1. Haslab Star Saber
2. Legacy Transmetal II Megatron
3. Shattered Glass Flamewar
4. Velocitron Override
5. Legacy Jihaxus

Such a good year for transformers

 

Agreed about Blitzwing, think he's very underrated and history will be kind to him.

Also about Sludge - love him to bits but didn't include him in my list for that exact same reason. Looking forward to Snarl in '23, hopefully by summer.

 

5. Legacy Blaster
Not the flashiest release, but damn if he isn't close to perfect. The transformation isn't complicated, but then, it doesn't have to be to achieve two superb-looking modes. The forearms are hollow, but at least the transformation cleverly uses that fact. All in all, I couldn't have asked for much more from this toy.

4. Ocular Max Medicus
Those MMC boys have done it again! I loved the Assaultus set, and I might like Medicus better than any of the Assaultus bots, with the possible exception of Fraudo. He's a great figure in terms of bringing out the character (thanks in no small part to a subtly great head sculpt), but the main event here is that transformation, which is clever and satisfying without ever becoming overcomplicated.

3. FansToys Rig
You really need to sit back and appreciate what FansToys did here. They took freaking Huffer -- whose very character design screams "you already know the boring way I transform" -- and gave him one of the most clever, inventive, and fun transformations of the year. The fact that we can get this kind of transformation design alongside FansToys' signature polish, presentation, and build quality is simply incredible.

2. NewAge David, Comic Edition
This is the year I finally got into Legends, and NewAge David is the kind of toy that makes me very, very glad I did.

An incredible sculpt. A premium finish. Phenomenal articulation that makes him fun to pose. And a transformation that provided a seemingly never-ending series of "a ha!" moments. Truly, there's nothing more you can ask for out of a transforming robot figure. Frankly, by any objective measure, he should take the top spot. But who needs objectivity when we have...

1. Legacy Jhiaxus
I don't know why it took this long. There have been years where I considered dropping out of the hobby entirely, but kept checking the sites just in case somebody announced a Jhiaxus. And when this toy was announced, I braced myself for another terrible orange thing.

But god bless you, John Hasbro, because what we got was neither orange nor in any sense terrible!

Sure, it's not a clever toy. The transformation is whatever, and the alt mode is a tad awkward. But from the painted mess of cables in his shins to the gloriously Yaniger headscupt, the effort that went into getting this right is so obvious that I can't help but love it, and it's even free of the sort of obvious cost-cutting crap we see on so many figures these days. It may not be the best figure of the year, but it's the one that made me the happiest, so it's getting the top spot.

 

- Generation Selects Black Zarak. Earthrise Scorponok is one of the better realized Titans and citybots, and Black Zarak is more of the same but with that sharp deco the character is known for. The Zone tribute in the headmaster is a clever little surprise. And speaking of surprises, that they gave him a brand new Tyrant Spear even despite how Fasttrack was designed to "fill in" was the first sign that Hasbro would offer new accessories with retools that otherwise might not have them, a thing the Shattered Glass subline has since also done for its releases.

- Legacy Jhixaus. As many have said, it's mostly the robot mode that carries this one but what a robot mode. He looks like he stepped off the pages of the G2 comics (or perhaps one's memory of those pages), and he's armed with ridiculous guns that could only come from the '90s. He's an ugly brute of a bot, and it's all on purpose. He's let down by his vehicle mode more than a little, but as a long awaited toy of the character he shows how fully realized he could be.

- Velocitron Override. This figure fixes a lot of the proportion issues I always had with the original Nitro Convoy, though for some it does come at the cost of the vehicle mode. But as the rumors showed (and Hasbro further revealed), we could have had a figure of the character that was far worse. The transformation has some fun tricks to it, and the toy just feels like a great update to the character from the Speed Planet-- regardless of what name you want to call either of those things.

- Studio Series 86 Sludge. Sludge is very special to me, as a character so the toy simultaneously had a very high bar to clear and also would get all the points just by showing up. Those reasons for another day, Sludge on his own is a good strong figure overall. He's solid in both modes, avoids much of the hollow parts many of today's toys do, and overall is a fine purchase on his own... but a lot of his appeal for people is how he gives purpose to the prior two Dinobots. Grimlock was almost seen as redundant for people since he was so much like his MP figure, and Sl■g was weaker overall compared to him. But by getting Dinobot #3, his compatriots gain that much more value as a team. Having three looming Dinobots together is good enough for me, but Sludge, even with some dodgy hips, makes one excited for two more to go.

And the best figure of the year:

- Holiday Optimus Prime. Holiday Optimus Prime is the best toy released this year. He takes an idea that I was lukewarm on when I heard it in the rumor phase ("Amazon Prime" collab) and makes it more fun and interesting. When I saw the Star Wars toy doing their own Holiday figures, I thought they were neat and was glad Hasbro found a way to get that sort of silliness in the Transformers line too. But even beyond his clever deco-ho-ho, Optimus's base mold is wonderful. The toy has a unique transformation that has parts constantly moving but in ways that feel deliberate and intuitive. His robot mode is sleek and well proportioned, and even things one would expect to be annoying kibble (like his kneepads and backpack) find ways to lock into place in robot mode and form a solid whole. Holiday Optimus is just a winner on every front for me.

 

1. Legacy Tarantulas.

 

5. Holiday Optimus- it’s just so wacky and overall a nice mold, forever one of my favorites
4.legacy victory saber- i love the toy but the plastic is what holds me back from this being #1 bc it feels off.
3. Studio series the fallen- it’s just awesome, even tho the armatures sometiems can’t do what I want idc
2. PE Jetpower Revive- unexpected but one of my all time faves now, it’s my g2 Optimus
1. Mastermade Odin. - totally diffrent from what I normally get, got impatient and tired of waiting for a PE warden to pop up on eBay, ended up liking this much more, bc I don’t want a Titan scale fortress Maximus highly recommend their company

 

1. Legacy Motormaster
2. Legacy Jhiaxus
3. Legacy Bulkhead
4. Studio Series BB Ironhide
5. Studio Series 86 Sludge

Sludge would have been #1 if his joints werent so loose.

Honorable mentions:

Studio Series BB Arcee
Legacy Velocitron Cosmos
Legacy Velocitron Overdrive
Studio Series 86 Perceptor
Legacy Dragstrip
Legacy Laser Prime/Velocitron Scourge
Legacy Blitzwing

Despite the obnoxious negativity infesting this fandom I thought this was a good year for Transformers.

 

1. Victory Saber
2. Armada Starscream
3. Override
4. Iguanus
5. Scourge

With a 3P shout out to MMC Assaultus

 

In no particular order:

1. Legacy Galvatron - Finally, a good official Galvatron figure! Great looking robot, fun and intuitive transformation, and a surprisingly cool looking cannon mode!

2. SS86 Ironhide - I always really liked Ironhide, so it feels nice owning a decent mainline release of him!

3. SSBB Arcee - My favorite Arcee toy of all time.

4. Legacy Tarantulas - A fantastic update to one of my favorite BW characters!

5. Newage Cyclonus - While I have soured on NA a bit lately, I still can't deny this figure. Paint, sculpt, transformation, articulation, all fantastic! He's only a double-jointed knee bend away from being perfect!

Runner ups:

SSBB Wheeljack + SSBB Brawn - Honestly these two could take Arcee's spot just as well!
Newage Jetfire - Backpack doesn't like to tab in well on mine, but otherwise a very solid release!
Legacy Inferno - Falls short compared to Tarantulas due to proportions being a bit off, but overall a fun and expressive lad!
SS86 Sludge - Fortunately I got one with good QC! Another good Dinobot, not much else to say!

 

Legacy Motormaster
SS DotM Laserbeak
HISS Megatron
SS86 Coronation Starscream
Holiday Optimus Prime

Honorable mention: Wreck'n'Rule Impactor, BB Ransack, AWE Striker Bumblebee

 

5. Newage Ymir (Grimlock)


4. Newage Firefox (Skyfire)


3. Newage Try (IDW Cyclonus)


2. Newage Conquest & Octavian Armor (Ultra Magnus)


1. Fanshobby Meg Tyranno (Armada Megatron)

 

I reckon this lot were pretty good

 

Legacy was just mostly white noise and honestly whatever, but I still managed to make a list up
1 and 2: MPG Getsuei and Shouki
The first transformers in a long time that feel like actual transformers because they actually prioritize vehicle modes (hell, in HO scale too); it’s particularly exciting because the scope of it combining too whilst requiring them to somehow cough up enough mass for them to be MP scale and have enough mass for robot mode and close enough to their source material.

3. MP Nightbird
The amount of insane poses whilst having 90% of the car just crunched onto the back is impressive, and the overall transformation just feels obscenely smooth like butter.

4. SS Galvatron
An interesting toy with a unique transformation whilst doesn’t succeed in everything, it’s still commendable for just not giving up like it’s former Generations counterpart whilst improving the proportions. It’s no Nero, but as someone who seeks out original transformations he’s pretty much up there in terms of freshness and being exciting.

5. SS Fallen
Long overdue, SS Fallen doesn’t disappoint in the robot department and the “jet” mode is still convincing enough, considering the absolute lows of Siege alt modes and whatever the hell BBM Soundwave was.

 

Studio Series The Fallen - a masterpiece of a figure. Adequately huge, gloriously well painted, excellent detail and articulation, pretty box art as well. If you really down this figure for the alt mode I can’t really help you, he never transformed anyway so it doesn’t do anything to me. There is nothing I would change about this figure which is so rare for anything. He may just be the best SS figure ever.

Kingdom Tigatron - a big, striking white tiger is always a treat. It’s a shame he has yellowing from day one as an intentional design choice. Robot mode is great and again looks like he came from the cartoon. This guy took me a while to hunt before I gave up and ordered him online, so he has a special bond with me.

Studio Series BB Arcee - one of the best Arcee’s we’ve had. She’s sturdy, sleek, curvy, but alien and unique. Her wheel feet like Transtech Cheetor and Animated Blurr are rad. Her bright colors are great. The only downside is the face and that may just be because of her design and not the toy makers.

SS BB Wheeljack - Wheeljack had the unenviable and still easy task of actually looking like a faithful but unique Wheeljack. I love Que but he won’t be getting a toy for a while, and there were signs there wasn’t much effort into making ROTB Wheeljack accurate before his toy leaked. This figure is a lovely middle ground and what every character in any new story should strive for. He’s faithful to his traditional design but sleek and new like a good update. Lovely colors and blue light piping.

Velocitron Override - I have no attachment to the character but this excellent Deluxe Class+ really worked, and made me want to know more about the character. She’s a solid figure like a Deluxe from a decade ago and worth the price.

Velocitron Scourge - It’s clear this mould was made for him because he was really working it. A gorgeous black paint job, striking pink light piping, and a solid alt mode.

SS Sideways - Another solid entry into SS, Sideways feels like a natural member of my Decepticon shelf despite his lack of screentime. Gorgeous silver and a great sculpt make up for the loss of his 2009 Deluxe’s pink windows. And it’s a nice deep cut that he’s packing his Wii/PS2 gun.

SS86 Ironhide - a retail friendly Masterpiece figure. This is truly the definitive G1 Ironhide you even with his lack of stripe. Solid, reliable and accurate. Enough said.

Kingdom Tarantulas - Yet another fine example of Kingdom toys looking like they walked out of the BW cartoon. Tarantulas is gorgeously painted, fun to handle, and creepy but likable. It’s a shame this likely means a TM Tarantulas isn’t coming anytime soon, but he’s a lovely figure nonetheless.

SS Galvatron - Everyone deserves praise for even trying to make an accurate transforming figure of this beast. And it’s amazing it came out as well as it did for a retail store toy. His robot mode is delightfully clean and compact, his paint is great, his presence is great. Massive props for this undertaking for one of the biggest pleasant surprises of SS.

Honorable mentions: Legacy Elita-1, SS 86 Arcee, SS BB Ratchet and Ironhide, SS86 Sludge, IDW Blurr, and RED Knock Out.

As for toys I bought off eBay, I gotta give it up for Animated Megatron and Shockwave, well worth the pretty penny to finally join my collection. I’ll also shout out Combiner Wars Ultra Magnus, Generations Arcee, and FOC Shockwave.

 

A lot of good toys were released in 2022. It was very difficult to pick just 5 of the best but here we go in no particular order:

Studio 86 Ironhide

This lived on my desk for weeks, I took even took it abroad

Kingdom Blaster

Clint Eastwood in robot form.


Legacy Motormaster

A dream come true.

Legacy Override

Dripping in quality. Looking good.


Transformers Victory Saber

Massive, solid and beautiful.

 

1. SS 86 Perceptor
2. Velocitron 500 Override
3. Wreck 'N Rule Twin Twist
4. SS 86 Rumble
5. Legacy G2 Megatron

 

1. Haslab Victory Saber
2. Legacy Motormaster/Menasor
3. Holiday Optimus
4. Legacy Cosmos
5. Henkei Mirage

 

Honorable mentions: Jhiaxus, Predacon Inferno, Velocitron Scourge, Earthrise Coneheads, Iguanus

 

My Top 5 Official Figures of 2022

1. Jhiaxus
2. Armada Starscream
3. Tarantulas
4. Inferno
5. Metroplex

 

Nice. This guy beast wars

Recently got back into collecting (after a 2 decade hiatus since childhood) after seeing the Beast Wars Masterpiece (and masterpiece-like) line getting fleshed out more.

Transart Rattrap - this guy made me grin a couple times. The straightened tail spear, the forearm bombs, the covered "chassis belly" in his rat form, the backpack actually being show-accurate right side up, the removeable wheel shields. THE MOUNT FOR MP DINOBOT TO SIT ON. This is what pushed me to start collecting Beast Wars figures again and hope that the whole cast will be eventually filled out.

MPM Blackout - gorgeous figure in both modes.

Metagate Haiku (3rd party Bayverse AOE Drift) - Big fan of samurai armor look. Best non-clunky looking version out there. This figure made me decide to flesh out an MPM collection.

All my other fav purchases were Beast Wars MPMs from previous years. Doing a lot of catchup. The Jiangxing Winged Dragon (TMII megatron) and mp-43 KO round out for 5 if they can count.