The Energon Pub

I have about $500 worth of trade credit with a dealer that carries a lot of stuff, much of it imports.

That's where the advice comes in.

How do the Encore reissues compare to the TRU ones?

I have the first 3 WST Dinobots, how do Swoop and Sludge measure up?

I have all the US Classics, are there any Henkeis that are "must haves?"

How big approx is Music Label Soundwave?

How poseable are the MP versions of Megatron and Starscream?

Thanks in advance, guys

In my mind the Henkei classics that really stand out are (their colour schemes are actually a great improvement on the US classics) Megatron, Starscream and Astrotrain.

I have Masterpiece Skywarp and Megatron, the Starscream mould is brilliant, my favourite transformer. Brilliant alt mode and exceptionally pose-able (aided by the stand that removes the need for leg stability)
Masterpiece Megatron is what I consider my folly, and I do not recommend it to anyone. I am someone who likes to transform their transformers, and needless to say, (some rather important and stupidly fragile) tabs have broken off my Megatron. Even if you fight the urge to transform him, any pose-ability built into him (pretty good arms and head, none in his torso) is negated by his fragility and the grossly oversized cannon that throws him out of balance. I have the add on set which adds large amounts of metal to his legs that helps the stability, but still the weight of the gun (even with the batteries removed) tilts the whole figure and puts a lot of stress on his pitifully weak shoulder joints.

Hope this rant is of some help.

For $500 you should get:

MP Megatron and Starscream. If you don't have MP Prime and Skywarp, get them too.

Might as well get WST Swoop and Snarl to complete you Dinobots. They are up to the same quality as the three you already have.

Henkei Megatron and Astrotrain are vast improvements. Starscream is better, but not as much.

The Encores are worth it if you don't already have the figures. Encore Jazz is much better than the Hasbro version (better face mold and pain apps). I'd make recommendations here, but that is difficult because I don't know what you already have. For $500 you could get quite a few Encores after getting the Masterpieces and Henkei figures.

MP Starscream is SO great. His hands are the most expressive ever.
MP Megatron is frustratingly un-poseable. Little shoulder movement, no rotation in the arms (can't spread his arms or but his arms across his chest).

Examine the galleries - you'll see. The only frustraion about SS is that he is 2/3 the height of Meg/Prime.

Music Label Soundwave stands slightly taller than most Classics deluxes. He's slightly shorter than Mirage (including the wheels above his head). There's a pic here:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=37391
Scroll down till you see it.

Delicon wrote:I have about $500 worth of trade credit with a dealer that carries a lot of stuff, much of it imports.

That's where the advice comes in.

How do the Encore reissues compare to the TRU ones?

I have all the US Classics, are there any Henkeis that are "must haves?"

How big approx is Music Label Soundwave?

How poseable are the MP versions of Megatron and Starscream?

Thanks in advance, guys

Get Music Label Soundwave (white). He's awesome and goes with the Shattered Glass set.

MP figures are both quite poseable.

Encore Reissues are ok, some are better than the TRU ones, but Encore has been plagued with production flaws. Best buy from BBTS in case there are problems.

Henkei Megatron, Astrotrain, and Starscream are must haves. The first two are incredible. Starscream fixes all the problems of the US release. He's just better.

Counterpunch wrote:Get Music Label Soundwave (white). He's awesome and goes with the Shattered Glass set.

MP figures are both quite poseable.

Encore Reissues are ok, some are better than the TRU ones, but Encore has been plagued with production flaws. Best buy from BBTS in case there are problems.

Henkei Megatron, Astrotrain, and Starscream are must haves. The first two are incredible. Starscream fixes all the problems of the US release. He's just better.

I'm severly bummed you didn't steer me towards some mini-cons.

I'd have to look back, was there a white Soundwave in the Botcon comic? And how do you know I even went to Botcon? It's not like you saw me there about 60 times or anything...

OK first, if you like your other three WST dinos definitely finish them off. Swoops chest will be insanely tight, but they have both have the same quality as the others.

As far as Henkei goes I would go with Megatron, Starscream, and Astrotrain. Swap Classic Starscreams null ray launchers and you won't have the weird chrome.

I'm a big fan of using Music Label Soundwave in the Classic line. He fits in nicely. I have both the white and the blue. White goes with the Shattered Glass set and the blue goes with the regular Classics. If you get the white one order some stickers from capturedprey.com. He looks sweet with them on, especially the door.

I've kept most of my Encore's sealed, but I really like Jazz. He has a better face sculpt than the TFC and TRU reissues and the blue visor is a very nice touch. Plus his stripes are tampoed, so they look really nice. I know that there's been some QC problems with some of them, but I haven't experienced any.

I don't find the MP's all that poseable. They have a fair range of motion but getting them to stay is a little tricky. I've actually found myself getting away from the MP's lately. They're great display pieces but I like the regular releases more now. That's just my opinion so take from that what you will.

I think that about covers it. Good luck dude.

500 in credit? you can get 3 or 2 MPs for that and the remaining WST issues too. If you have some left, pony up a little cash to get Henkei Astrotrain.

Thanks guys, that's exactly what I was looking for. I'm big on scale, poseability and compatibility with other lines so you guys addressed that pretty well.

One last question, did they adress anything with the Encore Ratchet/Ironhide heads?

I should have my orders in pretty soon and I'll let you guys know what I got. I know Geekee1 always feels satisified when a fellow collector comes home with a great haul.

So, what are you buying?

I heard that the Encore Ratchet/Ironhide chip easy. I'd stay clear of that if I were you.