The Energon Pub

More bad news for you G1 collectors out there. Looks like more knockoffs are being unleashed in the Transformers community. According to reports from Seibertron.com member cappellamusic, the seller of the KO Shockwave we reported on here is also planning to sell KO's of G1 twin Sunstreaker and Decepticon triple changer Octane! This may be the first time Octane has ever seen a KO release.

But that's not all. Another seller over at ioffer has posted a G1 Superion KO set in what appears to be g1 packaging. KO's of the G1 gestalts have been available almost everywhere but usually come in a generic package.



Be cautious when purchasing your G1 figs Seibertronians. When in doubt, refer to our official Identifying KO's Thread for more information on Transformers KO's.

If Sunstreaker is of the same quality as Mirage i'm buying.

Octane, if priced reasonably and ok quality... I'd pick that up. Only if cash and carry though where I could check it out in person, not online.

KOs are no fun if they look good out of the box but fall and break apart on the first transformation.

Since i can never get a real Sunstreaker or Octane maybe i can snag these.

Are any of these KO's good quality? Just curious because some of the KO's are kinda expensive.

Bleh...wish it were a legit reissue and not more of the KOs. Kinda let down that I didn't have internet when the seacons got released, because I'd have bought those. (Dunno why, but the thought of it occurs to me seeing this news...) But if I wanted KOs, I'd wait for the gestalt sets that can be found at places like Big Lots to resurface; those aren't being passed off as actual transformers, like this set is.

That Superion KO is too nice. Make it poopy so I won't get confused with the real gift set.

This seller was over-zealous with sticker applications. The autobot insignias should only be applied to Silverbolt, stock. And if the other sellers are as lasy as this one below:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Tansformers-SUPER ... 3001r37474

you'll have no trouble figuring out the knock-offs.

This is bad. At this point it's only a matter of time until Jetfire and other grails are KO'ed.

I wonder what will happen if Lio Kaiser were to get this treatment? How many pissed off collectors would there be since the average price is $600 for the set?

Hasbro and Takara need to step up the reissues. The KO market took all the fun out of buying G1 for me and now I stick to reissues because I at least know I'm getting a legit figure with a reissue.

robofreak wrote:This is bad. At this point it's only a matter of time until Jetfire and other grails are KO'ed.

I wonder what will happen if Lio Kaiser were to get this treatment? How many pissed off collectors would there be since the average price is $600 for the set?

Hasbro and Takara need to step up the reissues. The KO market took all the fun out of buying G1 for me and now I stick to reissues because I at least know I'm getting a legit figure with a reissue.

Reissues are just as damaging to the collector market as KO's, If not, more so since you have an authentic product deluting demand for the original. I think this mainly impacts the casual collector, though. Hardcare collectors will always search out the original releases. The real damage is to Takara/Hasbro's bottom line and to the Transformers image as KOs don't meet the same quality standards. Some come close, though. MHO

As was also mentioned, buying a KO when expecting an original is certainly no fun, either.

You're correct, but at least you have the satisfaction of knowing it's legit if it's a reissue.

I'm not harcore so I don't really care about the value that much.

Damn, I was at hoping to pick up an Octane in the near future...now I dunno... I own the Mirage KO but it doesn't sit right with me, knowing it's not real.

ChrisR291 wrote:Are any of these KO's good quality? Just curious because some of the KO's are kinda expensive.

I have Reflector, Mirage and Wheeljack and my opinion about them is that they're as good as official reissues, if not better than some cases (e.g. Jazz reissue is worse than these KOs).

If these toys were reissues from TakaraTomy or Hasbro you wouldn't see the difference.

capellamusic wrote:

ChrisR291 wrote:Are any of these KO's good quality? Just curious because some of the KO's are kinda expensive.

I have Reflector, Mirage and Wheeljack and my opinion about them is that they're as good as official reissues, if not better than some cases (e.g. Jazz reissue is worse than these KOs).

If these toys were reissues from TakaraTomy or Hasbro you wouldn't see the difference.

Does the Wheeljack KO have die-cast feet like the original one?

H0rdak wrote:

capellamusic wrote:

ChrisR291 wrote:Are any of these KO's good quality? Just curious because some of the KO's are kinda expensive.

I have Reflector, Mirage and Wheeljack and my opinion about them is that they're as good as official reissues, if not better than some cases (e.g. Jazz reissue is worse than these KOs).

If these toys were reissues from TakaraTomy or Hasbro you wouldn't see the difference.

Does the Wheeljack KO have die-cast feet like the original one?

Yes, I'd say it's 99% equal to the original. One difference it has are the metal pegs on the wheels. And unlike what some people say about KOs breaking, falling apart, etc, when transformed or whatever, that is only true for cheap KOs. Not with these, these are really good in my opinion and like I said, even better done than some official reissues like Jazz.

capellamusic wrote:

ChrisR291 wrote:Are any of these KO's good quality? Just curious because some of the KO's are kinda expensive.

I have Reflector, Mirage and Wheeljack and my opinion about them is that they're as good as official reissues, if not better than some cases (e.g. Jazz reissue is worse than these KOs).

If these toys were reissues from TakaraTomy or Hasbro you wouldn't see the difference.

If you're refering to the damaged face of the Jazz Dreamwave release, yeah, that one wasn't too hot. The issue was rectified in the Encore release, though. Still, to your point about quality, with some of the other encore releases, quality/workmanship seems to be lacking. Omega Supreme and Optimus are fine examples.. something just seems off about them when compared to the originals and even past reissues in my experience.. hard to put a finger on it, though.

HighPrime wrote:

capellamusic wrote:

ChrisR291 wrote:Are any of these KO's good quality? Just curious because some of the KO's are kinda expensive.

I have Reflector, Mirage and Wheeljack and my opinion about them is that they're as good as official reissues, if not better than some cases (e.g. Jazz reissue is worse than these KOs).

If these toys were reissues from TakaraTomy or Hasbro you wouldn't see the difference.

If you're refering to the damaged face of the Jazz Dreamwave release, yeah, that one wasn't too hot. The issue was rectified in the Encore release, though. Still, to your point about quality, with some of the other encore releases, quality/workmanship seems to be lacking. Omega Supreme and Optimus are fine examples.. something just seems off about them when compared to the originals and even past reissues in my experience.. hard to put a finger on it, though.

I have the Encore Jazz, that's the one I'm referring to. Although better than the old reissue you've said, it still lacks in some parts. And I say without a doubt that those 3 quality KOs (Mirage, Wheeljack and reflector) are much better than any Jazz reissue I've seen, in my opinion, of course.

I've never had a vintage Omega Supreme, but the Encore seems perfect to me. The Encore Optimus Prime seems good, but not as perfect. I have a vintage Optimus Prime too.

capellamusic wrote:

H0rdak wrote:

capellamusic wrote:

ChrisR291 wrote:Are any of these KO's good quality? Just curious because some of the KO's are kinda expensive.

I have Reflector, Mirage and Wheeljack and my opinion about them is that they're as good as official reissues, if not better than some cases (e.g. Jazz reissue is worse than these KOs).

If these toys were reissues from TakaraTomy or Hasbro you wouldn't see the difference.

Does the Wheeljack KO have die-cast feet like the original one?

Yes, I'd say it's 99% equal to the original. One difference it has are the metal pegs on the wheels. And unlike what some people say about KOs breaking, falling apart, etc, when transformed or whatever, that is only true for cheap KOs. Not with these, these are really good in my opinion and like I said, even better done than some official reissues like Jazz.

Cool! Think I'll buy that once i get some cash together.

capellamusic wrote:

HighPrime wrote:

capellamusic wrote:

ChrisR291 wrote:Are any of these KO's good quality? Just curious because some of the KO's are kinda expensive.

I have Reflector, Mirage and Wheeljack and my opinion about them is that they're as good as official reissues, if not better than some cases (e.g. Jazz reissue is worse than these KOs).

If these toys were reissues from TakaraTomy or Hasbro you wouldn't see the difference.

If you're refering to the damaged face of the Jazz Dreamwave release, yeah, that one wasn't too hot. The issue was rectified in the Encore release, though. Still, to your point about quality, with some of the other encore releases, quality/workmanship seems to be lacking. Omega Supreme and Optimus are fine examples.. something just seems off about them when compared to the originals and even past reissues in my experience.. hard to put a finger on it, though.

I have the Encore Jazz, that's the one I'm referring to. Although better than the old reissue you've said, it still lacks in some parts. And I say without a doubt that those 3 quality KOs (Mirage, Wheeljack and reflector) are much better than any Jazz reissue I've seen, in my opinion, of course.

I've never had a vintage Omega Supreme, but the Encore seems perfect to me. The Encore Optimus Prime seems good, but not as perfect. I have a vintage Optimus Prime too.

My Encore Jazz seems fine to me. That one I don't have an original, but it was much better than the Dreamwave release. For Omega and Prime and Have both an Encore and Original. Plastic/molding just doesn't feel the same on the reissue, just feels cheap for some reason, I don't know. It's not terrible, but have the 2 in your hand, you'd be able to tell the difference. The arm joints don't make the same 'pop' or ratcheting sound of the original either. Optimus feels cheaper, too.. like the mold is screaming "enough already.. I'm worn out". What little paint applications there are on the Encore series, all have been sloppy IMO. Ironhide, Ratchet, Optimus, and Starscream all have paint issues. Factory stickers are applied sloppy, too. Maybe I received a bad batch. Only Jazz is fine from the ones I have.

HighPrime wrote:My Encore Jazz seems fine to me. That one I don't have an original, but it was much better than the Dreamwave release. For Omega and Prime and Have both an Encore and Original. Plastic/molding just doesn't feel the same on the reissue, just feels cheap for some reason, I don't know. It's not terrible, but have the 2 in your hand, you'd be able to tell the difference. The arm joints don't make the same 'pop' or ratcheting sound of the original either. Optimus feels cheaper, too.. like the mold is screaming "enough already.. I'm worn out". What little paint applications there are on the Encore series, all have been sloppy IMO. Ironhide, Ratchet, Optimus, and Starscream all have paint issues. Factory stickers are applied sloppy, too. Maybe I received a bad batch. Only Jazz is fine from the ones I have.

Yeah, I see what you mean. I don't mind it though. I pointed that about Jazz just as comparison to those 3 KOs, because I do like it! What I see bad in my Jazz is some looseness and the arms feel really cheap with bad cut, bad molded plastic and the pieces don't fit very well together. It's not too serious though, but the details are a lot better in KOs Wheeljack, Mirage and Reflector and the pieces fit well.

H0rdak wrote:Cool! Think I'll buy that once i get some cash together.

I'm really happy with mine , just take care about who you buy it from. Make sure it comes with all the accessories because that's something some people complain about and it happened to me, but the seller sent me the missing accessories without problems. I suggest you ask the seller to check the contents before sending because this happens with some MISB KOs.

capellamusic wrote:

H0rdak wrote:Cool! Think I'll buy that once i get some cash together.

I'm really happy with mine , just take care about who you buy it from. Make sure it comes with all the accessories because that's something some people complain about and it happened to me, but the seller sent me the missing accessories without problems. I suggest you ask the seller to check the contents before sending because this happens with some MISB KOs.

I spontaneously bought the KO shockwave from that dude on ioffer yesterday, wich I realy hope I wont regret. If that goes well and I'm happy with it, I'll buy Wheeljack from him. Thanks for the advice on the accessories

capellamusic wrote:

HighPrime wrote:My Encore Jazz seems fine to me. That one I don't have an original, but it was much better than the Dreamwave release. For Omega and Prime and Have both an Encore and Original. Plastic/molding just doesn't feel the same on the reissue, just feels cheap for some reason, I don't know. It's not terrible, but have the 2 in your hand, you'd be able to tell the difference. The arm joints don't make the same 'pop' or ratcheting sound of the original either. Optimus feels cheaper, too.. like the mold is screaming "enough already.. I'm worn out". What little paint applications there are on the Encore series, all have been sloppy IMO. Ironhide, Ratchet, Optimus, and Starscream all have paint issues. Factory stickers are applied sloppy, too. Maybe I received a bad batch. Only Jazz is fine from the ones I have.

Yeah, I see what you mean. I don't mind it though. I pointed that about Jazz just as comparison to those 3 KOs, because I do like it! What I see bad in my Jazz is some looseness and the arms feel really cheap with bad cut, bad molded plastic and the pieces don't fit very well together. It's not too serious though, but the details are a lot better in KOs Wheeljack, Mirage and Reflector and the pieces fit well.

Yeah, that's the other thing too.. just couldn't find the words for it.. the plastic doesn't fit will and is cut/molded poorly. Completely agree

H0rdak wrote:

capellamusic wrote:

H0rdak wrote:Cool! Think I'll buy that once i get some cash together.

I'm really happy with mine , just take care about who you buy it from. Make sure it comes with all the accessories because that's something some people complain about and it happened to me, but the seller sent me the missing accessories without problems. I suggest you ask the seller to check the contents before sending because this happens with some MISB KOs.

I spontaneously bought the KO shockwave from that dude on ioffer yesterday, wich I realy hope I wont regret. If that goes well and I'm happy with it, I'll buy Wheeljack from him. Thanks for the advice on the accessories

You're welcome and I hope that Shockwave is as good (or better!) as Wheeljack, Mirage and Reflector . I want to buy it too, but I can't afford it right now, maybe I will next month, I always wanted to have Shockwave!

HighPrime wrote:This seller was over-zealous with sticker applications. The autobot insignias should only be applied to Silverbolt, stock. And if the other sellers are as lasy as this one below:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Tansformers-SUPER ... 3001r37474

you'll have no trouble figuring out the knock-offs.

That is not at all what I remember from my G1 Superion. ALL of my G1 Aieralbots had insignia on the wings and they were all legit. The only G1 KO I ever had was a grey Shockwave. The only thing about this set that doesn't look right to me, sticker-wise, is the insignia on Skydives wings. He was the first Aerialbot I ever bought and this one seems to have a sticker placed over the wing stripes as opposed to having an Autobot logo incorporated into the striping like mine was.