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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 5, 2016 7:29:23 GMT
The honourable mentions list is somewhat long this week: Scavenger (fun toy, don't believe fandom) Predacon Shockwave Cliffjumper Wing Saber (impossible to find and necessary) Prowl & Checkpoint (great repaint 2 pack) Classics Optimus Classics Jetfire Universe2 Inferno Movie Incinerator ROTF Mindwipe DOTM Skyhammer (VERY good TF Helicopter) DOTM Shockwave Animated Wreck Gar (why wasn't this idea done before, Dust Cart Wreck Gar is so obvious when you think about it) T30 Springer (see bellow) T30 Sandstorm T30 Whirl T30 Roadbuster T30 Brainstorm CW Silverbolt CW Hot Spot CW Cyclonus CW Sky Lynx Just missing the cut (I found I had pulled seven names on my top 5 list before a moment of inspiration this morning are: Vector Prime - great sci fi toy, superb minicon United Lugnut Lovely colour scheme and a lot of fun TR Sentinel Prime blinding colours but again loads of fun So ..... 5) United MegatronIt took three tries to get this one right but these colours are spot on, so Megatron. 4) CW OptimusDecent Optimus but gets in here by giving Optimus the ability to become a combiner core. 3) CD ScattershotLOADS of guns and missiles. I need to re-acquire one of these. 2) Armada OverloadBig solid robot. Odd vehicle that interacts with Jetfire by transporting it. Great add on for Optimus. 1) Cloud RodimusI forgot about this till this morning. Yes it's a repaint but oh what a repaint! Springer is very good already this throws an amazing redeco on it and by the power of colour alone turns it into a different character. I got one for £100 and considered I'd got a bargain. Now doing £160s-£170s on eBay!
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 11, 2016 7:12:32 GMT
Thursday Tease:
This week's top 5 toys is a dream or an illusion and any thought nobody will guess it is an unrealistic hope.
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Post by Baron B of Triple B on Aug 11, 2016 9:39:38 GMT
Mirage? Have there been more than 5 Mirage toys?
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 11, 2016 10:34:36 GMT
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Post by Baron B of Triple B on Aug 11, 2016 10:48:07 GMT
Is it Mirage?
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Post by Pinwig on Aug 11, 2016 10:49:45 GMT
<checks index>
How has Mirage not already been done!?
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 11, 2016 11:04:57 GMT
There is another 84 Autobot who hasn't been done too!
As for how we've not done either of them yet, both have had new toys during Combiner Wars, along with 6 other Autobots, which delayed some of their entries as well and I don't want to have all the Autobots at once. Generally if I can see a character with a new toy imminent I'll bump it back a few months. Next two month's character for example got bumped back for a newer version.
As to who this week is, you'll find out in the morning as ever!
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Post by The Doctor on Aug 11, 2016 17:26:50 GMT
Someone who lives in a castle of illusion. This could cause confusion.
So they are in a (k)nightmare.
Skids!
But he has been done!
So Inferno then.
-Ralph
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 12, 2016 6:19:12 GMT
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Post by The Doctor on Aug 12, 2016 7:49:10 GMT
WTF!
Mirage was guessed! You should have said!
-Ralph
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Post by Pinwig on Aug 12, 2016 7:51:39 GMT
Phil never reveals until Friday. He truly is a man of mystery.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 12, 2016 8:14:43 GMT
Mirage is a racing car, all non Mirage racing cars automatically excluded. 5) Botcon 2007I am a sucker for clear repaints. I must own this toy. 4) Combiner WarsGood. Could have been a whole lot better with a car nose chest and a new gun. 3) 1984Original Mirage is a great, great toy. Sideswipe TF with an added waist joint. Sadly said waist is notoriously fragile marking this one down. 2) Robot Master LigierThe flipchanger race cars were dreamed up in the mid 90s, came out in Machine Wars with fairly plain colours and then got repainted a few times (There's a lovely Clear Blue Indy Heat which is very nearly Mirage) It's surprising then that it took them so long to do the Mirage toy in Mirage colours. But this looks gorgeous. 1) ClassicsThere's something about this design. Not quite traditional Transformer it looks fabulous. Great toy. May need to re-acquire one.
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Post by Benn on Aug 12, 2016 10:49:45 GMT
Oh, Mirage! I can do this one!
5. Beast Machines - He's an ugly little toy, but fun to mess around with. Lots of translucence, which is nice, but... it's Mirage in Name Only, really. 4. Robot Masters - Underrated by me for a long time, I thought that just hanging the front of the car down his front was clumsy and lazy. Much more fun in hand though, and now I own the proper Mirage colours, top stuff.
3. Alternators - Not an F1 car? Heresy! And yet, it works. I like this toy a lot, the mold is my favorite Alternator one, and dual wielding pistols is always fun.
2. Henkei - Like Classics, but better. I think I own all the retail releases of this toy (Classics, Henkei, Drag Strip and Fracture), and am always on the look out for the BotCon MW version. Super fun, super posable, standout of the forst Classics wave.
1. The Transformers - Nothing tops the original. As an F1 fan, nothing will until we get an accurate F1 mode for him. Pretty guns, nice big shoulder launcher (bring these back Hasbro! I don't care about hiding the guns in alt mode!) and all round tops toy.
I've also got the adorable Robot Heroes toy (maybe twice) and the Kreo. So I wonder what I'm missing... the Spychanger, certainly. Is there anything else?
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Post by The Doctor on Aug 12, 2016 11:40:32 GMT
COMBOBAT.
-Ralph
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Post by legios on Aug 12, 2016 12:36:06 GMT
5. Beast Machines - He's an ugly little toy, but fun to mess around with. Lots of translucence, which is nice, but... it's Mirage in Name Only, really. In fairness to him though, he's not really supposed to have anything in common with the "The Transformers" Mirage other than the name and a bit of a nod in the alt-mode. It's not as if he is supposed to be the same character so I don't see the lack of resemblance as a bug personally. More of a feature. Karl
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Post by Benn on Aug 12, 2016 12:51:56 GMT
Yeah, this is true. I still like the little bugger, he's unusual and is a lot of fun. But if Phil can exclude all non-racing car Mirages...
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 12, 2016 13:36:26 GMT
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 12, 2016 13:41:32 GMT
So I wonder what I'm missing... the Spychanger, certainly. Is there anything else? www.tfu.info/2001/Autobot/Mirage/mirage.htmThe Spychanger is available in several colours and there's two exclusive clear classics. Then there's the Minicon who has an X-Dimension repaint in the actual Mirage colours as well as several other flavours. www.tfu.info/2003/Micron/XIndy/indy.htmThe Energon boat should not be called Mirage.
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Post by legios on Aug 12, 2016 14:00:58 GMT
Yeah, this is true. I still like the little bugger, he's unusual and is a lot of fun. But if Phil can exclude all non-racing car Mirages... I adore BM Mirage, he is a great little toy, one of my favourite Vehicons actually. He will be in my top five when I get a chance to write up my little list. (He's got a little list, he's got a little list...) Karl
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Post by Kingoji on Aug 12, 2016 14:40:05 GMT
I've never seen that Scavenger before. He has a very Wheeled Warriors-feeling alt mode, which is delightful.
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Post by legios on Aug 17, 2016 20:01:37 GMT
BM Scavenger is great. It gets better when you realise that it is a Demolition Drone - causing the mental image of a whole army of them steadily bringing down Cybertropolis for remodeling to the accompaniement of a chorus of perfectly in time metallic "NOM. NOM. NOM. NOM." noises.
Most Mirage's are Autobot racing cars of one stripe or another. But at least one Mirage is neither a racing car nor an Autobot...
5. Energon Mirage: Let down by being a shell-former of the first order with most of his hydrofoil modes hull being kibble. But apart from that this is quite a nice toy - the humanoid mode is tall and thin, but still feels menacing, helped by a cracking head-sculpt. The quad guns array is a lot of fun as well. Not owned this version of it, but judging from the Botcon Banzaitron repaint its a good'un this.
4. Machine Wars Mirage: Flipchanger car mode, great little toy. Lots of fun with the "snap-to" transformation and the gun stored in the legs. A lot of play value in this one.
3. Classics Mirage: A different aesthetic here - whilst most of the Autobot Mirage toys are quite broad and solid feeling, this has a "lanky" look to it. Stands out from the crowd as a result. Good transformation too.
2. "The Transformers" Mirage: Nice toy, love the aesthetic of it and the transformation. The weapons are great as well - the hunting rifle looks the part and suits someone who would rather fight from ambush than in a square go (I wholeheartedly approve). Only really let down by a very fragile waist-joint - I've broken one in my life and that has stopped me seeking to own a second.
1. Beast Machines Mirage: Fantastic toy - great fun to play with, and armed with all the poseability it will ever need. The face-sculpt is lovely - not quite the emotionless Vehicon, he somehow gives out a sense of disdain. Really like the arm-missiles as well - they feel like they double neatly as batons for bludgeoning maximals with in cqb.
Karl
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 18, 2016 7:31:02 GMT
Thursday Tease:
Does protocol say you should be swindled?
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Post by The Doctor on Aug 18, 2016 18:20:42 GMT
Swindle.
-Ralph
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 18, 2016 19:10:10 GMT
I knew someone would say that! No it isn't, though maybe we should do him.
You can have a BONUS clue though: the subject this week is topical and appropriate.
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Post by The Doctor on Aug 18, 2016 21:32:38 GMT
Swindle Brexit Olympics Animorphs.
-Ralph
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 19, 2016 7:27:30 GMT
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Post by The Doctor on Aug 19, 2016 16:48:57 GMT
Ugh. I get it now.
-Ralph
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Post by Baron B of Triple B on Aug 19, 2016 17:51:53 GMT
Very clever initial clue. Very clever. I'll be back in a minute with my list, which will be mostly SDCC toys as I have very little experience with convention and BotCon toys.
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Post by Baron B of Triple B on Aug 19, 2016 18:14:35 GMT
5. SDCC Dinobots. Yes, it's 1 Dinobot short of the original release but I'm happy to sacrifice Slog for the Teletran/Ark/Mount St Hiliary pop up base.
4. SDCC Kreo Class of 85. Ok, not 1 toy and none of them transform but a nice set with a wonderful artefacts set that's much better than the Class of 84 set.
3. SDCC Devastator. Everything you love about CW Devastator but in better colours. I secretly wish my UW Devastator was in these colours.
2. SDCC Titan Force TR Sentinel Prime. Doesn't disappoint. Takes a good toy and rocks the see through bits.
1. Shattered Glass Megatron. Never seen it, haven't held it and certainly have never owned it. But as predicted by browny87 on the 'Shouldn't Galvatron be grey (no he shouldn't, he should definitely be purple)' thread, the second I knew it existed I wanted it. Has just about everything that makes me long to own a toy. It'll complete the western set of that mold for me, it's limited edition and the head looks like the G1 character. Can someone find one for me please?
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 21, 2016 22:12:51 GMT
Week 172: Botcon/Convention Exclusives A very long list of honourable mentions: 1996 Onyx Primal - nowadays it'd be all black, with teal highlights as Nemesis Convoy Bat 1997 Fractyl - there isn't a bad Terrorsaur repaint 1998 BC Japan Barbearian & 1998 BC Japan Double Punch Both lovely Mega redecoes 1999 Sandstorm2003 Sideswipe & 2003 Sunstreaker Again lovely redcoes, though the homage falls apart a bit in robot mode. 2005 Deathsaurus2005 Fallback should have been at retail. 2005 Ratchet ditto. And his Ironhide repaint. 2006 Waspinator We love flipchangers 2007 Dirge & 2007 Thrust versions of these did get to retail in the end but oh the fuss at the time. 2007 Huffer should have been at retail 2007 Mirage mmmm, clear Blue Mirage 2008 SG Goldbug Love the Cybertron Hotshot mould. The legend was done as BB, it's a surprise that there isn't a yellow full size version 2008 Sideswipe WHY HAS THIS TOY NOT BEEN REPAINTED MORE OFTEN? 2009 Flak love the mould. 2009 Leozack & 2009 Skyquake both lovely and both hurt by the battle damage and asymmetrical colouring 2010 Cindersaur Made me think twice about the mould when I saw it at AA. Acquired United Megatron soon after. 2010 Skybyte Skybyte saves the day! We love the episode, we love Energon Sharkticon and his is great redeco. 2013 Sandstorm One of the best Movie toys recoloured 2014 Scorponok Comic colours with a Headmaster on Energon Scorponok. A win 2015 Burn Out & 2015 Lift Ticket Diclone homages I must get. 2016 Ratchet superseded by Unite Ratchet but welcome at the time. Clear blue accessories set him apart. JUST missing out: 2016 Unit-3 a repaint that's so mad and yet so good it makes a familiar toy a new character. So the actual Top 5: 5) 2016 TerrorsaurJust works. Decent head sculpt on the best CW jet. 4) 2011 SG/AM ThundercrackerAndy K is bigger than me. He will hurt me if I don't put this in. So here he is! 3) 2010 G2 SideswipeShould have been at retail is a theme throughout. This should have been at retail. It's not even a general convention toy, it's a custom class toy which makes it far far worse. Everyone here would have bought this at retail cos we need a Generations Angry Bot! 2) 2012 Longarm/ShockwaveMad. Packed with homages from the Animated Shockwave disguised as Longarm to the Alternators Jazz reused as Shockwave. I'm not sure it could quite have worked at retail but it's mad enough to have reached a much larger audience than the custom class. 1) 2015 MegatronI will regret not buying this down the line. What a gorgeous toy, works so so well.
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