The Energon Pub

In case you wanted to know what a Carnivac repaint of Wolfwire miiiight look like (in robot mode. I don't want to risk transforming just yet). Please excuse the sloppiness of it. And G1 Carnivac toy in the middle, and the Cybertron Snarl Carnivac I painted about 10 years ago I used in my movie-verse collection (cos I frickin' love all those extra little details in that Snarl mold. It's really just the wolf's head as right arm that bugs me)

Predictions: A year from now, there will still be TR Voyager Broadside toys on some store shelves long after the line has finished. I only say this because I saw a record 8 (yes 8 ) at a Target about 30 miles form my home last week, everywhere I go I see multiple Broadsides, unlike any release I've seen in the last two generations lines. I mean sure, some stores around me STILL have CW Leader Skywarps, but I think were finally down to one at each of the stores I can think of .


Anybody think its strange...The wave 3 Voyagers (Prime & Megs) seem to be the least produced, and most difficult to find. I've seen a couple here and there, and I know they are pre-tools, but historically Hasbro would make boatloads of Optimus & Megatron toys, as they are Icons, and they think everybody wants one, and more obscure characters like Alpha Trion, or Broadsides would get minimal release quantities.

william-james88 wrote:

Stuartmaximus wrote:I wanna know who this Braodside is is it a repaint

its this:

I'm pretty sure Stu was just trying to make a funny with my mis-spelling.

william-james88 wrote:

itscramtastic wrote:Wait wait wait. SDCC is this weekend?! More TR stuff to be revealed tonight?!

Yes and I (along with your friendly news staff team) will be on the frontlines reporting away everything as it comes.

Stuartmaximus wrote:I wanna know who this Braodside is is it a repaint

its this:

yes! i know

i was just being sarcastic

i guess it were just someone's predictive text playing up(or something of that ilk)

speaking of repaints.....i know that there is a Broadside repaint coming

Sigma Magnus wrote:Since we're doing lists, sure, I'll add my stuff to the pile.

Autobot Headmaster Team: Love these guys together, and they're very cool to display. Fort Max isn't that great a Titan, so I'm largely keeping him in my custom base mode, which makes me wish Cerebros had a separate vehicle mode like Full-Tilt. Any fan modes out there?

Well he does transform into a robot, a tower, & Fort Max'e head, so doesn't that make him a triple changer already?

There's already a Broadside repaint released; Tidal Wave from Siege on Cybertron

Kurona wrote:There's already a Broadside repaint released; Tidal Wave from Siege on Cybertron

Yes, but no.....i meant this one



but....there's also this one too(i think this one's a digibash....but would've been cool if it were real )

The first one is Takara's release of Broadside while the second is a digibash, I'm afraid.

If only that digibash were real....i'd buy that in a heartbeat

Stuartmaximus wrote:

Kurona wrote:There's already a Broadside repaint released; Tidal Wave from Siege on Cybertron

Yes, but no.....i meant this one

thats not a repaint, thats just the Takara release.

Carnivius_Prime wrote:In case you wanted to know what a Carnivac repaint of Wolfwire miiiight look like (in robot mode. I don't want to risk transforming just yet). Please excuse the sloppiness of it. And G1 Carnivac toy in the middle, and the Cybertron Snarl Carnivac I painted about 10 years ago I used in my movie-verse collection (cos I frickin' love all those extra little details in that Snarl mold. It's really just the wolf's head as right arm that bugs me)

I'd love to have an update to Carnivac!
I'm definitely hoping to see some Leader-version of Deathsaurus soon....

No sign of the latest wave or Walgreen exclusives yet.

I'll write up thoughts on the TR figures as well! Or at least all of my faves -- but you may have seen dem pics of my faves already. Now where's dat Arcee TM...?

bodrock wrote:
I'd love to have an update to Carnivac!

Those are cute pics (I usually hate cute but Carnivac!) I kinda miss having the full figure with the shell now. I had a complete one with both pads and the gun a long time ago. Just got the robot now. Which is fine cos I don't like owning things that are worth too much and a full Carnivac is worth a nice chunk as mine did sell for about £50 back then.

This might be less cute, since Carni is in trouble here, Carnivius....

Aw that's just mean.

Aww, it's review time ? Can I join ?


Titans masters :

- Loudmouth : Not a lot to say, I would rate it average. OK titan master, ok vehicule mode, poor second vehicule and wepon mode.

- Nightbeat : Terrible, at least. Nothing works,skip it.

- Apeface : Cool vehicle mode, cool monkey mode. My only problem is the too much painted face (I guess it's all black under the purple), it doesn't really fit the bodies. Get it.

- Brawn : mitigated. Too much yellow to me, which kill details and prevents the 4x4 mode to works.

- Clobber : Near perfect. The Dino mode is purely genius and the bird works ok.

- Skytread : I like the colors more than terribul, that's why I got this one. Unfortunately there's an inexcusable issue with it : the headsculpt is different from terribull and too much top heavy to fit correctly the plane mode. I can accept that some titan masters cannot fit properly all vehicules, but the one sold with ? seriously. Too bad because other than that the vehicle is nice. Get Terribull verison of the mold instead.

- Fangry. Get it. Period.

- Overboard. I prefer Grimlock head over Overkill, but other than that, the repaint mades it better. If you hesitate between the 3 repaints of this mold and are not really attached to one of the head, get this one.

- Ptero . Mitigated at least. The pterodactyl works, but I'm not unable to see something else than a reversed pterodactyl for what is supposed to be the vehicule mode. the head suffer the same problem as apeface : too much paint, which hides all details.

- Sawback . I've been deceived. I think it's mainly because of the plastic, which is very very cheap. added to the bright colors, for me it's a Meh, at least. The head is not too bad however.

- Repugnus. You can copy/paste my sawback advice. I like the beast mode a lot however, it helps a little.

- Shuffler. GET IT.
Everything works perfectly, plastic is nice, head is nice, and beast and vehicule mode works fine even without the titan master.



Legends :

- Rewind : I like him despite two lame modes. Sometimes there's no explication. The robot mode is probably too much cool so it cancels the other issues.

- Wheelie. What a mess. Nothing holds fine, he doesn't even stands correctly. I guess people like him because of cartoon representation, but for me it's a no. Pass.
And you know the worse part ? I paid more in order to get the takara version. Money badly spent here.

- Bumblebee : Meh. No extremely bad, not extremely good.I suppose it’s for people who want the minibots cast in the same legends size. For the other, just stick with the Classics Bumblebbe, this one add nothing.

- Brawn : Simple, effective, everything works fine. And bonus, the titan master can stay inside in robot mode.

- Seaspray : I’m still not sure about this one. Technically it’s fine, it’s a nice bot, everything works.
But man, this design, it’s so 80’s, with propellers and stuff. If you place him next to let’s say, cybertron Shortround, you know who will win.



Deluxe

- Hardhead : Just perfect. Can be the symbol of the line. The vehicule works perfectly, with the small cockpit + the hidden cockpit in the canon, the robot mode is perfect. Just get it.

- Brainstorm. Retool from Blur, yes, but which in my opinion works beter than Blurr. It works even better than the T30 voyager that I removed from the shelves to replace it by him.

- Chromedome. Lazy design ? maybe. But it works so well. You can’t pass on him because of the « same design as CW». Believe me, I made this mistake (I got it only very recently).

- Highbrow. I don’t understand why some people don’t like him. Except for his loose neck, he is very nice. Not the best in the line, but definitely worth the money.

- Wolfwire. I got the broken hinges issues, but it’s not enough to give a bad advice on this one.Cool robot mode, Fantastic wolf mode. Get it.

- Hot Rod. Hm.. I think I’ll get ennemies here, but I don’t love him. I don’t dislike him, he is quite ok, but these long plain arms really prevent me to consider him as a must have.

- Triggerhappy. What to say ? I start to hate him. Because of issues ? no because it should not be allowed to be so damn perfect. Get it.

- Twinferno : Like rewind, I’m a bad judge .This toy has ton of issues, but I like him. Leave me alone about this.

- Nautica. I know nothing about the comics or character, but it’s a very nice resue of Blurr’s mold. It works surprising well to a fembot body. Well played Hasbro, well played.

- Topspin. One which can compete with Triggerhappy. How the company who made Hotrod arms were able to made Topspin ones ? Looks like two different companies.

- Kup. Sorry, I tried, but I definitely hate him. 50% because of the terrible head from the worst period of armada (big lips, terrible grin.), 50% because of the plastic, the same as Sawback. Hasbro, please stop with this new crappy plastic.
I ordered and I’m waiting the Orion Pax repaint, I hope it’ll cancel these issues, because other than that, it’s a nice vehicule, robot and transformation.

- Krok. This neon green.. this neon green… I love it. He is missing proper heels to be a perfect one. I would recommend to get him instead of Skullsmasher, but it would not be honest as I don’t own Skullsmasher.

- Twin Twist. Not a lot to add from Topspin as it's 90% the same. Except I prefer Topspin.

- Windblade : On the overral look, the generations Windblade looks better. But for everything else, TR Windblade is a better toy. Everything holds and tabs perfectly, easier to transform etc.. (in fact, it could be the description of the whole TR line compared to Generations from the previous years).


Voyager

- Sentinel Prime. Debatable train mode, just-okay shuttle mode, Everything shouting « Astrotrain »… But I just love this robot mode and this head. Some people complain about the color scheme (and I understand why), but it’s very Fire guts Ginrai for me. I can’t get angry if you pass on him, but I’ll continue to love him on my side.

- Alpha Trion : I don’t know well the character from G1 cartoon, so I can’t complain like what I’ve seen here. For me it’s a very good toy with two ok transformations.
Until …

- (Takara) Lio convoy. This one just cancels what I said about Alpha Trion. A fantastic paint scheme which completely changes a toy. If like me you’re not especially attached to a character and just want the mold, get this one.

- Megatron. I have difficulties to admit it’s the same company which commited the Thrilling 30 Blitzwing 3 years ago, and which created this. Sincerely. This mold is close to perfection, especially considering the Titan master get a different cockpit for each mode. The only thing I can complain are the poor stickers. But if you get the reprolabels set, you get a fantastic Megatron. Better than the CW on my opinion.
I don’t care the mold screams « blitzwing ». So much that I’ll probably not get Blitzwing, in order for Megatron to keep his uniqueness on my shelves.

- Optimus Prime. He has issues, yes. The plane mode is meh, the truck mode just ok, and the cockpit solution is just lame, especially if you compare it with Megatron.
But this robot mode, oh man, he is fantastic, badass, extremely well detailled. It’s my new fave Prime, despite all his issues. And like for Megatron : sorry Octone, you really look cool, but this mol dis Optimus Prime for me now.

- Laser Prime. There’s nothing more to say, as it’s only a repaint. But such a good repaint that’s I’m completely unable to choose between the regular and this one. I had to put both of them on the shelves.

- Broadside. After an intial deception, you know what ? I start to like the plane mode. Yes, really. Ok, it’s a very stupid and unable to fly plane mode, but if you see it as some spaceship.. We got worse. Also I recommend to place the gun on the bottom, it helps a little bit the overral look. But yeah, he is a bit difficult to recommend.
The new remold policy/technology is very nice in most of the cases, and I’ll continue to defend it, but here, for Broadside, wanting to reuse Alpha Trion legs is what definitely ruined the toy in my opinion.



Leader

- Blaster. Personally, not being a G1 hardcore fan, the life object transformation always looks lame for me, and he is not exception. I got it only for the base mode, for my TR guys to have a base. And that’s all.

- (Takara) Ginrai. I cancelled my preorder of PM Prime when I saw the first pictures, and I’m not deceived. Ok, I’m a bit deceived of the base mode, which is, we all know it an afterthought and does not works at all.

- (Takara) God Bomber. Like everybody, I’m a bit Meh on him. The toy by itself is quite ppor. The combination with Ginrai ends up with a very god looking figure, but quite unstable.Hard to recommend. Difficult to pass. Yup, I still can’t give an advice.

- QuickSwitch. I saw hate on this topic, and I’m sad for people who are so G1-framed that they can’t appreciate this toy. They don’t know what they miss. Yes, it’s Sixshot body, but it works so well. Deco is better, paint apps are better.. zero regret here.


As always, English is not my native langage, sorry if errors/mistakes on some expressions/sentences.

william-james88 wrote:Transformers fan Kaki added some gorgeous photos of some the latest Titans Return figure releases Metalhawk

That G1 Pretender Metalhawk...

So much want, so much will never have...

Thankfully, TR Metalhawk looks a thousand times more amazing

Kurona wrote:Thankfully, TR Metalhawk looks a thousand times more amazing

I see TR Metalhawk and I'm bored out of my mind. I see the Pretender and there's something that is just... MAGICAL! It's also painted like crazy, there's gold chrome on the inner bot, and everything have that intense aura of vintage style.

It's also almost 2000$ 100% complete...

DAMN YOU TRANSFORMERS MASTERFORE WITH YOUR VINTAGE TOYS POPULATED ALMOST ENTIRELY OF HOLY GRAILS!

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Kurona wrote:Thankfully, TR Metalhawk looks a thousand times more amazing

I see TR Metalhawk and I'm bored out of my mind. I see the Pretender and there's something that is just... MAGICAL! It's also painted like crazy, there's gold chrome on the inner bot, and everything have that intense aura of vintage style.

It's also almost 2000$ 100% complete...

DAMN YOU TRANSFORMERS MASTERFORE WITH YOUR VINTAGE TOYS POPULATED ALMOST ENTIRELY OF HOLY GRAILS!

so sad and so true, If Takara ever did the reissue game again and went with Masterforce as a theme, they'd make a killing

grimdragon2001 wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Kurona wrote:Thankfully, TR Metalhawk looks a thousand times more amazing

I see TR Metalhawk and I'm bored out of my mind. I see the Pretender and there's something that is just... MAGICAL! It's also painted like crazy, there's gold chrome on the inner bot, and everything have that intense aura of vintage style.

It's also almost 2000$ 100% complete...

DAMN YOU TRANSFORMERS MASTERFORE WITH YOUR VINTAGE TOYS POPULATED ALMOST ENTIRELY OF HOLY GRAILS!

so sad and so true, If Takara ever did the reissue game again and went with Masterforce as a theme, they'd make a killing

Seriously ALL THIS = YES

But I'd take TR Metalhawk.

While Titans Return Ramhorn has been found in the wild for a while now, it was still unclear who his wavemates were. We now know why it was so hard to figure out, they were all rereleases of figures that were probably still on the pegs from previous waves. Thanks to an Entertainment Earth listing, we know his wavemates and the proportions of the case. It's evenly split between Ramhorn, a third release of Ptero (who was previously rereleased in a revision case), a rerelease of Overboard and a third release of Apeface (who was also previously rereleased in a different revision case).

*raises hand*

Stuartmaximus wrote:

Kurona wrote:There's already a Broadside repaint released; Tidal Wave from Siege on Cybertron

Yes, but no.....i meant this one



but....there's also this one too(i think this one's a digibash....but would've been cool if it were real )

He meant Decepticon Flattop/Autobot Skywave? that would be nice if Broadside is a good use for non-common bots

I want that mini Repugnus.

william-james88 wrote:While Titans Return Ramhorn has been found in the wild for a while now, it was still unclear who his wavemates were. We now know why it was so hard to figure out, they were all rereleases of figures that were probably still on the pegs from previous waves. Thanks to an Entertainment Earth listing, we know his wavemates and the proportions of the case. It's evenly split between Ramhorn, a third release of Ptero (who was previously rereleased in a revision case), a rerelease of Overboard and a third release of Apeface (who was also previously rereleased in a different revision case).

Sorry I didn't let you guys know this before. BBTS had the preorders for this case up a while ago. They are not selling Ramhorn separately, however. So I will end up with duplicates of the others...