I don’t know why, but May 2013 seemed like a long month. Yes there are 31 days in the month, but it’s hard to imagine one extra day making a big difference (unless of course you talk to those in retail). More often than not, a month seems to fly by these days. Yet something about this past May feels different… can’t quite put my finger on it though.

And now I’m wondering if there are months on Cybertron. That’s an idea worth exploring. But on to more pressing business. These are my TF acquisitions for this May.

• Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Shockwave, Kmart, $21.99

• Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Optimus Prime, Walmart, $18.97

• Masterpiece Rumble and Jaguar (MP-15), hlj.com, about $35
• Masterpiece Frenzy and Buzzsaw (MP-16), hlj.com, about $35

• Generations Springer, Walmart, $22.99

• Transformers Prime Arms Micron Silas Breakdown (AM-24), amiami.com, about $50

• Transformers Prime Arms Micron Unicron (AM-19), amiami.com, about $65

• Transformers Prime Arms Micron Smokescreen (AM-26), amiami.com, about $13

All the above adds up to 10 figures for the month. 5 from TF Prime, 4 Masterpieces, and 1 Generations fig. Not a bad haul for May. Though only 2 of the figures were found in store by me (Shockwave and OP). The 4 MPs were online purchases. Springer, Silas Breakdown, Unicron, and Smokescreen were successfully located by my friend Gemini.

It should be noted I did not make a single TF purchase in the first half of May. So I was really beginning to think that this month would be like last month where I only got 1 TF. Then on May 17th I find Shockwave. On May 19th I decided to get BH Optimus. I’ve seen this figure plenty of times before, but was hoping to find him cheaper. I got sick of waiting so on this day I bought it. Then the MP figs show up later that week from hlj. And on Memorial Day weekend, Gemini hands me all the TFs he found for me. All these figures bunched up toward the end to make May a good month for TFs.

As of this writing, I have only opened the three US figures. Shockwave is pretty cool, though some aspects of his construction could have been better. On my figure, the right arm keeps falling off at the shoulder. A little nail polish seems to fix the issue, but this shouldn’t have been a problem to begin with. I also don’t like the position of the ratchet increments on the hip joints. The beast armor is worthless. But other than these issues, he’s an excellent fig. Both modes look great, transformation is fun and easy, he’s plenty articulated, and the design and colors are pure Shockwave.

I highly recommend Beast Hunters Optimus, like all the other reviews I have seen. Both modes are awesome and I detect no construction issues. Articulation is superb, and the alt mode comes together well. The major complaint among the TF fandom about this figure (which I agree with) is the ugly head mold, but some 3rd party is coming out with a custom head which should address this. Some fans also gripe about the green windows and sword, but that doesn’t bug me too much.

Springer is pure awesomeness! All TransFans have nothing but praises for him. For this reason, I opened him with such a quickness that I forgot to take pics of him when he was still unopened in the box. I haven’t transformed him yet, but I’m totally digging the robot mode. For those that don’t know, this Springer is modeled after Nick Roche’s version from Last Stand of the Wreckers (a brilliant TF graphic novel BTW). Many fans already project this fig to be TF of the year. I’ll transform him soon and see how much I agree with that assessment, but that many fans can’t be wrong so I know I’ll be pleased to say the least.

As for the 7 Takara TFs, I plan to open them all.

In unrelated news, this past Sunday I attended Fanime 2013. In a earlier post I said I will cover the event, but I really didn’t take any pics this time, so I guess I won’t. This was the first anime con for me in several years. The big draw these days appear to be all the cos-players. I estimate between 30 to 40% of all attendees are in costume. Shopping doesn’t seem like it’s as big as before. Sales of anime DVDs and Blurays have really dwindled. I guess it’s a sign of the times.

BotCon 2013 is next month. I probably will not go, but you never know. Til next time, Transform and Roll Out.

Happy New Year!

Before I say goodbye to 2012, it’s time to count up the Transformers acquired in December.

• DOTM Jetwing Optimus Prime, Amazon.com, $104.99

• TF Prime RID Vehicon, gift from Pax Cybertron

• TF Prime FE Bulkhead, Toys R Us, $24.99

• FOC Soundwave and Laserbeak, Toys R Us, $22.99

• FOC Frenzy and Ratbat, Toys R Us, $10.99
• FOC Ravage and Rumble, Toys R Us, $6.59

That’s a total of 9 TFs for the month. 6 from Fall of Cybertron (FOC), 1 from Dark of the Moon (DOTM), and 2 TF Primes.

The Vehicon is from Pax Cybertron. See this post for full details.

As for Bulkhead, this is my 2nd purchase of this figure. I know, I said no multiples this year. But at $24.99 it feels so cheap compared to what I paid for the 1st one, which was $69.99. I really like this fig too, so I got another. Though it does make me feel stupid for buying the 1st one from eBay. Toys R Us has FE Optimus Prime at $24.99 also. It took a lot of willpower for me to not buy a 2nd one of that fig. This 2nd Bulkhead I’m leaving sealed in the box, and the pic above is of the 1st figure.

The FOC figures I found all on the same trip to Toys R Us. I have opened them all and they are all recommended, especially Soundwave. My only gripe about these is that the discs don’t eject all that well, and that the auto-transform mechanics of the discs more hinders than helps. But don’t let that stop you from buying them if you see them. On my visit, TRU was doing a buy one and get one at 40% off on all TFs. This is why one of the pair of discs was only $6.59. I really wanted to get another TF to pair with Soundwave for another 40% off (again, really considered FE Optimus), but in the end only decided to get the new figs.

DOTM Jetwing Optimus I have not opened. I might someday. I really want to checkout the wings. I believe the base figure is a slight remold of ROTF Leader class Optimus, which is an excellent figure. The only new gimmick here is the wings. Some fans have said that the Japanese version of this fig is hands down the best transforming movie Optimus made. That one retailed for over $200 US, so I wasted no time to pre-order the US Amazon Exclusive version at $104.99. However, around mid-December, Amazon dropped the price of this figure to only $52. That kinda pissed me off. I could’ve got this for half the price. Oh well. At this very moment, Amazon has it at about $100, so I don’t feel too bad anymore.

2012 was the first year where I kept stats on the number of TFs I purchased. Here are the year to date statistics:

• 12 figures from Dark of the Moon (DOTM)
• 32 figures from Transformers Prime
• 3 Power Core Combiners (PCC)
• 1 figure from Cybertron
• 5 Masterpieces
• 19 figures from Generations Fall of Cybertron (FOC)
• 16 figures from Generations GDO
• 1 Alternity figure
• 2 Animated figures
• 3 Star Wars figures
• 7 3rd Party figures

That’s a grand total of 103 figures for 2012. Is that good? Who knows. That’s about 8.5 figs per month. Or close to 2 figs a week.

And as I look at the stats from month to month, I noticed that most of my purchases came at Q1 and Q4. Right after and right before new years. From April to Sept there was a real drought of TFs. I guess this is normal for a non-movie year. It’s also not surprising that most of the figures came from TF Prime, since it is the active TF show.

On a more personal note, I’m happy to be done with 2012. It’s been a weird year for me, in both good and bad ways. I’m looking forward to 2013. I don’t know what kind of TFs Hasbro has planned for 2013, but they come up with something to keep me interested every year.

I’m ready for 2013! Transform and Roll Out!