Series 3 - Runamuck MOSC

I bought this near the end of June 2014... and only posting about it now, heh.

I have ever been fond of the Battlechargers since the 80s. I clearly remember one particular interaction, where I pointed to the 'white car' on the catalogue and asked my sister how to pronounce his name. Her answer was "This robot is called 'Runamuck'."

Years later, I acquired the vintage versions Runamuck and his partner in crime, Runabout both MOC.

This June, I finally got off my bee-hind and got myself a MOSC Runamuck!

Takara Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Mail-Away Ratchet MIB unused (#22 of 36)

This is piece #22 of 36 of the 36-piece mega-lot Japanese boxed Mail Away Ratchet.

There isn't really that much to say about this piece other than it's a mailaway "exclusive" in Japan, as can be seen by the words below.

Takara, Fight! Super Robot Lifeform, 01-Convoy MIB (#21 of 36)

This is piece #21 of 36 of the 36-piece mega-lot (see 'Related Posts' at the end of this entry).

In some ways, this is the piece 'that started it all' as far as Japanese Transformers are concerned. This is likely the very first Takara boxed Japanese TF... 01-Convoy.

From what I understand, there are a number of versions of this piece, a number of variations. My collector buddies Chaos Kit, Maz and Himawari would know a lot more than me, so I'm not going to pretend to state where in time this particular came about, but just state what I see.

Panini Transformers sticker book and Transformers FHE Poster

Here are 2 items that share the same 'cover' - this one below

Back in 1984 / 1985, every Friday at 6.30pm, Channel 5 in Singapore would flash the above image for maybe 2-3 seconds before it played the opening theme song of the Transformers cartoon and then that week's episode would commence!

For me, that image above represents the start of that week's exciting Transformers episode, where new and exciting things happen, where I get to see and meet new robots which are thrown into various life-threatening situations. It therefore is little wonder that the above image is extremely close to heart for me.

Takara Transformers 2010, C-78: Rodimus Major MIB

I bought this back around October 2013. Wow, that is how long it's taken me to post about it... about a year late.

Bought it at the China Square flea markets when I was walking around with the Cave Collector and TCYE.

Sidetracked - MP-18 and Scoria (aka Dinobot Slag)

Random pic of the day....

G1 Skywarp - USA pre-rub, Mexican, Takara 23-Skywarp, SCF Skywarp

I bought a Mexican Skywarp from Masterforce.co.uk at around the time they started their online toy business - I wanted to show support in terms of actually buying something from them.

It was a pleasure buying from them - the responses were prompt, the package was well packed and the shipping was fast. Overall, I was a very satisfied customer.

Left to right: loose USA pre-rub Skywarp; 23-Skywarp MIB (Japanese box); USA Skywarp box; Mexican Skywarp (plane mode) and box.

Xmas is now around the corner (or at least near enough I think) and many fans and collectors might be thinking of doing some shopping - which is why I'm bringing this up now... Masterforce.co.uk might be a good place to start (they sell more than just Transformers).

Masterforce also has a FaceBook page.

Ok, now on to Mexican Skywarp....

Fight! Super Robot Life - Japanese Transformers Takara boxed Insecticons MIB

Group shot of Takara boxed Insecticons:
40-Kickback MIB
41-Bombshell MIB
42-Shrapnel MIB

I have variously been told that, among the early G1 Japanese pieces, these pieces are quite rare, but I never quite fully appreciated just how difficult it could be to find them. It's been about 15 months since I bought these as part of a 36 pieces (and more actually) mega-lot from Devstar37 and to be honest, I have not seen any Takara boxed Insecticon pop up for sale on Yahoo Japan, Yahoo HK, eBay or FB sale pages.

Group shots of Transformers Cassettes in Japanese Takara packaging

So I took some time to photograph cassettes that were released by Takara, all of them.

Since I was a boy, I've always really liked the cassettes, whether they were Autobots or Decepticons. I just thought they were so cool and the concept of them being spies just fit so well. Since the 80s, cassettes have become something of an anachronism, but that has not stopped Takara from releasing Masterpiece versions of various Decepticon cassettes. I'm sure there will be more than one 90s or post 2000-born kid that will ask their parents what a 'cassette' is!

 

Takara Fight! Super Robot Lifeform, 42-Shrapnel MIB (#20 of 36)

This is piece #20 of 36 of the 36-piece mega-lot.

It is 42-Shrapnel, one of 3 Takara mold Insecticons.  I used to own Shrapnel as a boy and I am quite fond of this electrifying character and also this mold. The black and purple colour scheme just works really well too.

Some say that the Takara boxed Insecticons are mailaway releases, but I am not really sure whether they are. In many instances, the common thought is that they are pretty difficult to track down in box. Not really very expensive, but just difficult to track down.

So here is Shrapnel ....

Takara Fight! Super Robot Lifeform, 41-Bombshell MIB (#19 of 36)

This is piece #19 of 36 of the 36-piece mega-lot.

It is 41-Bombshell, one of 3 Takara mold Insecticons.  I used to own Bombshell as a boy and I am quite fond of this character and also this mold. The black and purple colour scheme just works really well too.

Some say that the Takara boxed Insecticons are mailaway releases, but I am not really sure whether they are. In many instances, the common thought is that they are pretty difficult to track down in box. Not really very expensive, but just difficult to track down.

So here is Bombshell ....

Giddy up! It's Hasbro versus Takara in Optimus Prime / Convoy trailer Race Day!

Trailer Race Day happened on or around 4 September 2014. I took the photos on 4 Sep 2014, but it is only now that I am documenting it and writing it down.

I was at home alone that night because E was working late, after having picked up a variant of 01-Convoy from a HK collector. I suddenly realised that I had a lot of Primes on hand... and I asked myself: 'I wonder which variant of Prime has the most powerful trailer'.

And then I thought further, 'Just how powerful is the fabled VSX-style 'super' launcher. Is it really that super?'.

I grinned and resolved within myself: 'I have the Primes, I have the time - let's have me a Trailer Race Day!!!'.

Takara Headmasters D-85: Skull MIB (aka Skullcruncher)

Here is something I bought a couple of months back, Destron Headmaster Swamp Warrior D-85: Skull, aka Skullcruncher.

Masterforce D-307: Overlord MIB (#3, my third one)

I wanted the title to read 'Yet another D-307: Overlord MIB', but thought that it would be too cavalier and perhaps not respectful of how difficult this piece could be to come by for some collectors.

 This is the 5th Overlord that I have in my collection (a fact). It is one of 3 MIB pieces, amongst the 5 pieces I have (or had).

I guess I have been fortunate that, as a collector of vintage TFs, Overlord (which is a holy grail to many) has been relatively easy and straightforward for me to acquire over the years. I wish I had this same good fortune with all TFs, but it seems that the good fortune only works for Overlord.

Early Takara boxed Cybertrons (Autobots) MIB within '01 to 49' (Fight! Super Robot Lifeform series)

The post follows on from my previous post titled "Early Takara Japanese Autobot 'cars' MIB", where I photo-ed almost all the early Takara boxed Cybertron cars.

In this series of shots, I attempted to photograph all of the Cybertrons (Autobots) that are within the '01 to 49' Japanese numbering. As you will see, the results are a little awkward owing to the varied and different box sizes.

I have, for completeness, also included 4 mailaway toys in the group shot (but somehow I forgot to put the VSZ set into the shot). Shamefully, I have to admit that the only piece I am missing from this shot is #13-Cliffjumper MIB (it's not difficult to find, but I still have not tracked down a piece yet).

Almost all the Takara boxed Destron Headmasters (except D-93: Mega Zarak; D-311: Black Zarak)

Following from my earlier post of the Takara boxed Cybertron and Destron Headmasters (see here), I went back and took a shot of almost all the Destron Headmasters.

Obviously, D-93: Mega Zarak and D-311: Black Zarak are not in the photo. D-93 is in Singapore and not with me in Hong Kong - see here for D-93. D-311 whilst here with me in Hong Kong, is buried so deep in my cabinet and I just could not dig it out in time for the photo - see D-311 here and here.

Left column: D-85: Skull (Skullcruncher); D-86: Wolf (Weirdwolf); D-87: Wipe (Mindwipe). D-85 I bought from my usual shop; D-86 and D-87 I bought off of Yahoo HK.

Middle column: D-99: Apeface; D-100: Snapdragon. Both of these I bought as a set from my usual shop here in HK.

Right column: D-301: Wilder (Fangry), D-302: Bullhorn (Horri-Bull), D-303: Cancer (Squeezeplay). D-301 and D-302 I bought off separate sellers from Yahoo HK. D-303 was from Devstar37.

Early Takara boxed Destrons (Decepticons) MIB within '01 to 49' (Fight! Super Robot Lifeform series)

Over the weekend, I've had to stay at home (many would know why). So I did a little light shelf re-arrangement and also took the opportunity to photograph some Transformers.

This series focuses on the Destrons (or Decepticons) that are within the numbering of '01 to 49' - remember my mission, here?

There were just too many boxes and I could not fit all of them onto my (tiny) table. So I took shots of the '1984' Destrons first (in truth, back in Japan all of '01 to 49' were released in 1985 as part of the Fight! Super Robot Lifeform series).

Top row: 18-Frenzy MIB; 19-Jarguar MIB (aka Ravage); 20-Condor MIB (aka Laserbeak)
Middle row: 16-Megatron MIB (more detailed pics here); 21-Reflector MIB; 17-Soundwave MIB
Bottom row: 22-Starscream MIB; 23-Skywarp MIB; 24-Thundercracker MIB

The Takara boxed Cybertrons and Destrons Headmasters and Targetmasters MIB

I did these shots, maybe a week or two back, but other than sharing with a few friends on What'sApp, didn't manage to post about them here.

The complete Japanese boxed Targetmasters!

The idea in this series of photographs is to showcase the run of Japanese Takara boxed Headmasters and Targetmasters. As of this writing, I just realised that I have missed out including a number of Headmasters when I was photographing this lot - C-114: Fortress Maximus, C-301: Go-Shooter, C-302: Hosehead, C-303: Minelba, C-311: Grand Maximus, D-93: Mega Zarak, D-99: Apeface and D-100: Snapdragon, D-301: Wilder (Fangry), D-302: Bullhorn (Horri-Bull), D-303: Cancer (Squeezeplay), D-311: Black Zarak.

Ok, so I've missed quite a number. Oh well, better luck next time - I have included links to these pieces on my blog at the end of this post.

Takara boxed number 31 to 36: Constructicons

Slowly, I turn to the Destron (Decepticon) portion of the "01 to 49 Quest" that I am on...

These are Japanese boxed numbers 31 to 36, the Constructicons. Who doesn't love the very first G1 combiner there is. Well, love it or hate it, there is just something about the lime green and purple colour schemes of these guys that work.

Finding these guys individually took some effort as well. Actually, back in 2010, when I was at Mandarake Nakano, there was a very nice set of 31 to 36 MIB that I could have bought, but then back then, they were considered repeats and there were other higher priority items on my list (and luggage space was limited).

Early Takara Japanese Autobot "cars" MIB

About a year ago, I conceived of a "mission" in my mind - I wanted to acquire 'proper' versions of the TFs that mattered to me.

Over the years, I have gone and acquired a lot of TFs from 1984 to 1992, all in the name of completion. Also 99% of them came in USA boxes or packaging, but many were without the ever elusive 'bubble insert' that tends to go missing (or even when present, is quite pointless). For the Japanese section of TFs, my collecting aim up till that point last year was that if there is an equivalent USA release, I would get the USA boxed version and not the Japanese boxed version. This means that I would not have gotten a 01 - Convoy MIB because I would have gotten a USA Optimus Prime MIB; however, I would get Japanese pieces that had no USA equivalent release, for example Artfire.

The 'mission' then, was to also acquire all the early Japanese TFs. In particular, I wanted my focus to be on numbers 01 to 49, which were the earliest Cybertrons and Destrons in the Japanese line (ie; both Autobots and Decepticons were mixed into the 01 to 49 numbers).

After about a year and two months, these are the Cybertrons (Autobots)...