Maz's Articles & Reviews

[TAAUBlaster]

I love reading the collector interviews

[Maz]

When you collect Transformers, the beauty of it is that you decide how deep or varied your collection and interests can be. While this can sometimes depend on your circumstances, most of the time it’s probably down to collector preference and taste. Whether it’s devotion to a particular character, series, aesthetic or type of Transformer, there seems to be no limit to how much a collector can diversify. You can buy the supposed high-end prestige version in the Masterpiece line, the vintage version from your childhood or the modern updated mainline representation. Possibly even an unofficial tribute. One can even go beyond the toys and enter the world of merchandise and paperwork, or maybe original art and pre-production material.

How Far Can You Take It? | Source Blog <- CLICK TO READ



All the best
Maz

[Maz]

I have returned to collecting vintage G1 Transformers after many forays into modern Transformers lines. This return coincided with a request from IDW Transformers More Than Meets The Eye writer James Roberts to photograph the Scavengers toys (G1 Misfire, Krok, Crankcase and Spinister) for one panel of issue #45. Having to acquire these toys forced me to see just how much I loved buying and owning G1 toys. A solid 1987 Headmasters and Targetmasters collection has sprouted from that realisation, all packaged with good stickers maintained well by the original childhood owner. Whatever the childhood owner whose toys I bought didn't have, I found elsewhere, but I insisted on maintaining the display and item quality that already existed in the collection I had purchased. G1 Headmaster Horrorcon Apeface has been the hardest regular-size Headmaster to find in excellent condition and packaged. The one below is the second boxed one I bought, but of course the stickers were unapplied. What to do?

Square One: Applying Vintage G1 Stickers <- CLICK TO READ



All the best
Maz

[liegeprime]

I bet HD is having a big grin right now hehehehe ..... it starts with one....heheheheh

[Maz]

When Takara created the concept boards for the 1987 Transformers that would eventually become Headmasters and Targetmasters, two of the Decepticons proposed under the “New Direction” of the brand were called simply “Triplechangers”. One was to be a US Air Force F-16 and gorilla, while the other was shown as an SR71 Blackbird and dinosaur. These two Triplechanger figures eventually became what we now know and love as the 1987 Decepticon Headmaster Horrorcons Apeface and Snapdragon, respectively. At the time of those concept boards, the Headmaster gimmick was not in evidence, so these special toys not only incorporate the celebrated Transformers triplechanging feature, but also the Headmaster pilot gimmick that pretty much defines 1987′s “New Direction”.

1987 Decepticon Headmaster Horrorcons | Source Blog <- CLICK TO READ



All the best
Maz

[tfgrandaddy]

Really enjoying these G1 write-ups. The Horrorcons are fantastic.

[Maz]

Meet Godert Walter, a Dutch Transformers fan who has accomplished more than most during his time in the hobby. He’s built Autobot City in a farmhouse, he’s helped create the infamous Trypticon Races, he’s walked into Hasbro’s offices and secured endorsement for the Dutch Transformers conventions he’s helped to conceive and organise. Having walked away from the hobby once and returned, Godert is now extremely particular about how he curates his beautiful Transformers collection, one we can all appreciate for its imagination and ambition, much like the man himself.


Collector Interview 42 – Godert Walter | Source Blog <- CLICK TO READ




All the best
Maz

[Maz]

The long-awaited MP-25 Masterpiece Tracks from Takara Tomy finally saw release in early November. With various retailers filling orders throughout the world and opinion quite generally divided among collectors as to whether or not the Kobayashi-designed Tracks is up to the same standard as the previous Autobot cars, I decided to feature the new kid on the block this week and give my own opinion on his Masterpiece credentials. The sparkly blue Corvette Stingray, boasting three modes true to his Diaclone and G1 Transformers history, has come in for a fair amount of criticism as well as plenty of adoration. Do collectors have cause to worry about the perceived new direction of the Masterpiece Transformers brand? Is this Kobayashi-designed Car Robot a match for the Hasui-designed predecessors?

MP-25 Tracks – A True Masterpiece? | Source Blog <- CLICK TO READ



All the best
Maz

[Maz]

Regular and long-time readers of this blog will remember when I could produce a ‘News To Me’ article, reporting on newly discovered vintage Transformers variants or secrets, every few months. It’s been nearly two years since the last article of this type, such has been my shift in collecting focus and the slowdown of finds from the early days of the brand. Finally, though, there have been enough discoveries of note – or rather things I finally learned of – that I can produce another chapter in this series of articles demonstrating that there’s still a mystery or two to be had in vintage collecting.

News To Me – 2015 Edition | Source Blog <- CLICK TO READ



All the best
Maz

[5FDP]

The long-awaited MP-25 Masterpiece Tracks from Takara Tomy finally saw release in early November. With various retailers filling orders throughout the world and opinion quite generally divided among collectors as to whether or not the Kobayashi-designed Tracks is up to the same standard as the previous Autobot cars, I decided to feature the new kid on the block this week and give my own opinion on his Masterpiece credentials. The sparkly blue Corvette Stingray, boasting three modes true to his Diaclone and G1 Transformers history, has come in for a fair amount of criticism as well as plenty of adoration. Do collectors have cause to worry about the perceived new direction of the Masterpiece Transformers brand? Is this Kobayashi-designed Car Robot a match for the Hasui-designed predecessors?

MP-25 Tracks – A True Masterpiece? | Source Blog <- CLICK TO READ


All the best
Maz

That was easily the most comprehensive 'review' of Tracks that I have read so far.