I have to say some of my favorites

I-gear conehead seekers,dirge,thrust,ramjet and sunstorm (like his orange better than the official)
I -gear mini-warriors
TFC Hurcules is a beast with his rage add on kit
TFC Uranos is great as well with the wings add on set
Fansproject Intimidator..Stunticons
Fanstoys-Quakewave..epic

My favorites Leo-dux,Fortis and Bovis...fucking epic

keep in mind everyone's tastes are different and there is enough variety to keep everyone happy ..Its a slippery and expensive slope that I'm glad i'm on this ride
with warbotron doing bruticus
maketoys Quantron Aka Computron..TFC tackling Defensor..and the masterpiece Dinobot war just beginning..shits gonna get nuts so hold on to your butts!

 

hexatron


though mmc annihilator is one my favourites in my whole collection due to realistic alt mode and awesome bot mode

 

hmm so many choices

 

Everyone's tastes are so different!

But if you're a G1er, my two "must haves" are:

Green Giant, and
Quakewave

with an honorable mentions to:

Planet X Genesis for being big bulky and badass looking, and
PE Warden for build quality.

 

I'm currently selling my entire collection... and these are the ones I'll have the hardest time letting go of... if I do... which, makes them "must haves" to me personally.

Perfect Effect Warden
Maketoys Giant
Fansproject City Commander

 

why are you selling your collection?

 

I'd really think I'd see more ManiaKing listed.

I don't think we have ever seen a good representation of Galvatron like he does.
Offcourse this is personal taste!(And one for the G1érs among us) But still!

 

mania king does look awesome...

 

TW Orion is my favorite 3rd party figure nice and solid, hell he's my favorite figure right now period. Though I would recomend a few paint apps of silver and yellow or just buy the sticker set from reprolables. He just fells like the Optimus to lead my classics/third party collection. Though I do agree that he needed a new head which Renderformers will be putting right shortly.

 

fanstoys quakewave

 

This list is in no particular order and these are only figures that I own or have owned at some point.
PE Warden, fantastic build quality and all round great figure. Although I do like the look of the upcoming Guardian repaint too.
MT Trashtalk and Cogwheel, small but just so much fun and full of character.
PE Scouting force x, again they are tiny but really detailed and fun.
FP Revolver, he's badass.
FP Smartrobin, one of the best transformations of any transformers ever.
MT Chaos Paladin, very fun figure and evil looking.
FP Intimidator, really great combined mode but for me the individual bots outshine the combined mode, Diesel is a great figure.
FP City and Shadow Commander, Shadow was my gateway figure into 3rd party followed by City.
MI Demolition crue, two really nice figures and at a reasonable price too.

There are some figure that I will never sell no matter what, I suppose those would be my absolute top picks. PE Scouting force x, MT Cogwheel, PE Warden, FP Shadow Cammander.

Hope this helped you in some way.

 

Fans Toys Quakewave
Maketoys Green Giant
MMC Leo Dux
FP Diesel

These are my favorites of what I own

 

After reading this thread I've noticed ALOT of people love perfect effect warden. And so I've decided he may be my first 3rd party figure. But before I decide absolutely I must ask is there anything I should be aware of about warden, you know price, fixes that he needs etc etc etc

Btw I also like the brave maximus colors so if I got him instead would he have less a.c. issues if there are any?

 

If you don't own the original Fort Max, or have another use for the head mode, the toy is much closer to owning a non-transformable action figure. IMO, of course, but the tank Alt mode is shit.

The attention to detail, and the quality of the piece is VERY high, though, and that's something collectors can really go gaga over (myself included).

I own one, and think he looks amazing, but didn't take into account how little "playability" he'd have (for me at least). I still think it's an amazing figure, and if you're looking for the best of the best in terms of build quality, it can't be beat, but that wasn't enough to keep it on my shelf. I find him boring now. Like a "trophy transformer"

(Hence why I gave him an "honorable mention" earlier.)

 

PE Warden is a loved by fans here, so I am sure you will love it. Treat it like a none-transforming robot, because it is not the easiest or fun transformation. I have PE Aranea, and I never transform it, don't need to, she is beautiful as is. It has lot of poses with just the robot and the accessories. I think price is, or used to be 150 $.

Another one that you might consider is MMC Hexatron, because it has 6 forms, and I personally find it intuitive / easy enough to transform by following video reviews slightly only for some forms. In the end though, one usually keeps it in bot mode, so this might not matter afterall. Exceptions are FP headmasters, as they are apparently the most fun to transform, but personally don't find they look the nicest.

Either way, I think you will have fun with your decision. Only seen praises for Warden.