The year's not over yet anyway, I'll see what Santa brings me before I decide.

Here's mine. I have a couple of different entries on there that I bet at least a couple of people will agree w/.

 

10. Cybertron Wing Saber- I looked for this guy for 4 months, and when I finally found him I was veryhappy. All those guns and the ability to combine w/ Prime are great.

9. Alt Nemesis Prime- Sure the price is a bit much and the mold has some serious flaws, but he makes one hell of a great display piece.

8. WST Grimlock- I love the WST line and while this guy isn't official, he is still well worth getting. Improved sliding head and stickers for Grimlock make him a must have.

7. Classics Starscream- Excelled in every area that MP SS failed. Awesome for the price.

6. THS-02 Prime- Awesome little figure w/ a few flaws. [sidebar- I even saw him used as a charm on a necklace (Tman)]

5. Alt Mirage- Probably the 2nd or 3rd best Alt/BT behind Meister and Grimlock. I really wish they had made a BT of this guy though.

4. Classics Jetfire- Just got him the other day and I am seriously impressed. This guy is the super-homage and just simply fun to boot.

3. MP Starscream- As much as I dislike the colors and the size, this thing is possibly the most impressive figure I have ever seen from an engineering standpoint.

2. Classics Prime- What a great update to Prime. Looks great and surprisingly modern in both modes.

1. Primus- the detail alone is absolutely amazing. Plus the fanwank from him being Cybertron itself is awesome. #1 all the way.

In no particular order

 

Classics Megatron: A fun roleplay toy, a decent figure, and a great update to a character. It's fun to just aim and "shoot" at my autobots, and my roomie didn't even think it was a Transformer at first!

(funny enough, she was singing praises for the wings in bot mode, which shows the theory that the fans just hate everything)

 

Universe Micromaster Superion: The repaint fans have wanted for Sixwing. Six fun Micromasters with few flaws (unlike the Groove or Buckethead from the other teams), in a nice homage color scheme. No trace of Destron Sixwing's pastels remain, and it's a wonderful way to end the Universe line...for real this time.

 

Giant Planet Minicon team: A team of minicons not defined by a single gimmick? What was foreshadowing to the CLASSIC minicons (same designer) turned out to be a pretty awesome team. Longarm is nicely posable and wears the colors fans love on conrstruction vehicle, Overcast is a great homage to Obsidian with the transformation, and Deepdive is a Go-Bot homage and the FIRST transformers submarine that actually looks like one. Fun to play with, and a great counterpart to the Recon Team.

 

Classics Bumblebee: Everyone loves Bumblebee. It's likely the only reason the Beetle is a car that still sells, because people remember him and "Optimus Prime, oh and the bad guy who turned into a boombox". An update that fits the character, and an elegant and fun transformation. My nephew enjoyed him immensly!

 

[beast Wars 10th Optimus Primal and Megatron]: The TRU two pack. Both are wonderfully toys in different enough decos to merit purchasing even if you have the originals. "Show accurate" for those that want that. Fun toys that are loaded with gimmicks for those who missed out the first time. As well, Megatron's face easily beats that of his RM "Mopeytron" incarnation.

 

Beast Wars 10th Megatron: The new mold. What is likely the best and most realisticly proportioned T-Rex we'll ever get, with loads of dino-fun for anyone who still has a favorite dinosaur. A nice and fitting update in the transformation, and we'll left with a long legged and thin robot. And that's what I like. He's unique. He's like Classics Megatron: In that, both are slender, long legged, not hulking... In other words, they look elegant. Regal. Almost trustworthy, if they weren't so evil. A fitting update for this character as well.

 

Alternator Skids: You notice I'm likely going into 2005...I didn't really get many figures this last year. Skids! It was the fandoms confusion! What? A SCION XB transformer? WHAT? It's NOT Ironhide? RAGE! That's what they said. But I love Skids, and to have a ridiculously posable Alternator of a character AND a car few would have expected is awesome. Also one of the rare instances of a character being who they should have been (Prowl WAS intended to be Red alert, and who knows who Hasbro intended Prime to really be...), as well as an "easy" difficulty for an Alt make Skids a nice winner.

 

Universe Devastator: The Landfill deco everyone wanted. Yet nobody sang praises for it. Four fun and flawed bots proving that ball joints mean nothing if the Load's too Heavy. A nice looking combiner and a fun to play with toy, The last gasp of Universe was something that should be mentioned.

 

You'll notice I only list what I own. As such, no Primus or Primes on my list.

 

Cybertron Shortround: Has he gone mad? Yes! A nerdy, pastel and white hovercraft! "Should have been Seaspray..." Too bad. You already got your Seaspray homage in Armada. Time for a new character to be just that...new. Forever doomed to live in a lame character's shadow, Shortround went above and beyond hopes and expectations. A nice looking gun, a smooth transform, and a unique design...the only thing holding him back are his elbows...which had to be that way.

 

I'm gonna cut my list early because by technicality I listed way more than 10. But! Honorable Mentions go to:

 

CLASSICS Starscream, Optimus Prime, and Hot Rod: All wonderful designs and toys, which would have ranked higher if not for the fact that THEY WERE GETTING TRIBUTES AND HOMAGES EVERY OTHER YEAR.

 

CYBERTRON Primus: He's big, he's a round planet, and he's "what we've always wanted". Problems with distrubtion (where's my unicron head), some proportion issues, and an easy transform weigh him down. Not to mention cost...

 

Classics JETFIRE: Yes, I own him. Yes, he's the kittenkaboodle. But even being Skyfire, he needs a little more...mostly something to do with his armor addons when not in super mode. At least R-Blade is happy I own his role model.

 

Cybertron Downshift: I bet would have been number 10, but I don't own him. I'm not about to dole immense praise for I don't own.

Classics Bumblebee: Everyone loves Bumblebee. It's likely the only reason the Beetle is a car that still sells, because people remember him and "Optimus Prime, oh and the bad guy who turned into a boombox". An update that fits the character, and an elegant and fun transformation. My nephew enjoyed him immensly!

:lol / :wtf / :rofl

 

Please tell me you're joking!?

My list would be, in no particular order:

 

Alt. Nemesis Prime

Classics Bumblebee

Classics Jetfire

Cybertron Armorhide

Cybertron Lugnutz/Hightail

Alt. Mirage

Cybertron Soundwave

Alt. Camshaft

Classics Prime

Alt Shockblast/wave (my all time favorite store bought Alt.)

Classics Bumblebee: Everyone loves Bumblebee. It's likely the only reason the Beetle is a car that still sells, because people remember him and "Optimus Prime, oh and the bad guy who turned into a boombox". An update that fits the character, and an elegant and fun transformation. My nephew enjoyed him immensly!

:lol / :wtf / :rofl

 

Please tell me you're joking!?

Naturally.

 

But it is pretty funny that the most common Beetle color I see is yellow...

Classics Bumblebee: Everyone loves Bumblebee. It's likely the only reason the Beetle is a car that still sells, because people remember him and "Optimus Prime, oh and the bad guy who turned into a boombox". An update that fits the character, and an elegant and fun transformation. My nephew enjoyed him immensly!

:lol / :wtf / :rofl

 

Please tell me you're joking!?

Naturally.

 

But it is pretty funny that the most common Beetle color I see is yellow...

I wonder what made HasTakWhoever release Bumblebee in yellow? Common Beetle colour maybe? :schin

 

:tftongue

My top 20, leading up to the top 10:

 

20. Classics Optimus Prime (classics 2 pack): Neat figure, great poseability, horrible altmode.

19. & 18. BW 10th Optimus Primal & Megatron 2 pack: Spot on representation of the Beast Wars S1 leaders. And I didn't have to drop $80+ to get them :clap

17. 10th BWX Optimus Primal: Very cool take on the Maximal commander.

16. CL Megatron: A return to the GUNN of GEEWUN. Kickass headsculpt, neat figure. :tfsad about the colors though.

15. Cybertron Downshift: A very very cool treat from the Cybertron line.

14. CL Hot Rod/Rodimus: While a nice update of of the G1 character, the impact is slightly deadened by the appearance of "Hot Rod" style redecos in the Armada and Cybertron lines.

13. Titanium 6" Thundercracker: With a great color scheme and great design, Thundercracker came along put an end to the FLOPPY FLOPPY that plagued the first wave of the 6" Titaniums.

12. CL Megatron (classics 2 pack): Much love for the BIG GREEN TANK of G2. :clap Shame about the hand though...or lack thereof...

11. Masterpiece Starscream: Highly detailed, interesting take on the original G1 character. Superb altmode and complex transformation. Shame about the lack of diecast...

 

Now on to the Top 10:

 

10. BW 10th BWX Megatron: A sweet intrepretation of the BW baddie.

9. Alternators Mirage: He's Mirage. And he's an Alternator.

8. Classics Starscream: All the GEEWUN nostalgia fun, minus the Masterpiece price. Great figure.

7. Titanium 6" Scourge: Finally, a tribute to Scourge - the real Scourge.

6. CL Grimlock: RAWRRRR!!!!

5. CL Optimus Prime: Cool cab mode, awesome bot mode. One of the best Prime molds ever.

4. Cybertron Primus: So cool, I had to get two.

3. CL Bumblebee: Bumblebee finally gets some love! :clap :clap

2. CL Mirage: A simply awesome figure.

1. CL Jetfire/Skyfire: Finally, Jetfire gets the GEEWUN luv he deserves.

 

 

 

Honorable Mentions:

Titanium 6" Jetfire: Cool design and nice poseability, but oushined by the coolness of Scourge and Thundercracker.

Titanium 6" Optimus Prime: Great character design, but would have fared better if it had been given locking fists and somewhat tighter joints.

Titanium 3" Ark: Doesn't look quite like the Ark I remember...but it's the thought that counts, I suppose. Still a cool little ship though.

Alternators Nemesis Prime: Cool colors, a Decepticon and an exclusive to boot, but...exclusivity and INTERNET SCANDAL :eek can only get you so far.

Classics Astrotrain: Let's just say that the lack of toon accurate colors was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Man, I've bought so many this year it's hard to decide...

 

Alternators Mirage. My biggest problem with the Alts is that after you transform them once, it's damn near impossible to get all the pieces to line up again. (No matter how rare it is, Nemesis Prime frustrated me so much that I was ready to throw it across the room. To this day I still can't get it back to normal.) Alt Mirage is one of the few Alts that really gets it RIGHT. Every connection is rock-solid, and even though the robot mode is kibble-loaded, the kibble actually looks like it belongs there. I love the headlight/door pieces on the shoulders. And hey, his proportions are a lot better than your average Alt, too.

 

Classics Mirage. Mirage has been blessed with two excellent toys this year. For a long time I really didn't give a crap about poseability, since I grew up with toys that were lucky if they could even separate their legs. But the poseability is this figure's selling point. (That, and the altmode is pretty hot.) Honestly, his robot mode is rather goofy with its spoiler-feet and the wheel assembly just rising out of his back, but he still manages to look cool doing virtually anything. That's a real piece of work, there.

 

Classics Optimus Prime (Voyager). Optimus toys in the last few years have sacrificed an awful lot just to give Op's robot mode some "muscle definition". THS-02 and the 2-Pack Classics Op both have altmodes that are, at best, horrific. Even Masterpiece Prime has to jump through loads of hoops just to have a truck mode that looks as decent as it does. Well, Classics Prime's truck mode ain't perfect, but it's unique among Optimuses and it's way more attractive than other recent offerings. All this says nothing of its robot mode, which is heavily armed and one of the most kickass Primes ever. I rank it second only to the Masterpiece.

 

BWX Megatron. If I were ranking these toys, BWX Megs would actually be rather low on the list, like nine or ten. It's a great toy, and the best T-Rex in Transformers history, but I have problems with it...mainly the color scheme (it really didn't need the green, or the light blue on Megs's helmet) and the INCREDIBLY puny arms in robot mode (granted, they hide behind weapons most of the time, but still). Oh, and let us not forget the Amazing Ass-Rocket.

 

Cybertron Primus. He'd also rank pretty low, actually. I dunno, there's just something inherently lame to me about a Transformer whose altmode is a BALL. He makes a much nicer ball than Unicron ever did, though. And he is loaded with features, even if a few don't work very well (you don't always know which way the Omega Lock should go, and the forearm gunbarrels on mine pop out WAY too easily!). He makes the list primarily by being huge and detailed.

 

MP-03 Starscream. Quite a feat of design...what a shame indeed that it's made from such crap plastic. Mine was broken right out of the box! The transformation is at times ingenious and at times awkward (thanks to the instructions not exactly telling you everything). The joints are extremely tight, too, which in this case is a mixed blessing. In either mode, MP Screamer is a gorgeous thing to display, but it's not the most playable toy in the world.

 

Classics Bumblebee. A toy that's like an Alternator in several ways, but with the benefits of a rock-solid vehicle mode, a nice accessory, and a winning smile.

 

Cybertron Downshift. The only Cybertron figure to make the cut (who isn't huge and detailed), and he's one of the American-exclusive ones. The Hasbro team really put out some incredible toys this year. (Though they also put out Quickmix and Menasor, lol.)

 

Alternator Skids. I like this figure probably a lot more than it deserves. His robot mode is completely absurd-looking, even when you transform it correctly, but the Scion mode holds together really well and the whole thing is just so odd and quirky that I have to love it.

 

Titanium Jetfire. Honestly? I like this design better than the Classics version. Classics Jetfire's butterfly wings and comically oversized helmet really knock him down several points for me. The Titanium version is well-proportioned and the jet mode looks hot. Even all the junk on the bottom of the jet could pass as a cargo attachment. And while Titanium Thundercracker might be more playable, I really think his jet mode looks like total ass. I HATE the "delta jet" design...the body of the plane always looks way too fat, and the wings always look way too puny. It's sad.

#5: Classics Dinobot Minicon Team

 

#4: Cybertron Downshift

 

#3: Cybertron Giant Planet Minicon Team

 

#2: Beast Wars 10th Anniversary Megatron New-Mold

 

#1: TRU Beast Wars 10th Anniversary Optimus Primal/Megatron Remolds Set

 

Couldn't afford anymore, besides the rest of the toys didn't appeal to me in the least.