The Energon Pub

[Skritz]

Y'all are acting like this is something new when we've had this same kind of exclusive boxed set stuff before with the Titans Return boxed sets and all the BotCon boxed sets.

And, seriously, no one is forcing any of you to buy these. If you don't want them, don't buy them.

The difference with these is that I don't have to travel to another country to a packed convention or scour the aftermarket for x300 times the original price. Yeah they are overpriced exclusives but they're nowhere as bad as the Botcon stuff.

[william-james88]

Y'all are acting like this is something new when we've had this same kind of exclusive boxed set stuff before with the Titans Return boxed sets and all the BotCon boxed sets.

And, seriously, no one is forcing any of you to buy these. If you don't want them, don't buy them.

The difference with these is that I don't have to travel to another country to a packed convention or scour the aftermarket for x300 times the original price. Yeah they are overpriced exclusives but they're nowhere as bad as the Botcon stuff.

I am honestly surprised over this discussion. The Titans Return multipacks gave us a good idea of what Hasbro had in store for us and people were very much on board with them. The only issue was the availability in certain markets. this is more of the same but on a smaller scale.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

Y'all are acting like this is something new when we've had this same kind of exclusive boxed set stuff before with the Titans Return boxed sets and all the BotCon boxed sets.

And, seriously, no one is forcing any of you to buy these. If you don't want them, don't buy them.

The difference with these is that I don't have to travel to another country to a packed convention or scour the aftermarket for x300 times the original price. Yeah they are overpriced exclusives but they're nowhere as bad as the Botcon stuff.

Overpriced? Lets see here:

Firestormers
G2 Sideswipe, Deluxe: $20
Slamdance, Deluxe: $20
"G2 Sideswipe's Battle Master": $6

Total: $46

Skywarp
Skywarp, Voyager: $30
"Battle Master Trio": 3 x $6 = $18

Total: $48

Considering Hasbro doesn't believe bulk lowers the price, and rounds up to the nearest Price Point, Leader at $50? Yeah, paying a few bucks more than one should, but that's been the name of the game

[william-james88]

Y'all are acting like this is something new when we've had this same kind of exclusive boxed set stuff before with the Titans Return boxed sets and all the BotCon boxed sets.

And, seriously, no one is forcing any of you to buy these. If you don't want them, don't buy them.

The difference with these is that I don't have to travel to another country to a packed convention or scour the aftermarket for x300 times the original price. Yeah they are overpriced exclusives but they're nowhere as bad as the Botcon stuff.

Overpriced? Lets see here:

Firestormers
G2 Sideswipe, Deluxe: $20
Slamdance, Deluxe: $20
"G2 Sideswipe's Battle Master": $6

Total: $46

Skywarp
Skywarp, Voyager: $30
"Battle Master Trio": 3 x $6 = $18

Total: $48

Considering Hasbro doesn't believe bulk lowers the price, and rounds up to the nearest Price Point, Leader at $50? Yeah, paying a few bucks more than one should, but that's been the name of the game

Just so we are clear, the leader price point mentioned was based on comparable listings in another currency. It is to give a ballpark idea of what this will cost. It can be that the sets end up a little higher when the actual USD price is revealed. Not much though since this is all in line with the idea of rounding up and not not lowering the price on bulk (which I realize now was never the case with Hasbro).

[o.supreme]

Agreed. With CW Box Sets you got a Voyager (roughly $25 at the time) 4 deluxes ($15 x 4 at the time) and a legends ($10 at the time) that equals $95.00, most box sets were $100, except for the Platinum LioKaiser.

For TR those sets came with a Leader ($45 at the time) Voyager ($25 at the time) Deluxe ($15 at the time), Legends Class ($10 at the time), and a *die-cast* TM most valued around $5.00 So that equals exactly $100, which is what the Velocitron set cost at TRU. The exclusivity of the Siege set priced it a little more, but, even now, almost 2 years later -the price did go up for a time, but these seem to have found new stock with online retailers since BBTS & TFSource both have them in stock currently for $119.00.

Add on to that, since some individual components are obviously more highly desired than others, you can sell certain ones for quite a nice profit, and even take a loss on some others if you are just looking to get rid of them.

The only part that doesn't make sense is this... The Combiner Wars sets obviously had a Theme. The TR ones did, if you squinted really hard (Speed, Strength, etc...)

But...The Firestormer pack is as about as Random and without purpose as you can get...I guess it could be worse and they could have included Greenlight and tried to sell it for $70 (so glad they did not), but G2 Sideswipe & Slamdance would have been much better off sold separately.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

Add on to that, since some individual components are obviously more highly desired than others, you can sell certain ones for quite a nice profit, and even take a loss on some others if you are just looking to get rid of them.

I can see G2 Sideswipe doing well on the aftermarket, given his BCCC predecessor. Almost makes me want to get Siege Swipe in preparation

[chuckdawg1999]

Y'all are acting like this is something new when we've had this same kind of exclusive boxed set stuff before with the Titans Return boxed sets and all the BotCon boxed sets.

And, seriously, no one is forcing any of you to buy these. If you don't want them, don't buy them.

But if you want the character this is the only way to get it so there really isn't a choice is there? Also for all we know the poor guy could be hanging over a vat of acid and his only hope of being let down is to buy the Skywarp set.

There are still some of us who remember buying figures in a set meant you got a bit of a deal over buying them separately, those days are gone I guess.

[Skritz]

Well at any rate, I do want that Skywarp and I like the Battlemaster molds so I'll figure out a use in my collection for these guys. Purple ptero-dudeis definitely becoming the Battlemaster to my Hun-Gurr, for one thing. Don't know if any of those will get a name or be assigned the identity of pre-existing Targetmasters. Guess we'll see.

[william-james88]

There are still some of us who remember buying figures in a set meant you got a bit of a deal over buying them separately, those days are gone I guess.

When was the last time that actually happened with Transformers?

[Skritz]

There are still some of us who remember buying figures in a set meant you got a bit of a deal over buying them separately, those days are gone I guess.

When was the last time that actually happened with Transformers?

Hey at least we had the G2 sets for Combiner Wars.

...except Defensor.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

There are still some of us who remember buying figures in a set meant you got a bit of a deal over buying them separately, those days are gone I guess.

When was the last time that actually happened with Transformers?

That actually did happen, albeit rarely, especially with dedicated sets. The latest that comes to mind was that yellow RiD Landfill redeco for Black Friday 2003, sold at the price of 2 of his 4 components.

At any rate, I have my sights set on the Firestormers set and Greenlight. Skywarp, eh... may hunt for the FoC version of him and Thundercracker. The Skywarp Battle Masters are appealing, but that's my love for small figures talking

[Stargrave]

I think the price is in step with the quality - the amount of detailing, better quality control, more paint, fewer empty gaps and voids. It's like we're now getting the step just beneath Masterpiece quality with a price point to match. I admit I'm not made out of money either, but I do feel you get what you pay for. At least as far as they go today. We're seeing TF's that are straight up action figures. The Voyager Optimus is as poseable as a Revoltech almost. They're like Marvel Legends only with alt modes lol. I ramble but I think they're really making a stab at getting good products to fans who wish they could afford Masterpieces, and also taking their properties back from the 3rd party companies. I'm seeing stuff in the Siege line that I feel the 3rd party companies have been cranking out year after year (Tetrajets, a G1 Magnus, Sixshot). I mean my god there's what 872 versions of "not Devastator" now it's about time Hasbro said hey, eyes back over here, here's the official stuff made better. I wasn't a fan because of price alone out the gate, but they've won me over.

[william-james88]

There are still some of us who remember buying figures in a set meant you got a bit of a deal over buying them separately, those days are gone I guess.

When was the last time that actually happened with Transformers?

Hey at least we had the G2 sets for Combiner Wars.

...except Defensor.

Thats neither here nor there, I am asking which sets actually gave us a retail price that was a package deal. Those didn't. That hasnt been a thing with Transformers (or any collectable line, looking at Stars Wars and Marvel Legends) for at least 15 years.

[Rainmaker]

There are still some of us who remember buying figures in a set meant you got a bit of a deal over buying them separately, those days are gone I guess.

When was the last time that actually happened with Transformers?

Over here in Australia buying the SS Bumblebee 2-pack was cheaper than buying 2 SS Deluxes, surprisingly. Same with the Bumblebee cassette pack, it only cost $45 AUD and included 3 legends class figures and a one-step.

[Zeedust]

Spinout is already taken, he's the red redeco of Sunstreaker. And a Chef... Who got promoted to a field commander... Because the Cons ripped tjrough everyone else above the chain of command.

There's actually two Spin-Outs, or two versions of Spin-Out, however you want to interpret it. There's the version you're talking about from the "Of Masters and Mayhem" universe, and there's also this guy from "Last Stand of the Wreckers", who does bear a very slight resemblance to Sideswipe:



Neither one lived very long, getting killed by Toxitron and Overlord respectively. So the name's probably available, though I doubt anyone would want to have it at this point.

There are still some of us who remember buying figures in a set meant you got a bit of a deal over buying them separately, those days are gone I guess.

When was the last time that actually happened with Transformers?

That actually did happen, albeit rarely, especially with dedicated sets. The latest that comes to mind was that yellow RiD Landfill redeco for Black Friday 2003, sold at the price of 2 of his 4 components.

To be fair, 2003 was a long time ago.

And there's certainly times when they went in the opposite direction, like the AoE "evolution" Grimlock set, which cost the same as the one for Optimus even though Optimus's was two Voyagers while Grimlock's was literally a Voyager and a half.

[sol magnus]

Well I already have a Skywarp, so as cool as his small collection of minions is, I was always going to pass on that pack. The Firestormers, on the other hand, definitely have my attention. Seeing Slamdance with his color scheme flipped will kinda take some getting used to, but I really appreciate his guns being silver to reference his cassette origin, him getting his own new accurate head sculpt, and really just the fact that he exists. The G2 Swipe looks good too, that alt mode looks badass in black and red, and the red windshield is a nice touch. If they end up fixing Red Alert before they release him, I guess my two uses of this mold will be headcanoned to be twins?

It's nice to see Slam Dance back, even if not in cassette form.

G2 Sideswipe instead is quite pointless, unless it is meant to represent a new character sharing its deco (something that I previously read referred to Soundblaster).

I'm curious about the Targetmasters, although Skywarp alone would justify getting them.

I guess in my "personal continuity" G2 Sideswipe would have to be a different character. Lambo? Spinout? Fish-Tail?

Spinout is already taken, he's the red redeco of Sunstreaker. And a Chef... Who got promoted to a field commander... Because the Cons ripped tjrough everyone else above the chain of command.

I'm intending to name mine Deadline if I get him, as that sounds too much like a generic TF name for me to actually believe it's never been used, and of course a guy with that name would be black and red.

I like it. Might "steal".

[no-one]

I'm intending to name mine Deadline if I get him ...snip... and of course a guy with that name would be black and red.

The evilest of all Decepticons

[Skritz]

So I was wondering: what are the odds of seeing a Soundwave retool into Blaster? Its unlikely for Siege but it could happen later either for Selects or as part of the second part of this trilogy, assuming we see currently-used molds being retooled for a later line. That seems still possible because there's no need for line-wide gimmicks that are as intrusive as they were for Prime Wars (as far as we know, anyway, maybe WFC part 2 and 3 will do things differently!).

While a Blaster retool would need at minimum a new head, given Hasbro's current expertise at retooling I could see the entire lower body of Soundwave getting retooled with design elements/greebles a bit more in line with Blastar. Likewise, if Micromasters remain a thing I could see them redeco and retool some of Soundwave's chest minions to fit Blaster and, in turn, possibly redeco a new pair of Rewind/Eject into Rumbke/Frenzy.

Of course its all speculation but given the GEEWUN pandering I expect Hasbro to not waste a chance to retool Soundwave into Blaster. Or I could be partially wrong, with Blaster being an entirely new mold with a ground altmode but retaining the main chest gimmick.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

So I was wondering: what are the odds of seeing a Soundwave retool into Blaster? Its unlikely for Siege but it could happen later either for Selects or as part of the second part of this trilogy, assuming we see currently-used molds being retooled for a later line. That seems still possible because there's no need for line-wide gimmicks that are as intrusive as they were for Prime Wars (as far as we know, anyway, maybe WFC part 2 and 3 will do things differently!).

While a Blaster retool would need at minimum a new head, given Hasbro's current expertise at retooling I could see the entire lower body of Soundwave getting retooled with design elements/greebles a bit more in line with Blastar. Likewise, if Micromasters remain a thing I could see them redeco and retool some of Soundwave's chest minions to fit Blaster and, in turn, possibly redeco a new pair of Rewind/Eject into Rumbke/Frenzy.

Of course its all speculation but given the GEEWUN pandering I expect Hasbro to not waste a chance to retool Soundwave into Blaster. Or I could be partially wrong, with Blaster being an entirely new mold with a ground altmode but retaining the main chest gimmick.

New head and tape deck, minimum, maybe even new legs which is very easy to pull off nowadays. I mean look at the differences between TR Blaster and Soundwave. For his cassettes... Ravage into Ramhorn?

[sol magnus]

Of course its all speculation but given the GEEWUN pandering I expect Hasbro to not waste a chance to retool Soundwave into Blaster. Or I could be partially wrong, with Blaster being an entirely new mold with a ground altmode but retaining the main chest gimmick.

I'd welcome a Blaster retool, but "GEEWUN pandering?" It's probably more like "we know who butters our bread."

[william-james88]

I am sick of blaster from redecos even when Soundwave has a tapedoor. The two are supposed to be distinct to eachother in every way. Redecos will always be unsatisfying, no need for another placeholder to waste money on.

[Skritz]

I just think the odds of a 100% original mold for Blaster is unlikely. Not impossible, just unlikely. Soundwave's newest mold is so abstract (being a flying brick-lampost-tape deck) that it wouldn't be impossible to see Blaster as anything from a minor to a massive retool. The chest cavity definitely need to stay (as do maybe the arms) but anything else could certainly see re-engineering.

[Nemesis Primal]

Just got back from a late Endgame showing and feeling hyped, so while I should probably be going to bed, instead I'm going to do something odd and talk about that card game I don't play. See, I just read the article about new cards, and apparently the card game is going full-on Siege now (which I definitely knew beforehand), which made me think about the possibility of seeing reveals of future characters through the cards. They in fact just revealed a bunch of new characters according to said article, but in terms of whether the cards are WFC reveals, here's what I'm thinking:

Alpha Trion: Nope, that's old robot mode art and what looks like a Siege-styled version of his TR ship mode.
Nightstick: Maybe? I don't know enough about BattleTargetmasters to be able to tell if that's the old Nightstick mold or not for certain, but I think it's the old one.
Needlenose: Without a doubt, this is his design for if he won the poll, there's no way it isn't. He has unique guns, one of which appears to have a transformation hinge at the base of the barrel, he has robot mode kibble on the underside of his tetrajet mode, and he has a unique tetrajet mode compared to the Screamer mold. Given we're seeing other old poll losers get their figures (Magnus, Shockwave, Omega Supreme), I think this is absolute confirmation a Deluxe Tetrajet mold is coming later in WFC. We kinda speculated those characters would show up later anyway, but still.
Trailbreaker: Looks like Siege-styled art of the Thrilling 30 figure, so probably no.
Ratchet: We know Ratchet is coming, but that looks like the old Universe mold to me.
Wheeljack: That's the old Generations figure with a smaller chest and more red. If it were a Siege Jackie, it would turn into the Cybertronian box-car, Warden even said so.
Mudslinger: Yeah. We already saw the retail Off-Road Patrol, but that character is so obscure in a sea of numerous Micromasters that I can't see them giving cards to any of them that aren't getting new figures to promote. He's presumably in the leaked/rumored multi-pack then, meaning there are new molds included in that.

...that's all I got, g'night.

[ZeroWolf]

While I love your deduction, I'd take it with a grain of salt as Wizards will probably go off on their own tangent with the cards given thay they are covering the fall of Cybertron in the next few waves, so it remains to be seen how far they go with synergy, especially given they could handle the tcg like magic and have three/four expansions/waves per calendar year.

[Sabrblade]

Needlenose: Without a doubt, this is his design for if he won the poll, there's no way it isn't. He has unique guns, one of which appears to have a transformation hinge at the base of the barrel, he has robot mode kibble on the underside of his tetrajet mode, and he has a unique tetrajet mode compared to the Screamer mold. Given we're seeing other old poll losers get their figures (Magnus, Shockwave, Omega Supreme), I think this is absolute confirmation a Deluxe Tetrajet mold is coming later in WFC. We kinda speculated those characters would show up later anyway, but still.

Unfortunately, this isn't the case. According to a podcast interview TFW2005 did with the TCG Brand Manager Drew Nolosco, the TCG design for Needlenose was done by the TCG team independently from Hasbro, without any toy in mind.