The two best Devastators so far ( in my opinion ). Newage Hephaestus and Combiner Wars Devastator.
If FansToys perfects their combiner method, their Devastator will likely be the best Devastator we will ever see. Might end up costing over $2,000 though.

 

I got the UW version and I really like him, the size, the weapons, the ease of combination and the poses he can pull off all very much impressed me. He’s not super dynamic and the backs a little lacking but let’s face it, if you have one it’s not being displayed backwards. The vehicle modes are ok, the UW robot modes are ok, decent range of poses and the guns really help with that.

I like it a lot, but I am a big fan of combiners, and I got pretty good QC on my copy but I’ve seen others have issues with tabs and joints

 

What is UW ? Is that Toy World?

 

Unite Warriors, the Japanese remould of the Hasbro one. Gives them working elbows, separate guns, and some slightly different paint apps

 

Yup he's solid.

 

OH ( wow, i feel dumb now ). Unite Warriors might be voted as a better option van combiner Wars by most people. I didn't like the Chrome purple parts or how the color purple ( though G1 accurate ) made the handle pegs on the back of the hands of the combined mode stand out. If you liked those things and you had more fun with the extra articulation than it was worth the extra money. I don't tend to display my pieces backs either, but I plan on getting gx-71 Voltron and making a display where I might show them together with my NewAge Devastators back showing. I'm what Bobby Skull-Face calls a tinkerer. I'm hoping to make a background where I can have them in a lot of different poses. What two combiners, my combiner loving friend, are more iconic than Voltron and Devastator?

 

Daft thing was it was cheaper in the U.K. to buy the UW version in a box than the regular one…

That sounds like a very cool display, I started dropping out of collecting as the third party Devastator boom started so was just glad to get the big lump, it’s got such presence and dwarfs everything really nicely

 

There's no chrome on UW Devastator, you're thinking of the SDCC version.

 

If you got that articulation and avoided the Chrome for $150.00, than you definitely got the better hookup.
I don't think I will be spending $700.00 on the Carbottics Voltron so I'll just have to be content with GX-71. If Carbotics is 17" or 18" it would be perfect hight for your Dev.

 

love it...

War for Cybertron: Siege by Wes, on Flickr

 

I got to say , I would have liked to have had the articulation.

 

Hephaestus with two AG3/LR41 and two AG4/LR66 batteries installed and lights activated.

 

He's beyond awesome and totally worth it.

That said, I still always feels like this could've been a homerun if they just gave a bit more love, and budget, to the individual bot modes.

SOOOOOOO close to being a "mini-Masterpiece", but a lot of corners were cut that just leave you flat when it comes to the bot modes. (especially with the Hasbro version. Paint, joints, etc)

There are remedies to all that with upgrades and such, but then you're spending more.

Either way, I mean.....

 

CW/UW Transformers Devestation Devestator (no shade) has a nice looking gestault mode but, the rest of the toy (sadly) wasn't (and still isn't for me) so, I skipped it (#NoRagrets).

Ultimately, I want something like Toyworld Constructor that isn't a great pile of garbage which self destructs and that's slightly more refined. Hasbro/TakaraTomy were on the right track with making Longhaul actually form Devestator's thighs but, they were too short for Devestator and Launghaul's robot mode is a complete mess (it looks like a really poor update of Energon Demolisher). I think it probably would have been fine if they had made Longhual's robot mode tower above the rest of the Constructicons instead of worrying about robot scale.

I really hope someone up-scales and refines the joints of the upcoming Magic Square version (and makes Devestator less cartoonish):









All that having been said, it's probably going to be several years before my search for a Devestator that meets my criteria finally comes to an end as I have absolutely no interest in place holders. Hopefully, the Legacy Menasor results in gestaults I won't wind up skipping again (I haven't purchased a gestault since Energon). However, I don't think Hasbro/TakaraTomy are close enough to hitting their stride for gestaults. The core piece (e.g. Motor Master) being a Commander size class might finally be the missing piece of the puzzle though (and I genuinely hope that it is).

 

I have been considering cw devy, or maybe the UW devy, but, I still love ye old tfc hERCULESSS, the UW one tho really speaks to me

 

Am I happy having him? Yes. Would I buy a better version? Hell yes

 

I've bought a lot of 3P Devy, but the answer was CW Devy. It is close to the appearance of Sunbow, and the number of individual transformation steps is suitable enough not to be tired. Combiner is more solid than any other Devy. If you can get it, I recommend UW, but in my case, CW with PC-07 is also satisfactory.

These are pics with Omega Supreme.

 

I really love my CW one, especially with the PE elbow upgrade. The kit (or UW version) makes them real dynamic. I also happen to thing voyager is absolutely the correct size for the bot modes - a wheel loader should be bigger than a Lambo. The combination engineering is brilliant. individuals and combined mode are really toon accurate too if that's your jam. But realistically, another devestator doesn't seem real likely from Hasbro. Without the scramble city style combination, it's tough to sell them individually packaged at $23 even for a deluxe. A box set just makes more marketable sense. I think it will be a long, long wait for a better official offering and 3p has kinda left CHUG scale behind.