The Energon Pub

And Drone doesn't have a preorder up yet, or does it?

*necro-bump from necr0blivion: it's what I do*

I was very disappointed that there wasn't any mention of Savant nor Darksol at TFCon last weekend. Not sure if it's because the reporters missed this or if there simply wasn't any news to be had, but those Darksol prototypes from a year ago are absolutely amazing!!!

Headrobots - I have a spare DOTM Mindwipe DYING to get upgraded. Make it so!

Fansproject Mindwipe prototype is out already. Id rather Headrobots work on the Highbrow kit since no 3rd party company has committed to doing Highbrow yet. Or do the Skullgrin set so my G1 Skullgrin can have his sword back. Honestly, with a lack of new Bayformers molds, Headrobots aren't needed as much as they used to be. Maybe they should focus on creating G1 styled heads for 3rd party figures so they can stay relevant. I would jump at the chance to buy more G1 looking heads for Defender, Thundershread, or cartoon accurate heads for the Stunticons. Or they can capitalize on the IT Tetra jets by making better heads. But they do need a new gimmick. The "convert your Bayformers into Classics" gimmick isn't such a huge priority these days.

I bought a RotF Mindwipe for their upgrade kit and still wouldn't mind them going through with it. FP's offering looks amazing, but I'm not that big of a Mindwipe fan. With so many things coming up and shelf space running out I think I need to really think about what I'm collecting and why. Their kits are cheap enough to buy and enjoy without too much deep thought.

Still down for their Skullgrin set as well. SG was one of my childhood TFs; I'd buy a pseudo Pretender shell if someone somehow made one.
'
I'm also still game for their Dark Scorpinok set. Apparently the rarity of the figure is the major thing holding it back. Although maybe this is a case of a figure I should rethink (not a huge fan of him either, really).

Rated X - Yeah, I really like FP's Mindwipe prototype, but Headrobots' version has had several prototypes well over a year ago. I'd get both, whenever they come out. The ROTF Mindwipe is an amazing figure, but the HR kit gives it such "oomph" and I love that bat-mode.

I know that HR only releases 1 - 2 new products every year, and if I have to be picky I'll always go for Mindwipe. Sucks that we know there are other projects laying in wait (Highbrow, Skullgrin) and the TFCon announcement was for a release that's been waiting even longer (Iguana) and a drawing/teaser of Apeface.

Gauntlet has a good point, the HR releases are usually pretty affordable (I think Cerebros upgrade was the most expensive to date, but now you can find it at a discount). It's a lot easier to budget for 3 - 4 HR releases a year compared to other companies releases (which are usually full figures and not upgrades). So, I'd love to see 3 - 4 releases by the end of 2014, but I guess it's more wait and see.

If anything, the 3P scene has changed with both FansProject and ToyWorld both releasing Headmasters now. But HR releases are still very much anticipated. I hope to hear more updates from them soon.

Rated X wrote:The "convert your Bayformers into Classics" gimmick isn't such a huge priority these days.

I guess that's so. I still want them, though.

There are so many styles that can be integrated into G1/Classics these days, that a converted Bayformer is a perfect way to keep some of your old toys without having to splurge for an entire 3rd Party figure. Besides, the ROTF/DOTM voyagers are on the whole larger than the 3rd Party figures, and I'd rather have them on my shelf.

Sigh.

I'm afraid poor sales of Blood DX did HeadRobots in.

I don't believe it was 'poor sales' from their previous ventures. I just know from the contacts that I once had at HR, the cape for Savant was going to not just be cloth but an actual good and flexible material. Probably still mastering it right now.

And I know that they are really exact on their molds, they want everything to be perfect. I'm sure HR will blow us away in the next few months with some new updates.

Blurrz wrote:I don't believe it was 'poor sales' from their previous ventures. I just know from the contacts that I once had at HR, the cape for Savant was going to not just be cloth but an actual good and flexible material. Probably still mastering it right now.

And I know that they are really exact on their molds, they want everything to be perfect. I'm sure HR will blow us away in the next few months with some new updates.

I do hope so. I rather have liked everything I've bought of theirs.

I also bought the ROTF Mindwipe for the upgrade with Headrobots. But HR needs to step up the game if they want to stay in the game. It's been a while since they announced Darksol and we're still waiting. At this rate - Fansproject will probably have their set out the door before HR.

Blurrz wrote:I don't believe it was 'poor sales' from their previous ventures. I just know from the contacts that I once had at HR, the cape for Savant was going to not just be cloth but an actual good and flexible material. Probably still mastering it right now.

And I know that they are really exact on their molds, they want everything to be perfect. I'm sure HR will blow us away in the next few months with some new updates.

I certainly hope that's true!

Headrobots isn't done in just yet. They just announced their Iguana head, remember?

They just .... really gotta step up their speed. I'm going to guess they're slow because they're smaller and the people on board have day jobs.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:They just .... really gotta step up their speed. I'm going to guess they're slow because they're smaller and the people on board have day jobs.

That's what I'm thinking as well. And I'm glad they are striving to get the best product produced. Just knowing they have these wonderful projects under their belt and no real updates about them in a year... well, it's frustrating. But I've yet to be disappointed with the quality of HR products, just wish the scheduled releases were a little more transparent.

Has anyone heard any news from HR? Looking at you, Blurrz.


I just brought up a ROTF Mindwipe and a HFTD Banzaitron I'd been storing at my folks house. Both are waiting for a Headrobots product to grace their meager existence. DOTM Skyhammer also lies in wait...

I had been wanting Darksol for a while but now my interest has waned with Fansproject Mindwipe in the pipeline.

Stormrider wrote:I had been wanting
Darksol for a while but now my interest has waned with Fansproject
Mindwipe in the pipeline.

Same here. back when there was no HM love HR had all the attention and should have ran with it . it's been what over a year now and not even the skullgrin kit! it's only an up grade not a full figure .

Stormrider wrote:I had been wanting Darksol for a while but now my interest has waned with Fansproject Mindwipe in the pipeline.

I'm not so into the FP Headmasters, which is probably why Darksol appeals to me. I just like the idea of converting movie figures into Classics voyagers - that size class just seems so underrepresented in my Classics collection.

I heard Headrobots was going out of business but I cannot confirm that. I wouldnt be surprised though. The market they were catering to seems to be getting dissolved because both Hasbro and 3rd parties are giving us stuff we actually want. Maybe another round of Bayformers will keep Headrobots going, but they really are going to have to dig into obscure characters as TFCC is having to do.

Where'd you hear it from?

I guess I wouldn't be surprised either, but it seems strange after teasing a new release and word that the guys who made the Dark Scorpinok kit are still pressing them for a release. Why would either of these things happen if they were going out of business?

I agree with the sentiment, though. They had some great ideas, but after so long interest tends to cool.

They design things for out dated figures and then take forever to release them. Plus, their individual stand alones are really lackluster, regardless of how unique they are.

Thinking out of the box is a double-edged sword and this is just an example of it working against a person. Sort of a shame... I have and like some of their things, but they don't have what it takes to compete with the big dogs.

NOS wrote:They design things for out dated figures and then take forever to release them. Plus, their individual stand alones are really lackluster, regardless of how unique they are.

Thinking out of the box is a double-edged sword and this is just an example of it working against a person. Sort of a shame... I have and like some of their things, but they don't have what it takes to compete with the big dogs.

I don't need them to compete with the big dogs... I just need them to maximize an existing figure's potential by way of incremental improvements.

The one kit i still really want is the Ronin upgrade kit for Bonzaitron .

megatronus wrote:I don't need them to compete with the big dogs... I just need them to maximize an existing figure's potential by way of incremental improvements.

They kind of go hand in hand, don't they?

NOS wrote:

megatronus wrote:I don't need them to compete with the big dogs... I just need them to maximize an existing figure's potential by way of incremental improvements.

They kind of go hand in hand, don't they?

Not really.

Is the "Blood, the Dark Warrior" Kit competing with MMC's Feral Cons or Hexatron?

Is the "Savant" kit competing with Maketoys' Nova Prime, or G1 Highbrow?

The only product of theirs you can say is directly competing is "Darksol" with FP's Mindwipe, and that's more a coincidence than anything else. It's an exception, not a rule.

megatronus wrote:

NOS wrote:

megatronus wrote:I don't need them to compete with the big dogs... I just need them to maximize an existing figure's potential by way of incremental improvements.

They kind of go hand in hand, don't they?

Not really.

Is the "Blood, the Dark Warrior" Kit competing with MMC's Feral Cons or Hexatron?

Is the "Savant" kit competing with Maketoys' Nova Prime, or G1 Highbrow?

The only product of theirs you can say is directly competing is "Darksol" with FP's Mindwipe, and that's more a coincidence than anything else. It's an exception, not a rule.

I wouldn't say upgrades are competing there merely making things as good as they can be .

Autobot Genocide wrote:I wouldn't say upgrades are competing there merely making things as good as they can be .

Exactly!