Top 5 Most Show Accurate Transformers Toylines
Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2019 10:32 pmEvery two weeks, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor. These are my opinions (just like movie or game reviews hosted by sites are still just the opinion of one person) so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found here. Thanks to fellow staff member Kurona for helping me with this one, along with fellow Seibertronian TK415 for helping me shape this list.
Top 5 Most Show Accurate Transformers Toylines
This list has been mulling in my head for quite sometime. I always find it hard when a list is a tad bit lest subjective since it means there are measures that have to be clear rather than it simply being "I think this toy is awesome while this one blows". However, this idea of comparing the toys we get with what we see on screen is a longstanding theme in this brand and it's a request I get quite a bit. Now, to make it more diverse and add some variety, I have chosen to deal with this subject of screen accuracy while looking at toylines rather than the individual toys themselves. Feel free to discuss which toys within the mentioned (or unmentioned) toylines you find superior to others in terms of accuracy though, it should make for a fun discussion. Now off with the list!
5. Robots in Disguise 2001 (Car Robots)
Transformers Prime was supposed to take this spot at first, especially since the RID line still had the defacto inaccuracies that come with using G1 toys to represent your show characters. But you know what, I realized the Prime line had less to offer for show accuracy. Sure, there were some heavy hitters, but then you realize that Hasbro never gave us anything close to a screen accurate Voyager Megatron, none of the black Beast Hunter Bees had the right paint scheme, neither Arcee really looked like the character model (which I admit is hard to pull off) and the crappier Cliffjumper toy was the one with the screen accurate legs.
And then there is RID, a show that went out of its way to show us all the wonderful modes Megatron had, including the hand mode and griffin mode. All the new molds made for RID, such as Optimus, Railracer and the brothers had toys which seemed to jump off the screen. And while Ruination's proportions were off as expected, the colours were well represented. And we finally got to see some of those Beast Wars molds in action on screen in North America and they looked great. And let's not forget Scourge whose toy looked a lot like the show model. I especially love the sticker detail being very similar to the details we see on the screen. Its these peculiar and recognizable details, like the chest stickers, found both onscreen and on the toy that drive home how good a representation you have of the badass you see on screen.
Transformers Robots In Disguise Prowl (Mach Alert) Gallery
Transformers Robots In Disguise Gas Skunk (Gaskunk) Gallery
4. Beast Wars Transmetals (Bast Wars Metals)
I remember very well being a kid and being turned off by those odd masks the first year Beast Wars toys had. They weren't on the show. And while the inner Rhinox head looked more like the show, it looked too small on the body so young WJ88 settled on that brutish face when making him exchange blows with his Bane action figure. But then in that second year line, Beast Wars Transmetal, it was as if you were holding the characters you saw onscreen in your very hands. And that is the first time that ever happened for the brand. Tarantulus and Cheetor looked perfect, so did Rampage and both faction leaders. Plus you had the gimmicks at work too, like the surfing gorilla and thruster t-rex. I would even throw in Quickstrike and Silverbolt who were released at the very same tie within the Fuzors subline. And it culminated with Optimal Optimus and Depthcharge which really looked the part. That dedication between toy and screen was not as impressive with what followed in Transmetal 2 where toys like Tigerhawk looked different and gimmicks not being carried through to the screen (like the rollerblading dragon, though I do understand). Plus there were many many toys that had no onscreen counterparts. And that worsened with Beast Machines. But man, Transmetal, those toys still hold up and I honestly don't see how much better those toys would be if they were released today.
3. Transformers Masterpiece 2.0
Yeah, if we are going to talk about the Masterpiece line and screen accuracy, you have to let go of all that came at the beginning. It didn't help that MP 01 Optimus Prime wasn't based on the G1 show model, and neither was Starscream, and that MP 05 Megatron was more of an homage to the G1 toy than the cartoon. But MP 10 came along and BAM, we got ourselves a gorgeous line with a unified scale that to this day keeps getting closer and closer to being as screen accurate as possible. It's not perfect, unlike the name would suggest, what with Red Alert still not getting the molding changes he deserves and Optimus not having a white crotch, plus the deal with Hot Rod's non show accurate backpack and extraneous bits. But then you have Bumblebee, Soundave, Shockwave, Ultra Magnus and Inferno who are just so striking in terms of show accuracy. Right down to the smooth surfaces devoid of sculpted detail and even stickers for Sunbow inspired Decepticon symbols in one case. It even got to the point where fans would rather the toys strive less for cartoon accuracy and go for a happy medium of detail and smooth surfaces. What that tells me is that this line is of course right at home on this list.
And here is a fun video I found. Sure, not everything it uses it official but it gives a good idea of how far we have come.
2. Transformers Animated
I will always be amazed at what the Animated line was able to pull off. For the fist time, we had character models created before the toys in a Transformers show and these designs had exaggerated features. They were not proportioned, with some having ultra sleek waists, bigger feet, huge chins and so on. This was a more heroic style found across the 2000's and it persists now, which can make for very dynamic animation. We know that worked for a show, but now you had to engineer toys out of them which was extra tricky since these exaggerated proportions were more present in the robot modes than the vehicle modes. But Hasbro found a way. They were able to make transforming toys which really did have those dynamic looks. That deluxe Prowl toy still fascinates me for being so sleek in both modes and yet having that elongated head and huge feet. He's an easy example to show but that goes for all toys which found a way to have animated features in robot mode that did not have vehicle kibble (like forearms and legs) while not turning them all into shellformers. Even if you don't like the designs, you have to admit that turning this into one of the most show accurate lines is quite a feat.
1. Transformers Cybertron (Galaxy Force)
While Armada was naturally very toy-accurate and if you got an Armada toy just to get something that looked like what you saw on the show... well, unless you got Sideswipe, you wouldn't be terribly disappointed.
But Energon and Cybertron take it to whole new levels. The CGI models might as friggin' well just be the toys -- it gets to the extent that the models have the toy's buttons on them. The button you press on Cybertron Evac's toy to make his rotors turn? That's on his CGI model. Why is it there? What possible actual function would it serve to Evac as a character or soldier or disguise? Who the heck knows, but he has it.
Cybertron's toys are by far the most screen-accurate toys there have ever been because of how stupidly accurate to the toys Cybertron's animators were. Pretty much the only difference is in articulation for character expression (individual fingers moving, extra waist movement, that sort of thing). The Transformations were replicated too, which makes it even better!
Transformers Cybertron Optimus Prime (Galaxy Convoy) Gallery
Transformers Cybertron Hot Shot (Excellion) Gallery
Top 5 Most Show Accurate Transformers Toylines
This list has been mulling in my head for quite sometime. I always find it hard when a list is a tad bit lest subjective since it means there are measures that have to be clear rather than it simply being "I think this toy is awesome while this one blows". However, this idea of comparing the toys we get with what we see on screen is a longstanding theme in this brand and it's a request I get quite a bit. Now, to make it more diverse and add some variety, I have chosen to deal with this subject of screen accuracy while looking at toylines rather than the individual toys themselves. Feel free to discuss which toys within the mentioned (or unmentioned) toylines you find superior to others in terms of accuracy though, it should make for a fun discussion. Now off with the list!
5. Robots in Disguise 2001 (Car Robots)
Transformers Prime was supposed to take this spot at first, especially since the RID line still had the defacto inaccuracies that come with using G1 toys to represent your show characters. But you know what, I realized the Prime line had less to offer for show accuracy. Sure, there were some heavy hitters, but then you realize that Hasbro never gave us anything close to a screen accurate Voyager Megatron, none of the black Beast Hunter Bees had the right paint scheme, neither Arcee really looked like the character model (which I admit is hard to pull off) and the crappier Cliffjumper toy was the one with the screen accurate legs.
And then there is RID, a show that went out of its way to show us all the wonderful modes Megatron had, including the hand mode and griffin mode. All the new molds made for RID, such as Optimus, Railracer and the brothers had toys which seemed to jump off the screen. And while Ruination's proportions were off as expected, the colours were well represented. And we finally got to see some of those Beast Wars molds in action on screen in North America and they looked great. And let's not forget Scourge whose toy looked a lot like the show model. I especially love the sticker detail being very similar to the details we see on the screen. Its these peculiar and recognizable details, like the chest stickers, found both onscreen and on the toy that drive home how good a representation you have of the badass you see on screen.
Transformers Robots In Disguise Prowl (Mach Alert) Gallery
Transformers Robots In Disguise Gas Skunk (Gaskunk) Gallery
4. Beast Wars Transmetals (Bast Wars Metals)
I remember very well being a kid and being turned off by those odd masks the first year Beast Wars toys had. They weren't on the show. And while the inner Rhinox head looked more like the show, it looked too small on the body so young WJ88 settled on that brutish face when making him exchange blows with his Bane action figure. But then in that second year line, Beast Wars Transmetal, it was as if you were holding the characters you saw onscreen in your very hands. And that is the first time that ever happened for the brand. Tarantulus and Cheetor looked perfect, so did Rampage and both faction leaders. Plus you had the gimmicks at work too, like the surfing gorilla and thruster t-rex. I would even throw in Quickstrike and Silverbolt who were released at the very same tie within the Fuzors subline. And it culminated with Optimal Optimus and Depthcharge which really looked the part. That dedication between toy and screen was not as impressive with what followed in Transmetal 2 where toys like Tigerhawk looked different and gimmicks not being carried through to the screen (like the rollerblading dragon, though I do understand). Plus there were many many toys that had no onscreen counterparts. And that worsened with Beast Machines. But man, Transmetal, those toys still hold up and I honestly don't see how much better those toys would be if they were released today.
3. Transformers Masterpiece 2.0
Yeah, if we are going to talk about the Masterpiece line and screen accuracy, you have to let go of all that came at the beginning. It didn't help that MP 01 Optimus Prime wasn't based on the G1 show model, and neither was Starscream, and that MP 05 Megatron was more of an homage to the G1 toy than the cartoon. But MP 10 came along and BAM, we got ourselves a gorgeous line with a unified scale that to this day keeps getting closer and closer to being as screen accurate as possible. It's not perfect, unlike the name would suggest, what with Red Alert still not getting the molding changes he deserves and Optimus not having a white crotch, plus the deal with Hot Rod's non show accurate backpack and extraneous bits. But then you have Bumblebee, Soundave, Shockwave, Ultra Magnus and Inferno who are just so striking in terms of show accuracy. Right down to the smooth surfaces devoid of sculpted detail and even stickers for Sunbow inspired Decepticon symbols in one case. It even got to the point where fans would rather the toys strive less for cartoon accuracy and go for a happy medium of detail and smooth surfaces. What that tells me is that this line is of course right at home on this list.
And here is a fun video I found. Sure, not everything it uses it official but it gives a good idea of how far we have come.
2. Transformers Animated
I will always be amazed at what the Animated line was able to pull off. For the fist time, we had character models created before the toys in a Transformers show and these designs had exaggerated features. They were not proportioned, with some having ultra sleek waists, bigger feet, huge chins and so on. This was a more heroic style found across the 2000's and it persists now, which can make for very dynamic animation. We know that worked for a show, but now you had to engineer toys out of them which was extra tricky since these exaggerated proportions were more present in the robot modes than the vehicle modes. But Hasbro found a way. They were able to make transforming toys which really did have those dynamic looks. That deluxe Prowl toy still fascinates me for being so sleek in both modes and yet having that elongated head and huge feet. He's an easy example to show but that goes for all toys which found a way to have animated features in robot mode that did not have vehicle kibble (like forearms and legs) while not turning them all into shellformers. Even if you don't like the designs, you have to admit that turning this into one of the most show accurate lines is quite a feat.
1. Transformers Cybertron (Galaxy Force)
While Armada was naturally very toy-accurate and if you got an Armada toy just to get something that looked like what you saw on the show... well, unless you got Sideswipe, you wouldn't be terribly disappointed.
But Energon and Cybertron take it to whole new levels. The CGI models might as friggin' well just be the toys -- it gets to the extent that the models have the toy's buttons on them. The button you press on Cybertron Evac's toy to make his rotors turn? That's on his CGI model. Why is it there? What possible actual function would it serve to Evac as a character or soldier or disguise? Who the heck knows, but he has it.
Cybertron's toys are by far the most screen-accurate toys there have ever been because of how stupidly accurate to the toys Cybertron's animators were. Pretty much the only difference is in articulation for character expression (individual fingers moving, extra waist movement, that sort of thing). The Transformations were replicated too, which makes it even better!
Transformers Cybertron Optimus Prime (Galaxy Convoy) Gallery
Transformers Cybertron Hot Shot (Excellion) Gallery
great call and great list dude another win. These are always the best, so much fun.
