While the flow of new Mini-Cons in the U.S. has just about come to a halt, Takara Tomy keeps churning out Micron toys. I did a pretty good job keeping up with a lot of the exclusive Microns released in Japan during the Unicron Trilogy series, but man is it getting hard to keep that pace.
The Power Core Combiners (PCC) series of Transformers weren't released in Japan (but a few are coming soon) and the series introduced some new Mini-Cons. Takara Tomy found a way to release these figures in Japan as part of a various campaigns. Some toys were given away with a certain purchase or amount spent while others were given away free. That's were the clear yellow version of Firebolt comes in.
Given away in to children on January 15, 2012 exclusively in Japan at the World Hobby Fair. I was late coming to the party on this one. I knew of some of the other campaign Microns, but this one completely flew underneath my radar. I ended up finding this one for 800 yen loose. The small instruction sheet was missing, but since I already owned the PCC version I wasn't too worried.
When I first saw the pictures of Firebolt I had to do a double take. Was Firebolt the same as Pinpoint that came packaged w/ PCC Leadfoot? I poured over the photos time and time again and I couldn't come to any conclusion. Most would say screw it and just pass this release over. Being hooked on these little guys I just couldn't walk away.
Can you tell which one is Firebolt and which one is Pinpoint? No? Me neither. Crap. Ah well. Just to let you know Firebolt is on the left. If anyone knows of a way to tell these two apart please let me know!
Of all the exclusive Microns recently released I have to say this is one of my favorite molds. I love the articulation in robot mode. I love the gun mode even better. I also like how he reminds me of the old G1 Powermasters with the engine block on the back and the exhaust pipes on the arms.
I was a little disappointed after receiving this clear yellow version of Firebolt in the mail only the realize he's dang near identical to Pinpoint that I already had, but I knew I was taking that chance. At least I'm in good company as there is only one other Shmax user that owns this figure (for now).
I was a little disappointed after receiving this clear yellow version of Firebolt in the mail only the realize he's dang near identical to Pinpoint that I already had, but I knew I was taking that chance. At least I'm in good company as there is only one other Shmax user that owns this figure (for now).
I'm damn close to having all the US released minicons, but the sheer expense and hassle of many of the Japanese releases just keeps me from getting too excited. It seems to be an unspoken adage to get them while they're new, at $20-$60 per micron, because they're gone forever after that.
ReplyDeleteThis said, if you know anyone with a spare Bug General lmk ;)
I hear you loud and clear when it comes to the Japanese Microns. It does seem the best strategy is to grab them early. I know it's hard to swallow $20+ for such a small TF, but it seems many of the Japanese exclusive Microns retain their value on the secondary market fairly well.
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