TF Source Review – Energy Cubes (Lavender)

And I’m back. Sorry about so long between reviews, but I was visiting Hong Kong and China for business and just unable to work on toy reviews. The good news is that I scored a few toys that will get reviewed . . . but not until later. Today I want to direct you guys at these Energy Cubes (available at TFSource) that I bought while I was at Botcon last month. A simple idea, these Energy Cubes are similar to earlier cubes . . . but with a significant and awesome twist.

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The sixteen three-quarter inch cubes in the box are made of synthetic crystal and are hefty, glass-like objects with a clarity that you can only get from glass. And if you look at the packaged photo below you’ll notice that fifteen of the cubes look slightly darker than one of the cubes. Why is that? Because the clear cube stays clear while all of the darker cubes actually change color — turning a pale lavender — when held under direct sunlight. I’ll admit that this is a gimmick, but between the quality of the cubes and the color-change feature I’ve gotta say that these are the coolest Energon Cube-like pieces in my collection.

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Unfortunately, try as hard as I could I just couldn’t get the cubes inside to the light tent fast enough to snap the color-changed version. The effect is subtle and doesn’t last very long — maybe three or four minutes at most — but it’s still a neat trick and the weight of the cubes is, for me, a lot of what makes them so very cool. And those of you with a display case near a window will get even more fun out of these than I do; I can just imagine getting a second set and building a wall of cubes that takes sunlight during the day. That would make a neat backdrop.

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I know you’ve gotta really love gimmicks and accessories to get excited about these Energy Cubes (available at TFSource), but if you’re at all like me then you’ll find these fun and a nice addition to your display. They’re not exactly as obvious of a collectible as an actual Transformer or accessory set, but when your friends pick up the cubes and marvel at the weight and size I think you’ll find the cubes completely awesome in their own strange way.

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And besides, why make your toys carry cheap plastic cubes when they could carry synthetic crystal cubes? As you can see, the Fansproject Thundershred looks quite happy with the Energy Cubes (available at TFSource). And if a robotic insect is happy with crystal-like blocks then it should be good enough for all of us, right?

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Philip Reed spends his days working away in the game industry and whatever spare time he can steal goes to the toy website, battlegrip.com, where he writes about a lot more than just Transformers.