The Energon Pub

wave 2 reveals:
Core class: Grimlock, Thundercracker, Nemesis prime: pass, pass, get
Deluxe class: Crashbar, Shrapnel, Crosscut, Prowl: Get, pass, pass, maybe
Voyager class: Metalhawk, Twincast: Get, pass
Leader class: Skyquake: maybe

Ordered the three "yes"s and the SS Scourge on Pulse. Nemesis I might cancel, 12 bucks for a tiny dude is absurd, but it's about the only scale I'll get a Nemesis in. He'll go with my Core G2 Megatron as a novelty.

Shrapnel looks fine I guess. I'm fine with the Prime Wars Insecticons and will wait for the inevitable Chop Shop release of this.
Prowl..... I've been extremely split on him since he leaked. He looks good but just still too G1. I know I'm the minority in sitting him out.
Crosscut I do not have any attachment to or desire to get.
Metalhawk. So yes. Twincast. Easy pass.
Skyquake: my Prime Skyquake is fine and I'm going to see if they do a more G1 Skyquake deco. Else I'll try to grab him on sale. G1 Skyquake isn't someone I know much about.

william-james88 wrote:

blackeyedprime wrote:A lotta lotta passes for me. I'll look out for Skyquake in a sale though.

Is that still a strategy in today's era of piss poor distribution/retail ordering?

Every legacy (and velocitron and shattered glass) figure I bought and even those I did not want to buy have been half price eventually. Even tm2 megatron was initially available at discount, minerva has already been on sale too here. With only inferno as of yet to be more available or cheaper.

o.supreme wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:I went with ship-to-store for in-store pickup since that made the shipping free.

There are at least a dozen stores near me, the ship to store option wasn't active when I checked out...oh well

Same, only option was to ship and when I tried to add it I got an error that it couldn't be added to the cart. I gave it a minute, closed the window and it worked! I can't be bothered to pay for shipping when I only need to spend $10 more to get free shipping so I ordered two. Might try modifying one to take the Headmaster that came with God Ginrai if anyone figures out how.

Emerje

I'm not pre-ordering anything until the actual ship dates are known and even then I might wait a week for a sale.

Sabrblade wrote:Minerva's FINALLY in stock at Walgreens.com!!! Go GO GO!!!

Thanks for the heads up!

I think Legacy/Evolution is shaping up nicely. I've a few more figures from last year I want to scoop up before I start going after the new stuff, and with Minerva secured that's one step closer to completion. Which is great, because these figures have me very excited, Prowl and Metalhawk especially!

Till-all-R1 wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:it's forced a mandatory upgrade tape door in a different way. Still getting him though, I'll just be annoyed about it.
Did they give any comments about why they chose Rewind over the expanded door?.

Is n expanded door really necessary though?

It's one of the things that makes him more than just a recolor, and in his case it's even in his name.
Plus, they did do it for his counterpart Soundblaster.

You know what would be fun to see if there are further toyline-original Junkions? More names that reference Hagar the Horrible, as Wreck-Gar's does.

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:

Till-all-R1 wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:it's forced a mandatory upgrade tape door in a different way. Still getting him though, I'll just be annoyed about it.
Did they give any comments about why they chose Rewind over the expanded door?.

Is n expanded door really necessary though?

It's one of the things that makes him more than just a recolor, and in his case it's even in his name.
Plus, they did do it for his counterpart Soundblaster.

You know what would be fun to see if there are further toyline-original Junkions? More names that reference Hagar the Horrible, as Wreck-Gar's does.

For the double cassette door, I think the main reason Twincast is just a simple recolor is because it is a mainline release. Siege Soundblaster was a Walmart exclusive (aside from the Takara Selects version) which likely means Walmart paid for the additional tooling. To do that for Twincast would have probably needed the same treatment as Netflix Soundwave and nobody wants that again. Especially if the only way to get a Rewind is to get Twincast.

Just saw Grimlock's leg mode. While not exactly alike to the original Monstructor's leg transformation, it involves that signature inward shoulder flap motion.

For what it's worth BBTS just sent me an email saying that Twincast and Metalhawk will be processing soon. I only ordered those two from BBTS so has anyone gotten an email about the deluxes and Core Class figures?

Here's something to think about today!


https://youtube.com/shorts/-SXZijbrT-0?feature=share

Wowie lots to go over:
The scrap-cycle Junkion is cool, but so far all of the new modular Junk guys have looked so, will likely pick him up

Metalhawk is a hard pass, just not for me, I will say that his jet mode looks pretty darn big! Interesting rework of Cyclonus

Twincast was expected, but i already have Legacy Blaster and feel satisfied with him, if any body missed that release and cant find him this is a good alternative, the mold rocks.

Shrapnel looks .. odd I bug mode? Maybe Im just spoiled by my Legends class version being so tidy and having actual bug legs instead of .. skis? Will have to mull this one over some.

SKYQUAKE looks bad to the bone, itll come down to the power of patience on my end to see if he gets a Legacy redeco or a Gen Selects in the G1 color scheme, which I vastly prefer

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Here's something to think about today!


https://youtube.com/shorts/-SXZijbrT-0?feature=share

The distribution being awful, I agree with 100%. The time frame seems a little exaggerated though... The first sightings of Dragstrip in the United States didn't occur until March of 2022 IIRC, so it will be about a year (not 18 months) for release window from the first Stunticon to the last.

I held off for a while and got Dragstrip at retail probably in May of 2022
Motormaster (I realize I was extremally fortunate) finding him at Retail/Target in July
Wildrider I got at Target in October (after much fighting with staff to get it out of the back)
Dead End via Amazon in November and
Brakedown via Amazon in January

Legacy Wave 3 missed most of my local stores completely (as it did for many I'm suspecting)

I would also like to see Hasbro, Target, Walmart (whoever) do things better, but I'm not sure how to accomplish that. I never thought I'd succumb, but basically, since I'm purchasing fewer TF's than ever, I've just fully gone to online pre-orders. If I happen to find something at retail, so be it, but seems like Amazon is the only way I'm guaranteed to get something I want.

It's not the fault of retailer though. A lot has been happening in the shipping industry recently that has complicated things even more than Covid shutdowns caused.

Till-all-R1 wrote:It's not the fault of retailer though. A lot has been happening in the shipping industry recently that has complicated things even more than Covid shutdowns caused.

The retailer is at fault too. The recent sightings of
Walmart exclusive retro headmasters at Ross is a perfect example of Walmart's ineficiency at properly distributing this type of product. By contrast for the Legacyine, anyone who preordered from Pulse, BBTS, Amazon, EE, got their toys. So those shipping containers with the latest product did arrive in the US. If the issue was at the shipping level, then the same wave would be skipped by all retailers, not just the big box retailers.

SO glad they didn't go with that first design for Skyquake:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoI0KeWuUgW/

Sabrblade wrote:SO glad they didn't go with that first design for Skyquake:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoI0KeWuUgW/

I'm not really impressed with what we did get. Hopefully he looks better in dark blue Dreadwing colors.

Sabrblade wrote:SO glad they didn't go with that first design for Skyquake:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoI0KeWuUgW/

Agreed! Wish they would've kept the more Prime accurate headsculpt though

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Here's something to think about today!


https://youtube.com/shorts/-SXZijbrT-0?feature=share

Hey Chuck, just a heads up, your audio level is extremely low in this. I had to turn my speakers all the way up and it still felt just a hint too low.

william-james88 wrote:

Till-all-R1 wrote:It's not the fault of retailer though. A lot has been happening in the shipping industry recently that has complicated things even more than Covid shutdowns caused.

The retailer is at fault too. The recent sightings of
Walmart exclusive retro headmasters at Ross is a perfect example of Walmart's ineficiency at properly distributing this type of product. By contrast for the Legacyine, anyone who preordered from Pulse, BBTS, Amazon, EE, got their toys. So those shipping containers with the latest product did arrive in the US. If the issue was at the shipping level, then the same wave would be skipped by all retailers, not just the big box retailers.

I'm pretty sure the issue is just that Target and Walmart's toy buyers went all in on Legacy and bought a shit-ton of wave 1. It didn't sell as well as predicted, so it sat in distribution centers for a while. When stores did sell out and requested more from the distribution centers, it was more wave 1 (or the Legacy Beasts). They may have ordered a few cases to replenish supply, which would have been waves 2 and 3, and I suspect they didn't follow first in first out but instead just pushed out what was on the top of the pile, which is why the later waves came and went while more wave 1 has lingered.

King Kuuga wrote:I'm pretty sure the issue is just that Target and Walmart's toy buyers went all in on Legacy and bought a shit-ton of wave 1. It didn't sell as well as predicted, so it sat in distribution centers for a while. When stores did sell out and requested more from the distribution centers, it was more wave 1 (or the Legacy Beasts). They may have ordered a few cases to replenish supply, which would have been waves 2 and 3, and I suspect they didn't follow first in first out but instead just pushed out what was on the top of the pile, which is why the later waves came and went while more wave 1 has lingered.

Yes, I think that's the case. We'll know more clearly when/if we see the later waves at Ross/Ollies/TJMax, since they get overstock from those retailers rather than Hasbro proper.
I think Combiner Wars did it better, having all combining figures in one wave.

I don't have issue with the Legacy Beasts being constantly replenished though, same with anything Buzzworthy Bee at Target, because I get the logic behind that. Those items are meant to be extra/complimentary, something to have on the shelves at one specific retailer. And that means that they have a dedicated space, not taking from the space dedicated to non exclusives. Since one retailer gets all the stock destined to the entire nation, it makes sense to see them all the time. It also works as a guarantee to have something on shelves at all times for gifting purposes when it's not the holiday season. Ideally, you'd have stock being replenished with the current waves and when stock is sold out, at least there's the exclusive product there to make up for a lack of stock while they await the next wave.

Thanks to Mark Maher, we have what might be the most interesting behind the scenes look at a Transformer design ever. In his most recent Instagram post, he shows us the original design for Legacy Prime Skyquake by Marcello Materre. This was designed at the same time as Legacy Arcee and Bulkhead, so a couple of years ago. We then see the new design Mark drew after hearing the comments regarding the Legacy prime characters' reveals in October 2021. We can see that while the original was a Gi-ified version of the Prime character, with the cockpit chest, mark went for a merge of the G1 Skyquake and the Prime Skyquake, combinig elements evoking both versions rather than making a new design for the Prime character. Let us know which version you preffer.

This also gives us a really good idea of the time frame for Transformers designs. Technically, the concept to shelf cycle of Legacy Skyquake is several years if we start with the Marcello Materre design that was approved by Hasbro to what it is now, but in reality we see that we can go from a sketch to a mass assembly of the toy in about 1 year (with this toy coming out in summer, the complete concept to shelf cycle would be Fall 2021 - Summer 2023 so just shy of 2 years).

We also have a behind the scenes post from Sam Smith for Animated Prowl and from Evan Brooks for Metalhawk.


“Leader Legacy Evolution Skyquake is ready to take over the seeker skies and put the smackdown on some autobrats!

The second image features an outline done by the great marcelomatere when the prime redesigns were decided upon before we started Legacy. Since there was mixed feedback on Arcee and Bulkhead I decided to take a swing. My linework is featured underneath Marcelo’s , then my colored concept is featured on the next slide. Then the amazing Hisashi Yuki san from Takara Tomy had a great sketch with some renditions and suggestions. I reformatted my design and along the design development journey we both went.
You can see all the iterations of his head sculpt throughout the process.

The transformation sequence is complex but strong, Yuki sans transformations are always amazing and I often stare in wonderment when he figures them out. The articulation packed into this beast is just wild. You just get a great experience of all kinds of abilities and poses.

IMPORTANT: this sample does not have the final colors, I will try and update yall with the final deets. But I can assure you this guy has some sweet candy metallic paint applications that do wonderous things in good lighting.

He does have head light piping and the engines on his feet along with his gatling blaster are blast effect compatible. The cockpit and sculpt details all over this dude command a decepticons respect.

Please do yourself a favor and rewatch how amazing his brief appearance in the Prime series is, you will not regret it!"

“Transformers Legacy Evolution – Animated Universe Prowl

So this guys been floating around the internet for a few months, but I am glad to finally have him revealed! So let’s get into the details of Legacy Evolution Prowl. Building on the design ideology that had been established for Legacy, it was clear that we were going to have two pieces of entertainment that would require us to push the designs outside of their comfort zones, Transformers Prime and Transformers Animated.

As the debut character to represent the tone of the 2007 animation, I wanted to preserve a recognizable design aesthetic from the original character, while ensuring that it would sit comfortably amongst the rest of the legacy expression.

I reached out to santalux75 with my ideas and he got to work on an incredibly faithful design for both the bot and alt modes. With a couple of alterations to some of the proportions we were in a comfortable position to start executing the design kick off with Takara. Kunihiro Takashi is a huge Animated Prowl fan and put together a wonderful transformation plan that incorporated plenty of historical character attributes along met with modern articulation. We found a balance for how much detail we wanted to texturize the model with, that still left enough of the smooth paneling of the source material. The deco was treated much the same way, utilizing his iconic black and gold livery, met with the patroller khaki pants and his iconic blue visor.

Prowl is outfitted with his shurikens that rotate closed and can be stowed onto the wheels. While he can hold them in both hands, we wanted to ensure that the figure was still compatible with 5mm post accessories, so his right hand is sculpted to support both.”

“Hi Transformer Fans!

Just popping in to do my do-diligence to give you all a few more looks at what we revealed this week!

Starting off with our Voyager, Metalhawk!

So as mentioned in the stream, this bot is a partial of the Kingdom Cyclonus.

It uses the Hands, Shoulders, Biceps, Feet, Back of the legs, Part of the wings and a few of the joints from that figure.

You can probably get a better understanding of what pieces are re-used from Ittoku-san’s masterful detail drawing.

A few other points that I forgot to mention on the stream is that his thrusters use 3mm ports so you can load him up with blast effects. He also has a 3mm hole that becomes accessible in Jet mode for use with a display stand.

This is just a fun figure and I’m hoping going forward we can complete the JG1 Pretender teams.

Thanks for checking out the stream and supporting Transformers!

-Evan”

I was looking at the packaging backs for Scraphook and Crashbar, and I'm pretty sure I can cobble together a Scrapbar, but I'm less optimistic about a Crashhook. It's probably still possible by removing Crashbar's real wheel and keeping it for the back of Crashhook, but I have no idea how functional that will be. Maybe we'll have more options when Axlegrease is revealed.

Anybody else thinking about picking up doubles to mix-and-match for a Junkion army with unique bodies? I'm hoping for repaints, but I haven't heard any rumors about that possibility.

And here's Metalhawk's designer notes:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoKnodbOSHH/

Anyone have an image of how Metalhawk's alt mode looked like in the cartoon?

william-james88 wrote:Anyone have an image of how Metalhawk's alt mode looked like in the cartoon?