The Energon Pub

News Credits: 10 · Fri Apr 22, 2016 4:01 pm

Thanks for the mini-review! I am reconsidering these. I do like that Leozack, and with Hasbro kind of flubbing Leokaiser in totality, I'm looking for other "Classics" options.

But, man, these are expensive... (Says the guy that bought both Feral Rex and Hercules... 8-}

)

News Credits: 2 · Fri Apr 22, 2016 4:55 pm

Yeah, the hasbro version would be ok if it was just 1 member missing, but the fact they've removed 2 members, and one of those is Leozack who is the leader of the group, kinda put me off the hasbro version. I agree, the price can be a bit off putting. I must admit, I normally don't go for third party combiners for that very reason. But this is the only way we're going to get a proper looking modern version of Lio Kaiser, and as I said earlier in the thread, it's still ultimately gonna be cheaper than trying to get a proper G1 Lio Kaiser.

Guess I'll give an actual review-ish of them.

I'd say there are two negatives to Leozack, but that could also just be QC on mine.

His hands are impossible to get out of his arms when going into robot mode, due to the fingers getting caught behind the hinge for the arm flap, though Emgo didn't seem to have any problem in his video. Had to use a little flat thingy to gently prise them past it. And his front landing gear can't be deployed, as it looks like the hatch has been overtightened in a closed position, so I can't get it open. THough that should easily be fixable with a screw driver (again, Emgo had no problem on his version).

I guess you could say his brest animal head not locking together in any way could be a criticism, but it generally holds itself together well enough. But yeah, he oozes personality. I haven't put any of them in combined modes yet, as I want to save that until I have the set, but I have looked at Lio Kaiser's head (you have to for jet/robot transformation) and the headsculpt on the combiner is outstanding.

What's nice is that the instructions say you have to put his wings fully swung up behind his shoulders, but you can leave them in a slightly more splayed appearance like he had in the show and it just makes him look so better IMO, and they are stiff enough to hold that position.

His jet mode is excellent as well. Sure, he's doing the robot under a jet like most jetformers do, but he's a nice large jet and though is similar to Hellbat (though his legs do transform very different), he's got small improvements over Hellbat, like having some leg panels that fold out and over to cover up the end of his wrists and lock everything together nicely.

Jaruga is nice enough. His wheels just hang off the back of his arms, but unlike Leozack's combiner ports, these wheels are quite large and obstructive. And his shoulders/elbow joints make a loud squeaking when I pose them. His legs are nice ratchet joints though. His dune buggy mode holds together pretty well, though his missile racks don't clip in, they just fold over and rest on the back of the vehicle. He's an ok dude, excellent colour scheme and buggy mode is fun, but I'd say the weakest of the 4 we have so far. I would say Jaruga is a buy for the team kinda guy, whereas Leozack would be a good choice if you just wanted one person.

News Credits: 2 · Mon Aug 01, 2016 7:00 am

Anyone have an update on Gaihawk? He was meant to be out by now.

News Credits: 10 · Mon Aug 01, 2016 7:37 am

Insurgent wrote:Anyone have an update on Gaihawk? He was meant to be out by now.

I just got Hypnos which is H-06. I wonder if they are having issues with Aiakos, H-05 being he is obviously not out in July... :-?

So far I just have Rhadamanthus and he is fun. I'm planning on going back to get the other three in the next couple of months. TR hit my wallet hard in July...

News Credits: 2 · Mon Aug 01, 2016 8:52 am

Huh. I didn't realise Gaihawk was number 5. Thought he was 6.

News Credits: 10 · Wed Aug 03, 2016 10:08 am

Looks like Aiakos (Guyhawk) will be in at BBTS within 10 days... ;)^

News Credits: 2 · Wed Aug 03, 2016 12:18 pm

Nice. Hopefully kapow will get him before aa then.

I've just got drilllhorn today. Not opened him, but I got him.

News Credits: 2 · Fri Aug 12, 2016 6:47 am

Gaihawk will be delivered on Wednesday! I haven't opened Drillhorn yet as I want to keep the pattern of opening them in pairs. Mmmmm, looking forward to it.

News Credits: 2 · Thu Aug 18, 2016 6:13 pm

So, while Gaihawk and Drillhorn are almost identical to Hellbat and Killbison in terms of transformation, pretty much every square inch has a different moulding. The details are completely different so at least they went through the effort there to make them as distinct as possible. But they had to kinda have the same transformation so they would match in combined mode.

And speaking of combined mode. Wow. It's an absolute pain in the arse to transform and combine. Like, it took me hours to do (granted I was watching tv while doing it but still). Everything locks together super tight. So tight, it takes real effort to get them to click together. But it's so worth the effort.

He's now standing on my table combined, wielding his nunchucks. And this behemoth looks so impressive. Nothing is wobbly or loose, although he can tip forwards a bit if he's holding both weapons outstretched. And he can fall over pretty easy if you don't get him right, but once he set him up right, he aint moving unless you push him. So it's a bit of both on his balance and wobble.

I would definately say he's worth grabbing if you are a fan of Liokaiser. He does not dissapoint. But if you just want a combining transforming robot, there are better ones to go for.

Still, I got him because a G1 Liokaiser would be even more expensive, and the combiner wars one just doesn't do it. And I am so glad I did.

Sat Aug 27, 2016 6:57 am

I'm going to try and combine them today

If I come across any QC issues with my bots, i'll let you all know

The combiner wars Liokaiser could have been a real winner had they actually attempted to but the effort into the main body. The Skylynx repaint is terrible and therefore I have decided to call it Sky-Binks after that terrible Star Wars character who's name strikes fear into our hearts lol!!!

Maybe Takara will give us the whole 6 member team with their take on Liokaiser.

Sat Dec 10, 2016 11:08 pm

I'm late to this party as well, but I recently got Cerberus and Minos, and my wife picked me up two of the others for Christmas. While I haven't played with those yet, Cerberus and Minos are really, really incredible figures. I'm brand new to the 3P scene, so I guess take that into account here.

Cerberus is the figure from the set that I was least impressed by in images and stuff, but is a real great figure. He's powerful looking and has a fun and simple transformation, while still looking totally different in both main modes. My only issue with him is that the robot head doesn't quite clear the chest cavity, so it scrapes a little on transformation.

Minos, holy crap. This is probably the best toy I've handled all year. Great transformation, nothing too severe or anything, pretty intuitive. But terrific in both modes.

I cannot wait to complete the set. I saw the combined form at TFCon Chicago and was just instantly in love.

Sat Dec 10, 2016 11:10 pm

Jinnai wrote:I'm going to try and combine them today If I come across any QC issues with my bots, i'll let you all know

The combiner wars Liokaiser could have been a real winner had they actually attempted to but the effort into the main body. The Skylynx repaint is terrible and therefore I have decided to call it Sky-Binks after that terrible Star Wars character who's name strikes fear into our hearts lol!!!

Maybe Takara will give us the whole 6 member team with their take on Liokaiser.

I don't think the Platinum Liokaiser is terrible, as I quite like mine, but there's no contest between the two here.

Mon Aug 14, 2017 4:07 pm

So, this thread may get some posts over the next few days, because thanks to BBTS' sale I picked up the last two figures I needed: Aiakos and Thanatos.

A general question, if anyone sees this and knows: Aiakos came with a pair of combiner pegs, like the ones that hang off Rhadamanthus' elbows. Does anyone know why?

News Credits: 2 · Mon Aug 14, 2017 4:21 pm

Is Aiakos Jaruga? The missile buggy? If so, those are for connecting the legs into.

Mon Aug 14, 2017 4:40 pm

Insurgent wrote:Is Aiakos Jaruga? The missile buggy? If so, those are for connecting the legs into.

No, Gaihawk. The pinkish jet. They are the same kind of pegs that are on Jaruga as well, that Energon combiner style, the six sided peg. There's two of them in a little baggie with two rubber rings, almost like they're replacement parts.

News Credits: 2 · Mon Aug 14, 2017 7:01 pm

Oh. They'll be replacement parts. I think for Jaruga possibly, so the knees are a bit more solid. I haven't switched them on mine (if they came with him. I can't remember).