The Energon Pub

I think Soundwave will be a redeco of the Legacy "leader" with a lighter shade of blue and Buzzsaw repainted into a SS86 Laserbeak.

Shockwave will almost certainly be another version of the Siege figure, as will Astrotrain. I was hoping they would rework the material used for that useless tender into the back part of the shuttle, but as it is it's an easy pass.

A leader Optimus? CC without the trailer?

And still no Megatron.

Leader Soundwave w/Laserbeak but who's the second tape? $55 possibly $60 by then is too much for a Voyager with one tape. IMO

Sowndwave76 wrote:Soundwave is supposedly a new mold, which I believe will happen.

Hopefully it's new.

Sowndwave76 wrote:Cliffjumper will surely be a retool of SS86 Bee.

Totally passable then.

Sowndwave76 wrote:Hound could be retooled, but maybe not... May depend on how Hastak thinks they can re-use a retooled mold.
I'm betting Sunstreaker is just a re-release of the 5-pk mold.
We'll see about Astrotrain. I have the Dramatic Capture set preordered, but who knows, the SS86 version could be an improvement.

Hound might perk my interest if he's the right shade this time, I felt the five pack version was too light in color. I held of waiting to see if they'd do better on Astortrain, seems I'll be waiting even longer, if it ever comes at all.

Till-all-R1 wrote:Leader Soundwave w/Laserbeak but who's the second tape? $55 possibly $60 by then is too much for a Voyager with one tape. IMO

Sowndwave76 wrote:Soundwave is supposedly a new mold, which I believe will happen.

Hopefully it's new.

Sowndwave76 wrote:Cliffjumper will surely be a retool of SS86 Bee.

Totally passable then.

Sowndwave76 wrote:Hound could be retooled, but maybe not... May depend on how Hastak thinks they can re-use a retooled mold.
I'm betting Sunstreaker is just a re-release of the 5-pk mold.
We'll see about Astrotrain. I have the Dramatic Capture set preordered, but who knows, the SS86 version could be an improvement.

Hound might perk my interest if he's the right shade this time, I felt the five pack version was too light in color. I held of waiting to see if they'd do better on Astortrain, seems I'll be waiting even longer, if it ever comes at all.

Well, the tapes will have to be from the movie, right? I could see it being time for Laserbeak to make another appearance, especially with his part early in the film. Also, depending on the new mold, maybe 1 tape will be enough.

I also think it’s very possible that any previously released character will simply have slight changes in deco. Meaning, I shouldn’t hold much hope that Shockwave or Astrotrain will have any retooling at all.

My copies of Scrapper showed up early this afternoon. I’ll share thoughts later on.

Some of my thoughts on Scrapper…

In terms of appearance, this is better in-hand than what I could see in video reviews. While I didn’t need any metallic paint, that’s fine I guess. The proportions in-person are also better than what I could see from previous imagery. Love the headsculpt. It’s also nice that this is a rare figure who doesn’t suffer from overly wide shoulders like so many others. I also think this green is better than the green of the CW figures, which imo was a bit too yellow-green.
Then I’m happy to report that my opened copy has zero QC issues…. The sideways hip movement is just slightly looser than I’d want it, but it’s not bad at all. Every other joint is nice and tight. I’m betting some would say a few are overly tight. But that’s never a problem imo; loose joints would be exponentially worse.
The transformation is easy, which I appreciate, and the engineering is solid; no issues with tabs, tolerances, etc. The alt mode is a bit chunky, but it’s not bad.
Overall this is a really good figure.
Negatives?
The only one I have is substantial. And that is this could have been a deluxe. See the photo below and this is definitely too small. Considering that both Megatron and Soundwave’s new figures will be taller, these Constructicons should have been as tall as Legacy Leader Soundwave. The ratcheted joint for Devy’s ankle tilt isn’t enough to justify voyager cost. Devy’s gun could’ve been thrown-in with Hook and Long Haul. There are other limb bots for the other combiners that didn’t include anything more than the figure and a small blaster/weapon. Notice in that photo how much less plastic is used compared to Soundwave. And probably paint as well.
I know larger figures would mean that Devy would be larger than Superion, Menasor, Bruticus, and any other future combiners. But for me, that doesn’t really matter. If Devastator is 2” taller than the others, so be it. These 6 characters are supposed to be larger than the other combiner limb bots. In fact, they’re supposed to be larger than the seekers. In the movie, Hook is barely shorter than Soundwave as they’re fighting.
This size issue just seems like a big shortcut by Hastak. Considering there are 6 Constructicons, what, there was no way Scrapper and Mixmaster could have been deluxe class? This set would’ve still cost basically $200.

Having said all that, I’m really not trying to push people away from these figures. I’m just being objective with what I’m seeing and experiencing now that I have Scrapper in-hand.

From what I can see it looks like Bonecrusher is the weakest in terms of appearance. If the other 4 are as good as this Scrapper, I’ll call this set of individual figures a success.

This is making me reconsider getting the Constructicons. They just seems too small.

Ironically, the CW Titan scales very well with the Dinobots. They could've just reissued the CW/UW figures in SS86 packaging.

Scaling by the cartoon, the Constructicons are supposed to as tall as Soundwave and the seekers... or much smaller, if we go by a certain G1 episode where everyone was toy-scaled.

But I look at the Stunticons. The individual members are a bit shorter than they should be as well. And the Insecticons are supposed to be Minicar sized in robot mode. I mean, look at Rodimus Prime and Galvatron. Depending of the studio, they're supposed to be either the same height or Rodimus is supposed to be taller. The scaling isn't going to to perfect.

Rodimus Prime wrote:This is making me reconsider getting the Constructicons. They just seems too small.

Ironically, the CW Titan scales very well with the Dinobots. They could've just reissued the CW/UW figures in SS86 packaging.

It is unfortunate, because assuming the others are roughly the same height as Scrapper, they are definitely too small.
So Scrapper being a voyager is extra annoying. No combination of his part count/amount of plastic, engineering, or paint apps justify $37.
Compare him to Jihaxus... Who does have some clear plastic. But also has more paint, two weapons and the detachable piece on the shoulder part, forearm covers, wrist swivels, articulated hands, multi-joint wings, good height, a good amount of molded detail, decent engineering, and at least average overall articulation...
So maybe he's a one-off as a super-rare voyager. But compare Scrapper to Kingdom Cyclonus, and Scrapper still comes off like a deluxe figure.

For me, if all of these Constructicons were the exact same figures but increased in size, I'd like them more. And I don't think needed to match the size of the CW versions, but right in-between would have been nice.
This also doesn't mean I think these are horrible figures. It's become clearer what they are and what they aren't. Which I'm okay with.

Roadbuster wrote:Scaling by the cartoon, the Constructicons are supposed to as tall as Soundwave and the seekers... or much smaller, if we go by a certain G1 episode where everyone was toy-scaled.

But I look at the Stunticons. The individual members are a bit shorter than they should be as well. And the Insecticons are supposed to be Minicar sized in robot mode. I mean, look at Rodimus Prime and Galvatron. Depending of the studio, they're supposed to be either the same height or Rodimus is supposed to be taller. The scaling isn't going to to perfect.

No offense at all, but the errors that occurred in the old school animation mean nothing imo. When it comes down to it, there is an actual size each character is supposed to be relative to other characters. And sure, scaling with these toys is never going to be perfect, even with robot modes. Every collector understands this. But these Constructions being this small is a missed opportunity.

All of this is relative... Am I frustrated that these new figures are going to look oddly too small next to the new Megatron and Soundwave? Yeah, in terms of collecting TF, kind of. Does this put me in a bad mood for the rest of the evening? Of course not.

Sowndwave76 wrote:

Rodimus Prime wrote:This is making me reconsider getting the Constructicons. They just seems too small.

Ironically, the CW Titan scales very well with the Dinobots. They could've just reissued the CW/UW figures in SS86 packaging.

It is unfortunate, because assuming the others are roughly the same height as Scrapper, they are definitely too small.
So Scrapper being a voyager is extra annoying. No combination of his part count/amount of plastic, engineering, or paint apps justify $37.
Compare him to Jihaxus... Who does have some clear plastic. But also has more paint, two weapons and the detachable piece on the shoulder part, forearm covers, wrist swivels, articulated hands, multi-joint wings, good height, a good amount of molded detail, decent engineering, and at least average overall articulation...
So maybe he's a one-off as a super-rare voyager. But compare Scrapper to Kingdom Cyclonus, and Scrapper still comes off like a deluxe figure.

For me, if all of these Constructicons were the exact same figures but increased in size, I'd like them more. And I don't think needed to match the size of the CW versions, but right in-between would have been nice.
This also doesn't mean I think these are horrible figures. It's become clearer what they are and what they aren't. Which I'm okay with.

Well I guess I didn't mean to say they were horrible, just less than what I expected. They could probably still work on my comics figure shelf, but imagine getting SS86 Devy together and he's only head and shoulders above Grimlock and Sludge.

All the CW Constructicons are voyager-sized, they scale well with Soundwave and Starscream, as well as the Dinobots,with whom they shared the most screen time.

Rodimus Prime wrote:Well I guess I didn't mean to say they were horrible, just less than what I expected. They could probably still work on my comics figure shelf, but imagine getting SS86 Devy together and he's only head and shoulders above Grimlock and Sludge.

All the CW Constructicons are voyager-sized, they scale well with Soundwave and Starscream, as well as the Dinobots,with whom they shared the most screen time.

Yeah, I didn't think you were implying you thought these were horrible... Sorry if my response came off that way. I'm commiserating with you, because these are less than I what I expected as well.
It's not perfect, but Legacy Menasor is a really solid, well-done updated combiner. Between that, other recent releases that are really good, AND the fact that SS86 figures have been consistently great, it's no wonder we're a bit letdown.
The Dinobots are definitely not going to scale well with this new Devastator.

So, with the reveals of what's coming in 2026, and dropping all the SS sublines and just calling it "Studio Series",does anyone think Hasbro will stop making characters from the 86 movie, or will they just be sprinkled in intermittently for years moving forward. There's still plenty that havent been done in (Formerly SS 86) yet:

Below are characters from TF:TM, and their most recent toy release which would likely be recolored somehow:

Dirge (ER)
Thrust (ER)
Ramjet (ER)
Wheeljack (ER)
Bluestreak (ER)
Grapple (ER)
Rodimus Prime (K)
Cyclonus (K)
Huffer (K)
Blitzwing (L)
Insecticons (Legacy Era)
Gears (LU)

A few characters of note, with the reveal of Kranix, Arblus could be an easy retool. Most of the Quintesson etc... were released in the ER/Pit of Judgement set, except for an Executioner, this could be a new mold?

Much like the dead Autobots, we could get a dead/reformatting 3 pack for the insecticons, and a 2-pack for Thundercracker/ Skywarp.

^ Evan said as much, that 86 releases will be scaled back by comparison to what it has been. While I don't need every thing reissued, especially the likes of Huffer, Wheekjack etc. my hope is that I can pretty much put a pin in my collecting by end of 2026 with Hasbro finishing off the last of the minibots and addressing a few of the HTF Bots like Thrust that are going for a $100 or more.

I'd like to see better versions of Astrotrain, Octane, Soundwave and Shockwave but I fear that's not going to happen any time soon or by 2030 if at all for a couple of them. But who knows.

I'm in the exact same boat-- the plan is to bow-out after '26 and retire from this game...
There are a couple things that could reel me in-- mainly a new Predaking (I don't have him in my collection), or a new Defensor. But who knows, by then I could totally see pulling the plug and calling it quits.

Soundwave is going to get a new mold... I know someone (Evan?) mentioned that being the plan. But since all of the other SS86 figures coming back will most likely be simple repaints, I do believe Soundwave is finally getting a legit update.
I don't see Astrotrain or Shockwave getting a new mold, and I was hoping for a new Octane, but he doesn't seem to be on any docket in the near future.
I wish Hastak would go in and knock-out a lot of that unnecessary greebling from some of these figures' molds... Even the ER seekers. Oh, and stop with the metallic silver face paint! The glossy gray is the best look possible! The 5-pk Sunstreaker is a perfect example. In terms of appearance, that is now one of my favorite Autobot figures.

Of the list o.supreme provided, I don't see any of those being put into SS packaging... The only exceptions could be the Insecticons since the Legacy versions seem to have a bit of toy deco mixed-in. But I think even that's highly unlikely.

The reason I don't see any of the Decepticons being made into "dead" versions is because before those characters were pushed out into space, they were just heavily damaged where their parts were really crumpled/crinkled with lots of little dents... This look would require drastic retooling if not a new mold all together. Whereas the Autobots had very little retooling; it was more about 5mm ports where they had been blasted, with slight paint variations (and yes, different face sculpts).

I do think there's a good chance that the figures in the SS86 capsule will have small deco changes; if nothing else, the shades/tints of the main colors will be slightly different. Hot Rod may finally be magenta.

SS86 really just needs to end after next year. If Hastak is going to make any cartoon accurate figures, just come up with a new, more encompassing banner/label for the packaging. I'm not saying "Cartoon Collection" is a great name, but something with a similar ethos.

I'm curious what the Dramatic Capture sets fall under, Generations Selects or just random exclusives? I've never seen the packaging of them so i don't know what theme/artwork is used. But one set that would interest me would be Chromia, Moonracer and Firestar. Though I've seen version of them done for the older lines I wasn't ever quite happy with their aesthetics, but I also don't think they'd do a totally new sculpt for them either especially if it was a repaint 3-pk. The one I think needs updating the most is Greenlight.

Was just wondering the likelihood of something like that as it has been a while since those three were last released. Maybe hey could simply retool the existing mold a bit.

Till-all-R1 wrote:I'm curious what the Dramatic Capture sets fall under, Generations Selects or just random exclusives?

They fall under... "Dramatic Capture Series". It's its own Japanese line and that the line's name.

Till-all-R1 wrote:Was just wondering the likelihood of something like that as it has been a while since those three were last released. Maybe hey could simply retool the existing mold a bit.

It's a redeco line.

I really love this new SS86 Bumblebee. Robot mode near perfect, vehicle mode near perfect. It is hard to complain about it, only nitpick is the rooftop corners are not as rounded off as they should be. Gonna assume its for a remould/repaint, since it looks more like a Cliffjumper roof. This Sunbow G1 cartoon/Marvel comic accuracy is right up my alley and I am very glad it moved from Masterpiece to Generations.

I am even more excited for the possible Cliffjumper. However, as soon as I got to messing with and transforming 86 Bee, what I most want is a Goldbug from this mould. Please Goldbug this thing(not in a multi-figure pack please ).

Hero Alpha wrote:It is hard to complain about it, only nitpick is the rooftop corners are not as rounded off as they should be. Gonna assume its for a remould/repaint, since it looks more like a Cliffjumper roof.

That, and the fact that the car mode has to look just different enough from a real VW Bug to remain legally unlicensed to avoid infringement from Volkswagen.

Sowndwave76 wrote:Negatives?
The only one I have is substantial. And that is this could have been a deluxe. See the photo below and this is definitely too small. Considering that both Megatron and Soundwave’s new figures will be taller, these Constructicons should have been as tall as Legacy Leader Soundwave. The ratcheted joint for Devy’s ankle tilt isn’t enough to justify voyager cost. Devy’s gun could’ve been thrown-in with Hook and Long Haul. There are other limb bots for the other combiners that didn’t include anything more than the figure and a small blaster/weapon. Notice in that photo how much less plastic is used compared to Soundwave. And probably paint as well.
I know larger figures would mean that Devy would be larger than Superion, Menasor, Bruticus, and any other future combiners. But for me, that doesn’t really matter. If Devastator is 2” taller than the others, so be it. These 6 characters are supposed to be larger than the other combiner limb bots. In fact, they’re supposed to be larger than the seekers. In the movie, Hook is barely shorter than Soundwave as they’re fighting.
This size issue just seems like a big shortcut by Hastak. Considering there are 6 Constructicons, what, there was no way Scrapper and Mixmaster could have been deluxe class? This set would’ve still cost basically $200.

I LOVE that Hasbro is scaling Devastator to correct size. One of the things I hated about CW Devy was how completely out of proportion he was to all other figures. Accounting for the addition of the plastic for Devy’s gun, the ratchet joint for Devy’s ankle tilt, and the universal joints for Scrapper’s shoulders and hips (notice that most of Bonecrusher’s are ball joints by comparison), and the Voyager cost point makes absolute sense; just like the Commander class cost point for Long Haul, Hook, and the trailer/waist, legs, and kibble for Devy also makes perfect sense. The classes have been less about figure size and more about cost for many years now, so this should be no surprise, e.g. Earthrise Optimus, Siege Astrotrain, etc. I now have Scrapper in hand, and I absolutely love what they have done with him. I would have liked to have seen a couple things like wrist swivels and perhaps a bit more paint, but those are very minor gripes. I am very excited to finally have a properly scaled Devastator alongside the rest of my Generations collection—something I have wanted since I was 4 years old.

Sabrblade wrote:

Hero Alpha wrote:It is hard to complain about it, only nitpick is the rooftop corners are not as rounded off as they should be. Gonna assume its for a remould/repaint, since it looks more like a Cliffjumper roof.

That, and the fact that the car mode has to look just different enough from a real VW Bug to remain legally unlicensed to avoid infringement from Volkswagen.

I did not think about that part of it, but I'd say you're correct. Just having it Chibi-fied I thought would be enough. That just makes it a "cute" VW bug really. Makes me wonder if they will be able to put Cliff's spoiler on his chest, hmm, hopefully it is and looks good. Possible maybe if they were to just have that small faux window on Bee's chest/back of top of the car be the actual back window for Cliffjumper.

Hero Alpha wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Hero Alpha wrote:It is hard to complain about it, only nitpick is the rooftop corners are not as rounded off as they should be. Gonna assume its for a remould/repaint, since it looks more like a Cliffjumper roof.

That, and the fact that the car mode has to look just different enough from a real VW Bug to remain legally unlicensed to avoid infringement from Volkswagen.

I did not think about that part of it, but I'd say you're correct. Just having it Chibi-fied I thought would be enough. That just makes it a "cute" VW bug really.

Yeah, the fact that Volkswagen doesn't like to be associated with "war toys" likely means that any TF toys based on any of their car models have to have even more genericized aspects than most other car models from other car companies.

adamage1 wrote:I LOVE that Hasbro is scaling Devastator to correct size. One of the things I hated about CW Devy was how completely out of proportion he was to all other figures. Accounting for the addition of the plastic for Devy’s gun, the ratchet joint for Devy’s ankle tilt, and the universal joints for Scrapper’s shoulders and hips (notice that most of Bonecrusher’s are ball joints by comparison), and the Voyager cost point makes absolute sense; just like the Commander class cost point for Long Haul, Hook, and the trailer/waist, legs, and kibble for Devy also makes perfect sense. The classes have been less about figure size and more about cost for many years now, so this should be no surprise, e.g. Earthrise Optimus, Siege Astrotrain, etc. I now have Scrapper in hand, and I absolutely love what they have done with him. I would have liked to have seen a couple things like wrist swivels and perhaps a bit more paint, but those are very minor gripes. I am very excited to finally have a properly scaled Devastator alongside the rest of my Generations collection—something I have wanted since I was 4 years old.

Well we'll have to agree to disagree...
Even if this new Devastator is slightly taller than Legacy Menasor and AotP Superion, he still won't be correctly sized/scaled in my eyes.
Universal shoulder joints aren't exactly rare in deluxe figures, so those aren't some standard indicator of Voyager class. Most Core class figures have ball joints, which doesn't speak well to Bonecrusher being a Deluxe. Like I said before, imo Hastak has scaled back on these Constructicons because opportunities for repaints and retools are extremely limited; they're making sure they get their profits from the initial releases of these molds.
The Hook and Long Haul set "makes perfect sense" for a CC release if what's included is in fact legit-- and at this point, based on these first two I'm already prepared for this set not being worth nearly $100.
No one was questioning size and class; the thought that those two are equal dissolved with the release of SS86 Hot Rod back in '21... I gave my reasons as to why I don't see Scrapper as a Voyager; those went beyond the topic of his height.

I've been a ginormous fan of the SS86 line since its start. I know that package banner has gone away, but these Constructicons have been known as "SS86", and that label has even been used verbally by the Hastak designers relatively recently. All that to say, while these new Constructicon figures are slightly disappointing for me, I'm being objective in my observations. As of right now, I'm also keeping my second copies of these first two releases, so it's not as though I think these are horrible.

Good for you for being completely happy with what we're getting. I'm sure my feelings were similar when my copies of SS86 Swoop arrived and I finally had all 5 updated Dinobots.

Yeah this new Devastator won't be in scale with the other SS86 figures at all. The CW figure is. This new one will be good with the other combiners, like CW wasn't, but the older Titan displays much better with the Dinobots.

Rodimus Prime wrote:Yeah this new Devastator won't be in scale with the other SS86 figures at all. The CW figure is. This new one will be good with the other combiners, like CW wasn't, but the older Titan displays much better with the Dinobots.

Setting aside the wild scale inconsistency in the G1 animation in both the show and movie, the new Devy is definitely in scale with the dinobots, as evidenced in this screenshot:

I got a great deal on another Junkion, so now i have Wreck Gar, Scrapheap, and Junkyard x2. Am i too late to get a kit to make the other Junkyard look like another Junkion? Where can i get a Rubbish kit?

adamage1 wrote:

Rodimus Prime wrote:Yeah this new Devastator won't be in scale with the other SS86 figures at all. The CW figure is. This new one will be good with the other combiners, like CW wasn't, but the older Titan displays much better with the Dinobots.

Setting aside the wild scale inconsistency in the G1 animation in both the show and movie, the new Devy is definitely in scale with the dinobots, as evidenced in this screenshot:

While it seems to me that this screenshot still has Sludge at least slightly too large, even if he's not, this new Devastator is much too small compared to other figures from SS86 and previous and current mainlines.
Just for a point of reference, I have the upgrade kit for Legacy Menasor that has added overall height because of the feet and thigh parts. Leader Megatronus stands right about the height of Menasor's hip joints. Honestly, I don't know how tall Megatronus is supposed to be compared to other characters. Maybe he's huge and dwarfs others like Optimus, Megatron, Galvatron, Rodimus, etc... I thought he was supposed to be roughly the same height as Megatron and Prime, but again, I'm uncertain.
But assuming the new Devy is about the same height as my upgraded Menasor (and possibly slightly shorter), and the new Megatron is roughly the same height as Megatronus (or at least the same as CC Optimus), then the scaling between Devastator and other figures is going to be really off...
Using that screenshot, I'm pretty sure that Megatron should be slightly shorter than the knee bend of Mixmaster. And that's Megatron and possibly Soundwave. The seekers, and any character like an Insecticon or Reflector would be way smaller in comparison.
Another concrete observation-- my Legacy Leader Soundwave stands well above the knee joint of my Legacy Menasor... Soundwave would be almost an inch higher next to a Menasor sans upgrade kit.
I'm by no means trying to sway or change anyone's personal preferences. But objectively, based on these same characters, what was just described in toy-form is not to scale with what's seen in the show or movie. Neither Soundwave nor Megatron should stand anywhere close to Devatstator's (or any combiner's) waist. But in toy/figure form, they will. I don't believe any of the Dinobots in robot mode should be waist-high to a combiner. The exception could be Jetfire? I'm not sure, but maybe also someone like Sixshot?

None of this is a complaint. I'm fine with the height of these new combiners. And I'm really happy with their appearances, stability, and poseabliity. But objectively-- outside of my personal preferences and opinions-- these combiners are too small to accurately scale with other figures.

Ideal sizes for me would mean that compared to Legacy Menasor (even a set without an upgrade kit), the new Megatron would need to be the same height as one of the minibots like Gears, Beachcomber, Brawn, Huffer, etc. Core class Megatron is too small, but imo it would be pushing it if Megs was the same height as SS86 Jazz next to Menasor.

But check for yourselves and do some comparisons with your own figures; I'd be interested to know how tall others think a figure like Megatron should be in comparison to these new combiners.