I turned 37 last week, and my wife had difficulty getting me a present. I'm a hard person to shop for, she tells me. Then again, everyone tells me that. As such, this year, the responsibility of getting me a perfect gift falls to me. Guess, what? I really am a hard guy to shop for. So much so that I pushed this week's article back a week just so I could ask for input. Input, you ask? Yes - I want your help in deciding what I'm getting myself for my birthday! Without further ado, here are the list of candidates!
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First, we have Chop Shop, one of the Deluxe Insecticons. My stated goal for the year is to complete the 1985 line, and this would certainly help towards that goal.
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Barrage, see above for reasons. I do really like his color scheme.
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I LOVE Pretenders. I don't think that's a secret. However, I still have so many left to get. Chainclaw has always intrigued me. He's a pretender with an animal alt-mode. Plus, his animal shell is a freaking bear. Bears are awesome, although, I really wish that there was a panda one. Pandas are awesome.
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I've been putting off a Cloudburst purchase pretty much since I got back into collecting. I currently own the inner robot, and he's missing a foot. I also have the gun, helmet and the front half of the shell. My dream auction has me finding the foot, whip, and back half of the shell for under $20. This will never happen.
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Ah, Carnivac. He's a wolf! Wolves are cool. Especially if you have two of them on one shirt. Anyway, I've gotten a lot of Autobots this year, so perhaps a Decepticon addition is in order?
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I don't know if Floro Dery is just horrible at designing Transformers, or if Hasbro/Takara did a bad job at translating those designs into plastic. I'm certain that the fault can't lie with Takara. I have never really liked the 1986 figures, Magnus excluded. Then again, Dery didn't touch Magnus, now did he? Still, Scourge here is the last of the Decepticon Jets that I need. Unless I decided that I need 3 more so I can have Sweeps. I...I don't think I need that many.
Springer is the last Triple Changer that I need to complete the set. Well, I need a new body for my childhood Sandstorm, and the tanker cover for my childhood Octane, but that's another matter. While I've always lusted over owning Springer again, they proliferation of KOs has pretty much assured that I wouldn't purchase one without a lot of forethought and research. I'm also lazy and pressed for time nowadays. For the most part, when I see a Springer on eBay, if he looks too new, I think it's a KO. This means that I'll get a plastic chest version with some defects for my peace of mind. Most likely.
Ok, that's it for the candidates. Let me know which way you think I should go! If you're at all familiar with prices, you'll notice that all of these guys are pretty close in price, with the exception of Cloudburst and Chop Shop. I pretty much gave myself a limited budget because I don't believe in having a lot of money spent on myself by others. Even if the money is coming from my bank account. Besides, I spend enough money throughout the year on toys. And we all know that Christmas is the time for expensive gifts...
I only owned Cloudburst and Springer on your list back when I had some G1s. I never liked the Autobot human pretenders. Springer on the other hand was nice, I think there were two variants, you definitely want to get the one with the metal/die-cast parts. As long as the stickers are not torn the old 'pressed' up sticker look has a nice charm about it, new stickers would make it look good but for him and Sandstorm I always liked old stickers on them. I got it from ebay for $40 shipped.
ReplyDeleteHmm...that's tough. I love Chop Shop, but the Pretenders are where the action is at! I'd go w/ Carnivac, followed up closely my Chainclaw.
ReplyDeleteHave you already made this decision? In any case, I'll put my vote in for either Chop Shop or Cloudburst. Chop Shop has limited articulation (about the same as Ransack), but his beetle mode is just glorious and there really isn't another 'con that looks like him. And I just like Cloudburst.
ReplyDeleteWhile I didn't go with Chop Shop or Cloudburst, I will have them. Chop Shop, sooner than later. Cloudburst is awesome. I've always liked him. Then again, all Pretenders are awesome.
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