The Energon Pub

Here's another pic from their micro-blog:

So the hand is a separate piece. I had originally figured. Still, if it can store somewhere tastefully (at least in vehicle mode) then I'll be happy.

But why is the control cabin a separate piece? They just couldn't work it in seamlessly? I'm all for triple-changers with decent modes all around (something we see far too little of); hopefully they don't take too many concessions to pull it off. We are used to putting up with some awkward backpacks and kibble.

yeah, the canopy is lame. The first thing I thought was that they could have made it slide further into the arm to avoid it being kibble.

Not a dealbreaker, though. It'd really take a lot to make the Devestator set a dealbreaker in my eyes.

I'm very happy with the final choice of green but the chest, biceps and blaster look more blue than purple i.e. not good. It's nowhere near enough to put me off but I still hope it's just a badly coloured photo. At least the detachable digger-arm should satisfy those who were complaining about kibble in robot mode.

I can live with the overall cost so-long as it represents the quality, so don't let me down TFClub. Hopefully TFClub have thought things through; if quality is lacking in the first one or two figures, there will be less incentive for collectors to finish the set.

color good....price bad....compared to thundershred and other third party figs not even close. I mean come on, seriously...are we seriously considering paying 100 bucks for this thing.....when I spend 100 bucks, I'm getting solid...I'm getting finger artic...I'm getting tons of accessories....I'm getting details up the arse....I'm getting a solid top of the line figure. You can't give this figure a single one of those. All they have is a bunch of suckers(myself included..and I have put in a preorder...cancelled it...put it in again...and cancelled it again) who love love love combiners and the bigger the better. And just on the that notion...and some terrible pics of an incomplete frankenstein gestalt....they got us considering it.....and some of us buying it...I think they are overzealous and it's the people who take the leap who are going to pay. I can't do it. I've decided it's just not worth it. I refuse to promote such an obvious gouging of the die hard fan base.

I don't know if it is price gouging. Compared to other 3rd party products this kind of price seems normal.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:I don't know if it is price gouging. Compared to other 3rd party products this kind of price seems normal.

name one other just above deluxe size figure that has been listed for 100 bucks...zero. even mp's which are just over a hundred are fully articulated down to the hands....the insecticons are 47 bucks each.....knight morpher was 70 and that is a tricked out figure with a trailer....the two knock off optimus primes green and red (can't remember the name...you had to buy both) were 180 for two with trailers, legends size and bbts clearanced them at 130 for both!! faith leader is 120...you can't compare that to this...they are looking at us like a looney tunes sucker headed idiots...

I'm almost drunk enough right now that i'm considering buying into these figures. I should prolly sleep on this and sober up. 100 bucks a figure is too much and from what i've been reading about the QC track record i think TFclub should send me some more beer to persuade me to spend close to a months rent on this figure.

I certainly do think it will be a beautifull sight to behold when it's all said and done but i need more beer to suspend my inhibitions about blowing such a huge amount of cash on it.

I cancelled My Po after seeing the new pics.. They are out of their ***** minds...

LiKwid wrote:I cancelled My Po after seeing the new pics.. They are out of their ***** minds...

I am out of my mind as well.

Problem is that I now want some reviews on this guy. If someone can handle the figure and attest to the plastic quality then I'll have no worries.

Hey TF Club, if you see this post, know that I'm willing to do a review for you. Just get in contact with me.

monstergrotusque wrote:I'm almost drunk enough right now that i'm considering buying into these figures. I should prolly sleep on this and sober up. 100 bucks a figure is too much and from what i've been reading about the QC track record i think TFclub should send me some more beer to persuade me to spend close to a months rent on this figure.

I certainly do think it will be a beautifull sight to behold when it's all said and done but i need more beer to suspend my inhibitions about blowing such a huge amount of cash on it.

$100 is close to a month's rent for you? I've got to move to Canada...

Andrius wrote:

monstergrotusque wrote:I'm almost drunk enough right now that i'm considering buying into these figures. I should prolly sleep on this and sober up. 100 bucks a figure is too much and from what i've been reading about the QC track record i think TFclub should send me some more beer to persuade me to spend close to a months rent on this figure.

I certainly do think it will be a beautifull sight to behold when it's all said and done but i need more beer to suspend my inhibitions about blowing such a huge amount of cash on it.

$100 is close to a month's rent for you? I've got to move to Canada...

haha.....no. The complete figure in total . Although it can be bought in installments over the course of the year.
I would like to piece this figure together because in reality it is an awesome figure....well in concept anyways...but i would also like to see a review or two on the first released figure (Exgraver) before i commit to buying. I'm not willing to make a leap of faith on this set. There's too many QC variables to be considered.
Did i mention i'm drunk

moneycon wrote:

Gauntlet101010 wrote:I don't know if it is price gouging. Compared to other 3rd party products this kind of price seems normal.

name one other just above deluxe size figure that has been listed for 100 bucks...zero.

Delicate Warrior springs to mind.

We don't know how big the Insecticons will be, so they are bad examples untill we get some idea of their size. It's a little unfair to compare to FP as they are undisputibly the best 3rd party company, but even FP's trailers cost about $100 when you factor in the figure you absolutely must buy in order to use them.

Faith Leader, from what I gather, is fragile and even moreso for the clear version and he's about $100. They might have improved QC with the Conheads, haven't heard bad things about them yet.

Scouting Force X is $90 and that's not too far off from this guy. Tons of accessories, sure, but so very small and with three identical molds. In my mind they are "popcorn Transformers" because of how small they are. Their Ultimate Set is also about $100 and the TFs there are fairly simple and small.

And then there's Crazy Devy. Oh, Crazy Devy. How much does $100 buy you with them and how much is worth it? G1 parts are expencive, but their prices are nuts.

And then there's other products. $60 for iGear's Hammer set. Not $100, sure, but still a lot for a set that doesn't quite deliver. PE's Godsword is listed at $80. Everything PE makes is expencive.

The prices are high and really all over the place for what you get from 3rd parties. So I dunno if just under $100 is price gouging for this guy. It's all incredibly expencive.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:We don't know how big the Insecticons will be, so they are bad examples untill we get some idea of their size. It's a little unfair to compare to FP as they are undisputibly the best 3rd party company, but even FP's trailers cost about $100 when you factor in the figure you absolutely must buy in order to use them.

We do know how big they will be. They are around the size of FP Munitioner and Explorer. That puts them at Scout class.

Basically FP Insecticons are about $50 and Constructicons are about $100. It balances out I guess.

warbot...amazing figure 90...faith leader is a great figure...by far the best prime I've ever seen and owned. scout set is so small it has gimmick. you put this thing in a package and put it on walmarts shelf, take away the fact that it will connect to 5 other bots and you wouldn't pay 19.99...you'd wait for clearance.

There are great prices on some 3rd party stuff, like Defender. But terrible for others, like Valkerie.

I like Scouting Force X. They're neat and fun. But so very, very small. Almost lost some bits more than once.

Some people just can't get it.

I don't like the shade of purple(blue) in the new pictures but the figure looks solid. Nothing to make me not want to buy the figure yet.

$100 is a lot given the relative simplicity of the design but is about in line for it's size. $50 for FansProject's scout sized Causality figures. Defender was about $90 when it was first released and it's a large deluxe/voyager which is what I think Exgraver is. Plus, different manufacturers probably use different suppliers, printers, etc. and so incure different costs.

At the end of the day, those who don't want it will tell themselves whatever they need to in order to justify not getting it, and those that do want it will do the same.

moneycon wrote:warbot...amazing figure 90...faith leader is a great figure...by far the best prime I've ever seen and owned. scout set is so small it has gimmick. you put this thing in a package and put it on walmarts shelf, take away the fact that it will connect to 5 other bots and you wouldn't pay 19.99...you'd wait for clearance.

That's just mean. No independent is going on a walmart shelf. I'd say as a third party, 50 or under on it's own. But one thing everyone is ignoring is that 3rd party companies are not created equal and are not subject to competition (yet). Unless you have a some inside on their infrastructure and resources, TFC may not be able to make retailable batches of this size class for less than 100.

Either way; regardless of who you're talking about, price of admission is just another part of being a patron of a 3rd party (or any) company. We KNOW most from iGear pushes 100. We know FP skews cheaper, and they do because that's what they're comfortable with. It's just the rules of the game.

Am I happy with 100 for Exgraver? Of course not. Nor am I thrilled the rest of Hercules' awkwardly named members will hold this pattern. But if I'm going all in (kind of the point here), I can safely bet TFC's prices will be the best I'm going to find. The gods of clearance are too fickle to gamble on.

Requiem Prime wrote:

moneycon wrote:warbot...amazing figure 90...faith leader is a great figure...by far the best prime I've ever seen and owned. scout set is so small it has gimmick. you put this thing in a package and put it on walmarts shelf, take away the fact that it will connect to 5 other bots and you wouldn't pay 19.99...you'd wait for clearance.

That's just mean. No independent is going on a walmart shelf. I'd say as a third party, 50 or under on it's own. But one thing everyone is ignoring is that 3rd party companies are not created equal and are not subject to competition (yet). Unless you have a some inside on their infrastructure and resources, TFC may not be able to make retailable batches of this size class for less than 100.

Either way; regardless of who you're talking about, price of admission is just another part of being a patron of a 3rd party (or any) company. We KNOW most from iGear pushes 100. We know FP skews cheaper, and they do because that's what they're comfortable with. It's just the rules of the game.

Am I happy with 100 for Exgraver? Of course not. Nor am I thrilled the rest of Hercules' awkwardly named members will hold this pattern. But if I'm going all in (kind of the point here), I can safely bet TFC's prices will be the best I'm going to find. The gods of clearance are too fickle to gamble on.

Come on man....mean? There is nothing mean about reality. you show you're girlfriend or an independent person a picture of just that figure and that of warbot or faith leader (who(as well as all other igear products at about 100) is on a whole other level in terms of artic)and then a $15.00 dollar deluxe or even a 20 dollar voyager and say here are the prices of these what would you think this one is priced at...you already know the answer. That's not mean...stop fooling yourself.

With respect to Faith Leader, producing a knockoff is obviously going to be easier and cheaper than producing a completely new figure from the ground up. And even then he costs as much as the original did, only giving you a smaller size.

don't get me wrong, I understand the WANT to buy this thing...and I understand being able to rationalize it....but the figure does not stand up..comparatively speaker..either thru artic, size, style, accessories, gimmick or as a g1 throw back redo to justify 100 bucks. It's obviously your money and you can do what you want.....but you can't deny those facts to justify it.

We'll have to agree to disagree here. The entire 3rd party scene is expensive to me. I don't think the price here is more overly expensive than on Delicate Warrior or Scouting Force X. And both are much more expensive than what I'd pay for at retail.

At retail, I might have bought this guy over Scouting Force X. Generally, I prefer my TFs to be at least deluxe size.

The price for this guy is exactly the price I expected it to be. The only unpleasant surprise is that the canopy is kibble.

moneycon wrote:don't get me wrong, I understand the WANT to buy this thing...and I understand being able to rationalize it....but the figure does not stand up..comparatively speaker..either thru artic, size, style, accessories, gimmick or as a g1 throw back redo to justify 100 bucks. It's obviously your money and you can do what you want.....but you can't deny those facts to justify it.

You claim to understand folk's reasons for going for this figure. You ackowledge that we can do what we want with our money. And yet you insist on repeatedly arguing that we are wrong to invest based on your reasonings. You have every right to your own beliefs, and they certainly solidify your username. But a good argument need only be expressed once, not several times, and now you're boring me. You've expressed your opinion. Now give it a rest.

Sodan-1 wrote:

moneycon wrote:don't get me wrong, I understand the WANT to buy this thing...and I understand being able to rationalize it....but the figure does not stand up..comparatively speaker..either thru artic, size, style, accessories, gimmick or as a g1 throw back redo to justify 100 bucks. It's obviously your money and you can do what you want.....but you can't deny those facts to justify it.

You claim to understand folk's reasons for going for this figure. You ackowledge that we can do what we want with our money. And yet you insist on repeatedly arguing that we are wrong to invest based on your reasonings. You have every right to your own beliefs, and they certainly solidify your username. But a good argument need only be expressed once, not several times, and now you're boring me. You've expressed your opinion. Now give it a rest.

First of all, YOU continue to engage with me(ie username comment that has no basis what so ever).....Second of all you're right.