A Curator's Dream: Realized (and Thanks for all the Fish)

It has been nearly a year since I began my journey to acquire two of every G1 figure and put them on display. A lot has changed in that time, some good, some bad and some unexpected. But if there is one thing we can count on in this life, it is change. So without further delay, I present what will probably be my final post

Where is everyone going? The Exodus

I've become aware of an ever increasing trend in the Transformers community lately: longtime prominent collectors scaling back by orders of magnitude, or getting out of the hobby altogether. I must admit I am not immune to this recent trend as I have recently written about on this very blog. But why are so many collectors seemingly abandoning something they have spent years of their lives working on and obsessing over? I don't know for sure, but I have a few theories.

Of Squids and Octopi

You must be thinking to yourself "What? A post that isn't about Japanese G1? What blog am I reading?" Be assured, you're still on Mostly Transformers, but I realized while writing my Rules that I was focusing heavily on one small segment of my collecting recently and I like to diversify every now and again. So while this post is about a vintage Japanese figure, it is definitely outside the box so to say.

Experiencing Beast Wars for the First Time

Recently my good friend NC Bulkhead decided to sit down and watch Beast Wars all the way through for the very first time. Since he had never seen it before I thought it would be interesting to get the perspective of someone watching it with today's mindset rather than when it first came on back in 1996. I asked him to put his thoughts to paper (or in this case pixels) so I present to you: The Beast Wars Experience!

Decepticons Forever! X-9 Jaguar (Ravage)

Sometimes I am amazed at the amount of patience I possess. As I child I had absolutely no patience whatsoever and it took many years for me to train myself to not want everything right now. However sometimes that little kid comes back out when I see other people purchasing really cool things. Fortunately that was not the case with X-9 Ravage here. I originally missed getting him when he was available at retail back in 1999 and then of course his price skyrocketed due to the unique mold, foreign exclusivity and popularity of the character in the Beast Wars show. But I knew that if I waited long enough, eventually one would come up at a reasonable price.

With this comes a complete loose Beast Wars Collection

Being able to replace my failing Rattrap with Metals Rattrap at last year's Botcon I was only one other figure away from completing my loose Beast Wars collection. That remaining figure was Transmetal Megatron. Much like figures with GPS, TM Megatron is notoriously brittle, but for different reasons. Therefore it is difficult to find one today that hasn't broken in some manner. I'm proud to say my original lasted for at least eight years before it decided to snap one day in mid transformation. I also have a MISB version just for completion's sake, but my display never looked quite right with such an iconic and important character missing. The solution? Purchase the Japanese version of the figure which uses a different and stronger type of plastic and doesn't have the same breakage problems.

Unicron's Four Horsemen

Back in 2004 a little over a year after the Transformers: Armada toyline had debuted something very interesting happened; apparently the line was such a success Hasbro had underestimated the demand and needed a few extra toys in order to fill out the line before the next incarnation, Transformers: Energon, was released. As a solution they decided to re-paint five molds that were used for Beast Wars, remold them slightly and then release them under the Armada banner. As a result the transmetal incarnations of Cheetor, Rhinox, Airrazor, Terrorsaur and Megatron started showing up in stores with Mini-con partners. Now I don't usually talk about anything from the Unicron Trilogy because it is something that I have absolutely no love for, however I feel these five figures are a special case.

Not long after they were released a few fans came up with (what I feel) was an inherently ingenious idea that Cheetor, Rhinox, Airrazor and Terrorsaur were the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse riding their transmetal tyrannosaur steeds of the underword: Megatron. Eventually this idea gained such popularity that the then-current owners of the Transformers comic book tie-in license, Dreamwave, incorporated it into their story with the four figures being the Horsemen of Unicron (basically the Transformers version of the devil or ultimate evil). Unfortunately Megatron (he was re-named Predacon for his Armada release) was cut from the story. Personally I thought Predacon worked better as a 'horse' than the non-toy characters in the comic. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) the comic story was never finished because Dreamwave folded, but that is an entirely different story.

At any rate, I purchased these five figures back in 2004 and they have been part of my collection ever since. The odd thing is: their new color schemes seem to accurately reflect their new personalities. I mean Airrazor was released in an almost completely black color scheme that just screams 'Death'. Currently they are perched on the very top shelf in my room, casting their demonic gazes below to all the Transformer underlings. Even though they are minor characters in what some would consider a mediocre storyline (and I would probably tend to agree), I feel like they represent an important part of the mythos nonetheless. By establishing that Unicron's heralds are often harbingers of doom it speaks volumes to the creation of Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge and the Sweeps 18 years earlier. Could they have been potential 'Horsemen' as well? Something to consider.

Pestilence

Famine

Death

War

...and the Horse

After writing this post and pondering the matter more carefully, I feel like I need to go out and purchase three more Predacons in order to complete my Horsemen collection. And then maybe some saddles. Yes, definitely need saddles.

Beast Wars Revisited: Part 3 of 5

I had the good fortune of obtaining some nice vintage Japanese Beast Wars last week so I thought I might be a good idea to do a mini-series on them. There is nothing really spectacular about any of these figures other than the fact they are different from their domestic release counterparts and thus interesting to me.

Part 3: Beast Wars II C-17 Bigmos

I feel bad for Bigmos. If you lived in the United States when Beast Wars was released and collected Transformers, I'm sure you'll remember seeing his American counterpart Transquito on the shelves everywhere. Unfortunately he was the most unpopular figure of his size class and assortment. In fact, I remember still seeing Transquito in Toys R Us after Beast Machines had debuted more than three years later. I really don't know how well Bigmos sold in Japan, but if his purchase price was any indication then it wasn't well. However I really like his colors and the fact that he is a Cybertron in the Beast Wars II fiction (vs Transquito being a Predacon over here) is an interesting twist.

So apparently Bigmos is the leader of the Cybertron subgroup of Insectrons and a great lover of peace. It's funny because all of the insect-related figures that are part of the Insectron group were released as Predacons in America. I'm sure this is because the theme behind Beast Wars II was beast vs machine. All of the Destrons were some sort of machine/vehicle or an organic/machine hybrid. So Bigmos looks like he should be evil, but I guess that just proves that you shouldn't judge a book by its exoskeleton.

The teal reminds me of the 80's!

One of the best things about the BW figures was the attention to detail

This thing really looks like a mosquito!

Cybertron vs. Predacon

Again, it looks like Takara trumps Hasbro on the paint apps!

Beast Wars Revisited: Part 1 of 5

I had the good fortune of obtaining some nice vintage Japanese Beast Wars last week so I thought I might be a good idea to do a mini-series on them. There is nothing really spectacular about any of these figures other than the fact they are different from their domestic release counterparts and thus interesting to me.

Part 1: Beast Wars II C-13 Bighorn

In case you hadn't figured it out Japanese transformers almost always come with a number prefix before the name. I believe this is because it makes collecting a series of figures easier and also cuts down on confusion as to exactly which figure you are talking about. Because the good guys are known as Cybertrons in Japan, all of their prefixes start with C. And in this case Big Horn is the thirteenth release in the Beast Wars II series so he gets that lucky number.

I have always had an affinity for the Buffalo which I believe comes from my knowledge and respect of the Native American cultures and religions along with the fact that it is difficult being a Boy Scout and not knowing anything about this majestic creature. So when Bonecrusher was released in America in 1997 I was thrilled at being able to own an actual Buffalo (or Bison if you prefer) Transformer. Unfortunately I never really thought Bonecrusher was a good name since it had originally belonged to a Decepticon and emphasized a destructive personality (crushing bones!) vs what I thought would be more appropriate; a nature lover or a gentle soul. Even his bio follows this line of thinking describing his urges to "engage the enemy violently". So I decided to seek out his counterpart: Bighorn. A completely different character of the Beast Wars II continuity whose personality is a little more in line with what I feel should befit this figure. Bighorn, while destructive on the battlefield, is at heart a nature lover who cherishes all life. In fact I thought it would be more appropriate to have named him Apache instead of the toy who actually got that honor, since the Buffalo are so central to the Native American ways. But apparently a giant mandrill is more like Native Americans than a Buffalo?

So here I present Bighorn, a more appropriate Buffalo in the world of the Transformers.

He is molded in a nice vibrant red, which I like better than Bonecrusher's white.

Unfortunately most of his poses make him look like he either wants to kill someone...

...or is very surprised.

Too bad he doesn't have a 'run' feature since Buffalo are so good at it.

Here you can see the only real difference between the two is the color of the plastic.

And Bighorn's nose and horns are a little darker.

All the Beast Wars II figures come with backgrounds built into the packaging showing the animal's 'habitat'. Bighorn's shows a grassy plain with some trees, which is accurate I guess. It is a neat feature though because it gives you a little more play value than just a plain 'ol box. In fact, it would be very interesting to see all the characters with their respective backgrounds lined up. Hmmm.....

If you would like to read Flywheels' review of this figure, click here

C-43 Metals Rattle AKA Transmetal Rattrap!

If you've had an opportunity to look at my collection pages you will notice one glaring omission from the Beast Era: Transmetal Rattrap. I do actually have the figure however after 15 years the vacuum-metalized paint on the figure had disintegrated. I actually had to put him in a ziplock bag a few years ago just to prevent little red flakes all over everything. A similar fate befell Beast Machines Ultra Jetstorm. So for quite a while I haven't been able to display Rattrap with his teammates. While at Botcon I happened upon this little gem: a Beast Wars Metals Rattle MISB for only $15! I could not pass that up so even though I hadn't planned on purchasing him at the show I was able to fill a large hole in my collection.

Beast Mode

Because this is the Japanese version of the figure, there are a few differences between this one and the American version. First and foremost is the color of the vacuum paint. You may or may not be able to tell through the pictures but it is more of a pink color than the show-accurate red. Also on the rear of the figure where Rattrap's name was tampographed is instead the word "Cybertron" (the Japanese equivalent for Autobot even though he is technically a Maximal). Other than those small differences the figures are the same. I didn't get my old figure out for comparison because I still don't want to deal with little red flakes everywhere.

Also of interest are his instructions because they also include the instructions for D-43 Terrorsaur. I believe this is due to the figures being sold in a two-pack and Takara just used the same instruction sheet for the individually packed figures instead of reprinting it. It also comes with a cool holographic card that switches between non-transmetal beast mode, transmetal beast mode and transmetal robot mode.

Vehicle mode (all Transmetals had this 'in-between' mode)

Robot Mode

The two Rattraps of Beast Wars

Rattrap's Evolution

It is funny his figure continued to get bigger as time progressed.

With the Wal-Mart Exclusive Blue Rattrap. Blue Rattrap is also known as Transmetal Packrat.

The beauty of the figures from the Beast Era was that they were more or less screen-accurate. In the show Rattrap's 'backpack' flipped around but other than that this figure was dead-on accurate. We are spoiled nowadays as we expect our figures to look like what we see on TV, but when Beast Wars was going on I can remember my excitement at actually having toys that looked 'right'. Back when G1 was on TV, we weren't so lucky.

Mail Call: Monday, May 9th, 2011 (and collection update!)

The river has become a trickle; finding these later year tech specs and instructions is becoming harder and harder. So just a few items today.

Beast Wars Inferno Box (for tech spec)
Bomb Burst Instructions
Banzai-Tron Tech Specs

In other news my collection pictures are almost complete. I am about halfway though the 2002 to present day section and should be done with them soon. I am very much looking forward to having a complete photographic record of everything I own. Once the individual pictures are complete I will start showcasing room pictures.

90's Kenner Catalogs

When I was authoring my About Me page the other day I began to get sentimental about earlier days in my youth so I started going through some old papers and pictures. While I was going through everything I happened to find some old Kenner catalogs that showcased some late G2 and Beast Wars figures. I'm not sure when Hasbro moved the Transformers brand to their Kenner department, but I think it was around 1994 and that would explain why the catalogs I have are 1995-1998. I also believe Kenner was fully integrated into Hasbro by '98 so there wouldn't be too many catalogs past that point.

These catalogs didn't just showcase Transformers, but all boy's lines being offered at the time. They are mostly populated with Batman, Nerf, Star Wars, Gargoyles, Mortal Combat, Starting Lineup and tons of others. I kept them because they reminded me of the G1 catalogs in some small form. So I thought I'd scan in the Transformers pages since they applied to my interest, I may get around to the other pages one day if I ever get that much time.

1995, Not much here...

1996, yay Beast Wars!

1997, yay more Beast Wars!

1998, long freaking catalog!

Tech Specs and Paperwork, what to do with it all!?!?

For anyone who has been curious as to what I am doing with all the paperwork I have been collecting lately (see here, here and here) I wanted to post an update on my organization. I was inspired by G1 Junkie of the TFW forms, you can see his setup here. For the longest time I thought collecting all the paperwork was a waste of time because I hadn't figured out any really good way to organize and showcase everything. Once I saw G1J's method I was inspired. It took a while to find all of the materials to make it happen, but here is a small sample of what I've been able to do in the past five months:

This is really fun to just sit and read for a while.

What doesn't belong?

I need to figure out a way to keep these guys in their sleeves, they like to come out easily.

 You'll notice I have a Bruticus Tech Spec in the second picture. Seasoned fans will know that Bruticus never had his own tech spec in America because a Bruticus Giftset was not available. The same thing occurred for Abominus while Predaking, Reflector and Monstructor's tech specs were printed on instruction booklets. I decided that I wanted to include a tech spec for all of these guys in my collection since the other gestalts have one. The ones I printed for myself came from Slim, he does some great custom tech specs and they fit in perfectly with the originals. Unfortunately as of this writing I am still 57 tech specs and 39 instruction booklets short of a complete collection, but I am well on my way. If anyone has any extras they want to get rid of, let me know, I may just need some! Oh, and you may ask where do I go once my G1 paperwork collection is complete....

...oh, I dunno.