The Energon Pub

News Credits: 3 · Fri Jun 25, 2010 10:19 pm

I have never seen this much good stuff come out like his in a long time....

We have a lot of different lines with Generations, Hunt For the Decepticons, Power Core Combiners, BotCon, TFCC, and the third party stuff about to drop this year, will I have enough room in my wallet to handle the storm, you betcha and God willing yes!!

I have been collecting since '84, but this isn't just one straight line of TF's like years past where we had a show and one line out at once, we have a mix.

So far I am liking what I am seeing, this is including Takara, who more than likely give their spin on the Generations line. They have done so already with animated, and their 2010 anniversary campaign.

So we better work some overtime so we can get our hands on this year's line of TF toys now.

So compared to years past, do you think this will be an awesome year?

Fri Jun 25, 2010 11:03 pm

Every BotCon, we get two responses:

1 ) "This is gonna be so AWESOME, the best year yet!"

and

2 ) "Well, my wallet will thank me, there's nothing but garbage out this year!"

To date, I have yet to see a year that was total garbage, or total awesome. There's always a few (such as ROTF Voyager Bludgeon) that are awesomesauce, and a few (such as yet another Bumblebee repaint) that blow chunks.

News Credits: 1452 · Sat Jun 26, 2010 12:57 am

Well the first half of this year was dull, nothing has truly truly sparked interest in me, the actual last retail toy I got was ROTF Mudflap, I've been buying vintage for the past few months.

Now the second half.. it's an overdose of good ideas and thing I can't wait to collect.

Sat Jun 26, 2010 1:58 am

There are certainly some winners yet to be bought this year. I am going to try not to buy everything I see though. I can say with all honesty that I will buy 5%-10% of what gets realeased for the rest of the year. Nothing more than that.

Thrust, Dirge, Drift, WFC OP and Megs, and maybe just a couple others. There's a lot that I like, but not enough to grab for my wallet.

News Credits: 9 · Sat Jun 26, 2010 3:51 am

I'm rather annoyed because with all the interesting stuff being showed, I know most of it will not show up in the UK. Are there any lovely Americans who would like to buy TFs for me and ship them over? Obviously I'll pay for it all!

Please? ;;)

News Credits: 226 · Sat Jun 26, 2010 4:10 am

Let's see ... what's come out of Botcon ...

Piranacon? Had him for ages.
Power Core Combiners? Got 'em. Very much not impressed.
Generations? Rehashing of old characters. *yawn*
Blaster? Yeah, got him too.

War for Cybertron? eh, might be a great game, but again, the whole pre-Earth war thing's been done before.

Sorry if I sound negative, but the last few years we seem to have been doing a lot of bringing back the past and not doing much moving forward.

News Credits: 668 · Sat Jun 26, 2010 4:41 am

Eh, a mixed bag, really.

Positives:

Leader Class Starscream
WFC Figures
Masterpiece Grimlock
Piranicon
Most of Generations

Negatives:

PCC (and I know I'm not the only one, who doesn't like 'em.)
One new, meh mold, thrown in with repaints for the Voyager Class
One new, yum jaam mold among a slew of repaints and ugly molds for the Scout Class

So, unless they announce something groundbreaking (like Generations Kup as has been hinted), or show us figures we never imagined before, then I'd say we've pretty much seen everything that's coming, and there's honestly not that much.

Hasbro did say that there would be a lull this Fall, and if the current offering is any indication, I'd say they were telling the truth on that.

By the time we buy the figures we want, skip those we don't, and the Seacons and Grimmy...there's really not much else left for us to buy.

Here's the problem though...why have a lull now when the rest of the danged year has been one giant lull?

This is one of the worst TF years on record, in terms of drought. I'm not kidding.I bought H.A. Barricade, and that was my last TF purchase. Before him was Brawn and Lockdown, and before them....I honestly can't remember. I think it was Bludgeon. And technically he wasn't even this year. I bought him NYE, just before the ball dropped.

In fact, I had enough money to buy FP stuff...if that doesn't tell you there's a drought, I don't know what will.

And I've been preordering 3rd party and Japanese figures by the boatload lately.

C'mon Hasbro, give us something good.

Sat Jun 26, 2010 5:04 am

The pickings have been pretty slim lately, and it's hard to find the figures you want. I finally gave up on that red Rampage so I got the yellow one and am painting it red. Still haven't seen HA Mudflap either. Hasbro needs to stop with all the lazy repaints, they're clogging shelves which is making it hard to find anything else. I am looking forward to some of the upcoming figures, but it's not enough to make it a good year overall.

News Credits: 217 · Sat Jun 26, 2010 5:06 am

Nah, 1988 was definitely the best year for Transformers.

Sat Jun 26, 2010 6:59 am

Evil_the_Nub wrote:The pickings have been pretty slim lately, and it's hard to find the figures you want. I finally gave up on that red Rampage so I got the yellow one and am painting it red. Still haven't seen HA Mudflap either. Hasbro needs to stop with all the lazy repaints, they're clogging shelves which is making it hard to find anything else. I am looking forward to some of the upcoming figures, but it's not enough to make it a good year overall.

You describe a situation that many of us have been going through, and it is a major part of why I am essentially boycotting most of the current offerings. I think it is pretty nasty what happened with the animated line. I can't stand the fact that I have not even seen HA Barricade in my neck of the woods......or HA Mudflap for that matter. Figures that have been offered have been very hit and miss. Mindwipe and Bludgeon were the last interesting figure I bought at a store. I have just been kind of irritated by the fact that there is nothing in the stores, and that has been the case for a long time. Now, the stuff that is coming out...I just don't care about for the most part. I am absolutely sick of the movie line. Sorry-went ranting for a moment.

News Credits: 668 · Sat Jun 26, 2010 12:53 pm

After reading the panel reports and seeing the figures they put in the display case, I can honestly say that this will not be the best year for TransFormers. In fact, it's actually rather pathetic, to be honest.

I realize there's another panel tomorrow, and they're supposed to show us more stuff, plus SDCC will show us new product, but so far, I'm thoroughly unimpressed.

New molds, not repaints or remolds, from the Generations and Hunt For The Decepticons lines:

4 Scouts

10 Deluxes (I think it was 10)

2 Voyagers

1 Leader

1 Masterpiece (Only one is a given, but it is a new mold, so it's in the list.)

1 Reissue (Seacons)

1 Human Alliance

The rest are PCC, and there's not a large number in that offering either. And those are Scout Class, and I think I counted about 7-8 total (correct me if I'm wrong), and you can't count the drones because they do NOTHING. At all.

They said there was going to be lull during the Fall, but wow. All of these molds are spread out across various lines, not just one main line, and we're going to suffer for it.

Now, for those of you who collect remolds and repaints, this is your year, but for people like me who buy one of each mold (and it seems I'm not the only one, anymore) this really sucks. And here's the problem with the new molds, some of them are figures I don't need or want. Deluxe Ironhide? I have the superior Voyager Class. The only reason I want Battle Blade Bumblebee is because it's basically a Masterpiece at the $13.00 level.

I'm just really let down this year. I was hoping to hear of a Generations Kup (which they did hint towards, before Botcon), but no. Nothing, nada, zip.

And for those who've been waiting for a Classics/Universe/Generations Jazz, yet again...you get nothing. No Wheeljack either. I'm not sure what Hasbro has running through their head, but Generations is aimed at us, more than it is kids, so why aren't they giving us more G1 characters?

I just received Drift today in the mail. Guess what? Collectors will be interested in him, but I can tell kids won't be enthralled with him. Heck, I'm a collector and I'm not entirely impressed with him. When WFC Bumblebee outclasses a figure, that tells you something.

I want Kup. People want Jazz. Generations is not a big seller with the kids and we do continue to help line their pockets, so throwing us a bone wouldn't hurt. Yeah, I'll probably get flamed for this, but I'm angry. If you're going to make the selection a small one, at least make the selection stuff that people want to buy.

Geez Hasbro, c'mon!

One other thing...I think I will buy Axor but only for that right arm. I'll buy another Lockdown, put the Axor arm on it, and make him into Generations Wreck-Gar. With FP kinda waffling on what they can and can't do, I can't wait around forever on a maybe. I'll just make my own and be done with it.

News Credits: 3 · Sat Jun 26, 2010 1:40 pm

Well, no Kup, no Jazz, No Wheeljack??? Damn, Damn, Damn.

PCC wasn't meant to be for "Us" collectors, but really something for kids. I posed the "will" in the question because while it's a sort of rehash of some of the offerings, We know for a fact there is more to come.

Engineering side I hope to see some new molds. However, I'm disappointed all we will get is deluxe, and no voyagers for Generations. Would have been nice to see new large class toys available.

Animated was doomed from the start with the negative press from who else, us. The first batch of toys were very problematic and along with the show, they did get better.

I think for kids, this will be a fun time and we'll see what sells and what stays on the shelf.

I too have mixed feelings about this year, but I'm happy to see ROTF go. I got Mindwipe today, and next to ROTF Voagre Bludgeon, I'm happy to include them in my neo-G1 collection.

What we need is a show that will appeal to everyone, and a well made toyline to go with it. The Unicron Trilogy has come and gone,as well as the first batch of Classics. Since then, It's been up and down ever since.

But for me I have never seen this many lines come out at once....there will be some happy kids this year.

So I take back my statement and I'll state, will this be the best year for rehashed toys, re-issue and repaints until something else truly netter comes along?

News Credits: 668 · Sat Jun 26, 2010 3:32 pm

bvzxa wrote:Well, no Kup, no Jazz, No Wheeljack??? Damn, Damn, Damn.

PCC wasn't meant to be for "Us" collectors, but really something for kids. I posed the "will" in the question because while it's a sort of rehash of some of the offerings, We know for a fact there is more to come.

Engineering side I hope to see some new molds. However, I'm disappointed all we will get is deluxe, and no voyagers for Generations. Would have been nice to see new large class toys available.

Animated was doomed from the start with the negative press from who else, us. The first batch of toys were very problematic and along with the show, they did get better.

I think for kids, this will be a fun time and we'll see what sells and what stays on the shelf.

I too have mixed feelings about this year, but I'm happy to see ROTF go. I got Mindwipe today, and next to ROTF Voagre Bludgeon, I'm happy to include them in my neo-G1 collection.

What we need is a show that will appeal to everyone, and a well made toyline to go with it. The Unicron Trilogy has come and gone,as well as the first batch of Classics. Since then, It's been up and down ever since.

But for me I have never seen this many lines come out at once....there will be some happy kids this year.

So I take back my statement and I'll state, will this be the best year for rehashed toys, re-issue and repaints until something else truly netter comes along?

Well, ROTF isn't actually gone. HFTD carries on with the line, and from all appearances, TF:Prime will be tied in, at least in terms of robot design. And with the last film coming next year, Hasbro's gonna be gunning for their best year yet to make sure the movie series goes out with a bang.

The toys will shelfwarm like nobody's business, but they'll put 'em out in droves.

News Credits: 3 · Sat Jun 26, 2010 3:45 pm

I don't know if this will be the best year yet, but it may just be the year that gets me to start donating plasma for the extra cash I'll need to get all the figures I want...

Sat Jun 26, 2010 3:47 pm

Eh, I'm pretty excited, but then again I haven't been collecting for very long. I'm really happy to find out that the PCC's are going to be Scout-class. I've fallen in love with the little dudes. (Just picked up a Divebomb today - I can't resist them!)

I also collect fire/EMS/rescue vehicles, and this seems like a banner year for repaints in that vein.

News Credits: 3 · Sat Jun 26, 2010 9:28 pm

I like the PCC toys. It's a cheap version of Scramble city. Plus since the "core" of PCC is scout class, it's only fair we get some oversize RPM's as limbs lol. I think Hasbro is keeping costs down by using scouts instead of deluxes' as main bodies, and scouts as limbs. With the exception of HFTD, looks like all we'll get for now are legends, scouts, and deluxe class figures.