Transformers Chat

I was never a huge Transformers fan as a kid. In the battle of what I consider the 80's powerhouses, G.I. Joe and Transformers, I was quick to shout "Yo Joe!" There were obviously more franchises that held our interests, such as the Ghostbusters, which was probably my first love. But G.I. Joe and Transformers are still very relevant in multiple forms. That was my brief disclaimer so as not to discount the impact of other franchises. Now back to Transformers.

I've seen the TF movies and just recently watched Dark of the Moon for the first time since its theater release. The movies aren't great and despite what longtime fans may have rated them, they always tempted me to buy TF toys. I never actually did, but I spent a few minutes browsing the toys when the movies were out.

How things have changed. I've actually purchased not one, but two TF figures within the last week or so. I picked up Dark of the Moon Mechtech Jolt and Sideswipe on clearance at Wally World. These are the first Transformers I've owned since I was in elementary school. I grabbed these because I prefer the faster and more finesse vehicles (motorcycles, sports cars, and jets) over the larger trucks other characters transform into and because they were on clearance. I'm just checking these out, I'm not quite ready to commit to the prices I pay for Gears of War or Marvel Legends.

Originally, I had this post planned before purchasing any of the toys. I picked up Jolt on a whim so that changed how this was going to go. I was going to ask where one should start with multiple TF lines still in stores. I've been to the usual retailers, except TRU, and have seen Prime and DotM still on shelves. With DotM having been out for some time and the figures on clearance, they're obviously not a major factor.

I'm watching TF: Prime on netflix now and it's decent at best. Plot-wise, it's far from a masterpiece. I've grown fond of Arcee. She's a hell of a fighter, she's blue, and she's a motorcycle. Those all earn major points in my book. I spotted TF: Prime Arcee at Target the other day and have watched reviews of her, but the way her robot mode has her motorcycle parts looking like a backpack kinda turns me off of the figure. She's still a potential purchase though.

I don't have much knowledge on the characters, so there's not much to draw on there. However, the figures do appeal to me more as an action figure collector. From a design standpoint alone, they're worth at least looking into. I'm sure others can attest to this as well, sometimes a figure from a line you don't collect just looks cool and you want it.

This point is almost what got me to pick up a Star Wars General Grievous figure. His two arms split into four, which is slick by itself. Plus he has four lightsabers (the only aspect of the SW universe I actually like). There are a few out there and I have no idea which one I saw that I liked. I must investigate. And once again, back to TF.

For the more dedicated TF fans out there, what do you think of the current TF toys? What figures do you like? On the flip-side, which would you suggest avoiding? Also, I'm curious what people think of the Prime television series. Thanks for any help and comments.