The Energon Pub

[Nemesis Destron]

to celebrate the 1986 movie

So we can expect other '86 characters not yet released like Kup, Cyclonus, Galvatron...? As oppose to some that have recently been released...UM, Arcee, Springer.

Hot Rod, Kup, Blurr, Slag w/ Daniel, Grimlock w/ Wheelie, Jazz, Astrotrain, Gnaw and Scourge are rumored for Studio Series.

Cyclonus, Galvatron, Ultra Magnus (Earth Mode retool of Siege), and Rodimus Prime are rumored for Kingdom.

Holy crap that is quite the list ...thanks Sabrblade!!!

[Nemesis Primal]

We're getting a Studio Series release of Astrotrain!? This is the first I've heard of that.

According to this news post (unless a mistake was made).

Pretty sure one of the leakers clarified after the fact that Astrotrain in particular wasn't a new listing, but I don't remember who said it or the exact phrasing, so I may go track that back down.

[Seibertron]

"Everyone knows the only thing that matters is screen accuracy, and the best way to get screen accuracy is fake parts, how could anyone think otherwise."

I don't think your problem is "understanding," it seems like you can't even conceptualize that someone might care about other things. Personally, I don't consider robot mode appearance the most important factor. By that standard, RED would be the best. There are a lot of compromises in this figure to get that appearance. For example, instead of having a rear bumper, his knees are just hanging out the back. I would rather have stubbier legs or miscolored parts or something to have it look like an actual car.

After reading the discussion above, I went back and actually watched the transformation part of the video instead of just skipping around. I missed the part initially about the fake chest/hood of car. I'm not a big fan of it, but how it hides the vehicle mode hood away like Masterpiece Cheetor does with his real beast head, I think I'm OK with it. I would have preferred that the hood of the car actually transforms into his chest, and maybe have had his actual robot chest flip around somehow so that it's not on display from the underside, but I'll take this after several failed (and expensive) attempts at doing it the other way.

I do prefer non-faux parts. The Masterpiece Optimus Prime toys have driven me crazy that they can't figure out how to get the truck grill to become his abdomen. It used to be really simple back in 1984 ... I'd love to see that approach done again. And Seekers should always have their cockpits become their chests. There should never be a cheat for that.

Back to Studio Series Hot Rod though ... it looks good. I'm happy for what it is. Gives me hope that they can figure out how to do a Masterpiece Hot Rod right in 2026 given the past production timelines. But before that we need Masterpiece Blurr, Kup, Cyclonus, Scourge, Galvatron and the rest of the 86 cast. I'm good with no more licensed vehicle mode Masterpiece Transformers for a while so we can fill out our Masterpiece shelves with more main characters after patiently waiting for 16+ years.

[william-james88]

Ok so first of all, this was me watching the video:



Now, onto the comments

thats the most incredible non MP hotrod so far
now for kup and blur how well they will look

I preffer it to MP Hot Rod, especially with how solid the build is with the shoulders and how the back of the car goes into the legs. It makes for a cleaner backpack. Plus we don,t get a sense that we see his innards as much here and his silhouette is not distorted by useless kibble. I will be looking at my MP in a whole different light now.

Looks Cool, but not in my range of collecting. I am glad for those who are excited. I will make one observation however... I'm not sure where the idea started that SS 86 toys were intended for kingdom, but just wouldn't fit in that line up, but I think we can put that to rest. Like or hate them, it seems these toys were always intended for SS.

I feel the exact opposite. The amount of extra detailing make this much more like a WFC figure and we saw Cheetor and Balckarachnia, they don't have 5mm ports all over. This feels a lot more like a kingdom figure to me. Not saying you are wrong, but the fact that both you and I can use this video to confirm our theories means that it isn't straight cut one way or the other.

I'm just waiting for the Last Knight Hot Rod.

I don't have to wait, I have 2 of them. One from TLK toyline and the WWII version from Studio Series. Plus, the fact that my Lockdown is the SSLockdown means that the TLK Hotrod has a transformation and design that is fully unique to my collection.

I actually look at ER Prime and SS 86 Hotrod and see no similarities, they look like they belong in completely different lines because they are.

They are different designs from different eras and if Hot Rod was released in the Kingdom line then they still would be from 2 different lines. Once again, the same evidence you present can be interpreted against the idea that this was always for SS. Nothing is definitive.

Really thought I would see more complaints about how terrible the back of Hot Rod's car mode looks.

It bugged me as soon as I saw it, but then again it is a 30$ figure, there had to be some sacrifices, so I can't stay mad at that for too long.

I think Studio Series Hot Rod might be the first figure that I've ever thought ... "wow, this $20 Transformers toy looks way better than the $100+ Masterpiece figure."

It will be a $30 figure, but yeah, I too preffer it to the MP. And I am pretty sure the car mode closes up better.

[Emerje]

Only complaint I have so far, assuming the gaps in vehicle mode are a mistransformation, is that the yellow on the roof of the car mode should have been fixed. But fairly minor, and something that a little ReproLabels/ToyHax sticker can't take care of (not to mention some custom solution).

It's always annoying when they don't plan out the parts right and we end up with parts that are the wrong color. Makes me wonder if at some point they had intended to mold that sprue in his regular red and paint the spoiler yellow like some versions of the original Classics figure.

We're getting a Studio Series release of Astrotrain!? This is the first I've heard of that.

According to this news post (unless a mistake was made).

But will it actually triple change being a Studio Series figure? And will it come with tiny Decepticons?

Also, MP-01's grill is not fake.

It is. They don't even have the same patern.



Emerje

[Seibertron]

Also, MP-01's grill is not fake.

It is. They don't even have the same patern.

Since it's my photo that's being used, I'll attest that it is indeed a fake grill. Here's a pic of MP-01/04's underside for further proof:


Transformers Masterpiece Optimus Prime (MP-04) (Convoy (MP-04)) Gallery

"Masterpiece" I think not.

[william-james88]

Ok so we all got a good look at the first 86 movie outing to enter the Studio Series line, with the Hot Rod review. Right after, we got a grainy image of voyager Scourge, who will also be in this line. We first got a grainy image from Cybertron Philippines but Protoman spent 2 hours on photoshop to straighten it out and that is what you can see below. As you can see, it is much closer to the animation model than any Scourge we previously got. So, will you be getting it, will you army build, and more importantly, what will you do with all those other sweeps of yours?

[Sentinel_Primal]

I was originally only planning to get Hot Rod, Grimlock, and Slag, but Scourge looks really good. The wings are looking really nice

[Solrac333]

Ton Ton review in 3...2...1...

[Sabrblade]

It's unfortunate that his vehicle mode shell pieces just hang off his back unchanged like that instead of folding out to form flatter, more cape/cloak-like wings that his animation model, Titanium toy, and Generations toy all had.

[Percepter]

It's always annoying when they don't plan out the parts right and we end up with parts that are the wrong color. Makes me wonder if at some point they had intended to mold that sprue in his regular red and paint the spoiler yellow like some versions of the original Classics figure.

Agreed. I can't stand it when they just color a piece a random color for some reason, which I'm sure is due to poor planning, as you said.

Also, MP-01's grill is not fake.

It is. They don't even have the same patern.

Oof, you got me there. Shows how long it's been since I've transformed my MP-01. I know THS-02 uses the same grill in truck mode and bot mode, so I guess I was misremembering MP-01 due to that.

A thought:

If SS86 is meant to be a catchall for the movie figures who don't make it into WFCT, does this mean that Perceptor, Blaster, Blitzwing, and some of the other characters we haven't gotten in WFCT will show up in the SS86 line as well?

-Percepter

[Jeddostotle7]

A thought:

If SS86 is meant to be a catchall for the movie figures who don't make it into WFCT, does this mean that Perceptor, Blaster, Blitzwing, and some of the other characters we haven't gotten in WFCT will show up in the SS86 line as well?

-Percepter

One of the trustworthy leakers has said that, of the main 86 movie characters that didn't yet get toys in the WFC trilogy, all of them are getting updates in Kingdom and Studio Series 86… except for 1. Most people have interpreted that as Perceptor.

Now, what he meant by "main cast" wasn't initially entirely clear, but based on his clarification it probably means the ones that were actually, like, notable characters in more than a scene or two, meaning Blaster and Blitzeing probably don't qualify for his statement.

[Percepter]

One of the trustworthy leakers has said that, of the main 86 movie characters that didn't yet get toys in the WFC trilogy, all of them are getting updates in Kingdom and Studio Series 86… except for 1. Most people have interpreted that as Perceptor.

Now, what he meant by "main cast" wasn't initially entirely clear, but based on his clarification it probably means the ones that were actually, like, notable characters in more than a scene or two, meaning Blaster and Blitzeing probably don't qualify for his statement.

Blaster was introduced in the movie, and most people think of the movie when they think of him. I think he has enough presence to be considered "main cast".

-Percepter

[Wolfman Jake]

One of the trustworthy leakers has said that, of the main 86 movie characters that didn't yet get toys in the WFC trilogy, all of them are getting updates in Kingdom and Studio Series 86… except for 1. Most people have interpreted that as Perceptor.

Now, what he meant by "main cast" wasn't initially entirely clear, but based on his clarification it probably means the ones that were actually, like, notable characters in more than a scene or two, meaning Blaster and Blitzeing probably don't qualify for his statement.

Blaster was introduced in the movie, and most people think of the movie when they think of him. I think he has enough presence to be considered "main cast".

-Percepter

Blaster was introduced in Season 2, actually. It wasn't until the movie that any of his Mini Cassette partners were introduced, though, as they were all part of the 1986 toyline, while Blaster was part of the 1985 line-up.

[Jeddostotle7]

One of the trustworthy leakers has said that, of the main 86 movie characters that didn't yet get toys in the WFC trilogy, all of them are getting updates in Kingdom and Studio Series 86… except for 1. Most people have interpreted that as Perceptor.

Now, what he meant by "main cast" wasn't initially entirely clear, but based on his clarification it probably means the ones that were actually, like, notable characters in more than a scene or two, meaning Blaster and Blitzeing probably don't qualify for his statement.

Blaster was introduced in the movie, and most people think of the movie when they think of him. I think he has enough presence to be considered "main cast".

-Percepter

Blaster actually appears quite frequently in Season 2, even having a focus episode, Blaster Blues, as well as sharing main character status with Tracks for an episode or two. The 86 Movie was by no means his first appearance, though I do agree he is decently associated with it anyway. Still, he doesn't really appear in a whole lot of the movie. He only really speaks in one scene of the movie to my recollection, and doesn't appear visually much more than that. Compared to even someone like Perceptor, I don't think that's "main cast" status enough to qualify for what the leaker was talking about.

[chuckdawg1999]

I really hope Hot Rod is misstransformed in car mode, or there's some defect to the copy of the toy because those gaps really kill the toy for me. Everything else is perfect, for a deluxe. I hope they're not making voyagers that are smaller than other voyagers just for the sake of scale.

[ZeroWolf]

I really hope Hot Rod is misstransformed in car mode, or there's some defect to the copy of the toy because those gaps really kill the toy for me. Everything else is perfect, for a deluxe. I hope they're not making voyagers that are smaller than other voyagers just for the sake of scale.

While he's scaled to deluxe level, its the accessories and parts count that push him over to the Voyager price point

[Emerje]

I really hope Hot Rod is misstransformed in car mode, or there's some defect to the copy of the toy because those gaps really kill the toy for me. Everything else is perfect, for a deluxe. I hope they're not making voyagers that are smaller than other voyagers just for the sake of scale.

I'm positive he didn't connect the front right, you can see how it's supposed to come together. He was either being extra careful, it's broken, or it came off the QC reject pile and just wont stay together.

The price is unfortunate, but it's not the first time a Deluxe SS figure cost more for coming with more. SS Drift with the Baby Dinobots cost $26.99 and I would say Hot Rod is a much more impressive figure, though I don't think his accessory count is all that great and probably has little to do with his price.

Emerje

[william-james88]

I hope they're not making voyagers that are smaller than other voyagers just for the sake of scale.

They've been doing that for 2 years now.

[-Kanrabat-]

I hope they're not making voyagers that are smaller than other voyagers just for the sake of scale.

They've been doing that for 2 years now.

As long that the "meat" if the figure match the price point if it's class, I'm fine with it.

[DMSL]

I will probably stick with my Legends Headmaster Scourge and Sweeps.

[Mindmaster]

Hot Rod and Scourge look rad as hell, but Christ I’m tired of all these leaks. Leave some for PulseCon for chrissakes.

[Percepter]

Blaster actually appears quite frequently in Season 2, even having a focus episode, Blaster Blues, as well as sharing main character status with Tracks for an episode or two. The 86 Movie was by no means his first appearance, though I do agree he is decently associated with it anyway. Still, he doesn't really appear in a whole lot of the movie. He only really speaks in one scene of the movie to my recollection, and doesn't appear visually much more than that. Compared to even someone like Perceptor, I don't think that's "main cast" status enough to qualify for what the leaker was talking about.

Oof, I thought that was in season 3. I still think that he counts as main cast. He got a lot more screentime than Jazz did.

-Percepter

[Sabrblade]

Blaster actually appears quite frequently in Season 2, even having a focus episode, Blaster Blues, as well as sharing main character status with Tracks for an episode or two. The 86 Movie was by no means his first appearance, though I do agree he is decently associated with it anyway. Still, he doesn't really appear in a whole lot of the movie. He only really speaks in one scene of the movie to my recollection, and doesn't appear visually much more than that. Compared to even someone like Perceptor, I don't think that's "main cast" status enough to qualify for what the leaker was talking about.

Oof, I thought that was in season 3. I still think that he counts as main cast. He got a lot more screentime than Jazz did.

-Percepter

Season 3 didn't have any of the 1985 Autobot Cars in it. And Blaster never made it into space during the movie; he was left behind at Autobot City when the two Autobot shuttles launched, and didn't reappear again until the very last scene of the movie with Rodimus Prime's speech on Cybertron. He completely missed out on all the Quintessa, Junk, and Unicron stuff in the movie.

[Lexomatic]

Color me provisionally impressed, given the limitations of a single image.

Pluses: Face sculpt and coloring, bodily proportions, the wings adequately evoke the shape of the G1 animation model. Waist swivel?

Potential minuses avoided: The limbs aren't hollow, only two screws(?) are visible (at the upper tips of the wings), the hex-sockets (on the forearms) aren't intrusive nor the unavoidable design-for-assembly rectangular gaps (biceps and thighs), it's not *obviously* a shellformer (but there might be additional backpack-panels obscured by this angle).

Potential for customizers: Sculpted detail that can be enhanced with an ink-wash or panel-lining marker, toes have a straight edge so can be masked/painted pink to match the animation model.