The Energon Pub

What I got out of the last camera head thread I started was that many of you simply disliked the fact they had no face. Now I’m wondering if these toys would be more well received if they had the autobot head from the game? For those who haven’t played the game, movie Dropkick’s head is what the autobot version of Dreadwing, Swindle, Payload and the autobot version of him self had (they gave the toy the autobot head instead of a camera face).

My question is simply, would you like the camera head drones if Hasbro repainted them into correct autobot colors and gave them the autobot head?

I personally prefer the robots that have no faces.
That's why i like g1 prime's face (the cartoon one, of course, not the toy one).
But yes, if they not only repainted the figs, but also changed the heads, i'd be happier.

some aren't autobots.

No because the robot modes suck even more.

For me its more than just the head, although the lens head is a big part of it.

I totally dislike Swindle/Camshaft's mold. And even if he had a decent head, the mold is still really cheesy IMHO.

Dreadwing is another one I wouldn't buy even with a decent head. The mold is just awful.IMHO. Totally out of proportion. And just a really bad robot mode.

The only one I'd buy with a new head would be Payload. I like the general aesthetic of the mold and he looks good.

I really don't like the camera heads (except for the pre-earth decepticons in the preview comic). I own Dropkick, but I wouldn't have bought him if he'd had a camera head instead of the head he does have. I like the less human ones, like Megatron's, or the visor faces like Jazz, but I definatley prefer the human style heads over the camera lense.

Got all three Lens Drones, totally love them. In fact, I like the non-movie (Expanded Movie Universe) Deluxes far more than Bumblebee Concept and the other in-movie Deluxes. There's just something about those empty faces that captures my imagination. I imagine they're total nutjobs with access to overpowered weaponry. I love a diverse yet coherent TF group, so all the EU Movie figures are nicely discernable. There's a stylish ninja dude, a slender female spy, a creepy crooked-legged honcho, a bulky guy with a huge weapon and three faceless wacko's.

Overcracker wrote:
The only one I'd buy with a new head would be Payload. I like the general aesthetic of the mold and he looks good.

I have to disagree with You. I think the fact that he's a camerahead only adds to the mold.

Rushie wrote:There's just something about those empty faces that captures my imagination.

For sho. I personally imagine them as charactes with with a more complicated personality hidden behind that emotionless face.

Looks like i'm the only person who actually likes swindle's mold.

Rushie wrote:Got all three Lens Drones, totally love them. In fact, I like the non-movie (Expanded Movie Universe) Deluxes far more than Bumblebee Concept and the other in-movie Deluxes. There's just something about those empty faces that captures my imagination. I imagine they're total nutjobs with access to overpowered weaponry. I love a diverse yet coherent TF group, so all the EU Movie figures are nicely discernable. There's a stylish ninja dude, a slender female spy, a creepy crooked-legged honcho, a bulky guy with a huge weapon and three faceless wacko's.

Why? The empty face has no expression, no character. And better than bumblebee? His alt mode alone beats out all of em. Payload has a plunger sticking out of his back, Swindole has no neck and cow feet. And Dreadwing has wider legs then Paris Hilton ZING!

The lense heads don't bother me, it's the rest of the figure!

DreadWing just sucks in bot mode, PayLoad won't stay together, and that huge plunger on his back just sucks.

Swindle is actualy pretty good, he just needs a neck.

The other thing that bothers me is the fact that to many see complaints about this "LenseHead" group revolving around the heads. Go ahead, change the heads, the figures will still suck!

One argument that strikes me in particular was a member saying "oh so only ShockWave can have a lense head, cause G1 can do nothing wrong!"

That was one of the stupidest things I ever read here. If these figures had better bodies, they would be much more welcome. The only reason why the Lense even comes up usualy is because it's a unifing feature.

And my theory behind the Lense Head is this. These Decepticons are more ruthless than in past series. They need to fight for the right for anything and everything, even a face.

Soldiers who are proven and true are granted identity, those who still serve as fodder are denied even the right of individuality as a sense of self would only distract them from their Decepticon obligations.

One day, with enough stride and effort, they may get their face plates back, but most likely they'll get fragged in Megatron's service first.

Liege Evilmus wrote:The lense heads don't bother me, it's the rest of the figure!

Swindle is actualy pretty good, he just needs a neck.

...

And my theory behind the Lense Head is this. These Decepticons are more ruthless than in past series. They need to fight for the right for anything and everything, even a face.

Soldiers who are proven and true are granted identity, those who still serve as fodder are denied even the right of individuality as a sense of self would only distract them from their Decepticon obligations.

One day, with enough stride and effort, they may get their face plates back, but most likely they'll get fragged in Megatron's service first.

That's a very cool theory, Liege. I really like that. That would be cool to add to the Seibertron version of the Lense Heads' bios. If the bodies for the Lense Heads were better figures, then having Lense heads would be fine, because they would make good "army builders."

I think Camshaft, since he's gray, would make the best base figure for a Decepticon Lense Head army. Get Swindle, and you've got a red drone. Then get a bunch of Camshaft, and you could repaint one blue, one purple, one black, one green, etc. and you'd have blue, purple, black, green, etc. drones, too.

And Swindle and Camshaft are an interesting "study" just by themselves. I, personally, don't like the all-over red of Swindle. I think it shows off the mold in very unflattering ways. But Camshaft looks great to my eyes. I really can't explain it. Intellectually, I look at both figures and I KNOW they are the same mold, but I just can't make myself buy Swindle, but I CAN'T wait until I can buy Camshaft. Doesn't make sense, I know, but Camshaft's paint job just shows off the mold better, IMO. Hmm, maybe I should buy a Swindle and an exta Camshaft, and take them apart and blend them together, so that I end up with two "Swinshafts" that are a mix of red and gray, just in different places. I've never been a repainter/kitbasher before, so now might just be the right time. Of course, that's IF I can still find any Swindle's on the store shelves. Ah well.

Oh, uh, sorry for kind of rambling, but that's my take on things. Oh, and yes, Dreadwing and Payload just suck. Dreadwing needs hands and Payload should have been voyager-sized, and without the stick in his back.

If they had heads I would buy them...unless I broke down and bought the stupid camera head already. Then I'd just be pissed that they put out a decent looking figure after the fact because I don't really do repaints, or more accurately, I won't buy more than one of a mold. Repaints are welcomed as long as I haven't yet bought the mold...then I can choose the better! But since they don't tend to release repaints around my schedule...they suck overall.

Sorry, kinda got off topic there...

I dunno, I kinda like the heads as they are. They make it seem more evil.
Yeah, most of the molds suck, with exceptions being Swindle and Dropkick. Payload was cool, but who was the five year old putting him together?

Liege Evilmus wrote:One argument that strikes me in particular was a member saying "oh so only ShockWave can have a lense head, cause G1 can do nothing wrong!"

That was one of the stupidest things I ever read here. If these figures had better bodies, they would be much more welcome.

Thanks for being subtle and pulling my message totally out of context.

You know I provided numerous examples of fans only accepting anything weird or outlandish, if it was conceived before 1992. My complaint was towards G1 purists in general and was among others based on the argument that even the 'originals' were actually bootlegged from other toylines.

Still, excessive amounts of people consider these knockoffs totally holy and anything deviating from the standard boring humanoid TF norm is called stupid, unless it's a G1 homage.

Then you or someone else backfired that Shockwave's head was different (a small central light instead of a complete facelens) and thus worked differently/better for the character. Meh, it's still an expressionless circular plate for a face, meaning it provides the same ruthless emotionless look. The fact Shockwave's got silly little bunny ears and a squat fat head apparently makes him totally superior.

Perhaps you like him better because he's got a better body structure. I disagree, he looks no better or worse than the Movie Lens Drones. It's a generic simple design with thin legs and a broad chest with a central 'grille' thingy. He actually fits in with the Movie Lenses rather well. Heck, I customized a Neo Shifter (without his mask, he's got a lensface) to resemble his TFM game appearance and he's now displayed among his faceless brethren.

You don't like the Lens Brothers' overall body structure? More power to you, but no need to call me stupid for it.

I would love to have the face for the Drones. But unfortunately, that probably won't be happening anytime soon. (Hopes are on for Botcon)