Many of my 3P figures use faction stickers that are independently purchased. I have used both official (such as Ocean Designs) and unofficial (such as TOYHAX) stickers. For the most part they do the job. But once in a while I wish they could be better. Take MakeToys Gundog, for example. The figure is seen in last month’s post with an Autobot faction sticker applied. It looks ok, but it can certainly be improved.

My buddy Gemini recently introduced me to rub on decals of faction symbols. He got some and was super impressed with the results. This I had to see for myself, so I got some too.

The sheet of decals appears below. I forgot to take a pic of mine before I started using them, so here I’m using the pic that Gemini took of his.

The full sheet is pretty big, about the size of a standard 11″ by 8.5″ piece of paper. They decals are organized into 3 sections. Decals across the top section are all clear backing, and across the bottom section are all white backing. Those in the middle section is a mix of clear and white backing.

Notice on the left hand side are some Hasbro logo decals. I used these for practicing before I really applied one. Not sure why anyone would want to put Hasbro logos on anything.

I peeled off the Autobot sticker on Gundog and applied the rub on decal. The results are amazing! He looks way better. After application, they have a slight 3D look to them, as if they are engraved or molded on. Very very cool. Take a look at the pics below of some 3P figures using rub on decals.

MakeToys Gundog – clear backing
 

Fans Toys Sovereign – white backing
 

DX9 Gewalt – white backing
 

It does take a bit more skill to use these decals, though. Lining up the faction symbols so they are in alignment can be tricky. Often times, your first try can be off center, in either position or rotation. They also don’t peel off easy. I don’t know of an easy way to get them off once they’re applied.

Despite these negatives, using rub on decals are still the way to go. They look many times better than stickers. I highly recommend them for use with your 3P Masterpiece style figures.

Transform and Roll Out.

 

Some impressive figures arrived in March. And like June of last year, this is another month where 3P products outnumber official products. Is this a new trend among hardcore TF collectors? Only time will tell. But for now let’s focus our optics on the goodies below.

• Titans Return Sixshot, Toys R Us, $46.99

• Masterpiece Grapple, hlj.com, ¥11200 (about $102.72)

• MakeToys Gundog, thechosenprime.com, $79.99

• Fans Toys Mercenary, thechosenprime.com, $82.99

• Warbotron Air Burst, bbts.com, $71.19

Sixshot

Let’s first take a look at Sixshot. This is an official Hasbro update of the character. There was a time when I was really hoping for Hasbro or Takara to do their modern interpretation of Sixshot, something I have expressed all in way back in 2009. This became reality 8 years later in 2017. However, one third party beat them to the punch. I featured MMC Hexatron in a previous post. I bought the figure in 2014, but I believe he was released in 2013. So Hasbro/Takara is late to the party. That kind of took some of the hoopla out of Sixshot’s release now. And fans will undoubtedly compare Sixshot to Hexatron.

I will say this now: Sixshot is not as good as Hexatron. If you want a MP scaled Sixshot with better construction quality, more detail, and superior transformation, Hexatron is the way to go. When the two are compared side by side, Sixshot feels like the toy while Hexatron feels like the collector’s piece. But this doesn’t mean that Sixshot is a bad figure in any way, shape, or form. I will outline some of the pros and cons of Sixshot below.

Pros:

• At only $46.99, better value over Hexatron
• There are some specific areas of Sixshot where the engineering has pleasantly surprised me, not many of these areas though
• Comes with a Titan Master (or Headmaster) figure, though hardcore G1 purists will argue this is a con
• In each of the six modes, there is a different place to store the Titan Master

Cons:

• Detail not as good as Hexatron
• Engineering not as good as Hexatron
• Scale may be an issue; too big for CHUG, and too small to be MP

I would say that if you already have Hexatron, you may want to skip Sixshot. But if you don’t collect 3P products, or if you’re just a completist, then by all means pick up Sixshot. He’s a perfectly solid figure with no severe shortcomings.

Grapple

The only other official product this month is MP Grapple. Grapple is a repaint of MP Inferno, which was purchased last month. To this day I still have not opened Grapple. I have been meaning to, but I just haven’t got around to it. I’m gonna trust that he’s as good as Inferno. In fact, some fans have said that he’s better. I’m told that Takara reworked enough bits on Grapple that he feels like a different figure. I can’t confirm nor deny that. I will open him soon and see for myself.

Gundog

Let’s now turn our attention to the 3P products of the month. But first, I want to mention a new online TF retailer that I decided to try: The Chosen Prime. I have bought from them before, though it was through Amazon, for a legend class Acid Storm. This month is the first time I ordered from them direct. And let me say this: they have surpassed all my expectations! The items were carefully packed and delivered on time. There was a mix-up about how I wanted the items shipped, but a short email to their customer service quickly resolved the issue. Since then, they have become one of my trusted go-to stores online for collector grade TFs. Bravo Chosen Prime!

First item from Chosen Prime is MakeToys Gundog, their tribute to G1 Hound. Hound needs no introduction. He got significant screen time in the first 3 eps of G1, “More Than Meets The Eye”. It looks like he was gonna be best friends with Spike, until later Bumblebee took that role. Hound is perhaps best known for his hologram projections, which he used to fool Decepticons time and time again. As a G1 toy, Hound is memorable as only one of a few Jeep type vehicles in all of G1. As of this writing, there is still not an official Masterpiece update of Hound. So it’s left up to third parties to step up to the plate.

There are currently two flavors of 3P Hound: MakeToys Gundog and Fans Toys Willis. I looked at the pictures over and over, and considered which one I wanted to represent my Hound. In the end I went with Gundog. I won’t bore you all with what went into this selection process, but suffice it to say it was not an easy decision. They both have their pros and cons. It comes down to mostly aesthetics. Gundog represented the G1 toy a bit more and that won me over.

I am very happy with Gundog. I opted for the cartoon accurate green version (over the toy accurate dark green version). He comes packed in robot mode. The details in the head mold is excellent, and the design is unmistakably Hound. He’s got enough articulation to satisfy those fans who like dynamic poses in their figures. I do have two small gripes about the robot mode. The legs can appear a bit thick. And the upper portion of the figure does not appear to be able to snap in with the lower half, resulting in a figure that like to bend forward at the waist when it’s being handled.

Gundog’s transformation is one of the most ingenious that I have seen in recent years. The arms have this very original unfolding mechanism that flats out into the base of the Jeep. I love Gundog in the alt mode and I find no weaknesses in this mode whatsoever. He rolls fine on a flat surface. Gundog comes with many accessories, and in alt mode is where all these accessories truly make an impact. Below I have some Minions cruising around in Gundog.

Mercenary

Next up is Fans Toys Mercenary, also purchased from The Chosen Prime. I had already committed to the Fans Toys Insections, starting with Grenadier (Bombshell). By March of 2017, it was getting difficult to secure purchases of the Fans Toys Insecticons. Most hardcore fans seem to agree that FT does the best 3P MP-style Insecticons, and these figures were selling fast. When I saw that Chosen Prime had a copy of Mercenary remaining, I quickly jumped at it.

As you can no doubt see, Mercenary is Shrapnel, unofficial leader of our favorite robotic insect pests. Fans Toys did a remarkable job with this figure. He looks cartoon accurate in both modes, and in bug mode he feels G1 toy accurate as well. These FT insects may be small, but they got some heft to them. The weight and feel seem to suggest that some diecast parts are used. Transformation follows the same overall G1 motif for Sharpnel. However, there are some minor mechanics that you should watch for if you decide to get this figure and transform it. Also, since there are diecast parts, transformation can be more difficult than you might expect. It’s hard for me to explain this in words, but transforming and manipulating diecast takes more effort than plastic. But don’t let these annoyances stop you if you want MP style Insecticons in your collection. Shrapnel looks fantastic. The beetle horns are painted an excellent silver chrome (unlike the FansProject Insecticons, which came with a dull grey and had to be custom painted silver). He scales accurately with other MP Decepticons. Construction of the figure is solid. All these positives are wrapped up in a package of around $80. You will not be disappointed with Mercenary.

Air Burst

The final entry of the month is Air Burst. It’s also the final piece that I needed to complete my Warbotron Combaticons. Ironically, Air Burst (aka Blast Off) was the first figure released in the Warbotron line. Back in G1, Blast Off was my first Combaticon purchased. So why did I get all the other Warbotron figs first? All the Warbotron figs were already released when I started buying them. I was recommended to go with Sly Strike (aka Swindle) first, since many fans have voiced that he’s the best one of the bunch. And also because I found him at a good sale. Then my wife got me Whirlwind (aka Vortex) and Heavy Noisy (aka Brawl) as gifts. Fierce Attack (aka Onslaught) was found at a sale shortly after. And this leaves only Air Burst. I actually found him at a sale too, and got him sometime late in 2016. I held back on shipping him because I thought I was gonna get more items. As it turns out, I didn’t. So I waited to ship him all the way til March of 2017 for nothing. Super bad planning on my part.

I thought I was going to be disappointed with Air Burst, since many fans have expressed dissatisfaction of sorts. I’m not sure what everyone’s complaining about, because I love the figure! Just to be clear, I got V1 of this figure, and not the supposedly fixed V2. (Sidebar: Earlier releases of Fierce Attack comes with V2 parts, but unfortunately I was not aware of that and got a later release that doesn’t 🙁 ) I don’t detect any issues to have a crying fit. I love both the alt mode and the robot mode. I love the way he transforms – simple enough to be fun but complex enough to be satisfying. I have no issues with his appearance. He’s very G1 accurate as far as I’m concerned. Warbotron figs are known to have minor tolerance issues, but I detect nothing of the sort on my Air Burst. The arm connection mechanism for the combined mode is what is supposedly fixed for V2. I dunno, I combined Bruticus with my V1 Air Burst and everything seems fine. I guess my only gripe about Air Burst is that there’s a bit of puzzle forming, in that the rear thrusters form the arm cannons. I would have liked to see the thrusters incorporated into the transformation and be parts in robot mode, but it’s something I can live with.

Now for some group pics. Air Burst looks great with his fellow Combaticon cohorts. Check it out!

Now that the team is complete, it’s time combine! Combaticons, transform and merge into Bruticus!

I love this combiner set. Warbotron did justice to my favorite combiner team from G1. I have absolutely no regrets with buying this set for my MP styled Combaticons. I know there are some newer 3P offerings coming for the Combaticons. But only time will tell if any of the newer sets are hands down superior to Warbotron. For now, these are my MP Combaticons.

One last thing: the boxes for each Warbotron fig can combine and form a giant piece of artwork. It’s kinda cool. Check out the pic below.

Below are some extra pics of the three 3P figs this month in their alt modes.

That wraps it up for March of 2017. Until next time, Transform and Roll Out!
 

I love the Masterpiece line of Transformers. Takara has done so many characters now. Some of the MP interpretations of Autobots from Season 1 are still my favorites. Below I have pics of MP Optimus Prime with different teams of Autobots, ready to roll out and kick some Decepticon butt!

Team 1 was already featured back in this post. I kept Prime and swapped in some other MP Autobots for Team 2.
 

Team 1

• Optimus Prime
• Ironhide
• Wheeljack
• G2 Bumblebee
• Bluestreak – with Alpha Launcher
• DX9 Invisible (aka Mirage)

 

Team 2

• Optimus Prime
• Ratchet
• Sideswipe
• Bumblebee
• Prowl – with Omega Launcher
• MakeToys Gundog (aka Hound)

 

Transform and Roll Out!
 

I have a lot of Transformers. I do play with them, and I try to be as careful as I can be when transforming them. But when you have as many as I do, you’re bound to break some. Occasionally the figures come broken (yes this has happened). Sometimes an inherent flaw in manufacturing or design lends the figure to breaking after only a few play.

Below are 10 of the figures from my collection where something has occurred to render them less than perfect. My heart breaks every time one of my Transformers breaks. Read on and see if you have mishandled any of these 10.
 

Brawl (Leader Class)
Series: Movie (2007)
Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Ground Assault
Mode in Package: Robot
Known Redecos: Movie Deep Desert Brawl
Status: Returned to store; got replacement

The Figure:
Movie Leader Class Brawl is one of only few Leader Class figures I have from the entire Movie-verse. I highly recommend him. The robot mode is decent, but the tank mode is where this figure truly shines. He also has working lights and sounds, if that’s your thing.

The Incident:
First time I purchased this figure was from Toys R Us, and he was already broken out of the box. I documented this already, back in this post. There was a peg that came broken. It’s been more than 10 years now, so I don’t remember exactly which peg. But I think it was on the turret.

The Aftermath: I quickly returned Brawl to Toys R Us. I would have simply asked for a exchange, if they only had more of the figure. Since they didn’t, I asked for a refund and then bought it again on Amazon. And for cheaper too – looking up my old Amazon records, I re-purchased him for only $31.99! Can’t imagine getting a Leader Class figure for that price nowadays.
 

Samurai Prowl (Deluxe Class)
Series: Animated
Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Autobot Spy
Mode in Package: Motorcycle with Sidecar
Known Redecos: none
Status: Returned to store; no replacement

The Figure:
Samurai Prowl is one of the hardest figures to find from the Animated line. I was super thrilled when I found one on pure happenstance. He appeared on a TRU shelf when the TFA line of toys was officially over. I documented that purchase here and a review here.

The Incident:
I outlined how I damaged the toy in the review. Specifically, the connection between the motorcycle and the side car is broken. The whole thing happened in such a way that I didn’t even notice it when the breakage occurred. I have must broken it on the first transform from alt mode to robot mode, because I saw the breakage on the reverse transformation. I’m forced to think that connection must have been super brittle. However I haven’t seen any other documented cases of this, so it’s possible I was being too rough. Though that’s not like me at all – when it comes to my TFs I’m usually careful to a fault.

The Aftermath:
I wasn’t happy about the breakage at the time, and I don’t feel any better about it now. I returned the figure to TRU, because perhaps the TF OCD in me can’t stand to have broken figures in my collection. But like I said, this figure is hard to find. I only saw him one other time. It was at the dealer’s room at a BotCon. The dealer wanted $40 for it, and no way was I gonna pay that. Sad to say, I never saw the figure in store again. Checking on Amazon just now, the lowest price is around $100. In retrospect, maybe I should have just hung on to my broken Samurai Prowl, or spent the $40 at BotCon for another one.
 

Bumblebee (Deluxe Class)
Series: Animated
Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Autobot Speedster
Mode in Package: Car
Known Redecos: Elite Guard Bumblebee, Jetpack Bumblebee
Status: Damaged; got replacement

The Figure:
From one TFA figure we go to another. I got TFA Deluxe Bumblebee in a pack of 15 figures I bought used on Cragislist, something that I documented here. TFA figures as a whole don’t have the best construction. They often feel like cheap plastic cobbled together into a toy by ill-fitting ball joints. Bumblebee is a prime example of this. The alt mode cockpit pieces that form the back of the legs are connected by ball joints. One of them is too loose, and keeps coming off.

The Incident:
I tried to fix said loose joint by applying some nail polish to the socket. Unfortunately, I applied too much and now the ball won’t go in at all. So I guess you could say I broke this by trying to fix it.

The Aftermath:
I tried to buy another Bumblebee in store, but by then the Animated line was officially over. Online retailers were all charging a markup. Bumblebee is a mediocre figure at best, so I’m not paying markup for such a figure. Fortunately for me, I was able to get a Japanese version of this figure at a pretty good price, way less than whatever the MSRP was. That purchase was outlined here. The Japanese version is better anyway, with shiny chrome paint and slightly better construction. This is the figure that represents my Bumblebee in my TFA line. As for the “broken” Bumblebee, I keep him around for spare parts. He has come in handy, which brings me to my next entry…
 

Megatron (Voyager Class)
Series: Transformers United
Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Decepticon Leader
Mode in Package: Robot
Known Redecos: Classics Megatron, Henkei Megatron
Status: Repaired

The Figure:
I am still not sure what exactly is Transformers United. It was a Japanese only line. As far as I can tell, Takara took a bunch of Henkei figures, repainted them, and released this United line. There was no US equivalent. Anyways, Classics Megatron was one of the first 6 figures produced in the Classics line. The line is significant in that it started an update of classic G1 characters in modern forms while still capturing the G1 spirit. As a figure, the design of Classics Megatron is questionable. He does transform into a gun, which all G1-ers love. But Classics Megatron fits the very definition of shell-former (think G1 Scourge). Also, his alt mode kinda looks like a futuristic Cybertron pistol at best, and a toy water gun at worst. The Classics colors also don’t help matters, and even I have to agree that the US version of the figure used some kid friendly colors that made Megatron look like a Nerf toy gun. And so I wanted a more G1 accurate version of this figure. I was at BotCon 2011, and saw a dealer selling the United version of this figure at a reasonable price. So I bought it.

The Incident:
I’m not in the habit of opening my toys at the convention. After I got home, I find that something is wrong with the transformation. I can’t get the waist to properly align correctly for alt mode. Upon closer inspection, I see that a part in the waist is installed backwards! The whole thing is assembled with a screw, so all you really had to do is unscrew the assembly, re-position the part, and re-screw. However, it took me sometime to figure all this out. And by the time I did, I totally mangled the head of the screw. Fortunately I got the screw out, but there was no way it could be used again.

The Aftermath:
In the last entry I mentioned I use TFA Bumblebee for spare parts, and he has a screw that kinda fits into United Megatron. I now use that screw to secure this part of Megatron’s waist. The part in question is only visible during transformation. The fit with Bumblebee’s screw is not perfect. Rotation of the part using this screw is quite loose. However, the loose rotation is only apparent during transformation. And the waist as a whole has other parts that lock it into place in both alt and robot modes. So I’m ok with this fix. I have made peace with the fact that my United Megatron is not perfect, but functional (que “I still function” from the G1 Movie).
 

Darksteel (Deluxe Class)
Series: Dark of the Moon
Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: ???
Mode in Package: Sports Car
Known Redecos: DotM Sideswipe
Status: Damaged; got replacement

The Figure:
Dark of the Moon Darksteel is not a character in the movie. I’m not sure if he has an appearance anywhere. Darksteel is another quick cash grab off an existing mold, in this case Sideswipe from the same movie. In all honesty, this mold is pretty cool. The redeco colors chosen for Darksteel is smashingly striking, and he does have a unique head mold that differentiate him from Sideswipe. I bought one when the figure was first released. I transformed him from alt mode to robot mode no problem.

The Incident:
Some months later I decided to transform him back to alt mode. It was late a night and I guess I was a bit too careless. Long story short, I bent one of the feet pieces the wrong way and broke it. I have transformed Sideswipe many times so I thought I knew the process, but I will admit that I don’t remember how TFs transform as well as I used to.

The Aftermath:
Some months after the first breakage, I went to shop at Kohls because they mailed me a $10 certificate, good for anything in the store. Most people don’t know this, but Kohls also has a toy section. Occasionally they will have Transformers. Anyways, on this particular trip, I find that they had Darksteel. They were already having a 10% off sale. And with the $10 certificate, the final price of Darksteel came to only $3.90. I documented that purchase here. To this day, I still have this 2nd copy of Darksteel mint in the package. I’ll probably keep this unopened. He’s not worth so much now, but maybe one day.
 

Optimus Prime (Voyager Class)
Series: Transformers Prime Beast Hunters
Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Autobot Leader
Mode in Package: Robot
Known Redecos: Beast Hunters Optimus Prime (with extra green armor)
Status: Attempting repairs; got replacements

The Figure:
You didn’t think I was gonna get through this list without having an Optimus Prime figure on here, did you? Hasbro makes so many Optimus figures that it would be weird not to break one if you collected as many TFs as I did. I really like Beast Hunters Optimus. The toy is a good size to play with. He’s got a fun and intuitive transformation, and the figure looks good in both modes. I’m not crazy about the head mold, and hardcore TFP fans love to point out that his sword in the show is blue, not green. Still, at less than $20, this is a terrific OP figure.

The Incident:
I have only ever broken one Optimus Prime figure, and it’s this one. It could be worse, like if I broke the MP-10. But like I said, BH Optimus is one of the better figures of the famous Autobot Leader, so I’m still a bit bothered by it. Also, this figure represents something significant in my personal life, as I have documented here. So it kinda pains me to see it less than perfect. What happened is I broke the sword while Optimus is holding it, so now the handle of the sword is stuck in Prime’s right fist. I felt the sword being stuck in the fist, yet I still tried to force it out. Not a good move. Though I’m sure it was a bad job with the tolerance that led to this. My buddy Gemini had the same problem. Only he was more patient and submerged the fist and sword in really hot water and pulled it out.

The Aftermath:
To compensate for this breakage, I went out and purchased more BH Optimus figures, documented in the same post. I got both the US and Japanese versions of this, so now I have two unopened BH Optimus Prime figures sitting in a closet. I’m glad I did, because they are now worth quite a bit. I still want to attempt a fix on my original figure though. I recently bought the 3rd party Blue Skybreaker Sword by Dr Wu that is way better than the sword that came with BH Optimus. Now I just need to get the broken sword handle out of Optimus’ right fist. If I can do that, I will consider this figure back in perfect condition. Maybe I’ll try Gemini’s hot water trick.
 

Bumblebee (Deluxe Class, part of TRU Exclusive 2-pack)
Series: Age of Extinction
Allegiance: Autobot
Function: ???
Mode in Package: Robot
Known Redecos: AoE Bumblebee, standard edition
Status: Damaged; no replacement

The Figure:
How many Deluxe Bumblebees did they make from the Movie-verse? Too many to count, that’s for sure. I got one Deluxe Bumblebee in modern Camaro form from each of the 5 movies. The one featured here is from the 4th movie: Age of Extinction. After a while, all these Bumblebees just kinda blend together. The later Bees became one giant yellow blur. I don’t remember anything special about this one, other than the two circular disc type weapons that he has. For AoE, I got the special TRU 2-pack edition. The package comes with the standard AoE Deluxe Bumblebee that’s painted a bit more orange, and a repaint of Generations Legend Bumblebee from the Thrilling 30 line. One of these days I should put together all my Deluxe Movie Bumblebees for a group photo.

The Incident:
One night when I was transforming AoE Bumblebee from robot to car, I broke off the this right shoulder piece. This piece becomes the front right area of the hood in alt mode. I don’t even know what happened exactly. The part just broke on me. I dunno, I might have forced something, or maybe the part was just weak. Movie toys usually don’t have the best construction to begin with.

The Aftermath:
I thought about buying another standard Deluxe AoE Bumblebee to replace this broken one. But my feelings about this figure is mediocre at best. I didn’t wanna pay MSRP, though I was never able to find another one at less than that. So chances are this figure will just remain broken, not getting replaced or repaired.
 

Bumblebee (Deluxe Class, part of Bumblebee vs Barricade First Encounter 2-pack)
Series: Movie (2007)
Allegiance: Autobot
Function: ???
Mode in Package: Robot
Known Redecos: Movie (2007) Bumblebee standard edition, Target Exclusive Evolution of Bumblebee 2-pack
Status: Damaged; no replacement

The Figure:
How many Bumblebees are we gonna have on this list? And why do I keep breaking them? This is the last one, I promise. This is the very first Deluxe Bumblebee released in the Movie-verse. This figure transforms into a classic Camaro, the car that Sam first owns for the first half of the original Movie (and still the best). All the initial Movie toys had this crazy gimmick called “Advanced Automorph Technology”, sometimes just Automorph for short. Basically, several parts of the figure will auto transform upon moving a single piece. This is usually done through spring-loaded action built into the figure. In the case of this classic Caramo Bumblebee figure, the hood will automatically fold down to form the chest upon doing something else (of which I don’t recall anymore). It sounds cool, but it really isn’t.

The Incident:
The problem with these kinds of physical gimmicks is that they’re prone to breakage, and that’s exactly what happened. Years after I owned this figure, I dug him out of a box in the closet. I usually keep my figures in alt mode. When I found him, I saw that the car’s front hood is folded down. I tried to fold it back up, but it won’t click into position anymore. This figure broke while it was in storage. Some plastic pieces broke off after years of holding Automorph spring pressure. I probably should have stored this guy in robot mode. Lesson learned.

The Aftermath:
I actually had another version of this figure as part of the Target Exclusive Evolution of Bumblebee 2-pack. I kept it new but then sold it later, before I found out about the breakage. I do kind of want another one of this Bumblebee, not because it’s a great figure, but for it’s significance as part of a toyline that crossed from animation into live action media. Not a priority though.
 

M-F-B
Series: N/A
Allegiance: Autobot
Function: N/A
Mode in Package: N/A
Known Redecos: None
Status: Damaged; no replacement

The Figure:
This isn’t technically a figure. This is a gun accessory called M-F-B by 3rd party MakeToys. Due to licensing reasons, they can’t call it what it is, which is My First Blaster. In the IDW line of TF comics, this is a weapon for smaller sized Autobots. Swerve is often seen holding the weapon. MakeToys made this accessory to go with their Swerve figure (called Trash-Talk).

The Incident:
I got this accessory in the hopes that it would fit the Generations Thrilling 30 version of Swerve. Turns out, it doesn’t. The handle for M-F-B is 3mm, while Swerve’s hands are for 5mm weapons. Also, I didn’t know this came as a model kit (or maybe I did, but then forgot). I’m terrible at building models. During assembly, I broke off one of the light green bulbs that go on top of the M-F-B. Total bummer.

The Aftermath:
The breakage is beyond repair. And since this actually doesn’t even fit Generations Swerve, and I don’t have Trash-Talk, there’s no point for me to hunt down another one. This M-F-B will stay broken.
 

Soar (Blue)
Series: N/A
Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Bombadier
Mode in Package: Robot
Known Redecos: Soar (Red), Soar (Red comic), Soar (Blue comic)
Status: Repaired

The Figure:
Soar by Fans Toys is an awesome homage to G1 Swoop. I have written about this figure already, so read all the details here. If you are collecting Masterpiece style figures and you need to round out your Dinobot collection, you need this figure.

The Incident:
Nothing was technically broken on my Soar. However, when I got the figure, it was missing the large vertical piece of the display stand that Soar sits on in dino mode. I couldn’t believe it! This is the largest piece in the package next to Soar itself. I love Fans Toys, but where was the QC on this?!

The Aftermath:
Capturedprey.com was gracious enough to hunt down a replacement piece of the stand for me. It took several months, but better late than never. I now have a fully completed Soar figure in perfect condition with all accessories intact. Thank you Capturedprey!
 

I do have more figures that are broken/damaged/missing parts, but these 10 will do for now. I’ll make another post when I have another 10. Hopefully that won’t occur. Though with the amount of Transformers I have, it’s only a matter of time.

What figures have you broken? Or come damaged or missing parts? Feel free to comment below.

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’s been a while since I did a post about what’s on my shelf. So I’m doing one today.

Same pic, different angle.

From left to right

Top shelf: Mastermind Creations Feral Rex (comprised of Leo Dux, Tigris, Talon, Fortis, Bovis), MakeToys Giant (comprised of Mobile Crane, Dump Truck, Excavator, Bulldozer, Wheel Loader, Mixer), Combiner Wars Menasor (comprised of Motormaster, Drag Strip, Dead End, Breakdown, Wildrider, and using Perfect Effect – PC-02 Perfect Combiner Upgrade Set – Purple Version)

Middle shelf: Fall of Cybertron Kickback, Thrilling 30 Waspinator, Combiner Wars Armada Megatron, Combiner Wars Megatron, Thrilling 30 Blitzwing

Lower shelf: Thrilling 30 Rhinox, Thrilling 30 Rattrap, Mastermind Creations Felisaber

I especially like the three gestalts on the top shelf. Feral Rex and Giant have been featured elsewhere before in this blog so I won’t go into detail again. Combiner Wars Menasor is Hasbro’s official update of the Stunticons in combined form. Compared to Fans Project’s Intimidator, Menasor has it’s pros and cons. Individually I like the Hasbro figures better. They are larger, sturdier, easier to transform, and more fun to play with. However in combined form, FP has the better looking Menasor. Intimidator also stays together better than Combiner Wars Menasor, as the Hasbro figure feels like it could quickly fall apart. However I should point out that the Hasbro figures feel more like a true combiner. The leg components are not simply adding on top of Motormaster’s legs, like in FP’s offering.

Poor Rattrap and Rhinox. They are the only good guys here. Technically they are not Autobots, so I don’t have a single Autobot in this post. Decepticons forever!

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!

I’m finally back to cataloging my purchases for each month. This activity has been on hiatus for some time, and I’m way behind. June 2014 was a busy month in terms of TFs purchased, partially because of BotCon 2014 that took place this month. The convention was in Pasadena, California, and I always go if the event is at this location. I may make a separate post for my BotCon 2014 pics. But that’s getting off topic. Time to showcase the figures for this month. This is a long list. Prepare yourselves.

• Generations Thrilling 30 Swerve and Flanker, Target, $9.49

• Age of Extinction Drift, Walmart, $9.97

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

• Age of Extinction Slash, Toys R Us, $7.49

• Age of Extinction Strafe, Walmart, $9.97

• Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Bulkhead and Prowl, Walmart, $12

• Transformers Prime Dark Energon Wheeljack, BBTS (at BotCon), $15

• BotCon Exclusive Depth Charge and Rampage, Hasbro (at BotCon), $62.71

• MakeToys Mobine MB01-SP2 Missile Launcher Marine Type, CapturedPrey.com, $48

• Mastermind Creations Hexatron, CapturedPrey.com, $130

• MakeToys Mobine Paladin/Chaos, CapturedPrey.com, $79

• Renderform Gold Scout Upgrade Kit, CapturedPrey.com, $25

There are a lot of TFs here. 12 purchases in all, for a total of 13 figures and 2 upgrade kits.

Generations Swerve and Flanker were the first finds of the month. These are cool little figs. I don’t care much about the Mini-Con (Flanker), but Swerve is a real prize. He’s fun to play with. I like both his robot mode and alt mode. There’s a redeco of this fig out there as Gears, though as of this writing he’s kinda hard to find. I plan to get one.

Next up are all the Age of Extinction figs. As a whole, I think the AoE figs are rather disappointing. The Dinobots pictured here (Slash and Strafe) certainly attest to that assertion. I’m not particularly impressed with either of these and I’m looking to sell them. However, Drift and Hound are quality figures. Drift is probably my favorite of the deluxe figs from AoE. Hound is a solid voyager figure with weapons to spare. I have kind of reviewed them back in this post, so I won’t do it again. Just know that Drift and Hound are both solid additions to your AoE line.

All remaining figures featured in this post are either bought or picked up at BotCon. First up are TF Prime Beast Hunters Bulkhead and Prowl. Gemini bought these for me a few months before BotCon, but I did not have a chance to meet up with him til this event. He found this pair at his Walmart for $12 on clearance. I was really only interested in Prowl as I already have Bulkhead. At the time, Prowl was really hard to find (and he is still kinda is as of this writing). So I did not mind spending $12 for both figs.

At the BBTS booth I picked up Dark Energon Wheeljack. This is a BBTS exclusive. I could have gotten this from their website (for cheaper), but at the time I had nothing else I needed to buy from BBTS and I was already there so I went for it. Normally I don’t like buying repaints for the same character, but I really like this Wheeljack mold, and I love the transparent blue, so I splurged.

At every BotCon, Hasbro will sell some of their exclusive figs at their booth where they handle registration for Transformers Collector’s Club. This year was no exception. I mentioned back in the BotCon 2011 post that this was how I got the very rare Reveal the Shield Windcharger. In 2014, one of their exclusive figs caught my eye… Depth Charge! From Beast Wars, Depth Charge is one of my favorite characters. He’s a good guy, but at the same time a total bad-ass! Plus I love this mold. Terradive, the original character of this mold, is probably my favorite deluxe figure from Revenge of the Fallen. They repainted this awesome mold once for Space Case (from Dark of the Moon). I guess one could argue if using this mold for Depth Charge is fitting, but I don’t care. Depth Charge was about $20 if you have a TFCC membership, but without one the figure was about $40. So I decided to get the TFCC membership (about $42), which also comes with an incentive figure of Rampage. Hasbro chose to repaint TF Prime deluxe Megatron for Rampage. So for about $62 total, I got the TFCC membership, and two figures. Depth Charge and Rampage are rivals and nemesis of each other in Beast Wars, so it’s awesome having the both of them. To this day I still have not opened these 2. But I already know the Depth Charge fig will be remarkable. I know nothing of the TF Prime deluxe Megatron fig, so it remains to be seen how I will like Rampage.

And now for the figures I got from CapturedPrey. I bought all these earlier, some of them as early as the beginning of 2013. However, they don’t ship anything until your entire order comes in, at least that’s how it was at the time. I don’t know if they have developed some kind of stacking mechanism since then, like TF Source. Anyway, I still had several items outstanding at the time of BotCon, but I really wanted the figures that had already arrived. So I emailed CP and told them I like to pick them up at the booth. They were very accommodating. I picked up the four 3rd party items pictured above.

The Mobine Marine Missile Launcher kit by MakeToys is pure awesomeness! These kits really improve upon the crap that are PCCs. I featured this kit a little in this post. I tried this kit with Heavytread, Steelshot, and Undertow. Out of these 3, Heavytread looks the best, but it’s not bad with the other 2. My only regret is I should have also got the Jungle version. Apparently there were a shortage of the Jungle version, and most of the stock went to BBTS. MakeToys Mobine Paladin/Chaos is a similar toy, but with another smaller figure added in that will combine with the armor. This figure is a tribute to The Fallen (from the comics, not Revenge of the Fallen). The armor portion is more or less the same as the Mobine kits, but having a smaller figure combine with the armor to form The Fallen is an excellent idea. A pic of this figure appears here. This is way better than the piece of crap that Galoob tried to do with The Fallen that was featured in the Titanium line. I highly recommend the Mobine line from MakeToys.

Mastermind Creations Hexatron! What can I say about this piece that hasn’t already been said by others?! In case you can’t already tell, Hexatron is a modern interpretation of Sixshot by MMC. Way back in this post, when I first started this blog, I said I would love it if someone made a modern Sixshot. Well, to this day Hasbro still has not made this a reality, so MMC stepped up to the plate! What they delivered here is nothing short of spectacular. Hexatron is transformation engineering genius brought to life. I still have not transformed this figure to all its modes (I only did the robot mode and tank mode so far), but I have seen enough reviews of the other modes to know that all 6 modes are great. Construction of the figure is extremely solid. MMC cares about it’s products and it shows. And at only $130, this is actually not a bad value for 3rd party products of this size. Speaking of size, Hexatron is probably a better fit for the MP-verse than the CHUG-verse, but I’ll take it anyway I can. Of all the figs featured in this post, if you can only get one, this is it. In fact, if you wanted to nominate figs for Figure of the Year and 3rd party products can be included, then Hexatron would without a doublt be nominated. Many may even argue he would win.

That only leaves the Gold Scout Upgrade Kit, which I have yet to open. This set upgrades Classics Bumblebee to Goldbug. I’ll check this out when I have some time.

Whew… that was a lot. So much so that I didn’t even open them all yet as of this writing, like I mentioned above. But having a deluge of TFs is better than being in a drought. And BotCon 2014 was pretty special. I may report on it in a separate post. Til then… Transform and Roll Out!

Welcome to another edition of my St Patrick’s Day green Transformers! Last time I did one of these was back in 2013. There has been many green TFs since then, and I try to include every single green fig that I acquired in this time span. However, I don’t have the time to dig through them all. So for this posting I only grabbed what was handy, either currently on my shelf or easily reached into a box. Here are the lucky green figs for 2015.

Clockwise from top: MakeToys Giant, Generations Hoist, Age of Extinction Snarl, Generations Cosmos, Generations Legend Waspinator, Generations Deluxe Waspinator

I obviously missed some green TFs between 2013 and now. Some obvious ones that come to mind are Generations Springer and Age of Extinction Hound. I should have got them out too. I’ll include them next year for sure.

Happy St Patrick’s Day… Transform and Roll Out!

Happy New Year! I usually do these new year’s posts right around the turn of the year, either on New Years Eve or New Years Day. But of course life gets in the way, and so here is the annual New Years post delayed til the end of January. Better late than never I always say.

I’m conflicted as to how I feel about 2014. For starters, we had another TF movie. Age of Extinction was quite the paradox in movie history. It was the highest grossing film worldwide for 2014, yet that the same time Rotten Tomatoes report a lowly rating of only 18%. And compared to previous movies, I would say that the AoE toys as a whole are rather disappointing. I think Hasbro recognized that most mainstream fans may be sick of another Michael Bay full-length feature, and in response did not make as many toys. Personally I don’t think I can take anymore “Bayhems”. I sincerely wish another director would take over the franchise. Asking for popular and proven sci-fi action directors, such as J.J.Abrams, Joss Whedon, or Christopher Nolan, is probably out of the question. And the movie studio would not want someone who would take a dramatic departure from what Bay has laid out. Though a little outdated, this article suggests 6 directors who could potentially take over the TF movie franchise. I would add Justin Lin (of Fast and Furious fame) and Brad Bird (Mission Impossible 4) to this list.

2014 also saw a record number of 3rd party transforming robots offered. If you’re only into official Hasbro and Takara products, this wouldn’t matter to you. But if you’re reading this blog, chances are you are at least familiar with what I’m talking about. Just a few years back, all you had to know as far as the 3rd party scene was FansProject and TFC Toys. Those days are long gone. There are probably about 50 3rd parties out there, all doing its own thing and wanting a piece of your hard-earned TF dollars. And there appears to be no slow down. I sometimes fear that the market for 3rd party products are near saturation. Let’s face it: this is a niche market. Third party figs are expensive. Having so many companies vying for a piece of the pie… I don’t know how sustainable this is.

OK, now let’s look at some statistics for 2014. Here is the break down:

• 21 figures from Age of Extinction
• 8 figures from Transformers Prime
• 4 Masterpiece figs
• 1 figure from Fall of Cybertron
• 32 figures from Generations Thrilling 30
• 2 TFCC or convention exclusive figures
• 25 Third Party products

That’s a grand total of 93 figures for the year. It comes to 7.75 figures a month. Just slightly more than 2013. Notice there are 25 3rd party products! 25! That’s gotta be a record for me. I wonder if this trend will continue in 2015.

I’ll end this post with a few collection pics of some of my favorites from 2014.

Age of Extinction Grimlock, Slash, Slug, Strafe, and Scorn.

Maketoys Paladin Chaos (tribute to The Fallen)

Masterpiece Streak. Released in 2013, but actively played with in 2014. Shown here holding his standard rifle and a pistol from a Gears of War figure that I no longer have.

Age of Extinction Drift and Hound

Masterpiece Wheeljack and Bumblebee

Generations Brainstorm and Jetfire

Mastermind Creations Feral Rex (Predaking), looking awesome combined!

Happy 2015! Transform and Roll Out!