The Energon Pub

[Yotsuyasan]

Still not interested in any Devy, but if I was, the weapons would definitely make me lean Takara. Assuming the price wasn't outrageously different between the two, which really, thus far they haven't been with Combiner Wars vs. Unite Warriors. (In my opinion, at least, and with an exception made for Defensor, mainly due to his exclusivity.)

Normally, I am happy to go Hasbro, but that hasn't seemed the case lately. I needed Takara's Arcee in my life. I went with Takara's Superion when I saw they were doing Quicksilver, and even after Hasbro said, "Hey, we'll do him, too," just decided to leave well enough alone. I was initially going to go Hasbro for Defensor, because at least he still had a Groove, and I didn't think there was going to be a mold for Takara to recolor into a Deluxe Groove anyway. Then Takara was all, "We don't need a mold to recolor, we'll just make our own damn mold!" And (even with, as mentioned, that one having a slightly more uncomfortable price difference) I couldn't help but to say, "Well, time to cancel those Hasbro pre-orders."

And, even though (like Devy) it isn't a figure I need, I kind of also dig their Menasor over Hasbro's, too.

Good job, Takara. Really looking forward to getting my Superion soon. (Hopefully the Perfect Effect white hands & feet come in stock around the same time, so as to not hold me up on shipping my Source Stack!)

[Collector Canine]

Normally, I don't buy the Takara versions, because they are really expensive. But the Takara Unite Warriors figures are actually tempting me to buy them at some point. Might get them when I have some extra cash. I'm saving my money for Botcon 2015 right now.

[DedicatedGhostArt]

This may sound idiotic, but for the price, I'll happily get the Hasbro one. I don't care THAT MUCH about the guns.

Still not interested in any Devy...

You'll be sorry later! Devy looks like the best of Combiner Wars currently!

[shajaki]

This may sound idiotic, but for the price, I'll happily get the Hasbro one. I don't care THAT MUCH about the guns.

While I share your opinion of the guns not being necessary (I know mine won't spend much time outside of Devy mode) I would argue that price probably isn't a big issue. So far stores like AmiAmi and HLJ have offered pre-orders for really amazing prices, comparable to Domestic releases even after shipping.

[Yotsuyasan]

Still not interested in any Devy...

You'll be sorry later! Devy looks like the best of Combiner Wars currently!

I just think he's too big to scale with the rest of my combiners. I'm not the hugest scale nut, but one thing I like is for my gestalts to be roughly the same size. And since I already have a (third party) Devy that fits the bill, I'll remain happy with him.

If I didn't already have a third party one, I'd maybe suck it up and deal with the huge size just so I could have a Devy. (If a Hasbro or Takara version exists first, I have to give that one priority. I only go third party for full figures when there aren't official options.) But I do have one, so I don't need a comically oversized Devy with (although a lesser issue) under-articulated individual robots. I'm glad he exists, for people who either don't do third party at all, for whatever reason didn't get one of the third party versions when they were available, or who are happy to own multiple Devys. And I hope they find him awesome.

Me? I'm good. I'm also good for Motormaster, and unless the potential Combiner Wars/Unite Warriors version is too bloody awesome to ignore, I'm probably fine with Bruticus.



But man, I cannot wait to get my Unite Warriors Superion and Defensor. And Optimus looks forward to being a new combiner once the '84 limb-bots are out. And I look forward to seeing what other ones Hasbro and/or Takara may do. Combiner Wars/Unite Warriors is, to me, one of the most exciting things in Transformers collecting in years. I just don't need to retread ground I already have.

[jay5]

Which Bruticus knock-off is that?

I'm looking for one that has modern military vehicles for the combiners that look sharp in alt mode, but haven't seen any like that yet. It would be cool to get a UW version with some really cool looking military vehicles (like a BMPT Terminator or a Ka-50 Black Shark), but I get that TT & Hasbro stick to the actual cartoons and comic as far as what the alt modes will be for the various 'bots.

[Optimum Supreme]

Not to take away from Devy chat, but what are your thoughts on Hasbro Superion vs the soon-to-release TT UW-01 version?

Hasbro's Superion is pretty great. I like Alpha Bravo, but as a limb I feel the propeller takes away from the overall look. I recently acquired Quickslinger, and he looks FANTASTIC but his snow white really clashes with Silverbolts off-white. I'm really clamoring for UW Superion

Yeah, I notice that in every video review I watch. Glad I'm not alone.

Do you think the TT version will match the paints on those two since they come as a set?

G1 Superion doesn't match either. Silverbolt is off white and Slingshot is regular white.

The white on CW Fireflight and Air Raid doesn't match Silverbolt either.

It shouldn't match Silverbolt.

I think they might all have a different shade of white.

I know it's kind of hard to tell in pictures seen so far, but I wonder, are Takara Superion's extremities actually white, or a light shade of gray like G1's fists actually are, as that photo shows very well? If they actually are bright white, that kinda makes me feel not so bad about Hasbro's being black, somehow.

BTW, it's really quite interesting to have my G1 Superion sitting right in front of my CW Superion, looking at all the little things they did and didn't do the same. Well, it's interesting to me anyway. Oddly, somehow, my G1 Superion actually seems sturdier now than he did back ~30 years ago when I first got him. Still not as sturdy as Menasor or Defensor, but I think age has tightened him up a bit.

[william-james88]

This may sound idiotic, but for the price, I'll happily get the Hasbro one. I don't care THAT MUCH about the guns.

We dont even know the price yet, so how could you say that.

What worries me is more the shipping. So far, prices have been comparable between both versions, but thats because they were smaller toys, I dont know how much the shipping of this guy will add to the price difference.

[Yotsuyasan]

Which Bruticus knock-off is that?

It amuses me you ask which "knock-off" it is, when it is the one gestalt pictured there to include any official figures. Three fifths of it (Onslaught, Brawl, and Vortex) are from the Asian Excusive Combatacons set, a G1 recolor of the Energon Combatacon molds. That set did also include a Blast Off and Swindle, but they were just repaints of Brawl and Vortex respectively. So here, they have been replaced with third party versions of those two characters courtesy of Fansproject.

Here is a before and after split screen, with 100% official on the left and third party augmented on the right:



(And then, the version pictured in the group shot in my previous post has been further augmented by Reprolabels.)

The end result is a little on the small side, but not too different in height compared to the third party Devy and Menasor I have. And photos I've seen lead me to believe they should all look decent with Combiner Wars/Unite Warriors gestalts, as well.

The individual robot modes of the three that are still just Energon repaints aren't the most G1-faithful, and the set (once augmented) may not allow for Scramble City style swapping around, but he's a Bruticus I can be happy with. Although I reserve the right to change my mind once I see what a new version may look like, as stated I am currently thinking I'll be happy to stick with what I've got.

[Ultra Markus]

From TF YUKI's Twitter:

So, we've got G1-style guns for the whole crew, which is awesome. This is also our first look at the shades of green and purple Takara Tomy are using, and both look perfect in my book.

Regarding differences, Hook has silver on the front of his legs and a purple ankle joint. Bonecrusher actually has LESS paint apps, missing the silver on his arms and just leaving them green. Can't tell if Mixmaster has the painted headlights like the SDCC version; doesn't look like it but they're indented so could be the angle.

Bonecrusher's plain arms makes me think they're going with a literal G1 cartoon approach, stripping away paint apps ala Dragstrip instead of finding a balance between the original toy and cartoon.

And the Takara version of Devastator takes the lead, still (largely) sight unseen!

heck ya! this keeps getting better!

[william-james88]

I knew you were a refined individual, Yotsuya, and you keep confirming that with every post, especially those including rare doctor who episodes from the initial seasons.

[jay5]

Which Bruticus knock-off is that?

It amuses me you ask which "knock-off" it is, when it is the one gestalt pictured there to include any official figures. Three fifths of it (Onslaught, Brawl, and Vortex) are from the Asian Excusive Combatacons set, a G1 recolor of the Energon Combatacon molds. That set did also include a Blast Off and Swindle, but they were just repaints of Brawl and Vortex respectively. So here, they have been replaced with third party versions of those two characters courtesy of Fansproject.

Here is a before and after split screen, with 100% official on the left and third party augmented on the right:



(And then, the version pictured in the group shot in my previous post has been further augmented by Reprolabels.)

The end result is a little on the small side, but not too different in height compared to the third party Devy and Menasor I have. And photos I've seen lead me to believe they should all look decent with Combiner Wars/Unite Warriors gestalts, as well.

The individual robot modes of the three that are still just Energon repaints aren't the most G1-faithful, and the set (once augmented) may not allow for Scramble City style swapping around, but he's a Bruticus I can be happy with. Although I reserve the right to change my mind once I see what a new version may look like, as stated I am currently thinking I'll be happy to stick with what I've got.

Thanks for the education!

Nice job compiling a rather solid-looking Bruticus.

[DedicatedGhostArt]

This may sound idiotic, but for the price, I'll happily get the Hasbro one. I don't care THAT MUCH about the guns.

While I share your opinion of the guns not being necessary (I know mine won't spend much time outside of Devy mode) I would argue that price probably isn't a big issue. So far stores like AmiAmi and HLJ have offered pre-orders for really amazing prices, comparable to Domestic releases even after shipping.

If I find a UW Takara Devy for under $160.00 I'll get it, but even the Hasbro version is expensive.

I don't know I may be willing to pay more than that, for the Takara one, just depends on how great the paint aps are.

[fenrir72]

If Burn's post is on the mark (Australia's prices are waaaaaaaaaaay out there because of taxes and all)Hasbro Devs would cost around $153.00.

Given how Superion and Menasor's prices, if purchased online Japan not including shipping cost roughly the same. Such situation, your problem would be finding a Devastator at near 1st hand purchase prices as the after market prices would make him prohibitively expensive or hard to find.

[prjkt]

If Burn's post is on the mark (Australia's prices are waaaaaaaaaaay out there because of taxes and all)Hasbro Devs would cost around $153.00.

Given how Superion and Menasor's prices, if purchased online Japan not including shipping cost roughly the same. Such situation, your problem would be finding a Devastator at near 1st hand purchase prices as the after market prices would make him prohibitively expensive or hard to find.

As far as I'm aware, that price is pretty much correct (and Includes the 10% GST) so if the rumours of a US price of ~$149 before any taxes are accurate, it's pretty much parity when you take into account the current exchange rate, may even be a little cheaper to buy locally than import (which is a RARE deal for us down here.)

Now given my limited budget, the expected prohibitive cost of import, and limited space, I'm OK with the Hasbro version for now. Deco differences don't fuss me as much as they do for smaller/cheaper figures and the robot mode guns aren't a big selling point for me, as I've got no space to display Devastator in any mode other than combined - and given how I plan to display mine, this doesn't worry me - Devastator will be stomping on my DLX/VOY Autobots, while Green Giant will be going toe-toe with Defensor & Superion.

Takara's Defensor is tempting, if only for DLX Groove, but again, cost reasons mean I can't double dip on the entire team sadly - hopefully Hasbro pulls a Sling/Rider and releases him separately. However, if the decos are enough of an improvement I might consider. I do like Takara's Motormaster and Wildrider over the Hasbro versions, but then I prefer Hasbro's Silverbolt and Dragstrip, for example, over the UW versions... if only they were single releases I could mix and match...

[jay5]

I'm opting for a Green Giant instead of the new Devastator. It's not just the scale at issue for me though. I'm also not feeling the minimalist alt forms with very little articulation, even though their visual design is true to G1 cartoon/comic. It's construction equipment; I want to be able to at least somewhat pose it as such when displaying the Constructicons in their alt forms.

The ideal Devastator would have G1-true alt forms but with much more articulation (loader scoop and dozer blade angle and raise/low ability, excavator arm articulation and turret traverse, crane boom extensions and a legit swivel hook at the end with a rotating crane turret to boot, a dumping truck bed, and a spinning cement mixer barrel, would just about cover it.) I'd have gladly put the cost of the Green Giant to TT or Hasbro had they gone the extra mile and provided that level of detail.

[fenrir72]

https://twitter.com/TFYUKI

TFYuki torturing us with kindness. Fig looks like one of those Microman figs with Hotspot

[shajaki]

Hasbro's Hotspot?

[mooncake623]

yea that is a picture of Hasbro's Hotspot

[fenrir72]

yea that is a picture of Hasbro's Hotspot

Maybe the TT version ain't ready yet.....or TFYuki really loves to stew us slowly first.

[mooncake623]

yea that is a picture of Hasbro's Hotspot

Maybe the TT version ain't ready yet.....or TFYuki really loves to stew us slowly first.

Yea probably not ready yet cause I don't think they've shown us any of the decos for the Protectobots yet.

[Sabrblade]

Yeah, Yuki-san's just playing with the Hasbro one rather than promoting the Takara one. His post is essentially reminding us that Unite Warriors Guardian is coming, while also going "Hey, look what the Hot Spot mold can do! (overseas version pictured)".

He's just having some fun.

[Autobot032]

Courtesy of the Weibo userpage Transformers, we have a set of new images of the upcoming Unite Warriors Defensor and the all new Deluxe Groove mold! Unfortunately, he's only being shown in leg form and no others, but it at least gives us an idea of what the finished product will look like.







Defensor, including Groove, will come in a boxed set and is scheduled for a December release. The team can be preordered at your favorite retailer right now. After you're done preordering this fantastic combiner warrior, check out our gallery of Combiner Wars Defensor, featuring Legends Class Groove and Deluxe Class Rook, which you can see right here.

Keep your optics tuned to Seibertron.com for the latest in news and updates, plus the best galleries around!

[LE0KING]

that groove is one heck of a retool.

[SW's SilverHammer]

that groove is one heck of a retool.

Retool of what ?