It’s been a year of unprecedented quality in official and unofficial transforming robot releases! Last week I ran down the first half of my top ten purchases of 2016, and I will conclude that list here. I want to re-iterate that this is just my own list of purchases I am grading, and I didn’t buy everything that was released, so many apologies if your winners from 2016 don’t appear in this rundown. Having spent money on Hasbro’s Titans Return, Robots In Disguise, TakaraTomy’s Masterpiece, Legends and Diaclone lines, as well as 3rd Party figures, there was a significant amount for me to choose from, and I’ve never found it harder (or more enjoyable) to distil my preferences into a list.

Top 10 of 2016 – Part 2 | Source Blog <- CLICK TO READ










All the best
Maz

 

Fantastic work. Genuinely amazed by the top slot though, I thought you hated that thing?

 

I understand your number one choice, but i am baffled at the two hollowstakbro figures making it this high on the list, and beating all those other super expensive toys... Makes one wonder, why even bother with expensive toys if cheap toys can give more pleasure.

 

Interesting. Didn't Hasui design the DIA battles?

 

Because more $$$ doesn't automatically mean "better"?

 

but then, why do the more $$$ exist then?

 

Because nothing is absolute?

(especially not opinions)

 

Oh, I see that Masterpiece Dia-Battles Ver. 2 is your top pick for 2016. Absolutely agree on how its superior playability and aesthetics are top notch. But 2016's top tier purchase and no. 1 toy for me has been, without a doubt, Legends Super Ginrai. Blame nostalgia on that one, OK?!  

 

Really came out of leftfield huh?  

I wish more people would wonder that, because what HasTak can do with a $15 price point puts some of those "super expensive" figures in some perspective. Expensive can be a result of low production run, exclusivity, wishful thinking in terms of pricing or just other things completely unrelated to the quality of the figure. It also does not dictate how much you are attracted to a figure and how much joy it brings.

All the best
Maz

 

"I'm half your price dude.
- Do you feel bad about it ?
- Actually... No. You ?
- Neither, don't care. He seems to enjoy us both the same.
- Why do you think that is ? He's stupid ?
- I think it's... Perspective. Remember that girl he loved so much ?
- Yeah... As broke as a joke, and she could nev... Oh, I see."

 

I'm glad to see MP Ironhide placed so high for you, he's definitely my purchase of the year. Which is kinda funny because buying him wasn't planned at all, just saw him at TFCon and thought "what the hell."

 

Love ironwill.

 

I love Triggerhappy already, and it doesn’t surprise me to see him in peoples Top 10’s of 2016 all the time.

I just wish Takara would finally show their version so I could decide which one I’ll buy.

 

The only sensible solution is "both."

@Maz - you got the right result in the end   nice one.

 

That thought crossed my mind more than once, and I can't blame anyone who buys multiple versions of this guy.

But the figure is currently only available for a slightly higher price than what a Takara import would cost me, and since I don’t expect those two to be terribly different except for a few better paint applications on the Takara one I don’t really want to buy both.

And I'm pretty sure we'll see more of this mold in the near future anyways, so I have enough chances to double dip while getting entirely different characters out of it later on  

 

Because sometimes a toy can strike the perfect balance of fun *and* affordable.

 

Carnifex at #8? Hahahaha, no, just no. Carnifex deserves at the very least to be in the top five. And Diaperhide at #2? What? Triggerhappy deserves the love though, one of the best deluxes I've purchased since the RTS era.

 

I mean, you just have to ask yourself honestly "Do I look at other people's lists to see my own choices mirrored?" or "Do I look at other people's lists to see what they enjoyed and how their opinion differs to mine and why?".

If it's the former, then this article and its predecessor in which I clearly state "I want to re-iterate that this is just my own list of purchases I am grading, and I didn’t buy everything that was released, so many apologies if your winners from 2016 don’t appear in this rundown." and "Please keep in mind that this list is based entirely on my own preferences, opinions and purchases" is not for you.

If it's the latter, then I find your laughing at my opinion and preference a little disrespectful. This is an article and thread about my opinion and preferences, it has never been advertised as otherwise. For you to come into an opinion thread and laugh at said opinion makes you the offending party.

All the best
Maz

 

I'd argue 3P figures have no place in the countdown at all since they're not licensed products and thus aren't subject to the same types of limitations as products intended for mass markets.

You want to do the "Top 10 Best Transformers" do Transformers. Save the "Top 10 3P Figures" for a different countdown.

 

Maz, love the list. I have 7/10 molds on there. Sometimes when I'm on the fence your reviews can push me to a purchase and I've never really been disappointed.

Can things keep getting better in 2017? I feel we are due a down year at this point! I see myself cutting back on 3P, personally. Too many players and TakTom is ramping up their delivery.