The Energon Pub

sol magnus wrote:

Lord_Onslaught wrote:I agree with Burn, that it was the Action Masters.

Except Burn isn't correct. But sure, whatevs.

All it can be accused of is putting the final nail in the coffin.

Action Masters, That was a big tail end mess.

Including the horrendus Omega Spreem, Pink Thundercracker ( in giant suit) and the the non transformable toys. I mean really most Action Masters don't even have knees or elbows which makes them more boring.

Follow up with G2 which started ok but hit several bad gimmicks like water guns and spinners and many gold plastic syndrome cases (Electro and Slingshot) and cancelled figures (yellow constructicons) and ugly repaints such as blue grimlock and it's no wonder they tried to let it die before creating Beast Wars.

But now Classics and Generations lines have really helped updating and keeping the G1 characters updated and fun.

1. G2 is not G1 even if it used G1 molds and characters It was a brand refresh.
2. The wacky colors of G2 were trendy at the time and actually helped revive kids' interest. Same for those gimmicks.
3. HasTak were not aware at the time that the gold plastic would break down, although Takara should have been because the dodgy metallic swirl plastic dates back to a Diaclone exclusive.
4. Do some homework on what was actually released and canceled, please.

https://tfwiki.net/wiki/File:G2Devastator_toy.jpg

I feel my 2 cents with no sense is that Machine Wars is one of the worst TFs lines. With most of the figures being Brick-formers like their G1 predecessors it's clear why the line was lame. The smaller scout class figures (autos and jets) were just okay but not enough to say that it was a "great" TFs line or even a "good" one.

So Machine Wars is right behind Action Masters...'nuff said!

Nemesis Destron wrote:With most of the figures being Brick-formers like their G1 predecessors it's clear why the line was lame.

That's because they were G1 figures, just redecoed

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:1. G2 is not G1 even if it used G1 molds and characters It was a brand refresh.
2. The wacky colors of G2 were trendy at the time and actually helped revive kids' interest. Same for those gimmicks.
3. HasTak were not aware at the time that the gold plastic would break down, although Takara should have been because the dodgy metallic swirl plastic dates back to a Diaclone exclusive.
4. Do some homework on what was actually released and canceled, please.

https://tfwiki.net/wiki/File:G2Devastator_toy.jpg

A point to #4: Rogue-Primal is from Iceland, a remote part of Europe so it may have gotten even less than the mainland did compared to the US. If memory serves me right, it only got the new molds from the last 2 years of the line, plus repackaged EU-only figures from the year before:

- Aquaspeeders & Stormtroopers (but not the US Color Changer redecos)
- Axelerators & Skyscorchers
- Obliterators
- Lightformers & Trakkons
- Rotor Force
- Heroes (renamed)
- Laser Rods
- Dreadwing & Smokescreen
- Cyberjets
- Laser Cycles

Well, specifically they were G1 figures that had previously been released only in Europe

I loved Action masters when they came out, they matched the cartoon way better than the original toys, i would argue micromasters killed the line, the shelves were overloaded with small generic toys that were essentially the same thing.

Additions to my list of EU G2 releases:

- Power Masters
- G2 Sparkabots
- Go-Bots
- Autorollers?

The European lines are strange animals...

ausbot wrote:I loved Action masters when they came out, they matched the cartoon way better than the original toys, i would argue micromasters killed the line, the shelves were overloaded with small generic toys that were essentially the same thing.

I think you may be right. Micromasters actually transformed, sure, but not into anything super impressive. The minimal paint and the inability to hold accessories probably didn't do them any favors either. And the whole reason they even came to be was because Hasbro's marketers were all "ZOMG Micromachines are outperforming Transformers, we must make Transformers tiny to compete!"

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:And the whole reason they even came to be was because Hasbro's marketers were all "ZOMG Micromachines are outperforming Transformers, we must make Transformers tiny to compete!"

The G2 GoBots also seemed to be a Hasbro response to Mattels Hot Wheels. My first G2 and overall 1st TF toy was Motormouth.
But i actually lived in Denmark during the era i started collecting. My 2nd two toys were original Nautilator and Seawing at a flea market... though i never knew those were G1 back then.
After that when i got back to iceland in 2000 ny Transformers interest was waning as i was following lego bionicle so it wasnt until 2006 so i hardly noticed any transformers in stores



This Thundercracker is a example of bad Action Master colors before G2