Toy Review: Optimus Prime + Soundwave / Transformers Mashers (Hasbro)

Pretty much as soon as I found the "basic" Transformers Mashers on clearance at Target they went and put the "deluxe" on sale as well.   My local Target (Meriden, represent!) seemed to be the only one doing this, but they had what was once $14.99 price tags down to $7.68 and they did have Megatron up until I went there to actually buy him since I saw the clearance stickers and so I was only able to pick up Optimus Prime and Soundwave.   They had Bulkhead also (and they still do), but I figured if that stray Megatron ever showed up I'd get those two together.    So, worth noting a coupon was used here from the packs and also the clearance toys at this time were 20% as just a sort of general Target Cartwheel deal.

These are Transformers Mashers numbers five and six for us, which is kind of funny because they're two of the biggest names, at least to me.   Aside from finding Megatron (which I'm still holding out hope for one day) the only other big name I can think of is Bumblebee and I haven't seen him for a while.    So obviously Optimus Prime is one of the most popular as he is the leader of the Autobots and then Soundwave was a favorite of mine growing up even if only because he came with a smaller bot that turned into a cassette.   I wasn't exactly thrilled by the fact that this Soundwave does not come with a cassette of some kind, but his front doesn't exactly open either so I guess it makes sense given the style of toys these Mashers are.

One of the biggest reasons why I enjoy the Transformers Mashers is that they can be mixed with the Marvel Mashers and I never really had any Transformers toys growing up (I was all about the G.I. Joe and He-Man) but then I also wonder if it would be better to have Transformers in this sense where you can take them apart and interchange them or Transformers which actually transform.   My son is three and doesn't have too many problems with taking these apart and putting them back together, complete with mixing them up, so I do feel like this is better in a lot of ways- and especially at this age- just because anything he had to transform might be a bit more difficult.

Do you think these are being made as a gateway to more complex Transformers toys for kids as they get older?  While they might be, it's not like the Transformers are something that can be avoided at any point in your childhood.   It's not a matter of "if" your child will discover Optimus Prime and Bumblebee but rather "when".    This whole idea of having these Transformers Mashers on clearance also makes me wonder if they're not going to be making them anymore or if they're simply making room at Target because of the Jurassic World Mashers that came out and potentially the new Marvel Mashers which should be in stores any time now.   I've not looked into any sort of official checklist for the Transformers Mashers but it has been fun collecting the ones on clearance that we have so it'd be a shame to see the line end.

To me, there are still a lot of names that could be made and that I'd like to see made in the Marvel Mashers line and while my list of wants in the Transformers Mashers line might not be as long I'd still be willing to pick up the lesser known characters on clearance should they be made and this line continues.   We'll have to see where it goes but for right now it is simply a lot of fun and that's what toys should be about.