The Energon Pub

Kay, so the movie line has one more wave before it is (for the most part) said and done and I’m seriously wondering how some of you feel about the movie now? It seemed like the movie was initially met with great hatred, but that seems worn down as the year has passed.

I am very pleased with how this line has turned out, when I first saw leaked images of these toys I felt my eyes may never see the world in the same light, Ratchet and the real gears almost made me want to vomit. But then came a little odd ball guy from this line, Swindle. When I saw Swindle, I fell in love with the figure, it was detailed, had that neat movie aesthetic and most of all, had no face. Yes, I think it is Swindle that made me decide to buy so many of these toys, because he had no face, I wasn’t gagged by how he looked, bought the toy on June fourth and have loved the style of the movie since. Then I was opened up to the rest of the line.

Now, nearly one year later I have bought almost everything that has come out of this line, even the real gears and Ratchet whom I hated.

Now that its out and over, how do you feel?

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.

OK granted there wher som obviously flawed characters, IE Payload, DreadWing, Classic BB with the automorph that never worked quite right.

But over all The movie was a great leap forward in the ways of combining traditional transformations with autonomonus change. Granted it was met with a great amount of critisizm but the automorph trend when working was no where near as offensive as pre movie theories thought it would be.

Image wise, yes there are alot of things that still dont sit right. StarScream is a prime example. Maybe with a different name he would have been better recieved, but like Megatron, they are just to far from the source.

However they are still revolutionary figure wise, and althoygh awkward, have enough merits to not be dismissed.

Over all, the movie had an unorthodox look, but still the figures where a much needed move forward in TF tech. Figured like LongArm, Wreckage, and Incinerator pushed the envelope one step farther by just looking awesome!

The movie toys where different, flawed, but far from bad.

I think the movie line would have been better without the automorph feature. it honestly didnt do **** but get in the way, it wasnt like "press a button and the bot transforms himself" it was more like "transform him nearly all the way and push the head up half way, the spring makes it go up the other half" in the sense it really accomplished nothing as you did 98% of the work.

Sylus wrote:I think the movie line would have been better without the automorph feature. it honestly didnt do **** but get in the way, it wasnt like "press a button and the bot transforms himself" it was more like "transform him nearly all the way and push the head up half way, the spring makes it go up the other half" in the sense it really accomplished nothing as you did 98% of the work.

I don't know about that. I actualy liked the finishing effet that Automorph added to the Autobots and the weapons of the Decepticons.

If done right on a Deluxe or Voyager, the Automorph coinsided nicely with the bots transformation or it's battle mode upgrade.

I like the mainline figures, but I don't care for all the non-movie figures.

The design of the characters I can live with. I have problems with the inferior plastic quality and tendency of the figures to break (especially 74 Bumblebee).

In hindsight, I wish I would have known about the premium versions beforehand. I would have waited.

One of the things I love about the movie line is you can have a semi, tank, Topkick pickup, and sports cars that look realistic and are in scale to each other. The transformation process can be a little tedious and time consuming for certain figures, but it’s what makes this line unique. The very alien look of the bots has grown on me, and the way the vehicle parts wrap around and hang off is a new departure from the somewhat traditional TF look. All in all, a good line, but I speak only what I know of my small collection:

Leader: Optimus Prime and Brawl.
Voyager: Starscream and Ironhide.
Deluxe: Classic and 08 BB, Barricade, Wreckage, and Swindle (Stealth BB will be my last one).

Needs MOAR guns. *cough* ratchet

Automorph sucks, my favorite thing aobut TFs is Transforming them myself, i don't need no smurfing spring stealing my thunder in the last second of the process acting like it did something special. It's a cheesy gimmick that does nothing but detract from the toy's playability and its posability.

I liked the line for the most part, though the lensheads were horribly disappointing. Most of the actual movie bots were okay to decent, but the non-movie figs were the real stars, especially Wreckage, Stockade, and Landmine.

The Real gears, though technically not movie toys, were on the whole very nicely done.

The repaints - well, many were great (Big Daddy, Armorhide, and so on), while others weren't. But that can be blamed on the figures they were originally based on, so no big deal there.

Overall - not as many star figures as in Cybertron, and a few more clunkers, so it rates lower than that. On the other hand, it tops Energon and Armada, IMHO. Don't like my opinion, post your own.

Overall I really liked the Movie line, alot more than I thought I would too - the thing that I like is how clever some of the transformations are, like Dropkick for example he's just a deluxe but he has some very impressive engineering in his transformation.

Some of the toys were failed by weak character designs from the begining like SS, Megs, Jazz or Ratchet but overall it's a really good line I think.

It's a great line. I don't fancy the plastics that they used for them, but still .... not too much to complain about there.

Automorph was/is a great feature. CC BB's legs just plain rule. So do Ironhide's.

There are a few really stupid figures, but that goes with every line ... Hasbro can't please everybody. Maybe they have rookie engineers within the company that team up to make the shoddy ones. Who knows? Personally, I think that would rule if that was the case.

Great line, but it's going to take more effort to outshine a line like Cybertron. One day, they'll beat it, but not with the movie line.

*Disclaimer - Alts and MP not considered here. Those are in a league of their own.

Initially, I actually hated how the characters and figures from the movie line looked. I remember seeing the first couple of photos of leader class Optimus.. and thinking it looking like a cube with limbs.. i didnt like Megatron too much either.. but.. as ive since realised, photos rarely do these things justice..

The first two figures I got from the movie line were Optimus and Megatron, within a week of each other no less!.. I recall seeing them in a local toymaster and being quite taken back by how they looked in the flesh, though I do agree with Lapse of Reason, in that I to wish we'd known about the premium figures beforehand, especially Optimus..

I would say what my personal favourates from the line are, but in all honesty I may as well just list the movie figures I own..

Autobots:-
Leader Class Optimus Prime
Voyager Ratchet
Voyager Ironhide
Deluxe Bumblebee
Deluxe Jazz
Deluxe Arcee
Deluxe Longarm
Deluxe Landmine
Deluxe Protoform Optimus Prime
Real Gear Spy Shot 6

Decepticons:-
Leader Class Megatron
Voyager Starcream
Voyager Blackout
Deluxe Barricade
Deluxe Brawl
Deluxe Bonecrusher
Deluxe Wreckage

...notable absence would be scorpinok, personally im not so fond of this figure, or rather... his robot mode, the beast mode i love, fairly accurate, nice and detailed, but a figure that ill never transform?... hmmm... maybe if i see him somewhere cheap..

but i digress..

over time ive grown to like the movie figures, after initially not wanting anything to do with them.. which brings me to transformers animated.. as initially i HATED how everything looked.. but since watching some video reviews for the figures on youtube, as well as the episodes that have been posted.. i seem to be finding myself liking them more and more.. for now though.. roll on classics 2.0 and evetually... TF2!!

I like them for the most part.

I think whoever designed the arms on Jazz or the Swindle toy in general should be lynched, but other than that, I think they look great on my shelf.

When it was done well (CC BB, Ratchet, SS, Leader Prime), automorph was a neat little touch.

When it wasn't done well, it was a pain.

I had to dismantle the leg on classic BB to realign the gears for the automorph. I've dismantled Blackout's cockpit several times to realign gears. With Ironhide's legs, as nice as the feature is design-wise, it's just too easy to get the front and back toe sections out of sync.

Overall i think they look great! I love the G1 repaints those are some of my favs!

IMHO there were a couple misfires out of the gate ('74 Bumblebee, the Optimus voice bait-and-switch, the lens-heads), and a couple of things I'd have done differently later on (ease off on the Scout repaints, G1 redecoes of Skywarp and Ironhide, role-play weapons based on the characters' weapons in the movie as opposed to those goofy "arm" blasters), but I can't complain too much, since overall I liked the main movie line enough to make space for it on my shelves. I was particularly impressed with how many of the filler characters WEREN'T just repaints, but actual new molds. The size variety of some of the main characters was also a plus. AND for the first time Hasbro tinkered with figures (or figurines, rather) of the human characters, so that's a breakthrough.

I never liked them. I hate the robot-modes of most of them.

But I'll get some to save for ten years from now.

I think that all things considered, the Movie line did a few things well but was tremendously disappointing. Yes, yes yes, super awesome realistic alt modes, so realistic that I almost thought they were actual models in some cases. But the robot modes stunk, they are flimsy and cheap feeling, and are the only Transformers that I have ever purchased that make me feel like I really got qipped out of my money. The Deluxes that everyone raves about I think are awful, and the only ones I really like are Swindle and Dreadwing and Wreckage and Brawl and Bonecrusher. The Voyagers are at least a little better, and the Leader figures minus Megatron are really the only worhtwhile pieces in the entire line as far as I'm concerned. All of the ancillary toys like the Cyber Slammers and stuff, I know it's a movie and so the toyline has to be immense and crappy, but this one went overboard.
When we first started getting images and all that of the movie toys, I was real opitmistic. But then as I started buying them, I just found them to be crap. I for one am glad that the run is coming to its end.

Sylus wrote:Automorph sucks, my favorite thing aobut TFs is Transforming them myself,

That's what I thought before I bought any but I love it - I think things like the way Voyager Ironhide and 08 BB's legs change are cool. And as it takes so long to transform them I'm grateful for the help! I love transforming toys myself but I think taking several minutes to transform is a little long.
Don't forget - G1 Hound had automorph - fold the front wheels back and the arms slide out. Well, kind of!

I've bought all the figures I liked

(
Delux: 08 Bumblebee, Jazz, Barricade, Landmine
Voyager: Ironhide
Leader: Prime, Megatron, Devastator
)

- and I LOVE them! Other than that I think the toys are pretty rubbish. But at their worst (ignoring repaints) I prefer them to the Animated line which seems to have taken a step or two back in terms of articulation and apart from Blackarachnia look damn stupid - how can anyone take SS seriously as a villain with a face like that?! Sorry, got off-topic there. It took me a while to get used to the way the characters look but I really like it now. I'm waiting with baited breath for the next film, I just hope they don't rush it and do a good job.

If no other Movie figures were to come out, I'd be able to give my final opinions regarding them. But we still must wait for Premiums and all that. Putting all that aside though, I must say I am relatively "over it".

My focus now returns to the original G1 TF's I once had as a happy child and also to the possibility of perhaps regaining all of my favorite robots back again, including the ones that arn't necessarily just Transformers.

Man...the movie line.

I really like owning a piece of the movie. I like having the option to purchase just the small cast of characters it contained.

The toys were a stark mix of good and terrible. Where Prime (Leader) was awesome, Megatron was miserable; where Ironhide rocked out, Bonecrusher was trash...

I hate the overall quality of the toys. They are all weak in their own ways. I do not expect to see quality vintage items of this line in 10 years. Automorph as applied to this line is terrible and added cost and frustration due to breakages.

I have not been able to display them all as a group, that may give me another perspective on the line. I like the 'Techno' look to the toys and how that plays out over time when compared to other lines is something I'll just have to wait and see.

Counterpunch wrote:Man...the movie line.

I really like owning a piece of the movie. I like having the option to purchase just the small cast of characters it contained.

The toys were a stark mix of good and terrible. Where Prime (Leader) was awesome, Megatron was miserable; where Ironhide rocked out, Bonecrusher was trash...

I hate the overall quality of the toys. They are all weak in their own ways. I do not expect to see quality vintage items of this line in 10 years. Automorph as applied to this line is terrible and added cost and frustration due to breakages.

I have not been able to display them all as a group, that may give me another perspective on the line. I like the 'Techno' look to the toys and how that plays out over time when compared to other lines is something I'll just have to wait and see.

I agree with your vintage arguement. I highly doubt that any of the movie toys will be as desirable ten years on in comparison to G1 or other lines. I think that the recent line which will really increase in value will be Energon, followed by Cybertron. The movie figures are in demand now for myriad stupid reasons like 'rarity' (concept Bumblebee) we know pretty damn well Hasbro didn't make purposely few Concept BBs. It's poor distribution, not rarity.

Overall I enjoy the movie line. It's what most of my newly revived collection consists of. My only gripes are that the figures aren't in scale with each other. Jazz is a good example. He's beefed up and way taller than he should be. I also hate how theres so much effort to make leader Prime and Megs so much taller and bigger than the other figures. The alt modes are in scale, with a semi being quite larger than a passenger car, but the robot modes are what are off. In the movie all the Autobots look to be the same height when they're all standing in the alley, except for Jazz and Bumblebee of course. Plus leader Prime is so damn bulky, he's got so much stuff hanging off of him that it limits his movement. I just wish his grill and everything in the front of the truck mode folded in like it did in the movie(or as close as they could get it in a toy) instead of becoming his feet.

Counterpunch wrote:I hate the overall quality of the toys. They are all weak in their own ways. I do not expect to see quality vintage items of this line in 10 years. Automorph as applied to this line is terrible and added cost and frustration due to breakages.

i agree with this. this has been my tone of opinion these past few months in this site. the Automorph gimmick and the plastic quality doesn't seem to combine for years of play value. it seemed to me that Has/TT sacrificed long term collectability for short-term profits due to the movie tie-in.

now these are wonderful toys in terms of engineering and alt mode realism, bar none. you have to admire how the engineers worked a compromise between the intricate and complex movie transformations and actual toy transformations.

but maybe because the companies wanted to make lotsa bucks off the TFTM gravy train, it seems that production was rushed, some things were compromised regarding toy design, (maybe) nonstandard-TF grade (?) plastic was used to lower costs and increase profits, and QC was not implemented strictly so that more toys can be pumped out for the mass market in a short amount of time.

all of these could have in one way or another contributed to the low quality of the TFTM toys.

now, some might say we should be thankful that it brought in new TF collectors. i agree with that. but with the influx, also came the scalpers and hoarders and people like that. looking back at around july-september last year, it was a very lively time in these forums due to the fact that most complaints came from guys who shorted out on the TFTM stocks on their area, while eBay became flooded with overpriced TFTMs.

sadly, most of those sellers were first-time collectors too - and some of them weren't collectors at all, just some people who wanted to cash in quickly to the hype and had the means and resources to buy lots of TFTMs and sell them for profit to poor collectors (most of whom are newbies too). like i always said here, never happened on such a scale in the earlier lines.

don't get me started on the battle-damage crap. repaints are fine with me, but adding a few scorch marks here and there to virtually the same figure and selling it as another toy in the line is just so plain FAIL. at least the earlier lines like AEC were creative enough to give us cool homages (Cyb Smokescreen, anyone?) as repaints.

so yes, despite the cool toys and all, the cons outweigh the pros here. i said it many months ago, and i'll say it again here: i don't think too much highly of the TFTM line. sure, Hasbro made HUGE profits over this line, but as a humble longtime collector i don't regard that fact as success when toy quality is compromised.