COUNTDOWN: 4 G1 Transformers toys that have honestly yet to be bettered!

Despite being the better part of forty years old, there remains an inherent charm to many of the old-school G1 Transformers toys that some collectors still find undeniable even today.

True, it always helps to throw a decent dose of rose-tinted nostalgia into the mix, and I’ll freely admit there’s a great deal of that going on with today’s list! Yet even acknowledging such a bias and agreeing how plenty of subsequent toys over the years could be objectively discerned as ‘superior’ by whatever given metric, there are still examples I honestly believe stand out as yet to be truly surpassed. Sure, someone will inevitably cite their typical lack of articulation as a catchall critique of the era, but I don’t care a jot – I can’t deny I love these classic ’80s bricks and a lack of poseability does nothing to diminish their lustre. At least, in my opinion!

And I should stress how all of this, the entire article, is just that – an opinion. Still, I know from personal experience the examples on today’s list remain absolute catnip to kids even now, so I don’t speak purely from a position of looking to the past!

Anyway, all disclaimers done, here are four G1 toys that have yet to be bettered!

#4: Sixshot

I feel a little bad kicking off our list with this guy because, let’s be fair here, the 2016 Titans Return effort was also pretty great! As modern revisions of classic characters go, it delivered essentially everything you could legitimately wish for in terms of a six-changing robot and arguably even refined a few elements to become a reasonably definitive Generations-styled Sixshot in its own right. And yet, there’s still something so undeniably alluring about the vintage 1987 toy that it more than earns its place on this list, delivering the kind of in-hand thrills one perhaps needs to be experience firsthand to fully understand. After all, I’m well aware this original specimen has all the poseability of a pencil sharpener. Yet, it remains an impressively tactile toy, with a precision click clack to the twists and turns through all its various modes that never fails to be a source of delight and means it’s a frequent go-to example whenever I need some robot-related enjoyment. It’s also, surprisingly, one of the largest G1 toys overall, standing taller than even your average Combiner bot of the era, which adds a certain shelf presence to the proceedings besides. He really shows what a one-robot army is!

#3: Jetfire

OK, I feel some caveats are required for this one… yes, the 1985 Jetfire toy is essentially a classic Macross Valkyrie with a new set of stripes, and sure, it’s not in any way representative of the subsequent cartoon depiction (the reasons for which should be obvious, even now). Yet the licensing dissonance that ultimately led to the character forever being portrayed as ‘Skyfire’ (even if not always in name) for the next however many decades is also a sizeable part of what makes the original figure from which it all started that much more intriguing, and why so many collectors continue to hold it up as a top tier grail today. Naturally, there’s also the fact that finding a minty white copy is a diminishing prospect with every passing year, as most examples now rock a worn and yellow used future vibe not unlike something you’d stumble across in the deserts of Tatooine. Yet none of that takes into account what a supremely awesome toy it is at its core, the likes of which were unusual for Transformers even in its sophomore year of the ’80s, never mind today. Sure, anyone who grew up with this thing will tell you war stories of injured fingers upon activating its landing gear, but it is still the very essence of slick and timeless toy design, represented by it boasting perhaps the only multi-step transformation that can be performed one-handed (I’ve seen it done!). We’ve been blessed with many amazing Skyfire-styled toys over the years, but there is still only one original Jetfire – the kind of thing that stands as a true centrepiece of any collection.

#2: Star Saber

Hear me out, hear me out! I’m a big fan of the recent Haslab take on Star Saber, which is evident by the praise I heaped on it during my initial impressions and the fact that I placed it on the ‘best toys’ list of 2022. Yet it is possible to appreciate how great a fresh take is whilst still acknowledging it doesn’t entirely surpass what’s come before, and that’s simply the case here. Besides, the Haslab is a fine runner up, and easily outdoes other renditions of the character, including both the Robotmasters and, more notably, the 2015 Masterpiece release. Yet nothing quite touches the supreme blocky goodness of the 1989 vintage original, in my humble opinion. Again, a surprisingly large figure – especially when combined with his beastly buddy Victory Leo, after which it easily stands in the top five tallest original series toys overall – there’s a presence and majesty to the classic Star Saber toy that successive attempts can’t quite match, no matter how close they come. Plus, in terms of tactile appeal, this is the very definition of late-era G1 precision engineering and satisfying chunkiness, all wrapped up in one majorly enjoyable package. Everything works and glides into place exactly as it should, which is especially notable in the Brainmaster gimmick; every Star Saber toy attempts to find a new method of delivery for this feature, but what you see here is by far and away the superior solution of them all, despite the result not allowing the head to turn. Again, though, articulation is of little concern considering everything else the toy does well, stoking the imagination and unleashing the endorphins in a manner more poseable fare could only dream of and making its brick-like status a welcome trade-off. No sacrifice, no Victory.

#1: Fortress Maximus

Honestly, I could have thrown in a fair number of the classic Headmasters here and offered a similar opinion, but, as in so many ways, the original Fortress Maximus design is the ultimate example of the era. Whilst the entire crop of 1987 bots had a Titans Return figure to their name (and in the case of specific characters, more besides), most would agree the smaller examples are by and large highly worthwhile updates, showcasing much of what made the originals so appealing to begin with, albeit in a majorly redesigned form. By comparison, I rarely see anyone argue the 2016 Titan class overhaul of Fort Max comes anywhere close to holding a candle to its vintage forebear beyond just existing as A Big Toy. Sure, it looks great and certainly has a lot of presence on account of its impressive size. Yet the 1987 figure delivers a vastly superior experience in just about every other regard, not least when it comes to the unparallled array of gimmicks and play features on offer! With ramps and lifts galore, pop-out guns in all kinds of unprecedented places and hidden compartments aplenty (including a jail!), there are hours of fun to be had exploring vintage Max, and that’s before you talk about either the inherent three-mode transformation or the central double-Headmaster solution, which also remains the most satisfying delivery of the gimmick to this day. Some may critique the ‘battle station’ mode for essentially being a lying down robot, but even taking that on the chin, every configuration of this thing has its own charm and appeal, and not to mention it delivers what may still be the finest city mode of any Transformers toy ever. It says everything to me that any time my son asks to take a look at an item in my collection, he’s invariably about three steps removed from choosing one of the classic Fort Max designs on offer despite already knowing them exceptionally well by this point (and having played with the 2016 version too, in the past) – it’s quite simply an all-time classic that bears repeated examination and play. Sure, it has a reputation for being the largest G1 toy, but did you know it’s also one of the best?

So that’s our list!

TTFN