The Energon Pub

[Rainmaker]

Dangit, another mold I want from Takara. That Ratchet is awesome.

[fenrir72]

Also, would you guys recommend UW Superion? I would have rathered get the CW version for cost purposes but I could never find Firefly, Skydive, or Slingshot, and now they cost almost as much as just buying a whole new set from Takara. Between Superion and Sky Reign, I have quite the list to catchup on

Recommended!

[King Kuuga]

But just so you know, Vortex does indeed use the Alpha Bravo head.

More like Alpha Bravo uses the Vortex head.

[Kurona]

If anyone's wondering how Bruticus looks with PC-09, skip to 15:10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej_wKjf9XnE

[Sowndwave76]

Also, would you guys recommend UW Superion? I would have rathered get the CW version for cost purposes but I could never find Firefly, Skydive, or Slingshot, and now they cost almost as much as just buying a whole new set from Takara. Between Superion and Sky Reign, I have quite the list to catchup on

I would definitely recommend UW Superion. I went back and forth about getting that set for months (almost a year) before I finally got him about a month ago. I was going to skip all Autobots with these lines, but I'm really glad I didn't.
I'll have a full Hasbro Defensor set once Groove shows up in Oct, and UW Computron will be here in August. But I have zero regrets about having UW Superion, and now I'd say I would have regretted more NOT getting him. It's an awesome set!!
That's one thing you should consider imo-- as much as I like UW Superion, if I had to choose between the two, I'd get UW Computron.
Hopefully you can get both!

[Sowndwave76]

I got UW Bruticus today. Boy I'm glad I waited for this set instead of getting the Hasbro version! This set is amazing! I wish I could get a couple of pictures of Bruticus uploaded but it's dark right now and I don't have enough light.

I love how each of the Combaticons are different enough in their re-tools from the original molds the characters are based on. The one with the least change is Vortex, but he gets a new head (at least I'm pretty sure it's a new head) and a four-blade main rotor, which is a really, really nice touch.

Brawl and Blast-Off are new molds to me. I think the hinged joint where Brawl's legs connect to his torso looks weird, but it tabs in correctly for me and the figure is solid. It would've been so awesome if his turret could rotate, but that's okay, still a great-looking tank. What would've made this figure more awesome was if there was a way to attack Brawl's HFG to the back of his tank mode like the G1 figure was able to do with his big twin cannons.

The Blast-Off figure is just awesome. His chest actually doesn't stick out as far as pictures on the internet seem to show. In hand, the robot mode looks very nice. His arm mode can be a little fiddly because the tabs on the tail fin are what really hold it together. A little Future might help this hold together better. Also, Blast-Off's head and neck mount can pop off if you're not careful when moving around his combiner peg, but it can be easily put back on. And it still feels solid in robot mode. I don't think any permanent damage will result from this happening.

I'm looking forward to scrambling around Brawl and Blast-Off later to see how they do as different limbs.

I have Bruticus combined such that his shoulders are flat, so that the cannons don't look so small on his back, like how Defensor's shoulders are transformed. At first, I thought he could benefit from bigger back cannons, but I found that Onslaught's stock cannons look a lot better on Bruticus when they are pegged into Onslaught's fists, with the hoses on the backs of the guns facing inwards, as opposed to mounting the guns on his backpack. The guns look a lot longer in this configuration and makes Bruticus a lot more, well, brutish. I wasn't sure if I was going to like the G1 cartoon-accurate chest plate, but I feel it adds a lot to the look of the figure instead of a plain silver or gray chest plate with just the Decepticon symbol on it.

I have no regrets with this set. It's a great addition to my collection. Now I just need to be able to afford UW Computron and Hasbro's Fortress Maximus!

EDIT: I haven't tried it yet, but I think there is a way to get Brawl's HFG to attach to the back of his turret with a hinged 5mm peg located on the back of his turret.

Glad to hear good word about this set. I'm making myself wait until August so both UW Brut and UW Computron ship free, but sounds like I'll be very happy with this purchase.
Hopefully you're able to share some pictures soon; I'm interested to see how you've added the back cannons to Brut.

[BATTLEMASTER IIC]

Here are some pictures of my UW Bruticus, including one with how I attached the cannons to his back:

UW Bruticus Front Cropped Smaller.jpg (213.77 KiB) Viewed 2747 times

UW Bruticus Side Torso Cropped Smaller.jpg (148.15 KiB) Viewed 2747 times

UW Bruticus Backpack Cropped Smaller.jpg (149.09 KiB) Viewed 2747 times

[Agamemnon]

Neat. It looks like a non-official transformation of Onslaught and the guns are in the fists. I might try that. If you want, Brawl's turret can move up and act more as a kneecap. (Just in case you didn't know...) Nice look!

[Kurona]

Aaah, so you have the torso transformed in the way where the chest wings don't clip in?
Funnily enough, that's apparently the 'official' transformation according to the Hasbro Onslaught instructions...

[Agamemnon]

Aaah, so you have the torso transformed in the way where the chest wings don't clip in?
Funnily enough, that's apparently the 'official' transformation according to the Hasbro Onslaught instructions...

Depends on what "official" is. I believe the instructions alone show two ways to transform Onslaught's arms...

[BATTLEMASTER IIC]

Neat. It looks like a non-official transformation of Onslaught and the guns are in the fists. I might try that. If you want, Brawl's turret can move up and act more as a kneecap. (Just in case you didn't know...) Nice look!

Thanks for the tip with Brawl's leg mode! I adjusted the turret so it's closer to his knee and I really like the look!

Aaah, so you have the torso transformed in the way where the chest wings don't clip in?

Yes, I have the torso transformed just like how it's done for Hot Spot/Defensor. The chest wings don't need to clip in as they don't flop around at all; their joints are really tight. Sure, the shoulder joint on the torso will move if you try and move the arm at the shoulder, but I'm fine with holding the shoulder at the torso while posing the arms.

[Sowndwave76]

Nice one.
I may have to use that for the guns on Brut's back for my set-up.
That set looks so good!!!!

[Cyberpath]

Wanted to make some space on the MP-Decepticon shelf now, so merged the Constructicons. UW Devastator impresses me everything; what an awesome set!

[william-james88]

Aaah, so you have the torso transformed in the way where the chest wings don't clip in?
Funnily enough, that's apparently the 'official' transformation according to the Hasbro Onslaught instructions...

Depends on what "official" is. I believe the instructions alone show two ways to transform Onslaught's arms...

Yeah the instructions have 2 different configuratons simultenously. The final step and the image of the final result are different. So they are both "official". Though clearly, it is suggested for the wings to clip in beause or else nothing makes use of those tabs.

[joeprime276]

Hey guys, sorry for the typical 'what would you do' question, but I was wondering- would you guys recommend UW Superion or CW Devastator? I've been really trying to be strict with my spending so I'm limiting myself to only one

[william-james88]

Hey guys, sorry for the typical 'what would you do' question, but I was wondering- would you guys recommend UW Superion or CW Devastator? I've been really trying to be strict with my spending so I'm limiting myself to only one

Your priority should be devastator. UW Superion is nice, but if you ca only afford one thing, make sure you have a devastator in your collection. Of course if you are not ok with some of his toys not having elbows, then dont get it.

[joeprime276]

Your priority should be devastator. UW Superion is nice, but if you ca only afford one thing, make sure you have a devastator in your collection. Of course if you are not ok with some of his toys not having elbows, then dont get it.

Thanks for the advice WJ. Would you say that the UW version of Devastator is worth the extra $40-$50 over the CW version?

[Insurgent]

I have CW Superion and UW Devastator, so will try to judge accordingly.

Honestly, I'd say it's not as easy as it first sounds. Sure, Devastator gives you 6 voyager figures and Superion gives you 4 deluxes and 1 voyager, but Superion is probably the best of the combiners. And Superion's arms are repaints of each other, whereas Devastator gives you six unique moulds. But Superion would probably be considerably cheaper.

I would say which is your favourite character? Go for that. Or, if you want the best set of toys, I'd say go Devastator. He brings more to the table. And takes up more of your money and more space on your shelf.

[Sowndwave76]

Hey guys, sorry for the typical 'what would you do' question, but I was wondering- would you guys recommend UW Superion or CW Devastator? I've been really trying to be strict with my spending so I'm limiting myself to only one

As someone who has asked this same type of question multiple times, I completely understand.
Here's my advice:

First get CW Devastator, especially if you're going to keep him combined more than not.
Even as individual bots it's an credible set (even though they don't all have elbow joints).

Then later on, if possible, get UW Superion. Also well worth it.
Actually, if you're not planning on getting UW Computron, I personally say he trumps Superion.


I know these decisions can be relatively tough.
Good luck!!

[william-james88]

Your priority should be devastator. UW Superion is nice, but if you ca only afford one thing, make sure you have a devastator in your collection. Of course if you are not ok with some of his toys not having elbows, then dont get it.

Thanks for the advice WJ. Would you say that the UW version of Devastator is worth the extra $40-$50 over the CW version?

YES!!!!

If you can afford it, get it. It is the best way to truly experience this toy. And in 5 years from now, you will be happy you did it.

[joeprime276]

Okay I'll look into the UW Dev more. Thanks for the advice everyone. It's a hard decision because I generally like the Aerialbots more, but at the same time, Devastator is THE combiner. He's the original so that's why I'm swaying toward him after the good word you guys put in for him.
Also, do you think Superion will still be around for a couple months?

[chuckdawg1999]

Your priority should be devastator. UW Superion is nice, but if you ca only afford one thing, make sure you have a devastator in your collection. Of course if you are not ok with some of his toys not having elbows, then dont get it.

Thanks for the advice WJ. Would you say that the UW version of Devastator is worth the extra $40-$50 over the CW version?

YES!!!!

If you can afford it, get it. It is the best way to truly experience this toy. And in 5 years from now, you will be happy you did it.

I agree, UW Devastator is probably the best version of the character we can get, and the individual bots, like hook and scrapper are great figures overall

[Insurgent]

The extra cash for Unite Warriors Devastator is ONLY worth it if you are interested in the individual constructicons. If you intend to keep him in combined mode the entire time, save the cash and get hasbro. If however, like me, you want the individual team members on show just as much as combined mode, then most certainly yes it is.


I forget who it was, but a reviewer summed it up thusly:

Hasbro is for combined mode. Takara is for individual modes.



And that rings true. For combined mode, no the extra is not worth it. For individual modes, yes, yes it is.

[william-james88]

I forget who it was, but a reviewer summed it up thusly:

Hasbro is for combined mode. Takara is for individual modes.
.

I disagree, Takara's combined mode is better than hasbro's too because it has extra ratchets on his sshoulders to stop his arms from falling when posing, as well as 2 faces for devastator and Purple hands. Plus, it doesnt do the dumb mistake Hasbro's did by misplacing the decepticon sticker on scrapper and thus having it stuck upside down in combined mode looking stupid. Plus the paint on his left foot makes a big difference.





Hasbro's Devastator is inferior in every way. The only advantage it had was that he was cheaper for some people. But then again, Takara's was cheaper for others, so any advantage is at a local level and in no way general.

[Kurona]

The extra cash for Unite Warriors Devastator is ONLY worth it if you are interested in the individual constructicons. If you intend to keep him in combined mode the entire time, save the cash and get hasbro. If however, like me, you want the individual team members on show just as much as combined mode, then most certainly yes it is.


I forget who it was, but a reviewer summed it up thusly:

Hasbro is for combined mode. Takara is for individual modes.



And that rings true. For combined mode, no the extra is not worth it. For individual modes, yes, yes it is.

Vangelus?

But yeah, when it comes to combined mode, the only thing that can really sway your choice is that Takara's has a retractable Visor - so you instantly switch between the face with the eyes and the face with the visor, since he had both in the cartoon and seemed to switch even from scene to scene never mind episode to episode. There's also the fact his hands are purple instead of black.
That said... if that's the only thing, then that is probably not worth an extra 40-50 at all. Again, only go the extra mile for Takara if you care in the slightest about the individual guys. If you can find them for the same price though, Takara's is objectively better imo.