The Best And Worst Transformations In Your Collection

It's time for another one of TaZZerath's Thought-Provoking T.....

Okay so Thesaurus.com wasn't very forthcoming for synonyms starting with T that meant 'Conversation' or Discussion.....

ANYhow, for those who have been humouring my questions (which I really appreciate!), I have another one; what in your collection has what you would classify as the Best and Worst transformations? Which are the most elegant, the most ingenious, and on the flipside of that, what irritate the absolute scrap out of you?

They can be simple, complicated, challenging; whatever works best for you, as everyone is different and that's what makes these disucssions so fun (for me anyway)

The transformations I love the best are ones which you need no instructions and are intuitive, and also those which make you think 'wow how'd they manage to pull that off?' And those which have minimal kibble (in robot mode) or really 'disguise' the robot (in alt mode) are a must. Titans Return Topspin and Triggerhappy are two such examples that come to my mind that I can easily keep mode-switching all day and be very satisfying.

The ones that honestly irritate me the most are Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap and TT Legends God Ginrai. Battleslash was at least a LITTLE less finicky than Roadtrap was between modes, but they still both required a lot of messing about and frustration. Ginrai by himself wasn't TOO bad (despite his stability issues) but Godbombers partsforming was a very messy process with all its backpack hinges needing to be put juuuust so to work. So he'll most likely stay in Robot Mode for most of his life.

I know there'll be some out there which either MOC/MISB their collection and this won't apply, or others who will transform figures once and then leave them alone, but surely there are folks out there who still enjoy the art of transformation and/or have kids who have a favourite/nemesis when it comes to transforming!

The most interesting to me are the ones where you can sort of stop motion it happening as if it were real life. Studio Series Starscream (and I suppose the DOTM Deluxe before that) are good examples - from a parked F22 you can see the robot mode basically stand up as it transforms.


The worst ones are either all of the CW deluxe Aerialbot limbs, or the recent TLK/SS car transformations where the car shell just sort of ends up as a cape or on the back, with limited real kibble on the front - thinking of you SS Lockdown, TLK Cogman, and TLK/SS Drift. Anything really that amounts of a folded up robot hiding under a vehicle shaped shell or backpack really turns me off - stuff like Power of the Primes Starscream, WFC Starscream, and Universe 2.0 Silverbolt. Anything where you could plausibly entirely detach the vehicle shell and you'd end up with an entire folded up robot left over.

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Originally Posted by TaZZerath

It's time for another one of TaZZerath's Thought-Provoking T.....

Okay so Thesaurus.com wasn't very forthcoming for synonyms starting with T that meant 'Conversation' or Discussion.....

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"Talk"? ;)

Most Transformers have pretty fun and intuitive transformations. You don't get to produce toys 34 years straight if most of the transformations are duds. Obviously there are some terrible ones and some stand out ones, but on the whole most are pretty decent.

Hhhoooooookkkkaaayyy... I'm gonna approach this in the same way that I approached "favourite robot"... gonna go through my collection and pick one per year, and this will be super subjective... and probably take nearly an hour to choose again. Nyah! Actually, I'll pick at least one Goodie and one Baddie from each year.

1984: Bluestreak & Prowl / Soundwave
1985: Powerglide / Bonecrusher
1986: Hot Rod / Gnaw
1987: Afterburner / Snapdragon
1988: Getaway / Quake
1989: Bumblebee / Flattop
1990: Crumble / Ground Hog
1991: Star Convoy / Slicer's Assault Vehicle (sadly all of my '91 'Cons are Action Masters :rolleyes:)
1992: Boss / Talon
1993: Zap / Colossus
1994: Optimus Prime / Megatron
1995: Optimus Prime (Laser) / Hooligan
1996: Optimus Primal (Ultra) / Inferno
1997: Airazor / Cicadacon
1998: Scuba / Megatron (honourable mention to Rampage)
1999: Heinlad / Archadys
2000: Super Mach Alert / Tankor
2001: Side Burn / Dark Scream
2002: Jetstorm / Megatron Megabolt
2003: BT Lambor / Soundwave (Smallest TF)
2004: BT Overdrive / BT Swindle
2005: Downshift / Starscream (Voyager)
2006: Classics Optimus Prime / Classics Starscream
2007: Optimus Prime (Leader) / Starscream (Hasbro MP)
2008: Sunstreaker (Henkei) / Soundwave (Animated, Deluxe)
2009: Convoy (Alternity) / Scrapper (Legends)
2010: Sea Spray / Bludgeon
2011: Jetwing Optimus Prime / Megatron (DOTM Voyager)
2012: MP Lambor / Vehicon (TFPRID Deluxe)
2013: Springer (Generations) / MP Soundwave
2014: Swerve / Lockdown
2015: CW Ultra Magnus / CW Megatron
2016: MP Inferno / TR Mindwipe
2017: TR Seaspray / TLK Barricade (Deluxe)
2018: POTP Beachcomber / LG Overlord

Dang, that took me 70 minutes to choose! :(

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P.S.: Ah crud, I didn't do worst. Hopefully this will be faster. Now again, I'm purely looking at transformation, nothing else. Note that in some cases I don't think that the transformation is bad, but maybe in that year they're all good so I just had to pick the worst out of a good batch.

1984: Jazz / Megatron
1985: Jumpstarters / Ransack
1986: Wheelie / Headstrong
1987: Fortress Maximus / Blot
1988: Gunrunner / Cindersaur
1989: Pincher / Thunderwing
1990: ANY ACTION MASTER
1991: ANY ACTION MASTER
1992: San Diego / Skyquake
1993: Blaze / Ramjet
1994: Manta Ray / Vortex
1995: Ironhide (Power Master) / Any Auto-Roller
1996: Armourdillo / Tarantulas
1997: Retrax / Manterror
1998: Moon / Injector
1999: Rachel\Lion / Scourge
2000: Cheetor (Supreme) / Blastcharge
2001: Beast Changer / Tripredacus Agent
2002: Hot Shot (Armada) / Scavenger (Armada)
2003: Sideswipe (Armada) / Reptilion
2004: Energon Dinobots / Alpha Quintesson
2005: Leobreaker / Brushguard
2006: Chewbacca\Millennium Falcon / Darth Vader\Death Star
2007: Rosanna / Megatron (Leader)
2008: Prowl (Henkei) / Lugnut
2009: Dune Runner / Devastator (Combiner Class)
2010: Cheetor (Device Label) / Cindersaur
2011: Jolt / Megatron (TFPFE)
2012: Smokescreen (AM) / Breakdown (Voyager)
2013: Jinbu / Dreadwing & Skyquake
2014: Snarl / Galvatron (Voyager)
2015: Grimlock (RID) / Chop Shop
2016: Sawtooth / TR Galvatron
2017: Skullitron / Shocknado
2018: Cyberverse Warrior Bumblebee / Cyberverse Warrior Starscream

Aaaaand that took me over an hour. :( :(

Unfortunately if you view Transformers through modern eyes like I do everything from G1 looks terrible and like they are the worst Transformers ever made.:(

I kinda wish I could forget modern Transformers temporarily so I could enjoy the toys from my childhood. They are the part of my collection I keep more as a "look where it all started" thing rather than something I enjoy.

I skipped all of Beast Machines and I only have three Armada toys and a single Energon toy so I don't have those figures that are generally considered terrible from the modern era.

Worst modern era toys I have are Voyager Double Dealer as I just think that mould is pretty bad. Also the fragile MP figures like MP-3, MP-5, MP-9 and MP-36 as I can't actually play with them so it takes 99% of the fun out of them. Those are the ones "in my collection" I hate. There are some stinkers in the movie and CHUG lines also that I have, but I don't consider them as part of my collection as I want to sell them and they are packed away.

As for the best stuff, well I have plenty. HasTak have made far more great toys over the years than bad stuff.

-I feel like MP-13 Soundwave is still the best MP, even though he only comes with Laserbeak unlike the Hasbro version. He was the first MP where I went "it's like he's right out of the cartoon".
-The MP Inferno/Grappel mould is amazing.
-Magnus is probably the best looking MP of them all with his size and cartoon accuracy.
-All of the G1 based Unite Warriors combiners are amazing to have.
-The Classics, or in my case Henkei Seeker mould still is the best mould of all time IMO. It's simple, fun and comes from a time before the current round of cost cutting made Transformers what they are today.
-I feel the best triple changers we've gotten are the LG Blitzwing and Octane.

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Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime

"Talk"? ;)

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This is what comes from trying to overcomplicate something so simple you miss whats right in front of your face...

Seriously though good effort Goktimus. To spend over TWO HOURS just on a question like this shows massive dedication!

A Transformer is more than an action figure, it's an experience! :) If the transformation is fun, it makes the toy a joy to have; but if the transformation is onerous, it can drag down your opinion of the figure.

I think if the transformation is too complex and (or) if the the figure is fragile, that can hurt the experience because you feel anxious that you might break the figure. Examples off the top of my head are RtS Perceptor, Universe 2.0 Galvatron, and Masterpiece Megatron. On the other hand if the transformation is too simple and cliche (common among transformers with similar alt-modes), it can come off as boring. Examples; any car alt-mode whose transformation basically involves flipping over rear of the car to form the legs, and pulling out the doors to form arms - Legion RiD Drift, PotP Windcharger, TR Brawn, etc.

To me, what does make for a fun transformation is either an interesting alt-mode that we rarely see, or a transformation procedure that's different from what we're used to, but still simple enough to be fun. Examples off the top of my head, are TR Triggerhappy, Topspin, Rumble/Rewind, and PotP Beachcomber.

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Originally Posted by DELTAprime

Unfortunately if you view Transformers through modern eyes like I do everything from G1 looks terrible and like they are the worst Transformers ever made.:(

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Dunno - I reckon there are a lot there better than a lot of the current half-transforming Cyberverse ones. I found Powermaster Optimus and the original cars like Jazz and Prowl to be good fun even years on.


I'd say the worst ones in my collection are Energon Mirage, ROTF Scalpel and Alternity GTR-Maximus. They are all ones I gave up on trying to transform properly. It's especially annoying with Maximus as I paid over a hundred bucks for him and only ever got him half way though his transformation. He has been sitting in a crate looking deformed for years now. :(

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Originally Posted by BigTransformerTrev

Dunno - I reckon there are a lot there better than a lot of the current half-transforming Cyberverse ones. I found Powermaster Optimus and the original cars like Jazz and Prowl to be good fun even years on.


I'd say the worst ones in my collection are Energon Mirage, ROTF Scalpel and Alternity GTR-Maximus. They are all ones I gave up on trying to transform properly. It's especially annoying with Maximus as I paid over a hundred bucks for him and only ever got him half way though his transformation. He has been sitting in a crate looking deformed for years now. :(

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It's always a disappointment when a figure looks so good (like Maximus does) lets you down through poor transformation mechanics...

Best is tricky,
I'll have to think about it,
worst is without a doubt Dark of the moon Ravage, it literally turns into a balled up bot mode, and it's messy in doing it. nothing tabs in it's all over the place. at least Airachnid looks like a helicopter and robot.

I don't think even Hasbro knows what the hell Ravage's alt mode is supposed to be. On the packaging it's called a "Re-Entry" mode. What the hell is a Re-Entry?!? :confused: Is it a mode for re-entering the atmosphere? If so, when does he ever do that in ROTF? We see him enter Earth's atmosphere after being ejected by Soundwave in orbit, but we've never seen him exit the atmosphere in order to re-enter it. You cannot re-enter something that you haven't just exited from, otherwise you're just regular entering it!

Best? Well, for me, impressive engineering that takes a realistic vehicle into a nice looking robot wins. So I'm going to say Masterpiece Bluestreak (and friends).

Obviously the MP line has the luxury an adult collector's price tag to work with. So if I'm talking within the kid price tags... heck you could throw a dart into Beast Wars and pick out a good toy... but I'll go with Transmetal Cheetor. Okay, so it's not a realistic alt mode but it's true to the aesthetic of the line & forms two poseable modes with an clever & elegant transformation that integrates the weapon.

Worst? Energon Ironhide. I'm *not* willing to make allowances for the stupid gimmick because there are many examples of gimmicks not getting in the way down the years. It's simply a lazy design... where they didn't even *try* to conceal his head. Engineering isn't clever and realism has been thrown under the bus through a lack of effort / focus.