The Energon Pub

bodrock wrote:I'm keeping an eye out for Overlord and I agree, D -- the TR Leaders have been great! I love Shadow, and skipped on Soundwave, but I really enjoyed the TR Leader Blaster.

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I totally would've gone for GOD BOMBER, but since I'd have to import, I guess I'm waiting for PotP Optimus....

I got my nephew (now 7) TR Soundwave earlier this year, and he absolutely adores him! We adult fans may have been incredulous at the beginning that all these added gimmicks were needed for the return of Headmasters, but Hasbro is truly genius with understanding what kids want. My sister says my nephew loves turning Soundwave into a base the most. Second place is putting his "buddies" in the cassette deck (yes, I got him all of Soundwave's minions too). The transformations were a bit tough for him at first, but apparently he learned to look up how to do them on YouTube. I'm so proud!

Nice, Wolfman! My son is only 4, but I do let him play with the CHUGs -- depending on the bot (and how much sleep he's had), he can transform Fort Max and a lot of the Combiner Wars deluxes...but not so great with the recent TR Legends Bumblebee. My daughter (6) has her brother transform the bots I got her, including Generations Arcee.

Sure, he broke a peg on Skullgrin's shell and G1 Snarl's leg, but I broke a countless number by age 6...all I can do is help him to keep his cool, approach transformation like a puzzle, and have him be willing to ask me for help on the hard parts!

Of course, I could never let him handle the likes of MP Soundwave till he's much older...but if I had the TR Leader SW, I'd let him go to town. Those TR Leaders are built fairly solid.

As it is, I let him have my original G1 Soundwave. Sure, his chest piece broke off ages ago, but other than that, he's still good to go! Especially for a 4 y/o.

bodrock wrote: Especially for a 4 y/o.

Do you watch Rescue Bots? It's surprisingly watchable. The rescue bots rescan line are about $8 each (there's a gift set of the 4 main bots at walmart too) and they are damned near indestructible. They are sold with the younger kids toys, not with the regular TFs. Look for playschool, paw patrol, and PJ Masks stuff, the Rescue Bots will be around there.

I highly recommend Rescue Bots. My 4yo daughter likes rescue bots so much that when I try to watch RID (or heaven forbid G1) she tells me "No put the REAL Transformers on, dad!"

I started him on Rescue Bots then RID, Prime was a bit intense for 'im and he's watched quite a bit of G1...having seen The Movie more than 5 times. I think my love for TFs can't help but be shared with the ones I love. Although he does seem to think Armada Optimus is the best.
But yeah, I bought the kids the Titan Masters as stocking stuffers, and they love the headmasters concept.We'll be watching the animated Titan Returns series when it airs (11/14)!

bodrock wrote:We'll be watching the animated Titan Returns series when it airs (11/14)!

Why would you do that to your poor children...

I kid, I kid. It's really cool seeing the torch being passed down between generations, so to speak! Has anyone noticed whether their younger children seem to like certain Titans Return (keeping it on-topic ) figures over others, and if they have a reason for it? On a board like this we tend to get a good feel for which toys are the collectors' darlings, but I sometimes wonder what's most interesting to the real target market - to whom the concepts of a "cool character from the 80s" or "much-needed update" or "faithful representation of the character" are all but irrelevant, if not totally alien.

Ok, Combiner Wars wasn't all we hoped it would be, but it was short enough to watch in one sitting.

Mine are still young enough they appreciate what I pick for 'em - but they do get lots of enjoyment from the Titan Masters. And Fort Max.

Qwan wrote:

bodrock wrote:We'll be watching the animated Titan Returns series when it airs (11/14)!

Why would you do that to your poor children...

I kid, I kid. It's really cool seeing the torch being passed down between generations, so to speak! Has anyone noticed whether their younger children seem to like certain Titans Return (keeping it on-topic ) figures over others, and if they have a reason for it? On a board like this we tend to get a good feel for which toys are the collectors' darlings, but I sometimes wonder what's most interesting to the real target market - to whom the concepts of a "cool character from the 80s" or "much-needed update" or "faithful representation of the character" are all but irrelevant, if not totally alien.

Children? Or do you mean "CHILDREN"? The noisy, bellyaching can't be satisfied for whatever reason "children"?

bodrock wrote:Although he does seem to think Armada Optimus is the best.

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But that pic isn't from Armada, though.

Qwan wrote:It's really cool seeing the torch being passed down between generations, so to speak! Has anyone noticed whether their younger children seem to like certain Titans Return (keeping it on-topic ) figures over others, and if they have a reason for it? On a board like this we tend to get a good feel for which toys are the collectors' darlings, but I sometimes wonder what's most interesting to the real target market - to whom the concepts of a "cool character from the 80s" or "much-needed update" or "faithful representation of the character" are all but irrelevant, if not totally alien.

Well I have 4 kids, ages 14, 13, 10 and 7, all girls (yeah, I know I'm in trouble.) The 2 teenagers aren't interested at all now, but were really into the movie line back in 2007, which is what brought me back into collecting. They both really liked the puzzle aspect of the toys, which was just about perfect in the first movie before things started getting over complicated (looking at you Jetfire).

Nowadays, I'm mainly only collecting the generations line and my 10 and 7 year olds play along with me. My 10 year old loves any female figure, so Hasbro is right on with releasing more and more female bots lately.

The 7 year old is a special case, literally, as she has Down's Syndrome. She has zero tie in to any fiction and strictly looks at things like the colors and the alt modes. She prefers cars and trucks over planes and others (cassettes/boomboxes). She also likes the beasts as well. Orange and purple are big hits for her no matter what. She may also be one of the Autobots best secret weapons. A few days ago she emasculated 5 cons at once. She made leader Skywarp the mommy and legends skywarp and all 3 insecticons the babies because, well, they are all purple, so they must be a family. While she was doing this, I have to pose leader Starscream facepalming and Thundercracker laughing his ass off.

TF-fan kev777 wrote:The 7 year old is a special case, literally, as she has Down's Syndrome. She has zero tie in to any fiction and strictly looks at things like the colors and the alt modes. She prefers cars and trucks over planes and others (cassettes/boomboxes). She also likes the beasts as well. Orange and purple are big hits for her no matter what. She may also be one of the Autobots best secret weapons. A few days ago she emasculated 5 cons at once. She made leader Skywarp the mommy and legends skywarp and all 3 insecticons the babies because, well, they are all purple, so they must be a family. While she was doing this, I have to pose leader Starscream facepalming and Thundercracker laughing his ass off.

This whole thing just made me smile

That's a great story Kev!

I thought I was in for it with two daughters. I don't envy you brother.
My 3 year old loves the TM pilot aspect of TR. We were just playing with them last night.
And the Beast Wars toys still get their annual veterinary check ups from both my kids.

Sabrblade wrote:

bodrock wrote:Although he does seem to think Armada Optimus is the best.

IMG_8140.JPG

But that pic isn't from Armada, though.

Oh snap, izzat Energon Optimus? I get the later generations mixed up...

But yeah, it's great sharing TFs with family. My younger brother still enjoys TFs as well -- he just doesn't buy any. Perhaps when he has kids and wants to share in the fun...

Thanks for sharing TF-fan kev777! My daughter also loves all femme bots.....as do I!

Cobotron wrote:That's a great story Kev!

I thought I was in for it with two daughters. I don't envy you brother.

All I can say is have a good place to hide with your collection when they hit the early teens.

daoist wrote:

bodrock wrote: Especially for a 4 y/o.

Do you watch Rescue Bots? It's surprisingly watchable. The rescue bots rescan line are about $8 each (there's a gift set of the 4 main bots at walmart too) and they are damned near indestructible. They are sold with the younger kids toys, not with the regular TFs. Look for playschool, paw patrol, and PJ Masks stuff, the Rescue Bots will be around there.

I highly recommend Rescue Bots. My 4yo daughter likes rescue bots so much that when I try to watch RID (or heaven forbid G1) she tells me "No put the REAL Transformers on, dad!"

I started my son on Rescue Bots. He loves them!

I started getting back into collecting with Combiner Wars and even more with Titans Return. He just turned three but has been loving Titans Return and Titan Masters. Months ago, he was transforming Highbrow on his own (arguably he easiest Legend and higher to Transform) and he still surprises me when he gets Bumblebee right.

The Rescue Bots show is actually REALLY REALLY good and he notices when Bumblebee, Optimus, and Sideswipe crossover.

Wolfman Jake wrote:

bodrock wrote:I'm keeping an eye out for Overlord and I agree, D -- the TR Leaders have been great! I love Shadow, and skipped on Soundwave, but I really enjoyed the TR Leader Blaster.

IMG_4706.JPG

I totally would've gone for GOD BOMBER, but since I'd have to import, I guess I'm waiting for PotP Optimus....

I got my nephew (now 7) TR Soundwave earlier this year, and he absolutely adores him! We adult fans may have been incredulous at the beginning that all these added gimmicks were needed for the return of Headmasters, but Hasbro is truly genius with understanding what kids want. My sister says my nephew loves turning Soundwave into a base the most. Second place is putting his "buddies" in the cassette deck (yes, I got him all of Soundwave's minions too). The transformations were a bit tough for him at first, but apparently he learned to look up how to do them on YouTube. I'm so proud!

My son loves swapping Titan Master heads. Anyone he puts on the Laser Prime's body becomes Laser xxxx. Laser Grimlock! Laser Rodimus! Laser Magnus!

I got Six Shot on Tuesday. I really like him. Especially the car mode. It's fun to load up with a bunch of weapons and put a Titan Master in the cockpit in the back as a rear gunner.

Okay, so, I figured out how the 'Con Targetmaster combined jet works, so here's some pics.

I love it Sigma! And I am totally jelly.

bodrock wrote:I love it Sigma! And I am totally jelly.

Good.

But yeah, Slugslinger came in the mail a few hours ago, nabbed him off Amazon. Had to pay scalper prices, but I had a gift card to shave it down to a bit over MSRP. Took a week and a half to show up though.






So glad to have the gang together!

Went to Walmart for Overlord and Slugslinger!

Came out with Leader-class Dragonstorm.....(again, no TR love)

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:If anything, I think overall the leader class was the most successful class in this line

I agree, or at least I do when compared to Combiner Wars in the sense that it's the most improved class. In CW the only Leader I found worth buying was Ultra Magnus, the three jets and two Megatrons just weren't doing it for me at all. Then comes Titans Return and I want them all. Only two Leaders I'm missing from Titans Return is PM Optimus Prime (I want one, but they barely showed up in my area and the online prices are getting crazy) and Overlord (getting the Japanese version instead). I don't have SDCC Primitive Prime either if you count him. My buying habits for the other classes haven't changed at all between the two lines, I either buy everything I can get or buy the Takara Tomy version instead, but my Leader class buys have been a huge step up and that trend looks to be holding up in Power of the Primes, I want all of those Leaders, too.

Emerje

Sigma Magnus wrote:Okay, so, I figured out how the 'Con Targetmaster combined jet works, so here's some pics.

Awesome. Thank you so much. I was trying to explain this to my son, but these pics are great. I just want to know, does everything tab in, or is it a "loose" fit?

Now if only someone would have a breakdown of that all Sharkticon combiner we saw a few months back...would love to build that too but I just would like to know if it actually all has a solid fit and these aren't just toys stacked on each other.

Emerje wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:If anything, I think overall the leader class was the most successful class in this line

I agree, or at least I do when compared to Combiner Wars in the sense that it's the most improved class. In CW the only Leader I found worth buying was Ultra Magnus, the three jets and two Megatrons just weren't doing it for me at all. Then comes Titans Return and I want them all. Only two Leaders I'm missing from Titans Return is PM Optimus Prime (I want one, but they barely showed up in my area and the online prices are getting crazy) and Overlord (getting the Japanese version instead). I don't have SDCC Primitive Prime either if you count him. My buying habits for the other classes haven't changed at all between the two lines, I either buy everything I can get or buy the Takara Tomy version instead, but my Leader class buys have been a huge step up and that trend looks to be holding up in Power of the Primes, I want all of those Leaders, too.

Emerje

Something the Titans Return Leaders had going for them that the Combiner Wars Leaders didn't was that they were integrated into the series gimmick. You could swap their heads with Titan masters of any other class, whereas in CW, the Leaders were kind of off to an island onto themselves. TR also featured some Leader figures of characters we hadn't gotten in years (like Sixshot) or ever in the States (Overlord). CW had bots like Starscream & Skywarp who regularly get new figures every few years. These are some of the reasons (IMO) the TR Leader Class was better than the one in the previous series.

o.supreme wrote:

Sigma Magnus wrote:Okay, so, I figured out how the 'Con Targetmaster combined jet works, so here's some pics.

Awesome. Thank you so much. I was trying to explain this to my son, but these pics are great. I just want to know, does everything tab in, or is it a "loose" fit?

The legs are the only thing keeping them together, so...not very stable.

Also, if you combine them, either don't put it down, or reconfigure Misfire's legs as a flight stand first. Otherwise you might bend his tail fins.

So have we had any word on when or even if the Grotusque/Fengul?Scopronok 3 pack will be released at a non-HTS retailer? Having missed out on the 1-2 hour window he was available on HTS (with zero advance warning, thanks Hasbro) and we haven't heard a thing about him since.

I'm beginning to worry that he will fall by the wayside and be forgotten, which will suck because he is going for ridiculous prices on ebay.