Well! Another year’s come and gone, so it’s time to look back at the highlights, bot-wise, as I did in 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020, if you want to take a stroll down memory lane.
Last year’s top bots, plus a Samus.
Truth be told, 2026 was, as predicted, a slower year of Transformers for me, as adult life and finances meant I mellowed on the collecting, with a focus on the cheaper stuff. TFCon in the summer was really the only time I got a huge haul of things all at once. However, this meant I reflected on my purchases a lot more, and zeroed in on things that I thought were really interesting, or good, or completed a micro-collection. Of course, there was also one very Big Event, which I’ll get into in a moment. If there’s another theme to this list, it’s figures having grown on me. There’s a lot of entries on here that I feel like I gave modest reviews to, only to find that I like them better as time goes by. So perhaps there’s a few revised opinions here.
This year, there were too many big bots to fit in my backdrop.
As usual, I’ll start with a few specific singular entries, before getting to the numbered list, with everything linking back to my longform reviews. One little change I’m enacting, because it’s my blog, and I can do what I want, is that I’m going to include figures that I purchased this year that may have been released earlier than that. But first, let’s get to the extra categories.
Best Non-Bot Figure: Epic World of Action Ghost-Spider
Ballet-dancing into action!
I’m a big booster of Hasbro’s Epic Hero/Epic World of Action stuff, specifically their Spider-Man imprint, as a resource for cheap, yet surprisingly well-made 4-inch figures that kinda-sorta feel like they scale with mainline Transformers. The basic ones are less than 10 Canadian dollars, they’ve all got 9 extremely flexible points of articulation, and at least one accessory.
“You know what? I’m taking this!”
I reviewed a bunch of these figures this year, but I’ll settle on Ghost-Spider, aka Spider-Gwen, aka Spider-Woman as the best of the bunch, probably because she was the only new-for-2025 tooling in a sea of repaints, so it feels like extra effort went into her.
Miles is trying to put in extra effort right now.
Really, any of these figures are great little purchases, and I think everyone should give them a try. They’re all surprisingly poseable, and surprisingly well-made, and can be had for less than a tenner if you’re going for a basic one. Gwen is just the “if I had to pick one” choice.
She destroys the competition!
That said, she’s a little hard to find on store shelves at the moment, probably due to demand. But I have noticed she’s in a newly-released big box set of figures that you can currently buy at Wal-Mart, if you want a bunch of them at once.
It’s a bit pricey, but you get nearly every tooling in the line (except for Carnage) in one go.
Honorable Mention, or, How Do I Even Rank This?: Haslab Omega Prime (Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4)
Comes with even more than what you see here.
As I write this, the combined Omega Prime is sitting on a shelf above my work desk, and I still can’t believe he’s there.
He isn’t in this pose, but he’s in this mode, complete with big sword.
Receiving this crowdfunded set of figures that I never backed, entirely thanks to UPS sending an extra copy to a generous friend, was the highlight of my year in collecting (thanks again to scholar and gentleman Miner Edgar for being the man with the spare). It took me four entire reviews to cover everything in the box, between Bluebolts the Deluxe Weaponizer, Cerebros the Titan Master, the Commander-sized Optimus the Fire Truck and Magnus the Car Carrier, and the big final combined Omega Supreme, with giant sword and stand. Writing about him is basically my magnum opus.
I think he himself qualifies for that title, too.
So, why didn’t I put him on the numbered part of the list? For one thing, it’s really hard to categorize something like a Haslab, because it’s so outside the normal collecting paradigm in terms of size, complexity, and availability. Plus, either you already have one, or you’re an insanely rich person debating spending too much on aftermarket prices. Either way, I felt like it was less of a “should you buy this?” review, and more of a “chronicling the thing” review.
From the tiniest Titan Master, to the biggest bot.
Let’s get one thing straight, though: The whole box constitutes a really good set of figures that I like, and could easily be #1 on the list if I tried to number it. To really, really, *really* boil it down, the thing I appreciate the most about the whole Omega Prime set is that HasTak remembered that Omega Prime was a toy, and toys should be fun, not insanely complex, hostile-to-play-with collector’s pieces, like many other items in this size and pricepoint. At the end of the day, Optimus still changes into a chunky red fire truck, and so forth.
They’re extremely vroom-vroomable, as they should be.
Also, Bluebolts should totally be available outside of this set, as a repaint or something.
She almost steals the show.
I guess the other thing that keeps Omega off the numbered list is the phenomenally bad quality control problem every copy of him suffered from. You’ve got to crack open the Innermost Optimus Prime that’s a part of the set, and repair him with screwdrivers and sandpaper, or else he’s eventually going to break, and that repair job is a complicated, strenuous process.
Me, mid-surgery, trying desperately not to lose the patient.
Official HasLab backers have been sent replacement Optimuses since I wrote my review, but, a) apparently many of the replacements still have the same breakage issue, thanks to the fix being sloppily done, and b) if you’re looking at this guy on the aftermarket, you’re out of luck on that end, anyway.
It’s a shame, because I actually think this inner robot is the strongest part of the set, self-destructing abs aside.
Last time a figure I liked had a defect (Earthrise Grapple), he also made the honorable mention, so I guess that’s where Omega lands.
One more pic for the road.
So, now onto the numbered list!
I’ve seen this exact truck, in red, in real life, which is a big part of the appeal here.
Look, he’s old, but I only got and reviewed him this year, so I’m putting him on here. Anyway, welcome back, Classics Optimus Prime, glad to see you in this mess of slavishly animation-accurate Legacy stuff.
The Letter meets The Spirit.
There’s almost not too much to say about VNR Optimus, he’s just a solid, fun Voyager-class Optimus Prime, with a trailer that I often donate to Legacy Deluxe Optimus, and a cab that’s cleanest truck mode an Optimus has had in a long time, thanks to the Volvo licensing.
Kibble management, from best to worst.
He pairs well with Netflix Bumblebee.
He’s G1-style, but he was allowed to be different in a way mainline Primes usually aren’t, and that gives him an appeal all his own.
Also, forget the haters, the trailer’s fun!
Make no mistake, though, VNR Optimus is not a cultural reset the way last year’s #1, the aforementioned Legacy Deluxe Optimus was, but he’s an Optimus Done Well, in a year that was full of much jankier takes on the guy.
He’s exactly what he looks like.
I do wish he was a bit more available, and a bit less pricey, which stops him from being higher on this list, but for what he is, I had a lot of fun.
Standing tall and proud, even if it’s at the bottom of the list.
9) Transformers Collaborative Party Wallop
“Ey, we’re ‘sposda fit in dis?”
This is an all-around weird figure, but it’s one I dig, and I’m not even a big Ninja Turtles guy. The Leader-class price of Party Wallop made me scoff initially, but handling him, there’s a Leader’s worth of stuff here, and just a lot going on with him in general.
I feel for Leo. He has to get stuck being the unfun one.
Despite how bulky and awkward he looks as a robot, he’s surprisingly flexible. He’s got a van-load of accessories and features, and having dedicated places to store them all will always wow me.
My wife’s favorite.
Plus, him changing into a big, chunky van is always satisfying, even if the transformation is kind of a shellformery-nightmare, which is my only real complaint with him.
It’s a scowl-off.
Party Wallop’s a strange-feeling figure, as though a company other than HasTak made him, but there’s a lot of creativity on display here, and whoever *did* make him clearly had fun with the brief.
Like Mikey’s having fun with those nunchuks.
The resultant figure radiates good vibes, rather than cynical corporate synergy. The sheer scope of the ambition behind him is admirable, and makes him really fun, even if there’s no way I’d buy four of him to make all the turtles, like they probably wanted me to do.
I’d rather buy a ton of these little guys.
8) Blokees Classic Class Megatron (2007 Version)
TFW you want that cube.
2025 was the year I discovered Blokees, and this is another case of “any one of them could have gone in this spot.” They’re all fun little action figure model kits, even if they don’t transform. More importantly, they’re extremely affordable.
He beat them all!!!
I’m picking the larger 2007 Movie Megatron to represent the line, because he also filled my need for a cheap version of the character I got my screen name from.
“Is it Fear or Courage that compels you, fleshling? And I’m talking about the guy, not the two concepts.”
What else is there to say about Blokees in general, or Megatron specifically? They’re fun to build, surprisingly durable for model kits, they have articulation on par with mainline Transformers, and in some cases (like Megatron), have a very cool light-up eye gimmick.
POV: You’re a cube.
As for Megs, he’s about the size of a Deluxe, but significantly cheaper, which helps a lot, and his specific light-up eye gimmick looks particularly amazing.
When you’re about to join them in extinction.
I don’t care what you think of non-transforming Transformers, these guys are cheap enough that you should give at least one of them a whirl.
He doesn’t need an altmode at these prices!
7) Studio Series Deluxe Bumblebee (Bumblebee VW Version 2)
We won’t forget about him.
I’ll say it again: The modern Transformers cycle of perpetual updates of the same characters is something I usually think is bad, except when they redo characters I really like.
They added cuteness in the update.
In this case, they made a newer, better Studio Series figure of a guy from a movie I specifically love!
This never happened in the movie, but you get the idea.
Ultimately, that’s going to trump any individual problems this Bumblebee has, and he’s got a few of them.
No, no, don’t run from them.
To get those out of the way, he doesn’t have a waist joint, or a battle mask, his backpack, while cleaner than the old Studio Series model, is still not as clean as it probably could be, and he’s still a bit tricky to transform.
Same great altmode, though
Honestly, though, the vibes of him make these issues vanish.
Just look at him!
Plus, he *is* an objective improvement over the old one in basically every way, and most importantly of all, he’s just got a certain charm that I can’t resist.
He also pairs well with Animated Charlie Watson.
If you liked the movie, and you liked the character, this guy’s a winner, even if you have the older model already.
She’s helping advertise the 2025 edition.
6) Studio Series Deluxe Megatron (Transformers One)
His deadliest weapon is those gams.
I wasn’t expecting to like this Megatron better than Optimus, but here we are, and that’s funny, because I could say the same about the characters in the movie he’s from.
The real star of the picture.
What we’ve got here is a tightly designed Deluxe-class Megatron for all seasons. He’s *really* solidly built, has more articulation than you’d think, feels good in your hands, and has a surprisingly robust and customizable loadout of accessories.
It’s rare to see an actual good made-up space tank in Transformers.
Him being the guy from a movie I love’s just a plus. Honestly, his only issue is that he’s kind of a poor likeness for the character from the film, especially since he’s got the wrong model of fusion cannon.
The weapon is from this scene, but the body isn’t.
Still, a lot of what appeals to me about him is intangible stuff, he just feels good to pose and transform and mess around with. I’d say he’s worth getting on his own merits, even without an Optimus to fight, and even if you’re not collecting Transformers One stuff.
If you do have an Optimus, though, he’s about to have a bad time.
5) Age of the Primes Leader G2 Grimlock with Wheelie
An important part of this Neo-G2 collection.
It took years for them to release this tooling in a deco I wanted, in a release vector I could actually get, but it was worth the wait, because Grimlock’s just fun.
I mean, just look at that expression!
The figure’s big and simple, but that’s a strength. He’s chunky, he’s solid, and as an owner of Masterpiece Grimlock, I can say that he actually outdoes the MP in multiple ways.
It’s startling how much better the new model is, and the Masterpiece is still a good figure, too!
He feels like a second pass at the design, to iron out the rough patches. Plus, he’s a very fetching shade of Generation 2 Blue.
His deco could have been closer, but they got the blue dead-on.
His weak point’s definitely Wheelie, who, in my opinion, should have just been swapped out for a sword, to complete the G2 homage, but it’s kind of a non-issue.
The G1 Storybook colors are a neat homage, at least.
Bottom line: It’s worth owning some version of this tooling, even if you have the Masterpiece, and this version’s as good a way as any.
One more group shot for the road.
4) Legacy United Deluxe Cosmos
There’s a Star Man, waiting in the sky…
Cosmos was once a legendarily rare scalper-bait Transformer that, mercifully, got a re-release in the Legacy toyline. He turned out to be good enough to prove that he wasn’t just rare because he was shortpacked, he was rare because he’s a really fun figure.
An important part of this Marvel Resistance Cell.
Cosmos feels unique compared to his Legacy brethren, a chunky, cartoony, cute robot that changes into a flying saucer that you can just hear making Jetsons noises.
Plus, he makes for a fetching hat.
And despite being made of blocks, he’s poseable, expressive, has a unique accessory, and is just fun to transform and pose.
A different kind of Race Queen.
At the time, my only criticism of him was that he was just competently made, and didn’t have anything “extra” happening, like other updated Minibots such as Gears, or Origin Bumblebee.
What he thinks of my past opinions.
But over time, his adorable vibes and general charm have won me over, and I no longer see that as a problem. He’s just a fun flying saucer guy! He’s not even rare anymore, you can just buy one! And you should!
Another case of “just look at him!”
That’s another theme a lot of the figures on the list this year seem to have: No special features, they’re just regular figures done well.
To the stars he returns!
On the other hand….
He’s here to mess up your *whole* crew.
…Remember when Transformers toys had lots of gimmicks? I certainly remember.
This group’s never going to forget.
Cyberworld Grimlock is the closest thing to an old Beast Wars Ultra-class figure that I’ve handled since the turn of the millenium, and he carries forward some of Omega Prime’s philosophy: HasTak remembered that these are supposed to be toys, and they’re supposed to be fun.
Since writing the review, this mode finally showed up on the show.
Who needs elbows or a neck joint or a functional waist when you can do a giant pile of fun stuff, you’re as big as a Leader-class, and you somehow only cost a little more than a Deluxe?
You can even split him into multiple pilotable vehicles!
Plus, Cyberworld Grimlock’s a good representation of a character from a show I like. For more fun, pick yourself up a Cyber Changer or two to go with him. Or don’t, he doesn’t even need them, any small figures can be used to access the fun. But consider this a blanket recommendation to pick up a couple of them, as well.
Snarl’s my pick, if you want just one.
And while we’re at it, if you haven’t watched the Cyberworld TV show, you should. It’s all free on YouTube, here’s the link to a playlist. No one expected this show to be good, we all thought it was going to be slop, and it turned out to be surprisingly engaging.
Just like this beastie is.
2) Legacy Evolution Deluxe Beachcomber and Paradise Parakeet
The chillest bot on the list.
Beachcomber is another formerly-rare figure that, fortunately, became common, thanks to a new production run. It’s funny, though, that my review of him was mostly me going “If you have the old Power of the Primes Beachcomber, you don’t need this.”
Two kings.
But, the thing is, the Power of the Primes figure was really good, good enough to make that year’s best-of list (well, on another website that isn’t around, so you’ll have to trust me on that).
Bigger than your average Deluxe Minibot.
Legacy Beachcomber is just the old figure, but bigger, more poseable, and with some actual accessories, including a tiny little bird important enough to be in the figures name.
VIB: Very Important Bird.
Basically, the new one is even better, with my only issues being that the bird’s got a weird, gummy texture, and Beachcomber’s transformation’s a tad bit fiddly.
Unlike Sonic, it’s not as fast as it could be.
Like Cosmos, there’s no X-factor, Beachcomber just does everything right. He’s poseable, he’s expressive, he’s got a fluid transformation, and he’s been a constant desk toy for me ever since I got him. Plus, the Skybound comics made me more fond of the character than I already was, bumping him up a few points in my estimation.
The start of an extremely compelling character arc.
If you don’t have the Power of the Primes version, I’d call this figure an absolute must-have. And even if you do…honestly, I think he’s worth the upgrade. He’s just that good.
A bot who’s secure in his #2 status. He’s got nothin’ to prove, maaaaan.
1) Age of the Primes Leader Megatronus The Fallen
We move on from the chillest bot, to the hottest one.
Listen, Leader-Class Transformers are expensive, and a lot of the time, can feel not worth the cost, especially as budgets shrink, and prices rise.
Large and in charge.
The thing is, this guy feels worth it, because of how full-featured he is. Usually, Leader-Class Transformers have to pick something to sacrifice to make the rest of the figure great. Maybe they’re really small, or don’t come with a lot of accessories, or are really simplistic, in the name of beefing up the other categories.
Could a compromised figure do this?
But The Fallen somehow manages to hit all the marks of a good figure. He’s big, incredibly poseable, comes with tons of accessories, and is just totally uncompromised. Plus, he just looks really really cool, and is based on a relatively obscure Dreamwave Comics design that I both love, and never expected to get a figure of.
Never thought I’d be recreating this shot in plastic form.
He just does everything right, while looking absolutely amazing. Literally the only thing I don’t like is the dumb “Megatronus” name they saddled him with, but hey, I tossed his box in the recycling months ago, I can call him whatever I want.
The other Primes won’t call him an ally after this.
So, yes, if you can swing a Leader-Class figure, this guy’s one case where it’s well worth getting one, and because of that, he’s my favorite figure of 2025.
He looms large over the competiton.
One last look at this year’s winners, who still can’t fit in my backdrop.
So, what’s happening in 2026? For one thing, I expect my reviews’ll continue on two-week cycles, as it’s a groove I’ve been enjoying (funny enough, I don’t own a Groove). This year, I think I’m going to be focusing less on newer figures, and more on older stuff. Honestly, it’s mostly because I have a backlog of slightly older bots I still want to talk about, and I’m keeping my new purchases modest, anyway. Either way, I’m looking forward to Studio Series, Age of the Primes, more of the Cyberworld show and toyline, and more of the Skybound comics. My most anticipated thing, though? That pink repaint of Studio Series 86 Hot Rod with the new accessories that just got leaked.
I think I’ve looked at photos of it every day since they came out.
I’m calling it now: It’ll be shocking if that isn’t next year’s #1, just based on pedigree. I’m putting a little bookmark here, and I’ll see you then!
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