There's a little bit of backstory to this (skip down to the last paragraph if you don't care).

For the last couple of weeks, I've been working on updated versions of the G1 Monsterbots, which you can find in the following link:
http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/radic...nsterbots-grotusque-doublecross-repugnus.html

If you look at the thread, you'll notice that my 2.0 Repugnus has a very organic look. This is because I'm combining the G1 aesthetic with that of Universe Repugnus, which was a repaint of the BW Fuzor Buzzclaw figure. I plan on giving him a more mechanized look by adding on bits of existing Transformers and Gundam kibble, but the organic look will still remain in some form or other. I was never a big beastformer fan. I did own a Universe Nemesis Prime and a junker Optimal Optimus for a while. And most recently, I've come to appreciate the raw beast forms quite a bit. I may even produce customs of classic beastformers down the road as a result.

Anyway, what BW/BWN/BM figures would you recommend (Universe 1.0 repaints are also welcome)? I don't intend on collecting all of them, but if you could make anywhere from 1-3 recommendations, what would they be? Once again, I'm not a completist and I tend to base my collection purchases more on the toy (or mold) itself as opposed to the character. Also, if you could state any known issues, such as GPS, bad joints, brittle plastic, please let me know.

 

Transmetal Megatron (takara one just so it doesn't break)
Scorponok
Takara Ravage
I like these 3 figures the best from beast wars.

 

Neo Longrack is AWESOME

BM Hammerstrike has a unbelievably good shark mode and an interesting transformation (and i really like his deco), especially for a basic

and it's hard to top the original Ultra Primal (the Robot Masters version is good too if you want a smaller-scale version

BW 10th Anniversary Megatron is sweet as well.

 

BWN Magmatron
BWN Stampy
BWN Break

And then the rest of them.

 

Big Convoy!

Or a Universe 1.0 Nemesis Prime.

 

I would recommend

Ultra Megatron

TM Megatron

Depthcharge

all impressive looking figures

also Inferno is very cool

 

Going with "raw" beasts....
BW Optimus Primal (great toy - I recommend TakTom reissue Ultra)
BWII Lio Convoy (Rawr)
BWN Stampy (Mad rabbit turns into a cute robot)

 

Rampage and Magnaboss are my favorites.

And Universe Razorclaw.

 

Big Convoy, or a repaint of him.

Robot Masters Lio Convoy (the regular version feels oversized to me)

The 10th Anniversary Megatron vs Optimus set.


Really, there's a lot of fun and very funky figures from the Beast Era, most of them are pretty cool.

 

Transmetal Rampage
Transmetal Cheetor
Quickstrike (the fuzor, not the dog in Beast Machines)

I would recommend Big Convoy and Optimal Optimus but you've already had them. I'd avoid the Beast Machines beast toys that aren't repaints of BW toys tho.

 

Beast Wars Neo Big Convoy (Korean Sonokong reissue is no different from the Takara release aside from different packaging and it's cheaper)

Beast Wars Metals Tarantulas (the Takara release is technically more accurate than the Hasbro version)

Beast Wars Transmetal II Prowl (comes in white or black and both decos look good, transforms into an owl, bio references the original Prowl sort of)

 

Off the top of my head, 3 figures that would NOT disappoint:

Original Ultra Optimus Primal
Depth Charge
Rampage

Honorable mention: Magnaboss

*Edit - As far as I know, there are no known issues with the ones mentioned above.

 

My top 3 with more organic beast modes:

• BW Scorponok-The only issue I have with him is that his bee claw can get lost/broken pretty easily. I just put two junkers together and mine now has two regular claws. He's kind of tough to find complete and prices can get slightly ridiculous IMO.
• RiD Air Attack Optimus Primal-Electronics are kind of lame, but he's probably the best official representation of BM Optimus Primal. Also, his beast mode has a big red monkey butt! This one is also kind of pricey, but good deals can be found. I bought mine for $45 + shipping MISB, so you just have to dig a little.
• BM Blackarachnia-I personally can't find anything wrong with this figure! It's a great female sculpt, the spider mode is awesome and there have been several repaints made of the mold so it won't be difficult to track one of them down for a good price.

Honorable mention goes to any version of Waspinator's orignal BW mold. I love his character so much that he was a must for my collection, but his toy is actually really good as well. I've got three versions of Waspinator, the Buzz Saw repaint and Dirgegun from BWII. All of them rock!



For the more "transmetal" types of modes, I also recommend:

• BW TM2 Blackarachnia-This is probably my favorite purchase that I've made this year. Another great female sculpt, her spider legs can be positioned for a cool sort of cape in bot mode and I think the spider looks pretty bad ass. She's a little top heavy and definitely has weak ankles so posing can be a problem.
• BW TM2 Prowl-It's a cyborg owl. How freaking cool can you get? I love his owl mode, but the bot mode is lacking a bit. My biggest issue with this figure is that there's really no good way to hide the bot arms in owl mode, but the tail does cover them up enough that it doesn't really bother me.

 

Some of you have already done this, but I made an edit in my first post:

Sorry for not mentioning it initially.

 

GPS/brittle plastic issues with BWs figures in general (feel free to add to this if I forgot one):

BWs TM Megatron (US version)
BWs Grimlock
BWs Fuzor Torca
BW Neo Randy

 

The original Hasbro version of Transmetal Rattrap and Rampage, Transmetal II Scourge and Botcon Shokoract all have a reputation for the chrome flaking off (I remember someone posted a pic on here a long time ago of a still sealed Rattrap that was flaking badly in the bubble). There might be more Transmetals that do that I'm not aware of as well.

The Takara Metals Rattrap and Hasbro 10th Anniversary Rattrap all have chrome that holds up. The Takara Metals Rampage, I think, also holds up much better than the Hasbro version. Unfortunately there are no other versions of Scourge or Shokoract to serve as an alternative.

You may want to check out the Beast Wars Appreciation Thread in this forum if you end up with questions about any specific figure. The regular contributors there are very helpful.

 

I thought about posting in the BWA thread, but my requests extended into Machines as well as Neo. Also, I didn't want to upset the flow of that thread.

 

I have all of these, and they are always on display in my case.

BW Inferno
Takara Ravage X-9 & Botcon Tigatron (High cost but they are some my favorites)
BW Quickstrike
BW TM2 Dinobot
BW TM Rampage & Botcon Shokoract.

My US Rampage has not flaked. Shokoract has flaked and he has just been displayed for years.

 

BW Quickstrike is fun and quirky. You can't really go wrong with any of the Japan-only molds from Neo (Big Convoy, Longrack, Mach Kick, Stampy, etc, all the dinos that were brought over here...) Look through the BBTS restock, they have some decent deals.

The only ones that are really problematic are:
Randy, TM Megatron (US), and Grimlock- GPS
Scorponok- the trigger for the bee breaks very easily. Incredibly common flaw
TM Rattrap- The chrome likes to come off a lot.

 

Heinlad

That is all.