The Energon Pub

Unless you have been living under a rock, the theme right now with all things Transformers is G1 (referring to the first generation of Transformers Toys/Characters/Show), now more than ever. I mean, everywhere you look you see callbacks to

G1



G1!



G1!!



G1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




So basically, right now the theme is G1, G1 and more G1 with the biggest toy output since the brand's inception (4 simultaneous toylines on the same shelf space, not counting retailer exclusive lines).

And I think this is all great and that it's about time we get all this product. The G1 reissues are selling like hot cakes (even at inflated prices for some) so no need to convince anyone that those are wanted and since I will be sticking to toys, I will be looking at my excitement for the heavy G1 theme of both the Generations and Cyberverse lines. While we are getting G1 characters with scales and looks matching the old cartoon for older kids and collectors in the Generations Siege line, Cyberverse provides an entire line of simpler toys at all price ranges and sizes all based on prominent G1 characters with their G1 inspired looks. And those toys are not by the same design team, meaning that the influence is not just the choice of a particular team (or manager) but company wide instead.

Just so you know, I was born in 1988, so my childhood was all Beast Wars and so is all my nostalgia. However, when learning of the brand's history, it is crazy to discount the importance of that first show and those early toys. Especially looking at this all in a retrospective fashion and as a collector, I find that my collection of G1 characters is lacking, especially when it comes to Decepticons at the right scale.

Since I have no particular attachment to a particular representation of a G1 character, what I seek is something of a uniformity. For instance, my season 3 cast is pretty solid, so thanks for that Hasbro and Takara

But when I comes to bringing out the earlier season bots to do a battle scene, I realize how much of a hodge podge it is. Here are my Decepticons with a placeholder Soundwave and Shockwave (you know, the brand's MAIN DECEPTIONC CHARACTERS!!) and of course no Starscream in sight (due to the very odd looking take of the POTP Voyager Starscream).



So that is three characters at the voyager scale fans have wanted for a long time and them missing is obvious. Now, thanks to the Siege line I will have a Soundwave, Shockwave and Seekers that fit to have a more cohesive Decepticon team. And you will notice I did not add Blitzwing in Megatron's triple changer army. I could have but it would have looked a bit weird since he has the same body as that voyager Megatron. It's actually the reverse really, Megatron has Blitzwing's body. It is kind of nuts when you think about it though, but the last time we ever had a G1 styled Megatron toy designed to be principally Megatron in the voyager scale, was 12 years ago, and that one turned into a Nerf gun. So it really is about time that we get the following:



I mean here we are after having had amazing updates to combiners, headmasters and season 3 characters and yet the main G1 cast only ever had placeholders. We are finally getting good toys of the main G1 cast at the scale where most characters are available and affordable. How could I not be excited?! And that goes true for the main character of the entire franchise, Optimus Prime.




As you can see above, the choice for Autobot representation in a classics collection is pretty good at the moment but the one character I am missing is, oddly enough, a good Optimus Prime. That character keeps getting released time and time again, for every line but it always misses the mark in some way (and always seems to be opportunistic release due to his common mold sharing). Seriously, we have not had an original G1 styled voyager Optimus Prime mold since the classics version from over a decade ago. And that one was purposefully meant not to be full on G1 themed (with the new alt mode). This Optimus is a manifesto of this line itself. No more fooling around, just a straight up gimmick free toy of a character made uncompromisingly with that character in mind, in a line everyone young or old can access.

Before I move on to Cyberverse, I will leave you with a comment from a friend in our community:

Wolfman Jake wrote:I don't understand how some people could be unimpressed by Siege Optimus Prime and Megatron. They are figures of beauty, and representations of these iconic characters that have been a long time coming. They're the right scale, look right, and aren't mold shares with classically unrelated characters. I remember a lot of people being tired of Bumblebee toys in Generations when the Titans Return Legends Bumblebee came out, despite it being the best Bumblebee toy we've ever gotten in Generations, in terms of scale, sculpt, and G1 likeness. My reaction is "at last," not "oh well, too little, too late."

I am a young father and my kids will always be curious of the toys I have. While it will be fun to have Generations toys of characters they recognize (simply from the brand's general marketing, or the Animated film) that I don't mind showing them (unlike my MP representations), the real fun will come with toys they can actually transform. There is a major aspect that is downright ignored when looking at G1, and that is how accessible the toys were for kids who had no clue what a Transformer was. Technical limitations made that the initial Transformers toys were rather simple, mostly rearranging limbs and extending parts with telescoping. We never really stop and think that this simplicity in design may have contributed greatly to the brand's success.



This was, after all, the first time toys of this sort were ever given to kids (in this part of the world) and if they were overly complex (ie, high amount of steps) and frustrating (ie. lots of panels), it might have resulted in a far more niche toyline that is only supported by one or two high end collectibles today. It wasn't the case though, these were simple toys that 80s kids could understand without their parents helping them. Sure, proportions were off and maybe some parts were not very articulated but you could do it on your own. Why can't today's kids be given the same chance 80s kids had when discovering Trasformers toys for the first time?

That is what Cyberverse is all about. It is basically G1 all over again for a new generation. Their designs are a slightly more animated/streamlined version of the evergreen designs Hasbro had developed as an update to G1 designs that can be used across different initiatives for the years to come. While there are some changes to incorporate more recent changes to characters (Bumblebee as a muscle car and Megatron as a tank), the main G1 essence is still very present and instantly recognizable to anyone. And especially recognizable to my three year old who watches the Optimus vs Megatron movie fight on a loop.







So thanks to Cyberverse I now have a full array of toys made just with young kids in mind that I can give to my 3 year old so that she can have a pretty good representation of what she sees on screen, whether she watches the new Cyberverse show or the 80s cartoon/film, and which she can transform by herself. The Hot Rod one step even has a sawblade action gimmick like in the 86 film, so she can recreate that action herself instead of me showing her my masterpiece toy from 5 feet away behind an impenetrable glass window.



So basically, Hasbro has finally given us a full blown reboot of G1 in toy for, something that was always teetering at the seams, through two lines. In a few months, I will be able to have a great representation many main g1 cast members at the voyager scale with them looking as they should. And I will have my three year old next to me with her own G1 cast Transforming them back and forth as she watches those same characters onscreen (be it the G1 show or Cyberverse). About time!

I'd rather have each franchise have it's own identity than have the now obligated Geewunwashing.

Yeah I kinda wish we’d stop having such a heavy G1 theme anymore. I like seiege just fine but I enjoyed Classics more when it came out and it was G1 characters but with a modernized look. Now it’s just “make it as G1 as possible but with knees and elbows” I get it but I just want something new. Beast wars new. No autobot and Decepticons. Create new factions, entire new fiction for them.

Randomhero wrote:Yeah I kinda wish we’d stop having such a heavy G1 theme anymore. I like seiege just fine but I enjoyed Classics more when it came out and it was G1 characters but with a modernized look. Now it’s just “make it as G1 as possible but with knees and elbows” I get it but I just want something new. Beast wars new. No autobot and Decepticons. Create new factions, entire new fiction for them.

After seeing so much of "almost G1 but not quite" over the years I think we need this catharsis. We need Hasbro and their head designers to let it out of their systems once and for all, and then I think we can all move on since we have finally had a solid base to move on from.

william-james88 wrote:

Randomhero wrote:Yeah I kinda wish we’d stop having such a heavy G1 theme anymore. I like seiege just fine but I enjoyed Classics more when it came out and it was G1 characters but with a modernized look. Now it’s just “make it as G1 as possible but with knees and elbows” I get it but I just want something new. Beast wars new. No autobot and Decepticons. Create new factions, entire new fiction for them.

After seeing so much of "almost G1 but not quite" over the years I think we need this catharsis. We need Hasbro and their head designers to let it out of their systems once and for all, and then I think we can all move on since we have finally had a solid base to move on from.

I know. I’m just so burned out. It’s gets more and more G1 heavy to a point where they’re re-releasing G1 toys. I got plenty of friends that are happy for those and want them but me? There bricks. I haven’t bought a G1 residue sine that 25th anniversary Optimus in 2009 and a year later I sold him.

william-james88 wrote:After seeing so much of "almost G1 but not quite" over the years I think we need this catharsis.

I disagree that a character can only be truly G1 if they match their original cartoon model and transformation sequence. I thought "modernizing" the designs and vehicle modes was the right direction for these classic characters, not just slavish G1 aesthetics being repeated over and over.

While I'm happy to see updates of G1 toys, I wish Hasbro would stop doing the same ones over and over again. TR was great because it was mostly characters who hadn't gotten an update, part of Siege's problem is that it seems to be (mostly) the same old 84/85 line.

I really wish they would keep going forward and update things like the 91/92 TFs or do Generation 3

I think it's important that the characters are recognisable and iconic looking.

Marvel learned the hard way with Spider-Man and DC did with Superman.

leokearon wrote:TR was great because it was mostly characters who hadn't gotten an update, part of Siege's problem is that it seems to be (mostly) the same old 84/85 line.

But, as stated, we dont have decent updates to many of those characters, like the Seekers, Shockwave, Soundwave. At least not at the proper scale.

[anchor=][/anchor] Not gonna lie, I like it, I like G1, But this is overload. transformers has stayed alive this long because it changed things up but right now, everything is g1.

william-james88 wrote:

leokearon wrote:TR was great because it was mostly characters who hadn't gotten an update, part of Siege's problem is that it seems to be (mostly) the same old 84/85 line.

But, as stated, we dont have decent updates to many of those characters, like the Seekers, Shockwave, Soundwave. At least not at the proper scale.

Personally I don't care for scale, especailly as it keeps flucuating

As for (decent) updates)Starscream just got a Voyager in POTP, Soundwave got a Leader in TR, Optimus and Meggie had Yoyagers already in TR. Do we really need new version of characters who had new toys about 2 years ago

leokearon wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

leokearon wrote:TR was great because it was mostly characters who hadn't gotten an update, part of Siege's problem is that it seems to be (mostly) the same old 84/85 line.

But, as stated, we dont have decent updates to many of those characters, like the Seekers, Shockwave, Soundwave. At least not at the proper scale.

Personally I don't care for scale, especailly as it keeps flucuating

As for (decent) updates)Starscream just got a Voyager in POTP, Soundwave got a Leader in TR, Optimus and Meggie had Yoyagers already in TR. Do we really need new version of characters who had new toys about 2 years ago

Hell yeah we do, the ones you mentioned dont cut it for me, at all. But thats because
a) I would like unique molds if the characters are not known for having a similar body
b) I (unlike you) care about somewhat of a consisten scale.

I am not alone in thinking the two points above and I am sure i am not alone in thinking that POTP Starsream is not a decent Starscream.

So yes, we do need these toys, thats what the entire article is about. You can always choose not to buy them and wait for Hasbro to release something more up your alley. It would give your wallet a break while mine weeps

william-james88 wrote:

leokearon wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

leokearon wrote:TR was great because it was mostly characters who hadn't gotten an update, part of Siege's problem is that it seems to be (mostly) the same old 84/85 line.

But, as stated, we dont have decent updates to many of those characters, like the Seekers, Shockwave, Soundwave. At least not at the proper scale.

Personally I don't care for scale, especailly as it keeps flucuating

As for (decent) updates)Starscream just got a Voyager in POTP, Soundwave got a Leader in TR, Optimus and Meggie had Yoyagers already in TR. Do we really need new version of characters who had new toys about 2 years ago

Hell yeah we do, the ones you mentioned dont cut it for me, at all. But thats because
a) I would like unique molds if the characters are not known for having a similar body
b) I (unlike you) care about somewhat of a consisten scale.

I am not alone in thinking the two points above and I am sure i am not alone in thinking that POTP Starsream is not a decent Starscream.

So yes, we do need these toys, thats what the entire article is about. You can always choose not to buy them and wait for Hasbro to release something more up your alley. It would give your wallet a break while mine weeps

Personally I loved TR Megatron. Luckily Siege still have stuff I want Hound (missed out on the CW one), Ironhide (who really needs a decent Generations toy), Cog, Brunt and I'm still debating Reflector.

william-james88 wrote:

leokearon wrote:TR was great because it was mostly characters who hadn't gotten an update, part of Siege's problem is that it seems to be (mostly) the same old 84/85 line.

But, as stated, we dont have decent updates to many of those characters, like the Seekers, Shockwave, Soundwave. At least not at the proper scale.

I don’t know. The classic seeker mold still holds up. People are tired of seeing it yes but it’s enginering and articulation are still up to date. I know people want the mold to be same height as say a megatron due to Starscream but with that comes the fact it’s more expensive which means you will not get every memeber. That’s why I think that mold is still the best version. It’s was well crafted and affordable to make the 5 dozen repaints and retools it got.

I gotta admit, I'm mostly happy with what I already have. Some of these aren't the home runs for me as they are for other fans, like Starscream. Largely thanks to the alt mode. I mean, in one way they're really G1, but in another they make an excellent robot modes, but leave the alt. mode wanting.

But I do have to say - there's something to be said for brand consistency. Although I definitely wouldn't mind if other lines bled into the main one a bit more.

Randomhero wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

leokearon wrote:TR was great because it was mostly characters who hadn't gotten an update, part of Siege's problem is that it seems to be (mostly) the same old 84/85 line.

But, as stated, we dont have decent updates to many of those characters, like the Seekers, Shockwave, Soundwave. At least not at the proper scale.

I don’t know. The classic seeker mold still holds up. People are tired of seeing it yes but it’s enginering and articulation are still up to date. I know people want the mold to be same height as say a megatron due to Starscream but with that comes the fact it’s more expensive which means you will not get every memeber. That’s why I think that mold is still the best version. It’s was well crafted and affordable to make the 5 dozen repaints and retools it got.

Agreed. I'm too far into my Seeker collection to even think about replacing them

You are very lucky to be so happy with Hasbro's new releases. Maybe I am spoiled by the fantastic 3P scene right now, but I find Hasbro's current offerings to be cheap looking, over-priced, and of poor construction. As much as I love MP style, I still love my chug shelf also, and sadly, it won't be expanding much more.

But I don't think you are ever getting an official true G1 Megatron ever again. Definitely not here in the US. And since Hasbro and Takara have virtually merged, there probably won't be an overseas release to import either. Even if they hadn't, the current controversy surrounding gun violence is sure to stop anyone but 3P from making handgun Megatron ever again.

One of the primary aspects of Transformers that drew me to become as involved with it as I am was the constant cycle of change. Sometimes things were good, sometimes they were bad, but they were always different. Even with the Unicron Trilogy, Animated, Movies, and Aligned, things felt different even with Optimus, Megatron, Bee, and others around.

I find it weird that all this product that's supposed to be for a long time fan like me is making me disillusioned with the direction of the next year's worth of products. I'm probably most excited for stuff like the Botbots and Studio Series Dropkick, and outside of the Micromasters and Brunt, Siege looks boring to me. I'm not even sure I actually like the Micromasters, I might just like that there haven't been 56 versions of Roadhandler in the past five years.

I think the increasingly homogeneous nature of the product lineup is a recipe for failure, but money talks so maybe it's me with the wrong idea.

Full disclosure: I'm gonna buy all this stuff anyway because even if it's fleeting, new toys still take me away from the oppressive reality of life as a working adult.

I'm just bored.

Randomhero wrote:I don’t know. The classic seeker mold still holds up. People are tired of seeing it yes but it’s enginering and articulation are still up to date.

I think it's just okay. I have all 6, but they are kind of too chunky for my tastes. And on Starscream etc, I don't like the way the nosecone hangs off the back. I almost would rather they had done it G1 style than having it stick way out on an armature like it does.

I understand some folks will never buy unlicensed, but for me, DX9 did the absolute perfect seeker mold. It's even superior to the masterpiece engineering.

I agree. I do love the G1 stuff, don’t get me wrong; it’s why I got so heavy into Titan Returns and am looking forward to Siege, but I also like it when they break away from it. I love the Bayformer designs because it’s own identity. I love the War/Fall of Cybertron designs cuz it was its own identity.

CobraKai wrote:I agree. I do love the G1 stuff, don’t get me wrong; it’s why I got so heavy into Titan Returns and am looking forward to Siege, but I also like it when they break away from it. I love the Bayformer designs because it’s own identity. I love the War/Fall of Cybertron designs cuz it was its own identity.

I'm glad you brought up the WFC/FOC videogames. Technically Aligned continuity but really not, and it goes all in with angular, sci-fi inspired designs in fun ways. The story in the games wasn't classic literature but it served the gameplay well and still managed to do new stuff and flesh out some concepts like Dark Energon. It's a good example of something just different enough to be exciting even with a stale base character lineup.

If all Siege amounts to is a bunch of toys then it feels to me like the WFC/FOC stuff, except without a soul. If that spares us from more Machinima that's fine.

I really like the Classic seeker mold too, but Siege complements it well with the Voyager tetrajet. I think the Classics will remain the core of my Decepticon lineup, but I'm worried they'll be small to scale between Refraktor and the Siege Autobot cars. On the other hand, they should be fine alongside Prime Wars minibots, Insecticons, and Dinobots.

ScottyP wrote:One of the primary aspects of Transformers that drew me to become as involved with it as I am was the constant cycle of change. Sometimes things were good, sometimes they were bad, but they were always different. Even with the Unicron Trilogy, Animated, Movies, and Aligned, things felt different even with Optimus, Megatron, Bee, and others around.

I find it weird that all this product that's supposed to be for a long time fan like me is making me disillusioned with the direction of the next year's worth of products. I'm probably most excited for stuff like the Botbots and Studio Series Dropkick, and outside of the Micromasters and Brunt, Siege looks boring to me. I'm not even sure I actually like the Micromasters, I might just like that there haven't been 56 versions of Roadhandler in the past five years.

I think the increasingly homogeneous nature of the product lineup is a recipe for failure, but money talks so maybe it's me with the wrong idea.

Full disclosure: I'm gonna buy all this stuff anyway because even if it's fleeting, new toys still take me away from the oppressive reality of life as a working adult.

I'm just bored.

I don’t think you have the wrong idea. We grew up with the franchise changing. From G1 to Beast Wars to the Unicron Trilogy and then Animated and Movies and The aligned. Now it’s just going back to g1. It feels like a circle when it was a line.

Maybe we’re both wrong. There are some great toys coming and yes I’m getting quite a few Seige figures to complete my CHUG collection. I honestly wish it was back to 10 years ago when the transformers that were on TV were the main toyline(Animated and Prime) but Generations has become the main line. I know they want to aim Cyberverse at a younger audience which is great but man id like those designs to get the same quality of treatment that Studio series or Seige is getting.

I think a lot of people are still missing the point of the enthusiasm for Siege. (I can't really speak to Cyberverse, as that's not for me, and I don't have kids of my own with which to share that line.) What we're getting with Siege is these G1 characters done right. Classics, Universe 2.0, and Generations up to Thrilling 30 had a much different design credo in mind, what with giving us G1 characters in updated designs and modern alt-modes. They played around with scale a lot and played fast and loose with decos frequently (just think of Universe 2.0 Powerglide). It was good for the time, but things took a decided turn to more traditional G1 looks and alt modes with The Prime Wars Trilogy.

We didn't really start from the beginning with Combiner Wars, to be honest. We mainly got the core Season 1 and 2 combiner teams, with a smattering of repaints into early G1 characters to pad out the line. Those repaints were much more akin to the earlier "Classics" takes on the characters than to anything "slavishly" G1. Then Titans Return came, and blew us away with fantastic updates of The Movie and Season 3 characters, the Triple Changers, the freakin' Jumpstarters, and the best updates of many of the Minibots that we'd ever seen. Power of the Primes continued that to a degree with finally giving us the Dinobots, a few more needed Minibots, the Terrorcons, the Predacons, Elita One, Moonracer and Firestar (whom we'd NEVER had represented before at mass retail).

What's missing from this "Rebirth" of G1 is actually the '84 and much of the '85 cast, so it makes sense to finally give them their due, even if we feel like they've been done over and over, they've never gotten the "Titans Return Blurr" treatment, which everyone can agree, is an amazing treatment of a character (especially if you get the Takara version). It's as I said above (where William James quoted me). We had to endure a bunch of different takes on Bumblebee since 2006, none of which were all that satisfying, until we finally struck gold with Titans Return Legends Bumblebee. Now it's time to strike gold with Optimus Prime, Megatron, Starscream, Thundercracker, Soundwave, Shockwave, Sideswipe, Red Alert, Ironhide, Ratchet, Chromia, Prowl, Hound, Ultra Magnus, and many more to come!

Finally, let's also take a look at what else Siege is offering that we haven't had before, such as a Reflector that is the right size and can combine with two other clones to form his camera mode! He's not a tiny converting weapon for a Legends scale figure or an exclusive repaint of Legends Shockwave from BotCon. That's amazing! We're also getting more companion pieces to complete our Titan class figures from the past several years, including Sixgun, Cog, and Brunt! We're getting Micromasters again! We're getting an actual Duocon Flywheels to go with Power of the Primes Battletrap! We're getting Targetmasters to complete Titans Return figures (if you don't have the Takara Legends versions). We're getting OMEGA SUPREME! If you don't want the latest (and arguably greatest) versions of Optimus Prime, Megatron, et al. as listed above, you can still get a lot out of Siege with all of the "first time" updates for G1.

I'm going to echo similar comments here by saying I'm bored with g1 theme, the toys on their own look pretty fun, but I'd rather they were all new characters, we need more alpha bravos and less slingshots. Maybe we will get something new once this trilogy is played out, but we shall see...though given how often they like to reuse trademarks to keep them, I think we'll see many more Primes and megatrons in the coming years.