I’m back from Asia! Actually, I got back at the beginning of the month. I was just being a little lazy in updating this blog. But now I got some free time.

I was in Asia for some personal business. Altogether I was in Shanghai (China), Siem Reap (Cambodia), and Taipei (Taiwan). For the purpose of this blog I will only go into the toy hunting aspect of the trip. Gemini accompanied me on the Shanghai leg of the trip. This is the first time that Gemini and I have traveled together internationally. Being the collectors that we are, of course we are gonna go hunting for TFs and other goodies. But enough background info. Let’s get into what we uncovered!

Shanghai Anime Street

On Friday, May 27th, we decided to hit Shanghai Anime Street. Gemini discovered this area from someone’s blog post. Friday we had a driver in Shanghai, and so we asked him to take us here. It’s a good thing we had a driver for this. This area is really hard to get to. We came here in a van, and anyone that has seen Shanghai traffic will tell you that traveling in a van is ill-advised. When the driver got to this area, I was thinking we are gonna have to go in on foot since the streets are really small. Then the driver drove the van into the area! I was half freaking out. I seriously thought he was gonna hit something for sure. But these professional drivers in China have gotten navigating big vehicles in small spaces down to an art. Needless to say I was amazed.

We got out once we got to Shanghai Anime Street. I only have pics of the outside, since most stores do not allow photography of any kind inside. I never really understood that rule.

I think we went into about 8 or 9 stores total, looking for various things. Only 2 stores carried enough TF of interest. One store had a set of the Prometheus Combiner by TFC Toys, Gundog by MakeToys, some figures of Nero Rex by MMC, and some other stuff that I don’t remember. The other store had some figures of Gravity Builder by Generation Toy (GT). Looking at these figures, I was really impressed. The amount of detail on them is amazing. Looking at these figs and comparing them with TFC Toys Hercules, it’s mind blowing to see how far 3rd party transforming figures have come. I was talking with the store owner there, and he really liked the GT set of Constructicons. Doing the conversion of RMB to Dollar, I saw that it was a little cheaper to buy in China. And so I tried to buy GT Scavenger. But then I find out those were for display only and he wasn’t selling them. Bummer. In the end I left Shanghai Anime Street with nothing, but Gemini was able to find some nice Gundam sets.

Isetan

On Sunday, May 29th, Gemini and I roamed around Shanghai during the day. The Shanghai Metro is totally cool; very fast and very easy to use. We looked up places that have toys and went to Isetan. (Sidebar: China blocks Google, including Google Maps. So using some other site for map navigation is preferred, such as Baidu.) Isetan is basically a huge department store. Shanghai has tons and tons of department stores. But Isetan is one of the few that has a dedicated toy section. And of course department stores allow photography, so I was able to capture some pics below.

There were some TFs, but nothing that I can’t get here in the States for cheaper. The store had lots of the G1 Platinum reissues, including Trypticon, the Blaster and Perceptor set, the Insecticons set, and others. On the shelves were also the Combiner Wars G2 color Aerialbots and Stunticons sets. Again, all these can be purchased cheaper in the States for less. So we left without buying anything. It was cool to see all the toys though. Isetan had a really impressive Lego section.

On the way back from Isetan to our hotel, we stopped by Jing’an Temple again. Last time I was here I saw a nice display for Age of Extinction. This time Hasbro/Takara had another booth, but not for TFs. It was their new robot building toy line. I didn’t get the name of this line, so just check out pics below.

Toys R Us

On Monday, May 30th, we had another driver to take us around. We went all over Shanghai on this day. While we were in the Pudong district, we stopped by Toys R Us. Now here we hit the mother lode! Lots of TFs here! And lots of other toys too. I was able to find stuff here that I never saw in the States! Check out pics below.

Most of the figures on the shelves are from Transformers Robots in Disguise. But they had Cominber Wars stuff too. Gemini and I looked hard through the CW section for Groove, since we know this to be an Asian exclusive. We didn’t have any luck finding Groove. But looking at the Takara version of CW figs, it’s clear that the paint job is much better.

See the pic above. In the lower right corner, there is a voyager sized green Grimlock from TF RiD. This is something I never seen before. Looking at it close, this Grimlock is a repaint/rework of Generations Fall of Cybertron Grimlock, with a new color scheme, new head mold, and some minor mold reworks. Very very cool! I have the deluxe size version of this fig, and I feel that’s just too small to be Grimlock. I wanted to get this at the store, but the price wasn’t worth it. I later saw a online retailer here taking orders, at a much more reasonable price. I may get this later.

See the last pic above. They had a whole section of approximately Voyager class figs that I never even knew of! And believe me when I say I’m on top of everything that will come out. At first glance I thought they must be from the TF RiD Line, but the packaging more suggests the Generations line. There are 5 figs in all: Optimus Prime, Megatron, Starscream, and two kinds of Bumblebees (a G1-styled version and a movie-styled version). Gemini has never seen these before either, so we both stood there for a long time to examine these closely. We came to the conclusion that these are basically bigger versions of Generations legend size figs, particularly Starscream. I would find out later, after returning to the States, that these are part of the Cyber Battalion line. But at the time I was beyond thrilled of finding something new, and so I bought Starscream. I wanted to buy them all, but didn’t know if these would be any good. I picked Starscream because he would scale well in the Generations line of figs. Legend and Deluxe Generations Starscream are much too small in CHUG, and the leader class way too big. This one is just right.

Starscream

And so here is Cyber Battalion Starscream, my only TF purchase for this Asian trip. I won’t review this too much. He is very much like the legend figure, but bigger and slightly more intricate.

The last two pics above show him next to legend Starscream. Cyber Battalion Starscream has feet transformation that’s slightly different, and the wing edges can be folded back. The figure only cost about $15 US, so I don’t expect perfection here. He’s a nice figure to pick up and play since he’s so easy to transform, but at the same time he scales nicely with the rest of my CHUG line-up. I like to pick up the rest of the Cyber Battalion figs when they arrive here in the States.

So that’s the re-cap of the toy-hunting aspects of this Asian trip. I had a blast! I want to go back there soon.

Transform and Roll Out!

April of 2015 continues with more Combiner Wars and 2 third party figs.

• Combiner Wars Breakdown, hasbrotoyshop.com, $14.81

• Combiner Wars Dead End, hasbrotoyshop.com, $14.81

• Combiner Wars Offroad, hasbrotoyshop.com, $14.81

• Combiner Wars Air Raid, hasbrotoyshop.com, $14.81

• Combiner Wars Blackjack, Target, $9.49

• Combiner Wars Megatron and Armada Megatron, tfsource.com, $89.99

• Mastermind Creations Felisaber, tfsource.com, $75.95

• ToyWorld Roar, gift

The 4 deluxe figures are all from Combiner Wars Wave 2. They are not that different from the Wave 1 figures in the way they are constructed. Individually, I definitely like the CW Stunticons better than the CW Aeiralbots, because there is more variety for the limb figures. Air Raid is cut from the same cloth as Skydive and Firefly. Breakdown and Dead End are different enough from Dragstrip and from each other that it doesn’t feel like buying the same figures over and over. Hasbro came up with another figure called Offroad for the Stunticons, just like they did Alpha Bravo for the Aerialbots. Wildrider would be released later, so there is no reason to buy Offroad just to complete Menasor.

Blackjack is a fun little figure. I like his transformation from car to robot. Both modes look good. He’s not bad for a figure of this size. In combined form, he is meant to attach onto Menasor’s chest like a shield. I mentioned before in another post that he doesn’t connect that well in this form. This can be fixed, however. I will mention this again when I go into the 2nd Motormaster that will come out later (with fixed hips). But even the 2nd Motormaster has the peg problems for attaching Blackjack, so it will require this fix. Sometimes I feel Hasbro really should test these things before they put the figures on the shelves.

Next up are the 2 Megatrons. I love these Megatrons! The G1 version of the figure is especially sweet for a G1 purist such as myself. This is probably the best G1 inspired Megatron that Hasbro has made in quite some time. In robot mode, this is unmistakably Megatron. The head mold, body stylings, and colors are pure G1. Transformation to tank mode is actually fairly simple for a figure of this size, but there is enough to do here that should satisfy even the most hardcore of TransFans. Tank mode is superb as well. Construction of this figure is super solid. This Megatron will easily withstand some rough play. The Armada version of this figure is exactly the same mold-wise, but has different colors and a different had mold.

Next up is MMC Felisaber. I already went into Felisaber back in this post, so I won’t go into detail again here. Felisaber is meant to be Catilla. Catilla has the privilege of being among the first TFs to be named in a Before Carly post on this blog, so check it out.

Finally, there is Roar, TW’s homage to Snarl. I mentioned Roar here, so read that post for more info of Roar’s awesomeness. Roar was a gift from my wife (my fiancee at the time). I put a bunch of figures on my wishlist at TFSource, and she picked Roar. She has good taste!

I will be out of the country for the next 2 weeks, so I won’t be posting. I will be in Asia. Hopefully I will find some good TFs on the trip! Transform and Roll Out!

March of 2015 continues with more figures of Combiner Wars. Only 2 CW figs here, but they both happen to be trucks. This is what I call Truck Month (built Transformer tough).

• Combiner Wars Huffer, amazon.com, $10.99

• Combiner Wars Motormaster, hasbrotoyshop.com, $21.79

Huffer is a character that I never cared for while growing up. He’s a total whiner, and is quick to point out the absurdities of any situation. Why Optimus chose him to be one of the original 18 Autobots aboard the Ark is beyond me. Still, Huffer has been around all this time, so it’s finally good to have a figure of him in my CHUG line. In fact, not counting this Power Core Combiners Huffer, this is my only Huffer figure. This fig is a repaint of Generations Thrilling 30 Optimus Prime, so I won’t mention it too much. I know, Huffer gets no love. Hasbro only sees fit to produce Huffer figures when they’re convenient repaints.

Motormaster IS a character I cared for while growing up. Being the leader of the bad-ass Stunticons, you can’t help but like him. He forms the body of the mighty Menasor. I believe this is the first time after G1 Hasbro has made a Motormaster that can combine with other figures to form Menasor. I already talked about how this figure is individually with the Optimus Prime repaint in a previous post. Some differences for Motormaster include the colors, a different head mold, and he comes with sword weapons instead of the Optimus guns. In combined mode, this figure also has the problem with hips that I mentioned before. With Optimus, I didn’t really care that he has the problem, because Optimus is not usually a combiner. But with Motormaster, I see this as a big problem. Also, Blackjack (a CW legend size figure that will come later) is supposed to fit onto Menasor’s chest. The connection for Blackjack is very poorly fitted. As a result, Blackjack does not combine that well. I’ll mention this again when I go into Blackjack. But overall, I like Motormaster in truck mode. In robot and combined forms, the figure suffers from the leg and hips issue. Hasbro will reproduce a fixed version of this figure much later. I will again re-visit this, when I present the fixed version of Motormaster.

This is the first time in a LONG time that I have made 4 posts in my blog in one month. Yay! Blogging back on track. Transform and Roll Out!

February of 2015 was all deluxe figs from Combiner Wars. In fact, the 4 figs below are all from the same wave.

• Combiner Wars Firefly, Toys R Us, $16.99

• Combiner Wars Skydive, Target, $14.24

• Combiner Wars Alpha Bravo, Target, $14.24

• Combiner Wars Dragstrip, Target, $14.24

Firefly here is obviously Fireflight. Hasbro usually only changes names for trademark reasons. If anything, I would have thought that Firefly is a trademarked term. But a quick Google for Fireflight leads me to some rock band, so I guess they took that name. In any case, Firefly is the red and white F-4 Phantom from G1 that forms Superion’s right arm. This Firefly figure is not bad. Kinda simple to transform, but comes together as a jet nicely. Proportions in robot mode is also not half bad. Skydive is very similar to Firefly. Transformation wise, they share the same scheme. Skydive is remolded slightly to look more like a F-16. Firefly feels more robust out of the two, but that may just be the ones I own. Overall, these 2 are fun to play with. They are toys that you can just pick up and play. All the deluxe CW figs can form an arm or a leg. In limb mode, Firefly and Skydive adequately does the job. I plan to do another post about the CW combined forms, so I’ll go into more detail then.

Alpha Bravo is not an Aerialbot from G1. In fact, he does not have any origin in G1. They totally made up this figure for Combiner Wars. Hasbro would later more appropriately repaint this figure into Blades and Vortex. But for now, we get Alpha Bravo. I’m guessing this is just a ploy to sell more figs. Alpha Bravo is not a bad fig. I like both the robot mode and alt mode. His transformation is mechanically a bit more impressive than Firefly or Skydive. I like the toy, but you can pass on this fig if you’re a G1 purist. Hasbro would later release Air Raid in the next wave, and Slingshot (released as Quickslinger) would come later as an Amazon exclusive. So don’t feel like you have to get Alpha Bravo just to complete Superion. Unless you’re a completist.

Last in the wave is Dragstrip. I don’t know why Hasbro decided to release 3 Aerialbots and 1 Stunticon. CW is targeted after G1 Fanboys who want everything 80s accurate. They should have just released all 4 Aerialbots in this wave (and replace Alpha Bravo with Slingshot). Regardless, we get Dragstrip now. He’s pretty cool. The figure feels solid, and transformation from alt mode to robot mode is enjoyable. I like the F1 alt mode, and the robot mode ain’t too shabby. A very playable figure.

So that’s it for Feb of 2015. 4 figs from Combiner Wars. A pretty light month in terms of TF purchases.

Transform and Roll Out.

OK, I am now finally getting back to documenting my monthly purchases. I swear to Primus I will finish this and catch up to where I am currently. Might take many posts, but it shall be done!

• Robots in Disguise Grimlock, Toys R Us, $16.99

• Generations Thrilling 30 Arcee and Chromia, tfsource.com, $31.99

• Combiner Wars Optimus Prime, amazon.com, $24.99

• Combiner Wars Silverbolt, amazon.com, $24.99

• Combiner Wars Thundercracker, amazon.com, $10.99

• Combiner Wars Powerglide, amazon.com, $10.99

• Combiner Wars Windcharger, amazon.com, $10.99

• Combiner Wars Bombshell, amazon.com, $10.99

• Toyworld TW-H04 Infinitor, tfsource.com, $114.95

• Microblaze Creations MBC002 Military Titans, tfsource.com, $109.95

• Masterpiece Ultra Magnus, hlj.com, $122.77

• Masterpiece Bumble, hlj.com, $44.26.

Here are the stats breakdown for the month:

• 1 fig from Robots in Disguise
• 2 figs from Generations Thrilling 30
• 6 figs from Combiner Wars
• 2 Masterpiece figs
• 2 Third Party figs

First up is RiD Grimlock. I think this was my first figure from the Robots in Disguise line. RiD figures as a whole seems cheap and simplistic. But this is Grimlock, so I gave it a shot. I dunno… he’s not bad, but not great either. Fun to play with for a while, but very forgettable once the fig is put away. I don’t think too highly of the RiD line, and this figure doesn’t do anything to change that perception.

Arcee and Chromia are the last of the Generations Thrilling 30 figs that I would buy. I still don’t know where this Thrilling 30 tag comes from… I am guessing maybe it’s the 30th anniversary of TF. Whatever the reason, I have enjoyed figs from this line. Arcee was one that I waited for. We finally get a good CHUG representation of everybody’s favorite female Autobot in her G1 stylings. Alt mode for Arcee looks awesome. Robot mode wise, she’s got some kibble on the back, but nothing I can’t live with. Transformation wise she’s a bit of a shell-former, which again deals with the back kibble. But I think I’m just so happy to get an official CHUG Arcee that I’m willing to overlook these minor shortcomings. Chromia is an excellent figure. I believe Chromia is a minor remold of Transformers Prime Arcee. In robot mode they look very similar, but Hasbro did enough modifications to the alt mode to make Chromia feel like a brand new figure. She looks like those bikes out of Tron. Very very cool! I actually enjoyed playing Chromia more so than Arcee. But I am glad I have both TF fembots in my collection.

OK – Now on to Combiner Wars! This is a series that I have looked forward to for some time. Combiner Wars officially kicked off in January of 2015. CW is a G1-inspired subline in the TF Generations line of figures. The gimmick here is that one voyager sized figure and 4 deluxe sized figures can combine to form a giant robot. Much like the combiners from G1, the toy limb components can be mixed with any bodies in any combination (like Scramble City). Third parties have been doing combiners for quite some time now. So I guess it’s about time Hasbro got on this trend and make some money off their own properties, instead of letting third parties hog all the action.

I wasn’t able to find any deluxe sized figs this month, but I was able to get 2 voyager figs and 4 legends figs in CW. These won’t combine obviously, but I like all these characters so I bought them all.

To start things off, we get CW Optimus Prime. Yes friends, they made OP into a combiner. Not technically G1-esque, but whatever. They are also using this mold as Motormaster (which I will go into in future posts), so this is more of a way for me to check out the mold. The robot mode is kinda blocky. Truck mode is not bad. I’m personally not too impressed with this mold in combiner body form. There is a problem with the hips of the figure. But between robot and truck modes, the construction is solid and robust. So for me, the CW OP fig is just ok.

Next in the line is CW Silverbolt. The famous G1 Aerialbot leader is finally getting a modern upgrade! Yeah, there was an Ultra Class figure released around 2008 (and later repainted into Skyfall). But that figure did not combine, so he was never a true Silverbolt in my opinion. The CW Silverbolt is a G1 homage through and through. In both jet and robot modes, he looks accurate to his G1 self. Transformation may be a tad simple for mature collector, but is still leaps and bounds more involved than the Ultra Class figure (which in my opinion was one of the simplest figures ever made, especially considering something of this size). In combined body mode, this figure really shines. The body mode looks good, is G1-accurate, and provides good mechanics as the center of a giant robot. He connects easily to other limb components, and mechanically well-serves the weight distribution challenges of a combiner. I guess one can always say that the jet mode has too much bulk on the underside, but all combiner jets in this history of TF has had that problem. Overall Silverbolt is a great figure. No wonder this figure is repainted into Cyclonus and Scattershot later.

CW Thundercracker is just a repaint of Thrilling 30 Starscream, while CW Windcharger is a repaint of Thrilling 30 Tailgate. So I won’t go into them too much.

CW Powerglide is a fun little figure. Both robot and jet modes are nice, and transformation feels adequate for a figure of this size. Powerglide is another figure where Hasbro has released an Ultra Class version. But true G1 enthusiasts will always think of Powerglide as a Mini-Bot, and so a legend class fig is much more appropriate. CW Bombshell is another welcome addition to this line. We already got Skrapnel (Shrapnel), so having Bombshell is a must (now I’m hoping they do Kickback). This Bombshell is a terrific figure in my opinion. Both modes are fun to play with. He comes together really nice in the beetle mode. Bombshell is my favorite Insecticon, so I am glad to see Hasbro give him a proper modern rendition.

Now onto the 3rd party purchases for the month. I still have not opened Military Titans as of this writing in April of 2016 (shame on me), so I won’t go into him. I did open ToyWorld Infinitor. This is an homage to Fortress Maximus, but a much more smaller and playable version. I never had the pleasure of the G1 Fort Max toy. There are re-issues out there, but he’s a huge piece that would take up way too much space for me. In the G1 cartoons, Fort Max is a city-size robot (like Metroplex). However in the comics, Fort Max is a large but ordinary size Autobot. I think that is what Infinitor is going for. Regardless, Infinitor is a solid, well-built figure. I can’t say for certain since I never had the G1 toy, but Infinitor feels essentially like G1 Fort Max shrunken down to playable size. He’s very blocky, like you would expect. The Headmaster gimmick is alive and well on Infinitor. He’s got the robot mode, a space cruiser mode, and 2 different city modes (though admittedly the 2 city modes look and feel similar). Overall I think this figure is ok. Get him if you like Fort Max, but not a must have in my opinion.

Finally, we are getting to the Masterpieces for the month. First up is MP Ultra Magnus, a figure that many fans have praised over and over. Some even go so far as to suggest that this should win figure of the year. Overall I think MP Ultra Magnus is pretty good. The alt mode could not be more G1. He scales well with other MPs in this mode. Transformation to robot mode uses the familiar scheme, but there are enough differences in the engineering to make him MP worthy. The robot mode of this figure is where I’m not as impressed. He’s still too blocky for me, and I was really hoping those brilliant Takara engineers could produce a robot mode that is more true to the G1 cartoon UM aesthetic. I hold MPs to a higher standard. Maybe figs like the MP-10 Optimus Prime set the bar too high, and I was expecting too much. Nevertheless, MP Ultra Magnus is a figure that is worthy of your collection. He’s not perfect in my opinion, but still something you should consider if you collect MPs or if you’re a fan of Ultra Magnus.

And last but not least, there is MP Bumblebee. This is a figure that gets no complaints from me whatsoever. We finally have in our hands the ultimate version of Bumblebee in all his G1 glory. The VW bug is nothing short of accurate. Transformation to robot is pure genius. And in robot mode, he looks like he jumped straight out of the G1 cartoon. Takara gave us another MP perfection in Bumblebee. He’s very well built and have amazing poseability. Oh, he also comes with Spike in his Exo-Suit, as seen in the 1986 G1 movie. This Spike figure is not bad, but I got this for Bumblebee, which is what I play with most of the time. If you could buy only one figure that I listed here for this month, get Bumblebee. You will not be disappointed.

That was a lot of TFs for one month. Things will slow down a bit after this. Til next time… Transform and Roll Out!

Happy Holidays! Today I am documenting all the TFs acquired back in Dec of 2014. I fully realize that’s one whole year ago. I know… I’m getting behind on my blogging. It’s just so hard to find the time. I am beginning to think I should make more frequent blog writing my new years resolution. But that’s a story for another day. Here are the TFs for the last month of 2014.

• Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Prowl, Walgreens, $7.74

• MakeToys M-F-B, BBTS.com, $12.99
• DX9 004 Armor Set, BBTS.com, $44.99

• Generations Thrilling 30 Brainstorm, BBTS.com, $26.99

TF Prime Beast Hunters Prowl is a repeat purchase. I got one back in June of 2014. The one this month was a random find at Walgreens. He’s rare, he was only $7.74, so I figured why not. I kept him unopened all this time. Maybe he will be worth something someday.

The DX9 004 Armor is for Age of Extinction Evasion Mode Optimus Prime. That figure is one of the first figs I got from the AoE line, and one of the best from that line. When I heard of a armor upgrade that would make him more like Powermaster Optimue Prime from the fifth toy season of G1, I was immediately intrigued. I never heard of DX9 at the time, but I looked at enough pics online to take a chance on this set. I am happy I bought the set. With the armor attached, the figure feels way more G1 like. I especially like the head mold. There are some tolerance issues though. The feet pieces are way too tight. You will need to either sand down the pegs on the feet pieces, or make the feet holes bigger on the figure. I only tried this upgrade set in robot mode. These same pieces also can attach in alt mode, but I didn’t try it.

The MFB from MakeToys is acronym for My First Blaster. I am told this weapon for Swerve makes an appearance in the comics by IDW. I won’t comment anymore as I’m no authority on the IDW-verse of TFs. The weapon itself is pretty cool. Be aware it does require some assembling. I’m a terrible model builder, so I already broke off one piece when assembling this. Also, this weapon is designed to go with MakeToys Trash-Talk, or their version of Swerve. This weapon will not operate with the official Hasbro Generations 30 version of Swerve (coincidentally also purchased in June of 2014). I bought it thinking that it would. The pegs are not the same size. Should have done my research first.

Last but not least, there is Generations Thrilling 30 Brainstorm. I first saw this at BotCon 2014. I could not believe my eyes when I saw this. I mean… if Hasbro was gonna venture into Headmasters, that opens up a whole world of possibilities on what they are willing to re-make in this modern era. I’m salivating just thinking about it! Anyways, Brainstorm is an excellent figure. He’s fairly simple in transformation, but in my opinion that’s a good thing. Modern TFs are so darn complicated sometimes that I just want something I can pick up and play. Brainstorm fits that bill. If I have the figure handy, I can sit there and transform him back and forth repeatedly, like I did all my TFs when I was a kid. Both modes look nice. As a voyager figure, he’s bigger than some of the third party Brainstorms that have been produced (such as Smart Robin). Oh, by the way, there are two versions of this figure. I got the fixed version, code 42791. Click here for more detail.

OK, that does it for the figs in 2014. Now I can move onto 2015… in 2016. I know… I suck. But I will get this done and get up to date like I used to be. Transform and Roll Out!

It seems like forever since I wrote any entries in this blog. Finding the time to do so has been extremely difficult. Today I took the day off from work to take care of some personal business, which turned out to be faster than expected. This left we with some extra time that I’ll devote to my TF blog.

Here are the purchases for November of 2014.

• Generations Thrilling 30 Cosmos and Payload, Target, $9.49

• Age of Extinction Snarl, Target, $14.24

• Age of Extinction Hot Shot, Target, $14.24

• Fall of Cybertron Air Raid, amazon.com, $17.80

• Masterpiece Wheeljack, hlj.com, $49.10

Cosmos is a figure I wanted for some time now. Back around either 2009 or 2010, Hasbro made some legend size figures as remakes of G1 Minibots in the Classic 2.0 lineup. I managed to find them all, except for Cosmos. He was the rarest one of the bunch, and scalpers wasted no time jacking up his price to around $50. No way I’m paying those prices for a tiny legend figure. So when I heard of this Cosmos, I had to get it. I never had the Classic 2.0 figure, but I’m willing to bet this Generations Cosmos is better in every way. The Generations figure is slightly larger, transformation is quite remarkable for a toy of this size, and he looks all around better than his Classic 2.0 counterpart in both modes. At around $10 he also comes with Mini-Con Payload. All in all a very nice deal for the price.

I believe this should be the last of the Age of Extinction figures in my collection. AoE figures as a whole is a sorry lot. Hot Shot is a testament to that sentiment. I was told repeatedly not to buy AoE Crosshairs. Hot Shot is a exact repaint of the mold, and now I know why. His robot mode is awful. There’s so much kibble hanging off the back it’s ridiculous. Even the slick car mode won’t save this atrocious figure. I bought Hot Shot because he reminds me so much of Tracks. I’m willing to bet that’s what Hasbro was counting on, and I fell for it head first. There are some bright spots in the AoE lineup (such as Evasion Mode Optimus Prime, Hound, and Drift), and Snarl is one of them. This is one of the better Dinobot figures out of AoE. I like the Dino mode, I like the robot mode, and transformation is fun. I don’t much care for the neon transparent green, but the mold itself is well engineered. There’s probably some kind of convention exclusive out there that has this figure repainted in G1 colors. That would make this fig even better.

I have written about this Japanese Air Raid, nearly a year ago. I can’t believe I’m so behind on documenting the Transformers for every month. Anyways, this Air Raid was bought during Black Friday weekend of that year. The Japanese version is much more closer to G1 colors than the US version. And getting a Japanese deluxe size figure for only $17 is a steal, so getting this was a no-brainer. Though I will say that the construction of this figure doesn’t seem to be as sturdy as the US figure.

Last but not least, there is Masterpiece Wheeljack. This is a figure that deserves the Masterpiece label. Takara set the var very high when they released Masterpiece Sideswipe. I am completely satisfied with that figure. The 2nd mold they released was for Prowl/Streak/Smokescreen. That figure is nice too, though not as good as Sideswipe in my opinion. Wheeljack is the third mold in this series. Takara managed to capture all the things they did right with Sideswipe when they produced Wheeljack. Transformation is ingenious, and construction is solid. The alt mode is something Lancia felt very comfortable in putting their logo on, and the robot mode is G1 show accurate perfection. Great poseability and great playability. This piece is every bit as good as MP Sidewsipe. Do not call yourself a true TransFan if MP Wheeljack is missing from your collection.

More to come soon… Transform and Roll Out!

October always seem to be a busy month in terms of TF activity. In October of 2012, I set a personal record for most TFs purchases in a month. This month I may have set another new record, of a related but slightly different category. So sit back, relax, and enjoy. This will be a long post.

• Age of Extinction Drift, Toys R Us, $24.99

• Age of Extinction Optimus Prime Evolution 2-Pack, Toys R Us, $44.99

• MakeToys Quantron, tfsource.com, $399.99

• Generations Thrilling 30 Jetfire, bbts.com, $46.99

• Fans Toys Scoria, bbts.com, $199.99

• Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Cyberverse Optimus Prime, bbts.com, $4.99

• Skrapnel with Reflector and Tailgate with Groundbuster, bbts.com, $21.99

• Nemesis Prime with Spinister and Cliffjumper with Suppressor, bbts.com, $21.99

• Generations Thrilling 30 Waspinator, Skids, Goldfire, Dreadwing, bbts.com, $59.99

• Generations Thrilling 30 Crosscut, Nightbeat, Windblade, Jhiaxus, bbts.com, $59.99

Age of Extinction Voyager Drift is a repaint of Skyhammer from Dark of the Moon. It appears they keep using this mold for Movie-verse figs. Skyhammer is one of my favorite figs from DotM, so I had to have this Drift. The figure is exactly the same, other than the head mold, the blue paint scheme, and the swords. Drift’s swords are kinda cool. He can use them separately in each hand, or have them combine into one huge sword.

I bought the Optimue Prime Evolution 2-Pack purely for the repaint of the Classic Prime mold. I love that figure, and this shiny new paint had my attention. The other Prime figure here is a repaint of Evasion Mode Optimus Prime from Age of Extinction. In retrospect, Evasion Mode Prime is one of the only few good figures from TF4, so I’m glad I have this repaint. I did not open this 2-Pack. The collector in me will probably just hold on to this as mint.

When I first head of MakeToys Quantron, I already made up in my mind that I had to have it. Quantron is an homage to the Technobots of G1, my favorite Autobot combiner team to come out of that era. Sure the Aerialbots are the most famous, but I think the Technobots are the coolest. I still remember buying Afterburner, my first fig from this awesome team. I loved his futuritic motorcycle mode. MakeToys Quantron wasn’t cheap. And I’m ashamed to say that as of this writing I still have not had the chance to play with this at all. I barely opened the box a few weeks ago to inspect the contents. Life as a working adult is way too hectic, and all of you reading should rue the day when you don’t have the time to immediately enjoy a $400 toy. But I promise to get to Quantron soon. All reviews I have seen gave it high marks. I know I will not be disappointed.

I have repeatedly mention how cool Generations 30 Jetfire is elsewhere in this blog, so I won’t do it again. Just know that he is awesomeness manifested in physical form. Go out and get yours now.

Masterpiece scale Dinobots is something that many 3rd parties are jumping into lately. These figures are usually $200 each… not cheap by any means. They all look pretty nice. But if I’m to get one, I want to go with a 3rd party that I trust. And so comes Scoria by Fans Toys. I was thoroughly impressed with Quakewave, so I had to give their interpretation of Slag a shot. Scoria does not disappoint. In robot mode he’s big and beefy. Construction is solid, and the transformation to dino feels familiar and refreshing at the same time. Scoria looks awesome in dino mode. I wish I have some pics handy to show him off. Maybe I will in a separate blog post.

I got TF Prime Beast Wars Optimus Prime purely because he was on sale at BBTS. I saw the fig quite frequently on the racks at stores like Walmart and Target and have always wondered if he’s any good. He’s not. A required purchase this ain’t. I already wasted too much time writing about this figure.

Nemesis Prime and Cliffjumper are just repaints of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, respectively. So I won’t talk about them too much. Skrapnel (or Shrapnel) is a cool little G1 Insecticon. This is probably the first time in a long time that Hasbro has made a G1 looking Insecticon. Tailgate is using a mold that will be repainted into Windcharger. This mold is ok. I got this to have a distinct mold for Tailgate, because I think the Reveal the Shield Windcharger is a much better mold and that will be my Windcharger.

The remaining deluxe Generations Thrilling 30 figures I’ll just quickly mention. Goldfire, Nightbeat, Dreadwing, and Jhiaxus are repaints of a figure in the same lineup. I really like Jhiaxus though. I’m liking the color scheme, and Hasbro reworked the mold to be different enough that it feels like a distinct figure. Windblade is a brand new mold. She looks pretty cool in both modes, but the figure itself is kinda flimsy. Waspinator is very cool! This is probably the coolest Waspinator that Hasbro has ever made. I like the wing gimmick. Skids and Crosscut are repaints of each other, though this mold is the first time we’re getting them. I was really looking forward to Skids, since many reviews praised the figure. The car mode is nice, but the robot mode has some poseability issues. There’s so much going on in robot mode that all the features start to block on itself. Still, all the weapons on Skids (and Crosscut) does make for a nice looking figure, when you can get them to pose the way you want.

Ok… that was a lot of figs! 27 total by my count. 23 if you don’t count the Mini-Cons of the Generations Thrilling 30 legends figs. My previous record for single TFs in a month is 24, so this month does surpass that if Mini-Cons are included as separate figures. However there’s one thing that this month sets a record for… and that’s the amount spent! Adding all these up, the total TF spending this month comes to a whopping $885.90! Ouch. That’s a bit much by anyone’s standard. Quantron and Scoria accounts for $600 by themselves alone. I really need to start selling off whatever I don’t play with anymore. Time to list more stuff in my Sales Section.

October is the last month of extravagant TF spending for 2014. Things will die down for the rest of the year.

Oh, one more thing, at the end of Oct 2014 I took another pic of my orange TFs. Check it out.

More to come… Transform and Roll Out!

Things cool down a bit in September of 2014. Only 3 TFs this month.

• Generations Thrilling 30 Rattrap, Target, $14.24

• Mastermind Creations Leo Dux, tfsource.com, $109.99

• Mastermind Creations Tigris, tfsource.com, $79.95

I think for the first time ever, all my purchases in a single month are figures where the alt modes are animals. Reminds me of the G1 episode “Call of the Primitives”.

Rattrap was a nice find. His release was 4 or 5 months before this, and at the time he was quite rare. As a fan favorite he’s snatched up quick. So of course online dealers spared no effort jacking up the price, sometimes at well over $40. I first saw this Rattrap figure at BotCon, back in June of 2014. Price dropped a bit by then, but at the con he was still about $25 at the cheapest. I like Rattrap, but I don’t like him enough that I want to pay any markup for this figure. So I was quite pleased when I found him in store this month. The figure itself is not too shabby. As of this writing, I only transformed him once from robot to rat. I remember the transformation was somewhat complicated. I need to spend some more time with this figure.

Leo Dux (Razorclaw) and Tigris (Rampage) from Mastermind Creations round out the rest of the figs this month. These are the last two needed to form Feral Rex (Predaking). Now that I have all 5 Feral Cons (Predacons), I think my favorite is Tigris. I feel he is the most fun to play with, and I really like both his modes. He’s also got some cool accessories. Leo Dux is cool too. Robot mode is especially nice, but the lion mode feels somewhat bulky.

Primitives… answer the call! Transform and Roll Out!

August is typically not a good month for finding new Transformers. In both 2012 and 2013, this month proved to be unproductive for TF hunting. Not so for 2014. Feast your optic sensors on all the goodies acquired August 2014.

• Generations Thrilling 30 Roadbuster, Target, $22.99

• Generations Thrilling 30 Sky Byte, Target, $22.99

• Generations Thrilling 30 Tankor, Toys R Us, $14.99

• Mastermind Creations Talon, CapturedPrey.com, $71

• Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Optimus Prime (Japanese release), amazon.com, $38

• Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Optimus Prime, ebay.com, $21.95

• Age of Extinction Lockdown, Toys R Us, $16.24

• Age of Extinction Bumblebee 2-pack, Toys R Us, $16.25

• Masterpiece Sunstorm, Toys R Us, $76.48

Let’s go over some stats first. 9 purchases for 10 figures total. 3 online purchases and 6 in-store purchases. 3 Generations figs, 3 AoE figs, 2 TF Prime figs, 1 MP fig, and 1 third party fig. 5 are Autobots, and 5 are bad guys from various factions (Decepticons, Predacons, Independents). Pretty good distribution overall.

The Generations Thrilling 30 figures were a pleasant find. In the previous months, there weren’t any TFs on store shelves other than offerings from Age of Extinction. So seeing something from my favorite TF lineup is a sight for sore optics. Roadbuster was one figure I have wanted Hasbro to release for some time now. The Wreckers are always fan favorites, and Hasbro’s Roadbuster takes it one step further to completing this lineup (here’s to hoping they will do Broadside). There has been some third party Roadbusters, but I don’t want to pay those kind of prices on every fig. Hasbro Roadbuster is a solid figure. I like both the robot mode and alt mode. Transformation is simple yet fun. Appearance wise, Roadbuster retains his unmistakable G1 look. He’s got weapons galore! He will give AoE Hound a run for his money.

Sky Byte are Tankor are characters that I do not recognize. Out of all my Transformers, I don’t have any figures that transform into sharks, and that makes Sky Byte one-of-a-kind in my collection. The shark mode is pretty good too. In robot mode, Sky Byte could pass for a G1 Pretender Shell. Not exactly my cup of energon, but I can see some fans dig this. I am not at all familiar with Tankor. And no, this is not the Universe triple-changing Tankor that is a homage to Octane. This is a separate character, which I could tell you nothing about. This toy is… unique to say the least. He doesn’t particularly impress me in either mode. His appearance does not seem to fit into any of the TF continuities. This figure reminds me of an old 80s figure that I have. That figure is not a Transformer or a GoBot, but some other 3rd party line that was looking to cash in around the same time frame. I still have that figure at home somewhere. Maybe I’ll dig out that figure some day and compare it to Tankor in the future at some point.

The only 3rd party figure this month is MMC Talon, which is an homage to G1 Divebomb of the Predacons. If memory serves, I pre-ordered this all the way back in January of 2013. Back then I never even heard of MMC. All I learned was that some new 3rd party is doing Predacons, so I pre-ordered instantly. Talon was supposed to be the first figure released in that lineup. But then I heard that something less than perfect happened with the manufacturing of the wings, and MMC really wanted to get it right, so they delayed it’s release. Props to MMC for their dedication to perfection. I haven’t actually played with Talon that much. He comes packaged in robot mode. Transformation to bird mode is pretty simple, if I remember right. I had both Bovis and Fortis before Talon arrived, and Leo Dux and Tigirs soon followed Talon’s release. So when that happened, I quickly transformed Talon to arm mode to form the fearsome Feral Rex (aka Predaking)! As of this writing I still have them combined. I think I will separate them soon, and play with them individually some more.

This month I got two Beast Hunter Optimus Prime figures from TF Prime, both the Japanese and US release. You might wonder why I did that. Back in May of 2013, I bought the US version of the fig. I really like this fig. Both modes are nice, transformation is fun, and overall construction is sturdy. But furthermore, I bought this fig immediately after meeting the girl who would become my fiancee. I still remember that day well. We met at Starbucks and chatted for 3 hours. And in true TF geekness, right after I met up with her, I went to the nearby Walmart to hunt for TFs. That’s when I picked up this Beast Hunter OP. So yeah, this figure has sentimental value for me. Fast forward to July or August of 2014. I had the sword plugged into the right fist, which is a super tight fit. When I tried to remove the sword, the handle broke off from the sword, and now the handle is stuck in the fist. Apparently this is a common problem. My buddy Gemini had the same issue, and he had to heat up the fist to get the sword out. I wish I did that instead of trying to force the issue. Anyway, the fig is now imperfect. I don’t like any of my figs being imperfect, especially one that holds so much sentimental value for me. At first I looked at possible fixes. I know I can get a third party sword (which is better). But the handle is still stuck in the first, and there’s no way to remove it. And I can’t find any third party hands for this fig. So in the end I decided to bite the bullet and just get a new one. At first I got the Japanese version from Amazon. I chose this over the US version because of the more show-accurate blue sword, and to get the feeling I’m not buying the same thing again. But then I saw a US version of the fig on ebay for a good price, so I bought that too. I guess I went a little overboard.

The AoE figures this month are Lockdown and the two Bumblebees. After watching TF4 with the GF (before she was my fiancee) at the theater, she remarked I should get the black Lambo. Of course she was referring to Lockdown. At the time, I wasn’t even sure if Hasbro would make a Lockdown in the AoE Generations subline. But they did eventually. The figure is not bad. The vehicle mode is nice, but I feel it could have been more black instead of this weird brown/grey color. Robot mode is ok. Arms are a bit too long in my opinion. The deluxe Camaro Bumblebee is not too shabby, but it really doesn’t offer anything new after all the deluxe Camaro Bumblebees that have been made in the first 3 movies. He’s not the best construction-wise, though. I already broke off a shoulder piece that forms the front corner bumper. The little Bumblebee that came in the 2-pack is a repaint of the Generations Thrilling 30 Bumblebee. This Bumblebee is the one I featured in my last post.

Last but not least, there’s Masterpiece Sunstorm. He is a repaint of the new MP Seeker mold with absolutely no new additions or enhancements. This mold was only released twice previously in the United States, once as Thundercracker and once as Acid Storm. These two were Toys R Us exclusives, and Sunstorm also continues that trend. As Sunstorm, some fans have complained of construction issues, specifically that the wings don’t stay attached to the back in robot mode. But mine seems just fine. I have done enough gushing over this mold in the past, so I will not repeat that here.

OK… that was quite a lot of TFs. Next month it slows down. Can’t have this many figures every month, or I’ll go broke.

Transform and Roll Out.