The Energon Pub

WreckerJack wrote:

Qwan wrote:

WreckerJack wrote:Probly a dumb question but is this legit? (I don't think so)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/3222938255 ... noapp=true

It... seems to be? The price isn't that unreasonably low, especially considering that it's being sold more-or-less 'loose' (regardless whether it's actually 'used' or not), and I can't see any differences from the official Hasbro. (Additionally, the description shows no signs of misleading information, the product itself is rated well - admittedly out of two ratings - and the seller seems to be pretty trustworthy if I'm reading the confusing eBay information correctly.) Of course, I'm nowhere close to a be-all end-all source of knowledge and advice, but to my untrained self it seems like it probably is in fact legit.

What raises my red flag is that it is from China because a lot of bootlegs come out of China for lower cost. Also I do remember that a while back some stolen WWE figures were sold out of China at a super low cost too.

Edit - looks like they got a negative rating on a Sharkticon http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.d ... 9228278021

Guess my spidey senses were on point.

Hmm, still hard to tell. To play devil's advocate here, that's only a single negative review out of 319 Gnaw purchases (and also compared to at least 6 positive reviews, probably more I didn't look too far). A couple of the other negative feedbacks on other products raised a few flags for me too, what with claiming they were "not real Transformers" and "yard-sale quality" - but as it turns out, those other items were in fact various (declared...ish? Not labelled explicitly but not trying to masquerade as official product either) KO's and 3P toys.

So I still don't really know if we can draw a conclusion from what we have, but I definitely wouldn't recommend going for this one. I imagine Gnaw will be showing up fairly widespread pretty soon, so no need to take a gamble just on the off chance of saving some time and a few bucks. (One thing I can say for certain from their feedback page though, is that they are short-tempered and rather prone to childishness. Not the most pleasant quality you'd look for in a salesman )

As we indicated the other day, the street date for the 4th wave of Titans Return toys has passed and while they won't be available domestically in the US for a little while, they are now popping up online in great number. E-bay now has several listings for all the characters in the wave and depending on where you are wolrdwide, it may even be at a similar price to the one you would pay.

For instance, here is a whole set of the deluxe class including Perceptor, Krok, Quake, Topspin and Kup for US $129.99 / £104, from the animetropolis store.



There is also Roadburn for US $11.90 from from the Element+JoeyYamamoto.



The premium differs from store to store, as does the shipping. But for anyone wanting them now or worried of not getting them later, these are viable options.

I hope a lot of third-party or Shapeways folks leap on the chance to make sets of guns to replace all the awful looking ones with "seats".

WreckerJack wrote:Probly a dumb question but is this legit? (I don't think so)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/3222938255 ... noapp=true

Why wouldnt it be legit? These are new toys, there hasnt been a chance to KO them yet. So yes, this is the legit toy. However, due to it not having a box, it is probably a factory reject. The person probably made a deal with the factory to get their rejects, they might be stolen, who knows.

Back when toys were made in China, there was a lot more stuff like this, and we were able to get crazy deals on toys which didnt have packaging. Like Exclusive Cloud figures for $20 and Calvin Johnson Megatron toys for $10-$15.

But unless you live in a place that does not stock Transformer toys (like many parts of Vietnam, ironically), I would wait for you to buy this in stores or online from a standard retailer. It could even be cheaper and it would come new in its box.

william-james88 wrote:

WreckerJack wrote:Probly a dumb question but is this legit? (I don't think so)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/3222938255 ... noapp=true

Why wouldnt it be legit? These are new toys, there hasnt been a chance to KO them yet. So yes, this is the legit toy. However, due to it not having a box, it is probably a factory reject. The person probably made a deal with the factory to get their rejects, they might be stolen, who knows.

Back when toys were made in China, there was a lot more stuff like this, and we were able to get crazy deals on toys which didnt have packaging. Like Exclusive Cloud figures for $20 and Calvin Johnson Megatron toys for $10-$15.

But unless you live in a place that does not stock Transformer toys (like many parts of Vietnam, ironically), I would wait for you to buy this in stores or online from a standard retailer. It could even be cheaper and it would come new in its box.

Plus, $0.49 shipping from a seller in China? That is probably going to be a fairly long wait just to see if the quality is there for essentially the same price if you are in the US. Heck, you may even find them locally while you are waiting for this one to arrive.

TF-fan kev777 wrote:Plus, $0.49 shipping from a seller in China? That is probably going to be a fairly long wait just to see if the quality is there for essentially the same price if you are in the US. Heck, you may even find them locally while you are waiting for this one to arrive.

I wouldn't go that far, let's try to be realistic here

fenrir72 wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:Broadsides plane mode is still shite

Compared to this?



Not perfect but waaaaaay improved.

Heck even 3rd party managed this

Both of those still look much better than this guy as he is officially Transformed. Seriously, that jet mode on TR Broadside is a compete joke and looks worse.

Gotta agree with D-Max on this one, his approximate jet mode is rather abhorrent

Strangely enough, I feel that it would fit Tidalwave as a huge, unsubtle war machine

Hellscream9999 wrote:Strangely enough, I feel that it would fit Tidalwave as a huge, unsubtle war machine

"Tidal Wave... you're supposed to be transforming into a Jet Mo--"
"Tidal Wave DESTROY"

Could it be mistransformed in the picture we've seen of it in jet mode(Broadside)

coz it's either that....or we'll have to rely on Takara Tomy in the hope that they sort something out with the jet mode

Stuartmaximus wrote:Could it be mistransformed in the picture we've seen of it in jet mode(Broadside)

coz it's either that....or we'll have to rely on Takara Tomy in the hope that they sort something out with the jet mode

Official pictures and in hand pictures have the jet mode looking like that. If it's mistransformed, every single person to get has been doing it wrong then

Stuartmaximus wrote:Could it be mistransformed in the picture we've seen of it in jet mode(Broadside)

coz it's either that....or we'll have to rely on Takara Tomy in the hope that they sort something out with the jet mode

How is Takara even supposed to change the jet mode do you think Takara would make new tooling?

In that case why would Hasbro not just release that version then?

I think the only differences are going to be paint.

Deadput wrote:

Stuartmaximus wrote:Could it be mistransformed in the picture we've seen of it in jet mode(Broadside)

coz it's either that....or we'll have to rely on Takara Tomy in the hope that they sort something out with the jet mode

How is Takara even supposed to change the jet mode do you think Takara would make new tooling?

In that case why would Hasbro not just release that version then?

I think the only differences are going to be paint.

To be fair the same could be said about many other products Takara has heavily retooled from Hasbro in recent history - Computron and Ginrai, for instance.

Still, for someone so D-list and obscure I can't imagine them changing the tooling beyond a cartoon-accurate face. I mean it's possible, but don't count on it.

Kurona wrote:To be fair the same could be said about many other products Takara has heavily retooled from Hasbro in recent history - Computron and Ginrai, for instance.

Still, for someone so D-list and obscure I can't imagine them changing the tooling beyond a cartoon-accurate face. I mean it's possible, but don't count on it.

I meant specifically that they would make new tooling for only the jet mode yet somehow nothing would change the robot and ship mode.


For Ginrai Takara changed both modes drastically and for Computron Afterburner was the exact same as the Hasbro version with different paint, Lightspeed was just the Wheeljack mold with a new head and paint that Hasbro simply did not use, Strafe is a remold of a mold that did not see Hasbro release although instead Hasbro made their own retool for Strafe that did not see a Takara release and finally Scattorshot and Nosecone are drastic enough retools that I don't understand why Hasbro did not use them so I agree with those two.

Deadput wrote:Lightspeed was just the Wheeljack mold with a new head and paint that Hasbro simply did not use,

No, Takara made that head new. The unused pretooled Wheeljack mold headsculpt is the upcoming TFSS Counterpunch head.

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

Stuartmaximus wrote:Could it be mistransformed in the picture we've seen of it in jet mode(Broadside)

coz it's either that....or we'll have to rely on Takara Tomy in the hope that they sort something out with the jet mode

Official pictures and in hand pictures have the jet mode looking like that. If it's mistransformed, every single person to get has been doing it wrong then

Yeah usually we've seen something that would contradict it at this point, since we haven't, I'd say that we'd better start making our peace with this figure's jet mode

must admit i'm annoyed there are 2 repaints in this wave - both of which i don't have an interest in really. I was ok with breakaway because his colour scheme as I never liked Chromosome's

guess i'm gonna have to try and hunt them down as individuals.

Deadput wrote:

Stuartmaximus wrote:Could it be mistransformed in the picture we've seen of it in jet mode(Broadside)

coz it's either that....or we'll have to rely on Takara Tomy in the hope that they sort something out with the jet mode

How is Takara even supposed to change the jet mode do you think Takara would make new tooling?

In that case why would Hasbro not just release that version then?

I think the only differences are going to be paint.

I'm certain its possible to get a better looking jet mode while still keeping the other modes looking nice too. It would likely require a higher parts count devoted to the legs, which would have to do some heavy lifting to help it out, but I think it's possible. All of this, however, would be too expensive for hasbro as they would likely be unable to have the higher profit margins from these figures that they seem so desperate to acheive

frogbat wrote:must admit i'm annoyed there are 2 repaints in this wave - both of which i don't have an interest in really. I was ok with breakaway because his colour scheme as I never liked Chromosome's

guess i'm gonna have to try and hunt them down as individuals.

Ironically the 2 repaints are the only deluxes that I'm looking forward to in that wave as they're the only ones I find to be of any interest. Gonna get Sky Shadow too, skip the rest of the crap from wave 4

I'm really confused by this most recent news post. $150 shipped for five deluxes ($30+ individually) is an exciting and newsworthy deal? I feel like I'm missing something here. I mean, I get that these figures are really new and there's a premium to getting things months ahead of when they'll show up at retail. But BBTS has been doing Titans Return cases of 8 for $135 (before shipping). At US retail they shouldn't be more than $16 each or so, so about $80 for 5. $150 is very nearly double that...

Really not trying to rain on anybody's parade, just trying to understand.

Cyrano wrote:I'm really confused by this most recent news post. $150 shipped for five deluxes ($30+ individually) is an exciting and newsworthy deal? I feel like I'm missing something here. I mean, I get that these figures are really new and there's a premium to getting things months ahead of when they'll show up at retail. But BBTS has been doing Titans Return cases of 8 for $135 (before shipping). At US retail they shouldn't be more than $16 each or so, so about $80 for 5. $150 is very nearly double that...

Really not trying to rain on anybody's parade, just trying to understand.

Simply put, this is the first time they've been available for purchase - despite the fact the price is outrageous, it's still news.

Cyrano wrote:Really not trying to rain on anybody's parade, just trying to understand.

The prices you use for comparison are all US centric, this listing and the news is for the whole world to see. Colletors in japan pay $36 per deluxe http://www.redmercury.co.jp/shop/detail ... =RED-13802 And other ins brazil pay similar too. And many reviewers and people who want to make early galleries like having these in advance. The premium they pay can be offset from the extra youtube revenue of having figures early.

In the end, your argument was just related to the US while that is just 1 out of the 196 countries in the world.

Deadput wrote:

Kurona wrote:To be fair the same could be said about many other products Takara has heavily retooled from Hasbro in recent history - Computron and Ginrai, for instance.

Still, for someone so D-list and obscure I can't imagine them changing the tooling beyond a cartoon-accurate face. I mean it's possible, but don't count on it.

I meant specifically that they would make new tooling for only the jet mode yet somehow nothing would change the robot and ship mode.


For Ginrai Takara changed both modes drastically and for Computron Afterburner was the exact same as the Hasbro version with different paint, Lightspeed was just the Wheeljack mold with a new head and paint that Hasbro simply did not use, Strafe is a remold of a mold that did not see Hasbro release although instead Hasbro made their own retool for Strafe that did not see a Takara release and finally Scattorshot and Nosecone are drastic enough retools that I don't understand why Hasbro did not use them so I agree with those two.

& don't forget that CW Blast Off was also retooled(by Takara) from a repainted arielbot to his original space shuttle look

Stuartmaximus wrote:

Deadput wrote:

Kurona wrote:To be fair the same could be said about many other products Takara has heavily retooled from Hasbro in recent history - Computron and Ginrai, for instance.

Still, for someone so D-list and obscure I can't imagine them changing the tooling beyond a cartoon-accurate face. I mean it's possible, but don't count on it.

I meant specifically that they would make new tooling for only the jet mode yet somehow nothing would change the robot and ship mode.


For Ginrai Takara changed both modes drastically and for Computron Afterburner was the exact same as the Hasbro version with different paint, Lightspeed was just the Wheeljack mold with a new head and paint that Hasbro simply did not use, Strafe is a remold of a mold that did not see Hasbro release although instead Hasbro made their own retool for Strafe that did not see a Takara release and finally Scattorshot and Nosecone are drastic enough retools that I don't understand why Hasbro did not use them so I agree with those two.

& don't forget that CW Blast Off was also retooled(by Takara) from a repainted arielbot to his original space shuttle look

No he wasn't. Takara just ignored Hasbro's toy and made a completely new mold from scratch.

Sabrblade wrote:

Stuartmaximus wrote:

Deadput wrote:

Kurona wrote:To be fair the same could be said about many other products Takara has heavily retooled from Hasbro in recent history - Computron and Ginrai, for instance.

Still, for someone so D-list and obscure I can't imagine them changing the tooling beyond a cartoon-accurate face. I mean it's possible, but don't count on it.

I meant specifically that they would make new tooling for only the jet mode yet somehow nothing would change the robot and ship mode.


For Ginrai Takara changed both modes drastically and for Computron Afterburner was the exact same as the Hasbro version with different paint, Lightspeed was just the Wheeljack mold with a new head and paint that Hasbro simply did not use, Strafe is a remold of a mold that did not see Hasbro release although instead Hasbro made their own retool for Strafe that did not see a Takara release and finally Scattorshot and Nosecone are drastic enough retools that I don't understand why Hasbro did not use them so I agree with those two.

& don't forget that CW Blast Off was also retooled(by Takara) from a repainted arielbot to his original space shuttle look

No he wasn't. Takara just ignored Hasbro's toy and made a completely new mold from scratch.

Even better then! as Deadput was asking about new tooling, coz if they did that for Blast Off....then they could always do it for Broadside