The Energon Pub

ZeroWolf wrote:

RodimusPrimeUkraine1 wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

blackeyedprime wrote:Does seem weird that the voyagers don't have ikkle guys with them like the netflix line. Hasbro overcharging for deluxes aint anything new, theyve done it before and been praised for it so dont see any difference for Override.

I don't want those little guys, they only ever made the previous voyager figures even more expensive.

What they did with Stud Ser Hot Rod and Earthrise Prime is fine I guess, but for things like Override it is just plain stupid and unfair.

Not much else they could do if she went over budget for Deluxe.

Nothing they can do about the figure itself, but there's stuff they can do about the price point by adding a bunch of extra stuff to make it feel worth the higher price. Or, you know, more paint since it's missing a lot of apps from the original figure.

To me this feels more like Hasbro knew they were probably only going to use this mold once (I doubt it'll get a GTS repaint) and being a store exclusive they needed to maximize their profit from its exclusive use.

Emerje

It's funny that my initial though was Constructicon Hook when I first saw the pic of Road Hauler!

Now we just need a new Gravedigger and all eight Constructicons will have been updated.

For me, Override being a Voyager is fine. It means she won't be shrunk too badly compared to her original toy (which as a pre-DotM Deluxe would end up as Voyager in the post-DotM world, as seen with the rerelease of Battle Blade Bumblebee circa AoE). For the same reason, I wish the upcoming Armada Starscream mold was Leader-class.



She's got noticeably more meat on her than Hot Rod (who trade size for engineering).



These comparisons put together give me confidence in my statement about her size.

My only complaint with her is the front half of her car mode ending up so much wider than the rear. I blame the waist swivel.

It's very much a relief to know the "Hot Rod retool" leak was in fact wrong, and I may actually pick her up just for the show-accurate robot mode proportions. And who knows, maybe a non-stolen one will include the Planet Cup or something.

Shame they screwed up RiD Scourge, makes me all the gladder I got the original.

Hauler's nice, been wondering when he'd show up ever since Grapple happened. Dunno that I'll get him though. Not a priority figure for me, especially after missing out on the final weekend and pay period of my seasonal job because half the household got Covid.

Emerje wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:

RodimusPrimeUkraine1 wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

blackeyedprime wrote:Does seem weird that the voyagers don't have ikkle guys with them like the netflix line. Hasbro overcharging for deluxes aint anything new, theyve done it before and been praised for it so dont see any difference for Override.

I don't want those little guys, they only ever made the previous voyager figures even more expensive.

What they did with Stud Ser Hot Rod and Earthrise Prime is fine I guess, but for things like Override it is just plain stupid and unfair.

Not much else they could do if she went over budget for Deluxe.

Nothing they can do about the figure itself, but there's stuff they can do about the price point by adding a bunch of extra stuff to make it feel worth the higher price. Or, you know, more paint since it's missing a lot of apps from the original figure.

To me this feels more like Hasbro knew they were probably only going to use this mold once (I doubt it'll get a GTS repaint) and being a store exclusive they needed to maximize their profit from its exclusive use.

Emerje

That is highly plausible

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:She's got noticeably more meat on her than Hot Rod (who trade size for engineering).

He traded size for scale, not 'engineering.'

sol magnus wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:She's got noticeably more meat on her than Hot Rod (who trade size for engineering).

He traded size for scale, not 'engineering.'

Trading size for scale doesn't explain why he's a Voyager, the engineering does. In the case of Override, the question is why she's being sold as a Voyager when the engineering and part count don't match Hot Rod. Emerje's theory of limited mold reuse on a retailer exclusive is a good one.

People are finally accepting now, more or less, that size class doesn't directly relate to the size of the toy. We're all still struggling with the right now conceptual model. Profit margins, product variation, and shelf space considerations are manufacturer and retailer considerations, rather than consumer-centric, so even if they're true, they're harder to know and validate.

Is it worth the money? That's always the question regardless of class, everyone has to figure that out for themselves.

AcademyofDrX wrote:

sol magnus wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:She's got noticeably more meat on her than Hot Rod (who trade size for engineering).

He traded size for scale, not 'engineering.'

Trading size for scale doesn't explain why he's a Voyager, the engineering does. In the case of Override, the question is why she's being sold as a Voyager when the engineering and part count don't match Hot Rod. Emerje's theory of limited mold reuse on a retailer exclusive is a good one.

People are finally accepting now, more or less, that size class doesn't directly relate to the size of the toy. We're all still struggling with the right now conceptual model. Profit margins, product variation, and shelf space considerations are manufacturer and retailer considerations, rather than consumer-centric, so even if they're true, they're harder to know and validate.

Is it worth the money? That's always the question regardless of class, everyone has to figure that out for themselves.

This ^

I wouldn't like to bet if she's going to fly off the shelves or linger.

AcademyofDrX wrote:

sol magnus wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:She's got noticeably more meat on her than Hot Rod (who trade size for engineering).

He traded size for scale, not 'engineering.'

Trading size for scale doesn't explain why he's a Voyager, the engineering does. In the case of Override, the question is why she's being sold as a Voyager when the engineering and part count don't match Hot Rod. Emerje's theory of limited mold reuse on a retailer exclusive is a good one.

People are finally accepting now, more or less, that size class doesn't directly relate to the size of the toy. We're all still struggling with the right now conceptual model. Profit margins, product variation, and shelf space considerations are manufacturer and retailer considerations, rather than consumer-centric, so even if they're true, they're harder to know and validate.

Is it worth the money? That's always the question regardless of class, everyone has to figure that out for themselves.

I agree, but the direct engineering for size 'trade' isn't accurate. They could have made him the same size as the PotP Hot Rod, but he would have been out of scale. It's not correct to say they shrunk him for the sake of engineering when they're doing these figures in 'scale.'

sol magnus wrote:

AcademyofDrX wrote:

sol magnus wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:She's got noticeably more meat on her than Hot Rod (who trade size for engineering).

He traded size for scale, not 'engineering.'

Trading size for scale doesn't explain why he's a Voyager, the engineering does. In the case of Override, the question is why she's being sold as a Voyager when the engineering and part count don't match Hot Rod. Emerje's theory of limited mold reuse on a retailer exclusive is a good one.

People are finally accepting now, more or less, that size class doesn't directly relate to the size of the toy. We're all still struggling with the right now conceptual model. Profit margins, product variation, and shelf space considerations are manufacturer and retailer considerations, rather than consumer-centric, so even if they're true, they're harder to know and validate.

Is it worth the money? That's always the question regardless of class, everyone has to figure that out for themselves.

I agree, but the direct engineering for size 'trade' isn't accurate. They could have made him the same size as the PotP Hot Rod, but he would have been out of scale. It's not correct to say they shrunk him for the sake of engineering when they're doing these figures in 'scale.'

Sure, but we're kind of debating the same conclusion from different starting points. Why is he as short as he is for a Voyager? His height is determined by scale, but his class isn't. He could have been a Deluxe alongside Blurr and Kup based on his size, if not for factors like the part count. But to your point, they couldn't have made him as tall as a traditional Voyager without upending scale.

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:My only complaint with her is the front half of her car mode ending up so much wider than the rear. I blame the waist swivel.

What would the waist swivel have to do with that? I think the car proportions are more a product of trying to give her bot mode more accurate proportions.

Tuned Agent wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:My only complaint with her is the front half of her car mode ending up so much wider than the rear. I blame the waist swivel.

What would the waist swivel have to do with that? I think the car proportions are more a product of trying to give her bot mode more accurate proportions.

That's the way the original design worked. Its in keeping with the original cartoon and toy.

The Velocitron packaging looks really sharp. I am looking forward to seeing the car modes in the box for the first time in a long time

Sabrblade wrote:Now we just need a new Gravedigger and all eight Constructicons will have been updated.

Just buy another long haul! Unless you mean the pcc Gravedigger

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:The Velocitron packaging looks really sharp. I am looking forward to seeing the car modes in the box for the first time in a long time

^^^^100% This. I love getting a figure in alt mode and having to transform it first before getting to see the bot mode.

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:The Velocitron packaging looks really sharp. I am looking forward to seeing the car modes in the box for the first time in a long time

^^^^100% This. I love getting a figure in alt mode and having to transform it first before getting to see the bot mode.

I'll never understand why they changed that practice in the first place.

sol magnus wrote:

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:The Velocitron packaging looks really sharp. I am looking forward to seeing the car modes in the box for the first time in a long time

^^^^100% This. I love getting a figure in alt mode and having to transform it first before getting to see the bot mode.

I'll never understand why they changed that practice in the first place.

My guess is money. At the simplest, I'm assuming most figures are assembled in bot mode. Converting them to alt mode would be another assembly/packaging step.

Yeah it was a fun thing to do back then as kid, not when I open them I usually just leave in bot mode and immediate set on shelf. I've only ever transformed a few into alt mode first before reverting back to put on display. So I can't exactly say I'd be keen on them coming in alt mode but I do acknowledge the nostalgia of it.

Perhaps they went with bot mode due to so many people displaying them MIB and having the appeal of "action figures" actually looking like a figure?

Till-all-R1 wrote:Yeah it was a fun thing to do back then as kid, not when I open them I usually just leave in bot mode and immediate set on shelf. I've only ever transformed a few into alt mode first before reverting back to put on display. So I can't exactly say I'd be keen on them coming in alt mode but I do acknowledge the nostalgia of it.

Perhaps they went with bot mode due to so many people displaying them MIB and having the appeal of "action figures" actually looking like a figure?

I agree. I actually think putting them in bot mode actually detracts from transformation. Now, I usually do it once for all my figures, but it's more or less a curiosity. As a kid, you HAD to change it to a robot.

I feel like the decision to package the toys in robot mode came down to at least four things.

First off, it makes it more immediately apparent that these are robot toys, first and foremost. The average unassuming parent or grandparent need only look at them to see that they're robot toys and not just toy cars/trucks/jets/etc.

Secondly, for characters that have multiple altmodes, packaging them in robot mode eliminates the question of which altmode to package the figure in.

Thirdly, for characters like Soundwave, Blaster, Reflector, Shockwave, etc. who all turn into non-vehicle/non-beast altmodes, a humanoid robot creates a more striking visual than a compacted rectangle or a non-descript sci-fi thingamajig, and helps to make it very clear what they are.

And finally, one of the biggest excuses given back in the days of Aaron Archer & Friends for why they wouldn't give us new toys of certain characters like all five of the G1 Dinobots was that they, apparently, looked too similar to each other in altmode (like, a gray dinosaur is a gray dinosaur is a gray dinosaur). This, allegedly, created such a redundancy that parents would look at the toy and go, "But you already have the gray dinosaur, you don't need another one." In robot mode, there is more color diversity (and visual diversity) in such cases that we finally got all five Dinobots from John Warden & Friends back in Power of the Primes, and are getting them all again in Studio Series 86 (and maybe Legacy?) by having them all packaged in robot mode.

Sabrblade wrote:I feel like the decision to package the toys in robot mode came down to at least four things.

First off, it makes it more immediately apparent that these are robot toys, first and foremost. The average unassuming parent or grandparent need only look at them to see that they're robot toys and not just toy cars/trucks/jets/etc.

Secondly, for characters that have multiple altmodes, packaging them in robot mode eliminates the question of which altmode to package the figure in.

Thirdly, for characters like Soundwave, Blaster, Reflector, Shockwave, etc. who all turn into non-vehicle/non-beast altmodes, a humanoid robot creates a more striking visual than a compacted rectangle or a non-descript sci-fi thingamajig, and helps to make it very clear what they are.

And finally, one of the biggest excuses given back in the days of Aaron Archer & Friends for why they wouldn't give us new toys of certain characters like all five of the G1 Dinobots was that they, apparently, looked too similar to each other in altmode (like, a gray dinosaur is a gray dinosaur is a gray dinosaur). This, allegedly, created such a redundancy that parents would look at the toy and go, "But you already have the gray dinosaur, you don't need another one." In robot mode, there is more color diversity (and visual diversity) in such cases that we finally got all five Dinobots from John Warden & Friends back in Power of the Primes, and are getting them all again in Studio Series 86 (and maybe Legacy?) by having them all packaged in robot mode.

5th, stores can fit more figures on a shelf vertically than horizontally so when it comes to boxed figures it's in Hasbro's best interest to get two rows of narrow boxes over one row of wide boxes.

BTW, I'm on team "these boxes look like bootlegs". I felt the same way about the Prime First Edition figures, there's just something about Transformers in blue boxes that I find unsettling and my brain just rejects the look of it.

Emerje

Source:
https://youtu.be/YIuUJv6t-2M

Op:
https://twitter.com/id_armed/status/153 ... kNdZQ&s=19

We have now seen half of the Walmart exclusive Legacy Velocitron line and the one character that was really up in the air was Blurr. Some early rumours said it would be a new mold for Armada Blurr which would then be reused for G1 Point Blank. And then later there was a rumour that it would be a redeco of SS86 Blurr. Well, it's neither, it is IDW Blurr. While it is based heavily on the SS86 mold, it is not just a redeco but has retooled parts in the alt mode and robot mode to give him that IDW look. The alt mode is especially different in the front half, as you will see in the images below coming at us from a new Chefatron review.

The full list of toys in this line is below but the ones we have yet to see are Burnout, Roadrocket and Cosmos.

Deluxe:
Tra Gen velocitron Burnout x2
Tra Gen velocitron Road Rocket x2
Tra Gen velocitron Blurr x2
Tra Gen velocitron Clampdown x1
Tra Gen velocitron Cosmos x1

Voyager:
Tra Gen Velocitron Override x2
Tra Gen Velocitron Road Hauler x1

Leader:
Tra Gen Velocitron Black Convoy x2

Oh boy. This is going to make so many people mad.