Toy Purchases March 2012

Last March was a slow year for additions to my toy collection; however it was still one of the most expensive. I completed my Macross collection by purchased a MIB version of one of my most dearest toys, and continued on my spending spree to pick up Botcon Wings of Honor Set figures ... including the entire 5 piece box set in one swoop.

Leozack *Image courtesy of Seibertron.com

Earlier this year I decided to start piecing together the 2009 Botcon Wings of Honor set. I wanted to do this because the set included a ton of Energon and Cybertron molds which I really gravitated to. This month I purchased a whopping 7 figures. First up is Leozack. Essentially a repaint of Energon Starscream, Leozak is basically also the same as Bonzaitron figure I picked up in January. Based on the Energon Starscream figure, the mold is actually really good with solid design and a great transformation. Leozak is a little harder to get since he was the Botcon Convention attendee figure for 2009. I had been searching for one at a reasonable price for a while and I finally lucked out.

Scourge *Image courtesy of Seibertron.com

The secondary single figure I picked up is Sweep #7. The Sweeps were the army builder 3-pack for 2009 and while the set isn't rare it is expensive. It is however a little rare to see resellers and collectors splitting up the set and selling off the individual figures. I just wanted a single figure to represent the Sweeps for my collection. I have enough figures already. I don't need multiples of the toy even though their names are officially different. Sweep #7 is a recolor of Sideways from Cybertron with a new head sculpt. The new head and body are actually shared with Scourge from the box set (I'll get to him a little later in this article). Overall very nicely done resculpt and recoloring of this particular mold.

Wings of Honor Box Set *Image courtesy of FloatingCat.com

The piece de resistance is the actually 5 figure Wings of Honor box set. The set includes Autobot Elite Guards Kup, Flak, Thunder Clash, and Land Shark, and Deception Scoruge. I love all these figures except Thunderclash who is a remold of Energon Rodimus, who is a bit of a design compromise since the original figure was made with the Energon combination design. This figure has very little articulation and poseability. Additionally the color scheme is a little horrible. Scourge is a dark blue version of the sweeps. Flak and Land Shark look like military versions of their progenitor characters, Scatter Shot and Bulkhead respectively. Overall a pretty good box set and probably my favorite 

out of the Botcon sets I own (2011 and 2012).

Ratchet *Image courtesy of Seibertron.com

Additionally, I picked up the Transformers Robots in Disguise Ratchet from the Transformers Prime series. Originally, Ratchet was announced during the First Edition series release in 2011 and it seems like he was carried over for the 2012 RID line. My initial reaction to this figure was bewilderment regarding his size. He’s extremely small for a deluxe figure and borders close to some of the larger scout class figures. Little did we know that the miniaturization of the deluxe sku figures would be a common trend moving forward indefinitely. Overall design is actually pretty good. I really liked the way Ratchets knives fit in his hands which hearkens back to the Transformers Prime animation and how his knives transform out of his wrists. Additionally, a nice inclusion is the storage for his weapons in bot mode in between his shoulders and back. Ratchet really is one of the better figures in this line.

Snapping Turtle and Scope Dog *Image courtesy of dookie via Flickr

On the convention front, I attended San Jose Super Toy Show in March. It's always a cool experience to browse the aisles and see what pops up. I hadn't gone to the show in several years and it's good to know it's pretty much the same, only more crowded. I managed to pick up 2 1/60 Votoms diecast figures at the show, Scope Dog and Snapping Turtle. I had the 1/60 Brutish Dog when I was a kid but unfortunately it broke when my grandfather sat on it. It was totally my fault for leaving it on his reclining seat in the living room. These guys are fragile especially since they 

are almost 30 years old. Heavy and limitedly articulated, they still resonate 

well with the 80's mecha look and feel. Good pick up at a great show.

Dump Robo *Image courtesy of ToyArchive.com

Another additional ebay purchase was MR-09 Dump Robo. In my previous post I resonantly exposed my love for this particular toy which was the first ever transforming toy I ever owned. I saw one MISB on ebay and it went for cheap so I picked it up. Sure it's basic and blocky but this toy represents a lot to me.

My last purchase in March over ebay is also the largest. I'd been looking for this toy for some time at a reasonable price and low and behold the stars aligned and it found its way to me. The Macross VE-1 Elint Seeker High Metal Valkyrie is the holy grail of Takatoku era Macross Valkyries. While this toy came out well after Takatoku sold the design to Bandai, it is the crowning jewel of the line and the last piece I needed to complete my collection.  It's a masterpiece of 80's variable toy engineering 

and I will forever be ecstatic to own a mint specimen.

1/55 VE-1 Elint Seeker Hi-Metal Valkyrie 

Comic-con ... I HATE YOU!

SDCC Crowds *Image courtesy of theworldisraw.com 

Yep, I hate San Diego Comic-con. I think I've always hated Comic-con. Even the first time I went to Comic-con as a fan, I hated it. The convention is just too big, too poorly organized, and you get a  petri dish of humanity, wholesome passionate fans and dregs of humanity. 

Granted, I've been forced to work Comic-con in different capacities for the last 7 years I've attended the show. Everything from going booth to booth trying to drum up business leads, demoing product, managing a booth, to escorting cosplayers around the show floor. I've actually even been on a panel too. Here's my top 5 reasons why I hate SDCC.

Free Garbage *Image courtesy of io9.com

Reason #1 - Self entitled people - I would say a good 75% of the attendees enter the convention with a tad bit of self-entitlement. I'm not judging them as people. I'm saying that the convention is so god awful expensive and exclusive that people can't help but feel like they are compelled to get as much of an experience as possible. This turns normally sane and reasonable citizens into very ugly opportunistic mean people. I've been verbally abused, threatened, and even physically pushed by people who just want something free. Maybe it's a lanyard. Maybe it's a 25 cent crappy promo item. Either way it gets old when every 2 minutes someone comes up to you and asks do you have anything free and gives you a shitty look when you reply no, but we are selling products.This may sound like a shallow complaint but I have been physically assaulted on the show floor, threatened by 5 men who were upset over not receiving a 15 cent lanyard, seen a coworker shoved by a surging crowd for free stuff, heard reports of a female coworker escape a mugging for her show badge. It's just disgusting.

SDCC Perv * *Image courtesy of bleedingcool.net 

Reason #2 - Pervy Men - Ever have to escort a mascot / cosplayer around a convention before. It's actually a great experience. You get to see people get excited for their iconic heroes without being in a uncomfortable costume. I especially love to see the little kids eyes light up. The down side is pervy men trying to grab onto the models and take stealth crotch / boobs / butt shots with their cameras. Yeh, classy doode. I'm sure your mom is proud of you.

Reason #3 - Work - This probably doesn't apply to anyone else but people that have worked the show. If you have a full day shift and have to work the entire event, you're looking at 8-12 hour days on your feet in front of the public, 4 days straight. Even with a few breaks here and there it's pretty taxing. Even when you get breaks and you are off, you're at Comic-con so you go check something out or go buy stuff. It's even worse if you are part of the setup and tear down team for the booths. Oh yes people, everything from booth fixtures to product has to be set up and torn down. It's a seriously tough event to work. No one thanks you, they just ask for free shit. 

Reason #4 - Food sucks. Convention food equals hot dogs and greasy pizza with a 300% markup. The Gas Lamp district is usually overcrowded at night. Good luck finding sustenance away from the public. Luckly, I've been pointed to some great hidden spots over the years. Still, junk food for an entire week sucks.

Reason #5 - Convention Itself - I'm talking convention management. Specifically  the union labor, security company, and management as a whole. The convention is run pretty poorly when it comes down to it. A lot of things are last minute and info packages are riddled with errors. It's a miracle that things actually fall into place every year. The unions overcharge and strong arm vendors to pay outrageous fees. I would not go as far to say it's mafia style, but sometimes it feels like it, especially when they charge you for their mistakes, tardiness, or just because they need to fill overtime. 

Derp * Imagecourtesy of KPBS via flickr

Security is a joke. You have a ton of people who do not know how to control crowds or talk to people. Last year I was refused to go to the restroom from my booth cause the security guard in charge of the area told me I was crowding the aisle. It's a 10 foot wide aisle. I'm one person who needs to take a leak before the show opens. Sigh. I've also seen security artificially create crowds and mobs by improperly denying access to public walkways. Way to go.

In hindsight, yes I am blessed to be able to work in a fun industry and there are joys and small victories at SDCC. I do have great memories with coworkers and friends but I also dread having to attend and work the show every year. It's taxing and I always worry what disaster is going to happen next. Blegh.

Toy Purchases February 2012

Transformers RID Deluxe Wave 1 * Image courtesy of Seibertron.com

Continuing my catch up with my toy diary, I examine the month of February 2012's purchase. February was actually a crazy month for my purchasing habits. With preorders being fulfilled  the new Transformer lines debuting, and my nostalgic leap into collecting MIB Machine Robos, I actually spent a grip this particular month. Unfortunately  this is a trend that will continue for the rest of 2012 apparently. Yep!

Transformers RID Voyager Wave 1* Image courtesy of Seibertron.com

The most exciting burst of news was the release of the new Transformers RID line which exemplified the mass produced Transformers Prime toys. Late in 2011, Hasbro limitedly released their Transformers Prime First Edition line. Unforgettably for reasons unknown, the distribution in North America was absolutely horrible. Only the first wave of deluxe figures hit the shelves at Toys R Us with a very limited distribution plan. North America did not received distribution for the bulk of the series including the more expensive Voyager class toys, wave 2 deluxe toys, and the entertainment 2-pack. This actually set the tone for the upcoming 2012 releases as fans and collectors trust remained shaken as Hasbro struggled to get their products on the shelves at a timely and evenly distributed manor.

BotShots Bumble Bee * Image courtesy of Seibertron.com

Back on track, the first wave of Transofremrs RID Prime figures were nice but also a bit of a disappointment as they were much more dissimilar and smaller than the previously mentioned First Edition figures which were far more complicated with a higher degree of engineering and complexity in designs. Even so, the deluxe wave of Bumble Bee, Wheeljack, Cliffjumper, and Soundwave were fairly decent releases. In my own opinion the only toy that seemed a tad bit inferior was Cliffjumper since his transformation involved painted on features on his chest instead of the actual movable parts. Additionally, the RID Cliffjumper figure lacked deploy-able hand blasters which deviated from the successful First Edition figure and the cartoon character design.The one figure that stood out the most was surprisingly Bumble Bee whose simplistic RID design was, in my own opinion, far superior to the First Edition figure. Although even this figure is marred by the artificially attached self-transformation feature that adds a ugly cog and teethed track to Bumble Bees upper chest / lower neck area, the figure still seems better proportioned and detailed than it's progenitor figure.

Encore Twincast * Image courtesy of Seibertron.com

While the Deluxe RID wave 1 was a marginal success, the Voyager class seemed to be a dismal failure in design. The First Edition Optimus Prime, in many ways, is far superior to the RID version. Aesthetics and transformation seemed lacking to the previous edition. RID Megatron seemed lackluster. The grey drap plastic gives a overall cheap feeling to the toy. Transformation seemed cumbersome and the plane mode feels fragile with parts not fitting correctly. Additionally, the continuation of "mech-tech" weapons gimmick from the movie line was a really poor choice by Hasbro. Weapons were crudely designed for light activation gimmicks. The design made the weapons awkward in their default modes and also hindered any display ability of the characters. Optimus Prime's rifle sits in his hand as a big block of plastic instead of the deployed weapon many sought for. Many collectors have opted to remove the battery and the light up mechanism altogether and also remove the "mech-tech" spring so that the weapon can remain in a deployed mode. The fact that consumers have to make such modifications illustrates Hasbro's failures in design lately.

Encore Sound Blaster * Image courtesy of Seibertron.com

Releasing at the same time were the Transformers Cyberverse and BotShots line. I picked up Cyberverse Ratchet and Cliffjumper and Botshots Optimus Prime and Bumble Bee. Both lines were ok but failed to really appeal to me. The Cyberverse were just too small and simplistic for me to get into. I liked the Botshots for their super deformed designs but there is no way I would continue to pay $7 for something this small. The attached game gimmick is basically rock, paper, scissors. Overall, both series seemed lackluster in nature. Leave it for the kids.



Impulsively I had previously preordered The Takara Encore reissues of both Sound Blaster and Twincast. I actually have a previous set of reissues of these 2 particular characters but I wanted to pick them up to check out the new recolored versions of the cassette bots that came with both products. Overall, this was a needless impulse purchase I probably should have not picked up. Both larger Transformers are pretty much the same as the previous reissues with the exception of new tampo printed decals which replace some of the foil sticker decals of the vintage line. The new recolored cassette bots are cool though. While they are recolored versions of the classic cassette bots, the nice use of sympathetic color scheme and detail makes them stand out.

Fansproject Warbot * Image courtesy of TFW2005.com

The next purchase came late in the month and is not a official Transformer product. I repurchased Fansproject Warbot (AKA Not Springer). I originally purchased this guy back in 2011 but was not happy with him. I think I didn't like the heft of the diecast and the limited articulation of the figure. Months after trading him to a friend, I started to regret it. It was not due to the toy being suprior to anything released. I just had a hole in my Classic-verse original 1985 cast lineup of figures. I had the Trans Repro Valkyrie (Arcee), Fansproject City Commander (Ultra Magnus), Fans Project Protector (Rodimus prime), and the official Transformers Wrek-gar, Perceptor, Kupp and Blurr. Springer was missing and I was compelled to pick him up again. Looking back, my opinion of him has not changed  He's a lump of diecast steel and plastic with limited articulation, and really bad balance in bot mode.

I almost completely forgot about the Transformers Official Collector Club Exclusives that released in February 2012. SG Drift and Over-Run (AKA Runabout) both released with high expectations. SG Drift is a recoloring of the Generation Drift figure with the inclusion of Generations Blurr's pistols. Unfortunately  this excellent figure with a overall impressive design and paint job was marred by manufacturing defects. This blogger received a figure with 2 right sided pistols. Other less lucky individuals reported getting figures with 2 left hands or 2 right hands or even figures missing hands altogether. Very sloppy and bad QC process guys. Over-Run suffered none of these reported problems. Based on the Wheeljack / Tracks mold, Over-Run is pretty solid black Deception figure based off the original Battle Charger toy. The best thing about Over-Run is that his box comes with a pre-cut foam insert that has a space for his partner in crime Runamuck!

TFCC SG Drift and Over-Run *Image courtesy of Seibertron.com

Last on the February spending spree is a trio of MIB Machine Robo's purchased on ebay. I had been wanting to start collecting the first 10 Machine Robos in their Popy packaging for a long time. A seller had a huge collection that he was auctioning off piece meal and I decided to jump in and start bidding. I purchased MR-02 Battle Robo, MR-03 Jet Robo, and MR-04 Gyro Robo. Overall I'm really happy I have these 3 guys. They are so awesome with their retro styling and diecast construction. While they are the same exact toys that were released under the Gobots line, the packaging gets points for being beautifully nostalgic.

Machine Robos!

Huzzah for Beast Hunters!

Predaking *image courtesy of Tformers.com

Huzzah for Beast Hunters! I'm actually cheering for the newly announced Transformers toy line because I have no interest in it at all. Finally, some relief to the multiple Transformers lines that have been raiding my bank account this year. Between Transformers Prime, Transformers Generations, Transformers Masterpiece, Takara Tomy Exclusives, and third-party figures, I've been on a crazy purchasing spree with no end in sight.

Lazor Back  *image courtesy of Tformers.com

 Last week at New York comic-con, Hasbro announced the new Transformers Prime Beast Hunters toy line. Supposedly this new line will take up where Season 2 of Transformers Prime leaves off. The thing that bothers me is that Transformers Prime has been a run away hit, bridging the diehard Transformers fans with the Movie-verse fans. It's a great show with competent writing and pacing. How are they going to introduce tranforming animals and beasts into this world based on realism?

Soundwave  *image courtesy of Tformers.com

Judging from the few new product images the new beast characters look very serpentine-centric. Both Lazor Back and Predaking look rather Yu-Gi-Oh-ish with their chimera mix of beast traits. They remind me of Scourge (Cybertron) AKA Flame Convoy (Galaxy Force). I'm just not interested in returning to the organic transformers of the Beast Wars era.


The other new products shown were updated designs for returning characters Bumble Bee, Soundwave, and Wheeljack. All three Transformers look medieval in nature with added weapons and needless kibble. Compared to the sleeker designs of the progenitor releases, these just look cluttered and messy.

BumbleBee  *image courtesy of Tformers.com

In the end, every single design just doesn't peak any interest in me at all and I seriously have let out a sigh of relief. I will be spending a lot less next year. Now I just got to get through the next few months with the new Masterpiece, Prime, Generations, and Fortress Maximus coming out. [whimper]

Toy Purchases January 2012

Skyquake *Image courtesy of Seibertron.com

One of the original reasons I wanted to create this blog was to keep track of my collecting habits and try to curb my rampant desire for immediate fulfillment by changing the instinct to make impulse purchases and focus on the core of my collection, especially since the TV shows Collection Intervention and Toy Hunter have put collectors in the spot light. It's pretty easy to spiral into a whirlwind of garbage and I don't want to feel like a hoarder when I look into a mirror. Since I have a bit of time to make up (it's currently October 2012), let's start with January!

Banzaitron *Image courtesy of Seibertron.com

Coming down off the holiday break from  work and also the month long food coma, I started feeling the itch to jump into collecting some of the more appealing Botcon exclusive Transformers. I recently attended Botcon with a few buddies in Pasadena in 2011 and I really liked a lot of the exclusive figures they offered that year. After searching around a bit and familiarizing myself with the past sets I gravitated toward the 2009 Wings of Honor Botcon wave. It's ingenious to use the Energon and Cybertron molds to create some unique updated figures of classic G1 characters.



Since I had a bit of Ebay gift certificate money left over from Christmas, I set about looking for some good purchases and I ended up snatching Bonzaitron and Skyquake double pack. Both of these characters were lesser known figures in the Transformers Universe but I loved the remold and re-branding of them Fun Publications did here. I'm a great fan of the Energon Starscream and  Mirage original molds that were used for Bonzaitron and Skyquake respectively. All together, these two new characters lend an impressive gravitas to the Decepticon Classic-verse seeker armada.

Blurr *Image courtesy of Seibertron.com

The other 2 purchases I made in January 2012 were Transformers Animated Blurr and Grimlock. I'd been looking for a affordable Blurr for a while on ebay. Every time I spotted one I was outbid on it by a significant amount or I missed out due to bad timing. Last year I purchased the Transformers Fan Club Animated Cheetor club figure which was a recolor of the Animated Blurr with a original head. I loved that figure and knew Blurr was a solid toy as well. Luckily, I found one at a  reasonable price.

Grimlock * Image courtesy of Seibertron.com

My last purchase of the month was the before mentioned  Animated Grimlock. By now I really only had maybe 4 figures I needed to complete what I considered my Transformers Animated collection and Grimlock was the last Voyager or larger purchase. I remember looking at him at Mandarake at Nakano Broadway when I visited Japan in 2011. The specimen I was looking at was MIB but the box was pretty torn up. He was cheap at 2,500 Yen (roughly $30 USD). Unfortunately  I had a bunch of purchases already including a Galaxy Force Yellow Ramble, Japanese Animated Ironhide and Ratchet, and a ton of presents for friends and family. I just could not carry another toy with me even if I opened it out of package. So finally, I found one on ebay cheap and pulled the trigger.


Once I had him in my hands I really liked him. It's a simple toy, which is saying a lot for Grimlock figures, but the style and execution of design is superb. He's easily one of my favorite Animated figures.