Just say go!

I got Red Skull. Absolutely nothing remarkable about him but he’s almost the final major villain I want (just need Ultron…..).

Got the next wave of Kingdom, Tracks and Scorponok. I like them both, Tracks holds together fairly well but needs a bit of persuasion. Scorponok looks more like a lobster to me rather than a scorpion but I guess it’s show accurate.

Sideswipe looks great, really like a scaled down MP. I was going with a display of Siege robot mode, Earthrise/Kingdom vehicle mode but since he’ll be displayed next to Sunstreaker I’m not quite sure.

Finally got Earthrise Ratchet. He’s exactly as expected. I’m very reluctant to replace him or Ironhide as I really like the mold - similarly to the rumoured new Stunticons. I’ve just seen the Nonnef upgrades for Ironhide and Ratchet - that sled is brilliant!

I also got Buzzworthy Fangry. The beast mode headsculpt is great, really should have been a wider release. Bring on the other Headmaster juniors. They have been rumoured, as well as Minerva being a Wrecker along with Thunderclash in new IDW. If she gets a toy then so should he?!

I’ve backed Victory Saber, assuming it succeeds then hopefully we get more JG1, Deszaras has been suggested and I think God Ginrai would be a dead cert. Kickback has been seen on a listing. So assuming we get the rest of the Dinobots and Insecticons, along with the listed Blaster, Perceptor and Blitzwing, my collection is looking good. Thunderclash please!!!

The MCU is kicking back into life. Most excited for Spider-Man and especially Doctor Strange. (Surely we should get that long overdue classic Legends figure?) The next waves of Super 7 Turtles and Thundercats are making their way out. Hopefully they’ll announce some new figures (they seem more interested in announcing new licenses…..), but maybe Snarf?

***********

Iron Man and Ultron! I was really looking forward to these two. That’s all the main villains covered now. It’s my first comic Legends Iron Man, sporting the 90’s cartoon look. I realise that between the Avengers and X-Men, what I’ve gone for is the 90’s cartoon look but the line up from the 2010’s cartoons (A:EMH and W&XM).

Four Horsemen have just unveiled Cosmic Legions and, wow! They look amazing, and after eventually talking myself out of buying them I realise they help me understand my collecting habits. These figures appeal to me a heck of a lot more than the Mythic figures. By collecting alien Jedi and villains in 3.75" scale, this is what I'm trying to get. Science fiction looking figures, preferably in 3.75" scale, but crucially with something that ties them together. If Bossfight studios do something similar (sci-fi styling) then I could well be tempted for background alien characters.

Preorder for Marvel Legends Captain Britain and SHIELD agents in. I’m tempted to keep Meggan but since she’s never appeared in anything I’ve seen I really can’t justify it. AND in very happy news, Doctor Strange has been shown off!!

In combination with a load of Transformers rumours coming out, I feel that pretty much everything I want could and probably is going to happen. It looks like we're getting the last couple of Beast Wars S1 characters. I'm getting increasingly obsessed with Diaclone repaints, and it also seems like we're also getting most of them. (I think the main one I want now is yellow Trailbreaker.) Especially excited to see Sludge mentioned, they seem to be doing the Dinobots in the order they were created in the cartoon.

I got some Sharkticons! Three of them. The shark headsculpt is great, and I think the eyes are fantastically well done. Thinking about the Nonnef upgrades caused me to get a couple of guns for Sunstreaker and Galvatron (plus some pin covers). I've got Kingdom Mirage (doesn't hold together very well), he also came with Grimlock who I actually really like, but will probably pop a bit of paint on him at some point.

Finally I got some headsculpts, plus some bodies actually. Sam Jackson (who can go on one of the SHIELD agent bodies), RDJ and Gwyneth Paltrow (who came with bodies I already had).

Incredibly happy with all the stuff that's supposed to be coming out, Doctor Strange is fantastic news. I've got quite a few things lined up to open - more doubles of the pre-Transformers characters, plus a couple of '86 movie characters, but no rush.

Haslab’s a coming

He is coming, but for £400 I’m not sure I need him. I was all set to get Galactus, but I was sort of expecting a £200-300 price tag, but £400?! I think that’s me out. Sad but I can make do with the MU version and wait for Victory Saber …….

The Worlds Collide Fangry looks great, bring on all the Headmaster Juniors! Just maybe, make them a bit more easily available? Sigh, eBay, sigh.

Managed to grab a Kingdom Red Alert and Sideswipe. I think that should just about be it for main characters being exclusive. Potentially an Earth mode Hound? Perhaps a couple of the remaining Minibots?

I managed to get in on one of the cheap Sky Lynx’s going on House of Fraser/Sports Direct. It’s made me decide to revisit my ‘rules’ on which characters to double up on. I’m going with ‘original’ characters and leaders. For G1, ‘original’ characters are those based on toys which existed before Transformers (Diaclone/Microchange/etc). For Beast Wars it’s Season 1 characters. 

Sky Lynx is fair game then. I had a further rule not to double up on any character leader or larger. But I’ve changed it slightly to be not to double up on toys more expensive than leader class (£50). So a cheap Sky Lynx is fair play. For Omega I will keep the Year of the Snake version. I need Devastator, Jetfire and Shockwave as well……

Having said all that I’ve also decided to double up on characters with two robot modes. So Punch/Counterpunch and Dealer/Doubledealer. (Managed to find the latter for less than £50.)

Decided to upgrade my Optimus, the Netflix version is a bit too nice. Galvatron also came in from Pulse. I did the shoulder twist, I wouldn’t mind a couple of filler bits for the peg holes, but he’s pretty great.

Many years ago I collected all of the AOE Dinobots. They then released a couple of G1 versions of the same figures which I passed on as I already had the originals. I then sold the originals and forgot all about them. But then the chance to get the G1 headsculpt set came up and, they’re great. They look a bit IDW-esque to me. Very happy with them anyway.

And so ends one of those expensive months.

Main collection

Cyberverse season 2! Yep, definitely getting better. It’s amazing how strong the pull is to get toys of the characters I see on screen. I don’t need them to be the same style, just need those characters.

Quite a few toys will be doing double duty between my main and ‘Cyberverse’ collections. Not Arcee though since she wasn’t in the original toy line. She’s joined by Windblade and Slipstream, and now Acid Storm and Sky-Byte (making a comeback), Chromia, Lockdown and Clobber (Lugnut).

I vaguely remember watching the original RID cartoon when I was still at my collecting G1 VHS watching stage, but the only character I really remember was Sky-Byte ploughing through Tarmac with his dorsal fin showing. I picked him up initially from B&M when they had all the cheap 30th voyagers. I'm glad to get him back again, especially as he has such a good voice in Cyberverse.

She-Hulk finally came in so once I get the new modular armour Iron Man my 90’s cartoon lineup will be complete (I know She-Hulk’s costume is completely different but it’s a good look).

I’ve got my ‘main’ collection sorted in my head now. All the characters that appeared in the original cartoons and toy line, including Beast Wars and Japanese lines. (I include Return of Convoy despite that being Manga only.) If there’s a group that’s almost complete then I can get the missing figure e.g. Hubcap never appeared in the G1 cartoon whereas all the other minibots did. If a character is ‘original’ or a leader then I can get as many as it has modes. (Original means originated in Diaclone or Microchange, or in the first season of Beast Wars.) Finally, for Japanese exclusive characters, if the toy is a repaint of a Hasbro character then then I can get the Japanese and/or Hasbro characters (e.g. Nightbeat and Thunderwing).

So that means I need more coneheads!

I’m going to triple up on Astrotrain and Blitzwing. I’m going to double up on Punch-Counterpunch, because Punch, and Counterpunch. My spending has been fairly erratic over the last few months but is definitely a bit more stable now.

I’m really enjoying all of the WFC trilogy, Kingdom and Studio Series are great. Hope some new stuff is on its way soon.

Open season

So, main characters in Lego form, I got these guys:

As you might guess I’ve been watching a bit of Disney+, so I also felt inclined to get this figure:

I’ve got a movie Falcon, if I drill a hole in his back I could give him his wings.

Looking at new Lego sets got me thinking about the Spider-Verse film, I don’t think getting the figures in Lego form makes sense (as well as being crazy expensive), but 3.75” does, kinda the opposite of the discussion I had with myself about the Mandalorian. I had half the team already and found Legends Spider-Ham almost works (super large noggin aside) and there’s a SP//dr toy that is almost in scale. Just need a Spider-Gwen.

I also managed to get Netflix Cheetor. I’m not too worried about the missing leg paint, I just appreciate the darker blue.

After it occurred to me that we could get a Twincast repaint from the rumoured Generations Blaster I thought I’d better get Soundblaster. Some of the Siege figures were just great so happy to get this one again.

I opened Jackalman and mummy Mumm-Ra. Super 7 (well, Mattel) have done a great job. Really glad I decided to get the mutants as well, looking forward to completing the group. I prefer the dark red on Matty Mumm-Ra, but I want the skin colour to match the (Super 7) ever living version. For a brief moment I considered buying both and swapping the part, but that would be crazy so I won't do it. (Hi there Fortress......)

Legends MODOK also turned up, he's a very modest improvement of the ToyBiz figure for me, a slightly cleaner aesthetic. I also like the more neutral expression.

So that's it for a little while, I've not got anything to open, I'm not expecting anything anytime soon. I’ve put in a good amount of preorders for the various reveals. The new Rescue looks great but really paying a premium for a few extra bits for a figure I already have. Similarly the new Mark 85. I’m still getting them mind.

I’ve decided to pass on the new Lego Bugle set - I don’t need any of the mini figures and although I like the idea of collecting Marvel buildings in Lego, the Bugle just isn’t very, exciting. I like the idea of having the various heroes bases. It’s not like the Ghostbusters Firehouse which I wanted as a kid. Also that’s, £275 saved!

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

Been thinking about the possibility of getting a new Blitzwing figure and ..... got this. I really like the idea of Astrotrain, Blitzwing and Octane being consistent but if they did a new improved Blitzwing then I think I'd need (several of) it. Getting Astrotrain then made me think about all of the other WFC figures I've passed over. I ended up getting Warpath and finally, Omega Supreme. I tried, I really did but I have a need to get the best version of each character and so it was inevitable. As I expected he's great but I'm a little sad to be replacing the YOTS version. I'm not replacing Jetfire or the coneheads though - I prefer them at the smaller scale. I'm also not replacing Arcee - I prefer the IDW 30th version.

I then started thinking that if we got some Omnibots they could go on my Diaclone shelf, but if I have a Diaclone shelf then I also need these guys. So I’m really really caught up on WFC now.

A spate of new leaks also got me further thinking, with a new Blaster and Perceptor, combined with the rest of the Dinobots, I'm very close to having new versions of everything I wanted replacing. The only characters I really really want left are Star Saber, Deszaras and Thunderclash, but then seeing a photo of Masterpiece Star Saber with Legends God Ginrai and Fortress Maximus inspired me. Oh dear.

Somehow I ended up getting this as well (pupils!).

I've watched the first series of Cyberverse, it's not great but I understand it gets a lot better in later series. I did find myself wanting a Windblade and a Slipstream so this happened. Could be an expensive thing to be watching!

It has caused me to rethink my collection a little bit (again). My main collection is now all the characters simultaneously in both the original toyline and the cartoon, US and Japanese, G1 and Beast Wars. Arcee is now heading for the Cyberverse shelf, it all makes sense. Unicron is a bit of an exception but since he had prototypes for G1 and Beast Wars he can stay.

I will now have an auxiliary collection which is main characters who appear in Cyberverse, some will be in both collections but it gives me a reason to include a few of the 'modern' G1 characters and dig out a few old toys.

I also picked up one of the new Lego sets.

I’ve gone over all of the figures released in WFC, I don’t think there’s anything I’ve passed over that I might change my mind on. I hope not!

Reflection

It’s been over a year since the bad thing happened. Time for a bit of reflection perhaps.

I simplified my collection so that G1 was no longer separate. I sold off lots of G1 figures except where the G1 figure is no the best (or only) version of that character. I bought Titan’s Return Fortress Maximus to do a cheeky bit of parts swapping to make my perfect version. I didn’t buy Black Shadow before because I assumed they do a Thunderwing version, so picked him up. I got Legends Greatshot as I never had one before and there was no reason not to (bit of a Victory theme going on). I got Quickswitch as well to complete a trio (should be a foursome).

I realise that this is now the third iteration of my collection - G1 being the first, Classics, Universe and Generations (and third party) the second. And the Prime Wars and WFC trilogies the third. I don’t think I want there to be a fourth.

I picked up Super Megatron and Cloud Rodimus for my Lost Light shelf. I decided to start collecting the Diaclone repaints of the various original car bots. So in terms of new characters, it wasn’t too crazy but the biggest decision of all was to start collecting doubles of season 1 and 2 of G1 and Beast Wars plus leaders. I hope to be able to display them as they used to look in the catalogues. I got black Ironhide - Deseeus Army drone (I’m going to call him ‘Armorhide’.)

Finally, last but not least, I replaced almost all of my ‘84 - ‘86 Generations figures. That was amazing, the new figures are amazing. But, I think the replacement would have happened anyway. New replacements include Ultra Magnus and Hot Rod.

I decided what my Masterpiece collection should be, Optimus Prime, Megatron and Bumblebee. As G1 toy accurate as possible. I spent more on Megatron than any other figure ever.

I gave my Grimlock and Ravage shelf a bit of attention as well, a rare third party figure in the shape of a cassette - Mastermind Creation's Ravage. And I bought Studio Series Grimlocks, one from Age of Extinction and two from the '86 movie. 

Marvel Legends has been fairly consistent for me, I bought the Strong Guy wave in one go which was a first. I decided to build collections of the (cartoon) Masters of Evil and the Sinister 6. I decided to build a Lego Iron Man armoury, quite possibly the best desk toy ever. I now want to have a (Lego/Mega Bloks) New York theme for my desk with Turtles, Ghostbusters and Marvel. Wouldn’t it be amazing to have Avengers Tower, the Baxter Building and X-Men mansion in Lego form. Wait a minute.....

I embraced 6” Star Wars and assembled a Clone Wars lineup (not that one). I bought the main prequel and sequel characters in Lego form. I decided to get my favourite vehicles in some form (Lego or 3.75”  depending on availability), Jedi Interceptors and the Tigershark deco Republic Gunship. I'm on the look out for an AT-TE. Black Series Mace Windu, General Grievous and Asajj Ventress finally turned up.

Super 7 are going well, but slowly with the Turtles and Thundercats licenses. I decided to also collect Mumm-Ra and the mutants as I had several as a child. And in one of most expensive per gram purchases, I got a Mega Bloks Splinter (it did come with a Technodrome though). I also bought Zordon, pretty rubbish but fun.

So my collection has gone through several further iterations, Transformers is looking even more amazing now - I didn't realise I was compromising before. A few lines I'm done with or very almost done with and I've realised that my building block toys will be my permanent desk toys, that is where attention is now.

Putting this all together: I collect the ‘main’ characters in mini form (Lego, etc), ‘favourite/main’ as 6” figures and then I’m a bit more completist in 3.75”. Transformers even follows this - WST as minis, Masterpiece are equivalent to 6” and Generations are like 3.75”. Of course, the next question is, what constitutes a main character?

Lego Rabbit Hole

All of my preorders seem to come in at the same point. I’m now caught up on Wave 2 of Kingdom and Studio Series ‘86. (They’re all on their way.) I’ve decided to join premium Pulse, just need to buy a few things to get my money back. Looking forward to the next batch of reveals.

Glad to hear MP Raiden is still happening, and at Unite Warriors scale. I think I might need two sets.....

They are doing some Beast Wars reissues which might be Transmetals. Which got me thinking, I’d quite like Depthcharge and Rampage figures. Assuming they sorted out the chrome that is. If they did though I’d need Silverbolt and Quickstrike figures......

Randomly I bought some new Yoshis to replace my custom versions. These even have some minor articulation in the head and arms.

SS86 Scourge is pretty special, as are almost all of the figures I’m getting at the moment. I’ve doubled up on Grimlock and Dinobot. Bring on more Dinobots, and a Grimlock redeco of Dinobot.

Have built another Armoury for my desk, you can never have too many! Feels like there’s a race between Lego and Marvel Legends to get all of the armours out first (I think Lego might just win).

I bought this guy for my Wreckers shelf, might try and make him a bit more Generations-esque. I like him though.

Am impressed with the new deluxes, Airazor and Huffer. Probably need a new Brawn now to work with new Minibots scale. Apparently there’s going to be a Terrorsaur remold of Airazor. Really hope they make him as tall as Primal.

Am loving the new MCU TV series, WandaVision and Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Great stuff!

Enjoyed PulseCon, especially the new modular Iron Man. Got all of my preorders in, but they definitely missed a trick not showing off Slag. That would have taken it from alright to amazing. The amazing news came before in the shape of Black Zarak and after in the shape of leaked Slag photos. Fantastic! I like the idea of just having Metroplex, Trypticon, Fortress Maximus and Scorponok as Titans but Black Zarak is something special. Slag looks great, hope we get a toy version but can’t wait for more Dinobots.

I’m stuck down a Lego scaled rabbit hole. Help help........