Seibertron's 2025 Year In Review
We said last year that 2025 would be very transformative for our community and it was. Firstly, the output was less than we were used to due to less waves and the new show toyline doing away with anything even remotely made to attract collectors (ie no deluxe class). Add to that the new normal of companies outside of Hasbro/Takara making mainstream official Transformers toys and a new collecting landscape has emerged, where collectors are branching out. You'll see that reflected in our pics this year, especially from Podcaster extraordinaire Scotty P. I'd like to thank him and fellow Seibetronians Kuhlio, Emerje, and Bounti76 for helping me write our pics for the best Transformers toys of 2026. Let us know which ones you liked best!
Best Toy
AMT Rodimus and nothing else came close. To me, this may be the best Transformer released since MP-1. This toy is both beautiful to behold and fun to handle. Both modes look near-perfect and the paint work is stellar. The transformation is fun too, with incredible engineering used to achieve everything that it does. It's mind-boggling to me how many of these yearly top lists I've seen online (both on fan sites and social media) that don't mention this guy at all, which is probably why there aren't more toys like it. -ScottyP
Seaspray. A very impressive figure I'll be happy to buy again in cartoon colors later on. The number of little folding panels is impressive for a modern Deluxe. -Emerje
Seaspray for me too. I don't need something crazy complex or heavily detailed, nor huge, I just want a well made Transformers product and Seaspray was as perfect as can be. He is the ultimate representation of that classic character, looks great in both modes and has an effective yet efficient transformation. Just perfect.- William-james88
SS Megatron. You get a fantastic looking figure, with a great, satisfying transformation, and for those purists who won't accept Megatron as anything but a gun, they even included a figure of him in gun mode, IN SCALE. Best of both worlds. -Bounti76
QC Issues aside--- HasLab Omega Prime was a key figure for me. RID2001 is the line that got me into the fandom. Clear God Fire Convoy has been a grail that I acquired a couple of years ago, so I was super excited to get a new version of this guy on my shelf. This set provides some great stability for the character and may remove some action features, but lets face it--- sometimes you don't want the toy to shoot missals across the room to be lost! -kuhlio
Best Age of the Primes Toy
Solely based on how much I have both played with it and invested in upgrade kits to enhance it further, I must put Prima down for this category. Simple, big, chunky, but still a rad design, plus it's a character that doesn't have 4,820 toys made of him already. -ScottyP
Slingshot (and by extension Firebolt). He's a really impressive little figure that looks great in both forms, has no "underbot", and no weird jet proportions like Air Raid. -Emerje
Sky-Byte impressed me. I was fond of the previous attempt to remake him even though I was not blind to its shortcomings. This toy gets rid of all shortcomings and just gives you a satisfying toy. It's fun when a character outside of G1 gains enough popularity to be a mainstay in the franchise and now he has an excellent toy to his name made just for him, which is pretty cool for a character which started out as a redeco of a toy from a previous line (ie Transmetal II Cybershark). - William-james88
Bumper. Not a great mold, but he wears and uses it better than Bee, and is it's so cool to have an official release of this toy after 41 frickin' years. -Bounti76
Megatronus takes this spot. He really felt like a return to form of the Leader price point with a bulky, heavy figure. He also provided a real answer to the missing figure of the "Fallen Prime" and allowed me to put up the Titanium 6" floppy figure that was anything but imposing on my shelf. -kuhlio
Best Studio Series Toy
I don't want to give it to a Megatron toy because there are too many of them, but it's Megatron. A great complementary piece to last year's Commander Optimus and a seriously fun Transformer. -ScottyP
Megatron. I'm not entirely sold on his tank form's turret or his oddly shaped canon, but it's nice to see a fairly complex transformation and our best Megatron bot mode at retail. -Emerje
Devastator. I hope you'll allow me to ranking him as one because he truly is greater than the sum of his parts. And those parts aren't bad at all. Devastator is one of the most iconic Transformers of all time, he is THE combiner, and we finally have an uncompromised version of not just this big bot but of all the Constructicons who make him up. - William-james88
Soundwave (found before 2025 ended!). Looks great, feels good in hand, and poses really well. -Bounti76
SS86 Megatron surprised me. I did not know what to expect, but they managed to capture the original Megatron look. I understand the alt mode issues, however they managed to hide the tank parts incredibly well, and the figure finally replaced one of so many Siege molds/remolds that held the leader spot on my shelves. -kuhlio
Best Exclusive
Blokees Transformers x Line Friends Mokoo Mega Optimus Prime x Brown (Pink version), which was limited to 999 copies and exclusive to the overseas Blokees website plus some assorted real-life events in Indonesia and other places in SE Asia. I will not be taking questions about this pick. -ScottyP
Missing Link Arcee from Japan. This is unfinished business that can easily slip into a G1 display with vintage figures or other ML figures. Getting two options really seals it. -Emerje
Masterpiece Rattrap. Glad we got another Beast Wars MP toy for the collection and they pull out all the stops, as usual. - William-james88
AOTP Trypticon. An unexpected but genius re-use of a good mold to give us a cartoon accurate(ish) version of the big fella. -Bounti76
Hotwheels Crossover Bone Shaker and Twin Mill were exciting additions to the collection. Crossover toys have been so hit-or-miss that I had not clue what to expect from these two. Once I had them in hand, it was incredible to finally get to add new recruits to the Autobots! -kuhlio
Your best TF moment of 2025
Mr. Starscream may have died in Twincast / Podcast kayfabe, falling to the forces of 40 oz. malt liquor, but his indestructible spark moved on to taking more aspects of his business seriously which seems like a worthy endeavor. To that end, he's been running live shows on Whatnot since last Spring, and they're worth tuning in to for the entertainment value alone. These shows have been a bright spot in our darkest hour and helped me through some very long, difficult work week nights, so they're my highlight here. And no, I was not asked to write this nor am I being compensated for it, sorry for sounding like an ad though! -ScottyP
The unexpected explosion in popularity of Blokees. The right figures at the right price at the right time. Yolopark may have come first, but Blokees getting into big box retailers, having a massive Black Friday sale generating interest in the brand (if only to move dead stock) and expanding beyond Transformers was quite the achievement. It always impresses me what we actually get for our money in Blokees blind boxes compared the simple stuff other companies sell for two or three times the price (looking at you, Super 7). -Emerje
I've been actively looking for Transformers toys in thrift shops for over a decade and this has finally been the year that I found a good amount of G1 toys. Trailbreaker, Aerialbots, Wheeljack, Yellow Cliffjumper and a GIANT LOT of Battle Beasts/Beastformers. These were some incredible finds. -William-james88
I was going to say finding Sureshot and SS Soundwave on the same day, at different Targets, just a few days after Christmas, but really....
... wrapping Missing Link Arcee up and putting her under the Christmas tree just to have the thrill of opening a figure I should have been able to open 39 years ago. -Bounti76
Being a father it was great to go to Botcon 2025 in Ft Wayne Indiana. This con was the first time I was able to take my wife and daughter to a show. Also, being on the podcast, it was great to get to spend some time with Mr. Starscream, as well as meet the Epic Voice Guy Jon3.0, and xRotorstormx in person instead of on a screen. -kuhlio
What you are looking forward to in 2026
AMT Rodimus in Lost Light colors and finishing up The 13. -ScottyP
A near movie accurate scale Studio Series Age of Extinction Titan Grimlock. Also, if the leaks are accurate, Commander Class Armada Jetfire. Plus, Transformers the Movie 40th Anniversary! -Emerje
Completing the 13 Primes is my main priority in terms of my Transformers collection this year, it's going to be an incredible collection when it's all said and done. -William-james88
Finishing the Primes in physical form, or getting closer to completing a modern roster of deluxe sized Minibots. -Bounti76
I am looking forward to more casts with the Twincast Crew, and hopefully a few more shows where I can grow my Transformers-Friend group and hopefully get to hang out with more Seibertronians! -kuhlio
