Transformers Site Articles News on Seibertron.com

Seibertron.com Transtopia Roundup! July 2019

Date: Sunday, August 25th 2019 9:59am CDT
Categories: Site Articles, Transtopia
Posted by: D-Maximal_Primal

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 71,242

Another Month, another round of fantastic homemade work from the many Seibertronians who give their time and effort to create some awesome pieces of fiction, art, and tutorials for all of us to enjoy! Check out what all hit our Transtopia Section in July of 2019, and let us know what you think of it all below, or in the threads that each piece comes from!

Fan Fiction
Home to the creative authors of Seibertron.com's Transtopia

Ordinary World Extraordinary People
Snavej

“Why can I see so much?” asked Stohv as he stood in a desolate area of scrub. “Thousands of people are converging on Neosiak City and I can already see most of them. How can that be, with our confounded interference plague? It shouldn’t be possible! Don’t just sit there: answer me this riddle!” He stared at his meagre, lifeless audience as he sweated in the evening heat. Droplets tickled down his skin. The five watchers were totally impassive. All they did was rust, peel and accumulate dust. Stohv’s vision flickered like a stroboscope but they sat useless in the dirt. They were five machines that were slowly returning to the earth. Most impressive was the space capsule, with its tough exterior seared by furnace-like burns. Next to that was a boat, a car, an aeroplane without wings and a small tunnel boring platform. Together, they made an abysmal assembly of uncommunicative wrecks but they were better than a group of critical people. Wrecks wouldn’t try to lock him up but neither would they offer any opinions.

“Forget it, I’ll just have to get through this on my own, as usual,” said Stohv, sitting on the floor. “I can do it but I have to remember the basics like eating, drinking, breathing and so forth.” He closed his eyes and re-engaged with the ridiculous reality shifts occurring in his brain.

Don't Touch that dial!.. Or that... or those... You know what? Just leave it all alone!
Flashwave

WHAT did I TELL you? WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT TAMPERING WITH MY SHIP’S SYSTEMS?” What were my EXACT words?” Scamper raged with a fury.

“Uh…” Wheeljack looked down at his feet and began pressing his fingertips together, for he genuinely did not remember. “Don’t?” The scientist guessed.

“IF I FOUND YOU TINKERING WITH SOMETHING ONE MORE TIME,” Scamper said, making a grand gesture of repeating himself, “I WAS GOING TO SHOVE YOUR NEW INVENTION SO FAR UP YOUR EXHAUST PORT RATCHET WOULD HAVE TO REMOVE IT FROM YOUR GLOVEBOX!”

It was then that Wheeljack remembered why he used so many screws to mount his new contraption.

“I’ don’t see what you are so worked up about, Scamper.” He said almost sounding apologetic. “Nothing has exploded, yet. I was just trying to-”

Transformers:Fight
awesomepow

Dead End zoomed across Kaon Plaza as an unfamiliar figure pursued him. A flurry of missiles battered the Plaza's front by the pursuer's friends as its citizens fled. After thankfully hiding in a small corridor, Dead End looked up the pursuer's body type and stats and discovered it was the Knight Steelbane. His heart raced for he knew the Knights of Iacon were practically unstoppable.

"Wildbreak, Slashmark, come in."

"Guys!"

While Dead End yelled in his messenger for his teammates, the Stunticons, Steelbane got more closer to him. Steelbane struck him down with a swing of his mighty blade, and Dead End was down on the ground, hurt.

Prime Effect 4
Apollo-XL5

Two days had passed and Quickstrike was lying on his side on the cold, hard floor of his cell. His entire body was shaking, but not because of the temperature of the room but from the pain that was coursing through his body. Because the Autobot had just gone through another torture session with Rip-Claw, the sadistic Femme that took pleasure in inflicting pain on to others. And what Quickstrike had gone through in the last twenty-four hours could only be described as hell, pure and simple.

That Predacon bitch was going through every torture method she knew which appeared to be all of them, and the Autobot was not even sure how she managed to inflict so much on him in the span of a day...but she had. The Femme would torture him for an entire hour, then leave him alone for an hour in which time Ser-Ket would tend his wounds and then Rip-Claw would return an hour later to start again. He did not know how he had taken so much pain in such a short time, but he knew that he could not give in and let that bitch win.

Photo Blitz
This is where you can post your pictures of Transformers in whatever fashion you like.

Transformers + Deepdream = Nightmares
WorldofDepth



My Pics
keelo1027



Cooking with Grimlock
keelo1027



My toy Photocomics
PetesSuperRobots



Me and the Boys
ig89ninja



Leokearon's digibashes
Leokearon



Madeus Prime: Autobots and Decepticons Living Together!
Madeus Prime



Customizations
Post all your customized Transformers here. Whether it's a small mod or a true kitbash, we'd love to see it!

Studio Series Starscream Repaint TF07
EvasionModeBumblebee



TR Fangry, Horribull, and Squeezeplay
Latebrus-K



Autobot Clouder and Decepticon Doubledealer
Latebrus-K



Robots in Disguise 15 Bludgeon gets some new Treads
Rogue-Primal



Lego Transformers Snapdragon Version 3
alanyap



Thirteen Primes Project
Latebrus-K



TR Hot Rod and Siege Firebolt Repainting and Modding
ZeldatheSwordsman



Latebrus-K's Custom corner
Latebrus-K



Fan Artwork
Did you create some original artwork? Post it here!

Siege Tigertrack
Red alert 92



Forza Horizon 3 Transformers Designs
Dr Caelus



Blueprint sketch Metroplex shipmode interior, Input Wanted
Flashwave

Flashwave is looking for some input for his Metroplex blueprints, help him out!



Silly's 3D Models and Drawings
UnderYourCloset



And that's it for the month folks! Like what you see or read? Be sure to leave a comment and let our creators know! Looking to share your own creations? Please do! We'll be back in a months time for the next round up from our Transtopia forums!

IDW Transformers Ghostbusters Ghosts of Cybertron Part 3 Review

Date: Wednesday, August 7th 2019 7:37pm CDT
Categories: Comic Book News, Reviews, Site Articles
Posted by: D-Maximal_Primal | Credit(s): IDW Publishing

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 50,081

Issue #3 marks the halfway point in this 5 issue crossover of 2 beloved 1984 franchises. The Men in Beige have now met the Bot in Red and Blue, and more Ghosts have been busted.

So how does the issue stack up with the story so far? Keep reading on to find out! And if you need to catch up on the important details of the issue, check out our Database Entry!



Issue #3 gave us some great moments with the Ghostbusters and bots. As the issues have gone on, we have gotten some better and more enjoyable Bot to Buster interactions, and this issue continued tha trend.

I would not have guessed or even thought about this prior to the series, but Peter and Starscream make for a great comedy couple. The Starscream snark and attempts to intimidate coupled with the mouth of Peter have led to some really cool and sometimes downright hilarious moments. One of my favorite parts of the issue was Peter just casually tossing Starscream in a hidden trap because he didn't trust him, and hey, can we blame him?



Ectotron has certainly made his home with the Busters as well. The jokes surrounding his name finally culminating in his (much better) rebranding was believable and fun. And then he remembers that he literally is the Ecto-1 right now, and his weariness at being the transport was fun. I also enjoyed the Ghost hunt and the blooming friendship he has with the Ghostbusters. Can the poor bot get a particle thrower already???



And we finally duck back to the Ark and the other Autobots. And with that trip back to Ark, I really hope we get a Grimlock on Earth with Ghosts and a Wheeljack/Egon meeting. The few pages on the Ark made it clear that there is a lot of fun to be had with some Auto-buster mashups beyond Prime and Ectotron.

The story was a good and entertaining one. There was some plot progression, some fun ghost hunting, team bonding, and of course some great Buster jokes. The Ghostbusters are a great crew, and it has been and continues to be so much fun to enjoy them like this.

Yes, story and characters are pretty good.



Art duties fall once more to Dan Schoening, Luis Antonio Delgado, and Tom B. Long on art, colors, and lettering respectively. It has been a joy to watch and look at the art for this crossover so far, and this issue continues that quality. I haven't really had a major complaint about any part of the art so far, and the quality has been nice and consistent, which is really nice considering this creative team doesn't get to draw and color Transformers much. They caught on quick!

If I had one little complaint, it would be that the other Autobots (mostly Optimus) besides Ectotron seem to possess just a little bit too much of a cartoony feel, mostly in the overly large chests. But it's a stylistic option and it is only a minor thing for the whole issue. The lines have been strong and defining, and I have loved the colors. Luis has gotten to flex his muscles with the colors of the ghosts, traps, and particle throwers. It has been one of the major art highlights of the series for me. It's great to see.





Halfway through this crossover, and I am feeling really good about this series.

The series has been a joy to read, and has provided some classic banter while throwing in some larger than life robots into the mix, with great results. It has been very lively, with every page giving you something good to take away, and has given me quite a few laughs. The chemistry here is wonderful, these were 2 franchises meant to meet each other. Keep going strong crew!

P.S. Now that we got the classic "ain't afraid of no ghost" line, bets on who says "more than meets the eye" anyone?

Sighting and Review for Leader Sized Grimlock from Cyberverse

Date: Sunday, July 7th 2019 10:28pm CDT
Categories: Toy News, Reviews, Site Articles, Sightings
Posted by: william-james88

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 42,915

Transformers Cyberverse Ultimate class Seismis Stomp Grimlock, aka the Leader sized Grimlock figure, was found in a Canadian Walmart last friday by yours truly. This toy has yet to hit the US (if it has, let us know) so I thought I could give you a pictorial review since there is very little coverage on this toy.







While it is leader sized, the Cyberverse Ultimate class is very much a thing of its own at its own price point. You get a toy bigger than any Transformers Siege leader figure for the price of a Siege voyager figure, so you basically get what you are paying for. For 4-8 year old kids, that can be a rather big value. They get a nice big toy and parents don't have to spend a lot for it. And the toy itself, isn't bad, for the money. It's basically as articulated and complex as any toy from the fabled Cybertron line from over 10 years ago. Of course, the sculpt is not as detailed, the plastic is lighter and it is more hollow.

Here is the imposing robot mode. The Jetfire in the images below is voyager sized.

















While the legs are rather chunkier than usual for Grimlock, it goes with the overall bulky look, so I don't mind that. What I do mind is that head sculpt which while nice on its own does not invoke Grimlock enough. The eyes are too insectoid to my liking and instead of giving him either a mouth or a faceplate, they went with a merger of both with a teeth detailed plate (I think?). Either way, it looks nothing like the drawing on the box, nor like any take on G1 Grimlock I can remember.

The articulation is the same as the Age of Extinction voyager, or just about. So yeah, gorilla arms. But to be fair, this bot doesn't come with any weapons that would demand extra arm articulation and story wise, he fights more in beast mode than robot mode. Here is what I got to do for posing. You will also see the seismic stomp gimmick at play below. Stomping his feet does set off two spring loaded gimmicks where clear blue plastic stomp effects pop downwards onto the floor.











The transformation was surprising in the fact that there was at least one new thing to the classic G1 Grimlock transformation. The legs themselves make up his belly rather than mainly the tail. It's more complex than the transformation of POTP Grimlock when going from Bot to Dinosaur. The details of his robot chest line up nicely with the lower back of the dinosaur mode to make it seem like those robot mode details are not out of place on the dinosaur mode. The dinosaur mode is rather short when keeping it in a vertical axis (as was POTP Grimlock's), which is what official renders do. However, if you raise him up a bit, with a stance similar to the original Grimlock, it works much better. Especially since his tail is raised up permanently. While I do not like that about his tail, that particular issue ends up moot when posed upright. It also gives Grimlock a nicer range of poses for his neck. I do like the details in his mouth when you open it. The T-Rex mode has as much articulation as most Grimlock dino modes of the past. The gimmick here means those same blue pieces come out of the tail now.





























In the end, if you want to give your kids a nice big Grimlock without breaking the bank, this does the job nicely. The transformation is not dumbed down and the articulation does the trick for this character. And for any Grimlock fans, this looks very nice and imposing on a shelf. It's just very much a kids toy, and I don't see anything wrong with that, especially at that lower price point.

Hasbro Celebrating Transformers 35th Anniversary with Promo Box and Secret Code #morethanmeetstheeye

Date: Tuesday, May 21st 2019 6:16pm CDT
Categories: Site News, Toy News, Site Articles, Press Releases
Posted by: D-Maximal_Primal | Credit(s): Hasbro

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 64,895

As some of you might be aware, this year is the 35th anniversary of the Transformers brand, and while it is a bit of a strange anniversary to be celebrating, Hasbro is going all out with the balloons and confetti!

Special Promotional boxes were sent out by Hasbro, and Seibertron was one of the ones lucky enough to get one. The promotional packaging has some really nice artwork of some characters using their 'Evergreen' designs, among them Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Grimlock, Windblade, and Wheeljack for the Autobots side, and Megatron, Shockwave, Soundwave, and Barricade for the Decepticon side.

The inside of the box features a wide variety of items from current and recent toylines that serves as a pretty wide and awesome look at the franchise. The box includes toys and merchandise from the Bumblebee movie, some Studio Series, some Cyberverse, some Siege, botbots, and Cards!

Hasbro also included a letter addressing the fandom, and also mentions that the box features a secret code that you all can decode with the Autobot Cybertronian alphabet. Once you have decoded the message, you can head on over to the Teletraan1 page on Hasbro's site and enter it in for some goodies! To save you all the joy of doing this yourselves, the deciphered message and what it does on the site will not be displayed until after all the images of the gallery below, and with a spoiler warning ahead of it.

Check it all out below, and let us know what you think in the comments section below!

This is your Spoiler Warning

________________________________

The code comes out to: "Rubble"

And what does it do? Well, it lets you read a free PDF of Issue #1 of the new Transformers ongoing!

Seibertron.com Transtopia Roundup! April 2019

Date: Tuesday, May 14th 2019 6:19pm CDT
Categories: Site Articles, Transtopia
Posted by: D-Maximal_Primal | Credit(s): Seibertron Transtopia Creators

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 78,885

Another month another round of fantastic homemade work from the many Seibertronians who give their time and effort to create some awesome pieces of fiction, art, and tutorials for all of us to enjoy. Check out what all hit our Transtopia Section in April of 2019, and let us know what you think of it all below, or in the threads that each piece comes from!

Fan Fiction
Home to the creative authors of Seibertron.com's Transtopia

Disaster Transport
Rodimus Prime

Inferno gave Ironhide a stern look over his shoulder, but said nothing. Air Raid touched the ship down, and they scanned around through the front screens.

“No one.” Air Raid said.

“This is weird.” Powerglide said.

“Look at that.” Air Raid said again, as he tilted his head up towards Jupiter.

The huge spot on the surface, which has been deemed a massive continuous dust and ice storm, was right over them. It was like the planet was watching them. It blocked out most of their view of space, and the star at the center of the system was too far away to properly illuminate the surface, so everything seemed dark gray. Inferno looked up just as Air Raid did.

“I wonder if there’s anyone up there.” he said. “When we get back to Cybertron I’m going to do some research on the planet. I think…”

“We have contact.” Powerglide said, interrupting. “Oh, sorry. But we have contact.”

“Who is it?” Ironhide asked.

“They’re saying they’re the authority overseeing this side of the colony and we need to identify ourselves.”

“Tell them who we are and why we’re here.” Ironhide said as he got up. “Inferno, come with me.”

Prime Effect 4
Apollo-XL5

Orion was definitely confused right now since just prior to this he had been sitting with his Aunt, who despite her injuries looked so peaceful as she lied there on the bed. And even though she was currently unaware of his presence, Orion was going to stay by her side for a little longer while he thought on everything that had happened recently.

The Predacons and Galvatron, how they captured his parents, finding out that his Uncle had been killed and the not so small miracle that was his Aunt surviving her injuries. Nothing on this day had made any sense to the young Man, and then Liara appearing in the room simply added to his confusion.

"Liara, what's wrong?" Orion asked as he observed the beautiful Asari, and she was very beautiful. But as he focused on Liara, he noticed her eyes were welling up while a single tear ran down her left cheek as she started to sob. So Orion instantly walked over to her, which made the Asari look down at the ground in shame.

"Liara, talk to me..." he said with in a soft tone while kneeling down in front of her so they would be at face level, and slowly the Asari looked back at him with her aqua coloured eyes meeting his own.

Transformers: Resolute
1984forever

“Autobot, my name is Nacelle.”
“I know who you are, lackey!” Downshift spat in disgust.
“Silence! You will divulge the details of your current mission or you will be terminated.”
“How do I know you won’t destroy me anyway?”
Nacelle smirked. “You have my word.”
“Uh huh. Tell me, Nacelle... what did you do to get tossed out into the field with the rest of the Genericons?”
The question made Nacelle livid. He never wanted to kill another being more than he did at this very moment. The truth of the matter was that he would rather be back in a lab on Cybertron than standing here in the middle of an alien swamp with organic creatures trying to creep into every crevice... but recently the Seeker had been stripped of his rank and reassigned, a casualty of Starscream’s attempted coup.
“Do not toy with me,” he warned. “As former assistant to Shockwave, I have euthanized several of his failed test subjects. I found blasting them to be as carthartic as streamlining one’s fuselage.”

Photo Blitz
This is where you can post your pictures of Transformers in whatever fashion you like.

Leokearon's Digibashes



MagnusLabel - HEAR THE BOTS & CONS SING, BUY THEIR ALBUMS...



Madeus Prime - Autobots and Decepticons Living Together



Customizations
Post all your customized Transformers here. Whether it's a small mod or a true kitbash, we'd love to see it!

Rampage Elbows
Hip-Hoptimus Rime



Transformers World War II Captain America
Steelshift



Transformers Authentics Grimlock
dbelleman



Fan Artwork
Did you create some original artwork? Post it here!

Kaxblastard Lives!
Kaxblastard



Kinda had to make a black hole Unicron...
NOBODY LOVES WHEELIE



More fan designed transformers part 2
Deceptispoon



Warhammer 40L Autobot Killteam
Caelus



Upcoming Rogue Autobot Animation Project
cirrusstratus1



G1 Toy Optimus Prime 22 x 28
STPrime



Krixsix's Gallery
[url]Kriksix[/url]



And that's it for the month folks! Like what you see or read? Be sure to leave a comment and let our creators know! Looking to share your own creations? Please do! We'll be back in a months time for the next round up from our Transtopia forums!

A look into James Roberts Scripting The Battle of Hell's Point Part 1

Date: Tuesday, March 5th 2019 9:11pm CST
Categories: Comic Book News, Site Articles
Posted by: william-james88

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 33,394

With the IDW Transformers reboot coming in hot, I wanted to take a look back at one of the big highlights of the previous continuity. James Roberts added a lot to the Transformers mythos, and it was due to very meticulous planning. His scripts were layered with detail and with wanting to connect what you were reading to a larger lore and history. While it was not crucial to read everything to understand, he made sure that fans would be rewarded with extra details and continuity nods.

Many have not seen James Robert's scripts so this two part article will serve as a look into how meticulous he was in planning just two pages of his 8 year run. These two pages depict the battle of Hell's Point (from More Than Meets the Eye Issue 16) and each part will look at one page.

While I will let James Robert's script fill you in on the info as he did with the artist Agustin Padilla, I will say that this depicts one of the battles where Ultra Magnus dies. In the IDW comics, it turns out Ultra Magnus was just a name/armour that went from bot to bot to inspire other soldiers. Below you will see the very layered script followed by the artist's rendition of these words. What is fascinating here is that the artist only had 1 panel to convey all this, a splash page. Enjoy!

TRANSFORMERS: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE Issue 16: Remain In Light (Prologue) By James Roberts

Notes :
• This is after the battle. Everyone on board must be beaten in several
degrees
• Could the location caps be in mixed case?

PAGE 1

1 / Splash page.

Cybertron A thousand years ago.
We're seeing a Decepticon / Autobot epic battle - hand-to-hand combat - happening on the hull of a huge Decepticon warship that has SUPERFICIAL similarities to the Imperial Star Destroyer-BUT NOT TOO MUCH:



This ship is in the Cybertronian airspace, not in orbit, and it's a clear and bright day.
We are close enough to see individual characters (at least in the foreground) fighting on the surface: choose between KUP, CLIFFJUMPER, SANDSTORM, GRIMLOCK, WARPATH, WHEELJACK, TRACKS, RUMBLER and OUTBACK. You can also put generics out there too.

IMPACTOR has to be definitely visible; is facing a handful of Cons (we have established in previous stories that it was during this battle that he killed a thousand Cons).

On the Decepticon side, a band of Phase Sixers is in the loop: SIXSHOT, OVERLORD, BLACK SHADOW, KILLMASTER (see Spotlight: Trailcutter for the only visual reference) and the new character HERETECH. The six should be moving towards ULTRA MAGNUS, but they make their real appearance up close in the next panel.
Other Cons: whoever you want except Megatron (he's there, but we do not want to see him yet).

The main fight is that of Magnus. He's in his classic G1 robot mode (not the modern version of MTMTE); He even has the classic white weapon. Magnus is near the edge of the ship (closest to us) shooting at the nearby air Decepticons.
Speaking of which, we need many flyers everywhere: SWOOP, the AERIALBOTS, JETFIRE etc. fight against STARSCREAM, THUNDERCRACKER etc.

NB: It is very important that we see, very clearly, the name of this powerful ship. The huge capital letters are clearly emblazoned on the side, near the vanishing point: HELL'S POINT.

TITLE: The Gloaming

LOCATION CAP: The Battle for Hell's Point
LOCATION CAP: 3rd Cycle 1102

2018 Seibertron.com Year in Review - We Achieved Something

Date: Wednesday, January 2nd 2019 12:57am CST
Categories: Site Articles, Editorials, Top Lists
Posted by: william-james88

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 121,577

We have our traditions here at Seibertron.com and with 2018 coming to pass, we now share what we thought was best this year in all things Transformers, be it toys, comics and on screen adaptations. 2018 was a year of major change for the brand. We had a clearer definition on specific audiences for different toylines, the departure of Toysrus in many markets, the most abundant amount of toys released in one year to date (4 main lines co-existing on the same shelves), full brand unification between Hasbro and Takara, the end of the 13 year IDW Transformers Comic Universe, and a major change of course for the live action film Transformers films. We wrote an article about the positives some changes brought so you can click here if you want to discuss that further. Amidst all these changes, we got some remarkable toys and quite possibly the best media representation in a good while and below we will tackle all the major categories and 2018 toylines. While some countries did get Siege before the end of the year, it being 2019's Generations toyline, we opted to wait till next year to discuss what was the best from that line. Now on with the cast of opinions:




Best Toy from Bumblebee line (Hasbro or Takara)


Scotty P: Legendary Optimus Prime. The Age of Extinction was, for many, the extinction of their excitement for the Movie franchise. Despite that way too long snoozer of a movie and a mediocre toy line to go with it, the Voyager Class Evasion Mode Optimus Prime was one of the standout figures from a fun-factor perspective, and even kind of featured elbows that weren't gorilla arms - if you weren't around for AoE, this sadly was a standout feature. Legendary Optimus Prime takes that toy and improves it in every way while also making it bigger and more detailed. It even features a truly outstanding experience in how the weapon can be converted into parts of the truck's undercarriage that the robot can carry on its back. It doesn't stop there, as these parts don't have to be removed, put away, or reconfigured while turning the rest of it from robot to truck mode. Some days I feel as old as Kup actually is, so anytime a toy brings something that feels fundamentally different or new while still being a pretty, detailed Transformer that's a big deal to me.

D-Max: Leader Class Soundwave. I did not get much exclusive to the Bumblebee movie itself, grabbing a few of the little Speed Series Energon Ignitors and the Soundwave. And while all the figures from the line were good and fun looking, and the ones I did get were fun, Soundwave takes the cake. I never got the Titans Return Soundwave, but this one looked so good, and in hand it has not disappointed. The mold is really fun, nice and chunky, and beautifully colored. And I'm excited that all my data pads, the Fall of Cybertron disks, and the micromaster class members of Soundwave's crew from Siege will all be able to fit in his chest.

It also helps he turns into a mean dance studio. The mold is fun, and it really pops with the new paint job. Stellar job with this one Hasbro, stellar job.

William-James88: Legendary Optimus Prime. This was the first full year of brand unification between Takara and Hasbro where they would release the same looking toys in all lines (ie MP, MPM, POTP, Studio Series). But that didn't stop Takara from giving us a few exclusives here and there and Legendary Optimus Prime is their only exclusive mold of 2018. I love Evasion Mode Optimus Prime so getting him with added chrome and with sculpting and transformation tweaks to make him even better (and bigger) was right up my alley.

Emerje: Bumblebee Greatest Hits Frenzy. That's right, my favorite figure from the Bumblebee movie doesn't have anything to do with the movie. Who would have thought Hasbro would use this line to correct a great misdeed from Titans Return and finally reunite Frenzy and Rumble? It was a nice surprise, the only downside of which was also giving us Howlback without Garboil. Maybe for the next movie.

Wolfman Jake: This is a little tongue-in-cheek for an answer, but then again, it's reasonably sincere too. I love the Bumblebee Cassette Pack. That was a very sneaky (and well appreciated) way for Hasbro to finally give us "Titans Return" Frenzy. As a bonus, you get a recolor of Buzzsaw with gold highlights that matches better with the TR release of Laserbeak as well as a blue redeco of TR Ravage as Howlback. I wouldn't have guessed Hasbro would dig that deep for this set, but there you go! What's not to love? (The 1-Step Bumblebee, honestly.)

notirishman: Speed Series Volkswagen Bumblebee. Why? I mean, this figure is just so much fun to play around with. He's small, with a easy, yet satisfying transformation, and looks good in both modes! He also has the 5mm port in the back, allowing for some fire effects, or the energone core engine, allowing him to shoot forward. I like this lil guy. He's a sweet boy.


Best Toy from Cyberverse line


Scotty P: Ultra Class Shockwave, for being one of the only toys in the line that has two good modes. The bar is low, and this clears it. God I miss Robots in Disguise. Next.

William-James88: Ultimate Megatron. The Cyberverse line was truly unapologetic in catering to a young target audience and I did not mind that since we had two dedicated main lines for collectors (along with Masterpiece figures from BW, G1 and the movies) and while there are figures that I don't think even kids would like, I think Hasbro really nailed it with the Ultimate class. For the price of a voyager you get a leader sized toy that reminds me of the sturdiness of the Unicron trilogy. That Megatron's transformation even reminds me of the Cybertron line where you get this blocky feel of rearranging hefty parts around to really give two very different and striking modes. I love how simple the transformation is to get him into a tank where while you see the same parts as in the robot mode, everything feels cohesive and fitting of a tank. And the elegant foot transformation into becoming part of the tank treads is something I wish the Siege voyager Megatron could have copied instead of leaving his feet out. Oh yes, you heard that right, the tank mode on this Cyberverse ultimate class toy is better looking than the Siege toy's tank mode. The toy is not for me, but it does a really good job at giving young kids a nice hefty figure with a fun transformation.

Emerje: Warrior Windblade. Now, I know what the popular answer is going to be, but as an example of the Warrior class done right look no further than Windblade. She's well painted, nicely sculpted, has some of the best articulation (bicep AND waist swivels??), and best of all, a non obtrusive gimmick that actually works as it's supposed to. It's definitely a figure that feels like it would have been just fine in the previous Robots in Disguise line.

ZeroWolf: Warrior Class Shockwave, just really fun to play around with.

notirishman: Shock of shocks, it's Ultra Class Shockwave. Yeah, I'm sure this will be on other people's lists because well, it's pretty good! While Cyberverse is alright, and the gimmicks seem fun, this toy's gimmick is only on the arm, and the switch is on the same arm. And since he turns into, what is essentially, him in a funny exercise pose, yeah. The toy has a lot of articulation, and since the gimmick is on the arm only, it only hinders the arm. Compared to other Cyberverse figures, there's a lot of possibility, similar to that of a Siege figure. And this guy is just so fun to pose. And the toy looks good in both modes. Only bad thing, is the cannon is cartoon I accurate in both modes, but I can forgive it.


Best Toy from Studio Series line


Scotty P: Ironhide. Studio Series wants me to "collect the cast". It is a long way from allowing me to accomplish this, but even if it never really does, at least it's providing collectors with some great updated versions of characters from the movies. Yes, there's a Movie Masterpiece line, but it's plagued by every other release having engineering/tolerance issues and only puts out about two toys a year. Studio Series is where it's at, movie toy wise, and this was the best figure in this year's selection. Taking some of the smarter cues from Dark of the Moon's Deluxe Class figure and refining them while adding new touches in the much more scale-friendly Voyager Class results in an Ironhide toy that is super fun to transform back and forth between modes. When he's a robot, envision how he collapses down onto his own legs and becomes a truck, and you'll end up with a truck. I'm all for following the instructions, and on Masterpiece toys I absolutely recommend it, but this is absolutely a case of intuitive design making them not necessary. Some more integrated weapon storage for vehicle mode would have been nice, but that's grasping at straws for drawbacks. If the entire Studio Series lineup were this fun, we'd all be having a blast with movie toys like it's 2007 all over again.

Cobotron: The only SS figure I picked up this year was VW Bumblebee. Despite the frustration I experienced that first time I went from bot to alt, I really enjoy the toy. After I learned the ropes and got my bearings on his transformation, I was able to appreciate it, and just have fun with him. He has nice articulation making for a fun figure to pose, and has cool accessories (especially that battle mask!) that store nicely in alt mode. And, who doesn't love a classic VW Bug alt mode?

D-Max: Grimlock. Look, I will mention Jazz later down the line, and my rule is to not duplicate figures on this list, so it was narrowed down to figures besides Jazz, and there were 4 truly worthy contenders in Starscream, Blackout, Lockdown, and Grimlock. But ultimately, Grimlock just smashed the rest (pun intended and relished). Compared to the previous Leader figure and even the voyager, this figure rocks their socks off. He is so accurate from every angle it is incredible he transforms. And he transforms into a fairly good, not perfect, but good Knight Space T-Rex. And he is so fun! He was the very first bot I took to work, and he still stuns me to this day how good he is. This guy lives up to his movie look, and he is great fun for what he has accomplished. Kudos to you Grimlock, you blew me away.

William-James88: Leader Grimlock. I did not expect to like this toy so much. I really really love the look of the dino mode where technically all the robot bits are there but they blend into the rest of the detail. It's rather genius. You end up with a much better looking robot mode than ever before, with no backpack. And yet this one comes with not one but two full dino heads for the shoulder pads, as was done in the film. I still can't believe they could reconcile that into a toy and have it work out as well as it does. I love the size too, and the dry brush paint is an excellent effect. This was easily the leader class toy I felt I got the most value from this year.

Wolfman Jake: Voyager Starscream is easily my favorite so far from the Studio Series line. I've been waiting for over 10 years for a properly sized, sculpted, and colored movie Starscream figure. The Studio Series has knocked it out of the park! The new voyager mold takes a lot of the inspired transformation scheme of the Dark of the Moon Deluxe Starscream mold and expands upon it, giving us a Starscream that is fun and not too cumbersome to convert between modes, looks very much like his on-screen character model, at a size that fits in with the rest of the cast (not too big or too small), and in the original movie colors too! I've always preferred Starscreams "clean" look from the first movie over the tattoo deco he got in Revenge of the Fallen. If that's not your feeling, though, Hasbro had you covered by releasing a redeco WITH the tattoos for anyone fond of that look!

notirishman: 06 Voyager Class Starscream ('07 movie). This toy is fun! Very fun. It's also the best version of Voyager Starscream, which is a recurring theme in Studio Series. The transformation isn't too finicky, and both modes are good. The jet mode looks nice, and has a nice deco to it. The robot mode is very accurate, and is fun to play around with this guy. Since I don't own the Revenge of the Fallen version, I don't know which one is better yet.


Best Toy from Power of the Primes line


Scotty P: Battletrap. Never in a million years would I have guessed that the Duocon combination of Battleslash and Roadtrap would have been such a highlight of the collecting year. I would have expected something like, well, Flywheels is out now - that. Instead, the Legends Class delivered a legacy character, whose only previous update was at Botcon 2015 as a Springer repaint, as a fully realized pair of small Transformers that combine into something close to the size of your standard Deluxe Class toy. Unlike some attempts from the last decade at similar combination schemes that didn't quite hit the mark, Battletrap has as much articulation when combined as each smaller robot does on its own. Proportions can also be a problem when a combined form has so little to work with, but that doesn't phase Battletrap in the least as Roadtrap becomes a pretty normal looking pair of pants for the broad shouldered, v-chested Battleslash's torso mode.

Cobotron: Abominus! Again! Just a fantastic Combiner. If I had to pick one member of the team as my favorite though, it would have to be Blot. Possibly the most expressive figure of the line. On first look he conveys so much character. Big, dumb, and mean! In both modes. And those unquestionably Decepticony colors tell you right away he's a brute not to be trifled with.
But the oafish clod of a troll would be up a creek without his buddies, so the title still goes to the entire team of Terrorcons.

D-Max: Rodimus Unicronus. Alright, this was another tough battle, as Abominus and specifically Blot are all really good figures. Battletrap is gorgeous and I think Optimal Optimus is a great Leader. But this figure takes the top prize. He is so evil looking and bulky! He oozes dark charisma with that gorgeous headsculpt and visor, and the purple and black look incredible together. The transformation is fun, and the space Winnebago is great. Nemesis Hot Rod is fun too, but dang does the main Unicronus look look stunning. He is a great figure, truly one of the most underappreciated figures of the past few years.


William-James88: Predaking. It was going to be Blot at first because I thought that toy did a great job at being original even though it was another combiner limb that had to adhere to a system we have experienced for a while now. And plus Predaking came out to very ho hum reviews from the community so I was in no rush to experience him. But man, I am glad I jumped on him on Black Friday because this is easily the best combiner I have ever played with. The combined mode just feels so solid and poseable for a rather big combiner where all individual bots are about the same size. I love his sleek look and was happy to get rid of my third party versions which could not achieve the same poses if their lives depended on it. I have never seen a combiner so well balanced. Sacrifices were made, I can't deny that, but I can't think of a better way Hasbro could have delivered us this imposing toy (aside from giving the knuckles some spikes). The individual modes are fine too and actually feel like voyagers rather than upscaled deluxe figures.

Zerowolf: If I discount Abominus, because he's the toy of the year, then the next one in line is Nemesis Prime... his deco oozes evil and new accessories sweeten the deal on this evil repaint and for a price that was cheaper then what I would pay at retail for the original Optimus.

Wolfman Jake: Power of the Primes was a bit of a mixed bag and divisive among fans, but it still had a lot to love. The stand-out for me, though was getting a new, properly "evolving" Hot Rod to Rodimus Prime toy after all these years! That's something we've only really had once before, and not even in G1, where the two forms were completely separate toys. The Masterpiece version was only released by Takara, is extremely expensive now on the secondary market, and had a lot of critical flaws that made the figure fragile to the point that it wasn't a question of IF your figure would break, but when. It IS being reissued in Asian markets currently, but not for cheap. PotP Leader Rodimus Prime is a great treat for G1 fans, particularly of The Transformers: The Movie, for a reasonable price at $50 USD. This figure also probably best showcased the "gimmick" of the Leader Class for the PotP line, where all four modes work very well (though not perfectly). It's the most "balanced" execution of the idea, even if not every mode is absolutely flawless.

notirishman: Titan Class Predaking. I liked this set a lot more than I thought! Each component was big and hefty, and the combined mode was glorious. The stickers were also much easier to apply. There were definitely some problems, but overall, it was a great package.


Best Toy from Masterpiece lines


Scotty P: MP-41 Dinobot. although there's really not a lot to choose from here, chances are this would have ended up here anyway because this is a fantastic collector's piece. Dinobot's design in the show was so far removed from what ever seemed possible in toy form that even Universe 2.0's attempt at an updated look for the character felt like it was near the pinnacle of what you could do, at least at that time. Then Takara Tomy decides to go full-hog for this Beast Wars BBQ and delivers Dinobot, as if he just waltzed out of the TV and has invaded my home for a round of rodent extermination. Even the beast mode, which looked worrisome in some early prototype photos, has more playability than some Transformers do in robot mode, with a host of accessories helping capture the prickly yet lovable nature of our lizard bot pal. While it's a shame that extreme care must be taken in transforming the toy from one mode to another, that's what Masterpiece demands in its new paradigm of hyper-screen-accurate design. Light up eyes, the Golden Disk, and even a stand to help with ultra dynamic raptor action poses make this not only the best Masterpiece toy of 2018, but one of the best of all time. Bring on Megatron!

Cobotron: HOLY SMOKES! I think the only MP I got all year was MP-42 Cordon! I've learned patience with MPs over the last few years. I don't go for the toon accuracy they are striving for with the line these days, and that's fine. Because Takara has proven again and again that they won't forget us toy fans. My patience paid off, and Cordon delivered. A fantastic achievement in this mold. He's elegantly complicated without being annoying. And in this classic Diaclone deco and toy accurate head sculpt, he checks all the boxes of what I look for in what I consider to be a masterpiece. Also just ecstatic to add another officer to my Diaclone Police Force.

D-Max: MPM-05 Barricade. We got some great Masterpiece figures this year, including 2 great Movie Masterpiece figures, a Beast Wars Masterpiece, and a few G1 Masterpiece figures as well. And while Dinobot is an amazing Masterpiece, I have to give the MP of the year to Barricade. Barricade finally truly lived up to the Movie Masterpiece title in every way: looked the part in every way in robot mode, had a great alt mode, and the transformation was smooth and worked. The weapon on him is really good, and he is a lot of fun to pose, he looks so menacing! The die cast feels great on him, and it is so cool that we are getting die cast on all of these Movie Masterpiece figures. He is the perfect encapsulation of movie Barricade, and I don't think they really could have improved him in any way.

William-James88: Takara MP Dinobot. While my initial copy's head did break off, I did get a replacement and I can assure you that this toy is worth the money. The transformation is smart, the robot mode is killer and the deco is as premium as you can get. And we finally have a Dinobot that looks good in both modes (this feels like MP Ironhide all over again).

Emerje: MP-41 Dinobot. The Beast Wars Masterpiece figures as a whole have been amazing so it's no surprise Dinobot would be an outstanding figure. Photos can't prepare you for just how big this figure is when you first open the box and behold the massive raptor for the first time. It's an intimidating figure to hold with all of its moving parts and folding panels, but once you've transformed it a few times it's quite the engineering marvel. And then you've got all the little things like the clever dino head eye change feature, the faces, the weapons, the laser eyes, and the golden disc. I'm not even mad about the stand anymore knowing it's compatible with the upcoming Megatron. Yeah, there's things they could have done better, but I shudder to think what that would have done with the price.

Wolfman Jake: Looking back, this was a leaner year for Masterpiece figures. I was going to say MP Sunstreaker would take the cake by a stellar mile, but he was technically released in the last few days of 2017, though I wouldn't have him in my hands until January of 2018. As such, I'm going to say that Cordon is the Masterpiece of the year for me. The mold itself is a wonder, being able to covert between a licensed realistic Countach Lamborghini and the fictionalized "supertuned" model we all know and love. The robot mode looks utterly fantastic, and it was a great idea of Takara to spice it up a little bit with the original toy-inspired head sculpt and shin detailing to differentiate Cordon from Sunstreaker by more than just coloring and a police light bar. The transformation is very involved, but clever and ultimately rewarding, even if frustrating at times, and the amount of articulation in this figure is incredible too. Little touches like working pop-up headlights and the reverse opening hood in vehicle mode are icing on the cake.

notirishman: I don't own any Masterpieces that came out on 2018, buuuut, if I would have to choose something, it would be MPM-5 Barricade. The Bay movies certainly popularized this character, especially into a bad-cop persona. And as a fan of Barricade's design, this certainly portrays it extremely well. The figure looks great, looks awesome to pose, and is relatively cheap (by that, I mean it's cheaper than other Masterpiece figures, and was on sale for a while). The alt mode also looks spot on. Great!


Best exclusive from 2018


Scotty P: Dino Cassettes. The greatest con ever pulled on the Transformers fandom was by four Autobot cassettes that managed to work their way into the stratosphere of secondary market pricing. Two of these (for now) have returned to apologize, and they brought along cool clear counterparts and some bonus Bumblebee toys. Sure, the back of the feet on the combined Legout mode is a victim of a terrible and unfixable (I think?) assembly error, but Legout really looks kind of terrible anyway. For serious G1 collectors that don't want to or can't spend four figures on elusive imported Deployers, these were an event - the freaking Dino Cassettes! I can't wait to see what other "that will never happen" reissues leave that category in the years to come.

Cobotron: Repugnus was The COOL! And, I really enjoyed Leader Class Nemesis Prime more than I thought I would. With that dope little punk rock night ninja Nemesis Pax inside, but surprisingly the one exclusive I think I was most excited about was the Walmart G1 reissue of Starscream. I never had Starscream as a kid, and in all these almost 35 years I never hunted down a vintage or reissue of the character. He is a very premium release, with the added hand ports, Megatron blaster ,and the tampoed eyes. The construction and casting is great, and in that awesome G1 packaging, he really did open a portal to the past for me. Obviously there is nothing new about the toy. No innovation in engineering, or some fresh new take on on an old character, but I found much gratification in finally completing my classic G1 Seeker trio. Nostalgia is a strong magic! I was not expecting to be so taken by its power.

D-Max: SDCC Exclusive Throne of the Primes. I mentioned Optimal Optimus earlier in this review and how he was a pretty great figure, and now he can get some recognition as a member of this list. The Optimal figure itself is pretty good, and it has a ton of options, as the "Prime Armor" section can operate as an entirely separate unit from the little Optimus Primal figure. Armored gorilla, surfing gorilla, robot, robot and gorilla, and more. And in this release, we got the smaller and larger figures both in the original Primal colors, and it looks so sweet. And then you get the crown and the scepter that holds Prime and Titan Masters, and a throne (even if it is cardboard). The whole package is a ton of fun, and it's pretty fun to have a place for all 16 Prime Masters to gather together while still having a great mold with unique accessories. Truly some fun stuff.

William-James88: The Punch Counterpunch toy came out of nowhere. Not only is he an exclusive brand new mold, but it happens to be of a perfect new rendition of the character. And by perfect, I just mean that he retains all the original toy's gimmicks (of two distinct robot modes and one car mode) without adding any new gimmicks to fit a particular line. They went all out on this one, with a gorgeous car mode and two cool robot modes which are indeed quite different from one another. I especially love the hand switcheroo in the transformation, very clever.

ZeroWolf: Amazon Exclusive Counterpunch, a great toy, and such a surprise to see.

Wolfman Jake: Power of the Primes Punch-Counterpunch was the biggest surprise for me. I wouldn't have guessed that we'd get a Deluxe class figure for PotP that wasn't a combiner limb, but instead kept the complete original gimmick from the G1 toy intact! Punch-Counterpunch has a beautiful car mode, very curvy and sleek, with transparent windows (which is always appreciated). The transformation among all three modes is pretty easy, but still results in two spot on looking robot modes on top of the already mentioned fantastic vehicle mode. It's just a very satisfying figure to have in the collection, being a late and often forgotten G1 character, and fun to play with too. It's rare to have a "reverse" triple changer in Transformers that sports two different robot modes and one alternate mode.

notirishman: San Diego Comic Con Throne of the Primes, boss monkey. I don't own the Power of the Primes Optimal mold, and it's pretty good. It looks good, and turns into a hoverboard riding monkey, amongst other things. The deco is pretty good, and helps to blend the backpack Primal blend in. Also, the additional accessories, the Throne of Primes, the Scepter of Sparks, the crown, and the 4 Primes are all awesome (BTW, I bought this on HasbroToyShop, not the Con).


Best “Other” Transformer


Cobotron: Diaclone had some fun releases this year, but they were all the little Powered System Suits, which are certainly fun. It's a shame Battle Buffalo didn't make it out in time. It would have taken this cake, for sure. So, my "Best Other" goes to Takara's Star Wars Powered by Transformers Millennium Falcon. The toy is just so silly, really. Bordering on stupid. I happen to be a big fan of stupid silly. It's a real cram sandwich of two of my favorite things ever. The engineering of the toy is fantastic, and the transformation is smart! I love the sculpts and the abstract use of the Falcon shapes to make the Han and Chewie Mechs. And, that dang Wookie head sculpt is just awesome! Also the cross playability with my Diaclone collection has proven to be a ton of fun!

D-Max: Star Wars Powered by Transformers Millennium Falcon. The Star Wars Powered by Transformers line has had 2 figures with Darth Vader as the Tie Advanced and Han Solo and Chewbacca as the Millennium Falcon. I never got Vader, but having owned the original Transforming Millennium Falcon, I really wanted this new one. And dang, it is cool. It is such an improvement over the original, and so bulky and sturdy and detailed. The Falcon is pure perfection, and then it has the bonus of the robot modes. Both heads are awesome, with the Battle Wookie and the Face-plated Solo head. And they are chunky but still really posable. The figure may have been expensive, but dang was it worth it with how unique it is. A great line that really deserves some more love.

ZeroWolf: Takara Tomy Millennium Falcon, I know many aren't sold on these but I love them.

notirishman: Flame Toys Nemesis Prime. This was my first model kit, and it was fun to build! Time consuming, but fun! I also hold this in a special place, since I bought this at my first New York Comic Con, or heck, my first convention. It was also the first thing I bought too, heh. The toy itself is also a very sleek, and has a great design. And as a model kit, it has tons of articulation.


2018 Toy you liked least

D-Max: Power of the Primes Novastar. It's not that this figure is bad, it's just lackluster. Believe me, I'm enjoying the increasing number of females bots in the lineup, and Elita-1 proved you can make a killer gal who looks good and can pull off all the modes given to them. But the Moonracer mold, and specifically Novastar, are lacking. The giant backpack, the transformation, and the tiny robot mode compared to the alt mode just don't help these figures look as good as I wanted them too. It was a bit more noticeable in Novastar to me just because of the colors and the fact that I prefer Moonracer's head sculpt. They make great arms for combiners, but the other modes don't work that well. They needed a bit more design work, and they could have been pretty great figures.

Wolfman Jake: Power of the Prime Starscream is just an utter disappointment. From his first reveal to seeing him in person on the store shelves, to reluctantly buying it to have a Starscream combiner torso, this rendition of Starscream has been very uninspiring. The robot mode is overly stylized with a tiny head, Popeye forearms, and Mega Man boots. It just doesn't work. The jet mode is extremely poor. While it's very common for airplane Transformers to have a lot of kibble in the undercarriage, PotP Starscream does little if anything to hide it. Worse yet, his chest is still a faux cockpit in robot mode. I really don't like that on Starscream figures. The one redeeming quality of the figure is the torso mode, which is fun to convert into and looks good as a core combiner piece, but the massive amount of metallic stickers are still very distracting in that mode. I had been waiting for over a decade for a decent Voyager Class Starscream to use in my "Classics" displays, and this was NOT what I was waiting for at all. At least Voyager Siege Starscream is right around the corner, so I can forget about the squandered potential that is PotP Starscream.

notirishman: My least favorite toy of the year is... Cyberverse Warrior Class Optimus Prime. Now, why you ask? Well. The figure just looks terrible in robot mode, and the gimmick doesn't look fun at all. The flip out axe causes the left arm to be at a permanent 90 degree bend at the elbow, and no hand. The proportions aren't too good too. Also, the gimmick doesn't work well, and makes the back look funky. Truck mode is, alright, I'll give it that.

Everyone else who answered picked the same thing, the Cyberverse Scouts. Scotty P wrote the best response to sum up why: One of the worst concepts for Transformers toys ever conceived was released this year: Transformers Cyberverse's Scout Class. If you just look at these in robot mode, they don't seem bad. They're smaller sculpts at a low-ish price point, kind of, with a character lineup that's somewhat diverse and each features a unique action feature. If they didn't transform at all, they actually might be forgiven and these being a case of The Brand and its characters being used to make products and toys for children as one of its goals would make sense.

This is not what happened here. In an effort to have some kind of transformation be a part of the toys, which is a respectable goal, it was decided to have them transform from robot into a half-robot-half-alt-mode thing. A "gerwalk" style Starscream can maybe be forgiven, but just look at some of these other monstrosities begging for death.







It's a shame the Scout Class has had its good name sullied by these abominations. I feel bad for any children that received these for over the Holiday season from parents and relatives with the best of intentions (they do look decent in their packaging), because they're bound to yield bad experiences that make no sense within any Transformers play pattern. Avoid these at all costs and question what kids and collectors did wrong to deserve such awful representations of on-screen characters.


Toy of the Year


Cobotron: Abominus! As a whole. Maybe one of the very best combiners of all of the Prime Wars Trilogy. Sure, Hun-Gurr is a freaky reworking of Silverbolt, and his dragon mode is lacking in some departments but, as a torso, it's as if the designers learned from every mistake they made on the Combiner Wars torso bots, fixed it, and said, "we're sorry friends. Hope this makes up for it." Everything tabs together so well. On every bot. it's the one combiner I can grab and play with knowing I won't have to waste time fiddle-farting the forearms or anything else back together.
From the amazing color palette, to the silly monster modes, to the stock feet with just enough ankle tilt, and joints that can hold a giant sword above his head. A-bom was a hit straight out of the park! -Cobotron

Scotty P: This category doesn't say best in the title, so this goes to MP-29+ Laserwave. Let me explain this choice of a straight-up palette swap of a 2016 toy, since on the surface this makes no sense. 2018 was a confused and chaotic year for Transformers, but everywhere you look, there's a single yellow eye inside of a purple hexagon. The IDW comics end, and we learn it's pretty much all Shockwave's fault. Cyberverse's end-of-season big bad? Not Megatron, but Shockwave. Several new toys for that iteration of Shockwave, plus a Generations Leader Class figure at long last, all got to newly adorn collectors' shelves this year. He even has a small role in the Bumblebee movie. This was Shockwave's year, so the definitive Masterpiece figure of him gets my nod as "Toy of the Year" for how well he represents everything about 2018 in Transformers. And that dark purple should not be underestimated, this is THE Shockwave toy for your collection.

D-Max: Studio Series Jazz. I will preface this by saying he is not the greatest Masterpiece of a toy this year. On a technical level, there are figures better than Jazz. But he is an incredibly fun figure that ticks every box of mine and is amazing in his own right. He is small, yes, but the small package is of great quality, perfectly painted, perfectly sculpted, and great fun to pose and mess around with. The transformation is involved but still fun and not overly complicated. And he is a character that was in need of a good deluxe figure, and this mold killed it.

And the thing about being a small toy that is a great posable package is that he can go everywhere and anywhere with you, and the silver paint he is coated in just pops anywhere you take him. He has become one of the best and favorite figures of my collection, he goes with me a lot, and he is the most photogenic figure that has come out in a long time. So yes, he is incredible, and proves that sometimes the best things comes in small, unexpectedly great packages.

William-James88: Lots of great toys came out this year, and while there were standouts in all categories (as you have seen), I think Movie Masterpiece Barricade is the one I would recommend most. With the rising prices of Transformers collectible figures, I was happy to see that we can still get Masterpiece engineering at a fair price. The designers were able to use a lot of the real alt mode parts in robot mode and contort them to resemble what we saw in the film. Plus this item being an Amazon exclusive meant everyone who had a computer and credit card could get it, fixing distribution problems of the past. While I was unimpressed with the other MPM toys so far (especially Optimus, where I still highly recommend the ROTF leader class toy over), Hasbro and Takara really gave us a Masterpiece here. I am not even a fan of the Bay films, but that wont stop me from admitting what a great toy this is.

Emerje: Prime Wars Trilogy Power of the Primes Punch/Counterpunch. Let me start by saying I have three of the original G1 figure, I have the Transformers Collectors Club exclusive Timelines version, I have the Subscription Service Counterpunch, I have the little Punch Kreon figure (technically Nightbeat, but just look at it), and now I have two of the latest incarnation. There's a lot of ways this could have gone wrong and it did nearly everything right! For starters it's an entirely new mold, not a recycled mold that can barely make the gimmick work. Then the transformation is smart, really doing the original figure justice. Plus there's the interesting choice of including a Prime Armor piece (since it's a PotP figure) that makes one heck of a great jet pack appropriate for a spy, whether that was by chance or by design. Yes, there was a factory issue with the shoulders, but that was easily corrected. This was everything I always wanted in a remake of one of my favorite G1 figures and it didn't disappoint.

ZeroWolf: This was a hard one, surprisingly a lot harder than I first thought. We've seen a lot of good toys this year though some I got were technically from last year... And further back. However there was one that excited me as soon as I knew he was coming... Abominus. I have found memories of trying to track down G1 Terrorcons at a car boot-sale, found Cutthroat, Blot and Sinnertwin that way. So fast forward to wave 2 of Power of the Primes and I was away.

This new update of Abominus is fantastic and while I'm never too keen on G1 these days, I make exceptions for exceptional renditions. All the team members are fun to handle and play with in both modes (I tend to be very lucky regarding QC issues), they would be toy of the year contenders just with those qualities but when they combine... Abominus is a monster for all the right reasons. He's so good he makes me want to track down the G1 toys again and the Beast Hunter Legion toys and variants just to have a display.

Wolfman Jake: It's hard to choose just one, especially from so many different lines this past year, but if I had to pick, it would still be Studio Series Starscream. You can check my answer for the best Studio Series figure for why this figure checked all the boxes for me, but suffice it to say, it was something that has been a long time coming, and now that it's here, I have a renewed appreciation and interest in collecting the live-action movie figures once more.

notirishman: Darn you Will! This was so tough. This is also my first year doing this. Buuuut, I'd have to give it to (drumroll please)... Studio Series Leader Grimlock. Man, what a figure! What a good looking figure! Seriously, just him standing there, he looks awesome. He has so many details, and has crazy amounts of movie accuracy! The dino mode is weaker, but still great! My one nitpick, one, is that his "butt flap" in robot mode doesn't stay up in dino mode if you don't bend it to grab onto the mace hand.




Favourite Cyberverse Episode

William-James88: Siloed. I was never a windblade fan, but in 2018 everything changed. I finally got to finish Till All Are One, which was so good it made it in my top IDW Transformers Comics of all time list, and I watched the episode Siloed with my 3 year old daughter. This was a tight episode with some nice solid action, and it featured Windblade against a squadron of seekers. My little girl loved it and I loved watching it with her.

notirishman: Megatron Is My Hero. Certainly the most entertaining episode to me. The second flashback shows how the Deceptiocns came to be, with a public rally from Megatron. I really enjoyed this, and was not something seen from Megatron in most cartoons. The next flashback shows when Optimus first splits from Megatron, the latter of whom announces war. The final flashback is an entertaining chase scene which ends when Soundwave subdues Bee. Then Megatron tells him his plan, and rips out Bee's voice box. The voice actors and score really add weight and emotion to the scene, and I loved it.

Everyone else who answered picked the same thing, Maccadam's. D-Max wrote the best response to sum up why: This episode was so rich in Transformers lore! Maccadam was a great club tender (can't call it a bar really), and it was such a rich atmosphere with all the bots and cons pre-war, and then as things deteriorated, it stayed a place of neutrality, and it was so cool to see Maccadam scare Megatron down and make him run away. And it was so cool to see that Maccadam was secretly helping Bumblebee the whole time he knew him, planting the seeds of memories to help him in the present. The episode was pretty much perfection, and I thoroughly enjoyed this scene of no fighting and just the progression of relationships from peace to war.

Best Comic (either issue(s) or series)

D-Max: IDW Unicron #1. Unicron had so much potential, and started with a lot of potential. It sadly ran out of steam and ended short of where I had hoped it would go, but Issue #1 was a pretty great issue. After getting the destruction of Elonia in #0 complete with a Wheeljack sacrifice play, #1 acted as an even bigger all out fight, complete with some great Beast shots and some great views of the inside of Unicron. It even served to make him even scarier in that early time, as the planets and life forms he ate became part of him, still partly alive but twisted now to serve as his insides and his antibodies. Issue 1 made Unicron something to fear, and gave us some great battle shots. It was the issue that made Unicron feel like the huge deal he was meant to be.

William-James88: Lost Light #20. We had been waiting 2 years for Rodimus to finally confront Getaway and this paid off. Not only that but it was done at the hands of artist extraordinaire Casey Coller. That page of Cyclonus against Starsaber is my favourite Transformers comic book panel of all time, this is no hyperbole.



Scotty P: Lost Light 16-25. I really thought that if it was going to end, it'd be a year or two from now. I was ready for that. I wasn't ready for things to end so soon. Clearly enough readers were, at least readers of the "paying customer" variety, so IDW pulled the rug out from under not only their shared Hasbro universe, but their long-running Transformers meta-series too. For Optimus Prime and its namesake character, this felt fine - the larger story arc was approaching its natural conclusion and respect is due to the creative team for not wanting to "force it" and do more.

Lost Light clearly wanted to do more. The Scavengers have been flying death flags since More Than Meets The Eye #7 when they debuted, and surely that was leading to a sad but wonderful Last Stand of the Wreckers-esque heroic departure for them. Roller returned a couple years back and looked pretty in the background, but surely one of Orion Pax's most loyal soldiers had a greater role to play. More examples exist (the haters probably can't wait to tell you about them) but the book was cut short and these adventures have been lost in time. The remaining story was compressed after the "Mutineers Trilogy" concluded, and after some final setup, we reached Lost Light #16 and "The Everlasting Voices". Compression can be bad, but in this case, compression was used as a metaphor when Rodimus' crew suddenly found themselves on Mederi. Oh, and this was also a good thing

Starting there and going on through the end the final ten issues of Lost Light chew up your expectations with no remorse. Rather than returning a sloppy mess spit out at force, it subverts your expectation of even that by delivering a powerful, appropriate, and definitive-if-you-want-it-to-be ending that harvests a yield from years of seeds cultivated in a way that allowed for maximum efficiency. In other words, while some storylines never took root and a couple other minor plots died on the vine, the good stuff that you really wanted was there and left you plenty satisfied. James Roberts story handily unseats (for me) the last chapters of Simon Furman's initial Marvel run as the best Transformers comic ending there ever was. By utilizing a murderer's row of talented artists in Brendan Cahill, Casey Coller, Jack Lawrence, and EJ Su, when combined with Joana Lafuente's ability to keep a visual coherency through color, the production prowess of Tom B. Long on letters and the steady guidance of David Mariotte as editor, a full package of fun and emotion that I'll never forget made 2018 a special but bittersweet year in Transformers comics. "We've Achieved Something" never felt so appropriate.



Favourite part of Bumblebee Movie

Cobotron: I saw it! And just in the nick of time. I really liked it. Wouldn't say I loved it, but I was definitely entertained and had a good time. Obviously all the Cybertron scenes where just a total cream dream. I had seen plenty of teaser and leaked shots, but when it opened with a shot right on Ratchet, they immediately had my attention. And I didn't know Brawn was in there either. I enjoyed some of the feels in the relationship between Charlie and Bee. Who knew Bee could be so cute and cuddly, then turn around and kick so much ass like a big boy? Well, actually I guess we all did.
But I think my favorite thing about the movie was all the great, well storyboarded fight scenes that I could actually see! No more 360 spinning whirlwind flying camera moves distracting my eye for the one thing I went to the cinema to see. My favorite space robots battling one another.
Oh, and I also really got a kick out of, "I like the way they pop!".

Scotty P: "Thank you for helping me find my voice" is a fantastic line and felt like a meta-contextual, fourth wall breaking moment of realization for the film franchise. This is what it could be. Unfortunately y'all were too busy with freaking Aquaman to care, from the looks of it.

D-Max: The Bumblebee vs. Dropkick battle. The Bumblebee movie has been such a great experience, and it really is a fantastic movie. The entire thing is a really fun experience and there are a ton of different things that make the movie great. But the Bumblebee vs. Dropkick fight was awesome. We got both bots slugging it out, using weapons sporadically when the chance arises, special moves are used by both bots, some of which involve the different alt modes. Transformation as a battle move! It was great. And then the imaginative end to it all, Dropkick getting chains all wrapped up in himself while transforming, and then starting to ask Bee if he really thought chains would stop him, only to blow up. And then the shot of Bee holding the chain after that, that was awesome. That was a very well thought out fight, a great scene that I really enjoyed.

The part where Bumblebee goes "Iron Giant in weapon mode" on the military was great too. I was on the edge of my seat, waiting for him to put his foot/fist down, and it did not disappoint. I loved it. Fantastic movie and fantastic bots and content.

William-James88: I love everything about the first 15 minutes of this film. The Cybertron sequence is everything we ever wanted (can't believe it took 10 years and a new director to figure it out) and I especially like when Bee gets to earth. I love the quick scanning of a jeep and him re-emerging from the new alt mode with the newly acquired kibble, I liked everything about his fight against Blitzwing. It was just shot in such a perfect way, bot against bot. Not a bunch of crap flying everywhere with quick cuts all over the place. So refreshing. Also, it was super cool to have our man Jon Bailey in the film as both Shockwave and Soundwave (who both sounded the part).

And while a lot of the comedy didn't really do anything for me, I absolutely adored Bee's response to Cena's salute. It was perfect and hilarious.

notirishman: The first two scenes, when the Autobots fight and flee Cybertron and when Bumblebee comes to Earth. While yes, these are more action based than anything else, these two scenes were a blast. The action was better in my opinion, since less was going on (in the case of Bee vs Blitzwing) and each character gets their little quip (Cybertron). Also, Blitzwing's death was creative, and gnarly. Also hey, some John Cena humor. Nice!

The Seibertron Top 10 Transformer Finds of 2018

Date: Monday, December 31st 2018 8:23pm CST
Categories: Site Articles, Editorials
Posted by: D-Maximal_Primal | Credit(s): D-Maximal_Primal @Seibertron

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 59,917

Welcome one and welcome all! As we approach the New Year of 2019 (or in some cases, you have already crossed over into the new year) I your fellow Seibertronian would like to take this opportunity to start the Top 10 Transformers Finds of 2018.

The rules for this are very simple. This list is a Top 10 list of figures I, and by extend when you make your list you, purchased this year. This list is open to any Transformer from any generation or release year, so long as it arrived at your house between January 1 and December 31 of 2018. The figure doesn't even need to be a good one or a collectible one or even a big or little one; it's all about your opinion and attraction to the figure. 3rd party figures are allowed for the list, it's all on you!

So with that, let's get started!

10) Generation 1 Jetfire

This one is exciting because I found this complete in wonderful condition in person. I could not believe my eyes when I was in a Collector store and there was a guy taking pictures of it. I went over, could not believe it was complete and so perfect, and asked if it was for sale. A half out and several more G1 figures later, I had a holy grail. I could not be any happier with my fortune that day.



9) Animated Safeguard

This is a figure I did not get originally despite how much I love Animated. It took until earlier this year, but it was worth it. It was yet another grail of mine to find, except this time I was looking for it and have consistently wanted to find it.



8) Masterpiece MP-41 Dinobot

Little else needs said about this figure. They could not have done Dinobot any better. He is perfection. It is a figure long overdue, finally giving Dinobot a perfect appearance. This is a character deserving of a Masterpiece, and it is fantastic and well worth the wait.



7) Studio Series Grimlock

This was the Studio Series figure I was the most excited for, and it did not disappoint. It is a really fun figure and holy crap is it detailed. I love a figure with a great amount of detail, and Grimlock shows how vast he is with the amount of detailing he has. Not to mention how clean the robot mode is and how well painted he is. He is gorgeous, and he is fun.



6) Transformers 2007 Dropkick

This was one I did not expect to want or get, and it's even funnier considering Dropkick himself ended up in the Bumblebee movie this year. This guy, along with 8 other movie bots and 2 G1 guys, came from my buddy and Forum Admin Burn, and he is so much fun. He's a good figure, but far and away he is really fun. This is a unique looking robot that can blend into many different spots in the collection. And that con symbol is huge!



5) Takara Legends Greatshot

This one was a special one to me. I was super excited for Sixshot, and then somewhat let down. Then came Quickswitch, who was better but was harder to get. And then came this gorgeous retool. In just over a year, I went from 0 to 3 6-Changers, and they got better as they went. The retooling done to Greatshot is fantastic, and it is such a great looking unique figure. Winged space Rhino for the win and Eagle chest for the win!



4) Generation 1 Grotusque

This was another figure I got at the same time as Jetfire. And this guy has been a ton of fun for a G1 figure. It is so ugly but adorable at the same time. The spark gimmick is ridiculously fun! And I just got the updated Titans Return one too, so it's awesome to have 2 different Grotusque toys 30 years apart. And it was also cool because it only took a few reprolabels to perfect this old gem. i wish more people liked these late G1 figures like the Monsterbots and Pretenders like I do.



3) Beast Wars Tigerhawk

After watching the show, this guy was an expensive must have. But then, I found this guy pretty much mint in package for a great deal, and wow is he great. The paintwork, the sculpt, the size, the bulk, the near perfect fusion of Eagle and Arctic Tiger. It is so great! A really fun figure, I love this big bulky guy. And the fact that Tigerhawk was one of my favorite characters in the show, even if he wasn't around much, also helps. Him being the fusion of Airazor and Tigatron was also really cool.



2) Studio Series Jazz

Simply put, this guy is the definition of fun. I was not impressed when I first saw him, but in hand, Jazz is fun personified. He is small, but that's part of the charm. He is perfectly painted, fun, nice to transform, solid, and the silver color means he can go anywhere and be perfectly photogenic. He is fun, fun FUN! I love this little guy, he is near the top of my collection in terms of favorites.



Before I get to #1, a few quick Honorable Mentions. I bring these ones up because it was hard to but the list down to 10 and these ones were strong contenders:

-Beast Wars Fuzor Silverbolt - Great figure, lots of fun, one of my favorites from the show!
-Generation 1 Abominus - My first G1 combiner, pretty fun!
-Beast Wars Depthcharge - This one is huge and painted so well and also really fun! I only wish his backpack was a bit smaller, but I still love it.
-Beast Wars Dinobot II - Transmetals, I and II, are really fun, and this guy is so fierce looking I love it.
-G1 Icepick - A fun little find, I found the inner robot in a bin for a Quarter, and picked up the shell. I never thought I would find a G1 Pretender Monster!
-Hunt for the Decepticons Bludgeon - this figure is fantastic, that is all that needs said

And now, on to my Top Transformer find of the year, and the honor goes to:

1) Beast Wars Transmetal Tarantulas

The character of Tarantulas was so brilliant in Beast Wars, I needed his figure. I found him and got him right before I moved to my new apartment and job, and I have loved him since. The colors work, the chrome works, the Tarantula mode is really big and impressive, the robot mode kills, and he is so screen accurate. He is the perfect encapsulation of his amazing TV show counterpart, and I love him. And with how cool the character is, and the fact that it translated perfectly to toy form, he is my #1 Transformer find of the year.



So there is my list! With the topic now laid out in front of you, let us know you Top 10 Transformer finds of 2018!

Top 10 Best Transformers Comic Book Covers of All Time

Date: Saturday, November 24th 2018 12:09pm CST
Categories: Comic Book News, Site Articles, Editorials, Top Lists
Posted by: william-james88

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 69,916

Every two weeks, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor. These are our opinions 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 10 Best Transformers Comic Book Covers of All Time

The title says it all. In light of one of the most significant eras of Transformers comics ending last wednesday, I thought of concentrating on the comics side of the brand and looking at all the beauty that adorned them throughout the years.


10. Transformers UK 322 By Stewart Johnson



For those who do not know, issues in the US were split up in the UK. For instance, issue 75, which dealt with the autobots vs Unicron was split up into 4 issues. And all those issues get their own cover. the finale, issue 322, has this wonderful shot of us inside Unicron looking at Optimus about to enter it's mouth using the Matrix to light their darkest hour. It makes for a truly awesome shot that I find much more impressive and evoking than most of the more recent Unicron themed covers we have gotten.


9. The Transformers #60 by José Delbo and #67 by Jim Lee

When looking at classic Transformers covers, you will come across a lot from José Delbo, who I truly believe is on of the best of that era. And of course, there is Jim Lee, who I don't think needs an introduction. I had a hard time choosing between both these shots since I love them for the exact same reason: both use perspective to show the Decepticon threat. With Galvatron, you feel the hopelessness that all is lost while with Bludgeon you can feel the dread of the autobots where the fight seems already pretedermined even if they are higher in number (and include Grimlock!!).






8. Transformers vs G.I.Joe #2 By Jae Lee and June Chung



Jae Lee is an incredible artist and as someone who has seen him draw live, it is truly mind boggling that the lifelike quality he brings to drawings can be done with no reference and no digital effects. That's why even the smallest of Transformers (Ravage in this case) can look so nightmarish and immense. While he has drawn characters who may be more popular in higher profile books he is very proud of his work on this book to this day and it is hard not to see why.


7. Transformers: Till All Are One #10 by Sara Pitre Durocher



While Sara Pitre Durocher is a fine monthly artist, her cover work is just on another level as you can see above. She is like the Transformers' equivalent of Alex Ross and Marko Djurdjevic. While the cover above is my favourite of the lot, the whole arc run is a very good lesson in composition and the effect of symmetry.

6. Transformers: Unicron #3 by Nick Roche



We have the best Transformers artist we have ever had on the books right now. However when it comes to covers, many put just too much. While that amount of detail on any Alex Milne Unicron cover is astounding, a simpler composition can be more striking and eye catching, as we saw in the fist Unicron cover mentioned on this list. Nick Roche, another all star, defied the conventional standard by giving us as much if not more detail than any modern day cover artist but in a clean and smart composition, making this one of the most eye catching and awe inspiring covers of all time. It is a great companion piece to the Stewart Johnson shot from above by focusing on a different angle, making this as epic as possible.

5. The Transformers: Windblade #3 by Sarah Stone



This was one of the favourite covers of my mentor on this site and I will leave you with his succint review:
This one will always hold a place in my spark casing. - Va'al


4. Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #28 by Alex Milne



Not only does this cover show us of Megatron's new allegiance (WHAAAAAAT????) it did it in the most playful and fun way. That cover is an homage to Roche homaging Maguire (DC's Justice League), as Milne signed it.





Which was then subsequently re-homaged by Roche (homaging Milne homaging Roche homaging Maguire) and then by Jack Lawrence.





Its a great cover layout too, giving you a sense of all the main players in the team.


3. All Hail Megatron #1 by Trevor Hutchison as well as Casey Coller and Josh Burcham.



This storyline has its fair share of dislike from the community, deserving so, but you have to give credit where credit's due, it had incredible covers. Two of the all time most eye catching covers in the history of the brand were used for the first issue. I adore the standard propaganda-esque poster which just sums up perfectly what the series aspired to be: the story where Megatron finally wins. Peace through Tyranny never looked so good.



For those not in the know, one of the greatest comic book covers of all time (if not THE best) is Brian Bolland's cover for Batman: The Killing Joke and it perfectly recreated with Megatron and Reflector. Both Brian Bolland and Casey Coller hold a very special place in my heart in terms of their art so seeing the product of both truly is a treat. It's crazy to think that both awesome Transformers covers described here happen to be for the same issue, that means I can cover two entries in one go!


2. The Transformers #80 by Andrew Wildman



Marvel US issue #80's Andrew Wildman cover is just about as perfect as it gets. It represents all the hopelessness of knowing it's the end, but despite another hero being in the foreground about to get cut down by Bludgeon, there's that shadow of Prime in the background that always feels like it arrived just at the right moment. To this day, this cover gives me chills. Circumstances have been just plain bad for months in the comic for the Autobots and our other heroes, including you because for the last year only very few shops were sporadically getting in new issues. Despite being a little bit lost about the totality of events, among all that darkness and ruin you see that shadow back there. In some form, in some way, Optimus Prime is going to show up and save the day. It all might be about to end, but the bad guys are finally going to get what's coming to them. - Scotty P


1. The Transformers #5 by Mark Bright

More than three decades later and this comic cover still stands unrivaled and has only kept growing more iconic. With only one character on the cover, we can gather what happened (or what will happen). Just the smoke coming from Shockwave's cannon tells us that all hope is lost. The fact that the artist replicates many mechanical details from the toy but in a pose impossible for said toy to be in adds a great sense of realism to this image which is enhanced by the textured feel of the cover thanks to the mixture of light and shadow. This gave us the best sense of what Shockwave would look like in the real world, where we would have no chance of defeating him. I can keep talking but I fail to see the point when all you need to do to see that this is the greatest cover of all time is just to give it a glance.

In Hand Images of Transformers Hallmark Generation One Starscream Ornament, New Optimus Prime Stocking Ornament Found

Date: Thursday, October 18th 2018 6:09pm CDT
Categories: Toy News, Site Articles, Collectables
Posted by: Bronzewolf

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 25,053

Whether you like it or not, the Holidays are upon us, Seibertronians. If you still think you need something TF-related to spruce up your tree, drop into a Hallmark store, as their new Transformers Ornaments are now available. We've previously reported on Starscream a couple times, (this year's entry in a series of non-transforming ornaments based on the original G1 toys that included Optimus Prime, Megatron, Soundwave, and Grimlock in year's past), and now we have in-hand images courtesy of yours truly. We also have in-hands of a Transformers "Customizable" stocking ornament that we hadn't seen before, featuring an image of Optimus Prime on the front. Check them all out below!