The G1 'bots I had: Ironhide Prowl (I messed up his roof and it broke off. Was still playable, though) Gears And a yellow Cliffjumper. That's right, yellow. Not Bumper. Nor Hubcap, 'cause he didn't come out yet. Yellow Cliffjumper. (Cliffbee?)
I like the cars more cause they look more like models as oppose to the minibots' toy-like appearance. Also, I think it would be cool to see a tier list on the Unicron Trilogy repaints from the 2007 toy line.
The Autobot mini-cars were from Takara's Micro Change line, along with Soundwave, the casettes, and Megatraon, while the rest of the original lineup came from Diaclone. The Micro Change fiction was that they were life-size items that turn into robots. In the case of the mini cars, they look like toys because they were meant to be Penny Racer-like toys, in-universe.
@@DataCab1e I already knew that but thank you for sharing this information in case anyone who didn't comes across this. Pre-Transformers was very interesting and it really shows how far they've came.
Thank you for calling the red one rumble!! I called the red one rumble and the blue one frenzy. And no matter what Hasbro says it’s always gonna be like that for me.
Well, as a hardcore Transformers fan, I didn't know there were this many toys in the 1984 release. Great video! It was very entertaining and informative to see all these toys in one video!
Excluding the dated articulation G1 Soundwave is almost timeless like that figure still holds up IMO. That tapedeck mode is still the best one for Soundwave IMO. It cleans up so well, the weapon storage for the battery compartment is clever and is not even something the MP could do. Soundwave deserves to be number 1 IMO.
I'd like the seeker mold a LOT more if the hands had somewhere to go in jet mode. Optimus can use his leftover Diaclone cockpit, Soundwave just slides his up his wrists, most Autobot cars just leave them be and cover them, Starscream just leaves them behind
Good point about Ironhide, it really would've made an awesome MASK vehicle. Personally I would've put Sideswipe higher- can't go wrong with a red sports car, and a Countach at that (every 80s kid had a poster of that car). Honestly I think he's more iconic to the brand than even Hasbro realizes.
I think Hasbro has indeed started realizing this, though. He's had an incarnation in every major piece of Transformers media since Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen, with one of the only exceptions being Prime. He was a major character in RID 2015, too, and was one of the characters selected to be a playable Autobot in Transformers: Devastation. He's really earning his keep.
With regards to jet colors: most F-15s are gray. There are some dark blue and dark green F-15s, but I've never seen a pure-black one. Calling it the "realistic" color is pretty weird to me, especially since Skywarp has big purple stripes all over the place.
Great tier list! For me, Optimus Prime would be at the top of Holy Grail because he was the most fun figure for me from that era, he was my very 1st figure, he looked more like the cartoon (I wasn't a fan of the Megatron robot mode), & I didn't have to be afraid of playing with him outside😎 Ironhide & Ratchet would be Bargain Bin because I absolutely hated their robot modes, but I did like the trailer mode playability.
This was a fun vid. Definitely hope you do 85 and onward. I'd say Megs wins out over Optimus simply because of the engineering. Op has a very simple transformation where Megs was really ahead of its time.
I do believe that in the 80's that van (or a very similar looking vehicle) was used as an Ambulance. As while watching a disaster programme I did see G1 Ratchet at the scene of that episode's disaster.
In the 1980s American ambulances were often vans, but the particular model of van that Ironhide and Ratchet were based on was a much smaller Japanese vehicle. There wouldn't be much room for the needed equipment.
I view G1 Ironhide the same as Energon Towline. I loved Towline as a kid, since he was a full robot with a built play gimmick. Skip back 15ish years and I may have felt the same about Ironhide
Loved this video! Hope to see more, year by year. I don't know if I would place them all in the same spots, but you made great points for why you placed each one.
I agree with most of these choices, although for about a fifth of the robots I might move them up or down a level than what is shown here. So really, that's a pretty remarkable similarity. But my one big gripe is Megatron. I get the gun mode argument here and am fine with it. It's just as a robot, he was terrible. I knew it, all my friends knew it, and the American people knew it.
I like your list. I understand why you put Buzzsaw separate from Soundwave but I think he should've been included with Soundwave because he came with Soundwave. It adds to Soundwave's playability. Just my opinion. But other than that the video was awesome
Having Megatron as the grail is perfectly fine. With the reissues he's had I cannot believe younger me never bought any of them ... IF Takara manage it just one more I'll be there like a (gun) shot! On the topic of two certain cassettes, this is why I see Rumble as Blue and Frenzy as Red - - Rumble, a calm noise before the action starts the colour blue suits this sound. = Frenzy, chaotic, angry, crazy. Red suits this name and action far more. - Rumble has the letters BLE next to each other in his name, only missing the U (though it is in his name) = Frenzy has the letters RE next to each other in his name and like Rumble is only missing one letter, D. Essentially it just feels better and makes more sense to have the names that way round.
You know I personally don't understand why people hate on Brawn so much. They say he doesn't look much like the animation, but I think he kinda does. I know he doesn't have a face, and he's got little claws. But then again, Bumblebee doesn't have a face either and everyone loves him. I think The Brawn toy looks much more like Brawn in the cartoon than say the Megatron toy looking like Megatron or Starscream's toy looking like Starscream.
Fun video. It's interesting there wasn't really any focus on the vehicle modes though. I think some of the robots that were not that great in some ways make up for in their awesome vehicle mode.
Bumper was in Cliffjumper cards not Bumblebee cards as far as we know. I had him as a kid but never realized it at the time, thinking he was just a yellow Cliffjumper.
At 20:59, I just call both of Soundwave's cartoon robot minions Dr FrankenRumbleFrenzyWelkerstein, since they're basically twins that go by different names to confuse their parents.
I still have the original G1 Hound and Bluestreak in my collection, but I wonder, with today's technology, how come they don't reverse engineer new molds for the missing Autobots like Mirage, Wheeljack and Sunstreaker? Not to mention the Dinobots as well? It would be amazing to get these bots again, but we're gonna have to forget about G1 Megatron...
The original soundwave toy from microchange actually played casette tapes like a walkman which would have been my favorite thing as a kid, im amazed they haven't tried to make a small mp3 player version that played transformers music or something
Not actually true, the original toy was never large enough for cassettes. You could be thinking of the original Microchange Blaster that had a working radio build in, or the casette player Soundwave that was entirely a US release, it was a working tape player but it couldn't transform.
It's a testament to G1 Soundwave's design that even in 2022, nearly 40 years after his release he remains the best mainline representation of the character.
@@OptimusPhillip as a display piece netflix is better, but the Netflix figure has a lot of issues that make it worse than the g1 toy in my eyes(tolerance issues, leftover stuff from the siege mold that doesn’t need to be there, etc). I don’t think g1 soundwave is a better representation than core class soundwave from kingdom as that thing is solid in basically every way
@@mechaknuckle Core is a very close second, really only being beaten out by the G1 version due to scaling. Core is certainly the best mainline Soundwave to come out since the G1 one.
@Carl Gunderson If that's the case, the original comment kind of becomes meaningless, since the only other G1 Soundwave toy was the Action Master... which basically means that the Microchange Soundwave is the best by default.
I have never disagreed more on any other tier list than I do right now. Optimus I would put at the top of Holy Grail because he's the only figure for the time who actually has some level of articulation beside just shoulders. Articulation isn't something I'm going to knock a G1 toy for not having because that was pretty common of the time period but I will bump up any figure who actually has more than what I would generally expect to see. Megatron I do consider a Holy Grail though that's based on the fact that it's a figure that will never get reissued in the U.S. and not based on how good the figure actually is. I mean his robot mode is super awkward and inappropriate especially with where his trigger ends up. If it wasn't so hard to find I'd probably rank him a lot lower. Soundwave I think I would actually rank higher than Megatron but lower than Optimus Prime. Again, he's one of the few G1 toys that actually has some level of articulation... which is mostly an accident because of his transformation. Also he has a unique gimmick that adds to his play value. Honestly I think the alt modes are pretty dumb and I don't really find him that interesting. I actually have a G1 reissue with most of his cassettes. I also like the fact that his weapons turn into batteries so he's also one of the few G1 Transformers with dedicated weapon storage. Sunstreaker I don't think deserves to be next to his brother. If we were talking about the animation models sure, I always thought Sunstreaker had a more memorable unique look while Sideswipe looks more generic. However looking at the toys, I feel like Sideswipe has better proportions while Sunstreaker has those weird arms. He has a design that would be easier to forgive on a minibot but for a toy his size and when Sideswipe basically for the same scale and vehicle mode has a cleaner robot mode I like where Sideswipe is, I don't like where Sunstreaker is. I'd put him just above Wheeljack. Bluestreak... I'm mostly doing this just because of the name but hate his color scheme. Even if he were called Silverstreak so the name makes sense with that color scheme I don't think he's better than Prowl. A police car is just visually more interesting than just a silver car. In fact of all the G1 cars he's the most dull to look at because it's just silver. The added red in robot mode makes him a little more interesting in that mode but then he's just mirroring Windcharger's color scheme. It's still the same mold as Prowl so I guess I can't put it too much lower just based on colors alone but because of how dull the colors are and the fact that there is no blue anywhere on a character called Bluestreak I freaking hate this thing. I don't care I'm throwing him in Bargain Bin just based on colors alone. I agree on Skywarp, he's always been my favorite of the seekers... but I would swap Starscream and Thundercracker. Starscream's jet mode looks more like a real jet and I like the color changing trick it does going from a mostly grey jet mode to a mostly red robot mode. Thundercracker has the most boring color scheme... at least of the original 3... since it's the only one that doesn't really expose any hidden colors when it transforms. Even Skywarp exposes some silver and more purple in robot mode that wasn't present in jet mode. Thundercracker just changes from a blue jet into a blue robot. Ratchet and Ironhide... yeah even taking all that stuff you said into account I'd still rank them Flea Market. Granted if we were talking about the original Diaclone toys that were still intended to have pilots I would probably agree with you there but as Transformers where the pilots have been completely abandoned I just can not over look the fact that they don't have heads. The play pattern just doesn't make sense for what Transformers was. Having the little Diaclone pilots with those versions of the figures I could see that being a lot more appealing but removing that gimmick just ruins these figures. The other Diaclone toys can still stand on their own as robots and don't need their pilots but these two because they don't have a head they need a pilot in that little seat to make it work. Hound I would actually put higher... Yeah his arms are tiny but he's one of the few Transformers who because of his open vehicle mode actually has a real interior and the engineering on his transformation to make that work for that time is pretty impressive so I'm more willing to forgive his odd proportions. I'd put him above Skywarp but still below some of the better proportioned Autobots. Huffer I think I'd put higher as well... just above all the cassettes, not randomly in the middle of them. The cassettes, I actually think my preference is Ravage partly because Beast Wars and also because he's the most unique being the only one who doesn't have a repaint. Rumble/Frenzy because I prefer that every Transformer should have an actual robot mode. I like the red and black one more. I'm color blind so I actually didn't even know that the other one was blue and purple till you mentioned it in this video. I just thought he was all blue and felt he was rather dull looking because it's just a lot of blue with a tiny hint of gold on his chest. I won't even get into which color scheme goes with what name. Laserbeak and Buzzsaw are the WORST of the original cassettes. The weapons completely cover up the color variation between the two so in bird mode it's impossible to tell which one you're even looking at. I prefer Laserbeak just because I remember him being used more in the cartoon and I don't think there's enough of a difference to even register Buzzsaw as a different character. In cassette mode I can tell them apart but once you transform them and put their weapons on there's literally zero difference between the two. I wish the weapons had also been done in gold for one of them or do the black parts in a different color cause the red and gold bits on their back get covered by their weapons so you can't even see that. The stickers on their wings also change from silver to gold but it's so shiny because of the foil that it's hard to see the gold under some conditions. Also if those stickers peel off... which some of the stickers on my reissues were already peeling right out of the package, that can easily be lost. I really do not like the Laserbeak/Buzzsaw mold. And of course... none of these figures are really much good on their own unless you also have Soundwave. I kind of consider Soundwave and the Cassettes to be part of a package deal cause any one of them on their own isn't really worth much but all together is what makes them holy grail material.
My top 5 for toys would be 5. Trailbreaker 4. Mirage 3. Sunstreaker 2. Skywarp 1. Optimus prime. Hound was my 1st transformers toy I got before I even knew what transformers was
Good list. I personally would put Sunstreaker after Prowl. Those partsforming hands/weapons with no place to store them has a similar problem to the Seekers. Also have to disagree about Ratchet/Ironhide. It's not about show accuracy that is the problem. I just like all my toys to have proper heads - period. Though the weapons platform/med bay does help the playability aspect.
Differences in design is Dery's mistake, not Hasbro's. Technically the toys are the source material and changes are the fault of the cartoon, while the comic was forced to use the cartoon models by the fourth issue. Windcharger was my first Transformer so I have a soft spot for him. I kind of wonder what the figures would look like in animation form.
That windcharger placement is really bad. As someone who's not even a fan of windcharger, that's one of the most iconic and classic Transformers figures ever.
Interesting to hear your thoughts as you went through the list. I was a bit dumbfounded with your assessment of Windcharger though. He has a simple transformation. He has the best articulation of any minibot. And he looks more like a robot in that mode than Ironhide or Ratchet.
I don’t mean to be a pain TJ, but Megatron isn’t actually 1:1 scale with a real Walther P38 🥴 he’s around 30% to 40% smaller than the real firearm, I know as I’ve held a 1:1 replica made from the manufacturing moulds of the actual gun and it’s fairly large and chunky for what it is. Plus Meg’s pistol barrel is not big enough to fit the 9mm round that the real gun used, the closest sized round that could probably be shoved in Meg’s barrel is a 0.22 rimfire cartridge (5.6mm) at best. Doesn’t stop him from being a really great figure though :) he also has 10 pieces of die cast in him, I know as I’ve counted them 😁 he’s fairly heavy for an undersized toy gun
@@OptimusPhillip The watches were mailaway figures as well. When he was doing the Autoceptor entry he even specifically said all '84 figures including mailaways. Also, tfwiki lists the Omnibots as '85, though admittedly I thought of them as well before checking.
@@optitron2005 The Kronoform watches were not mailaways in the US. Also, TFWiki can be a little inconsistent with G1 toy dating. I was going off of their page for the US G1 toyline, which lists them as part of the '84 series. It does seem that he was mistaken when he said he was including the mailaways, however. Whether he misspoke and meant to say "including the Kronoforms", or whether he legitimately meant to include all the mailaways and just... didn't, however, I can't tell.
Skids technically came out in 1984, but he wasn't part of the initial assortment. From what I can tell, he was more of a preview release, coming out much later in the year as a late addition to the roster.
@@OptimusPhillip Looking at various anomalies from that first year or so I think this is what happened: 1) the Grapple mode was originally scheduled for the twelfth Autobot car slot but was for some reason not ready in time, 2) that spot was filled with a second Mirage for most of the release, 3) Skids was the first of the next group to be ready and was slotted in at the tail end of the first year. Similarly, due to the fact that artwork for the Bumper mold turned up in South American releases, he was probably intended for release in the US initially. However, he was probably dropped due to the fact that he would make 7 minibots. That would complicate the case packs. As he was so similar to Bumblebee and Cliffjumper while being less interesting looking, he was the safe drop. Can't prove it, but those seem the most reasonable explanations.
Well, Brawn wasn't even originally a Transformers figure. He was part of the Mysterians line of toys, which were another transforming robot-to-vehicle line around those days.
Personally I feel your giving the G1 Ironhide too much slack because yes it’s a Mech suit but it hasbro leaves out the little driver figure of the mech suit so you can’t really use that play pattern
Way too high for the seekers, Bargain bin at best. I'd forgive all the flaws you mentioned if the jet mode was good, but that isn't either. Gaps between the thrusters, gap between the wings and fuselage even the sticker eyes. It's just a bad toy.
Really hoping you do 1985, the Whirl toy has a lot of complexity and I wanna see your thoughts on it.
Complexity for a G1 toy, that is.
The G1 'bots I had:
Ironhide
Prowl (I messed up his roof and it broke off. Was still playable, though)
Gears
And a yellow Cliffjumper. That's right, yellow. Not Bumper. Nor Hubcap, 'cause he didn't come out yet. Yellow Cliffjumper. (Cliffbee?)
I like the cars more cause they look more like models as oppose to the minibots' toy-like appearance. Also, I think it would be cool to see a tier list on the Unicron Trilogy repaints from the 2007 toy line.
The Autobot mini-cars were from Takara's Micro Change line, along with Soundwave, the casettes, and Megatraon, while the rest of the original lineup came from Diaclone. The Micro Change fiction was that they were life-size items that turn into robots. In the case of the mini cars, they look like toys because they were meant to be Penny Racer-like toys, in-universe.
@@DataCab1e I already knew that but thank you for sharing this information in case anyone who didn't comes across this. Pre-Transformers was very interesting and it really shows how far they've came.
Thank you for calling the red one rumble!! I called the red one rumble and the blue one frenzy. And no matter what Hasbro says it’s always gonna be like that for me.
Well, as a hardcore Transformers fan, I didn't know there were this many toys in the 1984 release. Great video! It was very entertaining and informative to see all these toys in one video!
I hope to see a tier list for rest of the G1 series, one year at a time.
Excluding the dated articulation G1 Soundwave is almost timeless like that figure still holds up IMO. That tapedeck mode is still the best one for Soundwave IMO. It cleans up so well, the weapon storage for the battery compartment is clever and is not even something the MP could do.
Soundwave deserves to be number 1 IMO.
The red guy was called Frenzy in the cartoon. Since we're talking about the toys, though, this guy is Rumble.
I'd like the seeker mold a LOT more if the hands had somewhere to go in jet mode.
Optimus can use his leftover Diaclone cockpit, Soundwave just slides his up his wrists, most Autobot cars just leave them be and cover them, Starscream just leaves them behind
Good point about Ironhide, it really would've made an awesome MASK vehicle. Personally I would've put Sideswipe higher- can't go wrong with a red sports car, and a Countach at that (every 80s kid had a poster of that car). Honestly I think he's more iconic to the brand than even Hasbro realizes.
I think Hasbro has indeed started realizing this, though. He's had an incarnation in every major piece of Transformers media since Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen, with one of the only exceptions being Prime. He was a major character in RID 2015, too, and was one of the characters selected to be a playable Autobot in Transformers: Devastation.
He's really earning his keep.
With regards to jet colors: most F-15s are gray. There are some dark blue and dark green F-15s, but I've never seen a pure-black one. Calling it the "realistic" color is pretty weird to me, especially since Skywarp has big purple stripes all over the place.
I thought he meant "realistic" for a Decepticon.
I've always preferred blue cassette minion over the red and black one. I've never actually owned a G1 toy myself though.
Great tier list! For me, Optimus Prime would be at the top of Holy Grail because he was the most fun figure for me from that era, he was my very 1st figure, he looked more like the cartoon (I wasn't a fan of the Megatron robot mode), & I didn't have to be afraid of playing with him outside😎 Ironhide & Ratchet would be Bargain Bin because I absolutely hated their robot modes, but I did like the trailer mode playability.
I agree I luckily had Prime, Megatron and Soundwave as a kid, and Prime was easily the best.
This was a fun vid. Definitely hope you do 85 and onward.
I'd say Megs wins out over Optimus simply because of the engineering. Op has a very simple transformation where Megs was really ahead of its time.
I do believe that in the 80's that van (or a very similar looking vehicle) was used as an Ambulance. As while watching a disaster programme I did see G1 Ratchet at the scene of that episode's disaster.
Most of the diaclone toys were based on Japanese vehicles, so makes sense ratchet would have a 70's van alt mode.
In the 1980s American ambulances were often vans, but the particular model of van that Ironhide and Ratchet were based on was a much smaller Japanese vehicle. There wouldn't be much room for the needed equipment.
I view G1 Ironhide the same as Energon Towline. I loved Towline as a kid, since he was a full robot with a built play gimmick. Skip back 15ish years and I may have felt the same about Ironhide
Loved this video! Hope to see more, year by year.
I don't know if I would place them all in the same spots, but you made great points for why you placed each one.
I agree with most of these choices, although for about a fifth of the robots I might move them up or down a level than what is shown here. So really, that's a pretty remarkable similarity. But my one big gripe is Megatron. I get the gun mode argument here and am fine with it. It's just as a robot, he was terrible. I knew it, all my friends knew it, and the American people knew it.
Does Megatron really deserve to be no. 1? The robot mode is so incredibly wonky, show-accurate or not.
I like your list. I understand why you put Buzzsaw separate from Soundwave but I think he should've been included with Soundwave because he came with Soundwave. It adds to Soundwave's playability. Just my opinion. But other than that the video was awesome
Now we go to the old debate...is Skids 84 or 85? If he really is 84, it was 100% in character to forget him.
I did read someone saw him in a Toys R Us in December 1984, so I think he did just scrape in.
Beast Wars toys next?
Having Megatron as the grail is perfectly fine. With the reissues he's had I cannot believe younger me never bought any of them ... IF Takara manage it just one more I'll be there like a (gun) shot!
On the topic of two certain cassettes, this is why I see Rumble as Blue and Frenzy as Red -
- Rumble, a calm noise before the action starts the colour blue suits this sound.
= Frenzy, chaotic, angry, crazy. Red suits this name and action far more.
- Rumble has the letters BLE next to each other in his name, only missing the U (though it is in his name)
= Frenzy has the letters RE next to each other in his name and like Rumble is only missing one letter, D.
Essentially it just feels better and makes more sense to have the names that way round.
KREMZEEK IS YELLOW AND ENEMY IS RED
You know I personally don't understand why people hate on Brawn so much. They say he doesn't look much like the animation, but I think he kinda does. I know he doesn't have a face, and he's got little claws. But then again, Bumblebee doesn't have a face either and everyone loves him. I think The Brawn toy looks much more like Brawn in the cartoon than say the Megatron toy looking like Megatron or Starscream's toy looking like Starscream.
They need to know that it was toys first then they made it into cartoon, so not like the usual thing were the shows first, then they made it into toys
Plus tj explained the balance issues are a bigger problem.
@@reinhartjonathan7385 I of course understand that as well but even with that being the case, I still think he does look like the cartoon model.
Fun video. It's interesting there wasn't really any focus on the vehicle modes though. I think some of the robots that were not that great in some ways make up for in their awesome vehicle mode.
Bumper was in Cliffjumper cards not Bumblebee cards as far as we know. I had him as a kid but never realized it at the time, thinking he was just a yellow Cliffjumper.
At 20:59, I just call both of Soundwave's cartoon robot minions Dr FrankenRumbleFrenzyWelkerstein, since they're basically twins that go by different names to confuse their parents.
I still have the original G1 Hound and Bluestreak in my collection, but I wonder, with today's technology, how come they don't reverse engineer new molds for the missing Autobots like Mirage, Wheeljack and Sunstreaker? Not to mention the Dinobots as well? It would be amazing to get these bots again, but we're gonna have to forget about G1 Megatron...
Bumblejumper, bought mine at OTFCC 2004 with tight joints. RIRFIB!
The original soundwave toy from microchange actually played casette tapes like a walkman which would have been my favorite thing as a kid, im amazed they haven't tried to make a small mp3 player version that played transformers music or something
Not actually true, the original toy was never large enough for cassettes. You could be thinking of the original Microchange Blaster that had a working radio build in, or the casette player Soundwave that was entirely a US release, it was a working tape player but it couldn't transform.
@@TJOmega oh, it would be a really cool toy though
@23:10 Thew Addams would approve.
I traded a couple basketball cards for that Decepticon watch in elementary school
Starscream's color-scheme is LITERALLY straight from real life, I'm pretty sure. Ain't nobody painting their jets black and purple IRL, I don't think.
It's a testament to G1 Soundwave's design that even in 2022, nearly 40 years after his release he remains the best mainline representation of the character.
Even better than the Netflix Trilogy toy?
@@OptimusPhillip as a display piece netflix is better, but the Netflix figure has a lot of issues that make it worse than the g1 toy in my eyes(tolerance issues, leftover stuff from the siege mold that doesn’t need to be there, etc). I don’t think g1 soundwave is a better representation than core class soundwave from kingdom as that thing is solid in basically every way
@@mechaknuckle Core is a very close second, really only being beaten out by the G1 version due to scaling. Core is certainly the best mainline Soundwave to come out since the G1 one.
@Carl Gunderson If that's the case, the original comment kind of becomes meaningless, since the only other G1 Soundwave toy was the Action Master... which basically means that the Microchange Soundwave is the best by default.
I have never disagreed more on any other tier list than I do right now. Optimus I would put at the top of Holy Grail because he's the only figure for the time who actually has some level of articulation beside just shoulders. Articulation isn't something I'm going to knock a G1 toy for not having because that was pretty common of the time period but I will bump up any figure who actually has more than what I would generally expect to see.
Megatron I do consider a Holy Grail though that's based on the fact that it's a figure that will never get reissued in the U.S. and not based on how good the figure actually is. I mean his robot mode is super awkward and inappropriate especially with where his trigger ends up. If it wasn't so hard to find I'd probably rank him a lot lower.
Soundwave I think I would actually rank higher than Megatron but lower than Optimus Prime. Again, he's one of the few G1 toys that actually has some level of articulation... which is mostly an accident because of his transformation. Also he has a unique gimmick that adds to his play value. Honestly I think the alt modes are pretty dumb and I don't really find him that interesting. I actually have a G1 reissue with most of his cassettes. I also like the fact that his weapons turn into batteries so he's also one of the few G1 Transformers with dedicated weapon storage.
Sunstreaker I don't think deserves to be next to his brother. If we were talking about the animation models sure, I always thought Sunstreaker had a more memorable unique look while Sideswipe looks more generic. However looking at the toys, I feel like Sideswipe has better proportions while Sunstreaker has those weird arms. He has a design that would be easier to forgive on a minibot but for a toy his size and when Sideswipe basically for the same scale and vehicle mode has a cleaner robot mode I like where Sideswipe is, I don't like where Sunstreaker is. I'd put him just above Wheeljack.
Bluestreak... I'm mostly doing this just because of the name but hate his color scheme. Even if he were called Silverstreak so the name makes sense with that color scheme I don't think he's better than Prowl. A police car is just visually more interesting than just a silver car. In fact of all the G1 cars he's the most dull to look at because it's just silver. The added red in robot mode makes him a little more interesting in that mode but then he's just mirroring Windcharger's color scheme. It's still the same mold as Prowl so I guess I can't put it too much lower just based on colors alone but because of how dull the colors are and the fact that there is no blue anywhere on a character called Bluestreak I freaking hate this thing. I don't care I'm throwing him in Bargain Bin just based on colors alone.
I agree on Skywarp, he's always been my favorite of the seekers... but I would swap Starscream and Thundercracker. Starscream's jet mode looks more like a real jet and I like the color changing trick it does going from a mostly grey jet mode to a mostly red robot mode. Thundercracker has the most boring color scheme... at least of the original 3... since it's the only one that doesn't really expose any hidden colors when it transforms. Even Skywarp exposes some silver and more purple in robot mode that wasn't present in jet mode. Thundercracker just changes from a blue jet into a blue robot.
Ratchet and Ironhide... yeah even taking all that stuff you said into account I'd still rank them Flea Market. Granted if we were talking about the original Diaclone toys that were still intended to have pilots I would probably agree with you there but as Transformers where the pilots have been completely abandoned I just can not over look the fact that they don't have heads. The play pattern just doesn't make sense for what Transformers was. Having the little Diaclone pilots with those versions of the figures I could see that being a lot more appealing but removing that gimmick just ruins these figures. The other Diaclone toys can still stand on their own as robots and don't need their pilots but these two because they don't have a head they need a pilot in that little seat to make it work.
Hound I would actually put higher... Yeah his arms are tiny but he's one of the few Transformers who because of his open vehicle mode actually has a real interior and the engineering on his transformation to make that work for that time is pretty impressive so I'm more willing to forgive his odd proportions. I'd put him above Skywarp but still below some of the better proportioned Autobots.
Huffer I think I'd put higher as well... just above all the cassettes, not randomly in the middle of them.
The cassettes, I actually think my preference is Ravage partly because Beast Wars and also because he's the most unique being the only one who doesn't have a repaint. Rumble/Frenzy because I prefer that every Transformer should have an actual robot mode. I like the red and black one more. I'm color blind so I actually didn't even know that the other one was blue and purple till you mentioned it in this video. I just thought he was all blue and felt he was rather dull looking because it's just a lot of blue with a tiny hint of gold on his chest. I won't even get into which color scheme goes with what name. Laserbeak and Buzzsaw are the WORST of the original cassettes. The weapons completely cover up the color variation between the two so in bird mode it's impossible to tell which one you're even looking at. I prefer Laserbeak just because I remember him being used more in the cartoon and I don't think there's enough of a difference to even register Buzzsaw as a different character. In cassette mode I can tell them apart but once you transform them and put their weapons on there's literally zero difference between the two. I wish the weapons had also been done in gold for one of them or do the black parts in a different color cause the red and gold bits on their back get covered by their weapons so you can't even see that. The stickers on their wings also change from silver to gold but it's so shiny because of the foil that it's hard to see the gold under some conditions. Also if those stickers peel off... which some of the stickers on my reissues were already peeling right out of the package, that can easily be lost. I really do not like the Laserbeak/Buzzsaw mold. And of course... none of these figures are really much good on their own unless you also have Soundwave. I kind of consider Soundwave and the Cassettes to be part of a package deal cause any one of them on their own isn't really worth much but all together is what makes them holy grail material.
11:34 actually, according to TFWiki, deceptor is an autobot
I declare this the pendulum summon tier list
My top 5 for toys would be 5. Trailbreaker 4. Mirage 3. Sunstreaker 2. Skywarp 1. Optimus prime. Hound was my 1st transformers toy I got before I even knew what transformers was
Good list. I personally would put Sunstreaker after Prowl. Those partsforming hands/weapons with no place to store them has a similar problem to the Seekers. Also have to disagree about Ratchet/Ironhide. It's not about show accuracy that is the problem. I just like all my toys to have proper heads - period. Though the weapons platform/med bay does help the playability aspect.
Differences in design is Dery's mistake, not Hasbro's. Technically the toys are the source material and changes are the fault of the cartoon, while the comic was forced to use the cartoon models by the fourth issue. Windcharger was my first Transformer so I have a soft spot for him. I kind of wonder what the figures would look like in animation form.
I hope Takara will one day reissue Micro Change like they are with Diaclone
we will never get a reissue of mirage unless someone tracks down the molds. that's one of many that were stolen.
Good ranking
FRENZY! don’t, Don’t, I’m watching you
That windcharger placement is really bad. As someone who's not even a fan of windcharger, that's one of the most iconic and classic Transformers figures ever.
Of that line I like bumblebee and optimist prime
I would rank G1 Hot Rod and G1 Rodimus Prime together
Just fuse Rumble and Frenzy into one being and call him Frumblenzy, there problem solved of who is who, now there is only one!
Interesting to hear your thoughts as you went through the list. I was a bit dumbfounded with your assessment of Windcharger though. He has a simple transformation. He has the best articulation of any minibot. And he looks more like a robot in that mode than Ironhide or Ratchet.
I don’t mean to be a pain TJ, but Megatron isn’t actually 1:1 scale with a real Walther P38 🥴 he’s around 30% to 40% smaller than the real firearm, I know as I’ve held a 1:1 replica made from the manufacturing moulds of the actual gun and it’s fairly large and chunky for what it is. Plus Meg’s pistol barrel is not big enough to fit the 9mm round that the real gun used, the closest sized round that could probably be shoved in Meg’s barrel is a 0.22 rimfire cartridge (5.6mm) at best. Doesn’t stop him from being a really great figure though :) he also has 10 pieces of die cast in him, I know as I’ve counted them 😁 he’s fairly heavy for an undersized toy gun
Technically the Powerdashers were from 1984 and I think they're neat.
Can you post the link to this tier list so we can make our own?
Why no Powerdashers? tfwiki and Teletraan I say they were '84 releases.
He seems to be sticking to general retail, and the Powerdashers were mailaways. Notice how he didn't include the Omnibots either.
@@OptimusPhillip The watches were mailaway figures as well. When he was doing the Autoceptor entry he even specifically said all '84 figures including mailaways. Also, tfwiki lists the Omnibots as '85, though admittedly I thought of them as well before checking.
@@optitron2005 The Kronoform watches were not mailaways in the US. Also, TFWiki can be a little inconsistent with G1 toy dating. I was going off of their page for the US G1 toyline, which lists them as part of the '84 series.
It does seem that he was mistaken when he said he was including the mailaways, however. Whether he misspoke and meant to say "including the Kronoforms", or whether he legitimately meant to include all the mailaways and just... didn't, however, I can't tell.
Where’s skids??? I coulda sworn he was an ‘84 bot
Skids technically came out in 1984, but he wasn't part of the initial assortment. From what I can tell, he was more of a preview release, coming out much later in the year as a late addition to the roster.
@@OptimusPhillip Looking at various anomalies from that first year or so I think this is what happened: 1) the Grapple mode was originally scheduled for the twelfth Autobot car slot but was for some reason not ready in time, 2) that spot was filled with a second Mirage for most of the release, 3) Skids was the first of the next group to be ready and was slotted in at the tail end of the first year.
Similarly, due to the fact that artwork for the Bumper mold turned up in South American releases, he was probably intended for release in the US initially. However, he was probably dropped due to the fact that he would make 7 minibots. That would complicate the case packs. As he was so similar to Bumblebee and Cliffjumper while being less interesting looking, he was the safe drop.
Can't prove it, but those seem the most reasonable explanations.
@@violagreene4643 I think your right, someone a few years back said they saw Skids in Toys R Us in December 1984.
Buzzsaw ranks higher than Lazerbeak for me just because he came with Soundwave.
Can Windcharger and/ or Gear be improve either by redesigning or change the alt. mode?
I stop watching when you forget scrolling through the pictures
Autoceptor deserve s tier.
Where’s Skids?
FIBRIR
Frumble Red and Frumble Blue. Debate solved
Underrated comment
Well, Brawn wasn't even originally a Transformers figure.
He was part of the Mysterians line of toys, which were another transforming robot-to-vehicle line around those days.
None of them were.
I wish that hasbro would reissue g1 Megatron jst update him
I do think the cartoon matters, otherwise we'd still have Ratchet and Ironhide looking through their own windshields.
Personally I feel your giving the G1 Ironhide too much slack because yes it’s a Mech suit but it hasbro leaves out the little driver figure of the mech suit so you can’t really use that play pattern
Megatron sucks even back then.
I don’t care. I don’t care. I DO NOT CARE. Imma do it. Imma heckin do it.
RUMBLE
IS
BLUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUE!
But rumble is purple!
Yo
Is this a bad video?
optimus prime is the best
Brawn was the worst minibot ... I was was 9 in 1984. No one liked/wanted Brawn.
Way too high for the seekers, Bargain bin at best. I'd forgive all the flaws you mentioned if the jet mode was good, but that isn't either. Gaps between the thrusters, gap between the wings and fuselage even the sticker eyes. It's just a bad toy.