The Energon Pub

News Credits: 1 · Fri May 20, 2022 12:37 pm

The problem with the "But I came back because they brought back G1 so it's a good plan!" strategy is that, at this point, most fans probably didn't get here from G1. Hell, those of us who got into Transformers with Beast Wars as infants are now close to turning thirty... G1 lasted seven years, but everything after that and before the end of RID 2015 has been something else.

To put inane offtopic debate about things we'll never agree on and none of us have control over aside, I'm glad to hear Armada Starscream is his own mold. Metroplex and Override have got me very excited for him, as there's a good chance that he'll be a proper armada remake and not the pointless mix that Arcee and Bulkhead were.

News Credits: 4877 · Fri May 20, 2022 5:33 pm

Sabrblade wrote:What we need is for the TV show lines to go back to being as reinventive as they used to. Generations lines can continue as they have been full steam ahead, but the TV show lines need the diversity and uniqueness that First-Aid clamors for.

Oh man, so much this!!!!!!!!

News Credits: 1350 · Fri May 20, 2022 5:42 pm

william-james88 wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:What we need is for the TV show lines to go back to being as reinventive as they used to. Generations lines can continue as they have been full steam ahead, but the TV show lines need the diversity and uniqueness that First-Aid clamors for.

Oh man, so much this!!!!!!!!

Hopefully we'll get it with Earthspark before the inevitable cries of it not being G1 enough

News Credits: 4877 · Fri May 20, 2022 6:51 pm

Rtron wrote:The problem with the "But I came back because they brought back G1 so it's a good plan!" strategy is that, at this point, most fans probably didn't get here from G1. Hell, those of us who got into Transformers with Beast Wars as infants are now close to turning thirty... G1 lasted seven years, but everything after that and before the end of RID 2015 has been something else.

To put inane offtopic debate about things we'll never agree on and none of us have control over aside, I'm glad to hear Armada Starscream is his own mold. Metroplex and Override have got me very excited for him, as there's a good chance that he'll be a proper armada remake and not the pointless mix that Arcee and Bulkhead were.

Most beaat wars fans are way past 30

News Credits: 56 · Fri May 20, 2022 7:42 pm

william-james88 wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:What we need is for the TV show lines to go back to being as reinventive as they used to. Generations lines can continue as they have been full steam ahead, but the TV show lines need the diversity and uniqueness that First-Aid clamors for.

Oh man, so much this!!!!!!!!

Agreed 100%. I've made my peace with the fact that im too old to really appreciate what any mainline toy, or media aimed at younger audiences is like. Let them go buck wild. If something by chance catches my interest call it a bonus. If not, then no loss, I still have Generations.

Also I specifically don't get the whole " this line for kids isn't "G1 enough"' ( double quotes because I'd never say that or use those phrases).

But while I'm Not a Rid15 or Cyberverse fan, it's not because they have too much or not enough nostalgia. I just didn't care for the stories in general. But those that say they are "too close" to the original puzzle me, because I find nothing, aside from the obvious character names reuses, similar about them to anything that came before, for good or I'll.

News Credits: 13 · Fri May 20, 2022 11:33 pm

I think a new TF series that wasnt G1 styled would be a good thing, with an entirely new cast of characters. Do we really need Optimus and Megatron in EVERY iteration? Just give that show it's own collector line as well as the kids line.

That said, Generations should keep to G1 style when doing G1 characters, but characters from other continuities should be done as they were in said continuity. I really find myself detesting the G1-ified Prime characters, especially Arcee as she was my fave character in that show and this new look is just terrible. I'll always love G1, but I don't want everything to be G1.

News Credits: 4877 · Fri May 20, 2022 11:34 pm

Hasbro's main Transformers designer, Mark Maher, has received lots of questions from fans regarding Menasor and is taking an opportunity to answer all the main ones, including compatibility with CW (not designed as such), if the connections are unique or symetrical, and the height. You can see all the answers below along with new images of the toy in hand.

Apologies for the lack of responses and posts, I’m trying my best to answer everyone so dont feel neglected if I dont respond. Im just really working hard to make everyone’s FAN tasties come true ( oof dad joke ).

So, here we have Menasor compared to Shattered Glass commander Jetfire just as I promised a scale comparison for yall!! As you can see, our combiner is larger, not by much, but he is basically 12 inches in height with his head horns pushing him to 12 1/2 inches.

I did attach 2 wildriders for the legs but 2 dragstrips will not work, as Ejima san made each arm connection unique to the character.

Swipe right to see how much articulation you have to play with on this combiner, just imagine all the poses!! The ankle rockers really make a large impact!

I also showed some scale comparisons to the voyagers as I feel you can imagine how dlx and core will lineup.

Been a big fan of Motormaster for a long time, the deco colors and design is so striking, I love the boxed out dome! You can see Motormaster here power slamming Optimus

Also, I showed how well combiner wars Sunstreaker fits into Menasors leg socket, as Ive said before, it fits, but does not stay well, as it was not intended to be used with this system. The intention for this combiner was to try to make it the best we could with unique connections.

If you’re a diehard g1 cartoon fan you dont have to display your arm connections seperated as shown here!

More soon! Enjoy!

Thanks for all the support

News Credits: 462 · Fri May 20, 2022 11:47 pm

grimdragon2001 wrote:Do we really need Optimus and Megatron in EVERY iteration?

Retailers who sell the toys keep demanding them, unfortunately.

grimdragon2001 wrote:That said, Generations should keep to G1 style when doing G1 characters, but characters from other continuities should be done as they were in said continuity. I really find myself detesting the G1-ified Prime characters, especially Arcee as she was my fave character in that show and this new look is just terrible. I'll always love G1, but I don't want everything to be G1.

It's really frustrating how pick-and-choose-y this line is being with what gets faithful designs (G1, G2, Beast Wars, and Cybertron) and what doesn't (TF: Prime and now the new Car Robots Black Convoy/RiD 2001 Scourge in the Velocitron subline).

News Credits: 13 · Fri May 20, 2022 11:58 pm

This image has me thinking that Legacy Menasor will be close to, if not the same height as CW Menasor. At least close enough to fit in with the CW combiners without any problems.

compare that to this pic of Netflix Prime and CW Menasor (Sadly from a phone with a scuffed up lens) and you might see what I mean

quick edit, forgot mine is wearing the Perfect Effect feet so yea, stock will be somewhat shorter

News Credits: 101 · Sat May 21, 2022 3:14 am

CW Menasor was some sort of weird mutated thing. Legacy Menasor is the one that I always wanted as the OFFICIAL one. 3P keeps making it over and over. It was about time HASTAK took a clue.

News Credits: 12 · Sat May 21, 2022 3:27 am

I was already hyped for Menasor, this image just makes me more excited. He looks nice and solid. Hoping they do a G2 version as well. Also, I'm really hoping Motormaster is compatible with ER Prime's trailer cause while it's silly, I think it'd be neat to have Motormaster pulling Nemesis Prime's trailer from the Netflix line, or having him haul the fuel tanker from Legacy Prime and/or Scourge

News Credits: 9 · Sat May 21, 2022 9:14 am

These photos have upped my excitement as well... I was happy enough just based on the appearance.
I'm really digging Menasor's head/face sculpt. From what I can see, that is all really on point!!
My only critique as of right now are the "grates" of the knee areas... I understand that used less plastic, but that design is a bit weak.
Other than that, I love the design. The combining system for the limbs, the torso...
I'd say Hastak really upped their game for this set.
And if this ends up being as solid and sturdy and poseable as a couple of those photos make him look, then this is going to be one incredible combiner.

News Credits: 11 · Sat May 21, 2022 10:32 am

I found the three Legacy Beasts at my local Smyths Toys today, and bought Nightprowler. I've never disliked the Kingdom Cheetor mould as much as many others do, and Nightprowler is a good use of the mould. Granted the yellow on the helmet and shoulders doesn't match the grey, but he looks nice enough in beast mode. I'm undecided on whether or not to get Buzzsaw and Sandstorm, but there were only a couple left of each so they must be selling well.
While I was there I also noticed they're stocking solid cases of Kickback and Skids, about six or seven of each on the shelf, but no Drag Strip or Arcee so far. I was tempted to pick up a Skids, he does look nice, but I eventually chose not to. Is Skids worth getting?
Also, I couldn't help but laugh, but my Smyths had Kingdom Blaster and Legacy Blaster right next to each other on the shelf, Legacy was full price at £29.99 but Kingdom was on discount for £20.99. To of the same product, in different packaging, next to each other, but one is nearly £10 cheaper. :lol:

News Credits: 10 · Sat May 21, 2022 10:43 am

grimdragon2001 wrote:This image has me thinking that Legacy Menasor will be close to, if not the same height as CW Menasor. At least close enough to fit in with the CW combiners without any problems.

compare that to this pic of Netflix Prime and CW Menasor (Sadly from a phone with a scuffed up lens) and you might see what I mean

quick edit, forgot mine is wearing the Perfect Effect feet so yea, stock will be somewhat shorter

Just eyeballing it, but it seems like CW Menasor will be a little bit shorter than Legacy. But we shall see.

News Credits: 19 · Sat May 21, 2022 10:43 am

Height wise he should work fine with other CW bots if a bit taller, I always had to extend the legs on them to make them look proportionate with their elbow joints or just leave the vehicles compressed on the arms/legs for a stubby g1 look. Just had a quick play with my CW one and I still like it enough to keep it.

I still really don't like legacy drag strips design or that even with multiple upgrade kits he still looks bad but I'm kind of tempted to get this menasor.

News Credits: 462 · Sat May 21, 2022 10:52 am

It's basically the same height as CW Menasor, as Jetfire's the same height as all of the CW Combiners, and (for further reference) the same height as the likes of G1 God Ginrai, Beast Machines Ultra class Nightscream (he was tall), RID'01 Omega Prime, Armada Super-Base Optimus Prime, Armada Tidal Wave, Masterpiece MP-1 Optimus Prime, Masterpiece Ultra Magnus, Masterpiece Star Saber, Adventure TAV21 Optimus Prime, Adventure TAV33 Optimus Prime Supreme Mode, and Takara Legends God Ginrai (all of these guys were in the 11-12-inch-tall height range).

News Credits: 1350 · Sat May 21, 2022 11:31 am

blackeyedprime wrote:Height wise he should work fine with other CW bots if a bit taller, I always had to extend the legs on them to make them look proportionate with their elbow joints or just leave the vehicles compressed on the arms/legs for a stubby g1 look. Just had a quick play with my CW one and I still like it enough to keep it.

I still really don't like legacy drag strips design or that even with multiple upgrade kits he still looks bad but I'm kind of tempted to get this menasor.

If you're going to get it, make a decision quick before after market prices make it for you.

News Credits: 6 · Sat May 21, 2022 11:40 am

When we first saw Legacy Menasaur, I knew it was perfect. This is cool! But why did they peg wildrider and breakdown into the back of the leg, I thought they went on the front!

News Credits: 42 · Sat May 21, 2022 11:44 am

RodimusPrimeUkraine1 wrote:When we first saw Legacy Menasaur, I knew it was perfect. This is cool! But why did they peg wildrider and breakdown into the back of the leg, I thought they went on the front!

On the CW figure yes, but for some stupid reason the G1 cartoon just slapped the cars onto the backs of the legs instead of having Breakdown and Wildrider make up the entire leg like the G1 toy. They still had the tops of the cars facing backwards, but at least the front of the legs looked distinct because of Breakdown's and Wildrider's chests. But because of the G1 show we're stuck with this stupid design.

Switching the top of the legs' vehicle modes to the front of the Combiner legs was one of my favorite changes from Combiner Wars, it's a shame any future Legacy combiners probably won't keep it

News Credits: 191 · Sat May 21, 2022 11:50 am

grimdragon2001 wrote:This image has me thinking that Legacy Menasor will be close to, if not the same height as CW Menasor. At least close enough to fit in with the CW combiners without any problems.

Since Legacy Menasor is shown here to be pretty much the exact same neck-height as Siege Jetfire, we can use previous Siege Jetfire comparisons to see how Menasor stacks up to CW combiners. He seems to actually come out very slightly taller; though I imagine if you have say CW Computron/UW Baldigus' feet or 3P feet, it'll be close to the exact same height. Not bad if you want to have him posed with Superion or Bruticus straight away!

News Credits: 12 · Sat May 21, 2022 12:11 pm

Autobot N wrote:
RodimusPrimeUkraine1 wrote:When we first saw Legacy Menasaur, I knew it was perfect. This is cool! But why did they peg wildrider and breakdown into the back of the leg, I thought they went on the front!
On the CW figure yes, but for some stupid reason the G1 cartoon just slapped the cars onto the backs of the legs instead of having Breakdown and Wildrider make up the entire leg like the G1 toy. They still had the tops of the cars facing backwards, but at least the front of the legs looked distinct because of Breakdown's and Wildrider's chests. But because of the G1 show we're stuck with this stupid design.

Switching the top of the legs' vehicle modes to the front of the Combiner legs was one of my favorite changes from Combiner Wars, it's a shame any future Legacy combiners probably won't keep it

When we heard about Legacy Menasor, I'd hoped that there would be some options for display to let him either be Sunbow accurate, or toy accurate. I was hoping for an alternate chest, head, and leg transformation. Obviously it's not happening, but at least if you have the CW leg bots, you can kinda get the cars facing forward

News Credits: 10 · Sat May 21, 2022 12:29 pm

Sentinel_Primal wrote:
Autobot N wrote:
RodimusPrimeUkraine1 wrote:When we first saw Legacy Menasaur, I knew it was perfect. This is cool! But why did they peg wildrider and breakdown into the back of the leg, I thought they went on the front!
On the CW figure yes, but for some stupid reason the G1 cartoon just slapped the cars onto the backs of the legs instead of having Breakdown and Wildrider make up the entire leg like the G1 toy. They still had the tops of the cars facing backwards, but at least the front of the legs looked distinct because of Breakdown's and Wildrider's chests. But because of the G1 show we're stuck with this stupid design.

Switching the top of the legs' vehicle modes to the front of the Combiner legs was one of my favorite changes from Combiner Wars, it's a shame any future Legacy combiners probably won't keep it

When we heard about Legacy Menasor, I'd hoped that there would be some options for display to let him either be Sunbow accurate, or toy accurate. I was hoping for an alternate chest, head, and leg transformation. Obviously it's not happening, but at least if you have the CW leg bots, you can kinda get the cars facing forward

I know what display preference you have, but the cars aren't facing forward on either the Sunbow show OR the G1 toy.

News Credits: 174 · Sat May 21, 2022 12:32 pm

Sentinel_Primal wrote:
Autobot N wrote:
RodimusPrimeUkraine1 wrote:When we first saw Legacy Menasaur, I knew it was perfect. This is cool! But why did they peg wildrider and breakdown into the back of the leg, I thought they went on the front!
On the CW figure yes, but for some stupid reason the G1 cartoon just slapped the cars onto the backs of the legs instead of having Breakdown and Wildrider make up the entire leg like the G1 toy. They still had the tops of the cars facing backwards, but at least the front of the legs looked distinct because of Breakdown's and Wildrider's chests. But because of the G1 show we're stuck with this stupid design.

Switching the top of the legs' vehicle modes to the front of the Combiner legs was one of my favorite changes from Combiner Wars, it's a shame any future Legacy combiners probably won't keep it

When we heard about Legacy Menasor, I'd hoped that there would be some options for display to let him either be Sunbow accurate, or toy accurate. I was hoping for an alternate chest, head, and leg transformation. Obviously it's not happening, but at least if you have the CW leg bots, you can kinda get the cars facing forward

The lower legs detach and the cars form the heels of the combiner, so you can literally turn them around, you lose knee's but you should be able to display it with cars facing forward. I think it was mentioned in the article that it doesn't work with the CW figures, but it wasn't obvious to me what they meant.

News Credits: 462 · Sat May 21, 2022 12:46 pm

Sabrblade wrote:Just so that everyone is on the same page:

Transformers G1 1986 Menasor Gallery

Transformers G1 1986 Menasor Gallery

Transformers G1 1986 Menasor Gallery

G1 toy: Leg cars faced backwards.

Transformers Generations Combiner Wars Menasor Gallery

Transformers Generations Combiner Wars Menasor Gallery

Combiner Wars toy: Leg cars face forwards.