The Energon Pub

[Quantum Surge]

I can't wait to customize this into Skywarp since the actual Skywarp was hard to find.

[william-james88]

I can't wait to customize this into Skywarp since the actual Skywarp was hard to find.

But he was available for order on the largest retailing website in the world for 2 months and able to ship in most areas of the globe. I would not call that something that was hard to find, especially compared to this Walmart exclusive being released during a pandemic and whose preorder sold out in a few days. How well does your Walmart stock its TF shelves?

[Bounti76]

Nice! It looks like the Targetmasters have new blast effects, too.

[Wolfman Jake]

Skywarp and Thundercracker didn't get to be in your photo shoot, Will?

[william-james88]

Skywarp and Thundercracker didn't get to be in your photo shoot, Will?

Not getting them. As soon as I saw Earthrise Starscream, I decided to wait to get those in earthmode (along with the coneheads) like that I get some nice variety. Starscream would be my only double.

[Deadput]

Skywarp and Thundercracker didn't get to be in your photo shoot, Will?

Not getting them. As soon as I saw Earthrise Starscream, I decided to wait to get those in earthmode (along with the coneheads) like that I get some nice variety. Starscream would be my only double.

Has there even been any ER listings for those two? Last I remember there was a listing for Thrust and a 2 pack which is most likely Dirge and Ramjet.

What's your plan if Thundercracker and Skywarp don't get made for Earthrise? Not saying they won't come out since they probably will but just asking just in case.

[william-james88]

Skywarp and Thundercracker didn't get to be in your photo shoot, Will?

Not getting them. As soon as I saw Earthrise Starscream, I decided to wait to get those in earthmode (along with the coneheads) like that I get some nice variety. Starscream would be my only double.

Has there even been any ER listings for those two? Last I remember there was a listing for Thrust and a 2 pack which is most likely Dirge and Ramjet.

What's your plan if Thundercracker and Skywarp don't get made for Earthrise? Not saying they won't come out since they probably will but just asking just in case.

In case they don't then I already have a blue and black/purple tetrajet on the squad anyway.

Also, the listing you mention which I'll put below doesnt really mention who it was, so it could be anyone:

Voyager Seeker 2-Pack 477915

[ZeroWolf]

Isn't that the two pack he mentioned in his post though? Or was there two two-packs mentioned?

[Gauntlet101010]

Hotlink will be mine. No matter the cost.

That said I really hope to see him in stores before I have to resort to buying online. Literally every Siege figure I've bought online has come out in a less expensive way later on. The only one I haven't seen in person is Redwing. And there wound up being a less expensive way to get him too (I live in Canada).

[blackeyedprime]

Hotlink looks nice with out the cybertronian seagull splatter. I'll be keeping him as is. I can't really afford to get duplicates to customise for the foreseeable but him being offered through multiple retailers in the UK is appreciated.

[Cobotron]

cybertronian seagull splatter.

Cybgull?

I figured I was finished with Siegeekers, but darn it if I'm not a sucker for black and purple.
If I can ever leave the house, I'm likely to grab this one.

[Tuned Agent]

I wonder if Hotlink would make a good base for a custom Skywarp.

it would be since his base colour is indeed black plastic. So you could use whatever custom people do to remove the paint where you don't want it and you'll pretty much have a skywarp.

Nice! Getting purple out from his greeble could be a bit difficult, but it's sure better than paying aftermarket prices for Skywarp. I'll probably add a bit more of his secondary colors too. Thanks for the pictorial review!

[william-james88]

I wonder if Hotlink would make a good base for a custom Skywarp.

it would be since his base colour is indeed black plastic. So you could use whatever custom people do to remove the paint where you don't want it and you'll pretty much have a skywarp.

Nice! Getting purple out from his greeble could be a bit difficult, but it's sure better than paying aftermarket prices for Skywarp. I'll probably add a bit more of his secondary colors too. Thanks for the pictorial review!

Always a pleasure, getting onto Megatron!

Isn't that the two pack he mentioned in his post though? Or was there two two-packs mentioned?

It was indeed, I just wanted to show that it didn't say which seeker it was. So it could be anyone.
I still think we'll get skywarp and thundercracker regardless.

[ZeroWolf]

I do as well, watch hasbro swerve our expectations and give us the recently named seekers from G2

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

I wonder if Hotlink would make a good base for a custom Skywarp.

it would be since his base colour is indeed black plastic. So you could use whatever custom people do to remove the paint where you don't want it and you'll pretty much have a skywarp.

Isn't most of him cast in black / dark gray, though?

No. Not even close. Hotlink is cast in purple plastic, which was clear even from the heavily blackened prototype version.

To reuse your words: No. Not even close. Hotlink is cast in dark grey/black plastic.

I have him in hand and put the pics in the review above.

Okay, I guess I was wrong.

And I also guess I'll be writing to Hasbro "Wrong! Do it again!" because that is really slagging stupid.

I had been wanting to get Hotlink, but with how stupid they decided to be maybe I'll get and repaint an extra Starscream instead..

[D-Maximal_Primal]

That is a great looking Hotlink! I'm excited to get mine

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

I don't like how much of him is black instead of the purple that should be his main color, especially now that I know he's actually cast mainly in black. Why in Primus' name did you do that, Hasbro? Why? Ugh...

On a lighter note... As a Battlestar Galactica fan, I can't help but giggle at Reflector's trademark-dodge name in this line.

[sol magnus]

I'm kind of sold on this Hotlink AND Megatron, but I'll have to get the Hotlink off the shelf since I didn't pre-order him.

[william-james88]

I don't like how much of him is black instead of the purple that should be his main color, especially now that I know he's actually cast mainly in black. Why in Primus' name did you do that, Hasbro? Why? Ugh...

Purple is still his main colour though, it's simply painted instead of cast. Granted I do understand how he should be all purple rather than 75%. Personally, I think he looks great.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

I don't like how much of him is black instead of the purple that should be his main color, especially now that I know he's actually cast mainly in black. Why in Primus' name did you do that, Hasbro? Why? Ugh...

Purple is still his main colour though, it's simply painted instead of cast. Granted I do understand how he should be all purple rather than 75%. Personally, I think he looks great.

I don't... And thanks to the purple being what's painted, one can't exactly strip off the excess black.

[william-james88]

The Walmart exclusive Netflix Series voyager three packs are out in Canada and your fellow news editor found them while getting some milk today. Since these are all simply redecos, I felt in hand images would be all that was needed for a review since all of these molds have already been released multiple times.

This review will be for Megatron with Battlemasters Captive Lionizer & Captive Pinpointer (yes, that is their names, Megatron has imprisoned these guys).

Firstly, as a multipack, I much preferred this one over Hotlink's simply due to wanting all these toys. Lionizer is the orange redeco we always wanted. It is a perfect G1 homage to the bot that came with action master Rad. And while Pinpointer does feels cheap, with the barrel detaching rather easily, I do like that we are getting the targetmaster that goes with Crosshairs.

Now onto Megatron, while I still don't fully get what Hasbro is going for with the spray paint effect, I do prefer him much more than the other versions of this mold. For one, they fixed something with the ankles. I can't tell for sure what it is mechanically, since it does still look the same, but there's no longer the idea of locking and unlocking his ankles. And once unlocked, they don't feel loose. It results in a more satisfying time posing him with ankle pivot.

While the paint seemed to be the biggest difference at first glance (especially due to cameras picking up that silver in an oddly lighted room), I find the change in plastic itself to be more significant to the overall look. It is leagues better than on the original, now that I have them to compare. The "black" plastic on the original had a rust/brown tinge to it but here, it is actually black. It looks especially great on his legs since it created the perfect contrasting look to that spray painted silver on the front, which gives it a G1 toy homage. This adds to the G1 homage that was already on the original toy, with those red highlights in the joint areas and sword, and of course that silver paint and darker grey plastic all add to that theme.

This makes this particular version of Megatron truly shine (ha!) as a more specific homage compared to the original version which was more of an amalgamation. Also, he fact that the inner tank treads are unpainted on this new version makes them less obvious and easier to ignore. You instead get a more Megatron-like silhouette created through the colour contrast of the two different plastic colours.

The spray paint scheme is purposefully uneven, though I don't really know why (this is the case for all these Netflix series redecos). You end up with half his helmet painted. It actually reminds me a lot of that Friends episode where Ross gets a spray tan and through some mishap only gets the spray done on one side of his body. But as you can tell from the images, it still makes for a decent look. It actually ends up emphasizing effectiveness more so creating a cell shaded effect naturally.

The only thing I actually have against this deco is that they just could not resist putting that battle damage splatter somewhere. It has been greatly reduced from the original toy, but it's all focused on his crotch. It would be nice to go one year without attention being given to Meg's crotch (for a recap: MP 36 and 36+ had octo crotch, and last year we got several shots of Beast Wars Meg's broken crotch).

On that fine note, I give you all these images, enjoy!

[ZeroWolf]

Great review Will! I do like the sheen of this Megs.

[Wolfman Jake]

It's too bad they couldn't have done Lionizer's legs in gray plastic, or painted them gray. He would have been spot-on G1 perfect then. Oh well!

[Sabrblade]

Lionizer is the orange redeco we always wanted. It is a perfect G1 homage to the wolf bot that came with action master Rad.

[Sarahthecutevixen]

Soon we may see ultra magnus in his sspoiler pack if this is accurate he will arrive next week