First Wave of Legacy United Deluxes out in Singapore

So who are the bots on tidal waves box art?

Razorbeast88 wrote:So who are the bots on tidal waves box art?

quote="Overcracker"]

Emerje wrote:Soooo, are any of the bots on the box art actually recognizable as real characters? I'm stumped though the two in the water look a little familiar. Are they generics from the Armada cartoon? I looked through Insecticons.com and didn't really see any matches.

Emerje

Can't see any that I recognize as actual characters.

I can se a brown guy on the left that appears to turn into a car.
An Impactor-ey looking dude by TW's right leg in the water. Near him someone that looks vaguely like R.I.D Tow-line.

Blue and gray, Beachcomb-ey guy. Green and purple dude on TW's knee(no clue), some guy with striped legs and a blue chest, I know I've seen the color scheme some where but can't place it. Reminds me of G2 Spark, but it's not right, because the stripes were only in his truck mode.[/quote]

.....aaaaaand I'm still looking for wave 2 of the Legacy deluxes in the stores.

Razorbeast88 wrote:So who are the bots on tidal waves box art?

One appears to be a repaint of Trashmaster as Rescue Bot Salvage

I have received the first 5 figures of the wave, with all but Tigerhawk set to arrive this week. Wanted to share some thoughts on those figures, as well as Medix, since I got him as well.

Let's start with Medix: He is neato, a nice basic figure, but I like that I have this character now, and I do intend for him to go to the Aligned autobots shelf. Kinda wish he didn't have his blue gun, feels extraneous, but I can live with it.



Next up was the first pair I got, Thundertron and Magneous.

Thundertron is a really cool figure. I love this guy. They really got a good look on him, a cool aesthetic the headsculpt is great, the lion mode head rules, and he is just a fun guy. I like him, very solid, and I only ever had the Lio Prime repaint of the OG mold, so it still feels new to me since i didn't have the character yet.

magneous is a star, let me tell you. You cannot tell me movie Ironhide didn't influence this guy. He is just so cool! I love the rock look to him, the colors are good, the headsculpt rocks, he is just a great figure! A nice addition to the come apart guys.




Up next we have Bouldercrash, Chase, and Animated Prime.

Bouldercrash is nice, the colors and aesthetic are good, and he looks good with Magneous. I wish his sword mode was a little tighter, but it's hardly a problem for me.

Chase is pretty solid, The transformation is inspired with how the legs work, not what I was expecting at all. He is good, and he looks good with his old toy and Generations Rescue bots!

Animated Prime, however. oh man. Animated Prime is the standout star of the wave so far, and arguably for me, he is the standout voyager for Legacy so far. He is just so dang good! They really captured the Animated spirit here, he is really solid, really fun, really cool, he is really everything good! Transformation is inspired, I love how the axe works and the fact that he can draw it. He is just so good. He is definitely my favorite so far.

D-Maximal_Primal wrote: Let's start with Medix: He is neato, a nice basic figure, but I like that I have this character now, and I do intend for him to go to the Aligned autobots shelf. Kinda wish he didn't have his blue gun, feels extraneous, but I can live with it.

The blue gun is a call back to the Botcon figure. I like that bit of attention.



Emerje

Emerje wrote:

D-Maximal_Primal wrote: Let's start with Medix: He is neato, a nice basic figure, but I like that I have this character now, and I do intend for him to go to the Aligned autobots shelf. Kinda wish he didn't have his blue gun, feels extraneous, but I can live with it.

The blue gun is a call back to the Botcon figure. I like that bit of attention.



Emerje

Then I am good with it

Wow that Animated Optimus is a serious letdown. From that ridiculous face to the proportions, he continues the trend of showing why Animated should NOT be G1-ified.

Rodimus Prime wrote:Wow that Animated Optimus is a serious letdown. From that ridiculous face to the proportions, he continues the trend of showing why Animated should NOT be G1-ified.

I agree that the mix is weird. There's something that just don't work with that Optimus and the upcoming Bee.

At least, Prowl is great enough and stand on his own without looking uncanny.

Rodimus Prime wrote:Wow that Animated Optimus is a serious letdown. From that ridiculous face to the proportions, he continues the trend of showing why Animated should NOT be G1-ified.

I completely disagree. They captured the Animated spirit in him, and they made him really good. Could he have used a longer/narrow mid-torso? yes. But seriously, they did him really good here.

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:

Rodimus Prime wrote:Wow that Animated Optimus is a serious letdown. From that ridiculous face to the proportions, he continues the trend of showing why Animated should NOT be G1-ified.

I completely disagree. They captured the Animated spirit in him, and they made him really good. Could he have used a longer/narrow mid-torso? yes. But seriously, they did him really good here.

Agreed. Of all the Animated figures they've done I think he's the most successful. I don't think Bumblebee is all that bad either.

Emerje

Emerje wrote:

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:

Rodimus Prime wrote:Wow that Animated Optimus is a serious letdown. From that ridiculous face to the proportions, he continues the trend of showing why Animated should NOT be G1-ified.

I completely disagree. They captured the Animated spirit in him, and they made him really good. Could he have used a longer/narrow mid-torso? yes. But seriously, they did him really good here.

Agreed. Of all the Animated figures they've done I think he's the most successful. I don't think Bumblebee is all that bad either.

Emerje

Having not yet gotten my Bee in hand, the only thing I wished from Bee was that he had bigger feet/boots

Most Animated figures that have/may get a "modern" make over fall into the trap of "It's hard to top the original"

Burn wrote:Most Animated figures that have/may get a "modern" make over fall into the trap of "It's hard to top the original"

Not unless the original wasn't really good to begin with (as was the case with Animated Voyager Optimus being stuck with a bad Automorph that greatly destabilized the figure, a mouthplate gimmick that only barely revealed his face beneath it, and a weapon that could only generously be described as an "axe"; his Deluxe molds were much better figures, but weren't big enough).

Sabrblade wrote:

Burn wrote:Most Animated figures that have/may get a "modern" make over fall into the trap of "It's hard to top the original"

Not unless the original wasn't really good to begin with (as was the case with Animated Voyager Optimus being stuck with a bad Automorph that greatly destabilized the figure, a mouthplate gimmick that only barely revealed his face beneath it, and a weapon that could only generously be described as an "axe"; his Deluxe molds were much better figures, but weren't big enough).

"Almost exactly like the original, just remove the play features" really is a Generations collector mindset, huh. I mean you can barely notice those aspects when it's just sitting there on the shelf anyway. Personally, I'm passing on Legacy since I have the vintage one, but I would rather be happy with one toy than unhappy with two.

Sabrblade wrote:

Burn wrote:Most Animated figures that have/may get a "modern" make over fall into the trap of "It's hard to top the original"

Not unless the original wasn't really good to begin with (as was the case with Animated Voyager Optimus being stuck with a bad Automorph that greatly destabilized the figure, a mouthplate gimmick that only barely revealed his face beneath it, and a weapon that could only generously be described as an "axe"; his Deluxe molds were much better figures, but weren't big enough).

Hence why I said "MOST". I'm well aware there was a couple of stinkers, but most of the others will be hard to top.

AcademyofDrX wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Burn wrote:Most Animated figures that have/may get a "modern" make over fall into the trap of "It's hard to top the original"

Not unless the original wasn't really good to begin with (as was the case with Animated Voyager Optimus being stuck with a bad Automorph that greatly destabilized the figure, a mouthplate gimmick that only barely revealed his face beneath it, and a weapon that could only generously be described as an "axe"; his Deluxe molds were much better figures, but weren't big enough).

"Almost exactly like the original, just remove the play features" really is a Generations collector mindset, huh. I mean you can barely notice those aspects when it's just sitting there on the shelf anyway. Personally, I'm passing on Legacy since I have the vintage one, but I would rather be happy with one toy than unhappy with two.

Prime got the short end of the stick in Animated.

The Cybertronian Deluxe, is pretty good, but just a deluxe, with a very dinky axe.


Transformers Animated Optimus Prime (Cybertron Mode) Gallery

The earth mode deluxe got the black symbiotic paint apps at least in the west.


Transformers Animated Optimus Prime Gallery

And the Voyager has that super annoying spinning leg gimmick, that never really worked all that well., and the weird trailer axe. The mouth-plate gimmick, was the lesser of its issues.


Transformers Animated Optimus Prime Gallery

Burn wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Burn wrote:Most Animated figures that have/may get a "modern" make over fall into the trap of "It's hard to top the original"

Not unless the original wasn't really good to begin with (as was the case with Animated Voyager Optimus being stuck with a bad Automorph that greatly destabilized the figure, a mouthplate gimmick that only barely revealed his face beneath it, and a weapon that could only generously be described as an "axe"; his Deluxe molds were much better figures, but weren't big enough).

Hence why I said "MOST". I'm well aware there was a couple of stinkers, but most of the others will be hard to top.

One that should be easy to top was voyager Animated Starscream. The automorph was annoying and there were parts that popped off all over the place. The Activator was excellent however. So, if they "G1nify" Animated Starscream, I wonder how it would turn out?

And I suppose Animated Bulkhead already count at being remade in Legacy? If not, that's another one that will be hard to top. That old voyager was stellar, ¸aside being too small.

-Kanrabat- wrote:And I suppose Animated Bulkhead already count at being remade in Legacy? If not, that's another one that will be hard to top. That old voyager was stellar, ¸aside being too small.

They really should give it another go, that's if it was intended as a modern take on Animated Bulkhead.

So, I recently picked up Shadow Striker on an impulse and I gotta say: She's such a weird figure for me. Articulation in the arms is awful thanks to the shoulder design, I'm not big on the partsforming roof option or the leaving it attached option, and her vehicle mode doesn't especially wow me. And yet, I can't put her down. The transformation is so satisfying to me, and even though I hate her shoulders, she's so much fun to pose when you get used to the shoulders. I love her little door cape things.

If it wasn't for the shoulders and unfortunate roof set up, I'd say she's easily worth the pick up, but as is, I still think she's a solidily good figure, with some issues that take getting used to

Burn wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:And I suppose Animated Bulkhead already count at being remade in Legacy? If not, that's another one that will be hard to top. That old voyager was stellar, ¸aside being too small.

They really should give it another go, that's if it was intended as a modern take on Animated Bulkhead.

It was intended to be Prime Bulkhead. But aside from being green, it looked nothing like him from the neck down.

Sabrblade wrote:

Burn wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:And I suppose Animated Bulkhead already count at being remade in Legacy? If not, that's another one that will be hard to top. That old voyager was stellar, ¸aside being too small.

They really should give it another go, that's if it was intended as a modern take on Animated Bulkhead.

It was intended to be Prime Bulkhead. But aside from being green, it looked nothing like him from the neck down.

Exactly.

That's why I bought the Amazon Camo version and applied most of the labels for General Optimus Prime to turn him into Legacy Age Of Extinction Universe Hound.

AcademyofDrX wrote:"Almost exactly like the original, just remove the play features" really is a Generations collector mindset, huh.

I wanted to come to this quote, because this is an interesting concept that I am split on. And I will use 2 easy figures to compare:

Armada Optimus vs Megatron.

Armada Optimus is my figure of the year. They took the original, removed the electronic gimmicks, gave him a matrix gimmick and more posing, as well as a more complete trailer transformation. They took what to me was not an overly exciting gimmick, and traded it for a much more involved transformation that provided a much more satisfying combination gimmick. In my mind, they complete overhauled him and made him different but the same but made him better.

Armada Megatron is sort of the opposite, he is one of my Top 5 disappointments in 2023. They took the original, removed all of the gimmicks but the torso turret part, and gave him articulation. Problem is, they did not supplement the removal of his old gimmicks with more convincing good ones. He can actually pose sure, but the original Megatron is such a fun toy, and all that was fun about him was removed and not really replaced with anything. We will see if Tidal Wave helps make him a better/more fun toy.

And that sort of is my deal: is what was taken from the original at least equated by what was given to the new one? A couple other examples:

Cyberverse Windblade now has articulation and a sword, something none of her toys actually had. She is a win.

Animated Optimus has a much better head and weapon, and there really weren't any sacrifices outside of the waist autotransformation, which was not a very good gimmick to begin with to me. To me, both are winners, but in different ways thanks to the different approaches.

Transmetal 2 Megatron swapped the wing flapping gimmick and 3rd mode for articulation, and included the effects for fire breath. To me, he wins out over the original because the original was hindered by those gimmicks.

So it all comes down to the opinion on the gimmicks really. Ones named above show how they found a balance of a trade off, as well as Armada Megatron showing how they didn't.

Great post. I was just being lazy and snarky, but you actually thought about what makes toys work or not.

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:

AcademyofDrX wrote:"Almost exactly like the original, just remove the play features" really is a Generations collector mindset, huh.

I wanted to come to this quote, because this is an interesting concept that I am split on. And I will use 2 easy figures to compare:

Armada Optimus vs Megatron.

Armada Optimus is my figure of the year. They took the original, removed the electronic gimmicks, gave him a matrix gimmick and more posing, as well as a more complete trailer transformation. They took what to me was not an overly exciting gimmick, and traded it for a much more involved transformation that provided a much more satisfying combination gimmick. In my mind, they complete overhauled him and made him different but the same but made him better.

Armada Megatron is sort of the opposite, he is one of my Top 5 disappointments in 2023. They took the original, removed all of the gimmicks but the torso turret part, and gave him articulation. Problem is, they did not supplement the removal of his old gimmicks with more convincing good ones. He can actually pose sure, but the original Megatron is such a fun toy, and all that was fun about him was removed and not really replaced with anything. We will see if Tidal Wave helps make him a better/more fun toy.

And that sort of is my deal: is what was taken from the original at least equated by what was given to the new one? A couple other examples:

Cyberverse Windblade now has articulation and a sword, something none of her toys actually had. She is a win.

Animated Optimus has a much better head and weapon, and there really weren't any sacrifices outside of the waist autotransformation, which was not a very good gimmick to begin with to me. To me, both are winners, but in different ways thanks to the different approaches.

Transmetal 2 Megatron swapped the wing flapping gimmick and 3rd mode for articulation, and included the effects for fire breath. To me, he wins out over the original because the original was hindered by those gimmicks.

So it all comes down to the opinion on the gimmicks really. Ones named above show how they found a balance of a trade off, as well as Armada Megatron showing how they didn't.

Excellent writeup. Armada Megatron is a very good example, as his gimmicks really carried the toy, compensating for a very simplistic transformation and lackluster articulation. The "minicon hoarder" aspect the combination of gimmicks was not only fun, but really thematically on point, also.

There's also the matter of show accuracy. This plays against A LOT of Unicron Trilogy updates, because the original toy line was already quite screen accurate, and Megatron is again a good example of this. This point in particular I think is also what makes redoing Animated so difficult: that toyline was made with screen accuracy in mind, it has pretty good articulation unlike the Unicron Trilogy, AND was developed in an era when fun gimmicks were still on the table. So there's very little chance of new releases living up to the original, except for VERY specific cases like Starscream or... Well, I really can't think of anyone else. SPECIALLY given Hasbro's insistence in G1fying Animated's style, when its unique idiosyncratic is THE big draw from that line. Scale is the only really universal fix you could apply to Animated, but personally I find scale to be a minor concern compared to how fun the toy is.

I have the three new Core figures now, some quick thoughts in the order I got them (because Amazon shipped them all out separately).

Bouldercrash: He's interesting. I love the color and the alt mode. I wish the bar going up his back could be removed and used as a weapon on its own or attached to the sword to make a spear or something. That bar really hurts an otherwise fun figure. Weapon mode is basically a club with a blade on the end.

Energon Megatron: Best of the three. Transformation is fairly faithful, I was surprised to see they retained the spinning backpack. The tiny guns are going to be easy to lose, good thing they're neon green! Can't wait to stick him with his bigger brothers and looking forward to Galvatron. one complaint, his legs like to fall off at the knees when transforming sometimes.

Tasmania Kid: Solid figure, holds together really well. I really like the way the reconfigured his Transformation compared to the original to give him a bit more of a cartoon look. Two things I wish they would have done differently. I wish the peg hole on his arm was on the other side so he can "hold" his gun properly (or at least fake it) instead of pop it onto the underside of his arm and I wish his hands weren't so flat, he suffers from the same issues as Kingdom Dinobot, but in bot mode. No need to be that faithful the original's hands, curl the fingers or something just a little.

They're fun figures all the same.

Two thoughts on repaints/retools:

The obvious one


The less obvious for Bouldercrash in Studio Series


Emerje

Your first suggestion is cool, but I hope they don't go with the second (and I doubt they will). The autobot protoform model deserves its own mold, and Optimus Prime's cybertronian form could very well be a "concept art" figure on its own, like Bumblebee Movie Megatron. In fact, now I wish they'd do it for Protoform Starscream, since the original figure suffers from GPS...

I'm really excited to see Tasmania Kid in this lineup, Snarl was one of my favourite Beast Wars figures that I owned as a kid. Although I usually passed him off as Rattrap, since I didn't have any of the original cast.

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:

AcademyofDrX wrote:"Almost exactly like the original, just remove the play features" really is a Generations collector mindset, huh.

I wanted to come to this quote, because this is an interesting concept that I am split on. And I will use 2 easy figures to compare:

Armada Optimus vs Megatron.

Armada Optimus is my figure of the year. They took the original, removed the electronic gimmicks, gave him a matrix gimmick and more posing, as well as a more complete trailer transformation. They took what to me was not an overly exciting gimmick, and traded it for a much more involved transformation that provided a much more satisfying combination gimmick. In my mind, they complete overhauled him and made him different but the same but made him better.

Armada Megatron is sort of the opposite, he is one of my Top 5 disappointments in 2023. They took the original, removed all of the gimmicks but the torso turret part, and gave him articulation. Problem is, they did not supplement the removal of his old gimmicks with more convincing good ones. He can actually pose sure, but the original Megatron is such a fun toy, and all that was fun about him was removed and not really replaced with anything. We will see if Tidal Wave helps make him a better/more fun toy.

And that sort of is my deal: is what was taken from the original at least equated by what was given to the new one? A couple other examples:

Cyberverse Windblade now has articulation and a sword, something none of her toys actually had. She is a win.

Animated Optimus has a much better head and weapon, and there really weren't any sacrifices outside of the waist autotransformation, which was not a very good gimmick to begin with to me. To me, both are winners, but in different ways thanks to the different approaches.

Transmetal 2 Megatron swapped the wing flapping gimmick and 3rd mode for articulation, and included the effects for fire breath. To me, he wins out over the original because the original was hindered by those gimmicks.

So it all comes down to the opinion on the gimmicks really. Ones named above show how they found a balance of a trade off, as well as Armada Megatron showing how they didn't.

Very well written, and excellent points! Definitely an interesting topic

My first few Legacy United figures, Thundertron, Tigerhawk and Tasmania Kid, arrived today. Thundertron is a lot of fun and looks great on the shelf, the beast mode is a bit clunky, but can still do a couple of good poses. Tigerhawk has a very fiddly transformation, and the two pieces that form the tiger's chest don't clip together very well, but he still looks nice in both modes. Tasmania is a fun little figure, unlike the first two I had the original Beast Wars Snarl toy when I was little so the new one is a nice little nostalgia buzz for me, the only gripe I have is the piece that forms the top of the beast's head doesn't clip in very well, so it looks like his skull has cracked open.

I got and opened Windblade, Magneous, and Chase. The first two are fine, but I don't care for Chase at all. I haven't had this much trouble tabbing a car together since Titans Return Wheelie. Maybe I'll get the hang of it and stop being miserable, but my first impressions are very negative.

Merry Christmas my friends!

Merry christmas! Here's hoping all of you got some transformery goodness this year!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas y'all!! Thank you for being you!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

Now that we're solidly done with Legacy Evolution and people are getting their hands on United Wave 1, I'm curious to hear the consensus: which line did people think was better, the initial year of Legacy or Legacy Evolution?

Nemesis Primal wrote:Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

Now that we're solidly done with Legacy Evolution and people are getting their hands on United Wave 1, I'm curious to hear the consensus: which line did people think was better, the initial year of Legacy or Legacy Evolution?

I'd say both were equally terrible, distribution-wise. Walmart and Target over-ordered the first waves and skipped several later waves, resulting in Wave 1 items still clogging the shelves to this day (from both lines), while several other items from later waves never made it to the stores.

Sabrblade wrote:

Nemesis Primal wrote:Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

Now that we're solidly done with Legacy Evolution and people are getting their hands on United Wave 1, I'm curious to hear the consensus: which line did people think was better, the initial year of Legacy or Legacy Evolution?

I'd say both were equally terrible, distribution-wise. Walmart and Target over-ordered the first waves and skipped several later waves, resulting in Wave 1 items still clogging the shelves to this day (from both lines), while several other items from later waves never made it to the stores.

....y'know, I meant more in terms of the figures themselves and the character selections, but I suppose that's on me for not being specific enough. Distribution is an entirely other question that I'll probably now go tally up as well.

I'm going to digress on Sabrblade's distribution point for the most part although I might have a little something to say in the regard as I stream of conciousness this post.

Overall, I have to say I liked Legacy a bit better than Evolution. Evolution feels like a rehash of Legacy, which is a touch ironic considering it's the sequel. They've figured out mold reuse almost to an art form, but has led to some mold burnout (ha - Burnout matches this feeling). The retools seem better from the Legacy set - more substantial - I'm thinking on the surface right this second. Metalhawk was good, but I felt like there wasn't much to say that wasn't already said about the twice-used Cyclonus for example. Tarn is obviously going to be a feather in the cap of Evolution, with Bludgeon ultimately not going far enough to differeniate - Breakdown AND Bombshell suffered from the budget non-finishes to two sought after G1 teams, and while they expanded the non-G1 aspect it still left me wistfully wondering when we would finish the remaining 84-86 crew we're not getting in SS86. The continued move into Generations-izing (not really g1-izing as much now) in United is cool, but will ultimately have me saving money on Transformers when it gets to the deeper cuts.

The capsules are 50/50 - Legacy had Velocitron and Wreck n Rule collections. Evolution had G2 and Pre-war collections. Pump - Velocitron and Pre-War. Dump - Wreck N Rule and G2. And I didn't "hate" either. I'm just saying what I felt was the stronger program(s).

Now distribution was wonky - but I did eventually see everything - even at Walmart - in my neck of the woods. I got my Bombshell at Walmart even though I saw the rest of the wave at Target for example. In terms of pace, I would say Legacy as well as the breakneck pace of things coming out this year in general was just a bit too much when you collect multiple lines, but I still would have thought that if I only was collecting Transformers.

I enjoyed Legacy a bit better. I got more figures from that line than Evolution. Evolution does have some great selections, but mostly figures of characters I have no attachment to. I was looking forward to getting the rest of the G2 Stunticons, it was a slam dunk for Hasbro to release a Commander G2 Motormaster, but I guess I'll have to settle for Shadowstrip and G2 Dead End.

I wonder if we'll get more Animated "updates" and if they start getting better in design. So far they're mostly failures, with only Prowl not being a total disappointment looks-wise. I really want to see the Dinobots get updates, and perhaps we'll finally get a completed Animated Devastator.

Legacy Year 1 Vs Legacy Evolution is a debate for me.

Core wise, I liked the pretenders, but the Evolution had the more interesting core class releases to me, thanks to the Dinobots and Nemesis.

Deluxe wise, there wasn't a clear winner for me, i was mostly just whelmed with both years of deluxes. They had some strong ones, but also some mediocre ones, and also each had figures I was excited for in leaks end up being pretty weak in hand (see Shadow Striker and Pointblank). I'd say the deluxes were probably the weakest class of Legacy overall so far.

Voyager wise, I think Year 1 wins out easily. Jhiaxus was a clear highlight of year 1, and Inferno was very strong and thoroughly enjoyable. I was disappointed in Tarn, he was pretty boring to me, to the point where Bludgeon in my opinion was the better mold use. The Lio mold was also a letdown, Twincast was eh, and the only real highlight was Trashmaster.

Leaders are also tough. The Laser Optimus mold was really weak, and to me only works as Toxitron. Blitzwing was actual garbage. only TMII Megatron from year 1 was good, but he was really good. Evolution had the great Prime seeker mold, with both uses being fantastic, but also Armada Megatron, my previously stated disappointment of the year. So, they were both either feast or famine, with 2 molds standing out good and the rest kinda lame.

Commanders were both good, but Armada Optimus clears all contest easily.

Year 1 wins out for Titan. Nemesis didn't really excite me at all, whereas Metroplex continues to be one of my favorite Legacy figures overall, and is just super cool.

Exclusive wise, it's also a mixed bag between the 2, but my favorite exclusives are the G2 repaints, Wreckers Springer, Override, and the Deadeye duel 2-pack, so no real favoritism there.

So in conclusion I guess, I can't pick any year in particular, what one did well was balanced out by a different size class.

As 2023 draws to a close, I look back on Legacy Evolution and find, while I didn't get a lot, I purchased more than I thought I did...

Core Class = All 6 Dinobots
Deluxe Class = Scraphook, Crashbar, Axlegrease, Buzzworthy Towline, G2 Dead End
Voyager Class= Leo Prime, Metalhawk, (Dark Leo Prime my son surprisingly purchased on his own), & Trashmaster
Leader Class= None
Commander Class= None
Titan Class = Nemesis
Haslab= Deathsaurus

Most of these were purchased through Amazon, but a few were purchased at Target, NONE were purchased at Walmart (I had to pay scalper price to get G2 Dead End of eBay). I even went to a Walmart yesterday for the first time in months, they had a Ton of Toxitron toys, but no G2 Dead End, so I feel it was somewhat justified as I've never seen it in the wild.

Additionally, it appears CC and Titans are back to being online exclusives at least in the U.S. In 2022 Cybertron Metroplex was easily obtainable at Target, and Motormaster was extremely rare, but it was out there (thanks to my daughter who spotted it only once so I got it). HOWEVER.... It appears Target passed on Armada Prime & The Nemesis, which dosen't bode well for 2024.

I only purchased ONE item from wave 1 of Legacy United (Deluxe Magneous), and the only other Pre-Order I have on Amazon currently is for CC Magmatron. Hasbro letting go of 20% of its employees does make me think this interesting ride we've been on for the past decade or so with Transformers Generations is closer to its end than its beginning. But hopefully the 40th anniversary will have a few surprises. I know much has been revealed across all lines, but its the things you dont expect that are usually the most fun.

My favorite Legacy Evolution figures for 2023:

Core - Swoop
Deluxe - Needlenose
Voyager - Nemesis Leo Prime
Leader - Dreadwing
Premium Price - Deathsaurus

Swoop I like because he isn't hindered in any major way by being a combiner like other Dinobots. Snarl is a close second, but I don't like the way the arms become the back legs or the massive lower leg mode.
Needlenose is a fun figure, decent Transformation and I'm glad he comes with his Targetmaster partners even if they aren't as nice as Core ones.
I might have said Leo Prime, but the lack of painted details on the lion face hurt it a lot. Nemesis Leo Prime looks so much better.
For Dreadwing, it just comes down to preferring the blue and gold over the green and silver of Skyquake.
Deathsaurus only just edges out over Armada Optimus simply because he's a funner figure to handle at the size, IMO.

Emerje

I didn't get very much from Legacy Evolution, only Armada Optimus, Megatron and both versions of Hot Shot, the Insecticons, Needlenose, Dirge, Shadow Striker, Animated Prowl, Dreadwing and Skyquake. Out of those, I'd say I like Armada Optimus and the Dreadwing mould the most, and Shadow Striker the least. There wasn't much else from Evolution I really wanted, I skipped on all of the Cores, most of the Deluxes and Voyagers and all of this year's Capsules.
There's a lot more in Legacy United I'm interested in getting, but still not exactly the entire product line. I already have Tigerhawk, Tasmania Kid and Thundertron, while Animated Optimus and Bumblebee are on pre-order, and I'm definitely getting Tidal Wave, Silverbolt, Vector Prime and at least a couple of the Star Seekers, while Side Burn and the Leader Soundwave are on the maybe pile for now. As much as I dislike Shadow Striker, it's still possible that Side Burn could wear the mould better.

It appears that I didn't get much at all from Legacy in 2023.
Needlenose, which surprised me because I'm not much into the comics. But I really liked the design and I am in need of more Decepticons in my display.
War Dawn 2-pk, and Devcon because I like the Cybertronians.

Strongarm I'm still on the fence with as it's not G1 but I do like the character, and the Bot mode isn't all wonky. Though by the time I decide it'll be 2024. I guess on the positive side my wallet thanks me for such a light year!

Got a little photo dump to do, the first wave of United is seriously the strongest Legacy wave by far, and that's without getting Tigerhawk yet, who is probably my most desired 2024 figure!

first up, rock brothers. I like both of them, and they make a great pair. I am still trying to figure out where they will go on the shelf, currently debating going with Animated, the Junkions, or maybe somewhere else






Next up is Chase. I like him, he is a nice Rescue bot. I think the only think that annoys me is that kibble right behind his shoulders, makes arm rotation a bit annoying. But he is good, I like him, they did him well.





Finally, I got my last 2 cores and deluxes of the wave! Some quick thoughts:

Energon Megatron is a great little toy, they kept so much of the original big toy, but made it small. I love that his backpack still rotates. He's nice! I need to get out my legends Megatron from Cybertron to take some pics.

Tasmania Kid is also pretty neat. I like how different yet similar his transformation is compared to the old Beast Wars basics. He's just really cute. I'm not a huge fan of the flat hands, but it's OK.

Animated Bee is nice! I like this Bee as a character, and the toy ain't bad either! I think the two spots I don't like as much are his less boot-like lower legs and small feet (which aren't bad but aren't my preference) and the fact his stingers can only plug in in 2 handed position, they can't just plug in straight. I feel like they could've done both configurations. But either way, i like him a lot.

Finally, Windblade is perfect. She is just lovely. I love the jet mode, and the robot mode ROCKS. She is very stable, and really cool looking. They took her OG T30 toy, and drastically improved it using queues from her Cyberverse and RiD2015 toys. And she works in Cyberverse! I like her! I cannot wait to take pics of her with Bee!

I like the bot mode an deco on Chase, I just don't care for the "Animated/Cartoony" look for the head sculpt. But I get the aesthetic they're going for based on the source, it's just not for me personally. If I could swap out the head sculpt with something else I'd consider getting it as a fan of Police cars in general. Perhaps Hot Rod's painted blue/gray.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C1tFdyPMIHy ... llcW9xYw==

Magmatron looking pretty good

My top Legacy figures from '23 were an easy pick because I didn't buy that much.

Menasor being completed was definitely the highlight. What an outstanding combiner.
Then the two Insecticons, which happen to be the two I like the best. Although I was initially more excited about Shrapnel, overall I'm a bigger fan of Bombshell.

Honorable mentions go to Beachcomber and Devcon.


So far this year it looks like I'm only getting Gears and Origins Wheeljack from Legacy United.
I'm very, very anxious to see what this leader Soundwave ends up being.

Yeah, I really like Devcon. Unfortunately I'm still waiting on Breakdown so I won't be completing Menasor anytime soon. Beachcomber as well got pushed back several months at EE so...

I'm hoping for a better 2024, at least in regard to what I'm after. Who knows it might have been somebody's best year!

If we get a new Soundawve, Awesome! If we get a new Powrglide, great! Asterotrain would also be most welcome and I think I could very well be convinced to by a Commander version if it fixes all of issues of the last figure! But hopefully they can manage it fine with a Leader class release. Of course this feels like the very last thing that would ever happen.

Reruns of both VW Bee, Sunstreaker and Thrust(Target) would be really nice.