The Energon Pub

[megatronus]

Welcome to the latest episode of the Seibertron.com Twincast / Podcast! This episode features your host ScottyP, xRotorstormx, Megatronus, and baby daddy RodimusConvoy13 - listen in as we discuss the latest news, toys, and more.

Episode #126 "False Finish" is available directly and in our RSS Feed, and should appear on iTunes and Stitcher Radio within 24 to 48 hours of when you see this news post.

We start with Windblade #7 - you can read our own Seibertron.com review here. Listen as we discuss what we like about the issue, what we dislike about the series, and what we hope to see in the ongoing continuation of this storyline in 'Til All Are One.

Classic Starscream.

Next up, the next entry in the Masterpiece line: Clampdown? This out of left field redeco harks back to the eHobby exclusive, but where's Deep Cover? Also, can we get an MP Barricade? We quickly turn to a recent teaser: a new MP Hot Rod. Squeals of joy ensue.

He's champin' for a clampin'!

Unite Warriors Groove is the bees' knees, or Defensor's, anyways. The Twincast continues to grow excited about this release, but are we willing to pay the hefty price tag for the Takara set? Will Hasbro save us with an individual release? What about a Junkion combiner... for the win?

It's as if Steve McQueen were his own motorcycle.

In-hand images of Combiner Wars Bruticus are upon us. Some are impressed, and others are, well... spoiled. What does the Twincast crew think of this combiner, or better yet, the interesting molds and characters that compose him?

Swindle Lives!

It's time… for a LISTENER QUESTION! Seibertron member Nemesis Maximo asks: "Where are the [Classics] Dinobots? Why isn't this a thing? When will Hasbro give us this?" Great question. We might not have great answers, but as always, we have some speculation.

This is not what he means.

News staff member williamjames88 has a question of his own: "The general rule is that Takara has better decos, but when was it that you preferred the Hasbro version over the Takara version?" Our answers may surprise you. Listen in to hear what it's all about.

Not as obvious as you might think.

We finish up the Twincast with some bragging rights. What did everyone get since the last recording?

Shiny and chrome.

...
...
...
...
...
...

Wait! Hold it! We're not quite through. Just as we finished recording, prototype images of MP Hot Rod and MP Shockwave drop, and the internet explodes. ScottyP, Megatronus, and Seibertron reconvene to give some parting thoughts on these exciting developments.

"My reveal is only logical."

Don't forget, the show only gets better if you tell us how. Drop us a review on iTunes and be sure to tell us what you love, what you hate, and what you want to hear!

Not on the show to give your take? Probably not, so don't forget to keep the discussion going on the Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums by simply replying to this post!

Got a question for the Twincast? We take all of them, we just don't take them all seriously! Leave a question in the Ask the Twincast thread and, if it makes the cut, it may get read and answered on the show.

[worldsgreatest]

On Generations Dinobots:

Someone on another board had an interesting theory. What if the line after Titan Wars is BEAST WARS? I mean it fits right? That way you'd have a whole year of beast molds dedicated for all kinds of gaps. The missing combiners, Dinobots, Beast Wars homages, and most importantly...PRETENDERS.

One can dream anyway.

[Cobotron]

Hey All,
Great show as always.
Just wanted to chime in on two details I felt where important and over looked.

Clampdown - One little fun fact about Clampdown's deco is that it also dates back to a pre-Transformers Diaclone release. The E-Hobby release was an homage to that Diaclone and the only changes were the name, and the added to the police badge on his hood. The Diaclone was simply called Lambor, Police Type, or something really nondescript like that. Not sure, but I would assume Deep Cover was the same scenario. Anybody know if Tigertracks was a pre-TF Diaclone?

About shipping from Japanese E-tailors - May be good to know that SAL small packet (registered) does give you tracking through both the Japanese Postal Service and USPS. I was able to track G2 Bee on his 21 day journey from AmiAmi. It does cost a little more than regular SAL, but not much at all. Well worth the peace of mind.

Keep it up y'all. Until the next 'cast.

[hinomars19]

Anybody know if Tigertracks was a pre-TF Diaclone?

He sure was:
http://www.tf-1.com/articles/pretf/yellowswipe_template.html

And there was a red 'Sunstreaker'

[Optimutt]

I'm with Claire on this: Henkei Wheeljack is superior to Hasbro's version. I think it's the lines that really does it, but I also agree that the shiny green is purty.

Good call, team, on the TT MP COnvoy 10's eyes! If those things were switched up with Hasbro's MP Prime's eyes, that would make a pretty significant difference.

Good stuff, team!

Question for you:

If you could put together a Top 5 list, what would it be?

[Cobotron]

Anybody know if Tigertracks was a pre-TF Diaclone?

He sure was:
http://www.tf-1.com/articles/pretf/yellowswipe_template.html

And there was a red 'Sunstreaker'

Hey, thanks!
New Countach 500LPS Police Car, or something nondescript like, THAT!

[megatronus]

Hey All,
Great show as always.
Just wanted to chime in on two details I felt where important and over looked.

Clampdown - One little fun fact about Clampdown's deco is that it also dates back to a pre-Transformers Diaclone release. The E-Hobby release was an homage to that Diaclone and the only changes were the name, and the added to the police badge on his hood. The Diaclone was simply called Lambor, Police Type, or something really nondescript like that. Not sure, but I would assume Deep Cover was the same scenario. Anybody know if Tigertracks was a pre-TF Diaclone?

About shipping from Japanese E-tailors - May be good to know that SAL small packet (registered) does give you tracking through both the Japanese Postal Service and USPS. I was able to track G2 Bee on his 21 day journey from AmiAmi. It does cost a little more than regular SAL, but not much at all. Well worth the peace of mind.

Keep it up y'all. Until the next 'cast.

Thanks Cobo! I knew about SAL Registered shipping, might not have known about Clampdown and Deep Cover existing as pre-Transformers (thought I might have suspected it ). Thanks as always for the encouragement (not to mention the enlightenment)!

I'm with Claire on this: Henkei Wheeljack is superior to Hasbro's version. I think it's the lines that really does it, but I also agree that the shiny green is purty.

Good call, team, on the TT MP COnvoy 10's eyes! If those things were switched up with Hasbro's MP Prime's eyes, that would make a pretty significant difference.

Good stuff, team!

Question for you:

If you could put together a Top 5 list, what would it be?

I always took for granted the consensus that Wheeljack was superior in the matte Hasbro deco. The metallics are just too much on a 'bot who's supposed to be a greasy mechanic and genius. But hey, I guess I learned something.

Takara MP10 is so so so so much better with YOTH eyes. I think the slightly more muted (maybe the word is saturated) almost-teal blue of the YOTH eyes works better with Takara's darker color palette over Hasbro MP10 eyes .

Top 5 lists? I leave those to WJ88

[ScottyP]

Hey All,
Great show as always.
Just wanted to chime in on two details I felt where important and over looked.

Clampdown - One little fun fact about Clampdown's deco is that it also dates back to a pre-Transformers Diaclone release. The E-Hobby release was an homage to that Diaclone and the only changes were the name, and the added to the police badge on his hood. The Diaclone was simply called Lambor, Police Type, or something really nondescript like that. Not sure, but I would assume Deep Cover was the same scenario.

In the moment, all I could think of was Police Sunstreaker.


Not wanting to further upset Diaclone aficionados that were probably already annoyed by our ignorant ramblings, I held off bringing up Clampdown as a Diaclone deco, but you're indeed correct, it was a thing!


Deep Cover, on the other hand, well, I'll leave it to Maz's tremendous Blackswipe article.

[Cobotron]

... annoyed by our ignorant ramblings,

Oh Scotty m'man, nobody was annoyed, and certainly no ignorance going around. The conversation seemed to be hinged around the question of why all the MP releases of E-hobby decos. I just wanted to clarify that it goes deeper than that.
Sorry to nitpick, I am just very excited for this MP Clampdown because I was lucky enough to have found this Diaclone at a comic shop in Kansas City when I was 9. Also found Diaclone Slag there the next year. They are to this day two of the shiniest jewels in my crown. (well not so shiney, 'cause they've seen hella play time!)

I had forgotten about that AWESOME Policestreaker. That deco is sweet!

Here's another question, were there any differant Diaclone decos of Mirage?

[ScottyP]

Here's another question, were there any differant Diaclone decos of Mirage?

Red one in the Powered Convoy giftset is the only one I can think of. Still wish to one day see that glorious, garish Green/Pink canceled G2 deco.

[RodimusConvoy13]

I wish I could have been on for the follow MP announcement talk. But date night with my wife was way better.

Really excited for Hot Rod 2.0. I'm also glad to know about the different international shipping. Makes it a little less daunting to order from someone other than BBTS.

Also, I think the streak still isn't broken. My cat has been on every episode of the Twincast that I have. When I went to listen to the MP talk, I heard the first few minutes and I definitely heard Daniel Jackson putting in his two cents.

[Sabrblade]

I'd lately fallen behind in listening to this episode and only got to hear it not too long ago, so I hope I'm not coming in too late with my question. I am grateful that this episode discussed the matter of importing vs. buying from local e-tailers because I'm currently in a situation that I need some help figuring out.

In the podcast, it was basically said that it is better to import if one is buying individual Takara figures in bulk, but while that's fine for smaller Takara figures, what about when purchasing the bigger sets like the Unite Warriors giftsets?

I currently have Unite Warriors Grand Scourge sitting in my Private Warehouse on HLJ waiting for me to ship it. But, I also finally saved up enough money to purchase Unite Warriors Menasor as well, but am very concerned about the total cost of shipping if I were to ship both Grand Scourge and Menasor together from HLJ, as they are much bigger items than, say, shipping a bunch of individual Takara Deluxe class figures.

Should I get Menasor from HLJ and ship both it and Grand Scourge together in one go, or would it be more cost effective to ship Grand Scourge from HLJ by himself and get UW Menasor from somewhere else? And if the latter option, from where would be the cheapest (both in terms of Menasor's own price and the cost of shipping Menasor) for me to purchase Menasor?



For additional reference in relation to this inquiry, I previously purchased UW Superion from HLJ last June and shipped it by itself in July. Shipping of that giftset alone cost me ¥3,860 JPY, or $32.11 USD.

[ScottyP]

In the podcast, it was basically said that it is better to import if one is buying individual Takara figures in bulk, but while that's fine for smaller Takara figures, what about when purchasing the bigger sets like the Unite Warriors giftsets?

Hit or miss, in my experience (same with individual MPs, I should add. Sometimes the US retailers mark them up too much, other times not as much)

Let's use Unite Warriors and do some math. It may prove my statement a bit too generalized, and that's ok, because it was (the segment was running too long )

Unite Warriors Superion at BBTS: $134.99 + $8.99 shipping through Fedex in the US
Same set at HLJ: ~$100.08 + $32.19 EMS or $41.37 Fedex

You end up paying $144 at BBTS, or $132 at HLJ if you go EMS. Decent amount of savings? Of course! Dramatic amount? Nah. Were SAL available, given a $35 difference in item price, it would almost always make more sense to import. Again though, single item, yeah you'll save some money, but less than 10% in this example.

Of course, this doesn't take into account different retailers like Ami Ami, TF Source, Captured Prey, Jungle, Anime Export, Manadrake, the list could go on of course, nor does it consider historical exchange rates. Exchange rates are highly in our favor right now in the US, but not in every part of the world.

If I had to go back and re-record that segment, I'd say the best thing to do is use the tools available to make the best call on an item by item basis when the time comes. However, if you're doing an order of many import pieces at once, I'd stick with the recommendation of using an importer if possible.

[Sabrblade]

So should I get Menasor from HLJ and ship it together with Grand Scourge, or ship Grand Scourge alone and seek out Menasor elsewhere?

[ScottyP]

So should I get Menasor from HLJ and ship it together with Grand Scourge, or ship Grand Scourge alone and seek out Menasor elsewhere?

Grand Scourge alone at HLJ: $64.90 + $8.15 for cheapest SAL shipping = $73.05
Grand Scourge and Menasor at HLJ: $164.74 + $36.77 for EMS because of size = $201.51
Menasor at BBTS, as example: $134.99 + $6 for Smartpost = $140.99

So together at HLJ, they're $201.51. Ship Grand Scourge alone, and get Menasor elsewhere, $214.04 using this math. So yes, cheaper to use the importer, but not by much (and paypal may diminish the savings a bit more during the currency conversion, but it'll still save a few bucks)

[Sabrblade]

So should I get Menasor from HLJ and ship it together with Grand Scourge, or ship Grand Scourge alone and seek out Menasor elsewhere?

Grand Scourge alone at HLJ: $64.90 + $8.15 for cheapest SAL shipping = $73.05
Grand Scourge and Menasor at HLJ: $164.74 + $36.77 for EMS because of size = $201.51
Menasor at BBTS, as example: $134.99 + $6 for Smartpost = $140.99

So together at HLJ, they're $201.51. Ship Grand Scourge alone, and get Menasor elsewhere, $214.04 using this math. So yes, cheaper to use the importer, but not by much (and paypal may diminish the savings a bit more during the currency conversion, but it'll still save a few bucks)

Thank you. Though, in this case, Grand Scourge is already paid for, so his shipping cost + Menasor's price and shipping cost is all that need be accounted for.

What if I were to get Menasor from Ami Ami instead? (if they still have him available, that is)

[ScottyP]

What if I were to get Menasor from Ami Ami instead? (if they still have him available, that is)

It is time to leave the nest, soar with your eagle's wings, and find out how they display shipping cost before you're committed Also, that site is blocked at work, probably because of some of the other products they sell.

[Counterpunch]

What if I were to get Menasor from Ami Ami instead? (if they still have him available, that is)

It is time to leave the nest, soar with your eagle's wings, and find out how they display shipping cost before you're committed Also, that site is blocked at work, probably because of some of the other products they sell.

I like those products.

[ScottyP]

What if I were to get Menasor from Ami Ami instead? (if they still have him available, that is)

It is time to leave the nest, soar with your eagle's wings, and find out how they display shipping cost before you're committed Also, that site is blocked at work, probably because of some of the other products they sell.

I like those products.

I don't think it's blocked because of the products you like.

Then again, maybe I'm wrong, but further elaboration is not required in that case (unless this is about waifu body pillows in which case the comedy potential outweighs the fear of TMI)

[william-james88]

What if I were to get Menasor from Ami Ami instead? (if they still have him available, that is)

It is time to leave the nest, soar with your eagle's wings, and find out how they display shipping cost before you're committed Also, that site is blocked at work, probably because of some of the other products they sell.

I like those products.

HAHA, Oddly, I can access Amiami at work but I cant access BBTS.

So should I get Menasor from HLJ and ship it together with Grand Scourge, or ship Grand Scourge alone and seek out Menasor elsewhere?

Grand Scourge alone at HLJ: $64.90 + $8.15 for cheapest SAL shipping = $73.05
Grand Scourge and Menasor at HLJ: $164.74 + $36.77 for EMS because of size = $201.51
Menasor at BBTS, as example: $134.99 + $6 for Smartpost = $140.99

So together at HLJ, they're $201.51. Ship Grand Scourge alone, and get Menasor elsewhere, $214.04 using this math. So yes, cheaper to use the importer, but not by much (and paypal may diminish the savings a bit more during the currency conversion, but it'll still save a few bucks)

Thank you. Though, in this case, Grand Scourge is already paid for, so his shipping cost + Menasor's price and shipping cost is all that need be accounted for.

What if I were to get Menasor from Ami Ami instead? (if they still have him available, that is)

From my personal experience, it always paid off to group in small items together (like a few deluxes) and keep the big stuff individual. This is all ordering from amiami and the way they operate is they give so much packaging that adding an item to a larger release will make ask for a much larger box and that factors in (even though it seems like only weight it considered). Also, by grouping big items together, you often lose the chance of getting the lower shipping options due to
a) larger dimension of box
b) greater value of package

So my rule of thumb is:

big releases (box sets and anything more than 50$): ship alone
deluxes and legends (which total less than 50$) : ship together.

I'm with Claire on this: Henkei Wheeljack is superior to Hasbro's version. I think it's the lines that really does it, but I also agree that the shiny green is purty.

Good call, team, on the TT MP COnvoy 10's eyes! If those things were switched up with Hasbro's MP Prime's eyes, that would make a pretty significant difference.

Good stuff, team!

Question for you:

If you could put together a Top 5 list, what would it be?

I always took for granted the consensus that Wheeljack was superior in the matte Hasbro deco. The metallics are just too much on a 'bot who's supposed to be a greasy mechanic and genius. But hey, I guess I learned something.

Takara MP10 is so so so so much better with YOTH eyes. I think the slightly more muted (maybe the word is saturated) almost-teal blue of the YOTH eyes works better with Takara's darker color palette over Hasbro MP10 eyes .

Top 5 lists? I leave those to WJ88

I am so happy you guys answered my question, thanks so much! But now, wow, my Top 5 TFs where hasbro beats takar,s release is now harder to pull off if based on a concensus. Simply because there doesnt appear to be the concensus I assumed. I guess the only real obvious difference is the TAV insecticons since they have remolded chests with circle indents, but thats not enough for a top 5

I also much preffer the matte wheeljack finish simply because the minty fresh takara finish doesnt scream wheeljack to me. I love Scott,s answer about the Prime toys and I agree. The onyl thing is that I much preffer the microns over the awful weapons hasbro gave us for the voyagers.

And Megatronus, while I am elated by your trust in me, I am totally open to anyone contributing if they are passionate about something in particular. Optimutt here is one of my guest writers (and one of his articules is coming up this week). You can be too if there is something you want to write about

[Sabrblade]

So my rule of thumb is:

big releases (box sets and anything more than 50$): ship alone
deluxes and legends (which total less than 50$) : ship together.

So you're saying would be less expensive for me to ship Grand Scourge (an uber-expensive Voyager, but whose weight is that of a normal-priced Voyager) and Menasor (a big box set) separately in two shipments instead of in one?

[william-james88]

So my rule of thumb is:

big releases (box sets and anything more than 50$): ship alone
deluxes and legends (which total less than 50$) : ship together.

So you're saying would be less expensive for me to ship Grand Scourge (an uber-expensive Voyager, but whose weight is that of a normal-priced Voyager) and Menasor (a big box set) separately in two shipments instead of in one?

From my experience, definitely yes. By shipping them together, you run the risk of rising the weight of your shipment over a certain treshold that ups the shipping price (same with dimension). It happend with my order of TAV 21 Optimus. By adding warrior jazz, I boosted my shipment by 15$ when I know jazz alone only costs 5$ to ship. So yes, send individually. (it also helps clear customs quicker since the value is less, but that is only an applicable reason for people from heavily taxed countries).

[Sabrblade]

So my rule of thumb is:

big releases (box sets and anything more than 50$): ship alone
deluxes and legends (which total less than 50$) : ship together.

So you're saying would be less expensive for me to ship Grand Scourge (an uber-expensive Voyager, but whose weight is that of a normal-priced Voyager) and Menasor (a big box set) separately in two shipments instead of in one?

From my experience, definitely yes. By shipping them together, you run the risk of rising the weight of your shipment over a certain treshold that ups the shipping price (same with dimension). It happend with my order of TAV 21 Optimus. By adding warrior jazz, I boosted my shipment by 15$ when I know jazz alone only costs 5$ to ship. So yes, send individually. (it also helps clear customs quicker since the value is less, but that is only an applicable reason for people from heavily taxed countries).

In that case, could you do me a slice and see how much the shipping (to the U.S.) would cost for Menasor over at Ami Ami, before I commit to getting him from HLJ?

[william-james88]

So my rule of thumb is:

big releases (box sets and anything more than 50$): ship alone
deluxes and legends (which total less than 50$) : ship together.

So you're saying would be less expensive for me to ship Grand Scourge (an uber-expensive Voyager, but whose weight is that of a normal-priced Voyager) and Menasor (a big box set) separately in two shipments instead of in one?

From my experience, definitely yes. By shipping them together, you run the risk of rising the weight of your shipment over a certain treshold that ups the shipping price (same with dimension). It happend with my order of TAV 21 Optimus. By adding warrior jazz, I boosted my shipment by 15$ when I know jazz alone only costs 5$ to ship. So yes, send individually. (it also helps clear customs quicker since the value is less, but that is only an applicable reason for people from heavily taxed countries).

In that case, could you do me a slice and see how much the shipping (to the U.S.) would cost for Menasor over at Ami Ami, before I commit to getting him from HLJ?

Sure thing:

Transformers Unite Warriors UW02 Menasor
Unit price 11,240 JPY x 1 unit(s) = 11,240 JPY


Subtotal: 11,240 JPY
Shipping: 4,195 JPY
Grand total: 15,435 JPY

Shipping method: SAL Parcel

So yeah, Menasor costs 35$US to ship, so 129$ all together. Which I realize now as I write this, that its not much of a difference over buying him from TF Source for 134$. Sorry if I mislead you.

I guess the reason I praise these sites is because in canada, I cant resort to BBTS or TF Source. TFsource doesnt give canadians free shipping and I run the risk of getting taxed at customs. Same with BBTS. And Ages 3 and Up charges me US$ (WTF?!) AND charges taxes (no **** there arent any customs hassels). but for americans, you guys have lots of options and dont necessarily save that much (usually 10$, as Scotty says) on importing. It adds up of course, but its still only incremental. But Canada, Britain and Australia, hell yeah import!

[william-james88]

Although I am sure we can all agree that the best deals on earth were from Lena