The Energon Pub

News Credits: 4 · by **King Kuuga** » Thu Dec 15, 2022 12:15 pm

Both my Sabers should be arriving today. Two separate shipments because they wouldn't let me combine my second with my first and at the time I didn't feel like cancelling one to order two.

News Credits: 12 · by **Sentinel_Primal** » Thu Dec 15, 2022 12:40 pm

Got mine! Breifly opened it to check leg panels, chrome, and make sure I got a brainmaster (all good thankfully), and then put him back into the shipper box to wrap for Christmas. Can't wait to open him up in a little over a week, but it gives me time to figure out where I'm gonna put him until I get my new shelves :lol:

News Credits: 56 · by **o.supreme** » Thu Dec 15, 2022 1:55 pm

Finally got mine, late yesterday, after filing a complaint with the BBB about FedEx practices. Its interesting, because I think I shocked the delivery person, because I presumed I had to sign for it, she said, because of the increase of COVID cases, she was just going to leave it at the door and "sign for me"...I'm just glad I was there to get it.

Just opened the boxes, haven't had a chance to take it out and examine yet. I hope its all good.

News Credits: 56 · by **o.supreme** » Thu Dec 15, 2022 2:47 pm

Definitely been a long time wait...But now our Generations Autobot Leaders are complete (even if *some* are less than ideal)

News Credits: 4 · by **King Kuuga** » Thu Dec 15, 2022 3:05 pm

FedEx: "this is a signature required delivery, MAKE SURE someone is around to sign or we will literally throw it away and burn it and you'll never see it again."

Also FedEx: leaves my packages on the porch without ever ringing the doorbell even though someone is nearby

Whatever, I've got him.

News Credits: 7 · by **Roadbuster** » Thu Dec 15, 2022 8:22 pm

Mine came in. Been really careful with certain parts but haven’t had any real issues. The only issue I have is with Star Sabers right foot. The toe gets stopped by the rest of the foot, likely due to some slight excess of plastic. I am hesitant to force it in fear I could break the toe.

MyFigureCollection.net collection · by **Emerje** » Thu Dec 15, 2022 9:26 pm

bigds9fan wrote:As for this set, I honestly cannot say if it is overpriced or not but QC issues on a set like this? Unacceptable. This is Unicron (with the mismatched lower jaw and blue maw all over again.

I think you're exaggerating how comparable these two issues are. One is a string of possible defects and breaking points while the other is an annoying but intentional change in parts layout that results in some color changes that most of us probably forgot about once he was put on a shelf or didn't care about in the first place (I sure didn't).

Emerje

News Credits: 331 · by **chuckdawg1999** » Thu Dec 15, 2022 10:18 pm

I've had a chance to mess around with Star Saber and have some initial thoughts:

As I feared the cockpit/hilt is too big for the hands to hold the sword anime style without looking off center. The wrists needed some extra articulation or the inclusion of an anime style hilt. If this was advertised and pointed out more along with the wrong blade storage I probably would've canceled my order, yes those two points are THAT important to me.

The head lasers needed some soft detents to hold them in place, they do like to flop.

Standing it next to the RX-78-02 really makes the simularities stand out.

The instructions really should've been a booklet the sheet is entirely too big.

News Credits: 174 · by **Hellscream9999** » Fri Dec 16, 2022 5:03 pm

I just got my set today, and I have to ask, does anyone else's copy make clicking noises when using the ankle pivot on star saber? mine sound like they are on a ratchet, and I don't know if it's plastic breaking, or if it's supposed to do that, but it scares me.

News Credits: 331 · by **chuckdawg1999** » Fri Dec 16, 2022 6:26 pm

News Credits: 42 · by **TF-fan kev777** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 9:17 am

So has anyone else noticed Deathy's big head in the background of the large cardboard insert artwork? I thought that was a realy cool touch to the packaging especially since Deathy would not have been backed or possibly even announced at the time the packaging would have been made.

MyFigureCollection.net collection · by **Emerje** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 9:50 am

TF-fan kev777 wrote:So has anyone else noticed Deathy's big head in the background of the large cardboard insert artwork? I thought that was a realy cool touch to the packaging especially since Deathy would not have been backed or possibly even announced at the time the packaging would have been made.

They showed this to us back in July long before Deathsaurus was announced.

Emerje

News Credits: 100 · by **-Kanrabat-** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 11:36 am

I love how the Maketoys "Nebulon Ginrai" have the exact same scale and proportions with the HASLAB compared to the G1 originals. Now I only need an extra G1 Rescue Patrol Micromasters fire engine, and a G1 micromasters police car that I don't know if it even exist to complete the display.

News Credits: 1642 · by **D-Maximal_Primal** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 3:26 pm

Gotta say, as much as I like the set, Victory Leo was the bit I was most looking forward to, and he outshines Star Saber to me. I love him so much. I am very glad to have him.

News Credits: 174 · by **Hellscream9999** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 3:33 pm

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:Gotta say, as much as I like the set, Victory Leo was the bit I was most looking forward to, and he outshines Star Saber to me. I love him so much. I am very glad to have him.

I also find myself enjoying victory leo more than star saber

MyFigureCollection.net collection · by **Emerje** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 6:52 pm

One of my concerns about Victory Leo was that he might not hold together too well and be hard to play with. I was very happy to find out how sturdy he is. Especially how tight the joints on his canon mounts are when flipping them over his shoulders, they don't sag at all. Despite all the random issues people have the overall quality is really good.

Emerje

News Credits: 4838 · by **william-james88** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 10:15 pm

Many got their set and we wrote to show you what issues to look for. For those who didn't get their sets and are wondering if it's worth the secondary market prices you see, here are a handful of reviews including some from our own Seibertron community. We'll start with a transformation video from Chuckdawg which can help anyone who found the instructions too small or confusing, followed by two reviews and an extensive photo review.
Enjoy!

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:
HASLAB VICTORY SABER IS FINALLY HERE!

It came in a tight brown shipping box and within that box is the standard Hasbro brown shipping box.

Within that inner shipping box is the real box, but it was wrapped in thin paper for further protection.

The box have beautiful color pictures in shiny metallic colors all over.

The box is even reversible, with the other cover that hommage the original G1 gift set box. But I'm not risking tearing things up in reversing that cover.

In the open box is covered by a very nice cardboard poster.

The first tray got many accessories and the instructions manual.

That instruction manual suck harder than a black hole. The pictures are tiny and not that clear despite being in full colors. But the most insulting is that once again, instead of a nice booklet, the instructions are once again on a single giant sheet.

You also get that usual warning/copyrights sheet and a sheet that have two stickers.

Removing the top tray, we see Leo and Saber and all the rest of their accessories.

Once everything are unboxed, this is what you get:

Why those stickers? Those goes on Leo's wings. But why? There's paint all over everything so why? Maybe it was a last minute design oopsie that was fixed by including stickers?

There's just two and are easy enough to apply. Still an odd design decision though.

For some reasons, there's two micromasters included. Eh, why not? Those two are pretty similar to what we already got in Siege/Earthrise, but I'll take those free bonusses. Those bots have a surprisingly great amount of paint aps.

On to Star Saber himself. He looks absolutely stunning! Great amount of details, lots of paint, and he feels nice in hand.

Strangely enough, his poseability is limited. He can barely move like an old Cybertron or Universe toy. His calves panels for transformation are loosely tabbed and come undone easily. That transformation joint do help posing though.

Compared to the G1 original, the new HASLAB one is dwarfed.

Up next is Victory Leo. he's beautiful but they could have filled in the gaps under those canons. Unless I missed it, they didn't mentioned how to attach the giant railgun at his hips. There's clear notches for the black handle to clip on.

Comparison with the original G1. Once again, the G1 is a giant.

Unfortunately for Leo, he pose even less than Star Saber.

Leo and Saber:

Star Saber is a real matryoshka doll. There's Saber inside, who is roughly a small deluxe.

He loos fantastic and his poseability is not too bad.

The size difference with the G1 original is even more absurd.

And to Inception deeper, Saber is controlled by a Brainmaster, a micro mini Saber.

The Haslab one may be the tiniest Transforming transformers ever.

Half the size of a damn Titan Return Titan Master!

Saber can turn into a jet and the micro Brain can pilot it:

The jet mode is pretty much perfect despite having an obvious robot chest underneath.

Comparison with the big G1.

The big ship Star Saber is absolutely superb. The bonus shield and flames effects complete the package nicely.

Bizarrely enough, no landing gears at all.

With the G1. Too bad the G1 do not have a shield.

On to Victory Leo's lion form. He's beautiful, but his poseability is not really better than the original G1.

With the G1.

I didn't thought Leo could have an individual ship mode. It's a cube with wings but eh, why not? Dare I say, why not?

I didn't knew the G1 original could do it as well:

Once combined, the Victory Saber ship is enormous as expected.

I just find odd that we cannot center the giant railgun on the ship.

Still no landing gears, but that's where the stand comes into play:

For some reason, I forgot to take a picture comparing both giant ships...

Anyway, here's the final stretch, the complete robot of Victory Saber!

Obviously, it can barely pose, but making the combined mode was easy and it's pretty solid and stable.

Final G1 comparison:

The stand can be used for the bot mode and this allow us to be a bit mode crazy:

So in the end, was it worth the money?

HELL YEAH, EVERY SINGLE CENTS!

HASLAB Victory Saber is very deserving of the title "mini masterpiece". Compared to the original he may be small, but he may be in scale with generations toys. With how "complex"
this toy is and how many parts are compressed in this, HASLAB Victory Saber justify the Titan price.

You may be aware that many have been produced with factory defects, but it may be just a a few dozens out of 25K+ units. Mine is perfect with no misassembly, no missing parts, nor tolerance issues.

If you're a backer and you've yet to try your own HASLAB Victory saber, you have a nice preview here. If you're not and you're stuck in buying the set on eBay, good luck! Hope this review will help you swallow that huge pill!

Thank you for reading.

News Credits: 456 · by **Sabrblade** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 10:30 pm

@Kanra: There is too landing gear. The yellow knees fold out to help the jet stand up straight.

Also, Smallest Transformers Ravage has the little Brainmaster beat in being the tiniest Transformer ever.

Smallest Transformers Ravage (Jaguar) Gallery

News Credits: 650 · by **ScottyP** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 10:35 pm

This set's pretty underwhelming, but a lot of that feeling for me likely stems from getting hit with a copy that has very bad chrome. In general though it feels like a big pile of cut corners, which would be fine if this were a retail Commander toy + Leader toy, but isn't really ok for a Haslab. By cut corners I mean the materials it's made out of. There's a great deal here that's what we'd call the bad plastic that will be yellow or green in 18-24 months, you know what I mean - that soft crud that's been in use since Siege that looks like polished down 3D printer output. Why was I putting a sticker right next to a similar paint app? Why is this sticker over a complex/curved surface? Why is the combined jet mode riddled with uncovered screw holes? The answer (probably) is, despite this being a crowdfund where this can be accounted for in advance, straight-up maximization of profits on a product fully paid for before the first one rolls off the line.

Stand looks cool at least.

I hope Deathsaurus is better. And please, someone, don't let this team near chrome again.

News Credits: 100 · by **-Kanrabat-** » Sat Dec 17, 2022 11:12 pm

Sabrblade wrote:@Kanra: There is too landing gear. The yellow knees fold out to help the jet stand up straight.

Also, Smallest Transformers Ravage has the little Brainmaster beat in being the tiniest Transformer ever.

Smallest Transformers Ravage (Jaguar) Gallery

I learned about that in my photo review thread.

Also, holy crap that micro Ravage! :shock:

News Credits: 11 · by **joevill** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 1:02 am

great photos!

News Credits: 2 · by **SpikeyTigertron** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 2:31 am

ScottyP wrote:This set's pretty underwhelming, but a lot of that feeling for me likely stems from getting hit with a copy that has very bad chrome. In general though it feels like a big pile of cut corners, which would be fine if this were a retail Commander toy + Leader toy, but isn't really ok for a Haslab. By cut corners I mean the materials it's made out of. There's a great deal here that's what we'd call the bad plastic that will be yellow or green in 18-24 months, you know what I mean - that soft crud that's been in use since Siege that looks like polished down 3D printer output. Why was I putting a sticker right next to a similar paint app? Why is this sticker over a complex/curved surface? Why is the combined jet mode riddled with uncovered screw holes? The answer (probably) is, despite this being a crowdfund where this can be accounted for in advance, straight-up maximization of profits on a product fully paid for before the first one rolls off the line.

Stand looks cool at least.

I hope Deathsaurus is better. And please, someone, don't let this team near chrome again.

While I can agree that significant paint issues can certainly tarnish a release... although the project was crowd funded I think we need to keep in mind that, like Unicron, these are ulimately still CHUG/Universe/Retail toys. They're designed by the same times, made in the same factories, likely using the same materials.

I agree the plastic quality has felt... weird lately, softer, lighter, I'm guess it's a cost saving measure and is either a higher recycle yield or something. But the times change- companies have to appease their ever-hungry shareholders.

All-in-all I felt this was a wonderful release of a set of figures I'd likely never be able to afford (or want to pay for) G1s, and the Robotmasters line was underwhelming.

So I feel like this filled a blind spot in collecting, of a unique leader that maybe *now* would possibly sell at retail, but if you think corner were cut here... you'd be less happy with a mass retail product.

Honestly, the saddest part about this being a HasLab is the idea that someday someone is going to be trolling a fan site for the first time, see pictures of this marvelous figure... and be torn to bits that they'll likely never get the chance to buy one (at least until they're making very high disposable income).
---------------------------------------
I know everyone's been up-in-arms over the yellowing white plastic... but I can't say I've noticed it... but I don't keep my collection in day-bulb-bright rooms under white lights.

I will say I noticed how badly my RiD/Car Robots2000 Ultra Magnus yellowed... but I'll be the first to admit he was too close to windows when I was growing up.

News Credits: 100 · by **-Kanrabat-** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 8:06 am

joevill wrote:great photos!

Thanks! It's a miracle that for once, only one picture that I took was a blurry mess (that I deleted).
I still kick myself to have forgotten to take the picture comparing the giant combined ships, HASLAB VS G1. I transformed them both and all too... #-o

News Credits: 650 · by **ScottyP** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 8:43 am

SpikeyTigertron wrote:
While I can agree that significant paint issues can certainly tarnish a release... although the project was crowd funded I think we need to keep in mind that, like Unicron, these are ulimately still CHUG/Universe/Retail toys. They're designed by the same times, made in the same factories, likely using the same materials.

I would agree, but look up how they packaged Haslab Galactus and compare to the tie-downs directly over the chrome with no protection on Victory Saber. That takes the excuse away, at least for me.

MyFigureCollection.net collection · by **Emerje** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 9:39 am

ScottyP wrote:
SpikeyTigertron wrote:
While I can agree that significant paint issues can certainly tarnish a release... although the project was crowd funded I think we need to keep in mind that, like Unicron, these are ulimately still CHUG/Universe/Retail toys. They're designed by the same times, made in the same factories, likely using the same materials.

I would agree, but look up how they packaged Haslab Galactus and compare to the tie-downs directly over the chrome with no protection on Victory Saber. That takes the excuse away, at least for me.

They definitely cut a few corners compared to even Unicron who had a lot of care taken with his internal packaging. I found a few of Star Saber's ties weren't even properly fastened. I did notice that the ones over the chrome on mine were loose which I'm guessing is an attempt to keep them from rubbing.

Caps to cover the screw holes and VL's canons like we got with Unicron would have been nice for what we paid.

As far as learning for Deathsaurus, they seem to have done a better job of hiding gaps and screw holes, and we know from a video that they're using proper vac metal with him rather than gold leaf (I think that's what they called it) like with VS. I just hope he comes in a proper box with flaps (doesn't have to be taped) rather than a loose slip cover that likes to slide off.

Emerje