The Energon Pub

[D-Maximal_Primal]

I do have to admit... while Takara's colour schemes don't always do it for me and I sometimes like Hasbro's better, Takara always knocks it out of the park with their boxart and stock photography. These are just so badass, I honestly wouldn't mind using one of them for my laptop wallpaper.

Can't blame you there. Hasbro Defensor to me looked so much better paint wise than Takara. But the box art murals are just so sweet. I mean come on, how can anyone forget that Grand Galvatron art:

[Sowndwave76]

Which UW Combiner do you think will be your favorite??

Well, Computron will be the clear winner as he is the only UW one I am getting (and I feel ya with TFsource. I needed something for the free shipping so Roadbuster had to do, not that Sins of the Wreckers has helped that at all). All the other combiners I have were Hasbro (well, Magnaboss is Botcon sorta, but still counts), so this will be awesome!

Now in relation to the hasbro ones I have, he may actually be the favorite. I love Defensor and he is my favorite combiner, and I love him with Rook and Groove as a chest minion, but there is something about the jet torso that just oozes awesome. Plus, of my combiners the jet torso is the one that is most likely to stand straight, as both Defensor and Bruticus do have to have the ratchets clicked by an extra tick and their weight leans them forward closer to standing up straight. Menasor has the bad hips and I've not been a huge fan of that torso, so he's the least favorite. Devastator is awesome and easily the best in combined mode, but the individuals did suffer a bit, but I wasn't too disappointed since he's pretty much always combined. Optimus Maximus and Sky Reign were split up, with the Sky Reign guys minus Wheeljack plus Mirage going to Cyclonus for a Lost Light combiner (of my own making based on the comics) while Wheeljack stayed by himself as a standalone and, with an extra Prowl, the Maximus guys went with another Silverbolt and the stickers to form Magnaboss. Battle Core Optimus and Sky Lynx are standalones as well. And then there is Superion, who was my first of the CW guys and still rocks, seeing as how the jets match the hand/foot guns perfectly and he has nice proportions.

So yes, Computron has serious potential to be the best and favorite of my combiners. Besides, how can one say no to a frikkin' drill hand?!?

I'll have UW Menasor, Superion, Brut, and Comp. I initially wasn't going to get any Autobots at all in either line. But when there was resounding praise for Supe, and the money wasn't any issue, I figured why not? Then with Defensor, I liked the look of Hotspot and First Aid so much, I had them for quite a while and was okay with not having the rest of the team. Hellscream kinda talked me into the others, which didn't take much once we found out Groove would be available. Defensor and Devastator will be the only combiners I only get the Hasbro versions of. I'll have both versions of Menasor and Brut (I'm a big fan of Decepticons).
And with UW Computron, it's so good there was no way I was going to pass him up.
I really dig the alt modes... Actually, everything about this set is amazing...
Anyway, I'm thinking Comp may end up being my favorite. But I love Menasor with the add-on sets, and I'm really looking forward to Superion and Bruticus.

[Kurona]

In regards to UW sets I'd particularly want - had I the money and capability - well, Computron is probably the highest priority here because... well, honestly, the whole thing's awesome (barring I think Afterburner looking a little bleh compared to Hasbro's), but Nosecone alone sells it lmao. I want a ton of Takara Nosecones tbh
Aside from that; UW's Optimus combiner because it... ah... kinda just has a better paintjob than Hasbro's. It isn't a case where Hasbro's going for a more updated or toy-referential scheme and Takara goes for cartoon-accuracy, Takara's is just a better version of Hasbro's.
Menasor because Wildrider would be impossible to find and I like Motormaster that much more (but I would also pick up Hasbro's Drag Strip), and... uh... Grand Galvatron because he looks really fun.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

If I had got Grand Galvatron I think I would have loved him, but the one thing, the only thing, that I slightly did not like that Computron does handle are the legs. With the planes as legs, there would be symmetry but the arms would be very blatant (hence why on Superion I keep to the hasbro design and keep Air Raid and Skydive as arms) and don't look that good. Now with Roller and Breakdown as legs, there is the issue that one cannot possibly form a kneecap while the other has to form a kneecap (and I don't like limbs facing "backwards") so the legs would always be off, but again, very minor.

Now Computron, he does some awesome stuff. For one thing, his legs are pretty symmetrical, both lack the kneecap and both are equally as wide. That drill on Nosecone will have 1 of 2 things happen: 1) where will be a mistransformation so the drill can face upward like the original guy and thus I'd be ok or 2) I will remove the drill and give him a drill hand and put the spare hand somewhere else. Noe the arms are nice and symmetrical as well with both having shoulder kibble and the hands fit nicely with the size of the vehicles where they will attach. Plus, best torso mold and it is remolded with nice detail and that Computron head! He just looks perfect, and he has a nice uniform look to him, which while the colors of each guy are a bit different, they still look uniform and it is awesome. Defensor's red, white, blue and black made him look pretty uniform as well, another reason why I loved him so much.

Plus, He's Computron. a combiner given vast intelligence by GRIMLOCK.

[joevill]

Why is Sky Lynx so hard to find? Every retailer I seen online has him for $40+

[william-james88]

Why is Sky Lynx so hard to find? Every retailer I seen online has him for $40+

I dont know, its pretty crazy thatft this voyager wave never reached saturation in the states.

However, this is the best place to gt him online right now for 30$: http://www.ebay.com/itm/TRANSFORMERS-GE ... Swvg9XXIkw

[joevill]

Why is Sky Lynx so hard to find? Every retailer I seen online has him for $40+

I dont know, its pretty crazy thatft this voyager wave never reached saturation in the states.

However, this is the best place to gt him online right now for 30$: http://www.ebay.com/itm/TRANSFORMERS-GE ... Swvg9XXIkw

Thanks for the headsup. I may get mine from that seller. I just thought it was crazy people were selling it for $40 at Botcon, and people were buying it. I told myself I can wait. Now it feels like that was a bargain.

[Bumblebee21]

Why is Sky Lynx so hard to find? Every retailer I seen online has him for $40+

you might be disappointed with him. hes okay just a few problems. i've only found one at retail

[Sabrblade]

Why is Sky Lynx so hard to find? Every retailer I seen online has him for $40+

Because he's a tail-ender.

[King Kuuga]

After Christmas before Summer is always a slow time at US retail in my experience, PLUS it's the end of the line. The TF shelves in a lot of stores are shrinking and some have straight up removed the slot for boxed Generations figures. In others it's empty and in still others there's just a bunch of Scattershots that aren't inclined to go anywhere. I don't know if my stores haven't received any Sky Lynx cases or if he's being snapped up before I can get to him, but I do know I'm upset that someone was selling them for $25 at a con I was at a few weeks ago.... the day before I was able to go, so he was sold out by the time I got there.

[SureShot18]

I also have to say Computron is my favorite because it's the only one I'll have. I think Takara just knocked it out of the park with their Comps. The bots are great, the colors work well, the molds are perfect for the characters, and the combined mode is awesome. And just to put some icing on the cake everyone of them have brand new tooling.
If money wasn't a problem I would have picked up Grand Galvatron so he would probably be my second favorite.

[o.supreme]

Someone here posted a sighting of 1 Skylynx at my local Target a couple of months back, which I am inclined to believe because that was the same weekend we got Onslaught, which was rare at the time and it was the only one on the shelf when I bought it. I wonder if Hasbro did another production run on Motormaster & Battle Core Optimus because stores in my area seemed to have gotten more stock recently, which quickly disappeared. I am surprised however, my local Target did have like 5 Scattorshots last time, but now they only have 1. They were way overstocked on OP MAX limbs, but those have all sold also, the only things left are Leader Class Skywarps. TRU has a pretty good stock of various CW toys in all size classes, but that's mostly because they are way more expensive than Wal-Mart & Target, but I've never seen a Sky-Lynx at TRU either.

[Munkky]

I've pre-ordered Lynxmaster on Kapow Toys, and I look forward to owning it. It will be my first Unite Warriors set, though I'm thinking about possibly getting Grand Galvatron too, but I kind of prefer Hasbro Cyclonus' colour scheme to Takara's.

[homicide]

that computron will be the highlight of these new combiners its too bad hasbro didnt do better
sure for hasbro the hands and feet are something new but the colors are all wrong retooling skydive was nice, but everything else? come on hasbro
unite warriors Computron will have a place on my shelf

that computron will be the highlight of these new combiners its too bad hasbro didnt do better
sure for hasbro the hands and feet are something new but the colors are all wrong retooling skydive was nice, but everything else? come on hasbro
unite warriors Computron will have a place on my shelf

Totally agree... This is one that's not to be missed.
Like Menasor and Bruticus, I almost wish I was getting both versions of Comp.
But there is nothing in the Hasbro version that makes it worth it imo.

Question-- Are the details on Comp's chest plate going to be white-ish, or red-ish as they are in those convention photos??
I'm hoping for the white.

I'm really glad to see that I'm not alone in my opinion of the 2 (very different) Computrons. Personally I think the Hasbro version is easily the worst of their recent Combiners, with all the others its mostly pretty small differences between the Takara & Hasbro versions, but with Computron the differences (to me anyway) are basically everything, from color choices to the molds. Hasbro went the cheapest possible route they could, while Takara obviously cares about what their customers want. I'm sorry for anyone who wants the Habro one, because frankly I don't understand why anyone other than a small child who doesn't know anything about the original G1 character or comprehend what a cop out a (bad) repaint is, would spend money on this! By purchasing Hasbro's version, you're basically telling Hasbro, "That's great guys, here's my money, keep them repaints coming!" Which is why I'm so glad that I own the older CHUG figures for Prowl, Sunstreaker, Ironhide, Mirage, Hound, Wheeljack, Trailbreaker & Smokescreen. Example: Just because you have a sportscar painting it yellow doesn't make it Sunstreaker, because unlike their earlier CHUG releases, none of these were designed to be the characters Hasbro has been turning them into. Now I do get it if you just really want that character and can't find the older version or don't wanna pay the prices they go for now, but everyone who claims the CW verion of Prowl (for example) is a better representation of the character than the Universe version, well I'll just simply ignore you because it would take me a whole 'nother paragraph to point out everything that is NOT Prowl in the CW version. Sorry for ranting, but this is something I (obviously) feel very strongly about. Honestly, I'm not trying to hate, but I really don't understand the mindset of just taking what's easiest to get, regardless of quality.

[Hellscream9999]

that computron will be the highlight of these new combiners its too bad hasbro didnt do better
sure for hasbro the hands and feet are something new but the colors are all wrong retooling skydive was nice, but everything else? come on hasbro
unite warriors Computron will have a place on my shelf

that computron will be the highlight of these new combiners its too bad hasbro didnt do better
sure for hasbro the hands and feet are something new but the colors are all wrong retooling skydive was nice, but everything else? come on hasbro
unite warriors Computron will have a place on my shelf

Totally agree... This is one that's not to be missed.
Like Menasor and Bruticus, I almost wish I was getting both versions of Comp.
But there is nothing in the Hasbro version that makes it worth it imo.

Question-- Are the details on Comp's chest plate going to be white-ish, or red-ish as they are in those convention photos??
I'm hoping for the white.

I'm really glad to see that I'm not alone in my opinion of the 2 (very different) Computrons. Personally I think the Hasbro version is easily the worst of their recent Combiners, with all the others its mostly pretty small differences between the Takara & Hasbro versions, but with Computron the differences (to me anyway) are basically everything, from color choices to the molds. Hasbro went the cheapest possible route they could, while Takara obviously cares about what their customers want. I'm sorry for anyone who wants the Habro one, because frankly I don't understand why anyone other than a small child who doesn't know anything about the original G1 character or comprehend what a cop out a (bad) repaint is, would spend money on this! By purchasing Hasbro's version, you're basically telling Hasbro, "That's great guys, here's my money, keep them repaints coming!" Which is why I'm so glad that I own the older CHUG figures for Prowl, Sunstreaker, Ironhide, Mirage, Hound, Wheeljack, Trailbreaker & Smokescreen. Example: Just because you have a sportscar painting it yellow doesn't make it Sunstreaker, because unlike their earlier CHUG releases, none of these were designed to be the characters Hasbro has been turning them into. Now I do get it if you just really want that character and can't find the older version or don't wanna pay the prices they go for now, but everyone who claims the CW verion of Prowl (for example) is a better representation of the character than the Universe version, well I'll just simply ignore you because it would take me a whole 'nother paragraph to point out everything that is NOT Prowl in the CW version. Sorry for ranting, but this is something I (obviously) feel very strongly about. Honestly, I'm not trying to hate, but I really don't understand the mindset of just taking what's easiest to get, regardless of quality.

Except that TT released all those repaints you hate so much, in fact, they did it before hasbro did, so it's not just hasbro - they just use less paint on their repaints than TT

[william-james88]

Example: Just because you have a sportscar painting it yellow doesn't make it Sunstreaker, because unlike their earlier CHUG releases, none of these were designed to be the characters Hasbro has been turning them into.

But the head designer at Hasbro (John Warden) did confirm that when he designed combiner wars, his inention was to make several figures from the same mold. While Prowl and company came a few months later, they were planned at the exact same time. What we called the dead end mold was designed to be Dead-End, Wildrider, Streetwise and Prowl from the get go. We know Lightsteed wasnt though and neither were any of the Botcon toys. I am not sure about the Victorion toys but even if there was a vote, Hasbro did say they were hoping for a female combiner, way before we even know we could choose the gender, meanign that it could have been planned from a while back with the votes but being as useful as the "close doors" button on the elevator.

Of course, I totally get that you dont feel these are the right molds for these toys, especially since they use fake parts, but saying that they were not designed to be them is not true, at least from Hasbro's stand point. They were gonna milk this stuff from the start

And while i agree that the previous Prowl has a more prropriate transformation I much preffer CW Prowl's headsculpt. Universe Prowl's headsculpt looks really daft.

[Kurona]

Plus, maybe it's just me, but beyond the quality control issues a lot of people have reported with Universe Prowl... I really don't like how his head sits. The black platform on top of the car hood chest just sits way too high for my liking.
CW Prowl and CW Ironhide fulfill the role to me of being a CHUG toy of them that is good, unlike their Universe attempts. Most certainly not ideal... but there is quite a bit to love about them for me. Especially CW Prowl's headsculpt. It's just perfect.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Even if they do not transform and look completely like their original counterparts, some of the UW/CW guys really were good, like Prowl and Trailbreaker, plus we got a decent Ironhide finally

[Hellscream9999]

Plus, maybe it's just me, but beyond the quality control issues a lot of people have reported with Universe Prowl... I really don't like how his head sits. The black platform on top of the car hood chest just sits way too high for my liking.
CW Prowl and CW Ironhide fulfill the role to me of being a CHUG toy of them that is good, unlike their Universe attempts. Most certainly not ideal... but there is quite a bit to love about them for me. Especially CW Prowl's headsculpt. It's just perfect.

Yeah, I wasn't a fan of any of the wave 4 bots' chug incarnates (save mirage), gladly picked up wave 4 as spare limbs, but I've really come to like all of them for just looking so nice.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

Example: Just because you have a sportscar painting it yellow doesn't make it Sunstreaker, because unlike their earlier CHUG releases, none of these were designed to be the characters Hasbro has been turning them into.

But the head designer at Hasbro (John Warden) did confirm that when he designed combiner wars, his inention was to make several figures from the same mold. While Prowl and company came a few months later, they were planned at the exact same time. What we called the dead end mold was designed to be Dead-End, Wildrider, Streetwise and Prowl from the get go. We know Lightsteed wasnt though and neither were any of the Botcon toys. I am not sure about the Victorion toys but even if there was a vote, Hasbro did say they were hoping for a female combiner, way before we even know we could choose the gender, meanign that it could have been planned from a while back with the votes but being as useful as the "close doors" button on the elevator.

As a rule of thumb, most if not all Hasbro main line releases are pretools (meaning the parts were already designed from the get-go), while TakaraTomy has retooled some even further. Not gonna post the total head count here, as that's more for the CW, but generally speaking, any first two mainline releases of any given mold are pretools, anything beyond has been retooled further. FunPub toys are a mix of newly designed parts and unused ones.

[SureShot18]

Pretty much all of my gripes with Universe Prowl lie in the head area as well ;besides that it's a pretty solid figure. On the other hand CW Prowl's headsculpt is just , way better than the Universe version. That was the deciding factor for replacing the older one. Does the mold fit Prowl, not really; is the mold milking bothersome, kinda; but that HEADSCULPT MAN.

[Sowndwave76]

I'm really glad to see that I'm not alone in my opinion of the 2 (very different) Computrons. Personally I think the Hasbro version is easily the worst of their recent Combiners, with all the others its mostly pretty small differences between the Takara & Hasbro versions, but with Computron the differences (to me anyway) are basically everything, from color choices to the molds. Hasbro went the cheapest possible route they could, while Takara obviously cares about what their customers want. I'm sorry for anyone who wants the Habro one, because frankly I don't understand why anyone other than a small child who doesn't know anything about the original G1 character or comprehend what a cop out a (bad) repaint is, would spend money on this! By purchasing Hasbro's version, you're basically telling Hasbro, "That's great guys, here's my money, keep them repaints coming!" Which is why I'm so glad that I own the older CHUG figures for Prowl, Sunstreaker, Ironhide, Mirage, Hound, Wheeljack, Trailbreaker & Smokescreen. Example: Just because you have a sportscar painting it yellow doesn't make it Sunstreaker, because unlike their earlier CHUG releases, none of these were designed to be the characters Hasbro has been turning them into. Now I do get it if you just really want that character and can't find the older version or don't wanna pay the prices they go for now, but everyone who claims the CW verion of Prowl (for example) is a better representation of the character than the Universe version, well I'll just simply ignore you because it would take me a whole 'nother paragraph to point out everything that is NOT Prowl in the CW version. Sorry for ranting, but this is something I (obviously) feel very strongly about. Honestly, I'm not trying to hate, but I really don't understand the mindset of just taking what's easiest to get, regardless of quality.

We're definitely on the same page.
3/5 of that team look like they could be other characters. So if you're wanting figures that truly look like the Technobots and Computron, with these two options, it seems like a no-brainer.
I totally agree that of any combiner that's been released by both companies, this is the one that is well worth the extra money.
It would be one thing if this were the third or even second round of updating for these guys. And as myself and others have mentioned, who knows how long it'll be until we get these combiner teams again... As is, a lot of us have waited roughly 10+ years!
I obviously could be 100% wrong, but I doubt we'll see any of these again before we get new versions of Predaking, Abominus, and Piranacon. And with the Last Knight in the next year bringing another movieformer line, it's probably going to be a long time before we see any of those 3.

Even if someone here on the boards could convince me Hasbro's Computron isn't that bad, I don't think anyone could convince me it's good. Take the UW version out of the mix-- would I get Hasbro's? Yeah, because of what I previously mentioned.
But knowing my preferences, I'd still be letdown.
In fact, depending on how much extra $$$ I make this summer, I'll be tempted to get a second UW set to either keep MISP, or open to have a set kept as individual bots.

[william-james88]

Pretty much all of my gripes with Universe Prowl lie in the head area as well ;besides that it's a pretty solid figure. On the other hand CW Prowl's headsculpt is just , way better than the Universe version. That was the deciding factor for replacing the older one. Does the mold fit Prowl, not really; is the mold milking bothersome, kinda; but that HEADSCULPT MAN.

Those are my exact thoughts!

Even if someone here on the boards could convince me Hasbro's Computron isn't that bad, I don't think anyone could convince me it's good.

It does come with an extra legends figure and its targetmaster. And it has updated feet and hands.
And if you dont get it, you miss out on a totally new take on a modernized Strafe which has a Hasbro exclusive Headsculpt and new tooling.
...

Thats all I got.

[Kurona]

Pretty much all of my gripes with Universe Prowl lie in the head area as well ;besides that it's a pretty solid figure. On the other hand CW Prowl's headsculpt is just , way better than the Universe version. That was the deciding factor for replacing the older one. Does the mold fit Prowl, not really; is the mold milking bothersome, kinda; but that HEADSCULPT MAN.

Those are my exact thoughts!

Even if someone here on the boards could convince me Hasbro's Computron isn't that bad, I don't think anyone could convince me it's good.

It does come with an extra legends figure and its targetmaster. And it has updated feet and hands.
And if you dont get it, you miss out on a totally new take on a modernized Strafe which has a Hasbro exclusive Headsculpt and new tooling.
...

Thats all I got.

Also, better Afterburner

Scattershot ruins it tbh

[william-james88]

Also, better Afterburner

Scattershot ruins it tbh

Well I was going with non subjective things that the takara set didnt give you. I wasnt going with better or worse since those are always subjective. For example, Afterburner. I fail to see how Habsro's is better since it isnt accurate to anything. That green comes out of nowhere and is really odd. At least Takara's is faithful to one source and its cool how the shade of red on the motorbike is different from the rest of the red on Computron, giving it both uniformity and still a sense of something different and seperate. Plus it has 2 awesome new guns that are perfect for him.