i too grew up with G1 and i have to say after getting back into collecting a few years ago the tranformations are getting more difficult or complex as the years go by. i like both simple and complex transformations. and after having him for a year i finally transformed MP megs to gun and back to robot. i was terrified to do it for so long cause id heard of people breaking theirs. it was very rewarding once i finally did it though

 

I wouldn't say the new toys are beyond me (though I have needed to reference the instructions more than usual), but I do prefer the less complicated designs, as they are easier to transform on a whim, and therefore more fun (for me). I look at the average Masterpiece toy or ROTF prime, and see an investment of time and effort required to transform it, which I don't always have to spare.

 

Almost without exception, the more insanely complex a transformation, the more I like the toy. Masterpiece, Binaltech, Alternity, a lot of the movie stuff. The more tabs, clicks, spins, twists, and pivots, the better. They're like works of art.

That said, there's something about changing a more simplistic toy that's just very satisfying. There's a kind of "comfortable familiarity" that comes with those older designs, and I'd imagine 90% of the people on this board can change the whole line of 84 toys with their eyes closed.

At the end of the day, there's room for both... I like my TFs to be like Rubik's cubes for the most part, but fiddling with G1 Bumblebee is still win.

 

JMO but the transformers line has the best of both worlds now. If you like complex accurate toys you have BT/ALT, MP, ROTF etc but if you like the sturdy easy transformering figures theres always the animated line (for the most part). Also if you think about having Prime as a kid and how difficult it was to transform with 6 flips and the satisfaction you got its should be the same feeling as an adult now. Its technological inflation

 

Transformations are the main reason I even buy Transformers any more. The transformations better be complex and/or clever or else I feel ripped off.

 

The RotF line is definitely giving me fits. The easiest ones were Bumblebee and Ironhide (mostly because I got them from the first movie). Demolishor wasn't bad. But Leader Prime, Wheelie, Chromia, Skids, Rampage, and Sideways have been messy.

 

I do find the engineering of some of the more complex figures to be worthy of awe. One of the justifications I use for adding to my collection is that these mass-produced children's toys are very much like works of art.
A challenging transformation is worth the price of admission...I've yet to attempt transforming MP Megatron, but that's as much to do with not having many large chunks of time as anything else. RoTF Wheelie vexed me a little, but now I can whip it back and forth with little issue. Stratosphere was easy once I finally figured out how to unfold it.

 

I was going to make my own post, but this about sums up my feelings. I like articulation, and uniqueness, but I feel like sometimes lately they've gotten too complex for their own good. which is why I feel that universe ironhide is epic fail and the 2005 botcon ironhide proudly sits in with my classics g1 bots.

 

I don't really rate the toys in terms of "easy" or "hard" transformations. Powermaster Prime has an easy transformation, and I think he's awesome. MP Prime has a complex transformation, and I think he's awesome too.

I think of a toy as "art" when both modes use the same parts in some kind of meaningful way. Let's talk about Universe Hound. Car mode has almost no robot kibble, and robot mode has almost no car kibble. The hood becomes the chest, the arms go under the hood but in a non-kibbly way, etc. This is cool!

Now let's take ROTF Mixmaster. I don't have one, but pictures have told me enough. The entire cab of the truck is on his butt. Many parts are ball-jointed kibble. It doesn't really scream "TRUCK THAT TRANSFORMS TO ROBOT AND BACK!" more like "truck with a robot puzzle inside of it." When I look at Mixmaster, I can't even tell what he's supposed to transform into (unless I see the truck cab on its butt). He might turn into a cement truck, but that robot mode could work for any alternate mode, with a re-arranging of the kibble.

To use a better-comparable example, let's talk about TF1 Leader Prime and Voyager Prime. I prefer the Leader because it uses the parts better than the Voyager. Voyager Prime's entire front part of the truck becomes backpack kibble. Leader Prime has a ton of kibble, too, but in places where it best resembled the CGI model.

Also, I think of it as "art" when the robot mode looks well-designed (vague, I know) so that you get a sense of accomplishment from having transformed it. Ditto with having an alternate mode that looks like something. For example, I really don't like the jet twins from Animated, or TF1 Starscream. Their jet modes simply look like cockpits with legs (Jetfire/Jetstorm), or half an airplane with arms on the side (Starscream). I don't mind non-realistic alt modes, as toys such as Universe Cyclonus still look jet-like. Cyclonus looks like a plausible jet, but the twins' jet modes just do not give me any sense of accomplishment from the transformation. When I look at TF1's Starscream's jet mode, I don't see a robot in disguise, I see an obvious robot.

For a robot mode example, let's talkk about ROTF Demolisher. Personally, I really hate Demolisher's design, but the design doesn't have much to do with my dissatisfaction of the toy. Looking at the robot mode, it just doesn't seem worth my time to transform him. The CGI model has Demolisher's shovel turning into hands (perfectly possible on the Voyager scale). The toy can't move his shoulder without the cockpit moving with it. Unorthodox design aside, transforming him into robot mode sort of feels like the opposite of the Jetfire effect: he's a steam shovel with some robot parts.

Is it any surprise that I adore so many Animated toys and am not too enthusiastic about ROTF toys?  

 

I'm getting uncomfortably close to 40 years old, but have no problem transforming ROTF prime.

But I don't prefer something that complicated. I prefer anime mecha like those in Macross and/or the brave series...where the transformation process was designed at the same time as the character/bot (ChoRyuJin for example, had its transformation "system change!" and combining "symetrical docking" process designed into it...the actual look of the character was refined later)...I do like some of the ingenious engineering of the new figures, but when it takes more than a minute, it wears on my patience...which is why I mostly got legends and scout class figures.