Every two weeks, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor. These are my opinions (just like movie or game reviews hosted by sites are still just the opinion of one person) so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found
here.
Top 5 Best G1 CombinersContinuing the lists spotlighting combiners, while awaiting their return in Power of the Primes, we now look at G1. It is still very much the golden age of Combiners, when looking at the sheer number alone. They came in all shapes and sizes, some could scramble, some couldn't, some came to the west and some remained in the east. Let's do this! You can view the 2 previous combiner related lists
here and
here.
5. Transformers G1 1987 RaidenWhile Devastator may be far more iconic, Raiden has been by his side in the Diaclone line before the Transformers toyline even existed and it is a real pity we never got this in the west as I personally belive he is just as good as Devastator with a cool train motif. All the trains connecting together, which later train combiners like Six Train fail to do, is a really nice touch too. We often don't get to see the individual bots when speaking of Raiden so I will take the time to show them below. You will see that while they are simplisitc as all G1 combiner components are, they are diverse in their looks, mirroring the diversity of the train cars.
Transformers G1 1987 Getsuei GalleryTransformers G1 1987 Getsuei GalleryTransformers G1 1987 Kaen GalleryTransformers G1 1987 Kaen GalleryTransformers G1 1987 Shouki GalleryTransformers G1 1987 Shouki GalleryTransformers G1 1987 Yukikaze GalleryTransformers G1 1987 Yukikaze GalleryTransformers G1 1987 Seizan GalleryTransformers G1 1987 Seizan GalleryTransformers G1 1987 Suiken GalleryTransformers G1 1987 Suiken Gallery4.
Transformers G1 1985 Devastator (Devastar)I don’t think I need to say much about this iconic combiner. He was the first afterall. I really like how uniform he is with the green colour and the construction vehicle theme. The only set back this toy has is the large amount of kibble (here meant as the extra pieces) needed to complete the combiner mode, such as the breastplate, the head, the forearms arms and hands, and the hips. What’s fun though is that some of these parts can fit on the construction vehicles for added firepower.
3.
Transformers G1 1986 Defensor (Guardian)The Scramble City combiner were quite the revolution. While the combiner madness started with Devastator, these guys took it up a notch so that any smaller robot could be either an arm or a leg. Not only that, but they were interchangeable from different sets. Which meant that what served as an arm for Superion could be a leg for Abominus. Kids were encouraged to make their own combination, which is awesome. There were less extra pieces than with Devastator, but you still had to add (and not lose) hands and feet as well as breastplates and the bigger head. While this pic represents the Scramble City concept, Defensor is the better one simply because he had his combiner head was integrated with the larger robot forming the torso (Hotspot). So you wouldn’t lose the most important part of your combiner. Also, I love how Defensor illustrates the goofy and fun concept of these combiners by having a bunch of vehicles from different scales combining together. You have a motorcycle, a helicopter, a police car and an ambulance. And while they looked to be a different size from one another on the show, their robot modes were all the same size and they got even bigger when the combined. We paid it no mind and had fun with it instead by being able to play with an array of different vehicles without having to scramble.
2.
Transformers Victory LiokaiserAs you might see, the trend on this list is to show how combiners evolved through this era having less extra parts every time. The culmination to this was with the late era combiner Liokaiser, who had only one piece of extraneous kibble you needed to keep: his helmet. The hands and feet were all integrated. This toy also had a really interesting theme. Instead of it being based on the alt modes, it was based on the robot modes which all had animal themed heads/helmets. Sadly, this toy never came out in the west, here’s hoping it gets reissued someday.
1.
Transformers G1 PredakingF%#K YEAH PREDAKING! Don’t you just hear the heavy metal pounding through your brain at the sight of this guy? This was the biggest combiner of the entire era, as you can see below with him standing next to Devastator. Also, he was made up of robotic versions of beasts found on earth, giving us some of our fist (or is it THE first?) animal Transformers. They were really well done too. What I find amazing about these beast modes is that many of them do not reuse their animal limbs for their robot modes, which plagued the Beast Wars line (especially for mammals). These beast modes look amazing too, very solid, and even better than their robot modes (except for Rampage). Using the combiner feet as Tantrum and Headstrong's back-mounted cannons is a great effect and totally works, to the point where this looks to be the accessorie’s primary purpose. The unified and yet varied colours works well together and I just love the extra touch of being able to unclip the eagle wings from Divebomb and attach them to the back of the combined form. It gives him that extra edge, making him look like an avenging angel from hell. Get the reissue while you still can at affordable prices!
Honourable Mentions:
Hasbro has never released Landross while Takara has done so twice (the last time was well over a decade ago) and I feel it is about time the west gets a taste of this beauty. While he is now considered a micromaster , Landcross is a bit more special than the rest. For those who don't know, Landross is a G1 combiner made up of 6 vehicle members. However what makes Landcross so special is that each member can combine with another member to make up to 30 different smaller combiners (check ou all the possible combinations on the back of the box below). It is very similar to what the Energon Powerlinx deluxes and voyagers could do but aside from combining two together for a larger robot, you could also combine all six.
Oh, and the six robot guns can be combined into a large weapon, always a fun bonus.