POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Heinrad · Post by **Heinrad** » Fri Jul 08, 2016 10:37 pm

TR Hardhead - While my search for a new pair of shoes was a failure, Wal-Mart did have a few Titans Return figures. While Head Master Blurr or Scourge didn't interest me, Skullcruncher is a maybe, Hardhead was a definate. Head's a bit loose, but Tantrum's trick fixed the problem.

Thunderwave · Post by **Thunderwave** » Sat Jul 09, 2016 6:52 pm

TR Blaster: I was out with the wife at the local mall having a bit of a walk for Pokemon Go and stopped into the local comic/toy shop there and found him sitting on a shelf. He was a bit over MSRP, but only about the cost of shipping, so I figured what the hell. He's a pretty good Blaster figure. Big, chunky, the helmet gimmick works well on him, turns into a boombox, and the "cassette" Legends class guys fit in his chest (all I have is Buzzsaw, but still works). Hits all the points he needs to hit for me.

Skyquake87 · Post by **Skyquake87** » Sun Jul 10, 2016 4:34 pm

Found a CW Shockwave at the supermarket doing the shopping today. I've not seen him in the wild, but he looked pretty cool in the packaging and he is indeed a fantastic Legends/ Basics toy. The plastics are really nice crisp, the purple paint is rich and glossy, and the translucent pinks work really well. The mix of grey plastics works really well too, thanks to a thoughtful layout. Headsculpt is glorious and the alt mode is a good representation of his flying ray gun mode. Proportions are a little off in robot mode (his legs are massive), but aside from that, he's a fantastic little figure.

Whilst its a bit of a shame to see Shockers rendered in this scale rather than a Voyager, this is easily the best mainstream figure he's had to date. I think I might actually like this version more than the Masterpiece (shh!).

Brendocon 2.0 · Post by **Brendocon 2.0** » Mon Jul 11, 2016 5:36 pm

I DONE BOUGHT A THING THAT ISN'T A MARVEL LEGEND.

Apparently they still make stuff that falls under that category. Why, I'm not sure, but hey ho.

Grabbed the first of TFC's Seacons - Bigbite (Skalor). Really like it. Much ridgey overdetailing, but it works in person. Judicious use of translucent plastic and lightpiping for the eyes. The face sculpt is excellent, with a nice little sneer in the mouth and a great range of movement in the neck and good articulation all round. Head's currently cocked to one side with a sword resting on his shoulder. Very impressed.

Packaging's a bit OTT, but presumably it's so they can fit Seawing's span in the same size box. Have ordered the next two already.

ganon578 · Post by **ganon578** » Tue Jul 12, 2016 3:48 pm

I was so impressed with CW Starscream that I ordered a CW Leader Megatron to go with him. I'm very impressed with Megs as well. Great aesthetic, solid robot mode, and the tank mode is just as awesome. Everything locks in really well, the turret rotates, and the treads roll.

As for the robot mode, he's chunky, imposing, and looks great. The head sculpt is fantastic and the light piping works well. The canon arm is great no matter which way you position it. Haven't figured out which way I like it better. Otherwise, very happy with this purchase!

numbat · Post by **numbat** » Tue Jul 12, 2016 4:54 pm

Got Unite Warriors Bruticus - my third 'Combiner Wars' gestalt (not counting UW Devastator who follows his own unique pattern). Of course the other two I have are G1 and G2 Menasor...

Bruticus is really very well done. Menasor has huge sentimental value, but I can't deny he's more than a bit goofy in gestalt mode. The Bruticus design (largely due to Onslaught's torso mode) is in a league of its own by comparison.

I know there's a lot of division of opinion between the decos on the Hasbro and Takara versions. I'm a fan of the over-saturated cartoon colours, so Takara does it for me. There's really nice detailing on the robot modes for all bar perhaps Brawl.

Onslaught and Swindle are very nice moulds (Swindle being an extensive remould of Roller/Rook of course), while Blast Off (shuttle!) is perhaps my favourite CW mould to date - every single mode nails it and he's great fun to play around with (https://twitter.com/ChrisCathrine/statu ... 1013478401). Vortex is pretty good, but I find the rotors annoying in robot and leg modes. Brawl is only good as a tank or a leg - what a mess of a mould: he's so spindly, but ought to be really bulky. Brawl also has a giant orange forehead which has been pointed out to me is cartoon accurate but due to the differing proportions between the animation model and the toy has become rather oversized (comparison between G1 cartoon and UW toy here: https://twitter.com/ChrisCathrine/statu ... 2126468096).

One slight worry I have is that the joints are all super stiff. So far they do seem to be moving, but after my CW G2 Dragstrip car front sheered off due to a combination of over-tight joint and soft plastic I am very cautious.

And on the note of my defective CW G2 Dragstrip, I'm really pleased to say Kapow replaced him with no bother - so a big happy shout-out for Kapow is in order.

Looking forward to UW Computron.

Tantrum · Post by **Tantrum** » Tue Jul 12, 2016 10:52 pm

Heinrad wrote:TR Hardhead - While my search for a new pair of shoes was a failure, Wal-Mart did have a few Titans Return figures. While Head Master Blurr or Scourge didn't interest me, Skullcruncher is a maybe, Hardhead was a definate. Head's a bit loose, but Tantrum's trick fixed the problem.

I've read of other people using the same trick for the same problem. I actually use the same trick for the opposite problem with Skullcruncher. The first time I tried to remove Grax, Grax's head came off Grax's body and stayed in Skullcruncher's. Maybe the sculptors intended the heads to go in face front, but nobody told the assemblers.

Or, it could just be lousy QC. The swivel in Skullcruncher's left bot leg was so loose it would turn whenever I moved the figure. I swapped hip joints and, though both legs are still a bit on the loose side, they hold well enough now. This isn't enough to detract from my enjoyment of this figure, but it does give me pause when considering other figures I'm on the fence about, and makes me less likely to buy them.

Other than that, he's pretty great. I like how the robot shoulders become part of the croc (gator?) body. My only complaint is that the lid to the cockpit is rubber and opaque, so it's hard to use and you can't see Grax in there, anyway. I just mount Grax to one of the beast arms instead. I thought I'd miss the absurdity of the gator mouth being the cockpit, but the inside of the mouth is sculpted too well for that.

When I saw pics, I was bummed that the tail was some kind of gun instead of a swrod. Then I realized that the underside of the tail is a seat for a Nebulon, who basically mans the big guy's pistol like a cannon. It's almost like having a Targetmaster and Headmaster in one. I tried rotating the croc head to the bot torso to make a humanoid/croc chimera (jazz hands!) wielding a Grax-mounted hand cannon, but it doesn't quite reach. I can get it pointing slightly forward of straight up, so maybe he can be taking out some Arialbots.

Post by **Denyer** » Wed Jul 13, 2016 8:44 pm

Got one of the upsized Micromaster CW Constructicons (Mixmaster) out of curiosity... would be more fun as a deluxe rather than towering over voyagers, but generally a good job on the actual design and will go nicely with the movie one Clay kindly sent me.

Tetsuro · Post by **Tetsuro** » Thu Jul 14, 2016 1:32 am

G1 Cloudburst.

It's kind of strange, but I've never really considered the Pretenders in a larger context of action figures circa 1988 before. I can kind of understand what Hasbro was trying to go for with them when I do.

Skyquake87 · Post by **Skyquake87** » Fri Jul 15, 2016 8:04 pm

Titans Return Wheelie!

He's pretty cool! A wee bit loose feeling and tabbing the alt-mode together is a bit of a pain, but he's a very nice toy. I think there's room inside for a Titan Master to do the sitting and the driving, which is pretty cool

A not bad out of ten.

Post by **Denyer** » Sat Jul 16, 2016 9:14 am

Skyquake87 wrote:think there's room inside for a Titan Master to do the sitting and the driving

Ooo, will try that next week.

Thunderwave · Post by **Thunderwave** » Sat Jul 16, 2016 12:27 pm

TR Blurr: I snagged him and another TR deluxe at TRU the other day. He's a fun little bit of engineering. His Headmaster can drive him while in vehicle mode, which is nice. He reminds me a lot of his G1 toy, up to and including being able to detach his car mode's nose and being able to peg it into his arm as a shield (although you don't have to).

TR Hardhead: Another fun little bit of engineering. He's got a rather simplistic transformation that does what it needs to do. My only complaint is that his head seems kind of loose no matter which body it's plugged into, but turning the headmaster's head around seems to fix that right up (as suggested). I think I like Blurr just a little more, but Hardhead is a fun toy.

Skyquake87 wrote:I think there's room inside for a Titan Master to do the sitting and the driving, which is pretty cool A not bad out of ten.

One will fit. They seem to be really pushing the "These all work together" play pattern this time around.

Also since I've been fiddling with the headmasters, all three I own so far will work with Blaster's full helmet. Hyperfire looks okay, giving Blaster a blue mouth, but Furous looks odd.

Post by **Denyer** » Mon Jul 18, 2016 8:41 pm

Not really the best angle (should've taken slightly more sideways on) and only did robot mode stickers as a quickie so far... but I really like and technically the head would go back on the heavily weathered original albeit the neck skirt's been shaved off.

original: http://i.imgur.com/eVsBCss.jpg

edit: The greatest Autobot who ever lived, and Thunderclash.

http://i63.tinypic.com/29yoawi.jpg

Post by **Warcry** » Tue Jul 19, 2016 3:30 pm

Personally I would have tried to find a head from a modern figure that would fit the bill instead of trying to adapt the vintage one, but that does look good.

Titans Return stuff is finally starting to dribble out here, but so far all I've seen are Fort Max (who looks great, but I don't have any idea what to so with a toy that's almost as big as my one year old) and the little body-less Titan Masters (who look terrible). TRU has a big TF sale going, Squeezeplay is one of my favourite characters and I was momentarily tempted to pick up, uh...is it "Crashbash" that they're calling him? But after taking a look and seeing how shitty the little head figures are on their own I couldn't bring myself to hand over even $6 for the thing. In fact, seeing the heads in person has soured me a bit on the whole line. I'd still like to grab the new toys of Hardhead, Skullcruncher, Highbrow, etc., but any excitement I had for them being Headmasters again just got snuffed out.

I did find a Legends-Class Groove, though, and thanks to being on sale on top of already being reduced to clear he was only $6 as well. That I could get on board with, so I grabbed him and he's really quite cool. I do wish there was a way to fold his legs up so that he didn't have RiD Magnus syndrome. But in spite of being all spindly I think the figure actually does a really good job of looking like Groove, maybe even better than the Deluxe (though the Deluxe is obviously better-proportioned). The black handlebars behind the shoulders and the wheel on the inner legs are the original's are carried forward nicely here. All in all I think it's a pretty cool little figure, though if I'd had any designs on putting together a Defensor I'd want the big one.

Post by **Denyer** » Tue Jul 19, 2016 6:27 pm

Warcry wrote:Personally I would have tried to find a head from a modern figure that would fit the bill instead of trying to adapt the vintage one, but that does look good.

Have edited in a slightly better photo that's also got Paddles in... although quite like Silt as an alternative name for.

Big fan of original era (or homaging) sculpts personally, which is why the CHUG head on RTS Tracks, 3P heads on PM Prime, gold MP BB, FOC Grimlock, Metroplex, etc. and originals on Rotorstorm and Thunderclash. Renderform have done a head that's more towards the comics, but late era pre-G2 has a specific appeal.

Picked up first wave TR deluxes and heads, so am planning to open gradually this week, which Kapow kindly threw in a sticker sheet to go with.

Sticker sheets deserve more of a comeback in general since paint apps appear to be off the table for cost reasons.

Knightdramon · Post by **Knightdramon** » Mon Jul 25, 2016 3:44 pm

Such a haul I needed to take the day off for it!

Thanks to a member on tfw2005, I am the proud owner of Feral Rex! And other goodies...

MMC Feralcons : Big, chunky, tab-y. Talon remains simple and effective---I had him two years ago. That sample [among the first in the UK] has since gone to numbat, but the new one is just as good.

Leo Dux is both very good and a bit lacking. A bit unsure of how well I am tabing in the lion head in beast mode, and the instructions were useless on the abdomen and tail parts to the point where I just figured that out on my own. Robot mode is decent. One of the legs on mine is a bit wobbly when extended for robot mode.

Bovis and Fortis are ace, but for some reason I like Fortis a lot more. The waist pouches they both have feel like they are getting more in the way than serving any aesthetic purpose. I prefer Fortis fully decked up and squat, while Bovis just chills with his handguns.

Tigris is a bit of a non-event for me. I am a bit wary of all of their melee weapons tabbing in, so Tigris is only using the handguns.

Felisabre, while being the same mould as Tigris, is the one I like the most by far. The articulation really shines on the mould, the extra head is a bit jarring to tab off the tiger mode but looks good, and the little penguin is ace. No fiddly bladed weapons means I enjoy handling him far more.

Feral Rex is an event of his own. I handled mine on the lowest legs setting [ie almost fully recessed] and he seemed ok. The most secure place to grab him by seems to be the lion front paws by the sides. The waist piece is a bit flimsy and the sword is so heavy you might as well forget any dynamic posing, but he looks -feral- even by just standing.

He looks like something out of a heavy metal 80ies cover---spikey, angular, with wings, has black on it and the head looks like a hellrider. Brilliant.

MT Swerve and Gears are also very nice little figures. The plastic is way too stiff on both of them and they have ratcheted knees and elbows. The arms tabbing in are tiresome but the end result is very, very expressive. I just wish you did not have to dismantle the whole upper torso to change heads...

HotShot81 · Post by **HotShot81** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 11:14 pm

Sorry if I've been inactive, mega-mega project at work with 3 reds in front of it, but I did pick up two bots at my local TRU that were LESS than advertised price.

Fortress Maximus!
Autobot Blaster!

Gave them a link to a local store that had them for less, so they dropped the price.

Post by **Warcry** » Wed Jul 27, 2016 4:27 am

I made an addition to my Masterpiece shelf today: the one true leader of the Decepticons!

Thanks to some enterprising bootleggers and a bit of cutthroat price competition between the people selling them on eBay, I was able to land a nice KO of Ratbat for a mere $10. It has a few flaws that are probably down to imperfect replication (mostly parts that are just a tiny bit out of alignment in bat mode), but those are barely noticeable and really pale in the face of the toy's one big flaw: it's really not a toy at all. The beast mode is a spot-on replica of the 80s character model (albeit in toy colours) to the point where you can just about hear him berating Shockwave for wasteful fuel expenditures, but it has almost no articulation to speak of aside from the transformation joints. So he can perch somewhere and look like a fuel auditor, but that's all he's going to do.

Ratbat is a neat bit of scenery to add to the shelf, but $10 is about all he's worth, so I'm glad I waited until I found a price I liked.

Post by **Clay** » Wed Jul 27, 2016 8:45 pm

Knightdramon wrote: Thanks to a member on tfw2005, I am the proud owner of Feral Rex! And other goodies...

Pfff... If you want the real experience, go put all of them except Tantrum back in their boxes and gradually open them over the next year and a half like I had to do.

Tetsuro · Post by **Tetsuro** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 2:15 am

Bought a complete G1 Skullgrin off ebay - unfortunately, not only did the seller fail to mention the inner robot's legs are so loose he can barely stand up, he did the worst job packaging the thing for shipment I've ever seen - there was no padding outside the toy's box so it was crushed, and when I picked it up at the post office, one of the flaps was held down with so little tape I could easily yank it open with my hand.