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Combiner Wars started off very strong with the Aerialbots, Stunticons and Leader figures, but after wave 3 it started to lose a bit of steam once it became clear that they were just going to use the same seven or eight moulds over and over again. Near the end it just started getting predictable and boring, "Well this figure will probably be rapainted into this figure, and this figure is most likely going to be repainted into this figure" and so on. That being said there were some very good toys in the line, and the first three waves were great. I'd say Titans Return was a better line than Combiner Wars, but I still like it just fine.

Could UW Lightspeed pass for Sideswipe in vehicle mode?

Rodimus Prime wrote:Could UW Lightspeed pass for Sideswipe in vehicle mode?

It would be meh at best for me. I mean sure, its a red sports car, but the molded lightbar and the color being more of a lighter red as opposed to a deep red just don't work for me personally as Sideswipe.

Edit: G2 Dead End would be a better color match and no lightbar, but would have the G2 con symbol to contend with.

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

Rodimus Prime wrote:Could UW Lightspeed pass for Sideswipe in vehicle mode?

It would be meh at best for me. I mean sure, its a red sports car, but the molded lightbar and the color being more of a lighter red as opposed to a deep red just don't work for me personally as Sideswipe.

Yeah, I was trying to judge how close I can get it without repainting him. He'd be in vehicle or combined mode so it might pass at a glance. Just like G2 Air Raid passes for Dogfight if one doesn't look too closely.

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

Rodimus Prime wrote:Could UW Lightspeed pass for Sideswipe in vehicle mode?

It would be meh at best for me. I mean sure, its a red sports car, but the molded lightbar and the color being more of a lighter red as opposed to a deep red just don't work for me personally as Sideswipe.

Edit: G2 Dead End would be a better color match and no lightbar, but would have the G2 con symbol to contend with.

Moulded lightbar? Are you sure you're not think of CW Lightspeed?

Omegatron. wrote:

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

Rodimus Prime wrote:Could UW Lightspeed pass for Sideswipe in vehicle mode?

It would be meh at best for me. I mean sure, its a red sports car, but the molded lightbar and the color being more of a lighter red as opposed to a deep red just don't work for me personally as Sideswipe.

Edit: G2 Dead End would be a better color match and no lightbar, but would have the G2 con symbol to contend with.

Moulded lightbar? Are you sure you're not think of CW Lightspeed?

D'Oh!!! You're right, I mixed them up. UW would be a better mold. The color would be a little on the light side but much better

Rodimus Prime wrote:Could UW Lightspeed pass for Sideswipe in vehicle mode?

Tough call, but I'm gonna be the opposition and say not quite unless you squint. The hood and canopy are not the right shape, the latter especially with it being curved. On the bright side, if you can knock out pins, one can switch parts of limbs with moldmate Wheeljack.

Oh boy, oh BOY, CW. Now that was an oddball of a line.

I was a bit soured on the line by how damn cheap some of the figures felt. My Fireflight's leg extender armature is actually pinned in slightly crooked, there was the whole fiasco with my UW Defensor's HFG ports cracking, and in general the materials didn't feel very nice. Combined with the rampant mold reuse, unimaginative "Regular dudes as limbs" redecos and the fact that the stock HFGs were worthless as feet, and I have to be honest, I'm a bit disappointed overall with the line.

Credit where credit is due though, there were some solid figures. UW Computron (with SteamShield's 3D printed "slippers") is fantastic, Rook is a solid standalone mold and Megatronia is a lot of fun too. And the basic combiner port system was just fine, no complaints there.

Regarding each combiner (somewhat biased as I don't own most of these):

>Superion is blessed with the best torso design, cursed with really boring limbs. I actually found Alpha Bravo a breath of fresh air compared to just how boring the jets were, not helped by the fact their jet modes SUCK. UW was largely a sidegrade and honestly not worth it unless you REALLY want Slingshot.
>Menasor is the other way around- pretty solid limbs, dreadful torso. In his defence, Motormaster looks alright as a standalone figure, but his torso mode is an abomination against Primus. UW didn't help matters with cheeseman Dragstrip and self-destructing MM.
>Defensor's overally pretty decent, though both decos are ultimately lacking IMO. First Aid's Takara version is definitely better, Streetwise suffers from off-white via Hasbro and GREY from Takara, neither of which are good. Blades is kinda alright regardless of version, when his combiner port isn't cracking. Rook is IMO the superior limb to Deluxe Groove, who IMO is just not a very good mold. Hot Spot's blue is nicer on the Takara version and also looks better with the added blue in torso mode...but skimps on the "techno-grille" paint and looks a bit bland as a result. The combined mode is pretty nice in both cases to be fair.
>Bruticus...hooooooo boy. I actually wish Blastoff had gotten the boot and been given an OC replacement, really. If they weren't going to give us shuttle/space plane Blastoff (understandable as it was always a bit silly) then they could at least have given us a decent new Decepticon jet, or at the very least given Blastoff some retooling of any kind. I definitely prefer the UW deco...except for the shuttle chest on Bruticus (which always seemed silly to me) and Blastoff's interesting but bizarre orange. However, Vortex having four rotors is a bonus.
>Ruination: Notable for basically being Bruticus but better. More weapons, proper extremities, more coherent deco, and the best combiner name ever. Honestly if I ever get him he'll probably nullify my desire to ever bother getting an actual Bruticus.
>Betatron: Yeah, let's forget this ever existed shall we?
>Optimus Maximus/Ultra Prime: Notable for being a pretty terrible Optimus Prime, an awful combiner and also, regrettably, the closest thing to an official Nova Prime that isn't a too-small exclusive...and it wasn't even marketed as Nova.
>Galvatronus: CW was cool, honestly decent as Cyclonus figs go. However the UW version wipes the floor with him courtesy of the lovely paint scheme and the team.
>Sky Reign: I maintain Sky Lynx is an awesome torso even if he's a bit of a sh!t Sky Lynx. UW ditches Smokescreen (the absolute worst CW redeco by far) in favour of Ratchet. However...
>Liokaiser: Yes it's a terrible representation of Liokaiser, who I am reliably informed is an awesome character. However, as a Decepticon combiner, he sure does look cool. I still kinda want him, honestly- to me, "Deszaras" is just Leozack in a more bestial body.
>Computron: UW is a clear winner, and a really fun set of toys. The CW version isn't terrible though, and IMO still has its appeal (notably, I vastly prefer Hasbro Afterburner's orange and his green canopy).
>Victorion: Unified colour schemes are cool for combiners. Gum disease red and toothpaste teal, however, isn't cool for anything. Not terrible as a set of figures though, even if I wish they had gotten their own molds rather than being retools of male figures. However...
>Megatronia: Lack of bike bra aside, she's IMO much better than Victorion- the colours are still loud but much more pleasant, and Megaempress alone makes the set worth it.
>G2 Superion: I never much cared for this deco, but having a G2 Slingshot that won't disintegrate is nice.
>G2 Menasor: I actually love these colours, shame about Motormaster being awful.
>G2 Bruticus: Swindle is cool, gives me 2007 Swindle vibes. Vortex works, kinda 90s but the colours go well. Blastoff is awesome and I kinda want him on his own. Brawl, yeah, I never cared for the Daily Dose colours (you are a lucky son-of-a-gun if you don't know the reference) even on Megatron. Onslaught is just straight up a Velveeta Golem. And the combined colour scheme, I'm sad to say, is not very good.
>G2 Defensor: Mercifully does not exist. Which is for the best, as even the eye of God Primus is agonizingly blinded by those colours.
>Wreckage: Toxitron getting an actual toy is cool. It being CW Motormaster is not.
>Grand Scourge: See above.
>Predacus: Hot take- the colours, WRONG though they are, are kinda cool. However, Tripredacus it ain't, and it also involves owning FunPub Ravage, whose head is possibly one of the worst headsculpts in the history of the franchise.
>Magnaboss: Kind of a cool idea, at least until you realize Tigatron shares that "chewed caramel" headsculpt with Ravage, and thus is the Transformers equivalent of that botched Jesus painting restoration.

Then there were the other non-combining figures, who ranged from decent (Magnus, even if he was usurped by Siege) to mediocre (Megatron, whose cool tank mode and nice headsculpt couldn't save him from that robot mode) to pants (the Leader Seekers, who irritate me for reasons I can't quite explain).

Oh, and then there was Devastator. I gotta be honest, I've never liked that mold, even with the Takara improvements. Too big, too hollow and flimsy, oddly proportioned, kinda shonky alt modes, Mixmaster just being crap (to the point my friend came up with the hilarious headcanon that he's actually an impostor/fraudster named Spindoctor) and overall just being a bit "eh". If he'd been kept the same pricepoint but "compacted" such that he had a higher partscount and denser plastic but was only a bit larger than a CW combiner, he'd have been decent, but as is? Meh.

Except (UW) Scrapper. He was cool.

All in all, I don't hate CW, but it could have been a lot better. I'm glad it got made, but I would rather like to see revisions to some of the combiners done with the advances in engineering we've seen lately.

My CW Devastator (actually Prowlastator) had been combined on my shelf for about 3 years. So today I decided to take him down and play. The joints needed a workout, and I had forgotten how good the individual Constructicons are, even if it's not the UW version. Except for the life of me I can't get Bonecrusher's crotch to stay together. Inappropriate: Looks like he has a vagina.

the two things I didn't like about the Combiner Wars line -

• The Leaders didn't play into the gimmick at all. IDW fiction be damned but they should have saved Ultra Magnus for Titans Return and had Minimum Ambus bet a Titan Master - then add in a Titan Master vehicle, one as a hover car (for Minimus Ambus) that could also convert to a jet for Ultra Magnus' chest piece as a call back to Diaclone.
  
• Ratchet wasn't widely available.

Decided to play a little catch up on CW after seeing how crazy some of the Protectobots are going for ($100+ for a standard retail deluxe!?). Granted, I saw the Protectobots only once at retail so maybe they were scarce everywhere? I'll probably just import a used UW Defensor set from Japan since they're still pretty cheap there. But that got the ball rolling and I ended up ordering some Autobot cars off eBay since I had originally passed on because I thought they looked silly, but then decided I wanted them after all when I got the UW Lynxmaster set. Got CW Prowl, Sunstreaker, Mirage, Ironhide, and Smokescreen for $153 between two sellers. Pretty expensive since they would have cost $75 or so new at the time, but it's not super terrible and I did manage to get Sunstreaker for $21. Also finally got a Viper for $10, never saw him in stores at all. It's coming from China, but claims to be a real Hasbro product so I figure if it's real then great and if it's a bootleg I'll just complain to PayPal and get my money back. After I get UW Defensor the only 3 sets that I really need are G2 Bruticus, G2 Superion, and Liokaiser (when did that set get so expensive? Only a few years ago online stores were clearancing them out).

Emerje

Emerje wrote:(when did that set get so expensive? Only a few years ago online stores were clearancing them out).

Emerje

Yeah, Years passing on an item no longer available tends to do that. HTS ended up selling many of their G2 sets for as low as $40, they also appeared in after market stores (TJ Maxx, Marshalls, etc...) for that price, now you cant find one for under $100.

And here I was complaining about getting Rook, and Alpha Bravo for $30 MOSC 3 or 4 years ago...

o.supreme wrote:

Emerje wrote:(when did that set get so expensive? Only a few years ago online stores were clearancing them out).

Emerje

Yeah, Years passing on an item no longer available tends to do that. HTS ended up selling many of their G2 sets for as low as $40, they also appeared in after market stores (TJ Maxx, Marshalls, etc...) for that price, now you cant find one for under $100.

And here I was complaining about getting Rook, and Alpha Bravo for $30 MOSC 3 or 4 years ago...

I considered myself lucky to get Rook, Groove, and Air Raid back last year for around $60. Those guys are nuts expensive, the completionist part of CW probably owing greatly to that

Is that the retail completionist part of CW or in general... Can't imagine predacus being cheap now...

I got Predacus in 2017 for around $500. There are several on eBay, people asking for upwards of $1000, but I dont see them actually selling for that price, not sure what anyone who wants one bad enough would be willing to pay.

I am happy to say my UW/CW/PotP collection is complete including all Club and Convention exclusives sans the 4 Ratchet variants and Flash Sentry from BC2016. I've pretty much consigned myself to never getting them though, because they are all far more than I am willing to pay currently...but I still keep them on my list in the super-rare case of circumstances all aligning.

ZeroWolf wrote:Is that the retail completionist part of CW or in general... Can't imagine predacus being cheap now...

I mean actually completing a combiner, like you have 1-4 components, but need the last or the rest as it were.

I'm waiting on someone right now to ship him out, but I finally found an actual good priced Dead End to have by himself, which itself was hard

So forget about importing a UW Defensor set, I wasn't attached to that deco anyway. I remembered Transformerland was supposed to be a place to get a good deal on loose figures and they had a complete set of retail Protectobots (but no Grooves) for only $135. Got that and threw in a Deluxe Groove for only $20. Pretty exceptional deal! Now I've got a Rook I can stick with probably Inferno. Good stuff.

Emerje

Emerje wrote:So forget about importing a UW Defensor set, I wasn't attached to that deco anyway. Emerje

To each their own. however for Superion (minus the white hands), Menasor, and Defensor, you'd have to have a really keen eye to notice the difference between UW and CW. I mean is there difference , sure, but it is minimal IMHO. I just stuck with UW for the uniqueness of the giftset style packaging, and keeping the original teams in tact, but of course, I picked up any CW release that UW didn't offer.

UW-Dev is where things start to really get different (more animation accurate green , added articulation, and weapons). UW-05 (and its CW counterparts) are pretty similar as well. UW-06 is of course completely new. and from 07 and on, things get progressively more different from CW, which is a good thing

Nice, I have a 2nd Rook that is on Inferno along with Groove, a 2nd Air Raid, and Smokescreen. Still need to find an Override for the chest plate, not sure I would want to put Wreck Gar on the chest if I had the legends one honestly.

also got a 2nd Dead End headed my way finally! He is destined for the Cyberverse shelf as 1 of only 2 standalone CW combining figures.

Yeah...not sure if anyone here remembers my old Signature pic, but TAV Override looks very cool as Inferno's chest plate. I just put legends class Wreck-Gar on Lynx Master (as he was at one time conceptualized for Sky Reign), thanks to fan modes, he still can be.

I feel Rook was one of the best deluxes to come out of CW. Yet he got an even shorter shift then Alpha Bravo or Off Road in the IDW stories.

About Unite Warriors Defensor, that figure was one where I definitely felt that the Hasbro deco was far and away better. I cannot get past how ugle Hot Spot's colors were in combined mode, it was ridiculous

I still think they did a pretty OK job with Optimus Maximus. The combiner itself looks pretty dang nice

Looks pretty good. I haven't used the Prime version of that mold to combine, but the Motormaster version is a turd. I don't evrn use him in Menasor, I use Cyclonus. Menasor is by far the worst of the Scramble City guys. Maybe because he was the first regular-sized combiner, I'm not sure. All the others are pretty good, but that mold is just awful.

Question: do you guys like the mix-and-match concept of Scramble City, or would the other gestalts have been better if they were the same as Devastator, where all the parts were unique and could be used only one way? Hasbro's financial stake notwithstanding. I know Scramble City made the combiners more profitable.

The Motormaster mold isn't terrible as a torso, the shoulder's are just OK if you hold him right, but the hips are a big issue. They're awkward to move and the ratchets aren't lined up properly so he leans like crazy. It's night and day compared to the Silverbolt mold.

As far as scrambling goes I only do it with leftover characters like Alpha Bravo and Rook. I definitely like the option of switching around preferred arms and legs.

Emerje