The Energon Pub

I think most of us currently have or at least at one point had some TF's in our collection that we used to "stand in" or "placehold" for other characters.

For me, it started way back in early 1985 when I got a Yellow Cliffjumper as a gift. I looked at it for 10 seconds and then decided that it was going to be my Bumblebee.

These days, collectors often have a bunch of figures on their shelves like this, that more or less hold spots down in displays for them while they wait for Hasbro (or someone else) to produce the "real thing."

What are some of those figs currently in your collection and more importantly, if you buy a fig to be something else and then a truer version is produced, what do you do with the first fig? Do you still have your Superlink Wheeljack, Target G1 Deco Jazz, etc. and if so, do you still display them?

Sky Shadow is Blackshadow, dammit. Tankor is Octane, dammit. Seaspray is a Generationsfigure, dammit.

I've got the clear KO G1 Mirage standing in for the real one as I've not been able to find a decent vintage one yet.

But an invisible Mirage? Sweet!!

Pretender Skywarp wrote:I've got the clear KO G1 Mirage standing in for the real one as I've not been able to find a decent vintage one yet.

But an invisible Mirage? Sweet!!

I do pretty much the same thing, I just wish I had bought the set of 5 Mirage for all the different colors. Sometimes Hasbro really is a miss on the obvious.

I use Animated Swoop as a Classics Swoop, the other Dinobots need to be Classificated.

I Have a few stand in's/place holders.

Year 2005 ultra sized Cryo Scourge is my Deathsaurus.

Year 2003 Energon voyager size Dreadwing makes a decent 1986 Scourge

Year 2003 Energon Ultra sized bulkhead is my 1986 Springer.

DOTM 2011 Leader sized sentinel prime makes a decent Car robot/Rid fire convoy

2007 movie voyager size blackout makes a decent 1985 combaticon Vortex.

year 2005 leobreaker makes a decent stand in for either 1986 razorclaw or 1989 victoryleo

universe ultra size razorclaw which is a black repainted tigerhawk makes a decent stand in for the evoulved beastwars ravage character,the ultimate enhanced for for ravage that the vok created. using the dead body of tigerhawk & using the spark of ravage.

IDW TF comics evoulved form of thunderwing,using the 2007 movie leader sized megatron toy mold.

SDCC Alternators nemesis prime makes a decent movie verse ironhide toy.

movie verse ironhide any version of the toy makes a decent SDCC Alternators nemesis prime.

universe 2.0 ultra sized onslaught makes a decent war within grimlock.

@Tidalwavex: You don't need to specify size class all the time. If you just said Cybertron Cryo Scourge and Energon Bulkhead we'd all know what you were talking about. Even just E Bulkhead or U2.0 Onslaught would be fine. At this point, everyone knows you prefer the larger scales and abbreviating would make your posts easier to read. Not an attack, just a word of advice.

Anyway, I don't have nearly as many stand-ins as I used to. I had E Rodimus, C Blurr, E Arcee, C Swerve as Windcharger, E Downshift as Wheeljack, E Insecticon as Bombshell, E Ravage, E Slugslinger as Cyclonus... the list is nearly the size of my current Classics collection! Some of them I still display like Rodimus with my character shelves but most get tossed into a storage tub in the basement or farmed out for custom parts.

Some get replaced without getting replaced. C Shortround was Seaspray until 2010 Seaspray came out but I put that one with my Masterpieces and Alternators. So Shortround will eventually get replaced with iGears Seaspray after being off the shelf for nearly a year! Is it any wonder why my girlfriend just gave up on understanding how I organize my shelves?

O, I tend to do that with Classics and G1 homages, really. Most of the time they just get renamed (though C-Smokescreen poses a problem with its dual homage).

The real current victim is my Deluxe Leaders shelf, which has the most figures due for replacing:

- Classics Deluxe Optimus Prime in favor of either United or Universe Special Edition
- RtS Laser Optimus Prime in favor of United
- C-Jungle Planet Optimus Prime in favor of BW 10th Anniversary Optimus Primal

And their Megatron counterparts:

- Classics Deluxe Megatron in favor of United
- C-Jungle Planet Megatron in favor of United or BW 10th Anniversary

The original figures all go to my Universe 2003 bucket case.

Gee, whenever I think of Universe I think "Rhythm Emotion" from Gundam Wing. Is that odd?

Currently I have, Universe (2008) Vortex, Onslaught, and Brawl as stand-ins for FP versions of them, should they ever make them (I know very unlikely)

Oh and ROTF Mindwipe as Classics Mindwipe.

I honestly don't see the point of 'stand ins'.

They are who the are, your only fooling yourself!

SkyWarpsGhost wrote:I honestly don't see the point of 'stand ins'.

They are who the are, your only fooling yourself!

So... which Tankor do you suggest this is?


Or which Over-run is this?

I don't do the "stand-ins" idea. If they aren't good enough to be who they are supposed to be then I don't buy 'em.

For instance .... Energon Downshifit was my Neo-G1 Wheeljack for the longest time. Not a stand in; I didn't just put him there to fill a space expecting to buy a new one later ... he was just Wheeljack.

That said, I do replace figures so when U Wheeljack came along Downy went into storage.

It's tough to say what a "stand in" is in collection. I'm interested in the TFs that appear in the animated movie and Seasons 1-2, whether they come from the classics line, the Unicron Trilogy, MPs, 3rd parties, or even KOs (in the case of the oddball Seekers). I don't actually intend to replace any of the figures I buy with a better version, but you never know what'll come along in the future. Good example: Arcee. Energon Arcee was great for a long time. The she was replaced by Valkerie who in turn was replaced by Delicate Warrior. DW is everything I want from Arcee (save for a Daniel Headmaster); I don't ever intend to replace her, but ... you never know what'll come along. At this point, only a Hasbro release will make me consider replacing her. However I don't consider her as "standing in" for an eventual official Hasbro release.

I have the movie Seaspray with my Classics display. I also have WFC Soundwave on the Classics shelf. Before WFC came out, I used Titanium SW.

That's about it. I don't substitute a different character to fill a spot.

Some people say WFC dosent count as classics but i do i have wfc Megs and SW as my official classics the cybertronian look just adds some variety in the mix and there all from the generations line and fit in no problem imo

As soon as the combaticons and shockwave hit there on the classics shelf straight away.

I havent got a classics Ratchet and was hopeing a WFC would pop up but seeing the Prime Ratchet this week he looks like a strong contender for the position.

I often use figures as stand ins for Pretender, Micromaster or Actionmaster characters who would most likely never get a figure (though The Club is proving me wrong on some of that). Energon Sharkticon is Finback, Deep Dive is Autobot Waverider, Onslaught with the Butcher upgrade is Bomb-Shock, Cybertron Crosswise is Blackjack and so on.

for the longest time I used a Macross Valkyrie VF-1J as a stand-in for a G1 Jetfire. I finally bit the bullet and bought a 100% Jetfire on ebay. If G1 KOs count, I have a ton of those.

animated arcee,titanium SW,DOTM powerglide are in my classics collection

When we were enduring the agonizing wait for Energon Shockblast to be released in the US, I ended up picking up a Takara Lazerwave at Bot Con. Later, I picked up a Shockblast when it was more plentiful. Nowdays, I use Lazerwave as a stand-in for Shockwave in my Neo-G1 collection.

Likewise, I use Booster 10X from the movie 1 line for Laserbeak, and Zoom-In 25X for Reflector.