The Energon Pub

[Sentinel_Primal]

I just had a thought regarding a potential Lockdown: What if they use the Runamuck mold and reshell the vehicle mode, and retool the head, hands, and faux chest? They could easily retool the hands to be more like Impactor's if they want to give the option of a hook hand, the faux chest allows them to give Lockdown his usual design without having to alter his vehicle mode, and the front end of the car still ends up as the feet

I think this could be a possibility, and it's probably the best we could hope for for Lockdown (given how unlikely it is that he would get his own mold). The design of his arms in particular would lend themselves well to an Impactor-like retool, plus the faux chest would allow for a more Animated-like design. However, being a retool of Runamuck would mean Lockdown would have a sizeable backpack, and he wouldn't tower over other deluxes like previous versions. Also, reshelling the entire car sounds like more effort than Hasbro would put into a non-G1 character, I feel like the most they would probably do is retool the front bumper and roof, as well as add a way to attach an engine block to the hood.

I do agree that it's unlikely for them to reshell the car, I was more just being hopeful Quite frankly if I'm being honest I think Hasbro might just give Sunstreaker a new head and call it a day

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

What would people think of Lockdown being reimagined for G1 as a Hoist retool? It'd be a deviation from the Animated and AoE precedents, but I think having a tow-truck altmode kinda works for a bounty hunter TF.

[Tuned Agent]

I just had a thought regarding a potential Lockdown: What if they use the Runamuck mold and reshell the vehicle mode, and retool the head, hands, and faux chest? They could easily retool the hands to be more like Impactor's if they want to give the option of a hook hand, the faux chest allows them to give Lockdown his usual design without having to alter his vehicle mode, and the front end of the car still ends up as the feet

I think this could be a possibility, and it's probably the best we could hope for for Lockdown (given how unlikely it is that he would get his own mold). The design of his arms in particular would lend themselves well to an Impactor-like retool, plus the faux chest would allow for a more Animated-like design. However, being a retool of Runamuck would mean Lockdown would have a sizeable backpack, and he wouldn't tower over other deluxes like previous versions. Also, reshelling the entire car sounds like more effort than Hasbro would put into a non-G1 character, I feel like the most they would probably do is retool the front bumper and roof, as well as add a way to attach an engine block to the hood.

I do agree that it's unlikely for them to reshell the car, I was more just being hopeful Quite frankly if I'm being honest I think Hasbro might just give Sunstreaker a new head and call it a day

Hey, we can dream.

What would people think of Lockdown being reimagined for G1 as a Hoist retool? It'd be a deviation from the Animated and AoE precedents, but I think having a tow-truck altmode kinda works for a bounty hunter TF.

That actually sounds really intriguing, though I wonder how Hoist's proportions would look on Lockdown.

[TF-fan kev777]

That IS weird that Earthrise Voyagers would be coming in sets of three. The whole reason they designed to boxes the way they did for this trilogy, with the diagonal cutaway, was so that they could save space in shipping boxes by putting the two triangular sides against one another. With three per box, they're wasting some room in the container now. Four would make more sense, as they could just layer two back/front pairings atop one another and not waste any internal space. We're going to need to see an actual case of Earthrise Voyagers now to understand what's going on.

For the box design, on cases of 2, it is actually more efficient to put them both front to back and waste the extra space than putting them with the angled sides matched up. That is because you need more cardboard to make the wave case on something long and skinny versus something more square. On the deluxes with 8 per case, they can pack them with no wasted space because they have enough in the case to make it worth it.

[Hellscream9999]

I just had a thought regarding a potential Lockdown: What if they use the Runamuck mold and reshell the vehicle mode, and retool the head, hands, and faux chest? They could easily retool the hands to be more like Impactor's if they want to give the option of a hook hand, the faux chest allows them to give Lockdown his usual design without having to alter his vehicle mode, and the front end of the car still ends up as the feet

I think this could be a possibility, and it's probably the best we could hope for for Lockdown (given how unlikely it is that he would get his own mold). The design of his arms in particular would lend themselves well to an Impactor-like retool, plus the faux chest would allow for a more Animated-like design. However, being a retool of Runamuck would mean Lockdown would have a sizeable backpack, and he wouldn't tower over other deluxes like previous versions. Also, reshelling the entire car sounds like more effort than Hasbro would put into a non-G1 character, I feel like the most they would probably do is retool the front bumper and roof, as well as add a way to attach an engine block to the hood.

I do agree that it's unlikely for them to reshell the car, I was more just being hopeful Quite frankly if I'm being honest I think Hasbro might just give Sunstreaker a new head and call it a day

Hey, we can dream.

What would people think of Lockdown being reimagined for G1 as a Hoist retool? It'd be a deviation from the Animated and AoE precedents, but I think having a tow-truck altmode kinda works for a bounty hunter TF.

That actually sounds really intriguing, though I wonder how Hoist's proportions would look on Lockdown.

Ugh
Beer belly lockdown? I would die first, could make for a fun bumblebee movie era movie hound tho

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

I did specify the idea as a reimagining of Lockdown for G1. Picture the truck having mismatched body panels (insofar as the paint budget permits), maybe some faded/broken-up caution stripes, a blacked-out rubsign on the hood, and windows colored black or red. Picture a new, more menacing headsculpt (but not necessarily the Lobo-esque look of Animated Lockdown). Picture the gun that goes over his hand replaced by a hook that goes over his hand. I think that would generate a decent look.

I really do think a tow truck works for a bounty hunter TF. Another reason I think the Hoist mold works is he's a tall Deluxe.

[shawnmct]

Oh man, am I glad for the Best Buy news. BBTS separated my ER Optimus and Wheeljack, delaying the former till June and likely planning to charge me shipping for both. Now, my Wheeljack is still on the way, but I cancelled O.P., ordered from Best Buy and its due to arrive tomorrow with FREE shipping. I'm very stoked for this!!

[Hellscream9999]

So I got my ironworks today, and while attempting to put him into his tower mode, the clip that holds the panel to his lower leg snapped, I'm 3/3 for having massive breakage issues with earthrise, hasbro needs to get their **** together with this line

so in summary when trying to connect panels to the one's on his legs, just be careful how you leverage them

[Tuned Agent]

What would people think of Lockdown being reimagined for G1 as a Hoist retool? It'd be a deviation from the Animated and AoE precedents, but I think having a tow-truck altmode kinda works for a bounty hunter TF.

That actually sounds really intriguing, though I wonder how Hoist's proportions would look on Lockdown.

Ugh
Beer belly lockdown? I would die first, could make for a fun bumblebee movie era movie hound tho

It would actually be kinda ironic, like if Lockdown were trying to emulate Animated Ratchet.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

So I got my ironworks today, and while attempting to put him into his tower mode, the clip that holds the panel to his lower leg snapped, I'm 3/3 for having massive breakage issues with earthrise, hasbro needs to get their **** together with this line

so in summary when trying to connect panels to the one's on his legs, just be careful how you leverage them

At least something like that clip is easier to fix than, say, a snapped ball-joint stem.

[Jeddostotle7]

What would people think of Lockdown being reimagined for G1 as a Hoist retool? It'd be a deviation from the Animated and AoE precedents, but I think having a tow-truck altmode kinda works for a bounty hunter TF.

That actually sounds really intriguing, though I wonder how Hoist's proportions would look on Lockdown.

Ugh
Beer belly lockdown? I would die first, could make for a fun bumblebee movie era movie hound tho

It would actually be kinda ironic, like if Lockdown were trying to emulate Animated Ratchet.

Wait.

Now I kinda want an Animated-style Ratchet on the Hoist mold.


Damnit.

[ZeroWolf]

I did specify the idea as a reimagining of Lockdown for G1. Picture the truck having mismatched body panels (insofar as the paint budget permits), maybe some faded/broken-up caution stripes, a blacked-out rubsign on the hood, and windows colored black or red. Picture a new, more menacing headsculpt (but not necessarily the Lobo-esque look of Animated Lockdown). Picture the gun that goes over his hand replaced by a hook that goes over his hand. I think that would generate a decent look.

I really do think a tow truck works for a bounty hunter TF. Another reason I think the Hoist mold works is he's a tall Deluxe.

I like the idea, just not as Lockdown I think that would serve as a new character entirely, maybe Lockdown's partner, Lock-up (yes the name is terrible)


You have reminded me that we have yet to see the Bounty Hunter faction unless Alicon and Quints are the only bounty hunters we're getting.

[sol magnus]

I went to Best Buy last night...

I only bought the Prime because I had already dropped 30 on Starscream at Walmart earlier in the day. This one is going to my kid, so I have to find another, possibly at another Best Buy - which turned out to be clutch! These are the only Deluxes I've seen so far in my area. Haven't seen any Battlemasters, but Target has the Micromasters. I generally don't get Micromasters, personally.

Anyway, the Best Buy news is huge. Now if only I could have pre-ordered Sky-Lynx for 49.99...

[aronjlove]

My Best Buy had two Ironworks and one ER Astrotrain plus some Cyberverse stuff. I'm digging this ramp/shield stuff.

[Rodimus Prime]

Do any of you know if it's possible to directly attach the tender to Astrotrain to make him bulkier in shuttle mode?

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

That setup looks sweet, aronjlove! Makes me want to do some base mode setups with my toys.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

Do any of you know if it's possible to directly attach the tender to Astrotrain to make him bulkier in shuttle mode?

I don't think it is possible. The tender is either a carrier or a launch platform.

[aronjlove]

That setup looks sweet, aronjlove! Makes me want to do some base mode setups with my toys.

Thanks! I'm looking forward to the release of Airwave and Slitherfang so I can do something similar with Astrotrain's launchpad.

[RodimusRex]

Designers can copy "skeleton/engineering" ideas for multiple figures and not have them use the same parts, such as the case with Titans Return Chromedome and Combiner Wars Dead End or G2 Smokescreen and Energon Starscream which are not retools of each other.

I think this is a case like with Titans Return Chromedome sharing hands and elbows with Blurr's family (including Brainstorm and Chromia) or Highbrow/Scourge sharing a few parts with Windblade. I seem to recall PotP Jazz despite being 90% new had his combiner port and wheels from a CW figure.

In this case, I think Sunstreaker has reused shoulder joints.

It's hard to define retools/redecos in the modern era. Siege Ironhide and Ratchet are 75% differently molded parts.

This is in part possible because we know that at least with Siege, Hasbro has Takara design the figures in low detail referencing animation models and the details are all added. Warden once described receiving animation accurate prototypes from Takara and supplying feedback on what a lot of us refer to as the "greebling".

So it goes beyond reference skeletons. There are now ancestor molds as 3D models and prototypes that don't get released and which get multiple retools without the original tooling being displayed. So we get maybe version 2A, 2B, and 2B version 2.

This is very evident with stuff like Ectotron because we PROBABLY got the original mold with Onslaught or Hotspot. But Earthrise Optimus reuses about 15-20% of Siege Optimus WHICH WAS ALREADY RETOOLED from a prototype G1 Optimus that PROBABLY had an earthmode different from the Earthrise version.

They can go back to a rejected or earlier phase Wheeljack and retool it as Sunstreaker. As to whether or not that comes off as paranoid/insulting to Hasbro, it depends on whether "retool" is a slur.

I half expect cone heads to get a Ratchet style re-greeble from Starscream.

Warden has said Bumblebee won't come from Cliffjumper this time but CJ has some oddly Bumblebee shaped parts that were never associated with Cliffjumper like the round biceps so I wonder if Bumblebee might be something that will share zero parts but be developed from a common rough prototype. I can't see why else Cliffjumper would have Bumblebee's arms.

[Rodimus Prime]

Do any of you know if it's possible to directly attach the tender to Astrotrain to make him bulkier in shuttle mode?

I don't think it is possible. The tender is either a carrier or a launch platform.

Well that's unfortunate because the back half of Astrotrain in shuttle mode looks very gaunt compared to the front half. It's like he was stripped down to his skeleton. I thought maybe there was a way to wrap the tender around that part without obstructing the wings. I'm on the fence about Astrotrain as it is, and 1 of the negatives is that he can't use the tender in shuttle mode, except as a half-assed launch pad.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Do any of you know if it's possible to directly attach the tender to Astrotrain to make him bulkier in shuttle mode?

I don't think it is possible. The tender is either a carrier or a launch platform.

Well that's unfortunate because the back half of Astrotrain in shuttle mode looks very gaunt compared to the front half. It's like he was stripped down to his skeleton. I thought maybe there was a way to wrap the tender around that part without obstructing the wings. I'm on the fence about Astrotrain as it is, and 1 of the negatives is that he can't use the tender in shuttle mode, except as a half-assed launch pad.

1. It's not that the back half is gaunt, it's that the front half is carrying around extra lard thanks to the train kibble (this also affects the G1 toy). Sticking weapons on beefs the back up, so there's that:

2. There probably is a way to wrap at least some of the tender around his back without obstructing the wings. Without obstructing the engines is another matter.
3. What would you really expect the tender to do in shuttle mode besides transform into a launch pad or carrier? It's an accessory to complete the locomotive mode instead of having a steam locomotive with A. no apparent source of fuel and water and B. rocket engines visible on the back of the cab.
4. All that being said, you could detach the feet additions from the back of the tender and bulk the aft of the shuttle up with those.
5. Do you have any idea what that tender had to suffer to give you the launchpad and carrier configurations? Show some respect, dagnabbit!

[Rodimus Prime]

I didn't expect anything, that's why I'm asking if anyone has seen or done any fan modes. Okay, maybe gaunt wasn't the right word. But the fact that the entire shuttle body isn't uniform kinda bothers me, even if it's screen-accurate to the movie/cartoon. I suppose the feet part might work, but I would have to buy Astrotrain to try that, and after Shockwave, I'm having a hard time convincing myself to spend leader class money on a voyager figure, extra knickknacks be damned, even if they do integrate with the figure.

[Ironhidensh]

I didn't expect anything, that's why I'm asking if anyone has seen or done any fan modes. Okay, maybe gaunt wasn't the right word. But the fact that the entire shuttle body isn't uniform kinda bothers me, even if it's screen-accurate to the movie/cartoon. I suppose the feet part might work, but I would have to buy Astrotrain to try that, and after Shockwave, I'm having a hard time convincing myself to spend leader class money on a voyager figure, extra knickknacks be damned, even if they do integrate with the figure.

Yeah, he isn't worth leader money by any means, same as all other recent "leader" class figures. I actually like mine, problems aside, but its tiny. I got it under that target deal, and only paid approximately 7 bucks above Voyager price, so I dont feel completely ripped off. If you can't find a discounted price, however, I recommend skipping it.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Well, unlike with Shockwave, Astrotrain has 5 separate weapon pieces that he likely couldn't have had as a solo Voyager. And where Shockwave's extras smack of him being a hastily-reworked PotP Evolution design, Astrotrain's fuel tender that turns into a launchpad or crawler for his shuttle mode feels like an accessory his original toy was always supposed to have but didn't get. It complements the shuttle mode, and completes the locomotive mode.

[Ironhidensh]

Well, unlike with Shockwave, Astrotrain has 5 separate weapon pieces that he likely couldn't have had as a solo Voyager. And where Shockwave's extras smack of him being a hastily-reworked PotP Evolution design, Astrotrain's fuel tender that turns into a launchpad or crawler for his shuttle mode feels like an accessory his original toy was always supposed to have but didn't get. It complements the shuttle mode, and completes the locomotive mode.

Nah. Just like with Shockwave, the ridiculous extras should have been added to the mass if the figure to make a bigger better figure, or even better, just left the hell out and given us a Voyager price point, since these figures are voyagers.