The Energon Pub

The rumors are true. Even my local TRU, which isn't the best, had 4 Chaos sets.

Kurona wrote: I don't think we've had anything like Scourge/Highbrow/Windblade or Alpha Trion/Broadside before, at least not on this scale.

Wouldn't the G1 jumpstarters be similar to Scourge/Highbrow/Windblade? The same engineering but almost totally different molds?

As for Alpha Trion and Braodside, they remind me of all those Movie Bee iterations which shared parts and engineering but had different upper bodies and the like.

What I mean to say is the mindset of reusing engineering yet preserving uniqueness what was found in G1 is being reborn here in a new era of toy design.

william-james88 wrote:

Kurona wrote: I don't think we've had anything like Scourge/Highbrow/Windblade or Alpha Trion/Broadside before, at least not on this scale.

Wouldn't the G1 jumpstarters be similar to Scourge/Highbrow/Windblade? The same engineering but almost totally different molds?

As for Alpha Trion and Braodside, they remind me of all those Movie Bee iterations which shared parts and engineering but had different upper bodies and the like.

What I mean to say is the mindset of reusing engineering yet preserving uniqueness what was found in G1 is being reborn here in a new era of toy design.

That's true, but I think a much cleaner way of saying what I was trying to say is that the former examples were exceptions -- whereas in TR, it's practically become a rule. Before this we could simply brush off these as incidental weird occurrences; strange retools, but retools nonetheless. But now that it's happening so much it's forcing us to rethink how we define mold re-usage and parts sharing on principle.

They existed before, but not anywhere near to this extent.

Kurona wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Kurona wrote: I don't think we've had anything like Scourge/Highbrow/Windblade or Alpha Trion/Broadside before, at least not on this scale.

Wouldn't the G1 jumpstarters be similar to Scourge/Highbrow/Windblade? The same engineering but almost totally different molds?

As for Alpha Trion and Braodside, they remind me of all those Movie Bee iterations which shared parts and engineering but had different upper bodies and the like.

What I mean to say is the mindset of reusing engineering yet preserving uniqueness what was found in G1 is being reborn here in a new era of toy design.

That's true, but I think a much cleaner way of saying what I was trying to say is that the former examples were exceptions -- whereas in TR, it's practically become a rule. Before this we could simply brush off these as incidental weird occurrences; strange retools, but retools nonetheless. But now that it's happening so much it's forcing us to rethink how we define mold re-usage and parts sharing on principle.

They existed before, but not anywhere near to this extent.

Here's the thing though: the G1 Jumpstarters, the car Mini-Bots, Battlechargers and most Micromasters only share engineering, but no major parts whatsoever. That is key. Also, most of those is due to their gimmick requiring reusing how the toy works to get the most out of one single design.

With Titans Return, only parts are shared (read: duplicated on the design table to speed up production), but the transformation is usually different in some places. Basically the G1 philosophy flipped.

I know I keep kind of championing this notion, but when the G1 toys were made, they were made by hand. I think what we are seeing is the effects of digital 3D design as it relates to toy design. When the source is a digital model it's far easier to duplicate/replicate/borrow parts from pre-existing models. Digital design has become the new standard, and it's changed every aspect of toy design.

I saw 3 Chaos on Velocitron sets at TRU in Ann Arbor, MI. Have heard of a few more Michigan TRUs getting then too. Sounds like they are back.

RodimusConvoy13 wrote:I saw 3 Chaos on Velocitron sets at TRU in Ann Arbor, MI. Have heard of a few more Michigan TRUs getting then too. Sounds like they are back.

Same actually for the TRU in Cuyahoga Falls, OH. They had about 4 of Chaos on Velocitron though I believe, plus two of TR Blaster and a lot of TLK Voyager Grimlock. I did it as part of a run yesterday after going for a checkup. Was looking for a TLK Voyager Megatron though.

When I left the Westland MI Toys'R'US today at 3:00, they had 6 C on V sets. The timing of this might be an ingenious way to get collectors to use up their $10 or 15% off coupons before Trypticon hits the shelves...then again, TRUs here have acquired and actually sold a few of that $150 Primus repaint, which would almost certainly involve a coupon.

Man, when Trypsie hits the shelves, the area behind every Rzone counter is gonna' be mighty cluttered. But not as much as the defective-returns bins a week after. I keep warning anyone who'll talk to me about TF: you NEED to look up a hip-fix online before attaching his legs! Tell them!

TELL THEM!

YOURS IS NEXT!

It's great to hear that Chaos is back in stores!

It makes me wish we could expect the same from the Siege set....but exclusives are what they are.

Kurona wrote:They existed before, but not anywhere near to this extent.

Thats totally fair

Now the question lies, does it need any terminology aside from shared engineering, shared parts and shared skeleton?

I was lucky enough to be looking for more information on the box set last Friday and it popped up on Amazon for sale through Amazon at the standard $99.99 with prime. It shipped out on 7-11-17 and then delivered on 7-12-17. I had to wait a day, but then it was opened up and the figures were all placed on the shelves.

Favorites out of the set, Laser Prime & Nautica.

Speaking of G1, I got G1 Doublecross today and contrary to Chromedome and Highbrow, the G1 original not only hold up tday, but is WAY superior to TR Twinferno. Hands down.

-Kanrabat- wrote:Speaking of G1, I got G1 Doublecross today and contrary to Chromedome and Crosshair, the G1 original not only hold up tday, but is WAY superior to TR Twinferno. Hands down.

No argument here. I was incredibly disappointed with Twinferno. Doublecross though? Yeah, he's freaking fun.

Flashwave wrote:I don't get what makes this set so hot? Nautica? Fastlane? Are there that many people in love with Quickswitch?

-Kanrabat- wrote:Odd to see so much people exited over a thing I don't care about.

I will tell you guys what makes it hot. Redecoing molds into characters we dont have yet used to be Fun Pub's job, with similar sets to this being $300 and up



Now you get waht is basically a botcon set for $100. Plus, unlike with Botcon, you get an exclusive transforming figure you cant get any other way. And you get the intended deco for that Voyager TR Prime. Plus while people can dislike Quickswitch in Principle, I must admit its one of the better paint jobs Hasbro has put out this year.

So yeah, an exclusive set with an exclusive mold and with characters that have either never had toys (nautica) or modern reinterpretaions (quickswitch) for a third of what that would have cost if it were a botcon set. No wonder people are jumping on it.

Laser Prime's Jet mode is Ok (At least he got a neat base mode from Black Convoy thanks to )
(Image of TFW2005)

Quickswitch is..... urgh.. i can't say it, it's too awful.

william-james88 wrote:Now you get waht is basically a botcon set for $100.

Pete Sinclair has adamantly objected to the notion of comparing the two TR Collection Packs to the BotCon boxed sets, on account of the BotCon sets at least adhering to a set theme, whereas the two TR sets just seem to lack any real theme.

Sabrblade wrote:

william-james88 wrote:Now you get waht is basically a botcon set for $100.

Pete Sinclair has adamantly objected to the notion of comparing the two TR Collection Packs to the BotCon boxed sets, on account of the BotCon sets at least adhering to a set theme, whereas the two TR sets just seem to lack any real theme.

Sucks that it's not up to him, then.

Albatross250 wrote:
Laser Prime's Jet mode is Ok (At least he got a neat base mode from Black Convoy thanks to )
(Image of TFW2005)

Quickswitch is..... urgh.. i can't say it, it's too awful.

Love that base mode! I transformed Laser Prime once to jet, and that was enough.

And I gotta third that opinion on Doublecross, as much as I enjoy the TR version's double-dragon faces.

The style of the Boxart and general presentation alone screams "This is alike a Botcon set" - they are more like a Botcon set than they are more like a SDCC set for example.

Though I guess if someone wanted to protect Pete's feels then you could say they are the spiritual successor to the G2 Victorian & Computron giftsets.

They really should still make that G2 Defensor sometime though I feel.
If they don't someone in China will get to it first (with the Oversize Moulds).

Va'al wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

william-james88 wrote:Now you get waht is basically a botcon set for $100.

Pete Sinclair has adamantly objected to the notion of comparing the two TR Collection Packs to the BotCon boxed sets, on account of the BotCon sets at least adhering to a set theme, whereas the two TR sets just seem to lack any real theme.

Sucks that it's not up to him, then.

Well, he was one of the guys who helped put together every Fun Pub BotCon boxed set. He more than kinda knows things like that pretty well.

Sabrblade wrote:

Va'al wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

william-james88 wrote:Now you get waht is basically a botcon set for $100.

Pete Sinclair has adamantly objected to the notion of comparing the two TR Collection Packs to the BotCon boxed sets, on account of the BotCon sets at least adhering to a set theme, whereas the two TR sets just seem to lack any real theme.

Sucks that it's not up to him, then.

Well, he was one of the guys who helped put together every Fun Pub BotCon boxed set. He more than kinda knows things like that pretty well.

Well, people are going to compare no matter what he says. Just because he doesn't like it doesn't mean we can't compare them to Botcon Sets.

Either way, it is true that there was a theme connecting the different characters in BotCon boxsets - even if in certain examples, most especially Knights vs. Pirates, it was vague at times - compared to the TR boxsets where there, um. Isn't. So that's true at least.

Sabrblade wrote:

Va'al wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

william-james88 wrote:Now you get waht is basically a botcon set for $100.

Pete Sinclair has adamantly objected to the notion of comparing the two TR Collection Packs to the BotCon boxed sets, on account of the BotCon sets at least adhering to a set theme, whereas the two TR sets just seem to lack any real theme.

Sucks that it's not up to him, then.

Well, he was one of the guys who helped put together every Fun Pub BotCon boxed set. He more than kinda knows things like that pretty well.

I think you misunderstand: if someone finds the TR sets to be similar to Botcon sets, they have no reason to care what Pete thinks of it.

And really, the themes for 2005, 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2015 were only justified by fiction they made up. It's not outrageously hard to make CoV make sense: Fastlane is in races on Velocitron against other fast competitors like Nautica. Quickswitch ("Quick", get it?) is a fierce rival because all of the other traps he can run with all those other modes. Laser Prime can fly in and refuel competitors. Hot Rod is Ricky Bobby.

Also consider that comparing the Hasbro sets to Botcon sets might not be meant as a slight to the Botcon sets but maybe just as a nice compliment to the Hasbro TR sets

I think it's a fair comparison but I don't think it's totally cut and dried. I like the boxsets (at least in concept, I don't own any yet) but I do wish the themes were a bit more coherent ala the BotCon sets. The CW ones were OK because, well, they were complete combiners, but the TR ones have been a bit...mishmashed. Case in point, the Velocitron set. Nautica really should have been Override/Nitro Convoy. That one change would have tied the whole set to the Velocitron/Speed theme a lot better, and also would have suited the mold better.

I will say I hope future boxsets get to feature older molds ala the BotCon sets. I wouldn't mind the return of some of the older CHUG figures, perhaps using old retool concepts like the planned RTS Perceptor into Reflector, or even some really wacky sets like, say, "Insectiseekers" from BW Jetstorm.

TLDR: The availability of the boxsets compared to the BotCon ones is definitely cool, but I hope for future boxsets they step their game up a bit with mold variety and the themes.

Sabrblade wrote:

william-james88 wrote:Now you get waht is basically a botcon set for $100.

Pete Sinclair has adamantly objected to the notion of comparing the two TR Collection Packs to the BotCon boxed sets, on account of the BotCon sets at least adhering to a set theme, whereas the two TR sets just seem to lack any real theme.

Right, because their sets are always totally coherent and unified in theme




But then again, he's right. Comparing Hasbro's headsculpts to funpub's is not fair