Respective Cats

It’s great to see the pictures of the next wave of Thundercats, am surprised how happy I feel! The Thundercats (like the Dinobots) are one of those very special teams to me as I had a good number of them as a kid - Lion-O, Tygra and Wilykat (Grimlock, Slag and Sludge). The result being that I have a great fondness for those characters, but the ones I didn’t have - Panthro, Cheetara, Wilykit and Snarf (and Snarl and Swoop) seem so much more exciting because I remember looking at them in catalogues, and on shelves and wanting them. The idea of having a modern complete set of Thundercats is very exciting!

The listings for the Hasbro Ghostbusters have been released, placeholder names, but exciting none the less. I’m hoping for Real Ghostbuster figures, but I guess figures from the first movie are most likely. I don’t know how Hasbro normally approaches toylines with a few main characters but with multiple costumes. Perhaps down the line.

The Thundercats and Ghostbusters listings plus the Transformers leaks are setting us up for a very exciting Toy Fair. Unfortunately it's a bit later this year - 22nd February.

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I have started organising my collection, I bought some big flat Ikea boxes and little baggies. I started with my Marvel Legends, I originally planned to put down a layer of bubble wrap with the figures on top and any accessories in a bag, but this had two problems. Firstly it didn’t make best use of the space, the only way to make to utilise it was to have another layer of figures, but then it is no longer makes it possible to find figures on the bottom easily negating the reason for the flat boxes in the first place. Secondly, I didn't give any thought to the type of plastic. Some plastic bags can cause other plastics to break down - I need 'acid free' plastic. (This is also true for comic storage.) Polypropylene is what's needed. Bubble wrap thankfully also seems to be okay (and in fact some of my figures have been bubble wrapped for almost 20 years).

So the answer is to get polypropylene bags for each individual figure. I can then put accessories and instructions in the same bag, along with a note saying the figure and the line it's from. No need for layers. I will the record in a spreadsheet a list of all of the bags. One bag constitutes one toy for counting purposes. This is going to be quite an undertaking! I've ordered a job lot in several different sizes - hopefully the larger bags should work for Transformers.

It’s nice doing something with my figures, even if it is putting them in bags. I’m writing little notes to say what the figure is and what line/wave it came out in. This has helped me appreciate a few things, such as I have a surprising amount of exclusive figures, especially Walgreens.

Wasp is the only custom, though given she was previously part of my 3.75” collection which I’ve customised extensively so maybe not that surprising. Dormammu, Groot and Star Lord were also part of my 3.75” collection (confusingly Star Lord as a Groot custom). Select Groot is the only non-6” Legends figure (Mark III Iron Man and Mark I War Machine are from the Iron Man and Iron Man 2 lines). Ant-Man and Apocalypse also do double duty but arrived after I started collecting 6”.

As with all collections there are good and bad figures. I think Nick Fury and Blade are both a bit average, if they do a new Blade when the film comes out I could be tempted.

My main resolution for the year is to get organised, but I think a secondary one will be to reduce my eBay/impulse purchases. I will keep track through the year. Will aim for less than 10. One of the things on my backlog is filler parts for Legends Dai Atlas, I will have to get them from eBay but since I’m not sure where else I could get them I’m not sure that it should count.

I’ve started writing out the little notes for my 3.75” figures, working my way through the wiki page. As I’ve gone through each wave I remember when I got certain figures, some I remember my excitement when they were announced. It all seems like a long time ago though, 2009 until 2017. The odd wave where I got (and kept) every single figure.

It’s a little different to Legends as I troop built certain figures, does that count as one or several figures? A few where I’ve customised, but got pieces from two figures (like Invisible Woman), is that one or two?! Making up counting rules is not easy!

Though it was never my favourite as a kid, I always enjoyed He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and had a few of the toys. Including Battle Cat sans any armour bought from a jumble sale.

I like the idea of having He-Man and Skeletor with their respective cats, but not enough to buy the 6” classic versions, and especially not enough to buy them for huge prices they go for it. But it was in the back of my mind to get 3.75” versions if possible. In addition, I’d like a Skeletor to go with my ‘villains’ collection (he and M. Bison I feel are the two main missing characters).

When I saw that Super 7 are doing ReAction versions of those characters it got me thinking. With the cats from ReAction, maybe it’s time to start working out a custom He-Man and Skeletor.

Things seem to be ticking along nicely, Legends Doom is on the way!

Cherry picking

Endgame was the event of the year for me, absolutely amazing. I enjoyed it so much I went to see it twice. My favourite film ever! Also went to see the Last Skywalker on the opening day, really good, though I think I’ve had enough Star Wars for now. I would like a nice Jedi 3.75” Rey figure, might have to check out the Vintage line one.

Toy wise has been great with Marvel Legends (mostly playing catch up), my favourite figure from the year is Nightcrawler, slightly biased though as he’s my favourite character. Honourable for Endgame War Machine. Transformers Siege has also been great, I’m very happy with the figures I’ve got. I think there are four categories of figures, ones for customs (Sideswipe/Prowl), ones because they're a better version of a character (Hound/Mirage/Springer) ones that are a much better version (Ironhide/Ratchet/Reflector/Megatron/Soundwave/Shockwave) and new characters (that haven't had a new figure since G1) - Flywheels, Crosshairs, Spinister and Apeface. Sort of a sliding scale of necessity. Also the latter group sets up me needing Snapdragon, Pointblank and Sureshot (more than before).

I think Ironhide/Ratchet/Crosshairs has been my favourite figure (mold). Have dabbled with a bit of the new Power Rangers line as well. I bought Fortress Maximus from Titans Return, so with Scorponok confirmed. I feel I’m in a good place.

Having said that I was doing well not buying random things, I have just bought Legends (comic) Gamora, the Guardians are complete! Sort of, would still like a Phyla-Vell, but unless she's in the next Captain Marvel film it's really unlikely. All of the teams, Avengers, X-Men, X-Factor, Illuminati, Guardians, main villains (unofficial team) are just a figure or two away from completion. The Inhumans need several (especially Crystal and Lockjaw), but Fantastic 4 are complete. I now have all of the figures I want that have been release, Kingpin is sort of an exception, but I reckon he'll get a standalone release eventually and indeed, there is a rumour to that effect.

Paying for Gamora has caused me to think over my list of things I've been putting off getting - my shopping backlog. Most of them are 3.75" related, and so I had a read over a few 3.75" threads and have got a renewed excitement for the scale. Found a good deal on a Hiya Predator figure (my previous Amazon order ended up cancelled). Had a look for a good deal on Rey as well. The other thing I’ve been putting off, but now have renewed enthusiasm for is the Vitruvian Hacks horses. Will need to save up.

Super 7 have shown/hinted at wave 2 of their Thundercats figures, Tygra will be a must  have for me. Think Mumm-Ra is as well - I’m not going to get any of the villains for Turtles or Power Rangers, but Thundercats is a bit different. Mostly because I had Mumm-Ra as a kid, but also because I have Rita, Shredder and the mummy version of Mumm-Ra as (custom) 3.75” figures in my collection already, so adding this version of Mumm-Ra makes sense.

If Tygra and Mumm-Ra are in wave 2 then I just need Cheetara, ghost Jaga and Snarf. Little bit tempted by the new Thundercats - Pumyra et al, but I didn’t know who they were as a kid so think should pass.

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I have Gamora, it's a great looking figure but I can see why she didn't get a general retail release. My main (and only real) issue is the colours, in that Entertainment Earth boxset, Star Lord and Rocket are in the 2008 Guardians colours, would it have killed them to do the same with Gamora (and Drax for that matter)? Swap the gold for red, dark green for dark blue. The layout is spot on, just need to switch the colours!

I have a New Years resolution, organise my collection! I think I've had that as a resolution before, but this time, a different focus. I've always tried to put as much of my collection on display as possible, the result being crowded shelves where you can't really see most of the figures. My aim is to store the figures in a way where I can easily find and look at any figure. A filing system of sorts for solid objects. Though I still intend to have some stuff on display, the idea being that everything will have its own space in the box. I'm going to get several of the large flat Ikea boxes so that things won't get lost at the bottom. And have each figure next to its instructions and accessories.

I've started with my Legends figures as most of them are in a large deep box. Wow, I've got some great figures! Such a good selection of characters, though initially I was quite undecided on whether to get some of them, there are no characters I want to get rid of. I think the weakest is Venom, I'd be happy to replace him, that buck just isn't great. I can't see myself needing or wanting to replace any of the others. That buck is particularly bad for him, just about okay for Sabretooth, fine for Captain Britain and Luke Cage, and actually pretty good for Bishop. I think if there's a bit of kibble then it's fine, but otherwise you just can't seem to get an authentic look out of it.

I've been thinking about figure replacement. I have a collecting philosophy of one figure per character (except Grimlock, Ravage, Iron Man and associated characters). If a new better figure is released then I've slowly updated. Particularly if the new version is a more appropriate size class or in a costume I'm more familiar with. But when is good, good enough? When does the cost and inconvenient of replacement become too much? I've resisted replacing Omega Supreme and Jetfire. I also have resisted the crowd funded Unicron. Thinking about Omega Supreme and Unicron, I like that the versions I have are Unicron trilogy repaints. I actually bought original versions of both as presents for others so I feel a significant attachment to them.

With Siege I have replaced the odd Classics and Universe figure. The main ones left in those lines to be replaced are Hot Rod and Cyclonus, who in my mind have yet to be bettered. With the coneheads I'm sticking with Classics/Botcon, with the Lamborghini and Datsun 'bros', I have stuck with the Universe figures. With Starscream and Wheeljack revealed in Earthrise, coneheads and Sunstreaker are likely on their way. I'm sort of hoping they don't look too good! With my re-organisation of my figures I intend to place the Ark crew figures together. Do they work as a group of 18 toys from across 13 years? The style has evolved from G1 reimagined to faithful updates. If certain figures don't fit in then I could be tempted to update, or possibly even go back.

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There have been some more rumours for Earthrise, I thought I would see how many figures are left on my want list. (Assuring the rumours are true.) Turns out there are 50 which is a nice a round number. In addition, it’s the end of the decade and it’s been 10 years since I started this blog and I used to be rather keen on a ‘wants’ list. In January 2010 I put down a list of 50 so what better time to see how I did and put down another 50.

20 of the 50 were 3.75" comic book figures, but I will assess them on both a 3.75" and 6" basis. 14 were Marvel, for 3.75" we got them all apart from Kingpin and Pyro (I made customs though), 6" wise, I haven't got Elektra or Sandman but we have figures of them all apart from Pyro (again). Good job Hasbro! Six were Batman villains, I collected several in 6" scale, I think (but am struggling to remember), I got them all apart from Poison Ivy. In 3.75", I got Mr. Freeze and Bane though I heavily customised the latter. I have plans for customs for the other four. One day...... So not bad, my main observation is that when Hasbro stopped making 3.75" Marvel figures I switched to 6" and have almost lost interest in Batman. Strange.

The 30 Transformers on the list was a bit of clean sweep, every single one was made, though I never got the Botcon Sunstorm and so still have my custom, and my Huffer is an iGear figure rather than the Legends Prime repaint. So the 50 figures I want (all Transformers):

1. Star Saber (Leader)
2. Victory Leo (God Bomber equivalent)
3. Deszaras (Leader)
4. Thunderclash (Leader)
5. Pointblank (Deluxe remold of Punch/Counterpunch)
6. Sureshot  (Deluxe remold of Mirage)
7. Joyride (Deluxe remold of Mirage)
8. Slapdash (Deluxe remold of Mirage)
9. Goldbug (Legend)
10. Wideload (Legend)
11. Freeway (Legend)
12. Searchlight (Legend)
13. Rollbar (Legend)
14. Venom (Legend)
15. Barrage (Legend)
16. Ransack (Legend)
17. Overdrive (Deluxe)
18. Camshaft (Deluxe)
19. Downshift (Deluxe)
20. Eject (Legend)
21. Minerva (Deluxe)
22. Hosehead (Deluxe)
23. Waverider (Primemaster)
24. Stranglehold (Primemaster)
25. Toraizer (Titanmaster)
26. Blacker (Voyager remold of Onslaught)
27. Laster (Deluxe remold of Sunstreaker)
28. Braver (Deluxe)
29. Leozack (Voyager remold of Starscream)
30. Jallguar (Deluxe remold of Combiner Wars Drag Strip)
31. Deathcobra (Deluxe remold of Vortex)
32. Grimlock (Leader)
33. Slag (Voyager)
34. Sludge (Leader)
35. Snarl (Voyager)
36. Swoop (Voyager)
37. Paddles (Voyager)
38. Hook (Deluxe)
39. Mixmaster (Deluxe)
40. Longhaul (Deluxe)
41. Bonecrusher (Deluxe)
42. Scrapper (Deluxe)
43. Scavenger (Deluxe)
44. Airrazor (Deluxe)
45. Beast Wars Scorponok (Deluxe)
46. Cheetor (Deluxe
47. Tarantulas (Deluxe)
48. Dinobot (Voyager)
49. Terrorsaur (Voyager)
50. Tigatron (Voyager)

That is quite literally every figure I could think of, it completes just about every possible set, still a couple of gaps from characters who appeared in the Japanese G1 cartoon but I've tried to keep it realistic - make use of remolds where possible. I want new versions of the Dinobots (bigger) and Constructicons (smaller). I plan to have a go at some customs of the Omnibots. I'd like reissues of the Trainbots and Multiforce, but looks like we are getting Trainbots of some sort and the Multiforce have already been reissued. Will see how I did in 2029!!!

There is a line I wrote in 2010, I long for the days where I’m cherry picking from the Transformers and Marvel lines, that’s what I’m doing, I’m where I wanted to be. Happy New Year!

Large flat boxes

I've opened Ratchet. I knew I was already going to like him, but he's great, such a good mold! The arm transformation is somewhat reminiscent of G1 Inferno/Grapple in the way the arms tuck behind the cab for vehicle mold. He's fantastically chunky, I would possibly like an IDW red head and hands, but that aside, very happy. If I'm going to get one mold three times then I'm happy to make it this one. Bring on Crosshairs!

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I ordered the Legends Havok and Polaris set. I wasn't sure how much I wanted this, but I'm actually really excited. Havok's Universe figure didn't do much for me due to the costume, but this one looks great. Polaris also looks really good, suitably 90's. I think if Havok had been available in this costume in 3.75" then I wouldn't be collecting X-Factor in 6" form (I would still got Quicksilver and Forge though). Now where's Jean?

Have paid for Crosshairs, Spinister and Apeface. The 1987/88 characters are where my enthusiasm for Transformers is at now. Two characters closer to completing the Rebirth lineup!

I’ve also put in an order (no preorders left) for Snaptrap and Skalor. Really excited about Piranacon, he looks great. Along with Raiden he’s the last combiner I really want a figure of (very intrigued about the MP Raiden - a remold of Titans Devastator, or a smaller more detailed figure? Or something else?), though I reckon Takara might give the Victory combiners a go as with the possible exception of Landcross, they wouldn't even really need to do much remolding.

This combined with almost getting all of the Legends I want and Scorponok in his way, there doesn’t feel like much left. That said, I’m starting again with Turtles, Ghostbusters and Power Rangers, so will be going for a bit!

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Have got a preorder in for Jean Grey and Winter Soldier. I suddenly feel quite organised, also with not buying Jean now I can order the second set of Seacons (I’ve got an order for the third set). In terms of Legends there’s only Strong Guy that I’m anticipating but that preorders haven’t gone up for yet.

Thinking about what I want to achieve with my collection next year, I actually want to get everything boxed up in large flat boxes so I can get to things easily - more easily than standing on a chair and peering at the back of my shelves. Will be good to get all the figures, accessories and instructions all in one place. Will try and get going in that over Christmas if I get time.

What a year, I’ve more or less completed Marvel Legends X-Men, Fantastic 4, Avengers and Spider-Man. I got a Titan Fort Max as well, all paid for by selling loads of stuff on eBay. At the same time as really cutting down on unplanned eBay purchases. Pretty successful! Hoping Crosshairs, Spinister and Apeface turn up before the big day. Happy Christmas everyone!

Iron Men

Managed to nab a Ratchet: one popped into stock so immediately checked it out. Upon refreshing they had all gone. That does somehow make it more exciting, but I think it is somewhat unnecessary - why on earth was Ratchet an exclusive? For me Ratchet is a top tier character. I think Crosshairs should have been the exclusive and Ratchet in a regular wave. Still, very excited to get him! As a neat little homage to the Universe figure he's looking down in the package.....

I've also picked up a Prowl, great little figure - very good homage to the G1 toy, I was almost a bit surprised when his arms didn't tuck over each other for car mode. I want to use him for some customising, but for the time being will just appreciate the figure.

I used to keep a very comprehensive spreadsheet of my collection (and of my spending), but haven't updated it for years. I've got plans to put most of my collection into storage, I've generally organised my Classics Transformes by the original G1 year or series, but fairly recently I rearranged it to be by modern series (Classics/Universe/Generations/Combiner Wars/etc) which better reflects my increasingly having multiple versions of characters. I thought therefore I would start a new spreadsheet. I have also decided though to include figures I have sold.

This has started me down a path of reminiscing - some great figures that for various reasons I got rid of. It also is striking how much I've sold. It's a work in progress but will give some numbers when I've finished. It's also remarkably tricky to count figures when some are customs which might comprise parts from multiple others, or where a group should perhaps comprise one listing by itself - Micromaster teams for instance, or where a smaller partner robot is included - Minicons or Targetmasters. I'm going to include every toy I own so will take a bit of time. I had a look through this blog to try and work out some of the figures I used to own, in the early years especially I used to get 'stand-in' figures quite a lot.

One thing that is initially quite striking is how many figures the Prime Wars trilogy contributed to my collection, considering I thought I was done at that point, I bought more figures from those lines than everything else (with a classics aesthetic) combined. Titans Return is my favourite line - it really felt like anything could be on the table, and despite the forced gimmick, I loved it.

I try not to do wish lists (too much), but I think my remaining wants can be put into four groups: bigger Dinobots/smaller Constructicons, finish off the Rebirth cast, finish off the leaders (mainly Victory), and Beast Wars. For Beast Wars I have a bit of mis-mash of lines: Takara reissue Tigatron, TRU reissue Primal and Megatron. Universe Cheetor and Dinobot. Generations Rhinox, Waspinator and Rattrap. Plus an original Inferno. I'm happy with most of them but the Universe figures especially needed updating. I think it could easily be done in a wave or two. Voyager Tigatron, Dinobot and Terrorsaur, deluxe Tarantulas, Scorponok, Cheetor and Airrazor would be awesome to fill in the gaps and put everyone in roughly the right scale.

Have bagged the 80th anniversary Mark 50 Iron Man/Iron Spider and the Amazon Magneto/Quicksilver/Scarlet Witch sets in Black Friday sales (technically with Iron Man and Spider it was still Thanksgiving). Very happy to get all these figures - I felt sad getting rid of the Iron Man and Spider as they're both great figures, so great to finally replace them. My MCU armoury is complete, another significant milestone for my Legends collecting. Getting Magneto means I have all the main X-Men villains and am another step to getting all of the main villains - Doom is coming so just need a Red Skull.

I'm surprised at how excited I am getting the Iron Man/Iron Spider set, but I suppose it's my two favourite characters from my (almost) favourite film. Iron Spider is great but getting the extra limbs plugged in was tricky and trying to put the Peter Parker head on him resulted in the neck joint coming out - ended up using a screwdriver to force it back in. I have therefore put that on the regular MCU Spidey (which makes more sense for a picture at least). Iron Man has some great accessories, he has a flaw on his (left) eye though that somehow makes it looked cracked. So a slightly flawed set, but still very glad to have it in hand.

I looked at the Magneto set, all the paints apps look good so will leave it unopened for the moment.

A Mastepiece Raiden has been announced, must admit I'm a bit disappointed it's not a Classics release, but I wonder whether it might be a heavy retool of Titan class Devastator - which was designed to somewhat fill the MP gap for that character. Will wait and see but given the cost of the Seacons, it could be very expensive.

Expensive

Still trying to work out what TMNT to collect, much like the cartoon based Transformers Masterpiece figures, there is a thing as too cartoony for me. Similarly with cell shaded Siege Optimus and Megatron. They look great, they’re just not for me. So the cartoon NECA figures, look great, but they’re not for me. I think I’m not that keen on NECA stuff with the lines drawn on.

Comic TMNT figures don’t make sense as I never bought or read the source material. That said the 12” Mezco figures look amazing. The Super 7 figures then, expensive but updates of the toys I did have (well Leonardo and Donatello at least). Hopefully they’re really spaced out so I can get them. They’d also then match my Thundercats. I’ll give Raphael a go and see what I think.

Don’t think mentioned about Unicron! Very happy that he’s been funded. Bit too expensive for me, but hope I will have a chance to get him at a later point. Also very excited about potential Raiden news. G1 reissue or new Generations, either way I would love some trainbots.

Kingpin is rumoured for Legends, yay! Hope it is a white jacket purple trousers version. Glad didn’t try and get the BAF. Along with Earthrise Starscream and Optimus I’ve lucked out a bit with what I’ve been buying. Also rumoured is a Venom Legends wave, the recent Legends have been amazing but the Venom wasn’t so great, I’m not a fan of that buck, so hoping for something special.

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Popped in preorders for Super 7 Raphael and Lightning pink ranger. Hopefully Super 7 will work out. I have a plan. Hasbro for humans - Power Rangers and (hopefully Real) Ghostbusters, Super 7 for Turtles and Thundercats (mutants/humanoids).

Have opened Thor! He looked good in package, but it's a pleasant surprise when you open him up and you can appreciate his cape. He's in fairly muted colours, but looks great. Almost no head movement, but the hammer with the engraving looks fantastic. My A:EMH lineup of Avengers is complete!!! Iron Man (Mark IV) is a bit small though so will replace with the Mark 85 (which has a pretty classic look) when it comes in.

Reveals from London and Paris comic cons, nothing too exciting but nice to see a Winter Soldier. Though I reckon he will fall into the ‘I suppose I should get it’ category and sit unopened for a while. I think we will see a Falcon shortly as well. Popped in a preorder for Doom, he looks amazing. And red ranger, he also looks good.

Mark 85 Iron Man has arrived. No delay in opening him! He looks great, I like the classic look, perfect for my A:EMH display. Would have preferred a more yellow gold though. Lots of accessories, but no infinity gauntlet for Tony and no alternative RDJ head. Perhaps they'll repeat their Mark 50 trick. (Speaking of which is now the only film/armour I don't have now. I would have preferred a little hint of blue on the eyes and arc reactor so might get my paintbrush out, but but..... this photo makes everything better. Major collecting goal complete!!!

Pink Ranger has arrived. I am glad I decided to collect the rest of the team. It's a great action figure, the best figure with a bow and arrow I have (the only competition being Hawkeye to be fair), but the articulation is great. As with the White Ranger the helmeted head looks much better, but it's great to have the option - her beaming face doesn't really suit any action poses!

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Every year for about the last 10 I’ve thought that the amount of things I want will drop (and the amount I spend). In terms of non-transformers, once I’ve got the outstanding box sets and Strong Guy I’m pretty much done with X-Men and Iron Man. I think a potential BAF Blob, Lockjaw or comic Giant Man are the main candidates for being expensive. I’d like to see Kingpin, Wendigo and Odin redone but they shouldn’t be too bad. TMNT and Thundercats seem like they’re going to be released fairly slowly, so as long as they’re aren’t too many figures I want from each wave it should be okay. Similarly Power Rangers is releasing at a nice speed.

Transformers once Piranacon and Scorponok are done should be fairly well spaced as well. I think the things that could be expensive are a potential Raiden (looking forward to that announcement), Victory Saber and maybe Sky Lynx. I can’t think what else there might be. Broadside maybe, perhaps a new smaller Devastator and some of the Victory combiners. No more Titans though. So once again, just need to get through next year with my finances intact and it should all be smooth sailing!

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Incoming: Sky Lynx rumoured!

Bit too lanky

So that new Earthrise Optimus...... I feel like Siege Optimus did all of the hard work trying to convince me to replace my Classics Optimus, but my resolve held out, then this new version came along and my resolve just walked out the room and went to the pub. Fine, I’ll get a new Optimus. I’m surprised at myself at how excited I am. I think I’ll keep the Classics version mind, I like having a matching Optimus and Magnus.

I’m not too interested in much else, though I might take the opportunity to replace my RTS Grapple with the (yellow headed) United one. Might be able to get an Artfire as well. Could be tempted by a Hosehead remold of the new one though. I’d also like to replace my Classics Magnus with the white legged Henkei one, but that would be a bit pointless as I’m only really holding on to the original for nostalgic reasons.

I’ve got mixed feelings about wanting a Titan Scorponok, despite being my most wanted figure it might be good to wait for a year to allow me time to get the funds. Generally feeling good about Legends though, I’ve added Odin and Wendigo to my get list (need gold armour and a new head respectively!). Hopefully there won’t be so many must get box sets next year! I’ve feeling mixed about Turtles, I might return the NECA set and get the Super 7 figures instead, but with the Thundercats as well that could be expensive at over fifty quid a pop.

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SCORPONOK!!! Sod waiting a year, I need it now dammit! This is it, my most wanted figure. Not sure what I was thinking waiting a year. I have a list of figures which I think need replacing - Trailbreaker and Hoist are on it, so if the figures are a decent size then will get them. The (original) seekers were on it, so on board for voyager Starscream. Optimus was not, but I think I can allow myself one exception. Cliffjumper I'm intrigued by, if he is legends sized then I could be very tempted. Actually it's strange but I really can't remember which Bumblebee and Cliffjumper I have on my shelf - Generations I think, pretty sure I bought a Titans Return Bumblebee though. Excited for the potential of Hubcap and Throttlebot repaints. Maybe even a Bumper?

No news on the Marvel Legends front, absolutely nothing for me. There are plenty of things I would like to see, but happy for the break. It feels like the time before Combiner Wars, I couldn't see myself getting any new figures, Marvel Universe was slowing down and Metroplex was on his way. I'm guessing some of the later characters will come in the third part of the trilogy, again good to have a bit of a break.

I've got Mirage now, between him, Reflector and Springer I'm suddenly really enjoying Siege again. They look great! I don't think his legs look as thin in person as they did in the renders which is good, but I would have liked a lighter blue. Also not sure what's going on with the transparent plastic. He also has a fake front - his chest is not the nose of the car. Minor complaints aside, he looks great and once again I'm glad I replaced my Classics version. I'm getting a little nervous about getting hold of Siege Ratchet and the upcoming Seacons. None seem to be easily available to order and the Seacons are just a little too soon for my liking. I think they raise an interesting question on whether we'll get any more combiners. I really want a Leozack from POTP Starscream and I think they could do Road Caesar and Monstructor/Dinoking fairly easily. Definitely Leozack though and maybe a Deathcobra..........

I’ve opened Legends 80th Captain America. It’s a great looking figure, the sculpted scales with a bit of metallic paint looks great and the darker tones make him a bit more realistic. Not quite sure of the purpose for the second head but good to have options. The only downside was that the handle on the shield was broken straight out of the packaging, still usable but annoying.

Having replaced a few Marvel Legends and increasingly, Transformers Classics figures, there was an interesting discussion of ‘definitive’ versions of characters on a podcast I listen to. When you are only exposed to one source of media I think this works but after several different comics, cartoons and films, there often isn’t one, bit I do try to stick to one figure per character. (Grimlock, Ravage and Iron Man aside.) I think unless there are really obvious flaws or a huge improvement I will try not to ‘upgrade’ too much.

If I ignore any instance where I’ve replaced an unofficial toy with official, or where I’ve changed a figure for what I consider to be a more appropriate size class, there’s not that many. Outside of Siege, there’s only Blitzwing (and maybe a Minbot or two). I replaced Blitzwing to be consistent with Astrotrain and Octane. With Siege there’s Hound, Ironhide, Ratchet, Mirage, Megatron and Springer. I found photos of each of them comparing the new and old versions. Megatron is an easy argument - the back kibble on the Classics is crazy (though I do like the gun mode). Similarly Ironhide and Ratchet, the Universe figures just weren’t very good. The other three were fine before, Hound was maybe a bit too cartoony. Springer a bit too IDW-y, Mirage a bit too lanky? I was fine with the old versions, but on the whole the new versions are more toy (and cartoon really) accurate. With the new Hoist I will need to see that he’s bigger than the thrilling 30th line before I commit. The only other figure I have where I would like a new version is Hot Rod. The Classics figure is very much of his time.

One battle I think I will have with myself is voyager versions of the coneheads, it seems like a dead cert to me. I’m determined to stick with the deluxe figures. Though they should obviously scale with Starscream, they are relatively minor characters and so, for me, be the same size as the sweeps, Misfire, Slugslinger and Triggerhappy. Ramjet in particular has a special significance, as it was him (and the BotCon figures) that started me collecting Classics. I’m going to keep deluxe Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker as well as getting the voyager versions. Skywarp was the last thing I ever bought from Woolworths!

I have opened Captain Britain, I've been opening stuff based on how interested I am, but I surprised myself that I wanted to open him before Thor. He looks good, though I guess at some point I might have to paint over the blue with white. What a sad day that will be.

Without the funny Cybertronian bits

I’ve opened Springer, I like him so far, but I’m not quite sure whether I like him more than the 30th anniversary figure yet. He’s a good mix of toy and cartoon accurate, and I’m rather fond of the original toy’s altmodes which was my main reason for getting this one. He’s more fiddly certainly, but everything clicks into place nicely to make it seem pretty solid. I’ll keep on messing with him.

Colossus and Juggernaut have arrived. Having a few figures from the Juggernaut wave I was aware of how big his arms and legs are, but wow, this is one chunky figure. I really like the open hands for that extra width.

They both look amazing, a part of me thinks I’m still very happy with the 3.75” scaled figures, but Universe Colossus is rather blue and very angry, not really what comes to mind when I think of the character.

The smashed up face is perfect for when Juggernaut goes up against the Hulk. I’m really starting to appreciate how photogenic (and fun) these new Legends are.

Psylocke arrived again, this is what I said last time: “I’ve opened Bishop and Psylocke (purple hair). Fantastic figures. Bishop’s one of my favourites from the 90’s cartoon, so it’s great to have a figure that does him justice. Psylocke is also very well done. Need to put together the rest of the teams!” So all that still applies, with the small edit that now all I only need Jean Grey to complete the teams!

I think this will be the first time I really feel like I’ve completed something, with Marvel Universe and Transformers I did complete teams but they never properly matched aesthetically (or they were teams of size four). A complete 90’s X-Men team, finally!

There are rumours of a leader Optimus with trailer, presumably the Siege figure without the funny Cybertronian bits, but with a trailer. I came extremely close to buying the Siege figure - I saw it in a shop, went back to buy it only for Soundwave to be on the shelf so I bought him instead. So I’m a little tempted, especially as I changed my Classics Megatron for the Siege. Similarly, earth Starscream. I thought a voyager F-15 version was inevitable, surprised how quickly it has happened if this is true. I would buy Skywarp and Thundercracker as well. I’m also quite keen for a voyager Sunstorm, but I think I would keep my (deluxe) Classics coneheads and ghost Starscream even if they were options.