Collector's Cards

One of the most appealing feature of collecting Japanese Transformers is the inclusion of collector's cards with most releases, from just after the start of the Takara vintage Generation 1 era all the way through reissues, Car Robots, Binaltech, Animated and present day Masterpieces with many other lines in-between. These cards would almost always feature attractive character artwork, character or toy specifications and backstory. Their highly collectible nature lends itself nicely to modern adult Transformers collecting and the need to preserve the condition, originality, prestige and completeness of our toys.

Animated Oil Slick Pictorial

When Transformers Animated was first in the shops, and I saw the solicits for Oil Slick's wave, I had no interest in the figure as I hadn't seen it in the show and the toy looked rubbish.Fast forward 6 years and I ended up with the Takara Tomy version of Oil Slick in a lot of toys I got recently, so it has the shiny paint everywhere. I also saw his few seconds of episode time in the show this year. The result? Proper appreciation for one of the most fun Transformers I've ever owned, one of the few Takara Tomy Animated toys that shines next to its Hasbro counterpart, and a toy I simply cannot put down. Also, a toy with a massive slice of imagination and originality, here's the Takara Tomy Animated oil Slick pictorial.

Mexican G1 "Sparkly Metroplex" Quickie

I remember a time when we thought Mexican Transformers by Plasticos Iga only covered the first 2 series of Autobots and Decepticons, and not even all of those. Sure there were series 3 minibots but they weren't new moulds, they were just series 1 moulds repainted into s3 colours. Then came Metroplex, one of the most 1986 Transformers of them all, first known by the existence of an Iga Metroplex instruction sheet shown to all by Napjr. At least that's how I remember it. Morgan Evans later had a loose complete one that he showed off on Skywarp.co.uk and in 2011 I landed a boxed one myself from Mexico. By that time there was also a sealed one on eBay, but let's have a look at what matters, the toy itself.

New Arrival Late June 2014 - Jet Pack Bumblebee

The Transformers Animated train rolls on, and late June sees me waiting for numerous packages from Asia and the US. The first (and only one thus far) to arrive in late June is something I never realised would be so interesting, the smaller scale Takara Tomy Transformers Animated Jet Pack Bumblebee figure - and just the figure, the accessories and jet pack were not included in the auction. Even more surprising was that I knew the seller from years ago when we hung out at BotCon two years in a row, he'd since moved to Japan, small world right?

Macross One Year Project - May June 2014

The update is that there are no updates. The above picture is about the only movement that has occurred, and even then it consisted of me digging out my little Skull keychain and Matchbox super deformed vintage VF-1S missing all parts to photograph alongside the glorious VF-1S Super Valkyrie reissue. It's not for a lack of trying though, I must have bid on four separate VF-1J Max Jenius reissues and lost each one for an increasing amount. I've seen them go from $70 to $120 on Japanese auction in the space of 3 or 4 months. Macross, along with Diaclone and Masterpiece/3P has become a shade expensive for me currently, so I've been buying cheap TF Animated toys - but I will return to the project. I can't stop looking at my Valks, and I still have 6 months!

All the best
Maz

Diaclone "Red & Police Sunstreaker" Model Kits

During the height of Diaclone in Japan, Takara and Nitto collaborated on a series of model kits that covered a fair bit of the Diaclone range, mostly the figures that didn't make it to Transformers and the consciousness of many collectors, things like Dia Battles, Big Powered, Warudaros etc. However, number 16 and 17 in the set covered the very first Diaclone Car Robot mould from the Real & Robo series, the Countach LP500S Super Tuning (red Sunstreaker) and its retool, the Countach LP500S Patrol Type (Police Sunstreaker). What makes these kits essential for any self-respecting Transformers, Diaclone or artwork collector is that they feature the only character artwork ever produced for the red and especially police versions of what would become the famous Autobot "Sunstreaker". 

Japanese TF Oddities - Post #100!

Even though I've never actively collected Japanese Transformers toys or paraphernalia (not counting Diaclone), it doesn't mean I haven't come across a few interesting and sometimes rare bits of Takara Transformers peripheral goodness. Not quite what I had in mind for post #100 but here's a quick look back, and I do mean quick.

Movie Mania

A new Transformers movie is coming, don't you know? Age Of Extinction, TF movie number 4, is a few weeks away for us in the UK and I will of course be going to see it. I enjoyed the first movie so much I went to the cinema 7 times including the premiere in the UK where Michael Bay and half the cast introduced the screening in person, and also the US premiere at BotCon 2007 where the other half of the cast were there! Revenge of the Fallen I saw once, didn't like that, and Dark Of The Moon got seen repeatedly as well. None of the sequels captured my imagination as much as the first, and my toy/merchandise buying at that time reflects this.

New Arrivals - Mid June 2014

 

Diaclone, Macross, Comics, Animated - this is the new obsession, and it's BRILLIANT. All the UK dealers I know have tonnes of Animated and they can barely sell it because everyone has been offloading collections of the stuff, sealed specimens are cheap and it's possible to get ten times as much toy for £80 than any Leo Dux could ever be, I don't care how good it is. Luckily Animated is very good, with every deluxe a reminder of just what's possible for toys of that scale. Here are the last batch of purchases that arrived.

How to get a G1 Rotorstorm For Free (Part 5 - Finale)

 

Here it is, the final chapter in my mission to get a G1 Rotorstorm complete and totally free of charge. What started out as just a desire to have a Transformers figure I'd never known about - or seen - because I fell in love with it at first sight in hand as cheap as possible, turned into a self-fuelling quest to prove that it was possible to be resourceful and imaginative, and score one in good condition and with all parts without paying a penny overall. It was a completely unreasonable expectation, you cannot collect G1 Transformers for free. I was doing quite well though to begin with, and the picture at the head of this article tells you all you need to know about how things worked out, but did it actually work out free? You'll know by the end of this.

New Arrivals - Early June (Part 2)

This is a big one today, not just a small post with one picture of each new arrival. I am currently getting in so much Transformers Animated (and other things!) that I can't keep up with the blog posting the way I was able to when I had virtually no new toys to speak about so I could plunder my photo archives. I've gone from 2 TF Animated toys to over 40 in two weeks. I even had to dedicate this week's TFSource Blog article to Animated. So here we are, the second batch of significant arrivals.

Hasbro G1 Fireflight MOSC Quickie

This is no knockoff, reissue, custom or any such thing. You are looking at a practically-case fresh Transformers Generation 1 Aerialbot Fireflight, still sealed to its original backing card, from 1986. Seeing an item of this quality makes me realise that I actually have not seen that many carded and mint G1 Aerialbots. Gold-card European Classic versions sure, many, but actual G1 I have seen barely any. I haven't been looking, I'll admit, but those in the know inform me that it is a comfortably rare sight. So what the hell is it doing here? 

How to get a G1 Rotorstorm For Free (Part 4)

 

Welcome to another episode of 2 Broke Bots. You thought it was over, right? That I'd settle for costing myself £2.21 and a rotor-less Rotorstorm? Well I certainly did, before another opportunity presented itself. An opportunity involving a 3-wheeled, one-armed Japanese Diaclone Police Sunstreaker in a worn box being sold on the other side of the world. If things didn't work out I would end up over £150 in the red with no complete Rotorstorm to show for it. Here's what happened...

TF Animated Activators Lockdown Quickie

A flip-changer, essentially. Transformers Animated Lockdown, but the Activators release. Children's toys, silly little dodgy trinkets and not a hair on the proper deluxe or voyager class Transformers figures. Wow, was I wrong. It's completely my loss that I did not pick up all the Animated Activators when they were in stores, because after experiencing a few in person, I realised what marvels they are, and Lockdown is actually not one of the strongest, yet still marvellous.

New Arrivals - Early June 2014

I had genuinely forgotten what it was like to have toys arriving regularly, and in all honesty it's making me uncomfortable because I've got Transformers in the flat that are still unopened and I bought them to open. That's a sure sign that you're acquiring more than you can appreciate, especially if there's more still to come. That doesn't mean I'm not enjoying it though, so here are the first wave of new arrivals entirely made up of my Transformers Animated collection rebuild.

TF Animated Revival

It finally happened, I watched season 2 and 3 of Animated all the way through, with all the UK enabling from the discussion thread on TFW2005 and in person at Pub(e)Con, I've broken down and started re-purchasing Transformers Animated toys. They are so cheap to buy sealed at the moment, especially the deluxes that came out in the UK - how could I resist?

My Dream Collection

There are a few toy lines that have found a place in my heart throughout my time as a Transformers and pre-Transformers collector, and when I imagine what my dream collection would look like, something I could fit into a single room and be able to appreciate properly and fully in terms of quantity just by looking around, it's a pretty clear picture. It involves stuff I have now, stuff I am buying and definitely stuff I have already sold. Apologies in advance for recycled photography.