C-121 Gurafi and C-122 Noizu KO Comparison Guide

Ever since Knock-Offs (KO's) of the Dinocassettes came out a little while back collectors have been having a difficult time telling the real thing from the fakes. I don't want to get into a debate about real vs. KO, I only want people to know what they are buying. You can already find a guide on C-123 Diaru and C-124 Zauru on HighEndTFs.com but there is no guide for these two figures yet. Since a friend of mine acquired these two last weekend at Savcon (fortunately he already knew they were KO's) I thought it would be a good opportunity to get some comparison pictures so anyone who was interested in trying to tell the difference wouldn't get swindled. Once you get the two versions side by side, all of a sudden the differences become very obvious.

Destination Savcon!

As Transformers conventions go it has been a long time since one has graced my particular corner of the United States. Sure we had Botcon 2010 in Orlando about eleven hours away and of course Botcon 2007 in Rhode Island about thirteen hours away, but not since 2001 (Raleigh, NC) has there been one within only a couple hours drive. I think this was the primary motivator for me wanting to attend Savcon located in Savannah, Georgia; a relatively short four hour drive. However I was also motivated to attend a smaller, local convention without all the bells and whistles that come with Botcon. Since I had only been to Botcons in the past I really had no idea what to expect especially from a first year convention. What I discovered was much more than I could have imagined.

The Oncoming Masterpiece Onslaught

Haha, no, we aren't getting a Masterpiece Onslaught. Yet. And I only say yet because it looks like the Masterpiece line is going from a one-off character focused toyline to an actual series based on recent events. First of all, I want to congratulate whomever is in charge of the Masterpiece line at TakaraTomy; you have renewed my faith. At first I was all against a second Optimus Prime being released in the series, but as more and more releases have been announced I now see the light. I see it was all part of a carefully structured plan to revitalize and revamp the line in a scale-accurate form (more or less). And I've already sung the praises of the recently fixed MP-11. But I am getting a little ahead of myself here.

Prime Vehicon, like the elusive Aardwolf

Not an Aardwolf

If you've never heard of the Aardwolf, don't feel bad. They tend to be very difficult to find in nature and resemble a hyena crossed with a wolf. Apparently they are called Aardwolfs because their diet consists of almost nothing but termites, much like Aardvarks. But the point is, they are ridiculously hard to find in the wild, much like the Transformers Prime Vehicon.

D-306 Darkwings Gift Set

Out of all the Japanese exclusive Transformers, Darkwings is one of the less desirable due to the fact that it really isn't that different from the American release; so it follows that there are probably more of these available out there than say, Minervas. But that doesn't mean it isn't as cool or unique as some of the other exclusives. Now Dreadwing is the American counterpart to Darkwings, made up of Dreadwind and Darkwing. Of course Darkwings is actually the combined form made up of the individuals Hydra and Buster. With so many darks and dreads and wings it is very easy to get confused and it took me a long time to be able to sort them all out. Even now I still get a little confused.

Retro: G1 Cloudburst, first in a long line of Pretenders

Sometimes I feel like some characters in the Transformers mythos really get the short end of the stick. I mean sure, Prime, Megatron and Starscream keep getting new toys, new interpretations in shows and countless re-releases of their original figures. But what about all those characters who never really had a chance to shine in the limelight, even if for only a minute? Well, that is all about to change, starting with our good friend Cloudburst here. I wanted to start with Cloudburst because he has some special significance to me; he was the very first Pretender figure I ever received.

Comic Thoughts...

I was never much of a comic collector as a child. I think perhaps I was a little ADHD and just didn't have the patience for them. During my early years I only actually picked up one or two comics and those were specifically Transformers. As I reached my teenage years I attempted to get into the comic scene by purchasing a couple of issues of different characters such as Spawn, Spiderman 2099 and Venom. None of them held my interest in the slightest. But I also managed to snag a couple of the Marvel Transformers back issues. I've spoken about that experience before. But what I never mentioned was that by the time I really got into the Transformers comics they were off the shelves and no new stories were being produced.