April Hauls

[Dominic]

Box of toys from Scourge"

-"Cybertron" Soundwave and Laserbeak for customizing.

-PCC Stunticons: These are grandfathered in, as I would have bought them last year if I could have found them. One of the drones got swapped with a Rallydron. But, Scourge and I are getting that sorted.

-PCC Heavytread: This is to to replace the copy I got in a trade from DvD. (It had a damaged Minicon if you recall.)


Dom
-will reviews the Stunticons later in the week.

[JediTricks]

Zazzle poster tube with 6 Ralph McQuarrie Star Wars concept art posters, all great except the AT-AT one was cut poorly, leaving excess and a fringe section, I'm thinking about having them fix that. But they all look outstanding.

Amazon MP3s:
- Fantastic Voyage, Lakeside (audio issues at the beginning and end so I got refunded the promo credit I had used to get that)
- Motley Crue Greatest Hits (it had 6 songs I wanted, a few more I already owned, and some of the newer stuff but 2 of the newer songs aren't so bad so I came out ahead)


2 boxes of goodies from Scourge:
Animated Dlx Prime - uses a cheat with the windshield covering up a rather skinny torso, but surprisingly effective. Interesting transformation, especially with the axe-wielding finish of the arms - that's how you make the transformation more of an experience! Fun figure, not outstanding but not as bad as I originally thought back when it came out; biggest issue is the somewhat odd mouth sculpt.

Animated Ratchet - better than I expected, taller too, doesn't look as out of shape as the animation. Could use more paint in alt mode though, and nowhere to store the great accessories in alt mode is a crime. Thankfully, DvD's review mentioned a gimmick Hasbro's instructions missed, that bending the elbows all the way triggers the electromagnets to spring out. Now to track down Lockdown and get them together.

Animated Ironhide - I see where the knocks are coming from, especially at the higher price this carried than the previous wave of TRU-exclusives, but it's not a bad figure, and although the instructions are downright idiotic in their choice of angles, the transformation once you understand it better is satisfying for a rather cheaty alt mode.

Animated Bulkhead - I didn't want to like this guy, the alt mode's got that rounded gap near the back which is such a shame, and he's a kibble-abuser, but his tubby little bot mode made me laugh out loud, so it won the day. It is DISTURBINGLY short in bot mode though, he's going to have to hang out with my Activators Ratchet I guess because nobody else is in scale to that. The arm gimmicks are cute, the automorph is good, and the proper transformation adds more automorph which is fun (why Hasbro didn't know about it, I can't tell ya, but they really need to have more understanding of these things).

Animated Voyager Prime - really cool figure, much nicer than I expected it to be, even the total BS "trailer" adds something good to it. The moving mouthplate is a totally entertaining feature, both modes look really good, it's a very likable figure. The automorph waist is a bit challenging and confusing, but wound-up correctly it's a satisfying bit of action; and I was quickly able to figure out how to turn the waist so it isn't loose, that was cool because otherwise that waist would have been a disaster.

Cybertron Primus - Nice enough in both modes, but there really isn't enough going on in transformation, the electronics are a wasted opportunity, and the size while decent doesn't feel as substantial as it should given that this is PRIMUS. The leg kibble transformation is pretty much the only satisfying justification for the Omega Lock, the chest isn't dramatic enough, and the back lock is actually a worsening of the kibble. So it's nice to have, but I must confess I wouldn't have been remotely satisfied if I had paid full price for it.

I looked up the instructions for all these figures online, Hasbro's site had all of them as PDFs that, with some challenge, I was able to track down... except for Primus which they don't have online at all, they erased all record of. I used the item numbers on both the Unicron head and the regular edition, nada. They have PDFs for other Cybertron figures there, but not Primus. Luckily, after over an hour of searching I found some scans a generous forumite over on TFW2k5 posted back in the day - the transformation isn't challenging, it's the fear that you're doing something in the wrong order and about to break something because the Omega Lock movement requires some force on the chest, and hangs on the legs occasionally.

[BWprowl]

I got my box of Scourgetoys too!

BW Insecticon: I recently hit upon wanting this lil' guy for some reason, so Scourge selling him turned out to be a stroke of luck. I think somewhere in the back of my mind I knew he was one of the Flipchangers, but even then I'm surprised at how *simple* it is. Just flip down the chest, and fold out the feet. You don't have to peg/unpeg anything or reveal any bits, or anything, and both modes still look remarkably good, it's very elegant, especially the way the chest bits end up arranged. Love the little crossbow, that's a step above the detaching tailguns most BW guys stuck you with at the time, and he even actually stands up on his insect legs in bug mode, instead of scooting around on his belly. Also surprising was how few paint apps he has: exactly five spots of beige painted on his inner legs, plus his face. That's it, the rest is just blue and green plastic, and he doesn't look incomplete or anything, still good (it's a very nice, sparkly blue). A great, simple little toy.

RiD Destructicon Scourge: Never owned the Hero Prime mold, nor a Scourge/Black Convoy, so this seemed like a good deal. The toy's...not the greatest in the world. The hose connecting the air bladder to the cannon restricts arm movement something fierce in robot mode, though you can reposition the bladder from its official placement to mitigate this. The other big issue is the feet: hollow boots are nothing new in Transformers, but pretty much the entire inside-sides of these are empty, making it *very* hard for him to stand in anything other than a straight-up pose. Still, he looks cool, his paintjob's nice, and his vehicle mode is pretty boss, a big mean missile truck. Not bad, but fixing those boots would've made him a lot better.

Cybertron Optimus Prime: I was genuinely shocked at how much *toy* this guy was! With all his Super Mode crap attached, he's a heavy son-of-a-gun, and a damn cool looking one at that. Love the underslung guns, and the ones on his big, stompy feet. Also just love how God Ginrai-y the whole package is, really. Regular Robot Mode's cool, a big, boxy, still posable robot, and the opening chest/removable Matrix is a great touch. Vehicle mode is awesome, a huge, ridiculously over-cannoned futuristic fire truck that can unfold bits to become an even HUGER utterly ridiculous FLYING futuristic fire truck with cannons all over it. Prime does nothing halfway. It's awesome enough now, but I wish I could time travel sixteen years in the past and give this toy to my kid self, his tiny head would implode from the concentrated kickass this toy is composed of as well as the rainbow fun blasts it emits at all times. Better part? I'm glad I dropped clearance money on that Universe Leo Prime a couple years ago now, because I can finally try out that Savage Claw Mode gimmick thing, in this case with a Prime lion turning into a giant Prime arm to attach to Optimus Prime. Yo dawg.

TFPrime Wheeljack: I'd been waffling on this guy, seeing him in stores, and with Scourge selling his for seven bucks, I figured I might as well take the ride. Turns out he's a pretty cool little toy. I love how sharp and slick and made of pointy bits he is all over, and he sells it even better with his swords in hand. He'll make a fine compatriot to my Drift. And the way his legs transform is *insidiously* clever. Surprised at how much I dig him, especially with the bicep-swivel-less shoulders. He still manages to be very dynamic and expressive, especially in more swordy poses. I know he's already getting repainted into Dead End later, but I think this toy would make a *perfect* Slicer sometime down the line. Come on, the name even works perfectly now!

Thanks a ton, Scourge. You da man.

[Onslaught Six]

I got my box of Scourgetoys too!

BW Insecticon: I recently hit upon wanting this lil' guy for some reason, so Scourge selling him turned out to be a stroke of luck. I think somewhere in the back of my mind I knew he was one of the Flipchangers, but even then I'm surprised at how *simple* it is. Just flip down the chest, and fold out the feet. You don't have to peg/unpeg anything or reveal any bits, or anything, and both modes still look remarkably good, it's very elegant, especially the way the chest bits end up arranged. Love the little crossbow, that's a step above the detaching tailguns most BW guys stuck you with at the time, and he even actually stands up on his insect legs in bug mode, instead of scooting around on his belly. Also surprising was how few paint apps he has: exactly five spots of beige painted on his inner legs, plus his face. That's it, the rest is just blue and green plastic, and he doesn't look incomplete or anything, still good (it's a very nice, sparkly blue). A great, simple little toy.

Hasbro could repaint this mould 20 times and I would buy every one. Did you know his Japanese name is Kuwagaigar?!

RiD Destructicon Scourge: Never owned the Hero Prime mold, nor a Scourge/Black Convoy, so this seemed like a good deal. The toy's...not the greatest in the world. The hose connecting the air bladder to the cannon restricts arm movement something fierce in robot mode, though you can reposition the bladder from its official placement to mitigate this. The other big issue is the feet: hollow boots are nothing new in Transformers, but pretty much the entire inside-sides of these are empty, making it *very* hard for him to stand in anything other than a straight-up pose. Still, he looks cool, his paintjob's nice, and his vehicle mode is pretty boss, a big mean missile truck. Not bad, but fixing those boots would've made him a lot better.

You don't own 'any' Nemesis Prime?

Actually, you know what, I don't think I do either. I passed on damn near all of them because I always wanted Scourge. And I stupidly passed on him in favour of the RID Vehicons and...G1 Hot Rod reissue. (I figured I'd be able to get Scourge later! What a fool I was.)

Cybertron Optimus Prime: I was genuinely shocked at how much *toy* this guy was! With all his Super Mode crap attached, he's a heavy son-of-a-gun, and a damn cool looking one at that. Love the underslung guns, and the ones on his big, stompy feet. Also just love how God Ginrai-y the whole package is, really. Regular Robot Mode's cool, a big, boxy, still posable robot, and the opening chest/removable Matrix is a great touch. Vehicle mode is awesome, a huge, ridiculously over-cannoned futuristic fire truck that can unfold bits to become an even HUGER utterly ridiculous FLYING futuristic fire truck with cannons all over it. Prime does nothing halfway. It's awesome enough now, but I wish I could time travel sixteen years in the past and give this toy to my kid self, his tiny head would implode from the concentrated kickass this toy is composed of as well as the rainbow fun blasts it emits at all times. Better part? I'm glad I dropped clearance money on that Universe Leo Prime a couple years ago now, because I can finally try out that Savage Claw Mode gimmick thing, in this case with a Prime lion turning into a giant Prime arm to attach to Optimus Prime. Yo dawg.

CybPrime is seriously one of the best TF toys in the last decade. I too love his Ginrai-y bits, he's like a giant new version of Ginrai. It's why I never cry for Ginrai to get a new toy. Yes, seriously! Because there's no way it could be better than this one.

[BWprowl]

Hasbro could repaint this mould 20 times and I would buy every one. Did you know his Japanese name is Kuwagaigar?!

For the millionth time, YES! Yeah, it’s kind of astounding that he’s never been repainted (of course, Hasbro hardly repainted any of the original BW Basics, that was mostly up to Takara, and they really only did each one once. EDIT: Okay, going over it again, I wasn't exactly right. Turns out Insecticon is the only original BW Basic mold that has never been repainted *at all*. The hell?), they could’ve done a remold into a kabutomoshi! And yeah, a Boomer Kuwanger-inspired color scheme would be cool, among others. I really could get into buying multiples, since it always seemed that if the BW Predacons were going to have an evil cannon-fodder-type unit, that Insecticon would work perfectly for that. Plus it’s just such a neat little mold. I just discovered last night that his mandibles can open up! And they’re *synched up* to do so, even!

You don't own 'any' Nemesis Prime?

Actually, you know what, I don't think I do either. I passed on damn near all of them because I always wanted Scourge. And I stupidly passed on him in favour of the RID Vehicons and...G1 Hot Rod reissue. (I figured I'd be able to get Scourge later! What a fool I was.)

Yeah, it’s weird. The brother has Mini-Scourge, as well as SDCC Classics Nemesis Prime, but I never got around to owning an incarnation of the color scheme until now (always rather wanted Universe NemeBig Convoy, or maybe Alternators NP). If I did get a version of the original toy, I’d want it to be the actual Japanese Black Convoy, rather than the Hasbro TRU version. Legit pink windows for the win, man.

CybPrime is seriously one of the best TF toys in the last decade. I too love his Ginrai-y bits, he's like a giant new version of Ginrai. It's why I never cry for Ginrai to get a new toy. Yes, seriously! Because there's no way it could be better than this one.

You can really tell they were drawing from Ginrai hard on this one, especially God Ginrai’s animation model; the look of this toy is amazingly spot-on. I need to track down some version of Wing Saber now. And maybe another version of the LeoBreaker mold, just for ridiculous double-lion-arm action.

[JediTricks]

Glad to hear you dig Cybertron OP, I liked that figure back in the day quite a bit, especially after coming off the absolutely repulsive Energon OP, CY OP was a real breath of fresh air after Tubbimus Prime.


Yesterday there was a knock on the door, I open it and the UPS guy had dropped off and run away a HUGE box that was crushed on 1 side. I couldn't imagine what it was, so I took photos of the damage and then opened it to discover that Amazon had shipped out my step stool on time even though I told them they could ship it late in exchange for a free MP3. The damage was no big deal since all that was inside was a plastic step stool and a BUNCH of filler paper.

Anyway, the Step Stool is Rubbermaid brand, and I chose it because it has 2 steps, it's light but holds a lot of weight, it's cheap, and unlike my last step stool its sides are panels instead of thin plastic crossmembers; the top is also more textured than my old one -- the old one wasn't a bad stool for $10, but I barely put even 5 pounds of pressure on that crossmember when I accidentally stepped on it before it broke, rendering it destroyed.