The Energon Pub

Ugh! are you guys still on about Pretenders, Unicron & Primus? i thought you guys already established reasons as to why those won't happen going forward

Anywhoo...as for gimmicks for the 3rd part of the Prime Wars.....how about Sparkerbots(prob won't happen due to the strict toy safety rules of today) or colourchangers(granted those never generated a great deal of interest & were quickly forgotten) or those water squirting ones(again prob quickly forgotten about)...hmmm....aye...this is proving more difficult than i thought

I mean i'm going against what i said earlier...but one thing they could introduce for part 3 is PlanetFormers! but there's only really 2 of that we know....Primus & Unicron! so.....your not really gonna get a full line outa that.

The most perplexing thing about what Prime Wars 3.0 might be is every time I think of what products i'd like to see they seem to fit under the banner of what has already been made.

Such as more Legends Class Mini-bots would be nice and having them with internal cabins is great and separates them nicely from the previous ones.
With Titanmasters gone though so is the reason for the cabins.

Then there is the Beast Combiners, Scorponok & even Omega Supreme all seem rather well suited to the Titans Returns gimmicks and less suitable to their removal.

When I look through the gimmicks we've had they simply do not seem the sort to be worth doing a year wide line on. or if they would fit they'd be over-complicated or ill fitting to some sizes.

Then there is the issue of the death of RID in 2017 - that will mean no more Minicons. does that lack lead to opening the door to (after the Movie is out of the way - especially in 2018) to making Micromasters ?

Micromasters in the 'Zone' sense has the advantage of being quite complimentary to the Titans Returns base modes still. Heck they can even make that Metroplex repaint I keep going on about and give him his actual Micromaster too !

The problem before with Micromasters was that they only made the Western line related to tiny robots and bases/vehicles the line was very popular in Japan though with the use of other bigger robots still in play.

So lets go with that idea for a moment... You can make things like a Leader class Grandus & Sky Carry (Sky Gary) Star Convoy, you can introduce things like Battlestars Megatron and with some care and the odd adaptor part they can make some bases too use them to link up to the Titan Master ones still.

If their Micromasters are on the small size they'd not be much bigger than a Titanmaster 'head' figure either suggesting some backwards compatibility - if not at they are larger then they can be used in a Targetmaster like manner too as they were in the Legends line a few years ago (like Cosmos).

You can have 1 or 2 packs of them replace the Titanmaster minipacks or even have the patrols again or Minicon styles teams of 3.

I guess some Armada influences could creep in too.

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When I look at other potential gimmicks they just seem not extensive enough to make a whole year & half line out of them or anything that would work with Titan scale releases.

The other thing that could be done with Micromasters is to scale them up - take the way the new Diaclone toys work - imagine Micromasters that are Pretenders - they'd be figures like a Heromasher perhaps even with swapable arms and a figure that fits inside the torso - as they'd be so small the articulation in the arms and legs would be freeded up making them like super sized Actionmaster in a way too. if the Micromasters retained the gun mode of the previous Targetmaster/Micromaster kind then you have a figure that can be held by the shell as a gun - that can plug into playsets & bases (and Titans) that can have a hole in it's foot that is compatible with Titanmaster posts etc...

If you wanted to make a larger toy you could make it a fully transforming toy but with opening compartments for the extra Micromasters to fit inside the more Micromaster the more power - (Bit like how Crossovers Death Star Darth Vader has slots in his arms and legs for mini-figures.

Now the advantage of this sort of idea is now you can pull characters from Pretenders, Micromasters, Targetmasters, Powermasters all the late Japanese lines and you can still use Beasts - heck make Monstructor if you want.

Because all a Micromaster would do is fit inside the figures you could still make normal deluxes too only they'd be almost like a hybrid of the function of say Hardhead & Bludgeon.

As they'd not be forming any heads the approach to the scales could be different too - the idea would work as well at any size.

There is even the potential to homage more than one thing at once by making something like a car with a giant engine on it that can function like a Powermaster but would also be a Micromaster still - but have that engine mode instead of a gun mode.

So you can then do things like Dreadwind & Darkwing or Double Dealer.

There is even the potential to be kinda "Meta" lets say there was a seacon combiner the seacons could have their own mini-animal targetmaster-micromasters so they'd be Targetmasters who are still a Targetmasters when they combine and if they included the footpad/stands parts the Micromasters could also man the gun turret modes too.

So no I wouldn't dismiss Micromasters they have the potential to please at least some of the less fussy G1er collectors who dismiss anything not made before 1988 and also have a great appeal to kids too.

Also they could even do a tiny little version of "Classic" Characters too that would function like a modern version of a WST and look terrific with the bases. Instead of having Star Convoy with a tiny Hotrod (or as well as) there could be tiny Optimus too.

Though some of this depends on who or what you think the Titanmasters actually are and who or what the bodies are.

But making a killer line out of the least popular figures of the late 1980s by taking notice of what Armada and Zone did right has some appeal to me anyway - so long as the figure they do have more in common with Cosmos' little friend and less in common with an un-articulated and unpainted RID Minicon.

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I don't think Beast Wars is compatible with the pre-existing theme though except perhaps via something Transmetals derived. But I doubt Hasbro want to force themselves to do even more Triplechangers.

Skyshadow really lends himself reasonably to a Dai Atlas retool, doesn't he?

Seems like it would be less work than PM Prime -> Ginrai anyway.

RodimusRex wrote:Skyshadow really lends himself reasonably to a Dai Atlas retool, doesn't he?

Seems like it would be less work than PM Prime -> Ginrai anyway.

He does, plus he has that Base mode too. Maybe Takara could give us that but for Hsbro that becomes a lot of uses of that mold since we know Overlord is coming and Thunderwing is traditionally a mold mate of Black Shadow (at least he has always been so far). But yeah, Dai Atlas is a good pic too.

From TR Hardhead, Cancer, custom by @Cheetimus on Twitter

william-james88 wrote:

RodimusRex wrote:Skyshadow really lends himself reasonably to a Dai Atlas retool, doesn't he?

Seems like it would be less work than PM Prime -> Ginrai anyway.

He does, plus he has that Base mode too.

Oh my word, he totally does! His base mode is very similar to Dai Atlas's Zone Mode instead of Overlord's base mode.

That's... pretty interesting. Can't say I'd mind a Dai Atlas either.

I'm getting the vibe that they might do a heavy Dai Atlas retool of this mold in the next line, since that's what their business model seems to be now - heavily retool a leader mold from the previous line for this one. Jetfire > Seeker, Magnus > PM OP. I think we now have a good guess about which of our TR Leaders are getting that treatment in Prime Wars 3.
(I mean let's face it what other leader mold could they do? Were we really gonna get Sixshot > Greatshot?)

Quickswitch?

Stuartmaximus wrote:Quickswitch?

Gonna be part of a boxset.

Sabrblade wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

RodimusRex wrote:Skyshadow really lends himself reasonably to a Dai Atlas retool, doesn't he?

Seems like it would be less work than PM Prime -> Ginrai anyway.

He does, plus he has that Base mode too.

Oh my word, he totally does! His base mode is very similar to Dai Atlas's Zone Mode instead of Overlord's base mode.

Soooo....2 retools/repaints/parts sharing then? one as Overlord & the other Dai Atlas

Stuartmaximus wrote:Soooo....2 retools/repaints/parts sharing then? one as Overlord & the other Dai Atlas

Dont forget Thunderwing

Here's an interesting comment I saw online about what Prime Wars part 2 would be: additinal armour.

Here is the fan's full quote:

Along the lines of the current Titan Masters integration, there could be Armor toys in a "Master" or Legends size. Basically it has a base form (a gun, or a companion) that can separate in to different parts that attach to the outside of the Deluxe or larger transformers. Or it can transform into different attachment types (chest armor mode, leg armor mode, etc). Each "Armor Master" could attach to any "Pretender", or be a gun/companion for them.

This would like mean deluxes would either increase in price to accommodate the extra plastic needed, or would have limited/no extra gimmick without buying the collectible class stuff. Voyagers and above could get away with it though I would think.

This seems to fit with some things they have been experimenting with in the RID toy line in the 2nd season (armor power ups), so I would think that would be a logical next step.

It does sound like what RID is currently doing though so I dont know if they would replicate it in another line.

Something else I think we should consider is what happens to the Titan Masters class? Unless I'm mistaking their business model, Hasbro doesn't seem the type to just add a new class in for one line and be done with it (at least in generations). I think RAR could be right on the money when they speculate about Micromasters; I think that's what the Titan Master class will become.
Or maybe if they're nice, Targetmasters?

Here's an fun example of what we were discussing earlier. Hasbro is sold out of Power Master Primes.... because TRU bought them ALLLL




The last 4 collumns are all TR leaders (you can see when you click the pic above and blow it up), making that 56 leaders in total.

Since this is wave 1 and that immense Christmas stock is finally hitting the shelf now (as opposed to few that trickedl down earlier) I am hoping its the same with Wave 2 stuff. I just wish it was stocked.

william-james88 wrote:Here's an fun example of what we were discussing earlier. Hasbro is sold out of Power Master Primes.... because TRU bought them ALLLL




The last 4 collumns are all TR leaders (you can see when you click the pic above and blow it up), making that 56 leaders in total.

Since this is wave 1 and that immense Christmas stock is finally hitting the shelf now (as opposed to few that trickedl down earlier) I am hoping its the same with Wave 2 stuff. I just wish it was stocked.

If the same is true for wave two, then Sondwave and Astrotrain might not be un-getable for me!

Kurona wrote:Something else I think we should consider is what happens to the Titan Masters class? Unless I'm mistaking their business model, Hasbro doesn't seem the type to just add a new class in for one line and be done with it (at least in generations). I think RAR could be right on the money when they speculate about Micromasters; I think that's what the Titan Master class will become.
Or maybe if they're nice, Targetmasters?

The FOC Data Disc Legends class got dropped after that phase of the line ended.

Sabrblade wrote:

Kurona wrote:Something else I think we should consider is what happens to the Titan Masters class? Unless I'm mistaking their business model, Hasbro doesn't seem the type to just add a new class in for one line and be done with it (at least in generations). I think RAR could be right on the money when they speculate about Micromasters; I think that's what the Titan Master class will become.
Or maybe if they're nice, Targetmasters?

The FOC Data Disc Legends class got dropped after that phase of the line ended.

It wasnt just the legends line which we saw again with megs and waspinator after?

william-james88 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Kurona wrote:Something else I think we should consider is what happens to the Titan Masters class? Unless I'm mistaking their business model, Hasbro doesn't seem the type to just add a new class in for one line and be done with it (at least in generations). I think RAR could be right on the money when they speculate about Micromasters; I think that's what the Titan Master class will become.
Or maybe if they're nice, Targetmasters?

The FOC Data Disc Legends class got dropped after that phase of the line ended.

It wasnt just the legends line which we saw again with megs and waspinator after?

The new Legends that came in Thrilling 30 were of a completely different size and aesthetic from the Data Discs. The new Legends were/are more new akin to Scout class figures but at a smaller size, whereas the Data Discs were more along the lines of the older Legends class that eventually folded into Cyberverse as the Legion class, but were also more unique in their spring-loaded transformations and more-simplistic-than-ever articulation ranges.

Isn't that basically the Legends class being replaced or evolving, though?

Kurona wrote:Isn't that basically the Legends class being replaced or evolving, though?

But the Legion class still exists. It was the old Legends class, but when that was renamed "Legion", a new, more sophisticatedly-engineered class came along and took the "Legends" name for its own.

Here's a rough timeline of the various Legends classes:

Original Legends class
2005: Legends of Cybertron --> 2006-2010: Legends class --> 2011-2014: Cyberverse Legion class --> 2014-Present: Legion class

In 2012, the Generations FOC line introduced the Legends class Data Discs as figures of the same size and scale as the above original Legends class, but with a unique aesthetic and fundamental gimmick.

In 2014, the Generations Legends class was introduced in the Thrilling 30 phase of the Generations line as a new, larger, and more advanced size class than either of the preceding two bearers of the "Legends class" name.

Sabrblade wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Kurona wrote:Something else I think we should consider is what happens to the Titan Masters class? Unless I'm mistaking their business model, Hasbro doesn't seem the type to just add a new class in for one line and be done with it (at least in generations). I think RAR could be right on the money when they speculate about Micromasters; I think that's what the Titan Master class will become.
Or maybe if they're nice, Targetmasters?

The FOC Data Disc Legends class got dropped after that phase of the line ended.

It wasnt just the legends line which we saw again with megs and waspinator after?

The new Legends that came in Thrilling 30 were of a completely different size and aesthetic from the Data Discs. The new Legends were/are more new akin to Scout class figures but at a smaller size, whereas the Data Discs were more along the lines of the older Legends class that eventually folded into Cyberverse as the Legion class, but were also more unique in their spring-loaded transformations and more-simplistic-than-ever articulation ranges.

I know the difference between the toys, but I was referring to the fact that a price point remained for the next line. Titan masters are a new price point in the gen line, in terms of being made to go alongside the rest of the line.

thats thunderwing

Sky Shadow, Dai Atlas, Overlord, Thunderwing. I would love all 4 in leader scale please. Give me them all

I just hope all four (potential) remolds are impressive and distinct enough from each other; something like Magnus-PM OP-Ginrai. I can definitely do without Sky Shadow, but Overlord I need - especially since, unlike other Leaders, he splits into two vehicles so I do actually have space for him!

Kurona wrote:I just hope all four (potential) remolds are impressive and distinct enough from each other; something like Magnus-PM OP-Ginrai. I can definitely do without Sky Shadow, but Overlord I need - especially since, unlike other Leaders, he splits into two vehicles so I do actually have space for him!

That, and we are finally getting good leader Deceptions that deserve to be that size and need to be that size and really were in need of a modern toy