Legends Scale

The Rise Transformers Legends Scale

With the slow down in new figures in the Transformers Masterpiece and 3rd party equivalent scale we have seen the rise of the legends scale. The name comes from Hasbro which make a legends sized figure class. It is a size and not a scale so you get anything from mini-bots that fit in with deluxes to small seekers or Optimus Prime

As with anything transformers, 3rd party come along and do it better. Above are “Magic Square” (and Newage bumblebee) figures that are in the spirit of G1, fully transformable and most even have ab-crunches which can be rare even in full size figures.

Alternatively if you prefer a different aesthetic we have IDW inspired figures from a company called Iron Factory. They are even so slightly smaller and not as articulated. There are also entries in this scale from Newage, Toy World, Unique Toys and DX9. This is undoubtedly the growth area of 3rd party at this moment in time.

Iron Factory Legends EX-31 and EX-36 (IDW Tarn and Megatron)

Today we have a quick look at the “other” 3rd Party legends scale figures; here we have Iron Factory EX-31 Dubhe and EX-36 Tyrant. These are of course small scale representation of IDW Megatron and Tarn.

These two Decepticon big shots both transform into tank like alt modes. EX-36 comes with alternative parts with no less than 3 different fusion cannons, 3 heads and alternative backpack, hip guards, shoulders and leg parts allowing you to make different version of Megatron which have been show throughout the IDW comic run. Tarn’s colours are striking and he has a removable mask. The swappable hands on both figures also work well at this size of figure.

All in all two great figures and a great addition to any legends collection.

Iron Factory Transformers Legends

Iron Factory are the stylised and mostly IDW inspired legends collection. They are slightly smaller than the Magic Square G1 inspired legends.

There have a nice selection of Decepticon (Autobots also available and we can look at them next time), including Megatron, Tarn and many jets and seekers. Not pictured they also have an Overlord and Sixshot which are now quite difficult to obtain at reasonable prices.

They also currently have one combiner design which in my view provides a good combined size as well as suitably sized individual bots. Combiner combined size is contentious in any scale usually having at least one compromise of combined size, individual bot size or parts forming.

Here we have the IF figures with the Maketoys Giant which I prefer size-wise in combined mode and has a compatible aesthetic. The individually the bots are not right though.

While you can generally purchase most of there products for a month or two after release if you miss out they can be quite difficult to pick up later on; there are also more limited product runs in more niche decos. The current favourite for this is the seeker mold.

They are all fully transformable the result of which can vary due to cybertronian design and stylisations which can some times feel a bit lazy (which can sometimes be down to source material) but other work out really well.

Overall they are not as articulated as the magic square legends however they are still lots of fun. The inspiration of the design can be something you either love or hate but one thing is for sure it makes for an interesting collection of diverse characters that provide a solid alternative to another G1 cartoon collection.

Iron Factory War Giant (IF-EX22 EX23 EX24) and Catastrophe (IF-EX24X)

Combiner, Gestalt, special team, whichever your preferred name are the power house in any given battle. The exact size of the combined form in any given scale is open for debate which ultimately leads to a compromise between individual bot size, parts forming parts and total combined size. Here we are taking a look at a legends scale combiner by Iron Factory; War Giant and its recolour Catastrophe. First off the Individual bots.

This of course is a 3rd Party representation of the combaticons, original sold in 3 sets of 2 figures, IF-EX22, IF-EX23 and IF-EX24 these are fully transformable and each have their own weapons

Now your probably wondering what the 6th figure which was part of IF-EX24 is and if you are thinking it is the combined parts are something similar, you would be quite wrong.

In fact we have a recolour of IF-EX16 as combiner hunter Arcee with her massive sword. Sadly there is no equivalent in the IF-EX24X Catastrophe set.

Speaking of IF-EX24X it is the recolour which was only sold as a compete set. It is a representation of RID2000 Baldigus/Ruination, which was a 2000 reuse of the original combaticons toys and designs in different colour scheme in a completely separate show. As already stated there was no IF-EX16 recolour nor did it have a gun version of Shockwave which was present in the original IF-EX24 set. Speaking of the combiner parts.

Rather handily the combiner parts combine by themselves into a free standing bust type thing which is great for storage. The weapon also combine into a large rife which are far as combining weapons go is very well done.

The combined form is also quite will done. Good articulation, the chest and legs stay together very well, however the arm conections are not the best been more peged in that actually connected. It is quite easy to disconnect them while trying to position them but are easy enough to reattach.

The original comes with a non-transformable Shockwave in gun form, it can also hold the IF-EX21 in gun mode but it is a bit bigger. All in all a great set with a more uncommon repaint which also looks good. The use of parts forming helps the size of the combined form while keeping the individual bots in line with the other iron factory figures. It is not quite as big as the maketoys combiners I already have but as it is unlikely there will be any more released I am happy enough with this scale and hope to see others

As a final note if your after this set be careful buying them as individual sets. IF-EX21 is almost impossible to find, I luckily found my set on Amazon Japan of all places, it was over the usual retain but as I already had the other sets so there was not much choice.