The Energon Pub

[MrBlack]

I just snagged Devastator in Alexandria, Virginia. If you're on the East coast, hit your Toys R Us today.

[william-james88]

I'm caving under the pressure of resisting TT's Devastator. It's almost painful now, knowing all of these changes exist;

What did you go for in the end?

[william-james88]

Here's a comparison between Hasbro and Takara in terms of deco. Takara is more different than superior. The most obvious parts for deco in combined mode are the threads, the hands and the left foot.

[Sowndwave76]

I think it's pretty interesting that Hasbro didn't get different artwork for the packaging of this...
I get that that IS Devastator on the package... Not saying it causes confusion as to the character seen. And I like the style of the illustration.
But it's quite a bit different from the actual toy.
And I personally don't care, it doesn't bother me. I just find it interesting.

The illustrations on other packaging is definitely stylized and somewhat embellished.
i.e. Motormaster's "lit-up" eyes.
But for the most part, the package artwork matches the figures.

So again, just interesting.

[fenrir72]

Here's a comparison between Hasbro and Takara in terms of deco. Takara is more different than superior. The most obvious parts for deco in combined mode are the threads, the hands and the left foot.

Don't I know it..........the self control is murder! Getting to play with one over the next 6 months......too much! I'm cutting down next year.....I promise...........

[MrBlack]

At the request of a Reddit user, I did a few comparison shots with other figures to give an idea of Devastator's size. I figured someone here might get some use out of them.

[Nemesis Maximo]

Holy Crapsticks.

[Bainreese]

I just snagged Devastator in Alexandria, Virginia. If you're on the East coast, hit your Toys R Us today.

Looks like you are driving a Fiat 500.

I'm surprised Devastator fit in your car.

[MrBlack]

I just snagged Devastator in Alexandria, Virginia. If you're on the East coast, hit your Toys R Us today.

Looks like you are driving a Fiat 500.

I'm surprised Devastator fit in your car.

Good eye!

As you can see, he barely fit in the front seat. I almost needed to belt him in.

[GuyIncognito]

I just keep checking BBTS several times per day, waiting for it to move from Preorders to my Pile of Loot, trying to be patient.

[william-james88]

I just keep checking BBTS several times per day, waiting for it to move from Preorders to my Pile of Loot, trying to be patient.

I find it pretty crazy how of all places BBTS is later than actual retail (Canadian, US and Australian retail)

[no-one]

I just keep checking BBTS several times per day, waiting for it to move from Preorders to my Pile of Loot, trying to be patient.

I find it pretty crazy how of all places BBTS is later than actual retail (Canadian, US and Australian retail)

In my limited experiences with BBTS, they are slow to get stock. YMMV

[ScottyP]

Grabbed this guy at TRU yesterday morning (also on the east coast here), messed around with the whole team last night. I have nothing but good things to say - all the bad things, everyone knows about. Yes, they are bad, and yes, I am aware of them, but they didn't hinder my enjoyment.

First, the face sculpts on the individual constructicons are sublime. You can tell Hasui designed this thing. Scavenger and Bonecrusher really stand out, and Scrapper's is nice as can be too. Really, all the heads are great. Can't tell you how many times "Nobody would follow an un-charismatic boar like you!" played back in my head.

Let's talk about Long Haul. This is a toy with no forward rotating elbow joint that turns into a dump truck that can't dump out its payload. It is also one of my favorite official figures this year. I have weird taste, yes, but he's just this right mix of Long Haul, Fun, and a really critical component to having a stable Devastator. The ratchet joints are amazingly beefy. That might be shocking to hear if you only have the Optimus or Motormaster torsos, but on this guy they're perfect. It's also a really cool touch that you can get all the combiner pieces into him in alt mode. I should take some pictures of that. It can be done this way, sure:

... but it actually has ports to do it in a completely organized fashion instead. Really nice touch.

My last thought for now (gotta save something for the podcast, so check that out next week sometime if you enjoy this post) is the torso. I've gotta say, while assembling the upper body, I was a bit worried how this was going to play out. It ended up being nothing to worry about. The treads lock in just so along with the chest shield which is also attached to Hook who is attached to Long Haul who completes the loop by giving the treads another spot on the other end to lock in using those maligned arms with no elbows. Brilliantly done and super stable, seems to help contribute to the whole combiner having excellent balance and playability.

I own several third party combiners, and thinking with my wallet only, this Combiner Wars Devastator is a steal. The fun to be had, the size and stability of the combined mode, and the level of care put into the individual bots (sans the cost/engineering sacrifices that have been debated ad infinitum) yields an end product that is both charming, fun, and impressive.

Avoid this Devastator at your own risk, it is a lot of Fun. If you can afford it, I'd wait it out for the Takara one to get those cool upgraded touches and blasters, but if all you can spring for is the US retail version, you will not be disappointed.

[Cobotron]

Nice to hear some in-hand positivity.
Thanks SP.

[ScottyP]

I just keep checking BBTS several times per day, waiting for it to move from Preorders to my Pile of Loot, trying to be patient.

I find it pretty crazy how of all places BBTS is later than actual retail (Canadian, US and Australian retail)

In my limited experiences with BBTS, they are slow to get stock. YMMV

Warning: Speculation Below

It is highly likely that BBTS and Amazon (maybe others too) have stock sitting around a warehouse already that they aren't allowed to sell. Would not surprise me if TRU has some special privilege or leeway to sell it "first" for the US market in their stores. It'd also be a crummy way to treat BBTS after how great a partner they were to Hasbro during Metroplex's release - not that TRU wasn't also a good partner, just seems uneven.

[william-james88]

Thanks for the quick review Scotty! I will be getting the Takara one since the price difference is only in terms of the shipping cost so I figured, why not.

Will you be getting the takara one as well?

[ScottyP]

Thanks for the quick review Scotty! I will be getting the Takara one since the price difference is only in terms of the shipping cost so I figured, why not.

Will you be getting the takara one as well?

Undecided, going to decide soon. May be cutting back on imports entirely outside of MP soon for purely personal reasons.

[MrBlack]

I'll second Scotty's review. The individual bots look really good for the most part. They are missing some articulation in the elbows and waist movement, but they have a lot of nice articulation in the legs and feet, and they look fantastic overall. The Constructicons are, in many ways, an upscaled and updated version of their G1 toys.

As for the Big D, he is very impressive. Like Scotty, I had some serious doubts about how well the upper body would hold together once I started putting the arms on, but the chest shield helps hold the entire package together. He has surprisingly good articulation for such a big figure, and he seems to be more stable than any of the other combiners that have been released in this line.

I do wonder how stable the Takara version will be give that the Takara' version of Scrapper will have elbows. Those arms hold the majority of the right leg's weight (Scrapper doesn't have a load bearing shovel), and if the elbows aren't super stable on Scrapper, I can see the whole thing falling over with a bit of jostling.

[galvatron00]

I just snagged Devastator in Alexandria, Virginia. If you're on the East coast, hit your Toys R Us today.

Heading to TRU this weekend! Were you able to use the 20%/25% off (25% with TRU card)? I told my better half if they had him we were using it

[Bainreese]

I just keep checking BBTS several times per day, waiting for it to move from Preorders to my Pile of Loot, trying to be patient.

I find it pretty crazy how of all places BBTS is later than actual retail (Canadian, US and Australian retail)

In my limited experiences with BBTS, they are slow to get stock. YMMV

Warning: Speculation Below

It is highly likely that BBTS and Amazon (maybe others too) have stock sitting around a warehouse already that they aren't allowed to sell. Would not surprise me if TRU has some special privilege or leeway to sell it "first" for the US market in their stores. It'd also be a crummy way to treat BBTS after how great a partner they were to Hasbro during Metroplex's release - not that TRU wasn't also a good partner, just seems uneven.

More probable, having been in international shipping & logistics, TRU's container shipments went out a few days/a week ahead of smaller orders which meant they got on the water quicker, went through the port in LA and into TRU's own distribution network. BBTS's order is noticably smaller and thus would be toward the end of production, possibly being combined with other shipments onto one container as I doubt BBTS bought a solid 40' of Dev's and thus the logistics of that just take a bit longer.

BBTS, while they may seem like a big operation to us with all the little garage pop-ups now-a-days, is still a small, independently owned shop. Joel's business is good and he runs it well...but places like TRU and Wally World are always going to be a bit ahead of the game when it comes to dealing with Hastak because of their sheer volume and economies of scale.

[Bainreese]

And not 20 minutes after I post this...BBTS sends me notification that Devy is in stock and ready to go.

[Sabrblade]

"Nobody would follow an un-charismatic boar like you!"

I do wonder how stable the Takara version will be give that the Takara' version of Scrapper will have elbows. Those arms hold the majority of the right leg's weight (Scrapper doesn't have a load bearing shovel), and if the elbows aren't super stable on Scrapper, I can see the whole thing falling over with a bit of jostling.

According to fellow user Powered Convoy, Takara Scrapper's arms were not only re-engineered to have elbows, but also done so in a way that allows them to transform differently than the arms of Hasbro Scrapper, folding up to provide more surface area to the heel, possibly making Takara's even more stable than Hasbro's.

[galvatron00]

Devy in stock at TRU online!

[galvatron00]

"Nobody would follow an un-charismatic boar like you!"

I do wonder how stable the Takara version will be give that the Takara' version of Scrapper will have elbows. Those arms hold the majority of the right leg's weight (Scrapper doesn't have a load bearing shovel), and if the elbows aren't super stable on Scrapper, I can see the whole thing falling over with a bit of jostling.

According to fellow user Powered Convoy, Takara Scrapper's arms were not only re-engineered to have elbows, but also done so in a way that allows them to transform differently than the arms of Hasbro Scrapper, folding up to provide more surface area to the heel, possibly making Takara's even more stable than Hasbro's.

LOL @ Pumbaa, and fuuuuuuuuuudge at super stable heels!!!!

[Bainreese]

"Nobody would follow an un-charismatic boar like you!"

I do wonder how stable the Takara version will be give that the Takara' version of Scrapper will have elbows. Those arms hold the majority of the right leg's weight (Scrapper doesn't have a load bearing shovel), and if the elbows aren't super stable on Scrapper, I can see the whole thing falling over with a bit of jostling.

According to fellow user Powered Convoy, Takara Scrapper's arms were not only re-engineered to have elbows, but also done so in a way that allows them to transform differently than the arms of Hasbro Scrapper, folding up to provide more surface area to the heel, possibly making Takara's even more stable than Hasbro's.

Yeah, I'll be getting the Hasbro one now to satisfy my need....but selling it as soon as Takara's arrives.