The Energon Pub

News Credits: 10 · Wed Jun 22, 2022 2:27 am

Yeah, aside from Blitzing's silly gloves, the gimmick isn't an intrusive one. It may dip into the plastic budget, but aside from that the toys don't have to be engineered around them like Mini-Cons or combining does.

News Credits: 11 · Wed Jun 22, 2022 5:36 am

There have been much worse gimmicks than this, and from what I can tell looking at every confirmed Legacy toy so far, Blitzwing is the only one that really seems to have suffered as a result of it. The weapons themselves don't look all that bad, and while they might eat into the plastic budget, it's not to an egregious level like, say, MechTech from the Dark of the Moon toyline, where often times more focus was given to the huge folding weapon than to the actual Transformer.
I haven't minded the interchangeable weaponry gimmick from the last few toylines, I like it a lot more than anything from the Prime Wars Trilogy. it would've been much worse if, for instance, every Deluxe in War for Cybertron and Legacy was a Weaponizer.

News Credits: 3 · Wed Jun 22, 2022 5:36 am

Agent 53 wrote:They've gotta stop doing this, how many times has a gimmick just ruined a line, Hasbro should focus on just making sure the figures a a good representation of the characters for the price point.

The only people who ruin lines are people with attitudes like yours who think that way.

News Credits: 19 · Wed Jun 22, 2022 7:20 am

Tbf I'm just glad they didn't put great accessories with an awful figure hahaha

Wed Jun 22, 2022 7:50 am

While I may not be the biggest fan of translucent plastic, I still don't think this gimmick is obtrusive at all, like, it in no way affected the base figure like CW or Armada, and honestly was pretty neat having extra weapons. Like, what's not there to love about that??
And if I'm gonna be honest....i don't even mind the gauntlets on Blitzwing. Sure they don't add a whole bunch compared to Skids's axe or Bulkhead's minigun, but they honestly make for kickass rocket pods in tank mode sooooooooooo I don't find the gauntlets bad either.

News Credits: 4877 · Wed Jun 22, 2022 7:57 am

Agent 53 wrote:They've gotta stop doing this, how many times has a gimmick just ruined a line

Only time I can think of is Armada and not for all characters. I don't see how these accessories ruin anything. They were indeed random with Blitzwing but that doesn't make the toy any worse.

And once again, this is a reminder that we are all buying toys aimed more at kids (and their parents) than us.

News Credits: 4877 · Wed Jun 22, 2022 8:10 am

The word on the street for a while has been that this year's Walgreens exclusive is Minerva and it will be using the Elita 1 mold. We now have images of it from Twitter user TransformRobots and it turns out there is very little retooling. It is mainly a redeco with a new head and a lightbar accessory for the alt mode. Also, she is not a headmaster. You will let us know what you think and we also have images of the G1 toy and character design for you to compare.

Transformers Super God Masterforce Minerva (Transtector) Gallery

Wed Jun 22, 2022 8:21 am

The robot mode looks okay. the alt mode still looks kinda dinky.

News Credits: 6 · Wed Jun 22, 2022 9:20 am

Looks nice, but needs a lot more paint. It will still be more than the original had! Hopefully some customizers will be able to get a Minerva headmaster on there, but the head might look too big.

News Credits: 4877 · Wed Jun 22, 2022 9:20 am

RiddlerJ wrote:The robot mode looks okay. the alt mode still looks kinda dinky.

yeah, it aint great. Turns out this looks like it was meant more for Elita 1 afterall.

Wed Jun 22, 2022 9:32 am

That headsculpt looks really good! Honestly I am not surprised they couldn't retool the car mode to look more like a 959 without getting very angry side-eyes from Porsche, but the lightbar seems less goofy than Elita-1's getup. Definitely picking this up, and hopefully the final product will have more paint. (I did wish the gun wasn't clear plastic but hopefully that'll be changed too? Probably not, it isn't a deal breaker for me anyway.)

News Credits: 1350 · Wed Jun 22, 2022 9:35 am

I actually like her more than elita. Shame about the lack of a headmaster but did anyone actually expect one? It would have also ment a retool of her alt mode to accommodate a rider. Not the worst redeco/retool out there.

News Credits: 4877 · Wed Jun 22, 2022 9:48 am

SpaceEagle wrote:That headsculpt looks really good! Honestly I am not surprised they couldn't retool the car mode to look more like a 959 without getting very angry side-eyes from Porsche, but the lightbar seems less goofy than Elita-1's getup. Definitely picking this up, and hopefully the final product will have more paint. (I did wish the gun wasn't clear plastic but hopefully that'll be changed too? Probably not, it isn't a deal breaker for me anyway.)

What you see in those pics is what you'll get.

Wed Jun 22, 2022 9:50 am

william-james88 wrote:
SpaceEagle wrote:That headsculpt looks really good! Honestly I am not surprised they couldn't retool the car mode to look more like a 959 without getting very angry side-eyes from Porsche, but the lightbar seems less goofy than Elita-1's getup. Definitely picking this up, and hopefully the final product will have more paint. (I did wish the gun wasn't clear plastic but hopefully that'll be changed too? Probably not, it isn't a deal breaker for me anyway.)

What you see in those pics is what you'll get.

Fair nuff!

News Credits: 462 · Wed Jun 22, 2022 10:32 am

I want it. Gimme!

Wed Jun 22, 2022 10:52 am

Not that any of this matters.
Walgreens? Yeah, I'll never see it.

News Credits: 19 · Wed Jun 22, 2022 10:56 am

Tbf it will go with the bit janky non headmaster nightbeat and I have the heads for both of them seperately. She will probably get a third party connector like he did despite proportions.

News Credits: 6 · Wed Jun 22, 2022 11:10 am

RiddlerJ wrote:
The robot mode looks okay. the alt mode still looks kinda dinky.

yeah, it aint great. Turns out this looks like it was meant more for Elita 1 afterall.

At this point, any new Minerva that transforms into something resembling an ambulance is great. Remember the Thunder blast Minerva? THAT was awful. :lol:

News Credits: 14 · Wed Jun 22, 2022 11:15 am

Somehow, she looks better than Elita 1. Not sure how.

Wed Jun 22, 2022 11:32 am

These Energon weapons don't bother me any. I can't wait to get Blitzwing for the gauntlets. They remind me of the Bulkhead Knuckle Arms Micron. Which is pretty much a giant "Hulk hand". Shame there's no no way to make a fist with the gauntlets but it's alright. They just look like fun. I'd like them to have looked a little more like the concept design though and a little less like the cumbersome weapon modes of CW Devastator's arms.

Minerva looks good. She's definitely going to be getting a few upgrades to turn her into a Headmaster. Her head looks about the size of a Titanmaster already so the proportions wouldn't be too off. Her head is currently on a Reprolabeled TR Getaway right now and the colors don't match so I'll be looking forward to one of those kits. I have the kit for Nightbeat anyway so why not one for her too. Never found anything to do with Cab's head though. I seen one from Universe Inferno but he's too big and one for CW Inferno but he's too big too. Then I seen a custom of Titanium RID Optimus and that looked good until I realized there's no piece to buy to do that unlike the other two. Oh well. Cab stays in Godbomber's chest for now.

And I really like Chromia Medic Type. The colors really pop on it. I have her, Elita and of course, Thunderblast. Which is why I wouldn't mind seeing this new Minerva/Elita in Thunderblast colors at some point. At least just to get an update of her out there at the very least if not retool her someway to make her a boat of some sort. Just seen some fan art of Thunderblast using the RID Side Burn design. So some people are already on board with a car version of her.

Seeing Side Burn in Thunderblast's colors looks as though she could be the unseen sister of Roulette and Shadow Striker.

News Credits: 56 · Wed Jun 22, 2022 11:56 am

So I guess we'll call this Minerva from Victory as opposed Masterforce

. Anyway, looks cool. However, I am a bit surprised. I don't think we ever had confirmation Red Alert ever showed up in a Walgreens store, it was online only ( Pulse very limited, and occasionally on Walgreens.com). Kind of disappointing since I had been able to find all the others going back to TR Brainstorm fairly easily.

I haven't even been in a Walgreens in months. The last couple times I checked, their once robust toy sections were looking pretty desolate for all brands, not just Transformers.

Wed Jun 22, 2022 12:04 pm

o.supreme wrote:So I guess we'll call this Minerva from Victory as opposed Masterforce . Anyway, looks cool.

Heh, I'm glad someone remembers when the transtectors became fully-fledged Transformers! Really helps retconning non-Headmaster compatible toys of 'em.

News Credits: 462 · Wed Jun 22, 2022 12:05 pm

It's basically IDW2 Minerva, who is not a Headmaster.

News Credits: 30 · Wed Jun 22, 2022 12:15 pm

The Energon weapon thing may have been a neat concept, but it just doesn't work out that well in real life. There's the fact that they have to force some figures to take weapons which don't make any sense (like Blitzwing), just to carry on the gimmick.

And there's the fact that these weapons just don't 'combine' well. You can jam them all together sure, but they don't look good. And any combo weapon you make out of them would be unwieldy, and ineffective to the point of mockery if you tried to actually use it. Yes, they're toy weapons, so real life doesn't matter. But they're at least meant to allow SOME suspension of disbelief. I don't look at any of the combos in that diagram, and say to myself, "Yeah, that could work".

And in some measure, it makes me resentful that they forced price point hikes on some figures to dump in these weapons, which many of us didn't even really want, and perhaps diminish the engineering on those figures because they thought the weapons made them 'good enough'.

Wed Jun 22, 2022 12:20 pm

JazZeke wrote:Yeah, aside from Blitzing's silly gloves, the gimmick isn't an intrusive one. It may dip into the plastic budget, but aside from that the toys don't have to be engineered around them like Mini-Cons or combining does.

Seems this "gimmick" was designed for Legacy Line so I can assume that an obligator reissue/repaint of Blitzwing is going to happen with normal hands within the next two years. lol

I'm not that familiar with Minerva but the bot redeco looks pretty cool, likely won't buy it though as I don't buy unknown to me characters. Simply don't have enough shelf space for everything I'm into let along ancillary items that just look neat. lol
Besides it being a Walgreens Excusive pretty much takes the decision to buy it out of my hands as I've yet to ever secure one.

Seems tome she would have made a decent Target Exclusives even though she's not all red.