The Energon Pub

I would say separate lists for beast wars and beast machines.

ZeroWolf wrote:I would say separate lists for beast wars and beast machines.

Good point, I'll second that idea. There was such an abundance of both BW and BM that I would love to see a top 5-10 for each. While similar they also have a bit of a different aesthetic and it would be cool to compare apples to apples. Other times I like when lists evaluate Transformers from across all lines.

william-james88 wrote:I didnt include the Beast Wars basics because while some do work well with the Scout Class ground rules, the earlier ones dont. I love Beast Wars Terrorsaur, but he and most of those early BW Basics are closer to one steps/activators than Scouts. They have simplified transformations and lack the complexity of the later Beast Wars Basics, especially the Beast machines basics. So, to make things easy and make room for other lists later, I figured I would just stick with the Scout and current Legends Class for now and deal with Basics in another list. Dont know if I will seperate BM from BW, should I ?

That is interesting and makes sense. Nice sorting and categorization, thorough and accurate.

Thanks, it was fun and rewarding, and more labor intensive than I thought. I thought you were working hard and doing a great job, but now I have even more appreciation for the time and effort that you must be putting into the job. Awesome job, and Thank you. I love seeing, thinking about, and learning about Transformers.

Cool list Emerje.

This was never going to be an easy list to compile, because there's so many contenders.

Lets face it, there are a few scout/legends out there that actually are better than some of their larger brethren.

That being said, I couldn't peg down a top 5 without spending a fair bit of time in "the room", but I am glad to see Breacher made the top 5. He is easily one of the best little figures out there and has always been a favourite of mine.

I liked Skyblast with the cartoon Skyfire vibe it had going, it was pretty cool.

Movie Ransack is just metal as [expletive deleted] in robot mode, and a sweet under represented type of plane in alt mode. Love that guy.


I want to love Windcharger, but he never made it out around here.

The recent insecticons were great, but we freakin need Kickback still! Screw Meatloaf, only getting two out of three is bad.

Shockwave is great, but that stupid square peg really wrecks what should be a toy that the other toys can hold, as most now can't.

Optimum Supreme wrote:The recent insecticons were great, but we freakin need Kickback still! Screw Meatloaf, only getting two out of three is bad.

I would do anything for a legends Kickback, but I wont do that.

For real, though, would Armada Perceptor count as a Scout? Because the engineering was actually pretty clever, the alt modes were ones you rarely, if ever, see, the combined mode looked pretty cool, and having a combiner that tiny seemed pretty novel to me, at least at the time.

How has no one mentioned Generations Swerve yet?! He's my number one with a bullet - looks great in both modes, and a spot-on representation of the comic character.

I also second the people saying CW Bombshell deserved to be on the list. He's just a marvel. I like CW Powerglide as well, but Bombshell's the member of the wave that really blew me away.

And for anyone who hasn't gotten their hands on Titan Masters Wheelie yet, believe me when I say he's in contention. His deco is awesome, his transformation is interesting and fun, and he looks good in both modes.

If I had to be honest, I thought a good number of the Beast Machines Scouts were pretty interesting and well-done.

TheForgottenTaxi wrote:How has no one mentioned Generations Swerve yet?! He's my number one with a bullet - looks great in both modes, and a spot-on representation of the comic character.

I also second the people saying CW Bombshell deserved to be on the list. He's just a marvel. I like CW Powerglide as well, but Bombshell's the member of the wave that really blew me away.

And for anyone who hasn't gotten their hands on Titan Masters Wheelie yet, believe me when I say he's in contention. His deco is awesome, his transformation is interesting and fun, and he looks good in both modes.

In my opinion I don't think he's as good as the ones on the list and all the other great scouts. He wouldn't be in my personal top five but maybe my top ten. I'm super excited to get my hands on a Wheelie. He may end bumping Bombshell or Viper out of the top five.

SureShot18 wrote:In my opinion I don't think he's as good as the ones on the list and all the other great scouts. He wouldn't be in my personal top five but maybe my top ten. I'm super excited to get my hands on a Wheelie. He may end bumping Bombshell or Viper out of the top five.

Same here. For some dumb reason, Canada actually has a street date for TR figures and Wheelie is only coming out in august. So I wont get him till then,but he does look awesome. He will probably appear in a top 5 titans return figure list one day, who knows

And about Swerve, he has a real deal breaker for me: no thigh swivel. Sure, lots of awesome older toys don't have it, but they usually sport a playability aspect or timely aesthetic that makes up for it or excuses it. Legends Swerve is a modern update who's main playability is that he is a poseable transforming action figure. But he doesnt pose well and its dissapointing. My first instinct when holding and posing a modern TF figure is giving them a wide and dynamic stance and that is unachievable with Swerve. I mean, for crying out loud, Energon Divebomb who is over 10 years older has 11 points of articulation while Gen Swerve only has 9 (Generations Shockwave has 13 and the activator seekers from animated have 15!).

I don't think any of the modern Legends have been quite as good as the previous lines' Scouts (especially not RotF). Legends are a bit smaller, a bit less articulated, and rather lacking in kick-ass alt modes. I still love them, but Shockwave is lacking compared to old Ransack.

(plus, seeing Hasbro drop the Targetmaster without dropping the price will always irritate me)

TheForgottenTaxi wrote:How has no one mentioned Generations Swerve yet?! He's my number one with a bullet - looks great in both modes, and a spot-on representation of the comic character.

Don't have him but Gears is pretty good. If only he came with a little Spider-Man,

william-james88 wrote:

SureShot18 wrote:In my opinion I don't think he's as good as the ones on the list and all the other great scouts. He wouldn't be in my personal top five but maybe my top ten. I'm super excited to get my hands on a Wheelie. He may end bumping Bombshell or Viper out of the top five.

Same here. For some dumb reason, Canada actually has a street date for TR figures and Wheelie is only coming out in august. So I wont get him till then,but he does look awesome. He will probably appear in a top 5 titans return figure list one day, who knows

And about Swerve, he has a real deal breaker for me: no thigh swivel. Sure, lots of awesome older toys don't have it, but they usually sport a playability aspect or timely aesthetic that makes up for it or excuses it. Legends Swerve is a modern update who's main playability is that he is a poseable transforming action figure. But he doesnt pose well and its dissapointing. My first instinct when holding and posing a modern TF figure is giving them a wide and dynamic stance and that is unachievable with Swerve. I mean, for crying out loud, Energon Divebomb who is over 10 years older has 11 points of articulation while Gen Swerve only has 9 (Generations Shockwave has 13 and the activator seekers from animated have 15!).

He's a great representation of the character but that's most of what he's got going for him. As a figure by himself he's not very good. I still really like him but that's mostly because of the character.

Just got TR Rewind today, getting Wheelie tomorrow, I can say without a doubt that Rewind is a wonderful figure.

Throwing my opinions onto this list 8 days after the last comment (and because I just found it), I'll have to throw in some ideas of my own.

Powerglide is a wonderful legends. He even pulls off the targetmaster mode, and he is a wonderful legends. Very posable, very nifty, very playable.

Cosmos is well deserved on that list. It is a great legends class dude.

As I have Rewind, I can say that he is an awesome legends too, maybe my favorite since I can carry him around and pretend he's my MP3 player.

Overall, great list, and lots of good legends dudes!

To all the people saying Bombshell's amazing... I... don't quite get it? Nothing about him seems particularly special and he's got a wealth of annoying issues - the Insect legs which go nowhere and always get in the way, the lack of any neck articulation, and the really annoying and pointless arm-gun things which seem to be from an aborted Targetmaster gimmick but only end up making him look weird.
He's far from a bad figure but I'm having a really hard time understanding the praise.


Now that I've got that out the way... fuggit, making my own list! I've only really got figures from the past three Generations lines so no wonders of ROTF or Cybertron here I'm afraid.

5. Combiner Wars Buzzsaw



Yes, you read that right. Yes, I am absolutely completely serious - I love this bird, even without a Soundwave or even a Blaster to put him in. He's a really fun little desk toy with a simple yet fun transformation, there's a few fun fan-modes to mess around with (especially the alternate wing configuration for bird mode; that's a blast), and that phone mode is just so small it's absolutely adorable and gets me every time. Not incredible, but I love him.

4. Combiner Wars Viper



An actual Combiner Wars mold this time, and quite the cutie. While he really doesn't manage to pull off the Targetmaster mode well, what he does manage is a nicely articulated 'bot mode with an inspired deco choice and new head in addition to a marvelous little plane mode which easily kicks the T30 Seeker's butt every time. I'm not sure I've seen that dark blue on any other Transformer - maybe Triggerhappy? - but it's an absolute beaut and really helps Viper stand out.

3. Titans Return Rewind



The only non-CW figure on the list (though really, does Buzzsaw count as a CW figure? Does he REALLY?), and granted he is my only TR Legends figure... but me oh my, does Rewind pull his weight. Much like Buzzsaw his phone mode is such an adorable small size, but what edges him over his fellow Cassette-bot are his other two modes being so much better. The tank isn't the most convincing thing in the world, but it's really fun and does have a decent resemblance to a tank and I find myself endlessly entertained by the turret moving up and down. But the star of the show here is that robot mode, and what a robot mode - my only real problem is that the arms are just a bit too bulky to match the rest of the proportions, but otherwise he's stunning. He looks great, he matches his fictional counterpart well, and that headsculpt is just one of the most wonderful things I've ever seen. The perfect companion for any Chromedome

2. Combiner Wars Groove & Rust Dust





We're right back to the Gestalt Scuffles with a double act; the little motorcycle chest plate dude and dudette! Yeah, I really couldn't choose between the two - both of them rock the mold wonderfully with their own unique and awesome-in-different-ways decos, Groove being the stout little policeman and Rust Dust lighting the way with the rest of her renegades. Their motorcycle modes are lovely and strike a perfect balance between bulk and elegance; scaling quite nicely with their teammates and providing the parts for a rather lanky robot mode that despite first looks comes together very well for a fun and different body shape. I must admit though, Rust Dust almost wins here - her chest armour mode works far better for Victorion than Groove's does for Defensor, and that extra little glass-shatter deco on her chestplate would be that little extra that gives her a place in my heart. And it does. But then I'm a sucker for Groove's colour scheme and he wears the mold made for him perfectly, so both are winners in my book.

1. Combiner Wars Shockwave



Who else was it going to be? Who else, really, was it ever going to be? I was absolutely flabbergasted to not see Shockwave anywhere on this list because to me, he's the perfect example of a Legends Class figure. Incredibly articulation takes center stage here; thigh swivels, shoulders, elbows and knees, a ball-jointed head - oh, and let's talk about this head, shall we? Actually, let's not, because it speaks for itself in how it's ruddy perfect. The molding is on point, the paint is on point; everything was put into making this robot mode as perfect a representation and update of the character as could be - I can only really criticise the strange translucent plastic for some reason used for the hand and gun, but even that has it's own cool little flair!
And then his transformation! It's simple yet not insulting; clearly using the original toy as a blueprint but going in a very different direction with a lot of ingenuity. It's fun and practically art in legends-class form.
The space gun is pretty damn cute and makes for a good update of Shockwave's original form, though it's a shame the whole purpose of the figure (being a gun for Bruticus) doesn't quite work out as he's too heavy for Bruticus to hold upright. But I don't care! I got him before I completed Bruticus and he's bloody awesome on his own! If other future Legends-scale figures of normal-sized Decepticons are anything like this (please give us Soundwave please give us Soundwave PLEASE GIVE US SOUNDWAVE!!!), then I will be one very, very happy girl. Perfect.

Honourable mentions:-
Honestly, considering Rewind is the only non-CW figure on here, I might as well have just chucked on Chop Shop, called it a Legends CW list and be done with it. He's a really fun little insecticon and a nice new colour scheme (and lovely new head!) for the Skrapnel mold and I had quite a bit of fun with his transformation.
I also like Windcharger/Tailgate a lot more than others. Nice representations of their MTMTE selves with a fun (if very fiddly) transformation into a tiny cutie of a car mode.

I might as well mention that the only other Legends I've got (to memory) are CW Thundercracker and T30 Bumblebee. They're alright. They're decent. Thundercracker would be so much better if he had a head swivel though, so much better...

TR Brawn definitely belongs on the list now. Guy's just swell, if you can find one. (@#$%^ing Hasbro and distribution)