DE 
EN 
#1
Generations Springer (2013) – Wreck’n Rule!
Voting Percentage: 44%
Average Ranking: 12.86
And we have a winner, ladies and gentlemen! And it’s not a Masterpiece figure, it’s not a high-end collectors figure, it’s not a rare store exclusive, nor a nostalgia-powered brick-bot from the 80s. No, it’s Generations Springer, a figure from last year, available at retail. And you know what? I’m glad about that. Because it reminds me of a time when the Transformers were not all about super-costly exclusives, chromed variants, and third party collectors specials.
Springer drew ahead pretty early in the voting and him being the winner was pretty much set in stone over a week before the voting ended. He beats out the number 2 figure, MP Soundwave, by 12 percent of the vote. It’s not quite as clear-cut a victory as that number suggests, mind you, seeing as his average ranking isn’t that hot. In fact you have to go down all the way to number 8 to find a figure with a worse average ranking and not a single one of you actually had him listed at the number 1 spot. That said, nearly half of you had him on your voting sheets somewhere, and that was more than enough to pull off the win here. And Springer wins in another category, too: most comments, which is just another sign how relatable and fun a toy he is.
Springer’s original toy appeared in the 1986 movie line-up, but since then he’s only ever gotten repaints of whatever helicopter bot was available at the time (and one where he wasn’t even a helicopter, too). It took 27 years, but it was well worth the wait, for Generations Springer is a fabulous toy. Nicely patterned after Nick Roche’s design for the IDW Last Stand of the Wreckers series, Springer not only looks completely bad-ass in robot mode, he also manages a feat few triple-changers have ever achieved: two nice alternate modes that manage to look different from each other. Plus, he’s big, he’s nicely articulated, he has a sword and a big gun, and he’s just so incredibly Springer. Our winner, boys and girls, the number 1 of the Top 30 Transformers toys from 30 years.
Honorable Mention: Instead of merely repainting this figure orange, the designers went the extra mile for Generations Sandstorm and nicely retooled him into an almost completely different-looking bot. Sandstorm got quite a few votes himself, coming in at number 65.
Voter Comments:
- Excellent engineering; toy is convincing-looking and fun to play with in all three modes. - Scott Jennings
- A masterpiece without the branding - Master Fwiffo
- The best Triple Changer that ever existed and, possibly, ever will - Andrusi
- He is everything I wanted an updated Springer to be. I refrained from buying the various half-assed versions before this one was released. An absolutely flawless looking toy in all three modes - Sciflyer
- Yes, Sandstorm's better. Springer's still one of the best. - Warcry
- The best triple changer. - Neil Toledo
- Triumphant, a joy to behold and transform. Very elegant use of parts to achieve different looks. - Anguirus
- A mind-boggling sweet spot between complexity, character, fun and colour. - Terome
- A great update for G1 Springer. - Black Zarak
