Universe is great. If for no other reason than getting molds I didn't get the first time around.

Anybody got any pics of the Sideswipe and Sunstreaker?  Neve seen 'em...

Review and pictures of Sideswipe and Sunstreaker

 

 

Universe is to me a line of hit and miss. Some color schemes are excellent (like Razorclaw :thumb), while others are awfull (those I didn't buy :tflaugh).

 

 

Besides the color there's also the terrible (or absent) quality control: inferior plastic, plastic bleed, loose joints, paint bleed over windows, ill-fitting parts... You never know if you're going to get a good figure or not. For example: my Razorclaw is perfect, but I've heard others can't even let their Razorclaw stand up because of loose joints. My Inferno (Red alert) has all the problems I described above, while others have a perfect figure.

 

As long as the line keeps using good and preferably older molds (it's still to early to start reissueing Armada molds), the color mix is kept decent and the quality control improves, then toy line wise this series has a lot of potential.

I really liked the idea of the Universe line. The story line is so full of possibilites and the chance to get older figures and molds that were never released in the States is awesome. But the color choices on a whole lot of the Universe figures just blows my mind. Is Hasbro blind? Or at least colorblind?! An all purple Silverbolt for instance?!?! What are they thinking?!?! I've been really pleased with some of the figures. I personally have Universe: Reptilion, Tankor, Obsidian, Whirl, spychanger Prime and Magnus, and I'd like to pick up Nemesis Prime and Swerve. It's a great idea, but Hasbro's greed just seems to show through Universe more so than on any other toy line of TF's.

Universe is cool, but some figures I just don't understand WHY they're in the line.

 

Give me more of the G2 stuff. Like the small Decepticon Jets. I miss my G2 Windrazor. :( :(

I like the general concept of Universe, the ability to get molds that I (and other collectors) missed the first time around. I feel that the mold selection is decent, and for the most part, waves 2 to now have had decent color selections.

But I feel that Universe, as a whole, is not being managed well and could very well end the line by next summer. These are a couple areas where Universe has fallen short:

 

-Story/Presentation: The line is basically stagnant in that there is no fuel for kids to continue with the line. Tranformers always gets some kind of revision at the halfway point of a line (the Battles subline), and a complete change after 18 months. In the year since Universe has been on the shelves, there has been 3 revisions to the mainline (Unicron Battles-Energon-Powerlinx Battles). There has basically been no change to Universe in some 18 months, something needs to be done to attact some interest.

 

-Promotion: Universe is a side line, I can accept that, but I cannot accept the lack of any sort of promotion on Hasbro's part. They don't need to do a cartoon, but a commercial every now and then would do wonders, as would actually updating the product catalog (which hasn't changed in over a year, just about nothing in it is on the shelves anymore). Even a minicomic would be a great addition (this goes with the story issue).

 

-Case ratios: This is the biggie. What is the purpose of shipping Blackarachnia and the MRR duo for a full year? Most of my stores have stopped recieving any new cases of Universe deluxes as they are so full of Inferno and Ratchet, yet these two continue to ship. For the lower sales of the line, each new wave case should have ONLY had the new figures. Realistically, many Universe toys sell pretty well, but few will buy the toy after a year of being availabe.

 

-Mold Selection: I have pretty much supported Hasbro in their mold selection, but there are issues here as well. I have felt that there needs to be some sort of coherancy with at least the waves, ie, a wave of pure beasts (early Beast Wars), a wave of future vehicles (BM redecos), a wave of realistic vehicles (Cyberjets, RID deluxes). The series has a scattered look which I feel is hurting.

I also thing that a few new molds now and again wouldnt't hurt, especially in light of what Takara has done in Robot Masters, which is primarily a repaint line with a few new molds, any of which could easily be incorporated into Universe.

I like Universe because it's a wild card more or less. You never know what they're gonna turn out next.. and for the price point, some of them are quite a bargain.

The Universe line is Hasbro's excuse for making repaints that don't fit into Energon. That is it. Granted they do come out with some figures that weren't available in the states such as Nemisis Prime Mammouth thing.

The Universe line is Hasbro's excuse for making repaints that don't fit into Energon. That is it. Granted they do come out with some figures that weren't available in the states such as Nemisis Prime Mammouth thing.

Not just for energon. It is Hasbro's repaint line overall. They could care less if the figures they release fit in energon or not.