Someone hit my car.

Someone SIDESWIPED my car the other night. A hit & run. I could see the tire TRACKS. There was a white streak on the side of my car where the dents were. My car is named Gears, but the singer of my band calls it Skids. So, this conversation:

monty:  is there a white Stunticon?  because i think that's who hit Skids.

 me:  um, Breakdown

He's a Lamborghini

so he'd be kind of low to the ground. You know, that makes sense. I should look around my neighborhood for a white Lamborghini with a black smudge on its bumper.

 monty:  i think you should.

Anticipation: Trailcutter (breaker) and Hoist

I can't wait for the Generations line to return with the "Classics" versions of Trailbreaker (which will be Trailcutter) and, duh, Hoist, which will be a retool of Trailbreaker/cutter.

 My only worry: So, you know that I didn't like Fall Of Cybertron Sideswipe. The major problems included that his head didn't really pop out as predominantly from the neckhole in his chest as it should have. And then you folded his arms over his wheels, and then that awkward mess stood up on two tiny legs with very little spacing between them (and two fake wheels serving as his feet; his forearms hold his real back wheels).

Okay, so, on the link above for Trailcutter, check out his arms.

Uh-huh.

Same thing: his arms flip over from the side of the door, covering the front wheels, and then his head pops up through his hood/chest. Is the transformation similar? Is this a MAJOR retool of FOC Jazz/Sideswipe? 

When I get a chance, I'll include a graphic to politely further my case...

Sideswipe drawings

My friend Pat Loboyko drew these for me, on sketchcards (the size of a baseball card).

Thanks Pat!

Super Change Series - SPEED POLICE!

I was at a CVS and saw an imitation Transformers brand, SPEED POLICE!

It's a "New Arrival" in the "Super Change Series." Please note tagline that is less a marketing plan than a direct command, "COLLECT THEM." Do it now, comrade, or else! Knock-off/bootleg/imitation figures crack me up. I couldn't find much online other than from wholesalers that probably specify in cheap crap. (CVS was charging $9.99, by the way.) Someone reviewed it on the youtubes.

I think what I enjoy most is the writing and layout. Both are of course terrible. The names, as discussed earlier regarding Go-Bots and their knock-offs (Lotus Eater?), leave so much to be desired, yet would I change a thing? Let's take a look at the next photo, which I took with my cell phone, so it's a little blurry, but you should be able to make out the names...

I'm guessing that the bottom list is the group of bad guys. The police car is one of the bad guys (??) and thus is not a member of "Speed Police." Don't think too hard about this lost opportunity, you are a busy person and you don't want to start crying over the illogical branding.

The bad guys (?) all have the word "HELL" in their names. This is supposed to be a children's toy, presumably something for the child to hold onto and won't realize isn't Bumblebee or any other recognizable Transformer, and won't care even when it breaks super easily. So they each have "Hell" in the name, followed by that of an insect (or in the case of Hell-Scorpion, an arachnid). Where the people packaging this for a quick buck really in that much of a hurry? Did anyone involved thing, "hey, kids probably can't hear the word Hell on their cartoon shows" (note: not sure where to look it up, but according to tvtropes.org "hell" is allowed in G rated films) or at least think "hey, we can't have one of our figures with the name 'Hell-something!'"

His coworker, if he has a coworker, at the computer putting together graphic with a deadline in two minutes: "You're right, we'll have FOUR of our figures with the word 'hell' in their names."

Do you have an imitation transforming action figure from the 80's you're fond of?

One of the COOLER things (link to TFW2005 thread)

Make your own tech spec.

Like this. But I didn't load the correct font before finishing it...so make sure you add the included fonts in your windows/fonts folder before you open Photoshop. Otherwise I used "Agency FB" which kind of sucks...sorry.

(You can enlarge the whole picture, by the way.)

When you do print it, change the width to 7.5 inches; that's roughly the width of the original "Autobot Cars" box specs.

FUN. TOO MUCH FUN.

Custom - "Classics" Downshift

One of my favorite TFs was G1 Downshift. You could get him via mailorder, saving up Robot Points and sending them and five bucks to Hasbro and they'd mail you a figure they figured they couldn't sell in a package.

The Omnibots (those mailaway figures) are a little smaller than the regular G1 cars save for Skids (misconception about Skids: he's a minivan. Us Americans had seen compact cars, but not the City Turbo.). Yet Downshift, Overdrive, and Camshaft all had "battlemodes," where a part of the car flipped out and a weapon could be displayed. The appeal of Overdrive, already a red sports car, he had WINGS that flipped out, so that made him one of the first Triple Changers (well, along with Tracks) even though neither is designated as such. I had Overdrive and Downshift; I wouldn't get Camshaft until literally a year ago when I was full on collecting and realized "Hey, I don't have the 3rd mail away Omnibot."

I thought Overdrive was pretty cool but, looking at him now, he's kind of a flimsy bot. Or Flimsybot (tm). Somehow he stayed together over the years, but I lost two of his three weapons. When I got Camshaft out of the need for completion, well, I was disappointed. He was a little hard to transform, and honestly didn't look that cool as a robot. Plus his head pops up and doesn't stay up; I had to rest it against the missile in the launcher directly behind his head.

Downshift was always a solid figure compared to the other two, and I don't think he gets the love he deserves. His transformation is not unlike that of G1 Wheeljack, and his hands can actually hold things!

This gave me an idea for a custom, of course. And a theoretically easy one...

Blinded by the paint job. Wrapped up like a...

Like I said in the last post, the Headrobots Drone (Whirl) upgrade was pretty well received by the local Transformers Afficionado crew (as seen in "Transformers Afficionado Magazine," no longer in print, the publisher of which long out of business). They thought his weapons and feet/skis were neat, and that the head was pretty good as well, and all winced at the price of $35.

Well, duh, of course I should have expected a Generations Whirl.

He's a retool of FOC Vortex and like the Bruticus will combine with other "Wreckers" to form...some giant robot that the Wreckers of Marvel and IDW and etc. etc. never combined into, which I believed Hasbro already trademarked the name "I Don't Recall The Wreckers Combining Into A Larger Robot-icus."

I kinda knew this was coming because I did see his name mentioned on another blog for the Fall Of Cybertron figures. But I didn't think for a long time that we'd get a Generations (of which FOC falls under) Whirl, or at least one that looked like a Generations version of G1 Whirl.

I don't feel so bad getting the expensive upgrade when a simple head sculpt, even one done at home and painted by myself, could have sufficed, but I'd feel bad if a Deluxe sized Whirl came out. Well, you know when this hits the shelves we'll be complaining about the $18 shelf tag. Still doesn't make me feel better.

The color choices on this figure make me feel better about my purchase, pending inspection if the head fits over a ball joint or if the socket is in the neck, as some Prime and FOC figures have been manufactured lately. No, this makes me feel awesome. What a terrible looking figure.

Ugh.

Comments? Send your letters to "Transformers Afficionado Magazone," care of...

(I hate the song I'm parodying in the title.)

Just plays a mean pinball.

I feel like a jerk because some local Transformer afficionados (as seen in "Transformer Afficionado" magazine, now out of print for obvious reasons) had a get together and I semi-invited Til All Are Mine to join me. But I didn't have an address for the event. Until the day of the event. So Til All Are Mine, sorry, as by the time the party started I was trying to get my house internet back online, and then I had to bolt out the door. So next time.

Myclone! And some neat links.

I'm adding a few links to the bar on the right (when you scroll down); I don't know if I can reference EVERY TF blog, but there's some really cool ones out there, some of which serve as a wealth of information for other Transformers fan (and myself!). I've said hello to Heroic Decepticon and Til All Are Mine and they've said hello back and linked me (probably how you found this page).

Through their pages I'm checking out Botch The Crab's archive of box art (and much more!) and I just discovered the Obscure TF site. So this will help fill in a few moments of my day between meetings and such. Yay fellow TF fans!

A few months ago I'm browsing the frequently mentioned/visited store Quake and they had these:

They're called Myclones, "superdeformed" versions of G1 figures. I picked up Jazz, Sideswipe, and Trypticon. They're absolutely adorable...and they fall apart easily. More below:

Diakron Multi-Force 14 - the bad guy Megatron should watch out for...

I stopped by Quake Collectibles in Chicago and was happy I brought my camera. Dave had the Diakron Multi-Force 14 Robot.

(Please note that the back of the box pictured on the Multi-Force link is slightly different. I'll get to that after the jump.)

If you check out this amazingly well researched TF site, you can see how Multi-Force 14 fit into the pre-TF world, or whatever other licensed toyline he was a part of at the time.

It looks like he was a bad guy, going by the comics that were included with the Diaclone figures, and maybe the main bad guy.

This was, as far as I could tell, a complete figure, though I didn't see any instructions or stickers. Dave was also charging $250 for the shebang. See more after the jump.

Another Swerve custom, and a BONUS easy custom!

Here's another custom. You may have already seen my "More Than Meets The Eye" Swerve. But I also painted the face of the G1 Swerve minicar to try to match his comic book counterpart.

early custom attempt - Starchild Prime

A quick few things that are not newsworthy at all:

1. I won't be buying the Beast Hunter (Prime) figures. Not like anyone asked me or cares what I think.

2. The Mrs. pre-ordered MP Smokescreen for me.

3. I am having a tough time finding the "wave 1" of Kreons.

OKAY, so, anyway, I like to paint my Transformers. I never said I was awesome at it. This is for my own amusement (though I DID sell one! Really!). I've gotten some advice from customizers in the local TF community, including ideas like "you should spraypaint them first" and I can't do that where I live. One guy said "you should use tape, to make straight lines," and then the look of terror when I tell him that I did in fact use tape.

I'm THAT clumsy.

SO, anyway, after the jump, is maybe my 2nd custom attempt. And it's the whole reason why I bought paints to ruin extra transformers.

Whirl - Headrobots Drone kit

First up, holy moly, the Hasbro Toy Fair news: so many Generations figures, the biggest news about the biggest transformer, "titan" class Metroplex: I don't have $130 for this guy.

Sideswipe head action figure ruination

I mentioned before I'd be switching the heads for Classics and Fall Of Cybertron Sideswipes. I did!

Pic 1 - The FOC head on the Classics body!
Pic 2 - the FOC head, with his eyes painted blue! (The piece of plastic that form the "eyes" is too short from the getgo, and hence that is why they don't reach the eye sockets in his face. Not because I shaved them down or that they wouldn't reach because I supeglued the head back together.)
Pic 3 - when you turn his windshield on his back, the head descends into his chest. It FITS! Whee!

There you go.

Fall Of Cybertron Haul

FOUR figures. That's me. No wait, technically SEVEN figures. The JUMP:

Masterpiece (US) Thundercracker

Some unexpected Xmas money came our way and the Mrs. said, "Masterpiece Thundercracker." That might sound odd but I had posted a picture of it on the ol' Facebooks with a comment "Hi, I can't afford this" and I guess she took that as a hint. So, hooray to the wife for encouraging me.

I didn't buy it at Toys R Us as the price of the thing just kept going up and up, and recently it hasn't been on the shelves. Then a few weeks ago TRU posted it on their EBAY page. So, what the heck, bought it. It was still way too expensive; I don't think the Starscream or Skywarp figures went for the same price when they were introduced. The latest Masterpiece Prime has been increasing in price through its exclusive retailer. What is that about? I know these are for the adult collectors, but jeez louise adult collectors don't have that much money. They better not. They should be paying their rent.

That reminds me,  if you saw how I was gushing over iGear Brawn, I'm embarrassed because iGear just announced preorders for FOUR more figures, and nearly 5 or 20 dollars more than what Brawn went for. Um, NO THANK YOU? I gotta learn to say no to this cool stuff. I was really excited about these figures and if they put them out 2 figures every 6 months, that's fine. Worth the wait and price with plenty of official Hasbro figures between those releases. But instead the're practically competing with Hasbro's regular output but releasing four (at about $200 or more for all four) the same time.

One of the iGear figures is Swerve, and I just made my own Swerve based on the More Than Meets The Eye comic, so I'll probably just keep that.

ANYWAY, MP Thundercracker: click on the link for images from Seibertron. He looks like the MP versions of the other jets, except that he has a new heel that folds out from his engine/foot part and that helps him stand on his own without the help of the display stand. Also, his tailfin has an image of him holding Soundwave like a boombox. his armpit/shoulder joint, when transformed into airplane mode, has an image of Reflector. Like a tattoo. And his guns have their own swivel stands...on his ARM. I'm not sure what that is about.

Like Sideswipe, Thundercracker was on of the first regular-sized figures I ever had. Actually, along with Soundwave, he was the first. Neither G1 figures had the rubsigns. Sideswipe and Ratchet were the only regular sized Autobots I had for a long time before I started collecting. But anyway, it's cool to finally have my favorite Decepticon in the MP line.

W Cassettebots (link)

Despite their introduction in the cartoon movie (or probably because of the trauma from seeing it), the G1Autobot cassettes were not that well known (though they all appeared in Season 3 of G1). Decepticon Ratbat was probably better known than Ramhorn, Eject, Rewind, and Steeljaw, followed by Overkill and Slugfest, and then a few more tape characters that barely had robot modes (and combined to form what passed for "robots").

The Headmasters series in Japan however featured other characters, including four cassette figures referred to as the dinocassettes in this article with some great pictures. Check it out.

I don't have these figures. I've SEEN them, whooptie do. They are bizarre looking and barely pass as robots or robot animals. They are also supposedly very rare and insanely expensive on the collector side. Anyway, check out that link, it's a good breakdown and some great pictures.

custom job: Swerve from More Than Meets The Eye

This needs a tiny bit of work. Paint from his hands are already chipping off. He transforms into some sort of car. Really. Made out of a bunch of Armada figures. Enjoy.

MASTERPIECE SIDESWIPE! And HENCH.

I took photos of the subjects on my drafting table. Which is covered in disassembled Transformers and model parts I'm painting for very custom projects. Sorry for the clutter.

First up, a review of FALL OF CYBERTRON from my regular blog, slightly edited:

GDO Springer

My friend Chad snagged the Generations Springer for me last week. Info: www.tfw2005.com/resources/generations-autobots-404/autobot-springer-6246/ Springer is Hunt For The Decepticons Tomahawk with a different head, is green, and has a sword. Not much to say on this; there was a classics Springer that was part of a 2 pack, voyager-sized repaint of Blades. The GDO has a head closer to that of the cartoon; the body's skinny legs doesn't match the sturdiness of the other Springer. I would love to see a Whirl for this mold. That's it. I picked up FALL OF CYBERTRON and it's pretty awesome.