Charticon Exclusive Snipenose

Here we are still riding the Charticon Train. The next figure in our exclusive line-up was the custom class Snipenose figure. After we had decided to homage Quake with Warpath we thought it might be a good idea to give him a companion in the form of Needlenose. With Needlenose's recent resurgence in popularity in the RID comic, this seemed like another one of those no-brainers.

Charticon Aftershock, A Personal Look

Let me preface this by saying I know Flywheels is planning on doing a review of this figure if he hasn't already. Because I don't want to go over the exact same things I decided to make this post about my personal experience in creating this figure over the past ten months. This thing has been my "baby" and I am very proud to have such a nice finished product.

It is hard to even know where to start. When we first set up the idea of this convention there was no doubt in my mind that we were going to do an exclusive. And because I am very passionate about transformer toys in general, I decided I wanted to do an exclusive that would exceed all expectations, something that would literally be the best of the best. Did I achieve that?

So much cool new stuff....

And absolutely no time to talk about it. Unfortunately this time of year is always super busy for me. I really wish I could talk about each of these great figures in turn, but I just can't find the time to sit down and do it. At least I'll have a lot to cover after the beginning of the new year! C'est la vie...

SDCC Bruticus and all that Hype

Big Damn Box

I think Hasbro must have some weird rules about when it makes combiner figures. The first rule would have to be "No extra parts in any mode". Okay, I can understand that one. They want to cut down on costs and so there is no need to have extra parts in either the individual or the combined modes. In fact, I'm in favor of this idea when it can be put to good use. The second rule must be "All limbs must be interchangeable, no matter what." And this is the one that really irks me. I don't understand why they just can't commit one limb to one place; some of the best combiners have been made this way: Devestator, Predaking, Liokaiser, and so on. But when they need to make engineering sacrifices to ensure each limb can be both an arm and a leg then the overall figure suffers. And that is the problem with SDCC Bruticus (and all his subsequent repaints). But it does look like they have learned from at least some of their past mistakes and made Bruticus one of the best official modern combiners to date.

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!!!

United Frenzy and Rumble - The Street Punks Return!

Ok, this was a total impulse buy. I knew I wanted these guys for a while because they are part of the original Decepticon lineup, but I was just going to wait for the domestic releases. And then Robotkingdom restocked and my impatient self kicked in. I decided since it will probably be a while before Generations ramps back up I would just go ahead and pick them up while I could. I know they will be released here eventually, but just like with Generations Red Alert I didn't want to wait.

They are great little updates of the classic characters that we haven't gotten in any official capacity yet (other than the Alternators Rumble a few years ago). Their new alt modes are tanks and fortunately their robot modes incorporate the pile-driver action that made these two so popular in the past. In fact, one of the main gimmicks I wanted more than anything was for my original Rumble and Frenzy to have transforming arms to form the pile-drivers. But alas, I would have to wait over 25 years to get my wish. I guess that says something for my patience. Or then again maybe not since I really didn't have a choice.

The two Pile Drivers.

Pop Quiz: Frenzy is what color?

Alt modes

Predecessor pic

The yellow squares on the chests are a nice homage.

Alt mode comparison. Hmmm...which is more threatening?

The past and the present.

Maiden Japan's Wreck-Gar Upgrades

Oh, happy day! Today my Wreck-Gar Upgrades came in from Master Customizer Maiden Japan. He is a one man operation that has been making additional parts to the recent Classics Wreck-Gar that was released a few months ago. He is also one of the primary reasons why it is impossible to find a Wreck-Gar around these days because everyone is buying them up for army building. And with Maiden's additional parts, you can create hundreds of different kinds of Junkions! I only have two Wreck-Gar's so far, but I plan on purchasing at least three or four more. If you haven't seen these parts before, the difference is staggering. Check it out:

This is the set of parts that arrived. (yes, two heads, one for the future)

This is the figure before any modification.

And this is the exact same figure after the parts have been added!

He looks even better from this side!

Now I have a random Junkion riding Wreck-Gar. Just like in the '86 Movie! Squeee!

Bad. Ass.

Most of the parts can remain on the figure when transformed into bike mode, which is very convenient. Maiden Japan is also in the process of making more heads and parts, so the number of different Junkions you can create will be endless! Each part he produces is available in six colors, so if you took Statistics you can figure out the permutations of those numbers. If you want to order parts, you need to become a member of TFW2005 and go to this thread. The parts can be a little pricey, but if you figure in the fact that he is making them all by hand and by himself it doesn't seem so outrageous. Currently ordering is closed, but will reopen soon. I will definitely be ordering more in the future.

Heading in the right direction: IGear Kup Head

While I am on the subject of heads, I wanted to throw this up really quick. If you own a version of Generations Kup and you have not purchased this head, you absolutely need to. I will let the pictures speak for themselves but there is really no reason not to own this great piece.

Hasbro's Version of Generation Kup

Head close-up

Like night and day. Seriously Hasbro?

How he should have looked from day one.

There's the old timer we all know and love!

It is a good thing Igear provides this screwdriver b/c that is one tiny screw and it can be a pain to remove!

The old head is going in storage. I didn't want to use the 'Cy-Gar' head b/c my Kup is from the '86 Movie.

Bottom line, buy it, buy it, buy it. It is cheap, well made and even the most amateur customizer (me) can make this change with the equipment provided.

Cliffjumper is finally complete! Devilhorns custom kit has arrived.

When Classics Cliffjumper was originally released he was done as a straight up repaint of Classics Bumblebee. At the time this wasn't a problem because Hasbro had put their resources into remolding the seeker mold to accommodate Ramjet, Cliffjumper's wave-mate. And I much preferred a more accurate Ramjet to a more accurate Cliffjumper.

However as time went on I became dissatisfied with the Bumblebee lookalike. The excellent third party company Fansproject had produced a replacement that came with a few extra parts but by the time I found out about their product it was sold out everywhere. It didn't help that they limited it to 300 produced. There are a few stores that sell the set today but because of the low production run the cost of the set is usually $279 or more. For essentially a head and a couple of guns. There is no way.

So I was able to purchase a custom head from a fellow TFW2005 member in early 2008. It wasn't perfect and I had to paint it myself, but it was a better solution than the original head and paying out the ass for the Fansproject version.

"For some reason I can't see you very well"

I thought I matched the paint pretty well myself, but I was always dissatisfied with how small Cliffjumper's actual face was. Plus over time, the two halves of the head didn't stay together well anymore. Many people said that you could use the head from the WFC Cliffjumper as a good replacement, but the colors were still slightly off. I bought a WFC Cliffjumper intending to do exactly this, but once I had him decided I liked him as he was and kept him with my other WFC toys.

Enter the Devilhorns Custom Kit in 2011. Finally another third party company had decided to fill the gap left open by Fansproject and produced a new set complete with head, gun and cannon. The set was a little pricey at $30, but I figured it was better than $300 and I really wanted my Cliffjumper to be complete. So I bit the bullet.

Face details!

Overall I am much happier with this purchase; the head is more detailed, molded in the correct color and feels much more finished than my prior head. My only complaint is that it is molded in a way that doesn't let Cliffy look up, but that is a minor, minor concern. The extra guns are nice too.

So after almost five years of dealing with a head issue on Cliffjumper the problem is solved. Now my OCD brain can rest a little easier.

Ready for action!

Classics Comparison: Smokescreen (with Reprolabels!)

Smokescreen has been one of my favorite characters since before I can remember. This is partly due to Smokey being my very first Transformer, ever. I distinctly remember playing with him at the tender age of four at my father's place of business. Of course when I picked him from the shelves I really didn't know anything about the character or who he really was since he wasn't featured much in the show. But I loved his colors! Red was (and still is) my favorite color, coupled with the blue and white highlights how could I refuse this guy? Over the years my Smokey suffered a lot of damage mostly because I carried him around a lot and that particular mold was very, very fragile. How any of those things made it out of the '80's with their windshields intact is a mystery to me.

Anyway, on to modern day where we have a new Smokescreen released, a recolor of the mold used for Prowl and Blue(silver)streak. Unfortunately the paintjob on Classics Smokescreen was just abysmal.

Top: Classics. Bottom: The much improved Henkei version.

 Ok, so obviously I should have gone with the Henkei release like every other collector. I mean, really Hasbro?!?! What five year old was in charge of this one? Well instead of paying a huge amount for the same figure again, I decided to go with Reprolabels to save myself some money. I won't say it is a perfect solution, but it is better than paying out the ass for Henkei Smokescreen because he is not cheap.

The new numbers and white pinstripe made a huge difference, so I think I can deal with it. He certainly looks much better than before and not so out of place. I really can't believe that the same company that produces this can produce such a crappy painted figure but I don't know the inner workings of Hasbro.





So now, he doesn't look so out of place next to G1 Smokescreen.

And he certainly looks better than any other version of Smokescreen we have had up until this point (Cybertron and Armada Smokescreen not pictured because I refused to buy those pieces of crap)

So if you find yourself like me and can't afford or don't want to pay for Henkei Smokescreen, go the Reprolabels route, your wallet will thank you.

Reveal the Shield Perceptor, scientists FTW!

Close on the heels of Generations Wheeljack we have Reveal the Shield Perceptor. This is an okay figure overall, I'd say my only complaints are that his 'backpack' doesn't really lock into place and his face looks so sad! Also, he doesn't have a fast transformation. This one can take a while until you figure out the tricks. But as an update to the character I think he is great! I much prefer the mouth to the faceplate of the G1 figure.

I particularly like how he retains his arm dials. And of course the colors are spot on. However the alt mode is a little weird. I guess it is some sort of ATV tank?

G1 Perceptor's tank mode doesn't really compare well. And then of course there is the microscope mode:

 Kinda. This was the best I could come up with, to tell you the truth, the generations figure has no business being a microscope. Which is disappointing because I would have liked a good microscope mode. Oh well. This figure follows Drift and Kup in the fashion that he is actually based more on the IDW comic character than the G1 figure. Note the crosshairs on his shoulder cannon:

 Not a bad figure overall, especially if you like Perceptor. Personally I like any Transformer that fits into the scientist/medic category.

The three Autobots least likely to see some action. (take that meaning as you will)