The Energon Pub

News Credits: 462 · Sun Sep 27, 2015 10:02 am

sol magnus wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:
sol magnus wrote:This version of Convoy has been out almost a year. No one seems to have noticed Red Bumblebee in the little comic...
Bumblebee isn't red in the image. It's just the lighting. Compared to the very red Optimus, Bee's colors are much brighter.

I don't have the figure, so I'll defer, but he lookS as red as Sideswipe...then again, maybe that's Tigertrack.

The story identifies him as Sideswipe.

News Credits: 3645 · Sun Sep 27, 2015 6:26 pm

It's definitely regular yellow Bumblebee, colored properly to show the red fiery highlights from the scene. All you have to do is look at red Optimus Prime to see that Bumblebee is yellow under red lighting.

Even if it is red Bumblebee, what's the big deal? If some of you want to believe that's red Bumblebee, have at it!

News Credits: 10 · Sun Sep 27, 2015 7:30 pm

Seibertron wrote:It's definitely regular yellow Bumblebee, colored properly to show the red fiery highlights from the scene. All you have to do is look at red Optimus Prime to see that Bumblebee is yellow under red lighting.

Even if it is red Bumblebee, what's the big deal? If some of you want to believe that's red Bumblebee, have at it!

It's not a big deal. Just looked red to me from the photo. Would have been a nice preview or grist for the rumor mill had it been A. correct and B. caught back when EVA mode Convoy came out.

News Credits: 3645 · Sun Sep 27, 2015 7:54 pm

sol magnus wrote:
Seibertron wrote:It's definitely regular yellow Bumblebee, colored properly to show the red fiery highlights from the scene. All you have to do is look at red Optimus Prime to see that Bumblebee is yellow under red lighting.

Even if it is red Bumblebee, what's the big deal? If some of you want to believe that's red Bumblebee, have at it!

It's not a big deal. Just looked red to me from the photo. Would have been a nice preview or grist for the rumor mill had it been A. correct and B. caught back when EVA mode Convoy came out.

I think red Bumblebee was a given at some point. What was a disappoint me to me was G2 Bumblebee was kind of a cop-out. He should have been gold chromed. The "gold" painted Bumblebee with a new head should have been Goldbug, complete with the alternate transformation of the backpack flipped around the other way so that it looks like Goldbug's backpack. It's a bummer they didn't go this route. The recent G2 resurgence, while fun, is still odd when other mainline opportunities are being passed up and G2 repaints aren't being done properly.

News Credits: 10 · Sun Sep 27, 2015 9:03 pm

Seibertron wrote:
sol magnus wrote:
Seibertron wrote:It's definitely regular yellow Bumblebee, colored properly to show the red fiery highlights from the scene. All you have to do is look at red Optimus Prime to see that Bumblebee is yellow under red lighting.

Even if it is red Bumblebee, what's the big deal? If some of you want to believe that's red Bumblebee, have at it!

It's not a big deal. Just looked red to me from the photo. Would have been a nice preview or grist for the rumor mill had it been A. correct and B. caught back when EVA mode Convoy came out.

I think red Bumblebee was a given at some point. What was a disappoint me to me was G2 Bumblebee was kind of a cop-out. He should have been gold chromed. The "gold" painted Bumblebee with a new head should have been Goldbug, complete with the alternate transformation of the backpack flipped around the other way so that it looks like Goldbug's backpack. It's a bummer they didn't go this route. The recent G2 resurgence, while fun, is still odd when other mainline opportunities are being passed up and G2 repaints aren't being done properly.

I can agree with the sentiment that they've missed some opportunities. G2 Bumblebee is definitely a moneygrab ('cause I want that jet pack :lol:

).

One thing I've wondered about is with this new Volkswagen issue, how will that affect us ever getting a Masterpiece Jazz. Porche, Audi, Volkswagen...same company...and they stand to lose billions. Probably makes it even more odd Masterpiece Jazz/Meister hasn't been made yet. VW already gave Takara a license. Same weird curiousity regarding the distinct lack of Sunstreaker from Lamborghini.

News Credits: 462 · Sun Sep 27, 2015 11:16 pm

I would be terrified to ever attempt to transform an MP covered in chrome. I'd be scared to death about scratching or flaking or doing any kind of damage to the chrome in mid-transformation, and there's the potential threat of the chrome just flaking off itself over time. On a regular figure, I'd be bummed, yeah, but on an MP, I'd be devastated to see any kind of chrome flaking off of a crucial part of the body.

I am glad that MP Bumble G-2 Ver. was metallic instead of chrome. A chrome-covered MP is an accident waiting to happen.

News Credits: 668 · Mon Sep 28, 2015 12:55 pm

It is the year 2000. The treacherous Destrons have been replaced, along with the Cybertrons, to make way for Takara's newest Transformers series: Car Robots. It changed pretty much everything. Gone (for the most part) were the beasts we had come to know and love, now the Cybertrons were vehicles and Convoy was a FAIYAA ENJIN, his cohorts were expensive luxury vehicles with ridiculous disproportionate bodies, and together they waged a war against Gigatron and his evil Destrongers. (Although one of them, that shark fellow, had the spirit of a poet and the intelligence of a stone.)

It was refreshing to see Transformers begin to return to their roots, vehicles, but the series was notorious for including a new character we hadn't seen done before.... Black Convoy. An evil clone of Convoy? Balderdash!

And so began the evil Convoy/Optimus clone repaints. (I know what you're thinking "Hey! There was a Lio Convoy colored to look like Galvatron, years before that, mister!" I know, but he wasn't Nemesis colored, so there.

Okay, okay, there WAS a Nemesis colored Lio Convoy, but meh.)

Of course, Masterpiece couldn't be left out of that list of toylines due to receive an evil Optimus, oh no. Heck, we've seen some rather crazy stuff in Transformers, including a mish mash of Transformers and Evangelion! (You can see that gallery, here.) So, a Nemesis Prime/Black Convoy repaint in Masterpiece is not only not surprising, but expected!

And that brings us to the first of today's newest gallery: Masterpiece MP-1B Convoy Black Version! Oh and even though he wears the coat of evil, this dude's all good and saint like, so it's Optimus, going through an emo phase, apparently. He should've come with headphones so he could listen to The Cure.

Wait, what's that you say? "There's another gallery included with this, tell us about that!" You're right, my apologies. MP-4S Convoy Sleep Version is yet another repaint of yet another Convoy/Optimus mold (you don't say!) and also a Masterpiece! (Starting to see the trend, here?!)

For those of you who don't know, this Masterpiece is based on one of the worst scenes in Transformers history, the death of Optimus Prime. It wasn't bad enough that Hasbro and Sunbow teamed up to create Transformers: The Movie, which was really The Quest For More Money: Let's Kill Off All The Good Characters To Make Way For New Ones: The Movie. It wasn't enough to make kids all sad inside and out watching their beloved Optimus Prime die, oh no, they had to go full throttle and make his body decay and turn gray and black before our very eyes. (Our young, heartbroken eyes.) Here comes Takara Tomy to the rescue because no one had made a dead Optimus figure before!

And that brings us to our second gallery of the day: MP-4S Convoy Sleep Version

You can see both figures and their galleries by clicking on the respective images below. When you're done checking them out, come on back to the forums and share your thoughts with us!

New Galleries: Masterpiece MP-1B Convoy Black Version and MP-4S Convoy Sleep Version

Transformers Masterpiece Convoy Black Ver.

Transformers Masterpiece Sleep Convoy

Keep your optics tuned to Seibertron.com for the latest in news and updates, plus the best galleries around!

News Credits: 462 · Mon Sep 28, 2015 1:05 pm

Though Sleep Mode looks pretty depressing (as it should), the Eldedroid looks pretty cool. Daniel Witwicky never looked better. 8-)

Mon Sep 28, 2015 1:27 pm

Autobot032 wrote:And so began the evil Convoy/Optimus clone repaints. (I know what you're thinking "Hey! There was a Lio Convoy colored to look like Galvatron, years before that, mister!" I know, but he wasn't Nemesis colored, so there. )

Doesn't this guy count?

http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Black_Lio_Convoy

I finally sold my Sleep mode Convoy. He's a nice looking guy, I think, but I really only bought it for the trailer (which I kept). Needed space for the new stuff. Elderoid looks good too, and has great fiction, but already having MP01 and MP02 Magnus, I can't be having more of this guy hanging around. Collecting a lot of figures at this size can become tricky fast.

News Credits: 668 · Mon Sep 28, 2015 1:40 pm

Thanks to Sabr, hinomars19 and Seibertron (the man himself) appropriate edits have been made to reflect all of the pertinent information.

News Credits: 656 · Mon Sep 28, 2015 2:28 pm

I never had the guts to put the papercraft MP-1B trailer together. I did that with MP-2's back in the day and that thing crumpled back to flatness within days.

Mon Sep 28, 2015 4:45 pm

Sadly, I think this was really the only Masterpiece Mold to be truly worthy of the tittle. Dont get me wrong, I love masterpiece and I have all of them uptodate, except for MP1 GOLD prime of course, but had they kept this amount of Diecast in everyfigure... It truly would have been more special, ala Soul of chogokin...

It used to be that an MP would be released everyother year, then one per year, then two, then now we have 5 MP releases or more per year, and quite honestly, some of the newer molds just dont feel special anymore...

Call me crazy, but I am looking forward to the XO KO MP king grimlock, the oversized grimlock, more than any other recent MP since ultra magnus and Wheeljack...

I have started sort of a refuge form MP 1 based molds in my house... just love this mold, its weight, and gimmicks...

Great job on the galleries, the pictures are truly worthy of this mold... thank you.

News Credits: 3645 · Mon Sep 28, 2015 7:36 pm

These galleries were more galleries started back in 2013, but were never finished. Felt good to get these completed finally. I also finished the galleries for Hasbro's Masterpiece Optimus Prime (MP-10) that I started back in 2012 as well as MP-10B Black Convoy which was started back in 2013. They're all finished finally which means I just have Gold Megatron, Marvel Comic Grimlock, and Black Rodimus to do at some point to get all of Masterpiece done at last.

News Credits: 26 · Mon Sep 28, 2015 10:02 pm

Oh come on! The Cure is not an emo band! Sure, some songs are depressive, but they have a lot of happy and cheerful songs too!
Beautiful galleries, but I had to get that out of my chest.

News Credits: 668 · Mon Sep 28, 2015 10:08 pm

MaverickPrime wrote:Oh come on! The Cure is not an emo band! Sure, some songs are depressive, but they have a lot of happy and cheerful songs too!
Beautiful galleries, but I had to get that out of my chest.

It...was a joke. =\ *sighs*

News Credits: 1235 · Wed Oct 07, 2015 10:35 pm

We are taking a small break in the middle of all this NYCC madness to bring you a gallery of Hasbro Masterpiece Optimus Prime which was sold as a Toys R Us exclusive in 2012.. This is the second version of Optimus Prime in the Masterpiece line which is smaller than his MP-01 predecessor. It should be no surprise that this mold shared the top spot in our recent Top 10 Best Optimus Prime Toys list. Optimus Prime comes with his trailer, the Matrix of Leadership, a Roller unit (molded in blue instead of silver), an energy axe and a Spike figure. Prime features lighter blue bits and eyes compared to Takara's version which features a darker blue which makes this guy more cartoon accurate. Click on any of the images to see the full gallery.

Transformers Masterpiece Optimus Prime (MP-10)

Transformers Masterpiece Spike Witwicky

News Credits: 668 · Thu Oct 08, 2015 12:05 pm

Another day, another gallery. No, not from a convention (though we have plenty of those!)

No, today we have a gallery of another Masterpiece Convoy figure. (Yes, another. Do you think Optimus gets a residual check for all of these uses of his likeness? Dude must be rollin' in dough by now.)

The original run consisted of several repaints of the MP-01 Convoy mold, the MP-03 Starscream mold, one run of MP-05 Megatron, a handful of MP-08 Grimlock and two of MP-09 Rodimus Convoy (and his evil twin taking a cue from the Star Trek mirrorverse! All he needed was the ridiculous goatee...)

It was MP-10 that changed everything. The new Masterpieces were actually toys! Toys you could play with and transform. Toys that were well built and felt like an action figure on steroids, rather than a pretty gem that sits in a glass case under lock and key. (I'm looking at YOU, Hasbro Masterpiece Hot Rod/Rodimus and your achy breaky arms. You're on notice, chief!)

With the soft reboot of the line comes repaints, because MONEY. We've shown you some of the extensive repaints in this news piece here.

Oh, and you can take a look at the LOVELY MP-10, right here! (Did you know there's an Asian region reissue of this guy? Did you know he comes with Vector Sigma? VECTOR. FRICKIN'. SIGMA. That's right! You can buy him right here at Seibertron.com sponsor BBTS's sale page.)

Which brings us to our newest gallery:

Masterpiece MP-10B Black Convoy

I know. You're all like "We just saw this..." Nay. Nay, say I! You've seen this redeco of the MP-01 mold, but not the MP-10. Today's gallery features Optimus/Convoy looking all dapper in his best dressy black. (All he needs is a bow tie.)

You can take a look at this beautiful gem, in it's full gallery, by clicking on the images below:

Transformers Masterpiece Black Convoy

Keep your optics tuned to Seibertron.com for the latest in news and updates, plus the best galleries around!

Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:11 pm

Masterpiece galleries are always awesome to see, especially the lovely MP-10 mold.
However, you guys constantly mis-transform this mold, to the point it's distracting:

This:

folds out.

Seriously.

Try not to be distracted by it.

And it's not just the ugly, gaping hole. When that panel isn't folded out, it causes alignment problems in the rest of the cab. You night have been wondering why you had to "squeeze" things together more than you expected. That's why.

Mon Oct 12, 2015 2:40 pm

I really want to get that YOTH Optimus someday. I wonder why I never pick one up when it came out

News Credits: 1235 · Fri Jan 08, 2016 10:28 pm

Ah Road Rage, originally an e-HOBBY exclusive redeco of G1 Tracks based on the Diaclone version of the toy. She has three toys to her name including the original e-Hobby exclusive Road Rage, BotCon 2012 Turbo Tracks (Come on despite the name, this is Road Rage) and the subject of this newest gallery entry, Masterpiece MP-26 Road Rage.

Masterpiece Road Rage is a retool of MP-25 Tracks which include a new head, weapon, collar, biceps, hands, hips and thighs. Even the Blaster accessory that came with Tracks has been redecoed into Twincast. Go ahead and click on the images below to view the whole gallery.

Transformers Masterpiece Road Rage

News Credits: 6188 · Sun Jan 10, 2016 1:55 pm

After the latest gallery in the Takara Tomy Transformers Masterpiece line over the weekend, Seibertron.com is ready to bring you not one but two more additions to the gallery collection - and it's two variants of existing molds: MP-21R Bumble Red Boby Body and MP-14C Clampdown!

The former is the inevitable red repaint of the Bumblebee figure, whose gallery you can view here, and features the excellently hilarious typo on the collector coin, though not the Daniel exosuit. The latter is the latest in a long series of repaints and retools for the MP14 mold, with a white, black, red and light blue paint apps to bring it closer to its police car look. You can check out both galleries by clicking on any of the images below!

Transformers Masterpiece Bumble Red Body

Transformers Masterpiece Clampdown

News Credits: 11 · Sun Jan 10, 2016 2:09 pm

This is the first I've noticed both the white background and the chrome bumpers on that MP Red Bee. That is beautiful! I can't justify getting it for just these couple of changes, but otherwise, yeah, that adds a whole lot to the toy. I wish yellow Bee also had the white on his chest and foot.

Thanks for the galleries, Ryan!

Sun Jan 10, 2016 2:54 pm

So does the fandom have names for Red Bumblebee and Yellow Cliffjumper? Or are they just Red Bumblebee and Yellow Cliffjumper?

I kinda like how "Rumblebee" for Red Bumblebee sounds, but by that logic, Yellow Cliffjumper would be "Yiffjumper" and I'm not a fan of that name.

News Credits: 41 · Sun Jan 10, 2016 2:58 pm

I've always heard yellow Cliffjumper referred to as Bumblejumper.
I like "Rumblebee". :lol:

Sun Jan 10, 2016 4:46 pm

Bumblejumper is the old microchange mazda familia that was released on early bumblebee cards that people are now calling bumper. Rumblebee is a decent name, though