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Sideways was a toy I wanted so badly to like, but he and I never ended up clicking in a way that allowed me to enjoy him.

His car mode is great, but the transformation is annoyingly complicated (then again I am somewhat of a Transformers noob), and well, as a robot he's just not much fun to play with. I'm also somewhat peculiar about the Movie aesthetics in there are very few of the movie characters I actually like the look of.

Skids was one of those toys I bought because there was nothing else to buy at the time. He must have been the only thing hanging on the shelf, or else I wouldn't have bothered. After having him for a few years, I still wish I'd just saved my money instead.

The vehicle mode isn't bad, but the robot mode is really goofy. I hate the head sculpt, and how squatty he looks. I do like his giant spring loaded fist, but he's hardly enjoyable for me otherwise.

While I love most all of the Beast Wars toys, there are a few that I am not a huge a fan of, and even a few that I can't stand. This Transmetal 2 Scourge is one of the few I can't stand. The beast mode, which is a locust, is not too bad. I even like the bright color scheme.

Its in his bot mode, where this guy really falls apart for me. So much of his insect mode is still apparent here such as his legs, and the head and appendages hanging off is arm. The really obnoxious part is the mess of insect limbs hanging from his arm. The really get in the way when playing with him. I also don't like the fact that the two robot arms are completely different colors.

I know it sounds like I'm being really harsh on this guy, and I am, but I think that is largely because of how much of a Beast Wars I am.

I remember seeing this guy in stores, but passed on him like I had almost all of the Prime figures. After watching the series, my interest in the figure was renewed and I wanted to track him down. I picked him up on Ebay for just under retail cost.I'm really glad I picked him up, and I'm more glad he had his instructions included because otherwise I may have never figured out how to transform him. The process is really weird and somewhat frustrating with different twists and folds. I am not sure I would even be able to get this guy back into jet mode if I tried.

While the Energon Downshift is my Wheeljack, this is a figure I can actually use Downshift.

This guy is a really good example of a solid vehicle mode, easy yet satisfying transformation, and fun robot mode.

His cannons can be attached to his shoulders or held in each hand. He has pretty good articulation and is fun to play with.

All in all, this guy is one of my favorites from the Cybertron line if not the entire the Unicron Trilogy.



Downshift transforms into a wicked looking green Barracuda. I love this vehicle mode, it looks realistic and works really well with other Earth based vehicle modes.

Stinkbomb transforms into a techno-organic skunk. He's fun to play with and pose even in beast mode, which was a nice change from some earlier more brick like Beast Wars beast modes, and his robot mode is fantastic! I love the posability and design aesthetic.

His tail works as a close quarters weapon in both beast and robot mode.


If someone were to hand me the keys to the Transformers Kingdom or if I were to take over the writing chores on More than Meets the Eye (maybe for season Three, IDW?), Stinkbomb would be a key character. He's such a cool character with fun abilities like being able to lull his enemies with his eyes, and a paralyzing spray with a foul odor that lasts for weeks. Think of the jokes his cohorts could make as they speculate exactly where that spray even comes from.

Jawbreaker is an interesting figure. He transforms from a sort of hyena thing into a spike laden robot with a big sword.

The beast mode is pretty cool, but his robot mode leaves a little to be desired. I don't really mind the hyena head hand with circular saw attached, but I don't the kibble of his beast mode lang hanging off his other arm.

Terrorsaur plays a pretty large role in my Transformers Universe. I've developed the character as someone who always aspired to become a member of the Seekers, but because of his alt. mode and the limitations it provided, he was constantly shunned by Starscream and the seekers. Overtime, Terrorsaur has made modifications to his alt mode by installing VTOL and and jet thrusters, but it was to no avail. Now Terrorsaur harbors a deep resentment towards most of the other Decepticon fliers and has even gone as far as sabotaging some of the Seekers missions out of spite.

Iguanus is one of many Transmetal II figures to make the leap from my Beast Wars collection into my general Transformers Universe.

It was Iguanus' color pallet and interesting head sculpt that made me a fan of this toy from the beginning.

Iguanus and Spittor usually work as a team and they specialize in guerilla warfare. They are sent on the missions no other Decepticon wants to go on, and they are usually suicide missions. Much the their leaders chagrin, the two always seem to find their way back to base mission accomplished.

I don't use the Transmetal figures in my actual Beast Wars world, instead they had either been sold or traded off, or in the case of characters like Spittor, I have integrated them into my traditional Transformers world.

Spittor is a cool little figure in both robot and beast mode. He's got some odd but rather appropriate proportions that make him a lot of fun to play with and he looks great on display.

Insecticon is a cool little character. I don't see him ever being the center piece of anyone's collection, but I dig him none-the-less.

In robot mode he has some decent articulation, and is fun to play with.

I really dig the resident Decepticon Con-artist, Swindle, and would love to see him take on a larger role in the current Transformer books. I'd love to see him try and sell beach front property on the Ice Planet to Whirl, or lease Swerve's bar to the Seacons and turn it into an aquarium.

My "go-to" Swindle figure is the small Cybertron Swindle figure. I love the small scout size figures, and this guy is a lot of fun to boot. His transformation is fun and easy, and his robot mode is fun to play with.

Vortex may be my least favorite of the group. The helicopter mode is average at best, but his robot mode is a big let down. While I like the head sculpt, the skirt and lower legs are not appealing to me, and I really wish the rotor blades would've stayed on his back, as I don't like them on his arm. It's not like he needs them for offensive capabilities since he is armed with two swords...So much about this guy just doesn't look right or make sense, and it gets even worse when they re-relased him as Whirl but we'll get to that some other time.

I've always liked the character Brawl, so I had really high hope for this figure. I thought for sure he'd be my favorite of the group, be he's been probably the most disappointing.

First is his alt mode, which is a frail looking hover-tank. I really wish the designers would have included treads, retractable treads for that matter so he could be used both ways.

The robot mode is really smaller than it should be...In robot mode, Brawl should be just as big as Onslaught in my opnion, but instead he's really small. I also can't stand the kibble he has hanging off his back like some kind of tail. It hinders his posability and his playability. Oh, and he has really small feet.

He's average at best, but was even more disappointing to me than the rest because of my hopes.

I like Blast Off in this set better than the rest of his mates. His Cybertronian shuttle mode is odd to say the least, and doesn't really resemble a shuttle at all, Cybertronian or otherwise. It's his robot mode I dig. I like the articulation and that he's armed with two cannons that he can hold in his hands or mount to his forearms. I also really like his face sculpt

This guy is not Swindle to me though I haven't yet decided who he is. For now, he's basic cannon fodder.

I rather like this figure. He's not as big or imposing as he could've been, but of the Combaticons he is probably my second favorite next to Blast Off.

Oil Pan was a cool little figure I picked up along with several other scout class figures when TRU had a buy one get one 1/2 off deal.

I missed out on Brakedown when he was released as part of the movie line, but will track it down at some point as I dig the figure.

I didn't pay much attention to Armada, but jumped in head first into Energon. This was one of the earlier figures I picked up, and for a time this was my only Starscream figure.

I later picked up this same figure in a G1 re-deco, but never took him out of his package and then later sold it off when I got the Classics version. At the recommendation of a fellow collector, I decided to hold onto this figure and use him as Nightscream.

A cute little Cybertron toy with somewhat limited articulation. Backstop is one of those figures that is just sort of there. He'll never be the focal point of a collection but isn't as nearly as frustrating as someone like Overhaul. This figure is a little stumpy and is not at all threatening in his robot form.

Grapple (misspelled by Hasbro as Grappel) is a repaint of Inferno. I never saw Inferno, but as much as I was looking to replace my Energon version I'd have surely picked him up if I'd ever spotted him. Anyway, Grapple was a cool character to me, and I was stoked to get a new version of the character.

I leapt at the chance to own an Arcee figure, without ever taking time to decide if this was even a figure worth owning. In my opinion its really not. The figure is really small and she's not all bad. Unlike the Cybertron Override, this actually resembles a female transformer. She's decently posable but there is one major issue I have with this figure, and it really kills it to me, which is her hands. The way her hands come out from her arms really really bothers me. The arms have guns attached which is cool...but the you have these goofy little hands that do and serve absolutely no purpose. And they look really weird too, they could have been designed much differently and much better.

I am really hoping we get that new Arcee figure due out later this year, as she will be a welcome addition to my collection and will replace this oddity.

I was big into Beast Wars but passed on Beast Machines and Armada (at least at retail), I was immediately drawn to the Energon line however, and one of the things that drew me in was the inclusion of characters I was familiar with. And it wasn't just the names I was familiar with, it was their designs as well. Inferno here is a great example of that.

I remember seeing him in stores and immediately recognizing it as Inferno. I knew I had to have him in my collection.

This figure is not too bad. his alt mode looks like a fire truck, and i like the weapon which is mounted on his arm in robot mode. If I ever get my hands on a Generations/Classics version of the character, this figure may be in trouble, but for now he's good enough!

Not really following Aramda, I didn't really know who Hot Shot was. All I knew was that he was a robot that transformed into a car, and that is exactly what I was looking to collect.

I enjoyed this figure at first, especially his car mode, while not very realistic it wasn't too far out there. The robot mode has somewhat limited articulation especially the way his ball joint on his arms is designed and his head is pretty much in a fixed position.

This particular figure hasn't aged very well, which is pretty par for the course with Armada figures, but I would expect more from Energon.