The Energon Pub

by **wmpyr** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 2:42 am

I heard they are a pain to transform not as bad as MP Megatron, they look kind of fragile, are they as bad as MP Meg? The problem for me is that the alt. modes are not interesting to me.

For example Grimlock, I prefer so much the T-rex over the mustang.

by **Nickolai** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 4:25 am

It's one of those lines, I can just pick the 3 or 4 I like most and not feel the need to ever buy anymore of. The concept is good and some of the robots are just awesome. But the price and amount of repaints is off-putting. I plan to only ever get Laserwave, Swindle, Grimlock and Tracks and be perfectly content.

News Credits: 217 · by **Diem** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 4:26 am

Awkward and fiddly to transform, yes. They're not terribly fragile, but sometimes a lot of strain is placed on small pieces and pegs. They're certainly not for kids. In terms of vehicle mode accuracy they're second to none though.

Given that the alt. modes are the main feature of alternators another line may suit you better, like Classics.

News Credits: 1 · by **Cascadia** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 4:53 am

Not all of them are too difficult to transform. Yes, they are more difficult than the basic deluxe figure because there is many more steps to them. They are meant for adults and they rarely break...arms sometimes pop off but they easily go back on. If you like a very detailed alt. mode and a particular one, you can pick up ones that you like.

by **Ricky_Stream** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 6:48 am

mine are really sturdy and i have most of them. some are harder to transform but they look awesome in either mode. Alternators are my favourite line of TF

by **olokin** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 6:55 am

Its a great line and one I truly regret of being late to catching up to the releases. :sad:

They are not that hard at all to transform, just a bit challenging than your standard voyager class figure. They are more durable than they look and can handle a lot of playwear but they are really meant to be collector's pieces. :grin:

by **Nickolai** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 7:01 am

Oh, and I prefer Binaltech to Alts any day of the week. Despite what they say about inferior qc on the BTs.

News Credits: 127 · by **Counterpunch** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 8:35 am

Over-rated.

They aren't great toys. They don't have great transformations. I only keep them as accessories for my Masterpiece collection.

(I have all of them...so not just basing my opinion on a select few.)

News Credits: 33 · by **Amelie** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 8:50 am

I collect toys, not models. All I see when I look at Alternators\Binal Tech is a model that can turn into a model of a robot rather than a toy. In short - they're boring. I find them uninspiring and not worth the effort of tracking down or buying.

If I want a semi-realistic car that transforms into a robot, I'll stick with G1 and Universe.

News Credits: 150 · by **GetterDragun** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 8:55 am

I looked at Binaltech Smokescreen sitting on my shelf the otherday, and yeat, it looks like an MP figure, making even classics pale in comparison. These were ahead of their time in my opinion and strictly intended for G1 adult collectors. It's like what you would have wanted growing up in the 80's. But I beleive (based on the posts above) that they are really underrated and in time will become the most wanted of all TF figures, next to original G1s.

by **Koloth** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 9:19 am

GetterDragun wrote:But I beleive (based on the posts above) But I beleive (based on the posts above) that they are really underrated and in time will become the most wanted of all TF figures, next to original G1s.

They are already pretty highly valued anyway. Some of them going for as much as $130. Glad I was able to pick up all of them except the Wal-mart exclusives at retail.

I love all my Alts. I have a nice little army going. And they look great next to the MPs. And one of the things that I love the most is the complexity. Drives me up the wall when they mark the figures with skill ratings that nave nothing to do with the actual skill involved in transofrming them. Leader Class Prime has never been a level 4. I wanted a real challenge, then along came the Alts. They in fact do take a bit of skill. And they look good to boot.

News Credits: 5 · by **--B--** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 9:43 am

Love 'em!

They have a more "real" feel to me than any of the other lines. I also have the whole line, plus a couple of BTs.

They just feel a little more "grown up" as compared to Classics/Universe, IMO.

News Credits: 5 · by **Sledge** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 9:47 am

Depends. The Subaru Impreza and Mazda RX8 molds are pretty cool. The Mustang mold can burn in the deepest pits of hell, along with whoever designed that over-engineered piece of crap. The alt modes are, of course, cool. But transforming the things isn't a lot of fun, and the posability isn't quite up to modern standards. Make of that what you will.

News Credits: 7 · by **Chaoslock** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 9:55 am

Nickolai wrote:It's one of those lines, I can just pick the 3 or 4 I like most and not feel the need to ever buy anymore of. The concept is good and some of the robots are just awesome. But the price and amount of repaints is off-putting. I plan to only ever get Laserwave, Swindle, Grimlock and Tracks and be perfectly content.

Same here, with a twist: I have four alternators, that are the best in the line with their robot modes: Wheeljack (the mold suits him better than for Grimlock), Shockblast, Swindle, and G1 Ravage (the jaguar) While Swindle could need a bigger weapon, the other three is outstanding.

Some early alternators however, are bad constructions with half their car modes panels just floating by their legs (BW Ravage, Windcharger,...)

News Credits: 1 · by **Duke of Luns** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 10:19 am

I have the first four Alt. molds only. I'll admit, they are very cool, and if you like MP's and that sort of thing, they might be for you. But, as has been said, they are kinda boring, and the transformatins do take a tad bit of focus, and are pretty complex.

Thing is though, what put me off of them is their size. They really do seem to be meant for scaling with the MP line, and really don't look good with anything but that.

News Credits: 5 · by **--B--** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 1:04 pm

Universe Ultra Class Silverbolt and Onslaught fit in well with them.

News Credits: 1 · by **Autoclot** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 1:13 pm

I only have 5 alts so far, but I love them all. Even with the horribly fiddly arms on Wheeljack, I think they're great. They have extremely realistic alt modes (pretty much the whole point of the line), with cool looking 'bot modes, too.

by **wmpyr** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 1:59 pm

Diem wrote:1)Awkward and fiddly to transform, yes.
2)They're not terribly fragile,
3)but sometimes a lot of strain is placed on small pieces and pegs.
4)They're certainly not for kids.
5)In terms of vehicle mode accuracy they're second to none though.
6)Given that the alt. modes are the main feature of alternators another line may suit you better, like Classics.

I agree with you on all your points, I have enjoyed the classics line very very very very very much!

by **Metallo** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 2:09 pm

I have a good many of them. Smokescreen, Silverstreak, Hound, Windcharger, Prowl, Sunstreaker, SideSwipe, Skids, Tracks, Jazz, and Swindle. They do display great with Prime and even a few of the larger G1 and G2 figures. Alts are actually what got me back into Transformers in 2004 and besides Animated is my favorite line in recent years.

Most of them are pretty sturdy but some have hindered posibility. I love how Tracks looks but you can't do much with him. Smokesreen, Hound, Skids, Jazz, are the ones I've found to be most posable and they can be put into a variety of stances and positions. I held off on Most of the Decepticons because like Grimlock I just couldn't imagine Shockwave as a car even though the figure looks great. I also held off on repaints unless they were really well known classic characters like Silver(Blue)Streak or Sunstreaker.

News Credits: 4 · by **Firebird** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 2:55 pm

I have like 15 Alternators and Binaltechs. It's one of my favorite lines, Aside from Classics of course.

But the reason I enjoy the line so much was because they were licensed vehicles with full interiors. I actually display most of them in their Alt modes with their doors and hoods open.

News Credits: 97 · by **Savage** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 3:33 pm

I have Smokescreen, Sideswipe, Hound, and Tracks. I bought them because they reminded me of modern realistic versions of their G1 counterparts. As plenty have said, they fit in great with the MPs. I was always of the opinion that the Movie Line should have taken more of a hint from Alternators in style. I currently have mine displayed with MP Starscream, some random Decepticons, and Animated Jazz and Grimlock (who fit in with the Alts if you've got just a smidgen of imagination).

News Credits: 1 · by **Primacron's Little Helper** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 4:07 pm

Amelie wrote:I collect toys, not models.

This sums up my thoughts exactly.

Funnily enough though, I bought my first Alt last week (Grimlock), haven't received him yet though.

I'm quite tempted by the likes of Jazz and Tracks, and maybe Jaguar Ravage.

If they'd got a Lamborgini license and done Sideswipe and Sunstreaker really well I would definitely have been sold.

News Credits: 3 · by **Kibble** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 4:34 pm

IMO, hands down the best line. MP figures are just as good, but for the price (retail cost I'm talking) there's no better bang for the buck. They are more complex than most other lines, but that's one of the things I like best about them. They're not quite as complex as MP Megs, but I'd put them on par with the other MP transformations. If complex transformations are a turn off, this isn't a line for you. I don't feel they're overly fragile, however, but if you have a tendency of breaking figs on occasion, you'd probably consider them fragile.

I don't understand the "boring" comments some have expressed, though... I can understand them not appealing to all, but boring? A fig that practically REQUIRES the instructions the first time through and maybe even the second = fun in my book!

And since when is the fact they're too easily confused for being a model car a bad thing? Robots in disguise, anyone?

But to each their own...

News Credits: 1 · by **Agent 007** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 5:26 pm

one of my fav tf series. I love cars and I love tfs so this line is really for me. Now yes some of them were a pain but that was the fun of it for me. Once you transformed one you'de feel good and even more so when you're able to transform it back. I really hope they brign back the line.

by **wmpyr** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 6:33 pm

thanks for all of your replies, I read each one, more than once on some of them.

pretty straight forward answers, I guess you all know what you like, and dont like, thanx!