itscramtastic wrote:skywarp-2: That's a great list of MPs!?
Thanks Man! It took a good savings account, and countless bargain hunting for me to get my collection up in numbers fast. The problem with collecting the Official is they are way too expensive for some, and Takasa Tony filled that need very nicely, and in many ways their figures seem to have fixed the issues with some of the other carbots. Tho, their Sideswipe and Red Alert needed much work.. mainly shaving parts for transformation, and adding super glue to some joints to make the tolerances much more tight. However, I would rather save the 25.00 for that to get another carbot, then pay the full price and have to wait till I can replenish my disposable income to get the figures I needed. Overall, I think so far I have gotten a great haul from the HUNT.
itscramtastic wrote:[ I jumped on the Takasa Tony MP18B version of Bluestreak and MP21 Bumblebee w/Spike. Bumblebee happens to be one of the favorite figures for my daughter, so I'm glad I didn't pay the initial $70+ for the official. And guess what? He holds up great. The bumper and mirror have never fallen off, which they do all the time on my official Takara Tomy MP21G. Go figure.
Yep, I agree, My Bumblebee is perfect. tight joints, no paint flaking, no misalignments.. It is a great figure. I didn't own the original bots, but from the video reviews online, it does seem to have a better production run then the official. I absolutely love my Blue streak "B" diaclone version over the official Grey and Black. Tho, I may get the silverstreak figure, because I love the total silver version of that figure and car. It also matches episode 2 of the More then meets the eye episode, as Silver streak seems to be the character there due to poor animation coloring or mistakes in the coloring, but for me the silver streak figure seems to match the collection.
itscramtastic wrote:I also have the newer release of Reximus in "animation colors" with silver paint, and he's AMAZING. One of the best figures I have. Added the KFC Delta Magnus hands to him (well, one hand as I still wanted the light up gimmick) and he even has his tail wag/head swivel gimmick. Gave my official TRU 1st release MP Grimlock to my nephew. He was excited, and then he saw Reximus and he wasn't AS excited
LMAO!! That's too funny! Yea, I love my reximus Prime Animation ver. It is the best representation of Grimlock I have ever seen. I never owned the Takara Tomy version.. I just felt the scale was way off being he is at or just under the height of MP-10. To Me, the Dinobots are supposed to be huge, and I love the silver paint apps, as it makes the bot and dino look more realistic then the grey swirled plastic. I love the CK attention to detail in the oversized version, and they even included a Masterpiece style box! Incredible, and half the price of the Takara MP.. so definitely a win in my book. I'd love to get the Marvel comics version too, but really I don't need it as I would prefer to collect my G-1 bots all in full before going down the additional color scheme trail, and honestly, I don't have much shelf room, so for me, the core and most wanted groups I like first.. if I got a different colored alternative, It would probably end up in the box in the closet without being displayed, and why would I want that. The whole point is to collect and display and pose and enjoy, not to store simply to own the bot.. that sux. So for me, the animated version of the oversized is my personal fav.. it looks really good next to wheeljack, Hot Rod, Ultra Magnus, and bumblebee with Daniel in bot armor.. very Movie-esque in style and satisfying in it's look and feel. Highly recommended!
itscramtastic wrote:As for Apollyon, I had some issues with his leg pieces when I first got him, mainly that some panels popped off and weren't fitting right from the factory. After you mentioned that leg fix I looked it up, and I will definitely try it out tonight (just didn't get to it last night). Anything to compact that kibble will just make him that much better.
I am totally looking forward to your update on this! I have the 2nd Batch version of Apollyon, now, I did transform him twice, once into Gun mode, then back to Bot mode. No problems or issues with mine. I had nothing fall off, even the shoulders.. I was scared about that after the reviews, but the 2ND batch seems to have all the issues fixed.
The shoulder joints are strong and tight, the thighs are perfect and plug in without coming undone, and the sockets for the thighs are ratcheted and perfect. I loves it! Now, on the Leg Kibble.. I completely believe the original model design was meant for this kibble packing method.. maybe they molded the detail just a bit off, but really, no shaving is needed, no mods are required, no super glues, no hobby knifes.. nothing.. Forgive me for this, but I am going to do a quick play by play of how this kibble
(what I believe is the correct and missing transformation trick) is to do a step by step of the process.
1. After Transformation is completed, there is a grey piece in the front of the leg, and a silver tab that is soft on the backside of the leg, and below that is a wishbone (akin to a T-bone steak like Bone) in the center just above the foot. see Below:
This is what we think is the final Transformation for the Leg:This Tab is soft, and pliable. It is attached to the inner leg via a Bolt that locks it into place. However there is a lip that is maybe 1 MM in thickness, that can be easily over passed without significant issues and shaving the figure. It is all about how you handle the soft tab piece. grab the piece by the end only.. not further up. lift slightly as you move the tab in towards the leg. It doesn't have to sit flush with the inside part to stay put and make the leg kibble disappear, so no worries if it is bowing a bit, that is how it is on mine, this is due to not shaving the inner leg lip that the soft silver tab has to get pulled over, it is fine, there is no adverse affects as a result of the positioning.
Now if you look closely there are divets and tabs that seem to be molded specifically to tie these three pieces together.. But in the image below, you now take the grey portion and make sure it is pushed against the inside of the leg properly..
Finally, the T-Bone like silver tab at the bottom of the leg will revolve up, and it's a bit tough, but it doesn't make an problems folding it up. It locks into place once all the pieces are in properly, and oddly enough it makes a locking clicking sound! which again leads me to believe this was how it was supposed to be done all along.
Once locked the leg should look like this once completed..(also you can move the silver "T-bone" tab on the bottom to rest against the grey tab on the grey and red sections, that is how I have mine, instead of just straight up like the image below:
I have been using this style of packed Leg for awhile now.. What seems interesting is how the tabs seem to work in the center of the leg, the grey has a tab, and the metal T-bone has a tab that links up, and the soft tab seems to rest inside both of those. It is almost (as I believe) the model was meant to lock into place like that, and the designers or people who did the instructions forgot that step.. but Yea, the biggest complaint beyond the tolerance issues with the joints was always the kibble inside the leg.. well, I am here to attest, If you have Apollyon, this is how he should be finally Transformed..
Decepticon Logos optional on the hands.. But I like my Ocean Silver/Metal Symbols there, they look great! The leader of the Decepticons should have a bit more flash on him.. LOL.. but I chose the larger Decepticon logo as it fits more in line with MP-10's autobot logo in terms of scale.
One last thing about the inner leg Kibble Packing trick..It seems to me, again that this was always the proper way to pack his legs in and finalize his transformation. In this image, take a peak at his legs.. you will see how it was meant with the grey and red section, with the T-Bone, and the Soft silver Tab to mimick the G-1 or MP-05 aesthetic of the inner gun trigger inside the leg.. it is brilliant!! I think Apollyon is amazing! It ticks all the boxes I had for a Megs.. and Takara Tomy will have to come up with a doosy to try to beat this work of engineering art and masterpiece!
MP-05 Leg Kibble trigger:
Apollyon Mimic Leg Trigger:
itscramtastic wrote:I have yet to pick up any DX-9 or FANSTOYS products, so I can't speak to their quality, but I'm happy enough with Apollyon that I'd lean more towards Abaddon over Sovereign and even Tyrant. .
I agree, there is just a level of accuracy and quality and the willingness to fix issues due to fan feedback before the final product gets sent out. That was evidenced by the fact the new ball sockets for the arms were included with the 1st run release. I have high expectations for Sovereign, as the twilight year Megatron/Galvatron should get a good representation. I especially want that after seeing their Sweeps figure, and the scourge figures. They are absolutely fantastic! I think even tho this FT Sovereign will ride a popularity wagon for awhile since he is new, and most of the normal reviewers will be getting a shot to show us how it holds up, overall, it is closer to the idea of Galvatron I would like to have, but ultimately I want to wait to see what either Takara Tomy puts forth, or X-Transbots releases, because After owning Apollyon, I know for sure that if they put that level of care and detail and (lack of detail-sometimes less is more) into that Abaddon figure, we may yet end up with two of the most perfect Villains from the Transformers G-1 series, and all coming from a third party.. how crazy is that!! But I have to say, based on the images seen so far, and those from TFCON 16, the FT Sovereign figure isn't too bad looking.. But I still prefer to wait and see.. also, the Abaddon figure seems to have a more blueish tint then purple like the Sovereign, and I prefer my Galvatron a more blueish tint then the full on Green Goblin Purple.
Also, the Translucent Barrell.. Tho a nice nod to the G-1 Toy, is just a terrible look in actuality.. if there is one thing I prefer the most about one of the previous Galvatrons, is the Look and color and shape of DX9 Tyrant's canon.. it is perfect in my humble opinion.. okay, the gold could be a bit more orange.. but I like the idea of his barrell being a form of Golden orange, looks realistic in as much as you can for a quasi future space canon.
itscramtastic wrote:The fact of the matter is though, I NEED A MP GALVATRON!!! And I can't for the life of me convince myself that all these guys are worthy of being in my collection. I need more G1 Galvatron. Badly. And I'm almost to the point where I'm going to re-direct my collecting back that way.
Also, I appreciate your posts and look forward to more!.
I am in full agreement there, I can not wait to get a Proper G-1 Galvatron in my collection, but I am with you, these two offerings thus far seem not to check the boxes for me yet.. I Like the Sovereign design. it feels very chunky and Blocky.. much like their take on a all their figures. I am glad you like my posts I will try to continue to post great threads as I get back into this. I apologize for being away, I sometimes get busy, and have to recoup my messages to get back in touch with people.. so it may be a bit before you hear back sometimes, but I do try to get back to my messages and discussions as qucikly as I can muster. I look forward to conversing with you more and more as we get more into the 3P releases this year! It's definitely an exciting time to be a Transformers fan!
itscramtastic wrote:Down_Shift: You lucky duck. What puts Sovereign over the top compared to Tyrant?
Yes, I would like to know as well...