The Energon Pub

Nemesis Maximo wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:Dragonstorm ought to have had the same sort of effort put in that Armada Unicron and Cybertron Primus had.

The whole damn Last Knight toyline ought to have had some effort put into it. We had what, a good Leader Class Megs, and a couple of good Voyagers in Nitro Zeus and Hound? The rest of the line was made up of redecoes of the AoE Deluxes and the Dinobots, and then Dragonstorm.

What I dont get is that Studio Series built on all that TLK started, reusing molds to various degrees and keeping the same standard of good/bad quality. And yet, its a beloved line (from what I am reading).

Also, regarding AOE, there was also Optimus and Megatron as kick ass voyagers.

william-james88 wrote:

Nemesis Maximo wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:Dragonstorm ought to have had the same sort of effort put in that Armada Unicron and Cybertron Primus had.

The whole damn Last Knight toyline ought to have had some effort put into it. We had what, a good Leader Class Megs, and a couple of good Voyagers in Nitro Zeus and Hound? The rest of the line was made up of redecoes of the AoE Deluxes and the Dinobots, and then Dragonstorm.

What I dont get is that Studio Series built on all that TLK started, reusing molds to various degrees and keeping the same standard of good/bad quality. And yet, its a beloved line (from what I am reading).

I think we can blame the Dinobots for that: they were straight redecos of molds that had been released quite a few times at that point already. Drift and Crosshairs have been retooled, but look the same on first sight, so they were slightly better off in some eyes. Hot Rod however was the best in differentiating from his source material, AoE Lockdown, and may have set the standard for SS.

To be fair to the Dinobots, Scorn was also a new mold.

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:To be fair to the Dinobots, Scorn was also a new mold.

Yeah, Grimlock was the only redeco in Voyager Class, but everyone paid attention to the amount in Deluxe Class, sadly.

wow I guess I was totally oblivious to most of TLK toy line. I forgot how much new there actually was.

I blame my closest Target for never ever refreshing TF stock. I still have Wave 1 PotP stuff and TLK Slug.

One of the most disappointing to me is MP-40 Hot Rodimus. This mold is just so.... bland. I was super excited for him, but he was a real let down in hand.

Nemesis Maximo wrote:wow I guess I was totally oblivious to most of TLK toy line. I forgot how much new there actually was.

I blame my closest Target for never ever refreshing TF stock. I still have Wave 1 PotP stuff and TLK Slug.

If your target still has a blue Swoop, could we make a trade and I buy one off you? I am in need of another and his prices are up across the board right now.

One correction about Smokescreen uglyness:it come from his large chest and not his epaulette,i got confused because of the figures.What are these minuscule heads?G1 Hotrod has a head simple but a well proportionated body,i prefer the IDW head althought.

You know, I have been thinking of the argument given to the fact that Tracks and Roadrage should not be on this list, the one where "they may not be great MP toys but they are still MPs". But isnt that the point? This list was never about bad toys, it's about dissapointing toys. So when I got roadrage and expected an MP level toy and got something subpar for that line, you bet your ass I was dissapointed.

Also, that non locking head on her is a complete embarrassment.

In no particular order:

PoTP leaders Optimus and Rodimus and their repaints
G1 Overlord
PoTP Predaking
MP-05

I'm sure there are more, I just can't think of them right now.

What disappointed you about the Citybot for Decepticon Powermasters?

Rodimus Prime wrote:In no particular order:

PoTP leaders Optimus and Rodimus and their repaints
G1 Overlord
PoTP Predaking
MP-05

I'm sure there are more, I just can't think of them right now.

oh man, care to offer some details? I am just super curious because some of those really blew me away.

william-james88 wrote:

Rodimus Prime wrote:In no particular order:

PoTP leaders Optimus and Rodimus and their repaints
G1 Overlord
PoTP Predaking
MP-05

I'm sure there are more, I just can't think of them right now.

oh man, care to offer some details? I am just super curious because some of those really blew me away.

Really? To each his own, I guess...and remember, these are just my personal opinions.

The PoTP leaders.

The vehicle mode for Optimus looks like a pile of parts with wheels on it. There's no uniform shape to either the cab or the trailer. Orion Pax is decent in robot mode, even with the huge backpack. The entire Optimus figure, though, leaves a lot to be desired for me. Structurally, my biggest gripe is how the cab integrates. Still leaves a huge backpack. And the ankle joints are way too thin. But to me the worst offender is the color scheme. That gray. It makes the robot mode look even worse, and definitely contributes to the jumbled look of the trailer. If they had left the gray parts red, it would have made the robot mode look much better at least. The trailer was already screwed, so it being red wouldn't have made a difference.

The repaint into Nemesis Prime fixed the color problems, and he looks good in robot mode. The extra guns and stuff softens the effect of the bad truck mode, but it's still a pile of parts. But the fact that it was much harder to get negated any positives.

Rodimus is not as bad. And it's not because I'm biased towards Rodimus. The vehicle mode is more streamlined, even if there is a visible fist syndrome. The smaller Hot Rod mode is actually acceptable as well. However, the big Rodimus is just too clunky and bulky. The color scheme isn't bad, but I still think the super mode could have been designed better.

Rodimus Unicronus is basically the same thing, except just like with Nemesis Prime, the black smooths out the structural inconsistency somewhat. Otherwise, it's a good figure. Still not worth nearly $50, though.

I think MP-05 speaks for itself. But my main problem with it are the legs. It's like a bigger version of the G1 figure, which is definitely a disappointment for a masterpiece figure, especially one that is so anticipated. And the cannon/scope is way too big.

Predaking? On second thought, I might have to take that one back. My main gripe with him is his waist, otherwise it's a pretty good figure, especially for a Titan. So ix-nay on the issapointment-day. But it still prevented me from actually owning it at full price.

G1 Overlord. It took me 20 years to finally get my hands on the figure, back in 2010. And it was such a letdown. A total brick. No poseability st all. It looked alright on the shelf, but was still way out of scale with his counterpart, God Ginrai. It was just a total disappointment, considering the price. I got rid of it a few weeks after I got it, haven't regretted it since. The TR version is so much better.

Ahaha, i had misread MP05 as MPM05 (which blew me away) and was super confused. And with us now agreeing on Predaking, I would say our tastes are now more in line.

Rodimus Prime wrote:G1 Overlord. It took me 20 years to finally get my hands on the figure, back in 2010. And it was such a letdown. A total brick. No poseability st all. It looked alright on the shelf, but was still way out of scale with his counterpart, God Ginrai. It was just a total disappointment, considering the price. I got rid of it a few weeks after I got it, haven't regretted it since. The TR version is so much better.

*shrug* Well, the TR version is certainly a more articulated transforming robot action figure. However...

The original is decidedly a better cityformer and has more gimmicks and accessories.

And as for your scale complaint, it's not like the TR Overlord makes them match the show scale. It just switches up who's smaller.

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:

Rodimus Prime wrote:G1 Overlord. It took me 20 years to finally get my hands on the figure, back in 2010. And it was such a letdown. A total brick. No poseability st all. It looked alright on the shelf, but was still way out of scale with his counterpart, God Ginrai. It was just a total disappointment, considering the price. I got rid of it a few weeks after I got it, haven't regretted it since. The TR version is so much better.

*shrug* Well, the TR version is certainly a more articulated transforming robot action figure. However...

The original is decidedly a better cityformer and has more gimmicks and accessories.

I'm with you there. The base mode was decent, but it's a matter of preference. I didn't get the figure for its base mode. I never considered it a cityformer, it was too small for that, much like G1 Scorponok was. (Another figure I can add to my disappointment list!)

And as for your scale complaint, it's not like the TR Overlord makes them match the show scale. It just switches up who's smaller.

True, which is why I never got TR Powermaster Prime. However, G1 Super Ginrai and TR Overlord go together really well.

By that logic Metroplex (the original Cityformer) and Trypticon are also "too small" to be cityformers. It's true that at Supreme rather than Titan size they don't exactly tower over everyone to the extent Fort Max does, or work so well with figures larger than Legends size, but they're cityformers all the same.

And even if you don't think of Overlord as a cityformer, it's what he was intended as: A cityformer to go with Decepticon Godmasters/Powermasters, much like Scorponok was a cityformer for Decepticon Headmasters. And just like Scorponok had Fasttrack to carry around the Headmasters' head figures, Overlord has that little golf cart (I refuse to call it anything else, after having watched the episode of Masterforce with the Death Balls) to carry around the Godmasters' engine figures. So he completes the Godmaster play-ecosystem, at least on the Decepticon side.

Completing play-ecosystems is likely the reason (aside from getting more out of the molds) behind creating Grand Maximus and Black Zarak, since 1988 saw the production of new rounds of Headmasters.

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:By that logic Metroplex (the original Cityformer) and Trypticon are also "too small" to be cityformers.

They are.

It's true that at Supreme rather than Titan size they don't exactly tower over everyone to the extent Fort Max does, or work so well with figures larger than Legends size.

Agreed. This is the reason I don't care for the cityformer gimmick for these figures.

Okay, but as one out of 5 Fort Max is the odd mold out among the cityformers

The cityformer gimmick on the others works fine with the intended partner toys: The "Scramble City" combiner teams in Metroplex and Trypticon's case, Headmaster partners in Scorponok's case, Godmaster engine figures in Overlord's case. And it also works with things like Micromasters (which Metrotitan actively capitalized on) and Legends-size figures.

And while Fort Max does work alright with larger figures thanks to his sheer size, he's still more made for smaller ones

I'm not disputing their functionality. Only their scale.

Rodimus Prime wrote:I'm not disputing their functionality. Only their scale.

Well hey, it's another reason to get Legends-size figures of characters like Optimus Prime and Megatron.

How did I miss this list? Whoops!

Anyway, I'd agree with all the entries on the list- I don't actually own any of them, but they all seem to be rather...disappointing. I'd especially agree with TR Fort Max, who can't even outclass his G1 predecessor in any mode.

My personal list from the figures I own would be:

5: UW Defensor. Putting aside the fact that it self-destructed from being combined- I may have just gotten a dud, who knows- this thing was just...kinda lacklustre. The colors were a mixed bag (First Aid getting all his windows painted was nice, as was the improved colour breakup on Defensor's chest, but then you had the unpainted technogreebles on Hot Spot and the hideous shade of greyish-white on Streetwise), Groove was honestly pretty mediocre, and as a package they just weren't that good.

4: TLK Barricade. He's not terrible by any stretch, but between the backpack being more of an issue than I had expected and his kinda crap poseability and stability, he was a disappointment. I don't regret him but...eh.

3: Energon Bruticus with the FP upgrades. Normally I wouldn't mention 3P stuff on here, but this I feel deserves talking about. The FP upgrade for the old Bruticus mold was meant to make him into an actually good combiner. As it happens...yeah, about that. The shoulder modules were far too weak to support the arms, the ankles lacking forwards/backwards articulation combined with the wheels on the bottom made him super unstable, the QC was lacking in general and the "storage" for the individuals was...well, it sure was something. I actually prefer the stock figures as Decepticon generics over the rather pitiful "Bruticus" we got from that set.

2: BM Nightscream. I got him on eBay as a kid having never watched BM because I loved bats at the time (let's be fair, bats are adorable) and a bat transformer was the dankest idea ever. So I got him and he was kind of a letdown. His robot mode was barely poseable and impossible to stand up. His bat mode was cool and all but kinda floppy due to the way it transformed. And he was ridiculously large for no apparent reason. On the plus side, there is something strangely endearing about his headsculpt.

1: Prime Airachnid. I got her on clearance for £8, thinking "She can't be THAT bad can she?". As it turns out...yes, yes she could. Almost no useful articulation even after heavy modding, dreadful proportions and engineering that made her look straight out of the early 2000s, pitiful weapons and extremely shonky plastic. Also, attempting to make her look less crap by painting her made her shatter. And nothing of value was lost that day.

Could we also include anything one-step?

Not most of them. I mean, by their name they don't exactly set the expectation bar very high now do they?

Triggerdick Megatron wrote:Could we also include anything one-step?

I'm enjoying mine, so...

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Kyleor wrote:No 'Butterfly Optimus' on the list? Disappointed.
That robot armor mode is so bad I keep him in alt mode always.

Which Optimus is that?

Me thinks it's Ultimate Optimus Prime from Dark of the Moon:


However, I wouldn't call him "disappointing" because he wasn't really as hyped among the fans as the other entries: in other words we knew what we'd be getting with this guy, an electronic brick.

I've been watching the Fairy Tail anime for a while and all i can say about that Optimus. He looks as silly as those wings Evergreen has.