Alex Weaver 1/8/24 Alex Weaver 1/8/24

MYTH’S TOP 20 TRANSFORMERS OF 2023

Hi, there. It is that time of year again when everyone figures out their favorite figures of the year and my yearly tradition of going over my Top 20 figures I got this year. Let me tell you this year's top 5 is the CLOSEST ranking I have ever had and there is an easy argument for any of them to be #1. Honestly, this year was great for figures both in terms of release and acquisitions on my end, and on the whole, there are plenty of great figures that just didn’t make the cut that I thought were shoe-ins for this list when I got them. If you have read the previous year's posts you should know the standard rigamarole for my lists, the figures on this list didn’t have to come out this year I just had to acquire them within the past 12 months and it is not a Top 10 list because there are too many figures that I think deserve attention. Now then let’s get into it

#20: Shattered Glass Grimlock

The original Studio Series 86 Grimlock figure came in at #15 on my list two years ago and combine that with my love for Shattered Glass, this figure being on this list was a no-brainer. Sometimes all you need in life is a big plastic robot dinosaur that turns into a big plastic robot—pure simplicity.

#19: Universe 2.0 Powerglide

I have always loved this era of Transformers toys and Powerglide is such a good example of it. New designs for existing characters that have wack proportions, made of big chunky parts, and have tons of play value. This toy just oozes an energy that we just don’t get anymore, sure he doesn’t have the standard articulation we have now but he proves that it isn’t necessary to be a good toy.

#18: Alternators Miester & Wheeljack

I got quite a few Alternators this year so I am glad a couple of them made the list. Alternators are an incredible toyline that I don’t think we could get today and even if we did I don’t know if they would hit the same. This is a line of 1:24 scale model cars that just so happen to transform into, usually, recognizable Transformers characters. Wheeljack and Jazz here may be some of the more controversial picks for favorites, but Jazz has a really interesting transformation and Wheeljack is a toy I have wanted for a while, and he didn’t disappoint.

#17: Buzzworthy Origin Jazz

Not a figure I was initially planning on getting as I am pretty content with the 86 Jazz figure but I am really gald I did as this figure has no right being this good. He looks great in both modes, handles great, and transforms great. I don’t know how they managed to pull off this alt mode so well and have the robot mode be as good as it is.

#16: Legacy Evo Orion Pax & Senator Shockwave

This is a super weird set where neither mold really suits the designs they are going for but there aren’t any better options so this is what we got and I love it for that. Shockwave uses the Siege Seeker mold, which is always a win in my book, and wears it well. The new molding is good but I wish the wings were slightly bigger. Orion is the real star for me though as the Siege Hound mold is almost as good as the Seeker mold and it really shines here with the bright colors and new parts

#15: Legacy Evo Nacelle

This really shouldn’t be a surprise. Considering I just went over the other use of this mold that came out this year and that I had two versions of this mold on last year's list. This mold is a constant for these lists for me and I am not mad about it. Nacelle here is one of the best-looking of the bunch too. The only thing I wish he had was new wings with V-TOL blades, I am not complaining.

#14: Retro G1 Hound & Hot Rod

These two toys made me understand why the G1 toys are so loved. I grew up on the Micheal Bay movies and those are the toys that I grew up with so I had never really handled any G1 toys growing up, aside from a well-loved Prime and Soundwave, which were still great don’t get me wrong. But Hound and Hot Rod here are so good. They are fun, they are simple, and they are exactly what they need to be.

#13: Legacy Evolution Javelin

The original use of this mold was already phenomenal and one of, if not the best, female Transformers figure, and this version knocks it out of the park. I love the entire look of this figure, with the new colors and parts really enhancing the look. The customizable weapon is a big stand out for me, as it gives so much versatility and variety, but this entire figure is great and has not moved from my desk since I got her.

#12: Masterpiece Trainbot Suiken

Two MP Trainbots made the cut last year so of course at least one was going to make its way onto this year's list and Suiken is my new second favorite. The transformation on him is much simpler than the other 3 I have and he just feels so much more dynamic and clean compared to the rest and the train mode is just as incredible as the rest of the crew’s

#11: Shattered Glass Sideswipe & Hot Rod

As noted earlier, I am a Shattered Glass enjoyer so this pack was a necessity for me but man I was not expecting it to be this good. Hot Rod was already a great toy and the new head and Skywarp colors make it incredible but the real surprise here is Sideswipe. There are only 4 new parts on the mold itself plus the 2 new sword parts and it feels like a brand-new toy compared to any of the previous Siege/Kingdom Sideswipe variants, and then add the new mini-con and you get the full, incredible package.

#10: Legacy Evolution Metalhawk

The final instance of a remold/repaint of a toy that was on a previous year's list and what a toy. Metalhawk uses the phenomenal mold that is Kingdom Cyclous and it works so well. Both modes look super good and so and Metalhawk is just as fun to handle as Cyclonus, the only reason he loses points is that his alt mode is not as sleek and the colors are not clean, especially in jet mode

#9: Legacy Evolution Skyquake

Here is a toy that I’m surprised me it made my top 10, but after picking it back up I totally get it. This toy has presence, in both modes. The design is also such a good blend of the original toy and Prime iterations of the character, the easily best of all the “Prime Universe” figures we have gotten in Legacy. I am really hopeful we get to see this mold done up in more colors in the coming years as I am all in on a version in Classic G1 toy colors and Machine Wars Starscream colors.

#8: Legacy Evolution Tarn & Bludgeon

These two show off how good Hasbro figures can be, and how two, of what is essentially the same toy, can feel so distinct. Tarn is a toy nobody thought we would ever get in toy form, just because of the nature of the character, so his toy being this good is incredible. But then to get a reuse of the mold later in the year with Bludgeon who somehow wears the mold just as well if not BETTER than Tarn is something I never expected.

#7: Legacy Evolution Needlenose

Needles here is a surprise hit for me, I did not expect to like him as much as I do. He is a phenomenal fiddle figure, with a simple yet interesting transformation, all the various ports for the Targetmasters, and all while looking superb in all modes. Add to that the playability with Skyquake and you have a whole lot in such a small package.

#6: Studio Series 86 Ultra Magnus

I was always gonna get this figure when it came out as my last Ultra Magnus was the Siege version and I am not a big fan of that mold. This guy is the exact opposite; incredible looking in both modes, a transformation that is both interesting and not infuriating, incredible playability, and great accessories. This toy made me understand why the car carrier is such a great alt mode and why vehicle scale is so good.

#5: Haslab Deathsaurus

It may come as a surprise that the new Haslab is coming in this low considering last year’s was my figure of the year, but that just proves how stiff the competition is. On top of that, Victory Saber is more toyetic, with lots of combining elements, and just more fun overall to mess with. Deathsaurus on the other hand, while he has a lot of accessories and functionality, is just a phenomenal, premium figure which in the end, is all he needs to be.

#4: MMC Optus Prominon

As far as hyper-articulated Transformers go this is one of the best. He can pull off most poses extremely well, and all the accessories he comes with just add even more variety. On top of all that he looks great in both modes, my only gripe is that the transformation can be a bit of a pain in the ass, especially going to vehicle mode but considering everything he can do, that is a fair compromise.

#3: Legacy Evolution Armada Optimus Prime

I have always loved the Armada Optimus design so I am super glad this toy came along, as a good quality version of the original toy feels so far out of my price range, and boy does he deliver. The core robot is a blast on its own and then adding the trailer pants just adds so much pure presence that is hard to beat.

#2: Maketoys Contactshot

Everyone in this fandom has that one character who is essentially a nobody but they love them anyway, and for me, that is Pointblank. Needless to say, I have really wanted this guy for a while, and man I was not expecting him to be this good. Or this big. He is so much fun and such a beauty to pose and even just look at. The head and face options are a great addition, so you can mix and match to create your preferred Pointblank look. Transformation isn’t complicated and has some very interesting sections, specifically the legs, and the car mode is immaculate.

#1: Maketoys Striker Manus

This was a long-time grail figure for me, essentially ever since the original version was released back in 2016(I think), I have wanted it and now that I have it I have to say he doesn’t disappoint. This version in particular is the Premium Editions so it comes with all the extra bits and weapons from previous releases of the mould which just increases his fun exponentially. There are so many things I love about this toy, that there comes a point where it becomes derivative and the only thing to say is that he is phenomenal.

Once again my Top 20 Figures of the year list has 25 figures in it but really who’s counting? This is just a way for me to gush about a fraction of the cool robots I got this year for anyone who will read it. If you haven’t caught on this is the end of the list no honorable mentions or anything as that would take WAY too long and this is long enough already. Hoping to update this site more this year but I guess only time will tell, so in that case, I will see you when I see you.

Alex Weaver 12/31/21 Alex Weaver 12/31/21

MYTH’S TOP 20 TRANSFORMERS OF 2021

Hi there, it has been a while since I have done a blog post, but it is that time of year where we take a look back at everything we got, did, and watched and then rank them because… why not. I would usually just do this on twitter but since I now have this space I can go a bit more in depth on each figure. Now If you know me, you know I like to rank things so this was a lot of fun for me and took a lot more time than I thought it would to finalize. Even now while writing this I am still moving figures around, which is a testament to how stacked this year has been for me in terms of getting figures. That is seconded by the fact that this isn’t a Top 10 list, it is a Top 20 cause there were just so many figures that deserve praise and recognition that I couldn't narrow it down to just 10.

Before we get into it I do want to set some general ground rules; First, this list is not limited to just figures that came out in the year 2021, it is any figure I got throughout the year. Second, this list is by no means definitive in anyway or to anyone other than me, I shouldn’t have to say that this is an opinion piece, but there are a lot of dumb people out there, so this is more of a precautionary measure than anything. This is less of a rule but if you couldn’t tell by the title, this is going to be a REALLY LONG blog post so strap in and let’s get started

20: Studio Series 86 Wreck-Gar

Starting us off is Wreck-Gar, who I imagine is going to be on numerous people's lists, because he not only looks excellent in both modes but also has tons of play value in either mode. In robot mode he has great pose ability and has his signature axe. On top of that his wheels can be placed in a variety of locations across his robot mode giving him quite a few display options. In vehicle mode he is engineered to be able to have figures ride him, which is way more fun than it has any right being. What really holds him back from being higher up is his transformation, while it isn’t complicated, I always get hung up on how everything folds, especially his chest.

19: Studio Series Dino

I don’t feel like I have much to say on Dino here. He is the first proper toy of a character we barely saw in Dark of the Moon, and it is wonderful. The transformation is neat, vehicle weapon storage is very cool, and just an all around fun figure.

18: Legends Blurr (+ Mold Mates)

I went from having none of this mold too having 3 of it within a month, and while it is a pretty simple mold, it is still very fun and I love all 3 versions pretty much equally but I think Legends Blurr would come out on top if I had to pick one just because of that color scheme alone. I appreciate that all 3 versions look different enough from one another, especially in vehicle mode, giving the mold their own personality.

17: Studio Series Bumblebee Starscream

I know I might get flak for this one considering how many people I see who dislike the alt-mode and head for this figure but as someone who loves both the Bumblebee movie aesthetic and Cybertronian alt modes, this is a hard one not to love. On top of that, the colors on this toy are absolutely perfect and just make me happy anytime I look at him. While I do have Thrust as well I don’t get the same level of enjoyment out of him as I do Starscream here.

16: Studio Series 86 Slug

This large lad is excellent despite some visual wideness and him being more complicated than I would have liked. That being said the transformation has some cool and interesting sections, like the way the rear dino legs compress and fold away for robot mode and how the robot chest compresses for dino mode.

15: Studio Series 86 Grimlock

Not much to say here, he just is a very good, very chunky G1 Grimlock, essentially a scaled down Masterpiece Grimlock. Just a simple and fun robot dinosaur that turns into a simple and fun aggressive murder himbo/dad

14: Generation Selects Deep Cover

Deep Cover is one of those characters that is essentially a nobody. He has never appeared in any media, at least not in this color scheme, but I love him all the same. That is mainly because of the colors, as black and blue is one of my favorite color combinations and he wears it well. The mold itself is just the Siege Sideswipe mode, which is pretty basic in and of itself. Not much else to say here, just an obscure character with a good color scheme on a good mold.

13: Transformers 2007 Stealth Bumblebee

This one is pure nostalgia for me. I was introduced to the franchise via the 2007 movie and had both the Cliffjumper and regular Bumblebee variants of this mold, so getting Stealth Bee was an absolute blast from the past. The color scheme of this guy is incredible and the car mode is absolutely stellar. When I opened him up I did not want to transform him into robot mode because I was so enamored with his car mode for a good 15 minutes. On a side note, Transformers should return to being packed in vehicle mode.

12: WFC: Kingdom Core Class Soundwave

Core Class was a pleasant surprise for me, I wasn’t initially going to get any of them but after I got Core Starscream(mainly out of spite) I was pleasantly surprised, and as much as I enjoy both him and Megatron, Soundwave takes the cake. He is the perfect little desk toy and the closest thing we have gotten to replicating the original toy in modern day. If you only get one core class figure make it Soundwave.

11: Titans Return Topspin/Twin Twist

These two have no good being as good as they are. From being some of the most simple G1 toys to these to being one of the best molds in the entirety of Titans Return, which was a line FULL of absolute bangers, especially at the deluxe size class. They are just a pair of absolute delights and the epitome of a “pick up and play figure”

10: Universe 2.0 Ratbat

This is a figure I was not expecting to love as much as I do. The transformation is simple but the way the legs become the wings is both ingenious and simple. The colors on this guy are ACE, and a jet mode that looks like some sort of evil future tech Batwing and is everything I love about cybertronian/non-earth alt modes

9: Generations Selects Shattered Glass Optimus Prime

If you know me then you know that I LOVE Shattered Glass, so obviously this figure was going to make the list. The colors and articulation are ace the the way they have miniaturized the MP-10 transformation for this mold is very impressive and shows just how far we have come in the decade since that figure came out.

8: Universe 2.0 Roadbuster

This guy is simplistic fun incarnate. The transformation is great, I love all the hidden missile pods and he feels good to handle. Just a good, chunky lad and sometimes that is all you need.

7: Reveal the Shield Lugnut

I really have no idea what to say about RTS Lugnut that hasn’t already been said by both myself and anyone else who has this mold. I highly doubt we will get a mold this good again, especially for this character. Just absolutely excellent.

6: Universe 2.0 Dirge

I don’t feel like I need to explain why this is a good figure, cause everyone should already know why this is a good figure, I mean it is the Cybertron Starscream mold. It looks incredible in both modes and then put Dirge’s royal blue and dull gold color scheme on it and you have a match made in heaven. Sure the arms may be hindered by the flip-out sword gimmick, but that is to cool a gimmick for me to not love.

5: WFC: Kingdom Galvatron

This is the best Galvatron figure we have ever gotten HANDS DOWN, and probably the best leader in the entire WFC trilogy. He just has this presence to him in robot mode that only he can have. He looks great next to anybody, whether that be Rodimus, Cyclonus and Scourge, or Optimus and Megatron. Transformation is interesting and alt mode is just this giant space cannon that looks as ridiculous as it does awesome

4: Universe 2.0 Nemesis Prime/Classics Ultra Magnus

This is a mold I have wanted for a while and I am so glad I got my hands on, not one but two versions of it. For a mold that is 15 years old, it holds up EXTREMELY well and is so much fun to play with. Posing it is a blast even if it doesn’t have the amount of articulation of a modern figure. The weapons look so cool and the way they store in vehicle mode is incredible and I am pretty sure there is not a single version of this mold that doesn’t look incredible. I think this is one of the quintessential Transformers figures and every fan should, at least, mess with it at some point.

3: WFC: Kingdom Cyclonus

On the topic of Classics figures, Kingdom Cyclonus is just Classics Cyclonus brought into the modern era. The engineering between the two is incredibly similar which I think is a testament to how ahead of its time the Classics figure was. Kingdom Cyclonus is proof that you don’t need complicated transformations or world class engineering to make a good toy, you know what they say, less is more.

2: WFC: Kingdom Rodimus Prime

There is not much I can say about this figure that I haven’t already said in my review. Rodimus’ price of admission may be high but he is absolutely worth it in my opinion. His engineering is incredible, he looks fantastic in both modes. He is so much fun to pose and the accessories just exemplify that. For a figure that I was not considering picking up when first revealed, I am so glad I caved.

1: Ocular Max Eris: Kultur

And so we have come to the final figure, my number 1 of 2021, and it should come to no surprise that it is Eris:Kultur. Similarly to Rodimus there is not a lot more I can say that I haven’t already said. Not only was this figure my first brand new 3rd Party figure but it also fits with my own personal canon, on top of that both modes are extremely good looking and all the engineering is simple yet intuitive. I knew as soon as I got her out of the box she would be my number for the year, and despite figures coming close it was never a question.

And that is all folks, that is my top 20 figures that I got in 2021. I do hope you enjoyed my little look back at the past year, and am curious as to what your favorite Transformers were that you got in 2021, so let me know on Twitter if you want. As for the future I still plan on doing galleries every week and I do want to get back to doing blog posts, they just take a while to write so they might not be as regular as they started out. I also want to expand beyond reviews and perhaps do monthly news roundups or top ten lists, maybe incorporate tier lists or brackets somehow, I guess only time will tell. Until then, Have a Happy New Year and I’ll see you when I see you.

Alex Weaver 8/23/21 Alex Weaver 8/23/21

WFC: Kingdom Maximal Grimlock

Welcome back, this week is the beginning of my first ever 2-part review. This means that I will be taking a look at a single set of figures with each one getting its own blog post. This review is also kicking off Kingdom Month (and a half), where each week I will be looking at a different Kingdom figure, in some capacity, and provided they all come on time. Last week I promised we would be “continuing on the dinobot train” and that is exactly what I am going to do. So without further adieu let’s kick this off and look at Kingdom Maximal Grimlock.

This figure comes from the first of 2 Amazon exclusive box sets for Kingdom. They got the name the Battle Across Time Collection, as each one came with a repaint/remold of a Beast Wars Kingdom figure and an earth mode version of a G1 character we got in Siege. This specific set came with Maximal Grimlock and Autobot Mirage and the other set features Maximal Skywarp and Autobot Sideswipe. Grimlock here is a repaint of the Kingdom Dinobot mold with a new head, which makes sense as that is what his original toy was. This figure got a lot of backlash when it was revealed as it has some questionable paint choices. I will detail all of them as I get to each section, but I liked that they tried combining the 2 BW Grimlock decos that got released(The original Beast Wars version and the Dinobots subline version). It is an interesting idea that could have been executed better, but enough talking about this figure's history, let’s get into it and you’ll see what I mean.

As always we look at the head and I would be lying if I said this isn’t one of my favorite head sculpts I have ever seen. Just absolutely stunning. The helmet is cast in this beautiful black plastic, on either side you have these spade shaped panels that have diamond shaped panels on top of them that wave molded vents on them. In the middle is this giant mohawk that goes all the way across the head and even continues down the back a bit. On the front it has this vertical drop off that actually tiers inward slightly as to not fully connect with his angled brow. His face plate is painted in this fantastic shade of grey plus it has his titular chin spike. Interestingly on the original toy his face plate was white and the Dinobots one was red. I find the fact that it is grey here kind of odd but I am not going to let that distract me from how good it looks. To top it all off are the bright green eyes that pierce through both of the dark colors. They are set in more than I might like but they can end up looking pretty dramatic thanks to the head articulation. Speaking of which, the head is on a ball joint and there is nothing around to hinder its movement so you end up with a pretty full range of movement

The torso is a pretty basic block despite his animalistic alt mode. The chest is odd to say the least. So it is supposed to be the Dinosaur head but slightly flattened thanks to Dinobot(the character)’s show model. You can see the top of the actual Dino mode head in the middle but the area around it makes no effort to match it. It is our first instance of “missing” paint as at the very least I think that the fake dino eyes should have been painted green. I am unsure about the rest of the fake head as the original never had this much black it was just spotted, but I think the added black would have looked nice and broken up the primarily white chest. The back isn’t too bad as it is just dino parts that condense down nicely, nothing too special here.

Moving onto the arms, which are the design’s traditional raptor leg arms. There isn’t a lot going on here other than lots of articulation and some very nice texturing, which is present throughout the entire figure. Like I said these arms have tons of articulation; double upward shoulder joints, full shoulder rotation, full bicep swivel, 90 degree elbow, full wrist rotation, back and forth wrist movement and the hands can open up thanks to the hinges on both finger sections. You may have noticed that the shoulders are white but the forearms and hands are grey and this is what I was talking about when I said this toy takes inspiration from both BW Grimlock decos. The original toy had fully white arms but the Dinobots one had the hands all the way up to the biceps grey similarly to this one, albeit this one stops at the elbow.

Now we get to the legs and you can probably already tell they are a kind of a mess, visually at least. All the articulation you would expect for a modern figure is here; ankle tilt both inward and backwards, 90 degree knees, full, but rather tight, thigh swivels, full range of motion in the hips, but the back movement is a bit restricted by the shape of the back of the crotch piece, and a waist rotation but it is off center so going too far in either direction makes it look wonky. Now onto the visuals of the legs and this vertical white and bronze split really isn’t working. I get the idea cause anything in white is visible in dino mode so they wanted it to match with the rest. The least they could have done is painted or molded the other halves in white so they match.

As for accessories, the raptor tail opens up and becomes two. You get this sword which can plug into either hand but because of how it is designed it can’t be used by other figures. The rest of the tail can also be plugged into either hand as a sort of rotating shield. I don’t really get it but it looks kinda cool and it can rotate thanks to the full wrist rotation. You can combine both accessories together to get this large wrist sword/lance/bow and arrow thing. Again looks cool but that is about it. The tail weapon can be stored on his back and obviously the sword can be stored inside the tail.

Transformation is kinda interesting but at the same time, nothing special. It is cool how the entire back of the dino unfolds from the torso, but it is so simplistically designed that after the first time it becomes boring. As for the Velociraptor mode itself it looks cool but that is about it. The colors are a neat combo especially for a raptor, and you can really tell they took this design from the Dinobots version. The original Beast Wars Grimlock was just white with black spots so it makes sense to liven up the design a bit more, I do wish there were more spots throughout the whole dino mode though. There are a few spots on the neck and they stop right before the thighs but I do think they could have gone further with them. He doesn’t have anything in the way of features and his articulation in this mode is limited. His head can look down, his jaw can open, the shoulders are on universal joints, the elbows go about 90 degrees and the hands are on ball joints but are molded in this downward position. The knees can bend forward a bit and the feet have all the same articulation as the robot hands, since that is what they are.

I think that is pretty much it for Kingdom Grimlock, he is oddly boring as a figure and tries to make up for it with looks but doesn’t quite go hard enough to pull it off, 6/10. I am still not quite sure what to do with this guy, but I am thinking I might keep him and make him my first big custom project to see if I can make him reach his full potential. As always gallery for this guy is up and next week I am obviously going to be looking at the second part of this set, Kingdom Mirage, but I still have a couple surprises in store, so see you all then.