I’m interested in certain ones like superion and Defensor, but I’m concerned on things like scale and quality.

 

Superion is still great even among contemporary figures. Defensor was always a mediocre figure because the Hot Spot/Onslaught torso wasn't the greatest IMO.

The UW/CW combiners scale pretty well with the current scale they've mostly stuck to since Siege.

The quality of the Unite Warriors sets were pretty great in my experience, and I bought most of them. Some of the molds are fairly hollow due to the transformation schemes. And the UW Menasor torso suffers from GPS and the Motormaster waist can crumble suddenly and without warning.

But we are getting new Aerialbots (and possibly Combaticons?) next year in Age of the Primes, and a new Devastator in SS86. At this rate I wouldn't be surprised to see all of the combiners redone in the next few years.

 

It’d make me cry if they somehow made it worse than the unite warriors.

 

What @Cool Hand Lube said. They still are alright figures, but pay the big pricetags while knowing that the Combiners are getting redone very soon.

 

I like the way a lot of the CW/UW combiners look...but unless you are really stuck on those specific aesthetics, I highly recommend holding out. A new Devastator and Superion are both on the horizon, and I can't imagine them not doing at least the rest of the main combiners in the next few years.

 

Megatronia and Baldigus are both interesting novelties that are unlikely to be revisited anytime soon.

Defensor, Superion, Bruticus and Menasor are all sidegrades of the Hasbro versions. They do some things better, some things worse.

Computron I think comes down to personal preference, Nosecone and Strafe are better on the Takara version, Afterburner and Lightspeed are better on the Hasbro version. Scattershot, eh, Takara put resources into retooling the combined chest but he still needs the Perfect Effect Head and Chest to ever look like a proper Computron, Hasbro put their focus into the deco and it is much more vibrant and interesting than the Takara, but it too needs a new head and chest to do the job. Takara hands and feet were junk, Hasbro hands and feet were good. Hasbro got Scrounge if that makes a difference to you, Takara got some nice artwork.

The Seacons are crap toys and badly showing their age, but it’s the only official remake we’ll ever get so you might as well go for it. Plastic on the God Neptune version is horrible to look at and they left out Lobclaw.

 

Conversely, I think the Seacons are fantastic  

And of course they left one out from the God Neptune set, it only ever had 5 toys in it.

The UW combiners are all perfectly servicable (and I find the UW versions superior to the CW in all instances, but of course opinions will differ). I would have no hesitation in recommending their purchase if it weren't for the fact that the Constructicons, Aerialbots and Combaticons are being redone in the next couple of years (and the Stunticons are already done). But outside of the big 7 sets of combiners (Constructicons, Aerialbots, Stunticons, Protectobots, Combaticons, Technobots, Terrorcons), I would say go for it if they interest you, simply because they are unlikely to be remade in the foreseeable future.

 

Yeah only the lx-ex ones are worth it

 

With aftermarket being well over retail and new versions eventually on the way.for Superion, Devastator, etc., I don't think any of the UW sets are worth it at this time.

 

I may do the same if my UW Devastator doesn't sell soon. I'm not going any lower on the price and it's got a ton of upgrades, so it can stay in the collection as the big Devs.

 

I would opt for the Takara exclusives although they can get quite expensive, especially if still new. Grabbed the Baldigus set a few years ago new at $180. It was that 'cheap' because the box was smashed to heck. The figures were fine, though.

GS Volcanicus had tweaked combiner joints, which oddly made him the most 'stable' of the non-Titan combiners.

 

You need to take into account what type of collector are you. Are you going to replace/sell them for newer versions or not? If you like the character/team enough I would say sure go for it. As others have stated, the aerialbots are rumored to get updated figures next year as well as Vortex and Swindle that we’ll also see a new Bruticus. Just a matter of time before Defensor getting a new update too. There’s a good chance that you could score the UW versions for cheaper once the newer ones come out although Defensor is already on the lower end.

Once you’ve determined if you would be willing to keep the UW version after a new generations update gets released, I think you might think it’s worth it to go after them. Combined mode isn’t going to be nicely articulated without third party feet. The (lack of) ankle tilts really makes or break posing. If you don’t mind standing pose or going after third party add-on then you could consider adding points to getting them or not.

Articulation on these guys aren’t the best, but somewhat serviceable. If you’ve never handled these figures before I highly recommend watching a video review to get to know what you would be getting yourself into.

 

I still want those UW Technobots…I am not pleased with my CW Nosecone and Lightspeed.

 

I disagree about Unite Warriors Bruticus. The cartoon accurate deco makes it so much more than just a side grade.

 

The CW/UW combiners are only really good as display pieces IMO. They look perfectly fine standing on a shelf, but their posing is next to impossible, mostly in part due to ratchet joints not being strong enough, not having enough detents, or the lack of ankle tilts on the hand foot guns.

 

I bought united deva and very mcub regret it. Wish had had ordered Bruticus instead.

I would say a new superion would be your best bet. the Sliverbolt's turning upside down was an ingenious idea. There's a reason why they continue to retool this mold into every character in this franchise until this very day.

 

Well, there it is. I was leaning heavily on skipping the new ones, but now that you put that idea in my head… gulp, here we go!

 

  Right? Now we can both blame @Dachande for all these extra Constructicons cluttering up the joint