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