Legacy United Gift Set Target Exclusive Prime Universe Cliffjumper, Beast Wars Universe Tarantulas, G1 Universe Squeezeplay, Cyberverse Universe Tarn Transformers Legacy United Target Exclusive Gift Set Item No.: No. G0202 Manufacturer: Hasbro Includes: Claw, lights, sword, double-cannon, Browning, claw shield, crossbow, saw Action Feature: Transforms from robot to crab, spider, tank, and car Retail: $79.99 Availability: August 2024 Other: In a year of great exclusive deco variants, this is near the top of the list
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While it doesn't have a real name on the box, the Transformers Legacy United Multipack is something I almost skipped - but a sale for 15% off happened shortly after release, so I snagged it. This set gifts you Prime Universe Cliffjumper (from the cartoons), Beast Wars Universe Taramtulas (from the concept art), G1 Universe Squeezeplay (from the toy line, previously just Crashbash [FOTD #1,508]), and Cyberverse Universe Tarn (a redeco of Tarn [FOTD #2,549].)

These sets are always a good deal, but they don't always make a lot of sense. Last year's Troop Builder Multipack [FOTD #2,753] was more or less coherent, but other sets tended to include the likes of Bumblebee or Goldbug with a bunch of bugs and strange repaints, with one exclusive figure sure to infuriate people for its inclusion in a gift set. $80 is a lot for one figure, but not for four - you get three $25 figures and one $35 figure in the set, so if you flip or trade the ones you don't want, you're doing just fine. If you just keep them all, about $20 per figure is a pretty good deal even if you don't necessarily need a second Tarn. He's the one I'm the saltiest about, because the new head deco is kind of silly and it's not all that different from the single one that came out last year.

Having said that, I paid $68 for it. I think I would have paid $50 for Cliffjumper and Squeezeplay, so $18 for Tyrantulas and Tarn seems fine. It's worth noting, the instructions name the spider "Tyrantulus" and the box calls him "Tarantulas." We should probably go with the former to distinguish him.

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The Prime Universe Cliffjumper is made of the same body used for Rescue Bots Chase, with a new head. The vehicle mode loses a lightbar, and instead has little horns on the hood of the car. Its not a 1:1 replica of the Prime character, as the chest is notably different and this one has a nose, but it's a pretty neat redesign that might meet your definition of "good enough," and if it isn't, you may have the old one from 13 years ago in a closet that you've been ignoring anyway.

As the only Autobot in the set, he's good. There's no Autobot logo on the robot mode, but you can see a couple of small ones in his car form - they shift to little wings on the robot's back. I haven't opened Chase yet so this is my first exposure to this mold - and I find the car to be sturdy, but the robot's shoulders are a little unstable. The various reds don't all match, but it's a hard thing to get right. It seem to me that they understood the assignment, and delivered a toy with rocking ankles and great hip articulation, plus surprisingly versatile accessories.

The gear is good. You get a little wrist blaster where you can plug in a couple of claws, or add a third barrel and replicate something close to Prime Cliffjumper's wrist blaster. There's no good place to stash the claws in this mode, other than random holes on his sides. They're smokey clear plastic so I fear they may show stress with time, so be careful with them. They look nice, and the fit isn't too tight.

The Beast Wars Universe Taramtulas - or Tyrantulus - takes Legacy Tarantulas' body, gives it the robot-mode toy head, and colors it in the orange prototype colors. It looks amazing - articulation is good, the head is very nice, and the weapons are superb.

The robot mode has a lot of articulation, but the arms are a little weird - all of tehm. The elbow bend is almost at the wrist, and the bug leg arrays swivel around a little tightly... but they all photograph nicely. The spider mode also looks nice, it's a little silly but it's a nice departure from what we've previously seen in the line. I would not consider this to be an essential toy, but for the price, it's a delight. It's a lot better than getting it at BotCon exclusive prices, and I'm a lot more excited to get it at a discount. If this were a $25 Walmart exclusive (for example) I probably would have skipped it.

The G1 Universe Squeezeplay is why most people will buy this set - not only does he have a newly-tooled face on a heavily-retooled Mindwipe body, but he's a nice, chunky boy with a lot of weird crabby parts. He feels a lot like the other retools - a mix of "this is impressive" and "this is weird." He has double-jointed elbows, eschews repurposing Crashbash's face in favor of a new plate, and even includes Browning as an accessory! Sure, we lose his regular laser rifle, but I can't say I'm upset by the decision.

Crab mode looks a bit like the original Squeezeplay, complete with hollow chest for Lokos storage. It can't be posed exactly like the original G1 toy, but it's pretty close and I can't complain too much given it's built off a toy from 2016. It's not amazingly modern, but it feels like the best toy you could have hoped to get in 2017 or 2018. The silver Browning pistol is a heck of a nice choice, but people wanting G1 recreations are going to complain until we get the missing blaster. That's just how life goes.

I do not need Cyberverse Universe Tarn. The market might - Tarn didn't ship as much as the market might have preferred in 2023 - so here he is again. He has different paint including a more Cyberverse-ish deco plus Bludgeon's sword, now in purple. Deco is closer to the cartoon, but not exactly. The pink light-up bits from the cartoon are now red, so it looks more like The Joker to me. You may disagree. Applying the cartoon colors to the comic book mold is a budget-savvy idea, and frankly, most people are just buying this because they want a Tarn. They did a good job making a pretty good adaptation here, but it's not so perfect that fans won't ask for a better version later. And I mean much later, as I don't assume modern adult collectors are clamoring for cartoon-perfect Cyberverse just yet.

It transforms nicely, and the tank mode is just as good as the Tarn/Bludgeon toys you may already have. He's pretty flat, with few moving parts. The toy is best in robot mode, because it's basically a super-articulated action figure that is a contortionist. It does a good job making the argument that Hasbro should do more $35 toys, because they really do cram a lot more in them most of the time. With his big feet, you can pose him standing on one foot and he balances nicely. The tooling is great - but as a fan, if given the chance to do a deco-only Voyager in a set, I would have pressured them to do a Seeker like Action Masters Thundercracker or Sunstorm. (Why don't we have Sunstorm yet?) But these are whiny complaints - this is a very good mold, cleverly redecorated, and given an extra accessory to sweeten the deal. I just wish it was something less familiar.

To date, each of these 4-packs usually had something going for it to knock your socks off. The first one had Fangry and a Bumblebee. The second one had Goldbug, which is more than enough to drive sales. The Trooper pack was either all killer or all filler, depending on your needs, and this set is kind of an odd duck. Squeezeplay is a G1 remake fans demanded - the rest are all nicely executed, but maybe not what you would have requested. Given the price I'd say it's fun enough to warrant the purchase, especially if it goes on sale for 15% off again. For $80 or less, you (or a fan) will get enough fun out of this set if you have a love for the many generations of these toys. Tyrantulus' head is cool. Cliffjumper looks great. Tarn is Tarn - he's just Tarn again. Squeezeplay brings us something that it felt like we might not have otherwise got, so the whole package is certainly worthy of your attention (if you still have space.)

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