The blindbagged Kreons
continued (and unfortunately, so did the lack of any sort of identifying
code on the outside of the bag from the latter wave of the previous year--
these were true blind bags). However, they were Microchangers no longer;
instead, these Kreons were "themed" versions of the most popular G1 characters,
such as Optimus, Megatron, Bumblebee, et al. The 2x4 KRE-O block "stand"
for the Kreons had also been replaced with a 3x4 flat piece, with "KRE-O"
imprinted onto the plastic on top of the front "row". To me these were
the biggest disappointment of the year; Microchangers were a huge success
in my eyes, and having odd "themed" versions of characters that A. We already
had at least a few Kreons of already and B. didn't have a vehicle/animal
build made most of the Kreons' uniqueness evaporate, in my view. What's
worse, Hasbro did something to this year's Kreon figures that you should
NEVER EVER do in a line of building toys-- they changed some of the
component parts. The body pieces now have a peg going through the
middle of them, with the new waist pieces having a new slot down the middle
of their own peg so that the two can interconnect. These were missing on
the earlier Kreon figures, meaning that you can't switch new waist/legs
pieces on Kreons with ones from previous years-- a bizarre and unnecessary
change. Anyways, the "Kreon Warriors", as they were called, came out in
two different waves, with the second wave being quite rare even in countries
where they were released. Listed below are the Kreon Warriors of 2015:
Wave 1:
-Autobot Ratchet (Gladiator)
-Autobot Ratchet (Pirate)
-Bumblebee (Gladiator)
-Bumblebee (Wiseguy)
-Megatron (Knight)
-Megatron (Ninja)
-Optimus Prime (Samurai)
-Optimus Prime (Wild West)
-Shockwave (Army)
-Shockwave (Ninja)
-Starscream (Army)
-Starscream (Pirate)
Wave 2:
-Autobot Hound (Samurai)
-Autobot Hound (Wild West)
-Bumblebee (Army)
-Bumblebee (Knight)
-Megatron (Samurai)
-Megatron (Wild West)
-Optimus Prime (Gladiator)
-Optimus Prime (Pirate)
-Soundwave (Pirate)
-Soundwave (Wiseguy)
-Starscream (Ninja)
-Starscream (Wiseguy)
Undoubtedly the biggest
"new thing" for the KRE-O Transformers in 2015 was the introduction of
"Battlechangers", which were builds that could transform from vehicle/beast
to robot without having to disassemble and reassemble them! These were
a great new concept, and relatively cheap too, with most individual builds
being in the $10-ish U.S. range. The transformations were usually 7-10
steps-- about as complex as your average deluxe toy at the time. The transformations
were NOT "shared" across the Battlechanger line; they each transformed
differently, with the exception of the two Optimus Prime builds, where
the cab builds were identical, with an add-on "trailer" portion coming
with the 2-pack version. These were quite fun to build into an articulated
Transformer, and generally looked pretty good in robot mode and a bit iffy
in vehicle mode (though a couple, such as Hound, defied this general rule
in a good way). The weak point with the Battlechangers were that small
pieces would often come off during transformation if you weren't very careful
(this was particularly bad with the Optimus Prime build). At their relatively
small size, this was simply a side effect of being comprised of tiny KRE-Os
pieces; from an engineering perspective, there wasn't much the designers
could do, but it was still a downside-- these were definitely not playable,
durable action figures of any sort. Making these Battlechangers larger--
if they are to continue in the future-- would greatly enhance their playability,
I would think. For me Soundwave was the runaway favorite of the group,
with all his "cassette" buddies connecting to him in both modes in various
fun ways, as well as being little miniature builds on their own. Here's
the Battlechangers released in 2015:
-Autobot Hound (Jeep)
-Autobot Ratchet vs. Soundwave w/ Laserbeak,
Frenzy, Ravage, & Rumble (Ambulance and spaceship w/ detachable
mini "cassette-icon" builds)
-Bumblebee (Sportscar)
-Grimlock (T-Rex)
-Optimus Prime (Truck cab)
-Optimus Prime vs. Megatron
(Truck cab w/ trailer & tank)
-Shockwave (Tank)
-Starscream (Jet)
Botcon 2015 continued the trend started in 2013, and released an exclusive KRE-O set containing "Earth's Most Wanted"-- namely, Kreon versions of human and Transformer characters from across the mythos, including Dr. Arkeville, Robot Master, Nightbird, Autobot Spike, and the Animated version of Sentinel Prime that came with a mini-Kreon animated Headmaster unit. (Thus, in a rather clever use of the KRE-O play pattern, you could remove Animated Sentinel's head and replace it with the Headmaster's just like in the show.) Like the "Kreon Warriors", I thought these were cool, but a bit of a step down from Microchangers. A few other KRE-O exclusives were released, including a Kreon of G.B. Blackrock and a small convertible gas pump/battle station set that came with the Collectors' Club exclusive Carzap, and a Toyfair 2015 exclusive "Arctic"-themed Optimus Prime Kreon that came with skis and other similar winter-themed accessories. In addition, another SDCC exclusive set was released to follow up on the "Class of '84" set-- this time with a similarly-priced "Class of '85" set, featuring many other G1 characters in non-transformable Kreon form. (The included Kreons were Alpha Trion, Astrotrain, Beachcomber, Blaster, Blitzwing, Bombshell, Cosmos, Devastator, Dirge, Grapple, Grimlock, Hoist, Inferno, Jetfire, Kickback, Omega Supreme, Powerglide, Ramjet, Red Alert, Seaspray, Skids, "Slog" (aka Sludge), "Slug" (aka Slag), Smokescreen, Snarl, "Strafe" (aka Swoop), Thrust, Topspin, Tracks, Warpath, and some accessories like an "almanac" and alternate bodies.)
Overall Rating:6/10
Above
Average