Marvel's Death's Head
Class: Not Applicable
Price: $10 USD/$13 CDN
Available:  Now


Figure (front card)
Figure (rear card)
Figure:  ONETWO
Figure w/weapons
Hunter and prey...
Another bounty earned...

At long last, an action figure of the famed character from the classic Transformers UK series! This toy seemed to be hard to find around here but I lucked out and got one. When opening the figure I could smell the plastic from the cape, which brought me back to memories of the old Kenner Star Wars figures like Obi-Wan and Darth Vader. The figure itself is pretty poseable, with multiple points of articulation. I have very little issues with the toy. I do wonder why they opted to make the cape permanently attached to the figure (perhaps it was just an issue of production cost). Also, while the character comes with an axe, mace and shield, I do seem to recall the character in the comics possessing a multitude of firearms as well which are absent here. The product on the back of the card has his weapons attached to his back but there doesn't appear to be any way to accomplish this in the final production version, which is too bad. Still, it's an excellent representation of the classic character overall so I can overlook a few minor quibbles.
 
Verdict:  Excellent. Would've been better with a few minor tweaks (as mentioned) but all in all, I can't really complain. (There was no guarantee D.H. would ever get a figure, after all).

***
Generations Gears w/Eclipse
Class: Legends
Price: $10 USD/$13 CDN
Available:  Now

Front card
Back of card
Figure
Figure w/weapon
Vehicle mode (front)
Vehicle mode (side)
Eclipse (robot mode)
Eclipse (fighter mode): ONE, TWO
Eclipse (gun mode)
Brothers in arms: ONE, TWO

Gears is a remold of the recent Swerve toy (he has a new head). The mold is pretty good in general and Legends is definitely the right class for Gears. The character has been mostly ignored since his initial release in G1 so it's cool to see him get a new toy. The toy is nice looking in both modes and easy to transform. I do hope they think about doing the mold again as Brawn (he's the most popular version of that original mold, but I would love a new one like this to match the others). Eclipse is the same Flanker pretty much (different color scheme but otherwise identical)--an okay accessory figure that can be Gears weapon (I'm largely indifferent to the partners).

Verdict:  Excellent. A must-buy!

***
Generations
Tankor
Class: Deluxe
Price: $15 USD/$16 CDN
Available:  Now


Front of card Back of card
Robot mode Robot mode w/weapons
Tank mode (front)
Tank mode (side)
Past and present: ONE, TWO


Tankor is an excellent representation of the character from the Beast Machines cartoon all those years ago. I found him a bit tricky to transform into tank mode but he looks good once you get him into it. I'm a bit torn here--the toy itself is fine and not badly designed, but... to be perfectly honest, I prefer the original toy release of Tankor. He's bigger, black and looks very little like the cartoon. There's just something about him aesthetically that I prefer (also, his size is better for a hulking tank character as opposed to a mere Deluxe). Most people will likely disagree with me and that's fine. He also feels a bit, well, short in robot mode (I almost wish they'd given him a bit more length in his legs). Generations Tankor is still an excellent figure and I can't fault it on those merits.
 
Verdict:  Excellent. A must-buy for BM fans.

***
Generations Rattrap
Class: Deluxe
Price: $15 USD/$16 CDN
Available:  Now


Front of card Back of card
Robot mode Robot mode w/weapons
Beast mode (front)
Beast mode (side)

I never owned an original Rattrap (I did have the Trans-Metal version) so this is a nice throwback to that time and place. Generations Rattrap is a nice looking toy in both modes. His detail evokes the cartoon character quite nicely (the robot mode even has his grenades hidden in a compartment in his arm!) I had a lot of trouble getting him into beast mode--I went by instinct (read: didn't bother using the instructions. I'm a man, dammit!) and had great trouble trying to figure out how his arms/legs fit inside the beast shell properly (eventually I lucked out though). His gun is also a nice representation of his sidearm from the TV show. I hope somebody (Hasbro or the TFCC) thinks about recoloring him into Packrat at some point.
 
Verdict:  Excellent. A must-have for BW fans.


***
Generations Jhiaxus
Class: Deluxe
Price: $15 USD/$16 CDN
Available:  Now


Front of card
Back of card
Robot mode
Robot mode w/weapons
Jet mode (front): ONE, TWO
Jet mode (side)

This is remold of the Generations Armada Starscream mold. While that version was spot-on for that character, this toy doesn't really resemble any version of Jhiaxus (except for having a jet mode, of course). The head is a new one, designed to evoke the G2 character. Really, it's the most distinctive thing about this toy--the color scheme is orange for some reason (even though Jhiaxus has never been that color in any prior incarnation. I suspect the color scheme of the toy is wrong from the comics because it would've taken a fairly extensive color application by Hasbro to get it "just right" with the comics and that would've added to production costs so they left it as it was). Despite what it's got going against it though, the mold is pretty nice generally. It's also pretty stable too. Jhiaxus comes with twin guns now (as opposed to Starscream's swords). A good toy in general.
 
Verdict:  Excellent. A good Transformer toy in general and a decent representation of the comic character.

***
Generations Nightbeat
Class: Deluxe
Price: $15 USD/$16 CDN
Available:  Now


Front of card Back of card
Robot mode Robot mode w/weapons: ONE, TWO
Car mode (front): ONE, TWO
Car mode (side)
Car mode w/weapons (front): ONE, TWO
Car mode w/weapons (side): ONE, TWO

This is a recolor/retool of Generations Bumblebee. I didn't much care for the original toy's look and passed on it (also, I have more then enough Bumblebee toys as it is). As Nightbeat, though, it was more appealing so I picked one up. I like this mold as Nightbeat. He looks good, is steady and poseable. I had a little trouble getting him to fit together as the car but once it was done it's pretty good. The guns are different--they can be two swords, two guns or one weapon. I'm not sure if I like them or not but they are distinctive... A good release in general.
 
Verdict:  Excellent.

***
Generations Windblade
Class: Deluxe
Price: $15 USD/$16 CDN
Available:  Now


Front of card
Back of card
U.S. and Canadian versions (on card)

Robot mode
Robot mode w/weapon
Jet mode (front)
Jet mode (side)
Jet mode w/rotated turbines
All the single ladies...

This figure was quite hard to get for a while (at least around here anyway). Was it worth the wait? Well, I found Windblade to be a bit on the fragile side--being a female TF she's done with skinny everything and it feels like the toy might not be as durable as it could be (the only problem I had was one of her shoulder pads came of a couple of times). As a figure, she's decent. I'm not crazy on the Geisha face either, to be honest (also, how do you even explain that look on an alien robot? A fascination with Japanese culture?) She comes with a cool sword and is fairly poseable. Transforming her to jet mode shouldn't have been too hard--except the instructions leave out how to adjust her legs properly (I figured it out eventually). Also, the jet mode is a bit finicky--everything has to be positioned just so or some of it doesn't lock together right. They get points for making a new femme character and asking for the fans input but I feel like this attempt could've been refined a tiny bit more.
 
Verdict:  Good. Overall, a decent figure but could've been a bit better. 


***
Generations Snarl
Class: Deluxe
Price: $15 USD/$16 CDN
Available:  Now


Front of card Back of card
U.S. and Japanese versions (on card)

Robot mode Robot mode w/weapons: ONE, TWO
Dinosaur mode (front)
Dinosaur mode (side)
Dinobots attack!


Snarl is yet another cool addition to the neo Dinobots from Age of Extinction. Some people seem to hate the colorfulness of the new toys but I love it. He was a bit hard to pose into robot mode--the various bone/spine pieces get in the way a bit. I also noticed he has another dino head on his leg that isn't used (a vestige of some unused mode?) Generally, his robot mode is pleasing to look at and he stands fairly well. I also dig the dinosaur mode as well (can't have the Dinobots with a Stegosaurus, right?) His weapon is a club (or club and bladed weapon separately) of sorts, which is consistent with the new dino toys and their melee style weapons. It's okay, I guess, but not as cool as some other ones out there.
 
Verdict:  Excellent. A must if you love the new Dinobots and want to complete the collection. Even as a stand-alone product, he's pretty darn cool too!