Welcome to kimia Room 113, Top 15 (or so) Transformers of 2015!

So I wanted to do a end of year special for Room 113 and since so many other people are doing a "15 TF's of 2015" I thought I'd do one to.

These will be figures that I got in 2015. They might not have been released in 2015 but if I didn't own them or get to open them until 2015 they count on my list.
I should probably note that with my collection being, for the most part, in my Dads loft back in England there will be some figures I haven't reviewed yet or more importantly things I've forgotten about. I ask for your forgiveness in these instances and hope you don't mind flashy offical pictures as opposed to my rough "photo'd on my bench/bin thing" style. 
2015 was a bit of a strange year in toys for me. With my job cutting my hours and the move to the states I don't feel like I bought a lot of new figures but I also feel like I got the bulk of the figures I wanted. 
In 2015 I also didn't get any third party products. I didn't realise this until I started making this list. There was several third party figures I wanted Spartan, Madlaw and others I'll get at some point in the future. 
I'll be trying to stick to one posistion per mold, that way the list isn't buried in repaints from Combiner Wars.
So onto the list itself!

15. One step Fixit. 

This one may seem like a weird starting place but here it is. 
I'm not a massive fan of the new Robots in disguise. It's not a terrible series but I just didn't get hooked into it, this is reflected a lot in my collection. I own ONE new RID figure (AND it's not Grimlock) but the one I own is pretty good. It was a gift from Old Oilhouse's own Great Dictator for life Grufflock. It's one of the very simple "one step changers" so it doesn't do a lot but it's a good representation of the character. 

14. Generations Cosmos W/ Payload

Cosmos is a unique addition to this list as strictly speaking I don't own Cosmos. Cosmos belongs to Slick AKA Mrs Murray. Like a couple of others on this list this figure was "waiting" for me in Tampa. He's a great little figure and it was nice to finally have a nice representation of Cosmos that wasn't an expensive third party figure. I wont say much more as I want to do a full review of him at some point. 

13. Combiner Wars Air Raid. 

Getting this figure in the Uk feels like it should be worthy of a saga on it's own. Splitting the Aerialbots over Waves 1 and 2 wouldn't have been so bad if the UK had got both Waves but we didn't! Air Raid is on this list over his fellow Superion parts because quite simply he was an improvement over the other limbs. He felt a lot tighter than the other Aerialbots and I loved how he was a black jet with a white and red robot body. Awesome figure. 

12. Gacha Arms Micron Bulkhead knuckle

This one is a bit of a cheat, I got my first Bulkhead Knuckle when it was initially realeased. As soon as I got one I knew I had to get a second one. It took me THREE years to fiinally get a second one. Three years... I found one in a Travelling Man store in Newcastle. It was one of the western release versions but it's exactly the same. It's a stupid little idea of a Bulkhead who transforms into a giant fist but it works so well and adding a second one into the mix really kicks it up a notch (Bam!). The bright side is both of them were fairly cheap. Get a pair of them, nothing quite beats the look of  a Vehicon with two giant hulk hands!

11. Generations Swerve

Swerve's entry relies a lot on his MTMTE appearance. I'm not going to hide this fact. Swerve is a good toy, because of the little touches (OK the face) they took from MTMTE it became a GREAT toy. His review is ready to go so you can hear more of my thoughts on the bartender when the review goes up

10. Combiner Wars Streetwise/Prowl

Number 10 is my only twin entry on the list, I couldn't really choose between the two. Prowl is just a straight up head swap with some slightly different paint apps. Both versions are great figures and where as Streetwise is brighter with the red parts/paint apps help him stand out, Prowls uniform black and white works perfectly. Top if off with what now looks like a standard police issue triple barrel shotgun. You'd think with two versions of the figure I'd get "mold fatigue" but no, I want that Smokescreen to!
Read my Prowl review here.

9. Generation 1 Sky-Lynx

This isn't something you see very often from me, a G1 figure. I'm not exactly a big fan of G1 figures, a lot of the original figures are bricky and a lot of them have more modernised representations. I bought Sky-Lynx quite some time before I arrived in the states and by the time I did Combiner Wars Sky-Lynx had been announced. I'm excited for that figure but it doesn't take away from the G1 figures appeal. He's a one of a kind figure and I'll be keeping him for a long time.
Read my Sky-Lynx review here.

8. Combiner Wars Black Jack

Another entry by Combiner Wars on the list and my first "found on the peg in America" purchase! I was never going to get the standard retail versions of the Stunticons. I'd already poured my attention (and cash) into the Fansproject versions but I wanted Black Jack. It was a cool update of the Micromaster figure and he did some nice tricks with his transformation. Shame his armour mode is kind of depressing. I'll hopefully get the G2 Menasor boxset so my "normal" Blackjack might never be a chest piece! 
Read my Blackjack review here.

7. Combiner Wars Ultra Magnus

This shouldn't be a surprise, I love this toy. I was haunted for so long because I didn't have a proper armoured Magnus in my life, I'd missed out on City Commander (got a Shadow Commander though, whoo!) and the UK finally got Magnus just as I'd left for Tampa (the news dropped while I was in the air). Even upon arriving in the USA I struggled to find one and so far the only one I've seen is the one I bought. He was worth the wait, he'd have posistioned higher if it weren't for the high quality of the top 6 figures. 
Read my Ultra Magnus review here.

6. Combiner Wars Rook

This should maybe read as "best performance from a newcomer". As much as the name Rook has been used before he's never had a Generation 1 appearance before let alone a toy. I left this figure in the UK all packed up ready to ship to me. I really wish I hadn't. He was a great addition to the Protectobots and a nice substitue for Groove (who makes a nice little legend  once you get past the fact he's ALL legs).  Rook was a nice change from all of the re-used body types in Combiner Wars and he adds a lot of bulk to Defensor. Most importantly he can use his fist mounted ports to give him Hulk hands. It's got a great looking head on him to. Such a fun toy, shame all of the repaints are going to be expensive to get.

5. Combiner Wars Hot Spot

Hoy boy, I just realised this is the third Protectobot on this list. The torso of Defensor was a real nostalgic hit for me, I loved the G1 Hot Spot figure when i was a kid. Despite the fact that mine had a factory error I had to rate this highly. It's a great figure with some decent articulation and an awesome head sculpt. Top that off with what is a really nice trick to form the chest and head of Defensor from the fire truck ladder and he becomes the second best torso of 2015. Only way he could be better is if he was Onslaught. Oh wait.....

4. Generations Springer

There isn't much to say about this figure that I haven't already said in my review. I almost put Sandstorm in this posistion but I decided to choose only one of the mold and Springer was put to the fore as he REALLY looks the part and it's a fantastic figure. Sandstorm is amazing as well but I have (silly) problems with it (the head, my Sandstorm should have a face plate! Why haven't the third parties made an alternative one!?). Springer was a figure I had to wait for and he was worth it.
​Read my Springer review here.

3. Combiner Wars Silverbolt

Talking about Silverbolt being a top three figure seems weird as every other single version of this figure is either something I'm not interested in or something I hate. Silverbolt does a lot of good things as a Wave 1 torso and he stands a good chance of being one of the best figures in the entire CW line. It's a great robot mode with a transformation into a torso mode that blew my mind the first time I did it.  Great toy with only a couple of flaws, one of which (the antennas) is easily fixed or replaced. Plane mode has the usual "robot chunks under a jet" problems but I can't hold that against him. It's a shame Scattershot is so bad.

2. Combiner Wars Viper

This should really be no surprise. One of the few G.I.Joe releases of 2015 and a really good figure. I almost placed Powerglide here but Viper pulled ahead because of his Cobra based markings. The figure itself is a great mold. Nice posability topped with a simple but fun transformation and 3 great modes. Painted blue and coated in Cobra labels, this figure was a sure fire top ranker. He screams army building but It seems like he is the hardest figure to find! I've only got one but I'm really glad I've got my one. I'll be using mine to help arm Bruticus even further. Legends class figures that turn into guns for combiners. Such simple fun. 

1. Combiner Wars Devastator

This one is a bit of a cheat as it's really 6 figures in one box but since you can't buy them seperatly they'll share the top spot. Since this figure was announced I wanted it. I dropped all kinds of "subtle" hints to Slick that this was what I wanted for Christmas and it did not dissapoint. Sure the seperate Constructicons are a bit iffy when you look at them individually but something had to give in this boxset. You couldn't have made 6 Voyager scale figures that combine into something that huge without losing something or paying a crazy amoun t for them. In most cases it was elbows but as I've said for a while, "Who cares if Long Haul has proper elbows? He'll spend most of his life as a crotch any way!". The designers on this set should be proud, forming Devastator is a fluid, simple thing that I mastered after a single try. I still have trouble getting Hook clipped in properly to Long Haul but when Devastator comes together it's a thing of beauty. It's a giant figure, towering over everything else I have here. It's a title he'll keep hold of until Titan class Fortress Maximus lands later this year (unless a Metroplex lands in my lap before then). 



I'd like to thank a few people who helped with this list (even if they don't know they did), 
1. "Great Dictator for life" Grufflock for not only supplying one of my entries but without the site and more importantly his support none of my written or podcast ramblings would be available to the public. So you can blame him for it all.

2. Tricky. My tag team partner in the podcasting world and someone who seems to survive my random Tranformer thoughts being bounced off his head. Without Tricky Welcome to Kimia would never have got off the ground and I wouldn't have felt the urge to write again. So you can blame him to.

3. Lastly but most importantly my lovely wife Slick. For putting up with me and my collection, for never making me feel weird for wanting to buy toys and more importantly for me being here in Tampa. 2015 was a very rough year at the mid point and without her I wouldn't have made it through all of the stresses of getting my ass to America. She is the love of my life and I don't think she'll ever understand how much she means to me. More thanks for putting up with the fact i kept stealing the laptop over the last few days to get this written up. 

So that's my top 15 TF's of 2015. There was a lot of Combiner Wars in there but it should be expected. 2015 was the year of the combiner and I'll be starting off 2016 in much the same way, finishing off Optimus Maximus, getting Combiner Wars Sky-Lynx, Victorion, G2 Menasor and of course BRUTICUS!!! I've had to wait a long time to get a good offical representation of my favourite combiner team. A LONG time. Of course when those clear up I'll have Titan Masters to track down. 2016 should be a good year and who knows, I might do a 16 TF's of 2016.







I want to mentiona couple of non Transformer figures as well

S.H.Figuarts Fourze Magnet states. 

Only figuart I got this year and it was less than a fiver! Clearance sales on HLJ meant he went ridiculously cheap and I had to get him. Really good figure and he came with a stand!

Skeleton Warriors Kickstarter figure. 

Something I never expected to get but a welcome addition to my selection of random bad guy figures. Thanks again to Gruff for hooking me up with this, he's BAD TO THE BONE!

Stu "Darkageis" Murray is a founding member of The Old Oilhouse, a lifelong transformers nut and collector of Sentai and Kamen rider in most of it's forms.

He sometimes takes epic trips and tells tales of these sagas often. 
When not watching people in spandex fight each other he paints miniatures, go HERE to take a look.