Timing (Legacy Evolution Scarr)

 For once, I actually found something new on shelves the very day that first sightings were reported - in fact, I even found Scarr before I saw a reported sighting. 

Ever since their unveiling last September, I haven't been the most enthused about the Legacy Evolution core class combining Dinobots. Of the first two, Slug/Slag looked fine, but Sludge definitely had some weirdness, albeit creative weirdness, about him. I think I did see both in store maybe twice, but passed at the time. Grimlock did not wow me either, especially with how his big lower legs bulk up the rear of the dino mode. Most recently, Swoop and Scarr (or Skar) were shown off, with Swoop looking pretty uncompromised and Scarr looking pretty good considering the limitations of the size/design and the fact that we don't really have a baseline comparison for him.

So I managed to pick up Grimlock a couple of weeks ago and actually liked him pretty well. The leg mode has this ancient totem/architecture-like charm to it, and you can even get a decent targetmaster mode out of him, which is also possible for Scarr (you can even use him as a shield for toys with forearm ports). The dino mode is still kind of rough, but not too bad from the front and the bot mode is pretty good, with is only real problems being a lack of elbows and sword and also the weirdness of his wings being upside down. 

I found Scarr last night, completely unexpectedly (no Swoop) and grabbed him. As a toy, he's pretty good, better than Grimlock in that his dino mode is mostly uncompromised (not that you'd compare it to anything; I just mean that it pretty much looks like an ankylosaur should). The armored back is cool and separates to form the bulk of the limbs for the robot. Unlike Grimlock, who's a leg for Volcanicus, Scarr comes with a Monstructor/Dinoking-like fist gun that also doubles as the dino mode's clubbed tail. It's clever, but there's a part of me that wishes he could become the complete dino without a combiner component. Grimlock almost does the same thing, with his tail tip becoming his double-barreled "rifle," but it's explicitly part of Grimlock himself and could actually be left off of Volcanicus altogether without causing any problems. I hope that if Scarr does eventually get a leader mold to go with the SS86 Dinobots that a better solution will be found, even if it's just making the club into a mace/hammer for Scarr's bot mode. 

I already mentioned Dinoking; the designers have been about as transparent as possible that Legacy Volcanicus will be retooled into Dinoking, down to the various Dinobots all matching positions with their Dinoking counterparts. Since Gairyu is the only Dinoking component without an Autobot counterpart, Hasbro took an existing "Dinobot" character from IDW in Scarr/Skar (who, amusingly, never got a dino mode himself despite being responsible for their ability to scan new altmodes in the field) and designed his bot mode to fit the look of an ankylosaur alt mode. The alt mode even has a few design touches from Gairyu, though not as much as I thought (which makes sense; Scarr has a robotic ankylosaur altmode, while Gairyu is really a robotic "monster" altmode wearing an organic ankylosaur pretender shell with weapon backpack). 

Scarr is a neat toy, even if it's yet another reminder of what we can't get for our money anymore, being slighly more expensive that deluxes were about 10 years ago when the price was bumped to $15, and then gradually to the present cost of $25. The core class is most equivalent to the Dark of the Moon/Prime Cyberverse commanders (and later the Generations "legends"), and while I honestly don't remember their exact cost, it wasn't the current $12 core class MSRP. Of all the 5 revealed core Dinobots, he's certainly the most unique in being a new character and might be worth adding to your collection for that alone, even if you aren't interested in getting all six. If you have any of the new G1 core class toys introduced in Kingdom, he'll go well with them. And, of course, if you are collecting Volcanicus, he's an indispensable component, unless you want Volcanicus to have two Swoop arms.  

Review Update

 So I'm on a bit of a roll lately, thanks to a little bit of downtime recently. I had planned for a Legacy Transmetal II Megatron review post back in January, but only just got around to finishing/posting it today, and did the same for a SSGE-03 Optimus review that I started last week. Anyone who's been aware of this blog for a long time knows that back around 2010 or so, I made some pages for posting mini-reviews, categorized mainly by sub-series within the franchise. Just to help these newer reviews not get lost in the mix, I've decided to start adding summaries and links to the new reviews to the appropriate mini-review page, and to make it more obvious, these entries will be added at the top of each page. 

As a side note, for the SSGE-03 Optimus review, I stuck to my old guns and posted it on the page for G1-based reviews, as I've always seen the War for/Fall of Cybertron games as a G1 take, not really part of the "Aligned"/TF Prime/Rid 2015 continuity. I already have an old mini-review of Generation FoC Starscream on the G1 page anyway, so it's not like this is a new shift. TMII Megatron goes on the Beast Wars-based page, which I guess would be obvious, despite being from Legacy, a toyline that is still ultimately G1-focused. 

I also just wanted to note that it's been a LONG time since I added anything to the mini-review pages...the most recent thing being Combiner Wars Optimus Prime! Yikes. 

This isn't anything major, but it's fun to have a little update once in a while. 

SSGE-03 Optimus Prime (Gamer Edition)

 I planned to post a Legacy Transmetal 2 Megatron review/appreciation post earlier this year, but still need to finish it; in the meantime, here's one of my first review-ish posts in a long while!

Stepping up to the plate is my first, and so far only, Studio Series Gamer Edition figure: SSGE-03 Optimus Prime. Yes, Hasbro has found a third thing to do with Studio Series, beyond the live-action films and the SS86 animated film line: video games. Already more-or-less confirmed to include figures from the upcoming Reactivate game, Hasbro is starting off with probably the most popular Transformer videogame, War for Cybertron. It's hard to admit that this game is 13 years old, as is its original set of four figures releases in the original Generations line (Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee and Soundwave). 

The 2010 Optimus Prime mold is still great, and while I was happy to hear that the new version would be a size upgrade from deluxe to voyager, I wondered a bit about how the overall design could be improved. The deluxe has an amazing transformation for a toy its size, even back then, but it does cause the robot mode to deviate from its appearance in the video game, where Optimus appears much bulkier and has less kibble on his arms and such (even if that kibble is executed in a really interesting, effective way). Also, I was a bit disappointed to learn that the new updates of Optimus and Megatron would be from War for Cybertron rather than the Fall of Cybertron sequel, as FoC Optimus only received an unsatisfactory deluxe for that line and FoC Megatron never received a toy at all.

So, when the new voyager was revealed about two months ago, my initial impressions were mixed. Granted, I preordered Optimus, but the flatness of the grey plastic didn't help his look, and the comically beefy proportions, while more game-accurate than the 2010 deluxe, didn't exactly enamor me to the new mold. The arm-replacing gun mechanic was interesting, and despite the plastic appearance, the axe was a welcome inclusion that the 2010 mold lacked. The inclusion of a removable matrix was a nice cherry on top that probably couldn't have been done effectively on the deluxe. The alt mode looked just as good as before; both molds seemed to nail that aspect of the design. 

A little while before my copy shipped, in-hand photos emerged, revealing that the rear of the altmode doesn't close, leaving the otherwise hidden fists in full view. Some pointed out how especially bad this was for a video game-based design, as the vehicle mode is mostly seen from the rear by the player while playing the game. This diminished my excitement, and after also cancelling my preorders for Barricade and Bumblebee, I tried to cancel Optimus as well, only to find that Pulse wouldn't allow it for some reason. I decided not to worry as I could return it if I wanted. 

Optimus finally arrived about two weeks ago, which is an honestly pretty amazing turnaround of less than two months between preorder and delivery. I think the only one I've seen faster has been Legacy Evolution Voyager wave 2 showing up on shelves like a week or two after being revealed. ANYWAY. In hand, Optimus feels very nice. He's got some hollowing and isn't that tall - he's taller than the deluxe 2010 mold but shorter than most other contemporary voyager Optimuses - but he manages to have enough heft for his size to not feel cheap. This is a really good thing considering some of the design choices that were made. Also, thankfully the grey plastic does have a darker value and metallic tint, also making him feel less cheap than he could otherwise. The overall look, including the comical proportions, are really nice in hand regardless. When you can take in the details and angles with stereo vision, it helps get across the visual design much better. Honestly, the only visual fault of the robot is being a bit shorter than I'd like (likely a consequence if its significant width) and that the lower legs look a bit unfinished, which is a result of their front and sides forming from the center of the altmode unfolding, so we see the underside of those pieces in bot mode. The headsculpt is absolutely on point, and the matrix gimmick is probably the best-executed version of the many molds that have tried it in the past few years. Visually Optimus is very imposing overall. 

Now I'll talk a bit about transformation - in short, it's a blast. I really thought I would miss how the deluxe's front wheels separated out from the fenders in a winglike way, but the inward/outward sliding and rotation of the fender& arm pieces on the voyager are very satisfying. The truck's hood folds up in a visually weird way, but kinesthetically it's a lot of fun. Honestly, without getting too bogged down in the details, the whole transformation feels very dynamic. It's very easy to pull off a transformation sequence that really feels like Optimus is changing from a moving truck that launches himself into the air and lands on his feet in bot mode. The only parts that feel "cheap" to me is that the arms don't really transform at all; they just get hidden under the truck. This was done, I guess, to help preserve their bulky form so that the hulking look could be best captured. And of course, the aforementioned open rear end isn't ideal, but when the rest of the truck mode looks fantastic it's not too big of a concern. 

For gimmicks, I already mentioned that the matrix works very well, but the weapon & arm replacement system is interesting and also worthy of focus. As is now widely known, the designers decided to implement a removable forearm system for the purposes of achieving the impression of arms changing into weapons (mainly the guns). For Optimus, this means his rifle, which sort of approximates his G1 ion rifle in appearance. In practice, this works pretty well, though with four main problems. The first is that the right forearm does not stay on the peg very well. It's fine for display purposes, but the forearm can otherwise come off pretty easily. I should be able to fix this with nail polish and it may vary from copy to copy, but still it's annoying. Second, the official placement of the forearm when not in use it to peg it into the flight stand port (3mm?) on Optimus's sacral region. This does not look good in any orientation and has led to me seeking alternative placements, which I'll detail in a minute. Thirdly, the rifle connects will to the arm root, but does not itself have a 5mm peg so that it can be wielded normally or otherwise stored by a conventional method (basically, there should be a port on the back that the rifle can plug into, and there isn't such an arrangement). The one saving grace here is that the rifle CAN connect to the axe weapon parts in two ways - the 5mm port (meant for connecting to the arm root) and the twin tabs that allow one of two axe handle sections to connect to the top of the rifle. These two points thankfully allow for some interesting alternative configurations that make for some neat weapon modes but also some storage in a pinch if you want Optimus to keep his forearm in its nominal location. The final problem is with the rifle itself - it should have had a full 5mm port for the barrel to more easily support the larger or additive blast effects; as is, it has a 3mm peg which limits your options (and looks less intimidating when lacking effects). 

As for the axe, it's much more interesting than the rifle. It's made of no less than three components: the head and two handle pieces. The axe head is pretty neat, with the larger blade able to split and swing open to become a fully-double bladed axe. According to the "behind the scenes" social media post (and not my creaking memory), the more compact form is from the trailer/cutscenes, while the larger form is how the axe appears in actual gameplay. It's a great, simple and mostly effective feature that the designers could have skipped, but I'm glad they didn't. While I would have preferred clear plastic for the blades, that also likely would have meant clear plastic for the hinge, and that's always a danger. Instead, we get a nice gradient of orange to represent the energon of the axe blade, which works well enough. Having the handle made of two separate components, each with a unique extra connector (the larger piece with a side-mounted 5mm peg and the smaller with twin slots to match the twin tabs of the rifle). The sum of these various separate pieces and connection points is a pretty big range of possible combinations, even more so if you throw the removable forearm into the mix. The rifle connects to the smaller handle piece; when in "gun mode," this allows you to make a rifle + scope or extra barrel while allowing a shorter axe to be wielded in the left hand. Or, if you prefer, the rifle can be attached to the handle while it's a part of the axe, either by the tabs (which makes the rifle something of a hand guard) or at the bottom end of the small handle (making the overall length of the axe much greater). Either option allows the bottom of the axe to be held up for a quick rifle blast if Optimus is in a pinch. In vehicle mode, the rifle has a dedicated set of larger tabs to connect to the bottom of the robot feet. This allows the small handle of the axe to still connect, while the large handle can connect to a revealed 5mm port near either smokestack; between the two, you have some decent options for how to mount the axe in altmode, thought the axe head honestly looks a bit too big in either configuration. One last fun fact here - the top of the axe head is a 3mm port, so it can be a "gun" too, especially helpful in altmode (it could also be a booster!).

Back to the forearm for a minute. As noted, the official stowing option is terrible, so I've taken to placing it just about anywhere else when Optimus has his rifle arm in use. Like the rifle, the forearm can plug into the bottom of the axe handles, making it a fist-shaped counterweight for the axe head. One of the more fun things to do is to plug a narrow blast effect into the forearm itself to look like a rocket hand a la Mega Man V. This can then be tabbed onto the opposite forearm for a (an albeit somewhat awkward) rocket punch/axe strike. Of course, the extra hand can also grip the axe handles, doubling the forearms in a different dimension. A goofier option is to give Optimus the Inspector gadget option by making either handle piece a connector between forearms and arm root (this can also be done with the rifle. Finally (for now), if you tab the forearm onto the left one backwards, you can then plug in the axe (one handle, not two, works best here) for an arm-mounted axe option, which looks pretty good. 

This is not a perfect figure nor a perfect update, but along with Studio Series Airazor, this has become one of my biggest "better-than-it-looked" surprise sort of figures in a while. While it's unfortunate that Bumblebee and Barricade don't seem to fare as well (of course, I could be wrong about them), thankfully the recently-revealed Megatron looks to be a great foil for this Optimus. Finally, one more realization I had about him between edits: he really reminds me (in bot mode) of Combiner Wars Optimus Prime (and that's not a bad thing). That is all!

Legacy Transmetal II Megatron

Note: Clearly I'm posting this later than intended. Still, even 5 months later, Megatron stands as one of my favorite transformer releases in recent memory, especially in the leader class. Enjoy: 

Happy New Year 2023!

     I received a gift card for Christmas, and after seeing that Legacy Transmetal II Megatron was on sale, I promptly ordered him that evening. I didn't arrive until a few days after the new year, but it has proven more than worth the wait. Even though I recently received Haslab Victory Saber, I haven't felt so impressed with a new transformers figure in such a long time until opening Megatron a couple of days ago. 

     Legacy Megatron (I'll simply refer to him as such from this point onward; the only other Legacy Megatron is the the G2 core class toy, and I'm not discussing him here) is a bit of an anomaly. The previous Generations subline, Kingdom, was largely focused on Beast Wars, but squarely on the characters and designs from season 1. Fans were upset when it became clear that the total S1 cast would not be available as mass retail releases for Kingdom; Terrorsaur (in both decoes) was an exclusive, and both Tarantulus and Inferno would have to wait until Legacy (I myself have yet to find Inferno) for release. However, just as Hasbro completed the S1 characters via Inferno in wave 3 of Legacy, they simultaneously ushered in a S3 transmetal II design, completely bypassing any transmetals from S2. I think this has more to do with a desire to finally give Power of the Primes Optimal Optimus his adversary more than it does any prioritization over the S2 transmetal designs. Either way, I'm happy that Megatron's dragon incarnation got a second look, as it much improves upon the original toy, making the Legacy version much closer to the show model while also incorporating some aspects of the 1999 toy's design along with a few unique traits of its own. Additionally, all previous Kingdom and Legacy Beast Wars characters have had their animal modes redesigned to be more realistic, but with Legacy Megatron having both a transmetal II design with mechanical beast elements along with a fictional/mythical beast mode, any notion of a "realistic" beast mode goes out the window. I don't really mind this much, as the S1 beast modes were already realistic enough (supposed to represent real animals) and the transmetal/transmetal II designs coexisted with them in the original toyline and show. 

     Anyhow, when Legacy Megatron was revealed as part of Hasbro's SDCC 2022 presentation, I was cautiously optimistic. They strangely opted to only reveal robot modes for wave 3, but the back of the box for Megatron was shown regardless, so we at least got to see the dragon mode render. The robot mode picture - singular -  was not totally appealing and didn't do much to sell the figure; the face looks a bit weird viewed straight-on, especially since it's not a direct translation of the show model as they did with Kingdom Megatron. Also, the wings are not unfurled, which is unfortunate as that is when the robot mode looks its best. There was also no way to get a good read on the size of the toy, which is also part of its appeal. Again, the dragon render did a lot to dissuade concerns, but this was not the best introduction for this toy. Thankfully, better pictures soon followed, from both official and unofficial sources, improving our view of the toy; that said, my original lukewarm impression wasn't really shaken. Eventually, when the time for my preorder shipment began to draw near, I even cancelled it as I figured I would just pick it up at retail down the road. 

     To curtail this story, my impression of Legacy Megatron really changed in-hand. My excitement for him built over the days between my gift card order and the delivery, but I was truly surprised to see how much of the box he filled once I opened it. Nearly everything else about the toy impressed as I removed him from the tray and began investing, playing and transforming. 

     I'll get my negatives out of the way first:

• His feet should have some kind of claw/talon joint. These big feet are wonderful stable platforms for either mode, but both modes would also benefit from the front claws being able to angle down relative to the rest of the foot. 
• His right hand needs wrist rotation. The transformation joint does give his wrist a bit of expressiveness with weapons, but he really needs to be able to raise his fist in anger, and he can't do that convincingly. 
• The tail should be a removeable weapon. While less restrictive than on the original toy, the tail still limits what kind of poses can be achieved with the wings and head. Making it a removable weapon makes a lot of sense (his only "weapon" is the flame blast effect, actually advertised as a club). Plus, he already has a helmet-in-a-helmet design, so maybe even making the whole dragon helmet come off and able to plug into the right hand would work.
• The dragon torso backpack does not fold flush in robot mode without popping the head out of place. A simple mod can be done to fix this, but it would have been nice for it to work as intended out of the box. 
• The dragon's mouth port is at too severe of an angle for the flame effect to look good in a straight attack in robot mode. If it could have been done more like that of Kingdom Megatron, that would have been better. 
• Wing rotation tolerances are different for each wing; one is a little tighter than I'd like; the other is a bit looser than I'd like. 
• The gold flap for the base of the dragon neck should secure more solidly - I have to frequently reposition it. 
• Wing claws are assembled in the reverse direction. I think they look fine with the misassembly, so I probably won't change them, but I know this bugged a lot of folks.
• He has no flight stand port, a pretty big crime for a toy with such gorgeous wings.

I think that's it? And that is a long list, but this stuff largely doesn't matter during play or display. The positives far outweigh the negatives. 

The dragon mode is one of the more fun beast modes in recent memory, which is saying something considering Kingdom only ended about a year ago. As mentioned, it benefits from not having to adhere to a realistic animal form, and the leg transformation means that the limbs don't have any movement restrictions like we see with, say, Kingdom Dinobot or Tigatron (the former being worse offender than the latter). It also feels much more like a playable toy in beast mode than the potentially more fragile Kingdom Megatron, as impressive as his tyrannosaur mode appears. The forelimbs have some wonkiness to them, but are still big and expressive enough to get the job done. The tail looks very good, greatly benefited by the transformation allowing the robot head to be mostly hidden in beast mode, which aligns the tail to the body correctly (as compared to the original toy). The wing roots could have more articulation (like an "elbow"), but I don't really have any complaints; the wings will make the dragon mode look good no matter what you do with them. The neck is most people's point of complaint, especially the neck root, which looks fairly complicated and ungainly while also being a little unstable. It's most egregious when you try to pose the neck low using the standard orientation from bot mode with arm at rest). However, given that the dragon is explicitly part mechanical in design, this doesn't bother me too much, though I would likely avoid leaving the dragon mode in a pose that exposed the neck "cowl" too much. 

Upcoming releases that I really want but will be expensive.

 Hey there. Been a bit (as usual)! I meant to complete a post in January gushing over Legacy Transmetal II Megatron, but didn't finish. It's a wonderful figure, however - one of the best in years, really - and I'll complete the review/gush post sooner than later.

This time, I wanted to focus on something I'm also a bit late on, which are the recent showings from the Hasbro Pulse April Fanstream, including the more recent full debut of Titan class Nemesis on May 2nd. 

The April Fanstream had a LOT for me to like! Being someone who jumped into adult transformer collecting in 2003, Armada holds a special place in my heart, and while the Optimus unveiling was spoiled by leakers, it didn't take too much away from how great it was to see both Optimus and Megatron in their Armada forms in this stream. Most of the other showings were great as well!

Beginning with core class, we have two more of the Dinobots (only Snarl remains unseen): Swoop and the "new" character Scarr! Swoop is far and away the best-looking of these core class combining Dinobots so far, especially in his robot mode. He suffers the least, probably because it's easier to condense his more lithe frame into this smaller scale. I'm not sure if I'll complete this set (probably will, but certainly haven't found any yet), but so far Swoop seems to be the standout. He forms one of the arms, with his pistols combining to form a fist for Volcanicus. The fist design is definitely shaped similarly to that of Monstructor/Dinoking, lending ever more credence to a Dinoking retool/repaint offering. 

This one shot sells me on Swoop more than any of the other Core class Dinobots

This shot - not as much, but it'll work.

Making it more obvious is Scarr himself. An IDW-original character who died on cybertron before adopting an actual dinosaur mode, he is here given the form of an ankylosaur, which is the one type of alt mode that PotP Volcanicus lacks and Dinoking has, so it's certainly another nail in the coffin. Cleverly, the fist becomes the tail club for the dino mode. If memory serves, Scarr and Swoop were actually shown in a mini-unveiling a week or two before the Fanstream, so the design team had already gotten some feedback on them, including that they are aware of the interest for a leader class take on Scarr to fit in with the SS86 Dinobots, which I would love. I think it would do more justice to the ankylosaur mode, and Scarr's bot mode looks like it would be very massive and imposing at a larger scale. 

Again, imagine this design at the SS86 Dinobot Leader scale.

More disappointing than I'd hoped, but the design deserves the opportunity to be done better at a larger scale.

Legacy Evolution deluxe wave 3 has 3 new figures (Tarantulus serves as a well-deserved package refresh): Beachcomber, Devcon and new Junkion Axlgrease. Beachcomber is completely serviceable and looks great, but that also means he's the least interesting of the three aside from his green parakeet/parrot accessory, which gets top billing on his package artwork. I'll likely get him but I'd be more interested in a G2 repaint.

Not much to say here, other than he looks solid

The bird can hang out on the back of the buggy mode

And here's an "action" robot mode shot with the bird

Devcon is a LONG time coming, another in a line of finally-realized figures of the formerly cartoon-only Floro Dery-designed characters, largely from season 2 or the movie. He's a heavily modified SS86 Blurr retool, to the point that it may as well be a new mold. He looks just as good as I need him too, and I'm very happy that they didn't try to force him as a Scourge retool. Shots alongside Earthrise Smokescreen have been released and the two make a terrific pair. 

Really, the only noticeable Blurr parts here are the feet

And while TR Brainstorm was a bit compromised in alt mode by being a TR Blurr retool, it works perfectly for Devcon

Axlgrease is probably the most interesting of the group. She's another Junkion weaponizer, and a retool of Scrapheap to boot, but manages to look nearly completely different. This is mainly accomplished by the designers giving her a totally new deco, apparently based on an inverted Junkion color scheme. This is due to Axlgrease being a Decepticon; she's described as a possible evil sister to Junkion Nancy. Also interesting is that the designers probably intended to release this mold/retool in normal colors as seen on the Legacy Evolution artwork, but probably decided to break things up a bit visually; I wouldn't mind seeing this in normal Junkion colors at some point. Of course, the front of the car mode make a lot of folks think we will get a Lockdown retool as well. Which, based on how much additional retooling they are interested in, will be a somewhat inaccurate version of the character but but could be spun as G1-ified like Legacy Bulkhead. 

This is a terrific image. The colors on the toy and background work amazingly well together

The first car mode Junkion (Detritus doesn't count)? The only thing I don't like here is that the tires look weird as a light blue. Not sure if this car is exactly what I want Lockdown to look like, but maybe he'll get more specific tooling as well.

The voyager class showings here are probably the least compelling, but still nice. Dirge is a nearly identical reissue of the Earthrise Amazon, terrific for those who couldn't get the hard-to-obtain Amazon exclusive (now Ramjet and, to a lesser degree, Thrust must be done as well). It turns out that this version actually as the wings molded in brown rather than blue with brown paint, so it'll be less susceptible to scratch damage. His packaging looks good, but otherwise no other comments. No pics either since he's a known quantity. 

Nemesis Leo Prime is a sort of no-brainer purchase; the mold is terrific, and everyone loves evil Prime repaints. This one has a bonus as being the first version of the character to have a deco that actually matches its anime appearance, as well. However, the end result is a bit dull. The teal, as always, looks good, but the toy could benefit from more of it. It's literally the only color in a sea of blacks and greys, though some of the black may actually be a dark brown depending on which pictures you trust. One more plus is that he includes an additional firearm weapon that Leo Prime lacks, and that kind of additional value is always nice. 

I think I like the lion mode more than the bot mode for this release.

Finally we arrive at leader class, and one that I've been anticipating for a long time, as well! The original Armada Megatron is a lot of fun, and the Combiner Wars version, though a dark horse that I didn't purchase until over six months after release, has gone on to become one of my favorite Transformer toys (https://basementinvasion.blogspot.com/2015/09/warlord.html). Still, both versions have their drawbacks and thus a true update to the original design was always warranted, and finally it's coming. Legacy Evolution Leader Armada Megatron has the faults you'd expect - mainly not really being worth the $55 you'd better pay or you'll never get it cheaper - but he does about what we've come to expect. Mini-con? No, but neither do the other Armada updates have them. Fully-featured? No, but enough where it counts. He does look great, and while I don't enjoy that he seems to have similar shoulder engineering to Legacy G2 Laser Optimus, it seems to be executed better here. I really do like the optional cannon-arm that he can use, though the original configuration is unique enough that I'll probably stick with that. The designers hinted at upcoming compatibility, presumably with some iteration of Tidal Wave, which would be terrific. I think the ideal there might be a Commander-class Weaponizer that updates the combined mode a bit (for example, give Megatron some lift boots). 

Fun fact: none I have yet to see an image, either official or from the recent trade show, depicting Megatron with his cannon in its normal attack configuration.

Kind of a boring shot, but the tank mode certainly looks the part. 

I really like this feature. A recent trade show confirmed that the right hand can do this as well. 

Incredible box art

And, of course, Megatron needs (indeed...) his nemesis, Legacy Evolution Commander Armada Optimus Prime! I think Optimus, overall, is executed better than Megatron is, and is really only lacking Sparkplug and/or Overrun and mini-con ports to be a perfect update. The original toy had a terrible set of legs for super mode, but since that mode has been prioritized this time over the base mode, the super mode is the star of the show. I could honestly be ok with them never updating Armada Jetfire to make a combined form with how good Optimus's super mode looks (though they should definitely remake Armada Jetfire, AND Overload while we're at it). I can't discount the core robot and vehicle modes either, both of which look wonderful. Honestly, my only real complaint is that the smokestack guns use the 3mm pegs rather than being big enough to have 5mm ports, but that's not too bad. Well, and I wish the base mode turret could elevate to a useful height for the core robot, but oh well. 

Sadly, Optimus has no "exiting the portal" image from what I could find.

Putting the smokestack guns on the main rifle/cannon is cool, but I wish they didn't have it for every super mode shot. 

This thing looks dense and heavy, and the cannon on time is wonderful.

I'll just decide that the base mode is meant for smaller characters (this wouldn't be an issue if he included a mini-con).

Absolutely loving the articulation for supermode. This mode used to be a bit of a joke, but now it's very impressive

The art has some wonkiness with the torso proportions and placement of the smokestacks, but overall it's a win

Finally, teased on the Legacy Evolution artwork back in September, we finally have Titan class Nemesis! I'm much more excited for this than I was for the Kingdom Titan class Ark - both the ship and robot modes look much more interesting. It's also the first female Titan toy to be released. The ship mode itself looks amazing, and while I don't have the same hangups about the robot mode that others may, the ship mode is definitely the better of the two. It's beautiful, and I really appreciate the folding ventral fin to allow for some display/landing options. Some folks also don't like the lack of a partner figure (most Titans - T30 Metroplex, Fort Max, Trypticon, Predaking and Omega Supreme to a lesser degree, Scorponok and the Ark - have had them), but between the narrower frame of the ship design plus the use of two of the wings as large weapons (which most Titans do NOT tend to have), I don't mind. What I DO mind, and is holding me back from preordering, is the price tag, which increased to $200 for Titans last year with Legacy Cybertron Metroplex. Nemesis will inevitably go on sale/clearance, and I'd much prefer to get it for $150 or less than the current price. I DO want it, though, so I may place a preorder just in case, and cancel as the ship date approaches. It's even got me thinking I should try to find the Ark to compliment it, though I don't really have room for two more Titans (it'll be tough just trying to space for the Nemesis). Still, I'm glad that Hasbro it confident enough to attempt something like this. I think the Ark was more of a slam dunk, as it's more iconic than the Nemesis, but the Nemesis is a much more visually interesting toy (to me).   

The only big negative I have in this mode is the above-elbow flaps. Those could have been done better. She looks terrific overall; I appreciate how different she looks compared to the Ark. 

Awesome shot. I love how committed the designers were to getting the ship mode down right.

The guns are...ok. I do think that her legs looks better with the guns on them as armor. But again, at least she has weapons.

Great landing mode for display versatility

This is one of my favorite shots. Ready for takeoff or incorporation into a rocket city/base mode display.

Always terrific art for Legacy/Evolution