Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

[ZeroWolf]

Maybe he likes it for the reasons he gave. You may not agree with them but it's his opinion. I quite the ss op as well, people with it in hand do say it's fun to handle and that's enough for me

[Carnivius_Prime]

Why do you hate the backpack that at least somewhat resembles the backpack from the movies? Studio Series' Optimus' is COMPLETELY wrong. On top of that, his leg tires are reversed from where they should be, his window pecs end up oriented too flat and have too large a gap between them, the hood sections/faux hood sections in his chest seem to be tucked in too far, the big hinges on either side of his torso make it look too blocky, and his truck mode's bed is ugly as heck - it looks more like something a legion-class figure would be forced to have. The most I can say for him in his favor is that the arms are more accurate-looking.

I find the backpack on the Battle Blade mold far too fiddly and difficult to lock into place (on mine the slightest touch and that whole red wheel-arch section falls down) and because of that design it has no waist articulation (Studio Prime does since nothing needs to connect from the crotch/butt area to the torso other than the actual waist joint)

The Battle Blade figure's transformation scheme puts everything about where it should be, has a better-looking chest and torso shape, looks way better in truck mode due to having a proper truck bed... The awkwardness of the forearms could easily be dealt with by eliminating the sword integration.

It's not the swords that cause the most problems, it's the huge truck hood panels and the shoulder pads that aren't actually connected to the shoulders where they should but are actually fixed to the upper arms. Plus those shoulder panels are still very wrong being that they are flat panels (wheras Studio Prime has proper three dimensional shoulder pads). I also really dislike the hands since they are molded with a rectangular hole meaning he can hold his own (weird looking fuel tank) guns but not much else. I prefer Studio Prime having the swords as seperate pieces you insert into the hands from underneath and it using the 5mm standard so that Prime can hole a lot more different weapons too (or let someone else use his swords just for fun). Plus I like that his swords are plastic and transparent rather than bendy rubber.

Battle Blade/Revenge certainly has the more accurate truck mode but I often find it such a chore to change it into that mode and back again it sometimes doesn't seem worth it so if I am to keep mine I may just leave it in truck mode.

And again the fun factor in Studio Prime wins it for me. He's non-fiddly, he's well proportioned, has superb articulation (even the soles of his feet can touch each other almost flatly) and his large feet and good centre of balance means he can even stand on one foot pretty easily for some nice action poses.

[ZeroWolf]

Have you touched up the paint work on any of the other studio figures yet like megs?

[Carnivius_Prime]

Have you touched up the paint work on any of the other studio figures yet like megs?

Nope. I didn't want to start on Megatron yet cos I'm very low on silvery paint and don't want to leave him hanging with just a lil paint on him (he's one of my fave figures) and he's a big guy with a looottt of grey areas to cover. :O He still looks rather cool as he is though whereas Prime really needed a bit of colour fixing up to bring out his awesomeness and I'm pleased with it despite my lack of skills.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Girlfriend will be here soon, so probs won't get to play with this guy till next week, but so far I am loving him.

[Carnivius_Prime]

Girlfriend will be here soon, so probs won't get to play with this guy till next week, but so far I am loving him.

Does look cool. I'll have to wait til I can find that one cheaper.

[Hellscream9999]

In case anyone's interested, hts has voyager megatron and brawl in stock to purchase as of right now, dunno how long they'll last though

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Girlfriend will be here soon, so probs won't get to play with this guy till next week, but so far I am loving him.

Does look cool. I'll have to wait til I can find that one cheaper.

Got him for $32 on Wednesday night with that 20% off Ebay coupon coupled with HTS Ebay having him for 20% off! I would have paid the $50 for him, but $32 makes him even better cause I feel like I stole him

[Carnivius_Prime]

Got him for $32 on Wednesday night with that 20% off Ebay coupon coupled with HTS Ebay having him for 20% off! I would have paid the $50 for him, but $32 makes him even better cause I feel like I stole him

I keep getting outbid on eBay on Blackouts that have a low starting price as they get bid more than I can afford. I can't go very high as have spent a lot of money on Studio figures the past couple months so Megatron that I got a week and half ago probably has to be my last one for a while til my bank balance is ok again.

Anyways enjoy your Blackout. He looks awesome in that pic.

[-Kanrabat-]

Got him for $32 on Wednesday night with that 20% off Ebay coupon coupled with HTS Ebay having him for 20% off! I would have paid the $50 for him, but $32 makes him even better cause I feel like I stole him

I keep getting outbid on eBay on Blackouts that have a low starting price as they get bid more than I can afford. I can't go very high as have spent a lot of money on Studio figures the past couple months so Megatron that I got a week and half ago probably has to be my last one for a while til my bank balance is ok again.

Anyways enjoy your Blackout. He looks awesome in that pic.

Too bad you're not in Canada. Currently SS Blackout and Grimlock are on sale at 52$CAN. Add one of those 3 TrU Club coupons for Hasbro products bought at TrU (20$ off when spending 50$+)(Buy 2 get the 3rd free)(10% off) and you can get a Blackout for very cheap.

[Ironhidensh]

Well, I used the Hasbro Toy Shop deal, and went on and got Brawl.

[Autobot Roadburn]

Sorry if I missed any but I haven’t seen pictures of Brawl on here yet. I managed to snag him and Megatron for $30 each off Amazon the other day and they got here this afternoon. They finally managed to get Megatron’s head sculpt right after what, 9 years? I love it. He’s also massive, looks appropriately threatening and imposing next to Prime. To be honest I think Brawl is more fun though - a bit less fiddly and a nicer looking tank. I love the detail all over him but especially on his face, I never knew he had a toothy little mouth under that faceplate until I got him and looked super close at movie stills. The panels under his hands are a bummer but I’m calling him one of my favorites from Studio Series as of now. I’ll get some more pictures of these guys with all their Con buddies later once they’re all in robot mode again.

*edit: of course half the pictures are upside down. Really have to figure out how my phone camera works

[Wolfman Jake]

Found both Brawl and Megatron today at a local Target store. It's the one in downtown St. Paul along University Ave., if any Twin Cities goers are interested. They were the last two of each on the shelf, but there may be more. I also spotted a lone Megatron at the T1 Target in Roseville. I haven't had a chance to open either figure up yet, but I'm excited! I'll post my opinions once I've had some time to transform them back and forth.

[-Kanrabat-]

Sorry if I missed any but I haven’t seen pictures of Brawl on here yet.

You kids can't go through 77 pages of posts to check? There's plenty of pictures so read back you lazy bum! Back in my days we had the will to.................................
....................
...............................................not bothering either TBH.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

@Carnivus_Prime That's fair enough, but I would like to clarify something.
I wasn't saying they should have just reissued Battle Blades Optimus for the Studio Series. Good grief, no. What I was saying is that instead of reinventing the wheel, they could have and in my opinion should have shrunk and refined his design because it was more accurate and just needed some polish for better balance, articulation, and ease of transformation. I'm sure the SS Optimus we got is very fun, he certainly looks it! But he bugs the crap out of me visually. The backpack, the chest being off, and especially the wheels being in the wrong places on his legs from where they should be - seriously, wtf is with that.
And then the truck mode.. Dear gods that truck mode and the complete lack of a bed... Even the Dark of the Moon Mechtech Voyager had a better-looking truck bed than that... That is the worst of it by far. I could tolerate the rest if it wasn't for that, but with that on top of everything else... it just looks so janky from what I've seen.
Idk, maybe if I found him on sale I'd pick him up

[Carnivius_Prime]

@Carnivus_Prime That's fair enough, but I would like to clarify something.
I wasn't saying they should have just reissued Battle Blades Optimus for the Studio Series. Good grief, no. What I was saying is that instead of reinventing the wheel, they could have and in my opinion should have shrunk and refined his design

I knew what you were saying but perhaps he had already been shrunk down enough to work well at all as it had been based very much on the much larger RotF Leader figure and some of the downsizing resulted in noticable downgrades (the tiny feet on the voyager being one notable example). And it still had some glaring issues I'm not sure they could fix without a total redesign anyways. I always hated those flat inaccurate shoulder pads whether on the RotF Leader or MPM but they're far worse on the Battle Blade because, as mentioned before, they're actually attached to the upper arms rather than the shoulder and so look even more disjointed that on the larger figures and get in the way of articulation particularly when combined with those extremely large truck hood panels on the lower arms (another casualty of the downsizing). And that truck bed kibble connecting to the back pack from underneath his crotch is pretty poor (especially as mine doesn't even stay connected to the backpack very well) as it looks messy and meant no waist articulation. And the chest area is a fiddly annoyance too particularly when transforming. The truck mode is fantastic for sure but the robot mode, for me at least, has far too many issues to make it a fun toy for actually playing with and posing and I can understand many of the flaws of the Studio figure that perhaps had to be done to make it a more enjoyable and practical action figure product over all. I've currently got four different Voyager class movie Prime figures (Studio, Revenge, AoE, TLK) and none of them are perfect but they all have some really great things going for them. But the three most recent ones all needed paint and stickers cos Hasbro sure been 'lazy' in that area. For the most recognisable name in the entire franchise you'd think they could splash out a bit on his paintwork...

Too bad you're not in Canada. Currently SS Blackout and Grimlock are on sale at 52$CAN. Add one of those 3 TrU Club coupons for Hasbro products bought at TrU (20$ off when spending 50$+)(Buy 2 get the 3rd free)(10% off) and you can get a Blackout for very cheap.

Oddly enough I was supposed to move there but plans fell through due to the passing of my grandad a couple years ago who had lived there for decades.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

I didn't just say shrinking the design (though on that note, downsizing from Voyager to slightly smaller Voyager is nowhere near as extreme as downsizing from Leader to Voyager and HasTak engineering has advanced over the past 8 years.), I also said refining it. Here's a list:
* Changing where the paldron panels are hinged to be more like the Leader or changing them entirely to be as they are on the present Studio Series figure. Relocating actual flat panels elsewhere (ideally somewhere unobtrusive, maybe tucking them into the torso)
* In an earlier post I mentioned not needing to integrate the swords would improve the forearms. Allow to elaborate: Without the need for the forearm hood panels to act as mounts and scabbards for the swords, they'd be free to fold in half.
* Alternatively, you could cut some length off the forearm hood panels, and turn the fake hood panel abs into real hood panels (with the "front part of them folding out to tab into the arms... or being what they tab onto when attaching to the chest)
* Throw out the matrix storage to make room to tuck the smokestacks into the torso like on screen
* Eliminate the use of the gas tanks as weapons so that they can fold into their proper position on the back
* Larger or double pegs for the rear fenders, in accurate positions
* Making the hitch tuck into his pelvis (like on the ROTF Leader) or torso instead of it being his skidplate, I think the engineering team can pull that off nowadays
* Same for this one: Making the feet properly duplicate those of the ROTF Leader figure.
* 5mm hole hands, just like the Studio Series Optimus that exists

When I bring up the truck mode.. It's less about the BB Optimus' truck mode looking good (although it does) and more about the Studio Series version's truck mode not even looking passable. Even DotM Voyager Optimus and his wonky proportions managed quasi-decent truck bed (though hoo boy are those some outsize fuel tanks)

Autobot Roadburn, your pics are the right way up when viewed full size. And they're quite lovely.

[Autobot Roadburn]

Autobot Roadburn, your pics are the right way up when viewed full size. And they're quite lovely.

Well thank you! Just got all my Studio Series Cons put together in one shot, I love these guys. I’ll get a better shot once I clear out some space. Also rewatched the firest battle from RotF last night and seeing Megatron on screen gave me a whole new appreciation for the Studio voyager, the likeness and attention to detail are incredible.

I do have to admit I like Studio Prime better than Battle Blades myself, mostly because BB is a bit rough to transform (I felt like I had to force some bits on mine during transformation) and I’m super picky on head sculpts, so I think the Studio is particularly better in that regard. I agree neither is perfect though, but I’m satisfied enough for now with Studio Prime.

[EvasionModeBumblebee]

I was taking a look at my '07 voyager Blackout and noticed two screws holding the main rotor assembly to the rest of the weapon, which gave me an idea.

Now, he can't actually hold this very well (a slight breeze would knock it off in the picture), but at least it looks pretty cool!

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Now if only the original ROTF Leader Megatron could have had that likeness and attention to detail... But no, it was far more important to the fleabrained execs that he have electronics (which also worked to the detriment of Movie 1 Leader Megs and ROTF Leader Jetfire) and a missile!

Also, congrats on owning Thundercracker

I look forward to the better picture. Also, would you mind taking some pics to show off Megatron's sword?

I personally don't mind the ROTF Leader Prime transformation (which I can only imagine Battle Blades is very similar just without the threat of the swords popping out mid-transformation), but I'm certainly not saying Battle Blades Optimus is better than Studio Series Optimus. What I'm saying is "I wish Studio Series Optimus was more accurate and had a less janky truck mode, and I think that could have been pulled off by refining and slightly shrinking the Battle Blades Optimus design". Because as he is... He feels like a let-down compared to the care put into the rest of the line.

[Carnivius_Prime]

I didn't just say shrinking the design (though on that note, downsizing from Voyager to slightly smaller Voyager is nowhere near as extreme as downsizing from Leader to Voyager and HasTak engineering has advanced over the past 8 years.), I also said refining it.

I didn't say just shrinking it either! I was saying that when they took the basic design of the RotF Leader and downsized it there were obvious compromises that had to be made and for all we know Hasbro/Takara probably went through them all (I'd love to see their design notes and stuff for some of these figures) and perhaps looked at the Battle Blade figure when designing the Studio and thought maybe Battle Blade was as far as they could get with that engineering and budget and size (point below about that) and settled on trying an all new, much more transformation-friendly toy?

* Same for this one: Making the feet properly duplicate those of the ROTF Leader figure.

Just picking this one out as example of that they probably changed how it worked on the BB cos that one was a section of the Leader figure likely too complex to even simulate well at the Battle Blade size and so definitely wouldn't work at Studio size. Perhaps they even tried it before having to ditch it and go for the tiny feet option the figure was released with. Most of the changes you suggest sound like yet more fiddly steps in an already fiddly transformation.

I understand many of your points but at the end of all this I have both of these figures and I just get a heck of a lot more enjoyment and satisfaction from the Studio figure cos it's one I can pick up, pose, transform without any frustration or annoyance. And while the BB truck is more accurate I disagree with the bit about the Studio truck not looking passable. It certainly looks like a truck. The only bits letting it down are the feet on the back, and the short smokestacks. The latter can likely be fixed with some sort of addon stack extenders to slide onto the current stacks, and the feet? Well they have a hole molded into them for a trailer so that's appreciated by me at least. Some chrome on the grill, stacks and sun visor would have been nice too but eh that's the least of the figure's paint issues.

I personally don't mind the ROTF Leader Prime transformation (which I can only imagine Battle Blades is very similar just without the threat of the swords popping out mid-transformation), but I'm certainly not saying Battle Blades Optimus is better than Studio Series Optimus. What I'm saying is "I wish Studio Series Optimus was more accurate and had a less janky truck mode, and I think that could have been pulled off by refining and slightly shrinking the Battle Blades Optimus design". Because as he is... He feels like a let-down compared to the care put into the rest of the line.

Only figure I've felt let down by in the line out of the eight I own is Grimlock and that's mainly cos of the back end of his dino mode. I wasn't expecting to like Studio Prime much cos his poor colour layout made him look unappealing in early photos (but then Evasion Prime had a crappy colour layout too and people liked him) but he's become my fave figure of him I've ever owned (and as said before I still currently own four Voyager figures of him). And like Evasion Prime (perhaps even moreso?) he just poses so damn well.

If they do make another one then maybe it'll be able to mix the positives of both these figures? Perhaps that one would be more to your liking as you are hoping. Who knows? All I do know is I've had a lot more fun with the Studio figure compared to the BB mold and it really suprised me how much I like it despite it's flaws (especially after adding some paint to help the mold look the way it was probably designed to have been before the paint budget went screwy). Feels like even in non-MP lines like this you get some Transformer figures that are best as display pieces and some that are very functional and fun as the toys they claim to be. I find the BB as the former and Studio as the latter.

Anyways me tired. Time for sleeps.

I was taking a look at my '07 voyager Blackout and noticed two screws holding the main rotor assembly to the rest of the weapon, which gave me an idea.

Now, he can't actually hold this very well (a slight breeze would knock it off in the picture), but at least it looks pretty cool!

That does look cool.

Ok night.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

It's the highly visible feet that kill the truck mode for me. That's like, Movie 1 Legends Jazz levels of bad. Maybe paint would help it? But as-is.. Yeesh. I mean, even the DotM Deluxe managed to avoid doing that.

I agree that those changes I propose add more steps to an already-complex transformation, I guess I just don't really mind convoluted transformations when it comes to Bayformers - to my thinking, they kinda come with the territory.
But then, I'm a freak who enjoys transforming ROTF Leader Prime to truck mode, so... *shrug*

I may still get Studio Series Optimus to be my Voyager Movie Optimus, especially since scale with the Studio Series is the entire reason I even want a Voyager-class Movie Optimus in the first place (otherwise I would be sticking to Leader-class), I just wish the chest windows were better positioned and especially that they had hid the feet better in truck mode. There is at least still a trailer hitch, so I suppose I can make a trailer to hide them that way if paint doesn't help.

I hope to get some good photos of my Studio Series Blackout up soon. Going to do some solo shots and some group shots with my other movieverse Decepticons.

[Wolfman Jake]

I suppose this is as good a time and place as any to ask this question, but what are people's preferences for "definitive" versions of the movie characters? Many of the recurring characters have had more than one (sometimes several) different looks throughout the franchise. Some of these are more subtle, like updates to Bumblebee during the first three movies based on whatever the latest Camero Chevy wants to sell. Others are much more pronounced, like Megatron's different forms for every single movie he's been in. Do people want every version of a character in the new Studio Series, or will you be getting just one "definitive" version of each character?

[EvasionModeBumblebee]

I suppose this is as good a time and place as any to ask this question, but what are people's preferences for "definitive" versions of the movie characters? Many of the recurring characters have had more than one (sometimes several) different looks throughout the franchise. Some of these are more subtle, like updates to Bumblebee during the first three movies based on whatever the latest Camero Chevy wants to sell. Others are much more pronounced, like Megatron's different forms for every single movie he's been in. Do people want every version of a character in the new Studio Series, or will you be getting just one "definitive" version of each character?

For most of them I'm just getting one version, like Optimus and Ratchet (waiting for DOTM versions of both), but I'll buy any and all versions of Bumblebee that they make.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

I suppose this is as good a time and place as any to ask this question, but what are people's preferences for "definitive" versions of the movie characters? Many of the recurring characters have had more than one (sometimes several) different looks throughout the franchise. Some of these are more subtle, like updates to Bumblebee during the first three movies based on whatever the latest Camero Chevy wants to sell. Others are much more pronounced, like Megatron's different forms for every single movie he's been in. Do people want every version of a character in the new Studio Series, or will you be getting just one "definitive" version of each character?

I don't really have a definitive version of any character. To me, this line is more about filling in gaps in my collection or making a character I have a better/more appropriate mold/size, or giving a 2nd figure to a character that only has 1 representation in my collection that isn't in his normal color scheme.