TFSource / TF-1 Articles

Maz · Post by **Maz** » Fri Dec 04, 2015 2:09 am

Ok then, here it is, the Voodoo Robots Salus review:

Square One: Voodoo Robots PS-01 Salus Review <- CLICK TO READ

All the best
Maz

Skyquake87 · Post by **Skyquake87** » Fri Dec 04, 2015 8:24 am

Just read the pre-order article (not the one about the knock-off up there, puttup!). Not something I generally do, because there's no fun in it and, tbh, it mainly goes hand in hand with 3P stuff that I'm not interested in, so there's that.

I did pre-order MP Blue Bluestreak, but only because I wanted that toy more than anything. Like Warcry, I've been waiting the 31 years for that colourscheme to finally get slapped on Bluestreak and make him look less boring.

Pre-ordering seems a funny business and I understand it from a retailers point of view when placing orders for upcoming items, but it must be a nightmare with 3P stuff, which as pointed out in the article can take years to show up or be superceded by five other companies having a go with the same character..and then all that stuff can be blown out of the water by an official release.

Brendocon's comment about prices plummeting after you've bought something struck a nerve, as this always seems to happen with me! My timing is lousy! It doesn't bother me overmuch, because when buying with online retailers I always have to weigh up that they might get a bunch of stock in, but it'll invariably have sold out never to be seen again by the time I'm ready to make a purchase. Something that's made getting the CW Stunticons a faff for me this year. And cemented my frustrations with them not being so great, after all that effort. Collecting, eh? Fun isn't it....

Give me a shop with stuff on the shelves anyday.

Maz · Post by **Maz** » Tue Dec 08, 2015 2:15 am

My full review and gallery of MakeToys Gundogs 2Y and 2N.

Square One: MakeToys MTRM-02 Gundog (MP Hound)

All the best
Maz

Maz · Post by **Maz** » Tue Dec 15, 2015 11:31 pm

Is it better than MakeToys Visualizers? No matter what else gets covered in this review of FansToys FT-11 Spotter - their stab at a Masterpiece version of a well known transforming evil 3-guy camera - that first question is one I have been asked non-stop since teasing my first image of the review last week, and one that a number of purchases depend on for people. Not necessarily my answer to that question, but generally. Many collectors may have held off buying the MakeToys Visualizers because they needed to see how Spotter turned out. This is not surprising as FansToys have tended to be the go-to 3rd party company for Masterpiece style figures, and the Visualizers were not hands-down winners for everyone on release. Let's see if we can answer that burning question, as well as everything else we need to know about FT-11.

Spot On (FansToys FT-11 Spotter) | Source Blog <- CLICK TO READ

All the best
Maz

Maz · Post by **Maz** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 9:58 pm

The Mapes twins, known throughout the global Transformers community, have built a Transformers museum. Not content with the regular 12 to 15 photos used in our collector interviews, David and Steve’s collection requires a full complement of 36 images for us to properly appreciate the scale of their Transformers and collectibles show home, including a world-beating selection of campaign/Lucky Draw Transformers. Beyond the amassing of toys, the twins have contributed hugely to the convention scene in the UK as well as other well known collectible brand communities and projects. Regular and friendly faces at Auto Assembly and online, please take a seat and enjoy a wonderful journey through (most of) their spectacular collection.

Collector Interview 43 – David & Steve Mapes | Source Blog <- CLICK TO READ

All the best
Maz

Post by **Denyer** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 10:43 pm

Would be really interested to see more of the "other stuff" but that's a nifty collection with a lot of character in spite of the vastness.

Knightdramon · Post by **Knightdramon** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 11:42 pm

No pic of the Gold Big Convoy? Shame. I do recall seeing a chrome and gold Magmatron, but can't remember a Gold Big Convoy.

Black, yes. Blue, rare, yes. Any other variants?

Post by **Sades** » Sat Dec 19, 2015 12:36 am

Shweet!

There was a man who used to go to 'cons in my area that got a booth just to show off his collection. He had something similar (or perhaps had the same thing) as that Unicron display, I was always a little jelly because of it, though I could never imagine where I would put something like that...

Maz · Post by **Maz** » Tue Dec 29, 2015 10:04 pm

Without any sort of hesitation or doubt, I can gladly cite 2015 as the year with the most impressive official and unofficial Transformers releases that I have ever experienced. In previous years for my Top 5 of the year article, I have not just included purchases of toys released in that year, but also vintage figures that I may have purchased, but I just cannot afford to do that this year if I want to stick to any semblance of a top 5. TakaraTomy, Hasbro, FansToys, MakeToys, MMC, BadCube, DX9, Unique Toys and co have put out a quite unbelievable range of figures in 2015.

Top 5 Purchases of 2015 | Source Blog <- CLICK TO READ

All the best
Maz

Maz · Post by **Maz** » Tue Jan 05, 2016 10:47 pm

Well, 2016 is off to an excellent start! FansToys, 3rd Party makers of toys that aim to unofficially complete your Masterpiece Transformers collection, bring us the fourth in their series of Iron Dibots, transforming dinosaurs not completely unlike those Dinobot fellows you may have heard of. FT-07 is Stomp, the brontosaurus of the five-member team, following Scoria, Soar and Sever. It has been clear that FansToys have improved every release so that the newest Dibot is a little better than the last, and Stomp is absolutely no exception. This pre-release test shot Stomp demonstrates that FT have learned lessons from those previous releases, and applied them successfully to this absolute beast of a figure. Stomp is wow factor incarnate.

Stomp! (FansToys FT-07 Stomp) | Source Blog <- CLICK TO READ

All the best
Maz

Post by **Denyer** » Tue Jan 05, 2016 11:19 pm

This one looks like a great toy homage and it'll round off the set for me.

Maz · Post by **Maz** » Wed Jan 06, 2016 12:36 am

It's a real beauty.

All the best
Maz

Maz · Post by **Maz** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 11:52 pm

Mastermind Creations continue to do that which many others dare not, explore the realm of the current IDW Transformers comic universe and give us figures of characters that Hasbro never will. No Masterpiece mimicking here, no hundredth version of the same character or combiner, but instead we have toys of characters seen sparingly in the comics. That is not to say evil buggers Anarchus and Commotus were bit part and forgettable, quite the opposite, but from a handful of memorable appearances to actual 3rd party product with not insignificant price tags? We should applaud and thank MMC for these.

Comic Book Villains (MMC Anarchus & Commotus) | Source Blog <- CLICK TO READ

All the best
Maz

Maz · Post by **Maz** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 9:21 pm

I often meet new collectors during these interviews and form friendships as we go through the process, but every now and again I get the special opportunity to interview someone I consider a friend. I have known Gordon Yip for many years, and have stared in awe as his collection of unique and ridiculously rare pre-Transformers grew over a decade and more. Finally, Gordon moved into a home worthy of housing a display for his toys, and he can finally share with us his wisdom and his one of a kind collection. While Gordon’s isn’t the biggest or most complete pre-TF collection I know of, it is my favourite. What Gordon has, most of us will never see again, let alone own. It’s always the icing on the cake when the man behind the collection is a wonderful person, and they do not make them more wonderful, generous or selfless than Gordon Yip. Enjoy.

Collector Interview 44 – Gordon Yip | Source Blog <- CLICK TO READ

All the best
Maz

Maz · Post by **Maz** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 10:50 pm

The battle has been joined proper, with 3rd party companies left, right and centre putting out figures to fill gaps in Masterpiece collections. BadCube had already released Huff, Brawny, Backland, Wardog and the Evil Bug Corps, but Sunsurge is arguably their most ambitious stab at a slice of the MP market so far. For some time competing with Omnigonix’s Spinout (don’t get me started on that name), Sunsurge has comprehensively won the race to be the first MP-style release to homage the unforgettably yellow, self-adoring, other half of the most famous set of Cybertronian twins, Lamborghini Countach LP500S Super Tuning. To say that Sunsurge has been well received by collectors is an understatement. Everywhere you look, people are raving about what a great job BadCube have done and how it is comprehensively their best figure to date. I’m now ready to give my own opinion on that.

Sunstruck | Source Blog <- CLICK TO READ

All the best
Maz

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 11:02 pm

You can get your BadCube OTS-08 Sunsurge here at TFSource

And Chocolate Oranges are available at Rawlinsons.

Waiting for the official Sunstreaker; 3P is in such rude health that there will be unofficial alternatives coming out for years, and any end to official MPs is only likely to increase the choices for characters not covered. Fewer vested interests then, too. Sidenote: it'll be really weird owning a Sunstreaker that actually looks like Sideswipe in car mode and isn't 20% smaller in scale (Classics doesn't count because, c'mon, we can all say the truth now).

Maz · Post by **Maz** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 11:04 pm

And if I wrote for Rawlinsons, I am sure they would oblige me to mention that in my review of their Chocolate Oranges

All the best
Maz

Post by **Denyer** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 11:18 pm

They're on a roll really... this and Wardog I think are the definitive goes at / homages towards the characters. The only thing they could have done better from my POV would have been to fit the silvered parts as default rather than the chrome ones.

Been underwhelmed with MP reveals lately... just don't like cartoon heavy designs, of which Ironhide seems the worst.

Still like Classics, though, including some like Sunstreaker and Wheeljack there are MP or strong 3P entries for.

edit: Does anyone else really like Never Gonna Give You Up? Grew up hearing it a lot.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Wed Jan 20, 2016 12:02 am

Yeh, it's a fun song; if something has to become a meme it might as well be a nice bouncy bit of pop. Boy had a voice on him, and the SAW "start with the chorus" thing always means you only have to listen to the first 30 seconds.

Denyer wrote:They're on a roll really... this and Wardog I think are the definitive goes at / homages towards the characters.

How can you say that, with 3P Sunstreakers only just emerging in recent months? People were saying that about Warbot Defendor and he got shitted up by a Hasbro mass retail Voyager. I don't get this race to have all these guys RIGHT NOW THIS MINUTE.

Post by **Denyer** » Wed Jan 20, 2016 12:19 am

Can't envisage them being done better, for my taste. Same goes for Invisible and Quakewave, both of which have had other releases that people generally prefer, the FT dinos and the Mech Ideas jumpstarters. Or the FP Decepticon Headmasters, for that matter. Or MP-01 Convoy.

It's mainly liking a more toy aesthetic, and there being very little incentive for anyone else to do other versions that would be considered too similar. Plus there seems to be more money in cartoon homages so the tendency is for anything differing from that to be released first if at all.

edit: Same impression's held for versions of Computron, and is an example where certain characters being more niche than others also comes in as a factor. The first one out was well-designed, and subsequent/future ones differentiate on scale, style, cost or all of those.

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TFSource / TF-1 Articles

MakeToys Gundog

FansToys FT-11 Spotter

Collector Interview 43 - The Mapes twins

Top 5 Purchases of 2015

Sunstruck