Transformers Purchased in March 2012

It is the end of the month once again. From this point forward, at the end of every month, I will make a post about all the Transformers I bought for that month. I started this last month in this post, and I think I will continue the trend. And just like Feb, I bought a bunch of TFs in March.

• DOTM Basic Human Alliance Half-Track, Target, $6.92

• DOTM Deluxe Soundwave, eBay, $34.15 shipped

• TF Prime RID Deluxe Wheeljack, TRU, $14.99

• Masterpiece Optimus Prime (MP-10), Wondercon, $200
• Star Wars Crossover Clone Pilot Arc-170 Starfighter, Wondercon, $10

• TF Prime RID Bumblebee, Walmart, $12.88
• TF Prime RID Ratchet, Target, $12.99

• DOTM Deluxe Barricade, Walmart, $7.27
• DOTM Deluxe Jolt, Walmart, $7.27

• PCC Skyhammer, CVS Pharmacy, $8.49

• TF Prime RID Soundwave, TRU, $14.99

Some random thoughts as I look at what I bought this month:

• I got 11 TFs for the month: 4 DOTMs, 4 TFPs, 1 MP, 1 Star Wars TF, and 1 PCC.
• I opened DOTM Half-Track, DOTM Soundwave, TFP Wheeljack, TFP Bumblebee, TFP Ratchet, and PCC Skyhammer. The rest are unopened.
• Vigilant readers will notice that in Feb I got TFP Deluxe Bumblebee, and mentioned that I returned him back to TRU. I did that so I can get him again this month at a lower price somewhere else.
• It is for this same reason that I haven’t opened TFP Soundwave. I’m hoping to find him again for cheaper later.
• I bought a TF from CVS Pharmacy for the first time. I don’t usually hunt there, but I happened to see PCC Skyhammer which I didn’t see anywhere else. So I snagged it. Price wasn’t too bad either. Most non-discount stores still carry PCC 2-packs at $9.99. I thought CVS was gonna mark this up like everything else, so I was pleasantly surprised when they rung up $8.49 at checkout.
• Speaking of Skyhammer, why is PCC Skyhammer a Decepticon? DOTM Skyhammer is an Autobot. I’ve grown accustomed to seeing a TF character appearing very different from line to line, but switching allegiances? That’s just weird.
• I haven’t had any time to mess with MP-10, and that’s why he’s still unopened. I need to make time for this soon, especially considering he’s by far the most expensive piece here. Very looking forward to some quality time with what many is calling the best G1-style Optimus Prime ever made.
• Other than at the Target where I bought Half-Track, I have not seen him anywhere else. I started seeing him at this Target several months ago, but did not buy him b/c he’s simply a Sandstorm repaint. I only got him now since he’s on clearance. I wonder why he’s so rare in my area? In the pic above you’ll see that his left arm dislodged from the socket, but the figure is fine once it’s re-attached.
• DOTM Soundwave was bought on eBay from a Taiwan seller. This price is not too bad, considering he’s now Asia only.
• TFP Wheeljack and Ratchet are some of the best deluxe figures out there right now. Do not hesitate to grab these two if/when you find them.
• Bewteen this month and last month, the only TF I got at a discount store is Icepick from dd’s Discounts. I’m still very much hunting at discount stores regularly. Guess they just didn’t get anything good lately.

Too many TFs, too little time. Transform and Roll Out!

Wondercon 2012

I am back from this year’s Wondercon in Anaheim! I always have an awesome time at geek Conventions and this year is no exception. Once again I was there with Gemini. This is only our 2nd Wondercon. We went once before in 2010 when it was still at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. You can check out Gemini’s coverage of Wondercon 2010 here. Not sure why the organizers decided to move it to the Anaheim Convention Center this year in SoCal. But for me it really doesn’t matter since I’ve lived in SoCal and NorCal.

I was only there Friday and Saturday. I probably should have taken more pics, but still I’ll post what I have here.

 

Capcom Booth

 

This is the only pic I took at the Capcom booth. They were heavily promoting two games. One was Street Fighter X Tekken, which came out early March. I’m a big fighting game fan so I’ll probably pick this up later. The other game was Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, pictured above. This is an awesome looking game! I only vaguely heard about this, but seeing it live in person has convinced me that I must get this. RE Operation Raccoon City is a multi-player third-person shooter set in the famous city of RE origin. I don’t play FPS or TPS all that much, but this I must play! I’m a RE die-hard, having completed the original RE, RE Director’s Cut, RE 2, RE 3, RE Code Veronica, RE 0, and RE Outbreak. Not sure what the story is, but the players appear to be military forces sent in to contain the bio hazard outbreak in RC. Very cool. The game came out 2 days ago. Get yours now!

 

Kotobukiya Booth

 

The Kotobukiya booth was located right in the center of the dealer’s room, so there’s no way to miss it. And chances are you would pass by it multiple times. They are releasing some very cool figures at reasonable prices. There’s a figure of Christie from Tekken that is begging for me to buy. I really don’t collect bishoujo figures anymore, but part of me is still tempted, so it took a lot of willpower to walk away. Still, if I find one someday for cheap, I just might buy it. I took several pics at this booth and they appear below.

 

Avengers Booth

 

This is a booth promoting the upcoming Avengers movie this summer. The booth was quite large. Hollywood booths are always grandiose and extravagant. I’m not sure what was happening here when I took this pic. We have some nice cosplayers of Cobra Commander and some random Cobra chick. They were doing some kind of dance and moving way too fast for me to shoot a nice pic. Not sure if they were fans or hired.

 

Other Dealers’ Booths

 

Below are some pics of smaller local retailers. I took pics of their items. I’m always left in awe at how much stuff they bring to these events.

 

Cosplayers

 

No anime/comic/toy convention is complete without Cosplayers. There were some good ones at Wondercon 2012, but I only managed to snap one pic of these gorgeous ladies below. I don’t know who they’re supposed to be though.

 

Last but certainly not least…

 

Sara Jean Underwood! Yes gentlemen, the beautiful Sara Jean was on hand to sign autographs. I probably should have lined up to take a pic with her. The line was not that long and she seemed real friendly with the fans. If you don’t know who she is, this should help educate you. NSFW!

 

My Wondercon 2012 Haul

 

No trip to any anime/toy/comic convention is complete without acquiring some loot. And so I proudly present my acquisitions from Wondercon 2012 :

• Masterpiece Optimus Prime MP-10 – I have been wanting to get the latest Masterpiece figure of the legendary Optimus Prime for some time now. This is a brand new mold from MP-1 or MP-4. He is smaller like the more recent MPs and he doesn’t have any die-cast, but he is more show accurate and he’s got even more features than before. I’ve seen many YouTube reviews about this figure already and there’s nothing but praises. I can’t wait to open mine, when I get some time. Best part: a dealer I know at Wondercon hooked me up with this MP-10 for only $200!
• Star Wars Transformer Clone Pilot Arc-170 Starfighter – I’ve seen this figure before, like at TRU or Walmart. A dealer saw me eyeing this and offered it to me for $10. I’ve been disappointed with most of my SW TFs recently, but for $10 you really can’t go wrong so I figured why not.

Before I wrap up this post, I’ll include some misc and random thoughts:

• On Friday there was a panel with Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill to promote the opening of 21 Jump Street. We didn’t try to go, but I can only imagine what a mad house it must have been. I don’t think we could’ve got in even if we tried.
• On Saturday there was a panel with Milla Jovovich promoting the 5th Resident Evil movie. Me, Gemini, and his wife tried to go to that. We made it up to the 3rd floor right before security stopped people from going up the escalator. We barely made it, or so we thought! When we finally got in line, security quickly pointed out that if you’re behind a certain spot in line, you probably won’t get in. We were way behind the spot and so we left. We then learned that some people have been lining up since 7AM. Crazy!
• Parking for Wondercon 2012 was a total bitch. On Fri I waited about 15 min on Katella Ave before I got into the parking sturcture. On Sat I waited about 30 min. I can’t even begin to imagine what parking would be like for the BIG conventions, like SDCC or AX. Speaking of AX…
• My very first Anime Expo was in 94. Back then it was at the Mariott Hotel right next to the Anaheim Convention Center. That was my first geek convention of any kind. In 94 it broke records too, with about 2000 attendees. Parking and lining up for things were not an issue at all. Seeing that Mariott again after all these years, it sure brings back memories. Good memories. And I’m left amazed at how far these conventions have come.
• There was a girls’ Volleyball thing going on right next to Wondercon, in the same convention center. That was pretty big too. I wonder what those girls thought of Wondercon…
• Eating near Anaheim Convention Center for Wondercon is not an issue. We ate at a nearby IHOP and a Chinese place that’s like a Panda Express. Getting a seat is no problem, unlike going to AX these days.
• As a TransFan, Wondercon is probably not the best convention. But tickets are affordable and they’re easy to get. I had fun so I do recommend it.
• Oh yeah, on Fri at the con I checked March Madness scores. That’s when I found out that my pick to win it all lost in the 1st round! Stupid Missouri. Total bummer for me.

That about covers it. My experience at Wondercon 2012. It is growing and I think next year it will be even better. Until the next convention… Transform and Roll Out!

Happy St Patrick’s Day 2012! More Green Transformers

It is once again St Patrick’s Day! Last year for St Patrick’s Day I took pics of all my green Transformers, and this year I’m going to continue that tradition. Below are more green TFs I’ve bought since then.

The Decepticons
TFC Toys Hercules (left), Reveal the Shield Voyager Lugnut

 

The Autobots
Front row (left to right): DOTM Human Alliance Sandstorm, ROTF Scout Firetrap, PCC Heavytread, DOTM Commander Guzzle, DOTM legend Flak. Back row (left to right): DOTM Human Alliance Roadbuster, DOTM Deluxe Ratchet, ROTF Deluxe Ratchet, DOTM Deluxe Roadbuster, DOTM Deluxe Air Raid

As I look at my mix of green Transformers from last year to this year, here are some random thoughts:
• The first two figures I bought from DOTM were both green, Deluxe Roadbuster and Sandstorm. In fact, most of the green Autobots featured are from DOTM.
• In both years there is one Air Raid. They’re both green. Is that Air Raid’s new color?
• Hercules by TFC Toys is pure awesomeness! I must do a post about this set soon. Good thing TFC Toys made him this year or I would only be left with one green Decepticon.
• Lugnut should have been included last year since I already had him by then. But I missed including him for some reason, so he appears now.
• Last year I featured 19 green TFS. That’s from a collection of over 7 years. This year I feature 17, and that’s from one year alone. Adjusting for Lugnut, that’s still 20 and 16. This is further proof I bought way too many TFs this past year.
• For the Autobots, I have a lot of small tanks or artillery vehicles: Firetrap, Guzzle, Flak, and Heavytread.

Just like last year, March Madness started this weekend. I picked Missouri to win it all, and they’re already eliminated in the first round! OK technically now they call it Round 2, but you know what I mean. Missouri is a 2nd seed, and before today, a 2nd seed has only lost 4 times in the first round in NCAA history. Today we lost two 2nd seeds (Missouri and Duke). This is just a weird year. Regardless, my bracket is totally busted. I don’t even feel like watching the rest of it.

I’m also presently attending Wondercon in Anaheim. Look for a coverage soon… Transform and Roll Out!

My Cliffjumper Collection

Today I’m going to feature a character that Hasbro/Takara didn’t take seriously until the last few years: Cliffjumper. For decades, CJ was simply that red repaint of Bumblebee. In the G1 cartoons, CJ and Bee were distinct characters with distinct personalities. But as for the G1 toys, the two were awfully similar. Technically they were not repaints of each other (with different head molds and slightly different body molds), but it was obvious that the two figures were cut from the same cloth. It didn’t help matters that, early in G1 before the TF brand was properly established, Hasbro released red Bumblebees and yellow Cliffjumpers, further blending the identity of the two. As the years went on, the Bumblebee mold was often selected to be repainted as Cliffjumper whenever Hasbro felt like making a quick buck off the same mold.

At around 2009, things began to change. Cliffjumper figures began to see more variation from Bumblebee. If memory serves, the first Cliffjumper with a different head in this modern era is the Alternity figure. Technically Takara sold the figure as Bumblebee, but we all know he’s really Cliffjumper. In Transformers Prime, CJ is a completely different mold from Bumblebee. After all these years, Cliffjumper is finally getting the recognition that he deserves.

Below I proudly present my Cliffjumper collection.

Clockwise from top left: Classics deluxe, TF Prime RID deluxe, Movie deluxe, Alternity, Generations WFC deluxe.

G1 Keychain

Interestingly enough, I still have the packaging to all my Cliffjumper toys. Mostly because I didn’t open them. The only ones I opened are the Alternity and WFC figures (as shown in the pic above). But I keep the box to all my Alternities, and I have two of the WFC figure, one unopened. I plan to open TF Prime RID Cliffjumper and I don’t plan to buy multiples, so this trend of having all CJ’s packaging probably won’t continue.

From Casey Kasem to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson… Transform and Roll Out!