Chicago/California/Toronto Dreaming

In a TFW2005 Botcon interview Hasbro gave a hint that Predaking could be on the way, possibly as a Titan. We are apparently (depending on sales) going to get a Titan each year. Presumably kicking off with Fort Max next year and from the picture reveals, Astrotrain. Beyond Fort Max, I guess Trypticon or Scorponok would be obvious candidates which would be utterly awesome. I reckon Trypticon would be the more likely. As a matter of urgency I have identified a place on my shelves where I could fit another Metroplex sized figure (it would involve removing a shelf, but I think I can do it!).

Looking at photos of Sky Lynx again, I can see that they could get a Razorclaw out of it, if they're talking about a Titan Predaking I wonder whether they would go with voyager limbs? I think deluxe would make more sense though. Tantrum, Headstrong and Rampage could share a quad-pedal mold. Divebomb would then get his own mold. Divebomb could be remolded into Swoop; Sludge could be a remold of Razorclaw; Slag and Snarl could use the quad-pedal mold. Grimlock would then need his own mold. Grimlock could be remolded into Blot and Cutthroat. Rippersnapper could also be a remold of Divebomb, and Sinnertwin could again be a remold of the quad-pedal figures. Hun-Gurr could maybe also be a remold of Razorclaw. That's pretty much the entire seasons 1-3 cast, job done!

As crazy as that sounds, we know we're getting another year of combiner wars, the Combaticons, classic Autobots part 2, Victorian, and presumably the Technobots will be four waves. We could get a seeker based combiner I guess, but Hasbro has shown that no mold will have a single use so they'll want to remold Sky Lynx into something! Also I imagine the dinobots will have been on their agenda for a while and they will have a feel for how well they sell from AOE.

The funny thing about all of this is it has me seriously doubting whether I'll get Perfect Effect Scorponok, or if Trypticon or Abominus was announced by a third party whether I'd get them. Clever move by Hasbro.

Takara has shown colour photos of Blackarachnia, wow, the headsculpt is looking pretty damn accurate. It's all about the headsculpt! When the animated Blackarachnia came out I was rather tempted so it's nice that I will end up actually getting a version of it. Thinking of Beast Wars, although Universe Dinobot is too small and Cheetor is not great I think Tarantulas is the character who is most lacking a more modern update, mostly as Scorponok and Terrorsaur got bumped off at the season 1 and so aren't quite so relevant. I wonder whether Takara will try and put some version of him out.

I've been thinking about the MCU, now Spider-Man has joined, Punisher is going to be in Daredevil (which is awesome by the way!). Fantastic 4 and X-Men are still with Fox. With the X-Men I think it wouldn't be possible to now include them, essentially the Inhumans have replaced them. Random people with superpowers, okay they need to be exposed to the terrigen crystals, but as a basis for exploring prejudice and intolerance they can serve that purpose.

With the Fantastic 4 I think there is still a place for them within the MCU, but they seem to be using Bruce Banner as Tony Stark's fellow scientist, they could use Red Hulk as the Hulk's rival (like the Thing). I wonder who they could use as another young superhero to befriend Spider-Man?

Picked up Marvel Legends Giant Man today, he'll be the first Legends figure I've opened and put on display, (I have opened Madame Masque but that was purely for the Arnim Zola piece, the figure is still in the packaging). I'll do a little bit of painting on him so he's classic rather than modern Giant Man.

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I was on route to TRU when I double checked the online status of Hot Spot at Smyths, he was suddenly listed as available. I literally turned around and headed in the opposite direction to Smyths. Success! It's great to finally have him in hand. He is an incredibly good looking toy, it is everything you could possibly want from a Hot Spot. I really am thinking of displaying him and his team individually. My only complaint is that he is fairly hollow and the plastic is quite bendy, a few times when I was transforming him, trying to move a joint, there is movement in the plastic itself and so you have to be a bit careful.

It is SDCC time now, Marvel Infinite seems to have taken a turn for the cosmic: Triton, Major Victory, Yondu, Ulik, Machine Man and Carol Danvers Captain Marvel. That's the biggest unveiling of 3.75" figures for quite some time! Nothing that's really blowing my mind though - the first four I had to look up who they were. Surprisingly all of them except Major Victory and Machine Man have actually been in stuff I've seen, so I will have to get hold of them (I'll get hold of the other 2 anyway). None of them are stepping on the toes of the customs I've got planned though.

Apparently Mattel have got the Thundercats license! I've heard some less than great stuff about Mattycollector, but if they actually get the figures produced then that's a start. Lion-O and Jackalman look good to me (incidentally I had both as a kid), I might actually collect these MOSC, I quite like displays where people have cards hanging from the wall.

The fan built 'bot, Victorion looks like the bastard offspring of Kup and Inferno. What can I say?! The colours don't really work for me... Similarly to Bruticus, the molds are solid but the colours aren't working. With Bruticus there's just a bit too much brown, looking at G1 Bruticus again there just isn't that much! Might have to go Takara on that one.

The Transformers panel was somewhat underwhelming, judging from the forums, the fans were super hyped for Technobots and Fortress Maximus type reveals (myself included), so the unveiling of Scattershot and some G2 stuff didn't quite deliver. Am very happy about Scattershot though, and the deluxe figures are clearly there for the rest of the Technobots. His robot mode face looks good, being a remold of Silverbolt is fine, I just hope he has his own weapon as Silverbolt's gun is fairly distinctive. The fact that the club are doing random repaints as the Mayhem attack squad indicates that Hasbro will do the Technobots, because they would obviously do Technobots if they could (and Hasbro presumably doesn't want a repeat of the 2007 seeker situation). It might be related to the uncertainty around the Groove mold.

I think they would have done better to hold back Sky Lynx for SDCC to keep the excitement up. Apparently no plans for Predacons which I find strange when looking at Sky Lynx's legs, and the hint from the Botcon interview.

Jakks Pacific are doing Fox, Slippy and Falco from Starfox, fantastic! Shame there's no mention of the other one (Peppy was it?). They're also doing Zelda so just want a OOT Gannondorf in scale, and maybe a Captain Falcon and I'm very happy with my Nintendo lineup.

I stayed up to follow the Hasbro Marvel panel at SDCC last night; again, I'm impressed with how many new characters they're doing: Gamora (who we knew about), Living Laser and Rage (I have no idea who that is). Morbius is now on display so he is confirmed. Also kree soldier Captain Mar-Vell and Lockjaw. I was planning custom kree soldiers and a Lockjaw so those are crossed off my customs list, but nothing to get too excited about. Sadly there is a suggestion that they're deliberately not doing X-Men or Fantastic 4 characters which I can well believe based on the figures shown.

Nothing from the 4" DC Multiverse line, apparently they are going to focus on 6" figures again. Whether we'll even get the figures shown at Toy Fair even seems in doubt. The Batman Beyond figure has been on preorder status for a long time now.

I've been thinking about my Masterpiece collecting again. When Masterpiece started I ignored Optimus Prime, Starscream and his repaints, Hot Rod, Sideswipe and Wheeljack. I was tempted by Sideswipe because he was a Lamborghini, but it was Bumblebee that sold me purely because he was a Beetle. The idea that we might get a Sunstreaker and Tracks down the line also sold me. So it was all about the altmodes. I have previously decided to pass on Tracks because I'm the sort of crazy obsessional type who didn't like the idea of having all of the '84 bots with Tracks. It is part of my personality that I need complete sets of things.

I picked up Grimlock because I collect Grimlocks. I'll get Blaster if he's released because I collect Steeljaws (assuming Blaster comes with Steeljaw). So potentially I'll have 2 1985 bots anyway, but if I collect 1985 bots I'd have to get Red Alert and Smokescreen, and Dirge, Ramjet and Thrust of they ever release them. I started thinking today that if they made Masterpieces of Runabout and Runamuck, that would be utterly awesome. I love Lotus Esprits and Pontiac Firebirds, if they made Masterpieces of them, I would need them. They won't of course, but if they did, I would need them. So my solution could be to collect 1984/Season 1 cartoon Masterpieces AND 1985/86 bots if they are licensed molds and the first use of that mold. The licensing is really what separates Classics and Masterpieces for me, the diaclones based Transformers have a lot of great cars and that's what I want to collect. So, I think I need Tracks again...

At SDCC they showed off an armoured Spider-Man, who may have been in the comics, but I remember him from the finale of the 1994 cartoon. In that episode Spider-Man teamed up with several versions of himself, armoured Spider-Man, Scarlet Spider, Spider-Man with Doc Ock arms, Man-Spider and actor Spider-Man. Damn it, I think I need that figure! Then more recently, in the Ultimate cartoon they did a similar thing with Spider-Man 2099, Spider-Ham, Miles Morales, Spider-Man noir and Spider-Girl. They showed off a Spider-Man noir as well which I think I also need. As a precaution I have bought Miles Morales as he just so happens to be available at the moment! (I also picked up Doc Ock so I can decide whether to swap my Showdown version out.)

In other online purchases I've bought the SDCC Dinobot Kreons (I've already got a Grimlock so just the other four), I need the Battle Changer Soundwave with Ravage then I think I'm done with Kreo. Actually, between Mighty Muggs Grimlock, Kreon and Loyal Subjects Dinobots I think I'm done with non-transforming Transformers stuff. Though the Kids Logic Grimlock does look good, unless they decide to do the other Dinos I can easily ignore it. They have just done (are doing?) the Constructicons so it's not out of the question.

On a bit of a whim I decided to buy Cobra Commander to go in my villains set up. Looks like a solid figure and he comes with a cool sword/dagger thing.

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TFCon is happening! It's all about the third party stuff. Mostly about Masterpiece scale figures which doesn't really interest me. Mastermind Creations seem to concentrating on the DJD, but they did show off prototype picture of Overlord. Similarly to Sixshot he's a bit bigger than I would have liked, but I'm on board. I think if it was any other company I would pass, but Mastermind Creations really are that good. Reckon he'll cost a pretty penny, given the speed at which they tend to get things out I've got a bit of time to save!

Play with this too have their Grimlock prototype at the show, looks good, I was a bit more enthusiastic about their Masterforce character homages, but if this can get them started then all well and good. I could suddenly have a 6" scaled display given this and the Mattycollector Thundercats. Iron Factory had their War Within legends Dynobots out. Again, if they're at a reasonable price I could be tempted.

And so on to Fansproject. I think Grimlock looks pretty good, not convinced he was transformed properly in either mode. Snarl wasn't amazing, but it's still early days. I like the idea of a female raptor Dinobot, but will probably pass. I'd be more on board for a Paddles like the one that Planet X hinted at. I was impressed with how Fansproject's Dinoforce figures are looking, Dinoking looks solid, particularly Kakyryu. I like that the shells are optional. I stopped collecting Victory figures (especially third party), but Dinoking is very tempting!

Skullcruncher and Highbrow look great, glad to see that there's an Snapdragon on the way as well as Apeface. They showed a colour version of their Powermaster esque Classics Prime upgrade, I was interested in this, but Think I'll just use the Combiner wars Prime as a stand in for the time being. There was nothing from Perfect Effect on their Scorponok, I think they're missing a trick, and no one announced a Trypticon which was a bit surprising.

I saw a thread on Titan Wars predictions after Fortress Maximus (and Astrotrain presumably). I predict/hope we'll get a Trypticon, triple changer - dino, spaceship and base mode. I think we'll also get Broadside, two foot or so long, if they're really clever they could make it 3.75" compatible to entice the GI Joe crowd (the USS Flagg perhaps?). Obviously you could only get a couple of Skystrikers on it compared to the original, but it would still be fun, a bit like the Marvel Universe Helicarrier. I think we'll get Powermaster Prime (who some have hinted could be a remold of Magnus) and Scorponok as leader figures, which kind of works as they were rival leaders at the end of the Marvel comics run. Could do a Black Zarak repaint as well. If they really wanted to hammer home the point they could do some pack in comics - the final issues of the Marvel ongoing.

So all in all, not really any new figures on my radar, it's pretty much all about Fansproject so hopefully everything will be reasonably well spaced out. Everything I'm interested in seems to be coming along nicely. It's been a fun convention season though, time to enjoy Summer!

Customising Time

As if often the case when I've almost bought all of the figures on my to get list, I find something else I want. This time, I watched an episode of Avengers Assemble, which had the Winter Guard. Specifically it had Red Guardian, who I vaguely remember was supposed to be getting a figure, but then I forgot all about him. One google later I realised that he was released as part of an Captain America: First Avenger International Patriots set with Captains America and Britain.

My collecting habits dictate that I needed to buy him, I buy every character now just in case they turn up in something I see, but in this case, I'd already seen him so it was a done deal. I found somebody selling the boxset on eBay, which to be honest, I've already got the 2 captains and there are that many Captain America's already out there that you probably couldn't even give him away, but I went for it. It arrived today and the quality's not great, the paint is a bit sloppy and the figures feel like cheaper plastic. Red Guardian's shield is pretty bent and there's actually mold flash on his arm, which is something I've never experienced in Marvel Universe. Anyway, I kind of like the idea of having a Russian team to go alongside Alpha Flight and Excalibur (and I guess the Avengers, who are pretty much international but based in the US).

I will look into getting a bear figurine to be Ursa Major so I can display them as a proper team.

I've been catching up on all three Marvel cartoons on at the moment, Ultimate Spider-Man, Agents of Smash and obviously Avengers Assemble. I think the thing that all Marvel cartoons have in common is they turn the most popular characters into leaders (Spider-Man and Hulk). I mean, Hulk, really?! Also, it's funny, they seem to use all of the Fantastic 4's villains without actually featuring them. (They do have good villains.)

I quite enjoy Spider-Man, the finale with the Grandmaster and Collector was a nice throw back to the Beyonder (secret wars) episodes of the 90's cartoon. I'm not sure whether that was intentional. I find myself missing the classic incarnations of the villains, but I guess the world has to move on. I do like the cameos from the wider Marvel universe such as the Howling Commandos.

Avengers is kinda okay, though I much prefer Earth's Mightiest Heroes. The main cast in Avengers Assemble are less rounded, Thor seems a bit brainless, Iron Man is more reckless (what was that stuff with Arsenal?!), Hulk collects glass figurines. Hawkeye seems like he's trying too hard to be funny. I like Red Skull, Dracula and Modok as villains, but similarly, their motivations are just a bit less interesting. Also, I don't understand why Namor doesn't turn up given that Attuma features so much. Namor has been criminally neglected for too long!

Agents of Smash has it's good moments, but the characters are so one dimensional, since when does Hulk give motivational talks?! It's a little preachy, but then, hey, it's meant for kids, not me! It's also the show that's trying the hardest to be funny (and streetwise/cool) which can be quite annoying.

Overall, the episodes in all three series are quite stand alone (there are some multi-part episodes), but really there's not an over-arching story connecting the series together, the characters don't really evolve. I think I'm probably giving the 90's and 2000's series a bit too much credit, but I enjoyed them a lot more. If they do another X-men series then I'll definitely watch that, but otherwise I think the end of the current seasons will be the jumping off point for me with Marvel cartoons. Though with the MCU in full swing, maybe that's not such a bad thing as that's the media that's actually aimed a bit more at me.

I decided to open my 3.75" Black series Luke Skywalker (Vader will now be able to stop fighting Mace Windu!). Pretty solid figure, the legs could do with a bit more range though (I tried to replicate the Empire Strikes Back classic shot). I've opted for the Bespin Luke as he doesn't face off against Vader in his New Hope outfit, and I plan to display the Emperor (when I get him) with Yoda so the ROTJ Jedi look didn't really work for me. I'm not a die-hard Star Wars fan so I'm not worried about the fact he's not wearing a shirt over his vest like he should be.

I've also opened Generations Waspinator, it was a bit fiddly to get him to tab together properly, but not in an annoying way, I really like him and I think it's almost impossible not to talk to yourself in a Wazzzzpinator voice as you do so. There were no signs of any stress marks that some people got, but I think he's from one of the later runs. The Generations Beast Wars figures have all been absolutely brilliant, I really hope they can do a few more after Combiner Wars (20th anniversary?). Speaking of which, Takara have announced/leaked that they are doing a release of Blackarachnia which is a remold of the Animated figure. Sweet!

My villains collection has had a new addition: Hiya Lurker Alien. It comes with a few accessories including a stand, egg, facehugger and some extra hands. I'm very happy with it, I think the main complaint would be that it costs a bit extra than most 3.75" figures, but given the quality and the fact that I was never likely to find it in a store, I'm not worried.

I have a few Marvel Universe customs lined up for which I've already bought the base figures. It then occurred to me, once I've completed them the only figures I'll really want would be Pyro, Avalanche and Toad. Then it occurred to me to think about how I would make them if I was so inclined. This started me down a very dangerous route of which other characters I would like and how I'd make them. I then scrolled down the Marvel Legends page on Wiki and added some more characters. I then thought about even more characters who would fill out the roster for a team (Shaman on Alpha Flight, Darkstar on the Winter Guard, Frankenstein for the Howling Commandos).

So I'm all set for about 25 odd customs now once SDCC is done! (I'll just hang on to make sure they're not getting official figures.) I've put in a large order on Chinabay for a load of figures to use, but have also started looking for some other figures to use for parts. One such figure is the Spider-Man 3 Green Goblin. Nice figure, but I won't reveal who I'm going to turn him into yet. Expect many customs over then next few months!

SDCC have revealed that the Marvel Legends exclusive will be Doctor Strange inspired. I'm pretty tempted by the Dormmamu, but think I'll go for a 3.75" custom initially.

In other SDCC news, Hasbro are doing a class of '85 Kreons set. I had a quick look on eBay for the prices for last year's set, and wow, could be a bit pricey trying to get hold of them (I only really want the Dinobots). Mind you, part of it might be that the announcement on this year's set has caused the price increase.

There has been confirmation that the UK isn't going to get the Generations Stunticons wave. I guess it was kind of obvious, but I quickly put in an order for them online. Bit of a shame as I was hoping to be able to get them all in person. What really pisses me off though is that they wait until most e-retailers have either sold out or charging more before it is announced. Just tell us! Communication on the subject would really help. Given that most stores still have the Aerialbots I can see why, though quite why they order so much I don't know. I wonder whether it's because UK stores just don't understand (or care) about the wave system, or whether it's Hasbro central screwing us over.

The Protectorbots are out in the UK now though I've only seen them in Forbidden Planet and so picked up First Aid, he's a nice little figure with another superb head sculpt. I've decided to skip Rook since there seems to be a chance of getting a deluxe Groove, and if we don't, I've already got a spare limb in the shape of Alpha Bravo who soon won't have a space on the Aerialbot team. I'm assuming we will get the Rook mold as a Combaticon or Technobot (I'm hoping for good news from Botcon on that front, though they might hold it back for SDCC).

I also opened Slingshot, similarly good headsculpt and nice overall presentation. I think when the Combaticons are announced we'll get a deluxe replacement for Blast Off, who will then be relegated to legends status (so he can form the chest shield ala the cartoon), alongside Shockwave who can be a weapon for Bruticus. We will then of course get a slight remold of Alpha Bravo as a deluxe Blast Off alongside deluxe Groove. Good times!

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Well, Masterpiece Ironhide has finally been shown off at the Tokyo toy show, I wasn't overly impressed on first sight, but after googling an image of his crotch area has confirmed for myself that the strange diamond shape is anime accurate! Ratchet of course won't be far behind so my 1984 lineup will soon be looking pretty good.

Thinking about the other figures that might be on their way, I think we'll get a new Megatron, Shockwave and Galvatron. I don't think there any other deceptions prominent enough to get their own mold. I also think we'll get Dirge, Ramjet and Thrust at some point because they're just too easy.

Autobot wise I think Takara will be doing their best to get the Porsche license to do Jazz, they could then do the easy Stepper repaint. I think we'll get Blaster and his cassettes because it's an easy (box), unlicensed (cheap) and popular character to do. With Twincast repaint naturally. I can see us getting God Ginrai as Japan likes their leaders ala Star Saber and the newly announced Optimus Primal. I think (hope) we'll get Victory Leo as well. After that I think it's hard to call, I reckon Sunstreaker because the licensed sports cars have done well, perhaps Hound because he's fairly popular. After that, well at 3 figures a year, that's 5 years. Then it's version 3 of Optimus Prime because it will have been 10 years since the last one, v3 will be electronic and will be operable from your tablet or computer. Oh yes, I have seen the future.

In other news there's been something called Botcon going on in 'Chicago'. Some interesting hints about Titan Wars, a remolded Metroplex as Fortress Maximus, as well as headmaster Astrotrain and Blaster. Fort Max makes sense, the other two seem a bit random. I'm not that attached to my Perfect Effect Fort Max that I wouldn't happily upgrade.

Bruticus was finally unveiled, a new mold for Brawl which looks good, remolds for Onslaught and Swindle which look solid, some strange colouring going on with Blast Off (who is actually Blast Off) and Vortex. I'm not really feeling the combined form of Bruticus, the colours seem off, especially with the attempt to be anime accurate with the Blast Off coloured chest. Hopefully the final product will be better, otherwise I might have to investigate the Takara option because the sculpts look solid. (Speaking of which I might have to keep an eye on their Devastator with fully elbowed individual bots, possibly to go with my Masterpiece stuff.)

So I think the highlight of the weekend for me has been the announcement and showing off of Sky Lynx! Really wasn't expecting them to do him, he looks great so will look forward to getting him next year. Possibly a bit small compared to Mastermind's Predaking, but with space at a premium I can't complain.

It seems that Play with this too are gearing up for another Kickstarter, this time leading with Grimlock and Starscream, who seem pretty solid. I hope they can do it this time. I recently picked up legends (Universe) Starscream and Jazz to go with my Classics Grimlock and iGear Bumblebee so I'm planning to display them all together, hopefully PWTT will do a Jazz and Bumblebee eventually as well.

I've had some fun and games trying to obtain my wave 2 combiner wars deluxes from my neighbour who signed for it, I've finally got them in hand. I opened Air Raid first so I can finally complete Superion.

I love the simplicity of the figures so far, posable robot mode, solid vehicle mode, plus they form a combiner. Brilliant, and I really like the posable wings on him. When I started collecting I bought a job lot of KO combiners, I think these new figures actually make up for the joint disappointment of the crappy KO quality, plus the realities of G1 figures compared to the cartoon. I really like the Energon Superion, but it's not G1 Superion. This is. I am very tempted to display all of the combiner wars figures individually I like them so much.

I later opened Breakdown, whom I had heard wasn't as good as Dead End. I think robot and car wise I really like him (I'm a sucker for Lamborghinis). The transformation should have been good, but the tabs were a bit iffy, I don't think that's the case across the board, but it took the gloss off an otherwise nice figure.

I found wave 2 of Marvel Infinite, picked up Vulture and Shanna. Not much to say, glad to have Vulture, he pretty much rounds out my important Spider-Man villains (I'll still gladly get Chameleon though). Shanna will go well with my Zabu (a repurposed wildlife figure) and custom Ka-Zar when he's done (he needs a loincloth!).

I found and bought my first ever toys at Tesco today: Streetwise and Blades. I've got all of the deluxe Protectorbots I want! If it wasn't for the crap with the Stunticons I'd say I was quite impressed with Hasbro UK getting waves 1 and 3 out in such good time. Streetwise has the same transformation as Wildrider obviously, but I like the distinctive headsculpt, I've held off opening Blades just yet. I've now got 12 combiner wars deluxes and 2 voyagers, Motormaster or Hot Spot where are you?!

SDCC and TFCon next month, come on Technobots! Hopefully I'll also find out that some of my Marvel Universe customs are not needed.

Unofficial Dino Month

So having finished off last month with quite a few purchases, I've really started this month off well. I found a really good deal on a Tigerzord on eBay, then similarly with Generations Nightbeat and Go Shooter (Japanese Million Publishing exclusive). I decided to buy another Death's Head and Grim Reaper from Chinabay for use as customs (Grim Reaper was to replace the cape I used for my Shredder custom). To round things off I bought a Combiner Wars Wildrider and Slingshot, I've now got 2/5 of Menasor! I'm all caught up on some of the more expensive things I've been after, there are some more things on the list, but they're a bit more reasonably priced. Offset by some of the things I've sold, it's been a very reasonable spending spree!

When Generations Whirl and Roadbuster were announced I wasn't overly thrilled because I already had the Target exclusive Roadbuster (with Nato-bot upgrade) repaint of Cybertron Defense Hot Shot (once upon a time I had all three CD 'bots, good toys!), and had a custom painted ROTF Tomahawk (with Headrobots upgrade). Roadbuster in particular was by far the best out of those four Target exclusive Cybertron repaints. Despite the characters not being in the cartoon, they both appeal to my fondness for obscure characters (At one stage I even started making a Custom Whirl from a Cybertron Evac).

So, having spent the time painting Tomahawk I wasn't that keen on replacing the toys I already had, but I had to admit they looked good. I bought them online some time ago, and when they finally arrived they joined the long list of figures I needed to open. To add to the irritation they also have recently appeared heavily discounted in British stores. I have opened them, and well, they're brilliant. Excellent robot and vehicle modes, nice transformation and a great mix of G1 homage and updated engineering. Anyone for a custom Whirl and a Cybertron repaint!? With the Combiner Wars stuff as well it really feels like Hasbro are on top of their game at the moment.

If Hasbro are top of their game then who are the competition? I thought I would go over my third party transformers collection, I will ignore upgrade kits such as Crazydevy and Headrobots since they still require the original base figure (including the Fansproject Bruticus upgrade).

I have Mastermind Creations Sixshot and Predaking. Fansproject Slag, Sludge, Swoop, Chromedome, Brainstorm, Weirdwolf, Mindwipe, Shrapnel, Kickback, Bombshell and Broadside, PerfectEffect Rumble, Frenzy, Eject, Rewind, Reflector and Fortress Maximus, Mech Ideas Topspin and Twintwist, KFC Steeljaw, Ramhorn, Ratbat, Overkill and Slugfest, iGear Seaspray, Pipes and Huffer, Maketoys Devastator and Impossible Toys Hubcap. That's 40 figures.

I also have Impossible Toys Allicon, but I put that with my G1 animal transformers so I'm ignoring it here. I have also owned Mastermind Creations HOS Optimus Prime, Toyworld Hegemon, Fansproject Springer and Menasor, Maketoys Powerglide and Seaspray (although I never transformed Seaspray), Planet X Swoop, and Impossible Toys Arcee.

On the horizon are Mastermind Creations Overlord, Fansproject Grimlock, Snarl, Skullcruncher, Highbrow and Hardhead, PerfectEffect Scorponok. Hopefully God Ginrai will be an upgrade from someone. There will be others such as Apeface and Sixknight, but I'm not too fussed about them, so that's 7 more giving 47 figures.

By company that's 7 for MMC, 16 for FP, 7 for PE, 5 for KFC, 6 for Maketoys and 6 for other. So FP have by the biggest contribution, and if size of figure is taken into account with the exception of PerfectEffect's Fortress Maximus, only MMC and FP provide any figures greater than deluxe. (Maybe Maketoys should be included in that.) Given that there seems to be some overlap between MMC and Mech Ideas, and maybe FP and Maketoys, I only really buy figures from a couple of companies. I am less fussy about smaller figures, so am more willing to give others a go. 16 of those figures are what I consider small.

Strangely I am rather loyal to Hasbro, MMC and FP. I want an Abominus, but I'm prepared to wait for one of those companies to make it. I was prepared to get several of the Pretender Play With This Too figures so I may throw them in at some point if they can get their stuff released.

I was thinking about scale recently and I concluded the following: small characters should be smaller than deluxe, big characters should be deluxe or larger. Outside of that I'm not worried, except for the dinobots and predacons. They should be larger than most other transformers, so voyager size. Predaking should be the largest combiner. This thinking has led me to rationalise my third party purchases.

Of those 47 figures, several have official figures which I have as well (Grimlock, the insecticons and cassettes), if they release a legends Kickback I will likely sell the FP insecticons. Seaspray and Brainstorm have official figures, but these are much bigger than their team mates who I think they should scale with. The upcoming Devastator is much bigger than MMC Predaking so now I've decided, not an option. A couple have Botcon or club exclusive versions which just don't work for me (Overlord for instance).

If the PWTT Skullgrin had come out then I would have got rid of my Generations version since I would want him to match Bomb-burst. So, scale sometimes and matching team mates is important to me, but in most cases I simply want a toy of a character. Most of those unofficial toys I've sold it's because I've opted for the official version, Swoop being the exception. Springer I sold before I even knew about the official version because I decided I didn't like it. Hegemon I bought to replace the Henkei Megs, but then decided I didn't want to replace it. If Hasbro's making new versions of most of those characters where I've got unofficial toys, I'll probably be selling!

Some of those figures I have still yet to open, but I have now opened FP Swoop. The transformation is much simpler than Slag, and so immediately I am more fond of it. The pterodactyl mode head is absolutely spot on for G1 Swoop; the robot mode head I think looks rather young, but it's a good figure and goes nicely with Sludge and Slag. It's pleasing that he's more or less the same height as the other two, but just a lot thinner so less mass when transformed. Similarly to Sludge I am seriously considering displaying him in dino mode.

I have also recently combined the MMC predacons together to form Predaking. I think MMC are by far the best third party company out there. Their toys look good, but they are fun to play with, they transform nicely, things tab together well, they are well made and sturdy. Predaking is literally a beast  and unlike some of my other third party stuff I definitely would never sell it. I haven't put the sword together yet.

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I received Tigerzord today which is the end of my MMPR journey whereby I've bought Tigerzord, Megazord, Titanus and Dragonzord, sold them all, and then bought Dragonzord and Tigerzord again. I'm very happy with it, it's nicely weighted and looks great. If I could make one change it would be to have a chromed sword like the Japanese original (I used to own that version). I remember the teases we got for the introduction of the white ranger in the TV series, so it's nice to get the figure to complete my Tommy zords. I'd recommend it if you're a fan of mecha, but especially if you have any nostalgia for the series.

Having bought the new Generations Cosmos (having heard good things about it), I decided I was going to sell my old Universe figure, so took a photo, weighed it and then set out to decide what I should list it for. It then struck me: I think I like the old one more, so I'm going to sell the new one! Here are my reasons: I display Cosmos with Powerglide, Beachcomber, (Universe) Warpath and iGear Seaspray. Universe Cosmos scales better with those other guys, I like the colour more - it's not such a bright green, and I bought the figure in person so I have more of a connection to it. (I have Powerglide facing off against the coneheads in a little nod to the episode 'The girl who loved Powerglide', with the other guys behind him slightly, which is strange really as I really don't like the episode, but it's one I had on tape as a kid so the three coneheads in a line has a certain iconic look for me.)

I received and transformed Goshooter and Nightbeat recently. I like the mold, the extra paint applications on Goshooter really help it stand out, but they both work. I think Nightbeat is perhaps has a little too much blue plastic, so I think I'll paint his chest yellow, which I guess is blue because in the comic, the chest is supposed to become the bonnet (on Bumblebee when he had that design). The cop and the detective:

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I opened Skids this weekend, I think he is the last deluxe car 84'-86' Autobot I need to get in Classics, it feels like the end of an era! I got the reissue version so he didn't need to have the thighs swapped over. He has a fairly long transformation which is a little movie inspired in complexity. Getting him tabbed together properly in car mode can take a while if you miss any steps. He has some nice nods to his G1 toy though such as the wheels being flat under his feet, he is very well armed and has a very IDW comic inspired face sculpt. Overall I'm happy!

I have also now opened KFC Overkill and Slugfest, I really like them. Slugfest's transformation is pretty ingenious, and Overkill does a good job of improving on the original. Here they are with Ratbat who I also opened not so long ago. The KFC crew is ready for some fried chicken.

I've opened a few Marvel Universe/Infinite figures recently, Sandman and Black Cat, not much to say about them really. World War Hulk I bought to go with the upcoming Korg. I really like the extra accessories on him. I realised that I had two versions of Thor, Spider-Man, Wolverine, many versions of Iron Man and now two versions of Hulk that I should get a second Cap. I owned Bucky a couple of years back, but replaced him with Winter Soldier as I didn't want two versions of the same character. I remembered that there was a WWII era Cap with different shield, so have bought him and bought Bucky again. The new Hulk and Cap will be displayed with my Cosmic figures since they are already represented in my Avengers display (time travel counts as Cosmic-ish!).

Pictures were released this week of a deluxe Groove as part of Defensor, I really hope that we get a Hasbro release alas Slingshot and Wildrider, but it's not the end of the world if we don't. I think the much more exciting thing is that as an arm he looks a heck of a lot like Afterburner, so Computron seems to be one step closer to reality. Botcon is coming up soon so I'm hoping for a Bruticus reveal there, then a Computron reveal at SDCC. I heard rumours that the Protectorbots wave have been released in the UK, I didn't have any luck finding them today, but I did pick up a Combiner Wars Optimus. I think I'm going to use him as a stand-in for God Ginrai (well just plain Ginrai really without the armour). I'm well stacked for Optimus' now!

I also opened Wildrider today, great mold and given that I'm going to have him at least three times I'm very happy. Less happy with  the wait for his teammates though. I'm sticking with the dream of buying them at UK retail. Though the signs aren't great though if the Protectorbots are out.

I received Killer Croc midweek, I don't really know much about the character as he hasn't turned up in Batman TAS yet (that I've seen), seems to be quite a lot of debate about his size, but I'm all for the oversized lizard look!

And finally I've received the final Loyal Subjects dinobots Sludge and Swoop. They fit in well with the others, although it seems that they've had to cut back on accessories as Sludge is missing his sword. Also they are a bit smaller, that's okay for Swoop, but Sludge (who should be the biggest) is a bit of a midget. However, they still look awesome together, here they are on my shelf:

It's been a good month for dinobots!

Figures galore!

I had a bit of surprise find this month - WON Samus, really wasn't expecting to find her! All traces of the wave have now disappeared, so maybe they ordered it accidentally. I've now ordered Bowser online so am caught up on the figures I want.

Previously to finding Samus I picked up a TMNT 5" Shredder with removable helmet reduced to only £7.49 and have quickly knocked together a 3.75" Shredder custom for my villain shelf. It's a Age of Thunder Thor body painted grey, a Grim Reaper cape plus a GI Joe Movie Storm Shadow head. (He's a little young looking but there are really not many options for Asian headsculpts, Sunfire will have to go back to having his proper head!) I think it works rather nicely.

I also repainted a Kurse from the Thor 2 line as a Predator, I bought a cheap ReAction figure for the head. I think he works fairly well. I'm happy with the painting and I have gained an appreciation for the sculpt on that figure. That's two customs knocked out really rather quickly!

I also finished off a Groot quite recently from a cheap KO of the Legends figure. I actually used real twigs to make him, and read up on how to preserve bits of plant! I've now launched straight into my next project which is making some 'under construction' beast Pretenders to go with my Classics Wreckers versus Mayhem Squad display. Speaking of which, I am gutted that the Play with this too Kickstarter didn't work out. I really hope they can find a way to get the figures out there at a reasonable price.

I bought that Kreo Devastator Ironhide set, I've got my Lego on display now and I've had a bit of a rethink about what I want to collect. I've got Ecto-1, the Turtles (modern) Wagon, an AT-AT and the Batmobile which are all Lego (and nice). The Kreo obviously isn't so great so I'm going to trim it down a bit. I'm going to keep Optimus, Prowl, Bumblebee, Jazz, Ratchet and Ironhide. They're the main '84 Autobots but are partially Movie inspired versions of them so they fill a gap. If I get get round to building a Lego town they will all feature! I built Ironhide, I think there is a slight improvement in the quality of the bricks compared to the very first Kreo, maybe it's just me. I'm eyeing up the Battle Changer Soundwave that's coming out as it has a Ravage with it.

I finally found a Sky-Bye!!! I have never searched so much for a figure, checking B&Ms has almost become part of my weekly routine. I will display him with RID Scourge. He has the unique distinction of being the one character I remember from the odd occasion where I watched that show. He's also a robot shark!

I had DC Multiverse Two-Face turn up, he's a very nice figure and the colours really pop out compared to the Infinite Heroes version. The Multiverse figures are a little bigger than the Multiverse but not offensively so. I've decided to stick with Scarecrow and Robin, but I'll get the Date Night box set to see what I think of Batman, Catwoman, Joker and Harley. I'm going to get Bane as well, but think I might get the DC Universe Killer Croc (the 6" one). Sorted!

I finally opened Crossbones from the First Avenger line, I'm not really too knowledgeable about the character but it's a nice sculpt and in contrast to the stuff we're getting from the Infinite line a nice blast from the past where detailing was still a thing. I've still got quite a backlog of things to open, it will keep me going.

Some new pictures have surfaced of the FP Swoop, the photos of him on a stand look great, I think I've made the right decision. The head sculpt is spot on, not quite so anime as Slag which I think does work for me a bit more. Some great groups shots as well with the three of them.

I opened my Generations Gears recently, nice little figure, slight remold of Swerve obviously. I'd be quite happy to have a Brawn and Outback from the same mold (particularly Outback). I think I will add a bit of red paint to the head to give him the proper Gears look.

I've bought quite a lot of things in store recently, I bought a 3.75" Dalek for my villains shelf and a Marvel Infinite Sandman. I had quite an entertaining conversation with the guy behind the till about who would win in a fight. We concluded Sandman would come out top. I then had a random find in TK Maxx of a Mr. Potato Head Grimlock, I had actually searched for him in TRU in vain several months ago, I wouldn't have bothered with eBay but it's good to get another Grimlock for the collection.

I was all set to buy a 5" Donkey Kong and a Legacy Qui-Gon Jinn that had been shelf warming for years but then spotted a 3.75" Doctor Who Foretold (a Mummy) who would be perfect for a N'Kantu custom, so I ditched Qui-Gon and bought the Mummy and DK. No conversation on who would win in a fight this time, though I don't really know much about the Foretold. I assume DK would pound on the Mummy quite badly, but there might be some extra powers I don't know about! I then found a Generations Cliffjumper which I've been thinking about for a while. It's just a red Bumblebee, but then so's the Henkei one and at least this one has a gun.

So all in all quite a good month for buying figures in store, now I just need to open a few of the buggers!

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.