Transformers War For Cybertron Kingdom Cyclonus: Raising the bar even higher.

 While I love Scourge's toy, it's hard to deny that he's not very impressive as an overall Transformer. An imposing robot, a hilariously dumb alt mode, and a very basic transformation. While he did his job, the bar was set pretty low when it came to the new heralds of Unicron... and then Kingdom shows up with Cyclonus. Though he never got his armada, let's see how The Warrior was treated in the War for Cybertron Trilogy. 

Starting in Cyclonus' Jet mode, and right off the bat, there is something that needs to be addressed first. Generation 1 Cyclonus has a very distinct Jet mode, a sleek, futuristic space plane.Maybe it's because I wasn't that interested in my first exposure to the name Cyclonus in Transformers Armada, but I love this jet mode. If done well, it has the potential to be absolutely beautiful, as evident by all the third party versions that have been made. I've seen the design done well, I've seen it done amazingly, I've seen it done badly. Out of all the versions of G1 Cyclonus Hasbro and Takara have done over the years, this is, without a doubt, my favorite version of Cyclonus' Jet mode. This toy pulls off a beautiful jet mode and makes it look effortless, with the only hints of it transforming, the only traces of robot mode kibble being so minute that you effortlessly ignore them. The only minute problem I have with the jet mode is that I wish it borrowed a design cue from its forefather and had some guns on the nosecone to give the jet mode some armament that isn't sticking the robot mode gun on top of the jet, or under a wing. It doesn't look good, but other Transformers toys are guilty of it as well, so I'm not going to hold it against the toy. 

Kingdom Cyclonus shares a trait with a set of toys that I'll be reviewing (hopefully) sometime later this year, the Earthrise Seekers. Both toys have roots in the earliest years of what Transformers fans call the CHUG scale (standing for Classics, Henkei, Universe, Generations, the names of the toylines in Hasbro and Takara markets that follow the same scale and design cues). For Earthrise Starscream and all his repaints, it's the Classics toy of 2006. Cyclonus' traces back to his Universe toy from 2008. The modern toys share design tricks with the older toys, mainly in how parts move and what elements of the vehicles become parts of the robot. On Starscream, it feels like a hindrance, as aspects of engineering weren't brought up to date to accommodate modern engineering standards, with the only significant differences being how parts transform. The same could be said for Cyclonus; however, it doesn't feel like a crutch. The engineering is similar (just modernized), but parts of it were redone from the ground up to make something that looks cleaner in both modes. The proportions of the jet and robot look more refined; the articulation is improved in robot mode. There's even potential (with a bit of help from a 3D printer and a later Generations Selects figure) to recreate gimmicks of the Universe toy, thanks to the hands folding away to reveal 5mm ports. To top it all off, Cyclonus makes it seem so effortless. I'll go into this more once I review the Earthrise Seekers, but Cyclonus puts them to shame just by existing. It's what the Earthrise Seekers were trying to do, and not only succeeding at it but going above and beyond to fix the faults of the Universe toy. 

Not where I prefer to put his knees, but at least the lighting looks cool.

Is he flawless? Objectively no, there are some minor issues, especially when in robot mode. The plastic gaps in the wings, the gun, and the back of the thighs look bad, and the jet kibble on the sides of his stomach is distracting. It's also frustrating knowing the knees don't lock into place when in robot mode. But as mentioned before, when looking at the jet, it's hard to care about these issues. What minor faults are here are easily drowned out by the overall execution of the toy. Cyclonus' quality did come at a cost; his wave mate, Optimus Primal, is nowhere near the same quality as Cyclonus. But Primal didn't need to be. The Primal that we got was still almost everything fans of the character wanted in a new Primal toy; it didn't feel like corners were being cut. The results speak for themselves, this is one of the best Voyager toys in the War for Cybertron trilogy, and considering the competition, that's an impressive feat. The bar's been set high for Galvatron, but that review is still pretty far away. Instead of a G.I Joe figure next week, the following review will be a Maximal, Airrazor.

Transformers Studio Series 86-05; Scourge: Bewear the evil space boat!

 Decepticon reviews might become a little dry soon. I'm currently working on a project that will review a lot of them in a marathon of content. I've got one more planned before that point, maybe two depending on how long it takes to obtain it, all keeping to the theme of the Heralds of Unicron (Unicron review not included because I don't own one). So let's start things off with a review of the first herald to arrive on shelves recently: Scourge, the tracker.

 

Starting in the alternate mode and... I wasn't kidding about this being a space boat. Many of the designs made for the 1986 movie leaned very hard into the futuristic aesthetic, tossing away grounded earth vehicles for stuff that looked sci-fi enough to still be cool, but lent themselves to stupid community names. No one knows what Rodimus Prime's alternate mode is supposed to be, and everyone calls it a Space Winnebago as a result. Does Scourge's alternate mode resemble anything? No. Does it look like it could genuinely fly? No. On its own, it's nothing spectacular, but when considering ship designs like the Ark and other Autobot shuttles, it's got a decent "Transformers ish" design to the alt mode. This design isn't something that fits into the "robots in disguise" mentality, and it's very much a "fast travel" mode for Scourge. For the actual toy, though, the design is alright, though there is some undercarriage due to a bit of robot mode junk. However, I don't find it distracting, compared to something like the Combiner Wars Silverbolt mould, due to it being so far removed from anything that resembles a traditional airship. It's only an issue at the very front of the boat, thanks to a gap for the sake of robot mode. Everything else blends in well enough to at least look cohesive from a distance. While it is amusing that you can recreate the "head poking out of the alt mode" scene from the cartoon, this is without a doubt Scourge's worst mode. 

 

Another significant fault of Scourge is the transformation. He is a shell former: a transformer whose alternate mode is a shell around the robot mode, with very few (if any) parts being used between modes. Almost all of Scourge's alternate mode ends up on his back, but in this particular case, that's not a bad thing. Unlike other transformers (such as the aforementioned Combiner Wars Silverbolt mould), the alternate mode parts that would otherwise be junk hanging off his back gives Scourge a strong presence on a shelf. It makes him look a lot more intimidating, and with the parts moulded in a way to make it look as close as possible to the design in the movie, it makes him look a lot more alive in the process. The shell former nature works to the figure's advantage in this case. If you remember, I put Scourge as one of the best figures I bought last year, and that's purely because of the robot mode, the presence he has thanks to the sculpting, how effortless he is to pose in intimidating positions. If it weren't for the rumours of there being a dedicated Sweep release of this mould, I would have bought even more of him to have a complete set of Sweeps in this mould (but the thought of buying at least two more of Scourge is still there). While there are some joints I wish he had, like double joints for the elbows and knees, the minor flaws I have with the robot mode can't bring down how good of a robot mode it is to me. I also love the fact that he comes with a blast effect for his rifle. I hope that trend continues in 2022 because the effect parts are great ways to add more playability and display presence to figures. It's also something I hope carries on into other Hasbro toylines, but that's a story for another day and a story that will require some... external support.

 

The alternate mode isn't great as a toy (though it looks great as a representation of Scourge's alternate mode). The transformation is laughable for a $50 toy. But the robot mode steals the show. I love the sculpting on the robot mode, and I love the proportions of the robot. I love that they painted his pink nails and beard (neither of which I was expecting). He's just a great representation of the character for the price. Perfect? No. Unlike figures like Hot Rod, he's not up to the same quality standard in terms of an overall package. If you're looking for a "mini-masterpiece" version of Scourge, this is not it. He doesn't do everything right, but the one thing he does right, he does so almost flawlessly. I've got another Lego set coming up this Wednesday, and next Sunday will be another 6-inch G.I Joe figure in the form of Roadblock.

Transformers Generations Selects GS01 Combat Megatron and GS14 Megatron (G2): Time to roll out the 90's repaints!

 What do you do when you need to repaint a so unabashedly designed toy to be one specific character? Well, you pander to younger fans and give it a paint job inspired by other toys of that character. While you're at it, why not get some free brownie points by picking versions that you can no longer sell to the general market because even in this day and age, the '90s refuses to die. While I have plans to review the most significant part of the Decepticons representation in Earthrise, Starscream and his merry band of repaints, that will take some time. I want to wait until I can get some specific versions of the Siege Tetrajet and see if the rumours of another G2 repaint are true. So until that time, why not look at some unique versions of the recent Mega Tanks?

 

First, a bit of backstory, as while most of the traffic for these posts do come from knowledgeable people, I can't guarantee that's all of the traffic. So, what the frag is Generation 2? Starting a few years after the original Transformers toyline finished (for parts of the world, but let's not go into that here), Hasbro tried to revive interest in the brand by launching the Generation 2 toyline (which retroactively renamed the original toyline into what we know it as today). The plan was solid in theory, mixing new toys with repaints of older toys with more gimmick variety and a colour scheme fitting of the '90s. It bombed, hard, so much so that their next attempt to breath new life into the brand was to give it to the staff they inherited from the Kenner buyout, which in turn threw out the rule book and gave us Beast Wars. Probably the best visual explanation of this was the first release of the two leaders. While Optimus was a rerelease of his original G1 toy with extra accessories like a soundbox and spring-loaded weapons, Megatron got a new toy. No longer a gun, he was released as a green and purple slab of a tank, and it's for that reason, among others, that I'm starting this review with GS14, the G2 repaint of War for Cybertron Earthrise Megatron.

Starting in tank mode, and it should be said upfront that, while there aren't any major shared parts, the engineering for this toy is almost the same as that of the WFC Siege version (which I will get back too later, as that's what Combat Megatron is a repaint of). Sculpted to look more like a traditional tank rather then a Sci-Fi H-Tank, but the arms become the turret, the sword becomes the tank barrel, half the treads are legs, the other half is a backpack, and the head is still poking out from under the tank if you look underneath it. That last part is far more noticeable here as the front of the tank between the treads is now almost wholly exposed; they do not attempt to cover it up. However, what they do cover-up is the back of the tank. They do this with a panel that doesn't do much to hide the fact that it's his legs contorted in a weird way as it's just as hollow and exposed as the front. Effort for trying, I guess? While the general retail release (or what would have been the readily available release) kept things to the Generation 1 colours. Black, grey, and a bit of red, I guess that you know what Megatron looks like if you're reading this review. G2 Megatron, on the other hand, goes for the 90's colours that the original toy had, green and purple camouflage with patches of orange (and black for the treads, that didn't change). It is loud, obnoxious, completely impractical, but it is accurate to the original toy and design; I can't fault it for that. It is a treat, though because of how loud the colours are, it stands out hard compared to other Decepticons. Regardless of what mode you have Megatron in, he is going to stand out, and you are going to see him on a shelf (unless it's populated with other loud and obnoxious colour schemes, I didn't pull my G2 Stunticons out to test that). But, if you want something more subdue, you go for Combat Megatron. 

As I said before, Combat Megatron is based on the Siege version of Megatron. The version of Megatron found at general retail in both the original Siege toyline from 2019 and the Netflix repaint in 2020 (which, though I'm not reviewing that one here, I will say the paintwork on it is great and a far better battle damage decor than the original). Combat Megatron, though, was originally unreleased. In 1993, Takara released a different Megatron for Japan known as Hero Megatron. This toy would be imported into Europe as Archforce (though it was missing the "Megatron Rules" sticker the Takara version had on the chest. Same basic engineering as G2 Megatron, but with better gimmicks and a retooled Tank gun that dropped the Gravity fed missiles and electronics for an air pump and missiles. Hero Megatron was going to get a western release with arctic camouflage colours instead of the black, purple, blue and orange of Hero Megatron. While I still hope they reuse the Hero Colours on a toy at some point (that or I get my hands on the Takara repaint of Titans Return Megatron), it is a bit of a treat seeing these unreleased colours get a toy. Sporting all the Sci-Fi details of Siege Buckethead, Combat Megatron goes for a white, dark grey (I think that's the colour at least) green and black paint job. I can see why they didn't release this, and I don't think this works as well as the G2 colours do. The camouflage feels unfinished, especially on the arms/ turret, and the black comes off as a bit of an eyesore. Out of the three Siege Megatrons I have, this is probably the weakest of the three in terms of the painting design, but a large part of that comes from the far more simplified designs of Siege and Netflix Megatron. While both Megatrons are novelty pieces (along with Generations Selects as a whole), Combat Megatron feels like the more novelty of the two, something you get because of how deep of a cut the reference is more than anything else.

I had no plans to get Earthrise Megatron initially. Aside from the fact that it was the Siege version with fresh sculpting, there was one thing about it that I hated the look of in promotional material and something that I knew I wasn't going to like on the G2 version even when I put the order in for it. On the Siege version of the mould, the front half of the tank barrel detaches from the Fusion Cannon, and two blade pieces underneath the turret rotate up and peg together over the barrel to form a large and impressive looking sword. Combat Megs gets to have this weapon, and it still looks impressive. The Earthrise mould works similarly to a point but looks infinitely worse. On the Earthrise one, you take off the front barrel and the front wedge (I don't know tanks) of the turret where the sword is already complete. You plug the cover panel from the back of the tank underneath the barrel, you then plug all of that onto the side of the left arm, and this looks completely ridiculous. There is no way to make this assembly look good because of the tank kibble. The part of it that looks like a sword can't be used as a sword, but instead as an awkward arm blade looks tiny. If you rotate it so that the tank barrel is facing forward, while it seems a bit better thanks to the wedge following the direction of the barrel (compared to the wall that it is on the Sword side), the backplate looks awkward no matter what side you have facing forward. Thanks to a change that they didn't need to make over the Siege version, a missed opportunity with this mould was the inability to try and replicate the overkill cannon of the G2 toy. On the original toy, the tank cannon dominated the chest plateau (which made no effort to hide the fact that it was the front half of a tank) by sticking out the front and the back. There are no C.O.M.B.A.T ports near Megatron's shoulder blades, and the two that were on the top of the tank treads backpack on the Siege version no longer exist. As you can probably tell by how long of a rant I went with, I hate this sword weapon. The sword is the number 1 reason I keep this guy in tank mode. 

 

Long-winded discussions about awful melee weapons aside, due to the nature of them being repaints of pre-existing toys, they don't lock down the look of the original toys. They do in deco but not in sculpt. Like it or not, these are repaints of moulds meant for Generation 1 Megatron. However, the Siege version of G1 Megatron looks excellent, and the remoulding done for Earthrise looks just as good, if not better, in cases like the new chest. This mould commands power and authority as any good Megatron toy should. Just because they don't physically look like the G2 Tanks doesn't mean they're bad Megatron's. Far from it (encase the fact that I own three of the Siege version isn't enough of an indicator of that fact). If you've seen my review of the first Siege Megatron (https://mediaholicstoybox.blogspot.com/2019/06/transformers-war-for-cybertron-siege.html) then you know my views on the articulation and possibility of these two. Nothing's changed in the joints department other than better ankle tilts that aren't a struggle to get back into place like one of the ones on that first release. I could point out minor issues I have, like Combat Megatron not having any paint on the tank treads on the back of his legs. I could also bring up the odd moulding choices leading to redundant paint applications like Combat Megatron's crotch being painted white (thank you, minor paint chip on the tab). But that's all they are, negligible. It doesn't drown out how great these robot modes are. I do like that Combat Megatron got a new head sculpt to add more detail to the bucket head while G2's was painted to be an almost perfect replica of the G2 toy, the only difference being the smaller eyes in the sculpting.

For as much praise as I give them, do I recommend them to general consumers? Not really, no. These are niche repaints at the end of the day. I only really recommend them if you like the look of the painted decor or have a strong connection to their original toys (you'd be delusional if you have a strong connection to Combat Megatron as, again, he was initially a cancelled toy). Do I recommend getting the Siege mould? Yes, absolutely! Do I recommend getting the Earthrise mould? If you can look past the melee weapon and desperately need an earth tank Megatron, maybe. But if you're getting it for the robot mode, I would personally get the Siege version; I think it's better overall when compared to the Earthrise release. I don't believe the Earthrise version's positives outweigh the weapon issues, and in terms of engineering, the two moulds are the same anyway. It comes down to style at the end of the day because they tie in every other way. Next week... I shouldn't have said what I said in the Duke review. Curse my curiosity; we're looking at some Marvel Legends stuff.

Transformers War for Cybertron; Earthrise Deluxe Class Smokescreen and Bluestreak: The problems with Earthrise Part 2

As critical of Earthrise as I have been lately, as evident by the Top X List I did a while ago for 2020 figures, I overall enjoyed the Earthrise line, there were a lot of good figures in it. However, one thing I did find frustrating about it was the character reuse. A noticeable (though minor when compared to the rest of the figures released) chunk of the characters that made up the Earthrise toyline was also made available in Siege, just redone in a way that gave them "earth modes". While for these two, I appreciate an alternative way to get them as their Siege releases are a pain to get here (well, mainly Bluestreak), it does feel a little patronizing for those who did like the Siege versions. Granted, a part of that comes from people calling for the rest of the Siege toyline to get the same treatment. This doesn't look to end anytime soon, as Ultra Magnus in Kingdom will continue the trend. Leaks are suggesting Sideswipe and Mirage will eventually also get that treatment (aren't you excited to get at least six figures you bought recently all over again?!). All that being said though, how do these two compare to the Siege Space Datsons?

Optical Illusion. Those two words are the first two that come to mind when I see them in car mode. On their own, they look smaller than the Siege versions in car mode, but when sticking them side by side, they're the same size. The Siege one is a bit wider and a bit longer, but the Earthrise version is taller. The minor differences though don't feel large enough to justify why I keep thinking they're noticeably smaller. Those who don't want to buy two exclusive two packs, the Siege Prowl and Barricade do go well with these two Earthrise cars; it's how I'm personally going to represent them as it helps keep all four of them looking and feeling unique. The car modes themselves look fine; however, Smokescreen looks noticeably better due to one main reason. Quality Control for Earthrise was not great, likely due to the pandemic (or at least I hope it's due to the pandemic). My Bluestreak is the worst example I've had of QC issues in Earthrise, at least the kind that's not easy to fix. I haven't had mine break yet (thankfully), but it is noticeably harder to get everything pegged into place in Car mode, along with keeping everything pegged into place.

 

Meanwhile, it's more frustrating for the robot mode to peg the arms into place, almost as if the red part of the torso came out of the machine wrong, but not in a noticeable way. It's an understandable thing to get wrong, even as I look at it now, I can't spot somewhere that clearly shows the problem, but being understandable doesn't absolve it of not being frustrating. From what I've seen, it could be a lot worse. Though the two mould share engineering, there aren't any pieces that look reused. While it helps make them more distinct, some like the wheels that I wish they did reuse, because these wheels don't look great. I also appreciate that both come with three weapons each, two shoulder blasters, and a standard gun (a vast improvement over the general retail Siege versions, where the lightbar was the reason none of them got three guns). Deco on both look great, I especially love Bluestreak's paint job, and the fact that both got actual headlights further highlights the improvements made to this when compared to the Siege versions. Aesthetically though, I still prefer the Siege version, just because I think the space car looks better, especially when the paint on Barricade helps make the mould shine.

 
Robot mode is where things get a little more sporadic in terms of which one is genuinely better. Bluestreak's quality control aside, there are merits to both moulds in terms of engineering. I love how the torso was handled in the Earthrise one, as it allows the arms to better lock into place. The new one is also slightly taller, with better proportions and a more compressed backpack. On the flip side, though, the Siege version proportions have a nice charm to them. I prefer the bulkier arms, and the silver paint on the legs helps hide how hollow they are. The Earthrise cars have a panel to try and hide this on the inside of their legs, but I think it attracts more attention due to how little of its hollowness covers up. Thanks to Bluestreak's QC issues, even though both moulds have hinges on clear plastic, the Siege version feels more durable. It feels like there's enough give in the plastic for the transformation to feel fun without forcing it to go from mode to mode (an issue I find annoying in the Earthrise versions legs). A minor complaint I have is the heel support for the Earthrise version. For Siege, the heal feels like a proper part of the foot, while on the Earthrise version, it feels like an afterthought. 

There's no one right answer when it comes to which one is better. Both moulds have their strengths and their weaknesses. I wanted to make this comparison because it felt like the push to being "more G1 accurate" made people ignore the Siege version's strengths. I'm keeping Prowl and Barricade as the Siege versions, and Smokescreen and Bluestreak as the Earthrise versions (though Bluestreaks may depend on how bad that QC issue gets). Would it be nice to have four that match? Yeah, but regardless of which way I go, I'm going to have a hard time. Siege Bluestreak and Smokescreen are quite expensive now, and I don't need Earthrise Ironhide as I'm not too fond of the retooling they did from his Siege mould. I also don't need a Punch/ Counterpunch in Nightbeat colours, Earth Mode Barricade's pack-in mate. I don't envy the people who own all four in both versions, but it is a frustrating thing to deal with. I'll settle for having a version of each character, even if they don't match. I wish I had that same level of control for the Seekers (which will come later).

Transformers War for Cybertron Siege Soundwave x2 (with minions): I'm done putting this one off.

I see you Takara Soundblaster, with your Mercenary badge, gorgeous black and red paint job, and your ability to store two Micromasters in your chest thanks to a window that sticks out awkwardly. I've got it on order, but I've wanted to do a review of Siege Soundwave for a while. I kept putting it off because new minions were announced, then obtained, then the Netflix one was announced while I was in an awkward "no real reason" hiatus. So know what? No. We're doing this! This review is long overdue!

We'll start by looking at the original version of the mould, a figure that suffers from the G1 toy being a Micro Change toy. How do you make a Soundwave toy that collectors will like while still having it be an exciting toy for kids? You try and turn Soundwave into an awkward Spaceship, with an Easter Egg lamp post mode. I think it goes without saying at this point that the original Siege Soundwave, and the Soundblaster as mentioned above in the intro of this review, do not have nice looking alternate modes. What's frustrating is that they're almost cool looking, with the only real issue I have with the modes themselves being the vents and thrusters' positions. They look like they're supposed to fold down and rest on the sides of the ship, instead than sticking out not doing anything. There's even a tab on the body doing nothing, and a slot in the thrusters that look like they line up perfectly. But with the way the hinge pieces were designed, they physically can't get to that point, there's an intentional stopper, why? What's the point? Was the storage for that one grey gun that looked like it was meant to go to Siege Megatron anyway (to the fact that most people gave their Siege Megatron that gun) that important? As for the lampost mode? It's neat that they include it as a nod to G1, Season 1, Episode 1, Scene 1, but it looks even dumber than the space ship. I usually groan when I see people try and force Megatron toys into having a gun mode, or Soundwaves into a cassette player mode. But when you've got two bad modes already, is it any wonder why people were making parts specifically to turn it into the cassette player?

So it should come as no surprise that Hasbro eventually made one that turned into the Cassette player. Released for the Netflix Siege line, Netflix Soundwave (a heavy retool of the Siege Soundwave) does look like an excellent Mini Cassette player, but only from the front. Due to it being a retooling, the mode does not look good from the sides or back. I don't find this to be that big of a problem though, mostly because it is a retool. It wasn't going to have Masterpiece levels of panel management to hide the arms better. It looks great from the front, and it does look a lot better than the Siege one being twisted and contorted into a cassette player. For what we got, I think it's great.

Why was the alt mode vital? Because it doesn't make sense for a spaceship to drop rectangles out the back. Through the power of Micromasters, This version of Soundwave has minions! Between the two years of toylines, Soundwave has eight rectangle minions that he can store in his chest, have out deployed in their robot/ animal modes, or wear as shields because Micromasters had to have weapon modes for War for Cybertron. So to quickly give them mini-reviews:

• Siege Laserbeak: Siege Laserbeak is probably the best of the lot because it looks good in all its modes. It doesn't feel like anything was compromised when designing the toy to pull off everything it needed. I love the detail on the wings, and I especially love the fact that the blast effects ports on the back mean you can pull off a hilarious rocket bird mode. You can also have Laserbeak perched on Soundwave's arm. While it does make the feet look big, it's a minor complaint and adds stability—a great companion piece for Soundwave.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Siege Ravage: It's a shame though that his packmate is terrible. Siege Ravage does not look good in cat mode. The cat legs look awkward. Paint is excellent, I like the purple along the back, and the red eyes look cool, but due to the size, the legs look too bulky for something that's supposed to be a sleek, stealthy predator. There's a reason mine usually live inside Soundwave's chest.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Netflix Laserbeak and Ravage: Packed in with Netflix Soundwave, they're both the same, with the only noticeable differences being the paint applications (in an attempt at being more G1 toy accurate) and both having new heads. Pretty much everything I could say about these two has been covered when looking at their general retail release predecessors. The only reason I bring them up separately though is because I wish these two were Buzzsaw and Howlback. Out of the regular minions for Soundwave (trust me, he gets some weird ones in the toys), Buzzsaw is the only one missing, which is odd because the original partner he came with back in 1984 was Buzzsaw. Considering how hard the Laserbeak and Ravage shelf warmed, I'm surprised they didn't take the chance to repaint them and fill in those minion gaps, as anyone who wanted the Netflix Soundwave likely already had Laserbeak and Ravage. Were people that desperate for G1 heads for them?
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Siege Ratbat and Generations Selects Wingthing: Though the rectangle mode for these two does look bad, the bat modes look great, like Micromaster Batterangs (and thus concludes obligatory Batman reference). The only real complaints I have are Wingthing's missing paint applications (not sure why), and the fact that the post for plugging them into bigger bots isn't in an excellent position to have them be flying on display. You could probably pull something off, but the back-mounted port does look awkward to work around.
  
  
  
  
  Above image was sourced from https://thelastgherkin.tumblr.com/post/628351249459331072/generations-selects-soundwave-spy-patrol-3rd-unit (it was the only image of that half of the Generations Selects pack I could find)
  
  
• Siege Rumble and Generations Selects Frenzy: No, I'm not going into which one is which, these are what they're called on the box, regardless of if I agree with them or not, that's what I'm calling them for this review. For a pair of mini humanoid robots, they're alright. I think the hips are a bit too wide, and the thighs too short, but I wasn't expecting much out of these two, especially when it comes to articulation, as none of the Micromasters has had strong articulation. No pile drivers for either of them, but with blast effects ports on their hands, they can pull off some hilarious overkill pyrotechnics. Paint on their chests though is very weak, as both of mine have been chipping off over time. It sucks, but at least with Siege, you can pass that off as battle damage.

Soundwave's robot mode is extremely basic when compared to other Transformers. A good G1 Soundwave doesn't have kibble, and credit where it's due for both versions, they're very clean transformations, with the only notable instances of kibble being the landing skids on both versions arms. Moving these two around is an absolute delight, thanks to the sturdy joints (a little too sturdy in the case of my Netflix Soundwave's shoulders). You can even fudge your way into them pressing their eject buttons to deploy the minions inside. Head sculpt is frustrating on both of them, because while I love the detailing on the Siege Soundwave, they went for the toy accurate yellow yes, which I'm not a fan of. While on the Netflix one, it has the red eyes and a simpler, more cartoon accurate head sculpt. Why did that need to get remoulded? Thanks to the C.O.M.B.A.T port gimmick of Siege, both versions can store all the minions on them. I've got all the minions with Netflix Soundwave, and what I tend to do with the pointless pipe gun that looks awful as a gun, and even worse when combining his actual firearms. What I do is that I use it as a makeshift flight stand for Laserbeak, plugging it onto Soundwave's back so that it looks like the bird is flying over him.

If you can't find a Netflix Soundwave on the shelf, I still think the toy's original Siege version is an excellent representation of Soundwave. The reason to get the Netflix one is if you absolutely must have a G1 faithful version of Soundwave that scales with your other Generations Figures. It's like trying to decide which War for Cybertron Optimus Prime you should get. Both are excellent toys, and there's no definitive answer to which one is objectively better or worse. I hope that we get a Blaster in the future. While I don't think the Ravage mould would work for Steeljaw, I could see them getting a great Ramhorn out of it, and all they'd need to do for Rewind and Eject is change the deco on Frenzy and Rumble. It would also be an excuse to get the missing Buzzsaw and Howlback (Spy Patrol 4th unit anyone?). Blaster did play a decent role in the 86 movie, after all. Just saying, it could happen. This toy is a significant improvement over the Titans Return one, a great figure to add to your Decepticon army.

Top 10 Transformers figures of 2020

 *insert obligatory "2020 was a awful year" joke here

 

Now that 2020 is over, I thought it might be fun to look back on what has been, because while reviews haven't really happened this year, my collection did keep growing. Delayed? Yes, but here's hoping that this can kick off consistent reviews again, here are the top 10 best figures I got in 2020... which all came out IN 2020, as I didn't really get anything older last year...

10. Netflix Nemesis Prime

 

This feels like a steal in terms of value in the box, considering all the accessories you get in it, along with a black repaint of Siege Optimus Prime. The weapons once exclusive to the Power of the Primes Nemesis Prime along with Earthrise Optimus Prime's trailer, some Energon cubes and even a Battle Master that I'll get into later in the list for $120 AUD and the stink of unnecessary Play-Doh? Nemesis Prime is a character that gets my attention at the moment mostly because I like black repaints of Optimus Prime, there's just a intimidation factor to it that I don't think other designs for Evil Optimus Primes capture. My one complaint though with this figure comes from the reuse of Power of the Primes accessories. Though the Nemesis Prime Takara put out (which I almost got this year, but cancelled when the Pandemic struck in order to help cover the cost of the Seacons) has the better looking sword, the Power of the Primes swords aren't the issue for me, it's the arm cannons. They're too big, and barely fit into the trailer, certainly can't fit onto the weapon ports inside the trailer. If vehicle mode storage was more reliable then "try and squeeze all these bits of plastic in the box", this would have been put even higher on my list. 

9. Generations Selects Lobclaw

 

Representing both sets of Seacons, the one member missing from God Neptune. If you're sick of Combiner Wars styled combiners, then you're not going to like the Seacons, but that being said, it's nice to get a Combiner Wars team that feels complete in terms of gear. Lobclaw/ Nautilator is the stand out of the team, even if the Lobster legs don't want to stay in place in beast mode, mainly due to the use of Blot's mould for the foundation. It's a shame he never got a white repaint in God Neptune, as it was way better Overbite. Granted the name Sea Phantom is kinda badass.

8. Studio Series Scrapper

 

From one combiner crew to another, Studio Series Scrapper is probably the one member of Devastator that I can recommend on his own, because he isn't compromised that much in order to do the combined mode. Granted, he still suffers from the overly designed issues that plague the live action movie characters and his proportions are a too leg focused, but the excavator mode looks great. I do wish his wrecking ball hand was a normal hand with the wrecking ball whip as a accessory, as it looks more like a odd looking claw in robot mode rather then a weapon.

7. Earthrise Slitherfang

 

How did this become a thing? Not that I'm complaining, I think this is amazing, but just imagining the pitch for this guy. "Ok, so the new Battle Masters are going to be roads and shields, right? What if one of them turned into a snake?". I don't have much to say about this one because the Battle Masters are so basic, but the idea of a chunk of road turning into a giant snake is kind of amazing. This Battlemaster got repainted into Fangtron for the previously mentioned Netflix Nemesis Prime, which honestly further drives home the idea that the person who designed this works in the GI Joe team and snuck the design in. Question though, why aren't there official Transformers that turn into GI Joe vehicles? Hasbro, you're underestimating the interest this crossover would have. Make the vehicles generic Autobots and Decepticons and you have Army building the toyline.

6. Generations Selects Black Rorichi

 

The Decepticons pulled off the Weaponizer gimmick a lot better then the Autobots did. Though I have enjoyed the Modulators that have released this year, to the point that next year I'll be able to make my own take on the Micromaster Rocket Base, even with a Countdown I bought off a Omega Supreme owner who didn't want it, there's something sattisfying about a robot that turns into giant guns for another robot. Originally I was going to skip this guy, as I picked up Fasttrack and was enjoying him, plus considering as I don't own a Earthrise Skorponok, the chances of me owning a modern to of Black Zarak are insanely low. But this and Doublecrosser qualified for free shipping, and Rorichi is tons better then Fasttrack. So much so that I've considered getting a few more Fasttracks to army build Rorichi's drones from Super-God Masterforce. I just hope that this one is more durable then his original toy was.

5. Earthrise Sky Lynx

 

Like many, I thought the last we'd see of Sky Lynx was Combiner Wars. He is the biggest outlier in the G1 roster when it comes to a "Where did this come from?", both in concept and the toy itself looking nothing like any other figure in the G1 toyline. It seemed unlikely that they'd make a modern version that could pull off all the modes, that he'd be stuck as a new Combiner torso due to the sheer size of him. Well, it turns out he can survive in the modern day as (almost, there's no motor walking gimmick) his original self. In fact, he can thrive! It just makes me smile whenever I look at it, because it is such a stupid idea done so beautifully. He's a pain in the ass to store, don't get me wrong, but considering as this may never happen again, I'm willing to give it to him. Fitting that his space shuttle is called the Magnificence.

4. Earthrise Ramjet

 

This team was way harder to complete then it needed to be. I've probably spent way too much on trying to complete a Seeker Squad this year, something that many would say I still haven't because I haven't got Red Wing and the Rainmakers from Siege (maybe someday? but G1 accurate... not always a good thing!). Though Thrust didn't make the deadline (not that he would have made it anyway if I'm being honest), the best of the 5 that I did get this year would have to be Ramjet, if for nothing else then the fact that I can fold his wings forward, meaning he doesn't take up as much room when in Robot mode. They're all solid, and great if you don't have the Classics Seekers, just... be ready for the continued barrage of repaints.

3. Studio Series Jazz: 

 

Time to flex a little for anyone overseas who reads this (at least it would have been if I got this out at the start of the month like I intended). Australia seems to have gotten Studio Series 1986 first, and after picking up all three Deluxes, and the two Voyagers of the sub-series, all I can say is that if this is a indicator of where they're going with SS86, I'm excited! Paint and plastic matching isn't great on it, though it's not a deal-breaker for me as the plastic matching is only noticeable in Daylight, and the paint matching is hidden away in robot mode. Definitely worth getting this one, especially if you're a fan of Jazz.

2. Alternate Universe Optimus Prime

 I couldn't find any good pics of it as a corpse, so here it is as a Zombie!

 Or to give it the toys real name, Dead Prime. Though I still really enjoy the Siege version of Optimus Prime, it's hard to deny that the Earthrise one is a step up in terms of engineering. They're both as good as each other, but when comparing the versions of the Earthrise one that are out there, Dead Prime is the one I find the more interesting of the two I personally own (the two Leader versions, sorry Shattered Glass fans... for now...). It's rare to get novelty repaints of Optimus that aren't Nemesis Prime in general retail, and I think the first time Dead Prime has gotten a general retail toy. With the influx of 86 movie characters coming soon, it's a great figure to include with them.

Before getting to Number 1, some honorable mentions:

• Earthrise Doubledealer: It's the thighs that kill this figure for me. I can live with the hollow legs, that was done for Transformation, though I wish there was something trying to cover it. The thighs though that are a problem, he's too short! It's a shame because he's so close to becoming a great modernization of Doubledealer. It's nice though that his Powermasters got a release in Generations Selects, credit where it's due at least.
  
  
  
  
  
• Earthrise Runabout and Runamuck: I have a soft spot for Z list nobodies. The Battlechargers were not good toys from what I can tell. Better then the Jumpstarters, but that's not saying much. Their Earthrise figures do look good though, not great, I think Runamuck should have had Orange somewhere in the colours to help break up the white plastic and white paint, but that's a minor complaint. I love the fact though that they can pull of the G1 toy accurate robot modes though, very nice touch.
  
  
  
  
  
• Generations Selects Rotorstorm: Why has it taken this long to get a new Rotorstorm? The original toy is one of the coolest looking Helicopter Transformers I've seen, the fact that it took a repaint of Siege Spinister to get a new Rotorstorm is absurd! Still, love the Spinister mold, and once I found some 3D printed blasters that replicated his Turbomaster canons, he just got better. This doesn't excuse the fact that this is a repaint, maybe someday the Turbomasters can get new toys. Maybe Hasbro are waiting for all the Thunderclashes to be destroyed by Gold Plastic Syndrome...
  
  
  
  
  
• Studio Series Kup: Though I wish the front of the car that made up his chest poked out a bit more in robot mode, I don't have many complaints about this guy. Head looks great in person, I love the accessories he comes with, I just wish a Battlemaster Flintlock existed so I could give him his Targetmaster.
  
  
  
  
  
• Masterpiece Hound: So... funny story behind this one, I won it as a raffle prize drawn New Years Eve on a Facebook group I'm a part of... Though I didn't get a choice in prizes as my number was the last one called in the Skippie, so I got last dibs on prizes, some how I've ended up with one of a few MP Hounds that is still in one piece. How that happened is beyond me, though a part of me still wishes I got that Blackarachnia... oh well, at least Kingdom will give me some exposure to the Beasts outside of Transmetal Primal.
  
  
  
  
  
• Earthrise Quintesson Judge: All I can really say about them is "how did this get green-lit to go into production?"
  

 And for the best figures I got in 2020...

1. Studio Series Scourge and Hot Rod: 

 

I couldn't decide which was better, both are amazing interpretations of the characters for two different reasons. I love the engineering that went into Hot Rod, along with how effortless he is to pose. Being perfectly honest, he's the main reason I hope those rumors of a Commander Class Rodimus are fake, I just don't think we need a Rodimus that's that big (or more accurately, I don't know if he needs a giant trailer that fits the Leader class sized bot part, can't it be a Leader that turns into the car and trailer like what DX9 did?). Tangent aside, those Scourge is the lesser of the two in terms of complexity, he always has a strong presence to him, so much so that I'm actively considering getting more of him to make a Sweeps squad of that mould, even though I still have a Titans Return Scourge, and 5 of the Generations Bomber (thank you to whoever it was on Facebook selling all of those bombers in a cheap lot). It makes me really excited to get Kingdom Cyclonus, and see what Galvatron will eventually look like. 2021 looks to be a exciting year for Transformers.

 I plan to catch up on proper 2020 reviews, mixing them in with reviews of the 2021 figures, hopefully this year won't be as barron content wise as the last. Coming up though as the next review? A look at a mould that many consider one of the worst of Earthrise... Surf's up?