The Energon Pub

[gothsaurus]

I think they are gonna repaint the dickens out of these guys. Think back to FOC Bruticus... repainted and retooled 5 times... plus TFCC Fisitron and almost a The Fallen.

It's not a bad thing. I love some good repaints and clever retools.... could be different characters, Autobot counterparts out of the Stunticons, or just G2/Shattered Glass repaints. I'd love any or all of these.

Bottom line, for Hasbro to make money on a figure (and the expense of research & development, child safety testing, molds, etc.)... they HAVE to do repaints and retools. They're just part of the deal ... all the way back to the original seeker trio, Rumble/Frenzy, and the Datsun trio.

[gothsaurus]

Prowl? This is the first I've heard of a Prowl release.

But given that we are getting a combiner Optimus, I think we can expect four bots to team up with him.

[SW's SilverHammer]

Either way... I am anticipating a motherlode of combiner figures. Taking into consideration the repaint and retool options here (and the combiners we haven't seen revealed, like Devastator and Bruticus)...

Well... I guess we should all start putting back some money. I'm just sayin'.

I'm thinking just four full 5-member combiners: 16 Deluxes, 6 Voyagers (4 Team Leaders, Optimus Prime, and who else?)

I'm going to assume you're counting prowl as a possible team leader?

As a Voyager-sized torso?

*cough* prowl-astator, unless you think they'll do separate constructicons with a legends prowl headmaster.

[gothsaurus]

OH YEAH. That Prowl/Constructicon merge team was such a misguided oddity.... I pushed it out of my head as soon as it happened...

Like headmaster Sunstreaker.

[SW's SilverHammer]

OH YEAH. That Prowl/Constructicon merge team was such a misguided oddity.... I pushed it out of my head as soon as it happened...

Like headmaster Sunstreaker.

Lol well as dumb as it is, I think the robots in disguise have been making it work alright.
Plus in Septembers issue, they state the four combiner teams in the veritable arms race currently are: prowl and the constructicons/devastator. Silverbolt and the aerial bots/superion. Monstructor provided he's not dead, and motormaster and the stunticons/menasor.

[gothsaurus]

Yeah, RID has been getting better... and loving the Windblade and other side stories. MTMTE still awesome.

I'm not necessarily thinking the merge teams will follow the comic plot. We'll see how that pans out.

Gotta say if they put out a set of Prowl and four constructions, I'd throw chairs around the room. That's a terrible idea for a set, even if it's an interesting STORY in the comic.

I'd love a Monstructor.

[Va'al]

OH YEAH. That Prowl/Constructicon merge team was such a misguided oddity.... I pushed it out of my head as soon as it happened...

:O

[ScottyP]

Gotta say if they put out a set of Prowl and four constructions, I'd throw chairs around the room. That's a terrible idea for a set, even if it's an interesting STORY in the comic.

The story makes it a desirable toy for me. Had it been a one off thing back in only RiD 16 (or whenever that was, guessing at issue number), no, but the really well crafted story since then with the Prowl/Constructicon Alliance of Badassery has me really jonesing for a toy of these guys.

It also helps that TFC Herc is, imo, the perfect "Classics" style Devastator. I don't need Hasbro to do one.

What I'd really like though, since my needs are not what the world revolves around, is a Hook figure that can be a torso or a leg, a separate Scrapper figure with a leg mode, and a Prowl that can be a Devastator torso. Then everyone wins.

[gothsaurus]

Leader size Prowl might be a bit odd. (as big as Motormaster, Prime, etc.) :^Z I'd like them to at least be ROUGHLY the right scale.

BUT yeah, I guess the real thing that makes me want a Devastator eventually is that I really want to be able to "scramble city" these teams. A consistent connector port across these combiners is what adds so much playability. (Oh yeah, and them being $15 instead of $100 each. LOL.)

If they do round out a good Devastator, I wonder who would be on the team... and 'new' additions ala Hightower, Gravedigger, Hauler, Erector, Steamhammer, Duststorm, Sledge, Wideload....???

[SW's SilverHammer]

The reject constructicon team consisting of any combination of hightower, Gravedigger, Hauler, Erector, Steamhammer, Duststorm, Sledge, Wideload; would make anamazing combiner

[gothsaurus]

HA. Yeah, I'd buy it. Devy was always my favorite combiner. Construction vehicles are just great toys. Same with dinosaurs. Can't go wrong.

Got the Gravedigger PowerCore set and was really pleased. They're all previously unused vehicle types for the drones. Really cool to add to the lineup.

I wish they'd do a decent transforming steamroller. (Scavenger was a bit of a miss for me.)

[leakin' lubricant]

Has anyone from the UK pre-ordered Chromia or Arcee from Forbidden Planet? Suddenly the release dates changed to the 30th of January 2015, which is kinda worrying. Not to mention everywhere else seems to be unaffected. Is anyone else in the same boat?

No but I do know that Omegalock had the same release date, so may be using the same supplier.

I cancelled the order and switched to Kapow. They seem to have her in stock at the moment.

When did you switch the order? Kapow have had her marked out of stock since weekend at least.

The site's claiming they're still in stock. I'll contact them and see what's happening with her.

Strange, she's showing as out of stock for me.

Oops, sorry, I meant Windblade and Chromia, not Arcee. Sorry!

Ahhhhh, makes sence, no worries, if yours still on the lookout for an Arcee, Omegalock have her up for pre-order, in stock from 30th of November.

http://www.omegalock.co.uk/product_info.php/cPath/23/products_id/272

I just got the reply from Kapow. They're in the post now. At least I know to never use Forbidden Planet again. And thanks for the link to Arcee! Pretty sure I'll pre-order her as well. Thanks for the help by the way!

No worries mate, happy to help. BTW look who was waiting for me when I got home from work...





First impressions, WOW! She is an adorable figure, not only one of the best figure of the generations line quite possibly one of the best figures hasbro have produced full stop! I'll post better pics in a couple of days.

[Super-Wooper]

Has anyone from the UK pre-ordered Chromia or Arcee from Forbidden Planet? Suddenly the release dates changed to the 30th of January 2015, which is kinda worrying. Not to mention everywhere else seems to be unaffected. Is anyone else in the same boat?

No but I do know that Omegalock had the same release date, so may be using the same supplier.

I cancelled the order and switched to Kapow. They seem to have her in stock at the moment.

When did you switch the order? Kapow have had her marked out of stock since weekend at least.

The site's claiming they're still in stock. I'll contact them and see what's happening with her.

Strange, she's showing as out of stock for me.

Oops, sorry, I meant Windblade and Chromia, not Arcee. Sorry!

Ahhhhh, makes sence, no worries, if yours still on the lookout for an Arcee, Omegalock have her up for pre-order, in stock from 30th of November.

http://www.omegalock.co.uk/product_info.php/cPath/23/products_id/272

I just got the reply from Kapow. They're in the post now. At least I know to never use Forbidden Planet again. And thanks for the link to Arcee! Pretty sure I'll pre-order her as well. Thanks for the help by the way!

No worries mate, happy to help. BTW look who was waiting for me when I got home from work...





First impressions, WOW! She is an adorable figure, not only one of the best figure of the generations line quite possibly one of the best figures hasbro have produced full stop! I'll post better pics in a couple of days.

Aw man she looks amazing! Chromia and Windblade have both arrived now. They both have amazing robot modes but transforming Windblade is really fiddly. Both really good though. And Arcee's pre-ordered!

[leakin' lubricant]

I think i may have gotten a little carried away.

[MightyMagnus78]

Was anyone else disappointed we didn't get any genuine G1 reissues as part of the Thrilling 30?

[leakin' lubricant]

Was anyone else disappointed we didn't get any genuine G1 reissues as part of the Thrilling 30?

I don't collect G1 myself, but i agree it would have been fitting to do some figures that havnt been reissued before like the Dinobots for example, thinking of it, it would have been pretty cool to have movie decos on G1 toys, not for everyone I know but I may have bought some of them.

[Sabrblade]

Was anyone else disappointed we didn't get any genuine G1 reissues as part of the Thrilling 30?

I don't collect G1 myself, but i agree it would have been fitting to do some figures that havnt been reissued before like the Dinobots for example, thinking of it, it would have been pretty cool to have movie decos on G1 toys, not for everyone I know but I may have bought some of them.

The G1 Dinobot molds are among those that are considered either lost or destroyed.

[leakin' lubricant]

Was anyone else disappointed we didn't get any genuine G1 reissues as part of the Thrilling 30?

I don't collect G1 myself, but i agree it would have been fitting to do some figures that havnt been reissued before like the Dinobots for example, thinking of it, it would have been pretty cool to have movie decos on G1 toys, not for everyone I know but I may have bought some of them.

The G1 Dinobot molds are among those that are considered either lost or destroyed.

Or stolen by KOers, look on ioffer you see a ton of "reissue" Dinobots, pretty sure Hasbro could create new molds.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

Was anyone else disappointed we didn't get any genuine G1 reissues as part of the Thrilling 30?

I don't collect G1 myself, but i agree it would have been fitting to do some figures that havnt been reissued before like the Dinobots for example, thinking of it, it would have been pretty cool to have movie decos on G1 toys, not for everyone I know but I may have bought some of them.

The G1 Dinobot molds are among those that are considered either lost or destroyed.

Or stolen by KOers, look on ioffer you see a ton of "reissue" Dinobots, pretty sure Hasbro could create new molds.

Reissues are already a risky business with surviving molds alone. Recasting molds costs a pretty penny and has been done sparingly. If the Master is lost from which the molds are made, well... Game Over.

TakaraTomy has a good record for reissues, while Hasbro has been spotty at best. And sales of reissues have been unstable over the various lines and depend on the character done. I know Stepper at the very least shelfwarmed in Japan, and some others did as well.

It looks like TakaraTomy has retired from doing G1 reissues for the time being and Hasbro, well... No comment on that

[GuyIncognito]

I call "BS" on this whole thing about not being able to reissue G1 figures because the original molds are gone. They can make a new mold. I realize it's expensive, but no more expensive than a new mold for a new figure. There's nothing preventing them from remaking an old mold except for their desire to do so.

[leakin' lubricant]

I call "BS" on this whole thing about not being able to reissue G1 figures because the original molds are gone. They can make a new mold. I realize it's expensive, but no more expensive than a new mold for a new figure. There's nothing preventing them from remaking an old mold except for their desire to do so.

Agreed, as I said before if the KOers can afford it then I'm damn sure Hasbro can.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

I call "BS" on this whole thing about not being able to reissue G1 figures because the original molds are gone. They can make a new mold. I realize it's expensive, but no more expensive than a new mold for a new figure. There's nothing preventing them from remaking an old mold except for their desire to do so.

Agreed, as I said before if the KOers can afford it then I'm damn sure Hasbro can.

Taking that in mind, I'm pretty sure the projected sales versus the production costs (including the costs of using existing molds vs. creating new one, including R&D) are a factor in whether or not figures get reissued. Quality is another, as you may all know reverse-engineering is not without its own problems. An original copy is still superior to a copy of a copy, or a copy of that copy's copy...

[gothsaurus]

Yeah, I'd have loved something actually G1 for Thrilling 30. Someone mentioned movie repaints for G1 molds... while I HATE HATE HATE that notion, especially compared with the awesome option of getting new original characters or Diaclone decos (like Detritus, BugBite, Road Rage, etc.)... there is one I'd LOVE. A G1 Barricade — black Prowl — would be fantastic. They could include a few variant stickers to skew the deco toward movie or a Mexican Prowl homage. That would be amazing.

And thinking about it, I DID enjoy the black Ironhide and green Ratchet... but I DETESTED the green and orange Skids set. Hated the characters. Hated the deco. They take the cake for the Jar Jar of the TF universe. Pulled the award right out of Wheelie's twitching hands.

I guess the missing G1 cars that never got reissued (Sunstreaker, Wheeljack, Mirage) and their retool/repaints would be at the top of my want list for (lost) reissues, along with the dinos. Police and red Sunstreaker plus red Mirage and "Exhaust" would be shiny.

[GuyIncognito]

I call "BS" on this whole thing about not being able to reissue G1 figures because the original molds are gone. They can make a new mold. I realize it's expensive, but no more expensive than a new mold for a new figure. There's nothing preventing them from remaking an old mold except for their desire to do so.

Agreed, as I said before if the KOers can afford it then I'm damn sure Hasbro can.

Taking that in mind, I'm pretty sure the projected sales versus the production costs (including the costs of using existing molds vs. creating new one, including R&D) are a factor in whether or not figures get reissued. Quality is another, as you may all know reverse-engineering is not without its own problems. An original copy is still superior to a copy of a copy, or a copy of that copy's copy...

The projected sales vs production cost for, say, Dinobot reissues is certainly as favorable as it is for, say, the latest stupid gimmick figure that's going to warm shelves for the next 12 months. And you can't tell me that, in 2014, they can't make new Dinobot molds that are of the same quality or better than the 1980's versions. That's ridiculous. There may be financial reasons not to do it, but the lack of the original mold is not a valid reason.

[gothsaurus]

Yeah, I wish their marketing team would come up with a great way to make an "excuse" to release them. Kinda like the recent two-packs where you get some modern toy along side the original G1 version. Plan it in a way to still make money by packaging it with another toy... and work along side Takara (and maybe FanPub) to share the retool/rebuild costs as they release a book style version — and additional repaint characters.