Transformers Legacy Year 1 - Thoughts?

Since having done this once before, I figured it was about time I do something similar, as Legacy's a departure from the norm. I think this is one of the lines where I'd get quite a few of the figures!

Wave 1:

The debut wave for Legacy, general satisfaction seemed like the goal! This wave had a little bit of everything, to be honest. Of this one, I purchased the core assortment, Arcee, and Laser Prime.

Core Class:

Ultimately, I got all three of these tiny guys, and they're absolutely fun! I'd recommend them quite a bit.

Hot Rod

The weakest of the wave, but by no means bad, Hot Rod is a repack of the Kingdom figure, now with a proper explanation regarding his accessory, being an Energon sword that forms the central blade of the combo weapon.

Skywarp

A mid-tier figure, but mostly because he checks almost all the Skywarp boxes. If I were to nitpick, I'd have loved for him to keep the null-rays that his mold's originator (Kingdom Starscream) came with, but the "Warp Fork" (rail-gun? slingshot? IDFK) gives off distinct Cobra vibes, reminding me of his crossover appearance. Take care to sand off a millimeter on the side peg or else you can't form the combo weapon. Tolerance issue that they forgot to address in the initial model.

Iguanus

Quite possibly the best of the three, Iguanus perfectly combined the inner robot's vehicle mode and outer shell, forgoing the Pretender gimmick. While I would have loved a proper Pretender reboot, Iguanus is still absolute fun to mess with! He comes with the midsection of a combo weapon, so if you want the full weapon, get all three figures. They're cheap!

Deluxe Class:

I only have Arcee of this assortment, but have definitely contemplated getting Drag Strip after seeing the recently leaked Breakdown, and how much better Legacy Menasor looks compared to Combiner Wars. Nonetheless, let's take a look why...

Prime Universe Arcee

A perfect blend of G1 and Prime aesthetics, this version of her is plainly identifiable as the homage they intended her to be. In terms of accessories, she comes with two identical semi-circle blades that can mount on her arm, or plug together to form a shield/shuriken. Her front wheel can detach, and be used as a "twin-saw" . . . thing, or mount on her back, but more on that later. Also surprisingly underappreciated.

Skids

I passed on this guy, mainly because he felt too . . . G1. In the past, I've eyed up T30 Skids, mainly because I loved the IDW comics. This one is distinctly based off the Sunbow animation. In terms of accessories, he comes with two arm-mounted blasters that can link together, and an axe that can serve as another blaster, or link up for an even more goofy weapon combo.

Kickback

Yeeeep. We got Legends-scale Insecticons. Now we're getting Deluxe ones. And they're technically now MP-scale. Kickback is pretty much what you'd expect, and nothing else. He comes with his standard blaster, as well as two wicked looking blades that can mount on his wings, form a bigger blade, or become an abdomen in insect mode. Take note, though . . . they sacrificed his chest-canopy. The hinge is there, the tab is there, but it's been molded shut.

Drag Strip

I'm going to be honest, I like CW Dragstrip for what he is. He gives off almost evil jester vibes, so that's how he's now characterized in my head. Nonetheless, I'm a Combiner fan, so this one I'll get some version of at some point. To form the 'arm,' he ends up splitting in half, but you can make use of that fact for some Fatalities! He comes with two pretty standard blasters.

Voyager Class

Curiously enough, these two were very well-received despite early criticisms. I passed on both, though, for some specific reasons...

Prime Universe Bulkhead

The big guy is giving me mixed signals. On one hand, he's workable as the intended homage. However, the big issue for me visually would be his chest. It comes across more Optimus-like, and doesn't particularly convey the character's heft well. He does come with a wrecking ball, Energon gatling, and riot shield, however.

Blaster & Eject

Between the two, I'm more inclined to get this, but only on account of cassette-compatibility. Most people are now considering this the definitive version of Blaster, but every now and then, there are complaints about Eject, who's molded in clear blue plastic. The only accessory to speak of would be Blaster's rifle.

Leader Class

And here's where things get a little fun. I only got Laser Optimus, but that's mainly because I've generally preferred G2-themed stuff, since it's underappreciated.

Laser Optimus Prime

Absolutely fun! I know the proportions are a little lanky, but this Prime feels younger, more rejuvenated, and just altogether faster. Accessory-wise, he's sparse, but a lot of that went to paint for the mold. His trailer opens up, converting into a single-tower 'battle station,' which I'll be making upgrades for soon, and the main gun can detach to be held in hand, or remain attached to the tower to be used as a sort of underslung cannon. His shoulders open up to reveal missile racks, and likewise, his chest opens up to reveal the Matrix. Additionally, he comes with both an Energon Axe and an Energon Sword, which can be linked together along with the Matrix to form an even bigger sword.

Galvatron

Meh. Just a repack of Kingdom Galvatron.

Wave 2

And here's the one where we've all had trouble! The sighting thread on TFW2005 is really effective for people who are early birds. The rest of us who wait to find stuff naturally, though? Sore out of luck when we get the opportunity.

Core Class

Not particularly the stars of the show for this wave, it essentially consists of token classic characters, so I've thus far passed on them. If I see them on any sort of discount, I may end up snagging them...

Optimus Prime

Not much to say in general about this one. He's a repack of the Kingdom release. I passed on it because the ball-joints in the elbows feel a bit off for me visually.

Shockwave

Frankly, torn on this one. I like the Combiner Wars one. A lot. But this one potentially continues the combining weapon gimmick from the first assortment. Aesthetically, he's basically just a scaled-down version of the Siege figure, down to the curious ship mode.

G2 Megatron

A redeco of the Kingdom release, this color scheme looks significantly better, in my opinion. Take note, it's a lot more neon in photos than in real life.

Deluxe Class

The meat of this wave, I was absolutely considering all of these. In the end, though, I only ended up getting Tarantulus, but I might try and put together Legacy Menasor depending on the possible G2 deco we might see, if Velocitron Shadowstrip is anything to go by.

Tarantulus

Cue massive amount of profanities, because this is easily my favorite figure from Legacy thus far. He's stable, incredibly posable, and his deco and accessories are perfect. I'll do a review of him soon, as he absolutely merits that appreciation.

Prime Knockout

Mixed feelings on this one, but only because of one minor aspect . . . his head. While he absolutely works visually, the only thing that was a deal-breaker for me was the neutral face. He absolutely would have benefitted from a smirk. His accessories are pretty mean looking, though!

Elita-1

I am considering this one eventually, but first I plan to locate the Minerva version of the mold. Elita-1 breaks the annoying trend of G1's female Autobots effectively all being Shellformers, and the vehicle parts are well-incorporated into her build.

Wildrider

Not going to lie, this one feels the weakest to me, but not because of the accurate backpack. Rather, I much prefer Offroad as a limb. If Hasbro were to make a Legacy Offroad, I'd be in heaven.

Voyager Class

And here is where even I'm drawn in! The second figure in this size class apparently being something of a mini Masterpiece.

Soundwave

A package refresh of the Siege figure, but with the battle damage deco removed. I'm considering him on account of lacking a Soundwave for my cassettes.

Jhiaxus

The first proper representation of the G2 warlord, Jhiaxus here does have minor QC issues. Some copies have poor paint application, and stress-marks on the shoulder arrays, but all in all, he's been very well-received. And yes, his hands open!

Leader Class

Frankly, this assortment was a tad disappointing for many...

Blitzwing

The new figure of this wave, Blitzwing is perhaps TOO toon-accuracte. The immediate complaint people had upon leaks of him was the faux cockpit at the front of the tank from when the Sunbow control model's artist mistransformed the original figure. Yes. It's a separate assembly from the actual cockpit. They blew his engineering on THAT. I try not be harsh, but bloody hell this figure's a mess.

Wave 3

A shock of a wave, I like most of what I saw, though there definitely was a bit of controversy...

Core Class

And now we return to regularly scheduled awesomeness. I will at least end up getting the first figure in this assortment.

Bombburst

Remember how well-received Iguanus was? Bombburst continues that trend, perfectly blending alt-mode parts with the pretender shell, and successfully pulling off the color shift between a grey 'bot mode, and blue jet mode. He even comes with three accessories in the form of his wing-guns, and a scythe.

Soundwave

A package refresh of the Kingdom release, it's hard to diss on Soundwave. He's a cool character. Like his initial release, he comes with a static cassette painted and sculpted to resemble the Masterpiece version of Laserbeak.

Deluxe Class

By far the main point of discussion among the fandom, this size had some curious design choices that left some people confounded, and some people . . . outright enraged.

Deadend

A HEAVY retool of Dragstrip, with almost no shared parts, Deadend definitely caught my eye. He's effectively the Combiner Wars incarnation, but far better in terms of proportions. The one point of contention among others is his feet, which end up forming a hollow back of the car.

Crankcase

While this is a figure I would absolutely consider, many people were disappointed by him not being a completely new mold, instead being a heavy retool of Skids from the first wave. Nonetheless, he has an impressive loadout, with the grill from the hood/chest detaching to form a rifle, a small pistol that carried over from the pretool, and VERY well-hidden over-the-shoulder guns that call back to his Triggercon roots.

Pointblank & Peacemaker

A little bit of good, and a little bit of bad, this update to the semi-obscure Autobot includes his Targetmaster as a very simple miniature, in a bit of a departure from the previous Trilogy's Battlemasters. Regardless, they remained faithful to his overall design, but modelled his head off perhaps the least favored version of his character. To add insult to injury in regards to opinions on him, is he reuse of a hip gap a la Black Roritchi.

Skullgrin

Easily the most controversial figure of the wave, this version of the iconic Pretender failed at the "de-Pretender-ization" that marked earlier figures. Essentially, it's just the core robot with the Pretender shell's head, shoulder-pads, and crotch. Not really faithful to his brutish nature. Despite that, I will be getting him, as one of the series I grew up with was Masterforce, which featured him very prominently.

Voyager Class

Perhaps the most favored or most disliked? It's hard to tell at times, but the two figures are two very good reasons as to why I like this line.

Armada Starscream

Dipping into the oft-ignored Unicron trilogy, Starscream here does have a few minor design choices, but overall the message is clear as to the level of appreciation from the new team, even if they were very limited in what they could pull off. He comes with a now separate wing-sword, a static Star Saber, and a deco based off the T30 figure which was in turn based off the Playstation game.

Inferno

Perhaps the better of the two, this one did receive minor criticism, but engineering-wise, it was by and large loved by those who somehow managed to get an early copy. Incredibly accurate in terms of sculpt and deco, Inferno comes with a blaster that doubles as his "posterior booster," plugging into the ant abdomen-turned-rotor. And yes, his mouth opens. Additionally, he completes the cast of the first season of Beast Wars, with the only other Pred' being an exclusive 'capsule' release.

Leader Class

Ending the year on a high note, this release garnered minor controversy, but for me, it was a worthy update to the tyrant!

Transmetal II Megatron

An absolute beast of a release, literally. This Megatron has an insane amount of articulation, along with a full-blown fireball blast effect. My only draw on him would probably be the robot mode's face, which appears to draw more influence from RID01's Gigatron, but as for the dragon mode? Well, let's just say it puts SS86 Grimlock's poor excuse for a beast mode to shame, both in detail, and in size.

~~~~~

With all these releases and reveals, it's been an excellent year for the brand, and believe me, there's even better in store for next year, in the form of Legacy: Evolution!

Nightstrike, out!