The Energon Pub

cramoptimus maximus wrote:Wow, he big... Too tall to fit in that box in robot mode. I really prefer when they come packaged in robot mode and not the alternate mode....

Small mold MPs are ok in alternate mode, I kinda prefer the small boxes for those, saves storage room, but a full size MP ought to come packaged ready in its most glorious form and a big beautiful box!

Anyway...

Normally I'd agree but I think Star Saber is a special exception since its full robot mode is a combination of several gimmicks that should be experienced first.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that Star Saber of all bots being the 30th Anniversary figure is just following Takara's tradition of making MPs of an Autobot leader for special commemorative celebrations.

For the 20th Anniversary, Takara made MP-1 Convoy (20th Anniversary Optimus Prime)

For the "Welcome to Transformers 2010" promotion that honored the 1986 movie and the G1 cartoon's third season (which was dubbed in Japanese as "Transformers 2010"), Takara made MP-9 Rodimus Convoy (Rodimus Prime).

For the 25th Anniversary, one could suggest MP-8 Grimlock as possible candidate for celebrating that year, since he was an Autobot leader in the Marvel comics and Takara even made that MP-8X King Grimlock figure based on Marvel Grimlock.

So with Optimus and Rodimus, and even Grimlock, already done, that takes care of the first two Autobot leaders of the 1980s in both the cartoon and comics, so Takara kinda had to go with a later Autobot leader for the 30th Anniversary. And I'd say leaving it to the fans to vote on it was a nice move.

Sabrblade wrote:The more I think about it, the more I realize that Star Saber of all bots being the 30th Anniversary figure is just following Takara's tradition of making MPs of an Autobot leader for special commemorative celebrations.

For the 20th Anniversary, Takara made MP-1 Convoy (20th Anniversary Optimus Prime)

For the "Welcome to Transformers 2010" promotion that honored the 1986 movie and the G1 cartoon's third season (which was dubbed in Japanese as "Transformers 2010"), Takara made MP-9 Rodimus Convoy (Rodimus Prime).

For the 25th Anniversary, one could suggest MP-8 Grimlock as possible candidate for celebrating that year, since he was an Autobot leader in the Marvel comics and Takara even made that MP-8X King Grimlock figure based on Marvel Grimlock.

So with Optimus and Rodimus, and even Grimlock, already done, that takes care of the first two Autobot leaders of the 1980s in both the cartoon and comics, so Takara kinda had to go with a later Autobot leader for the 30th Anniversary. And I'd say leaving it to the fans to vote on it was a nice move.

I'll start saving now for the 2020 MP Fort Max and 2025 Dai Atlas then

hinomars19 wrote:

sol magnus wrote:

Desslok2201 wrote:

hinomars19 wrote:Lots of stuff I said about MP Ultra Magnus

I'm really sorry you feel that way. I think Magnus was an out of the park home run. I love his heft, and how sturdy he is. I think it goes very well with the stoic nature of his character.
In reference to the pic, that should put to rest any question of who MP-24 will be.

Agreed. I love my Ultra Magnus. He stands heroically amongst my MP Autobots...the way it should be. The only thing he "lacks" is hip-swivel, and that is very easy to overlook.

I think Star Saber is an awesome figure, but since I have no real connection to the character, so I'm (still) not getting one. It's tough, though.

Haha, I thought I'd be alone on this. No worries folks. Magnus isn't a bad figure, I guess I just see potential wasted. A few extra pushes or that little extra time on the drawing board would have made such a difference. To stay on topic, that's what I see in Star Sabre; a figure that was, design wise, pushed to it's limit leaving no stone un-turned. I suppose what SS has in his favour of course is how the original toy was no different to his animation model, so I guess Yuki had the advantage of updating existing engineering, leaving more room for refinement.

My own opinion of course, but Star Sabre has that play-ability I like, it justifies that price point and the giant package it comes in. My bank Balance hates me but I am truly looking forward to him. I'm just not prepared for the hit right now and he has crept up on me real fast.

I actually agree with you 100%. Ultra Magnus is cool, and I love his heft, but he's definitely missing that special something. To me, he's a poseable statue, not an action figure like MP10 or any of the MP cars.

Call me crazy, but range of motion should count for something. I found the shoulder articulation extremely disappointing, and the lack of hip swivel even more so. The usual "well, the design really doesn't allow for it" defense falls flat for me - that just means the design was poor, not that the lack of articulation is acceptable as a result. That's not to say there aren't great things about him - the way the arms transform is clever, and the way the rubber wheels at the foot flip out to reveal the molded, animation accurate mini-wheels is awesome. But there is certainly room for improvement.

Still, I do think it's a bit unfair to compare Magnus to Star Saber... he looks amazing, but also benefits from the very solid, made-up (i.e. not earth based) alt mode that makes it easier (I would think) to unfurl into a robot.

megatronus wrote:

hinomars19 wrote:

sol magnus wrote:

Desslok2201 wrote:

hinomars19 wrote:Lots of stuff I said about MP Ultra Magnus

I'm really sorry you feel that way. I think Magnus was an out of the park home run. I love his heft, and how sturdy he is. I think it goes very well with the stoic nature of his character.
In reference to the pic, that should put to rest any question of who MP-24 will be.

Agreed. I love my Ultra Magnus. He stands heroically amongst my MP Autobots...the way it should be. The only thing he "lacks" is hip-swivel, and that is very easy to overlook.

I think Star Saber is an awesome figure, but since I have no real connection to the character, so I'm (still) not getting one. It's tough, though.

Haha, I thought I'd be alone on this. No worries folks. Magnus isn't a bad figure, I guess I just see potential wasted. A few extra pushes or that little extra time on the drawing board would have made such a difference. To stay on topic, that's what I see in Star Sabre; a figure that was, design wise, pushed to it's limit leaving no stone un-turned. I suppose what SS has in his favour of course is how the original toy was no different to his animation model, so I guess Yuki had the advantage of updating existing engineering, leaving more room for refinement.

My own opinion of course, but Star Sabre has that play-ability I like, it justifies that price point and the giant package it comes in. My bank Balance hates me but I am truly looking forward to him. I'm just not prepared for the hit right now and he has crept up on me real fast.

I actually agree with you 100%. Ultra Magnus is cool, and I love his heft, but he's definitely missing that special something. To me, he's a poseable statue, not an action figure like MP10 or any of the MP cars.

Call me crazy, but range of motion should count for something. I found the shoulder articulation extremely disappointing, and the lack of hip swivel even more so. The usual "well, the design really doesn't allow for it" defense falls flat for me - that just means the design was poor, not that the lack of articulation is acceptable as a result. That's not to say there aren't great things about him - the way the arms transform is clever, and the way the rubber wheels at the foot flip out to reveal the molded, animation accurate mini-wheels is awesome. But there is certainly room for improvement.

Still, I do think it's a bit unfair to compare Magnus to Star Saber... he looks amazing, but also benefits from the very solid, made-up (i.e. not earth based) alt mode that makes it easier (I would think) to unfurl into a robot.

UM is like from another era. if you put it. Kind of like the Robetech sga spanning 3 generations. Star Saber is like the "Next Generation".

UM, "simple" gimmick. Just an exosuit over a mini robot. Saber, well you have a mini robot who turns into the face of another robot that turns into the core module for another exosuit.

So apples and apples......and I really can't see them applying a white Convoy within UM and still get the awesome results of the final product.

megatronus wrote:The usual "well, the design really doesn't allow for it" defense falls flat for me - that just means the design was poor, not that the lack of articulation is acceptable as a result.

I've always thought that was a strange argument. It's like, aren't the designers responsible for mistakes or oversights?

shajaki wrote:

megatronus wrote:The usual "well, the design really doesn't allow for it" defense falls flat for me - that just means the design was poor, not that the lack of articulation is acceptable as a result.

I've always thought that was a strange argument. It's like, aren't the designers responsible for mistakes or oversights?

Designing in general is all about making compromises, between what you want, what looks good, and what's physically possible. Tons of articulation and other moving pieces for instance, is what one would want, but that would make the toy too complex and fragile.

I'm sure they'd have consider all possible options and it was all down to the problem of production costs.
I'd imagine that UltraMagnus was designed around a stricter budget while being able to keep the die-cast and rubber tyres, and StarSaber being given a tad more of that $$$ for being a special case.

Indeed, besides physics, money often factors in. If UM could have had much more articulation, but the cost was pushed up over $300 per unit, would that be worthwhile? Or is this compromise, with a cheaper price point, preferable?

I'm not saying that is what happened here, but I think it is at least as plausible as mistakes or laziness (though I am not accusing anyone of specifically calling the designers lazy.)

Personally, I like the price point (in fact I thought UM was going to be much, much more expensive.) And I am happy with the results. Isn't there always room for improvement? (Such as when an artist's piece of work is never "done...")

Honestly, and I don't mean to offend here, but the complaints against ultra Magnus sound like nitpicking. Ever since the white repaint of MP-1 came out, we've been begging and begging for a true ultra Magnus. Well we finally got one. Hell, if you count the upcoming combined wars figure, we have two ultra Magnus' this year.

To me, Magnus is everything I've been waiting for and then some. Are there tiny things that could be better? Of course, but in the face of the sheer awesomeness of this figure, they aren't worth thinking about.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Designing in general is all about making compromises, between what you want, what looks good, and what's physically possible. Tons of articulation and other moving pieces for instance, is what one would want, but that would make the toy too complex and fragile.

I think that's an impossible to prove hypothetical - all we can really do at this point is comment and opine on the product we have, not the one that was never made.

Also, I'm not asking for a ton of articulation on top of what we got - is a hip swivel really too much to ask for? He's the only mold that doesn't have one besides the Seekers (and that mold is a decade old). Between inhibited arm movement and lack of hip swivel, UM's dynamism really takes a hit. Alleviate just one of those issues and I doubt I'd be so adamant in my criticism.

But you're right, it's all about compromise. I think UM is a transformation-centric figure whose play value comes from alt-mode interactions and conversion, not necessarily robot action. And that's OK - but my priority is the robot mode, so predictably I'm a bit disappointed.

guarayakha wrote:I'm sure they'd have consider all possible options and it was all down to the problem of production costs.
I'd imagine that UltraMagnus was designed around a stricter budget while being able to keep the die-cast and rubber tyres, and StarSaber being given a tad more of that $$$ for being a special case.

I doubt they had a design out there and said "remove some moving pieces; production costs are too high." I'm more inclined to think the designer got a set of specs, such as "cab has to match MP-10," "alt mode must interact with the other cars," and a few other details, and this is the design they came up with. Star Saber may have gotten more money, but I think Star Saber being a stand alone piece gave the designers the room to minimize the compromises this line demands.

Agamemnon wrote:Indeed, besides physics, money often factors in. If UM could have had much more articulation, but the cost was pushed up over $300 per unit, would that be worthwhile? Or is this compromise, with a cheaper price point, preferable?

I'm not saying that is what happened here, but I think it is at least as plausible as mistakes or laziness (though I am not accusing anyone of specifically calling the designers lazy.)

Personally, I like the price point (in fact I thought UM was going to be much, much more expensive.) And I am happy with the results. Isn't there always room for improvement? (Such as when an artist's piece of work is never "done...")

I doubt a waste swivel or greater arm articulation (or both) would have pushed the price point up by $100+. Besides, you had the first run of MP10 sell out at $250, and the second run sell out at $300. Changes in the Yen:Dollar conversion rate aside, a few extra bucks wouldn't have made a huge dent in sales. The line is fairly well established and predictable at this point.

Yes, there's always room for improvement. For example, I love Sideswipe, but you can see through his side, and his legs are hollow. For me, these are hidden well enough to be overlooked and accepted as a necessary compromise. Ultra Magnus' lack of waste just seems like an unnecessary compromise. That's just my two cents.

Ironhidensh wrote:Honestly, and I don't mean to offend here, but the complaints against ultra Magnus sound like nitpicking. Ever since the white repaint of MP-1 came out, we've been begging and begging for a true ultra Magnus. Well we finally got one. Hell, if you count the upcoming combined wars figure, we have two ultra Magnus' this year.

To me, Magnus is everything I've been waiting for and then some. Are there tiny things that could be better? Of course, but in the face of the sheer awesomeness of this figure, they aren't worth thinking about.

Great. I'm glad you (and others) feel that way.

Stuff from Yuki.

It is a nice looking figure, I'll give it that. If I had unlimited funds, or was ten years younger, I'd probally pick it up.

Va'al wrote:Stuff from Yuki.

Goddamnit. That G1 polystyrene box shot hit me hard, because of all that battle damage!

I just got to his role in the MTMTE comics. He's already my new favorite character. I'm buying his figure. One day.

He's not a character I'm particulary interested in, but he's looking great nonetheless. And it's also making me very hopeful to see a Masterpiece Skyfire one day given the fact that they're making bigger Masterpiece figures with Ultra Magnus and now this guy.

Can I be totally honest? I'm getting this figure no matter what, I'm just secretly hopping no other reviewers get it sooner so I can do my review first.

Agamemnon wrote:Indeed, besides physics, money often factors in. If UM could have had much more articulation, but the cost was pushed up over $300 per unit, would that be worthwhile? Or is this compromise, with a cheaper price point, preferable?

I'm not saying that is what happened here, but I think it is at least as plausible as mistakes or laziness (though I am not accusing anyone of specifically calling the designers lazy.)

Personally, I like the price point (in fact I thought UM was going to be much, much more expensive.) And I am happy with the results. Isn't there always room for improvement? (Such as when an artist's piece of work is never "done...")

The Takara engineers were indeed given the marching orders to keep the cost down. It was posted in one of those Hobby Magazines in Japan. It's in the MP-UM thread.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Can I be totally honest? I'm getting this figure no matter what, I'm just secretly hopping no other reviewers get it sooner so I can do my review first.

No offence, but I'll be too busy playing with mine to watch

To be honest, I hope you do get yours quickly to get an early review up. It's always nice to watch a review first.

so, any news on an exact release date yet? HLJ says 15/03, but that seems unlikely since they never release stuff on a sunday.

The latest update is March 21st.

So which online retailer has the cheapest preorder at the moment?

Arctorro wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Can I be totally honest? I'm getting this figure no matter what, I'm just secretly hopping no other reviewers get it sooner so I can do my review first.

No offence, but I'll be too busy playing with mine to watch

To be honest, I hope you do get yours quickly to get an early review up. It's always nice to watch a review first.

Thanks and don't worry, I don't rush reviews out just to be first. On a release date I've heard the 21st of March as well, that's from Robot Kingdom. I contemplated making an order but the cost with EMS shipping was just too much.

Good Day All,

With the release date of Star Saber coming with in a week I came across this image of Star Saber in Box. Enjoy!!!

^It's an old pic, though.
Not that it makes me any less excited for StarSaber

All Yuki needs to do now is tweet a picture with dozens of MP-24 boxes to bring the HYPE!!