The Energon Pub

Just preordered this on the spur of the moment.

Va'al wrote:

Mindmaster wrote:God, save me from these terrible puns...

Neigh.

I laughed much harder than I should have!

Now then...I would honestly love to pick up RID Optimus and UM, but that $150 price tag turns me off...I guess it's the Takara release though, eh?

RAcast wrote:

Va'al wrote:

Mindmaster wrote:God, save me from these terrible puns...

Neigh.

I laughed much harder than I should have!

Now then...I would honestly love to pick up RID Optimus and UM, but that $150 price tag turns me off...I guess it's the Takara release though, eh?

By Hasbro I think, though the listing does mention the inclusion of the God/Master Sword which I so desperately want.

Hmm. I wonder what sort of deco this would come in. If it's nothing too outrageous or horsey, I might get it.

Still hoping it comes with a horse mask accessory.

We should seen this coming, since Hasbro's been a Little Pony lately...

By the sounds of incessant punning, I take it most of you just don't care about this news.

Is this Takara's response? Are they noticing 3rd Parties and reacting with more reprints of old toys? $150. Nice. They're making 3rd Party toys more and more affordable with these prices. Bravo. Excellent strategy.

This is a great gem to pull out and reprint... but $150???

DecepticonFinishline wrote:So, I suppose this means that they have no plans of taking RiD Optimus' results in the Masterpiece poll into account..

I wanted Masterpiece RiD Prime the most...

You are not the only one that was looking forward to a them doing a masterpiece Optimus fire truck. I voted for him in that poll too. This shouldn't cancel out the chance of still getting a Mp version of this toy, cause its a got mould. And I know takara can do a very great job updating and modernizing this figure.

I do care! I think RiD Optimus is a great toy, and would love to own a decent version of him.
I want to see the deco before I think aobut it more.

We were just horsing around with puns.

Va'al wrote:We were just horsing around with puns.

Good God, they're endless in the hands of this man...

I own the original, but it's seen some action (missing his arm and shoulder pauldron in Super Mode, missing the missiles, missing the rubber tires, and a wee bit rusty), so unless it looks completely pimped, it will be a great relief on my wallet on passing him up.

That Starscream that was mentioned along with it though... no excuse, I gotta have it.

Mindmaster wrote:

Va'al wrote:We were just horsing around with puns.

Good God, they're endless in the hands of this man...

Alas, I'm foaling no one now. Used the same ones a couple of times.

Metrosuplex wrote:By the sounds of incessant punning, I take it most of you just don't care about this news.

Is this Takara's response? Are they noticing 3rd Parties and reacting with more reprints of old toys? $150. Nice. They're making 3rd Party toys more and more affordable with these prices. Bravo. Excellent strategy.

This is a great gem to pull out and reprint... but $150???

You do understand that that's the import pricing though right? Honestly, this reminds me of people who whine like mad over paying $80+ for the MP Autobot cars from BBTS when they could pay just over half that preordering from a Japanese retailer (such as HLJ - which is even conveniently located to the right sidebar). Seriously whilst being annoyed over con exclusive inflation is reasonable, I just shake my head at people complaining over the fruits of their own lack of proactivity.

Va'al wrote:

Mindmaster wrote:

Va'al wrote:We were just horsing around with puns.

Good God, they're endless in the hands of this man...

Alas, I'm foaling no one now. Used the same ones a couple of times.

So I guess the puns can all go to the glue factory?

Dead Metal wrote:What Matrix?

This Matrix.

Dead Metal wrote:And fit inside chest implies that it's removable, which leaves Cybertron, MPs, G1, and THS Primes.

Not unless it's speaking of the character rather than the toy, since I doubt the toy has led battles against Decepticons for millions of years.

It says that he is the "ultimate Autobot" because of his Matrix. Having a Matrix isn't really anything that special for an Optimus toy, but it is special from a fictional perspective, implying that it's the character, rather than the toy, who is the "ultimate Autobot" because of his Matrix.

The fact that it "fits" in him is a sign that he is meant to have it and meant to be Autobot leader, almost something like a nod to the G1 movie in which the Matrix didn't quite fit inside Ultra Magnus, as evidenced by his having to momentarily readjust it when he put it into his chest.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

Va'al wrote:

Mindmaster wrote:

Va'al wrote:We were just horsing around with puns.

Good God, they're endless in the hands of this man...

Alas, I'm foaling no one now. Used the same ones a couple of times.

So I guess the puns can all go to the glue factory?

Sabrblade wrote:

Dead Metal wrote:What Matrix?

This Matrix.

Dead Metal wrote:And fit inside chest implies that it's removable, which leaves Cybertron, MPs, G1, and THS Primes.

Not unless it's speaking of the character rather than the toy, since I doubt the toy has led battles against Decepticons for millions of years.

It says that he is the "ultimate Autobot" because of his Matrix. Having a Matrix isn't really anything that special for an Optimus toy, but it is special from a fictional perspective, implying that it's the character, rather than the toy, who is the "ultimate Autobot" because of his Matrix.

The fact that it "fits" in him is a sign that he is meant to have it and meant to be Autobot leader, almost something like a nod to the G1 movie in which the Matrix didn't quite fit inside Ultra Magnus, as evidenced by his having to momentarily readjust it when he put it into his chest.

...you sure? It sounds like it's talking about the toy to me. In the second part at least, the first part is definitely the character.

For millions of years, noble Optimus Prime has led the Autobots in their war against the tyranny of Megatron and his evil Decepticons. His unwavering courage in the face of centuries of desperate battle is an inspiration to his comrades. He is an unstoppable warrior and a flawless leader; pushing ahead through the darkest times in the history of Cybertron. He remains unbowed, unbroken and always committed to victory.

The leader of the Autobots is back and more unstoppable than ever! Everyone will know that this mighty Year of the Horse Optimus Prime figure is the ultimate Autobot, because the Matrix of Leadership fits in his chest. He'll shred his Decepticon enemies with his Energon axe in robot mode, and flatten them in truck mode! Convert his trailer to a battle station with a maintenance dock, where you can store his ion cannon and Energon axe. Your Transformers adventures will be off the hook with this Optimus Prime figure!

Va'al wrote:...you sure? It sounds like it's talking about the toy to me. In the second part at least, the first part is definitely the character.

Looks to me like it fully starts talking strictly about the toy at the word "Convert", since I doubt the toy's Energon axe can actually do enough harm to "shred" things (wouldn't get past toy safety laws if it could).

But, even if the whole second paragraph were talking about the toy like you say, saying that his Matrix fits inside his chest doesn't contradict the fact that it's non-removable since a molded-in Matrix would have to stay fit and in place inside his chest by default.

Or, you know, it's a marketing blurb for an action figure.

Sabrblade wrote:

Dead Metal wrote:What Matrix?

This Matrix.

I checked, that is supposed to be an energy socket, and then the FunPub comics portrayed it as The Matrix. Weird, always looked more like a weapon to me.
So if that is supposed to be the Matrix, it means he can only use it while in powerup mode, since you know it's part of that mode's chest.
So it doesn't really fit in his chest, but rather is one of the boobs of his super mode.

Dead Metal wrote:And fit inside chest implies that it's removable, which leaves Cybertron, MPs, G1, and THS Primes.

Not unless it's speaking of the character rather than the toy, since I doubt the toy has led battles against Decepticons for millions of years.

It says that he is the "ultimate Autobot" because of his Matrix. Having a Matrix isn't really anything that special for an Optimus toy, but it is special from a fictional perspective, implying that it's the character, rather than the toy, who is the "ultimate Autobot" because of his Matrix.

The fact that it "fits" in him is a sign that he is meant to have it and meant to be Autobot leader, almost something like a nod to the G1 movie in which the Matrix didn't quite fit inside Ultra Magnus, as evidenced by his having to momentarily readjust it when he put it into his chest.

It's kinda special for the toys, since not many toys come with a removable Matrix, or Matrix for that.

But here's the thing, we won't really know for sure which Optimus will be used for this Year of the Horse Optimus. For all we know, it might even be the G2 version of the G1 mold with an extra axe and Matrix.

I think that the 'Year of the Horse' OP and this Super Fire Convoy reissue are two distinct items. BBTS has Super Fire Convoy listed as a Takara reissue and the price is consistent with it being a Takara item. TRU.ca wouldn't be carrying a Takara reissue.

Ketchup wrote:I think that the 'Year of the Horse' OP and this Super Fire Convoy reissue are two distinct items. BBTS has Super Fire Convoy listed as a Takara reissue and the price is consistent with it being a Takara item. TRU.ca wouldn't be carrying a Takara reissue.

So it wasn't just me then. Man I hope Screamer is a 2nd release of MP-11.

AWESOME!!! I have R.I.D. Ultra Magnus.
I hope you can still combine R.I.D. Ultra Magnus with Year of the Horse Optimus Prime, coz I missed out on getting the R.I.D. version.

Ketchup wrote:I think that the 'Year of the Horse' OP and this Super Fire Convoy reissue are two distinct items. BBTS has Super Fire Convoy listed as a Takara reissue and the price is consistent with it being a Takara item. TRU.ca wouldn't be carrying a Takara reissue.

It's looking like this statement maybe true. I may have jumped the gun on this one. Year of the Horse Optimus is looking more and more like a MP-10 reissue like the original news story states.

Bowspearer wrote:

Metrosuplex wrote:By the sounds of incessant punning, I take it most of you just don't care about this news.

Is this Takara's response? Are they noticing 3rd Parties and reacting with more reprints of old toys? $150. Nice. They're making 3rd Party toys more and more affordable with these prices. Bravo. Excellent strategy.

This is a great gem to pull out and reprint... but $150???

You do understand that that's the import pricing though right? Honestly, this reminds me of people who whine like mad over paying $80+ for the MP Autobot cars from BBTS when they could pay just over half that preordering from a Japanese retailer (such as HLJ - which is even conveniently located to the right sidebar). Seriously whilst being annoyed over con exclusive inflation is reasonable, I just shake my head at people complaining over the fruits of their own lack of proactivity.

So you're saying that $150 import = $80 import. Got it.

How much you pullin' in? I'm just curious if I should imagine an Aspen-regular or a negative-credit preppy when I read such comments.

Metrosuplex wrote:So you're saying that $150 import = $80 import. Got it.

How much you pullin' in? I'm just curious if I should imagine an Aspen-regular or a negative-credit preppy when I read such comments.

You're not getting it at all. Let me put it this way. Take Masterpiece Prowl for example. Generally what happens is that someone like BBTS will either import from a Japanese retailer or from a Japanese wholesaler, whereby they're paying not only for the item cost, but for freight - all of that gets factored into their markups, and presuming there's no price gouging, then you're paying a markup on quite possibly Japanese retail and a markup on shipping.


Let's compare that to buying from a Japanese online retailer - in this case HLJ.

In the case of Masterpiece Prowl (and this is all in USD), the preorder price from HLJ was $47.67 and the retail price from them is listed at $59.58 - plus whatever the shipping is.

BBTS want $79.99 for it on preorder plus whatever the shipping is.

In other words, if you by from an international importer rather than a local retailer (which is what HLJ is in the case of Japanese releases), then you're going to pay way more for it than if you'd gone for the local retailer option had had them ship it internationally to you.

It's the same deal here- anyone forking out BBTS prices on that rather than dealing with a Japanese online store, only has themselves to blame and has no right to complain about high prices which they've chosen to pay.

I just bought a new RID Optimus Prime a few weeks back at a convention for a normal price. I see no need for a reissue, anyone can get 'm anywhere for a decent price nowadays.

Personally, I don't see a need for a Prime reissue, which prime ever. How about Head Masters?

Bowspearer wrote:

Metrosuplex wrote:So you're saying that $150 import = $80 import. Got it.

How much you pullin' in? I'm just curious if I should imagine an Aspen-regular or a negative-credit preppy when I read such comments.

You're not getting it at all. Let me put it this way. Take Masterpiece Prowl for example. Generally what happens is that someone like BBTS will either import from a Japanese retailer or from a Japanese wholesaler, whereby they're paying not only for the item cost, but for freight - all of that gets factored into their markups, and presuming there's no price gouging, then you're paying a markup on quite possibly Japanese retail and a markup on shipping.


Let's compare that to buying from a Japanese online retailer - in this case HLJ.

In the case of Masterpiece Prowl (and this is all in USD), the preorder price from HLJ was $47.67 and the retail price from them is listed at $59.58 - plus whatever the shipping is.

BBTS want $79.99 for it on preorder plus whatever the shipping is.

In other words, if you by from an international importer rather than a local retailer (which is what HLJ is in the case of Japanese releases), then you're going to pay way more for it than if you'd gone for the local retailer option had had them ship it internationally to you.

It's the same deal here- anyone forking out BBTS prices on that rather than dealing with a Japanese online store, only has themselves to blame and has no right to complain about high prices which they've chosen to pay.

I take offense to this standpoint. You should not make others feel bad if they choose to order from import websites. When I realized I wanted MP Prowl, Bluestreak and Smokescreen they were already sold out on the Japanese sites like Ami Ami HLJ and Hobby Search. I had no choice but to preorder them from BBTS. I do however have Takara Metroplex and a few others reordered through AmiAmi

I am not complaining about the price, I feel it's a fair markup due to convenience and customer service quality from BBTS. If you had a problem like I did with a Broken MP Black Convoy I'm sure it would have been a hard time trying to get a replacement from HLJ or other foreign sites. BBTS replaced my toy with little trouble.

I don't know if it's your intention to shame others who either couldn't order from Japanese sites fast enough, or simply want to use a local distributor. If it is, i would recommend you reevaluate your attitude. I come to this site for information, not to feel ashamed.