As the title says. Here is my quick and dirty review for wave 1.

For those unsure, the characters are as follows:

Optimus Prime/Ravage, Starscream/Mirage, Rodimus/Insecticon (Hot Rod/Shrapnel), Grimlock/Shockwave.

Packaging:

Same sort of style as the other lines by Hasbro (Superhero Squad, SW Galactic Heroes). The packaging is nice and displays the characters well. The art is for each character and done in the same style as the toy. The logo is done in movie style lettering and has a red background with both faction symbols in red.

Overall: Good packaging.

Character selection:

I was a bit surprise there was no Megs, but Prime, Grimlock, Starscream and Rodimus were pretty likely first choices. The other four range from "meh" to "WOW!!!!". Mirage is a nice choice, and not a quickly thought of character for a first wave. Ravage is a good choice, but a little surprising to come out before Soundwave. Shrapnel is an excellent choice!!!! The original Insecticons don't get enough love, and it was a creative choice. Finally SHOCKWAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The first time he has gotten any love for his original form in pretty much forever. Great choice. My only realy thought about the character choices is the heavy "leader" selection. Everyone except Ravage and Mirage are basically leaders of one sort or another (ok maybe not Rodimus yet). Still, great choices.

Overall: A nice mix of obvious choices with "out of left field" choices.

Design aesthetic:

Fairly obvious since Hasbro has other lines like this. The look works well for the G1 characters and gives them another life outside of the standard toy/show/comic looks. It refreshes the line in a different direction than Classics, while giving a nod to the Actionmasters line of yore. Each toy is an obvious representation of the character and doesn't go too far with the "deformed" look which might take away from the toy. My only real concern is with the posing. 5 of the characters are in pretty much the same pose with only slight changes. I think they could have used a little more creativity in posing, but that is just a minor gripe.

Overall: You should know by now what you are getting. Good, but mix up the posing a bit.

Articulation:

Minimal. Everyone except Ravage have varying degrees of movement in their arms. Everyone also has at least one hand open except for Rodimus. No one has moveable legs (boo). Prime, Mirage, Ravage and Shockwave have full head turning movement. Shrapnel has very limited head movement and Rodimus, Grimlock and Starscream have none. The limitations of the articulation are not that big a deal considering what the line is supposed to be, but I was a bit disappointed by the seemingly random articulation (especially the heads).

Overall: Good for what the line is, but could use more creative choices for articulation.

SUMMARY:

THis looks and feels like the other lines Hasbro has, but it definitely is nice to see G1 characters. I don't know how well this line would work with later shows. I could see it working with Beast Wars, but RID and beyond may not be worth doing (at least right now). If you have no interest in mini statues with that "cute" look, then move along. Otherwise I would recommend getting these guys as a nice addition to your collection, especially considering how little space they take up.

 

I saw these at Wal*Mart today.

Grimlock, Shockwave, Shrapnel, and Mirage all look quite nice.

Prime and Ravage look OK.

Rodimus has a stupid grin on his face and looks quite silly as a result. Starscream has a bad facial sculpt and an odd pose. It sucks that he will serve as the Thundercracker & Skywarp template.

I almost got Shrapnel/Rodimus but Rodimus just looks too silly.

 

Picked up the following the past two days:

Optimus/Ravage
Rodimus/Insecticon (read: Shrapnel)
Mirage/Starscream
Grimlock/Shockwave
Ultra Magnus/Megatron
Bumblebee/Soundwave

Missing:

Optimus/Unicron
Jazz/Thundercracker

Verdict:

I LOVE THESE THINGS.

Will post individual pack reviews soon.

 

HAHAHAHA You've come over to the dark side of oddity world, RW.

 

I got the Prime / Ravage and Grimlock / Shockwave packs yesturday. They really are excellent. Shockwave especially. Very nice sculpts and great poses (finally we've moved on from the awful titanium poses).

 

Megatron is packaged with Ultra Magnus.

 

They're not odd! They're ODDSOME!  

 

just got em. i think the best thing abt these guys are the expressions. note the eyes for guys like grimmy and starscream. the other heroes line dont have that kind of detailing.

even the paint apps are superior to the SW/marvel line

 

QFT!!!!! Also, can't wait to find Unicron and "You've got the Touch" Optimus!

 

I have the first set of six two packs. I loved them so much I opened em all  

to hell with value, these are mine to keep.

As KA said, awesome detailing, great sculpt, poses, GIMME MORE! (oh, you know they will)

 

I was lucky enough to find Grimlock/Shockwave, which was the set I really wanted. It's incredibly tempting to buy all of them though. I don't know what it is exactly, but cute representations of characters we know and love are just freakin addicting. They don't even have to be able to move, just looking at them is enough to want them.

It's crack.

 

I still haven't opened them yet.  

I just can't do it. The packaging and all is just awesome.

 

I know, man, I KNOW  

 

Did anyone besides me collect the Star Wars or Marvel one sof these before Robot hero's?

(Sidenote: Just saw the Fantastic Four wave of Superhero Squad at Target today too).

 

Yeah, I did the same with Super Hero Squad for a while. I think the artwork + compact packaging make them sweet displays.

 

I think I'm gonna open them up very delicately and keep the packaging. Gonna have to use them for the move anyways.

 

Got them and love them. Even made a coworker a little jealous. She loves Grimlock and I showed her the RH Grimmy. She wants one. But her hubby is a SW fan and she won't let him get any more toys.

 

you need to buy a RH grimmy and steal her from her SW hubby.

 

Yep...they are nicely packaged for displaying MISC...I must admit that I'm definitely NOT a fan of TF figures that do not transform...but when I went to Walmart looking for real gears I seen these Heros and then the Prime/Ravage pack...

And that Ravage is just so darn cute...had to pick him up...and with Prime pointing at him as if to say..."hey look...isn't he just the cutest thing"...just a really classic setup...didn't buy any of the others though...there were atleast 2 or 3 of each but only one of the Ravages left...(they maybe the hottest of the series so far)...

May pick up the others later...haven't decided yet...