Operation Combiner, TF-02: Sixwing giftset, unused

This was another acquisition during my April HK/SG trip. During this trip, I bought a truck load of Micromaster combiners, some reissue, some original vintage. Went a long way toward completing the Operation Combiner line.

Of the Micromaster combiner giftsets, Sixwing is perhaps the most difficult to find, be it the original or the reissue. I was fortunate enough to find an unused set in Richmond Centre, Mong Kok, Hong Kong. It was at a pretty good price too and definitely cheaper than what even the less rare sets like Sixbuilder or Sixtrain would go for on eBay.

As with all the Micromaster combiners, this set features very nice box art. The special thing about the Micromaster combiner giftsets is that each box art comes with a unique and different background too.

 

 

 

Nice diorama battle scene. They just don't do stuff like that nowadays.

The contents of the giftset

Paperworks

Unused sticker sheet

Sixwing among lots of other combiners. Can you spot him?




For more combiner goodness, see here.

Pick of the Day - Me Swoop see what I can see

Masterforce Firecons Guzzle, Sizzle, Jabile MIB

Fire, fire, firecons! My brother and I used to love these guys when we were young. Our favourite was Cindersaur (repainted as Guzzle in Masterforce). These are extremely simple toys, but fun to play with - hey, they give out sparks!

I bought these 3 as part of a set of 6, which includes the 3 Autobot Spakabots MIB as well.

I like these guys!

D-319: Guzzle

(repaint of US Series 4, Cindersaur)

This, I'm told, is the rarest one among the 6. The most difficult to find, but not very expensive when found piece. The naming is confusing to say the least. "Guzzle" is the name of the US Series 4 Sparkabot that transforms into a tank, which for Masterforce is renamed as Hardspark. Confused yet?

D-320: Sizzle

(identical of US Series 4, Flamefeather)

Again, the naming is confusing. "Sizzle" is the name of the US Series 4 Sparkabot that transforms into a black car, which for Masterforce is renamed as Hotspark. Confused again.

Having spoke to a few collectors about it, we cannot figure out whether Sizzle is identical to Flamefeather. The colour scheme certainly looks identical. The colour of the face is perhaps the only indication or point of difference. It is possible the Japanese release has a slightly more yellowish face while the US release had a slightly more greenish face. However, this can only be determined when looking at the toys physically and extremely hard to tell from photos.

Comparison photos on TF Wiki.

D-321: Jabile

(repaint of US Series 4, Sparkstalker)

While Jabile and Sparkstalker looks identical at first glance, their paints schemes are actually slightly different. Sparkstalker has a deeper, richer and more saturated pink which borders on purple while Jabile is a deep shade of pink which is very close to red.

A picture of Sparkstalker can be found on TF Wiki for comparison.

Masterforce Spakabots Hardspark, Hotspark and Wildspark MIB

Got these when I stopped over in HK on the way back from Singapore in April. One of the shops I frequent at Yau Ma Tei had all 6 spark mini-Transformers for sale as a set (ie: the 3 Autobot Spakabots and 3 Decepticon Firecons).

There was a slight premium on the price but seeing that some of these Japanese exclusive recolours are very difficult to obtain alone and individually, I decided to buy the set from the shop. Overall, it is a good  price and would have saved me a lot of time and trouble from hunting these down individually.

The Masterforce Spakabots.

Fortunately, their names are written on the back of the packaging. Otherwise, I just would not remember them.

Each in their own little foam tray.

C-313: Hardspark

(repaint of US series 4, Guzzle)

Box = C9

Toy = C9

 

C-314: Hotspark

(repaint of US series 4, Sizzle)

Box = C9

Toy = C8 (slightly dusty and dirty)

 

C-315: Wildspark

(identical paint scheme with US series 4, Fizzle)

Far as I can tell, Wildspark is identical to Fizzle except maybe for the colour of the facepaint. Wildspark has a yellow face like his boxart while Fizzle has a red face. Other than that, the colour scheme is identical.

Box = C9

Toy = C8

 

The Spakabots and Firecons

Bumblejumper aka Bumper

This is one of "variant" mini-bots from '84/85 that I have not gotta around to acquiring until this year. I was initially not very interested in 'Bumblejumper', who is popularised by Dreamwave and affectionately known as "Bumper" in there. However, I managed to secure Bumper as part of a job lot of Transformers which I was buying directly from a US seller. The lot consists of Needlenose (which I needed), Bumblebee in red (good to have, but not essential), Brawn (one of many that I have), Cliffjumper (again, one of many) and Bumper.

It's a bonus that Bumper has good tight joints and very nice stickers (or ermmm, Autobot insignia actually).

Mugg shot

With Bumblebee (red)

Slight update to HK/SG Trip acquisitions

I thought I missed something. Some acquisition that I forgot to post.

Then I remembered. It was the IDW Retailer Summit exclusive print that I obtained on 24 April 2010.

Almost totally forgot about it because I left it with my brother in Singapore and did not bring it back to Sydney with me.

Have updated with the post here.

~ HD