Dinobot Island

This has been a tough couple of weeks. I was going to get the three Dinobots that I didn't own, but wanted to wait until Isaac passed to order them, being worried about them getting lost in the mail. Well, I waited so long that the perfect Swoop I was watching got scooped out from me on eBay. Since I wanted to get Slag, Snarl and Swoop all at once, I was at a loss on what to do because I wanted more Transformers. All of the other Swoops I found were either potential K.O.s or had loose joints. Nothing but the best for Swoop. After two weeks, the seller who I was going to get Slag and Snarl from got a Swoop that was acceptable.

I kind of overpaid for all three of these guys, but I wanted to make sure that they all tight joints and were real. I do have a few questions, however. All three of them have just Takara 1980-1984 stamps on them. Slag's missile launcher shoots like a Takara version, but Snarl and Swoop seem to have the neutered launchers. Does this sound right? Did the Hasbro run have just the Takara stamp, or did I luck into Takara versions?

This is my second Slag. I still have the first one I got from that drunk kid lo those many years ago, but he wound up disintegrating. As soon as I picked him up ten years ago, the Triceratops head and tail just came off. Repair was not an option. Then again, all I had for that Slag was his gun, so I needed a complete one anyway.

The thing that I love most about Slag is that he's a Triceratops. Back when I entertained the idea of becoming a paleontologist, the Triceratops was always my favorite and that just translated to my love of Slag. Just look at that dinosaur mode. Lovely.

The second thing I like about Slag is the missile launcher. The thing I never really liked about the Dinobots were the handheld missile launchers. I'm more of a fan of shoulder mounted launchers, and while you can't mount Slag's to his shoulder, it does mount on his arm. And it rotates! Cool.

Swoop was one of my holy grails. I had never owned one, and all previous attempts had ended in either lost auctions, fear of K.O.s, or bad conditioned figures. He's just one of those fragile figures that are hard to find in decent condition. His wings are fragile and he has an insane amount of chrome. Add in the glut of K.O.s and you have a headache trying to find one.

"Swoop want good part!"

He's small, smaller than I would've imagined. I knew he was small, but damn. Thankfully, he's awesome, so that makes up for the petiteness of this figure. Maybe my excitement to finally have a Swoop in my hands after 27 years has something to do with it.

I'm actually afraid to handle Swoop because I'm worried that I'll break him. He's a beautiful figure. I can't believe that I waited 27 years to purchase this guy. There isn't any one thing that really stands out about him, but just looking at him, I'm impressed. He certainly has a simple transformation. A lot simpler than I would have imagined.

What can I say about Snarl? He's huge, for starters. His bulk is fitting for a Stegosaur. Snarl also comes with a rocket launcher that can be mounted on his leg while in Stegosaur mode. Transformation was a bit if a nice surprise - he's a waist twister! That makes Snarl a member of a great club that includes my beloved Datsuns like Bluestreak.

Snarl's spring loaded fists were another surprise. I pulled down his rear feet and out came the fists. I'm not complaining as I think that's neat. He's tall, taller than Grimlock. Just looking at him, Snarl is imposing, which suits his function as a desert warrior just fine.

Overall, I'm extremely impressed with these purchases. Finally after a long wait I have what were at one point the most popular Transformers on the planet. Now I just need to build an island diorama to display them.  Sorry about the poor picture quality, I couldn't find my camera so I just used my iPhone.

Never thought I'd get to take this group shot

Sludge

Growing up, my dad was in the Navy, and being stationed on a ship, he usually had to take six month cruises. They were excruciatingly long to me. He'd write, of course, and I'd write him back, but there was one letter from him that I looked forward to the most. That was the letter stating the he was on his way back. When I got that letter, it meant one thing: a trip to the toy store! It didn't matter if it was Toys R Us, Child's World, or Children's Palace, I was going to get a Transformer.

When I was eight, I got such a letter, and I already knew what I was going to get: all of the Dinobots. I asked my mom if that was ok, and she was fine with it. As soon as my Dad got off the ship, I asked him, and he was cool with it. The next day, we went to the Toys R Us in Long Beach, California which is where we were stationed at that time. It never mattered what city we lived in, I always could walk into any Toys R Us and go straight to the Transformers without deviation. I always found that awesome in my kid mind.

As soon as we got out of the car, I spotted a kid walking out with Snarl and quietly hoped that there were still some left for me. I walked to the aisle, with my brother in tow as we tried to get our parents to keep up. Sure enough, tons of Dinobots. I grabbed them all, looked at my parents and said "These!". Then my brother showed me the biggest Transformer I had ever seen: Metroplex. Flabbergasted, I put the Dinobots back and just stared at Metroplex. I sheepishly asked my parents if I could get him instead. Naturally, a $30 toy would be cheaper than five $10 toys, so they said yes. My brother wound up getting Sludge. Over the years, I've kind of regretted that decision.

After a year or so, my brother gave me all of his Transformers, including Sludge, to pay off various allowance loans I gave him. So at least I had a Sludge. In 1987, I traded Sludge to a drunk teen for Thundercracker, Highbrow, Slag, and a Lego set. I think I made out pretty good in that deal.

I've actually been wanting to get the Dinobots for a long, long time. Since I've joined eBay eleven years ago, really. I got my hands on a Grimlock, but then I started hearing about knock-offs. I'm a paranoid collector anyway, so I got really worried about buying a Dinobot. Luckily, I ran across High End TF's a few months ago and started doing research. Just to be on the safe side, I decided to buy from the one dealer on eBay that I trust the most.

I bought it on Sunday and received it on Wednesday. I must say, I didn't realize how much I loved this figure. The thing that stands out to me is just his size. He's huge, at least in dinosaur mode. His robot mode actually winds up being smaller than Grimlock, which I found odd.

I like the missile launcher more than the riflle

Still, I'm very fond of Sludge and the Dinobots in general. Sludge has waist articulation, which is great. I love posing my figures as though they're turning to shoot. It just looks more dynamic to me. That being said, I believe that Sludge will stay in his brontosaurus mode the most. I'd like to see an updated version, Masterpiece of course, where they actually go with the real dinosaur, the apatosaurus.

Dynamic, I tell ya!

I can't believe that I let something like an outbreak of knock offs deter me from my passion.  One of the positive things that came out of all of this is that I've become a more responsible collector.  It's one thing to buy a Transformer, it's another to do your due diligence to ensure that you're not getting ripped off.  Because of this, I feel like a more confident buyer.

I was hoping to purchase another figure for my next post, but it looks like that will have to wait until after Hurricane Isaac passes through.