iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

TRANSFORMERS AGE OF THE PRIMES MEGAZARAK Lean mean killing machine! Review in alt!

Review 1256
TRANSFORMERS AGE OF THE PRIMES MEGAZARAK

Listen, despite its flaws, I love the Legacy armada megatron mold, and while i should've taken diaclonas advice and waited for a sale on this guy, as both megatron and galvatron went on deep clearance after a year or so... i couldn't help myself! Its a cool toy in an absolutely awesome deco based on a botcon toy of a cruel decepticon leader who hunts down matrix bearers across the universe! So its appropriate they released this guy in a line about primes!
But yeah we've seen this thing a few times already pretty faithful to the OG armada mold, albiet all his spring loaded gimmicks are gutted, and his shoulders are strangly limited, with the treads locked in place in the upright position and the shoulders only move in the space beneath them, it still sucks but it could be worse, and honestly articulation elsewhere is great, and the shoulders have just enough range i can deal with it! And tank mode is still peak H-tank, all aggression and coated in awesome scumptwork and paint apps, and that turret than can't to a full 360 for whatever reason but oh well. At least he's still got this blast effect posrts all over him... damn i miss this, its clear hasbro doesn't care anymore as many new figures dont even get a blast effect compatible weapon anymore when its super easy and unintrusive to include...
But the most stellar thing about this toy has got to be that deco! The deep rich glossy black broken up with vibrant red and teal and metallic purple, its a godly combination on a set robot. Honestly making him my favorite iteration of the mold! Followed by galvatron and his Anime-esque goodness!

So yeah! Absolutely smitten with this release! And if you enjoy this mold already, you'll have a great time with this version! Its so badass!!!

040

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

TRANSFORMERS STUDIO SERIES AGE OF EXTINCTION BUMBLEBEE Hes got a lot on going on, leave him be! Review in alt!

Review 1255
TRANSFORMERS STUDIO SERIES AGE OF EXTINCTION BUMBLEBEE

Ah yes! This guys been quite the topic of debate amongst the Fandom lately hasn't he? Him and his chonky gappy legs which... yes, they are those, but not egregiously so! While they're significantly plumper than they should be and mess with the silhouette a tad, I feel they aren't figure damning by any means, especially given all the things this toy has to accomplish with the impossible task of converting Micheal Bays convoluted post trilogy live action design philosophies into a transforming toy at the deluxe budget. Storing the majority of the vehicle inside the legs is a clever solution and in my opinion turned out better than many SS figures that just leave the entire hood on the back of the figure.
Otherwise you got a great robot mode out of the deal! With excellent sculpt all around, passable articulation, and good hand feel most importantly! I have no worries about him breaking unlike my other SS bees that feel thin as fuck! Could he have used more paint? Definitely! But I get it the budget was needed elsewhere...
Needlto say the transformation on this thing is insane! The amount of mass management to fold up three quarters of the alt mode inside the shins is quite impressive, and while its confusing how it all fits together the first time you do it, once you got it its quite fun to do! And the alt mode is near perfect! Besides some obvious pins on top, it just looks like a solid camero!

I quite like him! None of the quirks shown here are enough to ruin him, with trade offs thay I feel are quite worth it! Well as worth it as a deluxe can be nowadays!

000

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

TRANSFORMERS THE ULTIMATE BATTLE 2006 2-PACK! Now dedicated to Peter Cullen, the legend who made Prime the icon he is today. Reviews in alts!

Review 1254
TRANSFORMERS CLASSICS THE ULTIMATE BATTLE OPTIMUS PRIME & MEGATRON 2-PACK

This set right here is the last set I bought since the passing of Transformers icon Peter Cullen. And I'm sorry its taken so long to address his passing with this review due to personal mental health slowing my posts down, but regardless this post is dedicated to him and his legacy... rest in piece.

This set from all the way back in 2006 is very famous for two specific things, being a true return to G1 and G2 designs since the original toyline, and not being good, lol. And yeah, age is not an excuse these things are not great at all! As two very weedy deluxes with many issues of there own, and mismatched and nonsensical aesthetics... yeah its no wonder i scored the pair for just $20 USD... no DVD that was included with the set, but im not missing out on anything its just random Unicron Trilogy episodes...

Optimus is... Rough... especially in vehicle mood that feels as bad as it looks, not holding together with minimal locking tabs, and no effort towards cohesion as nothing lines up, the coolest thing he's got going for him is his gun converting into this little turret set up. And robot modes not much better. With floppy balljointed limbs, a bad headsculpt, and a stupid spinning torso gimmick that im glad locks into place, otherwise this thing would be borderline unplayable. Nowadays we got better deluxe primes like legacy, and even devastation prime is better than this!
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Megatron however, is flawed for sure, but actually quite fun for that it is. With a slightly more cohesive design, a solid tank mode, and he also has a spinny gimmick in his arm which is way less intrusive at the cost of his arm articulation, but actually more fun as a spinning weapon thing as opposed to whatever primes got going on. And hey, G2 representation is always cool, I hope the upcoming AOEV G2 megatron is good, I need this design done justice!

If you wanted just just one from the set, go for megatron, easily worth like 10-15 as a fun desk figure, but the set as a whole is pretty forgettable in the long run, I got what I asked for it guess, two old deluxes for the price of a modern one.. actually no, a modern ones near 30?! WTF!!??!?
But alas, now I feel a deeper need to keep these two as they came along with recent news out of happenstance, and this prime, for me, lives as tribute to the man who brought him to life on screen!

010

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

TRANSFORMERS PRIME CHANGERS MIRAGE A fresh take on an old classic! Review in alt!

Review 1253
TRANSFORMERS PRIME CHANGERS MIRAGE

Im glad were getting more of these guys besides megatron! As he was such a fun little outing for the size and price, and I feel mirage is an excellent next entry as I personally have not really latched onto any of the generations mirages released so far! And while this one is far from G1 accurate, its still quite the fun little deluxe class toy! And cheaper than a modern deluxe by like $7 dollars!

So what makes this little evergreen guy so cool? Quite frankly it's his engineering that really brings me in. At first glance his robot mode is a little bland with all that unpainted white plastic, flat arma, and gappy chest. But he's still got decent articulation that really works with his design allowing you to put him into some crazy poses super fluidly! He even has butterfly shoulders as a consequence of his transformation! Couple that with two guns, including a shoulder cannon, and included blast effects, hes fun as hell to play with! I dont even mond that he has no wrists honestly!

But the transformation on this thing is insane! No I mean really! For a budget toy they went hard on a crazy conversation to vehicle mode with some twists in the torso and backpack, his legs going up and his arms forming the canopy and it all coming together so perfectly... so good! And hes got a neat little cybertronian car as a result! Arguably a better cybertronian F1 thingy than sieges, which was barely cybertronian. But that aside its got big wheels for rolling, blast effect ports on the back so he can go fast, and a swish electric blue paint job that doesn't quite go as hard as I'd like... the flames on the front need to go further down th complete the look, and theyre barely noticeable anyway, they should've been a deeper blue honestly.

Though all in all. For 20 bucks in today's economy, fuckin hell this things fun! Definitely worth grabbing if you spot him at your local store or something and aren't pressed for accuracy.

050

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

TRANSFORMERS LEGACY CLAMPDOWN Its weird he's not a crab... Review in alt!

Review 1252
TRANSFORMERS LEGACY VELOCITRON COUNTDOWN

Ah the sideswipe mold, oh how I love ye, and in my slow journey to back-collect whatever diaclone representation I can get... it was a matter of time before this deco was mine!

Its the WFC Sideswipe mold again, we all know it, most of us love it. With simple but solid engineering, decent posing thats a *little* bit dated missing wrists and having a stumpy neck and whatnot, and I also really feel the lack of spoiler in vehicle mode, but at the end of the day its a general good mold thats simple enough it can be applied over and over again without overstaying its welcome! Even in this... admittedly bland police deco... he really needed the red of the OG to break up his palette!

Probably my least favorite version of this mold i own so far, not to say its bad, but compared to the resplendent colors of some of the others, hes definitely in last place. But in this race last race is still pretty good!

1141

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

TRANSFORMERS LEGACY AUTOROOPER So boxy, yet so mobile! Review in alt!

Review 1251
TRANSFORMERS LEGACY EVOLUTION 4-PACK AUTOROOPER

Today's figure was one i always kinda sorta wanted, but not enough to pay the average $40+ afermarket sales, nor enough to bother getting the multipack and parting out what I dont want as ive done in the past... but he's how finally mine from a recent larger trade! And now my animated shelf is one bot fuller!

As mentioned before, this toy was released under the Buzzworthy Bumblebee line in a multipack with two other deluxes and a voyager all representing "army builders" generic bots of various factions you're meant to buy multiple of as legions of identical fodder bots. I used to be about that with the sharkticons and the sweeps... but honestly, nah I dont need three of this guy, as cool as he is! And he is quite cool on his own, as a repaint of the siege ironhide mold, which was cool for the time, with its twist around torso transformation, beefy cybertronian alt mode and nice boxy yet dynamic robot mode, coming with a sick hammer thay transforms into a missile launcher! Its a swish toy thats fun to play with and works with its boxiness really well when playing and posing!
And being a van-like vehicle makes him more in line with the animated version of the character, as opposed to being a basic police car like the original, however if you wanted a "G1" autorooper in your collection, he does come with an alternate face that much more closely resembles his Japanese toy design! While its not a niche I feel the need to fill, its a fun inclusion, though i tend ti keep the alternate head just raddling around inside his hollow leg...

Yeah im happy to finally own this guy! And if I had a nickel for every autorooper I scored for an insanely good deal, id have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but its weird it happened twice!

0555

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

TRANSFORMERS X JEM BLASTER W. ROSANNA,SUNDOR & GLIT Being pretty can get you very far actually! Its truly outrageous! Review in alt!

Review 1250
TRANSFORMERS COLLABORATIVE X JEM BLASTER W. ROSANNA, SUNDOR, & GLIT

I don't really have any interest in the Jem & the Holograms series, and I especially have no interest in KP... whatever that is... but like... thos set is just so visually stunning and I love the blaster mold already so I simply had to get it regardless!

When you get this thing you're already met with a truly spectacular box, with a holographic sheen to it and beautiful G1-esque box art of the very fruity blaster! Only to open said box and within is a boom box molded in various shades of super glittery plastic! The kind of color and finish youd see in polly pocket toys back in the day with sparkling flecks embedded in the material! I love the way it looks, though i will say the grey and blue aren't as resplendent as I would've liked to accompany said finish. And the rest of blaster is the same great mold with a simple transformation, great sculpt and decent articulation, now equipped with a mic, and a transforming guitar/keyboard synthesizer combo! As well as three cassette buddies! A trio from that one infamous Japanese transformers series that certainly exist.

Rosanna is the best here, being a rewind repaint now armed with two new guns and a very nice bright pink deco! Well articulated for the size with a nice sculpt and some nice paint! Its nice to have a version of this mold thats not translucent!

Sundor is... alright. Again a repaint of SS86 Laserbeak, which i personally find inferior to the WFC mold, but not bad, though a bit stiff in both modes with parts leftover in its scrappy cassette mode... oh well...

And glit. A repaint of SS86 ravage, pure white, looks real nice in robot mode, but easily the worst cassette mode with, again, left over pieces...

Overall despite my qualms with the cassettes, they are an accessory to a larger, super fun set! Its a weird niche release i know isnt for everyone, but im happy to have em!

070

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

TRANSFORMERS CYBERTRON RUNAMUCK Being pretty only gets you so far... Review in alt!

Review 1249
TRANSFORMERS CYBERTRON RUNAMUCK

Take a bad mold, give it a beautiful deco and modify its core gimmick and retool a few parts, and it can become an alright toy! And a part of it may be nostalgia talking, as with him im four out of five on a multipack I owned as a kid from Transformers Universe, only now missing Cybertron Blurr, who I'm even more reluctant to own for notorious fragility, but im getting off topic.

Its RUNAMUCK!!! A redeco of Sideswipe from Armada, with a killer alt mode now with this sick charcoaly black paint job with these vibrant orange flames and stunning clear orange windows, this thing looks mean as fuck, and I love the decepticon outline on the back windshield! This looks like a real car someone pimped out and slapped a decepticon decal on so they can stand out in their otherwise bland neighborhood! With a few neat gimmicks for good measure, like a spring loaded panel that reveals a hidden gun, or putting his cyber key in his engine brings forth the whole hood/bumper section for a sort of, speed mode. For me it just breaks up the car but use your imagination and it can be cool I guess!

And through a clunky and terrifying transformation, with the windshield halfs being on tight clear hinges... yikes! We have our robot mode! And it looks cool... Definitely an improvement over Sideswipe, but still not great... with the big leg chunks just out there, no knees loose balljointed elbows and no head movement period. Its a very stylish G1-ey brick of a thing, even by armada engineering standards. Now left without the cyber key gimmick, which would've made a really cool punching gimmick if they could've carried it over, and with no minicon to activate his swing arm gimmick... hes just kind of there... the sculpt and deco really are pulling their weight on this toy to keep me attached to it, if he didn't have such drip, I probably wouldn't be owning this one again. But here we are, nostalgia got the better of me.

0131

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

TRANSFORMERS CYBERTRON BRUSHGUARD Some small blue dude idk! Review in alt!

Review 1248
TRANSFORMERS CYBERTRON BRUSHGUARD

In this house we love Transformers Cybertron! And this casual pick up is a fun little guy! A repaint of the Overhaul mold, who i already own, now on a sick dark and light blue deco. Being a straight repaint he does still suffer from Overhaul's issues, such as the akward shoulders with akward and limited motion and a deceptively akward cyber key gimmick, launching a missile out of his chest, simple im concept, but you either have to leave the key to the side or have a gaping hole in his chest. Oh well he can hold the missile like a spear I guess. And he transforms into this super cute off-road jeep like thing!

For less that $15 he's alright!

2181

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

TRANSFORMERS GENERATION 2 DREADWING & SMOKESCREEN Punishing, illin, chillin, double trouble robot! Review in alts!

Review 1247
TRANSFORMERS GENERATION 2 DREADWING & SMOKESCREEN

G2 unfortunately gets so little representation in the grand scheme of transformers as a whole. Usually just bogged down to the G1 toys in wacky colors, with the original characters and toys often getting waysided in modern media and toylines. Among these long forgotten fellows are these guys! And theyre freaking awesome!!! Two jets that combine and one has a tank mode! With these cool blue color schemes, camo stickers, and fucking FOURTEEN MISSILES!!! They really don't make toys like they used to...

I will say their missiles really are where their biggest flaws reside. With Smokescreens guns being on hair triggers, launching with minimal effort and no foreplay, and Dreadwings gattling gun truly is "illin" if illin means unable to hold the missiles if in any position other than upright, as theres zero actual locking mechanisms in there, they're just sitting in the chamber, launched but a rotating pushing mechanism behind them. Aim the gun downwards and they all just slide out! And yes... the missiles on the wings hold on equally as loosely, for the sake of a bombing gimmick that is a pain to access anyway. Supposedly these issues we're fixed for the BWII and RiD01 releases, but its unfortunate their best deco suffers.

Otherwise, for toys from 1994, theyre pretty solid figures! With crisp sculptwork, and decent articulation, both lacking wrists, while Dreadwing himself just had limited legs based on how he's built. Though this was the era they really started boosting articulation overall, only fully realized in beast wars later on! Their hands aren't 5mm compatible either, meaning they can only hold Smokescreens guns, or whatever is i think 3mm.

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Review 1247
TRANSFORMERS GENERATION 2 DREADWING & SMOKESCREEN

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Other notable features include dislodging Smokescreen from their combination, activation an auto-transformation, flipping up dreadwings wings for tank mode, as well as his treads being spring loaded. And a fun transformation on Smokescreen himself, with half the jet flipping around and collapsing on itself to form the body, which is famously recreated years later for Transformers Energon Starscream!

This is a very fun set and I am very happy to own it! Though for general play, I highly recommend removing ALL their projectiles and putting them in a baggie or something, otherwise you got a mess on your hands lol! Otherwise we chillin'

020

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

TRANSFORMERS CYBERWORLD ENERGON SURGE!!! MEGA REVIEW!!! Reviews in alts!

140

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

TRANSFORMERS STUDIO SERIES 86 SKYWARP The goth one! Review in alt!

Review 1245
TRANSFORMERS STUDIO SERIES 86 SKYWARP

We all are familiar now with the SS86 seeker mold now right? Between the previous thundercracker being a massive hit and a pleasant surprise and the current ongoing Starscream controversy, skywarp is just... here along for the ride.

Its the same mold as thundercracker, of course, with a new black and lavender purple color scheme akin to his cartoon appearance, and a retooled face for a slightly different expression. I do wish the black plastoc was a little more vibrant personally, as the shade they've chosen i find a bit dull. But aside from that its still an excellent mold! With a good use of its parts, and decent articulation in robot mode. And optional partsforming if you want the tail wings hidden for even more of that plain Jane sunbow goodness! Still sufferes from the few issues I had with the previous outings too, which i feel is gonna present on all of them. Like the null rays being cast in clear plastic, the blast effect nubs being too shallow, and the handles being too short so you dont haventhe option to really hold the guns in his hands! Which they did do in the cartoon on occasion!

Again not the best voyager figures ever, but pretty solid! And im definitely down to grab 9 of em!
Still completing my deluxe seeker collection eventually though!

1170

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

RISING FORCE RF-C01 SNATCH (swindle) His names as suspicious as the whole 3rd party market! Review in alt!

Review 1244
RISING FORCE RF-C01 SNATCH (3rd party foc swindle)

A rare treat for me today! I rarely delve into the world of 3rd party, but this set does seem to be appealing to me, as a voyager scale set of Fall of Cybertron Combaticons! And for relatively cheap too! Only $65 for a 3rd party figure of this size is actually quite remarkable this day in age! But did they actually succeed?

To my knowledge, Rising Force is actually a relatively new company still in its infancy, with their only claim to fame so far being a legends scale set of stunticons, which I've heard are not great at all... though Snatch here actually feels quite alright! With pretty decently dense plastig and a good chunky hand feel on par with the best of the SSGE line! A few flimsy areas in hos transformation scheme, like two extremely thin panels on the sides of his hood/chest, and the extremely loose swivels inside his legs, leading them to flop around during transformation... but everything locks up good enough in both modes, so i can deal with it!
Robot mode looks great! With just enough paint and sculpt to keep him interesting, and an average level of articulation, with unfortunately stunted knees, but pretty expressive shoulders! And vehicle mode is quite nice! With big pinned rolling wheels and his gun is on a balljoint to act like a turret! A little gappy in the middle but from most angles you won't notice!

And then theres the foot mode for their bruticus... it looks solid enough but there are things I worry about. Primarily how the ankle works and how secure the knee will be. The combiner peg is made of two halves that I assume will sandwich together inside the thigh for the rest of the team, but on its own hardly stays together, so we'll have to just wait to see how secure that connection is. And the ankle feels too exposed, and it uses two sets of hinges to act as a big balljoint, which feels tight enough but again... who knows how stable the whole combiner will be...

141

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

TRANSFORMERS CYBERVERSE HAMMERSTRIKE Are those the colors he's supposed to have? Review in alt!

Review 1243
TRANSFORMERS CYBERVERSE WARRIOR HAMMERSTRIKE

Rest in piece toys from the early 2020's... the pandemic really fucked up many things in the world... one of which being plastic supply for toy production, which is a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things, but sucks for collectors at the time, as the diffent pigment access given to hasbro has led to various transformers products to just... discolor rapidly like no other... however in Hammerstrikes case... did it work in his favor?

Hes a simple transformers toy turning into a mechanical shark rocking anice aqua blue, dark blue, and turquoise looking color scheme! Except hes not supposed to! That oceanic greenish color was also just meant to be more light blue, and just various bits of hom just turned green because of said coloring issues. And where other cases of yellowing has led to cases like piss colored starscream or poppy brown arcee's soundwaves, and cuclonus's... thay substitute discolored tint actually adds a small but of flare to the guy! So... thanks i guess!

Coloring issues aside, as a toy hes not too bad as a warrior class from cyberverse. No head movement and stunted movement in general, but a pretty fun transformation and a silly gimmick where he wears his shark mode head as a helmet! Brilliant!

I like him, he's a fun cheap buy, and if you can get him for like... idk 15 dollars or less id say hes a worthwhile purchase!

050

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Who doesn't love these charming little guys? TRANSFORMERS SWAPTICONS Tarantulas & Blackarachnia and Nemesis Prime & Clutch Review in alts!

Review 1242
TRANSFORMERS SWAPTICONS TARANTULAS/BLACKARACHNIA & NEMESIS PRIME/CLUTCH

We still doing swapticons in the big 2026? Crazy, im glad theyre successful as little weirdo toys with one soul gimmick and a goofy, very 2000's art style. I would've thought these wouldn't have made it past wave one but here we are, and I got more! With clutches first mass release toy ever since G1, a nemesis prime with a smile over the mask, and they got both Tarantulas and Blackarachnia looking absolute zany! Glad the charms being kept up across the waves!

Not much to talk about otherwise though, its the same ole swapticon pattern making goofy boxt vehicles and animals you can mix and match with any of these cuboid robots with cylindrical mighty bean ass heads. They're cute and kids might like em for sure... but I'm also positive theyre just made for weirdos like me!

041

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

TRANSFORMERS STUDIO SERIES TF ONE THUNDERCRACKER Like starscream but cooler! Review in alt!

Review 1241
TRANSFORMERS STUDIO SERIES TF ONE THUNDERCRACKER

Ima go ahead and say it..m this is a MASSIVE improvement over the absolute shitshow that Starscream put me through prior! As ive talked about with that figure, it was flimsy feeling, not fun to transform, and had a terrible face sculpt and boring colors. And while this version of the mold isnt without issues, its actually solid and has good hand feel for once, and he doesn't fall apart when I try to transform him! And that deep blue and black color scheme really makes me nostalgic forbthe classics outing! And with retooled wings and a fresh as fuck headsculpt with thay sick ass visor, im feeling this release way more, and if they make a skywarp I hope its of similar quality!

And as I said before, he still has a few things going against him here and there, primarily the stunted articulation and the lack of a flight stand port does keep this mold from unlocking its true potential... but by and large... i almost have hope for the SS TFO line again!

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Almost...

Soundwave and Shockwave look aight but we'll just have to see how they turn out.

050

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

TRANSFORMERS AGE OF THE PRIMES ONLAUGHT This toys brutal! Not its bruticus!!! Review in alt!

Review 1240
TRANSFORMERS AGE OF THE PRIMES ONLAUGHT & BRUTICUS

One step closer to finally completing one of my favorite combiner teams rendered for the modern era! COME ON SWINDLE I KNOW YOURE CLOSE JUST GET HERE ALREADY!!!

But for now, we got the leader of the bunch, rendered beautifully in all hos commander class glory! Especially in vehicle mode, I mean look at this thing! The truck is absolutely massive with a wide and beefy cab, a mean chiseled grill, massive silver cannons, and a large flat bed that can fit most deluxes and voyagers vehicles onto it! All on 10 rolling wheels and a pivoting trailer hitch. Not only giving this alt mode presence, but plenty of play value too!
And hes gotta have one of the smoothest transformations of any of the commander torsos ive seen yet, with minimal partsforming in the trailer, large chunky movements from vehicle to robot, and solid locking points in each mode. Which leads to a really solid well rounded robot! Who certainly looks the part with his boxt frame and beefy limbs, unfortunately articulation ist the greatest, lacking wrists and with elbows that lock up from their own sculpting. And he doesn't even have his own weapon! Just the battle platform which is cool and he works well with it, but damn, I really miss that rifle...

But of course, we're all really here for the combined mode... BRUTICUS! and yeah... hes a bit wide, which isnt a problem for me, I actually quite like how he looks, except for the military green on the arms that make the skeleton blatantly obvious and the arm bots feel disconnected, and speaking of those arms, attaching them is near impossible to do the intended way, I've found it easier to preemptively transform the arms, then attach the vehicle top half first, then rip in half, then attach the bottom half. So not the best to actually combine, but he does feel good all together, and while swindle looks scrappy as a leg, I cant wait for him to complete the team!

070

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

BLOKEES UNICRON HEAD So no head? Review in alt!

Review 1239
BLOKEES TRANSFORMERS CLEAR UNICRON HEAD

An unusual release to be sure, and if it were any more expensive than like 11 dollars I probably would not have bothered, but it's a neat novelty little kit provided by one of the hottest model kit brands currently putting out stuff. And whilenits not my market, I do grab em on occasion.

As a model kit, it was fun to assemble and the plastic, despite being clear, feels pretty good! I will always applaud Blokees for their sturdier denser materials that withstand the test of time unlike model kits from Bandai or Flametoys. And the face even has articulation in his jaw and balljointed eyes which cam be accessed underneath the removal face with a freaky show of inner skeletal workings! Definitely inspired by the haslab toy but I appreciate its inclusion.
Other notable inclusions include the base it can float on, and a tiny version of the shuttle used in The Transformers The Movie. And the base of the neck is the same exact size as the universal blokees neck joint, meaning you can plop this gigantic head on any Blokee body for some goofy chibi action! And since its clear larger kits with the LEDS can turn this into a lamp, which is pretty cool actually IMO.

IDK, its fun. Its nifty. And it makes for a cool little display peice. He does his job and he does it well!

030

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

TRANSFORMERS AGE OF THE PRIMES ARMADA SIDEWAYS He's good... deceptively good~ Review in alt!

Review 1238
TRANSFORMERS AGE OF THE PRIMES ARMADA SIDEWAYS

Honestly one of my most hyped figures of the year, despite its many many flaws I like armada, and sideways was one of the coolest characters to come out of it, and that original toy just was not great. So does this one succeed where that one failed? Yes... yes it does!

AOTP Sideways brings us a tall and lean deception machine! With well rounded movement that is unfortunately limited in how far the elbows and knees can bend, and some akward feet to stand on, but his design actually works with those limitations really well with minimal clearance issues and a dynamic sculpt that makes most poses you put him in look swish! And the additions of balljointed wrists and foot swivels also works in his favor to bring out that flavor! And hes even got some modularity hidden in there too! With his exhaust missiles and back wheel struts all being removable on 5mm pegs, able to be swapped around and held in various ways! I like pretending the wheels can be held as giant saw like weapons he bashes his enemys with!

Transformation is decent, with some clearance issues in those wheel struts and getting the feet seat all put together can be annoying, but once its together you got a beefy bike that stands on its own pretty well, and looks great with his minicon driver Mirror.

But alas... lets talk about this figures great flaw... the minicons... I'm happy theyre here, they look nice in all three modes, if not the head modes looking a bit scrappy. And the combined mode being the best... but the partsforming is unfortunate, giving rook static legs and crosswise static arms that cant move and come off for transformation instead of storing cleverly anywhere is just not great! I get budgets a thing, but it feels bad being outdone by 24 year old molds...

Overall I'm still pretty happy with this set! Despite its flaws hes a well rounded voyager with plenty going for him, and I'd highly recommend if he appeals to ya at all!

030

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

TRANSFORMERS AGE OF THE PRIMES POWERGLIDE And awwayyyyy we go! Review in alt!

Review 1237
TRANSFORMERS AGE OF THE PRIMES POWERGLIDE

I remember being super hyped for this guy when he was first being shown off online! Unlike the Combiner Wars rendition, he seemed solid, well articulated, and well rounded mix of G1 cartoon and toy proportions! And in hand... hes pretty alright!

He has his quirks for sure unfortunately, the biggest of all however is how the faceplate functions, where its supposed to rotate and hide both for vehicle mode, and to apply his goofy alien mask, but in order to rotate it you need to pull up that little antenna thing on the tip of the nosecone which frees up the joint. Which like... did we need that tiny piece to move in the first place? We're people really clamoring for it to hide in robot mode but extend for vehicle mode? Its such a miniscule change and more often than not i forget about it. At the very least I wish it locked into place so I didn't have to mess with it.
Aside from that all my other complaints range from small to basically nitpicking, like the wings not sitting super flush in plane mode, the eyes being goofily big, and the lack of wrist movement. And I personally would've found it super cool if instead of the alien mask, he had come with a lil mini figure of Astoria from The Girl Who Loved Powerglide. Otherwise hes a small but well put together deluxe minibot, with an easy but engaging transformation with some cool tricks for the legs. And he looks great with his fellow modern G1 guys from the last few years!

He gets a passing grade from me! Could he be better? For sure? Will i buy a Bad Boy repaint if they made one? Almost certainly!

061

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

TRANSFORMERS AGE OF THE PRIMES SWERVE Little man's big time to shine! Review in alt!

Review 1236
TRANSFORMERS AGE OF THE PRIMES SWERVE

OK let's finally talk about this guy! I always wanted a Swerve in my collection, abd when we got Legacy Gears a while back we all knew this was coming! Much like windcharger to tailgate or bumblebee to cliffjumper, its just one of those no-brainer retools that hasbro clearly was gonna try and make bank on... but the end result unfortunately... is a little clunky.

Its still the Gears mold so its fantastic regardless dont get me wrong! With stellar articulation in his stubby lil limbs, an expressive sculpt, and a pretty fun transformation into a cute little squished up truck! But they also did a lot of extensive retooling from that original mold that gives him his own feel, but it does also disrupt the flownof things, like the faux wheels on the shoulders which are fine except theyre so obvious in alt mode, whi h I guess you can headcannon has spared but it still looks wonky. The head being stuck between these two pylon things, while accurate, makes moving it a pain, especially given how boxy everything is. And the retooled chest, which removed the wheels bit keeps the honged components leaves the torso feeling more cluttered than purposeful...

Again. Dont get me wrong, NONE of this is figure damning, hes still pretty fun to fiddle with and is a great addition to the minibot collection! Just dont expect the exact same level of enginuity as we got with Gears... its like going from an A- mold to a B. Like 85%, a passing grade! And thats great for a character who appears in one single episode and his single role was to receive steppies from trypticon!

030

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

AGE OF EXTINCTION DELUXE OPTIMUS PRIME Gaudy and bad, but I like him! Review in alt!

Review 1235
TRANSFORMERS AGE OF EXTINCTION DELUXE OPTIMUS PRIME (2pk ver.)

An oddity ive always kinda wanted, and was finally able to nab randomly on marketplace for absurdly cheap! Its this very specific movie Optimus Prime figure!
I actually already own this mold in its standard colors, and I'll tell you again this isnt a great toy by any metric. Not the worst, its got OK articulation albiet with limited knees, faux ankles,no wrists, and a stunted head. The only figure he scales decently with is the voyager megatron form dark of the moon... but the molds worst sin has got to be the horrid combination of a huge bulky backpack and no proper heel support... meaning in most poses, including standing completely upright, he cant stay up and topples backwards! Such a shame because I find the mold fun to play with as a tiny Optimus toy to fiddle with!

So why did I buy it again? Because I cant lie and say this gaudy all chrome color scheme isnt doing anything for me! Idk why despite the chrome drowning out most the detail, its a striking look to me with the contrasting dark blue and subtle red highlights! Hes so pretty he looks like a Christmas ornament! He also comes with a sword which apparently belonged to a G1 predacon before him... neat! And NGL, he pairs quite nicely with my platinum AoE dinobots! Almost like they were made for eachother!

Idk, again I have a soft spot for this very clearly corporate cash grab repaint of a figure, who originally came with a FOC grimlock repaint who's also notoriously not great... but for I think FIVE DOLLARS... i cant be too mad! Especially as i love chrome on toys!

020

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

AGE OF THE PRIMES NEXUS PRIME Foiled again by hasbro!!! Review in alt!

Review 1234
TRANSFORMERS AGE OF THE PRIMES NEXUS PRIME

Once again, another prime screwed over by corporate bullshit, though at least with this one, we have a good stand alone product!

In terms of stand alone quality, Nexus is one of the best figures we've gotten in the primes lineup! With beautiful colors, dense solid plastic, solid articulation and a fun conversion! Hes set with basically all the movement youd want from a bot this size abd of this clunkiness, albiet the feet are wonky to work with and if he had an ab crunch it'd be 10/10, but we take what we can get given what ne needed to do. And I very much enjoy the simple pleasure of his twin rifles that he can weild or store on his back as shoulder cannons or wings! Is the jet mode wonky? Absolutely? Solidly built but in no way a cohesive looking or aerodynamic jet... but ive seen worse and it is still wooshable at the very least.

But thays where my joy seems to end... see the whole point of nexus prime is hes meant to be the original combiner! And the way hes build, hes compatible with superions torso frame and combination system! Cool! And with his own limbs on the way, naturally we must assume there will be a frame of his own or something along the likes right?...
...
"We currently have no plans to release a frame for nexus himself "

God damn... I'm sure its hasbro fuckery bc knowing the current team im sure they'd have given us a whole functional nexus combiner if they had wanted to, but fuuuuuuuck, as it standsnow, id have to spend $100 on acommander figure i dont want, just to use the frame that clashes esthetically, only minorly helped if they made a G2 deco, but still the frame serves no further function and silverbolt would just fuck off? Damn.

Here's what I would've done... a sixth member, thay turns into the frame, and also turns into the missile truck the OG torso turns into! Thay would be cool!
But alas.. we got what we got... again hes a fine toy on his own...

010

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

TRANSFORMERS AGE OF THE PRIMES LIEGE MAXIMO Damn... an eleventh prime? Whats next 12? 13?!?!?!?!? Review in alt...

Review 1233
TRANSFORMERS AGE OF THE PRIMES LEIGE MAXIMO

...I'm not gonna lie... I've been dreading talking about the latest prime figures, especially after waiting so long since their release and the hypes died down, I'm trying to give them a fair shot... but liege maximo is just yet another mid tier boring prime. Like many others its clear they got ambition! The G2 semi-organic bestial esthetic is pretty cool and very reminiscent of the gritty era he was born in in G2. And as badass as this design may be... hes just underdone by real world materials! Mostly made up by the soft runny material, and once again its another prime done in the darkest and dullest of color schemes, even if its accurate, it just comes off as boring to me.

I do appreciate the effort they did put in though don't get me wrong. The throne functionality is neat with how the backpack attaches fluidly to the back of starscreams throne, and all the ways hos various attachments connect to his one arm works... but again the functionality he has is mediocre at best, and again various parts of him i dont even wanna touch because of his materials!

Im sorry if im coming across as too negative, but I just am not loving this toy, and though im near done collecting the primes, most of them have just been dissapointments through and through...

040

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

BLOKEES TF ONE MEGATRONUS PRIME The weirdly not-evil purple guy! Review in alt!

Review 1232
BLOKEES CLASSIC CLASS TRANSFORMERS ONE MEGATRONUS PRIME

Alright, a while back I mentioned blokees being the general exception for my experience with model kits and fragility issues! I don't own many blokees kits, but the few i do own ive found the plastic is quite thick and durable, and the fact that theyre pre-painted means you dont have to worry about excess panels or stickers for color breakup. Leading to an even more splid and more toyetic feel! This things meant for play and display!!!

Much like the 2007 optimus and megatron kits a while back, i only ended up with this guy bc I needed to get rid of some store credit. And the only transformers products they had period were blokees. But im actually really happy with how those one turned out! The colors are striking! The hard edges and sculpted detail are crisp! And he was actually pretty fun to build! Unfortunately my LED pack thats meant to make his eyes light up doesn't work on my copy (doesn't read any batteries old or new) but I can live without that gimmick! And with his dynamic articulation and badass spear weapon, I dont really need it to bring this guy to life!

Listen, if youre interested in blokees at all, you will not be dissapointed! While theyre usually not my thing, none ove handled have been particularly bad! Now imagine if these things transformed! They legit might outdo hasbro! Which is why that stipulation exists with licensed 3rd party... but yeah a great addition to my TFO shelf all around!

040

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

TRANSFORMERS TINY TURBO CHANGERS 2026 Idk, I don't have a ton to say about them, great bits of fun for about $4 a piece. And apparently im not the only one whose into them because theve sold out in every store ive seen carry them so... good on ya tiny turbo changers! Good on ya!

061

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

FLAMETOYS ANIMATED OPTIMUS PRIME Rizz without substance... Review in alt!

Review 1230
FLAME TOYS TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED OPTIMUS PRIME MODEL KIT (WING BLADE VER.)

As I've said a multitude of times... model kits are not my thing. The plastics tend to be pretty light and brittle with joints that aren't particularly known for their longevity. Blokees really being a major exception quality wise, but flametoys is on the level I typically associate with these kinds of kits.

That being said, I HAD to get this optimus kit, not only as an all-time animated fan, but like... the look of this kit is sick as fuck! Simultaneously super accurate to the source material with also its own proportional stylistic flare that just oozes personality! As well as the articulation and accessories to go along with it which he uses pretty damn well! Like look at him! All the poses you can put him in! Weidling his axe or armored up with the Jetpack and gauntlets weilding the Magnus Hammer! And they even added flight stand compatability! They did good on this one!

Is he without issues, of course not. As I said, the plastic is very sub-par, very light and wibbly, which is fine on a shelf or a flight stand i guess, but not at all for hand feel. And also... the build itself was not fun to me. While its not an activity im gung-ho about, I do see the appeal in the assembly process, but this one ain't it, especially the ankle wheels those were fucking impossible to get on there! And I couldn't even do it the way the instructions said to, instead needing to use the leg to forcibly sandwich the wheel rims into the tires, instead of plugging them into the tires on their own... it just did not work.

Its a fine kit ultimately, and im happy to have him on the shelf! But if youre on the fence, I probably wouldn't for their asking price, if he goes on a dep clearance ever, id say its worth picking up maybe, especially if you like animated. Otherwise, theres better things to go for. For 50-60 dollars...

010

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

TRANSFORMERS LEGACY STAR RAIDERS LOCKDOWN Should've been peak... should've been... Review in alt!

Review 1229
TRANSFORMERS LEGACY STAR RAIDERS LOCKDOWN

I once again am here to look at a figure ive always kinda sorta wanted, but not at all for the retail price... yeah the Scraphook mold is good and all, flawed for sure with the jank loose elbows and cluttery bed transformation, which all variants of this design have shared. And this mold was clearly designed with lockdown in mind from the getgo! Maybe not obvious from the start, but when it was retooled into Axel Grease, it became pretty obvious, though i dunno if the lockdown vibes are fully here.
Hes got all the ingredients of a good lockdown, hook accessory exposed engine and exhaust pipe accessories, take apart modular limbs you can mix and match with others in the line... and the chest sculpt feels like a mix of Animated and IDW with a very ROTF inspired head. But proportionally hes off from what I expect the character to be. Hes usually super tall and slender, with a vehicle thats low to the ground and mean looking. Here hes quite small and thicker, with a vehicle mode thats taller and domier. Nothing wrong with these things in a vacuum, but personally not what I like in the character. Though having it in hand its not the worst thing in the world, though if it were up to me I would've repainted the chase/cliffjumper mold to do it.

Im glad I didn't pay retail for this, only buying it years later second hand for way cheaper, but ultimately hes not a bad toy or a bad representation of "a lockdown". But not bad per say. If hes your only option he'll do just fine!

040

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED DELUXE BUMBLEBEE Just the perfectest boy... kinda. Review in alt!

Im surprised in all my back collecting journey I haven't nabbed one of the first toys I ever owned again until this point! The deluxe Bumblebee mold, in its original deco! THE face of Animated Bumblebee toys and the default figure for many! And yeah I do own the Elite Guard deco which i also had as a kid, but seeing the classic version in the modern day just... hits different! Especially now since as an adult, I can fix tolerances and issues this mold is notorious for!

The biggest issue many had, myself included, was the quality of his ball joints in the shoulders neck and roof panels hanging off the back. As a kid, right out of the box mine was a flippy floppy mess who's arms couldn't even stay on unless I joined the singers together and sorta sandwiched them onto the balls themselves. Though the used copy I had wasn't quite THAT bad, the roof panels and hips were a problem, but its an easy fix, just take a bit of polish or super glue and get it all over the joint and let it dry before putting him back together, and boom! Tight ass Bamble!

There's other things i can critique too, like the yellow plastic washing out the sculpted detail and the white and silver paint apps just dissappear into it. but by and large, they nailed Bee on the first try in my opinion! Excellent head sculpt, decent articulation, albiet he should have bicep swivels and rotation above the knee to be truly great, solid vehicle mode and the jet boosters make for a fun accessory! Love how thet integrated the stingers, even if they aren't perfect, and by and large he just looks cool on the shelf or playing with him in various poses! These old toys just have a certain fun factor that allows you to overlook their limitations and enjoy it for what its worth! Almost makes you forget hes double the size he needs to be.

But yeah, if you want a "perfect " animated bee for your collection, id go for either this, or the Takara Jetpack Bumblebee figure!

040

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

TRANSFORMERS AGE OF THE PRIMES ANIMATED WRECK GAR Hes only good for one thing... GARBAGE! Review in alt!

Review 1127
TRANSFORMERS AGE OF THE PRIMES ANIMATED WRECK-GAR

Yeah I know im a few waves late on this guy, but admittedly... i didn't really want him! As a representation of Animated Wreck-gar, he kinda sucks! The molds not inherently bad as trash master was pretty solid all around. But it just doesn't fit well as this guy! And like... theres things that make it obvious this repaint was inevitable too! Primarily the weapon having those weird double prong things in reference to the original toy. So if this was always the case... why not make it closer to the original design from the getgo? I bet theyre going for a triple usage honestly, eventually giving us Salvage, which wouldn't be dreadful, but much like turning bulkhead into heatwave I wouldn't find it particularly fitting.

Anyway... WRECK GAR! deep clearance! Hes alright! Again a decent mold with pretty good functionality, though it fumbled the interchangeable modularity the other legacy junkions were known for! But still has a good hand feel and a solid enough transformation to stand on its own. Though these gaudy colors wash out a good chunk of that detail, which might be the point but its worth noting all those spikes get lost in the sea of orange and red. Gotta say though, they nailed the head sculpt! Thats the perfectest TV headed weird al robot were head were ever gonna get!

Again, NOT BAD. If you wat accuracy, this ain't it, but as a general wreck gar toy, and a transformer overall, he does his job decently! But im also glad i did not pay the $40+ price tag that was slapped onto him...

040

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

TRANSFORMERS AGE OF THE PRIMES ANIMATED RATCHET The old man's back! Dad bod and all! Review in alt!

Review 1126
TRANSFORMERS AGE OF THE PRIMES ANIMATED RATCHET

I am happy AoTP is continuing legacy's efforts to give us modern renditions of the animated cast! Still no constructicons mind you, but thays fine... i can wait... it will happen... it better happen!

But today we got ratchet! Which of course is an extensive retool of the Earthrise Trailbreaker mold. Which like... is anyone really surprised? Like they're basically built the same proportionally already and have very similar kibble placements! Though i actually do appreciate the amount of retooling they did to make him distinct in his own right! Besides like a few mechanisms all the surface detail is completely new! And some of the panel management has even been redone, so hes no longer got those ridiculously long side panels hanging off the shoulders! Do i miss the lifeline symbols on his shoulders? Yeah a little, thay was an iconic part of his design. But given what they've done already, its a small price to pay!

Now is he better or worse than the deluxe ratchet mold from 2007? Idk... taking off my nostalgia glasses for just a moment there's plenty of contrast between the two, but the old one was far from perfect! Its far more accurate sure, buttye colors are dull, the arms were hindered by unnecessary gimmicks and the clips for his tools were fragile. And the leg articulation was just ass for no reason, hindered by the sculpt alone with measly pegs holding the thighs in that would pop off at a moments notice... thankfully the new one has none of those issues, with standard earthrise level engineering, all of his tools now using the standard 5mm peg system, and even his iconic magnet weapons! Thats six accessories in total all with dedicated storage inside the alt mode! Though the new one does lack the chonkitude of the original and again, the accuracy is compromised for the unification aesthetic.

If you dont have an animated ratchet at all, this is far from a bad option! He fits in quite nicely.

050

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

BAIWEI MAINTENANCE TEAM LEADER (KO legacy animated optimus) I see the vision, I really do... Review in alt!

Review 1125
BAIWEI TW-1036 MAINTENANCE TEAM LEADER
(KO legacy optimus plus KO DNA kit)

Its finally time, as an all time animated enthusiast myself, I wanted to check out this KO alongside also owning the official one, though I'd call this a side-grade more than an upgrade, as i dont fully agree with Every decision they've made.

The plastic on this thing is quite nice, comparable to hasbros, if not a tad bit lighter, and his heft is supplemented by die-cast knees to assist in balancing! However the plastic IS leaps and bounds better than DNAs kits, which are notoriously brittle and cheap feeling! Colors are nicer in my opinion, with slightly brighter hues of red and blue, and the white plastic on the kit parts is way crisper than the boney shade of the original. And those clear blue windows hit way harder than the near solid black ones! The biggest upgrade i feel they've done however is the torso, they extended the faux grill section, making that part of the design much more pronounced and slimmed out, which feels more accurate, and theres two additional panels right under the headlights thay just push in, streaming out the silhouette much nicer than the hasbro version!

And the negatives, or at least decisions I dont fully agree with... there are missing paint apps, like the details on the firetrucks side panels and the silver on the shoulder cannons, and they removed sever 5mm ports on his arms and the top siren piece, which reduces playability for aesthetics, which I personally miss. But the decision thay baffles me the most is the head. Instead of using the legacy sculpt, they've opted to just plop the original voyager head on there 1 to 1. Which just doesn't gel with the body's aesthetic at all! Like its so clear thay the heads from a different design philosophy entirely and its super distracting. Idk i understand the motivation behind it but it does look odd.

But overall, im not mad for about 25USD, could've been better, could've been worse I guess!

010

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

TRANSFORMERS FAST ACTION BATTLERS FIRE BLAST OPTIMUS PRIME Get em while he's hot! ... from 18 years ago... Review in alt!

Review 1223
TRANSFORMERS FAST ACTION BATTLERS FIRE BLAST OPTIMUS PRIME

Much like jetfire whome I've reviewed yesterday, this prime here was a gift! And unlike any of the FAB toys ive bought already, this one is never had as a child and simply thought it looked cool!

I mean come on! Its bayverse optimus in Fire Guts Ginrai colors! With a Ghostbusters ass backpack and string mounted missile that makes the whole assembly look like a flamethrower or something! And p
roportionally speaking, he does look better than the Revenge of the Fallen counterpart, whose elbows can't even move without shattering and whose backpack does nothing.
So yeah his whole thing is being a budget friendly movie Optimus just under the deluxe price range, chocked full of gimmicks and play features to keep the kiddos entertained. And he's got tons! Besides the missile launcher that can be shot from his robot modes forearm and stored away in the back of his truck bed, hes got a spring loaded waist for some punching action! Similar to the Animated Deluxe optimus, and an automatic transformation to vehicle mode! Where when you bend the torso down, the arms flip over the head to form the cab and the bed springs up to fill the gap! As well as spring loaded toes that collapse inside to flush out the grill of the truck! And despite the kiddy proportions this is a mean looking truck! Especially if you dont have the missile in, theres a hole thay looks like hes been shot! Will say though... paints a bit sloppy on the flames, that could've been done better...

But yeah, he's fun! Not the greatest thing in all of transformers history, but a good fun relic of the mid to late 2000s

050

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

TRANSFORMERS REVENGE OF THE FALLEN FAST ACTION BATTLERS JETFIRE Hes stupid but I love him! Review in alt!

Review 1223
TRANSFORMERS REVENGE OF THE FALLEN FAST ACTION BATTLERS JETFIRE

Its my birth week! And my partners got me two fun little figures as gifts that I'll look at today and tomorrow. But today, its a classic I had as a child and have finally reclaimed... JETFIRE!

Now if you've ever seen Fast Action Battlers, you know what's up! These were cheaper, smaller. Slightly under deluxe scale figures made for the first two live action movies, aimed at kids and more budgeted buyers, more or less equivalent to the recent "warrior class " toys you'd see in Cyberverse and Earthspark!
But even back then these "Budget toys" had do much more density and heft to em! Jetfire here is thick in all the ways! With a super wide, kinda goofy stance, short torso and massive silverbolt ass backpack. And a jet mode thats thicker and shorter than the IRL vehicle he's based on. Bro is a kids toy and is shaped like one! No elbows on account of his arms being loaded with his gimmicks, being a missile launcher on one and a deployable staff on the other, perfect for bonking youngins on the head! The missile launcher does have a cool mechanism where when you pull the trigger, the barrel turns like a machine gun, which is a cool effect, if not barely visible.

Listen, we may have had the old leader class jetfire then, and the new Studio Series one now... hell we may even get yet another one assuming the new SS optimus mold gets his combining companion! But as a kid, this was so cool to have! And I'm not upset one bit that hes back in my life!

030

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

TRANSFORMERS LEGACY HASLAB LIOKAISER PART 7- JARUGA The final member~ Review in alt!

Review 1222
TRANSFORMERS LEGACY HASLAB LIOKAISER PART 7- JARUGA

At last! The final member, and weirdly enough probably the overall best single figure of the whole team! However, with a huge drawback...

So yeah! Much like the rest of the team, as a transformer hes extremely simple, with a transformation thats pretty dang surface level and self explanatory, with no real surprises, and a robot mode thats really well articulated and fun to mess with! But unlike the rest he just... excells at the things he tries to do! No clunkiness in the movement, well integrated parts in his alt mode, hes got his own weapons aside from his breast animal or the spears in the form of missile pods... and also he just looks cool! And his alt mode aside a dragster race car is quite fun!

So whats the downside? Well... he just does not contribute much at all to the combiner, the original toy forms the waist and thighs, however thats all now an external component treated as an accessory for him. Which can officially be mounted on the top of his car mode as added missiles, or unofficially I liked using it as a missile platform for the robot mode to use. But yeah in this Jaruga himself just acts as a connector piece inside Liokaiser... locking in sandwiched between leozack and the hip piece. Now I dont gaye this mind you! I feel overall this is the best solution for optimal robot mode and combined mode proportions and functionality... but it is silly that you can barely see the guy when the teams all together!

So now that ive talked about all the members... here's my thoughts on the whole set...
They're fine I guess. As a haslab the toys are far more safer and standard than the much more ambitious projects we've been getting from haslab since its conception. But thay doesn't make any of the individual members inherently bad! And given the price of deluxes and voyagers nowadays, abd getting essentially seven voyager figures with so many bonus accessories... i think it was worth it

040

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

TRANSFORMERS LEGACY HASLAB LIOKAISER PART 6- LEOZACK! He looks nice, but does he play nice? Review in alt!

Review 1221
TRANSFORMERS LEGACY HASLAB LIOKAISER PART 6- LEOZACK

Ah finally, the leader of the group, in all his glory! Well... what little glory there is.

Now I will say I do very much enjoy this guy! Quite a bit more than many of the other members! With his pretty color scheme, crisp sculptwork, and thick durable plastic and chonky joints that make me reminisce over the Unicron Trilogy era of toys! And hes one of the few that looks good regardless if hes got his breast animal in its slot or not, some of the others just look entirely too hollow without them. Hes got some sweet articulation and none of his kibble really interferes with it, hell his combiner kibble on the heels of his feet can be adjusted to assist with balance for more out there poses! Though yeah I gotta admit, those combiner joints are quite ugly.
Much like the tank guys, Leozacks transformation is barely anything! Just a few panels and adjustments and bam! You got yourself a jet!

And since were talking about the centerpiece of it all... let's talk about combined mode! Overall he is very solid! And besides the stubby arms I mentioned earlier, hes quite fluid and dynamic in what he can do despite his size and heft! And the customizability with Deathcobra or Killbisons turret are also nice additions, beyond that the set comes with three flight stands and six spear weapons that can also combine for Liokaiser to weild! And it can't lie, its a dope weapon! Even if chained weapons make for limited displays...
But yeah, definitely on par with the modern quality of generations combiners! Without the need for a skeleton too! Just that hip piece really... hell I think he is my favorite modern combiner to disassemble and reassemble! And thays saying something!

But were not done yet! We got one more member to look at! And we will tomorrow!

030

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

TRANSFORMERS LEGACY HASLAB LIOKAISER PART 4 & 5- KILLBISON & DRILLHORN The thickest lads in all their glory! Review in alts!

Review 1219
TRANSFORMERS LEGACY HASLAB LIOKAISER PART 4 & 5- KILLBISON & DRILLHORN

Next up on out list is the super ultra thick and beefy tank boys! Who form the might legs of Liokaiser!

What i say theyre beefy, I mean they're MADE OF CHONK! articulation exists in there, with universal joints and swivels in all the joints you'd expect, but good luck making use of it when 50% of the tanks mass is right there on the shin, encompassing te tiny things and feet attached to them! The arms are equally as stubby as super squat appendages made of rectangles embedded in different flavors of tank tread kibble. And they actually pose pretty decently except the shoulder joint... which is super low on the torso for... seemingly no reason? Is it because the combiner joint is in there? Surely they could've fit both in the torso without... this being the solution!?
I will say they both got the best breast animals paired with them, they slide out of their torsos with ease, and the resulting animals are simply adorable little creatures with little gunbarrel tails and stubby little balljointed leggies! And yeah, none of the breast animals make for good guns, so its not even worth talking about imo.

CONTINUE->

<-P1

These dudes got like, some of the easiest transformations in all of generations! Straight out the bodies, open flaps to hide the heads, open some panels in the legs and crunch it all together, resulting in some brick ass tanks! All that beef in robot mode, it just translates to equally beefy vehicles that in no way would be able to navigate the world in real life! And while drillhorn wears this beef really well, and is tooled to look swish and powerful as a drill tank... killbison does not, with the weakest alt mode of the bunch and just a sort of bad looking tank. Also, a personal gripe, the feet and heels of the combiner are stored on the side of the legs, and since the heel is shorter than the toe, but they didn't tool the legs to accommodate them, theres an ugly gap on one side of both tanks im not super into.

Again. All these guys so far are fun and solidly built! But these weird quirks they have do truly leave a lot to be desired on an individual level. Especially under the prestige that comes with being a haslab! Still, theres two more members to go!

020

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

TRANSFORMERS LEGACY HASLAB LIOKAISER PART 2 &3 ELLBAT & GAIHAWK Jets! Arms! Dudes! They got it all! Review in alts!

Review 1218
TRANSFORMERS LEGACY HASLAB LIOKAISER PART 2 & 3- ELLBAT & GAIHAWK

Continuing onward with Hasbros latest Haslab set, going from least favorite to favorite, today were looking at the jet components who form the arms of Liokaiser. Not bad toys on their own merits, but definitely not without issues...

You know what these guys feel like?! They feel like combiner wars jets but fancied up a little bit. Plastic is more durable and articulation is better, but most of their body is just hanging out under the jet, head and all, with the legs pulling a very similar double hinge opening system, though asymmetrically, as on each of them one leg houses the combiner fist, when the others just got a flap. They can be super annoying to maneuver around eachother but once you know the pattern the clearance isnt awful. Jet modes are solid from the top, and they all even come with a dedicated flight stand clamp for the included display bases, however no option was provided to use standard flight stands, and theres only three with four fliers... oof.
These guys definitely fair better in robot mode. With super dynamic posing from balljointed wrists, and faux ankle tilts, and an unlockable an crunch and swivel if you remove their breast animals. Though stability is an issue without proper feet to balance them.
And honestly, as arms theyre also kind of week. The all bult in transformation leads to weirdly stubby arms with extremely limited movement due to the excess kibble on the shoulders. I wish they could've made the arms a little bit longer to make the combined mode better! Again not bad! Just a weird design flaw.

A huge step up from deathcobra! But again as toys theyre simply pretty good, between Ellbat and Gaihawk though I prefer Gaihawk as he has better colors, better sculpt and a better breast animal!

0120

Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

TRANSFORMERS HASLAB LIOKAISER, PART 1- DEATHCOBRA I get it... he's a bonus, a pack in, an extra... still doesn't excuse the end result... Review in alt!

Review 1218
TRANSFORMERS LEGACY HASLAB LIOKAISER PART 1- DEATHCOBRA

After weeks of waiting, its finally time for me to give Haslabs newest set the break down it deserves. I'm gonna be looking at the individual members/mold mates each on their own in order from my least favorite to my personal favorite! Starting with Deathcobra who's at the bottom of the barrel for many reasons...

Long story short... Hes a clunky mess!!! Unlike the other members, you have to partsform both his breast animal and his rotor blade in order to convert between robot and helicopter modes, and its not creative partsforming either, its just not knowing how to integrate his parts without them clashing into eachother. And neither of his modes are particularly good either, with his helicopter being super bloated in proportion, and absolutely zero effort to streamline the robot mode legs or arms at all!
And robot mode is... fine. Accurate to the source material with the long tail giving him a snake motif, decent articulation, and customizability with his detachable blades and front mounted cannon doubling ass additional weapons. But with the chunky limbs, and the massive backpack, its really hard to make use of all those joints to give him any of that good dynamic posing. And for what? A very lackluster integration with the team?
When it comes to his inclusion with liokaiser, he can either become a replacement left arm instead of Ellbat, or a shoulder cannon. And neither really look good or flow well with the rest of the gestalt. I do prefer him as an arm, not over Ellbat mind you, but definitely over the cannon mode, but ultimately I just tend to leave him as his own thing.

Its nice they included him! He was a tier goal after all, but on hos own merits, hes a boring toy with not much to offer, and they definitely could've cooked with him a little bit more to truly bring out some greatness!

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Adorable Ava @adorableava.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

BLOKEES CLASSIC CLASS OPTIMUS PRIME & MEGATRON (2007 movie) Some great examples of how to and how not to make a good looking model kit! Review in alts!