The Energon Pub

Yeah, having lived through the G2 era... the box was a LOT of fun. Had real fluorescent ink just like tho old version. Front and back both completely convincing retro packaging. Could have found it in my attic. LOL.

XDMan wrote:Whoever wanted a G1 redeco, the Takara version is G1 inspired, since they believe WFC/FOC is G1 and not Prime.

WFC was never released in Japan. The molds were simply re-purposed.

Video here: (not mine) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDKwg2Jc ... re=g-all-u

I got mine in today I put a couple reviews on YouTube of him

When did these first go on sale? Is Amazon supposed to get any more in stock?

Does the set Amazon is selling come in the same package as the one BBTS has?

Got mine in yesterday, but didn't get to really do much with it until today.

I have to admit, the gorilla arms don't bother me. They're actually kinda growing on me. As is, right out of the box. Granted, mistransformations do tend to make it look better (at least in pictures), but as is, I think he's perfectly fine.

I'm a little letdown on the quality though. I had to break out the hair dryer to remove BAD stress marks from Onslaught's backplate/Bruticus's torso plate, where it connects to the body. If they return or get worse, I'm going to ask BBTS for a replacement figure, because dang.

The figures are not quite what I expected, but they're not bad. Not nearly as bad as we were led to believe.

I'm actually impressed. Not perfect, won't match 3rd party combiner quality, but I'm certainly not disappointed. Now...if I had paid SDCC prices, or even Fruiticus pricing, I'd have some major buyer's remorse.

I do like the connector system. Fantastic design.
Bruticus as a whole isn't bad. A little goofy looking (outside of the day glow camo).
The individual figures are...iffy. Brawl sucks. Swindle looks derpy. Blast Off has the most potential, but those shoulders suck. Vorrtex is rather impressive, but the propeller set up is terrible. Onslaught...well, his vehicle mode is actually the one thing about him I really like. His robot mode is rather...meh.

It's worth picking up the set at $60.00, anything above that and you've paid waaaaaaay too much.

Hopefully --with the way these things were selling out, at least originally-- we'll get more Combiners in this style (that is, 5 unique molds + Scramble City + no combiner kibble) down the road. First ones are always rocky, but they always improve with more releases.

Can we see some individual bot pics? There were some over at Allspark, but those had terrible camera flash.

I agree on all the above points... except Brawl. I actually like Brawl. He has a nice, tight hover-tank mode and nice sculpt on the robot mode. The video game mode with legs is a nice option. Tank turret is versatile and articulated. (Only down side is his bulky backpack.) Not sure why he's getting no love. I think he's my favorite.

I have a lot more problems with the other figures — those huge loose shoulder pads on Blast Off,.... the slump shoulder - tiny size - and sunken head of Onslaught... the lanky long-hollow-torso and too-short legs of swindle... awkward kilt flap and hideous color (all variants) of Vortex. They're all flawed in their own ways, sadly. Still not too bad all around.

Why are proportions such a huge problem? (Like the 2x too long arms of the combined Bruticus figure..) That should be fundamental, basic Stage 1 of the design process. How can that stuff get past a bad doodle on a napkin? When it deviates from human (or bulked-up-superhero) proportion, you send it back to the drawing board. Right?

Same with those crazy Energon fingers of the old Bruticus. Those should have never been released. Awful. Someone should have stopped those during the approval process.

Hands. I want real hands. Nice ones like the 3rd parties give me. In fact, I REALLY like extra hands. (The thumbs up and open hand of the Art-Feather Bumblebee come to mind. Nice touch getting extra hands.)

This combiner tackled a lot of hurdles: Scramble City, no extra parts, lower budget, 5 distinct molds, something resembling articulation, screen accuracy (of very cheaty designs). When was the last time even half of that was done? Has it ever been done? Really aren't going to get the most proportionate bots when you got to get thru all that.

gothsaurus wrote:Why are proportions such a huge problem? (Like the 2x too long arms of the combined Bruticus figure..) That should be fundamental, basic Stage 1 of the design process. How can that stuff get past a bad doodle on a napkin? When it deviates from human (or bulked-up-superhero) proportion, you send it back to the drawing board. Right?

I blame the movies for the extra long arms...

gothsaurus wrote:Why are proportions such a huge problem? (Like the 2x too long arms of the combined Bruticus figure..) That should be fundamental, basic Stage 1 of the design process. How can that stuff get past a bad doodle on a napkin? When it deviates from human (or bulked-up-superhero) proportion, you send it back to the drawing board. Right?

If they had that kind of attitude during G1 we wouldn't have had Predaking

Yeah, I know it's a lot to tackle. It just sticks out when fans are clamoring to make fan modes and mods to try to fix the proportions. You know there's a problem then. That's like a big red flag.

Given, I think the connector system is a great system. I really hope they can continue to put out more bots that connect up. Being able to mix and match would be too fun.

ALSO, releasing the bot with five deluxes... THEN following up with a Voyager of the middle bot that also connected and beefed up the figure. THAT would be amazing. A guaranteed buy for everyone with the original figure. Smart merchandising. They'd have essentially tricked us into buying two Onslaughts at different sizes, and we'd love them for it. Heh.

This figure looks pretty good minus all of the mold's flaws. It seems like Bruty has many redeeming qualities that counter-balance all of the bad qualities leaving us a decent figure.

I will be happy to have this version (G2) despite the flaws simply because I'm only paying $50 for him. I am excited to add him to the collection (plus the box is awesome) but I wouldn't be if I'd paid the SDCC, Takara or scalper prices.

Yeah, the price is a steal. Totally worth the price for this G2 version.

FellintoOblivion wrote:When did these first go on sale? Is Amazon supposed to get any more in stock?

Does the set Amazon is selling come in the same package as the one BBTS has?

Amazon didn't release theirs yet my friend ordered with them and they said nov 20th they will start shipping. And yes the ones on BBTS are the same packaging

Bounti76 wrote:Got mine from BBTS yesterday, and LOVE it. I like the colors, but the biggest wow for me is the fact that it comes in packaging that could have come straight from 1992. It looks like a real G2 package. The figures are obviously not, but I may just keep it in the package to display.

The packaging is what really makes me want this one. Plus, I do like the G2 color scheme better anyways. Maybe I'll get him for Christmas.....


edit* And BTW, the product number number for this on BBTS shows up as HAS22068,in which the HAS stands for Hasbro,I think, Especially since Arms Micron 25 Nemesis Prime shows up as TAK11500.

Mindmaster wrote:Still waiting on that G1-inspired deco.

The Takara version is very close to G1 except for that screwed up Vortex. Im buying it and hoping for a G1 Vortex repaint down the line. Maybe ill even buy the Whirl Wreckers version and paint it the right colors.