X-Transbots Ollie - Good gollie!

When this figure came in for me, I was super-excited about getting it!  I took a few snapshots and was asked to share a few initial thoughts.  While I am quite the fan of Wheelie, I really wanted to look at this piece very objectively and give it a fair handshake.  While I can sometimes burst out into rhyme, for this blog post I surely won't take the time!  Perhaps if you're on the fence with this figure, reading on will help you decide whether or not to get it....

Momentary Lapse: Part 2

Quite some time ago, I posted this.  It's bound to happen.  Burnout, life issues, holidays...life can throw a lot atcha sometimes!  Well, while I've not been completely inactive online, blogging had to take a back seat.  If you're wondering why, perhaps the biggest reason is that I suffered a major notebook crash.  Place that on top of a time when "Tis the season," then one has a recipe for less blogging.

Kronos is MY Masterpiece Skyfire!

Hey guys, quick post, as I just want to share some of my photos taken of my new arrival: DaCa Toys Kronos!  After the photos, I am mirroring some thoughts I've posted at TFW2005.COM as well.  Go!

Roadbusted!

Recently, I had an unfortunate incident where my G1 Roadbuster's arm broke off.  Initially, one may think that was is a result of mishandling the figure.  However, anyone who knows me well enough would know that I tend to handle my Transformers very carefully, especially my G1 and Masterpiece figures.  This is mainly due to the cost of replacing a part that may break, as either line can be pretty expensive for repairs.

As such, I posted a want ad in a group I help administrate on Facebook, the G1 Transformers Buying Trading Selling group.  A member there, Andrew Zamarripa, messaged me with a generous offer to help.  After chatting a bit to make proper arrangements, I happily sent payment.

Fast forward just a bit, as I got the box with Roadbuster from Andrew for repairs.  With the spare in hand, I was able to perform an arm transplant.  It's a pretty simple operation, as there's a screw on the front and a screw on the back.  Simply removing both separates the abdomen portion from the back, exposing the pins which hold the arms.  The pins aren't beveled, so just a little finagling will slide the pin up just enough to grip.  I've used a pair of needle-nose pliers on this in the past, but it's not required; I removed the pin with just my fingers this time around.   As it would turn out, I'm going to have to swap the hoods out too, as mine has a small chip from where I transformed it so much as a kid.  

(Roadbuster, it's what's for dinner!)

"Me, Grimlock, get moar and moar Masterpiece release! HAHAHA!"

So, like quite a few other collectors, I recently picked up the recent Hasbro release of Masterpiece Grimlock.  Of course, most know this is the second time Hasbro has used this mold in their Masterpiece line, which has always been pretty haphazard compared to Takara[Tomy]'s way of steering the line.  Nevertheless, I'm a bit of a completionist, and I intend to be with Hasbro's releases, especially since they've actually started a numbering system, like how Takara[Tomy] has been doing for TEN years ever since the line has been released.

As it would have it, there have been several collectors nitpick this release on one tiny issue or another.  That being the case, I figured since it's one of the few Masterpiece figures I'll have doubles of, I'd do my own comparison contrast.  I originally posted this here, in TFW2005.COM's Feedback forum thread on the Hasbro release of the figure.  You'll find my thoughts here below as well:

In My Hands - A Reaction to Maz's Article

Recently, my friend and fellow collector, Maz, posted this article.  Since Maz shares his articles on TFW2005.COM, I'll typically post some of my responses there.  Such was the case this time around as well, and the more I thought about my responses is the more I thought about wanting to archive them here as well.  The main reason for reposting here is that I'd been thinking about a few of my own pieces of advice, both from mere observation, but also from experience.  That is found more towards the end of my post, as the first part of my post was reacting to Maz's thoughts and choices of figures he'd picked out for his article.  You can find my original post here, or just keep on reading below!

The article is great, and one that really puts thought to word about much of how I go about my own collecting (free word of advice: stay away from the "Let's See Some Cool Stuff" thread if you are really on a budget).

One thing that I found myself nodding in agreement each time was your reactions to each of these figures.

KFC [Citizen] Stack - cool, but not quite "Masterpiece".  Even more to the point, "Citizen Stack, to me, felt like a really beautiful and large toy not entirely different from the vein that Generations Metroplex exists in, as opposed to a Masterpiece-style high end collector’s item."  Yep, I couldn't agree more.  Ultra Magnus is a fond character/toy [to] me, and even if something doesn't "fit" a line, I can find myself wanting it.  Citizen Stack is just that.

Warden - Again, your own words were my reaction: "He isn’t for everyone, though, if you need to transform your toys on a regular basis with ease and don’t have any sort of connection to IDW Max, then maybe Warden isn’t for you."  A local collector friend (Scotty P!) got one, and while it's a cool thing, it's just not for me.  If someone wants a full IDW cast, I can see it.  I do not.

MP-10B - It's basically G1 Scourge (from RiD).  I've not seen a photo yet that does it justice.  It's one of those that's so much nicer in hand.

(My MP-10B Black Convoy unpacking on Christmas day, 2013!)

Masterpiece - Things to "Chug" On . . . .

Recently, a discussion topic popped up, and I ended up posting a bit of my thoughts on some overall trends I've seen developing quite rapidly over the last year or so.  I figured I'd mirror my comments here,  You can check out the original discussion here:  Why is Henkei More Expensive than Masterpiece?  I honestly wasn't trying to steer a conversation away from the original topic ("Henkei figures being more expensive in the secondary market than certain Masterpiece figures").  The way the topic went, my comments felt not only natural, but I'd had these thoughts for a while and it seemed like the best time to share them.

Momentary Lapse

Well, it was bound to happen.  Whether be it through being "too busy" or whatever lame excuse I could muster, my blogging has slacked off.  That's certainly not due to the lack of things to write about, especially in light of having not one, but three separate figures to discuss.  Partly, it's due to simply the lack of my own discipline of creating a new routine of writing.

At any rate, if you're following (all 3-5 of you!), I suppose just continue to be patient with me!

Superquad7's Masterpiece Speculation from 2014-15, Part Four

Ok, now that we've had the "Tigertrack isn't Sunstreaker/Sunstreaker needs a separate mold" discussion again (and I say that in jest, of course), I've been wanting to handle some speculation for the ones I haven't covered.  For the ones I have already covered, see here if you're interested:

SQ7's Masterpiece Speculation Part 1

SQ7's Masterpiece Speculation Part 2 

SQ7's Masterpiece Speculation Part 3

So, despite what I've already said in the previous posts and thereafter, I'd like to preface everything by saying that I think at this point anything can happen.  I think we're in a special time period of the TRANSFORMERS brand where all bets are off and virtually anything can be made.  With that being said, I still think there's a way that we can see the things that are simply more likely to happen or not.  A part of me feels like this is simply stating the obvious due to the success of the live action movies and the many figures we'd otherwise not have seen made.  Also with figures like the Encore Fortress Maximus and even the new Metroplex figures, these are things that the most of us who have been around here for a number of years thought we'd never see.  I'd go so far as to give that credit to the Revenge of the Fallen line.  That single line gave us toys that otherwise Hasbro would have never had the budget to make.

Preface aside now, let's move on to . . . .

Superquad7's Masterpiece Speculation from 2014-15, Part Three

 . . . . Part Three of my Masterpiece Speculation is here!   Just to note, Part Four will expound just a little bit.  Again, I stated a few posts back that I wanted to archive what I’d already written at one point with my blog.  This was written some time ago, and the fun of it for me is to see what I predict turns out to happen . . . or not!   Anyways, that’s enough of a preface this time; let’s continue!

Housekeeping!

Recently, my good buddy, Scotty, commented on the photos in my blog posts.  Please bear with me as I learn more and more about bloggin' and its mechanics!  I WILL fix things all in due time.

Also, just as Scotty has done, by all means please give me some constructive feedback.  Be nice, but be helpful!  Again, I'm learning this format.  Also, just know in advance that I'm not trying to even have this place "perfect" yet - it's very much a "construction site."  Thank you for your patience!

K, thanks, bye!

(Be sure to check out ScottyP's blog, Roll Out, which can be found by clicking the link to the right!  If you would like for me to add your blog to my links on the right, just let me know!)

Superquad7's Masterpiece Speculation from 2014-15, Part Two

Ok, I'm back again with more Masterpiece Transformers Speculation.  As with my previous entry, you can find this originally posted on TFW2005.COM here:  SQ7's Masterpiece Speculation Part 2

If you click the above link, you'll notice that I've cited my first part along with this one.  Part 1.5?  Eh, I'm just going to stick with "part 2", since I don't really feel like it matters a whole lot anyways.  These are mainly split up into "parts" because of the length of posts as well as the fact that I simply posted them at different times.

Off we go again:

So, I've went back and made a few changes to my first part, as I was a bit rushed yesterday when I was writing this.  At any rate, please feel free to reread and look back over some changes there. 

Ok, so as promised, I'm back with part two:

Superquad7's Masterpiece Speculation from 2014-15, Part One.

I originally posted this on TFW2005.COM (where I typically share the most about my Transformers hobby), but I did want to archive my thoughts here as well.  You can view the original post by clicking here:  SQ7's Masterpiece Speculation Part 1

Before I post any further, I will preface some of this with:

• My focus is TakaraTomy's Masterpiece line for the most part, not Hasbro's.  "MASTERPIECE TRANSFORMERS" as a brand and a subline of toys is a TakaraTomy-focused production mostly.  Hasbro generally only produces "what they can, when they can" (As such, you'll note that I primarily use the Japanese names.  There are several other reasons for this, but I'll discuss those later!).
• I've already been incorrect about Masterpiece speculation in regards to Hasbro's releases at least.  As of this writing, Hasbro has already stated that there are plans to release Masterpiece Prowl at US retail.  For most of 2014, I continued to state that I did not think we'd ever see a US release of any of the Masterpiece cars.
• My speculation is for fun.

So here goes:

Masterpiece Transformers - A Few Random Thoughts

Masterpiece Transformers.  Just a few years ago, these were novelty pieces at most.  Today as I type this, this toyline has become front and center with my collection.  I'm primarily a Generation One collector first and foremost, but I've even placed that on hold in lieu of collecting Masterpiece Transformers primarily.

Why?  I'm glad you asked!

The first reason I am putting everything on (relative) hold is available expendable cash . . . or the lack thereof.  Let's face it - Masterpiece Transformers are pretty expensive.  I don't have unlimited cash, so I'm not a collector who can collect these and a lot else of, well . . . anything.

Secondly, these are just the figures I want now.  That's simple enough, right?  It is for me.

Just to have a third point (because I'm sure there are more), they're "adult collectibles".  Are G1 figures "toys"?  The answer is, yes.  Are any "TRANSFORMERS" action figures "toys"?  Sure.  However, Masterpieces are designed much less with a child (5-12 years old) in mind and more for adults (18+).

So, there you have it - a very brief statement of my rationale for collecting Masterpices Transformers!

Hello out there!  I honestly thought long and hard about my first post here, but I figured I'd just shut up and make one.  Nothing exciting is going on here with this post.  I'm just glad to have something to start me off!