On July 4, 2007, the Transformers returned to the big screen. This page will
holds reviews for the movie-line transforming toys (see the Artifacts page for
other merchandise) related to the first movie, see the Revenge of the Fallen page for toys from the
second movie.
Toys with names in italics rated worse than "Mildly Recommended" while
those in boldface are "Strongly Recommended" or better.
- Wave 1: AKA Series 7 of Legends. Supposedly a $4
price point, good luck finding 'em that cheap. Bumblebee, Barricade,
Autobot Jazz, Autobot Ratchet. Barricade's the only one worth
bothering with.
- Wave 2: AKA Series 8. Optimus Prime and Megatron.
- Wave 3: Series 9, includes Prime and Megatron
reships, plus Starscream and Blackout.
- Versus Wave 1: Under AllSpark Battles trade dress,
they've switched to packing them in Autobot vs. Decepticon packs, reminiscent
of the Mini-Con recolors in Cybertron. This wave includes Cliffjumper
(Bumblebee recolor) vs. Recon Barricade (Barricade recolor), Autobot Jazz
(minor recoloring) vs. Bonecrusher (new mold), and Rescue Ratchet (Autobot
Ratchet recolor) vs. Decepticon Brawl (new mold).
- Versus Wave 2: Nightwatch Optimus Prime vs. Stealth
Starscream (both recolors), Ironhide (new mold) vs. Desert Blackout (Blackout
recolor). Megatron's the only non-versus release to not get a recolor so
far. And only one new character in this wave, all the recolors are "same
guy, different paint job". At least Wave 1 gave us Cliffjumper. I expect a
lot of people will just call Nightwatch Prime "Ultra Magnus" because of the
blue and white scheme, and Stealth Starscream will be Skywarp because he's
black.
- Versus Wave 3: Bumblebee (battle damage recolor)
vs. Scorponok (new mold), Battle Jazz (battle damage recolor) vs. Ice
Megatron (replace black with metallic blue, mainly). Only got the BB/Scorpy
set. I've got enough Jazz and Megatron Legends toys already, and neither is
really different enough to entice me. Scorponok is really good, though, if a
touch floppy in beast mode.
- Real Gear Robots Wave 1: Speed Dial 800 (cell phone),
Power Up VT6 (portable game player), Longview (binoculars), Spy Shot 6
(camera), Booster x10 (MP3 player/dictation recorder), Zoom Out 25x
(videocamera). I modded Speed Dial
800 a little.
- Real Gear Robots Wave 2: Meantime (watch) and High Score
100 (game controller), shipping with more of Boost x10 and Zoom 25x.
- Real Gear Robots Wave 3: Wire Tap V20 (recolor of Speed
Dial 800), Night Beat 7 (recolor of Booster X10). Shipping with more of
Meantime and High Score 100.
- Real Gear Robots Wave 4: Highline 1070 (Speed Dial
recolor), Hacker X3 (Power Up recolor) and Photon T-34 (Spy Shot
recolor). Hacker has a cool bio note, Photon a great mold and nifty recolor,
and Highline...is pretty much just for completists.
- Real Gear Robots Wave 5: Farsight T-20 (Longview
recolor), Midnighter XR-4 (Meantime recolor), Twitcher F451 (High Score 100
recolor). Nothing to get too excited about, and hard to find as well.
- Zoom Out 25X is the only one not to get redeco'ed. He has a seething
resentment of Speed Dial, who got two redecos. I may need to buy a spare and
repaint it just so Zoom Out doesn't feel left out.
- Cyber Slammers Wave 1: Bumblebee, Barricade, Optimus
Prime. For now, expect only Barricade, but I may get the others on clearance
later.
- Cyber Slammers Wave 2: Decepticon Brawl, Autobot
Ratchet.
- Sector 7 Wave 2: Recolors of older Scout class toys
as Target exclusives. Strongarm, Skyblast and Clocker. Also has some notes
about Wave 1, which I didn't buy (Arcee, Hardtop and Signal Flare).
- Sector 7 Wave 3: More recolors. Air Raid (Skyblast
mold), Elita-One (Arcee mold), Armorhide (now in black).
- Sector 7 Wave 4: Another brace of recolors, now
with AllSpark Power motifs. Warpath (Cyb. Overhaul), Storm Surge
(Shortround) and Crosshairs (Energon Strongarm, not fully reviewed).
- Protoforms: In movie parlance, the "protoform" is a
non-disguise mode that they assume for space travel, and which looks vaguely
like an asteroid or comet. Optimus Prime and Starscream are the only
protoforms expected for pre-movie release.
- Regular Wave 1: Autobot Jazz, Bumblebee, Barricade,
Swindle, Bonecrusher, Brawl, Wreckage, Scorponok. Normal
Deluxe-type toys.
- Regular Wave 2: Arcee, 2009 Concept Bumblebee,
Dreadwing.
- Regular Wave 3: Recon Barricade (guest-reviewed),
Final Battle Jazz, Payload, Dropkick, Longarm.
- Regular Wave 4: AKA AllSpark Power Wave 1.
Cliffjumper (Concept Camaro recolor), Autobot Camshaft (Swindle recolor),
Landmine (Desert Patrol Vehicle) and Stockade (SUV). Cliffjumper not
reviewed.
- Regular Wave 5: Stealth Bumblebee (Concept Camaro
recolor with new head), Salvage (Dropkick recolor), Overcast (Dreadwing
recolor, not reviewed), Premium Jazz (not reviewed), Premium Barricade (not
reviewed). Dio Soth's notes on the Premium Barricade.
- Target Exclusive G1-Deco Jazz: Slight remold, color
scheme homaging G1 Jazz.
- Wal-Mart Exclusive redecos: A mix of new characters and homages wedged
into the movie universe. Some of the homages are a bit oblique. Unless
otherwise mentioned, they're redecos of Cybertron toys.
- Wave 1: Divebomb (Thundercracker), Grindcore
(Landmine), Jolt (Crosswise) and Big Daddy (Downshift).
- Wave 2: Decepticon Fracture (Classics Mirage),
Breakaway (Hot Shot), Crankcase (Red Alert/Cannonball version).
- Fast Action Battlers Wave 1: These have simplified
transformations and seem aimed at younger kids. Ironhide, Autobot Jazz,
Autobot Ratchet, Optimus Prime, Brawl, Starscream. I only reviewed Ratchet,
Brawl and Starcream. Updated 8/27/07 with guest review of Ironhide (Japanese
version).
- Fast Action Battlers Wave 2: Megatron, Frenzy, Blackout
and Bumblebee reviewed. Wave also contains Barricade (guest-reviewed).
- Fast Action Battlers Wave 3: All recolors. Smokescreen
(Jazz), Ramjet (Starscream), a Rodimus-style recolor of Optimus Prime, and a
G2 Gobot/Spychanger Ironhide recolor of Ironhide called Pulse Cannon
Ironhide.
- Fast Action Battlers Wave 4: Another all recolor wave.
Review of Desert Blast Brawl. Also in the wave are Rescue Torch Ratchet,
Rally Rocket Bumblebee and Night Attack Megatron.
- Robot Replicas Wave 1: Non-transforming action
figures with Revoltech-style joints. $11 price point, although most stores
dropped it to $10 later. Bumblebee, Megatron and Barricade.
- Robot Replicas Wave 2: Optimus Prime, Frenzy
(no revoltech-style joints), Jazz.
Not an official size class, but anything sold for $15 or
closer to that than to $10 or $20 will go here.
- IR R/C Transformers: Radio Shack exclusives, little
"forward or reverse-and-turn" Spychangers, basically. Covers Barricade and
Bumblebee, avoid Optimus Prime.
- T.E.C.H. Wave 1: Transformers Electronic Combat
Hardware, a roleplay weapon thing that turns into something innocuous (if
sometimes way too bulky to be what it's supposed to be. Wave 1 is Digital
Dagger (cellphone/energy dagger) and Quick Bow (PDA/crossbow). Review
covers just Digital Dagger.
- T.E.C.H. Wave 2: Flash Bang (reviewed), a
spotlight/chibi Sten gun and Tight Shot (not reviewed), a
videocamera/blaster. I like Flash Bang.
- Voyager Wave 1: Might be two waves compressed by
street date effects. Starscream, Autobot Ratchet, Blackout, Ironhide.
- Voyager Wave 2: Just Megatron-in-ice and a re-ship
of Autobot Ratchet.
- Voyager Wave 3: Megatron-in-ice and the regular Voyager Optimus Prime,
which is RoboVision Prime with non-shiny gray plastics and a slightly
different paint job.
- Voyager Wave 4: Thundercracker (Starscream remold
with new head) and Rescue Ratchet (G1-style repaint). I finally got Rescue
Ratchet when it was on sale, and there's a guest review of Thundercracker.
- Voyager Wave 5: Or AllSpark Power Voyager Wave 1.
Evac (Blackout recolor and remold), First Strike Optimus Prime (G1 themed
recolor), Offroad Ironhide (blue recolor with mud marks), Incinerator.
- Voyager Wave 6: Premium Ironhide and Premium Blackout. I'm not buying or
reviewing these, but I'm told that the paint on Premium Scorponok (which
looks nifty on the package) comes off easily.
- RoboVision Optimus Prime: An exclusive color scheme
and packaging, plus available a wave ahead of the regular version. Review
also includes codes for Target's RoboVision online content.
- G1 Redeco Starscream: Another Target exclusive, but
not RoboVision. This is actually the Thundercracker mold given a G1
Starscream color job.
- Deep Space Starscream: Yet another Target
exclusive, a sort of tail-end charlie. The original Starscream mold given a
more movie-accurate paint job and metallics. Guest comments by Diosoth.
- Cyber Stompin' Wave 1: Bumblebee, Optimus
Prime. Non-transforming gimmick-platforms aimed at younger kids and
rougher play.
- Screen Battles Wave 1: Screen Battles takes Deluxe
toys, tweaks them, and adds extra figures (usually humans) so scenes from the
movie can be re-enacted. Wave 1 is Final Stand (Longarm with damaged
Bumblebee) and First Encounter (Barricade with Sam, Mikaela and Frenzy).
- Screen Battles Wave 2: Desert Attack (Scorponok and three U.S. soldiers)
and Capture of Bumblebee (Concept Camaro Bumblebee with three Sector 7
guys). Didn't buy either of these.
- Converting Arm Blasters: Vehicles that turn into Nerf-firing gauntlets.
$30.
- Optimus Prime Voice-Changer Helmet: $30, fits adults.
Even (more or less) over glasses.
- AllSpark Blasters: Mode-shifting sound-and light weapons that include a
faux fist as part of the grip. They don't transform into vehicles, but into
other tools. No missiles, Nerf or otherwise, just light and sound. $20
price point.
- Rescue Ratchet AllSpark Blaster: Turns from a searchlight into a
blaster. Out in stores, but I'm not getting it unless I find it on deep
clearance. The faux fist makes for a tight fit on the grip for adult-sized
hands. See Bumblebee review for some comments.
- Bumblebee AllSpark Blaster: Changes from Laser Blaster
to Plasma Blaster. Yeah, kinda stretching the "transforming" concept here.
Much better fit for adult hands, and some nice gimmicks. Updated 10/24/08
with a late observation.
- Wave 1: Optimus Prime and Megatron.
- Wave 2: Brawl. Not a leader in the character sense,
but a big guy with Advanced Automorph.
- Wave 3: Nightwatch Optimus Prime (blue and white recolor) and Desert Camo
Brawl. Not getting either recolor, although I know some people are passing
on regular Leader Brawl and waiting for this one.
- Ultimate Bumblebee: Loaded with gimmicks and
electronics, this is the high end of the line, with a shelf price of around
$90. The transformation isn't as complex as the previous toy at this size,
in part due to the extensive gimmicks. Finally got it for $35 due to a
Wal-Mart computer error, and I think I paid too much. Significant content
borrowed (with permission) from Chris McFeely's post to the AllSpark.
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