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One more day is left, and this year will be over. If you look at 2016, there have been too high a number of dark moments outside of the life on the boards. But when you look at what our hobby, our fandom, our world of robots have produced, we actually struck some very good chords this year, wouldn't you agree? It has been a year of anniversaries, a year of milestones, a year of beasts and movies and comics, a year of toys, a year of endings and beginnings -- I suppose it's only right that we take some time now to make it...
A Year in Review - Transformers 2016
Art: Kei Zama
That's right: we're back! We'll be taking a look at what happened since the end of 2015, a few categories at a time, as usual. Also, this dish is best served accompanied by a nice 2016 podcast episode. Trés joli.
Let's meet our hosts for the ride, then, shall we..? Introducing:
The Newsmongrels
D-Maximus_Prime
william-james88
Kurona
Bronzewolf
The Twincasters
megatronus
ScottyP
Counterpunch
Our Gracious Over Boards
Cobotron
Burn
...this guy Va'al
We've rejigged the categories a little, to include more topics to cover outside of just the toys:
Cobotron - At first I thought Grand Galvatron. That whole set did a real number for my imagination, and the decos come close to the very best of the line. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized there was one other toy from the line that I spent more time playing with and building my own stories around. I spent hours "scrambling" to find the perfect team to accompany him, and in doing so discovered that there isn't really a single limb that doesn't look good on him. I think he is the very best torso bot of the line, and he goes by Voyager Sky Lynx. The proportions in torso mode are near perfect, and although some seemed to have issues with loose joints, mine does not. His dino-bird mode is equally as fun, especially serving as a mount for another warrior. And while he looks smashing combined with the G2 Aerial Bots, his best looking feature is still that amazing high collared lynx head sculpt. MEOW!
Bronzewolf - While most would regard the CW era as wave after wave of retools and repaints, it did give us, most importantly, a combiner system that not only worked but worked well, and looked good at the same time. The likes of this we had never seen before, whether in G1 or those awful Movie "Combiners". It also gave us some updated versions of our favorite G1 characters, my favorite of which is Sky Lynx. While it, like almost all other figures from CW, has its faults (namely the inability to separate into lion/bird modes individually). It's a gorgeous looking representation of a character that has gone under-appreciated since the G1 days.
megatronus - Coming at the tail end of Combiner Wars, Sky Lynx is, in this staff member's opinion, the most superbly engineered voyager of the line. He encapsulates all of his G1 wackiness while making for a no-hassle combiner torso - what's not to like? What put him over the top - and this is a perversely personal point - was the devilish difficulty finding him at retail. That made finally finding him that much more delightful.
ScottyP - Grand Galvatron came in late and saved Unite Warriors, as well as all of G1. Let me tell you why...
Editor's Note - Redacted Content: ScottyP wrote about 12,000 words of fan fiction about Grand Galvatron here. It was, well, not very good. In fact, were we to publish it, the whole of civilization may be set back about 12,000 years. That's right - one year for every word. There was this mess about how to properly extinguish a campfire, a romance plot involving time travel and Jennifer Love-Hewitt, a continuation of Budiansky's Skullgrin story arc for some reason, and all the while it just never got anywhere in terms of plot or character development. I think Thundercracker's Josh Boyfriend screenplays are likely infinitely better than every last sentence of this junk that was written by a usually upstanding Site Admin. For the potential entertainment of readers, the last dreadfully melodramatic line is left intact below.
And so it was that Curse Armada Thrust looked wistfully into the deep vacuum of time and thought the only thought that mattered any more: "It was all just a matter of... time."
william-james88 - Part of me wishes this year’s combiners came out last year. I say this because there is no doubt in my mind that this year’s combiner wars toys were better than last year’s by a fair margin. The teams were more diverse in terms of molds and transformations and several had that extra premium feel in terms of paint apps. Yet, there was that mold fatigue that was hard to go against. I remember looking at my G2 Menasor and while I was marveling at the paint apps and tampographs (especially on G2 Wildrider), I didn’t really have this urge to transform the components or put them together simply because any mystery was already uncovered when I transformed the original. While maybe beautiful, redecos rarely have that same special feeling of discovering a new puzzle and with a combiner you get that for several toys all at once. But Grand Galvatron found a way to go against all that. The decos, and especially the two new heads, really went a long way into making this the stand out set of the entire line. To the point where I still felt I was experiencing something new even though they were all redecos (especially the jets). So, while I really like Unite Warriors Computron, I think the best combiner of the year would go to Grand Galvatron.
Burn - Geez where does one start with this? Such a big line to choose from.
But for me, if there was one that really stood out it would be Computron. Not Hasbro or Takara though, a combination of them. (Something I did). While Takara went the extra mile with Nosecone, both did a fantastic job with Strafe (though Takara won there too).
Of course Hasbro gave us the plucky little wheel that could (melt) ... Scrounge!
Counterpunch - I could have turned my attention to the larger teams, particularly UW Computron, but Nosecone was such a delightful tooling that I felt he should get a nod all his own. It’s as if this base body was designed for our scientific drilling expert from the outset. The color choices, the blocky nature of the limbs, and the Japanese exclusive drill all pull together to make what is in my opinion, the nicest limb of the year in the CW/UW line.
D-Maximus_Prime - Hmm, kind of a difficult one for me really. I'm gonna have to say... Strafe. I love the Air Raid mold a lot and it really works for Strafe. Plus, he is the one Combiner Wars Technobot that got a good makeover and he can combine with Scrounge! Both Unite Warriors and Combiner Wars delivered good looking Strafe's, and I love this one. He is awesome. And considering the fact that I consider Computron to be the best Combiner we got from Combiner wars, Strafe is just so sweet.
Kurona - It's a really difficult choice for me, but I've really gotta go with Victorion. When I got her I couldn't stop being amazed with her; the remolding on each figure to make them more feminine was fantastic, it had my favourite CW Voyager, my favourite CW limb twice, Dustup really stood out from the rest of the Dead End mold uses as her own unique thing, the colours are great in person, the sword is absolutely phenomenal, the new feet and hands work so well... I can't stop going on about her. She's absolutely perfect, I'd say the only real disappointment is Jumpstream - I just don't like that Breakdown mold. But hey, car and leg mode are great so can't complain too much.
Va'al - Much like previous years, my toy habits are limited to very select figures at specific times. But I had been eyeing Victorion since her announcement, and the entire Hasbro team knew of my definitely-not-an-obsession with the set at BotCon, Earth Wars meetings, online... It uses one of the best torso molds in the line, it has the adorable motorbike that could, the sword is magnificent, and the Helitwins arrived to kick some sense into Alpha Bravo! Gotta love siblings...
Burn - While the end of Combiner Wars saw more and more repaints that I just wasn't interested in, it was off-set by the introduction of Titans Return. My initial stance was to ignore the likes of Blurr and Scourge who were already represented in my "Neo-G1" collection. But I grabbed them anyway. While not blow my mind impressive, they were okay.
But then there were the others. Hardhead was a fun figure. As was Chromedome. But the two stand out figures for me, and these only recently joined the collection, were Brainstorm and Triggerhappy. These guys look fantastic in both modes. Not to mention how great they are at different poses. If you have the chance, grab these guys. Totally worth it!
megatronus - Deluxe Brainstorm. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. While TR voyagers thus far have been fairly clunky with the occasional inspired touch, the deluxe figures have stolen the show. Of these, Walgreens-exclusive Brainstorm is best in show. Between the original mold, color scheme, streamlined transformation/alt mode, and remarkable poseability, Brainstorm checks off all my boxes. I remain amazed that I could be so sullen over mold-mate Blurr, but so ecstatic over Brainstorm... do you believe in magic?
Bronzewolf - So many excellent figures to choose from. Mindwipe is pretty good, with an engaging transformation with a great looking robot and bat mode. Takara PowerMaster Convoy looks stunning in robot mode and in truck mode, with a cab that looks just spectacular.
But my favorite had to be the Blurr/Brainstorm mold. Walgreens Brainstorm has amazing tampos and color scheme. They look slightly faded and yellowed, making it look like a vintage toy, which, for me, is awesome. The proportions of the mold are really good, and it just looks incredible on a shelf. Really a highlight so far of the TR line.
Kurona - The Titans finally returned! ... with bad UK distribution. And a ridiculous price hike in the UK. And while my own personal funds are declining. I'm poor, guys.
Anyway, this meant I was only able to get Chromedome, Weirdwolf Wolfwire and Buzzsaw (totally counts). I love them all, the Titan Master integration works really well, and I'm glad I finally have a Chromedome for my Lost Lighter shelf. Buuuut, much as I like Domey and much as I'm surprised at how much I've been liking Buzzsaw, it has to go to Wolfwire. Absolutely incredible figure, especially in wolf mode - that's what really sells him. They really went to town on that because there's no molding or paint app choices (Titan Master notwithstanding) I'd change, and standing on his own or among a bunch of other random 'cons he just looks really cool and unique. Oh, uh, the robot mode is cool too. But the wolf is amazing!
Cobotron - My absolute favorite gets a spot further down the line here, so I'll put my #2 in this one. The honor goes to Wolfwire Weirdwolf. I love it when a toy can achieve a nice deco simply by using it's plastic colors to do the work. Wolfy here does that. He also hits a few of my other Transformers sweet spots like, beast mode, and a sword. He is a well made figure with an awesome robot mode, an even better alt mode, and a pretty fun and interesting route to get from one to the other. The Headmaster gimmick goes a long way for me on all the figures from this line, but the idea of a little bot driving a giant robotic dire wolf just really turns a key for me.
D-Maximus_Prime - Cerebros. No, really. That dude has so much character in him despite the fact that he turns into a head. He really does look awesome, poses really good, and he is the middle guy in the double Titanmaster gimmick. Plus, his head mode and his individual head sculpt are both amazing.
Shout out to Blurr. He will the favorite of many, but Cerebros wins for me.
ScottyP - This pick was almost Cerebros because that toy/Reflector Pre-tool is great, but I'm giving the nod to Highbrow. I'll go with the Takara Legends version for the superior paint/color scheme and bonus Titan Master car. Plus, that version includes a comic where Highbrow saves Papika from Weirdwolf, who is slowly cutting off all of her clothes but ultimately does not succeed thanks to Highbrow's actions. Anime may not be real, but the fun you can have with Highbrow definitely is.
william-james88 - While all Titans Return toys were fun, I found them rather simple. Legends Blurr was different though. He was quite complex for a deluxe and extremely satisfying. There was a great attention to detail, like how one leg stores the tail fin and how the tiny well rolling wheels are hidden flush in robot mode thanks to perfectly shaped holes. Plus the Takara paint job just makes him such a standout. To me, the only need for an MP Blurr is for the scale, but I am really curious as to how it could have a better look or transformation.
Photo: Counterpunch
Counterpunch - In a world where so many great figures are coming on line week after week, I have to acknowledge the one that I expected to be my biggest disappointment when he turned out to be one of my simplest joys: Hot Rod is excellent. Transformation, detailing, cherry red candy color, weaponry… he’s the total package for $15.99 or whatever. I love getting surprises like this and lately, they’ve felt few and far between with the predictability of the Combiner Wars line. Hot Rod may not have been a classic Headmaster, but this toy leaves me thinking… maybe he should have been.
Favorite 2016 Transformers: Robots in Disguise/Adventure
Cobotron - Ahhhhh RID. The little line that could. Battle Packs were a hoot. Love that size class. It seems to be unanimous though, that the Warrior Class Decepticons were where it was at in 2016. I'm in. Heck, even Ratchet was better than I had expected, but the clear winner for me is Warrior Thunderhoof. In my book, he could have scrapped by on character design alone, but with everything else this figure has to offer added, he is the clear favorite.
D-Maximus_Prime - Warrior Thunderhoof. That guy is so awesome. He perfectly reflects his show model, which I love, and how many farm-formers have there ever been? Plus, he has antlers and hooves. His Transformation is fun and intuitive, and his robot mode is perfect looks-wise. Yes, he lacks some beef on his back, but he is literally awesome, so it matters not.
Va'al - I'll let this image speak for itself. And never talk to him or his son ever again.
ScottyP - You're making me choose? From all this awesome stuff? Hrm. Warrior Thunderhoof by a nose. In fact, probably by a very small nose, like a reindeer nose. Now I'm disappointed that there was no special Holiday Edition Thunderhoof again, but I digress. Thunderhoof is all the best parts of the stellar design and engineering work that accompanied most of this year's Warrior Class Decepticon releases from Robots in Disguise. Distilled within this blue and black antlered mobster is wonderful articulation and even the occasionally hard to find alt-mode weapon storage. Of course, then there's the transformation itself, which has multiple wild steps that truly involve him folding up and over himself in a way that must be experienced to be understood. The Adventure deco is a thing of beauty, so if you can track that down for a reasonable amount it's the recommended version here.
william-james88 - This line kicked so much ass this year. It was easily the most fun I had in terms of looking at each figure individually. Hasbro told us we wold get Decepticons in 2016 and they delivered. Probably more than either of us would have expected with Megatronus, Quillfire, Thunderhoof, Fracture, Bisk, Scorponok and Starscream. All of them were winners, truly. All are very good toys, with fun designs and new tansformations. Picking my favourite is insanely hard so it will be a tie between Hasbro’s Warrior Fracture and Takara’s Warrior Thunderhoof. Both are ingenious designs and very satisfying. They also look amazing in both modes.
Bronzewolf - The minicons. I know, I know, but hear me out. These collectible little guys are super cool, and one of the closest things the US has to Arms Micron. There's a great array of different characters that take different forms, from beasts to bots and everything in between.
Kurona - Uhhhh, Dragonus. He's kinda cute but I don't like him that much BUT he's the only RiD figure I have. congrats u win
Photo: Counterpunch
Counterpunch - I mention TAV Windblade here because of the stark contrast in detail and care that Takara is taking with their version of Robots in Disguise. The mold itself is adequate and is in many ways just not as interesting as some of the Decepticon troops who have been 2016's star performers for RiD. What is special though is how Windblade looks like she stepped of the screen. Takara remains the go-to source for those of us who like our figures to actually look like their fictional depictions.
Favorite 2016 Transformers: None of the Above Figure
megatronus - Botcon Predacus. I love this set, and not just because of the cartoon homaging headsculpts/deco or the expertly executed paint job. Nor just because that combined mode is a beast to behold. And certainly, it's not because of the shortcomings of basically all of the individual members. Rather, Tripredacus was my first Beast Wars toy (or set) I ever got (from my parents; Happy Hanukkah!). It's amazing to have a vicious-looking modern rendition on my shelf that can hark back to watching episodes of Beast Wars while holding my Tripredacus. Nearly everything about him harks back to either the original toy or Beast Wars cartoon while adding that modern, Generations-style twist with a combiner face that is spot on 90s ridiculousness. Love at first reveal.
D-Maximus_Prime - Botcon Magnaboss. Yes, he may be mostly stickers with 3 figures that already came out, but I managed to snag the stickers and he is awesome. Yeah, I customized him the other 2 limbs instead of finding Unit-3 and Tigatron, but those 2 figures use the same molds, so it is a good representation. He looks so awesome, and the stickers do some wonderful work. Really awesome addition to my collection!
Bronzewolf - Club exclusive Bluestreak! It might be another CW redeco, but I really appreciate the paint and Tampos, plus it's one of my favorite characters of all time. (Going for the Blue bluestreak deco gets bonus points, too.)
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ScottyP - Takara Legends Skids. The extra paint detail makes this figure look like it just escaped an exploding shuttle, magnetized a car, then blew it up after throwing it at a Legislator. Sleep tight, soldier.
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william-james88 - Kabaya Fortress Maximus. This was my first time with Kabaya and it was quite enjoyable. This is a great set which actually has paint. And there is no parts forming during transformation from city to bot. Plus it comes with the most adorable little Powerglide ever.
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Cobotron - A pop fly to left field! Takara's Diaclone Reboot Dia-Battles V2. I know, I know, it's not a Transformer, but here me out. He is Transformer's Grandpa, and you wouldn't not invite Grandpa to the family New Year's Eve party, would you?
This figure is amazing. If you are a fan of Transformers, a fan of the art of Japanese robot toys, and more specifically a fan of the art of Takara, I can't recommend this toy enough. Over the years Takara has done some really wonderful work rebooting some of their older lines and Dia-Battles follows suit. This toy is impeccably engineered with off the charts articulation and functionality, has beautiful detailing and paint,and is just an absolute joy to behold.
The thing about this figure is the modularity. Out of the box it can be configured into 12 different modes, but with the connection system they've employed Takara has also left it open to improvisation for hours of endless play. It's this modular play pattern that makes this toy so much fun. A great call back to old play patterns of the Diaclone and Microman toy lines. Maybe you need a breather from Transformers but still in the form of a robot toy. Please, give this guy a try. Besides, like I said, he's family. And BTW, he and his Dia-nauts roll tight right along side the Titan Masters.
Counterpunch - Victorion. Here's the thing, Victorion was kind of a flat release. What I mean by that is, for something that should have been more hyped and celebrated, her set kind of came and went without much notice. Victorion is really the first Combiner Wars gift set to offer something truly new and unique. She helps plan the seeds of new thought and characters in the franchise. In a way I wish it had been a more general release and that the whole Torchbearer set was priced cheaper to get more people into the idea. I really look forward to the day when we're adding more characters and ideas to the mythos in a more routine way.
Favorite 2016 Transformers Masterpiece Figure (Hasbro or Takara)
ScottyP - I'm saving MP-32 for a later topic, so I'm going to write about my second favorite Masterpiece figure for 2016 and beg to the good Dr. Va'al that this doesn't get cut. If it does, at least leave this sentence and let me feel the sting of having words murdered by a technicality.
This is an unbelievably tough choice to make, and might even vary depending on mood, but I'm going to stick with MP-29 Shockwave here just in case the MP-33 Inferno feelings I'm having are because of his novelty. In other words, logic dictates this choice. Shockwave is an expressive and gorgeous piece in both form and function. The robot and gun modes are slick and clean. The total package of the figure, accessories (including a clever double-use for the gun stand where it helps hide the gun's back kibble in robot mode), and even some alternate stickers made the long wait for an updated version of G1 Shockwave worth it.
Also, as someone nearly thirty years behind the curve on one corner of Transformers fiction, this Decepticon's heroics/antics in Time Wars were "new to me" this year and made me love this cold purple evildoer even more.
megatronus - MP29 Shockwave. Besides for marking the shift to slavish cartoon accuracy - a key inflection point in the history of this line - Shockwave is simply an amazing specimen. Have you see that light piping? That hose? The parts integration? The smaller gun of himself - that he can hold! More than his features, which more or less speaks for themselves, the release of Shockwave marks the completion of Megatron's lieutenants in MP form - leading up to the big bad himself in 2017.
Burn - This one surprised me. While I was looking forward to him, I was looking forward to Inferno more. But as great as Inferno is, he just doesn't quite reach the level of awesomeness that is Ironhide.
I had my reservations about him from the pictures. But once I had him in hand, I was quickly won over. A boxy little van twists, turns, and folds into a stocky damn good looking robot. While Inferno gave us "ladder magic", I feel it was Ironhide that helped lead the engineering that gave us "ladder magic". Unfortunately his mold brother Ratchet just didn't match up due to his primarily white look.
william-james88 - Masterpiece Ironhide. I am so impressed with how they were able to incorporate the cartoon vibe in robot mode while also delivering a very realistic alt-mode. Ironhide is one of those character that never had a good figure (even the movie versions had trouble getting it right and giving us good toys). And for such an iconic character, that is just so odd but it makes this release that much sweeter. Takara went all out. Gorgeous alt-mode (well, for what it is), great robot mode which has the alt-mode disappear away aside from the perfect alt-mode integration (from the front). this is probably the purchase I was most hesitant of this year that surprised me most.
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Counterpunch - Optimus Primal: 1. He's not made of boxes. 2. He's not strictly G1, though that's kind of the same thing as #1. 3. MP Optimus Primal is one of the best designed, best decoed toys in recent history. We should all be excited for what may come to pass with engineering like this for Beast Wars characters. I am eagerly anticipating a BW Megatron just on my experience with this. It shows that the MP line is more than a one trick monkey.
D-Maximus_Prime - Masterpiece Shattered Glass Optimus Prime. He is my first masterpiece, and as a result wins by default, though I'm not sure anyone could top him. He is a joy to behold, with marvelous paint work, a great evil feel to him, and a black badass trailer! The green Energon axe does it for me too, and the amount of detail put into him shows the love that he got. For even more articulated thoughts, you can see my review with plenty of pictures and all the love I can give this guy there.
Cobotron - The Masterpiece toy I had the most fun with this year was Loudpedal. YA! I know! He's a stinkin' repaint, AND of a figure that's maybe not the best in the line. I'm a huge sucker to call backs to ye olden days of pre-TF history. The deco is phenomenal, and I've always loved that almost knight's helmet head sculpt. He re-energized my MP Decepticon ranks in a way I didn't see coming. He and Exhaust are a terrible twosome of trouble making turds who's misadventures have been a treat to watch unfold on my Masterpiece shelves.
...and now: Figure of the Year
Burn - You know what? I'm not falling into this trap Va'al. This has been a fantastic year for figures. I'm not picking one that stands above all for the year. Far too many to choose from!
Va'al - Everyone else fell for it...
Counterpunch - Fort Max was a really significant part of my childhood and one of my best Christmas memories. I remember seeing him on the shelf as a child and being shocked by the size of such a toy. Well, I had intended to wait for the Takara version on Max, but seeing one for myself in Toys R Us changed my mind. Some may gripe (at great length, while no one cares to listen) about how this is a Metroplex re-tool, but to me, this is the figure of the year because it is a really high quality piece and it did a great job of reminding me of the simple joy of spending $115 after coupons and discounts.
megatronus - Titan Fortress Maximus. He's a headmaster with a headmaster - inception in a nutshell. Fort Max borrows just enough tooling from Metroplex to be familiar, but shakes it up enough to effectively differentiate itself from the first 2 foot Titan and, more importantly, to be exciting. Now that he's gone on sale practically everywhere, you owe it to yourself to own a Transformer that could convincingly stand in for your toddler.
Bronzewolf - Since I didn't buy any MP's this year, I'll have to stick with mainline figures, and, with that in mind, Walgreen's Brainstorm would be my pick. I can write a book about how perfect he is in my opinion, and I'm sure others that were lucky enough to find him can, too. His stance and proportions are just amazing, he reminds me of a simpler Generations Springer in a way, where he feels and looks like a premium figure, but for a regular retail price. Just great.
Oh, and also Fort Max. He's cool too.
D-Maximus_Prime - Eesh, toughy right there. We had several really good ones this year. But, I'm gonna have to go out on a limb here and probably differentiate from all the others here: Titans Return Alpha Trion.
Despite its shortcomings, this toy finally gave us all a retail release of the wise old sage from Transformers lore, and to me, there was a lot of love put into him. The 2 alt modes, despite not being completely perfect, homaged so much of this guys past it's crazy. I love the lion mode. It is to die for, the spaceship isn't that bad either guys, come on!
But what wins this one for me is the robot mode. It is beautifully detailed and painted, possibly with more paint then I have ever seen on a Hasbro figure. He has a majestic sword and literally no kibble. Plus, his warrior styled armor is so awesome and it makes him stand out. He is a figure that cannot disappear from your vision no matter how far back on the shelf he is. He is my favorite figure of 2016.
Cobotron - Transformers for me has never been about adhering to any one story line or fiction, but more about cherry picking bits and pieces to build my own imaginary world of robots at war. And the figures that really do it for me are the ones that most inspire me to play out my own stories. This past year the one figure that did that, and did it hard, was Titans Return Alpha Trion. The character design that went into his robot mode is absolutely fantastic! He pushed so many of my fantasy buttons, Transformers or other. The moment I laid eyes and mitts on this ancient, time tested, magic sword wielding, lion adorned, mustachioed robotic mystical knight, triangulated with his mythical beast and mighty battle cruiser alt modes, my head was reeling with ideas of magnificent adventure. And if that wasn't enough, he has the Headmasters gimmick thrown in the mix.
For me Alpha Trion was pure rocket fuel for my imaginary play time. He and Vector Prime have been drumming up some heavy adventures across my shelves for some time now, and those old goats show no signs of stopping until every last Con is made to pay!
william-james88 - While I am not a hardcore G1 fan (I was born in 88 and only learnt in 2014 that the G1 Ironhide toy had no head), I have become something of a purist in my adult life. As a kid, I actually did have a few Transformers toys (G2 Dreadwing) and I had Beast Wars toys and not only did I see them as different lines, but different things entirely. So while I generally do not care if a toy is its own thing and not show accurate, holding that Masterpiece Optimus Primal in my hand in beast mode brought a very new feeling in me as a collector. And the conversion is phenomenal. He truly morphs, the entire shape of the figure is redefined. It's genius, especially how it does it in so little space. Instead of having a vehicle turn into a mechanical robot, you have what is essentially an action figure morphing entirely from one form to the next. To finally have a toy that looks like the Optimus on the show (especially in beast mode) and to have him on the 20th anniversary of said show is truly magical and I cannot think of any other toy that should warrant the title of Figure of the Year.
ScottyP - MP-32 Optimus Primal transforms from gorilla to Maximal Commander, evolving the Masterpiece line in a way where both truck and monkey feel like they belong. This toy is as close as it gets to perfection for a beloved and iconic Transformers character. It was easy to imagine a Masterpiece Beast Wars figure falling flat in form and execution. Toys based on mid-90s CG models that would be impossible to scale to Generation One based MP figures in any practical sense, that also must have beast modes that show as little robot kibble as possible? The recipe for disaster was there, and yet factored in so minutely that it makes me wonder why I was ever worried in the first place. A slick transformation, shockingly clean design, clever accessories, superbly expressive pose-ability, and a genuinely cool light up gimmick make this the clear cut Transformers toy of the year. While picking a runner-up or two would be extraordinarily difficult, the top of the mountain is ruled by a gorilla. Send all complaints to the banana box for disposal.
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Made it so far? Here's a break for you all, featuring a relatively recent discovery round these parts!
And now, back to the list, as we move away from toy talk; starting with...
Favorite 2016 Transformers Comics-moment
ScottyP - In a total cop-out to prevent me from making a choice (again) between Sins of the Wreckers and Dying of the Light, which I waffle between on the hour every seven to eight hours, here's a short personal anecdote instead.
I flew to New Orleans last month and took my recently acquired trade paperback of Dying of the Light along with me. As readers of the book will know (hopefully, that's all of you), as the issues progress time edges ever closer to sunset on Necroworld. For anyone not following, that refers to a literal sunset used as a narrative device and not a purely figurative one. Anyhow, as the second leg of my flight took off, sunset was a bit more than 30 minutes away so the skies were still mostly blue in Charlotte and I settled in to take the chance to relax and read. Geography will tell you that when flying west at sunset, you are chasing said sunset.
Despite having a window seat with a perfect view of the extra long and slow sunset, I didn't really grasp this until looking at this panel:
At first I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me and/or there had been some unknown drop in cabin pressure and a lack of oxygen was driving my brain to view the page as much larger than it should be, but this was thankfully incorrect. What was really going on was that the color of the sky on the page more or less matched the exact color of the sky out the window. I had to keep reading, and did so at a slow, thoughtful pace (it was a re-read, after all) to find that the look of the world outside kept closely matching the world depicted on the page, getting gradually darker as the journey and the story progressed. The flight landed around twilight, with the book only marginally outpacing reality by the end. The last page I got to during that step of the journey? 'Thanks for traveling with me.'
Kurona - Dying of the Light. ALL of it. This probably shouldn't be surprising; if you know my Transformers opinions at all you'd know I adore MTMTE and consider it leagues above every other Transformers fiction (though a lot of the stuff filed under 'everything else' is still great, gimme Beast Wars and Animated any day)... and for that reason I don't actually want to say anything specific about it. I don't want to spoil what I consider to be top-notch fiction. I'll just say that Dying of the Light was an absolute thrillride from start to finish with everything I could want out of a series. except Nightbeat. Needed more Nightbeat
william-james88 - Definitely the end of More Than Meets the Eye. I liked seeing Megatron take down the DJD and how a lot of threads were wrapped up. I also really enjoyed Overlord’s reaction to the idea of finally taking down Megatron which shows how much the character has matured (I also finally read Last Stand of the Wreckers this year for the first time so the contrast was interesting). I am very curious of what is happening next. I love Blaster and can’t believe he would be such a $%!* to cooperate with Getaway. Something’s up.
Va'al has serious thoughts he has already expressed regarding that last point. More for the discussion, perhaps?
D-Maximus_Prime - More Than Meets The Eye #54, when Megatron walks onto the field of battle and silently blasts his enemies away, saving his comrades and sending them to safety. That page gives me goosebumps it's so beautiful. Alex Milne has never given us bad art, but that page alone is a masterpiece in its own right.
Shout out goes to the raising of Metrotitan by Optimus in Transformers #54.
Counterpunch - All Hail Optimus and the reaction panels: The reactions of the major story players in the face of Optimus' annexation of Earth was my favorite moment. I loved having a progressively heroic Megatron in one book with a progressively authoritarian Prime in another. The script was flipped, so to speak, for a time. I hope that these two characters slide further into a morally questionable gray zone.
Cobotron - With what little time adulthood/parenthood allows for the hobby these days I don't get around to reading many comics. Most my time is spent with the toys. But, for my birthday this year my brother gave me the full run in trades of Transformers VS G.I. Joe, and I have to say it was one of the most strange and wonderful comic book experiences I've ever had. The art is so out there and, the story telling is tongue-in-cheek. It blew my mind. I told my bro I loved that the art looks like a Funkadelic album cover, and he replied with a laugh, "Yeah! Prison art!".
At first glance the art looks so amateur, but the more I pored over every detail, I came to understand the genius of Tom Scioli. I felt like present day me was standing in eleven-year-old me's childhood bedroom doorway watching myself play one of my many TF/Joe mash ups. Or was I standing in the doorway of Scioli's childhood? Either way it was a great ride, and reminded me of the innocence and intricacies of a child's imagination. This series is not for for everyone, and I understand why. If you get it, GREAT! If you don't, you probably won't. And, that's OK. I would recommend these books to anyone, as long as they come at them with an open mind.
Va'al - Issue #5 of the slow-burning gem that is Till All Are One. This book has gone through so many repolishes, renamings, rebrandings, and even though Windblade is still mostly the titular character, the latest iteration is the best fitting to the ensemble, in terms of cast, story, scope and repercussions. May follow Transformers/ex RID/Optimus Prime for the core mythos and politics, several follow More Than Meets the Eye/Lost Light for the sad gay robots (get over it, it's a compliment) and the inevitable feelings and convoluted plots. I stick with TAAO, like the two Windblades before it, as it brings cosmic action, cosmic mythos, post-colonial themes, religious vs secular debates, still one of the best Starscreams around - visually and in writing. And the best collection of biting one-liners not reliant on continuity nerdery.
Va'al splurted out tea while reading this line, and had to take a break from editing.
Favorite 2016 Transformers Show-moment
Kurona - A few things to get out of the way first. I don't watch Rescue Bots but from what I've seen, it's a pretty neat show. And while I've been enjoying RiD, I haven't found anything about it that I really like and really thrills me. So I can't point to any one thing about it and say "that's amazing" or "this is easily my favourite part". It's just kinda decent and meh.
And while it is arguably the worst Transformers show since Energon - I actually liked it less than Energon - yes, my favourite Show thing this year is from Machinima's Combiner Wars. Though if you've taken part in that board discussion, I think you all know what it is - it's Megs. It's friggin' Megs. It feels like every single amount of effort, originality and unique ideas went into this single solitary character because he is great. Maybe it's because CW was such a bad show that the one good thing seemed so much better, maybe it's because I haven't enjoyed a lot of cartoon Megatrons (aside from BW who is arguably a different archetype), but this guy freaking rocks. He's always enjoyable to watch, he's always got a quick quip, he has some character resolution... oh, yeah, and he turns into a super space gun in addition to having an actual vehicle mode. If you have to watch CW, just wait until you get to Megatron. He's the one good part, I swear.
william-james88 - This was a weak spot for Transformers this year. I really liked the interpretation of Megatron in Machinima’s Combiner Wars. He was so jovial, daring, untouchable and yet relentless all at once it was a joy to watch. It also showed me that the fandom was not bitter about change in the least. We will always be up for something new if it is done well.
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D-Maximus_Prime - Bumblebee v. Bisk from "Bumblebee's Night Off" in Robots in Disguise. That is now ranked up there as my favorite fight scene from RiD, and second in the aligned continuity behind only the Predaking/Magnus/Wheeljack fight from Prime. The music, the lights, the whole thing was a great fight scene. I loved every second of it and I constantly rewatch that scene.
Shout out to the return of Starscream though. When he walks through that Space Bridge... Ooooooooooh maaaaaaaaaaan
Bronzewolf - Ratchet returning to the Aligned continuity. It's been a long time coming for the doc, and I'm glad to see him back on the screen. One piece of what made Prime such a great show has made a comeback to maybe make RID a bit better.
ScottyP - Steeljaw's first stroll through Glowstrike and Saberhorn's ship full of Decepticons in Robots in Disguise Season 2 Episode 3. Crazy colored Vehicons, Chompazoids, and even Crystal Widow!? It was a short but really fun scene that began to inform the ultimate direction Steeljaw took during the season. Honorable mention here to Grimlock making pretzels.
Counterpunch - My 2 year old decided that watching RiD with me was the way to spend good quality time. I particularly enjoyed when he told me definitively that Optimus was "red and black." I almost corrected him when I looked up at the screen to realize that he was right.
megatronus - Anytime Grimlock gets screen-time on RID. Grimlock has gone from one of the most annoying/perplexing characters on the show to one of the most entertaining. Pretzel, anyone?
Favorite Transformers Game-moment
Va'al - Cheating a little again here, but... Being part of the actual Earth Wars consultant/contributor/influencer group, my thoughts and face and voice and all! (My body will only and forever belong to Burn - though he never takes me up on the offer. ScottyP might...) I got to chat to the developers, finally meet Seibertron himself, and bring Alpha Bravo along for the ride to Space Ape Games.
megatronus - As a lifelong Transformers fan and long-term collector, I've struggled to share my hobby with those I love, particularly my wife. Well - love finds a way. Ever since I started playing Earth Wars beta back in February, I've been hooked. Once the game hit wide release in June, my wife decided to see what all the fuss is about - and now she's hooked. Say what you will about Earth Wars and mobile gaming, but I'm grateful to have found a channel through which to share this hobby.
D-Maximus_Prime - I only got the Earth Wars game recently, but I love using Vortex. His attack is fun and can be used so many times in one battle. Plus, he looks really cool in the game. He may be on my C-team, but he does not lose fights.
Kurona - Hm. Earth Wars can be very frustrating, and really stretches the limits of the free-to-play genre... but the one upside this brings is that it makes it VERY nice when you get a particular unit you want. I just got a 3-star Soundwave over a weekend, that was wicked.
But the real good thing is how good it feels to co-operate. Oh, sure, it's just contributing points towards an event or a war, but it feels good to have all that build up and feel like you're really helping out everyone else in addition to just yourself. That's what I love about this game. Co-operation.
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Bronzewolf - That RID Augmented Reality game that I reviewed! I know it's random and not really a "game" perse, but man, it's a fun little thing to mess with for a bit. Check it out, it went underrated. (The game, not my review. Well, you can check that out too if you want. )
Favourite 2016 fan creation: art, custom, video, comic, fiction
Kurona - Thew. Just... just Thew. His reviews are just the most fun out there. I love him.
D-Maximus_Prime - Thew's Knockoff Beatdown: Ruination. I always enjoy his reviews, but I love a good beatdown of knockoffs. The fact that this one focused almost solely on Bruticus/Ruination KO's made it lots of fun, as well as the fact you can see how poorly made some of those guys are. Plus, I love a good pun or 50.
Bronzewolf - Cobotron's Bluestreak. Man, I'm a sucker for Streak, and when getting a combiner wars version was a pipe dream (which it still kind of is, if you don't count the club version), one herobro rose from the ashes: Cobotron. His Bluestreak is just great, very clean, and well-executed.
Image: Cyberpath
Cobotron - There is so much good fun stuff out there. Even in our own Transtopia. So I'm going to keep this one here in the Seibertron family. The wonderful photos of our friend and forum mate, Cyberpath. If you haven't seen his pics, you haven't been to the 'Awesome Pictures And Poses Thread'. His pictures are amazing, and I always look forward to seeing what eye candy he will post next.
I've poked and prodded him to start his own thread to showcase his work, but I've now become accustomed to seeing his pics scattered across the many threads that weave the tapestry of our Seibertron.com forums. Thanks for sprucing up the joint CP!
ScottyP - With apologies to the amazing effort and creativity shown during October's #LostLightFest on the same platform - My pick goes to something from the amazing Twitter account of Inkybauds, longtime Transformers fan known for his involvement in the (now becoming legendary if I daresay) Transmasters fan club in the UK. Earlier this year, he created this series of three tweets (one, two, three) containing a list of fake, but hilarious and timely "Modern Transformers Names". Go laugh, then come back. This Kroktease article will be here when you get back.
Va'al - Not because I was behind the initial input of a couple of them - Burn was there with me at least all the times, just quiet about it - but I really enjoy the terrible threads that we create on Seibertron, from Civil War to Braingate, to the acronyms one, even my one-person campaign for Alpha Bravo to become the New Prime of Cybertron. Alpha Prime - It Just Sounds Right.
...and now: Moment of the Year
Toys
Image: Cyberpath
D-Maximus_Prime - Hard one to pin down... but I gotta say pre-ordering my first Masterpiece. I have yet to attend a Transformers convention but nothing felt quite like when TFSource opened their MP SG Prime pre-order. As soon as he was even teased, I wanted him, and as he is my first Masterpiece, he is incredibly special. First Masterpiece, and it is one of my favorite comics characters. Shattered Glass was an amazing comic, and I want more Shattered Glass stuff. I like it when the good guy is suddenly the bad and viceversa. Probably why I love Autobot Megatron in IDW so much...
ScottyP - Keeping it short: Masterpiece Ironhide was the first toy I got after having to cut Transformers purchasing off completely for six weeks towards the start of this year for reasons dictated by life. For some of you, this immediately has no impact, but please bear with me. For a serial buyer such as myself, who's bought literally hundreds of Transformers each year for the past 12 years, six weeks is an eternity. Getting Ironhide in and getting to experience a really great toy of a character I've always loved in a truly meaningful, focused way was one of several events in that stretch that helped me reflect on the reasons I collect these toys and follow these unconventional characters. Steady, brave, and shining in that beautiful red, Ironhide showed up in the mail one afternoon in late February and had to be savored. Would the impact have been the same if it had been, say, Black Tracks? Why did the character of Ironhide mean so much in that moment? Finding the answers to those questions led to a few new and exciting paths down untread trails of the hobby. Life can beat you up or threaten to destroy Autobot City in your own shuttle by slipping by the early warning system, sure. But when you feel like giving up, think about what Ironhide would do. Maybe second guess it a little because of the potential consequences. Ultimately, the answer remains the same - when life asks you to give up, look down that fusion cannon pointed at you and say 'No'.
Cobotron - Oh! You mean like the time I was 100% ready to just slagging hate Masterpiece Hot Rod for his cursed cartoon accuracy, then I got him, transformed him, and he held me in is arms sweetly, and showed me the error of my ways? 'Cause that was an awesome moment! (cont'd)
william-james88 - It was that week of those slow reveals from Takara of all the components for Computron. This was the Combiner with the biggest question mark throughout the first year of the line and it is so crazy how much of an adventure it turned out with Hasbro and Takara going in completely different paths. Takara knew theirs was a big deal and they let us savour it. First by slowly showing each figure in grey scale and then showing them to us in colour. I remember marveling at each one, especially when there was a time I thought I either would not get Computron or have him be made the cheapest way possible. I was so damn happy when I saw that giant drill in the silhouette. It turned out to be one of the best toys of the year and what I like was the fanfare that came with his reveal. It was a fun adventure from the Takara announcement to getting him in my hands.
megatronus - Back to Earth Wars - one of the things my wife loved about the game was the inclusion of the Torch Bearers on the Autobot side. That's right, the component members of Victorion, Pyra Magna and the rest, have representation in the game. Well, when Amazon had the Victorion box set on sale for $40 a few weeks back, I pounced. Now my wife has her very first Transformers - a lady combiner, no less!
People
Cobotron - (cont'd) Or the time the Wife not only agreed that I should go to BotCon, but said "you need to go to BotCon". It was my very first, and very sadly the last. I've never seen a dealer room dedicated to just Transformers, and I took full advantage of Candyland. Knocking out a few grails along the way. The whole thing was really great though. Just the vibe and camaraderie of the whole community. It was a real treat getting to meet folks, make friends, and talk the talk during a whole weekend dedicated to the thing we like. And, Va'al even swam all the way from France! That was AMAZING!
Counterpunch - A few people will acknowledge Botcon's closing hours as their moment of the year, but I think for me, it was arriving at Botcon 2016 and watching everything fall into place one last time. We were so chill and well behaved. There were only three of us in a room, instead of twelve. No one puked. No one got stuck in a tire swing at the hotel's fake beach. No one passed out in a hallway. We've come a long way baby.
Va'al - You kidding? I loved arriving at the second day of BotCon, with only a couple of people I'd actually already met, and finally get to see everyone in the flesh! From carytheone to Cobotron, to Sabrblade to the entire Twincast crew, the Audio Knights crew, some of the COMPETITION, the artists, the Hasbro team again... and just roll the entire weekend trolling the event with custom Alpha Bravo fanboi tshirts.
Bronzewolf - Joining Seibertron.com. Seriously, I've been reading this site religiously for at least 5 years now (it became part of my daily routine) and I wouldn't trade the opportunity to write for it for anything. Love it, love the people, love the subject matter. Can't get better. Va'al: Awww.
Comics
Kurona - Dying of the Light for all reasons mentioned above. Again, don't want to spoil anything; but it's got everything I could want and just keeps going without ever hitting the brakes. An absolute Masterpiece.
Here comes the finale!
What are you looking forward to in 2017 for Transformers? With no real order...
megatronus
-Titan Trypticon: more kaiju, please!
-More Titans Returns: my quantity of fun is directly correlated to my quantity of headmasters.
-Next Gimmick: Powermasters? Pretenders? Beast Wars? I'm excited to see what's in store for Transformers.
-HasCon: As a Marvel Legends and Star Wars collector, I hope HasCon is a success.
-MP36 Megatron: No words. Just silent tears of joy.
Burn
The continuation of Titans Return figures, Trypticon is coming. Will be interesting to see how he turns out. Oh and then there's the movie. I won't be getting my hopes up for it, so here's hoping it surprises me, and here's hoping some of our readers surprise me and tone down the anti-Bay rhetoric that generates so many reported posts!
william-james88
The reveal of the next Beast Wars Masterpiece toy. I am hoping it is Megatron. Well, I wish it to be Dinobot but I really cannot imagine how that toy would ever work. How can he be such a slim dinosaur and turn into such a tall dark and handsome bot. The full reveal of Titan Class Trypticon is also something I look forward to but the fact that we can all picture how it will look like roughly and knowing that available space for more toys in my home is quickly diminishing kind of dampens my anticipation for the reveal, in comparison to my hopes for the next Masterpiece Beast Wars announcement.
Counterpunch
The possibility that the next line of Transformers may give us toys of the original 13 Primes.
ScottyP
Classics UK Volume 6, and dare I dream Classics UK Volume 7 might also come out? I'm also looking forward to basically everyone being wrong about Power of the Primes, including me.
Oh, and finally finding out if that note Mr. Roberts left me at the end of MTMTE #38's script was a joke or a scolding (and no, I won't tell you what it said ) Va'al knows. Va'al was there. Va'al was kinda responsible for it.
Kurona
Titans Return and Lost Light. Quite possibly the most generic response I could have given... but can't really think of much else. MTMTE is my favourite Transformers fiction (and overall fiction at the moment), while Titans Return has really hit the ground running. The rest of IDW too, actually - TAAO is REALLY getting good, and Optimus Prime... looks decent.
D-Maximus_Prime
I gotta say hopefully going to my first convention. Botcon may be no more, but I will still get out there go someplace. I gotta get to one of these and live it out. There is so much potential there that I need to experience.
Figure wise, I'm really looking forward to the Titans Return Leader Decepticons. The 2 we have revealed so far look amazing, and I really look forward to some lesser known guys getting some great attention from this line. (Please Nautica!!!)
Cobotron
Toys, toys, toys, and more toys. Titans, Powery Primes, Liony Convoys, MP Artfire, RID's Combiner Pants Force. I'm sure 2017 will be a breakneck switchback mountain road of reveals, that will make for a great ride. I also always look forward to the hunt, and swapping campfire stories with all here in Seibertown. To a better year than the last!
Bronzewolf
Perceptor. Bring it on, man. I've been kicking around grabbing a fanstoys Tesla, but waited because of the rumors of a mainline release. I'm so glad I did. I could not be happier with how he looks, and can't wait to pick him up.
I'm also looking forward to Trypticon's reveal and potential release, and The Last Knight. I'm being cautiously optimistic (perhaps more optimistic than I should be) about it. I'm very optimistic about the toys, though. Some of my favorite real-life cars finally embodied as transformers. I'm stoked, and I'm waiting with baited breath until they get revealed.
I'm also looking forward to continuing involvement with this great community and writing for Seibertron. I know it's sappy but talking transformers with you all is the highlight of my day, and always enjoyable. To 2017 and beyond!
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On those words, we come to a close on a retrospective glimpse at a busy year in Transformers, Seibertronians, toys, comics, community and more... Now it's up to you! What made your 2016 special in Transformers? What do you hope our Gracious Robots Overlords [there's more than one?!] will bring in 2017, the next Movie Year? The Energon Pub is open at all hours - just grab a seat, and let it out.
May we all surrender our Intellectual Property, and achieve Total Brand Awareness.
The Titan Masters for Wave 3 of Titans Return are being found at retail slowly but surely. Personally, I believe this wave has the very best Titan Master so far: Sawback. This is a figure inspired from the G1 headmaster figure Lione and here you can see how the two compare. Of all Titan Masters so far, Sawback/Lione is the perfect G1 toy to be represented since he was only just a head in G1 so being just a head now works.
Also, of all Titan Masters so far, Sawback has the very best integration with the Titan Master vehicle by filling out the mane of the lion. Here is a comparison between the lion mode on the G1 figure and its homage:
More comparisons with g1 we have Sawback on Hardhead and Skullcruncher and the G1 counterparts of the same combinations.
And here is Sawback with the other new molds from his wave:
Notice how well that Titan Master works to make up the mane.
Since Lione never had a robot mode (he was just a head), Sawback's robot mode is completely new and actually refers to the alt mode of his G1 counterpart by having a beast face:
The lion turns into a single pilot aircraft of some sort. What I find great is how there is painted detailing in the wings to give this form detailing not found in the other modes, with silver painted guns on the wings. While the instructions say to keep the legs up, I prefer them down.
Here is an alternate transformation for each new mold from this wave:
And here is Sawback in his shield mode, along with the other new Titan Masters in their respective weapons modes.
Let us know what you think of Sawback and the others.
Every 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.
Due to some technical difficulties, the list could not be published last Saturday, but instead here we have it to start the week off, enjoy!
Top 10 Best Head Sculpts
This is Seibertron’s 50th list and for this milestone, I wanted to have some fun on a topic that can be quite subjective since it is 100% about your sense of aesthetic. Here are the 10 head sculpts I like most amongst all Transformers toys. Criteria is mixed and subjective but I went for what I found either well done, detailed, interesting or definitive with a hint of the brand’s legacy factoring in here and there.
It is a very humanoid head compared to most robotic heads sported by Transformers and it works well with his more slender physique. I like how it is within a dome, giving off that crazy scientist vibe (ala Mr Freeze and Herman von Klempt) which also works with the motif that his main weapons are liquid concotions he comes up with.
This was such a brilliant release by Hasbro. They honoured both the G1 toy and the cartoon in one fell swoop. That Macross themed mask is gorgeous and just exudes cool with a great respect to the best sci fi mecha design while the cartoon inspired face underneath is on point.
I love how his head looks like a stylized decepticon symbol made more devilish. Him not having distinctive eyes works to great effect to capture a design of someone wanting the world to burn and have the flames reflect in his visor. Light piping was a great addition to the brand and it works wonders here.
I love how part of this design is very traditional looking for an interpretation on the Optimus Prime Head sculpt. However, they add this extra beast era detail of having horns which adds a noble savagery to him. To me, this really becomes the ideal merging of a classic Optimus design for a Beast era, merging the two most important eras of Transformers, the one that started it and the one that brought it back. I also adore the metallic reflective eyes. While light piping may be awesome, I do like this alternative, it proves that there is more than one way to make a robot’s eyes feel alive.
This shows how the brand kept being fresh throughout the years. This was a fully original design for a character that is now as classic as any other. I love the black marks on his face, which remind me of a Dathomirian.
As we get into the top 5, nostalgia is bound to weigh a bit more, and while this is such an iconic face, the reason why it has been such a mainstay is because it was awesome from day one. The faceplate and visor has this no nonsense vibe and harkens back to mecha designs older than Transformers. The rendition of that design here is magnificent.
Speaking of magnificence, the designers really outdid themselves with this head sculpt. While this may not be the ultimate rendition of G1 Megatron, it is the ultimate rendition of his face. I just love the extra dents and texture added to it, giving it a modern and more 3 dimensional spin on a classic catoon design.
Speaking of classic designs harkening back to G1, we have Vector Prime, who’s face is literally the G1 autobot symbol. You can see it, from the crest to the mouth and chin piece. The Cybertron/Galaxy Force line had the very best head sculpts, to me, because they took familiar Transformers aesthetics and added to them, giving us something new and timeless. This design is a perfect example.
A sense of tradition goes a long way in a head design but rather than this head be an homage to a character, it instead harkens back to the history of where these toys originally come from. I am referring to the oni design that adorns his feline like helmet. Also, the eyes have that metallic sheen I loved so much from Big Convoy, but in a nice red tint to bring out the evil. The amount of detail here puts almost every other head sculpt to shame. But that’s ok, because if every oher head looked like this, then it wouldn’t be unique.
It is hard to describe why I love this head sculpt so much but here I go. As I said with vector Prime, the Cybertron line excels at bringing out the best classical Transformers designs and making them new. This head is the epitome of that with references to classical autobot designs including prime like antennas, a helmet which reminds me a lot of Springer, especially at its base and a perfectly happy autobot face which looks similar to a Datsun brother. Yet the combination of all these elements gives it a brand new design that is all it own, especially with the inclusion of a clear yellow plastic visor that is reminiscent of the previous form of Hotshot (who was originally supposed to be Bumblebee) and the retractable visor. I love having all the differently coloured/painted plastic come together to form this head sculpt. Here, we see how the Brand can reinvent itself design wise and be new, while also preserving the legacy which has contributed to its longevity. It stays relevant but honors the past and that is what I hope in general from this Brand at every moment.
Honourable Mentions: I am sure the comments section will be full of them, so please be sure to click the "join discussion" button to see them. As for me, the three I had a hard time removing off this list were the heads of Alternity Banzaitron, Beast Wars Neo Guiledart and 2001's RID Megatron.
Every 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.
Top 5 Most Difficult Transformers Toys
Last time, we looked at toys that were annoying to transform regardless of whether they were complex or not. But now we are looking at difficulty all around and not just annoyance at a step. For this list, I tried to pick toys that had a good balance of difficulty in terms of complexity (number of steps) and difficulty in terms of frustration (like panels not fitting properly or parts being either too tight or fiddly). It has to be a combination though. In the end these are the toys that take me a while to transform without instructions after a few months of not playing with them.
RID gave us some very interesting designs for car transformers we had not seen yet. Especially for the three brother Prowl, X-Brawn and Sideburn who were asymmetrical and wore their car shells on one their arm. Of the three, Sideburn was by far the most difficult. The fact that the design is asymmetric makes it hard to visualize how he should fold onto himself and transform. It is also a very tight fit getting everything into the car. Magnificent car mode though.
This guy is symmetrical and though he has a ton of steps, the next move from truck to robot can be anticipated. It is actually a great joy to undo panels and have this figure totally morph in front of your eyes. The big problem is getting him back into truck mode. The nose segment gets infinitely tricky since several panels have to come together at once including two chest panels that just won't stay put. And at the same time you have his swinging swords that keep popping up, it gets really involved. And if you forget to fold down those pieces above his shoulders, then you will have to fiddle for another 10 minutes to redo what you just did.
Transforming MP Megatron is a long and arduous process. He isn't as complicated as others say because his transformation is logical and you can tell what goes where. However some pieces and panels are very small and his waist is extremely fragile that you have to take your time transforming him. And all the while, other sections can require an enormous amount of force which is quite counterintuitive and frightening considering the cost of this toy. I do absolutely love him though, since both modes look awesome to me and give me a very rewarding feeling. Also, he wins the award for being the only TF I know who is as difficult and takes as long when transforming from alt mode to robot as robot to alt mode (which is usually far more difficult in comparison).
This is such a complicated toy. Getting the arms oriented the right way for either mode can take a while and the feet pieces won’t stop popping off every time you touch them. The robot doesn’t have logical proportions so there’s no rhyme or reason helping you figure out if what you are doing is correct of if you’ll have to double back to swivel the waist the other way. And getting him back to truck mode is super tricky since everything ends up being really tight and flush. That’s great news for the truck mode but it means that certain steps must be done in parallel and all come together at the same time. It’s ROTF Leader Optimus all over again but in a smaller scale and with a lot more parts at stake (oh and with the top of the cab popping off at the same time).
This is the one TF that I can never remember how to transform correctly. Especially back to alt mode. Almost all alternators were complicated and complex and featured some unintuitive transformation steps, usually with their waists or arms. Like all the alternators, forgetting a step or doing it wrong can cause severe misalignment in alt mode. And the instructions don’t help. It’s sometimes just a matter of positioning and that can’t be conveyed precisely in the instructions. Since the day I got Alternators Grimlock (I actually got the Binaltech version), I would transform him to robot, then back to car but not completely. I would have the hood section still lingering unfinished due to arms seemingly impossible to position correctly for everything to fit. Then comes the trial and error, flipping the arms inside out, turning them the other way making them face another direction. It really feels like a Rubiks cube, and takes as long if not longer (for me at least). And then after a fever dream, I just happen to have the arms in the only possible way they can fit and everything locks together flush. I never know how I do it. This is by far the TF that takes me longest to transform, instructions or not.
Honourable Mentions: I hear MP 09 Rodimus was pretty hard but I never got a chance to transform him.
From reading the comments it has come to our attention that buying our dear toys online is not the simplest endeavour, especially when the price range can be so wide along with all the differences between each online vendor. With Masterpiece toys, there is also the issue of having it imported for you or importing it yourself. Added to that, with a Masterpiece Megatron toy, you also have to deal with it turning into a gun and what that might entail. So here is a rundown of a range of online vendors (not an exhaustive list, I just picked those of which I know best) showing you what your options are, how you can get him for much cheaper than it seemed at first, but also what you are giving up with the cheaper price. I hope this helps.
Importing from Japan
We will now be looking at 4 Japanese sites where you can import the figure yourself. This means that you are to deal with possible customs fees (applicable to Canadians, Europeans, ect) and will be paying a hefty fee to ship the product from Japan. However, these sites get their products from Takara and thus will have the best prices online. None of these Japanese vendors will be opening the package to insert an orange plug into the barrel.
Nippon Yassan: We are starting with them because unlike every other Japanese vendor, they actually give you an estimate on the shipping, which you must pay up front. This gives us our best idea at what other places will charge for shipping. Here are the shipping quotes given for Masterpiece Megatron to ship to North America (or a similar distance from Japan).
Keep in mind, these are all estimates and they may fluctuate depending on vendor and the conversion rate. We can see that for 2-3 week shipping without a tracking number, it is 24.90 Yen ($22.82 USD), with 3$ more for tracking, and the 3-4 days shipping, called EMS, is 4500 Yen ($41.24). These estimated shipping prices will be used for the other sites as we go through the list.
The price of their Megatron is 16580 Yen ($151.94 USD). They have both a pay up front option (where you pay for both the figure and estimated shipping up front) and a pay later option. I have only ever used the pay upfront option (in fear that the yen would rise).
Here is a quote from them regarding this payment option:
"You will receive a notification for the deadline of the payment few weeks or few days before the release of the product, if it reaches the deadline without the payment, this pre-order will be automatically cancelled."
Since they do not have the item in hand to weigh, it can be that their shipping estimate is wrong and they are at liberty to ask you to pay more for shipping if it's more than expected. However, this rarely happens and is more an exception. For instance, it happened with Fortress Maximus, who is very in his own league. You cannot cancel an order with them. They will mark a low amount in the customs form to help the package get through customs quicker and avoid the buyer to pay extra duty upon arrival. I suggest you write to them to confirm you want them to do that. This comes in very handy for people living in countries that have strict duty laws and a heavy taxation.
Price Range of total from 2-3 week shipping to 3-4 day shipping: 19070 - 21080 Yen ($174.75 - $199.77 USD)
Anime Export: Their offer expires November 28th 2016. After that, you will not be able to get this toy for 16100 Yen ($147.54 USD). The reason it is lower than other Japanese sites is because they require you to pay up front. And as anyone who took a finance course might know, cash today is always worth more than cash tomorrow and since they can keep a healthy cash flow (and require less credit from their supplier), they can pass their savings onto you.You will only be charged for the figure and you will be charged for shipping later when the figure is in stock. You cannot cancel an order with them. Also, like Nippon Yassan, they will help you with customs but you must write to them to let them know you would like a lower amount written in the customs form for the product's worth.
Price Range of total from 2-3 week shipping to 3-4 day shipping: 18840- 2060 Yen ($172.65 - $188.77 USD)
Amiami: They are an in between as you will see. Their price is a bit higher, at 17280 Yen ($158.43 USD) but you do not need to pay right away. You are only required to pay when the item is in stock. Cancelling an order is ill seen for this company. If you really can't pay by the time an item is in stock, they can relinquish your order but you may not be welcome to buy from them again. They will write the full amount of the toy's worth on the customs form.
Price Range of total from 2-3 week shipping to 3-4 day shipping: 20020- 21780 Yen ($183.46 - $199.59 USD)
HLJ: They are pricier than others, at 18400 Yen ($168.61 USD) and that is because they offer the most perks. Like stateside vendors, you do not need to pay ahead of time and you can cancel your order at any time before it is in stock. They are used to catering to western consumers and are thus currently looking into whether or not an orange plug will be attached to the barrel:
"Specifics of its packaging are still in the planning stage. When more information is available in the New Year, we’ll determine how best to get this item safely to our customers worldwide. If it turns out to require modification, affected customers will be contacted."
They will write out the full amount of the product's worth on the customs form and since this product is above a price treshold, they will only use the pricier (and faster) shipping option.
EDIT: This policy of theirs seems to have changed and thus a cheaper shipping option may be available.
Price of total for 3-4 day shipping: 22900 Yen ($209.85 USD)
Buying from Importers
As you may notice from all that is above, importing from Japan is not the most sraightforward or streamlined way to get your toys, especially if you have to figure out local laws (like taxation or gun replicas). If you don't want the trouble of importing a product yourself, country specific importers can do it all for you, at a cost. That means they will be paying the high shipping fee you saw above and will thus raise their price to pass the cost onto the buyers. Also, since Takara is contractually not allowed to deal with vendors outside Japan, importers usually deal with an extra middleman which also increases their cost and yours. Their price should not be seen as just the worth of the toy but also the fee for their service of importing it. Many countries or areas have their own importers. Canada has Ages 3 and Up, the UK has Kapow, Australia has Premium Collectables, China has Robot Kingdom, ect.
There are quite a few of these importers dedicated for US customers, like BBTS, TFSource, AJ's Toy Chest, Chosen Prime, VNC Toys and others. All these US vendors are currently selling Megatron for $230 USD, and some offer free shipping. They typically allow you to cancel any preorder that isn't in stock yet and you do not have to pay in advance. To conform to the US law, since they are US vendors, they will be adding an orange plug. It is unknown at this time if it will be glued or not.
While some do ship internationally, they write out the full worth of the toy on the customs form, to conform with US law.
Extra notes:
If you buy from Japan, make sure to pay in YEN. A few sites have their own currency conversion which is always less favourable than either Paypal or your own credit card exchange (I personally use an Amazon Visa card for these purchases since it charges no fees for conversion).
Australia has very strict laws and thus I would advise any Australians to look into their own country specific options for this toy (Premium Collectibles seems to be the best place for the least hassle, so head over there for more info. Griffin of OzFormers has put together a handy resource detailing the different laws around Australia and how it affects replica firearm Transformers.
USA customers are not charged duty and thus it does not matter if the price stated on the customs form is high. It would actually be advantageous for it to be as close to the worth of the toy so that it is properly insured.
All prices in this article including shipping are estimates
Every 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.
Top 5 Most Annoying Transformers Toys
This list was strongly influenced by the community's opinion found in this thread. The idea with this list is that the idea of a difficult toy can mean different things to different people. The most common are how frustrating a toy can be to transform and how complex a toy is and those are very different. So, we will be splitting these lists on difficulty into 2. This first one is about those annoyingly hard Transformers that have one or several steps in the transformation that you get stuck on. The instructions won't help you here, you just have to find the right angle, or something along those lines. Of course, complex transformers can also be annoyingly difficult so there can and will be some overlap but for now, we are mainly looking at those really annoying Transformers toys.
Unless his arms are rotated just right, his front end just doesn't close up properly, and the rear of the shell is tricky to line up sometimes.
Here's what member MGrotusque had to say about the transformation:
I hated that BB transformation. I smashed the thing out of frustration. I got it to a point the last time i transformed it and lost track of what step i was doing and couldn't get is sorted again.
I SMASHED it good
This is a phenominal toy, no doubt. The detail and parts count is astounding and you could never see this repeated at the same price point today. However, inorder to achieve such a massive robot mode from a tight truck mode, there is no slack anywhere. Everything must be put just right with no margin of error. And there are some moments where you must ensure that at least three seperate parts all connect to different places at the same. You must not go over some steps or else you will be forced to go back and undo what you have done since. There is also the two very annoying gimmicks to this toy which will haunt you as you transform him: the electronics that light up his head and make him talk will go off whenever hi head is moved AND the spring swords will just keep undoing themselves. Both these things will keep happening over and over and over and over ...
It is so odd that Hasbro could have an amazingly designed leader class Transformer like the Optimus Prime above and such a total failure like Jetfire in the same line (and even with a possibility to combine them together). What is very annoying about this toy is how it is an overly simple design with a whole robot hiding under a jet. However, because the jet is made up of a bunch of panels, reverting to alt mode is far too time consuming for a very unsatisfying end result. I am certain this is one of the least transformed toys out there.
Now that I have said what is particularly annoying about this figure, I will leave you with these wise words from RK_Striker_JK_5:
ROTF jetfire is not only frustrating, it's just a horrible transformation and toy overall. Almost the entire robot body is slung underneath. It's a load of **(%$#$^* and a waste of money.
I cannot thank RK_Striker_JK_5 for sending me this toy so I could experience it for myself. He was pretty sure it would make this list and he wasn't wrong. This is THE panel former for all ages. It makes Jetfire look like a piece of cake. I tried doing it without the instructions but kept having one or two pannels misaligned. This was the best I could do before having to use the instructions:
Even with the instructions, this guy is a hassle. This is a perfect Transformer to show the difference between a difficult transformation and an annoying one. He isn't that difficult but the fact that his alt mode is a globe which i made up of panels that must fit perfectly together from all sides at the same time makes it beyond annoying to play with.
This toy has a gorgeous car mode and a rather cool robot mode. It has a big problem though: getting from one mode to the next. It just isn't fun. The automorph gimmick doesnt really work everything is super tight and very small and fiddly. And worst of all, the die cast doors keep falling off. They are heavier than every other part and either get in the way or fall off while the serve nothing in the robot mode (aside from a side skirt, maybe). They double the time it would otherwise take to transform this toy and make you rethink if you will ever transform it again.
Honourable mentions: Here is a list of other Transformers that came up in the discussion of annoying toys, listing the parts about them that are the most frustrating.
It's your friendly neighborhood megatronus here, and I'm honored to bring you a momentous, subjective, and totally non-scientific Top 5 'Black Convoy' toys list!
Before we get into the nitty gritty, a few disclaimers. First, many modern 'Black Convoy' toys are overseas or convention exclusives (or both!), and I apologize if some of my selections are inaccessible as a result. Second, the brief history below represents my own limited knowledge - if I'm wrong on the facts, I welcome your corrections. Finally, as with all Top 5 lists, this list is solely representative of the author's opinions and sensibilities. I invite you to disagree with my choices and post your own personal favorites in the thread below.
BACKGROUND
Let's dive into a brief history and taxonomy of black Optimus Prime repaints. From my amateur perspective, the platonic ideal of 'Black Convoy' draws from 3 main sources:
History Lesson 1: 2001 C-307X Nucleon Quest Optimus Prime
Released as a TRU exclusive in Japan circa 2001, this redeco of Takara's 1988 Super Ginrai was later recolored into Fire Guts Super Ginrai (2002) and Commemorative Series II Powermaster Optimus Prime (2003). Like his brethren, Nucleon Quest Optimus Prime is a good guy; his tech spec states he's merely Convoy in sexy black undergarments:
Tech Spec wrote:Abilities: In order for him to extract the super-energy "Nucleon" that exists in black holes, his entire structure is now protected by a phase modulation shield. He can now carry out activity in super-gravitic environments.
Despite remaining the same Prime we all know and love, this impressive 'Black Convoy' introduces details that would become hallmarks of 'Black Convoy' toys to come, notably the red chest and chrome/silver accents.
Nucleon Quest? Would could possibly go wrong???
History Lesson 2: 2001 Robots in Disguise Scourge
This character is a titan in the minds of many 'Black Convoy' collectors. He's not a Prime at all, however, but rather an entirely separate character in the vaulted Robots In Disguise cartoon of the early aughts. A protoform corrupted with Decepticon programming scanned Optimus Prime, and thusly the no-good copy cat doppelgänger Scourge emerged, to great fan fare.
Despite his grim if unoriginal (gasp! evil clone!) backstory and distinct character model (in other words, he's not a straight redeco of RID Optimus figure), Scourge is notable for his use of the G2 Optimus Prime mold - a figure ahead of its time. Plus, Scourge introduces prominent teals to the 'Black Convoy' equation.
Stand tall, not-quite-Prime. Stand tall.
History Lesson 3: 2003 Armada Nemesis Prime
Nemesis Prime marries the simple black redeco concept a la Nucleon Quest Convoy and the evil doppelgänger aspects of Scourge (in fact, his Japanese name is 'Scourge'). Throw in a Unicronian origin (this is Transformers Armada after all) and behold! You have the makings of an epic destroyer.
Unlike RID Scourge, Armada Nemesis Prime is entity of Unicron. But, like RID Scourge, Nemesis takes form by scanning Optimus Prime, the most respected of the Transformers, and becoming his duplicate. Plus, Nemesis can reconstruct himself - he's one bad mama jama.
Nemesis blends design cues from both Nucleon Convoy AND Scourge - we now have the teals and red chest in a single glorious repaint. Well, actually, multiple repaints; the Nemesis Prime character would see other black, red, and teal incarnations within his native Unicron Trilogy continuity (*cough* Universe Nemesis Prime *cough* (2003) *cough*), grounding the Nemesis character into the fandom's collective consciousness.
Will you be my Nemesis?
The rest... is history!
Did I say history? What I meant was complicated. The rest is complicated.
Post-Armada, a gaggle of 'Black Convoy' toys took on a muted teal and blue deco reminiscent of Scourge's infamous RID cartoon appearance. That's right, I'm looking at you, Nightwatch Optimus Prime (2008), Binaltech Nemesis Prime (2007) and SDCC Nemesis Prime (2008). Interestingly, the two Nemesis bios introduced non-Unicronian origins by way of Dr. Arkeville and Straxus, respectively, further muddling the difference between the formerly distinctive Scourge and Nemesis Prime characters.
Since MP1B, Nemesis-decoed Optimi have cropped up every now and then, including TA-01 Optimus Prime Black Ver. (2010), DOTM Jetwing Optimus Prime Black Ver. (2011), and AoE Black Knight Optimus Prime (2015). Good black Optimus Primes also occasionally assume a black, gold, and blue deco, as per ROTF Optimus Prime Black Ver. (2009) and the more recent Elite Guard Optimus Prime (from the TF:Prime first edition voyager).
Nope. Not evil.
But, yes! Even after all that mishigas, evil 'Black Convoy' toys since 2009 have generally rolled up a Scourge-type evil clone backstory in a straight Nemesis-style repaint. There are exceptions (i.e. Lawson exclusives), but black, red, and teal dominate the 'Black Convoy' scene - be it a Nemesis, Scourge, Dark Side, or even just a boring (but beautiful), run-of-the-mill black version of Optimus Prime.
THE LIST
Finally, dear readers, we arrive at the main event - the list of Top 5 'Black Convoy' toys!
Behold! That long slog did not go to waste; it makes my explanation of inclusion criteria that much simpler. You see, for the purposes of this list, I will only consider 'Black Convoys' that check the following two boxes:
***Predominantly black, teal, and red color scheme
***Wicked... looking - that is to say, they may be Autobot aligned, but I could reasonably fudge them for inclusion on a Nemesis shelf for their sheer bad-ass-ery.
To the list!
#5: AD-31B Movie Advanced Black Knight Optimus Prime
The simplified style of AOE (a conversation best left for another day) gave us an underwhelming Leader Class Optimus Prime: smaller, lighter, and less complex. Takara jumped on the opportunity, and remolded Optimus's chest, gave him articulated wrists & hands, and bequeathed him a brand new head sculpt with an interchangeable face. In so doing, Takara saved this figure in the hearts and minds of many collectors.
Then, they painted him black.
Still an Autobot, sure. But now this is an Optimus worthy of "GIVE ME YOUR FACE!" Between the Takara upgrades, sharp deco, translucent red weapons, and a mean looking face, this figure quickly became one of my favorite 'Black Convoy' toys.
#4: Universe Nemesis Prime
A lot has been written about Beast Wars Neo Big Convoy - such is the fate of kibble-tastic shell-formers. But that does not change the fact that this Big Convoy redeco is a beast! Also, he plays an important in the fiction: Nemesis Prime from Armada underwent several iterations within the Unicron Trilogy continuity, and this, boys and girls, is one of them.
Not to mention that this Nemesis Prime - one of the first - is an incredibly fun toy. Between the viking-esque horns, massive gun, and blood red matrix, this surprisingly well articulated recycle of the older Beast Wares Neo figure is the perfect vessel for a bad as bones Nemesis.
Speaking of which, he gets major points for the PG13 blood on those horns, which look evil as all heck. You don't want to be caught out alone on the icy tundra, that's for sure.
#3: Transformers GO! Hunter Nemesis Prime
When Optimus received his life-saving upgrade at the outset of Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters, I knew we'd get a big beefy toy to match Prime's new on-screen chassis. What I didn't realize at the time was how awesome a Nemesis Optimus's new beefy template would make.
In this age of 'big-bads' being physically bigger (and badder), having a brute of a Nemesis is wonderful. He looks tough, a look accentuated by his jagged chest spikes and Megatron-esque pylon shoulders. Nemesis's sword, which in his hands resembles more of a hatchet or machette, only enhances and rounds out this characterization. Then you have the great battle mask, a significant improvement over the original toy's Optimus face, which I can only describe, generously, as derpy. All together, this Nemesis just kills it, in the best way possible.
#2: Tokyo Toy Show United Black Optimus Prime
This one's a Classic. Literally.
Coming some years off the heals of the previous reigning black Classics Prime, SDCC Nemesis Prime (see Blue Period, above), this figure updates this 'Black Convoy' with the more modern, distinctly Nemesis deco. The teals and reds pop, and the greys add some dimension to Prime's black palette.
One of the reasons I selected this figure is just how well the Classics Prime mold has held up all these years. Especially in an environment where so many current lines (Combiner Wars, Titans Return) hark back to G1, the Classics sensibility of updating characters in new ways gives this 'Black Convoy' a sense of being more a Prime look-a-like than the genuine article, which suits this sinister, Decepticon-branded evil Prime just fine on my shelf.
#1: Tokyo Toy Show United Darkside Optimus Prime
Welcome to the dark side! For me, it was really no contest - I love this 'Black Convoy', a lovely and fantastically well done redeco of the War For Cybertron deluxe Optimus Prime figure.
The perennially-popular War For Cybertron design grants this Prime a uniquely organic look. From the panel lines on his battle mask, to the contours of his chest cavity, all the way down to his leg panels, this Prime exudes elegance. His flared out shoulders blend naturally with back wheel kibble that fills out his form and complements his rather graceful stature. All this, combined with a sharp-as-a-knife metallic paint job, and this Darkside 'Black Convoy' packs an out-sized punch for a relatively small deluxe figure.
And yet, with all of these wonderful design cues, we still have a mean, dark, or perhaps downright evil expression. Through the prism of his organic lines, his glare screams of a singular focus and unbridled rage. Of all of the 'Black Convoys' on my list, I consider this one to be the most dangerous. #1, all the way.
Photo Credit: ThunderCougar @ DeviantArt
Runners Up
Yes, there were several 'Black Convoy' figures that didn't make the cut - they were lean, they were mean, but the each had something that made me say,'ehhh...' They are:
-Jetwing Optimus Prime, Black Version: this mold is awesome, this figure is awesome. You know what's not awesome? His lack of battle mask. Had to deduct some badass points for that.
-RID Scourge: yes, he's a progenitor of the 'Black Convoy' genre, and he has aged well - but still, he's a tad too old school for my tastes. I know he would easily make others' lists, just not mine.
-TFCC TFSS 1.0 -OR- LG EX Scourge: the black versions of RTS Laser Prime figure are fierce, but in a scrappy way. I have a harder time finding this mold menacing, even if he checks off several boxes.
-TA01 Animated Optimus Prime, Black Version: this figure is very nearly the complete package, but his huge Autobot symbol really throws me off. His giant axe alone made this figure the hardest call.
-MP10B Black Convoy: this mold is a benchmark in design, and he even has the molded Decepticon symbol. My issue is his head sculpt; it's too neutral, too gentle. Not evil enough - my puppy dog looks meaner than MP10B.
Don't give me that look.
THANK YOU!
That's my list! I hope you enjoyed it.
Did I miss your favorite 'Black Convoy'? Share it with us below, and stay tuned to Seibertron.com for all the latest Transformers news, and the best galleries around!
Every 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.
Top 5 Best Personal Weapons
This is actually a list inspired by a request from Seibertron's own Rodimus Prime, the first request I ever got. What I tried my best to do with this list was have a strong link between how special the weapon is in toy form and in the fiction and how it's associated to the character. It was tricky but I am very satisfied with this list, even though I didn't include Optimus Prime's Ion Blaster. So of course, there will be a lot of varying opinions.
Armada Starscream was a major update from the G1 character and a very different interpretation. One of the biggest changes was making him more of a master swordsman and this was reflected in his sleeker look and the need to incorporate the sword theme in his toy. One of his wings could actually become a sword!
The sword motif became such an important component of the character at the time that the first Masterpiece Starscream toy took influence from this change in the character by integrating sword sheaths in the design. When a new version of the character was released in toy form for the generations line, the swords were also the biggest change and update between the toys. Instead of having his wing become a sword, Hasbro found a way of storing not one but two swords under his wings for a more complete swordsman look in robot mode.
This is just a really fun weapon that is perfectly associated with the character. He's a flying dog and thus has feathered wings. And in robot mode his largest feathers become swords, or batons, and they still look like feathers. And that effect is perfectly recreated in the toy. It's such a unique weapon for this big softy!
The G1 Springer toy was pretty smart to not only have the helicopter transform into a car and a robot but to have its propeller transform into a sword for the robot. Not only did it simultaneously reduce kibble in robot mode while being able to store the weapon in alt mode by being part of the transformation, but it also made for a pretty cool weapon. Since then, Springer has been linked to that sword. The triple changer generations update of Springer kept that very same motif and the propeller sword looked even better than ever. It's a little engineering marvel on that toy. The Springer release that really seals the deal in terms of his association with his sword is the GDO retool of Hunt For The Decepticons Tomahawk. That's because unlike a standard retool of changing the colour and the head, but they also added a sword to the package, made just for him.
I don't know if anyone predicted this would be first but when this topic was brought up by fellow board member Rodimus Prime, my first thought was this entry, the number one spot: The Chainguns of Doom. The Beast Wars toys were made before the show and thus the character model was based off the toy with some changes, and his personality was totally different than the brutish beast depicted in the toy's bio and tech specs. Instead, Beast Wars Rhinox was a calm and gentle giant, as well as the backbone of the team. However, the toy did come with a pretty cool weapon that was assembled using four components hidden all throughout the beast mode such as chains, a saw blade and a motor. While this badass weapon may have conflicted with the kind of character he was initially portrayed to be, it made for a greater impact when the showrunners had Rhinox use not one but two of these weapons on the show as part of his main artillery. He may be calm and strategic but he would not stand for tyranny and understood that you needed to cover your friends sometimes, by using giant machine guns with chains and spiked balls attached to them. Not only did he have a big brain but he had the firepower to go with it, helping him protect his friends and all he held dear. The Generations figure updated him to finally be the right size, as well as making him more accurate to how he looked like on the show including, you guessed it, giving him TWO chainguns of doom!
You know, I didn't think of this at first. All these other weapons could be wielded by others and usually have 5 mm pegs. But with Megatron, that fusion cannon is just fused to the guy. It's an extension of his body and what he unleashes his immense firepower from. It is probably the most powerful weapon (bar the Matrix) and definitely the most personal one. Also far more iconic than Optimus' black rifle, personal opinion of course. And now, here is a showcase of the many interpretations, enjoy!
If anyone cares, I was going to put Optimus' Ion Blaster here but I changed my mind. Even though I have my fair share of Optimus toys, which include his blaster, I never really liked it with Optimus. It feels so impersonal and partly uncharacteristic, and it was never a great looking or distinctive gun. It's just a big black gun that this wise and honourable emissary of peace (which is what he's been portrayed as in recent attempts to carry on G1 fiction) carries around with him. Would he really use a big gun to just blast someone's head off?
Well, the third Bay movie answered that quite well. BUT though his actions are hard to debate (there isn't much subtlety to Optimus murdering a defeated Sentinel Prime), I found it really interesting how he did it using Megatron's gun. You see, that giant impersonal gun is something Megatron would have lieing around and suits him far more than Optimus. My favourite part of all this is how this whole scenario played out in the toyline. This big shotgun in the pictures below did not come with the Megatron toy in the Dark of the Moon toyline (for the film this scene comes from). It didn't come with Optimus either. It actually came from the next movie's toyline (Age of Extinction), three years later, even though it was never featured in that film. And it came as Optimus' gun without any mention of Megatron, even though it is compatible with the old Megatron toy (see the pictures). So not only was that murder scene fans were up in arms about reinforced by cementing Optimus' connection with this giant shotgun, but it could also now be reenacted three years later with official Hasbro merchansidise. This gets the number 5 spot because it's just such an odd choice to go the extra mile in adding to Optimus' connection with this weapon and this attitude of his, even though it's uncharacteristic of the character to begin with. In the end, it's pretty awesome how this all played out.
Every two weeks, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers. These are the opinions of one or a few people (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. This week's list is brought to us from fellow Seibertronian Optimutt who has already given us some awesome lists like the Top 10 Best G1 Episodes and a list of the top 5 comic only characters that did not have toys yet (at the time). This is a follow up to said list, so take it away Optimutt!
Top 5 Best Original Transformers Comics Characters Who Have Toys
In the process of creating my “Top Five Comics-Only” list, I realized that there have been a huge number of comic characters who have enjoyed a physical existence in the sake of an officially-licensed product or two. While the companion looked at Transformers who have only existed in comic form, this is a list of those lucky enough to have been given toy form as well. In fact, many of my original choices for the previous list were exempt because of their toy versions. Luckily, they now get a chance to shine in all their comic-origin glory in this list that is pretty much the same as "Best Transformers Characters Original to the Comics"! Please also keep in mind that by “toy” I mean officially-licensed Hasbro/Takara products. Third Party versions don’t count in regards to this list.
In the original cartoon, Megatron left Cybertron in charge of Shockwave. In the comics, however, a number of Decepticon leaders came and went, leaving Straxus the victor. From his fortress of Darkmount, Straxus was a brutal overlord whose greatest pleasure was the liquefaction of his enemies in his smelting pool. He was such a nasty number that even after his apparent death at Blaster’s hands, Marvel UK chronicled how he was able to take over Megatron’s body and continue his rule over the Decepticons. Sadly, his time with IDW was abbreviated and as a soldier for Nova Prime, he was relegated to a cameo role in several of the publishing company’s earlier books. Both Takara and Hasbro did a Classics version of him (pictured below), and he even got a Shakespeare-inspired Shattered Glass version in 2014.
A creation of Simon Furman, the Wreckers were a group of Autobots who had toys but were never in the comics (or cartoon) for one reason or another (mostly legal). With an initial group composed of Whirl, Roadbuster, Topspin, Twin Twist, and the duobot- Rack’n’Ruin, the Wreckers were a lean, mean, tailpipe-kicking force to be wreckoned with. And at their helm was this javelin-fisted soldier utterly dedicated to that team. Sadly, his time in the Marvel UK series was short-lived, as he sacrificed himself to save the life of the Cybertronian Autobots’ leader, Emirate Xaaron. The good thing about that? His replacements were none other than the Autobot Triple Changers! Not a bad legacy there. In IDW’s time with the series, however, he had a pivotal role in the Last Stand of the Wreckers series where he maintained his legacy of a soldier with quite a capacity to Wreck and Rule. Taking inspiration from the ill-fated Rotorstorm’s page in Last Stand of the Wreckers, Impactor’s first toy served as the torso of the Ruination combiner toy that came out in 2012. In keeping with the comics-inspired concept, 2016’s TCC Impactor toy will also be able to combine.
In the early 1990’s, Marvel pulled the plug on the Transformers comics because of dwindling sales and the announcement from Hasbro that the toy line would cease. However, only a few years later, Hasbro relaunched the line, to be dubbed Generation 2. With this, Marvel also relaunched the Transformers series with former TF scribe Simon Furman at the helm. To maintain the idea of “new generation,” Furman created a third faction for the Autobots and Decepticons to battle, a group of Cybertronian colonizers whose goal was the creation of a universe of mini-Cybertrons. Despite being happy to be writing Transformers again, Furman was left a little dubious about the chances for G2’s longevity. This came across in the name of the new race’s leader, Jhiaxus, pronounced “Gee, axe us” (why doncha?). Since then, Jhiaxus has become a staple in TF fiction and has had the honor of having two distinct oddly-pumpkinized recolors of pre-existing TF toys!
Yes. He does count! When Shane McCarthy was putting together his All Hail Megatron comic, he was in the market to balance off Sunstreaker and Hunter O’Nion’s betrayal of the Autobots. He did so with a Decepticon murderer who decided he had had enough and then switched sides. This disillusionment of a dedicated soldier was something that was pretty thoroughly explored in the series, but none were quite as spearheading of this as Drift. The coolest thing about this three sword-wielding drift racer was the fact that concurrently with his comics’ origin, Hasbro was in discussion with artist Guido Guidi and the IDW editorial team about the production of his toy! This was pretty much the first time that a comic and toy had similar timeliness in their origins. He has since become so popular that he beat out hundreds of other Autobots to land a role in TF 4, and his legacy continues in the Robots in Disguise cartoon. It is thanks to this name and image recognition that he barely ekes out ahead of Jhiaxus.
When Primus first appeared in Marvel’s TF 61, Octopunch shot him right between the eyes, waking him up from an eon-long slumber. He handled it pretty well, screaming loudly enough for his spark-brother, Unicron, to figure out where he was. It turns out that Primus was the heart and soul of Cybertron and – more importantly – the creator of the Cybertronian races! Over the next fifteen issues, we saw him come to life as a mildly-ineffectual protector of the Cybertronian race, only to be killed by Unicron. Prior to Primus’ appearance, the closest thing we had to a Transformers deity was the Creation Matrix, which was a mystical object that could give life. Fast forward a bit and the really cool toy of him that they made in his honor for the TF: Cybertron line became an even cooler repaint from Takara in 2010. Why is he at the top of this list? Can a mere mortal ever hope to compete with a god? Yeah, no way.
Alt mode: Cyber-freaking-tron. Yes. The planet.
Honorable Mention
Minimus Ambus
When the first Ultra Magnus toy came out in 1986, he was a recolored Optimus Prime toy with a car carrier trailer that turned into battle armor. In both comics and the cartoon, he was always depicted in battle armor, as a stalwart defender of what he could handle. Fast forward to Dreamwave’s run of the comics and minds were blown when the armor was destroyed to reveal Optimus Prime’s batch brother in shiny white glory. IDW took this concept to another level and created Ultra Magnus as the ultimate secret: he was a legendary soldier who, upon his corporeal death had his image resurrected by Chief Justice Tyrest as a battle armor given to special Point One Percenters who could carry the load of this special armor. The most recent of these to wear the Magnus armor is Minimus Ambus, a soldier who impressed Tyrest with his sense of duty, order, and punctuational adherence to the laws of the Tyrest Accords. The reason for his HM? Technically, he’s not an OC. I mean, he is, but he’s Magnus and everyone knows Ultra Magnus. So it would be cheating if we said he was completely OC. Hasbro brought him majestically to pearly life in 2015 in their Combiner Wars toy line.
Alt Mode: Anti-gravitational mine-sweeper (self), car-carrier (Magnus armor)
Seibertronians, it is time. It certainly has been a journey full of ups and downs, curves, and many, many problems. But like all other journeys this one must come to an end. The curtains are starting to close. It is time. Time to review the final episode of Machinima's Combiner Wars series.
We start with Windblade. She is floating in a Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-style afterlife dream sequence. A voice wakes her. She realizes it belongs to metroplex. He tells her that the titans have been listening to her thoughts, and don't like the anger they've seen within them. Fear leads to Anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.
She apologizes for what she's done, but the titans remind her of who she truely is. She wakes up again on cybertron, because death means nothing.
And then, and then!!As if being able to take down a Combiner with a swipe of her sword or stop a friggin' BLACK HOLE WITH HER TURBINES wasn't enough for her, Windblade gets to take complete control of Metroplex! Awesome potential there for a entertaining story, right? Well... It's just his arm...That's it.
Yes, that's right. Metroplex's arm makes a surprise appearance for some reason.
Friggin' called it! Well, sorta
A quick note: Starscream's...well...screams are absolutely horrendous. Nearly unwatchable. They sound like some tormented demon baby.
Windblade smashes the titan's limb onto starscream, grabbing hold of him so Prime and Megatron can have a clear shot.
Now comes one of the top five moments in the series: Megatron turns into a gun. Yes, not only does this Megatron have a gun mode, but he's a triple changer. There's something for everyone to enjoy. I seriously, SERIOUSLY, love this Megatron. Awesome!
Prime arms himself with Megatron, taking that one final shot at Starscream, destroying him.
Optimus checks on Windblade, and is surprised to learn she's still alive. Megatron approaches with the (somehow still intact) enigma of Combination. Seriously though, if an explosion of that caliber couldn't destroy it, I find it unlikely that anything Optimus or Megatron could do would. But then again, maybe Windblade can pull out another Dues Ex Machina magic power and destroy it single-handedly.
Megatron, Prime and Windblade have a quick conversation about what to do with the Enigma, and Megatron literally mentions how he's "more than meets the eye", as the entire audience participates in a collective eye roll.
Har har har
It's decided (by pretty much just Windblade) that the Enigma belongs to the combiners, and it's presented to Victorion. She does this weird chest-merge thing with it, sort of like the Matrix of Leadership, but more gross.
The council finally reappears for one last time, just long enough for Windblade to tell them that the Titan's have returned.
But then! Just when you thought it was over, we're teased with a shot of what is presumably Fort Max's head. Yep. Seriously.
Pfft. As if.
Well, I'm sure we'll be seeing that half a year after the Titan's Return toy line ends.
And that's it. That's the end. Of the whole thing. Some final, final thoughts:
I'd like to look at pros first before I get to my usual thoughts, because I feel that the good things about this series have been kind of trampled by the band wagon hate. I'd like to bring some of those good things to a greater light.
Pros:
The art style:
Although it does occasionally have its problems, the animation and art style are very visually pleasing, and have a great feel to them. The character models are new, but inspired, and suit each character well. I know it's very attractive to many fans to have toys that look like they just came off the screen, and vice versa. This delivers tenfold in that front. You almost couldn't get closer in some cases.
The color pallets used are very attractive, rich, and occasionally stunning. Like this! I want this framed!
It's very beautiful sometimes, and is a highlight of the series. I wish it would have given us some more landscape shots, where this could have really shined.
Another positive would be most of the voice acting. Megatron, Starscream and Prime are done extreme justice here, and Rodimus and The Mistress of Flame are good most of the time, save for one or two lines here and there. I also don't mind the voice of Metroplex, Devastator, or Victorion. These are all well done, and, as I've said, did great with what they were given to work with.
Speaking of Megatron, I'm not exaggerating when I say that if this isn't one of my favorite incarnations of the character, it's by far the most interesting. I love every aspect of him. He's voiced perfectly, his personality is spot on, and his triple-changer ability satisfies the TankknotGuun camp and the GuunnotTankk camp, which, in my experience, is pretty damn near impossible. Boy, Machinima, you got a lot of things wrong but when you get something right you get it right!
Outstanding job. A+.
And that brings me to my thoughts. I don't hate this series. I don't. I just don't like it, either. The middle of the series was enjoyable, good, above par, even by standards set outside of the series. But the beginning was an absolute train wreck, and the ending was a textbook Dues Ex Machina situation. I feel that if it had just done a handful of things differently, it could have been unprecedentedly good. And hey, maybe if a Titan's Return series does happen, they'll take some of the criticism in stride and make it what I know it has the potential to be.
And that is it. All eight episodes, all eight weeks. I have to say that while the programme wasn't always enjoyable, these reviews were. I hope that you all had as much fun reading them as I had writing them. And while the Combiner Wars have indeed ended, who knows, maybe I'll review Another series some day. Thanks for reading my rants and rambles, it's been a ride, for sure, and a pleasure!
Wanna relive the journey? All of the episodes are available now for free on Go90 and Machinima's YouTube channel.
And, as always, thank you for keeping it tuned to seibertron.com, your best source for Transformers news (and reviews!) on the net!
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