The Energon Pub

As much as I love my movie toys, I think the general consensus is that the movie toyline is not too playable overall, and nowhere near as playable as Cybertron/Energon. Individual figures are not as playable as some of their cybertron counterparts (Leader Prime/Cybertron Prime, or Leader Megs/Galvatron).

Is this correct?

more or less yes. When im bored i sometimes fiddel around wit my tfs reanacting movie scenes and whut not. And i find that my most unplayable figs are blackout and ironhide. Blackout cause of the kibble on his back and ironhide cause of his arms and sholder plates. Although over all, i find the movie toys to be very playable.

I'd agree with that. Honestly, this line gives me the impression that the larger figures(deluxes, voyagers, etc.) are aimed exclusively at collectors while the FABs and Real Gears are aimed at the kiddies.

A dumb marketing strategy if you ask me.

Comparing figures side by side with Cybertron figures of the same size class would probably be useful here. I'll start.
Movie leader Prime
-Has a great vehicle mode
- Transformation is complex but not very fun. I don't really enjoy transforming it at all. It always feels like the back wheel sections are going to break when I separate them, due to the fact that they connecting panels don't have side to side movement.
- Robot mode has fantastic articulation and posability.
- Has a nifty weapon that fires a missile.
- looks great.

Cybertron leader Prime
- Okay vehicle mode. Super vehicle attatchments increase the
fun a bit.
- Transformation is very simple. There are some detailed
sections but everything goes quite smoothly. I doubt transforming it will ever cause it to break.
- Robot mode looks allright
- Has decent articulation.
- Acceptably posable.
- Has a very cleverly designed matrix chamber. BIG bonus points for that.
- Has a super mode. Very nice.
- Has a standard gun and two BFCs that the figure just looks so awesome with.

My verdict: The supermode, Matrix chamber, and the two BFGs make Cybertron Prime a clear winner for me. I notice a similar pattern with a lot of other figures too.
Anyone agree or disagree?

yeah, like with my concept bb, i really like him, but i dont really play with him..although i dont really paly with any of my figures that much...cuz i like the hinges to stay tight. too bad bb's hip joint is already so loose.

I think the movie toys are pretty close to the best ever. No stock transformations, realistic alt modes, distinctive robot modes. These are the things that are important to me.

But it's far from perfection. Too many of the figures suffer articulation and posablility problems, whether by defect or design. There's also a few dud figures that fill out the line.

Lol I don't play with toys...

Yeah, a lot of the figures shouldn't be designated toys, but rather poseable statues, because that's pretty much what they are.

I will say though that if you want playability in the Movie Line, you should aim for the Real Gears. It's funny; I pretty much spent nearly $100 on all my Deluxe and Voyager movie figs, and all I do with them is just look at them and comment on how pretty they are.

I spent 8 bucks for Meantime, and damn, it's so hard to get my hands off of him I feel like some sort of dirty robophile.

yeah, with the exception of 08 BB, pretty much everything in the movie line (except for a few decepticons, doh! forgot bout bonecrusher) have little play value at all. maybe fr poseability, but hey, i want a toy that i can pose and hold in my hand - at the same time, twist and turn the joints without the feeling that some part might break or get loose or get in the freakin' way.

best example of this? LC PRIME. poseable, yeah, and clever transformation, but NO PLAY VALUE at ALL. top heavy and the rear wheel sets get in the way of ever getting a good pose out of his legs.

plus the feet...imagine all that bulk resting on those feet WITH ball joints that might eventually get loose AND pretty delicate automorph built in them...get some junk inside the feet and you can kiss the automorph tech goodbye.

like twee said, pretty much they're all poseable statues.

The designs from the movie do not lend to easy transformations. The transformations then hinder the toys themselves.

The movie line (for the most part) look good in alt mode, and at least decent in robot mode, but the robot mode suffers from having to fit in the transformation.

I dont play and transform my movie figures anywhere near as much as any of my other lines, partly because they are not much fun to play with, and partly because they are so poorly made that I know the more I play with them, the quicker they will die.

Longarm is better playable than others from the movie line - towing. Hey, don't forget there's Ultimate BB, lots of fun to play with.

i like playing with them in alt mode, and posing/displaying in robot mode

Raymond101 wrote:As much as I love my movie toys, I think the general consensus is that the movie toyline is not too playable overall, and nowhere near as playable as Cybertron/Energon. Individual figures are not as playable as some of their cybertron counterparts (Leader Prime/Cybertron Prime, or Leader Megs/Galvatron).

Is this correct?

You are correct sir! I agree.

This is the reason why everybody loves wreckage. He's playable. Bonecrusher's playable once you remove his horrible gimmic of a claw. That's also why I ended up buying Dreadwing. He's got a bulky alt mode but he's playable in a goofy Terminator sort of way.

Is Ratchet playable?

Actually, he's not too bad at all. Got a hidden axe and a clamping claw of doom. Use your imagination and the clamp works as a combat stretcher for mini-cons and scout class figures, and in Ratchet's hands it can be used as a shield (imagine like an energon sheet charging over the openings lol)

Also he is bulkier than your average voyager so he is a bit more durable.