I didn't get a good picture of Laserbeak's robot mode. But he's got a Dimebag Darrell-ish alt-mode, which is cool.
I like his bot-mode and I think his Animated "stylized" design translates well to plastic form. I really like the G1 homage this figure is packed with. Like the "tape player buttons" on the vehicle's grill, and the G1-inspired chest.
I'm halfway to starting my new Transformers band. Just need a drummer and a bass player.
It does suffer from the same thing all Revoltechs suffer from...a little thing I like to call Hard as Hell to Pose-itis.
A shot with my Revoltech VF-1S as a size reference.
He's got a very G1-vibe to him; in alt-mode he's an airplane with a folded up robot hanging on the bottom and in bot-mode he's a robot with a folded airplane hanging its the back. Not terribly creative or as "exciting" or Transformically complex as some of the more modern Transformers...
...but therein lies the figure's charm, I think. The beauty of the Classics line (and the "Classiverse" figures) is that they're all Gee Wun-ish and everything, but they aren't vehicles that unfold in to robot shaped bricks. Or as some people like to say, these figures actually are what we THOUGHT G1 figures were like 25 years ago.
This led to an awkward social life for me. Other kids would be saying things like "Wow! Did you see Megatron and Optimus Prime get in that fight?" or "Did you see Duke sneak in to that Cobra base?" and I would say things like "Did you see the Bloodhound Gang use their knowledge of science solve that mystery?" I got picked last for 4-square a lot.
How this impacted me in the world of Transformers was that I wasn't pestering my parents every day for this Autobot and that Decepticon. I saw them on the shelves, I thought they were neat, but I was way more interested in Star Wars and GI Joe figures than in transforming robots. I can count the number of Transformers I had as a kid on one hand, even if I was just a four fingered mutant (Perceptor, Bonecrusher, Seaspray, Blitzwing).
So I missed out on what is possibly the coolest and most sought after G1 Transformer of all time...Jetfire. I never saw a Jetfire in the store. The closest I have ever come to seeing a G1 Jetfire in person was in a store owned by a friend of my brother's a few years ago. It was sitting on the top of a shelf, complete, in the box, with a sticker price of $499. Unfortunately, the douche wouldn't take it down for me to look at it. "I only take it down for people to look at if they're serious about buying it." So I craned my neck for a few minutes trying to get a glimpse of that beautiful red and white plastic through the box window, and went on my way.
For me G1 Jetfire and the Bandai Valkyrie represent the Holy Grail of toydom. Mainly because it is something I can only dream of owning, and I don't have the time, inclination, money or even a cool bullwhip and leather jacket to go looking for one. I'm pretty sure my dad didn't spend half his life compiling a diary of research to locate one, either.
Anyway, when I found this thing on the intarwebs and verified that it was 1) a certified, bona fide, Bandai Valkyrie knock-off and 2) less than $100 (MUCH less), I jumped on it. "Knock-off or not, this is worth a shot" I told myself. I was pleasantly surprised.
The plastic is surprisingly sturdy, it doesn't feel like the cheap plastic you get with usual KOs. There's even die-cast metal on it, if that's your sort of thing. Even the landing gear spring out (and bruise your fingers). If you come across one of these, I'd say its worth picking up.
No, it's not red and white, and it's not Jetfire, but I actually like the way the toy looks. It even comes with a sticker sheet for you to dress him out in custom markings.
I also admitted that I am a sick puppy and limited myself to only four of these. Well, plus a fifth one that I am using for a custom figure. Any way, COBRAAAAA!!!!!
These are cool and all this G1 goodness is actually kind of weaning me off the Animated high I was on a for a while there. So if Hasbro keeps these coming,especially the "Autobot Cars," I'll be a happy boy.
While the bot modes don't quite match the Classics aesthetic, these are just too damn purty for me to care.
Huh? What's that? What does Sunstreaker's license plate say?
WE R 84
Hell, yeah!
My GOD, the toys!
I'm drown-ding under the mountain of toys.
Trying to get caught up.
It will happen.
They're popping up all over the country. Head out to your local Megalo Mart and check them out!
Beast Wars was a great show. It started me back down the dark road of Transformers collecting. However, the only figures I was interested in were show characters. I'm missing Scorponok and Terrorsaur, both of which I passed on because of their show-accuracy. Or LACK of accuracy.
I'm also missing all of the Transmetal Preds except for Megatron. I'm having problems with the vacuum-metalized paint coming off the few TM figs I have, so I'm probably going to skip out on all of them.
Quickstrike was actually one of my favorite characters. I don't know why, but I always liked him. Well, actually, I liked all of the Beast Wars characters. It was simply a really good show.
I like all the translucent bits. It really helps the figure stand out. The paint job is nice too. I don't know why I skipped out on this figure when Beast Wars first came out. I also just realized this is the first Beast Wars toy I've ever featured here. I should put a few more up.
A few weeks ago I was over at my usual haunt bragging about the fact that I had just bought my RID Optimus Prime and, as usual, no one was paying attention to me. Or so I thought. A day or so later I got a Private Message from a fellow board member saying he had an extra RID Ultra Magnus and he was willing to part with it for 10 bucks or so plus shipping. The only thing wrong with it was the little tab that holds the front of the cab on was broken.
He assured me that it did not affect transformation. I told him to give a while to mull it over, clear it with the requisite authorities (wife), etc. and to not feel like he had to hold it for me. "Don't worry," he said, "I've bought a replacement and this was just sitting in the closet. It's not going anywhere."
Well, a few weeks passed, we exchanged a few PMs and how ya doin's. Pictures of the Transformers Animated Ultra Magnus were released. I watched TF: the Movie (the one from the 80's). I had a fever, and the only cure was more cowbell Ultra Magnus, I was leaning more and more between parting with some of my wife's hard earned money.
It was a Friday. I was off work, my kids and wife were out of school. There was a knock at the door. I looked out the window to see a UPS truck backing out of the driveway. Quickly, my mind raced through the possibilities. (At any given time there are around 30 packages containing various plastic bits en route to my house.) I opened the box that was sitting on my front porch. And there he was, Car Robots God Magnus. I couldn't remember paying for it, but I forget stuff all the time. So I logged on to send the guy a PM to see what was up. I already had a message waiting for me:
"You should be expecting a package from me. I was going to throw it out anyway before I came across you. Consider it a gift!"
If I told this person "Thank you" a hundred times, it wouldn't be enough. Pictures of the combined form of RiD Prime and Ultra Magnus, Omega Prime/God Fire Convoy are forthcoming. (I already took some pics, but they sucked.) Omega Prime is one of my favorite figures in my collection, and not just because its an awesome figure.
Oh. You know he can't deal with that now!
Well, thanks to the generosity of a fellow Robophile, the great and powerful Evil King Macrocranios, I got a replacement chest that looks spiffy and shiny.
I also got a sweet little bonus item, my very own copy of The King of All Toy Robots Poem Collections, which is way cooler than any dumb old plastic robot.
Greatest Iron Man figure EVER!!!
You cannot withstand a blast from my mighty uni-beam!!!
Did someone say Fin Fang Foom??
OH MY GOD do I want the Baroness to hurt me like the naughty boy I am!
Next time...what is possibly the greatest Iron Man figure ever.
EVAR!!!
He's not a bad figure at all. Like the other two Iron Man figures I've already shown, his armor hinders posing a little, but that's not big deal.
I've never read any of the Ultimate Iron Man books, so I don't know if this is how he fires repulsor blasts or not. There's little thingys on his palms, but there's also wrist thingys ala DC's Deadshot. This way looks less gay.
I'm assuming that Ultimate Iron Man takes to the skies just like every other Iron Man, with a sweet dramatic pose.
I like this character's design because he looks totally different, yet still feels all Iron Man-y. I just wish there wasn't so much gray on him. Blah.
And, of course, no Iron Man figure would be complete without a removable helmet.
Not really. I guess that doesn't really matter. In fact, this is the only Iron Man figure I have that has a removable helmet.
This figure is the one I was looking forward to the most from the new Iron Man movie line. It actually took me a while to find a gold variant. Target was the only store that had Iron Man figures for a while, and then it was only the Target-Exclusive Silver Centurion variant, which is nice, but isn't Iron Man. At least to me.
My only real gripe is that the armor on the back of the wrist prevents the wrist from being angled fully up, so this is the closest to a "repulsor blast" you can get.
It looks like the figure is molded in a metallic plastic (possibly silver) and has a clear read coat painted over it. Every figure I've seen so far has little red smudges on the gold areas. If you're considering getting one make sure you look it over before buying it. I love this profile:
Past and Present:
First up, if you haven't seen the movie yet, go see it. It is totally awesome. I'd rank it up there with Spider-Man and Batman Begins as one of the best superhero movies ever made. It kicks ass! Robert Downey, Jr.'s casting as Tony Stark is PERFECT! That's it, that's my in-depth super-detailed review. Honestly, don't even look at these lame action figure pictures, go watch Iron Man right now!
Took me forever to find this one. Apparently it was short packed. Boo, to you, Hasbro. I like it because because the suit looks like a conglomeration of parts, which is its origin in the movie, and is also an homage to Iron Man's original armor.
When I tell you that his first appearance in the film is awesome, it would be an understatement. He kicks ass! Here's my take on that "original armor" pose.
And up close and personal. Kick Ass!
Pics of the red and gold Mk. III armor tomorrow. Go see Iron Man immediately. Tonight. Right now, in fact. In case you didn't notice, I think it kicks ass! MAKE SURE YOU STAY ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE END CREDITS!!! There's a little treat at the end.
NOTE: If this post seemed particularly poorly written and gushy, it was. I geeked all over myself.
Apparently this "swede" stuff has been going on for a while, but I just discovered it. Well, someone pointed me to it is more like it.
This clip has been rated PG-13 by the A2PMPAA for mild language and really, really low-budget violence. NSFW, kids.
But then, when I was watching an episode of Miami Vice, during that scene where Crockett and Tubbs are driving through the streets of Miami while In the Air Tonight is playing, she said she was sorry. Then we watched The Breakfast Club and did some coke.
Sorry, I've been having 1985 flashbacks ever since I went to Target this weekend and picked this up.
Stupid American Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity automotive ingenuity.
For that reason (and the fact that the domestic version of the cartoon sucked), I skipped over RID Prime when it first came out. It wasn't until a couple of years ago that I really took notice of the figure and realized how cool it was. But a complete RID Optimus Prime was going for way more than I wanted to pay. However, when I came across this one, the price was too good for me to pass it up.
The seller said that it was only missing its gun and the four missles that go in the missile rack on the ladder, and that wasn't enough to dissuade me from buying it. However, once I got it and opened it up there was a bigger problem. The vacuum-metalized paint on the chest was worn and the white plastic looks a little yellowed. Also, you may not be able to see it, but there are some small parts missing from the red base of the ladder as well.
The yellowing is easily fixed, I think. I'm probably going to paint over it and give it a nice clear coat. Don't know how I'm going to fix the chest, though. But let's be real, this mode isn't why I got this figure in the first place.
This one is...
So pretty.
Yes, I know it's an older figure, and I know the Super Mode is basically a part-former, but I don't care. This has turned out to be one of my favorite figures in my collection. Also, if anyone has a junker RID Optimus Prime, or some of the parts I've mentioned that I'm missing and are interested in selling them, please drop me a line.
P.S. Dear EKM: GOTCHA!!
