Wow, where has the year gone. Originally I wanted to get
my entire backlog of 2012 toy journal entries published but by the time
December rolled by things just got a little too hectic with the holidays and
work travel. Oh wells. I'll continue trotting through my journal in
2013. For now, here's my 2012 year end toy review. Since I didn't get past
July 2012 some of this is pretty much band new.
Here are my top 10
toy purchases for 2012:
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| *Image Courtesy of Seibertron.com |
#10 Transformers
RID Vehicon - This seemingly simple deluxe class figure wowed me over time.
Initially I thought RID Vehicon was overrated with his spindly elbow
articulation and anorexic build, but this guy
has out-shined most of the figures released in his class in 2012.
Even his more deluxe and exclusive First Edition
cousin pales in compassion to this little simple guy. With
a slim build and extremely show accurate design, RID Vehicon made my
top 10 list for 2012. It's a little ironic that his First Edition cousin is now easier to purchase in the store aisles and online than the RID version. More for you guys as I'm not about to army build. That's a whole other kind of toy collector crazy zone I am not about to approach.
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| *Image Courtesy of CollectionDX.com |
#9 MOSPEADA
1/8 Ride Armor - While not a new toy, this vintage specimen of the wonderfully
designed Artmic Mecha is a site to behold. This toy brings back a lot of
memories since my dad originally purchased one for Christmas for me
when I was little. This mecha bike and figure set is the original toy that sparked the entire transforming bike into armor genre and led to Bubble Gum Crisis and Mega Zone 23. One can even argue that Keneda's bike in Akira was directly inspired by the MOSPEADA design. Wonderfully simplistic in design yet complex in
transformation this mecha toy combines the tactile play of action
figures with the complexity of transforming robot toys. Now, where are those click
pen springs? I need to mod mine to shoot missiles!
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| *Image Courtesy of TFW2005 |
#8 Transformers
Prime RID Dreadwing - Arguably one of my favored characters due to
the yin yang opposite nature of his personality
(an extremely loyal Deception who puts
personal righteousness, loyalty, and his own warriors code over power
... cough <Beast Wars Dinobot> ...cough. It's too bad his character was underutilized
and ultimately served as plot fodder. Dreadwing's toy however is a
wonder of ingenuity and playability. Everything about this figure is
pretty cool from his articulation, design, and near perfect vehicle mode (well
he does have hands sticking out of his thrusters in jet fighter
mode). Overall, Dreadwing is a pretty imposing character with a really solid
toy. Now if only they could get rid of the Mech Tech weapons ... sigh.
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| *Image Courtesy of TFW2005 |
#7 Transformers Masterpiece
Thundercracker - Finally, North America gets the newly redesigned
and augmented Masterpiece Seeker Jet figures. Thundercracker takes
everything great about the progenitor Masterpiece figures and adds lessons learned
in transformation, figure accuracy, and toy engineering. By deleting the waist
tail fins and shoulder bits while correcting the head and arms lends to a near
perfect representation of the original Seeker Jet design for the classic Sun
Bow G1 cartoon. This mold is the definitive mold for the Seekers and a great
work of toy engineering.
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| *Image Courtesy of TFW2005 |
#6 Transformers Masterpiece
Sideswipe - Sideswipe is notably a return to the super deluxe accurate car
robot formula that Takara Tomy / Hasbro started with the Binaltech / Alternator
toy line (but in a non-diecast affordable way). While there were reported quality
control problems with this release, my toy was superb. This is how Sideswipe
should be in all his classic G1 Lambor greatness. He's perfectly to scale with
the new Masterpiece scale and just a very solid Transformer toy. I'm happy they
are releasing Red Alert but I hope Takara Tomy are planning to expand the line
with other G1 characters (Please sign a license with Nissan in 2013 and get the
rights to the Datsun 280 ZX, we need Prowl, Silver Streak, and Smoke
Screen!).
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| *Image Courtesy of Seibertron.com |
#5 Transformers Botcon
Shattered Glass Junkions - As a whole, this set is probably one of the best toy
sets to come out in a while. Offered at Botcon 2012, this set includes
Wrek-gar, Junk Heap, and Scrap Heap. While Wrek-gar and Junk Heap were available domestically in their regular colors, Scrap Heap was only
available as part of a Transformers Untied Japan only e-hobby exclusive set so
the character and toy mold is super rare among western collectors. Also, the
recoloring from the normal Transformers Movie color scheme to the Shattered Glass purple,
black, and yellow Insecticon color scheme is a stroke of genius. All in all, a very exceptional set of
toys.
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| *Image Courtesy of Seibertron.com |
#4 Transformers Prime First
Edition Optimus Prime - Considering this excellent toy might not have even made
it to a US release, this iteration of Optimus Prime is ridiculously cool. He's definitely more show accurate in
my eyes and also designed more
aggressively than his Transformers RID Voyager counterpart. Also his weapons
are traditional weapons designed to
look like they are transforming out of his arms like the show (not like the
retarded light box that the RID Voyager's Mech Tech gun and gimpy sword are).
It still baffles me that this figure was released in North America an entire
year after he was released worldwide. What a cluster f*ck your product planning
and distribution has become Hasbro. I guess that's what happens when you triple production
and distribution since the Bay movies came out. Overall, the definitive
Transformers Prime Optimus Prime figure and a must have for 2012.
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#3 Macross
1/55 VE-1 Elint Seeker Valkyrie - Another vintage goodie purchased in 2012.
Arguably the most rare and sought after Valkyrie from the original
Takatoku design era of the 80's, the Elint Seeker takes the standard
Valkyrie toy and adds a bunch of unique bells and whistles to make it a one of
a kind toy. Featuring a new head sculpt, altered super armor parts and AWACs
radar dish, this toy is super special in the eyes of Takatoku
Valkyrie collectors and the last piece I needed to complete me collection. This
toy is also probably the one toy purchased in 2012 that I am most proud of from
a collector stand point.
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#2 Make Toys Green
Giant - This thing is a beast. I mean BEAST! The engineering and planning
to design, produce, and assemble this third-party set is astounding. While
smaller and less expensive than the Hercules figure put out by TFC, Green Giant
also does not suffer from balance issues or production defects. In my opinion,
Green Giant is the superior toy. Design wise, he fits in more with the other
third-party produced combiners by rival company Fans Project and his design is
more anime style and less western comic style. Overall a really great set which
rises above and beyond the expectations on all fronts from individual robots,
vehicle modes, and combined form. This set seriously cements the foundation
that third-party companies are here to stay especially when they are producing
gems like Green Giant and all Takra Tomy / Hasbro can come up to compete is
the atrocious FOC Bruticus set in 3 god awful color
scheme flavors.
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| *Image Courtesy of Seibertron.com |
#1 Transformers
Masterpiece Optimus Prime (TRU Exclusive) - Last but also the number one
on the best of 2012 list it Transformers Masterpiece Optimus Prime (TRU
Exclusive). It really goes to show you how much the insane markup is on toys
these days. The original Takara Tomy toy MP-10 went for around $200 give or
take the international exchange rate. The release of the TRU figure online one
year later was $100 (although Toys R Us did raise the price to $120 despite the
fact that the shipping cartons of the toys were still marked $100, yeh you know
you either messed up or are greedy TRU). While not the size or build of the
original Masterpiece Optimus Prime MP-01, this little
guy en-capsules all the articulation and design learned from the
previous release like the before mentioned Masterpiece Seeker mold.
This Optimus is the perfect representation of the G1 character per his scale
and comes with his trailer, roller, Energon Axe, Ion Blaster Rife, and a little
spike mini figure with 4 points of 6 points of articulation. Definitively,
the best toy released in 2012 per price point, accessories, design, and
motif.
Happy New Year
all. Hope 2013 will be a even better year for everyone. Putting toy collecting
aside, let's all give thanks for what we are blessed to have (loved ones,
family, and friends) and work harder for the future. Cheers!
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| Happy New Years!!! |
