Toys

Seriously? A fourth Unique Toys/DX9 3rd party figure article in 6 weeks? Don’t blame me, blame what must currently be the most prolific 3rd party company on the scene. Not even a month has passed since the second UT Ordin combiner limb “Alberich” hit online stores and their stock of 3rd member “Fenrir” is already on its way. O-03 Fenrir is of course modern day IP theft speak for “Sinnertwin”, the two-headed Terrorcon that helped form Abominus. The name “Fenrir” makes reference to the giant wolf creature (with very much one head) from Nordic mythology, staying consistent with the naming theme employed thus far with Troll and Alberich. Extra-Ordin-ary (Part 3) | Sourc…

My full review of Guttur is now up: Square One: GigaPower HQ03 Guttur - Production Sample Review All the best Maz

This may be Part 2 of the Unique Toys Ordin (Abominus) story, but we’re going back to the first figure released by UT as part of this combiner team. O-01 Troll – who is the modern 3rd party interpretation of the Terrorcon Blot – signalled a significant rise in quality for UT and a wider acceptance that they were on the path to considerably improving their product and output. In fact, the first images of Troll were so impressive that before UT were linked to it, many thought it was an MMC figure, or at least designed by those responsible for the Feralcons. Nearly three figures into the Ordin combiner, and having already reviewed O-02 Alberich, let’s see what this Nordic-na…

We love Transformers, that’s why upcoming product and a new year’s reveals are scrutinised, criticised or celebrated to the degree that they are. It’s impossible to compare the reaction fans and collectors – or I suppose even casual consumers – have towards new offerings by Hasbro today to how people felt about the second main wave of Transformers advertised for 1985. Imagine how wonderful that first year of 1984 was at the time (well you don’t have to, a lot of you were there). This week we’ll pretend it’s late 1984 and the 1985 catalogue of Hasbro Transformers have just been shown to an enthusiastic fan and a ‘knowledgeable’ cynic who are discussing the upcoming range. …

You just know that if Takara Tomy did Masterpiece Mirage, they’d put out a clear repaint as well. We’ve already had a clear blue BotCon attendee exclusive Classics Mirage, a Takara Tomy Binaltech BT-18 Rijie translucent release through e-Hobby and an all clear Henkei Mirage/Rijie, so Unique DX9 Toys’ decision to repaint D03i Invisible in clear blue should not come as a surprise to anyone. The “Phantom” version is limited to 1000 pieces and follows hot on the heels of their standard Invisible release. Even Less Visible | Source Blog <- CLICK TO READ All the best Maz

First there were Transformers. Official Transformers. I liked those. Then there were 3rd Party figures based on Transformers. I ignored those for the most part, before FT Quakewave was forced upon me. Prior to that, one design caught my eye and I always looked at the galleries and teasers despite standing firm against the unofficial onslaught of Not-Transformers product. That design was the original Mastermind Creations (MMC) Reformatted R-01 Terminus Hexatron, the first unofficial Sixshot. Having been a lover of Sixshot and Greatshot for over a decade (never even knew about it as a child), the dynamism of Hexatron captured my attention. Every scene has its landmarks, and…

Share your top 10 purchases of 2014, US, Japanese and 3rd party figures, mine are 10. AOE Evasion mode Prime 9. AOE Yoyager Hound 8. MP-19 Smokescreen 7. Generations Rhinox 6. Cubex Huff 5. Generations Roadbuster 4. Generations Sky-byte 3. Generations Brainstorm 2. Generations Arcee 1. MP-20 Wheeljack What are yours?

There are no shortage of 3rd Party Transformers-inspired combiners around for collectors to choose from. There are multiple projects - completed and ongoing - covering Predaking, Computron, Bruticus, Menasor, Defensor, Devastator and now Hasbro has entered the fray with Combiner Wars offering an alternative (yet classic) concept, value for money and simplicity with trusted quality over high end collector's items. Not to mention being able to officially badge it as Transformers, Superion or Menasor. So, in order for a 3rd party combiner to stand out now, it has to be unique. So how appropriate it is that Unique Toys are currently the only company tackling the Terrorcons an…

2014 has been an incredible year for Transformers collectors, even moreso than 2013 was. This year saw the completion of MMC’s first 3rd party combiner “Feral Rex”, who most people would argue dominated the 3rd Party Predaking wars, as well as the start of the 3rd Party Dinobot Wars where FansProject, FansToys, ToyWorld and others raced to release their interpretations of the beloved robotic dinosaurs. As for official product, we got a new toy line to accompany the 4th live action movie Age of Extinction, more superb Generations figures including Arcee, Jetfire, Rhinox, Brainstorm and Whirl and towards the end of 2014 the Masterpiece line from Takara Tomy really kicked in…

Immo de Maar is a collector in the strictest sense of the word. Everything that is added to his display and falls into his ownership is for the purpose of the collection, the completion of a sub-section or the overall tapestry. His approach to toy buying is an exercise in strict focus and parameters, leading to huge satisfaction and enjoyment in the big picture. He does not understand the appeal of newer lines, or even reissues, and no doubt some of his opinions will jar with a lot of readers, but he already knows that. What he has created is what I imagine my collection would have looked like had I never branched out from vintage and had so many sell-offs. For myself, an…