With 2015 now behind us, it's time to take a quick look back and reflect on what the year gave us. It was quite a busy year at times, and most of the excitement focused around Combiner Wars. For our 2015 Year in Review, we're going to break things up in to a few divisions, and where better to start than with the topic of the year, Combiner Wars? Below you'll find our picks for some specific categories to the line, and that'll be followed by a few more special areas of recognition. Click the title link to get started, and stick around for the rest of our 2015 Year in Review articles!
The unfortunate realization as we pondered this category was that no one makes a particularly good arm. Whether it’s lacking connection strength between the robot legs comprising the giant forearm, or vehicle bits that get in the way of posing, or just simply being far oversized and either ugly in the combined whole or clumsy to try to use, every base mold ends up flawed to some meaningful degree. While Drag Strip does not escape having issues, it seems to find the best balance of any. The robot arms obstruct the shoulder joint a bit, but everything holds together solidly, it’s not overly bulky, and it looks nice. No one is perfect, but it seems like wave one got this right and produced a combiner limb that no subsequent mold has been able to beat. As for leg duty, well, no one is any better or worse at that. It’s easy to turn in to a box.
There are rules in Transformers. First waves are awful. Toys designed to be the core of a Superion or analogue are horribly designed. But Combiner Wars Silverbolt breaks both of those rules. Inconceivably, the designers got it right on the first try with Silverbolt. While its solo robot mode is good, it’s not the subject for this category. And where Silverbolt excels is at being a Superion torso. It’s well proportioned, locks together in to a sturdy structure, and offers excellent poseability in the legs which even now no other torso can truly match. Soon enough we’ll see if Sky Lynx may dethrone Silverbolt in this regard, but even if it does there was over a year where Silverbolt and Superion were the best at something. All the rules are out the window now.
So, how can the best combiner be composed of a series of molds that includes neither the best limb nor the best torso? The trick to that is that Defensor has the best balance of attributes all-around. Silverbolt is the best torso... but the Aerialbots aren’t great limbs. And while none of the line’s limbs are perfect at their jobs, none of the Protectobots are particularly bad at it. The added bulk of Hot Spot’s Torso Mode helps balance out Rook’s chunkiness in a way that Silverbolt just can’t. (Though you might not want to pair him with Blades. Just a suggestion.) And while Defensor’s torso may not have the balance of form and function that Superion’s does, it’s decent looking in its default standing pose, and other poses are less of a hassle than anything to do with Menasor/Ultra Prime/Optimus Maximus. And the individual robots are probably the strongest overall of the line as well. If you were only ever going to get one combiner, Defensor is it.
This is a difficult call, because when it comes down to it there’s little appreciable difference between the Hasbro and TakaraTomy takes on Devastator. Ultimately what pushed this to the Unite Warriors version was simple details: The deco tweak making Devastator’s face a bit darker than the silver forehead, and offering the option to switch between the separate eyes or visor. For Hasbro you had to buy separate versions of the set to have that choice. Unite Warriors may lack a little in deco for the Constructicons while adding a little more to their jointing, but as Devastators go, we still think Unite Warriors just edges out Combiner Wars.
I’m still not sure that plating sometimes random-seeming parts of the Constructicons was necessarily the best idea, but with the exception of Mixmaster it does stay hidden almost entirely in the combined mode. Were the chest wing the only visible chromed part on Devastator you’d have a really nice look in the combined form. Alas, Mixmaster’s chrome drum makes Devastator very shiny indeed, and unfortunately to its detriment.
Let me say to start, no one should buy Unite Warriors Defensor solely for Groove. But people will, and as the only exclusive piece of one of these Unite Warriors sets, that does, technically, elevate Groove to the alarming status of most expensive Deluxe of 2015. If you know of a Deluxe this year that cost more than $170, let us know!
It’s rare for accessories to sell you on a set as much as the core figures, but Combiner Hunters did it. Take three fairly shortpacked figures from late 2014 - Arcee, Chromia, and Windblade - and give them new color schemes. In other years that might be enough for an exclusive set... but this is the year we got SDCC Devastator. So since you have a set of Deluxes that has to compete with Devastator to begin with, why not make that literal and give them all giant weapons to hack at him with? And by some miracle, all three figures can actually stand with their weapons. Even Arcee, who is using a sword heavier and taller than she is herself, one designed for a toy three or four price points above her! Quite a turnaround for a mold notorious for having trouble holding anything at all.
So, somewhere in the last few years Takara has turned in to the company their non-Japanese fans always claimed they were, going well beyond Hasbro’s budgetary capabilities in terms of paint and deco. When you couple that with the favorable exchange rate and Takara’s sneaking interesting recolors, remolds, oddities, and molds they didn’t otherwise have a place for, Transformers Adventure is the Takara fanboy’s dream of the line that truly is vastly superior to the Hasbro equivalent. Why would anyone spend $16-$20 on an underpainted Warrior-class figure when you can get TakaraTomy’s version for just a few bucks more?
Aww, harsh. But sadly also true. The fiftieth anniversary of GI Joe - and thus action figures in general - only produced a dozen figures on the mass-market, all of those reuses of existing molds and Toys R Us exclusives. The Collector’s Club produced four times as much product this year. (Not counting the TF Collector’s Club’s release of Serpent O.R.!) So yeah: bad year for GI Joe.
Except! Hasbro finally produced something people have been asking for since probably 1984: the first explicit crossover figure between GI Joe and Transformers. A remold of Powerglide, Viper is a Cobra Rattler with a new headsculpt designed to evoke Wild Weasel, its traditional pilot. The insignia is not just a blending of the Cobra and Decepticon emblems but a specific adaptation of the markings used on the classic Rattler. Maybe it’s overstating it to say that this is the most care Hasbro put in to a GI Joe product this year... but not by much.
Hi everybody. Thanks so much for all your responses! We've loved hearing from you and seeing all the different answers everybody had to their top picks for the last year. As of now the entry period for the giveaway is closed, and only replies prior to this post will qualify to win one of the prizes. We're going to start going through the entries and make our selections which will be announced live during the broadcast of Radio Free Cybertron on January 13, which you can watch embedded on the front page here at TFormers, or at tfradio.net/live. Afterward we'll be contacting the winners via private message here on the forum to arrange for delivery of the prizes.
Thanks again to everyone who contributed, and we hope we'll continue to see you around the forums!
Best Official Toy (Hasbro): Leader Class Ultra Magnus. ??????1/2 out of 4 stars. Extremely impressive transformation for a non-masterpiece figure.
Best Masterpiece Toy: MP-18B Bluestreak. ???????? Waited most of my life for this and got the perfect Transformer.
Best Unofficial (third party) Toy: MTRM-01 Cupola. ??????1/2. Always wanted a Chromedome with working elbows and knees,
Best Official Toy (H): CW Superion
Best Official Toy (TakTom): UW Devastator
Best Masterpiece Toy: Star Saber
Best Unffocial Toy: Maketoys Cupola
Best Storyline: Sins of the Wreckers
est Official Toy (Hasbro) - CW Rook
Best Official Toy (TakaraTomy) TFA Supreme Optimus Prime
Best Masterpiece Toy- MP Wheeljack
Best Unofficial (third party) Toy- MMC Sphinx
Best Comic Issue Or Storyline- Last Stand of The Wreckers
Best News Item (any category) Masterpiece Beast Wars Optimus Primal
Best Toy Reveal- Titan Return Fort Max
CW Devastator: I really, really didn't expect to like Devy so much. I bought him expecting disappointment, however was met with great articulation, cool bot and altmodes and a magnificent combiner.
I must admit that Tak has made some awesom stuff this year, but one that caught my attention was the Blackarachnia toy. It's just too nice to see a screen accurate version of the character being produced.
The entire load of reveals we got in 2015 was fantastic, but the Leader Class Blaster from Titans Return just blew me away, I never expected to see a Blaster that now only would turn into a boom-box, but also have a cool gimmick like headmasters and also be compatible with the new spy tablet figures.
Best Toy Reveal: Magnus, since I was in shock to see the IDW body with Minimus Ambus!
Best Hasbro toy: Combiner Wars Bruticus, because I like all the Combaticons separate and combined, but I cannot wait for the Unyte Warriors still!
Best Takara Toy: Legends Ultra Magnus. I would've put Magnus as my favorite Hasbro toy, but then the first three of my favorite things would've been Magnus... So I put Magnus as Takara's best toy since it had a superior paint job in my opinion.
Best Masterpiece Figure: Blue Bluestreak! He's blue and the Masterpiece Prowl mold... Need I say more?
Combiner Wars Ultra Magnus
Unite Warriors Groove
Masterpiece Tracks
Best official toy (Hasbro) - Bombshell
Best MP toy (Takara) - Mp Star Saber
Best official toy (Takara) - Unite Wars Devastator
Hey!! I'm back, baby!!
My picks are:
Best Hasbro Official toy: Combiners Wars Superion! He's / They're just so awesome!! I'm still just not tired of messing with them! Even with Slingshot not in my particular arrangement, they cannot stop being cool! Great figures/ Great Combiner
Best Takara Tomy Official toy: Legends Ultra Magnus! I have the Combiners Wars version but those colors on Legends Ultra...Just as true blue as Ultra Magnus should be! Great Great!!
Best Masterpiece: Diaclone Blue Bluestreak! Nuff Said! He just looks awesome!!
Best 3rd Party Transformer: I can't pick just one so, in all their incarnations, all the Insecticons! Great engineering and just some of the tightest transformation schemes I've seen in a long while!
Best Storyline: Alita-1's arrival! Cans we has more Fembots, please??
Best news story: Combiners Wars Cartoon!! What?! So much awesome!!
Best Toy Reveal: A tossup: Masterpiece Diaclone Bluestreak and Titan Wars Galvatron ... Because, I wasn't expecting either of those guys to hit the shelves! I need both!
Best Hasbro Toy: CW Devastator - It took thirty some years, but Hasbro has done great work in providing fans and new fans to this awesome figure which resembles the beloved Decepticon gestalt we all enjoy. In sculpt design, colors, and functionality it is a good toy. I've watched numerous reviews on this fig and despite the negative comments, I look forward to having this fig in my collection.
Best Toy Reveal: Power Master Optimus Prime. The improved look of this figure is AMAZING looking forward to seeing what Hasbro does with this series Titans Returns
Best Takara Toy: Decepticon Nightbird, I've always wanted to see more of this character when it was introduced in the series episode, "Enter the Nightbird" To see it now done even in the Generations release remolding of Arcee is still amazing. Giving that Fem fatal edge to the Decepticon ranks.
Best Hasbro Toy: CW Bruticus
Best Takara Toy: MP Bumblebee
Best Reveal: Thunder Mayhem
Best Official Toy (Hasbro) Combiner Wars Titan Class Devastator! The articulation of the combined form, despite its size, and the fact its a combiner and holds together perfectly is amazing. The sculpts of the combined mode as well as all of his individual Constructicon parts, in both robot and alt modes are superb!
Best Official Toy (Takara Tomy) Legends LG15 Nightbird Shadow! Great rendition of a previously used mold with newly sculpted head. Additional unique weapons and an excellent homage to the original cartoon character.
Best Masterpiece Toy MP-11T Thundercracker! The modifications made to the transformation/figure since my first experience with its like (Hasbro Masterpiece Starscream) were a breath of fresh air! They made this figure far more like one should expect from a Masterpiece series.
Best Unofficial (3rd Party) Toy WarbotronWB01-E Fierce Attack (aka Onslaught)! Not only does this figure complete the (not) Combaticons set to make the very impressive Brute combiner, but this guy is massively impressive all on his own. The Transformation, sculpting, paint applications, articulation and plastic quality are all top notch!
Best Comic Issue or Storyline Combiner Wars storyline! It was fun to have a story to go along with the figures being produced outside of the latest animated series.
Best News Item Voting between Omega Supreme, Trypticon and Scorponok as the next Titan class figure!
Best Toy Reveal Early shots of Titans Return Leader Class Power Master Optimus Prime!
Sorry for the double post, I can't edit.......
anyway:
Best Official Toy: Combiner Wars Prowl. ( He just looks so nice, especially when you compare him to the rest of his team. )
Best News Item: Combaticon Awareness Week. ( I just though it was very interesting to remind myself of all the good and bad that a Bruticus had to offer throughout the years. )
Best Toy Reveal: Masterpiece Optimus Primal ( As someone who doesn't currently collect Masterpiece figures and is a huge fans of Beast Wars, I am excited for this. I home it turns out well. )
Best official toy. Hasbro: leader class ultra magnus
Best official toy takara: transformers unite protectobots with groove
Best masterpiece: tracks
Best Official Toy (H): Platinum Insecticons Old look with new plastic just brought back the nostalgia, just what I wanted out of them.
Best Official Toy (TakTom): Nightbird I cant believe they went that far back and made a toy for her after this long you would think everything had been done.
Best Masterpiece Toy: Road Rage Looks gorgeous the colors really pop. I had never known of this repaint.
Best Unofficial Toy: Sever I love the transformation. Looks complicated but super fun.
Best news Item: Combiner Wars animation announcement I cant wait for a more adult styled cartoon.
Best Toy Reveal: Titan Master Galvatron A headmaster Galvatron is just a brilliant idea. Center table was a good call.
Best Official Toy (H): CW Rook.
Best Official Toy (TakTom): UW Defensor
Best Masterpiece Toy: Tracks
Best Unffocial Toy: Shuraking Thunderous
Best Storyline: MTME Brainstorm's Arc.
Best news Item: rumor of CW Predaking
Best Toy Reveal: Masterpiece Tracks
Best Hasbro Toy: Deluxe Class Rook. Hasbro went all out on Rook,his unconventional weapon ports plus his bulky proportion make for a really good combination.
The Best Toy Reveal: Combiner Wars Bruticus
Best Takara Figure:Unite Warriors Scrapper