POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Figures, collectables, customs and collecting.
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Tantrum
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Re: NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Tantrum »

Clay wrote: Wed Mar 18, 2020 9:39 pm
Tantrum wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2020 11:49 pm
Clay wrote: Tue Mar 03, 2020 5:47 pmI have a junker hoist around here somewhere. I'll see if I can work out how to open up the wrists for part removal.
Much appreciated.
Let's see if google drive will let me share pictures since photobucket has gone all wonky on me.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id= ... SAFaVu3lGd

If not, PM me with an email address and I'll add you to the folder. When/if you can see the pictures, the two parts holding the forearm together are the green cuff and a screw on the back of the elbow. The cuff isn't glued in place on the g1 figure, but I don't know about the various reissues. Another strategy would be to depress the orange tab like you're trying to fire the missile and point it to the ground while shaking it. You may get lucky and the broken peg will just fall out.

Night bird is the same base mold as green dancer and red femme, yeah? I'll dig those out and have a look.
I tried to PM you, but don't know how to make messages leave my Outbox. Hoist's cuff wouldn't come off, so it may be glued. I took out the screw like you said, and was able to get a screwdriver in there and push out the blockage. He now has a missile hand that slides in and out easily. Thanks for the advice.

Edit: The pin in Nightbird's elbow was bent. I got it out, and now it works OK, it's just a bit weaker than the other arm. So, I'm all set with that one, too.
Last edited by Tantrum on Sat Mar 21, 2020 6:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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HeavyArms
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

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Earthrise Starscream & Studio Series Mixmaster.

These two I bought a bit earlier than expected because they are apparently short-packed in their wave assortments, like three-to-one short-pack.

MMC Kultur (Not-Tarn) - This is actually my first third-party figure.

I also bought two dozen 'Rise Of The Combiner' booster packs acquiring maybe three Aerialbots, a Stunticon and Hot Rod as particular favorites.
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Warcry
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Re: NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

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Tantrum wrote: Sat Mar 21, 2020 6:19 pm I tried to PM you, but don't know how to make messages leave my Outbox.
It's confusing, but on this software PMs don't leave your Outbox until the person you sent to to actually reads them.
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Clay
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Re: NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

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Tantrum wrote: Sat Mar 21, 2020 6:19 pm Edit: The pin in Nightbird's elbow was bent. I got it out, and now it works OK, it's just a bit weaker than the other arm. So, I'm all set with that one, too.
Good to hear, especially since after looking at the POTP versions, they don't have the pins in their shoulders. Part of the retooling, I guess.

As for me, I've picked up several things.

Siege Crosshairs... bought locally. Oddly enough, he seems bulkier than Ratchet even though they're the same mold. I like... his simplicity, both in transformation and visual style. Absolute unit.

I got a box today from bbts, mostly of stuff I couldn't find at retail.

Siege Apeface... I see what people mean by the ugliness of the plastic. First thing it reminded me of was the old glow-in-the-dark plastics from the late 80's/early 90's. Whatever happened to that stuff? I haven't seen it used since... well, since the late 80's/early 90's. Anyway, Apeface complements his Titans Return counterpart nicely, and is neatly in the same design of "make the same thing again, but with knees and elbows this time" as the bulk of TR. The jet mode is... not aerodynamic at all, so it's a spaceship to me. Sorted. Gorilla mode is similarly compromised, but I like it anyway. The modes all look more utilitarian than functional disguises, so it works. Now the wait for Snapdragon begins!

Siege micromasters... got the rest of the micros (waves one and two, I think), including the other cassettes, Ravage and Laserbeak. They're better in person than they are in pictures, although maybe I was being too skeptical of them. Given that the masterpiece versions already exist and are rather stellar, the siege figures do their job of being accessories to Soundblaster just fine. Laserbeak's feet even appear to be made to fit into notches on Soundblaster's wrist and shoulder, although I can seem to get it to work. Ratbat doesn't do that as far as I can tell.

The feature presentation of the box was masterpiece movie Ironhide (GMC Topkick). He's a hot mess! Lots of clever and inventive little tricks to get this piece or that here or there, but it's got some serious faults, no doubt. I'll post about him in a few days after I get used to him.
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HeavyArms
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

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Studio Series WWII Autobot Hot Rod & Arcee, Chromia & Elita-1: 3-Pack -
The last figures that I could find of there wave at a K-Mart.

Studio Series Megatron (Transformers 1)
One of the only two that I've found in my area.
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Denyer
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Re: NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

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Clay wrote: Mon Mar 23, 2020 11:10 pmSiege Apeface... I see what people mean by the ugliness of the plastic. First thing it reminded me of was the old glow-in-the-dark plastics from the late 80's/early 90's. Whatever happened to that stuff? I haven't seen it used since... well, since the late 80's/early 90's.
Still see it on dollar store type toys, but usually the whole toy will be made of it rather than an embellishment or something like, say, Scare Glow.

I really like how dated and clunky Apeface looks. Not entirely sure why I've bothered ordering Snapdragon, whose only memorable appearance was a UK annual story -- Apeface is paired with Skullcruncher like in the Ladybird book.
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Denyer
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

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Ironworks which I ordered ages ago. I like the LEGO style approach, although do wonder how durable the pieces will be. Want the yellow truck from the micromasters set now...

And jumped on an acceptably priced loose Perceptor to have a go at making a Xaaron at some point.

Generally avoiding ordering unnecessary stuff at the moment though.
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Skyquake87
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

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Siege Refraktor Reconnaissance 3 Pack (Spectro, Spyglass & Viewfinder)

I honestly wasn't going to bother with Refraktor. The retail release didn't do anything for me and cartoon homages have me on sleep mode. But having a stupid busy and stressful time whilst the rest of the country is on lockdown made me look again at the drone-like camera gang. Well, that and writing some Siege reviews made me think I need more Decepticons.

The toy colours for the Refraktor triumvirate are much more my jam. They just look way more interesting and seem more complete being bundled together as 3 pack. Needless to say, these guys only turn into a camera in my house, not those half-arsed 'alt-modes' they each individually have. The detailing is brilliant, and the individual colorschemes each pick out different areas to highlight and draw your attention to, which I really like. The black and red one is probably my favourite. The add on bits help make the camera look more complete, but it's a bit of a shame the 'Refraktor bits' that make shoulder pads don't properly lock into the robot shoulders. An minor bit of retooling would have fixed that, but it's not the end of the world. The set also comes with Kremzeek. Which is nice. And I like the box they come in, so I'll be keeping that. All in all, a good set of solid little robot blokes. Not the greatest in the Siege line, admittedly, but fun all the same.
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Skyquake87
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

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Studio Series WWII Bumblebee
Hooray! A Studio Series Bumblebee figure that isn't riddled with QC issues and has a transformation sequence that works. Robot mode is nice, but he can't strike a decent pose as his legs are quite limited owing to the transformation. I like his weapons - a hammer and gattling pistol - and the paint apps are nice, although the bright blue eyes are a bit much. Vehicle mode is nice - it's a little tank! Which just makes me think of 'Allo 'Allo. I like him so much, I think I'll have to have a look at WWII Hot Rod :)
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Denyer
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

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Yeah, both look pretty cool -- personally I think the mould looks best in black and I'd be inclined to replace heads rather than leave them as movie characters.

http://snakas.blog95.fc2.com/blog-entry-7289.html

Image
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Tantrum
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

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Does WWII Hot Rod's fake kibble in bot mode match his actually vehicle parts? On WWII Bee, they don't. for example, the vehicle mode lacks the side mirrors seen on Bee's chest. The number 10 on his leg doesn't appear in vehicle mode, either. Which I guess helps with the whole "Robots in Disguise" angle. I had a couple white star stickers left over from a Gundam kit. I put one on Bee's leg, and another on his hood, so the two mode would share some sort of detail.

I got Dollar Store Soundwave, Megatron, and Starscream today. They're non-transforming figure with no articulation. They're the same height as a Kreon, but with proportions based on the toon. Megatron looks quite good. Starscream less so, only because he has a grey head instead of black.
Soundwave looks good from the knees up, but the lower legs lack paint and sculpted detail.

I've stuck them on the little Christmas tree I keep up year round, along with Siege Rung, since his alt mode is "ornament". You've probably spent more time reading about them here than I'll spend actually handling them. They're not much, but with most stores closed, and interstate travel requiring 2 weeks quarantine, pickings are pretty slim.
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HeavyArms
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

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Earthrise Cliffjumper - Get it cheap if you can as it is rather small for a deluxe.

Cyberverse deluxe Optimus Prime, Decepticon Shockwave and Megatron - All of these guys were for some reason on clearance pricing and they went quickly because of it.
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

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Earthrise Hoist, Wheeljack, Ironworks, Autobot Grapple and Studio Series Bumblebee - Bought them all during Big W's 20% off toy sale.
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

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MMC Roller!

Love the Tarn. Love the Thunderclash. Love this guy. The little Kremzeek fruit juice carton is especially neat.

He comes with a cape Roller never wore because why the **** not.
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

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I got a bundle of cool Beast-era toys in the mail today! Haven't had much time to mess with them yet, but so far I'm pretty happy. A few of these figures came sealed in package and the rest were opened but basically new. Having a bunch of "brand new" twenty year old toys is a pretty cool feeling!

Beast Wars Optimus Minor was a really pleasant surprise just on account of not being terrible. I remember him being heavily shat on in the early 2000s when I discovered the fandom, for being an ugly pegwarmer that nobody wanted. But he's actually not bad! He's got a pretty cool look and the articulation and design are alright by BW-era standards. His transformation does earn a big fat F in my books just because there's so little to differentiate the robot and monkey modes, but overall we're talking about a fairly unremarkable figure. Which is significantly more than I'd been expecting from something that I have carefully avoided buying for the last decade in spite of seeing at least one, in package, at every convention I've ever attended.

Beast Machines Airraptor: I wasn't sure what to expect, but this figure is badass. The colours are just wild. I love the dino-chicken beast mode. I really like the transformation. And the robot mode is ridiculous, but in the best way. Easily and by far the coolest of the new BW Neo dinosaur molds.

Beast Machines Dinotron: I'll admit that this mold feels really dated even beside other Beast era stuff, but I've always had a soft spot for it. I used to have the 10th Anniversary Dinobot, but it just crumbled to bits thanks to the metallic flake in the plastic. It's nice to have the mold again, and though this is probably heresy, I think I like this retool better. The figure made for a pretty dopey velociraptor but it's a bit more passable as a pachycephalosaurus. The colours are nice, too.

Beast Machines Geckobot is a kinda typical BM Maximal, with a wicked-looking beast mode that doesn't transform so much as just stand up in its hind legs. Geckobot is a BIT more involved than I'm making it sound, but not much, and the end result isn't worth the trouble anyway. Like most of my BM molds, this'll probably live in alt-mode 95% of the time. But it's a super cool alt-mode, for sure.

Beast Machines Terranotron: I own the Transmetal Terrorsaur mold three times over, now, so it's no surprise that I love this nearly as much as the BW and Armada releases. The colours on this one aren't quite as fitting though, in my eye. I guess because the design is just so clearly villainous, it doesn't look right when it has traditional G1 Dinobot hero colours splashed all over it? But the figure itself is top-notch. And also, I haven't actually pulled a brand-new Transmetal out of the package since I got Prowl when I was a teen in 1999. I'd forgotten how amazing these guys look when they're fresh and unblemished!

And that's definitely four more Beast Machines toys than I thought I'd buy this year. :)
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

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I like the Beast Machines Dinobots. Terranotron and T-Wrecks are the only ones I don't have (well I used to have T-Wrecks, but wasn't so struck with him and he looked a bit out of place next to the Neo moulds Beast Machines used). Terrantron's colours look nice, like a cheesecake but, yeah, not really suited to such an angry looking robot mode. Maybe he's just cross with the paint work. I think I'd like Dinotron more if I hadn't picked up Beast Wars Neo's Hardhead first. The purple, teal and silver just look nicer than the green, yellow and black used for Dinotron. Geckobot's always one I've been curious about, but have never bought as he rarely seems to be available for less than £20 which is more than I'm willing to pay for a basic sized figure, so it's nice to find that I'd probably be a bit underwhelmed with him.

Studio Series Scavenger
Cor, he's massive! A great big ugly sprawling monstrosity that turns into a nice looking digger thing of enormous size. He's brilliant! Absolutely love the weird and strange design and the colourful alt mode. Great fun.
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

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Classics Ramjet - One of the last few Classics style jets that i decided that I wanted. A little expensive, but in good condition and he doesn't feel loose, so that's good.
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

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Ramjet is my favourite of the Classics Seeker mold. The figure is so much nicer when the arm movements aren't crippled by the wings.
Skyquake87 wrote: Sun Apr 26, 2020 9:06 am I like the Beast Machines Dinobots. Terranotron and T-Wrecks are the only ones I don't have (well I used to have T-Wrecks, but wasn't so struck with him and he looked a bit out of place next to the Neo moulds Beast Machines used). Terrantron's colours look nice, like a cheesecake but, yeah, not really suited to such an angry looking robot mode. Maybe he's just cross with the paint work. I think I'd like Dinotron more if I hadn't picked up Beast Wars Neo's Hardhead first. The purple, teal and silver just look nicer than the green, yellow and black used for Dinotron.
The BM Dinobots are a strange subgroup. I wonder what the inspiration for releasing them was? Maybe they'd caught onto how disgruntled a lot of Beast Wars fans were and hoped that this would keep them engaged? I have to admit, it may have worked with me if I'd known they existed in 2000, but the BM show had already chased me off. The figure selection was all over the map, really...four Neo molds, a Transmetal, a TM2, and two figures from the original BW waves (one of those remolded) are what I remember, anyway. Mostly good toys (Triceradon can piss off) but definitely not cohesive.

Hardhead is definitely prettier than Dinotron! I would definitely grab him too if I found one for a price I wanted to pay, but I'd imagine he costs a fair bit more than his obscure Beast Machines redeco. :(
Skyquake87 wrote: Sun Apr 26, 2020 9:06 amGeckobot's always one I've been curious about, but have never bought as he rarely seems to be available for less than £20 which is more than I'm willing to pay for a basic sized figure, so it's nice to find that I'd probably be a bit underwhelmed with him.
That's definitely more than I'd shell out for one! For reference, mine cost $20 Canadian, sealed on card and while I like the figure well enough I can't make an argument for him being worth any more than that.

(That's about £12 or £13 I think, unless Brexit and plague have totally destroyed your currency.)
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Clay
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

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Skyquake87 wrote: Sun Apr 26, 2020 9:06 am Studio Series Scavenger
Cor, he's massive! A great big ugly sprawling monstrosity that turns into a nice looking digger thing of enormous size. He's brilliant! Absolutely love the weird and strange design and the colourful alt mode. Great fun.
Yeah, Demolishor/Scavenger is my favorite of the rotf constructicon designs. It's so different, but it works. I understand why they dialed back the crazy robot modes in subsequent films, but it was also nice to have something so refreshingly different. Bring on Overload!
Warcry wrote: Sun Apr 26, 2020 3:09 pm
The BM Dinobots are a strange subgroup. I wonder what the inspiration for releasing them was? Maybe they'd caught onto how disgruntled a lot of Beast Wars fans were and hoped that this would keep them engaged? I have to admit, it may have worked with me if I'd known they existed in 2000, but the BM show had already chased me off. The figure selection was all over the map, really...four Neo molds, a Transmetal, a TM2, and two figures from the original BW waves (one of those remolded) are what I remember, anyway. Mostly good toys (Triceradon can piss off) but definitely not cohesive.
I can't even begin to remember where I read it, but the reason Hasbro didn't release most of the BWNeo new molds was that most of the animals weren't, erm, action-y enough? 1996 beast wars was a cheetah, a rhino, a t rex, etc., whereas the 1999 selection was a giraffe, a penguin, a tanuki, etc. It's not the strongest point of argument if you ask me, but it was the rationale (if I remember right) for bringing over the dinosaur figures and not the rest.

Funnily enough, the one dinosaur remold Hasbro didn't release, Killer Punch, ended up being one of the rarest beast wars molds/remolds.
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Skyquake87 »

Well, stuff like Longrack, Break and Stampy are very silly. But then that's part of the charm. Or not.

Thee odd mix of moulds in the BM Dinobots line up is strange. The ones they used later for the RiD/ Universe ones (the grey and red ones) looked much more cohesive. The line up just looks weird - Airaptor, Triceradon, Dinotron, the gold stegosaurus that looks amazing but crumbles to dust when you look at it all look fab together... less so when Rapticon (or whatever the TMII Dinobot repaint is called - I own that. Bad collector, not knowing the name...), Terranotron and T-Wrecks... and then, Magmatron is a bad Dinobot on his own, for reasons. They got it right with the RiD or Universe (or whatever they're supposed to be) ones, which were painted up like the old G1 lads. I already said that at the start. But I'll say it again anyway.

Triceradon is always welcome around my house. He's got the nicest paint job out of all the versions of this mould. Something unique for Hasbro, there. Lots of paint on a Transformer. Unthinkable in this day and age.

It seems to have been a way of shoring up some interest in a line that tanked pretty quickly - came too late for us in the UK anyway. We got the first wave of Beast Machines toys and that was pretty much it, save for the Beast Rider things and the Deployers, as Hasbro started aligning their markets and BM was shunted in favour of RiD.

Hmm. Just thinking, my Hardhead is in a vs pack with Sharp Edge (also fantastic) which I bought as the vs packs seem to be a more cost effective way of getting the BWN figures, aside from the Korean releases.

Killer Punch was my last 'grail', so I'm pleased to have got him - again in a vs pack with that Polar Claw repaint whose name escapes me. Brown Bob. That's his new name. Got to be honest, I haven't been as jazzed with Killer Punch as I thought. I think its just through over familiarity through having 5 other versions of the regular Triceratops mould. Funny old game, collecting.

@Clay, yeah I love the ROTF Constructicons. I'm very excited for Overload and Scrapper and then trying to pile everyone together as big lumpy Devastator. I like that the Studio Series designs for the Constructicons haven't been trying too hard. They're fun to transform, have designs full of character and I like that they're different colours and are not green and purple.
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