The Energon Pub

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Menasor does look pretty cool, I just won't be building him myself as I'm only getting Motormaster and Wild Rider. I simply don't have the shelf space for it.

william-james88 wrote:Most Beast Wars fans are way past 30

Frankly speaking this was probably the best Transformers show ever, and I say that as a G1 fan because I recognize the old cartoon wasn't of the best quality on several fronts. However as a kid it was fun to mindlessly watch. Now by the time BW came around I was a young adult and had essentially moved on from toys and cartoons, mostly. But by some chance I caught this show on accident really liked it and stayed with it until the end when it morphed into a show I didn't much care for called Beat Machines.

I've tried to watch Universe, RID, Prime, Armada etc. but they just never appealed to me. None of them did until the Netflix Trilogy came along. So now I'd say it's almost a tie between BW and the Netflix trilogy on the best shows I've seen.

That all said my being a big fan of the show it doesn't compel me to buy the Beast Wars toys. So I'm probably a very odd duck.

ZeroWolf wrote:

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.

I second this thought...
And yeah, surprisingly, I think Hastak missed the mark with Dargstrip's face/headsculpt...
It's too squatty-looking, especially the face... He's got a little stumpy pug nose. And the purple bit on each side of the head almost look like some sort of animal's ears... He kind of looks like some weird robot bear.
For me, the head/face sculpt is one of the most important aspects to get right.

Now, because there are so many fewer Decepticons in general, I still would've got him.
Then of course with this incredible looking new Menasor, it's a no brainer.

In fact this set and the SS86 Dinobots have pulled me back to one of my old collecting habits--
getting two of each...
Although I'm strongly considering opening both sets of Stunticons and displaying one set in their vehicle modes... Which would be a first for me (outside of my Sharkticons... Although I never bought those for the robot mode).

It would've been nice if the combining system worked with the CW figures.
But this is such a big improvement over the previous release that I can already tell it's all going to be worth it.

*Edit
I can understand why people would like the leg figures to be on the front side of the lower legs, but I personally love the cartoon (and toy) design, just because it's just a little visual variety...
Even compared to Superion, where the shins where basically the underside of those characters.

Sabrblade wrote:

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


Transformers G1 1986 Menasor Gallery


Transformers G1 1986 Menasor Gallery


G1 toy: Leg cars faced backwards.

My G1 set always faced forward. It looked better and actually gave him functional knees (even though that was useless on an unposable brick, but still . . . )

Since we were talking about cartoons and taking chances, Takara just finished their Shinkalion Z line, a series of transforming, modular trains that I think was their big line of the last year or so, they even made bath salts based on it. The toys are more fun and intuitive than anything that was done during Cyberverse or even Generations. Now, Tomy/Takara are gearing up for a new Tomica line called Jobraver that looks more exciting and fun than anything I've seen in Legacy thus far, check out the teaser video on the first wave of figures, you can hate me later. I really think Hasbro/TT should look to those lines for ideas on what to do for kid-friendly, fun Transformers.

Just looking at the height comparison of SG Jetfire and Menasor...if your listening you should highly consider re-releasing Overlord new mold since you did it for Blitzwing and of course that he be Commander Class...'nuff said!

The new Menasor looks a lot better than the UW one (largely because MM was a terrible torso), but I won't be replacing mine.

Between 3rd party upgrade kits and the CW MM I had to buy since the UW one has GPS I've already sunk a lot into a character / team that's I'm just getting to fill out the G1 cast. I'm in a place where I can't just spend because something looks really nice and is better than what I have.

Gotta say though, had MM been fully CW compatible I'd have gotten him.

I'm gonna be honest I couldn't really care less about Menasor...
I mean, I'm not a fan of slapping cars onto limbs instead of actually integrating them meaningfully, I'll admit this looks good though but in the end I'm just happy we're getting a good Motormaster that looks a lot of fun and the combiner bits are at least a fun extra. The base and trailer mode is also really neat of an addition so I can't really be a sourpuss over a combiner I'll never really display. I didn't even display CW Menasor, I just had the individual bots out instead!

I kind of wish Legacy Menasor would be taller than the CW combiners, but based on the photos, it looks like he'll be almost the exact same height as CW Bruticus/Defensor. He also looks close to the same height at Commander Jetfire, so at least they're consistent in that the combiner will be 'commander' class...

Nemesis Primal wrote:

Emerje wrote:

Overcracker wrote:I'll wait for the inevitable retool... though I wonder who they can use the mold for that has not already been done recently.

The two prevailing theories seem to be Armada Thrust based on the shape and Armada Starscream who we know is coming in Legacy.

Leakers have been adamant that Armada Screamer and Jhiaxus share absolutely nothing this time around, Screamer is supposedly using engineering from the Starscream that was to be included in the "indefinitely postponed"/cancelled TF Rise figure 2-packs.

The leakers have been great for telling us what characters to expect and what versions to expect, but they haven't exactly been winning me over lately when it comes to what the figures actually look like. These days I really need to see these figures for myself.

Overcracker wrote:The Jhiaxus mold seems completely separate to Armada Starscream.... seems unlikely they'd use that as basis, more so when SS has at least 3 repaints built in already that can cover the cost of a new mold.

True, but this could also be a case of extensive pre-tooling. I'm not saying they'll be identical figures (even the previous Deluxe pair had a lot of different parts), just that they're designing two Voyager Cybertronian jets at the exact same time for the same line, I imagine there's got to be a little bit of design synergy going on. If we can get three consecutive Optimus Prime figures that share leg parts despite having wildly different transformations I'd say nothing is impossible.

Overcracker wrote:I can buy Armada Thrust since he was a different mold to SS, TC and RJ. But not sure they'd make him a Voyager. He's always been a deluxe even the original mold was a Mega (Armada's Deluxe class).

Super was Deluxe in Armada (or Super-Con if you want to be specific). Anyway his wasn't originally my idea, I forget who made the observation first, but I also initially brushed it off and said Hasbro wouldn't do a Voyager of a character whose only two other transforming figures were both Deluxes, but after some thought I realized Hasbro hasn't done a Deluxe jet in a very long time (aside from Skytread and Sixgun for obvious reasons) so a new Thrust would almost have to be a Voyager.

Emerje

Emerje wrote:

Overcracker wrote:I can buy Armada Thrust since he was a different mold to SS, TC and RJ. But not sure they'd make him a Voyager. He's always been a deluxe even the original mold was a Mega (Armada's Deluxe class).

Super was Deluxe in Armada (or Super-Con if you want to be specific). Anyway his wasn't originally my idea, I forget who made the observation first, but I also initially brushed it off and said Hasbro wouldn't do a Voyager of a character whose only two other transforming figures were both Deluxes, but after some thought I realized Hasbro hasn't done a Deluxe jet in a very long time (aside from Skytread and Sixgun for obvious reasons) so a new Thrust would almost have to be a Voyager.

Emerje

You are correct. It was Super-Con. Mega was from the previous lines.

Anyway, the point stands. I just do't see how they can turn this Jhuiaxus into Starscream without major retooling. and Armada SS is no Optimus Prime to warrant such levels of retooling and new parts. The transformation isn't even close to what Starscream did. And they'd still need to add the over the shoulder cannons that flip down. with that amount of re-engineering, I'd say an entirely new mold is more practical.

Also, the Generationsdeluxe SS and Jhiaxus shared a lot including the transformation. Don't see how they can attempt to use this transformation for Starscream at all.

I've been messing around with some of the wave 1 and beast Legacy figures, and having some fun with them.

Dragstrip has proven to be a good bit of fun, especially that alt mode. The transformation is also still a lot of fun to do. I like him a lot more than I thought I would. I'm glad the alt mode got the better paintwork, since he will be an arm in alt mode.

As for Sandstorm, this figure is a rocking good toy. I have been one of those that didn't mind the Scorponok mold, and as Sandstorm, it is honestly really good. I love this toy a lot. I think he might be my favorite Legacy toy so far.

Going back a few days on here, I too have found Pulse premium to be very beneficial. When i find something early, I cancel my preorder, but otherwise, they reliably ship their stuff, ship them well protected, and the premium access to back in stock and early preorders, plus free shipping, have saved me a lot more than it has cost me.

a good example of the shipping was my Nerf Mandalorian Amban Phase Pulse Rifle. Amazon actually returned my first one mid-ship because it got broken, and a lot of people who got them from amazon had many defects or outright broken rifles. Pulse shipped my 2nd one well protected and it came perfectly intact. Far better than what Amazon had done.

As for another topic, I am OK when a character is incorporated into another continuity, but I prefer it when the spirit of the original is still there. I really don't like G1 Barricade since it's just a smokescreen repaint. The Evergreen design is the design they should be using, that uses the Barricade design properly in the spirit of the character. Prime Arcee is sort of close, but not quite there, whereas Bulkhead is not. Going back, even RTS Lugnut was a great way to get Lugnut into the broader universe that stayed true to the character spirit. There are good examples, and some bad ones.

Anyways, some pictures

Overcracker wrote:

Emerje wrote:

Overcracker wrote:I can buy Armada Thrust since he was a different mold to SS, TC and RJ. But not sure they'd make him a Voyager. He's always been a deluxe even the original mold was a Mega (Armada's Deluxe class).

Super was Deluxe in Armada (or Super-Con if you want to be specific). Anyway his wasn't originally my idea, I forget who made the observation first, but I also initially brushed it off and said Hasbro wouldn't do a Voyager of a character whose only two other transforming figures were both Deluxes, but after some thought I realized Hasbro hasn't done a Deluxe jet in a very long time (aside from Skytread and Sixgun for obvious reasons) so a new Thrust would almost have to be a Voyager.

Emerje

You are correct. It was Super-Con. Mega was from the previous lines.

Anyway, the point stands. I just do't see how they can turn this Jhuiaxus into Starscream without major retooling. and Armada SS is no Optimus Prime to warrant such levels of retooling and new parts. The transformation isn't even close to what Starscream did. And they'd still need to add the over the shoulder cannons that flip down. with that amount of re-engineering, I'd say an entirely new mold is more practical.

Also, the Generationsdeluxe SS and Jhiaxus shared a lot including the transformation. Don't see how they can attempt to use this transformation for Starscream at all.

Uh, Mega is the previous name for Voyager it's never been used for Deluxe. Before Armada Deluxe was called Deluxe from Beast Wars to RID.

My Point about Optimus was that if any figure deserved to be made with all new parts every year it's him. Hasbro will reuse parts no matter how important or insignificant the character is as long as it's "close enough". And you're wrong about Jhiaxus' and Armada SS's transformations having nothing in common. The both have cockpit chests, they both have their legs form the back of the jet, they both have their arms just sitting under the jet, and they both have their heads in roughly the same spot on top of the jet (Jhiaxus' head is hidden by the cockpit). And this sort of thing is easier if designed from the start rather than after the fact. The flip over guns would probably be reduced to a snap on weapons sadly, but that's modern Hasbro's way of doing things (Jhiaxus comes with two guns after all).

Emerje

Kurona wrote:

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!

Oh hey, nice to see you back!

Anyway, the thing that gets me about this Menasor is how little the components seem to contribute to the combiner. The armbots aren't too bad as at least they're fully visible but the legbots are hidden from view from most front angles, and Motormaster seems to be almost unnecessary to the combined form (at least if the pics are anything to go by). Call me old fashioned but I like my combiners to be made from the robots rather than just be...I dunno, piloted by them.

Betting they would release a boxed set just like they did for SS Devastator and POTP Volcanicus and all the CW combiners.

Hunting down all Stunticons is a chore I would rather not have. Not to mention slightly superior paintwork or extras for the boxed sets.

optimeow wrote:
Hunting down all Stunticons is a chore I would rather not have.

Because sitting on our butts ordering from Amazon and BBTS is soooooooo damned HAAAAARRRRRDDDDD...

A Legacy Menasor box set would be nice,but many of the CW combiners didn't have box sets, TT UW did. One of several reasons I chose to get those versions wherever possible. I only got CW toys that didn't have a UW equivalent.

Evil Eye wrote:and Motormaster seems to be almost unnecessary to the combined form (at least if the pics are anything to go by).

The designer clarified that he took those pics with two Motormasters, one forming the body of Menasor and one separate, just to show off size comparison.

Sabrblade wrote:

Evil Eye wrote:and Motormaster seems to be almost unnecessary to the combined form (at least if the pics are anything to go by).

The designer clarified that he took those pics with two Motormasters, one forming the body of Menasor and one separate, just to show off size comparison.

Besides, it's pretty obvious from looking at the pictures that Motormaster is right there forming basically all of the mass for the torso. The Menasor chest is clearly just a relatively thin slab that goes onto a folded up Motormaster.

Evil Eye wrote:
Anyway, the thing that gets me about this Menasor is how little the components seem to contribute to the combiner. The armbots aren't too bad as at least they're fully visible but the legbots are hidden from view from most front angles, and Motormaster seems to be almost unnecessary to the combined form (at least if the pics are anything to go by). Call me old fashioned but I like my combiners to be made from the robots rather than just be...I dunno, piloted by them.

Without Motormaster, your combiner has no head.

OK never mind, got confused by the picture, didn't realize there were 2 MMs in the pic. Whoops!

I don't see Legacy Menasor ever being a boxed set...
The price would be really close to $200, especially after taxes.
That is steep when you're talking action figures/toys.

I believe Will has already mentioned this and I don't want or intend to take it out of context,
but I agree with the idea that we're reaching a threshold where prices really are becoming a deterrent...
$200 is a lot for the average parent to spend on a toy.
It would never be a random purchase, and it's still not necessarily a purchase for Christmas or a birthday.
On top of this, it becomes a "never" type of situation if the parent knows the kid's want of said purchase is only a "maybe". Which makes total sense.
I've spent over $200 for one of my son's presents ONCE. Before and since then, no present has broke the $120 price tag, and even that's only happened once or twice.

But the thought that increasing/"too high of" prices matter, seems to be more and more true now, and across the board, not just with large toys.
It seems so absurd that I may end up paying right at $60 next year to get the last two deluxe G1 Insecticons (assuming those happen)...
Back to Menasor specifically, this may be a great set. Maybe even phenomenal...
But it goes without saying that it's a risk to push out a $200 toy into the mass retail market.

Don't even get me started on this new Metroplex...

I enjoyed getting the UW sets, but even those weren't $200.
And it's not that I'm against this happening for Legacy Menasor. I just don't think that's a risk Hastak is going to take.

Sowndwave76 wrote:I don't see Legacy Menasor ever being a boxed set...
The price would be really close to $200, especially after taxes.
That is steep when you're talking action figures/toys.

I believe Will has already mentioned this and I don't want or intend to take it out of context,
but I agree with the idea that we're reaching a threshold where prices really are becoming a deterrent...
$200 is a lot for the average parent to spend on a toy.
It would never be a random purchase, and it's still not necessarily a purchase for Christmas or a birthday.
On top of this, it becomes a "never" type of situation if the parent knows the kid's want of said purchase is only a "maybe". Which makes total sense.
I've spent over $200 for one of my son's presents ONCE. Before and since then, no present has broke the $120 price tag, and even that's only happened once or twice.

But the thought that increasing/"too high of" prices matter, seems to be more and more true now, and across the board, not just with large toys.
It seems so absurd that I may end up paying right at $60 next year to get the last two deluxe G1 Insecticons (assuming those happen)...
Back to Menasor specifically, this may be a great set. Maybe even phenomenal...
But it goes without saying that it's a risk to push out a $200 toy into the mass retail market.

Don't even get me started on this new Metroplex...

I enjoyed getting the UW sets, but even those weren't $200.
And it's not that I'm against this happening for Legacy Menasor. I just don't think that's a risk Hastak is going to take.

Studio Series Devastator was rereleased on 2020 as a 260 usd boxset, so it wouldn't be that crazy from an antecedent standpoint. I don't live in the US so no idea how those prices jive with the average income there. All Transformers are ridiculously expensive where I live, lol.

Chefatron put up reviews of Knock Out, Elita 1 and wild rider

Rtron wrote:

Sowndwave76 wrote:I don't see Legacy Menasor ever being a boxed set...
The price would be really close to $200, especially after taxes.
That is steep when you're talking action figures/toys.

I believe Will has already mentioned this and I don't want or intend to take it out of context,
but I agree with the idea that we're reaching a threshold where prices really are becoming a deterrent...
$200 is a lot for the average parent to spend on a toy.
It would never be a random purchase, and it's still not necessarily a purchase for Christmas or a birthday.
On top of this, it becomes a "never" type of situation if the parent knows the kid's want of said purchase is only a "maybe". Which makes total sense.
I've spent over $200 for one of my son's presents ONCE. Before and since then, no present has broke the $120 price tag, and even that's only happened once or twice.

But the thought that increasing/"too high of" prices matter, seems to be more and more true now, and across the board, not just with large toys.
It seems so absurd that I may end up paying right at $60 next year to get the last two deluxe G1 Insecticons (assuming those happen)...
Back to Menasor specifically, this may be a great set. Maybe even phenomenal...
But it goes without saying that it's a risk to push out a $200 toy into the mass retail market.

Don't even get me started on this new Metroplex...

I enjoyed getting the UW sets, but even those weren't $200.
And it's not that I'm against this happening for Legacy Menasor. I just don't think that's a risk Hastak is going to take.

Studio Series Devastator was rereleased on 2020 as a 260 usd boxset, so it wouldn't be that crazy from an antecedent standpoint. I don't live in the US so no idea how those prices jive with the average income there. All Transformers are ridiculously expensive where I live, lol.

We don't have to invent a target market and then filter all product options through that idealized end. In the last few years Hasbro has released, and continues to release, a couple dozen products at $150 or more. They may be retailer or online exclusives, and there's only a handful each year, but there's enough of a market that they keep making them. Lego releases more than a dozen sets at that price point annually, including sets in their lines that target children. Usually those top out at $150, with $170 and higher marketed primarily to adults.

I'm not debating if Generations is for kids or adults anymore, as that misses the point: the products target both markets. What I still argue about is whether adults (and rich parents, I guess) buy enough high-priced toys to make them profitable. Based on the continued sale of these toys from Hasbro, Lego, and other toy companies, there's an obvious answer: yes.

(As an aside, we're likely headed into a period of slowing economic activity, and more expensive optional purchases tend to suffer in that environment. So things could change in the near future, but for right now, I don't think there's any debate .)