Top 5 Best Scout / Legends Class Transformers Toys
Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2016 7:37 amEvery 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 Scout / Legends Class Transformers
The next two lists will be focusing on the little guys. We will start with the Scout/Legends class, which is one of the more awesome classes in Transformers history. What is important about this class is how it had characters you wouldn’t find in any other size. These weren’t the Legion or Cyberverse version of a character. These were full fledged characters that had a class of their own and whose detail and complexity was meant to be proportional to the larger bots they scaled with. Due to the lower price point and lesser resources allotted to them, designers were pushed to making the most of this class so that these toys could pose right next to the more expensive and bigger toys that they scaled with. The idea of beauty intertwined with simplicity is in full force in this class and I am glad the Generations line still has a place for it even though it might have changed name (they are currently called Legends as of 2013), and I really felt like celebrating these little guys. This shouldn't be confused with the even smaller class which has been called Legends/Cyberverse/Legion, which is more focused on repeating mainline characters at a smaller scale. We will cover those in two weeks!
5. Transformers Cybertron Scrapmetal (Ramble)
The Cybertron/Galaxy Force line had one of the best scout class lines ever. These guys were highly detailed and had transformations almost as complex as the deluxe class (definitely more complex than Thunderblast) and getting all this at that price point was awesome. My favourite of the bunch was Scrap Metal, and this was even before I learnt of the homage to the G1 cassettes. I just love how he looks in robot mode. He also has perfect articulation, any alt mode kibble is integrated into his limbs and chest and his weapon looks immense while bearing no impact on this stance (good job guys!). He also has a very intriguing alt mode that looks like a four legged mechanical insect (spider or ant), that looks like something an evil scientist would create and shrink down to invade the blood stream. And he comes in a bunch of colors for some fun troop building.
4. Transformers Generations Cosmos and Blackjack
I think these two are the best examples to show how the Legends class can be a decent successor to the Scout class that came before. This class is comparatively complex, detailed and posable as the deluxe class, and bordering on the same height as the Scout Class of old:
For Cosmos, I am so very impressed with the robot mode they were able to pull off given the Adamski UFO alt mode (if anyone was curious, that’s why he’s called “Adams” in japan). It is leagues beyond what the engineers were able to come up with before and, regardless of scale, this is a mini masterpiece Cosmos to me.
As for Blackjack, I am just so impressed with how original the transformation is. You would think that after 30 years, we would have seen it all, but this little dude just struts along with a novel way to end up with the back half of his roof as his chest (homaging both the Black Jack Micromaster as well as the far more similar looking Battlechangers simultaneously!). All this while being fully concealed in a super sleek vehicle mode, even when looking underneath it, and with perfect ball jointed articulation.
3. Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Skystalker
Skystalker is as good as people say he is and that is a huge endorsement. Before I got hi, I thought he’d be overhyped. But no, its a great small package. I really like his head sculpt, its perfectly decepticon-like, and he has loads of play options for a scout. He can combine with Mindwipe (though it’s not as elegant as I thought it would be) and he has two intricately shaped c clip weapons integrated which you can apply to other transformers like Deluxe Warpath and Darkmount. What I like best about him though is how he proves that the movie aesthetic can actually work since he (and Mindwipe) have very accomplished and realistic vehicle modes that work well with the robot mode.
2. Transformers Hunt For The Decepticons Breacher
Speaking of mini masterpieces earlier, I give you HFTD Breacher. When I first saw a picture of the figure, I could not wrap my head around the fact that it was a scout class figure. It looked (and turned out being) as intricate, detailed and complex as any other deluxe or voyager TF. The fact that he has so many panels and parts for a smaller toy does make him refreshingly challenging too. And that headsculpt is a perfect culmination of the transformers brand at that point, incorporating the highly detailed aspects of the film while still being classic rather than overly alien. Add to that the interaction with HFTD Seaspray as well as the C clip weapon and you just can’t go wrong. He would have been number one, but I couldn’t ignore the originality of the next pick.
1. Transformers Energon Divebomb (Shadowhawk)
As much as I would want to bash some toys from the Energon line, this is where the Scouts first started gathering the legendary status they now have today (which I hope won’t be forgotten, hoping this article can help). I did not collect the energon line when it came out so many of the toys on this list were acquired just months apart, and I can say without nostalgia clouding my mind, that this early example of the Scout class is still the best one we ever got. It’s all about how simple yet imaginative it is. Firstly, the bird mode is great with its headscuplt, the expanding wings and even the neat little tail section. What blows my mind is how these three sections end up becoming, respectively, the hands, the legs and the head. That’s right, even though all his robot bits are exposed in alt mode, you wouldn’t know it was them. And yet they totally fit the bill in robot mode. The legs are massive and imposing and the hands have a great grip for the energon weapons these scouts were known to have. The leg transformation is brilliant and I have never seen it replicated elsewhere. Terradive, another favourite, does have jet wings that end up at his legs but not AS his legs. Divebomb ends up being unique then, with two modes that are accomplished and unique, even though they use the same parts, thus giving him full alt mode integration and no kibble in either mode. This toy is a stroke of genius.
Honourable mentions: Oh way too many, so please let me know in the comments who you guys like best (you can access it by clicking on "View discussion"). The Energon, Cybertron and Revenge of the Fallen line had such strong Scout Class toys. As much as the movie aesthetic and toys might get a bad rap, this is something they did right. It also helps that the scouts from the first movie line were borrowed from the Cybertron line
Top 5 Scout / Legends Class Transformers
The next two lists will be focusing on the little guys. We will start with the Scout/Legends class, which is one of the more awesome classes in Transformers history. What is important about this class is how it had characters you wouldn’t find in any other size. These weren’t the Legion or Cyberverse version of a character. These were full fledged characters that had a class of their own and whose detail and complexity was meant to be proportional to the larger bots they scaled with. Due to the lower price point and lesser resources allotted to them, designers were pushed to making the most of this class so that these toys could pose right next to the more expensive and bigger toys that they scaled with. The idea of beauty intertwined with simplicity is in full force in this class and I am glad the Generations line still has a place for it even though it might have changed name (they are currently called Legends as of 2013), and I really felt like celebrating these little guys. This shouldn't be confused with the even smaller class which has been called Legends/Cyberverse/Legion, which is more focused on repeating mainline characters at a smaller scale. We will cover those in two weeks!
5. Transformers Cybertron Scrapmetal (Ramble)
The Cybertron/Galaxy Force line had one of the best scout class lines ever. These guys were highly detailed and had transformations almost as complex as the deluxe class (definitely more complex than Thunderblast) and getting all this at that price point was awesome. My favourite of the bunch was Scrap Metal, and this was even before I learnt of the homage to the G1 cassettes. I just love how he looks in robot mode. He also has perfect articulation, any alt mode kibble is integrated into his limbs and chest and his weapon looks immense while bearing no impact on this stance (good job guys!). He also has a very intriguing alt mode that looks like a four legged mechanical insect (spider or ant), that looks like something an evil scientist would create and shrink down to invade the blood stream. And he comes in a bunch of colors for some fun troop building.
4. Transformers Generations Cosmos and Blackjack
I think these two are the best examples to show how the Legends class can be a decent successor to the Scout class that came before. This class is comparatively complex, detailed and posable as the deluxe class, and bordering on the same height as the Scout Class of old:
For Cosmos, I am so very impressed with the robot mode they were able to pull off given the Adamski UFO alt mode (if anyone was curious, that’s why he’s called “Adams” in japan). It is leagues beyond what the engineers were able to come up with before and, regardless of scale, this is a mini masterpiece Cosmos to me.
As for Blackjack, I am just so impressed with how original the transformation is. You would think that after 30 years, we would have seen it all, but this little dude just struts along with a novel way to end up with the back half of his roof as his chest (homaging both the Black Jack Micromaster as well as the far more similar looking Battlechangers simultaneously!). All this while being fully concealed in a super sleek vehicle mode, even when looking underneath it, and with perfect ball jointed articulation.
3. Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Skystalker
Skystalker is as good as people say he is and that is a huge endorsement. Before I got hi, I thought he’d be overhyped. But no, its a great small package. I really like his head sculpt, its perfectly decepticon-like, and he has loads of play options for a scout. He can combine with Mindwipe (though it’s not as elegant as I thought it would be) and he has two intricately shaped c clip weapons integrated which you can apply to other transformers like Deluxe Warpath and Darkmount. What I like best about him though is how he proves that the movie aesthetic can actually work since he (and Mindwipe) have very accomplished and realistic vehicle modes that work well with the robot mode.
2. Transformers Hunt For The Decepticons Breacher
Speaking of mini masterpieces earlier, I give you HFTD Breacher. When I first saw a picture of the figure, I could not wrap my head around the fact that it was a scout class figure. It looked (and turned out being) as intricate, detailed and complex as any other deluxe or voyager TF. The fact that he has so many panels and parts for a smaller toy does make him refreshingly challenging too. And that headsculpt is a perfect culmination of the transformers brand at that point, incorporating the highly detailed aspects of the film while still being classic rather than overly alien. Add to that the interaction with HFTD Seaspray as well as the C clip weapon and you just can’t go wrong. He would have been number one, but I couldn’t ignore the originality of the next pick.
1. Transformers Energon Divebomb (Shadowhawk)
As much as I would want to bash some toys from the Energon line, this is where the Scouts first started gathering the legendary status they now have today (which I hope won’t be forgotten, hoping this article can help). I did not collect the energon line when it came out so many of the toys on this list were acquired just months apart, and I can say without nostalgia clouding my mind, that this early example of the Scout class is still the best one we ever got. It’s all about how simple yet imaginative it is. Firstly, the bird mode is great with its headscuplt, the expanding wings and even the neat little tail section. What blows my mind is how these three sections end up becoming, respectively, the hands, the legs and the head. That’s right, even though all his robot bits are exposed in alt mode, you wouldn’t know it was them. And yet they totally fit the bill in robot mode. The legs are massive and imposing and the hands have a great grip for the energon weapons these scouts were known to have. The leg transformation is brilliant and I have never seen it replicated elsewhere. Terradive, another favourite, does have jet wings that end up at his legs but not AS his legs. Divebomb ends up being unique then, with two modes that are accomplished and unique, even though they use the same parts, thus giving him full alt mode integration and no kibble in either mode. This toy is a stroke of genius.
Honourable mentions: Oh way too many, so please let me know in the comments who you guys like best (you can access it by clicking on "View discussion"). The Energon, Cybertron and Revenge of the Fallen line had such strong Scout Class toys. As much as the movie aesthetic and toys might get a bad rap, this is something they did right. It also helps that the scouts from the first movie line were borrowed from the Cybertron line
but I get to number 1# and all is right with the world 
I do love that Scout Frenzy Tank mold, but I do have an issue with how easy it is to trigger the spring mechanic and the arms are really bulky with that mechanism in the back. Still, I think their headsculpt is even nicer than the MP.