Toy links
A little Fett.
A cool Star Wars digirama by hockstuffs featuring the Medicom 12-inch Boba Fett. (See his Digirama set for more Photoshop’d toy photos.)
Friands and enemies.
A deliciously pun-ny photo by pastababe.
Pro patria mori.
Another victim of the K-9 Corps.
Super Robot Wars: Toy-style.
A nice Photoshop’d image by gsd748.
Wardick.
“It is a small zoid …” We recommend attaching large weaponry to compensate for that. We will also note that, contrary to the description, Wardick does indeed have a wind-up gimmick.
In Prime We Trust
Optimus Prime goes back to school.
He’s studying vehicle construction in the Dresden University of Technology, apparently. His favourite quote: “Ich bin nicht nur das Metall, aus dem ich gemacht bin!” Ha ha, that Optimus Prime, such a kidder.
Optimus Prime goes back to school II.
He’s at Beckman Institute and, judging from the pose, really is f’in metal.
puppylove2363’s Mini-optimus.
“the misadventures of a tiny optimus prime & me.” Fun!
A message from Optimus Prime.
That would have been our reaction as well.
Rediv’s Lego Optimus Prime is complete.
Toy links
Haim Saban’s Lord of the Rings.
Warning: Do not watch Sean Mario’s reimagining of J.R.R’s saga with a mouthful of tea. (See also.)
Microman versus cat.
A Takara Microman Spyboy ad.
MagneSaurer.
A transforming Microman Magnepower custom by misodrill.
Hot Toys Apexplorers T-Rex pictorial.
Figures designed by Winson Ma.
Ben Procter’s Transformers movie designs.
“Designing robots for the Transformers movie was literally a dream job for me. As a kid, I collected robot toys from a variety of anime, pored over the pages of Hobby Japan, drew lots of robots and of course loved the Transformers cartoon.”
The action figure protest.
“That is still an illegal gathering of toys.”
Toy review roundup
yo go re reviews the Hasbro Transformers Real Gear Robots High Score 100 figure. Excerpt: “It’d be cool if he was a little bit bigger, but this is still one of the best Real Gear Robots …”
Ben Yee reviews the Hasbro Transformers Robot Replicas Optimus Prime figure. Excerpt: “The non-transformable nature of the figure may turn some people off, but if you’re into figures that are fun, well sculpted and posable, this one’s for you.”
Michael Crawford reviews the Mattel DC Superheroes Bruce Wayne to Batman and Clayface figures. Excerpt: “Clayface is going down as one of, if not THE, best figure for this year.”
Poe Ghostal reviews the Marvel Toys Legendary Comic Book Heroes Judge Death figure. Excerpt: “This is almost a perfect translation of Brian Bolland’s art …”
Dan Wakerhauser reviews the Marvel Select Skrull and Brood set. Excerpt: “… this isn’t two full figures. It’s the accessories from two figures.”
Jerry Reed reviews four Hasbro 25th Anniversary G.I. Joe wave 2 figures. Excerpt: “… nothing I have experienced this year has equaled the thrill I experienced when I found out I could finally remove Beachhead’s crossbow!”
Josh Bernard reviews the Takara Tomy Convoy feat. Nike Free 7.0 sneaker-robot. Excerpt: “… you would think at least they could have made a quality toy out of this, and that just did not happen.” (He also reviewed the Megatron variant.)
RC Mania reviews the Tyco RC N.S.E.C.T Robot. Excerpt: “It’s extremely loud … and it’s so heavy that the feet actually strike the ground like hammers.”
Asides
Updated the blogroll with links to Yusuke’s site, Tom Prankerd’s Gobots archive and the Transformers Baka Ichidai blog.
Throttled down
It’s tricky to come up with a good transforming robot with a motorcycle for an alternate mode. Recent attempts are pretty good but back in the 80s, there certainly were some awkward motorcycle transformers.
This is one of the better ones.
Part of Tonka’s Gobots line, Throttle was released as part of the third wave of Super Gobots figures in 1986. There were two different versions and this is the silver European variant. Articulation was very good considering the era with posability at the shoulders, elbows, hips and knees.
Like most of my toys from the 80s, this one hasn’t stood the test of time and play. The rubber on the wheels has gone missing, the fairing and windscreen (which double as the robot helmet) have broken off and the paint job on the die-cast torso is mostly a memory.
It looks bad now but I sure did have a lot of fun with it back in the day.
Tom Prankerd, in his review of the figure, noted, “Throttle is a classic figure, one of the best of the line, and one of a select handful who really stand up to the better Transformers figures.” I couldn’t agree more.
Toy links
Transformers Ironhide. [via]
A G1-inspired kitbash by ruffledsubstratum based on the Voyager Rescue Ratchet figure.
Transformer Cyclonus.
This kitbash by Viagra Prime includes a Nightstick Targetmaster and is based on an Energon Stormjet.
Transformers Wreckage repaint.
More: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. A classy paintjob by pairadocs and fantastic photography to show it off. (Here’s the original figure for comparison.)
Oh, how cu- … AAAH.
A scary Busou Shinki custom by 4th.
The perils of kitbashing.
This is why people with low pain thresholds should leave kitbashing to others.
Toy links
2007 GI Joe Collector’s Club Convention report.
Justin Bell also has photos to share.
Toyfare looks at GoBots.
“They may not have survived the 1980s, but these second-rate Transformers had a lot of get-up-and-go.” Props for mentioning Machine Robo Rescue but it’s a pity the MRR successor, Mugenbine, didn’t merit a mention.
Japan RadiCon PlaModel Hobby Show 2007.
A photo gallery by Robot Dreams.
Tonner Doll Company’s DC Stars. [via]
Wonder Woman (with an office-wear variant), Batgirl, Supergirl, Poison Ivy and Aquaman are available now. Dolls of The Joker, Batman and Superman are coming.
Jesus the action figure.
“I can see people being threatened by Jesus, it’s too Christian …” Wha-…? (The figure can be seen here.)
Michigan Wolverines safety Brandon Harrison interviewed.
“Intrigued by his interest level in the toy-turned-movie, The News asked Harrison about his personal history with Transformers.”
Run away, run away.
The techno-zombies are here.
Japanese toy review roundup
The following reviews are in Japanese but they include a generous amount of photos so they’re well worth checking out.
Transformers Baka Ichidai goes radio-ga-ga with reviews of the Convoy iPod dock and speakers (part 2), G1 Soundwave, reissue Soundwave, Soundwave MP3 player, G1 Broadcast (part 2), Fast Action Battlers Frenzy and Real Gear Robots Booster X-10.
Gamu reviews the Kaiyodo Revoltech Strike Valkyrie VF-1S Roy Fokker (movie version) figure.
Silencer reviews the Transformers Sports Label Nike Convoy sneaker-robot.
Ken-o reviews the Maito Cykons Grip transformable motorcycle. It’s a little small for Microman figures but it does work as a Microman mecha.
Ganhoo reviews the CM’s Corporation Brave Gohkin Gyakuten-oh figure. Parts 2 and 3.
Ganhoo also reviews the Bandai Machine Robo Mugenbine Mach Ptera figure from 2005.
In Prime We Trust
Optimus gets down.
Doing that Hare Hare Yukai dance. (Close-up of the costume.)
It’s not easy being Optimus Prime.
Communicating can be so-o-o hard. He says, “Autobots, transform and roll out” and it gets translated as “He wants two double cheeseburgers.”
Lego Optimus Prime.
An impressive work-in-progress based on the movie version. More: 1, 2.
Another Lego Optimus Prime. [via]
A bit abstract but this is built with parts you can order from Lego Factory.