The Energon Pub

by **megatronus** » Sat Jan 11, 2014 12:17 pm

Arraypeaking of Bite...reckon they'll do Goldbug and Bugbite repaints?

by **Agamemnon** » Sat Jan 11, 2014 1:08 pm

ArrayArraypeaking of Bite...reckon they'll do Goldbug and Bugbite repaints?

by **megatronus** » Sat Jan 11, 2014 5:06 pm

ArrayArrayArraypeaking of Bite...reckon they'll do Goldbug and Bugbite repaints?

by **Glarryg** » Sun Jan 12, 2014 4:05 am

I like it. But, as I said once before, I still hope against hope that someday there'll be a version of BB with a G1 toy-accurate head (even as an accessory if possible). I don't have the Art Feather version, but if I can get one of these for cheaper I'd go for it. Sure, Hasbro goes nuts with unnecessary BBs, but most of those are either Movie- or Prime-verse toys.

But some of the talk here has brought up an underlying quirk with the G1 cartoon version's design: they took a toy of a robot that was meant to turn into a toy car (a "penny racer," right?) and passed it off as a robot that was meant to turn into a real-life car, so we have Spike often driving a life-sized yet impractically pudgy VW Beetle. This TW version is closer to what we saw on TV than a Bumblebee that turns into a true-to-scale Beetle.

It does make me wonder what the MP version will look like, and, moreover, how they'll engineer it.

Glarryg

News Credits: 14 · by **robotmel** » Sun Jan 12, 2014 12:23 pm

Kapow Toys in the U.K. have a pre-order price of £34.99 with £3.50 shipping!

http://www.kapowtoys.co.uk/toyworld-tw-03-bii.html

Less than forty quid gets you the closest thing to a modern engineered, highly articulated, cartoon accurate Bumblebee!

by **Rated X** » Sun Jan 12, 2014 12:29 pm

Array like it. But, as I said once before, I still hope against hope that someday there'll be a version of BB with a G1 toy-accurate head (even as an accessory if possible). I don't have the Art Feather version, but if I can get one of these for cheaper I'd go for it. Sure, Hasbro goes nuts with unnecessary BBs, but most of those are either Movie- or Prime-verse toys.

But some of the talk here has brought up an underlying quirk with the G1 cartoon version's design: they took a toy of a robot that was meant to turn into a toy car (a "penny racer," right?) and passed it off as a robot that was meant to turn into a real-life car, so we have Spike often driving a life-sized yet impractically pudgy VW Beetle. This TW version is closer to what we saw on TV than a Bumblebee that turns into a true-to-scale Beetle.

It does make me wonder what the MP version will look like, and, moreover, how they'll engineer it.

Glarryg

by **Wh33l Jck** » Mon Jan 13, 2014 9:43 pm

So I've been thinking, and while I don't totally believe this, here is my conspiracy theory:

Retailers got a memo that MP WJ and MP BB would be coming this year, 1st and 2nd quarter... but now, we only see prototypes of WJ and it is now reported WJ is not coming out until August? And no updates on BB even though they also have an Ultra Magnus announcement purportedly due out in August.

Maybe Takara got wind from Chinese Manufacturers late last year that Toyworld was creating a G1 cartoon BB and in reataliation put out a false MP BB announcement only to try to discourage the sales of Toyworld's Not-BB...

Maybe Takara currently does not really have a VW license and really has no prototype of BB at this point, gambling on the hopes that they could secure a license in order to release MP BB this year??

..it sounds crazy, but sometimes I over think things and wonder if I should jump on TW-3 because a real MP BB is not gonna happen due to VW licensing.

News Credits: 461 · by **mooncake623** » Mon Jan 13, 2014 10:10 pm

Arrayo I've been thinking, and while I don't totally believe this, here is my conspiracy theory:

Retailers got a memo that MP WJ and MP BB would be coming this year, 1st and 2nd quarter... but now, we only see prototypes of WJ and it is now reported WJ is not coming out until August? And no updates on BB even though they also have an Ultra Magnus announcement purportedly due out in August.

Maybe Takara got wind from Chinese Manufacturers late last year that Toyworld was creating a G1 cartoon BB and in reataliation put out a false MP BB announcement only to try to discourage the sales of Toyworld's Not-BB...

Maybe Takara currently does not really have a VW license and really has no prototype of BB at this point, gambling on the hopes that they could secure a license in order to release MP BB this year??

..it sounds crazy, but sometimes I over think things and wonder if I should jump on TW-3 because a real MP BB is not gonna happen due to VW licensing.

News Credits: 372 · by **Cyberpath** » Tue Jan 14, 2014 5:33 am

I thought the VW licensing rumour was disproved when someone pointed out that Volkswagen owns Lamborghini, and Takara already did Sideswipe and Red Alert?

This BII is hands down the best looking Bumblebee toy I've seen so far.
However the head is not show accurate enough for my taste, and his hips should be yellow.
The blue painted windshields look nice with the yellow car but not consistent with the MP dark clear windshields. So for now I'll hold for the official Takara figure.

News Credits: 2 · by **xyl360** » Tue Jan 14, 2014 6:19 pm

Arrayo I've been thinking, and while I don't totally believe this, here is my conspiracy theory:

Retailers got a memo that MP WJ and MP BB would be coming this year, 1st and 2nd quarter... but now, we only see prototypes of WJ and it is now reported WJ is not coming out until August? And no updates on BB even though they also have an Ultra Magnus announcement purportedly due out in August.

Maybe Takara got wind from Chinese Manufacturers late last year that Toyworld was creating a G1 cartoon BB and in reataliation put out a false MP BB announcement only to try to discourage the sales of Toyworld's Not-BB...

Maybe Takara currently does not really have a VW license and really has no prototype of BB at this point, gambling on the hopes that they could secure a license in order to release MP BB this year??

..it sounds crazy, but sometimes I over think things and wonder if I should jump on TW-3 because a real MP BB is not gonna happen due to VW licensing.

News Credits: 4 · by **Tsutsukakushi** » Tue Jan 14, 2014 10:47 pm

The statements regarding buying TW-03 right now. because the HasTak MP BB is over a year away are absurd & ridiculous.

HasTak & 3rd party companies have already oversaturated the toy market with BB toys. Buyers have so many versions of BB,They can afford to wait a year to get another one.

HasTak loves Bumblebee,He is currently one of there main toy sellers. Ofcause they have plans to make a MP BB. To think otherwise is denial.

I have very little love for the G-1 Bumblebee 1980's character & toy. He was tiny,annoying,weak & low command ranking.

I have no problem waiting a year for HasTak to make a MP BB toy. Since he's a mild favorite of mine. I'll probably even wait a extra year for the Hasbro USA version that will be priced much lower than Takara's.

When I think of immediate TF characters homage toys to buy from HasTak or from 3rd parties. BB doesn't even make my top 100 list.

News Credits: 2 · by **xyl360** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 12:33 am

Array'll probably even wait a extra year for the Hasbro USA version that will be priced much lower than Takara's.

by **Tsutsukakushi** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 3:30 am

ArrayArray'll probably even wait a extra year for the Hasbro USA version that will be priced much lower than Takara's.

by **xyl360** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 12:34 pm

ArrayArrayArray'll probably even wait a extra year for the Hasbro USA version that will be priced much lower than Takara's.

by **hpfabe** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 12:39 pm

I'm joining the conversation a bit late, but I just came across the thread and seeing a new Toyworld product caught my eye. My experience with 3rd parties is Fansproject not-Stunticons, Fansproject City Commander and 2 different knock-offs of it, iGear Ultra Magnus, Perfect Effect not-Arcee and the two repaints/remolds, the KFC Ultra Magnus missiles, and the 3 Toyworld not-Throttlebots.

All of my Fansproject stuff is, in my opinion, gorgeous to look at, decently engineered, and no fun at all to do anything with other than display.
All of my Perfect Effect stuff is, in my opinion, gorgeous to look at, really creatively and well engineered, and no fun at all to do anything with other than display.
My KFC missiles are, in my opinion, pieces of garbage and I can't believe I spent $20 for about an ounce of cheap, poorly painted, fragile plastic.
My iGear Ultra Magnus is actually surprisingly decent, and I personally like it better than my MP Ultra Magnus that it is, essentially, a knockoff of.

The reason I mention all of the above is to distinguish Toyworld from this. I do not have Hegemon, Orion, or any Headmasters, but the not-Throttlebots are, in my opinion, fantastic. Good quality plastic, solid engineering, look really nice in both modes (don't know about the combiner yet), and, as the most important elements to me, seem to be in REAL SCALE to each other, and are FUN to transform (their modes look simple to transform, but are actually intricate without being too complicated).

So, as far as this Bii goes, I feel that he is cartoon accurate, which is the aesthetic that he should be judged against, and I have the utmost faith that he will be good quality, will have a cool transformation that will be fun to do, and looks to scale really really nicely (my opinion) with the Masterpiece figures, both in vehicle mode and robot mode (I am a stickler for vehicle mode scaling, which I know puts me in a minority here).

Honestly, looking at the feet/legs, I think this was possibly inspired by MP Prowl and is meant to be a cartoon accurate toy to go with the MPs.

To bring it all home, this looks like it will be a really nice, well designed, quality toy.

But I'm still not buying it.

It's friggin' Bumblebee. I have like 20 versions of him, all stored away and not particularly missed.

I'll buy the not-Throttlebots Goldbug, but please Toyworld, focus on some under-represented characters and knock those out of the park.

News Credits: 409 · by **Stormrider** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 5:14 pm

I like the bot mode and transformation, but not crazy about the alt mode. Looks too cartoony. I'll wait for the MP version.

News Credits: 1 · by **rpetras** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 9:43 am

And with the reveal of the official MP Bee, I'm leaning towards picking up TW Bii.

News Credits: 1 · by **leakin' lubricant** » Wed May 07, 2014 11:46 am

Well Mr Postman arrived today with a small brown package adorned in Chinese writing :KREMZEEK:

Very impressed with this guy, dispite my initial worries about it, namly the upside down chest plate and the blue windows, anyway he is much better in hand and any issues I had with him slowly melted away, I dont even mind the blue windows as much in person (still gonna paint them black though)he's an adorable little fella and sits nicely with my Classics collection, my only niggle is that backplate balljoint, it pops off way to easily, does anyone know if the superglue/nail polish fix makes it any better?