What a year!

TRYPTICON!!! Oh, yeah!!! Yep, the great international public have made the right decision on the Transformers Generations Titan figure after Fortress Maximus. With the Ghostbusters Firehouse, 2017 will be an exciting year for me. It seems likely we will get Scorponok and Omega at a later point but great that we're getting Trypticon first.

I've got a couple more Jedi, this time Pablo Jill and Coleman Trebor. Pablo is remarkably hard to find considering how recently he came out. He has great articulation and detail so I'm very happy with him. Just looking for Even Piell at a decent price now.

I've just received the original and prequel trilogies on DVD so I'm going to give the order Machete order (IV, V, II, III, VI) a go. I haven't seen any of them since about 2005 when I was off work for a couple of weeks, so none of the films are exactly fresh in my memory. Naturally I will exclude Episode I from this viewing, but I'll also re-watch it a later point. I will do a little review shortly!

I have also completed another lineup - Smash Bros. Amazon finally decided to ship Fox. Very happy to have the main cast, a little part of me is hoping for a Captain Falcon from the Nintendo 4" line  though, so perhaps not quite there. Having Fox does make me think I should get Slippy and Falco! Actually what would be pretty damn sweet would be an in scale Arwing, I reckon they could probably make one within the 6" budget, but just hopeful thinking.

Some pictures of Sky Lynx have surfaced online, he's looking really good, I've always had a fondness for the character 'Superior forces are taking over!'.

Christmas has crept up on me again, I've got my preorder in for MP Ironhide and Ratchet as well as Takara Devastator. I've eaten as many mince pies as I can!

I feel it's been quite a year, I've actually managed to pay off my overdraft. I actually buy my toys according to a budget now. One major change has been moving from BBTS to UK retailers, and now that Amazon US ships internationally, it's a great way to get figures that are widely available in the US, but not the UK, at a good price. That you are charged import tax before it's shipped means you don't also get stung for a 'handling' fee.

Not getting charged over £150 tax every time I ship a pile of loot has made the world of difference. I always used that option because I thought that I would save money, but ultimately it never worked that way. This way I actually get my stuff sooner and I can prioritise what I want. Waiting sometimes can be good as it might just turn up at UK retail. Speaking of which, it's not been too bad this year, with the notable exception of the Stunticon Combiner Wars wave, I've bought almost all of my Marvel and Transformers toys at retail.

I've really enjoyed Combiner Wars, having great looking, not too complicated combiners with interchangeable limbs is great. The perfect antidote to complex third party efforts.

I've re-discovered my love of Star Wars this year, it's been great picking up all of the figures that I've wanted for a while. I don't regret selling my Star Wars Transformers and miniatures for a second! I've also discovered the Transformers MTMTE comics, I'm really glad I finally gave in. Having good transformers fiction really makes a difference to the hobby, it gives focus to my collecting, but somehow makes me feel more happy with being a geek.

My Transformers collecting has changed focus this year, I've worked out what I want from Masterpiece, which is basically my nostalgia for the G1 cartoon (whereas Classics is more about the comics), so it's mostly about the S1 Autobots (the only S3 stuff I saw was on video).

I've stopped collecting unofficial (third party) Transformers and I've moved my collection to a much smaller room, but I've created a cool little den for all my toys where hopefully I will appreciate and actually play with them a bit more.

I've actually decided to sell off all of my Fansproject figures, I've been collecting their stuff since 2008. This feels like a big change. I was there from the beginning - the Cliffjumper upgrade, the Ultra Magnus and Superion upgrade. Their first full figures in the Bruticus upgrade and Springer. I later bought Broadside, the Insecticons, Menasor, the Headmasters and Dinobots. So what happened?

I have to say, and I think I've been ignoring this ever since the beginning, I don't like their head sculpts. I think if all of my figures were Fansproject, then it would be fine, but I don't really see them as having a compatible style with official Classics figures. With the Cliffjumper set I sold it because I decided all of my minibots should be legends or scout sized. I sold the Ultra Magnus set because I replaced my Magnus with the official leader figure (I really never liked that headsculpt, it was very animated style, I only resisted because of great sentimental attachment to Classics voyager Magnus.

I sold Springer because I just didn't like it, I don't think I ever actually transformed it which probably didn't help, but I just don't like the way it looked. At one point though I was so rabid about 'completing' my Classics collection that I would have bought a yellow Sandstorm repaint. Luckily for me, an official figure was later announced for both. I sold Menasor because I wanted a set of figures that were scramble city style, each limb could attach to any of the central CW figures. Also he was an absolute bitch to transform, it just wasn't fun. I gambled on selling Bruticus, and luckily it again paid off as an official release was later confirmed. I kept Superion because I love those Energon figures, and the upgrade makes it better (it still uses the original combiner head though!).

Hasbro have released legends Shrapnel and Bombshell figures, if they had released Kickback I was all ready to sell the FP versions. They are good, but you know, the Insecticons aren't ninjas. I admire the way they tried to do something new, but I don't want new. Now Hasbro have shown off Hardhead and Skullcruncher, I immediately stopped buying FP headmasters (if I'd had the money I could easily have put in preorders). Recently I was thinking about my upcoming purchases, and that I should set aside £80 for Grimlock. And then it hit me, I really didn't want to. I'm paying ridiculously high prices for figures which basically are just placeholders. There were many things I was overlooking on the toys, Slag has a random red point on his tail, he irritated the crap out of me when I first transformed him. He has guy-liner! You know what figures make really good placeholders for G1 characters? G1 toys!!! I have every animal G1 transformer. Of all those figures I listed above, only Chomedome and Broadside do I have not have an official version of. So, they're all going to go, if I'm feeling particularly cynical, it's best to sell them now whilst they're still worth something. Hasbro has shown they are going to do characters we never though possible and once (if) they do get announced, FPs stuff is going to greatly drop in value.

In a previous blog I did say that I didn't think Hasbro would do the dinobots properly, I still think that, but I don't think FP have done them properly either. My G1 figures might just get another run of being on display.

So my only other third party stuff is Mastermind Creations Sixshot and Predaking, and Perfect Effect Fort Max. I think MMC are great, and I'm still considering their Overlord. Not so very long ago I was going to sell Fort Max, but since reading MTMTE he's really grown on me. I've also got several minibots and cassettes, but they fit in much more easily and crucially aren't worth much, so there's no great loss holding on to them until they do have official replacements.

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I actually decided to update my Perfect Effect Fortress Maximus with Reprolabels:

I also bought Lego minifigs, Superman and Wonder Woman, plus, Father Christmas! (And some Xmas hats.)

Between Transformers, Marvel and Star Wars, I'm in a very great place ready for another year of collecting. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Just over a month to go!

I recently read a comment about collecting Star Wars figures that really rings true with me, 'it's all about collecting random background aliens'. Yep, except Yoda and Chewbacca most of the main characters are human, but it's the alien characters which are far more interesting to look at. I am therefore collecting interesting and important lightsaber wielding characters, I'm now collecting all of the alien characters from episodes I-III who were on the Jedi council. Except Yaddle because she's a female Yoda, and female versions of male characters just doesn't really show much imagination. That and I don't need more than one version of each 'species' in my collection. I've recently received Aayla Secura, Stass Allie, Agen Kolar, Yarael Poof, Barriss Offee, Voolvif Monn and Roron Corobb. Voolvif and Roron in particular really add some interest to my collection.

I gave Aayla's robe to Agen Kolar as he was looking a bit cold (I didn't think the robe looked good on her.)

I really like the Vintage Barriss Offee, don't believe that CGI Clone Wars nonsense about her! I like the scene in the original Clone Wars cartoon where she's goes to the cave with Luminara Unduli to build her lightsaber.

Gotta appreciate those characters created (debuting?) for the cartoon!

I've been watching some reviews of the prequel trilogy and I'm starting to understand why people were so disappointed with them, it's the lack of consistency. When I was a kid I remember thinking that Darth Vader was a bit like Robocop (bear with me here!), I'm not sure I'd even seen Robocop at the time, but in essence my understanding was that Anakin must have been turned into a cyborg, whereby he was 'programmed' to be evil, but like Robocop, he was eventually able to regain his old memories. (I think it was Obi-Wan's comment about him being more machine than man.) I haven't watched them in about 10 years so I think I'm overdue for a re-watch.

Having not read any books or comics, I'm not familiar with other characters turning to the dark side, but I think it was always going to be difficult to write it effectively, but the nonsense with saving Padmé, killing younglings and 'to me the Jedi are evil' now irks me a lot more than before when I just let it wash over me.

I'm a big Transformers and Marvel fan, but the thing that makes Star Wars different (before the recent dropping of the Extended Universe stuff), is that there is mostly only one version of stuff. Where as in say Transformers (G1), there's the Marvel, cartoon, Dreamwave and IDW continuity. There's the US and Japanese G1 cartoons. I am used to the idea of a Multiverse whereby you form your own continuity in your head from all of the different bits you like. Similarly with Marvel, there's comics, cartoons and films. So with Star Wars there are bits from the Prequel trilogy that are good (and for me, the original Clone Wars cartoon), mash that together with a more acceptable version of how Anakin turned to the dark side and you're good to enjoy it much more. I've been watching some really good alternative versions of I-III on YouTube.

Actually, it's funny how most people's suggestions about how to improve the prequel trilogy involve keeping Darth Maul alive to create an antagonistic relationship between him and Obi-Wan. When I first learnt about General Grievous, I assumed he was Darth Maul rebuilt to demonstrate the technology that would later be used to turn Anakin into Vader. So for Maul to come back in the CGI Clone Wars cartoon makes a lot of sense to me.

I've decided to pick up an ROTJ Luke to replace my Dagobah version. I've decided a Jedi version makes more sense for my collection. I've got the Lego version of his New Hope outfit so it's good to have a version after he actually becomes a Jedi proper. I'm really looking forward to the Force Awakens now, hope it lives up to expectations, it seems highly likely to be the biggest film ever!

In slightly less timely news, I picked up a Robotnik figure (or Eggman as he is now). It's the modern version, but I quite like the look, he looks a bit more sinister than the almost neutral look he had in the original Mega Drive games. He scales nicely with my Sonic 3" figures. He came with a Egg-o-matic, but that will be going into storage for the time being.

So as well as Shockwave and Hot Rod, we're finally getting Masterpiece coneheads - Ramjet initially, but it seems inevitable we'll get the other two. I'm going to pass on him because I'm not in the market for 6 expensive large figures, but I think I like him more than the regular MP-11. Try as I might I'm just not a fan of the Masterpiece seeker mold, the proportions of the Classics version just works so much better for me, I remember being really excited about Starscream and Ramjet and then the 2007 Botcon exclusives, and upon seeing MP-3 and it's subsequent repaints for the first time, they just didn't compare. Maybe we'll get a new version one day, but for the time being I'm focusing on the Autobot cars, with Starscream, Soundwave and Shockwave being extras (I think I'm happy just having gun sized Megatron rather than a new version of MP-5, it's certainly cheaper.)

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It has now also been confirmed that we're getting Ratchet, it was always kind of obvious, but that's pretty amazing - Tracks and Thundercracker have just come out, but we've got Ironhide, Ratchet, Ramjet, Shockwave, Hot Rod and Optimus Primal on the way. If you're completionist on Masterpiece it's a crazy expensive time.

I had a fantastic shopping trip yesterday, it was pissing it down with rain and I got soaked, but I finally found a Brainstorm! I'm not actually going to open it as there are rumours of a deluxe version, but it's good to have a backup. I also found the 3.75" Black series ROTJ Luke Skywalker who I think displays better than the Dagobah version I had previously, he kindly donated his robe to Black Series Mace Windu. Very respectful!

I've now also opened Sky Byte who I think I like, but I think I'll see how I feel about him after a few months on display. He's the one character I remember from a few times of watching RID and he's a robot shark, so I have some connection to the character and he's pretty cool looking.

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They are making a Lego Ghostbusters Fire-station!!! It's gonna cost a bloody fortune but I need it. They've released a few photos and I'm completely sold. It should be available for a year or so, so I'm going to wait to buy it, but I'm really excited. I was thinking recently that it would be good to have a Lego base of some sort to display some minifigs (Avengers, Justice League, Turtles, etc) so this will be ideal.

I had a really good find in my local comic shop recently - the Icon Heroes Thundertank (only 600 made) with 30% off, it's especially designed to go with the Minimates figures. Sweet! I got it for the same price as it was sold in the US, but obviously no shipping fees (it's a heavy beast). I'm keeping an eye on the Mega Blocks TMNT stuff but my desk mini figures collection is coming along nicely!

I opened my Takara Legends Blackarachnia - from some of the pictures I've seen I was expecting her to have pretty big roobs, but they're not too crazy in person. Apparently the comic packed in with her is pretty pervy in that department! Some people have had problems transforming her, some suggesting she's mis-assembled, seemed okay to me. Her head sculpt is spot on so she's a great replacement for the 10th anniversary version I was using previously.

I also found the latest wave of Marvel Infinite so it's good to add Emma Frost, Chameleon, Northstar and Korg to my collection. There's no point opening Korg as I've put WW Hulk away now but the other three will go on display.

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With the news about the Ghostbusters Firehouse I started thinking about my other minifigs. I've got Ecto-1 for the Ghostbusters, the Thundertank for the Thundecats, both classics iconic vehicles, but for the Turtles, I've got the modern version of the Turtle Wagon. I remembered seeing that Mega Bloks have got the license back and are doing some classics minifigs. For a toy line coming out at the start of 2016 there's really not much information, but googling Mega Bloks threw up an interesting image. They did a Power Rangers set a few years back (for the 20th anniversary). Since selling my 3.75" rangers and micro machines minifigs I've been in the market for some rangers (I briefly considered the Loyal Subjects vinyl stuff). These figures are perfect! Not as cheap as they were when they came out, but I had to pick up a set. This fits my philosophy of getting a full range of characters as minifigs, but just getting a select few (Green and White rangers) as bigger, more posable detailed figures (specifically Figuarts).

Titan Wars Fort Max and Powermaster Optimus Prime have been confirmed, oh yeah! Optimus looks pretty neat. I was debating skipping Max, but, yeah, it's not going to happen. It would be quite neat if the Perfect Effect version could fit on the new Metroplex remold body. I think he might have to be displayed in battleship mode. Even more excitingly there's going to be a vote on who should be next, Trypticon, Scorponok or Omega Supreme. I suspect potentially we could get all three, but it will depend on sales.

We need Trypticon to go up against Metroplex, we need Scorponok to go up against Fort Max and Omega to go against Devastator. I'm not convinced about that last one because I'm very happy with the YOTS Energon remold, I would be quite reluctant to replace it. I really really want Trypticon, but I wouldn't be too gutted if we got Scorponok. He has repaint potential in Black Zarak, so might make more sense but I think a giant dinosaur would sell better than a scorpion. Actually, if they repainted Fort Max as Grand Max or Scorponok into Black Zarak, I would be severely tempted, but should at least try to resist. Black Zarak would be against my collecting rules of one figure per character (Bumblebee/Goldbug, Soundwave/Soundblaster, etc), but I make an exception for Megatron/Galvatron, so could also make an exception for him!

So if Trypticon and Scorponok are contenders for a Titan class figure, it does kinda mean that Overlord would be an obvious choice as a Leader class figure to go up against Prime/Ginrai. Just saying.....

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My Mega Bloks Power Rangers turned up today, they are absolutely perfect for what I want in my collection. They have a little printed face under the helmet (which is good), but which unfortunately is like something you'd wear under a motorbike helmet, and so you can't quite accurately recreate the scenes from the TV series where they used to chat to Zordon with their helmets under their arms. It did occur to me that I could replace the heads with heads form different figures, but after a bit of googling, it seems there's a distinct lack of female figures, particularly Asian women. I will keep an eye out on new releases however.

I'm still very excited about the Ghostbusters firehouse, it occurred to me that getting the Lego firehouse will bring me one step closer to getting all of my childhood wants. Transformers feature particularly in that list - Optimus Prime, Dinobots and scramble city combiners were top of my list (I have almost all of them now), but the Ghostbusters firehouse and Ecto-1 were also up there. The Thundertank and later Dragonzord were also objects of my Argos catalogue reading focus (I now have versions of both), but also the Turtles wagon, blimp and sewer play set were the must have toys of the early 90's.

I bought Lego versions of the the van and sewer play set, but being modern versions they weren't quite what I was after. I've sold the lair off, so I'm looking forward to seeing what Mega Bloks can do. They had a lifesize van at their NYCC display, so I'm optimistic. The display also had sewer sections so they might just deliver! (The blimp is unlikely I admit.) I like the idea of getting Rocksteady and Bebop figures as well, so I think I'm set to replace my Lego figures. Actually if they do a sewer place set, I wonder if I could somehow integrate it with the Firehouse, have it underneath somehow. It's supposed to be released in January so we should see something very soon. They seem fairly collector orientated so I'm also hopeful for a white ranger minifig, roll on 2016!

Spider Wars!

After the SDCC reveals of Noir and armoured Spider-Man I decided to collect the other Spider-Men shown in the final episodes of the 90's cartoon Spider-Man and from the Shattered Dimensions computer game. I'm going to try and make a custom Octo-Spider and Man-Spider at some point.

My Star Wars kick is still ongoing, I managed to snag a few more Jedi for a decent price.

I wasn't too keen on the skirted Vintage collection Palpatine (he needs a robe), so I bought an Episode 1 version and swapped the head. The head ball joints aren't the same size so it's loose, but the hood keeps it in place. The sculpt on the hands of the Episode 1 version do show some deformity which I don't think he really should have until the finale of Episode III, so it works quite well. I'm a fan of the original Clone Wars cartoon (not the CGI version which I've never seen), so picked up an Asajj Ventress as well. Just need General Grievous and my Sith are looking pretty solid! (I know Grievous isn't technically Sith but he wields lightsabers so I'll collect him anyway.) No sign of Kylo in Asda yet.

When I started reading More than meets the eye, I did realise that I might suddenly need some of the comic book only characters, I sold off Drift and Straxus as few years ago. I quite liked Drift (he has swords), but after I sold most of my IDW comics I felt that I couldn't justify keeping him. So I thought I would just 'check' the prices of eBay and so, um, well, he arrived today. Happy to have the third in command of the Lost Light again, just need the new Ultra Magnus now. (And to transform Drift's shoulders properly......)

I've put my order in for Ultra Magnus with MP Ironhide so I guess there's a chance Magnus might not turn up until he's released! Speaking of which, Masterpiece Shockwave looks great! Hot Rod just looks okay, when I saw the news I immediately started reconsidering my decision to pass on Ultra Magnus, but I'm sticking with my decision now I've seen the colour prototype.

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I've bought a few more Star Wars figures, I was actually quite close to getting all the characters I wanted. But then I had an idea, I should rewatch the Clone Wars cartoon and the battle scene of Episode II! I've added a few extra characters to my list on that basis. Oppo Rancisis and Even Piell to join my Jedi Council (I'm ignoring the characters who only appear in Episode I), Barriss Offee because she appears a few times, Coleman Trebor because he actually gets a death scene in Episode II, Pablo Jill appears a couple of times (his duplicate Coleman Kcaj appears as a hologram in Episode III), and then there are 3 characters created for the Clone Was cartoon who because they're aliens also seem fun to get (they are based on three background characters who appear in the Mos Eisley cantina). So, still a ways to go but I'll soon have an awesome alien Jedi lineup!

I bought a really cheap Clone Wars General Grievous to get a couple of extra lightsabers for him, I really like the four-saber look!

NYCC has become a big deal; the Transformers reveals were pretty amazing. Galvatron, Hardhead and Skullcruncher leading the charge. I could be in for a Blaster and cassettes (not quite sure whether Stripes is supposed to be Steeljaw) and the individual headmasters look pretty good. Maybe this is a bit extreme, but I think Hasbro may just have killed off the Classics scaled third party market for me (and actually with Shockwave, Takara have killed the Masterpiece one off). They have done it in the best way possible by releasing the figures we want.

I was in the market for Fansprojects Skullcruncher, Highbrow and Hardhead. Not any more! How can I possibly justify spending £60 on those figures when I can get them for £16? I was winding down my third party figure spending anyway, but I'm looking at Mastermind Creations Overlord and thinking, if I wait a little bit, Hasbro might just release a figure. Same with Abominus. I'm sticking with Fansprojects Dinobots though, I don't believe Hasbro would release them all at that size point so I'll take my chances.

So I'm very happy to be getting a Voyager Galvatron, I'd rather he wasn't a headmaster, but I'll take what I can get. Skullcruncher and Hardhead look great and I'll wait and see with Blaster (who will likely get a Soundwave repaint). Sentinel Prime I will pass on, he'll obviously get an Astrotrain repaint, but I could also be in for a Broadside remold if they do one. Rumours are swirling that we're getting a Powermaster Optimus Prime which I'll also get, there is presumably a slot or two for another Leader figure, we're getting Fortress Maximus as a repaint of Metroplex (almost definitely), so a Scorponok or Overlord could be on the cards. I think Scorponok would make more sense as he has an easy repaint and he's a headmaster to go with Fort Max and the deluxes, but Overlord could make more sense as he turns into two vehicles rather than a robotic scorpion. I'm struggling to think of other characters that could get a Leader Class figure - Optimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, Fort Max, Megatron and Galvatron will all have been covered fairly recently. All of the other larger characters will have figures, so apart from Shockwave maybe, Scorponok could be a reasonable bet.

Incidentally, Titan Wars is supposed to be part two or the Prime Wars trilogy, my prediction of the third instalment will be animal Transformers covering the Dinobots, Predacons and Beast Wars. With a Titan Trypticon of course.

Titan Wars is also supposed to be covering Targetmasters and Powermasters (all masters I guess). So I thought it might be fun to think about who might get a deluxe figure. The headmaster characters are Chromedome, Hardhead, Highbrow, Brainstorm, Skullcruncher, Weirdwolf, Mindwipe, Apeface and Snapdragon. The Targetmasters are Hot Rod, Kup, Blurr, Cyclonus, Scourge, Sureshot, Pointblank, Crosshairs, Triggerhappy, Slugslinger and Misfire. The headmaster juniors are Nightbeat/Minerva, Siren, Hosehead, Horri-Bull, Squeezeplay and Fangry. There are some double Targetmasters, I'm going to ignore them as they didn't appear in the US or Japanese cartoon (and surely Scoop is enough?!). The Powermasters are Joyride, Slapdash, Getaway, Darkwing, Dreadwind and Doubledealer. (I'm also ignoring the leaders who wouldn't get a deluxe figure.)

For the headmaster juniors it seems like we're just going to get the heads so I'll also ignore them, plus we've had a Nightbeat figure fairly recently. Headmasters wise, we've already got Brainstorm, we're getting Hardhead and Skullcruncher, but Chromedome, Highbrow, Weirdwolf and Mindwipe seem highly likely. So that's six figures. The Horrorcons could be repaints of each other, if they're triple changers they could be Voyager, but as deluxes, they could just make them turn into jets and have the head turn into an ape or dragon. I can't imagine a deluxe Apeface turning into an decent ape any more than the G1 figure does. I think they'll leave those characters though if they can't do them properly.

We've already had a very passable Targetmaster Cyclonus, in addition, he's just had a Voyager figure so I think he's out. Kup and Scourge also have decent figures so why remake them (could reissue them with a targetmaster I guess). Hot Rod and Blurr could easily go new figures, but Hot Rod should get a Voyager figure. Blurr (is that him in the shadowed out picture of the rest of wave 1?) could be repainted into Pointblank, and Sureshot and Crosshairs could share a mold. There's got to be mold reuse and the masters of each type and faction all share more or less the same altmode, which is mostly Cybetronian or generalised, making the whole thing a bit easier. Misfire and Slugslinger could also share a mold.

Powermasters; when I was reading MTMTE recently I realised that I really want a figure of Getaway, I think he's one of the better later G1 figures. Anyway, I think Slapdash and Joyride could easily share a mold as they look close enough. We've just had a Doubledealer so I think he's out. Darkwing and Dreadwind could share a mold (as an extra gimmick they could form either Darkwind or Dreadwing). If I assume we get four waves that's 16 figures so I'm gonna go with - Hardhead, Skullcruncher, Chromedome, Highbrow, Weirdwolf, Mindwipe, Blurr, Pointblank, Crosshairs, Sureshot, Misfire, Slugslinger, Slapdash, Joyride, Darkwind and Dreadwind.

If they're feeling crazy and go 5 waves, then I reckon Arcee(!) with Minerva repaint, Triggerhappy and Getaway. I'm sure Hasbro would like to throw in a couple of fembots! Actually I've just opened Generations regular Arcee, who is basically the Impossible Toys figure, but can stand much better. Solid figure anyway (I quite liked the Impossible Toys figure).

So not much other news for me at NYCC, the first wave of 3.75" Marvel Legends looks good, I'm amazed at how for both the Transformers Generations and Marvel 3.75" lines I still want to get most of the figures, I really had expected it to be winding down. I'm quite excited about getting Triton and Lockjaw for my Inhumans, Spider-Man Noir for my Shattered Dimensions set up and Yondu for the Guardians.

So it seems that Marvel is trying to replace the X-Men with the Inhumans, but I guess they're also trying to replace the Fantastic 4 with the Guardians of the Galaxy as a way of exploring the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe. Using Ronan as the villain in the film just seems to be rubbing it in even more. I heard some discussion recently that distribution numbers on comics are really quite low now compared to a few years ago. It's all about the films and merchandise now. I'm just glad that I've got most of the Fantastic 4 and X-Men related characters I want in 3.75" form!

I've opened up my Marvel Select Hulkbuster, he's properly beefy. Since Hulk is a bit small I'm going to use it as a Foombuster - have him facing off against Fin Fang Foom! It's a sweet figure, the paint is great, a few misplaced drips here and there but overall, for the price it's great.

I've been moving all of my figures to a smaller room so some are having to go into storage but it's been fun messing round with my toys as I do so. I'm going to have a set up with my Lego on the desk so I can mess round with them when I'm working. Should be pretty cool!

Zooming Out

I have several Masterpiece figures, most of them in fact. I have, however, only managed to open Grimlock and the two packs of cassettes. Optimus Prime is also open but his box was damaged so it was more of an exercise to check the figure was still in one piece. He was, he's great. I haven't actually ever transformed Prime or Grimlock (I transformed the cassettes as they came in cassette mode).

Sitting in boxes I have Starscream, Skywarp, Soundwave, Sideswipe, Prowl, Bluestreak, Wheeljack and Bumblebee. I'm not quite sure why I haven't opened them yet, I similarly delayed opening my G1 reissues when I first started collecting so it's not without precedent. This week I popped my preorder in for Thundercracker, and am keenly waiting for Ironhide. I've been dithering about Tracks as I'm going for a season 1 lineup so he doesn't quite fit, he is however obviously looking pretty snazzy. (Grimlock is an exception to the S1 thing because I collect Grimlocks.)

I struggled with Masterpiece figures in exactly he same way I struggled with WST and Classics, I'm wasn't keen on getting yet again another Prime and Starscream. I like the slightly more obscure and in each case when the more obscure characters came I duly bought into the line. I have never really been a fan of the Masterpiece Starscream mold, even after its remold into MP11, so one problem with my S1 plan is the requirement to buy the mold three times. A particularly expensive mold at that. So this week I have had an amazing idea: just collect original mold S1+S2 characters! I'll make an exception for Ironhide and Ratchet because they're important characters (and maybe Prowl and Bluestreak because I like the idea of a complete 1984 Autobot lineup), but no Skywarp, Thundercracker, Red Alert or Smokescreen. Or Hot Rod or Ultra Magnus.

This idea of just collecting a few characters is one which I quite like, with Turtles, I've got the four NECA Turtles, but then the Turtles, Shredder, Krang, Splinter and April as Lego minifigs (plus the Turtle van). With Thundercats I've got the minimates for the Thundercats, the new Thundercats plus Mumm-Ra and the mutants. I intend to get just the main Thundercats from Mattel's new line. With Ghostbusters I've got the NECA Stay Puft, then the Lego Ecto-1 with Ghostbusters minifigs. I've just got a Titans Slimer figure to go with my villain collection, I think the Mattel one would scale better but this one was a lot more affordable.

Power Rangers I've just got Dragonzord, Tigerzord and the Figuarts Green and White rangers. I wouldn't mind some Power Rangers mini figures, I did briefly consider the Loyal Subjects 3" figures, but they're blind boxed with the Black Ranger short packed. What the heck were they thinking?!

With Star Wars I've got the original trilogy characters as Lego minifigs (with AT-AT), then I'm collecting the main Jedi and Sith (from all films) as 3.75" figures. Here's Yoda and Qui-Gon. I'm thinking that I might need to look out for the 3.75" Black series Kylo Ren...

With Marvel, I've got almost every character as a 3.75" figure then just a few key characters as Lego minifigs (with a Hulbuster armour). With DC, I've Batman and his villains as 3.75" figures and the main Justice League characters as Lego minifigs. With Transformers I've got most of the characters as Classics scaled figures, but now I'm getting the S1+S2 original mold characters as Masterpiece figures. There's no need to get every character in every format, sometimes it's better just to get your favourite or main characters, especially in the bigger scales.

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As a Transformers collector I really should know better than to start worrying about scale, but here goes. More or less once a week I go the various city centre toy shops and check whether they've got anything new in. So checking the Disney Store I spotted the Marvel Select Hulkbuster which I had previously seen mentioned online.

For some reason the Hulkbuster armour really appeals to me. I've already got the 3.75" version and I've got a Lego version, but the (Iron Man 2 line 3.75") version, I know is too small. So this got me thinking, how big should the bigger Marvel characters be in 3.75" scale. Or 4" scale at least. I found a page on the Marvel Wiki which gives the heights of most Marvel characters. Now, I know that over time the 'official' height has probably changed several times, especially with different artists' interpretation and some characters can change their size anyway.

So going by the Marvel Wiki, Hulk should be 8' tall. At a 1:18 scale, that would make an appropriate figure 5 1/3" tall. He's actually about 4 2/3" tall, as are most of the larger figures. (Abomination should be 4 1/3" , Rhino and Juggernaut should be 4 2/3", so pretty much spot on.) The Hulkbuster armour however (according to a different source) is 11' tall. That means it should be 7 1/3" tall. The Marvel Select figure is just over 8", which although a bit too big, is far closer than the 4 1/3" IM2 armour. So really, I needed the Marvel Select figure, and for 19.99, there's not much to argue with. (The original Legends version would be pretty much spot on, but not worth it.) I'll do some comparison shots once I open it.

Incidentally, Sasquatch is 10' tall so should be 6", which is what the Alpha Flight line version I have is. Wendigo is 9' 7" tall so should be a hair over 5 2/3" tall. I have plans to make a custom Wendigo, so should look okay if he's just over 5".

My Sith 'army' (I'm ignoring the rule of two) is coming on well with the arrival of Maul and Dooku. Both are really good figures, Dooku does look a bit worried though, maybe it's capturing the moment where he he realises him fighting Anakin was all part of Palpatine's plan.

I also received my Reprolabels that turn Lego 1x2 flat tiles into cassettes. They look pretty good!

Something that occurred to me with Darth Maul (and in fact General Grievous who I haven't got yet), is that it's quite possible to like the characters from something even though the source material isn't very good. Star Wars is the case in point here, many of the characters from the prequel trilogy are popular characters. Jedi such as Mace Windu and Kit Fisto for example, actually I think the original clone wars cartoon helped there. Green Lantern was the same for me, everything I know about the character(s) is from that Ryan Reynolds film, but I still find myself interested in the Green Lantern mythos. I even decided to get a Lego minifig of him. I have also decided to get Lego Avengers to go against my Lego Justice League so picked up a Thor as well.

I'm moving my Transformers display to a different room, it was spread across several Ikea shelving units, but now it's going to a room with two great big shelves. I initially thought that I'd make one Decepticon and the other Autobot, so I put all of my Classics styled Decepticons on a table at the same time. It was an interesting exercise. Not only do they differ wildly in scale, but also style with the various Hasbro lines and third party companies. Universe Darkwing is a repaint of Universe Ultra Silverbolt, he towers over everyone else when really, deluxe would be fine. Shockwave, Galvatron and Thunderwing are far too small. It did give me a renewed appreciation for the toys though.

I think I'm going to try and group them according to company and size. I decided to display the Mastermind Creations Predacons as individual robots. They are a great set of toys, I actually really enjoyed taking them apart and transforming them. Speaking of MMC, I really like the look of their new Overlord coming out, it's going to take a lot of willpower to pass on it - sadly I really can't justify the money.

I had decided to sell my Perfect Effect Fortress Maximus (Warden), but having just finished the fourth volume of MTMTE I've changed my mind. I was going to sell in anticipation of getting the Titan version next year, a remold of Metroplex. I have several reasons: keeping the PE version is cheaper, takes up less space, is comic book accurate and it kinda takes something away from the awesomeness and uniqueness of Metroplex to have a second version of the mold. That and we don't know he's definitely coming!

I bought the KO MP Ratbat. It's a solid figure, much more solid than the KFC figure. I would love to have got the official version but for £100 odd quid I just can't justify it. If we get MP Blaster we"ll probably have the same thing happen as there's an even number of cassettes - one cassette with Blaster, one with Twincast and a two-pack of the others. In other news, a MP Shockwave prototype has been displayed. Looks awesome, with the Classics/FOC being so small I need a decently sized figure of the character.

I've bought and opened a couple of other things, Beast Wars II Megastorm, pretty much just G2 Megatron. Very glad to finally get this toy to complete my Predacon lineup. It's a very solid blocky toy, but in a good way. I have the G2 comics so I can appreciate it on several levels. The poor bugger's more or less going straight into storage though.

I also opened Combiner Wars Motormaster, as luck would have it, it was the version with the updated hips (so I suppose I have something to thank Hasbro UK for by not releasing it). I really like it, it does everything it needs to and is a great update for the character. I'm keeping him in bot mode for the time being.

With Motormaster I also got the DC Multiverse Batman Beyond figure, he looks pretty good but lacks any ankle articulation. He does have thigh swivels though so it is possible to pose him.

It's been quite an expensive month but I've sold a few bits and bobs so the balance sheet's not looking too bad. I can't believe what a Star Wars kick I'm on, I didn't realise how susceptible I was to hype. The remaining figures I need are in sight and I'm very tempted to buy the previous films to watch before episode VII!

Cinematic Multiverses

I really rather enjoyed Ant-Man! It was a definite return to the earlier Marvel movies with a simple plot, plenty of screen time for each of the characters and it slotted rather well into the existing cannon. I think it's a great shame Edgar Wright didn't complete the film but Peyton Reed did a stand up job. Honestly, I laughed, I cried and I cheered. Nice one Marvel!

I finally got to see the first three episodes of Daredevil, wow, it's hard to believe this is the same universe as the films! Marvel can do dark. I didn't really know much about Daredevil before (Spider-Man cartoon and Ben Affleck film aside). The TV show makes it much clearer that although he has super enhanced senses, he doesn't have super powers. I think the show as a concept really helps build the universe because it lends some credence to the idea that there are heroes everywhere; we just don't always see them. I can't wait to see the rest of season 1 and for Punisher, Elektra and Bullseye to turn up in season 2. (I have always displayed Daredevil with Punisher and Elektra in my MU display so this really validates that set up.)

Something I didn't mention last month were the DC cinematic trailers shown at SDCC. I am getting a bit excited about Batman vs Superman and Suicide Squad now, they've done their job! Incidentally I am boycotting the new Fantastic 4 film, partially I want it to do badly so that Marvel gets the rights back, but secondly if it doesn't fit into the MCU or X-Men universes, I'm not that interested because I don't really care for the characters. The Deadpool trailer has now also officially dropped, looks pretty damn good to me, looks like fun.

I've been thinking about getting Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern figures. I did think about getting the Infinite Heroes versions, but instead I think I'll get the Lego minifigs. This has lead me to also want to get Iron Man, Thor, Hulk and Captain America. The Hulkbuster which I've been eyeing up for a while will be my starting point!

Pretty standard Lego robot build, but a nice result. Good to get a Hulk as well!

I picked up a legends Groove recently to complete my Protectorbots (sans Rook), hopefully it will get replaced by a deluxe at some point, but for £10 I might as well cover myself. I've decided that once I've got Bruticus I will have one Autobot and one Decepticon team combined at any one time, but probably with some limb swapping going on.

AOE Slog and World of Nintendo Bowser have finally turned up! The Bowser is actually a replacement as the first one went astray in the mail. I've put an order in on Amazon for Snarl so my movie dinobots will be complete soon. It was announced that there is going to be a G1 inspired redeco set of the dinobots with new heads, if I see them in person I might be tempted but I quite like the originals with Scorn and Slash. I've been holding off opening 5" DK and the Link and Samus figures so I had a bit of an opening session. Since they're releasing a 4" Zelda I've decided I will also get the 4" Peach, the princesses should be in scale with each other. Mario being a short arse is fine!

This is my current 'Mario Kart' scaled lineup:

Here's Bowser and Bowser Jr.:

Here's DK, DK Jr. and Diddy:

Here's Link with his older self:

And here's Samus with her older self:

Finally, the Smash Bros. scaled lineup:

Hopefully I can find Fox soon! I'm not sure whether I'm going to keep Figma Link and Samus, they are obviously better toys but they don't really fit with the rest of my collection (I think they'd go well with Figuarts Mario, Luigi and company who I don't have).

Speaking of Nintendo I recently took a long train journey so I decided to crack out Mario 64 (on the DS). I can't actually remember whether I really played that version before, or whether I bought a second hand version that somebody had already completed. Great game though and enough differences from the N64 to make it interesting (the version of which I remember like the back of my hand). I also played Sonic 2 (also on the DS), such fun, it got a bit tricky by the time I got to the Metropolis Zone and so I gave up, but I really enjoyed the tunes along the way. The other Mega Drive games are also on the game pack so I'll have to replay those as well. I think I need a Robotnik figure! (There is a 4" one from a few years back but it's pretty pricey now.)

I finally got round to opening my Classics and Combiner Wars Optimus figures. CW Prime will be my stand in God Ginrai, I'm still surprised that no third party has come up with a kit yet given the head is already there for a pretty accurate powermaster mode. I haven't transformed him as I want to experience the mold properly when I get Motormaster. I'm not sure about the chromed Classics Prime, I'm leaning towards keeping my 2006 version.

I have finally decided to give the More than Meets the Eye comics a go. Someone described it as being reminiscent of both Red Dwarf and Firefly, and frankly, that was me sold. I love both those shows! I've picked up the first three collection volumes. I sold off my Drift figure a while ago, it remains to be seen whether I feel need to re-buy it. The artwork has it's own distinctive style, but I put together a few of my figures to see how they look.

I've enjoyed what I've read so far, it's nice for the story to have evolved past the never ending civil war and for Prime and Megatron to be elsewhere (although I'm aware that Megatron does join the crew eventually). I'm not feeling the need to pick up Drift again yet or to put together an IDW shelf but I am tempted by the new leader Magnus.

I have also managed to get round to opening my Dalek figure for my villain pub display, it's a 1972 Day of the Daleks version, but to be honest my Who knowledge doesn't really extend that far. Still looks just the business. I also received my Emperor Palpatine figure, he'll go with my Star Wars figures facing off against Mace Windu, but he'll spend plenty of time behind the bar! Luckily Bowncer is now on hand to break up any fights.

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I have now received the Kreo Soundwave vs. Ratchet set, it's basically an oversized Kreon, but with extra kibble on the limbs. It has a very simple transformation, but it feels like what Hasbro should have done from the start. The Kreons were evidently very collectable and popular, but they obviously didn't transform. The large sets were basically a crapper version of Lego which required re-building to transform, this transformable Kreon actually works. I also like the cassette Kreons that come with the set, the Rumble and Frenzy have bags of character. I think this is me done with Kreo now, unless of course they do a 1986 set for SDCC featuring Steeljaw next year.....

I also now have a couple of additions to my 'villain pub' lineup, Jaws (I think I'll call him Bruce) and Stripe. I had the ReAction Predator and although these aren't the same basic humanoid shape, I think they are an improvement in detail. Having said that, on Stripe the joints are a little tight and tend to slide back to their original position over time. Jaws has a movable jaw, but nothing else. He is however everything you'd want from a 3.75" scaled shark!

I picked up the G1 deco of RID Grimlock. I was a bit reluctant to get this guy as I have no interest in the series and was simply getting him just because he is a Grimlock. I like him a lot more than I though I would. There seems to be no problems with the arms and I like how his lower legs slide and tab into place when transforming into robot mode. He does need a sword though.

In the same delivery as Grimlock I also got AOE Snarl. I think he is one of my favourite deluxe movie dinos. I like the transformation, the transparent plastic and the fake head in the right leg. I finally have a complete set of AOE dinobots!

Here's a picture showing off the transparent plastic:

I have been a little tempted by the movie and G1 deco versions of these figures, but the original versions are the only way to have all seven molds and that I managed to buy some of them in person means I have an attachment to them (my general rule is to go with the deco that allows me to get the most figures). I am happy for the time being. It's been a good month for toys!

After finding some enthusiasm for the DC cinematic universe, I realised that Man of Steel was available to watch on Amazon Prime for free, so gave it a go. I have to admit it was a lot better than I was expecting based on what I had heard, and I enjoyed the dark tone of the film. I think Batman vs Superman could be a bit special, it will be interesting to see how it compares to Captain America vs Iron Man!