The Energon Pub

Hellscream9999 wrote:

Skritz wrote:I thought boxset weren't going to be 'a thing' after they cancelled them in Titans Return, safe for the Titan-class figures.

Pretty sure Hasbro never said that, that's the point on why they're always vague, to keep their options open. Since they haven't stated why the boxsets were cancelled, there's no reason to assume that they were a failure, especially since they sold pretty well, especially the second one

... if those other two boxsets even existed.

Ultra Markus wrote:

Sjeng wrote:ok.. this is pretty damn disappointing though:







the upper legs and hips are simply hung off their backs!!!

if they didnt do it that way with predakings upper legs attached to the lower legs razerclaw would end up being a leader class size but i still think predaking is going to be a bit shorter than devastator for being a titan class

Thats horrible. This is why parts integration sucks. I would rather those things just pop off so you can throw em in a box when not combined. Looks like ill be staying happy with Feral Rex and skipping Hasbroking.

One of the biggest letdown of Titans Return boxset is that we never got a green-and-purple G2 Megatron to go with that G2 Laser Rod Prime. So there is a lot of wasted potential in those cancelled boxsets.

Edit. Double post... :/

Rated X wrote:

Ultra Markus wrote:

Sjeng wrote:ok.. this is pretty damn disappointing though:







the upper legs and hips are simply hung off their backs!!!

if they didnt do it that way with predakings upper legs attached to the lower legs razerclaw would end up being a leader class size but i still think predaking is going to be a bit shorter than devastator for being a titan class

Thats horrible. This is why parts integration sucks. I would rather those things just pop off so you can throw em in a box when not combined. Looks like ill be staying happy with Feral Rex and skipping Hasbroking.

To me, the Predacons have always been the epitome of overly-blocky. So I don't mind it too much. I would have preferred to just have some sort of leader class Rampage, though. That may have alleviated this issue.

I feel the exact opposite about Parts integration though. (Unless we get Masterpiece Combiners,) if there is a part that can't store in all modes (no matter how silly) I'd rather the part not exist at all.

I think what they did to Dive Bomb's alt mode is worse than what they did to back of those robot modes. It seems there is no winning with predaking, you either get a great combined mode, or great individual modes.

I do find those combiner feet quite lackluster, they seem too blocky, as in an actual block.

Anyways, I cam here to say I think we have a lead on our next toyline. You can see what appears to be an upcoming Generations Megatron.



Should I news, yes or no? We have been plagued by rampant speculation recently and I would hate to add to it.

Skritz wrote:One of the biggest letdown of Titans Return boxset is that we never got a green-and-purple G2 Megatron to go with that G2 Laser Rod Prime. So there is a lot of wasted potential in those cancelled boxsets.

Sure, but that isnt THE biggest letdown. That award goes to not getting Ape Face and Snap Dragon in a line where every voyager was a triple changer headmaster.

A small reminder that Predaking has his own thread, because he's that awesome:

Power of the Primes Predaking Thread

DecepticonFinishline wrote:I would also go so far as to say that having ONLY 4 waves is also speculation. Even if PotP is ending in 2018, they can DEFINITELY squeeze in a Wave 5. Especially given how quickly Waves 1 and 2 came out.

Maybe I am the one in denial, but I would be more surprised if there were only 4 waves.

Sure PotP would be bucking the trend with only 4 waves throughout, but 4 Waves per year has been the standard for CW and TR, 3 years total.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:A small reminder that Predaking has his own thread, because he's that awesome:

Power of the Primes Predaking Thread

DecepticonFinishline wrote:I would also go so far as to say that having ONLY 4 waves is also speculation. Even if PotP is ending in 2018, they can DEFINITELY squeeze in a Wave 5. Especially given how quickly Waves 1 and 2 came out.

Maybe I am the one in denial, but I would be more surprised if there were only 4 waves.

Sure PotP would be bucking the trend with only 4 waves throughout, but 4 Waves per year has been the standard for CW and TR, 3 years total.

Even then, Wave 1 came out in 2017. I, also, understand that everything in PotP has showed up before it's "official" release date. I don't know what Wave 1's official release date was, but tons of people (in the states, at least) had their Wave 1 Legends and Deluxes before Christmas.

Really, the worst of PotP's early end is that it leave Combiner Teams incomplete and doesn't complete the G1 Combiner lineup, with a missing Piranacon and Monstructor.

william-james88 wrote:I think what they did to Dive Bomb's alt mode is worse than what they did to back of those robot modes. It seems there is no winning with predaking, you either get a great combined mode, or great individual modes.

I do find those combiner feet quite lackluster, they seem too blocky, as in an actual block.

Anyways, I cam here to say I think we have a lead on our next toyline. You can see what appears to be an upcoming Generations Megatron.



Should I news, yes or no? We have been plagued by rampant speculation recently and I would hate to add to it.

Skritz wrote:One of the biggest letdown of Titans Return boxset is that we never got a green-and-purple G2 Megatron to go with that G2 Laser Rod Prime. So there is a lot of wasted potential in those cancelled boxsets.

Sure, but that isnt THE biggest letdown. That award goes to not getting Ape Face and Snap Dragon in a line where every voyager was a triple changer headmaster.

100% yes you should news it, and let's get the 2019 WFC toy thread started. Cant wait to speculate on what it will be. I just hope the throw in the TR amd CW gimmicks here and there. And the "Master" size class will be interesting for sure.

DecepticonFinishline wrote:Even then, Wave 1 came out in 2017. I, also, understand that everything in PotP has showed up before it's "official" release date. I don't know what Wave 1's official release date was, but tons of people (in the states, at least) had their Wave 1 Legends and Deluxes before Christmas.

Wave 1's official release was Januray 2018. And WFC's first trilogy release is Januray 2019. Which means we will see the first wave of the next line in late 2018.... instead of more POTP.

mordhelm wrote:100% yes you should news it, and let's get the 2019 WFC toy thread started. Cant wait to speculate on what it will be. I just hope the throw in the TR amd CW gimmicks here and there. And the "Master" size class will be interesting for sure.

Done

https://www.seibertron.com/transformers ... toy/40731/

So I guess the missing combiner and headmasters are being saved for later. Huh. Interesting design decision, but one which may help in keeping some fans interested in the reveal of new waves of future Generations subline. Which, of course, increase the odds of another product catching a fan's eye.

Skritz wrote:Really, the worst of PotP's early end is that it leave Combiner Teams incomplete and doesn't complete the G1 Combiner lineup, with a missing Piranacon and Monstructor.

Both of which have looks that could easily fit into this War for Cybertron stuff.

DecepticonFinishline wrote:Even then, Wave 1 came out in 2017. I, also, understand that everything in PotP has showed up before it's "official" release date. I don't know what Wave 1's official release date was, but tons of people (in the states, at least) had their Wave 1 Legends and Deluxes before Christmas.

This is nothing new and happened in CW and TR as well. The "official" release date is really just an estimate on when the toys should hit full saturation. So anything that is intended for Q1 of any year will start leaking out in late Q4 of the year before.

The Combaticons were wave 5 of CW, which was slotted for Q1 of 2016 but started showing up before Christmas of 2015. Wave 3 of TR was slotted for Q1 2017 but started showing up before Christmas of 2016. Just like PotP wave 1 last Christmas.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:A small reminder that Predaking has his own thread, because he's that awesome:

Power of the Primes Predaking Thread

You mean because he's that crappy.

So, now that we know what we know about PotP only being 4 waves, and combine that with how TR ended, does anyone have any idea or speculation on what might have changed for Hasbro?

I mean they went all out on squeezing every ounce out of the molds that they could in CW, then had more individual changes in TR with only a handful of molds getting only a new head re-deco without additional tooling changes, and now even fewer straight up redecos in PotP.

They are basically putting out fewer toys at a higher expense to develop them in each line. It just doesn't make sense to me. It seems like they left a lot of potential $$$ on the table.

Something must have happened to change their overall direction somewhere in the middle of TR. I wonder if it is something as dumb as just wanting each line to fit within a year or some other corporate type decision?

Rated X wrote:

Ultra Markus wrote:

Sjeng wrote:ok.. this is pretty damn disappointing though:







the upper legs and hips are simply hung off their backs!!!

if they didnt do it that way with predakings upper legs attached to the lower legs razerclaw would end up being a leader class size but i still think predaking is going to be a bit shorter than devastator for being a titan class

Thats horrible. This is why parts integration sucks. I would rather those things just pop off so you can throw em in a box when not combined. Looks like ill be staying happy with Feral Rex and skipping Hasbroking.

I agree. I'd rather the thighs be separate pieces like hands and feet. Was there an actual reason to have them attached rather than removable? My best guess is having them attached provides better stability in combined mode so there is the trade off. As ugly as it is if I can get it on a good sale I'm going for it.

I think we could see some boxed sets to end PotP. If Monstructor is basically good to go then he could be an end of line boxed set or he could fit into the War for Cybertron line coming next. The Seacons would also make an excellent end of line boxed set, even better than Monstructrot because the latter is supposed to have a torso made of two deluxe figures and I have seen little from that tells me they are ready to do that yet (only Devastator). Same for Dinoking, the retool. But Piranacon is standard voyager with 5 limbs and 1 extra since all limbs become guns. I don't see making the gun feature, but I did read someone else suggesting they may choose one of the 6 deluxes to make a legends class figure that turns into a weapon. I can see that as part of the set.

Since I'm waiting for the big end of year sales to hopefully get Predaking I can wait for to possibly announce end of line boxed sets for the other combiners. If they do and one is Piranacon I may go with him instead of Predaking because I really liked King Poseidon in Masterforce. I'm glad I have time to figure out what I want to do and that I will have a nice collecting break for a while to save some money (some of which has to go into 3rd party weapons and Reprolabels for some toys).

I hate to say this, but I'm getting sick and tired of the lack of extras at the Titan class. If the SDCC version doesn't give predaking swords, I'm definitely waiting until he goes on major sale on Black Friday so that I can afford some extras for him. Metroplex with only one gun and none of the awesome extras associated with it, Devastator with no individual weapons, Fort Max with nothing, Trypticon with no tank, Predaking with no swords. To me, the Titan class should be about the awesomeness, not about how much profit they can make on a cheap huge transformer.

TF-fan kev777 wrote:So, now that we know what we know about PotP only being 4 waves, and combine that with how TR ended, does anyone have any idea or speculation on what might have changed for Hasbro?

I mean they went all out on squeezing every ounce out of the molds that they could in CW, then had more individual changes in TR with only a handful of molds getting only a new head re-deco without additional tooling changes, and now even fewer straight up redecos in PotP.

They are basically putting out fewer toys at a higher expense to develop them in each line. It just doesn't make sense to me. It seems like they left a lot of potential $$$ on the table.

Something must have happened to change their overall direction somewhere in the middle of TR. I wonder if it is something as dumb as just wanting each line to fit within a year or some other corporate type decision?

You have to remember that a lot of the toys put out in POTP are reusing pre-existing tooling and engineering. A lot of resources were put into the new combiner system and they are still reaping off it here. The aerialbot tooling has been used so often, that Dreadwind probably cost nothing to make

Plus, while we didnt have any straight up redecos for leaders in TR's mainline, one of the only 4 Leaders in POTP is just a redeco with a new head. We only had redecos that "lazy" in boxsets.

Alright, I am calling it right now. I think boxsets or exclusives will be how we get the remaining 3 Prime Masters.

We have Prima, Nexus Prime, and Amalgamous Prime.

So we know the Waverider mold exists, and is an Autobot. Chances are they will try to keep it with an Autobot pack if so (but precedent has been set with Grotusque that it doesn't have to). I think Prima goes with Waverider, but beyond that, I am unsure. My guess is, being an Autobot, it's more along the lines of the Arcee/Grotusque release than a boxset.

Nexus Prime, is commonly referred to as the first combiner. This is where I think a Boxset with Monstructor/Dinoking or the Seacons come in. At this point I see the Seacons as less likely than Dinoking/Monstructor.

I'm having a hard time deciding which of the 2 it would be though (between Dinoking/Monstructor). On one hand, we saw Wildfly's head on Cutthroat, which is more in line with Monstructor. But the guns on Snarl, suggest Doryu of Dinoking. What I think they may try to do is keep the names of the Monstructor bots, but go with the easy fits for the actual figures. Wildfly -> Cutthroat retool, Scowl -> Snarl retool, Slog -> Grimlock retool, Icepick -> Blot retool, Bristleback -> Slug retool, Birdbraid -> Cindersaur/Slash retool (if even included). The flipside is it could be a straight up Dinoking, using the Monstructor names, and the Wildfly head on Cutthroat was to test it in the mold in general (remember Cutthroat and Swoop are "co-tools"). Tbh, I would be ok either way.


Amalgamous, maybe he's coming with the rumored Repugnus?


The flip-side, is that maybe, just maybe, there is more to Wave 4 than has been revealed. Maybe we will get a few more legends and Prime Masters. Only 3 Prime Masters left if Onyx is exclusive to Predaking, which is easy to fit in a single wave.

Also, I kinda wish whoever was interviewing John Warden could have asked some questions about the shortened structure of PotP. Like, if the plan was always to keep it shortened, or if happened later in the design/planning process. I would love to know what they wanted to do if they had a full 6 waves.

Any more word on the Wreck-Gar and Blastoff exclusives?

Targetmaster Kup wrote:Any more word on the Wreck-Gar and Blastoff exclusives?

Well Warden said this:

Exclusives?

Only TRU Thundercracker announced for now, but we do have more lined up for the year.

That TRU Thundercracker uses the Movie Nitro mold. Why they couldnt instead do a Thunderwing redeco, I have no clue.

I dont know why is always thundercracker.

First MP11 mold to get US distribution: Thudercracker

First Gen Leader Seeker Revealed: Thundercacker

Big TRU Exclusive of 2018: Thundecracker

Oh yeah, this also means that there is now 0 evidence toward them repainting the POTP Voyager starscream into the other seekers.

I keep saying it but: Seacons would be piss-easy to make out of PotP molds except Snaptrap. If they intend to save them for later but keep the same core engineering from the Prime Wars trilogy, these guys are entirely doable by remolding the Terrorcons. Snaptrap is also doable if you massive retool the exterior of Grimlock to enable quadrupedal stance.

So who knows? Maybe if the Seacon or Monster Pretenders DO appear in later Generations line, they'd be made from at-that-point years-old molds.