Fugitive Waspinator [Age of the Primes/Deluxe Class]

When Transformers Animated worked in Waspinator from Beast Wars into a more traditional Transformers setting, I never expected to like it as much as I did. It sounded cool, but was very surprised by how much I enjoyed this version of him. His misadventures as Wasp (prior to beast mode) were fun and made for a great villain in Animated setting. While beast mode Waspinator got a toy, pre-beast Wasp's figure got canceled. Fortunately in Age of the Primes, that's no longer the case. Fugitive Waspinator is a pre-beast mode version of Wasp who is based on the Legacy: United Animated Bumblebee toy.

The originally planned Wasp toy back in Animated was a straight redeco of that lines Bumblebee as they share a body type, however now he's got a show accurate new head that one didn't have. Outside of colors and new head, it's the same toy as the Bumblebee it's based on. A good toy by all means, so that's no problem. The size might sting a little at the Deluxe price point and there's no way to sugar coat that.

I'm accepting it as is, because I wanted the toy and just winced at the $25 that it cost. Especially when thinking how the one that wasn't released in Animated would have been $9 (and bigger). Times have changed, but at least there's finally a figure that fans were denied in it's original time. Overall it's an excellent figure, though I do wish the stinger guns had yellow stripes instead of purple, to match beast mode Waspinator's better. The purple looks great, so I guess it's not a big deal. A headache in your whole body however...

Motormaster [Legacy United/Voyager Class]

Transformers Animated was a fun series with some really cool toys. The stylized sculpting was a fun alternative to the movie and classics styled toys available at the same time. It was only natural that the BotCon, which was officially affiliated at the time would offer an exclusive set based around the series. The Stunticon Job was a cool way to introduce the Stunticons to the series and make use of the prior existing toy molds as is a necessity when making exclusives. Motormaster is one of those characters folks automatically assume will be made from an Optimus Prime, so it just worked out naturally. Luckily, the Animated Motormaster was really cool.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it to that BotCon, nor acquire a set. It always stayed in the back of my mind as a 'someday' type of thing. Flash forward to present day and amazingly enough, things like formerly hard to acquire toys are getting updated in Generations. Giving second chances to get some of these ideas. It may not be the original... but often time it's good enough. That's where Motormaster finds it's way here, as a reworking of the Animated Optimus Prime toy update that was released earlier this year. I really liked that figure, so it's probably to no surprise I liked this one. It doesn't hurt that the happiness of finally getting some version of this Motormaster put a nice cherry on top of everything.

Since I've talked about the mold before, I'm going to focus more on what's different. Most noticeably, the new head. Motormaster famously has a square head. That's replicated here with additional characterization. Long story short, he's Macho Man Randy Savage as a transformer. Specifically, Macho Man as a bad guy. Considering the colors, I like to think N.W.O era Macho Man. Considering Randy Savage is one of my all time favorites, it's probably to no surprise I like this. His colors are mainly black with some purple and green thrown in and it looks fabulous. Both modes look great. Transformation did feel a little looser this time. That could be from mold degradation or just mine in particular. The original Optimus Prime toy was just a good figure all the way around and I feel like this is a total upgrade based on the colors and new head alone.Can you dig it?

BIOS- Soundwave

"Are you ready to rock?"

After a couple of years working alongside Laserbeak, Soundwave realized it was time for a change. His new partner, Ratbat, lets him lay down multiple tracks of sound at a time, creating frequencies that can do more than just control other robots. Now, Soundwave is into straight-up mind control. Using complex synth beats he can make people - and even the Autobots - do whatever he wants.

-Invented a note that can actually rock a robot's face off.
-Recently got really into old Earth westerns.
-Ratbat synth mode fires lightning bolts.

Optimus Prime [Legacy United/Voyager Class]

Returning to Legacy's updates of Transformers Animated characters is Optimus Prime! The leader of the Autobots had a slightly different role in Animated, being in charge of a crew of misfits in a setting where Prime was a rank without a magic device granting extra abilities. Animated has been in regular rotation on the Transformers channel, so I'm sure the renewed interest is helping sell these cool new toys. Optimus is a solid update to the original toy. Like the other Animated Legacy toys, he can fit in next to your traditional Transformers just fine... but still retains that Animated aesthetic. Unlike the original toy, there isn't a flip up 'battle mask' mouth plate. Instead you have an open faced Optimus, which is how he normally appears onscreen in Animated when not in a fight.

Optimus has his rocket powered battle axe, that can be extended for a two handed weapon. It can also be stored in vehicle mode, which looks totally natural. Transformation from robot to truck isn't very hard. There is a few odd spots where arranging the robot mode arms into truck bits felt odd to me initially until it just suddenly worked. Which probably means I was doing something wrong. There is a spot where you must rotate his hips and it just did not work on mine. Come to find out, many have been poorly trimmed from the mold sprues at the factory. Most folks are dissembling theirs to file down the spot... but somehow my giant hands wore it down after a few twisting attempts.

Once transformed, Optimus looks like he should. It's the 'cab' portion of a firetruck, the rest is not included nor was it with many of the toys during Animated run. Ultimately, it just looks like a standard Optimus Prime cab with a light bar. I liked this toy a lot. It's a good update of a great design. There's plenty of articulation and despite an easily fixable factory error, there's nothing to complain about. Animated homages Mighty Orbots in a few different ways, but it wasn't until this particular figure of Optimus that I noticed his design was pretty similar to Tor. I'm not sure if that was completely intentional or just a coincidence, but I'm not complaining.

Prowl (Legacy Evolution/Deluxe Class)

Neatly enough, the Legacy Evolution Deluxe Class Prowl is his incarnation from Transformers Animated. Animated was a very fun show that had the misfortune of airing between the 2007 movie and it's 2009 sequel when the Transformers world was full on live action movie focused. The show certainly garnered a large following, but I've always felt got a little lost in all the attention the movies were getting at the time. In Animated, Prowl's character was quite different from the Prowl we're used to. He became more of a martial artist warrior as did Jazz. Instead of a Police car, he transformed into a Police motorcycle and featured mostly black color scheme as opposed to the traditional white and black. To my understanding, this design was based heavily on a California Highway Patrol motorcycle ala CHiPs. Like the Transformers Prime based toy in Legacy Prior, this Prowl toy is more traditional looking to fit in with other Generations figures while still homaging his Animated design. I like the results.

Like I said, Prowl transforms into a motorcycle. With recent motorcycle Transformers, I haven't particularly enjoyed the transformation much. Specifically the Legacy Prime Arcee mold that has gotten a lot of reuse lately (I've gotten them all but Flamewar). This time, however, it's no sweat. I just put everything where it was supposed to go and didn't curse once. Your mileage may vary. Prowl's throwing stars return and still store in vehicle mode as hubcaps. They of course unfold into the stars and can be easily held. This is his 'Evo-Fusion' according to the box... yeah. Prowl has quite a bit of articulation as he'd need a great deal of flexibility for martial arts. This is a really likable toy of a cool design and character. Animated is on regular rotation on the Transformers channel. I can imagine people recently discovering the show appreciating a version of the character more easily accessible. With the Animated Bumblebee and Optimus Prime on their way in Legacy Evolution, they'll have even more chances.

Bios: Oil Slick

Function: Anarchist Road Warrior

"Fear is my ally."

Vehicle to vehicle combat is something all Transformers are skilled in, but with Oil Slick, it's a particular specialty. He knows more about how to disable and destroy a vehicle than almost anyone else in the galaxy. He knows that if he can break down the robot inside, the vehicle will come screeching to a halt. Canisters attached to his sides dump special chemicals that unlock the deepest fears of any robot exposed to them, while at the same time rotting wheels and burning through axles. Once the vehicle mode is destroyed, Oil Slick moves in close to finish off with his chain weapon.

 

* Talented chemist and mechanic
* Trained in Circuit-Su with Prowl
* Immune to chemical attacks