The Energon Pub

When I saw the stickers on Hotrod... I got very sad.

These designs would have looked out of date ten years ago.

I know I'm in the minority here, but so far, this doesn't phase me. I'm glad the Prime Masters are pretty much the same, so now I can purchase the Hasbro ones assuredly for less money. Also the toys I really want (The Combiner teams), have not been hinted at yet...So I still am cautiously optimistic about the plans for The Dinobots, The Starscream combiner etc...

While obviously not concrete proof of anything, comparing these images to Hasbro's stock photos would suggest that while the paint applications are the same, Takara's will be more crisply applied. Normally that'd still be enough to get me to go Takara, but with Hasbro's including the collectors cards (or at least ones I can read) I'm very torn.

shajaki wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:

Wolfman Jake wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:PO up at Amiami already

Roughly around $ 67.00 (Y 7560) with TAX for Optimus and Rodimus Leader class. As for the "final form" or the products looking differently from the domestic release, some of you are already jumping to conclusion!

More or less, the leader class will be released domestically by the end of the month. The Takara revs have at least 5 more months (May 2018) for their debut. Lot's of thing can still happen. Iirc, same thing for the previous releases, the Hb images will serve a space holders until the ACTUAL images of the products are released.

Doesn't bother me anyway so long as they are available (ebay has Optimus at around $87.00).

Fenrir72 as the voice of reason!? Madness!

Madness? Who really is mad and who is sane? Buncha overgrown boys and gals (I think) arguing over anthropomorphic puzzle toys based on a 30 year old previously dead franchise adapted from an already dying franchise from its point o' origin which I fight to prevent fate from repeating itself by encouraging fans to BUY first PARTY!

Save Takara from bankruptcy!

Aaaaand there it is

Awwwwwww don't get your knicker's in a bunch.............. Same in in my sig. I've been always consistent.

Sodan-1 wrote:While obviously not concrete proof of anything, comparing these images to Hasbro's stock photos would suggest that while the paint applications are the same, Takara's will be more crisply applied. Normally that'd still be enough to get me to go Takara, but with Hasbro's including the collectors cards (or at least ones I can read) I'm very torn.

There's like a 5 month window period until May 2018 barring delays. Already it's as if this is like "THE" actual FINAL product.

Until the online JP stores release the actual ACTUAL in hand images, delay your FINAL conclusions. No need to get torn. Also, it ain't just paint apps, the plastics too can be changed.

The Trypticon example is a fluke in such that

1. Cityformer. The amount of plastics involved = to cost of changing the hues in line. Unlike Fortress. Goodguy TF. Ever wondered why no "MetroTitan"?

2. Bad guy TF. Bad guys always sell less. Time honored tradition whether the other pseudo experts here abouts claim otherwise. So Trypticon may have not been worth the effort (he was like more of a risk)

Rated X'spoint, which I agree wish but pragmatically won't happen would be , same paint apps like HB at same price but they, Takara have different target audiences. Plus the release delay gives them time to tweak the product for maximum sales effect.

http://tf.takaratomy.co.jp/products-lineup/tf_pp/pp-08 another nail in the "same as Hasbro" coffin?

Randomhero wrote:

Emerje wrote:When you get a power like "erases enemies from existence" from a PM it really doesn't matter how big your belly is.

Emerje

No dude its a detriment and just ruins the toy. This piece of plastic that can optionally attacth and easily be removed just ruins the entire figure and makes grown men smashing two figures together look silly!

How does it ruin the entire figure when, as you yourself pointed out, it's optional and easily removed? It's not like the figure was designed around it?

Emerje

Emerje wrote:

Randomhero wrote:

Emerje wrote:When you get a power like "erases enemies from existence" from a PM it really doesn't matter how big your belly is.

Emerje

No dude its a detriment and just ruins the toy. This piece of plastic that can optionally attacth and easily be removed just ruins the entire figure and makes grown men smashing two figures together look silly!

How does it ruin the entire figure when, as you yourself pointed out, it's optional and easily removed? It's not like the figure was designed around it?

Emerje

He's being sarcastic

Emerje wrote:

Randomhero wrote:

Emerje wrote:When you get a power like "erases enemies from existence" from a PM it really doesn't matter how big your belly is.

Emerje

No dude its a detriment and just ruins the toy. This piece of plastic that can optionally attacth and easily be removed just ruins the entire figure and makes grown men smashing two figures together look silly!

How does it ruin the entire figure when, as you yourself pointed out, it's optional and easily removed? It's not like the figure was designed around it?

Emerje

That was sarcasm mixed with satirized paranoia meant to mock those who needlessly get irate over the littlest things.

It’s a shame that Wave 2 won’t be out in time to stage a nativity scene.

Emerje wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:Oh my gosh, guys!!! I just realized something!!! Grimlock's enigma of combination would go perfectly with TLK Nitro to make him a Shockwave!!!!

Doesn't Nitro already basically have a Shockwave head?


Shockwave on the left, Nitro Zeus on the right.

Emerje

I kinda thought so too -- he'd just need a paint job.
I'm finally having some more fun with Beachcomber....

Randomhero wrote:

Mr.MicroMaster wrote:And suddenly the hopes of a thousand people were suddenly silenced.

With wallets and bank accounts rejoicing

News tonight at 11.

Emerje wrote:

steals_your_goats wrote:More like the White Knight. When was the last time Takara used Hasbro products for their own stock images? These aren't the same pictures as the ones released by Hasbro, these are official Takara releases with different product shots. The only time I remember this happening is at toy shows but only after they've released stock photos of their products or in a case like Unite Warriors Defensor where they had one image of the Hasbro version with groove on it but even that was accompanied by pictures of their own version.

These pictures come from Dengeki who often takes their own photos and are the ones we most often see using Hasbro's figures as stand ins. I'm not saying that's for sure the case, just that they have a history of doing so. I will point out that the article does mention "Legends class" and "Voyager class" which I'm pretty sure are terms unique to Hasbro so they may very well just be repackaging Hasbro figures.

Emerje

Given that Jazz seems to still be sporting his "MAGA" branding, I think that you've hit the nail on the head here.

steals_your_goats wrote:He's being sarcastic

Sabrblade wrote:That was sarcasm mixed with satirized paranoia meant to mock those who needlessly get irate over the littlest things.

OooKay... What's the point of random sarcasm? It's not like I said the armor was good or anything.

Emerje

Back in 2000, there was little difference in Takara Car Robots and Hasbro's RID toys too. They seem to be going back in that direction. I think we will get better Hasbro stuff this way.

I will still stick to Takara because sought-after characters are near impossible to find on the shelves and pegs in my area and impossible to be at clearance sales.

optimeow wrote:Back in 2000, there was little difference in Takara Car Robots and Hasbro's RID toys too. They seem to be going back in that direction. I think we will get better Hasbro stuff this way.

Not quite, there were major differences at times, chief of which:

- the CR trains using translucent plastic painted over, while RiD has opaques all around
- Baldigus being mustard yellow, and Ruination using grey instead
- all RiD toys having somewhere, which were left out on most of the CR ones.

TakaraTomy is going for the straight US re-release this time around it seems, but we're still waiting on more info.

Just occurred to me how much I want Takara Tomy to do a gold Lucky Draw of Beachcomber.


Emerje

The very same images are also on The Amazon Japan web sight. They have no watermarks there indicating that they are directly from takara.At this point it is no different than any of us looking on toysrus.com and hoping that the Hasbro toys we see there end up looking different later.

william-james88 wrote:The very same images are also on The Amazon Japan web sight. They have no watermarks there indicating that they are directly from takara.At this point it is no different than any of us looking on toysrus.com and hoping that the Hasbro toys we see there end up looking different later.

Yeah, optimism is definitely waning.

Emerje

Emerje wrote:

william-james88 wrote:The very same images are also on The Amazon Japan web sight. They have no watermarks there indicating that they are directly from takara.At this point it is no different than any of us looking on toysrus.com and hoping that the Hasbro toys we see there end up looking different later.

Yeah, optimism is definitely waning.

Emerje

Working on a news story that confirms is the same line. You can check this out to see what i mean.

http://takaratomymall.jp/shop/c/cTFpp/

O my... this is indeed an American Import line like the Movies lines, as the US names are used, including trademark protecting prefixes. No "Convoy", "Meister" or "Charger", but "Optimus Prime", "Autobot Jazz" and "Windcharger".

Less than twenty four hours ago, we had out first look at Takara's take on the Transformers Power of the Primes line. It showed no discernible differences from the Hasbro versions we have seen so far. However, as we are always the optimists, we preferred to wait for confirmation that the images were indeed of the Takara products as opposed to a hobby website using Hasbro products as placeholder images.

However, a new update on the official Takara Transformers website reveals that every image we saw was indeed directly from Takara showing the upcoming Takara releases. The same toys revealed earlier are now on Takara's website with the very same images that we previously saw with no watermark. Even the small MAGA in Cybertronian text is still found on Jazz' vehicle mode.

To add to that, the website even makes use of the Generations logo, removing any doubt that this line is anything more than a Japanese release of the very same Hasbro toys. It is even written, in Japanese, that the deluxes will interact with the voyagers, hinting at the combiner aspect. Of course, this does not confirm that all combiners in Hasbro's Power of the Primes line, such as the Dinobots and Abominus, will be released in this Takara PP line rather than a line made up of boxsets, like with Unite Warriors. There can still be hope that those particular combiners will get a release more in line with what fans would expect. However, it does mean that Jazz does not particularly belong with a combiner of his own in the Japanese line and will instead combine with whatever other voyager (yes, the word "voyager" is used) will be released in Takara's PP line.

While Takara releasing the exact same toys as Hasbro may seem odd at first, it is very much in line with what we have seen in 2017. Not only was Takara's biggest (literal) release, Trypticon, identical to Hasbro's, but their TLK movie toyline, their biggest Transformers toyline in terms of volume, was mostly made up of the very same toys that Hasbro released in their Transformers: The Last Knight toyline (only the leader class Optimus counterpart was different). That line even had the same packaging, which could also happen with this PP line, especially since they are advertising it with the use of the same Generations logo.

Below is Takara's pictorial announcement of this new line broken up by the different images found on their web page along with some of the same images we have previously seen but without the watermarks.

I guess they're giving collectors a break after they crush our wallets in March.

Emerje

Most people are going to be disappointed but for me thank Christ I get to save money, not that I was going to buy most of the figures in POTP anyways besides the Prime Masters, Jazz and Legends class figures because their not Headmasters or interact with them you know. (Might get the Optimus Primal and the two Rodimus Primes though)

Could also make the Takara fanatics actually realize that Takara is not always going to meet your expectations and go on and beyond for the sake of a plastic figure.

Edit: Lol at all the people on all the different websites who think that evil Hasbro forced Takra to sell inferior versions, because that's totally how the business works eh?