Thursday, April 10, 2008

Transformers - G1 - Mirage

CGI G1 Mirage by Iaconcity


G1 Mirage is one of the more memorable Autobots who gets more screen time than the other more mundane Autobots from Season 1 and 2. He is often remembered as the original reluctant fighter for the Autobot cause as he would rather spend his time and energy finding a way back to his beloved home world of Cybertron. For some unknown reason, he's one of the more beloved character to fans and collectors, in terms of the animation and the toy.



Like most of the G1 season 1 and 2 Transformers toys... Mirage's mold is taken from a Pre-Transformers line of toys from Japan owned by Takara known as Diaclone. But unlike most Diaclone toys. Mirage was one of the very few who do not come with a repainted version unlike some of the other figures like Sideswipe and Sunstreaker.



I remember owning a Mirage toy as a kid but i seriously cannot remember how i obtained it in the first place. if u have been reading my blog before, you would have known by now that the most deeply rooted memories of me and my TF toys is the one where i was playing with em in my parents bathroom's bathtub LOL!!!

I remember drying them up after playing with em in the water.. ECKS... GOD FORBID!!! LOL. When i said drying em off..i actually mean just chucking em into a plastic bag where all my die-cast TF toys are haphazardly piled up inside the plastic bag clinkitty clanking against eachother and getting it's paint job scratched and decals peeled!!! Alas i gave em all away at the beginning of 1990.



I got reunited with a toy of G1 Mirage back in 2001. I happen to met a guy who was fascinated that there r ppl still collecting vintage TF toys. But ofcourse.. to this guy it means a 20++ yr old toy that he's had since childhood that is pretty much junk to him. He was willing to trade it for a single "Spawn" action figure. I had to be brain damage if i were to refused this offer... ofcourse i jumped at it and accepted his offer with gusto LOL!!

Ofcourse the toy didn't come in superb pristine condition.. but at least it is not badly tarnished or damaged in any way. All it was suffering from was just "Loose Joint Syndrome". It was easily and swiftly fixed and when the guy came back over to my place the next day..he was amazed that his former super loose n flingy toy is now tight and all new and cleaned up LOL!!! Mirage have been with me ever since and he is one of 3 very very elusive TF Autobot toy that have not seen the light of day in the reissue list. The other two being Wheeljack and Sunstreaker. supposedly these three original molds have been missing or destroyed... but we know that had never stopped "Haskaramy" before.. It's doable if they wanted to do it :p

CGI WW-Mirage by Iaconcity


This here is a CGI image of Mirage in his Cybertronian mode.. pretty nifty indeed... pretty much inspired by "Don Figueroa's" depiction of the pre-earth Transformers in their original Cybertronian mold in the "Transformers - War Within" comic book series. I wouldn't mind if Haskaramy produce a line of "War Within" inspired toys. For a time there.. the 6" Titanium series seems to be the answer to that prayer but the series tanked big time. But with the advent of TF - Classics/Universe 2.0 and Henkei... it would be awesome if this idea gets picked up again...

Ok, until my next post.. "Till All Are One"!!!

Cheers!!!
N_M

Transformers - E-Hobby - Roadrage



"Roadrage" is the E-Hobby repainted that was reissued along with the normal release of the book cover "Tracks". Roadrage's color is actually the original "Diaclone" color for "Tracks' mold. I guess Hasbro decided to change it to "Blue" instead of "Red" as it would better represents the "American" image as the later would seems to be a bit too "Communist" especially during the 80's.

Thought this color was originally it's "Diaclone" color. It was made available in some parts of Europe as the official "Tracks" in the 80's. But this is believed to be a very rare find... especially in the days before the wonders of the Internet!! LOL



When the chance to grab "Roadrage" - Pun intended... since Roadrage is suppose to be a "Fembot" hehehe..okok let's get back to talking about the toy.

So, when Roadrage was reissued... i had to find ways to get it as it was not readily made available in the local market. It's hard to believe that only a few years ago, E-Hobby exclusives are very hard to come by. Since it was not made available locally...i had to get it from a nearby source, and that nearby source is "Singapore".



Owning this figure is a real treat for me as I've developed quite a fonding for Diaclone colored TF's :P I get chills when i pose both Roadrage and Tracks together as depicted above. I would have love to own the "Black" version if it was possible for me LOL.

Sadly, the "Black" version is a super exclusive "Lucky Draw" figure. Below are a few pics of the black lucky draw Tracks. You can view more pics of the figure at the link provided below the pics.





Pics obtained from - http://www.luckydrawtransformers.com/content.php?/transformers-lucky-draw/toy-gallery/1227/Tracks.html?page=1

Ok guys... hoped u guys enjoyed the pics and my quasi reviews :P

Cheers!!!
N_M

Transformers - G1 - Tracks


CGI G1 Tracks by Iaconcity



"Tracks" is one of the more memorable and likable Autobot characters in the American G1 Transformers TV series back in the 80's. Not only was he a regular fixture in the show that was given more air time, but he had got 2 episodes of Season 2 that features him in it - "Make Tracks' and "Auto-Bop"



His personality is always described as "Vain" and borders at being a complete "Narcissist" as he is pretty much in love with his own sleek earth vehicle mode. The coolest thing about Tracks is that he's capable of transforming into a pseudo carplane. A car with wings if you will... The only other Autobot that is almost as vain as Tracks is.. would probably be "Sunstreaker"!!!



I don't quite remember how i obtained this toy back in my childhood days, but i distinctively remember playing with it as a kid in my parents bathtub. The "Firebird" decal was completely destroyed LOL.



However back in 2000/2001 when i was going nuts hunting down old vintage Transformers toys... I happen to find one that was put up for sale in a toy shop via consignment. Sure it was going at 100 bucks a pop, but it's condition was pristine and 100% complete with all it's accessories. I grabbed it without a second thought and it's still with me till this day.

When Takara reissued it in their book cover editions, i grabbed an extra piece just for the sake of having one that's MISB.

CGI WW Tracks by Iaconcity


Above is a CGI rendition by Iaconcity of the "War Within - Tracks". The War Within series is the brainchild of legendary Transformers comics writer - "Simon Furman". His writings was brought to life by the talented artist "Don Figueroa" whose designs of the Pre-Earth Transformers in their original Cybertronian robot and vehicle modes.

You can get a better idea of the "War Within" series here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformers:_The_War_Within



Above is a comparison of Tracks and the repainted E-Hobby exclusive - "Roadrage"... which is actually a "Fembot". This red version of Tracks was actually it's original Diaclone/Microman, Pre-Transformers color. However, back in the 80's... red versions of Tracks were made available in Europe...

OK, that's all for now.. I'll be featuring "Roadrage" in my next blog entry.. until then..

Cheers!!!
N_M

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

E-Hobby - Diaclone/Microman - Sideswipe Mold

Tigertracks




Clampdown





Deepcover





These Diaclone reissue exclusives are obtained around the middle of 2003 and have proven to be some of my most prized and fav exclusive figures in my collection.

Tigertracks, Clampdown and Deepcover are reissues from the Pre- transformers line known as "Diaclone/Microman" series by Takara. Owning the original MISB Diaclone/Microman series of these figures would literally cost an arm and a leg. So when the chance to grab them as reissues presents itself... It is a do or die situation for me. No brainer really LOL.. Ofcourse i MUST have them :)

At the bottom of this post are links that would better explain the existence and significance of these figures in the world of transformers toy collecting. I do not profess to be an expert in all things Transformers..I would much rather sit back and enjoy the fun that is playing and collecting the toy :)

Info of Diaclone Tigertracks, Deepcover and Clampdown
http://www.tfsource.com/articles/yellow-sideswipe.html
http://www.tfsource.com/articles/tigertracks.html
http://www.tfsource.com/articles/Polswipe.html

OK then... I hope you all enjoyed the pics :)

Cheers!!!
N_M

Transformers - G1 - Sideswipe


CGI Sideswipe by Iaconcity



"sideswipe" like all the other Season 1 G1 TF toys owes it's existence to a Pre-Transformers toy line from Japan called "Diaclone/Microman". This Pre-Transformers toy line actually comes with a yellow version of the same mold. I have often wondered if this repainted figure was actually meant to be "Sideswipe's" twin brother... I guess I'll never know. However,if repaints of this mold meant that they are related, I guess they would have to be Quintuplets instead of twins since there are 5 different repaint versions of this mold!!!

Sideswipe


"Sideswipe" is perhaps one of my fav Autobot character in the show... mainly because he is always a very fun and funny character in the show. especially the dynamics between him and his vain twin brother "Sunstreaker"...



There is very little i can share about my history with this toy since "Red Alert" literally stole his thunder in terms of having a very special sentimental value in my heart. Considering how much less popular and unknown Red Alert is compared to Sideswipe.



But i must admit... i do like this color a whole lot more than red Alerts majority white paint job. Oh well, be that it may... I might not have a special story to tell about the acquiring of this toy in my childhood days. But i will always love this mold and will get it no matter how many different coat of paints they slapped on it.

I'm currently very looking forward to the Transformers Classics 2.0 AKA Transformers Universe toy line. It's generally a new take on G1 toys.. making em super posable.. the way they were intended to be in the first place. To be ANIME ACCURATE!!!

Cheers!!!
N_M

Transformers - G1 - Red Alert.



Continuing on my showcasing and blogging of my "All Sidespwie" mold,I've decided to just go ahead by reviewing "Red Alert" first since they are from the same mold after all. I've often wonder why these two bots aren't the twin brothers instead of "Sunstreaker" as the other twin brother. However, i guess it worked out just fine... because Red Alert is a little bit of a worrywart and it would have driven Sideswipe insane if he was his twin brother LOL!!!

Anyhow... like most of the Season 1 of the G1 Transformers toys, they belonged to a Pre-Transformers line of toys called "Diaclone/Microman". I'll most probably do a short intro on the Diaclone/Microman toy lines and history in the next few entries of this blog.

CGI Red Alert/Prowl by Iaconcity


Anyhow, as I've mentioned in my previous post... this particular mold holds a very special spot in my heart and memory of owning a Transformers toy. Now I'm not sure if i've mentioned this before because I've told this story so many times... I can't keep track of it anymore LOL

Red Alert


Red Alert hold an important spot in my heart and journey with my love affair with all things Transformers because this was the very first TF toy i ever got!!! The thing is that... i got it before even knowing that there's actually a cool cartoon show about them!! All i saw was a cool Lamborghini that transforms into a very cool looking robot. But getting it wasn't easy. It was selling for about 40 bucks and back in the 80's for a 9 year old boy..it might as well be 4 million bucks LOL!!! Especially when I'm the youngest of 5 siblings coming from a below average income family of a veggie stall owner in the local vegetable market!!!



Gathering whatever savings i had, i brought em to the small toy shop at the corner and poured out my coins and whatever dollar bills that was in the mix LOL. The caretaker of the toy shop was a very surly lady that just scoffs at my ragtag clothing and my pathetic amount of scrunched up dollar bills and coins. She sat at the counter and counted whatever amount i had looking very uninterested and by the time she finished counting, she just looked up and me and said...

"You don't have enough money, ask your mother to give you more money to buy this toy"...

Yeah right... like it was that simple LOL. If that was so, would i be here in your shop with a handful of scrunched up dollar bills and a mix of quarters and pennies?? LOL



Anyhow, i ended up going back and forth from my mum's stall to the shop. Fishing out coins from my mum's change bin. Hehehe yeah i know it's wrong.. but i was only 9 and the seduction of a cool transforming toy is too much for me to resist LOL.

After going back and forth a few times... the lady from the toy shop was getting a bit annoyed with me as i was no way near the amount needed to buy the toy. Finally running out of time as it's almost 1pm and it's time to help my mum to close down the stall and go home for the day. Feeling defeated, i left the shop with my head held low and teary eyes. As i was leaving the shop.. a man walked into the shop and i could hear him asked the woman in the shop why is the boy (Me) looking so sad. She must have told him about my pathetic attempt to buy the toy, because soon after hearing their conversation... i heard the man calling out to me. He waved at me, signaling me to come to him with one hand while holding the "Red Alert" toy in the other.

I rushed back to the shop where he was standing and he told me.. "Here, you can have this toy". It was the the single most kind thing a total stranger have ever done for me for as long as i could remember. Ofcourse i grabbed the toy from his hands with glee and thanked him profusely.

But because this toy is bought with very questionable means... I had to open up the toy at an open air car park. Ripping up the box to get to it's contents and hurried back to my mum;s veggie stall to help her pack up. In an attempt to explain for the possession of this toy i told everyone that my friend gave me that toy... Yeah RIGHT.. like anyone actually believed that LOL

So, there you go... a true life story of my adventure or rather misadventure of owning my very first Transformers toy.. "RED ALERT"!!!

Cheers!!!
N_M

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Transformers G1 - All Sideswipes

CGI Sideswipe by Iaconcity


It's been almost 5 mths since i've updated my TF collection blog. Mainly because i was a bit lazy to do so, plus i had to return the digital cam i'm using to my cousin. Got a new cam around January, but like i said..I was too lazy to update it, though i have been taking pics of new additions to my collection. Mostly TFTM toys.. and since everyone got those nowadays..i'll just gonna focus on my vintage and vintage reissues for now.

So now that i'm back... what better way than to kick it off by showcasing and reviewing one of my fav G1 Transformers toy mold of all time... "SIDESWIPE"!!!

The G1 Autobot twins Sideswipe and Sunstreaker are two of my fav Autobot characters of all time...both in the show and as a toy. Sideswipes mold holds a very dear and very first memory of a Transformers toy for me. That's because the very first Transformers i ever got for myself was "Red Alert", a white repaint of Sideswipe. But i'll save that story for when i review them as individuals..

G1 - All Sideswipes


Over here is my collection of almost all the different reissues of Sideswipe, with the exception of a G2 black Sideswipe. I'm still hunting it down. As you can see.. my collection consists of the G1 original red Lamborghini - Sideswipe, white fire chief Lamborghini- Red Alert. The other three are Exclusives/E-Hobby reissues of Diaclone colored versions of it that was released back in mid 2003. They are - White police Lamborghini - Clampdown, Black Lamborghini - Deepcover and yellow Lamborghini - Tigertracks. All are released by Takara with the exception of Red Alert.



Hope u guys enjoyed the pics... will be updating my blogs with more pics of my collection :)

Cheers!!!
N_M