Yeah, I'm gonna sand that down.

 

Incredible new figs. Love 'em.

 

So my ranking of the beasts so far
1. primal 9/10
Near perfect bot mode with a great blend between toy and cartoon accuracy, great articulation, and a great beast mode with a surprising amount of articulation
2. Airrazor 9/10
She’s basically tied for me when it comes to the best beast bot so far. And talk about a mix between cartoon and toy accuracy wow. From the head sculpt, to the entire body shape, the colors, the paint, the beast mode, articulation of said beast mode. They really hit this one out of the park.
3. Black arachnia 8.9/10
Asides from a clumpy beast mode (that’s arguably better than the masterpiece that costs ten times as much) but the sculpt, paint, articulation is beyond great on her. The girls are really dominating kingdom so far.
4. Dinobot 8/10
Now. This ones a tricky one. I have to say Dinobots one of those designs that make no sense. Even in the cartoon the transformation just didn’t add up. Even the $300 MP figure couldn’t get the beast mode right, and the robot mode being awkward in some spots. But kingdom costing ten times less manages to pull off the robot mode almost perfectly, literally no complaints about the robot mode aside for his weird, flesh tipped, pink stick. Now the beast mode..... is honestly really good. Yes, there’s kibble in the front as to be expected. Would I have liked it if the kibble was under him like the MP. Sure but with the engineering magic they needed to do in order to get him finished, i can let it pass. The sculpting and facial features aside from missing teeth are stunning. Now the only thing I have to complain about... is the hands. Why are his hands like that.....
5. Megatron 7.9/10
I love beast mode 0 complaints. But the robot mode... I don’t know just feels like it could’ve been handled better with the kibble and the overall silhouette of the robot mode especially the shoulders just feels weird. The robot mode is still good but it’s just missing a lot needed to make it great.
6. Rattrap 7.7/10
Rattrap is so adorable. I love his size, love his transformation, love his sculpt and articulation. The only thing I have to knock him for is lack of paint in robot mode, and lack of articulation in rat mode, and obviously giant rat feet but I don't care too much for it. And at the price
7. Cheetor 6/10
sigh* there's a lot wrong with Cheetor. the most iconic beast character they somehow got wrong. With the bright garish colors, the honestly weird head sculpt, the lack of gold paint that literally needs to be all over the figure, and just an overall cheap feel to him, Cheetor just misses the mark completely. The beast mode itself is fine aside from the blue on the back, but still looks cheap.

edit: just to clarify I'm going off of photos, reviews etc. don't own any

 

Dinobot looks great and Airazor looks fantastic. They’re killing it with these Beast Wars figures.

 

I personally don't buy Terrorsaur being just a heavy remold of Airazor. Especially since 1) they're giving Tigatron his own mold, even though his CGI model is that of Cheetor, and 2) Rattrap and Airazor were also Basics, yet the latter got a Deluxe Class update.
If we're going by scale, then Terrorsaur would have to be Voyager

 

Did a quick Airazor digi-bash into Filch colors.

I'd buy it.

 

Ultra Magn-ASS's robot mode looks pretty nice (prefer this head to the Siege version), but it definitely doesn't look like its worth it with such an embarrassing vehicle mode.

Airazor looks pretty slick. Something about the robot head feels off though, like the "eagle" part is like 15% too big. Not a problem though.

Dinobot! His robot mode looks like the best one in Kingdom. The one thing that would make it perfect is if the tail has a place to store, like in the old Universe toy.

His beast mode! Oh no! In fairness, I may have head unrealistically high expectations after seeing how gorgeous Megatron's Tyrannosaurus mode was. I'm hoping that the robot thighs/raptor chest look the way they do on the box render. I'm also hoping that his legs/base of the tail folds up better, because that is not a good look back there. Also, I can only imagine that the hands look the way they do for robot mode aesthetic (see the tab on the middle finger), because otherwise its the silliest thing. Is it too much to ask for 3rd Party hands?

 

Gluteus Magnus

 

So I haven't purchased a retail transformer in over 20 years, but I'm gonna need these Beast Wars Kingdom figures, so can people answer a couple questions for me?
I know I can order everything online to guarantee I get every figure, but I was thinking I could try to hunt them down in-store just for nostalgia's sake, like in the 90s.

Do hasbro figures often show up on shelves (walmart/target) before the official release date? I'm seeing people post pics of Rattrap & Cheetor figures even though the official release date is supposed to be Feb 2021.

How long is each "wave" available? Is there like a 3-month window to get each figure at B&M stores? for example, will Kingdom Wave 1 figures or Siege figures be on shelves at the same time as Kingdom Wave 2 figures?

 

Wave 1 usually hits around December, though some areas vary. Covid has made things tough, but wave one will be on shelves for months most likely. Usually there will still be some wave 1 stragglers by the end if the line, with waves 2 and 3 being the ones harder to get.


But yes, these will for sure be on shelves, and like I said, wave 1 will always be available in plethora. So in about a month or so, you should be able to walk into your local Walmart/Target and find them waiting for you.

 

For me it's (from worst to best, just my opinion):

7. Dinobot. He's not awful by any means, but that alt mode rubs me the wrong way. The robot mode is really strong, but Kingdom has proven it can do a beast alt mode really well, so this one being comparable to the original BW deluxe is a tough pill. Especially for such a cool character. I might feel differently when I get him in person.

6. Optimus Primal. It's a similar situation to Dinobot- the robot mode is absolute perfection, but the beast mode is a little odd. Again, it's not terrible, but the beast mode is a little wonky. It's too tall on it's hind legs, and has a weird kilt thing going on with the fur. It looks a little off on all fours as well, since the way the legs bend looks weird, but we'll have to see if my opinion improves in person.

5. Blackarachnia. My disappointment with this one is less about the figure about more about my general stance on scale and character design in general. I don't really like Blackarachnia's design, but I can't deny this is a really good version of it. It's not like I'm a prude or anything- the boobs just look too human. Still looks really good in both modes, I get that a spider is difficult to do so I think their effort was admirable. I'd also rather her be a core, but I can't deny what we got looks really good.

4. Megatron. Tough figure to rank, honestly. He looks really good in both modes, but the back kibble and somewhat strange left arm drag this guy down for me. I love the scale, I love the head sculpts for both modes, I love the colors. Really good one overall.

3. Cheetor. This is a really strong figure. I never really liked Cheetor's robot design in the cartoon- it always felt far too clunky and looked like it would get in its own way. This is a fantastic compromise. They made Cheetor look far less flappy and far sleeker in bot mode. And his cheetah mode is the best beast mode in the whole line, bar none. It has a couple small strips of blue on the back legs but basically no other kibble. If the yellow was a little less bright, the blue were metallic, and he had his gun, this could have been a contender for number one.

2. Rattrap. Yes. They did my favorite BW character so much justice. His bot mode is nearly perfect. At such a small size and price point I'm so impressed at how much better he looks against the previous legends figures. He looks so sleek and roguish, and that rat mode is adorable. The back feet are too big, sure, but I'm really glad they got this guy to work at such a small price point.

1. Airazor. I honestly didn't think she would be my number one. This is where pure subjectivity really comes into play. Is this the best possible representation of the cartoon model? No. Not even close- but she looks like a God damn valkyrie. THIS is exactly what I mean when I say I want generations to be updates, not clones, of the original designs. She just looks so sweet in robot mode. And that bird mode- not perfect, but infinitely better than I could have thought possible. The fact that it can perch is such a nice feature, and she looks so expressive. The character just oozes out of this figure. I can't wait to get her.

This is my biased and subjective opinion. How I feel about these figures can and will change when I get them in hand, and I am gonna need to get all of them in hand. How awesome a line is Kingdom to get me THIS excited about what I consider to be the worst figure, Dinobot? Honestly? They all just look so great. This is the golden age of transformers, no doubt.

 

Do you take requests?

If so, a cheeky Grimlock from Dinobot would be nice if you had a spare moment or two to put one together.

 

Not even a little bit, if the one tab was a bit shorter you'd think it was actually designed to slot in there straight, but it's just long enough that it needs to be on an angle.

 

Dinobot looks pretty solid. The beast mode is about as compromised as the original toys, but the bot mode is a lot better. Given the size and price point, a lot can be forgiven. I do like the way they did the robot chest, very effective with only the limited compromise of the gaps between the segments. Looks to have a moderate backpack, but it's hard to get a good read from these angles.

He's nowhere near as good as the MP, but looks great for a Voyager. And he's Dinobot, and thus bought.

Now, Airazor is a different tune altogether. She's glorious! The beast mode is quite good, all things considered. Love the falcon mode head. And the robot mode is very, very good. I like that they gave the wings that extra hinge to collapse on. No way to shrink them to CG levels, but this is a good effort. She's probably the figure I'm most excited for, at this point. (At least among BW figs, Cyclonus will be mine.)

This line is turning out to really be a nice surprise. Just getting BW at all is a huge win in my book, but to be getting figs of this level really makes my day.

 

@Apollux @Pixelmaster will blast effects be phased out or will we continue to see them in the future?

 

I'm okay with this.

 

Temptations that we cannot avoid.

Centilia

 

So glad everyone changed their expectation on Airazor. She is glorious. Just wish the orange metallic inject plastic is more gold color.

 

This may be controversial but as much as I like his robot mode, Dinobot's beast mode is pretty weak mainly because it veers so far from the attempted realism that the overall line seems to be going for, Megatron is kinda in a similar boat. Probably not enough to persuade me away from getting Dinobot but still.

Can't say the same for Airazor though, both modes look pretty solid and I'll probably be grabbing one.

Magnus, woo boy.... I think most people have already covered it better than I'm willing to.

 

These are all pretty much impossible to answer these days.

Wave 1 of Earthrise has been available and on shelves since February, and waves 2-3 have been virtually non-existent via brick and mortar.

In a typical year waves get released quarterly-ish and exist simultaneously.