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 Transformers Movie Toys of Onscreen Characters (first trilogy)Regardless of your thoughts on the Transformers films themselves, no one can deny that the movie era pushed the engineering of Transformers toys to new heights. The quest to reverse engineer CG! models that cheated in their transformation resulted in the most detailed and complex toys we have ever seen. This list is very simple, it simply lists the best toys of characters that were seen in the movies. To show the result of the sometimes impossible task of having these CGI models become toys, I have included these models, or shots from the films. The parallel is what will really sell my point of view on each toy and I encourage anyone who doesn't have these toys to click on their image and see the gallery in full. These toys are all perfect or near perfect in terms of accuracy and they are all feats in their own way
5. Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Long HaulWe don't see him much in Revenge of the Fallen, but the toy captures his likeness well. I like how unique the transformation is and how impressive it is to see that both modes are quite tight while neither share many of the same parts and details (something very common in the movie line). He also has a bunch of fun features like flip out swords, a working open box bed that can be lifted, and working gears and pistons in robot mode. Gorgeous detailing all around and a unique transformation. He also has a stellar redeco as
Payload who has a paint job that would make any of today's toys jealous.
4. Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Leader Optimus PrimeThis toy is insane. There is a reason this mold is still used years after the film and it is the ultimate mold for the movie rendition of the Optimus Prime character (even more so than the actual
movie Ultimate Optimus). Simply said, this is the best movie Optimus toy from the initial movie trilogy, every fan should experience it.
3. Transformers Dark of the Moon Leader Sentinel PrimeWhile Optimus Prime is great, I am more impressed by this mold and how the chest transforms. It is probably the most intricate version of the now typical windshield on chest transformation. Everything contorts and reshapes itself to become new robot mode detail. He is also the best shellformer from the movie line (a line which saw a resurgence of shellformers, which laid dormant since the end of beast wars), turning his shell into a cape, an effect that painstakingly translates well from the silver screen to the toy. Its success is proven through the failure of the
voyager release which shows us how tricky this design can be.
2. Transformers Hunt For The Decepticons Human Alliance JazzThis is a perfect movie toy in every sense. The transformation is smart, satisfying and never annoying. Plus, the details are excellent, just look at how close they got to the CG model. They even give us the flip down visor which is the icing on the cake.
1. Transformers Hunt For The Decepticons Leader StarscreamAny fan of this brand cannot ever truly hate everything about the movies with this toy being a part of it. With no hyperbole, this toy is absolutely perfect. It was tough getting there though. Firstly, the revamped Starscream design was so far from the original character design that he would be unrecognizable if not named. Also, every toy of his had major issues. He ether had no hands or hands which were far too apparent, making me wonder if there was even a point to this more realistic take on Starscream if they weren't going to give us a realistic jet with no robot kibble. We eventually did get this toy though and, at least for me, all was forgiven. Finally, the arms (who have hands, a gatling gun and missiles) are were well disguised to the point of completely disappearing in jet mode. Speaking of the jet mode, it didn't have any protruding robot kibble, everything was nice and smooth and it had a nice uniform undercarriage filling out the plane and not really giving a hint at robot parts (but rather mechanical detail). Also, and this point is more important than you might realize, this is the best example of cockpit integration with 0 left over kibble, ever found on a fighter jet. If you look at the generic seeker design all through Transformers history, you will see that the key is to have the cockpit run vertically along the chest but not show the nosecone. The G1 toys had to push the nosecone to the back behind the head and so did the classics version. Even the Masterpiece seeker mold is left with a massive amount of protruding jet kibble on the back to store the nosecone. However this toy hides it away elegantly and effortlessly.
This toy is relentlessly detailed and screen accurate. There are many separate pieces which shift in perspective by being moving from the background to foreground while transforming him. It really feels like there is a robot inside the jet made up of all the jet parts and you uncover him through the transformation leaving no extra pieces behind. Unlike other intricate toys, what amazes me about this one is how sturdy it is. It welcomes your desire to transform it and play with it while also being a perfect display piece. While it is complex, the transformation is intuitive. Think of the satisfaction you get when transforming MP 10 (Masterpiece Optimus Prime) only this lasts longer. Speaking of Masterpiece toys, I consider this the accomplishment of the concept started by Shōji Kawamori (the man who designed G1 Optimus and YF 1 Valkyrie), who wanted to create the perfect Transformers jet toy with minimal robot kibble. His attempt was Masterpiece Starscream, which didn't work out since the underside was still very visibly a robot. He had found that he would be unable to have it transform into a robot with the likeness of the character. This toy however achieves that great looking jet mode with a less obvious undercarriage and plus, it looks exactly like the character it is portraying.
Speaking of Masterpiece Transformers, this toy shares far more with the post MP 10 (Optimus) line with it's strive for screen accuracy, licensed alt mode (like with the MP cars), attention to detail, clever transformation and overall sturdiness. Well, that would only make sense since it was designed and engineered by none other than the very same guy at Takara who made the following masterpiece molds: MP 10 (Optimus), MP 12 (Sideswipe), MP 13 (Soundwave), MP 17 (Prowl), MP 20 (Wheeljack), and MP 21 (Bumblebee) among others. He even contributed to our dear Human Alliance Jazz right above. In short, this toy only lacks the name Masterpiece on the box to say that this is what it truly is. Oh wait, the Takara version does have that written on the box, I guess that settles it then.
Transformers Masterpiece Movie Series Starscream GalleryHonourable Mentions: While there are other great toys out there, there are two that need to be mentioned because if not it would be a glaring omission. I do not own HA Barricade due to how hard he is to find and his price (hence why he isn't an easy recommendation), but the Seibertron Staff wanted me to point him out as also being a true Masterpiece level achievement in execution.
Also, I wanted to add DOTM Megatron to this list but I just couldn't think of anyone that should be kicked off to include him. I really love how this is a very original design for Megatron and a breath of fresh air to his usual movie aesthetic with a nice sold earth alt mode. His Transformation is perfect, and so is his weapon integration in vehicle mode. While the scarf hiding his face makes for a really nice effect when you get it right, it isn't the easiest thing to keep in place and it makes his head really small if you take it off. I would have also much preferred him to be leader size so that we could have a beautiful display alongside the three leader figures mentioned above.
Transformers Chronicles Megatron (DOTM) GalleryTransformers Revenge of the Fallen Barricade Gallery