Hey, this was supposed to go up like a month and a half ago!
2020 came to a welcome close, and while the official product was heavy last year with great stuff there were still some solid 3rd Party items available. The staff was all over the place in what they thought were tops for the year, so read on and check out what they had to say.
Feel free to add your thoughts to the threads in our Transformers 3rd Party Discussion Forum.
Black Convoy
Toyworld TW-F09B Commander Of Tactical Operation
Just when Toyworld really made their homework with impressive TW-F09 Freedom Leader, they treated us with a non less impressive black redeco. Top finishing, good materials and a big size in a mold that really catches the design of Bumblebee movie Optimus Prime and packed with an array of weapons, effects, and accessories. As a fan of Nemesis Prime/Black Convoy variants, this is another case when a deco really makes the figure look like a total different character.
FansToys FT-44 Thomas (MP Astrotrain), MMC/OM Assaultus, 1Studio Cell (G1 Unicron), Newage NA H22 Chimera, MS-B36 Ragnar Doomsday
Boomerdave
Zeta Toys ZV-02 Core Star / 1Studio Cell (G1 Unicron)
I’m a MP collector and while there are many opinions about which collection this figure is aimed at, in my opinion, it fits into any MP, Legend or Chug set up. So many companies have tried to make a Unicron, but none have come close to what a great job Zeta/Studio Cell did here. It’s very much the Unicron we all saw in the movie when he’s in bot mode. He’s sculpted beautifully, fully articulated and solid in his joints. I’ve got mine on a tabletop that gets moved and bumped all the time and I’ve never had an issue with this guy falling or going askew. His planet mode is not quite the “perfect” movie one but it’s darn close and amazingly designed to fit the entire bot and encapsulate it inside a near perfect sphere. When back in bot mode, all the planet kibble is cleverly hidden and incorporates back into his form. If you weren’t a collector, you’d never think it transformed at all.
I do want to comment on my first runner up which is FT’s Thomas: He’s really great and the Astrotrain we MP collectors (and others possibly) all waited for and wanted. Finally he was here with great paint and three accurate modes! Usually with a triple changer one mode always suffers but not here! Why number two? I can’t look past the design and QC problems it’s got to give it the first spot. From mismatched knee joints to elbows that are just loose floppy friction connections. Lastly, the screws used to let the chest parts move in transformation, and yet cause the plastic to be chewed up are almost comical (or bad comedy if you prefer ). If it was a newer company I personally could give them some slack, but Fans Toys? You can do better than this.
Runners up: FansToys FT-44 Thomas (MP Astrotrain), KFCToys Junkions: Scraps, Dregs, Gunker, and Castoff, Magic Square Legends Megatron, FansToys FT-42 Hunk (Masterpiece Brawn)
edgs2099
MMC Reformatted R45 Mnemo & Motif
What a way to end the year. Granted mine showed up on 12/28/2020, they still took the year. Very true to their MTMTE appearances, and with transformations that are just complex enough to be fun, but not a slog. I cannot name a 3p toy that pulls as much joy out of me as these two fine gentlemen. Maybe I fail in picking just one, but they share a RXX number, so I’m sticking to both being tops for me.
Runners up: MMC Ocular Max Probus, Iron Factory IF EX-45 Yoroi Shishimaru, Fans Toys FT-41 Sheridan
Gamerlingual
This probably the best representation of Beachcomber out there. The transformation is fun and the fit and finish are beyond spot on. Really cool car mode. This was easily one of Fans Toys best releases this year
Runners Up: Fanstoys Thomas, Fanstoys Hunk
Megatron118
Kultur – Transformers Toys – TFW2005
I didn’t buy many third party figures this year, but I did receive the reissue of MMC Kultur recently. I was just utterly blown away by how cool this figure is. He’s huge, imposing, accurate (although the hands could’ve been better), well articulated, whole nine yards. I can’t say enough superlatives about this guy. It’s even better when you add reflective red foil/ribbon/paper behind the mask to bring him to life. I only have minor nitpicks, but they don’t outweigh the positives whatsoever. I didn’t get to mess with him much, as I’ve had to return to my duty station, but Kultur might now be one of my favorite figures in my entire Transformers collection.
Runners up: None, the only other third party figure I (re)bought was MMC Salvia Prominon, and she released ages ago
Onslaught24
Mastermind Creations/Ocular Max Incursus
I cannot stress enough how utterly ecstatic I was when I first saw prototypes of the Assaultus torso in person. “This is going to be THE third party Combaticon set to get” I thought. And I was right. I love every single figure from MMC’s Combaticons set but Incursus/Onslaught is my pick for obvious reasons. He is an insanely imposing figure with a transformation one of my colleagues appropriately described as “butter.” It feels like a true masterpiece and the fact that everything is self-contained just adds to how much of a must-buy set Incursus and the rest of the gang are. As one of the site’s biggest Combaticon and Onslaught fanboys, this gets my seal of approval. This is, in my opinion, THE masterpiece Onslaught. Both modes are just so much fun to look at let alone play with, and the fact that you CAN play with him is just gravy at this point. Finally, the factor that tops all this off is that none of his three modes really suffer. I personally don’t mind the extended torso so robot, vehicle, and torso are all aces in my book. If you’re on the fence about these guys or can’t decide between them and one of the others, this is the one you want.
MMC/OM Assaultus, MMC/OM Probus, MMC/OM Volatus, Planet X Mars, Planet X Vejovis, MMC Kultur (reissue)
optimusfan
I’m still largely out of the third party game. I believe I only purchased three third party figures this year, which makes my list very short. Although it would be fun to select WST Cosmos as my top pick because that’s what I do, in reality MMC delivered the two final DJD figures and they lived up to my expectations. MMC Mors (IDW Helex) in particular was just a delight, continuing the high bar they set with earlier figures like MMC Kultur (IDW Tarn). Mors is big and bulky, yet a lot of fun to transform. The alt-mode feels like I’m holding a NES or a playset for some reason, and it elegantly transforms into a hulking robot. In a world where there’s no guarantee that third parties will finish teams that they start (hello FansProject headmasters!), I’m extremely pleased that MMC did here.
Runners up: MMC Tortor (IDW Tesarus), WST Cosmos
Optimus Prime The Best
sorry I saved space, but weijiang mw 2007 megs would not make it, honey badger gives you two maces, so it is more realistic. what ever figure you said are on there but i dont wanna waste my time typing.
KveTar
A very, very strange list. Just one Unique Toys' toy? (They do have better figures, than Peru Kill.) And THREE Knightverse OPs, instead of just one? And first place goes to that almost falling apart TW's thing?.. No place for really great MPM-10? How about fantastic Wei Jiang Blackout of Black Apple, instead of one of three OPs? Four Primes, Two Bumblebees, no Megs.. Seriously? Man, a very disputable list.
Optimus Prime The Best
The Best Bayverse and Knightverse figures ranking
Honourable Mentions:
Toyworld knight orion:Good engineering but too bad quality so he did not make it
unique toys challenger:Make it more improved with his iconic laser rifle.
LIST:
10. Toyworld green hornet: good figure and one of the best ZB7 out there.
9. unique toys peru kill(add his spark extractor and handgun to improve it, getting a lot of crappy hastak figures like that AOE deluxe lockdown.One of the best lockdown)
8. NEWAGE Mista(Pros:Best DOTM soundwave out there.Cons: Give him two guns like the movie.)
7. Transcraft beetle(Pros: Closest to 3A/3-0.Cons: Certain copies may have QC issues.)
6. DX9 lahire(Perfect figure and best MPM TLK hot rod)
5. Mechanical Alliance sonic warrior(Pros:Best soundwave figure from bumblebee movie. Cons: Paint chips may occur.)
4. Aoyi mech LS13(Good engineering, however joints can be a bit floppy.)
3. Black apple thunder leader( Best TF 2007 Optimus Prime out there, however wheels can get very squeaky when rolling.)
2. Weijiang M09 commander leader( Very good engineering, only loses out to Toyworld freedom leader)
1. Toyworld Tactics waistcoat freedom leadee( BEST engineering and the closest to the CGI model! MPM 12 also will never ever beat the toyworld version!So pick it up, deluxe version if you want his voice lines.
Sorry if there are too many optimus primes on the list):
I just find the engineering to be the best.G creations MTST01 wrath and UT galvatron are on the list too But i want to save space
DO you all agree? If you disagree, tell me which figures should be included!
KveTar
Yeah, she's great, indeed. Girls power!!!
DashCourageous
I'ma say it since no one else will.
Nicee.
optimusfan
<raises hand><drops Cosmos>
Sovietbot
For me. (Very good start for 2021)
M09 Fire Scorpion (knightformer Optimus Prime).
One of the best knightformers OPs for price, design, quality and size.
For comparison with MPP10
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Now I'm racking my brains to find an anime Autobot insignia on a white background…
xueyue2
Missing a few good stuffs like TFC's STC Commander or FT Thomas is understandable.
Still better than last time some staff picked this as Top of the year
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primalxconvoy
Wei Jiang BB Optimus Prime:
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TFC's STC Commander-
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Autobot Hound
I'm totally biased, lol, but I agree completely with Onslaught24. The MMC not-Combaticons are awesome and Incursus is a big, satisfying chunk of a robot. I LOVE this set, too.
jimmyh
A solid figure. But there is nothing special about him that makes him worthy of being the best.
Actar
Ok, this thread pushed me over the edge. I actually went out and bought one today.
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Necrobot
My Personal Favorite from the Lunacy that was 2020.
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Nuff Said
just a transformers fan
i\'ll keep them all im mind. might make some decepticon team with them
TCJJ
Well, we know who didn't transform their Nemesis Prime…
Sanity Bleeds
Hmm, really thought Generation Toys' Red Bull woulda popped up on more lists, that or any of the Cang Toys offerings. A bit of an honorable mention for me is Magic Square's Peach Girl; not something I thought I'd be interested in, but I absolutely love the engineering and articulation.
rendsora
I\'m not surprised there\'s no mention of XTB at all lol
jimmyh
I can’t believe that Toyworld Prime figure made it onto a best of list. That thing is an absolute disaster. I can almost understand Incursus. It’s a solid figure. Not sure it’s worthy for best of. The rest of these, meh.
Requiem Prime
My year's been pretty mainline heavy lately. But I gotta give it to Fans Hobby Athena. She's the sort whose transformation can get very cluttered if you don't pick up The Way, and I've heard stories to be thankful I got a good one. But when you have one landing the intended delivery, she just sings.