MP-25 Tracks

So, I've had Masterpiece Tracks for a bit, but I haven't had a chance to snap any pictures of him due to several unforeseen circumstances.  Around Halloween, I was given the task of taking over a store temporarily in the fine town of Monroeville, Alabama, home of Harper Lee.  Harper Lee is the author of To Kill A Mockingbird, a book that I'm told everyone in Alabama had to read at some point in their life.  Since I'm not originally from here, I can say that I've never seen it, nor have I seen the movie.  At any rate, the town was a 2-hour drive from my house each way every day that I worked, and I worked about 6 days a week from the week of Halloween until two days before Thanksgiving, leaving me little time for anything other than work and sleep.  Then there was the heart attack that I suffered two days before Thanksgiving while at work; bad timing, I know, in the retail world, but my heart just felt the need to attack me.  It's a really interesting story that I'll tell one day when I feel like it.  At any rate, I'm feeling well enough to do a very late review of the newest Masterpiece figure before we're inundated  with more releases over the next few weeks.

I'll start with car mode, and what a car mode it is.  Takara has made a recent habit of making the side mirrors on their cars a separate deal where they have to be taken off a sprue and then attached to the car.  In a way, it evokes the sense that I'm putting the finishing touches on a very nice model kit, but I always hem and haw over actually putting them on.  The mirrors didn't go on until just before I took these pictures, meaning that Tracks was in my possession and out of the box for a few weeks incomplete, as it were.  I just really love the curves on Tracks in this mode and I'm not a fan of Corvettes.  The flames just jump out at me.  Seeing Tracks' head in the front seat is a little off putting, but I can live with it. 

A great feature that I instantly fell in love with is the opening hood, or bonnet if you're reading this in the UK.  This is supposed to be an reference to the episode "Make Tracks", but it really just brings to mind the fun feature that Binaltech figures sported a decade ago.  Has it really been a decade since Binaltech was a thing?  Now I'm nervous about Masterpiece figures suffering the same fate.  Crap, best not to think about it.

Perhaps the most appealing aspect of Tracks for me is the flight mode.  I was never really enamored with the G1 version's flight mode.  It just always looked odd and out of sorts to me as a kid.  The huge missile launchers on top never did anything for me.  The Masterpiece version?  It's the bee's knees, man, the bee's knees.  The small tail fins are what really do it for me.  The front bumper gun also adds a nice touch and furthers the cartoon inspired design.

Here's a front shot showing off the blaster.  It just looks marvelous.

I've read many things online about Tracks' robot mode.  Most quibbles seem to be about his backpack, and I can sort of understand where the complaints are coming from, but I'm fine with it.  The loose ratchets at the knees don't seem to be a problem for me, either.  My knees appear to be perfectly tight.  I will say that the inability of the forearms to move up more at the elbows is a tad frustrating. 

Upon first seeing pictures of Tracks months before he was released, I wasn't exactly sure how I'd feel about the smaller, cartoon accurate pistol that would be included.  While I'm all for cartoon accuracy, I can't help but be a little biased towards the larger gun that the original toy came with.  Tracks also continues the Bumblebee tradition of having an insignia that flips around so it can be hidden.  It's a nice touch.

I really enjoy Tracks' head sculpt.  The lines coming down from the eyes took some getting used to, but the face looks great. 

I didn't have the energy to try a lot of poses with Tracks, so I can't really vouch for poseability.  I can say that the few poses I attempted were easily held by Tracks. 

Anyone else have trouble with the wings?  I can't decided on the best angle to display them in, and I can never be sure that the angles are exactly the same for both wings.  The missiles are a tad smaller than I would have envisioned, but they still look fairly decent.  Overall, this is a solid figure, and I can't wait until Road Rage releases later this month.  She looks fantastic.

Just...ugh

The above picture just turned out all sorts of wrong, but I'm including it anyway.  I couldn't figure out the right composition of the figures, and I couldn't get the focus solely on Tracks.  I will definitely work on this type of shot more, given time and energy.  Thanks for stopping by, and I hope that this means that I can get back on a regular schedule again.

Takara Legends Arcee

This is one of those figures that I kicked myself for not getting, but fortunately, Takara did another run of these figures and I was able to snag one.  When I got the Generations version, I was pretty impressed, but then Flywheels, from the Random Toy Review blog, pointed out all of the black that was on the figure and that the Takara version had a color scheme that was dead on to the animated model.  I can't believe that I didn't pick up on that, but I'm not the most observant person.  Well. at least I got my hands on the Legends version.  Spoiler warning: If you're looking for cheesecake style poses and pictures of a toy, you've come to the wrong place.

I was going to do this whole thing about how great the packaging on the figure was and all of the paperwork, but Random Toy Reviews does a much better job of it.  Check out his review here.  Instead, I'll just get into the figure itself.  There is so much pink on this figure!  I was really expecting the pink on the Takara version to be different shade than the Hasbro, but they're the exact same.  The grey wheels caught me off guard, for some reason.  It never dawned on me that the wheels are cartoon accurate.  It's still a bit jarring, however.  I mean, when was the last time that you saw a 2005 model pink car with grey tires?  Tires should be black!

Here's a shot of both the Legends and Generations version side by side in vehicle mode.  The differences are pretty striking.  The Generations version features blue headlights  and black trim whereas the Legends model has silver headlights and all of the blacks have been replaced with either pink or white.  Some of the pink highlights have been changed to pink for the Takara release as well.

The color palettes of the weapons have been changed as well.  Takara went with a pink large pistol, and a grey small gun.  Small changes, but pretty potent.

One final comparison shot of the two different figures.  Can you guess which one is which?  I have to say that not having the black on the joints for Arcee's hips seems to make a world of difference.  There's a subtle shade of pink on Arcee's hair buns on the Takara version, and a grayish color on the Hasbro one.  Other differences on the Legends Arcee include : grey instead of white on the torso, light pink forearms and hands, red on the torso that is otherwise left completely white on Hasbro's, pink kneecaps, grey ankles, white feet, an insignia on the chest, and redder lips.  The Takara version is a much better looking figure.

Like the Generations figure, Takara's Arcee cannot fit the handles for her weapons completely.  There was apparently a running change with the figure starting with Hasbro where Arcee's thumbs were shortened for unknown reasons.  The Legends figure is based of this version.  I completely forgot about the swivels in Arcee's thighs until I was taking pictures.  They really allow for some good poses.

Man, those guns sticking out of her hands are really off-putting.

I've never been a huge fan of figures wielding two guns at the same time.  Ever see someone in real life dual-wield a weapon and be effective with both of them?  Didn't think so.

I suppose a sword is a weapon that you can duel-wield, but Inigo Montoya only ever used one sword, and that's good enough for me.  Besides, I like the look of one sword in this pose.

Finally, a shot of the Genertions/Legends version of the Transformers: The Movie main cast.  There should really be new Deluxe versions of Hot Rod and Kup.  Just not based on Combiner Wars molds.  If you don't have a Legends Arcee, run, don't walk, to your nearest computer and order one.  What are you waiting for?

G1 Blurr And What He Means For My Future

Please, bear with me.  I'm going to break this post down into three sections: past, present, and future.  I have quite a bit to discuss with this figure, and I figured that this would be the best way to do it.  There really won't be a lot of pictures until you get to the "Present" portion of the post, so I apolgize for that.  Enjoy the post!

The Past

The year 1986 was a momentous year, not just for me, but for Transformers om general.  That was the year that The Transformers moved away from Takara's Diaclone figures and began their transition to new molds that were designed by both Hasbro and Takara.  For me, 1986 meant that I finally got Sunstreaker!  What does this have to do with Blurr?  You'll see.

Picture from tfwiki.net

I turned 9 in May of that year, and I collected enough money from my party to earn a trip to Toys R Us directly after the party was over.  Browsing the aisles, I noticed Hot Rod, Scourge, and other figures from the upcoming movie.  Sunstreaker was the figure that caught my eye, and he came home with me.  Fast forward a few months, and I was at the movies watching Optimus Prime die.  During the movie, I was enthralled with Blurr, and I had to have him.  Luckily, the movie was released just as I found out that the Navy had transferred my father from Long Beach, California to Norfolk, Virginia, the state of my birth.  Moving meant one thing - a trip to Toys R Us for crayons, coloring books, and a toy to keep me, and my brother, busy on the cross country ride.  I realized my opportunity and grabbed Blurr as soon as we walked to the Action Figure aisle.  Happy, I made the cross country trip to my Aunt's house in Norfolk where we stayed until we could get a house of our own.  It was here that I made a grave mistake.

Once we arrived at my Aunt's house, I proceeded to show off some of my Transformers to my cousin.  Among the treasures that I proudly displayed were Sunstreaker and Blurr.  My cousin immediately remarked that it would awesome if I could somehow combine Sunstreaker and Blurr together to create a really fast car.  That's all I needed to hear.  I quickly disassembled the two bots and tried...something.  All I really remember is that Blurr's torso was glued onto Sunstreaker's car body, minus Suntreaker's roof.  It was, it was a nightmare.  In one fell swoop, I had managed to destroy two incredible figures, and create a monstrosity.  Sunstreak and Blurr were over, finished!

The Present

I've been searching for a replacement for Blurr for a couple of years now, but I just haven't forced myself to pull the trigger.  Sunstreaker was replaced a few years ago, but Blurr was always a hard proposition for me.  I wanted Blurr, but I didn't want to pay that much for him.  I'm sure that everyone has had this problem before.  It's isn't that Blurr is an expensive figure, really, but the prices still seemed silly to me.  Besides, most of the specimens that I managed to run across had fading, loose arms (not a big deal breaker thanks to nail polish), and shields with broken tabs.  After much moaning and complaining on the Internet about it, I finally managed to find what I was looking for - Blurr, in great condition, and at a price I was comfortable with.

 Thanks to the TFWiki, I discovered that there were two versions of Blurr, which I kind of suspected because there were two versions of most of the 1986 figures.  Thankfully, I managed to snag the first release version, with the "V" cut stickers.  When I picked up Blurr from my mailbox, I opened up the package immediately and began playing with him, while I was driving home.

My Blurr came with a misplaced decal.  The sticker that should go on his antenna was instead placed on his forehead, giving Blurr a Bindi, I suppose.  I could move it, or I could just get a new set of decals from Reprolabels, but I kind of like this look.

Thanks to his transformation scheme, Blurr features a bit of leg articulation.  Only his knees bend, so a running pose is not possible.  Still, it looks like Blurr is taking a bit of a stroll, or possibly limping. 

Blurr transforms into a Cybertronian race car, which, I'm told, is very fast.  Also in this picture, you can see the "V" cut out decals on the arms.  Later runs of Blurr do not have this cut and instead the "V" section is filled in.  Amazingly, Blurr's arms are very tight, and there isn't any real fading on the figure.  I really lucked out on this guy.  Thankfully, I was able to right a mistake that I made 29 years ago for a decent price.

The Future

It's funny how just getting one figure can induce a sense of euphoria.  And it isn't always what one would consider a "holy grail" - your Overlords, Black Zaraks and what have you.  Sometimes, it's just a common, everyday figure that can do the trick.  In a way, it was 1986 all over again.

The sense of calm that washed over me was a bit astounding as well.  I actually think that if I never got another vintage figure, I'd be okay with that.  My appetite for new G1 figures is so sated, that I haven't even really looked for any other figures.  Getting some Decepticon Targetmasters has certainly crossed my mind over the last couple of weeks, but I'm in no rush.  This creates a bit of a problem for this space since this is the last G1 figure that I have in reserve to review.  I have a Takara Arcee to still open and write about, but that's it until Nightbird and the Masterpiece figures for the year release.  Don't worry, I still have other things that I can put up here, like pictorials or something.

You know, when I first started doing this, it was with the intent to just get myself to do something creative and possibly interact with the fandom.  This is certainly a lot easier than getting on the boards.  After awhile, I somehow got a big head and thought that one day my collection would be featured on some site, and maybe I'd answer some questions.  That lasted about a week.  Over the last couple of months, I've come to realize that the size of my collection isn't important, but enjoying it really is.  I've even started trying to offload the vast majority of my CHUG, Binaltech, and Alternator figures.  The realization that there's just so much out there has necessitated a laser-like focus in my head.  The only reason I still have figures like Nightbird or the Takara Devastator coming is that I've already paid for them, so why not enjoy them?

Life can bring all sorts of headaches and tribulations, there isn't any need to add to them.  Just have fun and pass that joy along.  Next week - Legends Arcee!  For real.  

Masterpiece Bluestreak! MP-18B!

Guess who's been playing with Photoshop?

Finally!  I can't say that I haven't been looking forward to this review.  This review completes a very tough month for me.  You see, I actually received my MP-18B a few weeks ago, but he sat in his box, unopened, until I took these pictures last week.  After suffering a severe sinus infection, twisting my ankle, my laptop dying, and my car exploding, the opportunity to just play around with a toy and my camera was extremely welcome.  Enough about personal things - what's it like actually having a blue Bluestreak?

Look, everyone is familiar with the story behind this deco of Bluestreak from the 1984 packaging.  If not, click here to brush yourself up on it.  It's okay, I'll wait...Back?  Good.  Where was I?  Ah yes, the enchanting blue and silver of the Datsun.  Just look at those lines!  I don't think I've been shy about my dislike of the Masterpiece Streak's colors.  Yes, the black and grey were prominent on the animation model, but I've never taken to it.  The silver of the Silvertreak exclusive was much welcomed addition to my collection based solely on the color.  Silverstreak was my favorite Masterpiece deco.  That is until this guy showed up.  Now it's like I'm back in 1984 looking at the box to my G1 Bluestreak!

Here's a comparison shot of MP-18 with MP-18B.  As you can see, there are a few differences.

Yet another comparison shot, but this time with MP-18S.  Man, they look good.

Transforming this guy, I forgot how frustrating he can be.  I was so excited to see this guy out of the box that I immediately transformed him.  When it came time to actually snap some pictures, I had to out him back into car mode.  That's were I remembered about that freaking little tab that holds the torso to the chest.  I kept thinking that I was going to break him!  With the way that my luck has been going lately, I wouldn't have been surprised if it had broken.  Thankfully, that did not happen.

Jeez, just look at how majestic Bluestreak is.  Those missile launchers just look wonderful.  My only complaint, and it isn't really a complaint, is that I wouldn't mind it if the legs were white, like the Diaclone version.  It's a small quibble, really.  I swear, this is just hog heaven.  There seems to be a lot of negativity out there these days with each Transformer release, but when I look at Bluestreak, and hold him in my hands, I just don't see how anyone could be negative about the brand.

Poor man's running pose.  Shamelessly ripped off from Square One.  Just not as good as his.

I, uh, I tried to do a running pose, like Maz does.  I'm not very good at it.  Still, every so often, I think I can pull it off.  Let this stand as a reminder that I can not.  At any rate, this shot gives a pretty decent showing that MP-18B is not just a straight redeco of MP-18.  MP-18B features Prowl's waist and head.  It really does look great.  The longer crests, painted yellow, really stand out.  The waist looks more sophisticated, if that makes sense, than the one that Streak came with.  Really, just a stunning figure.

I spent almost two hours in one night taking pictures, so let's just take a look at what I have left to show.  First is a shot of all of the Datsuns in car mode.  Since we have five versions of this mold, I'm wondering what's left to do with it repaint-wise.  I'm sure Takara will think of something.  To be honest, I wouldn't mind something done with the Prowl version.

This is a shot of the Datsuns doing...something.  Prowl is pointing at something, but everyone else is looking in another direction.  Because forget Prowl.

Finally, a shot of the guys just hanging out in an arrow formation.  Everyone is in black and white with the exception of the focus of the review - Bluestreak.

Here's another angle of that shot.  I really need to invest in a tripod.  Well, that's one figure opened and reviewed.  Let's see if I can get around to freeing Legends Arcee from her prison.

Classic Pretender Jazz

Hey, look, another Pretender.  This is the second Pretender Jazz that I've owned.  I somehow lost the shell to my first one, and the helmet was chewed to smithereens by a dog lo many years ago.  I've decided to transition that one to the Legends Jazz since I kept just the inner bot and weapon.  This instance of Jazz represents a first for me as this is the first figure that I purchased from a seller on Facebook.  The transaction was smooth, and I think I'll buy more figures from different groups there now.

The Classic Pretender Jazz was the first version of Jazz that I owned as a kid.  The original 1984 version eluded me for reasons that I can't fathom, so when I saw this guy in a Children's Palace in 1989, I was pretty quick to pounce on him.  The version that I got from Facebook needed some help in the decal department, which was fine by me since I wanted to try out the upgrade labels from Reprolabels anyway.  Still, for what I paid for the figure, I really can't complain about anything.  Finding a good looking Pretender Jazz on eBay is next to impossible.  The light blues and whites always seem to be scratched and faded.

Decals were really important for this guy thanks to some creative coloring on that someone did on the helmet.  The decal on the crest is covering a splash of red marker and there's red marker on the back of the helmet.

Sadly, I can't seem to get the red to come off.  Perhaps I'll look for a new helmet, but it isn't really a priority.

Pretenders are famous for having scratched up heads, thanks to the helmets.  This one isn't that bad, and I'm glad for that.  Enough of that, let's look at the inner robot!

The upgraded decals give the inner robot a look closer to the 1984 model.  There are tons of extra details like the Martinii details.  Reprolabels really knocked it out of the park with this set.

Here's a closer look at the front of the car.  Again, this is really sharp.

Here's the back end.  Notice the Martinii on the license plate.

Attack mode for Jazz consists of just popping the rifle on the hood.  It looks like a Porsche with a gun on top.

Man, so many pictures of the car mode, and just one of the robot mode?  What kind of gyp is that?  At any rate, one picture is enough to show off what's new with the upgrade set.  For starters, there are the two decals on the hips.  They add a bit more color to the overall figure.  Then there are decals on the legs to drive home the 1984 vision.  I was really impressed by the two decals for the feet more than anything else with the set.  It's amazing how a couple of stickers can really make a difference.

Iguanus

Man, I've been sitting on these pictures for six freaking months.  I got Iguanus all the way back in March at a good price.  Thanks to all of the new releases that have come out, this guy just kept getting pushed back, but no longer! 

I really like Pretenders, and I know that a large segment of the fandom don't really care for them, but thanks to the Marvel Comics, they're always going to be must haves in my collection.  Iguanus is especially important to me thanks to this cover:

Pic courtesy of  TFW2005.com

If memory serves, this is the issue that introduced the Micromasters to the comics, and included some Jose Delbo art.  More importantly, this issue included Iguanus as the main antagonist, as evidenced by the cover.  Whenever I think of Iguanus, this is what always pops into my head.

I don't know why, but it seems like every Pretender that I buy from someone is sticky, especially on the arms.  I don't why that it, but it always seems to amaze me.  The arms are also where a lot of spotting seems to occur.  The arms on this Iguanus were sticky, but they lacked the spotting.  I'd really like to know what the source of the stickiness is, but ignorance can sometimes be bliss, I'm told.

Iguanus comes with two weapons, like all Pretenders.  The two weapons in question are a Hurricane Blaster, and what I'm guessing is some sort of sideways mounted chainsaw.  In all actuality, the "spinning" thing are used by the inner robot's alt-mode.  Overall, I really like to look of the outer shell.  It's very reptilian and if it were green, I'd say it was a Gorn.  Where articulation in the Pretender is generally restricted to the arms, Iguanus does feature a third point -- his tail.

The tail swivels, and is where I did discover the infamous Pretender spotting that I'm accustomed to.  It's a neat feature, I suppose.  Really, the tail just swings where it meets the body.  It can swing left or right, and that's about it.  Articulation is articulation, I guess.

Here's the inner robot.  You can't really tell thanks to the awfulness of the photos, but the headis rather snake like.  Think of Serpentor's helmet, or any of the members of the Serpent Society from the Captain America comics.  It's not a bad figure, and I like that his arms are curved a bit slightly, unlike the straight arms of the rest of the Pretenders.

Thanks to his transformation scheme, Iguanus' inner 'bot is capable of some leg articulation.  Here he is taking a leisurely stroll.  Where's he going?  To another tall building?  Iguanus also features a permanent wound in his torso that will get used later. 

Iguanus transforms into a motorcycle of some sort.  The spinning thing that the shell holds becomes the "wheels" of the bike.  I say "wheels", but they don't spin, so any kind of burnouts or movement are all going to be in your head.

Here's a side view of the motorcycle.  As you can see, it looks less like a motorcycle and more like Iguanus is just doing some fancy yoga. 

Finally, a shot of shell and robot together.  Not a lot to say about this shot.  At the very least, I'm down to one less Pretender to add to my collection.  Now just a ton more left to get.  Next week - more reviews!