I'm half tempted to keep the old Blast Off as Bruticus' arm and keep this new one separate in robot mode. Of the four superfluous figures for combiner wars, I only have Alpha Bravo (I had legends Groove, but never Rook), whom I use on Computron in order to have Strafe on my Lost Light shelf.
Repugnus is now also here! The box art is even more vivid. This is the figure I was most excited about of the trio, despite strangely being content with the Titanmaster figure. The Monsterbots (along with the Dinobots, Insecticons and Predacons) have a special place in my heart. Beast alt modes have always appealed to me, though it took me a while to get into Beast Wars.
Repugnus is a nice bright figure, I like the use of clear green plastic for the beast eyes. Whereas Blast Off seems bigger than he should be, Repugnus seems smaller (I guess compared to the G1 figures). I admire the use of the same base mold for the three Monsterbots, it makes him a little wider than he should be, but somehow it is made to work expertly. I swapped the head for the original Titanmaster one, it has more character because of the bigger eyes. Another great figure!
When I have discussions about collecting with people I often say that if I didn't collect Transformers I'd collect something else. Stamps, coins, anything. I need to collect. Transformers appeals because I am nostalgic for them, but I collect figures of characters I didn't even know existed. So why then? It occurred to me whilst thinking about why I like Repugnus is colour, I like the fact that Transformers come in virtually every single colour and combination. It seems weird to admit it to myself, but it also explains why I collect comic based Marvel figures and not movie. I've barely read any Marvel comics, I've watched every single film, but comic book figures come in more vivid colours. Stamps also come in a wide range of colours so I'll keep them as a back up option for a collection (coins not so much).
Thinking about deluxes, I know almost nothing about the Autobot Targetmasters and Powermasters. I've never read a story where they do anything and I can't remember what they (or their Japanese equivalents) did in the cartoon, but damn they are high up on my want list! The funny thing about them is that they could quite easily be repaints of existing figures, I just need them now! Completionism is a funny thing, though possibly not an actual word.
The third wave of Primemasters have now arrived. They are extremely simple, snap the weapon onto the shell, pop the Primemaster in and done. Admire. Particularly with Octopunch and Bludgeon I wish they came with the melee weapons they used in the old Marvel comics. (I also wish they came with Stranglehold.) It is nice to have Bomb-burst to complete the Deception Masterforce lineup though. I don't mind the small size, I sort of imagine that they have some ability to change size (particularly the Autobots who can shrink down to human size).
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I've bought a 3.75" figure, in a shop no less. Ahsoka Tano from Star Wars Black for a fiver. I don't really acknowledge the existence of The Clone Wars cartoon (I prefer the original Clone Wars cartoon, no 'the'). However, I do collect alien Jedi who appeared in media I've seen, and technically I did go and watch that CGI film at the cinema. She also has two lightsabers. So, she's alright by me.
The green eyed monster continues to haunt me when it comes to Marvel Legends, particularly with X-Men characters, Professor X and Gambit now. They seem to be releasing so much 6" stuff it's ridiculous. Will the bubble burst soon? I guess there were a few years when they weren't releasing anything so it will probably come full circle.
The new Storm Collectibles Mortal Kombat stuff also looks great, far too expensive for me, but I find pictures of them very helpful when planning my customs as googling MKI/MKII characters you tend to get somewhat blurry pixelated photos or cartoons, so it's hard to pick out the details - eye colour for instance (or lack of).
Some time ago I think I mentioned my plan to make 3.75" versions of all Mortal Kombat I and II characters. I'm using the Jazwares figures as a starting point, which since they also made the MK3 cyber ninjas, I will include them also. A Mortal Kombat 2.5 if you will since I plan to include a few characters and cues from later games. My only complete figures so far are the female ninjas (see: https://transformersandstuff.blogspot.com/2017/05/getting-old.html). I have a Goro figure which I am painstakingly making a copy of (by making rubber molds and then casting the parts in resin). This is somewhat time consuming and boring, but I'm down to a couple of pieces left (where the cast didn't work and I'm redoing it). Need to buy some joints.
I'm working on the male ninjas, I think the original Jazwares sculpts weren't actually all that bad. The head was probably the worst part so I'm replacing it with a GI Joe Storm Shadow copy. I think the very worst thing about the Jazwares figures however is the paint (the eyes stand out as being particularly shocking), so I will paint the figures again. Hopefully I can do a better job!
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I’ve finished Scorpion and Reptile. I found the perfect base paint colour for Scorpion, it’s a ochre which I think works much better than the original lemon yellow. Am very happy with the Storm Shadow head. In a first for a custom I’ve done, I also made an alternate skull head for Scorps. Two years in the planning and I’ve finally finished two of the male ninjas!
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