Addiction

Addiction is a curious thing, typically as a society we think about addiction to alcohol or drugs. Things which can really take over and ruin your life. I think there is a second type of addiction. One which does not completely take over, where the addict can still lead a normal life. But, where the addiction can cause someone to make particular decisions that in isolation are not that obvious, but looked at as a whole constitute a pattern. The person who needs a drink when they get home from work for instance.

I think toy collecting for me is like this. I’m not so addicted I don’t have money for rent and food. I’m still aware of what is most important. I spend quite a lot of money feeding my addiction, which over the course of several years could equate to a nice holiday or a new car. However, these toys make me happy and in comparison to how much my partner spends on clothes, I really don’t feel too guilty (mostly).

I think where the real impact lies is with time and my perception of it. We as human beings worry about things, sometimes unnecessarily, but mostly because we need to do something, a preventative action perhaps. I am somewhat preoccupied with toys, in my waking life I spend a lot of time thinking about them. This affects my home and work life because I’m not as focussed as I could be.

It makes me feel me busier than I really am and therefore more stressed. I still do everything I need to, but I don’t plan for things effectively. Everything becomes more rushed. My decisions are not optimum and so it subtly affects my life.

The result? I don’t spend so much time taking exercise, seeing friends or family. I am not as good at work as I could be. Perhaps I don’t sleep as well because of the stress. How to balance this then? Something which makes me happy, but at the same time takes up just a bit too much time.

As I write this I am contemplating buying the Marvel Legends civil war 3-pack, I should perhaps be doing something more productive. (Though I could argue self analysis is useful in and of itself.)

That is the nature of addiction, you don’t always make the best decisions. Someone who is addicted to food, they know they don’t need that extra chocolate bar, but they can’t stop themselves. It plays on their mind. If I had the answer I would be a rich man. The first step though I think is self awareness, if you can be aware of your own behaviours, you can try and do something about it.

Fantastic Legends

I'm feeling pretty good about my decision not to buy Masterpiece Megatron and Shockwave. I was thinking I should start saving for them, so it's a massive burden off now not to have to do so. I've always liked regular retail figures the most. High end stuff looks great, but there's too much fear of breakage for me. Still saving for Dinobot though!

I see that the Target exclusive Bumblebee movie set with Buzzsaw and Frenzy is going to be available at Argos in the UK. I was undecided about getting Titans Return Rumble since I am rather fond of the Perfect Effect set, but looking at the headsculpt, it is a half decent figure even if it does have Rewind's proportions. Ordered! Bring on Eject and that's another set of third party figures I no longer need.

The only other Prime Wars trilogy figure I might still pick up in the future is Fortress Maximus, I want to see what they do with Scorponok first!

Various things have happened to make consider my stance on unofficial toys - replacing my Perfect Effect cassettes, potential Encore versions of the Japanese exclusive cassettes (I have KO's) and buying Marvel Legends. With the latter there are temptingly cheap figures available from China, they are either KOs or rejects. For custom projects I'm not so bothered, but if they're for direct display then I am. I don't think I'm ever truly happy with unofficial toys, I always want to replace them with legitimate figures. The problem with that is that it's not very exciting so I find it harder to spend my money doing it, despite wanting to.

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I've decided to also collect a team of Avengers, the lineup from Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, naturally, mostly because I will pretty much have the team anyway (I already have Legends Ant-Man and Wasp for my 3.75" collection). Captain America and Hawkeye have (or will have) recent classic releases in the 'vintage' line, and Black Panther had a nice Walmart exclusive last year which seems to be still widely available. Thor seems a reasonable bet for the vintage line in the future.

Beyond that, I want to get the Guardians. Though they appeared in A:EMH, not surprisingly, I want more of a MCU take. That will give me the four main Marvel teams with my favourite lineups, plus some MCU favourites.

Have ordered Mr Fantastic to go with Human Torch. I've spent quite a lot of time thinking about my Iron Man armoury and which figures to get in which scales. My thinking is that 3.75" is my default scale, and that I should only get the 6" version if there's a particularly good reason.

All of the armours after the Mark 43 are only available in 6" so they're definitely needed. The Mark 43 comes with an alternate head where the mask is flipped up so I need that as well. (Also, such a collection makes sense from a continuity perspective because all of the armours get destroyed in Iron Man 3.) I've got a few 3.75" armours to pick up as well then I've got the set. Okay, Mark 43 is ordered as well. Twice! (Once in each scale.)

Mr Fantastic is here, he's a bit more of a sea green than I was expecting, but I love the alternate arms. It's lucky he has such good accessories as he's not a character I think of as needing much posing.

One question that I've asked myself is whether I would have bought into
Legends had Universe still been going strong. I think the amazing high resolution pictures were what finally sold me, but ultimately, I think I would have still bought them. With many of my other collections (Transformers, Power Rangers, Ghostbusters, Thundercats, Turtles, and even Nintendo), I have larger versions of either my favourite or the main characters, so really this just makes Marvel consistent with them.

Human Torch is also here! I think I would rather have had a flame-off version, that said, I do like the way the colours are done in this version. Phew, need to calm it down a bit now.

Armoury Mark II (6")

I want to collect the movie Iron Man armours. I have the Mark I-III, VI and 42 in 3.75" scale. Of the others they made in that scale, there's also the IV, V, VII and 43 (up to and including Age of Ultron).

Do I get the missing armours in 6"? The missing armours are the Hulkbuster, Mark 46, 47 and 50. Shall I get all of them perhaps?! The new Mark VII 10th anniversary figure looks pretty sweet, perhaps that figure would be a good starting point.

In thinking about this I realise why I love the Internet, what I particularly enjoy. It's having an idea, doing a bit of research and then working out what I want to buy. Which usually ends up with going on eBay or Amazon. It's all about wanting and buying. My favourite websites are those about my favourite franchises, but ultimately what I really want is news about stuff I can or want to buy. I'm utterly addicted to the cycle. Collecting the movie armours is the idea, but much like Classics Transformers or 3.75" comic Marvel, it's not contained to one toyline, there's exclusives, there's box sets, there's more to it.

Sometimes when I have one of these ideas, I find myself trying to find out about lines from years ago (2008 in the case of some movie armours) and wishing I'd bought them at the time. If I could send a message back in time to myself, what would I say? (Ignoring the practical stuff like lottery numbers and for god's sake ask that girl out.) Top of the list would be ignore third party Transformers. In the end an absolute waste of money. There are plenty of figures I've bought which have been superseded, but that's part of the journey, part of the fun. But third party transformers were mostly expensive and overly difficult to transform (which some people appreciate, but not me).

I'm not sure whether I'd advise my younger self to collect Marvel Legends. It's clear to me that I love Marvel more than I did in 2009 (or thought I did). I'm not keen on the Toy Biz aesthetic for the most part (funny hips and frequently funny faces), and again, most of them have been superseded. Get into Legends when Hasbro started producing them? I still agree with my 2009 self that 3.75" was the way to go considering I don't really care about a lot of the characters.

What then is the all important message for my younger self? I think with Transformers start from the end. The end is Beast Wars, collect all of characters who appeared in the cartoon. Then move onto expensive Japanese G1 (Masterforce, Victory and Zone). Those are the characters who mostly haven't had Classics updates.

Anyway, that was a bit of a tangent. Movie Iron Man armours. All of them? Well, I might as well give it a go. With toys I will never be happy with what I've got, it will always be a process of trying new lines and seeing whether they stick. (Kreo, I recently realised did not.) If a collection is completed by expensive or hard to obtain figures then so much the better. My interest is maintained by new stuff.

Having already decided to buy the X-Men, I have this gnawing thought in my mind; don’t I need the Fantastic 4 as well?! This is the problem, one idea leads to another. I have rewritten this section several times as I have changed my mind and changed it again. I have now settled on collecting the main characters from the various 90’s cartoons (X-Men, Fantastic 4, Spider-Man, Iron Man and Hulk). Then, having realised how many figures that is I tried to decide between the armoury and these classic cartoon figures. I then realised there is a third way. Money and space are always the main concern. What if I didn’t buy Masterpiece Megatron and Shockwave? Jointly they will cost about £320. That’s a good number of Legends figures! What if I make my Masterpiece collection Autobot only? Yes. I only really got into that line because I like the real car alt modes, so it really does make sense.

Like any collection, a toy collection is something that is refined over the years as you work out what you want, but also what you want evolves as your interests do. Marvel Legends 90’s cartoon characters and an MCU Iron Man armoury it is then.

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I’ve got me some Marvel Legends! Wolverine and then Deadpool have arrived (I made an exception to the cartoon for him because he's the complete package). I then bought the Mark 50 armour and Iron Spider, remarkably both still available at UK retail.

I’ve looked at Legends figures before, but I have to admit the detail on these things is fantastic. On Iron Spider particularly, the texture is something you’d never get on 3.75”. I really liked Iron Man, but after opening Iron Spider he looks a bit plasticky. Overall though, very impressed. The Legends armoury starts here!

Opening Deadpool, I realised he has shoulder/chest articulation. Looking at Iron Spider, he also has it. These are just amazing to me, I am a total convert. It's going to take all my willpower not to buy more! Okay, so I just ordered Vintage Spider-Man and Human Torch. Anyway, very impressed. That Wolverine's claws are separated really lifts it above the 3.75" version. So much character! It's funny, the thing that ultimately really sold the line to me was the high resolution photos of these two.

I have found a reason to include Deadpool (I like to find tenuous reasons for my spending if I can). In the X-Men cartoon, Morph was also a member of the team, at one point he briefly turns into Deadpool. It's not Deadpool, it's Morph!

Incidentally, I realise it's a strange case of history repeating itself, when I started collecting Marvel Universe, it was when the Wolverine Origins line was also out. The first two figures from that line? Wolverine and Deadpool. My first few figures from Universe? Iron Man, Spider-Man and Human Torch.

All of the toys

I am a dreamer (but I'm not the only one). In a somewhat childlike manner I like to imagine what it would be like to own all of the toys. I would buy every Marvel and Transformers toy ever, and keep them MOSC or MISB.

For my favourite lines, Marvel Universe, Legends, G1, Beast Wars, Classics and Masterpiece I would buy additional versions to open. For the Transformers I would buy duplicates so I could have one in each mode. (Importantly also including an extra Sixshot so I could have one in winged wolf mode.)

This would I think satisfy an urge to create what is effectively a museum display. Curating it would be a dream. It would all be displayed by year of release and wave. But on top of this it would be more interesting to put together other collections. A display of Lost Light characters, a display of everyone from Infinity War, a Masterforce collection or 90s X-Men cartoon lineup. This would relate the collection directly to the media that inspired my interest in the first place. If I had all of the time and money I would have a display for each series of Transformers, perhaps smaller displays relating to particular stories in the comics, each of my favourite Marvel cartoon series. A display for each MCU film.

The thing about these media specific displays is that they would just use the best or most fitting version of each character. The Ultra Magnus from Combiner Wars would be the best choice for a Lost Light display, but the new Magnus from Siege would likely be a better choice for a '86 Movie display. I could perhaps get some relevant artwork to go with the display. (So Lost Light comic covers for the former and the '86 Movie poster for the latter.)

If for my S1 of the G1 cartoon display all of the figures were available as Masterpiece then great, I'd use them. If the figures for the X-men cartoon were mostly available as 3.75" figures then I'd use them (actually for some of the Movies 3.75" is probably a better option). If a Classics version of a character didn't exist then I'd use the G1 figure. Use the best version available.

On top of this there be might a few ad-hoc collections, a Grimlock collection, a Micromaster City, an Iron Man armoury, etc, but a display centred about my favourite series, films and comics would be awesome. Beyond that, I could expand it to cover computer games, a MKII display, a Smash Bros. display. Amazing.

Day dreaming is fun, but it is useful to focus my collecting. What I want is media based collections. And actually, that's what I already do, okay so I don't buy multiple of different characters for each series or film, but I do collect so that I could create each display, not at the same time, but one at a time. By working out what I would do if money and space was no object then I can work on slightly downsized versions of the same thing.

I think the upshot of all this is that I've convinced myself not to necessarily limit myself to one version of each character (which to be fair, I never really did before). But also that I want to be able to put together something resembling a MCU collection. On a podcast I listen to the host explained that he thought it was good to try and understand your own collecting philosophy, I agree completely. I spend a lot of time trying to understand mine.

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Predaking and Darkwing have arrived! I now have all of the Power of the Primes figures I want.

Taking the box out of the car having picked it up, I thought to myself how disappointing it was that I wasn't really looking forward to opening it all that much. Compared to when I got the G1 Predaking reissue back in 2005, I just wasn't feeling it. I think having previously owned the Mastermind version was taking something away from the experience. I had already owned them once, I'd already 'ticked' them off the wanted list.

Opening the box, I took the time to appreciate the artwork, it's rather good and there is a large version of the standard character card with it again inside.

Headstrong and Tantrum first, beast mode and robot mode are just dominated by the combiner thigh piece. I love how chunky it is. The headsculpt is fantastic. I can see past the integrated combiner kibble, despite the fact it affects the balance, but the hollow calves are rather disappointing.

Rampage is somewhat average, there's nothing about him that stands out. Divebomb has a particularly excellent headsculpt and the way his robot mode head in integrated inside the eagle mouth is brilliant. Razorclaw is the neatest of the five, and has a solid robot mode. Pretty poor beast though. I think the G1 toys actually have better beast modes.

Combined mode is of course where this thing really shines. I didn't use the instructions, just looked at the photos on the box, and it's all fairly intuitive and so enjoyable. Nothing was frustrating. I knew Predaking was going to be big, but transforming Headstrong and Tantrum into legs was impressive. Then they slot into Divebombs wingpack. Wow! I particularly liked how Divebomb folds up into an arm. Folding up Razorclaws back legs was the only thing I got a bit stuck on (because they're at the back and so not visible in the packaging photos). The way it combines is effortless and graceful. I combined it sitting on the sofa, but resting it on the floor. When I finished I lifted it up on to sofa. Wow! And wow! I left it standing in a room and came back to it ten minutes later, and wow again.

Playing with the individual robots, I think I could just about convince myself that I made the right decision to replace my Mastermind figures based on the quality of the headsculpts. In combined mode, I absolutely made the right decision. No regrets whatsoever!

I don't think photos quite capture how good and impressive this thing looks in person. I found myself saying 'face, Predaking' a few times (that's a quote from Call of the Primatives). I think the Dinobots and Sky Lynx (and Trypticon really) are woefully undersized in comparison. The beast modes are terrible, the robot modes are okay, but impressively chunky, Predaking is utterly amazing. The only thing I can say against it is the lack of weapons, and given the superiority of the combined mode, the lack of a sword for Predaking is a huge omission. I can forgive the lack of swords for the individual robots (just), but a large sword for a Predaking is a must. Third parties must be rubbing their hands with glee at the thought of the money coming in.

Oh, and I got Darkwing. He's an Aerialbot. Good headsculpt though. I'm glad to have the Dreadwing guys as deluxes, just need to complete the Autobot Powermasters now.

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I have just gone through almost exactly the same process with Marvel Legends as I did a month or so back, I made a list of everything I wanted, decided it was too long and so tried to just pick a few figures. I'm torn between getting the figures of the characters I like, and having a set of figures that go together. If I were just to select a set of figures that go together I would get the 90's cartoon X-Men, that would be a great set.

I realise I have some sort of pathological need for toys I don't have, at certain stages I thought I had decided what to get only to realise, I really don't need them! I can make a decent argument for a Wolverine Legends figure. The figure has personality which is lacking from the 3.75" figure. I think that is a useful test for whether to get a Legends version of a character. I have now just ordered Wolverine, will see how I feel about him when he arrives.

Anyway, thinking about MCU versions of figures versus comic versions, I've decided I also want MCU headsculpts of the more morally ambiguous characters, Loki, Yondu and the like. I've therefore picked up the Starlord - Yondu 3.75" set (in a sale!). From a 616 perspective, MCU Yondu is more accurate than the comic one from the original Guardians. It's a really nice set and I hope we get more 3.75" MCU stuff. Strangely, I'm in a mindset now where if I could have any 3.75" figures, I'd go for MCU Peter Parker, T'Challa and Bruce Banner.

Sounds like we're going to get some Thundercats figures! Woooooo! Also, some promising hints for the Decepticon figures in Siege. Please be true. Also I would love some Mega Construx Thundercats figures (and a TMNT blimp if they ever revisit the collectors line), the idea of having a Ghostbusters Fire Station (the Lego one), Turtles’ and Cats’ lair all made out of bricks is quite exciting. Come on Mattel!

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So, I've decided to get Marvel Legends figures of all the (90's) X-Men and Spider-Man. I have reasoned to myself that there are two reasons to get Marvel Legends figures, firstly if a character I really like is only available in 6", or secondly if it's a character I like who benefits from the larger scale. X-Men and Spider-Man are my original favourites, when Universe started those were the characters I 'really' wanted, so I will start with them.

The eyes have it!

Blast Off is here! Slightly smaller box than I was expecting, but good first impressions based on the artwork. Blast Off is special (edition), he is the figure I thought Takara would produce when I heard they were making a shuttle version of the character. Brown isn't a great colour for a Transformer, but combined with purple is rather nice. The shuttle mode isn't fantastic, but having waited several years for this toy, I am very happy. He has the correct head and altmode, he is a toy accurate colour. These things make me extremely content.

I'm half tempted to keep the old Blast Off as Bruticus' arm and keep this new one separate in robot mode. Of the four superfluous figures for combiner wars, I only have Alpha Bravo (I had legends Groove, but never Rook), whom I use on Computron in order to have Strafe on my Lost Light shelf.

Repugnus is now also here! The box art is even more vivid. This is the figure I was most excited about of the trio, despite strangely being content with the Titanmaster figure. The Monsterbots (along with the Dinobots, Insecticons and Predacons) have a special place in my heart. Beast alt modes have always appealed to me, though it took me a while to get into Beast Wars.

Repugnus is a nice bright figure, I like the use of clear green plastic for the beast eyes. Whereas Blast Off seems bigger than he should be, Repugnus seems smaller (I guess compared to the G1 figures). I admire the use of the same base mold for the three Monsterbots, it makes him a little wider than he should be, but somehow it is made to work expertly. I swapped the head for the original Titanmaster one, it has more character because of the bigger eyes. Another great figure!

When I have discussions about collecting with people I often say that if I didn't collect Transformers I'd collect something else. Stamps, coins, anything. I need to collect. Transformers appeals because I am nostalgic for them, but I collect figures of characters I didn't even know existed. So why then? It occurred to me whilst thinking about why I like Repugnus is colour, I like the fact that Transformers come in virtually every single colour and combination. It seems weird to admit it to myself, but it also explains why I collect comic based Marvel figures and not movie. I've barely read any Marvel comics, I've watched every single film, but comic book figures come in more vivid colours. Stamps also come in a wide range of colours so I'll keep them as a back up option for a collection (coins not so much).

Thinking about deluxes, I know almost nothing about the Autobot Targetmasters and Powermasters. I've never read a story where they do anything and I can't remember what they (or their Japanese equivalents) did in the cartoon, but damn they are high up on my want list! The funny thing about them is that they could quite easily be repaints of existing figures, I just need them now! Completionism is a funny thing, though possibly not an actual word.

The third wave of Primemasters have now arrived. They are extremely simple, snap the weapon onto the shell, pop the Primemaster in and done. Admire. Particularly with Octopunch and Bludgeon I wish they came with the melee weapons they used in the old Marvel comics. (I also wish they came with Stranglehold.) It is nice to have Bomb-burst to complete the Deception Masterforce lineup though. I don't mind the small size, I sort of imagine that they have some ability to change size (particularly the Autobots who can shrink down to human size).

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I've bought a 3.75" figure, in a shop no less. Ahsoka Tano from Star Wars Black for a fiver. I don't really acknowledge the existence of The Clone Wars cartoon (I prefer the original Clone Wars cartoon, no 'the'). However, I do collect alien Jedi who appeared in media I've seen, and technically I did go and watch that CGI film at the cinema. She also has two lightsabers. So, she's alright by me.

The green eyed monster continues to haunt me when it comes to Marvel Legends, particularly with X-Men characters, Professor X and Gambit now. They seem to be releasing so much 6" stuff it's ridiculous. Will the bubble burst soon? I guess there were a few years when they weren't releasing anything so it will probably come full circle.

The new Storm Collectibles Mortal Kombat stuff also looks great, far too expensive for me, but I find pictures of them very helpful when planning my customs as googling MKI/MKII characters you tend to get somewhat blurry pixelated photos or cartoons, so it's hard to pick out the details - eye colour for instance (or lack of).

Some time ago I think I mentioned my plan to make 3.75" versions of all Mortal Kombat I and II characters. I'm using the Jazwares figures as a starting point, which since they also made the MK3 cyber ninjas, I will include them also. A Mortal Kombat 2.5 if you will since I plan to include a few characters and cues from later games. My only complete figures so far are the female ninjas (see: https://transformersandstuff.blogspot.com/2017/05/getting-old.html). I have a Goro figure which I am painstakingly making a copy of (by making rubber molds and then casting the parts in resin). This is somewhat time consuming and boring, but I'm down to a couple of pieces left (where the cast didn't work and I'm redoing it). Need to buy some joints.

I'm working on the male ninjas, I think the original Jazwares sculpts weren't actually all that bad. The head was probably the worst part so I'm replacing it with a GI Joe Storm Shadow copy. I think the very worst thing about the Jazwares figures however is the paint (the eyes stand out as being particularly shocking), so I will paint the figures again. Hopefully I can do a better job!

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I’ve finished Scorpion and Reptile. I found the perfect base paint colour for Scorpion, it’s a ochre which I think works much better than the original lemon yellow. Am very happy with the Storm Shadow head. In a first for a custom I’ve done, I also made an alternate skull head for Scorps. Two years in the planning and I’ve finally finished two of the male ninjas!

Exciting exclusives

Amazon exclusives incoming! When I first saw the pictures of the new Punch/Counterpunch my first thought through my mind was we’re getting a new Pointblank!!! Actually I couldn’t remember which targetmaster has those diagonal shoulder pieces, but I was excited.

Wow, he looks great. As does Repugnus, though his beast mode proportions are perhaps a bit off. And Blast Off as well. What a set of exclusives! There will be the usual fun trying to track them down, but for three figures I didn’t think I particularly wanted, I can’t wait!

(I have Blast Off combined so a different head and altmode makes no odds, I have the TFCC P/CP and I have the Titanmaster Repugnus, which despite being a Monsterbot fan, I was also happy with.)

There's something particularly sneaky about the strategy Hasbro used on the four scramble city combiners, by not actually releasing one of each team (initially), they really built up the excitement for when they did release them as exclusives. But, in a slightly perverse way (since I've managed to get hold of them), I'm happier than I would have been with them. Sneaky.

There have just been a load of Amazon listings for the WFC stuff, nothing grabbing me too much though the Targetmaster angle looks promising. I don’t think I’ll get many Micromasters, though probably the Rescue patrol as they were in Victory. As I said before I really now want a complete 1987 lineup, Autobot Powermasters, and the Victory leaders. And a Leozack and Thunderclash!

Looking towards SDCC, as with every year I can't help but hope for some exciting reveals. Autobot Targetmasters, please!!! Actually I think I would be happy with reveals which could be pretools for the Target and Power masters. Have to take what you can get.

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Thinking about the reveals, Hound and Ultra Magnus? Maybe it’s because I’ve just watched the Machinima series (which was alright, but I found the Grimlock portrayal irritating), but weren’t they both on the vote for the next Prime list? With Shockwave also on the rumour list, does that mean Star Saber, Deszaras and Thunderwing might also be on the cards?! Please let it be so.

Well, the Hasbro panel has just happened and my bubble has been well and truly burst. I was hoping for at least one figure to get excited about, but nothing! The Micromasters do look good and, it’s funny that the reveals have been the set I said would get, the set I had as a kid (Race Car patrol) and the set I always wanted as a kid (Battle patrol).

Okay, so the grumpiness has died down a little and that Ironhide does look good, I will need to keep an eye on most of those figures! I think I was a bit spoilt by the Prime Wars trilogy in terms of character selection, but it's worth reminding myself that I was sceptical at the start of that trilogy as well - I was 'happy' with my Fansproject Superion and Menasor. Now I barely have any third party stuff left. I collect Transformers because I'm nostalgic for the 80's, but I'm now at the point where I'm fairly nostalgic for mid 2000's figures. Particularly when the figures have a significance to them, perhaps because I bought them on holiday, I'm reluctant to replace them.

As I think I’ve said before, for me the most important part of an action figure is the head sculpt and where a lot of the Universe Classics figures fall down is the head sculpt. The Datsuns and Sideswipe particularly, I wonder if it will be possible (though expensive) to swap the heads?

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I don't mind the Combiner Wars Buzzsaw mold, I therefore decided to pick up the Laserbeak as perhaps it's time to retire my Real Gear figures. I think he looks better than Buzzsaw because he's toy not cartoon colours. A toy deco Buzzsaw (Target exclusive) was also revealed at SDCC, so might try and get that. The set would raise the prospect of needing to get Titans Return Rumble since it also contains Frenzy. Initially I passed because it looked too much like Rewind, but it would be nice to have figures which are consistent with each other.

Power of the Primes Hun-Gurrr turned up today. This is one of my favourite torsos. It's amazing that he completes my S1-S3 collection, but also I love all of his modes. I'm genuinely torn about how to display him. This is first figure that I find the stickers are a problem for me on, might need Reprolabels. It will definitely need the Perfect Effect upgrade set.

Masterpiece news again, Hound is being released! I don't really care for the character, but I think a bit of green in the display will add some variety. I will hold off initially as I'm hoping for a toy accurate deco as seems likely with Sunstreaker. Just Jazz, Mirage and Trailbreaker left to complete the S1 cars! V3 Optimus Prime? Fascinating...... MP Dinobot looks great, though sounds like some issues with his shoulders. Am saving up for Predaking at the moment so will be a little while before I can afford Dinobot, hopefully a solution will have been found by then.

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I've bought MCU Marvel Legends Ant-Man to get a Paul Rudd headsculpt for my Giant Man. It's great! I think in my collection Ant-Man is now definitely Scott Lang and Yellowjacket is Hank Pym. Wasp is still Janet Van Dyne though, so no MCU Wasp just yet unless they release a Michelle Pfeiffer figure (prequel film perhaps?!).

I also saw Ant-Man and the Wasp today. I thought it was brilliant. I love the Ant-Man films, slightly lower stakes, but I love how they use the size changing power to great effect. Some great stunts with cars. A good fun enjoyable Summer film.

Picked up a super cheap (2018) BAF Apocalypse on eBay from Hong Kong. Hope he actually turns up!

For the Royalty!

For the Royalty!!! I've bought a Beast Wars Inferno. I've decided to hold off on picking up more Beast Wars figures in the hopes that we might get modern versions, but I've made an exception for Inferno on the grounds that he's the right size (compared to say, Terrorsaur), he had an interesting personality on the TV show and he's the right size for 3.75" Ant-Man to sit on.

Not much else else happening in Transformers land at the moment. One thing that occurred to me is that we don’t seem to be getting a Power of the Primes Waverider which is strange given the proposed Grand Max shell was clearly a potential reuse of a Waverider figure. Would also be keen for a Stranglehold.

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Wave 2 Prime Masters have made it to Asda and have finally found them. I like these little guys.

I'm getting a bit worried whether we're going to see any more Power of the Primes stuff at retail and so (since they're in stock online), I bought the W3 Terrorcons. Decided to get Rippersnapper at the same time since he's also available fairly cheaply. The UK getting W2 seems more likely than W3 (though I still remember Combiner Wars and the Stunticons......).

On the day they arrived W2 deluxes and voyagers were spotted in Smyths. I think I made the right decision!

The Terrorcons look like oversized (and articulated) versions of the G1 toys. They seem very chunky. Perfect really! Rippersnapper is great, will be a tough decision deciding which mode to keep him in. Abominus mode is still a contender, but if that's what I go for then might have to consider the Perfect Effect hands and feet.

Sinnertwin looks rather generic in robot mode, his arms have one of the best arm to leg transformations I've seen on a beast transformer. His back legs could be the G1 legs as they're small so as to be a bit more inconspicuous in robot mode. Not bad, but he's no Rippersnapper.

Cutthroat is also pretty good, but Blot is the other winner with Rippersnapper. A nice satisfying transformation, the bit with the claws is great, and full of character.

Also popped in an order for Outback, have decided just to order W3 online. He's a repaint so nothing too crazy, but it's great to have him in his 70s colour scheme.

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Found Sludge and Snarl! Whoop whoop. I nipped into Smyths in between listening to football on the radio, what a day! Strangely they're actually about the same size as the G1 figures (though Sludge has a slightly shorter tail). Snarl looks a reasonable size in robot mode because of the way his tail splits on his shoulders (a bit like Slag with his dino head). Sludge is just too small though, more than any of the others he needs to be a voyager. I really like them though, it's great to have a complete set of dinobots. In fact, once I've got Hun-Gurrr, I will have every character from S1-S3 of the cartoon in classics form, that is quite the milestone.

I think the W2 dinos display nicely with Slag, less so with Swoop due to his cartoon blue. And of course Grimlock as a voyager is much too large compared to Sludge. I almost wish Grimlock was also deluxe...

My main focus is now on the S4/1987 cast, Scorponok is sorely needed. There have been a few hints that we’re done with the Titan class. I want Scorponok as a leader so it doesn’t worry me particularly, but it does seem sad that they may stop making large figures because people wait until they’re discounted.


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Deadpool 2! Yep, have seen it. I very much enjoyed it, really found myself laughing hard at some points. Good mix of action (plenty of arm breaking), humour and even some emotional (ish) bits. Josh Brolin is great as Cable. I'm a bit tempted to get a moped for Deadpool now!

(Also I think I need to make a custom Domino....)

Have hit a milestone - I'm done with buying Marvel 3.75" figures! Now of course, if they decide to release new figures then that's that's an entirely different thing, but I'm done with buying already released figures on eBay (and after getting Inferno this includes Transformers). The cheap figures from China seem to be drying up, so I think it's just in time. Domino just about scraped through. If I come across another character I want to make a custom of it's going to be raiding my parts bin and/or making resin copies. You can all be my witnesses! Jean Grey has the distinction of being my final figure, it’s quite a nice one but naturally she won’t stay as Jean for long.....

Any new stuff is fair game though. Speaking of which, I mentioned I bought some Jurassic World stuff. I painted up a raptor to look more like the original film. Pretty happy! Really enjoying my customising at the moment.

My Marvel collection is comic based, but I rather like popping MCU heads on them. Ant Man and Wasp are about the last figures I want MCU heads for, obviously Hasbro has given up on 3.75”, but I do have 6” figures for these two. They’re getting unmasked Legends figures, which for Scott Lang is cool (I have a Yellowjacket Hank Pym), but what about Janet and Hope? In my A:EMH focused mind, Wasp is Janet. Therefore if I'm going to pop an MCU head on Wasp it should be a Michelle Pfeiffer head! (Which if they did a unmasked Batman Returns Catwoman is actually feasible.) Anyway, I think it depends on how easily accessible the figures are and how much I have to pay to get them.

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I have used the head from First Class Jean Grey to improve my old Jean Grey. The hair colour is spot on and she actually has a sensible sized head.

I have upgraded my Absorbing Man and Drax with Hyperion thighs (painted AM's pupils as well), it always feels a bit risky when snapping legs apart, but I think they look pretty good. Extra articulation is always good.

I've made a second Luke Cage (no genuine Luke Cage parts were used - the head is a custom cast I made). I've also painted Jean Grey into (drumroll please.....), Crystal! I need to sort the belt out, but will probably leave it for the time being.