The Energon Pub

Skowl wrote:I wish the people whose knee-jerk reaction is to cry out "lame" and "stupid" would just stop and think about this for a second.

If Hasbro was to make a Supreme-sized combiner out of seven construction vehicles that are each supposed to transform individually, the whole thing would be an unstabble nightmare. By keeping the combiner version "vehicles-only" you are removing a design element that would simply get in the way of a screen accurate Devastator. Think about the movie style for a second, Devastator is not going to be an old "one robot: one limb" combiner, he's going to be more complex than that, and when it comes to the toy, the less things the designers have to worry about, the better it will be.

From Hasbro's point of view, this is the best way to ensure that a Supreme-sized Devastator would actually be... you know, a screen-accurate toy with actually playability - not an unstable, jumbled up mess of seven transforming figures that would come apart in your hand due to all the joints and parts that would have to connect every which way.

My thoughts excactly. And i actually like this idea.

Ok maybe Bay himself isn't solely responsable but I would put (most) the blame on the 'movie people' if the 7 or 9 drones don't transform individualy, I dont think hasbro are to blame for making them like that if thats how they are on screen, however I think it is a bit lazy of them not make them properly anyway

As for the whole jumbled mess arguement I would have to disagree, I belive it would be entirly possible for them to make a good combiner that has individualy transforming robots, I seen some pretty good customs made out of exsiting toys that don't use (hardly any) extra parts and some frickin blinding ones that do, if they can make that out of current figs I dont see why hasbro and all there designers and equipment can't do better

In short I blame everyone

I also agree with Skowl.

Could you imagine the engineering involved in making 9 deluxe combiners? Even more important than that is the target audience. They aren't making these toys for ADULTS to play with, they are making them for 5-10 year olds- who don't have fully developed motor skills and coordination. That's why combiners have always been relatively simple to put together. It's not a cop out at all, it's the simple fact that the VAST majority (99.94%) of their target audience would get frustrated and start crying when they couldn't get the combiner to look right and put it together correctly.

And I also agree that Bay shouldn't be blamed. I think it's a unique idea...and besides, it wouldn't be him it would be the writers that thought of them. Remember, we also have Arcee (allegedly) as a combiner of three motorcycles that won't have individual robot modes. So this movie is a very unique situation where Hasbro can try some things that they may have never done before. If they work, cool. If they don't, they know what not ot do in the future. you don't get to be as big a successful as Hasbro without taking a few risks. Let's wait and see what they come up with...who knows it may end up looking uber cool.

This is sad. Constructicons with no individual characters for each member. Typical Bayformer. Character portrayal seems to be Bay's weakness. So, might as well eliminate a lot of it.

If this news is true, then i wouldn't call this bot a "combiner" or a "gestalt".

It'd be simply an "upgrade" or "super mode" or "battle mode".

Much like Ultra Magnus. Only the armour brakes down into several smaller pieces of different vehicles.

I hope Ultra Magnus will be able to deal with this kind of challenger to his armour throne.

First-Aid wrote:....Remember, we also have Arcee (allegedly) as a combiner of three motorcycles that won't have individual robot modes. So this movie is a very unique situation where Hasbro can try some things that they may have never done before. If they work, cool. If they don't, they know what not ot do in the future. you don't get to be as big a successful as Hasbro without taking a few risks. Let's wait and see what they come up with...who knows it may end up looking uber cool.

There is a new rumor floating around that she will be a pretender - I believe there's something in the news section.

It sounds like this guy is more like the Energon gestalts, cartoon wise. 1 robot that splits into multiple vehicals. But even if the individual vehicals won't have their own robot modes in the movie, why can't their toys still have ones? Like I said, the Energon gestalts never appeared in their individual robot modes, but their toys still had them. I don't see why they're making 2 seperate sets of toys, one that combines and one that doesn't. But then I haven't seen the character. Maybe it's impossible to make an accurate toy because of the way they combine. But I bet that after these toys are released, a fan is gonna make a set that has individual robot modes and still combines.

Sounds like the toy will suck.

It sounds as if they are going to screw up the constructicons. It is a shame that, with all the cool things they can do with engineering, they can't come up with a decent way to create Devestator. I mean, how hard is it to come up with unique TF's for each body part?

SJ21 wrote:It sounds as if they are going to screw up the constructicons. It is a shame that, with all the cool things they can do with engineering, they can't come up with a decent way to create Devestator. I mean, how hard is it to come up with unique TF's for each body part?

This comment made me thing of something. Hasbro make such fuss about doing combiners. How it's so hard engineering, and thus very expensive, to do them. That's why the energon combiners had duplicate limbs.

But now Hasbro is going through the trouble of engineering 2 versions of the same character? If I were them, I'd focus all of their time and money on 1 figure that does everything. Not 2 that do 2 completely different things.

I don't want Transformers that don't transform. They should have learnt after the global shelfwarming that Robot Replicas caused.

If the individual deluxes are good, i'd buy them, but I'd like to have them combined into a big robot.

The Hotwheels-puzzle approach sucks.

Very very Sad

Extremely Dissapointing!

I hope it's not true?

Just another nail in the coffin for bayformes round 2. Why do i have the feeling after this one i wont be interested in the movies any more.

i beilive it for the toy line but the movie characters i dont believe.

look at the past info the concpet art of longhaul if that picture was taken off his site theres got to be more constructicon bots in the film ok so the bots to form devastator in the film maybe drones but atleast theyll robot forms thats a thumbs up.

toys on the other hand i kinda agree parts would be falling off stuff but at least if they really wanted to think about it they could have had the deluxe figures transform into devastatro they way the g1 bots did instead of trying to make it movie accuate all they had to do was the dump truck deluxe just pull his cab out & push upto make his foot.

just look at movie bumblebee for example if they decided to make deluxe figures transform into robots and into combinor all they did was take the g1 one manule, and now on bumblebee first bb movie figure we got he wasnt movie accuate, they didint give 2 heads battle and non battle, or make switch on his to pull his visor down on his face they gave us 2 bb's so whos going to care if the deluxe figures dont transfomr accutly the first bb looked nothing like his movie counter part his chest was crooked like the 08 bb was.

all they could do was skip some steps like they did with 1st movie bb and not make the transformation all that accuate to the movie counter parts and make the deluxe figures simaler to the g1 versions in transformatioins & everyone would win instead of 2 combinors so robot mode to truck mode would be accuate but combinor mode would g1 accute transfomation.

think i said some stuff twice

Another thought occurs...

Hasbro simply may not have the TIME to get the toys designed. We have to remember that they are on a very strict time schedule- they don't have years to think up and design these figures like they would normally. Once ILM is done with the concepts and they get approved, I'm betting Hasbro has about 6-12 months to get the firugres designed and work out the kinks, get quotes and purchase machining for the designs, correct errors in the maching process, get quotes for getting the parts machined, part production, get them shipped to assembly and paint, design packaging and bios (which can't be done until the script is done), assemble, pack, get orders, ship...all by, say the beginning of May next year when I'm guessing the toys come out. Also consider there are apparently a LOT more toys since there are a lot more characters in this movie.

I woulodn't rule out the possibility that, down the road, we see a larger combiner either. It just depends on how well the movie and toys go over.

I think I've mentioned it before...I would love to see and hear about the entire TF process from start to finish, find out the rough costs, and how long it takes to make the final product from start to finish. (Hey Botcon folks! HINT HINT HINT!)

i was never good at explaing things the way i wanted to be anyway so heres the short version in what i was trying to say



Since when has "Screen Accuracy" been an issue with them? Ok, maybe the deluxe BB was accurate. But Prime wasn't even close... nor was Megatron.

I am very disapointed. I was hoping for an actual combiner. Why not just skip the combining process all together? Just give us a non-transforming combined Devy and be done with it.


That's like asking "why didn't G1 toys look & transform like Classics to begin with?". It's basic advancement of engineering. Where Alts are concerned, maybe it was just a matter of sticking with what did the trick. It's not to say they couldn't still get better.

And that's why I said "used Alts as a *template*". I didn't say they should have used the Alt designs exactly as they are. Then again, I wouldn't have minded if they did. Even with the weak points like skinny shoulders or plate mounted heads, they still - in my opinion - perfectly fill that magic void of old school aesthetic & recognition with modernized real world functionality & believability. The Movie toys, on the other hand, ended up exactly like G1 in the sense that not one of them translated to toy form the way it appeared on screen. Deluxe Bumblebee looks fairly close in both modes, sure, but at the expense of a completely different transformation.

I'm not trashing the Movie or anything like that. As I originally said, I just find it ironic that all these real life designs have yet to ever get toys showcasing this supposed real life accuracy.

May I be so crass as to remind some of the folks who are getting so angry that the toys are marketed to the 6-12 age group. Not to adults. I know I am going to get flamed forever on this, but the movie toys are not marketed to adult collectors they are to entertain children. And lemme tell you, boots and gloves prime was one of the most popular combining figures in the late elem, early middle school group. He was easy to combine, looked good, was stable and was very playable with. There hasnt been a more play friendly combiner made. And most parent are not going to pay the what 70+ for seven full bots that take an hour for them to assemble for their child.

Onscreen, this will be enough to satisfy me. I'll probably be passing on the toy though.

Iron-Man wrote:I don't get why people are blaming Bay for Hasbro's decision to do two versions of the same toys. Can someone explain this to me? Instead of engineering the deluxe figures to combine, they took the cheap way out. Some people just love to hate for the sake of hating it seems.

I blamed Bay because his name fit much better into the power rangers theme song than Hasbro did.

I'm not sure but I think that falls under "artistic license"

I have been waiting forever for a new, awesome devastator. I give up though. I'll just save my money up and get a gen 1, since it's the only good mold that will ever be made. I haven't liked a single gestalt since gen 1 ended (exclude the repaints like ruination). All of the new energon types are amazing in robot mode and crap in gestalt, and I can't see the movie devastator being any better. Gestalts are not important to hasbro, it seems. Look, we have a new Onsluaght and Silverbolt which are great molds, but instead of being gestalt parts, hasbro is just repainting the energon combaticons and airialbots instead. I pray hasbro makes me eat my words with an amazing devastator, but I doubt it will happen.

Good News:Cheaper toy prices possibly, and this can be taken with a littl more hope tat devastator WILL be in the movie

Bad News: No Robot mode????!!!!! That's terrible, that means its like one giant robot that can break apart, not separate robts with different personalities and attacks that combine into the ultimate killing machine. =[ I was hoping to ear them yell "Constructicons, unite!"

lets hope it dosen't end up looking like a megazord too.

I'll reserve judgment until we see some prototypes, but I don't like the way this sound. The Constructicons were some of my favorite characters and toys growing up, and they are still my favorite combiner.

At first I didn't like it, but as long as the individual toys that they do with it are relatively similar in size to the ones that combine into Devastator, I will be happy with it as a display piece. Have a BIG Devistator with all the individual combiners infront of him in various modes on display. Plus, it will allow them to focus on making each limb piece more movie accurate in the combinde mode without having to figure out each individual bot. They will be able to focus on the detail of the mass which should look nice.

On a seperate note, I wonder if they will make an "Ultimate" figure again. I know a lot of people didn't like U-Bumblbee, but I would like to see another Ultimate figure for the next movie. Don't know if it would sell, but an Ultimate Barricade would be sick IMO.

This better be false cause i really hate that. GIve m Voyager Class vehicles or Leader Class or a combo of both that can combine.

I think I threw up in my mouth a bit.