PDA

View Full Version : ... I would have waited an eternity for these...



heroic_decepticon
9th June 2011, 08:59 AM
I thought this deserved its own thread.

Ultra Magnus knows of this since last week. Also, valkyrie_76 and Hursticon would have know that something was up and would know that I have acquired something(s!) in these past few weeks.

This is the first of them - one of my ALL time holy grails, some could say, since I was a kid back in 1984 (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2008/04/bluestreak-part-01-re-introduction.html).

I got this as part of a deal involving my Marlboor Wheeljack (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2011/05/pre-transformers-diaclone-car-robot.html), for the best price on the planet - free.

Received yesterday, but thought I would post about it now since there are more things coming(!).

Introducing MIB Car Robots No.7 (Diaclone) Fairlady Z in blue aka the mythical "blue Bluestreak"...

(my quick and dirty photos; left photo by E; right photo by me)
http://inlinethumb58.webshots.com/48185/2186345990100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2186345990100811158SSnxXb) http://inlinethumb27.webshots.com/46298/2027137740100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2027137740100811158XmKqlP)

("seller's" photos)
http://inlinethumb61.webshots.com/47932/2185328060100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2185328060100811158UGuxEK) http://inlinethumb47.webshots.com/44910/2126520770100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2126520770100811158MYBzyO)

http://inlinethumb50.webshots.com/46577/2302715940100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2302715940100811158rEDqTk) http://inlinethumb26.webshots.com/47129/2183859830100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2183859830100811158ASYciq)

Will take more photos of my own later... :D

~ HD

Edit 14 June 2011 - Have updated my blog with the story of this Bluestreak's acquisition. (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2011/06/full-story-part-2-diaclone-carrobots.html)

1AZRAEL1
9th June 2011, 09:06 AM
:eek::eek::eek:

Awesome awesome awesome dude.

gamblor916
9th June 2011, 09:14 AM
Wow, amazing score :eek:

LordCyrusOmega
9th June 2011, 09:18 AM
Wow! Just Wow

optimus1
9th June 2011, 09:44 AM
Congrats on the Blue Bluestreak! A truly impressive piece :cool:

bruticus
9th June 2011, 09:45 AM
WOW HD!!
congratulations on a superb acquisition!!



I got this as part of a deal involving my Marlboor Wheeljack (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2011/05/pre-transformers-diaclone-car-robot.html), for the best price on the planet - free.


this was free? even sweeter!!! :D

rampagesss
9th June 2011, 10:52 AM
:eek: HOLY CRAP! :eek:

Congratulations man! insane score!

But now i want to see a pic of Blue-Bluestreak, Marlboor Wheeljack and Police Sunstreaker all together!

janda the red
9th June 2011, 11:38 AM
very nice mate... happy for ya!

janda :)

GoktimusPrime
9th June 2011, 11:45 AM
This toy isn't a Transformer and this thread needs to be moved to the Non-TF Takara toy acquisition thread!!

jkz. :p

I don't even want to know how much you paid for this toy, but wateva makes you happy. :) Are you gonna get Bluestreak reprolabels for it? (I totally would) ;) You should repurpose the Diaclone pilot as Augie Chaney... maybe he's decided to join the Autobots in their fight against the Decepticons, especially the Stunticons - and he's wearing a kind of special battle armour. :D

1AZRAEL1
9th June 2011, 12:09 PM
I don't even want to know how much you paid for this toy, but wateva makes you happy. :)

Technically he didn't pay a thing for it :D


I got this as part of a deal involving my Marlboor Wheeljack (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2011/05/pre-transformers-diaclone-car-robot.html), for the best price on the planet - free.

5FDP
9th June 2011, 12:12 PM
Impressive HD. I thought about tracking one of these down a couple of years ago but ended up getting Anime Streak instead as there was news of a KO 'blue' Bluestreak about to flood the market. I wouldn't have said no if someone gave one to me for free though :p

Skullcruncher
9th June 2011, 12:34 PM
Nice work HD - did you send off the wheeljack first or the other seller with the bluestreak? heh ..... I saw something over on tfw in a particular social group about this trade a day or so ago - Pretty exciting! :cool:

SkyWarp91
9th June 2011, 01:06 PM
Holy crap that car is just pure METAL SEX! :eek::eek::eek::eek:

liegeprime
9th June 2011, 02:23 PM
Holy crap that car is just pure METAL SEX! :eek::eek::eek::eek:

that would hurt :p

NIce one HD!! on top of that it's FREEEEEEEE!!!! magic words!!:D:D:D

KillinSpoon
9th June 2011, 02:26 PM
that would hurt :p

NIce one HD!! on top of that it's FREEEEEEEE!!!! magic words!!:D:D:D

Would it?
Or would it get you FREE MONEY! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crKj3K7HJVo)

heroic_decepticon
9th June 2011, 02:50 PM
Will respond to some replies (until I get more time later in the day).


:eek::eek::eek:

Awesome awesome awesome dude.


Wow, amazing score :eek:


Wow! Just Wow


Congrats on the Blue Bluestreak! A truly impressive piece :cool:

Thanks guys for the kind words.

@ optimus1 - The piece is the most impressive one I have seem thus far. There have been some on sale here in HK and some on auctions, but the condition has always been inevitably terrible. The stickers on this piece is well applied and the joints are all (very) tight. :p


WOW HD!!
congratulations on a superb acquisition!!

this was free? even sweeter!!! :D

It is technically free in the sense that I did not fork out any cash for it, but I will elaborate more when I have sometime later today or tonight on the mechanics of the deal. :D

liegeprime
9th June 2011, 02:56 PM
NOT if your on the receiving end KillinSpoon :p:p

Zippo
9th June 2011, 02:59 PM
Wow!
Thats it - Osaka is on the must get to list ... The guide on your blog is awesome.

fatbot
9th June 2011, 04:32 PM
wow. very nice my friend. Congrats

kup
9th June 2011, 07:11 PM
That is awesome! Congratulations in acquiring you holy grail! :D

Vector Prime
9th June 2011, 07:44 PM
Pardon my ignorance... but what's so special about this acquisition? :rolleyes:

Wasn't the original Bluestreak, blue anyway? :eek:




















(I'm kidding, nice acquisition there HD... thought I'd just post something different instead of 'wow', 'awesome', etc :p)

Prowl
9th June 2011, 08:22 PM
Very nice indeed. Remarkable condition & you can at least die happy knowing your lifes mission is complete :)

GoktimusPrime
9th June 2011, 09:50 PM
So now since the silver G1 toy is called Bluestreak, HD should call his blue Diaclone Bluestreak toy Silverstreak! Muahahaha! :D

heroic_decepticon
10th June 2011, 12:30 AM
that would hurt :p

NIce one HD!! on top of that it's FREEEEEEEE!!!! magic words!!:D:D:D


very nice mate... happy for ya!

janda :)


Holy crap that car is just pure METAL SEX! :eek::eek::eek::eek:

Thanks guys!


*snip*

But now i want to see a pic of Blue-Bluestreak, Marlboor Wheeljack and Police Sunstreaker all together!

Unfortunately, would have to disappoint you because I no longer have the Marlboor Wheeljack. It was part of the deal (which I will elaborate on later). heh.




I don't even want to know how much you paid for this toy, but wateva makes you happy. :) Are you gonna get Bluestreak reprolabels for it? (I totally would) ;) You should repurpose the Diaclone pilot as Augie Chaney... maybe he's decided to join the Autobots in their fight against the Decepticons, especially the Stunticons - and he's wearing a kind of special battle armour. :D

I might get reprolabels but just for the arm stickers cos those are a little mangled. I do want to keep all parts and stickers of this figure as original as possible though.

Not sure about repurposing... heh. To me, this is as much Bluestreak as the USA silver version!


Wow!
Thats it - Osaka is on the must get to list ... The guide on your blog is awesome.

Osaka was awesome. Must check out!

hanprimus
10th June 2011, 05:30 AM
WoW! Awesome HD! You are definitely in the top 3 collectors that I've known of with so many rare acquisitions and the money power to do so. Simply amazing!

Deonasis
10th June 2011, 05:26 PM
Very cool HD! Makes me smile this big for you :D

Also, he looks mean as hell in robot mode.

heroic_decepticon
11th June 2011, 03:28 AM
wow. very nice my friend. Congrats


That is awesome! Congratulations in acquiring you holy grail! :D

Thank you, sirs!


Impressive HD. I thought about tracking one of these down a couple of years ago but ended up getting Anime Streak instead as there was news of a KO 'blue' Bluestreak about to flood the market. I wouldn't have said no if someone gave one to me for free though :p

Fortunately, the "KO" blue Bluestreak has still not flooded the markets!

However, I have to say this - in terms of the exactitude of construction, paint apps, quality of the plastic and overall QC, any reissue pales in comparison to vintage pieces, but even vintage G1 pieces pale in comparison to the diaclone/ pre TF pieces.

It could be mold degradation or something, but the feel is just vastly different. For example, if you hold and transform a diaclone sunstreaker, you'd know what the mold is meant to do and what it feels like - no loose parts, joints has a certain feel to it, etc. Even a 1984 TF sun streaker pales in comparison.

That's why, to me, getting the diaclone blue streak is very important, despite the deluge of reissues for this mold out there... :D


Nice work HD - did you send off the wheeljack first or the other seller with the bluestreak? heh ..... I saw something over on tfw in a particular social group about this trade a day or so ago - Pretty exciting! :cool:

Good question!

Here's how the deal was cut.

It was a cash plus "value" deal. Background was that I had offers for marlboor wheel jack left right and centre. The offers range from USD$2000 to USD$4500.

The deal was that the TFW guy pay an amount somewhere in between, and he offered to throw in the MIB Blue into the mix (he knows money is not going to be good enough to convince me).

Blue brought me across the line and he immediately became preferred buyer despite the cash amount being less than the highest offeror.

Payment was a bit more complex because we have never dealt with each other before. However, I convinced him that he has to pay me the cash value AND the value we place on Blue before I would send him marlboor.

Once he received marlboor, I would "refund" him the cash value we placed on Blue and then he would send Blue as if I was purchasing from him.

It may sound strange at first, but I think that that's the only way to make trades of this nature work where the parties don't know each other.

gamblor916
11th June 2011, 09:52 AM
However, I have to say this - in terms of the exactitude of construction, paint apps, quality of the plastic and overall QC, any reissue pales in comparison to vintage pieces, but even vintage G1 pieces pale in comparison to the diaclone/ pre TF pieces.

It could be mold degradation or something, but the feel is just vastly different. For example, if you hold and transform a diaclone sunstreaker, you'd know what the mold is meant to do and what it feels like - no loose parts, joints has a certain feel to it, etc. Even a 1984 TF sun streaker pales in comparison.


I would agree with this. The moulds would be the first runs ever and everything just seems 'crisp'. Plus you have Japanese workmanship and care in the cutting and assembling of parts.

Skullcruncher
11th June 2011, 10:22 AM
Good question!

Here's how the deal was cut.

It was a cash plus "value" deal. Background was that I had offers for marlboor wheel jack left right and centre. The offers range from USD$2000 to USD$4500.

The deal was that the TFW guy pay an amount somewhere in between, and he offered to throw in the MIB Blue into the mix (he knows money is not going to be good enough to convince me).

Blue brought me across the line and he immediately became preferred buyer despite the cash amount being less than the highest offeror.

Payment was a bit more complex because we have never dealt with each other before. However, I convinced him that he has to pay me the cash value AND the value we place on Blue before I would send him marlboor.

Once he received marlboor, I would "refund" him the cash value we placed on Blue and then he would send Blue as if I was purchasing from him.

It may sound strange at first, but I think that that's the only way to make trades of this nature work where the parties don't know each other.

Goodness, a complex deal but worth it! Looking forward to part 2 of the full story (with pics!) on your blog :)

Hursticon
11th June 2011, 12:55 PM
This tread makes me smile just because I know, HD, you would have one at the moment the size of a freight train. ;):)
Congratulations mate, how insanely cool it is to see you finally acquire an un-obstructed Blue-Bluestreak Box-art piece, only to have that followed up with an incredibly minty Blue-Bluestreak figure only days later. :D:cool:
I look forward to seeing what this amazing acquisition is followed up with, I know what I hope it is...

I continue to say it, but HD - You are the Master of 'Seek and Acquire'! ;):cool:

5FDP
11th June 2011, 02:53 PM
However, I have to say this - in terms of the exactitude of construction, paint apps, quality of the plastic and overall QC, any reissue pales in comparison to vintage pieces, but even vintage G1 pieces pale in comparison to the diaclone/ pre TF pieces.

It could be mold degradation or something, but the feel is just vastly different. For example, if you hold and transform a diaclone sunstreaker, you'd know what the mold is meant to do and what it feels like - no loose parts, joints has a certain feel to it, etc. Even a 1984 TF sun streaker pales in comparison.


I would agree with this. The moulds would be the first runs ever and everything just seems 'crisp'. Plus you have Japanese workmanship and care in the cutting and assembling of parts.

Completely agree with everything you are both saying, however for me, this would be a moot point as I'd just leave it in the box anyway :p

griffin
11th June 2011, 04:19 PM
Meh... :p


Well done on obtaining your long-term grail.
(I know how exciting and relieving it feels)

But I wonder if you are feeling what I feel? - not having a replacement super-rare grail to obsessively hunt for. When I finally got the BC94 Breakdown, there hasn't been anything filling my number-1 spot since... because it had been my grail for so many years. Nothing else seems worthy, and the toy hunt on ebay is just not the same without the 'grail' item being first on my mind.
It's like completing a collection... it feels good at first, but you start missing 'the hunt'.
Or do you already have a new grail?

heroic_decepticon
11th June 2011, 10:44 PM
Very nice indeed. Remarkable condition & you can at least die happy knowing your lifes mission is complete :)


Very cool HD! Makes me smile this big for you :D

Also, he looks mean as hell in robot mode.

Thanks guys! @ Prowl, well, its one of my life's missions...


So now since the silver G1 toy is called Bluestreak, HD should call his blue Diaclone Bluestreak toy Silverstreak! Muahahaha! :D

Hmm... to me, this will always be "Bluestreak"...


WoW! Awesome HD! You are definitely in the top 3 collectors that I've known of with so many rare acquisitions and the money power to do so. Simply amazing!

Thanks for the kind words Johann. I've spent quite a fair bit during the month of May. Spending in May/June has reached the 5-figures mark (in AUD$) and you will know why when I unveil the next 6 pieces!


I would agree with this. The moulds would be the first runs ever and everything just seems 'crisp'. Plus you have Japanese workmanship and care in the cutting and assembling of parts.

Yup, definitely!


Goodness, a complex deal but worth it! Looking forward to part 2 of the full story (with pics!) on your blog :)

Not have to time to pen the chapter yet, but it will be up soonish! :D

robwin1974
12th June 2011, 08:29 PM
Big Congrats!

Looking forward to finding out the 6 new transformers you will be unveiling!

crankcase76
12th June 2011, 08:39 PM
totally awsome!!!:D

heroic_decepticon
13th June 2011, 02:02 AM
This tread makes me smile just because I know, HD, you would have one at the moment the size of a freight train. ;):)
Congratulations mate, how insanely cool it is to see you finally acquire an un-obstructed Blue-Bluestreak Box-art piece, only to have that followed up with an incredibly minty Blue-Bluestreak figure only days later. :D:cool:
I look forward to seeing what this amazing acquisition is followed up with, I know what I hope it is...

I continue to say it, but HD - You are the Master of 'Seek and Acquire'! ;):cool:

Thanks Hursti, you summed it up very well in terms of how awesome it is to have obtained an unobstructed piece of bluesteak art followed by the blu Bluestreak itself!


Meh... :p

Well done on obtaining your long-term grail.
(I know how exciting and relieving it feels)

But I wonder if you are feeling what I feel? - not having a replacement super-rare grail to obsessively hunt for. When I finally got the BC94 Breakdown, there hasn't been anything filling my number-1 spot since... because it had
been my grail for so many years. Nothing else seems worthy, and the toy hunt on ebay is just not the same without the 'grail' item being first on my mind.
It's like completing a collection... it feels good at first, but you start missing 'the hunt'.
Or do you already have a new grail?

You got the BC94 breakdown? Congrats dude! That must be such a milestone.

In a way I feel very much like you do. For years and years this has been my number grail, now that I have it, there is a void. I have always distinguished between "wants" and a true grail. Where I have many wants, I have always maintained that I only have one grail (God Primus was a mini grail). Now that I have it, there won't be "another" grail to take it's place.

So in answer to your question, no, there is not 'new' grail.

The throne is empty, long live the king!



Big Congrats!

Looking forward to finding out the 6 new transformers you will be unveiling!

Thanks Rob. 1 of the 6 are in the house. I'm picking up another 1 tomorrow and the package of 4 has arrived (according to my tracking info).

I'm tossing up between unveiling one by one or all at once....


totally awsome!!!:D

:D

optimus1
13th June 2011, 05:23 PM
1 of the 6 are in the house. I'm picking up another 1 tomorrow and the package of 4 has arrived (according to my tracking info).

I'm tossing up between unveiling one by one or all at once....

:D

Can't wait to see what these 6 are going to be. I bet whatever they are they will be jawdroppingly exquisite :D

Robzy
13th June 2011, 05:25 PM
Simply amazing! :eek: Congrats HD!! :)

heroic_decepticon
14th June 2011, 04:28 AM
Simply amazing! :eek: Congrats HD!! :)

Thanks Robzy!


Can't wait to see what these 6 are going to be. I bet whatever they are they will be jawdroppingly exquisite :D

1 was in 2 days ago and I just got 4 of them home today. Didn't manage to pick up the last one, but will do it tomorrow... very excited!

***

Have updated my blog with the story of this Bluestreak's acquisition. (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2011/06/full-story-part-2-diaclone-carrobots.html)

griffin
14th June 2011, 08:41 AM
Considering you only have 7 JP wants in your siggie... it'll be more interesting to see which one has been missed. :p

gekisou
14th June 2011, 12:02 PM
Congrats man. I was recently told I'd be getting two of TF holy grails as gifts recently so I KNOW how great a feeling it is. :)

Hursticon
14th June 2011, 12:03 PM
Considering you only have 7 JP wants in your siggie... it'll be more interesting to see which one has been missed. :p

That's a good point, but with HD and E on the hunt it'll only be a matter of time. ;):D

heroic_decepticon
15th June 2011, 02:18 AM
Congrats man. I was recently told I'd be getting two of TF holy grails as gifts recently so I KNOW how great a feeling it is. :)

So which ones did you get? :D


Considering you only have 7 JP wants in your siggie... it'll be more interesting to see which one has been missed. :p


That's a good point, but with HD and E on the hunt it'll only be a matter of time. ;):D

Interesting point you brought up griffin... heh.

Doing a preliminary unveiling in the next post (not part of the 6, but their interrelated, of sorts). :D

heroic_decepticon
15th June 2011, 02:29 AM
Today, I went and picked up the final piece of the 6 from the shops (and picked up something for valkyrie_76 too).

I'm showing 2 pieces which I bought recently for E, which are very special to her.

These 2 are not part of the 6, so its a 'preliminary unveiling' of sorts... (sorry if its not the most interesting or rare of pieces... but they do hold a dear place in my and E's heart).

17 - Soundwave w/ Rumble MIB

http://inlinethumb18.webshots.com/48849/2633221440100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2633221440100811158GrNrva) http://inlinethumb46.webshots.com/45805/2920708590100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2920708590100811158HqRmLi)

http://inlinethumb29.webshots.com/45468/2563744580100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2563744580100811158jnyYJh) http://inlinethumb23.webshots.com/47830/2302307910100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2302307910100811158MoMLfC)

http://inlinethumb39.webshots.com/45478/2380688750100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2380688750100811158BixFZn) http://inlinethumb41.webshots.com/46440/2236038490100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2236038490100811158BmnZGq)

Strangely, this one comes with a upside down rub-sign, but a pre-rub Rumble
http://inlinethumb40.webshots.com/47911/2046385510100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2046385510100811158hRpNCM) http://inlinethumb51.webshots.com/45746/2852436720100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2852436720100811158blwHTC)


D-101: Soundblaster MIB

http://inlinethumb44.webshots.com/47467/2576341820100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2576341820100811158YIlRji) http://inlinethumb04.webshots.com/47043/2309567260100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2309567260100811158EKDpFt)

http://inlinethumb13.webshots.com/45388/2377628430100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2377628430100811158xfhRWU) http://inlinethumb39.webshots.com/46118/2658308900100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2658308900100811158cIxEkQ)

http://inlinethumb16.webshots.com/48463/2074353570100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2074353570100811158hmNZwD) http://inlinethumb51.webshots.com/48818/2804633300100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2804633300100811158tazXAE)

The real deal, this is, hahaha
http://inlinethumb31.webshots.com/48798/2830664630100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2830664630100811158bYfaGe) http://inlinethumb23.webshots.com/45590/2414838530100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2414838530100811158npRNpY)

***

Together

http://inlinethumb27.webshots.com/48026/2927359100100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2927359100100811158olZAEp)

5FDP
15th June 2011, 09:56 AM
Strangely, this one comes with a upside down rub-sign, but a pre-rub Rumble


I'd say it's not the original contents. So few MIB pieces actually are. Regardless, that's another fine specimen HD :)

Skullcruncher
15th June 2011, 10:00 AM
I'd say it's not the original contents. So few MIB pieces actually are. Regardless, that's another fine specimen HD :)

No idea about the rubsign but the first 'run' of Takara Soundwaves have the tape mechanism on the outside, the second 'run' is like the US ones (as per the one in the pic).

gekisou
15th June 2011, 10:22 AM
So which ones did you get? :D

Soundblaster (which you just showed off :p) and Deathsaurus. Both are out of box but complete. Wedding gifts.
Another wedding gift is Victory Sabre (that's 1 robot right? :p) but he isn't quite holy grail level...
Just need Grand Max and all my dreams have come through... :D

heroic_decepticon
15th June 2011, 02:05 PM
I'd say it's not the original contents. So few MIB pieces actually are. Regardless, that's another fine specimen HD :)


No idea about the rubsign but the first 'run' of Takara Soundwaves have the tape mechanism on the outside, the second 'run' is like the US ones (as per the one in the pic).

Hmm...gotta admit that caught me off guard. I wasn't aware that first run soundwaves had different moldings. Can you guys elaborate more? What about rumble?

For this piece, I was sold the moment I saw the beautiful box and contents...


Soundblaster (which you just showed off :p) and Deathsaurus. Both are out of box but complete. Wedding gifts.
Another wedding gift is Victory Sabre (that's 1 robot right? :p) but he isn't quite holy grail level...
Just need Grand Max and all my dreams have come through... :D

congrats man, very nice wedding gifts if you ask me. They frm your wife to be?

Grand max is challenging nowadays, my usual shop here sold one MISB, c9+ boxed one for HKD$30,000 just yesterday...

Hursticon
15th June 2011, 02:54 PM
Today, I went and picked up the final piece of the 6 from the shops (and picked up something for valkyrie_76 too).

I'm showing 2 pieces which I bought recently for E, which are very special to her.

These 2 are not part of the 6, so its a 'preliminary unveiling' of sorts... (sorry if its not the most interesting or rare of pieces... but they do hold a dear place in my and E's heart).

17 - Soundwave w/ Rumble MIB

*snip*

Strangely, this one comes with a upside down rub-sign, but a pre-rub Rumble

*snip*


D-101: Soundblaster MIB

*snip*


The real deal, this is, hahaha

*snip*

***

Together

*snip*

http://i1032.photobucket.com/albums/a409/Darkone666au/Webpics/lordofthefiles_homer-drool.gif

Yep... There goes another keyboard. :p:D

E is a very lucky woman and the both of you are very lucky to have such incredibly awesome Gems! :eek::cool:

For one, the Box-art is in thoroughly pristine condition and reflects the stunning efforts that Hasbro and Takara put into it's packaging some 25+ years ago. :D
The boxes look to be in splendid condition too as it's great to see that the Techspecs and Robot Points are present but also that there is very minimal to no warping at all and that the plastic of the window hasn't lifted away from the cardboard. :eek:

Those foam inserts are in delicious condition too as it looks like there are no scratches, dings, dints, slices or chunks taken out of them, which adds to the truly factory fresh appearance of both packages in their entirety. :cool:
It's truly inspiring to see both Soundwave and Soundblaster displayed like that in their foam inserts as I've often wondered what their layout was like and I must say that it looks really cool to see Soundwave complete with all of his intended accessories; Weapon/Batteries, Microphone and Headphones. ;):cool:
As superfluous as they may of been to a Western Market with regards to his Robot Mode - I believe they go quite a long way in creating the proper look, feel and presence that was intended for his Alt mode, as it clearly succeeds in deceiving Spike Witwicky on a number of occasions. :p:D

The bots themselves look jaw-droppingly gorgeous, save for an odd faction sticker placement :confused:, with both Rumble and Buzzsaw having yummy chrome and sticker conditions but Soundwave and Soundblaster is where all the fun is! :D:D:D
I'd also like to mention how incredibly alike the pair are when looking at them face-on, apart from the colour of the plastics being different, initial glances would suggest that they are exactly the same but upon closer inspection, the subtle differences are more apparent; such as the solidly-molded buttons on Soundblaster and the modified, dual storage tape deck he also has. :)

It's interesting to see this pair not following the usual trend of having the Battery stickers placed on the legs too, which I know is not where they're supposed to go, and whilst it's unfortunate that a single missile has been clipped from Soundblaster's sprue, I think you've found a highly, highly desirable pair of MIB Decepticons HD. ;):cool:

Not interesting? - In the words of Dr. Zoidberg: "Bah!" :p:D


Soundblaster (which you just showed off :p) and Deathsaurus. Both are out of box but complete. Wedding gifts.
Another wedding gift is Victory Sabre (that's 1 robot right? :p) but he isn't quite holy grail level...
Just need Grand Max and all my dreams have come through... :D

Holy crap man, what a set of Wedding Gifts! - Congrats! :eek::eek::eek:

Deszaras is one of the very few, less than 5, Japanese only released figures that I'd ever like to own as there is just something so thoroughly Dark and Decepticon about him that just really takes my fancy. :D:cool:
For me though, an official Max of any type would be gratifying as it's probably my ultimate grail really, which many would see as pretty ordinary but there is nothing ordinary with that mold to me whatsoever. ;)

gekisou
15th June 2011, 03:13 PM
LOL

They are wedding gifts from a friend... who is getting married and his wife doesn't like his hobby so he's giving it to me cos he knows his precious figs will have a good home.
To be fair, my missus barely tolerates my collection :p but I tolerate her book collection so we're even.

I have the Maximus mold in the form of BRAVE MAXIMUS from Car Robot when it came out in Japan. But there's something totally awesome about Grand Maximus that I want that specific version.

I have to say, thank goodness I'm not a MIB/MISB/MOSC collector or I'd go mad due to my collection. :P

Skullcruncher
15th June 2011, 04:46 PM
Hmm...gotta admit that caught me off guard. I wasn't aware that first run soundwaves had different moldings. Can you guys elaborate more? What about rumble?

For this piece, I was sold the moment I saw the beautiful box and contents...


Agreed not many single transformers can stand upto soundwave and soundblaster in their individual boxes! The box condition you scored these in is excellonto!:cool:

I found this bit of G1 uniqueness when I was hunting for info on VSY - The Soundwave included in the VSY set was prior to the Japanese mold change in which the cassette player buttons and the chest door hinges are external to the cassette compartment. :confused: So both versions of soundwave in the 17 box, but if you have a VSY it should be external all the way!

http://thumbnails22.imagebam.com/13667/6aaf90136663755.jpg (http://www.imagebam.com/image/6aaf90136663755) http://thumbnails34.imagebam.com/13667/6c32bc136663763.jpg (http://www.imagebam.com/image/6c32bc136663763)
NOT MY PICS - As for the rumble - im not 100% my one does has a rubsign :confused: But he should have metal feet - I've seen the odd transformer with upside down rubsigns, maybe the guy in the factory thought he was being funny when putting them on! :rolleyes:

GoktimusPrime
15th June 2011, 05:33 PM
That's interesting seeing the buttons and door hinges there, which is different from the standard G1 Soundwave release - but is actually more similar to the Japanese reissues of Soundwaves! Up till now I thought that it was because TakaraTOMY reverse-engineered the reissue Soundwave mould from Soundblaster, which may still be true, and thus but hinges and buttons are 'external' like on Soundblaster, but it also makes the reissues more accurate this version of the Soundwave mould!

Suddenly my Encore reissue just became a whole lot cooler in my eyes. :)

heroic_decepticon
16th June 2011, 01:44 AM
*snip*

Yep... There goes another keyboard. :p:D

E is a very lucky woman and the both of you are very lucky to have such incredibly awesome Gems! :eek::cool:

*snip of DAMN POWERFULLY DETAILED ANALYSIS/OBSERVATION*

Holy crap man, what a set of Wedding Gifts! - Congrats! :eek::eek::eek:

Deszaras is one of the very few, less than 5, Japanese only released figures that I'd ever like to own as there is just something so thoroughly Dark and Decepticon about him that just really takes my fancy. :D:cool:
For me though, an official Max of any type would be gratifying as it's probably my ultimate grail really, which many would see as pretty ordinary but there is nothing ordinary with that mold to me whatsoever. ;)


Man, Hursti, I love your observations. Would you mind if incorporate what you said into the blog post I'm going to do for Soundwave and Soundblaster? I would really like that.

Agree that the Max mold is amazing. Among all the releases, I think the original Fort Max colours were the best.


LOL

They are wedding gifts from a friend... who is getting married and his wife doesn't like his hobby so he's giving it to me cos he knows his precious figs will have a good home.
To be fair, my missus barely tolerates my collection :p but I tolerate her book collection so we're even.

I have the Maximus mold in the form of BRAVE MAXIMUS from Car Robot when it came out in Japan. But there's something totally awesome about Grand Maximus that I want that specific version.

I have to say, thank goodness I'm not a MIB/MISB/MOSC collector or I'd go mad due to my collection. :P

Like I said, I much prefer the Fort Max colours. Grand Max is okay, but the reds just throws it off a little. :p


Agreed not many single transformers can stand upto soundwave and soundblaster in their individual boxes! The box condition you scored these in is excellonto!:cool:

I found this bit of G1 uniqueness when I was hunting for info on VSY - The Soundwave included in the VSY set was prior to the Japanese mold change in which the cassette player buttons and the chest door hinges are external to the cassette compartment. :confused: So both versions of soundwave in the 17 box, but if you have a VSY it should be external all the way!

*snip*

NOT MY PICS - As for the rumble - im not 100% my one does has a rubsign :confused: But he should have metal feet - I've seen the odd transformer with upside down rubsigns, maybe the guy in the factory thought he was being funny when putting them on! :rolleyes:

Hmmm... interesting. So the 17-Soundwave did come with an 'external tape deck hinge(s) and buttons. To be honest, if I saw that in an MIB sample, I would have thought that someone put a reissue in and I would not have bought it. There is something about the hinges being outside and the buttons all outside that I really dislike (for Soundwave, but Soundblaster is fine because he has a 2 tape holding tape deck).

Very strange thing Takara did. And now E has ended up with an oddity. I'll have to go tell her about it.

heroic_decepticon
16th June 2011, 01:59 AM
So.... this is #1 of 6

I picked this up from a shop yesterday because, I needed it (and the logic becomes clear later).

It's probably a figure that many would consider insignificant and not a worthy part of the "6 figures" I'd unveiling but it's not that way to me. Blaster has always been very special to me (see here (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2007/07/blastin-with-blaster.html) and here (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2007/07/blastin-with-blasters-comic-persona.html)). And its also been part of a project between Botch and myself (see here (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2007/07/blastin-with-blasters-box-art.html)).

I saw this piece at the shop for months now. I had no reason to get it till recently and its been part of a 2 week planning process before I could go down and then get in the right frame of mind to bargain for it - I got a HK$400 discount off this!

So here it is... C-38: Broadblast ("Blaster") MIB, with unused contents and paperworks...

http://inlinethumb63.webshots.com/49086/2382262070100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2382262070100811158qtWTWU) http://inlinethumb14.webshots.com/47309/2505543820100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2505543820100811158igIlZU)

http://inlinethumb18.webshots.com/45777/2689913040100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2689913040100811158jaSFtP) http://inlinethumb46.webshots.com/46701/2218945390100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2218945390100811158KqewRg)

http://inlinethumb04.webshots.com/47683/2275000720100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2275000720100811158lRooWJ) http://inlinethumb07.webshots.com/46982/2654088260100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2654088260100811158PmSnLW)

http://inlinethumb55.webshots.com/5622/2934907630100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2934907630100811158lrURow) http://inlinethumb51.webshots.com/46258/2451707810100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2451707810100811158eXIsAz)

http://inlinethumb26.webshots.com/47641/2609299760100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2609299760100811158WtfMLh)

Unveiling continues tomorrow.... :D

Hursticon
16th June 2011, 02:11 AM
Man, Hursti, I love your observations. Would you mind if incorporate what you said into the blog post I'm going to do for Soundwave and Soundblaster? I would really like that.

Hehe, it is Soundwave/Soundblaster after all :p, I'd be honoured to have my words incorporated into your blog HD - If you really think they'd be useful. ;):)
Simply stunning finds though dude, the Soundwave mold certainly has some history though huh? :p


Agree that the Max mold is amazing. Among all the releases, I think the original Fort Max colours were the best.

I'd honestly have to agree there, I like Grand Maximus but honestly favour the original Fortress Maximus colour scheme most as watching the Japanese Headmasters Cartoon has sort of made me biased. :D


Hmmm... interesting. So the 17-Soundwave did come with an 'external tape deck hinge(s) and buttons. To be honest, if I saw that in an MIB sample, I would have thought that someone put a reissue in and I would not have bought it. There is something about the hinges being outside and the buttons all outside that I really dislike (for Soundwave, but Soundblaster is fine because he has a 2 tape holding tape deck).

Very strange thing Takara did. And now E has ended up with an oddity. I'll have to go tell her about it.

Whilst I hope E isn't disappointed with it in anyway, I do think this has been great learning info for anyone seeking an original Soundwave as whilst I knew that the mold has one hell of a story behind it - I honestly don't categorically know enough detail on each to know which one I'm specifically looking at, beyond the solid buttons, so this has been quite educational IMO. :cool:

heroic_decepticon
17th June 2011, 02:17 AM
#2 of 6

C-116: Twincast & Steeljaw MIB, unused

This was sitting in the shop I frequent for months and months... I suspect, because the price was not attractive and because its been reissued before. Last week, I decided that I should inspect this piece and wow, was the condition impressive - totally minty and unused (not that it mattered very much because Twincast never had a sticker sheet... I had to settle for a seal paperworks packet).

Also, I managed to get a HK$2500 discount in this piece! :D:D:D
It brought the price down to a level I was more than willing to pay.

http://inlinethumb28.webshots.com/46363/2727557850100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2727557850100811158IbZavI) http://inlinethumb63.webshots.com/45374/2023309100100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2023309100100811158pyxqQs)

http://inlinethumb34.webshots.com/45985/2263645490100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2263645490100811158RvecIx) http://inlinethumb38.webshots.com/47269/2911008990100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2911008990100811158DxedAf)

http://inlinethumb19.webshots.com/46674/2508268990100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2508268990100811158GuRqPm) http://inlinethumb16.webshots.com/47695/2210183930100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2210183930100811158psjxCB)

http://inlinethumb18.webshots.com/23057/2514626290100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2514626290100811158dYAOyP) http://inlinethumb49.webshots.com/47408/2805951530100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2805951530100811158qgGIzS)

gamblor916
17th June 2011, 06:16 AM
Sneaky :D Getting a shot of a dino cassette in there!

Skullcruncher
17th June 2011, 08:09 AM
:eek: Thats one nice twincast.... oooo last photo very sweet indeed.... tell us more :D twincast is the last tapeplayer I need in takara boxes - he wasn't really on the want list but now he is! :cool:

5FDP
17th June 2011, 11:15 AM
It's been said before - I wish I had your pay packet HD (not your job though :p).

Hursticon
17th June 2011, 11:27 AM
Wow, simply wow! :eek:

Those are both extraordinary specimens HD, the boxart on both are marvellous and the condition of everything contained between those 2 is incredible - Congratulations and well done! :D:cool:

...But wait! - Yes!, you've found 1 of those bloody elusive Dinos - Woohoo! :eek::D

heroic_decepticon
17th June 2011, 08:55 PM
Sneaky :D Getting a shot of a dino cassette in there!

Damn, it's been discovered :p


:eek: Thats one nice twincast.... oooo last photo very sweet indeed.... tell us more :D twincast is the last tapeplayer I need in takara boxes - he wasn't really on the want list but now he is! :cool:

He wasn't on my list for yonks, but it being in Japanese box, man, it's just so awesome handling it... just feels good (unlike the eHobby reissue, which I also have).


It's been said before - I wish I had your pay packet HD (not your job though :p).

:D


Wow, simply wow! :eek:

Those are both extraordinary specimens HD, the boxart on both are marvellous and the condition of everything contained between those 2 is incredible - Congratulations and well done! :D:cool:

...But wait! - Yes!, you've found 1 of those bloody elusive Dinos - Woohoo! :eek::D

heehee.... will unveil that tonight... heehee :D:D:D

GoktimusPrime
17th June 2011, 09:15 PM
Yeah, I must admit that the biggest let down with reissue Twincast was the box. :( But I'm perfectly happy with the reissue toy itself and I'm personally not prepared to splash out just for the novelty of owning a box. ;) (but maybe that's just me :))

The G1 box does look waaaay better than the reissue's though. The really weird thing about the reissue box isn't just that it's one of the generic e-Hobby boxes, but also that it's a Decepticon box. Yeah, I get that it's because of Flipsides... but still. Meh.

valkyrie_76
17th June 2011, 09:47 PM
I'd say it's not the original contents. So few MIB pieces actually are. Regardless, that's another fine specimen HD :)

Looking at the pics there HD and I think that Soundwave there is the same as the Hasbro release because its the same style as mine. Apparently Hasbro had the separate buttons while Takara modified it with one solid piece and changed the hinges. I was wondering what the hell you guys were going on about with the hinge and the location of it but I now I do understand.

And HD, that question I was going to ask you before, I now remembered it and fond out what it was.

Also I found out that the Hasbro Soundwave I have is a pre-rub version which is a nice little find in itself. It can join the 2 pre-rub seekers that I have as well.

But anyway, very nice peices there HD. Glad to see you have joined the Takara Soundwave/Soundblaster and Blaster/Twincast owner club :D:D

Cant wait to see what other goodies you have but I think I can guess what ones you have :)

heroic_decepticon
18th June 2011, 12:17 AM
Yeah, I must admit that the biggest let down with reissue Twincast was the box. :( But I'm perfectly happy with the reissue toy itself and I'm personally not prepared to splash out just for the novelty of owning a box. ;) (but maybe that's just me :))

The G1 box does look waaaay better than the reissue's though. The really weird thing about the reissue box isn't just that it's one of the generic e-Hobby boxes, but also that it's a Decepticon box. Yeah, I get that it's because of Flipsides... but still. Meh.

Yes, the box was pretty disappointing. Makes me think they were getting really lazy at that point. If I'm not wrong RobotMasters TC and Skywarp uses the same box, so does Twincast and Magnificus.


Looking at the pics there HD and I think that Soundwave there is the same as the Hasbro release because its the same style as mine. Apparently Hasbro had the separate buttons while Takara modified it with one solid piece and changed the hinges. I was wondering what the hell you guys were going on about with the hinge and the location of it but I now I do understand.

Yup, if the Takara Soundwave actually came with the hinge outside, then this one that I have is definitely similar to the US release (which I prefer by the way).



And HD, that question I was going to ask you before, I now remembered it and fond out what it was.


No, you can't have the blood of my first born, but ask anyways! :p



Also I found out that the Hasbro Soundwave I have is a pre-rub version which is a nice little find in itself. It can join the 2 pre-rub seekers that I have as well.


The pre-rub is sweet, love the large Decepticon symbol on the chest. All my 1984 pieces are pre-rubs (and rubs as well), but for the Decepticons, I made it a point to get a set of pre-rubs. The pre-rub seekers are just so much sleeker than the subsequent releases (there are lots of differences, but I won't go into that here).



But anyway, very nice peices there HD. Glad to see you have joined the Takara Soundwave/Soundblaster and Blaster/Twincast owner club :D:D

Cant wait to see what other goodies you have but I think I can guess what ones you have :)

Yah, part of the club! Who else is a member? I suspect Robwin1974 is. The man's collection is more powerful than he lets on, so don't be fooled and don't take him lightly! :D

valkyrie_76
18th June 2011, 12:25 AM
Yah, part of the club! Who else is a member? I suspect Robwin1974 is. The man's collection is more powerful than he lets on, so don't be fooled and don't take him lightly! :D

Reminds me of someone else we know :D




Yup, if the Takara Soundwave actually came with the hinge outside, then this one that I have is definitely similar to the US release (which I prefer by the way).

The pre-rub is sweet, love the large Decepticon symbol on the chest. All my 1984 pieces are pre-rubs (and rubs as well), but for the Decepticons, I made it a point to get a set of pre-rubs. The pre-rub seekers are just so much sleeker than the subsequent releases (there are lots of differences, but I won't go into that here).


Agree with you on that, the Hasbro version is better, especially the pre-rub version :D



No, you can't have the blood of my first born, but ask anyways! :p


I remembered the question but I found the answer so its all good :D

heretic2010
18th June 2011, 12:32 AM
Strangely, this one comes with a upside down rub-sign, but a pre-rub Rumble

Just wondering if you have checked behind Rumble? Because the rub sign is actually located behind him. I thought I had a pre-rub Rumble on mines as well but when I looked behind him I found his rub sign there.

heroic_decepticon
18th June 2011, 12:40 AM
Reminds me of someone else we know :D


Our friend in Beijing? :D


Just wondering if you have checked behind Rumble? Because the rub sign is actually located behind him. I thought I had a pre-rub Rumble on mines as well but when I looked behind him I found his rub sign there.

You are right, I am a damn fool.

http://inlinethumb35.webshots.com/46562/2392853290100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2392853290100811158DOVaar)

***

Check back in 10mins....

heroic_decepticon
18th June 2011, 12:49 AM
this is #3 of 6...

After searching for a long time. After a heartbreaking Osaka trip (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2011/05/osaka-day-1-hero-gangu-jungle-g-one.html) and not finding even one of them, here is one at long last... one of the 4 fabled "dino-cassettes" from 1987...

C-121: Gurafi (or Graphy)... love this little guy even though he is a little odd...

http://inlinethumb39.webshots.com/44966/2487873430100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2487873430100811158hQHIcf) http://inlinethumb50.webshots.com/46065/2244835650100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2244835650100811158xbvtzy)

http://inlinethumb06.webshots.com/48261/2289923400100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2289923400100811158DjofSt) http://inlinethumb08.webshots.com/45703/2741978820100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2741978820100811158XhNgPr)

http://inlinethumb43.webshots.com/47210/2898081300100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2898081300100811158MZcBNC) http://inlinethumb48.webshots.com/46575/2304174930100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2304174930100811158myVjQT)

http://inlinethumb09.webshots.com/24264/2657168170100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2657168170100811158xEpZpj) http://inlinethumb29.webshots.com/24220/2223381630100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2223381630100811158RYcGnv)

http://inlinethumb23.webshots.com/21462/2062188210100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2062188210100811158wJxDIG) http://inlinethumb15.webshots.com/23758/2164650900100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2164650900100811158gDYgUe)

http://inlinethumb55.webshots.com/46518/2093046810100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2093046810100811158coFyQt) http://inlinethumb18.webshots.com/47953/2106177800100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2106177800100811158jgDGdU)

Sky Shadow
18th June 2011, 08:17 AM
http://inlinethumb18.webshots.com/47953/2106177800100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2106177800100811158jgDGdU)

Yowza! That is a special acquisition. Did you get this at a relatively good price, considering there must be some current fear amongst Japanese cassette 'investors', with knockoffs just around the corner?

LordCyrusOmega
18th June 2011, 08:27 AM
Thats Nice. Jealosy rising.
What I wouldn't give...

valkyrie_76
18th June 2011, 08:58 AM
Our friend in Beijing? :D


Was just talking to him last night, his ears must have been burning :D

Hursticon
18th June 2011, 01:12 PM
this is #3 of 6...

After searching for a long time. After a heartbreaking Osaka trip (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2011/05/osaka-day-1-hero-gangu-jungle-g-one.html) and not finding even one of them, here is one at long last... one of the 4 fabled "dino-cassettes" from 1987...

C-121: Gurafi (or Graphy)... love this little guy even though he is a little odd...

*snip*



http://i1032.photobucket.com/albums/a409/Darkone666au/Webpics/2.jpg

Hell Yeah Man! - Congratulations HD! :eek::D:cool:

Wow, that is one insane little package you've got there...

I really like his box, as tiny as it must be, as the colours work well with the box-art piece on the front but it's interesting that they decided to go with a Cartoon rendition of his combined form on the back. :eek::cool:
Yourself and Botch are no doubt going to have a field day though with the scans that'll be surely taken from this little guy, but I also wonder whether inflation applies to those robots points. :p
I'm glad to see that it appears that all the paperwork is there too, especially that little Techspec Card, but I'm not sure if I like the change to the plastic inner-trays as opposed to the foam inner-trays - which do you prefer dude?

I'm so happy for you HD, congratulations on acquiring part 1 of that crazy 4 part Grail! ;):D:cool:

http://i1032.photobucket.com/albums/a409/Darkone666au/Webpics/th_cheetorthumb.png (http://s1032.photobucket.com/albums/a409/Darkone666au/Webpics/?action=view&current=cheetorthumb.png)

1AZRAEL1
18th June 2011, 01:35 PM
Super jelly right now. I want those Dino Cassettes like my bottle of Mead. Good stuff there HD, can't wait to see the rest.

rampagesss
18th June 2011, 02:28 PM
every time i look at this thread my jaw drops more and more. Can't believe what your able to find, every time you post i think to my self, OK how's he going to top that! And somehow you just do :D
Just keep posting the pics man i keep checking this thread when ever i see a new post :D

Skullcruncher
18th June 2011, 03:51 PM
this is #3 of 6...

After searching for a long time. After a heartbreaking Osaka trip (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2011/05/osaka-day-1-hero-gangu-jungle-g-one.html) and not finding even one of them, here is one at long last... one of the 4 fabled "dino-cassettes" from 1987...

C-121: Gurafi (or Graphy)... love this little guy even though he is a little odd...

**snip snip**

http://inlinethumb09.webshots.com/24264/2657168170100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2657168170100811158xEpZpj) http://inlinethumb29.webshots.com/24220/2223381630100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2223381630100811158RYcGnv)


Wow just wow, look at the condition of him! :eek: Man he looks likes hes lead a sheltered life in a box or on a shelf somewhere. Sweet indeed - quite a complex transformation compared to the earlier cassettes :D

gamblor916
18th June 2011, 04:25 PM
Very nice HD. Beautiful condition. Looking forward to what else arrives.

heroic_decepticon
19th June 2011, 03:30 AM
every time i look at this thread my jaw drops more and more. Can't believe what your able to find, every time you post i think to my self, OK how's he going to top that! And somehow you just do :D
Just keep posting the pics man i keep checking this thread when ever i see a new post :D

Thanks Michael. I'm just going after what I want (in this case, really want), but its great to hear that this thread is keeping you happy! :D


Thats Nice. Jealosy rising.
What I wouldn't give...

.... might have to give an arm, a leg, or worse, your soul.... :eek:


*snip*

Hell Yeah Man! - Congratulations HD! :eek::D:cool:

Wow, that is one insane little package you've got there...

I really like his box, as tiny as it must be, as the colours work well with the box-art piece on the front but it's interesting that they decided to go with a Cartoon rendition of his combined form on the back. :eek::cool:
Yourself and Botch are no doubt going to have a field day though with the scans that'll be surely taken from this little guy, but I also wonder whether inflation applies to those robots points. :p
I'm glad to see that it appears that all the paperwork is there too, especially that little Techspec Card, but I'm not sure if I like the change to the plastic inner-trays as opposed to the foam inner-trays - which do you prefer dude?

I'm so happy for you HD, congratulations on acquiring part 1 of that crazy 4 part Grail! ;):D:cool:


Once again a very nice review and write up Hursti. I have posted your 'review' up on my blog in respect of the Soundwave/Soundblaster post.

I am very fussy about a dino-cassette. My criteria for it is that it must be C9+, and 110% complete. I wouldn't buy it if its missing the instructions, biocard or if its missing something. The main reason is because, I'd almost never be able to find the missing thing to replace it since these are so difficult to come by.


Wow just wow, look at the condition of him! :eek: Man he looks likes hes lead a sheltered life in a box or on a shelf somewhere. Sweet indeed - quite a complex transformation compared to the earlier cassettes :D

It's in very sweet condition and to be honest, I'd have it no other way for a dino-cassette. heh. With regard to the 'sheltered life' it has led, there is actually a cool story behind it that I will talk about later.

Yes, its transformation is quite complex, that, and it also needs other moving parts for its combination with Noizu. I really like the transformation, a slight pity the the feet only allows Gurafi to stand upright.


*snip*
Good stuff there HD, can't wait to see the rest.

Very nice HD. Beautiful condition. Looking forward to what else arrives.

The next one is here...

heroic_decepticon
19th June 2011, 03:59 AM
this is #4 of 6...

Had wanted to update earlier, but I had friends over and was playing Mahjong from 5pm today till 2am... then had to wash the dishes, take out the trash and revert my place back to 'normal' (all of which I like to do, it's therapeutic to me).

So here I am with today's dose - C-123: Dairu / Dial MIB.

I know of many people who consider this the nicest and also the rarest of the 'dino-cassettes'. However, there are also many who consider that Zauru, his combiner partner is the the rarest dino being the last of the 4 to be released. Personally, I'm not so sure, but do remember that this is the only dino-cassette that griffin the man himself is missing.

In terms of complexity of transformation, this one certainly tops it. It is also one of the few (or perhaps only) cassette that does not essentially remain flat after transformation to its alternate mode, which I think is very cool.

I believe that Dairu transforms into a veloci-raptor, which means that these things are cool way before Jurassic Park made them cooler than t-rexes....

Photos!

(I'm a little disappointed that there is a tear on the box which result in some box art being ripped off)
http://inlinethumb46.webshots.com/48813/2598884350100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2598884350100811158QyZlBs) http://inlinethumb36.webshots.com/45347/2572747560100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2572747560100811158iAHPIn)

http://inlinethumb28.webshots.com/21915/2550991790100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2550991790100811158gkPiuN) http://inlinethumb16.webshots.com/47375/2093070430100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2093070430100811158WoXVzC)

http://inlinethumb26.webshots.com/47705/2512511110100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2512511110100811158mStHol) http://inlinethumb52.webshots.com/45299/2108055490100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2108055490100811158jhfORI)

http://inlinethumb64.webshots.com/46911/2038341130100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2038341130100811158nYXjGT) http://inlinethumb29.webshots.com/45788/2545903680100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2545903680100811158sAsQZm)

http://inlinethumb25.webshots.com/46936/2083459030100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2083459030100811158QtFrwA) http://inlinethumb04.webshots.com/48643/2348044500100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2348044500100811158jwJMLd)

http://inlinethumb13.webshots.com/49164/2762021090100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2762021090100811158rNCfyZ) http://inlinethumb49.webshots.com/45360/2151386990100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2151386990100811158BlInJh)

rampagesss
19th June 2011, 11:10 AM
Just saw your name in the post and thought ok whats he got now?

:eek: See what i mean, just when you think how's he going to top Gurafi you post Dairu :D so im guessing the other dino-cassettes wont be to far away?
Can only imagine how much these are costing

Also don't forget to cross them out on your signature down the bottom as the list is getting shorter and shorter :D

GoktimusPrime
19th June 2011, 03:09 PM
I believe that Dairu transforms into a veloci-raptor, which means that these things are cool way before Jurassic Park made them cooler than t-rexes....
According to TFwiki the robot mode is seems to be an Iguanadon. Is there anything on the box or inserts that indicates what the robot-dino mode is meant to be? I checked TF Generations, but it doesn't say.

Hursticon
19th June 2011, 03:14 PM
According to TFwiki the robot mode is seems to be an Iguanadon. Is there anything on the box or inserts that indicates what the robot-dino mode is meant to be? I checked TF Generations, but it doesn't say.

Well it's missing the trademark thumb spikes of the Iguanadon so it'd be odd if it were to be that - It's proportions look far closer to that of an Omniraptor, though he doesn't have the beak of that dinosaur either. :confused:

Sky Shadow
19th June 2011, 03:38 PM
Well it's missing the trademark thumb spikes of the Iguanadon so it'd be odd if it were to be that - It's proportions look far closer to that of an Omniraptor, though he doesn't have the beak of that dinosaur either. :confused:

I'm pretty sure dinosaur-spike-accuracy isn't something to go by with identifying the species of Transformer cassettes. According to his packaging, Overkill is a tyrannosaurus, and yet he does have a horn on his muzzle. :) (And now I think about it, Slugfest has a bump on his stegosaurus nose too.)

Hursticon
19th June 2011, 03:44 PM
I'm pretty sure dinosaur-spike-accuracy isn't something to go by with identifying the species of Transformer cassettes. According to his packaging, Overkill is a tyrannosaurus, and yet he does have a horn on his muzzle. :)

Indeed a fair point, but a funny one too because as you've mentioned - Overkill has a nose spike, which is horribly reminiscent of the misinterpreted placement of the Iguanadon's thumb spike when it was originally discovered. :p:D
Also, Trypticon is as much of a T-Rex as Sludge is a Brontosaurus ;):p - So I think you're dead right SS. :cool:

theheretic
19th June 2011, 04:47 PM
Indeed a fair point, but a funny one too because as you've mentioned - Overkill has a nose spike, which is horribly reminiscent of the misinterpreted placement of the Iguanadon's thumb spike when it was originally discovered. :p:D
Also, Trypticon is as much of a T-Rex as Sludge is a Brontosaurus ;):p - So I think you're dead right SS. :cool:

I might be wrong but isn't sludge a diplodocus?

Hursticon
19th June 2011, 05:02 PM
I might be wrong but isn't sludge a diplodocus?

No, you're dead right actually. :cool:
When Sludge was originally designed, he was modelled after a Brontosaurus but the Brontosaurus has been found to be a non-existent Dinosaur since (Whether it was misnamed, mis-identified or both I'm not sure), which is why he is now, at least by me, referred to as a Diplodocus. ;):)

*EDIT: Brontosaurus = Apatosaurus
From Wikipedia:

In 1877, Othniel Charles Marsh published the name of the type species Apatosaurus ajax. He followed this in 1879 with a description of another, more complete specimen, which he thought represented a new genus and species, which he named Brontosaurus excelsus. In 1903, Elmer Riggs re-examined the fossils. While he agreed with Marsh that Brontosaurus excelsus was likely a distinct species, he also noted many similarities between B. excelsus and A. ajax, and decided that both should be placed in the same genus. Riggs re-classified the species as Apatosaurus excelsus.[15] Almost all paleontologists since Riggs published his opinions have agreed that the two species should be classified together in a single genus. According to the rules of the ICZN (which governs the scientific names of animals), the name Apatosaurus, having been published first, had priority as the official name; Brontosaurus is considered a junior synonym and has therefore been discarded from formal use.

Sky Shadow
19th June 2011, 05:25 PM
Hursticon, you were right in the first place about Sludge - he's a Brontosaurus Dinosaur Robo and thus has been retconned out of existence (or retconned into an apatosaurus as he was in Maximum Dinobots.)

Hursticon
19th June 2011, 05:38 PM
Hursticon, you were right in the first place about Sludge - he's a Brontosaurus Dinosaur Robo and thus has been retconned out of existence (or retconned into an apatosaurus as he was in Maximum Dinobots.)

LOL :p
I always knew he was intended to be a Brontosaurus but yeah, Continuity is a bitch. :p:D

gamblor916
19th June 2011, 05:53 PM
Nice acquisition HD! Dino mode looks great on this example, as the chrome, paint and stickers look excellent.

Sky Shadow
19th June 2011, 06:25 PM
LOL :p
I always knew he was intended to be a Brontosaurus but yeah, Continuity is a bitch. :p:D

It would probably have made more sense in Transformers: the Movie if Snarl was with the Dinobots and Sludge was missing.

HOT ROD: Hey, where's Sludge?

GRIMLOCK: Me Grimlock not know Sludge.

HOT ROD: You know... Sludge. The other Dinobot.

KUP: I remember when there were five Dinobots. It was the dawn of the First Cybertronian War, and...

HOT ROD: It was last week, Kup. These bozos have lost Sludge.

KUP: Which one's Sludge again?

HOT ROD: The brontosaurus.

GRIMLOCK: You Hot Rod stupid! Brotnosauruses never existed! There is no Sludge!

HOT ROD: Right... So what did you do to him?

GRIMLOCK: Dinobots retconned Sludge. For breakfast.

heroic_decepticon
19th June 2011, 07:39 PM
Hmm... I've always considered Sludge to be a Brontosaurus, and its what is in official G1 cannon and in diaclone material as well. If Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus can be used interchangeably, then I'd prefer the latter! :p

I think the part about Diaru being an Iguanadon is just speculation on the part of Derik from TF Wiki (as much as a lot of other things on TF Wiki that has the smell of speculation to it, meaning I personally trust it only 60-70% of the time).

This is from one of the links in TF Wiki and it states its 'fanfic':

"How'd you decide on Iguanadon for Dial? I always favored
Hypsilophodon for his scout function."

Original link here. (http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/dd296411d9ea0aa3?dmode=source&pli=1)


According to TFwiki the robot mode is seems to be an Iguanadon. Is there anything on the box or inserts that indicates what the robot-dino mode is meant to be? I checked TF Generations, but it doesn't say.

Gok, I have no idea what the package says, but I'm sure you would!

Here is a close up of the back of package, which may or may not shed any light.

http://inlinethumb06.webshots.com/35653/2373604960100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2373604960100811158aCswzn)

Again from the link above, this appears to be the translation of the back of package.

Dial
Cybertron Natural Resource Scout
STR 5 RNK 5
INT 6 CRG 5
SPD 8 FPR 7
END 7 SKL 8
Fleet of foot, can run at up to 200 km/h in
dinosaur mode. Both thumbs contain sensors
that can rapidly detect energy. Cheerful and
brimming over with curiosity, Dial sometimes
gets too carried away in his duties, leading to
major system failures. Carries Wave Blasters.
Combines with Zauru to form Legout.

Hursti / SS, 'thumb sensors' sound like thumb spikes? Perhaps there is credence to the Iguanadon proposition?


Nice acquisition HD! Dino mode looks great on this example, as the chrome, paint and stickers look excellent.

I thought that Dairu's dino mode was a little off left field at first. But the more I look at it and toy with it (pun intended), the more I like it and think that its one of the better conceived cassettes. In terms of the complexity and the design that went into it, I think its easily one of the most intricate and complex cassettes in G1.

heroic_decepticon
19th June 2011, 07:54 PM
this is #5 of 6....

Posting a little earlier than usual today, well, because its a Sunday and E is resting, so I have some time (oh, we just watched Green Lantern in 3D...pretty awesome, but really, I would have stuck to the comics).

Presenting, Gurafi's partner in crime and top-half combination for Decibel - C-122: Noizu (aka Noise)!

I really like this guy's colour, the almost deeper tone of baby blue that is not so baby-bluish as Ultra Magnus but has a bit of heaviness to it (yeah, I got no idea what I'm talking about either).

On first glance, I thought that Noizu was a lot like Overkill, in fact other than the colours and the weapons, I'd almost say it looks almost 70% like Overkill. I think Noizu, like Overkill and Grimlock, are meant to t-rexes. Not much contention over that, I think.

However, I don't think there is a chance to custom an Overkill into a Noizu because although they look alike, Noizu actually has an added layer of complexity to it, thanks to the need for it to combine into Decibel (which is a cool name by the way).

Again, this is one Transformer, I'm very very happy with!

http://inlinethumb20.webshots.com/44755/2066119750100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2066119750100811158sIFChA) http://inlinethumb35.webshots.com/45538/2104397000100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2104397000100811158dlnVjA)

http://inlinethumb46.webshots.com/45933/2786098500100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2786098500100811158QiCnyz) http://inlinethumb10.webshots.com/34441/2679108540100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2679108540100811158nineWY)

http://inlinethumb27.webshots.com/46554/2240618390100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2240618390100811158bvYvLY) http://inlinethumb15.webshots.com/23822/2232610950100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2232610950100811158IWUFZO)

http://inlinethumb17.webshots.com/47312/2273685260100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2273685260100811158dqxvpc) http://inlinethumb59.webshots.com/48186/2655250140100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2655250140100811158xsrMAY)

http://inlinethumb42.webshots.com/46825/2667435680100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2667435680100811158CzShef) http://inlinethumb64.webshots.com/47615/2843686310100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2843686310100811158HaxkNE)

Man, the weapons are massive!
http://inlinethumb21.webshots.com/48724/2493946270100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2493946270100811158cdtTkQ) http://inlinethumb49.webshots.com/45616/2382318540100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2382318540100811158Ayurla)

Gurafi and Noizu MIB
http://inlinethumb50.webshots.com/48241/2168307500100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2168307500100811158vANVdW)

Gurafi and Noizu combines into Decibel!
http://inlinethumb61.webshots.com/45436/2437568170100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2437568170100811158hrpAJQ)

Hursticon
19th June 2011, 08:18 PM
Hursti / SS, 'thumb sensors' sound like thumb spikes? Perhaps there is credence to the Iguanadon proposition?

That's actually quite an interesting observation there dude and I reckon it's probably the best indication of this little guy being an Iguanadon - Whilst they've not been able to realise it in physical form, they've been able to do so with the Bio so I'm feeling more acceptive of him being an Iguanadon now. :cool:


I thought that Dairu's dino mode was a little off left field at first. But the more I look at it and toy with it (pun intended), the more I like it and think that its one of the better conceived cassettes. In terms of the complexity and the design that went into it, I think its easily one of the most intricate and complex cassettes in G1.

Likenesses aside, I agree HD that this little guy is a pretty damn cool figure as his Bot mode is easily one of the best of the Mini Cassettes. ;):)
His colour scheme is an interesting turquoise type colour, which I quite like but more to the point - Holy Cow!, 2 down 2 to go! :D:cool:

Hursticon
19th June 2011, 08:33 PM
Man, I spoke way too soon! :D
This is so awesome HD, I'm really ecstatic for you mate as you've clearly achieved what you've set out to - 3 out of 4 so far, will it be 4-4? ;)

Noizu certainly does seem to share a hell of a lot of similarites with Overkill when it comes to the Box art, but IMO, that is where the similarities end. :eek:

I see what you mean about the colour HD, it's a deeper hue of Baby/Sky Blue that's for sure and it's quite intriguing indeed - Much more along the lines of Hot Spot. :)
His head/face sculpt is cool but I get a slightly more 'monster-ish' vibe off of it that a T-Rex, though that being said he's definitely a T-Rex - That's for sure. ;)

His combined mode is cool, if not a little... what's the word... underachieved maybe? :o
I don't know, he looks quite cool don't get me wrong, I love the concept of combining cassettes and his silhouette looks awesome but I feel his upper torso seem to be let down a little for not having arms capable of bending at the elbow or rotating forward. :o

That's my only gripe really but at the end of the day it means nothing because just obtaining this guy is a true feat in itself! :D

Another Huge congrats HD, this one's box is in far superior condition to the last's too! :D:cool:

GoktimusPrime
19th June 2011, 09:12 PM
Man that combined mode looks silly! :p You can clearly see that they improved on that concept with the following year's combiner cassettes (Slamdance and Squawkbox).

heroic_decepticon: that tech specs states that his transformation is.... wait for it...









cassette tape! :p
Naturally the cassette mode is the alt mode and the dino mode is the robot mode, so the tech specs only describes the alt mode and not the robot mode. So unfortunately there's nothing there that clarifies what kind of dinosaur it's meant to be. :( :(

Maybe one day if you or I ever get to meet Ono Koujin or Yoke Hideaki we can ask directly ourselves (although unless someone reminds me, I probably won't remember :p)

P.S.: I like how Legout's tech specs says that his hobby is listening to rock music. Heh. :) I can imagine him jammin' with Twincast. :D

LordCyrusOmega
19th June 2011, 09:48 PM
My soul HD? F$%^ It!! You can have it.
Man they are nice! I really can't think of anything else to say other then nice job.

robwin1974
19th June 2011, 09:50 PM
Brandon

Congrats! Only a few more to go!

Regards
Robert

heroic_decepticon
20th June 2011, 01:45 AM
Man, I spoke way too soon! :D
This is so awesome HD, I'm really ecstatic for you mate as you've clearly achieved what you've set out to - 3 out of 4 so far, will it be 4-4? ;)

Noizu certainly does seem to share a hell of a lot of similarites with Overkill when it comes to the Box art, but IMO, that is where the similarities end. :eek:

I see what you mean about the colour HD, it's a deeper hue of Baby/Sky Blue that's for sure and it's quite intriguing indeed - Much more along the lines of Hot Spot. :)
His head/face sculpt is cool but I get a slightly more 'monster-ish' vibe off of it that a T-Rex, though that being said he's definitely a T-Rex - That's for sure. ;)

His combined mode is cool, if not a little... what's the word... underachieved maybe? :o
I don't know, he looks quite cool don't get me wrong, I love the concept of combining cassettes and his silhouette looks awesome but I feel his upper torso seem to be let down a little for not having arms capable of bending at the elbow or rotating forward. :o

That's my only gripe really but at the end of the day it means nothing because just obtaining this guy is a true feat in itself! :D

Another Huge congrats HD, this one's box is in far superior condition to the last's too! :D:cool:

Yes, 3 out of 4 so far! Very happy, and certainly helping me recover from the blow of not finding them in Osaka...

I agree, I think it's closer to the Hot Spot colour, but I do so like this particular hue of blue.

The robot mode is strange yes. I don't think that its an afterthought like many commonly says. Holding these guys in my hand, I can see the thought and complexity that went into designing and building them. I think the difficulty was trying to make them dinosaurs (a difficult form to work with) and then also make them transform into a robot. Slam dance is probably the best looking cassette combined, but then, it wouldn't be very difficult to design s nice robot mode because the jet and the tank can be worked backwards from the robot mode - these are generic vehicles that have no semblance to anything (unlike dinosaurs that at least have to look credibly dinosaurs).


Man that combined mode looks silly! :p You can clearly see that they improved on that concept with the following year's combiner cassettes (Slamdance and Squawkbox).

heroic_decepticon: that tech specs states that his transformation is.... wait for it...

cassette tape! :p
Naturally the cassette mode is the alt mode and the dino mode is the robot mode, so the tech specs only describes the alt mode and not the robot mode. So unfortunately there's nothing there that clarifies what kind of dinosaur it's meant to be. :( :(

Maybe one day if you or I ever get to meet Ono Koujin or Yoke Hideaki we can ask directly ourselves (although unless someone reminds me, I probably won't remember :p)

P.S.: I like how Legout's tech specs says that his hobby is listening to rock music. Heh. :) I can imagine him jammin' with Twincast. :D

Agree that the 1988 cassettes were an improvement, but could be due to the reasons I articulated above... :p

Unfortunate the the tech specs didn't shed anymore light.... Sign.

Legout and decibel did in fact jam with blaster in alex milne's version of the spotlight blaster comic!


My soul HD? F$%^ It!! You can have it.
Man they are nice! I really can't think of anything else to say other then nice job.

I think these things ate my soul....


Brandon

Congrats! Only a few more to go!

Regards
Robert

thanks Rob (in case anybody is wondering, I meant you (and 1 or 2 others) when I said there are others with incredibly powerful collections that do not say too much... :D)

LordCyrusOmega
20th June 2011, 06:42 AM
I think these things ate my soul....


In that cse then you can have mine in return for the tapes. Everyone wins :)

Just kidding I'm just talking out of envy.

Things of beauty

loophole
20th June 2011, 09:30 AM
Awesome stuff there HD and its much appreciated that you take the time to photograph these rare items for the world to see otherwise alot of us wouldnt get to see these in all there glory

Hursticon
20th June 2011, 11:43 AM
The robot mode is strange yes. I don't think that its an afterthought like many commonly says. Holding these guys in my hand, I can see the thought and complexity that went into designing and building them. I think the difficulty was trying to make them dinosaurs (a difficult form to work with) and then also make them transform into a robot. Slam dance is probably the best looking cassette combined, but then, it wouldn't be very difficult to design s nice robot mode because the jet and the tank can be worked backwards from the robot mode - these are generic vehicles that have no semblance to anything (unlike dinosaurs that at least have to look credibly dinosaurs).

As I was unaware that these guys were produced before the Hasbro released Combining Cassettes, I can now see that the Dinos are a stepping stone or design prototype and hence I now view them differently (Cheers for the info by the way Goki) and I've now got a better appreciation of them. ;):)
I certainly prefer their independent Dino modes though as they are spectacular for their sheer size. :eek::cool:

theheretic
20th June 2011, 12:10 PM
These are amazing. I've always love the cassettes and I had no idea there was these incredible ones I'd never heard of. Is there a link/source to check out about cassettes? I can't wait to see the last one! Thanks for sharing. The only sad part is that I will probably never get my hands on these beautiful pieces.

EDIT: oh and the link to ioffer I posted has an asking price of AU$1,400 and it looked in rubbish condition IF it was even a real TF. As was stated, you can't trust that site.

gdmetro
20th June 2011, 01:25 PM
Dino Cassettes!!!!

HD, awesome stuff as always. Looks like you are very close to completing your g1 list. What will you do after? Boxed diaclones? :D

heroic_decepticon
21st June 2011, 02:15 AM
Awesome stuff there HD and its much appreciated that you take the time to photograph these rare items for the world to see otherwise alot of us wouldnt get to see these in all there glory

No probs there, I love photographing these little critters! :D

Although I suspect that the world is going to see a lot of these because they are ALL getting KO-ed. I am so so glad I got the real things before the KOs hit the market if not I'm never going to get them.


As I was unaware that these guys were produced before the Hasbro released Combining Cassettes, I can now see that the Dinos are a stepping stone or design prototype and hence I now view them differently (Cheers for the info by the way Goki) and I've now got a better appreciation of them. ;):)
I certainly prefer their independent Dino modes though as they are spectacular for their sheer size. :eek::cool:

True, true, I think they were the 'first generation' of combining cassettes.


These are amazing. I've always love the cassettes and I had no idea there was these incredible ones I'd never heard of. Is there a link/source to check out about cassettes? I can't wait to see the last one! Thanks for sharing. The only sad part is that I will probably never get my hands on these beautiful pieces.

EDIT: oh and the link to ioffer I posted has an asking price of AU$1,400 and it looked in rubbish condition IF it was even a real TF. As was stated, you can't trust that site.

Seriously? AU$1400 for something in such deplorable condition? Yeah, can trust iOffer and also can't trust M.O.T.

Last one will be out in a moment....


Dino Cassettes!!!!

HD, awesome stuff as always. Looks like you are very close to completing your g1 list. What will you do after? Boxed diaclones? :D

After that, I concentrate on my project with Ultra Magnus (the member here, not the toy). Actually, I'm concentrating on the project now. :D

heroic_decepticon
21st June 2011, 02:26 AM
this is #6 of 6....

Needs no introduction, one of the key characters in the very last Transformer chapter before G1 ends and G2 begins, Operation Combiner TF-04: Guard City.

This is the second best one I found so far (a previous one was better but the shop-keeper wouldn't move on price and so I passed, too expensive). This time, he gave me a HK$1200 discount and the overall price is good.

Better than most that I've seen online... heh. :D

Photos!

http://inlinethumb34.webshots.com/46497/2582967980100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2582967980100811158BxDGUz) http://inlinethumb57.webshots.com/45752/2834202490100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2834202490100811158qBFBya)

made in China... hmmm
http://inlinethumb61.webshots.com/48252/2822255420100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2822255420100811158BkMtnw) http://inlinethumb57.webshots.com/45624/2132368770100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2132368770100811158nVpEbY)

Fire Chief
http://inlinethumb06.webshots.com/3077/2703436520100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2703436520100811158ajLxPE) http://inlinethumb13.webshots.com/12/2542321500100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2542321500100811158eiUhap)

Fly-Up and Safety
http://inlinethumb59.webshots.com/46202/2761940510100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2761940510100811158gLUjpJ) http://inlinethumb07.webshots.com/45894/2122559310100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2122559310100811158oQwPTx)

Streetstar and Sparkride
http://inlinethumb06.webshots.com/47621/2301665040100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2301665040100811158vZRQzM) http://inlinethumb34.webshots.com/45857/2978131490100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2978131490100811158ExoCtd)

Unused sticker sheet...
http://inlinethumb57.webshots.com/48504/2062952270100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2062952270100811158NMfmmM)

LordCyrusOmega
21st June 2011, 06:42 AM
Things of beauty. I've never heard of these.
Wish I had your hunting skills.

gamblor916
21st June 2011, 07:55 AM
My god HD your acquistions are jaw dropping :eek:

Hursticon
21st June 2011, 08:46 AM
My god HD your acquistions are jaw dropping :eek:

I'm with you Gamblor - Isn't that set supposed to be ridiculously hard to find even by HD standards? :eek:

Amazing, simply amazing...
Congratulations HD, you must be one hell of a happy camper after this haul mate! :D:cool:

heroic_decepticon
21st June 2011, 08:54 AM
Things of beauty. I've never heard of these.
Wish I had your hunting skills.

Briefly, this guy is.... (from TF Wiki) Guard City (ガードシティ Gādo Shiti) is a high-ranking Autobot warrior, who commands the Micromaster Six-Teams in their defense of Earth. His arch-nemesis is the Decepticon combiner Battle Gaia.

He is the 4th of 10 Transformers at the very tail end of the Japanese Transformers line. After that G1 ends and G2 begins (more of less).

Notes from TF Wiki: As part of the very last Transformers series in Japan for several years, Guard City is remarkably hard to find on the secondary market, and demands some heavy prices, despite the similarities to Defensor.

TF Wiki linky (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Guard_City)


My god HD your acquistions are jaw dropping :eek:

:D

(there could be one or two epilogues...)

heroic_decepticon
21st June 2011, 09:00 AM
I'm with you Gamblor - Isn't that set supposed to be ridiculously hard to find even by HD standards? :eek:

Amazing, simply amazing...
Congratulations HD, you must be one hell of a happy camper after this haul mate! :D:cool:

Hmmm... actually this set is not hard to find (but it is rare). It's hard to find in the condition that I want it in, but its not hard to find in the sense that I come across it fairly often.

The set I bought must be the 4th to 5th set that I've come across. Mostly, the box is in bad condition or the individual robots, which are 90% white, have been badly yellowed. So nice box and white robots are hard to achieve for this set.

I passed on the previous set I came across, which was C10 and as good as MISB case fresh because the asking price was just too high - shop-owner was asking USD$1450 for that set.

My current set has a C8.5 close to C9 box I'd say. There are one or 2 creases on the back of the box. The toys although unplayed appears to be C9 to C9.5, for some reason, I just think they are not as new as the previous set I saw (not sure if it's my mind playing tricks).

This current set was more within my expectations in terms of price. :D

Hursticon
21st June 2011, 09:14 AM
Hmmm... actually this set is not hard to find (but it is rare). It's hard to find in the condition that I want it in, but its not hard to find in the sense that I come across it fairly often.

The set I bought must be the 4th to 5th set that I've come across. Mostly, the box is in bad condition or the individual robots, which are 90% white, have been badly yellowed. So nice box and white robots are hard to achieve for this set.

I passed on the previous set I came across, which was C10 and as good as MISB case fresh because the asking price was just too high - shop-owner was asking USD$1450 for that set.

My current set has a C8.5 close to C9 box I'd say. There are one or 2 creases on the back of the box. The toys although unplayed appears to be C9 to C9.5, for some reason, I just think they are not as new as the previous set I saw (not sure if it's my mind playing tricks).

This current set was more within my expectations in terms of price. :D

Ah ok, so it's not as rare as the Dino Cassettes then but it is still quite rare - very intriguing indeed. :cool:
I think that, though they're not as minty as that previous set you describe, this set in it's C8.5-9 box and C9-9.5 figures at least show that they're legitimate and not questionable if you know what I mean. ;)
Whilst you're in a different league HD, I'm glad you found a set for a price that you found acceptable - I admire your strength to walk away from something if the price being asked is ridiculous, even though you may want it feverishly! ;):)

heroic_decepticon
21st June 2011, 12:04 PM
Ah ok, so it's not as rare as the Dino Cassettes then but it is still quite rare - very intriguing indeed. :cool:
I think that, though they're not as minty as that previous set you describe, this set in it's C8.5-9 box and C9-9.5 figures at least show that they're legitimate and not questionable if you know what I mean. ;)
Whilst you're in a different league HD, I'm glad you found a set for a price that you found acceptable - I admire your strength to walk away from something if the price being asked is ridiculous, even though you may want it feverishly! ;):)

Hmmm... I don't know for sure in terms of it's relative rarity with the dino-cassettes. Like I always say, "rarity" depends on the sum of a person's experience. If one comes across it often, it appears less rare; if one has never come across it before, it is rare. But what I come across may not be what you would come across and vice versa.

To me, the dino-cassettes are rarer.

I have seen Guard City on auctions (eBay, Yahoo HK, Yahoo Japan, iOffer) and physically handled 2 previous sets before. I don't see that many dino-cassettes on auction (at least almost never on YHK or YHJ), and I've never physically handled any of them aside from my ones and the AFA ones jgon has (which doesn't count cos all I was touching are the AFA plastic cases!).

This set is legitimate! Hahaha... but because its 'made in China', the quality is actually slightly questionable.

Hursticon
21st June 2011, 12:53 PM
Oh yeah dude, I agree that rarity is certainly subjective and relative but I'd also agree that the Dino Cassettes are far rarer, baring in mind I'd never seen a fabled Japanese figure in person until meeting and visiting fellow members and their collections (Such as yourself) - The closest and first was Azrael's MIB Sky-Garry that he very kindly brought down to show me one time. :o

Oh I've no question of it's legitimacy dude, if you say it is then I don't need any further proof but it just seems that with MIB items, as opposed to MISB items, it is possible that some very unkind people could exchange certain pieces/figures out - You know what I mean? ;)

Regardless, now that you've got these extremely awesome finds man I'm really looking forward to seeing you find those last couple of figures - You're SO close! :D


I'd also like to see some more crazy Diaclone/Microman acquisitions from Gamblor! :D

Skullcruncher
21st June 2011, 04:19 PM
:cool: Very nice HD - there must be a big blog update coming soon with all the details how you got them all!


Ah ok, so it's not as rare as the Dino Cassettes then but it is still quite rare - very intriguing indeed. :cool:
I think that, though they're not as minty as that previous set you describe, this set in it's C8.5-9 box and C9-9.5 figures at least show that they're legitimate and not questionable if you know what I mean. ;)
Whilst you're in a different league HD, I'm glad you found a set for a price that you found acceptable - I admire your strength to walk away from something if the price being asked is ridiculous, even though you may want it feverishly! ;):)

Very true, being a G1 collector myself its easy to buy a boxed g1 and look to 'upgrade' later on hehe.....now wheres that crusty old jazz box I have!?! :D- plus living HK must help ;)

GoktimusPrime
21st June 2011, 10:25 PM
Very true about the subjective nature of "rarity".

I remember one time a Japanese TF saw my collection for the first - he was absolutely gobsmacked by toys that I didn't think were all that special like the 1988 Targetmasters (e.g. Scoop, Quake, Spinister etc.) and the 1989 Pretenders (e.g. Bludgeon, Pincher, Double header etc.) -- because they're all toys that never came out in Japan, so from a Japanese collector's POV they're rarities.

Then when I brought him to dirge's place, he completely ignored Japanese G1 toys like Lio Kaiser, Landcross etc. and went straight for "mundane" (from our POV) toys like the Triggerbots and Triggercons etc., again, all the toys that Japan never got! He couldn't have cared less for those Japanese G1 toys! :D

heroic_decepticon
22nd June 2011, 12:04 AM
Oh yeah dude, I agree that rarity is certainly subjective and relative but I'd also agree that the Dino Cassettes are far rarer, baring in mind I'd never seen a fabled Japanese figure in person until meeting and visiting fellow members and their collections (Such as yourself) - The closest and first was Azrael's MIB Sky-Garry that he very kindly brought down to show me one time. :o

*snip*

Regardless, now that you've got these extremely awesome finds man I'm really looking forward to seeing you find those last couple of figures - You're SO close! :D

Hmmm... you did manage to see stuff like Grandus, Galaxy Shuttle and the 3 Big Powered robots during my farewell in Sydney? Thought you would have. :D


:cool: Very nice HD - there must be a big blog update coming soon with all the details how you got them all!

Very true, being a G1 collector myself its easy to buy a boxed g1 and look to 'upgrade' later on hehe.....now wheres that crusty old jazz box I have!?! :D- plus living HK must help ;)

Yup, doing the blog soon. For this set of figures, I'm "previewing" them here exclusively first. There are already a number of TFW members and other collectors asking for me to update my blog with them... hahaha... they will have to wait. I'm not done here yet and there are yet rabbits to pull out of the hat.


Very true about the subjective nature of "rarity".

I remember one time a Japanese TF saw my collection for the first - he was absolutely gobsmacked by toys that I didn't think were all that special like the 1988 Targetmasters (e.g. Scoop, Quake, Spinister etc.) and the 1989 Pretenders (e.g. Bludgeon, Pincher, Double header etc.) -- because they're all toys that never came out in Japan, so from a Japanese collector's POV they're rarities.

Then when I brought him to dirge's place, he completely ignored Japanese G1 toys like Lio Kaiser, Landcross etc. and went straight for "mundane" (from our POV) toys like the Triggerbots and Triggercons etc., again, all the toys that Japan never got! He couldn't have cared less for those Japanese G1 toys! :D

Not surprising that a Jap fan would react this way. If you asked me back in the early 90s, I wouldnt be too impressed by a Black Zarak either and that's because there were so many in Singapore back in the 80s. But time changes perspectives and which the USA releases were released worldwide, the Japanese exclusives were only released in very limited countries and in small quantities.

Hursticon
22nd June 2011, 12:08 AM
Hmmm... you did manage to see stuff like Grandus, Galaxy Shuttle and the 3 Big Powered robots during my farewell in Sydney? Thought you would have. :D

Oh yeah man, seeing those beautiful objects was exactly what I meant, mind you I was too damn scared to touch them even though you offered! :D
Those were my first introductions after Azrael's Sky-Garry. ;):cool:

heroic_decepticon
22nd June 2011, 12:22 AM
erm.... so this is #7 out of 6... (confused*)... nah, let's call it Epilogue #1...

This is the final dino-cassette... Hursti, you would be delighted to hear that I did do a clean sweep of all 4! I knew you were rooting for me somewhere. :D

Like I mentioned earlier, there has been some contention between which is the rarest dino-cassette. Some think that its C-124: Zauru but others think that its C-123: Diaru. Well, either way, it makes Legout (their combined form) rarer than Decibel, that's for sure.

In any case, this is easily one of my favourite dino-cassettes. The transformation is simple, yet very effective to create the lanky look and feel of a "Brontosaurus". The colour is a dark rich blue, but not black. There is a lot of character to this mold. Oh, and the box art is my favourite among the 4, Dairu comes close, but the Zauru box art is awesome!

In any case, what's important to me is that these guys are in the collection as a set.

So, Zauru, the Apatosaurus as Hursti and Sky Shadow decided earlier? Personally, I like Brontosaurus... hahaha...

Photos!

http://inlinethumb46.webshots.com/47917/2375412070100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2375412070100811158crMaPn) http://inlinethumb26.webshots.com/46745/2098309890100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2098309890100811158aouLcK)

http://inlinethumb28.webshots.com/48923/2561427170100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2561427170100811158IMUtHi) http://inlinethumb26.webshots.com/34137/2294998520100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2294998520100811158TsWzGV)

http://inlinethumb07.webshots.com/48262/2833660090100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2833660090100811158SpXIge) http://inlinethumb12.webshots.com/48587/2871554370100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2871554370100811158ukBeQh)

http://inlinethumb08.webshots.com/47879/2056681060100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2056681060100811158RmgFCz) http://inlinethumb27.webshots.com/46490/2561085860100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2561085860100811158fzKaIj)

http://inlinethumb48.webshots.com/46831/2915511900100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2915511900100811158uXdzKg)

http://inlinethumb50.webshots.com/45233/2169643840100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2169643840100811158Tfkjzo) http://inlinethumb07.webshots.com/15622/2559699430100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2559699430100811158tzHkPS)

Looking very photogenic and compatible with Bluestreak
http://inlinethumb34.webshots.com/49185/2244317740100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2244317740100811158CmCmdx)

Dairu and Zauru combined = Legout!
http://inlinethumb47.webshots.com/47854/2940379140100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2940379140100811158lVohdr) http://inlinethumb25.webshots.com/23000/2609094190100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2609094190100811158yXBCUB)

KillinSpoon
22nd June 2011, 12:32 AM
Knew it! This was extremely obvious! However, beautiful nonetheless :)

EDIT: God dammit! That is by far my favourite cassette :/ That dino-mode is utterly awesome!
Too bad I'll never own one...

1AZRAEL1
22nd June 2011, 08:01 AM
Knew it. I saw that coming. Congrats HD, you managed to track down some of the figures I want and make me jealous :p

LordCyrusOmega
22nd June 2011, 08:20 AM
That looks awesome!! That is by far by favourite cassette. Nice work

gamblor916
22nd June 2011, 08:34 AM
Nice to complete the set!

heroic_decepticon
22nd June 2011, 08:53 AM
Knew it! This was extremely obvious! However, beautiful nonetheless :)
*snip*


Knew it. I saw that coming. Congrats HD, you managed to track down some of the figures I want and make me jealous :p

Damnit, you still saw it coming?

I thought I'd throw in some unpredictability by unveiling Guard City first... obviously didn't work.


That looks awesome!! That is by far by favourite cassette. Nice work


*snip*That is by far my favourite cassette :/ That dino-mode is utterly awesome!


Yup, like I said, I really like this guy's dino-mode. Simple, yet incredibly effective. Great box art too if I may add.


Nice to complete the set!

Feels very good to have gotten these before the KOs come out. I'm breathing a great sign of relief. :D

gdmetro
22nd June 2011, 08:56 AM
OMG..too epic *drools*

Looking forward to your blog updates on these guys. While the items are so nice, I always enjoy the full story as to the figures and your journey of hunting/bargaining and acquiring them.

After staring at that guard city... I really want a g1 defensor now...

Re: Dino cassettes: Wow, I knew they combined, but never actually seen the full combined mode. That is sooo NICE!!! lucky you got these before the imminent KOs.

Hursticon
22nd June 2011, 04:29 PM
erm.... so this is #7 out of 6... (confused*)... nah, let's call it Epilogue #1...

LOL :p:D


This is the final dino-cassette... Hursti, you would be delighted to hear that I did do a clean sweep of all 4! I knew you were rooting for me somewhere. :D

All in 1 go? - F*** Yeah man, excellent! ;):cool:
You're dead right I'm glad to hear that man, as I was really hoping that would be the case but more to the point, that you'd find them much-much sooner than later. :D


Like I mentioned earlier, there has been some contention between which is the rarest dino-cassette. Some think that its C-124: Zauru but others think that its C-123: Diaru. Well, either way, it makes Legout (their combined form) rarer than Decibel, that's for sure.

In any case, this is easily one of my favourite dino-cassettes. The transformation is simple, yet very effective to create the lanky look and feel of a "Brontosaurus". The colour is a dark rich blue, but not black. There is a lot of character to this mold. Oh, and the box art is my favourite among the 4, Dairu comes close, but the Zauru box art is awesome!

In any case, what's important to me is that these guys are in the collection as a set.

So, Zauru, the Apatosaurus as Hursti and Sky Shadow decided earlier? Personally, I like Brontosaurus... hahaha...

Photos!

*snip*

http://inlinethumb26.webshots.com/46745/2098309890100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2098309890100811158aouLcK)

*snip*

http://inlinethumb07.webshots.com/15622/2559699430100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2559699430100811158tzHkPS)

Looking very photogenic and compatible with Bluestreak

*snip*

Dairu and Zauru combined = Legout!

*snip*

http://inlinethumb25.webshots.com/23000/2609094190100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2609094190100811158yXBCUB)

A Big Congratulations Heroic on completing this set of Grails, with these in particular being a very hard grail to achieve in anyone's mind! :eek::D:cool:


I've got to say that this guy does look really cool as his dimensions as an Apatosaurus (:p) working rather well for such a minute form factor. ;)

This one looks to be of a more Doubledealer/clouder Blue which I think works quite well and ties with the other intriguing colour choices of his comrades. :cool:

His combined mode, like the previous, show's an early design period for combining cassettes which the idea is actually quite growing on me, as if they are the prototypes of a technology - forerunners if you will, but look utterly robotic which is an essential achievement. :)

The box looks great too, with only minor (To me) wear and a slight crease running down the character art side. :o


I hope that when you find the time after you've done the write-ups for all these figures on your blog dude, that you are able to do some Hi-Res scans of the boxart of each but whilst I know Botch will absolutely giggle with delight (I know I would/will) I wonder what your thoughts are on the possibility that some... undesirables, might use what Botch and yourself are doing for the community to produce counterfeit replica boxes and such?

I don't want to leave this on a negative though, so might I mention that this:


Final G1 list [updated 15 Oct 2010]
USA G1 (1): Skyhopper
Japanese G1 (7): Gurafi, Noizu, Zauru, Dairu, Artfire, Hydra, Buster, Go-Shooter, Minerva, Sixknight, Galaxy Shuttle, Black Shadow, Blue Bacchus, Dai Atlas, Sonic Bomber, Road Fire, Grandus, Sky Garry
Accessories (5): Weirdwolf gun, Doublecross gun, Longtooth small gun, Stranglehold small gun, Doubleheader small gun.

... Is in need of an update and would these recent acquisitions suggest that the only figures you now need are Blue Bacchus and Black Shadow? :eek::eek::eek:

1AZRAEL1
22nd June 2011, 04:34 PM
... Is in need of an update and would these recent acquisitions suggest that the only figures you now need are Blue Bacchus and Black Shadow? :eek::eek::eek:

And Artfire :p

rampagesss
22nd June 2011, 05:32 PM
Congrats on getting the set, and seeing that there all pritty dam near mint. Just about every page in this thread has a picture of something insanely rare and expensive and i like it :D!
Can we get a group pic of all the Dino Cassettes in dino mode :D

LordCyrusOmega
22nd June 2011, 05:59 PM
Congrats on getting the set, and seeing that there all pritty dam near mint. Just about every page in this thread has a picture of something insanely rare and expensive and i like it :D!
Can we get a group pic of all the Dino Cassettes in dino mode :D
What thems said.

KillinSpoon
22nd June 2011, 07:02 PM
Apatosaurus (:p)

Personally, I think it's a Diplodocus. :P

Hursticon
22nd June 2011, 07:22 PM
Personally, I think it's a Diplodocus. :P

Don't make me get all Gigantosaurus on you! :p:D

heroic_decepticon
22nd June 2011, 08:21 PM
OMG..too epic *drools*

Looking forward to your blog updates on these guys. While the items are so nice, I always enjoy the full story as to the figures and your journey of hunting/bargaining and acquiring them.

After staring at that guard city... I really want a g1 defensor now...

Re: Dino cassettes: Wow, I knew they combined, but never actually seen the full combined mode. That is sooo NICE!!! lucky you got these before the imminent KOs.

Guard City is okay. It's nice in some ways and weird in other ways. I really want it more because its one of the last G1 combiners ever released and also because its a very nice giftset box with nice box art!

I definitely intend to update the full story on my blog when I got time to get around to it.


Congrats on getting the set, and seeing that there all pritty dam near mint. Just about every page in this thread has a picture of something insanely rare and expensive and i like it :D!
Can we get a group pic of all the Dino Cassettes in dino mode :D

I love every page of this thread too!

I do have group shots, just have to go home and load 'em up... as the next chapter (or page). :D


And Artfire :p

That too. I really can't be assed about BB and BS because the asking prices are just stupid. I come across them a lot, both on auction and privately, but really not impressed with the price. So, won't buy them till the prices go lower, or not at all... hmmm... not sure.

valkyrie_76
22nd June 2011, 08:40 PM
Guard City is okay. It's nice in some ways and weird in other ways. I really want it more because its one of the last G1 combiners ever released and also because its a very nice giftset box with nice box art!

That too. I really can't be assed about BB and BS because the asking prices are just stupid. I come across them a lot, both on auction and privately, but really not impressed with the price. So, won't buy them till the prices go lower, or not at all... hmmm... not sure.

Yeah I want Guard City because it is a nice giftset box but again Im not going to pay lots on money for some of the toys to be yellowed.

And I agree with your comments regarding BB and BS. Too expensive and half the time they are in crap condition for the prices that they ask for ($700US for a BB with damaged foam/box and its been played with.....stuff that).

jaydisc
22nd June 2011, 08:50 PM
What's BB & BS?

Hursticon
22nd June 2011, 08:55 PM
What's BB & BS?

Blue Bacchus & Black Shadow. :)

heroic_decepticon
23rd June 2011, 11:07 PM
Yeah I want Guard City because it is a nice giftset box but again Im not going to pay lots on money for some of the toys to be yellowed.

And I agree with your comments regarding BB and BS. Too expensive and half the time they are in crap condition for the prices that they ask for ($700US for a BB with damaged foam/box and its been played with.....stuff that).

Yellowed Guard City is just not on. All 4 of its limbs are supposed to be predominantly white. If any are yellowed, it'd suck majorly.

Yeah, there are lots of crap BB and BS out there and people are just trying to milk these. Not really interested to pay that much for these. I think US$450 to 500 is about the range that'd make me buy, but otherwise, we'll see...


Blue Bacchus & Black Shadow. :)

What the man said. :p

heroic_decepticon
23rd June 2011, 11:18 PM
Collective Dino-cassette shots (I think these are awesome, but that's just me...)

All 4 MIB dino-cassettes / Out of box with contents laid out
http://inlinethumb29.webshots.com/1244/2335012590100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2335012590100811158GlitGb) http://inlinethumb21.webshots.com/47892/2665244170100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2665244170100811158KkrKFi)

http://inlinethumb44.webshots.com/45803/2965684830100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2965684830100811158UYoYrR) http://inlinethumb04.webshots.com/9347/2519855890100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2519855890100811158OjWPbe)

In their inserts and bio cards. Man I love this shot. But like Hursti said earlier, its a pity these are plastic inserts and not styro.
http://inlinethumb06.webshots.com/46661/2046089810100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2046089810100811158PaBQbr)

Combined forms and with Blaster and Twincast (see, I said #1 of 6 (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showpost.php?p=248269&postcount=54) and #2 of 6 (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showpost.php?p=248577&postcount=56) will make sense in the end!)
http://inlinethumb17.webshots.com/43984/2217130850100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2217130850100811158Tviugn) http://inlinethumb17.webshots.com/48080/2861878060100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2861878060100811158BMSYGg)

There's no way Twincast will not kick Soundblaster's ass with these 4 on his side (assuming each of them are as powerful as a Dinobot)
http://inlinethumb43.webshots.com/31466/2032808960100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2032808960100811158bfpOLD)

Decibel and Legout with Bluestreak (the real one). Now this thread is having more coherence...
http://inlinethumb55.webshots.com/48374/2636743330100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2636743330100811158sxyQNk) http://inlinethumb06.webshots.com/30405/2259521160100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2259521160100811158oTCUGV)

The money shot...
C-38: Broadblast
C-116: Twincast
C-121: Gurafi
C-122: Noizu
C-123: Dairu
C-124: Zauru
http://inlinethumb19.webshots.com/46674/2277206630100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2277206630100811158BSXwkH)

The money-er shot...
http://inlinethumb50.webshots.com/45297/2359691860100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2359691860100811158qxrhRo)

heroic_decepticon
23rd June 2011, 11:21 PM
PS: There is Epilogue #2 tomorrow... you get a Heroic commendation if you guess right (Ultra Magnus is not allowed to guess cos he knows)

GoktimusPrime
23rd June 2011, 11:23 PM
Time Warrior or bust

optimus1
23rd June 2011, 11:39 PM
Another big congratulations HD :):cool::eek:

Getting the Dino Cassettes before the KO versions infiltrate is an achievement.

I love the Money and Money-er shots :D
Twincast and Soundblaster really do complement each other.
Twincast now has new little dino buddies. I bet the Steeljaw and Ramhorn are feeling a bit jealous that Dinos have taken their place :)

As for Guard City - out of curiousity, are they partly die-cast or plastic?
Another great piece.
Only Guard City to go aye ;)

heroic_decepticon
23rd June 2011, 11:51 PM
Time Warrior or bust

who's "bust"


Another big congratulations HD :):cool::eek:

Getting the Dino Cassettes before the KO versions infiltrate is an achievement.

I love the Money and Money-er shots :D
Twincast and Soundblaster really do complement each other.
Twincast now has new little dino buddies. I bet the Steeljaw and Ramhorn are feeling a bit jealous that Dinos have taken their place :)

As for Guard City - out of curiousity, are they partly die-cast or plastic?
Another great piece.
Only Guard City to go aye ;)

Yeah, I love the fact that I managed to get all 4 communicators at around the same span of time I got the dino-cassettes. Soundblaster was from Osaka. Then when I returned to HK, I saw D-17 Soundwave in my usual shop. A few days later, I went back to my usual shop to haggle for Twincast, which he had there for more than 5 months (I got a HK$2500 discount!). Then I picked up C-38: Blaster from another shop who also had it for months and months (I got a HK$500 discount!).

Guard City:
The equivalent of Groove and Streetwise has die-cast parts, but the other 3 have no die-cast (like their second release back in '86 where they also didn't have die-cast).

I'm thinking of having a go at combining Guard City...

heretic2010
24th June 2011, 12:02 AM
Very nice acquisitions, that money-er shot looks really nice

bowspearer
24th June 2011, 06:19 AM
Congrats on some awesome scores there :)

rampagesss
24th June 2011, 09:33 AM
The money shot... :eek:
The money-er shot... :eek::eek::eek:

They are great pics man and one can only guess how much its cost to set them up :D but hey if i could do it i would as well, when i first saw the dino cassettes i wanted them, one i found out how rare and expensive they were i quickly gave up :rolleyes:

I really cant wait untill you get Artfire, I always considered him just a crappy re-paint of Inferno, but after i custom painted one for myself i really like him and the colors work well
Again can't wait to see whats next as there really isn't much left for you to get

Hursticon
24th June 2011, 11:33 AM
*snip*

The money-er shot...
http://inlinethumb50.webshots.com/45297/2359691860100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2359691860100811158qxrhRo)

LOL - Holy crap HD! :p:D
I swear man, I think you totally just owned this thread with that one post! :eek::D

But in all seriousness, a huge congratulations dude on finally being able to knock some huge acquisitions out of your Most Wanted list. :)
It's always great to see how happy people are when they finally manage to acquire something they've been after for ages and I hope this is a continuing trend for all of you members who collect these insane items. :cool:

You've no doubt got quite a bit of writing lined up for your Blog dude - People are going to go nuts when they see these, but also, it's going to be a thoroughly interesting read as to just how you managed to actually find these guys. ;):D

gamblor916
24th June 2011, 12:17 PM
Nice pics! Those boxes look really good too.

5FDP
24th June 2011, 12:48 PM
Hey HD - Have you ever thought about having some company publish these photos e.g. in a coffee-table book format? I'm sure there would be interest out there. I for one would love to have this as a handy reference and it would become it's own collectible.

Hursticon
24th June 2011, 12:57 PM
Hey HD - Have you ever thought about having some company publish these photos e.g. in a coffee-table book format? I'm sure there would be interest out there. I for one would love to have this as a handy reference and it would become it's own collectible.

I'd second that, as I've always felt that HD's photos were very... 'clinical'? - is that the right word? :confused:
Anyway, I think they'd be very suitable for what you propose dude. :)

GoktimusPrime
24th June 2011, 06:09 PM
sounds like transformers generations

heroic_decepticon
24th June 2011, 07:38 PM
Very nice acquisitions, that money-er shot looks really nice


The money shot... :eek:
The money-er shot... :eek::eek::eek:


LOL - Holy crap HD! :p:D
I swear man, I think you totally just owned this thread with that one post! :eek::D

I just love the money-er shot. I also like the shot of them in their inserts and bios cards only.



They are great pics man and one can only guess how much its cost to set them up :D but hey if i could do it i would as well, when i first saw the dino cassettes i wanted them, one i found out how rare and expensive they were i quickly gave up :rolleyes:

I really cant wait untill you get Artfire, I always considered him just a crappy re-paint of Inferno, but after i custom painted one for myself i really like him and the colors work well
Again can't wait to see whats next as there really isn't much left for you to get

Artfire is going to be hard to get, because I want to get it MIB and with unused stickers and of course no yellowing. I don't think he's as hard to get as the dino-cassettes, but then there're very little people letting go of him.

Also, the prices for this piece have gone through the roof, as well (what's new). My one regret was not picking him up back in early late 2009 when I saw him at my usual shop here in HK for US$800. Now, people are asking thousands for this guy. And since he is essentially now a new mold and a 'strange' inferno repaint, I'm not really inclined to splash that sort of cash on it (I mean, if someone came up and offered me a piece for that price, I might bite, but if I have to go out there and search and search and beg people to sell just so they can lighten my wallet but a thousand or so bucks, forget it, its too much trouble.... :D)



But in all seriousness, a huge congratulations dude on finally being able to knock some huge acquisitions out of your Most Wanted list. :)
It's always great to see how happy people are when they finally manage to acquire something they've been after for ages and I hope this is a continuing trend for all of you members who collect these insane items. :cool:

You've no doubt got quite a bit of writing lined up for your Blog dude - People are going to go nuts when they see these, but also, it's going to be a thoroughly interesting read as to just how you managed to actually find these guys. ;):D

Man, I'm damn happy with these. I go home and see them and I beam with joy. There's just something about them. One part of my is afraid that I am fond of them only because they are rare (not an uncommon thing for collectors), but I don't think that is the case for me. I think I would still like most of them, esp Zauru, even if they were common. I'm least fond of Gurafi and I'm still least fond of him even though he is rare.

Hahaha... yes, lots to update on my blog, I know. You, gdmetro, Botch and a few others have been reminding me. Hahaha... I will try my best!

5FDP
24th June 2011, 09:31 PM
sounds like transformers generations

Hardly :rolleyes: I haven't read my copy for a while and I can't be bothered pulling it out, but from memory there aren't many (if any) good quality MI(S)B pictures. I'm just as interested in seeing the boxes / artwork as I'm sure many others would be as well.

LordCyrusOmega
24th June 2011, 10:14 PM
After seeing them pics I just made my own...
Very impressive dude. Love the shots, makes me want to start collecting G1 again. Almost. I'm still too Jaded but looking at them, Beautiful

heroic_decepticon
24th June 2011, 10:34 PM
Hey HD - Have you ever thought about having some company publish these photos e.g. in a coffee-table book format? I'm sure there would be interest out there. I for one would love to have this as a handy reference and it would become it's own collectible.

Love your idea, ben. I share your frustration that no book actually features the toys in their packaging, surely one of it's strongest and most attractive points.

Esp for early G1 figures, even the top of box is worth documenting because the photos of the toys there are often prototypes a d different from what is in the package.

Way different from TF generations I agree

heroic_decepticon
24th June 2011, 11:19 PM
I'm about to post Epilogue #2, but no one seems to have guessed it yet...

anyway, it'll be up soon... heh :p

bowspearer
24th June 2011, 11:58 PM
You bit the bullet and picked up Artfire, didn't you? :p

heroic_decepticon
25th June 2011, 12:24 AM
You bit the bullet and picked up Artfire, didn't you? :p

heh, not really, though I would have loved to.

However, this guy is more significant than Artfire.... :D

heroic_decepticon
25th June 2011, 12:25 AM
... this is #8 of 6 (?) or Epilogue #2...

Operation Combiner, TF-10: Battle Gaia MIB, unused


This the final G1 combiner to make a clean sweep (I thought Dinoking was difficult, this guy was even harder to find).
This is arguably the final Decepticon in the Japanese exclusive line for G1.
Since its TF-10, the last TF in the Operation Combiner series, it is also arguably the last Transformer in the Japanese exclusive G1 line.
It is also the final Japanese exclusive TF that is missing from the collective collection thread (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=18).
It is, quite fittingly, the final chapter of this thread (sadly :eek:)


Side note: I have also addressed Botch's blog-post with this thread... (http://www.botchthecrab.com/replies.asp?index=649#replyView)

To me, as a repaint, Battle Gaia is superior to Guard City in many many ways (of course the Defensor mold is much nicer than the Bruticus mold, don't get me wrong). This repaint is better executed than Guard City I think.

I actually bought this from the same shop and at the same time I bought Guard City, heh. What a good day it was. Love it when these things comes in pairs (like when I bought Goodbye Convoy and Goodbye Megatron at the same time (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2010/12/japanese-exclusive-1986-vintage-goodbye_31.html)).

The demand and corresponding 2nd hand market value of this piece cannot be underestimated. It is far more expensive than Guard City. A set, not as good condition as mine, sold for US$1850 on eBay recently. Even loose Battle Gaias command up to US$1000 in normal instances.

For a mold that has a repaint in so many post G1 toylines, its quite confounding why this particular incarnation commands such stratospheric prices. :confused:

Be that as it may, here it is.... Battle Gaia!

The box art is magnificent
http://inlinethumb27.webshots.com/47706/2190982490100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2190982490100811158ApVsPL) http://inlinethumb33.webshots.com/47264/2789810480100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2789810480100811158vyRwsz)

Great Cannon and Shuttle Gunner (flash fact: FansProject explorer was repainted into Shuttle Gunner as "Flameblast")
http://inlinethumb53.webshots.com/48884/2312266340100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2312266340100811158uXSbar) http://inlinethumb57.webshots.com/48184/2326863940100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2326863940100811158oQbBeW)

Target Hawk and Sandstorm (I really like this repaint of Brawl)
http://inlinethumb53.webshots.com/47540/2162087190100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2162087190100811158qEkPeP) http://inlinethumb31.webshots.com/48286/2114459740100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2114459740100811158cNAjZq)

Leyland (flash fact: FansProject Munitioner was repainted into Leyland as "Warcry")
http://inlinethumb09.webshots.com/47304/2903809320100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2903809320100811158xNcUrg) http://inlinethumb52.webshots.com/47923/2661565220100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2661565220100811158IsgLSX)

Back of box showing "free-combination" / Tech Specs (slightly smarter than Bruticus huh)
http://inlinethumb13.webshots.com/45452/2507367930100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2507367930100811158fIFtQR) http://inlinethumb50.webshots.com/48497/2038441430100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2038441430100811158WSZrdY)

Inside package / paperworks and unused sticker sheet
http://inlinethumb09.webshots.com/45320/2480836280100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2480836280100811158BcHrVL) http://inlinethumb42.webshots.com/47081/2142371800100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2142371800100811158HDyTmg)

Together with TF-04: Guard City
http://inlinethumb02.webshots.com/49089/2701713160100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2701713160100811158GJKceD) http://inlinethumb30.webshots.com/46749/2147594300100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2147594300100811158uyfQNb)

swoop
25th June 2011, 06:48 AM
Of all the stunning pieces you have posted in this thread battle Gaia is the only one that in jealouse of. It's my personal grail and I've only ever seen 2 besides the one you posted above that I'd actually buy. The 2 I found, both on eBay I bidded on and lost and they were 4 years apart. Congratulations on your acquisition it's gorgeous

bowspearer
25th June 2011, 07:22 AM
Nice work, how much did it set you back?

LordCyrusOmega
25th June 2011, 07:28 AM
Nice one HD, you truly are the king of the hunt.
Though if I'm really honest (and this is just my opinion) it doesn't do as much for me as the others in this thread. Not a fan of the colours.
Still, for such a rare toy (I didn't even know it exissted) it's an amazing find.

gamblor916
25th June 2011, 09:16 AM
Amazing again HD! The bots look kind of naked though I don't think you'd be applying the stickers :D

theheretic
25th June 2011, 10:25 AM
How o you find such (seemingly) perfect toys and packaging of all these?

Verno
25th June 2011, 10:30 AM
Wow

I don't know jack about G1 stuff, but even I know they are something you don't see every day.

Those cassettes are incredible!

What's left to buy now? Are there any Holy Grails left out there?

Congrats Man!

kup
25th June 2011, 12:17 PM
That is some amazing stuff, HD. Congratulations!

The stuff you got here is not just expensive but very hard to find. It must have been one hell of a feat to track them down.

heroic_decepticon
25th June 2011, 12:50 PM
Of all the stunning pieces you have posted in this thread battle Gaia is the only one that in jealouse of. It's my personal grail and I've only ever seen 2 besides the one you posted above that I'd actually buy. The 2 I found, both on eBay I bidded on and lost and they were 4 years apart. Congratulations on your acquisition it's gorgeous

With Battle Gaia, I don't recommend looking on eBay - the prices and competition there is just too extreme.

Recommend that you look on Yahoo Japan. Pieces do come up from time to time. The condition is usually very good (comparable to mine) but could end at about 100,000 yen or more.

Also, keep your eyes peeled on TFW toy selling section. And try to join these 2 groups on TFW (invite only):

1. G1 Holy Grail Owners Group
2. I own a lucky draw or something Uber rare

Lots of sales happen there and these power buyers would have snapped them up before they even hit the 'open market' if at all.

I know that there were 2 Battle Gaia transactions on Group (1) that I mentioned above sometime late last year.

I can recommend your entry into the groups, but you need to have something rare or 'grail worthy' (whatever that means). It's snobbish I know, but I didn't make the rules :D


Nice one HD, you truly are the king of the hunt.
Though if I'm really honest (and this is just my opinion) it doesn't do as much for me as the others in this thread. Not a fan of the colours.
Still, for such a rare toy (I didn't even know it exissted) it's an amazing find.

hey LCO, I tend to agree with you. While Battle Gaia is a great milestone, it actually does less for me than the dino-cassettes. But that doesn't mean I haven't been quietly on the hunt for it and grab it if it surfaces... heh.

Re the issue of colours. I think this is a good attempt. Usually fans have an issue with the colours because they have Bruticus imprinted in their minds. Had this been "Bruticus", I think the colours would still have been very acceptable and in fact considered nice. The one combiner with weird colours is Monstructor.

swoop
25th June 2011, 01:31 PM
With Battle Gaia, I don't recommend looking on eBay - the prices and competition there is just too extreme.

Recommend that you look on Yahoo Japan. Pieces do come up from time to time. The condition is usually very good (comparable to mine) but could end at about 100,000 yen or more.

Also, keep your eyes peeled on TFW toy selling section. And try to join these 2 groups on TFW (invite only):

1. G1 Holy Grail Owners Group
2. I own a lucky draw or something Uber rare

Lots of sales happen there and these power buyers would have snapped them up before they even hit the 'open market' if at all.

I know that there were 2 Battle Gaia transactions on Group (1) that I mentioned above sometime late last year.

I can recommend your entry into the groups, but you need to have something rare or 'grail worthy' (whatever that means). It's snobbish I know, but I didn't make the rules :D

Thanks for the advice I'll remember to check yahoo japan, I'd pay $1200 for the set.

As for tfw I'm a member and I considered trying to join the group when I first heard about it with my mib stepper but I never go on their forums so I didn't bother. I'm moving early next year and planning a holiday so my cash is pretty much spoken for but when I do get all that sorted and I go after it again I'll remembre to check tfw as well.

heroic_decepticon
25th June 2011, 07:29 PM
Amazing again HD! The bots look kind of naked though I don't think you'd be applying the stickers :D

I'm actually really tempted to apply the stickers. I think the stickers for this set is so so important, it's really what sets it apart from all other releases of this mold. I don't really care about resale value because it's unlikely, but even. If I did want to resell, doesn't mean I can't have some fun applying the stickers first.


How o you find such (seemingly) perfect toys and packaging of all these?

it's lots of hard work actually! =)

But a lot easier here in HK than it was in Sydney. Here I just make it a point to visit the shops on a weekly basis. There is this shop here that specializes in G1. They have a massive ops budget and have people trawling Japan every other week (it's a 6 man operation and they have apartments all over Japan and at least 2 ppl are in Japan every week). I get a lot of my stuff from this shop. Also when I'm here, I don't buy online anymore. No point when I can just cash and carry.... Heh.

But for dinos I did get them online, no other choice, just too hard to find.

Hursticon
25th June 2011, 07:54 PM
Well... I tip my hat to you Heroic - This is yet another multi-faceted display of astonishment! :eek:

As LSO has also identified, you've clearly shown how crazy good you are at the hunt - You may be a Heroic - Decepticon but you sure show a lot of qualities akin to Predaking. :D
Also like LSO, I too am not all too taken back by the colours but I think that this may be due to what you've suggested about Bruticus' colour scheme - Interesting to note though, could this of been where the G2 Bruticus colour scheme borrowed it's head layout from? ;)
I think you should have some fun as well and apply his stickers man, it'll help him a lot IMO but it'll be a nice change for you to I think. :cool:

Congratulations on yet another incredible acquisition dude, these recent purchases of yours have to be some sort of historical event or milestone, both in your collecting and this forum - surely. :)

valkyrie_76
25th June 2011, 08:31 PM
Dammit......havent seen this thread for awhile and when you talked about a second epilogue, the first thing I thought was Battle Gaia (due to you having Guard City).

Oh well nice one there HD, I think you have melted down this forum in the past week or so :D

LordCyrusOmega
25th June 2011, 10:13 PM
Re the issue of colours. I think this is a good attempt. Usually fans have an issue with the colours because they have Bruticus imprinted in their minds. Had this been "Bruticus", I think the colours would still have been very acceptable and in fact considered nice. The one combiner with weird colours is Monstructor.

It's not that I have Bruticus imprinted in my mind, I own universe Ruination (Desert Camo repaint) so that could be why, haven't seen many images of bruticus though I own G1 Swindle.

It's just the first thought I had when I saw it was 'Candy'

heroic_decepticon
26th June 2011, 05:55 AM
Wow

I don't know jack about G1 stuff, but even I know they are something you don't see every day.

Those cassettes are incredible!

What's left to buy now? Are there any Holy Grails left out there?

Congrats Man!

Like I mentioned in an answer to griffin earlier in this thread, there are no more holy grails - the blue Bluestreak has been the holy grail for years and years. Now that I have it, there are no more grails. The throne is empty, long live the king!


That is some amazing stuff, HD. Congratulations!

The stuff you got here is not just expensive but very hard to find. It must have been one hell of a feat to track them down.

Thanks kup!

Tracking down this lot was a lot of effort. I detailed it more in my blog... read it and you will see the pain I went through... heh (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2011/06/full-story-part-3-so-rare-they-ought-to.html?showComment=1309023307778#c270331084262828 063)

1AZRAEL1
26th June 2011, 12:03 PM
Totally freakin awsome dude. HD, you are one lucky SOB to have a a missus that lets you spens this kind of money of Transformers, the the ability to find them :p

GoktimusPrime
26th June 2011, 01:06 PM
heroic_decepticon: before applying the stickers, may I suggest that you do hi-res scans of them and donate them to reprolabels? Maybe you can ask if they'd be willing to give you a set of those reprolabels at a discount price in return for your services.

That way you'd still be able to apply the stickers, and keep the originals unapplied too. Or if you really want to go ahead and apply the originals, at least reprolabels would have a set of them for other collectors.

Just a suggestion. :)

heroic_decepticon
26th June 2011, 06:17 PM
Well... I tip my hat to you Heroic - This is yet another multi-faceted display of astonishment! :eek:

As LSO has also identified, you've clearly shown how crazy good you are at the hunt - You may be a Heroic - Decepticon but you sure show a lot of qualities akin to Predaking. :D

Also like LSO, I too am not all too taken back by the colours but I think that this may be due to what you've suggested about Bruticus' colour scheme - Interesting to note though, could this of been where the G2 Bruticus colour scheme borrowed it's head layout from? ;)

I think you should have some fun as well and apply his stickers man, it'll help him a lot IMO but it'll be a nice change for you to I think. :cool:

Congratulations on yet another incredible acquisition dude, these recent purchases of yours have to be some sort of historical event or milestone, both in your collecting and this forum - surely. :)

Thanks sir!

I like the Predaking comparison... them being hunters and all. heh. Like I previously mentioned, its not hard to hunt for stuff when I'm in HK. When I'm bored, I can quickly fly to Japan over a weekend and hunt for stuff there. It's all good.

Also like I mentioned, I think the stickers are really what sets Battle Gaia apart from all other incarnations of the Bruticus mold. The stickers for each individual member are radically different from the any other release. I mean, even the chest piece for Battle Gaia has tons of stickers and an awesome Decepticon insignia on it (which even the G1 Bruticus didn't have).

Good to know its pretty historic for the forum, but I always keep in mind that I'm not the only one making history and there are more than a handful of members that has very powerful collections!


Dammit......havent seen this thread for awhile and when you talked about a second epilogue, the first thing I thought was Battle Gaia (due to you having Guard City).

Oh well nice one there HD, I think you have melted down this forum in the past week or so :D

Bill, you just know me too well. Not surprised that you would have guessed right! Hahaha...


Totally freakin awsome dude. HD, you are one lucky SOB to have a a missus that lets you spens this kind of money of Transformers, the the ability to find them :p

My missus is awesome. heh. I think I mentioned it before but she sees collecting from a different perspective. To her its not about 'tolerating' what I do within some set limits of money or that its stupid buying toys but she will accept me the way I am. It's not that at all. To her, its important and encouraged that I do what I love to do - whatever I love to do, she will encourage it. Just so happens that I like collecting TFs.

Besides, the money I spend on TFs is chump change compared to her stuff. Trading in Battle Gaia wouldn't even be enough to buy her a single BV bag (which I did buy for her). (Not a typo, I did mean "BV", not "LV". I understand that BV is in the Hermes league of branded stuff and enough rungs up the ladder to make LV look like commoner fare... but that's just hearsay. I don't know jackshit about these branded stuff).

I think different families just have different ways of managing it. For example, a close friend of mine and a member here as well has a deal with his wife that what ever amount of money he spends on toys, she is entitled to spend on jewellery or diamonds. :D

gdmetro
26th June 2011, 06:46 PM
There is this shop here that specializes in G1. They have a massive ops budget and have people trawling Japan every other week (it's a 6 man operation and they have apartments all over Japan and at least 2 ppl are in Japan every week). I get a lot of my stuff from this shop. Also when I'm here, I don't buy online anymore. No point when I can just cash and carry.... Heh.

But for dinos I did get them online, no other choice, just too hard to find.

Holy :eek: This boggles my mind... that such an enterprise can exist on such an operation of scouring japan for g1s and hocking them back in HK...



My missus is awesome. heh. I think I mentioned it before but she sees collecting from a different perspective. To her its not about 'tolerating' what I do within some set limits of money or that its stupid buying toys but she will accept me the way I am. It's not that at all. To her, its important and encouraged that I do what I love to do - whatever I love to do, she will encourage it. Just so happens that I like collecting TFs.

Besides, the money I spend on TFs is chump change compared to her stuff. Trading in Battle Gaia wouldn't even be enough to buy her a single BV bag (which I did buy for her). (Not a typo, I did mean "BV", not "LV". I understand that BV is in the Hermes league of branded stuff and enough rungs up the ladder to make LV look like commoner fare... but that's just hearsay. I don't know jackshit about these branded stuff).

I think different families just have different ways of managing it. For example, a close friend of mine and a member here as well has a deal with his wife that what ever amount of money he spends on toys, she is entitled to spend on jewellery or diamonds. :D

I like that perspective! :D

Prowl
30th June 2011, 07:13 PM
heroic_decepticon: before applying the stickers, may I suggest that you do hi-res scans of them and donate them to reprolabels? Maybe you can ask if they'd be willing to give you a set of those reprolabels at a discount price in return for your services.


Maybe they should give HD those labels & any others he so desires if they are so rare for free.

GoktimusPrime
1st July 2011, 12:48 PM
I dunno about unlimited freebies, but I think at least asking for free or discounted samples of the ones he's scanned would be within reason. :) And even without freebies or discounted, I would scan them as a service to the fandom anyway - as I said, there may be other collectors with these toys who might be adverse to applying the original stickers who would appreciate having repros to use.

Prowl
1st July 2011, 06:56 PM
I dunno about unlimited freebies, but I think at least asking for free or discounted samples of the ones he's scanned would be within reason. :) And even without freebies or discounted, I would scan them as a service to the fandom anyway - as I said, there may be other collectors with these toys who might be adverse to applying the original stickers who would appreciate having repros to use.

I agree with the fandom part but when you have a rare item the least a business like reprolables could do is give HD a full set of the repro labels + X amount of sets of his chosing for providing them with this rare scan. I was joking about the unlimited freebies of course.

Reprolabels is a business & they make money from it. Out of their sale price they would be making at least 100% markup & likely 200% due to the cost of producing lables being relatively cheap. These guys don't do this out of kindness they do it for money.

Hursticon
1st July 2011, 07:09 PM
Reprolabels is a business & they make money from it. Out of their sale price they would be making at least 100% markup & likely 200% due to the cost of producing lables being relatively cheap. These guys don't do this out of kindness they do it for money.

I dunno, I don't think they make as much money as some may think they do and it's my personal belief that they don't produce these reproductions purely for profiteering means. ;)

Prowl
1st July 2011, 07:39 PM
I dunno, I don't think they make as much money as some may think they do and it's my personal belief that they don't produce these reproductions purely for profiteering means. ;)

I don't disagree as they are providing fans with a service they otherwise would not have access to. But they would make a profit on every sheet they sell & for it to be a viable business they would need to make at least 100% mark up to even bother with it otherwise they would lose money on every transaction.

The most expensive label sheets would be the metallic G1 replica ones & even of they bought from a company like Staples at retail the quantity they consume would mean their actual cost pre production would be minimal & more than likely they buy them under a contract price arrangement. Add in the cost of printing & it still won't add up to a fraction of what they sell them for in the marketplace.

I don't know how they "cut" the labels but i would assume it would be using a die & that would be the most expensive part if they do it that way.

kup
1st July 2011, 08:04 PM
In once sent Reprolabels scans of Thunderclash stickers well over a year ago - They are yet to use them :(

rampagesss
2nd July 2011, 12:15 PM
So does this mean this thread is now over :(
Again so much awesomeness in this thread! And looking at your signature now can't help but laugh at how small the list has gotten :D
Can't wait till you post up Pictures of the last few when you get them.
Also i think we need updated pictures of your collection, as it must look incredible now :D

heroic_decepticon
3rd July 2011, 01:34 AM
So does this mean this thread is now over :(
Again so much awesomeness in this thread! And looking at your signature now can't help but laugh at how small the list has gotten :D
*snip*:D

No, it's not over!

I managed to pick up another 11 pieces of rare Transformers today!

(okay, it's not really that awesome, its actually 10 + 1).

I picked up a complete set of Japanese exclusive Suntory Coffee "BOSS Transformers", all sealed, unused and at bargain basement prices. (check my blog here (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2011/07/hk-market-watch-show-aka-toy-collectors.html)).

http://inlinethumb58.webshots.com/48505/2386499540100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2386499540100811158JzNHxu)

Very happy. I been chasing this set on Yahoo Japan for the better part of a year. Most that were on sale were either incomplete or quite expensive. I saw about 4 of the 10 figures at a shop when I was in Osaka in May, but the owner refused to sell them.

I was completely taken aback to find them here in HK, and all sealed and never assembled to boot.

No idea what these are? I didn't either, until I saw Bermuda Mohawk's site which talks about them in detail. Check it out here - Transformers BOSS - Original G1 Figures (http://raretoyinfo.blogspot.com/2010/07/transformers-boss-original-g1-figures.html)

This is what the inside looks like.
http://inlinethumb01.webshots.com/47616/2982843260100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2982843260100811158lyXEGs)

http://inlinethumb17.webshots.com/47440/2211386390100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2211386390100811158rHoKZt)

http://inlinethumb31.webshots.com/45406/2610651570100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2610651570100811158rQEDYA)

http://inlinethumb63.webshots.com/48446/2664722390100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2664722390100811158HcmJPe)

These are actually tiny. I like it that way. Lots of display possibility for bases. See comparison with KISS Player Ravage and FP Sidearm
http://inlinethumb06.webshots.com/21189/2150330090100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2150330090100811158RlDUcC)

Sky Shadow
3rd July 2011, 08:35 AM
No, it's not over!

I managed to pick up another 11 pieces of rare Transformers today!

I love those coffee figures. Particularly for their size, those are some of the most character-model-accurate 3D representations of Transformers ever released.

Hursticon
3rd July 2011, 03:06 PM
those are some of the most character-model-accurate 3D representations of Transformers ever released.

I'd have to agree with you there thoroughly SS, as they are indeed damn G1 animation model accurate! :eek:

Now those are some cool acquisitions HD, tiny yet cool. ;):cool:
I have this kidney that I found hanging back in my abdomen, would you like it in exchange for that Suntory Boss Transformers Soundwave by any chance? :p:D

rampagesss
3rd July 2011, 05:58 PM
Notably:

01: Optimus Prime MIB
C-324: Star Saber MIB (not sure of condition, didn't ask)
C-328: Victory Saber giftset (very near C10 box, completely unused)
D-307: Overlord MIB (also very near C10 box, completely unused)
D-***, which I was so stoked to find and I bought (you won't see it in the photos!)

I looked at it and told E, "Oh my gosh, I must buy that!"

And buy it I did. More to be revealed later.

First, some photos of the 'new' glass display cabinets...


Can't wait to see what this turns out to be :D

heroic_decepticon
3rd July 2011, 07:49 PM
I love those coffee figures. Particularly for their size, those are some of the most character-model-accurate 3D representations of Transformers ever released.

Yeah, really like their accuracy and their size. They are slightly different and in a way more accurate than their SCF/ Heroes of Cybetron counterparts, which usually have very exaggerated lower legs.


I'd have to agree with you there thoroughly SS, as they are indeed damn G1 animation model accurate! :eek:

Now those are some cool acquisitions HD, tiny yet cool. ;):cool:
I have this kidney that I found hanging back in my abdomen, would you like it in exchange for that Suntory Boss Transformers Soundwave by any chance? :p:D

Hey Hursti, can't oblige you there because E has claimed Soundwave. In fact, she claimed the entire set after I bought it and declared it as hers.... In the end, she agreed to revert title in Shockwave to me because I told her I absolutely must have the BOSS Shockwave figure!


Can't wait to see what this turns out to be :D

I'll see what I can do after tonight's Wimbledon men's final..... Heh....

Hursticon
3rd July 2011, 08:23 PM
Hey Hursti, can't oblige you there because E has claimed Soundwave. In fact, she claimed the entire set after I bought it and declared it as hers.... In the end, she agreed to revert title in Shockwave to me because I told her I absolutely must have the BOSS Shockwave figure!

Ah bugger, E is quite swift in her conquering of figures - I tip my hat to her, at least you owned the lot for a time though eh? :p:D

heroic_decepticon
7th July 2011, 01:16 AM
Can't wait to see what this turns out to be :D

Dedicated to rampagesss, my other mystery acquisition on 2 July 2011 is unveiled....

ta-da... very fortuitous and lucky find... another one off the list...

D-309: Black Shadow MIB

http://inlinethumb42.webshots.com/48553/2383032840100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2383032840100811158whtokR)http://inlinethumb41.webshots.com/48808/2556125700100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2556125700100811158ayreCc)

http://inlinethumb23.webshots.com/47766/2636563680100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2636563680100811158LESjKh) http://inlinethumb42.webshots.com/45481/2958589450100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2958589450100811158GusneC)

http://inlinethumb35.webshots.com/48546/2701010600100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2701010600100811158RHdNYc) http://inlinethumb31.webshots.com/49246/2778358050100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2778358050100811158bcPmKC)

http://inlinethumb22.webshots.com/7765/2159850620100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2159850620100811158FpaQLu) http://inlinethumb28.webshots.com/49115/2385149770100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2385149770100811158IcPZnF)

Write up and more photos on my blog here. (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2011/07/its-shadow.html)

valkyrie_76
7th July 2011, 04:55 AM
Very nice there HD.

I have been looking for one as well but I wont pay for what some people want for it. Plus I think Ill be holding off on purchasing the more expensive items until after October......for my holiday :D

rampagesss
7th July 2011, 10:50 AM
Dedicated to rampagesss, my other mystery acquisition on 2 July 2011 is unveiled....

ta-da... very fortuitous and lucky find... another one off the list...

D-309: Black Shadow MIB


:eek: Oh very nice! Was wondering which one is was going to be from your list, can't believe that your just down to 2 now! are you going to start collecting the Japanese Jr transformers?
Again never ceases to amaze me how you find all this incredibly rare stuff! Can't wait to see the next find :D

heroic_decepticon
7th July 2011, 11:56 AM
Very nice there HD.

I have been looking for one as well but I wont pay for what some people want for it. Plus I think Ill be holding off on purchasing the more expensive items until after October......for my holiday :D

You are right about what people are asking. I think between 8 months ago and now, the prices for Black Shadow must have doubled, when it comes to online auctions. Sometime last year in Aug, there was an Australian selling auctioning it for AU$650 BIN, which I thought was excessive. Then a UK seller auctioned another one for US$999, and it sold. Since then, people have started asking for between US$850 to $1200 for a piece.

My sources at BotCon tried to get me a piece and the price quoted was US$750, with a box that is almost entirely sun-faded. It's just mad.

I don't know whether its because of its correlation with the Thunderwing mold or whether because in LSOTW we discovered that Black Shadow is one of Megatron's "Phase Six-ers" alongside Sixshot and Overlord.

Oh, I'm sure you will be spending on expensive stuff on your holiday if you are TF shopping! (just remember to look out for my final 2 for me :D)


:eek: Oh very nice! Was wondering which one is was going to be from your list, can't believe that your just down to 2 now! are you going to start collecting the Japanese Jr transformers?
Again never ceases to amaze me how you find all this incredibly rare stuff! Can't wait to see the next find :D

hey Mike, yeah, its unbelievable. I just could not believe it when I saw it at the shop. I was so excited my wife kept teasing me afterward.

As usual, she wanted to buy it for me as well. It's strange, if she buys it, it stays as mine; but if I buy it, she will declare its hers. heh.

Also very glad that the shop didn't think this piece is worth too much, perhaps because the stickers were applied (unused, stickers unapplied stuff they usually sell for a premium).

So, I'm very happy to say that I got this for US$400, which is US$250 cheaper than what I would have been willing to pay anyway...! Yipeee!

1AZRAEL1
7th July 2011, 12:08 PM
:eek::eek::eek:

Damn, that is a great score then.

I'm gonna have to get you to hunt down an Overlord for me I think... :p

Hursticon
7th July 2011, 11:57 PM
Oh man HD - This is awesome dude, congratulations! :eek::D

I'll have to head over to your blog for the full story but man, he is one curiously cool looking figure and looks quite powerful in his black colour scheme - I think I can see why Megatron chose him as a Phase 6er, there's this sort of Elite-Warrior come Regal-ness to him. :cool:

What a great deal you got on him too, that is what I think makes this acquisition so good in a way as it's a bit of a 'flipping the bird' to the ridiculous asking prices that get applied to figures these days. ;)
It's just really cool man to see you so unbelievably close to knocking off every figure you're after! :D

He's got quite a large amount of retooling to him though doesn't he?

heroic_decepticon
9th July 2011, 02:30 AM
heroic_decepticon: before applying the stickers, may I suggest that you do hi-res scans of them and donate them to reprolabels? Maybe you can ask if they'd be willing to give you a set of those reprolabels at a discount price in return for your services.

That way you'd still be able to apply the stickers, and keep the originals unapplied too. Or if you really want to go ahead and apply the originals, at least reprolabels would have a set of them for other collectors.

Just a suggestion. :)

Hey Gok, I thought about this a lot. And have also talked to other 'holy grail' type collectors (for lack of a better term), to get their view.

* What I'm going to say might sound controversial or even evil. I'm not trying to be obnoxious, but have for a week or 2 discussed these issues with other fellow collectors who have the 'rare' Jap stuff and lots of unused sticker sheets which Reprolabels do not have * :D

No, I won't be 'donating' scans to Reprolabels. However, if I were to donate, I also won't be interested in getting back a 'repro' sheet based on what I donated - it'd be of very little value to me, and frankly borders on insulting. If I were to donate, I won't be expecting anything back from them.

These are my reasons for not donating:

1. If I have the genuine thing (which in Battle Gaia's case I do), I don't want or need the genuine articles to be stickered with repros. If I were to sticker them, I'd sticker them with the real stuff.

2. A good few collectors from TFW and myself really loathe the Gen-Y type sense of entitlement - ie: why are Transformers so expensive, they should be accessible, I am entitled to own it. There is an expectation from them that the community owes them the right to own 'rare' Transformers and that its the community that is at fault if Transformers are too expensive for them to buy. I (and a good many collectors) have no inclination of facilitating this (unjustified) sense of self entitlement - eg: I don't wish to provide a scanned Minelba sticker sheet to be repro-ed so people out there can repaint their Nightbeats into Minelba and have the stickers for it because 'everybody is entitled to a Minelba'.

3. I have no desire to help KO producers along. Imagine if Reprolabels have some of the rarer sticker sheets in stock (eg: Minelba, Battle Gaia, Guard City, etc). What's to prevent KO-ers from just buying from Reprolabels and then putting the sheets in KOs of Defensor and Bruticus (which they have the molds for) and repainting them in GC, BG colours and sell them as KO GCs and BGs. It'd be a cold day in hell before I facilitate this sort of thing.

4. For the amount of money that Reprolabels will make off it, they are terribly stingy when it comes to rewarding contributors - a sticker sheet here and there, some rub-sign stickers etc. It's such an insult, I don't even want it.


I dunno about unlimited freebies, but I think at least asking for free or discounted samples of the ones he's scanned would be within reason. :) And even without freebies or discounted, I would scan them as a service to the fandom anyway - as I said, there may be other collectors with these toys who might be adverse to applying the original stickers who would appreciate having repros to use.

Like I mentioned above, I think it'd actually be a disservice to the fandom.

I also don't see the point of buying a thousand dollar toy only to apply repros on it? What would I do with the original sticker sheet then? Don't see the sense in it.


I agree with the fandom part but when you have a rare item the least a business like reprolables could do is give HD a full set of the repro labels + X amount of sets of his chosing for providing them with this rare scan. I was joking about the unlimited freebies of course.

Reprolabels is a business & they make money from it. Out of their sale price they would be making at least 100% markup & likely 200% due to the cost of producing lables being relatively cheap. These guys don't do this out of kindness they do it for money.

Prowl, I completely agree with you. I have businesses myself and its a general rule that if you don't make at least 100% on any product that you are selling, its not a worthwhile business to do. I completely agree with you.

I can bet my bottom dollar that with economies of scale and it being an infinitely replicable product, once someone donates a scan to Reprolabels, that they are making a killing on each sheet. Any sticker sheet they are selling is unlikely to cost more than US$2 to make - hell, they could even outsource printing to India or China and get a bulk discount.

As the Joker said in the Dark Knight, "if you are good at doing something, never do it for free".

Sticker sheets are not like products that have to be put together or have multiple parts or other forms of intellectual property attached to them, they just print them off.


In once sent Reprolabels scans of Thunderclash stickers well over a year ago - They are yet to use them :(

Another reason for not donating.

Prowl
9th July 2011, 01:46 PM
A good few collectors from TFW and myself really loathe the Gen-Y type sense of entitlement - ie: why are Transformers so expensive, they should be accessible, I am entitled to own it. There is an expectation from them that the community owes them the right to own 'rare' Transformers and that its the community that is at fault if Transformers are too expensive for them to buy. I (and a good many collectors) have no inclination of facilitating this (unjustified) sense of self entitlement - eg: I don't wish to provide a scanned Minelba sticker sheet to be repro-ed so people out there can repaint their Nightbeats into Minelba and have the stickers for it because 'everybody is entitled to a Minelba'.


I agree with this. Everyone is entitled to own whatever Transformers they desire. The thing is that like all hobbies it can not only be a expensive pastime but also like all hobbies it can take time to find the things you want & I am not taking about days or weeks but months & years in some cases.

Patience is a virtue many of the younger generation do not possess. I remember how cool it was to find a CD or VHS or whatever as a teenager/young man by lucking out in a store whereas today you can hop online & get instant gratification.

I have been incredibly lucky since I started collecting a few months ago with a combination of ebay, generous fellow travellers & lucking out at stores to have built a collection I am happy with & willing to grow.

I only focus on a few selected lines that float my boat. I want "it all" & I want it "right now" but that said I am realistic enough to know that due to financial limitations, common sense & a sound grounding in reality that is simply not going to happen. My collection will be built over time & selectively as I made the mistake of buying a few TF's impulsively & whilst not huge financial mistakes they are ones I do regret buying. A cheap lesson in reality I say.

LordCyrusOmega
9th July 2011, 07:44 PM
I agree HD. Why hand over the things you had to work hard to get?
I myself eant it all and want it all now and this drives me crazy sometimes. I do however work towards what I want and expect to have to pay the asking price for it.
MP-05 was my grail for a long time and one I thought I would never own. When I eventually did get him it was for far cheaper then I ever expected. I'm still not entirely certain why people mark up the prices of things. eg if I pay $30 for something whenever then I'll sell it for $30. However people are entitled to set their prices and th majority of the time they are reasonable.
I've completely forgotten the point I was trying to make...

GoktimusPrime
9th July 2011, 10:26 PM
HD: they're your toys and your stickers. You can do whatever you want. You're under no obligation to scan the stickers for anyone if you don't want to really -- it's not like you owe the fandom anything... I just thought it might be a nice thing to do if you wanted to. But if you don't, then that's up to you.



These are my reasons for not donating:

1. If I have the genuine thing (which in Battle Gaia's case I do), I don't want or need the genuine articles to be stickered with repros. If I were to sticker them, I'd sticker them with the real stuff.
Okay, but sometimes stickers wear out or peel or fall off. For example, one of my Sunstorm stickers fell off and so have all the leg stickers on my 1986 Cyclonus. I'm not going to buy new MISB ones just to replace those stickers! In such cases I would find reprolabels most useful.


2. A good few collectors from TFW and myself really loathe the Gen-Y type sense of entitlement - ie: why are Transformers so expensive, they should be accessible, I am entitled to own it. There is an expectation from them that the community owes them the right to own 'rare' Transformers and that its the community that is at fault if Transformers are too expensive for them to buy. I (and a good many collectors) have no inclination of facilitating this (unjustified) sense of self entitlement - eg: I don't wish to provide a scanned Minelba sticker sheet to be repro-ed so people out there can repaint their Nightbeats into Minelba and have the stickers for it because 'everybody is entitled to a Minelba'.
You know my personal policy... if I want a Transformer toy (G1 or otherwise), then I'll get it from a local retailer while it's current. ;) That's what I did with Cyclonus - got him in 1986 (got a 2nd one in 1988, but I've since traded that one off yonks ago :p), but after 25 years the stickers on that toy have faded, which doesn't bother me too much, but the leg stickers have lost all adhesion and have fallen off. I've tried gluing them back on, but they keep falling off.

Now I know someone who has Sky Garry and Grandus from their childhood... if the stickers on those toys started falling off simply due to age -- then I think they would appreciate being able to access reprolabels to replace them rather than paying the ridiculous (IMO) inflated aftermarket prices for some G1 toys these days... just for the sake of new stickers.


3. I have no desire to help KO producers along. Imagine if Reprolabels have some of the rarer sticker sheets in stock (eg: Minelba, Battle Gaia, Guard City, etc). What's to prevent KO-ers from just buying from Reprolabels and then putting the sheets in KOs of Defensor and Bruticus (which they have the molds for) and repainting them in GC, BG colours and sell them as KO GCs and BGs. It'd be a cold day in hell before I facilitate this sort of thing.
Yeah alright, I can understand this argument.


4. For the amount of money that Reprolabels will make off it, they are terribly stingy when it comes to rewarding contributors - a sticker sheet here and there, some rub-sign stickers etc. It's such an insult, I don't even want it.
Well... it depends how much of a reward you want. I'd be satisfied with the knowledge that I'd helped fellow fans. Although the notion of helping bootleggers is something I hadn't considered and that would bug me.


I also don't see the point of buying a thousand dollar toy only to apply repros on it? What would I do with the original sticker sheet then? Don't see the sense in it.
Again, what if the original stickers have deteriorated?


Prowl, I completely agree with you. I have businesses myself and its a general rule that if you don't make at least 100% on any product that you are selling, its not a worthwhile business to do. I completely agree with you.

I can bet my bottom dollar that with economies of scale and it being an infinitely replicable product, once someone donates a scan to Reprolabels, that they are making a killing on each sheet. Any sticker sheet they are selling is unlikely to cost more than US$2 to make - hell, they could even outsource printing to India or China and get a bulk discount.

As the Joker said in the Dark Knight, "if you are good at doing something, never do it for free".
Well, I was suggesting doing it as an act of charity for the benefit of fellow fans. But it was just a suggestion. Maybe I'm just naive.

But anyway, it was only a suggestion -- what you choose to do with your stickers is entirely up to you. I appreciate that you at least gave it consideration. :)

heroic_decepticon
11th July 2011, 12:45 AM
HD: they're your toys and your stickers. You can do whatever you want. You're under no obligation to scan the stickers for anyone if you don't want to really -- it's not like you owe the fandom anything... I just thought it might be a nice thing to do if you wanted to. But if you don't, then that's up to you.

Hey Gok, first off, I need to apologise for perhaps phrasing my response stronger that I should.

For one thing, I love to help the fandom and have been doing so since '99 and even more so after I set up my site in 2007. It's just that I'm becoming frustrated with the way people abuse the material other people have given for free and out of the good of their hearts. Or when people use them to rip other people off or profit in an unscrupulous manner.

KO-ers using things like instruction scans, box art or sticker sheets from what is readily available online is becoming more and more real (and in fact has happened).

It's difficult to describe the rage that (perhaps a relatively small group) of G1-purists felt when we learnt the dino-casettes were being KO-ed. Like many desirable pieces, like even G1 Reflector, there goes many people's chance owning one of these pieces, with the peace of mind. There will always by some measure of doubt, and searching for the 'creme among the crap' would be so taxing and doubly difficult.

Have no illusion that the KO-ers cobble stuff together from online sources. If not the Zhong Jin KOs won't have boxes with misaligned lines, text placement and all that - ie: if all they did were scan the original boxes/cards, then there won't be such discrepancies like "Dinobot Bommander".


You know my personal policy... if I want a Transformer toy (G1 or otherwise), then I'll get it from a local retailer while it's current. ;) *snip*

Hmmm... like mentioned many times, can't argue with this one way or another. Like I said, not many people are fortunate enough to have their childhood collection intact. I think more people fall into the "I didn't have this when young, I want to buy it back now" category.


Now I know someone who has Sky Garry and Grandus from their childhood... if the stickers on those toys started falling off simply due to age -- then I think they would appreciate being able to access reprolabels to replace them rather than paying the ridiculous (IMO) inflated aftermarket prices for some G1 toys these days... just for the sake of new stickers.

Hmmm... I don't know. If I had something left over from my childhood, it'd be in pretty bad condition because I kept playing with them and crashing them around, would have loose joints too. Chances are I would buy another piece in better condition (but still keep my original one)... then, same sticker rules applies I guess.


Yeah alright, I can understand this argument.
*snip*
Although the notion of helping bootleggers is something I hadn't considered and that would bug me.

At the risk of repeating myself above, it's pretty valid. I get quite a large volume of emails on my site either asking for advise on how to distinguish between KOs or telling me that they have been duped into buying KOs.

These things are insidious I tell you.


Well... it depends how much of a reward you want. I'd be satisfied with the knowledge that I'd helped fellow fans.

No, my point is that I don't want a reward. But if they were to offer a reward (and I know Reprolabels to be stingy in that aspect), I think it'd be an insult to suggest that for my contribution, I get a reproduction print of the sheet I just contributed and few generic faction symbol sheets.

Just check out Botch's site. Many of the key pieces of box art in high resolution and sharp as a needle, never before available unobstructed, were scanned, edited and contributed by me. I don't want a reward and have never gotten one.

But it still pains me when people abuse the stuff I have contributed to the detriment of community.



Again, what if the original stickers have deteriorated?
same answer as a few paragraphs above I guess.


Well, I was suggesting doing it as an act of charity for the benefit of fellow fans. But it was just a suggestion. Maybe I'm just naive.

But anyway, it was only a suggestion -- what you choose to do with your stickers is entirely up to you. I appreciate that you at least gave it consideration. :)

Gok, I think you have a good heart and have the community's interest in your mind.

It's just that I'm getting more and more disillusioned with how people abuse the stuff we provide.

To be honest, there are still lots of stuff I have that I believe bar a few people on TFW, the community has not even seen (or knows exists). Rare pieces of art, character designs, prototypes and all that. I also have lots of high resolution unobstructed box art of Japanese exclusives that I am holding back from Botch's... all these because I am becoming disillusioned and that it would break my heart to see people abuse it after I have given it free for fans to enjoy.

I am not alone in so holding back. There are a small group of us that have these stuff (or other rare unseen stuff), but really not providing to the community because we are just sick of it being abused.

GoktimusPrime
11th July 2011, 08:41 AM
Grrr, it's always frustrating to see a small number of people abuse a resource and spoil it for everyone else. I've never been fond of bootleggers, but now that's given me a reason to hate^despise them even more. :mad:

Hursticon
11th July 2011, 11:46 AM
Grrr, it's always frustrating to see a small number of people abuse a resource and spoil it for everyone else. I've never been fond of bootleggers, but now that's given me a reason to hate^despise them even more. :mad:

I completely agree with you Goki as I've had a discussion with HD along similar lines with regards to the Dino Cassettes on his Blog. ;)

I love G1 Box-art myself and have acquired a number of images from Botch's site purely for my own enjoyment and I think that was always the intention of both Botch and HD, as well as all the others that have contributed to that site and the rest of the community, but I've often thought recently that unfortunately the site could also quite easily be used by KOers/Bootleggers do make better looking fakes and this is quite saddening. :(

It does not surprise me in the slightest that HD and others are now choosing to hold back and second guess certain contributions as it would be thoroughly disheartening to learn that something you've done for the fandom has vicariously been used to it's detriment. :(

I myself quite appreciate what Reprolabels provides for the fandom, especially as one who purely can't afford to buy multiples of the same figure but then I certainly don't hold it against those who can as I'm often green with envy in that respect :p, but I can now also see a little bit more from some of the contributors side and think that, should the contributor want it, they could be better appreciated by Reprolabels but I guess a business is a business and some are better than others. :(

At the end of the day though, so long as you continue to take your photos and scribe your write-ups HD, I'll be happy. ;):)

UltraMagnus
11th July 2011, 04:05 PM
2. A good few collectors from TFW and myself really loathe the Gen-Y type sense of entitlement - ie: why are Transformers so expensive, they should be accessible, I am entitled to own it. There is an expectation from them that the community owes them the right to own 'rare' Transformers and that its the community that is at fault if Transformers are too expensive for them to buy. I (and a good many collectors) have no inclination of facilitating this (unjustified) sense of self entitlement -
.

Excellent reason to not do it. If people complain, do one thing. Get a better job, or save more money, buy it and you will appreciate how much these things cost.
Not doing this also keeps the value of the expensive item you bought :)

gekisou
11th July 2011, 06:07 PM
I have to say that I agree with HD regarding stickers on my old toys. I have old TFs that have their stickers falling off cos I loved them to death (Sandstorm and Getaway come to mind) but I don't want new stickers. I'm quite happy the way they are. Its a good reminder of how much I loved them.

I don't know about the Gen Y's item of entitlement but I sometimes do complain if an older toy is really expensive but I know that if I can justify the cost, I WOULD definitely buy it. Dai Atlas comes to mind on this. Of cos, for some stuff, if they re-released, I have no complains buying those cos they are more affordable. I'm a fan and I collect but sometimes, you can't always get what you want. :)

dirge
11th July 2011, 06:17 PM
Very nice job there on Battle Gaia, HD! It's probably the rarest G1 piece out there... I'm very impressed you found one in such great shape.

Which isn't to say the rest isn't impressive - of course it is (:

BTW I have a suggestion, HD. Even if you don't plan to pass then onto Reprolabels, perhaps you could scan the sticker sheets before you use them (in case you ever _do_ need to reprint a sticker). Simply because finding a replacement would be nigh on impossible...

heroic_decepticon
11th July 2011, 07:14 PM
What a great deal you got on him too, that is what I think makes this acquisition so good in a way as it's a bit of a 'flipping the bird' to the ridiculous asking prices that get applied to figures these days. ;)
It's just really cool man to see you so unbelievably close to knocking off every figure you're after! :D

He's got quite a large amount of retooling to him though doesn't he?

yeah, he does have a large amount of retooling, which is great beause its not a straigh repaint - they used to be give more value in the past when it comes to "repaints". BB also has retooling and so does Greatshot, which is all great!

Saw a BB MISB go for US$920 on eBay today... gah.

jaydisc
30th July 2011, 05:20 PM
I have a hard time understanding what the ethical difference is between repro stickers, repro parts, and repro toys.

The_Damned
30th July 2011, 05:52 PM
repro stickers are ko and companies like repro labels are profiting off hastek's ip!

by the ways HD i love all of you obscure transformers you have acquired and enjoy reading the commentary that goes with it

heroic_decepticon
30th July 2011, 07:20 PM
I have a hard time understanding what the ethical difference is between repro stickers, repro parts, and repro toys.

I don't think the sticker sheet discussion was in an ethical context (although main reason for no contributing was so KO-ers cannot use it and in that sense could have an ethical element.)

To me, the key issue is passing off. If a repro item tries to pass itself off as the real thing, or is sold in the context that would lead the buyer to believe it is the real thing, then it is unacceptable to me (whether its ethical or not is for people other than me to decide).

So, going point by point...

- Repro stickers: sold from Reprolabels and stamped at the back so that it cannot be mistaken as the real thing, okay acceptable to me; if sold by someone as part of a figure claiming that it includes unused sticker sheet, not acceptable to me.

- Repro parts: okay acceptable if someone casts it for his/her own use to replace missing parts of a figure. Not acceptable if sold online and saying its a genuine part.

- Repro toys: Well, if by these you mean straight out KOs, then I don't think I need to further comment.

Again, I'm just saying it in terms of whether its acceptable or not from my perspective, and some situations may be ethical and others are may not, so I don't know.

I cannot comment on what is the ethical difference.




by the ways HD i love all of you obscure transformers you have acquired and enjoy reading the commentary that goes with it

Thanks sir!

I may have something awesome to reveal next week....! :D

1AZRAEL1
31st July 2011, 09:09 AM
- Repro stickers: sold from Reprolabels and stamped at the back so that it cannot be mistaken as the real thing, okay acceptable to me; if sold by someone as part of a figure claiming that it includes unused sticker sheet, not acceptable to me.

- Repro parts: okay acceptable if someone casts it for his/her own use to replace missing parts of a figure. Not acceptable if sold online and saying its a genuine part.

- Repro toys: Well, if by these you mean straight out KOs, then I don't think I need to further comment.


Well said, but there is always going to be both sides of the coin when it comes to all things KO.



I may have something awesome to reveal next week....! :D

Oooooo, quit teasing lol :p

Dante112011
31st July 2011, 10:13 AM
Plenty impressed...looks just so clean!!!!!!!

This makes me want to go out and buy a Nissan/Datsun 280Z and make it this clean with the same paintjob!!!!!! They're still good cars and can go for cheap, but to find one in good condition is a REAL task!

heroic_decepticon
2nd August 2011, 12:14 AM
Oooooo, quit teasing lol :p

Here it is, from fellow member Robwin1974, who is such an awesome guy and who has just rocked my world...

... a figure I have been looking for for sometime and so, so difficult to find online or offline...

C-108: Artfire

In packing box, which is very large to protect the precious content...
http://inlinethumb16.webshots.com/45839/2378574180100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2378574180100811158PkJcXH) http://inlinethumb17.webshots.com/33168/2233104760100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2233104760100811158YrDyBY)

Out of packing box...
http://inlinethumb53.webshots.com/45812/2313367900100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2313367900100811158WJmcRY) http://inlinethumb25.webshots.com/21080/2629715860100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2629715860100811158iSCMYA)

http://inlinethumb16.webshots.com/46607/2016623820100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2016623820100811158yASYSh) http://inlinethumb06.webshots.com/45061/2501095690100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2501095690100811158vQZGLn)

http://inlinethumb55.webshots.com/47734/2462792860100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2462792860100811158wfjQWy) http://inlinethumb03.webshots.com/47106/2316560010100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2316560010100811158oObJoD)

http://inlinethumb38.webshots.com/24229/2895819680100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2895819680100811158rADsgX)

Thanks once again Rob!

I'm going to lose sleep again tonight.... :p

robwin1974
2nd August 2011, 08:41 AM
Here it is, from fellow member Robwin1974, who is such an awesome guy and who has just rocked my world...

... a figure I have been looking for for sometime and so, so difficult to find online or offline...

C-108: Artfire

In packing box, which is very large to protect the precious content...
http://inlinethumb16.webshots.com/45839/2378574180100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2378574180100811158PkJcXH) http://inlinethumb17.webshots.com/33168/2233104760100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2233104760100811158YrDyBY)

Out of packing box...
http://inlinethumb53.webshots.com/45812/2313367900100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2313367900100811158WJmcRY) http://inlinethumb25.webshots.com/21080/2629715860100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2629715860100811158iSCMYA)

http://inlinethumb16.webshots.com/46607/2016623820100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2016623820100811158yASYSh) http://inlinethumb06.webshots.com/45061/2501095690100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2501095690100811158vQZGLn)

http://inlinethumb55.webshots.com/47734/2462792860100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2462792860100811158wfjQWy) http://inlinethumb03.webshots.com/47106/2316560010100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2316560010100811158oObJoD)

http://inlinethumb38.webshots.com/24229/2895819680100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2895819680100811158rADsgX)

Thanks once again Rob!

I'm going to lose sleep again tonight.... :p


No worries! You need to update your signature! :D

1AZRAEL1
2nd August 2011, 10:09 AM
That is such a marvelous piece there HD. Looks so pristine like it has come straight off the production line.

Not much left for you to get now ay? :p

rampagesss
2nd August 2011, 02:15 PM
:eek: :eek: :eek: Holy crap Artfire! congrats mate, looks totally mint! is the box opened or sealed?
I know its just a repainted inferno but for some reason everything works well and it a great looking figure
But yea not much let now hey :D

heroic_decepticon
2nd August 2011, 11:49 PM
That is such a marvelous piece there HD. Looks so pristine like it has come straight off the production line.

Not much left for you to get now ay? :p

Yes, it does look very very well presented. My wife wanted to pry it open just now, but I managed to convince her that we should wait for a nice occassion (if at all!).


:eek: :eek: :eek: Holy crap Artfire! congrats mate, looks totally mint! is the box opened or sealed?
I know its just a repainted inferno but for some reason everything works well and it a great looking figure
But yea not much let now hey :D

Yup, you're right, its a repainted Inferno, but the colour scheme does work extremely well. I didn't realise it before physically holding this piece, but the parts that are white for Inferno (ie: wings, hose, ladder, etc), are actually silver for Artfire.

Yes, not much more to go... lately, I been picking up bits and pieces... just won auctions for Rotostorm and 2 MM Transports today...

Azrael, I'm still needing that Cannon Transport you bought at this Parra Fair when i was still in Sydney... heehee...

heroic_decepticon
18th August 2011, 09:12 AM
This is so awesome that I was bewildered, shocked, dumbstruck, delighted and ... well, see what it is...

http://inlinethumb33.webshots.com/47264/2557308260100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2557308260100811158QYrlpU)

G1, 1984, pre-rub, Bluestreak MISB - and as good as casefresh.

It was a gift from a Canadian buddy which I only knew about when I received the package. Not sure what I did to deserve it, but this and the blue Bluestreak at the beginning of this thread really tops up and rounds off my collection nicely.

Now if only I can get my hands on that elusive blue Japanese one...

Full story and write up and a lot more photos on my blog. (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2011/08/g1-pre-rub-bluestreak-misb.html)

rampagesss
18th August 2011, 10:24 AM
Dear God :eek: The box looks perfect! And to receive it as a gift, you have some dam cool friends! Congrats, so do you now have all the bluestreaks released?
Blue Bluestreak
Pre Rub Bluestreak
Chrome Bluestreak
Animation Bluestreak

Also did you ever get that custom seeker off ebay?

heroic_decepticon
18th August 2011, 07:27 PM
Dear God :eek: The box looks perfect! And to receive it as a gift, you have some dam cool friends! Congrats, so do you now have all the bluestreaks released?
Blue Bluestreak
Pre Rub Bluestreak
Chrome Bluestreak
Animation Bluestreak

Also did you ever get that custom seeker off ebay?

Yes, got them all I think.

I also have the rub sign version loose and another one MIB. Don't have the Jap box though.

Have not looked into the seekers yet. Flying off tonight, so won't be another 2 weeks till I get a chance...

heroic_decepticon
2nd October 2011, 12:20 AM
After missing out on many auctions in early 2010, some of which were from Australian sellers when I was there, and another close miss when I was in Japan in February 2011, finally....... D-310: Blue Bacchus MIB, whew!

In a funny sort of way, I managed to get this piece due to Botch emailing Bodhar2000 and myself in the same email, during his awesome adventures in Japan (more awesome then Bill & Teds adventures I tell ya!).

So, back to the email. By the by, I asked Bodhar2000 whether he happened to have a MIB Blue Bacchus for sale. 2 days later, he came back and said, 'yes, I do have one for sale'. Whoa. I was over the moon.

So, here it is, Blue Bacchus, sourced from the very land that produced it itself...

http://inlinethumb22.webshots.com/47765/2220508640100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2220508640100811158pRaWPB)

http://inlinethumb17.webshots.com/3216/2803441230100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2803441230100811158UkXxqE)

One of the best head-sculpts, seriously...
http://inlinethumb19.webshots.com/5394/2593933970100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2593933970100811158IgaRTs)

With his fellow space gangster
http://inlinethumb32.webshots.com/49823/2341691120100811158S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2341691120100811158ChiuvD)

http://inlinethumb25.webshots.com/49560/2306196580100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2306196580100811158ZTWKUU)

Lots more photos here... (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2011/10/finally-d-310-blue-bacchus-mib-whew.html)

rampagesss
2nd October 2011, 11:08 AM
wow, so this means they you have completed all of G1 :eek:
Congrats mate i know how long you have been trying to get this, now we need a shot of the completed collection :D
Also are you going to get the Japanese Transformers Jr's?

Hursticon
2nd October 2011, 06:07 PM
Bam! :eek:

A massive congratulations HD as this has been a long time coming with this figure, or at least that is how it feels :p, but might I say that he certainly does have quite an interesting sculpt for a retool/repaint. ;):cool:

I agree with you that he does have a nice facial sculpt, it's almost Autobot-esque but the eye-colour and proximity of faction logo address that quite quickly. :)
His arms on the other hand seem somewhat kibbly :confused:, is it indeed kibble or do the various parts serve as actual Bot mode weapons? :o

Rampagesss brings up an interesting point though, does this recent acquisition not suggest that you've completed G1 from all 3 points of it's release? - If so that is a simply astounding feat of which I'd like to both commend and congratulate you on dude! :eek::D

Something tells me though HD, that you've not finished with the Robots in Disguise just yet... ;):cool:

rampagesss
2nd October 2011, 06:14 PM
Bam! :eek:

A massive congratulations HD as this has been a long time coming with this figure, or at least that is how it feels :p, but might I say that he certainly does have quite an interesting sculpt for a retool/repaint. ;):cool:

I agree with you that he does have a nice facial sculpt, it's almost Autobot-esque but the eye-colour and proximity of faction logo address that quite quickly. :)
His arms on the other hand seem somewhat kibbly :confused:, is it indeed kibble or do the various parts serve as actual Bot mode weapons? :o

Rampagesss brings up an interesting point though, does this recent acquisition not suggest that you've completed G1 from all 3 points of it's release? - If so that is a simply astounding feat of which I'd like to both commend and congratulate you on dude! :eek::D

Something tells me though HD, that you've not finished with the Robots in Disguise just yet... ;):cool:

I think HD should sell the whole G1 collection (to me :D) And then start from scratch all over again :D

Hursticon
2nd October 2011, 06:42 PM
I think HD should sell the whole G1 collection (to me :D) And then start from scratch all over again :D

I think E might have something to say about that. :p:D

heroic_decepticon
2nd October 2011, 07:29 PM
wow, so this means they you have completed all of G1 :eek:
Congrats mate i know how long you have been trying to get this, now we need a shot of the completed collection :D

Thanks mate! A complete shot of the collection may not be possible until I get the entire collection all in the one country! :D while that has been my aim for the past couple of years, I think its something that is still not viable in the medium term simply because of the size (my TFs in Singapore are in close to 50 mid-sized plastic storage boxes, in shelves in a 2m x 2m store room (completely filled to the top) and in a couple of cabinets).

If I bring them all to HK, I'd have no place to walk or sleep...


Bam! :eek:

A massive congratulations HD as this has been a long time coming with this figure, or at least that is how it feels :p, but might I say that he certainly does have quite an interesting sculpt for a retool/repaint. ;):cool:

*snip*

Rampagesss brings up an interesting point though, does this recent acquisition not suggest that you've completed G1 from all 3 points of it's release? - If so that is a simply astounding feat of which I'd like to both commend and congratulate you on dude! :eek::D

Something tells me though HD, that you've not finished with the Robots in Disguise just yet... ;):cool:

In answer to both your questions, I think BB certainly has brought my Japanese G1 collection to a close, although there are loose ends. Examples of loose ends are Stepper (don't have the vintage one), Shuffler (don't have vintage), vintage Sixbuilder (sold), vintage Sixtrain (sold) and a few of the Operation Combiner giftsets which I have sold.

In other words, I can't really claim to have a complete Japanese G1 collection, but in my mind, I'm quite done unless I want to go after these specific pieces. :p

As to US releases, I don't collect ActionMasters, so again, cannot claim to have completed US G1. It's complete for my purposes though.


but might I say that he certainly does have quite an interesting sculpt for a retool/repaint. ;):cool:

I agree with you that he does have a nice facial sculpt, it's almost Autobot-esque but the eye-colour and proximity of faction logo address that quite quickly. :)
His arms on the other hand seem somewhat kibbly :confused:, is it indeed kibble or do the various parts serve as actual Bot mode weapons? :o


Yes, the face sculpt is awesome! And very robotic too, which is good (but that makes him not much of a pretender I fear). heh.



Also are you going to get the Japanese Transformers Jr's?

The short answer to that is 'no', but I will explain why.

I used to have lots of TF jnrs when I was young. but that is because we could not afford the real thing, so my brother and I had to make do with 'cheap' downgraded versions of real TFs that were neither here nor there (eg: Ultra Magnus with a paper trailer section; a 6 inch Galvatron in only 3 tones of colour; etc). Of course, most of these had poor(er) quality plastic, no chrome and no metal.

By that same token, we also had a lot of Kabaya type TFs (ie: model kit that comes with candy, etc), and these are things I'm simply not going to be interested in no matter how rare or valuable they are now due to scarcity of supply or otherwise.

I see jnrs and Kabaya as replacements or placeholders of the real thing, so I'm not that fond of them... hahaha

Therefore, if I can buy the real thing, I almost certainly will not buy the jnrs (that's my view anyway).

Hursticon
2nd October 2011, 07:38 PM
If I bring them all to HK, I'd have no place to walk or sleep...

LOL, I could very well imagine that. :p:D


In answer to both your questions, I think BB certainly has brought my Japanese G1 collection to a close, although there are loose ends. Examples of loose ends are Stepper (don't have the vintage one), Shuffler (don't have vintage), vintage Sixbuilder (sold), vintage Sixtrain (sold) and a few of the Operation Combiner giftsets which I have sold.

In other words, I can't really claim to have a complete Japanese G1 collection, but in my mind, I'm quite done unless I want to go after these specific pieces. :p

Ah, so you've sold a couple have you? - well at least that gives you something to hunt should you decide to indeed. ;):cool:


As to US releases, I don't collect ActionMasters, so again, cannot claim to have completed US G1. It's complete for my purposes though.

Meh, they're not really Transformers anyway dude - So I think you can still make that claim. ;):D


Yes, the face sculpt is awesome! And very robotic too, which is good (but that makes him not much of a pretender I fear). heh.

LOL, I guess that little facet never really did bother the Decepticon Pretenders much huh? :p:D

heroic_decepticon
2nd October 2011, 07:46 PM
LOL, I could very well imagine that. :p:D

yeah, E would definitely not approve of that!


Ah, so you've sold a couple have you? - well at least that gives you something to hunt should you decide to indeed. ;):cool:

yup, have sold a couple to help others reach their collecting objectives, so its a good cause. Anyway, these are not so difficult to find if I wanted to look out for them (fingers crossed).


Meh, they're not really Transformers anyway dude - So I think you can still make that claim. ;):D

Hahaha, I agree, but there are collectors who are fond of them, although I must confess, I cannot fathom why.

LOL, I guess that little facet never really did bother the Decepticon Pretenders much huh? :p:D[/QUOTE]

hahaha... guess, not, they have no need to pretend anyway, they destroy.

Oh, didn't answer your question on the kibble. The stuff on BB's arms are actually the helicopter landing skis. they would be kibble except that there are 3 missiles (not firing type) on each ski that I presume he can use in robot mode. Then the large blue tail of the helicopter he is holding is also actually his gun. Not sure if you consider these kibble.:D

Hursticon
2nd October 2011, 07:59 PM
yup, have sold a couple to help others reach their collecting objectives, so its a good cause. Anyway, these are not so difficult to find if I wanted to look out for them (fingers crossed).

With the detective skills you've got along with the Team of E and UM, I don't imagine it would take you too much to find them again; and knowing you they'll be better condition than the last too! :D


Hahaha, I agree, but there are collectors who are fond of them, although I must confess, I cannot fathom why.

Hehe, neither can I man; the only one I felt was worthy of me owning him was Soundwave. :p


hahaha... guess, not, they have no need to pretend anyway, they destroy.

LOL, yeah, you're right and especially if you take Skullgrin into account! - A movie star!?! :confused::p


Oh, didn't answer your question on the kibble. The stuff on BB's arms are actually the helicopter landing skis. they would be kibble except that there are 3 missiles (not firing type) on each ski that I presume he can use in robot mode. Then the large blue tail of the helicopter he is holding is also actually his gun. Not sure if you consider these kibble.:D

Ah, so they are his actual weapons; I'd definitely accept him using the the landing gear/missile launchers in Bot mode and the fact that he uses his Tail-plane as a weapon I certainly wouldn't say is kibble - In actuality, Id go so far as to say that it looks like the design and engineering pre-cursive approach to weapons the TakTom engineers would eventually take with the later-end G2 and Beast Wars figures, so BB also doubles as an example of TF evolution on a number of fronts! :eek:

heroic_decepticon
29th December 2011, 06:49 PM
I have recently been playing catch up with posting stuff that I have photographed.

Presenting the 4 dino-cassettes, with detailed photos here:

C-121: Gurafi MIB (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-headmasters-dino-cassette-c-121.html)
C-122: Noizu MIB (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-headmasters-dino-cassette-c-122.html)
C-123: Dairu MIB (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-headmasters-dino-cassette-c-123.html)
C-124: Zauru MIB (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-headmaster-dino-cassette-c-124.html)
Collective photos of all 4 (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2011/12/altogether-now-dino-cassettes-gurafi.html)
Here's hoping that these can help collectors descern, in High End TFs' words, "the creme from the crap".

***

SUMMARY

C-121: Gurafi MIB review
Gurafi has a nice cassette mode and even a fun transformation, but his dino-mode just does not do it for me. It's kind of boring and just stands there upright with wings that are difficult to position convincingly. The weapon attachments to the wings also appear to be after-thoughts and do not add much utility. I think the key reasons the design was so limited is because it needed to combine, so at least that is forgivable. I would rate this as my least favourite among the 4 dino-cassettes and give it an overall rating of 6.5/10.

http://inlinethumb58.webshots.com/46969/2304174930100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2304174930100811158myVjQT) http://inlinethumb15.webshots.com/46350/2106177800100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2106177800100811158jgDGdU)

More photos here (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-headmasters-dino-cassette-c-121.html).


C-122: Noizu MIB review
The first thing I thought when I said Noizu was that 'I like his colour scheme'. There is something about this shade of blue he is in that works for me, somehow. To be honest, I think his transformation sequence from cassette to dinosaur is highly reminiscent is not substantially similar with Overkill's transformation. Even his dino-saur mode looks like Overkill. The similarities, of course, stop there - Noizu has additional engineering and can further transform to combine with Gurafi to form Decibel. In dino-mode, I'm not like the after effect of parting the legs for stability - it results in Noizu having '2 tails', which is weird. Noizu is otherwise my third favourite dino-cassette and I give him a rating of 7/10.

http://inlinethumb20.webshots.com/49235/2240618390100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2240618390100811158bvYvLY) http://inlinethumb27.webshots.com/47066/2382318540100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2382318540100811158Ayurla)

More photos here (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-headmasters-dino-cassette-c-122.html).


C-123: Dairu review
This is one of my favourite dino-cassettes in terms of the stunning box art and also the dinosaur mode. The transformation and engineering built into this little guy is very very impressive - it has easily the most complex transformation among the 4 dino-cassettes and is very intricate in its design. The transformation from cassette to dinosaur is complex and fun and so is the transformation into its combined form Legout. The teal-green colour scheme of the toy is a little odd, but suitably dino-like. The colour scheme shown on the box art and the box art itself is just stunning. I just cannot decide whether Dairu or Zauru is my favourite dino-cassette - on the one hand there is the intricate complexity of Dairu and on the other hand there is the clean, simple and effective elegance of Zauru. Man, I can't decide! Overall, Dairu gets a rating of 8.5/10.

http://inlinethumb33.webshots.com/45856/2512511110100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2512511110100811158mStHol) http://inlinethumb02.webshots.com/46657/2083459030100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2083459030100811158QtFrwA)

More photos here (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-headmasters-dino-cassette-c-123.html).


C-124: Zauru MIB review
Zauru have a nice and pretty symmetrical cassette mode. It's transformation from cassette to dino-mode is simple, elegant and yet effectively achieves the key features of a 'Brontosaurus' (okay Apatosaurus, but I like the misnomer better) - it is really lanky with a long neck and long tail making it the longest cassette transformer. It is not complex like Dairu is, but there is a lot about its simplicity and its quiet colour scheme that makes Zauru mysterious, shy and yet an attractive piece. This guy is easily one of my favourite dino-cassettes - love the box art and the toy is the best all round because it achieves its intended dino mode with its simple yet effective elegance. However, as mentioned previously, I just cannot decide whether Zauru or Dairu is the favourite. Overall, I would rate Zauru 8.5/10.

http://inlinethumb04.webshots.com/46723/2833660090100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2833660090100811158SpXIge) http://inlinethumb04.webshots.com/47427/2559699430100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2559699430100811158tzHkPS)

More photos here (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-headmaster-dino-cassette-c-124.html).


The dino-cassettes, Decibel and Legout

http://inlinethumb05.webshots.com/13124/2665244170100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2665244170100811158KkrKFi) http://inlinethumb04.webshots.com/48579/2382395100100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2382395100100811158YMPnGC)

http://inlinethumb36.webshots.com/48675/2861878060100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2861878060100811158BMSYGg) http://inlinethumb22.webshots.com/47445/2636743330100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2636743330100811158sxyQNk)


MIB with the communicators
http://inlinethumb40.webshots.com/47847/2277206630100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2277206630100811158BSXwkH) http://inlinethumb23.webshots.com/48790/2359691860100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2359691860100811158qxrhRo)

More photos here (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2011/12/altogether-now-dino-cassettes-gurafi.html).

Season's greetings and a happy new year!

~ HD

GoktimusPrime
29th December 2011, 09:48 PM
The gestalt forms really don't look as good as the '88 cassette gestalts - but as you rightfully pointed out, these did come first. And Graphy's robot mode looks like it's better designed than Grand Slam's -- at least it still looks like a pterosaur on it's own, whereas Grand Slam's tank mode is heavily reliant on accessories. Without the guns he's just a box with treads. ;)

heroic_decepticon
29th December 2011, 09:53 PM
The gestalt forms really don't look as good as the '88 cassette gestalts - but as you rightfully pointed out, these did come first. And Graphy's robot mode looks like it's better designed than Grand Slam's -- at least it still looks like a pterosaur on it's own, whereas Grand Slam's tank mode is heavily reliant on accessories. Without the guns he's just a box with treads. ;)

Grand Slam is actually quite fun with the number of weapons he has though. I do think that Decibel at least, is better looking than Squarkbox, who looks terrible with a case of elogated groin...

GoktimusPrime
29th December 2011, 11:20 PM
Grand Slam is actually quite fun with the number of weapons he has though
Sure, but from an engineering perspective, I find Grand Slam to be among the weaker of the G1 cassettes since his robot mode is so reliant on accessories. It's no where near as bad as say Gunrunner (whose alt mode is nothing without his accessory!) - but still...

When I look at photos of Graphy I can see that the robot mode is fairly solid insofar that it still holds on its own without the guns. I'm not too fond of Transformers that are so reliant on their accessories that they can't "function" without them. If you take say Raindance or Beastbox - they still look like a jet and gorilla without their accessories. Likewise all these dino cassettes look like dinos regardless of their accessories. The thing I have with Grand Slam is that if you lose his guns he just fails at transforming into his robot mode. If you lost Graphy's guns (not saying that you would, but speaking hypothetically of course ;)) I imagine that he could still adequately transform into his saurian robot mode. So in that regard I can appreciate Graphy's engineering over Grand Slam's... well, vicariously appreciate it through your photos and text descriptions - as I've yet to see any of these toys for myself IRL! :D (donations always welcome :p)

heroic_decepticon
29th May 2012, 01:36 AM
Obtained another item that is "worthy" of this thread... heh

Not-for-sale 立体ユニワロンPOP (ie: inflatable "3D" Unicron POP) promotional display for Transformers: The Movie (1986)

Far as I know, there are only 3 known pieces of this in the world and mine is the only unused, unassembled piece (not that more cannot be discovered).

http://inlinethumb12.webshots.com/48459/2386958600100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2386958600100811158bbWVmG) http://inlinethumb59.webshots.com/48314/2579036710100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2579036710100811158JpSFai)

http://inlinethumb59.webshots.com/48826/2003070470100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2003070470100811158KMEJqG) http://inlinethumb21.webshots.com/50132/2474431070100811158S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2474431070100811158kNMlIK)

More photos and full story on my blog! (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2012/05/not-for-sale-pop-ie-inflatable-3d.html#more) :D

Ultra Mackness
29th May 2012, 04:12 AM
Wow:eek::eek: that crashing sound was my jaw hitting the ground!! What an amazing piece HD! In my ideal (dream!) Transformers display room I have one of these hanging from the roof, but you've got one in reality! Congrats dude:)

5FDP
29th May 2012, 08:08 AM
That's an awesome score HD... very unique. If you don't mind me asking, how much did it set you back?

Slag
29th May 2012, 08:10 AM
so,, are you going to inflate it? :D

theshape
29th May 2012, 08:14 AM
Wow, amazing find :eek:

heroic_decepticon
29th May 2012, 09:02 AM
Wow:eek::eek: that crashing sound was my jaw hitting the ground!! What an amazing piece HD! In my ideal (dream!) Transformers display room I have one of these hanging from the roof, but you've got one in reality! Congrats dude:)

Thanks Mickey. It indeed is an amazing piece of history, and one that was never for sale too.


That's an awesome score HD... very unique. If you don't mind me asking, how much did it set you back?

thanks Ben! I will PM you.

If I could if anybody has any knowledge of whether any other pieces exist outside of the other 2 pieces stated in my blog and mine, I'd be very grateful. The veterans over at TFW has confirmed that this is only the third known specimen in the world, but us guys over at OZ may have come across others?

1orion2many
29th May 2012, 08:48 PM
If there was any in Oz back in the day it most probably ended up as a beach ball :D

heroic_decepticon
29th May 2012, 09:11 PM
so,, are you going to inflate it? :D

My wife certainly intends to!


Wow, amazing find :eek:

Thanks man!


If there was any in Oz back in the day it most probably ended up as a beach ball :D

It may still end up as a beach ball... But it has spikey stuff though

Skullcruncher
29th May 2012, 09:43 PM
Wow that is one cool piece of TF Merchandise!

Hursticon
8th June 2012, 01:49 PM
Wow HD!, you continue to excel in the acquisition of the unique & unobtainable! :eek::eek::eek:
An absolutely stunning and awesome find mate, congratulations; I imagine E would be digging it just as much as yourself too! ;):D