Date: Thursday, January 6th 2022 3:07pm CST
Categories: Toy News,
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Posted by: william-james88 Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
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Seibertron's 2021 Year End Review
So here we are, another year is over and done with and while looking back on 2021 might not be of high importance on everyone's list of things to do, we did get some pretty cool figures. So the staff team at Seibertron got together to share what they liked best of the year in different categories and we invite you to join in on the fun and give us your pick for each category. Now, here we go!
Figure of the year
william-james88: Kingdom Rodimus Prime. As part of the standard Kingdom line, spending $80 on a voyager sized figure is rough. BUT if the same toy was released as a special "Gen MP" release, which was a line of toys with MP level engineering made to fit in with the current classics scale line, and he came with a trailer, turret platform, accessories (matrix, sword of Primus, effect parts) fans would be all "take my money" and the fact that it's below $100 would sound almost incredulous. Well that's what this Rodimus Prime toy is, truly. More complex than MP-10 with similar number of accessories. And since he's chug scale, he's 80$ instead of 150$ (hell, this released these days in MP scale and MP quality, we'd be looking at $250). I for one thank our Hasbro overlords for trusting me to understand what I am getting in this 80$ package. Obviously, if you find it on sale, then that's even more awesome but that's the same for any great toy.
Scotty P: MP-52 Starscream and/or MP-52+ Thundercracker. I suppose Skywarp makes the cut here too, though end of December releases get tricky, especially with the slower pace of international shipping these days. Anyhow, this third version of a Masterpiece seeker mold delivers the pinnacle, thus far, of the "Sunbow" style design aesthetic for the MP line. Delivering a complex transformation that is, for once, pretty easy to learn while still achieving a superb sculpt with all the articulation you need made this a slam dunk. I didn't
need any more Masterpiece seekers but given what the final product is in this case, I can say in retrospect this is something I really wanted.
Bounti76: Unicron. The sheer scale of the figure and the PRESENCE he has is worth the cost.
ZeroWolf: I was conflicted here. Part of me wanted to give this to Unicron but then I couldn't think of a good reason why compared to others. So instead I'm going to say...Transformers Kingdom Core Class Rattrap. Sure, his shoulders are awkward but any toy I can return to and fiddle with constantly are a win for me.
Kanrabat: Definitely Masterpiece Reboost. Not only it's an original character for once (at least in the TF universe) but it's an AFFORDABLE MP with a simple transformation that is FUN to do. I was blown away by this truly Masterpiece of a Masterpiece.
Favourite Kingdom toy
william-james88: Even though this was the best year ever for my favourite series, Beast Wars, none of the beasts impressed me as much as Cyclonus. That transformation was amazing, truly going from one completely different form to another.
Scotty P: Rodimus Prime. Kingdom was an excellent line overall and this nearly went to Dinobot with even Huffer getting some consideration in my mind. Rodimus Prime is something like a dream which is why it gets the nod here for me. Some fans are understandably apprehensive about the switch from size classes to price classes even now, years after it happened, and Rodimus Prime certainly can be looked at as the poster child of this when comparing the robot mode to previous releases such as Jetfire. This is a case where size just doesn't matter when the toy uses that additional budget to be so darn
good. Rodimus borrows cues from several previous iterations of the character and even MP-44 for the under-trailer accessory storage, has every feature he needs and even possesses the best headsculpt we've seen for this character ever. It's not perfect, as the trailer tab tolerances are a little frustratingly off and the packaging itself caused paint woes, but this is one of those topics asking for a "favorite" and not "best", so Commander Class Rodimus Prime was an easy pick.
Bounti76: Tie between Slammer and Cyclonus. Slammer is great fun to transform and feels solid, and Cyclonus not only looks the part, but is an engineering slam dunk.
ZeroWolf: this was going to be Airazor but Tigatron nipped her to the post.
Kanrabat: Very hard to decide. I guess Leader Beast Megatron is my favorite of the bunch. A fantastic mold with amazing poseability and great show accuracy. Why pay 400$+ for the MP when you can have this one?
Favourite Studio Series toy
william-james88: Slug, it was really great to finally get another big dinobot that wasn't Grimlock for a change. I love how beefy he is and I feel these leaders (both he and Grimlock) give us what we all want in a leader class release.
Scotty P: Studio Series 86 Grimlock. If Studio Series' branding being co-opted by
The Transformers: The Movie wasn't enough, the toys released for this section of the line have been far superior, delivering pleasant and high-quality figures with 90% less of that frustrating 'panel massage action' when compared to their movie universe peers. Ignoring Wheelie, who should have been replaced with a sword, this is very nearly the definitive Classics-style Grimlock I've always wanted. An excellent companion piece in Slag makes me very excited for the inevitable releases of Sludge, Snarl and Swoop.
Bounti76: Tie between Dino and Jolt. We FINALLY got screen accurate versions of these two... only 10 years after the movie they were in came out. Technically, Dino's car mode isn't a Ferrari, but licensing issues aside, still looks great.
ZeroWolf: Grimlock, has to be...Who can resist a robot dinosaur?
Kanrabat: SS86 Grimlock. Simple, yet so perfect. Another mini MP.
Favourite Cyberverse toy
william-james88: I really didn't like deluxe Soundwave when he was first shown. The character has a great model on the show but it seemed ruined with some offputting kibble. But in hand, most of the issues went away. Not physically, everything I disliked was still there, but I just loved transforming and posing him that they didn't matter as much.
Scotty P: Deluxe Slug. Sometimes you have so many toys of a given character (or character archetype) that you feel like there are no surprises left to be had. Cyberverse Slug takes away some of the jaded feelings this old-timer gets on occasion by delivering two expressive modes that have a process to transform between the two that lives up to the brand's "More Than Meets the Eye" tagline.
Bounti76: Deluxe Class Arcee. Screen accurate robot (minus the back kibble) that actually feels decently made, and not be a "kiddie" toy, designed more to be cheap.
ZeroWolf: Deluxe Class Dinobot Slug...see previous answer.
Kanrabat: I didn't bought much Cyberverses so I'll cheat a bit because he was re-released in 2021. Ultra Skullcrunsher. This one blow both the OG G1 and the TR update away. Sure, he's no headmaster but the whole package just works. He's fun to transform, have a logical gimmick and he do MORE than the previous versions. Truly impressive.
Favourite Masterpiece toy
Scotty P: MP-53 Reboost. As is tradition, I've managed to pick two MP toys in this list once again. It's true though, while I don't think this is on the same objective level of nicety as the new Starscream, Reboost is an amalgamation of so many cool ingredients at once that he quickly became my unexpected favorite Transformer for the last little while. Start with the equally great MP-52 Skids, give him a cool red repaint, extra accessories, the soul of Diaclone and a headsculpt with the energy of Alternity and you get an amazing piece that feels like a celebration of everything that went into making it a reality. The fact that Reboost is a "literally
nobody" type of character could be a knock against it, but in this era of Total Brand Awareness where everyone in the brand's A and B tiers gets done
ad nauseum, these are the types of Transformers that spark the imagination and keep me invested.
Bounti76: Skids. Out of nowhere, and he and Reboost bring me back to the things I loved about Masterpiece in the early 2010s- fun transformation and durability of the figures without being overly complex.
ZeroWolf: Skids, thanks to not having to rely on cartoon accuracy, they instead made a fantastic toy that shines in both modes.
Kanrabat: I'll say MP Reboost again.
Favourite Exclusive
william-james88: We had great exclusives this year. I FINALLY got my coneheads but I can't use that for the best exclusives of this year since they were supposed to arrive in 2020. With beasts being absent from this Beast Wars fan's year end list, it's about time I changed that as I claim Covert Agent Ravage as my favourite exclusive. This was not cheap but it is the best toy of the character we ever got and none of those were ever cheap. I appreciate how he transforms different from Cheetor at parts and looks very different in robot mode. It's also a really cool package with a fun spin on how incredulous his transformation was on the show.
Scotty P: Buzzworthy Bumblebee's "Worlds Collide" set. This feels like a throwback to the exclusives of 20 years ago and I love it. One set manages to provide a killer black and teal repaint of a "good guy faction" leader that hasn't been done 19,000 times already, Blackarachnia in her weekend clubbin' outfit, a re-use of the awesome Earthrise Cliffjumper tooling as Bumblebee to fill in your kinda-sorta-Mini-Bot-homage ranks and a toy that should've been released years ago in Fangry. In a time where store exclusives are becoming as large a part of the overall Transformers toy line as the main series releases, this stood out as a uniquely fun and creative set that provided great value.
Bounti76: Tie between Tyrannocon Rex and Puffer and Road Ranger. The first female Leader Class figure. An official toy of a European version of a character that used another character's mold, and an official toy of an eHobby exclusive that brought GoBots into the Transformers family. I'm all about firsts and obscurity.
ZeroWolf: Origin Bee. Despite not being a G1 purist, I know a fun toy when I see one.
Kanrabat: Agent Ravage. A great package for a relatively reasonable price, with a superb figure. The engineering on the Agen Ravage is quite something.
Favourite piece of Transformers fiction from 2021
william-james88: My kids and I had a blast with the two Cyberverse films. I really wish we had a Volcanicus that transforms as he does on the show.
Scotty P: Cyberverse special 2 "The Perfect Decepticon". Honestly, it was such a bad year for Transformers fiction that nothing even came close except for the other Cyberverse special, but I picked this second one because the first one focused on one of the worst concepts in Transformers: combining Dinobots :shudders: Additionally, this special accomplished something that was very questionably possible by managing to make Tarn a character that worked in an all-ages piece of media while still keeping true to the character and his truly menacing personality. Add in fantastic roles for characters such as Soundwave and Hot Rod while providing moments to almost every character that mattered previously in the series at some point and you get "The Perfect Decepticon", which was the perfect finale for the best Transformers cartoon series since Armada.
Bounti76: Light/Star, the Transformers Annual for 2021. It strongly featured the first ever female Titan to have appeared in fiction, but also saw the "birth" of Computron (my favorite childhood combiner) in IDW.
ZeroWolf: The Transformers Cyberverse conclusion (thanks to Pop! On Sky TV for airing the specials in the UK!)
What are you looking forward to most next year
william-james88: Seeing what will happen toy wise with the change in release schedule for Transformers Rise of the Beasts. This delay was way too late in the toy development cycle so I am curious if Hasbro will release what was done already and rerelease it later. And I am also curious as to how different the toys will be from the final models now that there is even more time spent in post production between toy designs and final movie designs.
Scotty P: The chaos that ensues from RotB's delay. Necessity is the father of innovation. Mother of invention. Cousin of filler toy lines? Something like that. Bring me all the weird repaints and previously canceled molds. They're probably better than all the movie toys were going to be anyhow.
Bounti76: Finally/hopefully getting a G1 Elita One, and saving money- Legacy looks to be an easy pass for me so far, based on what I've seen.
ZeroWolf: A toss up from looking at what the line after Legacy looks like, and more MP Raiden reveals
Kanrabat: The toys being better distributed with fewer QC issues. But I think I'm asking for the moon.
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