The Energon Pub

Hm. Well, neat as it may be to stick a Deluxe Needlenose on top of some other leader/voyager size jet? I've already got ROTF Voyager Mindwipe and Scout/Legends Skystalker...

Sabrblade wrote:

SpaceEagle wrote:This does make me wonder what they'll do with the Animated figures, while I didn't mind the Prime offerings, I can definitely see why Prime fans don't like them.
But I am intrigued to see if they'll lean harder into the Animated style or if they'll do spliced designs like this. Judging how this figure is a head retool away from being a stylised G1 Skyquake, I feel like it could be the latter...

It's been confirmed by Hasbro that the Animated designs will be G1-ified too.

This ticks me off. Part of what Animated so awesome was that they managed to pull of some really hard bot designs really well in toy form; maybe more distinct and unique than any other line. So changing the bots and Geewunning them would remove any sense of uniqueness to those figures. I dread how horrific this is going to be.

Well, now I wonder if Dreadwing will be a Prime/G2 mashup with a recolor of Needlenose as G2 Smokescreen.

First-Aid wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

SpaceEagle wrote:This does make me wonder what they'll do with the Animated figures, while I didn't mind the Prime offerings, I can definitely see why Prime fans don't like them.
But I am intrigued to see if they'll lean harder into the Animated style or if they'll do spliced designs like this. Judging how this figure is a head retool away from being a stylised G1 Skyquake, I feel like it could be the latter...

It's been confirmed by Hasbro that the Animated designs will be G1-ified too.

This ticks me off. Part of what Animated so awesome was that they managed to pull of some really hard bot designs really well in toy form; maybe more distinct and unique than any other line. So changing the bots and Geewunning them would remove any sense of uniqueness to those figures. I dread how horrific this is going to be.

I second this, especially if they do toys for the dozens of show characters that never got them, like the remaining Starscream clones and Constructicons. If the resulting toys are a series of compromises that aren't accurate to anything, then there's no way to send Hasbro the right message about how they should be done, via good sales or bad; shelfwarming will probably just result in Animated not being revisited for another decade.

Hopefully APC Toys' 3P Prime figures will include Skyquake soon, as that's apparently the only hope for TF Prime die-hards. And I actually like this new official Skyquake.

On another note, shouldn't any mention of Skyquake's Super Sight gimmick include a warning to never actually do that if you're lucky enough to acquire the original toy intact? There's gotta' be one fan out there somewhere that doesn't know about the GPS, and is just about to get their hands on one.

First-Aid wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

SpaceEagle wrote:This does make me wonder what they'll do with the Animated figures, while I didn't mind the Prime offerings, I can definitely see why Prime fans don't like them.
But I am intrigued to see if they'll lean harder into the Animated style or if they'll do spliced designs like this. Judging how this figure is a head retool away from being a stylised G1 Skyquake, I feel like it could be the latter...

It's been confirmed by Hasbro that the Animated designs will be G1-ified too.

This ticks me off. Part of what Animated so awesome was that they managed to pull of some really hard bot designs really well in toy form; maybe more distinct and unique than any other line. So changing the bots and Geewunning them would remove any sense of uniqueness to those figures. I dread how horrific this is going to be.

We kinda got a taste of this before back with Generations Thrilling 30 Blitzwing and Reveal the Shield Lugnut.

Dr. Caelus wrote:Well, now I wonder if Dreadwing will be a Prime/G2 mashup with a recolor of Needlenose as G2 Smokescreen.

Had not thought about this, that is actually a neat thought

First-Aid wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

SpaceEagle wrote:This does make me wonder what they'll do with the Animated figures, while I didn't mind the Prime offerings, I can definitely see why Prime fans don't like them.
But I am intrigued to see if they'll lean harder into the Animated style or if they'll do spliced designs like this. Judging how this figure is a head retool away from being a stylised G1 Skyquake, I feel like it could be the latter...

It's been confirmed by Hasbro that the Animated designs will be G1-ified too.

This ticks me off. Part of what Animated so awesome was that they managed to pull of some really hard bot designs really well in toy form; maybe more distinct and unique than any other line. So changing the bots and Geewunning them would remove any sense of uniqueness to those figures. I dread how horrific this is going to be.

At the same time Hasbro also said they acknowledge the complaints about the Prime Universe figure designs and will be taking that into consideration for Animated toys. Skyquake looks to be the best of the Prime Universe figures so they do seem to be listening.

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:

Dr. Caelus wrote:Well, now I wonder if Dreadwing will be a Prime/G2 mashup with a recolor of Needlenose as G2 Smokescreen.

Had not thought about this, that is actually a neat thought

That's a little too ambitious for this figure, though. We'll definitely need a new mold to do those two justice. Then they can repaint Smokescreen into Energon Starscream.

Emerje

william-james88 wrote:

Emerje wrote:

First-Aid wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

SpaceEagle wrote:This does make me wonder what they'll do with the Animated figures, while I didn't mind the Prime offerings, I can definitely see why Prime fans don't like them.
But I am intrigued to see if they'll lean harder into the Animated style or if they'll do spliced designs like this. Judging how this figure is a head retool away from being a stylised G1 Skyquake, I feel like it could be the latter...

It's been confirmed by Hasbro that the Animated designs will be G1-ified too.

This ticks me off. Part of what Animated so awesome was that they managed to pull of some really hard bot designs really well in toy form; maybe more distinct and unique than any other line. So changing the bots and Geewunning them would remove any sense of uniqueness to those figures. I dread how horrific this is going to be.

At the same time Hasbro also said they acknowledge the complaints about the Prime Universe figure designs and will be taking that into consideration for Animated toys. Skyquake looks to be the best of the Prime Universe figures so they do seem to be listening

Skyquake is too early to know that since it's not past the 2 year cycle of design to market.

That's for a full figure from design to production. Tweaks like a new head and gun can be done up until the metal molds are cut. Though I'll admit there are a lot of Prime Skyquake design cues that would be hard to add later like the shoulder pads so I probably am wrong, but I'm not wrong about what they said about Prime and Animated Universe figures.

Emerje

william-james88 wrote:

Emerje wrote:

First-Aid wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

SpaceEagle wrote:This does make me wonder what they'll do with the Animated figures, while I didn't mind the Prime offerings, I can definitely see why Prime fans don't like them.
But I am intrigued to see if they'll lean harder into the Animated style or if they'll do spliced designs like this. Judging how this figure is a head retool away from being a stylised G1 Skyquake, I feel like it could be the latter...

It's been confirmed by Hasbro that the Animated designs will be G1-ified too.

This ticks me off. Part of what Animated so awesome was that they managed to pull of some really hard bot designs really well in toy form; maybe more distinct and unique than any other line. So changing the bots and Geewunning them would remove any sense of uniqueness to those figures. I dread how horrific this is going to be.

At the same time Hasbro also said they acknowledge the complaints about the Prime Universe figure designs and will be taking that into consideration for Animated toys. Skyquake looks to be the best of the Prime Universe figures so they do seem to be listening

Skyquake is too early to know that since it's not past the 2 year cycle of design to market.

I do agree, this does feel more in line with worrying about double-duty like Prime Arcee was (that Road Rocket retool was very predictable) and this very much looks like it's just one head away from also being G1 Skyquake/MW Starscream, which is probably exactly what HasTak wanted since it means at least 5 potential mold resuses.

It's why while I personally like how this design looks a lot (and I do enjoy the "double duty" vibe), it's also exactly why I can understand Prime fans feeling frustrated with it.

Regarding Thrilling 30 Blitzwing and RTS Lugnut being deanimated Animated figures, don't forget RotF Lockdown and (to a lesser extent) Thrilling 30 Arcee.

Emerje wrote:

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:

Dr. Caelus wrote:Well, now I wonder if Dreadwing will be a Prime/G2 mashup with a recolor of Needlenose as G2 Smokescreen.

Had not thought about this, that is actually a neat thought

That's a little too ambitious for this figure, though. We'll definitely need a new mold to do those two justice. Then they can repaint Smokescreen into Energon Starscream.

Emerje

G2 Dreadwing was one of my favorite childhood toys, so I hope they don't go this route, but I can imagine it in my head. Prime Dreadwing is already dark blue, so add the teal camo and red highlights, and maybe swap some grey out for black, and they might say 'close enough'.

I would much prefer a Dreadwing/Smokescreen Commander Class 2-pack. Something to rival Siege Jetfire.

Dr. Caelus wrote:Regarding Thrilling 30 Blitzwing and RTS Lugnut being deanimated Animated figures, don't forget RotF Lockdown and (to a lesser extent) Thrilling 30 Arcee.

In ROTF Lockdown's case, that was a "Movie-fied" version rather than a "G1-ified" version.

Although, that Movie-fied Lockdown would get slightly G1-fied by IDW (mostly just the face):



And then streamlined even further by both Earth Wars and Cyberverse:

Dr. Caelus wrote:I would much prefer a Dreadwing/Smokescreen Commander Class 2-pack. Something to rival Siege Jetfire.

There's also the old Dreadwing/Smokescreen 2-pack Takara made using the ROTF Mindwipe and Skystalker molds, which were later used in Japanese G1 fiction as new bodies for the two, upgraded by the Vok Dark Nova.

OMG THEY CAN POWERLINX

Sabrblade wrote:

Dr. Caelus wrote:I would much prefer a Dreadwing/Smokescreen Commander Class 2-pack. Something to rival Siege Jetfire.

There's also the old Dreadwing/Smokescreen 2-pack Takara made using the ROTF Mindwipe and Skystalker molds, which were later used in Japanese G1 fiction as new bodies for the two, upgraded by the Vok Dark Nova.

I always felt those were pretty lackluster. The colors on Mindwipe and Skystalker worked better for the molds, and abandoning Dreadwing's excessive firepower for two knives was no fun, especially without hands to hold anything else. Thrilling 30 Dreadwing was not great, but still better than those.

Sabrblade wrote:

Dr. Caelus wrote:Regarding Thrilling 30 Blitzwing and RTS Lugnut being deanimated Animated figures, don't forget RotF Lockdown and (to a lesser extent) Thrilling 30 Arcee.

In ROTF Lockdown's case, that was a "Movie-fied" version rather than a "G1-ified" version.

Although, that Movie-fied Lockdown would get slightly G1-fied by IDW (mostly just the face):



And then streamlined even further by both Earth Wars and Cyberverse:

I'd be so on board with a G1-ified version of LockDown in the same vein as Skyquake.

I love Animated Locky to bits and have always regretted not picking up RotF Lockdown.

He's still one of my favorite Animated figures.

I think that Lockdown is the most likely of all the TFAnimated characters to get the legacy treatment, for sure. Partially because he would be the most visually distinct rather than say, another Bumblebee or OP or heck even Starscream

M. Spector wrote:I think that Lockdown is the most likely of all the TFAnimated characters to get the legacy treatment, for sure. Partially because he would be the most visually distinct rather than say, another Bumblebee or OP or heck even Starscream

I'd lay good odds on Animated Prowl too, though he might only be another use of Legacy Arcee/Road Rocket.

Seems like Sentinel Prime has a chance as well.

The Jet twins would be great, but slim chance there.

Dr. Caelus wrote:

M. Spector wrote:I think that Lockdown is the most likely of all the TFAnimated characters to get the legacy treatment, for sure. Partially because he would be the most visually distinct rather than say, another Bumblebee or OP or heck even Starscream

I'd lay good odds on Animated Prowl too, though he might only be another use of Legacy Arcee/Road Rocket.

Seems like Sentinel Prime has a chance as well.

The Jet twins would be great, but slim chance there.

Here's an idea: Voyager Animated Prowl complete with armor. He'd be better off as a "tall Deluxe" and the samurai armor would mean we're automatically getting the best version possible. And to top it off, as a bonus they could retool it into Axer with an alt mode based on his Action Master vehicle or even Vroom with the armor modeled on his pretender shell.

Sentinel Prime is a fun one, we need more Transforming snow plows.

The twins could be a fun Leader class set. They're simple enough that they could either make them better or make them into a bigger combined form.

Emerje

Emerje wrote:
The twins could be a fun Leader class set. They're simple enough that they could either make them better or make them into a bigger combined form.

Emerje

What twins? Animated Jetfire? Yeah, I can totally see that. Bigger and more transformation steps so that EVERYTHING look good in ALL modes would be great. Also, this time around, less uses of clear plastics in scary places, please.

I for one hope that if we get G2 Dreadwing and Smokescreen - and I do hope it - they're new moulds reminiscent of the original B-2 and F-22-ish designs

william-james88 wrote:But it has so many G1 nods that it is assumed by all that it will be redeco'd into G1 Skyquake.

And if it does not? We Skyquake fans riot.

As far as Hasbro is concerned, this very well may be meant to serve as both Prime and G1 Skyquake, passing a sort of "close enough" squint test (and Hasbro sure does love their squint tests).

After all, from a corporate marketing perspective, recoloring a green Decepticon jet named Skyquake into a green Decepticon jet named Skyquake is the definition of redundancy.

RotorstormNZ wrote:

william-james88 wrote:But it has so many G1 nods that it is assumed by all that it will be redeco'd into G1 Skyquake.

And if it does not? We Skyquake fans riot.

There are dozens of us. Dozens!

Emerje wrote:

Dr. Caelus wrote:

M. Spector wrote:I think that Lockdown is the most likely of all the TFAnimated characters to get the legacy treatment, for sure. Partially because he would be the most visually distinct rather than say, another Bumblebee or OP or heck even Starscream

I'd lay good odds on Animated Prowl too, though he might only be another use of Legacy Arcee/Road Rocket.

Seems like Sentinel Prime has a chance as well.

The Jet twins would be great, but slim chance there.

Here's an idea: Voyager Animated Prowl complete with armor. He'd be better off as a "tall Deluxe" and the samurai armor would mean we're automatically getting the best version possible.

Hm, a higher price point might also justify more articulation, which would really go a long way with Prowl.

On the otherhand, now that I think about it, Prowl's physical similarity to Thrash may push his return to back until after Earthspark is done

Leaks remain adamant that the Legacy Evolution Wave 2's Deluxe Prowl will be Animated Prowl, as a reminder.

Sabrblade wrote:As far as Hasbro is concerned, this very well may be meant to serve as both Prime and G1 Skyquake, passing a sort of "close enough" squint test (and Hasbro sure does love their squint tests).

After all, from a corporate marketing perspective, recoloring a green Decepticon jet named Skyquake into a green Decepticon jet named Skyquake is the definition of redundancy.

They do this all the times with Optimus and Megatron. How many Siege and Earthrise Optimuses/Megatrons they repainted with not much differences in deco? There's also SS86 Scourge and Sweep who must be put side-by-side to clearly see the difference. So having a Select G1 Skyquake in its brighter original colors is certainly not ruled out.