The Energon Pub

I cannot wait to get this Blitzwing.

Faux parts have never bothered me much at all.
That bot mode is on point, and the tank is pretty solid as well. I don't really even care about the nosecone... The extra energon hands will be stored away. Oh well.
The jet definitely suffers from tank kibble, but he'll be in bot mode pretty much 100% of the time on my shelf.

This will be the only Blitzwing I've ever had...
Finally, the wait is over!!!!

ZeroWolf wrote:

Scottywan82 wrote:

Autobot N wrote:Looks fine but I'm satisfied with TR Blitzwing

For real. Also, how is this new one a Leader class? By what metric does this rate $50?

Complexity and parts count.

Same as Siege Astrotrain which was also a Leader,makes sense.

So basically this is going to split the fandom. Fans of the OG animated series and toy are going to love it. Others will hate it. Oh well...

I still can't get over those big beefy hand accessories though...is there some really obscure reference I'm missing? (I get most of em, right away including Black Zarak eye patch from Zone on the headmaster)

Sowndwave76 wrote:I cannot wait to get this Blitzwing.

Faux parts have never bothered me much at all.
That bot mode is on point, and the tank is pretty solid as well. I don't really even care about the nosecone... The extra energon hands will be stored away. Oh well.
The jet definitely suffers from tank kibble, but he'll be in bot mode pretty much 100% of the time on my shelf.

This will be the only Blitzwing I've ever had...
Finally, the wait is over!!!!

I usually prefer it if the 'bot mode's prioritised so I think that's probably why I'm fine with this Blitzwing. The backpack does seem like how the character model had it, too, and the modes still look recognisable (if the jet mode is a wee bit dinky looking)

o.supreme wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:

Scottywan82 wrote:

Autobot N wrote:Looks fine but I'm satisfied with TR Blitzwing

For real. Also, how is this new one a Leader class? By what metric does this rate $50?

Complexity and parts count.

Same as Siege Astrotrain which was also a Leader,makes sense.

Although at least with Astrotrain the transformation wasn't as messy (no fake wings or the like) and he had the bonus of completing the steam engine mode with a tender that also acted as an A.I.R.Lock platform for the Decepticon side.

o.supreme wrote:I still can't get over those big beefy hand accessories though...is there some really obscure reference I'm missing? (I get most of em, right away including Black Zarak eye patch from Zone on the headmaster)

They're probably something made up to be his Energon Weapon like with Skids' axe. There might be a B.A.F. thing going on with some of those, hard to say just yet. Especially with the lack of pics on the Voyagers.

sol magnus wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:Assuming Menasor is worth completing.

Not much of an assumption.

I dunno, everything we've seen so far suggests it's a really risky assumption.

sol magnus wrote:Bltizwing looks awesome. Faux parts? Whatever.

Faux parts that were not necessarily needed to get a decent cartoon Blitzwing. Especially since they may have contributed to him ending up at the Leader price point and to having a jet mode with even more junk under it than the original toy (it makes Combiner Wars Silverbolt look tidy).

Scottywan82 wrote:

Autobot N wrote:Looks fine but I'm satisfied with TR Blitzwing

For real. Also, how is this new one a Leader class? By what metric does this rate $50?

Parts count and complexity. As stated above, this has a ton of fake parts to make this toy look as G1 as possible in every mode, similar to MPs (like Hound, Bumblebee and Sunstreaker). So you literally have more parts than you other wise would plus the extra complexity to hide the faux parts in various modes. And that's before considering the complexities of this being a triple changer. We had the same thing with Astrotrain, who was also a triple changer voyager sized figure sold as a leader, this is just par for the course now. I'm surprised people are still questioning it.

Munkky wrote:Blitzwing looks nice enough, I probably will get him. The cockpit sticking out of the tank's front probably is a mis-transformation, I'll be surprised if it is actually intended to look like that.

Check the tank mode and then check the jet mode and tell me if the cockpit canopy is the same. That will help you see whether or not it's mistransformed.

william-james88 wrote:Check the tank mode and then check the jet mode and tell me if the cockpit canopy is the same. That will help you see whether or not it's mistransformed.

No, not necessarily. The not-actually-cartoon-accurate faux-canopy on the underside of the fuselage is obviously meant to be seen... but the cockpit might not be meant to stick out past the treads like that.

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:

william-james88 wrote:Check the tank mode and then check the jet mode and tell me if the cockpit canopy is the same. That will help you see whether or not it's mistransformed.

No, not necessarily. The not-actually-cartoon-accurate faux-canopy on the underside of the fuselage is obviously meant to be seen... but the cockpit might not be meant to stick out past the treads like that.

Your right, that's fair. Though I don't think it receding a bit more will make things better for those who simply do not want the G1 look replicated.

I think that you could opt to leave the head untransformed in tank mode for a cleaner design free of the nosecone? At first look, I like the way they did the cockpit and canopy, because I don't see it as "fake" so much as being positioned like the cartoon, with it being upside-down compared to the original toy. Similarly the chest isn't a "fake" part in my opinion, they just divided it into multiple parts, with the nosecone base remaining as the chest piece. I don't like faux parts as a general rule, especially when they fundamentally alter the transformation scheme, which was my main complaint with the SS86 and Kingdom Hot Rods. In this case, I feel that the faux parts are reinforcing the original control scheme in several respects, like with the folding wraparound wings, even though they're different in each mode. The TR figure has a much more traditional transformation, so I'm not surprised that this one takes a very different approach. My TR figure has some major QC defects and doesn't look right next to Adtrotrain, so I'm eager to pick this one up.

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:Although at least with Astrotrain the transformation wasn't as messy (no fake wings or the like) and he had the bonus of completing the steam engine mode with a tender that also acted as an A.I.R.Lock platform for the Decepticon side.

sol magnus wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:Assuming Menasor is worth completing.

Not much of an assumption.

I dunno, everything we've seen so far suggests it's a really risky assumption.

We're lookin' at two different things, compadre'.

sol magnus wrote:Bltizwing looks awesome. Faux parts? Whatever.

Faux parts that were not necessarily needed to get a decent cartoon Blitzwing. Especially since they may have contributed to him ending up at the Leader price point and to having a jet mode with even more junk under it than the original toy (it makes Combiner Wars Silverbolt look tidy).

Eh, there's been kibble on EVERY Blitzwing interpretation. Why must there be absolute perfection from an imperfect template? On its merits, it's a good figure, looks better than Titans Return, and even if it didn't I don't hsve that ome. Seems like some of us are getting to Star Wars level fan toxicity with these expectations that are based on practically nothing. "Faux parts"?? Been there since the beginning. Kibble? It happens. Because there are constraints.

Doesn't mean I wouldn't like something to be "perfect" but I realize and accept that there are limitations even with improved technology.

Hm yikes. At least Astrotrain had 2/3 modes that look pretty good. Blitzwing’s vehicle modes are both kinda a mess, with the tank being closest to being good. That nosecone looks like it may stick out as far as the turret.

AcademyofDrX wrote:Similarly the chest isn't a "fake" part in my opinion, they just divided it into multiple parts, with the nosecone base remaining as the chest piece..

Thanks, I had not noticed the robot chest was one panel folding on top of another, I am removing that complaint from my previous statement.

sol magnus wrote:Bltizwing looks awesome. Faux parts? Whatever.

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:Faux parts that were not necessarily needed to get a decent cartoon Blitzwing. Especially since they may have contributed to him ending up at the Leader price point and to having a jet mode with even more junk under it than the original toy (it makes Combiner Wars Silverbolt look tidy).

Eh, there's been kibble on EVERY Blitzwing interpretation. Why must there be absolute perfection from an imperfect template?

There musn't. But it's preferable wherever possible to not make the imperfect template look perfect by comparison.

sol magnus wrote:"Faux parts"?? Been there since the beginning.

Only if you count Powermaster Optimus Prime as the beginning lol. And they should only be used where needed, not as a designer's cop-out and especially not where they actually make things less accurate.

sol magnus wrote:Kibble? It happens. Because there are constraints.

Yes. There are constraints. However, we have seen that it is possible to do better than this within those constraints - case in point, TR Blitzwing. And I think sticking closer to that engineering would have given us a Blitzwing that looked just as nice in bot mode as this... without going from "jet with a tank stuck to its bottom" to "jet with a tank stuck to its bottom and half another tank stuck to that tank."

I love it, bought on sight.

william-james88 wrote:This toy suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks as a transformers toy. It does all the kind of crap I hate where it goes out of its way to be toon accurate by giving us a ton of faux parts. That's not the point of these toys I love, the genius is in having a bot go from one mode to the next and the parts being reassembled to give something new. But instead here we have:

Fake wings in robot mode (the jet wings are in the legs)
Fake jet cockpit kibble in tank mode to resemble the G1 model (the actual plane cockpit does not have the same details)

Fake parts to give you a G1 toon look which was inspired by lack of complexity in the original G1 toys.

Gonna stick with TR blitzwing even though I don't like his arms.

Pretty much my opinion as well, except I don't care for TR Blitzwing either. I think the last 3 (including Legacy) figures for this character have been swing and miss. The last fun Blitzwing toy I handled was the TFA figure.

I can't help but think that since price point is directly influenced by parts count and complexity, if this figure had been served better at the commander price in order to justify the engineering it needed to be an accurate triple changer. As it is, to me it's not worth near $60. More for you guys.

Nemesis Primal wrote:The Energon gauntlets remind me of the combiner hands/guns from the Energon combiners, and I don't think that's a compliment. I can't tell if they can actually close into fists? The thumbs looks to be static and in the way.

Oh I'm silly, of course they'd reference the Energon combiners in a line with a buncha energon weapons in it. No idea why I defaulted to Tidal Wave...aside from the big chunky forearms, but maybe they're gonna do some sort of BAF for...Nexus Prime, perhaps?

Still not sure what the parts count and complexuty has to do with pricing, not as though they have die cast metal, electronics or working firing mechanisms like toys designed from wooden blocks did years ago. Hasbro charges what they want when the buyers pay it, end of.

even some Bee movie blitzwing toys had animated thrwoback heads (for what was essentially starscream and not blitzwing) but it's not the main thing needed on a G1 inspired toy. think I've liked and disliked something about every blitzwing toy so far. Yay for progress with todays modern designs :/

Ironically Overcharge is going to be more fitting in name for this mold.

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:an accessory that's really meant for another character... being packaged with a different one, because that one has the budget or just provides the opportunity. It's happened before.

For that example, I was once told that Optimus came with that gun since he held onto it after he used it to blast Leanard Nimoy's head off and that's the gun we see him use at the begining of AOE when he emerged from the shed. Never went to check if that's indeed the same shotgun.

o.supreme wrote:Looks pretty good for the most part. Not sure why some people expected the TFA gimmick? It's not based on that rendition of the character. This is supposed to be more faithful to the original whereas T30 was a mash up.

Ever since it was incorporated into T30, some fans will expect it. The changing face thing is now a legacy aspect of the Blitzwing character, especially since he got a renewed popularity in Animated (and one would argue it's the most exposure the character ever had in a TF show). At the same time people are surprised by that exposed cockpit in tank mode even though that should be expected from a toy based on the G1 model.

blackeyedprime wrote:Still not sure what the parts count and complexuty has to do with pricing, not as though they have die cast metal, electronics or working firing mechanisms like toys designed from wooden blocks did years ago. Hasbro charges what they want when the buyers pay it, end of.

Would that be your same reasoning for MP Tigatron's $200 price? He also has no die cast, no electronics and no working firing mechanism. Should he also only be $40?

https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/ ... ils/119099

This is borderline an abomination, they could have just upscaled and modified the TR blitz and had an infinitely better figure. The jet mode is gregariously bad, it looks like it has actual pontoons strapped to it

The tank mode has kind of a cool sci-fi look to it - or it would if it weren't trying so damn hard to look like an earthen tank

The robot mode is nice, I like it

The fists are cool, but I'm going to be livid if at the end of all this, they reveal that you could build a sick bot out of all the parts from the line

Count me in the group who is glad that this figure does not have the face-changing gimmick of Animated Blitzwing. I did not like that feature on Thrilling 30 Blitzwing (both in how it was executed and the fact that it had it at all) and I don't want it here. Giving that gimmick to any other version of Blitzwing, I strongly feel, robs Aninated Blitzwing in all his uniqueness of being the Blitzwing with "the face-changing gimmick". Making that a featuring of all Blitzwings in general would make Animated Blitzwing no longer stand out, and would instead make him "just another Blitzwing".

Thrilling 30 Blitzwing was operating under Hasbro's "Aligned" mentality at the time, meshing aspects of past continuities together in order make all-encompassing "definitive" versions of characters, which they were applying not just to Aligned stuff like Prime, WFC, and FOC, but even to certain Generations and Reveal the Shield toys, like how the unreleased Demolition Rumble would have been FIRRIB blue and purple instead of the historically RIRFIB red and black (as all Aligned media and toys by Hasbro used FIRRIB instead).

In Blitzwing's case, they took the one notable thing about the only non-G1 Blitzing at the time, and meshed it with a G1-styled Blitzwing. But the thing is, Animated Blitzwing had that face-changing split personality quirk because of his being a triple-changer. That was his in-story reason for having the multiple faces in the first place. And when Megatron was gonna become a triple-changer himself in season 4, the plan was for his mind, like Blitzwing's, to have been affected by the process, made mentally unstable and gradually become more and more insane over time. In Animated, triple-changing = madness.

And taking that from Animated Blitwing to just give it to G1 Blitzwing for no other reason than "Because Animated did it" and without all the thought and care that went into why Animated Blitzwing had it in the first place, just lessens the impact of how special Animated Blitzwing is own his own, independently of G1 Blitzwing.

Hellscream9999 wrote:The fists are cool, but I'm going to be livid if at the end of all this, they reveal that you could build a sick bot out of all the parts from the line

I honestly doubt that will be possible. We've seen wave 1 and 2 out of 3 leaders. These fists are the only items that could combine into something significant so far. Also, I really want none of that with the Dragon megatron toy. I really want any leader class budget to go into making that toy big and imposing.

This Blitzwing just leaves me wondering why it had to be a leader class. I mean, I know why (parts count), but... why? What was achieved? The alt modes aren't any less compromised than previous voyager versions (they're arguably more so), and having to use faux parts (where other versions didn't) is something that usually accompanies a smaller budget, not a bigger one. It really feels like some weird things were prioritized in designing this toy, like have the jet cockpit stick out of the tank for slavish G1 accuracy, and stuff like using the leader budget to build a better triple-changer was pushed aside.

I like this Blitzwing but it should be marketed as a voyager. But then again he is a triple changer. Maybe it will have some accessories and weapons like Siege Astrotrain did?

Bring on dragon Megatron!