The Energon Pub

[Blurrz]

With the movie trilogy finally in the books and it's presence being flushed out with the upcoming Trilogy toy line, times are changing for Transformers toys. While Transformers: Prime toys have finally been ushered in a year after the first episode of the cartoon aired, distribution has been quite the problem. Third parties have certainly made their presence felt, but the gap between the affordable and unaffordable grows larger.

So the question is, are you happy with the current state of Transformers toys?

[dinogeist]

IMHO,2011 was a bad year for me as I only bought 4 new mold DOTM toys. I just wasn't happy with the inferior toy engineering,ugly design sculpts,misproportioned body parts & that the tiny TF toys seemed the dominant toys in the DOTM toy line.

I'm really frustrated with both hasbro & takara. The only real awesome TF toy they made that I loved was Masterpiece rodimus prime. takara had the superior color scheme. I'm still floored how ugly hasbro colored their TRU MP Rodimus Prime toy.

I'm not looking forward to anymore DOTM/Trilogy movie-verse toys & won't buy any in 2012.

I decided my main TF purchases in 2012 will be 3rd party TF toys. the 90% bulk of my money will go to these 3rd party tf toy companies.

If hasbro decides to create any new mold deluxes or voyagers or ultras of the generations new molds in 2012 then i'll probably buy a big chunk of them.

I actually think the TF Prime toy line has potential to be one of the most more awesome TF toy lines. but SADLY in 2012 I think the DOTM/Trilogy line is gonna steal away the new mold ultra's & leaders from TF Prime. thus forcing TF prime to be a sub-par toy line in 2012. I kinda want to see a leader or supreme sized rock lord TF Prime unicron toy. I'm most excited about buying the TF Prime voyager sized skyquake. I'll probably wind up buying the tf prime voyager sized bulkhead & prtime toys. I'm hoping we get 5 man team combiners of the predacons & dinobots in TF Prime.

Right now,Currently,I'm really looking forward to the four,first quarter Hasbro/Takara toy fair in early 2012. to see TF Product reveals from toyfair UK,toyfair canada,toyfair usa nyc & takara's march toy TF product reveal show.

[alternator77]

let me start by saying this nothing is perfect nor will it ever be perfect.ok now that that is out of the way...


i have to say yes. the fact of the matter is weve got a franchise that has grossed billions of dollars and what that means is a future for our franchise in several areas.

i think alot of the perceptions that have made some to feel that our best days are behind us are due somewhat to our "wants and needs" not being fufilled and with so many 3rd parties popping up everywhere it tells me a couple of things. for one we have multiple aveneus to find the figures we want or need for our collections.who would have thought wed see a leader sized sixshot let alone a steampunk shockwave and lets not forget different options for devastator.3rd parties have come along way from simple addons for existing hastak product.

and speaking of hastak weve gotten tracks,blurr,g2 prime,wreckgar,wheljack,scourge just to name a few and im sure more on the way in coming years.right now its a fantastic time to be a fan and collector whether your poison of choice is the movieverse,prime,masterpiece,classics and all its iterations or just the fiction fan made or official.

i believe that the movie line has helped in more ways than most care to admit in that the level of awareness has been raised to a level never seen before.i can honestly say that i havent seen movie related merchandise move off of shelves like these movies have since the original toy story and cars and thats saying something. and none of those franchises have had unrelated spinoff lines comparable to classics,animatd or the new prime line and thats just stateside.

were spawning conventions that were once small gatherings (tfcon) into yearly events that have attracted the attention of the big boys (hasbro). i think transformers as a toyline,comic,hollywood movie,cartoon,and brand lives up to its tag line in that its "more than meets the eye" and in the years to come will prove that without a doubt.

[Rodimus Prime]

You misspelled "mediocre."

I voted decent, mainly because I rarely saw anything that truly grabbed my attention besides the MP-09 and the Ultimate Prime, the latter which I somewhat regret.

The TF:Prime designs are inferior for my taste, and while Generations produces a few eye-catching pieces, to me it is more miss than hit. The movie lines weren't anything special either. I only got a few figures from all 3 of the movie lines, and I ended up regretting and selling about 1/2 of them.

The 2011 BotCon exclusives were a total score, and I am so glad I went. I like the Animated line, and the Stunticons kick ass. I can't wait for the 3rd party Menasor kit if it gets made. So far the 2012 BotCon exclusives are breaking even for me, as I like Metalhawk, Soundwave, Magnus, and Treadshot, but I can do without the others.

Overall, I am actually happy for this personally, as I have been trying to get out of mainstream collecting, and poor quality and design will definitely help. We all know Hasbro and Transformers, they will keep reinventing the lines, so I think there's some good stuff coming down the line.

[Evil_the_Nub]

The toys themselves are excellent. My only complaint is some of them are impossible to find.

[Delicon]

While nothing will ever be perfect, I honestly feel we are in a "golden age" right now and so many people just complain and complain. That's the fandom, though.

[DJrasmo]

Just having recently gotten back into collecting, I can say I am happily impressed with the quality of most of the TF toys out there.

I think the G1 re-issues, re-imagings and 3rd party stuff is totally off the hook, and has totally brought out my passion for re-gathering what was my favorite toy line as a kid. Nostalgia has a way of getting to you, eh?

However, a few personal bones to pick:
1. I wish "they" would stop concentrating on things like armada, cybertron, beast wars, etc...growing up with this toys (and the cartoon) as a kid I view everything post-4th season strictly as non-canonical and would rather have quality-made versions of classic characters than a bunch of half-efforted Optimus Primals and such.

I understand alot of you guys may be into that thing, and more power to you for your individual passion...but the forum asked for my opinion and there it is.

2. Night of the Living Bumblebees is killing me. Michael Bay needs to be strapped to a rocket and launched into space for ruining the franchise. Although nice to watch as a standard "twitchy" guy movie, it blew TF canon and tradition out of the water. The only thing he did right was getting Peter Cullen on board (and whats-her-name is kinda nice to look at, too). I avoid all the movie-based toys like the plague, not to mention the 9001+ Bumblebee figures they have spawned.

Other than that...I am pretty pleased with the state of toys...the molding, the articulation, and especially the improved scale. Compare a G1 Prime to a G1 Bumblebee...and then take that pair and compair it to a Generations Classic BB and Takara Prime (only using these because all 4 are withing my sight range as I write this).

Parking G1 BB in alt mode next to G1 OP..."LoL scale". And standing G1 BB next to his Classics Deluxe counterpart makes me be all like..."LoL lowbrow".

And all the little details...I even notice the things like how all the peg-fist-holes are standardized so any figure can basically pick up any other figure's weapons, with a few exceptions (darn you Galvatron!). I could go on and other, but I would risk totally having a nerdgasm and having to go and do some more internet shopping...

[Noideaforaname]

Well, I've just gotten a toy of a character I was excited about last June, and I'm still waiting on toys for characters I was excited about in 2010. And all why know about the Movie Trilogy line is repaints, no word on Generations (but even more repaints are hinted at), FoC is too far away to even think about, and Prime is JUST getting started (not even in my stores yet). Two 3rd parties are working on Devastators, which is cool and all but way out of my price range -- plus I'm not too big on G1 Devs (gimme Movie or, better yet, Animated).

The current media is amazing and the toys are great (though not as good as RotF/HftD/2010/RtS), but news is soooo slow.

I wish "they" would stop concentrating on things like armada, cybertron, beast wars, etc...

Not trying to start a fight or anything, just curious as to where you're seeing these things, because I'm not. Everything I've seen (Hasbro, Takara, BotCon, 3rd party) is either G1 (or heavily based on G1), Movie, or Prime.

[Mkall]

I voted Good due to the upcoming release of Prime figures and the heavily anticipated continuation of the Classics line. I've been overly impressed with what Hasbro has done in the last couple of years in terms of these figures, and I think it's only going to improve further. I can't wait.

The only reason I didn't put Excellent was my general dislike of the Movie line and the deep sadness inside me with the knowledge that they're going to continue it.

[Twitchythe3rd]

I said decent mostly due to distribution, but that's not so much HasTak's fault as it is the stores. New stuff can't be put out until the old is gone, and nobody wants the DOTM Deluxe Prime and orange Roadbuster repaints that are currently pegwarming near me. But anyways...

A lot of the Generations/RTS molds were excellent updates of characters, and even a few of the more obscure got to shine (like Straxus/Darkmount and Thunderwing). Now that the repaints/retools are rolling out, i'm not expecting to see much more excitement from Generations.

The Movie line needs to finish up and get off the shelves. A lot of them weren't the greatest but there were a few good ones. Still waiting on Deluxe Leadfoot to be released so I can finish the Wreckers, then i'm done with Movie stuff.

Prime needs to get here faster. With the exception of Bumblebee and Deluxe Prime, every mold has been a win. The shelves have to be cleared of the above Movie stuff of course, which means I probably won't see any of it for a good long while.

[Counterpunch]

Here's what's up.

The current state of Transformers is mediocre at best.

Let me go ahead an concede that man of the toys and homages we are getting are amazing. They are far and away better than much of what we've seen in years.

But that's not what the question asks, is it?

What's going on with the toys? Why since Animated has Hasbro failed to properly pair up a product line and the associated media? Why is there such a reluctance to really engage the collectors market by making Classics/Generations a real product line?

It seems as though there's a conflict in the strategy that brings these toys to us. The toy industry is evolving and it's been shown in almost every other toy market that collector oriented toys will sell. Third party manufacturers are selling us toys that we've wanted in some official capacity for years and we're all forced to turn to that for some of the most basic TF concepts that any fan might wish for.

I firmly believe that the movie franchise infused the fandom and the toys with new energy, money, and engineering. We've all benefited from it. I think that the ugly side effect of all this is that everything we knew about Transformers pre-movie is now just a carrot to keep us on the hook until new movie merchandise is made available.

It will work and for the casual fan, they'll never notice the subtle change. For the fan that loves the idea of Transforming robots, for the fan that has been around for 25 years of all this, you will find yourself perpetually waiting while other more lucrative products are put to market.

I'm not condemning all this. That's just how it goes. We might have seen nothing were it not for this change in market paradigm. I may be an old man now, longing for how things used to be... I think that's my right at this point though. I stuck around, through thick and thin with the franchise. I appreciate things like Black Shadow getting his due in Generations. I know that the Prime line is going to be great.

That does not change the fact that it becomes more obvious over time that this is all a distraction until the next film. The state of Transformers toys is lacking because it is unfocused, undedicated, and somewhat aimless. The great toys are mired in cases and cases of mediocrity. I'm just not going to ignore this fact any more.

[craggy]

I started to read someone else's opinion and the lack of entertainment I found in it was enough to make me skip the rest of the replies, so sorry if I repeat anything anyone else has said.

I voted "Good" but let me qualify that - "Pretty Damn Good...some of the time".

This past year we've had the Generations line, which has given us some of the best Transformers in years. I've always been a fan of the Classics style, but the design-work on this recent bunch of toys has been really good. Wreck-Gar, Jazz and Scourge (the blue guy) amongst others has been top-notch. I've bought more TFs in the past 12 months than I have since before the 1st live-action film came out, and nearly all of them full price, rather than the last time I got loads of toys, when Armada/Energon stuff was on sale.

I've bought a fair few 3rd party items, and none have disappointed. The FP Insecticons and Protector were really nicely done, and the Kup heads from iGear, whilst simple, were not expensive, and really added a lot. Waiting on delivery of Rager, and trying to work out finances to see which of the upcoming stuff I want and can afford. (Giant, iGear's Ratchet and Ironhide, etc, etc)

Distribution might have been pants but as I live in the UK, that's par for the course. I've reluctantly come to accept that online retailers who charge a bit more are the best way to ensure I get what I want, and in most cases that's been a reliable way to do so.

Big surprise of the year has been how good some of the no-media, new character, gimmick-lines have been. I started getting PCCs when Toys R Us had their massive sale on them, and whilst I've not succumbed to the terribly executed Drone 5-packs, nearly all the 2-packs were at least good value, if not pretty good fun. Similarly the Human Alliance Basics line has been a great source of enjoyment for me. The little humans are a bit vague and hit-or-miss with the head sculpts, but they work well with the robots in at least 1, usually 2, and on a rare occasion 3 different modes. The robot toys themselves have been above average for what I see when I look at movie toys, and the Sandstorm mold is one of my favourite TFs ever.

If Hasbro keeps producing quality product, and getting it out there a bit better, and the 3rd parties keep raising the bar whilst maybe managing to produce different stuff from each other, it could be a very bright future for Transformers fans.

[xyl360]

I'm happy with TF: Prime and look forward to seeing more of it. I like that it takes the best engineering advancements that started in Beast Wars and continued in Universe/Classics etc. and into the Movie lines and uses all of that to make really intricate, solid looking figures that work well in both modes. I'm hard pressed to find a line that, so far, every character really looks like a true vehicle in alt mode and a true robot in bot mode (and matching character models on the show to the toys like they did with most of the Beast Wars, especially season 2 onward doesn't hurt either).

On the negative side, there wasn't too much in the DoTM line that I liked, though there were a few key figures I had to get, so at least there were a few goodies in there.

The new MP Prime is awesome, and is now my main Optimus for all purposes.

I would have liked to see Beast Wars revisited for the 15th anniversary the way they did with the 10th, but I understand why they didn't, us Beast Wars lovers are a niche group after all. I really wish all these third parties had been around during the Beast era, there were so many main characters that never got decent figures from Has/Tak, and I'm sure the third parties would have been all over it.

The third party stuff has been insane lately, but I'm glad to see some stuff get made (and previewed) that I never thought I'd see and am very excited about. Still waiting for a third party (or Has/Tak) Classics Shockwave. That figure has been kitbashed/custom made to high heaven and demand for it is absurd, especially after the movie (which did bring us a decent figure, though with the movie look, so it doesn't really fit in with Classics, but that doesn't mean it's not a great figure, because it is).

Hercules=pure win, for me anyway and there's a lot more third party stuff in development that looks very exciting.

Quality-wise, the only big complaint I have is that the official figures are using thinner and softer plastics than ever it seems, which means if you transform them just once or twice, they often end up not quite fitting together as well as they did out of the box, which is a huge disappointment. Thankfully, most of the third party stuff I've purchased so far hasn't had that issue. Paint apps are still minimal too, in some cases, even from Takara, which is a real letdown. As a collector, I would be willing to pay a few dollars more not to have to break out the paints just to make a bot and/or vehicle look 'complete', but I understand they need to keep costs down in order to sell product to the kiddies (and their parents).

[craggy]

I realise it's sort of silly comparing the Transformers line with the Star Wars one, but there are comparisons, albeit TFs being on a smaller scale of collecting (although possibly not by that much) so it might be nice if Hasbro did something akin to the Star Wars Vintage Collection line. More articulated, more painted toys of the main characters from defining moments. Some of the figures out there are pretty spot on as they are, with the likely exception of the paintjob/plastic colours (Jazz, for example) so the line could be bulked out with the occasional repaint (maybe a new accessory or something with it too?) whilst doing new, updated versions of some classic figures, as collectors would like to see them. Price would be higher per figure, but with more attention, folks might like them better.

Yeah, I almost said "folks wouldn't whine as much", then caught myself.

[Jiah]

Since I have not been able to purchase (mainly because of money issues) any third party or other figures, I was only able to judge on the Hasbro toys I've purchased. I gave the overall state of TF toys "good". The Prime figures certainly look amazing, and I have really enjoyed some stuff that has been put out in the DOTM line. My biggest beefs are the gimmicky Mechtech weapons (which I admit can be really cool), the weird proportions of some figures, and some of the figures released/re-released and those that weren't.

First is the Mechtech weapons system, and immediate turn-off. I knew going into it, that this was just Hasbro's way of saying that "we're not going to focus on the figures, so much making the weapons big even if they aren't proportional." And I do miss some of the older style of the character having attached/deployable weapons, not all hand held. Although some cases of this gimmick, (including Ironhide and Megaton) appear to have weapons that aren't movie accurate and instead have a fun function, I know some of these weapons have been really cool. Such as the use of Shockwaves weapons and the way that Megaton's blended into his vehicle mode. So essentially I think this is overrated and unnecessary, I think it does have some really cool and practical uses.

Next is just some proportions of figures; mainly the leader class ones. Sentinel Prime and Ironhide both have some weird proportions when it comes to the arms, and some figures are out of scale, but this happens all the time so I'm used to it and really don't feel to strongly about it.

This last point is what I'm most passionate about. When it comes to the molds and releases, we instantly got Mudflap, Skids, Bumblebee, and Jolt. Some of these remolds, some not. I hate this since there are other, better characters (actually in the movie!!) such as Dino, and Que. I also am disappointed we have no word on a HA Topspin, yet. I don't mind remolds, but some of these characters should be on shelves right now, at least in my opinion.

For positives, here are a few, quick points.

-New Basics HA wave, love the indie modes and weapons etc.

-Legends gets a facelift, I mean seriously, who doesn't like the added commander class and the playlets, childish, but much better than mini Transformers that are inarticulate, I now feel Legends is its own thing, and not an addition.

-Shockwave, Roadbuster, Leadfoot, and Sentinel Prime were of my favorite toys.

-Best thing of all, every single mold I currently own are all VERY well done, and I feel I haven't bought any crap, which is great.

So in conclusion, I am greatly pleased with this year, it's not exceptionable, but it's close.

[dinogeist]

I'm most upset about the simplicity of the average transformers toys these days. nothing combines,nothing has combining battle armor. I'm not a fan of trading highly stylized TF toys for combining TF toys.

I miss the AEC TF toy years,this to me was the golden age of awesome TF toys. a lot of stuff combined,had battle armor,hyper mode weapons.

About the only thing that combines these days is some optimus toys & most of them form brick-formers toys with limited articulation.

I realize The PCC combiners do combine. but the drones don't transform. so this is like buying Power rangers zords.

I'm hoping the TF prime toys do some combiners & armor-formers.

Thus far generationd/classics is mediocre. if generations makes new mold voagers,ultra's,leaders & combiners,then this will be a awesome toy line.

The Toy technology is their to give fans super poseable G-1 new mold combiners. but hasbro simply refuses to do it.

i'm hoping the next TF4 movie is in 2015,so we get decent TF Prime toys in the bigger size levels.

[Delicon]

I realise it's sort of silly comparing the Transformers line with the Star Wars one, but there are comparisons, albeit TFs being on a smaller scale of collecting (although possibly not by that much) so it might be nice if Hasbro did something akin to the Star Wars Vintage Collection line. More articulated, more painted toys of the main characters from defining moments. Some of the figures out there are pretty spot on as they are, with the likely exception of the paintjob/plastic colours (Jazz, for example) so the line could be bulked out with the occasional repaint (maybe a new accessory or something with it too?) whilst doing new, updated versions of some classic figures, as collectors would like to see them. Price would be higher per figure, but with more attention, folks might like them better.

Yeah, I almost said "folks wouldn't whine as much", then caught myself.

They have done similar things with G.I. Joe. The issue is that it's much easier to make a bunch of different figs for those lines without investing as much. Parts can be swapped and repainted easier.

[craggy]

They have done similar things with G.I. Joe. The issue is that it's much easier to make a bunch of different figs for those lines without investing as much. Parts can be swapped and repainted easier.

very good point, especially on GI Joes, and Jedi and Stormtrooper types where combat gear, robes and armour can be swapped out and recoloured with the simple addition. Even when I paid attention to the SW line, there was a huge number of reuses of super-posable Stormtrooper and Clone Trooper molds, and that wasn't an issue at all, as the different paintjobs were all that was needed. Same with the Cobra troopers in GI Joe, I think there's been over 10 different versions of the same basic mold in different colours and with varying accessories and I'm not all that bothered if I get one of each, because it'd be a nice way to build an army without buying multiples of exactly the same toy. It's both a blessing and a curse that most Transformers are fairly unique. Seekers and the Prowl/Bluestreak mold are the only ones that easily lend themselves to more than 2 recolours as new and different characters, although they've done pretty well with the Sideswipe, Tracks and Wreck-gar's.

[Evil_the_Nub]

I'm most upset about the simplicity of the average transformers toys these days. nothing combines,nothing has combining battle armor. I'm not a fan of trading highly stylized TF toys for combining TF toys.

I miss the AEC TF toy years,this to me was the golden age of awesome TF toys. a lot of stuff combined,had battle armor,hyper mode weapons.

About the only thing that combines these days is some optimus toys & most of them form brick-formers toys with limited articulation.

I realize The PCC combiners do combine. but the drones don't transform. so this is like buying Power rangers zords.

I'm hoping the TF prime toys do some combiners & armor-formers.

Thus far generationd/classics is mediocre. if generations makes new mold voagers,ultra's,leaders & combiners,then this will be a awesome toy line.

The Toy technology is their to give fans super poseable G-1 new mold combiners. but hasbro simply refuses to do it.

i'm hoping the next TF4 movie is in 2015,so we get decent TF Prime toys in the bigger size levels.

That is just flat out wrong. The toys made these days are far more complex than they were during AEC.

[craggy]

stuff

That is just flat out wrong. The toys made these days are far more complex than they were during AEC.

how entirely surprising

[Jiah]

I'm most upset about the simplicity of the average transformers toys these days. nothing combines,nothing has combining battle armor. I'm not a fan of trading highly stylized TF toys for combining TF toys.

I miss the AEC TF toy years,this to me was the golden age of awesome TF toys. a lot of stuff combined,had battle armor,hyper mode weapons.

I disagree with your statement about average transformers being simple, I know many friends of mine who haven't gotten into Tranformers, meaning the new ones, because they were "too complex", which they have grown in complexity over the years. Most AEC toys take roughly ten steps, and under a minutes of transformation,whereas the bayformers have more articulation and take longer to transform. Although I, like you, do miss the cool combinations and enhancements of the AEC line. I loved combining Optimus and Jetfire in Armada, and combining in Energon. Although I think it's due to movie accuracy that those things haven't been done, and the closest thing I think we'll get, so far, is Mechtech. Although in Prime we MAY see some more innovations.

[It Is Him]

2011 > 1991

[funklizard]

The current state of Transformers is mediocre at best.

I generally agree with what you wrote; but I was a little more generous and said "decent". And that's really just because of the past year's Generations releases: they were, for the most part, very good.

Even if the movie lines aren't my primary interest, I feel like I'm quite capable of acknowledging well-done toys there. And that is really the biggest problem with the "current" state of Transformers toys: most of the DotM figures were quite weak. Sure, there were a few stand-outs (Skyhammer, Leader Sentinel Prime); but they were exceptions in a sea of uninspired designs. And quality also took a very perceivable hit since the previous movie lines.

I have high hopes for 2012. I'm really looking forward to the Prime figures. But I regard the rumblings about yet another Michael Bay movie with a certain amount of dread; and I hope that Prime can avoid Animated's fate.

[DISCHARGE]

I'm most upset about the simplicity of the average transformers toys these days. nothing combines,nothing has combining battle armor. I'm not a fan of trading highly stylized TF toys for combining TF toys.

I miss the AEC TF toy years,this to me was the golden age of awesome TF toys. a lot of stuff combined,had battle armor,hyper mode weapons.

About the only thing that combines these days is some optimus toys & most of them form brick-formers toys with limited articulation.

I realize The PCC combiners do combine. but the drones don't transform. so this is like buying Power rangers zords.

I'm hoping the TF prime toys do some combiners & armor-formers.

Thus far generationd/classics is mediocre. if generations makes new mold voagers,ultra's,leaders & combiners,then this will be a awesome toy line.

The Toy technology is their to give fans super poseable G-1 new mold combiners. but hasbro simply refuses to do it.

i'm hoping the next TF4 movie is in 2015,so we get decent TF Prime toys in the bigger size levels.

It's unfortunate you don't understand the usefulness of the PCC. In reading posts before the onset of PCC many people were asking for drones, quite honestly the Beast Machine drones were kind of boring. PCC is indeed a perplexing line where people are still trying to figure it out, pure GENIUS!
Is it the best no, the worst? it's all relative I guess. Every mini-con has a battle armor mode in the vein of glowing Energon nonetheless. The very things you ask for.

Riddled with mini-con port they are highly adaptive. The drones are mindless and are meant to add to the commanders power, in G1 the squabbling of individual bots could cause the combiner to disassemble, no need to worry with these little drones of destruction. It is a refreshingly new take on combiners and doesn't conform to the norm. Should all future combiners be based on this model? "HELL NO!" and they most likely won't be.

--------------------------------------------------------
Onto the real topic. We are absolutely living in a wonderful and exciting time in Transformers history and coincidentally prehistory. The first 25 years gone by and so quickly it seems. We can only speculate on how the franchise will prosper (or falter).

There are Transformers based conventions held all over the world, these are toys, and with the mythos revolving around them they make us here, most of us at least, happy and infuse our lives with an added dose of adrenaline when that new toy is unveiled or Seibertron himself unloads an awesome new gallery of a rarity that many of us just can't justify buying. It can be exhilarating, in these days with so much global strife we are blessed to be where we can unwind our daily issues with a heroic (or even evil) Autobot and confound our minds for a couple of minutes.

You can complain about minor issues about mold degradation or a poor color scheme or you can start a fan based group of people to make your own toys like some have done to give us what the main companies themselves can't see economical to make. Man the reinventions through 3rd parties to give us things like Insecticons or [basically] Masterpiece Devastator (x2)are an infusion of glee , and I don't even own them.

Hasbro themselves continue year in and year out to give us droves of Transformers for collectors and children unaware of a hobby that is at their fingertips. Life would be boring if everything was given to us all at one time and there was nothing to look forward too. I like the surprise and the "want"
And I too like to get in there and point out an obvious repaint only to usually never see it happen, like I said it infuses adrenaline, something no other toy line I've collected ever really gave me.


I could seriously go on and on about why this franchise is at the top of the list, but I know attention spans for long winded posts wane. For me the positive greatly outnumber the negatives. I just leave you with this (mostly for Tidalwavex ):

[MightyMagnus78]

My conclusion is thus...

There is a lot of great 3rd party stuff around at the moment, perhaps a little too much? However more worryingly is that post DOTM it looks as though Has/Tak is really starting to drop the ball, in fact I'd even go so far as to say it looks pretty bleak.

Just like Cybertron, I think our 'Golden Age' could soon to be over. Sadly.