The Energon Pub

[Hellscream9999]

The new War for Cybertron Siege Micromasters have just been found at retail. With the Battle Masters, voyagers and deluxes already found at retail, that makes the leader class the only class left to be found at retail in the US. Yesterday Seibertron user Hellscream9999 nabbed the Airstrike Patrol and Autobot Battle Patrol. They were found at a Target in Oswego, Illinois using the DPCI: 087-16-3983. Thanks to the reciept, we see the price to be $9.99. Speaking of prices, private souces have confirmed that the MSRP for this line is the same as for the Studio Series meaning that the MSRP for deluxes is $19.99, $29.99 for voyagers and $49.99 for leaders. Retailers of course can price them as they wish so prices may vary.

So what do you make of these little guys? Let us know your thoughts and whether you'll be purchasing them in the comments below.

[Wireless_Phantom]

The new War for Cybertron Siege Micromaster's have just been found at retail, bringing the sightings for wave 1 to a close, as the rest of the wave 1 had been found recently. Yesterday Seibertron user Hellscream9999 nabbed the Airstrike Patrol and Autobot Battle Patrol. They were found at a Target in Oswego, Illinois using the DPCI: 087-16-3983.

micromaster fun.jpg

receipt.jpg

So what do you make of these little guys? Let us know your thoughts and whether you'll be purchasing them in the comments below.

I know I'll be getting them.

[Hellscream9999]

So what do you make of these little guys? Let us know your thoughts and whether you'll be purchasing them in the comments below.

I know I'll be getting them.

They're pretty great, the knee's really put them over the top; They're pretty dense too, the airstrike sword is actually really heavy

[Hellscream9999]

Lionizer's a lot of fun, but I wish you could hold it like a rifle, because the blade seems really stubby compared to the hilt, more like a bayonet than a full fledged sword... the 'swooshing' effect is great though, he definitely changed my mind on them for the melee weapons at least

[Carnivius_Prime]

I maaay get the Air Strike guys cos i had the original Micromasters (I won them from the Marvel UK comic when they did a competition) but I certainly won't use them in that goofy sword mode (the Star Saber from Armada was bad enough... what idiot thinks a bunch of smooshed jets could possibly work as a sword? There's so many things wrong with that and this combined form here just looks like Storm Cloud flew right into the back of Whisper) and they chose my fave two from the team of four for this double pack though Storm Cloud doesn't look great in either mode (the original toy looked better).

[Carnivius_Prime]

Having a couple of those Lionizers be SS Lockdown's Steeljaws for sure.

[william-james88]

The recent Seibertron galleries have shown the Transformers Siege toys to be smaller than previous incarnations. For instance, Siege Megatron and Hound are shorter than Titans Return Megatron and Combiner Wars Hound respectively. But does that mean we are getting ripped off? Especially since the MSRP is now $19.99 for deluxes and $29.99 for voyagers? Well ‎TF Fan West Lee, on Facebook, chose to look at this from a mass perspective. Figures in the past might be tall but if they are hollow, a very common complaint from fans, then maybe fixing that aspect might mean more material and thus lower the overall height for this line. And he found that this line offers more in terms of mass (and thus meterial) than previous lines. Here is what he had to say along with the images showing that Siege Megatron, for instance, has much more material than most other voyagers.

Not sure if I will news this or not.

Have you seen the complaints that WFC-S figures are smaller than the previous figures? Well are they smaller? In terms of height, some Siege figures are slightly shorter yes, but in terms of mass? Well let's use facts here, people say that TR Megs is bigger than WFC-S Megs, well in terms of mass (g) the latter is bigger. Here are a few other comparisons. Based on the weights, the figures have NOT decreased in mass at all. The unified scale is the explanation as to why some are shorter. All in all, Siege is a massive improvement.

There is a misconception of cost / height, the height of a figure in relation to cost, saving, cutting etc is irrelevant, the weight is relevant, pay per gram not per inch, raw materials go by raw weight.

[Emerje]

I'm curious what Ironhide weighs, articulation aside he looks like a Cyber Battalion figure from behind.

Emerje

[Carnivius_Prime]

Hm have to say I'm more into how well they display with other figures as part of a collection, than I am about how much they weigh (their weight means nothing to me when gazing at them on my shelves).

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

If they're going to have more mass I think they should stretch it out more. I would happily take hollow sections (which EVERY regular line has had in some form and which people IMO people make too much noise about) if it ensured they didn't literally come up short next to Unicron Trilogy, mainline movieverse,and past CHUG figures. Hound isn't too bad compared to Universe Hound, but Sideswipe...

Hm have to say I'm more into how well they display with other figures as part of a collection, than I am about how much they weigh (their weight means nothing to me when gazing at them on my shelves).

Agreed. Here I was looking forward to Siege Sideswipe as a cheaper alternative to the Universe one. But now...


Now, not so much.

[Skritz]

Can't wait to get a matching Targetmaster for my Triggerhappy and Hot Rod.

[Mkall]

I'm curious how this matches the mass of other Voyagers from previous Generations lines.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Can't wait to get a matching Targetmaster for my Triggerhappy and Hot Rod.

Oh yeah. Cog and the Battle Masters are still very definitely "Take my money!" Even if Firedrive needs a mod right out of the package (migrating the barrel mount to the back of his knees) I'm still excited for him.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

Can't wait to get a matching Targetmaster for my Triggerhappy and Hot Rod.

Oh yeah. Cog and the Battle Masters are still very definitely "Take my money!" Even if Firedrive needs a mod right out of the package (migrating the barrel mount to the back of his knees) I'm still excited for him.

That would make him more similar to Pinpointer:


Transformers G1 1987 Pinpointer Gallery

But I see what you're going for. Still, G1 toy accuracy isn't all that's "crack"ed up to be (ha ha):


Transformers G1 1987 Peacemaker Gallery

[deliciouspeter]

Fun. I hope someone weighs the leaders too.

They look great, but man those deluxes are short.

[Solrac333]

Ok. Now weigh an $20 voyager Classics Optimus with this new $30 Optimus.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Can't wait to get a matching Targetmaster for my Triggerhappy and Hot Rod.

Oh yeah. Cog and the Battle Masters are still very definitely "Take my money!" Even if Firedrive needs a mod right out of the package (migrating the barrel mount to the back of his knees) I'm still excited for him.

That would make him more similar to Pinpointer:

Eh, not really. As is very clear in that image you showed, Pinpointer's barrel mount is located on the backs of his feet, not the backs of his knees.



On Firebolt, the barrels are definitely attached to the back of the knees.

But I see what you're going for. Still, G1 toy accuracy isn't all that's "crack"ed up to be (ha ha):

Maybe not, but I think it's important to have the general arrangement of things right, especially with the Targetmasters' gun modes since that's all they've got. As-is, Firedrive's gun mode... Forget the details, it's got the barrels sawn off and stuck to the lower back of the stock compared to the original!

...I may have obsessively studied the details of Fracas, Nightstick, Recoil, and Firebolt with an eye to building homemade ones for myself. Just maybe.

[Skritz]

I'm not too bothered by the transformation scheme on the gun-base Battlemasters. I imagine this was just some cost-cutting mixed with shared engineering. Make me wonder if people won't 3d print new gun parts to make custom targetmasters.

[william-james88]

Ok. Now weigh an $20 voyager Classics Optimus with this new $30 Optimus.

If it was $20 in 2006 then it would be at least $25 today when considering inflation.

[YoungPrime]

Not feeling the height of these Voyagers. You can tell that Starscream isn't even all that big which is those ports on his shoulders are so ridiculous tall.

Can't really defend more G1 characters or find a good enough reason to replace a lot of the CHUGS you already have when Hasbro is half@ssing everything but their prices.

[Wolfman Jake]

Agreed. Here I was looking forward to Siege Sideswipe as a cheaper alternative to the Universe one. But now...


Now, not so much.

The Universe 2008 Sideswipe/Sunstreaker mold is REALLY big for a Deluxe Class figure, even back in the day, when all size classes were generally larger than they are now. It really makes what are essentially current par for the course sized figures look small by (unfair) comparison. Just judging by the comparison pics in the Seibertron galleriers, I can assure you that Siege Sideswipe is not as short as he seems next to his Universe 2008 counterpart, and out of context with contemporary Deluxe Class figures. He'll scale very nicely with anything from Thriling 30 onward.

[Flashwave]

Agreed. Here I was looking forward to Siege Sideswipe as a cheaper alternative to the Universe one. But now...


Now, not so much.

The Universe 2008 Sideswipe/Sunstreaker mold is REALLY big for a Deluxe Class figure, even back in the day, when all size classes were generally larger than they are now. It really makes what are essentially current par for the course sized figures look small by (unfair) comparison. Just judging by the comparison pics in the Seibertron galleriers, I can assure you that Siege Sideswipe is not as short as he seems next to his Universe 2008 counterpart, and out of context with contemporary Deluxe Class figures. He'll scale very nicely with anything from Thriling 30 onward.

Except the fan gripe is not solely limited to one figure, the toyline as a whole is averaging down. I'm not a Scale guy, as long as Big Guys are Big and Little Guys are Little, ans the size of things doeant really bother me, but they arent wrong in saying that the Deluxes as a qhole are shorter. Siege Hound is smaller than Universe Hound, and by comparion he's not nearly the biggest oy out of his pruce range. Am I gwtting Siege Hound? Absolutely, I want a g
Figure with a better foot and the clip that holds on the holp generator on my Uni Hound is showing a stress fracture. But I'm not sure I will even see him above the other guys on my shelf.

[Wolfman Jake]

Except the fan gripe is not solely limited to one figure, the toyline as a whole is averaging down. I'm not a Scale guy, as long as Big Guys are Big and Little Guys are Little, ans the size of things doeant really bother me, but they arent wrong in saying that the Deluxes as a qhole are shorter. Siege Hound is smaller than Universe Hound, and by comparion he's not nearly the biggest oy out of his pruce range. Am I gwtting Siege Hound? Absolutely, I want a g
Figure with a better foot and the clip that holds on the holp generator on my Uni Hound is showing a stress fracture. But I'm not sure I will even see him above the other guys on my shelf.

Yes, Deluxe Class figures are shorter, but that's been true since Fall of Cybertron/Thrilling 30. It's not a new "problem." The Siege figures aren't really appreciably different compared to like-classed figures from the Prime Wars Trilogy. In some instances, you can point out a figure that is a hair (mm or so) shorter than another from recent history, but the figure isn't really "smaller." That's why some people are looking at overall mass too. Siege Hound has a lot more bulk down in his calves, simply due to the transformation scheme. If it had been done differently, some of the extra mass in the legs might have ended up in the torso, making him just a bit taller. Some of the comparison pic can be misleading too. If all you're going off is something like this:

...then yes, Siege Hound looks shorter than Universe 2008 Hound, who in turn looks shorter than Combiner Wars Hound. The difference sure look significant in these pictures. However, what we're experiencing is a bit of an optical illusion. When the figures arranged as they are, left to right, with the smallest toys at the right and seemingly the largest at the left, our eyes are exaggerating the differences we're seeing, because we're expecting a size gradient based on how everything is arranged. The sharp drop off at the right end is making the differences at the left end seem more substantial than they actually are. (It also doesn't help that our perception of size differences is further compromised by the wide shot nature of this picture, putting the figures out in the "distance" of our visual field. Think of the moon illusion and how the moon looks different sizes at different distances from the visual horizon. The same issue happens here, on a much smaller scale (no pun intended). Take a look at these comparisons between only two figures at a time:

Suddenly, those height differences look a LOT less drastic. We've got nice, close up shots of these figures paired together in our "near vision field," making for less "guesstimating" on the part of our visual processing. Siege figures are really not smaller or shorter than what has come before in the past six years or so. If you were somehow expecting the figures were going to get "bigger" again, then you were setting yourself up for disappointment (and you haven't really been paying attention for the last several years). This is the new normal with Transformers figure scaling, and it has been like this for a while. If your collection is primarily based on figures from between 2006 and 2011, when all figures were bigger, you're definitely going to have some scale problems now. Siege figures are meant to fit in with more contemporary figures from Thrilling 30 and onwards, and they do that very well.

[Emerje]

Agreed. Here I was looking forward to Siege Sideswipe as a cheaper alternative to the Universe one. But now...


Now, not so much.

The Universe 2008 Sideswipe/Sunstreaker mold is REALLY big for a Deluxe Class figure, even back in the day, when all size classes were generally larger than they are now. It really makes what are essentially current par for the course sized figures look small by (unfair) comparison. Just judging by the comparison pics in the Seibertron galleriers, I can assure you that Siege Sideswipe is not as short as he seems next to his Universe 2008 counterpart, and out of context with contemporary Deluxe Class figures. He'll scale very nicely with anything from Thriling 30 onward.

I said the same thing last week and it went largely ignored. The "Lambo" mold was ridiculously tall even next to other tall Universe figures like the "Datsun" mold. I don't know why people keep using the Sideswipe comparison as an example of how much the line has shrunk when that Universe figure is just so absurd.



It's going to be hard to properly judge sizes without actual measurements.

Emerje

[Dr. Caelus]

Take a look at these comparisons between only two figures at a time:

Suddenly, those height differences look a LOT less drastic. We've got nice, close up shots of these figures paired together in our "near vision field," making for less "guesstimating" on the part of our visual processing.

Combiner Wars Hound is crouching in the second picture.