Might've been the only way to justify the cost of additional parts, and the licensing for Bumblebee.

 

Yeah, I do like the car mode. It's somewhat tempting to get the legacy figure for that mode and display it alongside the R.E.D. figure, but I think I'd rather save the money.  

 

Here's my thoughts in order from my favorite to least favorite:

Spoiler: Motormaster

Looks awesome. I like all the colors and the amount of paint they used. I also have no idea how it could transform so I can't wait to figure it out! Menasor isn't as great... it doesn't look like he has any ankle articulation and the hands are disappointing. The proportions are also a little weird to me. The body looks too long and the thighs look too skinny. And I don't like where the horns sit on his head. Hopefully when we see it with the rest of the team it'll look better.

Spoiler: Soundwave

I loved the Siege figure. When I got him I tried to make him more g1 accurate and covered it in paint. As expected it didn't turn out that well and now I just feel sad when I see him on my shelf. The Netflix version was ok in my opinion, but it was too fat. And the legs and torso looked way too smooth and clean compared to all the greeble on the arms. I've also grown to really like the yellow visor, maybe even more than the red. But my favorite part is the shade of gold. I don't know why, but it looks so nice and clean.

Spoiler: Wildrider

I really like how he turned out, it's a little hollow, but that never really bothered me. I also love the headsculpt, I feel like it really suits the character. Hopefully the backpack can compress more though, it does not look great...

Spoiler: Knockout

The head is too small. If it was a bit larger I feel like it would have looked a lot better. But I really like the car. The gold wheels and the overall shape looks very nice. It's probably how I'll display it if I get him.

Spoiler: Elita 1

FINALLY! A decent looking fembot! After the sh*t that was the ER mold, it's so nice to see this. I don't personally care about the toy and I won't buy it, but I'm really happy for anyone who wants a great looking Elita on their shelf.

Spoiler: Blitzwing

Robot mode is fine, jet sucks, tank is acceptable. I'd rather track down the Takara Legends version.

Spoiler: Tarantulas

I originally didn't want much Beast Wars characters but since I have all the main Preds so far, I might as well get Tarantulas

Spoiler: Jhiaxus

I don't care about this character. I never really cared for any of the g2 stuff, but I can't deny he still looks pretty cool. The main thing that stands out to me is his opening hands, that was not something I expected

 

YouTube's comment section has always and will always be a cesspool.

 

In all honesty, this was well worth the wait. The only iffy thing here is Tarantulas, with his strangely large head and cheap-looking torso. I’m just about sold on the Stunticons, they really knocked it out of the park with Motormaster. Jhiaxus is stunning, his alt-mode reminds me of something out of UT Trilogy! Knockout also manages to have a stunning alt-mode, although his robot mode seems like it’s missing something. But what I really have to gush over is Elita-1, who manages her kibble perfectly while still keeping her feminine features. Legacy is without a doubt going to spare no mercy on my wallet.

 

Y'know, seeing Soundwave made me reminisce.
Yeah. Moments like this are why I'll never fully grasp
the IDW bashing. They're one of the very few versions
to ever explain WHY he's so loyal to Megatron.
Also show his very first encounter with Ravage.
In the cartoons him & Shockwave barely qualify
as characters and are more like utilities the Cons use.

 

I love that this new Elita figure takes a lot of cues from PotP version in a new form. Her PotP look was near perfect. Keeping that kind of look going forward is great. Having said that, I don't feel this figure (yet)

 

And yet, he gets the most satisfying resolution in the final movie.

 

While I probably won\'t pre order anything. The stunticon are a probable buy, as is Knockout, and Jhiaxus (Metal Hawk would be dope), but my WFC Elita is definitely better than this new one. Kinda disappointed Tarantulas isn\'t Transmetal.

 

Wow! Epic reveals! For now, I only preordered Motormaster through BBTS as commander-class figures never show up at retail in my area.

Also, as a 3rd party CHUG collector, this kinda feels like the opposite of the the Fansproject M3 reveal. Anyone remember that? January 31, 2013, the preorders for Car Crash and T-Bone went live at midnight—and up until then, we didn’t know the price of the limb-bots, nor did we know what Diesel (not-Motormaster) would look like.

Now, we pretty much have all the info we need to buy with confidence. I’m all in for the Legacy Stunticons!

 

Oh man that looks so good. DAMN YOU EXCLUSIVES 

 

I wasn’t putting down your decision or anything. I totally understand. I want AEC updates more than anything. However, I accept that they’ll be different just like the G1 guys were different up until WFC. I want a new Armada Wheeljack in the worst way. Even a Siege Sideswipe retool would be fine for me. Heck, a two pack they can sell on Amazon… Armada Wheeljack (from Sideswipe) vs Drift (from Siege Springer). Battle of the Turncoats!

Also… Minerva had better be a Headmaster or there will be rioting. So far every headmaster has retained its gimmick since Titans Return. I don’t see them going backwards now.

 

Holy crap, this was actually pretty awesome! Okay, let's go by the order of the gallery!

SG Magnus looks really tempting! I've ultimately skipped Kingdom Magnus because of the mold inheriting and at points exasperating a lot of niggling little faults the Siege version has had (visible robot parts in truck mode, cab not being able to turn separately from the trailer, barely any room to store carbots etc), but between the luscious colors, nifty accessories and both swappable heads looking as fetching as they do I just might have to hunt this guy down somewhere down the line.

Motormaster looks excellent for the most part, especially as far as colors, proportions and molded-in details are concerned. Maybe the mouth could be a little more "chiselled", but at the same time I find his condescending expression amusing. It's like he's constantly pshawing at the lackluster horsepower of the Autobot whimps that dare roll on the same road with him. Wish the wheel kibble could fold a little further towards the middle of his back and the shins are a little messy looking, but overall I think the kibbliness is well within the realms of acceptability. Truck mode looks great for the most part, hope it will be at least as long as Kingdom Rodimus. Menasor looks fantastic from what I can see, glad he doesn't have the CW one's "I've just stepped in a pile of cold poop barefeet" expression. Yeah, his limbs look weird without the rest of the Stunticons, but at the same time this makes them feel like more of an integral part of the gestalt mode, as opposed to them just being attached to already complete arms and legs. I also like the idea of being able to form a "base" Menasor all on his own, with the complete version being his "super" mode.

As for Wildrider, it's a bit of a shame his kibble can't compress a little more after all, but honestly his core robot mode still looks really good, and that car mode is downright gorgeous. It'd be nice to see how the car mode looks from the behind, with the compromises made to the bot mode it had better be clean as a whistle (EDIT:saw some stream footage, back of the car actually looks pretty clean. Sweet!). Still, a the moment I'm more inclined to buy him than not.

Okay, that Kock Out looks waaay better than I thought it'd turn out! Some shoulder spikes and the car hood somehow splitting up would've been nice, but for a retool it looks really keen! The face sculpt is great, the one problem I have with TFP is that a lot of the noseless robot faces tend to look a little too much like emoticons, but I like the face on this guy quite a bit. Wish it had more of a grin, but still quite neat.

Tarantulas is a must buy! Great colors and proportions, the texturing on his spider bits seems to be on point, and by the looks of it there's plenty articulation in the waist and ankles. The buzzsaw could stand to be a little bigger, but I can work with it.

Elita-1 looks really good to me. A nicely posable, slender fembot carformer with a smallish backpack that doesn't partsform, I'd say for a retail deluxe that's kind of impressive. Face sculpt is beautiful, the silhouette strikes a nice balance between feminine curves and robotic angles, and the wheel kibbles actually look like shoulder pauldrons instead of a crumpled up mess. Car mode might not look flashy enough to some, but to me it's appealingly retrofuturistic. Guns look cool, though I'll probably end up painting them silver or gun metal grey. My only gripe is the shins could look a little nicer and I hope the ankle tilts aren't too limited, but otherwise I'm pretty pleased with it. Looking forward to the Minerva repaint\retool as well.

BUFF G2 JHIAXUS, LET'S FUCKIN' GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
So glad he's not just an obvious Armadascream pretool! That head sculpt! Those shin-wires! Those opening hands! That gold paint! That apparent lack of visible gappiness! Maybe the thighs could stand to be a hair shorter and the upper torso a bit bulkier, but overall I love how this guy looks! Love those Liefeldian gun-abominations! Jet mode looks decent, it's like an amalgamation of his sparsely featured G2 mode and the Sea Harrier jumpjet Slingshot turns into. I seem to recall the wings in the comics looking more bat-like, and the arms just chilling under the jet isn't the most elegant thing in the world, but I'm glad the robot mode has been prioritized, and did I just use "Jhiaxius" and "elegant" in the same sentence?

That being said, after seeing this toy I hope Armadascream will either be a completely new, separate mold or will be retooled to Heaven and back, 'cause I can't see it working if it's just this figure with a new head and color scheme.

Legacy Blitzwing's cool, I'm just not sure if he warrants the leader price point.

 

Yeah, I'm pretty happy with what I am seeing. I plan on getting everything minus Knock Out, which I think still looks pretty good either way, and then Soundwave, which I believe should've been the Netflix mold, but oh well. Elita looks fantastic, and I can tell by her shoulders how she will end up being used for Minerva and hopefully Nightbeat. I'm very happy with this line so far, and I look forward to the rest of it.

 

Let's compare.

IDW Soundwave's pre-war life:
homeless guy with telepathy he barely controls.
Hearing the thoughts of others driving him bonkers.
Meets Ravage, Laserbeak & Buzzsaw, fellow outcasts.
Forms a close-knit family unit with them.
Meets Megatron, latter inviting him to read his mind.
Wave is overwhelmed by his desire to create a better world wherein everybody lives as equals.
Megs becomes the focal point of Soundwave's existence,
granting him absolute sway over his abilities.

Cyberverse Soundwave's pre-war life: cringe dancing.

Yeah...

 

Thank goodness Knock Out has only an ounce of his personality. I was afraid his very presence might scare off G1 Boxfans. Thanks Legacy for refusing to embrace change or experimentation! : D

 

So, new stuff...
-Wildrider really has a weird backpack, as the front of the car splits in 3 parts and extends, instead of being one big piece, it is a lot more wide now. This was done on purpose apparently to make it look like a cape? Not sure this was necessary. Wonder if you can close the two halves up.
-Deluxe Knockout - boooy disappointing. All these Prime toys look worse than the old ones. He is a SS86 Jazz remold with a new hood and new weapon, way too blocky. Not that I care particularly about the Prime show characters, but instant skip.
-Deluxe Tarantulas is awesome! Brand new mold though he has a similar engineering to Blackarachnia. Alt mode is less cartoony and looks a lot like a real tarantula, but in the pink-yellow toon colors. In a fun extra, he does not just have the crossbow, but also the pizza cutter from his Transmetal form as a weapon. He is a deluxe, but is almost Voyager sized next to Blackarachnia.
-Deluxe Elita-One: Well this is a weird one. Certainly a pre-tool for someone else but not sure who. Kind of a weird buggy like alt mode and the robot mode has big blocky legs. Honestly almost reminds me of RID Strongarm.
-Voyager G2 Jhiaxus: Finally! Been waiting since 1994 for this guy to get a proper toy. Really good representation, even has the bat wings and the mess of cables on his legs as in the G2 comics, and the head is spot on. He even comes with a G2 comic accurate gun. Alt mode is innovative, with the nosecone sliding out in 2 parts.Oh and for once, finally a G2 Con with a G2 Con insignia! He has great articulation with rotating fists and opening fingers too! Yeah, definitely selling my Generations 30th version once I get this.
-In a super weird choice, they re-released Siege Soundwave... sans battle damage. Like, Hasbro, you DO know everyone who wanted that bought it ages ago, but they would KILL for that Earthrise Netflix Soundwave???
-Blitwzing, we already knew everything about that one.
-Motormaster! Well they even show a video with the Takara designer dude explaining the thought process behind it. As you can see, Motormaster is quite huge.In robot mode, he is slightly taller and much wider than Earthrise Optimus. The trailer seems to be the same size and shape as PotP Optimus\'s trailer.The leg parts indeed work as I predicted, in a kind of automorph action pushing in Wildrider pops out the \"doors\" that form the underside of the car and front of the legs. And curiously, the whole assembly attached to the torso with a CW style port!
Menasor's headsculpt is great, even the long pointy antennae are there! Hard to tell the size from this without knowing how big this guy is, but looks to be larger than the CW for sure. He also has articulated waist, rotating and bending elbows, pretty nice.
-Last one is an easy skip for me
- SG Ultra Magnus. I am not a huge Diaclone fan so him being in those "Delta Magnus" colors does not interest me. Plus, he has a weird skull face for some reason - though they did include his original head too.

 

Ah. So they are.   Tbh, I never visit the actual front page so I kinda forgot it existed.

 

Pre-war isn't really the focus of Cyberverse. it's mentioned a few times in season 1 and then moves on. Honestly, if that's the main reason you ditched it, you're missing out.

 

Just noticed that Knockout uses the original toy accurate midriff from SS86 Jazz, that's neat seeing it show up like this.