Toys

Francesco Lombardi is the kind of collector I had always heard about but never met. Someone who never participated in the online or collective fandom, but was privately growing a hugely comprehensive and impressive collection featuring toys I had never seen. Dealers used to tell me about their secret customers, customers like Francesco, all the time. Now, Francesco wants to share his collection, and it’s a very special achievement. I have always loved the Canadian G1 variants, if for nothing else than just their different packaging, and Francesco has put together a near complete run of Generation 1 in Canadian boxes with variants I’ve never seen before – even if I knew th…

The Transformers Masterpiece line by Takara Tomy has, to my eternal happiness, continued with the Diaclone homages and MP-14C Clampdown is the latest in that sub-line. This police car version of the Lamborghini New Countach LP500S Autobot Sideswipe was originally a Takara Diaclone figure from 1983, the original inspiration for what would later become the Autobot Fire Chief "Red Alert". Coming full circle after all this time, Clampdown is in fact designated MP-14C, meaning it is a direct repaint of MP-14 Red Alert. The first time the Diaclone New Countach was given Transformers form as "Clampdown" was the E-Hobby exclusive reissue repaint, alongside "Deep Cover". Let's hav…

The battle has been joined proper, with 3rd party companies left, right and centre putting out figures to fill gaps in Masterpiece collections. BadCube had already released Huff, Brawny, Backland, Wardog and the Evil Bug Corps, but Sunsurge is arguably their most ambitious stab at a slice of the MP market so far. For some time competing with Omnigonix’s Spinout (don’t get me started on that name), Sunsurge has comprehensively won the race to be the first MP-style release to homage the unforgettably yellow, self-adoring, other half of the most famous set of Cybertronian twins, Lamborghini Countach LP500S Super Tuning. To say that Sunsurge has been well received by collecto…

I often meet new collectors during these interviews and form friendships as we go through the process, but every now and again I get the special opportunity to interview someone I consider a friend. I have known Gordon Yip for many years, and have stared in awe as his collection of unique and ridiculously rare pre-Transformers grew over a decade and more. Finally, Gordon moved into a home worthy of housing a display for his toys, and he can finally share with us his wisdom and his one of a kind collection. While Gordon’s isn’t the biggest or most complete pre-TF collection I know of, it is my favourite. What Gordon has, most of us will never see again, let alone own. It’s…

Mastermind Creations continue to do that which many others dare not, explore the realm of the current IDW Transformers comic universe and give us figures of characters that Hasbro never will. No Masterpiece mimicking here, no hundredth version of the same character or combiner, but instead we have toys of characters seen sparingly in the comics. That is not to say evil buggers Anarchus and Commotus were bit part and forgettable, quite the opposite, but from a handful of memorable appearances to actual 3rd party product with not insignificant price tags? We should applaud and thank MMC for these. Comic Book Villains (MMC Anarchus & Commotus) | Source Blog <- CL…

Well, 2016 is off to an excellent start! FansToys, 3rd Party makers of toys that aim to unofficially complete your Masterpiece Transformers collection, bring us the fourth in their series of Iron Dibots, transforming dinosaurs not completely unlike those Dinobot fellows you may have heard of. FT-07 is Stomp, the brontosaurus of the five-member team, following Scoria, Soar and Sever. It has been clear that FansToys have improved every release so that the newest Dibot is a little better than the last, and Stomp is absolutely no exception. This pre-release test shot Stomp demonstrates that FT have learned lessons from those previous releases, and applied them successfully to…

Without any sort of hesitation or doubt, I can gladly cite 2015 as the year with the most impressive official and unofficial Transformers releases that I have ever experienced. In previous years for my Top 5 of the year article, I have not just included purchases of toys released in that year, but also vintage figures that I may have purchased, but I just cannot afford to do that this year if I want to stick to any semblance of a top 5. TakaraTomy, Hasbro, FansToys, MakeToys, MMC, BadCube, DX9, Unique Toys and co have put out a quite unbelievable range of figures in 2015. Top 5 Purchases of 2015 | Source Blog <- CLICK TO READ All the best Maz

Hello everyone, this time I bring you my JetPower Optimus Prime, wish you like him 8-) You can view the HD photo and full album(89 pics) in my facebook :wave https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.982025125190311.1073741903.819016118157880&type=3

Discovering overlooked parts of Generation 1 is a finite experience for me, but one that I treasure and value, because of how quickly it can be over forever. The 1987 Autobot Monsterbots are one of the most bewilderingly pleasurable discoveries I have made in the last year, toys that I had mentally written off as not for me, and mistakenly believed to be 1988. It turns out I had even once owned a complete set of the Monsterbots over a decade ago and had completely forgotten about until I dug up photos last week. The Monsterbots – made up of Doublecross, Repugnus and Grotusque – are gems from 1987, the start of the gimmick era and possibly the best year for vintage Transfo…

The Mapes twins, known throughout the global Transformers community, have built a Transformers museum. Not content with the regular 12 to 15 photos used in our collector interviews, David and Steve’s collection requires a full complement of 36 images for us to properly appreciate the scale of their Transformers and collectibles show home, including a world-beating selection of campaign/Lucky Draw Transformers. Beyond the amassing of toys, the twins have contributed hugely to the convention scene in the UK as well as other well known collectible brand communities and projects. Regular and friendly faces at Auto Assembly and online, please take a seat and enjoy a wonderful …