The Energon Pub

Emerje wrote:As people love to point out the new SG is about G1 characters in SG colors so a Beetle makes more sense as "correct" in this line.

People do keep saying this, and I'll be honest, having seen 8/10 of the SG figures with a hint at the 9th, I don't really buy that being an intentional thing. I can see it being an unintentional side effect at this point because of having mostly G1 molds to work off of instead of the originals mostly being UT molds, but I don't think it's an intended design mentality in play. Blurr, Jetfire, Starscream, Wheeljack/Slicer, and Blaster are all the correct molds (and Starscream especially feels intentional, as they could have incorrectly made him an Earth jet instead of the tetrajet), some of whom even got extra new parts to look more accurate to the originals, and those that are the wrong molds feel circumstantial to me.
-Megatron is still a repaint/retool of another Megatron as he originally was, and even got extra new parts to give him an extra alt mode to emulate that old figure...but that Megatron mold happened to resemble Galvatron, so people are saying he should have been a Galvatron retool instead.
-Goldbug should have been a Hot Shot repaint to be accurate, but there was no Hot Shot to repaint, so they went with a different sports car mold that just so happens to be shared with his G1 self (they may have done it to make sure the head existed to make this new G1 Goldbug, honestly).
-As for Magnus...I think he just got shafted by the desire to make Delta Magnus, and despite that he still managed to get the new right head and extra accessories in the name of accuracy.

We haven't really seen Sir Soundwave yet but we do have hints at him via the comic, and while we know he's gonna be a repaint of his G1 self, yes, the original Sir Soundwave has had a figure and multiple fictional appearances using that mold/design before, and SSW also needs to be that mold to have cassette functionality. I would put that more towards being accurate than being intentionally a G1 palette swap.

Nemesis Primal wrote:-Goldbug should have been a Hot Shot repaint to be accurate, but there was no Hot Shot to repaint, so they went with a different sports car mold that just so happens to be shared with his G1 self (they may have done it to make sure the head existed to make this new G1 Goldbug, honestly).

This is the one that makes me think otherwise. Unlike the others, Hasbro did have a mold that worked better for SG Goldbug. The Cybertron Hot Shot mold was an homage to Hot Rod, so the actual Hot Rod mold would have been far more suited for Gold Bug. It's deluxe sized anyways.

This is pretty big in the world of Transfomers collecting. While alternate heads are a staple with other Hasbro brands, like Marvel Legends, only recently did we get something exactly the same as how it's handled in Marvel legends, within the Transformers brand. We got an alternate head for Shattered Glass Ultra Magnus and now we have 3 alternate heads in the upcoming Target Exclusive Transformers Buzzworthy Bumblebee Creatures Collide four pack. Skywasp comes with both a Waspinator head and Buzzsaw head, Scorponok comes with the toy head and cartoon head and Ransack comes with a Ransack and Kickback head. The set also includes Goldbug with the Volkswagen Beetle body, which is the first time that mold was reused.

Below are images from Spider-Father and Napalm which show comparisons to previous releases of the molds as well as the original versions of some of these characters.

If they’re giving extra heads, that’s gotta be because they’re trying to justify a price point. They’re neat to have and though.

Wow goldbug looks dope

And the buzzaw head with skywasp looks badass

While I appreciate the inclusion of those alternate heads, I have one question: what's the significance of a Ransack-colored Kickback? Unless that's actually for Kickback himself in order to be toy-accurate?

Jelze Bunnycat wrote:While I appreciate the inclusion of those alternate heads, I have one question: what's the significance of a Ransack-colored Kickback? Unless that's actually for Kickback himself in order to be toy-accurate?

That's what I was thinking.

Most definitely going to keep the Ransack head on, it feels really weird having Kickback's head on even it was originally his mold...
But it's still a cool option nonetheless!

I just don't get the purpose of these alternate heads. The Toy accurate heads should be the ones included and the already-used heads should just be left out. But of all the figures, they decided to not include an extra Bee head.

Alternate parts are not a solution, they just waste plastic and get tossed in a drawer.

Nuclearxpotato wrote:I just don't get the purpose of these alternate heads. The Toy accurate heads should be the ones included and the already-used heads should just be left out. But of all the figures, they decided to not include an extra Bee head.

Alternate parts are not a solution, they just waste plastic and get tossed in a drawer.

Those alternate parts are always made when they make any version. At least here they are also given to you and not thrown out.

william-james88 wrote:

Nuclearxpotato wrote:I just don't get the purpose of these alternate heads. The Toy accurate heads should be the ones included and the already-used heads should just be left out. But of all the figures, they decided to not include an extra Bee head.

Alternate parts are not a solution, they just waste plastic and get tossed in a drawer.

Those alternate parts are always made when they make any version. At least here they are also given to you and not thrown out.

Yes, but I think they're just melted back down and recast with the rest of the sprue.

Scorponok look much, much better with the "toy" head. That cartoon accurate head looks like a monkey face.

Nuclearxpotato wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Nuclearxpotato wrote:I just don't get the purpose of these alternate heads. The Toy accurate heads should be the ones included and the already-used heads should just be left out. But of all the figures, they decided to not include an extra Bee head.

Alternate parts are not a solution, they just waste plastic and get tossed in a drawer.

Those alternate parts are always made when they make any version. At least here they are also given to you and not thrown out.

Yes, but I think they're just melted back down and recast with the rest of the sprue.

The extra parts are definitely NOT made, at least as far as I'm aware. Those parts of the sprue/mold are blocked off from the liquid plastic.

Nemesis Primal wrote:-As for Magnus...I think he just got shafted by the desire to make Delta Magnus, and despite that he still managed to get the new right head and extra accessories in the name of accuracy.

The very first SG Ultra Magnus, from four years before BotCon 2012, looked like this:

Seibertron wrote:

Nuclearxpotato wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Nuclearxpotato wrote:I just don't get the purpose of these alternate heads. The Toy accurate heads should be the ones included and the already-used heads should just be left out. But of all the figures, they decided to not include an extra Bee head.

Alternate parts are not a solution, they just waste plastic and get tossed in a drawer.

Those alternate parts are always made when they make any version. At least here they are also given to you and not thrown out.

Yes, but I think they're just melted back down and recast with the rest of the sprue.

The extra parts are definitely NOT made, at least as far as I'm aware. Those parts of the sprue/mold are blocked off from the liquid plastic.

That is a rather recent idea isn't it? Although, that wouldn't really explain the odd accidental alternate head used instead of the regular one when it comes to samples.

Jelze Bunnycat wrote:

Seibertron wrote:

Nuclearxpotato wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Nuclearxpotato wrote:I just don't get the purpose of these alternate heads. The Toy accurate heads should be the ones included and the already-used heads should just be left out. But of all the figures, they decided to not include an extra Bee head.

Alternate parts are not a solution, they just waste plastic and get tossed in a drawer.

Those alternate parts are always made when they make any version. At least here they are also given to you and not thrown out.

Yes, but I think they're just melted back down and recast with the rest of the sprue.

The extra parts are definitely NOT made, at least as far as I'm aware. Those parts of the sprue/mold are blocked off from the liquid plastic.

That is a rather recent idea isn't it? Although, that wouldn't really explain the odd accidental alternate head used instead of the regular one when it comes to samples.

In the case of an alternate head, I believe they basically have 2 paths through the mold/sprue that the plastic can flow, one for each head. They can gate off one head or the other based on which one is needed. It now appears that they can also leave both open and make both heads at once, which could also explain sometimes the wrong heads on samples as well.

Jelze Bunnycat wrote:That is a rather recent idea isn't it? Although, that wouldn't really explain the odd accidental alternate head used instead of the regular one when it comes to samples.

Huh? How does it not? It just means that they had the wrong sprues blocked off instead of the intended ones. You didn't get both heads. They just had the wrong sprue train open so you end up with the alternate head instead of the intended head.

Seibertron wrote:

Jelze Bunnycat wrote:That is a rather recent idea isn't it? Although, that wouldn't really explain the odd accidental alternate head used instead of the regular one when it comes to samples.

Huh? How does it not? It just means that they had the wrong sprues blocked off instead of the intended ones. You didn't get both heads. They just had the wrong sprue train open so you end up with the alternate head instead of the intended head.

Remember that leaked alternate head for Kingdom Beast Megatron? Only one out of how many produced?

Seibertron wrote:

Jelze Bunnycat wrote:That is a rather recent idea isn't it? Although, that wouldn't really explain the odd accidental alternate head used instead of the regular one when it comes to samples.

Huh? How does it not? It just means that they had the wrong sprues blocked off instead of the intended ones. You didn't get both heads. They just had the wrong sprue train open so you end up with the alternate head instead of the intended head.

Thanks, makes sense.

Jelze Bunnycat wrote:

Seibertron wrote:

Jelze Bunnycat wrote:That is a rather recent idea isn't it? Although, that wouldn't really explain the odd accidental alternate head used instead of the regular one when it comes to samples.

Huh? How does it not? It just means that they had the wrong sprues blocked off instead of the intended ones. You didn't get both heads. They just had the wrong sprue train open so you end up with the alternate head instead of the intended head.

Remember that leaked alternate head for Kingdom Beast Megatron? Only one out of how many produced?

Only one that was posted online by a fan. But these toys are purchased for kids as well and they won't go online posting they got the alternate head.

william-james88 wrote:

Jelze Bunnycat wrote:

Seibertron wrote:

Jelze Bunnycat wrote:That is a rather recent idea isn't it? Although, that wouldn't really explain the odd accidental alternate head used instead of the regular one when it comes to samples.

Huh? How does it not? It just means that they had the wrong sprues blocked off instead of the intended ones. You didn't get both heads. They just had the wrong sprue train open so you end up with the alternate head instead of the intended head.

Remember that leaked alternate head for Kingdom Beast Megatron? Only one out of how many produced?

Only one that was posted online by a fan. But these toys are purchased for kids as well and they won't go online posting they got the alternate head.

Still weird... o well.

Jelze Bunnycat wrote:

Seibertron wrote:

Jelze Bunnycat wrote:That is a rather recent idea isn't it? Although, that wouldn't really explain the odd accidental alternate head used instead of the regular one when it comes to samples.

Huh? How does it not? It just means that they had the wrong sprues blocked off instead of the intended ones. You didn't get both heads. They just had the wrong sprue train open so you end up with the alternate head instead of the intended head.

Remember that leaked alternate head for Kingdom Beast Megatron? Only one out of how many produced?

Yah, exactly. They apparently caught it and changed the mold flow. It's an on/off switch. They don't make both heads at the same time.

Alternatively look at T-Wrecks, we know the head they meant to use, but clearly they went all the way without realizing the wrong head was used. If both heads were molded they could have easily fixed this so clearly it wasn't.

Emerje

No second head revealed for Goldbug? I for one am hoping they include a second Goldbug head in Marvelous gold instead of blue, since that body had more memorable appearances in that continuity than any other.

Bumblevivisector wrote:No second head revealed for Goldbug? I for one am hoping they include a second Goldbug head in Marvelous gold instead of blue, since that body had more memorable appearances in that continuity than any other.

I could've gone for the gold "goldbug" head as well, but it was blue as the toy and the cartoon. As huge of a Marvel Transformers G1 fan as I am, I had to look up the his head was miscolored in the comic. I had forgotten despite that I sell Marvel TF G1 comics on a regular basis in the Seibertron Store and the Marvel TF G1 continuity is my favorite (sans Regeneration One).