Kind of an old hashtag started in 2013 started by @Essex_Alpha (if he's even still around, I'm honestly not sure), which was a hashtag where you talked about the best bots you got that year. They didn't need to be brand new this year, just ones you got. Well, I want to do my own one of these, but with a little twist. As you might be able to guess by the fact that the brackets in the title have another hashtag in them, while this one is covering the best, I am also working on a list of the sixteen worst. Because you can't have one without the other... well here you can but I'm on a small holiday, and I want to write! None of these are full reviews, it is still a Top X list, but if there are any you'd like to see a full review on, if one doesn't exist already, let me know and I'll get one up as soon as I can. So lets get too it, shall we?
16. Titans Return Wolfwire
So just because it doesn't need to be bots that came out this year doesn't mean that bots that did come out this year won't be on the list, especially when they are as good as this little wolf. While the back leg engineering is a bit fiddly, and the cannon is so big I leave it off, this is still a great figure in a great line.
15. Combiner Wars Sky Lynx
This guy is hit or miss for a lot of people, and my Sky Reign review does cover a lot of the issues it has, but this one is a pure personal enjoyment spot, as I did like Sky Lynx from the G1 cartoon, but I've got no plans to get the original toy due to prices. I love you Sky Lynx, not that much though.
14. Reveal the Shield Lugnut
Ahh Animated, a good show, mixed figures to go along side it. For every Shockwave, there was a Seaker mold, and a Lugnut. So, give him a Classics esque figure, make him a bit bigger, and you've got the best Lugnut mold to date, but when your comparison is too small to be the Decepticon berserker with bombs for hands, you sadly don't have much competition. Still RTS Lugnut is really good on his own right.
13. Ku Bian Bow MP-10V (Voyager Sized MP10 Optimus Prime)
Yes, I have a knock off. No, I don't have a real MP-10, but dam does this little guy make me want one. It is exactly what you think it is, a Masterpiece figure shrunk down to Voyager sized, and missing things like his trailer, but you get a Die cast sword that looks like the one from Age of Extinction that he can't hold... Still the figure itself is great, but to be fair, the real one is also meant to be great, or at least the $200-$300 second hand price tags keep telling me that.
12. Henkei Astrotrain
I love me a good Astrotrain, one of my favorite Decepticons, and I love tripple changers. So to score this Japanese exclusive repaint for cheep was a win for me. People hate on the vehicle modes and the amount of kibble in robot mode, and yeah it is a problem, but at that size I can live with it, and he still has a better train then the Titans Return death train. Can we at least agree on that?
11. Generations Scourge
I have five of this guy for a reason, and like having the five of him. Yeah he's not the G1 Space boat, but to me, a squadron of bomber planes is scarier then space boats. But being led by a spaceboat adds to the fear of my Sweeps collection.
10: Generations Blitzwing and Doubledealer
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| Blitzwing on the left, Doubledealer on the right |
Sadly both versions of this mold for me have that torso issue, and I do need to fix them. But while I am waiting for the Titans Return version, and am waiting for someone to sell Gewalt at a good price for me at the time, these two are still quite competent little Triple changers, so long as you're not expecting realistic alt modes. They still do need to be cheep guys, chill.
9. Generations Chromia
While yes the complaint about there being more male transformers then female ones is valid, and certainly more valid then things like Brionne and Super Mario Run are sexist thanks to poor research on the complainers part, you can't deny that when they do female transformers, in terms of personality post gen 1, they do them really well and it does kinda transition to they toys, but they tend to be kibble heavy. Only thing that could have made Chromia even better for me was the ability to use that glass cockpit as a shield like she does in the comics rather then just letting it be kibble. So close, yet so far, but far enough to make it to number 9
8. Unique Toys Sworder
Robot mode, great except for a few joint positions. Helicopter mode, looks silly, but in a good way and its fun to go between Robot and Helicopter mode. Cannot say the same for the car mode though, that's what lets this guy down. First Third party guy I got, and I already lost a tab on it because of that car mode transformation. At least it wasn't that important.
7. Titans Return Triggerhappy
Why can we not get this guy more often? This guy screams Decepticon constant. He can have giant cannons for hands, was a part of the Targetmaster line originally, giving him a a gun that turns into a smaller robot, and his name tells you then and there that he's going to shoot first, ask questions later. He even transforms into a X-Wing esque Decepticon star ship. Bring this guy back!
6. Warbotron WB-03A: Turbo Ejector
Probably not going to get a review for a long time as I'd like to get the set before reviewing the individual bots properly, but still a great big bike that I just wished rolled better. Expect a full review of this guy once I can find the rest of Warbotron's Third party Computron, which may take a while due to how expensive 3P Combiners are.
5. Generations Springer and Sandstorm
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| Springer on the right, Sandstorm on the left |
Back to the world of the real guys with this duo of tough cars and gorgeous choppers. I kinda don't want to see these two again in Titans Return because of how good these two are, with the only issues I have being Springers legs don't like to co-operate in Helicopter mode and Sandstorms turbine wings needed to be a little longer due to the robot mode arm placement. Even those aren't deal breakers because of how good these two are.
4. Titans Return Hardhead
Probably best representing Titans Return overall, at least in terms of the guys who were actually Headmasters originally. Same Alt modes, same robot modes, just make them more posable and size appropriate for stores today, and in cases like Hardhead, that's all you need.
3. Battle in Space Two pack Cyclonus
Still the best Cyclonus so far that gets to stay Cyclonus (I have a soft spot for Galvatronus). Combined with Nightstick and you've got something which I personally think should be like the CHUG Seaker mold and get re released all, the dam, time. Why are there 30 of that mold> who has all 30 of them. No seriously, who? For more of a look at Cyclonus, look at the Galvatron's Army review.
2. Cybertron Optimus Prime and Wing Saber
Of course Prime was going to be on this list. Of course it was going to be the Cybertron one because that is still who I think of when I think of Optimus Prime, and to not only get that childhood dream this year but also Cybertron Wing Saber too? These two, if it wasn't for a later figure, would have been number 1, only just loosing to who won. Prime has a review to himself, maybe in the new year Wing Saber will get the same treatment. Maybe.
Honorable Mentions, and there are a lot of them as I did get a lot of Transformers this year, and limiting them to just five I didn't think was a good idea, as there are more then these I wanted to talk about, so, in no particular order:
Titans Return Chromedome: I do like the CW Dead End mold, and yes it is
a bit annoying that they are still reusing it in Titans Return, Chromedome is
enough of a retool for me to let it slide. Consider this the spot for
Smokescreen too.
Combiner Wars Vortex: I can confirm Alpha Bravo was not the most reused mold in
Combiner Wars. That title goes to Offroad. For proof: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ME55_wwxn2QDOelKCnsBb2dLIFK3zB4yj2vwFZ-8UFM/edit?usp=sharing,
I still only have this version of the mold, I'm fine with this version of the
mold.
Maketoys Hellfire: Darkfire, now Gypsies its your turn. Did I add this here just for that bad joke? Partially... mostly... It's still a good "not" MP "not" Inferno though.
Titans Return Blaster: Yes, Blaster has a Blaster, and no I did not choose the name Blaster because of Blaster, because Blaster existed before I was even born and I chose the name Blaster before watching anything that had Blaster in it. Yes I intentionally worded it to say Blaster as many times as I can. Will admit though I'm one of the few people who likes Blaster's base mode, probably just because I'm an AV tech and it reminds me of a music stage.
Generations Roadbuster: Because you need that many guns on a bot, and the 4 x 4 x F@&! off mode is a blast.
Hunt for the Decepticons Sea spray: How did we go from the cute Sea spray to what looks like a Grid iron player wearing scuba gear? Am I complaining? No.
Revenge of the Fallen Leader Optimus Prime: I'm not going to deny that he is a good figure, and the only reason he didn't make the main list is because there were others I personally liked more. My issues with the movies stay with the movies, the figures do get different treatment
SDCC Exclusive Soundwave: Sadly he still can't play Pokemon Go to those who want me to cover it, even though Marissa has done a First Impressions post on the game, might have to get her in a video to see how her thoughts have changed several months after release of the game. Back on topic, SDCC Soundwave is very impressive in terms of engineering. Yes he part forms, but he's a tablet. At least he has a 3.5mm port!
Titans Return Titan Masters Apeface and Terribull: Being honest, this does go to the solo Titan Masters you can get, they're adorable and fun to mess around with if you need something small for your desk to fiddle with. Why those two as the ones named, they're the ones I messed around with the most.
Titans Return Astrotrain: I joked about the war train mode, but its in that "its so naff it is kinda baddass" when you stop and think about it. Didn't bother getting Sentinel Prime though because I knew this guy was coming.
And with that out of the way, number 1 from the bots I got this year goes too: DX9 Chigurh.
Again, I like Astrotrain, he's one of my favorite Decepticons and its a shame he rarely gets toys in comparison to other characters. For the price of a part form panel and gaps in his lower arms, you get an almost screen accurate robot mode, I think the wings needed to be wider but they're still fine, you get a perfect train mode in terms of the look, and you get a shuttle mode that doesn't get badly compromised by the train mode. All three modes look great, for a triple changer that's a rare accomplishment. This guy was what got me curious to get back into Transformers in terms of collecting, and to me, he's well worth the wait. Now to find DX9's Blitzwing for the other one, seeing as these two are the two I'm tempted to find the G1 versions of, and I'm not a G1 collector.
Come back this time next week to check out the worst of 2016 for me, be they bad toys, naff toys, don't work right, or were disappointments. Huge shout outs to the people I bought most of these and more from over 2016 thanks to the Transformers Collectors Club Australia, I should have been giving you all shoutouts on these posts and I am so sorry for not doing it, nor writing down which ones I got from which person. I will be doing that next year with a slight reboot to these posts, more on that at another time. I've got more content on the way though, so stay tuned.
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