The Energon Pub

All three, please.

shockblast2 wrote:As far as the others go I will buy all four. Even Goldbug or gold fart, or what ever his name is. I like Dreadwing too, even though I don't remember him except from Prime.

Is he a repurposed Bumblebee in the IDW books or is he a separate entity? Anyone with comic knowledge that can answer that?

Quick run down of Bumblebee's story in IDW:
- Bumblebee started out in the comics in his VW mode with a bit of modernized robot mode.
- Goldbug appeared as a separate character with a Cybertronian mode in a single comic (Spotlight: Metroplex, I think)
- Bumblebee was promoted to Autobot leader on Earth after All Hail Megatron (Optimus handed himself over to the US military as a sign of good faith).
- Bumblebee got scrapped saving the other Autobots, and he asked Wheeljack to rebuild him with a more powerful body (a hybrid of G1 and movie style), so his troops wouldn't endanger themselves protecting him.
- He was maimed when Megatron was reformatted, leaving Bumblebee dependent on a cane.
- He was restored to his cybertronian mode when they returned to Cybertron, as a sort of disarmament/put the war behind us/return to our cultural roots thing. He was fully repaired, but kept the cane (with a powerful concealed weapon) to make him more approachable, and less threatening, to Cybertron's NAILs (Non-Aligned Indigenous Lifeforms). (Starscream, Thundercracker, and many others also resumed their cybertronian modes, though some like the Dinobots, Rattrap, Cybershark, etc. refused.)
- When Megatron was reformatted again, he decided to make a particular show of mutilating the Autobot leader - Bumblebee. He generally mangled Bumblebee's cybertronian body, and crushed his face beyond repair.
- Megatron was defeated, but Wheeljack was left comatose, Ratchet was off-planet, and the Autobots (and the Decepticons) were exiled into the wilderness of Cybertron. Given minimal resources, their medic couldn't restore Bumblebee's body straight up, so he restored Bee to his Earth body using the parts that were still kicking around, and replaced his face with the non-anthropomorphic rig (which he notably, disconcertingly cannot 'feel').
- In sum, Goldfire is the badass war veteran Bumblebee who's soldiering on in spite of his grievous injuries.


Re: Dreadwing - He's based on a character from Generation 2, but in this, he's just a henchman of Shockwave that Shockwave upgraded using the design specs from reformatting Megatron (so a thug in the body of a WMD).

Other characters coming up are likewise tied into the comics - Waspinator was an Insecticon like Chop Shop, Ransack, etc., and might be immortal from a brief passage through the dead universe. He has the peculiar ability to command Titans, making him an important character. Rattrap was an Autobot that fought on a planet where everyone adopted beast modes, but now he's Starscream's ... protege? Starscream, as official ruler of Cybertron, is getting upgraded to his Armada body.

HOLY **** HASBRO!! Do I see actual painted back lights on Skids? THE THRILLING 30 IS HERE FOLKS!!! THIS IS WHAT THEY MEANT!!! but seriously, that's some nice firepower he has.

Goldfire: I dislike the mold, but will get it anyway... the black stripe makes him a bit more acceptable in my book.

Dreadwing: I like this a hell lot more than Megatron.

Skids: This is possibly the best Autobot car since Jazz!!

I gotta say, Skids face looks too cool to be an Autobot. I mean those cheeks.

Wonder what Decepticon repaint would work with this mold(including the face)?

Barricade? Whose a trigger happy car in Cons eh?

zwann wrote:I gotta say, Skids face looks too cool to be an Autobot. I mean those cheeks.

Wonder what Decepticon repaint would work with this mold(including the face)?

Barricade? Whose a trigger happy car in Cons eh?

Barricade is a good choice... but TFCC is doing that character in Subscription Service 2.0...

Classics Knockout?

megatronus wrote:Barricade is a good choice... but TFCC is doing that character in Subscription Service 2.0...

As Prime Barricade, though. So there's still room for a Classics-style one.

Sabrblade wrote:

megatronus wrote:Barricade is a good choice... but TFCC is doing that character in Subscription Service 2.0...

As Prime Barricade, though. So there's still room for a Classics-style one.

I know it's a "Prime" Barricade - but even then, we know HasTak has been appropriating those molds for Classics. Just look at GDO Cliffjumper, Protoform X, Transmutate, Chromedome...

I was more referring to the fact that they're already giving Barricade a nod with TFSS, which means it's unlikely HasTak proper has a Barricade planned for the near future. That's not to say I wouldn't like to be surprised...

Caelus wrote:Quick run down of Bumblebee's story in IDW:
- Bumblebee started out in the comics in his VW mode with a bit of modernized robot....
Re: Dreadwing - He's based on a character from Generation 2, but in this, he's just a henchman of Shockwave that Shockwave upgraded using the design specs from reformatting Megatron (so a thug in the body of a WMD).

Other characters coming up are likewise tied into the comics - Waspinator was an Insecticon like Chop Shop, Ransack, etc., and might be immortal from a brief passage through the dead universe. He has the peculiar ability to command Titans, making him an important character. Rattrap was an Autobot that fought on a planet where everyone adopted beast modes, but now he's Starscream's ... protege? Starscream, as official ruler of Cybertron, is getting upgraded to his Armada body.

Thnx for the summary... I find the comics and multiple timelines and 'verses to be too tiring to follow... Wouldn't mind a site tracing each character's handling in the various comics (with better than the info on the various wikis out there)

Re the toys I've just ordered Orion pax, hoist and trailbreakutter... Skids is a must have, his car mode isn't as vanny as the original but the robot mode looks great. At first all the weapons seemed a bit odd when I recall his g1 portrayal, but then I remembered the toy.. Came with quite a few weapons, some of which were quite difficult to attach.

Dreadwing and goldbug... I don't car for the characters but I'm liking the toys... Biggest prob with dreadwing is of course the vehicle scale.. He's closer to a drone than to a b2. And I definitely wasn't going to get megatron.

zwann wrote:I gotta say, Skids face looks too cool to be an Autobot. I mean those cheeks.

Wonder what Decepticon repaint would work with this mold(including the face)?

Barricade? Whose a trigger happy car in Cons eh?

I don't know about "including the face", but I remember Andrew Griffith said he designed Flatline (the guy from the RID comics who built Starscream's new Armada-style body) so that he could easily get a toy as a Skids redeco.





Anyway. I'm still concerned about his shoulders... :\

synapse wrote:Anyway. I'm still concerned about his shoulders... :\

Me too. I haven't seen a single pic of his arms raised laterally. That would be a shame, as it's otherwise an awesome toy.

We just can't keep them down! After yesterday's news with the galleries of in-hand images, we have now been alerted that YouTube reviewer peaugh has posted videos of Generations Skids and Waspinator. Will Skids' shoulder issues be raised? Will Waspinator be able to stand without falling to pieces? Check the videos out below, and leave a comment in in the Energon Pub discussion!

Well, there go my hopes that Skids was going to be a larger deluxe

Well, it's confirmed then. Skids is as ridiculously small as Hoist, with hollow legs and poorly articulated shoulders. I still like his design in robot mode and all, but the alt mode and its colors make it look like I'm playing with a Playskool car.

Also, I wasn't expecting that kind of unstability...

I like them all, but my one concern is the open handed design on Skids. He comes with all those great weapons, but it's gonna suck if putting them into his hands causes cracks or stress marks like with DOTM Wheeljack.

Had planned on passing up Goldfire but those pics have me sold on him. Still not liking D-wings color scheme enough to drop cash down on him and Skids... he was a winner for me from day 1. Looks like Christmas is going to be a toss up as to who gets more toys under the tree, me or my youngest son.

synapse wrote:

zwann wrote:I gotta say, Skids face looks too cool to be an Autobot. I mean those cheeks.

Wonder what Decepticon repaint would work with this mold(including the face)?

Barricade? Whose a trigger happy car in Cons eh?

I don't know about "including the face", but I remember Andrew Griffith said he designed Flatline (the guy from the RID comics who built Starscream's new Armada-style body) so that he could easily get a toy as a Skids redeco.





Anyway. I'm still concerned about his shoulders... :\

I thought Flatline's design was based on the Trailcutter toy.

I also thought I heard that Skids was going to be retooled into Crosscut.

I feel that Goldfire was a waste of a repaint when it could've been a different character. I bought the new Hubcap head and the Bumblebee figure specifically so I could add another minibot to my lineup. I don't need another Bumblebee.

Hmmm, not interested in Skids, I would prefer something a bit more G1, doesn't have to be slavishly so. Anyhow I guess for now I am stick with Binaltech Skids. At least he looks a bit more like his old self.

Yeesh, I'm gone for two days, and everyone's flaming like a marshmallow over a campfire.

Sucks that Skids is a little stumpy and has the shoulder issues, but I hope to pick him up anyway.

Feeling a little uncertain about Waspinator now. I'll wait until Optibotimus or someone else gets theirs until I make a final decision.

Getting Dreadwing and Goldbug, no questions asked.

OK, Skids is growing on me. I've gone from "Meh, I'll get it because it's a Classics-style Skids" to "Ooh, this is a cool figure!"

The other two are OK, but I already have BB and Megs and don't like either mold enough to want a repaint.

Also, Dreadwing's paintjob is too colorful for a stealth jet.

So, Skids really don't have much shoulder movement. Plus his backpack and slight balance issue, the chance of me getting him is winding down.

kind of disappointing that Skids have instability issues... I didn't know that still happens in today's transforming toys. But I will still buy the whole wave.

Peaugh's also got reviews for Goldfire and Dreadwing.

Reaaaaalllllly liking that Dreadwing.

I have to say I really like the thrilling thirty designs! the only thing that bothers me is now that I have committed myself to building a neo-gen1 collection, they changed the scale.... Orion Pax works, but Megatron and the others are too small. displaying them on separate shelves works, but side by side( like if I want to displa. my autobots in vehicle mode in a convoy like the cartoon) - they look like a completely different size class.