Awesome and large

Falcon arrived, very happy with the deco (I was kinda worried they might have gone with the 70's version). Though he's got the same wings as Vulture, I played with him a bit more. I even gave him a little swoosh. The butterfly joints are excellent for a good flight pose. Ready for Falcon and Winter Soldier, he completes my essential Avengers lineup. Baron Zemo also arrived, he doesn’t complete anything but with Enchantress he’s the other main member of the Masters of Evil. Actually thinking about it, he is going to be in the upcoming Disney+ series so the timing is pretty good.

Dremel 4000

I completed my Mortal Kombat ninjas, I've finished V-Rex (Rexy as I’ve been calling her), I've built the Friends Lego set I bought. And I've made MP10 toy accurate (I couldn't get Soundwave's head off so he will stay cartoon). I've got no excuse now not to start putting together Goro and Kintaro!

I bought the Friends Lego as I realised my mini figures were tending towards a bit of New York theme so it sort of made sense - a place for them to hang out. I really enjoyed the build, the way the rugs work is really neat.

I also got Mega Bloks Splinter, he came with a technodrome accessory! Not cheap, but he's a character I needed some representation of. TMNT Mega Bloks are fantastic, such a shame we never got a lair or the blimp. They are still doing some Turtles stuff though (as individual figures) so there is some hope.

MP10 no longer has dead eyes and is toy accurate next to Megatron.

Marvel Legends Scorpion arrived, he's my 100th Legends figure! (Sort of, I consider Fin Fang Foom, MODOK, and Mojo to be part of my 3.75" collection, and Groot is technically Selects not Legends, but you get the idea.) He also completes my Sinister 6. I need to paint his face but I really don't need to put off working on Goro and Kintaro anymore.

I've got a sword for POTP Predaking, what is particularly galling about this is I bought and sold the un-chromed version many years ago for the G1 figure. This cost a pretty penny more, if only I'd held on to it. Talking of holding on to it, I need to make something so Predaking can hold on to it.

Bluestreak arrived! He looks great, hopefully Prowl should be on his way soon to complete the Datsun trio. I think Bluestreak will be my favourite of the three. Can’t believe I was contemplating keeping the Universe figures up until fairly recently.

I got some more alien Jedi, starting with Fi-Ek Sirch. The headsculpt is great, though his legs aren’t particularly possible despite being Vintage Collection. I’m not quite sure how he escaped my attention when I first starting buying 3.75” Star Wars. That he’s not on the council I guess. I got Yaddle, super articulated she is not - her head doesn’t even move. To complete the five I got Tarados Gon. There’s another Jedi called Khaat Qiyn who I think would have been a good name for him. Oh well. I’ve now got all Jedi that appear in the films and Clone Wars cartoon (not that one). Excluding the non-main humans (because they’re boring) and where they made up new characters because an actor wasn’t available. Whoop!

Legends Abomination arrived! He's Gamerverse, I like the mix of movie and comic looks. I also like the hands and feet more than the pure comic version. I did replace his head with the comic one though (need to do some colour matching). It got me thinking that I should collect the A:EMH version of the Masters of Evil. But, Enchantress and Baron Zemo are just a little, well, boring. Wonder Man and Crimson Dynamo aren't quite close enough looks wise (Crimson Dynamo being a different version). Executioner is non-existent. I will get Enchantress and Zemo though, just in case.

I found an excuse not to work on Goro/Kintaro. I've been working with a handheld drill, but bugger me if it's not a ridiculous amount of work - I've got blisters as well as it taking ages. I'm using balljoints I bought from Hobby Link Japan (many years ago). I've always been intrigued by people talking about Dremels on podcasts I listen to like it's a verb (in the same way that people do 'Hoovering'). I've bought a Dremel 4000 having done a bit of research on rotary tools. It cost £80 on Amazon so hopefully I can make progress more quickly.

I'm going to be moving house soon so have realised that as much as I should stop spending for monetary reasons, it's amazing how much time buying things takes up, opening, sometimes customising, photographing and storing. I also need to resist starting any new customising projects. I need to concentrate on sorting and packing things up.

The Masterpiece Raiden project seems to be completely devoid of news. I'd love a figure in scale with CW combiners, but I guess one which scales with Devastator makes more sense given their Diaclone origins. If then of course we get a smaller scaled Devastator I'd be in a bit of a dilemma.

Would you believe I finally opened the Seacons? I’ve been putting it off for some reason, I think because I didn’t want to rush it but knew it would take quite a bit of time. Just like with the Terrorcons, it surprised me how big they are - I’m used to the G1 figures. That they managed to make these figures so accurate but still being remolds of the Dinobots and Terrorcons is amazing. The colours are great and unlike the Aerialbot molds, I’m not bored of them.

The combined form is a bit wobbly (as are all of the combiners), but looks great. I think I might need to look into stands for them. One day it would be cool to have them all lined up. I decided to keep Lobclaw/Nautilator separate, I like his claws and I think his headsculpt looks a little MTMTE-ish. Speaking of which, the headsculpts are great, they’ve managed to give all of them a sense of character, which given how small the originals are is quite a feat. So overall, I’m very happy. More Masterforce is always good.

I’ve opened more stuff, Hiya’s 3.75” Jungle Predator. I’ve been sitting on this one for a while. I feel the box description is pretty enthusiastic, ‘standard setting’ and ‘super articulation’. *Cough* Marvel Universe *cough*. He looks good, the articulation is somewhat limited by the design - the head and legs are limited by the dreads and skirt. Rocker ankles would really help. I feel it’s a modest improvement over my custom, but I did pretty well really.

I’ve also opened the Blue Ranger. Pretty standard now really, I like the accessories, but the headsculpt. Between the glasses and beaming grin it really does look like someone cosplaying, particularly in conjunction with the weapon. Can I get some more serious faces please?!

Cyberverse Grimlock! (My WiFi isn’t working today so am opening stuff.)  I’ve heard excellent things about the cartoon. This to me looks quite similar to Animated/Prime/RID. He could certainly take a few more paint apps, a bit of silver on the face for instance. I started to transform him, but I gave up with the legs, one is fake and tucks underneath. I sort of lost interest, he turns into a dinosaur. It’s fine. I like the fire breath/club (like Animated Snarl) and rocker ankles. I got him because I collect Grimlocks, he fits in nicely but won’t be at the front of the display.

And now for something completely different, my Dremel 4000 arrived. So much easier than drilling by hand! Hopefully can make some progress with Kintaro now.

Busy postman

I opened Doubledealer, he’s fantastic! He’s best in robot mode, as some of the panels don’t quite line up properly in his other modes, but he’s great. I got his Powermaster friends as well, I hope to see more 1988 figures.

And so I’ve added some figures to my want list of Marvel Legends, and I’ve bought some straight away. I bought Sasquatch, big (furry) characters appeal to me, and the fact he has interactions with Wolverine and the Hulk add to the appeal. I’m also keen to get a Wendigo, but only if they rerelease him with a classic headsculpt. I really like Sasquatch.

I’ve decided I’m not compromising on figures - if the costume’s not right or the sculpt is off then I’m not getting placeholder figures. I’m tempted by Wendigo and Odin for instance, but need their classic looks. I sense that a Chameleon based his 90’s cartoon look might be in the offering. I therefore need the Sinister 6 (well, Insidious 6 really). I prefer the newer Mysterio figure so he’s in, plus Vulture, Scorpion and Shocker. I was tempted by these figures before but that was the original green gauntlets version of Mysterio, and I got grumpy about having to paint Scorpion’s face (I will). I already have a Doc Ock so just need a Rhino. I figure without Chameleon it’s either the original incarnation (with Chameleon as Vulture) or the second (with Chameleon as Mysterio).

I don’t want to get placeholder figures, but I figure even if they do a classic Ms. Marvel she might have the short hair and bare legs (I need her to look like A:EMH), so have bought the Warbird version. Can swap the head and legs if needs be. Surely we’ll get a classic version with the next Captain Marvel film? If I knew we were never going to get a classic Ms. Marvel then I’d get her in her Captain Marvel costume. Who knows though.

It’s hard after a little spending spree to return to normal, just a little check on the price of something on eBay or Amazon is hard to stop doing. My brain is desperately trying to find something I might need and making the case for it. Over several months there are many things that seem like a good idea, only to be discounted. Those are the sort of things that creep back up on you and suddenly seem like a much better idea than they did before (see above). Siege Omega Supreme and Jetfire are two that I’ve reconsidered a few times. The question I’m asking myself is whether my decision was financial or not. I don’t want to spend lots of money but if money is the only reason then it is something that is likely to haunt me. The new Unicron is another, but with the three of those. I don’t need them to be that big, I like having a couple of Unicron trilogy figures, and.... I don’t really care about them as characters.

Another set of figures I like the look of are the Storm Collectibles Mortal Kombat figures, but (and this is very similar to my reasoning for not getting Transformer Masterpieces), they’re expansive, and crucially, they’re never going to do the complete cast. I want a complete set of things, in some ways that’s where I get the most joy. They look amazing though. I’m also a little tempted by Star Wars Black 6”. I like the prequel Jedi - mostly the aliens. I’m tempted by Mace Windu and Kit Fistu. Maybe Plo Koon. The ‘main’ characters I’m not that bothered by. But I already have the 3.75” versions, and unlike Marvel Legends there’s no sense of characters not being available at the smaller scale, in the wrong costume or being a bit rubbish. The 3.75” versions are fine.

Legends Shocker has arrived. I like the modern costume for old pineapple head far more than the classic, to the point where it makes me like the character a lot more. He has the Deadpool head with one eye squinting which makes me think he has some of Deadpool’s humourous qualities. Anyway, glad to have him for my Sinister 6 (or 7).

Studio Series Jazz and Hot Rod have finally been shown off. Hot Rod looks amazing, Jazz looks a little cheap though I think the white background’s not helping. I would far rather he have more of a toy look than cartoon but with some reprolabels I think that can be sorted out - RTS also needed them. What I’m less sure about is replacing United Stepper, he is very pretty. An Artfire Stepper two-pack could be rather tempting though. (Glad I never got United Artfire!)

Over three years ago, I decided I needed to make a Kintaro from Mortal Kombat 2. I took my Goro figure apart and make a mold for each component and made a copy in resin. Except a few didn’t come out very well. And then some stuff happened (life stuff), and it has sat on the back burner for these few years. I felt strangely anxious starting to make the molds again, but I got there and finally put the resin in last night and am waiting for it to harden. Really hope they come out decently and I can finally starting putting the figures together. If I can’t do it before I move house then could be another few years again. I cast a few heads as well for a few custom bits and bobs. It’s hard resisting the temptation to start 'exiting’ new projects.

With virtually every single 1984-86 Transformers character getting a new figure, there’s not much in my mind that I want redoing, I reckon Blaster, Perceptor, Sandstorm, Metroplex, Devastator and Snarl (assuming he’s the Dinobot not getting a SS figure). That’s not bad. Add to that figures of the Throttlebots, some of the cassettes, Pointblank and Sureshot, and that’s pretty much the entire US cartoon done, and done well.

************

The new studio series '86 figures look great! You can see the extra budget for Hot Rod and Scourge. I'm down for Kup and Blurr (though I'm not getting rid of Generations Kup just yet). Jazz still looks a bit washed out but with some Reprolabels should be fine. Grimlock looks solid but to be honest, he's a placeholder until the properly gold chromed version. I'll get him anyway despite the cost. There's a rumour of a Punch/Counterpunch repaint in red. Please be Pointblank! There's an excitement of getting a new character that even new versions of my favourite characters doesn't quite match. I'd like a Sureshot from Mirage, but I think in an ideal world there would be a Slapdash from Mirage and a new mold for Sureshot and Joyride.

Marvel Legends Rhino arrived! He's a slightly older figure now, and really quite expensive. I think a new version is quite likely, but he's one of those big chunky characters that I can't help but like. Even though the head with the eyes uncovered is more cartoon accurate, it's a little too manic (and on mine the eyes are looking in different directions). They've cleverly put the weight into the legs so he's solid, the chest is fairly hollow so it's not top heavy. Looking good.

I'm about to check how my casts turned out. It's a both exciting and anxious time, if they all turned out well then I'll be extremely happy. If it doesn't then potentially I'll have to make another set of molds. Of course if they turn out well then I'll actually have to get on with Goro/Kintaro. Deep breaths.......

They came out brilliantly! The heads in particular came out very well, I think I've perfected how to create a mold of a head - pick a point for the hole that's not the socket where it fitted onto the neck ball socket (back or the top of the head works best). I made a mold from the 2010 Spider-Man 3.75" Lizard, third time lucky! The Goro parts have come out as well, though quite a lot of work will be needed to fill the holes and add working joints. No excuse now, it's time to get the joints and epoxy out.

Having received Rhino, I really like him. I’ve decided to lower my bar for collecting Legends ever so slightly, characters that I thought weren’t quite important enough. So I’ve popped in orders for Kang and Abomination. Kang turned up really quickly. Like Doom before him, this is an incredible version of a classic villain. His green tunic is very 70's futuristic looking. He can't really hold his gun in a satisfactory manner, but otherwise looks great.

I bought Emma Frost from the Hellfire set, I did something a little radical, I changed her legs out. Mostly for stability - she was wearing high heels, but also to make her a little more cartoon accurate. I used the deadly white Black Widow which itself had two advantages, better guns (with smoke and firing effects), but also a replacement head for my vintage Widow who had applied her lipstick whilst driving. Over speed bumps. Good stuff! My X-Men shelf lineup was the 90’s cartoon, having taken this Wolverine and the X-Men inspired picture, I’ve gone with an Evolution lineup for my shelf (Iceman is standing in for Spyke.)

I’ve received Mysterio and Vulture. Mysterio is a lovely figure, I appreciate the gold over the green, comic accurate or not. The special effect pieces are great as well. Vulture is good, there’s nothing else you might want from him. He looks like a bitter old man as you might expect. He feels a little like a filler figure - if we get a cartoon Chameleon I might not keep him. I’ve been wondering how to decide which villains to get, with X-Men and Fantastic 4 I don’t feel too conflicted. With the Avengers I’m getting Kang and Abomination. With Spider-Man I’ve got Green Goblin and the Sinister 6. Perhaps what I should think is that for my favourite characters I should get two of their main villains. (Considering Venom as an anti-hero and Kingpin as Daredevil’s villain.)

So I used the Lizard head for..... Reptile! I now have alternate heads for Scorpion and Reptile. I had a go at making some arms for Sub Zero in light blue resin but I couldn’t fit them so I’ve stuck with the regular arms but with a bit of paint. My human male ninjas are finished (and so all of the hidden characters).

I’ve received Ms. Marvel so I can put together a season 2 A:EMH display. Need a classic Ms. Marvel and a Yellowjacket really. Incidentally, I pulled out my Mark VII Iron Man for this picture, and realised he was missing his shoulder. I searched right through my Legends box trying to find it. I then looked at a photo from when I got the figure, it was always missing and I didn’t notice! Weird and annoying.

Kingpin arrived! He’s wonderfully accurate to the comic. Just perfect for what I want. He completes my comic versions of the Netflix Daredevil show lineup as I also opened Elektra. As expected she’s pretty great looking.

I keep on seeing 6” Black series Star Wars figures, I haven’t bought any but it did lead me down a bit of a rabbit hole. I think with my 3.75” collection, I developed some sort of criteria for buying figures - main character, force user, alien, whether on the Jedi council sort of thing. I can’t quite remember exactly. I do like me some random background alien Jedi though. Looking through some toy websites I may have found a list of every single Jedi that appears in a film or Star Wars: Clone Wars cartoon (not that one) episode. I may have googled each one to see whether they are an alien and whether they have a figure. I may be checking eBay regularly to see if they become available at a reasonable price...... So my new criteria are get all alien Jedi, and important human Jedi from the films and clone wars cartoon (not that one), and Ahsoka Tano from the clone wars cartoon (yes, that one). But Eeth Koth and Adi Gallia are excluded because I have Agen Kolar and Stass Allie and they're more or less the same characters but with different actors.

I got Sora Bulq and Que-Mars Redath-Gom now. Let's be honest here, they look like they might have been victims of the Jedi purge and then somewhat un-ceremoniously brought back to life. Alternatively they might have been filming the Geonosis scene in Attack of the Clones, realised they needed some more Jedi and sent someone out to get some extra masks from the joke shop....... The articulation on Sora isn't great, he doesn't have knees but he does have an action pose so it's not too troubling. It's nice to pick up a few extra Jedi so happy to have these figures.

My postman has been a busy man!

Really really organised

I set myself an objective several years ago to 'organise' my collection. I don't think I actually knew what that meant at the time, but I have finally got here now. I've packed up my entire collection into IKEA boxes. I've got 15 of the boxes with the largest footprint (of which 12 are the really shallow ones and 3 are just huge). Within each box, each figure is bagged up in an acid-free baggy, with instructions, parts and a little note to say the name and year of the figure. Large figures are wrapped in bubble wrap. 

The boxes are organised, so of the shallower boxes, two are G1 (one Actionmasters, Micromasters and reissues, one everything else), one Beast Wars (actual Beast Wars rather than the Generations figures), one everything in between Beast Wars and Combiner Wars, one Combiner Wars, one Titans Return and Power of the Primes, two 3.75" Marvel (one Avengers/street/mystic, the other X-Men/cosmic), one 6" Marvel, one video games and Star Wars (and other 3.75" stuff), one Turtles, Thundercats, Ghostbusters and Power Rangers, and one Masterpiece, WST and non-transforming Transformers (vinyl/Kreo). Of the large boxes, one is Metroplex, Trypticon, Omega Supreme, Unicron and Sky Lynx. One is Fortress Maximus, Scorponok, Predaking, Overlord, God Ginrai and Dai Atlas. The final box is my Lego Ghostbusters firehouse, Lego AT-AT, Minimates Thundertank, TB2 and TB3, and various 3.75" vehicles.

I started doing this because I wanted to be organised. As it happens I'm going to be moving house soon so am really well set. I've sold loads of things off as well, a mammoth task in itself. A few bits I was a bit reluctant to list, but I did it. I am organised now!

My collection is much simpler now, before I had G1 reissues, G1 leaders, G1 animal based Transformers ('Primatives'), Classics, Masterpiece, WST/Micromasters, toys I had as a kid, and Grimlocks and Ravages. Now I have most things in one collection - I have the best version of each character, so if a character doesn't have a modern update then it's the G1 figure. I no longer have G1 as separate collections. I have very limited Masterpiece and WST collections, and still have my Grimlock and Ravage collection, but otherwise it's one big collection. This meant getting rid of most of my reissues and G1 toys, and..... it feels good. For ages I kept them because they were the first things I bought when I started collecting, and you 'need' G1 Prime in your collection, and I had some of them as a kid. But, yeah, it feels okay. I feel free now, it's a good feeling! 

Despite having lots of things to get rid of, I don’t regret any of it. It was all part of the journey. The only thing I wish I hadn’t bought into is third party figures. Perfect Effect’s Warden (Fortress Maximus) is the only one I have left. Upgrade kits on the other hand, I am glad I bought and although I don’t have any of those anymore, they also feel like part of the journey.

I have got rid of figures I really like, figures that remind me of being a child. But they’ve spent the last ten years in a box. And just because I’ve got rid of a figure, I still have those memories. There are many great figures which I don’t have, but you know what? I don’t need to own them! My collection is mostly a concept in my head, I enjoy the thought of having complete groups or sets. That means I don’t need multiple versions of the same characters, G1 toy or not. With all the selling I always think ‘never again’, but the combination of rearranging my collection and WFC putting out great new versions of characters meant a lot of sell at once. Hopefully I can stop my list of things to sell building up too much again, I know the staff at the local post office very well now. 

An aside from this is I have a bit of money to play with now, if a WFC Black Zarak or Marvel Legends Galactus is announced then I'm all in. (I do need to own those.)

My Mastepiece collection is now Prime, Grimlock, Soundwave, Bumblebee, and MP-36+ Megatron. I previously had the regular version which didn’t quite work for me. I wasn’t immediately sure about this ‘toy’ deco version but once I got him into a pose from his G1 boxart I was sold. He looks great and a good counterpart to Prime. (Who has dead eyes, I’m wondering whether to paint them, perhaps in yellow.) I’d get a Blaster if/when they do him, but am now very happy with my minimal Masterpiece collection.

Speaking of Bumblebee, I actually opened him. Even as a kid I appreciated VW Beetles because of Bumblebee so it's great to have a figure with that altmode. The colour is perfect (it's a bit like the Legends X-Men), gold/light orange colour. I found Bumblebee's G1 cartoon face didn't work for me, so very glad to find I had the alternate face with toy look (I'd forgotten I even had it). Grimlock, Bumblebee and Megatron all have their G1 toy looks. Need to work out how to get Prime and Soundwave to match.

Strong Guy (wave) turned up. This is the first time I've bought an entire wave of Marvel Legends (I did once buy an entire wave of DC Universe to get the BAF Bane). Sadly I don't want any of the actual figures but Strong Guy looks great, he adds quite the presence to my display - I've got X-Factor displayed with the Blue and Gold teams, a little Excalibur (Captain Britain, Nightcrawler and Kitty Pryde), and a bit of X-Force (Cable). Need Wolfsbane. 

Pulsecon! Beast Wars Megatron, Blackarachnia, Optimus Primal and Rattrap. Warpath and Cyclonus! They all look great. But I’m not sure about whether I need them. I plan to pick them up and make a decision when they're in hand. If Megatron has the option of removing the tail to reveal a hand then would definitely need that. Cheetor is a done deal. Also some promising hints from the ark work they showed off.

The leaked Hot Rod and Scourge looks amazing, Kup I'm not sure about. I really like the Generations figure, but I think the new one will likely fit in better with Hot Rod and probably Blurr when we see him. I think Kingdom Ultra Magnus, Rhinox and Waspinator are also going to fall into the same category of ‘not quite sure’. Tracks, Huffer, Airrazor, Dinobot and Tigatron I think are going to be dead certs. Gears is in the artwork, a definite maybe.

The Marvel Legends reveals weren’t overwhelming, but the 21 characters I wanted were down to 20 with the Falcon reveal (and one of my top wants as well). It's exactly the version I want. I then came across a preorder for the Hellfire set, I kind of assumed that it would be really hard to get and/or very expensive. But I got it at a reasonable price and so have Emma Frost, my list is quickly down to 19. Her outfit doesn't match that from Wolverine and the X-Men, but given we're unlikely to get another option soon, I'll take it. Green Ranger is in the next wave of Power Rangers so will almost be done with that. Super 7 have shown off their next wave of TMNT - Donatello for me. Preorders in.

Had a bit of a switch up of my Marvel Legends, previously I had my all X-Men display but now have got what I consider to be the most 'pure' display. 90's cartoon X-Men, A:EMH Avengers, Spider-Man and Fantastic 4. Seems like a long time since I had Avengers and Fantastic 4 out. So many great figures.

My mind is still searching for things I want, Mega Bloks Splinter (from the Technodrome set) and a sword for POTP Predaking. Both on their way! I'm eying up a couple of Lego sets but I don't think there's anything else I've wanted but dismissed. I'm really really caught up.

Spending spree

In my spending spree I re-bought movie 3.75" War Machine and Mark IV Iron Man. I already have them, but War Machine was the one from China-bay with no helmet or weapons. My Mark IV was missing a shoulder piece. I've bought them both carded. I wanted perfect versions of both as they're the versions which served as the inspiration for Avengers: EMH, they are pretty much there but both have a few scratches and chips straight off of the card. I also briefly investigated the Revolmini versions of WM and the Mark VI. Apparently they’re amazing, but expensive now, and for Iron Man, the wrong armour.

I also re-bought the Legends Mark 42 - I previously had the KO. I was in two minds whether I needed the official version of an armour from a film I’m not that bothered about, but I'm glad I did - the gold is lighter, the sculpt a bit more defined and the red plastic is shinier. (Actually, it’s pretty comparable on the torso, but the KO head and limbs are very dull.) Oh, and the armour on the hands doesn't fall off. All quite subtle in a photo, but it looks considerably better in person. Also bought Arnim Zola for my 3.75” collection (though he can do double duty), I have officially given up on my custom. It’s all about A:EMH, though I’d like it he turned up in the MCU again.

I also bought Cyberverse Grimlock, I was hoping I might see it in person but gave up and bought it on Amazon.

And a Jigglypuff for my Smash Bros. collection - would really like a Captain Falcon from World of Nintendo but it doesn't look too promising. And a Ness I suppose. Jigglypuff came with a Pikachu who looks considerably more suitable for a Smash Bros. set up than my old one (which I have no idea who even made it).

Earthrise Smokescreen has arrived. He looks great, almost like a mini Masterpiece. The robot and car modes are incredible, bring on Prowl and Bluestreak! The colours are almost spot on, though a lighter blue would be good. The headsculpt is very cartoon accurate which is not my thing, but I like that he will has a different sculpt to the other two Datsuns. It’s funny to think that up until quite recently I was content with the Universe version - they look terrible now.

Did I mention I bought Titans Returns Overkill? Bit fiddly as I couldn't remember how to get the Titanmaster in properly, but a great little mold. Such a shame they never made a Slugfest. (Or Steeljaw - I really like the Ramhorn as well.)

Just paid for Super 7 Raphael. Very excited, hope he lives up to expectation! He and Mumm-Ra should be here soon. Well (drum roll please), he looks great! A perfect cross between the vintage and the Playmates Classics. The look of the vintage (like Transformers I prefer a toy look), with the posability of the Classics but without the blatent pins. I really like how they’ve done the pattern of the shell, and the size is just right, scaling nicely with Thundercats and Legends (Playmates Classics were too big). I waited a long long time but Super 7 have delivered, bring on the rest plus the Thundercats!

I bought a new (ish) TR Fortress Maximus! This was really quite ridiculous (and a little painful considering how cheaply I could have bought a new one for a couple of years back), but I got it just for the clear green chest window. I've never liked the Takara one despite it being perfect in every other respect. Finally my Fort Max is properly toy accurate.

I've opened Black Shadow. I didn't buy it when it came out because I thought I would get Thunderwing instead. It only recently occurred to me given that figure never happened, Black Shadow was fair game. The Titans Returns leaders are brilliant so it's no problem to have another. His colours are very Decepticon and its kinda cool to have all of the IDW 'phase sixers'.

I also opened Quake, I've had him for ages and kinda thought he might get another release, but a redeco of Hardhead is again not a problem. Need Needlenose now! I also like his colours. It's not G1 toy accurate but I've decided he should wear his turret as an homage to Megatron, I think it looks pretty good on his back rather than forwards like Hardhead. I know I've said this before but Titans Return was so good, I'm all caught up now apart from..... Quickswitch.

Annoyingly I picked up the boxset that he came in but sold the figure. After opening Greatshot I really wanted Sixknight to complete the (Japanese) six-changer trio. The G1 figure is a bit dumpy and so I decided that Titans Return Quickswitch is a better placeholder than G1 Quickswitch. It's funny, Black Shadow is a Japanese placeholder for the US Thunderwing, and the US Quickswitch is a placeholder for the Japanese Sixknight. I think they look good together, I like that the chest fins can tuck away for Quickswitch and are a different size for Greatshot to distinguish them in terms of shape as well as colour.

Last year I was concerned about the level of my spending, I’ve recently bought a lot of new things but it feels somewhat controlled. Everything I’ve bought I’ve wanted for a while, and planned to get at some point. The extra money came from selling things I no longer wanted so it feels okay (more on that at some point). I think my challenge now is not giving into any impulse purchases which aren’t well considered despite having a bit of money. It feels quite nice not having a ‘want’ list for things from eBay.

Horsies

I just bought the cassette Gurafi/Noizu/Frenzy set on Kapow. I wasn’t really too bothered but it was only £25. I have the KOs of the dino cassettes and my Frenzy is a vintage one not in great shape so it made sense. I’m not going to hunt down the Bumblebee releases of the other two, but if they get another release I might have to pick them up.

Have also bought Legends Elektra. I’ve always thought she was an important character but I sort of realised that was based on the Ben Affleck film (and Jenifer Garnier Elektra spin-off). Watching the Netflix Daredevil and Defenders seasons I’ve reaffirmed that view. (I've decided to keep my 3.75" hand ninjas as well.) Looking at the upcoming MCU projects, Eternals, Shang-Chi and Ms. Marvel, I wonder whether I will subsequently consider them important? They are missing that all important historical connection (I did see Ms. Marvel on sale for £15 though...).

I’ve got 21 characters on my wish list. Aside from Elektra and Alpha Flight it’s been the same list for over six months. That’s not to say there aren’t a few that I already have where I would replace them or add to them (Iron Man armours for instance). I’d like a A:EMH Giant Man as well if one was going.

The Transformers rumours seem to be shaping up nicely - voyager Dinobot and Tigatron. Whoop! Went on a shopping trip today, bought Doubledealer! It seems to me that someone on the design team is a fan - so random. I haven't opened him yet but he just looks great, already having a version of him took the gloss off slightly, but updates (not repaints) of '88 and '89 characters is really cool.

I've also put in a very expensive order for some Bossfight horses! The shipping was expensive and so will the custom fees when they arrive, but having Aragorn and Valinor for Valkyrie and Black Knight is really awesome. I don't care particularly for either of those characters but having some winged horses in my collection is cool. Almost any non-humanoid character seems more interesting to me. I've got Valkyrie and Black Knight out of storage to await their steeds!

Having put almost everything I storage, I was thinking about having a few things on display. Very minimalist, but I want to have the 90's X-Men displayed. With a few of my favourite teams, the villain is just as important. And so, I thought about Magneto. He needs to be there too (and Loki and Doom). I don't like the head I have for him, but I rather like the non-helmet head from the Apocalypse wave figure. It's on it's way..... I previously made an exception to customising my Legends figures for Wasp. I've now made an exception for Magneto as well. I realise as a collector, there's something rather good about 'upgrading' your figures. It's different to getting something new, it feels a bit more personal. Looks good.

Need to take it a bit easy now although hopefully the Super 7 figures will turn up soon. I've opened Jubilee and Gambit, my 90's cartoon X-Men lineup is complete (once Magneto arrives). They look amazing, this is why I started collecting Legends!

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Have just paid for the Strong Guy legends wave, so much for taking it easy! I'm really excited about getting him. X-Factor are somewhat special within my collection, if I had them in 3.75" then I wouldn't be buying them in 6". I'd get Quicksilver and Forge anyway, but the other guys not. I do like Havok in his X-Factor costume rather than his black 3.75" one though. Did I mention I need a Wolfsbane?! Have paid for Transformers Snapdragon as well.

So the entire lineup for Kingdom has been revealed through insiders and listings from retailers. Why don't they just reveal this stuff themselves?! Anyway, it looks amazing. For G1, looks like a long awaited Huffer and Pipes (hope they can pull Optimus' trailer), Tracks, Cyclonus, Inferno and Galvatron. Could be in the market for Warpath and Ultra Magnus (I mostly just want a lighter shade of blue). Between this line and Studio Series it looks like I've got pretty much everything I wanted re-doing, just finish off the Dinobots, and perhaps a Blaster and Perceptor please.

There is a suggestion that the Commander could be Rodimus (which would make sense opposite Galvatron). I'm pretty happy with the Hot Rod component of POTP Rodimus as Rodimus. I would mostly be grumpy because we wouldn't get a Thunderclash redeco. If it's Broadside I could be tempted. Titan, if it's Metroplex then I'm in, almost anything else I think I'd pass.

Beast Wars! My S1 collection is all over the place, reissue (but improved decos) Primal, Megatron and Tigatron, Universe Cheetor and Dinobot, 30th Rhinox, Waspinator and Rattrap, Legends Blackarachnia, and original Inferno. So, Airrazor and Scorponok are definitely needed. Cheetor needs a new version no questions asked. Dinobot and Tigatron need to be bigger so they're needed. I will wait and see on new Primal, Megatron, Waspinator, Blackarachnia and Rattrap to see whether to replace. Hopefully we will then get Tarantulas and Terrorsaur to complete the cast.

Pictures are out of the new Masterpiece Starscream and...... yeah, not really my thing. I was never a fan of either iteration of the original seeker mold, so decided against having a MP Starscream. I briefly decided not to get MP Megatron (MP-36+) either, but thought would just check eBay (can you see where this is going?!), price really quite high, but then I thought to check Amazon Japan. He’s on his way.......

As is Bluestreak (hopefully - I've tried out an e-tailer I’ve not used before). The usual suspects sold out very quickly. A hobby should not be this stressful. Ratchet has popped up an Amazon US exclusive, I went to preorder but not allowed any further. I'm not sure whether this is a bit of grumpiness, but I'm not sure whether I need him - Siege Ratchet's altmode is more IDW accurate, and he has more red on him. The Earthrise version looks a little grey. Ironhide and Ratchet not sharing an identical mold is a little disturbing, but the Earthrise is still a remold so it's not too bad. Maybe I can and should live with it.

I've sold a few bits on eBay so feeling reasonably flush - found a website still selling Titans Return Sky (Black) Shadow and Krok for a reasonable price. Bring on Blue Bacchus! I've just started reading the final volume of IDW's Lost Light so Krok was really needed. Fulcrum is probably a bit optimistic, but perhaps a Crankcase would be possible to almost complete the Scavengers. As a child of the 80's, I love the bright yellow on Krok, it's beautiful! It's nice to have toys of different colours and Krok is something unique. Titans Return was such a great line, so many different colours from the entire spectrum of G1. I can't see it being topped.

I’ve also bought Greatshot. Really had to hunt around online to find him for a reasonable price (kicking myself for not getting him from Kapow). Found him on Robotkingdom. He's one of three animal based G1 characters I don't have toys of, just need Black Zarak (please!) and Sixknight (unlikely). Would be cool to have the trio of Japanese six-changers (even if Greatshot is a reformed Sixshot in some continuities).

Boss fight horses turned up, crazy expensive custom fees but they look amazing. I also bought a ‘Goldie’....

I've taken a shotgun to my 'to get' list, the remaining few things are Lego (which I want to wait until I've moved house to get) and stuff for customs. There's no rush on that stuff. I did buy a new Combiner Wars Hot Spot (I’m calling him Hot Spot part deux....). He’s a great figure but my original got a little yellowed and it was easier to buy a new one than to try and fix it. I have an attachment to the toy that I couldn’t quite place but I think it stems from the Euro gold reissues - I seem to remember looking at the G1 figure in a particular shop over and over again (similarly to Snarl).

I’ve bought everything I ‘really’ wanted from my wish list, there could be a Fort Max and other bits on their way..... I need to train myself to not checking eBay again. It's been an exciting month. Breathe.......

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RIP Chadwick Boseman. I can't quite believe the news. A tragic loss for the world and the MCU.