Got my set in the mail today and thought I’d offer a quick breakdown of each. If you have any photo requests, let me know!
Animated Starscream – Starscream was the figure in this wave I didn’t really want but got as part of the set. I didn’t like his Voyager toy at all, and I find the Activators version to be a great toy and a good enough representation of him in my collection. That said, this little guy isn’t bad. Transformation is, without saying, very simple. He doesn’t really peg together, but he holds together OK. Articulation at shoulders and hips, all balls, no head. He’s very sleek and he does look good with the other Animated Legends figures. I had planned to swap his wings to give him a different look, but they’re held on by rivets. Paint apps are simple but serviceable, with a bit of red and black, a silver face and a gold Decepticon symbol.
G1 Bumblebee – A lot of people thought this guy looked sort of off in bot mode in the photos we’ve seen. I agree, he did look a bit stretched. But I thought he might be mistransformed or would look better in person. He wasn’t mistransformed, but he does look better in person. Bot mode looks remarkably like BB does in the cartoon. There’s no question that he makes a more accurate looking robot than his 80’s incarnation did. I do have a big soft spot in my heart for the
G1 toy though, and old VW Bugs in general, so the alt mode of this one doesn’t appeal to me as much. It still looks good though, sort of like a mini Classics ‘Bee. Paint apps are great, with all of the windows painted, his headlights, and a nice red Autobot symbol. There is a great mix of shiney and matte plastic that I really like. Articulation is at the shoulders (hinge) and hips (balls), but no head. His feet are also articulated for transformation.
G1 Beachcomber – I loved Beachcomber when I was a kid. For reasons that I can’t currently explain, he was one of my favorite toys and favorite characters. I remember reading the Choose Your Adventure story he was in over and over because I liked him so much. These days he’s far from my favorite toy, character, or design, so I’m going mostly on nostalgia. Technically speaking, the Legends figure looks FANTASTIC. In both modes. This toy is a perfect example of why the latest Legends line is so excellent. Solid in both modes, bot mode looks just like the character, alt mode is a mean looking dune buggy (as mean as a dune buggy can look). Transformation is quite simple, which goes without saying. Articulation is at the hips and shoulders, mostly balls and no head, but with the addition of knees and feet due to transformation. Beachcomber seems to have the most paint apps of the bunch with rollbars, chest (multiple apps here), face, bumpers, headlights. He looks really terrific and also has the nice mix of shiney and matte going on. One interesting note is the spare tire with gun mount can rotate and also be removed as it’s only held on by a small peg. WARNING: If you are a bit experimental, like me, and wonder if the peg on the tire gun can plug into the holes on his inner arm so he can ‘hold’ it, DON’T TRY IT. I tried it, and the peg fit in snugly, but it also caused a wicked stress mark on his arm that really stands out against the blue plastic. I suspect it would be very easy to instead drill a tiny hole into one of his hands (or both) to plug the gun into.
G1 Brawn – Brawn is like the opposite of Beachcomber for me. I didn’t really like his character as a kid and I HATED the toy. The
G1 toy looks great in alt mode but everything just gets scary and wrong in bot mode where he looks like little more than a Jeep standing up on it’s wheels. I do have to admit that I appreciate the toy more now than I did when I was a kid. I like the funky look now, but when I was a kid it was one of those toys that just never makes it out of the toybox. Legends Brawn fixes all of that. He is the one out of this wave I was anticipating most, and he didn’t let me down. He gives a much ‘larger’ vibe than the other Legends, although he isn’t really that much bigger. Interestingly, he comes mistransformed in the package with his arms in the completely wrong configuration. It looks just awful so please be aware of this when you see him in the store, his correct arm configuration looks fantastic and proportioned. He looks just great in bot mode, although I suspect some might dislike the large chunk of SUV that remains on his back. It bulks him up though, and his name IS Brawn, so there you go. Articulation is, you guessed it, all balls and no head. He has those aggravating
G1 Soundwave knees that bend the wrong way (for transformation). I suspect it wont be hard to hack him up a bit and give him proper knees. Transformation is wicked fun, and so far my favorite of all of the Legends. It’s very unique the way his legs fold up. The only thing slightly off on his alt mode is that his big feet stick out quite far, almost touching the ground. He does have enough clearance to roll though. His windows, chest, head, eyes, headlights and grille are painted but unfortunately his rear side windows and rear window are left unpainted. Homage to the
G1 toy or cost cutting, take your pick. I didn't notice it right away, but he's not completely molded in green. The rear and sides are molded in green, but the roof and hood is painted. The two shades are very, very close, so don't let that photo above fool you because it doesn't look like that in person. Another interesting note is that his spare tire isn’t molded on, it’s a separate tire and it’s on a rivet like the other so it spins. Odd, but cool.
I’m really enjoying the Universe Legends line so far. I actually find myself having more fun with the legends than with the larger toys. They’re awesome little pocket pals if you’re someone who likes to carry around a bit of hand candy with you. Overall I think you guys are going to love this latest series. It’s right on the level with the previous series (Jazz, Megatron, Hound), if not slightly above. The next series looks like it will raise the bar even more, or lower it if you’re someone who likes to limbo.
otherwise id have em all
