The Energon Pub

[SGMLordMirage]

Surprisingly just found Deluxe wave 2 at a Walmart in Columbia, MO. Always neat to see them in person on the shelf.

SGM

[TF-fan kev777]

Trailbreaker popped up on Amazon for pre-order at $17.88 in stock November 8 and case anyone missed out or wants a fallback plan in case things get cancelled elsewhere.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083V ... UTF8&psc=1

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Trailbreaker popped up on Amazon for pre-order at $17.88 in stock November 8 and case anyone missed out or wants a fallback plan in case things get cancelled elsewhere.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083V ... UTF8&psc=1

Holy hell, this is the 2nd time today I have tried to order him when he was in stock on amazon and it kicks me out of the order screen and tells me he's out of stock when the listing is still active and shows him for the price. twice in 2 hours this has happened.

FU amazon

[aronjlove]

Bluestreak was shipped to my local Walgreens for free and I just picked him up. As much as I did not like the Datsuns getting redone so soon I have come to appreciate the many differences in detail. I love the actual headlights and windshields plus I think the heel on the feet is better than on Siege.

[SGMLordMirage]

Thats awesome, I'm definitely happy I picked him up.

[Counterpunch]

I feel like someone should get a talking to for how bad the color matching is on Sunstreaker.

Seriously. They need to re-release this character in another wave with a corrected color scheme. They really screwed this character, to whom appearance matters, up completely.

[Sowndwave76]

Bluestreak was shipped to my local Walgreens for free and I just picked him up. As much as I did not like the Datsuns getting redone so soon I have come to appreciate the many differences in detail. I love the actual headlights and windshields plus I think the heel on the feet is better than on Siege.

Yeah, I really hope I can find Bluestreak...
For those of you who are finding him in-store, where are you located? I'm in the KCMO area and have checked a few Walgreens already. Just wondering if maybe he hasn't been distributed to my neck of the woods yet.

ER Wave 2 hit my Target this morning, although there were no Smokecreens or Allicons. 1 Arcee, and multiples of the others.
Which brings me to a question for anyone interested or bored--

I've never had a proper Cliffjumper in my collection, but bought him back when he was on sale at Target. Even though it still bugs me that he was $18, is this ER version better than ER Wheeljack?

My Target had 2 Wheeljacks, and I'm considering doing an exchange.
I know spending another $21 I'd have both, but I'm really looking to limit how much I'm spending on TF.

And just FYI to everyone... Was just talking with my fiancé and her mom about holiday stuff, and the subject of a predicted online shopping craze due to Covid came up.
As of right now, I believe that this is a really good possibility, and most likely going to happen.
Which is part of the reason I need to pump the brakes on spending any more $$$ on TF for myself.
Assuming you have someone to buy presents for, don't wait too long to start buying those items.
Please know I'm no conspiracy theorist, and I'm not sitting here freaking-out.
But the reality is, in light of current circumstances, waiting til December to buy stuff online for Christmas presents could be an issue. Not necessarily because of the availability of any specific product, but because of the factor of extended processing and shipping times.

[SGMLordMirage]

@Soundwave76, I purchased my Bluestreak at a Walgreens in Springfield, MO. At the time I bought him, two were on the shelf. I hadn't stopped by any other Walgreens.


SGM

[Sowndwave76]

@Soundwave76, I purchased my Bluestreak at a Walgreens in Springfield, MO. At the time I bought him, two were on the shelf. I hadn't stopped by any other Walgreens.


SGM

Thanks for the heads-up...
I'm about 3 hours away from Springfield, but I'll definitely be checking stores again soon.

[blackeyedprime]

Cliffjumpers a fairly nice figure despite being small for the price. His feet are a bit boatish and the windscreens jagged edges for how it looks/locks in botmode are my nit picks with him. Wheeljacks split windshield in three places and the resulting incorect torso shape made me pass on Wheeljack completely.
Def wouldnt trade in cliff for wheeljack as I think three other versions outshine him (MP, Prime, G1) and likely a ko MP could be found for his price tag if not a few dollars more.

[SGMLordMirage]

Just a quick shot of ER Smokescreen and Bluestreak together. Then a group shot with the addition of Arcee.


SGM

[aronjlove]

Just a quick shot of ER Smokescreen and Bluestreak together. Then a group shot with the addition of Arcee.


SGM

Nice diorama, those pics look sweet!

[o.supreme]

Well I am 5 for 5 in sighting Walgreens Exclusives (1 I never bought, 2 are part of my collection, and the last 2 I gifted to others)

I saw 4 Bluestreaks, and I was tempted for a minute to scalp them, but then logic and decency prevailed. Besides in order to make any profit you would have to sell them for $35 at a bare minimum. Are there 4 fans willing to pay that? Probably....but still in these times it's too much risk for too little reward IMHO. I don't know how they do it.

I just hope fans who want him get him, and if you don't have a Walgreens near you, hopefully the site will restock them. Unfortunately shipping has gotten so bad, I don't trust the mail even to send to other fans.

[chuckdawg1999]

I've finally received Earthrise Bluestreak from Amazon as of this evening! That was the last Wave 2 Deluxe figure I needed. Now, of course, Wave 2 Deluxe Class figures will finally pop up all over the place around me. I do have one issue, though. Amazon just put a bubble wrap mailing envelope around my Smokescreen box, and, of course, it arrived all dinged up, to the point where the tape popped off the top diagonal corner from the carboard being smashed there. Luckily, there seems to be no damage to the figure or anything else inside the box.

Welcome to the joy of ordering from Amazon. They'll pack figures in whatever fits.

[Emerje]

Well, even though I ordered him back in February or whenever Target had that deal, my Voyager Quint was canceled by Target. I approved three delays on the darn thing and they still couldn't get it to me. Now I'm worried about Thrust and Gigawatt

I know other people who had their Quints cancelled, but also I know people who bought 5 and received all 5, so there's that.

I have yet to actually have a Target pre-order cancelled, so here's hoping that that luck holds for Thrust and Runabout, and for that matter Overload, Sunstreaker, Vertebreak, and Gigawatt

Pretty sure this is why I'm upset. Walmart and Target seem to not have their stuff together when it comes to pre-order quantities like they over-commit or something. With Amazon, I know I will get my product. But I honestly cannot trust Walmart or Target, I either find the items in store first or they cancel on me.

Same thing happened to me with the Judge, I'm guessing they underestimated how many people would pre-order multiple and it screwed up distribution. It sucks, but if they offered the same deal in 2021 during Toy Fair (penciled in for May, let's see if it happens) I would still do it all over again. Target cancelled three of my figures from February (the Quint Judge and Cyberverse Deluxe Arcee and Thunderhowl because they had the wrong release date and cancelled after several "delays"), but I've had nine successes and five more waiting to be filled, all from February. I still consider this a huge success and it's saved me a lot of money.

I remember a few years ago there was a figure that Amazon just randomly cancelled on everyone, I can't remember which figure that was. Then there was a that whole TRU Titans Return Arcee debacle when they went and cancelled all of the early pre-orders after six months because it turned out their system could only hold payment information for six months and then automatically cancelled orders after that. Thankfully she was still available.

Trailbreaker popped up on Amazon for pre-order at $17.88 in stock November 8 and case anyone missed out or wants a fallback plan in case things get cancelled elsewhere.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083V ... UTF8&psc=1

Holy hell, this is the 2nd time today I have tried to order him when he was in stock on amazon and it kicks me out of the order screen and tells me he's out of stock when the listing is still active and shows him for the price. twice in 2 hours this has happened.

FU amazon

Had the same problem a few weeks ago trying to order Studio Series Topspin. Kept saying it was in stock even though when I tried to check out it would say out of stock. An hour or so later it finally showed out of stock on the item page.

FYI, Walmart dropped the Deluxe WFC price to $17.8-something as well, both Earthrise and Netflix.

Emerje

[Sowndwave76]

I feel like someone should get a talking to for how bad the color matching is on Sunstreaker.

Seriously. They need to re-release this character in another wave with a corrected color scheme. They really screwed this character, to whom appearance matters, up completely.

Completely agree. Even without considering the character's own vanity, it's really pretty odd and sad that this was so screwed up... It looks like a whack custom job.

[AcademyofDrX]

Has anyone actually weighed in on Sunstreaker based on what he looks like in-hand? In my experience, basic photographs can overemphasize minor differences based on materials.

I want my toys to look as cool as possible, but I also understand that these are mass-market products intended to be manufactured cheaply at scale. For perfectionists, there are expensive products like the Masterpiece line, or just buy some Tamiya and do the work yourself.

[aronjlove]

Has anyone actually weighed in on Sunstreaker based on what he looks like in-hand? In my experience, basic photographs can overemphasize minor differences based on materials.

I want my toys to look as cool as possible, but I also understand that these are mass-market products intended to be manufactured cheaply at scale. For perfectionists, there are expensive products like the Masterpiece line, or just buy some Tamiya and do the work yourself.

Wasn't there a similar issue with Hoist and once in hand, everything turned out fine?

[AcademyofDrX]

Wasn't there a similar issue with Hoist and once in hand, everything turned out fine?

viewtopic.php?t=114375&p=2058074#p2058074

[aronjlove]

Wasn't there a similar issue with Hoist and once in hand, everything turned out fine?

viewtopic.php?t=114375&p=2058074#p2058074

Yeah, I even commented back then about how my Hoist looks just fine in hand. And as I learned in the Selects thread, the right lighting can even make Siege Astrotrain look very different. I have a feeling Sunstreaker is going to look just fine.

[SGMLordMirage]

Just sharing some photo comparisons between the ER Arcee, TR Arcee, and T30 Arcee. Also, while I was trying to find my T30 Arcee I came across my Universe collection, so I decided to show ER Smokescreen and Bluestreak with their counterparts from the Universe line.

SGM

[Deadput]

Man the Universe Datsun mold looks so...eh

[SGMLordMirage]

Well actually the universe molds are a Nissan 350Z. I think my biggest issue with that mold was how the head set and the legs when posing. Definitely takes you back when comparing the two lines.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

Well actually the universe molds are a Nissan 350Z.

Nissan, Datsun, Fairlady, they're all the same

[SGMLordMirage]

True @ Jerez Bunnycat, . The brain fart of remembering that the earlier NIssan Datsun’s had the particular Z models, while later it would seem the “Datsun” was taken out, therefore leaving, said 350Z.