Thinking about my big purchases for the rest of the year, it comes down to Abominus, Predaking and Masterpiece Dinobot. (Wow!) I feel like I'm focused this year, the only unknown is the box sets/exclusives we get. They could be anything from a Monstructor or Dinoking set, a Star Saber or Deszaras, or simply the rumoured Repugnus and Blast Off deluxe figures. It would be a struggle for me to afford a big box set but it would be so much more exciting!
I find myself still 'reviewing' my collection, it can go either way really. Do I need a Masterpiece collection? Would it be better if I added Red Alert, Smokescreen, Inferno and Grapple to it? My focus is on Classics, but I think I should wait and see how I feel about my Masterpiece figures once things have slowed down a bit. I haven't opened most of them yet so maybe it's a bit premature to be thinking about selling them!
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Masterpiece news! Finally!!! It's the Shockwave I've been waiting for. G1 Megatron I'm intrigued by, I haven't actually opened the regular version yet so I could be tempted to make the swap. Diaclone Sunstreaker, what do I need to do to get that headsculpt for actual Sunstreaker?! (Will there be a plus version of him?) Beast Wars Megatron looks great, it's a character I need a toy of, but (much like Red Alert, Smokscreen, Inferno and Grapple now I think about it), I'm happy with what I've got. Happy for Beast Wars fans though, Yesssssssss!
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I've seen Infinity War!!! Oh my dear good god, epic really does not do this film justice. I've listened/watched various reviews and there was one comment I really agree with. It's not going to appeal to everyone, but given what it's doing with all of the characters, and what it achieves in terms of scope and ambition it is amazing. Yes, a self contained story set in one place would possibly be a better film technically, but I love how every character has their moment. Thanos is a properly developed and interesting character. It's the first MCU film I'm going to try and watch again in the cinema and I think that says everything.
I've finished working on Baron Strucker, I'm pretty happy with him generally, but I feel he needs a belt. I don't have anything which quite looks right. I'll leave the figure's original harness type thing on him for the time being until I find something better. It doesn't look quite officer-ish enough for it stay on permanently, but he looks a bit plain without it.
I've bought some stuff! Jurassic World stuff as it happens, I got an Owen for the Chris Pratt headsculpt for Star Lord. It's the tiniest bit too small, but I am happy. I also got a 'Blue' figure. Very happy with the size and sculpt, I've never actually seen World, but will paint him up to be more like the original Park film raptors to go with my villains display. Actually, I might need to get a couple since they were always pack animals. Funnily enough, Owen comes with a 'baby' Blue which is roughly the size a raptor should be. (I think, I'm sure someone told they should be roughly chicken sized.) Yay dinosaurs!
I bought a 3.75" Mumm-Ra from the 2011 Thundercats line sometime ago. I had some vague plan to paint him up, but then got distracted with everything else going on. Buying a raptor made me think about my villains shelf again and so I picked him up again and actually decided to paint him up. White is a difficult colour to make look good, but happy with how the face looks. Done!
I've always though Marvel Universe Luke Cage looked a bit skinny, I had some thoughts about how to beef him up a bit. I considered putting him on the Hercules buck, but that seems a bit too big. Looking at Hyperion I thought that's the size he should be. Weirdly though, they are already the exact same size. The arms and chest are the same, the legs are the same size, but Hyperion has more muscle definition. (He also has a neck joint and thigh swivel.) Strange! Anyway, I decided to swap in Hyperion's thighs. Really happy with how he's looking now. Think will make the same upgrade to Absorbing Man and Drax!
I'm rather enjoying working on customs at the moment.
