Transformers: Energon & Beyond

**Adam** · 06-28-2005

Originally Posted by megaprime33

You all have to realize that the Alts line is dying. Before when it was very popular you couldn't find any of the new toys that were out. When I go to target or wherever I see them all there. No one seems to be buying them anymore. I wouldn't hold your breath for jets or tanks or anything like that. I've heard from several Hasbro spokespeople on Alts and they said no before, so.

Ok.. that's garbage. No offense. Your area doesn't speak for the whole.. I can't find squat for Alternators, but I know they've been here. I never even saw Grimlock and I still haven't seen Wheeljack... looks like they're selling OK to me. Who are the Hasbro "spokepeople" you're referring to? If you mean the people we see at Wal-Mart every now and then, they are not really privey to far off products...

**El Chuxter** · 06-28-2005

They're selling just fine for the most part, but stores don't seem to be restocking them. I frequent three Wal-Marts, five Targets, a KB, and two TRU's, and of those, only the TRUs and one of the Wal-Marts have restocked anything in months.

One of the Wal-Marts and one of the Targets have had no Alternators, nor a spot for them, for a full year.

**darthvyn** · 06-28-2005

yeah, it looks like the WM near my old apartment has given up on them. no place on the shelves for 'em. the target there, and the one by my new apartment both still have them, but i haven't seen anything new since i snagged wheeljack and shockwave...

**JediTricks** · 06-29-2005

Target has been stocking Alts lately, TRU hasn't and WM hasn't so Target is the only store to have anything new at all.

**JediTricks** · 06-30-2005

The hasbro site updated today, the first ep of TF:Cybertron will air this weekend on Cartoon Network: http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/e...dn/default.cfm

Geez, nice promo work CN!

I have to learn about this 2 days in advance from an unrelated site that hadn't had significant updates in months?

**Tycho** · 06-30-2005

I saw Swerve at Target today. I left him there though. It's not one I'm after.

The box showed fire blazing on his hood, like G1 Tracks had, but the vehicle didn't have any of that decaling.

Hasbro wrote me and said they were mailing me stuff to return my Hound figure to them with - and they'd send me an entire new one. They don't have spare parts to replace my driver's side door on him. Sad. I'm sentimentally attached to THAT particular Hound figure. Why can't they just fix him up with spare parts like Ratchet would on the cartoon show?

**plasticfetish** · 06-30-2005

Sneaks in quietly...

Saw Cybertron basic figures at TRU tonight. Found "Overhaul", "Ransack" and "Scattorshot" -- bought them

and maybe after I open them later tonight, I'll tell you what I think (+ pics.)

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edit: OK. Opened them up and they're fun--besides being wobbly in robot mode (Ransack) or a bit of a brick in vehicle mode (Overhaul) 'cause the wheels don't roll. They're not a huge departure from the Armada or Energon line, but the new gimmick is kind of cool and after looking at photos of what's to come, I'm sort of interested in quite a few of them.

**Adam** · 07-01-2005

I'm getting those from Amazon next week.

I got tired of waiting. (I got more than those three, but only those three have shipped so far.)

To be fair JT, they have been running promos on the channel. But it IS pretty tame compaired to some other shows.

**JediTricks** · 07-02-2005

Tycho, I'm told that ALT Swerve's decal is actually in the box, you apply it yourself, but I can't prove this as I didn't buy him either. If it is, I get the sneaking suspicion that Swerve was released mainly to get fans to buy him so they can apply the decal in the box to Tracks.

PF, I saw every size today at TRUs *except* for the basics! I already have Ransack from the Japanese version (Galaxy Force: Gasket), but I wanted the others. I don't especially like the Ransack/Gasket figure myself though, the mold is weird and not stable enough and kinda just an oddball - from your pics, doesn't look like they changed anything for the US release, including the lack of faction logo.

I'm VERY shocked to learn Overhaul's wheels don't roll, are you sure they aren't just too stiff? They look like they should move.

Adam, I heard they started running those promos only last weekend, and they're really not good, and there aren't many of 'em, so color me unimpressed with CN, they deserve no credit here.

I hadn't done a bona fide toy run in weeks, so hearing that Cybertron toys were out I hit the stores and found everything of wave 1 except the basics. I am really broke but I ended up spending $80: Hot Shot, Dirt Boss, Crumplezone, and the only Optimus Prime I saw.

The short-short versions:

Hot Shot - very slick, wings aren't that exciting but overall a good effort and solid, cool bot mode. Weapon isn't that cool but oh well. Most frustrating: doors on forearms don't rotate, but at least they're heavily-armed.

Dirt Boss - a little small and colors are a bit unappealling, but I really like the vehicle mode and its gimmick is really nifty, bot mode is ok but the head situation is a little weird and the face is kinda odd and the flip-out guns aren't properly-aligned with each other. Still, I dig him, he makes me smile.

Crumplezone - decent but not as cool as I was expecting, colors are somehow a little worse in person. Alt mode front end not entirely stable, rear end is solid as a rock though. Gimmick doesn't do much for alt mode, bot mode is better though. Bot mode's shape is really odd but kinda brutish - another figure with hard-to-see eyes. Most frustrating: gimmick makes thrusters in alt mode not stay all the way down, and the sound effect is annoying quick.

Optimus Prime - perhaps a bit simplistic but really neat stuff going on, and the backpack & boots amp it up quite a bit too. Removable matrix, closing mouth-shield, big weapons, it's just very very cool. I haven't tried the sound & light stuff yet. Most frustrating: instructions, they go from bot to vehicle which is unusual, and they miss a bunch of things.

**plasticfetish** · 07-03-2005

Originally Posted by JediTricks

I'm VERY shocked to learn Overhaul's wheels don't roll, are you sure they aren't just too stiff? They look like they should move.

It's not that they don't move, it's just that with the way "he" sits (on all 4 wheels) they don't roll. He sort of slides along on his undercarriage.

He's my favorite of the 3 though. I agree about Ransack, it's a wonky toy, but I hadn't bought myself a TF in soooo long... so what the heck.

I saw a few more tonight.

Hot Shot - looked like nothing special, but not bad.
Landmine - really looked like nothing special.
Thundercracker - (something about that name makes me laugh.) A decent jet figure, but nothing new or special.
Dirt Boss - Funny... I came really close to buying this one. I agree, there's something fun about it. (Next time.)
Vector Prime - I'm not sure about this one. I kind of dig it, but I'll wait a bit.
Crumplezone - I bought this one. I'll open it later and let you know what I think.
Jetfire - looks very cool, but I didn't feel like spending $30 right now. (Again, next time.)

Still waiting to see Optimus Prime and Override, which I think I'll like. I'm not wild about Red Alert, and I'm not sure about Megatron, who looks too much like the Batmobile to me. In bot mode he looks OK I suppose, but It's hard to tell just from the photos on the insert.

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So what did you guys think about the first episode? Did I miss some kind of a pilot episode where they set this whole thing up, or did it really just start up with no introduction?