The Energon Pub

I've gotten some of the movie figures. First Robo-Vision Prime and Wreckage, then Ironhide and Starscream, and recently Swindle and '08 BB. All good to great figures. But I just opened up leader Megatron and the old BB vs Barricade two-pack and they seriously suck.

Megatron is very uninspiring. Get rid of the gimmick and they can shrink him down to a basic size and still retain the same level of detail and transformation. It says to combine the arms to form a cannon, but I can't figure it out. Near as I can figure, just the 1 arm transforms into a gun. And won't even stay a gun, so you can't pose him.

Bumblebee would be good if he could transform properly. His hood won't stay in play, and this is the corrected version! Other than that and his weak feet and kibble-restricted legs, he's OK.

Barricade is OK, except he's hard to stand. There's also the "fan" hands. I liked the tire hands he had in the movie. Could they have not made the tires fold out into hands? And Frenzy? What is he a powermaster? I don't just mean how he transforms into an engine, but how lacking in articulation. What is this 1988? Still, the PM homage is the best part of the figure.

So what figures should I pick up? And which figures should I avoid?

Leader Class: Leader Prime, definitely. He is the flagship toy. HIGHLY recommended.

Voyager: Ironhide is the best for me. His robot mode and weapons are insane. Ratchet, but I painted a lot of details onto him. Be prepared to do that if you don't want just a green block with some black. Blackout is great toy, poor size scale beacause of his heli backpack. I don't have starscream.

Deluxe: I only have 3: Protoform Prime (HIGHLY recommended), Arcee (HIGHLY recommended), and Wreckage which I just bought yesterday. Excellent toy and a lot of play value for a movie toy. I don't have Jazz and 08 Bumblebee, but 08 bumblebee is a must have, no question. Probably the best autobot in the entire line apart from the Primes (Protoform, Robovision, Leader).

Pick up the Energon repaints from Target if you didn't get them before. Skyblast, Signal Flare and Arcee are all good fun.

And I agree, apprently Megatron is very disappointing. Unless I do a repaint of him I'm not getting him.

Well you've got the two I would have said to stay away from; Leader Megatron and '74 BB.

Just make sure you get Leader Prime. The only way that figure could be more awesome is if it came with a supermodel and cured cancer.

Best for me is Leader Prime. Although not too faithful to his movie incarnation, he's a good figure nonetheless
Worst for me is '70's Bumblebee. Poorly constructed and just plain ugly
Honorable mention goes to '08 Bumblebee and Voyager Prime
Dishonorable mention goes to Scorpionok and Jazz.

I'd like to add that I didn't include the real gear, legends, non transforming figures and everything else that didn't appear in the movie (poor Arcee and Wreckage, they were pretty good too)

Ok I'll break it down for you:

Leader Class:
1. Prime

Comment: Only one I have, was gonna buy Megs but I think the money might be better off spent elsewhere. Prime is my favorite figure of the lot, don't pass him up.

Voyager:
1. Ironhide
2. Ratchet
3. Starscream
4. Blackout

Comment: I was a little disappointed in the two Voyager Decepticons - perhaps because they were the two I was most looking forward to. Blackout is especially disappointing with his "backpack" and smallish size. Ironhide really stands out for me, his automorph is subtle yet very cool and effective.

Deluxe:
1. Barricade
2. Jazz
3. Brawl

Comment: All of the deluxes I own have their flaws and the gap in quality between first and third place figures is not a great one. Barricade, though initially hard for me to pose (lock his heels into place) and possessing of the "fan hands" gets the nod from me. A sweet alt mode, good head/face, and cool body make him a winner. Jazz has crappy hands, but for some reason I like him and his shield. G1 is still better, but he's a cool toy. Brawl is alright, but his automorph doesn't work very well and his "backpack" won't stay put. I love the character though and can't wait for the leader class figure.

I would have also suggested against getting Leader Megatron (any version of Megatron, bar the Legends version is not worth the $$$) and 74 Bumblebee.

Deluxe '08 Bumblebee is the best figure of the line, both price wise and toywise.

Other good figures include: Voyager Ironhide, Deluxe Wreckage, Deluxe Bonecrusher, Deluxe Brawl (even though his arms are troublesome).
Leader Prime is also a top figure, though I do not personally own him.

FAB Ratchet and Brawl are also good figures, well worth the money if you dont want to shell out for the larger figures.

i kinda like to 70's bumble bee, i guess because of its simplicity. but my bumble bee has been experiencing some weak hip-to-leg joints. the left leg is really loose and swingy because of the joint. does anyone else experience this? maybe im just being nit picky, but it would suck if it went to the point where he cant stand up on his own anymore....so far he just has a problem with balancing and trying to stand up straight.

personally i like the line as a whole exept the FABs and the target exsclusive basics.

though Leader prime, wreckage, 08 BB, jazz, ratchet, blackout, and barricade are my favorites.

Of the new releases, do NOT get Payload. He has a STUPIDLY large plunger poking out of his back that operates a "capture claw" gimmick. You have to bend the legs so far back he should be falling over face-first to counterbalance for it.

On the other hand, Longarm so TOTALLY rawks. He doesn't really have an Automorph gimmick, but he's got a nice solid and articulated Bot mode with a really cool head, no significant QC problems, and he turns into the tow truck from the movie. What more could you want from a Deluxe?

I've been buying the movie toys, so far I got Optimus, Jazz, Ironhide, Starscream, Blackout, and Barricade. In order from best to worst of the ones I have:

Optimus
Starscream
Ironhide
Barricade
Jazz
Blackout

Blackout might rank higher if it wern't for the stupid defect in his transformation. Also considering Blackout is the second largest decepticon he should be leader class. I mean I just found out when I bought the toy and put him next to starscream that an F-22 Raptor is Bigger than a Military chopper . I've been complaining for years about hasbro and their neglect to get proportions right. For the movie they should of made 1/24 scale replicas, and ditched the whole class thing. Speaking of classes, whatever happend to Ultra class? You know the ones between the Mega or, I mean the Voyager class, and leader class?

The toys would look a lot better as 1/24 replicas then having starscream tower over blackout in robot mode!

Gonna go with the majority here and recommend you pickup LEADER OPTIMUS PRIME. Probably the best the line has to offer at this point.

I don't get the hate for 74 Bumblebee, granted, there are defective ones, but when the tab it's broken, it's just a matter of positioning the arms correctly so it clicks, takes a few mins, but it's not a race >_>; Also it's a lot better looking as a car and a robot than 08 imo.

i just wanted to say that WRECKAGE was a pleasant surprise that will most likely be slept on

the figure is just so badass with the 2 blades and the red, white, grey, gold and black color scheme

in vehicle mode he looks like a vehicle and in robot mode he looks like a robot, other than the tires on his forearms and legs, there's no indication of him being a vehicle

my least favorite would probably be Voyager Blackout because of the size, the faulty automorph and, in my opinion, the stupid mini scorponok that keeps falling out the cage

also Voyager Starscream was a bit of a dissappointment because of him being a good movie character and the lack of articulation

Fang Wolf wrote:I don't get the hate for 74 Bumblebee, granted, there are defective ones, but when the tab it's broken, it's just a matter of positioning the arms correctly so it clicks, takes a few mins, but it's not a race >_>; Also it's a lot better looking as a car and a robot than 08 imo.

Ru serious? 08 blows 74 out of the water! besides the blue windows suck and the robo mode looks kinda shotty. But ye best in show would have to go to leader prime only a sword would make him perfect. Runner up would be 08 bumble. Worst i would have to give it to scorpi. They should have done more work on the alt mode rather than giving it a halfassed robo mode

08 Bumblebee is probably one ofmy favorite toys ever, so much so, I bought 3. Leader prime impresses me as well. Could have been better, but that goes for everything.

I can't believe the detail in moveability of 08 Bumblebee.I sat there staring at it, totally floored by how cool this $15 figure was.

I am so sad that jazz is a stick robot. Can you imagine how amazing that Jazz toy could be if they put the same amount of effort into it as they did to 08 Bumblebee? My god!!!

Scorponok is pretty cool, surprisingly.

Figures to pick up Leader Optimus Prime, Voyager Ironhide or Fab Ironhide, Voyager Ratchet, Deluxe 2008 Bumblebee, Legends Bumblebee, Legends Jazz, Fab Starscream or Voyager Starscream, Deluxe Barricade.


Figures with issues: Blackout shoulder pegs breaking or stressing, automorph messed up, Deluxe 1976 camaro Bumblebee due to automorph peg breakage, Deluxe Brawl's shoulders not staying in place.


Figures I'm not sold on Leader Megatron's awful design both robot and alt mode and the paint scheme doesn't help either, Bonecrusher's awful bot design, and Fab Frenzy's bot design.

First, I'd recommend leader Prime--the figure I'd buy if I found out I had a week to live... Other than that, 09 Bumblebee, Bonecrusher (WAY underrated--no issues w/this guy, but should be voyager or leader scale), Barricade, if his joints aren't too loose, and Ratchet, simply b/c he's simple, good looking, save for the puke green color, and he has NO issues w/his transformation. I also have Blackout--tired of his legs ALWAYS falling down when I pick him up in alt mode--no issues w/his automorph YET, and Jazz--HATE his arms b/c they look like crap--that's about it. Don't have anyone else yet. Like everyone else here, I'd gladly buy leader Megs if they'd repaint him... BTW--you guys that have done a repaint of him WELL, --BRAVO--go work for Hasbro b/c they obviously need it...

It's hilarious to see you guys complaining about '77 BB. He tops pretty much ALL deluxes we got in the past 3 series.

the 74 bb is worse but i fixed it by slicing the circular loop that needs to be locked by the freaking tab and once it's done it will stay up always...

megatroptimus wrote:It's hilarious to see you guys complaining about '77 BB. He tops pretty much ALL deluxes we got in the past 3 series.

Wait until u get ur mitts on an 08 then come talk to us

Mr.Bond007 wrote:

megatroptimus wrote:It's hilarious to see you guys complaining about '77 BB. He tops pretty much ALL deluxes we got in the past 3 series.

Wait until u get ur mitts on an 08 then come talk to us

well i agree classic bb is nice along with barricade and 08 bb btw it's freaking hard to return it to alt mode... the shoulder part is so tricky it always produce conflict when you pull the hood up but just keep practicing it to bot to alt and alt to bot mode and you'll get it mastered...

Cormaster628 wrote:Blackout might rank higher if it wern't for the stupid defect in his transformation. Also considering Blackout is the second largest decepticon he should be leader class. I mean I just found out when I bought the toy and put him next to starscream that an F-22 Raptor is Bigger than a Military chopper . I've been complaining for years about hasbro and their neglect to get proportions right.

F22 Raptor:
Wing Span: 44.49 ft (13.56 m)
Length: 62 .1 ft (18.92 m)
Height: 16.47 ft (5.02 m)
Empty Weight: 32,000 lbs (14,514 kg)
Max Take-Off Weight: 55,000 lbs (24,947.58 kg)

Pave Low:
Rotor Blade Span: 72 feet (21.9 meters)
Length: 88 feet (28 meters)
Height: 25 feet (7.6 meters)
Empty Weight:
Max Take-Off Weight: 46,000 pounds

Starscream, being the next leader of the decepticons, and blackout being.. well.. dead, deserves a Leader Class.




Notice the size of the people. The F22's length is twice that of the truck that Optimus becomes.

megatroptimus wrote:It's hilarious to see you guys complaining about '77 BB. He tops pretty much ALL deluxes we got in the past 3 series.

Cyb Sideways and Snarl beg to differ. But '77 BB is okay.

Hey~

I got a question for ya'll.

I haven't opened my 2-pack Blackout and Scorponok (TRU exclusive). Is Blackout so bad that I should return him to get a refund? Should I buy another TF instead of Blackout? What are your opinions??

nacho wrote:Hey~

I got a question for ya'll.

I haven't opened my 2-pack Blackout and Scorponok (TRU exclusive). Is Blackout so bad that I should return him to get a refund? Should I buy another TF instead of Blackout? What are your opinions??

Keep him blackout rox Just be careful wit the automorf and ur good to go