The Energon Pub

Have you ever bought a figure you weren't sure you'd like, but ended up loving it? Counter, have you ever bought a figure you thought you'd love, but ended up hating it?


I found PRID Ratchet the other day. I bought him with an iffy feeling. Wasn't too keen on the pictures I'd seen but, well, it's Ratchet. And I love him.

I was pretty surprised with how much I liked the guy when I got him out of the box. Yeah, his paint apps aren't exactly show accurate, but all and all I find him pretty darn nice – good posablity, good light piping for the eyes and, over all, the colors are *not* that bad. When I first saw pictures I thought I might paint him but now that I have him in hand I don't think I will... or if I do it'll just be to make his "ears" red. Even though his hips are white I think painting them show accurate gray would take away from the nice silver paint Hasbro gave his stomach/grill. I kind of wish his feet had more color to them, but at the same time I don't really miss the color details. And the way his arms are molded (the wheel being fully visible instead of mostly hidden, like in the show) you can't comfortably get a heart monitor on them, so I don't find myself missing that paint application either.

The only downside to the figure, in my opinion, is the way the doors fold into the back of the leg. They leave a lot of empty space on an otherwise solid-formed figure.



The opposite, ROTF Chromia. I like Chromia and I thought her movie design was interesting, but... the toy sucked. Mine at least didn't peg together at the chest, for the longest time. She sat "split open" on my shelf for ages and about once a month I'd take her down and fight with the peg, only to lose. It was about a year later that it majestically went together. She's barely been touched since.

DOTM voyager Optimus. I didn't think much of it, but I managed to get him and Sentinel on a buy one get one half off deal. He's a good figure despite the lack of screen accuracy. He's like movie Optimus with an upgrade, stronger and better armored.

Classics Inferno. I only bought him cos I couldn't resist half price! He's great though - just the right amount of G1 blockiness but loads of poseability and a really nice transformation.

Generations Warpath. Judging from the pictures I had seen on internet, I wasn't sure if I liked the H-tank look of him, and the reviews, although always gushing, usually said his transformation was pretty simple.
However, when I finally had him in hand, I could see why almost everyone loves this figure. He really is an amazing tribute to the G1 Warpath we know and love (down to the printing).

PRID cliffjumper. Even better than the FE one IMO... just needs more blasters...

I think I have several figures that fall into this category. There was a time when I scoured eBay for cheap Transformers figures and would literally just buy anything. More than half of my figures were bought on a whim on eBay because the seller either didn't know what they had or no one else bothered to bid on the item. That being said, here are some figures that I just bought for the hell of it and ended up absolutely loving:

G1 Jetfire - I never had any interest in the figure until I found one on eBay for like 20 bucks. The seller didn't know what he had so I scooped up a near mint Jetfire and ended up loving it. Way more articulated than most G1 figures and I had no idea he was so tall.

G1 Swoop - Again, never had interest in the figure because I was always a Grimlock fan. Similar to Jetfire, the seller had it listed as "Robot Plane" so I got a near mint Swoop for like 13 bucks. I'm not sure what it is about the little fella, but he's my favorite G1 Dinobot figure.

Titanium Cheetor - Only got him because all of the Beast Machines Cheetors sucked. I was expected yet another half assed attempt at a BM Cheetor but was pleasantly surprised by the excellent use of die cast as well as the excellent head sculpt. Plus, he can stand up! That alone warrants a nod.

Cybertron Menasor - Got him in a lot of figures but ended up liking him a lot. He's huge and powerful looking. Plus, for some reason I REALLY like his color scheme.

Armada Galvatron - Got him in the same lot as Menasor (the only reason I bought the lot was because Energon Tidalwave and Cybertron Galvatron were in it). The idea of a purple tank really didn't sit well with me, but the ease of transformation and awesome gimmicks actually won me over.

G2 Sideswipe - Never been a fan of the sideswipe character, but I was trying to beef up my G2 collection with some cheap figures. Getting the figure in hand, the neon colors along with all the black metal REALLY look awesome!

Energon Rodimus and Mirage - Got these two in a lot. Both have crappy bot modes and decent (at best) vehicle modes. However, when I combined the two, they suddenly kicked ass! A must have in any TF Energon collection, IMO.

TFPrime Powerizer Megatron - The only reason I got this guy was because my FE Prime was getting pretty lonely without his nemesis. Despite a crappy alt mode, his bot mode kicks all sorts of ass. Plus he looks BEYOND awesome standing alongside Soundwave and FE Starscream. Also, seeing the light grey paint aps online REALLY deterred me from wanting this guy and made me want to wait for Takara's take on the character. But seeing it in person, it's really not NEARLY as bad as I imagined.

ROFT Leader Starscream - Starscream as always been my favorite character, but I had oodles of Bayverse styled interpretations of the character. And let's face it, they all pretty much sucked. I had the Movie 1 Voyager Starscream (and g1 Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp, and Ramjet repaints), several legends class figures, and even the ROTF Voyager version. They all sucked. So when I saw news that a Leader Version was going to be released, I had A LOT of reservations. I finally got him on clearance at Marshalls and boy was I surprised. Too many great things about the toy to name and I actually feel bad for passing him up so many times before that.

Cybertron Primus - I only got him to be in direct opposition to my Unicron figure. I passed on the figure several times when Cybertron was in stores because I thought he was too small to be displayed next to the evil planet eater. I finally picked him up for cheap last year and was pleasantly surprised at how elegant the transformation was, and how awesome he looked in hand. Yea, he's not as tall as Unicron, but he still looks awesome standing on a shelf opposing his brother!

From my recent acquisitions a friend did some really cool custom work on MP movie Starscream and I admit during the transformation I was digging it. The whole process just brought on a feeling of enjoyment and it is a great TF. I never considered this SS period, especially the not so attractive Hasbro version with all the markings. But this Takara version even with out the work my friend did is a really cool representation of movie Starscream both jet fighter and robot modes...'nuff said!

I got Prime WJ and commander Bulk Head today and ive bitched about WJ not living up to Gen WJ so i took him out the packet and i was right he doesnt
But i havent put him down not because i now love him i just find him interesting better than i thought

i found the best place to store his swords is down the sides of his back pack. is that were there supposed to go? its a perfect fit.

2 things though, 1. gen WJ head is 100 times better and 2. his feet remind me of homer simpsons shoes.

RotF Mixmaster. Has/Tak's photos did not do him justice. Complex transformation and super articulate robot mode, on the level of a leader. He can be posed to look just like his movie concept art. Really impressive design and engineering.

RotF leader Megatron. Yeah, I know. I only bought him because he was on sale at Costco and wanted him to be posed going against my RotF leader OP. I grew to like his chunkiness, sturdiness and simple transformation. And, watching the RotF bonus material, he looks just like his cgi model. I like the 2007 premium leader Megatron, but I like that this Megatron is taller than Prime.

DotM deluxe BB. The most accurate deluxe movie BB mold which is only marred by lack of paint apps. Even beats out the hunchbacked Battleblades BB, which I also love (but I expected to).

DotM deluxe Barricade. Wasn't excited about him and thought he was an unnecessary mold that could've been a Que, Soundwave, Leadfoot, or Dino. But, man, what an improvement over the 2007 mold. Super poseable and great looking arms.

I can't think of one that I've picked up that I didn't think I'd like, thought I was immediately apprehensive when I saw others opinions of Nitro Bumblebee (immediately after I'd won a cheaper one on ebay). I thought it looked good, so I didn't worry about it at the time.

Once I got my hands on it though? I love the thing, it's great! It's worth mentioning I don't have any of the other movie Deluxe Bees, but I don't feel like I really need any. I understand that it's quirky and weird with the solar-panels and such but it gives it a very different flavor. Plus, mine's mechech weapon sticks, so I've never had an issue with it not being a gun, lol.

I wasn't sure I'd like Gen Wheeljack, I thought he'd be too similar to RTS Tracks, but then I got him and wound up liking him so much that now I'm like "Tracks who?" lol

They really did a top notch job retooling that mold.


I wasn't really expecting much when I got an Energon Sharkticon as a Christmas present one year, but after opening it and transforming it a few times, it became one of my favorites from that entire line.

recent would be cyberverse bulkhead... I think he is an amazing little figure...

all time i would give it to MP grimlock... something about that figure makes me happy, just don't know what.

hailGalvatron wrote:recent would be cyberverse bulkhead... I think he is an amazing little figure...

all time i would give it to MP grimlock... something about that figure makes me happy, just don't know what.

I imagine it's akin to the feeling this cover gives.

CHMS Ghost Conehead Seekers. Bought them on a whim. Got em on a motorized mirror base turntable that has a light at the center of it (which also switches between light colors). I then went all out and bought 3 mirror tiles (a square foot in dimension each) from Home Depot along with some adhesive hinges ($15 total). I love my jolly rancher collection - it's like what Willy Wonka would have if he collected transformable robots.

^^^ Like...trippy maaaaan.

I picked up the RotF "Back Road Brawl" 2-pack only because it was on clearance for like $15. I wasn't expecting to really like either figure that much, but it turns out that Hoist is one of my favorite movie versions of a G1 character! His head looks a lot like his original self and he's built very well for a movie character, not looking overly complicated (or at least LESS overly complicated than a lot of movie toys). His rifle is kinda a pain in the butt, but removing one screw takes care of that. Plus, you don't even have to screw it back in to transform him and reattach it.

Plus, Mix Master, as mentioned above, is awesome too, and in G1 colors to boot. I won't lie, his transformation is a pain in the ass, but he looks so cool in either mode. He's a pretty big, solid truck. This size and substanial...ness (!?) is something I missed in the DotM toys.

G1 Predaking.

WFC Generations Megatron. I thought it would have some awesome non-symmetrical transformation when I fist saw the online pics, and so it looked like a disappointingly simple figure in the packaging.

However, when played with, it became one of my favorite Deluxes. The solid build, attention to detail, awesome fusion cannon and (gasp) a kibble-less, highly detailed backside makes him one of the greatest deluxes of the WFC Generations subline. The only complaint is that his fusion cannon attaches by a clip instead of via Powerlinx.

hailGalvatron wrote:
recent would be cyberverse bulkhead... I think he is an amazing little figure...

all time i would give it to MP grimlock... something about that figure makes me happy, just don't know what.


I imagine it's akin to the feeling this cover gives.

lol... GREAT cover!! love it..

Here's one. RotF Gears. Once again, only bought him because he was on clearance. His alt mode is kinda "meh", but then I start playing with him, and it turns out he's pretty awesome! I like the transformation because, once again, it's relatively simple, but not overly so. He's brightly colored in robot mode, which is a nice change up from all the grey, silver and black we tend to get with movie figures.

He also has EXTENDO FISTS!!! He just runs around, meeting new people and EXTENDO FIST!!!ing them in the face, because that's what you do when you have EXTENDO FISTS!!!

Rid optimus.
I thought the pics looked god awful and wasn't going to pick him up but i happened to come across one in walmart, thought it looked better in person and now i love him. Almost enough that i don't notice the back pack. Good possibility

G1 Reissue Megatron.

Wasn't long in2 collecting when I got him. He never looked great in pics but I always loved the character.

His arms aren't the stumps I thought they were. He's a menacing figure befitting the character. Love the sword.

To top it all off, he's banned in certain countries. Makes him the most badass supervillain ever.

PRID Bumblebee. Whatta fun little toy.

Powermaster Jazz wrote:PRID Bumblebee. Whatta fun little toy.

Ditto. I just bought him out of impulse, and now I can't put him down! The best out of all my 9 other Bumblebees(yes... NINE.)

MP Ghost Starscream. looking at the MP Seeker mold in stores and such always seemed to push me away from it. there was just something i didnt like about it, then the Ghost version went on sale at TF Source, so i ordered it and was actually pleased with the figure

DOTM Skyhammer. Generally I loathe the movies and everything associated with them, but from ROTF onward there were a small number of gems I indulged in, but Skyhammer in particular had me teetering on the fence and I ultimately said no... then my bro went and picked one up anyway and I loved him.

Also Highbrow... kinda. Didn't even give him a second thought, but he got purchased at some point anyway and I still didn't care... then I transformed him and he was cool, but not cool enough not to put in the "things I don't have shelves for" box.