Transformers Legacy: The Art of Transformers Packaging Review

January 25, 2020 at 9:31pm
By Jason Stettner

I’m quite a fan of The Transformers, always have been since I was young. One aspect of the series that I love are the figures, particularly the old ones as I collected them for years. I have many of them, but I’m always fascinating by the actual packaging as it’s not something that has really survived over the years.

Most people rip that apart, take out the figure and then throw away whatever comes with them. My initial hopes with this book were that I’d be able to see that, considering this is an art guide to the packaging, but it isn’t. This instead showcases beautiful renders of each character in the series of Transformers throughout the early years. It’s fascinating for sure, and a beautiful showcase of what’s out there.

Still, I was truly disappointed. It seems like they sort of false advertised titling in this. It’s still quite a collection, and I appreciate it in that regard. At the same time, I had hopes for more on the actual packaging and generally more writing too. It’s mostly images which is fine, but this could have been branded better in my opinion.

The visuals here are stunning, especially the first open cover. Once you dive into the actual book the designs of each page are excellent. They feel authentic to the series while showcasing each character with care and making sure they stand out. This was appreciated, and the layouts here are all excellent.

It’s almost a perfect representation of the generations and options out there for these transforming vehicles. There are even neat breaks for beautiful artwork showcases, I appreciated that for sure. It has a nice thick quality to thick book, and again visually it’s definitely perfect.

The Conclusion

Transformers Legacy: The Art of Transformers Packaging is a great showcase of the characters, but it doesn’t really cover the packages in the slightest. This aspect is why I was intrigued by the book, and ultimately quite disappointed by it. I still loved looking at all of the different Transformers, at the same time it wasn’t what I was necessarily sold on.

It’s got beautiful artwork, a lot of passion went into the layout and design here. It’s a lot to take in, and you can spend a long time sitting through this viewing all of the different models in here. They have basically everything from the Autobots to the Decepticons. They even cover the weird transformations such as the headmasters, a varied knowledge base for sure and worthwhile for the hardcore fan out there.

Transformers Legacy: The Art of Transformers Packaging Book Review
Author: Bill Forster, Jim Sorenson
ISBN: 9781684055715
Review Copy Provided by Penguin Random House Canada

Rating Overall: 6.5