The Energon Pub

[D-Maximal_Primal]

I am happy to finally have pictures of this guy, but I really just don't care about him. I will of course be getting him to go with the collection, but there is nothing special about him and the red head just looks bad.
Fingers crossed we get some real studio series leaks/reveals soon. I am holding out hope that grindor is upscaled and not just a repaint. But with all the budget going into making the G1 dinobots, I don't have much hope for this sadly. Still holding out for a leader class The Fallen and the rest of the movie dinobots also, but we need to please the G1 man-children people first

It's not that I'm forgetting anything... It's that I can recognize that the figures I listed have clearly been designed with a different aesthetic. I don't really care if timing, budget, or anything else factored into the differences... My point is that there are differences, and it seems to me that these could have been incorporated for other figures such as UM. Not to mention, part of this difference other than "smoothing" is the attention to detail and at least attempted screen accuracy. I'm not seeing this with Magnus. And I have no reason to be bias either way. This is based on pretty objective observation.

I do agree that it seems logical that the last couple Dinobots will end up in another line...
But there is rumor that SS86 will continue into 2022.
Then maybe this could happen:
Leader (Sludge, Snarl, or Swoop)
Voyager Blitzwing
Voyager Blaster
3 Deluxe Insecticons

Quoting both of these to finally give some brutally honest opinions now that I do not have a staff position tied to my name and thus cannot piss off the supreme overlord of seiber-land.

SS86 was a mistake, a brutal stupid mistake, all because of G1 addiction, and encouragement from those like the owner of this site. We did not need to celebrate a "35th anniversary", and we still don't. Kingdom could easily have been a Beast Wars 25th celebration and would have been enjoyed as such.

SS could have kept going and maybe have finished the 6 live action casts this year, at worst early next year, tying it off with a neat bow.

In both cases, we needed 10+ G1 toys a wave, and guess what? It's overload, it's bland, and it isn't stopping. It's why I have tired of this hobby a good bit in the past year. It is straight up burnout.

Movie Dinobots are a recent example: Grimlock was wave 1 2018, the first leader, and at a minimum it will be 2022 before we get a 2nd dinobot, and we only need 3 more. Instead, 2 of the 3 SS leader slots have been taking up starting a 2nd dinobot line that honestly could have been in the next Generations line after WFC, complete with selects diaclone repaints or whatever you do. And thus we continue with incomplete subgroups: dinobots, Wreckers, TLK Crew. How hard is it to finish these groups? Come on.

Stop trying to force more G1 into SS. Stop. Frikkin Stop. Let it be 2 off-chance thingies because of the G1 boner. Since 2013, we have a full team of good in-scale insecticons, 2 Blitzwings, 2 Blasters, 3 Magnus', etc. I get tired of wanting to talk about Dino or whoever you may and then spending a page reading about Kup's ugly face again and again. If I wanted to actually read all that, I'd go to the Siege or Earthrise thread.

Let's finish the live action lines the way they were supposed to be, and end it. Just finish the cast. Don't throw more in. Don't drag this out. Actually complete something for a change.

And I don't want to hear anything about hate. I don't hate G1. I'm just so sick of and over it, completely burned out. I want to not read about a character/toy that existed in the 80s. So don't even make a joke about how we need an Optimus Prime to heal us of a hate plague once again.

[-Kanrabat-]

Well, it's true that we're kinda in a G1 overdose............... and I LOVE it!
As much that I'd really like to have the full crew of AoE Dinobots done in the style and paint of the awesome first leader Grimlock, I'm pretty exited to have the whole G1 crew of Dinobots in proper scale at an AFFORDABLE price. No need for 300$+ third party figures.

Speaking of which, I finally got SS86 Hotrod. He's the tiniest "voyager" I've ever gotten. And honestly, turn the clock 10 years and he would have been a deluxe even with the same parts count. Still, by today's standard the little guy pack a LOT. And seriously, he make both previous Masterpiece Hotrod completely irrelevant. Well worth it's full price.

[Emerje]

I've long felt SS86 should have had its own topic here in the forum. Sometimes when I'm reading about things like Slag and then see a post about Bee movie Starscream I get a bit of whiplash going from one extreme to another.

Personally I don't think SS86 is the root of problems with SS, to me it feels like the natural evolution of the line. BUT maybe it came too soon and looking at anniversaries was a limitation that Hasbro set themselves. But look at the Leader class situation, it's broken. 1 wave (2 figures ) in 2018, 3 waves (5 figures) in 2020, 1 wave (1 figure) in 2020. There was plenty of room in 2018 and 2020 for Leader movie Dinobots to happen, that had nothing to do with G1. If SS is as big a seller for Hasbro as they've claimed then there's easily room for 4 Leaders per year just like with the non-movie Generations line. We should have had our movie Dinobots by now, they only needed 3 more Leader slots to finish them out. It's also crazy that we got Stinger, KSI Sentry and KSI Boss by 2019, but still no Galvatron. Technically (according to TFWiki who seems confused about Voyager wave 5) Starscream is the first Voyager of 2021 and in the past three years we've had 6-7 voyagers per year so we should have at least 5 more Voyagers coming and we know about Coronation Starscream, Wreckgar, Sweep, and Bee Thrust this year, surely there's a slot for Galvatron left!

Emerje

[o.supreme]

SS86 was a mistake, a brutal stupid mistake

As a fan of the original Transformers, I wholeheartedly agree. All SS86, should have been in the 3rd part of the WFC Trilogy, and "Kingdom" should have been the first part of a new one, focusing solely on BW. Just because it would have been in 2022, and be "one year late" on the 25th anniversary; I don't think is a deal breaker. If you look at Hasbro's track record of celebrating anniversaries, it is spotty at best as I have mentioned in the past.

Stop trying to force more G1 into SS. Stop. Frikkin Stop. Let it be 2 off-chance thingies because of the G1 boner. Since 2013, we have a full team of good in-scale insecticons, 2 Blitzwings, 2 Blasters, 3 Magnus', etc. I get tired of wanting to talk about Dino or whoever you may and then spending a page reading about Kup's ugly face again and again. If I wanted to actually read all that, I'd go to the Siege or Earthrise thread.

Not sure who you are blaming, but I can tell you with a certainty, I didn't ask for this. If you want SS86 and SS in two separate threads, I don't think that is an unreasonable request, but that is solely up to the powers that be. Personally, I don't want toys based on The Original series to end. Just keep them in their own line, I agree. Yes it is tiresome getting a new Optimus, Megatron, and Starscream each year (and sometimes they just straight up repackage them), there are still dozens of characters that don't have an update that are sorely needed.

I still believe there is room for all. Mainline Generations focusing on the original series, and adding in others occasionally. SS focusing on the live action films. Masterpiece for older collectors, and "whatever is new mainline" (i.e. Cyberverse) for the kiddies.

I'm sorry peanut-butter and chocolate got mixed, but not sure how complaining will help. before SS86 was even conceived I think the fandom estimated there were plenty enough characters from the 6 live action films to keep the line going for another 3-4 years. If anything, hopefully SS86 will be only a temporary interruption (I was thinking only 1 year, but I guess 2). I know that sounds awful for a fan of regular SS, but trust me, as someone who waited 20+ years to get modern updates of many beloved characters (and still waiting on many) patience is key.

[TulioDude]

I know how you feel D-max

G1 is cool and all,but it's alomst seen to take over all aspects of franchise sometimes.

[Solipsist]

Back when Dinobots were in the G1 cartoon, everyone seemed to want Grimlock. I was no exception but he was difficult to find in stores. The one Dinobot I did find was Slag. So, I am kind of biased about him. I ended up liking Slag better than Grimlock. The line in the Movie (1986) of Slag just breaking down door with the other Dinobots, saying, "Excuse Me!" still makes me laugh. It was just so absurd it was priceless. This Studio Series 86 line has to be the absolute BEST line ever!

[EvasionModeBumblebee]

I get tired of wanting to talk about Dino or whoever you may and then spending a page reading about Kup's ugly face again and again. If I wanted to actually read all that, I'd go to the Siege or Earthrise thread. .

Wanted to quote this in particular because we really do need separate threads. Movie discussion here tends to move a little slower so it gets drowned out in the sea of 86.

TFW has the primary threads for them separated, which has worked out nicely.

[Nemesis Primal]

Before I say ANYTHING about the once-again ongoing "Should SS86 be a thing" debate": there's a rumor floating around that AOE Crosshairs, Hound, Evasion OP, Trax (so another KSI drone), and RotF Sideways are "100% happening". I don't see anything about a release timeframe with this info, so these may be figures that are still in the planning phase for next year or something if the info's good and not inherently something to look forwards to for this year. I also cannot attest to the legitimacy of the source, as it's not a leaker who I've seen before/know to have gotten stuff right in the past, but I see enough people talking about the rumor and the source on TFW as if it's all-but-confirmed that I figure posting it here at the very least wouldn't hurt.

As for the argument, here's my stance:
-I agree that there is entirely too much G1 nostalgia pandering going since we're at the point where most content isn't taking risks with new ideas/characters and all of the non-G1-character figures/products seem to basically have to fight for space to get made.
-Sadly, unless any of what Hasbro is currently putting out crashes and burns horrifically, I doubt that'll change all that much anytime soon (although the rumors that Generations will be going to more of a T30-like split in coming years due to Kingdom doing well is somewhat reassuring).
-SS and SS86 should ABSOLUTELY be separate threads like they initially were when we found out about SS86, it makes it way easier to talk about one or the other and it makes sense given the figures basically only share the packaging and name of the line (even if it may make talking about wave breakdowns and such awkward).
-Not doing Kingdom and/or pushing it to next year so the SS86 figures would just be in WFC would NOT have solved the problems being argued here, as all the people who are currently very happy to be getting Beast Wars figures (myself included) would just be upset that the Beast Wars anniversary got shafted yet again in order to celebrate G1 even more, and from what the leakers are saying, if they didn't decide to do Kingdom then the chance of us getting more non-G1 stuff in Generations going forward would be lessened since Hasbro seems to be using Kingdom as a test. Would it have stopped this thread/line in particular from having this argument? Sure, but an equivalent number of people if not more would still be upset about Beast Wars getting skipped again, so that wouldn't be solving the problem, just moving it.
-Do I think G1 product needs to stop being made completely? No, that would be a bad monetary decision on Hasbro's fault (and Hasbro having money problems means Hasbro less likely to experiment with new stuff), and there's more than enough proof from the sales of Siege alone that G1 still sells. Heck, there's still G1 updates/repaints I myself want to see, and I've also got an SS86 Jazz and Kingdom Warpath next to me as I type this. If they just stop repeating characters so quickly and get better at sharing the shelf space with non-G1 product, it'd be great.
-Despite barely being interested in SS anymore (never got Jet Shatter or Blitzwing despite having planned to get both, and can't muster up interest in Dino despite being excited by his listing leak, something about the line just isn't getting my attention over the WFC stuff anymore), and SS86 doing nothing to impact that since the only one of those figures I've wanted is Jazz, I 100% agree y'all deserve to get your casts finished as much as anyone else, regardless of my personal feelings/weird relationship with the movies.

Also:

But look at the Leader class situation, it's broken. 1 wave (2 figures ) in 2018, 3 waves (5 figures) in 2020, 1 wave (1 figure) in 2020.

Technically (according to TFWiki who seems confused about Voyager wave 5) Starscream is the first Voyager of 2021 and in the past three years we've had 6-7 voyagers per year so we should have at least 5 more Voyagers coming and we know about Coronation Starscream, Wreckgar, Sweep, and Bee Thrust this year, surely there's a slot for Galvatron left!

Your Leader counts are off, even assuming that the first time you typed 2020 was supposed to say 2019. 2019 Leaders were Jetfire, DotM Megatron, & DotM Optimus across 2 waves, and 2020 Leaders were Scavenger, Shockwave, & Overload across 2 waves. We should have a wave left for this year with 2 figures, and we already have the leaks for who (Grindor & 86 Slag). As for the Voyagers, I don't see what you're saying is wrong with the TFWiki page, but SS Voyagers have been consistent at 6 retail slots and half of those have been used by Hot Rod, Scoruge, and BB Starscream, so Wreck-Gar, BB Thrust, and the Sweep fill all the slots perfectly (with Coronation Screamer rumored to be pushed back to next year and having their size class up in the air).

...that was more than I meant to write, if anyone actually read all this have a fantastic rest of your day, you deserve it.

[blackeyedprime]

Just start an all encompassing baynus thread, I'm often intrigued as to which baybot is the best version of it. On top of more SS figures there's bound to be figures from the seperate live action flicks just as there was bumblebee figures.

I dig giant robots so I have no problem seeing SS/86 side and I can live with getting told off every so often for talking about a generations figure in the 'wrong' generations thread. I'd rather know what toys are out there than not.

[Emerje]

Here's how TFWiki breaks down SS release years for Voyagers and Leader, it's what I was basing my post off of (and yeah, I meant 2019). Maybe it needs some cleaning up, I don't know how they decide release years.

Voyagers

2018 (7 figures)
Wave 1: Optimus Prime (ROTF), Starscream (TF)
Wave 2: Brawl (TF), Megatron (ROTF)
Wave 3: Ironhide (TF)
Wave 4: Starscream (ROTF)
Wave 5: Bonecrusher (TF)

2019 (7 figures)
Wave 5: Optimus Prime (TF) (Yes, they list wave 5 as split between years)
Wave 6: Rampage (ROTF), Optimus Prime (Bee)
Wave 7: Longhaul (ROTF), KSI Boss (AOE)
Wave 8: Mix Master (ROTF), Megatron (TF)

2020 (6 figures)
Wave 9: Scrapper (ROTF), Sentinel Prime (DOTM)
Wave 10: Blitzwing (Bee), Skipjack (ROTF)
Wave 11: Scourge (86), Hot Rod (86)

2021 (1 + 4? figures)
Wave 12: Starscream (Bee)

Leaders

2018 (2 figures)
Wave 1: Grimlock (AOE), Blackout (TF)

2019 (5 figures)
Wave 2: Megatron (DOTM), Jetfire (ROTF)
Wave 3: Optimus Prime (DOTM)
Wave 4: Scavenger (ROTF), Shockwave (DOTM)

2020 (1 figure)
Wave 5: Overload

2021 (1 + 1? figures)
Wave 6: Grimlock (86)
Wave 7?: Slag (86)

They could have squeezed a lot more leaders as movie Dinobots in there before and after completing Devastator.

Emerje

[william-james88]

Wait, we've never gotten in scale insecticons. The insecticons are deluxe height, not mini bot height.

[-Kanrabat-]

Wait, we've never gotten in scale insecticons. The insecticons are deluxe height, not mini bot height.

Yup.
Even though the Scout Insecticons are really good, they need to be updated. As well as Gnaw.

[Sowndwave76]

Wait, we've never gotten in scale insecticons. The insecticons are deluxe height, not mini bot height.

That's why they were on my list (I believe in this thread)...
Yeah, they were a bit smaller, but not Scout/Legends/Core class smaller.
I could definitely be good if they were made at roughly the same height as Huffer.

[sol magnus]

Wait, we've never gotten in scale insecticons. The insecticons are deluxe height, not mini bot height.

Yup.
Even though the Scout Insecticons are really good, they need to be updated. As well as Gnaw.

They were all in the 86 movie...

I'm all for separating the Studio Series threads. I don't want to see complaints about people talking about Studio Series stuff they don't want to talk about as much as the next guy. I don't want to be lumped into some kind of 'man-child' category because my favorite 'type' of Transformers skews to the original and Hasbro is putting them over here, so some other guy isn't getting something he wants. I don't think we should be demonizing other parts of the fandom. I've had several movieverse figures over the years, but it just isn't the focus of my collection. I have no fight with you all who want your Bayverse stuff, but it sometimes seems one-sided in that regard when it comes to G1. As I said before, I (and all the other 'man-children') had nothing to do with Hasbro putting Sunbow stuff in 'your' movie line, I just buy what they put out if I like it - line and box style be damned.

For ease of discussion, though, the thread splitting idea seems fine to me. I doubt the '86 movie stuff will go all that long, as they aren't going to make every single figure who appeared in the movie (I hope) in that subline.

[aronjlove]

I doubt the '86 movie stuff will go all that long, as they aren't going to make every single figure who appeared in the movie (I hope) in that subline.

Well, now that you said it out loud...

[Sowndwave76]

Stop trying to force more G1 into SS. Stop. Frikkin Stop. Let it be 2 off-chance thingies because of the G1 boner. Since 2013, we have a full team of good in-scale insecticons, 2 Blitzwings, 2 Blasters, 3 Magnus', etc. I get tired of wanting to talk about Dino or whoever you may and then spending a page reading about Kup's ugly face again and again. If I wanted to actually read all that, I'd go to the Siege or Earthrise thread.

Not sure who you are blaming, but I can tell you with a certainty, I didn't ask for this. If you want SS86 and SS in two separate threads, I don't think that is an unreasonable request, but that is solely up to the powers that be. Personally, I don't want toys based on The Original series to end. Just keep them in their own line, I agree. Yes it is tiresome getting a new Optimus, Megatron, and Starscream each year (and sometimes they just straight up repackage them), there are still dozens of characters that don't have an update that are sorely needed.

I still believe there is room for all. Mainline Generations focusing on the original series, and adding in others occasionally. SS focusing on the live action films. Masterpiece for older collectors, and "whatever is new mainline" (i.e. Cyberverse) for the kiddies.

I'm sorry peanut-butter and chocolate got mixed, but not sure how complaining will help. before SS86 was even conceived I think the fandom estimated there were plenty enough characters from the 6 live action films to keep the line going for another 3-4 years. If anything, hopefully SS86 will be only a temporary interruption (I was thinking only 1 year, but I guess 2). I know that sounds awful for a fan of regular SS, but trust me, as someone who waited 20+ years to get modern updates of many beloved characters (and still waiting on many) patience is key.

o.supreme, this is all really well stated.
I agree completely.

I'll also say we've been waiting for closer to 30+ years for some of these...
Even as a 4th and 5th grader, I always that it was odd and didn't understand how the toys of these characters looked so much different from what I was seeing on tv.
I've shared this thought before, but it's very clear imo that in the past Hasbro was producing characters without screen accuracy being a priority... Which is fine.
Knowing what their top priority really is, I believe their view of past versions of figures were always "good enough" because they knew eventually (whether 2 years or 5-7 years later) those characters would be revisited.
But if you take for example Grimlock... None of the pre-SS86 versions were very screen accurate.
That's not to suggest they weren't good for their time, or terrible toys. But even the G1 original almost looks like a hybrid between Bayverse and... Well some other style. The Classics version looks like a knock-off figure that was released in the early 90's, not 2007-ish. The PotP version was decent, except for the lower half of the Dino mode was really wonky. That version to me is almost what I would have expected to get in Classics strictly in terms of appearance (of course not combining function).
I find it interesting that people have had such an issue with others' recent wants of screen accuracy...
That hasn't exactly been a top priority for any regular release (non-MP) figures... Maybe ever before now.

[EvasionModeBumblebee]

Discussion thread for the Studio Series line representing the live action Transformers films.

[EvasionModeBumblebee]

With enough interest voiced in separate SS threads I took the initiative and made threads for Studio Series live action and 86:

Live-Action: live-action-studio-series-discussion-t116420.php


86: studio-series-86-discussion-p2101571.php#p2101571

[ZeroWolf]

The simple reason why the threads weren't split at the time is simple. Because Hasbro don't see SS86 as a subline (yes, yes I know, different name, different card branding no regular numbers) but hasbro includes these figures alongside normal Studio Series releases, despite the name, Hasbro don't see them as any different unlike Netflix Transformers War for Cybertron figures which is a separate subline. If it was a subline, it probably would have ended up Exclusive like Buzzworthy Bumblebee did.

I'm pretty sure we have a post about it somewhere when we learned the case breakdowns...

[Rodimus Prime]

I guess we can try it. If any other mods disapprove, it can always be unlocked.

[EvasionModeBumblebee]

So what do you all think of the recent rumors? (AOE Evasion Prime, Hound, Crosshairs, and Trax, and ROTF Sideways)

I’m a little skeptical but I’m really excited for Evasion Prime and Sideways in particular.

[aronjlove]

My bro picked up one of those bargain DVD packs with all five Bayverse movies so I need to do a rewatch to get me excited for the new releases. I'm not a huge SS fan but that Dino does look pretty good.

[Rodimus Prime]

Hopefully Evasion Prime will be screen-accurate and not red, white and blue. The others, I'm not too interested in, though I do think Sideways is overdue. And he better be able to split in half in car mode.

[-Kanrabat-]

I approve of the SS thread being split.

We will have to wait for the AiE dinos. But my top want in the meantime:

A proper TLK Infernocus. Made out of 6 different voyagers with their demonic bot and monster modes. 4 for the limbs, 2 for the torso. The dinky TLK original was nice but underwhelming. I want a BIG TF DEMON!

[EvasionModeBumblebee]

My bro picked up one of those bargain DVD packs with all five Bayverse movies so I need to do a rewatch to get me excited for the new releases. I'm not a huge SS fan but that Dino does look pretty good.

Very nice! Dino is a really great figure, I’d definitely recommend.

Hopefully Evasion Prime will be screen-accurate and not red, white and blue. The others, I'm not too interested in, though I do think Sideways is overdue. And he better be able to split in half in car mode.

I’m really interested to see how they handle the deco on Evasion Prime. I’m hoping they have the tan/weathered truck as the base deco and the dry brush the red and blue on like with Shockwave and Grimlock.