The Energon Pub

News Credits: 65 · by **Wolfman Jake** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 12:01 pm

I had forgotten about that feature on Whirl. Now I wonder if this Cloud Shockwave would come with all four of Whirl's "gun" accessories, or if Takara-Tomy have another suitable, pre-existing accessory from elsewhere to achieve a more "G1" look for Shockwave's laser arm, a la the Masterpiece null rays replacing the gun and sword for the Double Dealer mold for the Cloud Starscream repaint.

News Credits: 8 · by **Flashwave** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 12:13 pm

Great, TakTom is already announcing a purple Whirl and meanwhile I still want my BLUE ONE HASBRO!!!!! [/rant]

Sabrblade wrote:BTW, the girl-looking thing is the computer A.I. entity known as SARA.

Okay, I was gonna guess a T-Ai 2.0

This could be an interesting paint scheme, but I'm with MKall, if I were in a position to get it, it'd be for the colors, not for Shockwave.

News Credits: 15 · by **PrymeStriker** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 12:25 pm

*waits patiently for a cool new Shockwave in Thrilling 30*

*reads this*

:BOOM:

Hasbro...please. I'm begging you. Don't. Whirl is a deplorable mold.

News Credits: 241 · by **Jelze Bunnycat** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 1:01 pm

PrymeStriker wrote:*waits patiently for a cool new Shockwave in Thrilling 30*

*reads this*

Hasbro...please. I'm begging you. Don't. Whirl is a deplorable mold.

TakaraTomy, not Hasbro.

News Credits: 251 · by **Mindmaster** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 1:05 pm

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
PrymeStriker wrote:*waits patiently for a cool new Shockwave in Thrilling 30*

*reads this*

Hasbro...please. I'm begging you. Don't. Whirl is a deplorable mold.

TakaraTomy, not Hasbro.

Not to mention that, in technicality, while this figure (if it's ever made) could be used as a Classics Shockwave, it's meant to be an alternate-universe version of the cycloptic nerd Decepticon.

News Credits: 2 · by **xyl360** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 1:48 pm

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
PrymeStriker wrote:*waits patiently for a cool new Shockwave in Thrilling 30*

*reads this*

Hasbro...please. I'm begging you. Don't. Whirl is a deplorable mold.

TakaraTomy, not Hasbro.

Yeah, these Takara repaints/retools will have no impact on what Hasbro does for the Thrilling 30, although at this point I doubt we're going to see another Generations Shockwave any time soon (we already got FoC). But perhaps I'm wrong and they'll reveal something at Botcon. In the meantime, TF:GO! makes a pretty sharp Classics Shockwave.

News Credits: 65 · by **Wolfman Jake** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 3:04 pm

I'm fairly sure that Generations FOC Shockwave IS Classics Shockwave, as far as Hasbro is now concerned. The same character design was repurposed as "neo-G1" by IDW.

News Credits: 15 · by **PrymeStriker** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 3:48 pm

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
PrymeStriker wrote:*waits patiently for a cool new Shockwave in Thrilling 30*

*reads this*

Hasbro...please. I'm begging you. Don't. Whirl is a deplorable mold.

TakaraTomy, not Hasbro.

Oh.

Still, Takara will be wasting a fantastic character on such a ridiculous mold.

News Credits: 241 · by **Jelze Bunnycat** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 3:54 pm

PrymeStriker wrote:
JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
PrymeStriker wrote:*waits patiently for a cool new Shockwave in Thrilling 30*

*reads this*

Hasbro...please. I'm begging you. Don't. Whirl is a deplorable mold.

TakaraTomy, not Hasbro.

Oh.

Still, Takara will be wasting a fantastic character on such a ridiculous mold.

But thankfully it's not the G1 Shockwave, as others explained. Think of him as... a wacky Japanese version of the Club TransTech Shockwave :lol:

Besides, it has unintentional homage material:

From the Transformers (2007) Video Game

News Credits: 293 · by **shajaki** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 5:15 pm

shocky from whirl is one of those "have to see" before i can make up mind whether its a good idea or not. especially since the newest voyager in my neck of the woods is rhinox, im not even familiar with the mold yet.

News Credits: 5749 · by **El Duque** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 9:12 am

Courtesy of e-Hobby and the TakaraTomy Mall we have some new images of their upcoming Transformers Cloud exclusives TFC-A02 Brawn and TFC-D02 Starscream. These images include a group shot with the previously released TFC-A01 Optimus Prime and TFC-D01 Megatron, packaging, and the covers from the comics included with the aforementioned Optimus Prime and Megatron releases. Check 'em out below:

by **Rated X** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 3:25 pm

This line is such a joke. It's like Machine Wars all over again. But at least in Machine Wars they gave them new colors instead G1 paint schemes. And trying to say that "Asia didnt get the molds" is stupid. At $100 bucks a pop, collectors are the intended target of this line, not kids. Every collector in Asia who wanted the mold got it already online. In the age of online shopping, theres no such thing as an "Asian exclusive".

News Credits: 241 · by **Jelze Bunnycat** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 3:56 pm

Rated X wrote:This line is such a joke. It's like Machine Wars all over again. But at least in Machine Wars they gave them new colors instead G1 paint schemes. And trying to say that "Asia didnt get the molds" is stupid. At $100 bucks a pop, collectors are the intended target of this line, not kids. Every collector in Asia who wanted the mold got it already online. In the age of online shopping, theres no such thing as an "Asian exclusive".

Japan dear, Japan. Japan is a market separate from mainland Asia, end of story.

News Credits: 456 · by **Sabrblade** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 3:58 pm

Rated X wrote:This line is such a joke. It's like Machine Wars all over again. But at least in Machine Wars they gave them new colors instead G1 paint schemes. And trying to say that "Asia didnt get the molds" is stupid. At $100 bucks a pop, collectors are the intended target of this line, not kids. Every collector in Asia who wanted the mold got it already online. In the age of online shopping, theres no such thing as an "Asian exclusive".

Believe or not, collectors like to buy domestically too.

Money may be no object for you, but how you spend your money doesn't represent the same for everyone.

by **harvester** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 4:21 pm

They really should have used the other mold of Bulkhead:

It would have fit better in scale with everyone (not to mention his own body), maybe that head is still salvageable for the smaller mold

News Credits: 456 · by **Sabrblade** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 4:23 pm

harvester wrote:They really should have used the other mold of Bulkhead:

not when that head was made for the mold it was used for. They can't just go slapping any old head on any old body. That's not how it works.

News Credits: 293 · by **shajaki** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 4:29 pm

Sabrblade wrote:
harvester wrote:They really should have used the other mold of Bulkhead:
not when that head was made for the mold it was used for. They can't just go slapping any old head on any old body. That's not how it works.

besides, they seem to want to stick with voyager sized molds, and i assume thats a deluxe.

by **harvester** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 5:15 pm

shajaki wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:
harvester wrote:They really should have used the other mold of Bulkhead:
not when that head was made for the mold it was used for. They can't just go slapping any old head on any old body. That's not how it works.

besides, they seem to want to stick with voyager sized molds, and i assume thats a deluxe.

It is a deluxe, that's why it would fit better in scale but I do agree that they are trying to stick with Voyagers.

Sabrblade, who are "they"? Did this head exist before they chose this mold? I don't know what you are trying to say. What I was trying to say is, I wonder if I could get a hold of this Brawn, and put his head on a custom painted deluxe Bulkhead. Brawn always had a bigger head to body ratio but in this Cloud fig, the proportions looked flipped to me.

Brawn with big head: (courtesy of tfwiki)

I like how these turned out, I just don't like the oversized Brawn with awkward proportions. If I could swap the head with a deluxe, I think it would look better with this mix of figs, even if I have to pop the head off to transform it (when I would probably just keep it in bot mode).

News Credits: 241 · by **Jelze Bunnycat** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 5:25 pm

That head was indeed pre-existing, for the GDO series Brawn that was canceled for some reason:

And with "they" we usually mean Hasbro or TakaraTomy.

News Credits: 456 · by **Sabrblade** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 5:26 pm

I'm saying that this Brawn head was made for the Voyager Bulkhead mold, and that it can't be put on the Deluxe mold because it wasn't made to fit on that toy's body.

The "they" I'm referring to are Hasbro and TakaraTomy, who made designed this head specifically for the Voyager Bulkhead body.

One cannot take any head they want and stick it on any body they want if said heads and bodies weren't made to connect with each other.

As for why they went with the Voyager mold instead of the Deluxe one at the time that this head was made, the Deluxe Bulkhead toy didn't even exist yet.

by **Rated X** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 5:44 pm

Sabrblade wrote:
Rated X wrote:This line is such a joke. It's like Machine Wars all over again. But at least in Machine Wars they gave them new colors instead G1 paint schemes. And trying to say that "Asia didnt get the molds" is stupid. At $100 bucks a pop, collectors are the intended target of this line, not kids. Every collector in Asia who wanted the mold got it already online. In the age of online shopping, theres no such thing as an "Asian exclusive".
Believe or not, collectors like to buy domestically too.

Money may be no object for you, but how you spend your money doesn't represent the same for everyone.

I used to feel the same way, until I realized that every dollar I saved on shipping was being spent on gas. Sometimes I would drive 25 miles away and return home with nothing to show for it. The thrill of the hunt wears off after a while.

Also, I wouldn’t think $100 figures will be big sellers in Asian toy stores that specialize in kids lines. It would be the equivalent to finding Millions Publishing exclusives for sale at TRU. Maybe a handful of Asian hobby shops that cater to collectors will carry the Cloud line. But not retail chains that target kids. What parent is going to buy them for a 5 year old to rough play ? In my travels to the Philippines, retail chains at malls only had regular Hasbro figures. I hit up a few hobby shops and found a variety of Takara, Gundam, and 3rd party products.

News Credits: 456 · by **Sabrblade** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 5:53 pm

When I said "collectors like to buy domestically too", that included "buying online".

Items domestically available in the U.S. tend to cost a lot less on BBTS and TFSource than imported TakaraTomy items on the same sites do.

Likewise, those who live in Hong Kong who buy from RobotKingdom have less to pay for shipping costs than those who live in the U.S. buying from the same site do.

If these Cloud toys were being made by Hasbro, Inc. in America instead of by TakaraTomy, chances are they would cost a lot less for American consumers than they do now, regardless if they were still sold online or in stores.

by **gantzrunner** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 7:08 pm

I really, REALLY wish they would stop with the "invaluable loli/preteen girl" concept in Japanese transformers. I love manga, anime, and western comics/animation equally do I'm not trying to be hateful but it's honestly starting to creep me out (see Kiss Players). I hope the comics made for cloud are creepy-robo-tongue-waggling-at-little-girls-free lol that aside... I only dislike Megatron, send he has the same terrible head sculpt as gdo Megatron. Really hope they make rodimus!

News Credits: 456 · by **Sabrblade** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 7:17 pm

gantzrunner wrote:I really, REALLY wish they would stop with the "invaluable loli/preteen girl" concept in Japanese transformers. I love manga, anime, and western comics/animation equally do I'm not trying to be hateful but it's honestly starting to creep me out (see Kiss Players). I hope the comics made for cloud are creepy-robo-tongue-waggling-at-little-girls-free lol that aside... I only dislike Megatron, send he has the same terrible head sculpt as gdo Megatron. Really hope they make rodimus!

You are aware that that thing isn't a person, right? It's an A.I. entity called SARA.

And don't worry. The Cloud fiction is more based around dimension-hopping than anything, as the story with Optimus and Megatron had them going to the G1 cartoon universe, while the Brawn & Starscream story has them going to the Armada cartoon world. Completely free of grossness.

News Credits: 104 · by **Cyber Bishop** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 7:46 pm

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
PrymeStriker wrote:*waits patiently for a cool new Shockwave in Thrilling 30*

*reads this*

Hasbro...please. I'm begging you. Don't. Whirl is a deplorable mold.

TakaraTomy, not Hasbro.

Whirl is That bad?? I have and love him to be honest however I don't think that mold would make a good shockwave.. However a Rodimus from springer would be cool