Just trying to get a feel for which ones are best. I'm thinking of getting a few. Also, ideas on the best places to get them are welcome. Thanks.
Jazz is the best, hands down. Bee is good, and Sideswipe is gorgeous in alt mode..bot mode is an eyesore. Roadbuster and Leadfoot also complement each other in alt mode. Barricade and Soundwave look awesome, but are too pricey for me to try and obtain. Skids and Mudflap can go rust.
Jazz is extremely good. It's basically a large MP level figure. Skids/Mudflap [only had Skids] are very good and robust. Bumblebee was very decent at the time, but the BattleBlades deluxe improved on it at a smaller scale. Sideswipe looks killer in either mode, but don't expect to do much posing with the robot mode. Never had any of the others, but they all seem great. Basically, if you don't care that the character selection is and will be incomplete, and that they are in scale with just themselves [...excluding the DOTM ones], go for it.
Agree with most above, HAs are good on average with several looking great. Check out some pics on my Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/38022797@N07/sets/72157621203314890/
No matter what, Sideswipe would personally be the lowest. He looks absolutely great in alt mode, gorgeous really. But the robot mode has so much kibble and limited pose-ability. Looking from the right angles help but messing around with him isn't really that fun. Jazz, Soundwave, and Barricade are who I would near the top.
Here is my order: Jazz - Overall, one of the best figures out there IMO. The detail is spectacular and the paint apps are very well done. Very compact card that appears to gain a ton of mass when it transforms. If you get any of them and don't have a character preference, get this one. Also, it is very easy to add LED's to the headlights on this guy. Barricade - I'm a Barricade guy, so its on the top due, in part, to bias. However, the plastic has the best quality of the HA figures. It is shiny and has great detail in car mode. The transformation is simple enough to make it fun and easy, and there are some easy mods to make it stand nicer. Plus it comes with Frenzy, arguably the only good "human" figure to come with the toys. Only real downside is that he only has one good hand. Soundwave - Now, this one might be entirely due to bias, but I just love the guy. The paint apps suck and he is very short in stature, but its a solid figure overall. The transformation is fairly interesting, if not similar to Barricade's, though. It comes with Laserbeak, which is really nice and sort of makes up for the shortcomings. It might not be worth the pricepoint, however, unless you are really into Soundwave. Roadbuster - The decked out gun-mode might not be for you, but it sure makes the toy interesting. I do wish Leadfoot was in his attack mode too, because Roadbuster looks out of place with the others in alt mode. With that said, the robot mode is really nice. It is plenty involved with the transformation. I don't think I know of another transformer that has so many steps to transforming the arm haha. The paint apps are okay, but the detailing in the plastic is really nice. It definitely looks great in robot mode. Bumblebee - BB is pretty average, but still a solid figure. It could use some help with a few easy mods to make it look more screen accurate, though. The paint apps are decent and the details are alright. Really just an average figure, but still worth getting. Leadfoot - Leadfoot has one of my favorite and most interesting transformations of any of the HA toys. Too bad it doesn't look quite right in it's official robot mode. Matt Brooker provides a nice guide to fill in his gut a little better and make him more screen accurate. The detail is nice and so are the paint apps (in alt mode), but it is nothing to go crazy for. Objectively, the figure is okay, only improved by a few DIY fixes, but it really is one of my favorite. I just love the way the wheels come together in the front. Sideswipe - He is probably the weakest figure in terms of robot mode. The kibble is atrocious and very hard to manage. Even with some mods, it just doesn't look right. It looks much better if displayed with the kibble removed, although I am not a fan of removing parts and placing them aside. I like to see the whole thing incorporated into the design. The details are decent, but the paint apps for the car mode are perfect. The car mode is where this guy shines. The lack of seams give it a very clean appearance. Unless you find him cheap, I wouldn't recommend it too much (or unless you like to experiment with mods). The Twins - Either one gets the same rating, really. I like Mudflap because of the way the wheels tuck under the chest, but I like Skids because the paint apps are just so much better. Neither really stands out though. They look fine enough, but are mostly shellformers. I would probably pick up Skids over Mudflap, because it is, overall, a better figure and is much cheaper. Mudflap does have Chromia who is much more detailed than Arcee. Of course, character preference could trump any suggestions I could make. I really do suggest the entire line though. Many, if not all, provide a more detailed alternative to the Deluxe lines. Sideswipe, Bumblebee and Soundwave might have some competition, though. Hope this helps!
Like everyone else I can highly recommend Jazz, easily my favourite figure that I own. Bumblebee is also great, Sideswipe is a lot better if you do a quick and easy mod to his backpack. I have a Soundwave on the way so will have to let you know what I think of that one.
Barricade was pretty much an exact replica. I bought mine from Chimungmung, but he doesn't sell KO's anymore. They are all over eBay, though, for a 3rd of what I paid when they first came around.
Well, if KO's are worth it, go for it haha. What is different about the KO Barricade? Is Frenzy still included?
For me (what I've got or had at one point, anyway): HftD Jazz > RotF Barricade > RotF Skids > DotM Roadbuster > RotF Sideswipe > DotM Leadfoot > RotF/HftD Bee (I, unlike a lot of others, think Bee is awful. Ended up returning him, actually.) Side note: I wish someone would KO HA Mudflap and Soundwave already...
I have the KO Barricade as well, and can confirm its the exact same as the retail version. I don't think its an actual "KO" it seems more like the factory saw they were going for $90 on eBay and pumped out a few thousand on a weekend. If only they'd do that for Soundwave. Also: Leader Prime, Ironhide, and Starscream fit well with the HAs as they're more or less in the same scale (bot mode, obvs)
Out of the box with official transformation (I've modded or painted a few of mine) Jazz Sideswipe- as you may have noticed I'm in the minority on this Barricade Soundwave Mudflap- character design lacking, execution outstanding Skids- character design lacking, execution outstanding Roadbuster Bumblebee Leadfoot *I painted my Soundwave, and painted and heavily modded BB and Leadfoot- this is my order. Jazz Soundwave Leadfoot Bumblebee Sideswipe Barricade etc. Painting Soundwave isn't too tough- painting Leadfoot wan't easy, but the mods help a lot. They're relatively easy and there's a thread on them here somewhere.
barricade ranks above jazz for me because barricade is 99% accurate. all he's missing is the windows on his back, compared to jazz whose arms and entire backpack are inaccurate.
My top four would be HA Jazz, HA Barricade...and HA Mudflap and Skids. These four I feel are the shining example of what HA figures are all about. In the case of the Twins I absolutely detest their characters...but damn the HA figures are pretty fantastic.
