1-2 Silverstreak is my favorite followed by Smokescreen

3 Grimlock

4 Miester

5 Hound

6 Tracks

Last Sideswipe and Dead End are tied for last cause they just aren't as poseable.

I think that finished Shockwave proto with the yellow eye was probably the prettiest so far, so my top three, based only on looks, would be:

 

1. Shockwave

2. Grimlock

3. Swindle

 

But this is totally disassociated from their engineering. I don't think that Grimlock or the Jeep mold are particularly well-made at all. Just about every limb on my Grimlock falls off, and the Jeeps can barely move their arms.

I think the alternators line is great, an excellent addition to the Transformers line. Frankly, the rest of the stuff that's out there now really cannot compare. The ingenuity of the designers/engineers is spectacular...very creative.

 

My thoughts on the ones I have:

 

1) Grimlock. Color scheme, articulation of joints, proportion in robot mode, weapons, awesome car mode...all excellent. At first, it's strange to think of Grimlock as a car, but it just works. Wheeljack looks strange, and seems truly like a repaint when the weapons are recycled. Small gripes about Grimlock are the proportions of the car mode seem a little longer than in real life and the fists under the grill.

 

2) Hound. Meister would have been higher if not for his arms popping off, and feeling somewhat cheaper than the others. But Hound's jeep mode I would say looks just like an actual Jeep Wrangler. His robot mode is fairly well done as well except for his shoulders. But he looks quite similar to his G1 mold.

 

3) Meister. An improvement over Smokescreen/Silverstreak. Again, he'd be higher if his arms/shoulders were better attached.

 

4) Windcharger. The whole thing with his gun really is a shame. It's so obvious that something's missing that the figure just doesn't look complete. Fortunately, he will be in a few days and so he should go up on this list. I agree with what some people are saying in that his robot mode really hide the car features better than the other alternators, and that's quite a feat. The other small criticism about this alternator is that unlike the others, I just don't feel he reflects a popular G1 character which is what this line was supposed to represent. He looks more like a new figure altogether with the moniker of Windcharger slapped on it. Oh, and just thought of one more. His "retractable" roof, albeit a nice idea, could have been designed better. I was really Outback about keeping all of the accessories for my G1 figures. But I like how transformers now include weapons/accessories that can be stored somewhere on them. The retracted roof top accessory is annoying in that one of the two pieces can't be stored anywhere. The way I have it now is while in car mode, the roof is up and the retracted roof accessory sits in the front seats.

 

5) Tracks. It's true his legs are difficult to get from robot to car modes, and his missiles are fairly flimsy, but he looks pretty good in either mode.

 

6) Silverstreak. I like his color scheme, and I agree with somebody else's review--that I would have gotten this over Smokescreen if I had the choice as Silverstreak is something you'd see on the streets.

 

7) Sideswipe & Smokescreen. At the time when he and Smokescreen came out, they were the best ones for obvious reasons. They're still very good. Something I don't like about Sideswipe that I don't hear much about is his connection piece for his back to his trunk. The thing always seems to scrape against the ground when he's in car mode unless I maneuver his trunk or wheels a bit. Guess that's what he gets for being a low-rider. Plus he's shorter in car mode than he should be.

 

I do like Smokescreen and Silverstreak, but like everybody else, that transformation back to car can be so annoying.

 

Anyway, my two cents. Like I said before, these are awesome updates to the G1 toys I grew up with.