The Energon Pub

Mykltron wrote:Oh bloody hell, looks like I'll have to shell out a large sum for this. Well, I'll have to wait and see what the bot looks like.

Something like this.

I think he also comes with a a different head that has the red helmet with the white crest, like how Ironhide comes with his IDW face.

Dre Merc wrote:Igear's online store has a list of what is included with each figure: not Ratchet and not Ironhide. They won't both have the same set of accesories. I love the that they come with so many extras each. I'm kinda used to that because I collect a lot a jap toys and that's commmon for me. What I don't like is that the figure itself may end up being crap like faith leader. It felt so damn cheap( flimsy, light, lacking balance) that I threw it away. When I see their seekers, they seem just as cheap.

I really want this figure to be sturdy.

I think iGear learned their lessons from the original Faith Leader production, because they came back with better plastic on the revision. However, I can only attest to the quality of the seekers you speak of, the quality seems to be at least as good as a Hasbro/Takara release in terms of plastic.

Medical Specialist and Weapon Specialist have many overlapping accessories, with only a few accessories that are character-specific. I still think it's awesome to have all these pieces, and I can share with the rest of the Autobots.

I'm anxiously awaiting for these pieces. I might have to kick out my Classics/Henkei versions as "imposters"!

--B-- wrote:I sold off my classics Ratchet and Ironhide, as they just didn't do it for me. I LOVE these, but way too far out of my price range. I do wish they came with less accessories, as that could have driven the price down into a range that I could swing, but 100 bucks a piece is way too much.

Yeah, the prices for these figures are not for the weak of heart (or wallet). A few years ago, I don't think I would've even considered paying that price for something that wasn't Supreme Class, like a Unicron figure. I even passed on Takara Masterpiece figures like Thundercracker because of the price, and knowing that a Hasbro release (which never came) would be roughly half the cost.

I've only justified my buying habits because I really wanted these figures (PP03 series and now PP05 series) in my collection. At least iGear seems to be dropping their "Prime" prices - their Ultra Magnus and SG Prime issues are discounted about $40 off, and the new release of Prime without some of the bonus accessories will be $75.

With several viable 3rd parties making multiple $100 releases (iGear, MakeToys, TFC, FansProject), I hope their production plans include long-term releases (at least a year of availability for a figure) at slightly lower costs, because it's difficult buying so many high priced figures in such a short time frame.

cannonfodder4000 wrote:I think he also comes with a a different head that has the red helmet with the white crest, like how Ironhide comes with his IDW face.

I don't recall if iGear had given any indication of this, but from the prototype picture it looks like the bonus head has the same sculpt so it's possible that it comes with different colors. It would make more sense to me if the helmet were white, with the red crest, like Classics vs. Henkei color schemes.

necr0blivion wrote:

cannonfodder4000 wrote:I think he also comes with a a different head that has the red helmet with the white crest, like how Ironhide comes with his IDW face.

I don't recall if iGear had given any indication of this, but from the prototype picture it looks like the bonus head has the same sculpt so it's possible that it comes with different colors. It would make more sense to me if the helmet were white, with the red crest, like Classics vs. Henkei color schemes.

I definitely hope there's one with the red head/helmet and white crest. Comic Ratchet is 10 times better than cartoon Ratchet. Megatron and the Cons tried to pull that "blowing into your shuttle and killing everyone in 10 seconds" crap like they did in the movie, comic Ratchet would have taken them out.

The comparison shot you seek.

amcgrath929 wrote:The comparison shot you seek.

Note - Prototype. Final May Vary.

Just like every other prototype. You honestly think iGear downsized their own figure already? Lol.

I think the size you see here is what we are getting. The alt mode has looked small from the beginning. Plus, alt mode size doesn't really dictate anything. Check out TF: Prime Starscream.

Stormrider wrote:

amcgrath929 wrote:The comparison shot you seek.

Note - Prototype. Final May Vary.

Isn't this the igear proto type SOME fans were speculating had toy parts borrowed from classics 2.0 voyager sized Inferno.

if yes,what toy parts were borrowed from classics 2.0 Inferno.
from a far distance,I can see the arms look a bit similar. Especially the shoulder pieces & the way the shoulder joints swing out to the sides.

It doesn't seem a stretch that the van shown could transform into a Voyager-sized robot; there's a lot of cubic volume inside that vehicular form for all the parts to fit into.

I doubt iGear would have gone to the trouble of telling us the exact height of the proto if they plan for the final product to differ very much in size. Ratchet and Ironhide were often depicted as being bigger than many of the other Autobots in animation, and I think these figures will reflect that in their final versions.

I do seriously doubt we'll be seeing these ship as soon as January though if we haven't seen any molded in final plastic colours at this point.