Best Toy Prchases of 2022

My apologies for the significant drop-off of content this year. With restrictions eased now that people stupidly believe the pandemic is over, things have naturally changed for me this year. For one thing, I got a new, better Audio Visual job than the one I was doing before the pandemic and the ones I was doing in the little spaces between lockdowns. In addition, my workload has picked up so much that I'm finally chipping away at my student loan debt from University at long last, and renting a house seems possible. That may seem like a low bar, but when your life was on hold for two years, it felt like a more significant accomplishment than you'd think it would. Sadly, the trade-off is less time to work on these sights. I work on these sites for fun; I don't make a profit on them, meaning that I need to prioritize what does make money.

Anyway, I wanted to do something different this year. Instead of ranking toys in separate lists, I wanted to do a single post cataloguing some of my favourite toys of the year in no particular order. Are these toys all objectively the best? No, but they're enjoyable for different reasons. I've sorted them into categories for you; feel free to skip through to what you're interested in. With that out of the way: 

 

Top 10 Worst Transformers of 2021

For everything good, there is often always something terrible. While this year and the last few years have been an excellent run for Transformers as a whole, not everything's been a hit. So for the first time on this site, I'd like to contrast the good with what has, to me at least, been some of the low points of the year. For most of the entries on this list, low points mean just that, low points. Just because a toy is on here doesn't make it objectively bad. Some entries are here because of questionable design choices and frustrating engineering elements. Some are here because it made me question what I was doing in past years. Some toys are bad for QC issues, some are personally frustrating, and others objectively don't work. The point I'm trying to make is that this is a spectrum, and just because I don't like it doesn't mean you don't have to (though I do hope we can all agree on Number 1). So come with me on this trip down memory lane to the things I'd rather forget.

 

10. Kingdom Red Alert. 

 

Red Alert is not a bad toy. I've gotten many versions of this mould, which should tell you how much I like the mould. The issue isn't that it's a lousy toy; it's the fact that it makes Siege seem redundant, more so than Earthrise did. I liked the futuristic look for the characters; I wanted to see more of them, so to see Hasbro not only throw that away after a year but also actively replace characters with their Earth Mode counterparts stings. It makes me feel like most of the stuff I got in 2019 was a waste of money.

 

9. Kingdom Wingfinger.

 

I'm an avid defender of the Partformer gimmick bots of the War for Cybertron Trilogy. I had a lot of fun with the Weaponizers of Siege, the Modulators of Earthrise, and the Fossilizers of Kingdom. Wingfinger as a parts pack for other figures is also fun. I've just never liked the standalone beast mode. I don't get how this one is supposed to work. Granted, you could say that about the others, but the others only had to walk. How is Wingfinger supposed to fly when he has no real wings? Yes, that's why he's low on the list. 

 

8. Studio Series 86 Gnaw. 

 

It's a little hard to justify saying this is one of the worst toys of 2021 when I have three of them, isn't it? Clearly, I don't hate it that much, and to be honest, I don't. I still enjoy the figures that are low on this list. Gnaw's a fun figure in robot mode and looks good in Shark mode. Honestly, the only issue I have is the position of the shark hips in beast mode, as they sit very far down the back, making him very front heavy and a pain to pose. It's an area where I think the Titans Return one did it better, but that came with its sacrifices. The bot head peeking out from under the jaw is also unsightly compared to how clean the shark mode was for the Titans Return release. While I think this has a way better bot mode than the Titans one did, the beast mode was handled better back then and considering the nature of the character; I can't help but feel the priorities were wrong, as the people who would buy lots of this (how's it going Simon) will buy them for the beast mode. 

 

7. Kingdom Ultra Magnus.

 

Though I went into this expecting a Siege retool (unlike many people, apparently), there are still some bells and whistles that I wish they did now that they could cut the extra guns and cut some of the costs retooling the Siege one. A Matrix cavity would have been nice, along with some hinged hands to hold a Matrix. Filling out the shoulder stacks also would have been nice, or at least moving the gaps, so they weren't visible beside his head. Do I hate the mould? No, and I'd honestly still buy a Delta Magnus repaint if they ever made it. I can't help but expect a little more as other 86 movie characters got that little extra TLC. 

6. Buzzworthy Bumblebee and Spike.

 

 

Or, to be more accurate, Spike. The Bumblebee included in this pack is good. I'd love to see a version of this at some point with a Bumper head sculpt. This is a really good figure for a modernization of Bumblebee's original toy. Unfortunately, he came packaged with a plastic plank. How hard is it to do a good toy of the Exo Suit? I didn't hear good things about the Masterpiece one when it came out with Bumblebee 1.0, the one that comes with Studio Series Slug is a joke, and this somehow fails even more than that thing did. How is the best version of the Exo Suit the one from Titans Return that has to do double duty as Arcee's head? 

5. Premium Finish Bumblebee. 

 

 

The worst thing about this toy isn't that it's genuinely bad but overly complicated. Considering the space to work with, the transformation is highly complex for a figure this size and price, and because of that, it's hard to make the car mode actually behave and stay together. Unfortunately, ambition got the best of you, Bumblebee. Here's hoping we get a new one that's accurate to the final on-screen model, though.

4. Buzzworthy Bumblebee Fangry. 

 

 

I'm just going to let this photo speak for itself:

This is the current state of my Fangry. Unfortunately, a severe factory error put a screw in at the wrong time, causing the hips to have no friction in them. All I need is a pin puncher to fix the issue, hopefully, but it's not exactly a tool I've got on hand. In the meantime, though, any toy that's in pieces, and isn't by Lego, has to make it onto the worst list.

3. Kingdom Scorponok. 

 

 

What the hell happened here? Between Blackarachnia's release and this, how did the care going into the Predacon bugs drop so drastically? The transformation isn't fun. The robot mode looks awkward (though accurate depending on where you look), and the beast mode is basically a brick thanks to the useless hollow bug legs and the tail almost wholly locked into place. All that comes to mind whenever I look at him is, "What the hell happened?"

2. Shattered Glass Megatron.

 

Is this a bad mould? No. Is this a lousy repaint? That depends on your definition. To me, it's not a good repaint due to the team trying to turn a tank into a jet. Because of it, Shattered Glass Megatron comes off as an awkward mess. A clash of identities given plastic form because if this is meant to look like the original Shattered Glass Megatron, a toy that was a repaint of the Transformers Energon Megatron, this is a laughable disgrace. I wouldn't have an issue with it if it were "Here's Siege Megatron, in Shattered Glass colours". I would probably groan a little because I like Energon Megatron's design and would love to see a new version, but I would at least respect it as a fresh take on the character. This awkward mashup of concepts makes me angry because the Unicron Trilogy designs get shafted so often lately, reduced to "kinda sorta close enough" repaints. That's why I put this toy so high on my "Worst of 2021". This, this right here is the pinnacle of fans of the toys, of the designs, being given less than scraps. Primus, I hope Legacy helps ease this and gives us more designs that aren't G1 or repaints forced out of G1 moulds.

 

Honourable Mentions 

• Generations Selects Powerdasher Zetar
• Earthrise Thrust
• Kingdom Huffer
• Kingdom Grimlock
• Generations Selects Lancer

1. Kingdom Tracks and Road Rage.

 

 

For all the issues I have with the concept behind Shattered Glass Megatron, the worst toy of the year has to go to a figure that barely works, and even when working as intended, it feels like it's straight-up broken. Nothing about Kingdom Tracks feels finished. While I'm willing to accept that issues would have come up in the testing process due to the pandemic, that can only go so far when there are objective design issues. Most copies of the mould barely stand, with many people (myself included) resorting to a variety of 3D Printed adapters just to keep the shins together in robot mode. I've had to modify both figures to get the front windscreen to plug in and out without running the risk of shattering, and I was unable to get a friend's copy of Road Rage into car mode in order to have a version of the mould for robot mode, and a version in car mode for Comic-Con. "Oh, you just have a dud copy" can't apply when three copies of the mould barely function, and the vast majority of people have similar issues. So is there a positive to this mould? Well, it's nice to have an alright looking copy of Tracks, and great to see Hasbro making a Road Rage for mass retail. For those like me who got back into collecting after his last toy left shelves, it's nice to have that hole in the Autobot Car Collection filled. But this is a toy I'm looking to replace as soon as a better one comes along, assuming it even lasts long enough to survive a resell. 

And that wraps up the worst of the worst for me this past year, at least from a Transformers perspective. Next week will be a smaller list combining the best and worst 6-inch figures I got over the year that aren't from G.I. Joe Classified. Let me know if you agree or disagree with this list, as I'm curious how these stack up in the eyes of others.

Top 10 Best Transformers of 2021

2021 has come to a close, and it's time to begin looking back at the year that was. Throughout January, I'll be looking over the figures I've bought this year, seeing who's the best of the best and the worst of the worst. Both Transformers and G.I. Joe will have two posts each, today being the Best of Transformers. Between the Bots and the Joes, there's going to be a smaller miscellaneous list, covering some of the other 6-inch figures I obtained in 2021, to give them a send-off as well. However, a golden rule for all of them is that these are all figures I own. As a result, Unicron is automatically disqualified, as I don't own a copy of that toy. With that said, come with me on this trip down memory lane. Here are the Top 10 Best Transformers I got in 2021 (most of which came out in 2021).

 

10. Shattered Glass Jetfire.

 

I'm starting the list with some returning moulds that I enjoyed back then and still enjoy now. Many of my issues with Siege Jetfire still hold true with the Shattered Glass repaint; he still feels very light for a bot of this size (especially when compared to Sky Lynx). Some things also feel a bit too clunky (such as the Titan Master support), but the positives still outweigh the negatives, and the colour change on the Shattered Glass repaint makes a solid mould even better.

9. Generations Selects Galactic Man Shockwave. 

 

 

"He also looks great in black, at least based on pictures I've seen.". A quote from my 2019 Top 10 Transformers list and... Well, yeah, he does! Functionally this toy is just a repaint of the Siege Shockwave mould using the colours of the original, pre-Transformers toy in Japan. I was shocked by the little extras included in this toy, including painting some of the moulding detail to look like wires for a nonexistent light up gimmick (again to homage the original toy). I'm glad that the controversy about all the extra pieces has died down, probably because we live in a world where a Deluxe can be sold as a Voyager, Voyagers can be sold as Deluxes, Voyagers can be sold as Leaders, and a Voyager can be sold as a Commander if given enough accessories. Is Galactic Man a must buy? No, it's only for those who like the niche repaints.

8. WFC Kingdom Megatron (Beast Mode). 

 

"He's just a degimmicked re-release of the original!" Is that a bad thing? Though I haven't gotten the Beast Wars reissue of Megatron yet, it's something I've been on the fence on since learning about how similar the toys are because the Kingdom one is really good. Many of the Kingdom Beasts (and don't worry, there's more of them later on in this list) blend cartoon accuracy with realism, something that I think the brand has been missing up until recently. Sure, if they did a version of this toy in more cartoon accurate colours, I'd buy it because the cartoon colours are beautiful. Even without that, though, this is what I wanted in a modern take on Beast Wars Megatron. The dino skin is excellent; the gimmick integration is fun, the modern articulation makes him so much more dynamic in both beast and bot mode. This is the boss of the Predacons redone two decades later; what more is there to say?

7. Generations Selects Transmutate.

 

 

Representing the Fossizers and "partsforming made fun" for 2021, how could it not be Transmutate? The moulding and the gimmick work so well as a fresh take on the half a bot we all know, love and who haunts our nightmares thanks to the ugly 90's CGI and that godforsaken scream. While she's fine in official configurations, the nature of being a Fossilizer has meant that people have gone to town with configurations for her, bringing her closer to the original body horror-based design. Still don't like her as a standalone, independent fembot that don't need no Maximal's help? Well, rip her apart and turn her into a golden axe for Primal. Everybody wins! Just, please don't make her scream. I'm not kidding about that "haunts our nightmares" part.

6. Studio Series 86 Grimlock and Slug.

 

Wheelie and Daniel not included. I couldn't decide between the two of them which one I enjoyed more, which is why both of them made the list. Both begin to tease us with what we've been missing in our lives, a complete set of Leader Class Dinobots that tower over the cars and trucks of the Autobots. However, neither wholly outshines the other in my eyes. Grimlock's very imposing, but I'm not a fan of the transformation as it's a very safe transformation for Grimlock. On the other hand, Slug is more complex and exciting but not as burly in some areas, and the backpack looks far more cluttered when compared to Grimlocks (thanks to the new transformation. Together, both are great, I can't wait to get the other three, and Sludge had better have the Googly eyes as an accessory, dammit!

5. Netflix Optimus Primal

 

As tempting as it is to include all three versions of the mould here, I prefer the Netflix release just a bit more out of the three. The paint applications are more in line with the cartoon while still keeping the Kingdom detail, and some of the annoyingly tight elements of the original release are smoothed out here, making him effortless to move around and pose. The differences between this version and the regular Kingdom version are minor, though, so if you can't find one, the regular Kingdom release is still a great option. As for the Nemesis Primal repaint included in Buzzworthy Bumblebee, my only complaint is the black fur. After seeing all the customizers repainting the black gorilla fur white, it just looks so much nicer.

4. Golden Disc Collection Mutant Tigartron.

 

 A more recent inclusion that I only got a few days ago at the time of writing. I include it, though, because of the history of Tigartron and Cheetor. If you have Kingdom Cheetor, Netflix Cheetor or Kingdom Shadow Panther, you'll know how this mould's going to mostly work, as the original Cheetor mould was used for Tigertron back in the '90s. With the upscale to Voyager class, Tigartron gets to have more of the bells and whistles that the little cat didn't get. Extra joints, extra accessories, a few minor tweaks in the transformation, pretty much everything I wish was done for the Deluxe Class release is done here. I love the fact that this is a nod to the original plan for Tigartron, and I can't wait to get the regular release of him next year. Hopefully, I'll go into more detail early in 2022, but that will have to wait until I get the regular release. 

3. WFC Kingdom Rodimus Prime.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if this is Number 1 for many people. Rodimus is a great toy with a lot of playability and display options. I love how effortless he is to move, a perfect refinement of Studio Series Hot Rod from earlier this year (even though I got mine last year). The only issue with him is that he's a little overpriced at RRP, something that sales, especially holiday ones, easily fixed. So why isn't he Number 1 for me? Two do beat him. This year was just an excellent year for Transformers.

2. WFC Kingdom Cyclonus.

 

 

Refined Perfection. This is what the Earthrise Seekers wish they could be. An updated take on the 2008 toy is the Cyclonus toy people have wanted for years. Cartoon accurate without being bound to the aesthetic (looking at you modern Masterpieces), Voyager Class scale, with all the articulation and modern engineering tricks made standard in the 13 years since the original's release. If Starscream and his merry band of repaints got this kind of treatment last year, they would have made the Top 3 easily. Easily the best of the G1 stuff in Kingdom.

Before Number 1, a few honourable mentions. 

• Kingdom Vertibreak
• Kingdom Dinobot
• Pulsecon Covert Agent Ravage
• Generations Selects Sandstorm and Ramjet
• Studio Series Dino
• Buzzworthy Bumblebee Origin Bumblebee

And the best of the best is...

 

1. WFC Kingdom Airazor.

 

 

Beyond the perfect articulation, the beautifully sculpted feathers, and the delightful transformation, the reason Airazor gets Number 1 is because this is a long time coming. While a good chunk of the Beast Wars characters have had toys since the late '90s, some like Scorponok, Terrorsaur, and Airazor haven't. Until this year, the only other option for a Beast Wars Airazor on your shelf WAS her 1997 toy. This didn't need to be this good, and cases like Scorponok show that we still need to wait for a perfect version of some beasts. Kingdom Airazor is a perfect figure for the character, though. Not only that, she's the best female transformer toy to date as she doesn't get bogged down with alt mode junk on her back, putting recent releases of Arcee, Chromia and Elita-1 to shame. She's more dynamic than many other Aerialbots (not just the combiner team); what few faults she has are easily drowned out by the positives. Not only is Kingdom Airrazor the best figure of 2021, but I'd also go so far as to say it's one of the best Transformers figures I've ever owned, right up there with the likes of Cybertron Optimus Prime and Energon Tidal Wave. Without a doubt, Kingdom Airazor is a must-have figure.

And with that, that wraps up the best of the best. Let me know what you think if you agree or disagree, and I'll see you next week for the worst of the worst.

Transformers Studio Series 86-04; Hot Rod: Pissing people off since 1986

 Hot Rod cannot catch a break, can he? Hot Rod's been a character bound to controversy since his inception, and though not all of his appearances have caused issues, the ones that do tend to get a lot of negative attention. To the community, he's seen as the poster boy for Hasbro's "out with the old, in with the new" mindset that caused a lot of beloved 1984-1985 characters to be killed off in the 1986 movie, with some (either jokingly or seriously) still claiming he was the one that killed Optimus Prime. Many a meme exists of his collaboration with Megatron to kill the beloved big rig. Jumping 35 years later, and Hot Rod's got a new controversy. Smaller characters, sold at higher price points padded out with accessories. Both he and his Matrix infused alter ego Rodimus Prime (Rodimus moreso than Hot Rod) have taken pages from Siege Astrotrain and Earthrise Cliffjumper and are filling out their price range with lots of accessories. Hot Rod's a Deluxe Class toy being sold as a Voyager, while Rodimus is a Voyager being sold as a Commander. The original plan was to review both of these figures together; QC issues and shipping delays have put Rodimus on the backburner for now. His time will come, but in the meantime, is Hot Rod worth the extra $15? 

Starting in car mode. While I think the car mode looks excellent, tolerance issues plague this toy, and the car mode suffers from it the most. For the sake of the transformation, the panel lines don't look clean and intentional, making some parts like the ends of the headlights stick out like they're being held on with gaffer tape. Some of the tabs themselves are also relatively easy to snap. I've snapped off a tab on one of the smokestacks on the copy I have, which makes the panel line gaps even more significant due to a missing locking point. For something taking so much strain, it's annoying that it wasn't given more support. If you manage to get everything into place properly or can look past the gaps, the car mode looks good. One issue that many might have, though, is that it's not movie accurate. A few minor shaping differences, and a different colour pallet, opting more for a toy accurate colour scheme. With a Fan First Friday coming soon, I wouldn't be surprised to hear if a movie-accurate colour scheme is on the way, similar to how Galvatron is getting a toy accurate colour scheme. While I think the paint scheme with this release is ok, I wish some things were handled better, like the flames on his hood, but overall, it's not bad. I love the look of the car mode; I think the sculpting differences between this and the movie work in the toy's favour, adding to the sense of speed it has. However that is entirely subjective, it might be more of a problem for you, or you may not have even noticed. 

Ahh, gotta love mistransformed product shots...

Hot Rod comes with a lot of accessories, with the overall package being a bit hit and miss for me. First, you get the guns from his original toy, which can peg into the car in either the engine or slots on the hood of the car (which also double as robot mode storage), but these have a habit of scraping off the silver paint. It's a shame because the guns are nicely sculpted. Another accessory you get is his buzzsaw from the underwater scene on the Quintesson planet, which can also tab into the guns for the sake of storage. Finally, for now, you get some effect parts for his arm blasters, which can tab into the smokestacks in car mode. I'll cover the last two accessories once we get to Robot mode, as they cannot store anywhere in car mode. The buzzsaw is a nice inclusion, though the sculpting is kept intentionally plain for the sake of making it look like it's constantly spinning. The effect parts for the arm blasters are an annoying compromise for me; they were done in blue as a part of gang moulding, which looks bad when you consider the Autobot energy blasts are a yellow/ orange colour. Hopefully, a movie-accurate repaint has the parts moulded in that colour instead of Matrix Blue (more on that later).

When you get into Robot mode, you get a good looking but also not very exciting Hot Rod. One big issue with 2021 toys of the 1986 movie cast is that thanks to them being divided between Studio Series and War for Cybertron, there's an awkward mix of standards for the aesthetics of characters. This becomes really noticeable when you get cases like Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime. Rodimus goes all-in on the WFC aesthetic, with lots of detailing in the plastic, whereas Hot Rod goes for more movie-accurate detailing, making him look very dull in comparison. That's not to say that this is a bad toy, far from it. The Deluxe size at the Voyager price range has meant that the transformation can be more complicated, and extra joints were included to add more playability to the figure. Unlike other Transformers, there aren't many visible hollow spaces on the figure; a common shortcut designers use to cut down on the budget. The three areas I can find, the back of the pelvis and the bottom of the feet, are minuscule and so far out of the way that it's not a problem. Unfortunately, tolerances are once again an issue because while the figure looks very limber, certain areas are uncomfortably stiff, a prime example of that being the shoulders. A mix of joint placement, sculpting oversight, and uncomfortably stiff joints has resulted in some figures breaking at the shoulders. I want to say something is similar to a fault the original Masterpiece Hot Rod/ Rodimus Prime had. It also makes some poses somewhat awkward to do, including the position that's one of the big selling points of the toy, the ability to do the "Light our Darkest Hour" scene from the movie. The final two accessories are to pull off this moment, a Matrix (the same one that comes with Earthrise Optimus Prime), and an effect part to go over it to make it look like it's opening (this effect part being why the laser effects were also blue). Hot Rod's hands even act like Earthrise Prime's do, in that they can open up to have the Matrix handle slide over the thumbs. The only problem with this is the small size of the Matrix combined with the joint positions in the shoulders; it is challenging to get Hot Rod in a place where holding it feels natural or closely resembles the movie. A large part of that also comes from how small the Matrix is, for the sake of storing in Earthrise Prime. Storage for the Matrix isn't an issue for Hot Rod because there's nowhere to keep it on him. While it is movie accurate, if it wasn't going to store on him anyway, it would have been nice to get a Matrix that was sized to allow figures to hold it properly, something almost every Matrix gives up for the sake of storage. While it is fantastic that Hot Rod has a fold-out visor, a flip-out welding torch and a flip-out plug for the buzzsaw, I would have prefered those got cut to get a better Matrix. I'm also disappointed that he didn't come with a fishing pole, 0/10.

While this is a very good, gimmick-free Hot Rod toy, some issues take the shine off. I want to love the car mode, but it feels like it's fighting to stay out of car mode. Robot mode looks good, but the sparse detailing makes it look rather basic compared to his older self in Kingdom. While I like most of the accessories, the big selling point of the Matrix opening loses its charm due to the issues with the shoulder joints and the size of the Matrix itself. For the sake of storage, the small size works, but not when the figure is holding it. I hope that the stiff joints and the connections needed to keep together in car mode are improved, either on the version currently in stores or a potential Generations Selects release. Though I have minor complaints with the accessories, the joints and locking points are the most significant issues I have with the toy. It'll be interesting to see if Rodimus improves on those issues; for now, he will be one of the following Autobot reviews once he comes in. In the meantime, the next review continues the Heralds of Unicron, with Kingdom Cyclonus.

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.