This year has been a relatively big year for Transformers, especially given the lack of a movie or a well advertised cartoon. And yet, we've gotten some of the best comics and action figures since, in my opinion, the days of Transformers: Animated. So now I'm going to take a quick look at my Top 10 Transformers for this year. Let's take a look!
10) Adventure Lockdown
This was a figure that when announced, caught a lot of people by surprise. When the deco was first revealed in full, it surprised people even more. No-one had expected Takara to churn out an Animated Lockdown in AOE colours, but here we are.
And my, how fantastic does it look? This figure, though not without its flaws, is really good, and comes from one of the best Transformers toy lines in recent memory. And this deco looks fabulous on it. Though I may pick up an original Animated Lockdown at some stage. I was adamant about picking it up, but man am I glad that I did
And my, how fantastic does it look? This figure, though not without its flaws, is really good, and comes from one of the best Transformers toy lines in recent memory. And this deco looks fabulous on it. Though I may pick up an original Animated Lockdown at some stage. I was adamant about picking it up, but man am I glad that I did
9) Combiner Wars Motormaster
From the moment the line was announced, Combiner Wars Optimus wasn't many people's favourite figure in the line. Then, when Motormaster was released, that tune didn't seem to change too much. I originally had no intention of picking up any of the CW Stunticons, but eventually caved after browsing through photos of Menasor
Getting to the point, I think Motormaster is probably the best of the five Stunticon figures I own. He's got some lovely sculpted detail throughout, and I love his head sculpt for a reason I've yet to decipher. The mold just works so well for him. It conveys power and brute strength, which is what Motormaster should be all about
Getting to the point, I think Motormaster is probably the best of the five Stunticon figures I own. He's got some lovely sculpted detail throughout, and I love his head sculpt for a reason I've yet to decipher. The mold just works so well for him. It conveys power and brute strength, which is what Motormaster should be all about
8) Combiner Wars Prowl
Yet another figure I hadn't originally intended on getting. This mold has already seen four releases in Combiner Wars, and will have been used a total of EIGHT times by fall 2016 when you include the Victorion and G2 Menasor components. That's a lot for one mold. But boy, if it isn't a good mold. And Prowl is definitely the best of the bunch
When he was first revealed at BotCon (At least I think it was BotCon. Might have been SDCC) I just fell in love with his head sculpt, and I had to have him. In person, the head sculpt is just beautiful, and so is his paint job. I had expected Break-Neck to be my favourite version of this mold, but Prowl takes the cake ten times over
When he was first revealed at BotCon (At least I think it was BotCon. Might have been SDCC) I just fell in love with his head sculpt, and I had to have him. In person, the head sculpt is just beautiful, and so is his paint job. I had expected Break-Neck to be my favourite version of this mold, but Prowl takes the cake ten times over
7) Combiner Wars Superion
I know this isn't actually one figure - Its five. But it's one character, which is good enough for me. While all of the Aerialbots are good in their own right, none of them are particularly stand out for me. But Superion is a whole other story. Of the four Scramble City combiners I've gotten so far, he's definitely my favourite
To me, he looks like the most well proportioned combiner of the line, Devastator excluded. He's also the easiest to pose, and also has the most versatile range of pose-ability. I originally had Alpha-Bravo, and was pretty happy with them, but the extra G1-yness that Slingshot adds only goes on to make him even better
To me, he looks like the most well proportioned combiner of the line, Devastator excluded. He's also the easiest to pose, and also has the most versatile range of pose-ability. I originally had Alpha-Bravo, and was pretty happy with them, but the extra G1-yness that Slingshot adds only goes on to make him even better
6) Legends Nightbird
Nightbird was a nice little surprise given to us fans by Takara. She was released alongside Slipstream (A Generations Windblade remold), and Blackarachnia (An Animated Blackarachnia remold), and she herself is remolded from Generations Arcee. I was originally going to nominate Arcee for this position, as I only got her in early 2015, but I deciced to keep this list strictly to items released this year
Nightbird carries over everything that's great about the Generations Arcee mold - excellent pose-ability, extreme faithfulness to the cartoon model, and lots of weapons. Not to mention, the silver, black, and purple paint job just looks spectacular on this mold. If you get just one of the Takara Decepticon femmes, get Nightbird
Nightbird carries over everything that's great about the Generations Arcee mold - excellent pose-ability, extreme faithfulness to the cartoon model, and lots of weapons. Not to mention, the silver, black, and purple paint job just looks spectacular on this mold. If you get just one of the Takara Decepticon femmes, get Nightbird
5) Combiner Wars Hot Spot
Without a hint of doubt, this guy is easily the best voyager figure to come out of the Combiner Wars line. Granted, that list consists of only three original molds against five heavy retools. But of the four I've sampled, Hot Spot is definitely the best. His colours are lovely, really evocative of the cartoon model
And he's so pose-able too! There's about three or four different joint types in his shoulders/biceps alone. It's ridiculous. And he just looks so bad-ass. Onslaught may take his place as my favourite CW voyager when I get him in the coming week, but at the close of 2015, that spot belongs to Hot Spot
And he's so pose-able too! There's about three or four different joint types in his shoulders/biceps alone. It's ridiculous. And he just looks so bad-ass. Onslaught may take his place as my favourite CW voyager when I get him in the coming week, but at the close of 2015, that spot belongs to Hot Spot
4) Masterpiece diaclone Bluestreak
Masterpiece was never a line I ever thought I'd get into, and arguably I still haven't really. But when I first saw this guy, I fell in love with his deco, and I had to get him. And when I finally did about a month and a half ago, I was delighted. He looks absolutely fantastic in hand, and he handles really well
And wow, I was not ready for how pose-alble Masterpiece figure are. This thing is like nothing else in my collection. My only real complaint about him is that his transformation can be a bit fiddly, but otherwise, he's fantastic! I've got Masterpiece Shockwave on preorder, and I'm seriously considering Maketoys Gun-Dog, or Not-Masterpiece Hound. This guy has spoiled me
And wow, I was not ready for how pose-alble Masterpiece figure are. This thing is like nothing else in my collection. My only real complaint about him is that his transformation can be a bit fiddly, but otherwise, he's fantastic! I've got Masterpiece Shockwave on preorder, and I'm seriously considering Maketoys Gun-Dog, or Not-Masterpiece Hound. This guy has spoiled me
3) Combiner Wars Ultra Magnus
This was another "love at first sight" figure. It was first revealed at NYCC back in February, and it was an instant-buy for me from that moment on. It's a perfect mix of G1 and IDW Ultra Magnus, incorporating elements such as the chest, shoulder rocket pods, and Minimus Ambus figure from IDW, and the head sculpt and transformation from G1. You can even make him a giant hammer, just like he had in Animated! Eeeee!
Little things like the lack of wrist swivels, ankle tilts and some extra little paint details keep him from being perfect, but this is a figure that is not to be missed out on. Especially if Masterpiece isn't in your price-range. But price-range excluded, I think I'd still choose this guy over MP Magnus an day
Little things like the lack of wrist swivels, ankle tilts and some extra little paint details keep him from being perfect, but this is a figure that is not to be missed out on. Especially if Masterpiece isn't in your price-range. But price-range excluded, I think I'd still choose this guy over MP Magnus an day
2) Combiner Wars Devastator
Again, I know this isn't one figure - it's six. Or seven, depending on how you look at it. I think it's advertised as seven. Anyway. Yes, the hype for Devastator was real not too long after he was revealed. When we first saw him, I was ready to save my money and pass on him. But the more I saw, the less I could resist
When I finally had him in hand, I was over the moon, to say the least. All of the individual Constructicons are fun and interesting in their own little ways, and Devastator is just phenomenal. Five months I've had him, and I'm still in awe at his size. Though Long Haul and Scrapper are lacking elbows, and there's some small paint apps which would have gone a long way to improving the combined mode, this guy is not to be missed. And honestly, those complaints are me nitpicking. This figure is absolutely astounding
When I finally had him in hand, I was over the moon, to say the least. All of the individual Constructicons are fun and interesting in their own little ways, and Devastator is just phenomenal. Five months I've had him, and I'm still in awe at his size. Though Long Haul and Scrapper are lacking elbows, and there's some small paint apps which would have gone a long way to improving the combined mode, this guy is not to be missed. And honestly, those complaints are me nitpicking. This figure is absolutely astounding
1) Combiner Wars Megatron
Honestly, it was tough deciding between Megatron and Devastator for the number one spot on this list, but Megatron won me over for one reason - timing. Devastator I was ready to pay for and play with from the moment preorders went up, and so I was already pretty hyped when he finally arrived at my door. Megatron, meanwhile, I was nearly sure I was going to pass on
I hadn't bought a leader class figure in four years until CW Ultra Magnus was released, but he had a place to go in my collection, and was in scale with other figures. Megatron, meanwhile, would have stood out on his own. So I wasn't bothered about going to the effort of importing him and all that
Then he (unexpectedly) got released locally, and I thought "I'll at least give him a look". So I went to the shop, had a look at him, and honestly, I spent a good twenty minutes thinking "Will I? Won't I?" But then I decided, sod it. If I end up not liking him, I'll sell him or return him. Then I got home, got him out of the box...
Holy shit. Pardon my language, but this guy absolutely blew me away. He was a wonderful surprise right out of the box. After playing with him for five minutes, I knew that this guy was my favourite Megatron figure ever. Everything about him is just perfect, from his head sculpt, to his articulation, to his vehicle mode. If you pick up one thing, just one thing from Combiner Wars. He's an absolute gem
I hadn't bought a leader class figure in four years until CW Ultra Magnus was released, but he had a place to go in my collection, and was in scale with other figures. Megatron, meanwhile, would have stood out on his own. So I wasn't bothered about going to the effort of importing him and all that
Then he (unexpectedly) got released locally, and I thought "I'll at least give him a look". So I went to the shop, had a look at him, and honestly, I spent a good twenty minutes thinking "Will I? Won't I?" But then I decided, sod it. If I end up not liking him, I'll sell him or return him. Then I got home, got him out of the box...
Holy shit. Pardon my language, but this guy absolutely blew me away. He was a wonderful surprise right out of the box. After playing with him for five minutes, I knew that this guy was my favourite Megatron figure ever. Everything about him is just perfect, from his head sculpt, to his articulation, to his vehicle mode. If you pick up one thing, just one thing from Combiner Wars. He's an absolute gem
Well, that about wraps up my Top 10 Transformers figures of 2015. I bought a lot this year, so I'm looking forward to a (hopefully) quiet year next year. The only figures I'm definitely getting are Masterpiece Shockwave and Titans Return Galvatron. Combiner Wars has definitely been one of my favourite Transformers lines in a long time, and I'll probably do a full review of the line as a whole once I have the Combaticons
And as we march into 2016, I hope you all have a safe, happy, and healthy year! I know I haven't been doing reviews at a consistent rate, but I'm going to try and fix that this year, I promise!
So, what were your Top 10 Figures/Transformers of this year?
And as we march into 2016, I hope you all have a safe, happy, and healthy year! I know I haven't been doing reviews at a consistent rate, but I'm going to try and fix that this year, I promise!
So, what were your Top 10 Figures/Transformers of this year?