The Energon Pub

News Credits: 21 · Sun Oct 21, 2012 2:18 pm

looks like this but better bot mode

News Credits: 4 · Sun Oct 21, 2012 2:22 pm

Handels-Messerschmitt wrote:
That Bot wrote: That said, a non-partforming brickformer (from anybody) would be awesome.

Hey, if you want a brickformer, just hit up ebay for some G1 stuff.

I was waiting for that.

News Credits: 251 · Sun Oct 21, 2012 2:52 pm

Hilarious. Friggin' hilarious.

But I'm not a fan of building blocks, so neither Lego or Kre-O is going to get any money from me.

Sun Oct 21, 2012 3:23 pm

Sadly better than Hasbro's Springer's, that's for sure.

Sun Oct 21, 2012 3:37 pm

There is also Diablock, Built to Rule and another TF themed building set (which is canceled).

News Credits: 241 · Sun Oct 21, 2012 3:52 pm

XDMan wrote:There is also Diablock, Built to Rule and another TF themed building set (which is canceled).

You must be talking about Block Town, with redecos of the Skyscorchers and Axelerators.

Sun Oct 21, 2012 6:06 pm

LEGO is in no way ripping of Kreo here. What people forget is that LEGO have a history of doing transforming robots (the first one which comes to mind is a thechnics transforming truck set [8852]) since at least the 1989.

Sun Oct 21, 2012 6:11 pm

Bowspearer wrote:LEGO is in no way ripping of Kreo here. What people forget is that LEGO have a history of doing transforming robots (the first one which comes to mind is a thechnics transforming truck set [8852]) since at least the 1989.

We know, and nobody is questioning that.

The entire point of this thread is not that Lego has made a set like this, but that it's GREEN.

It bears far more than a passing resemblance to Springer, lol.

Sun Oct 21, 2012 6:35 pm

RAcast wrote:
Bowspearer wrote:LEGO is in no way ripping of Kreo here. What people forget is that LEGO have a history of doing transforming robots (the first one which comes to mind is a thechnics transforming truck set [8852]) since at least the 1989.

We know, and nobody is questioning that.

The entire point of this thread is not that Lego has made a set like this, but that it's GREEN.

It bears far more than a passing resemblance to Springer, lol.

That's debateable. I think the reason people are jumping to that conclusion is because it's green and has 3 modes, including a helecopter. However the truck mode is radically different from Springer's ground mode and the robot mode is also vastly different from Springer's in terms of colours and look.

I'd agree that you could definitely say that it's "inspired" by Springer, but I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say it's a rip off.

News Credits: 4 · Sun Oct 21, 2012 6:40 pm

I do wonder why there's a news article about a transforming robot toy that isn't made by Hasbro on the front page though.

News Credits: 5749 · Sun Oct 21, 2012 7:02 pm

The truck mode isn't all that Springer-ish, but it is Bulkhead-ish as is the robot mode. The whole set seems to be a mish mash of the two characters.

News Credits: 7 · Sun Oct 21, 2012 7:26 pm

Ehh, these are really thin similarities. The only thing really Bulkhead-ish is the underbite/mouthplate, which is really common in mechas; the pickup truck isn't at all anything Bulkhead ever turned into. The green is just military green, which is a very common choice among vehicles and mechas as it could conceivably be used by most of them.

News Credits: 1 · Sun Oct 21, 2012 7:43 pm

I was trying to see the jeep mode as Hound or Brawn, but that's just grasping at straws.

But in addition to the slight bot-mode resemblance to Animated/Prime Bulkhead, I can't help but be reminded that Energon Bulkhead (first use of the name?), was called Sprang in Superlink since he was a Springer homage. That part must be a coincidence, but it's a weird one.

News Credits: 4 · Sun Oct 21, 2012 7:53 pm

and in the Prime cartoon Bulkhead is a former-Wrecker. I think they might be twins separated by universes.

Sun Oct 21, 2012 9:06 pm

the only way any of the companies could ever make a proper transforming figure to vehicle set would make it an expensive 2000+ piece technic set for it to look decent
or go with the bionicle

News Credits: 7 · Sun Oct 21, 2012 9:44 pm

Until someone makes one that transforms like a transformer, I'm not going to care. So far, the only one I've seen do that is one big K'nex set, released back around the same time as Beast Machines.

Sun Oct 21, 2012 9:59 pm

there are a lot of fan-made instructions for lego and kreo of how to amke a transforming figure using them
so i still dont get all this complaining

News Credits: 7 · Sun Oct 21, 2012 10:09 pm

Handels-Messerschmitt wrote:They've been doing those sets with enough pieces to make three different things for a while now. Giant robots aren't a new thing either. That is remarkably similar to Springer, though.

This.

News Credits: 668 · Sun Oct 21, 2012 10:15 pm

I see no rip off.

After so many years, it was legal to be a brick maker, like Lego. (I forget what year, but it was rather recent.)

Oxford (the company that produces Kre-O for Hasbro, Megablox for Rose Art/Wal-Mart) hasn't ripped anyone off.

Lego making kits that create a vehicle mode and robot mode is not a rip off either. Heck, if it transforms, they're one step ahead of Hasbro.

All's fair game at this point. *shrugs* Now...if Lego had molded an Optimus or Bumblebee head, then you'd have something.

Mon Oct 22, 2012 1:43 am

Noideaforaname wrote:Ehh, these are really thin similarities. The only thing really Bulkhead-ish is the underbite/mouthplate, which is really common in mechas; the pickup truck isn't at all anything Bulkhead ever turned into. The green is just military green, which is a very common choice among vehicles and mechas as it could conceivably be used by most of them.

And I think that's the thing. There's often one big rey area between originality and ripping off which is inspiration and in a huge chunk of that is going to be coincidence.

How much of this is inpsired by the same things that inspired Bulkhead and Springer? How much of this is going to be common to other things that we as Transformers fans have just come to strongly associate with certain things? Those are 2 big questions which need to be answered in the process of answering the question about the originality of this LEGO set.

Mon Oct 22, 2012 2:00 am

That Bot wrote:
noctorro wrote:L-A-M-E

I thought they would make Transformers Lego's right after the Slizer figure line.
Which lateron became Robo Riders, and then Bionicle and now Hero Factory.

Slizers did kind of transform to fit their space ships AND THEY DIDN'T NEED RE ASSEMBLY TO TRANSFORM. This what they're doing now is kind of silly.

The Throwbots folded in half and tucked their arms away. Not much of a transformation. The...Vahki? Whatever their names were, the drones from Bionicle 2004, they had a bit more transformation. They turned from biped to quadruped by bending backwards and flipping their arms and heads around. LEGO has never been much for engineering actual transformations, since the whole point of LEGO is to build and rebuild in different ways. That said, a non-partforming brickformer (from anybody) would be awesome.

Yessss, Throwbots, that's what they were called elsewhere. And the Vahki were kind of cool. But those limbs are great to make transformation movement. The other bricks can be complete doors and windows. I don't see a problem with Lego trying that first.

News Credits: 14 · Mon Oct 22, 2012 2:06 am

El Duque wrote:Bulk-springer or is it Springer-head? Either way this upcoming Lego Creator set seems suspiciously similar to the Transformers characters Bulkhead in robot mode and Springer in vehicle modes. Is this a case of Lego ripping off Kre-o that ripped off Lego? Take a look below.

Great to see 3rd Party producers of a potential Transformers homage getting front paged once again!

Thats number 2!!

Mon Oct 22, 2012 9:04 am

Lego actually does intentional homages sometimes. I dont know if this is the case. It's hard to call it coincidental though. I feel like they made it green, because red or blue might look too much like optimus. Green is a decent color to go with. We all see springer, but honestly, he's a much more obscure character these days. Still Lego did make a minifigure that resembles JEM, and black knight figure with a red boar symbol on its shield, the same as the one that monty python black knight had on his chest. In this case, I bet the designer isn't aware of what they did.