The Energon Pub

Legend: I'm going to give a 5 star rateing except insted of stars I'll use Autobot and Decepticon Symbols. The more Autobot symbols the better.

OK first off Optimus Prime

As some of you might allready know I hate the color sceme but I'm saying it again in case anyone missed it. I bought this guy just so I could repaint him in G1 colors. I'm thinking he'll look best if I paint the robot mode to look like the G1 robot mode.

Now on to the toy. In robot mode so far I've found 5 points of articulation in each arm, 1 in the head, 2 in the waist, 2 in each hip, 1 in each knee, 2 in the foot. (I'm counting how many directions a joint can move as different points BTW)

Allso like to point out all the joints on both figures are verry tight on mine.

The part that seems the most interesting right now and this is simply because I've never seen this in a delux sized toy before the waist can actully move side to side and up and down.

The hands are posed rather than being a closed fist but you still can't move the fingers and the palm is shaped to hold the circular peg of the gun.

The gun itself actully transforms to hide in the vehicle mode. There are 2 folding points however the part that folds out the back of the gun seems to have no real use what so ever and actully looks better if you leave it folded in all the time. It allso makes the gun too long so it won't even fit in his arm folded out anyway.

There are some fake flames that go in the gun but DO NOT launch. I'm actully happy about that fact, I never liked things that lauched mainly because they allways shoot off when I don't want them to and get lost. The flames allso fit onto the back of the vehicle mode but I think rather than actully looking like it's comming off the "asteroid" it just seems to hang there not really looking like it's attacked to anything. It looks OK in the gun but otherwise looks verry fake.

Onto the vehicle mode. I know it's supose to be an "asteroid" but that damn windshield just makes it look like some Cybertronian truck to me and that's what I'm going to call it.

It allso has what looks to be some kind of a front grill and head lights.

The whole thing holds togeather quite nicely now that I've actully figured out how everything fits togeather. The fake flames that I don't like anyway don't hold on verry well though.

And while we're on the subject I forgot to mention the "back kibble" in robot mode looks horrible and just flops around. It doesn't look good at all. It makes the back kibble on Star Wars Transformers look good.

Overall I'll give this guy

Now onto Wreckage. Now as everyone knows Wreckage actully looks alot like G1 Megatron so I'm actully going to rename him and repaint him a little bit. At any rate for the rest of the review I'll be refering to him as Megatron just thought you should know so you don't get confused.

Now like Optimus, Megatron allso has the same posed hands except he doesn't actully hold his weapons, they're mounted on his arms. He allso has highly ugly "back kibble".

Optimus Prime doesn't appear to have any "Automorph" parts but Megatron sure does. As I mentioned before all the joints are really tight so tight in fact that any time I try to move his arm he actully wants to transform and over half his body ends up moving along with his arm.

The head actully moves up and down as well as side to side but his head actully can't face forward. He's stuck facing down looking somewhat like Marvin the depressed android.

Total he has 2 points in the head, 5 in each arm (2 elbows), 1 waist, and 5 in each leg.

This figure allso has no projectiles.

Now onto the vehicle mode. The transformation for this, going from vehicle to robot was alot easier. I had a horible time trying to line everything up so it fit properly and this one uses alot of pegs to hold togeather.

Once you got everything figured out it works just fine. One thig I've noticed that I like is rather than useing the traditional color for the Decepticon symbol the vehicle is white/grey camo and the Decepticon symbol is grey on a white backround so from a distance it looks just like a part of the camo color sceme.

I am planing to recolor this to look more like G1 Megatron but I'm not going to change much. I do want to keep the camo parts in tact.

One thing I don't like about the vehicle mode is if you look underneath you can see his head and hands. This is of course just while it's sitting on my desk.

I'm giving this guy

http://nickkelsch.com/transformers/ Finnally added Protoform Optimus Prime to their Gallery and their version actully looks alot more colorfull than the real thing. [img]http://nickkelsch.com/transformers/SDicons\MOVIE-optimusprimePROTOFORM.gif[/img]

At any rate this is what I want him to look like. [img]http://nickkelsch.com/transformers/SDicons\g1-optimusprime.gif[/img] And here's G1 Prime just for the color comparison.

Wow, the Protoform Avatar looks amazing.

Thanks for the reviews.
I have proto-prime too and I'm quite pleased with him. I love how articulated he is. I prefer not to have the flames attached to the gun because they look a bit silly, but I don't mind the look of them attached to the back of the asteroid.

I've been thinking of getting Wreckage and I've heard a fair bit about him from other people so one more opinion is always good.
I wonder if there is some locking mechanism you've missed that stops him from trying to transform when you move his arm.

spiritofcat wrote:Thanks for the reviews.
I have proto-prime too and I'm quite pleased with him. I love how articulated he is. I prefer not to have the flames attached to the gun because they look a bit silly, but I don't mind the look of them attached to the back of the asteroid.

Wow that's the exact oppiste of what I thought. I think it looks silly on the Vehicle form but don't mind putting it in his gun.

spiritofcat wrote:I've been thinking of getting Wreckage and I've heard a fair bit about him from other people so one more opinion is always good.
I wonder if there is some locking mechanism you've missed that stops him from trying to transform when you move his arm.

It's possible I just posted this the same day I got them so I'm still figuring things out.

With Megatron I'm still haveing trouble getting all his parts to hook back togeather in vehicle form. It holds togeather just fine in vehicle form when done right, I just have a hard time remembering what the right way is.

If I find a way to lock his parts in place in robot mode so he doesn't transform at the slight move of an arm I'll let you know.

I assume than that Protoform Starscream is pretty much the same as the Protoform Optimus?

I must absolutely disagree with your estimation of Wreckage. I don't know what happened with not being able to get it back into vehicle mode properly, but mine pops right in. He's also incredibly articulated, and is one of the very few TF's that can actually grasp hands across his chest, and even (barely) touch his own head.

I may only have Brawl, Jazz, and Wreckage of the current Movie Deluxes, but Wreckage is the best of the three. He's also better than a majority of recent Deluxes I own.

Blurrz wrote:I assume than that Protoform Starscream is pretty much the same as the Protoform Optimus?

Don't know I didn't get Starscream. I will eventually but I wany his Earth mode as suposidly Starscream's protoform never even appears in the movie where as Optimus' does.

Valandar wrote:I must absolutely disagree with your estimation of Wreckage. I don't know what happened with not being able to get it back into vehicle mode properly, but mine pops right in. He's also incredibly articulated, and is one of the very few TF's that can actually grasp hands across his chest, and even (barely) touch his own head.

I may only have Brawl, Jazz, and Wreckage of the current Movie Deluxes, but Wreckage is the best of the three. He's also better than a majority of recent Deluxes I own.

Did I miss something? Where does the disagreeing with me part come in?

The thing is there's little tabs on the thing that hold some parts in place. The tabs just go on top of eachother though and I never remember what part goes under the other part so if I get them backwards I can't get the back shell to go down all the way and then the back tires on the legs don't go flush with the arm tires.

I have no idea if anything I just said made any sence to anyone but I tried.

Allso I never said he wasn't articlate. Optimus and Megatron both are the most articulated toys I've ever seen for their size catigory. (Meaning I'm only compairing them with other delux figures.)

At any rate sence you have him, do you how, if even possible, to lock his parts in place while in robot mode? My problem with this is simply that the shoulder joints are a little tight on mine so whenever I try just to move his arm the chest piece and everything elce wants to move with it. (Kinda reminds me of TM Cheetor. The chest plate on him wants to move with his arm too.)

Saber Prime wrote:

Valandar wrote:I must absolutely disagree with your estimation of Wreckage. I don't know what happened with not being able to get it back into vehicle mode properly, but mine pops right in. He's also incredibly articulated, and is one of the very few TF's that can actually grasp hands across his chest, and even (barely) touch his own head.

I may only have Brawl, Jazz, and Wreckage of the current Movie Deluxes, but Wreckage is the best of the three. He's also better than a majority of recent Deluxes I own.

Did I miss something? Where does the disagreeing with me part come in?

The thing is there's little tabs on the thing that hold some parts in place. The tabs just go on top of eachother though and I never remember what part goes under the other part so if I get them backwards I can't get the back shell to go down all the way and then the back tires on the legs don't go flush with the arm tires.

I have no idea if anything I just said made any sence to anyone but I tried.

Allso I never said he wasn't articlate. Optimus and Megatron both are the most articulated toys I've ever seen for their size catigory. (Meaning I'm only compairing them with other delux figures.)

At any rate sence you have him, do you how, if even possible, to lock his parts in place while in robot mode? My problem with this is simply that the shoulder joints are a little tight on mine so whenever I try just to move his arm the chest piece and everything elce wants to move with it. (Kinda reminds me of TM Cheetor. The chest plate on him wants to move with his arm too.)

I was disagreeing with your 2 out of 5 rating. He's a FAR better figure than that.

As for mine, the shoulder balljoints are loose enough that moving the arms doesn't really move the chest at all. As for the tabs, I always use the instructions the first few times I transform something - mostly to make sure I don't break something. So after a few times I get the hang of it and don't really "have" to remember.

BTW, I don't call him "Megatron", causes too much confusion. Besides, to me his face has just as much of a Dinobot feel as it does a Megatron feel, so why not call him "Dynobot"?

I saw Wreckage in the shops again today and along with the discussion going on here I'm pretty comvinced that he'll be my next purchase.

Valandar wrote:

Saber Prime wrote:

Valandar wrote:I must absolutely disagree with your estimation of Wreckage. I don't know what happened with not being able to get it back into vehicle mode properly, but mine pops right in. He's also incredibly articulated, and is one of the very few TF's that can actually grasp hands across his chest, and even (barely) touch his own head.

I may only have Brawl, Jazz, and Wreckage of the current Movie Deluxes, but Wreckage is the best of the three. He's also better than a majority of recent Deluxes I own.

Did I miss something? Where does the disagreeing with me part come in?

The thing is there's little tabs on the thing that hold some parts in place. The tabs just go on top of eachother though and I never remember what part goes under the other part so if I get them backwards I can't get the back shell to go down all the way and then the back tires on the legs don't go flush with the arm tires.

I have no idea if anything I just said made any sence to anyone but I tried.

Allso I never said he wasn't articlate. Optimus and Megatron both are the most articulated toys I've ever seen for their size catigory. (Meaning I'm only compairing them with other delux figures.)

At any rate sence you have him, do you how, if even possible, to lock his parts in place while in robot mode? My problem with this is simply that the shoulder joints are a little tight on mine so whenever I try just to move his arm the chest piece and everything elce wants to move with it. (Kinda reminds me of TM Cheetor. The chest plate on him wants to move with his arm too.)

I was disagreeing with your 2 out of 5 rating. He's a FAR better figure than that.

As for mine, the shoulder balljoints are loose enough that moving the arms doesn't really move the chest at all. As for the tabs, I always use the instructions the first few times I transform something - mostly to make sure I don't break something. So after a few times I get the hang of it and don't really "have" to remember.

BTW, I don't call him "Megatron", causes too much confusion. Besides, to me his face has just as much of a Dinobot feel as it does a Megatron feel, so why not call him "Dynobot"?

Well I went ahead and said I'd refer to him as Megatron in my first post to avoid that confusion.

Anyway I gave him credit for the articulation and the color sceem but marked him down on being difficult to transform (without looking at instructions because that's what I like to do.), his ugly back kibble, and the anoiance with the robot mode not holding togeather.

Overall I do like both figures. I just like Optimus a little better because he holds togeater better in both modes and is easy to transform. I only marked him down for the back kibble and ugly color sceme.

Ah.

Normally when someone uses a "star" rating, they usually go like this:

No Stars: Horrid beyond belief. Ugly sculpt, narsty transform, no articulation, and horrid alt mode. Don't get this figure even if you're a completist (i.e., G1 Staxx)

One Star: Just a bad figure, plain and simple. Not as vomit inducing as 'no stars', but only get this monstrosity if you're a completist (i.e., Cyb Backstop)

Two Stars: A sub-par figure. Not as good as the average, and usually has a bad robot or bad vehicle mode, poor articulation, and only a mild aesthetic (i.e., Energon Insecticon or Energon Doomlock for his cheapo "transform")

Three Stars: Dead average. A typical example of the clas or line of figures. Nothing special, but nothing horrid, either.

Four Stars: A good figure. Good articulation, Good alt modes, but not spectacular (or one mode is spectacular while the other is average). Get it if you have the dosh (i.e., IMHO, Cyb Armorhide, Classics Jetfire)

Five Stars: GET THIS NOW. It's among the best of the bunch, with an amazing alt mode, cool looking robot mode, nice transform, and exceptional articulation. If you don't have this, your collection is incomplete (i.e., MP Convoy / 20th or DVD Prime)


So when I saw only 2 stars, I thought, "Wreckage ('Megatron') - a sub-par figure? BWUH?"

I don't know, I rather like Wreckage. At least (unlike Megatron), he has an alternate form that makes some sense. And you're right, his head does have a Megatron look to him which is why I bought him. What they should have done was make Megs a desert camo tank, with the cannon on his arm, and use that scupt. And, make Brawl what Wreckage is, but in green camo. But, it's a little too late for that.

I like the way the blades come out. The vehicle kibble seems to hang out in the back, but ah well. He's a litle figure. I'd have given him 4 out of 5 stars, personally. Nice review though. Glad I'm not the only one who noticed his head design.

Valandar wrote:Ah.

Normally when someone uses a "star" rating, they usually go like this:

No Stars: Horrid beyond belief. Ugly sculpt, narsty transform, no articulation, and horrid alt mode. Don't get this figure even if you're a completist (i.e., G1 Staxx)

One Star: Just a bad figure, plain and simple. Not as vomit inducing as 'no stars', but only get this monstrosity if you're a completist (i.e., Cyb Backstop)

Two Stars: A sub-par figure. Not as good as the average, and usually has a bad robot or bad vehicle mode, poor articulation, and only a mild aesthetic (i.e., Energon Insecticon or Energon Doomlock for his cheapo "transform")

Three Stars: Dead average. A typical example of the clas or line of figures. Nothing special, but nothing horrid, either.

Four Stars: A good figure. Good articulation, Good alt modes, but not spectacular (or one mode is spectacular while the other is average). Get it if you have the dosh (i.e., IMHO, Cyb Armorhide, Classics Jetfire)

Five Stars: GET THIS NOW. It's among the best of the bunch, with an amazing alt mode, cool looking robot mode, nice transform, and exceptional articulation. If you don't have this, your collection is incomplete (i.e., MP Convoy / 20th or DVD Prime)


So when I saw only 2 stars, I thought, "Wreckage ('Megatron') - a sub-par figure? BWUH?"

Yeah I just judge on 5 points

1. Articulation/posibility that's a pluse on both figures

2. Transformation (This includes how difficult it is to transform without instructions and how well each mode actully holds togeather) This was a Pluse for Optimus but marked Megatron down on this.

3. Back Kibble (robot mode) and visable robot parts (vehicle mode). This was a negative on both figures.

4. Color Sceme. This was a pluse for Megatron and a big negative for Prime.

5. Other, anything I forgot to mention in 1-4 And at this point both are tied hence the 1 point difference.

I gave Optimus the extra point there because he does look like a Cybertronian vehicle which I don't see alot of and I like the fact he has articulation in the hip I don't normally see on delux sized figures and has no Projectiles. There wasn't really anything I hadn't covered that I really didn't like about the figure.

In the case of Megatron however there were alot of little points that didn't get covered that I really didn't like. The fact that he can't even lift his head up all the way being one of them. I like Marvin but a depressed Decepticon doesn't work for me. His weapons offten fall out while I'm trying to tranform to vehicle mode too. The whole transformation process I really don't like at all, and this has more to do with the Automorph than the actual transformation itself. The automoph is supose to be one of the more impressive features of these toys but I really hate it because if you mess something up it's a chain reaction. You don't just make a slight screw up, the whole transformation get's thrown out of whack. Same thing with the arm, because of the automorph he's about 1/4 the way back in vehicle mode when I mess with his arms.

So anyway, yeah if you read a review and everything I have to say is bad THEN you have something to worry about. These guysThe worst thing I have to say about Optimus is the crappy color sceme and the worst I can say about Megatron is I really hate the Automorph. But there's more than enough stuff I actully DO like about both figures to make up for the bad.

Sportimus Prime wrote:you're right, his head does have a Megatron look to him which is why I bought him.

Glad I'm not the only one who bought him for that reason.

Well actully it was less that he looked like Megatron and more that I hated the actuall Megatron. However I will eventually get the real Movie Megatron, Earth mode Movie Prime, and another Protoform Prime. (I want one to keep in tact and the other to repaint.)