What's your favourite from the CHUG lines?

Pretty simple. What's your favourite toy from the various CHUG lines? You don't have to tell us why... but by all means do so.

I'll start... quote me and lets us know what your favourites are.



Classics: Jetfire (for being the first toy that attempted Skyfire, whom I've always preferred)

Generations/Thrilling 30: Dirge (for obvious reasons... but also because while I have them all, I prefer it to the Henkei & BotCon versions)

Combiner Wars: First Aid (As a kid I only had First Aid, not his team, and this upgrade just works, for me)

Titans Return: Topspin (for taking a crappy ass G1 toy and making a great CHUG version)

Power of the Primes: Beachcomber (a near perfect revisit of the G1 toy, for mine)

Siege: Red Alert (I can't say why, though, I just love it)... Honourable mention for Skyfire though... a tad simple for the size, but wow did they ever nail the cartoon-original design in a toy).

Earthrise: Sky Lynx (took a weird G1 toy that relied on the electronics and made it awesome)

Going by year...

• 2006: Bumblebee. Making him a hatchback really evokes the spirit of Bumblebee. Love the design, feels like "Poor Man's Alternators" (much like how good CHUG toys today feel like "Poor Man's MP")

• 2007: Ramjet. A basic yet effective retool of Starscream. Shame it took so long for the other Seekers to get done. :rolleyes:

• 2008: Sunstreaker. An early example of "pre-tooling" that we often see today - a pretty clever way of engineering both Sideswipe and Sunstreaker into the same core mould. Between the two I prefer Sunstreaker, but Sideswipe is pretty nice too. Both toys still hold up for me; I skipped both CW Sunstreaker and Siege Sideswipe as I still feel that my Henkei are pretty good.

• 2009: Cyclonus. This is how CHUG Targetmasters should be done.

• 2010: Megatron. A pretty clever way for Hasbro to give us a Walther P38 Megatron by releasing him as a little Legends Class figure. Quite a nice toy given its size and price point, and to top it off, they even explicitly designed the gun handle to be held by MP Seekers!

• 2011: Warpath. Love the way that the tank barrel retracts and the toy in general has so much personality. KAPOW!

• 2012: Powerdive. An interesting redeco of a Bayformers toy into a G2 character.

• 2013: Springer. Triple Changers aren't easy to do, but they did well with Springer. The modelling based on IDW was also really well done.

• 2014: Swerve. Again, so much personality in this toy and the IDW base made him distinctive from G1

• 2015: Megatron. Just an incredible toy, from the moving rubber tank treads to the missile launching barrel. Phwoar!

• 2016: Wheelie. Just a really good toy. Impressed by the way that the vehicle has a driver's compartment and yet compacts itself in robot mode. This is something that quite a few toys can do now, but back in 2016 this was quite a novel feature.

• 2017: Trypticon. Read the reviews. ;)

• 2018: Beachcomber. Same reasons as with Wheelie, but Beachcomber does it better with a far more solid alt mode.

• 2019: Omega Supreme. I was not expecting this toy to have so few partsforming! Most pleasantly surprised.

• 2020: So far it's Cliffjumper.

Some of my absolute favourites below. I think you may be able to spot a trend on the figures I go gravitate towards:

Classics Seeker Mould (Starscream/Thundercracker/Skywarp)

Generations 2010 Thundercracker was my first figure ever entering the community as a collector, and it couldn't have been a better start. The mould has incredible cartoon accuracy, especially for 2006 amongst otherwise more modernised figures. It has held up incredibly well, only really being replaced this year with the Earthrise Voyager, which is heavily based on it. The sheer amount of repaints, many of which went or still go for tonnes of money have been a testament to its longevity. Jet mode is on point to the cartoon, transformation feels familiar but decently innovative. One of my collecting highlights is picking up the Ace Seeker set from the United line, with definitive paintjobs for the three 1984 seekers (some of the metallic blues have sadly faded with sun damage however :( ).


Reveal the Shield Cyclonus

Cyclonus is again one of the earliest figures I picked up, and he has been probably my favourite CHUG toy produced thus far. A super duper cartoony robot mode, headsculpt and alt mode backed up with the colours of the RTS/Universe gift set release. I never liked the dark purple and creamy grey of the original Universe release. Cyclonus has held a steady place in my CHUG collection since I got him, and is probably only going to be replaced this year (almost a decade later) with the Earthrise voyager (?) coming soon. This toy definitely elevated my appreciation for Cyclonus, and he is amongst my favourite character designs, along with Slag, Thundercracker and Galvatron.

Titans Return Trypticon

Early on in my collecting in 2012-2013, Trypticon was one of the characters I was big into getting some version of. The G1 toy was the only form that existed at the time, before even the reissue, and so I had my eyes set on getting one. I never did, but I'm glad I didn't, because Titans Return Trypticon turned out to be actually what I wanted. He is massive, completely cartoon and toy accurate and is a solid toy. Full Tilt and later Brunt are fantastic updates on simple parts of the original, that make him feel like a detailed and well-rounded playset. It is amongst my dreams as a collector to one day have enough space to set out a nice big battle diorama, and if that day comes, Trypticon will surely be one of the main events. My only complaint is that he did not have the walking gimmick or spinning radar dishes, though that is understandable!

Takara Legends Kup

A considerable improvement on the Generations 2010 deluxe, the TR Kup mould in Takara's now extinct premium paint treatment is amongst my favourite figures I own. The colours and paint application feel premium, and the figure itself is very cartoon-accurate and solid-feeling in both modes. I would prefer the headmaster gimmick be ditched, but it does not hinder the figure at all, since the roomy cockpit is already a part of the figure and requires no extra accomodation.

Takara Legends Arcee

It took an incredibly long time for Arcee to get her first toy, and it was worth the wait for the most part, specifically in the cartoon coloured Takara release. I own both the Hasbro and Takara versions of this mould, and though she has a decent chunk of kibble, it doesn't distract visually all that much, and the figure does not suffer in terms of stability. She is just incredibly enjoyable to look at and admire as a figure representing the cartoon character! The alt mode is cute and clean. Arcee fits in fantastically with my other '86 movie cast figures, and neither the Titans Return or Earthrise versions come close to surpassing her in my opinion. My only complaint is that I wish the hands were 5 millimetre round instead of the awkward square grip.

Power of the Primes Beachcomber

Though the new larger legends scale first appeared in the Generations/Thrilling 30 line, starting with Powerglide in Combiner Wars we saw a heavy shift towards slavish G1 accurate legends figures. Beachcomber isn't one of my favourite characters, but I think that POTP Beachcomber is probably the most effective in this department, and is surely a timeless figure in CHUG collections. Beachcomber's robot mode is pure distilled cartoon, with a nice headsculpt, colours and effective buggy mode. I am sad to see this scale go (potentially for good) recently with only a handful of characters left to go, but I am optimistic that new small deluxes will sit relatively close in size like Cliffjumper, albeit with deluxe-level engineering.

WFC Siege Prowl/Bluestreak

One of the more recent figures I picked up, Prowl is a highlight of WFC. A solid, accurate and detailed robot mode, with a very sleek Cybertronian car, not too far off though that you could discount it being a futuristic Earthen one. Hasbro really hit their stride in Siege in terms of meeting fans' expectations for size, paint application, heft and general quality, and I think Prowl is one of the most indicative of that. I am aware that Siege Prowl is bound to be replaced by an Earth mode retool (a bit of a shady move by Hasbro) in the next year or so, but that does not detract from him still being a great figure worthy of a spot in most collections. He also is leaps and bounds above the ugly and clumsy Universe deluxe, and relatively simple CW deluxe redeco.

WFC Siege Omega Supreme

Omega Supreme was probably my favourite Transformers character as a kid, because of his super cool modes and role as a transport to Cybertron. Very similar to Trypticon, I had my eyes on the Encore reissue Omega Supreme, because of its playset functionality and cool robot, but the Siege Titan fills that role just as well, in some cases even better, with my general shift towards CHUG figures as the main part of my collection. Unlike Metroplex, Omega is bathed in pure G1 cartoon accuracy, colours, and has solid modes. The rocket base is reinvented, with a decently intuitive transformation to make the rocket bigger and lower some of the more intricate partsforming of the original. The micromaster addition creates some scale and is well-detailed. Omega Supreme oozes heft and is probably the most imposing Titan on my shelf. Like Trypticon he is sure to be a centrepiece of collection arrangements long into the future, though I would have preferred they bring back the tank-track electronics.

Honourable Mentions:

- Earthrise Cliffjumper

- Earthrise Hoist

- Siege Springer

- Thrilling 30 Springer

- Takara Legends Blurr

I only quite recently got into CHUG with my priority being the movie figures but I'm glad I did. Some of these are my favourite for the toyline because they're the only one I have but here goes.

Classics: Bumblebee. Only one I have so not a hard decision.

Generations/Thrilling 30: NA :( but RTS Megatron is my favourite from around that time.

Combiner Wars: NA :(

Titans Return: Six Shot. Well, it was either him or Broadside but do like how much playability you get from 1 toy.

Power of the Primes: Nemesis Prime. Recently picked this toy up and so glad I did. Love the weapons and the colour scheme. Probably my favourite toy at the moment.

Siege: Refraktor Recon Pack. The extra pieces included for a more coherent camera mode really add to what was a cool feature of the Refraktor toy.

Earthrise: Astrotrain. Absolutely in love with the train mode. The shuttle mode is pretty good too and also really like the strong astronaut vibe I get from the robot mode. Technically a Siege release so Cliffjumper would be my choice for a pure ER toy.

Classics: Jetfire.
How Macross can you get without actually being Macross!? Still in my top ten all time figures. I remember fondly the excitment of the Classics line. [Honourable Mentions - Mirage; Bumblebee; Optimus Prime].

Henkei: Megatron.
This lasted as my non-movie Megs until TR.

Generations/Thrilling 30: Platinum Edition Predaking.
Think this pretty much speaks for itself, but lot of good stuff in this section... [Honourable Mentions - Springer; Cybertronian Megatron; Scourge; RTS Cyclonus].

CW: (don't own any...)

TR: Blurr.
Looks great, poses great, fun to play with... whats not to love? (Ok, apart from all that blue?) Really enjoy this fig (was winner of my 2016 toy of the Year). And I don't even like the character. [Honourable Mention - Megatron].

PotP: Nemesis Prime.
Absolute cracker of a toy. One of my absolute favourite TFs figs (joint runner-up for 2019 Toy of the Year). [Honourable Mentions - all the Dinobots, because Dinobots!].

Seige: Starscream.
Bought on sale, on a whim. Surprised the crap out of me just how good it was and how much I liked it (my 2019 Toy of the Year joint runner-up). I'm an unashamed fan of the tetrajet mold. [Honourable Mention - Sideswipe].

Earthrise: Optimus Prime.
No contest so far.

There are so many great figures in the CHUG line over the years. Some of the standouts for me are the UW versions of the season 2 combiners, UW Devastator, Trypticon, Predaking, Earthrise Optimus, and the Classics Seeker mould.

Classics: Mirage (although I like it as Fracture more!)

Universe/Classics 2.0: Cyclonus (probably my favourite ever Transformer action figure, love at first sight)

Generations: WFC Optimus Prime (love the look in both modes and one of the most complex deluxe Transformations ever) or Scourge (if looking at G1 toys only)

Thrilling 30: Sandstorm (Looks fantastic in each mode, love the colour scheme, is based on toy that's just as wondeful but Springer's alt modes are bit samey)

Combiner Wars: Offroad (almost First Aid for me too but I think the vehicle mode doesn't suit the character which drops him a point, so this version of Ruckus wins out)

Titans Return: Topspin (looks beautiful, transforms wonderfully, great version of one of my first TFs; Triggerhappy, Misfire and Slugslinger close behind)

Power of the Primes: Blot (I think he's just great use of the CW design to create a monster)

Siege: Optimus Prime (just wonderful)

Earthrise: Hoist (so far)

- Classics Jetfire. It's not quite a Jetfire and it's not quite a Skyfire, but it is definitely a gorgeous figure with many different ways to display.
- Legends Arcee. In my opinion still the best looking Arcee out of any that have been done, official or otherwise.
- Unite Warriors Baldigus. I wish we could have gotten this kind of engineering back in 2000/2001, or at least not reused G1 moulds.
- Titans Return Trypticon. An improvement over the G1 toy in every single way possible. I even see the exclusion of the electronics as a positive, since I don't usually care for such gimmicks.

This is a worthy topic.

The Winners

Thrilling 30 Springer: I think this is the best CHUG figure, ever. This has everything I want in CHUG - poseability, modern (not slavishly G1), great weapon integration, dynamic looks, fun transformations. Yes the chopper mode is kind of tacked on, but the rest of it makes up for that.

Titans Return Triggerhappy: Sleek lines, fun titanmaster integration, intuitive transformation and poseable chunky robot. If it didn't have hollow forearms it would be perfection. I'm a sucker for a starfighter.

Titans Return Wolfwire: About as close to a Zoids crossover as we're coming.

Titans Return Megatron: This actually really works for me as a modern Earthen Megatron. Even the half grey, half black cannon works. Both modes are great, which is kind of unusual for retain triple changers too.

Classics 2.0 Cyclonus: This is the high point of 'amazing robot mode, kind of token vehicle mode'. The low point is listed below, in 'losers'.

Generations Deluxe Optimus Prime (War For Cybertron game tie in): Heavy, complex, bright, mean looking. In my heart I know this should have been a voyager really, but I love it none the less.

Combiner Wars G2 Bruticus: Not just for the price. $50 for a Voyager, 4x Deluxes and a Legends figure? Outrageous. Beyond that Bruticus is one of the few Combiners in the line who justified existing as it did. The limbs on Menasor, Superion, Victorion and Optimus Maximus (?) were all too samey for me. At least each of Bruticus' limbs was a different alt mode and converted differently.

Reveal the Shield Jazz/Universe 2.0 Hound, Sunstreaker+Sideswipe: Precisely what I want as a standard issue CHUG figure - posable, weapon integration, fun transformation and an updated modern day alt mode.

Classics Mirage: Genuinely one of the most underrated figures out there. Still one of the best CHUG figures released. All it's missing is a thigh swivel.


The Losers

The original Classics 2006 Seeker mold: Possibly the most overrated thing that's ever existed.

WFC Seige Seeker Mold: Rocking, beautiful robot mode but if we're being honest this is barely a transformer. It's basically a poseable action figure that curls up under a cape that looks sort of like a Viper from BSG.

Universe 2.0 Silverbolt: As above, this is barely a transformer. I too, as a living actual human being, could theoretically hold my arms down by my side and wear a backpack that flipped over my head. It wouldn't make me any more a transformer than this piece of trash.

Most of Thrilling 30: Really killed my desire to collect. The designers didn't really have much in response to budget cuts at that time so everything feels sort of flimsy and half assed.

Most of Combiner Wars deluxes and voyagers: They're all so samey. It was just a boring line. Yes, I know all deluxes have got to pull quadruple duty (arm, leg, robot, vehicle). I think it would have been more palatable to me if the gestalts had been done like the Titans are being done now - one per line - instead of all just being dropped at once. That whole line was a non-starter for me.

My list is limited to toys I own (or hope to soon) and so excludes some items I admire.



Classics Starscream (or its mould in general) I particularly like because it preserves (with a twist) the head and chest transformation of the G1 design. Only problem is it's too small but I know that Earthrise addresses that.



Universe Hound is cute overall and I like the way the seats become thighs. Ravage is cool for taking the same sized cassette as the G1 toy but transforming it in a completely different and more three-dimensional way.



Reveal The Shield Cyclonus Versus Rodimus is maybe me cheating in choosing a two-pack. I partly like the toys themselves, and partly remember the experience of buying them fondly. They were on sale, which I estimated gave them 1980s prices (if they were a G1 Decepticon Plane and Autobot Car). Then there's the bonus of a die-cast Matrix which I combined with some chain and use as occasional party bling.



Thrilling Thirty Arcee does a good job with the challenge of making this character a working Transformer, and without resorting to detachable parts.



Combiner Wars Chopshop does not combine with anything, but I like its striking colour and the way its thorax moves for transformation.



Titans Return Alpha Trion is one I've enthused about before, for its weird look, more like an undead warlord than a wise advisor.



Power Of The Primes Slash is a nifty addition to the classic Dinobot team.



Siege Brunt is a cool updating of a mere accessory into a fully-fledged Transformer, and it was a relief to finally get it and complete the recent Trypticon set.



Earthrise Quintesson Judge is something I've wanted for literally decades, and I'm even cool with its bonkers alt-mode.