The Energon Pub

[aronjlove]

Whoa I hope I can score a Thrust figure at a few locations that might have him.

Honestly, if it is anything like the Seeker two-pack, there will be plenty in the stores by the week of Christmas or just into the new year. I remember the mad rush in trying to cop the Seeker pack and finally getting it then a week or so later I saw four on the shelf and they hung around for a couple of weeks.

[bacem]

Found optimus on retail for 30%+20% discount, so i caved in.

Putting the accessories on optimus as subtle upgrade form works well in my opinion.

As for the trailer,

I tried to use it as shield mode after seeing it works pretty well on astrotrain's tender. Obviusly this looks nowhere as elegant.

[-Kanrabat-]

Would work well against a "incoming main Canon Blast!" scenario.

[Rodimus Prime]

As for the trailer,

20201209_193932.jpg

I tried to use it as shield mode after seeing it works pretty well on astrotrain's tender. Obviusly this looks nowhere as elegant.

Maybe try it on a larger figure?

[william-james88]

Found optimus on retail for 30%+20% discount, so i caved in..

Was it the only figure on sale? And where was the sale?

[bacem]

Just FYI, in case somebody hasn't mentioned it yet (appologize if it has), optimus's wheel butt is just connected via clip, so if it bothers you that much, you can just unclip it.

Resulting in cleaner back.

The wheel kibble can then attached under the trailer, via one peg connection (circled below)

[bacem]

Found optimus on retail for 30%+20% discount, so i caved in..

Was it the only figure on sale? And where was the sale?

No, the other earthrise figure are on sale as well. This is on indonesian retail however, as i am not indonesian, and the discount only apply today, as part of voting day promo, so i'm not sure if this info is useful for this forum.

[-Kanrabat-]

Just FYI, in case somebody hasn't mentioned it yet (appologize if it has), optimus's wheel butt is just connected via clip, so if it bothers you that much, you can just unclip it.

20201209_214414.jpg

Resulting in cleaner back.

20201209_214524.jpg

The wheel kibble can then attached under the trailer, via one peg connection (circled below)

20201209_220156.jpg

Woah! Nice Easter Egg!

[william-james88]

Found optimus on retail for 30%+20% discount, so i caved in..

Was it the only figure on sale? And where was the sale?

No, the other earthrise figure are on sale as well. This is on indonesian retail however, as i am not indonesian, and the discount only apply today, as part of voting day promo, so i'm not sure if this info is useful for this forum.

Not really but I do find that interesting since I am a rather big fan of indonesia. My favourite spot is Lovina on Bali.

Glad to know Indonesia gets the Earthrise toys.

[bacem]

Found optimus on retail for 30%+20% discount, so i caved in..

Was it the only figure on sale? And where was the sale?

No, the other earthrise figure are on sale as well. This is on indonesian retail however, as i am not indonesian, and the discount only apply today, as part of voting day promo, so i'm not sure if this info is useful for this forum.

Not really but I do find that interesting since I am a rather big fan of indonesia. My favourite spot is Lovina on Bali.

Glad to know Indonesia gets the Earthrise toys.

Oh, i've been to lovina before! Nice place, and not as crowded as kuta, so it feels calm.

Regarding our retails, we always get every transformers toyline here, albeit considerably late compared to US.. That being said, wether we get every complete wave from each toyline, is totally different case.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Honestly, I think it would be better for designers to just leave Optimus' front wheels in place, and have them on hinged struts a la Cybertron to permit outward movement of his hips. And to form the sloped sides of his abdomen (if they absolutely must have those) out of the front fenders. The bumper could stay in place too, also hinged. Be a lot cleaner in terms of both looks and transformation.

Has anyone stripped the paint off of ER Optimus' front windows? I'm curious as to how he'd look without it.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

I got my Battlechargers.



I'm so glad these guys are a lot more readily available nowadays.

[Munkky]

My Paradron Medics set came today, I really like Ratchet, especially the vehicle mode. I don't even mind the riot shield/boogie board all that much, because it adds some extra bulk and a unique look to the ambulance. Not mch to say about Lifeline, it's just green Arcee, but I do like the little extra paint detals like the stripes on the sides of her head. I came close to losing her gun twice while I was transforming her though, because it's clear plastic and difficult to see after you set it down somewhere.

[Tuned Agent]

Honestly, I think it would be better for designers to just leave Optimus' front wheels in place, and have them on hinged struts a la Cybertron to permit outward movement of his hips. And to form the sloped sides of his abdomen (if they absolutely must have those) out of the front fenders. The bumper could stay in place too, also hinged. Be a lot cleaner in terms of both looks and transformation.

So, Optimus should look like this?

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Sort of. Something of a balance between that and the original toy.


Like I said, the front fenders could be repurposed to make the abdominal slopes; that would take care of them in robot mode and free his arms to be square. And with the bumper on a hinge and the front wheels on hinged struts, they wouldn't get in the way of articulation.

[Sowndwave76]

I'm having to be real patient over here in MO-town... My local Target hasn't had any deluxe or voyager ER figures in weeks... Actually, it's been over a month.
But last time I was in, there were 16 Decepticon clone 2 packs...
How in the world did they get a ton of those in and nothing else from ER???

[Quantum Surge]

My stores are interesting. I have some Wave 1 stuff left at my Walmart, and it started to get Wave 2 stuff a few months back, but all I saw was an Airwave, a few Snapdragons, and one Doubledealer. Meanwhile Studio Series went up to its most recent wave. At another Walmart, they have the Wave 2 Deluxes and Voyagers. Same goes for my Target in terms of the Voyagers. Not a single store has anything for Wave 3, which I had to buy online. In fact anyone find it weird that Studio Series remained on time with stock but Earthrise didn't?

[Gauntlet101010]

Ironhide and Prowl finally came in today!

And I immediate broke Prowl's gun trying to get it out of the clamshell. -_-; I've been worried about the clamshell holding weapons a bit too securely and now one broke on me. Happily, I have good glue on hand and there's no evidence of a break at all since it happened right along the indent.

I like Prowl a whole lot. I'm glad I didn't get Siege because this hits all the right notes. The only other Prowl I have is the old Universe version. I never liked it. I got three because I needed those characters, but between the paint issues and my dislike for the mold itself with it's still legs and finnicky doors it never grew on me.

Ironhide on the other hand...

It looks like they started with a good remold, but stopped about halfway through. I could forgive the shoulders, but the feet really are an eyesore and they didn't have to be made like that. I like clear windows, but not when they end halfway through the vehicle. But his robot mode is better than Henkei's. And I need Prowl. So. Fine.

Hopefully a 3P makes some feet for him. I've seen the 3d printed ones and they just will not cut it. I appreciate the effort, but they don't blend well at all.

Hopefully I'll find a Quintesson in my area soon enough. I'm hoping to see one more repaint of the mold, but I only have the pit one so far.

[chuckdawg1999]

Well pluck my hairs out and call me baldy; I was charged for my Prowl/Ironhide set a few hours ago, I'm really surprised.

[nycPrime]

I had my AA cancelled by Amazon a few days ago. Anyone else in this boat? Any chance Amazon will get it back in stock? Really trying to avoid overpaying on eBay for it.

[Emerje]

I had my AA cancelled by Amazon a few days ago. Anyone else in this boat? Any chance Amazon will get it back in stock? Really trying to avoid overpaying on eBay for it.

Did you approve the latest delay? I did a few days ago and now my status is "not yet shipped" instead of delayed so maybe mine is coming soon? Haven't been charged yet.

Emerje

[Cyberpath]

Woah, I just got the Quintesson! Haven't even tried all the gimmicks yet but had to post my first impression -- this figure is big! It's even in scale with MP, I think. And the sculpt is spot-on! Some of the faces even have mouth-articulation. This trilogy is amazing. Now to open the "Allicon."

[Gauntlet101010]

It's jumping back a few posts, but I think Zelda is talking about a Prime that looks like Robot Masters Prime. It's chest and grille aren't fake while still retaining G1 Prime's whole look.

I'm sure there's a way to make that in a way that doesn't make the entire vehicle mode suck.

TBH, I prefer Earthrise. In general I'm not a huge fan of faux parts, but I can't deny the results.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

It's jumping back a few posts, but I think Zelda is talking about a Prime that looks like Robot Masters Prime. It's chest and grille aren't fake while still retaining G1 Prime's whole look.

I'm sure there's a way to make that in a way that doesn't make the entire vehicle mode suck.

Ewww. That junk is soooo not what I was going for. Even if the chest and grille aren't fake it still suffers from faux-parts usage (like the bumper), the legs having to be turned backwards for vehicle mode, and an excessively complex transformation.


There's a reason I put a pic of the original (okay, it's a reissue, but) G1 toy in my last post. What I'm talking about is a Prime that largely looks like this except with:
1. The panels on the backs of the shoulders moved to his back to make the cartoon's backpack
2. Square forearms like the cartoon
3. Cartoon-style (at least somewhat) abdominal slopes achieved by flipping the front fenders (which would now no longer be attached to the forearms) up into the empty space left by the arms
4. The front wheels and bumper being hinged similarly to Cybertron Optimus' hip wheels and faux-bumper:

TBH, I prefer Earthrise. In general I'm not a huge fan of faux parts, but I can't deny the results.

Well, if that's your taste.
For me, the transformation process is part of the result, and... A G1 Optimus Prime toy having a borderline Bayformer transformation scheme (based on what I've heard) feels off.

Regarding your gripes about ER Ironhide's feet... It seems pretty likely to me that the SIEGE Ratchet/Ironhide mold was never really designed with an Earth mode retool in mind. HasTak tried to shoehorn it into one anyway with a new windshield, new leg panels, and a roof shield and... Well, you can see how that worked out. The feet worked okay in the original version of the mold, and that was all they were really meant for.
Which 3D-printed feet were you looking at? The Funbie Studios ones look like they blend decently at least (although they're C.O.M.A.T. incompatible). Maybe it would work better to have a secondary shield piece that covers the feet to blend them (and can combine with the existing one in its ground platform mode).

I personally think ER Ratchet and Ironhide were a bad development investment... A new, Voyager mold with an A.I.R.Lock-compatible version of the G1 sled would have been a lot better I think.

[aronjlove]

I had my AA cancelled by Amazon a few days ago. Anyone else in this boat? Any chance Amazon will get it back in stock? Really trying to avoid overpaying on eBay for it.

That sucks. I know a few people who just recently received theirs and after approving the last delay mine is 'Not yet shipped' so hopefully it doesn't get canceled.