Huge and green

Have finally bought Multiple Man, I’ve been fairly restrained, but his price seems to be creeping up so thought was time to grab him. Guess other people are also looking to complete X-Factor. He’s the first member of the team I’ve got. Unfortunately I've also got what will hopefully be my last sizeable eBay invoice for a while, damn those blood sucking bastards..... I was probably a bit premature buying Multiple Man but hopefully I can find the money for everything I've preordered.

So the Mark IV turned up, he’s a knock off but some mold flash aside, he’s fine. I guess they might well do the Mark V soon. I was expecting the hips to be god awful, but man, the hips are god awful! He really can’t stand in anyway that doesn't look like he's got a stick up his arse or sticking his butt out. Luckily he came with a display stand!

I fancy putting down a top 10. I want many Legends but a classic Doctor Strange tops the list. Followed by classic Ms. Marvel, Falcon and Red Skull. That would complete a few teams as well as giving me all of the 'main' villains. Falcon seems quite likely given the release of Vulture and the upcoming Disney plus series. Transformers wise, Scorponok tops the list, followed by Victory Saber and Deszaras (complete the G1 leaders) and Thunderclash (because IDW). Surely it is Scorponok's time?! Finally (finally), I want Tygra and Cheetara to complete my Thundercats. I want a Snarf as well but since that would be 11, he can be an accessory for Cheetara. Come on Super 7!

This 10 wants feels a bit different to previous lists, if I had these then what feel like the major gaps would be filled. I previously said that I would have a break from collecting Legends. I am thinking about a break from collecting generally. With Legends, really I just want Dr. Strange, I will make do with the black costume one. With Transformers, it’s about Scorponok. So a really key thing is whether he’s the Titan for next year. The other key thing is what’s happening with Thundercats. I think the end of February (Toy Fair really), will be my cut off for any news. If they announce anything before then then it’s fair game. If not, I won’t hear about it. I realise I'm checking online retailers just in case I miss a preorder, things like Ratchet and Reflector go so quickly. I don't need the stress.

I will continue to listen to podcasts and I'll continue to blog, but I want to stop going to websites and clicking refresh constantly in the hopes of some news. I want to stop making lists of all the things I want to get or wish for. Most importantly I want to stop wishing my life away - I just need this one thing to be happy and complete. I will check back in again at some point but hopefully with my priorities in life a bit clearer.

I've got 80th anniversary Hulk. He is huge, he really towers over the Thing. The headsculpt is amazing. I'm not sure whether the old KO movie Hulk I had was fading, but wow, this thing is bright bright green, it really pops. He has a bit of scuffed paint on his chest, but the quality on the figures is just astounding. He makes a nice centre piece to my A:EMH collection since none of the others are green and are all colours that go well with it. I wonder if such high quality figures had been available in 2009 I might have made a different decision about collecting 3.75". The figures now are statue quality. Very happy to have the figure.

The X-Men wave has finally come in! Beast, Gambit, Jubilee and Forge. That’s three new X-Men and another member of X-Factor. I always liked the 3.75” Beast so despite being the most important, he’s possibly the least exciting. Getting a decent Gambit is great, and getting a properly 90’s Jubilee is really cool, despite her being the annoying one in the cartoon. Getting a Forge seems like a big deal since he never got a 3.75” figure, but if I could only have nine Legends figures, the other three would be in it. Getting a complete set of 90’s cartoon X-Men is one of my collecting goals, and I’m a third of the way closer now!

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More Thundercats! Well, more of the same Thundercats. Actually it suits me as I'm not ready to put down multiples of $45 plus shipping before September. It's all I wanted - a bit of hope that Tygra and Cheetara might be on their way!

I feel that my collecting goals have focused somewhat - I want a set of Thundercats, Turtles, Power Rangers and X-Men in the same scale. Unfortunate they’re all happening at the same time.

Time for a break?

After SDCC it feels like it's going to be an expensive end to the year - four X-Men Legends sets, one Iron Man set, various singles, some Transformers and probably some Turtles. I've been trying to convince myself that I don't need to collect the (90's cartoon) Sinister Six. I have Doc Ock, but need/want Rhino, Shocker, Chameleon, Mysterio and Scorpion. I like the figures of all of those characters except Chameleon (I want a cartoon version!). Mysterio and Scorpion both have little details that I'm not so keen on, that could easily be rectified with a little paint but really don't want to have to do that. Add to that they're mostly all really expensive now and I have very nice 3.75" versions of them which is perfect considering they are mostly minor villains. I accept the same argument for the Masters of Evil (though to be fair Skurge and Crimson Dynamo don't even have modern 6" figures), so need to extend it to the Six. (If I did decide I want them it would be a long time before I could find the money.)

X-Factor has (will have) a strange status in my Legends collection, in that it’s only there because I don’t have those characters (Quicksilver is the sole exception, probably because he's the most important) and costumes in 3.75”. The Masters and Six are not either of those and I have them in 3.75”, need to try and remember that. The Brotherhood would be the same, if they decide to release them.

I am thinking about putting a limit on my Legends collecting, a break really. End of February next year then that’s it, anything that hasn’t gone up for preorder before that date I won’t be getting. The end of February would be 18 months. I’ve realised that Legends collecting is somewhat stressful - the prices increase quickly, figures are released all at the same time. Transformers isn’t like that (though that might be because I've focused so much on Legends), my collecting Transformers is much calmer and controlled because I already have the vast majority of what I want and so it’s just (mostly), the odd figure here and there. With Legends (with any luck) I will have a complete X-Men and Avengers team (TAS and A:EMH), that’s all I need. I will see what happens at Toy Fair but I think putting a line under it would be good. If they haven’t released a classic Doctor Strange by then I will get the black costume version. I think I will also work out how much I’ve spent, always a sobering exercise!

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I’ve gone almost a month since getting anything new, I’m getting withdrawal symptoms. That might motivate me to get on with some customs. I have however paid for Legends Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America and Thor, so it shouldn’t be too much longer. Except Iron Man they are the 80th anniversary versions so look absolutely incredible. Iron Man is the Mark IV from Iron Man 2. He looks good (I like it more than the Mark VI), and it’s the design used for Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. The only issue really is articulation and size (similarly to the Mark I War Machine), but for display, if I use a stand its lack of height should not be so obvious. When they all arrive it will be my A: EMH lineup finished, a milestone worth celebrating! I wouldn’t mind getting a classic Ms. Marvel, but I'm not so concerned about the Season 2 lineup, there are also some costume changes (particularly Ant-Man/Yellowjacket), so it would be more than that if I wanted to go all out.

I’ve also popped in a preorder for Colossus and Juggernaut - I’ve sold a couple of bits so have got a bit more money to play with and I reckon it’s not a set I want to try and pick up in a few months time - I’m guessing it’s quite a weighty set!  I saw a photo online of someone who had replaced the 6” figures with the 3.75” ones. They were really good figures! Anyway, I’m committed now, it will also mean I will have all of the X-Men I want by the end of the year. Whoop.

I have now run out of things to sell, which means I have to be a bit more careful with my spending (I was already being pretty careful) - most of my Legends spending has been funded by selling, but it feels good to have cleared all of that stuff out. In a few cases I was fairly ruthless - the moment a new figure was announced or even hinted at, selling the old version. I've simplified how I think about my collection, I've stopped collecting Masterpiece (just keeping an eye on it at the moment). I've decided not to sell any of my Transformers reissues, and I've got rid of a couple of bits of G1 where the modern version is much better (the Terrorcons for instance), I’m keeping most of them though, they’re what started me off in the first place.

I see preorders are up for Bossfight studios ‘steeds’, would be great to get a ride for Valkyrie and Black Knight, but with shipping and customs it’s going to be almost £70 for each. Definitely haven’t got that sort of spare money sitting round, but they’re one of those weird things that really appeals to me. One day!

Updated versions of all three Powerdashers have been revealed, not quite sure whether I care! I do like the diaclone looking heads, and I haven't got of the weaponisers. I am also keen to get the Omnibots, it would be nice to really complete the 1984/85 lineup (rather than just the cartoon lineup). So many good things being released, I’ve not even mentioned Unicron... Will see how I’m going getting those Legends/Turtles sets.

Jean Grey!!!

I am a convert to 6”, a few years ago I was all about the 3.75”. I would have liked all of my favourite teams in that scale - X-Men, Avengers, Fantastic 4, Power Rangers, Ghostbusters, Thundercats, Turtles.

I did have some 3.75” Power Rangers once, but they weren’t so good. We never quite got any of those Marvel teams completed where all of the team had matching costumes, it would have been great to have got 3.75” Thundercats, Turtles or Ghostbusters, but none of those things happened. We obviously have a great wealth of 3.75” Star Wars figures, but they don’t really constitute a team in the same way.

I am very close to having those Marvel teams exactly the way I want in a 6” scale. I have a nice set of Thundercats in that scale (sadly lacking Cheetara and Tygra). This is my motivation for getting the NECA cartoon style Turtles - they look perfect, the Playmates ones were a bit too big. It’s the reason why the Diamond Real Ghostbusters don’t quite work - they’re 7” scale.

More than that I have a nice White Ranger in 6”, with Tommy headsculpt, which makes me think I should perhaps collect the whole team. I will keep an eye out for Ghostbusters, but otherwise it’s looking good.

When I started collecting Legends I was going to be very strict with multiple versions of characters, but I have to admit if they did un-powered versions of Iceman and Human Torch I’d be very tempted. And pre-Archangel Angel as well. Have just about convinced myself just to get a single Multiple Man.

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August is looking crazy for Marvel Legends, there is so much stuff coming out that I am having to prioritise. Though I really want the Colossus Juggernaut and Iron Man Iron Spider sets (and the Magneto family set), the 80th Hulk, Cap and Thor are my priorities, along with Storm and Nightcrawler. Would it have killed them to release some of it a few months later?! I'm also holding off on Multiple Man and Loki. I can't see myself being in this position again so need to ride the storm, but it's hard not just buying stuff. Apparently we as humans prioritise the here and now over a long term gain, so it's really not easy.

I’m also planning to just get the cartoon NECA Leonardo initially - I can sell off Shredder, but also decide whether they’re for me. I’m a bit tempted by the movie figures as well. Really thought I was done with Turtles!

I have for the longest time, anticipated getting all of the figures I want. I know that will never happen, but I do think I am extremely close all of the ones I really want. With both Transformers and Marvel, there are just a couple of characters. Scorponok for Transformers, and Jean Grey and Doctor Strange for Marvel. It is possible that they could all get announced at SDCC. (I’m setting myself for disappointment!) Then I would have no choice but change my outlook from what I don’t have to appreciating what I do. There’s always something you can tell yourself that you need.

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Well, the first couple of days of SDCC was a bit disappointing, the toy accurate Reflector was as expected, Rung is quite cool (though a bit small), the only other thing that was of interest is the Japanese exclusive dino cassette reissue which I sort of feel I should get because I have the KO, but it’s not very exciting.

The preview breakfast view breakfast brought news of a Mark 85 Iron Man, I had rather thought that because of the delay in announcing it that it might be a special 80th anniversary release with a gauntlet and RDJ head, it had a gauntlet, but one that fits the Hulk BAF. Still, happy to see the figure to complete the armoury and Endgame armoured team (Iron Man, Spider, War Machine and Rescue).

Then, the X-Men announcements happened. Jean Grey!!! I don’t need the Cyclops or Wolverine but I’ll happily take a Logan head. But still, Jean Grey!!! The team will be compete in glorious style. I will have completed one of my major collecting goals. Then, to top it off, Havok, Polaris and Strong Guy, followed by an alternate Wolfsbane head for Moonstar. X-Factor will be compete as well. I only just decided I wanted to collect them but still very happy! In the space of a year they’ve released every single X-Men heroic character I want. Could maybe take a few Brotherhood characters, but I have all of the villains I want as well. Wow.

There’s a new Doom coming as well but otherwise it’s all about the X-Men. Doctor Strange is my sole major want left. Wow again. There’s another rumour we might get some new Thundercat figures, I’d love to get that team finished but I won’t hold my breath. Pink Ranger was confirmed for Power Rangers and there’s a two-pack with Green Ranger with a silver stripe on his head that I don’t quite understand because I’m not that big a fan. But still, good to see.

I wasn’t feeling too excited about phase 4 of the MCU, but Fantastic 4 and Blade are something to look forward to, plus will be good to see Mandarin done properly. Hope we get a comic Legends figure of him. Overall, a great SDCC. Jean Grey!!!

For Lost Light reasons

As you will undoubtedly know, I’ve worked out exactly what figures I need. So about that.... There is a Polaris and Havok set rumoured. I previously decided I didn’t need it, they’re both fairly minor characters. But then I saw people discussing online which Polaris costume they hoped it was. Something clicked. In the 90s X-Men cartoon, X-Factor appear, they have Polaris and Havok as well as Quicksilver and Forge. I need Quicksilver because he’s an Avenger (briefly) in the MCU, and I need Forge because he’s an X-Man in Wolverine and the X-Men. Wouldn’t it be neat to link these characters together by collecting the rest of X-Factor? It makes sense on many levels, Polaris also goes with Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. Havok goes with Cyclops for some sibling displays. They do double service. Havok could be in a First Class display. Add to this that I don’t have Forge, Polaris, Wolfsbane or Strong Guy in 3.75” form, and I don’t have Havok in his classic 90s costume, it all makes sense! Just need Multiple Man and I’m on my way. I will resist getting multiple Multiple Men (since I did that in 3.75”).

This is an idea which works, the other X-Men related characters I have considered are Captain Britain, Psylocke, Dazzler, Banshee and Alpha Flight. Captain Britain works in Excalibur (he is Excalibur for me really), Psylocke works in the Blue team, but they don’t work anywhere else (although they do work together as siblings). Also I have them in 3.75” form. Dazzler works as part of the X-Men team in Pryde of the X-Men, but nowhere else. Banshee with the First Class lineup, but nowhere else. (Banshee stands alone in this list as the only character currently without a modern figure.) With Alpha Flight, Sasquatch works as part of the Hulk’s supporting cast, but given I’m quite keen not to recreate my 3.75” display, it again doesn’t make sense (I would like 3.75” Dazzler and Banshee though.) So after all that, I need Multiple Man, and hope we get that rumoured set, as well as Wolfsbane and Strong Guy. I have now started a ‘don’t need’ list, characters which I’ve convinced myself I don’t need! It's quite therapeutic.

Another area I have spent a fair amount of time thinking about is villain teams - the Brotherhood, the Sinister Six and the Masters of Evil. Mostly because of the new Scorpion - he looks so good. A quick check of eBay shows expensive some of the Spider-Man villains are. Also, if I’m going to get Chameleon I’d rather the 90’s version rather than the suit. I will pass! For the Masters, the recent version of Abomination doesn’t work for me and he’s the main attraction, so will pass on them as well. The Brotherhood on the other hand, like X-Factor, I don’t have (non-custom) 3.75” versions of them combined with them being in my favourite cartoon ever. They’re in and luckily they haven’t even made them (yet), so no extra trip to eBay needed!

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Apeface, Spinister and Crosshairs! And Astrotrain. I think this is the most exciting announcement in a long time. Where to start. Okay, firstly, three characters I don’t have, secondly, three characters from 1987/88. The last line to have so many characters from that era was Titans Return, which I wonder whether these toys are leftover concepts from that line - we had a Apeface titanmaster (but no body), we got an Astrotrain so maybe this was a design that wasn’t used. And Crosshairs was heavily rumoured, especially given we got the Decepticon targetmasters. (Though some of that was actually about Orion Pax). I’m torn on whether that mold would have been a better choice. Bulk wise I think Crosshairs is somewhere in between. I also quite liked the idea of making all of the ‘87 targetmasters headmasters since it was fairly arbitrary in the cartoon who became what.

The reveal of Apeface and Crosshairs means we are down to eight more characters to complete the US Headmasters lineup (four Throttlebots, two Autobot targetmasters, one Horrorcon and Scorponok). I think the rumours of Crosshairs in Titans Return have only served to fuel my excitement for that character. It’s also an extra character for my Lost Light shelf.

Spinister is also very exciting (also for Lost Light reasons), with Needlenose the likely winner of the recent fan poll, I’m so glad I picked up Quake to complete the trio. He helps complete my Mayhem Attack Squad. So it’s only Astrotrain who I’m not too worried about, the thing that could have swung it was the train mode being a more classic steam engine. Also, I like my trio of triplechangers from Titans Return (such a good line!).

The prospect for more 1987/88 figures is looking good, Pointblank from Punch/Counterpunch, Slapdash from Mirage, and a new dune buggy mold for Sureshot and Joyride. Target and Powermasters done!

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I have got Legends War Machine and Rescue. I’m going to try and collect all of the MCU armours, regardless of who is/was using them. War Machine is big so he doesn’t have a BAF piece. He looks great, I guess given I like Transformers it’s not surprising that I like a very mecha looking action figure. I like the matte finish. As always he’s very well weaponed up, it’s a great shame we didn’t get the Mark IV (or V), I’m still hopeful we might get a new and improved Mark I at some point as that’s still my favourite, we also never had a unmasked Don Cheadle head so perhaps they’ve got something lined up. Bring on the Iron Man Mark 85! Rescue looks really good though she does have a very long neck, not so bad for this helmeted head but I saw on line the Pepper Potts head is too high on it. All round looking good though.

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I've spent a bit of time studying the hallowed G1 scale charts for Transformers. I had already identified that I would like a deluxe based Devastator, voyager (or leader) Dinobots and seekers, a larger Sky Lynx. One thing I hadn't really considered was a larger Broadside. Commander class Broadside would be great!

Thinking about scale, it occurred to me that I haven't compared Siege Soundwave to Device Label Blaster. Size wise they're a good match, though Blaster is a lot more bulky with much more kibble. I'd be very reluctant to get rid of Blaster - he's a working USB hub, but also he turns into a laptop. That's pretty novel. I can ignore the kibble, the main issue for me is the difference in detail, and specifically the battle damage on the chest door for Soundwave. I'm sure there will be a new Blaster at some point, but at the moment I feel I would rather have a Soundwave without the extra detailing.

One week until SDCC!

Damn near perfect

I’m trying to reduce the amount of stuff I buy. Looking at my patterns of spending, it tends to be months where I buy stuff I hadn’t planned to buy where I spend a lot. Specifically, stuff from eBay, stuff which is more expensive than when it was available at retail. I think buying stuff from eBay is the symptom not the problem. When Toy Fair and various comic cons happen they announce toys. I need to get better at working out what I want at that point. That means not ignoring that little voice at the back of my head (‘that looks cool’). But principally, is there anything which if released might change my view on that item?

Legends Rogue was released in 2016, in an ideal world I would have asked myself ‘what if they release all of the 90’s X-Men?’. It’s not easy, but it’s the way to save money in the long run. (As it happens I only paid double for her compared to the quadruple she’s now going for.) It takes a bit of imagination, but worth it. I’m now trying to work out whether the future MCU films might change my view on what I want - difficult when they haven’t been announced.

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I went to see Endgame again! First time I’ve seen a film twice since (weirdly), Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. I was becoming a bit obsessed so it could only help, and I think it has. There’s a bit of an RDJ voiceover at the end, it should be a celebration, and it’s true, it should be. We can’t live the same lives forever, things always have to change. I was driving this morning and it just occurred to me that all of the changes in my life over the 11 years of the MCU seem a bit unlikely, I can’t quite believe they’ve happened. So Endgame, my favourite film ever, it’s the end of the journey. But if I can get a little display of Marvel Legends Mark 85 Iron Man, Mark VI War Machine, Rescue and Iron Spider then that would be a sweet way to mark that end.

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My excitement for X-Men Marvel Legends is building, still waiting for Beast, Gambit, Jubilee and Forge, as well as really looking forward to Nightcrawler, Storm and Mister Sinister. Hopefully a preorder for Colossus and Juggernaut will pop up soon, and I will be able to put in an order for Magneto, and then wow! Almost all of the X-Men!

I saw a new picture of the 80th anniversary Cap, and that headsculpt is spot on. I thought the same when I first saw it, but when trying to prioritise everything, decided replacing my vintage wave Cap was not needed. Sadly, I think it is. Part of my thinking, is how dark the blue is. In both the 90s Spider-Man cartoon and Avengers: EMH, Spider-Man is a darker blue than Captain America (in A: EMH Spider-Man is almost in black). My current setup is the vintage wave figures which reflects the 90's cartoon very well (Cap being almost sky blue). But, in A: EMH, Cap's costume is closer to the 80th anniversary figure, as well as it having sculpted scales and an infinitely better headsculpt(s). In this new photo, the blue does not look so dark, but regardless, I've decided the comparison between the two is less important than each character matching their respective (main) series they are in.

I've said on many occasions that I'm not going to customise my Legends figures, nor buy any with the dodgy leg swivel joint. I'm going to make an exception for Wasp. The (TAS) X-Men are the key focus of my collection. Spider-Man comes in very close after that. Then it's the (A:EMH) Avengers, with the Fantastic 4 bringing up the rear. Those 22 characters need to be perfect, and I think popping the vintage line Wasp headsculpt on the older modern figure is the way to achieve that. Along with the 80th Cap (and the new Hulk and Thor) I will have a perfect Avengers lineup. (And with good a new Jean Grey, all 22 will be damn near perfect.)

I've just received the new Hasbro MMPR White Ranger. I previously had the Figuarts figure which looked great with its pearlescent paint, but was a strange size compared to most of my toys, plus it always seemed a bit smooth - the legs particularly, no muscle definition, nor any evidence of it being fabric. I think also though, I've always had a slightly issue with high end toys. I can't quite explain it, they look great certainly but the unease they give me really takes away the enjoyment. Figuarts aren't that expensive, but more than £20 Legends figures (which is what this is, just with a different license). So he looks great, glad to have a DJF head for the classic helmet tucked under the arm look. Bring on the green ranger! (As a random aside I realise I don't have many white figures, need Storm!)

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I've had a trip to London and visited my place of worship (Forbidden Planet). I love the place, I normally do buy something, but thought if anything it might have been a Siege Prowl. Nothing doing in that department, but it was amazing how many things they had which I bought online for a bit extra - they had a fine selection of Legends (including Forge who I've got a preorder for). They had the Hulkbuster set as well all of the second wave of Vintage figures, including Vision who I paid a bit more for, but they also had Wasp. For a good price (£15.99), so yep, I bought her. She looks great! Wasp now has a very special status - the only Legends figure I've customised. And I think, the only figure I ever will.

Another set I saw in FP was Siege Laserbeak and Ravage, but I had already ordered it from Amazon last week. It's the only set from the line I've bought which is smaller than Deluxe, but given I have Soundwave and collect Ravages, it was needed. I think there's a general trend that Laserbeaks are better than Ravages, and this is no different. This won’t be my ‘classics’ Laserbeak or Ravage it's a bit small, but it’s a fine set.

Opening stuff

I have opened stuff! And looked at stuff, and done some stuff. I have no more stuff to open. I've had 30th anniversary Jetfire sitting in a cupboard for several years now, so I opened him. Time has not been so kind to Classics Jetfire, and so figured it was to time to make the switch. Despite being in a cupboard he has already started to yellow slightly (remarkably the chrome in still in tact). He's a fine figure and I have no plans to replace him with the new Siege version.

I had a bit of a play with Legends Fortress Maximus, popped his noggin on and everything. Wow, he is a good looking figure, I can't quite believe I almost passed on him. I would prefer a green chest door though (it's only a hundred odd quid for a Hasbro version so I'll probably just pick one of those up........).

I also opened Legends Dai Atlas. My first impressions weren't great, the head didn't seem to want to pop on, the waist was a bit wobbly and of course, the distinct lack of calves. He has warmed on me though, the blue, orange and white is rather nice (is he Dutch I wonder?), and he comes with two rather good deluxes. I will need the Shockwave Lab filler pieces though.

So all in all, I've been appreciating the figures I have, as well as Jetfire, Fortress and Dai Atlas, Soundwave and the Hulkbuster have spent the day on my desk.

I have a sense that if I could just make it to the end of the year my finances will be okay. There's a phenomenal amount of Marvel Legends coming out at the moment, but once I've got the figures I want (and this is true for Transformers as well), there's not many more characters I want. It seems pretty unlikely they'd put everything I want out in one year, so surely next year will be easier to manage? There is of course a reasonable chance of a scorpion themed Titan that I might be interested in, but other than that, not too many large purchases? I know I sound like a broken record but if I can avoid finding any other lines to be become invested in then surely the spending goes down.

At the same time I'm wondering what will happen with the MCU, it sounds like there will be an announcement at SDCC. From the rumours though, I'm not sure whether I will be interested in Shang-Chi and the Eternals. (Fin Fang Foom as a villain would be incredible though.) Mind you, I wasn't interested in Guardians and I was pretty wrong about that - I think it's the only MCU film I haven't seen at the cinema.

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I’ve just had another fairly horrific invoice from eBay, really feels like they’re out to cripple the little man! It’s an extra incentive to make sure I know what I want ahead of release. Avoid buying there if possible, but also selling. For low value items, it’s really not worth it and I’m almost only selling them so they don’t go in a bin, particularly BAF parts which can’t go to a charity shop. Sadly it is the only realistic way to recoup so of the value of items you don’t want any more, but ouch!!!

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I have been changing the way to I organise my collection, but mostly how I think about it rather than any physical change. For example, there are a good number of figures I bought for my Marvel 3.75" collection, which can do double service for my 6" collection. Ant-Man and the Wasp are good examples, but also Galactus, Sentinels, Fin Fang Foom, Dormammu, Apocalypse, Mojo and MODOK.

This is especially true for my Transformers. For about the last 10 years I've thought of my collection as being several distinct collections - G1 reissues, G1 primatives (animal based transformers), Classics, WST, Masterpiece, Grimlocks and Ravages (G+R), Beast Wars and G1 leaders/citybots. I don't have original Dinobot, Cheetor, Rhinox, Waspinator and Rattrap figures - I use the Universe/Generations versions, so really Beast Wars is a subset of Classics rather than a separate group. The G+R group is comprised of G1, Classics, WST, Masterpiece and Beast Wars so those figures have always done double duty.

Beyond that, more recently. I was collecting Masterpiece figures of the 1984 cast. However, I don't like the new cartoon orientated direction, so I got rid of Ironhide, Ratchet and Sunstreaker. The remaining characters I realised were almost all in my reissues (apart from Wheeljack). And so although I don't have them on display, I merged the collections. If I ever have the space I will have the reissue in altmode with the Masterpiece in robot mode next to it. I might pick up the toy accurate Megatron, and I will consider any future figures, but otherwise I'm very happy with how I've got it organised now. (I'm going to display Wheeljack with Perceptor.)

I've now taken this idea further and got rid of some of my G1 primatives on the basis that Classics has provided better versions of those characters. Mostly I have kept the G1 figures, but the Terrorcons?! They're not good, the Power of the Primes figures on the other hand are. The Seacons similarly, we should be getting updated figures soon. (I also have the BWII versions so don't really need two sets.) Trypticon is another one, the Titan figure works perfectly with my Primatives, but the G1 figure is now part of my WST collection (recreating the 1986 box art) so is still needed. I've got the G1 Countdown and Skystalker plus the four smaller micromaster sets as part of my WST setup, I got rid of G1 Omega Supreme as he didn't quite fit in.

I started to arrange my collection in this cross-line way with my collection of G1 leaders - apart from Dai Atlas I had every leader (Optimus, Rodimus, Fortress, Ginrai, Star Saber, Megatron, Galvatron, Scorponok, Overlord and Deszaras). I slowly sold them off. Optimus and Megatron are reissues (see above), Scorponok and Deszaras are Primatives (though I think I'd keep them anyway, especially as Scorponok was donated by a mate). Ginrai is the Powermaster Prime toy from my childhood (with God Bomber armour), so I'm not getting rid of that, Fortress is the biggest (heaviest) transformer ever, I can't quite part with him. I got rid of the rest, but I'm hoping that we get a Classics Star Saber and I will be able to put the collection back together (I have Titans Return Galvatron and Overlord). Even better if we get Scorponok so I can have a completely modern incarnation, more compete than before with Dai Atlas.

I suppose the upshot of all of this is that I'm moving towards a collection where I get what I want, and starting to move away from getting figures because they complete something. I think a collection is a series of ever evolving ideas, with sub-collections that overlap, but sometimes there are stand alone figures, just because they're amazing.

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Mystique has arrived! Really wish I'd made a decision to buy her when preorders were still available, but she's here now and didn't cost too much. At the same time, Storm has been announced for the vintage X-Men line! Yessssss!!! (I've cancelled my plans to do a custom 3.75" figure.) But once again, it's with a release date of August, oh dear good god. Hasbro wants me properly bankrupt before the Summer's out (I suspect eBay might be in on it as well). Back to Mystique, she looks great (I kinda knew she would). I am getting into some serious X-Men nostalgia now which is strange given my preoccupation with all things Avengers over the last few years.

I think I've drawn the line, I'm not getting Psylocke (again), and I don't want to get the rumoured Havok and Polaris. I wouldn't get a Banshee either. I think they're the only characters who are anywhere near consideration. I would like a 3.75" Banshee and Polaris and have given some thought to customs, but for 6", aside from First Class (the film), they are (mostly) just cameo characters in the various cartoons. Villain wise, Omega Red, Silver Samurai and Sauron are all tempting (especially Sauron - I've got a 3.75" custom planned). But I don't think they're important enough, they're mostly one episode characters, rather than reoccurring. Finally, the Brotherhood, I've decided against getting characters who are in villain teams, but not much of a credible threat by themselves, so will pass on them as well (if they get made). It's harder to pass on characters when they don't have 3.75" figures, I have made customs of the Brotherhood though.

This leaves me needing (badly!) Jean Grey. And maybe Emma Frost (similarly to Storm, only in her white costume). I can't remember if I said but I have some 'rules' around Legends. Ball jointed/thigh swivel legs only. And no customising. Actually as I wrote that I remember stating Iron Man was an exception, so I did say it. I'm going to pass on Iceman for the time being, partly because of money, but also I prefer him a bit more blue, and I quite like the spiky hair look. I wouldn’t mind a non-powered up version mind. But wow, a couple more sets this year and my X-Men lineup will be very close to finished. Storm, yay!

Dammit!!!

I ordered blue Swoop. Dammit. I blame Hasbro, though I can understand why they’ve gone with a bog standard grey plastic rather than silver if they’re not making all of the Dinobots. But you expect better for a premium release.

Well, even if they had used the proper silver plastic it’s still nice to be able to keep the gold beak to match the Dreamwave Dinobot poster (which I have in my study).

Start again on giving up the eBay addiction...... Actually buying a second version of a character is something I'm desperately trying not to get into with Marvel Legends, turning figures into £40 figures is not a good idea if you can help it. With Marvel Universe it was part of the fun. Swoop though, is a Dinobot and therefore I have to have the best version possible.

Transformers is generally somewhere between Marvel Universe and Legends. I have been eyeing up the United version of Grapple for ages, generally I’m all about the toy accuracy, but for some reason the cartoon yellow/orange head appeals. I’d like a green chest for Fortress Maximus, but for both of those characters I can’t justify the cost, Swoop I can.

I opened up Professor X. I am very hyped about Legends X-Men figures now - the inner packaging has a picture of the 90’s cartoon team. If that’s not a hint about Jean Grey and Storm then I don’t know what is! Becoming hyped about X-Men I have reconsidered which characters I need. I am happy with my actual X-Men lineup, but doing some thinking around the villains, have concluded I need Mystique. I want a Brotherhood lineup, given I have (or will have) Magneto, Juggernaut and Sabretooth, I feel Mystique is a good addition since she’s a credible threat by herself, has appeared in most X-Men films and cartoons and is a rare female villain. I’m now banging my head against the table again as I consider eBay again. Dammit.

What about (white) Emma Frost? I’m going to add her as she was a main character in Wolverine and the X-Men, and Mister Sinister as well since he was the other key villain in the 90’s cartoon (as it happens the preorders have just popped up for him and Nightcrawler - yay!). I saw a rumour for Havok and Polaris Legends figures, for a moment I was sold. I then thought about my X-Men collection, I'm very happy with it. Those two characters have never been X-Men in anything I've seen or read, or in fact been of any importance.

I'm a bit torn generally on villain teams comprised of relatively less important characters - the regular Brotherhood, Sinister 6 and the Masters of Evil. I started investigating, but the prices for the Sinister 6 are incredible. I am happy with the characters I've already selected cover all of the key villains in the 90’s Spider-Man and X-Men cartoons as well as Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Really hope I don't revisit this decision. I have randomly added Dracula though, if they did a long hair armoured version of him, like Avengers Assemble, I would be unable to resist. Have to be honest with myself!

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Here's Swoop, looking good!