The Energon Pub

by **Uncommon** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 12:30 pm

Is anyone else bugged by the size of the new Mini-Con Assault Team? They're like twice the size of other Mini-Cons, so actually attaching them to an Armada figure can be pretty awkward. Obviously they're trying to make the package fit the Deluxe size profile, so I think they should have either scaled down to Legends, or made it a 4- or 5-pack of normal-sized Mini-Cons.

Conversely, the new Armada Starscream seems undersized even for original Mini-Cons. I think it would have made more sense to make him a Voyager.

I've always liked the Mini-Con concept, and I'd like to show my support for bringing them back, but it's kind of like FOC Bruticus - I like the concept, but not so much the execution.

News Credits: 12 · by **GuyIncognito** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 12:39 pm

It's just one figure/set. No big deal.

News Credits: 3 · by **Midnight_Fox** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 2:28 pm

It's also important to remember that despite the emblem, these are meant to be Ammonites, which the Lost Lighters nicknamed "Mini-cons"(Miniature Decepticons), not the style of Minicons from Armada.

News Credits: 650 · by **ScottyP** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 5:42 pm

It bugged me as well. Far too big. More like Macrocons.

News Credits: 241 · by **Jelze Bunnycat** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 5:50 pm

Midnight_Fox wrote:It's also important to remember that despite the emblem, these are meant to be Ammonites, which the Lost Lighters nicknamed "Mini-cons"(Miniature Decepticons), not the style of Minicons from Armada.

True, the Mini-Con emblems plus the ports are only there for marketing purposes. Why go through all the trouble of defining this new group and making a new symbol while there's already an umbrella term for smaller figures (which bugs me to no end)?

I still reiterate Nightstick is not a Minicon!

by **Shadowstream** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 6:38 pm

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
Midnight_Fox wrote:It's also important to remember that despite the emblem, these are meant to be Ammonites, which the Lost Lighters nicknamed "Mini-cons"(Miniature Decepticons), not the style of Minicons from Armada.

True, the Mini-Con emblems plus the ports are only there for marketing purposes. Why go through all the trouble of defining this new group and making a new symbol while there's already an umbrella term for smaller figures (which bugs me to no end)?

I still reiterate Nightstick is not a Minicon!

Personally I prefer the catch-all Mini-Con/Micron moniker for small dudes as it pretty much simplifies things that don't really need to be as diversely named as all the different Masters and whatnot are. They all all link together in one way or another anyway, so they might as well call them Mini-Cons/Microns >:oP

News Credits: 251 · by **Mindmaster** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 9:39 pm

Seen and held their packaging in my local Target. Doesn't really bug me much. Plus, I like to think that since these are military vehicles, they gotta be beefed up.

Swear to God if someone hits me with "But we had military Mini-Cons in Armada, but they were smaller than these guys too"...

News Credits: 456 · by **Sabrblade** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 9:43 pm

Mindmaster wrote:Seen and held their packaging in my local Target. Doesn't really bug me much. Plus, I like to think that since these are military vehicles, they gotta be beefed up.

Swear to God if someone hits me with "But we had military Mini-Cons in Armada, but they were smaller than these guys too"...

"But we had military Mini-Cons in Armada, but they were smaller than these guys too"

News Credits: 251 · by **Mindmaster** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 9:45 pm

Sabrblade wrote:
Mindmaster wrote:Seen and held their packaging in my local Target. Doesn't really bug me much. Plus, I like to think that since these are military vehicles, they gotta be beefed up.

Swear to God if someone hits me with "But we had military Mini-Cons in Armada, but they were smaller than these guys too"...
"But we had military Mini-Cons in Armada, but they were smaller than these guys too"

God dammit, Sabrblade. How the crap did I know it would be you? #-o

News Credits: 456 · by **Sabrblade** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 9:47 pm

Mindmaster wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:
Mindmaster wrote:Seen and held their packaging in my local Target. Doesn't really bug me much. Plus, I like to think that since these are military vehicles, they gotta be beefed up.

Swear to God if someone hits me with "But we had military Mini-Cons in Armada, but they were smaller than these guys too"...
"But we had military Mini-Cons in Armada, but they were smaller than these guys too"

God dammit, Sabrblade. How the crap did I know it would be you?

by **Valandar** » Wed Feb 19, 2014 10:16 am

That ain't nuthin'. Someone tried telling me a few months back that Headmasters, Powermasters, and Targetmaster were all Minicons. As in the original G1 partners.

These? Yeah, I can accept these as Minicons.

News Credits: 12 · by **GuyIncognito** » Wed Feb 19, 2014 10:40 am

Mini-cons, macro-cons, macaroons, who cares? Hasbro never said "this is the start of a new line of mini-cons designed to be interchangeable with the original mini-cons and to be used in conjunction with the original Armada toys." It's a one-off toy. It is what it is.

News Credits: 456 · by **Sabrblade** » Wed Feb 19, 2014 10:51 am

Valandar wrote:That ain't nuthin'. Someone tried telling me a few months back that Headmasters, Powermasters, and Targetmaster were all Minicons. As in the original G1 partners.

These? Yeah, I can accept these as Minicons.

That reminds me of how all of Aligned Soundwave's minions are referred to as both Minicons and Deployers, and how the Shout! Factory DVD subtitles replaced the word "cassette" with "Deployer".

News Credits: 241 · by **Jelze Bunnycat** » Wed Feb 19, 2014 10:55 am

Sabrblade wrote:
Valandar wrote:That ain't nuthin'. Someone tried telling me a few months back that Headmasters, Powermasters, and Targetmaster were all Minicons. As in the original G1 partners.

These? Yeah, I can accept these as Minicons.
That reminds me of how all of Aligned Soundwave's minions are referred to as both Minicons and Deployers, and how the Shout! Factory DVD subtitles replaced the word "cassette" with "Deployer".

That I can actually accept. Now we need a new catch-all term for the little "-master" partners and we're all set.

News Credits: 251 · by **Mindmaster** » Wed Feb 19, 2014 10:57 am

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:
Valandar wrote:That ain't nuthin'. Someone tried telling me a few months back that Headmasters, Powermasters, and Targetmaster were all Minicons. As in the original G1 partners.

These? Yeah, I can accept these as Minicons.
That reminds me of how all of Aligned Soundwave's minions are referred to as both Minicons and Deployers, and how the Shout! Factory DVD subtitles replaced the word "cassette" with "Deployer".

That I can actually accept. Now we need a new catch-all term for the little "-master" partners and we're all set.

...Lil-masters? :lol:

News Credits: 456 · by **Sabrblade** » Wed Feb 19, 2014 11:02 am

Hasbro lore: Nebulans
Takara lore: Cyberdroids and humans

by **OptiMagnus** » Fri Feb 21, 2014 12:50 pm

Yeah I agree. As someone whose intro to Transformers was Armada, this totally raped my childhood. They ruined Mini-Cons forever. I can't believe Hasbro had the nerve to make them bigger. >:oP

by **Valandar** » Sat Feb 22, 2014 12:49 am

OptiMagnus wrote:Yeah I agree. As someone whose intro to Transformers was Armada, this totally raped my childhood. They ruined Mini-Cons forever. I can't believe Hasbro had the nerve to make them bigger.

Was it as bad as what they did to MY childhood when they decided to give the figures actual articulation?

News Credits: 12 · by **GuyIncognito** » Mon Feb 24, 2014 10:13 am

Valandar wrote:
OptiMagnus wrote:Yeah I agree. As someone whose intro to Transformers was Armada, this totally raped my childhood. They ruined Mini-Cons forever. I can't believe Hasbro had the nerve to make them bigger.

Was it as bad as what they did to MY childhood when they decided to give the figures actual articulation?

Yeah, what gave Hasbro the idea that we wanted larger, more detailed figures with better articulation? Don't they know we want them to get smaller and more simplified? 8-}

If it helps, think of them not as mini-cons but as Legends that happen to have mini-con ports.

by **OptiMagnus** » Mon Feb 24, 2014 12:34 pm

GuyIncognito wrote:
Valandar wrote:
OptiMagnus wrote:Yeah I agree. As someone whose intro to Transformers was Armada, this totally raped my childhood. They ruined Mini-Cons forever. I can't believe Hasbro had the nerve to make them bigger.

Was it as bad as what they did to MY childhood when they decided to give the figures actual articulation?

Yeah, what gave Hasbro the idea that we wanted larger, more detailed figures with better articulation? Don't they know we want them to get smaller and more simplified?

If it helps, think of them not as mini-cons but as Legends that happen to have mini-con ports.

Meh...I'm fine with them being Mini-Cons. It's not like Hasbro has made different sizes for the same character or type of bot before.