The Energon Pub

Va'al wrote:How did you manage to put aside enough money to get ALL of those?

I'm not rich by any means. I sold my massive movie figure collection and got a good return. I had a lot of hard-to-find figures (Jetwing OP, 2 RotF leader Primes, RotF leader Megatron, leader Brawl, DotM Soundwave, Que, and Leadfoot, and many were decoed with Reprolabels). This allowed me to afford Sideswipe, Red Alert, Soundwave, his cassettes, Prowl, Bluestreak, and Smokescreen. OP, Thundercracker, Starscream, Rodimus Prime, and Grimlock were acquired through trades for my art (I'm a comic book artist).

I'm a very lucky guy, mostly because of my amazing wife who loves and supports me.

Grats on getting all of those!

Dean ML wrote:Btw, is the Seeker mold really loose in the torso? Like, it doesn't really lock together? When I raise Thundercracker's arms, his chest pops up and his torso doesn't really connect to his waist? I wasn't really that excited about him, but he looks amazing when posed right!

I've got MP-11 and the Thundercracker repaint and they are both just like you describe unfortunately. They look fantastic, but care is needed every time I pick one of them up to avoid the torso sliding out of place.

Dean ML wrote:

Va'al wrote:How did you manage to put aside enough money to get ALL of those?

I'm not rich by any means. I sold my massive movie figure collection and got a good return. I had a lot of hard-to-find figures (Jetwing OP, 2 RotF leader Primes, RotF leader Megatron, leader Brawl, DotM Soundwave, Que, and Leadfoot, and many were decoed with Reprolabels). This allowed me to afford Sideswipe, Red Alert, Soundwave, his cassettes, Prowl, Bluestreak, and Smokescreen. OP, Thundercracker, Starscream, Rodimus Prime, and Grimlock were acquired through trades for my art (I'm a comic book artist).

I'm a very lucky guy, mostly because of my amazing wife who loves and supports me.

Well, well done to you, sir. Very very nice haul.

Once you've settled with them, could you leave a comment or two here? Trying to decide which one to get.

Arctorro wrote:Grats on getting all of those!

Dean ML wrote:Btw, is the Seeker mold really loose in the torso? Like, it doesn't really lock together? When I raise Thundercracker's arms, his chest pops up and his torso doesn't really connect to his waist? I wasn't really that excited about him, but he looks amazing when posed right!

I've got MP-11 and the Thundercracker repaint and they are both just like you describe unfortunately. They look fantastic, but care is needed every time I pick one of them up to avoid the torso sliding out of place.

Good to know it's not juste me. Prime's ankles are a little loose, like he might fall forward, and Red Alert's shoulder is loose, too. Both came out of the box that way. Haven't transformed any of them yet except the cassettes (was worried I was going to break those, but they're ok).

Va'al wrote:

Dean ML wrote:

Va'al wrote:How did you manage to put aside enough money to get ALL of those?

I'm not rich by any means. I sold my massive movie figure collection and got a good return. I had a lot of hard-to-find figures (Jetwing OP, 2 RotF leader Primes, RotF leader Megatron, leader Brawl, DotM Soundwave, Que, and Leadfoot, and many were decoed with Reprolabels). This allowed me to afford Sideswipe, Red Alert, Soundwave, his cassettes, Prowl, Bluestreak, and Smokescreen. OP, Thundercracker, Starscream, Rodimus Prime, and Grimlock were acquired through trades for my art (I'm a comic book artist).

I'm a very lucky guy, mostly because of my amazing wife who loves and supports me.

Well, well done to you, sir. Very very nice haul.

Once you've settled with them, could you leave a comment or two here? Trying to decide which one to get.

Both, man! Really, though, if you can snag a Soundwave from TRU for $110 with all the cassettes and you can live with the yellow eyes, go for it. Haven't gotten him yet, though, but I have no doubt I'll be fully satisfied. I need the red eyes, though. That's Soundwave to me. Small thing that makes a big difference in my geeky eyes.

Can't go wrong with MP OP. I can't imagine there will ever be a better toy representation of the version. Packed with features and feels really sturdy. My favorite TF character, though SW is close.

I'd weigh price along with which character you prefer.

Just got MP Sideswipe last night. Even better than Red Alert. Thankfully, no QC issues here.

Buzzsaw and Frenzy (Rumble to me) arrived. Amazing engineering, but I was worried I was going to break off one of the fins on Buzzsaw's jetpack while trying to flip it up. Very stiff. Kind of massaged it into place but had to take a deep breath after. Can't wait for Soundwave next month.

One of the little things I love about the Masterpieces are the giant honkin' faction symbols these guys are sporting.

Any chance we can get some photos of the line-up so far?

Va'al wrote:Any chance we can get some photos of the line-up so far?

I'll definitely try to take some shots this weekend. By then I'll have Rodimus Prime and Coronation Starscream, too. The cassettes won't look right without Soundwave, but that'll change soon!

Dean ML wrote:

Va'al wrote:Any chance we can get some photos of the line-up so far?

I'll definitely try to take some shots this weekend. By then I'll have Rodimus Prime and Coronation Starscream, too. The cassettes won't look right without Soundwave, but that'll change soon!

Awesome, thanks!

Definitely don't regret getting into the line. Currently own MP-09, MP-10, MP-12, MP-13, MP-14, MP-15 & MP-16. Got MP-17 and MP-18 on preorder due out at the month as well as MP-19 on preorder when it hits. At some point, I really should track down MP-08 and MP-11 - hopefully without them requiring me to sell one or both kidneys

Bowspearer wrote:Definitely don't regret getting into the line. Currently own MP-09, MP-10, MP-12, MP-13, MP-14, MP-15 & MP-16. Got MP-17 and MP-18 on preorder due out at the month as well as MP-19 on preorder when it hits. At some point, I really should track down MP-08 and MP-11 - hopefully without them requiring me to sell one or both kidneys

You have pics of your MPs?

Not as yet - I'll sort them out soon as my collection room is currently in a state of flux.

Got Rodimus Prime and Starscream in yesterday. RP looks absolutely amazing but, sadly, I didn't realize I had the first edition till I took him out of the box. So I won't be transforming him. I was sweating just changing his face from Hot Rod to Rodimus. Thought I was going to rip his head off. Are everyone else's ankles on this guy funny? Like they'll only stay in a couple positions? His backpack and chest pop out of place if you look at them funny. Damn. But, man, he looks good. His extra features are fun and his trailer is huge and impressive. Perfect visual representation of his G1 self. Amazing engineering. Piss poor build quality.

My coronation Starscream looks pretty good, but is really loose compared to my TRU Thundercracker. Can't believe Hasbro's TC feels higher quality compared to Takara's Starscream. I do love the charcoal paint job on his face, upside down insignia's on his wings, and thighs that are colored correctly all the up his leg (Hasbro wants to color their MP's top thigh piece as part of the hip girdle). Really hope we get a Skywarp using the new mold from either Hasbro or Takara. Sunstorm and Acidstorm feel like a waste.

So far, Sideswipe and OP are at the top of the list in build quality. They're completely solid. No floppiness. Nothing pops out of place when I pick them up. I'm hoping for the same when Soundwave and Prowl show up next month. Hopefully I'll have Grimlock by then, too.

Photos.. photos.. photos..

Dean ML wrote:Got Rodimus Prime and Starscream in yesterday. RP looks absolutely amazing but, sadly, I didn't realize I had the first edition till I took him out of the box. So I won't be transforming him. I was sweating just changing his face from Hot Rod to Rodimus. Thought I was going to rip his head off. Are everyone else's ankles on this guy funny? Like they'll only stay in a couple positions? His backpack and chest pop out of place if you look at them funny. Damn. But, man, he looks good. His extra features are fun and his trailer is huge and impressive. Perfect visual representation of his G1 self. Amazing engineering. Piss poor build quality.

You described many of the issues with my RP. The ankles are a pain in the butt when trying to pose him.

Dean ML wrote:My coronation Starscream looks pretty good, but is really loose compared to my TRU Thundercracker. Can't believe Hasbro's TC feels higher quality compared to Takara's Starscream. I do love the charcoal paint job on his face, upside down insignia's on his wings, and thighs that are colored correctly all the up his leg (Hasbro wants to color their MP's top thigh piece as part of the hip girdle). Really hope we get a Skywarp using the new mold from either Hasbro or Takara. Sunstorm and Acidstorm feel like a waste.

The quality for SS and TC is reversed for me, TC is the looser of the two, though SS isn't that much better.

Dean ML wrote:So far, Sideswipe and OP are at the top of the list in build quality. They're completely solid. No floppiness. Nothing pops out of place when I pick them up. I'm hoping for the same when Soundwave and Prowl show up next month. Hopefully I'll have Grimlock by then, too.

Same for me. Many complained about issues with Sideswipe, but mine is fine.

I wasn't going to buy MP Sideswipe, until I saw this last night: http://www.ebay.com/itm/290958833160?ss ... 1497.l2649

The seller is in China, has 98% positive feedback w/15K reviews, S/H was only $3.50 - how could I possibly say no to this? I looked over the description carefully, says it's NIB so I took the plunge. Gonna take 1-3 weeks to arrive so we'll see what happens when he arrives.

Hate to break it too you, but that's the KO.

Bowspearer wrote:Hate to break it too you, but that's the KO.

Besides the too-good-to-be-true price, how can you tell?

The location is also a pretty big giveaway. Bear in mind that with the MP-12 KO, even the box has been KOed.