The Energon Pub

Guys, you're allowed to talk about -that- leak. It's just staff who aren't.

william-james88 wrote:Wave Breakdown and Time Frame

Hasbro goes by season for product releases, so I will translate that into an approximate time frame to give an idea of when the toys could be seen on shelves.

Wave 1: Between end of December 2017 and end of March 2018

Prime Master: Liege Maximo and Skullgrin Decoy Armor, Micronus and Cloudburst Decoy Armor, Vector Prime and Metalhawk Decoy Armor

Legends: Beachcomber, Dinobot Slash, Skrapnel, Windcharger

Deluxe: Autobot Jazz, Dinobot Slug, Dinobot Swoop, Dreadwind

Voyager: Grimlock, Starscream

Leader: Rodimus Prime, Optimus Prime


Wave 2: Between end of March 2018 and end of June 2018

Prime Master: Alchemist Prime and Submarauder Decoy Armor, Alpha Trion and Landmine Decoy Armor

Legends (all unconfirmed): Battleslash, Roadtrap, Tailgate

Deluxe: Blackwing, Dinobot Sludge, Dinobot Snarl, Moonracer, Terrorcon Rippersnapper

Voyager: Terrorcon Hun-Gurrr, Elita-1

Leader: Rodimus Unicronus, Optimus Prime


Wave 3: Between end June 2018 and end of September 2018

Prime Master (all unconfirmed): Quintus Prime and Bludgeon Decoy Armor, Megatronus and Bomb-Burst Decoy Armor, Solus Prime and Octopunch Decoy Armor

Legends (all unconfirmed): Cindersaur, Outback

Deluxe: Terrorcon Blot, Terrorcon Cutthroat, Sinnertwin, Autobot Jazz

Voyager: Inferno, Grimlock

Leader: Optimal Optimus, Rodimus Prime

For Combiner Wars, Hasbro had May Mayhem and Boxed Sets in addition to the general line. For Titans Return, Walgreen's had Brainstorm as an exclusive but the case number points to it maybe being part of the general retail assortment. They've also got the Clone set coming. Plus the Chaos and Siege sets at TRU And BBTS. Is it too early to speculate on what individual and boxed exclusives could be for Power of the Primes?

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

Kurona wrote:Man, Windcharger is still a pain to look at. He'd be a perfectly fine figure - if a bit basic, but still pretty cool - if it weren't for that awful head. I'm actually looking forward to the toy-accurate Tailgate because of how bad Windcharger's headsculpt is and how good the rest of the toy looks!

For me, it is the face and not the head itself. The overall shape of the head matches the original cartoon pretty well. But that face, I don't even think a mother could love that.

He looks like he's trying to hide something in his mouth, like he got caught in the process of eating an energon cookie and now he trying to plead his case without opening his mouth and incriminating himself to his mom.

Out of the first three waves, I plan to buy Jazz, Elita-1, Optimus Primal, all of the Dinobots and all of the Prime Masters. Dreadwind, DarkBlackwing Duck, Optimus Prime and Moonracer are on the maybe pile, and I can live without the rest.
It would be a shame if Novastar really is the only new thing in Wave 4. I do hope having only one new toy in the last wave of the year doesn't become a regular thing going forward.

Not yet seen a single figure I want to actually buy. Had high hopes for the Dinobots but nope. Entire line using gimmicks I don't want and some I hoped I'd seen the last of. Perhaps the Predacons when I've seen more of them.

-----Wave 4 ?/?/18--------
...Prime Masters:
???????????????????????????
...Legends:
??????????????????????????
...Deluxe:
Novastar (Firestar)
Blackwing (Darkwing)
Dinobot Slug
Rippersnapper
...Voyager:
????????????????????????????

Titan Class Predaking "Fall"

Other Possible Prime Masters:
-Autobots
Groundbreaker
Sky High
Splashdown
-Decepticons
Bugly
Finback
Iguanus
Stranglehold

Carnivius_Prime wrote:Not yet seen a single figure I want to actually buy. Had high hopes for the Dinobots but nope. Entire line using gimmicks I don't want and some I hoped I'd seen the last of. Perhaps the Predacons when I've seen more of them.

What's wrong with the Dinobots in this new line? They look fantastic and very G1 faithful. Their "gimmicks" aren't obtrusive. In fact, combiner pegs and ports are hidden even better now than they were in the Combiner Wars line. If you don't want to combine your Dinobots, then don't! If you want to ignore the combiner hands/chest armor that come with the deluxes, do so! You can just put the combiner feet that come with Grimlock into a box too. Display your toys how you want to. Getting proper "Classics" updates of the original Dinobot team has been a LONG time coming, and if you pass on these, it'll probably be many, many years before you get another shot at this, if ever again, honestly.

Wolfman Jake wrote:

Carnivius_Prime wrote:Not yet seen a single figure I want to actually buy. Had high hopes for the Dinobots but nope. Entire line using gimmicks I don't want and some I hoped I'd seen the last of. Perhaps the Predacons when I've seen more of them.

What's wrong with the Dinobots in this new line? They look fantastic and very G1 faithful. Their "gimmicks" aren't obtrusive. In fact, combiner pegs and ports are hidden even better now than they were in the Combiner Wars line. If you don't want to combine your Dinobots, then don't! If you want to ignore the combiner hands/chest armor that come with the deluxes, do so! You can just put the combiner feet that come with Grimlock into a box too. Display your toys how you want to. Getting proper "Classics" updates of the original Dinobot team has been a LONG time coming, and if you pass on these, it'll probably be many, many years before you get another shot at this, if ever again, honestly.

He hates pretty much everything other than movie stuff so being G1 faithful is the issue

Rysquad wrote:

william-james88 wrote:Wave Breakdown and Time Frame

Hasbro goes by season for product releases, so I will translate that into an approximate time frame to give an idea of when the toys could be seen on shelves.

Wave 1: Between end of December 2017 and end of March 2018

Prime Master: Liege Maximo and Skullgrin Decoy Armor, Micronus and Cloudburst Decoy Armor, Vector Prime and Metalhawk Decoy Armor

Legends: Beachcomber, Dinobot Slash, Skrapnel, Windcharger

Deluxe: Autobot Jazz, Dinobot Slug, Dinobot Swoop, Dreadwind

Voyager: Grimlock, Starscream

Leader: Rodimus Prime, Optimus Prime


Wave 2: Between end of March 2018 and end of June 2018.

Prime Master: Alchemist Prime and Submarauder Decoy Armor, Alpha Trion and Landmine Decoy Armor

Legends (all unconfirmed): Battleslash, Roadtrap, Tailgate

Deluxe: Blackwing, Dinobot Sludge, Dinobot Snarl, Moonracer, Terrorcon Rippersnapper

Voyager: Terrorcon Hun-Gurrr, Elita-1

Leader: Rodimus Unicronus, Optimus Prime


Wave 3: Between end June 2018 and end of September 2018

Prime Master (all unconfirmed): Quintus Prime and Bludgeon Decoy Armor, Megatronus and Bomb-Burst Decoy Armor, Solus Prime and Octopunch Decoy Armor

Legends (all unconfirmed): Cindersaur, Outback

Deluxe: Terrorcon Blot, Terrorcon Cutthroat, Sinnertwin, Autobot Jazz

Voyager: Inferno, Grimlock

Leader: Optimal Optimus, Rodimus Prime

For Combiner Wars, Hasbro had May Mayhem and Boxed Sets in addition to the general line. For Titans Return, Walgreen's had Brainstorm as an exclusive but the case number points to it maybe being part of the general retail assortment. They've also got the Clone set coming. Plus the Chaos and Siege sets at TRU And BBTS. Is it too early to speculate on what individual and boxed exclusives could be for Power of the Primes?

We have the rumored Wreck-Gar at Walgreens. Probably Groove with modest retooling and the new hand style. Honestly, Groove isn't far off from the G1 animation model. A new head and maybe a hint of guns in the breastplate.

I suspect if we're seeing SDCC and/or Botcon, they'll be shared TRU exclusives. And if there's a set, probably a repurposed RiD or TR mold to fill it out. Probably character overlap with retail.

New RiD Bludgeon might make a good candidate.

Gotta say one of my dream figures is Devcon from TR Scourge with a Blurr head. I like in general the trend with Elita-One, TM Arcee, Straxus, Jhiaxus, etc. of Hasbro releasing G1 characters who never had a mass release toy. For that matter, maybe a Lifeline/Paradron from TR Arcee's tooling. In general, some of the bigger unfinished business IMHO are those characters who never had a toy, excluding Botcon/TFCC.

Un_Chakal wrote:-----Wave 4 ?/?/18--------
...Prime Masters:
???????????????????????????
...Legends:
??????????????????????????
...Deluxe:
Novastar (Firestar)
Blackwing (Darkwing)
Dinobot Slug
Rippersnapper
...Voyager:
????????????????????????????

Titan Class Predaking "Fall"

Other Possible Prime Masters:
-Autobots
Groundbreaker
Sky High
Splashdown
-Decepticons
Bugly
Finback
Iguanus
Stranglehold

If we got a new Bugly out of this line, I would be totally hyped for that.

Oy, the beginning of 2018 is going to be tough with POTP and the new Legends figures coming

TF-fan kev777 wrote: The overall shape of the head matches the original cartoon pretty well.

And how is it a good point ?

Here's what combiner limbs were looking like in the cartoon :



I hope we can agree it's not how we want our combiners.

Cheap cartoon from underpaid animators accuracy is not a good point/arguments for me, it's more than the contrary.

Since the Dreadwing figures are coming with double ports, does that mean we might get 6 bot combiners like Leo Kaiser and Monstructor?

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Since the Dreadwing figures are coming with double ports, does that mean we might get 6 bot combiners like Leo Kaiser and Monstructor?

I'm pretty sure Jelze figure out that it isn't a double port, but something like an extra 5mm post that one of them has and the other clips onto.

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Since the Dreadwing figures are coming with double ports, does that mean we might get 6 bot combiners like Leo Kaiser and Monstructor?

I'm pretty sure Jelze figure out that it isn't a double port, but something like an extra 5mm post that one of them has and the other clips onto.

Exactly. The square Combiner peg is not used for the Dreadwing combo, besides, the Deluxes aren't big enough to accommodate at least two of them.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Since the Dreadwing figures are coming with double ports, does that mean we might get 6 bot combiners like Leo Kaiser and Monstructor?

I'm pretty sure Jelze figure out that it isn't a double port, but something like an extra 5mm post that one of them has and the other clips onto.

Exactly. The square Combiner peg is not used for the Dreadwing combo, besides, the Deluxes aren't big enough to accommodate at least two of them.

Of course most importantly, that method of connection - while stopping other figures from connecting similarly, like we'd initially thought and hoped they could - will not prevent the possibility of making a gigantic two-robot mess of an arm from the Dreadwing guys.

So I mean, we could theoretically get 6-bot combiners using the combination devised here, but just... not even close to the way you'd want

I give this line 2 rodimus stars.

My problem with Windcharger's head isn't that it matches how he looked in the cartoon, actually. It's that it doesn't match how he looked in the cartoon.



It's not a head jutting out from a slab; it's a face-in-a-box deal, sort of like Motormaster. It's not an amazing head design, but it's perfectly fine and looks pretty good and fits the overall aesthetic of both him and his cohorts. Both his CHUG toys so far have captured the face-in-box thing pretty well too (though in my opinion, CW pulls it off much better than RTS).





And when you bring up the cartoon screenshot (like I did up there) alongside these previous efforts and then alongside the new one... it really starts to show that the headsculpt isn't just bad, it does not capture his likeness in the cartoon at all.

Kurona wrote:Guys, you're allowed to talk about -that- leak. It's just staff who aren't.

Staff are allowed to talk about it, especially since it helps us make better sense of the news we get, like knowing that defensor looking torso was Inferno's. We use the resources given to us to help the community as much as we can and talking about the leak can fall into that. What we cant do is post that leak and propagate the idea that leaking stuff is the way to go (which it isnt, ideally everything should be through proper channels like what Takara does with magazines, twitter and listings). But as of right now, we interpret whatever isnt confirmed the same way we did rumours from Titans Return before the line began, which we were also allowed to talk about. Hence why whatever hasnt been shown elsewhere is written as unconfirmed in my rundown.

And in any case, that leak is almost obsolete, at least for the line pertaining to this thread. The info I broke down is mainly all we know anyways with most pics being placeholders or totally unclear.

And O Supreme, I left out that wave 4 deluxe wave because the main purpose of my post was to make things as easy and straightforward as possible to any user. Its a resource people can bookmark if ever they wonder the time frame or how much a retailer might charge if they want to budget. We dont know if thats all wave 4 is, and I didnt want to confuse anyone so I preffered just sticking to the full waves and we can discuss the rest in the comments as we are all wonderfully doing

Kurona wrote:My problem with Windcharger's head isn't that it matches how he looked in the cartoon, actually. It's that it doesn't match how he looked in the cartoon.



It's not a head jutting out from a slab; it's a face-in-a-box deal, sort of like Motormaster. It's not an amazing head design, but it's perfectly fine and looks pretty good and fits the overall aesthetic of both him and his cohorts. Both his CHUG toys so far have captured the face-in-box thing pretty well too (though in my opinion, CW pulls it off much better than RTS).





And when you bring up the cartoon screenshot (like I did up there) alongside these previous efforts and then alongside the new one... it really starts to show that the headsculpt isn't just bad, it does not capture his likeness in the cartoon at all.

Good comparison Kurona! I had the feeling that I would've remembered if Windcharger looked that dumb in the cartoon, but I hadn't really bothered checking yet.

That said, PotP Windcharger's face looks sooooo duuuumb. He's got this insanely pouty bored-looking face, like he's sitting on the curb waiting for his parents to finish grocery shopping and take him home. Or maybe he's on time out after getting caught sneaking those Energon cookies

BombshellDaBug wrote:

Un_Chakal wrote:-----Wave 4 ?/?/18--------
...Prime Masters:
???????????????????????????
...Legends:
??????????????????????????
...Deluxe:
Novastar (Firestar)
Blackwing (Darkwing)
Dinobot Slug
Rippersnapper
...Voyager:
????????????????????????????

Titan Class Predaking "Fall"

Other Possible Prime Masters:
-Autobots
Groundbreaker
Sky High
Splashdown
-Decepticons
Bugly
Finback
Iguanus
Stranglehold

If we got a new Bugly out of this line, I would be totally hyped for that.

In one of the newest reports there would be 12 Prime Masters with their pretender suits. That would account for all the 'big' pretender shells both Decep and Autobot.

Qwan wrote:

Kurona wrote:My problem with Windcharger's head isn't that it matches how he looked in the cartoon, actually. It's that it doesn't match how he looked in the cartoon.



It's not a head jutting out from a slab; it's a face-in-a-box deal, sort of like Motormaster. It's not an amazing head design, but it's perfectly fine and looks pretty good and fits the overall aesthetic of both him and his cohorts. Both his CHUG toys so far have captured the face-in-box thing pretty well too (though in my opinion, CW pulls it off much better than RTS).





And when you bring up the cartoon screenshot (like I did up there) alongside these previous efforts and then alongside the new one... it really starts to show that the headsculpt isn't just bad, it does not capture his likeness in the cartoon at all.

Good comparison Kurona! I had the feeling that I would've remembered if Windcharger looked that dumb in the cartoon, but I hadn't really bothered checking yet.

That said, PotP Windcharger's face looks sooooo duuuumb. He's got this insanely pouty bored-looking face, like he's sitting on the curb waiting for his parents to finish grocery shopping and take him home. Or maybe he's on time out after getting caught sneaking those Energon cookies

Seems more like paint to me. Watch when Takara releases that with a dark gray helmet with the corehead matching the helmet rather than the face.

This is one of these problems caused by a cartoon (not toy) accurate sculpt being painted up like a G1 toy (which had a full silver face and black visor inside a helmet).

RodimusRex wrote:Seems more like paint to me. Watch when Takara releases that with a dark gray helmet with the forehead matching the helmet rather than the face.

This is one of these problems caused by a cartoon (not toy) accurate sculpt being painted up like a G1 toy (which had a full silver face and black visor inside a helmet).

Oh my g- you're RIGHT! I hadn't interpreted it that way, but it totally works if hypothetically done that way in the deco work. I guess I'll just be painting this thing up when I get it, or maybe waiting for the Takara version depending if I can be bothered (they'll definitely do it right, and in this case I'd say there actually is a 'right').

It doesn't fix his stupid expression unfortunately, but it looks like every Windcharger has had a stupid expression after some fashion or another. Now that I feel confident in finding a way around Forehead Boy, I can deal with the face he's making much more easily .

Yooooo PHOTOSHOP!



Better. But still not great.

I'm going with, G1 Ironhide and Ratchet have a better head sculpt than this poor Windcharger.

Cobotron wrote:Yooooo PHOTOSHOP!



Better. But still not great.

I'm going with, G1 Ironhide and Ratchet have a better head sculpt than this poor Windcharger.

Nicely done! I was going to have a go at that myself, but my computer just got revived from the dead yesterday and I had to reinstall Photoshop first - I'm glad you got to it first anyway, 'cause that's probably a better job than I could've done!

Agreed that it's better, but still probably my least favorite of the Windcharger face-sculpts. But hey, at least it looks like the dumb cartoon model now, instead of its own unique extra-concentrated recipe of dumb. *shrug*