Back in custom land

I got the Marvel Legends Mandarin set. I understand why they’ve changed the design for the Mandarin character, plus my main reference for him is the MCU so it makes sense, but maybe they could have come up with something so he looks less like Tony Stark?! (Also, there still seems to be a rumour for a retro release, I wonder if that could be a cartoon version?)

I got the final two Constructicons, I really like them! After a KO G1 set, an actual G1, Classics, Crazydevy, Maketoys Giant and Combiner Wars, I’m done. Unless they want to do a set in Diaclone colours, or redeco half of them as the Autobot double Targetmasters! But Decepticon Devastator wise, I’m done.

Retro Outback looks great (got a preorder in for it and Windcharger).

I’ve made a list of custom projects I’m going to work on. There’s Mortal Kombat, Transformers, Batman, plus a bit of Marvel and ‘other’. 16 projects, and I’m determined to finish them, then I think that will be it for me with customs. I’ll keep my paints just in case there’s something in the future, but otherwise I want to wind it down a bit in terms of stuff that I keep in storage for potential projects. I’ve just about finished working on Goro then I’ll work on Shao Kahn, and that will be MKI and MKII all done to a standard I’m happy with (hopefully!). Here is how Goro and Kintaro are looking together.

Speaking of Mortal Kombat they showed off pictures of the upcoming 2-packs - Liu Kang and Raiden are in their P2 colours. Bastards. I’m well onboard with Sub-Zero with ice arms, think I’m okay with Scorpion with blood stains, and think I’m okay with Reptile with clear legs, but Liu Kang and Raiden I’m going to need the single packs. Bastards. I’m not too bothered about the accessories, but for the ninjas they add quite a lot. Ordered Liu Kang off Amazon so got him first (quite appropriate I guess as he’s the main character). Looks pretty decent, slightly grumpy about the 7” scale but otherwise all good. That said, I feel like I don’t need too many figures at this scale - although I’ve ordered Kitana and Mileena, I’m not sure I need all the MKII characters - the ten MKI characters would be quite a nice amount. Also got my preorders in for Scorpion, Raiden and Reptile. I reckon the next wave will be two from Shang Tsung, Johnny Cage, Jax, Baraka and Kung Lao - but they will fill out the two packs with Smoke, Noob and Jade as needed. My prediction would be Johnny and Baraka. (Also, each 2-pack has two backgrounds, there are four not seen yet - suggesting two more 2-packs before they run out.)

(Also got preorders in for the much better Jada figures - Balrog and Akuma.)

Mondo Peter Venkman arrived after several delays. Very glad to finally have a Real Ghostbusters figure, but wow, what a price tag for a 6” figure. I feel like Super 7 were the gateway drug - I was paying Marvel Legends prices, then suddenly Super 7 came along with Turtles and Thundercats and almost doubled the price. But I figured for a handful of figures (just wanted the core team), it was okay. Same logic, but another doubling of the price. Peter does at least come with Slimer so won’t be paying for him individually like Snarf with Thundercats. (And Ray comes with a mini Marshmallow Man so I think I’m okay there as well.) The trap with ghost is a tremendous accessory though.

NYCC Marvel Legends, the remaining two Inhumans and Werewolf by Night! Wow. Gorgon seems to be fairly huge for some reason in some promo pictures although less so in the packaged images. With the rumoured Doc Samson, the only other character I really need is Yellowjacket and so I ordered the 2007 figure. It has the old style hips, but is actually pretty solid - mostly I think because you can’t see his eyes so it’s not that obvious from the top half that it’s an older figure. Plus I very much like the idea of being done (ish). What incredible reveals. I also put in a preorder for Secret Wars Iceman, I wish it had a bit of blue but it does look remarkably ice like. Also preordered Werewolf by Night, Triton and Gorgon.

Have been busy with the customs, I’ve got everything laid out so giving everything a bit of thought and actually making some progress. Painted Voldemort’s cloak (it was green) and whitened his face a little. I made a custom Ra’s Al Ghul. It’s Doctor Strange wearing a suit, quite happy with my beard work if not the smoothness of the paint. (Said Doctor had wonky eyes to start so had to repaint those as well.) Also finally made a hammer for Ronan - it was actually from a cheap movie Ronan figure I picked up from the time of the first Guardians film. Not strictly a custom but I also managed to find a sword for my Surtur custom (I’m not actually sure where I stored Surtur so it might be a while before he can try it out for size), Johnny’s helping out though.

I also went back to the Bane figure I did in 2016 - I made custom knees since the upper leg is from a Hasbro Marvel figure (Ares) and the lower leg is from Mattel Multiverse (Bane). I never actually added the pins so I did that plus painted the skin better - it had something of a dodgy wash to it. It doesn’t look much different in the photo but it does feel like an improvement.

I painted the MK3 (cyber) ninjas. I think it’s an improvement - a bit of battle damage makes a bit of sense, so I used a black wash before a bit of dry brushing. I made Cyrax’s paint a bit more vivid. They’ve all got a bit of metallic paint in the mix I used although that doesn’t really show in the photo.

Venom and the last two Aerialbots arrived. I really like Venom, he’s got funky colours and completing the deluxe Insecticons feels like a milestone (it wasn’t that long ago that they were always on my wishlists). So unless they care to have a stab at the Diaclone recolours, I’m done with Insecticons. I’m also done with Aerialbots, although if anyone (nonnef) fancies a crack at a more toy accurate Superion head then I’d be interested. For me the weakest part of the set is the individual headsculpts, I mean I guess they’re achieving what they’re trying to do I’m just not a fan. Not a problem though as they’re going to stay as Superion for the foreseeable. That said, I have quite got round to combing them yet (not Devastator for that matter).

Dino Dudes A, B, C and D

Snarl!!! I also got the updated Grimlock. Just Swoop left now, but I really like these guys. A bit different to the rest of my collection. Also, Sludges! Glad to have finished the set, although I think that’s me done with non-transforming Transformers. Well, apart from plush Swoop next year…….

Have put in a preorder for McFarlane Kitana (as well as Sub-Zero and Mileena). I’m not quite sure about the MK2 cast yet but I’ll make a decision when I’ve got the ones I have ordered.

In the meantime, I’ve finished my Kintaro custom. 13 years after the base Goro figure was released! (And at least 10 years after the idea of the custom popped into my head.)

I’m anticipating the final preorders for the year - another round of Streetfighter and Mortal Kombat, and potentially more Marvel Legends (Gladiator has now been preordered). Once all those are in then I’ll be sure of how much I’ll be spending this year. Currently (amazingly) I’ve still sold more than I’ve bought.

Missing link Ultra Magnus! Really really not sure. It feels like an obligatory purchase. There’s so much excitement for it online but not sure whether I need it. It would have been the thing of dreams 20 years ago, and now? Maybe I’ve moved on. Preordered it though obviously. I spend a bit of time thinking about missing link - after much deliberation I’m just going for the car robots based G1 figures. (And probably only the Diaclone decos I don’t have.)

Lio Convoy finally turned up. He looks great!

I opened the ‘Commander’ Constructicons and, they’re great. Long Haul looks great, Hook is really good as well (I particularly like how the connectors fold out for Devastator’s arms). I’ve partially assembled Devastator. I’m now really onboard for this new round of combiners. I think to myself that I want all the obscure characters, but there is a simple joy to the classic characters well done.

Glad to see the Star Wars Gunship funded, I didn’t back it but I want some more prequel Jedi so even better news for me that the later tiers didn’t get unlocked. Hopefully they find alternative routes to release these. Based on Mephisto it could be a few years though. I’m up for a few updated 3.75” versions of the prequel Jedi - Shaak Ti is in the pipeline and looking at the current version I have - it’s from 2004!

The next wave of Streetfighter arrived and I’m feeling a lot better about the line. Blanka is great, he can really pull off the crouching pose. Looks a lot better than the product photos. Sagat is also a great figure. I’m a little less taken with Vega, but I think that’s because I don’t consider him such an iconic character. Part of the reason I’ve been a bit indifferent about the line so far is that (although they’re actually iconic), Ryu, Ken and Guile are just a bit boring. 

I’m looking forward to next month - hopefully complete Devastator and the first Mondo Ghostbuster - Peter Venkman. Might get the last Transformers for the year as well as hopefully some good reveals at NYCC.

Summertime

SS’86 Megatron looks great! I don’t need it but if they care to do it in ‘G2 Archforce’ colours then I’m well on board. And perhaps a repaint/slight tweak of Volvo Prime in ‘G2 Sureshot’ colours. Could be a handsome pair.

Seaspray and Brawn look good for the retro line. I do prefer the toy deco over cartoon, and so I think I need them (all).

Haslabs! Thinking about what the options are for Haslabs (again, I’m sure I’ve gone through a similar thought process before…..). I reckon there are three JG1 options: Grandus, Road Caesar and Dai Atlas, then three sort of JG1 options: God Ginrai/PMOP, Overlord and Metroplex (Metrotitan). The latter three could be mainline, but probably not the former. Happily, I’ve also had the email to say a fixed version of Fire Convoy is on its way for the Autumn.

SDCC then. Not expecting much for Transformers, might get to see a few new figures. I’ve preorders in for everything that I wanted from the leaks. Most of my hopes for SDCC are for Marvel Legends and (McFarlane) Mortal Kombat. Maybe a bit of Lego if I’m lucky.

Thinking about Mortal Kombat (combined with running out of TV to watch), I’ve started on my boss customs again, doing a bit of sanding and filling. It’s been about 10 years since I first had the idea (possibly longer). I might actually be in a position to start painting soon! There wasn’t much Mortal Kombat action at SDCC, a fairly predictable Reptile reveal I guess?! I’ve put in an order for the Sub-Zero Mileena 2-pack, seems like the 2-packs will be superior versions. It’s strange, despite it having been 30 odd years since I played the games I am surprised how excited I am about some new toys. (I never had the toys as a kid but I did used to pretend my Monsters in my Pocket figures were the characters and have little tournaments with them.)

Rest of SDCC not too exciting either, glad to see Mephisto (got preorder in), no sign of the other rumoured figures that I’m interested in. Revealed Transformers look good (Sureshot, Bruticus limbs and Big Convoy). One exciting titbit from one of the interviews was the reveal that Star Convoy was designed to have ‘extra’ connectability - Grandus and Sky Garry mentioned but also Dai Atlas. Intriguing! If they decide to do Road Caesar as the next Haslab then that’s most of the main Japanese characters done (although it’s at the point where I’d like better versions of Overlord and Dai Atlas, to somewhat scale better with Star Convoy). Sadly there seemed to be a hint that Road Caesar was not being considered at the moment. I’m quite excited about Bruticus (my favourite scramble city combiner), but even more excited for prospect of a toy deco version and potentially Battle Gaia.

Doc Samson rumour for Legends! Along with Abomination and Mephisto it’s looking good but sparse. That said, I think l’ll be just about done, just hope all the rumours actually materialise! Managed to grab a Shanna. Savage Land gang complete.

I feel genuinely torn about missing link Transformers, really don’t want to start a new collection but I love the G1 car robots. Maybe I don’t need to make a decision straight away, see how it goes for the time being. I’m keen not to tie myself to a new line for an unspecified amount of time, I’m similarly torn about Mortal Kombat actually.

Star Convoy! Held off for ages to open it but couldn’t wait any longer. Nice and chunky, surprisingly large but not crazy in vehicle mode. I mostly got it to go with a potential Grandus but I really like the vehicle mode which the previous Selects version was missing. Feels like another one of those Japanese exclusive G1 figures comprehensively ticked off. With Road Caesar seemingly out of favour and Dai Atlas getting a name drop I wonder if the latter could be a more likely Haslab option? They know JG1 sells.

Mandarin reveal and preorder. I’m not sure about it as it’s not his classic look, but given I’ve only ever seen him in the 90’s cartoon and the Shang Chi film, I guess it’s what I’ve seen him as half of the time. I reckon it’s possible they end up doing a cartoon version sometime so I think it’s worth getting so can do a cheeky head/hands swap.

And finally for the month, the Target 4-pack arrived. I only wanted Bumper and Horri-Bull. I’ve got the older 4-pack Bumblebee so’ve gone for the head swap option. Very glad to get Horri-Bull. Another team completed and one of this year’s releases I was most looking forward to. 

Feel like I could really do with some news I can excited about. Guess we’re looking to October now for the next big drop. Looking at what’s left that I’m expecting, got preorders in for all the Transformers stuff. Still hopeful for a couple more Marvel Legends reveals.

Missing Link

I got the Omega Prime Haslab! I’ve actually had it a while but because of all the issues I put it off opening it slightly. The chest on mine looks okay though I didn’t try it to see how tight it was, and although one of Ultra Magnus’s doors is a little off white I think I got off okay. I’ll hold off actually playing with it to see if Hasbro does anything but if they don’t then I’ll attempt the fix. From my very quick play with/look at it I think it looks really good. I was having a bit of doubt as to whether I should have bought it but I think it’ll be good. Sounds like Hasbro are planning to send out replacements so fired off my complaint.

Another round of Marvel Legends rumours and…… I’m not interested in any of them, not even a ‘I’ll have a look’. Just nothing. I think my stopping collecting them might actually be happening. I am interested in Shanna though so I’ll need to be on it after SDCC.

And then I started thinking about Missing Link Sunstreaker and…… I’ve put in an order for Optimus. Dammit! I realised though that if they come out with a Wheeljack or Mirage I might not be able to resist. There’s a rumour of Ironhide and Ratchet. I think I could just get the car robot Diaclone based characters - the 12 from 1984, 7 from 1985 and Magnus from 1986. (Obviously Dinobots and cassettes are fair game as well.) I will take the same approach with Optimus as I did with a lot of Masterpiece, basically not open it for a little while and see how I feel about it (as well as see what else comes out), so if I do change my mind it’s easily sold. I think the line is looking like what I wanted from Masterpiece - possible but also (very) toy accurate. Better size for me as well. Grimlock, Ultra Magnus, Ironhide, and Ratchet are all rumoured. Anyway, Sunstreaker is great! I did wake up the next day though and really wonder whether I want to get into collecting another line. I’m definitely down for a Grimlock but I’ll have to give it a bit more thought with the rest.

My collection is G1/Beast Wars (and Car Robots although Takara consider it part of G1/Beast Wars). The Beast Wars and Car Robots is main cartoon lineups only. For Beast Wars II and Neo I go with the original figures rather than modern. Car Robots I’m still figuring it out, Black Convoy is original, Sky Byte is T30 and Omega Prime is Haslab. Baldigus could go either way, if I went original then it’s a repaint of G1 Bruticus, who just happens to be one of my favourite combiners. Plus it would make sense in the context of the Beast Wars II Seacons (I have the originals). So I convinced myself I needed the originals but they’re really hard to get hold of. Almost nothing doing on eBay, but then I worked out how to buy from Mecari (through Buyee). Managed to find an original Baldigus for a reasonable price! Annoyingly thought Dolrailer was missing his chest piece so will still need to try to track that down.

Got a preorder in for Mondo Real Ghostbusters Winston. Apparently Peter is delayed until August (and presumably Egon will be later as well). These will be the most expensive 6” figures I’ve ever bought so I hope they live up to expectations.

A few preorders got bumped forward and so have Star Convoy, Silverbolt and Vortex earlier than expected. Vortex looks really good even though I’m not so keen on the cartoon look. Star Convoy looks great but I’m going to wait and see if there’s a Grandus before deciding whether to keep it - the old Selects scaled much more nicely with Super Megatron and Dai Atlas. Actually in the last month or so I have bought a worrying amount of stuff ‘just in case’ (ML Optimus, Star Convoy, Vortex, X-23). Not a great habit to get into.

I am glad to have Silverbolt though and my plan is to keep it in Superion mode (and the combiner wars individually). I am very impressed with how solid it feels and I feel justified for the first time in buying all the main combiners again. Bring on Defensor!

Vortex also looks great and although the Combaticons are the only ones I’d consider replacing with toy deco versions, I’m happy. (I’ve not actually opened Star Convoy yet either.)

I finally picked up the Mark IV Lego minifig (it came with a bust), the Lego shop had sold out so had to wait a while. Finally I’m done with Iron Man. (Unless Lego care to do any more of the legion armours, or Hasbro fancies doing any more MCU Legends.) I bought another Mark VI helmet so it can be consistent with the previous armours. Pictures of Soundwave have emerged and he looks great, but I realise there was part of me that was hoping it wouldn’t. Think might actually pass on it. Similarly to Missing link, if they do a Grimlock then I’ll definitely be up for it but otherwise that’s a bit of money saved.

Retro Gears finally turned up, I much prefer the colour and head sculpt. I like the retro releases, Seaspray and Brawn pictures have also surfaced and look good. Topspin finally turned up, my Diaclone jumpstarters are complete. Hopefully that’s not the end for ‘Diaclone Universe’ stuff.

That’s it for this month, amazingly, everything I’ve sold this year has outweighed I’ve bought so far, and for the end of July, that’s quite the achievement.