Starting things off with the Matrix of Leadership, I honestly don't mind this so much. Granted, it's pretty predictable of a choice from Hasbro, but if you're going to sell role-play merch for older collectors, this makes perfect sense as a Transformers release. While we have had a few Matrices for our human scale in the past, such as Diamond Select's 2006 release, as well as the likes of Icon Heroes and CultureFly, this is the first one to be made from Hasbro in-house. This Matrix can not only open like in the movie, but sound effects and The Touch can play with a hopefully clear speaker. It's even possible to display the Matrix with the lights on at all times with a USB plug, much like what many Iron Man figures from Hot Toys use. That being said, the first issue I have is that there isn't much paint for the silver pieces or the display base. While the gold should be enough for most, we have to consider that we're paying $125+ for something that is meant to be the quality between a Commander and a Titan. And sure, those mostly don't get complete coats of paint, but for something meant to be in a similar style to what we got with the Marvel Legends and Star Wars Black Series roleplay merch, this is honestly closer to what we had with the Lightning Collection Dragon Dagger in terms of paint (and presumably the other Ranger weapons we got but I can't verify). That, and who knows if the stand will be fairly robust or be a flimsy, cheaper plastic material. I also have concerns regarding whether or not the damn thing will open properly, given that sometimes the mechanisms could get stuck or something may not line up right. Regardless, this could be a decent pickup at a lower price, but now I wonder what else can be done for a role-play item? Transformers' weapons aren't iconic enough on their own unless they're held or attached to their owners, so what other thing can we get out of a brand primarily reliant on action figures? I think the Allspark would make sense given next year is the 20th anniversary of the 2007 film, but that will depend on whether Hasbro will actually give it some proper attention and not do any other 1986 crap.
And now we're about to talk about one of the most frustrating things regarding the most recent wave of figures: the repacks. Let's quickly go over the Target-exclusive MTMTE options. I don't have a problem with them doing Leader versions of Optimus and Megatron in their battle-damaged forms. I mean, sure, we can complain about how they are far from deserving a price tag that's higher than their Prime Wars versions, but the figures are at least still good for the most part, and I appreciate it when they try to add something new into the mix. Do Prime's cracked windows look amateur at best? Yes. Is it stupid how this Megatron has the more accurate shades of dark grey for most of him and more accurate lower leg coloring? Of course. But for people who want to display them in their final battle before they tremble at their knees and cry over the 40-year-old trauma, you can do much worse. And as for one positive I can say, paying for that Optimus likely beats the near Commander Class price point for the Skybound version that ironically was announced before this retool, yet all it has is just a new arm and head. For once, that made me actually hate seeing an Optimus toy go on the offense. I still question why Megatron keeps all of his accessories while including the new pistol yet Prime only has his gun and Matrix. I know he has the stake that goes on his torso, but were the axe and blast effects meant for him launching not available?
And now we delve into the duality of the Voyager releases for the subline: Hot Rod and Scourge. The former at least tries doing a few new things to make it unique from the 2021 release, such as the magenta color scheme, replacing the blast effects with his fishing rod, bootleg lightsaber, and XS-sized shield, and making some of the unpaintable plastic the same color as the rest of him after fans complained about the glaring issue with the yellow breaking up the old release's red. Oh, and the Matrix is unpainted, but I'm sure Hasbro knows you got other Matrices lying around at this point. Seriously, we used to go from an Optimus or an equivalent character coming with a Matrix almost yearly (ignoring re-releases and sculpted details on some releases) to having it pop up every week and month. Sadly, the figure is said to have had some molding problems, as well as there being pieces coming off on some copies. As for Scourge, I guess it is neat to see him return for anyone who missed out, but I'm positive he and his Sweep were still on shelves for a good while compared to Hot Rod. I would rather see an improved Cyclonus instead, but it is said he will pop up in a later wave if any 2026 listings are true. We'll see what happens.
And now we delve into the world of stupid decisions Hasbro pulls off...Sunstreaker, Wheeljack, and Hound each getting a single box release after being in the expensive 5-pack for Legacy United. I think it'a a win-lose scenario for more than two ways. Anyone who got these will either be happy to save money or mad they spent more money getting everyone instead of just the ones they wanted; likewise, those who never got these versions of the characters will either be happy they can cherry pick easily or get mad they haven't done updated versions of everyone. Honestly, I would rather see new molds for Sunstreaker and Hound; Wheeljack mostly needs longer robot mode wings but is generally fine. The annoying thing about these is the supposed rumblings of there being a "Studio Series 84" for the 45th anniversary of the brand, and with how much Hasbro likes to stalk the echo chambers of online forums, I guarantee you there will be something like that before they even grow the balls to make Skids and Mudflap.
So they reissue versions of three characters most of us already got, so what? Well, the problem stems from the fact that not too long ago, we got a reissue of Sunstreaker for the Earthrise line. Same mold, only in the mismatching yellow between the molded plastic parts and the rooftop. I guess he is good for completionists of the entire figure selection we got since 2019, but okay, him being a Target exclusive saves him in addition to being a normal reissue that doesn't affect the current AOTP/SS lines.
What does that make for Wheeljack's situation? Even worse given how we had a Devastation version of himself a year prior!!!! I don't care if he was part of a slightly different version of G1, and I don't care if he was a Target exclusive! This is still part of the same Studio Series line up, and barely a year since we got this they decide to sell the 2024 version in a single pack. At least have it be a dead Jackie just for shits and giggles! Hell, I would rather have Blurr get rereleased so we can fix his head sculpt given some fans complained about it; at least he was a prominent character in the movie and not a guy who we only saw in his dead state!
The Deluxes are already uninspired as they are, right? What about the Voyagers? I'll only talk about Shockwave since he is either a new mold using Siege's engineering or is a heavy retool. At first, this figure seems like a great idea; the other main G1 Decepticons have been given consistent molds for the SS86 aesthetics and thus don't have to deal with any scale or detail inconsistencies, and Shockwave being the fourth character to get this treatment means we can easily phase out the Siege/Earthrise molds, right? The first red flag comes with the figure not having a size bump like everyone else, meaning he is stuck in the same height as the Siege version. Up next, being a heavy retool means he doesn't have anything new to offer compared to the other characters. Granted, Shockwave is a simple design yo work with, but what good would you get from reusing the core robot mode of a character who was a Leader? Speaking of, we trade in the battle armor for a measley mini version of himself?! I don't care if the Siege armor was hated by some fans for the whole "price bump" aspect, at least it offered different play patterns and alternate display options when you integrate the parts on him. Also, why not use the budget normally allotted for two articulated hands so we can have him receive a fully articulated right hand that lets him point and salute to Megatron? The price serves as the final nail in the expensive yet smaller coffin when you consider it's only about 5-7 bucks less than what the Siege version went for in 2019, and that's even if we talk about the high chance it was heavily discounted! Is it really worth spending $45+ for this thing?! The only good thing is that he can combine with Bruticus as a shoulder cannon, but this figure is wasted potential all around.
The worst had yet to come, and now it's here. This is the new version of Astrotrain meant to replace the totally awful Siege version according to some fans. And when I say that, I question why fans would suddenly shit on that figure and praise this malnourished excuse of a Leader Class. We went from a fairly stumpy yet still good bot mode with armor attachments that suck the most in robot mode to a robot mode that looks like pure ass and everything wrong with how Hasbro handles Leaders today. Oh sure, we get the option for a tailfin tie look for the chest, and the cufflinks work in train more, whoopdeefuckingdoo. Why is his chest nothing but hideous hinges? Why are his arms so skinny Unicron could smoke them from.being no thicker than a cigarette to him?? Why does he look leaner than he should be when he's usually given some bulk with his character model??? WHERE DID ALL THE BUDGET GO?!?!?! Oh and how convenient that only NOW we get blast effect parts on a Leader Class figure when barely anyone else gets to use them. Thanks for the consistency, Hasbro. I don't even want to get this on clearance, it's THAT bad. Oh and how clever of Hasbro to reissue Snarl in the same wave, aka the same Dinobot who was only in one or two frames for the whole movie (even if he is a better toy).
As one would expect, we got A-Level figures to expect this year...again. No, we don't have different characters for the selection, what kind of question is that when all we get are Optimus Primes and Bumblebees?! Oh but this time, we get an Orion Pax so that would make it a bit different, right? Sadly, it barely saves the figure. The harvesting device looks awesome, and the gold with silver/gunmetal makes it even more badass than it has any right to be. I'm getting Cybertron Metroplex vibes if he ever went Super Saiyan (or used his Cyber Key power to the max). I also love the map piece representing the planet Cybertron, which I bet it would be repurposed for other figures. And hey, at least we don't have to use those Prime Changer versions of Optimus and turn him into Orion Pax, right? Unfortunately, positives end from here on out; the alt mode has the thighs exposed in a way comparable to Classics Deluxe Optimus, it's just as bad as the exposed fists from the 2024 Deluxe of this same iteration. I also have to question why the wheels and ankles had to be molded in red plastic, especially if they stand out even more on top of the grey and blue. It would be fine if they were fast in grey or black, but seeing them as they are, I bet Hasbro used the term "affordable" in reference to how cheap the toy is to produce than it is for consumers to buy. The proportions in a vanilla pose also seem off compared to the CG model: I know Orion was meant to have this halfway point aspect between his cogless form and his Prime look, but the way it turned out here has him look as if he has his pants pulled up way too high.
Even the scale sucks for this toy, as he ends up being BETWEEN the heights of Elita-1 and B-127. It already makes no sense that the TFOne characters are going to tower over most iterations of these characters for any legitimate reason (other than them wanting to make them larger than life in scale than in personality because the writers of the film are uninspired), but to have Orion Pax be slightly shorter than the corporate-Hollywood girlboss bitch is another painful reminder at how lousy the scale works in TFOne. All of this could have been avoided by canceling the movie and flipping off the "animation = cinema" twerps making Prime and Megs proper Voyagers so they can tower over the official figures we have that can be reused as Orion and D-16 instead. However, Hasbro can take that inevitable D-16 and shove it up their tailpipes.
I do feel a bit terrible for not planning to pick up Devastation Bumblebee. I love the design he has in that game, and this figure manages to look cooler than past G1 Bees we got since 2020. However, after just getting SS86 Bee and stickering him up, I want that to be the last CHUG-scale Bee for me. And while I would want to get this figure since he is the best of the Devastation releases, who else would I want to get if they're either repaints I already have versions of or a shitty Optimus? I doubt we'll even get Grimlock as a Deluxe, so I'd rather wait this be retooled as Cliffjumper.
I guess that about wraps it up. If anyone wonders, I do plan to get Kranix, even if he is more of a glup shitto than any Bayverse D-lister, and Skywarp to naturally have Seeker synergy. Grimlock will get reviewed but I am worried about the price given that Titans got a bit more expensive, and who knows if he will be worth it after seeing the way Star Convoy turned out. I wish I could as much from Studio Series as I will with Age of the Primes, but at least I can show some Bayverse love in other methods: retro reviews!
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