The Energon Pub

Ok well this has been dead for three years let's summon some lightning and see what happens.

I do love this list, I do ….but, I just gotta say....butt neck.

Air Attack Optimus is a figure that to me, shoot, I wanted him when he first came out, I mean he was so much better than the other Machine Wars figures that came out but I missed my chance, then by golly he came back around and was on clearance at Ross for the holidays in that Year of the Monkey edition and....and I don't often do this, but I gave him away. He's got butt neck. There's no way around it, but there had to be a hundred other ways to transform around it other than parking his rear on his neck. I'm sorry it ruined the whole experience for me. I'm sorry for all the ellipses I know I know...so annoying, but the process was pained....and ellipses totally illustrate that pain...

For me as I think on this topic though I guess I naturally go back chronologically and think on some of the ones that just made me happy as a kid I mean the cassettes, Devastator, Omega Supreme had the coolest motorizations that carried between both radically diverse modes, Shockwave was the standard in light and sound applied raygun sciences. As these first came out I mean everything blew me away.

Some lame ones that I still loved had to be the various attempts at Pretenders that had me sold as a kid despite how rough the delivery was with some of those. Triggercons and bots, pretty bricky and basic but those chrome and or motorized guns were sweeeeeeet. I think I may have had some form of brain hemorrhage trying to figure out how they actually made Triple Changers when I first saw them.

Jeez sound off everyone - not a top ten or five necessarily but just what caught your attention when you were a kid or when you were last tooling down the toy aisle. I imagine that as silly as one step changers seem to me now I probably would have loved that when I was really little. And for that matter what ones just seemed silly and made you laugh?

00Stargrave00 wrote: He's got butt neck. There's no way around it, but there had to be a hundred other ways to transform around it other than parking his rear on his neck.

Well my way round it is to simply fold the butt flap back so that you dont actually see his pink cheeks. It just looks like a flap that way, not really a butt.

You know the robot mode is pretty nice otherwise you lack the articulation in the one arm but it’s huge and nice on a shelf. I thought about knocking that pin out but...he broke my heart with those Prime buns.

Before Titans Return, I probably wouldn't be a le to answer the question of "favorite gimmick". But now, Titan Masters have to be my favorite. I especially love the way the gimmick was handled in the line, where every deluxe and up was practically a playset, with the little dude being able to interact with the vehicle/base mode of figures, and the whole gimmick helped with the transformation of the figures, where visible head syndrome was practically eliminated and not having to worry about where the head went led to some awesome transformations.

Combining was a great gimmick, but I wouldn't necessarily say it was my favorite back then. They were pretty fun, but I think the "gimmick" of the figures just transforming was the thing for me. As for favorite figure with a gimmick, I dunno. I would think it's a tie between my ROTF Leader Optimus Prime and Titans Return Overlord. Overlord is the embodiment of the best of Titans Return, and I feel that my Leader Optimus is a better figure than even the Masterpiece because of those cool flip out swords, lights and sounds, all while looking perfect in both modes.

I was so stoked to get that Overlord I love that thing. My personal experience with that Optimus was frustrating at times but you’ve got to respect it for what it is and what it does. I mean all that and he combines with Jetfire I mean ok no maybe not spot on but jeez you can admire the ambition of that thing.

Ok lemme think of a Lemmon hmm...

I always laughed at the G2 super soaker squirt gun patrol even as a kid I was like ok A) that’s gonna rust the pins and screws and B) ...water against a Transformer? I was like what are we going to attack with next? Witty sarcasm?

I also laughed at Beast Wars Mutants I mean neither animal looked good and with no robot mode I mean...ya just can’t do that. I felt like if I just kept fiddling with the thing I’d find it eventually but alas it was just evil trickery.

I have 3

Favorites
3rd: Pretenders. Very basic for a gimmick but so much functionality and adds personality.

2nd: Cyber Keys, these things are really great.

1st: Titan Masters/PotP Pretenders, amazing reproduced or reimagined updates for old pretender toys. The Smaller Titan Masters get a variety of 2 in 1 mode vehicles and a unique extra head for Titans Return toys.


Dishonorable Mention

Automorph: Movie Deluxe Bumblebee 1974 camaro (2007) Mine had a faulty chest gimmick that made him really shock sensitive and the whole thing would unfold in car mode

Someone was just talking about ankle tilts on combiners vs. the hand/foot gun parts from Combiner Wars.

I have to say, when my best friend showed me the new Combiners and I saw my first HFG part, my mind was blown. I was like, absolute genius. Seemed at the time like every issue with loose parts from combiners and having the right number and correct sided hands and feet was all fixed.

I would say the hand/foot gun designed for Combiner Wars is absolutely one of the best gimmicks of all time.

Another one I thought of - ball joints. Ever since G2 started with O rings and ball joints then how it just made all of Beast Wars so possible and fun to play with - ball joints have been one of the best additions to Transformer engineering nay gimmickry since it began.