The Energon Pub

News Credits: 10 · Tue Jul 14, 2020 3:43 pm

primalxconvoy wrote:
transformers_va wrote:
Burn wrote:...the only good thing about the original Top Gun was the soundtrack.
Completely disagree! Top Gun was a great mid 80s movie, that is still very enjoyable to watch.

The cinematography, such as the opening scene, is a classic. I'm sure it, and many other such scenes in the film, inspired other filmmakers. Compare Top Gun's use of the military to a Michael Bay film, and Brukheimer's vision wins every time, IMO.

Completely agree! My appreciation of Transformers and Top Gun make this figure a definite buy, even with the figure's shortcomings

News Credits: 10 · Tue Jul 14, 2020 3:45 pm

palmcd wrote:I see possible leader 1 repaint out of it

That would be cool, although they'd have to change it from an F-14 to an F-15

News Credits: 462 · Tue Jul 14, 2020 4:08 pm

This works wonders for the mold (Note: not my pic):

News Credits: 1350 · Tue Jul 14, 2020 4:14 pm

Question is, would they be allowed to reuse the mold? Though any tricks learned could be carried over to the main lines

Tue Jul 14, 2020 4:19 pm

Looks excessively cheap for a $50 toy.

Like Family Dollar knock-off cheap.

Tue Jul 14, 2020 4:22 pm

Also, how many of you caught the G1 Starscream cameo in Top Gun.

He is in the movie.

News Credits: 10 · Tue Jul 14, 2020 4:42 pm

cruizerdave wrote:Also, how many of you caught the G1 Starscream cameo in Top Gun.

He is in the movie.

I hadn't caught it originally, but I saw a post about it a couple years ago. In the post was also mention of Shockwave being in Aliens

News Credits: 226 · Tue Jul 14, 2020 4:42 pm

primalxconvoy wrote:It's "rubber dog sh*t", from Hong Kong.

transformers_va wrote:Wow! Are you purposely antagonistic, or are you just a d**k? Over the past few days, I've read numerous posts from you that seem hostile towards other members.
I bet you're a real blast at parties lol

You guys really don't need to self censor, we have forum software that does it for you. I consider such things as an attempt to by-pass said filter, which I don't like.

That being said, yes, this is Zelda, he used to be a good bloke, now he's turned cranky and challenges everyone over everything, best to just put him on your "Foes" list so you don't have to see his posts (until someone quotes him)

transformers_va wrote:
Burn wrote:...the only good thing about the original Top Gun was the soundtrack.
Completely disagree! Top Gun was a great mid 80s movie, that is still very enjoyable to watch.

Soundtrack is far superior to the movie. Every single song on that album is a **** classic.
It's the greatest movie soundtrack of all time!

News Credits: 10 · Tue Jul 14, 2020 4:55 pm

Burn wrote:You guys really don't need to self censor, we have forum software that does it for you. I consider such things as an attempt to by-pass said filter, which I don't like.

Did not know that.. thanks for the heads-up. I just don't like to type it out fully in forums

Burn wrote:...best to just put him on your "Foes" list so you don't have to see his posts (until someone quotes him)

Another did not know.. I'm learning a lot of new things today

Burn wrote:Soundtrack is far superior to the movie. Every single song on that album is a **** classic.
It's the greatest movie soundtrack of all time!

Completely agree that it's a GREAT soundtrack!

Tue Jul 14, 2020 5:53 pm

As the others have pointed out too, I get heavy Macros vibes from this figure and that's totally okay! I really dig the printed details and shape of the jet so far, but will wait untill more clear images pop up to pull the trigger on any purchasing. Better images might help quell the plastic quality concerns, but that may just be from the color of the material used, we'll see!

Wed Jul 15, 2020 3:20 am

Burn wrote:
primalxconvoy wrote:It's "rubber dog sh*t", from Hong Kong.

transformers_va wrote:Wow! Are you purposely antagonistic, or are you just a d**k? Over the past few days, I've read numerous posts from you that seem hostile towards other members.
I bet you're a real blast at parties lol

You guys really don't need to self censor, we have forum software that does it for you. I consider such things as an attempt to by-pass said filter, which I don't like.

That being said, yes, this is Zelda, he used to be a good bloke, now he's turned cranky and challenges everyone over everything, best to just put him on your "Foes" list so you don't have to see his posts (until someone quotes him)

I try to be positive... I really do... But it can be really hard to do that when I see what looks like other people being hyper-negative, and doing things like dumping on a figure to an extreme degree without pause for consideration. It makes me want to step in and defend it, dispute the flaws I find in their claims...

I also haven't been able to contribute much lately because of my main photography surface being tied up, so that hasn't helped... I've at least been giving people compliments in the awesome pics thread, and in the customs section, but... Idk.

Would restating my defense of the figure in a less-confrontational way be any good?

News Credits: 226 · Wed Jul 15, 2020 4:58 am

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:I try to be positive... I really do... But it can be really hard to do that when I see what looks like other people being hyper-negative, and doing things like dumping on a figure to an extreme degree without pause for consideration. It makes me want to step in and defend it, dispute the flaws I find in their claims...

Sounds to me like you have no respect for an opinion that differs from yours. >:oP

News Credits: 226 · Wed Jul 15, 2020 5:00 am

He's now up for pre-order in Australia via EB Games and Zing

$98? Yeah, that's a definite pass for me.

News Credits: 1646 · Wed Jul 15, 2020 10:07 am

I placed the pre-order, but not sure if I'll keep it yet. Looked at pictures better and it just doesn't look like/have the same charisma that Ectotron did. Feels like a big step backward

Wed Jul 15, 2020 1:30 pm

Burn wrote:
ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:I try to be positive... I really do... But it can be really hard to do that when I see what looks like other people being hyper-negative, and doing things like dumping on a figure to an extreme degree without pause for consideration. It makes me want to step in and defend it, dispute the flaws I find in their claims...

Sounds to me like you have no respect for an opinion that differs from yours.

That isn't exactly accurate. But it's... situational. I can respect a differing opinion when it's just a differing opinion, although I'm terrible at expressing it half the time.
When people start just blasting something, and making strong negative claims about it (such as "This looks like a knock-off!")? That kind of thing sets me off. If I don't agree with those claims, I do my best to make a case against them. And even when I agree with them, I have a tendency to play devil's advocate. I also get annoyed by people talking out their exhaust port (which means that when I end up doing that I feel really embarrassed...).

To my thinking, severe claims are fair game for challenge. I'm surprised some of the things I've said about figures in the past haven't been challenged.

News Credits: 462 · Wed Jul 15, 2020 1:44 pm

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:When people start just blasting something, and making strong negative claims about it (such as "This looks like a knock-off!")? That kind of thing sets me off.

Even if it's something that people were genuinely excited for but turned out to honestly and legitimately resemble a knockoff?

Wed Jul 15, 2020 2:49 pm

Sabrblade wrote:
ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:When people start just blasting something, and making strong negative claims about it (such as "This looks like a knock-off!")? That kind of thing sets me off.
Even if it's something that people were genuinely excited for but turned out to honestly and legitimately resemble a knockoff?

I don't agree that it does resemble a knockoff. And I'm going to argue why I don't:

1. First off, it has a full articulation scheme that the average knockoff (that hasn't been cloned from an existing mold) can only dream of. :-P

Also too much paint for a non-cloned KO.
2. People claim "the plastic looks practically translucent". I disagree - I think that's an optical illusion. I've dealt with plastic like that in the past, and based on that experience... if Maverick's plastic really was that way, there wouldn't be as much light reflecting off it in the photos. The shadows would also be paler and possibly even tinted. So I'm going to give the figure the benefit of the doubt on this until we see actual in-situ photographs of it.
3. With regard to the hollow undersides of the forearms? Almost every figure with foldaway hands made in the past.. what, twenty years? has hollows in the arms for those hands to fold away into, and few have had covers for those hollows (and most of those that do, it's a case of the arm opening up sideways). Slide-retracting hands could have prevented the hollows, but I don't think we've seen those since 2007 Leader Optimus. And the hollows might be needed for transformation.
4. Speaking of transformation, this is obviously a figure that had to bend over backward to get the jet mode as close to perfect as physically possible.
Hence the invisible knees - they couldn't leave a visible trace of them in vehicle mode. And I think that, contrary to what someone said, those knees prove that the current design team produced this figure: Telescoping legs could have gotten around that by having the knees collapse into the engines, but with the exception of Combiner Wars Drag Strip the current design team avoids telescoping legs like they were radioactive. :roll:

Hence the thin fronts of the feet - they have to fold up into the legs (you can even see the seam where the legs open up to admit them). I do think that they may have done better to have Cybertron Thundercracker style feet (where the engine nozzles rotate away to reveal feet you have to unfold), but perhaps they were trying for feet that look like the traditional Seeker foot.
Hence the upper arms being thin - they have be able to compress out of sight.
Hence some of the overall hollowness - the average fighter jet doesn't have a lot of mass on the undercarriage between the engines - there's usually a big hollow channel there. Which is something very few Transformers molds can even come close to. I can think of three molds that come close: Cybertron Thundercracker (tries to do it, but has to put the arms there so it falls short), G1 Jetfire/the Macross Valkyrie (but it uses engineering that the modern team avoids, plus it has some compromises elsewhere), and the G1 Seeker mold (which... yeah.) I guess it goes to show the extent to which most Transformers fighter jets rely on fudging the undercarriage to some degree or other.

It obviously took a lot of design effort to achieve that near-perfect jet mode, which is another reason I disagree with saying it looks like a knock-off; knock-offs don't take that kind of trouble. There are some limits that it imposed on the robot mode aesthetic and proportions, but I can appreciate what those sacrifices gained. Different design sensibilities might have mitigated some of them, as might a larger size class. But on the other hand, a larger size class would have meant adding the damn licensing markup to a larger base price, so that turns it into a "pick your poison" situation.

Someone said that that apparent stricture of having to get the vehicle mode close to perfect was similar to the Star Wars Transformers line of old, and it definitely has a similar effect on proportions (although not as extreme). However, unlike with those figures, Maverick has a complete and uncompromised articulation scheme.

News Credits: 1 · Mon Aug 10, 2020 11:39 pm

Not sure if this has been reported, but in Canada you can preorder Maverick at EB:

https://www.ebgames.ca/Toys-Collectible ... -exclusive

News Credits: 42 · Wed Oct 07, 2020 3:44 pm

Just got a notice from Hasbro Pulse that Maverick is delayed until November 30.

News Credits: 1646 · Wed Oct 07, 2020 3:51 pm

I got the same. Might still cancel that pre-order, it just doesn't have the same energy as Gigawatt or Ectotron. That plastic is really bothering me

News Credits: 42 · Wed Oct 07, 2020 3:54 pm

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:I got the same. Might still cancel that pre-order, it just doesn't have the same energy as Gigawatt or Ectotron. That plastic is really bothering me

I'm on the fence as well, $50 for a voyager is steep, and honestly Maverick's plane isn't nearly iconic as the Delorean or Ecto-1.

News Credits: 14 · Wed Oct 07, 2020 4:42 pm

transformers_va wrote:
cruizerdave wrote:Also, how many of you caught the G1 Starscream cameo in Top Gun.

He is in the movie.

I hadn't caught it originally, but I saw a post about it a couple years ago. In the post was also mention of Shockwave being in Aliens

Shockwave or rather Radio Shack's Galactic Man has a prolific acting carrier in TV and film.

He can also be found in the 5th season episode of the 80's MacGyver show titled Black Corsage.

Where he plays an arcade laser pistol. Mac even cuts a supposed cable from him.

There's like 4 of him sitting there.

MacgyverrShockwave2.JPG

MacgyverrShockwave1.JPG

MacgyverrShockwave3.JPG

News Credits: 1646 · Wed Oct 07, 2020 9:15 pm

TF-fan kev777 wrote:
D-Maximal_Primal wrote:I got the same. Might still cancel that pre-order, it just doesn't have the same energy as Gigawatt or Ectotron. That plastic is really bothering me

I'm on the fence as well, $50 for a voyager is steep, and honestly Maverick's plane isn't nearly iconic as the Delorean or Ecto-1.

Exactly, there isn't anything really screaming special about his alt mode, the only really neat things on him are the helmet and the volleyball, and honestly the volleyball is the main reason I haven't cancelled yet.

News Credits: 42 · Thu Oct 08, 2020 9:23 am

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:
TF-fan kev777 wrote:
D-Maximal_Primal wrote:I got the same. Might still cancel that pre-order, it just doesn't have the same energy as Gigawatt or Ectotron. That plastic is really bothering me

I'm on the fence as well, $50 for a voyager is steep, and honestly Maverick's plane isn't nearly iconic as the Delorean or Ecto-1.

Exactly, there isn't anything really screaming special about his alt mode, the only really neat things on him are the helmet and the volleyball, and honestly the volleyball is the main reason I haven't cancelled yet.

Same here, if I end up getting him, he will definitely be playing some v-ball with SS Topspin.