The Energon Pub

ok....granted that this Blaster & Soundwave share the same mold

but

they didn't necessarily HAVE to go that route

coz look back at the G1 figures(Blaster/Soundwave).....those never shared the same mold

They did not, which is true, but ever since they have. They are very similar and as a result don't need new molds. some retooling is all it takes most of the time for the 2 guys.

Anyone else get the feeling that Astrotrain's shuttle mode looks kinda... upside-down?


Also, to whoever said that Stripes and Steeljaw are the same guy, no they are not. Steeljaw's a lion, Stripes is a tiger.

Yeah . . . . I'm seein' a whole lotta nope here. I'm still clinging to the hope Blaster/Soundwave are be worth it, but that Astrotrain has 'PASS' written all over it. I wasn't all that crazy about the HeadTargetPowermasters when they first came out, so these remakes really aren't getting me excited. Looks like I'll be saving my money this year.

I can't help but notice that your being intentionally combative tonight stu, trying to make mountains out of many, many molehills.

So far we've got the same amount of repaints as any other line in the franchises history, and as far as the heads go, they are more akin to accessories then anything else so who cares that they look the same? Only so much detail you could do at that size.

Also end of the day, hasbro is a business, ever thought they may think it's too risky to have no repaints or re tools of any kind in a line? They are in the business to profit, not lose money.

Sabrblade wrote:Anyone else get the feeling that Astrotrain's shuttle mode looks kinda... upside-down?

Definitely not.

Sabrblade wrote:Also, to whoever said that Stripes and Steeljaw are the same guy, no they are not. Steeljaw's a lion, Stripes is a tiger.

They are both cats and there are enough examples of characters where they changed the alt mode a bit.

yes but my point being is....back in the day (the 80's) we were getting new & original figures! ok ok....with the exception of the Diaclone line....which those were ported over to....or renamed as Transformers(Optimus, Jazz ect) but a lot....& i do mean a LOT of figures going forward from then, were all original! no repaints/remolds ect, & now jump forward to today....& Hasbro is like...."oh! let's take this existing mold, repaint it, retool it & release it as Mr Flibbily Flobbily) but you get my point....there's just not as much originality anymore, which is a shame, coming from the same company that gave us all those original figures all those years ago

Lunatic Prime wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Anyone else get the feeling that Astrotrain's shuttle mode looks kinda... upside-down?

Definitely not.

The wings are placed on the top of the shuttle's body rather than on the bottom where they would normally be on a shuttle.

Lunatic Prime wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Also, to whoever said that Stripes and Steeljaw are the same guy, no they are not. Steeljaw's a lion, Stripes is a tiger.

They are both cats and there are enough examples of characters where they changed the alt mode a bit.

Stripes was created as a new character by Takara in 2012, originating from an early draft of the 1986 movie in which his role was replaced by Ramhorn in the completed film. He is not a case of Hasbro renaming a preexisting classic character.

You must also remember that prices have sky rocketed since then and that todays transformers have multiple times more movable parts, so they are designed more expensive and are made of more expensive materials. So it cannot be as it was since the designs have outstripped having a proper price for every new mold.

Original figures. ..In g1?

I didn't realise how much of a comedian you were stu, wouldn't open with it though.

Let's see, the seeker trio, repaints then followed up by the cone heads who were re tools. Rumble and frenzy, repaints.

On the Autobot side, prowl and bluestreak? Ironhide and Rachet? Sideswipe and Red Alert?

I'll give you that later years stopped with the repaints but things change, businesses change, economies change. Stop judging today by yesterday's standards (especially if yesterday was over thirty years ago)

& you need to stop attacking me every time i have an opinion! funny how it's only ME you seem to attack!

oh....& is there something wrong with the past? coz if it wasn't for the past...we wouldn't HAVE transformers today

We are not arguing about the past. What we are saying is that there are new rules and standards today, hence more retools and repaints, and this line so far is showing that it is handling the amount of those at an average rate compared to past lines.

I'm digging that Astrotrain retool/repaint from Sentinel Prime. However, I think I'll wait for the inevitable Takara version with a more cartoon accurate color scheme.

Although I'm pleased to finally have a voyager sized Astrotrain for "Classics," I'm not going to get rid of my "Decepticons: Specialist" version of Astrotrain any time soon. I'm slowly warming to the idea of earlier G1 characters getting "upgrades" as combiners or headmasters, but I still want to have versions that are "gimmickless" in that regard as well. For instance, I love the Autobot cars combiners, but I still use the earlier "non-combiner" renditions from Classics/Universe/Generations/Whatever for my displays. However, Titans Return Astrotrain may be the one that gets put in my main Classics display, if only due to better scaling, but that deluxe Classics mold will always stay in reserve in case I change my mind.

It would be nice if they had chosen a different robot form for "Darkmoon" instead of "Infinitus." He just looks too much like Optimus Prime. With how interchangeable the Titan Master Robots and the "Transtector" robot faces on their backs seem to be, I feel like a better solution couldn't have been that hard for Hasbro to figure out.

Sabrblade wrote:

Lunatic Prime wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Anyone else get the feeling that Astrotrain's shuttle mode looks kinda... upside-down?

Definitely not.

The wings are placed on the top of the shuttle's body rather than on the bottom where they would normally be on a shuttle.

When was the last time you saw a shuttle?

Lunatic Prime wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Lunatic Prime wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Anyone else get the feeling that Astrotrain's shuttle mode looks kinda... upside-down?

Definitely not.

The wings are placed on the top of the shuttle's body rather than on the bottom where they would normally be on a shuttle.

When was the last time you saw a shuttle?

Your pics agree with what I said. The wings are on the bottom of those shuttles' bodies. Astrotrain's wings, however, are on the top of his shuttle's body.

Lunatic prime@ it may be because I'm tired but I don't quite see the point you're trying to make...

Stu@ I apologise if I overstepped the mark but my point is still the same. Today is different then what it was in the 80s, just relax and accept it or if you really want to make a stand, vote with your wallet

I feel like Astrotrain could use a little more paint in alt mode, especially on the cockpit windows, but otherwise he and Galvatron both look amazing. I'm looking forward to replacing both old versions on my shelf. The can go live wit the Cybertron toys, or something.

I like the little dinosaur/dragon dude too, he's kind of cute.

well i've got little choice but to accept it

coz i doubt my rant will radically change Hasbro's way of doing things

unless i go the 3p route
but that can be an expensive endeavour, especially with the likes of Pandinus

Stuartmaximus wrote:& you need to stop attacking me every time i have an opinion! funny how it's only ME you seem to attack!

oh....& is there something wrong with the past? coz if it wasn't for the past...we wouldn't HAVE transformers today

We're not 'attacking' you because you have an opinion, we're pointing out that your 'opinions' are flawed or incorrect - at points - and why that is the case - with substantial amounts of evidence, which is more than you have used in any of your arguing thus far.

-'This line is saturated with repaints.' No, we have not seen any mold get a third use or more. It has been stated many times already that Hasbro stated that repaints would happen 'only where logical and with at least 2 uses of each mold'.

Even before the cw line, molds had at least 2 uses built in, even if they didn't all make it to shelves. That's how they make a profit and minimize costs, it's called 'business' (at least that's how it works in America )

Hasbro also stated that the execs wouldn't approve the cw line at all unless the designers kept the cost to an extreme minimum. The execs weren't sold on the line and wanted to keep the risks low - THAT is why there were so many repaints and retools.

-'G1 had original molds.' Beyond the staggering amount of repaints they had, the molds they did use weren't even theirs - hence, not even original, they licensed them from other companies, hence the many problems hasbro has making certain figures nowadays.

-'Ravage is dumb for turning into a bird.' It's quite clearly not a bird, it's a jet. Again, all legends are conforming to the same criteria, that knowledge is as old as the reveal of cw Buzzsaw.

All of this has been common knowledge for quite some time, I'm not sure why you're going around saying these things still, at this point, and yet you wonder why people respond so strongly

Sabrblade wrote:

Lunatic Prime wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Lunatic Prime wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Anyone else get the feeling that Astrotrain's shuttle mode looks kinda... upside-down?

Definitely not.

The wings are placed on the top of the shuttle's body rather than on the bottom where they would normally be on a shuttle.

When was the last time you saw a shuttle?

Your pics agree with what I said. The wings are on the bottom of those shuttles' bodies. Astrotrain's wings, however, are on the top of his shuttle's body.

Yeah, it's definitely a design compromise. Real world wings would be seated near the bottom of the shuttle fuselage, not the top. I think the way the toy is designed, however, hides the massive kibble beneath the elevated wings. If the wings were lower, they'd be obscured almost entirely by the robot armature and other kibble, making them look rather infeasible as working, aerodynamic wings. Putting all the junk on the bottom isn't a real world solution, obviously, but it helps Astrotrain at least look the part a little more convincingly, IMO.

just to nitpick

i haven't been GOING AROUND saying these things!

only on here!

unless you've got evidence to suggest that i've been saying the same things elsewhere on the internet

& had you not been busy composing your response, you would've noticed that ZeroWolf had already apologised

Wolfman Jake wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Lunatic Prime wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Lunatic Prime wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Anyone else get the feeling that Astrotrain's shuttle mode looks kinda... upside-down?

Definitely not.

The wings are placed on the top of the shuttle's body rather than on the bottom where they would normally be on a shuttle.

When was the last time you saw a shuttle?

Your pics agree with what I said. The wings are on the bottom of those shuttles' bodies. Astrotrain's wings, however, are on the top of his shuttle's body.

Yeah, it's definitely a design compromise. Real world wings would be seated near the bottom of the shuttle fuselage, not the top. I think the way the toy is designed, however, hides the massive kibble beneath the elevated wings. If the wings were lower, they'd be obscured almost entirely by the robot armature and other kibble, making them look rather infeasible as working, aerodynamic wings. Putting all the junk on the bottom isn't a real world solution, obviously, but it helps Astrotrain at least look the part a little more convincingly, IMO.

Hmmm, maybe Cybertronian wings work differently

Besides, he finally a ship that looks like it could hold a battalion of 's, so that helps with the weirdness of it, I just like that it looks like The Ark when sentinels wearing that mold, its so cool

Stuartmaximus wrote:just to nitpick

i haven't been GOING AROUND saying these things!

only on here!

unless you've got evidence to suggest that i've been saying the same things elsewhere on the internet

Blowing things out of proportion again for no reason I see, way to read too deep into that - it's just a phrase.

Saying them on various boards here can fall into 'going around', saying them on multiple pages within a thread can fall into 'going around', repeatedly saying the same things over and over again on the site can fall into 'going around'.

To get to where you got, without any indication that that is what I meant, is quite a stretch, and is kinda rude, since you then attack me for implying that, without any basis for the implication...

speaking of which....i was all ready for leaving that topic alone!

& then you come wading in there with that scathing response!

talk about adding fuel to the fire

anywhoo....i've said all that i have to say on the subject....so if you want to continue talking to yourself....then that's fine

oh...& stating that i'm blowing things out of proportion & that i'm rude, but yet somehow NOT already aware of my reputation on here? strange how you seem to be ignorant of that fact even though you've had to issue warnings at me before

Stuartmaximus wrote:there's just not as much originality anymore, which is a shame, coming from the same company that gave us all those original figures all those years ago

You know what else shows a lack of originality?

The sea of G1 rehashes we've been drowning in since 2003. Generations is one thing, but when you've got the Generations line available and despite that the cartoon lines are still full of guys from the 80's, that seems like someone somewhere stopped caring. Even the movie lines are made up almost entirely of remade G1 guys (though I'll grant that a lot of those who were actually in the films border on unrecognizable due to the jagged aesthetic and lack of characterization).

Stuartmaximus wrote:oh....& is there something wrong with the past? coz if it wasn't for the past...we wouldn't HAVE transformers today

You don't know that. If it hadn't happened in '84, that doesn't mean it couldn't have happened between then and now, or just happen now. Until there's actually a way to see into alternate timelines, your claim is little more than hyperbole.

Also, the Transformers franchise would have been scrapped without Beast Wars revitalizing it, but twenty years later there's still people ready to get on your case if you show signs of even tolerating it.

But FYI, he's not saying there's something wrong wit the past. He's saying it's just that: the past. Things aren't the way they used to be because they can't be that way anymore.

It's always fascinated me that this of all fandoms should cope so poorly with change.

kirbenvost wrote:I like the little dinosaur/dragon dude too, he's kind of cute.

Of the Titans Return figures thus far revealed, that little guy (named Crashbash, BTW) is my one must-have.