The Energon Pub

OK, first off, Cybertron Galaxy Force Optimus Prime (the red and black version). This guy is awesome. He's big and chunky, but he's still unmistakably Optimus Prime. I think his alt mode looks really cool, although moreso minus the crazy weapon trailer. However, he looks great with all the extra weaponry and flight gear in robot mode. Certainly much better, and somehow more poseable than DotM Ultimate OP, which is why GF Prime gets to wear his gear and UOP is relagated to his tractor/trailer alt mode.

RotF Ice Cream Truck Mudflap and Skids. Sure, the individual figures themselves aren't great, but how neat is the combined alt mode!? We're these guys the first movie combiners? I wish they'd done more figures like these.

Armada Jetfire. Ho-lee-crap. This guy is about as cool as Ultra sized figures get. Lot's of gimicks and stuff, plus he matches up great with Universe Countdown for a devastating space squad. Also? Rocket Booster Heels.

Agreed on all points. Reprolabels makes a nice set of decals to improve the ice cream twins.

At0mic Cav3man wrote:OK, first off, Cybertron Galaxy Force Optimus Prime (the red and black version). This guy is awesome. He's big and chunky, but he's still unmistakably Optimus Prime. I think his alt mode looks really cool, although moreso minus the crazy weapon trailer. However, he looks great with all the extra weaponry and flight gear in robot mode. Certainly much better, and somehow more poseable than DotM Ultimate OP, which is why GF Prime gets to wear his gear and UOP is relagated to his tractor/trailer alt mode.

Galaxy Force Prime (no matter the color scheme) is badass. Especially in vehicle mode.

RotF Ice Cream Truck Mudflap and Skids. Sure, the individual figures themselves aren't great, but how neat is the combined alt mode!? We're these guys the first movie combiners? I wish they'd done more figures like these.

I got this as a Christmas present in 2009, and I loved it. Transformed it once and back to Ice Cream Truck mode, and it sits on the shelf like that. But every time I look at it, it reminds me of their Shanghai scene. Yeah, they were technically the first movie combiners.

Armada Jetfire. Ho-lee-crap. This guy is about as cool as Ultra sized figures get. Lot's of gimicks and stuff, plus he matches up great with Universe Countdown for a devastating space squad. Also? Rocket Booster Heels.

Yes. One of my all-time favorite figures. Loved it so much, I got the BotCon exclusive Astrotrain repaint. You thought that figure looks cool like that? Look at it in purple, black, and yellow. And 4 Mini-Cons. WIN!

Galaxy Force Prime is without a doubt, one of the best Prime molds out there. He's one of my most favourite figures.

You should look into tracking down the Hybrid Style version just to have them next to each other.

Oh yeah, I saw the Astro Train repaint, which is completely rad (that's the only word I can think of that links my childhood with how awesome that repaint is). The Jetfire version does fill a hole I have in my collection though (my mission to get modern versions of all the G1 toys I still have from when I was a kid). I'm sure the Astro Train version probably goes for a kidney or two on the black market also.

The think that makes that GF OP so much better than the movie Prime toys of similar size is that I don't feel like I'm going to break him everytime I play with him or transform him. My only regreat is that he's not one of the red and blue versions, but that's just me spliting hairs.

At0mic Cav3man wrote:I'm sure the Astro Train version probably goes for a kidney or two on the black market also.

Got mine at BotCon for $50, but yeah, on eBay and other places it's probably at least double that...

Yeah, Armada Jetfire is top draw stuff.

At0mic Cav3man wrote:OK, first off, Cybertron Galaxy Force Optimus Prime (the red and black version). This guy is awesome. He's big and chunky, but he's still unmistakably Optimus Prime. I think his alt mode looks really cool, although moreso minus the crazy weapon trailer. However, he looks great with all the extra weaponry and flight gear in robot mode. Certainly much better, and somehow more poseable than DotM Ultimate OP, which is why GF Prime gets to wear his gear and UOP is relagated to his tractor/trailer alt mode.

I agree, one of the best Optimus Primes out there, period. I have the Japanese Galaxy Convoy, but still want the US repaint. What I am going to do though, is get a junker body as well and switch out the upper arms and legs, since the grey plastic seems to be unchanged between the two.

RotF Ice Cream Truck Mudflap and Skids. Sure, the individual figures themselves aren't great, but how neat is the combined alt mode!? We're these guys the first movie combiners? I wish they'd done more figures like these.

That's indeed such a quirky piece, so much I gave one to my father-in-law because worked at an ice cream plant once

Armada Jetfire. Ho-lee-crap. This guy is about as cool as Ultra sized figures get. Lot's of gimicks and stuff, plus he matches up great with Universe Countdown for a devastating space squad. Also? Rocket Booster Heels.

I love space shuttles, so naturally I love my Powerlinx Jetfire. Too bad he suffers in the leg articulation area.

Gush #4 here. Just got Universe Onslaught from seribertron.com user Razama. This guy is an example of what I'd call a "Perfect Transformer". Both modes look really cool. He's relatively simple to transform, yet doesn't just look like you just twisted and turned a couple of limbs to get him there. He feels substantial in your hands, not cheap and as though he may come apart at the seams. I've had him out of the box for less than an hour and already transformed him five or six times. If I had ANY complaint whatsoever it would be that his only offensive weapon in bot mode is his little flip out gun (which is still cool), but that's barely a complaint at all.

I love this toy.

At0mic Cav3man wrote:Gush #4 here. Just got Universe Onslaught from seribertron.com user Razama. This guy is an example of what I'd call a "Perfect Transformer". Both modes look really cool. He's relatively simple to transform, yet doesn't just look like you just twisted and turned a couple of limbs to get him there. He feels substantial in your hands, not cheap and as though he may come apart at the seams. I've had him out of the box for less than an hour and already transformed him five or six times. If I had ANY complaint whatsoever it would be that his only offensive weapon in bot mode is his little flip out gun (which is still cool), but that's barely a complaint at all.

I love this toy.

I'd been wondering how it was. I saw quite a few of them while I was looking for a g1/g2/rid Onslaught/Mega-Octane, lol.

RAcast wrote:

At0mic Cav3man wrote:Gush #4 here. Just got Universe Onslaught from seribertron.com user Razama. This guy is an example of what I'd call a "Perfect Transformer". Both modes look really cool. He's relatively simple to transform, yet doesn't just look like you just twisted and turned a couple of limbs to get him there. He feels substantial in your hands, not cheap and as though he may come apart at the seams. I've had him out of the box for less than an hour and already transformed him five or six times. If I had ANY complaint whatsoever it would be that his only offensive weapon in bot mode is his little flip out gun (which is still cool), but that's barely a complaint at all.

I love this toy.

I'd been wondering how it was. I saw quite a few of them while I was looking for a g1/g2/rid Onslaught/Mega-Octane, lol.

He certainly gets my highest recommendation. If you can get a decent deal on one id suggest picking him up immediately.

At0mic Cav3man wrote:

RAcast wrote:

At0mic Cav3man wrote:Gush #4 here. Just got Universe Onslaught from seribertron.com user Razama. This guy is an example of what I'd call a "Perfect Transformer". Both modes look really cool. He's relatively simple to transform, yet doesn't just look like you just twisted and turned a couple of limbs to get him there. He feels substantial in your hands, not cheap and as though he may come apart at the seams. I've had him out of the box for less than an hour and already transformed him five or six times. If I had ANY complaint whatsoever it would be that his only offensive weapon in bot mode is his little flip out gun (which is still cool), but that's barely a complaint at all.

I love this toy.

I'd been wondering how it was. I saw quite a few of them while I was looking for a g1/g2/rid Onslaught/Mega-Octane, lol.

He certainly gets my highest recommendation. If you can get a decent deal on one id suggest picking him up immediately.

Yeah, I got him and Universe Silverbolt on clearance at a TRU outlet store a few years ago, and he's really cool. Silverbolt is pretty lame though, very lazy transform scheme, basically a robot with a jet on his back that transforms into a jet with a box underneath... but he does have a cool G1 transform sound that triggers when you convert him. But yeah, Onslaught is much better than him, though some of them (mine included) have some bug with one of the sounds, so if that matters to you buyer beware (doesn't much matter to me).

I think you're probably refering to the siren noise it's supposed to make. Instead of getting a continuous siren when you push the button, you get a short "beep beep" siren (like the police use when they want to get your attention). The machine gun noise works fine, but that siren is a little goofed up. It doesn't bother me in the least, but yes, some of them do do that. I wanna say later releases corrected the problem, but I'm not entirely sure.

Dark Optimum Supreme wrote:Silverbolt is pretty lame though, very lazy transform scheme, basically a robot with a jet on his back that transforms into a jet with a box underneath... but he does have a cool G1 transform sound that triggers when you convert him.

Have you ever seen the Henkei version up close? Still the same issues but has such an awesome paint scheme that it's easy to forget them

At0mic Cav3man wrote:I think you're probably refering to the siren noise it's supposed to make. Instead of getting a continuous siren when you push the button, you get a short "beep beep" siren (like the police use when they want to get your attention). The machine gun noise works fine, but that siren is a little goofed up. It doesn't bother me in the least, but yes, some of them do do that. I wanna say later releases corrected the problem, but I'm not entirely sure.

Yeah, that's the issue, and mine has it. I guess mine was sitting on shelves a lonnnnnng time because when I got it on clearance it was well after that set of figures were still around at mass retail.



And no, I've never seen any other version Silverbolt except the one I have. I mean, it does look nice in robot mode even without fancy Japanese redecos, but it's just so lazy a transformation, I expect more in a toy intended for that pricepoint.

TRU Exclusive Darkwind has the same problem. He looks great in both modes...as long as you don't look behind him (in robot mode) or under him (in alt mode) . There's a whole jet on his back in robot mode and a whole robot under him in jet mode.

TRU Exclusive Darkwind has the same problem. He looks great in both modes...as long as you don't look behind him (in robot mode) or under him (in alt mode) . There's a whole jet on his back in robot mode and a whole robot under him in jet mode.

At0mic Cav3man wrote:TRU Exclusive Darkwind has the same problem. He looks great in both modes...as long as you don't look behind him (in robot mode) or under him (in alt mode) . There's a whole jet on his back in robot mode and a whole robot under him in jet mode.

The G1 toys had the same problem, but nobody seems to care about that...

I think its more overlooked on older toys because because the engineering wasn't anywhere near the level it is now.

At0mic Cav3man wrote:I think its more overlooked on older toys because because the engineering wasn't anywhere near the level it is now.

Still, I think the choice of keeping that in the Universe figure was intentional, as a throwback, which I can accept.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

At0mic Cav3man wrote:I think its more overlooked on older toys because because the engineering wasn't anywhere near the level it is now.

Still, I think the choice of keeping that in the Universe figure was intentional, as a throwback, which I can accept.

I totally agree. It gives the line a certain nostalgic flair, which I like. You get that mix of old school design, but with better articulation and other bells and whistles. That's why the Universe/Classics lines are my favorite (and I'm sure a lot of people's).

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:The G1 toys had the same problem, but nobody seems to care about that...

Even in G1 it was not the norm that there was such a clear divorce between robot mode parts and alt mode parts. Not saying it never happened, but it wasn't like every other figure was like that.

G1 Silverbolt could probably be considered such, but yeah, things were simpler back then, and plus he had to work in a third mode for combining to make Superion. Also, much lower price point, much smaller figure, makes it more acceptable.

He also had the chestplate to pop on in robot mode for partsforming that goes nowhere in alt mode, but no one would put up with that in a modern figure either. So I don't think it's too out of line to complain about the lazy design even if the original may have been similarly guilty.

And I'm kinda sorry I hijacked the thread by mentioning Silverbolt in the first place, I didn't think that comment would take on a life of its own that way.

I just picked up a Specialist Ratchet after contemplating it for 2 months. It was sitting on the shelf all by itself because the hook that lets it hang off the peg was ripped off. So I felt sorry for it and picked it up. For $7, this is a really nice figure. I'm glad I got it. Now if I can get a TFP Deluxe Ratchet for a reasonable price, TFA Ratchet will have 2 guys to hang out with.

Rodimus Prime wrote:I just picked up a Specialist Ratchet after contemplating it for 2 months. It was sitting on the shelf all by itself because the hook that lets it hang off the peg was ripped off. So I felt sorry for it and picked it up. For $7, this is a really nice figure. I'm glad I got it. Now if I can get a TFP Deluxe Ratchet for a reasonable price, TFA Ratchet will have 2 guys to hang out with.

Specialist Ratchet is the only movie Ratchet that I own. I wish they'd done one of the Voyagers in this color scheme, but he still looks great as a deluxe. I love the oh so nice alt mode, and the transformation is very simple and fun. I would love to get a classics Ratchet head and swap it out on this character, since that's the weakest part of this design, imo.

Today's gush for me is Solar Storm GrappEL (he's French now, apparently ). He's so awesome, even with his Crane Arm of Doom permanently attached to his arm.

At0mic Cav3man wrote:Specialist Ratchet is the only movie Ratchet that I own. I wish they'd done one of the Voyagers in this color scheme, but he still looks great as a deluxe. I love the oh so nice alt mode, and the transformation is very simple and fun. I would love to get a classics Ratchet head and swap it out on this character, since that's the weakest part of this design.

I was gonna leave him in vehicle mode because I really liked it, until I put him on my eye-leve high shelf facing me, and realized his upside-down head under the hood was staring at me. That was just creepy, so I transformed him.