Diaclone CarRobots No.18 Lancia Stratos Turbo 'Marlboro Edition', aka Marlboor Wheeljack - with MP-23: Exhaust

This is just a pictorial of the beloved Marlboor Wheeljack together with Masterpiece MP-23: Exhaust.

MP-22: Ultra Magnus

Picked up MP-22: Ultra Magnus with some local collecting buddies yesterday.

Yeah, Magnus, I have not opened you yet other than to pose you with your vintage US and Japanese counterparts.

Don't sulk Magnus, 'deal with it'...

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

Random pic of the day....

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)

Takara Fight! Super Robot Life 45-Smokescreen MIB and MP-19: Smokescreen

This is odd.

I prepared the draft for this post ages ago,photos and all.  I just clean omitted to click 'publish'! Shoot me for being an idiot.

This was done at a time where my acquisition of the Japanese boxed 45 - Smokescreen coincided with the release of Takara's MP-19: Smokescreen, the last of the Z-cars at the time.

So now, I fix my error. I thought I was going to do another 'Robots and Coffee' thing, Gassy Autobot style this Sunday morning, but hey, why not revisit Smokescreen, my old friend, who I missed out posting about at the time of release of the MP?

Also, this is a character that means a lot to my buddy Maz, so this is dedicated to him too, on this fine Sunday morning. Maz also blogs now, over at Square One - check it out, Smokescreen can wait.

E's Hot Toys Catwoman and Ravage

E is a Ann Hathaway fan.

When she saw Dark Knight Rises and Ann Hathaway as Catwoman, she decided she wanted this Hot Toys Catwoman figure. She pre-ordered it almost a year ago at Hot Toys' HK flagship store and only got the figure relatively recently.

This is E's first Hot Toys figure and only our second ever 1/6th scale figure - the only other 1/6th scale figure we have is Batman, The Dark Knight version. As you can see, it deserves a shelf all on its own.

A few days ago, E was playing around with the figure and decided that Catwoman needed to be surrounded by kitties. The closest kitties at hand were.... some Ravage figures.

Robot Heroes Ravage and Catwoman.

consolidated acquisitions - G1 Jetfire, Senator Ratbat, MP-12T, Quakewave, CA-12: Last Chance, Martian Manhunter

I have been very busy over the past week and really did not have too much time to post here and update  things. I actually have about 5-6 posts, with photos already prepared and uploaded, but no opportunity to do final edits and to post.

Those will have to wait till after I do this quick "bulk" update of the things I have been picking up.

From left to right:

• G1 Jetfire, complete and unused (Matsushiro variant) - no doubt, i will write more about this at some point in the future.
• FansToys FT-03: Quakewave, aka Shockwave
• Transformers Generations (Japan): Senator Ratbat
• (top) Tokyo Toy Show exclusive, MP-12T: Tigertrack
• (bottom) FansProject CA-12: Last Chance, aka Dead End
• Justice League, New 52: Martian Manhunter - this will join my Justice League figures here.

Except for Jetfire which I bought from eBay (from eBay seller 'The Mint 1980s Toy Store and Museum'), all the above were bought from retail in Hong Kong, even MP-12T.

I have one further thing to add about MP-12T - do yourself a favour and read what Maz has written on the lineage and significance of this piece. It is more than a hollow repaint. After reading what Maz has wrote, I am sure am glad I did not pass this up and potentially have to pay high secondhand market prices.

Maz's brilliantly researched and written article is here - Who is Tigertrack? - Part 1. Be sure to check back for Part 2!

I end with a gratuitous close up shot of Jetfire.

***

For more Quakewave photos and review, see my 28 July post here.

Takara MP-15: Rumble and Jaguar (aka Masterpiece Rumble and Ravage) - some thoughts, a review of sorts

I thought I'd take a rest today and not post anything since I'm running the Standard Chartered Marathon (10km segment) tomorrow. However, this set that E and I picked up this afternoon just completely blew me away and got me so excited, I decided to post!

In the afternoon, we went to Yau Ma Tei to pick up the just arrived MP-15: Rumble and Jaguar set (aka Rumble and Ravage). We also picked up eHobby Soundwave and Blaster (Shattered Glass version) giftset.

As many would know, Rumble and Ravage has always been favourites of mine since childhood. It's no surprise that I was very excited to open MP-15 when I got home. 

The ingenuity of the designs just swept me off my feet. In their cassette mode, they were G1 sized. But when transformed, they featured all the complexity and articulation that would put even deluxe class figures to shame.