POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Figures, collectables, customs and collecting.
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Heinrad
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Heinrad »

Yes, the lion face is…. Unsettling. Those golden orbs just look dead. Honestly, I’m wondering why they just didn’t copy the MP LioConvoy’s lion face. Yeah, it’s cartoony, but it won’t inspire nightmares.
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Heinrad
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Heinrad »

“BY THE PIT! THIS IS INTOLERABLE!!!”

Rattrap, the shoulder pads of his robot mode having ripped through the shoulder pads of his very 1970s looking checked blazer, was already seated behind the wide news desk, with the background monitor to his right. “Just siddown, Choppaface. Faster we get done wit’ this, faster I can take these pants off.”

Dinobot, wearing the shredded remains of a wide lapelled navy blue blazer, sat in the chair on the other side of the monitor. “I did not bother with the pants.”

“Probably a good thing. My knee pads ripped th’ slag outta this pair.” As the studio lights came up, Rattrap looked towards the camera as inspired sounding music played in the background. While on the screen, the Maximal emblem showed with the Ark flying in circles around it. He cleared his throat.

“Good evenin’, an’ welcome ta - Aw, really? - Maximal a’Arkinha’s Wild Kingdom.”

Dinobot shuddered.

“T’night, we’re here to answer that age old question-“

“Asked by whom? I certainally do not care to know.”

“Well, somebody asked it. Right? Anywho, th’ question we’re here askin’ t’night is…. Can the bee and the ant be friends?”

“Who CARES?!?!?”

Ignoring Dinobot, Rattrap gamely soldiered on. “To find that out, we set up a virtual environment in one’a th’ Ark’s cargo bays an’ sent in our soon t’be buddies.”

“Or victims.”

“Yer not helpin’ Choppaface.”

On the monitor screen an image resolved, showing a flower-filled meadow with a gold/yellow Volkswagen bug sitting on one side. “Am I on?”

“Yeah, Bumblebee, yer-“

The VW transformed to robot mode, the gold/yellow look covering pretty much his whole body. “I got an upgrade. I feel like a gold-“

“Yeah, Bumblebee, they did that joke back in th’ 80s, an’ we ain’t doin’ Th’ Rude Awakenin’ a Optimus Prime. So, you ready to help us answer th’ burnin’ question?”

Goldbug shrugged. “I guess. What is it?”

“Can th’ bee an’ th’ ant be friends.”

“Of course they can. I like ants.” Goldbug looked at the ground. “I don’t see any, though.”

Rattrap tapped a button under the edge of the desk. “Th’ ant is comin’ in now. They kinda had t’resize him inta being in scale.”

With a loud HUMMM, a pillar of light appeared on the other side of the cargo bay, revealing a very, VERY large fire ant.

Goldbug’s optic band widened. “Uh…. THAT’S an ant?!?”

“FOR THE ROYALTY!!!!!!!!” The ant transformed, laughing manically. “BURNNNNN!!!!!!” Inferno pulled a cannon that looked to be about the same size as Goldbug, aimed it at the smaller Autobot, and opened fire.

“WAAAHHHH!!!!!!” Goldbug dove to the side, feeling the flames wash across his back. “THE ANSWER IS NO!!!! GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!!” He transformed back to vehicle mode and burned rubber, heading back towards the entrance, a now airborne Inferno pursuing him, blazing away and laughing like a mechanism possessed.

—-
Might as well do them in the order they showed up.

Worlds Collide something something GOLDBUG: Strangely enough, out of all the different versions they’ve done using this Bumblebee mold, Goldbug seems to fit it the best. Mainly because with the back of the VW on him, he looks so much like the Throttlebot version, not just something with a different head. My nostalgia for this figure might have something to do with getting him as an 8th grade graduation present.

Transformers LEGACY Inferno: jI’ve always liked Inferno, probably because he’s completely nuts. And this new version of him is almost perfect, my one complaint being that his arms seem to come off too easily. And given the fact that he came from Australia(for some reason I thought the Amazon seller was in the UK) and his packaging was placed inside of a slightly reinforced paper bag, I’m kind of surprised that the shoulders are his only problem.
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Tantrum
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Tantrum »

Cyberverse Adventures Wheelgrim - He's OK. Wheeljack's spoiler make the combined form look misassembled when viewed from the front, like the torso is placed too far back. But, looking at the figure from the side, everything lines up. Wheeljack makes slightly better legs than Bee, but nowhere near as good as Slag. I wish they'd gone with Sludge and Snarl as leg bots instead of WJ and Bee. The legs would look better, and all 5 dinos would come in the same format. Keep Megatron to fill out the 3rd pair, because Slugtron is great.

Individual bots are OK. Wheeljack's face folds away for car mode, but it doesn't really need to, since you can hardly see it under the combiner peg. He rolls as well as most mainline figures.

Grimlock is a better figure since his bot shoulder joints actually move front to back, for useful articulation, rather than in and out like most of these kiddie combiner bots. T-rex mode is a bit chibi proportioned, which would work great if not for the chunky tail formed out of the bot legs/combined arms. Like most combining Grims (and some non-combining ones), what should be a smooth taper is a chunk with a tail sticking out.

My only other beef is Grim's facesculpt. It's too serious for the jovial character we saw in the show. Plenty of courage; not enough good cheer. There's good cheer in the combined mode head, which is good since the spring that holds in in place isn't that tight, and it bobbles around a bit.

Cyberverse Deluxe Arcee - I already owned this, but $2 seemed like a decent price for another set of blast effects.
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Heinrad
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Heinrad »

Main Shuttlebay, The Ark:

"Think he followed us?"

"Hope not."

"Why, exactly, did we run again? It's only Inferno."

"I think my tail is singed....."

Crouched behind a stacked pallet of spare parts, Rattrap, Dinobot, Goldbug, and a confused looking beast mode LioConvoy huddle, occasionally peering out to see if Inferno has followed them. Except for LioConvoy, who is staring at the blackened tip of his tail.

The white lion looked at the others, the blank, dead golden gaze almost a physical force. "What in the world is going on?"

Rattrap and Goldbug flinched, while Dinobot just glowered back. "SOMEbody thought it would be a great idea to enlarge the most insane Predacon in history for a half-witted science experiment!"

"It wasn't my idea, Choppaface! Blame th' writer's room!"

"Why did they want me, anyway? I'm Goldbug-"

"Do ya sound like Spider Man from Spider Man an' his Amazin' Friends?"

Goldbug shrugged. "Kinda."

"Did Bumblebee sound like Spider Man?"

"Maybe."

"So all ya are is a G2 Bumblebee wit' more vac metal. Gettin' plastic sur-"

"ENOUGH!!!!," LioConvoy roared as he transformed. "We can argue over names later. Right now, we have to..." The leonine head on his right shoulder's ears twitched. "Do you hear that?"

Four sets of optics peeked around the stack of parts again, watching as a well dressed Japanese businessman walked into the shuttlebay, seeming to walk straight towards the outer door controls.

Before anybody could stop him, the magnified yet quiet thumping of gigantic ant feet thundered into the bay. "DEFILER OF THE COLONY!!! YOU SHALL BURRRRNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The businessman spun around as Inferno transformed to robot mode, the crazed ant-bot's laughter almost paralyzing. He did move when Inferno aimed his flame cannon, scrambling away from the door controls as fire followed him.

Goldbug started to stand. "We gotta do-" He stopped, looking down at LioConvoy, who had placed a restraining hand on his arm. "But-"

"It's going to be fine."

"Fine? He's only-"

LioConvoy shook his head. "Just watch."

Inferno stomped through the bay. "Come out, flesh creature. Pay for the destruction of the colony with your life!"

The businessman emerged from behind Inferno, turning to face the Predacon's retreating back. He raised his arms, sleeves pulling back to reveal a bracelet around his right wrist. "PRETENDER!!!!" He clanked his wrists together.

Inferno spun, catching sight of the businessman for a moment as he was replaced with a rapidly enlarging black silhouette, wings seeming to form, before the blackness faded away, revealing a dull gold, grey, and blue Autobot.

Inferno cackled and charged, only to get knocked cold by Metalhawk.

Transformers Legacy EVOLUTION Metalhawk: I have to admit, I really like this one, although given his knee setup, transforming him a lot is out of the question. But it's cool that we got an actual Metalhawk figure. My question now is whether or not some third party company is going to design a Pretender shell for him......
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Tantrum
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Tantrum »

Reading about the Japanese businessman fighting the giant red bug-type dude made me think of the first episode of One-Punch Man.

SS Bee Movie Arcee - I'd passed on this figure due to the face sculpt. But, Wal-mart clearanced it to $12*, so I gave it a shot. I'm glad I waited. I thought this would be a great figure with a bad face sculpt, but it's a mediocre figure with a bad face sculpt.

* Legacy Arcee is still $25.
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Denyer
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Denyer »

If they weren't trying to pass it off as Studio Series and more as an Energon basic, it'd help. If you've got a donor head and don't mind taking a knife or a dremel to bits it does fairly easily get more charming.

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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

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I thought about trying to swap heads with my duplicate Cyberverse Arcee. But, I think that's too big to fit in the gap for transformation.
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Denyer
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Denyer »

So's the head in that photo -- the stock head is really tiny, which fits with the shrivelled look, but it's straightforward to shave down the gap for the one I used. With the Cyberverse one, which looks larger, I'd suggest just making the head removable and see if it'll fit under the windshield in alt mode.
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Tantrum »

I popped the heads off. Cyberverse has a smaller ball joint, so I'd need to widen the socket in the head, and I don't have a dremel. Any ideas?

I don' see any way to hide/store the head in alt mode. But, you can stick the neck plate out behind the windshield and have the head poking out G1 Scourge style.
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Denyer
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Denyer »

Screwdriver(s). I do most "drilling" of plastic and enlarging of holes with various sizes and types of screwdriver, working up in size. Sometimes it's best to start an initial hole with a knife tip, and sometimes other tools or bits of metal stand in for a screwdriver, but basically it's just grinding one thing with a harder thing.

With mine though, I shaved the peg down a bit on the SS figure rather than modify the head since its socket is transparent plastic.

A dremel type tool's occasionally useful for grinding down or polishing (or with a very thin drill bit if there's lots of material to quickly remove or it's rubbery and using a hand tool just squashes it around) but I'm not a big fan of the normal ones -- there are some modelling specific ones on the market with particularly low speed and high torque but they're niche, overpriced and uncommon in the UK.
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Warcry
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Warcry »

Denyer wrote: Wed Mar 22, 2023 8:05 pm If they weren't trying to pass it off as Studio Series and more as an Energon basic, it'd help.
If what you're after is a new spin on Energon Arcee, I think the ROTB version is even closer.

Image

And speaking of ROTB, I got Studio Series Cheetor yesterday. I'm not sure what to think of it, to be honest. The robot mode is pretty good. Poseability is nice, the combining spear accessories are cool and the head sculpt is nice (if not particularly Cheetory). I feel like the designers were trying to channel a bit of a "Wakanda" vibe in this figure, but you'd have to paint it black and silver to really bring it out. There's almost no kibble other than his tail, and honestly nothing else that gives away what he turns into. Which is pretty funny, because the transformation is basically Beast Machines-tier...he just drops into a crouch and switches out heads. On the other hand, it does a pretty good job of turning a bulky robot mode into a pretty slender cat, even if it's not as whip-thin as a cheetah should be.

But the cat mode is pretty underwhelming. Once I transformed him, I realized that the reason why the robot mode doesn't look like what it turns into was because the beast mode parts aren't very "catty" to begin with, aside from the head. He's more "generic robot quadruped" than "robot cat", if that makes sense.
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Denyer
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Denyer »

That's a mini Arcee, isn't it? Y'know, not sure whether I've still got an actual Energon Arcee, haven't had chance to look through tubs, but I suspect it's one of those things that's a better memory than reality plus they've become rather scarce over here.

The SS one has the shorter and wider stature going on, which along with the alt mode is what brings the early 2000s figure to mind.

Surprised that the Cheetor got past a toy focus group, if it did, but it's probably the film company calling the shots.
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Warcry
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Warcry »

I'm pretty sure that Arcee is Core sized, so it'd be a bit smaller than the original Energon toy. It looks okay for what it is but I don't think I'd buy it in those colours.

My brain has kind of conflated bits of Energon and Prime Arcee with ROTF Reverb as time has gone by but the two things this one definitely has over the original are usable hands and feet.

The kiddie-line Cheetor certainly looks a lot more exciting than this one! Most of what's wrong with the SS one was definitely in the service of screen accuracy. It's not a bad figure but it's certainly not very exciting either. Don't think I'd recommend it to anyone who didn't love quasi-BW background randoms the way I do.
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Tantrum »

The screwdriver worked pretty well. Thanks. The head's a little snugger than ideal, and tends to force itself back into position if I try to pose it. But, that seems like it's getting better as I fiddle with it. The SS ball joint seems a bit stiffer than the Cyberverse socket, so the head may be adjusting. In any case, going in with a larger screwdriver will likely do more harm than good, so I'm quitting while I'm ahead.

Having the head out G1 Scourge style in alt mode doesn't work as well as I'd hoped. The inertia of the head causes the neck panel to flap around while moving it. Plus, I'm worried about the chin scraping the windshield during transformation. So, she'll probably stay in bot mode from now on. Cyberverse Arcee with the wobbly SS head will stay in alt mode.

I've currently got SS Arcee in a skating pose, with the feet transformed into wheels. This obviously isn't stable. But, I was able to make a stand out of the tubes and pegs some Mega Blocks kits (especially the Halo ones) come with, with a LEGO plate as the base. There's some QC issues regarding tolerances. But, most of those little pegs will fit snugly into flight stand ports.
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Denyer
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Denyer »

If you need to build a cavity or joint up again, varnish or gel superglue is a more permanent way of doing it than putty. Mix powder (baking soda, ash, etc) into liquid superglue if there's more volume to fill.
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Denyer »

Legacy Wreck ‘N Rule Collection Autobot Springer because Hasbro's eBay store had them at half price (although Amazon seem to also be marking down now, so still chance to pick up at a reasonable price).

It's very distinct from the Siege deco and the colour choices do a good job of conveying a different build and looking less cheap. It's not that I don't like the more cartoon/comic version at all, or even the battle damage realisation, it's just not the version I remember and the toy did a better job.

As usual the car mode loses out and doesn't really seem to have anywhere to stow the accessories although they do at least combine into a weird L shaped cannon thing.

If they hadn't bundled coloured fossilizers and had gone for a two-pack of Impactor and Leadfoot or individual releases would probably have picked up those as well, but I don't like to reward bad behaviour and Springer is iconic enough to be worth double-dipping. Plus not altogether a fan of the larger Impactor design.

Will probably get stickered over but even quite like the blue Wreckers logo, in-hand.

edit: For a modern TF, the transformation is both relatively complex and relatively intuitive. Overall it's a really nice design.

The only non-obvious things really are the arm panels that pop up and twist 180 degrees, which wouldn't have been apparent without looking at an 'after' photo of the main alt mode. Tabs can be a bit fiddly and due to the way the body scrunches up a lot of people probably won't line things up and will damage the figure.

Twin swords... eh, some sort of folding apparatus might have been better, but it is possible to store the other and the second gun on his back plate.

edit2: Just to add a quick pic comparing to a knackered original with substitute parts. The Siege/Wreckers one means business by comparison, doesn't it?

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https://i.imgur.com/a39a7lh.jpeg
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Clay »

Warcry wrote: Tue Mar 14, 2023 1:24 am Isn't that just what LioConvoy does? I'm pretty sure my Robot Masters one does all of that (and has the spinning mane too).
This is where our age is giving us an unconscious bias, I think. The Robotmasters mold came out, no lie, eighteen years ago. It also now trades for a seemingly nutty amount if you, like me, bought it when it came out for like $17 or whatever.

Overall, the new Lio Convoy's sculpting is really good, and it's a better and more durable figure overall (my original RM figure's shoulder shattered some years ago, and I had to get a fairly pricey replacement). The lion mode is also more... complete? It's got few, if any, gaps in it like the previous figure (excluding the underbelly). The previous figure that, again, came out when a lot of fans were in elementary school or, even worse, not yet born. :sick:
Does the lion head look as much like an undead ghoul as it does in pictures?
Yeah, the lion face is a thing. I think 90% of it's weirdness comes down to the unpainted eyes, though.
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Denyer
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Denyer »

He does look happier in some non-stock photography (the one with all of the blast effects):

https://news.tfw2005.com/2022/10/21/leg ... 373#images

And if not, easy enough to paint to a plain black. It's actually quite an expressive face depending on how the light falls and where the jaw is.
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Warcry
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Warcry »

Studio Series Airazor

This is a shameless remix of the very good Kingdom Airazor, and that was one of my top-five favourite WFC toys, so it's no surprise that I like this one too. I don't think it shares any parts with the previous figure but it still feels like the exact same toy. The ROTB one is significantly bigger so the construction is sturdier, and the wing hinges are now a lot more robust. All four of the joints are pinned now, instead of half of them being easily-stressed friction hinges. Beyond that, the toys transform the same and have almost identical articulation, though the ROTB figure's added bulk means it doesn't have quite as much range of motion in some spots. It's a movie toy, so the colours are kinda dull and the head looks like something out of an Alex Milne fever dream. I like it quite a bit, all in all.

On a tangent, if the modern Terrorsaur had to be retooled from an Airazor it's too bad they didn't wait a couple years and base him off of this one instead. I think the bulkier base figure would have worked better.
Clay wrote: Wed Mar 29, 2023 3:24 am This is where our age is giving us an unconscious bias, I think. The Robotmasters mold came out, no lie, eighteen years ago. It also now trades for a seemingly nutty amount if you, like me, bought it when it came out for like $17 or whatever.
I wasn't thinking about it like that. I was just laughing at how the toy packaging was trying to pass the feature off as some sort of novel gimmick when it's something that every toy of the design since 1998 has done.

I haven't had my RM Lio for anywhere near that long though, so I do tend to forget that it came out around the same time as the original Universe stuff. (And I actually just realized the other day that Universe Razorclaw and Silverbolt -- two of the very first toys I bought myself as an adult -- are now older than I was when I bought them.) Sadly my Lio is pretty badly yellowed, so I don't think I could sell him for the zany numbers I'm seeing on eBay right now.
Clay wrote: Wed Mar 29, 2023 3:24 amThe previous figure that, again, came out when a lot of fans were in elementary school or, even worse, not yet born.

Don't forget the Masterpiece! It only came out three years ago, which honestly surprised me when I looked it up. I thought it was older. That one's even more ridiculously expensive than the RM figure, yes, but it's not like the Legacy figure is the only toy Lio's gotten in the last generation's worth of figures.

It's too bad there's no KO, as far as I can tell. Voyagers are already basically $50 here, the last MP KO I bought wasn't far off of that.
Clay wrote: Wed Mar 29, 2023 3:24 amYeah, the lion face is a thing. I think 90% of it's weirdness comes down to the unpainted eyes, though.
It also gives me the impression of long jowls like a Saint Bernard, which doesn't help.

I don't think the RM toy is particularly good and I was hoping that the Legacy figure could convince me it'd be an upgrade, but I don't think we're there. I cannot think of the last toy that looked so good to me aside from one single feature that absolutely kneecapped it. But the lion head is his most prominent feature in both modes and they just fumbled it entirely.
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Re: POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Denyer »

Can confirm that Studio Series Rise of the Beasts Core Arcee is shite, suffering particularly badly compared to Legacy core class figures such as Bomb-Burst or Iguanus that have about twice as much plastic. No real redeeming features apart from someone having the common sense to think that a bike would need a kickstand.

And it's oddly impressive to see a TF that looks worse than its stock photo for once.

The packaging says 8+ which I assume is due to having two accessories (the gun/stand and front wheel) that are swallowable size plus ball-jointed parts that are similarly small.

Probably best avoided unless you liked the legend class figures from the earlier movies, except those were $4 in 2007.
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