fansprojec bruticus maximus upgrade 2

latest pictures of bruticus maximus upgrade set by fansproject (click me for the full news). looks very cool & he now has many toys to play with. i'm a bit sad that the head mold doesn't look like bruticus in the cartoons, since the upgrade is suppose to follow g1. another thing to note is that currently the upgrades are sold separately, set a is blast off & set b is swindle. have no idea why they're not sold as a set... maybe they want to maximize sales. anyway enjoy the photos.

universe sea spray

just read about a new and upcoming figure based on seaspray, the g1 autobot naval tactician (click me & me for more details). however there are a few exceptions. him name is now sea spray instead of seaspray. he's also a much bigger voyager class than his original legend minibot size. while the colour scheme is the same the propotion is not; mostly white & blue with little patches of yellow. the head is different from cartoon & g1 toy, he's now wearing diving goggles & oxygen mask.
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i have mixed feelings about this new version of seaspray & not sure if i'm gonna get him when he's available, we'll just have to wait & see.

mcdonalds transformers animated

mcdonalds tranformers animated is here


2008 us release


first up is prime


nice design & transformation


i can't believe it, but its finally here. 2 years after it was released in the us mcdonalds malaysia finally released the transformers animated toys. sadly only 4 figures are available as apposed to 6 in the us - prime, megatron, bumblebee & ratchet (starscream & lugnut are m.i.a).
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robot mode


truck mode


side view


same toy as first release


the first to be released was prime & when i got mine last thursday they had just opened a box full of prime. from the stamp its clear that this is the same prime released on 2008, not a new figure. i'm actually pleased with the figure as it has a decent design & transformation process. it certainly doesn't feel cheap & is a nice addition to any collection. can't wait to get the next figure

fansprojec bruticus maximus upgrade

fansproject new project


looks like...


blast off!


last month fansproject announced that they will produce a new set of upgrades for bruticus maximus, like the ones they made for superion maximus...only this time bruticus will receive new robot members along with accessories. this is certainly a major step by fansproject giving new figures as upgrades instead of accessories only.
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accessories for onslaught


new feature


nice, like omega supreme


the first figure announced was blast off which will be a shuttle (click me to read more). here he's called explorer and will be the right arm of bruticus. accompanying accessories meant for onslaught can be transformed into a launch pad for blast off. the accessories among others will be a new head & twin back cannons for bruticus.
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swindle's next


next to a more detailed blast off


bruticus maximus with new accessories


recently fansproject released new info where swindle will be the next figure & he's called crossfire (click me to read more). as in the cartoon he'll be bruticus's new right leg. new accessories for bruticus will be a blaster, groin guard, fists & foots as well as a knife @ short sword.
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looks more g1


"you want some?"


new twin back cannons


melee weapon for close combat


its very clear that fansproject want to make bruticus maximus more g1-like and i'm sure this is a welcome for g1 fans. now to hope the price will be in arms reach.

takara book reissue targetmaster kup & wheelie

targetmaster kup & wheelie takara book reissue


rear view


first page


this time i'm gonna write about targetmaster kup with wheelie, the takara book reissue version. this 2005 kup is a reissue of the 1987 targetmaster kup except this time he's paired with the witty wheelie and his normal handgun returned. recoil returns as his targetmaster partner. a takara book reissue refers to reissue transformers toys by takara (now known as takara tomy), mostly g1 figures in a book style casing.
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second page


poster page


forth page


i got this piece early last year at a reasonable price from a seller in penang. & its still misb, what luck. its still misb but i have no intention to keep them that way, just waiting for the right time to unleash them into the world hehehe.
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fifth page


sixth page


last one


still misb


being a takara book most of its contents are in japanese so i don't know what it says. there's images other available toys like the pretenders & junior headmasters (marketing purposes i think), g1 skywarp description and of course descriptions of kup & wheelie. i don't know why but here kup is refered to as chear.
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kup, robot mode


truck mode


attack mode


recoil


standard gun


since kup & wheelie are still inside the book i'll refer to cliffbee's review on the figures (click me to read the full review). the robot images are taken from tfu.info (click me to see more). for kup cliffbee wrote :
- a futuristic trunk as alternate mode
- have rubber tyres
- mount for recoil available
- colour & design true to movie & cartoon appearance
- legs can't be moved but high articulation in arms : shoulders, elbows, wrists
- 7/10 rating
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wheelie


car mode


as for wheelie :
- a futuristic car as alternate mode
- car mold matches his movie appearance
- bad robot design, doesn't match the movie appearance
- little articulation : arms, hips & feet
- 2/10 rating
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from the images i guess wheelie is kinda a disappointment but with kup & recoil as a set it sure is a nice addition to any g1 collection. i'm actually looking forward to get my hands on them.

micromasters sixtrain

sixtrain, my 1st micromasters



they're sold separately


today's post is about the micromaster sixtrain from the micromasters sub group of transformers zone. he's a gestalt robot formed by the combination of six micromasters which take the form of various trains as alternate mode. zone was suppose to be the continuation of transformers victory but due to poor toy sales it was canceled - only the pilot episode was aired. micromasters are transformers who were created in small sizes for the purpose of energy saving. these smaller bodies were easier to maintain and uses less energy than larger bodies. the same nebulon technology seen in headmasters & powermasters were used.
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figure indicator



manual on one side...



...comic on the other


actually i'm not a fan of small size transformers toys because its small, less detail, little to no accessories & very simple transformation process. what prompted me to buy this one is a review by cliffbee on sixturbo, another micromaster combiner that was rated very high - 9/10. cliffbee said that sixturbo is a very good gestalt and features interesting individual toy design & accessories (click me for details). sixtrain got a little lower rate - 8.5/10 (click me to for details) but still in the same league. i have aquired both but i'll review sixtrain first...
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desire with right foot



atlan with upper legs


all six bots came in individual boxes so you can either slowly buy & build sixtrain one at a time or if have the resources can go in one shot. because i managed to get all six at a reasonable price so i opted for the latter. i'm not sure if there is a boxset like other normal size gelstalt but i guess there isn't any. even though each box has the same design there is an indicator at the bottom left of each box to differentiate who's who - 1 is desire, 2 is atlan, 3 is raise, 4 is san diego, 5 is windy & 6 is convertor. this will ensure collectors won't get 2 or more of the same figure. each box contains a bot, accessories to form sixtrain, a transformational manual & comic...since i don't read japanese i can't understand the comic.
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raise with left foot



san diego with head & blaster


each figure is only 6 cm tall & share the same transformation process; fold back the rear part of the train to form the legs & push the arms forward, reverse to change back to train form. combining them to form sixtrain is a bit more complex but you can still do so without refering to the manual...that's why i don't like legend class. articulation is only limited to the arms.
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windy with fists



convertor with torso


anyway the detail on the bots are better than what i expected, for example you can actually see their tiny faces clearly. like all legend class they don't come with weapons other than parts to form sixtrain & he has a blaster, which is nice. i also don't like transformers without weapons, makes them look weak. in train mode they cannot link together to form 1 train, a shame as it would really add up value to the set.
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merge to form sixtrain



side view


as for sixtrain he looks good & much better than the small guys. at 17 cm he's about the same height as a deluxe class. however because all 6 bots are the same size its impossible to merge them together without the use of extensions, like the normal gestalts. aside from the normal gestalt head, feet & fists a torso & upper legs is needed. desire (chest), san diego (back), atlan (right arm) & raise (left arm) will attach to the torso part while windy (right leg) & convertor (left leg) attach to the upper legs. merge these two parts & you'll have sixtrain.
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rear side



left view


he only looks nice from the front so as a display piece that's the only way to pose him. articulation is limited to the head, arms & fists only. the legs are fixed & the feet snap into position.
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being my first micromasters figure & micromasters gestalt i can say that i'm quite please with sixtrain. though small each figure has a high degree of detail & the gestalt looks good. the colour choice for each figure is great making sixtrain looks unified and even.

kabaya candy toy - star saber

kabaya candy toy is here


1, 2 here go



3 is a nice number



anyone read japanese?


well as mentioned before i finally able to post about the kabaya candy toy. this will also be the first review on transformers toys i have acquired in a long time...
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looks familiar...



very familiar...


prepare for some assembly fun


now what's interesting about this is that you can choose which character you like - g1 prime, star saber @ henkei prime. when it was 1st announced that kabaya will be selling these candy toys it is said that you cannot choose the characters because there is no indication on the box which one you are choosing, its a gamble. so if you were to buy 2 boxes you could end up with 2 similar toys. this was a disappointment as i only wanted star saber. then all of a sudden kabaya decided to do otherwise. now each box is marked with the pictures of the characters. they are also numbered - 1 is g1 prime, 2 is star saber & 3 is henkei prime. i guess kabaya realized the concern of collectors and was sympathetic, as using the random method would make a collector buy several boxes in order to increase the chances of getting what they wanted...lucky us i guess
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guidelines



the chewing gum


looks pale but smells nice


the toys comes dismantled and in pieces with each piece attached to a plastic frame, just like a gundam model kit - you have to cut out the pieces & join them together piece by piece until the toy is completely formed. no worries here as the assembly needed are very simple & straight forward. a manual, which is written on the inner side of the box is very detail & helpful. a novice like me took around 1/2 hour to complete the assembly.
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space cruiser mode


a bit bland...


but acceptable


like old fashion transformers toy you need to apply stickers to the toy, thus a sticker sheet is provided. besides that you'll also get a piece of kabaya chewing gum. i'm not sure if all kabaya toys come with a chewing gum as this is my first kabaya toy. i didn't taste the gum but it does smell nice...in a chewing gum way
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robot mode


the brainmaster locked in jet form


the finished toy looks exactly like the original star saber, minus a few....lot of things. 1st of its a very scaled down version of the original, i'd say its the size of a scout class. i'd wager its just the size of the original's brainmaster robot. because of this it lacks details which makes star saber grand & powerful...though he's cuter this time. same goes for the space cruiser mode, very simple & easy. there's no brainmaster gimmick as its fixed in jet mode. its clear the toy focuses on star saber in complete robot mode. the size is also an issue for the gimmick.
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battle ready with trusty saber blade


side view

rear view


transformation is also simple. from robot mode just detach the head & fastened it on the hook at the back, straightened the arms, fold the feet, detach the chest, connect it with the nosecone to form the jet then connect it the neck. the sword blade can be fastened on the back beside the head. articulation is also limited - the head, arms, elbows can be swung, the legs can be spread a bit & the feet can be folded.
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all in all this is a nice toy even if its too simple. the assembly part is fun, the design is nice & most importantly its my first star saber toy...now to start save money to get the original

henkei ghost starscream is mine!

who says ghosts are scary?


my goodness its been a month since i last blogged. after exam season was over i was on year end leave, which means had to rely on poor internet connection hindered any attempt to update the blog. anyway now that i've started working again hopefully i can blog as usual.
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think its not too late to wish everybody happy new year 2010. may all out dreams, hopes & wishes for 2010 come true & all things well. as a start i wanted to blog about the kabaya candy toy that i got recently but forgot a few photos, so that will have to wait...as a substitute i'll annouce this : henkei ghost starscream is mine! finally after a long wait he's in my grasp...or kinda. i got him last sunday from chupa, a fellow forum member of sembangtoys, a forum for local toy collectors. the price was reasonable & cheaper than other sellers that i know.
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unfortunately its still misb as i decided to open (along with other misb) when the toy rack is available, which i hope will be around this year. so there's only 1 photo here. but not to worry as i've posted pictures of the figure in my previous posting, so head there to see ghost ss in action if you haven't seen him already...

henkei ghost starscream

been busy lately, final exams coming up next monday & 17/12...so i guess blogging will have to wait. as a short entry latest photos of the upcoming henkei ghost starscream is available at tfw2005 (click me & me to read more). as a note the figure is only available by pre-order using the form attached in the transformers generations 2009 volume 2 magazine...the other way is to order from any hobby shop takes offers the pre-order. the figures looks very nice & exciting. glad i placed a pre-order for it early this year...hopefully the price won't be that expensive.