Let's Make........

Tracks! I've really umm-ed and ahh-ed over this figure, before it was even announced. Initially I decided just to collect '84 era MPs, then I decided to make an exception for Tracks, changed my mind again, then when rumours started circulating that MP25 was going to be Tracks, changed back again, then pictures were released and I've gone back to no again! Tracks is one of my favourites from '85 because of the car mode, I think his G1 figure is one of the best and that's why I'm flapping, his MP looks great, but it's not such a vast improvement on the G1 that most of the other figures are and I'm somewhat irrational about having a collection that's consistent. Time will tell if I change my mind again, I did try and preorder on anime export, but I couldn't seem to set up an account so more time to umm and arr!

So talking of figures that don't really fit into my collection, I recently moved a few figures around in my display, particularly where I'd just shoved some new stuff any old where, and I also put the Dinobots and Predacons in a more prominent position. I took down my old Energon repaint Superion and replaced him with his newer Combiner Wars update. I'm keeping the Energon version because it means so much to me, but also because I think it looks great, it's not G1 Superion, but it's a damn good set of figures, especially with the FP upgrade. I also think the way I've got it displayed is pretty awesome. I will display it with my Energon Dinobots and Terrorcons. (Incidentally, I'm not nearly as fond of Bruticus so will likely get rid of him once the inevitable CW version is announced.)

I had a rather good find in the Disney store this month, I found the new Marvel Infinite figures featuring Beast and Bishop. I think this is about the first time I've been amongst the first in the world to find the new Transformers and Marvel of a year, well based on what I read on forums as least. I am beyond thrilled to get Bishop, he completes the list of figures that I really wanted back in 2009 when MU started. Great head sculpt, but I feel the figure is lacking in the musculature department. Beast is a great sculpt, although a bit lacking in posability, but what annoys me is that his arms are either flush with his body or out at right angles without the ability to hold a pose somewhere inbetween. I've also got Black Cat but haven't opened her.

I haven't opened the AOE Evolutions Optimus Prime I bought a while back yet. I bought it because Fansproject showed pictures of an upgrade kit to turn the Classics figure into Powermaster Prime. There's been no more news of this despite the fact that a prototype was shown at various events last year. The funny thing is that if the kit doesn't happen, DX9 have created a kit to turn the AOE Prime into PM Prime. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised to see a kit to turn Combiner Wars Optimus into PM Prime as well. There could be options.

I found 4" Link from the World of Nintendo line, I haven't opened him either, but apparently Samus and Fox are on their way for a quality Smash Bros line up. I'm sticking with the 2-4" figures for the Mario characters, I'm happy with how they scale up, although DK and Bowser mess it up. (Also I've painted several Yoshis so that would be wasted!) If they put out a Captain Falcon then I'll be in for that, I think I might be in the market for a Jigglypuff as well. And Ness, I suppose...

I'm going to keep an eye out for the 6" WON Bowser, I think I might get the 5" DK from PopCo and see how that looks. The scale for Mario Kart and Smash Bros is different, but I think a DK bigger than the human characters, but smaller than Bowser works. I passed on a 3.75" Robotnik a couple of years back, with this new scale he would fit in quite nicely. Maybe they'll do some Sonic 25th anniversary figures. I could also be tempted by a OOT Zelda and Ganon figure if Jazwares really goes for it.

Apparently various Generations Voyagers have been found in various B&M stores around the country, I'm in the market for a Sky-Byte so have checked out a few stores to no avail. It reminds me of when some TK Maxx stores had the cancelled Iron Man 2 sets a while back, I had no luck at all. Bargain stores are a tricky proposition for figure hunting! Having said that the Entertainer does have a listing for Sky-Bye on their website, so maybe there's some hope.

I am trying to spend less at the moment, so I'm acquiring a long list of things I want. I've recently shipped a POL from BBTS, so I've got some cool things coming my way (including the remaining MMC Predacons, Dragonzord and FP Slag!), but this will be the last for the foreseeable. Some things are cheaper on BBTS (such as Legacy Tigerzord), but with quite a lot of stuff it's cheaper getting it directly from Asia and cutting out the middle man, particularly Masterpiece. Plus with the customs fees when it does arrive, I might as well just pay the extra initial cost. I've been using them since 2008 so it's quite a change, I like the pre-ordering system, but a few times something (like Tigerzord) comes in just a little too late to be shipped with your current POL which is really frustrating. Also it's often worth being patient in case it does turn up locally. Like Sky-Byte. Hopefully.

I've been watching some videos on YouTube called 'How it should have ended' (HISHE). They do animations based on various pop culture franchises, some of which feature the Villain Pub and Hero Cafe (which strangely is making me like Superman more). I highly recommend checking them out. I like the premise of the Villain Pub so much that I'm considering putting some figures together from the various lines I collect to create a similar eclectic cast of characters, maybe getting some additional movie and TV villains as well to round it out.

This is an extension to an idea I had previously to put together some alien based characters as an 'intergalactic council', mostly a Marvel based thing but with some others thrown in. Having just villains makes a lot of sense because villains are often much more interesting. It would finally give me an excuse to get Dalek and Alien figures (who actually could have been on the council anyway)! I see there are some Gremlins figures coming out in the ReAction line which would also work, plus even a Jaws figure. I might have to start thinking about a 3.75" Shredder figure as well.

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Amazingly many of the characters I want to get for my villain pub are not only available in 3.75" scale, but are available quite cheaply as they've ended up shelf warming. I bought a Terminator and Mumm-ra online for a few pounds, my TRU still had a Rita Repulsa (shocking figure, definitely needs some attention with a paintbrush, someone online said it looks like a character from the film Coraline which is spot on). I also got a Thor 2 Kurse figure cheaply to try and make a Predator. I'm thinking about the Shredder custom, there's a version from the most recent iteration of TMNT where the helmet can come off so that might be a good start. I've also ordered the recent MP-13SW, not a bad price. Could be some exciting deliveries next week!

Having checked out a fair few B&Ms recently looking for Transformers, I spotted a Kreo pack with Ironhide and Devastator. I thought I was done with Kreo, but I am leaning towards the idea of getting rid of Sideswipe and Mirage and replacing them with Ironhide, that way I've got all of the main Autobots in brick form. They're a mix of G1 and movie which is kinda cool given I have virtually no movie stuff.

My pile of loot came in from BBTS, I got absolutely shafted for customs fees, but that's a rant for another day. My buying patterns will be changing! I opened Dragonzord first, wow, he's a lot heavier now with the die cast metal in him. He's got a great paint job and his face doesn't keep on slipping down on him like my old one. I'm really psyched for Tigerzord now, but will hold off for the time being.

I opened Mastermind Creations Rampage and Divebomb last night, I love these figures. I've just left them in robot mode for the time being, but will combine them into Predaking tomorrow! I've just opened Fansproject Slag and, oh dear, I've really got mixed feelings.

Slag was my first ever dinobot so I'm very fond of the character. First impressions straight out of the box are, wow, he's big. Next to MMC Headstong (who I always thought of as the Decepticon equivalent to Slag), he's got a heck of a lot of more bulk. He's got a red cap on his tail which wasn't a surprise, but it looks pretty silly. He's got guy liner in a kind of animated nod, but I can live with it so pretty good so far. The transformation is horrible, fiddly, and trying to get the leg sections to fold in properly was a bit of a nightmare. Admittedly I didn't use instructions, but I didn't need to, it was obvious what I was trying to do I just couldn't get it to work! There aren't many transformers I have a break during transformation because I'm getting annoyed. I eventually got him into robot mode and to my slight annoyance, he looks great. He's a real powerhouse of a robot. I've got him posed with his sword and he's just looks brilliant.

Comparing him to Sludge he's the opposite; Sludge had a great dino mode and a very forgettable robot mode, Slag has a great robot mode and an okay dino mode. I'm still contemplating transforming Sludge back to dino mode but I'm not sure I've got the space on my shelf. I think Slag has the bulk that Sludge should have. I can see that they wanted to get them to be the same height but with Slag's dino head he is taller and wider. I've got Swoop preordered, and he looks like he might go the same way as Slag in terms of great robot mode, but by the sounds of it, a much simpler transformation.

I have bought almost everything Fansproject have put out, and I think one of the places they often fall short for me is on the head sculpt. On both 3.75" figures and Transformers a good head sculpt and paint is vital for me, it's the reason why my customs are never as good as the real thing, also why Hasbro's efforts recently have blown me away, particularly the combiner wars figures. Slag however is one of Fansproject's better efforts, the lips are a bit pouty, but that is consistent with the Loyal Subjects version of the character. Overall, he's great looking but if I ever end up selling him I'm not transforming him back!

DCCU v MCU

SPIDER-MAN!!!!

I think the Marvel Cinematic Universe is brilliant. I am interested in everything they do, I'll give everything a chance. The DC Cinematic Universe, I just don't care, when did I become such a Marvel fanboy!?

As a kid I loved the X-Men cartoon, I didn't pay attention to the other Marvel cartoons. I loved the Batman Universe, I watched the films and read a fair few comic books (most of the comics I've ever read have been Batman, though a few were Spider-Man, Punisher and X-Men). In particular I really enjoyed Knightfall, the only 6" figures I have are Bane and Azrael Batman for that reason.

In the early 2000's I started watching the 90's Spider-Man cartoon plus X-Men Evolution. There were Spider-man and X-Men films which I really enjoyed, Batman however had suffered the shocker that was Batman and Robin. Marvel was edging ahead.

Fast forward to the late 2000's, I've watched Hulk and Fantastic 4, they're okay. At this point I've got no time for Iron Man ('he's just a man in a suit of armour!'), Captain America or Superman (they're just a bit too perfect). My opinion on those last two are based on the Superman films and Cap's appearances in the Spider-Man cartoon. Then the game changer: the Iron Man film, a great blend of action and humour. I like the character. It becomes apparent that Marvel are building something big.

Meanwhile Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy is also kicking off and for me is as close to a comic on screen as you can get. Those films are great but self-contained.

Around this time I decide I need to get some action figures of these characters, X-Men, Spider-Man, Punisher, Blade, Batman plus the important characters, Superman, Cap, Iron Man and Hulk. Marvel Universe and Infinite Heroes started up around then and so were the ideal fit.

I was at a mate's house when he put on Avenger's Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Immediately I was hooked. It also sold me on Captain America as a character, for the first time I got his character, he was a leader and motivator. I particularly appreciated one of his chats with Hulk 'in my day we had a word for people like you: hero'. This was followed by the Cap and Thor movies and I was completely on board and couldn't wait for the Avengers movie. I also watched all of the other 90's Marvel cartoons (Iron Man, Fantastic 4, Hulk and Silver Surfer), Wolverine and the X-Men, and Black Panther. Although the IM and FF cartoons were pretty lame I was at least introduced a lot of new awesome characters, mostly villains.

Meanwhile I got rid of my Superman figure as I didn't see the point of owning a toy of a character I didn't like. Now I haven't seen any of the new Superman films, but I just don't feel the need to, and maybe I just haven't given non Batman DC a chance (I did watch Green Lantern and thought there was some potential), but I'm just not interested and now DC have set out their stall I still am not. Incidentally I started to watch the 90's animated Batman, but found myself wanting to watch A:EMH instead! I will probably give it another chance, but the first few episodes didn't pull me in. It's possible that with the crossovers it has to other DC properties that I'll get pulled in but at the moment I'm just not feeling it.

So I actually wrote most of this before the Spider-Man announcement was made, but damn if the MCU didn't just get a little bit more exciting! The reaction online has been very exciting to follow, it's one of those rare moments when everyone who cares is happy. There has already been requests not to have another origin story, I don't see why they can't do the same that they did with Hulk (whose origin film was made by Universal), the subsequent film didn't follow exactly but more or less it could have.

Of course now Marvel has a deal with Sony, it's hard not to think about Fox and their Fantastic 4 and X-Men movies. The FF trailer dropped recently, it's okay, I suppose, but I'm not that interested. It's hard to see the film doing well. I think the way that Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes used the FF was spot on, use their villains (particularly Doom and Galactus), have them make cameos, that would be perfect for the MCU where there are going to increasingly be more and more characters to try and give screen time.

I love the X-Men, and whilst Fox seem to be doing a reasonable job with them, I'm not so worried about them being in their own place, especially as generally it's only a couple of X-Men characters that frequently interact with the wider Marvel Universe (usually Wolverine). I do wonder how long the contracts that Marvel signed with Sony and Fox actually last for, apparently they're long, it must be more than 10 years, maybe 30, 40!? I think Marvel getting the rights to FF is actually more important than the X-men, they are more central to the Marvel Universe, watching Thing and Hulk fight, Spider-Man and Human Torch joke around, and Tony Stark and Reed Richards working together would be awesome. I guess one day we will seem an Avengers film with the Thing and Wolverine, but not soon.

With the upcoming Civil War film it seems quite likely that the Avengers roster will change, if only because some of the actors are towards the end of their contracts and want to pursue other films. It might also be that Marvel wants to concentrate on characters other than Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and maybe Hulk. We know what characters the upcoming films are going to introduce, plus they're developing characters through the TV and Netflix shows. Given that there are going to be so many characters plus the schism from civil war, I think they might go the Mighty and Secret Avengers route (Iron Man and Captain America's team).

So here's a wild guess at what those teams might be. Mighty Avengers, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, War Machine, Black Panther and Mockingbird (to bring in an Agents of Shield link) and Secret Avengers, Hawkeye (for continuity with the first film), Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Vision, Falcon, Luke Cage and Iron Fist (Netflix link). No room for Doctor Strange, but naturally eventually they'll all make up (and bring back Iron Man and Cap) to take on Thanos.

So it sounds like Ant-Man will cover some of the 1960s timeline, I wonder whether they might do a second series of Agent Carter to fill in a few more of the details, they could have Howard Stark again, Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne, and maybe Spider-Man's parents!? (Who I think in most continuities have some of secret agent background.) Perhaps Nick Fury as well. I'd like to see a bit more of Arnim Zola so maybe he could be the villain. Could be cool!

I finally got round to opening Marvel Infinite Ant-Man and Wasp, I'm not really sure why I waited so long. A bit like Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Panther before them I really gained an appreciation for the characters from Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes (actually, thinking about it I think I like every single Avenger in that show). I thought Wasp really needed to be in a flying pose so cracked out a stand for her. I'm actually going to display them both with my Beast Wars figures. I saw a picture of Ant-Man on Inferno's back which I thought really worked well ('for the royalty!'), then I thought Wasp and Waspinator made sense as well (although not Wasp on Waspinator's back). I have put the mini figures of the respective characters with my Avengers so I don't break my rule of only one figure per character. Anyway, great figures.

There have been some more photos of Generations Motormaster, despite people not being so keen on Optimus Prime, I think he's looking pretty good. I think where he really excels is his head sculpt(s). Both the Motormaster and Menasor heads look really good, I'm not regretting my decision to sell FP Menasor at all. Taking this a bit further, I realise that a good head sculpt is incredibly important to me and it is a bit subjective what constitutes a good sculpt, but I think it's the main reason why Hasbro products are better than third party. Strangely I think iGear are (used?) to be one of the better ones, but I'm not always very keen on the FP heads, I was never very keen on their Springer for that reason.

A good head sculpt with a good paint job can really sell a toy to me, Classics Grimlock I passed on, Henkei Grimlock with the superior paint I couldn't. I like Universe Sunstreaker better than Sideswipe because I think he has the better head sculpt. The Seacon Snaptrap has a great head sculpt, but because of the lack of paint you don't notice, Beast Wars Halfshell on the other hand, same mold but  with paint really stands out for me (I bought him well before Snaptrap for that reason). I think you get the idea, but one final honourable mention goes to BWII Starscream, he basically has a Optimus Prime head, but in black it looks really nice.

So Toy Fair has come and pretty much gone, I think we already knew about everything I was going to be interested in in advance from Generations and Marvel Infinite. We finally got to see official photographs of Devastator and Defensor, this line is just blowing my mind, the individual robot modes are just so unbelievably spot on for what I want. I'm extremely tempted to display the Protectorbots separately just because Hot Spot looks so good. I need them both without question.

There have been rumours that the next Masterpiece figures will be Ironhide and Tracks. Ironhide would be a done deal, I think I would have to make an exception to my 1984 collecting purely because I like the Corvette Stingray altmode (I saw one in a museum once, it's awesome!).

I predict that Bruticus will be Wave 1 of 2016 and then Computron will be Wave 2. I also predict that someone will make a kit to turn CW Optimus into a Powermaster. There seem to be a few options for him at the moment.

Marvel Infinite confirmed the rumoured third wave, Chameleon, Korg and Emma Frost. Chameleon looks pretty good, think I might put him next to the Red Skull as a little nod to the 90's Spider-Man cartoon. DC Multiverse had some interesting stuff, Azrael in Knightfall costume and a non Movie Penguin (I was just considering customising the Danny DeVito figure into a more comic look, so good timing). Batman Beyond looks good (I have also seen a bit of that cartoon). I think it's time to look into the Multiverse line a bit more; I'll need a Bane to go with Azrael (might sell off my 6" versions of these characters), and the Two-Face looks like a better colour scheme than the Infinite Heroes. Look at me getting enthusiastic for DC!

Might also get me some Jurassic World Raptors and a T-Rex!

So looking into the Multiverse figures inspired me into actually opening the Mr Freeze I've had sitting around for ages, and, actually he's really quite good! I had this feeling that I thought he was a good villain, but couldn't work out why given Batman and Robin and that I haven't made it to the Batman TAS episodes where Freeze appears, but then it struck me, I have actually seen Batman and Mr Freeze: Sub Zero. The figure has reminded me of a happy memory of watching that film. Anyway, the figure is a really nice sculpt, decent possibility, and although from a game I've never played, fits nicely into my display.

I'm sold on Combiner Wars!

Well, I opened Silverbolt and combined him with his fellow Aerialbots and, wow, Hasbro have done a fantastic job. The individual bots have great vehicle and robot modes, the transformation is simple but effective and the combined mode looks great. Again, it's simple, but nicely posable.

On the basis of Superion I have decided to go all out on Combiner Wars and sell Fansproject Menasor, despite some indications that CW Menasor isn't as good. I have done this for several reasons: I like the idea of having scramble city style combiners where all of them are compatible with each other, swapping over limbs between Superion and Defensor, and Menasor and Bruticus (assuming they get released! I'll come to that later). If at possible I would rather have official figures than third party. These Combiner Wars figures are much more playable than the third party equivalents; Fansproject Motormaster is terrifying to transform because he has a stupidly thin double jointed waist. Since putting FP Menasor together I haven't done anything else with it because of this. Finally, All of the pictures of Superion show him posed: he looks quite good. The pictures of Menasor show straight on and he looks gorilla armed. I'm going to guess that when he's posed, like Superion, he's going to look pretty good. In addition, the individual bots look good, particularly Motormaster and Breakdown. If all else fails I can display them individually!

Therefore I have now bought Drag Strip ready for Wave 2 of Combiner Wars, I can't wait and I hope to be able to get them in person in store. I have also bought Bombshell (times two) and Powerglide, they are both fantastically well sculpted, particularly the heads. Great for legends figures with a nice simple transformation.

Powerglide is going to replace the Maketoys version I had. Given how nice these new minibots are I'm tempted by Cosmos and by the rumours of a new Warpath. I'd like all of the minibots to be roughly the same size, but with some only released as (old scale) legends and some as scouts it's not possible. I'm also on the fence about Bumblebee and Cliffjumper, if I did make the change it would leave only iGear Huffer and Beachcomber at the smaller scale from the '84/'85 lineup.

It seems that Defensor is a done deal for Combiner Wars, Bruticus is a little bit less certain, but it seems that Onslaught might be a fairly straight forward remold of Hot Spot - change the ladder for a double gun. Vortex and Blast Off from the Aerialbots, Swindle from a Stunticon, then Brawl maybe a remold or a new mold. It would seem pretty straight forward. Toy Fair is just over a month away so hopefully we will find out then. They might just reveal Wave 3 though.

I have finally found AOE Slash, for 6.59 in TRU, my patience was rewarded! I've heard it said that he's the weakest out of the movie dinos so it's nice not having to pay any postage for him, also I found him on a weekend away so he's a nice reminder of that. I will get Slog and Snarl at some point, but there's no rush, I'll wait till I see a good deal.

Play With This Too have confirmed that they will be making a Stranglehold for their fundraising campaign in February, along with their Octopunch that they've shown some sketches of ('Ancient Astronaut'), both will go quite nicely with ROTF Bludgeon for some Mayhem Attack Squad goodness. In addition they've confirmed Metalhawk. I'm not quite sure why the idea of non-transforming Pretenders appeals to me so much but my Marvel, Masterforce and Grimlock collection shelves will all benefit. I am really excited for these figures, hence mentioning it every blog since TFCon Chicago! I don't think I've mentioned my Marvel shelf before, it started out as the Wreckers versus Bludgeon and Thunderwing, basically important comic characters who weren't in the cartoon but now it's evolving to be Wreckers versus the Mayhems with Thunderwing thrown in. Might have to get Nightbeat as well.

I realise that I have become loyal to a very small group of companies for my transforming robots; Hasbro and Takara obviously, then Fansproject and Mastermind Creations, with a bit of Maketoys and Perfect Effect, and now Play with this too. There are a few others for some of the smaller toys, but otherwise I don't really pay any attention to what other companies are doing. I would like some Terrorcons but I'm happy to wait and see whether one of the above does them. Now I've got Dinobots and Predacons there aren't really any other characters left who I can't be patient for (I did start collecting the Planet X dinos, which if they're available in the future I still may pick up).

The MP-13SW release of Skywarp is now out, having looked at pictures I'm more excited than I was expecting, similarly I've watched a video review of Legacy Tigerzord. Both have great paint jobs. I've resolved not to spend any money online, but if I sell FP Menasor I will have a bit of money to play with. I'm going to see what the deal is with PWTT's fundraiser then I can allocate any remaining funds accordingly. It would be good to know what Fansproject are up to - Swoop should be out soon and Skullcruncher has been at the prototype stage for a while, it seems that preorders could happen very close to the actual release dates.

I have been enjoying the last few episodes of Agents of Shield, The hints of alien interference with Earth (presumably setting up the Inhumans) is much more interesting than most of the Season 1 stuff, and having a known villain makes thing much more personal than the situation before Hydra were revealed. It looks like another year of great Marvel films, Avengers 2 and Ant-Man are both really exciting prospects. I hope I get a chance to watch Agent Carter as well, nothing has been sorted out for the UK yet.

I'm really enjoying the Marvel Cinematic Universe podcast at the moment, they review the films as well each individual episode of AOS. The two guys who present it are super enthusiastic and really make it an entertaining listen. I'd highly recommend it if you're interested in the MCU, check it out here: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/marvel-cinematic-universe-podcast

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Update from an earlier comment, I'm all in for updated legends Bumblebee, Cliffjumper and Cosmos. Sure Cliffjumper is just a red repaint but so is the one I've already got. I bought Bumblebee from my local TRU today, I was all set to buy the 2-pack with Blazemaster when I noticed the Now and Then AOE Bumblebee set included the same figure for the same price so effectively it's a choice between Blazemaster and AOE Bumblebee. I preferred the paint apps on the Now and Then version so opted for that one, I'll donate the movie Bumblebee to a charity shop. I saw Cliffjumper in a comic shop a while ago so I'll try and get back and pick him up as well.

I've opened Drag Strip now, it's a good figure but for me the face sculpt is just lacking something. I think it might be that the visor isn't straight across the head, it has a couple of spikes coming down. Still he will be spending most of his time in combiner mode as Menasor when wave 2 hits so maybe not such a problem. Much prefer his Aerialbot wave mates though.

Combine and be Festive

Combiner Wars has hit the UK at the same time as the rest of the World (possibly even before North America). Every now and again, it happens! I picked up Silverbolt and the three other Aerialbots (passed on Drag Strip). I'm saving Silverbolt for opening on Christmas Day, but have opened the other three. I haven't really played with them much yet, but they look good, just the right level of complexity and are a good size. Nice job Hasbro!

I'm not quite sure about Menasor yet, from the pictures released so far he doesn't look as good as Superion, but there's a strong indication of us getting Defensor, and so if we get Bruticus as well (and given how easy it would be for them to do so it would make sense), then I'm in. There have also been rumours of Devastator which I'm not quite sure about yet. The four scramble city combiners would be sweet though.

I haven't seen the Legends yet but am keen to pick up Powerglide and Bombshell. Potentially some tough decisions to make about Maketoys Powerglide and FansProject Insecticons, Superion and Bruticus. I have a one toy of each character rule, although with the Insecticons I could easily make an exception given their ability to clone themselves.

I am making some good progress with opening everything from the last pile of loot I shipped, I opened KFC Ratbat who I rather like. He has some incredibly small balljoints so some nice posability. The rule I work to with my Classics collection is to get the best version of each character, with the cassettes this is slightly muddled by the Masterpiece cassettes who are the same size as the G1 cassettes. I've got all of the MP cassettes apart from Ratbat, but they're part of my MP collection, so I have the Real Gear Laserbeak and custom Buzzsaw, Perfect Effect Rumble and Frenzy and Universe (Classics) Ravage. I have KFC Steeljaw and Ramhorn, so for Ratbat I had a choice of the KFC or KO MP versions (because I really can't justify spending over £100 on actual MP Soundblaster). I've also got KFC Overkill and Slugfest in my current POL, so opted for KFC Ratbat to go with. I might give him a bit of silver paint on his 'ears' but I'm happy with my decision.

I've also opened Botcon Metalhawk, I'm a fan of the Thunderwing mold, so am happy to have him. I think the face sculpt is okay, straight on it's not so good, but in profile it looks good. Play with this Too have hinted that they may also do Metalhawk, so again, could be a tough decision. They also revealed Waverider and Cloudburst, so it would also be pretty cool if they did a Grand Maximus and Gilmer to complete the Masterforce lineup. I'm getting pretty excited for their figures! I also opened Hoist who I had as a kid, so good to add him to my Classics display.

Masterpiece Bumblebee and Wheeljack have also arrived, as with pretty much every other MP I have they're still sealed in box. I will open them up at some point, I'm not quite sure what I'm waiting for. Maybe because so much is happening with Classics at the moment that I'm saving them for a dry spell. Speaking of which, I've decided that for the first 6 months of 2015 I'm only going to buy figures at retail. I will make an exception for FansProject and Loyal Subjects Dinobots though! So could well be a dry spell coming up pretty soon given that Wave 1 of Combiner wars is already here.

That means that I'm going to hold off on MP 11 Skywarp, Legacy Tigerzord (and I'm still holding off on Maketoys Computron), plus a few other bits. Experience tells me that those things won't be impossible to find after that time, but I really need to pay off my overdraft!

I'll also be working on some custom stuff in that time, I'm building a Iron Man Armoury at the moment, it's going to hold 24 figures and will have lights. I've built a prototype version of the stand. Hopefully I will get a chance over Christmas to work on it. After that I'm going to try and do something similar for Punisher (with all his weapons). I'm conscious that a lot of my display looks rather white and sterile so am going to try and make it more interesting. Another thing I'm thinking about is doing something with my beast Pretender shells as I have the inner robots displayed with my Primatives, but the shells are stored away.

My predictions for next year (well 2016) are that we will see some animal mode Transformers: Beast Wars, I reckon Tarantulas with Blackarachnia repaint. Possibly some Dinobots and a Titan class Trypticon. If the Combiner Wars goes well maybe some Terrorcons. We can hope!

Happy Christmas everyone and good luck finding those Combiner Wars figures!

Call of the Primatives

Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Civil War, two part Avengers 3, Inhumans. Where to start...... Black Panther. In Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, he was one of the my favourite Avengers (along with Hawkeye) so I really hope they do him justice. I liked how they hinted at the film by showing Klaw in the Avengers Age of Ultron trailer. Captain Marvel: Carol Danvers. Okay, call her what you like, I don't read the comics, so she's still Ms. Marvel to me, but a sensible decision for Marvel. Civil War; between Movie Cap and Avengers: EMH, I've really grown to appreciate Captain America as a character, similarly in fact to Iron Man, so this will be very interesting to me. Two part Avengers 3, cool, I'll enjoy all the action I can get, and if it means doing Thanos well then I'm all for it. Inhumans is also extremely interesting; I like the characters from their appearances in various cartoons. Wouldn't say no to a Lockjaw figure either. I'll leave it to other people to speculate how they might use the characters.

I think it's fair to say that Marvel has got a little bit of attention with its recent Phase 3 announcement. They've certainly got mine, excited is not the word. It's incredible how they've put together this universe using different vehicles for different characters (films, TV, Netflix). They've cast some great actors that work well together. It's not a competition, there's no reason why we have to choose, but if there ever was a competition between Marvel and DC, I think it's finished before it's even started.

I opened Mastermind Razorclaw at the start of the month. As you might surmise from my avatar and username, I'm a fan of Razorclaw; I have a fledgling collection in fact (G1, Kreon and Botcon). Mastermind Creations' effort does not disappoint. I can not wait to get Divebomb and Rampage from BBTS. Okay, yes I could ship my pile of loot immediately, so yes, I suppose I am choosing to wait. Gawd, give it a break won't you! The head sculpt in both modes is spot on and the metallic red paint on the eyes works a treat (ala MP Grimlock); that is something I would like to see more of. He obviously has some compromises for being the centre of a combiner, but I'm really enjoying him. He's in lion mode now looking at me as I write this, ready to pounce. (Definitely not being lazy.)

I finally got round to buying a Lego AT-AT, having waited just shy of a year, I managed to get it with just over £30 off. I actually took a day off work, popped Top Gear Great Adventures volume 1 into the DVD player, made a cup of tea and built. It's a great build; the point where you put the legs on is guaranteed to evoke happy Empire Strikes Back memories (that film is linked to Christmas in my subconscious). I'm a little bit tempted to buy two more for some real Hoth goodness.

Obviously  it didn't take me the entire day to build it, I had also decided to extend the trailer on Kreo Prime. I bought a second Prime just to do this, the trailer is three panels according to the build, and looks stupidly short. I tried it with four, and that still wasn't quite right (plus with the pieces you have it's impossible to get a correctly fitting roof). With five I managed to get the roof to work and now Prime looks like the all American truck he's supposed to be.

This has actually been the first brick thing I've done since I was a child where I haven't been following instructions, making it up as I go (and having to make do with what I had). Several adventures and cups of tea later I managed to put together something reasonably solid.

Doing these two builds concurrently really brought home where Kreo falls short of Lego. Firstly the difference in detail is staggering considering they are compatible; Kreo are like shrunken Duplo in comparison to Lego. Secondly, when putting together the panels on Prime's trailer, I know it's not an official build, but it just doesn't want to hold together. Considering I just want to use it as a display stage it's not a problem, but it's just not at the same level of quality. (I'm sure this is a great revelation to many people.)

Since the reveal of the Play With This Too stuff last month, they've now also revealed a Landmine. With Bombburst and Skullgrin, that's three of the Masterforce Pretenders. I'm rather looking forward to them, they're going to have a Kickstarter which I might just have to get involved with.

In one of my very first posts I stated that one of my collecting goals was to get all of the G1 animal based Transformers, at some point a couple of years ago I actually achieved this (well technically I have every mold - I don't have Black Zarak, Sixknight or Greatshot).

This goal (and in fact my username) was motivated by the G1 episode 'Call of the Primatives', so here they are, the Primatives:

Terrorcons

Tis the year of the Dinobots and barely a Predacon did growl. Apart from Feral Rex, quite loudly in fact. Thanks to Transformers 4, Grimlock and the Dinobots have had more toys than ever before; there seems to be a strategic move on Hasbro's part to establish Grimlock as a top tier character, so he'll be in the new RID series and even in Angry Birds; technically birds are dinosaurs so I suppose that makes sense.

This all makes for bumper pickings for my Grimlock collection. I'm not sure about the Green Grimlock that's been shown at NYCC, but maybe it's a G2 homage, or even the previous RID. Actually, that would make quite a lot of sense. If I can buy it in store then I'll pick it up.

Loyal subjects have shown off the entirety of their Wave 3 and it contains Sludge. In addition to Swoop. This makes me very happy, and so I performed a happy dance on the spot upon spotting the character (Sludge) in the new photos. A complete set of dinobots is a rare thing indeed, particularly in the UK where later waves never see the light of day....

Speaking of NYCC, it's good to see pictures of the next wave of Marvel Infinite. I'm not sure about the use of Absorbing Man's legs for Doc Ock, but at least it's the classic version of the character, and similarly with Vulture. I'm surprised they waited so long to get a second use out of Falcon's wings. Shanna looks okay, I'm really hoping for some decent dinos from the Jurassic Park line next year to go with and hopefully Ka-Zar won't be far behind. A 3.75" scaled T-Rex would serve a dual purpose - going nicely with my Grimlock and Marvel collections.

There wasn't much new stuff revealed at TFCon Chicago, although I was rather intrigued by the stuff from 'Play with this too', 6" figures based on Pretender shells - the Skullgrin and Bombburst looked pretty good and the Grimlock could also grab my fancy. Skullgrin and Bombburst would both go in my Masterforce display, hopefully they'd do the other the one as well, y'know, the other one...... One google seach later: Submarauder, that's the fishy fella. I want one of him too.

I had the realisation/observation that the Dracula in the new Untold film is visually pretty close to the Marvel version, I also found out that they're planning a franchise much like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which if they did a 3.75" toy line could all work out rather sweetly for a Nick Fury's Howling Commandos display.

Thinking about the MCU, it just seems to go from strength to strength: Agent Carter and Daredevil TV series, Ant-Man and Doctor Strange films, possibility of Spider-Man being incorporated. Everything being linked together really appeals to me, just need to get those X-Men and Fantastic 4 back (although it seems that the X-Men films are getting back on track now).

I haven't bought much this month, or in fact opened much of the unopened stuff I've already got, one thing I did pick up though was the AOE Prime Evolutions 2 pack which made an appearance at TRU. I've been following the FansProject Classics Prime upgrade (hoping there will be an additional apex armour upgrade component), so well worth picking up an additional version of that figure whilst I had the chance. It's better than the original Classics version I've still got so even if the FP thing never happens (no mention from TFCon), it's no great loss.

One thing I did open was Marvel Infinite Death's Head; a slight remold of Colossus, he comes with a good selection of accessories which fit nicely on to his back (attached to the shield). In anticipation of getting this figure I bought a 3.75" scaled Tardis a while back (I didn't really need an excuse) and now am going to display him with my 1986 era Classics Transformers.

I also opened FansProject's Columpio  - Sludge; mine seems to have perfectly acceptable joints with nothing missing, not sure whether that was just luck. I think the figure is great; the dinosaur head in particular is very nicely sculpted, and the neck is posable. I think the tail is a bit short and it's not movable, but I guess this is so that it can be folded away into the robot mode legs as part of the transformation. I'm not sure which mode I'm going to display him in yet although for space reasons it might have to be robot. I'm looking forward to getting Slag soon.

I also opened Generations Swerve, nice little figure, I've also bought Gears, looks like we're getting Brawn from the same mold. I wonder about Outback?

I've been looking at Transformers and toy fan sites for a good few years now; I listen to podcasts -Seibertron and TFW's for instance. But I've never really looked at stuff on YouTube, however, a chance comment on a thread about a video review caused me to and go and watch it, and it's gone from there; there's a whole universe of fan made media which I've never really paid much attention to. There's one guy doing video reviews who spookily really reminds me of myself, he has a similar way of talking and obviously similar interests. One thing I came across was a review of the various Marvel films by ralphthemoviemaker (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvJLOFhmogw), well worth a watch!

It's time to whiz back in time again, this time to 2011.......... I remember 2011 Toy Fair and SDCC very fondly; the Marvel Universe reveals were particularly good that year, and although we never got Fin Fang Foom, the Legends version is a more than acceptable stand in.

My custom Metroplex that I was working on has been well superseded by the Generations version so I decided to revert mine back to the classic G1 look; I gave him the 'upgrade' stickers from Reprolabels and so now display him with my WST. I can highly recommend the upgrade if you want something to display with your smaller figures.

In 2011, I promised pictures of my custom Terrorcons in several years, and whilst it's possible it may have ever so slightly have slipped my mind, here goes:

I bought a set of crappy KO Terrorcons a good few years ago, they were the ones where the colours were swapped around a bit. I originally gave them to a mate, but in 2011 he gave them back to me (sans Hun-Grrr), so I thought it might be cool to upgrade them with balljoints and some replacement limbs. I had the aim of making them actually a bit a terrifying. I used Energon Terrorcons for Rippersnapper and Sinnertwin, and then Cybertron Brimstone parts for Cutthroat and Blot.

I think Rippersnapper worked out the best but I'm pretty happy with them all. They all still transform, just with a bit more kibble!

2x1 Lego Tiles

At some point in the IDW comics Bumblebee became the leader of the Autobots, as part of this (or maybe because he died beforehand and got rebuilt, I can't really remember) he got a new body which was heavily based upon his movie appearance. The thing I don't like about the movie designs is that they all seem to have bits of car pointing in random directions (it's like 2007 all over again isn't?!). So this new Bumblebee has a movie inspired look which features bits of bonnet pointing diagonally upwards.

Bumblebee then got a new Generations figure based on this new design, I have a Classics collection 'rule' of one figure per character, so I shrugged my shoulders, looked over at my iGear VW legends Bumblebee, nodded approvingly and carried on with my day. Bumblebee then gets a redeco as Goldbug, again, I give iGear Bumblebee the nod and carry on with my day.

Nightbeat is one the few characters who alongside the likes of Bludgeon and Thunderwing, was a popular character due to the Marvel comic, despite not being in the cartoon. I can't remember whether I was aware of him when he was originally released, probably not, but somehow he feels important. He got his own Spotlight so he must be important, and what's more, he's a detective, with a trench coat. A bit like the Turtles Raphael and the Fantastic 4 member Thing. He is also clearly a master of disguise..........

Rumours started that Nightbeat was going to get a figure as a repaint of Generations Jazz, I think there might have been a listing as such. Nightbeat is a Porsche, Jazz is a Porsche; clearly Hasbro has done this repaint thing before. Jazz is an awesome figure with bits of car pointing in acceptable and certifiably G1 directions. But then........... official pictures arrived, and he's a repaint of Bumblebee with the shoulders at funny angles. But, give Bumblebee a different colour scheme and a really good head sculpt and suddenly, the shoulders can point in whatever damn direction they want. We have a winner, Mr Nightbeat, come on down! And feel free to give Bumblebee a kick on the way.

So I think I might get Nightbeat. What I might also get is the Million Publishing repaint of the Nightbeat remold, GoShooter. If I can afford him that is, but he also has me abandoning my long held beliefs on shoulder orientation. The other Million Publishing figure, Shouki (a repaint of Astrotrain) also has shoulders pointing slightly diagonally which I have never objected to. I like the figure, I like the Trainbots, but it seems a bit pointless having one Trainbot, especially when they never got any character development in the cartoon, unlike say, Leozack. One hundred-odd dollars seems a bit much for pointless. Still, pretty pictures of them both.

I like Reprolabels; several of my more tatty G1 figures have been tarted up nicely with a new set of labels. They might be slightly yellowed with missing accessories and loose joints, but at least their insignia is bright and true. I also like what Reprolabels do for Classics figures, adding in details that were on the original G1, but missing from the new version. Particularly with third party figures it can help give my figures a joint sense of identity. Also, it often makes them more shiny where chrome has been woefully neglected.

I am particularly interested in one of their new releases, a set of stickers to turn 2x1 flat lego tiles into the G1 cassettes. They have done a stunning job in making stickers of just about every cassette ever envisioned. I have to applaud Reprolabels for such a simple and ingenious idea. They are suggesting it as being part of Classics, but I think they will fit in nicely with Kreons; you could have Soundwave with a cassette in each hand for instance. I think I will just create the original twelve cassettes that appeared in the cartoon and display them with my Grimlock and Predacon Kreons.

Speaking of which, I built my Grimlock Unleashed Kreo set recently. They seem to have given up on the 2 in 1 build thing and just concentrated on the one mode. Similarly to the original larger Kreo sets, he utilises several ball joints which works pretty well. Hasbro aren't quite ready to challenge Lego with their builds just yet though. Still, I enjoyed it, and my Grimlock collection has increased in size, variety and interest. A robot dinosaur made from bricks is fun! Dinosaur + (Small) Robot + Sword = Win. I hope we get the remaining Dinobots as Kreons soon.

I picked up another Kreo Prime set, there's tonnes of the bloody things sitting in TRU and I feel I should do my bit to help shift them, but frankly, at the the price they're offering them at, they're not going to go quickly. I'm not sure they could even give them away really. I bought it primarily to make the trailer on the Prime I already have longer by an extra section. It's supposed to be an American truck; one thing I know about American trucks (and in fact any American vehicle) is they're supposed to be big, not stumpy (or munky). I'll donate the extra cab/robot section I have to charity which will be a test of whether you can actually give them away. If you're wondering why size is so important it's because I intend to use it as a platform to display my Lego minifigs.

Whilst at TRU I also got the Strafe then and now set, which is retailing at exactly the same price as the regular deluxes, so you effectively get a free minicon; if I didn't already have it I'd be rather happy. I'm not sure whether we're going to see Wave 2, let alone Wave 3, so this might be the only way to get him. I'm in it for the long haul though, and I reckon we might see them at discount stores if TRU don't do the business, and given how much stuff they've got lying around from the last couple of years, I don't think they will. Strafe is a nice enough figure; not sure why he's double headed, symmetry I suppose, but they could have just had the head split in two if that was so important. Some wrist swivels would have been good, but he has a nice colour scheme and I like displaying him in robot mode with his wings out for a rather dynamic look. Dinosaur + Robot + Swords = Win.

My big purchases this month were the Divebomb and Rampage figures to complete Feral Rex, sadly they will be sitting in my pile of loot for a little while yet, but the pictures I've seen of completed Rexes look solid and imposing to say the least. I've got Leo Dux in hand, but haven't opened him yet. I could put together an armless Rex I suppose. I love what Mastermind Creations have done with Sixshot and Predaking, and am really looking forward to their Overlord. Mastermind Creations' figures tend to be on the larger size, luckily they create figures of characters I like, and so am happy to have in a larger size, I wouldn't want a movie inspired Bumblebee with weird shoulders towering over everyone else for instance.

Looking over my posts from 2010 (as part of my ongoing celebration of five years of self-indulgent rambling), we have got pretty much every figure I wanted, yay. The other thing that stands out to me is my enthusiasm for larger figures: Galactus and Unicron for instance. They are just great centre pieces for a display, surrounded by smaller figures so they really stand out as something special.