The Energon Pub

Didn't CW end on wave 6? That being the Sky Lynx wave? It was just they reset the numbering on the wave prior because it was the start of a new calender year?

Cobotron wrote:You guys bring up some important details I didn't take into consideration about TR, the addition of a new size class in the TM packs, and the number of waves. 6 WAVES! In one year? That's is insane, and a new precedent. Although IIRC, CW had more than 4. Also the wave count on Deluxes! AND, more diversity in the Leader class!

I love that between CW and TR a newer/younger collector can build a "Classics" collection with the two lines alone, and us old fogies can enjoy new takes, with different play options on classic characters we may already have on or shelves. Plus with TR, we finally get charecters we've been pining for for years.

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE!!!!!

I'm obnoxiously forgiving of these toys I love, but I can honestly say, with it's varying degrees of awesomeness, there isn't a single TR figure I hate so much I'd use it to clean my toilet.

Its weird, because I'm buying fewer figures in TR than I was for CW, but that's not because I don't like them; in CW, I bought the Stunticons, the Combaticons, Leaders Mags and Megs, and Legends Blackjack and Bombshell. So that's 8 deluxes and 2 each of Voyagers, Leaders, and Legends, for a total of 14 figures (just in the currently available flagship toyline) oh, plus Devastator for 6 more Voyagers, so an even 20. Whereas so far in TR I've got...2 Legends, 9 deluxes (with plans to get 5 more), and 2 Voyagers with one more in my sights. So that's actually 18 mainline figures I'm planning on having purchases by line's end. And maybe Trypticon, but probably not for space limitations, we'll see.

So I guess the effect then becomes: it only feels like I've bought significantly less because the three combiners I have were all effectively the same wave. So I feel as though I dropped more money all at once on a whole wave of figures? I think that's probably what I'm getting at.

As others have mentioned, the TR line has had great variety and figure versatility to thank for the plastic-crack addiction.
It certainly helps that I missed out on the original Headmasters -- it made me want them that much more! I also appreciate they're mixing up TFs from different lines (target, head, action-masters!) and including characters we may not have seen in the US previously.

Insurgent wrote:Didn't CW end on wave 6? That being the Sky Lynx wave? It was just they reset the numbering on the wave prior because it was the start of a new calender year?

Yes CW had 6 waves and I believe they first started popping up in early 2015, and ended basically in the summer of 2016 (sans a couple box sets and Platinum releases). So roughly 18 months. TR will run about the same schedule since starting in the summer of 2016, and probably truly ending at the end of this year, thus making 2018 the premiere of Power Of The Primes. Of course there is always a little bleeding over between toy lines, Hasbro may try to push some early POTP to be in stores for the holiday season, but I really don't think its essential for them, they'll mostly be pushing TLK, and finishing off RiD15.

Also I think its kind of odd, but in a cool way. Pretty much all of wave 5 was revealed at Toy Fair (and a little of wave 6), but so far, these toys have not been made available for anyone to purchase from overseas to review yet. I mean I'm used to being 1-2 waves behind from when they get reviewed, to when they pop-up in stores. Yet in an odd twist, I'm starting to see some toys in stores even before 3P retailers are offering them online...

I think it's also because each figure is its own personal experience. With Combiner Wars, while you of course certainly could get Swindle and Air Raid on their own and enjoy them on their own, the big point was that you wanted to get all 5 (sometimes all 6) to complete a combiner. So while we of course knew we were getting an individual figure each time, that sort of thing can subconsciously (or even consciously) lead to the feeling that you're just getting one part of the experience, not a whole package. It certainly doesn't help that feeling when aside from possibly the Rook mold they all had very simple transformations that were very similar to another.

In contrast, each Titans Return figure is its own thing. You don't get Hot Rod for forming Defensor; you get Hot Rod for Hot Rod. And while they can all interact, that interactivity is really more of a bonus than the whole point (with the possible exception of the cassettes) like Combiners were. I don't think a lot of people are picking up Quake for his Titan Master alone. I mean maybe you are, I dunno. I'm not judging; it's a cool facesculpt.

I think it's best summed up by Thew in his first Titans Return review; which I think was Skullsmasher - "It feels so refreshing to just pick up a figure and not feel like you have to buy the whole wave. I mean you can, and I did, but you don't have to."



Also the fact there's far less repaints helps too, along with the much more innovative forms of retooling and parts sharing.

SUPER COMBO WEAPON

I was messing around with gnaw earlier, specifically with the hand and under arm ports and did this.

william-james88 wrote:

Ironhidensh wrote:Along with him came the complete Transformers Animated series on DVD. My boys love it!

Yeah it wa a fun revamp of G1 for a whole new generations. Great nods and a kickass shockwave (voiced by the same guy).

Please let us know in the TR thread what you think of Sky Shadow.

So, Black Shadow (screw official names), allow me to wax poetic on him....

I'm not really sure how I feel about him. For a leader class figure, he is ridiculously simple in transformation. Some deluxe figures have a more involved transformation. Also, I very much feel a bit more design effort should have gone into the combined alt mode. It's like it was late Friday afternoon, and the lead designer was all "Eh, the jet will just sit on top of the tank, that's good enough. Papa needs a beer" and bailed. Disappointing, really.

That said, the robot mode is impressively imposing. I really like the look of it. Also, you can transform him without removing the head. That is a massive bonus to me, as I'm not overly fond of the line wide headmaster gimmick. The individual alt modes look really good as well. Over all, I like him. He isn't worth a leader class price point, but it is a fun figure.

I also recently got Broadside. This figure is ridiculous. That said, I love it, and I can't explain why. Robot mode looks nice and beefy, like a Wrecker should. Carrier mode is nice, and jet mode is plain stupid. I'm very tempted to attach the Airealbots, but I know as soon as I take them off the tree, I'll loose them.

While TR certainly is a large line with lots of new or almost new molds it doesn't really seem like it to me since I only have 12 TR figures. Two TMs, 3 Legends, 5 deluxes, and 2 voyagers. Early on I was really getting caught up in the hype and I was thinking about being a semi-completionist for a while. But then I decided to cut back and be more selective. If I would have done that earlier I probably wouldn't have Hardhead and Skullsmasher. I find it to be all the more satisfying to pick and choose than to just buy everything, I don't know why. But that said almost all of Wave 4 has piqued my interest.

For Combiner Wars I waited to buy figures because I didn't want to wind up not having a full combiner and Transformers weren't really interesting me as much as they are know. Eventually I got what I wanted from CW but it really is nice to just be able to buy figures with no strings attached.

Saw tr megs the other week, passed right on the spot, he looks so hideous, the proportions are all wrong, and could the paint job be any more obnoxiously lackluster? he and galvatron look to have bee hit the hardest from being headmasters, as this means the head has to be a constant size, even if it isn't in scale with the rest of the body. I can't believe how bad he looks, tiny head, thin shoulders, and that extra-long torso isn't doing anyone any favors.

Hellscream9999 wrote:Saw tr megs the other week, passed right on the spot, he looks so hideous, the proportions are all wrong, and could the paint job be any more obnoxiously lackluster? he and galvatron look to have bee hit the hardest from being headmasters, as this means the head has to be a constant size, even if it isn't in scale with the rest of the body. I can't believe how bad he looks, tiny head, thin shoulders, and that extra-long torso isn't doing anyone any favors.

It's a good figure, but not a good Megatron. I put Loudmouth's tm on it and it looks like a cool generic deception. I call him grayscale.
Blitzwing will be awesome though.

LE0KING wrote:

Hellscream9999 wrote:Saw tr megs the other week, passed right on the spot, he looks so hideous, the proportions are all wrong, and could the paint job be any more obnoxiously lackluster? he and galvatron look to have bee hit the hardest from being headmasters, as this means the head has to be a constant size, even if it isn't in scale with the rest of the body. I can't believe how bad he looks, tiny head, thin shoulders, and that extra-long torso isn't doing anyone any favors.

It's a good figure, but not a good Megatron. I put Loudmouth's tm on it and it looks like a cool generic deception. I call him grayscale.
Blitzwing will be awesome though.

No, he won't because he'll suffer from all the proportion problems megs has, the mold just doesn't look right to me, so I can never get it. Wish him and galvatron weren't headmasters, then they could have a head in scale with the rest of the body (and we could get a $25 mp galvatron in that case, but why would hasbro do that?)

Would it start to become a thing associated with me if I once again stepped in to defend TR Megatron?

Kurona wrote:Would it start to become a thing associated with me if I once again stepped in to defend TR Megatron?

No, and there's nothing wrong with that, it's a springer-level triple-changer, and I can see why so many people like the mold, but, having seen it in-hand, it just doesn't look right to me, so I'm not gonna waste money on it just because it's a g1 character

Kurona wrote:Would it start to become a thing associated with me if I once again stepped in to defend TR Megatron?

I got yer back K.

Hellscream9999 wrote:

LE0KING wrote:

Hellscream9999 wrote:Saw tr megs the other week, passed right on the spot, he looks so hideous, the proportions are all wrong, and could the paint job be any more obnoxiously lackluster? he and galvatron look to have bee hit the hardest from being headmasters, as this means the head has to be a constant size, even if it isn't in scale with the rest of the body. I can't believe how bad he looks, tiny head, thin shoulders, and that extra-long torso isn't doing anyone any favors.

It's a good figure, but not a good Megatron. I put Loudmouth's tm on it and it looks like a cool generic deception. I call him grayscale.
Blitzwing will be awesome though.

No, he won't because he'll suffer from all the proportion problems megs has, the mold just doesn't look right to me, so I can never get it. Wish him and galvatron weren't headmasters, then they could have a head in scale with the rest of the body (and we could get a $25 mp galvatron in that case, but why would hasbro do that?)

We'll see. I think blitzwing will be ok with the bulky proportions, he's a big bot anyway.

I agree on vanilla galvatron being a disappointment. But Shapways has a better head and a neck joint that folds into Galvatron's body for like $15 total. Not as good as it could have been, but fixes are available.

I'll say this about TR Megatron: He's not the best toy ever, but he's the most G1 accurate of the Voyager-scale Megatron toys. The Classics toy has the wings (and wonky leg articulation), and the GDO/Cloud toy just looks odd to me.

Cobotron wrote:

Kurona wrote:Would it start to become a thing associated with me if I once again stepped in to defend TR Megatron?

I got yer back K.

Nice, I'm glad other people are enjoying him too I just don't want to be that one person who when someone makes the slightest criticism of a figure I step in all "weLL ACTUALLY"

Kurona wrote:

Cobotron wrote:

Kurona wrote:Would it start to become a thing associated with me if I once again stepped in to defend TR Megatron?

I got yer back K.

Nice, I'm glad other people are enjoying him too I just don't want to be that one person who when someone makes the slightest criticism of a figure I step in all "weLL ACTUALLY"

Don't get me wrong, if I hadn't previously gotten Megasteel's Megatron (recommended) tm megs would have most likely been my definitive Megatron for years to come.
I like it, but not as much.

LE0KING wrote:

Kurona wrote:

Cobotron wrote:

Kurona wrote:Would it start to become a thing associated with me if I once again stepped in to defend TR Megatron?

I got yer back K.

Nice, I'm glad other people are enjoying him too I just don't want to be that one person who when someone makes the slightest criticism of a figure I step in all "weLL ACTUALLY"

Don't get me wrong, if I hadn't previously gotten Megasteel's Megatron (recommended) tm megs would have most likely been my definitive Megatron for years to come.
I like it, but not as much.

Yeah, compared to some of the third party guys out there - especially MMC Tyrantron, he's looking excellent - this certainly isn't the best Megatron; but out of the entire CHUG/Generations/Classics/Whatever line, I think he's the best official one yet.

Talking of Blitzwing, I just noticed something in the digital render - they retooled his Pylons from Megatron! Did they do that for Astrotrain/Sentinel?
At the very least these ones look somewhat decent.

Kurona wrote:Talking of Blitzwing, I just noticed something in the digital render - they retooled his Pylons from Megatron! Did they do that for Astrotrain/Sentinel?
At the very least these ones look somewhat decent.

Huh, that IS neat!

On the topic of Blitzwing, I have an idea for what I'm going to do with mine when I get one. Aside from removing those horrible stickers and adding some paint, I'm going to get two extra Skytreads and replace the faceplates on them with the other two "personalities" from Animated (probably via Shapeways). Then I'll once again use Shapeways (or alternatively scratchbuilding/cannibalization) to add some TM-seating "sponson guns". They'd go on the sides of the tank mode and under the wings of the jet mode (I'll have to think of some other way of seating the TMs in robot mode). The result? Face-switching Animated-esque Blitzwing without having to accomodate a face switching mechanism! They could also use their quad-tank drones if necessary.

I'd headcanon it as Blitzwing, upon undergoing the Headmaster process, having his fractured personality splintered into three separate entities that "crew" his transtector, always arguing over who gets to form the head. In addition, despite each insisting that they are all the "real" Blitzwing, they also have their own names. The "Hothead" Headmaster (the default and dominant head using the standard Blitzwing faceplate) is named Doomshot von Blitzing the 1st. The "Icy" Headmaster is named Skytread von Blitzwing the 2nd. And finally, the "Insane" Headmaster is named Hazard von Blitzwing the 3rd.

Cobotron wrote:

Kurona wrote:Would it start to become a thing associated with me if I once again stepped in to defend TR Megatron?

I got yer back K.

As do I.

A3 is my fav voyager triple changer for reasons that go beyond the usual, but the Blitzatron mold is the best trip-changer yet as far as function. All three modes are good. The route to get from one to another is interesting, and well designed. The way his shoulders work is smart and I'm almost surprised it worked at all.
The deco isn't the best, and damn these new stickers, but all the sculpting and detailing on him is pretty amazing. I could see how the static pose he's packed in might seem disproportionate, but once you get him out and bend some joints and add a little life he seems proportionate to me.

Ironhidensh wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Ironhidensh wrote:Along with him came the complete Transformers Animated series on DVD. My boys love it!

Yeah it wa a fun revamp of G1 for a whole new generations. Great nods and a kickass shockwave (voiced by the same guy).

Please let us know in the TR thread what you think of Sky Shadow.

So, Black Shadow (screw official names), allow me to wax poetic on him....

I'm not really sure how I feel about him. For a leader class figure, he is ridiculously simple in transformation. Some deluxe figures have a more involved transformation. Also, I very much feel a bit more design effort should have gone into the combined alt mode. It's like it was late Friday afternoon, and the lead designer was all "Eh, the jet will just sit on top of the tank, that's good enough. Papa needs a beer" and bailed. Disappointing, really.

That said, the robot mode is impressively imposing. I really like the look of it. Also, you can transform him without removing the head. That is a massive bonus to me, as I'm not overly fond of the line wide headmaster gimmick. The individual alt modes look really good as well. Over all, I like him. He isn't worth a leader class price point, but it is a fun figure.

I also recently got Broadside. This figure is ridiculous. That said, I love it, and I can't explain why. Robot mode looks nice and beefy, like a Wrecker should. Carrier mode is nice, and jet mode is plain stupid. I'm very tempted to attach the Airealbots, but I know as soon as I take them off the tree, I'll loose them.

I don't mind the combined mode that much, only because it looks like it's there just so Black Shadow can get both his components from place to place but not for anything really involved.

He did get me thinking though. I wonder how people would respond to a line wide return of the Pretenders. Mostly in the case of figure like the Black Shadow or Roadblock who were transforming robots inside transforming robots.