The Energon Pub

Yeah don't get yours hopes up. BUT...would it not be ultra cool if say Hasbro did a line...similar to the Cybertron line that had they keys? Right...well what about taking off the BAF craze, and adding a piece to a Transformer? Deluxe Series Autobots piece together a Voyager class Autobot. Decepticons piece together a voyager class Decepticon. Kick ass so far. Voyager Class has a piece for a Leader class. Leader Class has a piece for an even larger Transformer. That would be epic, and help move the whole sets, as opposed to picking and choosing. I just think it to be a novel idea. Any dream cast lines?

ROTF should have had a BAF Devistator. I think more product would have sold of people trying to put him together then units that were just the Devistator. Or put him out in two versions. Classic Paint, Regular Paint. One being a BAF the other not. The completeist would buy the regular movie Devistator. So.

My dream BAF would have to be probably Omega Supreme.

Highly doubtfull... simply because Transformers exist in different class sizes anyways. However if we're dreaming, then I'll dream as well. It would be awesome if WFC had their Autobot/Decepticon Deluxe figures come with a piece of Omega Supreme/Trypticon.

While BAFs do help spread the entire set of figures, there are always figures that some people just won't like. Making them buy the extra one is silly. And there are always times where there is a shortage of a certain figure, and if you need to buy them all in order to create the bigger figure, then some fans will be plain screwed.

Oh well, I'll stick to building Droids.

Well ... we already kinda have this with combiners, don't we?

TFs are pretty intricate, hence their expencive price while other figures are less complicated. So a BAF in TFs would make the prices even higher.

Hasbro actually tried the Build a Figure thing once in a transformers line. With I would say limited success, probably due to the choice in figure.

Back in 2006 they released the 10th Anniversary Beast Wars series. Each figure contained a piece to build Trans-Mutate. Waspinator was the lucky one to get the Head of Transmutate.

Perhaps if it had been a better figure it could have caught on, but I don;t anybody wanted to actually build a Trans Mutate.

Eh. BAFs are one of those things it takes a while to get going. As with the old Marvel Legends, some of the BAFs outright sucked, and alot of people just ignored the concept. But as they selected better characters, and better sculpts, it started to catch on. Eventually the idea itself seemed like a pretty good one. The Hasbro line of Marvel Legends BAFs was uncanny with most of it's selections and popularity. The BAD's from Star Wars...well they're pretty good. And Jakks had decent success with their 3 3/4 WWE Figures and Builders.

Combiners are 'in a way' a BAF. But also you have to look at it this way...all those characters have to merge to BAF. So when the battle starts, -4, 5 or even 6, +1. So combiners in that sense are not true BAFs. BAFs are just that bonus you get.

And as for...Oh say a figure being short packed, etc. Well. That's part of the fun. It keeps you interested in the toy and the line and the quest. Unfortunately too many people want it NOW to satisfy their instant gratification. Oh well. Let the people who really love doing it collect it and stick it together. Let the whiners BIN, or just collect what they want. As well from even another stand point, collectors not interested in the BAF can get some resale out of it. They can buy a set, BAF...sale it. Or sale a part. It's like a rebate really.

BAF has become part of the hobby, and I'd like to see The Transformers make some actual good use of it and run an Omega Supreme, then a Classic Devistator. Then see what else is next.

Or let's be creative. Since we like kits, etc.

Why not toss in various parts you can mess with in each set. Basically build your own Transformer. From perhaps various BAF incentive, or a Mechanics kit.

Just tossing stuff out there.

Overcracker wrote: I don't think anybody wanted to actually build a Trans Mutate.

You'd be very wrong.

Flux Convoy wrote:

Overcracker wrote: I don't think anybody wanted to actually build a Trans Mutate.

You'd be very wrong.

Really? O.k, how about: "'Few' people actually wanted to build a Trans Mutate'. Is that better?

Anyway, seems to me the build a figure part would probably just bump the price up , but it might be a nice deal. I can think of a few deluxe figures that can be disassembled, and re-assembled with no ill effects, so they could be shipped in parts to be assembled by the buyer.

I think the main issue, is that they would have to design the transformation around the dis-assembly requirement, which may not turn out so good.

Overcracker wrote:Perhaps if it had been a better figure it could have caught on, but I don;t anybody wanted to actually build a Trans Mutate.

I would love a Trans Mutate figure. I think it's awesome. If I had been collecting TFs at the time that those figures came out, I would have bought them all to get Trans Mutate.

I don't see the concept of a BAF working beyond combining an actionmaster-like fig. Too much intracate engineering on the figure as a whole.

Overcracker wrote:Hasbro actually tried the Build a Figure thing once in a transformers line. With I would say limited success, probably due to the choice in figure.

Back in 2006 they released the 10th Anniversary Beast Wars series. Each figure contained a piece to build Trans-Mutate. Waspinator was the lucky one to get the Head of Transmutate.

Perhaps if it had been a better figure it could have caught on, but I don;t anybody wanted to actually build a Trans Mutate.

It also happened earlier than the BW reissues, at the near-end of the Heroes of Cybertron line. The little PVC figures? A few of the later series came with parts to make either Metroplex or Fort Max in the same PVC style.
If I recall, pieces came with slightly redecoed HoC figures, like the Coronation Starscream and the Megatron w/ Laserbeak on his arm, and the Grimlock/Daniel set. Yeah, cause what I really wanted was a PVC Daniel.

While that was purposefully snide, they did the build a figure thing twice, and as much as I didn't care about Transmutate, that seemed to be way better than the HoC BAFs.

I think it;s a neat idea, but it does present the same problem as the Star Wars build a droids. Do you really, REALLY want two different Cloud City Guards to finish a cool droid?

Alice could have been a perfect choice for this concept in the movie line!