It’s Transformers Thursday and I was going to look at Generations Arcee today, but I’m a little pressed for time. If only I had some more Legends Class figures to look at… Oh, wait. I do! I may be all out of Combiner Wars Legends, but I still have some unfinished business with the old Generations line. Today I’m looking at Cosmos and Payload. I couldn’t find this pair anywhere back when they first came out, but I was passing through the toy aisle the other day and there they were hanging on the pegs. Maybe the fine folks at WallyWorld were trying to get them out to make way for the Combiner Wars figures. Whatever the case, I’m glad to finally have him.

Ah, there’s the lovely Generations packaging. I’ve still got a few more of these two-packs to look at so we’ll see it again, but sadly not for much longer. I love the G1-inspired grid deco and the character art is great. And you can’t beat getting two Transformers for eleven bucks, even if one is a small and simple Minicon. It doesn’t seem all that long ago that Cosmos had his first Legends Class figure. I used to think that one was pretty good, but with this new one in hand, there’s hardly any comparison. Let’s start with his alt mode.

Yup, he’s still the little green saucer that we all knew and loved and I really dig the modern update. Cosmos has a pair of yellow engines in the back with a stylish tail fin. The front has a set of viewscreens on the central hub and a pair of guns peeking out from under the front of the disk. The coloring here is pretty simple. He’s mostly green with some yellow arrow decos orientating him to the front. Cosmos also features some great panel lining sculpted into the hull.

Of course, flying saucer alt modes are easy, it’s getting them to turn into decent robots… that’s the tough part. Nonetheless, Hasbro nailed this robot mode beautifully. The proportions are surprisingly good and it captures the Sunbow look of the character better than I could have possibly expected out of a figure in this scale. Some of the particularly cool touches are the way the guns are placed on his knees, the way the fin and engines form a little jetpack, and the windows landing on his chest. He’s also got sculpted guns on his forearms. The green and yellow coloring is pure Cosmos as is that marveous little head sculpt.

The articulation is quite good for such a little guy. You get ball joints in the shoulders, elbows, and hips and double hinges in the knees. Cosmos can also swivel at the waist and turn his head. Nice!

Cosmos’ little buddy, Payload, is one of my favorite of these bundled Minicons. It’s not that there’s anything particularly great about him, but I just happen to like the sculpt and the coloring and his simple little transformation, which produces a clean little robot mode. I also like the idea of having a little space shuttle to fly around with Cosmos.

Payload’s Targetmaster mode is also one of the better ones I’ve seen so far. It’s a double barreled gun which looks pretty good in Cosmos’ hand, although it does make him a little front heavy. It’s a lot of gun for a little guy, but I think it works even better when wielded by Deluxe Class figures. Damn, I really liked these Minicon Targetmasters. I wish they had carried over to the new line.

In the end I’ve got nothing but respect for this little figure. Cosmos hasn’t really been done right since his initial G1 release and I think this is the first time seeing him be all he could be. It’s all thanks to some clever engineering and that extra bit of love that Hasbro seems to have invested in these recent Legends Class figures. If I had one complaint it’s that the Legends Class scale keeps him from hanging out with the Deluxe Warpath and Bumblebee, and one day I’d still like to see all the old Mini-bots have their due as Deluxe Class toys. Still, at least he’s right at home chilling with Combiner Wars Powerglide and they do indeed look great together.