Just wondering what people's opinions were on some of the Universe Deluxes. I'm interested in getting them now if I can find them for retail or slightly more, because I figure they are only going to get scarcer.

I've played with Starscream and Grimlock before. Loved SS, disliked Grimlock. I've read good reviews of Cyclonus (and saw Peaugh's video) so I'm trying to pick him up.

I am a bit curious about their respective leaders, neither of whom have received great reviews. For instance, Galvatron gets a lot of bashing around here, but is he really all that bad? I hear "he should have been a Voyager" but in Deluxe size he looks better next to Cyclonus. The G1-painted tank-Megs is also intriguing as a foil to SS, and he looks pretty cool, but his "spinning arm" gimmick looks stupid (it looks like his gun...so why does it spin?). So what are people's opinions of these two? (I also wonder if "Universe 3.0" will come out with a new and improved Megatron, because, well, he's a Megatron.)

I've heard mixed reviews on Prime and Hound/Ravage as well. Any experiences with those?

 

Not Cheetor.

Depending on what you disliked about Grimlock, the Overkill repaint may be an improvement. The dinosaur mode looks far better in Overkill's colours.

 

anything but the beasties

 

all but maybe cheetor optimus megatron and tankor

 

I liked Galvatron. I don't mind the kibble I do hate the neon orange. I also got the henkei version. At least that one has no ugly orange. I did swap the chrome parts with the universe version and BOTH look better. You probably don't want to get both versions though. Still I do like the figure. Cyclonus is pretty cool.

The green Megatron tank is ugly as sin. I would get the Hasbro Toy Shop version if you can. I actually have the green one and painted him up in G1 colors. Looks much better. The gimmick sucks and it stupid. I just try to have his right arm posed like a canon.

Hound is AWESOME. Prime's deluxe is ok. The gimmick also sucks and is stupid. Prime's voyager? I would get the Henkei.

 

In fact, just get Henkeis.

 

This.
If you don't mind the higher prices

 

all but Galvatron as he is a floppy mess

 

Universe deluxes? Get them all*. Go back for the Classics deluxes too, or Henkei. Whichever suits you geewun fancy, toy or toon.



* Well maybe not "all." I entirely passed on Galvatron. I wanted a Galvatron of the Voyager Megatron, not the deluxe tank. And the beasts and Hot Shot were easy passes as well. Other than than, I skipped on Acid Storm. I've got no interest in a no-name Rainmaker... with an Earth-mode even. I would've preferred Voyager Cyb. SS repaint. At least that one's closer to a tetrajet.

Oh, also Grimlock makes a much better dino than robot. Which is fine by me because he made a better dino than robot in the cartoon anyway.

 

I think Galvatron and Tankor are okay. I'd get them if you want to fluff up your line up (and Decepticons since there are fewer).

Henkei Cyclonus is beautiful, but the Universe one is awesome too.
I prefer Henkei Astrotrain over the Classics one.
Outside of that, everything but the beasties is pretty good for the deluxes. Especially Hound, Sunstreaker/Sideswipe, and Cyclonus.

For Voyagers and Ultra's:

Onslaught is awesome.
Inferno is amazing.
All of the Prime Molds are wonderful.
Jetfire is amazing if you can master standing him.
Silverbolt of Powerglide are okay, and I passed on both repaints. Maybe I'll get them on clearance if I see them.
Classics Devastator is the best combiner out of the box.
Superion really needs the upgrade kit to put him on top.
Bruticus... well, I'd understand passing on him.

Exclusives:

I really liked the Target two-pack because I like Springer and Ratbat.
The Roadbuster and Dirge one is only really good for Roadbuster in my opinion.

 

Cyclonus, Hound..... pretty much all of them except for Galvatron, Cheetor, and Hot Shot. I didn't like Dinobot either, but thats just my opinion.

 

The Prime mold is fantastic. It's amazing. I would go so far as to call it perfect.

 

Speaking strictly of the molds, not the various differing deco versions... almost all the Classic/Universe Deluxes are worthwhile.

I agree with your assessments... Starscream is a great mold, while Grimlock leaves a lot to be desired.

 Hound and Ravage are PURE GOLD. I can't say a single bad thing about Hound. No wait... his gun doesn't mount securely on his shoulder in robot mode. That's about it.

Cyclonus is pretty sweet... though I find his space-jet mode to be a bit clunky, compared to how sleek the original was. A minor quibble, but it does sort of bug me. It doesn't feel like a very well-designed jet mode, though the robot mode is great.

I didn't even bother with the other Beast Deluxes.

 Astrotrain is pretty good... makes a credible shuttle and a passable train, and the robot mode is cool.

 Bumblebee is love. His jet-ski/wings are nothing special, but the mold is great.

Prowl (and repaints) are alright. Decent articulation, decent car mode. I find the door/wings are a bit fussy and fragile, and that the painted plastic tends to be a bit gummy (a common issue on Classics Prowl, though better on the other 2 version). Prowl was always one of my favourites, so maybe I'm just being overly critical... but it's not one of the best.

 Sunstreaker/Sideswipe = good stuff, no real flaws

Tankor/Octane... I like him. The robot mode is fairly solid and articulated, though I dislike his dependency on that giant shield/claw thing for making his truck mode look good. It feels like a cheat, though I don't know if that would bother you.

 Mirage is BRILLIANT. Possibly the most posable TF EVER.

 Ramjet is exactly what a remold of Starscream should be. Good stuff.

Hot Rod is... not bad. Great car mode. Decent robot mode. He's solid, but not my favourite. Feels small and the headsculpt seems lazy.

Deluxe Prime is a pretty awesome little Prime robot. His truck mode is... marginal. I also have a hard time appreciating his size... he's way too small to display with most of the other Deluxes.

Megatron is the same... a bit small for my tastes. I have to admit that his gimpy gimmick arm is incredibly annoying, but other than that, he's a great little TF. Nice articulation, solid in both modes, and engineered in such a way that his turret retains full rotation. The only real kicker is that damn arm.

 Ratchet/Ironhide... well... I like to mod my toys, and in that sense, they can be made better... but out-of-box, I was really disappointed with these. The seams on the truck mode look awful... like someone smashed it with a hammer, and then stuck it back together again. The transformation is a bit fussy, and the final robot mode is squat and a little awkward. Some innovative ideas here, but not as good as they should have been.

 Galvatron... bleah. The transformation is EXTREMELY fussy, and chances are, he will fall apart while you're trying. The gun arm is awkward and clumsily articulated, his joints tend to get loose easily. Again, an interesting idea, but not successful overall.

 Hotshot... again, a disappointment. A clear example of TF designers going out of their way to make a transformation unnecessarily convoluted, and ending up with an awkward, fragile robot. This figure will fall apart while you transform him, and has junky kibble that constantly conflicts with itself and the arm movement. Cutting off the spoiler helps, but I still call this one a mess.

As for larger figures...
Inferno is A*W*E*S*O*M*E*
Onslaught is also GREAT.
Jetfire.... a bit clumsy, and a couple of points of articulation short of greatness
 Powerglide is an awkward, disproportionate mess. GIANT HEAD, GIANT BODY, tiny little arms and legs.
Silverbolt is very nice, as long as you don't mind his extremely simple transformation.
Optimus is pretty good, but doesn't quite feel like a "classic" Optimus to me.
Megatron is fine as long as his giant wings and overall NERFiness don't bother you.
zmog




Outside of that, everything but the beasties is pretty good for the deluxes. Especially Hound, Sunstreaker/Sideswipe, and Cyclonus.

For Voyagers and Ultra's:

Onslaught is awesome.
Inferno is amazing.
All of the Prime Molds are wonderful.
Jetfire is amazing if you can master standing him.
Silverbolt of Powerglide are okay, and I passed on both repaints. Maybe I'll get them on clearance if I see them.
Classics Devastator is the best combiner out of the box.
Superion really needs the upgrade kit to put him on top.
Bruticus... well, I'd understand passing on him.

Exclusives:

I really liked the Target two-pack because I like Springer and Ratbat.
The Roadbuster and Dirge one is only really good for Roadbuster in my opinion.[/QUOTE]

 

Galvatron is hit and miss w/regard to floppyness and falling apart. Mine is fine, and personally i think it's an enjoyable mold.

The Ironhide/Ratchet mold is slightly frustrating... needs several mods to TF properly.

Inferno and the Sidewipe/Sunstreaker mold are very nice.

Cylconus... The robot mode is awesome. The Alt mode, to me just looks like a folded up robot... not quite Pretender bad, but it just donsn't look right.

 

....All of them...

But Cyclonus is highest priority. My 2nd favourite Transformer ever.

 

I love the 2.0 stuff, classics were a bit hit and miss for me. Hound, Inferno, Sunstreaker and Cyclonus are all fantastic. Galvatron should have been Voyager and Powerglide should have been deluxe.

 

most of the figures are pretty good with good articulations. i would avoid galvatron, great tank mode but bot mode is a mess.

 

i only actually have sideswipe optimus & Megatron (both the special edition) and galvatron and cyclonus..

I think that the are awesome Especially cyclonus!!!

and btw. I really like galvatron too................

 

I regret not getting Cyclonus.

I just hope I get a second chance to get it somewhere.

Two-Pack would be nice.