Couldn't agree more. If this had been the first appearance of the mold since CDF Scattorshot, I'd be drooling, but as the third repaint...double meh.
guess this all but confirms Thunderclash as the Energon Rodimus mould. they don't usually do more than 2 voyagers per set
My initial reaction to the color scheme was "WTF?!!" but after looking over the pictures some more, it looks better. The head remold is defintely an improvement. Too bad none of the other redecos for this mold got the same treatment. No kidding. To me, Universe Overload is the REAL Universe Flak. The Botcon release can be Overload, as far as I'm concerned. Neither one matched his Armada color scheme, anyway.
Have all the other modes and i really like it. Like the new head and the colors are awsome. I really like this years set cant wait to get mine at botcon.
OTCC Mega (Black) Zarek was a "Giga-Con" or in other words an Ultra. Noble Megatron and Pre-Earth Optimus Primal are both Voyagers but they seem large to us now as the toys have shrunk so much since the Movie line and Classic line. The small Deluxe Optimus in Energon was sold in a twin pack along with the Smaller Energon Megatron via American Toys R Us (or Argos in the Uk).
Yeah that's a little overboard Hasbro released it as a Toys R Us exclusive with the voyager-sized Megatron
So... people 'called' it? What do you mean, that it'd be this mold? Anybody actually expect it to be this mold with a new head and in the non-G1-Flak color scheme of that urban/arctic camo? I was surprised by those 2 details, but wow, he looks very very nice. Landshark is the biggest boxset exclusive ever depending on how one compares an AEC-era 'Ultra' with a Beast/RID-era 'Ultra'(Deathsaurus).
Beautiful, simply beautiful. Best looking one so far hands down. Everyone is saying this mold has been used to death. I didn't hear that last year when Classics Prime and Jazz were shown. Classics Prime has had multiple repaints (Classics x2, SDCC & Botcon), as Jazz (Crosswise, Smokescreen, Jolt, Botcon x2)...so what's the big deal? No one was forced to buy either repaint of the Scattershot mold in Universe. It's a great mold and this redeco and new head have made it even better (IMO)...so why not just be thankful Fun Pub has done such an awesome job. I was on the fence early on after ordering an Iacon set blindly. Scourge started to win me over. Landshark pushed me a bit further and Flak has easily put me over the top. I could care less what mold they use for Thunderclash b/c I'm on cloud 9 right now. This set may not top 2006 or 2007, but I'm liking this more than 2008. A lot have been complaining about the mold choices available (mainly Unicron trilogy stuff)...but I wonder if any G2 molds are still on the table for FP? They used a Cyberjet in 2005, but nothing from that period since.
Ben, how could you not own that mold? you're fired! man, i'm digging this team more and more now. The Energon landmine was one of my fav's, and now this! Awesomesauce. Randy!
Leozack being an add on it bears no relation the the boxset heads. I'm still hoping it's being saved till last because it's so Awesome all else will pale in comparison. Sadly Im expecting it to be and energon deluxe, Rodimus or Optimus. Optimus I could almost bare not hating it the way so many do, but we've run out of new heads so Rodimus, my worst nightmare pick suddenly looks so certain. I dont get it the bio is clearly Overload, and the tank is just in generic camo colours. It's like deciding Gobot Firecracker is really Sideswipe because Sideswip shouldn't be blue. Flak's cool. Besides having to abandon hope of a decent Thunderclash I like it.
It looks very nice, though I don't find it particularly exciting (good since I'm out of the running for getting one I think) It looks good, and the new head sculpt looks decent, if a bit generic. Looking at it in another, more negative way, it's just a new repaint of a mold that's already been repainted two times in the last year, that doesn't match the original character's color, with a new head sculpt applied to a character where most people don't remember what his head looks like anyway. I'm getting a "Beast Machines" vibe from this set, in the sense that the toys' sizes seem apparently random, instead of a function of character size or 'importance'. Characters like Kup and Scourge get deluxe toys, while Flak and Landshark get Voyager and Ultra. At this rate, Thunderclash will be a basic.
Hasbro VS Takara VS Botcon I'm guessing the 3 companies have their own choice in what to release – without the other's consent or knowledge. ie. Botcon picks a mold, and if Hasbro decides to issue it again, or if Takara puts out seekers... it's just the nature of the beast with multiple companies and markets involved. So yeah...trying to judge the toy on its own merits... love the mold, color scheme is really nice, and all the head sculpts are great... especially scourge. Looking forward to the story line for this batch. They always seem to do a good job tying it all in together into a coherent package. I'm sure this year will be the same.
After looking over the whole set again, I really like all the choices so far. This is a great concept for Botcon (haven't fans wanted pre-war toys for ages? Maybe it's just me ) and it has two large bots in the box set for the first time. Throw in some obscure fan favorites as add-ons (Leozak and Skyquake) and that makes this another great set by FunPub. I can't wait to see Thunderclash! If I had the cash, I would have ordered a set. It's definitely worthy of the 25th anniversary
