The Energon Pub

Hey all,

As some of you may know, i'm starting from scratch with my TF collection and I plan to get 1 of of each of the Movie autobots, you've gotta start somewhere right? Anyway, I think i've identified all the characters I need but I'm unsure of the availibility/quality of the toys availible. I'm writing down the name and what I plan to get but any help and support from you guys would be really appreciated. Thanks

Optimus Prime - ROTF Leader - already got
Ironhide - DOTM Voyager - already got
Ratchet - Voyager class but unsure which one
Bumblebee - ROTF Deluxe - already got
Jazz - Deluxe but not sure which one
Skids - ROTF Deluxe - got
Mudflap - ROTF Deluxe - trade pending
Sideswipe - HFTD Deluxe - got, but is there a bladed one?
Arcee - HA - trade pending
Chromia - HA ???
Elita 1 - Is there a HA one of her?
Jolt - deluxe???
Jetfire - ROTF Leader - got
Dino - ??? not sure due to mattell licence on Ferrari?
Q/Wheeljack - ?????
Roadbuster - DOTM deluxe - got
Topspin - DOTM deluxe
Leadfoot - ideally a deluxe but no idea if one is coming out
wheelie - ????
Brains - ????

I think thats all the autobots but like I said any help would be really appreciated.

Cheers Ben

mustanguk wrote:Ratchet - Voyager class but unsure which one
Jazz - Deluxe but not sure which one
Sideswipe - HFTD Deluxe - got, but is there a bladed one?
Jolt - deluxe???
Dino - ??? not sure due to mattell licence on Ferrari?
Q/Wheeljack - ?????
Leadfoot - ideally a deluxe but no idea if one is coming out
wheelie - ????
Brains - ????

Ratchet, you have two choices. eBay or your fellow collector.
You either want the original, or the DOTM repaint. (Target exclusive on the repaint.)

Jazz, original with the weapon from Final Battle Jazz.

Sideswipe, you have the most accurate mold. I made my own blades. DOTM 'Swipe has both a gun and his blades.

Jolt, ROTF. No repaints or the DOTM version on this guy.

Dino, coming, may not be a Ferrari, but coming.

Q/Wheeljack, coming.

Leadfoot will be a Target exclusive and comes with a Topspin repaint in a 2-Pack.

Wheelie, ROTF Legends/Legion Class. You do not want the Deluxe.

Brains, nothing stated, but it's assumed a figure will be made of him.

There are no HA Arcee or Chromia only delux and legends that come with HA.

Sideswipes delux ROTF and DOTM have blades.

Jazz get the normal or premium thats if you dont want a battle damaged version with a big gun.

Voyager Ratchett its up to you ther all the same depends what paint apps you like best.

Jolt there are 3 delux ROTF normal movie looking, HFTD the same but with extra paint apps and DOTM which is totaly different.

Wheelie dont get the ROTF Delux because he can take out Devastator if you can get ROTF LEGENDS or wait to see what we get from DOTM.

As for Que i think he is supposed to be in the next wave?

Autobot Genocide wrote:There are no HA Arcee or Chromia only delux and legends that come with HA.

Not true. The Arcee and Chromia molds from HA are significantly different, and much larger, than the Legends Arcee mold.

Razorclaw0000 wrote:

Autobot Genocide wrote:There are no HA Arcee or Chromia only delux and legends that come with HA.

Not true. The Arcee and Chromia molds from HA are significantly different, and much larger, than the Legends Arcee mold.

Yes, and sadly these are closest to in scale with the deluxes/voyagers you might find.

dirk2243 wrote:

Razorclaw0000 wrote:

Autobot Genocide wrote:There are no HA Arcee or Chromia only delux and legends that come with HA.

Not true. The Arcee and Chromia molds from HA are significantly different, and much larger, than the Legends Arcee mold.

Yes, and sadly these are closest to in scale with the deluxes/voyagers you might find.

Thanks for correcting that guys i was not aware they were bigger than a legend.

Voyager Ratchet: They're all the same mold, so I'd go with a movie accurate paint job. You can find the original '07 release fairly cheap. You can probably get the Target DOTM version on sale at some point or another, so it's up to you which paint job you like better.
Deluxe Jazz: The Premium Series deluxe has the best paint apps, but the Final Battle version has a more movie accurate weapon and "battle damage deco". I'd personally go with the Premium.
Deluxe Mudflap: I assume you're getting the original version and not the Tuner variation, because I'd go with the original
Deluxe Sideswipe: The original mold has blades, but is difficult to stand upright because of his wheel feet. It's been repainted several times since it's original version, including the new Scan Series Sideswipe, but the first one is best. Then the DOTM deluxe also has blades, also includes a MechTech gun which has a "pocket knife" gimmick, and is more stable in robot mode. Again, it's more up to you what you want out of it, because all three molds are so different they're hard to compare.
HA Arcee: Yep, it came with ROTF HA Skids, however, it's really Chromia's robot model painted red.
HA Chromia: Yep, it came with ROTF HA Mudflap, however, it's really Arcee's robot model painted blue.
HA Elita-1: Yep, it came with DOTM HA Skids, who is just a repaint of ROTF HA Skids, in which Elita-1 is a repaint of Arcee, who is really Chromia's robot model. Confused?
Deluxe Jolt: There's the original ROTF, a repaint, and the DOTM version. Again, with this one the two molds are so different it comes down to personal taste. Don't get the repaint of the ROTF mold, though.
Dino: Nothing official yet, but he's shown up in store computer listings.
Que: Exact same situation as Dino.
Deluxe Topspin: Go for the original release if you can find him. He's very cool.
Deluxe Leadfoot: There will be two versions: One with Target logos in a Target-exclusive two-pack with a Topspin retool named Twin Twist, and a single-packed deluxe sold at wide retail without the Target logos.
Wheelie: There's an ROTF deluxe and legends. The deluxe isn't very good, and I can't speak for the legends. Nothing's been revealed for DOTM.
Brains: Nothing on him yet.
Keep in mind though that there's a noticeable size difference between the first two lines and the MechTech line, so if you only buy one of each character and mix the first two lines with the third, figures that would normally be in scale in the same size class will be thrown off because the MechTech figures are smaller than previous figures.

Let's get back to the list:

Optimus Prime - Got the best in regular retail
Ironhide - again, one of the better molds. some say the Leader is better, ignore them.
Ratchet - Sadly, he has only one Voyager mold, but he also has two Deluxe molds: HftD and DotM. Should you get a Deluxe, I'd suggest picking up the HtfD Deluxe Ironhide for scale.
Bumblebee - Not a bad choice, but Battle Blade is still considered the best one, if not a bit tall.
Jazz - either regular Deluxe or Premium Series for a shiny finish. I agree on looking into getting the Final Battle Jazz weapon.
Skids - All you need.
Mudflap - That's all you'll need. Transform him only once into robot mode, otherwise you'll go nuts trying to realign the panels.
Sideswipe - The RotF one is bladed, and only that. Has trouble standing though.
Arcee - You may wanna reconsider, since the HA has Chromia's basic design, but Arcee's colors
Chromia - the HA comes with HA Mudflap, but again, has Arcee's design with Chromia's colors.
Elita 1 - the HA is a repaint of Arcee and comes with DotM HA Skids
Jolt - You may wanna skip him, since he barely had screen time, plus the RotF toy isn't that good. If anything, just get the original.
Jetfire - Pretty much the only version there is of him.
Dino - Upcoming, Deluxe
Q/Wheeljack - Upcoming, Deluxe
Roadbuster - DOTM deluxe - got
Topspin - DOTM deluxe
Leadfoot - Deluxe, in a Target 2-pack with a repaint of Topspin called Twin Twist
Wheelie - For scale, try get the RotF Legend. There is a Deluxe of him, but arguably that's 1:1 scale since he's a R/C Truck in the movie.
Brains - No toy announced.

Speaking of Brains, Lord KNOWS what they'll have him turn into if they DO make a toy of him - in the movie about the only thing he became was a laptop, and that only via movie magic.

Wow really helpful thanks guys, Can you suggest a good source of these besides ebay as so far my ebay searches have failed to find many of them. Popping into town tommorrow to see what I can find!

Cheers Ben

Try surfing Bigbadtoystore.com and YaHobby.com. Just look to the right of your screen and you'll find a link to both of them. TFSource.com is also a good site. You'll find a link to it just above every thread.

Thanks for all your help so far guys. I've got an update for you of how I'm doing with my Autobot collection (It's quite exciting this collecting lark!) I will post photos if people want but I think you all know what they look like!

Optimus Prime - ROTF Leader
Ironhide - DOTM Voyager
Ratchet - DOTM Voyager
Bumblebee - HFTD Battle Blade (replaced the old one following your advice)
Jazz - Sorted out a deluxe from the USA
Skids - ROTF Deluxe
Mudflap - ROTF Deluxe - trade agreed
Sideswipe - HFTD Deluxe
Arcee - HA - trade agreed
Chromia - STILL NO JOY
Elita 1 - SMAE AS ABOVE
Jolt - ROTF deluxe secured
Jetfire - ROTF Leader
Dino - ??? not sure due to mattell licence on Ferrari?
Q/Wheeljack - ?????
Roadbuster - DOTM deluxe
Topspin - DOTM deluxe
Leadfoot - Waiting
wheelie - ????
Brains - ????

Cheers All Ben

I would check Toys'R'Us, Marshall's, hhGregg's, Big Lots, Rite Aid, and Walgreen's for ROTF originals. This past week I've seen the original Skids, Mudflap, Jolt, a few HFTD repaints like Voyager Ratchet (for $10 no less), just to name a few. HFTD Ratchet is mostly black with green pin stripes/detailing. Looks pretty cool and for the price you can't beat it. It's the EXACT same Voyager Ratchet from DOTM Target Exclusive and the original '07 Ratchet.

unfortunately I'm in the UK so the airfare would cancel out the savings

Ok Further updates and expansion of Movie Toyline

Optimus Prime - ROTF Leader
Ironhide - DOTM Voyager
Ratchet - DOTM Voyager
Bumblebee - HFTD Battle Blade
Jazz - STILL LOOKING!!
Skids - ROTF Deluxe
Mudflap - ROTF Deluxe
Sideswipe - ROTF Deluxe
Arcee - ROTF HA
Chromia - STILL NO JOY
Elita 1 - SMAE AS ABOVE
Jolt - ROTF Deluxe
Jetfire - ROTF Leader
Dino - ??? not sure due to mattell licence on Ferrari?
Q/Wheeljack - ?????
Roadbuster - DOTM deluxe
Topspin - DOTM deluxe
Leadfoot - Waiting
wheelie - ????
Brains - ????

Additions!!! (all deluxes)
Brawn
Fallback
Gears
Smokescreen
Salvage
RTS Tracks (I know he's not movie but I love him)
RTS Perceptor (Same as above)

Cheers Guys