The Energon Pub

News Credits: 14 · by **Actar** » Tue Nov 22, 2022 8:41 pm

I really can't say how disappointed I am that SS ROTB Airazor shares the same engineering as Kingdom Airazor. It's a brand-new Transformers film in years, the Beast Wars characters are finally getting live-action representation, and the engineering's reused...

Other than maybe sculpt, the previous figure was so, so much better. It had a more interesting transformation, a sleeker bird mode, and a robot mode with like zero kibble.

I mean, it will have to depend on how the on-screen model looks, but unless the CGI model transforms EXACTLY like how Kingdom Airazor does, there is literally zero excuse to have reused the same engineering other than sheer unadulterated laziness.

News Credits: 61 · by **EvasionModeBumblebee** » Tue Nov 22, 2022 8:52 pm

-Kanrabat- wrote:These "movie" bots looks like Generations toys.

I like them, but call me weird but I kinda miss the alien designs of the first 3 movies.

I definitely miss those designs too, the first 3 movies are the best Transformers have ever looked IMO.

I think Battletrap’s head design feels like it could fit in with the Bayverse though. His proportions feel kinda off, which could be just a thing with the figure but was a common complaint I had for a lot of the BB designs.

News Credits: 4844 · by **william-james88** » Tue Nov 22, 2022 9:04 pm

EvasionModeBumblebee wrote:
-Kanrabat- wrote:These "movie" bots looks like Generations toys.

I like them, but call me weird but I kinda miss the alien designs of the first 3 movies.

I definitely miss those designs too, the first 3 movies are the best Transformers have ever looked IMO.

I think Battletrap’s head design feels like it could fit in with the Bayverse though. His proportions feel kinda off, which could be just a thing with the figure but was a common complaint I had for a lot of the BB designs.

Yeah the Battletrap head gives a lot of Bayverse vibes

News Credits: 174 · by **Hellscream9999** » Tue Nov 22, 2022 9:51 pm

Battletrap looks sick, that airazor looks like ass, cannot believe they copy-pasted kingdom airazor when the "simplified" mainline one innovated so much, so successfully :BANG_HEAD:

News Credits: 18 · by **Immortal Starscream** » Tue Nov 22, 2022 10:04 pm

that is not the same airrazor we saw before

News Credits: 456 · by **Sabrblade** » Tue Nov 22, 2022 10:17 pm

Immortal Starscream wrote:that is not the same airrazor we saw before

Just like the news post said.

by **Blastback** » Tue Nov 22, 2022 10:21 pm

Preferred the previous Airrazor design myself, but I can still recognize the character enough that I'm okay with it. Though the toy would be cooler if it didn't look so much like the Kingdom release

News Credits: 6 · by **RodimusPrimeUkraine1** » Tue Nov 22, 2022 10:35 pm

I have to say, my opinions are getting worse now. I was impressed by the previous airazor, but this!

Why does airazor have that green?
Why does her face look like the spider from Charlotte's web?
Why does battletrap's head look like a giant robot anime charecter?
Why can't female transformers from the movie universe have liquid metal faces?
Why does Airazor actually look like a kingdom retool while the previous didn't?
Why does her alt mode resemble a vulture?
Why do I like the Airazor kid toy more than the collector figure?

News Credits: 1 · by **MeGrimlock78** » Tue Nov 22, 2022 10:39 pm

Bernie's Towing and Autobody. (Not so) subtle nod to Bernie Mac, or am I reading too much into it?

by **Blastback** » Tue Nov 22, 2022 11:02 pm

MeGrimlock78 wrote:Bernie's Towing and Autobody. (Not so) subtle nod to Bernie Mac, or am I reading too much into it?

Very possible.

News Credits: 331 · by **chuckdawg1999** » Tue Nov 22, 2022 11:12 pm

Overcracker wrote:
EvasionModeBumblebee wrote:Pictures have leaked of (presumably Studio Series) voyager ROTB Battletrap!

ROTB Battletrap.JPG

I think he looks pretty cool! Not a big fan of the proportions but I like the sculpted detail and the head sculpt looks really good!

Looks real nice. Truck mode is really sweet. Reminds me a bit of Movie Longarm only better.

Also, AirRazor looks like a slightly enalrged retool of AirRazor, not really an enitrely new mold.

Specially arms and legs.

The Main Line version looks much better overall.

Yeah, that's not an all-new Airrazor.

News Credits: 4844 · by **william-james88** » Tue Nov 22, 2022 11:55 pm

Hellscream9999 wrote:Battletrap looks sick, that airazor looks like ass, cannot believe they copy-pasted kingdom airazor when the "simplified" mainline one innovated so much, so successfully

I'm glad you put simplified in quotes because while it will be in a kids aimed line, it wont be simplified. We even saw the transformation, it's as complex as the kingdom Airazor mold, if not more so (also indicative that they are both suitable for the same age group).

And that's been confusing a lot of people, understandably so, since this is a result of the movie being delayed. The big difference isn't the complexity, it's the sculpt and detail. The initial Airazor we saw is part of the ROTB mainline that was supposed to be out months ago. That line mirrors the Earthspark and Cyberverse line where the entire line is aimed at kids but there are deluxes which may interest fans as well due to their more standard complexity. And all the toys in that line were based on early movie designs so that they could be sold in stores in summer 2022 when the film would have been out. Plus there would be no sense of scale since any character could be in this deluxe class. That is the line the initial Airazor is from.

This new one is from the 2023 studio series line that was always going to come out in 2023, so one year after the film. And with that extra time, the idea is that Hasbro would have had more updated designs to work with, hence the differences in design.

But since the film was delayed, the toys that should have already been out will now come out at the same time as the toys that were always meant to come later. Hence why we get 2 deluxe Airazors at once, both seemingly as complex, transformation wise, but different in design.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:
Overcracker wrote:
EvasionModeBumblebee wrote:Pictures have leaked of (presumably Studio Series) voyager ROTB Battletrap!

ROTB Battletrap.JPG

I think he looks pretty cool! Not a big fan of the proportions but I like the sculpted detail and the head sculpt looks really good!

Looks real nice. Truck mode is really sweet. Reminds me a bit of Movie Longarm only better.

Also, AirRazor looks like a slightly enalrged retool of AirRazor, not really an enitrely new mold.

Specially arms and legs.

The Main Line version looks much better overall.

Yeah, that's not an all-new Airrazor.

It's the same discussion we had before for many figures, like SS Voyager Starscream, MPM Prime or the switchblade one steps. Technically, the mold is 100% new since they had to literally create a new mold for all the new parts this figure has (which is all of them). But it's based on an already existing design/CAD file. So while the mold is 100% new, the transformation itself is not.

-Kanrabat- wrote:These "movie" bots looks like Generations toys.

I like them, but call me weird but I kinda miss the alien designs of the first 3 movies.

Well it definitely doesnt help that this movie airazor is absed on a generations toy. But Battletrap looks as Bayverse as can be. There's the shot of him next to Bayverse Hot Rod and they look like they come from the same film. Granted, Hot Rod is a design post the initial trilogy, but still Bayverse.

News Credits: 4844 · by **william-james88** » Wed Nov 23, 2022 12:31 am

We are here to explain what is happening. Fans have been very confused at the sight of 2 completely different Rise of the Beasts deluxe class Airazor toys which look as complex (for a standard deluxe). So here is a breakdown with info coming from insiders and people with access to distributor info.

This whole confusion is a result of the movie being delayed. The big difference isn't the complexity, it's the sculpt and detail. The initial Airazor we saw is part of the Rise of the Beasts mainline that was supposed to be out months ago. That line mirrors the Earthspark and Cyberverse lines where the entire line is aimed at kids but there are deluxes which may interest fans as well due to their more standard complexity. Since these were worked on early, all toys in that line are based on early movie designs so that they could be sold in stores in summer of 2022 for kids and parents to buy, along with the 2022 holiday season. Also, it would be a unified class so all bots would be relatively the same size, and there would just be deluxes, no voyagers or leaders. That is the line the initial Airazor is from. Below is an image along with the listing for that Airazor and the other characters in the deluxe class of that ROTB movie line (Core Boy means the toys are aimed at 8 year old boys).

Tra Mv7 Core Boy Deluxe Class Ast with the EAN: 5010993983308
Deluxe Bumblebee (Codename: George)
Deluxe Mirage (Codename: Pluto)
Deluxe Wheeljack (Codename: Barcelona)
Deluxe Airazor (Codename: Titan)
Deluxe Nightbird (Codename: Outlaw)

The Studio Series one first shown just a few hours ago is from the 2023 Studio Series line that was always going to come out in 2023, so one year after the film. And with that extra time, the idea is that Hasbro would have had more updated designs to work with, hence the differences in design.

But since the film was delayed, the toys that should have already been out will now come out at the same time as the toys that were always meant to come later. Hence why we get 2 deluxe Airazors at once, both seemingly as complex, transformation wise, but different in design.

Below are some of the Studio Series Rise of the Beasts figures we know are coming in 2023 along with Airazor.

TRA Gen Studio Series DLX TF7 Bumblebee (Codename: George)
TRA Gen Studio Series DLX TF7 Airazor (Codename: Titan)
Tra Gen Studio series Dlx TF7 Mirage (Codename: Pluto)
Tra Gen Studio Series DLX TF7 Wheeljack (Codename: Barcelona)
Tra Gen Studio series Dlx TF7 Nightbird (Codename Outlaw)
TRA Gen Studio Series VOY TF7 Cheetor (Codename: Butch)
TRA Gen Studio Series VOY TF7 Battletrap (Codename: Appolo)
Tra Gen Studio series Voy TF7 Rhinox (Codename: Warrior)

So that means what we are seeing with Airazor will also happen with Bumblebee, Wheeljack, Nightbird and Mirage. 2 deluxe toys, both similar in complexity, but with different designs. We don't know if Hasbro will try avoiding to have them on the shelves at the same time or not.

Hopefully that cleared things up for some people.

News Credits: 19 · by **blackeyedprime** » Wed Nov 23, 2022 1:58 am

Orange truck looks great, maybe a bit too square/angular in vehicle mode but a definite buy for me. Also liking the head, the move away from the live action hideousnous is good. Kinda reminds me of armada red alert.

Air razor is confusing and the head is five steps backwards. Bird mode looks a little bit less cyber but I think the first wins out. If it has cyber parts might as well embrace them. I might prefer bot mode on this one but the other one saves me from head swapping.

News Credits: 2 · by **X3ROhour** » Wed Nov 23, 2022 2:46 am

WOOOOOW!
ROTB BATTLETRAP... :-?

hmm... a movie figure that I don't immediately hate!
Fascinating.
I haven't seen any movie fig put a smile on my face since - IDK - ummmmm... Dropkick's helicopter figure?
It looks like maybe we are moving towards bots that don't look like they forgot to put on their outer chassis when they ran out of the house late for work!
Usually Baybots tend to look like Robot chickens or bugs or a bunch of wires and knives that young Anikin Skywalker forgot to ask his mom to get coverings for.
I might actually lift my self-imposed ban on movie-bots, if we continue with this trend!
Airazor, on the other hand, looks like @#$%!!!
Kidding!
She looks even better than the previous one.
We shall see.

News Credits: 10 · by **JazZeke** » Wed Nov 23, 2022 3:00 am

I might just pick up the mainline version. The SS toy looks like it transforms the same as Kingdom/BW Airazor, and I'm feeling like we've been there and done that for an already simple transformation. I really like the look of the mainline's transformation, with the legs becoming the wings similar to my favorite toy out of the entire Unicron Trilogy, Divebomb.

by **SpaceEagle** » Wed Nov 23, 2022 3:37 am

Battletrap looks absolutely amazing. Gonna be nice getting him and putting him with the rest of the Movie 'Cons. He'll fit right in with the other car 'Cons.

News Credits: 1350 · by **ZeroWolf** » Wed Nov 23, 2022 4:14 am

It'll be interesting to see which one will be more screen accurate, in theory it should be the Studio Series one but they may have tweaked the cgi models even further with the delay.

News Credits: 174 · by **Hellscream9999** » Wed Nov 23, 2022 7:23 am

Can we just talk about how the mainline airazor would be a perfect starting point for a really good terrorsaur figure?

News Credits: 6 · by **Dr. Caelus** » Wed Nov 23, 2022 7:26 am

I really want both of these molds in my collection but I don't need three Airazors. Hopefully these get recolors or slight retools into other characters at some point.

News Credits: 101 · by **-Kanrabat-** » Wed Nov 23, 2022 7:42 am

william-james88 wrote:
-Kanrabat- wrote:These "movie" bots looks like Generations toys.

I like them, but call me weird but I kinda miss the alien designs of the first 3 movies.

Well it definitely doesnt help that this movie airazor is absed on a generations toy. But Battletrap looks as Bayverse as can be. There's the shot of him next to Bayverse Hot Rod and they look like they come from the same film. Granted, Hot Rod is a design post the initial trilogy, but still Bayverse.

That's just the head, like for Legacy Bulkhead.

I mean not only bug-faces, but chicken legs, multiple arms, overkill of mechanical details, truly ALIEN designs.

This Battletrap looks too "normal" to be "truly Bayverse".
Stiiiiiiiiiil, he's pretty damn awesome and it will be one of the rare movie toy that I'll pre-order.

News Credits: 6 · by **Dr. Caelus** » Wed Nov 23, 2022 8:06 am

-Kanrabat- wrote:I mean not only bug-faces, but chicken legs, multiple arms, overkill of mechanical details, truly ALIEN designs.

This Battletrap looks too "normal" to be "truly Bayverse".

I don't know, the Bumblebee movie designs were hewing pretty close to pre-Bay - even the Decepticons, who traditionally had the more xenomorph-esque designs.

News Credits: 1642 · by **D-Maximal_Primal** » Wed Nov 23, 2022 10:17 am

Wow wow wow wow wow!

Battletrap looks REALLY good. They got the beef of the alt mode, which is a truck mode that I am particularly attached to from my family history. And that robot mode is incredible. It's a great mix of standard Transformers and Bayverse, complete with a wonderful movie head. And the colors look great on him. and a wrecking ball weapon! I have absolutely zero bad things to say.

I don't really care about the Airazor conundrum, both look good to me for different reasons, and both will end up on my movie shelves.

News Credits: 2 · by **First-Aid** » Wed Nov 23, 2022 10:24 am

Dr. Caelus wrote:
-Kanrabat- wrote:I mean not only bug-faces, but chicken legs, multiple arms, overkill of mechanical details, truly ALIEN designs.

This Battletrap looks too "normal" to be "truly Bayverse".

I don't know, the Bumblebee movie designs were hewing pretty close to pre-Bay - even the Decepticons, who traditionally had the more xenomorph-esque designs.

The Bee movie was the "happy medium", I feel, between the truly alien Bay designs (which make sense because, y'know, alien robots who don't necessarily have a "human" perspective, just the mechanical efficiency perspective). More G1 blocky feel but still streamlined.

News Credits: 4844 · by **william-james88** » Wed Nov 23, 2022 10:47 am

-Kanrabat- wrote:
This Battletrap looks too "normal" to be "truly Bayverse".
Stiiiiiiiiiil, he's pretty damn awesome and it will be one of the rare movie toy that I'll pre-order.

I get that, but the designs changed within Bay's time as well, during the previous soft reboot that happened with AOE where Optimus' design change drastically. This goes more with those, like Drift, Crosshairs, Hound, Hot Rod, the new Barricade, ect. Still Bayverse but from a different period.