Lots of redecos, at least initially....
Bolded names got Strongly Recommended, while italic indicates a
rating of neutral or worse.
Tiny Titans get tweaked, with the ability to transform. Still simple and
underpainted, but slightly more worth the price.
- Wave 1: Bumblebee (yellow and black variants),
Grimlock (gold and black variants), Crosshairs, Sideswipe, Optimus Prime,
Hound, Blackout, Starscream (RotF), Soundwave (DotM), Lockdown.
After going away for a movie, they've brought back this size class, with the
same upgunned pricing and heavy use of old molds as the Premier classes.
- Wave 1: Optimus Prime (blue redeco of the DotM mold), Bumblebee (yet
another color scheme on one of the older molds), Grimlock (another Prime
Rippersnapper redeco, this one movie-based), Barricade (Prime
Prowl/Smokescreen mold redeco). I did end up getting some of these on
clearance, but really, I've reviewed these molds enough.
- Wave 2: Megatron (space jet), Crosshairs (not quite
Corvette Stingray), Drift (not quite Mercedes-Benz AMG). The latter two are
reportedly abandoned 2014 molds.
- TRU Exclusive Infernocus: Redecos of the
limbs from Transformers Prime's Abominus set, with a new torso and weapon.
New core figure is Skulk (no beast mode), limbs are Rupture (Windrazor),
Infernocon Thrash (Twinstrike), Gorge (Blight), and Glug (Rippersnapper).
Also has a Quintessa minifigure.
- Legion Leftovers: A couple from wave 1 I got on deep
clearance (Grimlock, Barricade), two of the three Autobots United
two-packs from Ross (Optimus Prime and Ravenspar, Megatron and Decepticon
Berserker).
- Wave 3: Autobot Hound, Dragonstorm. Never really
made it to regular retail, but I found them at Ross.
Renaming the One-Step Changers.
- Wave 1: Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Hound, Barricade. Pretty sure all but
Barricade are redecos of AoE toys. I don't plan to get any of these.
- Wave 2: Decepticon Berserker (more of a pickup than an SUV), Grimlock
(redeco of AoE version), Megatron (space jet).
Don't plan to get Berserker or Grimlock.
More from the non-transforming Titan Hero design team, they continue to
transform pretty badly and look and feel cheap in both modes. $15 price
point for figures 10-11 inches tall.
- Wave 1: Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. Looked bad enough in-package I
didn't buy either.
- Wave 2: Megatron. Looked passable enough in-package I gave it a try, but
it's still pretty bad. Avoid.
- Premier Wave 1: Barricade (new mold), Decepticon
Berserker (new mold), Bumblebee (AoE mold redeco, not reviewed), Slash (AoE
mold redeco, not reviewed). More expensive because they come in a box rather
than on a card. Or something. Prices dropped a bit around the time the
movie came out.
- TRU Exclusive Wave 1: Skullitron (pretool
of Steelbane, dragon), Megatron (retool of the T30 stealth bomber). All in
all, a disappointing assortment.
- Walmart Exclusive Hot Rods: Legion class and Deluxe
both reviewed. Deluxe has been spotted at other stores, but mine had a
Walmart Exclusive sticker on it. Both toys are worth picking up. Later
updated with capsules for the Turbo Changer two-pack (BB and Hot Rod), and
the Hot Rod Flip-and-Change toy, neither of which is anywhere near worth full
price.
- Premier Wave 2: Steelbane (Skullitron
mold-mate with new head), Dinobot Slug (redeco of AoE toy, not reviewed),
Autobot Drift (major retool of AoE mold), Autobot Sqweeks (scooter with
trailer, total scalper bait). This wave finally got decent shelf space with
the Christmas season surge.
- Premier Wave 3: Even worse than wave 2 in terms of
availability. Cogman (Headmaster and scalper-bait), new Bumblebee mold,
Strafe (redeco of AoE version, not reviewed), and Crosshairs (very slight
redeco of AoE version, not reviewed).
- Premier Edition Wave 1: Longnose Optimus Prime (new
mold), Grimlock (definitely a redeco) with slightly better than usual paint.
Started at $30 everywhere, started creeping downward later on. I waited
until Optimus was $27 before buying it.
- Premier Wave 2: Megatron (space jet),
Autobot Hound (Unimog military truck).
- Premier Edition Wave 3: Decepticon Nitro (aka Nitro
Zeus, jet fighter), Scorn (Spinosaur).
Basically the Hyperchanger/Flip-And-Change class, Voyager sized but One-Step
complexity. These all seem to have "Knight Armor" flip-out helmets. $20
price point.
- Wave 1: Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Grimlock. While they may share some
basic engineering with the AoE Smash&Change versions, they're definitely new
molds.
- Wave 2: Adds in Megatron (space jet).
I have largely gone off the larger sizes.
- Leader Wave 1: Optimus Prime (not sure if it's a new mold or not, but not
interested), Megatron (about as good as the Voyager,
but more expensive).
- Leader Wave 2: Either reships plus Dragonstorm
(two robot knights named Stormreign and Dragonicus combine into a
three-headed dragon), or just Dragonstorm, depending on the specific case
lot. Yes, this seems to follow the naming convention of the PRiD crash
combiners....
- TRU Exclusives: "Mission to Cybertron" two-pack with redecos of DotM
Deluxe Optimus Prime and the first movie protoform Optimus for $40, a redeco
of Primus (from the Cybertron line) for $150.
- Masterpiece Optimus Prime: $100 super-detailed movie Optimus.
- Guest review: Dancing Sqweeks: Dio Soth picked
up one of these several years later and sent me a review.
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