The Energon Pub

the one so far from unique toys looks like a playschool kids toy, and a shotty one at that.

the one from mastermind creations looks like They just took the G1 figure and added some articulation.

TFC toys version looks solid so far with the figure weve seen.

what version do you plan to get?

Use the third party froum for third party figures.
viewforum.php
Its a sub forum of Non-TF toys.

*mods feel free to move if needed...

These reviews were posted in the Feral Rex thread the other day and include a quick comparison with two of the War Lord toys.

VioMeTriX wrote:the one from mastermind creations looks like They just took the G1 figure and added some articulation.

I'm fine with that, but they've made them a lot larger as well.

The trouble is that all the sets are too far from complete to judge. I need to know how sturdy and poseable the gestalt is.

MMC all the way !!!

TFC is just too damn Hasbroish (neo) for my taste. And that's a surprise because TFC nailed it with Hercules and Uranus. I understand they wanted to be different to compete with MMC, but they are beating a dead horse. And Unique toys just doesn't look that good.

MMC's looks like they just added articulation to G1? Maybe if you squint. They're a whole LOT more detailed and expressive than the G1 figures.

I'm in for MMC myself. Got in on the early bird pricing and that's the main reason to get it in my mind. It seems to offer a LOT while remaining low in cost IF you get in early enough. Their communication over at TFW also made me want to toss money their way over the competition. There's nothing like good publicity.

TFC's is looking really nice, though. I like the PCC functionality in Rampage (and presumably in every other limb as well). Not anything I'd ever use, but it's nice and clever. I think their animal modes are better than MMC's. But, like all of TFC's stuff, it's pricy. I'm very glad to have gotten MMC's deal. Without the deal you may as well wait to see how TFC's turns out because it looks good so far.

UT's isn't worth what they're asking for. NO more no less. They look like decent figures, just not $82 decent.

Without seeing the full spread from TFC (since they are the late comers), I'd say MMC all the way. There figures are large, menacing, full of detail, and it sure sweetened the pot to get in on those early bird specials. Seeing the brawny looking combined mode just thrilled me.

UT's is alright from the looks of them, but I still feel the best value is MMC. I will confess to picking up War Hawk at a decent price ($59.99) from Robot Kingdom. The original asking price of $100 was ludicrous, and most NA retailer pricing is still jacked up. I'll give a shout out to Ace's Toy Store, who has them on preorder for $75/ea... errrr... $78 now and $65 for War Hawk. If it wasn't for the delays in the MMC line, I probably wouldn't have even tried this route. A few dollars here and there really do decide if I continue to purchase the rest or not, again it's just the idea of value. The combined mode also looks nice, and definitely takes the "looks like a more articulated G1".

Likely, anyone waiting around for the more details to the TFC version will still have time to jump on either the UT or MMC train if TFC doesn't astound. And then of course, there's the dark horse JustItToys version. Or for nostalgia, you can pick up the Thrilling 30 reissue for a fraction of what you're spending on any of the above sets.

If you've gotten this far and forgot the message in the first paragraph: MMC!

Right now MMC for me. I've been impressed with their steampunk seekers and their Hearts of Steel Shockwave. And unlike TFC we probably won't need some damned upgrade kit down the line for him. :p

necr0blivion wrote:[A bunch of stuff I generally agree with]

... And then of course, there's the dark horse JustItToys version. [More stuff I generally agree with]

Um...say, what? Are there teasers/prototypes/anything visual on this yet? Can someone start a thread?

I'm not saying I am going to switch from MMC, but I always like to see the options.

[Edit] Okay, I did some searching in the archives and found this thread, which was started in 2011 and last updated in June of 2012.

(As an interesting side note, it appears that the original thread pre-dates the ban on third party news as it I found it as a news story. Ah, the nostalgia.)

Agamemnon wrote:Okay, I did some searching in the archives and found this thread, which was started in 2011 and last updated in June of 2012.

Thanks for finding this, I went and added the renders to it.

I finally decided to go with TFC and JUST TFC. I was originally planning on getting both TFC and MMC, but after considering the fact that every time I look at any of MMC's figures or combined mode, I have to make excuses for it and deliberately overlook things I don't like about it, something I don't have to do at all with TFC's, I decided it was time to just cut MMC off so I cancelled my MMC preorders on BBTS.

Back when MMC first showed off those shadowy outlines/renders of their upcoming project combined, I was so excited. It looked big, badass and futuristic. What they've done with it since, and seeing the final results in plastic, have really turned me off. It doesn't look at all like what they were originally promising to me, which was a massive departure from the slavish G1 look, something that TFC has delivered on in my opinion.

I've got Takara's 2010 Predaking. If I want something slavish to G1, I've already go the real deal. Bring on the "Neo"!

xyl360 wrote:Bring on the "Neo"!

My argument with that is then why even bother making them homages ? There's a whole world of Steelcore styled "transformable robots" waiting to be born but people want homages. As Hasbro has seemed to all but given up on the fight against IP infringement, deviating too much from G1 just becomes annoying to me. Some people just want pure G1 without the figure being a brick. Give it joints so it can pose. Give it a proper cartoon accurate face and colors for those of us who didn't own every toy as a kid. Give us the Transformers we never had as a kid and relished from the G1 cartoon. Not someone else's vision of what they think is cooler. That's just how I feel. I cant speak for everyone, but I'm sure many agree.

Rated X wrote:

xyl360 wrote:Bring on the "Neo"!

My argument with that is then why even bother making them homages ? There's a whole world of Steelcore styled "transformable robots" waiting to be born but people want homages. As Hasbro has seemed to all but given up on the fight against IP infringement, deviating too much from G1 just becomes annoying to me. Some people just want pure G1 without the figure being a brick. Give it joints so it can pose. Give it a proper cartoon accurate face and colors for those of us who didn't own every toy as a kid. Give us the Transformers we never had as a kid and relished from the G1 cartoon. Not someone else's vision of what they think is cooler. That's just how I feel. I cant speak for everyone, but I'm sure many agree.

Sure, I can understand that, but then, to me at least, that's not what Classics/Generations or third parties are for. That is the domain of Takara's MPs, and based on what I've seen of their latest MPs so far (I own all of the ones representing characters from the show which they've released so far), they haven't disappointed. If they ever get around to combiners, I'm certain it will put all of these to shame, so that's not why I'm buying them.

This is about homages, so I'm glad you chose that word. A homage is not at all a 1:1 representation of something (be it the G1 toy, or what was seen onscreen in the show or in the images of a comic book). A homage is something that draws on a previous iteration of something as source material for inspiration, and that's what all of these third party figures are (with the exception of ProjectX's Genesis, which IS a 1:1 representation of Omega Supreme as he appears in WfC).

There was an initial battle for me between UT and MMC, and that battle last only about 5 minutes though (which is way faster than my battle between TFC Herc and MT Giant). I choose MMC and never change my mind. Yes, I want Predaking to be slightly smaller like the MT Giant size, but since I'm a big fan of this picture, my Predaking really has to be that big and MMC is the right choice for me (in size comparing to my Superion. My FP Superion upgrade is my version of Superion and I'm not replacing him). MMC's early bird price helps a lot too. There is just no way for me to choose a deluxe class size toy that is even more expensive and less detailed/colored than a voyager class toy.

TFC? Didn't own any of their figures and never a fan of them. So there is never a battle for me between their version and MMC's.

paul053 wrote:There was an initial battle for me between UT and MMC, and that battle last only about 5 minutes though (which is way faster than my battle between TFC Herc and MT Giant). I choose MMC and never change my mind. Yes, I want Predaking to be slightly smaller like the MT Giant size, but since I'm a big fan of this picture, my Predaking really has to be that big and MMC is the right choice for me (in size comparing to my Superion. My FP Superion upgrade is my version of Superion and I'm not replacing him). MMC's early bird price helps a lot too. There is just no way for me to choose a deluxe class size toy that is even more expensive and less detailed/colored than a voyager class toy.

TFC? Didn't own any of their figures and never a fan of them. So there is never a battle for me between their version and MMC's.

Yeah, the only thing that even remotely tempted me about UT's were those badass looking claw hands for combined mode. TFC has somewhat replicated them (another reason I'm going with TFC), but I can't fault your reasoning for going with MMC.

Im going with MMC.

Unique toys are to small, not much articulation, don't look all that good to me, and a lot of qc issues from what ive heard so far.

I like TFC but I think MMC looks better.

I was in the fence between MMC and TFC for quite some time, but like xyl360
said, TFC (IMO) is the superior Predaking. I love my Hercules and I never felt the need to upgrade him with the addon set, so I doubt I will feel a need to upgrade Ares as well.

Plus I also agree that Predaking (and Devestator) should be larger than others, so having those two in TFC scale and my others in FP/MT scale will be aestheticly pleasing to me.

*Edited to give credit to the right poster.

Son of Primus wrote:I was in the fence between MMC and TFC for quite some time, but like Paul said, TFC (IMO) is the superior Predaking. I love my Hercules and I never felt the need to upgrade him with the addon set, so I doubt I will feel a need to upgrade Ares as well.

Plus I also agree that Predaking (and Devestator) should be larger than others, so having those two in TFC scale and my others in FP/MT scale will be aestheticly pleasing to me..

I think Paul said that MMC was the superior Not-Predaking?

Agamemnon wrote:

Son of Primus wrote:I was in the fence between MMC and TFC for quite some time, but like Paul said, TFC (IMO) is the superior Predaking. I love my Hercules and I never felt the need to upgrade him with the addon set, so I doubt I will feel a need to upgrade Ares as well.

Plus I also agree that Predaking (and Devestator) should be larger than others, so having those two in TFC scale and my others in FP/MT scale will be aestheticly pleasing to me..

I think Paul said that MMC was the superior Not-Predaking?

You are correct, it was xyl360. This is what I get for reading and responding on my phone.

Son of Primus wrote:

Agamemnon wrote:

Son of Primus wrote:I was in the fence between MMC and TFC for quite some time, but like Paul said, TFC (IMO) is the superior Predaking. I love my Hercules and I never felt the need to upgrade him with the addon set, so I doubt I will feel a need to upgrade Ares as well.

Plus I also agree that Predaking (and Devestator) should be larger than others, so having those two in TFC scale and my others in FP/MT scale will be aestheticly pleasing to me..

I think Paul said that MMC was the superior Not-Predaking?

You are correct, it was xyl360. This is what I get for reading and responding on my phone.

Shoot, I was thinking you had gotten the company wrong and was actually for the MMC version.

Each has its merits, and I don't think I can disagree with anyone's justification at this point. I am looking forward to some comparison shots. We have a couple with Unique Toys, but it would be nice to see a couple of prototype comparisons between MMC and TFC.

This is probably the best compairson shot I found so far between MMC and TFC's Predakings. And I agree, I think that each person and company has some great points and I believe everyone who gets a Predaking, no matter which one, wins!