Masterpiece MP-22 Ultra Magnus - Quickie Pictorial

Like the title says, just a straight up mini-gallery of the wonderful MP-22 Takara Tomy Masterpiece Transformers Ultra Magnus. This is a figure I did not pre-order or like the look of. Then it started arriving and "best Masterpiece yet" comments started to make me pay attention. The fact is, he's incredibly good in both modes, hugely solid, has a buttflap that you will immediately stop caring about and the best Masterpiece transformation of them all - except Bumblebee. Thanks to my friends, I got this at a terrific price, a price that a non-believer did not deserve. I learned though, and it made me buy Star Saber too. No more small-only TFs for me. I like big bots.

TFCC Exclusives Gallery

As an accompaniment to this week's TFSource Blog article on TFCC/TFSS Club exclusives that I own and love, here are the images from that article in much higher resolution for those that appreciate these gorgeous repaints. Not all of them, of course, just Cheetor, Chromedome, Barricade, Circuit and Jackpot.

Mexican G1 "Trailbreaker Head" Hoist

MEXICAN HOIST HAS THE WRONG HEAD! Maybe you knew that already, after all this is one of the oldest and well-established G1 variants of all. Along with the Canadian G1 Red Slag, the European Milton Bradley G1 Red Tracks and black Mexican G1 Prowl, "Hoistbreaker" is a legend. Believed to have been released in 1986 in Mexico and subsequently exported around Europe, the Plasticos Iga Mexican Generation 1 Autobot Hoist was manufactured with Trailbreaker's head cast in green instead of the Diaclone Wrecker/Hoist head sculpt. It's commonly referred to as the Mexican Hoist with Trailbreaker head, and that's precisely what it is. I personally have never seen a corrected Mexican Hoist, they've all been like this in my experience.

TFCC Circuit

Transformers Collector's Club "Circuit" is a repaint of the Revenge Of The Fallen deluxe figure "Axor", itself a slight remould of the ROTF Lockdown. This is one of the finest deluxe class Transformers sculpts in history, and while nothing rocks it harder than the Lockdown, Circuit is gorgeous, gaudy and the last Club figure I wanted for my collection. For now.

MakeToys Utopia - City Mode Pictorial

And now the last evening of MakeToys Utopia pictures, enjoy how glorious this fantastic creation looks in city/base mode and how fun it is to drop a few Diaclone drivers in there as well. It;s still a shame that the large guns can't connect to the legs and instead act as stabilisers at the back of the city. You cannot exactly say he suffers visually for it, though. Utopia shows just how strong each mode is and how well each iconic Metroplex configuration is interpreted and represented. Bravo MakeToys, bravo. I've not been this impressed for some time.

MakeToys Utopia - Ship Mode Pictorial

Moving onto the ship mode of MakeToys Utopia, I am struck again by how enormous this figure is. 55 cm long according to the packaging in this mode, the transformation is absolutely perfect for a toy of this size, just enough complexity to make it more than a leg-bending exercise but quick enough to allow you to appreciate the quality that has gone into its construction and design. I am truly so impressed. SO here he is in ship mode, something the original Metroplex didn't have, but IDW inspired Titans carrying the Knights Of Cybertron have been shown to have in comics.

MakeToys Utopia - Robot Mode Pictorial

There's not a whole lot to say here about MakeToys' Citybot "Utopia", their version of Autobot City Metroplex. I didn't ever understand the fuss about MakeToys, and then I handled this figure and fell completely in love. Many kind thanks must go to Steve Phiakkou for allowing me to spend some time with Utopia. Absolute heaven to pose, handle and manipulate, this figure is head and shoulders above far too many other 3rd Party figures I've played with. Sadly the quality is matched by the price, so like me, most of you will probably satisfy yourselves with pictures. Here are a few in robot mode, demonstrating the unbelievably wide range of motion and poise this giant can boast.