The Energon Pub

News Credits: 2 · Mon Aug 29, 2011 7:54 pm

Putting together my collection today, and I found myself going over certain figures that disappointed for one reason or another. Off of the top of my head, I came up with five of the worst screw ups in the classics series.

Classic Bumblebee. The first run. Early collectors will remember the small hood variant Bumblebee that came out in the very first wave with the rubsign which was too large for the small piece it was fixed onto, and kept falling off. They later made a new roof, which was recolored as Cliffjumper, but for the first wave fans, the damage had been done. First wave Bumblebee chest thing, I am the disappoint.

Next off, we have, in the same wave, the first incarnation of many would be seekers, Classic Starscream. This thing was great. Still is. Good posing, outside of the coloring, very cartoon accurate, and then you get to his face, the focal point of the toy, and theres no paint. Lack of paint can work on faces that have a color that easily cast shadows, but this thing is a translucent grey. It looks like a ball from a hot glue gun with two red eyes painted in. First wave Starscream glue gun face, I am the disappoint.

Rounding up in my third place position is Classic Ironhide. Came out in the Universe series, when Hasbro serious'd about classics. Apparently their serious'd level was at an apprentice level when they decided to do the first Transformers/Smurfs Crossover in the series. Look, Im all about the dabble. When Transformers picked up Star Wars and cross bred the damn things, I said cool, someone out there is going to dig on this on some level. Marvel? Same taste, different label. But Smurf blue for Ironhides face? You have got to be f**king kidding me. The fandom rose up in one voice and said, "No Plz," to which Mr Hasbro replied, "Sniff you jerks later," or maybe it was, "Theres a silver faced variant in the works." Can't remember, but they had the same end result. Eventually there was a variant released, and it was called Henkei Ironhide. Jerk faced Smurf Ironhide, I am the disappoint.

Comming around the bend is the prize fighting, runner up to last place, Universe Prowl. Prowl came out in the first wave of the Universe line. And we were glad as hell to have him. Finally, our little puny classics collections were going to get a little meat on their bones, with the hopes of two more repaints to fill out shelves and siphon our wallets. Anyone else remember this? Crackin that little baby open in the summer heat. This thing feels incredible, but whats this? Did I get into something before I opened this toy? Maybe someone spilled honey or some sort of syrup on the figure as a cruel joke from the heavens. "No sir", the angel replied, "thats just whats called a sh*t paintjob. Seriously, sniff it..." I didnt, but I DID realize that the paint on these doors were rubbing off faster than late night disgruntled fast food employees into the grease traps. On a side note, go home after the bars. That food? Not clean. So to you, Mr. Highway Patrol, turned Higwy Pitol gummy doors Prowl, I am the disappoint.

Finally we come to the end of my little rant. Number five. Old blue eyes himself, Generations Scourge. I was, and still am, so impressed with how far the technology has come in toy making. Kibble's polishing the brass on the Titanic, and it's all going down. We all thought that the wings were going to be far from good, but guess what, they angle down like coattails! Coat tails. On a Decepticon. If that doesnt scream villian, I dont know what does. So I run out to find this thing, this... coveted little treasure, and I see one at Target, I doublecheck, because I think I'm hallucinating, with the surplus of Skullgrins and Thunderwings and PCC's, but no, it's him. So I'm looking at the back, not that It's going to convince me to put it back, but I just wanna get a look of the picture on the card, and I see these red eyes staring back at me. This thing is it. *Insta-wood* I'm looking around to make sure no one can see me rocking a pup tent in the childrens toy isle. Not cool. Im safe, tuck and roll. So I make my way back home, tear it open. Instructions? RIght, I'll read those after I've broken half of it. First thing I do is pop the head back. What... what the hell happened to his eyes? His glorious red eyes?! HES GOT GOOD GUY EYES!! All of a sudden, he went from maniacal sadist with coat tails, to pianist with lovely red fingertips and blue f**king eyes. Concerto in C minor? Go to hell. I know it was you Archer. You broke my heart. So to you Scourge Sinatra, I am truly the disappoint.

Have I left anyone out?

Mon Aug 29, 2011 8:38 pm

Yannow...

If those are your "weorst screwups'...

Then either you have the absolute most horrifically stringent specifications ever, or you have never, ever seen Universe 2.0 Galvatron.

News Credits: 2 · Mon Aug 29, 2011 8:47 pm

HAHAHAH yes!! The figure so insignificant that it lost its place in the lineup!! There was an old toy line called 'Crash Test Dummies'. You push a button and all of their limbs pop off. This guy was a reject from that line. Scale aside, I love the way it looks, but damn, you can't slap Cyclonus and Scourge around with your arms popping off. No one is afraid of the lead roll in 'The Oblongs'.

News Credits: 1 · Mon Aug 29, 2011 9:28 pm

Nerf gun megatron

News Credits: 60 · Mon Aug 29, 2011 9:37 pm

Nearly all the Hasbro versions. The henkei paint jobs more than offset the screw ups (poor paint apps etc).

The worst screw up in classics imho are:

1.Galvatron
2.Galvatron
3.Galvatron
4.Skyfire( not the design but his weeeeeeee size)
5.Powerglide ( not the design but the frickin' out of character size!)

News Credits: 2 · Mon Aug 29, 2011 10:01 pm

You know, when it comes to Powerglide, I think if they released the DotM Cyberverse version in the line before they did the ultra sized classic, I think it would've become the standard.

News Credits: 10 · Mon Aug 29, 2011 10:08 pm

You can very easily fix scourge's backpack...

Just flip up the wings on themselves

Mon Aug 29, 2011 10:49 pm

You know, Bionicle Radical, your post was extremely entertaining and very well written. However, I'm pretty sure you meant to say "I am disappoint" rather than "I am the disappoint". I'm assuming you're trying to use the meme "Son, I am disappoint" to express your disappointment with the figures.

Tue Aug 30, 2011 1:42 am

^Fail

Personally I feel like most of the classics hit the nail right on the head outside of a few quality issues here and there. Here's how I dealt with them

1. Remove classics BB's stupid rubsign and clip off the 2 little nubs that hold his roof to his chest. Rubsigns are dumb when everyone knows you're an Autobot, and clipping the nubs off prevents the windscreen from cracking.

2. A dab of silver paint on Starscream's face isn't too hard to accomplish. In fact I repainted him completely into Thundercracker once Uinverse Screamer came out... then we got Generations TC and I now own 3 blue seekers. W/E.

3. Ironhide... same as above. I got the henkei version though, so it dun matter. Also either don't transform or completely remove the rear wheels in robot mode so Ironhide can actually look at who he's killing.

4. A clear coat of paint right out the box, or if you lost the letters already go reprolabels.

5. This is rather peculiar since the plastic used for Scourge's light piping is plain translucent with blue painted over. Simple fix is to take the head apart and go over the eyes with a red sharpie.

As for nerf gun Megatron and Galvatron... uh... get used to it?

News Credits: 1 · Tue Aug 30, 2011 5:13 am

fenrir72 wrote:Nearly all the Hasbro versions. The henkei paint jobs more than offset the screw ups (poor paint apps etc).

The worst screw up in classics imho are:

1.Galvatron
2.Galvatron
3.Galvatron
4.Skyfire( not the design but his weeeeeeee size)
5.Powerglide ( not the design but the frickin' out of character size!)

But seriously. Don't hate on the Skyfire. Also, a legends Powerglide would be sweet. A CHURG-version.

News Credits: 33 · Tue Aug 30, 2011 6:21 am

To be honest classics Starscreams colour is awfull i have him and i dont like that grey plastic his face does look unfinished especialy when he is lined up next to the rest of the seekers,
Thats why i use universe 2.0 Starscream the head is awsome and the white plastic makes it 100 times better imo

Ironhides face who was happy with that, my problem with him is i have had im for about 4 years now and took him out of storage to find his painted bits had softend and now has imprints of the tissue he was wrapped in on the alt.

Prowl, mine must have been a later model my only complaint is how god damn plain he was reprolabels saved his ass.

As for Scourge red eyes or not that figure is perfect other than alt but a flying boat in space not sure it would pass nowadays.

News Credits: 10 · Tue Aug 30, 2011 6:29 am

RhA wrote:

But seriously. Don't hate on the Skyfire. Also, a legends Powerglide would be sweet. A CHURG-version.

I just realised it but... what does CHURG means? :lol:

Tue Aug 30, 2011 6:33 am

1. Octanes neck - needed to be a tad higher so he could use his neck correctly

2. Classic Scouges eyes - simple enough to fix, unscrew head and repaint them red and hes perfect. Why there blue makes no sense

3. Classics Grimlock - just horrible robot mode

4. Classics Powerglide....its like Powerglide...but on Horse steriods

5. Classics Galvatron - Again just horrible mould basically. Hes KINDA ok if you repaint him cartoon accurate...but again still a bad mould. Also he falls down all the sodding time

6. The seekers arms VS wings for bot mode - this isnt a problem for ramjet and dirge but for the rest of the seekers it seems if you want the arm at 90 degrees you end up with the wings folded as well. Its annoying and this could have been fixed

7. Thunderwing - hes way to small for the character he represents. Powerglides ment to be small yet his toy is a voyager? Thunderwing should be a voyager yet hes released as a deluxe?? wtf

8 Classics Kup - why the damn arm kibble? hes perfect aside from that **** happening with the arms! i can hardly move his arms without bits of car getting in the way

9 Classics bumblebee and cliffjumper - they both just look fat in robot mode. They both look like they have stayed in america TO long and have enjoyed the fatty energon cubes there without any exersize. Cliffjumper looks like hes TRYING to hide it at least but Bumblebee just looks bloated all the time

News Credits: 60 · Tue Aug 30, 2011 7:03 am

In Grimlock's case, his robot mode reflects the latest scientific image of the T-Rex, hence, from a stocky Flintstone look, he now looks like Tarzan. Though his leg joints are quite loose, same with the henkei version. It would also have been better if the chrome in the henkei was localized on his chest and not his shins.

News Credits: 2 · Tue Aug 30, 2011 11:02 am

If it all comes down to paint job issue, I won't argue much since I can fix them if they are wrong. But what I can't fix is the design.

First one is Octane/Tankor. He is just terrible on every single part.

Also Inferno/Grapple's hollow back. Why bother put two useless flopping panels on each arm but leave the back empty?

Kup's arm kibbles are annoying.

Tue Aug 30, 2011 12:00 pm

paul053 wrote:Also Inferno/Grapple's hollow back. Why bother put two useless flopping panels on each arm but leave the back empty?

I agree! I love these guys from the front... side view, not so much.

News Credits: 241 · Tue Aug 30, 2011 12:07 pm

gavinfuzzy wrote:
RhA wrote:

But seriously. Don't hate on the Skyfire. Also, a legends Powerglide would be sweet. A CHURG-version.

I just realised it but... what does CHURG means?

Classics, Henkei, Universe, Reveal the Shield, Generations. United is missing btw

News Credits: 2 · Tue Aug 30, 2011 12:08 pm

Classics Bumblebee mold was made to look like a robot wearing a hoodie and big shoes. Alex Kubalski is my favorite. What he did with Hound and Mirage... ahh....

Tue Aug 30, 2011 4:09 pm

Swindle01 wrote:9 Classics bumblebee and cliffjumper - they both just look fat in robot mode. They both look like they have stayed in america TO long and have enjoyed the fatty energon cubes there without any exersize. Cliffjumper looks like hes TRYING to hide it at least but Bumblebee just looks bloated all the time

How can CJ "look like he's trying to hide it" but Bumblebee not... when they're identical molds with no changes, only color differences?

News Credits: 2 · Tue Aug 30, 2011 5:14 pm

Lets leave race out of this, sir.

News Credits: 1 · Wed Aug 31, 2011 8:49 am

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
gavinfuzzy wrote:
RhA wrote:

But seriously. Don't hate on the Skyfire. Also, a legends Powerglide would be sweet. A CHURG-version.

I just realised it but... what does CHURG means?

Classics, Henkei, Universe, Reveal the Shield, Generations. United is missing btw

CHURUG

I'm sorry.

News Credits: 2 · Wed Aug 31, 2011 2:48 pm

Chew Rug was the name of the third movie I was in.

Wed Aug 31, 2011 5:12 pm

Tankor/Octane is really hideous, when my 3 years kid wants to play with my transformers I always give him as a fodder piece

But what I can't really stand is that thanks to Fansproject you can't display Galvatron, Scourge and Cyclonus along with Rodimus, Ultra Magnus and Springer anymore. The poor 'cons look like angry kindergarten kids harassing their daycare teachers :BANG_HEAD:

Wed Aug 31, 2011 7:03 pm

im happy with almost all of my classics toys. i love my classics no matter how crappy. but the most poorly designed ones in my book are:

1. GALVATRON!!!!!! is the first and biggest screw up in my book.
2. ironhide and ratchet molds, they are too panely and the head thing bugs the crap outta me ( i got used to it)
3. powerglide, the size gets me. i like the small bot in G1 i expect my classics to be small. but i live with it

4. the two triple changers octane/tankor, the size again. -__-
5. thunderwing. SIZE DAMN IT!! he was soooo menacing and we get this tiny toy of him, WTF?
6. not giving prime a damn trailer.
i love the classics megatron mold i dont see how anyone can hate that. but oh well. if i could say anything bad about it its the colors. what they can make teh legends G1 colors but not the classics? what the hell hasblow?

News Credits: 3 · Thu Sep 01, 2011 1:40 am

cylor wrote:Tankor/Octane is really hideous, when my 3 years kid wants to play with my transformers I always give him as a fodder piece
But what I can't really stand is that thanks to Fansproject you can't display Galvatron, Scourge and Cyclonus along with Rodimus, Ultra Magnus and Springer anymore. The poor 'cons look like angry kindergarten kids harassing their daycare teachers

LMAO!!!

Galvatron -- Hey we were warned
Tankor\Octane -- No neck. Also I remember the prelim picks they had him having the same leg design as one of the E-Superion combiners, the ones that turned into A-10's. I wanna like him but the neck thing is just terrible.
Deluxe Optimus Prime(s) -- I know they did Voyager OP, but now every mold is a deluxe. Really hurts me to see WFC Prime and G2 Prime look like baby primes standing next to Voyager/Henkei Prime.
Powerglide -- Agreed he is super big.