The Energon Pub

First, I have question: does he have a swivel waist? I can feel some movement there but I'm afraid to twist too hard.

I've been waiting for about a year for HA Barricade. As soon as I saw pics of HABB I KNEW I needed a Barricade to go with him. Knowing he's probably never going to show up in the UK shops, or if he does not for another year, I was happy to find him on ebay from an american seller for rrp + shipping. He came today and I think he's great! Not perfect (one hand, funny hip joints) but damned fine. I think he looks better with his lower legs backwards so the car parts are on the front and I use a different joint as a knee. If you don't plug his neck plate into the chest you can get more head articulation and his car mode feels more compact and sturdy than most Alternators, possibly because he's a few grams heavier. When I first saw his pics I was a little upset that the car front doesn't split but now, after looking at concept art, I see it isn't meant to.

So the long wait is finally over and HABB has someone to keep him busy! I just need to rearrange my shelves to accomodate him and the ensuing deathmatch.

I too just got 'Cade the other day from the local wally world. I love him. He's very menacing looking. And the often talked about "brown paint" from the preview pics isn't really brown. It's actually a very inoffensive silver I think.

I love him. I fold his chest pieces upwards in the middle a little and open his mouth, then admire him. He's very aggressive and dark looking. Though I do agree his hip joints are strange... And his spring loaded arm weapon is kind of touchy and fires off too easily. And I do wish he had a second hand.

Otherwise I'm loving him. His car mode is excellent, and his bot mode is pretty dang sweet. Big thumbs up.

I was completely against getting him when I saw the pictures of his Alt Mode. So, were they just weird pictures or something? His S281 mode just looked wrong and weirdly disproportionate. Is his alt mode actually as good as BB and Swipe? If so, then I am totally going to get him. I loved the character in the first movie, and I really like the Deluxe figure too. I will check it out when it comes to town.

I found some pics that made it clear his waist rotates. I gave it a good twist but it actually felt like it was breaking - the increasing stiffness followed by the sudden loosening. It was quite sickening but now his waist joint works smoothly.

Pontimax 01 wrote:The often talked about "brown paint" from the preview pics isn't really brown. It's actually a very inoffensive silver I think.

No, it's brown. Maybe I just got used to it from the pictures but I don't find it particularly offensive in hand. I'll still paint him though. Currently I'm trying to make a left hand for him. It's harder than making the right hand for HABB.

Pontimax 01 wrote:I love him. I fold his chest pieces upwards in the middle a little

That's how it's designed although (guess what) the instructions don't say. Look at the sculpting of the body where the chest guns are - you'll see it tapers. Push the guns all the way to into the body and the bumper sections will push up in the middle and raise the bonnet/hood slightly. This helps to break up the car parts more as the headlights will be separated from everything else.

Prime Riblet wrote:I was completely against getting him when I saw the pictures of his Alt Mode. So, were they just weird pictures or something?

I think so. I haven't compared it to the delux yet but it looks perfectly well proportioned to me.

Awesome news. Thanks for the input. I look forward to grabbing this guy.

Barricade is my favorite HA figure. My only complaint with it was the funny hip joints, but a dremel fixed that. The brown is more of a gun metal with a tiny brown tinge to it.

Any toy that looks THIS badass on my dining room table? WIN.

HK, just...try to resist the weird things you can do with Frenzy.

I love my HA Barricade. Probably the best HA out of the bunch and leagues better than his deluxe

Evil_the_Nub wrote:Barricade is my favorite HA figure. My only complaint with it was the funny hip joints, but a dremel fixed that.

I used a saw but the effect is much the same. They're still weird thought. The main joint is on the front of the thigh instead of the top end so some things aren't possible. If they'd given him regular joints he'd be able to do anything.

I've cast a left hand for him that attaches with magnets and he's even better now.

This guy looks cool. The HAs have turned me off so far due to the humans looking really awful but Frenzy doesn't seem so bad.

Diem wrote:This guy looks cool. The HAs have turned me off so far due to the humans looking really awful but Frenzy doesn't seem so bad.

Agree on the humans, they are complete rubbish - i've only bought BB so far, and Sam's gone straight into my parts bin.

Barricade looks like he's worth the purchase (soon as he shows up over here)

Jetfire73 wrote:

Diem wrote:This guy looks cool. The HAs have turned me off so far due to the humans looking really awful but Frenzy doesn't seem so bad.

Agree on the humans, they are complete rubbish - i've only bought BB so far, and Sam's gone straight into my parts bin.

Barricade looks like he's worth the purchase (soon as he shows up over here)

I like frenzy, he's quite poseable and stable. It's a shame the waist joint isn't a ball joint though.

And Jetfire73 I wish you all the patience in the world. You'll need it! I got him from the States for £37, if you want details PM me.