Monday, January 12, 2009

Dinobots (KO version)

misb KO Grimlock, c-9.5

Grimlock's toy was originally part of Takara's Diaclone Dinosaur Robo series. When Hasbro imported the toy in 1985 for the Transformers line, its blue pelvis was changed to red and the Diaclone driver mini-figure was dropped.
The original Grimlock changes from a robot into a robotic T-Rex and comes with a red energo-sword, a black double-barreled rifle, and a rocket launcher with three silver rockets.
misb KO Sludge, c-9.5


Sludge was released as part of the second series of Transformers in 1985, transforming into a robotic "brontosaurus". He has a trio of silver rockets, a rocket launcher, a black gun, and a red sword. Like most Diaclone-era molds, Sludge also has a conspicuous driver compartment located in his chest.
misb KO Slag, c-9.5

Slag was released as part of the second series of Transformers in 1985. The toy transformed into a robotic Triceratops, and came with a missile launcher that could fit in the shoulder socket of both the robot and dinosaur, a red sword, a silver "electro blaster" and three silver rockets.

misb KO Snarl, c-9.5

Snarl transforms from a robotic stegosaurus dinosaur bristling with gold vacuum-metalized armor plates, to a heavily armed robot armed with a red energo-blade, a smaller laser rifle and a rocket launcher with three black missiles.

misb KO Swoop, c-9.5

Swoop's toy transforms into a robotic pteranodon. Swoop can stand on his dinosaur feet or lie on his stomach in this mode, but additionally has fold-out wheels located in his feet and chest (though one has to split his chest open to access the latter wheel). His beak and tail were rounded for safety reasons compared to the original Diaclone release. However, the remolding of the tail kept the tail sticker from fitting correctly. Interestingly, despite being a former Diaclone toy, Swoop is the only Dinobot not to have an obvious cockpit for a Diaclone driver figure.
Swoop's die-cast metal chest is painted red, which is his Transformers color, as opposed to his cartoon color scheme which was based on the Diaclone toy. Along with his sword, he also comes with two spring-loaded missile launchers, the only Dinobot to have two projectile-launchers.
Swoop is notable for being one of the most fragile Generation 1 toys, and as such commands a respectable amount of money on the secondary market due to the difficulty in finding one intact.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Victory Saber

mib unused Victory Saber giftset, c-9

Released in 1989, the Victory Saber giftset is a two-pack of Star Saber and Victory Leo. In Victory Saber vehicle mode, Victory Leo transforms into a compacted version of his fighter mode and connects into the rear between Star Saber's engines/legs, forming a huge-ass space ship.
For Victory Saber robot mode, Victory Leo basically splits up into multiple parts, with most of Leo's body becoming platform shoes for Star Saber and the rest of him forming a giant backpack/weapons system. As Victory Saber, the Star Saber robot is armed with his sword, the backpack's weapons and Victory Leo's huge cannon, which can fire projectiles.
This Victory Saber giftset was purchased from an online seller based in Japan with the help from a friend. It came in a very good box with its content in even better condition.