1987 Autobot Movie Targetmasters - Gallery

This week I finally got around to another lovely Generation 1 article. I am spacing these out because they are so tremendously enjoyable for me to do, and so finite, that I want to extract every last bit of enjoyment from my recent acquisition of many 1987/88 figures as I can. It's an era that I neglected a lot in my earlier collecting days, and am now discovering and enjoying with great enthusiasm. I did have a few Headmasters and Targetmasters from my childhood, but nowhere near the level of now. Sadly, they are not cheap and finding G1 from 87 and 88 in the condition I desire for these articles is very difficult. Anyway, thanks to my feature on Autobot Targetmasters from the TF Movie (Hot Rod, Kup, Blurr), I can now share the full hi-res gallery of the photos used in that article.

Burnout - Hi Res Gallery

This week on TFSource Blog I published an article called Burnout, exploring the causes of collecting fatigue and general disillusionment with Transformers buying and the community. Having not received or bought much in the way of new toys recently, I'm having to get creative with article topics and even moreso with the photography. Thanks to my daughter's toys making for great Masterpiece accessories, I came up with a few images I can be proud of where the figures are demonstrating exhaustion, sadness and negativity. Here's the high resolution gallery of those same images. Enjoy!

MP-8 Grimlock - Unreleased G2 Tiger Stripe by Steve Phiakkou

Another treat! Another night photographing an incredibly gorgeous Masterpiece custom by Steve Phiakkou (Stevil33). Using MP-8 Masterpiece Grimlock as a base, Steve has created this very striking custom in unreleased Generation 2 "Tiger Stripe" Grimlock colours, based on concept artwork seen in publications such as Legacy. Enjoy!

Who is Blaze? (BadCube OTS-Special 01 Sentinel Blaze)

Third Party company BadCube (formerly Cubex) had previously mainly tackled Generation 1 minibots such as Huffer (Huff), Brawn (Brawny), Outback (Backland) and Warpath (Wardog). Evil Bug Corps (Insecticons) aside, they took an enormous step towards being a headline event with OTS-08 Sunsurge, their take on Autobot car Sunstreaker in the Masterpiece style and scale. The Autobot cars are massively popular still, and the Masterpiece Transformers have proven to be as desirable as anything else around. Being the first company to get a legitimately MP-style Sunstreaker on the market ensured Sunsurge's success. Now, BadCube have repainted the modified yellow Lamborghini Countach into its red predecessor, known widely as the Diaclone "Red Sunstreaker"- named BadCube Old Timer Series Special 01 - Sentinel Blaze. I'm going to have a brief look at this upcoming figure, explain its history and significance because it excites me hugely, and needs some defending. Much as I felt the need to address the question Who Is Tigertrack for the Masterpiece release in 2013, let us now ask Who is Blaze?

Ocular Max PS-01A Sphinx Alternative

Ocular Max - otherwise known as the Masterpiece-mimicking arm of Mastermind Creations (MMC) - opened their account with the very well-received PS-01 Sphinx late in 2015. Sphinx was their take on a Masterpiece Mirage using what they believed to be top quality materials like diecast metal, rubber tyres and so on. They also make no attempt to hide their influence from Studio Ox's well-established style for Transformers art, or homages to the original Generation 1 Transformers packaging features. Well, Sphinx was a sell-out and Ocular Max have re-issued it, after a fashion, as PS-01A Sphinx Alternative. It is a lighter blue version, more accurate to the actual #26 Equipe Gitanes Ligier JS11 Formula 1 car from 1979 driven by Jacques Laffitte on which G1 Mirage and its Diaclone predecessor were based.