The Energon Pub

Kapowtoys has conducted a video review of the upcoming Transformers Dark Of The Moon Barricade.
Check out what's new for this updated version of the 1st Transformers live action movie's character:



Seibertron, Ultimate Transformers Resource!

The hips kill it for me. I going to stick with the ROTF mold.

He says the mechtech weapon is unobtrusive it's as big as the car!

I think I'll be chopping all the mechtech weapons into pieces and rebuilding them as decent sized gimmick-free weapons.

Love it, going to have to get me him. Second favorite character in the movie line for me.

A huge, huuuge improvement over the 2007 figure. Makes me less sad I had to sell my Human Alliance Barricade a short while ago. This one will do very nicely.

Erm..he does not look good with it and he does look stupid how wide were they trying to get the torso? those legs look paper thin compared.

Barricade is my favorite movie character, but they can't seem to get his figure right no matter what they do. This one's lower legs are spindly little pathetic things, and he has car bumpers for butt cheeks. The original deluxe Barricade was pretty good aside from the hands. If they just did that but with hands, it would have been great. This one is just kinda weird.

I actually am liking what I see here. Pretty good looking articulation, at least in the upper half of the figure. The waist and legs are a biit of a letdown but for displaying purposes only, I think he will be fine.

T actually looks more detailed and movie accurate to me despite him saying the new toys are more simplistic. Maybe he's right that putting the gimmick in the weapons helps to focus more on the figure's engineering.

Anyway, I'm really liking him. I just may pick him up. He'll look good next to Battle Blade Bumblebee or the new DOTM rendition of the mold.

I'll pass thank you. I have the exisiting deluxe and the HA version. As the reviewer says, these DOTM toys seem somewhat simplified, which is something I don't like.

I often call into question the honesty of reviews conducted or sponsored by people who want to sell us stuff, would they really want to risk putting us off of buying something from them? Yeah, I'm a cynic. I would add that I have purchased from Kapow toys several times now and will continue to do so.

Well, his upper body looks great and an upgrade from the 2007 figure, his police car mode looks cool too, but those legs are truly a dissapointment. Too wide of a stance, doesnt appeal to me....

Being an adult collector, it is precisely the DOTM line's simplicity that turns me off.

I fully understand that TF's are meant for kids first, and collectors second, though. Which is why I'm glad Hasbro cares enough about us collectors to give us the Generations and RTS line.

As for the new 'Cade, I still prefer the original TFTM version. Despite the pseudo hands and not-so-accurate head sculpt, the 2007 version still looks better and more imposing than the DOTM one. Just my opinion.

SKYWARPED_128 wrote:Being an adult collector, it is precisely the DOTM line's simplicity that turns me off.

Wait, wait...not to pick a fight here, but um, take a look at nearly, I don't know, 95% of G1, G2 and Machine Wars. Talk about simplicity. A 2 year old could transform Prime.

I think it's great that they're taking a look at the complexity of some transformations. When I sit down and play with my son maybe now he doesn't have to ask me to transform all of his movie line toys. It's like alright, "Let's have a quick battle between Starscream, Bumblebee, Ironhide and Barricade!" "Wait son, I need 20 minutes to go through each one and make sure I turn each panel just right." By then he's bored and wants to move onto something else.

As a limited piece collector, I enjoy the complexity of some TF's. As a parent, I don't. Rock on, Hasbro! Rock on!

z-span wrote:

SKYWARPED_128 wrote:Being an adult collector, it is precisely the DOTM line's simplicity that turns me off.

Wait, wait...not to pick a fight here, but um, take a look at nearly, I don't know, 95% of G1, G2 and Machine Wars. Talk about simplicity. A 2 year old could transform Prime.

I think it's great that they're taking a look at the complexity of some transformations. When I sit down and play with my son maybe now he doesn't have to ask me to transform all of his movie line toys. It's like alright, "Let's have a quick battle between Starscream, Bumblebee, Ironhide and Barricade!" "Wait son, I need 20 minutes to go through each one and make sure I turn each panel just right." By then he's bored and wants to move onto something else.

As a limited piece collector, I enjoy the complexity of some TF's. As a parent, I don't. Rock on, Hasbro! Rock on!

No worries, man; I'm not going to overreact and blow things out of proportion.

Maybe I should have been a little more precise here. When I said I'm an adult collector, I don't mean to say I'm a G1 collector or anything. Didn't occur to me that someone would peg an adult collector automatically as a G1 collector, which I'm not. It's been over two decades since my parents bought me my first TF as a child, and I've only started collecting TF's at the end of the Classics line. The majority of TF's I bought are from the more complex, post-Bayverse era.

I guess I've become so used to complex transformations and highly detailed figures, that the thought of G1 era simplicity is just alien to me.

In any case, I'm glad you and your son are going to enjoy your TF's more from the DOTM line. I do agree that some of the TF's in the ROTF line was overly complex for children, Leader class OP being a prime example [no pun intended.]

My only hope is that Takara will make a similar move like they did with Buster Prime and introduce their own retooled DOTM leader class OP with convertible trailer. Unlikely, though, given the planned release of the supreme class OP. Not my cup of tea, though, what with the overly simplified transformation that leaves his front wheels on his forearms.

for the love of god.. can someone please tell me why people turn the upper shoulder wheels down so that they're horizontal? i just don't get it.. not only is it inaccurate, but it doesn't look good and it totally ruins the flow of the figure.. his head design has pieces sticking up, the windows on his back stick up, and his shoulders are supposed to stick up.

SKYWARPED_128 wrote:

z-span wrote:

SKYWARPED_128 wrote:Being an adult collector, it is precisely the DOTM line's simplicity that turns me off.

Wait, wait...not to pick a fight here, but um, take a look at nearly, I don't know, 95% of G1, G2 and Machine Wars. Talk about simplicity. A 2 year old could transform Prime.

I think it's great that they're taking a look at the complexity of some transformations. When I sit down and play with my son maybe now he doesn't have to ask me to transform all of his movie line toys. It's like alright, "Let's have a quick battle between Starscream, Bumblebee, Ironhide and Barricade!" "Wait son, I need 20 minutes to go through each one and make sure I turn each panel just right." By then he's bored and wants to move onto something else.

As a limited piece collector, I enjoy the complexity of some TF's. As a parent, I don't. Rock on, Hasbro! Rock on!

No worries, man; I'm not going to overreact and blow things out of proportion.

Maybe I should have been a little more precise here. When I said I'm an adult collector, I don't mean to say I'm a G1 collector or anything. Didn't occur to me that someone would peg an adult collector automatically as a G1 collector, which I'm not. It's been over two decades since my parents bought me my first TF as a child, and I've only started collecting TF's at the end of the Classics line. The majority of TF's I bought are from the more complex, post-Bayverse era.

I guess I've become so used to complex transformations and highly detailed figures, that the thought of G1 era simplicity is just alien to me.

In any case, I'm glad you and your son are going to enjoy your TF's more from the DOTM line. I do agree that some of the TF's in the ROTF line was overly complex for children, Leader class OP being a prime example [no pun intended.]

My only hope is that Takara will make a similar move like they did with Buster Prime and introduce their own retooled DOTM leader class OP with convertible trailer. Unlikely, though, given the planned release of the supreme class OP. Not my cup of tea, though, what with the overly simplified transformation that leaves his front wheels on his forearms.

wait a second.. isn't the transformation supposed to be the main attraction for kids? i mean, it's supposed to be something that they're supposed to have fun trying to figure out. why do you think kids enjoy puzzles? that's basically what it is, except it's a toy and not a boring puzzle.

and.. that's why there are activators, legends class figures, and scout class figures. those are all fairly simple. there's no need to make the other classes more simple.

i highly doubt takara is going to redesign the supreme primes trailer.

however.. it is possible that they do something similar to the transformers united prime. i wouldn't mind getting a retooled voyager prime with a transformable trailer. plus, on one of those products lists we saw.. wasn't there a listing for a voyager prime with trailer?

it still baffles me how incredibly bad they handled the leader prime w/ trailer. the jetfire/prime combo was okay.. and there was a little leeway given because jetfire needed also needed a robot mode and an alt mode. .. but this trailer doesn't. it just needs to be a box with wheels and a tricked out jet pack.. that's it.

first off they should've just retooled the rotf leader prime. i just don't get what is so hard about turning a trailer into a jet pack. or hell.. they could've just used half of the trailer for the jet pack and used the other half as a gun or a base .. like city commander. those wings look nothing like the cg model, the legs look like detailed bricks, the arms look like they were stolen from a steel gorilla, which in turn makes primes head look tiny, and lastly.. the wings are just completely unforgivable. they're way too long, i mean, they couldn't have just had them fold up? or hell, at least have those wheels fold out of the way.

it's just another rotf devastator.. something that had the chance to be utterly epic.. yet just wreaks of laziness and the "oh they'll buy it, it's a huge prime" mentality. it's really just insulting. this is the "last" movie to the trilogy, they could've at least put their greed aside and given us the cherry on top.

TimothyR wrote:wait a second.. isn't the transformation supposed to be the main attraction for kids? i mean, it's supposed to be something that they're supposed to have fun trying to figure out. why do you think kids enjoy puzzles? that's basically what it is, except it's a toy and not a boring puzzle.

and.. that's why there are activators, legends class figures, and scout class figures. those are all fairly simple. there's no need to make the other classes more simple.

i highly doubt takara is going to redesign the supreme primes trailer.

however.. it is possible that they do something similar to the transformers united prime. i wouldn't mind getting a retooled voyager prime with a transformable trailer. plus, on one of those products lists we saw.. wasn't there a listing for a voyager prime with trailer?

it still baffles me how incredibly bad they handled the leader prime w/ trailer. the jetfire/prime combo was okay.. and there was a little leeway given because jetfire needed also needed a robot mode and an alt mode. .. but this trailer doesn't. it just needs to be a box with wheels and a tricked out jet pack.. that's it.

first off they should've just retooled the rotf leader prime. i just don't get what is so hard about turning a trailer into a jet pack. or hell.. they could've just used half of the trailer for the jet pack and used the other half as a gun or a base .. like city commander. those wings look nothing like the cg model, the legs look like detailed bricks, the arms look like they were stolen from a steel gorilla, which in turn makes primes head look tiny, and lastly.. the wings are just completely unforgivable. they're way too long, i mean, they couldn't have just had them fold up? or hell, at least have those wheels fold out of the way.

it's just another rotf devastator.. something that had the chance to be utterly epic.. yet just wreaks of laziness and the "oh they'll buy it, it's a huge prime" mentality. it's really just insulting. this is the "last" movie to the trilogy, they could've at least put their greed aside and given us the cherry on top.

I wasn't the one who said simplified TF's are a good thing--that was Z-span. However, I do think that ROTF OP was a little too complex for the average 5-year-old to figure out for himself. But being the [non-G1 collecting] grownup collector that I am, he's one of the best things to happen to the Bayverse line.

Anyways, this whole theme of "bringing TF's back to the kids" means Hasbro will probably make sure even the youngest kids are able to figure out the transformation of any TF's, which IMO is very ill-suited to the inherent complexity of Bayverse designs.

BTW, I totally agree with what you said about there being different classes of TF's like activators and legends classes for younger kids. To be honest, and this is just my PERSONAL opinion, I think the simplification of DOTM figs has at least something to do with the mechtech gimmick. As I've read in previous posts in Seibetron, it seems that Hasbro designers are given a budget and a limit to how much plastic and moving parts TF's of different classes are allowed to have. Now these mechtech things not only use up a portion of the allocated plastic which result in smaller figures, but they also contain a good number of moving parts, which eat into the number of moving parts and plastic a figure is allowed to have.

So if you ask me, making transformations accessible to kids is only part of the reason for the simplification of the toyline.

As for supreme OP, I again totally agree with what you said. They should have just retooled him from the ROTF leader class design and added a transformable trailer. Hopefully, Hasbro has something similar planned for later release, and if not, I just hope Takara's going to do it for their collector market.

BTW, there actually IS a rumored leader class OP with jetpack, but since there are no pictures or confirmation from Takara, it could either be ROTF OP with non-transformable Jetfire parts, or a DOTM leader class fig retooled from ROTF OP with either transformable or non-transformable parts. Given the way things are going for DOTM's line, I'm more than inclined to buy the fig even if it's just ROTF leader OP with the more accurate Jetfire parts.