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Clay
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Post by Clay »

Cliffjumper wrote: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.
Nobody reasonable said that. Actually, I don't really remember anyone claiming that Warbot Defender was an end-all, be-all Springer. Most of the praise I remember simply came from it being a new-mold Springer that was a triple changer instead of the repaints that Hasbro had put out at the time.

And to play devil's advocate a bit, I think a lot of the NEW SHINY reactions come in instances of the new figures actually being better. Masterpiece Sideswipe is, for the purposes of adult collectors, a much nicer figure than the Classics Sideswipe. But the new figure does actually need to be better (highly subjective, I know) to trigger the effect. I don't know of anyone that dumped their Classics voyager Prime for the Combiner Wars version for example, or anyone selling their Masterpiece Soundwave to get that headmaster Blaster repaint.
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another tf fan
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Post by another tf fan »

...I put Warbot Defender back in the box the day I got Generations Springer.


As for the Bad Cube Sunstreaker all I can say is they got the car mode wrong.
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inflatable dalek
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Post by inflatable dalek »

I just can't get that excited about any version of Sunstreaker tbh. I'd agree it's at least worth holding off a couple of years to see what/if the HasTak one will be like first.
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Denyer
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Post by Denyer »

I blame the Classic Heroes ads... it's not like the ****er had tons of characterisation.
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Ryan F
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Post by Ryan F »

Whilst an MP Sunstreaker would be cool, I just don't think Sunsurge looks that good. Maybe he's better in hand but the combination of long legs and shorter-than-I'd-like chest roof makes him look like someone's just given him an almighty wedgie. I liked their Brawn and Outback but this guy just seems oddly-proportioned somehow.
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Post by Denyer »

Sunsurge is a little higher in the waist and taller than Sideswipe but it depends on how much you lift the ankles. He's not the Wheeljack-esque ape of the original toyline (although the shoulders can be raised which is how I've got them). Not as gawky as some of the photos make out, particularly with legs in an A stance. As with everything YMMV.
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Maz
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Post by Maz »

The Transformers Masterpiece line by Takara Tomy has, to my eternal happiness, continued with the Diaclone homages and MP-14C Clampdown is the latest in that sub-line. This police car version of the Lamborghini New Countach LP500S Autobot Sideswipe was originally a Takara Diaclone figure from 1983, the original inspiration for what would later become the Autobot Fire Chief "Red Alert". Coming full circle after all this time, Clampdown is in fact designated MP-14C, meaning it is a direct repaint of MP-14 Red Alert. The first time the Diaclone New Countach was given Transformers form as "Clampdown" was the E-Hobby exclusive reissue repaint, alongside "Deep Cover". Let's have a look at how the recently released Masterpiece version stacks up.


All this and more, a mini MP Clampdown review and article :)

Square One: Masterpiece MP-14C Clampdown

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All the best
Maz
In-depth articles and reviews www.TF-1.com

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Maz
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Repaints and Resurgence

Post by Maz »

The close of 2015 saw a series of four Masterpiece Transformers repaints released within the space of a month, and ensured an extremely high quality end to another fabulous year of official MP product. MP-11T Thundercracker, MP-21R Bumble Red Body, MP-26 Road Rage and MP-14C Clampdown might all have been repaints of existing and well known, well-documented moulds, and they may well have been extremely predictable recolours, but they were executed brilliantly and can stand proud among their brethren. We take a brief look at each this week.

Repaints and Resurgence | Source Blog <- CLICK TO READ


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All the best
Maz
In-depth articles and reviews www.TF-1.com

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Post by Maz »

Francesco Lombardi is the kind of collector I had always heard about but never met. Someone who never participated in the online or collective fandom, but was privately growing a hugely comprehensive and impressive collection featuring toys I had never seen. Dealers used to tell me about their secret customers, customers like Francesco, all the time. Now, Francesco wants to share his collection, and it’s a very special achievement. I have always loved the Canadian G1 variants, if for nothing else than just their different packaging, and Francesco has put together a near complete run of Generation 1 in Canadian boxes with variants I’ve never seen before – even if I knew they existed. It fills me with joy to know at least one Canadian G1 collection like this exists. With just one (large) or two gaps left to fill, enjoy the collecting history of this classic old-school style G1 fan and the rewards that his work ethic has brought him from a young age.

Collector Interview 45 – Francesco Lombardi | Source Blog <- CLICK TO READ

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All the best
Maz
In-depth articles and reviews www.TF-1.com

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MP-11T Thundercracker

Post by Maz »

It's about time, they said. A Takara Tomy, cartoon-accurate Masterpiece Decepticon strike plane Thundercracker. MP-11T is, across Hasbro and Takara, the second version of Thundercracker to use the MP-11 mould. The Hasbro Thundercracker from a few years ago was more toy coloured and had tampos of Reflector and Soundwave (as well as various bits of relevant text) that not everyone wanted. At the end of 2015, after a reissue of MP-11 Coronation Starscream and the Hasbro Asia MP-11SW Skywarp, Takara Tomy Mall (this specimen specifically through Hasbro Asia) finally gave us a toon-coloured light blue Thundercracker. So does the third Masterpiece toy to bear the Thundercracker name finally do the business for the cartoon crowd?

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My short article/review of MP-11T Thundercracker. Thanks for looking, if you do.

Square One: Masterpiece MP-11T Thundercracker


All the best
Maz
In-depth articles and reviews www.TF-1.com

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numbat
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Post by numbat »

Enjoyed reading that and looking at the photos.

It's not really the cost that puts me off getting all three MP-11 mould Seekers - it's the space they'd take up! With limited display and storage space, it's just not an option for me.

I do love my MP-11 Starscream. Starscream was the first G1 Decepticon I ever owned as a kid so the character holds sentimental value so while perhaps not the prettiest deco, it's the one for me.

I'm content with the three CHUG G1 Seekers and three Coneheads. Easier to store, display and transform. Of course they still have major consistency issues. I would be tempted by a uniform approach to them all using the CHUG moulds.

New sale thread added with a range of Transformers including Masterpiece, Botcon, CHUG, RID, Movies etc.

Looking for MP-11T Thundercracker and MP-9 Rodimus v2 (Takara version with as few QC issues as possible).


Check out my new sale thread now!

Also items on eBay.
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Maz
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MP-21R Bumble Red Body

Post by Maz »

TakaraTomy's Masterpiece MP-21R Bumble - Red Body is a fascinating release, probably for all the wrong reasons. I know I personally pre-ordered it out of a sense of obligation and completion, trying to make up for never having properly completed the vintage Diaclone and MC Car Robots & minibots I so desired. Masterpiece MP-21 Bumble was in itself one of the toys of the decade and a comprehensive success, but I found the G2 repaint MP-21G massively underwhelming, so my hopes of being impressed by the red version were not high. I've seen a lot of disparaging comments about this release because it is supposedly a poor man's Cliffjumper and the origin of the colour scheme confused a number of collectors.

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Square One: Masterpiece MP-21R Bumble - Red Body



All the best
Maz
In-depth articles and reviews www.TF-1.com

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Denyer
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Post by Denyer »

Having already modified the G2 and regular ones... if it gets repro'd, tempted to get one and substitute feet from something else. How likely is a super-deformed Cliffjumper anyway?
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Brendocon 2.0
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Post by Brendocon 2.0 »

Cliffjumper was, what, a Porsche? So probably as likely as Jazz. Maybe. Barring the need to tweak the proportions, obvs.

Wasn't there one manufacturer who wouldn't give a licence for Alternators on the grounds that they didn't want to be associated with "war" toys or did I imagine that?
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numbat
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Post by numbat »

Brendocon 2.0 wrote:Wasn't there one manufacturer who wouldn't give a licence for Alternators on the grounds that they didn't want to be associated with "war" toys or did I imagine that?
Yeah - pretty sure that was Porche and VW...

So one down so far!

New sale thread added with a range of Transformers including Masterpiece, Botcon, CHUG, RID, Movies etc.

Looking for MP-11T Thundercracker and MP-9 Rodimus v2 (Takara version with as few QC issues as possible).


Check out my new sale thread now!

Also items on eBay.
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Brendocon 2.0
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Post by Brendocon 2.0 »

numbat wrote:Yeah - pretty sure that was Porche and VW...

So one down so far!
Thought it was Porsche but wasn't sure.

Have just done some Wiki-Fu and apparently they're owned by VW anyway, so hopefully it'll all be good.
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Maz
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FansToys Mercenary

Post by Maz »

FT-13 Mercenary is FansToys’ second evil insect after FT-12 Grenadier, and has a lot to live up to thanks to the success of the latter. Based on what was originally called a lamellicorn type beetle insect robot, Mercenary recreates the look of the original toy and on-screen inspiration. With die cast, chrome and clear plastic chest flaps a staple of FansToys’ Masterpiece-style bugs, a collector could either leave the figures stock and enjoy the cartoon accurate look or go full G1 toy-centric. Grenadier’s success was based on good quality, a lovely finish, fun transformation, multiple display options and a very good looking accurate evil insect/robot which was faithful to the source material – albeit with two releases to cater for which source material a person saw as greater priority. Mercenary has similar toy and cartoon appearances, so only one release was necessary.


Mercenary | Source Blog <- CLICK TO READ

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All the best
Maz
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Auntie Slag
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Post by Auntie Slag »

Maz, I've always wanted to ask but have been too scared; how do you maintain such a whopping and consistent level of output? This is a lot of material every single week. The photography alone!
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Maz
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Post by Maz »

Auntie Slag wrote:Max, I've always wanted to ask but have been too scared; how do you maintain such a whopping and consistent level of output? This is a lot of material every single week. The photography alone!
At the cost of other things like sleep! Haha, I tend to do photography in bulk almost every night apart from nights where I am writing (Tuesdays mainly), so I always have something cooking. I was actually doing a TFSquareOne blog post every night alongside the Source Articles in the first few months of my own blog back in 2014 but it was killing me, everything suffered, so I toned it down a lot.

Also, I have been doing TF articles for over a decade now, so it's gotten to be a pretty fast process. If it seems output has increased recently it's because I have been doing a number of pre-TF based Masterpiece repaint articles for my blog as well as the Source articles, and I find writing about vintage Transformers (especially preTFs) really easy, enjoyable and quick. so I've been able to put out more stuff. Also taking photos on a grey background has really sped up my photo editing, the white backgrounds are a killer.

Thank you for taking an interest!

All the best
Maz
In-depth articles and reviews www.TF-1.com

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Auntie Slag
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Post by Auntie Slag »

Wow, that is some supreme dedication to the cause. Its always fun reading your blog, really appreciate the time you put into it. :)
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