The Energon Pub

Rtron wrote:What's you reason for not considering Earthrise Megatron a 1986 movie accurate figure?

For me, it's the bland/damaged deco. If they were to go with the OG look I would hope that the deco would be closer to "gunmetal" gray that actually looks like it could be "metal" as opposed to "dull" looking that looks like plastic. Paint the "chamber" area more of a chrome to reprisent what it's actually suppose to be in alt mode. Lose the "damage" and add some detailing to the abdomen like other higher end version have, then for his weapon pack in Shockwave in blaster form. I could then see myself paying Leader price for those "upgrades" in deco versus the subpar Voyager from Netflix inspired release. Maybe add some cool blast effects or a Targetmaster IDK, the latter two are unimportant to me but might help sell the leader price to others.

Definite buy on Ramhorn & Steeljaw! Gears, maybe I'd buy but have no interest in Windcharger. My highest priority in regards to minibots is Powerglide. I've always felt he was too small for the alt mode he depicted.

I's also like to see that Ravage from the recent Collaborative set repainted and released as a Core bot!

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Once again I'm more confused than a baby in a topless club, does Commander Class Ultra Magnus break apart like in the movie or was that a mistake because they were handling an early prototype that broke?

I’m assuming that’s an intentional design feature.
Especially considering what happens to him in the movie.
Similar to what they did for the Kup design.

Sowndwave76 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Once again I'm more confused than a baby in a topless club, does Commander Class Ultra Magnus break apart like in the movie or was that a mistake because they were handling an early prototype that broke?

I’m assuming that’s an intentional design feature.
Especially considering what happens to him in the movie.
Similar to what they did for the Kup design.

Oh great, a $100 toy that will start falling apart a month after purchase. That is unless they've refined the feature.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

Sowndwave76 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Once again I'm more confused than a baby in a topless club, does Commander Class Ultra Magnus break apart like in the movie or was that a mistake because they were handling an early prototype that broke?

I’m assuming that’s an intentional design feature.
Especially considering what happens to him in the movie.
Similar to what they did for the Kup design.

Oh great, a $100 toy that will start falling apart a month after purchase. That is unless they've refined the feature.

It's both: that mushroom peg certainly is not meant as a disassemble feature (it does mitigate actual breakage tho), but either I need new glasses, or I'm spotting the same type of CW connector used on Motormaster on the other leg.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

Sowndwave76 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Once again I'm more confused than a baby in a topless club, does Commander Class Ultra Magnus break apart like in the movie or was that a mistake because they were handling an early prototype that broke?

I’m assuming that’s an intentional design feature.
Especially considering what happens to him in the movie.
Similar to what they did for the Kup design.

Oh great, a $100 toy that will start falling apart a month after purchase. That is unless they've refined the feature.

Come on, Chuck, you know better than me that overall, Hastak’s QC is getting better, not worse.
Even with an occasional exception, such as SS86 Sludge, the issues I’ve had with recent figures are extremely minor, and rare. I’m looking around my shelves right now, and Selects Cyclonus is the only one I can think of that has any issue that would be worth mentioning.
I don’t really consider slightly wobbly CW combiners as “recent” figures.
I’m confident this new Ultra Magnus will be solid and on point, including the joints, features, etc.

Sowndwave76 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

Sowndwave76 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Once again I'm more confused than a baby in a topless club, does Commander Class Ultra Magnus break apart like in the movie or was that a mistake because they were handling an early prototype that broke?

I’m assuming that’s an intentional design feature.
Especially considering what happens to him in the movie.
Similar to what they did for the Kup design.

Oh great, a $100 toy that will start falling apart a month after purchase. That is unless they've refined the feature.

Come on, Chuck, you know better than me that overall, Hastak’s QC is getting better, not worse.
Even with an occasional exception, such as SS86 Sludge, the issues I’ve had with recent figures are extremely minor, and rare. I’m looking around my shelves right now, and Selects Cyclonus is the only one I can think of that has any issue that would be worth mentioning.
I don’t really consider slightly wobbly CW combiners as “recent” figures.
I’m confident this new Ultra Magnus will be solid and on point, including the joints, features, etc.

Really? I see it getting worse, especially with the plastic yellowing. Almost everyone that has the original or BB release of Kup has complained about one or more of the limbs falling off the pegs.

I think I didn't have an issues with yellowing, then I looked at Kingdom Tigatron in my son's room the other day...gadzooks! Poor guy is so yellow. Seemingly happened overnight, and he's not in a place that is exposed to any sunlight.

o.supreme wrote:Just for fun. I put together a list of characters that *appeared* in TF:TM that so far, not only haven't received a mainline Generations figure in the last 6 years that is TF:TM accurate, nor has been scheduled for release in the SS-86 line. There's not many left:

*We know Hound and Swoop are being released, other than that there's only:


Megatron
Gears
Windcharger
Steeljaw
Ramhorn

2 questions:

Why isnt Devastator included?
Does this mean you consider the Eject that came with Kingdom Blaster to be TF:TM accurate?

Jelze Bunnycat wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

Sowndwave76 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Once again I'm more confused than a baby in a topless club, does Commander Class Ultra Magnus break apart like in the movie or was that a mistake because they were handling an early prototype that broke?

I’m assuming that’s an intentional design feature.
Especially considering what happens to him in the movie.
Similar to what they did for the Kup design.

Oh great, a $100 toy that will start falling apart a month after purchase. That is unless they've refined the feature.

It's both: that mushroom peg certainly is not meant as a disassemble feature (it does mitigate actual breakage tho), but either I need new glasses, or I'm spotting the same type of CW connector used on Motormaster on the other leg.

I just saw a short video and I think I saw the same thing, there's something going on with the legs.

o.supreme wrote:I think I didn't have an issues with yellowing, then I looked at Kingdom Tigatron in my son's room the other day...gadzooks! Poor guy is so yellow. Seemingly happened overnight, and he's not in a place that is exposed to any sunlight.

The design team still seems to be in denial about this being a real issue. During the fan Q&A at SDCC they said to let Hasbro customer service know if we see yellowing. Sounds to me like until they have actual recorded widespread complaints they aren't going to address it.

Emerje

Emerje wrote:

o.supreme wrote:I think I didn't have an issues with yellowing, then I looked at Kingdom Tigatron in my son's room the other day...gadzooks! Poor guy is so yellow. Seemingly happened overnight, and he's not in a place that is exposed to any sunlight.

The design team still seems to be in denial about this being a real issue. During the fan Q&A at SDCC they said to let Hasbro customer service know if we see yellowing. Sounds to me like until they have actual recorded widespread complaints they aren't going to address it.

Emerje

My understanding is that a handful of figures were made with the wrong plastic materials. Cyberverse Arcee and Kingdom Tigatron for example will all yellow, but it's not particularly widespread beyond select figures, right? I mean aside from general yellowing over time that is common.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

Sowndwave76 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

Sowndwave76 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Once again I'm more confused than a baby in a topless club, does Commander Class Ultra Magnus break apart like in the movie or was that a mistake because they were handling an early prototype that broke?

I’m assuming that’s an intentional design feature.
Especially considering what happens to him in the movie.
Similar to what they did for the Kup design.

Oh great, a $100 toy that will start falling apart a month after purchase. That is unless they've refined the feature.

Come on, Chuck, you know better than me that overall, Hastak’s QC is getting better, not worse.
Even with an occasional exception, such as SS86 Sludge, the issues I’ve had with recent figures are extremely minor, and rare. I’m looking around my shelves right now, and Selects Cyclonus is the only one I can think of that has any issue that would be worth mentioning.
I don’t really consider slightly wobbly CW combiners as “recent” figures.
I’m confident this new Ultra Magnus will be solid and on point, including the joints, features, etc.

Really? I see it getting worse, especially with the plastic yellowing. Almost everyone that has the original or BB release of Kup has complained about one or more of the limbs falling off the pegs.

Yeah, and the yellowing problem is legit in those cases, no doubt.
I never had any issues with either Kup figure I've had, but that could have been more of a problem than I ever knew.

But out of all of the figures you have, have reviewed, etc., you'd objectively say that the overall quality of figures has declined in the last 3-4 years?

I can still remember pre-CW worrying about figures' joints before buying them... And when I would buy, feeling a bit of nervousness hoping my copy was a good one.
I've had fewer and fewer issues with loose joints, paint app issues, etc.
But I do understand this topic also should probably be considered somewhat subjective.
I just know the confidence level I've had in Hastak in the last few years has slowly but steadily increased.

william-james88 wrote:2 questions:

Why isn't Devastator included?

UW is good enough. While the Bot modes may not be exactly 100% TF:TM accurate, the vehicle modes and combined Devastator are pretty close. I have little doubt that in time there probably will be a SS86 set of Constructicons, but I dont need them.

william-james88 wrote:Does this mean you consider the Eject that came with Kingdom Blaster to be TF:TM accurate?

As well as the Rewind that came with Legacy Evolution Twincast. YES. I know they weren't translucent in TF:TM, but I'm not splitting hairs at this point. Besides, they dont have additional accessories in my mind (like Rumble & Frenzy) to justify an additional individual core class release, unless there is some special release down the road, maybe an eventual SS86 set of all 4 Autobot Cassettes?

Sowndwave76 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

Sowndwave76 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

Sowndwave76 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Once again I'm more confused than a baby in a topless club, does Commander Class Ultra Magnus break apart like in the movie or was that a mistake because they were handling an early prototype that broke?

I’m assuming that’s an intentional design feature.
Especially considering what happens to him in the movie.
Similar to what they did for the Kup design.

Oh great, a $100 toy that will start falling apart a month after purchase. That is unless they've refined the feature.

Come on, Chuck, you know better than me that overall, Hastak’s QC is getting better, not worse.
Even with an occasional exception, such as SS86 Sludge, the issues I’ve had with recent figures are extremely minor, and rare. I’m looking around my shelves right now, and Selects Cyclonus is the only one I can think of that has any issue that would be worth mentioning.
I don’t really consider slightly wobbly CW combiners as “recent” figures.
I’m confident this new Ultra Magnus will be solid and on point, including the joints, features, etc.

Really? I see it getting worse, especially with the plastic yellowing. Almost everyone that has the original or BB release of Kup has complained about one or more of the limbs falling off the pegs.

Yeah, and the yellowing problem is legit in those cases, no doubt.
I never had any issues with either Kup figure I've had, but that could have been more of a problem than I ever knew.

But out of all of the figures you have, have reviewed, etc., you'd objectively say that the overall quality of figures has declined in the last 3-4 years?

I can still remember pre-CW worrying about figures' joints before buying them... And when I would buy, feeling a bit of nervousness hoping my copy was a good one.
I've had fewer and fewer issues with loose joints, paint app issues, etc.
But I do understand this topic also should probably be considered somewhat subjective.
I just know the confidence level I've had in Hastak in the last few years has slowly but steadily increased.

Yes, because in the last few years I've gotten figures missing parts, having mold issues where they don't peg together well in vehicle mode, and the general tactile feel has declined.

AcademyofDrX wrote:

Emerje wrote:

o.supreme wrote:I think I didn't have an issues with yellowing, then I looked at Kingdom Tigatron in my son's room the other day...gadzooks! Poor guy is so yellow. Seemingly happened overnight, and he's not in a place that is exposed to any sunlight.

The design team still seems to be in denial about this being a real issue. During the fan Q&A at SDCC they said to let Hasbro customer service know if we see yellowing. Sounds to me like until they have actual recorded widespread complaints they aren't going to address it.

Emerje

My understanding is that a handful of figures were made with the wrong plastic materials. Cyberverse Arcee and Kingdom Tigatron for example will all yellow, but it's not particularly widespread beyond select figures, right? I mean aside from general yellowing over time that is common.

During a previous Q&A the design team claimed they've made no changes to the plastic at all after they got widespread complaints about Star Saber yellowing out of the box. It can't be a matter of simply using the wrong plastic because it isn't just one color. The gray on Netflix Soundwave and the blue on Cybervers Hammerbyte also yellows (the latter saw every single one visibly yellowing in the package). It seems to have been a bigger issue since the last factory change (India?) so it may be an environmental issue. I've heard the theory strong factory lighting could be the problem.

Emerje

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

Sowndwave76 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

Sowndwave76 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

Sowndwave76 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Once again I'm more confused than a baby in a topless club, does Commander Class Ultra Magnus break apart like in the movie or was that a mistake because they were handling an early prototype that broke?

I’m assuming that’s an intentional design feature.
Especially considering what happens to him in the movie.
Similar to what they did for the Kup design.

Oh great, a $100 toy that will start falling apart a month after purchase. That is unless they've refined the feature.

Come on, Chuck, you know better than me that overall, Hastak’s QC is getting better, not worse.
Even with an occasional exception, such as SS86 Sludge, the issues I’ve had with recent figures are extremely minor, and rare. I’m looking around my shelves right now, and Selects Cyclonus is the only one I can think of that has any issue that would be worth mentioning.
I don’t really consider slightly wobbly CW combiners as “recent” figures.
I’m confident this new Ultra Magnus will be solid and on point, including the joints, features, etc.

Really? I see it getting worse, especially with the plastic yellowing. Almost everyone that has the original or BB release of Kup has complained about one or more of the limbs falling off the pegs.

Yeah, and the yellowing problem is legit in those cases, no doubt.
I never had any issues with either Kup figure I've had, but that could have been more of a problem than I ever knew.

But out of all of the figures you have, have reviewed, etc., you'd objectively say that the overall quality of figures has declined in the last 3-4 years?

I can still remember pre-CW worrying about figures' joints before buying them... And when I would buy, feeling a bit of nervousness hoping my copy was a good one.
I've had fewer and fewer issues with loose joints, paint app issues, etc.
But I do understand this topic also should probably be considered somewhat subjective.
I just know the confidence level I've had in Hastak in the last few years has slowly but steadily increased.

Yes, because in the last few years I've gotten figures missing parts, having mold issues where they don't peg together well in vehicle mode, and the general tactile feel has declined.

I've had a couple issues with tabs, but in the grand scheme, with the amount of figures I have and the amount of tabs/slots, I personally can't call that an issue.
Same thing with missing parts... Wth??
I'm positive I've never bought a figure that was missing a part.
Chuck, I'm not dismissing your claims at all... I totally believe you, but it also seems like you've had a bit of bad luck.
And I can understand why you feel QC has slide backwards.



Also, if anyone else has ordered Snarl from Amazon, keep an eye out.
My two copies are supposed to be here within the next 2-5 hours!

Sowndwave76 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

Sowndwave76 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

Sowndwave76 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

Sowndwave76 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Once again I'm more confused than a baby in a topless club, does Commander Class Ultra Magnus break apart like in the movie or was that a mistake because they were handling an early prototype that broke?

I’m assuming that’s an intentional design feature.
Especially considering what happens to him in the movie.
Similar to what they did for the Kup design.

Oh great, a $100 toy that will start falling apart a month after purchase. That is unless they've refined the feature.

Come on, Chuck, you know better than me that overall, Hastak’s QC is getting better, not worse.
Even with an occasional exception, such as SS86 Sludge, the issues I’ve had with recent figures are extremely minor, and rare. I’m looking around my shelves right now, and Selects Cyclonus is the only one I can think of that has any issue that would be worth mentioning.
I don’t really consider slightly wobbly CW combiners as “recent” figures.
I’m confident this new Ultra Magnus will be solid and on point, including the joints, features, etc.

Really? I see it getting worse, especially with the plastic yellowing. Almost everyone that has the original or BB release of Kup has complained about one or more of the limbs falling off the pegs.

Yeah, and the yellowing problem is legit in those cases, no doubt.
I never had any issues with either Kup figure I've had, but that could have been more of a problem than I ever knew.

But out of all of the figures you have, have reviewed, etc., you'd objectively say that the overall quality of figures has declined in the last 3-4 years?

I can still remember pre-CW worrying about figures' joints before buying them... And when I would buy, feeling a bit of nervousness hoping my copy was a good one.
I've had fewer and fewer issues with loose joints, paint app issues, etc.
But I do understand this topic also should probably be considered somewhat subjective.
I just know the confidence level I've had in Hastak in the last few years has slowly but steadily increased.

Yes, because in the last few years I've gotten figures missing parts, having mold issues where they don't peg together well in vehicle mode, and the general tactile feel has declined.

I've had a couple issues with tabs, but in the grand scheme, with the amount of figures I have and the amount of tabs/slots, I personally can't call that an issue.
Same thing with missing parts... Wth??
I'm positive I've never bought a figure that was missing a part.
Chuck, I'm not dismissing your claims at all... I totally believe you, but it also seems like you've had a bit of bad luck.
And I can understand why you feel QC has slide backwards.



Also, if anyone else has ordered Snarl from Amazon, keep an eye out.
My two copies are supposed to be here within the next 2-5 hours!

Maybe, my luck had to run out eventually

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Maybe, my luck had to run out eventually

Well it's kind of a bummer it's been enough that you think the overall quality of figures is sinking.


Wanted to share my thoughts on SS86 Snarl...

Although he's my favorite character of the group, I can objectively say he's one of the best.
Even though I looked at a lot of photos, and watched a few video reviews, I was pleasantly surprised with the appearance of this figure in-hand.
The chest isn't overly bulky; in a lot of photos it looked to me as though it was really thick and stuck out too much. This isn't the case at all.
From a profile view, neither the chest, nor the plates and tail stick out too much.
Unlike Slag, he looks stout and tough but his shoulders aren't too wide.
I don't think his upper legs are overly skinny at all. I was worried his lower legs would be too thin/narrow, and they look great.
I rarely use the word "perfect", but I really don't see how this figure's bot mode proportions could be any better. He's that well done.
It's also worth mentioning that the plastic that appeared "orange-ish", matches the metallic gold paint much better than what I'd seen in photos/video. The color of the plastic has a metallic sheen to it, which is really nice, and I wish more paint for figures had this aspect.
My copy has zero issues with joints being too loose.
The transformation was smooth, pretty intuitive, and not very complicated.
Of the four, I rank them:
1-Grimlock
2-Snarl
3-Sludge
4-Slag

The only reason Snarl isn't ranked above Grimlock is because the dino mode isn't as strong.
The common issue with all of these is the lack of tail length. I don't really care that they're not articulated, but it's too bad the tails aren't longer.
And at the same time, it clearly wasn't an option.
Looking ahead, at least we know Swoop won't have this problem.

I highly recommend getting this figure.
I say that about all of these Dinobots, but Snarl is incredibly good.
In terms of individual releases, this is my figure of the year.
I love Motormaster, but Snarl is even better.

I like it too, all these Dinobots have been great!

chuckdawg1999 wrote:I like it too, all these Dinobots have been great!

Absolutely.


I am freaking loving Snarl…
I feel like he almost deserves to have that whole shelf.
But there’s space to the right for his brother, Swoop.

Dino-Might:

I’m thinking the leader class Swoop is going to work better…

I'm afraid that the non-answer from the designers might mean that they are aware of the yellowing problem, but that corporate doesn't want them to fix it because it might cost them money or some such crap.

Rtron wrote:I'm afraid that the non-answer from the designers might mean that they are aware of the yellowing problem, but that corporate doesn't want them to fix it because it might cost them money or some such crap.

If I was that cynical, I wouldn't bother to collect toys anymore. I'm not going to pretend that Hasbro doesn't want to keep costs down, but if a problem like this is systemic, allowing it to continue will kill demand over time. I still think it's product-specific and people are generalizing too much, but that's an opinion statement.

AcademyofDrX wrote:

Rtron wrote:I'm afraid that the non-answer from the designers might mean that they are aware of the yellowing problem, but that corporate doesn't want them to fix it because it might cost them money or some such crap.

If I was that cynical, I wouldn't bother to collect toys anymore. I'm not going to pretend that Hasbro doesn't want to keep costs down, but if a problem like this is systemic, allowing it to continue will kill demand over time. I still think it's product-specific and people are generalizing too much, but that's an opinion statement.

Many of the people in those positions of power don't really care about long term profits. I hope I'm wrong, but there's past behaviours even from Hasbro itself that give me pause when it comes to these things. Gold Plastic Syndrome didn't really kill demand, though, and it's worse.

Rtron wrote:

AcademyofDrX wrote:

Rtron wrote:I'm afraid that the non-answer from the designers might mean that they are aware of the yellowing problem, but that corporate doesn't want them to fix it because it might cost them money or some such crap.

If I was that cynical, I wouldn't bother to collect toys anymore. I'm not going to pretend that Hasbro doesn't want to keep costs down, but if a problem like this is systemic, allowing it to continue will kill demand over time. I still think it's product-specific and people are generalizing too much, but that's an opinion statement.

Many of the people in those positions of power don't really care about long term profits. I hope I'm wrong, but there's past behaviours even from Hasbro itself that give me pause when it comes to these things. Gold Plastic Syndrome didn't really kill demand, though, and it's worse.

GPS was from an era where toys were considered much more disposable than now, and there was minimal marketing of the product to adult collectors. I do not think Hasbro's product management from thirty years ago is a good comparison. To your broader point, I doubt it's a priority to senior executives either way, but a handful of universally flawed figures over the last decade isn't a deal breaker for me in any event.