The Energon Pub

PO up at Amiami already

Roughly around $ 67.00 (Y 7560) with TAX for Optimus and Rodimus Leader class.

No TAX Y 5330 or about $ 47.00

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 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!

We got the same kinda pictures with Trypticon though and see how that turned out if this is really the way this line is to go, then I'm gonna save a whole lot of money next year

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!

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.

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!

And suddenly the hopes of a thousand people were suddenly silenced.

Black Hat wrote:I guess Rated X got his wish regarding Takara not being different from Hasbro.

Yes and no. My wish was for the cheaper Hasbro decos to be dropped in favor of more premium takara style decos. Not for Takara to start cheaping out. But as you get to the post sunbow era of G1, the deco differences between cartoon and toy accuray shrinks incredibly. That doesnt play well for Takaras normal business strategy. With optimus prime being the exception, what could takara really have done to make them different and ask more money? Maybe hydra and buster will end up getting their signature red paint, but what can they really do for the others? Maybe diaclone dinobots, although diaclone is not really Transformers cartoon wise. Just a shame we cant get a version of the poor mans MP-10 with blue fists and some silver paint. The good thing about this though is that us takara collectors will save tons of money this year. Cant complain about that. I dont give a crap about japanese boxes. 90% of them end up in the recycling bin.

Here are my feelings on the matter:

1) 9 times out of 10, these are placeholder images of Hasbro product until Takara has their designs finalized. Trypticon was a (very big) exception to this rule this past year, but it may yet be a one-off event and not a developing trend. Things were business as usual right afterwards when Transformers Legends ended it's half-year hiatus. That is to say, we continued to get Legends products with altered (and in many instances, superior) paint jobs.

2) Even if Takara is going to make Power of the Prime (sic) a direct Hasbro import, yes, I'll be disappointed somewhat, but I'll also be a bit relieved. If Takara offers no differences in product whatsoever, I'll be happy to buy the Hasbro versions locally at a lower cost and months sooner as well.

3) Let's see what happens with a possible relaunch of the dormant Unite Warriors line. Takara may be concentrating more on that going forward, as a bulk of what is new and interesting in Hasbro's Power of the Primes line is very much a continuation of Combiner Wars (and therefore Unite Warriors). Takara's Power of the Prime line up may just be the few things that don't fit with the combiner motif, such as the Prime Masters/Pretenders, some legends scale figures, the leaders, and odd deluxes without a real combiner team, like Jazz. Most of what hasn't been announced yet for Takara's Power of the Prime line so far are Deluxes and especially Voyagers with obvious (combiner) team affiliations. I find it hard to imagine that Takara wouldn't at LEAST give their Dinobots blue eyes, if not red helmets for Slag and Swoop. What we have seen so far announced for Takara's version of PotP, as far as Hasbro decos go, is pretty good already (save for the stickers on the leader figures).

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

Well, this explains why these aren't part of Legends. If this is real, then at most I expect Buster and Hydra to be changed to their proper red.

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

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

Out of curiosity do you know what the article says about the voyagers? I find it interesting that they would be mentioned even though they're not revealed yet.

Skritz wrote:His toy has a different, inaccurate head...but its still a cyclop head.

True, it isn't perfect, but it's pretty close, and much more accurate than the box art. Infinitely more "Shockwave" than sticking an Enigma on there.

Emerje

Emerje wrote:

Skritz wrote:His toy has a different, inaccurate head...but its still a cyclop head.

True, it isn't perfect, but it's pretty close, and much more accurate than the box art. Infinitely more "Shockwave" than sticking an Enigma on there.

Emerje

If the head would fit on there with the TR slot anyways, would the Enigma have a balljointed neck?

Va'al wrote:

I don't get it.

steals_your_goats wrote:

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

Out of curiosity do you know what the article says about the voyagers? I find it interesting that they would be mentioned even though they're not revealed yet.

It just says that Jazz can be attached to them.

Rough Google Translation wrote:It is also possible to enjoy combined game with DX & Voyager class figures which will be released in the future!

The fact that they're specifically calling them Voyagers probably means they won't be sold as a box set. Unless I'm mistaken, I don't remember UW sets referring to the torsos as Voyagers. But this is a magazine article, not first hand information from Takara Tomy so it's hard to say just how accurate this is, they could be writing based on what they know about the Hasbro release and making assumptions.

Emerje

Quantum Surge wrote:

Emerje wrote:

Skritz wrote:His toy has a different, inaccurate head...but its still a cyclop head.

True, it isn't perfect, but it's pretty close, and much more accurate than the box art. Infinitely more "Shockwave" than sticking an Enigma on there.

Emerje

If the head would fit on there with the TR slot anyways, would the Enigma have a balljointed neck?

Nope, the "necks" are solid on the Enigmas and Matrices.

Emerje

Cyberpath wrote:

Va'al wrote:

I don't get it.

So Jazz, we have this power up for you, it'll make you look like a pregnant human, and you won't actually be able to any close quarter combat because your arms will barely reach past it, but as long as they stay far away from the enemy your gun will be powered up... well maybe.

Emerje wrote:

steals_your_goats wrote:

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

Out of curiosity do you know what the article says about the voyagers? I find it interesting that they would be mentioned even though they're not revealed yet.

It just says that Jazz can be attached to them.

Rough Google Translation wrote:It is also possible to enjoy combined game with DX & Voyager class figures which will be released in the future!

The fact that they're specifically calling them Voyagers probably means they won't be sold as a box set. Unless I'm mistaken, I don't remember UW sets referring to the torsos as Voyagers. But this is a magazine article, not first hand information from Takara Tomy so it's hard to say just how accurate this is, they could be writing based on what they know about the Hasbro release and making assumptions.

Emerje

It will be telling if any other hobby magazines start printing articles for Takara's Power of the Prime line in the next few weeks. Otherwise, I would think this is an attempt by Dengeki Hobby to "scoop" other publications to boost sales, being the only source of information for something about which there isn't really a whole lot of confirmed information to begin with. Hype sells.

Rodimus Knight wrote:

Cyberpath wrote:

Va'al wrote:

I don't get it.

So Jazz, we have this power up for you, it'll make you look like a pregnant human, and you won't actually be able to any close quarter combat because your arms will barely reach past it, but as long as they stay far away from the enemy your gun will be powered up... well maybe.

Oh my god that is so funny! I haven’t seen a million posts about the armor looking like baby carriers and the bots looking pregnant! You are so original and hilarious! If there was a like button on the boards I’d be pounding that like button hard! Just so funny and original!!!!

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

With wallets and bank accounts rejoicing

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

Emerje

Rated X wrote:

Black Hat wrote:I guess Rated X got his wish regarding Takara not being different from Hasbro.

Yes and no. My wish was for the cheaper Hasbro decos to be dropped in favor of more premium takara style decos. Not for Takara to start cheaping out. But as you get to the post sunbow era of G1, the deco differences between cartoon and toy accuray shrinks incredibly. That doesnt play well for Takaras normal business strategy. With optimus prime being the exception, what could takara really have done to make them different and ask more money? Maybe hydra and buster will end up getting their signature red paint, but what can they really do for the others? Maybe diaclone dinobots, although diaclone is not really Transformers cartoon wise. Just a shame we cant get a version of the poor mans MP-10 with blue fists and some silver paint. The good thing about this though is that us takara collectors will save tons of money this year. Cant complain about that. I dont give a crap about japanese boxes. 90% of them end up in the recycling bin.

I knew exactly what you meant. I was just taking the p!ss.

Seriously though, this is disappointing. Hopefully this will be like the movie line, where they release actually good versions of these molds later without any goddamn stickers. And I imagine, judging by the absence of any Dinobots and Terrorcons, that UW will be returning. I can't imagine Takara would be stupid enough to not release any non-MP "premium" figures anymore, that'd be suicide.

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!

The joy of having a US and Japanese line practically sharing the same name

Is TakaraTomy trying the "US appeal" angel again? Kinda like with our Japanese imports?