I missed out on the AEC figures and have been seeing a few here and there that I wanted and need to know a little bit of information about the lines. Please answer this if you will. None of these are lines that I plan on collecting in full but there are a few figures I wanted. Armada Only figures I'll be looking for are: Super - Optimus Giga - Jetfire Max - Overlord Are there anything specific I need to know about any of these? Problems, issues, pieces that normally go missing ect? How many decos of the Star Saber, Sky boom shield, and the other one, the blaster are there? I have a yellowish Saber I think is energon but, I keep seeing bunch of different deco's for it. Anybody know how many different 3 packs of Mini-cons came out for this line? Oh, and Bendy Prime, why is he called this? Which version is he? the deluxe? What's the deal with him? Energon I'll be looking for Super - Optimus Supreme - Omega Supreme Same question about these, anything I should know about them? What's with the powerlinx? Is there a difference between a deluxe with powerlinx and one where it's not advertised by the seller? Cybertron Leader - Optimus Leo Breaker Leader - Megatron Nemesis Breaker Primus Same question, anything I need to know? My daughters boyfriend keeps claiming that he's going to give me Primus but it's missing the omega lock and the key, I assume it's missing all accessories. I keep seeing things that state you need to have these planet keys to activate features, is this true? Can it be bypassed, like lock picked? Someone also said that Primus cannot be transformed without the omega lock, is this true? I'm watching the series for the first time and I'm only on episode 25, but are there really only 5 keys amongst all the toys or are they different? Autobots Decepticon Speed Planet Animal Planet The one that's missing? Are they all the same as in key wise, I know the symbols are different but, does one key work on all figures? Basically if I wanted one of each key how many would I be looking for? 5 or 50? (random guess as to how many toys were made) Galaxy Force What's up with this? Why is there figures in both cybertron and in Galaxy Force, what's the difference and are there a lot of figures in the GF series? Is there anything else you would like to add to this? Thank you for getting me up to date on this. Erland
feel free to peruse this site, it should answer most of your questions: Welcome to TFU.INFO The Alpha Trion and Omega Prime of Transforming Toys - www.tfu.info ill answer what i know. Star Sabre: check the above link, it should show you all variations of everything ever (most of your questions will be answered there. you'll see) Bendy Prime: deluxe figure. very well articulated for his time. i dont think he can combine with the regular prime set. Powerlinx: only autobots can powerlinx, and can do so between any size class Primus: can be transformed without omega lock, AA battery does the trick Planet keys: there's 4 types (Jungle, Speed, Earth, Giant) aside from some uniques (Optimus Prime, Vector Prime, Megatron). they are all interchangeable and can be used in any toy of the line, just the color and symbol is different. Galaxy Force: Repaints. hope this helps!
Armada Super Optimus: Has a two clear smoke stack pieces, one attaches to each arm or can plug together to form a small handgun. Also, there's a spring-loaded missile launcher on his trailer, the missile for that and the smokestack pieces are likely to be the ones missing if anything. Overload: Two missile launchers that only see real use when attached to Super Optimus, but those missiles could also easily go missing. Mini-Con Teams: Street Action, Air Defense, Land Military, Race, Adventure, Street Speed, Space, Air Military, Sea Attack. Those are the primary 3-pack team molds. Hasbro and Takara redeco'd those molds at least a half-dozen times across all their markets, with some being excruciatingly rare or difficult to obtain. Energon Powerlinx: Fancy branding term for combining. Autobot gimmick only. Optimus could Powerlinx with his four included drones, Wing Saber, or Omega Supreme/Sentinel. The two Ultra Autobot molds could powerlinx with their extra bits to form a bulked-up "Brute Mode." Any two deluxe or voyager class Autobots could powerlinx together into a single robot form; one becoming the upper body, the other the lower body. tfwiki.net is a tremendous resource when it comes to researching older toys and will have all the pertinent information including what accessories they came with and details on any gimmicks.
Regarding the minicon weapon combiners: There's four different decos of the Requiem Blaster (the Space team): - normal deco (released in the US & Japan) - X-Dimension greenish deco (Japan retail exclusive) - Energon redeco (released only with Ultra Magnus) - Cybertron redecos (white/gold/purple/black redecos, Decepticon aligned, form the Umbral Blaster, only available separately in the Cybertron minicon two-packs) There are roughly five decos of the Skyboom Shield (the Race team): - normal deco (released in the US & Japan) - Road Assault redeco (released at retail in the US in Armada & Energon, released as campaign microns only in Japan) - X-Dimension blue & white deco (Japan retail exclusive) - DVD Linkage green/black/purple(?) deco (Japan DVD exclusives, each member available with a DVD, a bitch to find nowadays, combine to form the Magnawing) - Cybertron "Tiny Tin" redeco (somewhat similar to the Road Assault deco, but a different layout, I think each member was only available with different Cybertron toys that included those minicon tins) I think there's also a Micron Booster Vol. 0 version of the Race team with slightly sparkly plastic, but from what I've read it's barely different from the normal release and I've never seen a picture comparison, so I have no idea to be honest. For the Star Saber, it's a little more complicated. For the original molding (the Air Defense/Air Assault teams), there is... - Normal Air Defense deco (clear plastic, US & Japan retail release) - Hasbro Air Assault deco (non-clear plastic, US only release) - Takara Air Assault deco (clear plastic, Japan only release) - X-Dimension "Fire" redeco (clear plastic w/white-red-orange deco, Japan retail exclusive) - Kabaya Change Micron Air Defense deco (non-clear plastic, Japan exclusive) - CD Anime Version deco (clear blue plastic, comes with a CD that contains one of the intro or exit songs for the Micron Legends cartoon) Like the Skyboom Shield, there was a Micron Booster Vol. 0 "redeco" of the Air Defense team using slightly sparkly plastic which you can hardly notice, though like the Race team I've never seen a picture comparison so I can't speak from experience. Then there's Energon's Energon Saber redeco/remold of the team (which is what I believe you were referring to by the "yellowish" Saber team you have. The versions of this remold are as follows: - Normal Energon Saber deco (US & Japan retail release, no discernable differences between the two that I'm aware of) - Micron Booster Vol. 1 Blizzard Saber redeco (clear plastic w/green-blue deco, Japan Micron Booster exclusive, all three members available in each box of 12 microns) - Cybertron redeco (multi-colored redecos referencing G1 Ramjet, Sunstorm and Thrust, Hasbro US only retail release via the Cybertron minicon two-packs) There is also a really rare version of this mold called the StormSword which was released in clear red plastic and only available at three different smaller conventions. I don't think it's technically an "official" exclusive, but it still looks cool. I'm a minicon whore, so I have these on tap thanks to a deal I've worked out with a member here. Here's a link regarding these releases: Blog #150: Toy Review: Dairycon 2005 Stormsword (WindChill, ThunderClap, HotStuff) | lmb3.net
'Super' isn't the same size as 'SuperCon' and no one calls them that anyway so if you try searching for Max-Con you are going to get a lot less hits. Powerlinking in Energon is the combination of two Autobots of 'Deluxe' (Super-Con) or 'Voyager' (Max-Con/Mega) size to make a bigger robot i.e. Hotshot and Inferno. But it also applies to the name of repainted Armada toys - i.e. Powerlinx Cyclonus is a green repaint. It can be spelt Powerlinx or Powerlink too and the japanese term Superlink is also sometimes used. Powerlinking also describes the combination of the Energon Combiners and the combination of a Mini-con with his larger partner. The 5mm posts with little holes in are powerlink post and the little holes with a dimple in the middle are Powerlink ports. However the Hex ports used by combiners can also be described as such and i've even heard the term used for Powercore combiners too. Oh and it's armada Overload not Overlord (also known as Ultra Magnus). your best buy is the Korean/Japanese ones they are a better colour than the rather pinkish Hasbro one - or the Energon version - but that is more expensive quite often - unless you buy him loose. Don't forget to check the Universe brand for repaints and repacks too and the Japanese/Korean version ; Micron legend (Micron Densetsu) Superlink, and Galaxy Force. And if your looking for Minicons/Microns then look for Change Galaxy.Oh and if you wanted to buy Armada Hotshot the Japanese Micron legend version is far superior it's better painted the plastic isn't as see through and his hand lights up so he can light a sword up when it's put in his hand.
Thank you for the replies... I wasn't expecting so many so quickly.. I didn't realize there were so many different decos of the mini-cons I mentioned... but gives me a lot to choose from so theres that.. yeah sorry about the Overlord vs Overload thing I have a reading comprehension issue esp when there are lots of text to go through.. As far as Powerlinx, I know what it is, what they do, but I was referring to the difference when seeing people selling them in places like the Junkion, where they state, Powerlinx Optimus Prime, is that just the armada redeco released for Energon or something or is that a specific version of Energon? Optimus Prime? I'm glad I don't want a whole lot from these lines.. As far as TFWIKI goes, i'm on there all the time, but there is a lot of information and some of it, either I haven't come across yet, or its just a lot to take in. but, thank you all for your replies.
Ah, the good old days of the Unicron Trilogy. It was the mainline of Transformers before Michael Bay raped my childhood. I used to wish Hasbro would rerelease all the AEC toys I missed out on as repaints. Now, I like Transformers Prime more and don't think about AEC no more.
The specific Powerlinx redecos (Optimus Super Mode, Jetfire, Hot Shot, Demolishor, Cyclonus) were all redecos released in Armada. In Optimus' case, he's a (much more) blue and red redeco with the trailer, along with a gold chromed version of Sparkplug. In Japan, they released this Powerlinx Optimus with a slightly different (more accurate, I think) deco as Optimus Prime Final Battle Mode in a Magna Convoy box set that was a TRU Japan exclusive. The Optimus Super Mode toy was redecoed again in Energon in red and yellow as part of a two-pack with (a largely yellow) Overload.
Friendly advice: Don't start looking to collect all the variants of certain Mini-Cons. That's how it starts.. a maddening lifelong obsession that will see you spending $50+ on a single 2 inch Transformer that a slightly different deco of which can be obtained for $2.
TFWiki is your friend. Also, include Energon and Cybertron Wing Sabers into your list. They're awesome.
Yea I recommend you get all the Primes from the Unicron trilogy they are great display figures, as for Leo Breaker, and Nemesis Breaker for Megatron or Optimus...Eh..IT was a cool idea for a toy when you combined them, but now it's like "MEh..." other couple of great toys I recommend you getting is Cybertron/Energon, Wing Saber, and the 4 planet keys king figures(Is what I call them) They are the figures that contain the 4 gold cyber planet keys from each planet..So, Scourge, Override, Metroplex, and Evac.
I'll focus on this since Cybertron/Galaxy Force is one of my favorite. It's the same series, GF is the Japanese version while Cyb is the US version. Mostly the same toys, cartoon, etc. There's 4 main versions of keys, one for each planet- Speed, Jungle, Earth, Giant. The US versions of the figures have a unique code on the back that tied in to some website feature, but every key functions like every other. This is an awesome line full of great figures. I'd suggest also getting Wing Saber, as he combines with Prime in a very awesome fashion. The upgraded versions of Hot Shot, Red Alert, and Scattorshot are a fantastic trio (dubbed Cybertron Defense). The Voyager Starscream mold (only released in the US in Thrust colors) is another must-have. There's an A/E/C appreciation thread in here somewhere, I'd suggest finding that to soak up some toy pics.
Aside from the name of the Japanese series, "Galaxy Force" was also the name used for the Optimus Prime redeco that basically replaced blue for black. The planet symbols from the keys were also tampo'd onto Optimus.
Lots of pieces can go missing on Optimus Prime. His trailer is full of struts. 1) Star Saber (Armada), Dark Saber (Armada), Energon Saber (Energon), Sky Terror Saber (Cybertron) 2) Skyboom Shield Yellow, Skyboom Shield Red, Skyboom Shield Red 2 (Cybertron) 3) Requiem Blaster (Armada), Requiem Blaster (Energon), Requiem Blaster (Cybertron) If you include exclusives and japanese repaints the numbers (and prices) quadruples. Not off the top of my head. Plenty of resouces around. . . The deluxe, the large version is as flexible. If you buy Omega Supreme or Sentinel used make sure that the head is included. Powerlinx is the function where some autobots can combine with each other but it is also the name of the repaints. In other words, the first Jetfire is was "Jetfire", the repaint is "Powerlinx Jetfire". Nothing major I can think of off the top of my head other then if you buy Primus you should also get a Unicron somewhere to go along with it. All the keys are the same so that's not as important, but the omega lock is need to transform him for his chest. I can't remember if you can force transform it without the lock or not. All the keys are the same function-wise. but if you're talking about shape there's many. There are also two keys that work with the Armada retools. In the cartoon there's 4 major keys. (4) Earth, Speed, Animal, Giant (3) Autobot, Autobot Leader, Autobot (Armada) (3) Decepticon, Decepticon Leader, Decepticon (Armada) (1) Planet X (1) Vector Prime's Time Key Galaxy Force is the Japanese name for Cybertron. There are a handful of different repainted figures in the toy line but the in-cartoon figures are all the same. Galaxy Force was also used for repaints in the Cybertron line. Cybertron - Optimus Prime (Red/Blue/White) Cybertron - Galaxy Force Optimus Prime (Red/Grey) Cybertron - Vector Prime (White) Cybertron - Galaxy Force Vector Prime (Copper) Galaxy Force - Convoy (same as Cybertron version except his key is painted correctly) Galaxy Force - Vector Prime (more accurate to the cartoon as he's off-white greyish instead of just white like the Hasbro/Cybertron version) ***If you go looking for the Galaxy Force versions you may see some boxes marked as Moxom instead of Takara, that's just the Korean packaging and should be legit.
B'Bantor is completely off base! If you shop smart you'll only pay $49 for the semi-rare ones. Seriously though, he's right. Don't get addicted. The Sky Terror, Fire , Blizzard , Change Micron, Anime CD sabers will all be a pain to find and they are the easier ones. If you like the combiner concept I suggest getting the new Arms Micron sword & shield combiners.
There are several versions of Energon Optimus. Some have mouths, some have solid mouthplates. When you open the chest windows for super mode, some have flat surfaces on the inside of the white parts, some have ridges. Early versions of Armada Optimus Prime can't raise their arms in super mode.
I second this. While Energon Wing Saber isn't very articulated, his combination with Energon Prime is the best of Prime's super modes. Cybertron Wing Saber is great too. Yes you can use your pinkie finger to transform Primus. In planet mode you "need" the Omega lock to: open the top of the planet mode; to turn the half spheres on his legs 180º; and to transform his chest. To go from robot to planet, you just need it to slide the chest back into storage mode and rotate the leg half spheres back 180º. There are two types of locking mechanisms on Primus. One has two tabs on the inside of the receptacle that need to be pressed in order to slide the locking mechanism. These are on the back and chest. The other one is a pin in the center that needs to be pressed in. These are on the leg spheres. Also be aware that there is a deluxe sized Energon Optimus Prime that was part of a TRU exclusive that came with a Deluxe sized Energon Megatron. This smaller OP can Powerlinx with deluxe and voyager Autobots but is too small to combine with the trailer drones, Wingsaber, and Omega Supreme/Sentinel. This smaller figure has a chromed grill & bumper that should make it easier to identify, but be aware that the Japanese leader class figure (which does work with the above) also has a chromed grill & bumper. Also TFW2005 has a pretty good resources section you can check out for information.
Everyone answered your questions. I'd recommend buying more figures from Cybertron/Galaxy Force and Energon/Superlink than Armada/Micron Legend (Japanese title.) I'd recommend Cybertron leader Galvatron for sure.
