The Energon Pub

For those out there with an unbroken Wolfwire, here is what I think the problem is and the best solution to avoid breakage as long as possible. I got mine right as wave 2 first came out and the canopy is still perfect, even though I've transformed him easily 20-30 times.

As other's have said, the main problem is the 2 different materials (plastic and rubber) forming the hinge, and how thin the plastic portion is. The rubber may have a tendency to build up some adhesion to the metal pin when it is left in the same position for a while. Then when you go to transform him, the rubber provides a little extra resistance that the hinge has to work though. The other problem is the length of the canopy itself. Most people would naturally be inclined to open the canopy by pulling up on the end opposite of the hinge. The problem with this is that it causes a torque on the hinge joint. Any opening of the canopy will cause a torque at the joint, but the further you apply the force from the hinge, the greater the torque.

To combat this, I usually open the canopy very gently where the end tabs into his rump, but only enough to un-tab him. Then I open the secret trap door on the robot/wolf chest and push the canopy open the rest of the way open from inside the the cockpit through the trap door, by applying force as close to the hinge as possible, being as gentle as possible.

To close the canopy in wolf mode, or put it down to be his "cape" in robot mode, the same thinking applies, I only apply force to the part as close to the hinge as possible. In fact, some times I won't tab the canopy in for wolf mode and just leave it almost closed to avoid any extra stresses.

So far, so good, but due to the design, I do expect it will break eventually. Good luck on trying to keep yours as minty as possible for as long as possible. The good news is that it appears he still works just fine with the broken hinge, so the rubber portion is both part of the problem, but also the savior from complete breakage (and many, many tears).

Qwan wrote:Does that bring any new information to the table? I can't honestly recall how much we know about Wave 5's composition at this point, but something tells me we weren't sure what the Leader/s were at least, so now I think we can safely assume that Sky Shadow is seeing a re-release in this wave. That'll be nice for anyone who may have missed out the first time 'round!

Its not about new information. The person just wanted to know how to tell that his in package wolfwire was the repack in wave 5 instead of the wave 2 release.

And that makes me realize something. For those who collect mint in box, does a difference like this in the packaging ever mean you have to buy 2 ?

Recently, we saw shots of all the leader bases part of the Titans Return line connected to Trypticon and Fortress Maximus in base mode. Trypticon however, has connector ports for bases in his Beast/Robot mode, so that intrigued me to find another layout. I also took the opportunity to add God Bomber, the only other different mold with a base permiting a connection to the Titans Return line (he is a Takara exclusive mold). So this could give you examples of how his base mode could fit in a city.

Enjoy and please share your own Titans Return city images if you have some!

I do wish Overlord and Sky Shadow had proper ramps to at least give the illusion that vehicles could drive onto them. They kind of have the it's a base because we say so thing going on.

RiddlerJ wrote:I do wish Overlord and Sky Shadow had proper ramps to at least give the illusion that vehicles could drive onto them. They kind of have the it's a base because we say so thing going on.

Honestly, all of the leader and titan figures could have used an extra universal ramp piece. It would have helped so much with some of the base connections that just aren't compatible due to height. Especially Fort Max. You can connect Blaster to the ramp on Fort Max's arm, but then you get a pretty much vertical ramp, for a mini tank to have to try and drive up. Just 1 universal intermediate piece would make all the difference.

I'll be honest, I don't really car for the look of attaching the bases to Trypticon's feet. It looks like the city is literally Trypticon's ball and chain. I'll have to see if I can come up with a fan mode where Trypticon is mostly upright, but looks less like a dino shackled to a fort. Can't wait for work to be over so I can get home and try things out.

ahahahahahahahaha
for any kid out there this would be awesome. I can definitely see my 4 year old putting all this together, making sounds of destruction, laser sounds, crashing sounds, and just overall having A LOT of fun.

for a me on the other hand, this looks like a mess, i guess it's the adult in me wanting more. lol!

overall, this looks like a lot of fun!

Ok, I got a chance to look at the connection. Looks like it stabilizes the foot to keep it from moving around. Without that, the foot can slide off the books. Sucks for you, RandomHero, you lost QC roulette.

william-james88 wrote:Enjoy and please share your own Titans Return city images if you have some!

Thanks for sharing. These look so awesome!. Unfortunately it will be a while before I post any pics due to not having Trypticon or Overlord, and honestly I don't think I can do any better than what you have here. But having the connections in Dinosaur mode I know answers some questions Death had in his Trypticon review. Nice

You know, (in base mode) if you raise those tail fins on Sky Shadow to a vertical position, it looks like a blast shield around a late 19th /early 20th century cannon. Makes his base mode look like a field artillery emplacement.

Caelus wrote:You know, (in base mode) if you raise those tail fins on Sky Shadow to a vertical position, it looks like a blast shield around a late 19th /early 20th century cannon. Makes his base mode look like a field artillery emplacement.

That's super nifty.

TF-fan kev777 wrote:Honestly, all of the leader and titan figures could have used an extra universal ramp piece. It would have helped so much with some of the base connections that just aren't compatible due to height. Especially Fort Max. You can connect Blaster to the ramp on Fort Max's arm, but then you get a pretty much vertical ramp, for a mini tank to have to try and drive up. Just 1 universal intermediate piece would make all the difference.

When trying to put this whole city together, I realized how limited my options actually were with the lack of those universal ramps, especially for Quickswitch and Sixshot. They can only attach to the Blaster or PMOP mold, along with Fort Max on the side, since the are halfway off the ground and dont allow for any maneuvering on their part.

Plus, only PMOP works to connect to Trypticon's Dino mode ports due to how very high they are.

And another thing, there is a limitation with orientation. The base connectors actually have only 1 direction with how they can attach, since doing it the other way will result in having a peg with no hole to plug it into, that was quite frustrating. Especially for the connector port extending from Fort Max' prison.

TF-fan kev777 wrote: Can't wait for work to be over so I can get home and try things out.

I look forward to seeing the images

mesh wrote:overall, this looks like a lot of fun!

Thanks man!

This looks AWESOME!!!! I wish I had all these figures, b/c I love the idea of building a "Cybertronian city". I would make each base piece have a specific function (I.E. one would be a storage facility, another may be a refill station). Does Metroplex hook up with these as well? Or can I not see him in these pics?

Nexus Knight wrote:This looks AWESOME!!!! I wish I had all these figures, b/c I love the idea of building a "Cybertronian city". I would make each base piece have a specific function (I.E. one would be a storage facility, another may be a refill station). Does Metroplex hook up with these as well? Or can I not see him in these pics?

Metroplex doesn't have the connectors, but given that the connectors don't really make for 'functional' roads between the structures, I haven't let it deter me from displaying them together. I stretched Fort Max out (in splits configuration) and then just put Metroplex next to him in transport mode - ends up looking like a spaceport (in my opinion).

L


I've shared mine before but I'll do it again. They're not all connected but that's due to I'm not a fan of making them look like a giant donut. I like it looking like a real metropolis

I'm now imagining if Titans Return Trypticon had the original toy's walking gimmick and tried to walk with that mess attached XD.

Overlord's base mode is less some things from his original toy (which was a citybot tailored to Powermaster/Godmaster toys. As rodimus bemoaned he was fairly bricky - like the other citybots, really - but he could at least raise his arms and fire a missile from his rifle): Ramps to the ground, additional turret and radar pieces, the ramps that space out the connection between the Gigatank halves and the central platform, and some clawed waldoes that could pick stuff up. But it still works as a combination lookout post/gunnery platform/field ops center. Same for Sky Shadow, less maybe the field ops center part.

Sixshot... Well, Sixshot doesn't have an actual official base mode, he just has base mode connectors on his wings because of the marching orders for the line.

william-james88 wrote:

Qwan wrote:Does that bring any new information to the table? I can't honestly recall how much we know about Wave 5's composition at this point, but something tells me we weren't sure what the Leader/s were at least, so now I think we can safely assume that Sky Shadow is seeing a re-release in this wave. That'll be nice for anyone who may have missed out the first time 'round!

Its not about new information. The person just wanted to know how to tell that his in package wolfwire was the repack in wave 5 instead of the wave 2 release.

Well, he's no longer in package - I opened him as soon as he arrived - but yeah, I wanted to be able to tell if he was the wave 2 release or the wave 5 repack. He is wave 2, his cross-sells are for Mindwipe, Soundwave, and IIRC Fangry (I don't remember and I put the card up on my wall as a poster so I can't look rn).

I'll do what I can to be careful with him and possibly fix him if he does break. I mean, my avatar should tell you something.

Hey, wave 5 is supposed to be showing up in stores already right? I really want my Windblade but haven't been able to find her in my area.

DestronMirage22 wrote:Hey, wave 5 is supposed to be showing up in stores already right? I really want my Windblade but haven't been able to find her in my area.

Yes, I've seen the whole wave. Got Misfire and Twin Twist, but held off on Windblade because of money. Really wishing I hadn't now. If I see any of wave 5 now, it's just Wolfwire.

What a mess.

An expensive mess, to boot.

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

RiddlerJ wrote:I do wish Overlord and Sky Shadow had proper ramps to at least give the illusion that vehicles could drive onto them. They kind of have the it's a base because we say so thing going on.

Honestly, all of the leader and titan figures could have used an extra universal ramp piece. It would have helped so much with some of the base connections that just aren't compatible due to height. Especially Fort Max. You can connect Blaster to the ramp on Fort Max's arm, but then you get a pretty much vertical ramp, for a mini tank to have to try and drive up. Just 1 universal intermediate piece would make all the difference.

Maybe some 3rd party or someone on Shapeways will make some better ramps/connectors either as replacements or as extensions/add-ons for the existing ones.

Kyleor wrote:

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

RiddlerJ wrote:I do wish Overlord and Sky Shadow had proper ramps to at least give the illusion that vehicles could drive onto them. They kind of have the it's a base because we say so thing going on.

Honestly, all of the leader and titan figures could have used an extra universal ramp piece. It would have helped so much with some of the base connections that just aren't compatible due to height. Especially Fort Max. You can connect Blaster to the ramp on Fort Max's arm, but then you get a pretty much vertical ramp, for a mini tank to have to try and drive up. Just 1 universal intermediate piece would make all the difference.

Maybe some 3rd party or someone on Shapeways will make some better ramps/connectors either as replacements or as extensions/add-ons for the existing ones.

I think there's been some of that up on Shapeways for a long time.

Extensions, short, long, and curved. [I'm not touching that.] [TWSS]

This simple ramp-end would make a lot of things look nicer in base mode.

Four-way and three-way intersections.

A ramp inverter.

An attachment for Fort Max's decks.

Micromaster adapter.

All you REALLY need: A Titans Return Lego adapter!

Ooh, nifty. I think they should perhaps offer the extra-long ramp and the Fort Max deck attachment as a two-pack (or maybe a 4-pack of 2 of each), since that would give everything needed in a neat package and also improve his fortress mode's looks.

Has anyone done bridges or anything for Overlord yet?

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:Ooh, nifty. I think they should perhaps offer the extra-long ramp and the Fort Max deck attachment as a two-pack (or maybe a 4-pack of 2 of each), since that would give everything needed in a neat package and also improve his fortress mode's looks.

Has anyone done bridges or anything for Overlord yet?

Not that I could find, but there's IDW shoulders for Overlord and G1 backpacks for Ominous and Dreadnaught, so I think it's a safe bet someone will design add-ons for his base mode.

I checked my Magnus Prime, and he has the clips and his foot will hold.

Also, I did this and it sort of works:




Also, Magnus with Godbomber:

That ends up kind of looking like Hulkbuster Thunderwing.