This is a brief comment on TFA toys, cartoon etc..
Like many of us I have, on occasion, attended at TRU (or Walmart, Zellers, Great Canadian Superstrore, Winners, London Drugs...the list goes on) to see what's new.
On one such visit back in (I think) 2008, I saw a display of oddly shaped, very cartoony' looking representation of Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and some new characters like Bulkhead.
At first glance, I was irritated. "Why can't these toy manufacturer's just make toys that are 100% faithful to G1 but with modern technology?"
Several minutes later, while waiting in line for a Big Orange mango smoothy, I found my self thinking about the irreverent and ridiculous TFA toys I had seen shortly before.
Several years later, I began culling the herd. Bye bye Alternators, bye bye CHUG lines, bye bye doubles. The Animated line was on the block as well, but (apart from a couple of pieces) I couldn't bring myself to sell it.
Why not? I sold the CHUG lines! The problem was that (even years later) I find the Animated line brilliant. Gone are the blocky square shapes that constituted pretty much all of G1. These are replaced with asymmetrical exaggerated contours that mold into stream-lined highly-accurate representations of the cartoon characters.
And the cartoon! 52 episodes of a fantastic story full of wit, suspense, danger and huge transforming robots.
G1 has its nostalgia, great, but Animated is actually a well-done show. If you like, you can watch it here:
<http://www.watchcartoononline.com/anime/transformers-animated>
The end of the Animated line in (I think) 2009 appeared to mark the end of careful attention to thorough representation of a cartoon line.
It seems to be when CHUG line toys started to be smaller and when the bots began to only look good from the front. I think this is a shame all around.
There were a few duds absolutely. But these are toys that stand up from any direction they are viewed. The colours are bold and sharp (even the Hasbro ones) with quality paint apps and...virtually unbreakable!
Like any thing, TFA toys can be destroyed, but you are not going to snap on of these by being rough with it, or dropping it from the roof, or running it over with the car. Okay, maybe the car, but you have my point right? These things are solid.
So now, I am buying more. I intend to reproduce the cast of the MTMTE cartoon with Animated toys. Yes, I am probably interested in yours. Specifically, Leader Bulkhead, Activators Ramjet, Activators Cliffjumper.
But if you have a few around, dig the them out. Compare the quality to your most recent CW or TR acquisition. I think you might be impressed...again.
As for the toyline, I thought it was spot on, and glad to have it in my collection! 
