The Energon Pub

News Credits: 5749 · Sun Jan 15, 2012 3:16 pm

Here's a fun little playset that recently popped up on TaoBao, G1's Mount St. Hillary Auotbot base. The set lacks the crashed Autobot Ark embedded into the side of the mountain, but does feature a small Teletran-1 console and is clearly meant for use with smaller scale Transformer figures. Check out the images below.

News Credits: 6 · Sun Jan 15, 2012 3:19 pm

That's frikkin amazing! Could use some paint, but still, WOW!

News Credits: 767 · Sun Jan 15, 2012 3:21 pm

Seeing this makes me want to collect WSTs and Legends Class stuff.
But I'll resist, it's still pretty kick ass though.

News Credits: 3 · Sun Jan 15, 2012 3:25 pm

That's pretty cool, I wanna know where they got the weapon for Legends hound though, I need one.

News Credits: 25 · Sun Jan 15, 2012 3:37 pm

Two points

One, that's neat I wouldn't buy but it's neat.

and Two , We all know It's Mount St. Helens why not just call it that.

Sun Jan 15, 2012 4:09 pm

SW's SilverHammer wrote:and Two , We all know It's Mount St. Helens why not just call it that.

because it was called Mount St. Hilary in the cartoon as well.

back on topic, this is probably one of the greatest things I've ever seen on this site.

Sun Jan 15, 2012 4:16 pm

That is freakin' cute! I don't have any G1 Legends, but I have the entire Cybertron Heroes line which seem to also work with it. I used to have the cardboard Ark way back in the 80s, but my mother stored it in the garage and it fell apart. Maybe this can assuage my mourning :APPLAUSE:

Sun Jan 15, 2012 4:18 pm

It looks like a re-purposed mine playset for those plastic cowboy toys (like the green army men, but cowboys)...that said, it's still frikkin' sweet.

News Credits: 187 · Sun Jan 15, 2012 4:54 pm

That is just precious! I wish I had the room to set this up with WST's and HOC figures!

Sun Jan 15, 2012 5:45 pm

Eh, I'm unimpressed. Frankly it just looks like a couple of yellow plastic lumps. I think it's a fantastic idea, and they did an okay job, but I think the addition of the crashed Ark, a bit of paint and/or color variation and maybe a bit more internal details beyond a single Teletraan-1 console would've really sold it for me.

I do however, like I said, really like the idea, and I think the scale is perfect. I just hope they can take this idea and do something a little more with it down the road.

Sun Jan 15, 2012 5:58 pm

Neato! Hasbro should have thought of this 27 years ago. I like it.

News Credits: 10 · Sun Jan 15, 2012 6:11 pm

I like it! A little bland, but a good start. I'd totally buy and display it.

Sun Jan 15, 2012 6:36 pm

That's just adorable... but I'll be passing. But it's close, though. I already own that Teletraan-One set sold a bit ago.

News Credits: 3 · Sun Jan 15, 2012 8:14 pm

what Grimlock is that?

News Credits: 17 · Sun Jan 15, 2012 9:50 pm

I have to agree with what other people said, an Ark and more inner base stuff would have made this a little neater, it's still neat, though.

Fistful of Energon wrote:what Grimlock is that?

Pretty sure that it's the Super Collection Figure Grimlock, not sure though, cause the other figures look like they might be customs, either that or they come with this set.

News Credits: 3 · Sun Jan 15, 2012 10:13 pm

Fistful of Energon wrote:what Grimlock is that?

It's Heroes of Cybertron PVC, they were sold a few years ago, there are also Takara versions, I think basically they are the same.

001.JPG

News Credits: 3 · Sun Jan 15, 2012 10:57 pm

HoC was my first guess, I have a few of that line, was never very impressed :roll:

News Credits: 2 · Sun Jan 15, 2012 11:53 pm

Cool is there a Decepticon under water base too?

News Credits: 7 · Mon Jan 16, 2012 12:12 am

That looks very much like a repurposed dollar store playset, especially given that the only thing that really resembles anything from the cartoon is the paper Teletraan 1 that doesn't mesh at all with the "rock" it's inserted into.

Mon Jan 16, 2012 1:11 am

Noideaforaname wrote:That looks very much like a repurposed dollar store playset, especially given that the only thing that really resembles anything from the cartoon is the paper Teletraan 1 that doesn't mesh at all with the "rock" it's inserted into.

And I'm not happy with them stealing my artwork to sell it. I made it for fans to print out and assemble, not for third party Chinese folks to rip off and make a buck from.

For anyone curious about it, here's the original:

http://forums.tformers.com/talk/index.p ... 91920&st=0

Mon Jan 16, 2012 1:54 am

mandingo_rex wrote:
Noideaforaname wrote:That looks very much like a repurposed dollar store playset, especially given that the only thing that really resembles anything from the cartoon is the paper Teletraan 1 that doesn't mesh at all with the "rock" it's inserted into.

And I'm not happy with them stealing my artwork to sell it. I made it for fans to print out and assemble, not for third party Chinese folks to rip off and make a buck from.

For anyone curious about it, here's the original:

http://forums.tformers.com/talk/index.p ... 91920&st=0

I'm gonna play Devil's Advocate here; its not exactly the same, and I'm not just referencing the difference in size, but the main screen on their Teletraan is wider than the one you have provided in your link, and the 3 screens below the main screen are in a different order. Showing the two side by side screens above what appears to be a voice wavelength. Also your secondary screens are pretty much the same size, theirs shows the left screen to be slightly wider and not exactly centered.
All in all though, enough changes to make it not the same item, much like the differences between Queen/ David Bowie's Under Pressure and Vanilla Ice's Ice Ice Baby (which Ice's lawyers showed it differentiated by one note, literally that's all it was). They may have seen yours, and copied it since it is a nice amount of work you put into it.

Please note I'm not siding with the makers of the toy set and saying you're lying, so please don't get mad at me or anything. All I did was point out enough differences noticeable on the images provided. Pretty much showed how the zebra is white with black stripes instead of black with white stripes.
I also prefer your Teletraan print outs since they looks nicer as well.

News Credits: 11 · Mon Jan 16, 2012 2:09 am

This is pretty cute, but yeah, I hope they didn't rip off that artwork.

Mon Jan 16, 2012 3:06 am

IAmThePeej wrote:
mandingo_rex wrote:
Noideaforaname wrote:That looks very much like a repurposed dollar store playset, especially given that the only thing that really resembles anything from the cartoon is the paper Teletraan 1 that doesn't mesh at all with the "rock" it's inserted into.

And I'm not happy with them stealing my artwork to sell it. I made it for fans to print out and assemble, not for third party Chinese folks to rip off and make a buck from.

For anyone curious about it, here's the original:

http://forums.tformers.com/talk/index.p ... 91920&st=0

I'm gonna play Devil's Advocate here; its not exactly the same, and I'm not just referencing the difference in size, but the main screen on their Teletraan is wider than the one you have provided in your link, and the 3 screens below the main screen are in a different order. Showing the two side by side screens above what appears to be a voice wavelength. Also your secondary screens are pretty much the same size, theirs shows the left screen to be slightly wider and not exactly centered.
All in all though, enough changes to make it not the same item, much like the differences between Queen/ David Bowie's Under Pressure and Vanilla Ice's Ice Ice Baby (which Ice's lawyers showed it differentiated by one note, literally that's all it was). They may have seen yours, and copied it since it is a nice amount of work you put into it.

Please note I'm not siding with the makers of the toy set and saying you're lying, so please don't get mad at me or anything. All I did was point out enough differences noticeable on the images provided. Pretty much showed how the zebra is white with black stripes instead of black with white stripes.
I also prefer your Teletraan print outs since they looks nicer as well.

Not mad at you, and when it comes to 3rd party makers, it's not like they have many scruples. A lot of it's done overseas where they can't really be touched, and let's face it: if they aren't scared enough by Hasbro or Takara to stop stealing work almost identically (like in iGear's case) then they're not going to stop stealing fan's work. And I'm even a purchaser of such items, because frankly, Hasbro/Takara aren't making the items themselves.

But just because they took Photoshop and rearranged it, doesn't make it different art... or theirs to distribute. Especially when they're making money off it. I'd know my own work because I've seen it for hours on end while working on it, and over the years as people have used it for videos, dioramas, and some fans have even reworked the art—mostly with my permission, and having contacted me before modifying it for redistribution... which I'm totally fine with. When iGear made their Teletraan, I had people contact me that they "stole" my work. They didn't steal anything though, and even I personally used comic book artwork to fill the screens... although the rest of the artwork was mine. But it was all fan art, nothing more, and never to be sold. I also posted it for free, for folks to use for free, explaining all that up front (and also the fact that I used artwork for the screens and cited that it wasn't my own work), and asked everyone to not sell it or make money from it.

Which is what these guys are doing... making money from it. If they "saw it and copied it", which is similar to what iGear did for their box art (not talking the plastic product, but the box art)... The art style was very similar but they redid all the lineart/coloring/etc themselves. This, on the other hand, is almost exactly the same. Going so far as just reusing my artwork, not mimicking it in any artistic way.

I appreciate the other side of the argument usually, but with these guys, they've clearly just ripped off a fan's work. The mountain itself isn't really any intellectual property by Hasbro or Takara, so they get away with that. The Teletraan artwork though, I find it lazy. To be honest, it doesn't even fit with the aesthetics of the set (like some other people have mentioned.)

News Credits: 1 · Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:06 am

The set is OK, and I think the aesthetic of the overall set fits the simplified concept of the legends or HoC lines.

Sucks they ripped off the Teletran, that is just weak. I have that paper craft Teletran set and I really like it.

Doubt I'll be getting this though.

I AM interested in knowing what Legends sized trailer Prime is rolling out carrying?