daily ramblings: Transformers toys

In an effort to make my blog more personal, i've decided to add a new section to it, Daily Ramblings, also because sometimes there's a ton of stuff just flying around in my head that i would like to share with other people. Today I'm going to be discussing about the Transformers franchise, particular the collectible toys.

Transformers have come a long long way, from the classic g1 cartoons in 1985, to the latest 3d and animated series, not to mention the live action film that somehow reincarnated the transformers franchise to the huge money making cooperation it is today.

The transformers toys had humble beginnings, fulfilling what they were design to do, transform from vehicles, or animals, to robots.

here we see one of the original toys, notice the limited function in arm and leg movements. Back then this was the holy grail of transformers though, as long as it could transform it would sell.

Now, let's bring ourselves back to the 29th century, now not only do our transformers transform, they can move their arms up down left right in our, and also the legs. But this of course comes with a price, now we have to take at least 30 mins on the first go to figure out how to transform our robot, even with instructions! Back then it was, flip here, flip here, pull here, tada. we're done. Now it seems like rotate this, flip that, rotate this, flip flip flip flip, rotate rotate, flip the same thing 10 times, insert, pull out, fold here, tear here. And oh, your transformer doesn't look anything like the box art shows.

But no, seriously, i love transformers. It's how it all comes together that really makes you admire how they design it. Which kinda makes me regret not getting into the collecting business earlier in life, which now brings me to a story of how i started collecting transformers.

As a kid, i watched tons of transformers, had 1 or 2 during my childhood, which broke obviously. When the live action movie came out, it was mind blowing, i did look at the toys, but they were not to my liking, they robots from the movie looked ugly in my opinion, they looked nothing like the classic, except optimus prime but i was never a big fan of him, too many people already liked him.

How does that not scream YOU to the GEE, EL WHY. yes, that spells youge'elwhy. So my interest in the transformers ended there. I did however acquire some nice shirts particularly linking to the decepticon soundwave over the years. And this christmas, what did i see, the WFC soundwave, which wasn't the original boombox soundwave, but its similarities to the g1 soundwave were there, any fan would know. So without hesitation i bought it. Which springs the dawn of my collection today.

For me, when it comes to purchasing collectibles, i'm quite the picky guy, but looking at old toys, i really wished i had some of them, like the g1 series universe bruticus maximus exclusive to target released in 2008

Stunning isn't it. As i was saying when it comes to the collectibles, i find it more worth it to buy ones that aren't common, for example, classic hot rod, bumble and optimus prime. There have been so many re-releases of them that if you have one you don't feel right, and looking at old pics of them are not awing, or stunning. But when you look at old toys like bruticus, you'll go where can i get one of those? But optimus is so common, kinda makes you sick seeing the same old boring picture.

Whoever i think variants are well worth it, for example, wfc optimus prime, thats uncommon, and i highly doubt they will re-release a figure like that. Which also makes it a good one to sell or trade to fans of optimus prime without this figure. And people like me who just started collecting their toys in 5 years time will look back at figures like these and go, where can i get one of those?

Alternity Thundercracker

If you know me well enough, you would know that i have an sort of an impulsive behaviour when it comes to collectibles. Recently i had a craving for a shiny high end transfomer in the midst of my Hasbro normal grade Transformers. This made me turn to Tomy Takara, a pioneer in toy making from Japan, they've brought us a great deal of kids toys from beyblades, to collectibles like transformers.

One line that stood out to me was the Alternity, because of it's availability and it's not so high end price unlike the Masterpiece line which goes up to about 500 ringgit. The alternity line cost around 160 ringgit. Because of it's price tag, the conundrum of which one should i acquire arises. The Alternity line was short lived, for reasons unknown to us, so they only came up with 4 models, each model has a minimum of 2 remakes, mostly a different paintjob. Fortunately for me the store which sells this line only has one colour of each model, making it just a choice between the models!

Of the models, i highly disliked the suzuki swift cliffjumper model, because it looks bulky, fat in a sense. The Nissan Fair Lady Megatron was different to the original Megatron because it used swords instead of blasters, which kinda put me off. Another thing about Megatron which i did not approve of was that the back of his head was resting on a flat surface, which juts out a little which makes it look odd for a head not to be on it's own. Next came the Nissan GT-R Ultra Magnus, which looks highly cool, but after reviewing the reviews, it has poor articulation making it not be able to stand up, and also it's an autubot which sways my decision as i'm a big decepticon collector, (when i say big, i mean in heart, not in collection)

This leaves me with no other than, no surprises here as the title already stated, the Mitsuoka Orochi Thundercracker! Which i myself have no regrets of purchasing, and you'll see why in a minute. The Alternity seekers have been getting mixed reviews by the public which is understandable as everyone has their own taste.

The model is a Japanese Sportscar, the Mitsuoka Orochi, which to my suprise, there is a Showroom in Malaysia, where there is a huge billboard of the Mitsuoka Orochi. The car itself looks fine, along with the eccentric blue colour makes it pleasing to the eye. A great deal about the Alternity line is the attention to fine detail they have, the car has everything from wipers, headlights to rims and radio aerial!

eek, sorry for the gap in the middle there, must have slipped my eye while taking photos.

Stunning, isn't he, (note i did not call it a she like most cars, thats because thundercracker is a male decepticon) there's even a spot for the car plate!

Now as to why i wanted something like the alternity line so badly, ...

... you can actually open the doors, hood, and the trunk! Not only that but if you look closely inside ...

... there is car seats along with steering wheels, Sorry for the flash shot, but i had to take it to prove the point about the car seats and the steering wheel.

It just fits so well with my other toys, it's about the same size as a deluxe figure, which most of my collection are. This toy has a third mode, in addition to vehicle and robot mode, which is flight mode, his back wheels can be turned into tiny wings, similar to Turbo Tracks from the G1 continuity.

A lot of people don't have much love for this third alternative mode because it's pointless in a way, but i absolutely adore it, it just adds on to what's already great about this toy. Now for the long awaited robot mode.

They've actually tried really hard to make this look similar to the original seekers, giving it a (false) hood for the chest, Wings, and hand mounted blasters, also the wings on the legs which gives him the flight mode in it's car form is suppose to represent the plane fins from the seeker mode. This figure offers a lot in terms of poseability, and it doesn't have much of a stnading issue as most transformers do have. One big complain about this figure is the doors in the robot mode, the doors don't play any part in robot mode and are kinda just awkward there, (this angle doesn't really prove my point about the doors, but if you have the figure you'll know what i'm talking about) the doors also very easily detaches when transforming which is a pain. The figure also looks ugly from the back as many reviews mention, but as some people point out, who cares? you don't display them from the back anyway, who does that?

Overall a stunning figure, worth every penny if you ask me.

For more pictures of him visit my flickr :)

Decepticon Thrust

So recently, i acquired a new deception to my collection. To be fair, i have not yet to review any of my deluxe class decepticons, so even though it's not my first of the collection, it's the first to be introduced to the perauverse.

Also i think it's probably out of my current collection a good one to be introduced because it falls into the original 1985 G1 (generation 1) transformers cartoon and it's very very close to cartoon accuracy. Which is a big YES to many transformers collectors.

For those who don't know him, here is Thrust from the cartoon. He's a conehead and a decepticon Seeker. Originally the conehead design was unattractive to me. But the market for transformers currently doesn't hold many variety (unless purchasing online, which i'm quite afraid of in case the toy has a imperfection). Out of the coneheads he is probably favourable to me because he does not have the main wings lying on the legs, (the toy version anyway).

Here's what my toy looks like. It's almost identical to the cartoon! Probably only difference is that the wings are on it's body instead of the leg but i prefer it that way anyway. Things to note about is that the rifles and the turbine are removeable, so you can socket them anywhere you want. The turbines can be socketed on the feet. Similar to the dreamwave arch version below.



Guess the part where you can accesorize him however you want kinda puts your own touch to it. The transformation of this decepticon is relatively easy, i say relatively because in comparison to most transformers it's a piece of cake. The vehicle mode is a normal jet, it's supposed to take on a form of a modified f-15. Probably because the original seekers are modeled after the f-15 and this is modified from the original seekers. Here's what it looks like it in it's vehicle glory

All in all Thrust is a great deal. He looks good and is a great add to your collection. He can even dismount his blasters and hold it in his arms like below, which is 100% cartoon accuracy.

By now you're probably thinking, is it all great? unfortunately, no. Sadly with all seekers remolded from Henkei henkei's Starscream they all have really short arms. you won't really notice it with the blasters hanging from the side, but that's just an optical illusion! Just like almost every transformer, they have problems when it comes to stabilizing them while in the upright position. He doesn't pose much poseability because his wings block most freedom for movement of the arms and legs, most of the time if you move the hands, you have the move the wings as well.

One thing i love about the deluxe line is the attention to detail, the one that really sticks out to me in this model is the wheels, if you look at the picture of thrust holding his blasters i kinda forgot to fold the wheels inwards, it's by his chest, if you compare it to the first picture of my toy you can probably see difference. Here's an upclose of the wheel while it's in vehicle mode.

What catches me about this is that they probably didn't need it since in transformation mode you can't see it, and it's such a small detail, why bother? i don't think it would have mattered to the fans. Thats why i really love the fact that they've done it!

Overall it's a great toy, worth every penny. So if you love decepticon seekers. it's a must buy!

Supermobile

If batman can have a batmobile why cant superman?

well there you have it folks. Superman's got his very own ride. with his colours.
bet batman's jealous now! what you're looking at is. WFC Optimus Prime. (note the nerd notation WFC which stands for War For Cybertron, havn't actually played it but the toys from it look cool.) i just love how the car seems to be just about the right size. its a big armored car that looks like it can break anything in its path! now superman doesnt have to go charging head on with his fist anymore. you can thank me later superman.

Along with a new transformer, a new stop motion is in motion! hehe.
For my 2nd attempt on stop motion, i used my webcam instead of using my phone cam to take photos. a lot of rookie mistakes, but don't think its that noticeable.



Notes:
next time have sound.
better lighting.

I think i should have gone with the vehicle to bot mode instead since i showed you guys the vehicle mode first. but i'll save that for the next time i try my stop motion.


eyecatching isn't it?

i call it the auto justice league task force. also ajltk. owlman pilots the gundam. heh.

Great isn't it how the gunpla and optimus prime are just about the same height. i'd like to see that the gunpla are a security measure the perauverse has taken against of any hostile transformer takeovers. watch out world. transformers have landed

Ravage in the land of Perauverse

SO!

recently i purchased myself a bunch of transformer toys. ah. the satisfaction of adding to my collection.

ah what is this? it seems like some sort of space vehicle!

looks like its headed for perauverse! dum dum dum. pew pew.

ah, looks like it landed in my frontyard. as you can tell. its quite a mini toy, judging on the sizes on my keyboard. wait what is this! it's TRANSFORMING. pew pew.

forgive me. for my first ever poor quality stopmotion. but everybody's got to start somewhere right? hehe. i liked it.

anyway, here's an upclose look on Decepticon "Legends Class Ravage"

i absolutely adore this, its tiny and cute. it doesnt have much poseability but its a might fine ornament. and theres more! in comparison with the major population of the perauverse

its not that much bigger! i think he'll fit well. and also in comparison with my deluxe class transformers figures, he's just about the size g1 ravage should be. the joy. anyways lets welcome ravage to our humble world!