Transformers War for Cybertron Trilogy Optimus Prime Marathon: Nothing but Prime Time today.

For health and safety reasons, do not do a drinking game involving the number of times the word Prime is used in this review. 

 

 

So it occurs to me that I've only reviewed one War for Cybertron Optimus Prime, the Galaxy Upgrade one that was a remould of Siege Ultra Magnus designed to look like the Galaxy Force/ Cybertron Optimus Prime. I'm surprised no one noticed that, though these posts aren't exactly known for igniting internet attention. Because I haven't covered WFC Primes in detail, there may only be two moulds, but six toys covered, along with some upgrade kits acquired along the way. The subject material for today? Siege Optimus Prime, Netflix Nemesis Prime, Earthrise Optimus Prime, "Alternate Universe" Optimus Prime, Netflix Optimus Prime and Generations Selects Shattered Glass Optimus Prime. Funnily enough, this is not the biggest review I have planned. Bigger ones are coming. 

 

So, six trucks, but before tackling the trucks themselves, allow me to take a moment to go over everyone's accessories. Siege Optimus is probably one of the easiest of the lot, second only to Shattered Glass Prime (who I'll refer to as SG Prime for short). You get a nice looking, though very hollow Ion Blaster and a shield that can unfold into an axe. I like the axe, and it's a shame that it's only available here and on the cell-shaded 35th-anniversary toy (I skipped because I'm not fond of cell shading paint applications on toys). With the Earthrise mould, and all the primes that were sold as Leader Class toys in 2020 (Earthrise Prime (ER Prime from this point on), Alternate Reality Prime (Dead Prime) and Nemesis Prime), a trailer was included as an accessory. The trailer took me a while to appreciate, and was what got me into buying upgrade kits last year. Out of the box, I hated all three of these trailers, but with some help from kits found on TFSafari (though potentially not officially) and then later Nonnef Productions, the trailers now look really good. It's nice to have Optimus moulds with trailers, and the inclusion of Roller for those who couldn't get the Centurion Drone helped make the trailer an excellent modernization of the G1 trailer. By default, the trailers came with the repair unit/ laser turret that was blast effects compatible and could double as a jetpack for the Earthrise mould (the effect doesn't quite work on Nemesis). Still, while it's a neat play feature, it doesn't look good from an aesthetic perspective. Dead Prime's trailer also doubles as the table he died on in the 86 movie, a perfect accessory for Studio Series Perceptor coming next year! All the Earthrise versions also come with a Matrix compartment (I still wish Kingdom Magnus had one) with the same Matrix that came with Studio Series Hot Rod; this was the toy to have it first. My thoughts on the Matrix then also apply here, but my copy of SG Prime didn't have the paint applied properly. It's only painted on the front for some reason. How odd. The final accessory the Earthrise moulds share is a new compactable Ion Blaster that can fill out a gap in Truck mode, be stored on the back in robot mode, and be held. Though I think the Earthrise blaster is a bit too small, I do like that it's not hollow like the Siege one and looks a lot better overall when compared to the 2019 version. Netflix Optimus comes with two exclusive Battle Masters, Enerax and Sheeldron; Yellow Energon themed repaints of the Battle Masters Pterexadon and Soundbarrier, respectively. Enerax I'm fine with, though a minor issue with QC on mine makes the pin connecting the handle a bit too loose for my liking, Sheeldron on the other hand, is one that I'm not a fan of. For things intending to be shields, I prefer characters hold them in their hands, something that you can't do with Sheeldron because they engineered him. It's an easy fix with a 3D printer, sure, but a letdown nonetheless. For Nemesis Prime, you get a mix of Power of the Primes, Siege and Earthrise Prime accessories. You get the arm cannons, Dark Saber and Battle Master Giza, all of which I enjoyed from the Power of the Primes version, though my only complaint is that I wish the arm canons were smaller to better scale with the toy. You get the Ion Blaster from the Siege version, the trailer and repair unit/ laser turret/ jetpack from the Earthrise mould and encase that wasn't enough accessories; you get a Battle Master in the form of Fangtron from the Slitherfang mould (which with a minor modification can be held in the robot's hand), a blast effect for the shield and three Energon cubes. You physically cannot fit all the accessories into the trailer. You can barely get everything onto the truck mode, and that was before the Nonnef upgrade, including a black Roller. It's excessive but impressive that all of it was included at all. Many would have accepted a lot less. The only other "accessory" to mention is that SG Prime came in a two-pack with a Shattered Glass themed repaint of Ratchet, but that's a story for another day.

 

Before reviewing the trucks themselves, there is one question that should probably be answered first. Why so many? There are differences between the six of them, some more so than others. Siege Optimus and Netflix Nemesis are designed to look more like a futuristic cybertronian truck. It's the design used by both characters in the War For Cybertron series on Netflix. If I had to pick a mould I prefer, this one would probably just beat out the Earthrise one, though the keyword there is "just". I like futuristic vehicles, and the little design cues give the truck mode an aggressive feel without straying too far away from what many views as the traditional Optimus design. This look feels like an Optimus in his prime (pun not intended). This has a very early war feel to it, something the Netflix series doesn't portray when it comes to voice direction. It's not flawless; I'm not a fan of the Cyber Mud on Optimus, something they thankfully ditch for Nemesis, and the gap in the back of the truck looks bad when looking at it. It's also a gap that's easily ignored, thanks to it only being visible from the back, making it feel like far less of a problem. There's a lot of fun to be had with the mould. It feels more like a toy than the 2020 Prime mould does, and it's why I think it just nudges out the 2020 version.

 

 

The remaining four all use the Earthrise mould, which is meant to look more like a normal earth truck. Earthrise Optimus is the standard Optimus Prime colours, bright red, bright blue; if you've seen an Optimus Prime design, chances are you know what to expect (this version was also available in Kingdom, so if you are looking for this toy, you might still be able to find it on shelves). Netflix Optimus is similar in that regard, but with one key difference, the shade of blue. The darker shade of blue and the duller clear plastic (a more traditional toy glass colour compared to the blue on the regular release) is meant to resemble the original Optimus Prime toy, as the cartoon did change its colours slightly. It's a nice nod that I wish they went all the way with, but that's best saved for robot mode. Dead Prime's colours are designed to be precisely what they sound like they are; they're the colours of Optimus Prime's corpse in the 1986 animated movie, a design cue that's frequently reused to depict a dead Transformer. You don't get the full effect of this one until you get to robot mode, though, so once again, put a pin in this for later. Finally, there's SG Prime; a colour scheme meant to replicate the colours Optimus had in the Shattered Glass universe, Transformers version of the "Evil Mirror Universe" popularized by Star Trek. It's the reason why the colours are meant to be more sinister in tone; it's for an Optimus that's more sinister, sadistic, a tyrannical leader of the war-hungry, destructive Autobots. An excellent colour selection, to be sure, a Prime for all your needs, but as a toy in truck mode, it feels more boring to me. That's not to say it's not impressive, far from it. This is probably the best looking G1 Optimus Prime toy released on the mass market (the Masterpiece doesn't count). It feels like an evolution of the Siege version, leaning more into the "robots in disguise" mindset. It's not entirely original though, a fair chunk of parts are reused from the Siege mould (mainly parts of the lower legs, feet and head), and the wheels come from a Studio Series Optimus (I think the Bumblebee one, but I could be wrong). Engineering wise, something about it doesn't feel right to me when comparing it to the Siege version. The robot legs don't seem to sit in place properly, and the lack of a locking point for the cans on the side of the truck does get annoying when playing with the toy. Weapon storage for this one is a lot nicer when compared to the Siege version, but the Siege version does get a pass on the traditional weapon storage of "stick it on top" as the whole story, and aesthetic of Siege was "guns everywhere!". 

 

 

For all the issues I have with the Earthrise truck, it's hard to deny the improvements made for the robot mode. While visually I like the truck mode for the Siege version because the robot mode tries to stick as close to the G1 cartoon model as possible, the truck mode parts that have nowhere to go stick out a lot more. Some parts like the underarm machine guns are enjoyable in their own way, but the backpack is unsightly, at least on the Optimus version; it blends in very well on the Nemesis version, probably due to the colour differences. The only thing that comes close to that on the Earthrise mould is the front bumper and front wheels, but thanks to that assembly being on a clip, if it really bothers you that much, you can just take it off. I prefer leaving it on as the bar assembly on its looks out of place without the bumper. Regardless of the mould, though, both toys do an amazing job representing the character. I love the overall proportions of the Siege mould, both toys do have the same proportions, but the way they handled the Earthrise mould's hips makes him look lanky compared to the Siege version. The leg assembly for the Siege mould is also a lot more interesting when compared to the ER one, but on the flipside of that, the way the torso works on the Earthrise one and how neatly the truck cab compresses into the chest is really impressive. It's a minor miracle, though I wish the head cavity for the truck mode was a bit bigger; it's a very tight fit in there. In terms of individual elements between the six of them: 

 

• Siege Optimus: Like with the truck mode, the cyber mud does not look good. I still think that the only figures that did the Battle Damage look properly (officially at least) was the Netflix toys that had the battle-damaged paint jobs.
• Netflix Nemesis: The muted colours look imposing in robot mode, an impressive feat considering as this is just a repaint, unlike his Power of the Primes incarnation where he did get a new, more menacing head. As I said earlier, I wish some more work was done in the accessory department, mainly downscaling the arm cannons. A version that Takara put out on their own with a different paint scheme also came with a different sword, a repaint of the sword that came with Titans Return Alpha Trion, which I think looks a lot better than the sword we got, mainly due to the blade. While I'm not entirely sold on getting that version of Nemesis Prime, I want that sword and a Star Saber repaint of it.
• Earthrise Optimus: I'm not a fan of the plastic moulding distribution for this one. I know that sounds like a weird complaint, but hear me out on it. Because of how they split the plastic moulds, paint was needed to make parts the right colour, that that feels wasted and due to things like the grip texture on the gun, and the tight space for the head that I mentioned earlier, it has lead to paint chipping, which is why I know the back of Prime's head was cast in red while the front was cast in blue, while the hands were cast in grey. On the subject of the heads, though, the lack of silver around the eyes (something that the two Siege toys had) makes the blue eyes blend into the head. Many people have taken the Siege head and put it onto the Earthrise body for this very reason, especially as they are the same parts.
• Netflix Optimus: There are no moulding issues with this one, making the whole thing feel more sturdy when compared to the regular release. However, the eyes remain an issue, something that likely wouldn't have been a problem if they went all-in on the callback and gave him yellow eyes. I feel this was because when Earthrise was revealed, the prototype of the regular retail version they had on display had yellow eyes, and people got upset about that. It's a shame, too, because it would have helped with this one.
• Dead Prime: The mould distribution is also apparent here, but it doesn't feel like an issue due to the more muted colour scheme and (mostly) more durable paint (though once again, the hands are an issue, I think it has something to do with how the gun is designed. Robot mode is where this toy shines, with subtle but well-done battle damage and new moulding on the head to make it look like it does in the movie as he dies. A nice touch, as well as the fact that the only vibrant thing on this toy is the Matrix compartment, even if it's not accurate to the movie. 
• SG Prime: The only one of the Earthrise mould to not have the blending eye issue (though it once again makes sense for Dead Prime). The blood-red eyes recessed into that dark blue head does just enough to make this look imposing and take away the heroic qualities many consider baked into an Optimus head sculpt in the head sculpt. I also like the fact that the red is brighter than the red used for Nemesis' eyes. It's a nice bit of detail to help separate these two evil versions of Optimus. I'm not a fan of how they handled the inverted Autobot logo; due to it being on the shoulder with a lot of detail on it, it makes the shoulder look more cluttered while the other looks very barren now that it no longer has a faction symbol. 

To repeat myself (for those who skipped to the end), while I think the Siege mould is slightly better due to personal preferences for the truck mode, the Earthrise toy has the better overall robot mode; neither toy completely outshines the other. Both are excellent toys. I think the only reason I prefer the Siege one is for the same reasons as my preference for the Siege Datson squad; many people were willing to toss the Siege version aside for the sake of more G1 accuracy. "Not being completely G1 accurate" isn't a bad thing. Which one should you get if you can only get one? I don't know. As much of a cop-out answer as this is going to sound, get both and decide for yourself. They are just that close in terms of quality. You have options, at least if you don't want two G1 looking Optimus Primes. 

Transformers Generations Selects Transmutate (along with Kingdom Deluxe Class Paleotrex and Netflix Skelivore): "Man, I am tellin' ya, the things coming out of these [repaints] is just getting weirder and weirder."

War for Cybertron; Siege: Vehicles tied to the Titans (and a set of z list repaints) that can be broken down into weapons for other figures in the toyline. Excellent idea, executed mostly well. War for Cybertron; Earthrise: Micromaster buildings that can be broken down and become armour for other figures in the toyline. Cool idea, not as good of execution as Siege, mainly due to the reuse of the same two moulds. War for Cybertron; Kingdom: Dinosaur fossils that become bone weapons for other figures. Well, you have my curiosity, at least, especially when you do repaints for characters like Transmutate. 

While Paleotrex and Skelivore are brand new characters made for the toyline, Transmutate is an... interesting specimen. She was a one-off character in the Beast Wars cartoon. Her stasis pod was damaged in the show's opening, and when she made her debut in and was killed off in the episode, she is the namesake of, she was portrayed as a confused child in the show due to being viewed as incomplete, unfinished due to the pod's damage. Transmutate was terrifying in the show, not just because of her high pitch scream as a defensive measure, but the way she looked and moved in the show combined with the cheap CGI budget the show was known for made her genuinely disturbing to look at. So while the episode itself is excellent, be aware that it comes with some nightmare fuel.

Come on Hasbro, give us a Rampage. You know you want too

 
Transmutate didn't have a transformation back in Beast Wars, but as a part of her being a repaint of Paleotrex, she gets to share his. Paleotrex, Skelivore (a pack-in figure with Megatron in the third Netflix Leader Class Spoiler Box that I will not be reviewing), and Transmutate all transform into Tyrannosaurus fossils. That information, though, comes from TFWiki, and something about that feels wrong to me. While I don't know what these are, I'm almost certain they aren't T-Rex fossils. It's unsettling to see these in a Beast Wars toyline, where all the other Maximals and Predacons are living versions of the animals they transform into. It would be terrifying to see dinosaur fossils running around, let alone turning into giant robots. However, with the sculpting being mostly accurate to actual dinosaur fossils, along with the engineering of the Weaponizers of Siege and Modulators of Earthrise carrying over, these are extremely clean transformations, probably the cleanest out of all the Beast Wars characters. Unfortunately, though, due to the nature of their beast modes, they're not very stable in beast mode. The big heads make them very top-heavy, and while they will stand, I don't know how long the joints will last due to the transformation requiring joints like the hips to be friction plugs and ports. I also wish there was more articulation in the beast modes, things like a neck swivel to let the head turn from left to right, along with some ankle tilts to help get the most out of all the joints in the legs. 

Like the Weaponizers and Modulators, you rip them apart and put them back together into something resembling robot modes to transform these three. Unlike Siege and Earthrise's attempts, though, there's no one way to get to robot mode. The components are more ambiguous, and with some of the later Fossilizers, pieces such as hands aren't defined, relying on any 5mm port or any plug that can take a 5mm port to act as the hands. These give the toys many more playability options, making them the most versatile figures in the toy line, even before getting to the bone weapons gimmick. Below is a picture of three combinations of the toys, each only using the parts you get from one copy of the toy. 

While the playability is excellent, it's hard not to notice how different they look compared to other Beast Wars characters. Due to the bone aesthetic, they feel like zombie robots, which can either be a good or bad thing depending on your personal preference. Regarding the accuracy of Transmutate, due to this being a repaint, it looks nothing like the character does no matter what you do. However, I think this gets the spirit of the character's design, which isn't a guarantee with repaints. I love how they retooled the head, replacing the bone mask Paleotrex and Skelivore have (which in itself is a reference to Optimus Primal's mace, an accessory the original toy had) with the ability to do the scream she's known for in the Beast Wars cartoon. It's a nice touch. I'm not going to go into the bone weapon gimmick as, like the Weaponizers, many combinations can be done with them. The bone weapons do look convincing when they're trying to be melee weapons (like a giant bone axe or bone sword), but less effective when they're trying to be ranged weapons. I think Skelivore pulls off the ranged weapons the best, as the design and colours given to him are meant to represent something like Dark Energon constructs for Megatron. My biggest issue, though, with Skelivore is that the use of transparent plastic makes him far more brittle when compared to Paleotrex and Transmutate. My copy has fragile connections for the Dinosaur feet and shins (which can be but doesn't have to be a wrist swivel in robot mode). 

These three are a lot of fun. It's hard not to be entertained by them, thanks to the parts forming gimmick. Because this mould was built from the ground up for an original character, nothing limits their design. They don't need to look like the titan companions of Siege's weaponized, and they don't need to look like the Micromaster bases of Earthrise so that most pieces can be designed for the gimmick first and the robot/ beast mode second. Though some parts like the crotch are still a bit tedious to find a use for when combining onto other characters, especially when the weapon ports are more limited on Beast Wars characters, there's still enough playability in them to not rely on the ability to become accessories for other characters. Paleotrex and Skelivore are also generic enough to work as great army builders for the Predacons so that you could have a whole army of dinosaur skeletons. Definitely worth the purchase if you can find them. Next week though, it's time to go from some small dinosaurs to big ones and review one toy that's been a long time coming. "Yessss."

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.

Transformers War for Cybertron Earthrise Arcee, Netflix Siege Elita-1 and Galactic Odyssey Paradron Medics Lifeline: Oh dear...

 Is it just me, or does it feel like we're regressing? I applaud Hasbro and Takara for them adding more female characters to the franchise and giving them more toys, but I'd be lying if I said they were doing a good job at it lately. The problems mostly come from the execution of the toys themselves, primarily by kibble management, and a barrage of repaints. I can cut Victorion and Megatronia some slack as "repaint spamming" was the subtitle of Combiner Wars. The three girls of Titans Return were all unique in their own ways, even with two of them sharing Blurr's mould, Power of the Primes was when it felt like they were taking the piss with it. A fembot combiner with limb bots that were the same toy, just with different colour pallets, with alt mode junk slapped onto their backs in a hideous way (which says something for a Combiner Wars styled limb bot). That mould got retooled into Tentakill and Scylla for Pirahnacon and God Neptune, which somehow made the alt mode junk look even more slapdash. The mould got retooled into Siege Chromia (and then repainted into Nightbird for Generations Selects), and like before, she had kibble issues! Siege Chromia is a figure where they could have addressed the backpack issues if they remembered the problem fans had with her last toy (Generations Chromia, a retool of Transformers Prime Arcee), and let people use the windscreen as a shield. Now in Earthrise, where they at least made a new Fembot mould, that allows you to do something with a large chunk of the backpack, but at a cost. Earthrise Arcee, a figure many consider to be one of the worst toys in the Earthrise line, not that it saved her from getting two repaints.

Usually, I start these reviews in Alt mode and then go into Robot mode. However, in this case, I think it's best to start with the reason for the flaws, before going into the flaws themselves. The robot modes themselves look ok. The parts that are the robot look quite good, with solid articulation that's serviceable, although I do find it odd that they don't have wrist swivels. Paint applications on Arcee though are ok except for her face, in that she doesn't have any paint on it (except for her eyes), which makes the detailing on it look fuzzy, unfocused. Granted, the white face is G1 accurate, but like the Siege Rainmakers, G1 accurate isn't always a good thing. Paint though is something that Lifeline improves on, sporting pretty much all the same paint applications as Arcee does in robot mode, but also has some colour on her face and head to help break up the giant chunk of white and make it look more like a face and not a ball with blue eyes. I also appreciate the fact that Elita-1 isn't a full repaint, as the torso, shoulders, and head are all original for this toy, giving her a different presence compared to her pink and green sisters in arms. However, for some reason, all three get tiny pistols moulded in the same plastic as their windscreens, which looks terrible. Instead of a way to store them on their hips, they plug into their strangely defined asses... make of that what you will. Unfortunately, though, that's where the positives (and in the case of weapons and storage, questionable choices) end.

A G1 faithful Arcee was always going to have some form of a backpack on her; it's more a matter of how large it would be and what you can do with it. Unfortunately, the Earthrise Arcee mould has an awful backpack on her, regardless of the version of the toy you have. The entire car mode is crushed onto her back if you choose not to parts-forming anything. It looks ugly, and even when removing the part that you can, the entire back half of the car, you're still stuck with something that looks bolted onto her back, but does at least look better, all it would need is a few extra joints to compress it a bit more. If the sides had hinges on them so that the backpack (not counting the back of the car) could create a triangle-like shape with the car hood's headlight sections, I think that would have gone a long way to help to improve the backpacks. If you do detach the car's back though, you can fold out some panels and turn them into hoverboards for the girls. Yes, this is dumb. Maybe if they did more to make these look like actual vehicles and not just the backs of cars, perhaps this could have worked. At most though, these are subpar stands that you can use to have the girls do poses on (though my Lifeline does have slightly weak hips, however, that's more of a minor QC issue with my copy of the toy).

As for the car modes, they're not great. For the sake of a shell forming transformation (when the alt mode wraps around the robot mode), the three cars look boxy, something that goes against the design of Arcee's alt mode, a rounded, sleek futuristic space convertible. What doesn't help is that due to the car mode being nothing but panels, it doesn't hold together securely compared to any other Carformer in recent memory. Elita's is probably the worst of the three due to paint, or a lack thereof for the car's back. Still, when the only thing making a car better is paint (the winner of that once again going to Lifeline, with Arcee coming a close second as the only thing missing is some grey on the sides), you know you've got an awful alternate mode. I can forgive a bad alternate mode if the robot mode is great, it's why I can give a pass to stuff like Siege Soundwave and his rectangle pooping spaceship mode. These three are why I think G1 Arcee needs a massive, modernized redesign, something that tries to incorporate the car mode into the robot mode. The G1 cartoon design was not designed to be a toy; it was intended solely for animation in the cartoon and movie. While they've been able to do accurate cartoon designs for the other movie characters, Arcee has consistently failed due to varying degrees of awful kibble management. Sure, Masterpiece and Third-Party companies have come close, but I genuinely think it is impossible to pull off a completely cartoon accurate robot mode that also transforms. The feminine physique first, transformers second thing for the fembots needs to stop. They're great characters and deserve great toys. Stop designing them like Transformers Cybertron's Thunderblast, where the kibble blatantly looks like kibble.

The frustrating thing is that I wanted to like this mould. I've wanted a G1 Arcee to add to my collection. She was one of the final members of the 86 movie crew that I was missing having a version of. I also wanted a better version of Elita-1, and though I wish it were taller, upscaled to stand closer to Optimus' height, it wasn't something I was expecting out of this. Why did I get Lifeline? Because I like seeing novelty characters get new figures, and even if I wasn't the biggest fan of the original toy, it is nice at least to have a version of Lifeline in my collection. I know this mould had potential, it's not a lost cause, especially as people are customizing Arcee to ditch the backpack to give her a better looking back in exchange for losing the car mode. What makes this frustrating is that these three are tiny compared to other deluxe class figures in the line when it comes to plastic mass. You'd think there would have been more room in the budget to do things like better compressing the mandatory backpack, or giving something to the back of the car to make it look more like a hoverboard, but there isn't. They're not compatible with the War for Cybertron play patterns either, as none of them have any decent weapon ports (save for on their feet), nor do they have any blast effects plugs in robot mode, with the only two meant more for the hoverboard gimmick. There were just enough cut corners to turn this from passable, to frustrating.

I can see why people are keeping the old Generations or Takara Legends one if you're wondering why there aren't any comparisons to it, it's because I don't own one. The only comparison I could make is Elita with her Power of the Primes version, and that's not a reasonable comparison to make. Arcee is getting a reissue in Kingdom. If you're desperate for a representation of them, they'll do, but you can do better for Arcee and Lifeline (according to the community). Elita though? This figure is the best version of her so far, which is a depressing thing to think about, considering her status in the franchise. A leader in her own right, a character gaining a lot of attention recently thanks to the Netflix seasons, and the best representation in plastic that she has is a repaint of one of Arcee's worst G1 toys.

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?