The Energon Pub

Overcracker wrote:Is that Abominus behind Trypticon's right leg?

Yup!

Kurona wrote: Where does the idea he was 'always bigger' come from aside from the toy and that one image?

Does, in my head, count as a valid answer?

It does for me I guess. I'm glad he will be Titan Class.

It really is simple, guys. Predaking was a bigger than normal combiner in the G1 toy line. Hasbro uses the G1 toy line as their basis for almost everything they do with Generations (now more than ever before). Therefore, Preadaking, as a modern combiner, should be Titan class by Hasbro's general philosophy. Devastator was Titan class during Combiner Wars for different reasons, but just as appropriate for Hasbro. He was "THE" granddaddy of Transformer combiners, so he got to be honored in a special way by being the Titan Class figure for that sub line. Seriously, who else was it going to be? Certainly not one of the Scramble City combiners. They'd all need to be the same size to retain the interchangeability gimmick. If they had done Predaking then instead, people would have been wondering "where's Devastator?"

Count me as one of the people who doesn't mind Predaking being Titan-class. I don't have much attachment to the character if I'm being honest, but he does strike me (just from appearances alone) as being a particularly strong and imposing 'bot - quite fitting to be larger than the CW combiners in my opinion. After all, if he was the same size as the others from CW then I'm sure people would be rather upset if he wasn't compatible with the overall system (I know I would), which might be something the engineers just weren't able to work in effectively with these guys.

Besides, imagine if parts of Predaking were cross-compatible with Devastator - it probably won't happen, but just imagine Devy with a bull for a leg or Preddy with a bulldozer-arm... . I'd say that would be two birds with one stone: adding modular customization to Devastator, even just a little bit (lack of any modularity being one of the reasons people were disappointed with him in CW, IIRC), and solidifying yet another potential system they could use creatively in the future a la CW ports or Titan Masters.

On the other hand, I'm also one of the people who thought Devastator was a fantastic toy (certainly the Takara ver.) and didn't mind the Titan class on him at all either, so make of that what you will.

Overcracker wrote:

Kurona wrote:There was also that one other Transformers vs. GI Joe comic

Is that Abominus behind Trypticon's right leg?

I'm more concerned with Trypticon's pink, gummy mouth. Blech...

(Also, where is Metroplex looking? "Yeh literally every last Decepticon is under that force-field over there but hey look a pretty bird")

One of the reasons I wanted Predaking to be the same size as the others was for compatibility with the CW system -- imagine Bruticus with a Divebomb wing-pack, or Razorclaw with a military vehicle ensemble! Alas, it seems it shall never be...

I'm in the camp of preferring the Titan Class for Predaking. I don't mind having him out of scale with most of the combiners, since in my TF world (pool table) Trypticon/Devy/Prediking will be matching up with the slightly bigger pair of Metroplex/Fort Max, with the rest of the combiners fighting each other and the non-combiners scattered around them battling each other.

While losing any CW compatibility is a minus, it is pretty much cancelled out by what should be 5 unique molds, that don't have to have any pre-designed retools/shared engineering/etc. Each of the 5 bots should be a better version of themselves than if they had to share some part of their design with a mold-mate.

Kurona wrote:One of the reasons I wanted Predaking to be the same size as the others was for compatibility with the CW system -- imagine Bruticus with a Divebomb wing-pack, or Razorclaw with a military vehicle ensemble! Alas, it seems it shall never be...

Indeed that would have been nice, but I can see where it mightn't have worked with Hasbro's rigid structuring of price-points and such. They probably couldn't sell a CW-compatible Predaking individually, at the very least because Divebomb would either be much too massive for a Deluxe price-point, or otherwise extremely scrawny (especially in limb modes where he'd be lacking his significant-mass-ratio-comprising wings). Plus wave limits of course; they would've had to sacrifice some of the other figures they're planning if they wanted to add 5 (or 6 with an obligatory Legends) more figures into the assortments.

And selling that hypothetical Predaking all-together instead would, I suppose, come with its own set of problems. It'd be much too small for a Titan price-point and I'm sure Hasbro would balk at yet another intermediate size, and it seems fairly certain by this point that the concept of CW-style boxsets is basically dead from Hasbro's perspective. Plus it seems very much like they want Predaking to be the main attraction of this line, at least to start with. That might be a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation (is Predaking the main attraction because he's the Titan, or is he the Titan because he's the main attraction?), but I guess I can understand why they wouldn't want the face of this new line to be some odd hard-to-get boxset (as opposed to an odd hard-to-get regular Titan-class figure ).

So bottom line, I agree it sucks that ol' Prednisolone isn't CW-compatible, but at the same time I suppose I can understand why it shook out the way it did. And I'm fairly sure that once we start seeing more of him (Hascon, please! ) we'll all warm up to the Titan class a bit more. After all, from our expansive case history of one figure, we know that Titan class combiners can specifically do things that regular CW-style combiners wouldn't be able to. What those things are has yet to be seen, but I have no doubt we'll see some interesting stuff from the big guy in the coming months.

It would be shocking if they didn't officially announce Predaking at Hascon since it was about this time last year that we first started getting glimpses of Trypticon.

Emerje

I'm also happy with a Titan Class Predaking
I also adhere to the G1 toy size difference.

Strangely enough, even though the G1 Devy toy was as big as the other combiners (scramble city? where does that come from?), in my mind he was also always bigger than the others, equal to Predaking... So the CW Titan Devy seemed logical to me. Wasn't he bigger in the G1 cartoons?

Well, perhaps not:


And of course the Constructicons were all Deluxes, compared to the "regular" Autobots, such as Wheeljack en Ironhide, so it would make sense that 6 deluxes = 4 deluxes + 1 voyager.

So if any, Devy is the combiner who sticks out being Titan class, even though I love it.
Predaking is made for Titan class imo.

I suppose in theory if there was a CW style combiner made of Predacons the way to approach the wing issue is to include two sets like Unique Toys did.
You'd have to sell Razorclaw as a leader class and give him a larger set of wings and the more elaborate feet pads Then give them an arm gun that combines out of individual weapons.

The large wings you get with Razorclaw would be best served to make a flying lion mode - flying robot mode and a riot shield for Razorclaw - otherwise they might seem like a useless accessory.

Alternatively outside of the CW concept I guess the other way to approach it is to make give you large feet with the leg-bots - big wings on Divebomb and weapons with the other arm but then you are basically making something voyager size then - so it may as well be a boxed set then - which is what they are doing.

You can tell they are not going for play value in animal mode as the Rhino & Bull seems to have pretty static legs just embedded in the torsos - unless they have proper legs and that is just legacy chest detail.

I wonder if I'll be able to get the official one for not much more than the bargin price that a Unique toys or Jinbao one goes for these days though.

Sjeng wrote:(scramble city? where does that come from?),

See the top and bottom sections of this page for more on that.

Sjeng wrote:And of course the Constructicons were all Deluxes,

Not in the G1 toyline they weren't. They were more along the sizes of Basics/Scouts.

Qwan wrote:

Kurona wrote:One of the reasons I wanted Predaking to be the same size as the others was for compatibility with the CW system -- imagine Bruticus with a Divebomb wing-pack, or Razorclaw with a military vehicle ensemble! Alas, it seems it shall never be...

Indeed that would have been nice, but I can see where it mightn't have worked with Hasbro's rigid structuring of price-points and such. They probably couldn't sell a CW-compatible Predaking individually, at the very least because Divebomb would either be much too massive for a Deluxe price-point, or otherwise extremely scrawny (especially in limb modes where he'd be lacking his significant-mass-ratio-comprising wings). Plus wave limits of course; they would've had to sacrifice some of the other figures they're planning if they wanted to add 5 (or 6 with an obligatory Legends) more figures into the assortments.

And selling that hypothetical Predaking all-together instead would, I suppose, come with its own set of problems. It'd be much too small for a Titan price-point and I'm sure Hasbro would balk at yet another intermediate size, and it seems fairly certain by this point that the concept of CW-style boxsets is basically dead from Hasbro's perspective.

This is along my line of thinking. Maybe Titan class is the only way Predaking could feasibly be done without running into cost and price-point issues?

I'm just psyched we're potentially getting Predaking, let alone a Titan-sized one.

I am in the camp of a titan Predaking. I have always pictured him as the biggest, baddest, fiercest, and deadliest combiner. He is a true monster, and I am stoked that he may get the Titan treatment

Sabrblade wrote:

Sjeng wrote:And of course the Constructicons were all Deluxes,

Not in the G1 toyline they weren't. They were more along the sizes of Basics/Scouts.

This is correct. As a result you had some wonky toy size comparisons like Devastator being close to the same size as Blaster etc... but that all stems form them being different toy lines in japan.

Had the Constructicons been the same size as Deluxe Autobot Cars, Devastator would have been closer to Predaking size, and taller than all Scramble Combiners, , instead of slightly smaller as he was originally.

I get why Hasbro is making Predaking Titan Class, but for compatibility sake, especially since he is composed of 5 members, instead of 6, having him formatted to compare with all the other CW and forthcoming POTP combiners would have been awesome.

To me however, I believe the combiner most in need of update, is one that has not been talked about very much at all, which is Monstructor (which would no doubt get a Dinoking counterpart from Takara). Since his toy size was so underwhelming, I believe he most of all needs a proper update. I know there are fans of Pretenders out there, which admittedly I am not, but I would like to see a proper Monstructor update.I believe I understand Hasbro's reluctance however since to do so I think would be a monumental task.

For arguments sake...lets just say we are going to make the individual bots all Deluxe size (Since he's a 6 member combiner, I'd actually like to see them as Voyagers, and the size would be comparable to Devastator. in IDW, Monstructor has battled Omega Supreme in the past, which is one aspect that makes me desire this size scale).

But even at Deluxe size, to make decent, articulated pretender shells these guys would be getting pretty bulky, and TBH, I don't know if it can be done. I honestly would not want the solid immobile rubbery/plastic shells Hasbro released in 1989. *update* I see Fansproject did a 3P Monstructor/Dinoking that looks awesome. I( see the pretender shells were in development, but not sure if they all came out. Still they mimicked the original in that they are just large pieces of immobile plastic, in the case of Fansproject Hugely expensive pieces of immobile plastic.

But as for price..If Devastator was $150.00 in 2015 (as have been the most recent titans). I would be willing to pay the same price for 6 deluxe figures if fully articulated, and given faithful modern-day adaptation. I'd be willing to pay even $200.00 if they were Voyager, but I know Hasbro would never go this pricey yet, especially for such a niche item.

Alas I believe poor Monstructor may never have a *proper* update. unless....they decide to ditch the pretender gimmick altogether as IDW has done, and just release Monstructor as a combiner.

With the dinobots and terrorcons becoming combiners, I think it wouldn't be hard for TT or Hasbro to retool them into a Monstructor set. Whether they do it or not, I cannot say.

Birdbrain would become the legends figure as a Slash or Cindersaur retool, as a chest piece or some such.

Slog as the biggest toy, is the torso and could be a grimlock retool where instead of a T-Rex head he has some weird monster head. Or he is a totally new mold, more likely from TT then hasbro I think.

Scowl and Icepick can be Blot retools, or Blot and Rippersnapper retools.

Wildfly is either Swoop or Cutthroat, probably just a repaint of Cutthroat.

Bristleback could be a Slag retool

Again, just my expectation of how they would do a modern Monstructor/Dinoking. And either the shells get ditched, or they are Prime Master type figures.

^I guess that would be ok, but that would be altering things, kind of like how Hasbro did LioKaiser. TT would definitely not use it as a Dinoking due to lack of accuracy.

Monstructor would be pretty awesome, and if he does happen I really hope he'd have the terrifying face he has in IDW. gosh, Kurona wanting a toy to have an IDW-inspired face, what a shocker

I would've said I doubt he'll happen, but let's face it, we've seen so many things everyone doubted would happen come out so I don't think I can mark him as unlikely anymore; he's certainly not an obscure TFCC or background character so he has a shot. What I would say though is that due to the Combiner system and not being enough of a popular/iconic character to warrant a different approach like Titan Devastator, it's likely he'd go the way of Liokaiser and have his two torso bots mashed together or replaced by someone different. I'd expect to see him as a boxset made out of retooled/recoloured Dinobots and Terrorcons.

Titan Predaking looks pretty neat, and I think he has more business being a Titan than Devastator. The thing is, well, I'm not sure I care enough about Predaking to justify the huge cost and space sink he will be. He's never really done much and whilst some of his art has made him look pretty awesome, as it stands he's not my cup of tea. The beast modes were always too cutesy and the robot modes too dorky for my liking. I mean, I'll wait to see how it turns out but honestly I'd rather spend the money on a Universe Razorclaw and a Beast Wars Rampage.

Now if MakeToys made a super-solid Predaking with lithe, anime-esque robot modes and beast modes that looked less like cuddly toys and more like, say, Zoids (because Zoids are awesome) then I might buy that...but even then I'm just not sure I care enough about Predaking to justify it. Honestly I'd rather have a ginormous super-articulated mega-high-quality Prime Predaking rendition, because DRAGON.

I've been thinking about the whole Upgrade/Evolve gimmick that the Leader-Class figs will have and I realized something.
This is the perfect opportunity for them to make a modern Fire Convoy. He fits the gimmick perfectly. And it would be EPIC. He could also come with a Titan/Prime Master T-AI.
C'mon Hasbro! We need more Car Robots in our lives!!

DestronMirage22 wrote:I've been thinking about the whole Upgrade/Evolve gimmick that the Leader-Class figs will have and I realized something.
This is the perfect opportunity for them to make a modern Fire Convoy. He fits the gimmick perfectly. And it would be EPIC. He could also come with a Titan/Prime Master T-AI.
C'mon Hasbro! We need more Car Robots in our lives!!

On this subject, it would be perfect for Star Saber too, considering the little brainmaster, the regular robot, and the super robot

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

DestronMirage22 wrote:I've been thinking about the whole Upgrade/Evolve gimmick that the Leader-Class figs will have and I realized something.
This is the perfect opportunity for them to make a modern Fire Convoy. He fits the gimmick perfectly. And it would be EPIC. He could also come with a Titan/Prime Master T-AI.
C'mon Hasbro! We need more Car Robots in our lives!!

On this subject, it would be perfect for Star Saber too, considering the little brainmaster, the regular robot, and the super robot

What sucks hard is that there is only 1 new leader per wave (and waves sometimes have no new leaders which has been the case ever since Generations Leaders began). So we have 6 waves of figures total, with a probably max of 6 leaders and we already know 4 leaders: Rodimus, Unicron Rodimus, Optimus and Primal. I too want a star sabre, bad. The reason I dont think we will see a RID Prime is because hasbro already has their big Optimus for this line and its simply a leader class g1 Prime.

At the same time, we saw CW give us a Leader G1 Megatron and a slight retool of that into... Leader Armada Megatron. I think Hasbro is very willing to slightly alter a previous release and release it as one of their big names; even if the original mold was that same big name. Would not be surprised to see this Leader Optimus turned into a different Optimus.

Kurona wrote:At the same time, we saw CW give us a Leader G1 Megatron and a slight retool of that into... Leader Armada Megatron. I think Hasbro is very willing to slightly alter a previous release and release it as one of their big names; even if the original mold was that same big name. Would not be surprised to see this Leader Optimus turned into a different Optimus.

But thats not a simple retool. That would be a completely new mold or something close to it.

william-james88 wrote:

Kurona wrote:At the same time, we saw CW give us a Leader G1 Megatron and a slight retool of that into... Leader Armada Megatron. I think Hasbro is very willing to slightly alter a previous release and release it as one of their big names; even if the original mold was that same big name. Would not be surprised to see this Leader Optimus turned into a different Optimus.

But thats not a simple retool. That would be a completely new mold or something close to it.

Many would say the same about CW Armada Megatron

Kurona wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Kurona wrote:At the same time, we saw CW give us a Leader G1 Megatron and a slight retool of that into... Leader Armada Megatron. I think Hasbro is very willing to slightly alter a previous release and release it as one of their big names; even if the original mold was that same big name. Would not be surprised to see this Leader Optimus turned into a different Optimus.

But thats not a simple retool. That would be a completely new mold or something close to it.

Many would say the same about CW Armada Megatron

Not really, it was a tank tf used for another tank tf. But here, we are talking about a g1 optimus truck turned into a fire engine so its at least 2 different alt modes.

Star Saber is at least I think a feasible Leader due to the voting candidates last year.

How about Star Convoy from Optimus Prime?