The Energon Pub

Looks fine to me. I guess I'm in the minority here in that respect. Kinda uninspiring, but so is Streetwise as a whole, if I'm being honest. Only really interested in his capacity as a part of Defensor.

Feet integration is a write off. It would have been cool if they could have turned into a weapons platform or something, but that's not the route TFC chose to go and I'm fine with it. The only way they could shake me is if there were voyager sized cars. And, since this is TFC, they might be.

As someone who grew up with G1 toys and almost never lost a part, Im not bothered by lack of parts integration. I think fp motormaster looks stupid as hell with all that extra combiner kibble on him just for the sake of using all the parts in every mode. My imagination ignores where these parts would have gone in real life. Thats the enigma of the G1 cartoon...its high tech magic. Theres no need to explain where the parts go. Just toss em in the parts box and enjoy the mode you display it in. I know im in the minority here. But i yhink streetwise looks awesome. A little bit like drift but thats ok. I do hope they arent huge though. This time I would be happy with the fp scale just because of groove.

I'm OK with him, but I'd really prefer NOT to buy him with the rest of the team sight unseen.

I don't like what they have for Groove so, so far I'm only 50/50 on this set.

I don't want this till I know more.

I prefer integrated parts. I ignored it with Uranos, because I DID like that they tried with the flight stands, and I know how hard it would be to integrate those bits into planes. But the Protectobots have a big boxy firetruck where they can hide stuff!

I DO like the G1 nod to the weapons on the alt mode though.
If that is the trade off, I think I can overlook the integration.

So there is enough for me to nitpick, which means I won't be preordering for a late Jan release. If the next couple figs win me over, or the combined mode is top notch, I'm in.

I'd enjoy integrated parts a lot more if they actually worked, after the complete disaster that was the Colossus self-destructing poor design I'm apprehensive.

Even so, I've never been sold on anything by TFC and this isn't changing my mind so far. I'll wait til we see more of First Aid, but I get the idea that may be one of the last we'll see.

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TFC10041&mode=retail&utm_source=Marketing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Marketing&utm_content=

pre-orders up at BBTS

mooncake623 wrote:http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TFC10041&mode=retail&utm_source=Marketing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Marketing&utm_content=

pre-orders up at BBTS

Yes, and preordered ! Also, my buddy pointed out how much this guy looks like Drift in robot mode and now I can't unsee it . It doesn't bother me at all, but it's funny.

xyl360 wrote:

mooncake623 wrote:http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TFC10041&mode=retail&utm_source=Marketing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Marketing&utm_content=

pre-orders up at BBTS

Yes, and preordered ! Also, my buddy pointed out how much this guy looks like Drift in robot mode and now I can't unsee it . It doesn't bother me at all, but it's funny.

yea!! he does look like drift! think peoople also complain about how the NYPD police logo is wrong. which is but whatever haha.

it's nice that they're giving us preorders already, but i'd like to see the rest of the lot before i invest in an expensive combiner figure

wilcosu35 wrote:it's nice that they're giving us preorders already, but i'd like to see the rest of the lot before i invest in an expensive combiner figure

For their past 3 combiner releases, TFC has not shown a full set prior to offering a preorder of the first figure, and sometimes even then you can have the first figure or two in hand and still not know what the final version of the rest of the figures will be.

I'm cautious about TFC trying to produce both Ares and Prometheus concurrently. Regardless, my finances are already tied up in other combiners so I have to pass for now.

Preordered. Superion needs backup. He looks good, and he'll be put into combined mode within the day that I get him, as all my neo-G1 combiners are.

mooncake623 wrote:

xyl360 wrote:

mooncake623 wrote:http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TFC10041&mode=retail&utm_source=Marketing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Marketing&utm_content=

pre-orders up at BBTS

Yes, and preordered ! Also, my buddy pointed out how much this guy looks like Drift in robot mode and now I can't unsee it . It doesn't bother me at all, but it's funny.

yea!! he does look like drift! think peoople also complain about how the NYPD police logo is wrong. which is but whatever haha.

It's not wrong it just looks lazy when compared to the other little details they've gone to the trouble of highlighting.

necr0blivion wrote:

wilcosu35 wrote:it's nice that they're giving us preorders already, but i'd like to see the rest of the lot before i invest in an expensive combiner figure

For their past 3 combiner releases, TFC has not shown a full set prior to offering a preorder of the first figure, and sometimes even then you can have the first figure or two in hand and still not know what the final version of the rest of the figures will be.

True, and with Herc it was a big gamble, but it was early in the 3P combiner game, so I was a little more willing to gamble to get the Devastator I had wanted since I was a kid.

With Superion, all the planes are pretty similar, but I held off to buy any till Silverbolt was shown. The remaining 2 were basically remolds of the first 2, so we knew what to expect.

I'm not getting their predaking, but even so, the animal designs share a lot of design elements, so you have a good feel for the overall design from the first 2 or 3.

With the protectobots, they are all very unique vehicles, with few similarities between them. It will be a lot harder to get a feel for the whole bot, even when Hotspot is shown. I don't like what I see from Groove, so I'm going to be pretty cautious on this one.

After seeing the availability of both Hercules and Uranus as "gift sets" I think I might skip the whole preorder thing and buy it all at once and save a few bucks in the process. Normally, I would jump on the pre-order bandwagon to be safe, but we know how TFC works by now. Dealers will have a nice package deal on the whole set. But as soon as they release the "Protect your Ass" upgrade set, pre-order immediately because those sets sell out like hotcakes.

Pre-ordered without hesitation.

I like it. It's not perfect, but my problems with it are not deal breakers. Vehicle mode has a nice design but looks pretty bland, but that's nothing that couldn't be fixed with a new paint job, maybe some panel lines (if there are any to line ), and an Autobot insignia. That NYPD deco has got to go though.

Leg mode seems a little thin. I know there's only so much you can do when the leg is basically a car, but they could've made it look a little more dynamic with a more stylised foot pad instead of keeping as the G1-faithful slab with a giant toe. The lack of parts integration doesn't bother me.

Robot mode is pure win though. No complaints with that at all.

I'm looking forward to seeing the rest.

This is an incredibly undesirable combiner team for me. I never liked them and won't put a penny into this release. He's such a boring gestalt to me.

I do kinda like the way Groove looks in limb mode but that's about it.

The figures are neat, but I haven't really been interested in any TFC stuff post-Hercules. Also, there's the strange allure to all my gestalts being Decepticons.

hot damn that's the best hot spot alt mode ive ever seen...not like there's a bunch of them out there, but still, very nice TFC

Arctorro wrote:FP have obviously put a fair amount of effort into integrating everything in all modes, though the weapon on the back of Diesels trailer is a let down.

I was initially a bit disappointed in that, until I found someplace else to fit that part that worked perfectly.



I have three combiners. None of them are TFC ones, but all of them manage to integrate all of the parts. Some may argue that Giant's forearms aren't well integrated, just being things that two of the vehicles tow, but I think it works quite well. Others have already pointed out that Bruticus's hands as guns for two of the individual robots to hold is a bit obvious, but at least Fansproject did something with them, and I have zero problems with having Vortex and Brawl holding them when displaying that team as individual robots.

Admitedly, I'm coming at this as someone who is perhaps a bit biased against TFC gestalts, but frankly their lack of parts integration is rather astounding, and only made worse when one figures in the inevitable additional add-on kits TFC then releases, giving you more extra parts to deal with! Where as the three I have... Two of them (Giant and FP Bruticus), while there are a few things a bit on the iffy side, in the end everything has a place in every mode. And as for the Stunticons, once I found the above-pointed-out pace to stick those gun parts, the set is just about perfect as far as parts integration goes! (And as a bonus... If you want to play with Motormaster and not use any of his extra parts, if you don't mind it being a bit stumpy, you still get a fully functional alt mode!)

With Giant vs. Herc, it really was just a matter of personal preference. But seeing what TFC has done since then, and how much they seem to not give a damn about integration... I don't regret my path!

Yotsuyasan wrote:

Arctorro wrote:FP have obviously put a fair amount of effort into integrating everything in all modes, though the weapon on the back of Diesels trailer is a let down.

I was initially a bit disappointed in that, until I found someplace else to fit that part that worked perfectly.

Picture

I have three combiners. None of them are TFC ones, but all of them manage to integrate all of the parts. Some may argue that Giant's forearms aren't well integrated, just being things that two of the vehicles tow, but I think it works quite well. Others have already pointed out that Bruticus's hands as guns for two of the individual robots to hold is a bit obvious, but at least Fansproject did something with them, and I have zero problems with having Vortex and Brawl holding them when displaying that team as individual robots.

Admitedly, I'm coming at this as someone who is perhaps a bit biased against TFC gestalts, but frankly their lack of parts integration is rather astounding, and only made worse when one figures in the inevitable additional add-on kits TFC then releases, giving you more extra parts to deal with! Where as the three I have... Two of them (Giant and FP Bruticus), while there are a few things a bit on the iffy side, in the end everything has a place in every mode. And as for the Stunticons, once I found the above-pointed-out pace to stick those gun parts, the set is just about perfect as far as parts integration goes! (And as a bonus... If you want to play with Motormaster and not use any of his extra parts, if you don't mind it being a bit stumpy, you still get a fully functional alt mode!)

With Giant vs. Herc, it really was just a matter of personal preference. But seeing what TFC has done since then, and how much they seem to not give a damn about integration... I don't regret my path!

Herc integrates everything just fine. The Rage set, not so much, but that really was an add on as a response to fans that wanted the "more G1" look, not part of the initial design of the figure.

With the Aerialbots it is a different story. Planes don't have the room to hide parts the same way construction vehicles or trucks do. I liked the fact that they created stands for the planes, I thought it was a clever use of parts. Not really integration in the truest sense of the word, but the parts can be used to display in alt mode.

Their Predaking is a different story again. Since Predaking was not initially a scramble city combiner they follow a different format and the combiner parts form "attack mode" pieces. That seems OK.

With Prometheus we have not seen quite enough to judge how all the parts will or will not be combined. From Streetwise it looks like they are making some of the extra parts fit in like the G1 "attack modes".

But for me, this makes Prometheus 2 for 3. I still hate the Groove update. It could be the deal killer for me unless they, or a 4th party, come up with a better version.

Rated X wrote:Theres no need to explain where the parts go. Just toss em in the parts box and enjoy the mode you display it in.

Shadowstream wrote:I'd enjoy integrated parts a lot more if they actually worked.

these statements. agree 100%.

like, i appreciate them trying, but more often than not it just doesnt seem worth it. it usually still looks like a pile of crap, so why pile it on the bot mode? just store it in the box he came in so he actually looks good when displayed.

honestly the only combiner pieces i think dont look dumb are the mmc predacon feet. those giant ass walking turrets are just cool. and in beast mode too.

Autobot Genocide wrote:

for those concerned about parts integration look under the ladder in these pics and you'll see defensor's crotch panel folded up as a resting mount for the ladder. Look at the roof of the cab picture the roof split in two and rotated a bit and you'll see defensor's chest panels. on top of the ladder you'll see hotspot/defensor's gun. look's like a pretty smooth integration of parts to me!

rpetras wrote:
Herc integrates everything just fine. The Rage set, not so much, but that really was an add on as a response to fans that wanted the "more G1" look, not part of the initial design of the figure.

With the Aerialbots it is a different story. Planes don't have the room to hide parts the same way construction vehicles or trucks do. I liked the fact that they created stands for the planes, I thought it was a clever use of parts. Not really integration in the truest sense of the word, but the parts can be used to display in alt mode.

Their Predaking is a different story again. Since Predaking was not initially a scramble city combiner they follow a different format and the combiner parts form "attack mode" pieces. That seems OK.

With Prometheus we have not seen quite enough to judge how all the parts will or will not be combined. From Streetwise it looks like they are making some of the extra parts fit in like the G1 "attack modes".

But for me, this makes Prometheus 2 for 3. I still hate the Groove update. It could be the deal killer for me unless they, or a 4th party, come up with a better version.

i would agree with this reasoning for TFC's lack of integration in some instances. When trucks (big boxy shapes that lend themselves to storage) are involved or something similar like a boxy car TFC integrates better than fansproject IMO not counting add ons.
that is why the add ons are optional though to allow the collector to choose integration or more character/g1 accuracy. If you thing about it all of the aerialbot's parts at least had a use until the add on set. all of herc's parts were actually integrated very well until the rage set but rage added g1 accuracy. Look at Fanproject's add on set for hasbro's energon superion repaint set. Sure all the parts are "integrated" but that is being generous really. The kibble attached to the planes looks like trash. Planes are not big boxy things that lend themselves to storage but rather are slim aerodynamic objects by design. Animals like the predacons are similar in their slimness but agains the predacons have always worn some of the combiner parts as "battle armor" as TFC has done so far.

Hot Spot looks fantastic! I may have to rethink my position on these.

For me, I'm okay with Groove. It's Gumball that is being a bit of a turnoff for me at this time. Plus, I'm not sure I like how the feet are being handled...

Still, Hot Spot is opening my eyes a little.

Agamemnon wrote:Hot Spot looks fantastic! I may have to rethink my position on these.

For me, I'm okay with Groove. It's Gumball that is being a bit of a turnoff for me at this time. Plus, I'm not sure I like how the feet are being handled...

Still, Hot Spot is opening my eyes a little.

I gotta agree for the most part with this, except I like their Gumball too.

As for TFC's combiners... I really love their Devastator. Their add-on kit was a bonus. Without it it still feels 'complete' to me. Their Superion on the other hand was a solid step down. The add-on kit was necessary to complete it, at least for me. I didn't bother with their Predaking.

And Fansproject made my Bruticus and Menasor.