Diaclone Jetrobo F-15 Hi-Speed Fighter

Takara's Diaclone Jetrobo F-15 Eagle Hi-Speed Fighter from the Real & Robo sub-series, released in Japan in 1983, was the very first use of the now-legendary Transformers G1 Starscream mould. In my mind, it is as historic a figure as Diaclone Battle Convoy, the predecessor to G1 Optimus Prime. It represents an absolutely magical purchase for me personally, although not one I have ever chased with much fervour - which actually surprises me a lot. The manner in which this toy finds itself in my collection and was completed - it didn't start out as a purchase of a complete toy - is something of a reflection of everything I feel I am about in this hobby and what it means to me.

Joustra G1 Starscream

There's something I have missed deeply about writing vintage G1 articles, especially those that are about obscure variants, and that's the thrill of discovering something new or undocumented. I recently bought the above Starscream from a European seller, not expecting it to be anything groundbreaking; it just happened to be a good price and in highly displayable condition. Perfect for someone rebuilding their variant collection. What I found instead was a hugely significant and probably historical - yet tiny - detail. Spoiler alert, though, there may only be five of us worldwide who will care!

MakeToys MTRM-11 Meteor

When MakeToys revealed their intentions to do a Masterpiece-style Starscream, it was seen as a very bold statement of intent. One that indicated the Boys at M'Toys not only felt they could improve upon the official MP-3 and MP-11 iterations of Masterpiece Starscream - in itself something most believed wholly possible - but also convince enough collectors to buy it and replace the expensive incumbent to make the project worthwhile. Well, Meteor - formerly Howling Meteor - was released in short supply at TFCon just recently and is due for full release later next month. I've got the figure in question right now, so it a success or a howler? 

MakeToys MTRM-10 Galaxy Meteor

Welcome to my review of the 3rd party Transformers manufacturer MakeToys' latest "release" - MTRM-10 Galaxy Meteor, an unofficial Masterpiece-style version of Galaxy Force Starscream. I say "release" because of a whole mass of drama that now surrounds the figure. There were about 24 packaged versions of Galaxy Meteor for sale at TFNation 2017 for £100 and a further bunch sent out to reviewers, myself included. Last week, MakeToys announced that they were cancelling the figure due to low pre-orders. You can imagine the uproar, especially as final production versions had been produced and sold mere days earlier, leading people to believe that something underhand was taking place. MakeToys have now said they are overwhelmed by the desire and love shown for the figure by the online community - helped in part by the #GetMakeToysMade hashtag campaign started by Sixo and I (which was meant to be a bit of a laugh and then gained some proper traction) - and are looking into actually getting it released.

Masterpiece MP-36 Megatron - Full Gallery

Welcome to my complete TakaraTomy Transformers Masterpiece MP-36 Megatron gallery, in celebration of reaching 7000 likes on the Transformers Square One Facebook page. I actually had not planned to purchase this figure, such was the expense in getting it to me in Iceland (no pre-order, international shipping, customs etc). I was also concerned about inevitable damage from handling and the fact that some had paint wear straight out of the box. My recent experiences with other paint-flaking MPs did not help. I wrote a whole article about the feelings I was having regarding this purchase. 

MP-11 Starscream - Bayverse Style by Steve Phiakkou

What a treat! Tonight I got the chance to photograph this utterly spellbinding Movieverse-style MP-11 Masterpiece Starscream custom by good mate Steve Phiakkou. Using Acid Storm as a base and employing Fans Want It upgrades for the leader class movie Starscream, Steve has created this gorgeous, competition-winning custom. Enjoy the pics!

Masterpiece MP-11T Thundercracker

It's about time, they said. A Takara Tomy, cartoon-accurate Masterpiece Decepticon strike plane Thundercracker. MP-11T is, across Hasbro and Takara, the second version of Thundercracker to use the MP-11 mould. The Hasbro Thundercracker from a few years ago was more toy coloured and had tampos of Reflector and Soundwave (as well as various bits of relevant text) that not everyone wanted. At the end of 2015, after a reissue of MP-11 Coronation Starscream and the Hasbro Asia MP-11SW Skywarp, Takara Tomy Mall (this specimen specifically through Hasbro Asia) finally gave us a toon-coloured light blue Thundercracker. So does the third Masterpiece toy to bear the Thundercracker name finally do the business for the cartoon crowd?

TF Animated Activators Test Shots

In my former collecting life I had a lot of nice prototypes and test shots. They were from Generation 1, Generation 2, Alternators and reissues, pretty fantastic stuff and some of it completely unseen before and unreleased. I gave that up happily and concentrated on Diaclone. Now that I am buying modern lines again, I have slipped into old habits and decided to pay tribute to the best line of sub-deluxe Transformers I've seen for ages, the Animated Activators, by grabbing as many unpainted test shots as I can find. In this post you'll see Starscream, Bulkhead, Ratchet and Bumblebee. Of course I didn't find Lockdown, no, that would have been too convenient. But sod worrying about what I don't have, time to celebrate what I do!

New Arrivals - Early September 2014 (Part 2)

For some reason packages are taking much longer to arrive, but the good thing is that whatever arrives allows me time to photograph properly with its mould mates. At the moment I am all about mould completion. This chapter on arrivals includes the Beast Hunters Smokescreen/Prowl deluxe mould, the Minicon Six Speed mould, FOC Data Discs and Animated Starscream. 

(Many) New Arrivals - Early July 2014

Writing to be kept to a minimum. Too many Transformers arrived in early July. Loads of photographs, no captions. Animated, Animated, Animated and even a reissue and a TF Prime toy. It's been an amazing/atrocious couple of weeks, have been well and truly jettisoned from the wagon and reversed over repeatedly. So without further ado, here's the first avalanche...

Ceji G1 Ramjet, Dirge and Thrust

We've looked at the yellow G1 Ceji Devastator and the variant G1 Ceji Starscream, now it's the turn of the 1986 Ceji G1 Decepticon jet Ramjet, made in France and sold in mainland Europe and Scandinavia. We'll briefly check out Thrust and Dirge too. Like Devastator and Starscream, Ceji's Ramjet is quite different to the Hasbro and Takara Generation 1 Transformers Ramjets that most of us will have grown used to in our childhoods and adult collecting. Here comes the breakdown.

Ceji G1 Starscream Quickie

Following on from yesterday's post on the Ceji-manufactured "Yellow Devastator", here's another of the 1986 Transformers made in France by Ceji for Hasbro Bradley in 1986. While the variations on Starscream are not anywhere near as spectacular as a whole Devastator in the wrong colour, there are enough G1 Seeker and Starscream aficionados out there that when I sold both of my specimens, they were gone in an instant with no argument on price. The differences are interesting enough even for a G1 collector with just a passing interest in variants.