The Titans have returned

Well Titans Return is off to a storming start, we seem to be on the cusp of Wave 2 already. I thought they would stick round for a while, but upon finding W2 Titanmasters, thought I'd better pick up Galvatron before he disappears. Thankfully I've managed to grab Hardhead, Skullcruncher and Rewind as well. Really looking forward to the W2 deluxes, getting the original 7 headmasters will be quite a milestone.  Sadly missed out on W1 Titanmasters so I hope they pop up somewhere at some point. I've just opened Hardhead and Skullcruncher so far, very impressed, nicely detailed - a great update to the originals.

Combiner Wars hasn't been forgotten yet though - I've just ordered Computron so along with the TR deluxes, my most wanted list has taken quite the battering.

I also haven't forgotten about Marvel, I've been eyeing up the TRU 3.75" Civil War 2-packs, no sign of them in the UK, but I was keen on Iron Man in his NOW! armour (black and gold looks sweet!), after reading a review though I found out that a more accurate version was released (sadly with 5 POA), in the Avengers Assemble line. What's good though is I found it for £6 on eBay rather than paying through the nose for the TRU set. It needs a bit of paint to make it really shine, but as I want it for my armoury, the articulation isn't too much of a worry. Hope the sets do turn up in the UK though as I also want the Black Panther, however, I'm willing to wait as even if they don't turn up, I can see it being re-released when the BP film comes out.

I picked up Quasar at FP and bought Living Laser online (seems like we're not getting that wave in regular UK retail), both will go into storage for the time being.

Wilykit and Wilykat are great, even if we don't get a full set of T'cats, they look great together (thankfully they didn't just release one of them!). Fantastic sculpts straight from the cartoon.

I started the year on a Star Wars kick (which I don't regret at all, K'kruhk in particular looks great next to my desk), after that I went a bit Batman and started tracking down figures for making custom of his villains, I then started planning a few Marvel customs that I'd been giving a bit of though to. There's something about my brain which is always thinking about the next thing. Anyway, I've decided that if I'm not displaying figures, then there's no point in having them which caused me to start thinking about Mortal Kombat. The figures aren't great, but after a few touch ups with paint hopefully they will be passable, but one reason I don't display them is because key characters are missing - I've got Shao Kahn's throne (which also has chains for 2 characters), Sonja and Kano are the obvious candidates for the chains ala MKII), but they don't exist. So I've worked out how I'm going to customise them! All in all its been a bit of a crazy month so need to try and calm it down for the rest of the year.

I think I've run out of characters I could possibly customise (I even gave some thought to Professor Monkey for a head!), but I am very well stocked up now. Actually, I read a few articles about collecting versus hoarding, collecting is when you display your collection and know where each thing is, which is me so I gave myself a pat on the back for being a collector not a hoarder (which psychologically sounds more worrying), then I realised that all of the figures I'm buying for customs are being hoarded - I don't know where they are, I've forgotten about some of them and they aren't nicely displayed or organised. So yep, I'm a collector and a hoarder! Well, until I get round to actually making the customs.

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Prototype pictures of Broadside have surfaced! Great to get confirmation, actually it means my list of wants (but not released) is down to 10 (need Dinobots, Terrorcons and Scorponok), which is a nice round number to be down to. He looks quite chunky, I can't quite see it as Broadside yet though, think he needs a white head to really hit it.

I have just received Hasbro Computron, I opted for Hasbro as I prefer the toy look rather than the anime. Scattershot is noticeably better than the stand alone version with better colours (not just red), with the same nice vehicle remolding from Silverbolt. I really liked the original use of the mold, so perfectly happy to have it again. The new robot mode head is nicely done so job done. Shame we couldn't have got a new gun for him as Silverbolt's is so distinctive.

Lightspeed and Nosecone do seem like repaints of other characters, but as they're gonna be legs I'm not too worried. Afterburner is a nice reuse of deluxe Groove, just not sure what's going on the green plastic for the windshield. Strafe was one of the reasons I opted for the Hasbro version - I wanted a toy accurate version to go with my Lost Light crew. He's perfect apart from his guns not being removable (I would rather they missed out Scrounge).

So overall, a nice set, just about distinctive enough from Superion to be Computron, lacking a few little things that would have finished Combiner Wars on a really high note. There have been a few rumours that we might get an Abominus (based on comments at Cybertron Con), I really hope this is true, but also that he also has the better hands and feet as although they are both scramble city style, they are both later toys so it would it reflect them being the next generation of combiner.

Had a great day shopping today, bought Chromedome (no Highbrow on the shelf, will pick up Weirdwolf and Mindwipe later) and found Titanmasters Horri-bull, Squeezeplay and Siren! Was all set to buy them online so delighted to be able to save the money.

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It occurs to me that I'm enthusiastically counting down my list of wants, but really they're my must haves, I still have plenty of wouldn't minds - it would be nice to have all the Targetmasters, Monsterbots, Powermasters, Headmaster Jnrs and Pretenders as Classics. Maybe Piranacon as well? Yeah, that takes me up to about 50 odd toys so Hasbro can keep on milking this cash cow for a little while yet!

More confirmation of Overlord which is great news - leader class apparently. Plus Black Shadow which hopefully means a decent sized Thunderwing. That would just leave Shockwave and Dinobot as the two remaining undersized toys (Galvatron was previously on the list). Exciting!

I found Highbrow today! Great to have all four Autobot headmasters (don't think I mentioned Brainstorm), they're a great set and having them is one of my milestones. Highbrow is particularly significant as the last character I wanted for my Classics collection that I've never owned a toy of (Broadside will be the last character I get a toy of that I don't currently already own, but I did briefly have the Fansproject figure). I also found a Gamora which I had decided to pass on and make a custom instead, but I saw her on the shelf so got her as a stand in until I get round to the custom.

The rumour mill for Titans Return is going crazy. Every few days there seems to be more. Well, I for one for one am very excited, Throttlebots, Targetmasters, Overlord, plus even more as Titanmasters. I don't think my spending will be reducing just yet! I'm quite happy to have say Repugnus and Grotusque as Titanmasters as I have the G1 versions, but having Doublecross as a deluxe is cool as he's the best Monsterbot! Perhaps they could have an agreement where they take turns getting the body... I wonder if there might be a few Titanmaster only characters where Takara does a repaint of an existing deluxe to give them a body.

The wave 3 of deluxes is going to be great - my favourite Monsterbot, Targetmaster and Powermaster!

Abominus is also one of those rumoured, I think he is one of the few I'd have to get the Takara version as anime accurate would be so much better (call of the Primatives!). There are potentially quite a few leader figures coming that are exciting - Super Ginrai, Overlord, Sixshot, Deszaras, Thunderwing (from the rumoured Black Shadow) and Star Saber (surely, if they're doing Deszaras). If they did Abominus then someone like Piranacon could reuse the molds. Beyond that there are several Targetmasters, Powermasters and Pretenders which would be cool to have as deluxes, but in each case they're doing or have done my favourite characters so I'm happy to sit back and just see what happens.

I read an article by Maz recently and he was talking about collector burnout, one contributor said that when they buy a load of transformers, rather than opening them all at once, they open one and save the rest. I realise that I do something very similar - I rarely open things as soon as I get them, but if I do it tends just to be one figure at a time. It's all part of the appreciation process, I also have a little tradition of having a hot drink whilst opening which is something I started doing so it takes a bit longer to open the thing up. I think appreciating each item is very important, but I do remember very fondly getting an absolutely huge set of parcels from BBTS and opening them all up in one session. I got most of the Transformers Universe 2.0 lineup in those boxes!

Anyway, as I put Highbrow onto my Lost Light shelf, I realised that although I think the MTMTE comics are great, one good reason to have a Lost Light shelf is that it gives a reason to put certain characters together in a more interesting way than the G1 year they were released. It's get pretty packed on there though, as it stands I just need to squeeze Getaway in there, but could be a few more soon.

When I bought the Supersize Thunderbird 2, I can't remember if I ever really entertained the idea to buy six so as to have all of the pods. I think I thought about buying an extra so I could put the mole in one. Maybe another one on top of that for the firefly. So when I found out a 'pod builder' set was coming I was delighted to be able to pick up the mole vehicle.

I was however, even more delighted to find out Takara was putting out a similar set with an extra pod. I'd have to get one, no wait, I'd have to get two, no wait I'd have to get three! Suddenly the idea of six pods was feasible. In the event I've bought two Takara sets as the shipping per set from HLJ was lower for two than three. I figure I'd build two elevator cars and have the one mole and firefly.

I was a bit worried that the Takara sets were gloss not matte, this is one of the reasons I like the new toys as they look more like models than toys. In person (and in low lights), this is not that obvious so it's fine. I had thought I might get a third because it would be neat to have three elevator cars, but because of the change in the pound/yen exchange rate though, it's pretty expensive and in fact, cheaper to buy another TB2 set to get another pod. I've changed my mind on the elevator cars because although two fit in one pod, the design means they can't actually get out. I have therefore opted to make the fourth vehicle the VTOL flying thing (which can't actually get out of the pod either, but hey ho). Also, one vehicle per pod makes sense so as to have one less empty pod.

The set is great fun and feels a lot less wasteful than buying a TB2 to get an extra pod (although more expensive). I am toying with the idea of painting the treads on the mole and firefly to add a bit more interest (and so they look a bit more like the originals), and I wish TB4 was the same shade of yellow/orange as it looks a bit pale in comparison, but overall I'm very happy to have these updated vehicles in my collection. One thing extra to mention - the set comes with stickers to make the pod either 1, 2 or 3. Perfect for those who want to pod build!

TRYPTICON!!!

I had a chat with someone about minimalism recently, as a way to live. I occasionally watch TV shows where someone's building or redecorating a house in a minimalist way. Some part of it really appeals to me, basically having no clutter, or if you do, having it hidden away. It seems like quite a nice way to live. But it's essentially the polar opposite of the collecting mentality I obviously have. If you had a huge house then I think it would be great to display things in a way that takes advantage of that space. Transformers Masterpiece for instance, wouldn't it be great for each figure to have its own shelf? My problem is that I have almost no space and I want look at my toys. I could rotate my display, but frankly, I'm too lazy.

I read a few websites where they guide you through the process of reducing 'clutter'. Some of them warn against the perils of collecting and I came across the following. Paraphrasing, 'collectors have the need to make their collections as compete as possible'. On some of the podcasts I listen to people sagely warn against the dangers of collecting to 'complete' a collection. A figure should stand on its own merits rather than being there to complete a set. Initially I thought that it described me perfectly. But then I thought further, in not one of the lines I collect do I have absolutely every figure.

Now, I admit, part of this is me justifying to myself. But it's true, Transformers Masterpiece for instance, I only have season 1 figures (minus the seekers but plus Grimlock and Tracks). I do have the mentality to complete sets, but I define what those sets are. Power Rangers I have Dragonzord, Tigerzord and (now) Megazord. To me that's a set of the initial red, blue, yellow, black, pink, green and white zords. I'm sure to most fans that replacing Tigerzord with Titanus would make more sense to complete a set. But there's also the Thunder and Ninja Megazords which I'm just ignoring.

I have many Transformers boxed up in the loft. I think it is the only franchise where I could put figures away in storage like that. If I'd put my new Megazord up there then it would have been utterly pointless to buy in the first place. I have a dream to one day have everything on display, if I admit to myself that it's never going to happen, is there any point keeping those figures? I think if nothing else it's good to ask those questions of myself every now and again. It's also good to make sure that you genuinely want everything you have and not just box them up and hide them away indefinitely. So, I'm some distance away from the minimalist ideal, but I can dream!

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I finally got round to opening my Supersize Thunderbird 2, I really like it! I like the update, it looks less whale like than the original. To top it off I've just found out that Takara have done a pod set where you can build the various non-TB4 pod vehicles (Vivid have released something similar, but without the actual pod). Might need me a couple of them for some TB2 hanger style display. Sweet! Really looking forward to TB3 this year now.

I thought I was done with Power Rangers, apparently not - I just bought the Legacy version! My mind went down a dangerous path now that I've got the Mega Bloks Turtle Wagon, Icon Heroes Thundertank and Lego Ecto-1. I've got all the classic vehicles from my favourite franchises. Oh, apart from the original Megazord...... I have gone completely full circle, I bought the Megazord, Dragonzord and Tigerzord, sold them all and then bought them all again! I haven't bought Titanus again yet though.....

I realise in retrospect that keeping the zords separately rather than as the Megazord was the reason why I never really appreciated it all that much originally, having said that, having the Legacy version is great, so I don't regret selling the old version, (which given I have the Legacy Dragonzord and Tigerzord this version completes a set).

I'm very happy with the Turtle Wagon, it's a nice little build. The bricks are a slightly strange colour as they have a bit of a sheen to them rather than being a flat colour, but having April, Shredder and Michelangelo is great. I have Michelangelo hanging from the Ghostbusters sign on my firehouse.

Very happy with my Bossfight skeletons, I'm eyeing up some of the blanks they offer for customs but haven't really come up with any ideas yet.

I've been remarkably lucky with the SDCC exclusives - Wilykit and Wilykat were sold on the Mattycollector website directly rather than the convention and was overjoyed to get a set. I ordered the 3.75" Marvel set on eBay and they have just turned up (just as SDCC is actually going on). Lockjaw looks ace with the other Inhumans, I will display him with my pet Avengers though. I picked up an Armoured Spiderman midweek so my Spiderverse collection is coming on nicely (need to do some customs now).

So nothing too mind blowing from SDCC for me - 3.75" Invincible Iron Man, a Fangry Titanmaster and legends Gnaw for Transformers. Sixshot was confirmed via some cross promotion on the packaging. Oh and the really crappy news that Mattycollector are closing down so we won't (seemingly) get to complete our Thundercats line. It really is the cursed franchise! Assuming the subscription figures happen then Tygra and Cheetara will be huge gaps for me. Nothing on the Turtles Mega Bloks, apparently they were there but I can't find out a thing.

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I have G1 Fortress Maximus, I have Generations Metroplex and I have Perfect Effect Warden. I don't need Titans Return Fort Max. I will keep on repeating this to myself until I believe it. For the moment, I am passing on it. I have popped in a preorder for Takara God Ginrai though, apart from the feet which look iffy, he looks great. Can't wait to see God Bomber.

CybertronCon on the other hand... Kickback, Sixshot and TRYPTICON!!! I have G1 Trypticon, I also need Titan Return Trypticon, no questions asked. Swoop Titanmaster looks interesting, but great to get confirmation on Kickback. I will need multiples of Gnaw and Kickback!

I picked up some of the new 3.75" Marvel Legends figures from a comic book shop - Rage, Morbius and Hydro-Man. Even though I prefer Hydro-Man in his classic black t-shirt and blue/green trousers he does look quite cool with the spiral of water instead of legs. Still on the look out for Gamora, Living Laser and Quasar.

So back onto the subject of Thunderbirds, I would like a complete set of Thunderbirds, including TB5. Obviously none of the retail TB5s that have been available over the years would be in scale to (supersize) TB3, so I started thinking about a custom (particularly as that particular vehicle is the one that has changed most in the new Thunderbirds are Go! iteration). This caused me to do some research into the size of the respective vehicles. I've always gone by the size of the old Matchbox toys that TB1 and TB3 are about the same size (completely ignoring the fact that one is space capable, and so would need to be huge for the fuel requirements), but TB3 is so much bigger!

As an aside as a kid I always thought TB1 was by far the most boring, you saw it virtually every week, as you did TB2, but TB2 had the interest of its pods and associated vehicles. I always thought the water and space episodes were far more interesting. But in the name of completeness, hoped we get a supersize TB1 in the future, or failing that, I could pick up an older version.

Back to my scale discovery, the regular (non-supersize) TB1 is approximately in scale to the supersize vehicles! Now, I collect transformers so know better than to get fixated on scale, it's more about particular characters/vehicles being the right size relative to the rest rather than a fixed scale (ignoring the mini figures with the supersize versions which are very large relative to the vehicles). Getting the regular size version of my least favourite Thunderbird works for me! It also follows that TB4 should be a good bit smaller than TB1, so I also need the regular version of it as well but that's not a problem as both are still freely available.

Full set of Thunderbirds here I come! Funnily enough the money I would have spent on Thunderbirds by the end of the year could have bought me a TR Fortress Maximus, which considering until I saw Tracy Island in store Thunderbirds wasn't even on my radar is quite a surprise. I think I have now exhausted everything I liked as a kid though. There are a few minor things like MOTU and Stingray, but they never made the impact of other toy lines.

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Well! I reckon the regular TB1 and TB4 go rather nicely with the supersize TB2. It somehow makes TB2 look more majestic. Surprisingly though, the supersize TB4 also goes rather nicely with the regular TB2! It's a choice of vehicles that scale together or vehicles that are more or less the same size. Both are nice display options, but both of which seem to work better than the set of regular vehicles which is a middle option. If you've got a TB2 I recommend swapping the TB4 with someone who has the other version! Just needs TB3 and some extra TB2 pods now.......

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Subconsciously at first, but deliberately now, I have regular versions of most of my collections and then mini versions as well. The mini versions mean it's cheap and space efficient to get more characters, whilst also allowing vehicles and play sets. The regular versions are then my favourite or the main characters. I have Mega Bloks Turtles, Turtle Wagon, Shredder and Krang whilst only having the Turtles as NECA figures. Power Rangers I have Mega Bloks rangers then Legacy Megazord, Tigerzord and Dragonzord and Figuarts Green and White rangers. With my new set up I have a desk and I've tended to put the mini figures nearby and I've realised that I tend to play with them a bit more. Previously my Thundercats Mini Mates didn't really have a home, but now they fit right in on my desk.

These mini figures are mostly Lego, Mega Bloks or Mini Mates, but extending the idea to Transformers, I have WST! These are official, unofficial, customs, resin kits and Kabaya. I display them with my G1 Metroplex, Countdown, etc. Again, I've never really known where to put them. These should be on my desk also! So the aim this weekend is to shuffle everything round to make room. Actually, from this perspective, I think WST are to G1 what Classics are to Masterpiece. No room for Classics on my desk though!

SDCC Exclusives

I know I've mentioned this before, but I'm really excited about Turtles Mega Bloks. I can't wait to get the Turtle Wagon, I've just put my order in on Amazon! There's a review on twolostboys.com and I can't help but keep looking at the pictures. This set will have Michelangelo, so will just need a Donatello. And Splinter. Apparently the individual pack turtles are a lighter shade of green, so there is speculation Donatello will come in another set (apparently not the Technodrome as that has Leonardo again). I think more Turtles Mega Bloks news is the main thing I'm looking forward to from SDCC!

The Combaticons have finally hit the UK! It's bittersweet really as I spent much more than I needed to on Swindle, Brawl and Vortex. I at least have a complete Bruticus now, still hoping we get the Takara Blast Off, but am covered if we don't. As a little milestone, I now have versions of all the characters from seasons 1 and 2 of the cartoon in some form (all Classics apart from the dinobots!).

I've put an order in for some Bossfight studios skeletons, I've seen some very positive reviews for all of the figures so really excited. It would be great to get some of the other characters, but don't feel like I can justify it when there's so much other stuff coming out at the same time. If ML 3.75" W2 and Titans Return hit at the same time it's gonna be a struggle.

Still waiting to see what Takara do with Fortress Maximus, I think he'll look cool with a sword. It's funny, but the main reason I want to get the figure is for Cerebros - he looks really good. I'm having a few doubts about getting the figure, if Scorponok was announced as a Leader class figure I think I would be very tempted to skip it. Also interested to see what they do with God Ginrai, from what I've seen so far he'd look pretty sweet with some extra decos. If Scorponok is a Titan I wonder how they'll do Zarak - deluxe headmaster with its own headmaster like Cerebros?

The SDCC Marvel exclusive has been revealed (well, leaked) on eBay, a cosmic set with the Collector, Cosmo, Howard the duck, Moonboy and Lockjaw. I definitely want Lockjaw, but not sure whether it's quite worth the likely high cost. I might still give the custom I've got planned a go. I will try and get the Collector and Moonboy, but again I don't think I'm prepared to pay the big bucks.

In other SDCC news, Mattel are doing a Wilykit and Wilykat set. Damn damn damn! Really don't know where I'm going to get the money from!? But potentially by the end of the year I will have 4 Thundercats which is pretty cool. The Brainstorm from Hasbro also looks good but will wait to see if rumours of a regular retail release pan out. SDCC exclusives really mess up my spending plans!

I’ve also bought some Captain Marvels from eBay, I will use them as Kree soldiers to go up against my Skrulls, will probably paint their chins to be blue though. Need a Ronan to lead them!

Civil Wars

I've got the Ghostbusters Lego Firehouse!!! I've made a solid start on building it. I'm just so impressed with the detail, it's so simple but elegantly done. The lockers downstairs, the vent on one of the windows, even the archway above the door is beautiful. Funnily enough though one of the things I'm looking forward to is posing my Lego/Mega Bloks minifigs on it - the New York based characters will look especially good (Spider-Man/Turtles for instance).

I've recently started working from home on occasion, this has had the advantage of me spending time in my office with my collection, this has had the further effect of me staring at my display and rearranging figures as well as keeping it a bit tidier, I was a bit prone to leaving new stuff in a pile on the desk. It's a great little room, I rearranged the desk a little to make room for the Lego Firehouse, I've now put my Star Wars and Turtles minifigs on the in progress build. The Turtles look pretty sweet! I also finally got the Thundertank out of its box, pretty heavy. Looks great, I really like the sculpting on the front.

Getting the Firehouse completes all of the Ghostbusters stuff I want. Makes me think though that I'd really like some other bases like the Turtles' sewer base, the Thundercats' Lair and Tracy Island. There are a few options with the Turtles from the Mega Bloks non-collector stuff, nothing's really grabbing me. Actually, I wonder whether they still have the Power Rangers license, would be really cool to see some MMPR Zord sets. [Update: I'm pretty sure they don't!]

More leaks from Titans Return; I enjoy hearing about the leaks and then having them confirmed at conventions with photos. It's a bit like when they say they have a figure planned, you know there's a little bit of a chance it might not happen. With photos it just kinda takes away the magic - future conventions are going to be a bit rubbish. That said, Doublecross and Triggerhappy look fantastic, not sure about Getaway yet, I think the Hot Rod figure also leaked might be a better fit than Chromedome. Also very happy to hear Chase is being planned - I'm surprising myself how excited I am about potential Throttlebots!

As a collector I'm obliged to make lists of figures I want, naturally the list is never entirely finished as new things constantly get added. I thought for Transformers, I would put together a couple more lists. First is characters I don't have a toy of, including G1. The list is as follows: Chromedome, Hardhead, Highbrow, Blast Off, Broadside, Scattershot, Afterburner, Lightspeed, Strafe and Nosecone. Yep, half of them are Technobots. Nine of them have toys coming out so very good chance of completion. The Technobots and Highbrow have the added distinction that I've never owned a toy of them (including third party).

I'm actually really excited about Computron, I realise that I have or have owned most Decepticons from '84-'88, mostly from collecting animal based Transformers, but I also bought the Targetmasters and Powermasters. I think Scourge and Cyclonus were the main exceptions. When I got back into collecting they just seemed to have the more interesting figures. This has had the result that the toys of the '86-'88 Autobots seem more exciting now because I'm not familiar with any version of them. The Throttlebots get an honourable mention, not sure whether Goldbug is a separate character from Bumblebee. Maybe.

The second list is toys I have the G1 figure of, but would also like a modern version of. So: Scorponok, Trypticon, God Ginrai/Powermaster Optimus Prime, Overlord, Skullcruncher, Weirdwolf, Mindwipe, Kickback, Slag, Sludge, Swoop and Snarl. I think the Terrorcons get honourable mentions, but mostly because Combiner Wars has been so great. At the start of Classics they would never have been anywhere near the top of the list. Six of those twelve should be coming out. Rumours of some of the others though!

So that's my transformers lists, 32 including the honourable mentions (not counting Goldbug yet). I really don't think there are any others I'm that bothered about, but if someone becomes important in IDW, or they release 2/3 of an established team or group (like the Insecticons for instance), then there will be replacements, I'm looking at you Triggerhappy, Doublecross and Getaway.

I just received an arm for Bruticus - Vortex, when I first saw him I immediately decided I'd get the Takara version as I was keen on all the colours going on. I then decided I liked the Takara version even less. In hand I don't mind the colours so much, it's actually accurate to the original G1 stickers. One thing that's not accurate though is the missiles, especially in bright yellow so I might just paint over them. I will wait until I complete Bruticus to decide though.

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I went to see Captain America: Civil War! It's amazing how far the comic book genre has evolved since the typical goodie gets powers, baddie gets powers, goodie and baddie have big fight days. What a great film! So many fantastic moments. It was never going to end well though so not the happy ending like so many other films. The Russo brothers described it as their Empire Strikes Back, I totally get that. It's also quite a relevant comparison for another reason.

I think I'm team Iron Man, although his motivation is ultimately emotional, it's starts off as the most reasoned. That and I've spent quite a bit of time putting together an armoury! The motivation of all of the characters is expertly set out. Phase 3 is looking to be absolutely stand out.

I've got a deluxe Groove for my Defensor! So lucky to be able to get one, I think Hasbro have made a right old mess of making it available before the alleged street date, but so glad I did. Great figure, also glad I'm going to get a remold of it as Afterburner. He will look right at home in my Lost Light newbies display with Hot Spot and Streetwise. Sorry Rook! Hope we get shuttle Blast Off for next year's May Mayhem as W6 has now turned up at retail suggesting that the UK is missing out on both Decepticon waves. Also, I wonder whether we might get some of the Titans Returns titanmasters as full figures for a May Mayhem type event rather than just the heads by remolding existing figures, like Nightbeat for instance could be a remold of Chromedome with a Loudmouth redeco. It's quite cunning by Hasbro, we would be grateful rather than grumpy about Nightbeat being another repaint.

Will it ever arrive?

As seems to be the story of the year, I've given up on the new TMNT Mega Bloks arriving in the UK, so ordered online. I ordered the Krang set as well as Rocksteady and Bebop. They're awesome! When I was a kid I remember pretending I had Turtles Lego, this is what I imagined I was playing with. I think the scale is strange with Krang, but the quality of the bricks compared to, say, Kreo is much better. The look of the figures is spot on - it's what I wanted from the TMNT Lego, the minifigs use ball joints so pretty dynamic. I'm looking forward to displaying them with my Ghostbusters firehouse on the fire escape or running across the roof. I really can't wait until the van comes out, if they do a blimp I will cry with excitement!

Botcon! I'm super excited about the news from Botcon, granted it's mostly confirmation of the various leaks, but Weirdwolf and Highbrow to complete 8 of the 9 the main Headmasters (need Scorponok), Groove and Computron, and a hint of Overlord! I'm thinking of going for the Hasbro Computron as I prefer the toy accurate combiner head, I'll display him in combined mode, apart from Strafe who will be with the Lost Light crew. (Could be another stand in job for Alpha Bravo.) I do prefer the Takara Lightspeed and Nosecone, but as legs it makes no odds. Also I prefer Afterburner to be orange despite the green windscreen. The new combiner hands and feet are just icing on the cake!

So it seems that the 7 deluxes will get various repaints (Brainstorm already is a repaint), but there are rumours of Getaway, Triggerhappy, Doublecross and Quake. Sweet! In terms of who else I want, assuming we get Broadside, Overlord and Trypticon, I think it's mainly the Dinobots and Scorponok, but I'd quite like some Terrorcons and Throttlebots. Anything else like the Targetmasters and Powermasters would also be welcome, but for me they really are just background characters.

Some random Transformers 3.75" appreciation! Of all the toys I have in storage and not display these are the ones I miss the most.

Although I believe the Marvel Legends 3.75" comic packs have arrived in the UK, I decided to get them online individually cheaper (I don't want Cap Falcon). Another Iron Man for the Armoury and a couple of characters to go in storage. I think I only know who Machine Man is because he had a 6" Legends figure recently but you never know, they might just turn up in the MCU.

I also ordered Swindle and Brawl online, I'm still hopeful to see Vortex, but just in case I don't see them it'll only be one figure to pay too much for. I'm still not sure about Blast Off - along with Groove I hope we see the Takara shuttle version. I decided to keep Swindle by himself because all of the combiner limbs (and Decepticons generally really) he is one of the few to get anything resembling characterisation. After reading MTMTE I'm keener on having figures of the the more interesting characters (Swindle appeared briefly at the start of the series to sell some 'snuff' videos to Rewind).

I hadn't messed with the Rook mold before, but it's great! Initially I though the Offroad mold would have been a better choice, but the squat look does work well for Swindle. The head sculpt is great, the altmode is neat, if not clear in what it really is. However, I love this figure! It really has character.

I wasn't expecting to like Brawl, I didn't like the colour in pictures and had heard about the waist problems. The waist on mine indeed didn't look neat (I found an alternative configuration which I think looked okay, despite showing off the serial number), but again, I really like this figure! It's everything I want from a Brawl figure despite the waist.

After leaving the Stunticons separate, I decided to combine the Combaticons, but replace Swindle with Drag Strip (my least favourite Stunticon). I had to take a screwdriver to Onslaught as the combiner port was a bit stuck, but I think he looks great with his legs on. I wasn't sure about the colours based on pictures, but it all works nicely, I might end up painting the head in silver. Hope to get some arms for him soon.

Combiner Wars has been absolutely brilliant, I love every single figure. A few years ago I had FP upgraded Superion and Bruticus, plus Menasor and Maketoys Devastator and was ready to buy their Defensor and Computron. I don't regret going official one bit. Having the four scramble city combiners, posable, with properly interchangeable limbs is everything I had ever dreamt of. I think the oversized Devastator is a thing of beauty despite my initial reservations about the scale. A few years ago I might have been tempted by the Perfect Effect upgrades, hand/feet replacements, now I'm perfectly content to pass and save the money. I think Computron is going to be a great end to this line!

Happy Shopping

I got the new 3.75" Marvel Legends so have got Spider-Man Noir to complete my Shattered Dimensions lineup:

Triton for my Inhumans (need Gorgon and Crystal!):

I found Generations Onslaught, (come on deluxes!):

I got fed up of waiting for Asda to get Black Series 3.75" Kylo Ren so I ordered online:

And in other very exciting Star Wars news, I got K'kruhk! He is one expensive fella. I put together a couple of scenes from the Clone Wars cartoon (do I still need to keep on saying the original non-CGI one?):

And so my alien Jedi army is complete. Yay!!!

I've also had a small delivery from Vortious customs, I highly recommend him. I bought some coats and hats and stuff (if you look at the Spider-Man Noir picture above you'll notice he's suitably dressed. I also updated my Adam Warlock with a coat instead of his cape as inspired by the A:EMH cartoon (I replaced the photo from two months ago: http://transformersandstuff.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/customs-are-in-air.html).

I also upgraded my League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (really can't remember whether I ever mentioned them before). Invisible Man has a hat and cane now and Mina has more suitable attire for the period! (as well as a scarf.) Previously she was the blonde woman from the Indiana Jones line.

I also got a coat for Multiple Man to make it clear who is the alpha version.

I'm still enjoying MTMTE, I decided I needed to get a Crosscut to go with my Lost Light crew, I read some reviews describing him as Skids with a better deco, I really liked Skids so sounds good to me.

Speaking of the Lost Light, it occurred to me that it might be worth getting G1 versions of the characters who don't have Classics versions (of those that are toy based obviously). This had me looking at Thunderclash, who because of GPS is very expensive. This then got me started thinking about my collection of leaders - maybe I could get Skyquake as well (who looks pretty cool). This somehow then got me thinking about my longstanding aim of creating a Micromaster City, this then got me thinking how with a bit of time and money you could create an awesome diorama with ramps connecting everything.

However, a lot of the transformers with base modes were Japanese exclusives and so ridiculously expensive. It would be amazing if the likes of Dai Atlas got a reissue, but probably not going to happen. Even though he's a big old brick Grandus kind of appeals to me. Star Convoy was reissued about 10 years ago so a bit more affordable. So I'm not going to do anything for the time being, but if anything does get reissued that could well set me on the path to getting round to doing something.

Customs are in the air!

My list of customs which I was working on over Xmas has extended into doing a few things I've been putting off for ages, namely sorting out the eyes on a 3.75" Rita Repulsa (if you haven't seen the film Coraline I highly recommend it, but her eyes were originally very reminiscent), and X-23, who I decided I didn't want an X-Force version of, nor a masked version (I really should have left the mask). Anyway, painting eyes is extremely painful, but I got there eventually:

I also painted on what I consider to be missing paint applications from Generations Gears:

I mentioned N'kantu last month, but I did a Werewolf by Night as well (I used a Voolvif Monn head for him). My Howling Commandos are coming on well!

I picked up a Legends Buzzsaw, I think he's pretty good. I like the idea of having all my cassette-bots having the same alt mode like they should do. I'm reluctant to replace my old custom though.

I finished my custom Bane and received my Azrael Batman from Chinabay who was apparently still produced, just not officially released. I'm really glad to have these two in 3.75" scale.

I also finally painted my Punch/Counterpunch set from Shapeways that I ordered about 3 or 4 years ago.

And not to be forgotten I sorted out the eyes on my Infinite 3.75" Wasp, they had rather missed when applying the iris. She goes very nicely with the 6" Legends version I bought. (I had decided to pass but then realised that she does go giant in Avengers:EMH, and so really I was duty bound to get her.

It goes on though, I upgrade my custom Groot with a comic Legends Starlord figure. He's not naked anymore!

So a busy spell of customs for me. I'm working on one last project then I'm hanging up my brush for a little bit until some custom parts arrive.

Whilst out shopping I saw that Tracy Island from the new Thunderbirds line was reduced to £50, I have to admit I was rather tempted. I think Thunderbirds is the one thing I used to like as a kid (not including things like Thomas the tank engine and Postman Pat!), that I've not bought any modern versions of so this was a bit of a strange awakening. I still have a set of Blue Peter instructions on how to make your own island! After a bit of research I decided to pass on the island but get the 'supersize' version of TB2 and 4. According to the UK toy fair, a TB3 is coming this year (and hopefully TB1 at some point). I haven't opened it yet though.

I have opened Ultra Magnus though, so glad I replaced my Fansproject kit version. Here he is for some MTMTE goodness:

*****

There has been a crazy amount of Transformers leaks recently so the news and reveals from the New York Toy Fair weren't as exciting, but I'm really looking forward to Chromedome and Mindwipe, as well as Powermaster Optimus Prime (Ginrai for my collection) and Fortress Maximus. We will be getting a deluxe Brainstorm from the new Blurr, so am hopeful we will see Highbrow and Weirdwolf in time. We are rumoured to be getting Getaway from Chromedome which is also really exciting (I really don't know why he appeals to me so much). Kickback is also rumoured to complete the Insecticons which is awesome if true. In terms of non-animal alt modes, Highbrow, Broadside and Overlord are the only characters left on my most wanted list. The first two seem quite likely, Overlord doesn't seem like that much of a stretch.

Primacron Order

I was all set to watch the Star Wars films in Machete order (IV, V, II, III, VI), but then a little thing called Force Awakens came out at the cinema before I had a chance to watch them all. Introducing, Primacron order (IV, V, VII, II, III, VI)! The advantage of this is that it parallels Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader and Kylo Ren's journeys.....

So I've seen Episode VII now (just a couple of days after it came out). Yep, it's good, the characters are likeable, there is the right amount of nostalgia and the action is great. The lightsaber battle gritty and realistic, the storyline is compelling, it's everything you might hope for. I'm intrigued by some of the fan theories around Supreme Leader Snoke, I actually hope it plays out as I think it would be rather neat.

The trailer for Captain America 3 played before the film, I can't wait! I'm looking forward to tracking down a 3.75" Black Series Kylo Ren figure, I might even pick up a Rey......

I think Machete order works rather well. I haven't actually seen any of the Star Wars films in about 10 years, so they're not fresh in my memory. Starting off with IV makes sense as it gives the best introduction to the franchise, following it with V is logical as you have the reveal of Darth Vader being Anakin Skywalker. It was a nice trip down memory lane watching those films, there's not much to say about them, I've always wondered why is there a monster in the waste compactor of the Death Star?! Most of the plot inconsistencies can be blamed on the prequels however.

Swapping back to II and III you get Anakin turning to the dark side. I think the main thing that can be said about the prequel films is that they don't set the stakes high enough, the Jedi need to be built up as a more credible force, they just blunder about without really showing their supposed wisdom or knowledge. Anakin is never really shown as a great and wise Jedi, and his relationship with Obi-Wan doesn't have the required depth. The greatest failure I think is not making him likeable, he acts like a petulant child who we don't really care about when he turns. I think him killing the younglings is unnecessary as he is supposed to be conflicted, so him not following that order to the letter would demonstrate this. The less said about his relationship with Padmé the better.

The suggestion that Darth Plagueis created Anakin seems pretty ridiculous to me. Actually had I never seen Episode I, I'm not sure I would have picked up on Palpatine's comment about him creating life. Incidentally, the omission of Episode I is fine, I like Darth Maul and Qui-Gon so it's a shame they're missing, but story wise it's no great loss (Qui-Gon is mentioned in III, but then so are other non-seen characters such as Plagueis, Sifo Dyas and kind of Quilon Vos).

Returning back to VI, this is a much better film than III to finish off with, there's good tension to the film, plus that warm and fuzzy feeling at the end when it all ends well. I was paying particular attention at the end when the Emperor is trying to turn Luke because it never really occurred to me as a kid that he might. It does seem to me that given all of Yoda's warnings, that Anakin turning to the dark side isn't really all that surprising.

I'm set for another round of custom Marvel 3.75" over my Christmas holiday. I'll let you know how I get on but plan to start with Ms Marvel. I had the black costume version, but was planning to get a new Captain Marvel version. Then I realised what I really want is an Avengers: EMH version so I picked up a classic version and swapped the head and legs.

I have finally opened Masterpiece Soundwave, yep, he's great. A fantastic version of a classic character. I opened him on Christmas Day!

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My customs are going well, after Ms Marvel, I finally cracked open my 3.75" Doctor Who Foretold figure who I'm going to use as N'kantu (the living Mummy). I painted the pink fleshy bits grey, whitened up his bandages a bit and gave him some eyes. Shame he doesn't have ball-jointed legs but I'm happy with how he turned out.

Similarly I opened the new Marvel Legends Giant Man, he's had a classic makeover, having said that, I couldn't find any pictures online where the 3.75" Marvel Universe Ant-Man (with black line going up the middle of his costume) turns into Giant Man, so he may be unique! He turned out well though, I think having three versions of him next to each other displays rather nicely.

I made a custom Zeus from an extra Hercules figure I had, really it's the only buck which is somewhere between the Absorbing Man and Hulk sizes and one which would I don't think was ever used for anything else (the Champion figure from the Deadpool SDCC set perhaps?). Anyway, I'm pretty happy with him, just need to make an Odin now.

I made a Wendigo figure from a grey Beast, referring to my scale calculation a couple of posts back, I decided he needed to be about an inch taller so I sawed him up (at the waist, thigh and calf), drilled some holes, used styrene rods to increase the height then used epoxy to sculpt around the rods, to fill in the gaps. Similarly, I created a tail using styrene rods and epoxy. I then gave him long hair and sanded off his pants then painted him! Hulk has a couple more villains now.

Here's a slightly less washed out version:

A while back I made a list of Marvel characters I want a figure of then set out about working out how I would make a custom version. It suddenly occurred to me to do the same for DC! I have therefore worked out how I would make the remaining 3.75" Batman villains. I have been buying figures to use as fodder, luckily a couple of places have some of those figures on sale right now. Between that and Chinabay, I have a really good bin of parts. I have around thirty ideas so I'm set for some time, given how long most projects take me!

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I have got Takara Unite Warriors Devastator! I played with Long Haul first. As a dumper truck he is a  really good size, he doesn't feel oversized in the way that the original feels undersized. In robot mode he is one chunky monkey and is obviously all about becoming a torso for Devastator, his robot mode is a bit of an afterthought really. As much as I like him, he is the reason I won't be displaying the Constructicons all in robot mode.

Mixmaster and Longhaul are pretty good figures, but Scrapper, Bonecrusher and Scavenger are excellent, like they just stepped straight out of the cartoon. There has been quite a bit of discussion about whether they could be used in a masterpiece display, I think if they had articulated hands then they could easily be. Devastator combined is a thing of absolute awe. I haven't actually got anywhere to take any good photos so I'll just include Scrapper.

Looking at the figures together, I don't regret for a moment selling my Maketoys Devastator. Okay, so scale is out of the window, but first and foremost I like good toys. Scale should always come second to that and Devastator is an excellent toy. Thinking about my other figures; Galvatron, Dinobot, Shockwave and Thunderwing should be voyager sized (Galvatron soon will be). Darkwing, Dreadwind, Brainstorm and the Voyager Triple changers, for me at least, should be deluxe (Brainstorm might soon be). But, I have those figures because there's no real alternative. In some cases such as Classics deluxe Bumblebee, HFTD voyager Seaspray and Generations deluxe Warpath, I have passed on a clearly better figure because of scale, but for Devastator there is absolutely no question for me about conceding to my preferred scale.

After the poll about the next Titan I think I will be very torn if they do an Omega Supreme, I really like the Energon remold, but given what Hasbro are doing at the moment with their large figures, if it's anywhere as good as Metroplex and Devastator then we're in for a treat.

A few hints about Takara's Unite Warriors Bruticus are trickling in, I have decided to go for that version for several reasons, I don't like the black Bruticus head, I don't like the excessively bright colours on Vortex, I don't like the brown-green on Brawl, who also has waist issues, I'm not overly worried about jet Blast Off but new mold is always nice and I'm hopefully we might get an additional gun for Onslaught so he can keep his cannons on his back. Also he has random purple on his feet. There is a risk that they go overly anime and make Bruticus' chest Blast Off coloured, so I might yet get a Hasbro Onslaught and paint the combiner head myself. Plenty of reasons to wait! Listings are starting to appear for a Computron gift set so it seems Scattershot with his Superion combiner head is also worth skipping at the moment.

I managed to get an Even Piell for a decent price, he completes my movie Jedi figures (for the time being). I like that he's a bit of a short arse as it adds a bit of variety to my display (unless you display him with other short arse aliens.

2015 was quite a year, I've rediscovered Transformers' comics, Star Wars and customs. I think this year might be even more special though!