The Energon Pub

[-Kanrabat-]

Glad to hear Stinger is good. He's one of the ones I wanted, I'll get him if I can.

Can confirm that Stinger is good. Not sure why a lot of people seem unsatisfied with it. He's just too much fun!

After seeing the reviews, I'd get Stinger but only on sale. So far, the only deluxe I really want, even at full price, is Jazz.

[BombshellDaBug]

They all have widespread issues, just look at the wikis:

Dragonstorm

Extreme caution must be taken for separating Dragonstorm from his packaging: especially both sides of the heads / Dragonicus's hands.

Steelbane (and retool)

Unfortunately, Steelbane suffers from loose ball joints, which prevent his dragon mode from staying together. Additionally, the figure's larger wings are molded in a softer plastic, and are prone to being warped straight out of the package.

Berserker

The vehicle mode kibble on his forearms is not affixed to him and merely pegs into sculpted slots on his arms. This leads to a somewhat weak hold and the kibble parts falling off during conversion. In vehicle mode, several of the tabs meant to hold the outer body together don't fit well, resulting in large gaps. The panels that form the back of the vehicle, in particular, have a tendency to pop out due to excessive pressure.

Crosshairs

The simple-assembly wheels are known to easily pop off from the vehicle due to slightly wide holes, and the guns were unable to peg into his trenchcoats properly.

Wave 3 Bee

On a lot of copies of this toy, the pegs securing the feet come undone easily, making the feet really floppy

For those who actually bought all the toys, the TLK line is a QC nightmare with widespread issues. I strongly advise anyone who claims there not to be problems to actually say that with experience of said molds because or else it's meaningless.

That's a lot of hyperbole, I mean, movie figs have always suffered a little for their complexity, I had more problems with movie automorph than the tlk figures, so does that mean that all movie figures with automorph are a nightmare, just cuz I had some lemons? And, besides which reports of most of these issues are far and few between from what I've seen 'round the net, and wiki entries is hardly firm evidence when one person with a lousy figure can just go on there and spread a bunch of hyperbolic slander.

Like, is dragostorm the equivalent of tr wolfwire? Is he destined to break no matter what? Or did someone get a lemon and we blew it out of proportion b/c we were looking forward to the figure? Look, I'm not saying there weren't problem's I just wanted actual quantifiable input. But I guess it doesn't matter anyways, and this is getting close to being off-topic, we'll know whether this line is any good come April

I own Dragonstorm, Steelbane, and Berserker. And unfortunately, I'd say that the TFWiki entries for Berserker and Steelbane are right on the ball. Steelbane is super floppy in dragon mode, and is best kept in robot mode (which is the strongest of the two modes anyways). Berserker's car kibble on his forearms had a nasty habit of falling off every time I tried to transform him. His transformation was also just flat out not fun. The damn thing would not tab together correctly. Also, his head is not secure on that ball joint for some odd reason. That was pretty annoying.

Dragonstorm, on the other hand, I did not have the issue of the dragon heads falling off. A lot of pieces felt loose and floppy, but nothing really broke for no apparent reason. I suspect that people may have been a bit rough trying to get it out of packaging. Although I did notice a few plastic ties that I thought could have been easy for a few people to miss. But again, did not have the issue of the dragon heads falling off.

[Hellscream9999]

I own Dragonstorm, Steelbane, and Berserker. And unfortunately, I'd say that the TFWiki entries for Berserker and Steelbane are right on the ball. Steelbane is super floppy in dragon mode, and is best kept in robot mode (which is the strongest of the two modes anyways). Berserker's car kibble on his forearms had a nasty habit of falling off every time I tried to transform him. His transformation was also just flat out not fun. The damn thing would not tab together correctly. Also, his head is not secure on that ball joint for some odd reason. That was pretty annoying.

Dragonstorm, on the other hand, I did not have the issue of the dragon heads falling off. A lot of pieces felt loose and floppy, but nothing really broke for no apparent reason. I suspect that people may have been a bit rough trying to get it out of packaging. Although I did notice a few plastic ties that I thought could have been easy for a few people to miss. But again, did not have the issue of the dragon heads falling off.

Yeah, that break was reported super early, so it might be a case of a faulty early run, like balt and his bee just now...

[Jelze Bunnycat]

I own Dragonstorm, Steelbane, and Berserker. And unfortunately, I'd say that the TFWiki entries for Berserker and Steelbane are right on the ball. Steelbane is super floppy in dragon mode, and is best kept in robot mode (which is the strongest of the two modes anyways). Berserker's car kibble on his forearms had a nasty habit of falling off every time I tried to transform him. His transformation was also just flat out not fun. The damn thing would not tab together correctly. Also, his head is not secure on that ball joint for some odd reason. That was pretty annoying.

Dragonstorm, on the other hand, I did not have the issue of the dragon heads falling off. A lot of pieces felt loose and floppy, but nothing really broke for no apparent reason. I suspect that people may have been a bit rough trying to get it out of packaging. Although I did notice a few plastic ties that I thought could have been easy for a few people to miss. But again, did not have the issue of the dragon heads falling off.

Yeah, that break was reported super early, so it might be a case of a faulty early run, like balt and his bee just now...

That's the reason of the breaks, right there in bold. That advisory was reported as well, which may have lead to the breakages being more limited.

[User897]

Does anyone have a release date for Brawl and Blackout?

[Autobot Roadburn]

Got my figures today. Bee has a super loose hinge in his hood that likes to pop off so he's a pain to transform, but he's still miles better than his original Last Knight mold. The heels on mine hold together great and his joints are way tighter. Ratchet is a lot of fun too, especially once I figured out how to tighten up his hips and plug in his shoulders so they weren't a floppy mess. I don't think the paint is bad (there's a LOT on his doors I didn't expect) but a little more silver on his "tusks" and he'd be fine with me. Crowbar is actually my favorite of the three, he's infinitely better than Berserker - tighter joints, better look, can actually stand well, ridiculously awesome head sculpt, cool dreadlocks that can hide decently in SUV mode and that SUV form can actually hold together. I love him. I'm waiting on Stinger for now though, couldn't afford all 4.

[Autobot Roadburn]

I’ve actually had more fun with these guys the more I mess with them, I love it. I’m excited for the rest of the line!

[Va'al]

Thanks to a number of sources, including Seibertronians Autobot Roadburn and ScottyP, plus Weibo user 原地爆炸小潜艇, we have some in-hand images for the Hasbro and Takara Tomy Transformers Studio Series toyline, showing off the individual figures and including some comparisons with previous iterations of the characters (these are the most talkable about of the batch, but see below for more).

Specifically, we have shots of Crowbar, Ratchet, Stinger and Bumblebee, as you can see in the images below, with a small range of differing opinions on what is what with this new not-entirely-Masterpiece lines for the live-action movieverse, to be paired with the video reviews we've seen so far too. Check it all out, and join the discussion in the Energon Pub!

Got my figures today. Bee has a super loose hinge in his hood that likes to pop off so he's a pain to transform, but he's still miles better than his original Last Knight mold. The heels on mine hold together great and his joints are way tighter. Ratchet is a lot of fun too, especially once I figured out how to tighten up his hips and plug in his shoulders so they weren't a floppy mess. I don't think the paint is bad (there's a LOT on his doors I didn't expect) but a little more silver on his "tusks" and he'd be fine with me. Crowbar is actually my favorite of the three, he's infinitely better than Berserker - tighter joints, better look, can actually stand well, ridiculously awesome head sculpt, cool dreadlocks that can hide decently in SUV mode and that SUV form can actually hold together. I love him. I'm waiting on Stinger for now though, couldn't afford all 4.

Great head sculpt! Fun toy with a few annoying flaws that cause the ambulance to not really tab together well, but still, fun.

Yeah I'm not sure what they were thinking on this one. Stinkger of the wave, other 3 are decent but still just in the realm of "new toys of x character"

AoE Stinger is a really nice redeco of an ok mold but yeah, if you don't like that old mold I can't say the new one's any better unfortunately. The one sure miss of wave 1 so far, imo

[SpikeyTigertron]

So it looks like the "new" old be got a straight up down-size from the "original" mold... what. the. actual. duck!

I'd like to know where everyone found the TlK wave 3 bee's I've never see ANY wave 3 in California. Do we know if the *other* studio bee is a re-release of that one, or a unknown new mold?

My Bee and Stinger should be coming later today, now I'm a bit disappointed.

[Madeus Prime]

I'm fascinated by this series. The fact that it's like every figure is a grab-bag of parts from other good figures is weirdly enticing. Like how Optimus is a rework of Evasion Prime.

[-Kanrabat-]

The way the figures shrink, it made me remember the transition between RotF and DotM.

[primalxconvoy]

So it looks like the "new" old be got a straight up down-size from the "original" mold... what. the. actual. duck!

I'd like to know where everyone found the TlK wave 3 bee's I've never see ANY wave 3 in California. Do we know if the *other* studio bee is a re-release of that one, or a unknown new mold?

My Bee and Stinger should be coming later today, now I'm a bit disappointed.

As a fan of KOs, I'm happy with this new direction. If Hasbro start "doing a Wei Jiang" and making osko or usko versions of their existing toys, with nicer paint, etc, I'll be really up for it.

[CobraKai]

I think Stinger looks fantastic. The shoulder headlights need to be folded down. Im hoping for a retool for Extinction Bee.

I was able to get a TLK 2017 Bee at my toys r us in So Cal but it was the first and last time I saw him

[Va'al]

We have a couple of pieces of news coming to us from Vietnamese Transformers fans, both pertaining the Studio Series line, and featuring different Voyager class figures: Studio Series 05 Optimus Prime and Studio Series 06 Starscream!

Optimus Prime has a gorgeous pictorial showcase, taken by Raikki07 and shared with us via Flickr here, and of which we've selected a sample below for your enjoyment. Starscream on the other hand comes as a video review, via fellow Seibertronian Hellscream9999, by user Đức Hiển Nguyễn. Check it all out below, and let us know what you think in the Energon Pub discussion!

[Quantum Surge]

I wish that Optimus had the windows closer to each other. Almost looks like he has a matrix chamber. Regardless, I like the rest of the proportions on this guy more than Battle Blades.

[Carnivius_Prime]

the more I see that Prime the more I actually like it and just wish it had better paint (flames in particular.. am sure Toyhax will sort that) and longer smokestacks. It's not a priority figure but it's certainly a consideration one when I've got the ones I really want.

[Carnivius_Prime]

They all have widespread issues, just look at the wikis:

Dragonstorm

Extreme caution must be taken for separating Dragonstorm from his packaging: especially both sides of the heads / Dragonicus's hands.

Steelbane (and retool)

Unfortunately, Steelbane suffers from loose ball joints, which prevent his dragon mode from staying together. Additionally, the figure's larger wings are molded in a softer plastic, and are prone to being warped straight out of the package.

Berserker

The vehicle mode kibble on his forearms is not affixed to him and merely pegs into sculpted slots on his arms. This leads to a somewhat weak hold and the kibble parts falling off during conversion. In vehicle mode, several of the tabs meant to hold the outer body together don't fit well, resulting in large gaps. The panels that form the back of the vehicle, in particular, have a tendency to pop out due to excessive pressure.

Crosshairs

The simple-assembly wheels are known to easily pop off from the vehicle due to slightly wide holes, and the guns were unable to peg into his trenchcoats properly.

Wave 3 Bee

On a lot of copies of this toy, the pegs securing the feet come undone easily, making the feet really floppy

For those who actually bought all the toys, the TLK line is a QC nightmare with widespread issues. I strongly advise anyone who claims there not to be problems to actually say that with experience of said molds because or else it's meaningless.

That's a lot of hyperbole, I mean, movie figs have always suffered a little for their complexity, I had more problems with movie automorph than the tlk figures, so does that mean that all movie figures with automorph are a nightmare, just cuz I had some lemons? And, besides which reports of most of these issues are far and few between from what I've seen 'round the net, and wiki entries is hardly firm evidence when one person with a lousy figure can just go on there and spread a bunch of hyperbolic slander.

Like, is dragostorm the equivalent of tr wolfwire? Is he destined to break no matter what? Or did someone get a lemon and we blew it out of proportion b/c we were looking forward to the figure? Look, I'm not saying there weren't problem's I just wanted actual quantifiable input. But I guess it doesn't matter anyways, and this is getting close to being off-topic, we'll know whether this line is any good come April

I own Dragonstorm, Steelbane, and Berserker. And unfortunately, I'd say that the TFWiki entries for Berserker and Steelbane are right on the ball. Steelbane is super floppy in dragon mode, and is best kept in robot mode (which is the strongest of the two modes anyways). Berserker's car kibble on his forearms had a nasty habit of falling off every time I tried to transform him. His transformation was also just flat out not fun. The damn thing would not tab together correctly. Also, his head is not secure on that ball joint for some odd reason. That was pretty annoying.

Dragonstorm, on the other hand, I did not have the issue of the dragon heads falling off. A lot of pieces felt loose and floppy, but nothing really broke for no apparent reason. I suspect that people may have been a bit rough trying to get it out of packaging. Although I did notice a few plastic ties that I thought could have been easy for a few people to miss. But again, did not have the issue of the dragon heads falling off.

My TLK Bee (see video i posted a couple days ago) and Berserker have had no issues whatsoever. Also TFwiki mentions a fault with Sqweeks 'Similar to Berserker's arm kibble, Sqweek's vehicle mode headlight piece does not have any glue holding it in place and tends to pop out during transformation.'. I actually tried pulling that piece off my Sqweeks and it simply wouldn't come off at all. Bit weird this... in other TF lines too everyone says the stickers on certain figures have issues such as those on Titans Return Megatron but I've had that figure well over a year and despite constant transforming he has had absolutely no sticker issue at all. In fact I had hard work trying to peel off the chest stickers recently (I never liked the swirly black lines and the 'con insignia was too small and I replaced it with a larger one).

Also today I got Skullitron and Deluxe Megatron (going very cheap in Toys R Us closing down sale). Skullitron's nowhere near as loose as I was led to believe (he stands up fine other than being a bit back-heavy in certain wing configurations and while the wings are sorta bent from packaging, a bit of hairdryer heat and flattening them out fixes it no problem) and transforms ok into that dragony thing but Deluxe Megs, a figure I haven't heard many complaints about, is quite a floppy mess in places and was not fun to turn into stealth bomber mode at all. I find it odd how the same figures end up good quality in some places and bad in others.

[william-james88]

The fact that the quality of the same figure could be great for one person and terrible for another is proof that it has QC issues. Or else, it would be the same quality everywhere.

[Carnivius_Prime]

The fact that the quality of the same figure could be great for one person and terrible for another is proof that it has QC issues. Or else, it would be the same quality everywhere.

ah ok. so if it's faulty everywhere it's a design flaw but if some are good and some bad, it's qc issues? Sorry I'm a bit dim.

[william-james88]

The fact that the quality of the same figure could be great for one person and terrible for another is proof that it has QC issues. Or else, it would be the same quality everywhere.

ah ok. so if it's faulty everywhere it's a design flaw but if some are good and some bad, it's qc issues? Sorry I'm a bit dim.

Yes, thats how I always saw it. There is no control over the quality. Some issues can be more widespread than others but it wont affect everyone.

T30 Bltizwing's shoulders for instance are a design flaw, as was the handlebar part of Generations Wreckgar.

[DMSL]

Thus far nothing exciting that i would shell out cash for. Perhaps Blackout if they didn't butcher the qc.

[Ig89ninja]

I feel like Bumblebee is missing a piece, like a metal rod that connects the hood to the roof

[Autobot Roadburn]

I feel like Bumblebee is missing a piece, like a metal rod that connects the hood to the roof

I really wish they put one in there, I would've called it a near perfect figure at that point (plus the upper legs would've looked much better in a light grey that matched the rest of him like in the cg renders, but oh well). Right now though it takes me 10 minutes to get him into car mode, and the shape of the hood has to be forced past his headlight chest sections so I won't be doing it much.

[CobraKai]

Prime’s transformation reminds me of the Transformers Prime First Edition Deluxe Optimus Prime

[primalxconvoy]

I feel like Bumblebee is missing a piece, like a metal rod that connects the hood to the roof

That's due to to unhappy customers smashing those parts out with hammers...