The Energon Pub

With recent releases of some Japanese characters like Star Convoy (which could've been better), Super-Megatron and the like, I'm hoping to one day see a new Grandus or Sky Garry, but have to acknowledge those'll not likely ever happen.




Also; Signal Lancer please.

To look at him, the design isn't a million miles away from:


A hybrid of This^, with bits of this:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

To look at him, the design isn't a million miles away from:


A hybrid of This^, with bits of this:

Except he's a Micromaster base, not a full size Transformer base. He's shorter than Star Convoy who himself is no Titan.

Emerje

Emerje wrote:Except he's a Micromaster base, not a full size Transformer base. He's shorter than Star Convoy who himself is no Titan.

Emerje

Oh, I see. So a Tigatron/Cheetor solution? Share the engineering of the Titan bases and apply it to a smaller figure. Which could then be reapplied into IDW Fort Max and his nebulous altmode?

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

Emerje wrote:Except he's a Micromaster base, not a full size Transformer base. He's shorter than Star Convoy who himself is no Titan.

Emerje

Oh, I see. So a Tigatron/Cheetor solution? Share the engineering of the Titan bases and apply it to a smaller figure. Which could then be reapplied into IDW Fort Max and his nebulous altmode?

Well, why not VOYAGER "weaponisers"?
All micromasters bases have been weaponisers so far so it could be consistent.

That's true. To be honest, I'm surprised they haven't done more with the Modulators? It looked like they were serious about modernising the entire Micromaster line. Now seemingly abandoned?

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Which could then be reapplied into IDW Fort Max and his nebulous altmode?

From what I can tell, IDW Fort Max's alt mode is basically just Armada Megatron minus the cannon & visible head, so I'm hoping that's in the pipeline somewhere from Legacy Armada Megs.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:That's true. To be honest, I'm surprised they haven't done more with the Modulators? It looked like they were serious about modernising the entire Micromaster line. Now seemingly abandoned?

Allegedly the Micromasters sold horribly, hence why they got dropped before the WFC Trilogy even ended and replaced with Core Class (and may be why the design team seems hesitant to attempt Mini-Cons), and the Modulators were the worst-selling of the Weaponizer types because they were so reliant on Micromasters and also just turned into blocks.

Stupid repaint/retool idea: turn Legacy Skullgrin into Omega Spreem.

Nemesis Primal wrote: From what I can tell, IDW Fort Max's alt mode is basically just Armada Megatron minus the cannon & visible head, so I'm hoping that's in the pipeline somewhere from Legacy Armada Megs.

I could see that. From the perspective of naming conventions, it still doesn't make any sense for someone with "Fortress" in their name to be a regular sized bot.

Nemesis Primal wrote:Allegedly the Micromasters sold horribly, hence why they got dropped before the WFC Trilogy even ended and replaced with Core Class (and may be why the design team seems hesitant to attempt Mini-Cons), and the Modulators were the worst-selling of the Weaponizer types because they were so reliant on Micromasters and also just turned into blocks.

Funny that Micromasters were one of the 'bottom of the barrel' ideas to compete with Micromachines, at the time. Yet the revival of the arguably equally lame last straw idea - Actionmasters - has found a renewed audience? I guess the fan bias towards Partsformers is real after all? A shame really. As I thought some of the designs for Ironworks and others looked really different and interesting.

Nemesis Primal wrote:Stupid repaint/retool idea: turn Legacy Skullgrin into Omega Spreem.

Now both Titans exist. I still await the retools and redecos for both Spreem and Animated Omega Supreme, from these two...


^A bot this size being all neon and G2, would be a sight to behold.


^Swap shoulder kibble with shin kibble. A new head sculpt and redeco and Animated Omega would be easy.

Wouldn't the kibble swapping screw up either mode or even both modes?

Rodimus Prime wrote:Wouldn't the kibble swapping screw up either mode or even both modes?

That's the aesthetic difference between Ark and Animated Omega though. I'm sure if they wanted to, they could cleverly mirror the limb transformation, in some way.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:That's the aesthetic difference between Ark and Animated Omega though. I'm sure if they wanted to, they could cleverly mirror the limb transformation, in some way.

That's why they'd have no choice but to create a new mold from scratch.

At this stage in the game, I think hasbro would give us a completely new Animated Omega (if they were ever going to do it). Thinking about it the rumoured guardian would be the first straight up Titan redeco we'd get (if that ever happens of course)

-Kanrabat- wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:That's the aesthetic difference between Ark and Animated Omega though. I'm sure if they wanted to, they could cleverly mirror the limb transformation, in some way.

That's why they'd have no choice but to create a new mold from scratch.

Not necessarily. I don't think it is beyond them to reverse what the limbs fold into. Again, considering the size of him and with Ark not exactly flying off the shelves (no pun intended). A retool would be a more practical solution than an all new one off mold. Even in this thread, a brand new mold isn't realistic for who it is.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:That's the aesthetic difference between Ark and Animated Omega though. I'm sure if they wanted to, they could cleverly mirror the limb transformation, in some way.

That's why they'd have no choice but to create a new mold from scratch.

Not necessarily. I don't think it is beyond them to reverse what the limbs fold into. Again, considering the size of him and with Ark not exactly flying off the shelves (no pun intended). A retool would be a more practical solution than an all new one off mold. Even in this thread, a brand new mold isn't realistic for who it is.

Why would the ark not selling now factor into it? The machines that made it were switched into making Metroplex. Or are you saying because he didn't sell they wouldn't give A. Omega his own mold? Plus, I think hasbro learned from the Fortress remind about messing with these things too much.

ZeroWolf wrote: Or are you saying because he didn't sell they wouldn't give A. Omega his own mold?

Yes. I'd assume Titan Class is more cost prohibitive than smaller lines. Besides I don't really think moving some panel locations would necessitate a whole new mold, in the first place. Meanwhile, some clever things out there have given us some digibashes to consider.

Ah I get you. The 2nd digibash comes closest I feel. One thing we could do is see how the design team handle the animated characters at the other price points first. If they give them the same treatment as the Prime characters, then they may well go down this route (if it were to happen at all), should they stick with animated style, it may require a new mold.

Yeah, I'd say so. Given the current design team's track record. I wouldn't assume Omega would be reproduced in the Animated style. Thus, he would only require superficial tweaks to the Ark mold. If they go full Animated, the proportions alone wouldn't match any current Titan mold.

If HasTak make an Animated Omega as anything other than a new mold, they've already screwed up. Omega has everything going for him that wasn't for the Ark:
-The Ark got revealed alongside a large price increase that made buyers more hesitant, and considering Hasbro has data currently that says people are buying less because of the higher prices I would be shocked if the same happened again soon
-Unlike the Ark, Omega is an actual character that had significant plot relevance within Animated
-Omega has built-in repaint/retool potential to help justify the mold via the Lugnut Supremes (since we know Selects Titans are a thing)
-Fans have wanted Animated Omega to exist in plastic form since the show came out, so his mere existence is the collection grail for numerous fans, whereas I think most people that wanted HasTak to make an Ark didn't actually want it to transform and just wanted a big set piece since historically the G1 Ark never transformed before (and the majority of people don't care about the Last Autobot homage since they don't know who that is)
-We know non-G1 Titans are even on the table because of Cybertron Metroplex, who is a character with less importance and screentime than Animated Omega to begin with. If he can get his own mainline new mold, Omega absolutely can, they just need to wait until enough time has passed since Siege's G1 Omega
Plus the amount of work it would take to turn Ark into Omega would be extensive enough that they may as well just start from scratch anyway, since they would have to give it a new head, flip which parts of the ship become which limbs and reorient the torso kibble to face downwards instead of up, make new hands, and completely reshell the ship mode at least.

Also I had said Skullgrin for Omega Spreem because I think the whole point of him is that he isn't Titan-sized and just turns into a weird little tank, so making him a Titan repaint, while funny, would miss the mark personally.

Nemesis Primal wrote:If HasTak make an Animated Omega as anything other than a new mold, they've already screwed up. Omega has everything going for him that wasn't for the Ark:
-The Ark got revealed alongside a large price increase that made buyers more hesitant, and considering Hasbro has data currently that says people are buying less because of the higher prices I would be shocked if the same happened again soon
-Unlike the Ark, Omega is an actual character that had significant plot relevance within Animated
-Omega has built-in repaint/retool potential to help justify the mold via the Lugnut Supremes (since we know Selects Titans are a thing)
-Fans have wanted Animated Omega to exist in plastic form since the show came out, so his mere existence is the collection grail for numerous fans, whereas I think most people that wanted HasTak to make an Ark didn't actually want it to transform and just wanted a big set piece since historically the G1 Ark never transformed before (and the majority of people don't care about the Last Autobot homage since they don't know who that is)
-We know non-G1 Titans are even on the table because of Cybertron Metroplex, who is a character with less importance and screentime than Animated Omega to begin with. If he can get his own mainline new mold, Omega absolutely can, they just need to wait until enough time has passed since Siege's G1 Omega
Plus the amount of work it would take to turn Ark into Omega would be extensive enough that they may as well just start from scratch anyway, since they would have to give it a new head, flip which parts of the ship become which limbs and reorient the torso kibble to face downwards instead of up, make new hands, and completely reshell the ship mode at least.

Also I had said Skullgrin for Omega Spreem because I think the whole point of him is that he isn't Titan-sized and just turns into a weird little tank, so making him a Titan repaint, while funny, would miss the mark personally.

All of this right here

Those are good points.

Now I want a Lugnut Supreme.

Given Hasbro's recent decision to focus on their "bigger" brands, one thing I'd like but probably would never happen would be more in-house Collaboratives with the more "obscure" brands. Namely:
- Micronauts: either a Generations-style Magnificus with a new Ga'mede or a new character based on a well-known Micronaut design (my vote would be in one of the robots, like Biotron) with Legacy Junkion engineering to represent the line's interchangeable limbs.
- ROM Spaceknight: either Stardrive (which could be molded as her Spaceknight and/or Dire Wraith self) or a new character with a Rom-esque robot mode.
- M.A.S.K.: one of the characters with a transport or attack mode, like Tracks or the Omnibots, with M.A.S.K. vehicle modes.
- Xevoz: six or eight figures, one based on each species, with Legacy Junkion engineering for xevolution.
- Inhumanoids: a monstruous-looking Commander or Titan Decepticon.

MaximalNui wrote:Given Hasbro's recent decision to focus on their "bigger" brands, one thing I'd like but probably would never happen would be more in-house Collaboratives with the more "obscure" brands. Namely:
- Micronauts: either a Generations-style Magnificus with a new Ga'mede or a new character based on a well-known Micronaut design (my vote would be in one of the robots, like Biotron) with Legacy Junkion engineering to represent the line's interchangeable limbs.
- ROM Spaceknight: either Stardrive (which could be molded as her Spaceknight and/or Dire Wraith self) or a new character with a Rom-esque robot mode.
- M.A.S.K.: one of the characters with a transport or attack mode, like Tracks or the Omnibots, with M.A.S.K. vehicle modes.
- Xevoz: six or eight figures, one based on each species, with Legacy Junkion engineering for xevolution.
- Inhumanoids: a monstruous-looking Commander or Titan Decepticon.

Might as well add Battle Beasts to the list. It would be simple for them to do new figures, make the heads and arms swappable to give them more character options, and maybe sell them 3 for $12 plus $4 blind packs. I bet they'd sell a bunch of them since mini figures are pretty popular, especially if they tie them to Transformers like Takara did.

Emerje

Well, I know those are not Hasbro, but I have a soft spot for the Sectaurs line. (Too bad those are now expensive and rare as F...)
I'd love some X-Over of them.

-Kanrabat- wrote:Well, I know those are not Hasbro, but I have a soft spot for the Sectaurs line. (Too bad those are now expensive and rare as F...)
I'd love some X-Over of them.

With Insecticons? Could be fun. Sectaurs is currently owned by Seventowns Ltd. licensed out to the Nacelle Company who's currently making 7" figures for next year. There was a 4" line a few years ago by another company, but I think that's over.

Emerje