Welcome back for another annual TFW2005 staff pick round up, from the big wide world of unofficial products!

TFW2005’s Top Third Party Toy Picks of 2019 - Transformers News - TFW2005

axiom

Magic Square Toys MS-01 (MP OPTIMUS PRIME)

This year was all about 3rd Party Legends Scale for me. So, it says a lot when my top pick isn't even in the Legends Scale department (though it did get a mini version a little later).

MS-01 hit every checkbox for me. Robot Mode is exactly what I imagine when I think of the heroic Optimus Prime, Truck Mode is big and bulky, Transformation is simple yet elegant and Articulation is outstanding.

Robot Mode looks great in a static pose, but really comes to life when placed in any type of action pose. Articulation is top notch, there’s nothing finicky about getting him into countless poses and the joints are all stiff enough to hold whatever pose my mind can think up. Transformation is great, straight forward but challenging enough to keep me interested. A few have said that the truck mode is where this figure falls short. I disagree, no it’s not 100% G1 cartoon accurate and that’s a good thing. This Truck Mode just looks like a tough, rugged semi-truck with a beefy grill and front bumper that was built to take down some of the biggest Decepticons. The tall smokestacks in the rear just compliment the bad-ass vibe this truck puts out.

MS-01 had a lot of completion this year when it came to MP Optimus Prime figures, but for me, it had all the positives and none of the negatives from the others.

Runners up: Magic Square Light of Justice (metallic mini MS-01), New Age Manero (clear windows), Iron Factory Phantom (Mirage), Iron Factory Hexwrench (Wheeljack)

Big Bronze Rim

Fans Toys Roadking
Fans Toys FT-31A-E Marauder (Masterpiece Menasor/Stunticons)
Hands-down this is my favorite third-party figure of the year. The engineering is incredible, the fit and finish is spot on and his presence on the shelf is undeniable. The fact that an MP 10 size trailer and truck folds up into his backpack and turns into a robot with almost no kibble is nothing short of amazing. There were numerous third-party figures I received this year that were great, and if not for this guy, would have been solid contenders for figure of the year. There is just something about this guy that just pushes him to the top of the list.

Runners up:
Transform Element Prime
Transform Element TE-01 (Optimus Prime)
This figure is a close second for my 3P pick. He’s just a fantastically well executed version of Prime. The engineering and transformation is unique and different from how we typically expect Prime to transform, the build quality is great and he nails a toon aesthetic. If anything let’s him down a bit, it’s that he doesn’t have hip rotation, relying only on a rotation above the knee, which occasionally can look a bit weird in some poses. But for the price, he is absolutely amazing and is a great alternative to MP-44.

Fans Toys Goose
FansToys FT-30A-E Ethereaon (Masterpiece Superion/Aerialbots)
Fanstoys does it again. They produced another figure with exceptional build quality, absolutely spot on aesthetics and a finish that is hands down the best out there. To top it off, the transformation is actually fun and intuitive, which is a nice change from many of Fanstoys recent releases which are definitely not fun to transform. I am now anxiously awaiting the rest of the team as I know they are going to look amazing on my shelf.

Black Convoy

Jiang Xing JX-Metalbeast-01 Winged Dragon (Beast Wars Transmetal 2 Megatron)

In an era where we can't stop seeing "new" G1 releases in all sizes and prices, it's great to see that 3P companies are finally offering new figures from other Transformers universes. Jiang Xing's Megatron is a great take on the most powerful form of the ruthless Beast Wars Predacon leader Yeeeeeeeeeeees! Both modes are imp
ressive making hard to decide how to display him. With a solid official Beast Wars Masterpiece line, this mold comes in the perfect time, considering Transmetal figures were not popular in Japan, and it may take a while for an official release that now has a very high wall to surpass. I hope to see more 3P offerings for Beast Wars and other lines this 2020.

Runners up: Magic Square Light Of Justic (Legends Scaled G1Optimus Prime) - Impressive figure in just such small size), Planet X Kadmos (Star Saber) - A great and different design), Mastermind Creations R-35 MAGNA (G1 Sky Lynx) - He's Sky Lynx, what else do you need?), Newage Toys H-13 Lucifer (Legends scaled Starscream) - Another amazing figure in a small packet, and glad to see a new player in the competitive Legends scaled market.

Boomerdave

Magic Square MS-01 Light of Freedom/ Optimus Prime
MS Toys MS-01 (MP Optimus Prime)

This was the year for Masterpiece Primes! MP-44, TE and MS-01 all put out their MP versions and there was a Prime for everyone (even legends!). For me, the MS-01 Prime was my Prime of choice and my vendor (thanks Toy Dojo!) got my preorder to my house at the beginning of the year to start it off right.

While perhaps the underdog in the Prime options, there was just something about it that really made me love it. It fit in perfectly with my (older) collection without looking like a stand out that was too toon with everything else. It cleaned up all the kibble from MP-10 and to my eye, just looked like Prime from The Movie.

Powerful and strong looking with just the right amount of details to make it "pop" and look interesting on my shelf. I know you can take the official or TE and say it's more toon and you'd be right, they are. However most of my collection of MP isn't 100% toon as I've been collecting MP since the beginning. MS-01 has some realistic detail to the bot that makes this figure fit right in. I honestly don't recall getting another figure this year, opening the box and going "This is just amazing and I love how it looks!"

While not a factor for consideration in this list, it sure didn't hurt any either that he was 1/4 the MSRP of the official either.  

I don't know about some of you, but some items are opened and while I want them, they're more "Meh...open box...display on shelf. Check off list of characters as completed." This is the one I got this year that made me go "Wow...I'm actually excited to have it!"  


Runners up:

1) Fans Toys Roadking
Fans Toys FT-31A-E Marauder (Masterpiece Menasor/Stunticons)
This guy takes a whole semi's trailer and incorporates it into the backpack. That's impressive engineering and even my wife saw it come together and went "That's really something!". The bot and alt mode are spot on and solid all the way around.

2) Fans Toys Goose
FansToys FT-30A-E Ethereaon (Masterpiece Superion/Aerialbots)
This is a great figure that is solid and beautiful in hand with a transformation that is smooth and easy to do unlike many recent Fans Toys products. It actually takes me back to the FT Dinobot days for the ease of transformation. It's great other than a weird waist swivel design that still, in the end, does the job.

3) Transform Element Prime
Transform Element TE-01 (Optimus Prime)
As I said before, there is a Prime for everyone and honestly, for what TT was charging for their release (including all the QC and design issues people experienced), I only consider TE and MS-01 as the real contenders. He wasn't for me but if you wanted a 'toon Prime, this is your guy. Solid and quality product for a good price.

4) Mastermind Creations Reformatted R-35 Magna/Inventa (Skylynx)
Mastermind Creations R-35 MAGNA (G1 Sky Lynx)
I know this guy isn't technically Masterpiece and we got the first part at the end of last year but I wanted to include him since we got the final piece at the beginning of this year. It's a solid combined Skylynx and one of the "not MP" exceptions in my display. Other than the scale, he fits into my display just fine and is a great rendition of the character. The issue with the floppy, non-ratcheted neck keeps him from getting anywhere near top of the list.

C310 Ginrai

NEWAGE - NA H3 Harry
New Age Toys Legends Scale G1 Datsun hhh

In 2019, my collecting focus narrowed even more with different life obligations and lack of diversity in third party offering that interests me. In comes Newage toys with their next release after the popularity of their first one, Flipper. This figure made me see the possibility of having a very poseable figure with interesting transformation in G1 designs in a pocket size toy. We have seen Newage released a good number of figures since Harry, and it's a dangerous floodgate for myself to not fully dive in.

edgs2099

Iron Factory "Spirits of the D.E.C" IF EX-31 Dubhe, IF EX-32 Phecda, IF EX-33 Mizar, IF EX-34 Alkaid, IF EX-35 Merak

Assuming that I can pick all 5 of Iron Factory's D.E.C members as my pick of the year, they win hands down. As they are homages to some very niche comic only characters, the "spirit" of the subject matter comes across very well, something Iron Factory is getting better and better at as time progresses.

While acknowledging IF EX-Dubhe's shoulder issue (which was taken care of with new shoulders included in the box of IF EX-32/33), I can't find anything that I would specifically improve with this fantastic Iron Factory combiner. The improvements made from Iron Factory War Giant to Iron Factory D.E.C only make me more excited for their next foray into Legends+ scaled combiners.

Runners up: Everything listed in my runners up are hardly "runners up". More fantastic Iron Factory offerings, 2 of 5 of MMC's new very cool "All-In-1" Assaultus, A VERY good MP version of the red truck, and a Planet X effort that I enjoy quite a bit.

Runners up: Iron Factory IF EX-39 Hexwrench, Iron Factory IF EX-38 Optics Hunter, MMC Ocular Max PS-13 Impetus, MMC Ocular Max PS-15 Fraudo, Transform Element TE-01 OP Leader, Planet X PX-C02 Kadmos

Gamerlingual

Fans Toys Roadking
Fans Toys FT-31A-E Marauder (Masterpiece Menasor/Stunticons)

This was the biggest surprise for me in third party. How can you transform a full MP-10 sized figure and trailer into one robot. Great engineering in this one while still having that premium fit and finish Fans Toys is known for. Accessories aren’t excessive and nothing about it feels fragile to transform when you fiddle with him. Well done, Fans Toys!

Runners up:
Fans Toys Goose, Fans Toys Maverick, Fans Toys Spoiler

Onslaught24

Mastermind Creations/Ocular Max Impetus

I didn't really buy any third party figures this year due to a lack of space and interest, but the few I did buy were stellar, especially Impetus. The Ocular Max Perfection Series has had a rough start, but I can tell just from this one entry in the series of Combaticons that they've found their footing. Impetus is a brilliant representation of Vortex in all modes and the fact that they've pulled off both modes while integrating the combiner hand so flawlessly into the figure itself speaks volumes to MMC's abilities. Not only is the engineering top-notch, but I have yet to experience any QC issues whatsoever and the figure as a whole feels better than nearly everything Takara has produced. As the site's resident Combaticon zealot, this is the Masterpiece Combaticon set to get by far and I can't wait to get the rest of the team.

Runners up: Mastermind Creations Inventa/Inventa Magna, DNA Design MPM Ironhide Upgrade Kit

optimusfan

New Age Max

For the second consecutive year my third party acquisitions were limited to a very narrow focus. I dipped my toe into legends class and was quite pleased with both the New Age and Magic Square Cosmos offerings. Honestly you can't go wrong with either, so pick your preferred aesthetic or size and order without delay!

Runners up: Magic Square Traveler , New Age Max (the blue one), New Age Max (the clear one), Zeta Toys ZETA-EX07 Traveller

Raiju

NewAge Toys H5B Alonzo

Although I've slowed down on my Third Party purchases considerably as of late (mostly due to getting back into Lego so something had to give budget-wise), the market for 3P Legends scale Transformers figures has continued to garner my interest. It's only gotten even more competitive with more companies like NewAge Toys releasing very faithful adaptations of G1 characters and then some with interesting redecoes.

Enter NewAge Toys H5B Alonzo, a black and purple repaint of their Smokescreen Datsun mold to create Decepticon Barricade inspired by his live action movie "bad cop/police car" design but with Floro Dery G1 proportions. Highly articulated in bot mode with a very sharp alt mode, the color palette is just slick, all in a cute, tiny scale. Great things do come in small packages!

Runners-up: Iron Factory Hexwrench (Legends scaled Wheeljack), Newage Toys H-13 Lucifer (Legends scaled Starscream), NewAge Toys H2 Manero (Legends scaled Jazz)

Superquad7

X-transbots MX-14 Flipout

I LOVE the Stunticons. As a kid, they were hands down my favorite combiner group. The standout character for me from the group was Wildrider, as I loved his recklessness and complete lack of regard for really anything. He really embodied what I thought all of the Stunticons represented: Decepticons who want to tear up the road, destroy some Autobots, and care nothing about anything that stands in their way!

Upon each release of information of X-transbot Berserkar figure, I became more and more excited. Finally Crackup got in my hands, and I loved it! It wasn’t long before I was able to get ahold of Flipout, and I was over the moon. The transform is fun (which is an oddity among 3rd party figures), and it’s beautiful in both modes. Not only does it look like it just straight out of the cartoon, but the sparkly paint thrills me to no end. It represents everything I look for in a figure.

There were so many good releases of 3rd party figures this year, and I couldn’t get all of the ones I want, even! Giants like having figures of an Overlord, Sky Lynx, and even Superion are mindblowing and such a blessing to even have, but Flipout strikes me in ways few other figures do. I'd add X-transbots MX-15 Deathwish (Dead End) to my list, but he wouldn't really bother.

Runners Up: Zeta Toys Kronos; MMC Magna/Inventa; Fans Hobby Master Series MB-08 Double Evil; X-transbots Savant

 

Happy to see a lot of good ones brought up here. And very much happy it isn’t dominated by just one company. (FT)

 

Dang, no love for DX9 Hot Rod? Surprising.

 

You know it\'s been a hell of a year when the amazing La Hire didn\'t make any list. It just means that everyone has stepped up their game

 

Thank you for compiling this, I like reading this every year.

Just a note you left of Superquad7 name for his response (luckily it was on the news page version so I could look it up)

 

I have got to give it to Magna Inventa.
A good modern version of Sky-Lynx was my absolute wish since little kid-me played with my brother's hand me down, learned about his character, and realized we were probably never getting this. (No hate on CW, but he was a different delivery)

 

Fixed! Thanks!

 

Glad to see Magic Square Prime getting some love. I think he goes under appreciated because of either the paint job or the lack of being as toon accurate as TE, but I think he stands out in a good way and makes for a better figure.

 

Not a chug scale on the list.

 

At least one person mentioned the Iron Factory DJD, glad it and the rest of their releases are getting some recognition.

 

I hate third-party toys. I'll never buy one.

 

lol

 

You know what they say, once you go Third Party you never go back.

 

eh, more for me.

 

Just me but tfc S.T.COMMANDER blows roadking out of the water. He didn't even get a mention?

 

He is far superior based on looks alone imo. The Toon look is what has people won over with the others but magic square is so much nicer overall - no odd gap in the forehead crest, smokestacks dont hang down off the shoulders, more depth in the detail on the shins and legs overall, the better looking knee joints,the better looking feet, the cleaner panel lines around the crotch area, and I love the ms shiney paint job way more than the flat toon colouring. Most people just want toon everything though. So boring.

 

The regular MS-01 paint job is actually pretty appealing to me, moreso than the metallic one. I'm sometimes tempted to get it due to the deco, poseability and that video showing MS Legends being stomped on yet still surviving.

Not that I'd stomp on MS-01 nor any toy that I have, but if MS toys can survive that, that's very reassuring.

 

First post in a week and you came to the third party forums just to say that? Alrighty then.

 

He seems pretty solid even if he isn't "collector heavy." But, I agree about the original color scheme. It's a unique look and the light diffuses over him in a very satisfying way.

 

I find it amusing that TE Prime gets the picture. but no one actually chose it for number one.