Transformers: Energon & Beyond

[El Chuxter]

Oh. My. GOD!

I'm guessing it's a new continuity, as it doesn't quite mesh with any previous G1 incarnation I know of, but, damn, that looks sweet! The bit with the Omega Sentinel (might be Omega Supreme, but coloration is a bit different) was freaking awesome. Not that the whole thing wasn't, but that was awesome on the scale of Teek and Jaxxon singing "Baby Got Back."

Want, want, want, want!

[figrin bran]

Chux, while that's a new trailer, we've been talking about that War on Cybertron game for a few months now. Most of us are in agreement that these 30 second trailers completely crush the Bay movies many times over.

[El Chuxter]

I knew about the game, but hadn't been following the clips. This one made me poop my pants. Twice. The third time, I was smart enough to not put on another pair.

[figrin bran]

I bought Skystalker today based on great reviews and was not disappointed at all! It gets a solid A from me.

Animated Arcee gets an A-/B+ from me. Not nearly as outstanding as TFA Blurr, my main gripe is a QC problem. At least on my Arcee, the right knee joint was incorrectly molded and there's a tab that prevents the lower part of the leg from extending all the way back. Being able to store her swords on the backpacks is a great addition and bot mode is clearly TFA Arcee's strength. Her clip on wings aren't anything like the ones on the cardback or the instructions so it was a bit confusing figuring out how to put them on her.

[JediTricks]

I worked pretty hard to track down Skystalker the other night. It's an ok scout, too much undercarriage stuff for my tastes to be totally satisfied though. As for interaction with Mindwipe, right now I'm not seeing how it helps Mindwipe at all. In alt mode, it makes no visual sense, it's a little fun that they link but it doesn't really have any logic to it. In bot mode, it comes off as a cross between sitting on the shoulder and being a ventriloquist's dummy. It's a nifty addition to Skystalker, but I don't see it adding much to Mindwipe.[FONT=Times New Roman][FONT=Lucida Grande]

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Thanks to Figrin Bran, I was able to finally score an Arcee.

Bran, your Arcee's knee problem is not alone, mine was like that too, I just shaved it down a bit.

I'm a little annoyed at Hasbro over this figure. The thumbs on the hands are already showing stress marks from holding the swords, they're so long that they're all but guaranteed to fail and break those thumbs off, and there's NO way to replace them because of how hard to find this figure is.

I'm also annoyed because I already need to replace mine for another reason, there's bled white plastic trailing through the right eye on mine.

Finally, I'm annoyed at Hasbro for making her wings larger and moving them up the backpack.

But otherwise, she's a pretty cool customer. Alt mode is cool, and bot mode is quite nifty, very personable. She's quite poseable, they chose the exact right types of articulation for a sword-carrying figure like this, especially the waist, shoulders, neck, and forearms.

The regular-type issues I have are the paint wears off easily from some edges. The transformation back to alt mode gets unattractive around the midsection where the toes and the side kibble don't lock down so they have to be aligned manually. There are a few small ugly sections in both modes where they didn't sculpt the parts covered so they're gappy. The toes come off too easily. And the face is semi-exposed in alt mode. None of these are deal-breakers, but they are issues none the less.

I'd give Arcee a B, it's a pretty good but the limited nature hurts and there are enough little issues that could lead to damage that amplify that.

[Chaddymac]

You know how they could totally improve Arcee? By making a Classics version!

I'm just sayin'...

How does Mindwipe interact with Skystalker in bot mode? I didn't see that.

[El Chuxter]

Classics Arcee is one I would buy, if they kept it relatively close to the G1 robot model.

[figrin bran]

I worked pretty hard to track down Skystalker the other night. It's an ok scout, too much undercarriage stuff for my tastes to be totally satisfied though. As for interaction with Mindwipe, right now I'm not seeing how it helps Mindwipe at all. In alt mode, it makes no visual sense, it's a little fun that they link but it doesn't really have any logic to it. In bot mode, it comes off as a cross between sitting on the shoulder and being a ventriloquist's dummy. It's a nifty addition to Skystalker, but I don't see it adding much to Mindwipe.[FONT=Times New Roman][FONT=Lucida Grande]

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[/FONT][/FONT]
Thanks to Figrin Bran, I was able to finally score an Arcee.

Bran, your Arcee's knee problem is not alone, mine was like that too, I just shaved it down a bit.

I'm a little annoyed at Hasbro over this figure. The thumbs on the hands are already showing stress marks from holding the swords, they're so long that they're all but guaranteed to fail and break those thumbs off, and there's NO way to replace them because of how hard to find this figure is.

I'm also annoyed because I already need to replace mine for another reason, there's bled white plastic trailing through the right eye on mine.

Finally, I'm annoyed at Hasbro for making her wings larger and moving them up the backpack.

But otherwise, she's a pretty cool customer. Alt mode is cool, and bot mode is quite nifty, very personable. She's quite poseable, they chose the exact right types of articulation for a sword-carrying figure like this, especially the waist, shoulders, neck, and forearms.

The regular-type issues I have are the paint wears off easily from some edges. The transformation back to alt mode gets unattractive around the midsection where the toes and the side kibble don't lock down so they have to be aligned manually. There are a few small ugly sections in both modes where they didn't sculpt the parts covered so they're gappy. The toes come off too easily. And the face is semi-exposed in alt mode. None of these are deal-breakers, but they are issues none the less.

I'd give Arcee a B, it's a pretty good but the limited nature hurts and there are enough little issues that could lead to damage that amplify that.

JT, I thought it was only my Arcee that had stress marks on the hands. Maybe La Cienega TRU got a bad batch?

I also had another QC problem - only one red stripe on her head was painted so I went ahead and painted the other one.

Come to think of it, my Bludgeon has a paint app problem as well whereby the right eye has some overspray of white over the red.

I guess I'll continue to look for another Arcee...I found two of them so I think I can get lucky again. Though I'll probably have to pull a Tycho and not ever transform the extra one.

[Chaddymac]

No, the stress marks on the hands are caused by the swords, though on mine they don't seem to have weakened the hands at all. There's also the knee joint issue (one tab keeps one knee from locking in place). Mine also has issues with the wings staying on.

[Tycho]

I haven't been inspired to open my newest Transformers:

Legends Devastator
HA Barricade w. Frenzy

I guess I don't have anywhere to put them. I might re-arrange some of my bots and create a place.

I'm debating buying Deluxe Ice Cream Truck Skids / Mudflap and an extra Deluxe Sideswipe for "that scene."

I've been getting Scout Class bikes (any) to pretend to be the Arcee Triplets chasing Sideways.

Hmmm. Maybe I should complete this scene with some more bots?