The Big One

I considered waiting much longer to post this purchase, but as it is I've already had this figure for a while and I thought it would be a good idea to go ahead and get it out there. For something this big I figured it needed a little gravitas, after all it doesn't come along every day. And it represents thus far the largest monetary investment I have made in any one figure to date. But I knew as soon as I had it in my hands it was all worth it.

C-305 Ranger

I'm trying something a little different with my pictures for the next couple of blog posts. Instead of the normal white background I thought I would experiment with a black background to see if I could get some cleaner, clearer shots of figures. The first figure to endure this process: Ranger.

The New Normal

As a Transformer collector I am always evaluating and re-evaluating the market on vintage figures that I still need for my collection, as I am sure all of us do. Recently I have started making spreadsheets to track price changes over time to hopefully give me a good idea of how much I have left to spend in order to complete my collection. But what I saw last night shattered my expectations.

C-303 Minerva! Or is is Minelba?

For our final G1 Japanese chapter, we get the crème de la crème. In my mind there are two types of G1 Japanese figures: those that are relatively easy to find because they are either unpopular or have reissues, and those that are so incredibly rare you must pounce on them as soon as you see them otherwise you may never have another chance again. Obviously, Minerva is the latter.

Charticon Exclusive Tech Specs

Whew, it feels like I've been gone forever. Charticon took up so much of my time I barely had room for anything else (which I know my wife didn't appreciate, lol). But now I've got my time back and since we aren't going to have another show until 2015, I have some time to get back to the blogging community I love! It is amazing what six months away will do, especially to your stats! I was running around 5-6K visitors per month in December and then when I got super busy it dropped dramatically back down to 2-3K per month. But that doesn't really matter that much, I just missed talking about my favorite hobby!

So I thought the first couple of "return to the land of the living" posts should be about some things we did for the show, and this initial one is a doozy!

European Black Zarak at Botcon!?!?!

I found this amazing picture yesterday over on Roboplastic Apocalypse and it has gotten deep into my head! I can't stop thinking about it! There is a very good chance this is a custom of some sort, but the box just looks so well done that it is hard to believe. However Heroic Decepticon commented that the styrofoam is obviously from Scorponok and the figure looks to be painted instead of molded in the famous "GPS" gold color.

If anyone happens to see this guy at Botcon I would love some better high-res pictures so I can get a good look at that box. And it's too bad it is a custom because that would really compliment Overlord very well.

UPDATE!!! See below!

C-310 God Ginrai - Inside the Differences

SCF God Ginrai

Right, so back to where we left off yesterday, inside the differences between the original God Ginrai giftset and the 2001 reissue. First off let me just say that this set was pretty difficult to find since the reissue is all over the place nowadays. And I can remember back before 2001 it was a pretty hot commodity, going for somewhere around $400 online. Fortunately the reissue cut that price by more than half, but if you are looking out for the original it is important to know the differences. My buddy Heroic Decepticon has already covered this to some detail, so I'll just go over a few things not in his post.

C-310 God Ginrai Giftset...Vintage!

I remember when I first learned about God Ginrai, it was during the first few months of college when I had a T1 internet line and was discovering the world beyond alt.toys.transformers. Powermaster Optimus Prime had been one of my favorite figures when I was little, mainly because of the gimmick of Prime combining with his trailer. When I discovered there was a second trailer that could be utilized as well I completely freaked out. After much searching, I was able to find a very grainy video of God Ginrai's first appearance in Masterforce, uploaded by some devoted Japanese transformer fan. Needless to say, at that moment I decided I needed a God Ginrai, no matter the cost.

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.

C-301 Goshooter - Shūta Gō!

If there is one thing I have learned over the years it is this: "When Botcon comes around, good deals abound" as our good friend Wheelie might say. I believe this applies whether you attend the convention or not, because while everyone is distracted by all the Botcon exclusives, news, etc. there are a bunch of great deals to be had on eBay and elsewhere. This year a particular TFW seller put up a massive amount of Japanese, European and Diaclone stuff about three days before Botcon! Thankfully Heroic Decepticon alerted me to the thread in time before everything sold out. I wasn't quick enough for some items, but I snagged Landcross, Twincast and GoShooter here. GoShooter is the real gem because he is dead mint with all paperwork, no flap crease and no yellowing. And even though he is only a repaint and not a Japanese exclusive mold he can be hard to come by today.

SCF: The Truth Who the Eyes Met Before!

What can I say? I'm a sucker for small collectible figures. The Super Collection Figure (SCF for short) line began in 2001 and continued through 2003 consisting of ten waves of six figures each. Each wave released each figure in a color version and either a clear or pewter color version depending on the wave. And of course because they were released in Japan, they were blind packed. Back when the characters of G1 was a scarcity (not like today) collectors were clamoring for anything they could get their hands on; and the SCF line provided cartoon accurate representations of their favorite characters in a small, relatively cheap form.

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.