In 2010, a company distributed in the UK blind-bagged minicons from the Universe 2.0 12-pack. These "Fizzy Energon Sweets" came with a remold of the original Universe 2.0 minicons. It's important to note these are all remolds, and not repaints or plain re-releases. Three of the 12 minicons have notable differences: - Bodyblock's brown components are now Orange - Cloudraker's blades can fold together, instead of being a solid cross - Brimstone's colors are noticeably different, with a neon vibe The other 9 minicons have other differences. Almost all minicons have a different copyright molded in. Universe 2.0 has "Hasbro China" and "Takara". The Fizzy Energon versions only have "Hasbro". Metal pins are also visibly different, with a smaller head. Minicon logos are printed in a different font, which is much, much thicker than usual. Several robot mode heads are different, with less detail. Some paint applications are of lower quality, with evident mistakes and rough edges. Finally, the plastic quality tends to be inferior to the Universe 2.0 releases, not at KO quality, but clearly inferior.
I never even knew these were a thing! It's intriguing that they got some general mold improvements (at least in the case of Cloudraker), but still have a cheapy feel to them. I'm not a fan of these Universe Mini-Con molds in general, but things like the Cloudraker robot change are nice. However, this review isn't complete without a look at those Fizzy Energon Sweets.
Dreadful candlewax rubbish, way over-priced, floppy fall-apart messes. The 'sweets' were urinal-block factory rejects dissolved as far as they'd go.