The Energon Pub

Per iGear's website, release date for these guys has been pushed back to June 1st.

Is this the start of the the usual slippery slope (re: Medical/Weapons Specialist delayed for roughly 6 months)?

It is promising that the delay was really only 2 weeks. May 15 was the original date. If it was a full month I would say anything goes.

However, we really haven't seen any final in-hand-from-factory shots yet. If we don't see some soon (within a week), I doubt they make the June 1st deadline.

I wish they could get these guys out faster. Like someone said they announced these a looooong time ago...

warzon3 wrote:It is promising that the delay was really only 2 weeks. May 15 was the original date. If it was a full month I would say anything goes.

If I remember correctly, during the pre-order phase for the Specialists the release date was revised several times and usually the new date seemed more like an after thought as opposed to a true expected date - like a stop-gap measure. I do remember a spokesperson finally saying that there were factory issues associated with the delays, but several times the "release date" showed up and either that same day or shortly after a new release date was provided.

I'm hopeful that these guys come out soon (do I never learn?), but without any substantial reasons for WHY there was a delay in release I feel we'll be going down the rabbit hole again.

I'd appreciate an actual response from iGear regarding the delay instead of just bumping the date back. We'll see if that ever appears, unless we're really looking at a few weeks before actually getting these bots out the door.

No idea why iGear bothers with release dates anymore.

LOST Cybertronian wrote:No idea why iGear bothers with release dates anymore.

They're not really any better than FansProject, MakeToys, TFC, or ToyWorld really.

They were spot on release with their Tubes/MANATEE releases though.

They just do it for the benefits or retailers, not fans. No retailer would invest if the sales pitch was "We got these cool things coming out eventually. When we feel like it really."

Although that did seem to work for RoboBuz. I'm really wishing that thing would come to fruition, but it's unlikely.

I doubt they'll make June first. Just like I doubt any of the FP headmasters will be dropping this month.

Personally, I'm enjoying the time my credit card gets to rest. I have BBTS Pile of Loot anyways so it's not like they got my money. I don't know why some of you guys pay up front and tie up your money for months just to save maybe 10 bucks ? I only do that when there's no other option.

Rated X wrote:Personally, I'm enjoying the time my credit card gets to rest. I have BBTS Pile of Loot anyways so it's not like they got my money. I don't know why some of you guys pay up front and tie up your money for months just to save maybe 10 bucks ? I only do that when there's no other option.

Love BBTS, and there's a paper trail to show it. However, with the Specialists and now with this set of 4 mini warriors, I'm saving about $20 ordering straight from the source, even if I have to pay now. That's like a new deluxe or most of a new voyager figure. The good part about it is, it's now paid for and I have new cash flow for upcoming months. So, it works for me, but regardless of paying or not, it's still aggravating to encounter these delays with no true release date on hand.

Rated X wrote:Personally, I'm enjoying the time my credit card gets to rest. I have BBTS Pile of Loot anyways so it's not like they got my money. I don't know why some of you guys pay up front and tie up your money for months just to save maybe 10 bucks ? I only do that when there's no other option.

Who are you referring to? I've read nowhere of anyway saying they're pissed off cause they got their money tied up... unless I missed something. I thought people are just saying it is very Igear for them to delay their products.

mooncake623 wrote:

Rated X wrote:Personally, I'm enjoying the time my credit card gets to rest. I have BBTS Pile of Loot anyways so it's not like they got my money. I don't know why some of you guys pay up front and tie up your money for months just to save maybe 10 bucks ? I only do that when there's no other option.

Who are you referring to? I've read nowhere of anyway saying they're pissed off cause they got their money tied up... unless I missed something. I thought people are just saying it is very Igear for them to delay their products.

I cant think of any other logical reason why people would complain that Igear is taking their time to get it right instead of doing a rush job. Personally Im fine with it. Ive read similar complaints about the TFCC subscription service delays which specifically refer to their money being tied up.

mooncake623 wrote:

Rated X wrote:Personally, I'm enjoying the time my credit card gets to rest. I have BBTS Pile of Loot anyways so it's not like they got my money. I don't know why some of you guys pay up front and tie up your money for months just to save maybe 10 bucks ? I only do that when there's no other option.

Who are you referring to? I've read nowhere of anyway saying they're pissed off cause they got their money tied up... unless I missed something. I thought people are just saying it is very Igear for them to delay their products.

It's not a big stretch to assume people are upset because of tied-up funds when it comes to production delays. It is the reason I shop through BBTS exclusively rather than others, captured prey makes you pay up front for preorders and is a much smaller operation (which makes some uneasy).even scarier is when buying directly from igear, PayPal only gives you a 60 day window for disputes and with delays, that window dries up real fast.

I can't picture anyone complaining about delays simply because they are dying to have a single figure in their collection. Half way through a gestalt team, yes. Single figure, no.

necr0blivion wrote:

Rated X wrote:Personally, I'm enjoying the time my credit card gets to rest. I have BBTS Pile of Loot anyways so it's not like they got my money. I don't know why some of you guys pay up front and tie up your money for months just to save maybe 10 bucks ? I only do that when there's no other option.

Love BBTS, and there's a paper trail to show it. However, with the Specialists and now with this set of 4 mini warriors, I'm saving about $20 ordering straight from the source, even if I have to pay now. That's like a new deluxe or most of a new voyager figure. The good part about it is, it's now paid for and I have new cash flow for upcoming months. So, it works for me, but regardless of paying or not, it's still aggravating to encounter these delays with no true release date on hand.

For me saving 20 bucks is nice, but not a must. Chrome G2 Spray was my 1st order directly from Igear. I saved ten bucks. The box was smashed on the bottom which might bother some. My friend ordered Rager directly from Igear and it was missing one gun. Igear didnt answer none of his e-mails and he gave up. I only ordered G2 Spray because BBTS said they wouldnt be getting it at the time. I guess they decided to buy them direct. Buy from Igear directly at your own risk.

I get annoyed at delays for single figures. Even if I use BBTS and pay later, it's an annoyance. Release dates should be at least somewhat accurate. But with some companies, they just aren't. And it's irritating.

JRFitzpatrick7 wrote:

mooncake623 wrote:

Rated X wrote:Personally, I'm enjoying the time my credit card gets to rest. I have BBTS Pile of Loot anyways so it's not like they got my money. I don't know why some of you guys pay up front and tie up your money for months just to save maybe 10 bucks ? I only do that when there's no other option.

Who are you referring to? I've read nowhere of anyway saying they're pissed off cause they got their money tied up... unless I missed something. I thought people are just saying it is very Igear for them to delay their products.

It's not a big stretch to assume people are upset because of tied-up funds when it comes to production delays. It is the reason I shop through BBTS exclusively rather than others, captured prey makes you pay up front for preorders and is a much smaller operation (which makes some uneasy).even scarier is when buying directly from igear, PayPal only gives you a 60 day window for disputes and with delays, that window dries up real fast.

I can't picture anyone complaining about delays simply because they are dying to have a single figure in their collection. Half way through a gestalt team, yes. Single figure, no.

I am personally annoyed at the delays of these figures simply because we've known about them for so long not because my money is tied anywhere because I too use BBTS. Not really dieing to have it in my collection just whats up? also I dont think the delays is to get it right rather then rushing it out. cause if they find something wrong and want to get it right it'll be delayed another 6 months rather then the 2 weeks they are claiming.

hmmm... maybe Igear tease products too early. I mean imagine the rage people would have if FP teased and release pictures and prototypes for their stunticons a year ago and we haven't received anything and expects more delays...

Rated X wrote:For me saving 20 bucks is nice, but not a must. Chrome G2 Spray was my 1st order directly from Igear. I saved ten bucks. The box was smashed on the bottom which might bother some. My friend ordered Rager directly from Igear and it was missing one gun. Igear didnt answer none of his e-mails and he gave up. I only ordered G2 Spray because BBTS said they wouldnt be getting it at the time. I guess they decided to buy them direct. Buy from Igear directly at your own risk.

As I've stated in previous posts (not necessarily this thread), I've had several good experiences ordering directly through iGear. The count is at least 10 different shipments, with the worst issue I can think of being a box that was a bit dinged. I've heard others retell their stories regarding lack of customer service, but these seem to be the vocal minority as opposed to the majority of orders.

I can only hope that iGear has matured enough as a company to begin properly handling this aspect of business. And also, providing better communication regarding delays. But as others have already said, iGear isn't the only company guilty of this practice. I'll give them MANATEE and Tubes, those came in right before the Feb 2013 expected release date.

I'll talk about the down payment issue in a following post.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:I get annoyed at delays for single figures. Even if I use BBTS and pay later, it's an annoyance. Release dates should be at least somewhat accurate. But with some companies, they just aren't. And it's irritating.

Right, it's the expectation that you will get an item at a certain time. And once that time expires with no set upon revision, just leaves the customer hanging.

Also even when using a retailer like BBTS, where I only pay when the item is available, I still like to "budget" my monthly spending. If a certain month's spending is lower than expected, it affords me the opportunity to go back and pick up a missed item. However, I'd rather not do that if multiple, high ticket items (re: 3rd Party products) start getting delayed. Eventually, they're all going to hit and my credit card will bleed out energon.

necr0blivion wrote:

Gauntlet101010 wrote:I get annoyed at delays for single figures. Even if I use BBTS and pay later, it's an annoyance. Release dates should be at least somewhat accurate. But with some companies, they just aren't. And it's irritating.

Right, it's the expectation that you will get an item at a certain time. And once that time expires with no set upon revision, just leaves the customer hanging.

Also even when using a retailer like BBTS, where I only pay when the item is available, I still like to "budget" my monthly spending. If a certain month's spending is lower than expected, it affords me the opportunity to go back and pick up a missed item. However, I'd rather not do that if multiple, high ticket items (re: 3rd Party products) start getting delayed. Eventually, they're all going to hit and my credit card will bleed out energon.

Exactly right.

I'm actually ordering from Captured Prey partially BECAUSE it's pay now and they're trustworthy. I have the resources to pay for this NOW, but I may not later. Plus, it'a a burden if all these things come in all at once.

Mkall wrote:They were spot on release with their Tubes/MANATEE releases though.

They just do it for the benefits or retailers, not fans. No retailer would invest if the sales pitch was "We got these cool things coming out eventually. When we feel like it really."

Although that did seem to work for RoboBuz. I'm really wishing that thing would come to fruition, but it's unlikely.

I too was looking forward to RoboBuz. Since Tubes/Manatee were just repaints and not new figures, it would take a lot of incompetence to not make the release date on those unless the factory completely screwed the pooch.

iGear's site is saying 6/15 release date now, but TFSource posted earlier in the week that they had received confirmation that shipping is soon. So, hopefully these guys will be hitting our doorsteps in the next month.

necr0blivion wrote:iGear's site is saying 6/15 release date now, but TFSource posted earlier in the week that they had received confirmation that shipping is soon. So, hopefully these guys will be hitting our doorsteps in the next month.

6/15 is not bad. got my preorder for gears and I really hope he is going to be better then cosmos and Hench.

mooncake623 wrote:

necr0blivion wrote:iGear's site is saying 6/15 release date now, but TFSource posted earlier in the week that they had received confirmation that shipping is soon. So, hopefully these guys will be hitting our doorsteps in the next month.

6/15 is not bad. got my preorder for gears and I really hope he is going to be better then cosmos and Hench.

I am not seeing very much to make me believe that these will be better than Hench and Cosmos.

Stormrider wrote:

mooncake623 wrote:

necr0blivion wrote:iGear's site is saying 6/15 release date now, but TFSource posted earlier in the week that they had received confirmation that shipping is soon. So, hopefully these guys will be hitting our doorsteps in the next month.

6/15 is not bad. got my preorder for gears and I really hope he is going to be better then cosmos and Hench.

I am not seeing very much to make me believe that these will be better than Hench and Cosmos.

Well People were angry when these mini-bots went from 20 bucks to 33 bucks. The general reason is that they were meant to be legends size and they just up-size legend designs to be scout size. Now that they are charging $55 bucks for each and no ones complaining about it,(I might have just missed the complaining) I'm assuming these were designed to be scout size figures from the beginning? So it should be better. At the very least I'm hoping they won't feel like big legends figures.

mooncake623 wrote:Well People were angry when these mini-bots went from 20 bucks to 33 bucks. The general reason is that they were meant to be legends size and they just up-size legend designs to be scout size. Now that they are charging $55 bucks for each and no ones complaining about it,(I might have just missed the complaining) I'm assuming these were designed to be scout size figures from the beginning? So it should be better. At the very least I'm hoping they won't feel like big legends figures.

But people are still complaining about the pricing! Although your estimate of $55 is misleading, because that's the retailer spiking the price on "popular" individual figures only if you're buying 1 out of the 2 figures being solicited together. If you purchased both figures that are being solicited together, then it's about $42.50/ea. Or you can order directly from iGear and get them for even cheaper.

Pricing practices aside, I believe that these figures are still going to be upsized versions of the original concept. I don't think they're going to be more complicated or detailed compared to how they would have been at the smaller size. But, I'm still happy to get them.

I was happy at the smaller size (and pricing), but this is how the rest of the line is moving. Unfortunate that it seems to have taken out the MakeToys line of mini-bots, barring Powerglide and Seaspray.

necr0blivion wrote:

mooncake623 wrote:Well People were angry when these mini-bots went from 20 bucks to 33 bucks. The general reason is that they were meant to be legends size and they just up-size legend designs to be scout size. Now that they are charging $55 bucks for each and no ones complaining about it,(I might have just missed the complaining) I'm assuming these were designed to be scout size figures from the beginning? So it should be better. At the very least I'm hoping they won't feel like big legends figures.

But people are still complaining about the pricing! Although your estimate of $55 is misleading, because that's the retailer spiking the price on "popular" individual figures only if you're buying 1 out of the 2 figures being solicited together. If you purchased both figures that are being solicited together, then it's about $42.50/ea. Or you can order directly from iGear and get them for even cheaper.

Pricing practices aside, I believe that these figures are still going to be upsized versions of the original concept. I don't think they're going to be more complicated or detailed compared to how they would have been at the smaller size. But, I'm still happy to get them.

I was happy at the smaller size (and pricing), but this is how the rest of the line is moving. Unfortunate that it seems to have taken out the MakeToys line of mini-bots, barring Powerglide and Seaspray.

Mooncake - I really want these to be better than Hench and Cosmos as well. But even with the price increases, I don't think we are getting anything more. Hench really fell short of my expectations. As others have pointed out, he just doesn't feel right being an upscaled Legend or Scout. To me, he comes off as being a PlaySchool car. And in my opinion, their scaling is a little too big now. iGear could do a lot more (transformation and details) for these characters at this scale.

I keep looking at Cogz over at BBTS, but every time I see the pics of him in bot mode, those dinky, stubby forearms bother me. I've got the SXS not-Gears on preorder, and even though it's pricier, it seems like a better value for the money. To me at least, it seems more like a 'real' Transformer, not a cheap little over-simplified (and over-priced IMO) robot toy.

If iGear either dropped the price or improved on some of the proportions and other aspects of the figure, I'd buy it. But as it is now, I think I'm going to have to skip it.

Continuously Variable looks a bit odd in vehicle mode, but worse comes to worse, I can always stick him on my WfC/FoC shelf as a Cybertronian Gears and I think he would fit right in (it's possible that that's the style they were going for anyway in my opinion, though I'm uncertain).