The Energon Pub

im thinking about buying power core combiners and i need some advice;(note:i'm wanting to know about the five packs mostly)
1. how good are they
2.do they stand up well
3. are they a waste of money
4. what is the best one so far
and the big question
HOW TALL ARE THEY
can one of you get a picture comparing the size of the five packs with a deluxe or voyager
i need one soon by the end of today
thanx a bunch

ROARBO wrote:im thinking about buying power core combiners and i need some advice;(note:i'm wanting to know about the five packs mostly)
1. how good are they
2.do they stand up well
3. are they a waste of money
4. what is the best one so far
and the big question
HOW TALL ARE THEY
can one of you get a picture comparing the size of the five packs with a deluxe or voyager
i need one soon by the end of today
thanx a bunch

1 ) Entirely random and subject to extreme personal opinion. Some love em, most seem to hate them, and the quality of individual ones is pretty much a roll of the dice.

2 ) Some, like the Rallybots and Destructicons, do. Some, like the Aerialbots, do not.

3 ) See #1

4 ) Drones: Either the Rallybots or Destructicons. Core bodies: Huffer (IMHO)

And they are about as tall as a typical Voyager, the core bodies are slightly larger than a Scout (though some are shorter, most are taller) but not as large as a Deluxe.

ROARBO wrote:1. how good are they

Utter crap

2.do they stand up well

As long as you have a wall behind them.

3. are they a waste of money

Hell yes

4. what is the best one so far

... yeah I got nothing.

1)Ive got 3 of the 5 packs and so far the quality sems good..

2)All 3 of my combiners stand on their own with no assistance..

3)I am having buyers remorse..I feel like this line wont get much support..case in point they are already getting repaints...Epic fail..

4)I like bombshock the best out of the group.. In terms of the commanders I think leadfoot and sledge are a close second..

Grab em on clearece..Save yourself the extra cash

ROARBO wrote:im thinking about buying power core combiners and i need some advice;(note:i'm wanting to know about the five packs mostly)
1. how good are they
2.do they stand up well
3. are they a waste of money
4. what is the best one so far
and the big question
HOW TALL ARE THEY
can one of you get a picture comparing the size of the five packs with a deluxe or voyager
i need one soon by the end of today
thanx a bunch

1. The 2-packs are the good point about this line. Multifunctional Mini-Cons I can't comment on the 5-packs since I don't have them available to me yet.

2. Well, the Commanders without the limbs do, obviously. With limbs... it kinda varies as I've read.

3. I'm happy with what I have, so no so far. One thing: AVOID Double Clutch!

4. Out of the Wave 1 2-packs it's a tie between Smolder and Huffer.

There's bound to be some strong negative opinions here. For me, The first couple 5 packs don't do it for me. However, the first three 2 packs are fun. I fiddle with them all the time. Searchlight and Backwind are my favorites so far along with Huffer and Caliburst. Smolder is a bit more clunky than I hoped for but he's not bad by any means. I think I may skip the 5 packs unless something really grabs me like the Dinobots.

Flux Convoy wrote:There's bound to be some strong negative opinions here. For me, The first couple 5 packs don't do it for me. However, the first three 2 packs are fun. I fiddle with them all the time. Searchlight and Backwind are my favorites so far along with Huffer and Caliburst. Smolder is a bit more clunky than I hoped for but he's not bad by any means. I think I may skip the 5 packs unless something really grabs me like the Dinobots.

Im all over the dinobots..They look totally wicked.. Im saddened though because I fear this line just wont get much support i.e new molds. I mean unless another animal/dinosaur type comes out the dinobots are just gonna get some dark repaint..

most people on this board seem to hate the PCC. Personally, I enjoy them and I've collected everybody but Mudslinger.

I'll tell you this: The 5-packs have crappy Commanders, so you'll wanna buy a 2-pack for the commander.

Most of us agree that the Aerialbots combined with Searchlight make the best gestalt.

Here's a height chart between PCC huffer and a couple of Deluxes, plus a Scout:

I've bought them all, and while the drones all languish in my accessories pit, the scouts themselves are still rather good. I quite enjoy fiddling with the 2-packs quite a bit. They're fun, simple figures, but they're not for everyone.

In short, if you've never felt the drive to get one, don't bother getting now. But if you've always been kinda curious, I suggest staying with the 2-packs.

I don't see how repaints means the line is weak. There are 16 drones, 6 Minicons, and 10 Commanders already; that's 32 molds already!

adamassc wrote:most people on this board seem to hate the PCC. Personally, I enjoy them and I've collected everybody but Mudslinger.

I'll tell you this: The 5-packs have crappy Commanders, so you'll wanna buy a 2-pack for the commander.

Most of us agree that the Aerialbots combined with Searchlight make the best gestalt.

Here's a height chart between PCC huffer and a couple of Deluxes, plus a Scout:

thnax for the pic do you have one with the combined form to compare

Ask and ye shall receive:




I don't keep Huffer in combo mode, so here's Searchlight with the Aerialbots next to Ransack and Drift.


Ignore the background, I collect other lines as well.

I'm also in the minority in that I like the PCC line. I'm actually not fond of the Minicons, though. To me, they transform from shapeless form (handheld weapon) to shapeless mass (vehicle weapon) to shapeless thing (chest armor) to robot and back!

The 5-packs aren't perfect, by any means, but I actually like the way they look. But don't expect to be able to pose these things dynamically. Articulation is pretty good, but balance is not.

Since many others have addressed the specific questions wonderfully, I'll just offer my 2 cents on the PCC line.

I like the commander figures but the drones aren't the greatest things on Earth...they look fine in vehicle mode but as limbs, they're a bit iffy in my opinion. The articulation at the ankles, wrists, and elbows are nil due to the gimmicks implemented for the drone limbs. In a way, these combiners are a throwback to G1 with such limited articulation, however, they don't have the nostalgia and charm factor that G1 toys can have for some people, myself included.

I also have only one of the 5 packs(Bombshock and the Combaticons) and it hasn't left a positive impression. The leg connections are poor and even though I modded them to improve the strength of the connections, the combined figure doesn't do much for me. I like the concept of the 5 packs but I just don't like the execution so far. Maybe the next wave of 5 packs will be better.

PCC's are for people that are willing to overlook some obvious flaws, and enjoy some of the better things about this line. 1, they are cheap, both in price and quality, so you pay for what you get. 10 bucks gets you 2 figures, 20 gets you 5, for gestalts, I'd say that's fair, even if the drones don't individually transform. 2. they all have 3 modes, plus minicons (even if it's more like cybertronian yoga). 3. get past some flimsy parts, these things are down right fun.

I have my gripes about some figures, double clutch being the worst of the bunch, but all in all, I love this line. I'm not bothering with any other line at the moment because I'd really like to concentrate on getting every one of these, even the repaints. They don't follow any specific universe at the moment, so it's all open to interpretation/fan fiction. I love the mini-cons being transparent, it gives them a bit more uniqueness from the autobots and decepticons other than just being small.

so to answer your questions:

1. Fun entertainment wise, quality wise, not so much. I think they look good.
2. The can all be posed to not fall, some better than others (even on carpet!), and also depends if you bought a lemon or simply mistransformed them the first couple times
3. They are a waste of money if you don't like them
4. I'd say huffer is the best 2-pack, and bombshock is the best 5 pack. Huffer because is his great all around, but fairly simple. Bombshock doesn't have the best alt mode, but he's the most hassle free of the 5 packs, very solid. I think Smolder has the best mini-con weapon as it actually looks like an axe.

I don't have any 2 packs from wave, 2, and those are looking really good as well.

I'd start off with a 2 pack, or buy both one two pack, and one 5 pack, and see how you like those. Searchlight looks great with Skyburst's drones, Huffer looks good with any drones, Smolder is good as just an individual figure with his mini-con, and bombshock is the most solid. Mudslinger is a little floppy (but his alt and drones are pretty kick-ass), and Double Clutch is just a frustrating mess.

Wave 2's 2 packs are great. Sledge is one of the worst 2 packs, because his transformation requires a rather stiff hook to clip on. Every time I change him to vehicle mode, I'm afraid I'm gonna snap his shoulders off. Even with his flaws, Sledge is still great. Leadfoot is my personal favorite, but Icepick is also solid.

doubleclutch does suck and fail. His arm drones are pretty good, as is his vehicle, but neither of those make up for his malfunctioning leg drones or his Waspinator syndrome.

I just picked up the three Commander w/Minicon 2-packs from wave one yesterday. I really like these guys so far. All of the commander figures are fun and satisfying in either mode. As for the minicons, they're ok, with Chopster being the best. Backwind is kinda "meh" as his alternate modes mostly consist of different yoga poses that don't exactly sell me on "gun" or "armor" as much as "robot contortionist."

By the way, is it pretty much a given now that the Power Core subline is tied to the live action movies in terms of continunity? It was thought ambiguous for a long while, and I dont' recall Hasbro really taking a stance one way or another on where these characters fit in the history of Transformers. However, the latest Cyber Mission (09) on the Hasbro Transformers site features movie Bumblebee and movie Ratchet battling Smolder and Chopster.

of this line ive only gotten 2 figures, huffer and smolder. huffer i got because he fits well enough with my neo g1 display, and smolder i actually got so i could give chopster to classics/henkei optimus.

Wolfman Jake wrote:By the way, is it pretty much a given now that the Power Core subline is tied to the live action movies in terms of continunity? It was thought ambiguous for a long while, and I dont' recall Hasbro really taking a stance one way or another on where these characters fit in the history of Transformers. However, the latest Cyber Mission (09) on the Hasbro Transformers site features movie Bumblebee and movie Ratchet battling Smolder and Chopster.

I wouldn''t count those "cyber missions" as any form of canon. IMHO they don't fit the Movie aesthetic - if anything the "commanders" fit the older Classics and Cybertron/Galaxy Force aesthetic a lot better. The drones don't fit ANY aesthetic.

Don't buy any of them.

Holy Crap, when I say something like that...

Here's why; if you have to ask the question, then you're probably on a budget of somekind. No shame in that, it just stands to reason.

If that's the case, there are better TF toys in every single direction you could look. Spend that money on new Classics toys, spend it on some of the cooler HFTD toys, save up for MP grimlock, import some 2010 anniversery toys, buy some 3rd party stuff, grab some of the newer Revoltech toys, whatever.

PCC, despite being a little fun, is a fat waste of money for those on a budget when there are SO many better toys out there. Hell, I can pull that back a bit and just say that there are better TF toys out there.

While there are good points to PCC, it's the worst main line set of toys since Beast Machines. I own all the PCC toys so far, I'm not just spouting off on this. They are, for the most part, not very good.

The only one i had and would every buy was Huffer with his minicon partner Caliburst, and the only reason i bought him was as a add-in for my classics line, but after about 3 days of starring at him and finding out that he really doesnt fit in at all in this line, i took him back and swear i would never buy anything from this line again...

the PCC line is a love or hate line around here. There are no Tenor notes, only Soprano or Baritone in this song. My only real complaint is that they are pretty simple to transform, even for Scout sized guys.

I'm kinda curious about this line.Mostly the 5 packs.Just because it seemed a little different.I'll probably buy the military set and try it out and make my own opinion.If it sucks it was only $20 I lost.

vulgar_wraith wrote:I'm kinda curious about this line.Mostly the 5 packs.Just because it seemed a little different.I'll probably buy the military set and try it out and make my own opinion.If it sucks it was only $20 I lost.

Bombshock and his team have some of the worst QC issues of any TF. I don't think I've heard anyone say that they've gotten one with solid fitting leg drones, and those are the good ones. Mine likes to fall off of his legs at random times, so much so that he's been laid on his back to chill. He's much better if you have Doubleclutch to compare him to.