The Energon Pub

Mon Apr 25, 2011 2:18 pm

Greetings -- I recently got back into collecting after over a five-year hiatus. Overall, this seems like a great (and expensive) time to collect. Hasbro and even third party companies produce many appealing TFs these days.

One toy-line I don't understand, however, are the Power Core Combiners. I don't see much discussed about them on this forum and they don't look very appealing on shelves in stores. In fact, while there is an absence of many TFs in my local stores, the Power Core Combiners appear to be multiplying on store shelves. What gives?

Thanks in advance.

News Credits: 1 · Mon Apr 25, 2011 2:27 pm

I got the Combaticons and the Aerialbots for Christmas, therefore I can´t really say anything bad about them but I´ll say this, those are not my favorite figures... at all.

Mon Apr 25, 2011 2:30 pm

Thanks.

Any idea why the Combiners are so abundant at stores?

News Credits: 402 · Updated Oct 21, 2022

Lazerwolf wrote:Thanks.

Any idea why the Combiners are so abundant at stores?

They had no supporting cartoon, so the kids couldn't be bothered and were generally shunned by collectors, although the 2-packs were generally received better than the 5-pack combiners, due to the fact that the limbs didn't turn into robots.

Personally, I loved the 2-packs, they were fun scout figures.

PS. Welcome back to the hobby.

Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:14 pm

Thanks!

News Credits: 3 · Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:25 pm

I view them as a way to pick up new mini-cons that are pretty good weapons too.
I don't despise the combiners as much as others, but they could have been executed better anyway.

Mon Apr 25, 2011 4:25 pm

There were also some major distribution issues, with some areas only seeing the first 2 sets for months before other sets finally started trickling out, and some areas never even seeing some of the more sought after sets like the dinosaur one.

News Credits: 65 · Mon Apr 25, 2011 4:30 pm

I've found that the Power Core Combiners, while flawed in execution, are still kinda fun to play with. If this had been a fully developed line with a tie-in cartoon like Armada with the Minicons, Energon with the Spark of Combination, or Cybertron with the Cyber Planet Keys, I think Power Core Combiners could have been a success.

News Credits: 3 · Mon Apr 25, 2011 4:39 pm

They tried to improve near the end of the line. I think TFC or someone trying to make better limbs. Lets hope that pans out.

News Credits: 1 · Mon Apr 25, 2011 5:11 pm

I guess the line simply wasn´t appealing for kids. Armada and the minicons are almost 10 years old already, kids today don´t recognize Armada Prime, nor Hotshot nor Armada Megatron. They might just not be into Minicons, specially if they don´t activate a gimmick like they used to. I know this beacuse I have some contact with a kindergarten and a daycare... all this kids know, even 12 year olds, are the movies and Animated.
Having a "not so great" first wave probably didn´t help neither. There´re some issues, like the way Bombshock transforms kind of screw up the plastic, the limbs detach by themselves some times and they don´t stand very well... I can´t imagine how a kid can play with these toys without destroying them in 10 minutes and not feeling disappointed.

News Credits: 7 · Mon Apr 25, 2011 5:21 pm

I think they are cool.

News Credits: 7 · Mon Apr 25, 2011 5:30 pm

I'm confused about this line. The QC-plagued 5-packs are going at a decent pace (stuck at Wave 3 like all other lines), but the "better" 2-packs haven't gotten past Wave 1 (stuck there since August). Of course, the 5-packs have gone on so many sales that they were frequently cheaper than the 2-packs, but still...

Supporting cartoon... well, nothing has a supporting media at the moment, and we've been getting semi-obscure characters in the other lines, too.

To hazard a guess, I'd say stores in general bought far too much of a "new" line (as they tend to do) at a time when not many people were buying toys (as we can see from general distribution problems).

News Credits: 2 · Mon Apr 25, 2011 5:33 pm

The two-packs were probably the best way to go, since you get a 'bot and a Mini-Con instead of one 'bot with a bunch of non-transforming drones.

Mon Apr 25, 2011 8:01 pm

when i first saw the pcc line i thought i would only buy 1 or 2 2packs. well that back fired, i have all the 2packs wave 1-3 and all the 5packs 1-4 (minus double clutch)

i personaly like the pcc but ya it had its cartoon series it would have been 10 times better.

Still waiting for undertow and waterlog pack (also the other two 2packs).

News Credits: 7 · Mon Apr 25, 2011 8:34 pm

I like them because you can do cool stuff like this:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Uploaded with ImageShack.us

They are awesome pose with figure like this.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us

News Credits: 1 · Mon Apr 25, 2011 9:47 pm

There appear to be two main branches of PCC hate.

QC-hate is what really crippled the initial wave. The Aerialbots' leader is a terrible mold that either fails to stay together at all, or feels like its so tight it's going to break. And that's my one Skyburst alternating somehow. Meanwhile Bombshock's drones pop off by themselves, whilst his own legs can be attached backwards. Wave two's Double Clutch represents everything that can fail with a toy design.

'Actionmaster sickness' is the unbridled hatred directed at anything that is part of the TF universe, but doesn't have a bot mode. This is directed at the 5-packs, whose limbs automorph into either an arm or a leg when connected to the commander's Powercores(the sky blue blocks).

I personally love them. the only ones I don't own are the wv3 repaints,save crankcase. the Qc-haters have mostly lightened up, since the quality has improved greatly.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for Actionmaster sickness.

Tue Apr 26, 2011 12:35 am

I'd like them if they had better articulation. I'd love them if they were also bigger.

News Credits: 226 · Tue Apr 26, 2011 2:58 am

I MIGHT like them if you didn't need to lean them against a wall to stand up.

News Credits: 609 · Tue Apr 26, 2011 9:23 am

I absolutely love the whole line, even the failures. They are Linkage 2. For those who don't know, Linkage was the side story during Micron Legend, the Japanese version of Armada, where the Microns (Minicons) ended up outside of the Autobot/Decepticon conflict but instead were hunted by Unicron's servants. In this comic, we got to see Powerlinking at it's finest and rawest, where Minicons forced inanimate objects to become useable body frames and limbs, which feels a lot like PCC. If you are a true Micron/Unicron trilogy lover, PCC is a nice 1.5 to slot in between Armada and Energon.

Also, I stole this idea from Counterpunch.

News Credits: 1 · Tue Apr 26, 2011 9:46 am

Razorclaw0000 wrote:I absolutely love the whole line, even the failures. They are Linkage 2. For those who don't know, Linkage was the side story during Micron Legend, the Japanese version of Armada, where the Microns (Minicons) ended up outside of the Autobot/Decepticon conflict but instead were hunted by Unicron's servants. In this comic, we got to see Powerlinking at it's finest and rawest, where Minicons forced inanimate objects to become useable body frames and limbs, which feels a lot like PCC. If you are a true Micron/Unicron trilogy lover, PCC is a nice 1.5 to slot in between Armada and Energon.

Also, I stole this idea from Counterpunch.

That's the comic with that redheaded girl, Stella Holley, right? I enjoyed that once I found a link to it in english.

News Credits: 129 · Tue Apr 26, 2011 9:52 am

adamassc wrote:
Razorclaw0000 wrote:I absolutely love the whole line, even the failures. They are Linkage 2. For those who don't know, Linkage was the side story during Micron Legend, the Japanese version of Armada, where the Microns (Minicons) ended up outside of the Autobot/Decepticon conflict but instead were hunted by Unicron's servants. In this comic, we got to see Powerlinking at it's finest and rawest, where Minicons forced inanimate objects to become useable body frames and limbs, which feels a lot like PCC. If you are a true Micron/Unicron trilogy lover, PCC is a nice 1.5 to slot in between Armada and Energon.

Also, I stole this idea from Counterpunch.

That's the comic with that redheaded girl, Stella Holley, right? I enjoyed that once I found a link to it in english.

mmm...Stella

News Credits: 9 · Tue Apr 26, 2011 12:13 pm

I'm with Razorclaw, I love the line. I have most of them, just looking for the last 2-packs that we will apparently never see at retail. I like them for different reasons, tho. I just like the concept of the 5-packs, it seems to make sense to me in the TF world. I like the ability to make different combinations, such as the all-aircraft combiner. Although in my eyes, all the drones should have no faction symbols, they should be "first-come, first-served" as far as which Commander they will follow. I fixed some QC issues and made some minor mods, and overall am pretty happy with them.

I don't think the 2-packs need any excuses, they are great toys, great figures, and a great concept.

News Credits: 609 · Tue Apr 26, 2011 12:50 pm

Counterpunch wrote:
adamassc wrote:
Razorclaw0000 wrote:I absolutely love the whole line, even the failures. They are Linkage 2. For those who don't know, Linkage was the side story during Micron Legend, the Japanese version of Armada, where the Microns (Minicons) ended up outside of the Autobot/Decepticon conflict but instead were hunted by Unicron's servants. In this comic, we got to see Powerlinking at it's finest and rawest, where Minicons forced inanimate objects to become useable body frames and limbs, which feels a lot like PCC. If you are a true Micron/Unicron trilogy lover, PCC is a nice 1.5 to slot in between Armada and Energon.

Also, I stole this idea from Counterpunch.

That's the comic with that redheaded girl, Stella Holley, right? I enjoyed that once I found a link to it in english.

mmm...Stella

Seconded.

News Credits: 129 · Tue Apr 26, 2011 12:57 pm

Razorclaw0000 wrote:
Counterpunch wrote:
adamassc wrote:
Razorclaw0000 wrote:I absolutely love the whole line, even the failures. They are Linkage 2. For those who don't know, Linkage was the side story during Micron Legend, the Japanese version of Armada, where the Microns (Minicons) ended up outside of the Autobot/Decepticon conflict but instead were hunted by Unicron's servants. In this comic, we got to see Powerlinking at it's finest and rawest, where Minicons forced inanimate objects to become useable body frames and limbs, which feels a lot like PCC. If you are a true Micron/Unicron trilogy lover, PCC is a nice 1.5 to slot in between Armada and Energon.

Also, I stole this idea from Counterpunch.

That's the comic with that redheaded girl, Stella Holley, right? I enjoyed that once I found a link to it in english.

mmm...Stella

Seconded.