The Transformers movie legends action figures come in a plastic shell packaging on a cardboard backing. The back of the packaging includes “transforming” instructions for the figure as well as statistics for each individual transformer with vitals such as “strength” and “skill” which enables different movie legends Transformers to be pitted against each other in play. The packaging is easy to open and the toy runs around $3.99. There are a variety of the movie legends figures available currently including: Jazz, Ratchet, Barricade, Blackout, Bumblebee, Megatron, and Starscream. All of these figures run at the same price; however, as they become harder to find in stores and online you will notice that certain stores (both reputable and not so reputable stores) will bump up the price on certain figures and not others. The original Habro website; however, always charges the same price for all of their figures but they do frequently run out of stock and seem to be running at a constant backlog.

The Movie Legends Transformers are one of the most readily available of the Transformers action figures as opposed to the Movie Deluxe figures which are not as easily found. The Movie Legends figures are also one of the cheapest Transformer toys on the market at a cost under $5 each, which aids children in completing a collection with their own pocket money or aids in parents who are seeking complete collections for their children. The actual figures are approximately as long as the average woman’s middle finger (excuse the reference, but it is easier to put things in perspective.) The figures are also extremely lightweight and plastic as opposed to various diecast Transformers figures on the market. Each figure available transforms from one vehicle to one Transformer robot figure.

The toy packaging was simple enough to open and the toy itself easy enough to extricate from the twist ties holding it inside the packaging but honestly that was the most fun part of the Movie Legends Transformer figure. The plastic figure not only feels cheap but it is so cheaply made that it literally fell apart in the first 4 minutes and 4 seconds of me “transforming” it. While the movie legends toys do offer a cheap alternative for parents who can’t afford the full blown Transformers figures for their kids this Christmas, I don’t recommend spending the $3.99 on them.

The toy fits the bill as far as looking like a Transformer, the colors are perfect and as long as your child doesn’t actually want to transform the figure you should be safe; however, once the transforming action starts you stand a pretty high chance of your Transformer of choice losing a limb or two. Pieces come off easily and while they can be replaced on to the figure the replacing of limbs is frustrating and a little harder than it was to accidentally remove the limb in the first place. Not only is the transformation factor a risky one when it comes to limb loss, but it is a frustrating one as well. Instead of a slide and lock system that completes smoothly the transformation process consists more of a cracking, snapping frustrating sequence of curse words and pinched fingers. The pieces fit together loosely and don’t stick in place creating a slumped mess of semi-Transformer.

I am sad to say that aside from the visual of the toy when it is untouched, the Transformers Movie Legends toy falls so far from my expectations of such a popular toy that it left me speechless. As a childhood fan of the old school Transformers action figures I had such high expectations for the newly released figures and while the newer released larger scaled action figures may meet or exceed those expectations these small scale Movie Legends figures do not. I could not recommend these figures to anyone other than a collector who will leave them in the boxes, as for your children? Move on and try another action figure with more to give and don’t waste your money on these.