United Stepper and his Armada (I mean Nebulon)

Stepper is one of those obscurish characters that most fans don't even care to know about, especially before his recent reissues in the Takara TFC line and the Commemorative series by Hasbro. Prior to these releases Stepper was an ultra rare Jazz redeco released at the tail end of Headmasters in Japan and thus wasn't on shelves long. Along with his case-mate Artfire this figure would routinely sell for over $1000 in the early 2000's. When the reissues hit everyone who wanted one got one and the rest sat on the shelves forever until they were eventually discounted. This is what happens when companies try to reissue obscure characters: there just isn't enough interest to sustain the market. The Stepper reissues can still be found relatively cheap and even the original doesn't command the prices it once did. Artfire is another story though.

So I think Takara-Tomy learned their lesson. For the United line (basically the most current adaptation of the Classics figures in Japan) they decided to release Stepper as a mail-away through their Transformers Generations book. In direct homage to the original, this Stepper uses the Jazz mold and Nebulon is a redeco of the Cyclonus targetmaster Nightstick.

Overall this figure is beautiful, mimicking the original Stepper nicely while keeping a modern aesthetic to it. The gold is very nicely done and not too garish. I was also surprised at the size of the box he came in, it was very minimal and doesn't waste space with any frills.

And of course because the Jazz mold has speakers built in to the mold, Stepper gets them as well, only in Sonic White.

Nebulon is nicely re-decoed from previous versions:

From L to R: RTS Nightstick, Nebulon, Rocketbot and Universe Nightstick

Unfortunately I don't have the original Stepper in order to compare this figure, perhaps I can rectify that situation in the near future :-)

Japanese Robot Lion! (Hint: It's not Voltron)

Ok, so I've spoken before about trying and failing to get through the multiple Japanese G1 Transformer TV series. Headmasters was a disaster, however I actually made it through Masterforce (and enjoyed it immensely) and I got about 75% of the way through Victory. In Masterforce I was introduced to a character named Ginrai which was technically a human using a robot body that looked exactly like Optimus Prime (the toy was used for Powermaster Optimus Prime in the US). Ginrai could power up to become Super Ginrai and then even further to God Ginrai. When Masterforce was over God Ginrai became a normal transformer again and even started making appearances in the new cartoon: Victory. Unfortunately Ginrai was badly injured in the show thus leading to one of the greatest callbacks in TF TV show history. Wheeljack, Perceptor and Minerva (from Masterforce as well) all of a sudden made an apperance to try and rebuild Ginrai. It makes me wonder, how many other '84 and '85 Transformers were just hanging around Earth when Victory was going on? Of course they succeeded resulting in a brand new toy for the kiddies to buy: Victory Leo.

Now this guy is a monster of a figure. If you like big transformers, this is one to add to the shelf. Victory Leo transforms from robot to lion to spaceship (kinda). In the show he had issues with his feral lion self, a problem that would be echoed years later in Beast Wars with Transmetal II Cheetor. Anyway, he is a very solid figure with plenty of firepower. Unfortunately he was never released domestically so I wasn't able to obtain him until Botcon 2007. And then six months later I had to sell him again due to financial issues. Then about a year later I bought another one (in much better shape than my first) for less money so I guess I came out ok!

I really love the lion mode, wonderful G1-ness.

The space ship mode leaves a little to be desired.

I don't think I'm spoiling anything when I say Victory Leo can combine with Star Saber to form a super huge figure, but I'll get to that later.

Trakkons Calcar and Fearswoop prove Europe Rules!

I had the good fortune to obtain these two guys waaaay before Christmas, however I just now found the time to showcase them. I am really enjoying these European G1.5/G2 figures as they provide a nice transition from the end of G1 in the US to what would become Generation 2 (and what subsequently lead me back into Transformers...again).

I imagine the main selling point on these guys was the play factor of their weapons. Children could look through the viewfinders to 'target' their enemies and Fearswoop's weapon even has firing action that uses light-piping to simulate lasers firing in the viewfinder when you turn the knob. If I were a kid, I would absolutely love this. Hell, as an adult I absolutely love this. I was hoping for something similar on Calcar's weapon, but alas only the turret turns when you turn the knob on his weapon.

The 'lasers' in action

Oh no, firing on a fellow officer!

The size and bulk of these weapons really inhibits the flexibility of these figures, but since they are technically G1 figures and therefore bricks by design that isn't really saying much. In fact I think it may actually help in Calcar's case as it gives his arms flexibility they may not have had otherwise. In either case, displaying these guys with their weapons deployed really blocks most of the figure and I love how each one has a kickstand in order to support the weight of the weapons.

It's like they're both photographers from 1885.

Fortunately there were only two Trakkons, so now I have them both, however I am still missing one of their Autobot counterparts (known as Lightformers): Ironfist; arguably the hardest one of the four to find.

I love Calcar's face sculpt.

Sale of the AFA Items

Boy, this took a lot of soul searching, but in the end I think it is best.

I started collecting AFA (Action Figure Authority) graded figures over two years ago. My plans started out innocently enough, I just wanted to have a couple for novelty sake, nothing more. What I didn't realize is that I am often a victim of my inner completionist. Little by little as time went by I wanted more AFA figures. They looked so pretty in their perfect packaging, like a little time capsule of a Transformer. Eventually I decided that I would try and get all of the 1984 original release of figures. That transformed (if you'll excuse the pun) into obtaining all of the figures I had as a child in AFA form. That ballooned into having EVERY SINGLE G1 FIGURE GRADED. I got about 36 figures into that goal (approximately 10%) and started to think long and hard about if this is what I really wanted. As with everything there is an opportunity cost when you purchase one thing over another. What I began to realize was that I didn't want to sacrifice all the numerous opportunities open to me in order to obtain a complete AFA collection. Based on my estimates it would take somewhere around $100K to $150K to meet such a goal and I finally realized that isn't what I wanted.

So about a month ago I decided to sell off the bulk of my AFA collection. However since they are such high value items I thought it would be a good idea to wait until after the new year for tax purposes. People also have a lot of money to spend right after Christmas (ironically enough) so it seemed like good timing, and strangely enough the AFA market is actually up for the first time since 2007. Almost all of the auctions are over now and I am feeling quite a bit of relief that I won't have to worry about them anymore. AFA items can be such fragile things and if they are damaged in any way they completely lose their value. I did keep a few select items that mean a lot to me; Starscream, Bumblebee and Hot Rod. I may decide to purchase a few others that would really mean something to me (Smokescreen being one as he was my very first transformer) but for the most part I am done with AFA. All of that money will be re-invested into other things like Japanese and European exclusive G1 figures, Third Party items and maybe a few other special figures (Big Blue Convoy I'm looking at you). I am a loose collector at heart and while I can appreciate AFA figures I don't want them to take up the bulk of my collection. Plus, they were all duplicates anyway :)

So now that I have a little expendable cash I wonder where it should go first....

Oh, and Botch, thanks for the nudge :)

TFC Hercules: Structor and Dr. Crank

I hope everyone had a good holiday these past few weeks, I've been out of town spending time with friends and family but it is always good to get back home for some more Transformerin'.

I ordered these guys a few months ago from Robot Kingdom overseas mostly due to them being such a good deal. RK's policy is to wait until all the items in your order have arrived before they ship; in other words they won't ship individual items unless you place individual orders. After I placed my order I realized I probably should have ordered them separately since I didn't want to wait on Dr. Crank to be released before I got Structor. Well fortunately they were released within a week of each other! So my Hercules count goes instantly doubles! Also the release of these two figures marks the first time fans can actually start assembling Hercules since they have all of the body (Heavy Labor and Dr. Crank) and at least one leg (Structor). I've seen a lot of people do this online and I've decided to wait until I receive the final two members before I assemble Hercules. I can remember doing a similar thing for Devestator when I was a child; I got all six members over the course of a couple of months but I didn't put them all together until I had every part. I just feel like the characters themselves wouldn't decide to combine until all members were present and who am I to tell them they are wrong?

At any rate, these are two great figures again from TFC Toys. Part of what I really like about these figures is the transformations feel very G1. They aren't too complex and transformation only takes a few seconds. I really feel like ease of transformation has taken a real backseat to complex transformation in modern toys. Sure, I like a challenge just as much as anyone (MPM Starscream and Leader Prime, I'm looking at you!) but it also becomes a chore if you just want to fiddle with your figures for a few minutes. TFC is bringing that simple feel back with Hercules. When all six figures are released it should only take 5 minutes or so to transform them all from one mode to the other and then to combine them into the gestalt.

So we are four down, two to go! C'mon Neckbreaker and Mad Blender!

Structor aka Scrapper

Nice details in vehicle mode

Dr. Crank aka Hook

This bad boy has one hell of a crane!

Christmas and Star Trek

Nothing gets me into the holiday mood like Star Trek movies.

I didn't really get into Star Trek until 1994, at the tail end of The Next Generation (TNG). I was able to catch about half of the final season on TV, and then my very first Star Trek movie was Star Trek: Generations; the one where Captain Kirk and Captain Picard meet. From there my interest really bloomed, I was able to watch all the TNG re-runs on Fox, I caught new episodes of Deep Space Nine when they aired (most of the time) and I was right there at the beginning of Voyager in 1995.

When 1996 came along and the second TNG movie (Star Trek: First Contact) was set to come out, I put it off for a while due to Jurassic Park coming out on VHS. When I finally did go see the movie it was well into November of that year and the Christmas season was in full swing. I was absolutely blown away and to this day it remains my favorite Star Trek movie. However for some reason I established a close bond with Star Trek and the Christmas season. It didn't help things any that I got some First Contact toys for Christmas that year not to mention more movies and TV episodes on VHS.

So every year when Christmas starts to come around I get the urge to watch Star Trek movies. Whereas most people probably like to watch Miracle on 34th Street, Home Alone or It's a Wonderful Life I really get my nostalgic kick from the Trek library, even though they have absolutely nothing to do with Christmas story-wise. I guess you could call it a Pavlov effect, but that is one hell of an association for just a month or so worth of events. Maybe it just means I'm easily trainable. I usually watch episodes year round, but just the movies at this time of year. I started out with First Contact as I usually do, then moved on to Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (just because it has been so long since I've seen it) and then to Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home to round out the season this year. I really should just watch them in order, but I've seen II, IV and VII waaaay too many times and so I have to even them all out.

Now all I have to do is resist the temptation to buy everything again on Blu-ray. But damn those transfers look good.

Black Shadow Returns!

Since Hasbro finally decided to release the last wave of Generations figures I have been able to get my hands on Black Shadow (Hasbro calls him Sky Shadow I'm sure due to copyright loss or maybe they never even had it at all since he was originally a Japanese only character). Anyway, I've already made my thoughts clear on the original Black Shadow and this guy is no different. In my opinion he is leaps and bounds better than his counterpart Thunderwing. He is also one of the only Japanese characters to be released on domestic shores in one form or another (and I don't count the Star Saber). I'm not one to usually gush over black figures but this guy really takes the cake; the red on black works so nicely together and he has a real throwback feel for me, like he belongs in the '80's. His headsculpt is also leaps and bounds above Thunderwing's. Unforunately Thunderwing seems to suffer from tiny-head syndrome, while Black Shadow's seems much more appropriate.

I also really like how Hasbro has again highlighted the detail on the sculpting of the figure. This is something they have been doing a lot more recently (ever since Thundercracker). And as an added bonus, the chest piece is re-sculpted to match the look of the original G1 figure.

Nicely done Hasbro; I expected the head but not the chest as well!

Past and present, not bad at all!

This was a really nice way for Hasbro to finish out this line of figures, here's hoping there are more Japanese exclusive characters in our future; c'mon Blue Bacchus!!!

Something a little different in the AFA game

I've been collecting AFA G1 Transformer figures for about two years now and have learned a lot about not only the market, but the collectors and sellers that make up the fanbase. AFA collectors are a very small group and so pretty much everyone knows everyone else which makes anonymity very difficult. However more times than not this is an advantage because it aids in preventing unsuspecting buyers (like me sometimes) from pulling the trigger on a bad deal or working with a crappy seller. The organization and interconnectedness AFA community is really its biggest strength, and I am glad to know the excellent individuals who make up that community.

Anyway, ever since I started collecting AFA figures less than 1% of the figures I have seen have been from the last two years of G1. In fact, I've never seen AFA Action Masters before. So a few months ago when I got a good deal on eBay for some sealed G1 '89 and '90 figures I decided I would get them AFA'd and start from the other end of things. Most G1 AFA collectors focus on 1984-1987 (If that far! Many just do 1984-1985!) so it isn't often you see the later year figures. So here I present the AFA figures that came back the other day in all their late G1 glory!

Action Master Snarl - 85 (!)
Action Master Devestator - 85 (!)
Race Car Patrol - 70 (boooo)
Monster Truck Patrol - 75 (eh)
Battle Patrol - 75 (eh)

Overall not too bad. Like I have said in the past I am less concerned with the grades than with just having them cased up. Protecting them is the most important part to me. I have five other sealed Action Masters that I will be sending off sometime in the near future and hopefully they'll do as well as these did!

Moar Headmaster Warriors!

I have been in a frenzy to complete my Headmaster Warriors lately! In the past month I have obtained more of these guys than I have in the past three years! I got lucky with these two and didn't have to throw down a whole lot of cash for them, the recent KO's have really made them a lot more affordable.

Lione on the left, Rodney on the right

Lione's transformation is identical to Trizer's

Five of the six Headmaster Warriors!

Gratuitous money shot...all the trademarks are there.

One more to go, watch out Shuffler I'm coming for you!!!