The Energon Pub

RAR wrote:

RodimusRex wrote:Another speculation for a Firepower set: Voyager Megs in G2 deco?

There is another thing to consider which is that mould is also Blitzwing and Blitzwing is sometimes associated as a Flywheels colourscheme.

I'd be happy with a Nightbeat if he shared a body with Jazz. But I would guess they might be saving Jazz for 2018's new gimmic line.
I guess they could design a Jazz that has Titanmaster ability and also not- and make Nightbeat as the titanmaster version (in advance as a pre-paint) and then with some tweaks release it as Jazz perhaps as a Targetmaster instead. It might work out well as it would mean Jazz could still carry a driver if designed that way (unless that is where his head would end up).

The only time Blitzwing ever had Flywheels' colour scheme was in the Platinum G1 re-release set alongside Astrotrain, where both were clearly wearing colours that were not their norm. In any case TR Blitzwing as shown at Toyfair has a very different colour scheme to Flywheels so it would very easily work.

Why should Nightbeat and Jazz share a body...? The only time the two have ever been connected as such is when Nightbeat was going to be a recolour of Jazz in Thrilling 30 before they went with the Bumblebee mold instead. Which is good because while that mold still doesn't work for Nightbeat, it works a heck of a lot better for him than Jazz - the two characters have wildly different physical characteristics and silhouettes so making the two share a mold just wouldn't work at all.

King Kuuga wrote:

Qwan wrote:Kinda funny isn't it, that in a line that centres entirely around making Headmasters out of previously non-Headmaster characters, the biggest letdown of the entire line is the stickers. I mean, I remember the drama in the first few waves when "Blurr didn't used to be a Headmaster this is awful!!" but the hate for stickers seems to be closer to a seething disgust. Not that I disagree: my Rewind's stickers were misaligned and frayed at the edges from the very moment he was unpackaged, and the Autobot symbol on Broadside's chest in particular seems to be peeling off extremely rapidly despite basically never coming into contact with anything, ever.

I mean, I get that they're theoretically cheaper than paint so the budget can be redirected elsewhere - and the Voyagers in this line, IMHO, have been pretty great as a whole! - but really now. If you're going to do stickers, they need to be one of two things:
A) Actually good quality; or
B) Placed in areas where stickers are meant to be. I mean again, one of the connection points on Broadside's back panel literally punches a hole in the sticker when you connect it properly. Ugh...

Is it too soon to dub this phenomenon #Stickergate?

I hate stickers. Back in the G1 days, I only put a few stickers on my figures, mostly symbols or something really necessary. I kinda regret it now because most of my vintage figures look so bare but at the time I didn't mind since they didn't have peeling stickers all over the place.

The first Transformer I got I put all the stickers on and after they peeled and left residue all over I vowed never again.

RiddlerJ wrote:
I hate stickers. Back in the G1 days, I only put a few stickers on my figures, mostly symbols or something really necessary. I kinda regret it now because most of my vintage figures look so bare but at the time I didn't mind since they didn't have peeling stickers all over the place.

The first Transformer I got I put all the stickers on and after they peeled and left residue all over I vowed never again.

Try something called "sticky stuff remover" but be careful of it near any label you want to keep and cover up any chrome first but it will instantly remove glue residue.

Kurona wrote:

RAR wrote:The only time Blitzwing ever had Flywheels' colour scheme was in the Platinum G1 re-release set alongside Astrotrain, where both were clearly wearing colours that were not their norm. In any case TR Blitzwing as shown at Toyfair has a very different colour scheme to Flywheels so it would very easily work.

Why should Nightbeat and Jazz share a body...? The only time the two have ever been connected as such is when Nightbeat was going to be a recolour of Jazz in Thrilling 30 before they went with the Bumblebee mold instead. Which is good because while that mold still doesn't work for Nightbeat, it works a heck of a lot better for him than Jazz - the two characters have wildly different physical characteristics and silhouettes so making the two share a mold just wouldn't work at all.

There was a lot of call to see Fun Pub (before that ship sailed) repaint Generations Thrilling 30 Blitzwing into Flywheels to complement the Battletrap from Springer they did already so that was a secondary inspiration as well as the G1 reissue- also the tank/jet theme is very similar on both the original Duocon and the Titanmaster inspired by Flywheels too. in the comics the Duocons were treated as functionally much like a triplechanger too. Anyway I just thought i'd bring it up as an alternative to a straight Megatron G2 Repaint (which I have no objection to either - especially in purple).

Nightbeat and Jazz are originally both Porsches design wise I can see a reverse body Transformation and the wing doors folding up (for Nightbeat) or out or away for Jazz the feet would also be reversed (like on Generations Tracks/Wheeljack or Sideswipe/Sunstreaker basically) then in vehicle mode they'd be basically the same only perhaps with Jazz having some additional racing spoilers.

http://www.tfu.info/1984/Autobot/Jazz/jazz.htm
http://www.tfu.info/1988/Autobot/Nightb ... htbeat.htm

I'd rather have Nightbeat be more like Stepper than have him be like Bumblebee or Hotshot though.

bodrock wrote: I don't regret paying $45, and I haven't even transformed him yet. I can tell there's more fun to be had.

Nailed it

I honestly don't get why a lot of reviewers say Sixshot is not that great of a figure when they had only played with him long enough to know what he looks like so that they can hurry and get a review out, and some don't even know that the arms tab into the wings in jet mode. The heck? You gonna totally not try to move the treads out of the way to tab the wings in because "it's simply not in the directions"? BULLS***. Many times the people who did the directions aren't even the ones designing them, and they might've gotten something wrong! Giving a good toy a bad review simply because you are transforming it how "they told you to" instead of experimenting a bit first to figure out better ways to fiddle with it is just absurd in my opinion. Especially when it's obvious that the reason they don't sit down flat is because you didn't hinge the dumb treads out of the way EXACTLY LIKE YOU DID WITH THREE OR MORE OF THE OTHER MODES.

Most early toy reviewers bring out all the TF fan peeves of mine.

SillySpringer wrote:I honestly don't get why a lot of reviewers say Sixshot is not that great of a figure.

What???
This makes me feel angry and uncomfortable
Sixshot is a great figure and why the reviewers say that?

Albatross250 wrote:

SillySpringer wrote:I honestly don't get why a lot of reviewers say Sixshot is not that great of a figure.

What???
This makes me feel angry and uncomfortable
Sixshot is a great figure and why the reviewers say that?

I know right? Saying it's not impressive because the G1 toy did it alright is like saying LED lights are not that impressive pieces of engineering because light bulbs light up too.

SillySpringer wrote:

Albatross250 wrote:

SillySpringer wrote:I honestly don't get why a lot of reviewers say Sixshot is not that great of a figure.

What???
This makes me feel angry and uncomfortable
Sixshot is a great figure and why the reviewers say that?

I know right? Saying it's not impressive because the G1 toy did it alright is like saying LED lights are not that impressive pieces of engineering because light bulbs light up too.

You can't satisfy them all. Almost borderline OCDs.I'll be getting the Takara (de javu of Jetfire which I own both Hb and Takara ) version too!

(Fyi: I do have issues with Sixshot's lack of knee ratchets and his black thighs which should have been dull white )

RiddlerJ wrote:

King Kuuga wrote:

Qwan wrote:Kinda funny isn't it, that in a line that centres entirely around making Headmasters out of previously non-Headmaster characters, the biggest letdown of the entire line is the stickers. I mean, I remember the drama in the first few waves when "Blurr didn't used to be a Headmaster this is awful!!" but the hate for stickers seems to be closer to a seething disgust. Not that I disagree: my Rewind's stickers were misaligned and frayed at the edges from the very moment he was unpackaged, and the Autobot symbol on Broadside's chest in particular seems to be peeling off extremely rapidly despite basically never coming into contact with anything, ever.

I mean, I get that they're theoretically cheaper than paint so the budget can be redirected elsewhere - and the Voyagers in this line, IMHO, have been pretty great as a whole! - but really now. If you're going to do stickers, they need to be one of two things:
A) Actually good quality; or
B) Placed in areas where stickers are meant to be. I mean again, one of the connection points on Broadside's back panel literally punches a hole in the sticker when you connect it properly. Ugh...

Is it too soon to dub this phenomenon #Stickergate?

I hate stickers. Back in the G1 days, I only put a few stickers on my figures, mostly symbols or something really necessary. I kinda regret it now because most of my vintage figures look so bare but at the time I didn't mind since they didn't have peeling stickers all over the place.

The first Transformer I got I put all the stickers on and after they peeled and left residue all over I vowed never again.

I rather be the one to apply the decals/stickers.

just a quick question
how is black zarak gonna be in a boxset if hes a repaint of scorponok and he hasnt been released yet either

Bumblebee21 wrote:just a quick question
how is black zarak gonna be in a boxset if hes a repaint of scorponok and he hasnt been released yet either

Uhhh.... he's gonna be the next Titan class to be built right?

Bumblebee21 wrote:just a quick question
how is black zarak gonna be in a boxset if hes a repaint of scorponok and he hasnt been released yet either

He'll probably be the Titanmaster head for the set he's in.

Had one of these buggers in hand today along with Megatron and Soundwave. This was in a Target about 40 miles north of Seattle, Washington. Smokey Pt./Marysville area. Low funds left me with no choice but to leave them on the shelves. I was only after deluxes and/or the last two TM's I need from the current wave but none of the stores in the area have had them in stock at the times I've gone in. SixShot does indeed look amazing and I would have loved to have been able to snag him but it'll have to wait until payday.

SureShot18 wrote:

Bumblebee21 wrote:just a quick question
how is black zarak gonna be in a boxset if hes a repaint of scorponok and he hasnt been released yet either

He'll probably be the Titanmaster head for the set he's in.

That basically goes for any name that doesn't have a suitable mold ready for use, especially in Voyager and Leader Class.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

SureShot18 wrote:

Bumblebee21 wrote:just a quick question
how is black zarak gonna be in a boxset if hes a repaint of scorponok and he hasnt been released yet either

He'll probably be the Titanmaster head for the set he's in.

That basically goes for any name that doesn't have a suitable mold ready for use, especially in Voyager and Leader Class.

Scorponok's been confirmed?

SillySpringer wrote:Most early toy reviewers bring out all the TF fan peeves of mine.

Why are we talking about early toy reviewers now? Sixshot has been out worldwide for 2 months now. Its only early from a US perspective. And quite frankly it isn't an excellent toy. Do you have him sillyspringer? Because I think you should really wait until you do to pass judgement. Complaining about complainers is still complaining and is just as annoying.
Wait till you have the figure and then figure out if you like the toy or not.

Bumblebee21 wrote:just a quick question
how is black zarak gonna be in a boxset if hes a repaint of scorponok and he hasnt been released yet either

Easy answer, because the Black Zarak in the boxset could just be a titan master head. Like Thunderwing and Rodimus Prime which come in the 2 revealed boxsets.

Albatross250 wrote:Uhhh.... he's gonna be the next Titan class to be built right?

Either him or Omega Supreme.

Kurona wrote:
Why should Nightbeat and Jazz share a body...?

Because they are both cars and thats it. For boxsets (which is what RAR was talking about with Nightbeat), Hasbro doesnt need more than that. Hell recently even mainline toys only needed the same alt mode to be redecos.

Sunstreaker never shared a body with breakdown and yet:


Transformers Generations Combiner Wars Sunstreaker Gallery

Ironhide and Trailbreaker never shared a body before this:


Transformers Generations Combiner Wars Trailbreaker Gallery

And of course Sky Shadow and Overlord had totally different bodies and gimicks, one being a duocon and the other being a pretender and yet here we are. So if that can happen then 2 guys who turn into similar cars having the same body can easily exist.

The point is there is no precedent for 2 characters sharing the same mold until there is one and it can happen at any time with no logic behind it.

william-james88 wrote:

Kurona wrote:
Why should Nightbeat and Jazz share a body...?

Because they are both cars and thats it. For boxsets (which is what RAR was talking about with Nightbeat), Hasbro doesnt need more than that. Hell recently even mainline toys only needed the same alt mode to be redecos.

Sunstreaker never shared a body with breakdown and yet:


Transformers Generations Combiner Wars Sunstreaker Gallery

Ironhide and Trailbreaker never shared a body before this:


Transformers Generations Combiner Wars Trailbreaker Gallery

And of course Sky Shadow and Overlord had totally different bodies and gimicks, one being a duocon and the other being a pretender and yet here we are. So if that can happen then 2 guys who turn into similar cars having the same body can easily exist.

The point is there is no precedent for 2 characters sharing the same mold until there is one and it can happen at any time with no logic behind it.

Well...

1. Combiner Wars was a completely different and unique scenario
2. If you're going to find two car characters to share a mold, it'd be foolish to pair up Jazz and Nightbeat since they each have one of the two most generic most used transformations between carformers - the hood-chest transformations and the bottom-of-the-car-stands-up transformation. There's a bit more to them than that, but that's it boiled down to its most basic premise. They each share a different basic transformation scheme with countless other characters - Jazz with the datsuns, movie/tfp Bumblebee, etc; Nightbeat with the combiner cars, Chromedome, Siren etc. - that it'd just be silly and a huge waste to pair them up. It'd be like choosing to turn Highbrow into Quake when there's a perfectly good tank mold - Hardhead - available.
3. The post you replied to was specifically in response to RAR wanting the two to share a mold, rather than how likely it is for them to share a mold. Despite what I rambled on about for so long above I know Hasbro (and on occasion Takara) do really dumb unfitting mold re-uses on a constant basis. I know that if they wanted to make a Jazz out of Nightbeat or vice versa, they would do it - partly because it almost already happened. I'm not naive, I know this happens all the time. I was just asking why he would want that rather than begrudgingly accept it if it happened.

Kurona wrote:3. The post you replied to was specifically in response to RAR wanting the two to share a mold, rather than how likely it is for them to share a mold. Despite what I rambled on about for so long above I know Hasbro (and on occasion Takara) do really dumb unfitting mold re-uses on a constant basis. I know that if they wanted to make a Jazz out of Nightbeat or vice versa, they would do it - partly because it almost already happened. I'm not naive, I know this happens all the time. I was just asking why he would want that rather than begrudgingly accept it if it happened.

Ah, I understand now. Well maybe he already accepted defeat and is talking about a dumb Hasbro idea he would be ok with. Its like how I feel whenever someone suggests a retool instead of wanting a new mold for anything.

william-james88 wrote:

Kurona wrote:3. The post you replied to was specifically in response to RAR wanting the two to share a mold, rather than how likely it is for them to share a mold. Despite what I rambled on about for so long above I know Hasbro (and on occasion Takara) do really dumb unfitting mold re-uses on a constant basis. I know that if they wanted to make a Jazz out of Nightbeat or vice versa, they would do it - partly because it almost already happened. I'm not naive, I know this happens all the time. I was just asking why he would want that rather than begrudgingly accept it if it happened.

Ah, I understand now. Well maybe he already accepted defeat and is talking about a dumb Hasbro idea he would be ok with. Its like how I feel whenever someone suggests a retool instead of wanting a new mold for anything.

He already said why - and it does kinda make sense, a whole Universe Sideswipe/Sunstreaker deal where they're flipped around in order to better match their traditional silhouettes and physical characteristics (so that Jazz would have his car hood boobs and Nightbeat would have his mono-boob). Which would be kinda cool and I'd be interested in seeing an honest effort to make that work.

About characters sharing car modes: Hasbro does pay some attention to what type of car is used, or at the very least the basic shape, and especially iconic cars like Lamborghinis. Sunstreaker (and by extension Sideswipe) has always has a Lamborghini-inspired car mode (except during Binaltech/Alternators), so does Breakdown. And they've used that fact for the BotCon 2010 Breakdown, based on Universe 2008 Sunstreak/Sideswipe:



Not in the same line, mind you.

The Ironhide and Trailbreaker dynamic is a bit more interesting, especially on the Trailbreaker side. Ironhide has always been characterized as a hardened 'bot, so tough-looking vehicles have been used for later incarnations, starting with G2 as a redeco of G2 Motormouth:



Fast forward 10-or-so years, that mold would get a Trailbreaker deco:



However, due to trademarks he was named Ironhide (via RiD Ironhide).

Don't ask me why Gen. Nightbeat turned into a retool of Bumblebee instead Jazz with his more rounded Porsche. It did work out for Goshooter who's based on Siren, as the Bumblebee mold could better emulate his shoulders.

The original point still stands though, especially if there are no proper alternatives on short notice.

I'd be okay with Nightbeat and Jazz sharing a mold to some extent, if only for the fact that it'd mean we'd get both Nightbeat and Jazz toys. I understand RTS Jazz is absolutely fantastic, but once again I never found him around and most of the time I just can't be bothered getting toys on the aftermarket so it'd be nice to get both of those guys again - only if, of course, both of them were at least decent representations of the characters.


Speaking of retools and how much they do or don't work, Fort Max. From what I can gather, the biggest issue most have with him is the extremely underwhelming base mode, so how about a few suggestions for alternate base modes that work better than "drunk headless robot"?

First up, the old classic (with a couple of my own tweaks) - I remember seeing this approximate configuration posted on the boards back before I even got Max, but I don't actually remember whose design it was. So uh, "credit to the original artist" I guess?

Of course, everything looks better when it's fully populated, but this config is my personal favorite and go-to 'base mode'.

And then the more "experimental" mode: this one stemmed from my desire to integrate the shoulder-hinge into a base mode, and it's really more of a barricade/trench/gun emplacement than a city - but it's better scaled that way and works quite well as such to boot.

Once again my ""lighting setup"" results in kind of washed-out, blurry photos but I hope the idea comes across anyway. My personal favorite detail is the forearm hatch's ability to open up as an extra spot for a Legends-size figure.

And then, a bit of a "battle scene" with the first config. Even if Fort Max isn't fantastic as a base either way, he certainly adds some 'oomph' to the Autobot ranks - so much so that even with the addition of a couple combiners to bolster their forces, TR's Decepticons really seem quite outmatched (at least until Trypticon arrives)!

Great pics Qwan! I love seeing new configs for Fort Max.

Qwan wrote:I'd be okay with Nightbeat and Jazz sharing a mold to some extent, if only for the fact that it'd mean we'd get both Nightbeat and Jazz toys. I understand RTS Jazz is absolutely fantastic, but once again I never found him around and most of the time I just can't be bothered getting toys on the aftermarket so it'd be nice to get both of those guys again - only if, of course, both of them were at least decent representations of the characters.

Talking of RTS Jazz and the need to have a toy of the character again... I do wonder if Cosmos sets precedent for more re-issues. I'd love another chance to get Jazz and since it was in such short supply I know a lot of people would feel the same way. It's apparently a brilliant toy, I've always kinda liked Jazz and then Optimus Prime #3 came along and made me like him even more.
And this would actually be another way around cost-cutting! There's more unique molds in a line because you don't need to retool most anything since you're re-releasing old toys! Now of course that is a bit of a slippery slope considering they could just re-release anything... but it'd be awesome to see molds that were previously hard to get like RTS Jazz on the shelves instead of another Dead End repaint.

Qwan wrote:Speaking of retools and how much they do or don't work, Fort Max. From what I can gather, the biggest issue most have with him is the extremely underwhelming base mode, so how about a few suggestions for alternate base modes that work better than "drunk headless robot"?


And then the more "experimental" mode: this one stemmed from my desire to integrate the shoulder-hinge into a base mode, and it's really more of a barricade/trench/gun emplacement than a city - but it's better scaled that way and works quite well as such to boot.

Once again my ""lighting setup"" results in kind of washed-out, blurry photos but I hope the idea comes across anyway. My personal favorite detail is the forearm hatch's ability to open up as an extra spot for a Legends-size figure.

I... kinda like this, actually. It's the first time I've really seen anyone experiment with him beyond just blocks and square shapes and actually used his articulation to the alt-mode's advantage. I like it!

Qwan wrote:

That height disparity between Devastator and Bruticus is downright hilarious.

One of the local Walmarts got another 3 cases of Deluxe wave 3, but only put one on the shelf and left the other two unopened on the top shelf. It really amazes me that some parts of the country still haven't gotten these because I've probably seen nine or 10 cases at this particular store now (four just before Christmas, three more now, and a few in between), and they sell out every time. They also seem to have gotten in at least one case of wave 3 Titan Masters, but all that was left was two Overboards. This store hasn't gotten Soundwave yet and I still haven't found wave 3 Legends anywhere. Not sure if I'll be seeing wave 4 stuff for a while.

Eh, I'll take a stab at the other two box sets while I'm at it:

Firepower: Godbomber/Apex Bomber, G2 Megatron (gotta be green), Crosshairs (from Kup), Cloudraker, Titan Master Galvatron (with sculpted horns like Thunderwing, but wider from TM arm to arm)

Intelligence: Thunderwing (Marvel face sculpt), Leo Prime (in red and blue), Magnificus (with Ga'mede), Wingspan, TM Optimus Primal

Kinda grasping on the TMs, but I was going for characters that either held or at least came in contact with the Matrix like Thunderwing and Rodimus in the first two sets.

Emerje

Emerje wrote:One of the local Walmarts got another 3 cases of Deluxe wave 3, but only put one on the shelf and left the other two unopened on the top shelf. It really amazes me that some parts of the country still haven't gotten these because I've probably seen nine or 10 cases at this particular store now (four just before Christmas, three more now, and a few in between), and they sell out every time. They also seem to have gotten in at least one case of wave 3 Titan Masters, but all that was left was two Overboards. This store hasn't gotten Soundwave yet and I still haven't found wave 3 Legends anywhere. Not sure if I'll be seeing wave 4 stuff for a while.

Eh, I'll take a stab at the other two box sets while I'm at it:

Firepower: Godbomber/Apex Bomber, G2 Megatron (gotta be green), Crosshairs (from Kup), Cloudraker, Titan Master Galvatron (with sculpted horns like Thunderwing, but wider from TM arm to arm)

Intelligence: Thunderwing (Marvel face sculpt), Leo Prime (in red and blue), Magnificus (with Ga'mede), Wingspan, TM Optimus Primal

Kinda grasping on the TMs, but I was going for characters that either held or at least came in contact with the Matrix like Thunderwing and Rodimus in the first two sets.

Emerje

Those TMs actually work pretty well in contrast to the ones we already know about - a Season 3 Leader and a previous Leader who was in the Power of the Primes vote.