The Energon Pub

Hellscream9999 wrote:Found a stash of tr figures yesterday (no voyagers though ), so, against all reasonable arguments, I picked up Skullcruncher, and to my (non)surprise, he ended up being the equivalent of a dumpster-fire of qc issues.

I saw him on the rack, too. I think Hasbro's face sculpt is the ugliest thing I've seen from them so far in this line. I also saw Hardhead and I think that is ugly in person as well. Surprisingly I do like Scourge's face sculpt as the head as a whole looks far better in person. If not for QC issues I might have purchased him.

I didn't know how I'd feel about Galavatron's face mask crest but it doesn't bother me in person like it does in pictures and videos. Aside from the loose hips I love this figure. It is Galvatron. If only Hasbro QC actually existed.

Bradimus wrote:

Hellscream9999 wrote:Found a stash of tr figures yesterday (no voyagers though ), so, against all reasonable arguments, I picked up Skullcruncher, and to my (non)surprise, he ended up being the equivalent of a dumpster-fire of qc issues.

I saw him on the rack, too. I think Hasbro's face sculpt is the ugliest thing I've seen from them so far in this line. I also saw Hardhead and I think that is ugly in person as well. Surprisingly I do like Scourge's face sculpt as the head as a whole looks far better in person. If not for QC issues I might have purchased him.

I didn't know how I'd feel about Galavatron's face mask crest but it doesn't bother me in person like it does in pictures and videos. Aside from the loose hips I love this figure. It is Galvatron. If only Hasbro QC actually existed.

QC exists... for imaginary people that aren't us... but seriously, he's just another disappointment - let down by nonexistent qc - in a very, very long list of tf's that I've bought

Takara Tomy's quality control is just as spotty, most of the joints on my UW Grand Galvatron set are terribly loose, especially on Starscream. The Combaticon set is a little better. I wonder if this is the results of moving to the new, cheaper factory?

Emerje

Emerje wrote:Takara Tomy's quality control is just as spotty

Yeah, my Unite Warriors swindle has a hilariously deformed face. Luckily, I use him as a leg. Maybe I can get a pic in later.

Emerje wrote:I wonder if this is the results of moving to the new, cheaper factory?

Emerje

Emerje wrote:cheaper

...I wouldn't be surprised, but in all fairness, this is something that has plagued me for many years, Waspinator was really terrible, his thigh swivels were so loose

Just got Galvatron tonight. I have to say I'm pretty disappointed. I don't think a voyager should be this hollow. Forearms, legs, huge empty chest, even the cockpit. It screams bad design/poor engineering to me. I get that it needs to be light enough to pose without falling over but most previous voyagers have a bit more heft and feel solid.
The shoulder pads get in the way.
The ankle tilts are nice, but the forward/back movement is too limited by the shin guards.
Though the head crest is not as bad as in the pictures it's still not good and does not need the spring loaded gimmick.
It's been said plenty already, but wrist swivel would have gone a long way. They could have pulled the Hardhead trick for this allowing for the folding while retaining the ability to swivel. The arms are hollow enough for it.

I want to like it, and since people have been saying this is the best Galvatron figure we've seen I guess I'm stuck with it. I'm sure it'll grow on me over time, and I know I can find a pose or two that suits me well enough. I do think the aesthetic is there but it's a bit hindered by all the bad choices they made.

If anyone has some tips to help me enjoy it better I'm all eyes. I'll probably be getting the cannon adapter, but I'm open to other fixes as well.


All I need from wave 1 now is Wheelie. Blaster is still a maybe, and I'm passing on Prime. His basemode is gross and I don't need another OP clogging up the shelves.

Bleh, don't like being so negative about my Transformers so I'll repeat the positive points haha. The head crest really isn't so bad, and the Galvatron aesthetic is definitely there. Colors are good, and I'm glad they made the cannon translucent.

Alright, I like him a bit more after getting all that off my chest.

Well, much of the hollowness, in particular the legs and chest, is due to the transformation. So, there is a reason for it, if that helps make things better. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I also received Galvatron yesterday. I was eagerly anticipating the figure based on the mostly positive reviews it had received. When I first held it, I thought, "this is it?" I was aware of the flaws, and they still bother me more than I thought it would. Specifically the head/crown thingie, and the arm cannon limiting range of motion on the arm. But I'm sure it'll grow on me. I haven't even transformed it yet out of laziness.

Fort Max arrived yesterday. After hours of sticker application, I've been messing with him almost constantly. He may not be a very good toy, necessarily, but he's just...fun.

Sigma Magnus wrote:Fort Max arrived yesterday. After hours of sticker application, I've been messing with him almost constantly. He may not be a very good toy, necessarily, but he's just...fun.

I prefer to only judge toys on whether they're fun or not. I know that constantly complaining will get me nowhere, so I don't do it. I know that you're not complaining about anything, but I think a lot of people really need to stop acting entitled and ask for things to be super-duper accurate to toy or Cartoon. I have a friend who only buys figures that are 100% G1 Cartoon accurate. If there is only one tiny detail that's either wrong or missing, he won't buy it. Even if it's the best representation of the character currently available. It kinda annoys me. He obviously has a few Masterpieces.

Are there still folks waiting to find TR voyagers in stores? 'Cause I've been wondering if I could pick up and sell one of the 7 Galvatrons at my local TRU. On that note, I actually have access to pretty much all TR wave one figures other than Titan Masters.

DigitalBrave3 wrote:I prefer to only judge toys on whether they're fun or not. I know that constantly complaining will get me nowhere, so I don't do it. I know that you're not complaining about anything, but I think a lot of people really need to stop acting entitled and ask for things to be super-duper accurate to toy or Cartoon. I have a friend who only buys figures that are 100% G1 Cartoon accurate. If there is only one tiny detail that's either wrong or missing, he won't buy it. Even if it's the best representation of the character currently available. It kinda annoys me. He obviously has a few Masterpieces.

Nobody really asked for anything super accurate, we just wanted a Fort Max that wasn't a sleezy watered-down retool

Besides, if you want the best representation of fort max, buy the original, it's still available at retail, and has an actual city mode, and is armed to the teeth like he's supposed to be...

MagicDeath wrote:Are there still folks waiting to find TR voyagers in stores? 'Cause I've been wondering if I could pick up and sell one of the 7 Galvatrons at my local TRU. On that note, I actually have access to pretty much all TR wave one figures other than Titan Masters.

Yes, all my stores just have a bunch of the titanmasters, not that I want that galvatron anyways. But sfter searching through several cities worth of stores, I just ordered sentinel online

Mr Skram wrote:Just got Galvatron tonight. I have to say I'm pretty disappointed. I don't think a voyager should be this hollow. Forearms, legs, huge empty chest, even the cockpit. It screams bad design/poor engineering to me. I get that it needs to be light enough to pose without falling over but most previous voyagers have a bit more heft and feel solid.

This is an interesting thought I've seen expressed before. So long as the hollow areas are covered a la Galvatron's legs, why does hollowness matter? It doesn't actually indicate anything about the quality of the design.

Vic Zanzibar wrote:

Mr Skram wrote:Just got Galvatron tonight. I have to say I'm pretty disappointed. I don't think a voyager should be this hollow. Forearms, legs, huge empty chest, even the cockpit. It screams bad design/poor engineering to me. I get that it needs to be light enough to pose without falling over but most previous voyagers have a bit more heft and feel solid.

This is an interesting thought I've seen expressed before. So long as the hollow areas are covered a la Galvatron's legs, why does hollowness matter? It doesn't actually indicate anything about the quality of the design.

It could have to do with how much you're paying for them I think; if you pay $25+ for a voyager, and it's lighter than a deluxe, you're likely to feel that, no matter how nice it looks, or how much hollowness is covered, it still doesn't feel like you're getting your money's worth - especially these days where paint apps are at an all-time low and the thin plastic doesn't feel all that great

Agamemnon wrote:Well, much of the hollowness, in particular the legs and chest, is due to the transformation. So, there is a reason for it, if that helps make things better. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

No, I get that. I mean I shouldn't be surprised, I've seen the pics and all that, but his lack of heft threw me a little. I think his legs would have been more successful(and possibly more weighted) if they were engineered like CW Dragstrip's rather than the fold in style. His chest is mighty empty for that little crown gimmick. I'm not trying to be overly negative, just nitpicking some of their decisions. Galvatron is a high profile character, I think they could have given his design a bit more care and attention is all.

The figure looks good on a shelf and he's growing on me. I'm definitely going to continue to mess around with him in between painting the house and other chores today.

Mr Skram wrote:

Agamemnon wrote:Well, much of the hollowness, in particular the legs and chest, is due to the transformation. So, there is a reason for it, if that helps make things better. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

No, I get that. I mean I shouldn't be surprised, I've seen the pics and all that, but his lack of heft threw me a little. I think his legs would have been more successful(and possibly more weighted) if they were engineered like CW Dragstrip's rather than the fold in style. His chest is mighty empty for that little crown gimmick. I'm not trying to be overly negative, just nitpicking some of their decisions. Galvatron is a high profile character, I think they could have given his design a bit more care and attention is all.

The figure looks good on a shelf and he's growing on me. I'm definitely going to continue to mess around with him in between painting the house and other chores today.

Yeah, with that much room in his chest, they could have done the helmet gimmick like pmop did... he could have been so much better

Hellscream9999 wrote:It could have to do with how much you're paying for them I think; if you pay $25+ for a voyager, and it's lighter than a deluxe, you're likely to feel that, no matter how nice it looks, or how much hollowness is covered, it still doesn't feel like you're getting your money's worth - especially these days where paint apps are at an all-time low and the thin plastic doesn't feel all that great

But the size of the Voyager figures is pretty much the same as it has always been. So long as the figures themselves are not getting smaller, why does it matter if the actual amount of plastic used is less than before? So it really comes down to solely the "feel" of the figure which is an entirely subjective thing that doesn't have any actual effect of the quality of the figure at all.

Vic Zanzibar wrote:

Hellscream9999 wrote:It could have to do with how much you're paying for them I think; if you pay $25+ for a voyager, and it's lighter than a deluxe, you're likely to feel that, no matter how nice it looks, or how much hollowness is covered, it still doesn't feel like you're getting your money's worth - especially these days where paint apps are at an all-time low and the thin plastic doesn't feel all that great

But the size of the Voyager figures is pretty much the same as it has always been. So long as the figures themselves are not getting smaller, why does it matter if the actual amount of plastic used is less than before? So it really comes down to solely the "feel" of the figure which is an entirely subjective thing that doesn't have any actual effect of the quality of the figure at all.

Yeah, wasn't saying it was objective, just that that may be how some people are feeling...

Vic Zanzibar wrote:

Mr Skram wrote:Just got Galvatron tonight. I have to say I'm pretty disappointed. I don't think a voyager should be this hollow. Forearms, legs, huge empty chest, even the cockpit. It screams bad design/poor engineering to me. I get that it needs to be light enough to pose without falling over but most previous voyagers have a bit more heft and feel solid.

This is an interesting thought I've seen expressed before. So long as the hollow areas are covered a la Galvatron's legs, why does hollowness matter? It doesn't actually indicate anything about the quality of the design.

Hollow legs, hollow foot cups, hollow everything. Gets a bit harder to pose than the more solid figures at the larger size classes. It definitely reflects the quality, if not the design then the engineering, but I feel like those are both somewhat closely related. They work together to create the final product, or so I would assume.

It sort of feels like he's an upscaled TR deluxe, actually. Don't get me wrong, I love the deluxes out of this line so far, but I expected more of a voyager.

DigitalBrave3 wrote:He obviously has a few Masterpieces.

So then a few MPs is basically his entire collection then?

Titans Return still haven't reached anything close to saturation in my area. Only one of the local Walmarts has actually stocked anything, starting with a single case of Deluxe class a few weeks ago, when I got there only Blurr and Scourge were left so I bought Scourge. Followed by a case of Legends that haven't been selling all that great, I haven't really noticed much movement. I haven't bought any of them since I have the Takara Tomy ones on order, though I do want to get Stripes eventually. Last Friday they finally stocked a case of Titan Masters so I got Crashbash and Terri-Bull. Still waiting for Voyagers and Leaders to show up. I can tell they haven't been stocked yet because the store is being remodeled and nobody has bothered moving the two Leader Skywarps from their odd shelf placement or clear other stuff from the Voyager space.

In all honesty I blame Dark of the Moon. That was the last time I can remember walking into any store and buying any new figure I want. Since then the Transformers space has been considerably smaller and entire waves go unstocked or stocked once and never stocked again. I used to be able to brag about finding everything at retail, but now I have to stay on my toes and hunt for stuff that may never be released and pay more to get them online.

Then again, RID doesn't seem to have any trouble staying stocked and there's been a noticeable rotation on those shelves. Maybe all these Transformers lines are causing confusion? I don't know, it's really strange.

Emerje

Hellscream9999 wrote:Also got Crashbash, who is possibly the best figure I've bought this year. For being the tiniest little thing, he just has character and cuteness for days! I love him so much

I take it you'll be getting Clobber too

Hellscream9999 wrote:

DigitalBrave3 wrote:I prefer to only judge toys on whether they're fun or not. I know that constantly complaining will get me nowhere, so I don't do it. I know that you're not complaining about anything, but I think a lot of people really need to stop acting entitled and ask for things to be super-duper accurate to toy or Cartoon. I have a friend who only buys figures that are 100% G1 Cartoon accurate. If there is only one tiny detail that's either wrong or missing, he won't buy it. Even if it's the best representation of the character currently available. It kinda annoys me. He obviously has a few Masterpieces.

Nobody really asked for anything super accurate, we just wanted a Fort Max that wasn't a sleezy watered-down retool

Besides, if you want the best representation of fort max, buy the original, it's still available at retail, and has an actual city mode, and is armed to the teeth like he's supposed to be...

I'm already fully aware that I can get the original at online retail right now. I just can't afford that or the Titans Return one right now.

DigitalBrave3 wrote:

Sigma Magnus wrote:Fort Max arrived yesterday. After hours of sticker application, I've been messing with him almost constantly. He may not be a very good toy, necessarily, but he's just...fun.

I prefer to only judge toys on whether they're fun or not.

That's what toys are for. Fun. So if it's a fun toy, then it's a good toy.

I think a lot of people really need to stop acting entitled and ask for things to be super-duper accurate to toy or Cartoon. I have a friend who only buys figures that are 100% G1 Cartoon accurate. If there is only one tiny detail that's either wrong or missing, he won't buy it. Even if it's the best representation of the character currently available. It kinda annoys me. He obviously has a few Masterpieces.

It's everyone's individual preference why s/he wants to buy a figure. Just because it's different than yours, doesn't make it wrong. Some people like to display the figures they buy, and not fiddle with them all the time. For this purpose, accurate as possible to the character they represent is a high priority. If you want to buy Transformers to play with them, that's fine as well, and you don't have to have them be completely accurate. As long as they're fun. Different fans collect for different reasons.

Sigma Magnus wrote:Fort Max arrived yesterday. After hours of sticker application, I've been messing with him almost constantly. He may not be a very good toy, necessarily, but he's just...fun.

That really sums up my feelings on him. Not a great toy. Not even as good as Metroplex, and typically you'd hope that they improve a product in the remolding process. But something about him... He is just fun.

I didn't get to have the hours of sticker application fun, though, since the SDCC version came with them pre-applied. Fortunately, I think I can be happy with them, unlike Metroplex back in the day who was begging for Reprolabels.