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.

Diaclone "Red Ironhide" Quickie

The title of this piece sounds a bit ridiculous as we all know the Generation 1 Transformers Autobot "Ironhide" as a red figure and character, but as a Japanese Takara Diaclone it was a black figure. A Car Robot No.2 Black Nissan Onebox Cherry Vanette, to be precise, and the second ever Diaclone Car Robot to be released all the way back in March 1982. This was also available as the Diakron DK-2 in North America in 1983 (and Finland in 1984/5) in black, together with a black release in Italy under the GiG Trasformer banner, and then came the red.

Browning - One figure, 3 types of robot art

The Micro Change Series Browning is a popular and well known toy. It was also widely released throughout the world, first in Japan in two colours for Micro Change Series, then again as part of the Transformers Super God Masterforce line in 1988. In America they only got bootlegs but Europe got official pre-TF releases as part of the Ceji Joustra Diaclone line, GiG Trasformer in Italy and also as R-Kioski store exclusives in Finland. More on the European history of Browning here

Finnish Diaclone Group Shots

Among all the store-released Diaclone cars from around the world, Japanese, Italian, European, North American or whatever, the Finnish Diaclones are considered by many to be the toughest of all with most releases numbering less than 3 boxed specimens found. I personally believe some Ceji Joustra Diaclone wave 2 figures to be rarer as they have not even been seen before, but there are still doubts as to whether some of them saw a proper release at all. For the time being, with confirmed releases we know about, I believe the above (and below) to be a collection of the rarest production Diaclone car robots in existence, and the nearest thing we have to a picture of the complete set. Dear Truck Crane, your brothers await you. 

Recent Departures - November 2014

It's been a very long time since I've done a "Recent Departures" post, because I had not sold anything of significance after the Finnish Black Tracks some months ago. Even then, it was a loose broken extra, not my collection specimen. After amassing nearly all of Animated in a short while and expanded further into MP, 3P and Generations/FOC, my gaze once again turned to real life and more Diaclone had to go in order to bring my family and I closer to affording a property.

Recent Departures - April 2014

I may not have sold much recently (not for a lack of trying) but the one item that I have sold has been a big deal. There are only about 10 people worldwide who can claim the honour of owning a Finnish Diaclone 'Black Tracks' Corvette Stingray, so I have been incredibly fortunate to have had two at the same time. I bought the second broken one loose to try and upgrade the damaged parts on mine. Alas, virtually everything on mine was in better condition anyway, so it ended up being a loose display extra of the absolute highest quality. Eventually though, circumstances and priorities won out, and it got sold. Good, no one collector should have two of these when so many don't even have one.

Diaclone "Black Tracks"

Solved mystery, personified rarity, fraud magnet, ridiculed hackney. But is the Finnish Diaclone "Black Tracks" now irrelevant and over-discussed because of attempted fraud, blurry Japanese images and crazy prices? Try telling every single Diaclone or Transformers car variant collector in the world minus ten that this toy is irrelevant, uninteresting and yesterday's news. Of course if you're not one of them, well, at least the pictures are nice. To me this is still the pinnacle, the embodiment of the appeal of this hobby. Welcome, the Finnish Takara Diaclone "Auto Robot" Corvette Stingray in black. 

Milton Bradley G1 "Red Tracks"

A giant of vintage Transformers Generation 1 variations, the original red version of the 1985 Autobot Tracks. First seen and made famous as a Transformer on the back of 1985 Hasbro packaging, it didn't take as long to deduce the reason for that artwork's red depiction of Tracks as other mysteries in the hobby have taken. The Tracks mould was originally "Corvette Stingray" in the Japanese and Italian (and Finnish) Diaclone Car Robot lines by Takara, where its first ever colour was red. Undoubtedly using Takara samples for reference, the artists depicted a red Tracks on the 1985 box back artwork for Transformers packaging, but of course the toy was released in blue everywhere. Everywhere, that is, except mainland Europe.

Display Evolution

Or de-evolution? I used to live at home and so my room was decorated from top to bottom with Transformers. Oh the joys of disposable income and no significant rental responsibilities. When I moved out I could - like most - only afford to rent modest accommodation where TFs were not the priority, and my displays reflected that. I'd sold loads too by that stage. The picture above is of my very old G1 loose collection from around 2000. I'm going to recall the progress/decline of my collection display over the last few years.

Browning In Europe

The term "Browning" means something special to Transformers collectors. It's that beautifully elegant gunrobo from prehistory that - to most of us - was only available to the lucky children in Japan who first experienced it as part of Takara's Micro Change Series toy line, and then again as a Destron in the Takara exclusive Chōjin Masterforce series. Sure there were Kingdam bootlegs and such, but the real deal was just one of those rare toys we'd read about on the Internet. As it turns out, Browning was widely available - officially - in Europe back in the 1980s.

Recent Departures

If one is going to collect expensive, rare toys as a hobby, then one must accept that somewhere down the line certain things have to be sacrificed in order to continue collecting the high-end, obscure stuff, or one must switch to cheaper more accessible pursuits...or even cash in on the rare figures in one's collection and accept that other priorities take precedence at certain points in one's life.That's where I'm at, and here is a look at some of the special Transformers and Pre-Transformers items I've said goodbye to recently.