Top 5 Most Disappointing Transformers Toys
Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2018 1:54 pmEvery two weeks, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor. These are our opinions 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 Most Disappointing Transformers Toys
Don't mean to be a downer, but this week I wanted to look back on times we were quite disappointed with toys. Most lists that don't have to do with a particular line or time frame usually have a wide range of years. However, this list is mostly recent toys (past 10 years) and there is a reason for that. It's not recency bias, it's simply that as the years pass, patterns develop. We know what to expect and not getting it leads to disappointment. The better the main line, the bigger the disappointment when a figure comes out being sub par. And with the added elements of interaction between companies and fans as well as social media, we are more aware of what is to come and if something is promised and not fulfilled, you know you are in for disappointment. So let's get to it!
5. Transformers Generations Windblade
This is a perfect example of overhype. She isn't a bad toy, she just isn't as great as we all expected her to be. This was the first TF where Hasbro asked fans for help in its design. It was a fembot, it was a new character, everyone wanted it. Bigbadtoystore even charged more for it than the other components of the toy's wave just to cover the cost of all the cases they bought in anticipation of the demand. And... Dissappointed!
Whoever took those official pictures was super sketchy because there is no way to predict that the actual jet has a big gap in the middle of it. I wouldn't mind her visible legs and feet if at least it had a convincing jet body. I have issue with the plastic too. It still had a hint of that FOC el-cheapo plastic which really didn't help in two notable areas: the heels and the wing tabs. Firstly, her heel pieces are always swinging back so you have to constantly adjust them when attempting to make her stand. They will also detach in the process sometimes. These definitely should be tighter to help stability.
Secondly, you have those thin tab clips on the sections that are supposed to attach to the base of the nosecone section. They don't hold well at all. This is where this transformers becomes the fiddliest thing since MP 05. While they can tab into the designed area, they always pop out making it very annoying and quite cheap.
So we have these main defects on a figure that was supposed to come out of Hasbro's efforts to get closer to its fans. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather get a good quality figure than take part in a poll regarding a new figure's alt mode. But that's just me.
4. Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Devastator
This one is simple, the individual components did not transform into robots. Granted they didn't in the film either, but that doesn't mean there were no robot modes. Plus, this was a big expensive toy, not having robot modes made it very simplistic and what you basically got was an ugly Power Ranger Megazord. I know Michael Bay designs varied greatly from the source material but this one to me was probably the biggest downgrade and the worst example of how someone can interpret an iconic G1 character for a new generation. But that's subjective, if we remain objective, we can simply look at the legion class version where each component had robot modes of their own, I mean come on!
3. Transformers Masterpiece Tracks
Masterpiece Tracks and his retool Roadrage were the most discounted MPs (worldwide) since 2009, and probably the most discounted Masterpiece toys of all time in Japan. Word of mouth was simply not good and this was really the first big disappointment from the line since it was rejuvenated with MP 10. The toy was simply not on par with how solid and smart I expect MPs to be, with a very gappy robot mode. Plus, it was a QC nightmare with Roadrage's head not even locking in place and the back half of the figure not connecting securely (at least they eventually got it right on Hot Rodimus). And with all the pose-ability potential of a Masterpiece figure, the back becoming undone easily does not entice you to handle it and pose it much.
2. Transformers Titans Return Galvatron
This was so easy not to screw up, and that is where the massive disappointment comes from. After all these years we finally had a nice voyager Galvatron, who looked great for the most part and had the giant canon alt mode from the film. You could feel the excitement in the air. It did have a Titan Master / Headmaster gimmick, but that didn't seem like it would make much of a difference. RIGHT?! Well, we got the toy and yeah, that gimmick really messed things up. His small headmaster head needed a flip up mask gimmick to actually look like Galvatron. But since the mask is flat, it didn't give him a crown around his head, just the facade of one at the front and it isn't close enough to his face so it looks like crap. Plus, he can't turn his head around enough with it. To add insult to injury, the hole in his chest seemed big enough to house a whole head so we can only imagine how better it would be if he didn't have to work in the head master gimmick (or at least go the full helmet way like the leaders, he has the space for it). We were THIS close to a great Galvatron!
1. Transformers Titans Return Fortress Maximus
A titan class figure's release and reveal is always one of the bigger events of the year, for obvious reasons. We only get 1 and it's always of a character that we haven't had in a decent form since the 80s. Metroplex and Devastator were well liked and seemed to answer the hype even though they were simpler than anticipated (as bigger toys usually are). But with Fort Max, the fandom was unsure of what to feel from his fist reveal. I don't know about you but when I think of Fort Max, I think of 2 things: Turns into a Fortress and has a crap ton of firepower. And then we get this toy, a retool of Metroplex with far less play options than the original.
I greatly respect the G1 toy era but we can all agree that objectively toys since then have offered more simply due to added articulation and complexity. However, Titans Return Fortress Maximus is the exception. The G1 toy is more complex, has a more impressive city mode (it actually looks like towers in downtown Iacon), more play features (like a legit jail door) and so many accessories. A fortress should be a place to hunker down and fight the invading enemy right? So where are all the damn weapons? And that's all aside from him being far less of an extensive retool than it appeared at first. The carrier like appendages on his arms are the same Metroplex had instead of having actual ramps, and there is not one but two vestigial features: the legs that still open and the giant arm hinge. When looking at the entire franchise history, I would say that G1 Fortress Maximus is one of the top 10 must own Transformers toys, this one doesn't hold a candle to it and if any new fan is interested in him, I truly suggest you spend that money on the Encore G1 Fortress Maximus release we got a few years back. Should still be available at a decent price and you will get much more value out of it. I spent $115 USD on the Titans Return toy and still feel underwhelmed.
Top 5 Most Disappointing Transformers Toys
Don't mean to be a downer, but this week I wanted to look back on times we were quite disappointed with toys. Most lists that don't have to do with a particular line or time frame usually have a wide range of years. However, this list is mostly recent toys (past 10 years) and there is a reason for that. It's not recency bias, it's simply that as the years pass, patterns develop. We know what to expect and not getting it leads to disappointment. The better the main line, the bigger the disappointment when a figure comes out being sub par. And with the added elements of interaction between companies and fans as well as social media, we are more aware of what is to come and if something is promised and not fulfilled, you know you are in for disappointment. So let's get to it!
5. Transformers Generations Windblade
This is a perfect example of overhype. She isn't a bad toy, she just isn't as great as we all expected her to be. This was the first TF where Hasbro asked fans for help in its design. It was a fembot, it was a new character, everyone wanted it. Bigbadtoystore even charged more for it than the other components of the toy's wave just to cover the cost of all the cases they bought in anticipation of the demand. And... Dissappointed!
Whoever took those official pictures was super sketchy because there is no way to predict that the actual jet has a big gap in the middle of it. I wouldn't mind her visible legs and feet if at least it had a convincing jet body. I have issue with the plastic too. It still had a hint of that FOC el-cheapo plastic which really didn't help in two notable areas: the heels and the wing tabs. Firstly, her heel pieces are always swinging back so you have to constantly adjust them when attempting to make her stand. They will also detach in the process sometimes. These definitely should be tighter to help stability.
Secondly, you have those thin tab clips on the sections that are supposed to attach to the base of the nosecone section. They don't hold well at all. This is where this transformers becomes the fiddliest thing since MP 05. While they can tab into the designed area, they always pop out making it very annoying and quite cheap.
So we have these main defects on a figure that was supposed to come out of Hasbro's efforts to get closer to its fans. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather get a good quality figure than take part in a poll regarding a new figure's alt mode. But that's just me.
4. Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Devastator
This one is simple, the individual components did not transform into robots. Granted they didn't in the film either, but that doesn't mean there were no robot modes. Plus, this was a big expensive toy, not having robot modes made it very simplistic and what you basically got was an ugly Power Ranger Megazord. I know Michael Bay designs varied greatly from the source material but this one to me was probably the biggest downgrade and the worst example of how someone can interpret an iconic G1 character for a new generation. But that's subjective, if we remain objective, we can simply look at the legion class version where each component had robot modes of their own, I mean come on!
3. Transformers Masterpiece Tracks
Masterpiece Tracks and his retool Roadrage were the most discounted MPs (worldwide) since 2009, and probably the most discounted Masterpiece toys of all time in Japan. Word of mouth was simply not good and this was really the first big disappointment from the line since it was rejuvenated with MP 10. The toy was simply not on par with how solid and smart I expect MPs to be, with a very gappy robot mode. Plus, it was a QC nightmare with Roadrage's head not even locking in place and the back half of the figure not connecting securely (at least they eventually got it right on Hot Rodimus). And with all the pose-ability potential of a Masterpiece figure, the back becoming undone easily does not entice you to handle it and pose it much.
2. Transformers Titans Return Galvatron
This was so easy not to screw up, and that is where the massive disappointment comes from. After all these years we finally had a nice voyager Galvatron, who looked great for the most part and had the giant canon alt mode from the film. You could feel the excitement in the air. It did have a Titan Master / Headmaster gimmick, but that didn't seem like it would make much of a difference. RIGHT?! Well, we got the toy and yeah, that gimmick really messed things up. His small headmaster head needed a flip up mask gimmick to actually look like Galvatron. But since the mask is flat, it didn't give him a crown around his head, just the facade of one at the front and it isn't close enough to his face so it looks like crap. Plus, he can't turn his head around enough with it. To add insult to injury, the hole in his chest seemed big enough to house a whole head so we can only imagine how better it would be if he didn't have to work in the head master gimmick (or at least go the full helmet way like the leaders, he has the space for it). We were THIS close to a great Galvatron!
1. Transformers Titans Return Fortress Maximus
A titan class figure's release and reveal is always one of the bigger events of the year, for obvious reasons. We only get 1 and it's always of a character that we haven't had in a decent form since the 80s. Metroplex and Devastator were well liked and seemed to answer the hype even though they were simpler than anticipated (as bigger toys usually are). But with Fort Max, the fandom was unsure of what to feel from his fist reveal. I don't know about you but when I think of Fort Max, I think of 2 things: Turns into a Fortress and has a crap ton of firepower. And then we get this toy, a retool of Metroplex with far less play options than the original.
I greatly respect the G1 toy era but we can all agree that objectively toys since then have offered more simply due to added articulation and complexity. However, Titans Return Fortress Maximus is the exception. The G1 toy is more complex, has a more impressive city mode (it actually looks like towers in downtown Iacon), more play features (like a legit jail door) and so many accessories. A fortress should be a place to hunker down and fight the invading enemy right? So where are all the damn weapons? And that's all aside from him being far less of an extensive retool than it appeared at first. The carrier like appendages on his arms are the same Metroplex had instead of having actual ramps, and there is not one but two vestigial features: the legs that still open and the giant arm hinge. When looking at the entire franchise history, I would say that G1 Fortress Maximus is one of the top 10 must own Transformers toys, this one doesn't hold a candle to it and if any new fan is interested in him, I truly suggest you spend that money on the Encore G1 Fortress Maximus release we got a few years back. Should still be available at a decent price and you will get much more value out of it. I spent $115 USD on the Titans Return toy and still feel underwhelmed.
I don't own the Fort Max or Tracks so no comment. Totally agree with Windblade and Galvatron though. While I loved the fan built bot concept she just didn't seem to fit and always felt forced. To me the toy reflected that. Galvatron always has been and will always be my favorite Con. That said the toy was ok but the Headmaster gimmick just didn't work for me. Fortunately, Open and Play's Big Cannon corrected this.