This Generation One Transformers Action Figure review is meant to serve as an in-depth informational review of the entire line of US released Transformers action figures from 1984 through 1990. There are plenty of lists out there that show all of the figures and all of their parts, so I don't feel that is necessary in this posting. What I feel is missing out there in the books and information on collecting Transformers Action Figures is a type of "Shopper's Companion" , so that's what this list is intended for. It serves as an informational review concentrating on typical flaws of each figure, and things you should keep in mind, or watch for while hunting down those new additions to your Transformers collection. I will not usually make a note about chrome wear or "yellowing", since basically any part that is chromed can have chrome wear and just about any figure can have "yellowing", the same goes with paint wear, or paint "chipping", unless it is unusually common with a particular figure. From time to time I will also include notes about foreign releases of the same figure. I have it split up series by series since all 360+ or so figures simply would not fit on one page.

Series 1

Series 2

Series 3

Series 4

Series 5

Series 6

Series 7

Transformers Generation One Series Two 1985
Action Figure Review / Shopper's Guide:
Series 2 includes:

Figures from this time period on include a rubsign which is a liquid crystal heat activated sticker that shows their autobot or decepticon insignia when rubbed. It was devised as an attempt to thwart counterfeits and no-brands from claiming they are transformers. Obviously is didn't help much since to date there are places in China and Korea that still to this day pump out fake-formers from the designs of the old toys.

Minibots

Seaspray:

It is not too often that anything is wrong with this guy, but sometimes a propeller is busted.

Powerglide:

His rear wings commonly have stress marks.

Warpath:

He can cease up in the middle of his leg/hip section sometimes

Beachcomber:

his headlights break fairly easily.

Cosmos:

He rarely breaks, but the rim around his red head almost always has some of the red paint worn through to the yellow plastic.

Minispies

Minispies are quire durable as far as anything breaking. The rubber tires split sometimes and the joints go limp easily. aside from that they are fairly durable.

They come in 4 styles (Dunebuggy, Mazda, Porsche, Jeep) and 3 colors of each (white, yellow, and blue), and both allegiances of each (Autobot and Decepticon). For a total of 28 different if I'm counting right.

Constructicons (Devastator):

Hook:

Hook breaks all the time. That's why you're having a hard time finding him. He's not a rare figure, ...it's just rare to find one that isn't broken.
The biggest problem is his thighs. When you rotate his knee and ankle section (the driver's seat of the vehicle) into legs you must also pull out to the sides on both to get past the tabs on the backside of his thighs. If you don't then those tabs hold onto the chrome part of his thighs and will snap them in half when you try to rotate them. 
The squared peg that holds Bonecrusher onto him in Devastator mode breaks off easily.
The chrome hook at the end of his boom breaks off easily.

Long Haul:

Long haul is pretty durable. I do frequently see them with one or both of the dual rear wheels broken off at the axle.

Scrapper:

Scrapper is durable, but his driver's canopy falls off, breaks, and gets lost easily.

Scavenger:

Scavenger rarely has anything wrong with him.

Mixmaster:

Mixmaster rarely has anything wrong with him.

Bonecrusher:

Bonecrusher rarely has anything wrong with him.

Insecticons:

Kickback:

Kickback sometimes has one half of either arm broken off and occasionally has a chrome wing or antenna broken off.

Bombshell:

Bombshell's long nose protrusion is almost always limp and will just tip down to the ground in bug mode. finding one that stays up on it's own is quite difficult. 

Shrapnel:

Shrapnel's little yellow bug mode legs pop out and get lost easily.

Jumpstarters:
Both of the figures are close to indestructible. 

Topspin:

Topspin's gun has a weak spot in the scope part that sometimes breaks off. 

Twin Twist:

Twin Twist rarely has anything wrong with him.

Triple Changers:

Astrotrain:

Astrotrain's robot arms get limp and his gun is so big it becomes hard to keep it standing out. The metal at the headlight of the train gets chipped and cracked if it is dropped. The small sections of the shuttle wings get limp easily. 

Blitzwing:

The laser tips on the jet mode wings get stress lines easily. not much else really goes wrong with him.

Deluxe Insecticons:

Chop Shop:

Chop Shop is fairly straightforward and doesn't usually break unless you rotate or pivot something incorrectly.

Venom:

Venom's wings can break but it is fairly hard to snap one off.

Ransack:

Ransack's wings break if you try to rotate them. They are only on a straight hinge and go up and down only

Barrage:

Barrage's big huge horn breaks off all the time.

Autobot Cars:

Skids:

Skids gets limp easy, but doesn't break very easy.

Red Alert:

Red Alert's paint seems to chip off very easily and is otherwise pretty durable.

Grapple:

Grapple doesn't break very easily, but sometimes his chrome hook gets snapped off. Sometimes the pegs that his wrists plug onto in truck mode break off.

Hoist:

Hoist doesn't break very easily, but he has a lot of parts and they are frequently missing.

Smokescreen:

Smokescreen's windshield snaps off at the back of the robot's neck if you bend it wrong or if too much pressure is applied to it. His rear windows can also break off but they rarely do.

Inferno:

Inferno rarely has anything wrong with him. Sometimes the pegs that his wrists plug onto in truck mode break off.

Tracks:

Tracks' hood section (legs) almost always jut out from the rest of the car...why?...because there is a little strip of bent metal inside them that hold them locked upright when you turn him into a robot. the tab on the end of it pops out of it's socket when you turn him back into a car and the metal bends in half on the inside of the leg. You can take his legs off and bend it back straight to fix it, but the metal can snap in half when you try. 

Dinobots:

Grimlock:

Grimlock's little chrome T-rex arms break off easily. His clear belly piece can pop right out and disappear. 

Slag:

Slag always has chrome wear around the rim of his head (he rarely doesn't). His little red horns can pop out but not very often.

Sludge:

Sludge rarely has anything wrong with him. 

Swoop:

Swoop is always broken. It is not much of a rare figure, because you can find him all the time. The problem is that he breaks so easily it can be frustrating to find one that is not broken. His beak breaks off at the clear part and also at the silver neck part (or both). Also, if you pull his arms wrong they will break off too. I have noticed a large number of people looking for a replacement for a beak for swoop. For the most part I think it is a false hope to try to find one since almost any broken donor body would have that same part broken. If the robot face is still intact on what is left of the robot then he still can look just fine in robot mode even if he is broken.

Snarl:

Snarl's little clear section of his rear legs both have a tab on them to lock them into the silver section of the same leg. This tab breaks off easily and if it is gone then his hand will endlessly pop out of it and he will be difficult to stand in dino mode.

Jets:

Thrust:

Thrust's missiles break easily

Dirge:

Dirge rarely has anything wrong with him. 

Ramjet:

Ramjet's vertical rear wings go missing easy, and sometimes break off into the large wing.

Deluxe Vehicles:

Whirl:

Whirl's little antenna on his head can break off. He also yellows fairly often

Roadbuster:

Roadbuster's shoulders break very easily. His head will also shatter if it falls and lands on his head. For his parts, the antenna is always missing and nearly impossible to find second hand. If it is left in the car it can snapp off easily. The laser range finder is also almost always missing.

Omnibots:

Camshaft:

Camshaft rarely has anything wrong with him. If something is wrong with him then his head is probably missing.

Overdrive:

Overdrive rarely has anything wrong with him. 

Downshift:

Downshift rarely has anything wrong with him unless he became loose.

Powerdashers:

Drill:

The Powerdasher Drill's Drill almost always has chrome wear.

Jet:

The Powerdasher Jet rarely has anything wrong with him. 

Car:

The Powerdasher Car rarely has anything wrong with him. 

Other Figures:

Perceptor:

Perceptor's microscope lens almost always breaks off at the blue hinge on his shoulder. The knobs and black flaps pop out easily but are easy to get replacements for. 

Blaster:

Blaster's tape door never opens properly. In 10 years I have come across 3 that did. His gun is usually missing or broken because it is big and has thin parts (snaps easily).

Optimus Prime Pepsi Promo:

Same as Optimus Prime from series 1, but comes with a Pepsi sticker to put on the trailer.

Jetfire:

Jetfire is plagued with problems and a nice clean white complete one is very hard to come by. 

The figure: is a large white jet that yellows easily on almost any of the plastic sections. The red stripes on the wings get a smeared arc when you move them one time. The lasers on the head of the robot get stress lines. the hinge that holds the tailfins cracks. The shoulder hinge sockets crack. the arms break off at the shoulder peg. 

The parts: the gun clip is always missing.  The center portion of the backpack is frequently cracked. The tabs on the wrist armor are frequently stressed or cracked off. The leg or backpack sections are frequently glued together