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Well Griffin, you got your wish. Skorponok will indeed be a headmaster using the Energon mold and retooled Spike headmaster.
http://www.seibertron.com/transforme...evealed/29836/
And all I can say is, can someone grab me a loose set this year whoever is going? I'll pay for it up front of course. I want that Skorponok.
This set is completely awesome this year ! :eek: hopefully I can get one
I guess they would.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paulbot
For what it is, I'm not surprised. Personally I love the looks of him.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paulbot
Scorponok looks amazing! I've immediately gone from not caring about this set to looking for early pre-orders :p
You and me both. The demand for this set had just skyrocketed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Shirokaze
I agree, I really want this set now. If anyone going to Botcon this year could help, much appreciated!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by 1AZRAEL1
Scorponok's in the box set. You can order the box set without going. You should only ask the people going to BotCon to help with the at-show exclusives and even then it's a lot of extra pressure to put on people who are going. (At least that's how it felt for me)
The first thing I thought when I saw Scorponok was:
Is this an April Fool's joke? Almost is too good to be true.
But it is.....being a Botcon exclusive.....
It would look good next to Not-Fort Max.
This would make much more sense being released as part of the 30th Anniversary then some of the other TFs being released.
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Originally Posted by 1AZRAEL1
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Originally Posted by Defcon
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Originally Posted by 1AZRAEL1
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Originally Posted by Shirokaze
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Originally Posted by 1AZRAEL1
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Originally Posted by gekisou
Oh Primus Damn! :eek: Wants me that Scorponok! He looks brilliant! I could forego the rest of the crew but I want that Scorponok! I WANTS IT BAD! :D
Had a look and (predicatably) it's not up for order yet. They still have last years box set at $365. You think they would have dropped the price by now, especially since it was not as popular as the Stunticons the year before.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paulbot
Preregistration for BotCon is taking a long time to happen but as soon as it does, register for a non-attending BotCon set and you'll get that box set sent to you at some point after the convention when they get around to it.
I'd like to buy that Scorponok (and Cannonball too), but I don't want to give money to their organisation for the usual long list of issues.
You can do that? From FunPubs website? I only want a loose set which I figure you get with a boxed one for attending the show.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paulbot
When you register for BotCon, you canQuote:
Originally Posted by 1AZRAEL1
a) register to attend (you get a boxset and a freebie)
b) register to attend and buy a loose set (you get the box set, loose set and a freebie)
c) register as non-attending (you get a boxset)
If you want to get the box set figures then option C is the best way to guarantee it, otherwise it's up to those attending to offer to do option B (but there's always more people wanting the toys without going, than there are people actually going).
Well that's a game changer...
They ended up doing the Headmaster gimmick in a way that I was originally thinking was possible - plugging an existing Headmaster into something that was essentially a "remoulded" head (a base-plate in place of the original head).
The wording on the site says that it is the Reissue Spike that has been remoulded into a Scorponok head (since the Fort Max mould is recent, so that component was available... but not remoulded into Zarak, because he did not originally form the entire Scorpy head).
I can see why they included this in the box set (to get people pre-registering, as they don't promote the at-show toys, no matter how much more popular they could be to get people in), but does Gen1 Scorponok scream Pirate or Knight?
I guess if all 14 toys this year are Pirates and Knights, and now includes Devcon and Scorponok, then maybe the story this year is set somewhere in the Gen1 era?
I still think they could have promoted this year, the anniversary year, a lot better, by starting out with teases and hints of when the series is set (or features some classic Gen1 characters), instead of putting off just about everyone with their first impression of "Knights Vs Pirates" as a 30th Anniversary theme.
Pirate or not, G1 Skorponok to me for my classics shelf lol. And I doubt I'm alone in that. If you look closely enough at the head, you can see it is Spike.
It will be interesting to see if it helped turn the tide towards registering to attend, from just buying non-attendee sets, or just pre-ordering from online stores.
I think the first day of pre-registration will give us an idea of if this really has pushed enough people into attending, just to secure these figures... as FunPub will reduce the number of non-attending sets (which would include those online stores) if they actually sell at least 75% off the attending sets on the first day (sales drop off significantly after 24 hours).
Last year they only got 30% sold in the first day, and kept moving stock to the non-attendee pile, and still didn't sell out throughout the entire convention.
I think the pirates and knights theme is still putting people off... which should have been a sub-title to a big bold 1984 Transformers logo on a glossy black Box lid.
Then it would have been dismissed more easily by those looking for an anniversary homage set,
If the fifth figure is any good, it will help as well, but their policy of not announcing any of the at-show toys, means they can only promote a third of the toys, and just hope people will take a blind jump at committing themselves to about US$700 for all 14 toys... and the recent few years haven't made that a worthwhile risk.
I can only commend FunPub with this figure. Nothing related to the FunPub figures is as important as the figures themselves including the theme. This mold was crying out to be given a G1 redeco and (i think) they nailed it. The genius inclusion of an updated G1 headmaster is a cherry on top. Scorponok as far as i can tell has not been compromised by costs, poor mold choice or Hasbro in any way - which I think is unusual for a FunPub toy.
I am preparing myself for having to deal with the club again soon. I will try not to complain about it but accept it.
Scorponok looks totally amazing. Alas, I cannot hope to afford to buy him, let alone the set. I just started watching Headmasters and I love it. Really want this guy.
Colour me impressed :p
I was on the fence until I saw Devcon, now I am well and truly sold. I will be getting the non-attendee set again this year.
:D
The jet mode of the Scorponok toy has been released, which probably wasn't necessary, as that mode could have been "dropped" for this Gen1 homage.
(and the colours end up being all over the place in that mode, so doesn't look too nice to me in that mode - the other modes are good though)
Dammit that did it for me - now I need this. Really like the idea of Olin Zarak sitting in the pilot seat of Scorponok (which makes more sense than a flying space-scorpion).Quote:
Originally Posted by griffin
Your mention of the colours being all over the place made me realise what was wrong with the original robot/scorpion modes to me (aside from the liberal use of orange plastic): the claws are not entirely purple - which is quite critical when you need to tell off nosey Autobots.
Showing off his jet mode does absolutely nothing for me. I want him for his scorpion mode and robot mode. He'll fit well into the classics shelf.
I really-REALLY want a contemporary (Classicsverse) update to G1 Headmasters Scorponok :o:D, he's one of my absolute favourite G1 toys and I have to admit thatFunPub have done a bloody good effort with this Botcon 2014 offering :eek:, however...
I wonder what the Indy Transforming Robot scene can/will produce? ;) - As rumour has it apparently that both MakeToys & PerfectEffect have offerings in the pipeline that will likely have prices comparable to this figure once it hits the secondary market. :cool:
Hrm, as much as I want that Scorponok, I find it mildly amusing that the only thing that piques my interest in this year's set is a character that is an update to his G1 self.
Old Scorps certainly doesn't look piratey in the slightest.
COngrats Funpub. Once again you're best ideas are ones not thought up by yourselves.
No, really, I love those guys
Sorry I don't find that Scorp mold very good to start with so still no excitement this end. I think I have 3 of them already:o
The first one (Energon) was a bizarre mix of colours (almost as many different colours as Gen1 Thunderclash).
The second one (Superlink) was nicer with mostly green and gold.
The third one (Cybertron) went back to a combination of too many different colours, but not as many as the Energon one.
And the fourth one (BotCon 2010) was a nice homage to a toy (Actionmaster Doublepunch) that was already based on the original Scorponok/Black Zarak form.
I wonder if they had trouble deciding whether they should do Scorponok (for a larger "Hasbro" following or sales-potential) or Black Zarak (for their smaller committed "cultish" following and a more plausible tie-in to their Pirate theme).
If the toy was a Deluxe, I'd have liked to see it done as Beast Wars Scorponok to go with the 2006 BotCon BW toys... because so far there are only three show character Predacons, but eight show Maximals. (or 4 to 7 if you count Dinobot as a Predacon)
This is pretty cool, I don't have this mold, so it's cool to be getting a "new" mold in the set.
The redesign of the head to fit a G1 headmaster is a very nice touch. The third mode of a "space Jet" makes more sense to me than a city, especially for a space pirate.
Was this mold good for it's time? is it something that will look alright amongst more modern toys. How big is this toy, I get the impression that it's about a ultra size class?
there's not going to be a whole lot of foam in this box is there, they have stated that they've managed to keep the box size the same.
If they hadn't already done Doublepunch, I suspect they would have done Black Zarak for his Zone pirateyness. If they can recolour anyone into Halfshell, Scylla, Coelagon, Terrormander or Sea Phantom they should do that too. And if they have access to the Armada Starscream Generations mould yet, I suspect they'll try to make a Skywarp from it.Quote:
Originally Posted by griffin
Airachnid is apparently a bad toy but she would make a good Scylla. Female (check) and multiple extra legs in robot mode (check).Quote:
Originally Posted by Sky Shadow
I honestly get the impression that the "G1 ness" of Scorponok is very much an effort on their part to call out the 30 year anniversary.
I'm sure they will do something, but calling a ten year-old toy in a twenty-seven year-old deco a thirtieth anniversary homage would be like forgetting your wife's birthday and covering it up by giving her stuff you find lying around the house.Quote:
Originally Posted by UltraMarginal
"calling a ten year-old toy in atwenty-seven year-oldG1 deco a thirtieth anniversary" of Transformers and specifically G1 is fine.
BotCon has done G1 decos every year for the past decade. Last year they did the Rainmakers, the year before they did Metalhawk and Gigatron, the year before they did the Stunticons and Minerva, the year before they did the Sharkticons, the year before that they did ten G1 decos, the year before that they used four G1 decos, the year before that they used eight G1 decos, two the year before that, and six the year before that. To say that doing a single toy in a 1987 colour scheme this year is to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary is ridiculous.Quote:
Originally Posted by Deonasis
Yikes all that is true! I guess the fandom wanting the particular deco for the last 10 years makes this more special than some others listed. Some homages were very much shoe-horned and none have gone to similar lengths of like incorporating a G1 headmaster into the design. It seems like extra effort has gone into this figure and that makes it feel more special than all previous exclusives to me. The Vector Sigma inclusion was similar but not quite in the same league.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sky Shadow
I think that's fair enough, and it's definitely great when they actually use G1 moulds like this Nebulan, Glyph, Tap-Out or the Shattered Glass eHobby set. And it's definitely a very cool idea to use a G1 head and deco the toy accordingly. I just get irked when HasTakTomFunPubEtc do the same things they always do and claim it's to celebrate something or other. Like giving thirty fairly random (and in two cases fairly identical) toys 'special' anniversary numbers.Quote:
Originally Posted by Deonasis
NOW THAT did really grind my gears. The sticker is the only thing special about "Thrilling 30".Quote:
Originally Posted by Sky Shadow
would it be fair to say that Botcon is a celebration of Transformers as a whole every year?
I'm starting to wonder if they're ever going to reveal the final figure and put out the brochure before the con actually starts. haven't heard a thing in over a week from them.
The GIJoe Con was on last weekend, so EVERYTHING is put on hold for 2-3 weeks... which they should have communicated to their Transformers followers, considering the schedule of BotCon info at the moment. Or at the very least, have a series of updates or tweets ready to send out so that it doesn't look like something is wrong from the radio silence (considering their past, it's easy to assume the worst when we hear nothing from them).