The Energon Pub

[Randomhero]

No but there’s plenty of people that complain about it and I’m just baffled by it. Taking a piece off and adding it in is treated like taboo.

A while back I actually saw someone complaining that you gotta attach hands and feet on combiners...my brain can’t fathom these people. Recently someone was complaining becuase the reissue of G1 Optimus Primes hands detach and said “ugh partsforming...pass” have you never seen a G1 toy?

Plenty of people complained that Siege Magnus armor comes apart

[Sentinel_Primal]

I used to be bothered by partsforming, but then TF:AoE introduced the Lego Decepticons, and now I just think, 'Well, it could be worse.'

Oh Primus I had forgotten about those... But I still don't care for partsforming because I don't buy Transformers for Lego, I buy Lego for Lego, and I buy Transformers for transforming figures. Most of the time, small parts forming (like weapons being part of the vehicle mode) doesn't bother me, and the leader class figures with an "armor boost" don't bother me because it's still a complete figure if you lose a part. The weaponizers don't bother me for some strange reason. Part of why I wasn't thrilled about Omega being an update to G1 was because of the partsforming, but I've warmed up to it since. I just know that it's always possible to lose some pieces through some accident and would hate it if I had to try and find the lost piece on eBay or buy a new figure just to have the whole character that I wanted

[Jelze Bunnycat]

It's all because we're spoiled by parts being able to be integrated or folded away, even on Combiners (even if that doesn't work out for the better, look at FoC Bruticus). I guess taking steps back for the sake of convenience or authenticity isn't acceptable for everyone.

[Dr. Caelus]

No but there’s plenty of people that complain about it and I’m just baffled by it. Taking a piece off and adding it in is treated like taboo.

It makes a difference for people who care about the extent to which the toys are faithful to the depictions of Transformers in cartoons and comic books, where parts-forming is virtually absent. Also, a lot of us have bad memories of good toys ruined by the loss of critical accessories, so there's a practical concern there too - losing a generic rifle or pistol accessory is annoying, but Optimus Prime needs his danged hands!

Recently someone was complaining becuase the reissue of G1 Optimus Primes hands detach and said “ugh partsforming...pass” have you never seen a G1 toy?

It's like if Ford offered to reissue the Model T - there would be a lot of people who'd buy it as a collector's item, a piece of history made metal, but most people would say, "I have to do WHAT to start it? **** that," and buy a Prius.

[RodimusConvoy13]

I wasn't going to because I was perfectly happy with my CW Magnus, but I picked up Siege Ultra Magnus today and I am so happy that I did! What an awesome figure! He's pure joy to transform. So much cool stuff going on with the Inner Magnus and putting the trailer together is lots of fun. His look has really grown on me too. At first I thought he was too busy, too much detail. But now I think he looks great. I also like I have both "types" of Magnus. I have the all in one that has a very G1 altmode and then I have the armored up robot with a cool looking Cybertron alt mode. I am just digging the Siege line. Maybe even to the point of liking it better than Titans Return, and I LOVE Titans Return!

[Emerje]

The entire first year of 1984 except the minibots are partsformers. They all have parts that get removed and added on. It’s been a thing since day one. My favorite of all time will be optimus and Starscream.

Adding weapons isn't partsforming. The only 1984 partsformers are Ironhide/Ratchet (alt mode), Sunstreaker, Trailbreaker, Wheeljack (wings debatably), 3 Seeker Jets, Megatron (alt mode), and Optimus Prime. It's less than half if you exclude the Mini-Cars, mailaways, and Kronoforms.

Anyway, saw the entire Seige wave one at Walmart this morning except for the Micromasters.

Emerje

[Dr. Caelus]

The only 1984 partsformers are Ironhide/Ratchet (alt mode), Sunstreaker, Trailbreaker, Wheeljack (wings debatably), 3 Seeker Jets, Megatron (alt mode), and Optimus Prime. It's less than half if you exclude the Mini-Cars, mailaways, and Kronoforms.

Adding weapons isn't partsforming. The only 1984 partsformers are Ironhide/Ratchet (alt mode), Sunstreaker, Trailbreaker, Wheeljack (wings debatably), 3 Seeker Jets, Megatron (alt mode), and Optimus Prime. It's less than half if you exclude the Mini-Cars, mailaways, and Kronoforms.

I think it's easy to forget which figures are 1984 vs 1985. I mean, 1985 gave us Hoist, Inferno, Grapple, Ramjet, Thrust, Dirge, Omega Supreme, and Devastator. Eight figures is certainly not "the entire" lineup or even "half" but it still feels like a lot.

I think what irks me more is 'now set it aside' pieces. e.g., Most of Devastator's parts can be used in the Constructicons' vehicle modes, but not in their robot modes, and the fists really can't be used in anything. Prowl, Smokescreen, and Blue Streak have cool looking shoulder launchers and rifles, but they can't be stored in or attached to them in alternate mode.

[william-james88]

Wait G1 Prime is a partsformer? I thought partsforming meant removing parts and adding them back, nothing is removed from Optimus's alt mode when he turns into a robot.

[TF-fan kev777]

Wait G1 Prime is a partsformer? I thought partsforming meant removing parts and adding them back, nothing is removed from Optimus's alt mode when he turns into a robot.

It is the other way around, you have to remove and store the fists to go from bot to truck.

[william-james88]

Wait G1 Prime is a partsformer? I thought partsforming meant removing parts and adding them back, nothing is removed from Optimus's alt mode when he turns into a robot.

It is the other way around, you have to remove and store the fists to go from bot to truck.

I know that, but i didnt think that equated to partsforming.

[Rainmaker]

From how I see it, partsforming is only when the pieces you have to detach contribute to both the robot and alternate mode.

[Hellscream9999]

Wait G1 Prime is a partsformer? I thought partsforming meant removing parts and adding them back, nothing is removed from Optimus's alt mode when he turns into a robot.

It is the other way around, you have to remove and store the fists to go from bot to truck.

I know that, but i didnt think that equated to partsforming.

You have to remove parts from him and leave them sitting somewhere else... that's and even more egregious crime in my mind than what cog does

[Dr. Caelus]

You have to remove parts from him and leave them sitting somewhere else...

I always stored his fists inside his vehicle cabin...

[TF-fan kev777]

Wait G1 Prime is a partsformer? I thought partsforming meant removing parts and adding them back, nothing is removed from Optimus's alt mode when he turns into a robot.

It is the other way around, you have to remove and store the fists to go from bot to truck.

I know that, but i didnt think that equated to partsforming.

I suspect partsforming may have as many variations among the fanbase as retool.

For me, I would consider it any time a figure needs to have a part removed or added in order to complete either mode. So weapons that are just stuck to the side of the vehicle would not count, but weapons formed by removing part of the vehicle like Universe Octane's really big comb weapon thing would. Adding fists for G1 prime to complete robot mode would count too. All headmasters, duocons and obviously weaponizers would count as well. I wouldn't count combiners for having to remove the individual members, but I would count any that have removable hands/feet/heads.

I'm perfectly fine with partsforming that is the purpose of the gimmick, or needed/used to complete an alt mode like the Octone example above of T30 Springers rotor/sword.

For me the only kind I don't really care for are the examples like G1 Prime where the fists are completely useless to the truck mode.

[TF-fan kev777]

You have to remove parts from him and leave them sitting somewhere else...

I always stored his fists inside his vehicle cabin...

...and hated the sound of them rattling around when I drove him.

[william-james88]

Are any of you still stressing about not finding Shockwave at retail? Well you may have one less worry since we now know he will be repacked in wave 2. There are only 3 leaders part of the Siege line this year, with the third being E3480 Optimus Prime, a retool of Ultra Magnus. It is assumed this toy will be released in this second wave and now we know that Shockwave will be his wavemate. This could mean that Shockwave will be far more abundant than any other leader in the first half of the year. The listing for the wave 2 leader assortment was found on the Southern Hobby website with a release date of May 1st. This is much later than the rest of wave 2 is scheduled to hit, meaning that as we saw in wave 1, the Siege leaders are not meant to be released in synch with the rest of the line.

[Nemesis Maximo]

Good, because I haven’t seen Shockwave anywhere at retail here in Northern Michigan. I don’t wanna miss out.

[Lore Keeper]

I still have a hard time accepting that we're only getting three leaders for this whole line. It just seems so... skimpy. It's good on the ol' bank account, but I do like having a more steady stream of things to collect to keep from getting bored.

[william-james88]

I still have a hard time accepting that we're only getting three leaders for this whole line. It just seems so... skimpy. It's good on the ol' bank account, but I do like having a more steady stream of things to collect to keep from getting bored.

Think about it, we had 4 waves of Studio Series last year and only 2 leaders. And we only had 4 leaders in POTP, so 3 is in the middle.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

I still have a hard time accepting that we're only getting three leaders for this whole line. It just seems so... skimpy. It's good on the ol' bank account, but I do like having a more steady stream of things to collect to keep from getting bored.

Think about it, we had 4 waves of Studio Series last year and only 2 leaders. And we only had 4 leaders in POTP, so 3 is in the middle.

Compared to Combiner Wars and Titans Return, it seems a bit low, but in the Prime Wars Trilogy, that Class in particular relied on co-tools (redecos, retools and the like) for padding out the assortments. Plus, like PotP with its 4 Leaders, Siege is only 1 year.

[william-james88]

I still have a hard time accepting that we're only getting three leaders for this whole line. It just seems so... skimpy. It's good on the ol' bank account, but I do like having a more steady stream of things to collect to keep from getting bored.

Think about it, we had 4 waves of Studio Series last year and only 2 leaders. And we only had 4 leaders in POTP, so 3 is in the middle.

Compared to Combiner Wars and Titans Return, it seems a bit low, but in the Prime Wars Trilogy, that Class in particular relied on co-tools (redecos, retools and the like) for padding out the assortments. Plus, like PotP with its 4 Leaders, Siege is only 1 year.

Thats why I didnt compare to other lines, it would not be a fair comparison. We should instead look at how many leaders come out per year in a line.

[Flashwave]

So, this may not mean anything. I really hope it doesnt. My local Meijer is rezoning their Toy Section and they left the Map of Transformers figures out for me to see.

There's not as far as I saw a provision for Leader Figures in the shelf space. Everyhring else os accounted for, but not those. Are these Leader dudes just gonna be that hard to find???

[Jelze Bunnycat]

I still have a hard time accepting that we're only getting three leaders for this whole line. It just seems so... skimpy. It's good on the ol' bank account, but I do like having a more steady stream of things to collect to keep from getting bored.

Think about it, we had 4 waves of Studio Series last year and only 2 leaders. And we only had 4 leaders in POTP, so 3 is in the middle.

Compared to Combiner Wars and Titans Return, it seems a bit low, but in the Prime Wars Trilogy, that Class in particular relied on co-tools (redecos, retools and the like) for padding out the assortments. Plus, like PotP with its 4 Leaders, Siege is only 1 year.

Thats why I didnt compare to other lines, it would not be a fair comparison. We should instead look at how many leaders come out per year in a line.

Last I counted, we got 16 in main retail the past 4 years, and 5 exclusives. Of the main retail ones, 8 were directly based on earlier figures.

[Carnivius_Prime]

Dangit. When it said repacked I kinda hoped it meant as a voyager class minus the backpack (that I don't want) so more affordable. Would be nice to have the option.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Honestly, a small number of Leader molds is fairly average. CW and TR had a high number of Leader releases, but there was mold-use maximizing going on with redecoes (3 of the CW Leaders were Seekers and one of the others was a headswap redeco) and co-tools (heck, the CW Seeker mold is a retool/co-tool of T30 Jetfire).

RiD:
3 Leader molds. not counting the re-used Laser Optimus mold

Armada:
1 Leader mold

Energon:
2 Leader molds

Cybertron:
3 Leader molds

Movie 1:
3 Leader molds

Animated:
3 Leader molds

RotF:
3 Leader molds, 4 if you include HFTD Starscream. Probably the peak for different original Leader-class molds with Screamer factored in.

DotM:
3 Leader molds

Thrilling 30:
1 Leader mold, a first for CHUG toys.

AoE:
2 Leader molds

Combiner Wars:
2 all-new Leader molds plus one heavy retool/co-tool of the T30 Leader

Titans Return:
3 original molds (two of which had co-tools), plus one heavy retool of a Combiner wars mold

The Last Knight:
2 new Leader molds

Power of the Primes:
3 new Leader molds

WFC SIEGE:
2 new Leader molds, one of which has a heavy co-tool.