good looking figure, good transformation, excellent build and posability - see Thrilling 30's Generations SPRINGER
Loving the answers, and yes, anything counts...except transforming, lol. Even then it's an acceptable answer. My favorite has to be...real vehicles and technology! Weird answer? Yeah, but it's not as ubiquitous as one may think. Alternators and Movie lines are recent examples of whole lines dedicated to real-world alt-modes. The recent Generations lines and other lines like nuRID and Prime have "homage" vehicles that are...close enough, I guess? I mean...they are robots in disguise! Gotta have a believable disguise if you are running around Earth all cloak-and-dagger.
I like the concept of the target master, just don't like the execution. Rarely does the weapon look good because they have to make too many sacrifices to amek a bot mode look OK. But I love the concept.
Brainmasters. Love the idea you can stick them in the chest and then they "elevate" into the heads. It's a really neat gimmick that takes you by surprise the first few times you witness it.
I also like weapons. I find they have cheaped out on weapons over the years. Evey bot should have a weapon, and then a back-up weapon and then a rainy-day weapon. Basically, I just want weapons attached all over till they look like a pin cushion.
I'm going with Combiners, since that's the only gimmick that's convinced me to double dip on figures. First, I bought a bunch of $10 deluxes when they hit TJ Maxx so I'd have enough limbs for all my torsos. More recently, I bought an entire 2nd Superion since I'd used my original Alpha Bravo and Slingshot for an all white Nova Prime, and Fireflight for an all red Betatron, leaving Offroad and Blastoff as my original Superion's legs. In general, I rate gimmicks based on how well they handle the trade off between added play value vs design compromise. Any gimmick is going to take some amount of the parts/cost budget from the main figure. So, when comparing gimmick to gimmick, I don't really think about that, unless it's particularly egregious. Headmasters require a cockpit, which is a chunk of alt mode that may not be fully utilized in bot mode. But, having riders for alt modes and swapping heads is fun, so I still consider that gimmick a plus. Targetmasters are OK. They require a weapon mounting point in alt mode, which most figures have now anyway. But, the Targetmasters as bots don't really interact with the main figures. Scoop can carry his guys in his bucket, and I've got G1 Tiptop manning TR Quake's cannon. Other than that, there's not much reason to ever transform Targetmasters into bot mode. The main bot is left no accessories, and you get a minicon that's not any better than stand alone minicons. No design compromise, but not much added play value, either. Powermasters were the worst. The main figures has to be designed to not transform without the Powermaster. The Powermasters themselves didn't really have anything to do in bot mode. Hi-Q could ride Optimus's cannon, I think that's about it. The only toy to do anything worthwhile with the gimmick was Double dealer, where the two engines unlocked different modes. Other than that, I just left my Powermaster engines attached all the time, and didn't really think them.
If I had to pick, it'd be swappable faces. I like my figures to be expressive. In terms of line wide gimmicks, I have nostalgia for cyber keys.
I didn't think of it, but light piping was a good one many brought up. It adds something neat to the look, but rarely takes anything away or requires much compromise the way combiners or [blank]masters often do.
Headmasters. Finally completed my G1 set (sans a few weapons). Still need a couple Takara Titans Return figures, but I may pass on the exclusives. Simpler gimmick that is missing a lot these days, ankle tilts.
The first time I ever encountered light piping was a game changer for me. I thought that was just a great concept to make the characters look even more robotic and alive at the same time. Apart from that, I've always been a huge Headmasters fan. I really liked the concept of having two characters in the same toy, with one even being able to fit inside the cockpit of the other. It was a great personal accomplishment to complete the entire Rebirth toyline through Titans Return and WFC.
Triple changers are my favorite. I wish there were more vehicle and animal triple changers like the horror cons and the unmade Dropshot. I like the pretenders because of the wacky characters, but the execution was very flawed both times it was done.
Stringed grappling hooks and projectiles (ie. Deluxe Tarantulas, Masterpiece Blackarachnia, Armada Ransack, etc.)
*masters. All of them. I love Transformers with little partners. Armada REALLY appealed to me in that way.
Combiners, Triple changers and Headmasters are my favorites, but as for a Unique gimmick, Fossilizers and Punch-Counterpunch
