The Energon Pub

leakin' lubricant wrote:Surprised no ones done this yet.

image by Danny Campbell, on Flickr

See, this was why I thought I could mod G1 megs to look more like the cartoon.

Then I finally got G1 megs in hand and....

Agamemnon wrote:

leakin' lubricant wrote:Surprised no ones done this yet.

image by Danny Campbell, on Flickr

See, this was why I thought I could mod G1 megs to look more like the cartoon.

Then I finally got G1 megs in hand and....

The legendary Peckertron ! Classic vintage toy accuracy at it's best !

I finally got mine, but right away I saw that problem with those loose bits on his legs. Was there a remedy for this or is mine faulty. I would hate to have to send it back.

william-james88 wrote:I finally got mine, but right away I saw that problem with those loose bits on his legs. Was there a remedy for this or is mine faulty. I would hate to have to send it back.

Does yours stay relatively back when you rotate that top section vertically? The other option is trying to drip some Future/nail polish down the pin from the exposed sections on the top and bottom. I haven't tried that yet but may today. At least your outer leg panels are staying on. How is it otherwise? I also noticed the looseness of that piece in question while he was in the box, when I removed that tray I heard something rattling and didn't realize what it was until he was standing on his own.

itscramtastic wrote:Does yours stay relatively back when you rotate that top section vertically? The other option is trying to drip some Future/nail polish down the pin from the exposed sections on the top and bottom. I haven't tried that yet but may today. At least your outer leg panels are staying on. How is it otherwise? I also noticed the looseness of that piece in question while he was in the box, when I removed that tray I heard something rattling and didn't realize what it was until he was standing on his own.

Thanks for your reply and your message. Yes, those metal flaps do stay on the side when flipped up vertically but its due to the angle of their tab limiting them from flipping outward like what happens when they are flipped down. It can do for now but it makes his legs look wired. I really dont like those pieces and I find it hard to believe they couldnt have worked arounf it, like incorporating the silver inner lining of the gun on the handle itself. Its not like the compressed handle flaps tab anywhere specific anyways. Aside from that, there is one of those gun handle panels on his arms that is super loose and that's about it.

Actually as I play with this guy, or try to, I fail to see what the big fuss is about. Yes, his bot mode is aweomse and looks like the G1 show, and he turns into a gun, but the way he is made is really not much of an upgrade from MP 05. Tne transformation is nearly identical, except I am more scared of transforming this guy, especially when I have to collapse or decompress his chest. And that small sliver of a piece in the back of his chest will haunt me to the end of days since everytime I tough it I fear for my life that it will break. I have to use tweasers to transform this guy and I dont think thats a positive. I dont need tweasers for MP 05, but I do need a bowl to put all the parts that fall off instead, so Appolyon does beat him out there too. I just dont find him to be so revolutionary in terms of a transforming gun megatron toy. Instead it seems to be a marginal improvement and downsize of MP 05 with better posability and beefier legs (though I do find the panels clumsily arranged in robot mode).

william-james88 wrote:

itscramtastic wrote:Does yours stay relatively back when you rotate that top section vertically? The other option is trying to drip some Future/nail polish down the pin from the exposed sections on the top and bottom. I haven't tried that yet but may today. At least your outer leg panels are staying on. How is it otherwise? I also noticed the looseness of that piece in question while he was in the box, when I removed that tray I heard something rattling and didn't realize what it was until he was standing on his own.

Actually as I play with this guy, or try to, I fail to see what the big fuss is about. Yes, his bot mode is aweomse and looks like the G1 show, and he turns into a gun, but the way he is made is really not much of an upgrade from MP 05. Tne transformation is nearly identical, except I am more scared of transforming this guy, especially when I have to collapse or decompress his chest. And that small sliver of a piece in the back of his chest will haunt me to the end of days since everytime I tough it I fear for my life that it will break. I have to use tweasers to transform this guy and I dont think thats a positive. I dont need tweasers for MP 05, but I do need a bowl to put all the parts that fall off instead, so Appolyon does beat him out there too. I just dont find him to be so revolutionary in terms of a transforming gun megatron toy. Instead it seems to be a marginal improvement and downsize of MP 05 with better posability and beefier legs (though I do find the panels clumsily arranged in robot mode).

Do I like him: yes. Do I like him more than CW Megatron: not anymore

He's G1 Megatron. For sure. Maybe the best available overall. As a playable figure he's just not it for me anymore.

I guess I had an epiphany last night and the honeymoon stage ran its course.

My niece and nephew came to town and I told them to ransack my collection, because they are old enough and for crying out loud they are toys. They would partially transform some and then kinda push them off to the side. I'd pick them up and finish them, show them some of the cool things that the parts would do to fit. And then I picked up some Alternators. Most of them have been from car to bot and that's it. I was able to easily transform the ones I touched without anything popping off. My nephew asked me to transform Apollyon as he wouldn't even try (he has MP-05 and hasn't been able to). I said sure, I've transformed him from bot to gun and back! Things didn't go as well as they did before. It was like he had two transformations in him and that was it. Things didn't tab or rotate or stay. It was infuriating. I didn't break him but after flying through Bay-verse and CHUGs and Alternators and Masterpieces I just couldn't believe he wasn't transforming like he was before. And now I'm sad after writing this. My replacement parts came in today and I haven't installed them yet. I will, but I don't know if it's going to change my mind on him now. And that also makes me sad.

He may be returned, but it takes A LOT for me to do that. Actually, Beast Wars Transmetals Megatron is the only TF I've ever returned that I can think of. And I shouldn't have, cause that was my only Beast Wars iteration of Megatron. But that was the 90's and I needed gas money LOL

Rated X wrote:

Agamemnon wrote:

leakin' lubricant wrote:Surprised no ones done this yet.image by Danny Campbell, on Flickr

See, this was why I thought I could mod G1 megs to look more like the cartoon.

Then I finally got G1 megs in hand and....

The legendary Peckertron ! Classic vintage toy accuracy at it's best !

And it's pictures like this that make me really enjoy this figure. Even after my rant you can't not look at him and just be pretty happy with how he turned out. Darn it. Darn it all to heck.

itscramtastic wrote:

Rated X wrote:

Agamemnon wrote:

leakin' lubricant wrote:Surprised no ones done this yet.image by Danny Campbell, on Flickr

See, this was why I thought I could mod G1 megs to look more like the cartoon.

Then I finally got G1 megs in hand and....

The legendary Peckertron ! Classic vintage toy accuracy at it's best !

And it's pictures like this that make me really enjoy this figure. Even after my rant you can't not look at him and just be pretty happy with how he turned out. Darn it. Darn it all to heck.

Oh, I get what you are saying. All along, I though this looked absolutely friggin fantastic! But I have a couple other X-Transbot figures, and I really wanted to wait until I saw comments like this. If everything was almost all positive all the time, I might have bitten on him later in the summer. But, unfortunately, this was the sort of story I was expecting. And now, it seems very unlikely that I'll pull the trigger.

Agamemnon wrote:. And now, it seems very unlikely that I'll pull the trigger.

Cause it turns into a gun, get it?

Jokes aside, I am glad you took the time to see what you would be getting into. And I am glad if my short review helped anyone. Not necessarily to not buy it, but to bring down some of the hype so that no one ends up disappointed. In a simple way to put it, Apollyon is to MP 05 what MP 11 is to MP 03. An aesthetic improvement but using the same flawed base model.

itscramtastic wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

itscramtastic wrote:Does yours stay relatively back when you rotate that top section vertically? The other option is trying to drip some Future/nail polish down the pin from the exposed sections on the top and bottom. I haven't tried that yet but may today. At least your outer leg panels are staying on. How is it otherwise? I also noticed the looseness of that piece in question while he was in the box, when I removed that tray I heard something rattling and didn't realize what it was until he was standing on his own.

Actually as I play with this guy, or try to, I fail to see what the big fuss is about. Yes, his bot mode is aweomse and looks like the G1 show, and he turns into a gun, but the way he is made is really not much of an upgrade from MP 05. Tne transformation is nearly identical, except I am more scared of transforming this guy, especially when I have to collapse or decompress his chest. And that small sliver of a piece in the back of his chest will haunt me to the end of days since everytime I tough it I fear for my life that it will break. I have to use tweasers to transform this guy and I dont think thats a positive. I dont need tweasers for MP 05, but I do need a bowl to put all the parts that fall off instead, so Appolyon does beat him out there too. I just dont find him to be so revolutionary in terms of a transforming gun megatron toy. Instead it seems to be a marginal improvement and downsize of MP 05 with better posability and beefier legs (though I do find the panels clumsily arranged in robot mode).

Do I like him: yes. Do I like him more than CW Megatron: not anymore

He's G1 Megatron. For sure. Maybe the best available overall. As a playable figure he's just not it for me anymore.

I guess I had an epiphany last night and the honeymoon stage ran its course.

My niece and nephew came to town and I told them to ransack my collection, because they are old enough and for crying out loud they are toys. They would partially transform some and then kinda push them off to the side. I'd pick them up and finish them, show them some of the cool things that the parts would do to fit. And then I picked up some Alternators. Most of them have been from car to bot and that's it. I was able to easily transform the ones I touched without anything popping off. My nephew asked me to transform Apollyon as he wouldn't even try (he has MP-05 and hasn't been able to). I said sure, I've transformed him from bot to gun and back! Things didn't go as well as they did before. It was like he had two transformations in him and that was it. Things didn't tab or rotate or stay. It was infuriating. I didn't break him but after flying through Bay-verse and CHUGs and Alternators and Masterpieces I just couldn't believe he wasn't transforming like he was before. And now I'm sad after writing this. My replacement parts came in today and I haven't installed them yet. I will, but I don't know if it's going to change my mind on him now. And that also makes me sad.

He may be returned, but it takes A LOT for me to do that. Actually, Beast Wars Transmetals Megatron is the only TF I've ever returned that I can think of. And I shouldn't have, cause that was my only Beast Wars iteration of Megatron. But that was the 90's and I needed gas money LOL

Damn, shame you feel like that mate, there's somthing wrong if your version can't withstand two transformation,s I've transformed mine over a dozen times and he's still solid in both modes. The problem is there are soooo many moving parts in this guy the tolerances are all over the paste between different figures. Mabe the 2nd run will sort those issues out.

Well I've encountered my first issue with Apollyon, bearing in mind I've transformed this guy over a dozen times so this is what might be known as a "lifers" issue.

Basically the small tabbing area on one of his side skirts has stressed and the plastic around it has split in two areas. I've not seen this any where else so it may just be my copy but either way a heads up for those who plan on transforming him reasonably often.

Fortunately the great guys at TFS-Express have approached X-Transbots for replacement parts.

Here's some pics.

william-james88 wrote:

Agamemnon wrote:. And now, it seems very unlikely that I'll pull the trigger.

Cause it turns into a gun, get it?

Jokes aside, I am glad you took the time to see what you would be getting into. And I am glad if my short review helped anyone. Not necessarily to not buy it, but to bring down some of the hype so that no one ends up disappointed. In a simple way to put it, Apollyon is to MP 05 what MP 11 is to MP 03. An aesthetic improvement but using the same flawed base model.

If you told me that without me ever even seeing 'polly, I'd have bought him on that comparison alone.

Sir Lube (or anyone else), could you tell me when it is best to collapse the legs? I have been trying to transform Apollyon in my own and there are certain factors that can make his leg compression easy or hard and I cant figure out which ones. Is there any tabbing that makes it harder to do?

william-james88 wrote:Sir Lube (or anyone else), could you tell me when it is best to collapse the legs? I have been trying to transform Apollyon in my own and there are certain factors that can make his leg compression easy or hard and I cant figure out which ones. Is there any tabbing that makes it harder to do?

I was finding this issue when transforming mine as well.

When going from bot to alt mode I find it collapses easiest when the leg bent a little forward of straight (at the knee joint) while at the same time the inner calf panel is rotated onto to the shin. Also when going back to bot mode from alt I find that if the leg is similarly "mid transformation" that the thigh collapses without issue... hope this helps...

It's all in the angle of the leg.

I'm sorry some of you are having issues. Mine is as near to perfect as a transformer can get.

that is true band my leg will go down partially when aligned correctly butbeill not fully...at any rate other than a few quirky bits he is holding up pretty darned wel...

I find wiggling the leg back and forth when collapsing makes the leg collapse better, same when going back into bot mode, also make sure ALL those black grip panels are untabbed.

william-james88 wrote:

Ironhidensh wrote:And now, it seems very unlikely that I'll pull the trigger.

Cause it turns into a gun, get it?

Agamemnon wrote:If you told me that without me ever even seeing 'polly, I'd have bought him on that comparison alone.

That is a really good comparison. My MP11 based Thundercracker that I picked up from TRU is just as fiddly as my MP03 based Walmart Starscream but stands better (which Apollyon is AMAZING at doing, standing that is ).

leakin' lubricant wrote:Damn, shame you feel like that mate, there's somthing wrong if your version can't withstand two transformation,s I've transformed mine over a dozen times and he's still solid in both modes. The problem is there are soooo many moving parts in this guy the tolerances are all over the paste between different figures. Mabe the 2nd run will sort those issues out.

After being away from him for a few days (out of town for the weekend) I came back to see him standing on my desk and was happy he was there My replacement parts came in (I mentioned that the other day) and the biggest issue one, the flap which swings inwards while standing that WJ88 has mentioned, is for the wrong leg . Emailing BBTS to see if they can send for the proper leg. The OUTER leg panel (that is the black grip panel) replacement works awesomely. A much longer screw, and now it doesn't fall off during transformation!

I also feel like he is slighly more gappy in gun mode after transforming him a few more times. Also, the non-canon arm (left) body side shoulder peg has a stress mark on it, which I noticed before but it just seems odd as it's not the heavy arm and doesn't have the upgraded shoulder joint. Tolerances are crazy, and I'm sorry you're noticing problems! Hopefully that's the end of them, and maybe after I get my replacement inner leg panel I'll laugh at complaining about him in the first place

leakin' lubricant wrote:I find wiggling the leg back and forth when collapsing makes the leg collapse better, same when going back into bot mode, also make sure ALL those black grip panels are untabbed.

Interesting, so everything must be loose when compressing the legs? I mean, of course not pegged as a gun handle, but it should also not be configured as his robot leg either?

And one last question: there are 2 shoulder joints to change but the little plastic bag also includes a small black cylindrical piece. What is that and where does it go?

So I've been sitting back on this thread and silently resenting those of you with this figure in hand. I'm not sure anyone else is/was in my boat, but I preordered Apollyon from Aces Toy Store in Oct'14. Long story short (because you already know what has transpired, or it simply doesn't matter to you), all preorders through this retailer have been cancelled.

Thankfully, Ed Bomber of ToyDojo posted in the TFW2005 forums regarding the situation:

edbomber wrote:Hey all, We put up the second production run Apollyon's up on the site: MX-I Apollyon

We'd like to help out those of you who were not able to get an Apollyon through aces by offering Apollyon at our original price of $149.99. I wish there was more we could do but we're being charged more for these ourselves. This is purely on the honor system. Please email us at customerservice@toydojo.com and let us know the situation and we'll give you a coupon code.

I sent an e-mail on Tuesday evening and have already received a reply message. I hope this helps anyone who may have been in my situation, it's been a very frustrating ride. And I've yet to receive any resolution regarding my Aces order.

Also, major props to Ed/ToyDojo! I've ordered from Ed's company before (when it was EdBomberToys and now TD) and have had great experiences with them.

william-james88 wrote:

leakin' lubricant wrote:I find wiggling the leg back and forth when collapsing makes the leg collapse better, same when going back into bot mode, also make sure ALL those black grip panels are untabbed.

Interesting, so everything must be loose when compressing the legs? I mean, of course not pegged as a gun handle, but it should also not be configured as his robot leg either?

And one last question: there are 2 shoulder joints to change but the little plastic bag also includes a small black cylindrical piece. What is that and where does it go?

Yes mate everything in that lower leg should be unpegged, neither in fun or bot configuration (at least in my version)

That small cylindrical piece is for the alternative cannon arrangement, it's to allow smaller Decepticons to fire it, I find that arrangement somewhat unnecessary therfore I've never used it.

necr0blivion wrote:So I've been sitting back on this thread and silently resenting those of you with this figure in hand. I'm not sure anyone else is/was in my boat, but I preordered Apollyon from Aces Toy Store in Oct'14. Long story short (because you already know what has transpired, or it simply doesn't matter to you), all preorders through this retailer have been cancelled.

Thankfully, Ed Bomber of ToyDojo posted in the TFW2005 forums regarding the situation:

edbomber wrote:Hey all, We put up the second production run Apollyon's up on the site: MX-I Apollyon

We'd like to help out those of you who were not able to get an Apollyon through aces by offering Apollyon at our original price of $149.99. I wish there was more we could do but we're being charged more for these ourselves. This is purely on the honor system. Please email us at customerservice@toydojo.com and let us know the situation and we'll give you a coupon code.

I sent an e-mail on Tuesday evening and have already received a reply message. I hope this helps anyone who may have been in my situation, it's been a very frustrating ride. And I've yet to receive any resolution regarding my Aces order.

Also, major props to Ed/ToyDojo! I've ordered from Ed's company before (when it was EdBomberToys and now TD) and have had great experiences with them.

Wow, good on them! While in Texas and further away from me for shipping purposes from my preferred online retailers (BBTS and TFSource) I'll keep these guys in mind for future purchases. This sort of customer services really stands out to me.

necr0blivion wrote:So I've been sitting back on this thread and silently resenting those of you with this figure in hand. I'm not sure anyone else is/was in my boat, but I preordered Apollyon from Aces Toy Store in Oct'14. Long story short (because you already know what has transpired, or it simply doesn't matter to you), all preorders through this retailer have been cancelled.

Thankfully, Ed Bomber of ToyDojo posted in the TFW2005 forums regarding the situation:

edbomber wrote:Hey all, We put up the second production run Apollyon's up on the site: MX-I Apollyon

We'd like to help out those of you who were not able to get an Apollyon through aces by offering Apollyon at our original price of $149.99. I wish there was more we could do but we're being charged more for these ourselves. This is purely on the honor system. Please email us at customerservice@toydojo.com and let us know the situation and we'll give you a coupon code.

I sent an e-mail on Tuesday evening and have already received a reply message. I hope this helps anyone who may have been in my situation, it's been a very frustrating ride. And I've yet to receive any resolution regarding my Aces order.

Also, major props to Ed/ToyDojo! I've ordered from Ed's company before (when it was EdBomberToys and now TD) and have had great experiences with them.

This is a really **** situation that Acestoystore put everyone in. =/ But I've read over at TFW that people are txting him and his wife and He's been offering people replacement figure. (that KFC MPish blaster) in it's place. I don't have his contact information, but do follow this thread. and message sixpointsinspace to get ACEStoystore owners info.

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-toy-discussion/1039800-acestoystore-still-thing-12.html#post12542549

Also read that he's been refunding people that open up paypal cases. so do that first if possible.

Good luck.

Oh man, this SUCKS! I was transforming this guy quite carefully and a piece popped off as well as the pin holding it in place. The piece that fell off is the triangular black handle piece found along Apollyon's left forearm (the piece that has a small silver rectangle attached for gun mode). I do still have the pin, so it's not lost, and this forearm piece was super loose from the start so it's not a big surprise, but I still have no clue how to fix it. The way the pins on this toy are done (now that I see one undone) is that it has screw marks at the bottom. But the top is just a flat pin head so I have no clue how to fasten this pieces back onto his forearm. How to do screw a flat head pin?

Also, Tony from Chimungmung never got back to me about the super loose floppy metal bits along his inner legs. I guess I will write again to him including this new problem.

This is a downside to having so many moving parts to a toy, there are more odds of some of them being faulty.

william-james88 wrote:Oh man, this SUCKS! I was transforming this guy quite carefully and a piece popped off as well as the pin holding it in place. The piece that fell off is the triangular black handle piece found along Apollyon's left forearm (the piece that has a small silver rectangle attached for gun mode). I do still have the pin, so it's not lost, and this forearm piece was super loose from the start so it's not a big surprise, but I still have no clue how to fix it. The way the pins on this toy are done (now that I see one undone) is that it has screw marks at the bottom. But the top is just a flat pin head so I have no clue how to fasten this pieces back onto his forearm. How to do screw a flat head pin?

Also, Tony from Chimungmung never got back to me about the super loose floppy metal bits along his inner legs. I guess I will write again to him including this new problem.

This is a downside to having so many moving parts to a toy, there are more odds of some of them being faulty.

I reckon you could get away with a similar sized screw, that's how some people fixed the same issue with MP Roddys loose shin panel.