Birthday 2017 - Takara 21-Reflector MIB and a delightful discovery

For my birthday this year, I did not prepare a rare and significant present like last year for myself in anticipation.

However, during the mid-afternoon, E and I had some time before our dinner and movie (Justice League) with friends and E suggested that we could go to the toy shops. We went and I visited the shop where I previously saw had a MIB Reflector (Takara version). Previously, on multiple occasions, the shop-keeper said he did not have a price in mind for the Reflector.

This time, he did. So after some haggling, I bought it - see photo above. One of the main reasons I wanted this set was because it had unpunched missiles, still on the sprue.

After dinner and the movie, I was home and looking over the 21-Reflector. I realised that the red robot had white strips at the knees of each leg. This was odd because I do not see this for most Reflectors out there, except the set that the Devstar37 showed me some years ago (yes, I remember these useless facets).

For those that has followed this blog, you would recall that Devstar37 was the good friend that I bought nearly 50 pieces of early Japanese G1 from, back in early 2013. 21-Reflector was not one of the pieces he sold to me, but he did offer it to me a few years after. I did not end up purchasing his Reflector, but had photos of it stored on my phone.

So then, I checked the photos and was quite surprised. The general wear on the box all seemed to look alike. I quickly messaged Devstar37 on Facebook and asked if he thought the set I bought from the shop could be his. After some discussion and sharing with him the photos of the contents, he quickly came to the conclusion that the set I bought was, somehow, indeed his set!

Diaclone CarRobot No.18 Lancia Stratos Turbo "Marlboor" (Malboro) version aka 'Marlboor Wheeljack' or now called Exhaust

I previously had a very mint, unused, Diaclone CarRobot No.18 Lancia Stratos Turbo (Malboro edition) toy. For lack of a better term, this is commonly known as the "Marlboor Wheeljack" in the fandom.

In what I would later regret as an unwise move in hindsight, I traded my previous Marlboor Wheeljack away - there's even a story here.

Today, the second Marlboor Wheeljack I bought, from a US based seller, arrived. Thank you GD and thank you Maz for making the connection.

I have fixed my past transgression.

Above is a shot showing Takara Japanese boxed 03-Wheeljack (2 boxes, one is empty), Hasbro USA boxed Wheeljack, Diaclone Marlboor Wheeljack, Masterpiece Wheeljack MIB, Masterpiece Exhaust MIB (aka Masterpiece Marlboor Wheeljack), loose pre-rub Wheeljack in robot mode and a loose rub-sign Wheeljack in car mode.

Question: Why do I have so many? 

Answer: influenced by Heraldofunicron!

Above is a cheeky show of the Marlboor Wheeljack in the 03 box (the Diaclone box and Japanese box styros are interchangeable).

Maximum Dinobots, the complete G1 USA and Japanese Dinobots

Some time ago, I bought all 5 Japanese boxed Dinobots from Devstar37 and considered my Dinobots 'complete' when complimented by the 2 loose sets (one for robot mode and one for dinosaur mode).

However, recently a very reputable seller and good buddy of mine was selling his MIB unused Dinobots in USA box and I thought this would be a good chance to actually get all the US boxed Dinobots in one go. Thanks buddy, you know who you are!

Above: left set - Takara Japanese boxed Dinobots; right set - Hasbro USA boxed Dinobots

First, I got Swoop from him. Then very recently I got MIB Slag, Sludge and Snarl from him, including the 'innards' of a with bubble unused Grimlock (ie: no Grimlock box). It happens that I actually have a full set of US boxes for the Dinobots, just no bubble, so I did have a nice Grimlock box lying around to place the unused 'innards' into.

Above: boxed Dinobots together with loose robots (one in Dino mode and one in robot mode).

These are some of the most mouthwatering display pieces in the last 30 years, they have to be.

just more random Transformer photos (a second part)

in keeping with the post from yesterday... just more (and more) random shots...
These shots includes items from my Australia, Singapore and also Hong Kong apartments.

... moments this year (and last), when it felt like Christmas!

This year, I didn't get any toys for Xmas.

To then get that festive feeling, I figured I should post about those times in the past year (or two), where it felt like Christmas.

Most of the shots in this post are unreleased group shots that I did when I received toys (or large lots of toys), mainly because I like to post about the toys individually before posting a large group shot. Due to my posting speed, I still have yet to complete posting about the toys I received from way back in June 2013!

Today's arrivals - Takara C-64: Seaspray carded and boxed

Just got home from dinner and was handed two packages by concierge. The first was a bottle of wine from JW, a UK collector and friend (what a nice surprise!) and the second was a package from Japan.

Popped the wine below my tiny xmas tree for unwrapping on xmas day and then opened the package from Japan.

This is what's in it - boxed and carded versions of C-64: Seaspray. Will write more later.

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.

MP-20: Wheeljack and other Wheeljacks (Generations, Japanese Takara MIB, USA MIB, G1, SCF and Hard Hero)

Once again, what's worth doing is worth over doing.

Took a shot of my Wheeljack family after I transformed MP-20: Wheeljack, which is an awesome mold by the way.

Pictured with: 03 - Takara boxed Wheeljack (2 pcs), USA box pre-rub Wheeljack MIB, Generations Wheeljack, loose G1 rub-sign Wheeljack, SCF Wheeljack and Hard Hero Wheeljack.
(acknowledgements - Takara boxed Wheeljack from jgon, Hard Hero Wheeljack from Fatbot)

Hasbro G1 Mega-Pretender Crossblades MISB

This was part of a lot of 4 pieces of MISB Pretenders that I bought when I was in Japan last December. Yes, there was some wheeling and dealing while I was snowboarding in the mountains of Niseko. Such is my reticence and the extent of my backlog that I have only now gotten to them some 7 months later.

This is the fourth piece - Mega-Pretender Crossblades MISB. Crossblades is 1 of 3 Mega Pretenders that were actually "USA exclusives", in other words, these 3 has never seen a corresponding Japanese release. The 3 are - Autobots Crossblades and Vroom; and Decepticon Thunderwing. Of the trio, Thunderwing is of course the most famous of them and naturally the most sought after and expensive.

However, Crossblades and Vroom are not that far behind in value because they are both quite obscure and for collectors hoping for a complete sweep of Pretenders, Crossblades and Vroom, both of whom has quite a lot of accessories that tend to go missing, are quite tricky to track down.

Hasbro G1 Pretender Splashdown MISB

This was part of a lot of 4 pieces of MISB Pretenders that I bought when I was in Japan last December. Yes, there was some wheeling and dealing while I was snowboarding in the mountains of Niseko. Such is my reticence and the extent of my backlog that I have only now gotten to them some 7 months later.

This is the third piece - Pretender Splashdown MISB. Splashdown is 1 of 6 large format Pretenders that were actually "USA exclusives", in other words, these 6 has never seen a corresponding Japanese release. The six are - Autobots Groundbreaker, Splashdown, Sky High; and Decepticons Iguanus, Finback and Bugly.

Of this 6, Splashdown is commonly regarded as the most difficult track down and complete. It actually has quite a lot of accessories, which could be one of the reasons it is difficult to complete. So, to be able to get it in MISB condition, well, I pounced on it!

Hasbro G1 Pretender Groundbreaker MISB

This was part of a lot of 4 pieces of MISB Pretenders that I bought when I was in Japan last December. Yes, there was some wheeling and dealing while I was snowboarding in the mountains of Niseko. Such is my reticence and the extent of my backlog that I have only now gotten to them some 7 months later.

This is the second piece - Pretender Groundbreaker MISB. Groundbreaker is 1 of 6 large format Pretenders that were actually "USA exclusives", in other words, these 6 has never seen a corresponding Japanese release. The six are - Autobots Groundbreaker, Splashdown, Sky High; and Decepticons Iguanus, Finback and Bugly.

Hasbro G1 Pretender Landmine MISB

This was part of a lot of 4 pieces of MISB Pretenders that I bought when I was in Japan last December. Yes, there was some wheeling and dealing while I was snowboarding in the mountains of Niseko. Such is my reticence and the extent of my backlog that I have only now gotten to them some 7 months later.

This is the first piece - Pretender Landmine MISB. Perhaps one of my favourite large format Pretenders from 1988. I don't know why, I just like Landmine. I know some collectors think he is the worst Pretender toy, but I like Landmine. Deal with it.

Takara Transformers 2010, D-63: Dinosaurer MIB unused (aka Trypticon)

This was an opportunistic pick up (and, no, not one of the 36 pieces lot).

The idea was planted in my mind during the Fukuoka trip with E back in May this year - during the trip, E saw a Japanese boxed Trypticon for sale at a Mandarake and said "hey, you don't have that". Actually, I do have Trypticon, 2 loose pieces in fact. However, it's true I did not have a Japanese boxed Trypticon.

So when I saw one on sale online, I grabbed it.

When I was looking at the seller's photos, the most important thing to me was that the box had no rips and tears at the edges - pretty rare for a box the size of D-63: Dinosaurer's. Also, the box art looked beautiful and glossy.

today is Friday, today is a fun day, here is today's loot....

Fukuoka / Kokura Trip April, May 2014 - Acquisition Tally

Typically, I have a wrap up post after each trip which summarises all the acquisitions for the trip. This is the post.

I have to say though, this post is probably less exciting than previous posts of this nature.

So here we have it - the sum totality of all my acquisitions for this trip.

• D-62: Galvatron MIB, unused
• Gakken Mospeada 1/8 Ride Armor (aka aka Robotech's The New Generation, 'Cyclone')
• Gakken Mospeada 1/35 scale Legioss AFC-01I (aka Robotech's The New Generation 'Alpha Fighter', green)
• Gakken Mospeada 1/35 scale Legioss AFC-01Z (aka Robotech's The New Generation 'Alpha Fighter', red, 'Rook Type')
• Transformers Henkei Strafe
• Shinki - Harmony Grace MIB
• TV Artbook #22

Recap of 02 May - Japan Trip Day 04 - Canal City, Kokura redux and Mojiko seaside town

02 May was Day 04 in Japan for us. We only have a week here, so not much time left.

We were so shattered and tired from all the running around we did at Nokonoshima Island yesterday that we slept in a little late. I happened to wake up slightly earlier and decided to go out and get coffee, one of my all time favourite drinks, as I am sure the Gassy Autobot can agree with.

While out getting coffee, I thought I should just make a quick stop back at Mandarake again to pick up my buddy Bill's requested Shiki figure. We actually planned to stop by in the afternoon, but since its just 5 mins walk from the hotel and 2 mins walk from where I got coffee, I thought I'd just go.

This is Bill's Shiki. I don't know what these are, but she looks nice.

Today, there were some new things in the Transformers section, and I picked up my very first Transformer for this trip. This I will reveal later on in this post.

Recap of 01 May - Japan Trip Day 03 - Mandarake redux, Nokonoshima Island and street side food

So this is Day 03. Before we set out for the day, I requested that we re-visit Mandarake again because they do get new stuff in everyday and there is a chance that something new would have come in.

E was looking at this at Mandarake, something she used to play. We did consider getting this console and then buying some games to play. Certainly would be worth it since it's so cheap, 5000yen only. we decided to pass though.

The one thing that was new, that I didn't see on Day 01, was a Diaclone Trailbreaker. I usually have no idea whether a Diaclone is rare, but this one seemed to have unusual stickers, so I bought it. Usually, I will buy first and check value and rarity with Maz and VF-1, haha.

My favourite MTMTE covers

Today is the day when More Than Meets the Eye #28 will be released.

In other words, MTMTE Season 2 is going to start! After, to me, the non-really-exciting-event that was Dark Cybertron, I am so excited for MTMTE to continue!

Here I look back at some of my favourite MTMTE covers from "Season 1". 2 of my favourites were #7 and #18, but on the whole most of the Milne covers are pretty darn nice. There were some instances where I have opted for "Cover B" because I felt that convoyed the interior story a little better.

So here they are, my favourite MTMTE covers from Season 1.

Thanks to Maz for helping me obtain the covers for #1E, #3A, #9A, #10A and #17A (did I miss any?).

Oh and here is the #28 cover that I'm planning to get....

Weekend robots and coffee and comics

So, in the vein of what the Gassy Autobot usually does, here are some Transformers and coffee shots over the weekend (coffee from my trusty Nespresso machine).

Breakfast, coffee, Transformers and graphic novels. Lovely.

Saturday

Sunday

PE-DX03 - Perfect Effect Warden aka IDW's Fortress Maximus - a short review

This is one of the best third party toys I have ever seen.

It's not an embellishment, it's quite the truth.

I have been there from the beginning, since FansProject's City Commander, commonly regarded as the third party toy that started it all. And I still think Perfect Effect's PE-DX03: Warden is one of the best third party toys out there.

It hits all the right notes. It's highly detailed, beautifully sculpted and there is so much play value - it transforms into so many relevant things. Also, there are die-cast parts and the tank threads are rubber!

Amazing yeah?

It is at once (1) IDW's Fortress Maximus (based very closely on Milne's design way back from Spotlight Arcee); (2) an add on kit to G1 Fortress Maximus; and (3) a headmaster of the G1 variety.

I am truely delighted, yet surprised, that PE could make the jump from what to me were a string of pretty mediocre releases to this marvel of design, engineering and construction.

So here it is, with a Milne page that is no doubt the inspiration for the toy.