Transformers Toys - Then & Now
Written
on 3/7/07
To be completely honest, I never played with Transformers as a kid; it was a little out of my age range. Being a cartoon junkie, I was aware more of the TV show than the action figures. So, I think I can give a fairly unbiased opinion on the new toy line as compared to the old. What I will try and hold myself to in this review is that I am reviewing the toys, not the actual movie (which was a blast!).
Bumblebee Now:
The toy collector in me is partial to the originals – I feel they are some of the most complex ingenious toys ever made. Don't count out the movie toy line from Hasbro though; many of the new action figures are very successful reconceived/redesigned to reel in the youngsters. There are also a few new robots in the film, but I have not seen any toys relating to those characters just yet. Just a tip if you are going to pick up an Optimus Prime, he is made up of the front cab section only there is no trailer, so he is considerably smaller. OP is also the closest in spirit (plus flames) to the originals. I guess the furthest from the original is Megatron. He looks nothing like a weapon of any sort; but he looks kind of bad ass! There is a certain icicle and stalactite look to him, which lends itself to him being frozen in Antarctica for so long (or is that the actual form that he is supposed to be?). For those of you that are looking for details in the movie, there is a point in the final battle where his arm transforms into a mega weapon – obviously a throwback to the original toy.
Bumblebee Then:
The new toys are light in weight due to the lack of metal parts – a minus in my book. The plus for the new toy line are the reconceived figures (Bumblebee, Ironhide, Ratchet). Bumblebee so far only has one toy released for him, whereas in the movie he gets updated to a new Camaro – so I am hoping for an additional toy to be released. The slightly updated figures like Jazz and Starscream have their own charms. Starscream looks pretty mean and aggressive in robot form. Also, the newer toys have triple the amount of articulation points; a plus for pose ability, a minus for the life of the toy – they will be easier to break.
Optimus Now:
I will let you fans duke it out on the old vs. the new (most of us all favor the old). Its not as if the toys haven't been with us since the 1980's – Hasbro has been pumping out G1 reissues since the early 90's, and numerous Star Wars tie ins since 1999.
The toy collector in me is partial to the originals – I feel they are some of the most complex ingenious toys ever made. Don't count out the movie toy line from Hasbro though; many of the new action figures are very successful reconceived/redesigned to reel in the youngsters. There are also a few new robots in the film, but I have not seen any toys relating to those characters just yet. Just a tip if you are going to pick up an Optimus Prime, he is made up of the front cab section only there is no trailer, so he is considerably smaller. OP is also the closest in spirit (plus flames) to the originals. I guess the furthest from the original is Megatron. He looks nothing like a weapon of any sort; but he looks kind of bad ass! There is a certain icicle and stalactite look to him, which lends itself to him being frozen in Antarctica for so long (or is that the actual form that he is supposed to be?). For those of you that are looking for details in the movie, there is a point in the final battle where his arm transforms into a mega weapon – obviously a throwback to the original toy.
The new toys are light in weight due to the lack of metal parts – a minus in my book. The plus for the new toy line are the reconceived figures (Bumblebee, Ironhide, Ratchet). Bumblebee so far only has one toy released for him, whereas in the movie he gets updated to a new Camaro – so I am hoping for an additional toy to be released. The slightly updated figures like Jazz and Starscream have their own charms. Starscream looks pretty mean and aggressive in robot form. Also, the newer toys have triple the amount of articulation points; a plus for pose ability, a minus for the life of the toy – they will be easier to break.
I will let you fans duke it out on the old vs. the new (most of us all favor the old). Its not as if the toys haven't been with us since the 1980's – Hasbro has been pumping out G1 reissues since the early 90's, and numerous Star Wars tie ins since 1999.
