What was your best set of figures of the year?

[Skyquake87]

I've been watching a few top tens of the year on that there YouTube, so thought I'd try and get my thoughts down and try and make this an ongoing thread, as everyone seems to like a list (me included, it seems ).

I've just been looking at the figures I bought that came out in 2023, and well, I've basically bought a bunch of repaints of figures that came out in previous years. At a time when Transformers is recycling old ideas, this feels very apt.

So here's my top ten!

10. Legacy Evolution Leo Prime
Yeah the beast mode does look like a dead eyed ghoul, but the robot mode and transformation are spot on. It's just a big version of the still awesome Robot Masters version of Lio Convoy, but it works!

9. Legacy Evolution Bludgeon
Honestly a figure I just bought as wanted to pick up a new Transformer, and had no burning desire for (and until Hasbro do proper Pretenders again, these modern takes don't quite work for me). However, this has surprised me by being a bloody great action figure. The bright colours sell the mould for me over edge-lord Tarn, and I also like that they come with a sword.

8. Legacy Evolution Dirge
I love the Coneheads and was enormously frustrated that they came out as a bunch of hard to get exclusives during Earthrise, so was far too excitied to be able to easily pick this sourpuss up. Absolutely love this guy, even though I'm not the biggest fan of the boxy Classics-styled design (and lack of landing gear, which was somehow possible back in 2006 at a Deluxe price point, but I digress), the colours are superb and the jet looks great. From above.

7. Legacy Evolution Twincast w/ Rewind
The Blaster mould is great, and whilst this version of the character sacrifices some realism - the bright red speakers instantly mark this out as a toy - it is still a banger. Robot mode is fantastic and well proportioned, Rewind is cute and it's nice having relatively obscure characters like this represented.

6. Legacy Evolution Generations Selects Antagony
The more time I've spent mucking about with this figure, the more I've enjoyed it. The black is lush, and being on a heavily textured figure (unlike fellow black repaint Nemesis Leo Prime), this feels oddly premium. The blood red ant eyes and that fantastic metallic pink on the Gaster make for a sinister looking bug mode. The robot mode perhaps doesn't have enough to distinguish itself from Inferno and I would have preferred a headsculpt based on Don Figueroa's design, rather than Scavenger, but it's still a great great figure.

5. Legacy Evolution Toxitron Collection Grimlock
Cooler fans would say the Trypticon flavoured Shattered Glass Grimlock is the best of the two repaints of the Dinobot leader that came out this year, but this one is just such fun. Looks like Mr Motorvator in robot mode and an enormous angry banana in beast mode. Brilliant.

4. Legacy Evolution Toxitron Collection Jazz
Silly bright orange repaint of the excellent Studio Series 86 mould. Minus points for the extra weapons that he can't do much with and have nowhere to go in vehicle mode.

3. Legacy Evolution Toxitron Collection Toxitron
What an eyesore this is. Absolutely love it. A lurid shade of lime green, with blood reds, purples and silvers bursting out, this is a cartoon toxic spill brought to life. The trailer is still a playset waiting to happen, but at least it looks nicer than that awful box regular Earth mode Optimus carts about. Not a fan of the lollipop axe either. Robot mode and vehicle mode are killer though, daft purple tyres and all.

2. Rise of The Beasts Deluxe Cheetor
Mainline release that looks nothing like the on-screen character and more like his Beast Wars incarnation. As such, it's a better version of Kingdom Cheetor than Kingdom Cheetor. This is a much better realised version of the eager to please kitty cat and it looks great. Except for the big blue Maximal insignia.

1. Rise of The Beasts Deluxe Airazor
An excellent figure that seems to have gone somewhat under the radar, as everyone waited for the proper version in the big boy Studio Series line. This is just great. It's a bit like Energon Divebomb in the way it transforms and different enough from the equally excellent Kingdom version of the character to be worth checking out. The weapon storage is also great and I do like this over the Kingdom figure. As with Cheetor above, it just does things right and looks the business. Fantastic!

[Denyer]

Glad the repaints are giving someone enjoyment... if they'd done blue Grimlock and G2 stickers/accessories Jazz I think I'd have gone for them. Particularly if they'd reworked the car doors for positioning as wings.

Leo Prime they really needed to do something with the front lion shoulders, and it seems like it would've been easy to do? I like it as an update of an old brick but it could have have been a more fun and more modern toy at the same time.

Didn't buy that many TFs in 2023, very few of those I did were released in 2023, and of recent acquisitions the Insecticons don't deserve to be placed in a top list and LR Optimus Prime really should've stayed in some designer's head, so I'm just running through Amazon and eBay history and emails as an aide memoire.

And none of these are getting kudos for transformations. If I was giving any that, it'd be the several reuses of the Siege Sideswipe design I've picked up in the last few months that may as well count as the missing four entries in this top ten. Will do some photos when I've finished customising three of them. In no real order...

1. G2 Cybertronian Troopers (2023) -- never thought they'd happen as a general retail thing. Skullgrin also not bad with a head-and-shoulders swap.
2. Legacy Wreck'n'Rule Springer (2022) -- bit overly complicated but some top nostalgia.
3. Legacy Wreck'n'Rule Leadfoot (2022) -- being very, very cheap helped a lot, and coming with an effectively free mammoth skeleton that goes great with the other deluxe fossilizers if you strip the horrible paint off it seals the deal.
4. Cyberverse Skullcruncher (2020) -- a nice chunky modern version alt-mode if you're prepared to hack the jaw apart and put it back together.
5. ROTF Deluxe Bludgeon (2009) -- not an astounding figure, but whetting the appetite for Super7 by being a homage to the inner robot. Annoying semi-auto transformation mechanism, though.
6. Voyager Starscream (2007) -- still by far the best regular release movie Starscream IMNSHO. I don't like it as Starscream but do like the design and being something different that's still both a decent toy and has lots of angles rather than just being a dull barely painted mass like so many later movie toys.

Not many non-TFs I got for reasons other than customs, either. But I could still more easily put together a top ten.

1+2. Super7 Mandora the Evil Chaser + Bandai Classics Lion-O -- with a Classics sword from eBay... a Thundercats itch very much scratched.
3+4. NECA Alf + Bride of Frankenstein -- NECA generally do nice display figures, and also really enjoyed the DotE cast plus standalone Phantom previously.
5+6. MOTU Classics Optikk + Clawful -- complete cyphers of characters with cool designs, always did like the 'monsters' best.
7. G.I. Joe Classified Series Dr. Mindbender -- coming back into stock was the nudge to complete the "Cobra civil war" five leaders. My nostalgia for Joes/AF is quite specific.
8. JoyToy Ultramarines Venerable Dreadnought -- honestly a bit of an afterthought following the Blood Angels close combat one and Bjorn but it's another good Castreferrum (boxnought) entry. Had been intending to wait to see if a Grey Knights one turned up cheap, but this one did first and to be honest is probably more of an old White Dwarf callback. Little bit of a shame there's no articulation on the fist.
9+10. Super Skrull wave Doctor Doom (plus Valeria) -- got Doom as it was being sold with a nice cloth cape for less than the figure alone seems to go for, and made his god daughter from Sue and a spare head/hands rather than wait for the Franklin/V two pack to go on clearance (which it did by FP just before Xmas and I missed, then realised I prefer mine anyway with the Marvel art being so inconsistent that there isn't a particularly classic look). Not a massive FF fan but enough pages of these two keep coming up on Facebook that I tracked down some issues. I'm intrigued by the notion that in the Marvel universe humanity is competing genetically with mutant adaptations by throwing up more super-intelligent anomalies such as Val and Riri Williams.

With the general collapse of the toy market and tons of stuff ending up hugely discounted but that even at those prices I did a quick Marie Kondo assessment of and couldn't be bothered to go for, I'm still pretty happy with the stuff I did pick up.

[Warcry]

i honestly don't think I could do a top-ten this year. Looking back at the spreadsheet I keep of stuff that I buy, it looks like I bought 16 2023 releases...but I've either completely forgotten about, or actively dislike, most of them. Let's see how far I can get with the stuff I actually enjoyed!

1. Ultimates Bludgeon: Definitely flawed but simultaneously about fifty times more exciting than anything official that Hasbro's put out this year. It's probably too big, it's probably not articulated enough...but I fell in love with Bludgeon as six year old when I saw him katana-ing Unicron cultists to ribbons, and this thing has a presence to it that just makes me smile.
2. SS86 Snarl: Good simple fun in a way that Transformers routinely used to be, but far too seldom are today. And much the same story as Bludgeon, honestly...I fell in love with the character young, and having a big, chunky, genuinely well-done Snarl toy makes my inner child light up.
3. Legacy Evolution Nemesis Leo Prime: That's a ridiculously long name. Anyway, everything Denyer says about this toy is accurate but as a huge fan of the 90s line I find the own-goals kind of charming. I don't think I'd like the regular deco as much as the Nemesis one, though. The aesthetics of this thing are what win me over...the different shades of grey that never quite make it to black, along with the tiniest flecks of teal to keep him from looking like an old black-and-white photo. The kibble is just as ridiculous as it looks but it wouldn't be a Japanese Beast Wars character without stupid kibble, and it gets in the way a lot less than on the Robot Master.
4. Toxitron Collection Cloudcover: Still mildly amused that this came out under the "Too Ugly for G2!" meme line, because it's it is absolutely the prettiest Seeker deco I've owned since the original, super dark blue G1 Thundercracker toy.
5. Legacy Evolution Needlenose: I actually forgot he was a 2023 release. I guess that's because everything that happened before my son got sick in the spring feels like it was 200 years ago. The hollowness and perfunctory Targetmasters are points against it, but I absolutely love transforming it. And the Marvel fan in me absolutely loves being able to display Spinister with his idiotic protege. Even five years ago I wouldn't have dared to hope we'd get a real, new-mold Needlenose toy. Let alone that it'd be good.
6. SS86 Frenzy: And even this feels like cheating, because as much as I liked Frenzy, he's really just a really nice accessory for Soundwave.

...I think that's it. I wish I liked Antagony enough to include her, but I'm finding that I liked the idea of owning an Antagony toy more than I like the reality of owning this Antagony toy. The base mold isn't great, and not using any of her distinct comic head designs makes it feel more like Nemesis Inferno. The rest of the 2023 crop are either genuinely bad (Bombshell, SS Cheetor, the tiny Snarl) or so inoffensive that I actually forgot I owned them (SS86 Ironhide, Tarn, Axlegrease, Animated Prowl).

I don't want to end on a sour note, so I'll fill the list out with older toys that I got this year. A few from 2022, and a couple from a lot farther back.

1. Legacy Wreck'n'Rule Springer: Echoing Denyer...probably a bit too complex for its size, but I always wanted the original Springer toy and the UK comics made me fall in love with this deco again when I read them as an adult. Good fun as a centrepiece to a Wreckers setup. Not sure how the upcoming Leader-class toy could improve on this one, beyond making it even more overcomplex.
2. Legacy Kickback: The only Legacy Insecticon that I thought was genuinely great on it's own merits (Shrapnel being fine but kind of forgettable, and Bombshell only being good as repaint fodder). A delightfully straightforward toy.
3. Legacy TM2 Megatron: An absolutely killer figure of a character design that I never actually liked before now. It might actually be my favourite of the Kingdom/Legacy Beasties.
4. Beast Machines Rapticon: Something I've wanted for a long time, and never had any luck finding online in good condition. I never would have thought that I'd stumble onto a nigh-immaculate one in person, let alone gotten a good deal on it. An absolutely lovely figure.
5. Fox Kids Transmetal Tarantulas: A personal grail of mine that inexplicably became very expensive just before I realized it existed. I spent entirely too much on it considering what it is, but still a fair bit less than the going rate. Between this and Nemesis Leo, I think I'm a sucker for "monochrome but for a tiny splash of colour" decos, but it's a gorgeous toy that I'm glad to have a chance to own.

I didn't buy many non-TF figures this year, but the NECA TMNT Adventures Slash was a huge highlight of the year for me. Not much for poseability, but an absolutely lovely figure that looks like it stepped right off of the page of one of my childhood favourite comics.

[Denyer]

Yeah, it's hard to see how a "Leader" Springer will be anything but an over-complicated and possibly slightly oversized Voyager. And all of the predictions online seem to be negative.

I'd have counted Needlenose if I'd got him in 2023. It's still a nice figure (actually Crankcase isn't awful either if you supply the most important parts yourself) but Hasbro releases are a lot like the Imperial dating system close to the cicatrix maledictum and warp storms brought it to the UK well before that. Looking back in Google for release dates and seeing in-box pictures, gosh that's an example of windowless packaging giving a discouraging view of the toy isn't it?

Considering all of the other repaints Hasbro has thrown at the wall to see what sticks, I hope there's a discount Cryotek in my future. The mould has to have been budgeted based on that.

Thought about the MOTU Origins / Turtles of Grayskull crossover Slash because it looked cool, knowing nothing about the character, then realised it won't get UK distribution at anything like sensible prices. Mattel going all in on this line after discontinuing both normal vintage toy style Origins at retail and WWEternia is really rather adding insult to injury.

[Clay]

I <3 alternate Transmetal Tarantulas. /jealous

It'd be funny if the leader Springer is just a repack of the voyager figure with extra parts like Blitzwing had.

The rest of the 2023 crop are either genuinely bad (Bombshell, SS Cheetor, the tiny Snarl) or so inoffensive that I actually forgot I owned them (SS86 Ironhide, Tarn, Axlegrease, Animated Prowl).

Genuinely bad, or bad for the price point? The SS Cheetor is... definitely bland, but he's not bad. He's done competently for what he's trying to represent even if it's underwhelming for $35. He's not 2008 universe Cheetor, for counterexample.

I suppose that critique could be leveled at most of the mainline figures: competent alternate mode, highly articulate robot mode, done. That said, convoluted novelty and reinvention for its own sake (like pre-combiner wars generations) was a blessing and a curse. For everything that was nearly flawless (2010 flying wing Scourge), there was 2008 tank Galvatron, and a lot in the middle.

Actually, I think that's where the emphasis has shifted to. Instead of each figure being it's own intricate puzzle that has to be engaged/manipulated with in a deliberate way (lest you absentmindedly break something delicate), we've now got this design ethos focused on things that are nicely poseable yet can be handled passively. It's the difference between being able to swap one of the Sideswipes back and forth while reading and grading papers versus something fancy that has to be done between reading and grading papers.

Does that make sense? I suppose another way to phrase it would be that the first concern with the lines from ~2019 to now is usually to make something simple, poseable, and fun rather than it be an "event" or eminent display piece. How well that gels with with the ever-rising MSRPs is different but related matter, I guess.

As for me, I bought lots of stuff this year with reckless abandon, frequently when stressed. It's actually part of my new year's resolutions to do less of... or at least, stress-buy in a more structured way. I've made myself a bingo sheet of situations that made me buy things, so maybe that'll help (or at least slow down my spending).

Things I bought that I liked in 2023 in no order:

Kaskade and Javelin: minor retools of BBM Arcee and one of the Chromias. I like the colors, and the BBM Arcee is fantastic regardless of deco.

Flamewar w/dinosaur targetmaster: I'm not looking at the box to recall the name of the little dude, but I liked the deco when it was announced. I was under the impression that it was insta-sold out on Hasbro Pulse, but I found the set on Amazon for the ridiculous original price of $40. The (Prime) Arcee mold is already pretty fun, and this is the version with the most/fanciest paint apps on it.

SG Rodimus and Sideswipe: saw these on Pulse after assuming they were sold out. Again, expensive but lovely decos. I'm sure there's a 100% chance Sideswipe gets redecoed into Armada Wheeljack at some point, but I actually like these colors better. Plus, the evil Rodimus has a goatee. I love that.

Detritus: pre-SS86 Hound. I still have and quite like the 2008 Hound, so Detritus is a nice alternative. Very simple, very fun. Can understand why people aren't in love with a desert deco, though.

new TM2 Megatron: dragon Megatron is special; he's what got me into buying this stuff as an adult. The update is, somehow, less convoluted than the original yet uses fewer faux parts (the claws on the robot chest are made by the actual dragon claws, for example). He's basically perfect with the upgrade kit: two more links of tail and some new head sculpts. My only fault with it is that the magistrate's wig can only be on used on the robot's head and not the dragon's.

Toxitron Toxitron, orange Jazz, and Miami Vice Sideswipe: again, I like the colors. Still a bit disappointed in the new G2 Prime mold (the 2010 figure would be perfect if scaled up to this size), but I like having a Prime in Constructicon colors. Jazz and Sideswipe are visually loud. The molds are good, too.

2007 MPM Bonecrusher: I luff him. He's LORGE, like an ogre. Great.

SS86 Ratchet: y'all can hate all you want. I like this one. Sure, it's a deluxe sold as a voyager, but aside from the head not being red, it's everything I've wanted out of a Ratchet figure for a long time.

[Denyer]

I think that's where the emphasis has shifted to. Instead of each figure being it's own intricate puzzle that has to be engaged/manipulated with in a deliberate way (lest you absentmindedly break something delicate), we've now got this design ethos focused on things that are nicely poseable yet can be handled passively. It's the difference between being able to swap one of the Sideswipes back and forth while reading and grading papers versus something fancy that has to be done between reading and grading papers.

Does that make sense? I suppose another way to phrase it would be that the first concern with the lines from ~2019 to now is usually to make something simple, poseable, and fun rather than it be an "event" or eminent display piece. How well that gels with with the ever-rising MSRPs is different but related matter, I guess.

If there's any direction to make things simple and fun, Kingdom Rodimus wasn't included and some of the recent deluxes have been... simplified in some respects but not well-engineered? If anything I think things have gotten more annoying since CW/TR/POTP which had some great Leader class releases that were actually fun toys and used the budget for size/plastic. Overlord, Black Shadow, PM Prime, Blaster, etc. At the deluxe end combiners, whilst the horse was well and truly flogged, were a great play pattern and forced transformations to be quick and simple and consistent.

Deluxes from Siege onwards haven't been too bad, it's just that Voyager and Leader are more likely to mean "more complex and therefore supposedly worth more" now. Not all Voyagers, the Grapple design is lovely with poor QC; shit plastic and tight pegs.

[Warcry]

Yeah, it's hard to see how a "Leader" Springer will be anything but an over-complicated and possibly slightly oversized Voyager. And all of the predictions online seem to be negative.

Can't blame folks for not being excited for it...our yardstick for Leader-class Triplechangers are Astrotrain and Blitzwing, neither of which seem to have set the world on fire. In general, adding budget might make a Triplechanger look better but if it comes at the cost of an MP44-style bonkers transformation on a retail toy, I wouldn't consider that a win. But some folks do seem to want that, so hopefully they're happy with what they get. Personally, I'm all set for Springers for a while.

Considering all of the other repaints Hasbro has thrown at the wall to see what sticks, I hope there's a discount Cryotek in my future. The mould has to have been budgeted based on that.

Cryotek (and Universe Razorclaw from Tigerhawk) seek like no-brainers, but I thought that about Primal Prime from the PTOP mold and that never materialized. Hopefully it'll happen this time!

Thought about the MOTU Origins / Turtles of Grayskull crossover Slash

I had no idea this was a thing! It's stupid in all the right ways.

I <3 alternate Transmetal Tarantulas. /jealous

It's absolutely gorgeous. I'd honestly call it one of the highlights of my Beast Wars collection. It slots in right after Armada Predacon (and just before Universe Depth Charge) right at the top of my favourite random recolours from that era.

I don't think I could recommend buying one in good conscience, though. Even the loose, incomplete ones on eBay are asking $150+ shipped.

Genuinely bad, or bad for the price point? The SS Cheetor is... definitely bland, but he's not bad. He's done competently for what he's trying to represent even if it's underwhelming for $35. He's not 2008 universe Cheetor, for counterexample.

Honestly? After owning it for the better part of a year I just don't like it at all, when I even remember it exists. The robot is totally nondescript and the beast mode is more so. It transforms about as much as Night Slash Cheetor did, without any of the panache to justify it. As a toy, the colours are awful. As a rendition of the dynamic character model from the movie, it's disappointing. It's competently engineered, not at all the disaster that the Universe toy was, but I don't find anything about it particularly appealing beyond the neat spear.

Honestly, I think I'd rather have a bad toy that does a few things I like than a middling one that I can't think of anything nice to say about.

Does that make sense? I suppose another way to phrase it would be that the first concern with the lines from ~2019 to now is usually to make something simple, poseable, and fun rather than it be an "event" or eminent display piece. How well that gels with with the ever-rising MSRPs is different but related matter, I guess.

It does, and I think you're right on point with what the design team has been aiming for (though I agree with Denyer that the "simple" part of the equation doesn't always come through in the engineering).

But I think the issue is, if that's all you're aiming for, it raises the bar for what makes an acceptable figure. It's a lot easier to find something to like in older toys when they were aiming for unique and creative designs, vs nowadays where the ideal seems to be, well, uniformity. A toy with mediocre poseability or even serious design flaws that did something you'd never seen before could still be very cool! But a toy that doesn't bring anything new to the table needs above-average articulation and looks to be noteworthy. And they obviously can't all be above-average, which leads to situations like the Cheetor we talked about -- a lot of technically competent figures that just aren't very memorable at all.

As for me, I bought lots of stuff this year with reckless abandon, frequently when stressed. It's actually part of my new year's resolutions to do less of... or at least, stress-buy in a more structured way. I've made myself a bingo sheet of situations that made me buy things, so maybe that'll help (or at least slow down my spending).

I I'm hoping to do the same! A lot of the figures that I bought and didn't like last year were figures that I didn't even expect to like but impulse-bought due to stress. Feel free to share any tips or tricks you come up with.

SS86 Ratchet: y'all can hate all you want. I like this one. Sure, it's a deluxe sold as a voyager, but aside from the head not being red, it's everything I've wanted out of a Ratchet figure for a long time.

This mold (well, the Ironhide version) was, like, the ultimate example of forgetability for me this year. I saw it on my list of purchases and had to literally get up and go look at it on the shelf before I believed that I'd bought an Ironhide this year. And it's not even bad! I actually liked it, price aside. It's exactly what you say, basically the best figure you could ask for of the character design at the size...but it's so similar to so many other recent figures that I honestly forgot it even existed. It's a good Ironhide that does most things very well, but it's only an incremental improvement over recent stuff most people already own. I'll probably have forgotten it again by the end of the night.

[Denyer]

Feel free to share any tips or tricks you come up with.

Depending where you shop, deferred delivery (e.g. Amazon day, or BBTS do a "pile of loot" thing) -- if something's ordered but cancellable without penalty and you've lost interest two days later, simple matter to do so. I'm sure stores that do this realise that ultimately it leads to happier customers and repeat business, even if it's trickier to balance stock.

e.g. Had the Origins/Masterverse art book on pre-order for about six months, and with reviews (and particularly video reviews giving a leaf through) it doesn't seem any more appealing than just clipping and keeping the cards. And I'm not really interested in the MV part, so finding out how large a chunk of the book is about that was the decider.

Whereas I'm getting a bit pissy with a smaller online store that's been messed around by the supplier repeatedly but hasn't replied to an email after a couple of weeks. If they're not likely to be able to fulfil an order, it's better to let customers know and give the option of store credit for something else and let them go and try to find/get the stuff elsewhere else it's currently in stock. As it is, I'm unlikely order anything in advance from them again and will prefer other places for in-stock items.

Very rarely pre-order anything unless there's going to be distribution problems anyway, clearance being increasingly inevitable on almost everything. If things come and go then so be it. Most things I've made a mental or actual note about and searched for some time after release have had one or more retailers trying to shift them. It emphasises the impulse tax aspect. Sleeping on decisions means a lot less disappointment/remorse, including looking at things again a few months later at discounts of like 75% off and thinking "nah, that just isn't interesting enough and won't fit in anywhere."

[Heinrad]

Best of 2023, eh?

TransArts Transmetal Rattrap: Finally, a company gave us an actual, transmetal, very accurate Rattrap. I kind of wish his grip on his gun was a little better, but other than that it's great. And he's heavy enough that the cats don't think he's a toy.

Buzzworthy Bumblebee Shuttle Attack Victim 2 Pack Ironhide and Prowl: I shouldn't like these two. I really shouldn't. Ironhide's my favorite. I've always liked Prowl. And yet, these are both really good molds. The SS86 iteration of the Ironhide mold is what I expected of Earthrise. And having an Ironhide with a pissed off expression is great.

Super 7 Ultimates Bludgeon: Oh, yeah. This is what we were waiting for. A posable Pretender Bludgeon, because when you say Bludgeon, you don't normally think tank. Although my girlfriend was a bit distressed because I actually opened it(I didn't have the heart to tell her that the 'Collector's Packaging' appears to have been a cardboard outer box). I still wish he had an optional open left hand, though.

Legacy Evolution Bludgeon: The best of both worlds? Maybe. He's hyper-posable, looks great, and is the one Voyager Decepticon I have that looks like he'd be a threat to the Studio Series Grimlock. Or any of the Dinobots.

Legacy Evolution Inferno: Much like Legacy Bludgeon, he looks like a threat to the Dinobots. However, unlike Legacy Bludgeon, I don't think he'd fare as well....

[Clay]

Deluxes from Siege onwards haven't been too bad, it's just that Voyager and Leader are more likely to mean "more complex and therefore supposedly worth more" now. Not all Voyagers, the Grapple design is lovely with poor QC; shit plastic and tight pegs.

Out of all the ones I have, only the SS86 Hot Rod so far has met the justification for being small at the price point but making up for with complexity/parts count. Most of the others are in more size-class-a-half territory.

It's absolutely gorgeous. I'd honestly call it one of the highlights of my Beast Wars collection. It slots in right after Armada Predacon (and just before Universe Depth Charge) right at the top of my favourite random recolours from that era.

I don't think I could recommend buying one in good conscience, though. Even the loose, incomplete ones on eBay are asking $150+ shipped.

Did you ever a get a Windrazor? The deco and trading price probably complement each other.

Silver Tarantulas is one that I scoffed at buying when they were ~$50 during my BW buying spree twenty years ago. Oh well...

Honestly? After owning it for the better part of a year I just don't like it at all, when I even remember it exists. The robot is totally nondescript and the beast mode is more so. It transforms about as much as Night Slash Cheetor did, without any of the panache to justify it. As a toy, the colours are awful. As a rendition of the dynamic character model from the movie, it's disappointing. It's competently engineered, not at all the disaster that the Universe toy was, but I don't find anything about it particularly appealing beyond the neat spear.

I went and found mine to have a fresh look. The Night Slash Cheetor isn't a bad comparison; they also copied over Airrazor from an existing if far more recent figure. RotB Cheetor is... okay-ish? For the size/price point that he's in, they absolutely should have done something about hiding the robot hands and feet in kitty mode, and could have incorporated the articulation into that mode as well. Even so, I still wouldn't call it bad. It's just kind of forgettable, which if I'm understanding your POV correctly, is worse?

But I think the issue is, if that's all you're aiming for, it raises the bar for what makes an acceptable figure. It's a lot easier to find something to like in older toys when they were aiming for unique and creative designs, vs nowadays where the ideal seems to be, well, uniformity. A toy with mediocre poseability or even serious design flaws that did something you'd never seen before could still be very cool!

Hmm. My go-to example of "limited but really neat, so therefore memorable" is Magmatron. The BWNeo figure is really restrained in its movement compared basically everything else from BW, but the idea is fun and it looks impressive, so it's an overall win. And just within the past couple of days, the dude at Hasbro posted these pics showing off the new one. What I'm particularly looking at is the range of motion of the T-rex component has now; the original has basically none.

But a toy that doesn't bring anything new to the table needs above-average articulation and looks to be noteworthy.

Does it, though? By that, I think that our biases of having been here for as long as we have are getting in the way. It's 2024, which means that a fan that's twenty-years-old now was born the year you and I signed up for this little forum ( ), but it also means that the Legacy Magmatron is going to have the exact same novelty for them as the original had back in the day since it's the first time not just since they've been collecting, but also in their lifetime, that a Magmatron has been produced and marketed. Whereas we may look at it as a "been there, done that, why are there still gaps is the Elasmosaur neck at $90," someone younger is getting both the novelty of the design and the novelty of it being current.

Basically, you can sit and look at pictures on the wiki all day, but ~most~ of the older stuff is expensive enough on the secondary market that new figures, even if not actually doing anything substantially different aside from adding articulation, will have a market.

Again, I'm not sure where the line between "a welcome update" and "a bait and switch" is (the studio series Ironhide and Ratchet coming within 18 months of the earthrise figures are probably on the side of the latter), but one collector's welcome update is another's first offering.

I'm hoping to do the same! A lot of the figures that I bought and didn't like last year were figures that I didn't even expect to like but impulse-bought due to stress. Feel free to share any tips or tricks you come up with.

Denyer's focus is mostly on the buying side, but mine's on the stress side. The plan is to keep a log of situations that I stress-buy in to help realize when I'm doing it, and also to help filter things into categories. Basically, minor stressors need to be logged as such and not weighed as much as big stressors, and the point in that is not just to keep myself from buying so many toys, but also to document the little things as little things. If it's been five or ten little things in a row, sure, go buy a deluxe or something.

I've already made a bingo sheet for student excuses, but that's less for stress and more of a way to reward myself having to hear the same explanations over and over. It is where I got the idea, though.

[Denyer]

I don't think the complexity argument holds that much water in justifying jumping a whole SKU bracket either personally. Hasbro just have a fairly blanket policy of cost cutting regardless of whether it compromises the product enough that people won't buy at the price point. Size and a half is a good way to describe figures like Doubledealer though, which is a little more than a voyager but needed some simple powermasters to get away with the hike. Any character other than Prime, Megatron etc has a starting point of having to work harder to appeal to anyone bar long-term fans.

Magmatron has some wow factor and looks better there than the stock photos, but is actively cheating to hide the hollow bits. Being dishonest then disappointing in hand discourages repeat custom in a lasting way. I think the compromises look equally bad to anyone of any age when they make something look cheap, to be honest, and grognards are almost the only people who'll be buying ninety dollar retail toys anyway, anyone else would just get some dinosaurs. It's quite far out of impulse purchase range, and the novelty of combining into a dinorgy or even transforming only goes so far, plus unlike normal combiners there's no individual robots so it's also got the drawback that once one part is lost no more robot. I don't think that oddity coolness can save it from being so kid-unfriendly.

"Old timer" logic could go several way including early 90s excitement for unknown stuff, having actually watched various usually disappointing Japanese series, or having read the disappointing IDW stuff. It's not one I think many people will pick up based on characterisation.

Personally whilst stress from specific things might make me more inclined to hit buy on something, deferring means there's always a bit of a list to go and have a look for and not much impetus to follow through unless a good price presents itself. The other thing is looking through things in storage tubs and giving them some time out or culling. Almost everything there is more appealing than what Hasbro or Mattel are doing now. Real impulse buys tend to be eBay recommending something old that happens to also be an unusually good deal, or Amazon reducing things to custom fodder prices.

[Tantrum]

I've already made a bingo sheet for student excuses, but that's less for stress and more of a way to reward myself having to hear the same explanations over and over. It is where I got the idea, though.

Please tell me you're going to pull out the card and mark it right in front of the students' faces when they make the excuse, not after they leave the room. Especially if they make the excuse in front of the whole class.

My Top Ten-ish:

10: Legacy Skullgrin, G2 Trooper, Bludgeon (tie/group) - The Deluxes share an annoying transformation and the alt mode looks bad. The Voyager is better, but the hands stick out and I'm worried about breaking the head crests, which don't quite fit where they should. None of the tanks roll. But, there's something appealing about having a trio of skull-faced, sword wielding Decepticons on the shelf.

9: G2 Autotrooper - My 3rd time owning this mold, and I still like fiddling with it. The whites are crisper than Siege Ratchet's, and the color layout is more appealing than Crosshair's. I did add Energon Arcee's weapons for a splash of color.

8: Legacy Needlenose - I had the G1 toy as a kid, so nostalgia helps. He's big for a modern Deluxe and has both Targetmasters, who are just as derpy as a remember. The shoulder transformation is more involved than I was expecting. Sure, he's a bot wearing a jet backpack who turns into a jet carrying a bot underneath. But, if he were a better toy, he'd be less Needlenose.

7: RotB Wheeljack - This is the one that came with Cheetor, who's better than the Kingdom version, and Nightbird, who is by far the wink link, here. WJ is a good implementation of a unique design. The upcoming SS looks to use a fake hood-chest to achieve a worse look, so I'm happy with this one.

6: Earthspark Warrior Thrash - Like WJ, he looks to be better than his upcoming pricier version. What he lacks in ankle tilts, he makes up for in transformable sidecar.

5: Legacy Toxitron - I didn't need another Optimus Prime, especially since I have the Deluxe that manages this look without a faux windshield chest. So, I was happy to get the mold in this garish color scheme. I don't give him his sword, since that seems too noble a weapon for a guy who seems a bit of a sleazebag. But, he looks great with his axe and double-barreled gun. The trailer's base mode is a bit plain on its own, but is much improved by adding some Prime/Battle/Micromasters in weapon mode.

4: Splotch - This what I call the spiky Blot type guy in the army builder 4-pack. Transformation is simple, and barely effective. Neither mode conceals the other's arms. But, the bot mode is a nice little bruiser, and the beast mode can chomp on his own alternate head. At first, I wished the weapon stored in the center of the beast back, but I've grown to appreciate the asymmetry.

3: Selects Magnificus - The SS Perceptor version of this mold had a less appealing color scheme than the TR Perceptor I already have, so I skipped that. This mold is a bit more fun to fiddle with, since I can just fold the head down instead of detaching a little dude to store somewhere. Plus, you can fold the head down, and put the scope up in bot mode for nerd Lockdown.

2 & 1 (tie): Dead Ironhide & Prowl - This set makes me happier than any other Transformers purchase in recent memory. I've read lots of complaints about this set, and it went on clearance pretty quickly. So, I doubt there'll be another like it, which just makes me appreciate it even more.

This isn't what Siege called battle damage, which just looks like someone sneezed neutral-colored paint over a normal figure. This is custom head sculpts and chest retooling, to match each individual character's wounds and pain. Blast effects are given the context of actual blasts, not just emanating from otherwise pristine limbs or torsos.

I read complaints from people who've said they wished this set came with alternate head and chest pieces, allowing for the option to display them in undamaged deco. Bollocks. If this set had been released like that, every single one of those people would've complained that their precious normal figures were compromised, and the price raised, for some macabre gimmick, when in fact it would be the unique vision compromised for the sake of another basic pair of characters who've gotten normal figures in the past, and will get more in the future.

I've seen people wonder if this set'll show up at Ollie's. I don't care, either way. I paid full price, and don't regret a penny of it. Did I feel ripped ff when I saw this set a month later on clearance for $17? Hell, no! I bought a second set to displayat work!

Not only is this a great looking pair of figures, but the toys are very good, I already owned the Earthrise Datsun mold multiple times, so no surprises there. Just another iteration of a mold I like, this time with opaque shins concealing the hollow calves.

Unlike his Siege and Earthrise counterparts, Ironhide manages a realistic looking altmode without partsforming. Unlike his SS 86 version, he manages to do this with a single shade of red. I'm assuming this is due to eschewing clear plastic with red paint for red plastic with light blue window paint. This seems to have also freed up enough paint budget for the yellow stripe and rear windows.
You wish he had a non-damaged deco? Just have him driving away.

I actually don't know if SS 86 Ironhide has painted rear windows or not. I'm guessing he doesn't since SS 86 Ratchet doesn't. Ratchet also has clear plastic and unpainted stripes. I haven't actually gotten Ratchet into alt mode, because the clear plastic tabs don't seem to fit, and I'm afraid of damaging the figure if I force them. Both my damage-decoed ironhides transform with no problem.

Given how quickly this set went on clearance, and the at best mixed response to its existence, I doubt there'll be a whole line of 86 movie death figures. And if there was, maybe even I'd tire of the idea. But at least this once, Hasbro took a chance with a set that they had to know wouldn't be for everyone. But, it's for me, and I love it.

[Warcry]

Depending where you shop, deferred delivery (e.g. Amazon day, or BBTS do a "pile of loot" thing)

I'd never heard about Amazon doing this before! I can't find any mention of it on the Canadian site, but maybe I'm not looking in the right place? I'll have to keep an eye out in the future because I agree, being able to change my mind after a day or two probably would have saved me from a few less-than-brilliant online orders last year. Especially if i stop reflexively preording so many things.

Very rarely pre-order anything unless there's going to be distribution problems anyway

That's another problem I create for myself...distribution in Canada is bad, so I preorder a lot of stuff on the assumption I won't be able to get it otherwise. A lot of the Transformers I got from Amazon were preordered, I think. But I preordered a lot of them "in case", told myself I would decide later if I actually wanted them or not. Then I proceeded to forget that they existed until they showed up on my doorstep. A lot of it turned out to be stuff I wasn't very exited to receive, so I really need to knock that off.

Super 7 Ultimates Bludgeon:

...

Legacy Evolution Bludgeon:

I love that so many people are naming some Bludgeon or another in their lists this year.

Out of all the ones I have, only the SS86 Hot Rod so far has met the justification for being small at the price point but making up for with complexity/parts count. Most of the others are in more size-class-a-half territory.

I'd honestly say that Hot Rod feels like the most egregious of the bunch, to me. They charged Voyager prices and still didn't manage to come up with a product that felt "complete" to me. The cheating hood, bright yellow joints and red-painted-silver guns immediately jump out and scream to me "this was a ripoff". I like the toy but I don't think I'll ever forget the size class it came out in, vs. Ironhide/Ratchet or Cliffjumper/Hubcap, which were also a ripoff but absolutely nailed what they were trying to accomplish.

Did you ever a get a Windrazor? The deco and trading price probably complement each other.

No, and I doubt I will at this point. If I decide to splash silly money on a 90s BotCon toy, I could think of others that I'd like to get first. I had a chance to grab one for $100 a decade or so ago and said no thanks, so that's probably that.

If the new Silverbolt gets repainted in the Windrazor colours, though, I'd probably jump on that.

Even so, I still wouldn't call it bad. It's just kind of forgettable, which if I'm understanding your POV correctly, is worse?

For me in particular? Yeah, I think it is. If my collection was a lot smaller, I'd imagine I'd feel differently. But I already own more than enough figures that are just sort of "there", you know?

Hmm. My go-to example of "limited but really neat, so therefore memorable" is Magmatron. The BWNeo figure is really restrained in its movement compared basically everything else from BW, but the idea is fun and it looks impressive, so it's an overall win. And just within the past couple of days, the dude at Hasbro posted these pics showing off the new one. What I'm particularly looking at is the range of motion of the T-rex component has now; the original has basically none.

Tigerhawk was actually the recent figure that kicked off this line of thinking for me! The original "did" so much -- two different sets of missile launchers, three other, different sets of spring-loaded gimmicks, being a shiny-chromed Transmetal and a Fuzor. And then on top of that, two further gimmicks -- a vehicle mode and a "pilot" -- that got cancelled-but-not-totally and added extra play features to the figure. It's almost more "playset" than action figure, and not really poseable at all due to all the weight the gimmicks add. But damn if it isn't distinctive. I don't know that there's another Transformer out there that tries to do what it does.

The new one is nicely poseable, and the new one looks like the cartoon character. And at the end of the day the new one is the hundredth figure to hit those benchmarks in the last five years, so even if it's a good toy on it's own merits it'll never be as memorable to me as the clunky, over-engineered original.

Does it, though? By that, I think that our biases of having been here for as long as we have are getting in the way. It's 2024, which means that a fan that's twenty-years-old now was born the year you and I signed up for this little forum ( ), but it also means that the Legacy Magmatron is going to have the exact same novelty for them as the original had back in the day since it's the first time not just since they've been collecting, but also in their lifetime, that a Magmatron has been produced and marketed. Whereas we may look at it as a "been there, done that, why are there still gaps is the Elasmosaur neck at $90," someone younger is getting both the novelty of the design and the novelty of it being current.

I see your point, but by the same token, how many people born in 2004 would care about Magmatron, or even know who he is? The last time the character was relevant was the IDW series from around 2007. Obviously, no hate for any youngsters who do want one, but this is a toy for 40-year-olds nostalgic for the late 90s/early 2000s when the fandom still pretended that the Japanese cartoons were cool.

That being said, I think it's pretty noteworthy for being the first "big" mass-market Beast-era figure since 2001. It definitely underscores a big change in who Hasbro thinks their adult market is vs. a decade ago. And it seems to be a pretty neat figure that does a lot of things that haven't been done since the last one, as long as you're not bothered by the hollowness.

If we'd just gotten three or four different Leader-class Magmatrons over the last decade it would be a lot less engaging, like a certain recent SS86 Commander...

Again, I'm not sure where the line between "a welcome update" and "a bait and switch" is (the studio series Ironhide and Ratchet coming within 18 months of the earthrise figures are probably on the side of the latter), but one collector's welcome update is another's first offering.

I really feel like it stopped being a "bait and switch" a while ago. For the first couple years after the line's philosophy changed, those complaints were for sure valid. Hasbro changed over to a "Marvel Legends" model without telling anyone, and a lot of fans went out and bought, say, Siege Ironhide on the assumption that we wouldn't see another Ironhide for seven or eight years. I can totally sympathize with people who bought Siege and felt "played" by the Earthrise retool. But anyone who bought the Earthrise one and turned around and dropped their monocle in outrage at the announcement of the SS86 really only has themselves to blame.

The plan is to keep a log of situations that I stress-buy in to help realize when I'm doing it, and also to help filter things into categories. Basically, minor stressors need to be logged as such and not weighed as much as big stressors, and the point in that is not just to keep myself from buying so many toys, but also to document the little things as little things.

This is a good idea! "Retail therapy" is definitely a thing that happens, I find especially with small stressors...things that just annoy me, not things that are actual problems, you know? Keeping track of when I do that would probably help to remind me not to!

I don't think the complexity argument holds that much water in justifying jumping a whole SKU bracket either personally. Hasbro just have a fairly blanket policy of cost cutting regardless of whether it compromises the product enough that people won't buy at the price point. Size and a half is a good way to describe figures like Doubledealer though, which is a little more than a voyager but needed some simple powermasters to get away with the hike. Any character other than Prime, Megatron etc has a starting point of having to work harder to appeal to anyone bar long-term fans.

This is an important point that I don't think fans pay enough attention to. "More complicated" might be a selling point with some parts of the hardcore fanbase, but are casual buyers going to be impressed? Your average shopper that sees Hot Rod in his packaging is going to wonder why it's the same price as the Scourge right beside it that's twice it's size. They're probably not going to immediately jump to the conclusion that the tiny one is "better" because of parts count. And if they're buying for kids they'd probably consider that a negative. They still need to look like they're worth the price.

[Denyer]

Over here, Prime customers (and it's worth the cost of Prime annually if you order at least a few things a month, and they partner with supermarkets and have a few original shows that I actually watch) can specify a preferred delivery day for in stock items, including weekends. Ethics aside, Amazon's a practical way of limiting contact with the outside world.

I think I'm an anomaly in preferring Siege alt modes to either Earthrise or SS. I got the old voyager scale MP and 3P car bots of 84/85 characters I wanted years ago, any CHUG along the way have just been bonuses. Hasbro can try to sucker people into rebuying that scale all it wants. I think Toy Springer is the only close redo I've bitten on, and having the comic one as well is okay. Overall, there's so much variety in decades of collecting that the different styles homogenise pretty nicely and forced perspective in displays is quite effective too. Broadly it's split three ways with scales into deluxe CHUG, voyager MP/3P and MM/WST which includes three citybot Titans. Alternator scale stuff and G1 is mostly in storage apart from the FT Dinobots and a few other exceptions. Legends never really got started on much as a distinct scale. It's probably time for another bit of a clear out.

[Warcry]

Over here, Prime customers (and it's worth the cost of Prime annually if you order at least a few things a month, and they partner with supermarkets and have a few original shows that I actually watch) can specify a preferred delivery day for in stock items, including weekends. Ethics aside, Amazon's a practical way of limiting contact with the outside world.

Prime Gaming goes a long way towards the yearly subscription cost for me, considering how often they're giving away digital copies of older AAA games for free. The money I save on shipping is almost a bonus. Actually shopping there is becoming increasingly frustrating, though, since they work their hardest to keep you from weeding out sketchy RandomStringOfCharacters dropshippers based in China and intermingle their own in-house stock with scammers and bootleggers.

I think I'm an anomaly in preferring Siege alt modes to either Earthrise or SS.

I'd say I'm in the same boat. Since they won't pay to licence real alt-modes, I'd much rather have a creative retro-futuristic car or tank than a genericized "real" one, or a Porsche with feet for a bumper.

Overall, there's so much variety in decades of collecting that the different styles homogenise pretty nicely and forced perspective in displays is quite effective too.

I'd broadly agree with that. If all you've got are Legacy figures a single Combiner Wars or 2010 robot might look odd, but the more different eras you mix together the less the differences stand out, at least for me. I've got figures out on my shelves from almost every line from G1 until now (I don't think I've currently got any Animated or Alternators out, and I've probably forgotten about some movie sublines) and the only ones that really stand out form the general mass of "Transformerdom" are the pre-articulation G1s.

[Denyer]

Yeah, Amazon search and failure to enforce grouping of listings is appalling enough to send me to eBay pretty often for things that are small, non-urgent and cheap. Amazon seem to take a bigger cut of the base price that means they can often be beaten on that stuff. But it's handy to be able to get parcel box friendly stuff delivered mid-week too, and pinpoint from tracking exactly what's arrived. Think it's safest to get commonly counterfeited dangerous things like power adapters etc from supermarkets though.

In context some G1 doesn't stand out... MMs, Pretender shells and robots, weirder AMs, Browning, KO Dinobots, etc. But I've mostly got a selection of incomplete figures to have rather than display, and as a physical reminder of how far things have come in terms of manufacturing knocking on for half a century ago. Maybe I'll dedicate a cabinet shelf at some point.

Binalts were fun as a fad, but I'm not sure licensed vehicles are worth the restrictions, mark up or additional size to do them justice.

[Clay]

Please tell me you're going to pull out the card and mark it right in front of the students' faces when they make the excuse, not after they leave the room. Especially if they make the excuse in front of the whole class.

Can't say that I won't do that, but it'll depend on the situation/student.

For me in particular? Yeah, I think it is. If my collection was a lot smaller, I'd imagine I'd feel differently. But I already own more than enough figures that are just sort of "there", you know?

I suppose I understand well enough. But for me, if I have to choose between competent or flawed-but-memorable, I'll pick competent. Even if deluxe car X doesn't reinvent the wheel (literally), if it does its job nicely I'll probably be content with it. It means that it won't set off the desire to "fix" something about it rather than trying to get it to do something else.

The new one is nicely poseable, and the new one looks like the cartoon character. And at the end of the day the new one is the hundredth figure to hit those benchmarks in the last five years, so even if it's a good toy on it's own merits it'll never be as memorable to me as the clunky, over-engineered original.

Yeah, Tigerhawk is a wild mess of unfinished ideas. That most of them work anyway is quite fortunate! Still a bit disappointed that the new one doesn't have a hat for the kitty head.

I see your point, but by the same token, how many people born in 2004 would care about Magmatron, or even know who he is? The last time the character was relevant was the IDW series from around 2007. Obviously, no hate for any youngsters who do want one, but this is a toy for 40-year-olds nostalgic for the late 90s/early 2000s when the fandom still pretended that the Japanese cartoons were cool.

I mean, I imagine most of the younger fans will have exactly as much knowledge of the character as I did when I bought the Neo figure back in 2005 or so? By that, I mean that thorough characterization isn't really a deal-breaker for most TF collectors to pick up a figure so long as it's neat in-and-of itself. That the bulk of TF characters don't exist outside of a bio paragraph or a blink-and-you'll-miss-them appearance probably contributes to this.

That being said, I think it's pretty noteworthy for being the first "big" mass-market Beast-era figure since 2001. It definitely underscores a big change in who Hasbro thinks their adult market is vs. a decade ago. And it seems to be a pretty neat figure that does a lot of things that haven't been done since the last one, as long as you're not bothered by the hollowness.

Oh yeah, the breadth of offerings now is wonderful. Not everything is a hit, but they've finally gotten comfortable with the idea that they can draw from stuff from beyond the 1984-1986 range.

If we'd just gotten three or four different Leader-class Magmatrons over the last decade it would be a lot less engaging, like a certain recent SS86 Commander...

Is it... bad that I don't know whether you mean Rodimus or Ultra Magnus? I know you mean Ultra Magnus, but...

I really feel like it stopped being a "bait and switch" a while ago. For the first couple years after the line's philosophy changed, those complaints were for sure valid. Hasbro changed over to a "Marvel Legends" model without telling anyone, and a lot of fans went out and bought, say, Siege Ironhide on the assumption that we wouldn't see another Ironhide for seven or eight years. I can totally sympathize with people who bought Siege and felt "played" by the Earthrise retool. But anyone who bought the Earthrise one and turned around and dropped their monocle in outrage at the announcement of the SS86 really only has themselves to blame.

I think it may just be that the stable of characters that they like to have consistently on shelves with a consistent look has gotten larger. Prime, Megatron, Starscream, etc. have been a given for a while, but that's been widened to include Sideswipe, van Ironhide, Ultra Magnus, Hot Rod, apparently Springer, and on and on. Whereas with the pre-combiner wars takes they were obviously shooting for something a little more future-proof (though certainly not succeeding every time), now they seem perfectly happily to make a new mold that's marginally different within three years of, say, Arcee (SS86 Arcee is really good, though!).

[Warcry]

Yeah, Amazon search and failure to enforce grouping of listings is appalling enough to send me to eBay pretty often for things that are small, non-urgent and cheap. Amazon seem to take a bigger cut of the base price that means they can often be beaten on that stuff. But it's handy to be able to get parcel box friendly stuff delivered mid-week too, and pinpoint from tracking exactly what's arrived. Think it's safest to get commonly counterfeited dangerous things like power adapters etc from supermarkets though.

Yeah, I don't mind buying probable knockoffs from someone in China in some circumstances but I want to know that's what I'm doing. Amazon obfuscates to such a degree that I just don't trust them anymore unless I know exactly what I'm looking for and it's currently available at retail. For ordering a Transformer or a book or something, it's great! But it's almost impossible to "go shopping" on the site anymore, if you know what I mean. If I want a particular action figure I can Google up the listing and order it. But if I want, like, a toaster or something and I have to search for it through Amazon's own interface? I'd sooner drive to the store, thanks.

Binalts were fun as a fad, but I'm not sure licensed vehicles are worth the restrictions, mark up or additional size to do them justice.

I feel like most of the fun of Alternators was what they could have been rather than what they actually were. Then-modern licenced alt-modes for classic characters was a really cool idea! The actual toys mostly sucked, though I'll always have a soft spot for that Smokescreen.

I mean, I imagine most of the younger fans will have exactly as much knowledge of the character as I did when I bought the Neo figure back in 2005 or so? By that, I mean that thorough characterization isn't really a deal-breaker for most TF collectors to pick up a figure so long as it's neat in-and-of itself. That the bulk of TF characters don't exist outside of a bio paragraph or a blink-and-you'll-miss-them appearance probably contributes to this.

I think this is a great example of how the fandom has changed since you and I joined it, actually! Twenty years ago, it was perfectly normal to buy toys just because they were cool. Nowadays the fandom has pivoted hard towards collecting characters instead of figures. Again, not every newer collector is going to be like that (and not every veteran collector isn't like that), but there's a definite trend here for "character" being a more important factor than ever before. I see "that looks awesome but I don't know who it is so I won't buy it" and "that's seriously flawed but I love XYZ so I'll buy it anyway" from other fans a lot more than I did 20 years ago.

I think the movie lines did a lot to encourage that shift, since for the first time Hasbro was putting in the effort to keep their major on-screen characters in circulation and readily available. Before that, I don't think they quite understood that buyers might want Jazz more than Red Alert, or Tigatron more than Wolfang, so those of us who grew up in the 80s and 90s kind of necessarily got used to just buying whatever looked cool.

Is it... bad that I don't know whether you mean Rodimus or Ultra Magnus? I know you mean Ultra Magnus, but...

Magnus was who I had in mind, but you'd be perfectly right to apply the same logic to Rodimus or even the upcoming '86 Commander Optimus as well. When the same basic design comes up so frequently, the excitement isn't there even if the quality is. Hot Rod/Rodimus is probably my favourite Transformer, but they've done about six different new molds for him in the last decade. If another one was announced tomorrow, even if it was noticeably better than what we've got today I can't say that I'd be terribly excited for it.

I think it may just be that the stable of characters that they like to have consistently on shelves with a consistent look has gotten larger.

That's what I meant by taking a Marvel Legends approach! Sorry, I use that shorthand in my head and sometimes forget that it doesn't necessarily make sense to anyone else. Legends has frequent releases of their most recognizable or collectible characters (Iron Man, Spidey, Captain America, Wolverine) who are almost always available, and a strong stable of secondary characters (Cyclops or Hulk or Thor or Magneto) who show up in the line fairly frequently. They supplement that with characters from the latest Marvel movie or TV show, and lastly they fill in the holes in the line with Z-list randoms like Avalanche or Molecule Man or Orb. It's a very formulaic approach but it seems to work quite well for them. I don't think it works quite as well for Transformers though, because only the very top of the character roster have the inexhaustible supply of "costumes" to cycle through that lets Legends churn out all those Spideys without feeling stale.


I pulled out a few of the other figures I've gotten over the last year, the ones I thought were forgettable, to see if I was being unfair to them.

SS86 Ironhide really is top-notch. But I think a big part of why I dismissed it so readily before is that it is a top-notch execution of a very simple design. It has good articulation, good heft, a fun transformation...but at the end of the day it's using all that to turn from a box into a different box. I appreciate it a lot but I'm not very excited by it, if that makes sense.

Dead End is very nice too. But unlike Drag Strip, who was very distinctive, Dead End really doesn't do as much to stand out from the twenty-odd very similar combining cars and trucks from the Combiner Wars days. And the CW toy will always be more memorable to me because of the circumstances where I got it (to distract myself from the panic that comes from having a newborn ).

(If you want to feel old, contemplate the fact that Combiner Wars was nine years ago.)

Tarn is utterly frustrating. The guns never seem to sit quite straight no matter how or where you attach them. The shoulders annoy me. He transforms into a vague tank thingy, and it doesn't even have little wheels to let the tank roll. It looks pretty on a shelf but handling it makes me unhappy.

Animated Prowl too. The transformation is awkward and parts don't want to stay together in bike mode. The ninja stars don't work very well as weapons and they get in the way as hubcaps. The figure has style but it's not executed very well.

Axlegrease is very pretty, but also pretty annoying to handle. The figure is designed to disassemble but the parts that come apart most easily are joints that aren't supposed to. I can't tranform or pose the thing at all without the elbows coming undone.

Shrapnel isn't bad at all, honestly. In fact, he's pretty good. I think I remember him as worse than he actually is because of how much I disliked Bombshell.

(Bombshell still sucks.)

I think SS Airazor would have been really exciting for me, if it had come out before the Kingdom toy. But it didn't, and it's hard to ignore that it's using all the same engineering as the older toy but doing everything just a tiny bit worse.

So other than Ironhide, I'm going to say...not really.

[Denyer]

Twenty years ago, it was perfectly normal to buy toys just because they were cool. Nowadays the fandom has pivoted hard towards collecting characters instead of figures.

Would tend to agree, and I'm somewhere in-between. It takes an unusually good/cool design to get me to go for a character I have no context for, and attempts to make e.g repaints of Skids as Crosscut a thing are probably doomed as far as I'm concerned, although the number of reuses is definitely wearing me down. I'd much rather get something that has a previous character attached (i.e. I can link to old bios or occasional appearances) but that isn't in the 84-86 bracket.

[Clay]

Binalts were fun as a fad, but I'm not sure licensed vehicles are worth the restrictions, mark up or additional size to do them justice.

Funnily enough, I think they were ahead of their time by exactly the moment they ended in 2007/8. The movie had made everything high-profile again along with all the characters in it having current (2007) models, so the best time for a line of modern, licensed cars with throwbacks to the 80s designs would have been... well, right when the Bin/Alt lines died.

A line of consistently scaled model cars is also something that could have been done at any time since and have found a bigger market, but I guess between the Masterpiece line's pivot in 2011 and Generations in general, they haven't seen any need to pursue the idea since. And honestly, I'm not sure how well the idea would compete alongside those options, but overall I think it'd be better received now.

I think this is a great example of how the fandom has changed since you and I joined it, actually! Twenty years ago, it was perfectly normal to buy toys just because they were cool. Nowadays the fandom has pivoted hard towards collecting characters instead of figures. Again, not every newer collector is going to be like that (and not every veteran collector isn't like that), but there's a definite trend here for "character" being a more important factor than ever before. I see "that looks awesome but I don't know who it is so I won't buy it" and "that's seriously flawed but I love XYZ so I'll buy it anyway" from other fans a lot more than I did 20 years ago.

I think the movie lines did a lot to encourage that shift, since for the first time Hasbro was putting in the effort to keep their major on-screen characters in circulation and readily available. Before that, I don't think they quite understood that buyers might want Jazz more than Red Alert, or Tigatron more than Wolfang, so those of us who grew up in the 80s and 90s kind of necessarily got used to just buying whatever looked cool.

Hmm. I suppose that's just the difference in entry points. For the older ones of us, we're used to having a scant appearance or a comic bio being all there is to go by and having to fill in the rest ourselves. For someone that came into this stuff more recently, even Ironfist has a [very good] story associated with him.

Then again, I know I'm the odd one out as I've never been too concerned with having figures of certain characters, nor certain figures having characters. Those two aspects have always been independent for me. For example, Bludgeon is neat character, but I've never felt the need to track down the original Pretender (which now seems financially prohibitive anyway). At the same, I have zero context for the ROTF Bludgeon as a design ever used by the character, but the design's really neat.

I know I'm in the minority on that, but the different ways we see the same thing is still fascinating. It'd make a good community research project if people were inclined to answer surveys!