Powermaster Optimus Prime. Even better with Apex Armor. So many levels of playability: robot, super robot, mega-super-robot, mini-robot, truck & trailer, base mode and another robot. Five guns! Mini-robot can ride/man two of them. He's Metroplex/Super Robo all wrapped into one big beautiful package.

 

Seeker molds! loveum any color any style!

 

Damn, just read the "preferably just one... Claw Jaw out of sheer love to my first transformer and maybe Universe Cyclonus, I keep coming back to it because his robot mode is GORGEOUS, his headsculpt is very expressive and I love how his left hand is sculpted to look nice, not to hold weapons and of course...HIS LIGHTPIPE CAN SEE THROUGH YOUR SOUL! Seriously, I've held him against very faint light sources IN THE NIGHT and it looks even more menacing! If he had a little more paint and bicep swivels, he would be perfect.mnow, why haven't third parties made a samurai skirt add on that also fills his vehicle mode gaps? Also, if you can, give him Drift's Great Sword, he already has two cleavers anyway.

 

Not trying to jump on the bandwagon, but I'm going with classics/universe Cyclonus as well (I have the Battle in Space 2-pack version). Simple yet effective transformation, and amazing bot mode. As Maverick mentioned, the light piping is the best of any tf. If it were scaled up, it would damn near be a masterpiece figure in that it is an almost perfect cartoon representation of Cyclonus in both modes.

 

G1 Blitzwing and Sixshot are big-time favorites. Have to echo comments about classics Starcream & Cyclonus.

 

Classics seeker mold. It's what got me into collecting as an adult. Twice, really.

Acid Storm was the one I happened across when I was toy shopping with my oldest as a toddler. It was, quite simply, the toy I'd dreamed of owning my entire childhood. I was a little late to the party with G1, being only three when they first hit shelves. All my earliest TFs where from my brother, and most of them didn't survive my own pre-school years, including the seekers we had. Starscream was always one of my favorites, and I always craved the jets, but the closest I got was Pretender Starscream, a far cry. I always dreamed of having a set of seekers that were accurate in both molds.

And when I saw it on the shelf, I grabbed him. Soon, I was picking up much of the Universe line, until a few duds turned me off for a while.

Ultimately, I came back a couple years later with Thundercracker. Pretty much same reason, except now it was someone I knew.

Acid Storm went a harder route, being a kid toy for some years in my house, but he's managed to survive, and even now sits on my desk.

 

Straxus/Skullgrin is one I really enjoy posting. The pick axe, the grasping hands, the level of articulation. Just fantastic. Involved and well thought out transformation too.

I like to pose and play around with alot of my figures but I will just name that one here. Id really like them to use it again for another character too.

 

I prefer my copy of iGear's PP01 Faith Leader over any of the releases of the official MP01 mold. My copy of 20th Anniversary DVD edition Optimus Prime is and always will be in a shoe box in the attic due to damaged knees and chipped paint. Diecast isn't so great because that is what caused the knees on my copy to break, but, the Optimus Prime figure that I like most over those two is and always will be my copy of Hasbro's version of MP10 Masterpiece Optimus Prime. I take it with me almost everywhere I go. See post #242 in this thread for my reasons for prefering the Hasbro version of MP10 Masterpiece Optimus Prime over any of the releases/versions of TakaraTomy's MP01 Masterpiece Optimus Prime.

 

Animated Megatron. A definitive version of the character filled with great lines, posability, and fun.

 

Just a heads up: While you may still respond in this thread, after 5PM Central Time on Friday August 22nd responses will no longer be logged for the poll or Saturday's article.

Many thanks to the 250+ users who have responded so far. I didn't expect NEARLY this amount of people to respond. Perhaps more topics shall come in the near future?

 

Code, do you want to place this in the First Post? Just to cover any newcomers to the thread?

 

I'll add it.

 

I'm going to note a few TFs here, but the one I would prefer to fit the criteria of sharing one (should any of my descriptions be chosen as one to be shared) would be the last one. I'm also not taking anyone's opinions into consideration as I write this, since I haven't gotten time to read past the first 5 pages from when this was front-paged last week.

The first thing is that due to serious space constraints on what I can display, what is on display (and therefore readily accessible) changes frequently, with newer toys displacing older ones. That being said, there are a few that have managed to endure, regardless of the circumstances.

The longest displayed piece in my collection is G1 Star Saber. I purchased mine from BBTS when the shop was new enough that, when I purchased the piece, they e-mailed me back asking if I was sure that I wanted it due to it having stickers pre-applied and markers having been used on it for a small amount of panel lining. The toy is full-on G1 brickish, and I have no attachment to the character, but it is still a beautiful display piece. Star Saber looks great in both super-jet and robot modes. I've even considered displaying it in super-jet mode over the years, but it always comes down to lack of space. Star Saber's robot mode is really just so good of a display piece that I can't bring myself to switch it out to this day.

The next longest survivor of display shuffling is Universe 2.0 Cyclonus (kind of). The initial Hasbro release was the one that I initially displayed. That color-scheme was just so fearsome (aside from the 2 light gray chunks on his torso) as to be the perfect Decepticon. The intial Cyclonus was displaced by the "Battle in Space" version, due to wanting to keep the original one from losing any luster from that color-scheme, and the new one having a more animation-accurate color-scheme. Cyclonus is a beautiful piece in both robot and space fighter modes, but the space fighter definitely took a couple of compromises to deliver the most faithful robot mode possible. The execution of the robot mode is nearly flawless. The only problems with it are the shoulders not being able to swing out, no real wrist articulation and no ankle tilts (although, ankle tilts weren't really done when the toy first came out). As a bonus, this was the first Classic-line figure that was a Targetmaster. Additionaly, the targetmaster could be plugged into the folded-back fist - replicating what had been done in the Japanese animation. Cyclonus has remained on my shelves as the gold standard for all my other Decepticons.

The TF that has remained next longest on display really is a standard for TFs - RTS Jazz. Jazz looks every inch the way a Jazz figure should look. I've liked every version of Jazz's character that there has been to date and this mold is the best embodiment of them. Both vehicle and robot mode look fantastic. The only deficiencies in articulation are a minor limitation on shoulder articulation and no ankle tilt. Those are some pretty minor deficiencies and it means that Jazz can be put into just about any pose you want and still looks good. Jazz is so good that I think this toy's frame should be the default starting point for any automobile-based TF.

So, finally...

It might come as a surprise, but the TF that I keep coming to over and over is Generations Scoop. I had the G1 toy and thought it was great then. I also liked the character presented in the original toy's tech specs, TFU profile, and Stormbringer. The power shovel mode leaves a little to be desired and the robot mode's articulation has no wrist swivel or ankle tilt. Despite Scoop's extremely minor imperfections, this toy is what I believe is TF toy sex. The transformation isn't overly-complicated, nor is it too simple. It is just smooth and satisfying with everything slotting into place exactly the way it should. I rarely transform my TFs more than once a year. This is the only TF that I've ever owned that I transform an average of once a week.

 

I think ROTF leader Optimus is a long term favorite because I can add on accessories like the jet wings and pay with it in different ways.

 

Article delayed to Monday due to reasons I won't get into, so I'm reopening the poll for more thoughts and answers until Sunday night at 10PM Central. After that time, answers and responses will still be allowed but won't be added to the poll results.

 

Classics Cyclonus for me, great Alt and Bot mode, good posability, Cyclonus has one of the few timless designs to me.

Close runner up would probably be Classics Optimus & ROTF Terradive.

 

I'm interested to see what will make it on the poll.

Please have Laser Prime/RID Scourge be on their.

 

Longtime lurker (or lurking member, anyway), but decided to go ahead and chime in here.

For me, it has to be the Classics Optimus Prime. It has been a roller coaster ride for me and this figure. When it first came out, I snapped it up, my first Transformers purchase since G2 toys, simply because it looked more like that G1 Optimus mold than any toy I had seen in years. I remember, as grown man, getting out to my truck and tearing this figure open.

And being so disappointed.

This detachable roof thing?!? Smokestacks that come off? I was never a fan of Parts-formers, and couldn't believe they did it with Optimus. Then, there was the dumb abdomen twist! Didn't they understand that the grill of the truck was already there?!? Why make a false grill that flips around?!?

And the arm kibble. Ugh! Hate this thing!

When I got home, I set the figure on a table beside my chair and proceeded to forget about it.

But... a funny thing happened. One evening, probably a month later, while watching TV, I picked up the figure and started playing with it. Okay, so maybe it wasn't HORRIBLE... and the poseability was pretty great. I could never get my G1 Optimus into these stances.

Over the next few months I found myself absently transforming the figure, over and over, and the unfamiliar and different became familiar to me. Sure, the Parts-former aspects and arm kibble bothered me... but not *that* much.

Slowly, I accepted that this figure wasn't just an updated version of G1 Optimus, but actually an improvement on it. An improvement because it had better poseability, flip out hands (no more losing the fists!), and was more fun to play with, while keeping that G1 look I fell in love with.

Now, I own, like, three of the original Classics Optimus toys (planning to modify one to look even more G1 if I ever get around to it), plus the other uses of the mold - a Nemesis Prime, an Ultra Magnus, and a Shattered Glass Optimus.

I still love my G1 Optimus toys, but I play with the Classics. That gives it the edge in my mind.

 

Thank you to all those who contributed! The article will go live as soon as I finish counting/logging the responses.