The Energon Pub

Ah.. "The Useless One"!
Y'know, Rang, Whats-his-name, Ring.. Runt.. Rune.. That's It!
Rune!
Yeah, Rune.
Or is it Rung?


So technically this Rung isn't new, It's an identical (Actually, Upon consulting TFwiki, Apparently the orange is lighter on this one, Make of that what you will) repack of the 2019 Siege figure, But despite hunting and hunting for the Siege one, I never found it, So its new to me!
And I tell you what friends, It's bloody good!
I would've liked it to have been deluxe sized, But I can't hold that against the figure, He is what he is.
I suppose now would be a good time to talk about the hint.
What is "the hint", You ask? Well, I had the idea a few days ago to hide a small item in one of these photos, Which is a hint to my next review! Clever, Isn't it?
I thought so.
What do you get if you find it you ask?
Nothing, Really.
Just to know what the next review is..
So, This Rung transforms into a "gun" (Clearly based on his "ornament" mode, But with no way to attach to hands while pointing upward).
This befuddles me.



Now, I know Hasbro won't make a Rung that *Truly* transforms into his "ornament" mode, As a stick isn't the most fun thing to play with for kids, But they did get around that with Titans Return Rewind, By giving him three modes, One a fun tank, The other a somewhat comic accurate data pad/slug.
Of course that figure was a size bigger, So it was easier to engineer a third mode.
I have a way to get around the gun mode with Rung anyway and achieve something more accurate, Those things are always possible (Think TR Sixshot) albeit with varying degrees of success.
Here he is being wielded by fellow Lost Lighter Swerve (T30 Swerve),


With Cyclonus (Universe Cyclonus),

Before moving onto the robot mode, I'll show the somewhat accurate ornament mode I've managed.
It's not perfect, But it kind of works.
When paired with T30 Swerve, It recreates a quite memorable scene from MTMTE#22.

This doesn't work with all figures, Only ones with open hands, But I'll be displaying him on my Lost Light shelf in Swerve's hand anyway.
This is how it works, The open part of the hand locks into the hollow part of Rung's legs, And can be somewhat squeezed together to create a somewhat seamless look.

And now onto the robot mode!

Its a pity the robot mode is so small, As it looks really good.

He can be held by Swerve while in robot mode, Via the same method as his altmode, To recreate the Rung action figure Swerve played with on the variant cover to MTMTE#22.

And now some group shots with his fellow Lost Lighters.

These last photos are kind of spoiler-ish, But out of context mean nothing, So you should be good.
(Besides, Its been almost three years).

All in all, I think Siege Earthrise Rung is pretty good.
It could be better (Bigger), But thats not the fault of the figure itself.
I almost wonder if this is Hasbro testing the waters before releasing a full sized Rung.
Maybe its just a small homage to MTMTE (The character was created for the series, And used in it only) and nothing more. I dunno.
Ultimately, For me its just going to be a (inexpensive) placeholder until a better one comes along.
Surprisingly, Other than this mold, No other Rung figure exists (official or otherwise).
Although I think its only a matter of time until MMC or Flame Toys or someone come along and fix that.
Speaking of Flame Toys, I think Rung would be a perfect candidate for one of their model kits (ironic given Rung's penchant for building Ark models), Though limited on repaint/remold possibility, Maybe Kaon?
After all, They've been doing a bit of IDW designs lately.
But back to Earthrise Rung.
I give it a rating of 7 1/2 Rodimus Stars.

Point deductions include limited articulation (I know he's small, But I think knee and elbow joints could've been managed), And no peg at the gun mode's base to be held in an ornament mode.
But all in all, He's a good placeholder until a full sized Rung comes along, So to anyone who likes MTMTE or Rung, I recommend him.
Now quick, Someone send one to James Roberts.