Top of the Bots 2025 - part one!
Yes, my good bitches, it's that time of the year. Can you believe I've not done this since 2022? Time to rectify that.
#10 - Legacy Trashmaster
I know, that's aΒ weirdΒ choice for a top 10. But there's something about this ridiculous rectangle that keeps me coming back. I got him for a mere Β£20 from Leicester Old and Vintage Toys, a good deal for a toy I'd felt bad for passing on back when it was on shelves. I'm not a fan of Junkions, but this is just a big bruising bulk of a bot in its own right, bristling with energy and life in the way that so many modern toys lack. And when, might I add, do you ever see aΒ bin lorryΒ alt mode? Almost never. Real shame his redeco is the equally-orange Animated Wreck-Gar instead of that friendly green guy from Rescue Bots, but hey-ho. Trashmaster has a lot of the same energy as Bulkhead, friendly but strong. Also you can picture him smashing through walls with a front end like that.
#9 - Earthspark Deluxe Aftermath
I managed to pick up a good bunch of Earthspark deluxes this year, and while they're none of them entirely without flaws, they're (almost) always charming and (almost) always exciting (Megatron, we're having words later. Up your game). It wouldn't be right to flood the entire top 10 with them, but Aftermath is a good one to rep the line. There's something deliriously camp-butch about him, you can imagine him walking into a nightclub covered in heavy tight leather and sequins, bullying everyone at the bar before ordering a whole tray of shots - for himself. The decoration on his shoulders is fantastic, crowned with the same spikes that frill the front of his truck mode. He's almost as wide as he is tall, and the way his back end transforms into squat but tidy legs is a joy. It's also great to see a vintage truck as an alt mode, though I would definitely prefer this one to have been a bit bigger than deluxe.
But the most infuriating thing? ActuallyΒ gettingΒ one of these. Such well-designed toys, with the worst distribution I've seen in years. Even the Yanks have been struggling to find the later waves, and practically none of these showed up in Britain. Why be so wasteful, John Hasbro?
#8 - Legacy Sandstorm
Another one I ummed and ahhed about for ages, since the Leader price point is so offputting. But unlike Trashmaster, I picked one up at the start of the year before it disappeared off shelves. And I'm so glad I did. Sure, Sandstorm isΒ notΒ a memorable character by any means, but his G1 toy was (and still is) the best triple changer of the time - fact. And while the Legacy toy pushes the complexity through the roof, it still maintains a lot of the basic tricks that the G1 pulled off. And makes for threeΒ veryΒ compelling modes. I neverΒ quiteΒ remember how to get between them, but there's something about the transformation that doesn't ever actually put me off trying. It's a deliciously intricate puzzle, fiddly and complex but not exactlyΒ complicated.Β The simple, civilian nature of the alt modes is very Autobot, and the bulk and barely-restrained energy he shows off in robot mode is almost story-telling in itself, the way good Autobots managed from the start. Innocuous everyday vehicle? No, deadly space-robot! Surprise!
#7 - Toyworld Aurora (Searchlight) and Earthspark Prowl (Checkpoint)
My philosophy with these end-of-year lists is this: which were the mostΒ exciting and compellingΒ purchases of the year - not necessarily the best. And these two were, like Trashmaster, ones I kept returning to. Somehow they managed to light a spark of creativity in my brain, and I started imagining a big, complex story for Checkpoint (because ofΒ courseΒ it couldn't be Prowl, come on, just look at him) as a post-war rookie customs agent stationed on earth, partnered with an excitable human cop who thinks they have the best job ever, caught up in a wild adventure tracking down a Cybertronian smuggling ring. Searchlight would fit as the secret leader of said gang, embittered and directionless following the end of the way.
Yeah, I never actually wrote it, and probably never will, but just the fact that these two inspired such thoughts means they'll have a special place in my heart. Aurora was another cheapo pickup from Leicester Old and Vintage Toys, just Β£20 again, boxed. He's caught a bit of yellowing, hence the low price, but it's easy to deal with.
#6 - AotP Red Alert
Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo!
Nothing altogether special to say about this one (though it is perhaps a good idea to haveΒ somethingΒ released this year on the list). It's not even that special a toy. It's justΒ good.Β It manages to get a good balance between the gimmicks of the original toy and the needs of a modern toy, with articulation, proportions etc. Transformation is easy and fun, it's a delight to roll around, it looks like the character and it looks good as part of a team with the rest of neo-Armada. TheΒ onlyΒ black mark is the lack of a minicon. And yeah, that really stings, the longer we go without Hasbro just releasing the pigging things.
Tune in tomorrow for the top five, Botpickers!
