace Slingshot with him. And do the same with Menasor by repainting G1 Swindle into Offroad. Making a Rook will be difficult...Brawl will need heavy mods for it to work.

[SW's SilverHammer]

Come on, we all know that Slingshot is just an alternate version of alpha bravo that was unlucky and got #rekt. Also Vortex and Blastoff's head's are completely different shapes compared to Alpha Bravo.

[Rated X]

I hope the inevitable Alpha Bravo into Vortex retool has some serious bodywork done to make him less obviously a grey Alpha Bravo.

I think you got it backwards buddy. The head mold was always meant to be vortex, they just painted it to resemble slingshot. The alt mode is a generic helicopter that can pass off as either being military or rescue for both blades and vortex. (hence the missiles) In other words, alpha bravo is the lazy repaint. But you can put him in your shattered glass colection as SG Vortex...problem solved !

Vortex's head is generic as all hell. I'd prefer it if they gave him a completely new headsculpt and a new vehicle shell, possibly resembling an Apache attack helicopter. That way he could look completely different to Alpha Bravo.

And Alpha Bravo can't be a "lazy repaint of Vortex" because CW Vortex isn't even out yet.

You know what I wanna do? I wanna get hold of a G1 Superion set and a G1 Vortex, repaint Vortex to resemble Alpha Bravo and replace Slingshot with him. And do the same with Menasor by repainting G1 Swindle into Offroad. Making a Rook will be difficult...Brawl will need heavy mods for it to work.

It doesnt matter which deco was released first. What matters is who the mold was designed to be in the first place. The intended character is the original and the "new" character is the repaint.

But it would be amusing to see someone amputate a vintage G1 Superion and give him a prosthetic Alpha Bravo limb.

[NuclearConvoy]

Gotta say I much prefer the Hasbro version of most of these. Any pics of Groove in bike mode surface yet?

[Cyberpath]

Gotta say I much prefer the Hasbro version of most of these. Any pics of Groove in bike mode surface yet?

[no-one]

Dragstrip reminds me of that Yella Fella trying to sell me 2x4s.



As far as Groove and his scale is concerned, I'm going to steal a line from shajaki: I like motorcycle robits. I really hope we get his mold/remold released state side. I'm kind of a sucker for motorcycle bots.

[Shockwave7]

So I have no problem replacing Rook as Defensor's left leg with a vehicle that's more 'in scale'. I just can't suspend my disbelief enough to accept a 2-wheeler vehicle designed to carry only 1-2 persons having enough mass and weight to compare with the others.

I like your positivity with hasbro's approach. But Groove wouldn't be the only thing not in scale. A Helicopter is bigger than an ambulance which is bigger than a sports car, no?

I'd like it if they DID put some more effort into making the sizes more accurate. After all, they had Broadside, the G1 triple-changer aircraft carrier figure, being the same size as the other triple changers. Now, wrap, your minds around that. A Transformer that turns into an AIRCRAFT CARRIER. It should have been the same size as Metroplex or Trypticon. An aircraft carrier is a floating CITY for cryin' out loud.

You could go through the list of all the characters and point out all kinds of stuff like this (Soundwave, Megatron, et. al). Which is why so many people keep saying stuff like, 'Oh it's just fantasy' and 'oh it's just fun'.

Which is, all to say, in essence, 'A wizard did it.'

But all the evidence clearly indicates that the....

WIZARD!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Optimum Supreme]

Dragstrip reminds me of that Yella Fella trying to sell me 2x4s.

To me he looks like a toddler wearing yellow footie pajamas.


I have to say, I wish Hasbro Quickslinger had the orange eyes too. Blue just seems off to me. Everything else on him I like, but that one thing makes Sling look a little better.

[chuckdawg1999]

Groove looks really good. That's probably the best representation of the Harley Davidson police cycle. I hope it gets a US release but just in case I have my pre-order in.

[no-one]

After all, they had Broadside, the G1 triple-changer aircraft carrier figure, being the same size as the other triple changers. Now, wrap, your minds around that. A Transformer that turns into an AIRCRAFT CARRIER. It should have been the same size as Metroplex or Trypticon. An aircraft carrier is a floating CITY for cryin' out loud.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold your horses. Why even bother with trying to explain mass shifting? I'm thinking we could even get a GI Joe cross over. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?



We will need a new size class though. Something bigger than a titan....

obviously I'm kidding

or am I?

[Sabrblade]

[Cyberpath]

In the cartoon the characters were generally in the "correct" size in alt-mode, more or less. I've always loved that about the show. The way that they changed so dynamically. And I love that they just did it -- it was never referenced in dialogue and was never attempted to be explained with overly-elaborate made-up science.

For instance, love how Astrotrain, an average Decepticon, can accommodate all the Decepticons in his space-shuttle mode.

Or how Optimus Prime transforms into a semi-trailer truck, while his evil counterpart into a hand-gun.

Creators simply don't have that level of creativity and sense of fantasy anymore. Not just in cartoons, but also in movies and comics. Everyone tries to be so "realistic." (In a medium where you can do virtually anything you dream up.)


The scale of the original toys is pretty much blah in both modes. But the show came afterwards and it grabbed the toys from several different Japanese lines. They were also made for kids. Their creators probably never dreamed people would still be into it today.

btw, in the cartoon, Broadside was a big robot, and even bigger as an aircraft carrier.

[King Kuuga]

I'd like it if they DID put some more effort into making the sizes more accurate. After all, they had Broadside, the G1 triple-changer aircraft carrier figure, being the same size as the other triple changers. Now, wrap, your minds around that. A Transformer that turns into an AIRCRAFT CARRIER. It should have been the same size as Metroplex or Trypticon. An aircraft carrier is a floating CITY for cryin' out loud.

You could go through the list of all the characters and point out all kinds of stuff like this (Soundwave, Megatron, et. al). Which is why so many people keep saying stuff like, 'Oh it's just fantasy' and 'oh it's just fun'.

Which is, all to say, in essence, 'A wizard did it.'

But all the evidence clearly indicates that the....

WIZARD!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't forget that Broadside also turns into a jet. AKA, the kind of thing his other alt mode is supposed to be able to carry hundreds of. Yeahhhhhhh....

Groove being a leg is not the worst thing about Defensor, but I also like Rook a lot. The obvious solution is to kick Blades off, because as an aerial vehicle he clearly doesn't fit.

[Sabrblade]

In the cartoon the characters were generally in the "correct" size in alt-mode, more or less.

[william-james88]

I dont know if I am reading everything correctly, but the vibe I get is that scale doesnt matter and thus there was no use for Groove to not be a leg. Is that right? I dont mind Rook at all (he could have been released as part of a fully new combiner figure), but it seems no one cares that Hasbro's excuse for Groove being a legends figure is that they care about scale, all of a sudden.

[Robogeek1973]

Groove is looking really good so far, now bring him over here Hasbro!!

[Sabrblade]

I dont know if I am reading everything correctly, but the vibe I get is that scale doesnt matter and thus there was no use for Groove to not be a leg. Is that right? I dont mind Rook at all (he could have been released as part of a fully new combiner figure), but it seems no one cares that Hasbro's excuse for Groove being a legends figure is that they care about scale, all of a sudden.

Some people are fine with Hasbro making Groove smaller to avoid scale absurdity, and some just don't care and want Groove as a leg.

[Cyberpath]

In the cartoon the characters were generally in the "correct" size in alt-mode, more or less.

That's a shot from pilot, here's another one.

cliffjumper.jpg (68.76 KiB) Viewed 7687 times

Also, don't forget that Cliffjumper was a "super-deformed" car.

Annnd... "generally" and "more or less."

[King Kuuga]

Scale in Transformers is, not to put too fine a point on it, screwed.

[Sabrblade]

In the cartoon the characters were generally in the "correct" size in alt-mode, more or less.

That's a shot from pilot, here's another one.

cliffjumper.jpg

So? He was still consistently depicted as an abnormally tiny Porche throughout the show:

Also, don't forget that Cliffjumper was a "super-deformed" car.

"Super-deformed" = not the "correct" size.

Annnd... "generally" and "more or less."

Making Cliffjumper and pretty much every Minibot being the prominent exceptions.

[Cyberpath]

There you go, an exception.

Cliff's D-style design gives him a "dense" appearance.