See title. I've only joined the collecting game recently (20 TFs deep), so I wanted to share my newbie perspective and see who other people watch. Hopefully we all pick up some new favorites. I suggest a simple format:

Who you watch - Why you watch them

Keep it positive - I'm most interested in who you DO like and why. No need to tear dudes down. Here are the folks I regularly watch:

• Bobby Skullface - As a new collector, I didn't really appreciate the fact that some 3rd party transformers could be poor experiences in terms of engineering design / plastic quality / QC. I bought my first transformer despite Skullface's review, and unfortunately my experience matched his, and continues to regularly. While I don't have the same tastes (I'm more pro-modern G1), I trust that Bobby and the next reviewer are objective as mostly non-store-funded reviewers. I enjoy his skits too.
  
  
• John Garringer- Talk about a guy who's all about the hobby. Like Bobby, John's super prolific and doesn't seem to be backed by a store. His videos tend to be longer and broader in scope than Skullface's, which is great when I just want to have something TF-related on in the background. And when he hates something, he hates till there's nothing left. I appreciate people who have the fire, especially when it's something I'm passionate about too. No homo.
  
  
• Paik4Life - Because no matter what your tastes, you probably agree that third party instructions suck. Paik4Life is my go-to when I pick up a new third-party transformer and want to transform them; I don't even bother looking at the instructions anymore.

 

Thew & Vangelus for pure entertainment value. Both could be reviewing a rock, and would find some way to make it fun. Vangelus made up my mind about switching from Fanstoys to Maketoys Reflector.

Vangelus
Maketoys MTRM-07 Visualizers - Vangelus Review 288 - YouTube

Thew
Cloud 9 W-01 Quakeblast: Thew's Awesome Transformers Reviews #162 - YouTube

 

Benscollectibles: Has a tendancy to be in awe of every figure ever BUT I feel he's actually quite thorough in his reviews and they're edited such that transformation is done step by step. He gives lots of views, all the articulation, all the transformation, and a look at all the modes.
Peaugh: He's a bit clumsy sometimes but you can get sense of certain issues from him. I do feel he tends to be quite fair to figures barring being more enthusiastic about some (mostly in tone). With Quakeblast I actually liked his review most as he was the only one to showcase the backpack muzzle fully. Personally I find his reviews insightful.
Rocket Punch Army: dudes' got style. Also pretty thorough and I do feel he gives a good sense of the feel of the figure. He's quite attentive to details like paint and looseness and such. Also badass music. Great reviewer.
Thew: He's bloody entertaining and his reviews are awesome. Nuff said.
Also all these guys have a decent level of brevity; certain reviews of some others scare me off due to their length.

 

Skullface for making sure to elaborate any and all problems I could potentially face. I often times don't totally agree and I will like something he finds a lot of problems with, but it's good to be as informed as possible.

Agree about Vangelus, super entertaining and funny guy.

And for transformations, there are a few that seem to do it fine. Paik, Peaugh, and Emgo come to mind.

Oh, and shout out to Old Painless here - OPreviews I think? He seems chill. And the smooth jazz transformation sequences.

 

TJOmega and Vangelus mostly. TJ's plastic addict series always makes me laugh at how bad toy engineering can be, and Vangelus is this weird combination of highly informative/professional with Canadian wackiness topped off with a possessed camera that takes potshots at him at every opportunity.

 

I also watch Mr. Skullface and find his straightforward dedication to being as honest as possible a refreshing thing. It helps that he is equally willing to be excited and gush when he has his hands on a truly superb piece, it keeps it from ever feeling like he's forcing the anger for showmanship. He still needs a bit more polish on his camera usage, he tends to wander off-frame a bit much. Also, points for his little Family Guy cut away scenes being both short and usually amusing!

Internet Personality Vangelus is basically a Transformer reviewing spectacle. He can be bad about being on top of the latest releases, but he is also oddly able to get some really early looks once in a while, especially come Convention season. The sheer skill with a camera he displays when he's not filming on location and the bombastic personality of his presentation make for an entertaining watch. While he is never as critical as Bobby, he strikes me as usually being honest about his opinion.

Peaugh is... damn, that man seems to get EVERYTHING. He's pretty even-tempered, so his reviews aren't spectacularly entertaining, but he seems to review just about every 3rd party AND HasTak release with any amount of buzz behind it, and he never hesitates to mention QC issues. You may not find yourself quoting his remarks, but for sheer reliability of voicing his opinion clearly, he's hard to top.

And, finally... I watch Thew's Awesome Transformers reviews. You never know when he will update or what decade the toy will be from. What I DO know is that few people put as much effort into gushing about their toys in such a concise and fun manner. I would ALMOST say he is too over-the-top happy, but his occasional Knock Off Beat Down videos prove he is equally pleased to mock crap... he just usually can't bring himself to hate official releases. Definitely more of a deeply amusing way to blow a few minutes than a purchase research aid, though.

 

I mainly watch Skullface because he tends to be brutally honest and will point out every little problem he finds. Some call him nitpicky, but I consider him thorough. He's also pretty entertaining and doesn't butt kiss every toy he reviews unlike some of the other guys. I can also watch Peaugh but to a lesser extent. Can't stand the rest for the most part.

 

TJOmega, mostly for the Plastic Addict series.
Also Peaugh. He's funny.

For non-TF media, I prefer the Nostalgia Critic.

 

Bobby Skullface - Good skits. I watch him when I want to know the faults of a figure. Only about half the things he points out end up being problems for me, but it's still good to be informed.

Paik4life - When I need to know extreme details, I'll go watch him (if I have 45 min to spare lol).

Emgo and Benscollectibles - When I want a lighthearted review or to counter balance a Skullface review lol.

 

Bobby Skullface, Optibotimus, Vangelus, and Thew. Thew's my fav because he's freaking funny as Hell- and he's not annoying.

 

I watch which ever reviewer has the figure I want but my favorites that I enjoy would be Breauxman, Peaugh, Vangelus, and Emgo. All those guy's seem likable and entertaining to me, I'd fancy having a beer with all or anyone of them.

 

Usually just the first one to post.

 

I watch Thew to be entertained, I watch puegh and skull face to be informed.

 

I watch Bobby Skullface, Paik4Life, benscollectables, RPA, Thew, Vangelus, Peaugh for pretty much the same reasons as stated above.

One other reviewer I'd like to recommend is Transformers and Power Rangers Toy Reviews, or misterfanwank as he's known on the boards. He's thorough, and reviews toys in terms of durability and how they stand up during play. He even recommends fixes for some toys with issues.

 

Thew because Thew  

Skullface for the detail and honesty.

Ben as I feel he loves toys as much as I do. I can look past niggles and still love a toy even if i know about it, and he seems to have that attitude. I wouldn't want him as the only option though.

I also like Peaugh but his reviews are more workman like. This is good is it gives a fair review, but is less entertaining than the three above.

 

I like Peaugh and Vangelus's stuff most because they're among the few reviewers I really like both the presentation and personalities of alongside their trustworthy straight forward opinions and willingness to be as critical as is needed.

Peaugh I enjoy for his simple to-the-point approach to reviewing which is the same format I adopted for my own reviews. And Vang is the master of editing and entertainment in the reviewer sphere so even super old stuff he takes 6 months to get around to I'm still excited to see a video of haha.

Their are other reviewers whose stuff I check out relatively often but eh usually its just for things Peaugh and Vang haven't gone over yet. BenC, Emgo, Paik etc are cool guys for that kind of thing.

 

I don't watch reviews very often but Thew is hilarious. I watched every review of his for the figures that I care about and even a few that I don't on YouTube this weekend. Which amounted to an hour or two of laughter. Good times.

But I'm bald, bearded and bonkers as well, so I'm probably biased.  

 

I like Thew as much as anyone but I wouldn't call his stuff "reviews."

I'll watch whoever has a figure I am interested in. Don't usually tune in to anyone over 20 mins as who has that much time to spend?

The only reviewer I actively avoid these days is Optibotimus - he went beyond annoying to having an agenda and I'm not ok with that.

 

Favorites are :

Bobby SkullFace - Harsh honesty. I love to know what problems I might have goin in. It doesn't matter if I've already PO'd it or what.. in fact if he brings up those issues, I might be careful with my own toy when I get it.

Peaugh - He has his neutrality and plus he gets almost everything  

Wotafa - Like his style for some reason.

Once in a while :
Paik4Life, Vangelus, Emgo

 

My favorite is Emgo. Because he's Emgo.

I also like to check out Thew whenever he has something I'm interested in. I also watch Peaugh to see the stuff Emgo doesn't get, and occasionally Ben's collectibles.