The Energon Pub

[Seibertron]

I think the 3 new cassettes look terrible from their animal shapes to the gaping wholes in their cassette forms.

Soundwave looks pretty good though. Only things that bother me about him are his upper shoulders and the tabs on top of his cannons. Both of which id consider to be minor issues. Other than that, he looks fantastic.

[Tyrannacon]

Went ahead and pre-ordered Soundwave, it's good to see Studio Series 86 get him as a release. Hopefully the issues in the stock photo are easier to deal with in person or resolved altogether. I admit, I kinda like how they did this version of Ravage too.

[M. Spector]

Soundwave has me really split, the Legacy Leader one looks pretty nice, but im just not sure i could hunt it down at this point without it costing an arm and a leg. Comparing that to the new SS though .. it does seem like the SS one comes out on top in terms of really nailing that clean tapedeck mode, no shade to Legacy but for Gods sake it still has the hover barge landing gear on the bottom of his arms!

[-Kanrabat-]

Soundwave has me really split, the Legacy Leader one looks pretty nice, but im just not sure i could hunt it down at this point without it costing an arm and a leg. Comparing that to the new SS though .. it does seem like the SS one comes out on top in terms of really nailing that clean tapedeck mode, no shade to Legacy but for Gods sake it still has the hover barge landing gear on the bottom of his arms!

If you don't own the Legacy "leader" or Netflix Soundwave, this SS one is your sure bet. No Siege scars and a better streamlined everything.

[Till-all-R1]

As someone who bought the Legacy leader Soundwave I now wish it had come with laserbeak instead of Ravage then I'd have both it and Buzzsaw in the versions I want. Being that I don't like the new versions that is. Because now I'll be one short . I really thought they'd reissue Laserbeak before doing an all new one so now I'll have to try and track down that old two pack that's too expensive that also has a ravage I don't like.
I mean I'd have much rather seen Eject and Rewind updated over the birds, so that they matched Frenzy and Rumble.

[Emerje]

Thought I could avoid buying Legacy Leader Soundwave, but I guess I need one if I want a proper Buzzsaw. The cost cutting on these tapes is pretty horrendous.

Emerje

[chuckdawg1999]

Thought I could avoid buying Legacy Leader Soundwave, but I guess I need one if I want a proper Buzzsaw. The cost cutting on these tapes is pretty horrendous.

Emerje

If it meant having better tapes with integrated weapons, I would've preferred them to be sold separately.

[Rodimus Prime]

Thought I could avoid buying Legacy Leader Soundwave, but I guess I need one if I want a proper Buzzsaw. The cost cutting on these tapes is pretty horrendous.

Same here. I like Ravage from the new set, but the birds are unacceptable. If I get both SS86 and Legacy, they are staying in tape mode inside both Soundwaves' chests.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Definitely interested in Soundwave. The gaps in the tape modes... I think it's as much minmaxing on the cartoon robot modes above all else as it is cost-cutting, at least for the birds. The tape mode gaps don't bug me nearly as much as Ravage's back tumor weapon mount does (maybe they should have left Ravage for a separate release and given the resources to the birds). But hey, even with the back tumor and the gappy tape mode this Ravage still makes a much better Ravage than the Siege version.

Soundwave himself looks excellent. I had no real interest in the Netflix/Legacy Soundwave: his tape deck mode only really holds up from the front due to still having the Siege figure's arm transformation (tbh the clean look from the front is the only real improvement over the kit-enhanced version of the Siege one's fan mode) and apparently doesn't sit well, plus he's got some other vestigial Siege parts that undercut the look I was honestly more inclined towards kitbashing a G1 Soundwave (either my current one, or a reissue since mine's a bit shonky and has the original tape door that I've had to re-glue umpteen times), which would also scale a tad more favorably. But now that we have this guy coming, I think I can scrap those plans. Hopefully we see a Soundblaster version too.

The greed+tariff price hikes are aggravating. But he's worth it to me. I like him a lot better than Megatron. Megatron is... frustrating. The robot mode looks really, really good. But the tank mode looks mostly like just a bog standard Earth tank, and transforms in such a way that the Walther barrel on his back in robot mode has to partsform. I wish they'd gotten a bit more creative - have his upper body transform basically like the G1 toy but as a tank turret, and have the legs be solely responsible for forming the hull and treads (without too much worry about making it resemble a normal tank); this would have avoided needing to partsform the barrel (and made it more feasible to customize him into the proper altmode if desired). The robot mode is amazing, but the transformation is frustrating. I'll probably still end up getting him, unless I miss my chance to get him at/near retail price. Because past that point the smegging scalper markup would mean I may as well just save up for Newage Romulus.

[william-james88]

Yikes, voyagers in the US are now going to be $43 before taxes?!?!

That’s $60 CAD. Meanwhile preorder prices in Canada will stay the same

[william-james88]

The recent price hike on Transformers was pretty massive, with the voyager price point going from $34.99 to $42.99, in the US, which is a whopping 23% increase. This is the highest increase we've seen since the Generations line began and fans across the globe were wondering if this was just in the US, due to their new tariff policies, or if Hasbro would raise prices everywhere to make up certain losses.

Well , it seems that for now MSRPs outside the US are staying the same. Alpha Trion is a great example as there are 2 upcoming voyager class Alpha Trions coming our way, one in Age of the Primes, which was already up for preorder, and one in Studio Series, that is part of the new batch of preorders with the new price. As you can see from images below:
the MSRP in France (EU) is remaining at €35.82 ($39.75 USD)
the MSRP in the UK is remaining at £29.16 ($39.39 USD)
the MSRP in Canada is remaining at $47.99 CAD ($34.44 USD)

As you can see, all those prices are lower than the $43 USD MSRP the US now has. Here's hoping that MSRP is temporary but prices have rarely ever gone down. Are your collecting habits going to change, with this new MSRP? Especially when the lack of stock in stores makes a waiting for a sale futile for most figures.

[kurthy]

Mine are definitely going to change. Going to drastically scale back on anything not a combiner and even those I'll be hesitant on.

Also, it seems that US prices were previously much lower than EU and UK prices. Seems like the price difference has just been flipped. Previously EU and UK were overpaying by over 3USD compared to US, now US is overpaying by over 3USD compared to EU and UK. But there costs include VAT, here there's still state sales tax to pay.

[Till-all-R1]

Fortunately I'm at the tail end of my collecting this line once Powerglide comes out and they update a couple older G1 characters. Still holding out hope for a better Astrotrain and Octane but at this point if it doesn't happen oh well.
My Transformers display case it almost completely full with no room left, particularly the Autobot shelf. I still might pick up a random Decepticon to fill out the ranks and that shelf otherwise 2026 will be my last year.

[william-james88]

Mine are definitely going to change. Going to drastically scale back on anything not a combiner and even those I'll be hesitant on.

Also, it seems that US prices were previously much lower than EU and UK prices. Seems like the price difference has just been flipped. Previously EU and UK were overpaying by over 3USD compared to US, now US is overpaying by over 3USD compared to EU and UK. But there costs include VAT, here there's still state sales tax to pay.

That’s an excellent point, the disparity is greater since the UK price includes the sales tax while the US price does not.

[megatran]

As a tangent topic, I'm seeing retail theft of everything, but notably toy isles that I frequent on a weekly basis. Transformers figures ripped out of the packaging.. Supposedly the high cost of living crisis is perhaps to blame. I'm from Australia.

Peeps also seeing this elsewhere around the globe? Would higher toy prices in US lead to more theft???

[-Kanrabat-]

As a tangent topic, I'm seeing retail theft of everything, but notably toy isles that I frequent on a weekly basis. Transformers figures ripped out of the packaging.. Supposedly the high cost of living crisis is perhaps to blame. I'm from Australia.

Peeps also seeing this elsewhere around the globe? Would higher toy prices in US lead to more theft???

Nah. People usually do not steal because they are "poor."
They steal because they are dicks.

[Emerje]

Stuff has been pretty crazy as far as the swapping goes. Someone even posted a pic of an AotP Voyager (can't remember which) being replaced with an Animated Blackarachnia which is worth much more than $35.

And it's not just in stores, lots of people have claimed they've gotten swapped figures from Amazon.

Emerje

[-Kanrabat-]

Stuff has been pretty crazy as far as the swapping goes. Someone even posted a pic of an AotP Voyager (can't remember which) being replaced with an Animated Blackarachnia which is worth much more than $35.

And it's not just in stores, lots of people have claimed they've gotten swapped figures from Amazon.

Emerje

That's still a thing?
Well, at least it's not a bee hive nor oranges.

[Ig89ninja]

Please, Hasbro, PLEASE release Sky-byte to my local stores before the tariffs hit, I’M BEGGING YOU!!!

All I’ve been getting for the past three months are Red Alert!

[Omegatron.]

Alpha Trion shows as £32.99 for me ($44.39). I assume the prices you are seeing don't include VAT.

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[Cheetron]

I am officially done. I couldn't afford the already high prices and hald cut back dramatically. Now, I'm done. Unless a figure really, really grabs my attention and the reviews are good. Now I watch multiple reviews before any purchase.

[EvasionModeBumblebee]

Went back and completely redid my custom Studio Series ROTF Jolt, removing my original hand-painted base layer that was super uneven looking. Replaced it with a spray metallic blue that I'm much happier with, and took the opportunity to improve my detail work! I had briefly considered using this blue for the upcoming TLK Barricade, but after looking through footage again, I think it'll have to be a darker blue for that figure.

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[-Kanrabat-]

Oh yeah, now that's NICE!

[megatran]

Went back and completely redid my custom Studio Series ROTF Jolt, removing my original hand-painted base layer that was super uneven looking. Replaced it with a spray metallic blue that I'm much happier with, and took the opportunity to improve my detail work! I had briefly considered using this blue for the upcoming TLK Barricade, but after looking through footage again, I think it'll have to be a darker blue for that figure.

Jolt bot main.jpg

Jolt bot side.jpg

Jolt alt main.jpg

Jolt alt R.jpg

Awesome. Really pops.
What brand spray did you use, if you don't mind me asking. Thanks.

[EvasionModeBumblebee]

Oh yeah, now that's NICE!

Thank you!

Awesome. Really pops.
What brand spray did you use, if you don't mind me asking. Thanks.

Thanks! It’s Tamiya TS-19 Metallic blue, I have a full list of the other paints I used as well on my customs page!