My full thoughts on Legacy:
Packaging is a bit busy to me, but I give them credit at doing something fresh with Transformers packaging. It's a wild display of color, but I feel confident that it will stand out at retail shelves.
As noted, I'm disappointed at the absence of the core class.
Deluxe-
Skids: looks better in posed shots and "in hand" than the first images. I like he has a good variety of weapons, and the axe/blaster is a great piece. I'm a fan of the character, but we'll see what Selects or exclusives bring us.
Kickback: Looks fine to me. I've got the entire crew at the old Legends size, but I think they've done some interesting things this time around. I like the organic wing sculpting and the Energon blades. Not sure if he's a necessity after the prior figure.
Dragstrip: He's a Stunticon. We've done the combiner thing before, and I'm not a particular fan of the group so he has not real interest to me. Love the accessories, and I'd be curious if we were to get a "Masquerade" redeco set of these guy. But not a needed purchase by me.
Arcee: She turned out a LOT better than Bulkhead (which I didn't mind to begin with!). Great sculpt and design, love the Energon weapons, as usual. I find it odd that while most of the other figures have solid pieces for "major character weapons", Arcee has none of her own. The blaster is a mess, and her "iconic arm blades" are relegated to a translucent line gimmick rather than an integral part of her design. Again, I broadly like the figure, I just find that design decision...peculiar?
I've already talked about Bulkhead, and the "in hand shots" are doing the figure good. LOVE the abundance of ports he apparently has on his back legs (and the bed of the truck mode).
Laser Prime...I'm so conflicted! The original figure and prior homages have had varying degrees of "dullness". The most exciting permutation was the Reveal the Shield version which deviated a good bit in the design. That said, I like what they're doing here. The more muted color range and increased details work well together, and by doing some simple things like painting the window panes in a different color do WONDERS to break up the robot mode. The base mode is basic, but I'm glad to see the assorted ports. The matrix feature is nice and the accessories are just fantastic. Definitely seeing some AoE in the shield and sword, and it even looks like they might combine as in that film (Was Hasbro rewatching AoE for Studio Series and some of that bled into Generations?). Scourge is all but given...but I'm might be tempted with deal or price markdown.
