Best Toy of 2012
 

Lots of great releases this year, but what toy reigns supreme? To make things easier, here's a few categories:

Best S.H.Figuart:
Best S.i.C:
Best SRC:
Best DX Roleplay Toy:
Best Non Toku Toy:

Best SH Figuart (Sentai): Gosei Knight
Best SH Figuart (Kamen): Fourze Cosmic State
Best BoA Zord: Claw Zord (Late, but I bought it this year. So it counts!)
Best BoJ Mech: Lion Ra-Oh
Best BoA Toy: Spin Sword/Black Box (Again, bought this year)
Best BoJ Toy: Wizard Driver
Best Non-Toku Toy: TMNT Figures

figuarts: robo itashar (he counts!)
sic: tatoba
src:..................... i dont collect those
dx: ooo driver (sentai's logic)
non:terrocon cliffjumper

Everyone should use my logic. Goseiger would be the most popular Sentai ever, and we'd all be alot happier.

SiC: TaJaDor

I'd go with coturos on that one, since I didn't get mine until my b-day this year :lol.

Um, let's see how I can do this-

Best Minipla- SJ-05 (the best one out of the Go-buster miniplas I have, that is until I get LT-06 lol)

Best Ranger Key- The OOO Key set lol

We'll just put down every OOO release this year, save you some time typing :lol

YES, THIS MAN UNDERSTANDS! :lol

Sentai: Man of the People :thumb:

Best Figuart: Den-O Sword Form
Best SIC: TaToBa
Best BOA Release: Gosei Great Megazord
Best BOJ Release (Sentai): Gobuster Beet
Best DX Roleplay Toy: Wizard Driver
Best Non-Toku Release: TMNT figures

Those TMNT Figs are awesome, aren't they? I wouldn't trade Donatello for anything.

Best SHF (Kamen Rider): Knight or Knight Survive
Best SHF (Sentai): Red Hawk (mine will be here Friday!)

Best SIC: I don't have TaToBa, so I don't KNOW that it's the best, so Skull/FangJoker - was that set released this year?

Best 3rd Party TF: TFC Toys Hercules or ToyWorld Grind Rod or Perfect Effect RC

Best Star Wars: TRU Darth Maul Ultimate FX Saber

Best Misc: DC Chess Collection

Best Pre-2012 item I bought in 2012: SIC Kiva (or maybe the Den-O sets)

Hmm for me
best figuart would be...Den O sword form. Just had too much goodness and universal likability.
Best SIC...actually IT Side Basshar. This bad boy is quite ambitious and seems to meet its demands.
BoA figuarts Shining Red and gold tied...the fact they brought and released it to the domestic market.
BoJ well SRC Daizyujin...I love that figure...
Role play...that I don't touch...
best non toku? RID vehicon

Best Rider SHF - Den-O - sword form ( the giant laser hissatsu attack piece doesn't hurt either )

Best Sentai SHF - Gosei Knight

Best SRC - Daizyujin ( only one i own , but it's still sweet )

Best BoA - Lion Mechazord! i gotta get one , that thing is sweet

non Toku - TMNT figures and playset ( the only toy line i am collecting domestically. It's that awesome )

Best DX - WizarDragon

Best Figuart: Akiba Red, hands down.
Best SIC: TaToBa, although I'm basing that wholly on design
Best BoA Figure: 4" Red Samurai Ranger Shogun mode
Best minipla: Its a toss up between Go-Buster Ace and Beet
Best SRC: Dekaranger Robo
Best roleplay toy: The Legends Mobirates was the only one I bought, so I guess I'll say that
Best non-toku toy: Figma Link

Best Chogokin: Robo Itashar

Best S.H.Figuart: Ryuki & Dragreder

Best Ultra Act: Ultraman Ace

Best SRC: Daizyujin

Best DX Roleplay Toy: DX Mobirate & Ranger Keys

Best Non Toku Toy: Bandai Macross Frontier VF-171 EX

Best Accessories: Trident Stage

i wont say it the best but the biggest surprise i found was the 4 inch shogun ranger. yea mor articulation would have been nice but the detail the put into the look and feel of him was unlike most other toys out there. im sure figuarts will put out a more fantastic version but for 7.50 its a nice addition to any collection

Figuart: Raia
Minipla: Go-Buster Beet
Non-Toku: Revoltech Neo-Getter 1(following "I bought it this year" logic)

Given that I really't don't have much to answer, I'm going to separate them like a few others do:

Best Figuarts Kamen Rider: Shadow Moon
Best Figuarts Sentai: Red Hawk
Best Figuarts Zero: Crocodile from One Piece
Best Non-Toku Toy: Mattel's 23inch Voltron

Best S.H.Figuarts: AKIBARED
Best SIC: Kiwami Tamashii Kuuga (That thing is SICK)
Best SRC: DaiZyuZin
Best Non Toku Toy: The entire TMNT line. (I even have the Shellraiser)

Best S.H.Figuart(Kamen Rider):
Den-O Sword Form

Best S.H.Figuart(Sentai):
Red Hawk

best S.H.Figuart(other):
Lunatic

Best S.i.C:
TaJaDor

Best SRC:
Daizyujin

Best DX Roleplay Toy:
Wizard Driver

Best Non Toku Toy:
FansProject SteelCore

DX: WizarDriver (even though it's NOT HERE YET!!!)
Figuart: Meteor
Figuart related stuff: Machine Massigler
Transformer: Masterpiece Sideswipe
non-2012 item purchased in 2012: it's between Hot Toys New Goblin, SHF TaJaDoru, and Fansproject Protector

Best SH Figuarts:Saiyan Vegeta,for one reason...
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...08187289_n.jpg
Best SIC:TaToBa,only cause its leading to an SIC SaGoZo that looks amazing
Best SRC:Magiking
best DX Roleplay toy:WizarSwordGun since everyone else is saying the driver.lol
Best non toku toy:
http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-...n+Robot+11.jpg
Cause nothing beats an angry lion space pirate.

It's 2012 dude.

Wait did that come out earlier? Edit:Nevermind,just found out the date.

If so then Bouken Red.I know most will say Red Hawk,but its a personal choice.

No, it hasn't come out at all yet :lol

Curses for not checking my news sources first.lol.What can I say,I'm excited about it.

Shouldn't that be OVER 9000 REASONS!

:lolol

I didn't get too much this year, but here are my picks.

BEST SHF (Rider): Fourze Base States
BEST SHF (Sentai): Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger
BEST TRANSFORMER: Prime RID Arcee
BEST HARD WORK AND GUTS: Gutto Kuru Noriko Takaya

and just for fun

MOST HYPED OF 2013: SRC GUNBUSTER

Finally got my list done. This year, I went with the top 15.

15. TMNT Shredder
http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...T/Dogpound.jpg
I love Ninja Turtles and the tail end of this year has been great for TMNT. Much like Power Rangers, I cut TMNT toys a lot of sack because of the price (Though I haven't bought a figure since stores began price gouging). Here we have Shredder who could've been the best Shredder ever made. He has everything I ask for from articulation...except knees. That hurt the figure a lot for me. Playmates, you were so close! Oh well, Shredder is still an awesome figure and at least worthy of being on my list.

14. PRID Thundertron
http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...VsGokaiRed.jpg
I'm telling you right now that Cannonball sucks. He is a lame repaint that fails at being a pirate. Thundertron may be far from perfect, but he does the pirate theme well. From the peg leg to the beard to the earring, this figure screams pirate. In fact, I'm calling him Captain Capacitor from now on because Long John Baldry (RIP) is the voice I keep thinking he'd have in a perfect world. The transformation is something different, but simple. Honestly, that's what I want from a Transformer, something that's fun and interesting to transform even if one of the modes is lacking. Speaking of lacking, the lion mode is very lacking and the accessories are a joke (Like all Prime Voyagers). Giving him Energon Skyblast's "gun" as a cane and Dreadwing's sword as a cutlass (it can peg into his waist armor to) improves him ten fold. Those last few things are why here's so low on the list. I had to improve him to really get to liking the toy.

13. Professor X
http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...psdbaef565.jpg
Hasbro rarely does (at least these days) what everyone with half a brain wants them to do. "9th Doctor" Destro was screaming to be made into Xavier. All Hasbro needed was a new head and a chair. I can't believe they actually did it. I always thought they'd come up with some BS that toys with disabilities wouldn't sell. Huh, does that mean girl action figures are lower on the toy totem pole than the disabled? Eitherway, I'm just happy to finally see Xavier get a MU figure, to have another wheelchair option in this scale, and to see the 9th Doctor Destro body finally get to retail. Not to mention the great sculpting on the chair and what maybe my favorite MU head sculpt to date. Now where's that Rogue 3-pack? :P

12. PRID Vehicon
http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...ps23027cac.jpg
Much like Captain Capacitor, Steve (what, you don't name your troopers?!) is a lot of fun to transform. Steve also has one of the least amounts of kibble I've ever seen on a Transformer. The only kibble I can think of is the headlights on the knees and even those proved to be useful as gun holsters. While the arms are a bit strange, the range of movement they get more than makes up for it. Did I mention the car mode is Sexy? I do wish the purple was just a bit brighter, but that doesn't change how awesome it is.

11. 30th Zombie Viper
http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...ePlayPiano.jpg
I'll be up front, I don't really like zombies. They're over played and not very exciting. What finally sold me on the Zombie Viper was the options. He can be a zombie that I swore I saw in an episode of Jonny Quest or he can be geared up to have a cool helmet and tentacles like something I'd expect to see a Kamen Rider to fight. That's exactly what I do with him to. Whenever I get a new Rider or Ranger in this scale, Zombine Viper is the first thing they fight. Consider him my cannon fodder of choice when it comes to monsters.

10. Retaliation Ninja Showdown Set
http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...ps51f0a3ae.jpg
http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6bb48a93.jpg
While this is technically 3 figures, it was one purchase that was all in one box. The set included everything positive about the Retaliation line. All 3 figures are fully articulated with ankle rockers and my ever favorite wrist tilts. The set also has the zipline that many figures in the line comes with. Everyone owes their interchild one of these ziplines. It is hours of fun. Bonus: lots of gear including kunai knives an a folding bow unique to the set.

09. PRID Rumble
http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...e/MegasRIB.jpg
Like Captain Capacitor and Steve, I've been calling him Megas RIB. Megas barely beats Steve as my favorite PRID figure. I think what I like the most is how little he feels like a PRID toy. I'll be honest, PRID has been one of the weakest TF lines in ages for me. Aside from Classics or whatever you call them, I think the last great main line was Cybertron. Megas RIB reminds me of the Cybertron line from the transformation and the management of kibble. The chest having a Gunmen face and the colors reminding strongly of Megas XLR helps a ton too.

08. Car Robots Black Convoy
http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...psa72c154c.jpg
For anyone looking at Fun Pub's Scourge using RTS G2 Prime's mold, skip that lame thing and track this guy down. It will end up costing about the same or less and you get a much better toy out of it. I know this because I got RTS Prime and CR Black Convoy only a week apart (from the same comic shop no less). Black Convoy is way better. While the RTS has more articulation, Black Convoy gets far more range from his joints than the RTS mold could ever hope to get. Plus, Black Convoy has a real trailer with a real base mode. The only minor complaint is the electrics were removed from all the black versions of this mold. Shame, I would've loved to see a glowing pink sword.

07. 30th Lifeline
http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0ea5423b.jpg
For so much crap GI Joe went through this year, Hasbro still made some great Joe figures. Lifeline, like Lowlight last year, sets out to be the most awesome figure ever made for a niche function in GI Joe. POC Lowlight was the ultimate sniper figure, Lifeline is the ultimate combat medic. He comes with everthing a medic could need and more like one of the coolest rifles I've seen a Joe come with in ages. Add to that some of the best articulation GI Joes have (again, I love those wrist tilts!) and the ability to equip everything at once and you got one of the finest examples of why GI Joes are awesome.

06. MRS TheBee
http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...ps87b36634.jpg
I have been eyeing the Motion Revive Series ever since I learned of it's existance. One night I lucked into finding a bunch that were fairly priced and while I couldn't aford all that I wanted, I at least got Kabuto, Gatack, and TheBee. While I enjoy them all a ton, The Bee is the winner here. TheBee is one of my all time favorite Rider designs and to finally have a highly articulated, well detailed, well scaled to the majority of my collection, and to get him at a great price brings a lot of joy to me.

05. SIC KT Agito Ground and Trinity Form
http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...ps502c23de.jpg
SIC Kiwami Tamashii is a toyline I had been considering for a long time due to scale, but could rarely find good scale comparisons images or reviews. After deciding that I wanted Kuuga who hadn't been released yet, I ordered a greatly discounted KT from HLJ to try the line out before commiting to Kuuga. I ended up getting Agito Trinity Form and I was quickly sold on this line. KTs are all the best parts of SIC and Figuarts combined into one with a somewhat spectacular priced. Trinity form comes with 2 weapons, both really cool, but Ground form is Agito's base form and the shoulder pads don't get in the way as much. That's pretty much all that's different. Finally, what I think makes these figures surpass other Agito figures is that the head crest can fan out without replacment parts. It's built into the head. None of the other Agitos, not even the SIC that this is scaled down from, can do that without replacment parts.

04. 2012 TMNT
http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...ps190ab63c.jpg
I'm sure that the Sewer Playset would be my #1, but I haven't been able to get it yet. Instead, the 4 Turtles get my #4 slot. I considered making this 4 slot, but the figures are similar enough that I just didn't think it was worth taking this list to 20. These guys are great. Each one has a unique sculpt filled with personality. Things such as Raph having a crack in his shell to Mikey having knee pads that don't fit him are all there making these guys stand out. They have the best articulation in the line (save for the Classics, which I don't have) and unlike past attempts *cough2007cough* these figure can use their joints very well while not breaking up the sculpt to much. One thing I like about them is not only do they have plenty of weapons, they came use them fairly well. Many Ninja Turtles have come with throwing stars, but could never hold them in any natural looking ways. These Turtles can put the throwing stars between their fingers like they are getting ready to throw them (this works best with Leo). Plus, one of Raph's hands is molded to hold a sai inbetween the fingers in different poses, which is closer to the proper use of the weapon. If I had any complaint it's that Playmates teased us with this Mikey coming with chained nunchucks. It was going to be plastic chains, but still chained and not this brittle hard plastic. Minor gripe aside, these are great figures that any TMNT fan, light or "hardcore" should at least try out.

03. GokaiSilver and GokaiYellow
http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...erPlaytime.jpg
http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...aiYellow01.jpg
I told myself early on that if I couldn't afford all of the Gokaigers, I was at least going to get my 3 favorites. I got GokaiRed last year and he was my #1 that year. There's not a lot to say that I didn't say about GokaiRed last year. These are great figures, some of the best you can buy. I guess I'll mention what's unique about them. GokaiSilver is unique for pulling off a bandana on a Sentai helemet. He gets bonus points for having a trident and "triller" hands. Speaking of accessories, I think GokaiYellow has more accessories than there is figure...and she's still missing a weapon (which came with GokaiPink). GokaiYellow is currently the only exclusive I own from Figuarts and I value owning her as such.

02. SIC KT Kuuga Mighty Form
http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...ps308b3f62.jpg
I got this figure with no fear, no pain because I knew I'd love it going in. Surprisingly I like this figure way more than even I thought. Kuuga is like the Agitos I already talked about, but the shoulder pads are better designed giving him more freedom. On top of that, the neck moves more freely as well. What takes this figure over the top is a few things: accessories Kuuga's Figuart should be ashamed for not having, a custom stage act (a first for KT), and the thing that wowed me more than anything: the stage act's arm can peg directly into the figure. I've had complaints about the stage acts in the past. The pieces, "hands" if you would, that holds the figures to the arm are very brittle. Not only does this feature remove the "hand" parts that I hate, it looks so much better not having a hand holding the figure. Bonus points: There's a cover for the hole in Kuuga's belt when the stand isn't in use.

01. SRC Megazord/DaiZyuJin
http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...Megazord02.jpg
Was there any doubt? For the uninformed, Super Robot Chogokin is the scaled down Soul of Chogokin line. Here is where we get Figuarts quality giant robots with diecast parts. Anyways, this figure is gorgeous. Screw all the cool things it can do, I can just stare at it and still enjoy myself. However, what it can do is awesome. It of course has articulation as great as Figuarts with some interesting joints due to the design. I really like the extending ab so he can crunch over as well as the extra shoulder joints that lets his arms closer to his body. In the accessory department, SRCs is known to include everything you need and extra parts so the mecha can use its finisher and other attacks. The Megazord is no different. He gets the sword and shield as is expected, but also get the head crest lightining attack that was used all of once (I counted while watching Zyuranger :P), an energy effect that fits over the sword for the finsher, and finally the "Mastodon's" cannons can be moved to the shoulders, making them useful for the Megazord. As I've said, this is a gorgeous piece and a great toy on top of that. Now Bandai, I'd like to talk to you about a Dragon named Caesar...