Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Terrorcons Unite!

The Terrorcons beside their combined form Abominus
misb Hun-Gurrr, c-9.5
Hun-Gurrr transforms into a white/grey and purple two-headed dragon. He has plenty of articulation, which extends to his robot mode, with multiple points in his arms and legs. One can attach Abominus's chest plate onto his shoulder in robot mode. Hun-Gurr combines with his fellow Terrorcons to form Abominus, serving as the super-robot's torso.
misb Rippersnapper, c-9.5
Rippersnapper transforms into a weird upright bipedal shark creature. His finned twin missile launcher weapon mounts on his back in this mode. He can form the leg or arm of any Scramble City-type combiner, though he is nominally Abominus' left arm.
misb Sinnertwin, c-9.5
Sinnertwin transforms into a yellow and green orthrus. He comes with a small pistol for robot mode and a large gun for beast mode. He can form the leg or arm of any Scramble-City type combiner, though he is nominally Abominus' left leg.
misb Cutthroat, c-9.5
Cutthroat transforms into hawk monster thing. His wings, legs and neck are articulated, so one can put him in a flying pose. He can form the leg or arm of any Scramble City-type combiner, though he is nominally Abominus's right arm.
misb Blot, c-9.5
Blot transforms into a navy blue and lavender monster. His shoulder span and long arms indicate something ape-like, while his pointed nose and sloped head give him an amphibian-like appearance. He can form the leg or arm of any Scramble City-type combiner, though he is nominally Abominus's right leg.
misb Abominus, c-9
Abominus is the combined form of the five Terrorcons: Team Leader Hun-Gurrr, Rippersnapper, Blot, Sinnertwin and Cutthroat. As a Scramble City combiner, each smaller Terrorcon attach as limbs into the central body, Hun-Gurrr. He is completed by attaching fists, feet, a large chestplate, head and is armed with Hun-Gurrr's rifle. Abominus is perhaps the most posable of the Generation 1 combiners, as he can swing his legs forward and backward as well as to the side, and also has knees. Released in 1987, this giftset was only available in Italy and Japan. The box is well-protected in a custom-made acrylic case.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

e-Hobby Exclusive Guardian Robot (Omega Supreme)

misb e-Hobby Exclusive Guardian Robot, c-9.5

An e-Hobby exclusive, this toy is a redeco of the Generation 1 Omega Supreme toy. Using the same tooling as the Encore reissue Omega, this toy features the same retooled head.
The Guardian robot transforms into three individual components simultaneously: a large rocket base, a rocket and a tank. Not unlike the Seekers, whose toys involve minimal actual transformation and more "pull all the bits off and put them back on in different ways," the Guardian robot involves next to no actual manipulation of the parts, "transforming" instead by being disassembled into its component pieces, which are then put back together in a different configuration.
I collected my preordered Guardian Robot from Falcon earlier in the evening and this time, it took me quite a while to find a box in decent condition as the four-box carton resulted in the boxes packed tightly against one another. With the filmsy carton box protection, box dents and wear seem almost guaranteed. One of the features I like most about Guardian robot is its box artwork design (by Hidetsugu Yoshioka), which is distinctly different from the encore Omega Supreme design. And it also comes with a pair of Autobot and Decepticon sticker sheets and a collector's comic. Although it doesn't come cheap, the value of the toy seems likely to soar in time to come. :)

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Henkei Sunstreaker and Prowl

mosc Henkei Sunstreaker and Prowl
Tiring day at the Transformers.SG booth at CSC today. The crowd turnout was unusually poor today, though I must be thankful I managed to sell two of the items I brought along. I also ended up buying the latest TF releases Henkei Sunstreaker and Prowl, main reason being the cartoon box artwork, which I really like. I wonder why Takaratomy didn't put such artwork for the rest of the previous Henkei releases. I would have bought the whole lot. Apart from Bro Grimlock, who came to pick me up in the morning, Bro Slang, Stephenusprime and Skipjack also joined us at the booth today. I must admit that I do feel a little sad knowing that this is our final booth session already, but I am delighted to have known many new collector friends through my three sessions at the booth. We are also exploring the possibility of having a TFSG members gathering during Nov or Dec, and I tot that's really exciting. :)

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Japanese Transformers commercials (1988-1991)

Found an amazing video on youtube, through a link on the Transformers.SG website. It shows some Japanese Transformers advertisements for Takara exclusive TFs from 1988 to 1991. Some of the toys featured include my all-time favourite Sixshot, as well as popular characters like Overlord, Scorponok, Fortress Maximus, Raiden and Predaking etc. A must watch for all Transformers fans. :)

Friday, September 19, 2008

Metroplex

misb Metroplex, c-10

First released in 1986, and as Encore number 12 in 2008, Metroplex transforms from a large robot to a multi-leveled "city" mainly for use with the smaller Generation 1 toys. This mode includes a service bay with launching mechanism, a helipad, and "parking" for six vehicles in whatever his legs fold out to be. He also has a third mobile battle station mode; a more compact wheeled form that incorporates his many weapons. Metroplex comes with Six-Gun, Slammer, and Scamper; the first two formed various parts of Metroplex's alternate modes.
Metroplex has a high degree of interactivity with other toys confirmed as part of it, namely, the Aerialbots, Stunticons, Protectobots and Combaticons. Each of the smaller "limb" robot from these four groups (while those that came after using their basic design, like the Technobots, Terrorcons and Seacons) can plug into ports in Metroplex's shoulders and knees in robot mode. Additionally, the base modes of the four leaders, Silverbolt (Superion), Hot Spot (Defensor), Motormaster (Menasor), and Onslaught (Bruticus), can connect to him in city mode.
I collected my pre-ordered Metroplex yesterday from Falcon. Was expecting a two-box carton but instead saw that it was a six-box carton with the boxes packed tightly against one another. A big box item like Metroplex means choosing one in very good condition is always going to be difficult but surprisingly, I took less than five minutes to find one in near perfect condition. Storage is going to be a problem though, so I'll be looking to clear some room space by selling some of my vintages at the final booth session this Sunday at CSC. Interested vintage collectors mustn't miss this opportunity to add to their collection as I am letting go of them at reasonable prices. Please view my Toys for Sales link for the list of toys I will be selling at the booth. :)

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Transformers.SG unite!

Transformers.SG booth@CSC

The booth from another angle

A group shot of the Transformers.SG team

Had another very fulfilling session helping out at the Transformers.SG booth at CSC today. Bro Grimlock and Slang came to pick me up at my place in the morning before we headed towards CSC. Slang had even made an impressive looking banner (seen in the pictures above) which was both eye-catching and very professionally done. Although the crowd turnout today cannot be compared to last week, we still managed to introduce the website to many people who walked past, as well as to meet existing Transformers.SG members who dropped by to say hi or place their orders for the polo tees. Thanks to bro stephenusprime and victorysabervictorysaber who came in the afternoon, we also had a wide array of TFs items for sale, besides the polo tees and display items. These guys sure know their stuff and when we were not promoting the website to passers-by, we were chatting eagerly amongst ourselves and sharing information about TFs. I also managed to sell some of the items I brought along, which I will chalk off my Toys for Sales list shortly. Admittedly, these were also items I was reluctant to let go, but because I needed to clear space for some soon-to-arrive items, I had little choice. I bid farewell to my Reissue Sixshot, Commemorative Ultra Magnus and BT Laserwave, and hope they are now in the safe hands of collectors who will treasure them. We also took some group shots before we packed up for the day, and I really like the photos taken. We have very good rapport within the team, and I hope we can maintain this friendship in time to come. :)

Friday, September 12, 2008

Autobot Headmasters - Chromedome, Hardhead and Brainstorm

mib unused Chromedome, c-8.5
Chromedome transforms into a Cybertronic sports coupe, which may be based on the Lamborghini Silhouette due to the similar rear styling. Chromedome is equipped with two non-firing laser rifles which can be mounted in both modes (either in the robot-mode fists or on the rear of the vehicle), and a hood-mounted 'infrared red range-finder' which is the socket for his Headmaster Stylor.

mib unused Hardhead, c-8.5
Hardhead transforms into a Cybertronian self-propelled artillery gun. He can store his rifles in 5mm peg holes in his vehicle mode, and his Headmaster, Duros, can ride inside his cockpit. Duros transforms into his head, which, when attached to Hardhead's robot mode, activates a simplified, spring-loaded Tech Spec meter hidden under a panel on his chest.

mib unused Brainstorm, c8.5
Brainstorm transforms into a turquoise Cybertronic fighter craft. Both of Brainstorm's twin pistols attach to the front of his alt-mode's nosecone to extend it and augment it with two canard wings. As with all larger Headmaster toys, Brainstorm features both a cockpit suitable for his partner, Arcana, to sit in and an abbreviated Tech Specs bar graph inside his chest hidden under a hinged panel.
I bought all three Autobot Headmasters, which were released in 1987, from a local collector letting go of his collection at reasonable prices. He had previously owned the coveted Decepticon pair of Apeface and Snapdragon, as well as Highbrow (which would have allowed me to complete a running order from C-101 to 104) but a pity they were since sold to another collector. Nevertheless, I consider this a good acquisition due to the relatively good condition of the boxes, which are still glossy and come with sharp edges, rated c-8.5 only due to the flap creases.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Transformers.SG booth at CSC

Transformers.SG booth at CSC
Helped out at the Transformers.SG booth at CSC last sunday together with Grimlock bro and I must admit that while it was extremely tiring, it turned out to be a fulfilling day in terms of meeting new acquaintances, from new TFs converts to the super hard core fans (One even spots an autobot tattoo near his ankle area).
For the booth, I also brought along two of my combiners giftsets for display at the booth and several items from my personal collection to sell at the booth. Grimlock bro also brought along his vintage Road Caesar giftset and Powermaster Optimus Prime, and he has had to entertain numerous queries about his vintages from interested buyers even though he kept emphasising it was for display only. :) I guess I wasn't so keen in the selling part, and was more interested in talking to people about their TFs collection and interests, promoting the website, and of cos getting them to own a piece of the exclusive Transformers.SG polo tee designed by one of our members.
Overall, I really like my first experience selling stuff at a booth in CSC. I have often wondered how it would be like to manage a booth at CSC during my weekend visits there, and although there were some attempts at getting my friends to share a booth with me to sell our stuff, our plans never did materialise. So, I am really grateful and appreciative to Grimlock bro for inviting me to help out. For everyone's information, the booth will be on for the next three sundays (14th, 21st and 28th), and I have already put my name in the hat to help out again. Really looking forward to meeting more like-minded collectors at the booth. Will also be bringing more of my stuff to sell. Do check out my Toys for Sale link to see the items I will be bringing along. :)

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Grotusque

misb Grotusque, c-9.5

Released in 1987, Grotusque transforms into a robotic winged sabertooth tiger. Pressing a button on the back of his beast-mode neck also results in "cold" sparks shooting from his mouth, which opens and closes. His "Vaporator" weapon can also mount on his beast-mode back.
I bought Grotusque from a fellow collector who was letting go of his vintage TF collection. I am also currently in negotiation with him to secure three other Autobot Headmasters. Grotusque comes wrapped in clear plastic and in very good box condition (easily c-9+) with no flap crease.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Transformers.SG booth @ CSC on Sunday, 7th Sep

Front of Polo Tee

Front Design

Back of Polo Tee

Back Design

Finally got my Transformers.SG collectors polo tee shirt from bro Grimlock today. It has a really cool design, thanks to the creative talents of bro Slang and I love every part of it. It's also personalised and has my name embroidered on the left sleeve. There's actually another design with the Autobot logo on it, but I thought the Decepticon logo looks awesome. For those who are interested in getting a personalised Transformers.SG polo tee shirt, do visit the Transformers.SG booth at China Square Central (CSC) this coming sunday, 7th September or any other sundays on 14th, 21st and 28th. Simply register as a member of Transformers.SG for free and you get the opportunity to own this exclusive personalised polo tee-shirt at a very reasonable price. There will also be Transformers products on sale from current Transformers.SG members at our booth. For more details about the booth, do check out http://www.transformers.sg/.

Monday, September 1, 2008

Victory Leo

mib Victory Leo, c-9

Released in 1989, Victory Leo transforms into a black, yellow and white winged lion robot. Both modes are dominated by the missile-firing V-Lock Rifle that rises from his back between his wings in alternate mode, or plugs into his hip in robot mode. Victory Leo can also combine with Star Saber to become Victory Saber, which was available as a giftset.

Victory Leo comes in pristine condition, box and toy-wise. Perhaps the only blemish is that the stickers have been half-applied. That was the main reason why I deliberated on getting it earlier even though I had been tracking it for some time already. Nevertheless, I finally decided to get it due to the excellent box and toy condition. Now my Star Saber has finally found its perfect companion. :)