Legacy: United
-Core class:
Not many releases over the year, thanks to wave 2 only adding BM Cheetor (which I still need to pick up). I think I'll have to go with Geocron. It's a fun mold, but the unique head and purple colors put it over Bouldercrash. I do love that both have a half-hearted weapon mode, hearkening back to the CW era toys of this size (commander class back then?).
Runner-up: Energon Megatron. Thus far, Energon has gotten the least representation from the recent UT revival, and with Megatron's simple design, he was a good choice for core class. He also has a lot in the way of accessory load out options, which makes him a good toy for fiddling with. Galvatron also looks good (last purchase of 2024, on 12/31), however, I think the green on Megatron is nicer than the almost cheddar yellow on Galvatron that should have been more of an orange. I do wish we'd had gotten his Optimus counterpart, and with core class absent for Age of the Primes, I don't know that we ever will.
-Deluxe class:
I think I have to go with Slipstream! Wind blade was the least appealing wave 1 deluxe, but I finally got a copy for my daughter earlier this year, and the mold was much more fun than I gave it credit for. Slipstream gives the mold a vastly improved deco - seriously, one of the best-painted deluxes in a long time - along with the new Seeker-style head and null-ray cannons. I do kind of wish it retained the sword from Windblade as well, but it's great as-is.
Runner-up: Quake, who is edged out by Slipstream mainly by virtue of her being a United-era new mold, while Quake's base mold of Skullgrin now has some age on it. Skullgrin really surprised me with how fun it is, and the G2 Cybertronian retool was even better, and Quake takes things to a new level yet again. I'm actually pretty happy with this style of targetmaster, having both Needlenose and Windsweeper, and the very different alt mode is weird but fun. The auto-aim "gimmick" can be a bit frustrating, but the fact that they got any kind of working turret out of this is pretty impressive. The robot mode is taller than the older toolings, which is interesting, and I love the leg transformation. Honorable mention for G1 Universe Optimus (the not-missing link toy), who is really cool and I hope we get more like him, but I'm just not going back to him like I am to Quake.
-Voyager class:
Actually very hard to choose a winner here, as all of them are pretty great. I think I have to come down on Animated Motormaster; the Optimus tooling was already amazing, and then they gave it an amazing deco. Incredibly fun transformation, best execution of the rocket axe, and good job capturing the Animated style within a blockier look.
Runner-up: here, I'll choose Thundertron. He mainly wins out because of how much better he is than the original toy, and it's kind of cool that a character formerly exclusive to a toyline and book got a brand new mold after so much time. I actually do prefer the headsculpt of the regular release, but I'll admit that the paint on the exclusive version looks great.
-Leader class:
Tigerhawk. He just has such great presence in robot mode, a great "angelic" counterpart to the diabolical Transmetal II Megatron. Alt mode is good enough, and I'm wondering were the hell a Universes Razorclaw repaint is (along with Cryotek!), but considering I never had the VW original, this is a terrific replacement. The purple over blue (show accuracy) is an interesting choice that I like. I highly recommend giving him the lightning effect from the Frankenstein crossover, as Tigerhawk's wrists can be mistransformed enough to make it look pretty good. Then pairing him with Bouldercrash or Geocron in weapon mode helps sell the "elemental warrior" idea from the show. But seriously, a Universe Razorclaw repaint stat.
Runner-up: Sandstorm. If Tigerhawk didn't have such an awesome robot mode, Sandstorm would have won first place (also notice that these two are the only new leader molds in the line). Sandstorm is one of the best triple changers ever, really. The two modes are quite distinct and going from one to the other is a lot of fun. It's held back a bit but the very finicky chest connection in robot mode, but I can get it to work with some doing. The winch accessory is a fun rarity in those times, as well. Armada Galvatron was a late purchase and comes close to winning out as well, and I can't ignore that I love having the Netflix Soundwave mold in plastic that hopefully won't yellow.
-Bigger toys:
I did buy both Magmatron and Omega Prime, but obviously the latter won't be shipped for at least some months from now. Magmatron is pretty great, though I do wish I had Tidal Wave. Magmatron make a good companion to Deathsaurus, though he does cry out for a rival Big Convoy, but there's no real sign of him on the horizon (speaking of which, we also need a BWII Galvatron). I will say it was nice to have a bit of a return to form with a larger commander. He's still not a giant like Jetfire or Skylynx, but he's certainly big enough.
-Exclusives:
Lots of good options! I will have to settle on Ferak. Objectively the least interesting Star Raider exclusive, he wins out largely due to the strengths of the Cyclonus mold, enhanced with some cool tweaks to both modes.
Runner-up: I think Filch. The base mold, again, is great already, and the colors and new parts really take this one a step above. Honorable mentions include Prime Cliffjumper (and the rest of his set, really), the two Deluxe Insecticons, and Treds.
Studio Series
-Core class:
Mohawk. The TLK Decepticons are a great but incomplete group, but Mohawk gets them one closer to completion, and with one of the more memorable characters to boot. The decapitation feature and knife accessory help it take the cake.
Runner-up: Concept "Rumble." Yes, I'm a RIBFIR guy. This is a fun little mold, great to fiddle with. I did recently pick up the red version, but I don't think they balanced the colors as well for him. I don't have Starscream yet, though he looks like a better toy for the design than the voyager mold.
-Deluxe class:
Lots of good options here, and I think I have to go with a tie between Scorponok and GE Deception Solider. They are both relatively simple for studio series (like, Scorponok doesn't really feel like he belongs to the same line as SS RotB Primal), but they are both just so fun. I'm convinced that Scorponok has a future as a base for an Alien crossover figure. I never got GE Barricade, but the Soldier is one of the more fun shell-formers of recent times.
Runner-up: again, another tie, this time better two TF: One releases. I think Megatron has a slight edge over Optimus just because I like the former's transformation better, but Optimus does a fair bit as one of the first deluxe Optimus toys in a while. I'm waiting for the inevitable exclusive two-pack with better colors (and probably more accessories), but for now these will do.
-Voyager class:
Only five releases, and I only have three of them, as I don't plan on buying BB Skywarp and I've seen, but not yet picked up, GE Ratchet (yet). Between GE Starscream, BB Shockwave and SS86 Scrapheap, I'll got with Shockwave. Yes, he suffers a bit from a lack of bicep swivels and he's really bad for waffled parts, but he is just a lot of fun to play with and transform. It's easy to give him a spider tank mode
Runner-up: probably Scrapheap. Both he and Junkheap have much more retooling than you'd think, and such that they are both more enjoyable than Wreck-Gar.
-Leader class:
BB Concept Megatron. Of similar quality to RotB Primal, this guy looks great and is one of my favorite G1-ish Megatrons of late. I actually really like both alt modes, though the plane is definitely a bit more finicky to arrange.
Runner-up: SS86 Springer. Mostly improves on the Siege mold, though at the expense of removing some ports. This, along with the use of tabs rather than posts on the new weapons (aside from the blue rifle's handle), does make it difficult to satisfactorily arrange the weapons in any of the modes. I do like the return to a rotor sword, but the handle is small enough that it's loose, and of course the joints don't allow it to look natural in alt mode.
-Commander class:
Only the second year of SS commander class, Optimus is much more appealing than last year's Magnus that I skipped out on. Of course, he does follow the pattern of many commander releases that are ultimately expensive Voyager (maybe leader) class toys that include a trailer, at the very least this trailer feels like the definitive version that we could expect from a modern non-MP line. Optimus himself is a treat, with a very interesting but fun transformation that made a more Sunbow-style bot mode appealing to me where similar MP figures hadn't done so before. I do wish the axe was a bit larger and was made of hard plastic. Also, this trend of giving rifles short port handles is a bad one, and the alternative method to attach the rifle in truck mode doesn't work very well. Aside from these and probably a few other minor issues, this is a great release, only really held back by the price necessitated by the trailer.
-Exclusives:
Studio series was very light on exclusives this year, to the point that I didn't buy any. I should have gotten SS86 Blaster, if only to have a solid plastic cassette for him. The others didn't interest me.
Generations: Comic Edition
-Straxus is the easy winner here. I'd already been a fan of the Galvatron mold, and with the changes made here, I think they improved it. My only real complaint is the lack of blast effect compatibility for the main cannon barrel and how it looks a bit awkward as a standalone weapon. The axe looks incredible. The comic deco effects, which for Grimlock an Shockwave were a deterrent, work much better on Straxus. One of the best retools in a long time.
Runner-up: I don't have any of the other comic releases, but if I did, I'd pick Xaaron/Flame. Shockwave and Grimlock have some cool accessories, but I don't like the colors on Grimlock, and Shockwave seems overpriced without his Siege armor.
There's a ton I didn't pick up and wish I had, and may yet still do so. Still, United may have been the strongest phase of Legacy, and Studio Series got an interesting new tack with the concept art figures. Age of the Primes will be with us soon, for which I'm very excited!
