27 April 2008

The New Quest

Related previous chapter: The Big Move Epilogue

*Kudos to Deadpool/ Den-O for guessing right before I even started penning this chapter!*

Due to the slight discomfort I spoke about in the previous chapter, Fortress Maximus was to be my next acquisition. Also, knowing myself, it must be an MIB one at the very least- no matter the cost.

Fortress Maximus.

I turned the thought over in my head a couple of times. 'Which one?' I asked myself.

Which one?

Certainly not the RiD reissue, since I have 2; Certainly not Grand Maximus, since I have that guy. So its a toss up between either a USA boxed one or a Japanese boxed one. Normally and as I always do, I will go for the US boxed one but in this instance there was more to consider.

A year ago, I had the chance to acquire a US boxed Fortress Maximus from Hong Kong. At SGD$750, but with a broken Cerebros and yellowed/ yellowing parts, I declined to buy it. One of the reasons actually, was also that the US Fortress Maximus box art was, I thought, less than impressive.

Now, when I'm definitively getting a Fort Max, I'm faced with the further choice of either still going for the US boxed one or the Japanese boxed one. I quickly decided that the Jap box Fort Max is the way to go because:
  • It has such sweet box art. Much more beautiful than the US box art.
  • It comes with a Master Sword and having seen from my Grand Maximus how impressive one of these babies were, I thought there is no harm in getting another.
  • C-114, Jap box Fort Max is in recent times becoming even rarer than what was previously the already rare C-311 Grand Maximus. I have gotten confirmation of this from my circle of collectors and toy shop owners in both Singapore and Hong Kong. In short, its a of better investment value.

USA box package art (left) versus Japanese box package art (right) (images from Botch's Box Art Archive)

The verdict is out: The quest is for Fortress Maximus, it is for C-114, Fortress Maximus in japanese box.

Next: The Acquisition

***
Real all Fortress Maximus chapters!
Chapter 01: The New Quest
Chapter 02: The Acquisition
Chapter 03: It is here

***
Related articles

The Big Move chapters:
Chapter 01: The Big Move
Chapter 02: Their New Home
Chapter 03: Shelves zoom in!
Chapter 04: Epilogue
Chapter 05: The New Quest

25 April 2008

Bluestreak (part 02) - His special place

I'd like to think that Bluestreak holds a special place in more than my heart- he holds a special place in the history of G1 as well.

Why?

I can at the moment think of 3 reasons:

[1] The blue Bluestreak controversy
It is basic knowledge among fans that while the Bluestreak box art and package pictures depict a predominantly blue coloured Bluestreak, the toy is anything but- in fact, the actual toy is almost entirely silver in colour. This begs the 24 year question of 'why didn't Hasbro release Bluestreak in his microman blue colour?'


The mythical blue Bluestreak

[2] Bluestreak is in every Transformer package
I'm sure a portion of G1 fans would have realized this, and I certainly did when I picked up my first Series 1 Transformer. In the 'Study your Transformer's Tech Specs' section of the instructions, it is the Bluestreak tech spec that is used as an illustration. Since this section of the instructions is present in all Autobot and Decepticon G1 toys up to 1990, bar carded ones, Bluestreak is by default in every Transformer package!

There are 2 versions of this- the first appeared only in Series 1 (1984) instructions and is fully coloured; the second appears from Series 2 (1985) onwards till the end of G1 and is not fully coloured. It is noteworthy that Series 1 toys who were also released as part of Series 2 (and in some countries as Series 3) had fully coloured instructions but a tech spec section that is not fully coloured. See below.


Coloured Bluestreak tech spec used as example (found in the instructions of 1984 Series 1 toys only)


Non-coloured Bluestreak tech spec used as example (found in the instructions of TFs from 1985 to 1988)


Non-coloured Bluestreak tech spec with bar chart overlay (found in the instructions of TFs from 1989 to 1990s)


[3] Parts mix up
It is also basic knowledge that Bluestreak, Prowl and Smokescreen were cut from the same mold, and had similar parts. There appears to be a mix up of launchers, whether deliberate or not.

Bluestreak came with red launchers, Prowl with silver and Smokescreen with white. These were, again, at odds with the toy depicted in their respective packages. From the pictures on the package, Bluestreak was to have silver launchers, Prowl white and Smokescreen red. This was corrected to a limited extent in that the Bluestreaks released with Series 2, in 1985, did in fact come with silver launchers.

Another mix up issue that is perhaps a little less known is the base material colour of the gun and 3 missiles that came with the launchers. This base colour, which can be seen once the chrome has faded/ been worn off/ scratched off, should correspond with the colour of the launchers. That is to say that if a Bluestreak toy came with red launchers, the base material colour of his gun and 3 missiles will be red as well; white launchers will come with guns and missiles with a white base material colour and so on.

It is thus easy to identify whether a 'complete' vintage Bluestreak, Prowl or Smokescreen is truly complete in the sense that it has all the parts it originally came with or that a seller simply mixed and meshed parts together to sell the unsuspecting buyer an apparently 'complete' toy. And that, is a word from the wise for eBay rookies.

With Bluestreak having such a profound importance to the G1 line, it is little surprise that I hit the roof when Hasbro and Takara, in recent times, purported to call him Silverstreak.

Next: What's in a name?

***
Read all Bluestreak chapters!
Chapter 01: A (re) introduction
Chapter 02: His special place
Chapter 03: What's in a name?

24 April 2008

Would you buy it?

I mean I always knew things here were more expensive than they have a right to be.

A couple of days ago, my colleague who's on secondment here from Hong Kong remarked about how expensive things were here. I said 'yeah', went on a little rant and forgot about it.

So I was at Books Kinokuniya today looking to buy some Neil Gaiman books in preparation for his book signing next week, which I reckon would be an earth shattering moment... then I saw it.

Encore Starscream.

AU$144.95.
AU$144.95? WHAT in the name of the universe?!? $145 for an Encore Starscream? Suddenly, my colleague's words and all that I've said in 'How do prices like these make commercial sense?' hit me like an epiphany.

If expensive comes in gradations, it would range from expensive, to very expensive, to very very expensive, to ridiculously expensive, but this instance would go beyond the final gradation- $145 for an Encore Starscream is stupid expensive- it is so expensive it goes beyond ridiculous and enters the realm of stupid.

That amount of dosh can buy 3 Encore Starscreams from BBTS US, shipped to Australia; it can buy 4 Encore Starscreams from any shop in Singapore or Hong Kong with change to spare for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The proliferation of the internet and internet shopping means that a person can choose to buy a product from anywhere in the world and at anytime. It means that retailers must compete in the global marketplace rather than confine themselves to the local market. It is not a choice they can make, it is a reality. Why would any reasonable person with internet access and spending capacity buy a cash-and-carry item from a shop here when they can with a few clicks of the mouse have the very same item shipped to their doorstep? And why don't retailers realize that?

I just cannot understand how Encore Starscream and most every other thing for sale here can be thus priced. Where is the basis? What is the justification? Are the people pricing it (1) oblivious to market price; (2) mistaken about its relative availability in Australia; or (3) just plain vultures?

I suspect I'm going to lose sleep thinking about the whys and wherefores...

22 April 2008

Megatron Origin - issue #04 easter eggs (part 2)

Previous chapter: Issue #04 easter eggs (part 1)

This is the second part of the issue #04 easter egg hunt.

*Spoilers from here forward*

***

Megatron's inspiration...
So the million dollar question- how did Megatron coin the term Decepticons for his band of renegades? (pun intended)

The answer- ironically, was Sentinel Prime. It was Sentinel Prime who probably gave him the inspiration here... he was going to say 'the worst deception', but got cut off short by Megatron.


Megatron doing a karate 1-2 on Sentinel Prime (not that I know what a karate 1-2 is) (page 21, last panel)

***

The best line...
This must be one of my all time favourite lines in the entire series: 'I will create desolation, and call it peace'.

It even trumps my favourite Megatron line from Transformers: Infiltration (issue #06) where on Starscream's bidding, Astrotrain, Thundercracker, Runabout and Runamuck wanted to take Megatron on and he said to them- 'You will stand down. If you fight, you die... In the end you are all expendable. Choose'.

'I will create desolation, and call it peace'; it has a ring that sounds like
'Peace through tyranny'...

... which is Megatron's motto from his G1 Tech Specs. That is his vision for Cybertron, for the Decepticon cause. I need look no further than why old kings fight wars, in particular the reason why the first emperor of China united the 3 warring Kingdoms (the gist of the movie Hero is an illustration)- it is to unite all dissenters, even if it means tyranny, to bring about stability and peace. This is not my view but is certainly attributable to them.

It appears that the intent is not evil. It may be ignoble, but it may not evil in the malevolent, nefarious sense.

Eric Holmes managed to plumb the very depths of Megatron's motivations, go to the core of his very character, and in doing so tied it inextricably to G1. If anyone accuses him of not knowing Megatron, this is the line which he should hit them in the head with.


This is one of my favourite panels (page 21, panels 4 & 5)

***

Decepticons by choice
And... on the last page of the last issue, the Decepticons are officially formed. So begins the first Great Cybertronian War.

If I'm not too far off mark, Dreamwave's War Within vol. 1 'picks up' shortly after the events here. As was obvious, Megatron ripped the spark core out of Sentinel Prime a few pages back. In WW (vol.1) #01, Bluestreak tells Optronix 'Sentinel Prime is dead... Megatron himself ripped the spark core from his torso', fully confirming the events of Megatron Origin #04.

It may be a retcon, but its a pretty darn good, and I think it works, and I like it.


The first Great War beings... (final page, panels 2 & 3)

Next: The Quotes

***
Read all Megatron Origin chapters!
Chapter 01: The Mini Series
Chapter 02: Issue #02 easter eggs
Chapter 03: Issue #03 easter eggs
Chapter 04: Issue #04 easter eggs (part 1)
Chapter 05: Issue #04 easter eggs (part 2)
Chapter 06: Quotes from Megatron Origin

20 April 2008

Megatron Origin - issue #04 easter eggs (part 1)

Previous chapter: Issue #03 easter eggs

Issue #04 was packed with easter eggs and G1 tribute moments. I attempt to record some of them here.

*Spoilers from here forward*

***

Fusion Cannon
I think its fair to say die-hard G1 fans grew up with the notion that Megatron always had his fusion cannon. Here, we see how, why and from whom he got it from- it was, ironically, a gift from the treacherous Starscream!


Starscream arming Megatron with his fusion cannon (Page 6)

***

Squarkbox
The first comic appearance of Squarkbox? (Other than in Dreamwave's MTMTE)


Squarktalk appears on Soundwave's right!

***

A TFTM moment
There prima facie isn't anything special about this panel until I quickly recognized how much it reflected the moment in TFTM when Megatron and Starscream were conversing after decimating the crew of the Autobot shuttle.

There are certainly a lot of similarities in terms of the way both are laid out.



Top: Megatron talking to Soundwave (page 7, last panel)
Bottom: Megatron talking to Starscream (TFTM)


***

The Cybertronian social life
An insight into how Cybertronians enjoyed life and socialized before the first great war and before factions. The ladies seem to have pretty interesting headgear... kind of like Melbourne Cup day here.


Cybertron high society (page 7, panel 1)

***

Autobots can't fly?
Just like what Galvatron said to Optimus Prime in The Return of Optimus Prime (part 2), Starscream here tells Trailbreaker- 'I just remembered... you can't fly'. For the record, Galvatron said 'I just remembered... Autobots can't fly'. =)

This at least confirms 2 things in IDW's TF continuity:
(1) a flying Transformer is rare among Cybertronians, as is also alluded to issue #03 when Megatron specifically asks Soundwave to source for 'flight-capable combatants'; and
(2) Autobots generally cannot fly.

This gives an added dimension to my theory in Autobots can't fly, can they?


Starscream ditching Trailbreaker (page 9)

***
The origin of Ratbat's mode
Ratbat was not always a cassette, that is, before he was betrayed and made into one.

This here actually made me think that Dreamwave's War Within vol. 2 & 3 does not fit into IDW's continuity. Here is why:

If Ratbat is already a cassette before the first great war, then it is unlikely for him to have the robotic mode he had during War Within vol. 2 (see issue #02), and then later have a cassette mode again during the regular G1 continuity. What I'm saying is that, it is unlikely, but not impossible- after all, it would hardly be fuel efficient to keep morphing from one mode to another.

It is reasonable to assume that he became a cassette here, which is before War Within vol. 1, and remains as one. At the very least, it casts doubt on whether elements and plot points from War Within vol. 2 (and vol. 3) are to be considered part of IDW's TF continuity.


Soundwave betraying his former master Ratbat and surreptitiously turning him into a cassette (page 13)

***

That's a wrap for the first part (of 2) of issue #04's easter eggs. Gosh, there are just so many of them this issue that I had to split them into 2 parts. Next, I will look into the final part of Megatron Origin and the formation of the fearsome Decepticons!

Next: More issue #04 easter eggs!

***
Read all Megatron Origin chapters!
Chapter 01: The Mini Series
Chapter 02: Issue #02 easter eggs
Chapter 03: Issue #03 easter eggs
Chapter 04: Issue #04 easter eggs (part 1)
Chapter 05: Issue #04 easter eggs (part 2)
Chapter 06: Quotes from Megatron Origin

***
And a little shameless advertisement:

The next series of articles will be on...



18 April 2008

Megatron Origin - issue #03 easter eggs

Previous chapter: Issue #02 easter eggs

Issue #03 was packed with easter eggs and G1 tribute moments. I attempt to record some of them here.

*Spoilers from this point forward*

***

Rub-sign
This was one of those 'Wow' moments. After it sank it and I thought about it. I was totally awestruck at how well Holmes used what was an 80s marketing gimmick, the rub-sign, in a totally justifiable way in terms of the plot. Kudos! I tip my hat to you Eric.



Soundwave using his rub-sign to reveal his allegiance (Page 1)

***

Energon flail
This was another moment where I raised both arms in a Hiro Nakamura moment with my jaw simultaneously hitting the ground. No more need be said.


Page 6

I recall these moments...

Left: Megatron versus Optimus Prime atop Sherman Dam
Right: The same Sherman damn battle seen from a matrix induced vision (Issue #05, War Within vol. 1, Dreamwave Transformers)

***

Autobots
Left to right: Sentinel Prime, Elita-One, Orion Pax, Alpha Trion, Prowl, Wheeljack and Ironhide.

In terms of who Optimus Prime previously was, Alex Milne (or Eric Holmes) seem to favour the G1 cartoon, War Dawn, more than Dreamwave's War Within vol. 1, even though the plot and a vast majority of the Cybertronian modes originate from the latter series.

The third robot from the left has no mouth guard and looks more like Orion Pax in War Dawn than Optronix in War Within vol. 1. Personally, I'd prefer Orion Pax over Optronix and so I'm happy here.


Page 7, panel 5

***

The Autobot brothers
This is such a cool moment because I've always liked the Autobot brothers Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. The fact that they might have been gladiators themselves and that they could have started off as Decepticons would go a long way to explaining their proficiency at hand to hand combat and their rebellious attitude.

After all, Sideswipe's motto is 'I don't break rules, I bend them- a lot'.

After the panel below, Sunstreaker says 'C'mon, its me. I never lose', further alluding to his G1 motto- 'They can't beat the best'.


Page 12, panel 2

***

Grimlock and the Dynobots
Grimlock and his Dynobots answers Megatron's call-to-arms, echoing Starscream's assertion that Grimlock used to be a Decepticon (Issue #0, War Within vol. 1)


Page 12, panels 7 & 8

***

G1 design goodness
Blast-Off on the extreme left, with the 3 spots on his chest, bears an uncanny resemblance to his G1 Floro Dery designed self rather than any of the more recent styles.

... and, the guy on Razorclaw's right... is that Sunstorm by any chance?!?


Page 16, panel 2

***

Origin of the Decepticon insignia
Megatron, at this point, stills wears the insignia like a necklace but now hints that it should be worn as a symbol of their allegiance.



***

The Predacons
The Predacons appear again- Razorclaw, Rampage and Divebomb (that is if the 'What's in a name' story in Marvel UK has happened and he's already taken that name from Swoop).



***

That's a wrap for Issue #03 in terms of easter eggs, links with G1 and other little conclusions.

Next: Issue #04 easter eggs

***
Read all Megatron Origin chapters!
Chapter 01: The Mini Series
Chapter 02: Issue #02 easter eggs
Chapter 03: Issue #03 easter eggs
Chapter 04: Issue #04 easter eggs (part 1)
Chapter 05: Issue #04 easter eggs (part 2)
Chapter 06: Quotes from Megatron Origin

16 April 2008

Bluestreak (part 01) - A (re) introduction


Bluestreak

'Bro, look at this. It's so nice.' I voiced in excitement as I was pointing out the Bluestreak box to my brother, 24 years ago.

The Bluestreak toy, after Sunstreaker, was one of the first Transformer toys I ever laid eyes on within physical proximity. It has a special place in my heart, but I never had him during childhood and that adds to the bitter-sweet relation I have with this 'bot. Bluestreak is so ingrained in my mind that he ranks within the top 10 'Transformers I really wanted as a kid... but were denied'.

Of course, I now have him, together with his oh-so-beautiful-box, and even his eHobby exclusive'black hood' edition. But that is besides the point.

Not only does Bluestreak have a special place in my heart, but I'd like to think that he has a very place in G1 as well...

Next: His special place


The Bluestreak boxart - one of the most beautiful pieces of G1 Transformer art.

Next: His special place in G1

***
Read all Bluestreak chapters!
Chapter 01: A (re) introduction
Chapter 02: His special place
Chapter 03: What's in a name?

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