Was thinking about this when I picked up Siege Mirage the other day. We always excuse toys for having messy backpacks or ugly backs because, “we don’t pose figures with their back facing out of shelves.” And that’s true.

Doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate a well designed backpack, though.

Anyone got any figures that they are particularly impressed by in this regard? Something really clean, well sculpted, or just unique?

Off the top of my head here’s a few examples:
Siege Mirage

Iron Factory Tarn

Planet X FoC Optimus Prime

 

Siege Sideswipe says: "We don't need no stinking backpacks!"

 

CW Dragstrip.

 

TR kup

 

Siege Prowl has a pretty clean back, it just juts out a bit.

 

T30 Rhinox

 

Generations Kup isn't particularly innovative but I like how it looks like a soldier's backpack and it can carry his gun. Fitting for him.

Mmm, rhino jerky

 

My 2 cents opinion on backpacks.

It ALL depends on the base figure and gimmicks what not. In MP44, that "pack" would/could have been reduced if Takara for gone the voice box. MP-10 also had a 'pack though not as thick by a few mm. No complaints heard there right? It also housed his collapsible ion rifle(based on the DW design which I also preferred but we can't have our cake and eat it too hey?)

MP 36 is a mess but given how Takara managed to fit all the skinny gun parts to bulk him up into a good proportioned figure, I say fair compromise.

MP 45? Too early to tell. I'd rather judge it once I get a hold of him.

MP 28/40 'pack has been discussed to death, it's all right given the compromises done to keep the car and robot both anime accurate (where the heck are you gonna put all the folded up parts in the first place?)

PotP Optimus base mold. Great example as such the main bulk was properly centered so the back isn't that bad except for the hollow parts of the Pax legs.

MP 39/42. Again, great 'pack. For the naysayers I ask, where ya gonna put the rest of his junk? Unless it was parts swapping which a lot of the former will protest against, not to mention it is both the custom engine block and default Lambo?

It ALL depends on the base figure and gimmicks what not.(repeated)

 

PRID Vehicon

Animated Prowl

AOE Evasion Mode Optimus Prime

You want transforming Action Masters? Get these guys.

 

DOTM Shockwave comes to mind for me.

 

Grapple has a clean look. I really like how the crane just collapses & tucks into the torso.

Dropkick cleans up nice for that car/wings look.

 

I’ll upload pictures later when I’m home but Generations Drift doesn’t have anything close to a backpack.

EDIT: found this photo online

 

Odd chose, but tryipticon has nothing on his back except for weird wheels.

 

I think that it's more a question of shellformers that end up with the really bad backpack scenario.

Most times that a backpack could be better is the plane cockpit/front of cars just being flipped to the back that ends up in second place for the worst backpacks.

I don't mind a backpack if it gives a feel that it's part of the robot, but as just a question of lazy engineering of " throw all the crap in the back of the robot because no one cares", well, that's really annoying. But it's the same with a LOT of transformers, as my usual saying about where it gives me the feeling that as they were developing the toy, someone went "ok, good enough, this will sell like this", when just a few very simply changes and adjustment could have made the toy 10x better.

 

A favorite clean back of mine is Universe/RTS Cyclonus, with how the jet nose rolls up into the body.

Does POTP Slag/Slug count as a backpack when all it has there is ... the dinosaur's back?  

 

Dino head dangling off Grimlock's back will always be my favorite.

 

SS leader Grimlock. Nothing that wasn't on the cgi model.

 

Prime bh soundwave

 

MPM Optimus has a really clean (and film accurate) back

 

Jetfire has always had a backpack, and the Siege version is no exception.

Siege Shockwave has a big backpack, and it gets bigger when you attach his extra parts.

Metroplex can have a backpack if you attach the extra tower and the red double gun for G1, or the large red cannon for the T30 Titan. Siege Sixgun's parts can also be used to make a G1-like backpack for the T30 version.

CW Superion doesn't really have a backpack unless you cound Silverbolt's nose come and aircraft kibble. CW Computron is the same way, and CW Defensor only has Hot Spot's ladder.

CW Devastator has no backpack, and CW Menasor just has Motormaster's vehicle crap on his back. All versions of Bruticus have Onslaught's double cannon backpack. PotP Abominus, Volcanicus, and Orthia have no backpack, and in Abominus's case, no real back at all, and Predaking just has Razorclaw's legs folded up back there.

I think my favorite of all is Jetfire's booster backpack, that all G1-based versions of him have, and the Cyberverse Warrior-class toy also has. Classics Jetfire's backpack is the most useful in robot mode since you can flip out guns from it and point them forward. Cyberverse Jetfire's gun pack is a simplified version of this. CW Bruticus's twin cannon backpack, which can be pointed forward to be fuctional weapons in either Oslaught's robot mode or in combined mode, would be my second favorite.