Plague of Diaclone

I found myself looking at the Diaclone page on the Transformers Wiki, I can't remember exactly why. I think I wanted to read about Spin-Out and Cordon. Anyway, I was starting to think that if they did a blue Bluestreak I might need to get it. It turns out I need to start collecting the Diaclone version of Generations toys. I've already got Crosscut, I've bought Tigertrack and Exhaust, and have preordered Spin-Out and Cordon. I think part of my thinking is that in some magical world where money is no object, I’ve always liked the idea of buying every G1 figure (in multiple for each altmode), which would include all of the Diaclone toys as year figures (and the the other predecessor lines), including all of the variants. This is a small step towards that dream. The ability of my brain to identify new things I need is amazing!

I found a thread speculating on future Selects releases, which I had read a few days ago. Someone posted a picture of many of the Diaclone figures. That picture nestled its way into my subconscious, then emerged as an idea. 'Why don't I get the Diaclone version of Generations toys?' Weird. I think the same sort of thing happened with Star Wars Black - because I look at online shops selling toys I see things from all of the different lines, into my head they go. Then I see something, or listen to a podcast and that little subconscious thought is given life. Because of the overlap between the fandoms of the various Hasbro properties I can’t help hearing about them, and then I have to buy stuff. It's those ideas which are the most exciting part about collecting for me though. A collection is a physical thing, but it is also a mental thing - a collection of ideas.

So my idea for 6" Star Wars Black of collecting all lightsaber wielding characters except main main characters changed a little (what a shock!). My canon for Star Wars includes the Clone Wars cartoon (not that one). It includes Asajj Ventress, so I put in a preorder. It was basically a Clone Wars cartoon collection but without Obi-Wan, Anakin and Dooku. I then looked at the DVD covers and decided they are necessary. Walgreens even put out an Obi-Wan in clone armour, it was meant to be! Not to do things by half I've bought Episode II and Clone Wars/Episode III Obi-Wan and Anakin. And I bought Dooku. All I need is a prequel era Yoda and I'm set. Having my collection based around a TV series put Star Wars in line with my other collections.

I bought all of those new figures far too late at night, too late to be looking at a screen and too late to decide whether I really want them. That said, when I woke the next day I didn't feel any buyer's remorse. I realise that if I think something's cool I'll end up getting it. The only exception is when I can't make sense of it. I need to be able to get all of a set, and try as I might my brain doesn't cope very well with defining its own sets. I'm far less likely to get one off items. Case in point, the only thing I can think of that's cool that I don't own is the Storm Collectibles Mortal Kombat figures. The reason is I don't think there's any chance of a complete set (aside from every ninja). If they did Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade and Kano then I'd be there. (I think they did a Raiden.) I also didn't buy the Haslab Unicron, or Omega Supreme, or Jetfire. I can do it!

Talking about Star Wars canon, I’ve rewatched Force Awakens, Last Jedi, and Rise of Skywalker, and I’ve decided that Darth Plagueis is Snoke! Sure Snoke died in Last Jedi, but then Plagueis died once before. There’s a lot of fan theories about the whole thing and that’s what I’m going with. If Rise of Skywalker is (partially) believed then striking down a Sith causes their spirit to pass into you. Plagueis could have passed into Palpatine. Plagueis could have created a series of clone bodies for himself on the Sith world, then resurrected/saved Palpatine. I like the sequel trilogy I think they did a good job of having the balance of action and quest type plot lines, it might just need a little extra head cannon.

I’ve managed to go down a bit of a rabbit hole with Star Wars. I started thinking about getting some more vehicles. Funnily enough mostly ones that I had previously as Transformers, but upgrading to 3.75” versions. But bloody hell, Star Wars stuff is ridiculously expensive! I think I’ve just about convinced myself to wait and see what comes out in the next few years - people who grew up with the prequel trilogy are of age now. It seems quite likely Hasbro will want to tap into that.

I think Star Wars toy appreciation can be split into three parts. The Jedi/Sith themselves (probably best as 6” stuff?), Storm/Clone troopers plus the land vehicles that go with them (best as 3.75”), and finally the spaceships (probably best as micro scale but some possible as 3.75” scale). I’ve been collecting the first group for a while but am ready to move into the second.

Modular Armour Iron Man is rumoured for a Legends Iron Man wave and so..... I've bought the deluxe War Machine figure. I don't have any comic based armours but it would be good to have comic (well cartoon for me really) figures. Look like some good accessories with Rhodey so all good. It's been an expensive end to the year.

Some 3.75” Jedi have come in, Adi Gallia, Eeth Koth and Quinlan Vos. I wasn't expecting much from the first two since they are quite old, but I quite like a soft goods skirt (more so than a robe anyway). Vos is pretty good, he looks bored though. Too much sitting around desert planets, I spotted him in Episode I. Oh, I’ve just bought a couple more, plus a Jedi Starfighter or two......

And to top it off I got Netflix Soundwave. He was in stock from today, I kept on refreshing, he popped in and I snagged him. Very happy! That will be my Xmas present to myself. Well, I finish the year with Runabout, Bluestreak, Bumblebee and Soundwave, I can't ask more than that. But the highlight of the year has most definitely been Scorponok, he's incredible and was top of my wish list ever since FansProject started doing their headmasters and put the idea in my head that perhaps collecting the '87 figures was a good idea. It was. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

What a year

I felt quite excited opening the Amazon Prowl Ironhide set, which was a bit weird as I already have Earthrise Bluestreak and Smokescreen, and have Siege Ironhide and Ratchet. But, really, these are two of the most important G1 characters. My first impression was really good. Prowl was as I expected - he looks great, and I haven't bothered transforming him. I've got the Siege figure so I'll probably swap the head. I wasn't expecting much from Ironhide based on photos, but he also looks great! I like how the chest looks and all the colours look pretty consistent if a little pinky. I transformed him, I owned the G1 toy but never transformed it, this was the first time I've transformed an Ironhide into a van and it was amazing. I really liked the Siege mold but this is just as pleasing. If I could get the pins out I might just swap the shoulders.

The only reason I don't have Earthrise Ratchet was because it wasn't available to preorder in the UK when it was announced, but I think I am actually happy to have Ironhide and Ratchet be different molds because the legs are near identical which satisfies my need for their matching. That the Earthrise Ratchet doesn't have enough red makes it an easy decision, if they redid him in better colours I might reconsider. What a great set. If I could just get hold of Netflix Bumblebee and Soundwave then my set of core '84 characters will be complete and all done beautifully.

Between Marvel Legends having done the AEMH Avengers, Fantastic 4 and TAS X-Men perfectly, WFC doing the S1/S2 Transformers cast perfectly, Lightning collection having almost finished MMPR, and Super 7 working their way through the Thundercats and Turtles, I really feel lucky to be collecting. Such perfect toys, and the Transformers S3 and Beast Wars cast will soon be joining them. I'm not even gong to say what I need, I'm just going to appreciate!

Speaking of which, Dinobot and Airazor, Inferno and Huffer look great (all preordered). I think we could get Tarantulas from Blackarachnia, just need to beef it up a little, and Terrorsaur from Airazor, similarly to Tigatron from Cheetor. With Beast Wars Inferno I’m happy with the original figure so happy to be getting the G1 character. Artfire and Stepper two-pack? Make it happen Hasbro. I've also preordered Studio Series Hot Rod, Scourge and Grimlock.

I opened Sunstreaker, he's lacking a gun but is a great mold. Slightly cheeky use of false parts on the feet (identical car parts on each side). Not keen on the colour though, just like Legends X-Men, I love gold but not so keen on Sunny's cheese yellow. I wonder whether we could get a two-pack of Earthrise Sideswipe with a gold Sunstreaker? Despite the colour, I'm happy with my decision to get rid of the Universe figure. The Universe figure was good though. And finally, I've opened Trailbreaker. I have nothing else left to open. I did realise I'm not quite done with Earthrise - I'm still waiting for Rung! I like Trailbreaker, it's a nice mold in black. He's also quite forgettable but he's solid. Could do with some toes mind.

My collection is completely organised! Everything is opened, things not on display are bagged away with their instructions. I've achieved my aim for the year!

I’m on a bit of a Star Wars kick, I’ve bought the sequel trilogy on DVD, and..... I’ve given in (to the dark side.....) and got some 6” Black series. I got Kit Fisto and Plo Koon and preordered Mace Windu and General Grievous. None of the other characters really appeal to me. I don’t feel the need to get any of the original trilogy characters, nor Obi-Wan or Anakin, nor Maul, Dooku or Palpatine. It’s mostly about the alien Jedi for me. There aren’t any others that really appeal to me, but I’d get Saesee Tiin or Ki-Adi Mundi if they make them. Maybe a ROTS Yoda, maybe Shaak Ti or Aayla Secura. I rewatched the Clone Wars cartoon (not that one). I think that's where much of my appreciation for these characters came from. Eventually it struck me that the characters I want to get are all of those that the films tell you are amazing, you don't actually see in said films them being amazing, but in the cartoon you finally see it.

Also I realised that although I accept the the original trilogy is better than the prequel trilogy, I just don't really care about any of the characters in the original trilogy and that's where the prequel trilogy wins for me. Despite the fact that none of the characters are particularly well fleshed out, they just seem more interesting to me. I do like the characters from the sequel trilogy though and they're pretty well developed. I was hoping that a few of the prequel characters could have appeared (as force ghosts) in the sequel trilogy. I'm looking forward to watching it again and seeing what I think again.

Marvel Legends news, Ultron! Feels like a long time since a figure has been revealed that I wanted. MODOK is cool as well, although I have the old BAF in my 3.75" collection. Similarly to Thanos I have to decide whether to replace him.... Dammit, I've preordered both and will see how I feel. I've also ordered retro Green Goblin and Gambit. I think with Green Goblin I need to see it in person to see what I think about the colours. With Gambit, he's a member of my favourite time, I need a perfect version and a slightly better head/hair sculpt is all important. Passing on Rogue though, I need my yellows to be gold (not yellow or cheese coloured!).

Speaking of gold, after some fun and games I finally bagged a Netflix Bumblebee, hopefully he should be here soon. Will probably have the same thing with Soundwave. Groan.

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Kit Fisto and Plo Koon arrived. I'm a 6" convert. Hasbro is on top of their game and they've hooked me right in. The head sculpts are an improvement over the 3.75" versions as you would expect. The articulation is a big step up, I was very happy to find a shoulder swing joint. Jedi definitely benefit from the articulation (Palpatine for instance probably doesn't need it). I've taken Plo's robe off. Kit Fisto is my favourite Jedi, but his head articulation is restricted. Both are great, I'm looking forward to Mace Windu and hope we get some more prequel jedi. I am thinking about the other human Jedi but not sure I need them, I think I will limit myself to lightsaber wielding characters but not the main main ones. As opposed to my 3.75" collection which is lightsaber wielding characters but excluding the non-main humans. (The difference between main main and main is Yoda and Mace Windu.)

I've decided that all characters on the Jedi Council are main characters and so have decided to (finally) get Adi Gallia and Eeth Koth, as well as Depa Billaba. And Quinlan Vos for good measure. I like the idea of being able to recreate the council from any film, but three of those are aliens anyway.

I spotted a fairly good deal on the XMCU Professor X and Magneto set. Despite being a huge 90's cartoon fan, Professor X is in a regular wheelchair in X-Men Evolution, Wolverine and the X-Men and in the films. As well as in the Illuminati group pictures. So really I just bought the set for the wheelchair (wish it has the 'X' on the wheels), but actually an extra suited body is quite useful - for Prof X himself, but also for Tony Stark. As a bonus the green suit works quite well for the Norman Osborn head from the retro Green Goblin. Speaking of which, I'm still a bit torn on which is the best version - one's too dark, the other's too bright. Similarly with Gambit although it's not nearly so pronounced

Whenever I see something, think that’s quite cool but dismiss it, I always go back. Should try and learn that!

2020, what a year. It has been quite frankly, utterly shit. Some decent toys though and I’ve got myself organised now. What do I hope to see next year? Transformers Victory Saber, Deszaras and Thunderclash, Marvel Legends Doctor Strange and Super 7 Snarf top the list. I’ll be moving house so that will take up a lot of my time but hopefully I can get myself settled and enjoy my toys.

Awesome and large

Falcon arrived, very happy with the deco (I was kinda worried they might have gone with the 70's version). Though he's got the same wings as Vulture, I played with him a bit more. I even gave him a little swoosh. The butterfly joints are excellent for a good flight pose. Ready for Falcon and Winter Soldier, he completes my essential Avengers lineup. Baron Zemo also arrived, he doesn’t complete anything but with Enchantress he’s the other main member of the Masters of Evil. Actually thinking about it, he is going to be in the upcoming Disney+ series so the timing is pretty good.