Transformers

Thundercracker and Skywarp!

From Newage.  These guys are tiny.

Thundercracker with other legends sized TFs.  Ordered a Starscream from eBay, and I'll snag a Coneheads set at some point.  

Speaking of Coneheads...

Amazon came through with their exclusive Seekers 2pk.  I wish Dirge wasn't surprised all of the time.  Shut your mouth, Dirge, you're letting the Insecticons in.  

Colors feel off.  Ramjet always seemed off-white, not pure white.  Both should have stripes on their wings.  I'm sure Hasbro will repaint these guys to sell at Walmart next year.  Thrust is due out in a future wave, as a regular release.  

Perfect Effect's Nemesis Prime.  PE released an awesome Powermaster Optimus/Ginrai cab figure a few years back, which replaced the cab of the Hasbro and Takara Super Optimus and Super Ginrai figures.  Then they retooled that mold and added an original trailer, inspired by both God Ginrai and Jetwings Optimus from Bayformers.  This is that retooled cab, minus the trailer.  

Not quite as tall as Earthrise Optimus, but a pretty good fit.

Kieth's Fantasy Club (KFC) Ditka.  Needs support to stand.  I can't get the legs to collapse to return to either vehicle mode, but both the tank and the jet look good.  I can't recommend this guy, even at the $85 I paid.  If you want a decent Masterpiece scaled Triplechanger, Open and Play Big Springis an excellent take on Springer, and can be found for around $50.  

I might track down a DX9 Gerwalt Blitzwing.  The tank mode looks worse, but the jet is more realistic (the KFC Blitzwing has a very boxy, G1 toy jet mode), and it can actually pose and stand.  

Oh, it seems those Target exclusives are real, I found GI Joe Classified Roadblock!  Very cool figure.  

Now, where's Thrust?  

I'm starting to think about paying scalper prices for Skywarp and Thundercracker.  

Dirge and Ramjet arrived today.  My Dirge had a molding error on one of the pegs that holds the legs together in jet requiring me to have to carve a little bit of it off to allow the peg to fit.

 

13 minutes ago, Gabriel said:

I'm starting to think about paying scalper prices for Skywarp and Thundercracker.  

Dirge and Ramjet arrived today.  My Dirge had a molding error on one of the pegs that holds the legs together in jet requiring me to have to carve a little bit of it off to allow the peg to fit.

 

Don't!  

https://www.target.com/p/transformers-generations-war-for-cybertron-earthrise-voyager-wfc-e29-seeker-2-pack/-/A-78917026

Just watch Target's site.  I snagged one this afternoon, for in-store pickup.  They're starting to hit again.

Target.com had them this morning.  I placed an order, but wasn't able to choose a shipping type.  It said they'd deliver it by this Friday.  I guess I'll see.

I've had one recent package completely lost in USPS, and there are two others which are looking like they're lost as well.  So, I wish I had been able to choose UPS or FedEx, which aren't having the same problems locally.

 

@Gabriel Good luck!  I hope your Seekers show up on Friday.  

Once Thrust comes out, this could be the third set of Seekers I've completed.  I current;y have all six from the Classics mold, as well as Iron Factory's set.  Still need a vintage or reissue G1 Ramjet (I have the G2 version) and MP Dirge to complete those sets.  

Dirge was my first Seeker.  Massive fondness for his distinctive wings.  Massive nostalgia value.

I hadn't noticed the open mouthed headsculpt until you mentioned it.  My first thought upon noticing it was...  well, I'm not going to say my first thought.

Second thought was that he was yelling, "I am the scales of justice, conductor of the choir of death!"

Third thought was that he was singing a Minmei tune: "To be in LOOOOOVE..."

 

Newage PBS (Prowl, Bluestreak, Smokescreen) complete!  

Now to get Ratchet and Ironhide.  And Bluestreak variants.  

Latest wave of Micromasters.  

Hammerbyte is cool.

Snapdragon is cool, too.  It's nice that all of the first wave of Headmasters have received updates.   

I was grocery shopping in one of my local Walmarts on Saturday and something told me to go look in the toy section.  I originally went to see doll stuff but saw the boys toy aisle and figured I'd check that out.  And I'm so glad I did because I found one of these guys!

 

Blaster by Billy  Bennett, on Flickr

 

He was the last one there so I snapped him up at $29.99.  I looked for any cassettes but didn't see them or a spot for them either.  It was cool finding him because I really had no clue he was even out.  So if you get a gut feeling on stuff no matter where you are.... FOLLOW IT.  😄

 

 

Billy

There aren't any cassette reissues for Blaster this time around, unfortunately.  I have a Takara reissue that came with Steeljaw, but never got a hold of the other cassettes.  I'd love to get Ramhorn and Eject, to replace the childhood copies I no longer have.

feel like posting this borb today 

@F-15alice That Flame Toys Megatron looks incredible!  I haven't bought any of their figures yet, but I did get to handle Tarn at TFcon a couple years ago.  Very impressive.   I'm hoping for Jazz or Hot Rod in this line.  Or Galvatron...  I'd need Galvy for sure.  

Mastermind Creations Reformatted R-48 Optus Pexus.  Transformer of the year.

Based on IDW Cybertronian mode Optimus Prime.  Insanely posable.  

Modern voyagers have gotten small...  Seriously, Jazz is an old deluxe class, Thrust is a 2020 Earthrise voyager.  

Combiner Wars leader Megatron scales well, but isn't quite up to Optus Pexus' standard.  

 

 

A whole year drought! Egad!

Shall we talk some bots?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let us talk some bots!

 

I swear I have more Has/Tak than 3P, but you could never tell from my photos. The 3P army grows stronger every year.

Trailbreaker and Trailbreaker!  MP Trailbreaker is decent, as is XTB's.  

HasLab Victory Saber.  Looking forward to Deathsaurus joining him later this year.  

I went to TFCon Chicago last year.  

Newage makes awesome looking stuff, too bad the prices have gotten crazy.  

XTB is making that one purple guy, what's his name?  Mega-Convoy?  

Picked Quietus at the con.  Excellent piece.  

Now, do I get XTB Scourge or wait for Fans Toys?  

Also snagged MMC's exclusive edition of Tempo (Steeljaw).  

Newage Darius (Galvatron) was the last major TFCon purchase, for $65.  I had the gray version from back when NA released the Galvatron mold.  

I got the Fans Toys take on Jazz, but it seems I've never photographed it.  Maybe I'll get around to that this weekend.  Downbeat is about as good, especially the premium deco version.  TNR's alt mode blows away all of them.  

 

 

@Galvatim  That Trailbreaker photo is golden. I've heard lots of good things about the MP- very glad to hear XTB's is solid with their track record lately. Outside of some stylistic choices that would come down to personal preference, both of them look to be equally excellent additions to any G1 shelf.

 

And a Victory Saber! Plus future Deathasaurus. Biggest congratulations! I was eyeballing MMC's D-Zef and IronTrans' Star Blade myself, but I can't blame anyone who can afford it for jumping on the Haslab train. Their Unicron is simply otherworldly. It blows every other incarnation out of the water in pure detail alone. While I've been impressed with every recent take on Star Saber so far, you can't deny that Victory Saber has a presence and gravity all his own, and looks dynamic doing anything. Perfect for his design.

 

TFCon! I'm jealous. Someday, someday. Still my only real con goal, outside of a BJD con / Dollpa.  FT's Double Dealer is looking better all the time. I'm not a consummate G1 enthusiast, but I look forward to appreciating many, many in-hand pictures. What were some of your favorite parts? Meet anyone fun / interesting?

 

Alas, the price points for Legend Scale are a big factor in my sticking to Chug and MP, but they do put out some magnificent stuff. Better than their 'full' scale counterparts in many cases. And the engineering is impressive on the likes of Newage and Iron Factory. The tiny, interchangeable hands, the scaled-down joints... wicked stuff. $300 for a mini combiner though... oof.

 

Gal durn. Y'know, I was trying so hard to talk myself out of FT Sovereign, but I'm hoping to complete the main movie Autobot crew, and I already have Quietus.  XTB's take looks... surprisingly excellent. Especially the face. Not that there's anything wrong with Eligos or Andreas, but Quietus nails Cyclonus so hard visually, it would be difficult to compare. But I'm not a huge fan of Quietus' die cast distribution. There's so much of it and it makes him weirdly hefty in a tipsy way, despite his excellent ratchets. If XTB can do as good a Galvatron but without odd top-heaviness / thighs of doom, I'm in.

 

Speaking of Andreas, I'd have to agree with the Youtubers and TFW'05ers. If you want a figure that has decent reviews and scales well, you could do far worse than him. Reception to him seems fairly positive. Also if I'm not mistaken, he's the kind of bot you can pick up and fiddle with, put in some cool poses. But if you wish for screen accuracy, waiting for FT will be your best bet... however long that takes. I have to admit, I'm a bit underwhelmed with Quietus and have been considering picking up Eligos for comparison. Visually Quietus is incredible, but handling him makes me nervous, and the hard, brittle plastic of the IDW head renders it a liability rather than a cool feature when paired with all that upper body diecast. But he poses better than expected for something so weighty. As a shelf queen, he commands attention. While Eligos hits most of the right notes without the diecast thighs (I think?), but seems a little thicker, and most noticeably, doesn't have as good a face. Andreas is the same, but in displays he blends right in with FT. Nice and dynamic.

 

I would still recommend Quietus to anyone who could pick him up on a deal, like you did. Cannot deny the visual power of this bot. Despite swearing off FT, I find myself drifting back to their Perceptor. They really do have a way with cartoon accuracy and expression.

 

You can never have enough MMC. Never.

 

Y'know, if you hadn't said that Galvatron was Newage, I'm not certain I could have told the difference in scale. A fantastic-looking toy, and a good choice of souvenir. And you dodged shipping / nonsense sales tax. Good on you!

 

Downbeat is easily one of my favorite 3P G1 MPs ever. Yes his arms are a tad short and his chest comes untabbed easily. (at least on V1) But he's so solid. You can take him anywhere, and not feel concerned. And he's so Jazz. The faceplates make him even better.

 

However I do have to admit, FT is a tie with him for the 'Jazziest' Jazz. In fact, with the proportions fixed and their usual accuracy of face, he might be the best Jazz yet. Had one of my favorite reviewers not had his copy snap in half right out of the box, I'd be tempted. Thankfully, that doesn't seem to be a wide-spread issue, and should you get around to handling him for some photographs, I'd love to hear your thoughts. It's always interesting when you own multiple versions of a character, and the 'why's behind each.  "This one does vehicle mode best.  This one is amazing all 'round, but I have him in bot mode most.  This one is most faithful to the IDW comics.  This one has the best proportions. etc., etc."

 

 

 

 

 

XTB's Trailbreaker is from before Locke/Kup, so the QC is decent.  I got hardcore into MP after picking up XTB Savant (Skids), Fans Hobby Power Baser (Powermaster Optimus) and MMC OX stealth Arcee at TFCon Chicago 2018.  Takara's take is good, although I think the FT version might be the overall best, I just don't need 3 Trailbreakers.  

Of course, the thought of doing the No Way Home version of that Spider-Man meme is tempting.  

Once I finally got in to TFCon 2022, I mostly just browsed the dealer room.  The con was packed, and a little disorganized.  I arrived about 10AM, hoping to pick up my prepurchased ticket and get in, and ended up waiting in line until 11:30, when the organizers finally realized that  early entry ticket buyers might actually want to get in before 12PM...  

I had considered going to David Kaye's booth, but the line took up half the dealer room the entire time I was there.  Some of the dealers had some amazing pieces, boxed G1 Overlord and the like.  I regret not snagging a $45 G1 Star Saber (loose, incomplete).  Peter Cullen was another guest, but autographs were $75 plus even more waiting in line.  It was much easier getting James Roberts to autograph some of my MTMTE comics in 2018.  

Newage keeps pumping out those great EX versions, like that awesome Grimlock in my pic, or Optimus covered in tampos based on the vintage toy labels, and yellow eyes.  (Where's my yellow eyed MP Optimus?  Get on that, Magic Square!)  The pricing just really puts me off.  I spent $200 on FT Quietus, and NA Firefox was about $170 from the vendors at TFCon.  Grimlock EX was $125, which is around what I spent on the DX9 Dinobots 5pk a few years ago.  

Eligos looks nice enough, but Quietus has great paint.  I like most of the FT figures I've picked up, aside from finding Hoodlum disappointing.  My main interest is completing my MP collection, but for the most part, I just want all the ones I had growing up.  I'm hoping XTB's Throttlebots are closer to standard carbot size, I really want Goldbug to be bigger than Bumblebee.  

Maestro, Downbeat, Jive and Generation Toy J4ZZ, with TNR Meister in alt mode.

I haven't transformed FT Jive yet.  The only damage I've heard about is Skullface chipping some paint on his.  

Maestro and Downbeat both have KFC Ironhide hands, for increased expression.  Maestro has an additional gun I found on eBay, it's far better than the strange flat one Maketoys made.  

Given that the only other way to get a great model of this car is to build it yourself, I'm very happy with TNR's choice to sacrifice the bot mode a little for this amazing Porsche alt mode.  

Reissue Jazz, my original has long since fallen to pieces.  Luckily the Pretender, Action Master and G2 versions were there to fill in in childhood, and these MP Jazzes fill in today.  

 

This thread still functions!  

ThreeZero G2 Megatron is cool.  Not as cool as Galvatron, but cool.  

Missing Link Optimus is Transformer of the year.  MP-44S is cool, too.  Always nice to have more yellow-eyed Optimus Primes. 

Missing Link Convoy is just incredible. 

G1 Optimus, but with modern articulation!  And the old stickers are now sculpted and painted detail.  

Vac-metal Matrix, and a removable Matrix chamber, with the classic Diaclone seats hidden behind it.  The fists are no longer removable, so no need to store them in Prime's chest anymore.  

With New Year Special Edition 2002 Convoy and 25th Anniversary Optimus. 

Photo-bombed by Pepsi Convoy.  Where's my Coca Cola crossover Transformer?  

Trailer comparison.  The new trailer lacks the launcher for Roller, but now the repair drone can detach and roll around.  Alt mode is very close to the original.  I didn't take pics, but at a passing glance, it's G1 Prime in truck mode.  The box has a Styrofoam insert.    

Every picture really stuns me. These amazing creatures transform?!