The Energon Pub

Jackwacko of Cybertron.ca has posted a couple of toy images of the upcoming Fansproject Crossfire02 “Explorer & Munitioner” sets, combined with Universe Bruticus.

This highly anticipated upgrade sets are schedule to be released at the end of June 2010.





Check out original post here: http://www.cybertron.ca/boards/showpost ... count=8874

Link doesn't work.

But the pictures here, look fantastic. I love how the backs of the boxes form a larger picture. How sweet is that?!

FP really does know how to go the extra mile, even if it's something small that we don't think of.

Awesome. Can't wait to get these buggers.

I only want Swindle, so I'm a little annoyed that the Onslaught back cannons come with Blast Off. Still, can't look a gift horse in the mouth.

End of June cannot come soon enough.

Hope to pick these up at Botcon.

Rated X wrote:Hope to pick these up at Botcon.

I sincerely doubt that'll be possible. FansProject said it'll be shipping to retailers at the end of June, not from them.

Outside of a miracle, I don't see how it's possible that anyone at BotCon will have these for sale, short of FP themselves opening a booth and selling them directly.

Diem wrote:I only want Swindle, so I'm a little annoyed that the Onslaught back cannons come with Blast Off. Still, can't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Explorer comes with more than just the back cannons. His set includes the following:

1.) Combiner foot
2.) One combiner limb attachment (arm)
3.) Various weapons for the figures

Munitioner comes with the rest of the pieces. So, no matter how much you dislike Explorer/Blast-Off, if you wish to complete the combiner as they designed it, you must have both robots.

A genius move on their part, sucks for those who don't want to buy 'em.

Autobot032 wrote:.

Diem wrote:I only want Swindle, so I'm a little annoyed that the Onslaught back cannons come with Blast Off. Still, can't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Explorer comes with more than just the back cannons. His set includes the following:

1.) Combiner foot
2.) One combiner limb attachment (arm)
3.) Various weapons for the figures

Munitioner comes with the rest of the pieces. So, no matter how much you dislike Explorer/Blast-Off, if you wish to complete the combiner as they designed it, you must have both robots.

A genius move on their part, sucks for those who don't want to buy 'em.

I'm not too fussed about completing their Bruticus since I'd be buying Swindle to be Swindle, not to be someone else's foot. I kinda wish the figure were available cheaper on its own. That said if it must come with combiner paraphernalia I'd much rather have the Onslaught cannons than, say, Bruticus' gun.

I understand why the situation exists, I'm just being grumpy about it.

If anyone out there wants to get Blast-Off and all the combiner bits but doesn't want the Swindle figure and his guns please PM me and we can arrange something.

What's the approximate cost of all four sets?

Autobot032 wrote:

Rated X wrote:Hope to pick these up at Botcon.

I sincerely doubt that'll be possible. FansProject said it'll be shipping to retailers at the end of June, not from them.

Outside of a miracle, I don't see how it's possible that anyone at BotCon will have these for sale, short of FP themselves opening a booth and selling them directly.

Diem wrote:I only want Swindle, so I'm a little annoyed that the Onslaught back cannons come with Blast Off. Still, can't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Explorer comes with more than just the back cannons. His set includes the following:

1.) Combiner foot
2.) One combiner limb attachment (arm)
3.) Various weapons for the figures

Munitioner comes with the rest of the pieces. So, no matter how much you dislike Explorer/Blast-Off, if you wish to complete the combiner as they designed it, you must have both robots.

A genius move on their part, sucks for those who don't want to buy 'em.

I saw a video on youtube of Botcon 2009 and Fansproject had a booth in the dealer room. Hoping that booth will return this year. Hopefully it will be for selling and not just display. If that happens then hopefully they will have some for sale. With all the die-hard collectors having placed their pre-orders, anything at the booth for sale might be around long enough for me to snag it. Thats what Im hoping for...

Autobot032 wrote:

Rated X wrote:Hope to pick these up at Botcon.

I sincerely doubt that'll be possible. FansProject said it'll be shipping to retailers at the end of June, not from them.

Outside of a miracle, I don't see how it's possible that anyone at BotCon will have these for sale, short of FP themselves opening a booth and selling them directly.

Diem wrote:I only want Swindle, so I'm a little annoyed that the Onslaught back cannons come with Blast Off. Still, can't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Explorer comes with more than just the back cannons. His set includes the following:

1.) Combiner foot
2.) One combiner limb attachment (arm)
3.) Various weapons for the figures

Munitioner comes with the rest of the pieces. So, no matter how much you dislike Explorer/Blast-Off, if you wish to complete the combiner as they designed it, you must have both robots.

A genius move on their part, sucks for those who don't want to buy 'em.

I saw a video on youtube of Botcon 2009 and Fansproject had a booth in the dealer room. Hoping that booth will return this year. Hopefully it will be for selling and not just display. If that happens then hopefully they will have some for sale. With all the die-hard collectors having placed their pre-orders, anything at the booth for sale might be around long enough for me to snag it. Thats what Im hoping for...

Love how the two boxes form the combined Bruticus when stacked-another small, clever touch.

If Hasbro were smart, they'd buy FansProject. Sort of like Chrysler owning Mopar, a division that specializes in selling after-market parts.

Not only would Hasbro be able to better market these 'additions', they can strategically boost sales of existing stock with an attachment, like DLC for video games. Hasbro could also relegate smaller niche toys or repaints to the FansProject brand for direct sale.

I know Hasbro would prefer a small lineup of toys distributed in large volumes, but they really have to look at extending the shelf life of their brands and catering to high-end collectors.

Check my blog, chalk-full of ideas! : p (some bad, some good): http://originaldave77.wordpress.com/

originaldave77 wrote:If Hasbro were smart, they'd buy FansProject. Sort of like Chrysler owning Mopar, a division that specializes in selling after-market parts.

Not only would Hasbro be able to better market these 'additions', they can strategically boost sales of existing stock with an attachment, like DLC for video games. Hasbro could also relegate smaller niche toys or repaints to the FansProject brand for direct sale.

I know Hasbro would prefer a small lineup of toys distributed in large volumes, but they really have to look at extending the shelf life of their brands and catering to high-end collectors.

Check my blog, chalk-full of ideas! : p (some bad, some good): http://originaldave77.wordpress.com/

That's a terrible idea. Here's why:

1.) No competition, no fresh ideas.
2.) Rather than produce FP's products, they'd dismantle 'em.
3.) FP isn't bound by the same laws as Hasbro, when it comes to design and construction.

It would be bad if they got their hands on it.

Autobot032 wrote:

originaldave77 wrote:If Hasbro were smart, they'd buy FansProject. Sort of like Chrysler owning Mopar, a division that specializes in selling after-market parts.

Not only would Hasbro be able to better market these 'additions', they can strategically boost sales of existing stock with an attachment, like DLC for video games. Hasbro could also relegate smaller niche toys or repaints to the FansProject brand for direct sale.

I know Hasbro would prefer a small lineup of toys distributed in large volumes, but they really have to look at extending the shelf life of their brands and catering to high-end collectors.

Check my blog, chalk-full of ideas! : p (some bad, some good): http://originaldave77.wordpress.com/

That's a terrible idea. Here's why:

1.) No competition, no fresh ideas.
2.) Rather than produce FP's products, they'd dismantle 'em.
3.) FP isn't bound by the same laws as Hasbro, when it comes to design and construction.

It would be bad if they got their hands on it.

Never crossed my mind. I guess I assumed Hasbro would continue to allow FP to play up its strengths, but with the backing of corporate muscle. I suppose that yes, FP would probably be diluted in the end. If I were a large company and I see a small guy filling a void or oversight in my product line, I'd either try to buy him out, or collaborate.

Hasbro should at least have these guys consult! Ask what is lacking and how they'd improve it.

originaldave77 wrote:If Hasbro were smart, they'd buy FansProject. Sort of like Chrysler owning Mopar, a division that specializes in selling after-market parts.

Not only would Hasbro be able to better market these 'additions', they can strategically boost sales of existing stock with an attachment, like DLC for video games. Hasbro could also relegate smaller niche toys or repaints to the FansProject brand for direct sale.

I know Hasbro would prefer a small lineup of toys distributed in large volumes, but they really have to look at extending the shelf life of their brands and catering to high-end collectors.

Check my blog, chalk-full of ideas! : p (some bad, some good): http://originaldave77.wordpress.com/

If Hasbro wanted to make these figures they'd do it themselves. .

However, there are a myriad of reasons why Hasbro don't make figures like these. These figures do not conform to the safety standards that Hasbro are tied to. The cost of production of these figures and the amount of units they sell are not really compatible with Hasbro's business plan.

Supposedly the likes of FansProject only make a minimal profit, and their molds are produced not by professional designers who need to be paid but by enthusiastic amateurs. If a large company like Hasbro were to own such an operation they would have to spend more on things like employee health insurance, taxes, distribution and PR. Even if they were still making a profit after that they would be taking a massive risk on making such an expensive, limited distribution figure.

Hasbro does throw a number of bones to us older collectors (ie. most of Energon, Classics/Universe/Generations, Masterpiece) but I don't think that niche collector items are the direction that they're going in.

I'll admit that I am working here not with actual figures or business experience, just with my own thoughts on the matter.

ugh, end of June, where are you????

When FP inevetably stops, it'd be nice if they were bought out by Hasbro or Takara instead of sued into oblivion. A fantasy, I'll admit, but it'd be nice.

Yeah, I don't think FP can do what they do with corperate sponsorship.

The Bruticus parts look awsome. You really do get what you pay for here, which makes the price feel less terrible. Although, I gotta admit, I'm growing impatient with the delays.

DevastaTTor wrote:Love how the two boxes form the combined Bruticus when stacked-another small, clever touch.

I didn't realize what you were talking about until I looked closer and went "oh, that's both boxes!"

Bad monitor, bright sunlight. Not cool.

Looks great, but I would like to see these sets attached to the Energon version, with the gray/purple chopper and green tank as the left limbs, just to see how Bruticus would look. I'm debating if I should get the Universe/ROTF version, since the kits are colored for that, but I'd really prefer to skip the mark-ups to get it online if the Energon version would look good enough.

009* wrote:Looks great, but I would like to see these sets attached to the Energon version, with the gray/purple chopper and green tank as the left limbs, just to see how Bruticus would look. I'm debating if I should get the Universe/ROTF version, since the kits are colored for that, but I'd really prefer to skip the mark-ups to get it online if the Energon version would look good enough.

see, what i'm gonna do is get the universe/ROTF combaticons and then get energon barricade(onslaught) separately because the energon combainers came in sets and individually

the universe/ROTF onlsaught just looks terrible! thats why i'm getting the energon version that has a G1 accurate color scheme

cannonfodder4000 wrote:

009* wrote:Looks great, but I would like to see these sets attached to the Energon version, with the gray/purple chopper and green tank as the left limbs, just to see how Bruticus would look. I'm debating if I should get the Universe/ROTF version, since the kits are colored for that, but I'd really prefer to skip the mark-ups to get it online if the Energon version would look good enough.

see, what i'm gonna do is get the universe/ROTF combaticons and then get energon barricade(onslaught) separately because the energon combainers came in sets and individually

the universe/ROTF onlsaught just looks terrible! thats why i'm getting the energon version that has a G1 accurate color scheme

I have the Energon Bruticus Maximus, and while the color scheme isn't perfect, I'm gonna stick with it, mainly because I'm just too doggone cheap.

Does anyone want the extra limbs I'll have left over? If so, shoot me a PM and we'll work out the details.

Interesting, releases for Hasbro and Fans Project are picking up.

Continues to make me think that FP is actually trying to parallel Hasbro's release dates...

Bah it's probably nothing.

Alright, 2 down 1 to go.... FP, give me upgrade sets for Devastator....

Mach wrote:Alright, 2 down 1 to go.... FP, give me upgrade sets for Devastator....

I wholeheartedly endorse this statement.

Mkall wrote:

Mach wrote:Alright, 2 down 1 to go.... FP, give me upgrade sets for Devastator....

I wholeheartedly endorse this statement.

I'm all in!