The end of this year really snuck up on me, and it wasn’t the only thing that did. This hobby, and the ability to write about it has always been a bright spot for me, through both the good times and the bad. But as we approach the end of 2023, I’m looking at a rising cost of living, a wedding in my future, and a Transformers mainline that’s seemingly shifting away from covering the specific areas I’m most interested in (Beast Wars, Generation 2, Marvel, IDW, Random Oddballs) into stuff that’s less specifically for me, like the Unicron Trilogy and Animated (no shade, those fans deserve their Kingdom moment), in between a somewhat tiresome ouroboros of G1 updates. It all adds up to me realizing that the day may come where I step back a bit from the hobby. Not quit out of it, I never could, there’s too much I like, but maybe take more of a backseat. On the other hand, Rise of the Beasts also came out this year, and proved to me that unreservedly good live-action Transformers movies can happen more than once, and Transformers comics are really good right now (as they usually are), so maybe I’m being melodramatic because it’s the holiday season, and also really dark out a lot. So, let’s focus on brighter thoughts, like the best figures of this year.
Class of ’23.
This is the fourth time I’ve done this (here’s the links to 2020, 2021, and 2022), and as usual, it’s nerve-wracking, because it’s been another good year for Transformers. So, I’ll do a countdown of the best new figures that I, a Canadian, managed to find this year, and include links to all the longform reviews, so you can read why I liked them so much (and look at the pretty pictures). But before we get there, it’s time for some runners-up, and bonus categories:
Best Non-Bot figure: SH Figuarts Kamen Rider Zero One Rising Hopper (Clear Version)
Canonically, he’s in the middle of telling a terrible joke.
Did this come out in 2023? The original release was years ago, but this was a random convention exclusive from a more recent time. Ehh, I’ll throw it in anyway.
Entering the list via Rider Kick.
I never thought I’d get to own a high-end figure of the main hero of my favorite Tokusatsu production, but thanks to this redeco doing something akin to shelfwarming across the pond, it can be had for a good price (shout-out to Anime City in Toronto, again). And what a figure it is! The great thing about it (and, I’d assume, Figuarts in general), is that it doesn’t forget it’s a toy, like so many high-end collector-oriented things tend to. So it’s super-detailed and super-poseable, but also built rock-solidly, the kind of figure you’re not afraid to toss around on your desk. He’s been chilling in a coffee mug of pencils on my desk a lot of the time since I got him.
“Work hard, but not too hard.”
Best Old-School Pickup: Choro-Q Robo Rodimus Prime
Little. Red. Different.
One reason I leave older figures that I got this year off the list is because it can be a bit unfair, especially because this little ‘bot would be near the top of the list.
Heir to the throne of plastic perfection.
For what seems like a novelty item, this is a shockingly well-realized figure, with tons of color and detail, rock-solid construction, and two separate fidget-toy features: A simple-yet-fun transformation, and a powerful pull-back-and-go motor.
Camper Van for One.
If you can find one for a decent price, snap it up, it’s practically a 10/10-No-Notes kind of release.
A pair of 11s.
Honorable Mention: Studio Series Deluxe Mirage (Rise of the Beasts)
No one held a gun to my head on this one, I swear.
Like Premium Finish Bumblebee on last year’s list, I’m leaving this guy off the main countdown itself, because I know he’s objectively super-flawed, what with his bulky, inaccurate design, complicated shellformer of a transformation, and heavily scratchable paint.
He’s such a charmer, though!
But dangit, he’s interesting, and unusual, and that counts for a lot, in my books.
That frustrating, yet lovely altmode.
There’s technically competent Transformers I’ve messed around with much less, and this guy’s got a certain charm they don’t. Maybe it’s just that I like the character. Plus, I had fun doing the review, and making obtuse jokes in the captions, like a bad Transformers Wiki contributor.
This was fun.
Anywho, finally, onto the actual countdown!
13. Buzzworthy Bumblebee Deluxe Goldbug and Ransack
The two on the left.
Goldbug’s tooling has shown up on this list multiple years in a row, as Generations Selects Hubcap, and as Netflix Bumblebee because it’s just that good, and this is a good-looking remix of it.
He’s just that fun!
This mini-masterpiece with his way-too-fun deconstructible bazooka wears his gold colors and new headsculpt well, and if you don’t have a version of him already, this is as good as any.
Nyoom!
Ransack, meanwhile, takes a tooling that seems like it would be really boring (Legacy Kickback), and uses aesthetics and colors to turn its main flaw (a ridiculously basic transformation) into a strength, and generally give off really unique retro mecha vibes.
Quite the charmer.
He belongs in a Tokusatsu.
On the other hand, this pair ranks so low because to get them, you either have to pay insane aftermarket prices, or buy them in a four-pack with two other not-very-good figures.
Can’t have the yellow without the purple.
12. Authentics Bravo Optimus Primal
Blasting off to protect wallets everywhere!
It’s an eight dollar monkey man!
He’s here to talk to you about budgeting your purchases.
I don’t know that many of these Authentics are really worth it, thanks to their obviously-budget nature, but this one definitely is.
Economy Class and First Class both rule.
It’s just a well-realized tiny version of Beast Wars Optimus Primal, that also happens to be really affordable. He looks good, transforms well, is fun to handle, and manages to embody the spirit of Garry Chalk. This is this year’s “little guy that everyone should own no matter what you collect” toy, a position previously held by Siege Rung, and Kingdom Core Soundwave, both of whom cost more!
“Onward, to more savings!”
11. Studio Series Deluxe Hot Rod (The Last Knight)
Like one of your French girls.
The movie may have been a mess, but this figure isn’t.
How the times have changed.
It takes all the usual flaws of Studio Series Live Action figures (a complicated design and transformation that punches well above mainline budget), and manages to wear them well, and still be a package that looks good, poses well, and is fun to handle, complex conversion aside.
An important member of the Time Patrol.
Plus, it has the Time Gun of Time that Stops Time with it’s Time Stopping ability to Stop the Time.
I will never stop making this joke.
10. Fans Hobby MB19-C Huntsman
On his way to rehabilitate my image of Third Party robots.
This giant neon man rules. Just like Hot Rod sidestepped Studio Series problems, the Huntsman sidestepped Third Party problems, namely the habit of Masterpiece-scale figures being extremely dodgy quality-wise, and aggressively unfun to transform and handle, meant more to sit on the shelf than be played with.
This is a terror tank you want to go for a ride in.
You see, this huge, massive robot remembered to be fun. He’s a pleasantly chunky, ratchety, not-too-complicated guy (backpack of former vulture wings aside), who even found room for an old-fashioned lightup gimmick.
This is worth finding some buttoncell batteries for.
Plus, just look at those colors. They’re exactly my kind of mess.
I have a type.
His only crime is being really expensive and hard to get (and a bit unstable on his feet), though, to be fair, you can see exactly what all that money paid for the moment you pick him up, so he’s also that rare Third Party release that feels worth the price tag.
He’s like the opposite of Authentics Primal.
9. Rise of the Beasts Beast Battle Master Skullcruncher
Everyone deserves a small crocodilian friend.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, great things can also come in small packages.
Stealer of Cosmotrons.
I only got this little crocodile gun to go with another figure further up, but he wound up impressing me on his own merits.
And one of those merits is “makes a good boomstick.”
He’s just a little robo-crocodile that changes into a little blaster, but he executes the concept near-perfectly, and with charm. He’s a little overpriced, but he’s fun enough for me not to care.
Taking a torch to your money (a little torch, though).
They feel like bickering siblings.
My quest to collect all the Hubcaps slowly continued this year, and drifted into the domain of Third Party figures. Like the Huntsman, these two minibots are pricey, but you can, again, see where the money went.
The kids have dragged the Dads into it.
It’s not about the size, it’s about the ornate complexity of the articulation, details, paint, and transformation, at a really tiny scale.
And that scale is teeny tiny.
And yet, despite all of that, both figures manage to again, still be fun, and not overly complicated, despite everything they’ve got going on. I only kept Bickle, but he’s got great pick-up-and-play-with energy, and a magic transformation that I can never quite remember, but always manage to figure out.
Mandatory playtime.
7. Legacy Evolution Deluxe G2 Universe Mirage
The Splatman.
This is a textbook case of a repaint saving a figure. I didn’t care for Kingdom Mirage, but I love this guy.
He swims with the squids.
Maybe it’s the coat of paint, in all its ludicrous 90’s Splatoon-like glory, or maybe it’s the genuine tweaks to the tolerances and pegs making him all the more improved.
I imagine they’re two of a kind personality-wise.
Either way, he’s a beaut. The whole Toxitron collection is, really, and if I wasn’t a person with a finite amount of money, I might have just gone all-in on the line, and this list would be all of them.
Generation 2 contains multitudes.
6. Legacy Evolution Deluxe G2 Universe Sideswipe
This lemonade won’t kill you. How’s that for a topical reference?
And, naturally, here’s the other Toxitron bot I managed to get (where the heck is that yellow Grimlock?). Not only that, but it’s the rarest one, Sideswipe in Blueberry Lemonade Sunset flavor, taking a color scheme rejected at the time for being too radical, and mapping it onto an old friend of a tooling.
Two eye-searingly great Deluxes.
Speaking of that, I debated for quite awhile whether he or Mirage was the better of the pair, and I have to go with this guy, simply because of how the base tooling’s a solid, reliable workhorse of an all-purpose Car Transformer.
You wish you could drive him.
A shame he’s really hard to find. Seriously, if you somehow see one at retail, just buy it.
Another friend to the squids.
5. Legacy Evolution Voyager Nemesis Leo Prime
He’s a brooder, that one.
It’s DALP! I was always going to go in on this guy for unintentionally being an affordable mainline release of an obscure weirdo I have a personal connection with. But it helps that the figure underneath is very good, too.
“Everyone iz so mean 2 me.”
He’s solid, poseable, has great presence, takes a fiddly design, and makes it feel good to handle, mostly (his beast-mode kibble’s still a bit of a hindrance in robot mode).
Tales from the End of Time.
I think this black repaint might be better than the regular Legacy Leo Prime release, too, because a) it makes him more cohesive, especially in altmode, b) it contrasts interestingly with the sculpt, and c) it’s a more subtly complicated deco than you’d expect, using different shades of black and very dark gray to make him textured and interesting, more than a stock black repaint.
If the Beast Wars II movie came out in the early 2000s.
Acting!!!
I don’t know why people disliked this tooling!
Was it the slab? I bet it was the slab.
On the other hand, it’s hard to explain why I like him so much, and it’s not just because of his starring turn in a certain Marvel Transformers issue. He’s a weird figure, but a good kind of weird. He’s got a great sense of character, communicated by really good articulation, generally great handfeel, and an incredibly flexible set of accessories, before you even arm him up with Weaponizers, Moculators, or Fossilizers, which he’s well-equipped to work with.
Like so.
Like so, again.
His vehicle mode’s notoriously plain-looking, but that adds to his odd charm, to me, and it’s an even better platform for customization than the robot mode it.
A king among bots.
3. Legacy Evolution Voyager Comic Universe Tarn
This might be my favorite photo I took this year.
A long-awaited IDW original finally made his debut, and they did such a great job that he’s easy to recommend, even if you don’t care for the character. But if you do, he manages to capture the vibes of Alex Milne’s 2-edgy-4-life design pretty well (he’s a bit too skinny, but that’s it).
Ehh, he makes it work.
Meanwhile, he shares that same aura of heavy flexibility with Skullgrin (and a similarly basic-but-customizeable altmode)….
Someone insulted Megatron.
….in addition to sharing points of commonality with last year’s best-of entry, Legacy Jhiaxus, namely his bigger-than-usual size for a Voyager, and an unusually heavy level of articulation for the price point, too.
Always the fanboy.
Someone made this with love.
Love? Or hate?
How could he get any better?
2. Legacy Evolution Voyager Comic Universe Bludgeon
Okay, maybe *this* is my favorite photo of the year.
Give him a skull-face and a sword, that’s how you make him better. Usually I’d group retools like this together, but I genuinely think the Bludgeon version elevates the tooling, even if it’s clearly meant to be Tarn.
His charisma is off the charts.
It’s just that little extra bit of personality the skull-face, weapons, and halloween-looking colors bring to an already great base tooling.
Skeletanks United.
He just has style for days, and I reflexively find myself bending and flexing him into cool sword-fighting poses.
Well, not all the time.
But there’s one figure this year who managed to be even cooler, which makes sense, considering the character.
1. Buzzworthy Bumblebee Deluxe Origin Jazz
The better brooder.
It’s hard to really nail down what makes this new version of the original Cool Guy work so well. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s an improvement over Origin Bumblebee, the last attempt at one of these first-episode-Cybertron-mode figures, and that was a great figure already (it even made the best-of list last year!).
Excellent companions.
Maybe it’s the fact that he’s a massive improvement over the adequate-but-soulless Studio Series 86 Jazz, serving as a rebuttal to a modern Transformers trend that’s making me spend less time and money on G1 updates.
He makes every non-Hot Rod Studio Series 86-er look bad.
Maybe it’s the fact that he’s a toy that gets a lot of desk-time with me, and is easy to pick up and fiddle with.
And he’s got the articulation for it!
It’s less of a specific X-factor, and more just that this is one where everything about him was firing on all cylinders. The sculpt, the colors, the poseability, the transformation, the accessories, and most importantly, the vibes.
Those Sunbow Episode 1 Vibes.
Rather than doing one thing really well, he does all of them really well, at once, and you owe it to yourself to grab one.
I can’t wait for Origin Wheeljack to join these two.
And that’s 2023! It’s hard to feel glum when so much good stuff came out, and I get the chance to blab about it.
The robots are fightinggggggg.
I’ll be taking a couple weeks off (since the next few Mondays are Christmas and New Years), and then it’s back in early January. And what comes next? I’m not sure just yet. I haven’t gotten around to getting much of the Studio Series Rise of the Beasts output yet, I’ve got preorders for some of the Legacy stuff that’s still my jam (a little bit of IDW, a little bit of Beast Wars), but beyond that, I’ll have to figure it out. One thing’s for sure, I’m not about to stop yammering about these ‘bots, it’s in my blood, and in my brain. Somebody help me!
I want to emphasize that I transformed every single bot on the table to get this photo.
Well, there is one lady that I really need to talk about in 2023, so that’s probably the first thing I’ll get to when I’m back.
Well, two ladies, and a dinosaur.
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