The Energon Pub

Rodimus Prime wrote:

Emerje wrote:

Fortress_Maximus wrote:Dang the Studio 86 series is great! Makes me get back into collecting after quitting!

Need to get a Grimlock, Sludge, and Slag. PM if you got a MISB for sale. Thanks.

Sludge is still shipping to stores (seen him at both Walmart and Target in the past week) and he's on Amazon through several sellers for $53.

Emerje

Yep, I went to both my Target and Wal-Mart in search of Snarl and Target had Sludge while Wal-Mart still had Slag and a Grindor. They must have stumbled on a lost case in the back.

I'd wait till there was a US sighting for Snarl.

Just saw Emgo’s Snarl review, and damn, if he is not amazing.

The transformation is fairly involved but manages to hide the dino mode almost entirely in robot mode, except for the accurate tail kibble, and the transformation for the dino head, is very well done.

I wasn’t planning on picking up Snarl, but I’m so tempted now.



Can’t wait for Swoop now.

I watched that review a day or so ago.
I knew I was going to like this figure, but minus Menasor being completed, I’m betting this is the figure of the year for me.
I wish the lower legs were completely filled out, and tail articulation would’ve been nice.
But other than those minor items (which probably couldn’t have been helped/modified),
He looks to be tied with Grimlock for the best of these 4.
There’s been a lot of talk/speculation/predictions for Swoop already, but I will say with how straight forward his transformation should be, Hastak should be able to get him really spot-on.
I’ve probably hyped it up too much to myself, but when I think of Swoop’s bot mode, specifically his face/head, I instantly picture him in the scene from the movie when he gets back from scouting, transforms, and ends up walking in bot mode while the others stay in dino mode.
If his face sculpt ends up close to that appearance, I’ll be very, very happy.

I know he looked pretty consistent in the cartoon episodes…
But this is what I envision when I think of Swoop’s bot mode.

Sowndwave76 wrote:There’s been a lot of talk/speculation/predictions for Swoop already, but I will say with how straight forward his transformation should be, Hastak should be able to get him really spot-on.

I wouldn't be so sure. I mean, we know where the parts ends up, but as I'm looking at screen shots of the cartoon, I wonder how those parts changing shape and size will affect everything. Also, in Dino mode he actually has a neck:

The neck shouldn't be an issue, just a matter of having the bot and dino heads pull up from the shoulders revealing the neck hidden inside the torso. I doubt the proportions will be much of an issue, all of the figures have been good at subverting expectations by adjusting transformations from the original toys to make for a more cartoon accurate look. Wouldn't surprise me if, for example, there are panels that fold in on the back so the legs can tuck half way in to make them look smaller.

Emerje

Don’t get me wrong, it will do what it needs to and will have plenty of engineering to pull it off.
If I’m remembering what I mentioned back in another conversation, I’m guessing the chest/torso for bot mode will have to split apart at least some.
While the robot arms don’t seem to shrink or tuck into the torso much for dino mode, for the figure I’d think they’ll have to at least slightly.
Then the thickness/depth of the torso…. With the legs folding up on over the back, if you look at the animation model, the torso gets really pretty thin; this way it doesn’t look overly stout/cube-ish when the legs are on the back.
I’m fact imo, this is the biggest dilemma—
Swoop’s lower legs shouldn’t be little sticks, but they shouldn’t stick up off the back of the dino too much either.
So how do you get the bot torso and the lower legs included onto the back without making what should be a relatively sleek bird-dino looking like a thick, chunky, block with wings?

Sowndwave76 wrote:I’m fact imo, this is the biggest dilemma—
Swoop’s lower legs shouldn’t be little sticks, but they shouldn’t stick up off the back of the dino too much either.
So how do you get the bot torso and the lower legs included onto the back without making what should be a relatively sleek bird-dino looking like a thick, chunky, block with wings?

Emerje wrote:Wouldn't surprise me if, for example, there are panels that fold in on the back so the legs can tuck half way in to make them look smaller.

That's how. By "back" I mean his back.

Emerje

Sowndwave76 wrote:I watched that review a day or so ago.
I knew I was going to like this figure, but minus Menasor being completed, I’m betting this is the figure of the year for me.
I wish the lower legs were completely filled out, and tail articulation would’ve been nice.
But other than those minor items (which probably couldn’t have been helped/modified),
He looks to be tied with Grimlock for the best of these 4.
There’s been a lot of talk/speculation/predictions for Swoop already, but I will say with how straight forward his transformation should be, Hastak should be able to get him really spot-on.
I’ve probably hyped it up too much to myself, but when I think of Swoop’s bot mode, specifically his face/head, I instantly picture him in the scene from the movie when he gets back from scouting, transforms, and ends up walking in bot mode while the others stay in dino mode.
If his face sculpt ends up close to that appearance, I’ll be very, very happy.

Yeah, this looks really good. Much better than Sludge, as much I like him, he has several flaws, and better than Grimlock which is still top notch in my book.

Swoop is going to be fairly interesting to pull off. I doubt they’ll let his arms just hang on the sides, but i don’t see where they can realistically put them otherwise, if they use the back to hide half of the legs as suggested by Emerje.

Obvsly there’s no way to know, but I had a thought that the arms could basically be posed to match and be flush against the sides of the torso.
Since his torso tapers towards his waist, it could be as simple as the arms collapsing towards the torso at the shoulder; turning a high bicep joint so that the elbow joint allows the forearms to bend inward towards the tapered/thinner part of the torso.

And panels on the back is probably a solid solution for condensing the bot legs into the dino back.
I also had a thought that the folded wings will possibly help the bot torso look to have some more bulk from front to back.

Overcracker wrote:Swoop is going to be fairly interesting to pull off. I doubt they’ll let his arms just hang on the sides, but i don’t see where they can realistically put them otherwise, if they use the back to hide half of the legs as suggested by Emerje.

I think they'll leave the arms at the side. It doesn't look great, but it's accurate to both the original figure and cartoon and easy to do leaving them with more engineering to allocate to the legs and torso.

Emerje

I managed to find Rumble for an OK price on Amazon, I thought I'd never get to own him because he's sold out on Pulse UK and the prices he goes for on Ebay are absolutely insane for a Core Class. He arrived today and I've been having a lot of fun with him, I liked the Siege Micromaster Rumble mould anyway, but the piledrivers add so much more to the figure, I like him a lot, and will definitely be getting Frenzy when that happens.

Probably the ideal thing to do with Soundwave at this point would be a "Voyager with Accessories" type Leader Class in Studio Series 1986; a package refresh of Netflix Soundwave (hopefully with different plastic that won't turn pee yellow after four months) along with either completely new or heavily retooled versions of Laserbeak and Ravage. Maybe throw in Ratbat too for good measure.

Snarl looks good, my big Dinobots are excited for #4.

Transformers core class Studio Series 86 Ironhide was found today at a Gamestop in the province of Quebec by me. There is a picture of the sighting below. We also have reviews from our community members Thundertron and Chuckdawg, who even gives us a quick written review, that you can see below. It is unclear who else is being released with this Ironhide since Gamestop either gets solid cases or just certain items within a case per store.

Thundertron wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:It was expected that a figure like Core Class Ironhide would be released following the release of Core Class Ratchet, as both share the same mold since the start of the franchise. Ironhide has a new head and a pelvic region that closely resembles the animation models. While there were some issues with panel fitting on my copy, overall, Ironhide is a decent figure that complements the other G1 Core Class figures.

Saw this yesterday at a Mooresville IN Walmart looked like he was being packed in with a Core ROTB Arcee

Got mine too!



No longer waiting until July for Amazon.

Oh nice, I wasn't getting updates for this thread!

So does that mean that voyager class Ratchet is on the horizon?

Compared to Core Ratchet, Core Ironhide have a hard time having the legs that form the rear of the vehicle tabbed. Either they split on top, or they split on the bottom. Then for some reason, everything is flush. Then you add the guns on the side and the tango start again.

Very annoying.

Rodimus Prime wrote:So does that mean that voyager class Ratchet is on the horizon?

Wave 4.

Yes, but when? I don't even know what the current wave is. lol
All I do know is that's been a drought lately for anything I'm after, was able to score Ironhide from ebay for a reasonable price since it doesn't seem as if he'd ever make it to retail around here. And that has been pretty much it for several months. Well, other than scoring Legacy Dragstrip on sale at EE last week.

Oh and getting the Jetfire reissue last month!

And while I don't intend to get any ROTB product I am slightly intrigued by the Van and Porsche bots, but I haven't even seen hide nor hair of them anywhere and i though this movie opens in June?

Till-all-R1 wrote:Yes, but when? I don't even know what the current wave is. lol

Core 86 Ironhide, Deluxe WFC Bee & Barricade, Voyager WFC Optimus, & Leader 86 Snarl is Wave 2, the current wave. Then according to the store listings:
-Wave 3 is Core DotM Bee, Deluxe WFC Cliffjumper, Deluxe 86 Brawn, Voyager RotB Rhinox, and Voyager WFC Megatron, which should be revealed & put up for preorder within the month considering the pipeline reveals from last month, those recent leaks of Megs & Rhinox in-package, and the Entertainment Earth drop zone teasing WFC figures going up for order Tuesday of next week.
-Wave 4 is I believe Core 86 Frenzy, some currently codenamed/unknown Core RotB characters (unless those got silently scrapped/shifted), Deluxe RotB Mirage (who we saw a render for from a Porsche event I think?), Wheeljack, & Nightbird, Voyager 86 Ratchet, and Leader RotB Primal.

Looks like I'm in for a long wait then, on Frenzy and Ratchet. And potentially the Buzzworthy Hound whenever that is.

WFC I take it are from the Video Game, right?

Till-all-R1 wrote:WFC I take it are from the Video Game, right?

Yep, called "Gamer Edition" and it even has its own thread

Nemesis Primal wrote:

Till-all-R1 wrote:Yes, but when? I don't even know what the current wave is. lol

Core 86 Ironhide, Deluxe WFC Bee & Barricade, Voyager WFC Optimus, & Leader 86 Snarl is Wave 2, the current wave. Then according to the store listings:
-Wave 3 is Core DotM Bee, Deluxe WFC Cliffjumper, Deluxe 86 Brawn, Voyager RotB Rhinox, and Voyager WFC Megatron, which should be revealed & put up for preorder within the month considering the pipeline reveals from last month, those recent leaks of Megs & Rhinox in-package, and the Entertainment Earth drop zone teasing WFC figures going up for order Tuesday of next week.
-Wave 4 is I believe Core 86 Frenzy, some currently codenamed/unknown Core RotB characters (unless those got silently scrapped/shifted), Deluxe RotB Mirage (who we saw a render for from a Porsche event I think?), Wheeljack, & Nightbird, Voyager 86 Ratchet, and Leader RotB Primal.

Thanks for this info…
I felt I had been keeping an eye out, & I never saw this release schedule.
I am really excited and anxious to see SS86 Brawn.

And it’s nice to know SS86 Ratchet and Bombshell will be highlights to round out this year of collecting for me.