Worst TF's Ever Made

[Auntie Slag]

I liked Springer for his cool helicopter mode. His box art made him out to be a very tough looking sod.

Also, he was about the only non-Dinobot to sport a sword. Not that that should really make a difference but for some reason it really did. It made him stand out as something of a... I dunno, Alec Guiness Ben Kenobi with a bit of Han Solo mixed in. You know, with something of a glint in his eye.

Yeah, the toy was a brick. But when you're a kid, and especially with Transformers I reckon, so much of the magic comes from what you imbue in them. Springer had a lot of character, and this was before I saw the movie. So at the point I got him, I'd only seen him in 'Target: 2006' and maybe that bit in 'Prey'.

If it weren't him, Sandstorm would've been my next candidate. Always had a soft spot for Mr. Sandy. Was he a brick too, in the cold light of day?

[Cliffjumper]

He is... but his transformation is very good. Just behind Blitzwing as the best Triple-Changer, and there's a lot less cheating (a removable turret?) on Sandstorm. The only real let down is the tiny little arms.

[Auntie Slag]

I was well used to tiny arms by that point with Astrotrain. I remember being very shock at the fate of Sandstorm in Time Wars the first time I read it. Well, the fate of most of the Wreckers really.

Although I get the feeling they put up much more of a fight than say, Battletrap or Venom.

Ooh, to keep it on topic for worst TF's ever made, wasn't there a guy called Stax who was pretty rubbish? You reviewed him on your Counter-X site too I think. Guzzle's got to be up there as well, in that there's hardly a transformation to speak of.

[Thunderwave]

Guzzle's got to be up there as well, in that there's hardly a transformation to speak of.

If that's a qualifier I'd like to nominate all the Scramble City limbs from Defensor, Menasor, Superion, and Bruticus. Probably the others as well.

Nothing says "Well, that was fun" like pull bottom down, flip hood back, lift arms up.

As much as I like the idea of the Scramble City toys, most of them where meeeeh on their own, essentially being little bricks. The only awesome value, on their own, was the characters they where attached to.

[Auntie Slag]

I wouldn't compare the scramble city combiner limbs to Guzzle. His transformation is even simpler. And certain combiner limbs had rather more individual transformations, like Streetwise and Blast off.

Fair enough, they weren't the height of transformations; but I wouldn't put them in the same bracket as Guzzle.

[inflatable dalek]

People don't like Guzzle? When did this happen? Why did no one tell me? I only had the red one (who was Fizzle or Sizzle depending on if it was an American or British issue of the comic) and he was awesome, surely Guzzle can't be that much worse?

[Cliffjumper]

Guzzle had the bonus as a child of being a Transformer with a gun that couldn't be lost. Plus he was about the only half-decent tank in the whole pre-Movie line - the rest were either too stupidly underdetailed, too small or had stupid disco colours.

[NightHawk]

I'll add BW Injector to the list, god is that fish-headed bug UGLY

I am surprised no one mentioned Universe Galvatron, despite that his mold is crap and regularly falls apart during transforming him.

[Lonewyrm]

ROTF Blazemaster, rubbish!

[S_Windell]

If that's a qualifier I'd like to nominate all the Scramble City limbs from Defensor, Menasor, Superion, and Bruticus. Probably the others as well.

Nothing says "Well, that was fun" like pull bottom down, flip hood back, lift arms up.

The worst were the Terrorcon limbs. Basically, stand creature upright- boom- it's a robot. Yeah, I'm being facetious, there was more to it than that. But the transformation was like pretending Springer's copter mode was vastly different than his land mode with a propeller.

Personally, I'm one of those who give the Scramble City style combiners some leeway. It makes a bit of sense that more attention to detail and engineering would be given to a stand-alone character not built around a gimmick.

I always thought G1 Megatron was a particularly bad toy. It doesn't help that he's a character many fans would want a decent toy of.

[burnitall]

I'll add movie Bumblebee, in his 74 Camaro incarnation. It was the first figure I had bought in over a decade, after the live action movie got me back into the fold. I had a Transmetal Waspinator, and (I think) a RID Prowl, but I didn't keep them long and had forgotten about them. I was mostly used to G1's limited aspects, and thought that was the best they could do. The top half's okay, I guess, if you don't care for screen accuracy. The big stupid looking feet put me off, as well as the way the windshield and doors are. Set it next to the '08 version and it hit me that they could have done much better. Boo, '74 Bumblebee. You'll stay in car mode.

[Thunderwave]

Personally, I'm one of those who give the Scramble City style combiners some leeway. It makes a bit of sense that more attention to detail and engineering would be given to a stand-alone character not built around a gimmick.

I do give them some leeway. Some. Most though are pretty bad. And I know I might get some boos from the crowd, but I'm not a huge fan of the combined modes either. The whole "Only points of real articulation are the shoulders" thing. Taking into account that they ARE G1, I do cut them some slack.

Most of my list is what I call "Brickformers". You know the ones. Two points of articulation and look like a colored block with little parts hanging off of it.

[S_Windell]

Yes, agreed. Swindle, who is my favorite character of Transformers in general, has a notoriously shabby toy. I think a large appeal of the Scramble City types is nostalgia- and I'm willing to attest to this myself. I do think they're okay today, but loving them as a child is why I even bother re-acquiring them now.

As far as combined modes, they are brickish, yeah, but I personally think they look good standing next to each other on a shelf, which pretty much sums up my habits with collecting. For kids today, there's much better things to play with.

The only ones I don't care for at all, actually, are the Aerialbots. (Now I'm afraid I'll elicit some boos! ) Slingshot looked pretty good to me, and Air Raid was a very cool character. Other than that, pretty meh. And Superion always reminds me of a stork. Also minus points for all four limbs having the same exact transformation scheme. Even the Stunticons have some variation on that end.

[Firestrider57]

Guys, I must differ on the minibots such as Powerglide, Warpath and Seaspray. These are simple , yet very sturdy for the pricepoint. I had a ton of these rascals. The only ones I didn't really like were the Decepticon cassettes , Cosmos, and although I had him-- Outback/ Brawn. The challenge was not so hot and in the case of Buzzsaw/ Lazerbeak, the head kept getting lost. The worst TFs ever would have to be the late G1 Japanese version that made up Dinoking. Those guys didn't even transform. They belonged in the Masters of the Universe or Voltron series, not TF.

[inflatable dalek]

Dinoking= Monstructor right? They did Transform didn't they? Albeit in a wacky "bend him over and hey! It's a monster!" sort of way.

[Auntie Slag]

I thought Dinoking was the combined form of the new Dinobots? Possibly a set that only came out in Japan (I don't know, I'm forgetting lots of it now). I remember reading a fanfic where these new Dinobots went up against Predaking (and got wiped out, due to getting sold out by another Autobot. Where the hell did I read this? It was pretty good).

[another tf fan]

I try really hard not to buy crappy Transformers, but I have been suckered into a few...

G1 Swindle
G1 Rippersnapper

Universe Hot Shot's minicon partner... whatever his name is...

And last but not least (or is it?) 6" Titanium GI Joe Megatron.

[The Reverend]

Dinoking= Monstructor right? They did Transform didn't they? Albeit in a wacky "bend him over and hey! It's a monster!" sort of way.

Right, right, but at least the gestalt had an army of rubber monsters to do his bidding! lol

[Jaynz]

Dinoking= Monstructor right? They did Transform didn't they? Albeit in a wacky "bend him over and hey! It's a monster!" sort of way.

Sort of. The inner robots were the same molds in different colors. The Dinoking set were all new shells based on Dinosaurs, though (and not made of the same rubber-plastic that plagues Monstructor).

[kurgen]

Just got Highjump the Micromaster on eBay - at least gimme some ARMS dude!!