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Post by Shockprowl on Sept 24, 2013 16:17:00 GMT
Honeymoon! Congratulations!!!!
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Post by Philip Ayres on Sept 24, 2013 21:05:49 GMT
yes, you kept that quiet lad! Cgrats!
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Stomski
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
YOU INTERRUPTED MY SPEECH!! But don't worry. It won't happen again.
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Post by Stomski on Sept 25, 2013 9:13:58 GMT
Thanks... Only got engaged in April, started planning in June, so been a busy few months!
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Post by Shockprowl on Sept 25, 2013 10:10:27 GMT
Does yours hate action figures like mine, Stom?
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Stomski
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Post by Stomski on Sept 25, 2013 12:22:01 GMT
Well she did give my groomsmen the keys to our house so they could kidnap the contents of my display case for a quiz instead of a speech. Every question I got wrong, they smashed a figure
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kayevcee
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The Weather Wizard
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Post by kayevcee on Sept 25, 2013 17:30:12 GMT
Wow. That sounds... pretty brutal unless they knew you'd get them all right. How did it go?
-Nick
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Post by Shockprowl on Sept 25, 2013 20:47:34 GMT
I think Mrs Shockers and Mrs Stomski would get on like a house on fire...
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Stomski
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
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Posts: 6,095
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Post by Stomski on Sept 26, 2013 8:37:19 GMT
They substituted real figures for poundland specials wrapped in bubble wrap - so to all looking on they were the real thing. In general I think she doesn't mind, she has a pretty active inner child too
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Post by Philip Ayres on Sept 27, 2013 6:44:46 GMT
Stomski should be happier this week cos it's
Week 21: Diaclone Body Decepticon Jets
The original Diaclone Jet gets used 3 times in 1984, but the body turns up 3 more times in 1985. Between them these 4 variations on the original theme have lodged up an impressive number of paint decos, though sadly not one involving G2 Thundercracker yet. So your top 5 toys please that use the original Diaclone Decepticon jet body.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Sept 27, 2013 7:41:15 GMT
5) Black Starscreammmmmm, black 4) Ghost Starscreammmmmm, clear 3) ThrustThrust's my favourite variant on the shape of the mold with the wing mounted fans. 2) Anime StarscreamExtra gear and an extra zing to the colours. But waaaaay out in front is 1) G2 RamjetFab Decepticon colours bring this toy to life. My fave of ALL the G2 repaints as it's the only one that looks like a new character, You'd gladly display this as a new Decepticon troop next to the original six jets.
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Post by Shockprowl on Sept 27, 2013 7:58:15 GMT
I love my Strike Planes. Loved how they were all the same mold, felt like an army. I find, especially with the '84ers, but also with the '85ers, they're incredibly iconic and nostalgic.
5. Dirge and Thrust. Never owned G1 Dirge, but loved his personality/character. Always felt he should have been higher ranked, a 7 perhaps, and been more of a rival to Starscream. Thrust's character is less interesting, but he has a gorgeous jet form. I owned G1 Thrust, so great memories.
4. Skywarp. The warmonger. Your basic loyal thug for Megatron. Great colour scheme.
3. Thundercracker. I never learned much about TC's character until much later, and he is very intruiging. I can't quite figure him out. He is also a powerful warrior. His power alongside his doubts make him fascinating to me.
2. Ramjet. One of my first Decepticons. Second I think, after Megatron. Cool jet mode, with an even cooler character. "The skies are my castle and I like to live alone." Brilliant and intruiging. More should have been made of his unstable personality.
1. Starscream. One of the finest characters ever to be produced by the Transformers. The usurper! Powerful, deadly, devious. Just so iconic, and endless fun.
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Stomski
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Post by Stomski on Sept 27, 2013 8:49:15 GMT
5. Diaclone Jet Robo (Blue) - Similar colour scheme to Thundercracker, but sparkly. 4. Thrust - As with Phil, the wing modifications are really interesting and the deep red colour works surprisingly well. 3. Ghost Starscream - Well, we need a representation of his eternal spark. 2. Skywarp - I prefer the black/purple over the black/gold of Black Starscream. 1. TFC9 Anime Starcream - Great paint job, great box. I miss the TFC series We need a real world deco of the mould! Diaclone Jet Robo is close, but the red intakes and wing decos kinda ruin it.
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Jim
Thunderjet
Micromaster Backside Monitor
Now in glorious Ultra HD 4K
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Post by Jim on Sept 27, 2013 21:46:51 GMT
1. Thundercracker - the character I find most interesting, and I like the mould in blue. 2. Skywarp - close second due to the colours. The Evil colours. 3. Dirge - the yellow wings and blue body I always found appealing. 4. Thrust - those wings! 5. Starscream - probably the least interesting to look at, but still pips Ramjet on personality.
I miss the TFC series too, great packaging! Sometimes wonder about filling the handful of gaps in mine, but as two of them are Megatron and Soundblaster it will be a bit of a task (I think it's them, Jazz and Prowl I'm missing).
-Jim
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kayevcee
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Post by kayevcee on Sept 28, 2013 11:05:54 GMT
This is a tricky one. Let me see now... 1) eHobby Sunstorm. The only one on this list I don't own. Ludicrous colours, unique white fists with moulded holes to hold regular weapons. Every jet should have them 2) G2 Ramjet. Groovy colour scheme, really distinctive delta-wing design with big honkin' rockets (they look like boosters or fuel pods to adult eyes, but to young Nick they were just insanely big missiles) and the funky sound pack. 3) Thrust. Distinctive profile of the '85 jets with the variable missile launchers of the '84s. 4) Skywarp. That colour scheme. The boxart screamed malevolence in a way that his wingmates' didn't. No wonder it wound up on everything from the stationery to the bedclothes. Pleasant dreams, kids! 5) Thundercracker. My first jet. That's all that gets him this place. I got Starscream and Ramjet later, Dirge second hand from a kid at school, and picked up Skywarp (and Thundercracker- my original was "well played with" after many years) and Thrust via the original Takara reissues in the early 2000s. G2 Starscream was a cash & carry purchase one Christmas in 1994, and my G2 Ramjet was Italian carded and I think was a random win from eBay.it. I picked up Ghost & Black Starscream when they first came out, but split the set as I didn't want the ghost one and passed it on to a friend. I might pick up an eHobby Sunstorm eventually, if I find one at the right price. Big if for an early eHobby release. -Nick
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Post by Philip Ayres on Sept 28, 2013 14:15:22 GMT
This is a tricky one. Let me see now... 1) eHobby Sunstorm. The only one on this list I don't own. Ludicrous colours, unique white fists with moulded holes to hold regular weapons. Every jet should have them Jet hands with 5mm holes is another KO piece I'm surprised isn't in general circulation. Doesn't TFC9 Starscream have 5mm fists too?
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Post by Bogatan on Sept 28, 2013 14:32:17 GMT
Hmmm. 5. I really dont have any strong feelings beyond the four below. 4. G2 Starscream. As mentioned previously I find Starscreams as toys a little dull. G2 Starscream perks up the colours without radically altering them. I'm always surprised the colours haven't been reused. (Classics Universe Starscream is pretty close) 3. G2 Ramjet - I still dont have one of these, besides a junker body, back in 93 wanting a Starscream outweighed the clearly superior Ramjet. But it is a fantastic colour scheme. 2. Thundercracker, my first Strike Plane, came from a neighbour with out wings fists or weapons. The hours and hours making cardboard wings for it is probably why I was so keen to get AMTC. 1. Thrust - Long before I had any strike planes there were the catalogues that showed all 6 and it was always Thrust I wanted. The colour and or the wings must been the cause, but there was never any doubt it was the one I most wanted. It actually ended up being one of the last I tracked down in the mid 90s via TMUK, but thankfully I wasnt disappointed.
0. Actionmaster Thundercracker, yeah it doesnt exist, but a collection of donor parts await paints of pink and purple and green.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Sept 28, 2013 16:07:53 GMT
We need photos of item 0 when it gets made!
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Post by legios on Oct 1, 2013 19:55:04 GMT
Week 21: Diaclone Body Decepticon Jets
Ah, The Decepticon Jets, one of which was the first Transformer toy I ever owned...
(Dear Thirdparty companies. Sure, you've given us alternate weapons for the classics versions, but where are my twin AIM-9 rails for the wing hardpoint and a clever device for attaching Sparrow/AMRAAM to the fuselage underside of my original jets. Get on that forthwith.)
5) Thrust: Of the 85 reuses, this is the one that really succeeds in changing the mould into a completely different aircraft. Whilst G2 Ramjet looks like a very different character there is something about Thrust and Ramjet which makes them feel like what they are - reworked F-15's, the sort of thing that might have emerged from the thinking that produced the F-16XL prototype and would later yield the proposed FB-22. Thrust is a completely different animal. Turbines mounted inside wings that seem far too small to produce lift, almost non-existent vertical stabilisers... Thrust looks like something that comes, on a practical level, from outside the way we think about making aeroplanes - something that it would take technology we don't have to make feasible. The shape of the new wings also makes a huge difference to the look of the humanoid mode - he looks neither like the 84 jets, or entirely like his 85 stablemates with their long delta wings.
4) G2 Ramjet - Pink, black... It is a somewhat crazed colour scheme, but so memorable. And, as Phil has observed, succeeds in making Ramjet far and away removed from his original deco.
3) Starscream: Of all the original jets, the one that is the most "real-world" in its overall look. The grey scheme is only a hair off the light-grey scheme that is still in use today on F-15J's and US F-15C's. All he needs to do to blend in is lose the red-trim and get himself some proper registration numbers and he is set. He is somewhat overshadowed as a toy by his more flamboyant comrades - ironic really given that Starscream's ego and impatience would never suit him to be the one to successfully blend in for very long.
2) Thundercracker - lovely colour scheme, The deep-blue with red and white stripes feels very like the livery of an display team which doesn't exist. He also had a fascinating profile on the back of the box, which went a long way to making me fascinated by Thundercracker as a character. Not quite as visually striking as Skywarp, but only narrowly edged out on that front. Never managed to get an original version, my parents talked me out of getting one when I could afford it and I got meself a Grimlock instead (sorry 'Cracker). I never actually owned one until the Hasbro reissue with the revised, large calibre, gun pods. He was something I was enormously happy to get, and he has taken a place in my heart as, at present, a joint second favourite piece in the collection.
1) Skywarp - Striking colours, the black with purple accents really catches the eye. Narrowly won out that first Christmas as the one I bought (over Thundercracker with his more interesting profile) on visual grounds, but only because I was being hurried by my impatient father (he never saw the point of the bits of toyshops which didn't contain trains). Still my favourite deco on this mold, and a candidate for my favourite look overall of jet-altmode Decepticons.
Karl
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Post by Philip Ayres on Oct 4, 2013 6:26:52 GMT
Week 22: 1989 ToysMicromasters, lots of Pretenders - carded, monter, Mega & Ultra - and V-V-Victory www.tfu.info/year/89index.htmYour top 5 please
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Stomski
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Post by Stomski on Oct 4, 2013 9:13:16 GMT
Tough year. Came up with a shortlist of 11 and trying to narrow it down- Countdown - What a base! This is how you start off Micromaster City! Greaseput - Great in both base modes, great little micromaster monster truck alt mode. Victory Saber - Yet to see a real one in the flesh, but it looks blocky and fantastic. Thunderwing - The best pretender available. Combines with the transformed shell in alt mode, nice colours, and an inner robot that looks good and well proportioned in both modes. Dinoking - Dunno why, there's just something totally adorable about little robots on dinosaurs. Honourable mentions- Longtooth - What's not to love? Jaruga - Nice little Breastforce member. Plus in a way this toy is the reason I met my wife! Bludgeon - Skeleton Samurai of doom! Great lil' tank and powerful looking robot hides inside.
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Post by Shockprowl on Oct 4, 2013 15:19:02 GMT
1989.
I can't put them into order, because I like them all the same, Pretender Classics! I never owned any as a child (& still don't), but at the time I was transfixed by them. Such a brilliant idea. Starscream is the best of them. I always thought they should have done a second wave. They could easily have got a Thundercracker and Skywarp out of Starscream. Soundwave would have been good. Then for the Autobots Prowl, Wheeljack, Ratchet and Ironhide perhaps. But yes, a great idea.
And my fifth choice for 1989 is Bludgeon. A fascinating and original design. His character also took on a life of its own in the brilliant hands of Furman. His modern 'update' (movie voyager) is the only non '84/'85 'C.H.U.G.' that I've kept in my collection. Oh apart from City Commander Ultra Magnus of course.
Funny year for me, '89. It was after this that I started to drift away from Transformers and toys in general. What I call my 'Dark Years'.
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Post by Bogatan on Oct 4, 2013 18:29:18 GMT
Theres too many. I could do a 5 I owned, 5 I wanted, 5 Japanese, 5 characters in the comic.
But Liokaiser would have to be on the list, best G1 combiner. Beyond that I dont think I could choose between 20 of them. Pretender Classics, the smaller pretenders, Countdown, Vroom, Victory Leo and Star Saber.
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Post by The Doctor on Oct 5, 2013 22:39:11 GMT
My favourite Micromaster toy back in the day was Erector. Such fun pretending to build things. Great base mode. Fun robot. Runner up was the Battle Patrol. All 4 of them.
Yay, I managed to name 5 for the top 5 for once!
-Ralph
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Post by Philip Ayres on Oct 9, 2013 20:57:32 GMT
5) SkyhopperLovely helicopter mode, great base. Skyhyper looks better but this is still good 4) SkystalkerA Decepticon Space Shuttle base! LOVE (Anyone got a spare cannon connector?) 3) Galaxy ShuttleAn Autobot Space Shuttle that a Micro/Brain Master cannride in? WANT! 2) LiokaiserThe Finest TF combiner ever. superb stuff. Limbs all hold up as individual toys. REISSUE NOW! 1) Victory SaberJust beautiful. So so nice. PM Prime. But done with Jets.
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Post by Bogatan on Oct 9, 2013 22:07:38 GMT
Oh and Greatshot was released in 89 too. Thats a great remould of a great figure.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Oct 10, 2013 13:31:34 GMT
A little tease for this week's top 5: Eating
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Post by Bogatan on Oct 10, 2013 15:28:50 GMT
Top 5 Transformers that: -Have a weight problem -Can be eaten -sound tasty
I hope its easier than last week whatever it is.
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Post by legios on Oct 10, 2013 15:44:43 GMT
5) Skystalker - lovely little spacecraft with a small "parasite" fighter on top like a reverse Zeppelin or something. Looks the part of a good pulp rocket ship, and has the added advantage of having been Deathsanrus' spacecraft in Victory.
4) Big Shot - yep, not the Battle Patrol, but Big Shot specifically. He might be Micro-sized but he has real battlefield ambition. I love the idea of a Micromaster turning into a self-propelled Artillery piece - and not just any artillery piece either - he is toting a wacking great 155mm gun. There is something endearing about a tiny Transformer turning into such an enormously powerful weapon system for some reason.
3)Liokaiser - The finest example of the Raiden/Devastator/Scramble City line of combiner evolution. Aesthetically wonderful, striking and solid looking with a real integration to him.
2) Galaxy Shuttle - Ok, I prefer the remoulded Brave version but this is marvelous. A big chunky space shuttle, which turns into a quite sleek looking humanoid mode with a good-sized gun to menace the evil Destrons with. Great stuff.
1) Victory Sabre - This is arguably the point where the designers just go "oh, the heck with it" and just go all out Super Robot style design on us. Bright white and Primary colour scheme, ridiculously huge sword, giant shoulder cannons, elaborate combining sequence... It is all out of the Super Robot playbook rather than making any attempt at even leaning towards the Real Robot elements of Transformers. Victory Sabre just throws itself into the over-the-top Super Robot aesthetic so much, and I adore him for it.
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Post by legios on Oct 10, 2013 15:47:32 GMT
Top 5 Transformers that: -Can be eaten Or are particularly capable of eating other Transformers (BAH-WHEEP-GRAH-NAH-WHEEP-NINI-BONG) or other things-ings... Karl
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Post by Philip Ayres on Oct 10, 2013 15:54:45 GMT
Top 5 Transformers that: -Have a weight problem -Can be eaten -sound tasty I hope its easier than last week whatever it is. I can tell you now the same 4 toys will be in everyone's top 5. Or are particularly capable of eating other Transformers (BAH-WHEEP-GRAH-NAH-WHEEP-NINI-BONG) or other things-ings... Karl You're along the right lines here .... 4) Big Shot - yep, not the Battle Patrol, but Big Shot specifically. He might be Micro-sized but he has real battlefield ambition. I love the idea of a Micromaster turning into a self-propelled Artillery piece - and not just any artillery piece either - he is toting a wacking great 155mm gun. There is something endearing about a tiny Transformer turning into such an enormously powerful weapon system for some reason. As we explained to Kierra on Saturday, Micro Size Has The Power To Surprise!
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