The Energon Pub

News Credits: 1452 · Tue Aug 07, 2012 3:18 pm

News Credits: 3 · Tue Aug 07, 2012 3:23 pm

Mixed bag.

News Credits: 1 · Tue Aug 07, 2012 3:25 pm

Who could be happy with crappier (smaller, hollow, cheep materials, lack of paint apps, terrible molds (airachnid)) toys, for more money. Less for more?

News Credits: 402 · Updated Oct 21, 2022

Nope.

Cheaper plastic and smaller figures? Nuh uh.

The ONLY saving grace is their import of the Asian exclusives, but a single bright star won't illuminate the inky blackness.

News Credits: 3 · Tue Aug 07, 2012 3:42 pm

Mkall wrote:The ONLY saving grace is their import of the Asian exclusives, but a single bright star won't illuminate the inky blackness.

Don't forget the MP offerings!

The main lines, though...pretty much ****.

The upcoming 3rd Party offerings look rather promising, too, prices aside.

News Credits: 16 · Tue Aug 07, 2012 3:54 pm

I voted yes. Here's why:
- RTS from last year - Classics Jazz, Tracks, Wreck Gar and more
- Generations from last year - Seekers, Red Alert, Blur, Skullgrin, etc.
- MP-10 from Hasbro this year
- Voyager Grimlock, Soundwave and Blaster in 2013, plus Legends deployers

Yeah, the smaller sizes and higher price-tags are a big issue for me, but not enough to take away my vote of confidence. With oil prices significantly higher than just a few years ago, those price changes can be justified fairly. Besides, toy collecting is not an essential need. If it really does become too expensive, I can just walk away.

Tue Aug 07, 2012 3:56 pm

The lone bright spot at the moment seems to be the forthcoming Masterpiece toys (from both Hasbro and TakaraTomy).

As for the rest... there are just so many missed opportunities.

Transformers: Prime and Transformers: Fall of Cybertron are some of the best source material Hasbro has ever had to work with in terms of popular awareness, production quality, and early access/input into the fiction itself. But the great concepts here seem to be translating into what are for the most part lackluster toys. And the problem is not the level of complexity or overall ingenuity of the toys. The problem is the size and perceivable quality.

I'm concerned that the time when a Transformer felt like a well-made toy is entirely in the past.

News Credits: 1 · Tue Aug 07, 2012 4:15 pm

nope, I am not happy.

I can handle decreases in quality with the same size and price of figures,
I can handle decreases in size with the same price and quality of figures,
and I can handle increases in price with the same quality and size of figures,

but all three at once? Heck no.

News Credits: 4 · Tue Aug 07, 2012 4:59 pm

I voted no. I've got mixed feelings about the price/quality of toys. My big issue is the DISTRIBUTION, and the number of concurrent products competing for shelf space. As we all know, our shelves are stuffed with Bumblebee, the yellow menace. Sure, he's the favorite character, but he's clearly not being bought in enough numbers to support the case assortments being packed full of him, at the cost of other figures. TF Prime deluxe waves 3 and 4 have been out in my area for a few months now, and even though I check most stores in a 15 mile radius of where I live, I have not yet found a single Vehicon or Airachnid figure on shelves. I also haven't seen a Voyager Starscream or Bulkhead in weeks, and I've only recently started finding Cyberverse Commander waves 2 and 3 anywhere. The Transformers toy sections are reasonably sized, but half of the available shelf space is given to Bot Shots and residual Dark of the Moon toys, leaving less space for Generations and Prime. Now, I don't mind Bot Shots as a concept. Beyblade, Monsuno, Bakugan, etc. are all clearly popular and I understand Hasbro wants in on that action. But having to share space with the TF mainlines is a detriment to BOTH. Sure, it makes it look like there's a wider variety of toys on the shelf, but it makes it harder to find shortpacked figures like Shockwave, Airachnid, Vehicon, Soundwave, and the Bot Shots chase figures.

I'm also a bit concerned that the same designers are working on all these lines, meaning each line has fewer toys to show for it.

News Credits: 241 · Tue Aug 07, 2012 5:15 pm

You should have added "Indifferent" for folks like me.

Why you ask? First up, I'm not happy-go-lucky with the way things seem to be going, but I'm not pessimistic either. I take things as they come, be them good or bad, and should I not be able to get a figure at first there's always the second market, which can be cheaper at the cost of no packaging included. Besides, with they prices we pay in Europe coupled with local availability the US will always feel like a breather.

Point is, regardless of price, I'll always find a way to enjoy my figures, even Airachnid when I get her. Seriously, you guys only seeing the bad kinda scares me and takes part of the fun of the hobby for me as part of it is sharing enthusiasm. While I do acknowledge the problems the toys have, I would never dismiss their good sides.

Call me whatever you want, I don't care. >:oP

Tue Aug 07, 2012 5:22 pm

im cool with them, just as long as i get my fix. if i dont like a toy i wont get it. will work on the RID line.

Tue Aug 07, 2012 5:23 pm

And then there's those of us who remember the glut of repainted molds in early G2, the long stretch with nothing but the occasional smattering of Beast Wars here and there, etc etc... for whom even today is a treasure trove, despite the declining quality of plastics.

News Credits: 2 · Tue Aug 07, 2012 5:31 pm

I'm not happy. I like what Has/Tak have been *trying* to do, but overall, they've failed to execute on quite a few releases.

The quality is barely above KO standards these days often times and it's repulsive. I don't care about price. They can charge me double if they like (parents wouldn't like that of course though) to maintain better standards of quality and I'd be all over it.

Still, I am still collecting and hoping that the current state of things is only temporary.

News Credits: 7 · Tue Aug 07, 2012 5:41 pm

The higher price appears to be just normal adjustment for inflation. FoC Deluxes are really only a little more expensive than BW Deluxes.

www.usinflationcalculator.com wrote:If in 1996 I purchased an item for $9.99 then in 2012 that same item would cost: $14.61

Still, I'm being a bit more deliberate with my purchases.

Sucks that quality is coincidentally going down at the same time. Not sure what's causing that.

Actual products are pretty interesting. Looking forward to the likes of G2 Bruticus, Kreon Microchangers/Combiners, FoC Shockwave, Prime Rumble, and Thundertron. Heck, just look at all the love Decepticons are getting in FoC and Kre-O! So happy to be a

fan right now.

Constant comparisons to 3rd party are beyond annoying and quite frankly unfair, especially this "you can't like Hasbro's wares because 3rd Parties do it better" nonsense. I don't care how good they are, I cannot justify spending all that money on them. Even if they ever go beyond just pleasing the G1 crowd...

Distribution is the real buzz-kill. I can't even humor myself by looking at TF toys I have no interest in getting. As much as I look forward to Prime Rumble, the fact that finding something besides Bumblebee is "a good day" has me rather worried as to how to actually get him.
Outside of Prime looks to be (thankfully) void of BBs, so that's a plus. Still scratching my head at FoC's release schedule, though: Wave 1 - August; Wave 2 - October; everything else - January

News Credits: 1 · Tue Aug 07, 2012 6:50 pm

I was hoping this poll could be separated into Hasbro and Takara. On the Hasbro front, I'm not exactly a happy camper as far as FoC is concerned, but that said, the PRID toys are looking better and better with every new wave (EXCEPT Airachnid and PRID Arcee, I guess). On the other hand, the smaller size and higher prices aren't winning any confidence votes from me.

I'm pretty satisfied with what Takara's been doing for the MP line, though.

Since this is a confidence vote and not a performance vote, I declined to vote.

News Credits: 16 · Tue Aug 07, 2012 9:34 pm

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Seriously, you guys only seeing the bad kinda scares me and takes part of the fun of the hobby for me as part of it is sharing enthusiasm. While I do acknowledge the problems the toys have, I would never dismiss their good sides.

I stand with JelZe. Things like this need to be said more often.

News Credits: 7 · Tue Aug 07, 2012 9:41 pm

It Is Him wrote:I voted yes. Here's why:
- RTS from last year - Classics Jazz, Tracks, Wreck Gar and more
- Generations from last year - Seekers, Red Alert, Blur, Skullgrin, etc.
- MP-10 from Hasbro this year
- Voyager Grimlock, Soundwave and Blaster in 2013, plus Legends deployers

Yeah, the smaller sizes and higher price-tags are a big issue for me, but not enough to take away my vote of confidence. With oil prices significantly higher than just a few years ago, those price changes can be justified fairly. Besides, toy collecting is not an essential need. If it really does become too expensive, I can just walk away.

You said it pretty good.

Tue Aug 07, 2012 9:52 pm

As has been said, it's a mixed bag. There's some nonsense going on in the main line, but then you have the likes of the MP line, and the REALLY nice Bot Shots and Kre-O side lines. And, despite some of the main line issues, there are still some upcoming gems. We FINALLY got a really nice G1-style Shockwave and FoC Grimlock looks like he'll be pretty great. In fact, all of the upcoming Voyagers have a lot of promise. Really, the more I think about it, the only real issues are (1) increase in price of Cyberverse Commanders and Deluxes and (2) overall decrease in quality of deluxes. Meanwhile, the entire Cyberverse lines are REALLY good.

So, the more I think about it, the more I'm going to say yes. Which is identically the same thing I said about FoC Bruticus, and what I continue to say, despite the issues.

Tue Aug 07, 2012 10:34 pm

I voted no. Even though I think the toys are still overall good, the poor distribution and case assortment, combined with canceling of figures is unacceptable. I really like the Prime line so far, the only stinker in the group is Airachnid. But I haven't seen any new figures in months, and I keep hearing that Hasbro isn't releasing so many figures it sucking the fun right out of this.

Instead of looking forward to new figures now I'm thinking "Hey that looks awesome, $50 says Hasbro doesn't release it."

News Credits: 1 · Tue Aug 07, 2012 11:19 pm

It Is Him wrote:
JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Seriously, you guys only seeing the bad kinda scares me and takes part of the fun of the hobby for me as part of it is sharing enthusiasm. While I do acknowledge the problems the toys have, I would never dismiss their good sides.

I stand with JelZe. Things like this need to be said more often.

bingo

Tue Aug 07, 2012 11:24 pm

njb902 wrote:
It Is Him wrote:
JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Seriously, you guys only seeing the bad kinda scares me and takes part of the fun of the hobby for me as part of it is sharing enthusiasm. While I do acknowledge the problems the toys have, I would never dismiss their good sides.

I stand with JelZe. Things like this need to be said more often.

bingo

Indeed!

Wed Aug 08, 2012 12:08 am

No, I am not happy with the current state. And I'll explain why.

-Current toy character focus. We get a massive wave of Optimi and Bumblebees ever since the RoTF line. But what about all the other beloved characters needing decent toy treatment? Combiner teams like the Stunticons and Protectobots haven't gotten a decent full-sized combiner toy since G1. We have to settle for 3rd-party crap for those characters? Ridiculous. And the BEST time to make full sets of Insecticon and Dinobot teams, and Hasbro blows it for a deluge of repaints? Which IMO are all okay, but not at the cost of characters like Sludge, who haven't gotten a full-sized toy in decades.

-Fragile molds and/or bad quality control. As much as I love most of the new figures coming out... the Dark Energon line, FoC Bruticus, the diversity of the TFP line... there have been many complaints of mold fragility and breakage. Not across the board mind you, but enough to instill worry on me, especially aimed at the figures I want the most(FoC Bruticus which SHOULD have the problems fixed by retail release if we're lucky, the Dark Energon line that's made up mostly of clear fragile plastic, etc)

-Continuity. This isn't so much toys as it is fiction, but I'd prefer it if franchises stick to one instead of tossing us a new one every year. It would make toy buying/displaying less of a hassle, IMO. A lot of fans are taking Hasbro's word that Aligned is supposed to be one whole continuity... how I wish I could believe that.

-Scale. Yeah, it was never important in a Transformers toy line, but seeing the MP line cleaning up the scale of it's figures relative to each other kinda makes me yearn for some of that in the normal-sized lines. Maybe it's because figures ARE getting noticeably smaller(foC Optimus is smaller than his WFC counterpart... that ain't right IMO). On that note, the MP line is one of the only things I can't really complain about at the moment. Love the direction it's going.

Meh, I still have hope that it'll get better. Though whether that's being optimistic or just foolish, time will tell...

(my longest non-quoting post yet! Yay!)

News Credits: 60 · Wed Aug 08, 2012 12:09 am

It went downhill since TFA. Saving grace would be the Japanese releases(though QC issues on Rodimus has prevented me from getting him)

News Credits: 12 · Wed Aug 08, 2012 12:13 am

There are a lot of good things happening, but 1 new game, TF4, and an MP really doesn't cut it.

We have deluxes the size of scouts and voyagers that are almost the size of deluxes. We also have terrible distribution and price hikes out the ying yang.

I want to say I have full confidence in Hasbro, but I really don't. I'll continue buying stuff, but I can no longer say I buy the expecting a quality figure.

Weaponizer Prime was a very nice figure. But the shrinking figures are killing it for me. Deluxe class Onslaught? yeah, really bad idea. No reason why they couldn't just release the limbs as deluxes and made everyone wait for Onslaught to come out with Grimlock. I'm sure a large portion of the fan base would have been okay with that.

I would go back to saying I have full confidence in Hasbro once we get larger figures and better plastic.

At the same time, I'm only a collector that rants on a board that represents a small minority of the fandom and doesn't know much about the economics of toys in production so what do I know besides my own personal preferences?

News Credits: 1452 · Wed Aug 08, 2012 1:01 am

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote: Seriously, you guys only seeing the bad kinda scares me and takes part of the fun of the hobby for me as part of it is sharing enthusiasm. While I do acknowledge the problems the toys have, I would never dismiss their good sides.

I'm an open-minded, positive thinker, and enthusiastic about Transformers as anyone. But there's been so much sugarcoating with what the positives are lately that it's a joke. We shouldn't have to sugarcoat a franchise that we like to enjoy. As a collector in Canada I feel like I've been put on a pedestal only for Hasbro to take it away and make me fall face first into the ground. That takes away part of the fun of the hobby for me.

Not going to say that this is Beast Machines toyline like, but it feels like it is. As an modest middle-class collector who can't fork over cash for everything, I find it nonsensical that I can't even get myself to pick up a new Transformer because they're all Bumblebees, Bot Shots or Kre-O. That takes away part of the fun of the hobby for me.

When I realistically look at this.. I can't be content with the way we're headed - toys are jokingly getting downsized, paint applications are mia, distribution is laughable and main character toy cancellation is uncalled for. Oh sure, the positives are still there. Yeah, the franchise is still alive and we are still getting toys - but there are so many opportunities that have been missed. It's like seeing 2 50's on the ground and picking up one. The game needs to be changed. The game needs to wake up and step up.