Siege – the toyline – has come to an end, with the last toys in the line now starting to appear in most places.

Flip Flip Bang Bang is a Transformers TCG site, but I think most of this site’s readers also love toys, so I think a quick celebration of the toyline is in order. I started collecting around mid-2018, around the time the line was starting to get revealed, so this line has a special place for me.

Full disclosure, here is what I didn’t buy in this line: Cog, Refraktor (the purple/green variant at least), Autobot Impactor, non-holo Mirage, Galaxy Optimus Prime, Omega Supreme, Greenlight, Dazzlestrike, Soundblaster, the 35th anniversary editions of Megatron and Optimus Prime, Combat Megatron, ‘Shackwave’, Cromar, Lancer, Zetar and Hot Shot. None of these appealed to me enough to buy them, or I had what I considered either ‘better’ or ‘good enough’ versions of them. Though I hear great things about Soundblaster. Genuinely considering picking him up if I ever see him cheap.

There’s also a bunch of micromasters and battlemasters (including Rung) that I’ve not set picked up, but am likely to really soon. Not expecting any of them to make the Top 20 cut though.

This is personal opinion and rarely based on anything technical. My choices are based on what speaks to me. Taste is a funny thing and I’ll be damned if I don’t follow my heart when it comes to toys. Finally… I’m not a toy reviewer. If you’re hoping for some analytical depth on these toys, the same way I do for TCG… I’m afraid I’m going to disappoint. This is full on fanboy gushing.

Let’s talk toys.

#20

REDWING

He’s a lovely shade of red (a different hue to the other reds in the series), really nice colour pattern, and frankly a way better red seeker than Starscream. Sure he’s not a character you know… but we could use fresh faces, even if their repaints. You can even create your own entire personality profile for the guy. Personally I reckon he’s probably an awful lot like Knockout from Transformers Prime, I think he has that energy.

The only character on this list that didn’t actually get a card in either Siege set of the card game btw.

#19

APEFACE

Honestly I want to rate this guy higher, I have a lot of emotional attachment to Apeface. But the white is a weird choice, and the transformation is… not fun. I don’t think I’ve got the ape mode right at all, and as I pose him he seems to fall apart (you can see in the picture the neck seems to have come loose), but at the same time I don’t want to change him back.

However he still has a lot of charm and character and we’re lucky that we get an Apeface at all, especially since Headmasters were done a good two toylines ago. He should have been much higher on this list… I find him less fun as an actual transformers… but I do love him aesthetically and emotionally, so he does squeak into the top 20.

Just look at his adorable face.

#18

SKYTREAD

Oh Skytread, you delightful goon. You’re a weird murky mauve-brown and you’re nowhere near as good as Battletrap, but you’re still a class act. A solid figure and worthy of your time and affection.

#17

POWERTRAIN

I was never expecting to be into the micromasters in Siege but a few of them have really clicked with me; Powertrain certainly is one of the favourites, with his beautiful orange + blue colour scheme and sturdy design. A regular in the Autobot micromaster breakdancing crew.

#16

HOUND

I think Hound is one of the underdogs in Siege… he came out in the initial wave, and probably got a bit lost in the excitement of later releases. He’s a really solid figure though, an excellent stalwart. Detritus repaint please?

#15

FLAK

I don’t think any true micromaster will ever be as good as Flak. Such a great colour scheme and so much personality and joy for such a small figure. He is sheer perfection miniature form.

#14

SOUNDWAVE

Soundwave is always going to have a blocky, less than satisfying alt mode – I know people complain about his spaceship mode, but it’s still arguably better than turning into a tapedeck. He’s bot mode is total classic Soundwave though and looks dynamite. Every Siege Decepticon collection should have Soundwave somewhere in the mix.

… and just look at those eyes! Wow!

#13

SIXGUN

So… I’m not really a big fan of Cog, and never opted to buy him. I like the schtick, but Cog‘s aesthetic never clicked with me. Sixgun, though, has an excellent aesthetic. I pretty much fell in love with his look the moment his previews came out. He can definitely be used as a collection of guns if that’s your thing, but frankly I love him most as a robot. My favourite weaponizer f’sure.

#12

PROWL

So here’s a controversial one.

Prowl is very much a toy that people have been down about, and that might be because they are comparing him to previous versions of his toy (which I don’t have – I just have the Combiner Wars Prowl and that guy is best kept as a limb for Optimus Maximus). It also might be because people are enamoured with the repaints of the toy; Barricade, Smokescreen and Bluestreak. I have all those too… but for some reason Prowl just clicks with me more. I think I just prefer that clean, shiny white to Barricade’s black, or the multi-colour of the other Autobot lads. He’s been sitting on my shelf, front and centre of the Autobots and just gleaming with shiny white goodness.

I dunno, he’s been a big winner for me in Siege. For me, he works. Sometimes you like what you like!

#11

SIDESWIPE

I just think this guy is a perfect car transformer. He poses well with a bunch of battle masters and has been a favourite all year. I can’t imagine a more perfect Sideswipe. If Earthrise Sunstreaker is just a yellow repaint of this, I’d be quite happy (I can totally have four repaints of the same toy… worked out okay for the seekers…)

#10

LIONIZER

Speaking of battle masters, I think I normally pair Sideswipe with this guy. He’s a dumb looking toy, but man have I had so much fun with him. That simple swish effect works so well, and turning him into pouncing cat always makes me happy.

#9

ACID STORM

Now we’re on to the big’uns. I frickin’ love Acid Storm‘s eye-bleeding green so much, such an eye catching seeker. I even love all the gunk; I know a lot of people hate it but I think it works so well on them, it even kind of looks like the design on the card if you squint. My second favourite of the seekers in this toyline.

#8

LASERBEAK

He’s a tiny thing, a bit blocky… but he’s just so adorable and easy to place everywhere. My Laserbeak normally just sits on Megatron and quietly watches over the Decepticons from there.

He’s lowkey one of my favourites and has been since I picked him up. The best tiny robot I’ve got.

#7

SPINISTER

Everyone has been gushing over this one, and I definitely get it – we’ve all wanted a decent Spinister toy, and I think this guy is the perfect Spinister. Everything about him just works so well. I only think I’ve placed him a little lower on this list than some because he’s one of my more recent purchases, and I’ve had more time to appreciate the others. He is excellent though.

#6

RATCHET

This guy has been really difficult to get hold of in the UK, and I got very, very lucky and managed to snag one of the few that became available at In Demand Toys. He is by far the best use of the Ironhide mold (Crosshairs is definitely good though, and better than Ironhide imho). Everything about him just looks perfect, and I love all the additional tools he gets… and the weird medical lab mode that is in there as some sort of extra?

I wish this guy was more readily available. Excellent figure.

#5

OPTIMUS PRIME

This is a bit less emotional response and a bit more technical appreciation. Siege Voyager Optimus Prime is simply perfect. He is incredibly pose-able, well balanced, looks great, has absolutely everything going for him. I’m definitely not a big Optimus fan but this guy has always made me happy; and I’ve gotten so much mileage from him on the site.

Do we really need an Earthrise leader figure? I know there are many G1 purists who just have to have the more cartoon-accurate version of the toy but I genuinely don’t think I need another Optimus Prime. This one is just right.

#4

NOVA STORM

I can’t gush over my girl Nova Storm enough. She is the best use of the Starscream mold, no question. That bright banana-yellow just makes her pop from the shelf so well, the grime looks great on her, and she looks amazing in the photos. I don’t know if I’d have done the Seekers series if it hadn’t been for this toy, and it was so much fun taking photos of her during that project (including taking her to the beach on an incredibly cold and windy day).

Pretty much my favourite seeker now. I’m already imagining her back story, which involves her having a pet cat for some reason.

#3

DECEPTICON IMPACTOR

sigh Yeeeeeah, Decepticon Impactor. He cost about £65 and had to come with a holo-Mirage and an Aragon (the former I’ve kind of warmed to but the latter is by far my least favourite Siege figure). £65 well spent… I love this toy so much, clearly the winner at the ‘deluxe’ size. The wonderful colour scheme, the impressive head design… I’m sure the Autobot version is fine, but THIS is my Impactor. Love him so much.

#2

SHOCKWAVE

Is £45 worth it for a Leader-class figure that is in fact smaller than the other voyager-class figures and probably even deluxe-class figures like Impactor and Spinister? Yes. Yes yes… yes yes yes yes yes. Shockwave, apart from having the best light-piping of any Transformers in my collection, and apart from being the most perfect representation of Shockwave that I can think of… is also a terribly fun Transformer.

Here is me blasting my cat for being insolent:

The varied transformations his ‘kit’ let’s him do make him a really fun transformer, I know many don’t like parts-forming, but I just feel like you can do so much with him. He’s regular Shockwave, he’s silly many-arms Shockwave, he’s a gun, he’s a giant spaceship, he’s on a hovercraft for some reason… this is the kind of thing I love about modern Transformers. A toy that makes me very happy indeed.

#1

JETFIRE

Bigger is not always better – I don’t especially care for the new Omega Supreme, for example.

… but commander class Jetfire, phwoooooooar.

First of all this guy feels really satisftying when you pick him up. There’s no hollowness to this guy at all, he feels really chunky and heavy. He’s got plenty of options – have that regular, cartoon like face, or mask him up for the valkyrie-esque look. He can be armoured up as if for war, or just be peaceful scientist mode. You can even change him into a Decepticon.

Plus he has the best blast effects of any Siege figure. Take that battlemasters.

Jetfire is the centre-piece of any Siege collection; and he feels Siege as well. I can’t think of anyone else as worthy of the number one spot.

And that is that! Earthrise definitely has its work cut out, can’t imagine a regular ol’ Starscream or a new Hoist will be quite as exciting as some of the stuff we’ve had in this toyline. There’s a few things I’m really excited about – a long overdue Snapdragon is very exciting, as is a new Doubledealer. I kind of hope we see a few more of the loose-ends; some more of the missing targetmasters and headmasters that didn’t appear in Titans Return would be very much appreciated.

Even if Earthrise is a disappointment though, we’ll always have Siege. It has been a blast.

Until next time.

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