Ambassadors Part 3 - and my picks for Part 2

Ambassadors Part 3 has just gone live on TFSource Blog HERE with more terrific choices and justifications by a stellar group of contributors, people whose enthusiasm and knowledge of the hobby continues to inspire my own. They've made their choices on who best represents Japanese G1, G1 '87 to '90, Binaltech and Armada. This post, like last week's, will showcase my own picks for Ambassadors Part 2, which went live on TFSource last week, featuring Masterpiece, Generation 1 1984 to 1986 and Animated. I've skipped DOTM as I never bought any toys from that range. 

MASTERPIECE

MP-13 Masterpiece Soundwave

Soundwave with MP-15 Rumble/Jaguar and MP-16 Frenzy/Buzzsaw

It was really and truly hard for me not to pick MP-10 Convoy or MP-11 Starscream (I like them even more than Soundwave), but those may have been too obvious a choice. I agreed so much with what Morgan said about MP-1, but I can't ignore my own preferences, whilst keeping in mind the remit I gave all the contributors. I believe Soundwave is every bit as recogniseable as Optimus Prime in terms of famous Transformers, and I simply cannot imagine a better representation of G1 Soundwave - or any Soundwave - than what MP-13 provided. 

A very enjoyable transformation, looks to die for, every aspect of his personality and aesthetic nailed...and those delightful Cassettrons. The Laserbeak/Buzsaw mould stuns you with its ingenuity, while Frenzy/Rumble have a great transformation and superb pose-ability for microscopic figures of such detail.I adore Ravage too, but not everyone does. I do concede that the door mechanism and tape-cycling gimmick are as prone to jamming as a real-life tape reel, but Masterpiece Soundwave completely embodies what this line is trying to do with its flagship characters.

GENERATION 1 - 1984 to 1986

Generation 1 Matsushiro Jetfire

Bite me, bite me hard. I know it's not Hasbro or Takara-manufactured and therefore a sacrilegious slight towards early purist G1, but if I was forced to take a single Generation 1 Transformers toy with me to the next life from 1984 to 1986, you'd have to pry Jetfire from my cold, dead hands. Optimus Prime, Megatron, Starscream, Mirage, Devastator, Hot Rod - all superb choices - but none compare to the pose-ability, glory or breathtaking knockout punch that a perfect Jetfire delivers. 

Has there ever been a better transforming toy mould from this era in toy history? Shoji Kawamori take a bow. When you combine such beauty, with perfect presentation and a transformation that is almost art in its repeatability, enjoyment and logic, you end up with a toy no sane collector could help but fall in love with. For me, Jetfire embodies the entire magic of Transformers in 3 colours, 2 styrofoam trays and 1 majestic robot.

ANIMATED

Animated Bumblebee

Up-grade, Summer In The City!

The educated Animated connoisseurs chose Prowl, but being the uncultured Animated oaf I am, I cannot stray from my beloved Animated Bumblebee. Remember, this came out at a time when collectors were not yet sick to the back teeth of Yellow Plague. The 2007 Movie was still a very fond memory for most of us who were able to park our baggage and intelligence at the door, and Animated was as fresh as you could get. 

You either bought into the aesthetic or were repulsed by it. I bought in and enjoyed the series immensely. This toy, in my opinion, shows off what Animated did best. That was, to take an on-screen character and produce a staggeringly good likeness, full of that particular character's personality, then wrap it in a wonderfully good deluxe toy that never got boring to play with. That face and head-sculpt sold me on Transformers Animated for life, and even when the non-Joustra collection exodus was at its peak, Animated Bumblebee was never in danger.

As close to DOTM as I'm gonna get

All the best
Maz