The Energon Pub

LOL....Krok?


Are they even trying anymore, or are they just naming these things based on noises they heard in the bathroom? I mean, come on people. At a $45 minimum, you should be insulted.....

shockblast2 wrote:LOL....Krok?


Are they even trying anymore, or are they just naming these things based on noises they heard in the bathroom? I mean, come on people. At a $45 minimum, you should be insulted.....

Again, the history gets you:


Transformers G1 1990 Krok with Gatoraider Gallery

In-fiction, he's a soccer player (no kidding) with a kick so hard he could send Autobots into orbit. "Krok" probably stems from his crocodilian partner Gatoraider (Gatorade...).

gothsaurus wrote:where have you seen a robot mode pic of starscream?

Top of Page 59 of this thread.

The helmet's white, yet the sides (as seen in jet mode) are black.

Jesse Wittenrich and Pete Sinclair explain what happened better than I can:

NightViper wrote:The Starscream mock-up was correct - the helmet was colored gray. But the angle of the image had the top of the visible head piece covered in shadow, which was left black.

NightViper wrote:Perhaps easier to misinterpret than intended, but the black was photo manipulated a lighter shade (sans the shadow, of course).

Pete@BotCon wrote:So, we got samples on every TFSS and BotCon toy this year, just like last year for the most part. Of the 6, Krok and Carzap were pretty much spot on. That is why we were able to show pics early. Nacelle, Tarantulas and Serent O.R. were close. We did ask for some color edits, a missing tampo here or there to be added. Starscream was a mess.

Sometimes, as we deal with the factory, they are sometimes stuck in the mindset that we are Hasbro, so they are confused as to why we area asking for SO many tampos as that adds a lot of cost to each figure (and they know, with general retail, you have to keep costs at a certain level). We do not have the same tight restrictions. When we price these for our club retail, we take in to account the added tampo's. That is part of what makes these EXCLUSIVE.

So, we got Starscream, and he was very bare bones. No camo on the wings. No tampo by his shoulder vents. We had to come back and ask for all of that stuff to PLEASE be applied. We made some minor modifications, but the head was suppose to be painted.

We do NOT always get a "final" sample. If the head was NOT painted, that was missed by the factory. It was suppose to be painted. That said, it still works as is and when we get the production versions we will update the site accordingly to the final version.

This is why we state FINAL PRODUCT MAY VARY.

Pete@BotCon wrote:Anyways, looks like it was a combination of things. Everything else I said was accurate and what we provide is what the factory wants, but there was a missing line between head and color it turns out on the call out guide. Had so many tampo's not been missed, maybe we would have caught it. Had we received a second sample, we would have caught it. The factory will catch these things as well, they don't even always NEED a clarification if the part is colored that way. The final sample picture we DID get was in vehicle mode, and an email request for clarification on the head was not sent.

Just seems like it was a mix of things, but yeah, we missed it. Apologies.

NightViper wrote:Gods bless SG Thundercracker for showing us how the plastic trees break down!

Yes, all of that gray on Starscream is on a single tree. Although so is the nosecone (that bit that hangs off the back of Starscream's head). Apparently it was decided that all of the wings and vertical stabilizers would be easier to paint gray over white than it would be to paint white over gray on the nosecone. The factory has the experience with the paint they use, so something like that does become their call.

Also apparently what Pete just said.

Pete@BotCon wrote:But I will emphasize this, what we do send IS what the factory wants. Those guides are the proper way things are done. Though I'm not sure if you understand WHAT we send them. We don't just send the mock ups you see on our page. We have visual guides that detail everything we want/need and this works very well for both parties.

Going back to the pics again... I can't help but note what a staggering amount of spot-on paint apps there are on these figures. Someone has a loving eye for detail. Cheers!

shockblast2 wrote:LOL....Krok?

Are they even trying anymore, or are they just naming these things based on noises they heard in the bathroom? I mean, come on people. At a $45 minimum, you should be insulted.....

Your distaste of these figures and price is duly noted. Please refrain from insulting those who are interested in these figures.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:In-fiction, he's a soccer player (no kidding) with a kick so hard he could send Autobots into orbit. "Krok" probably stems from his crocodilian partner Gatoraider (Gatorade...).

What an utterly ridiculous backstory. Now I'm extra disappointed he's out of my price range.

Yeah, I guess Funpub will really benefit off of figures like these since Hasbro's stuck on Combiner Wars figures. Not hating on CW I'll likely be copping most of them. I just wish that wasn't all Hasbro had to offer this year.

The club's concept of taking the 'actionmaster' out of the action masters is a real winner. I hope they eventually do the rest of them, but I wish Krok had been the freebie for this year. That would have got me to sign up again.

Desslok2201 wrote:The club's concept of taking the 'actionmaster' out of the action masters is a real winner. I hope they eventually do the rest of them, but I wish Krok had been the freebie for this year. That would have got me to sign up again.

Unlike Lio Convoy, Krok isn't the star of a new series of well-written, substantial text stories. But, he did get to feature in the free "A Common Foe" comic that was put online awhile back.

Sabrblade wrote:

Desslok2201 wrote:The club's concept of taking the 'actionmaster' out of the action masters is a real winner. I hope they eventually do the rest of them, but I wish Krok had been the freebie for this year. That would have got me to sign up again.

Unlike Lio Convoy, Krok isn't the star of a new series of well-written, substantial text stories. But, he did get to feature in the free "A Common Foe" comic that was put online awhile back.

Too bad lio convoy and Nova prime are just going to be pallet swaps of each other

Yeah, I was happily surprised by the fiction. Really enjoying that stuff.

AND I'm kinda cool with the paint swap idea. Those two characters are directed at two vastly different groups... Japanese Beast Wars fans and early G1ish lore. It's a good way to throw each of those a bone without huge costs.

Yeah, based on that ending to the first story, it's seems as though Nova Prime's resemblance to Lio Convoy might be of some in-universe significance. 'Course, if what I'm thinking comes about, then it would conflict with Pete's original statement of Nova not being an Uprising figure, unless it was true at the time and plans just changed between then and now.

Either way, I look forward to having Lio Convoy squaring off against his doppelganger in a manner that's both akin to the traditional "Optimus Prime/Nemesis Prime" scenario and yet more original since this Nova is neither Nemesis nor a black Optimus repaint. This time the evil lookalike sports holy colors and fights for order and justice as a "lawfully evil" character, rather than being a blackened, "chaotic evil" force of darkness and destruction. It's a nice spin that puts our hero in a perspective of disorder and anarchy as a "chaotic good" character instead of making him a paragon of virtue like the "Optimus/Nemesis" typically portrays the two forces.

That's part of what makes the Uprising universe so fascinating. There isn't a concrete "light/good vs. dark/evil" theme, with virtually everyone being morally gray to a degree. No "Autobots/Maximals vs. Decepticons/Predacons", but rather "Maximals and Predacons vs. Autobots and Decepticons". Factions and characters we know to typically be on one end of the spectrum or the other are now all somewhere in the middle. Autobots are as oppressive and domineering as Decepticons, Predacons are as much freedom fighters as Maximals, and then you got those like Rampage who find no desire for involvement with either side of the conflict yet were given no choice in the matter, with his case finding himself captured, incarcerated, and launched off planet, all because he was different. And then there's the organized crime rings like Cryotek's that only further the levels of corruption.

If Axiom Nexus is a Cybertron that never experienced civil war and maintained a (admittedly awkward) peace between all factions, then Uprising's Cybertron is the polar opposite. A world made worse by the cancer of war. A world in which freedom is but a fantasy, as all Maximals and Predacons live and fight as dogs to their masters, the Builders, while said Builders (the Autobots and Decepticons of old) have been reduced to states of stagnancy and immobility, confined to the structure of the planet itself, always watching and overseeing the Maximals and Predacons that serve them. Even Builders serve other Builders, as the only ones who can all still move on their own, the Micromasters, act as militarized enforcers who keep all the Maximals and Predacons under the Builders' thumb. Things are as grim as they seem.

Thanks to again to Chinese auction site TaoBao.com we get more in-hand images of the upcoming Transformers Subscription Service (TFSS) 3.0 Figures. This time we get in hand images of Carzap and Krok. Krok is a redeco of the generations deluxe class Megatron with a new head sculpt. While Carzap is a redeco of Generations Nightbeat with a new headsculpt as well. Check out the images we've mirrored below and remember keep your optics tuned to Seibertron.com for the latest in news and updates!

Carzap has a new head too, based on G2 Windbreaker aka Zap, upon which Block Town Carzap was to be based.

These two are the main reason I signed up for TFSS this year. Krok was my first Action Master, and that mold fits him to a T. Though I'm not a huge fan of the Generations 'Bee mold, I do like it for Carzap. Would LOVE a Windbreaker from the mold.

Car-zap? Looks more like Crap-zap! Woooooooooah!

That pose and those colors on Krok really make him look excellent.

Repeat: like Carzap...hate the weapon even if it is shiny.

Ah, nice! Krok and Carzap were the only two I ordered this year.

looking forward to these guys arriving

i also want that backdrop/display

You're welcome for searching all the TaoBao Fun Pub related auctions and finding these pictures.

Randy

ok here's my prediction

Customizers will go wild for Carzap trying to make a Minerva out of him. His plastic colors almost perfectly match her color scheme

Powered Convoy wrote:You're welcome for searching all the TaoBao Fun Pub related auctions and finding these pictures.
Randy

Is there a chunk of text missing here as this doesn't seem to make much sense? Are you trying to suggest folk should look to Taobao.com for the photos? Why or who are you 'welcoming'?

robotmel wrote:

Powered Convoy wrote:You're welcome for searching all the TaoBao Fun Pub related auctions and finding these pictures.
Randy

Is there a chunk of text missing here as this doesn't seem to make much sense? Are you trying to suggest folk should look to Taobao.com for the photos? Why or who are you 'welcoming'?

I assume he's the one who found the images? If not, then yeah I've got nothin'...

We have yet another leak from Weibo! This time Via Toyspie we get our first In-hand images of the Transformers Collectors' Club 2015 Exclusive Nova Prime. Nova Prime is will be a redeco of the TFCC membership incentive figure Lio Convoy, which in itself is a redeco of the Generations Orion Pax mold with a new headsculpt. Nova Prime will be a club store exclusive that you can buy if you are a member of the Transformers Collectors' Club. Check out the image we've embedded below and remember keep your optics tuned to Seibertron.com for the latest in news and updates!

Heads look so similar I don't see the point in doing a new mold...