Animated Kup custom….wow. I want one–and bad.

I remember in 1986 my mother picked me up from the movies one summer afternoon after seeing the Transformers Movie. We then went to Lionel Playworld where I was to spend my allowance on any Transformer I wanted. That afternoon the shelves were pretty picked over. No Hot Rod or Blurr or Springer, but they did have Kup. The same Kup figure I have in my collection to this day. One of the few TFs that survived multiple moves and the rigor of daily play. I always kinda liked the guy, despite the obvious shortcomings of the G1 toy (half a head, no shoulders, almost ZERO articulation), but I still like him to this day.

So you can just imagine how happy I was to see this Animated custom on Ebay!

 

So awesome. What a great use of Cybertron Optimus Prime and a modification to Animated Ratchet’s head.

Too bad the auctions over. But even something that cool…not sure if it’s $122 cool.

It got me dreaming of trying the same thing. If it even came out half as good I’d be happy. Well done, Shinbotron!

Hell…is…freezing…OVER!

On its way. Can hardly believe it. August 25th can suck it!

Rockin’ Like Dokken!

Man, reprolabels.com is so awesome. These upgrade mods for the Animated stuff are the kinda thing I hope for. I don’t think I’ve ever ordered a label set as fast as these three. And I already have an order in for the Universe 2.0 Prowl to put an end to the blandness of his deco.

 

It would be a sad day if these guys disappeared.

I know Hasbro Toy Shop Sucks, BUT…

…how can ONE item be “Partially Shipped?”

 

Actual Screen Capture

 

 

I didn’t know that the SDCC Nemesis Prime was shipped in multiple pieces.

Hasbrotoyshop.com sucks a big one. I’m reminded of this every time I place an order there. I wouldn’t be surprised if a couple weeks from now I receive one of the Animated figures I cancelled last month instead of Nemmy.

Animated Megatron sez the word on the street is…

…keep your pimp hand strong!

Show me your rage, baby!

Nemesis Prime? I gots mine! And you?

Every year there comes a few times where the internets provide enough evidence of just how sick my fellow toy robot collectors and I really are.

The registration at BotCon every year is one happening, and another, the day when the San Diego Comic Con exclusive toys go up for sale on HasbroToyShop.com.

Crazy stuff and you can read about all the madness HERE.

I did get my Nemesis (Mirror, Mirror, fu-manchu) Prime, with only a minimum of fuss, really. But the angst I felt as to whether I would land one still filled me up as I watched 3 consecutive error windows pop up as Hasbro’s consumerist haven was overloaded with toy robot collectors and profiteers, feverishly hoping to get theirs.

This whole experience, as one TFW2005 forum member observed so astutely, was SPOT ON. I paraphrase: “This whole experience sums up what it means to be a Transformer collector.”

So it does, my friend. So it does.

After I got my e-mail confirmation, a calm settled over me. And I felt accomplished and lame all at the same time. So now it looks like toy robot #100 will be in my collection very soon. It will be either Nemesis Prime or Henkei Hot Rod. We shall see, I guess.

*sigh*

I’m truly doomed.

A good indication of a “keeper”

Excerpt from Dazzler #22

Alison Blaire is my kind of woman

Unrequited Plastic Love

Growing up I had a literal armies of Star Wars figures. I could’ve re-enacted the opening scene of Jedi on the under-construction Death Star with the amount of storm troopers I had. I even had the Death Star playset that I would purposely leave out one of the levels to make it look like the uncompleted Death Star in Jedi.

 

So just what the hell am I going on about here? I’ll tell you it has all to do with what I encountered at my local Wal Mart the the other night.

The Legacy Collection Millenium Falcon playset. The thing was on an endcap with like 7 others and the fine people at Wal Mart wanted $149 for it. It’s two and a half feet long, has lots of lights and sounds and the interior looks like a minature replica of what we all know as the Falcon’s interior.

And son of a bitch is that thing heavy. It is the ultimate toy I would’ve have dreamt up as a kid. I had the Falcon back then and it always bugged me that there was no way to move them through the faux hall ways and into the cockpit. I’m sure this one does. Now, I’m pretty burnt out on Star Wars these days (no thanks to the prequels sucking and Lucas’ wankiness), but the SW toys I’ve been seeing lately have garnered a bit of my interest again. And it all comes down to even if I had $149 to spend on something as big and elaborate as that Legacy Falcon, I just couldn’t do it. However, if it harkened back to my childhood white whale, perhaps I would.

That white whale was none other than the Cantina playset. Yeah, it was a piece of crap, really. Just a plastic base with a cardboard art background but damned if I didn’t lust after that thing as a kid for some reason. Even to this day when I recall all the Star Wars shit I had, this one remained elusive. In truth, the Death Star playset kicked the crap out of the Cantina, but I still kind of want one. Perhaps if they ever make a Legacy edition of that, I’ll scrape up the funds. But $149 can get you a pretty damned good toy robot.

I guess it all comes down to the addiction a lot of the kids of my generation were fed. You never, ever, have enough toys. And as I’m now on the cusp of obtaining toy robot number 100 for my collection, I realize that I’ll never have enough. My poor, poor wallet. I’m doomed.

Mighty Muggs Lando

I’m pretty sure there isn’t another Star Wars figure as awesome as this. I think I’m picking one of these up this weekend.

Now, it’s time for another edition of…….

……Transformers I’d love to see produced as toys, but there’s little chance in hell of ever being made!

 

There's little chance in Hell of a proper toy of him, is there?

Now that with the Universe 2.0 line coming out, it appears that Hasbro is finally righting some more wrongs from G1, like for instance, the new Ironhide that actually bears some resemblance to his G1 animation counterpart. He finally has a head, a body, and all the things we’ve come to expect from a toy robot. I’ve hated the G1 Ironhide and Ratchet molds ever since I was a kid and the Encore reissues of those two did little for my nostalgic sense of repeatedly wasting my money on toy robots. That said, he looks pretty awesome to me.

 

But what I find especially perplexing is the Hasbro double-edged sword of releasing something as cool as this, then simultaneously releasing something as half-assed as this.

So, in the interest of wishing they’d make some more awesome G1-y goodness, I thought about G1 characters that I’d LOVE to see produced in more animation accurate toys, rather than just cop out repaints, ala Classics Blaster. What a waste.

So, here’s what I’m thinking:

1) An original, newly designed Springer mold. No Cybertron or Movie repaint, a NEW FRIGGIN’ TOY!

I thought people liked his character? And he’s an Autobot triple changer no less!

2) A Classics Brawn. Why not? They did a Bumblebee and Cliffjumper as Deluxes. Hell, I’d even settle for a G1 anime sculpted head like they’ve recently done with the G1 Bumblebee reissue minibot. Reprolabels has kind of done this already, but I’d love to see a proper head.

3) Classics Stunticons giftset. Need I say more?

4) Classics Shockwave. Once again, why not? People would buy him by the droves.

5) Last, but certainly not least—Wheeljack. Trust me, who wouldn’t want him. Even Cybertron Downshift with all his 70’s vinyl top goodness is hardly a substitute for the G1 role-model for Italian toy robots everywhere.

So there really is little chance of these toys ever being made, is there? But that’s what dreams are made of.