Toys

Hi, so Ive recently become interested in collecting transformers. I want to start off by collecting all the characters from the transformers prime series. I want the best versions of each character. So far Ive only found 2 of the best versions. The RID voyager Optimus Prime (or first edition) and first edition megatron. Now for the other characters anyone have any suggestions?? Thanks again!

FansToys have created a problem for themselves, their first 3rd Party offering Quakewave was almost universally acknowledged as one of the best 3rd Party products ever to hit the Transformers collector market. After that, their decision to tackle Masterpiece-style Dinobots, or “Iron Dibots” led to their version of Dinobot Slag, FT-04 Scoria, and certainly I believed it to be every bit as good as Quakewave although well-documented issues with looseness and some QC niggles cast some doubt over their ability to maintain their mantle as the top 3rd Party guys in town. FansToys’s next offering, FT-05 Soar (Not Swoop), is absolutely key in helping the company to re-establish th…

Dan Ghile is a UK Transformers fan, artist and collector who has inspired me this year. Meeting and spending time in real life with collectors like Dan, Richard Irvine-Brown, Sid Beckett, as well as oldies like Morgan Evans, Paul Hitchens and many other fine UK fans has opened my eyes to just what a wealth of passion, knowledge, history and diversity exists right on my doorstep in London and the UK. I’ve not enjoyed being a part of the TF community more than I have in the past year as a result of the company, contributions and friendship of these collectors. What this interview will demonstrate is that you don’t have to be a well known collector with a legendary collecti…

Is it normal for the medium yellow clips that slide on top of Omega's feet in rocket-base mode not to fit snugly. Mine are loose. Is there any way to get them to fasten in tightly?

If Transformers Animated wasn’t subject enough to the varying opinions within the collecting community, for those who have surrendered their hearts to it there are plenty of wildly differing views on what ranks as the best and worst aspects of the line and concept in general. Last week I offered up my choices for best Animated legends, activator, deluxe and voyager class toy, knowing full well I’d struggle to find anyone in complete agreement. I think this week’s categories of best ‘main line’ repaint/remould, best leader, and best Japanese market release are going to be even more controversial – or just plain unpopular. I certainly expected to find this a lot easier… …

Before I go any further, a disclaimer. The content of this article series is purely my opinion, not stated as right, wrong, nor as representative of the general feeling within the collecting community. In fact I doubt I’d find even one collector who would agree with all my choices. With that out of the way, here’s my verdict on Transformers Animated’s top toys in the Legends, Activators, Deluxe, Voyager and Leader classes, as well as best series episode, best transformation, best repaint and original concept feature. In the last few months I finally watched the episodes I had missed first time around and collected every toy mould released within the aforementioned classes…

Why repaints and remoulds? Why can’t every Transformers toy be a completely new mould and something brand new to enjoy and explore? We all know the answer to that already. The money involved in creating fresh toy sculpts – the engineering, tooling and design required to birth just one new Transformers toy – is such that the company responsible counters that by ensuring they get the most out of that mould by way of repaints and re-moulds/re-tools. The more the merrier. But that’s not the question we’re asking this week, the question is, what makes us buy them? Why Repaints? | Source Blog <- CLICK TO READ All the best Maz

Not all of the collectors we interview here have been head-hunted by reputation or are a result of me convincing a long-time mate to finally give in and share their insight and collection. Occasionally I will put the planned (hah!) schedule of interviews on hold because something so attention-grabbing and amazing comes up that we just have to investigate. Neal Rochman’s collection was one such occurrence, and this slightly later-than-normal feature on another Neil, Mr Dela Cruz, is the same! One look at the following panoramic photograph that was posted on this now-Australian based collector’s Facebook page and I knew he had to be the immediate subject of an interview. Wi…

This time last year it would have been completely unthinkable that a Masterpiece Autobot car could come onto the market and fail to create the kind of ripples felt in the collecting pool as items such as MP-12 Lambor, MP-14 Alert, MP-17 Prowl or MP-18 Streak made, but MP-18S Silverstreak’s impact could arguably be described as gentle. It cannot even be attributed to the fact that it was a Tokyo Toy Show exclusive, because last year’s MP-12T Tigertrack seemed to be widely well received. It’s certainly not down to appearance, because in my opinion, MP-18S Silverstreak is the best looking Masterpiece car of the current crop until Wheeljack lands later this month. So what was…

There’s nothing quite like Predaking. He was unique amongst the Generation 1 Transformers combiners and Mastermind Creations managed to capture the same zeal and passion from the collecting community for the Reformatted Feral Rex project as existed for the original G1 Predacons in the hearts of vintage Transformers enthusiasts. Back in 2012, the Feralcons were unveiled by MMC, and two years later collectors are able to put all five members – Bovis, Fortis, Leo Dux, Talon and Tigris – together to form arguably the most hotly anticipated 3rd Party combiner of them all, Feral Rex. Long live the king. The King Is Dead, Long Live The King | Source Blog <- CLICK TO REA…