Transformers Collectible Figurines & 3D Puzzle Piece Collector Cards (Series 1)

It should come as no surprise that Hasbro has revved up the licensing machine and has been issuing the Transformers license to just about anyone willing to slap the robots on their product.  To cash in on the collectible PVC or vinyl and or blind packaged market, Goldie Marketing has released a series of small, super deformed collectible figurines based on the Generation 1, Prime and Movie segments of Transformers.  I found these in a gravity feeder over in the trading card aisle at my local Target.  I was already enticed by the concept itself, then I noticed it also included a weakness of mine...a collectible trading card.

This is a pack from series 1, but as you can tell there will be a total of 30 figurines between series 1 & 2.  When I picked this up I assumed the character assortment would be from G1 since Optimus Prime and Megatron were so predominantly displayed.  These foil packs retail for $2.99 each.  I should also mention these come packaged on a blister card with one figurine (that you can see) for $3.99 at Toys R Us and also in multi-packages for each segment.

So what's inside the pack and what do these figurines look like?  Well here you go.  In addition to the figurine, you also get a collector's base, the aforementioned trading card / puzzle piece as well as a checklist insert.  I was beaming when I saw Optimus Prime staring back at me from within the pack!

 

The figurines are small, one inch or so at best.  However they appear to be well sculpted and well painted. The paint applications are well placed and I wouldn't have expected so many different colors (I count 5) on a toy this small / cheap. Well played Goldie.

The included collector's stand is nothing more than a small rectangle piece of plastic with two pegs that insert into the bottom of the figurines' feet.  I should note that this Optimus Prime figure stands just fine without any additional support.  The bottom of the stand has the Thrilling 30 Transformers anniversary logo sticker.

The collector card is not your standard trading card size, but more narrow like a credit card.  The front features some nice artwork along with the tech spec rankings for that character.  Underneath the faction symbol you can see the character's number in the set.  Optimus Prime is #01/30.

The back side of the card is the 3D puzzle piece done up with the lenticular technology that is commonly seen on trading cards.  The back of the checklist insert shows off the assembled puzzle image.  While I like the idea of the puzzle, the front of the card captures more of my attention than the 3D backs.

Front, inside center and back of the checklist.

I was surprised to see that not only did this line of collectibles include G1 characters, but also a selection of characters from the Prime and Movie universes.  While I can't say the movie characters excite me at all, I like the inclusion of the Prime characters.

In my opinion, Goldie Marketing did a good job w/ the character selection.  G1 has some more of the iconic characters (of course Bumblebee had to be included) as well as Prime.  However I'm scared to buy another pack in fear of getting stuck with one of the movie characters!

Beast Saga: Dorufan BS-08

When the first solicitation shots were posted online for Beast Saga, I and I'm sure others figured the dolphin creature to be one of the good guys.  Wrong.  Don't let his gentle, innocent appearance food you as he is a member of the Kingdom of Death Sea!

Compared to the characters that were packaged in the Kingdom of Death Sea 3 pack, Dorufan looks like a pushover!  This is another release I was a little slow to picking up and if I'm honest probably would have skipped over completely had I not been going for a complete set.

Adorable, isn't he?  Or is he?  The longer I look at his face the more I can make out a small and slight evil grin.  He may not be the fiercest member in his kingdom, but he belongs there.

So does this guy now make you reconsider swimming w/ the dolphins next time you visit the Caribbean?

Beast Saga: Bamed BS-09

Before the Land of Sky 3 pack was released, only a few aerial members made it to the market in single package form.  One of the first was Bamed.  Not sure how to pronounce that, but I've also seen it spelled as Bamet.  Either way what we have is a basically an armored sparrow.

You can see the green on the packaging (and one of the dice) signifying the kingdom he belongs to.  I gotta admit that this guy was low on my priority list and I wasn't even sure if I'd pick him up at all.  After all, armored lions, manta rays and other creatures were just more appealing.  After I decided to make a run at the whole line I broke down and picked him at the tail end of my completing the line.

Once I got Bamed out of the package I started to like the figure more and more.  Like all the figures, the level of detail to the animal bits is fantastic.  The armor too has some great detail, but the flash of the camera washed some of that out...sorry.  His weapons are reused from previous releases, which was kind of a disappointment, but overall a nice looking figure.

Some of the later aerial creatures ended up more appealing to me, but I'm glad I decided to pick up Bamed after all.  The Sky Kingdom only received 8 total characters so they are by far the smallest of the 3 Kingdoms.  It makes sense to pick him up if for no other reason to bolster the Sky Kingdom's ranks.

New items added to my eBay Store

I took advantage of a slow afternoon and added several more items to my new eBay store.  If you are looking for G1 parts you're in luck as I added several today.  Parts for Scorponok, Roadbuster, Metroplex and many many more.  I also decided to try my luck at re-listing some hard to find Mini-Cons / Microns in an auction format over the holiday weekend.

I still have a TON of stuff to list, but I'll have to do it in small chunks...so why not subscribe to the store's eBay newsletter to stay up to date on when new items are listed or items go on sale?  You can also 'Like' my Facebook page to stay up to date as well.

I promise to get back to toy blogging soon.  While it was nice to take a little break, I'm itching to get back to sharing many cool things I have.  Thanks for everyone's continued patronage.

Transformers Rescue Bots: Heatwave

The post says it all. I bought my 3 year old daughter the new Transformers Rescue Bots Heatwave Dinobot for her birthday. She has been showing signs of liking daddy's toys so I thought this would be a good toy to pick up as a gift. Within two minutes this morning after showing her how to transform it, the leg mechanism broke during the transformation. I just thought maybe we had a dud, so I exchanged it at Target on my way to work. Well I get home tonight and give her the replacement and what do you know, it breaks again in the very same fashion! She was devastated this morning her new toy broke and again tonight. Thanks a lot Hasbro! There is no way this thing was play tested. Turns out this is widespread problem too. My wife showed me negative after negative reviews online. I'm not even going to bother trying to return this piece of junk again. Thankfully it looks like the Blades Dinobot toy doesn't suffer from being a piece of crap so I'm off to Target in the morning to pick that one up for my little girl. I just hope that I haven't turned off my daughter to Transformers just as she was showing interest!

New eBay Store!

A few weeks ago I went to an old co-worker's house to look at toys from her son's and nephew's past.  I had no idea how much they had, I just knew the boxes contained Transformers, G.I. Joe and more.  I was eager to see what kind of Transformers they had as the nephew was about the same age as my wife (early 30's).

Well in my excitement I forgot to take pictures so you'll have to use your imagination!  When I got to their house I was greeted with one of those large 15 gallon plastic totes, full of toys.  Then she told me she had 7 more on the back porch!  Looking back at me in those containers were G1 and G2 Transformers, G.I. Joe A Real American Hero figures (and parts of figures), TMNT, Star Wars and so, so, so much more.  We quickly agreed upon a deal and then I proceeded to load up my car to head home.

It took me a week just to sort through everything.  To this moment I am still in shock of some of the things I found.  The downside to all of this is the way these toys were stored.  Outside, in a storage shed.  The heat and humidity didn't treat some of the toys kindly.  I pulled out several toys that were badly discolored...and not just white plastic.  I don't have a count of the G1 figures I pulled out, but it had to exceed 75 at least.  Some of which were in better shape than some I had in my own collection (Sandstorm, Huffer) and a few I didn't even own (Blitzwing).  The real treat however was all the little loose parts floating around the bottom of the containers.  I found a Spike Headmaster, Vroom's small gun, Fasttrack's small orange gun, several Trypticon parts, two Megatron Action Master missiles I lacked and more.

I still haven't even touched the other containers save for sorting them.  I have so much I couldn't begin to figure out the best way to try and move them.  I thought about using some of the toy forums or some Facebook groups, but ultimately I decided to re-open my eBay store I had years ago.  This is a time consuming process, and time isn't something I have an abundance of.  However I will be slowly adding these toys and parts to the store over the next few weeks / months.  If you see something you want, send me a message letting me know that you follow this blog, or have 'Liked' my Facebook page and I'll pass along a small discount.  I'm not trying to get rich here, but all of this actually comes at a time when my family could use some extra money to help pay down some debt and pay some unexpected bills.

Random Toy Reviews eBay Store

While I'm not buying right now, I am leaving the option of trading open.  I lack just under 20 G1 figures now from completing the line and there are still several parts I need to complete various figures.  That said if you see something in the store you are interested in, let me know and we'll if we can work out some kind of deal.  If by chance anyone has any complete M.A.S.K. toys also let me know as I'd be interested in trading for those as well.

Loot Crate!

So by now there is a good chance you've heard of Loot Crate, especially if you are on social media of some sort.  What?!  No?  You haven't?!  Well neither had I until last month.  The premise is simple and rather straight forward.  For a monthly fee, Loot Crate will send you a small black box each month that is packed with all sorts of pop culture goodies.  A quick on YouTube will show all sorts of stuff crammed inside the box.

June 2014's theme is Transformers, so I found it fitting that this was as good as any time to jump on board and experience this for myself.  Loot Crate encourages their users to share their unboxing videos and it turns out I had a few moments this evening to share my very first Loot Crate!  So what are you waiting for?  What the video.  Warning though, I can't give you back those 10 minutes...

Masters of the Universe (NECA): Clawful

I was a huge fan of the Masters of the Universe 200X series...both the toys and the Mike Young Productions cartoon.  With the exceptions of the stupid amount of He-Man and Skeletor variants, the toy featured a lot of great characters and toys.  However some characters were never made by Mattel for the series.  I'm guessing that some of characters not produced would have appeared in subsequent waves had the series not ended earlier.

Thankfully however Mattel awarded the company NECA with a Masters of the Universe license.  The Four Horseman that had worked on the line for Mattel, were again brought on board to work on the NECA figures.  However this time around these toys, if you can call them that, weren't action figures.  I'm not 100% sure why the characters were made into what the fans call staction figures (miniature statues), but with the Four Horseman at the helm it didn't seem to matter.

The first wave consisted of three characters, Snout Spout, Hordak and Clawful.  While Hordak was the obsession of many, Clawful is the one I had to have.  In the original Filmation cartoon and the original Mattel MOTU line, Clawful was protrayed as well...pretty stupid.  I hated his look, hated the way he talked and sounded in the show...I just had zero interest in the character as a whole.  Then the Horseman worked their magic and made him look outstandingly cool.  Gone was this small, stupid looking man with a crab head and claws.  In his place was this...

Oh yeah.  Much improved.  Granted this more of a statue than an action figure, it scales and blends in great with other 200X MOTU figures.  All of NECA's staction figures came packaged with figure stands, but this guy is so heavy and well proportioned that he doesn't need a stand at all.  I'm telling you the level of design put into this thing is a true marvel.  From the claws, to the skin, to the head...amazing.

Check out the huge crab shell on his back.  How awesome is that?!  Even his loin cloth looks like real leather.  I've you've never seen one of these NECA Masters of the Universe figures in person, you really can't appreciate their beauty.

  

"Nice to pinch you!"

Clawful comes packaged with one accessory, his club.  This thing just barely fits into his small claw hand.  I urge you to use caution when placing it in his hand has the handle will break off if you apply to much force.  This is the 2nd Clawful figure I've owned as the first one fell off my desk @ work where he once stood displayed.  While the staction figure survived the short fall without much damage, the club wasn't so lucky.

This is one of those toys that if I had unlimited display space I would have kept, but ultimately he because a casualty as so many other toys of mine have become due to lack of space.  Highly recommended if you are a fan of the character or the Masters of the Universe in general.  Last I checked he is still readily available on the secondary market for a little over his original MSRP of $20.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Torque Gain Micron

I've been on a Mini-Con / Micron tear of late.  One of the last tasks of my great collection room re-organization left to tackle were the many crowded shelves of Mini-Cons and Microns.  I've been delaying working on these shelves because they are packed so tight it's almost impossible for me to display these little guys like I'd like to.  In fact, I've even contemplated getting rid of all of them...but that is entirely another story for another day.

Mini-Cons first made their debut in the Armada series back in 2002.  I never imagined that these little Transformers would be so plentiful and collectible.  They seem to be the Pokemon of Transformers.  While there have been plenty of repaints of the Unicron Trilogy era Mini-Cons & Microns, the new molds introduced in the Classics series wouldn't get multiple repaints until later on.

As part of a promo in Japan to help launch the Revenge of the Fallen movie toys in 2007, Takara released a few Microns exclusive to different stores.  Torque Gain here was only available at Jusco stores in July of 2007.  He was free with the purchase of ROTF Megatron or Starscream.  I don't know how limited he was, but I couldn't find any active or completed listings for Torque Gain on eBay when I checked earlier today.

One of the changes I noticed with a lot of the Japanese exclusive campaign Microns is that they have now been aligned with either the Cybertrons / Autobots or Destrons / Decepticons.  The Mini-Con faction seems to be no more.  The mold Torque Gain is based off of was first introduced as part of Classics' Night Rescue Team.  I love the helicopter, but the robot mode leaves a lot to be desired.  At least the new color scheme is unified and looks pretty good.

For me this particular Micron is a good excuse of how easy it is to get caught up in collecting Mini-Cons & Microns.  I usually only collect toys I actually like, but again that Pokemon "Gotta catch 'em all" mentality grabbed a hold of me and I found myself buying anything and everything Mini-Con related.  While the helicopter mode is fantastic, it simply can't redeem the crappy robot mode.  For that reason I displayed Torque Gain (and subsequent repaints) in helicopter mode while virtually every other Mini-Con was in robot mode.

I can whole heartily say this release is strictly for completionists.

Transformers Generations (Takara Tomy): Rhinox

The good thing about behind a little behind in my posting reviews of new toys is that I don't have to be so elaborate.  What I mean by that is most of you that visit this site have probably already read or watched reviews and have seen tons of pictures of Hasbro's new Generations Rhinox toy.  So I figure why bore you with more of the same.  I'll just post some pretty pictures and give a little commentary.  So are you all set?  Then let's go!

Let's start with the packaging.  This is actually the first Takara Tomy version of any of the current Generations toys that I've imported.  I would have loved to have bought a few of the others in the series, but you know money doesn't exactly grow on trees.

Packaging for the most part resembles Hasbro's release, minus a few alterations.

Kudos to the artist that provided this awesome art work.  I'm so glad they decided to wrap the art around the corner of the box as opposed to leaving just half of the art on the box's front.

I don't remember Rhinox's original Beast Wars tech spec ratings, but I'm a little surprised to see his Intelligence and Fireblast ratings to be less than 8.

Right out of the package I was impressed with this toy.  I opted for the Takara Tomy version for it's premium paint deco, but man is this mold impressive!  I love it when my figure looks as if it could have walked right out of the show/movie and into my hands.  It's so nice to finally receive a show accurate Rhinox figure after all of these years.  Seriously, wow.

Even the back of the new mold looks like it did in the Beast Wars television show.  Talk about paying attention to detail on every level.

Beast Wars was all about the balance of the organic and the techno organic and the designers I feel did an excellent job of capturing this.  In robot mode you can see all sorts of exposed metal, gears and such.

The money shot.  If the beautiful, show accurate paint apps weren't reason enough to buy this release over Hasbro's, the surely the weapons put you over the top.  Am I right?

With the exception of the robot bits exposed on the back sides of the legs, the designers did a great job concealing the robot.  Other than the panel lines and the green robot bits, it's hard to tell this is a Transformer.

Rhinox's ears and horn are cast of a rubbery plastic.  I'm not sure if this was done for safety reasons, or to help keeping those bits from easily breaking off.

If you've haven't already picked up this toy then I have to ask "what are you waiting for?"  It's a fantastic update of a great character and it's a fun toy.  I don't always recommend paying more for the same toy just to have a pretty paint job, however this is one of the first toys in a long time where I highly recommend the Takara Tomy version over the Hasbro version.  All that's left is to get the new upcoming Rattrap figure and pair Rhinox, Rattrap, Cheetor and my TRU exclusive Beast Wars Optimus Primal and the crew of the Axalon will finally be re-united!