The Energon Pub

Ireally like the movie line sure is has its problems but gimmie a line that dosen't have it's stinkers. The line brought me my fav tf I ever had; 09 Bumblebee, as hard as it was to track down it made it even more worth it!

Sylus wrote:I bought the movie on dvd and the movie line toy Wreckage and an allspark Skyblast just cuz he's a repaint of an Energon toy. IMHO the real movie figs have great alt modes but terrible non accurate bot modes, it's like G1 all over gain with the bot modes looking nothing like their media counterpart. Only others I plan to buy are Grindcore and Big Daddy, if even those 2.

How are they not movie accurate? Colors can be fixed easy.

Still don't care for the look of the figures, didn't buy them.
Bring on Classics 2.0 and Animated Megatron!

Passed up Megatron, Starscream, Bonecrusher, Wreckage, Scorponok. Picked up Leader Prime, IronHide, Ratchet, Jazz, Bumblebee concept, Longarm, Blackout, Dropkick, Payload, Swindle, Stockade & Incinerator. I'm quite content with my picks, indeed.


Movie line still rocks.

I was just looking at the movie figures again and I realized why I don't care for them that much, because they remind me of modern update of the gobots, which I don't like very much as a kid. Maybe that is why some people love these figures as much as they do even with all the flaws that these figures have.

shortround wrote:I was just looking at the movie figures again and I realized why I don't care for them that much, because they remind me of modern update of the gobots, which I don't like very much as a kid. Maybe that is why some people love these figures as much as they do even with all the flaws that these figures have.

Please explain how so, because that was the furthest thought from my mind on why I dislike the movie bots.

shortround wrote:I was just looking at the movie figures again and I realized why I don't care for them that much, because they remind me of modern update of the gobots, which I don't like very much as a kid. Maybe that is why some people love these figures as much as they do even with all the flaws that these figures have.

I'm still waiting for you to explain this, and will probably go lock your other thread, because responses of a similar nature will get posted here.

I am not a fan of the movie line, and I bought a lot of the toys trying to be one! Of my recent TFs, they are the ones I have taken off display and put in storage in favor of other cooler toy lines like SW, and GI JOE.

And of course the movie TFs do not garner space in my collection room of TFs, except my Lawson's shiny 74 BB, my arcees (with other 'female bots) and my helicopters 'cause I have a helicopter collection/display!

I can't really put into words why I don't like them. I think in general, I do not like movie line figures that are produced and designed differently than what was on the shelf already. For example, I do not collect, X-Men movie toys, or TMNT movie toys, or Spider-man movie toys, and yet there are figures from the main lines that I can very much see myself collecting them, and have collected them. There are two exceptions- Star Wars where I pick and choose what I buy anyway, and probably Iron Man, just because there is not really any other Iron Man product out there.

When the GI Joe movie toy line comes out, it will be hard for me to decide if I want them or not. At this point, I predict that I will not collect the whole set of them, unless they really blow me away.

It seems like a rather dumb rule, but in general, I find that movie line toys seem to be of a different quality than other toys, and usually that is not a good thing in my eyes. I may try one (or two) but overall, never buy as much as I do, from normal line toys... Pirates of the Caribbean, Golden Compass, Chronicles or Narnia, Harry Potter--all movies I enjoyed, but when I went to buy the toys I found them lacking, and I do not see the movie toys differently. I think the only reason I stuck with them was because they were Transformers, and I figures, they had to eventually grow on me, and I did not want to pay eBay prices for things I could buy at retail. My mistake.

alt modes look great of course, very realistic and mainly solid to boot.

Robo modes, overall I simply cannot stand them (with one notable exception), i find the aesthetic too busy, often clumsy and i find the heads very unappealing and lacking any character. Massively overdesigned for my tastes, i generally way prefer a more minimal approach to toys.

importantly when i first saw the movie designs I wasnt up in arms, they work for the movie for what it is, a CGI summer blockbuster fest. I see it as a side branch of TF evolutionary 'bush', I just dont like them as toys, in the same way as spawn type characters on screen might look good but i dont want spawn figures on my shelves.

I did buy delux BB08, barricade and jazz. i grew to really dislike BB and barricade, the robo look and the lack of fun doing the transformation, its not that its to difficult but i simply felt the TF process unsatisfying. I know BB08 has a legion of fans but I feel its unavailability early on pushed this toy into the most wanted list for no good reason, its such a horrid hotch potch of parts sticking out at all angles, i prefer an aesthetic to 'flow' better, think animated prowl as a toy that arguably accomplishes this.

I actually always liked jazz mould and once the target version came out i sold the previous 3 toys. So im now left with target jazz and thats it, i really like that toy, he feels solid, bright colour scheme, good kibble (we all have our own various kibble love/hates)and a very cool head.

i also got a couple of the real gear toys, which are arguably a separate line from the main toys, a totally different aesthetic and very much inspired by the more minimal toys that many TF originated from: takaras microman microchange series in the early 80's. in effect the real gear are a direct update to the microchange toys.

Im glad the movie line did take a different approach though, despite the much wanted binaltech look that fans were perhaps hoping for thsi at the very least allows the Tf lines to be more dynamic and variable, the movie toys are a massive contrast to the upcoming animated stuff.

I'll admit though that im VERY relieved that the movie hasnt redefined the TF look for the future, ie if TF toys of the future were bayformeresque id be mortified. Im getting the feeling that the 'more is better' mentality is going to hit TFTM2 and the toys are going to be even more elaborate and that can translate into toys with more issues.

ironically enough i find the most appealing movie toys are actually the legends, the have some character at least. Oh and as for teh cybertron/energon repaints, well those toys were passable the first time around, arcee is quite cool though. it just felt so cheap a tactic, pushing these as movie sideline toys, the kids wont know any different though. With all the repaints and the premiums coming out the whole thing reminds me of flogging a dead horse, although its far from dead, its just not very, well, exciting.

summing up the movie line in 3 words: DULL, DULL, DULL.

I for one am very much looking forward to animated, its the diametric opposite to the movie line, i get the feeling that artists and not graphical technicians have designed these things!!

microclone wrote:Robo modes, overall I simply cannot stand them (with one notable exception), i find the aesthetic to busy, often clumsy and i find the heads very unappealing and lacking any character. Massively overdesigned for my tastes, i generally way prefer a more minimal approach to toys.

ironically enough i find the most appealing movie toys are actually the legends, the have some character at least.

You must really like the designs of the Animated toys then. Simplicity and not a lot of cluttery detail...

And I agree with you about the Legends. I like a few of them, although some of them... well, they all hang out in my micromaster city now, so I guess I do have some movie toys on display.

tigertracks 24 wrote:

microclone wrote:Robo modes, overall I simply cannot stand them (with one notable exception), i find the aesthetic to busy, often clumsy and i find the heads very unappealing and lacking any character. Massively overdesigned for my tastes, i generally way prefer a more minimal approach to toys.

ironically enough i find the most appealing movie toys are actually the legends, the have some character at least.

You must really like the designs of the Animated toys then. Simplicity and not a lot of cluttery detail...

And I agree with you about the Legends. I like a few of them, although some of them... well, they all hang out in my micromaster city now, so I guess I do have some movie toys on display.

you bet, i feel animated is the most inspired thing to hit TF post G1.

ive only bought 4 movie toys, and then theres only 1 i really like (deluxe barricade), the alt modes are pretty good, i just cant get my head round liking the robot modes, plus i kinda miss the little quirks of the recent toy lines (minicons etc). I still find the takara reissues much more interesting, even though ive had most of them before. As much as i love the movie, the toys just dont quite do it for me

The movie line is to blame for there being robots on my desk.

Therefore, my final opinion is 'dang it, I needed another hobby like I need a hole in the head, but these are really fun!'

Though until those gorgeous TRU jets appear, the movie line is not over.

yeah, any news on the 2 tru exclusive jets?

My oppinion:

At first, i thought the movie would suck, because of the designs.
But when we got 2 see more and more designs from the new movie, aswell as an awesome trailer, i was sold.
So i hoped that the figures would be as good.
And they where diffiniatly worth the waiting. The first waves, atleast.

I brought Deluxe Jazz, Barricade, Brawl, Scoponok and Wreckage, aswell as Voyager Ratchet and Blackout on the release day of the toys.
(Leader class Prime and Megs wasnt released at that moment where i come from).
But anyway; i thought the figures i brought was AWESOME ! ... except for the plastic quality, which i clearly saw on Deluxe Jazz.

All the figures from the movie-line is unique, and awesome in there own way. Really exciting! But then ...

Hasbro startet to do repaints ... i was okay with Cliffjumper ... but ... think about it, there's around ... 6 diffrent redecolors of the Concept Camaro mold:
Concept Camaro Bumblebee
Screen Battles: Capture of Bumblbee
Allspark Powered Bumblebee ( the one with blue paint on it )
Cliffjumper
Premium Edition Bumblebee
Stealth Bumblebee ...

sigh* ...

But anyways, except for the thousand repaints and the bad plastic quality on some of the figures, the movie line was really awesome !
Definiatly a little stronger than the Unicron trilogy's toys.

Ill give the movie line of toys : 8/10

When I look at the robot modes and face in particular that is what reminds me of the gobots not there alt-modes those remind me transformers alternators. If you go back and look at the gobots faces they look very alien and kind of more robotic than transformers every did that is what I was basing my opinion off. I didn't mean to offend anyone I only have a few movie figures myself, also all of them are in their alt-modes.

Some of the figures are great, like BB, Optimus Prime (Leader or Voyager), Ironhide. Some, not so good, like Jazz, Megatron.

But I think in the future we will see that this line and this movie will bring in a whole other group of fans. Kids that collect this line will grow up to be like us and will have certain memories connected to this movie and toy line. It shows that like Star Wars, TF is always going to be able to evolve and grow. And continue to impress and win people over as it did me in the '80s.

shortround wrote:When I look at the robot modes and face in particular that is what reminds me of the gobots not there alt-modes those remind me transformers alternators. If you go back and look at the gobots faces they look very alien and kind of more robotic than transformers every did that is what I was basing my opinion off. I didn't mean to offend anyone I only have a few movie figures myself, also all of them are in their alt-modes.

I wasn't offended, just curious. Thanks for sharing.

I'm a big fan of the movie toys.

I see what people are saying in that the toys don't look exactly like their on screen counterparts, but I also accept that these are toys. Plastic representations of something else. As such I think they pull off the complex transforms of the movie quite well, while usually looking pretty good in both modes.

Yea, there are notable exceptions. Barricade's wonky arms, and '77 BB's duck feet, but whatever. Overall I thought it was a fun line to both collect and transform. Much like the movie designs themselves, it grew on me as time went on, and one of my most painful initial character reactions, Ironhide, became my favorite toy of the line! Go figure.

My main issue with the line, was the lack of characters. In a "normal" TF line all those incarnations, from the FABs and power racers (or whatever the h3ll those throttlebot things are called) to the voyagers and leaders would all have been different characters. You wouldn't have 4 primes in 4 sizes, they would have been different characters, with their own distinguishing characteristics.

But overall, I liked it. I had fun collecting them and hunting them down. I thought here were some clever details and features that pushed the concept of transformers forward.

Bring on animated, and bring on TFTM2!!!