The Energon Pub

Like Blasphemous Prime on Facebook · by **Blasphemous Prime** » Sat May 09, 2015 3:01 pm

Our first female Masterpiece! I'll probably get her.

What about more cons? I know she wasn't in G1 but I've always wanted a masterpiece slipstream.
Takara could use the seeker mold, change the head and a few other minor pieces... BAM!

I'd say repaints are a necessary evil in the line. They help fund new projects. :KREMZEEK:

by **skynet1O1** » Sun May 10, 2015 12:20 pm

Wheeljack808 wrote:Ugh, getting sick of these retool Masterpieces.

I had no interest in Exhaust and I have no interest in this either.

Masterpiece had a good run going with so many classic characters. I mean I didn't really want Star Saber but that's just because I didn't watch much if any of the Japanese G1 stuff. It was still at least a unique new mold and I applaud them for making it as an homage to that series.

But this? Exhaust as a one-off I can see but this is just lazy now. And don't think its just the G1 fan-boy in me either. I have the same feelings about Goldbug, the retool of Bumblebee. It was neat I guess but I have no desire to get one.

Let's see some new molds!

I have your exact same feelings. I don't mind retools as long as they're relevant but it's just not for me if they had no impact on me during my childhood. I can't wait for tracks so I hope Takara didn't waste molds on making more road rage figures.

News Credits: 293 · by **shajaki** » Sun May 10, 2015 12:24 pm

skynet1O1 wrote:I can't wait for tracks so I hope Takara didn't waste molds on making more road rage figures.

I'm afraid I don't quite understand this... :???:

News Credits: 1235 · by **LOST Cybertronian** » Sun May 10, 2015 3:30 pm

skynet1O1 wrote:
Wheeljack808 wrote:Ugh, getting sick of these retool Masterpieces.

I had no interest in Exhaust and I have no interest in this either.

Masterpiece had a good run going with so many classic characters. I mean I didn't really want Star Saber but that's just because I didn't watch much if any of the Japanese G1 stuff. It was still at least a unique new mold and I applaud them for making it as an homage to that series.

But this? Exhaust as a one-off I can see but this is just lazy now. And don't think its just the G1 fan-boy in me either. I have the same feelings about Goldbug, the retool of Bumblebee. It was neat I guess but I have no desire to get one.

Let's see some new molds!

I have your exact same feelings. I don't mind retools as long as they're relevant but it's just not for me if they had no impact on me during my childhood. I can't wait for tracks so I hope Takara didn't waste molds on making more road rage figures.

I hope you both realize that if there was no retools or repaints that new molds wouldn't come out any faster. These things take time and money which the repaints and retools help provide. If these figures aren't for you than that is well and good but there are more people in the fandom other than you two. A lot of those other fans including myself enjoy these and that's who Takara is targeting with these retools and repaints.

News Credits: 60 · by **fenrir72** » Sun May 10, 2015 3:37 pm

skynet1O1 wrote:
Wheeljack808 wrote:Ugh, getting sick of these retool Masterpieces.

I had no interest in Exhaust and I have no interest in this either.

Masterpiece had a good run going with so many classic characters. I mean I didn't really want Star Saber but that's just because I didn't watch much if any of the Japanese G1 stuff. It was still at least a unique new mold and I applaud them for making it as an homage to that series.

But this? Exhaust as a one-off I can see but this is just lazy now. And don't think its just the G1 fan-boy in me either. I have the same feelings about Goldbug, the retool of Bumblebee. It was neat I guess but I have no desire to get one.

Let's see some new molds!

I have your exact same feelings. I don't mind retools as long as they're relevant but it's just not for me if they had no impact on me during my childhood. I can't wait for tracks so I hope Takara didn't waste molds on making more road rage figures.

Tracks comes first before Roadrage. Thhe latter has a significant re-tooling. So what was wasted?

As for the retool, sometimes in can be redundant but even in their mass release lines we have CW retools, CHUG also had retools. I'm not even too excited with the Seeker retool of the Jetfire mold but that IS a significant part of reality.

At least in Roadrage's case, her face and hip/groin area was retooled to best reflect the character and not like this:

Not only limited and expensive, a very lazy repaint. Heck, they just slapped on the name and called this Orion Pax. At least for the respect of the character, Takara'd had given this a new head.

News Credits: 26 · by **MaverickPrime** » Mon May 11, 2015 5:19 pm

Huh, she looks far better than I thought she would, now it's a matter of deciding if I prefer red with blue details or blue with red details, because both look fantastic but I don't think I can afford both :/ is Road Rage a limited release?

News Credits: 25 · by **SW's SilverHammer** » Mon May 11, 2015 5:23 pm

MaverickPrime wrote:Huh, she looks far better than I thought she would, now it's a matter of deciding if I prefer red with blue details or blue with red details, because both look fantastic but I don't think I can afford both :/ is Road Rage a limited release?

She seems to be a regular release, like exhaust was intended to be. Granted, who knows what might happen with the little red corvette, maybe R.O.A.R.R. will prevent her from coming to the states because she promote vehicular homicide ore something.

News Credits: 60 · by **fenrir72** » Wed May 13, 2015 5:27 pm

Care of amiami:

http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail ... agecnt%3D1

@ Y 5250 (30%) off

Available late October 2015 (that long a wait and just for one remold, nice and not so nice)

News Credits: 293 · by **shajaki** » Wed May 13, 2015 7:03 pm

Done and done. Thanks Fen ;)^

News Credits: 41 · by **Cobotron** » Wed May 13, 2015 7:11 pm

Done and done. Thanks Fen ;)^

nice jaki!

News Credits: 60 · by **fenrir72** » Wed May 13, 2015 7:11 pm

shajaki wrote:Done and done. Thanks Fen

You are very much welcomed shajster!Cobster! :grin:

Back on MP releases for 2015.

Star Saber March

Exhaust March

Gold Bumblebee July

Tracks July/August baring delays

Roadrage late October

So only 5 releases this year though October to December is a wide gap which may pull off a big surprise.
In 2014, we had like Lambor G2, Soundblaster, (very delayed)Wheeljack, BB and UM. I'm kind of sad that Roadrage might just be the last MP for 2015 given how TT has released a number of characters in their MP line.

News Credits: 293 · by **shajaki** » Wed May 13, 2015 8:03 pm

Lightly sprinkle on some BlueBuestreak and that list is ready for bakin!

News Credits: 60 · by **fenrir72** » Wed May 13, 2015 8:13 pm

shajaki wrote:Lightly sprinkle on some BlueBuestreak and that list is ready for bakin!

Yah. The uber limited release. :HEADHURTS:

Thanks.

Also wonder how her toy accurate weapon can be integrated into her vehicle mode. Aside from slipping it into her arms.

News Credits: 41 · by **Cobotron** » Wed May 13, 2015 9:26 pm

fenrir72 wrote:
shajaki wrote:Lightly sprinkle on some BlueBuestreak and that list is ready for bakin!

Yah. The uber limited release. Thanks.

Also wonder how her toy accurate weapon can be integrated into her vehicle mode. Aside from slipping it into her arms.

I do have BLUE sprinkles on my 2015 MP cake as well.

Fen, I was just studying pics of RR and can't see how that weapon integrates, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Tak Masters figured out a way. Let's hope they did.

Another thing. I figured the pre-orders were sold out for Tracks by now. To my chagrin, they were not! So I went ahead and pulled the trigger on that one too. Gonna be a tasty cake this year! :lol:

Also Fen, in your list above you have release for Tracks as July/August. AmiAmi is showing "late September".

News Credits: 60 · by **fenrir72** » Wed May 13, 2015 10:04 pm

Cobotron wrote:
fenrir72 wrote:
shajaki wrote:Lightly sprinkle on some BlueBuestreak and that list is ready for bakin!

Yah. The uber limited release. Thanks.

Also wonder how her toy accurate weapon can be integrated into her vehicle mode. Aside from slipping it into her arms.

I do have BLUE sprinkles on my 2015 MP cake as well.

Fen, I was just studying pics of RR and can't see how that weapon integrates, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Tak Masters figured out a way. Let's hope they did.

Another thing. I figured the pre-orders were sold out for Tracks by now. To my chagrin, they were not! So I went ahead and pulled the trigger on that one too. Gonna be a tasty cake this year!

Also Fen, in your list above you have release for Tracks as July/August. AmiAmi is showing "late September".

Typo on my part......gomen...........gomen. That cupcake you're gonna get is one mighty tasty one. :lol:

For the first time, I've ordered a TF from BigInJapan. But He's already sold out there. Good thing amiami still has Tracks. Though this time, amiami beat them to it by having Roadrage available for preorder first.

On the releases of MP figures for 2015, I failed to mention this (revised):

Star Saber March

Exhaust March

Convoy (MP-10) re-issue end of May

Gold Bumblebee late July

Tracks July/August baring delays maybe end of September

Roadrage late October

News Credits: 119 · by **megatronus** » Thu May 14, 2015 11:29 pm

FYI folks, she's up at HLJ:

http://hlj.com/product/TKT83393/Sci

News Credits: 119 · by **megatronus** » Thu May 14, 2015 11:39 pm

So, from folks who have ordered from all these places, who has the best shipping rates?

HLJ
AmiAmi
AnimeExport

?

News Credits: 60 · by **fenrir72** » Fri May 15, 2015 1:35 am

megatronus wrote:So, from folks who have ordered from all these places, who has the best shipping rates?

HLJ
AmiAmi
AnimeExport

?

amiami has sal registered and sal parcel. Cheaper than EMS.

hobbysearch has sal registered and EMS (most of the time they go EMS)

hlj has sal and Ems iirc

AnimeExport........not familiar with them megs

News Credits: 25 · by **SW's SilverHammer** » Fri May 15, 2015 1:42 am

fenrir72 wrote:
megatronus wrote:So, from folks who have ordered from all these places, who has the best shipping rates?

HLJ
AmiAmi
AnimeExport

?

amiami has sal registered and sal parcel. Cheaper than EMS.

hobbysearch has sal registered and EMS (most of the time they go EMS)

hlj has sal and Ems iirc

AnimeExport........not familiar with them megs

How many of these have flat rates? like BBTS where it's like 7 bucks plus 1 dollar or so per pound, or based on item price, or distance? If it's the latter, hopefully it'd be cheap for me on the west coast.

by **wilcosu35** » Fri May 15, 2015 1:44 am

fenrir72 wrote:
megatronus wrote:So, from folks who have ordered from all these places, who has the best shipping rates?

HLJ
AmiAmi
AnimeExport

?

amiami has sal registered and sal parcel. Cheaper than EMS.

hobbysearch has sal registered and EMS (most of the time they go EMS)

hlj has sal and Ems iirc

AnimeExport........not familiar with them megs

HLJ also has Fedex. for small, cheap packages i usually pick sal, but for the more expensive stuff i always go for fedex. it's sometimes a bit cheaper than ems, sometimes not.
but the main difference to me is that fedex is a lot faster. with them i don't get the holdup at customs, which can take a few weeks, and their handling fee for customs is lower than the one used by dutch carrier postnl.

News Credits: 60 · by **fenrir72** » Fri May 15, 2015 1:49 am

SW's SilverHammer wrote:
fenrir72 wrote:
megatronus wrote:So, from folks who have ordered from all these places, who has the best shipping rates?

HLJ
AmiAmi
AnimeExport

?

amiami has sal registered and sal parcel. Cheaper than EMS.

hobbysearch has sal registered and EMS (most of the time they go EMS)

hlj has sal and Ems iirc

AnimeExport........not familiar with them megs

How many of these have flat rates? like BBTS where it's like 7 bucks plus 1 dollar or so per pound, or based on item price, or distance? If it's the latter, hopefully it'd be cheap for me on the west coast.

Amiami has a scale to price guide. Hobbysearch informs you after the item is available and ready for shipping.They also have EMS.

In as much as I'd prefer EMS, supposedly for the speed, I'm avoiding it because in the country I reside in, it isn't delivered to your doorstep. You actually have to go to the godd@mn airport hub to claim it and get taxed like sheeeeeeeeet! So I opt for registered mail, sal registered or sal parcel. EMS is the last resort. Sal registered and sal parcel are delivered to a post office much closer to the residence I hibernate in which is close to the hospital I work in.

News Credits: 25 · by **SW's SilverHammer** » Fri May 15, 2015 1:54 am

fenrir72 wrote:
SW's SilverHammer wrote:
fenrir72 wrote:
megatronus wrote:So, from folks who have ordered from all these places, who has the best shipping rates?

HLJ
AmiAmi
AnimeExport

?

amiami has sal registered and sal parcel. Cheaper than EMS.

hobbysearch has sal registered and EMS (most of the time they go EMS)

hlj has sal and Ems iirc

AnimeExport........not familiar with them megs

How many of these have flat rates? like BBTS where it's like 7 bucks plus 1 dollar or so per pound, or based on item price, or distance? If it's the latter, hopefully it'd be cheap for me on the west coast.

Amiami has a scale to price guide. Hobbysearch informs you after the item is available and ready for shipping.They also have EMS.

In as much as I'd prefer EMS, supposedly for the speed, I'm avoiding it because in the country I reside in, it isn't delivered to your doorstep. You actually have to go to the godd@mn airport hub to claim it and get taxed like sheeeeeeeeet! So I opt for registered mail, sal registered or sal parcel. EMS is the last result.

Yeah I had some, uh deliberations with AmiAmi over a figma, they were nice about it though. For like 4,960 JPY figma, it was 1,500 JYP for EMS shipping.

News Credits: 60 · by **fenrir72** » Fri May 15, 2015 2:19 am

wilcosu35 wrote:
fenrir72 wrote:
megatronus wrote:So, from folks who have ordered from all these places, who has the best shipping rates?

HLJ
AmiAmi
AnimeExport

?

amiami has sal registered and sal parcel. Cheaper than EMS.

hobbysearch has sal registered and EMS (most of the time they go EMS)

hlj has sal and Ems iirc

AnimeExport........not familiar with them megs

HLJ also has Fedex. for small, cheap packages i usually pick sal, but for the more expensive stuff i always go for fedex. it's sometimes a bit cheaper than ems, sometimes not.
but the main difference to me is that fedex is a lot faster. with them i don't get the holdup at customs, which can take a few weeks, and their handling fee for customs is lower than the one used by dutch carrier postnl.

hlj is kind of like an old shadow of its former self. Sure they occassionally get TFs before other stores but now, they can't even guarantee the availability despite your preorder. Their catalog of anime figures today are soooooooo limited that they have ceased to be an alternative to the other companies. I noticed their downward spiral when they started gunning for the nearly same price level of amiami and hlj.

It's good they now have those e-hobby figures of Starcream and the rest but it seems that those products didn't sell well for Tomy anyway and they're probably getting rid of excess inventory.

News Credits: 1 · by **SkyWarpt** » Fri May 15, 2015 10:14 am

megatronus wrote:So, from folks who have ordered from all these places, who has the best shipping rates?

HLJ
AmiAmi
AnimeExport

?

I ordered MP BB from Anime Export. Shipping cost me $7-8, not bad at all...it did take a while (little over 3wks) but that was due to US customs and the fact my shipment took the scenic route to get here. RR preordered

News Credits: 41 · by **Cobotron** » Fri May 15, 2015 10:48 am

It seems that AmiAmi doesn't charge shipping until the item is in stock. I'm assuming they wait to weigh it.

AmiAmi will be my first go at ordering direct from Japan. I put G2 Bee on pre-order to be a test to see how it goes. Now I have 3 more things on pre-order with them. Gonna be a big test.
All you US residents, has customs been an issue? If they snag a package do they just charge you import tariffs? Just not sure what to expect.
Thanks.