(OCT-2013) Animated Era Toys - Reviews and Favourites

[MayzaPrime]

Same. Yet my collection is growing slowly

They are fantastic figures. I haven't had any problems with mine like Lint has so it's nothing but love from this corner

The line gave us arguably the best leader class toy ever (Megatron) and some awesome deluxes. Of note are Jazz, Lockdown, Lugnut (too small though), Hot Rod, the list goes on! How they crammed such aesthetics into a transforming robot is forever a source of admiration

I agree mate, the Megatron figure is awesome (and a xmas pressie from my brother) I also really like the Ultra Magnus figure as well (bday pressie from some mates).

The Hot Rod mold is one of my favourites of the line and the repaints/retools are just awesome.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

What are your Best and Worst toys of this Era?
Best, so Many. As many have said Leader Megs and Magnus are great! Voyager Bulkhead and deluxe Prowl and Rodimus are joys to behold. I love both versions of Ratchet. Lockdown is very cleverly designed!

Worst. Activator Lockdown is ugly. Voyager and Delux Megatron are horrid. What the hell are they supposed to Transform into? At least the delux one has a good robot mode. But loose hips... I wasn't really fond of the Voyager seeker mode. The fingers always drop off and by the time I got Sunstorm I think degradation had got to the mold and its a bit naff.

What was your first one, and when?
Cybertron Mode Optimus. In an effort to get all Cybertronian versions of characters and I think I just nabbed him from Kmart when they came out here. Back in the days when toys actually got on the shelves.

What ones are you currently most looking for and why?
OMEGA SUPREME!!!
Shame he doesn't exist...
I don't think I am really looking for any anymore. Animated is the most complete line I have and there are are only a couple of the Hasbro ones that I am missing. Mainly pointless recolours (roadbuster Magnus for example).

I must admit that I do hate that the TFCC is making Jackpot, as I kind of thought of Animated as being finished, with the Botcon set, but since he might only end up showing up in their horrid fanfic comic, I can live with that easily.

I'd really like ot see them release the Hot Shot toy they made up and the Marauder Megatron as well. They had prototypes, so fingers, toes and anywhere else crossed for a Thrilling Thirty release when it comes to Animated's turn!

[MayzaPrime]

What are your Best and Worst toys of this Era?
Best, so Many. As many have said Leader Megs and Magnus are great! Voyager Bulkhead and deluxe Prowl and Rodimus are joys to behold. I love both versions of Ratchet. Lockdown is very cleverly designed!

Worst. Activator Lockdown is ugly. Voyager and Delux Megatron are horrid. What the hell are they supposed to Transform into? At least the delux one has a good robot mode. But loose hips... I wasn't really fond of the Voyager seeker mode. The fingers always drop off and by the time I got Sunstorm I think degradation had got to the mold and its a bit naff.

What was your first one, and when?
Cybertron Mode Optimus. In an effort to get all Cybertronian versions of characters and I think I just nabbed him from Kmart when they came out here. Back in the days when toys actually got on the shelves.

What ones are you currently most looking for and why?
OMEGA SUPREME!!!
Shame he doesn't exist...
I don't think I am really looking for any anymore. Animated is the most complete line I have and there are are only a couple of the Hasbro ones that I am missing. Mainly pointless recolours (roadbuster Magnus for example).

I must admit that I do hate that the TFCC is making Jackpot, as I kind of thought of Animated as being finished, with the Botcon set, but since he might only end up showing up in their horrid fanfic comic, I can live with that easily.

I'd really like ot see them release the Hot Shot toy they made up and the Marauder Megatron as well. They had prototypes, so fingers, toes and anywhere else crossed for a Thrilling Thirty release when it comes to Animated's turn!

I would also like them to release the Constructicons, Yogitron, Grandus.

Sadly Hasbro seem to not want to release all of the figures in their cartoons, it frustrates me. I would love a Voyager/Leader Insecticon from TF Prime, I would but atleast 3

[GoktimusPrime]

What are your Best and Worst toys of this Era?
Best: Leader Class Megatron. I'm not normally a fan of toys w/ electronic gimmicks, and Leader Class toys usually aren't worth their price point, but Leader Class Megatron is a happy exception. And yet this toy still shelf warmed and was later heavily discounted (which was great news for more patient collectors ).

Worst: Blitzwing (Hasbro)... *sigh*

What was your first one, and when?
Deluxe Bumblebee and Lockdown; June 2008

What ones are you currently most looking for and why?
Omega Supreme and the Constructicons! They've all had repeated and prominent appearances on the show... where are their toys?!

Show us some pics of your collection of the ones you have.

I would also like them to release the Constructicons, Yogitron, Grandus.

I think you meant Yoketron - named after Hasbro designer Yoke Hideaki. Though they always mispronounce it as "Yoh-Kee", where it should be "Yoh-Keh." He may or may not be smarter than an average bear.

Sadly Hasbro seem to not want to release all of the figures in their cartoons, it frustrates me. I would love a Voyager/Leader Insecticon from TF Prime, I would but atleast 3

This is why I wish they'd go back to designing Transformers as toys first, then screen models second. <whimper>

[MayzaPrime]

I think you meant Yoketron - named after Hasbro designer Yoke Hideaki. Though they always mispronounce it as "Yoh-Kee", where it should be "Yoh-Keh." He may or may not be smarter than an average bear.

Sorry its a little running joke I have with my kids... It slipped in without me even noticing

[i_amtrunks]

Loved this line, managed to get as many of the show/comic figures as was reasonably able to.

What are your Best and Worst toys of this Era?
Best: Prowl (both versions), Leader Megatron, Hot Rod, Arcee, Voyager Bulkhead, Cybertron Ratchet, Oil Slick, LUGNUTZ
Worst: Blitzwing, Black Arachnia, Deluxe Bumblebee

What was your first one, and when?
Lugnutz is one of my favourites, but that is more due to the media appearances. Activator Bumblebee, Cybertron Ratchet and Leader Megatron are probably my top 3.

What ones are you currently most looking for and why?
After getting Hot Rod, Arcee and Blackout, I am all but done with the series. I'd love to get the Botcon figures but they are too pricey. Omega Supreme, the Consructicons, and Spittor would be nice if they were made. Wasp and Ironhide are the two I am most after that I could actually afford!

[doublespy]

The Animated line was a pleasant surprise and I rank it very high in terms of engineering. The designers had more leeway with the alt modes as being not realistic/chibified, but they came up with some ingenious overall transformation scheme (Blurr and Rodimus switch position of their arms and legs, for example) and little neat transform steps and gimmicks(Shockwave's head, all of Ultra Magnus's 8 wheels end up in his legs, and Grimlock's sword). Also very clever use of surfaces of vehicle mode to represent the stylized robot physique in robot mode.

And Animated provided engineering synergy for RotF, arguably the most screen accurate movie line. If it weren't for the experience they had with Animated, we wouldn't get so many RotF toys with intricate engineering.


What are your Best and Worst toys of this Era?

Best- Blurr: probably the best futuristic car we've ever had.
Samurai Prowl: the original Prowl is already one of the best bike-formers (alongside RtS Wreck-gar). Very clever engineering without being fiddly. It's an asymmetrical transformation with symmetrical parts. And with the armor you can choose to keep your Prowl as a ninja or a samurai.
Jet twins: Not many people like them but I just love the unique way they combine. Individual bots are full of personality. Individual jet modes are half decent and at least show accurate. Safeguard is surprisingly articulated.

Honorable mention: Ultra Magnus, Shockwave, Cybertronian Optimus.

Worst- Personally I think Animated toys are generally well-designed. There's nothing like Prime Arachnid which you absolutely want to avoid. But the line had some really big design overlook.
So Lockdown, Bumblebee, and perhaps Swindle (no heels. When the wheels are swung under the feet it's very tricky to stand him up). They are still good figures, just should be better.


What was your first one, and when?

Cybertronian Optimus Prime. February 2008 (when stolen Chinese toys were everywhere and I was studying in China. By May I already had half of the cast including Blitzwing )

What ones are you currently most looking for and why?
None. But I'm really looking forward to certain 3rd party toys that pay homage to Animated.

[christalcase]

Animated was an amazing toyline, I am still surprised at how well the character designs and proportions translated into functional, transforming figures. Transforming them were fun and I like how there were no cumbersome line-wide gimmick.

My favourite would be Prowl, one of the best, and still the best, motorcycle Transformer. The way they handled the wheels is ingenious. The Samurai retool was good, too bad they scrapped the splitting wheel idea, .

The other great Animated toys that comes to mind are the Activators, they are really fun! Spring loaded transformations, they were good representations of the characters in a small size. Some were very cleverly designed. It is always a tease to see the unreleased Animated toys and prototypes. It's great that Takara ended up releasing all the molds that Hasbro couldn't.

Back when Animated was released, I was still young in my collecting habits so I only managed to procure three: Wingblade Optimus Prime, Samurai Prowl and Oil Slick.

[GoktimusPrime]

Mucking around with all my Grimlocks for this thread, I gotta say that Animated Grimlock is by the worst when it comes to a solid and stable alt mode. He was a nightmare to pose with Voyager Optimus Prime riding on his back. Even little Pretender Grimlock fared better with the massive Powermaster Optimus Prime on him, and Masterpiece Grimlock was able to hold the weight of the much heavier MP01! But yeah... Animated Grimmie was a hassle to get into a position where he could support Voyager Prime's weight and stay in position long enough to be photographed!

[shockNwave]

Griffin, ...the Stealth Lockdown (deluxe) with Optimus and Bumblebee (legends) actually did make it to Australia. I was lucky enough to find it at Target Chadstone but because the Animated line was coming close to it's end at the time, I expect few to know of this.