Shockwave (gun mode!):
Not bad. I would have preferred a larger. But, as part of "Combiner Wars", and as a way of accenting the scale of the Combiners, a Legends class Shockwave works well enough. I just hope that this figure does not signal Shockwave's return in the comics.
Buzzsaw:
For the last few years, Hasbro has been losing me with larger figures (Metroplex, FoC Bruticus, Jetfire...). Now, they are losing me with the smaller figures. Why exactly did Hasbro try to make a triple changer out of a sub-deluxe, when Hasbro is struggling with simplified designs and pinched budgets? Why? I like Buzzsaw, but I really want a better option than the "Encore" figure that is not the (expensive) "Masterpiece". Still waiting on this.....
Chop Shop (repaint of Skrapnel):
Nothing to go crazy over. But, it is a good mould. If I happen to see one at retail, I might buy in.
COMBINER WARS BRUTICUS:
Easy skip. Blast-off should have been replaced with a new character if Hasbro could not come up with money for a new mould (on a combiner that is mostly retooling to begin with). The colour variants just add a new problem in that assembling a correct set is that much more difficult. (I really like the Combaticons as characters, but have yet to see a good Bruticus set.)
Battle Core Optimus Prime (repaint):
That Optimus looks to have Prowl's helmet in merge-mode. This is another thing that I hope does not end up in the comics.
Sky Lynx (voyager, all new mold!):
Glad to see that Hasbro is not breaking its recent trend of disappointing me with larger toys that I initially want. Even putting aside the fact that Sky Lynx is associated with a crappy comic, the fact that the new figure reportedly cannot split in to the two components annoys me. (I could probably work around the associations with the new comics if the toy were better.)
Autobot Hound (Swindle with a new head, looks better as Hound):
I need to see this one in hand. But, if I make Galvatronus, I might use Hound instead of Mirage.
Trailbreaker (Offroad with new head, gun hand, seems to have original name back):
This had better not lead to Trailbreaker/cutter coming back in the comics. It will not be IDW's fault if it does. But, at this point, I do not care whose fault a problem is. The comic has so many of them.
Sunstreaker:
Another one that I need to see in hand.
Victorion:
How many helicopter limbs?
Wreck-Gar:
Looks too "clean" to be a Junkion. Not a bad mould in general. But, the wrong mould for the character in this case.
Hopefully, stuff like Trailbreaker and Shockwave will be similar to the Cyclonus/Galvatronus, and Hasbro will not mandate it be used in the comics.
Bruticus looks amazing. I like the idea of Blast Off being a jet instead of the space shuttle. The shuttle never really made sense in a group of armed military vehicles.
Much of the original impetus for the space program came out of the Cold War. While not formally an arms race, the Space Race had military elements to it (which is part of the reason it has lost so much funding and standing in the last 25 years).
