The Energon Pub

megatronus wrote:

Arctorro wrote:I agree that they have continued to drop the ball since Herc. I have no problems with the plastic quality of Uranos and none of the stability issues others have mentioned (mine is solid), but it just feels kinda half-arsed compared to Herc.

I'm glad to hear your thoughts on Ares, I'm in the MMC camp as well, but makes my decision to wait for Prometheus to be released as a set easier.

I've got Herc, and like him, but that's basically it. I've just been plain uninterested in the rest of TFC's offerings.

I don't like TFC's combiners because they are too big & undersculpted. The $600 price tag is another deterrent.

Tsutsukakushi wrote:

megatronus wrote:

Arctorro wrote:I agree that they have continued to drop the ball since Herc. I have no problems with the plastic quality of Uranos and none of the stability issues others have mentioned (mine is solid), but it just feels kinda half-arsed compared to Herc.

I'm glad to hear your thoughts on Ares, I'm in the MMC camp as well, but makes my decision to wait for Prometheus to be released as a set easier.

I've got Herc, and like him, but that's basically it. I've just been plain uninterested in the rest of TFC's offerings.

I don't like TFC's combiners because they are too big & undersculpted. The $600 price tag is another deterrent.

I think Hercules is my ideal baseline for size. I'm happy with M3 being slightly shorter, and Feral Rex being slightly taller. It adds variety without the difference being off-putting.

Also, Herc is now $500 for the set of 6 on most sites. Cheaper if you get him used (though somewhat riskier).

^ Yeah those need to happen.

Blurrz wrote:^ Yeah those need to happen.

I keep going back and forth. I like the looks of the Cheetor but where would he fit in?

I like the Beast Wars recolors but I don't like paying over $600 to get them all. I'd be all over these had Hasbro released the set of Five for around $115.

I love the bigger sizes & combiner gimmick. I'm just curious to see how all these different colored toys will look in the Gestalt mode.

Doctor McGrath wrote:

Blurrz wrote:^ Yeah those need to happen.

I keep going back and forth. I like the looks of the Cheetor but where would he fit in?

I think he fits in around the right shoulder, just above Rhinox

Cybergeeks Alliance shared some photos of Conabus by TFC .

The extent to which Fortis is superior to TFC's Conabus is stunning and mind-boggling.

megatronus wrote:The extent to which Fortis is superior to TFC's Conabus is stunning and mind-boggling.

I quite agree. There's just something about that "Rhinox" head in bot mode...

Now that's definitely "not" Headstrong. If TFC just cancelled Ares maybe like 5 people would get screwed. Who is really buying this ?

I'll give TFC this; their rhino mode is superior to MMC's. Its much stockier without the skinny remolded bull legs and the head is much better with a stronger sculpt and paint picking out the details.

I have Unique Toy's Warlord completed on my shelf.

Bovis and Fortis are awaiting their commander to arrive.

And if TFC puts up more group shots Teams Ares made find a home as well.

spongedude93 wrote:I'll give TFC this; their rhino mode is superior to MMC's. Its much stockier without the skinny remolded bull legs and the head is much better with a stronger sculpt and paint picking out the details.

I have Unique Toy's Warlord completed on my shelf.

Bovis and Fortis are awaiting their commander to arrive.

And if TFC puts up more group shots Teams Ares made find a home as well.

I also prefer the animal modes on the TFC versions a little. The skinny legs on the MMC versions are one of the most notable flaws IMO. I also prefer the boxier bodies to the more rounded lines of MMC. This is especially true in leg mode.

However, the overall detailing on MMC is better, and I prefer the bot modes on the MMC figures by quite a bit. Though if you look back in this thread there is an option to keep the animal head up in robot mode.

But the clincher for me was making Razorclaw so much bigger then the other bots. That works for the scramble-city combiners, but not for Predaking.

spongedude93 wrote:I'll give TFC this; their rhino mode is superior to MMC's. Its much stockier without the skinny remolded bull legs and the head is much better with a stronger sculpt and paint picking out the details.

I also don't like the MMC Rhino & bull toy sculpts. I think TFC created the superior Rhino & bull sculpts.

In addition,what currently displeases me with the MMC Predaking is the gestalt V shaped under detailed,ugly face plate. The V looks like a overly simplified smiley face. TFC Created the superior Predaking Face plate hands down.

The 1986 Predaking toy Gestalt face plate looked better than the MMC version. Because the 1986 version had more sculpting,more ridges in the face plate & those fanged teeth near the bottom of the face plate. It also wasn't shaped like a happy face V shape like the MMC version is.

Looking at all the TFC & MMC Predacons toy pics. It seems like both versions are equally riddled with pluses & minuses. If only there was a way to take both versions pluses & create fusion type Predacons toys.

Well, these guys are definitely NOT G1, and while I understand completely why that would turn many (most) off to this set, that's exactly what I like about them. I'm a total Beast Wars freak, so when I saw these guys with their more realistic/organic forms I was all over it. The same is true for the very wild/different styles and features (like the 'wheels' on their beast shoulders etc.) which sort of remind me of Zoids or something, a design choice I really dig.

As for MMC's not-Razorclaw, it honestly looks horrible to me in beast mode. It looks like an oddly shaped brick laid on its side with robot arms coming out of the front that have dinky claws tacked on the front that aren't fooling anyone and rear legs that look like they belong on a small deer, not a monstrous lion. I don't see any tail to speak of, unless that chrome sword sticking out of its butt counts, and that mane is kinda sad and looks so flat that it reminds me more of a flower made of construction paper.

But lets face facts here, MMC's bot modes look amazing, their beast modes are passable for a Classics shelf, and their combined mode hits all the right notes (for most, there are things that bug me about it, but no one else seems to mind) and it is definitely Predaking.

I'm still sticking with TFC's, but I have to admit that I've been tempted once or twice (even since cancelling my previous preorders for them) to go back in on MMC's as well.

OK, so I just got Nemean in hand and all I can say is HOLY SH*T!!! Yes, he's HUGE (Ultra Class easy) but the detail of the molding, the paint, the colors and the quality of the plastic are absolutely outstanding.

I love his beast mode so much that I went ahead and ordered a second one so that I can have one for combined mode and one for beast mode. I did the same with Phlogeus (preordered a second one).

These are the third party Predacons I wanted. Very stylized, much more organic looking, and very vivid colors.

I still see the draw of MMC's set and can't fault anyone who went that route, but for my sometimes odd tastes and pickiness, TFC hit all the right spots and I'm very pleased with my decision.

xyl360 wrote:OK, so I just got Nemean in hand and all I can say is HOLY SH*T!!! Yes, he's HUGE (Ultra Class easy) but the detail of the molding, the paint, the colors and the quality of the plastic are absolutely outstanding.

I love his beast mode so much that I went ahead and ordered a second one so that I can have one for combined mode and one for beast mode. I did the same with Phlogeus (preordered a second one).

These are the third party Predacons I wanted. Very stylized, much more organic looking, and very vivid colors.

I still see the draw of MMC's set and can't fault anyone who went that route, but for my sometimes odd tastes and pickiness, TFC hit all the right spots and I'm very pleased with my decision.

im right there with you. i got my nemean right when he was released and i was in love with him. i went with him over MMC because of his size, and the sculpting just looked... overdone? its a strange complaint i know since thats what appeals him to most, but not to me. and after seeing the next two memebers of the ares team, im just getting more excited.

my only real complaint so far is nemeans lion mode tail. anyone got a fix for that?

shajaki wrote:my only real complaint so far is nemeans lion mode tail. anyone got a fix for that?

Actually, yes. If you lift up the combined mode crotch plate, there's a screw hole underneath that you can plug the tail into and it will lock in much more securely. Its connector is on a hinge so you can then turn it so it is facing the proper direction (tilt the tail all the way back/down) and then just lower the crotch plate back over the top of the tail. It shortens the tail a bit but it still looks good and sits at the proper angle.

xyl360 wrote:

shajaki wrote:my only real complaint so far is nemeans lion mode tail. anyone got a fix for that?

Actually, yes. If you lift up the combined mode crotch plate, there's a screw hole underneath that you can plug the tail into and it will lock in much more securely. Its connector is on a hinge so you can then turn it so it is facing the proper direction (tilt the tail all the way back/down) and then just lower the crotch plate back over the top of the tail. It shortens the tail a bit but it still looks good and sits at the proper angle.

*tries it*
yes! awesome thanks! it was strange to see such a strange design oversight like that. and putting him back in lion mode just reminds me how impressive and animalistic he looks.

it reminds me of the biggest gripe about beast wars figures, ie: everything being an an animal mode that stands up to transform. but a figure that pulls off all the aesthetics of the animal (stature and bone structure) this well i think deserves applause. he stands up to transform very well

shajaki wrote:

xyl360 wrote:

shajaki wrote:my only real complaint so far is nemeans lion mode tail. anyone got a fix for that?

Actually, yes. If you lift up the combined mode crotch plate, there's a screw hole underneath that you can plug the tail into and it will lock in much more securely. Its connector is on a hinge so you can then turn it so it is facing the proper direction (tilt the tail all the way back/down) and then just lower the crotch plate back over the top of the tail. It shortens the tail a bit but it still looks good and sits at the proper angle.

*tries it*
yes! awesome thanks! it was strange to see such a strange design oversight like that. and putting him back in lion mode just reminds me how impressive and animalistic he looks.

it reminds me of the biggest gripe about beast wars figures, ie: everything being an an animal mode that stands up to transform. but a figure that pulls off all the aesthetics of the animal (stature and bone structure) this well i think deserves applause. he stands up to transform very well

yes, indeed he does .

I dunno, I think such complaints are ridiculous. It's like complaining that a vehicle hood/grill etc. becomes a bot's chest or that the rear wheels end up on the legs or that the front wheels and/or doors end up on the back or on the arms. It's just the most intuitive way to design a figure that goes from that form to a human-proportioned robot, plain and simple. I mean hell, that's how the original Razorclaw was designed anyway, and that's how all 3 third party Racorclaw's transform as far as I can tell.

It reminds me of a complaint I heard from one guy that Razorclaw's arms still form the sides of Predaking's chest for the TFC version (they were getting the MMC version), but if you look at MMC's, it does the EXACT SAME THING !

im a fan of this predaking, in invested in this predaking already, but i dont think ill be buying the next guy right out of the gate. but i will get him. i look forward to in hand comments and pics!

god damn he's half the size! guess it doesnt really matter since theyll all be combined forever more.

If you look up the word "sucks" in the dictionary, you will probably find a picture of Ares...