The Energon Pub

Speaking of combiners, I would love to see the Power Core Combiners to make a comeback. But this time, with proper transforming limbs.

This could also be an opportunity to make the classic G1 Scramble City combiners as Core Class.

I would really enjoy toy versions of characters that are popping up in IDW all the time.
Nautica
Anode & Lug
Aileron
Rumaj
Tyrest
10
The DJD
Etc, etc...

Copy/pasta from the Legacy thread about a new type of combiner that I want. Not so new because Gobots did it twice almost 40 years ago:

sol magnus wrote:They could even call it "Scramble City." LOL

Well, CW was Scramble City. I mean something a bit more "restrictive" but would still allow freedom.

Imagine a combiner line. ALL deluxes. No voyagers. 5 types of deluxes:
-- Upper torso with the integrated chest-plate and combiner head.

-- Lower torso with HARD ratchets with the Combiner's thighs AND knees. The combiner ports being below the knees.

-- Arms with integrated combiner hands (left or right with a swingable thumb) with HARD ratchets for the Combiner's elbow (reusable as the single bot's ab-crunch.)

-- Lower legs, with integrated Combiner feet with hard ankle pivot and tilts articulations.

All dedicated members could be swapped between teams like to make a "CobtructiOkaizer."

-Kanrabat- wrote:Copy/pasta from the Legacy thread about a new type of combiner that I want. Not so new because Gobots did it twice almost 40 years ago:

sol magnus wrote:They could even call it "Scramble City." LOL

Well, CW was Scramble City. I mean something a bit more "restrictive" but would still allow freedom.

Imagine a combiner line. ALL deluxes. No voyagers. 5 types of deluxes:
-- Upper torso with the integrated chest-plate and combiner head.

-- Lower torso with HARD ratchets with the Combiner's thighs AND knees. The combiner ports being below the knees.

-- Arms with integrated combiner hands (left or right with a swingable thumb) with HARD ratchets for the Combiner's elbow (reusable as the single bot's ab-crunch.)

-- Lower legs, with integrated Combiner feet with hard ankle pivot and tilts articulations.

All dedicated members could be swapped between teams like to make a "CobtructiOkaizer."

That's a pretty awesome idea, and I'd love to see some original characters (or nameslaps from D-listers) get that treatment. Unfortunately, HasTak seems to be entirely focused on existing characters and series for getting Generations-quality figures; for now at least the chances of a new series getting the Animated treatment of figures suitable for kids AND collectors is practically zero.

Evil Eye wrote:That's a pretty awesome idea, and I'd love to see some original characters (or nameslaps from D-listers) get that treatment. Unfortunately, HasTak seems to be entirely focused on existing characters and series for getting Generations-quality figures; for now at least the chances of a new series getting the Animated treatment of figures suitable for kids AND collectors is practically zero.

Yeah, 6 members combiner teams of interchangeable characters would be the perfect opportunity to introduce new characters and ideas. Unfortunately, those "won't sell".

Forgive me if I've posted this before but one idea I'd love to see is (appropriate) Mini-cons get small Deluxe (about ER Cliffjumper sized) figures. I can see the Road Wrecker trio working really well as Decepticon grunts, for instance, and the weapon combiners (Star Sabre, Requiem Blaster, Skyboom Shield etc) could still do the combinations but would be scaled for use by combiners- or, alternatively, as huge weapons for regular figures.

-Kanrabat- wrote:Yeah, 6 members combiner teams of interchangeable characters would be the perfect opportunity to introduce new characters and ideas. Unfortunately, those "won't sell".

I wonder, back in '83 or '84 when Transformers were 1st brought up to be converted from Diaclone how many people at Hasbro said "they won't sell."

Rodimus Prime wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:Yeah, 6 members combiner teams of interchangeable characters would be the perfect opportunity to introduce new characters and ideas. Unfortunately, those "won't sell".

I wonder, back in '83 or '84 when Transformers were 1st brought up to be converted from Diaclone how many people at Hasbro said "they won't sell."

Exactly.

You can say that again for your he '86 crew and beyond.

Same for RID.

And Beast Wars.

And more.



Looks like in modern days, new characters must proves themselves in the "kids" lines like Cyberverse or Rescue Bots first before being "Generation'd".

At first thought, my immediate answer would be the buyout properties which were later retconned into being part of the Transformers multiverse, and are probably bogged down by way too many legal issues to be released: namely GoBots (I know we got repaints and homages, but I mean Generations-style updates to the original designs), Rock Lords (which I could go on a rant as to why I don't think the concept is as ridiculous as everyone thinks, but they were poorly handled anyway so that's neither here nor there) and Robotix (which I think was sold to Robotics and Things, but has since been discontinued, so I don't know who owns the toy rights anymore).

Other than that, I can think of some individual cases:
- Sari Sumdac: unless she's released by the R.E.D. line, I don't see them pulling it off.
- Autobot X: same deal as Sari, only way more obscure.
- The DJD: no way they can justify selling them; maybe Tarn, who's closer to your typical hulking powerhouse, but all the others have way too direct a link to torture for a kids brand (seriously, how would one justify selling a robot that turns into an electric chair?)
- Canopy: don't know why, but I really loved the guy despite its incredibly short screentime. Not sure how they'd find a suitable altmode, though.
- Violen Jiger/Violengiguar/Violenjiger/Violen Jygar/Bio Ranger Iga/whatever: an obscure character from a line of limited popularity, but with a really awesome design and unique transformation.
- BW Mutants & Savage/Noble: one of my greatest regrets from my childhood was not buying any of the Mutants, since the concept of a robot trapped in two animal modes seems really original. Also extends to Savage/Noble from Beast Machines, which like any character of that line seriously needs an update.
- The G1 comics underworlders like Mutants and Demons: again, too obscure and probably no viable altmode.
- The Trans-Organics, particularly Dweller: same as above.

And plenty of unused concepts from the Generations books.

MaximalNui wrote:- Violen Jiger/Violengiguar/Violenjiger/Violen Jygar/Bio Ranger Iga/whatever: an obscure character from a line of limited popularity, but with a really awesome design and unique transformation.

I too would like to see some representation of Violengiguar. However I'd just be ok with a highly articulated figure. I would not want Hasbro or TT to shoehorn a Transformation gimmick (like with ER Quintesson Judge), just for the sake of calling it a "Transformer".

o.supreme wrote:

MaximalNui wrote:- Violen Jiger/Violengiguar/Violenjiger/Violen Jygar/Bio Ranger Iga/whatever: an obscure character from a line of limited popularity, but with a really awesome design and unique transformation.

I too would like to see some representation of Violengiguar. However I'd just be ok with a highly articulated figure. I would not want Hasbro or TT to shoehorn a Transformation gimmick (like with ER Quintesson Judge), just for the sake of calling it a "Transformer".

...but he has an official altmode. He splits into three insects, Magmatron-style.

All the talk about Scramble City just makes me all the more confused as to why we never got Guard City and Battle Gaia. Super simple but unique repaints like them should have been a shoe in for Unite Warriors, but they haven't even been used in Takara Tomy Selects!

Emerje

The A-Team van, or the Blues Mobile. Those would be sweet~

War Within Grimlock and Jazz.

We got a taste of the War Within universe in the Titanium line.
But yeah, we will never have a proper Generations treatment of this series. Same thing with so many other comics like old G1 Marvel, Heart of Steel, the Tarn saga, and more.

At least 3P is here to fill in the void. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I mean, you look at that Jazz and that's what all the Siege "cars" should have looked like.

Yeah I would love a voyager (or even leader) sized WW Grimlock . Same with Prime and Megatron.

War Within had some awesome designs in general, and it's a shame they're mostly remembered as being not especially well rendered in the actual comics (thanks Pat Lee!) or for being butchered with the Titanium series. I'd love a decent figure of the WW Seeker design for instance.

One WW design I've always loved and wanted to see realized was The Fallen, which so far no modern take has managed to surpass in my eyes. I loved the black knight-esque aestethic so fitting for such an ancient and mythical character, and the flames only added the extra oomph. The only toy we got from it was the blocks-for-hands one from Titanium Series, and it wasn't even based on him - it was based on Figueroa's design for Megatron in the "-ation" era of IDW1. It would be so easy to do him justice now, especially with effects parts to give him his flames, but it's very unlikely since he's the most directly linked to Pat Lee out of all Dreamwave creations (he actually designed him, unlike everything else he claimed to do - even if the best aspects were added by other people, such as the visor and flames and Furman's characterisation)

Also can't believe I forgot Botanica from my original list!

-Kanrabat- wrote:We got a taste of the War Within universe in the Titanium line.
But yeah, we will never have a proper Generations treatment of this series. Same thing with so many other comics like old G1 Marvel, Heart of Steel, the Tarn saga, and more.

At least 3P is here to fill in the void. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Actually, a line in the vein of Hearts of Steel or the original Evolutions concept would be cool: Transformers adapted to the technology or themes of different eras, like Greco-Roman myths or 19th century vehicles.

Just want to say that the Titanium War Within Seeker mold is fantastic and showed some early signs of modern engineering like hiding the outward shoulder pivots at a time when they would have just been left out. It looks great in both modes, doesn't have joint issues to the extremes that other Titaniums have, and is just fun to transform. I would love to see Hasbro reuse this transformation again in the future, either as a War Within redo or as a new character all together (would probably have suited Legacy Jhiaxus nicely). Yes, it's a similar transformation to Unicron Trilogy Cybertron Starscream, but the alt mode is super clean.




Only one I don't have is Sunstorm because it's hard to find a used one that isn't full of chipped diecast paint apps at a good price.

Emerje

Emerje wrote:Just want to say that the Titanium War Within Seeker mold is fantastic and showed some early signs of modern engineering like hiding the outward shoulder pivots at a time when they would have just been left out. It looks great in both modes, doesn't have joint issues to the extremes that other Titaniums have, and is just fun to transform. I would love to see Hasbro reuse this transformation again in the future, either as a War Within redo or as a new character all together (would probably have suited Legacy Jhiaxus nicely). Yes, it's a similar transformation to Unicron Trilogy Cybertron Starscream, but the alt mode is super clean.




Only one I don't have is Sunstorm because it's hard to find a used one that isn't full of chipped diecast paint apps at a good price.

Emerje

I don't own any of this mold but I do think it looks quite nice, and outstanding considering the rest of the Titanium line. I'd absolutely love a modern remake of it; quite aside from anything else that redesigned tetrajet is just mwah. The only aesthetic gripes I have are the size and the back of the jet mode being kinda hollow IIRC, both of which could easily be fixed with a Voyager-sized remake.

Also, one thing I'd love (and will never get now Siege is over) are a team of Cybertronian/vehicle mode Dinobots. I liked the idea of them being construction vehicles on Cybertron- Grimlock could be an excavator, Slag a bulldozer, Snarl a digger/drilling machine, Sludge a cement mixer (with his "neck" in vehicle mode being a telescopic cement hose) and Swoop an aerial crane.

Emerje wrote:Just want to say that the Titanium War Within Seeker mold is fantastic and showed some early signs of modern engineering like hiding the outward shoulder pivots at a time when they would have just been left out. It looks great in both modes, doesn't have joint issues to the extremes that other Titaniums have, and is just fun to transform. I would love to see Hasbro reuse this transformation again in the future, either as a War Within redo or as a new character all together (would probably have suited Legacy Jhiaxus nicely). Yes, it's a similar transformation to Unicron Trilogy Cybertron Starscream, but the alt mode is super clean.




Only one I don't have is Sunstorm because it's hard to find a used one that isn't full of chipped diecast paint apps at a good price.

Emerje

You know how this can work and be folded into canon very easily? Use them as starships. Every time you need a Wrecker shuttle or Mercenary cruiser. Instead of just a generic rocket, just apply one of the many unutilised Jet Former designs and upscale it.

Now that we're talking about Seekers, how about a IDW1 Forged Starscream? It's a really cool design and concept, but since it's such a deviation from the traditional look of a well-established character, it's very unlikely to be made.

Yeah that looks great! Even if they named it something else, that figure should be made. Honestly I get more of a female vibe from the overall design, so maybe it's time for another new female character that happens to be a seeker? There aren't enough.

Rodimus Prime wrote:Yeah that looks great! Even if they named it something else, that figure should be made. Honestly I get more of a female vibe from the overall design, so maybe it's time for another new female character that happens to be a seeker? There aren't enough.

I would really love to see female Starscream make an official appearance. But she should be G1 Starscream at his worst but cranked to 11. Her cowardice, vileness, and sneakiness would be so hardcore, it would make even the Original Starscream wince.