Transformers: Energon & Beyond

[JediTricks]

I'm very uninterested in the MP offerings this year. Thundercracker is marred by some downright idiotic stickers, which might sound like a minor deal, but he's $70. Prime, well, the first is still one of the best figures ever made, and the simple addition of a trailer won't be nearly enough to entice me to spend a ton more for a new one.

Thundercracker's pilot art - tail and fuselage - aren't stickers, they're painted. I think the tail art might be easy to scrape off as it's white paint on black plastic, the easiest to remove. The "say cheese" Reflector fuselage art is another thing altogether.

MP Optimus is not the same as the one from 5 years ago, it's an all-new figure that's got different stuff going on, an all-new sculpt that's less simplistic and features more of the character than the truck (and yet the truck mode also looks better). It's also a shorter scale though. But it has Roller, where the original MP trailer didn't. I bought the TRU exclusive preorder after seeing Chaddy's import version for only a few minutes.

It doesn't matter, you won't be able to find 'em anyway.

[El Chuxter]

Yeah, I know he's all-new.

Thing is, it'd have to be one hell of an improvement to justify the price he'll cost if I am lucky enough to find him. Roller and the trailer aren't worth the cost.

[Tycho]

I saw but didn't buy the Cyberverse Cmdr. Ultra Magnus yesterday.

I'm really tempted but...

1) really just want figures that fit into display dioramas I plan on doing one day with mostly my movie TFs.

2) Hasbro doesn't make characters in the Cyberverse Cmdr Class scale that would go with Ultra Magnus from the TF age I wish to represent, meaning Cybv. Cmdr. Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge, Springer, and Rodimus Prime (with reg. sized CybV. Kup and Blurr though they do make Hot Rod - came as a bonus with that ROTF Bumblebee vs Soundwave WalMart exc.

Look, I'm into the whole toy hobby because I think these things are great, but I want to display certain on-scale pieces with one another in diorama type set-ups and that's all I have room for. I'll appreciate the rest as cool things in other people's collections which I can admire - like these MP Primes with trailers, etc. (because they ARE awesome!)

But a G1.5 set of Cyberverse scale figures makes a lot of sense to me.

[Chaddymac]

No Arcee, huh?

[Tycho]

I don't think they had a Cyberverse Arcee there.

First, while I haven't paid attention to pictures of that figure (I'd want a Deluxe or Cyberverse pink (or red) car from G1.5 and am considering that 3rd party deluxe), I'd imagine she's a motorcyle. Correct?

I'd used any and all repaints of the Knock Out Scout Class motorcycle for my movie-verse Arcee triplets - whatever the 3 most diverse and distinct color changes that were made were - and also employed the bikes that came with some Human Alliance cars like Jazz and Mudflap and Skids.

Unfortunately that's the way Michael Bay let her be presented - in triplicate.

I'd have rather she either have a real role (and she belongs with Gen 1.5 anyway!!!) or she not have been in the movie. If Bay had wanted to have the loss of a female programmed Autobot, there was Elita-One he could have used to help establish Optimus' murderous rage he displayed towards Decepticons starting by ROTF.

We went from "I'm sorry Brother" (Brother in Arms I imagine) concerning the elimination of Megatron in movie-one, to his repeated attempts to destroy Megatron's whole head and CPU in ROTF and finally in DOTM where he stepped on the fallen body and turned his heel, scrapping every piece of the basically pulverized Megatron into bits so small you couldn't rematerialize them as wing nuts.

If Elita-One had been established as a character and killed by Decepticons, then OK - it's like when Obi-Wan embraces an attack of the Dark Side to cut Maul in half to avenge Qui-gon. Good characters can be pushed too far and go bad. Anakin became Vader to save Padme, supposedly - but the writing was lacking and that too was not developed enough to be whole-heartedly believeable.

In fact, if Prime is going to stay being characterized by this, I think Shai LeBouf should be in TF4 long enough to be killed. Since Prime owes his life to Sam, I think this would keep him as "Michael Bay's angry Prime."

JediTricks has often complained to me that Prime is out of character (because of his anger and vengefulness). I've commented back that I enjoy this badazz Prime, but maybe we'd both be satisfied were there a believeable reason for it? Sam dying would pile it on for Prime (and BumbleBee).

Now you can retcon the movies to a flashback where Elita-One is built up and killed by Megatron, Grindor, BoneCrusher, The Fallen, or Demolisher (5 of Optimus' most brutal kills in the movies - as by comparison, he isn't show attacking Starscream with the same fervor, though maybe he just never got the chance and cutting Screamer's arm off sufficed in the time Prime had).

In Star Wars, Anakin is supposed to be set off by the loss of his mother, and the fear of losing Padme the same way. This is paramount for reasons giving rise to Darth Vader. He is also impatient with Obi-Wan, who learns temperance by contrast, having almost died himself by giving into his rage over the death of Qui-Gon. (Maul did disarm him and throw him into the reactor shaft, briefly gaining the upper hand until Obi-Wan reconnected with the Force).

A good story could be about Prime reconnecting with the wisdom of Cybertron's forefathers, the ancient Primes, as it's remembered in the Matrix (amidst the next big invasion or super-weapon crisis). This could be the inner-turmoil Prime faces against a Unicron or Galvatron type of backdrop.

Movie 4 still confounds me - with no Fallen, Sentinel Prime, Megatron, Starscream, Shockwave, or Soundwave.

Galvatron, Cyclonus, and Scourge could be entirely independent characters of the G1 predacessors - not built from their scraps - as this time Optimus didn't even leave their scraps (for anyone who actually did not see DOTM).

[JediTricks]

Yeah, I know he's all-new.

Thing is, it'd have to be one hell of an improvement to justify the price he'll cost if I am lucky enough to find him. Roller and the trailer aren't worth the cost.

Roller, the trailer, the more intricate design on OP, the more character-accurate design coupled with a better truck, gun transforms, there's enough that I felt justified in ordering from the website. There are drawbacks too though.


My Vehicons shipped from HTS today, that's cool.


I opened TRU-exclusive Chinese Generations Cliffjumper. I'd already experienced this mold with TFP Zombie Cliff, but the G1-styled head and nice paint won me over. The head is almost weird with how G1-cartoon it is, and its eyes light pipe very blue. The new deco looks not terribly different from the TFP look, and this mold still has the same problems it did before - wonky shoulder articulation, hollow chest, fiddly transformation, tons of seams in alt mode - but the flip-over blasters make good glass gas nozzles, and sculpting really can pass for Generations.

[Chaddymac]

I opened TRU-exclusive Chinese Generations Cliffjumper. I'd already experienced this mold with TFP Zombie Cliff, but the G1-styled head and nice paint won me over. The head is almost weird with how G1-cartoon it is, and its eyes light pipe very blue.

Just occured to me - would the head fit on Classics Cliffjumper?

[figrin bran]

MP Thundercracker arrived this past Saturday but I think I will wait until my birthday next month to open him up.

I would love to have MP Optimus. I missed out on the preorders and despite the price tag, I'm sure he won't be easy to find in our local TRU's.

[Chaddymac]

MP Thundercracker arrived this past Saturday but I think I will wait until my birthday next month to open him up.

I would love to have MP Optimus. I missed out on the preorders and despite the price tag, I'm sure he won't be easy to find in our local TRU's.

I read on another board that the second shipment of Op will come in late October to mid November and be in much higher quantities. Initially, TRU ordered a limited number, but decided thry wanted to make a big push for the holidays. Rather than push the release date, they put out the initial batch and will follow up later with a more significant shipment. Do not go the scalper route!!

[Tycho]

Yes they did have Arcee (a motorcycle) in Cyberverse format sitting there.

I had to go back for cat food.

More interesting to me was a Mirage Cyberverse figure that might substitute fine for Dino from DOTM.

I didn't buy though. Don't know if I need that or not. It's something that I could find on eBay years later and might pay $12 for instead of the $5 I could get it for today. but I'm not worried.