POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

[Denyer]

Yeah, although I don't particularly like it as Rodimus the colour scheme looks great.

One of these is official... well, two counting Offshoot. Knew hanging onto it when I gave MP Rodimus to a cartoon fan was a good idea...

edit: Okay, on reflection (not shown) think I prefer the sides/shoulders partway in, and it is worth folding the backpack in. Those shoulder panels look shit fully down with the gap. The cartoon design is just too weedy.


http://i.imgur.com/VEoSYtq.jpg

[Clay]

TFC Liokaiser. It's heavy.

[Warcry]

I found a Titans Return Misfire the other day! It's a nice figure, and very different from Triggerhappy even though they share legs (everything from the waist up is engineered, and transforms, very differently). Back in the 80s, Misfire was the first Transformer I ever bought for myself with my own money (a few days after getting Lightspeed for my birthday), so I was probably destined to fall in love with a new version of the character even if it wasn't great just for nostalgia reasons (not being a Targetmaster doesn't hurt the nostalgia in this case because young me lost Aimless down an air vent almost immediately). But I can happily say that it's a quite good figure even without that. The colours and deco are satisfyingly G1 toy accurate, but the transformation takes the lead from the character model, in particular by having the jet's dual nosecones projecting up over Misfire's shoulders instead of flipping the nose down and hiding it behind his back. It makes for a big improvement to the character's silhouette, and makes the two modes more coherent since the nosecone is the most distinctive thing going for the robot mode.

Misfire is maybe a hair better than Triggerhappy just because he doesn't have a pair of giant cannons folded onto his arms in robot mode, but they make for a great duo. Hopefully Slugslinger will make it a great trio in a few months!

[HeavyArms]

TR Flintlock & Sergeant Kup - Bought locally and the packaging was a bit damaged unfortunately.

TLK Voyager Optimus Prime - Bought online from an Australian Transformers B/S/T group with the top of the box getting a bit dented in the post.

[HotShot81]

Been a slow month (or close to), but still picked up a load of bot.

From Transformers: The Last Knight we have ,Leader Class Megatron! Somehow I sense he's going to want to go after my 18 inch Optimus Prime from Transformers 3: Dark Of the Moon.

From Transformers Titan Return we have: Roadburn, poor little guy living in Bumblebee's shadow. Then the master of power himself, Dreadnut and Overlord! The final additions for the month Siege on Cybertron! A set that for the life of me I can't figure out why it says Beast Wars on the box.

[Skyquake87]

TFNation Haul

I came away with a fair few things this year!

Beast Wars Fox Kids Transmetal Cheetor
Neat Red repaint of the really rather good TM Cheetor toy, which I was surprised and pleased to find (I was thinking I'd have to stomach import prices, so hooray for that). The robot mode looks amazing, whilst the cat mode just looks very angry.

Beast Machines Rapticon
Gorgeous green/gunmetal/ neon repaint of the TMII Dinobot toy. Bit of an impluse grab, but again, a figure that's quite hard to come by in the UK (most of the second year Beast Machines figures and late-wave stragglers like the Dinobots failed to make it to these shores), so I thought I'd get him whilst I could.

Classics Devastator Slegde repaint
As with Cheetor and Rapticon, I picked this up from Sid's stall. It's a repaint of the Energon Sledge figure - which was pretty good anyway - in grey, gold and neon green. Colours which shouldn't work together, but do. Makes me want the rest of the set! ...no idea of the guy's name. Possibly Bonecrusher...

From ID Toys...

Whilst everyone was interested in Octone (?), Blitzwing, Topspin, Twintwist and Misfire, I was really pleased to get my paws on

Titans Return Krok
Which is just a repaint of Skullcruncher with a new head, but it's so good! And looks better to me than Skullcruncher did.

Titans Return Quake
Again, another simple repaint which I like better than the first use of the mould. The paint on Quake's face is quite lovely too.

Titans Return Chromedome
Knightdramon went for the fancy Legends version with the Anime appropriate head, but in the end, I decided a slightly better paint job couldn't compete with the £12 the western version was going for. Especially as I was a bit indifferent on Chromedome. Turns out, he's great and the translucent wheels aren't as much of a bother as I thought.

Masterpiece Optimus Primal
Only got this guy out of his box tonight and I can see why everyone says he's great - he's great! He's a much better action figure than the original toy. Not having all the chest beating gears in his chest/ arms of the original makes a huge difference. If there is a downside, it's that I really wish that Takara wasn't so beholden to animation models. The CGI beast modes aren't bad, but they are weird looking. Primal lacking any hair texture (despite a very nice and subtle paint job), looks a bit ..polished. I went for the show version, as the newly released version that matches the original toy was £20 more, and I wasn't actually that bothered for the mace.

From a guy selling random exclusives and Vehicle Voltron

Botcon 2015 Waruder Invaders 4-Pack
Fun set of Generations T30 Waspinator repaints with the Waspinator TM that came with GT30 Legends Starscream (I think). I like the pink and black and white one best. Don't usually bother with exclusives, but these were a bargain at £15 each. The Targetmaster figures are garbage, tbh. Really rubbery, loose and wibbly, and a couple of the larger figures have one loose ankle each.

And finally, from the Spacebridge...

RID Warrior Class Skywarp
Nice Skywarp recolour of the Starscream mould.


Plus of course, THE BOOK VOLUME 2 which I've started reading.

And thank you to Denyer for the HUGE X-Force and Sleeper hardbacks

[Warcry]

I tracked down TR Twin Twist last night. I like him less than I I liked Topspin. His face sculpt isn't great, and turning his tank tracks into hinged shoulder kibble makes a mess of the simple Jumpstarter silhouette. Neither of those things makes him bad, but Topspin is definitely the better of the two.

Also, kinda disappointed that they didn't give him actual spinning drill bits at the front of his alt-mode. I'm not sure if the transformation would have actually allowed it or not but it would have been neat.

Beast Wars Fox Kids Transmetal Cheetor
Neat Red repaint of the really rather good TM Cheetor toy, which I was surprised and pleased to find (I was thinking I'd have to stomach import prices, so hooray for that). The robot mode looks amazing, whilst the cat mode just looks very angry.

I'm pretty sure I got mine from Dalek, so there were at least two of them in the UK at some point!

It's a beautiful figure, though. I've got three versions of this mold (this, the standard version and the Armada one) and something like six Cheetors in general, but this one is my favourite.

Beast Machines Rapticon

*jealous*

Rapticon's on my want list but I don't think I've ever even seen one for sale. I mean I'm not exactly scouring eBay for him either, since I don't like to buy Transmetals unless I've seen them in person and carefully inspected the chrome, but he seems like a figure that's pretty rare everywhere.

[Skyquake87]

I do like my Red Cheetor Rapticon was a 'holy sh*t having that!' moment! Although, tbh, the way Beast Wars and Movie toys seemed to be the stuff a lot of sellers are stuck with, I don't think I'd have much competition.

[Thunderwave]

TR Sixshot: The local Wal-Mart just got done with it's inventory and so restocked a bunch of stuff just put out leader figures, so I picked up this big guy. He's interesting to say the least. Never owned the original, so having this version is a little bit of a thrill for me. I really enjoy the idea of a 6 mode transformer even if all the modes aren't perfect.

[Tantrum]

Over the past month or so, I've gotten:
TR Blitzwing and Octane. Both are good, though I have trouble tabbing all of Blitzwing together in tank mode.

RiD Soundwave. I hadn't planned on getting him, but am glad I did. I just wish he came with a 2nd weapon. There's even less attempt to hide his arms in alt mode than in a CW arialbot, but it somehow works.

TLK Deluxe Megatron (TRU exclusive). This is a redo of the Deluxe stealth bomber Megatron from a few years ago, who I never got. I was confused by the oddly shaped shoulder cannon until I read that it's suposed to be rail gun. My only other movie Megs are Power Battlers Galvatron and a small 3rd movie truck with a trailer that turns into a base of some kind.

TLK Skullitron (TRU exclusive). I appear to have lucked out with mine, as I've read that most iterations of this guy (and mold mate Steelbane) have very loose joints. Mine will droop his dragon head a bit if I swoop him around, but not too badly.

TLK Hound. I wasn't that impressed with him until I gave him all of AoE Hound's weapons, too. He's got tabs in his legs for the pistols, and enough holes in his back for the handles of everything else. Now he looks like the walking armory from the movies. He's much better proportioned than AoE Hound. AoE Hound is now in vehicle mode, but without his weapons, looks like an elongated garbage truck.

TLK Scorn, who's probably my favorite movie Dinobot toy. Both modes are good, and the transformation is actually fun. I currently have him as part of a movie/TF Prime crossover setup.

[Skyquake87]

TR Topspin and Freezeout
Saw this guy at TFN and passed on him, but picked him up in Smyths and am very impressed with the figure. The transformation is fun and clever and the robot on and alt modes are great. Just a shame one of his fist holes is a tad too large so one of his guns tends to flap about like a football rattle.

[Warcry]

I visited a small local show on the weekend and found a few neat things.

Transmetal Terrorsaur. He's shiny! I didn't think much of him from the pictures I'd seen, colours-wise, and I'd always figured that the Armada and Beast Machines decos were nicer. But in person, the original colour scheme is a lot more detailed and eye-catching than I thought. And the mold is quite fun, with a funky silhouette, good articulation and a neat transformation. In general, it's really impressive how the Transmetals' beast modes were miles ahead of what most of the organic figures could boast.

Generations Roadbuster. He's awful! A totally irredeemable turd. Clunky, badly proportioned, poor articulation and bad arm kibble. But with the Jumpstarters, Whirl and the Triplechangers all in my collection, there was a definite Roadbuster-shaped hole in my Wreckers set. He cost less than retail and he'll look fine on the shelf but I definitely wouldn't recommend him as a standalone figure.

Takara Legends Blurr. He's beautiful! I didn't think I'd be able to find one, at least not for less than stupid prices. Well, okay, the price was maybe a little stupid, but was less stupid than what I'm seeing at the online shops that still have him in stock, and I didn't have to pay taxes or shipping, so I guess that's a win? Anyway, cost aside, he's a glorious figure. The shoulders are awkward, but otherwise the robot mode is fine and it's really obvious that he's the one they were thinking of first when they made this, not Brainstorm. The vehicle mode is just gorgeous, and the colours are fantastic all around. I'm not a big believer in Takara superiority, but sometimes they do hit one out of the park, and it's amazing how much nicer this is than the dull-as-dishwater Hasbro offering. I can't honestly say it was worth the money, but it comes pretty close. He's competing with Misfire, Triggerhappy and Topspin for the title of nicest TR Deluxe in my books, even if being a Takara product does technically disqualify him.

[Cliffjumper]

G1 Chromedome & Scourge through someone local selling a load of stuff (I got Beatmix Bumblebee for my daughter), both in excellent condition. It is staggering to believe either of these were actually considered toys even thirty years ago, let alone towards the top end of the line. Been a while since I've had any late G1 in-hand, forgotten how dreadful most of the line is. Chromedome's a glorified scaled-up Micromaster and my Christ does Scourge make an absolute meal of his transformation...

[Heinrad]

TFC Breastforce: Finally, after years of searching and months of mandatory overtime, I've got Liokaiser. They aren't perfect, for example, Jalgar looks far more like a Gears of War character than I think he should, but I really like the way these guys look.

[Hound]

Finally got Top Spin and Twin Twist to complete my Wreckers shelf. I wish Hasbro would do an Impactor toy.

[Denyer]

Mmm. Have to say they've knocked it out of the park drip-feeding Wreckers releases into the main lines. At this point wouldn't actually be surprised they could do something to challenge the MMC one.

[Sunrunner]

But still no Rack N' Ruin

[Warcry]

I'd been kicking around the idea of buying TR Sky Shadow for a while, and an expiring $20 off TRU coupon finally convinced me to go for it. I'm super glad I did! At first glance I'd dismissed it as a cash-in retool of Overlord, but almost the entire jet component is unique to him. That means that he looks very distinctively like Black Shadow -- an amalgam of elements from the original toy, the anime model and the Generations toy, anyway -- from the crotch up. The legs are pretty obviously still Overlord's, though, since the tank component wasn't changed much. It's noticeable that he's missing the original's armour and hoses on his hips, but it doesn't look bad by any means. Articulation is quite good for such a big figure too, minus a waist swivel due to how the two parts of him combine.

The jet component is pretty cool, and very accurate to the original. The base mode is neat too, though it's also the most distinctly "Overlord" thing about the figure. The tank component is a disappointment, though. Aside from transforming into legs, it basically does nothing. The turret doesn't turn, and the cannon barrel can't even adjust up and down. It's pretty much a big ugly box with a TM cockpit.

Overall, he's a nice, solid Leader-class figure. Since the tank half was reused with a totally different jet for Overlord, I wonder what the odds are of the jet half (with a new head and chest) getting used with a different set of legs for a future Thunderwing. Maybe get him into the Power of the Primes line by having the big robot's legs turn into a smaller figure based on the original's inner robot?

Mmm. Have to say they've knocked it out of the park drip-feeding Wreckers releases into the main lines. At this point wouldn't actually be surprised they could do something to challenge the MMC one.

But still no Rack N' Ruin

I wouldn't be surprised by either of them at this point. Hasbro's been getting progressively more and more open to making toys of anyone, and not just the usual '86 movie and earlier crowd. Impactor would be a pretty straightforward futuristic tank toy, and my only real worry with an official one is that they'd make him a Deluxe instead of the Voyager that he'd have to be to fit in visually with the rest of the team. Rack'N'Ruin is a bit more of a head-scratcher, engineering-wise, but since they're rumoured to be releasing the Duocons next year as two separate Legends figures, maybe they'd do that?

[Thunderwave]

TR Sky Shadow: Found this guy for $20 at the local Walmart and couldn't pass him up at that price. I was going to skip him for Overlord but I'm glad I didn't. If anything Sky Shadow made me more excited for Overlord. He's a big chunky figure with pretty okay articulation. His jet is very "Swoosh-able" and the tank rolls decently well. The only let down is that the tank turret does not rotate, but I understand why that is. Over all I'm glad I picked this guy up.

TR Octone: Snagged him at a different Walmart because I missed Universe Tankor (Octane) the first time around and didn't feel like spending the $50 on him. Octone is...interesting. His jet mode suffers from his triple changing nature, but his other two modes are just fine. Over all I'm pleased with him and he'll be a fine addition to my triple changers line up.

TR Blitzwing: After the poor showing of Generations Blitzwing I felt a replacement was needed. Titans Return gave me one I was happy to snap up and put on my shelf. I dare say he looks better then the Generations one AND lacks the shoulder flaws of the older one.

Now all I need to do is track down a Broadside.

[HeavyArms]

RID 2015 Skywarp - I actually liked the colors on this figure more than on the Starscream that came previously, also i can't find Starscream locally at all.