23 September 2009

DCU Blackest Night, so far

"The Blackest Night falls from the skies,
the darkness grows as all light dies,
we crave your hearts and your demise,
by my black hand - the dead shall rise!"
- the Black Lanterns' oath.

I've read through more than half of the DCU mega crossover event Blackest Night. I am finding that I like it.

Admittedly, it felt like a rip off and an attempt by DC to ride on the Marvel Zombies wave of success in the beginning. Ever character that has died or dies in Blackest Night may potentially return from the dead as a Black Lantern; a concept not too far from characters bitten to death by zombies and then returning.

Well, it did feel like a rip off of Marvel Zombies (which I thoroughly enjoyed I must add).

But. A thought struck me yesterday - Blackest Night is nothing like Marvel Zombies.

Why?

Because where Marvel Zombies takes place in Earth-2149 out of continuity with the main Earth-616 Marvel Universe, DC actually had the balls to allow Blackest Night to take place in current continuity.

Why is that significant?

For starters, everything counts (as much as they can in the fictional comics world).

I'm actually starting to freak out that the Black Hand is actually running around with the skull of Bruce Wayne; that the Martian Manhunter, Hawkman and Hawkgirl are really dead and now Black Lanterns; that eight of the Guardians of the Universe might be dead or incapacitated; I live with the fear that Dick Grayson is going to continue being Batman and that Bruce Wayne is well and truly dead.

Man, its so messed up. But it also why I said DC has balls to be doing this.

Marvel on the other hand just wrote their Zombies into an alternate universe (This was true until Marvel Zombies 3, but even there, I felt like they were threading carefully and with less abandon than Marvel Zombies 1 and 2). Since they are in an alternate universe and has no bearing on main continuity, the stories could be written with reckless abandon, but, so what if the Hulk bites off Silver Surfer's head; so what if the Zombies ripped up Magneto and ate him; so what if the head of the Wasp was bitten off by Hank Pym; so what if Marvel characters who managed to live through 70 years of rigid Marvel continuity die so easily? So-what? It doesn't count.

With that being said, I applaud Blackest Night and will be interested to see how it concludes (and one can only hope that it concludes with a blast).

What madness is this?!?

When it comes to eBay, I thought I have seen it all.

Obviously, I haven't.

Because much as I love Transformers' in their package it is hard to imagine much less fathom the reasons why it'd be worthwhile paying that amount of dough for a sealed Bludgeon (which does not even have a backing card that is nice and flat). Yes, its a pretty rare figure to come across sealed because of its limited production run, but gosh, the amount it went for tops even MISB Thunderwings.

Frankly, I'm quite bewildered is all. Don't think there is anymore I can say.

This is a screen shot of the auction.


21 September 2009

Today's Transformer feature, D-329: Leozack
















This is probably my second favourite individual Liokaiser robot after Drillhorn. I really like the shade of green (or is it green) that Leozack comes in. To me, that shade of green is unique.

Leozack was one of the most prominently featured members of the inappropriately named Brestforce (really, this is such an unfortunate sub-group name, but I'll bitch about it another day). He had an entire episode dedicated to him very early on in the Victory series where he went toe-to-toe with Star Saber - almost coming out on top. That's pretty impressive for someone whose toy representation is less than half the size of Star Saber's toy.

Another main difference between the anime and the toy is the head sculpt and also the head colours. The anime showed a very detailed and well formed Leozack head that was predominantly his famous shade of green. The toy on the other hand has a head that is mostly greyish white and a face painted orange. Leaves something to be desired, I'd say.

Still, this is a very neat piece and an essential part of Brestforce since he forms the body of Liokaiser.

Without further ado, the pictures of my individual boxed Leozack, which is as close to MISB as can be without being MISB. =)


Front of box - As with the rest of the Transformers in the Victory era, the box art is simply stunning.


The individual boxed Brestforce members features bottom of the box art unlike earlier year Transformers which features a representation shot of the toy on the bottom of the box.


Flawless glossy box without creases, dents or rips.


Flawless glossy box without creases, dents or rips.


Top of box - Unlike earlier year Transformer boxes which featured transformation sequences of the toy, the box tops of the Brestforce members show instead photos of the toys featuring the 'brest-former' function that is unique to this sub-group (with the exception of Deszaras of course)


Back of box


Back of box - unfortunately, there is a slight dent on the bottom left of the box


Leozack's bio card is not included in the paperworks packet but is actually one of the inner flaps of the box.


The other side of his bio-card is actually another flap of the box. I suspect that the printing on each flap were meant to be printed on respective sides of a card, but Takara for obvious reasons cannot do that (ie: print on both sides of the same box flap), so they did the next best thing which is giving us the characters' picture on one flap and then the bio on the other flap.


The contents of C-329, Leozack


Instructions and unapplied sticker sheet. Unfortunately, Leozack is the only Brestforce member in my collection with an incomplete set of papaerworks. It is missing some promotional pamphlets and the Victory catalog.


Minty Leozack toy, Lion 'brest' and Liokaiser head. Leozack is the only Brestforce member who came with a part other than his 'brest' force partner.


***

Detailed pictures and commentary on individual Liokaiser memebers:

20 September 2009

Seacon leader Snaptrap MIB

This is another one in a series of high-quality Transformers I will be showcasing over the next week or so. Ever since the re-ignition of my interest in Transformers in 1999, I've tried to keep as close to my collecting objectives as possible- that means C9 and above toys in a USA box.

Sometimes, as a bonus, I would acquire a piece that also comes with its original bubble insert, cardboard inserts and untouched parts. This sort of pieces are, in other words, as close to MISB as possible.

Snaptrap is such a piece.

I obtained this Snaptrap together with all the other 5 Seacons (also in a similar condition) from the same seller. I took it out to admire it again a couple of days ago and couldn't help thinking what a nice G1 specimen this piece is. Snaptraps in boxes are relatively rare, but a Snaptrap in box with all its inserts is really a sight to behold, and such an experience to hold.

This is a really sturdy piece with very sturdy packaging. The box fits almost snugly around the bubble insert unlike a majority of Transformer boxes which are much bigger than the bubble insert and the toy itself (think Swoop or the Series 1 and 2 Autobot cars). Add to that the fact that Snaptrap is a large well built toy and the amount of Piranacon parts it comes with and it is one heavy toy in a sturdy box - truely quite an experience to hold, I can almost feel the power it packs!

Here it is, my Snaptrap...






Snaptrap MIB


Notice how snugly the Snaptrap bubble insert fits into the cardboard that goes around it




Paperworks in baggie. Man, that's a lot of paper!


Flawless and still glossy box without scratches, dings, dents, tears, etc...


The slight curvature of the box at this end is attributable to the amount of things that are packed into the box; the stack of paperworks is so thick that it inevitably 'puffs' up the box when slid behind the bubble insert. There simply isn't enough room in the box to properly contain Snaptrap and all the things that come with him!


Flawless and still glossy box without scratches, dings, dents, tears, etc...

Related Seacon posts can be found at the links below:

Chapter 01: The Auction
Chapter 02: Their Arrival
Chapter 03: Photogallery [part 1] - Mint on Card & Mint in Box
Chapter 04: Photogallery [part 2] - The Toys
Chapter 05: Photogallery [part 3] - The Details

19 September 2009

Battlechargers Runamuck and Runabout

I just rediscovered a couple of days back that I have these two. I've always wanted them when I was younger because they were just so cool in the Marvel US comic series. Never got around to getting them, but now I have.

These are 2 near perfect specimens of Runamuck and Runabout. They have been opened, with stickers perfectly applied, but can still be displayed as if they were sealed.

Sweet.


MIB Headmaster Horrocon Apeface

Took a shot of this sweet gem today since I was digging around for Transformers.

This is easily one of my favourite G1 Transformers: Apeface!






More on Apeface in previous posts I wrote:

17 September 2009

Series 4 Targetmaster Pointblank

This is it. Coming full circle.

After searching for sometime for the correct piece, in the right condition and right price, I managed to acquire Targetmaster Pointblank, a piece I've been wanting since back in 1987.

It was quite fortuitous really. A seller on eBay had a Buy it Now auction with a Best Offer option for Pointblank MIB at US$199.99. The toy was of course gloriously nice, but the price was a little higher than I could (or maybe should) pay for Pointblank, however much I liked it.

So I gave it a shot and put in a best offer, thinking that there is no way the seller is going to accept it anyway. Much to my surprise, and delight, the seller did accept my best offer at US$115 for Pointblank MIB.

Shipping was really fast and within a week, Pointblank arrived.

I must say that this is the Autobot Targetmaster that I'm most fond of. He has the sleekest Cybertronian mode among the three (Sureshot and Crosshairs), and is probably the most well proportioned. Add that to the fact that his box art is well crafted and we have a winner.

I look at my Pointblank MIB and I know its destined to be one of the most cherished pieces in my Transformers collection.

Pointblank MIB with bubble insert and all other inserts in near flawless box














Flawless plastic windows for Pointblank and Peacemaker, no scratches, dents or dings


Flawless plastic windows for Pointblank and Peacemaker, no scratches, dents or dings


Flawless box surface, no scratches, rips, dents, tears or dings


Flawless box surface, no scratches, rips, dents, tears or dings

Pointblank complete with all inserts and paperworks sealed in original bag

All inserts present and accounted for, even the rectangular cardboard insert behind Peacemaker




Sealed paperworks with unapplied stickers

Pointblank transformed!

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