Dave's Transformers Energon Rant: Basics Wave 5 Omnicon: Energon Strongarm (Strongarm) Omnicon: Offshoot (Signal Flare) Terrorcon: Doom-lock (Cruellock) Terrorcon: Command Ravage (Battle Ravage) Waves are getting kinda hard to figure out lately, with box assortments shuffling around all over the place. I'm going to say, for now, that wave 4 was E.Strongarm and Offshoot in the old packaging, while wave 5 is those two plus Doom-lock and Command Ravage in the new packaging. Updated 11/24/04 with official bios. Here's the original reviews of these molds: http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Energon/Basic1 (Strongarm and Battle Ravage) http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Energon/Basic2 (Signal Flare and Cruellock) The original ratings were: Strongarm: Recommended Signal Flare: Recommended Cruellock: Recommended (but barely into that category) Battle Ravage: Recommended (especially with the new head peg) CAPSULES Energon Strongarm: A lighter color scheme, otherwise unchanged. Recommended if you don't have Strongarm, otherwise mildly recommended. $6.94 at Wal-Mart. Offshoot: More green and with an orangeish cast to the red Energon pieces. Recommended even if you have Signal Flare, because an arm swap can make both look better. $6.94 at Wal-Mart. Doom-Lock: Much better color scheme than Cruellock, otherwise pretty much the same. Recommended if you don't have the mold, mildly recommended leaning towards recommended even if you do. $6.94 at Wal-Mart. Command Ravage: Worse color scheme, although at least you're guaranteed the modified Ravage mold. Mildly recommended. $6.94 at Wal-Mart. RANTS Packaging: This is the new "second year" packaging, with the Powerlinx Battles blue cog logo on the card, reminiscent of the Unicron Battles phase of Energon. The dominant color of the card is red, with a fade to black in the upper left. The cards inside the bubble are almost the same as before, but they have a lighter background with some energy crackles. The bubbles themselves are the same as the previous packaging. The cardback is red at the bottom fading up to black at the top with light red/ pink grid lines receding to a vanishing point quite a ways above the top of the card. All but Command Ravage have entirely new art. Command Ravage is a recolor job of the Battle Ravage art. Unfortunately, the comic is still at volume two. Xevoz ads showing the new line are included with the comic. The instructions seem to be the same, just with the names changed. There's no techspecs for these guys online as of 9/25/04. So I'll make up my own, so there. And while I know that the recolor Terrorcons are because of a split between Megatron and Alpha-Q in the cartoon, I'm going to come up with my own reasons for their existence. OMNICON: ENERGON STRONGARM Original Mold: Strongarm Altmode: All-Terrain Utility Vehicle Function: Energon Processing Motto: "Unsmotable!" Certain STRONGARM Omnicons spend so much time around Energon that it fundamentally alters their structure. Called ENERGON STRONGARMS, they are slightly slower than their brethren, but much harder to damage. This is because of the Energon infusing their armor, making it denser and more resilient. ENERGON STRONGARMS have been known to rely too heavily on their toughness, ignoring evacuation orders while working in the Energon mines. STR 7 INT 8 SPD 3 END 10 RNK 8 COUR 9 FRB 7 SKL 7 Avg 7.125 (Tech spec numbers are just Strongarm's with -1 SPD and +1 END.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Official Bio: AUTOBOT: ENERGON STRONGARM Quote: There's no such thing as too much Energon. STRONGARM'S over-exposure to raw energon has made him one with the energy source. It was once believed that the physical state of the Omnicons could not be affected when in contact with the substance. ENERGON STRONGARM'S enhanced form has definitely falsified this theory. With over 97.76% percent of his body comprised of pure energon, ENERGON STRONGARM'S ability to locate and mine the invaluable power source has been greatly enhanced. He no longer has to be in close proximity to locate an energon spot and can feel a source from miles away. ENERGON STRONGARM has become a valuable asset to the AUTOBOTS in battle as well. His increased physical strength has made him less reluctant to pound any TERRORCON that threatens to plunder an AUTOBOT energon reserve. STR 8 INT 8 SPD 5 END 9 RNK 8 COUR 9 FRB 7 SKL 8 Avg 7.75 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- I had to get out the scissors to cut E.Strongarm out of the bubble. E.Strongarm isn't *quite* a simple color swap. Some of the black parts on Strongarm become dark blue (wheels, windshield frame, upper legs). Other black parts become medium gray (head, doors, upper arms). The rest are as follows (Strongarm: Energon Strongarm): Dark silver paint: same Dark red clear plastic: light red clear plastic Pale sandstone: yellow Blue paint: red paint Red paint: same Lighter blue paint on eyes: same Energon Strongarm gets one more paint application, silver paint on the fronts of his thighs, along the raised lines. The overall effect is much lighter, but holds together pretty well. Otherwise pretty much the same. My admittedly cursory examination doesn't show any mold changes or effects from new plastic batches. Worth getting if you don't have the original. [Later note: There are some minor mold changes to the head. A couple of vertical lines on the cheeks, and the helmet is maybe a tenth of a millimeter thicker in a couple places. Paint slop obscured the differences for me at first glance.] [ANOTHER later note: It's starting to look like there's multiple variants of both Strongarm's face and E.Strongarm's face. Some report E.Strongarm has a mouthless faceplate, but mine has a face very similar to that of the Autobot symbol's lower half. And my regular Strongarm is frowning, but others say theirs smirks.] OMNICON: OFFSHOOT Original Mold: Signal Flare Altmode: Maser Tank Function: Experimental Life Form Motto: "Evolution in action, baby!" Not all of the artisan SIGNAL FLARE Omnicons were content to spend their days analyzing Energon in its many forms. Some have taken their studies to a new level, modifying their own life processes to be more acutely sensitive to Energon...much like the human Kicker, if not as accurate. Obsessed with self-improvement, the so-called OFFSHOOTS may look the same, but it is rare to find two with the same abilities or powers. Their loner attitude costs them in terms of rank and prestige, but their increased efficiency helps them persevere where a SIGNAL FLARE Omnicon would be throwing in the towel. STR 8 INT 9 SPD 4 END 7 RNK 7 COUR 8 FRB 10 SKL 9 Avg 7.75 (Stats are Signal Flare with +2 END and -2 RNK.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Official bio: AUTOBOT: OFFSHOOT Quote: My true talents can be seen in battle. OFFSHOOT is the twin brother of OMNICON SIGNAL FLARE. Like his brother, he is a skilled energon welder and weapons craftsman. Unlike SIGNAL FLARE, OFFSHOOT is not very dedicated to his work. He feels that welding ENERGON is more of a burdensome task then a true artform. He would rather fight in battle then work the energon mines. OPTIMUS PRIME has noticed this Omnicon's impressive fighting skills when thwarting TERRORCON attacks and has asked him to accompany his team on several offensives against the DECEPTICONS. Though a skilled warrior, OFFSHOOT often lets his guard down during battle when trying to impress his AUTOBOT comrades. STR 8 INT 9 SPD 4 END 5 RNK 9 COUR 8 FRB 10 SKL 9 Avg 7.75 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Rank NINE? Sheesh.) Again, here's the color swaps, with Signal Flare's color followed by Offshoot's. Light blue: light green Dark blue plastic: light tan plastic Red clear plastic: slightly orangey red clear plastic Dark gray plastic: dark green plastic Pale green plastic: medium blue plastic Orange camo stripe paint: gold detail paint Silver paint: black paint (and a little extra on Offshoot) Dark blue paint: orange paint Red paint on feet: black paint Dark blue wash on treads: dark green wash Silver forearm paint: gold paint Face and chest details are different paint masks. Offshoot's face is dark blue with gold "sideburns" and an orange eyeslit. The chest has gold paint accents along with the black and orange. As has been known for some time, if you swap arms between Offshoot and Signal Flare, you get somewhat more unified color schemes on both. The dark green in Offshoot's barrel will be a little odd on Signal Flare, but that's about it (and given that Signal Flare's dark blue is a little greenish, this is less of an issue than you might think). This way, Signal Flare is mostly shades of blue, and Offshoot is mostly shades of green. The left arms just pop and swap. However, you must remove screws and disassemble the upper right arms to exchange them. The barrel tip is glued on, so you can't swap the open parts to keep the green off the swapped Offshoot arm. The operation is smooth, but there's some white goop inside the gears as lubrication, be careful not to wipe it all off. Unlike a lot of Transformers gearing mechanisms, there's no hassle in putting it back together. Okay, so the colors aren't totally unified once the arms are swapped, but there's a lot less clashing. Worth getting an Offshoot to do the arm swap. TERRORCON: DOOM-LOCK Original Mold: Cruellock Altmode: Godzilla 2000 Function: Assassin Motto: "My blade burns with the Energon of my victims." A number of CRUELLOCKS came to the realization that sometimes the best way to win a battle is to make sure the enemy never reaches the battlefield. Exchanging obvious shows of valor for the shadowy way of the assassin, the DOOM-LOCK variants believe in cutting off the enemy's head before the fight begins, using their Energon blades to execute unwitting AUTOBOTS. In fact, their habit of absorbing the Energon of their enemies has given them a uniquely yellow glow...their own green added to the red of the OMNICON- purified Energon. STR 8 INT 8 SPD 9 END 8 RNK 4 COUR 4 FRB 6 SKL 7 Avg 6.75 (Cruellock with -1 COUR, +1 SKL.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Official bio: TERRORCON: DOOMLOCK Quote: Not yet available as of 11/24/04 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- And yes, adding red light to green light gives you yellow, as far as human eyes are concerned. :) Doom-Lock is secured to the tray with a large number of twist-ties, but fortunately they're all thin and easy to cut even with a regular scissors. Like Cruellock, I think Doom-Lock is better in beast mode. Here's the color shifts: Dark blue-green plastic: slightly reddish brown plastic Dark gray plastic: light gray plastic Turquoise plastic: medium gray plastic Clear green plastic: clear yellow plastic Light gray plastic: cream plastic Doom-Lock's head is not quite the standard plastic swap, being reddish brown on the rear half and medium gray on the front. The paint apps are mostly new, with a lot of metallic brown-red and copper, plus paint to match the reddish brown plastic. There is no paint on the Energon pieces. Doom-Lock has been decribed as a "magma type", and the colors do bear this out. I prefer this color scheme to the original Cruellock. And it's worth having at least one of this mold, because the "handle" Energon piece turns out to be a *tremendously* useful bit when you're trying to make super combined Energon weapons (or Omnicon/Terrorcon combiners). TERRORCON: COMMAND RAVAGE Original Mold: Battle Ravage Function: Battlefield Command Altmode: Mecha-Jaguar Motto: "Those who think force doesn't solve anything simply haven't used enough force!" Once the AUTOBOTS got over the shock of the wave assaults of the BATTLE RAVAGES, they started to fight back a lot more effectively. This would not do. Certain units were upgraded to COMMAND RAVAGE status, with more advanced brains and a rudimentary grasp of tactics. They are no more powerful than their minions, but can help a horde of disorganized BATTLE RAVAGES become much more effective in battle. STR 5 INT 8 SPD 6 END 7 RNK 6 COUR 5 FRB 7 SKL 8 Avg 6.5 (Battle Ravage with +1 INT and +1 RNK.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Official Bio: TERRORCON: COMMAND RAVAGE Quote: Not yet available as of 11/24/04 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Another many-twist-tie thing...guess they don't trust the Terrorcons? Both feet came off when I removed the toy from the bubble. Unlike the other three, this was packaged in robot mode, just like Battle Ravage. The mold is the later Battle Ravage one, with the peg to hold the robot mode head assembly in place. As far as I can tell, the Energon plastic is identical between the two characters, batch variation at most. Color swaps: Black plastic: medium grayish blue plastic Very light gray plastic: very dark blue plastic Purple plastic: brownish red plastic The paint applications are mostly different, with gold on the face, shoulders and thighs, and brownish red on the chest and pelvis. The top of the beast head is gold with a silver bit at the middle top. The eyes of the beast mode are still yellow, and there's still neon green paint on the robot eyes and on the missile pods on the beast shoulders. The robot face is all gold, which looks better than the striped pattern on Battle Ravage. Finally, a purple Decepticon symbol is tampographed on the disc that's on the right shoulder. It's kinda hard to see, since the disc itself is very dark blue. The overall look isn't so good. I prefer the color scheme on Battle Ravage. About the only upside to this version is that you don't have to check production dates on the card to be sure of getting the fixed neck mold. Dave Van Domelen, has a squad of Battle Ravages for the Command Ravage to command, thanks to his quest for that neck peg thing.