Jamspeed's Toys

Revisiting Daghoba

2011-02-22T17:16:00.000-08:00

Vintage Daghoba play set, Kenner 1980 with modern Yoda figure

So Here we have my one and only vintage Star Wars piece, Yoda's Daghoba play set. I remember being excited to find this still at my mom's house a while back and rushing to Ebay to see how much this little gem was worth. I also remember my disappointment in discovering you could get a very nice one for under 20$ shipped, at the time I last looked 12+ years ago.

I do like this play set quite a lot, and the thing is almost indestructible. Only the foam was damaged so I replaced it with a peice from some electronic packaging that I cut out. Other than that this thing looks almost new, there are a few scuffs and some melted marks from an old rubber snake toy that was kept in the same box and had some kind of chemical reaction. I guess those things only add to the messy swamp look of the toy.

All the parts are here, as Yoda demonstrates with his "Force " levitation powers.

R2 D2, the dirty Daghoba swamp version, seems to be getting into trouble by the look thrown from Yoda.

One of the things I remember when playing with this as a boy was all the detail put into the toy mold. I probably spent hours looking for lizards, Dragonfly and bugs crawling around on the base. There are many great details in the hut also, bowls on Yoda's table, a coiled snake is chilling in there, just a fun toy to have both then and now.

Happy New Year... Oh yea that was 24 days ago

2011-01-24T11:06:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow toy collectors. I have to make a sad admission, well it's obvious that I suck when I comes to updating and posting here on my blog. It is really tough to find the time to shoot, photo edit/do production, then post up with some heart felt "toy memories" to share. That said I'm not going to give up on creating my own little online toy universe, but I will be posting more onto my Flickr page (see link below and to the right).

I will still be posting here and I have some ideas in my head, but look mainly for my older 80's toys on here where I can comment on them and new stuff will just be visually cataloged on Flickr.

Don't look now but here come some photos!

Vintage G1 Wheeljack, incomplete as purchase from Ebay

Several months ago I purchased a cheap lot of G1 Transformers and this one was included. After selling the other 2 I ended up keeping Wheeljack since I don't have one and always loved his car mode. My younger brother had Wheeljack so I am familiar with him, and his awkward robot mode but I still really like this toy. It's condition is good, but he lacks a lot of stickers and the 2 spoiler parts for the rear, but this still displays very well.

Wheeljack's alt mode is a Lancia Stratos Turbo race car,
from the Diaclone toy line to the US in 1984

I really like the head sculpt on this guy, it's very different than the usual Autobot face. Not much to say about the robot mode or transformation, but he is fun to mess around with. Did I mention he has a great car mode?

Ahh G1, it still kicks ass ;)

Autobot Optimus Prime

2010-11-23T18:50:00.000-08:00

Vintage G1 Optimus Prime

It was sometime around 1984, a boy is given a Sears "Wishbook" to circle what he wants for Christmas. Within those pages was the mighty Optimus Prime you see in these pictures. Few toys are as memorable as this guy, even though its almost too stereotypical to like the leader the best and I usually like the lesser know characters better, I have to say I love this toy. As I see him now this is still a great figure, well proportioned with great articulation for the time. His construction of metal and chrome are sorrily missed today.

I'm just going to let the pictures speak for themselves, this is such a great toy.

Prime's alt mode is a 1970s Freightliner FL86 Cab-over-Engine triple-axle semi trailer truck.

Optimus Prime was part of Takara's 1983 Diaclone toy line under the name "Battle Convoy." He was designed by Hiroyuki Obara and Shoji Kawamori (famous for his work in Macross)

There's a lot of play value here with the opened trailer, makes me wish I had a few micro men.

I was very excited to purchase my first 3rd party Transformer set, and it only made sense to get something like this to upgrade my Prime. This set is only 20$, and a great deal!

I think the Energy axe is a great addition to the set, it is a well made piece with good detail.

Above we have the matrix installed in the chest with the custom adapter and the new hands are also in place.

Darkest hour... LIT!

Finally the set comes with an upgraded ion blaster, it looks good but the mold on mine could have used some refinement. Again over all the BTS 03 kit is a great deal, especially for people who are missing the parts to their G1 Prime.

Star Wars Bounty Hunters

2010-07-29T19:15:00.000-07:00

Here we have the complete set of bounty hunters from the great scene in The Empire Strikes Back, where Darth Vader (not pictured) offers the bounty for Han Solo. I think every boy born around that time remembers that scene and how bad ass it was to see. We never even really knew what these guys did or how they fit into the Star Wars universe at the time but just by looking at this line up you know they mean business.

I finally found an acceptable version on Dengar, so now this set is complete. I love Star Wars but have to be real picky when it comes to the toys, there are way too many and a lot of them can suck with limited articulation and detail. All of the guys above are the ultimate figures to date and have tons of articulation, super detail,"soft goods" cloth, and are well scaled.

Looking for trouble!

Botcon 2010

2010-06-26T20:24:00.000-07:00

Today I went to Botcon in Orlando and had a good time, saw a lot of cool toys. Didn't have much of a budget for toys but there really was not much there that was a must have for me anyway. It was awesome seeing all the G1 toys, and just the mass of toys in general. Both sellers and fellow attendees were all cool and I had a lot of fun, but I have to admit it was not as super awesome as I hyped myself it would be, can't put my finger on it. Still it was fun and worth the drive from Tampa to Orlando.

Transformers hall of fame inductee, THE Peter Cullen

A close up of the hall of fame statue

The must have figure for most of us, Masterpiece Grimlock

Leader Starscream looks very good

The 3rd party Munitioner figure looks bad ass, but just costs too much

Oh yea, Starscream stopped by too

Well look what I've stumbled across!

2010-05-07T23:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am back! I have dusted off the toy blog and want to start adding photos and what not. While I have been toy shooting over the past several months I was not happy with the photos from my old camera ( I have a new one now ) so I have not been posting up. I still have some bugs to work out with my set up and really learning the new camera, but I will try to find time. I have really just been too busy towards the end of last year and most of this year.

I do have some photos from my first shoot with the new Sony camera, Behold the awesomeness that is Human Alliance Bumble Bee and Skids!

Autobot "Mini-bots"

2009-10-10T15:53:00.000-07:00

Vintage G1 Mini Bots
Autobots from left to right - Windcharger, Outback, Pipes, Wheelie,

Powerglide, Gears, Beachcomber, Warpath and Brawn

These Transformers are part of the Japanese Microman/MicroChange line released 1983.

Below I have detailed shots of my favorite mini-bots

Autobot Windcharger

This was the one that started it all for me, my first Transformer. As a red sports car I can see why this guy would appeal to a boy. I really don't remember too much about the ramp up to the release of the first Transformers toys, but I picked this up in a small toy store like KB in the mall in 84' I guess.

Windchargers alt mode is a 80's Pontiac Trans Am, well a very distorted and bloated one. They were pretty popular "cool" cars at the time, but now people don't think too much of them. Thankfully he was reborn as a Honda S 2000 for the Alternators line.

Autobot Powerglide

For a mini bot Powerglide makes a cool robot, if only they had the ability at the time to give him separating feet. Still, his arms have a lot of pose ability, the head rotates and proportions are nice. Transformation is very different from most other mini bots where the arms just pop out and legs flip down. The way the wings fold up to the body and the arms come out is cool.

The A-10 Thunderbolt is one of my favorite warplanes, it's so different looking and full of bad ass-ness! The mould has great details in alt mode, the big nose cannon is well represented.

Autobot Warpath

Warpath is one of the bots that suffers from a weak robot mode, but his tank mode is very cool. I allways did like how his head flips up from the turret.

Warpath is a M551 Sheridan light tank, and he looks great in this mode. The turret rotates all the way around, and even the simple use of color works well.

"Bonus pic"
Autobot Outback doing the robot, lol!

Decepticon Ravage

2009-10-03T15:40:00.000-07:00

Revenge of the Fallen Ravage

This toy is a new release I picked up recently, I don't normally put up the newer stuff as so many other people are doing it and I want to focus on my vintage toys. This figure is unique though with its design as a non-human robot, also I think the toy is pretty fateful to the movie design. Ravage was just so awesome in the movie - and this toy is one of the best of the ROTF line.

The robot mode is cool, paint apps and use of plastics colors are nice. Articulation is good, and the pop out neck/open up jaw gimmick doesn't bother me. Unfortunately the alt mode sucks so there are no pics of that here.

Classics Inferno

2009-09-10T11:36:00.000-07:00

Classics voyager class Inferno

Autobot Inferno

2009-08-09T15:07:00.000-07:00

Vintage G1 Inferno

Today I'm uploading one of my last original "Car Robo" style Transformers, Inferno. I do have a couple reissues and many more G1 Transformers to add, so I have plenty to still do. These early type of Transformers are really my favorite, Inferno is a worthy figure to kind of cap things off.

For what must have been a deluxe size figure he's big, has a ton of detail, chrome, rubber tires, basically everything cool about the original Japanese line shows up here. Diecast only shows up in the feet but with everything else they put into Inferno you wouldn't care. He really seems to be a more expensive Transformer compared to the other Autobots but I don't think that was the case.

Inferno has a simple but neat transformation, which gives him nice arm articulation. His body is well proportioned but the lower half only moves at the feet as part of the truck mode. Each of his forearms contains a spring-loaded missile launcher, so he can fire his own fists or silver missiles. The white "wing" nozzles are separate parts you attach after the transform, like the fists, but I really like the extra details these parts add so I don't mind that. In many ways he is like another Optimus Prime, only with less metal.

Inferno transforms into a Mitsubishi Fuso firetruck. Truck mode still looks great even today.

The ladder is fully extendable, pulling out into 3 sections. I remember this toy being fun to play with, and even took him to a park/picnic the day I got him. Thankfully no damage or loss of parts occurred.

Autobot Smokescreen

2009-07-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

Alternators Smokescreen

Smokescreen is a good example of an Alternator, and one of my favorites. The Transform is fun and relatively easy to get back into a nice tight car mode. All the graphics, detailed lighting and rubber wheels make him look like you spend far more than 20$. Of course now a days they tend to go for 2 to 3 times as much, a few sell for even more. Unfortunately this line was canceled around the time the first Transformers live action movie came out. They didn't want so many lines competing with each other, and today they would have a hard time making these for a 20$ price point. A least the "Classics" line will return to give fans realistic G1 inspired toys. It is great time to be a Transformers fan.

Yes, car mode is pretty hot!

Alternators have great detail, with seats, dashes, shifters, as well as opening doors, hoods and sometimes even trunks. All 4 of Smokescreens door open, truly Alternators are adult collectables with everything they put into them. Transformations on Alternators are often complex but not usually too hard, the problem is things like doors and hoods may be very difficult to line back up.

Here I've armed him with some military spec weapons. This has been done before by others but I have always wanted to get some guns and arm a bot up myself. I happened upon a set of guns at Toys R'Us on clearance so here we go.

Ready to take on some Con's.

Gundam Xamel

2009-07-19T17:56:00.000-07:00

YMS-16M Xamel

Taking a break from Transformers, we have today a Gundam from "Gundam 0083 - Stardust Memory" Bandi 2003. This toy is a US release and was bought on clearance, these toys didn't sell to well here but I picked up all I could. These Gundams are composed of a nice almost rubbery plastic and have great paint and details. Articulation is high with these figures, they are like pre assembled models which is great for me as I'm too busy/lazy for model building. I love these Gundams, I think I have about 10 total.

From GundamOfficial.com - "This unusual mobile suit is a prototype left over from the One Year War, and employed by renegade Zeons during their attack on the Federation's Torrington base. The Xamel is essentially a mobile gun platform, able to hover at high speeds thanks to the jet engines housed in its legs and skirt armor. Its tandem cockpit houses two people - a pilot to operate the mobile suit itself, and a gunner to fire its massive long-range cannon. While the Xamel is virtually helpless in close combat, it proves supremely effective at long-range bombardment."

Baby got back! The rear hover cannon part clips off and gives more mobility, but as far as the Gundam show I don't think they ever showed it that way.

Ready...Aim...

FIRE!!!

Autobots Rewind and Steeljaw

2009-06-24T21:03:00.001-07:00

Vintage G1 Rewind and Steeljaw

Here we have my other 2 mini cassette transformers, and these went with my Blaster figure (who is the Autobots tape deck). I never had Decepticon Soundwave, my brother did I think, but I always liked Blasters character from the Transformers animated movie. Steeljaw (the yellow lion) is defiantly the coolest one out of this set, and to me the best Autobot tape. Something about the robot mode Rewind never looked right to me, he looks kind of cheap with his lack of detail, diecast or anything cool really. The Soundwave's older tape robots (Rumble and Frenzy) were way cooler than Blasters.

In trying to research these toys a bit I found little info, except that the gold chromed weapons were the earliest and actually rare variants. I never knew they didn't come in gold, but they definitely look better in gold.

Steeljaw's transformation is nice, although being a cassette tape former he is very thin. There are nice details moulded in the "lion" side and he is very well proportioned. The legs are metal which is a nice contrast to the yellow plastic and gold gun packs. A strange thing I never noticed is on the "tape" side the graphic maine is flipped on the wrong side, if you flip over the tape to the lion side the colored maine is on Steeljaws back end.

With regard to Rewind, well there is not much to say about him. There is some nice articulation in the legs but over all this guy is pretty dull. The arms are bad, the head has little detail, he does have some nice shiny guns though.

Decepticons Laserbeak and Frenzy

2009-06-21T20:57:00.000-07:00

Vintage G1 Laserbeak and Frenzy

Tape modes, these toys still impress me with the design and transformation. Also with the small size of these guys they were easily snuck into your pocket so you could have some Transformer fun anywhere you went.

Both robot modes have good articulation, especially Frenzy. The Frenzy (and other tape bot Rumble) are to me some of the best Transformer designs - to go from a thin square "tape" to these robots was and still is impressive to me. When you add in the nice chrome accessories and other details it's no wonder the cassette tape style transformers are huge fan favorites.

Frenzy sports nice gold chrome accents on his chest and waist, also cool silver foil stickers are seen detailing one side of the tape mode.

Just a simple shot of Frenzy showing off some of his mad G1 articulation skills!

Originally from the Microchange line "Micro Cassette Robo Condor", Laserbeak transforms into a cassette that can fit into the tape door of Soundwave (or Blaster). He was released in a two-pack with Frenzy. Frenzy's "Cassettron" mould was first released in Japan in 1984, but they were sold separately and each one came with a clear plastic tape case/holder.

Decepticon Venom

2009-06-20T21:22:00.000-07:00

Vintage G1 Deluxe Insectacon Venom

Venom is my 2nd deluxe Insectacon, and for me the better of the two. His Robot mode is very good with articulation that puts many modern Transformers to shame. His whole chest is diecast, with the rest of the parts being plastic. The transparent wings still look great after all these years, only showing a slight amount of fogging. Another cool thing about the wings is the amount of movement/rotation they have.

The above pose shows off some of this nice G1's articulation, especially noted in the lower half.

Venom, like Ransack posted just before, is originally from Takatoku Toys Armored Insect Battalion Beetras toyline. His original release in Japan was 1984 - Hasbro release was a year later.

The bug mode here is the Cicada, which are the cool armored looking bugs that make unique chirping sounds that are very loud for an insect. As a kid I would find their shed exoskeletons and examine them, boys love to play with bugs! Robot bugs are right up there in awesomeness with robot dinosaurs, this Transformer is a perfect example.

Decepticon Ransack

2009-06-20T20:56:00.000-07:00

Vintage G1 Deluxe Insectacon Ransack

This one has a pretty neat transformation and is well articulated, except for the arms which only pull out and can't rotate or bend at all. That said this is a well made toy, bot mode is fair but it's the bug mode that really shines here. The only issue with this figure is the one of the leg posts that attach to the body has gotten loose - still he stands well.

Ransack was originally designed by Takatoku Toys for the Armored Insect Battalion Beetras toyline. Takatoku Toys went out of business before the end of the Beetras line, Bandai acquired it and licensed Takatoku's Beetras molds to Hasbro in 1985 to make the Deluxe Insecticons.

Ransack's mold was originally scheduled to be released as the Beetras toy named "Beet Vadam". Takatoku went out of business before Beet Vadam was released, giving Ransack the unique distinction of being the only version of this mold ever released.

"Unleashed" General Grievous

2009-04-21T16:50:00.000-07:00

General Grievous "Unleashed" Statue
- 2006 -

Classics Optimus Prime

2009-04-18T21:20:00.000-07:00

Reshoot: Dougram

2009-03-31T07:59:00.000-07:00

"Dual Model Series" Dougram

The early photos I took of this mech definitely did not do it justice. This is a great 80's toy identical to it's japan release. I also have the unapplied decal sheet (yep just like for models) and instruction booklets, unfortunately the box is long gone. This figure is mostly zinc-diecast, the removable armor and accessories are a high quality and detailed plastic. Paint apps are sparse because nice in color plastic is used throughout the figure - if I applied the decals there would be many more details added.

The backpack can be detached, and has an awesome cannon which can be rotated down to a forward "firing" position.

There is a forearm gun piece that clips in to replace the plain dark blue part - seen above on the right arm.

A great feature of this toy, aside from the removable armor and weapons, is the mini hydraulics built into the lower legs. It's just a great detail to add, which you would never see if you just left the armor on. That's what I love about Japanese toys, detail, detail, detail!

Reshoot: Briareos Hecatonchires

2009-03-31T07:15:00.000-07:00

Briareos Hecatonchires

From Masume Shirow's Appleseed manga, this is probably my all time favorite mech. My last photoshoot of this figure was not the best, so I just had to reshoot him. Enjoy!

Star Wars Assassin Droid

2009-02-14T17:02:00.000-08:00

Assassin Droid

Here we have a new Star Wars figure, the Assassin Droid from the new Clone Wars cartoon. I have to admit I didn't have the highest hopes for this figure, as he doesn't look like much in the package. This doesn't stop me from buying just about every Star Wars type droid I can find. The new Star Wars movies are basically what got me back into buying robot toys, I just have a soft spot for the odd little droids and mechs.

The articulation on this figure is very high, it's a fun toy to play around with. The weathered paint effect is well done, and the moulded details are nice.

You have to love the twin blasters!

Star Wars IG series Droids

2009-02-08T20:25:00.000-08:00

IG-88 - Assassin Droid - Lancer Droid

Yea, don't mess with these guys!

From Star Wars universe, IG-88 was an assassin droid line designed by Holowan Laboritories. The IG-88 line was a derivative of the IG 100 Manga Guard droids used as bodyguards by General Greivous and the IG Lancer droids used by Dirge in the Clone Wars. IG-88 later became one of the galaxy's most infamous bounty hunters.

Classics 2.0 Hound

2009-01-27T20:27:00.000-08:00

Autobot Hound

This is one of my latest Transformers, from the fantastic new classics 2.0 line. This was just from a quick shoot when I opened him up, but I'm just so blown away by these toys. The articulation is just sick on these guys, for a 10$ toy these are awesome. I also have the newest classics Starscream and I'm equally impressed with him.

Starriors part I

2009-01-25T15:56:00.000-08:00

Starriors were similar to Zoids and made by the same company Tomy. Most were humanoid like and each had a gimmick like moving windup guns or saws. There were also smaller wheeled ones with pull back motors. To me these toys were cooler than most gave them credit for. I played with these bots quite a bit, but took real good care of them. Below are 2 of my favorite Starriors, I have several more to post up at a later date.

Hotshot

Crank

Autobot Ratchet

2009-01-01T15:15:00.000-08:00

Vintage G1 Ratchet

Ratchet has a face only a mother could love. Most will agree over all he is one of the worst G1 transformers, but I remember having fun playing with him. The robot/battle cart combo was a good idea, and gave the toy alot of play value. Ratchet came from the Diaclone toy line and was designed as a piloted robot, which is why he has a seat instead of a head. Only the Transformers version had a face sticker added to the back of the seat.

I still really like the gun/repair station section. The way it folds out into a mini playset reminds me of Optimus Primes trailer, and there is alot of nice details put into it.

Ratchet's vehicle mode is a one box van, this mold is also used for Ironhide as a red van.

Autobot Tracks

2009-01-01T07:39:00.000-08:00

Vintage G1 Tracks

Tracks was released in the 2nd series of Transformers in 1985, and is a very detailed toy for that time. His build is mostly plastic unlike in the first series but all the accessories and articulation more than make up for it. Tracks arms and shoulders allow for a lot movement,
the waist rotates and the feet also move. Tracks was originally released in Japan under the Diaclone line as a red Corvette.

In addition to the great detail and build quality you get an awesome double missile launcher that can be used in car mode also. Finally Tracks transforms into a flying car as seen in my last pic below, the gun fits underneath in this mode. I have'nt any fond memories of this toy but he's very cool, and one of the best G1 Autobot cars overall.

The C3 Corvette Stingray mode is well.. fantastic and super detailed!

A cool extra feature of Tracks is a flying car mode, by pulling out the wings and arms.

Autobot Sideswipe

2008-12-31T16:58:00.000-08:00

Vintage G1 Sideswipe

Well here is a great Transformer, one of the best of the original Diaclone molds. The car mode on this one is fantastic, non Transformer fans would never think it was anything more than a detailed model car. Robot mode has well defined legs, feet and arms which have articulation. The head sculpt is cool, I have always loved the human featured Autobot faces and Sideswipe's is one of the best.

This toy has a good weighty feel, the rear of the car ( which forms the legs ) is all diecast. The color is a nice red, and the color of the plastic is a good match to the painted rear. Only the feet and forearms are chrome, but the overall color scheme of red, white & black is great for a bot.

Autobot Sunstreaker

2008-12-30T16:24:00.000-08:00

Vintage G1 Sunstreaker

This Transformer was my 2nd, and the first of the larger die cast ones. Probably mostly because of this I have fond memories of this toy and also like Sunstreaker as a character. He has a cool car mode as a hooked up yellow Lamborgini, and although his bot mode has little articulation he has a great head sculpt and fun transformation. Because he is one of my oldest TFs he is a bit more worn than most of my vintage but has held up well.

Sunstreaker didn't come with a gun, instead he has missiles that replace his hands. Only the feet are diecast on this toy, but there are a lot of chrome details including the rims. A little history about Sunstreaker, The Toy was designed by Koujin Ohno (Takara Toys) and is credited as the first "Car to Robot Transforming Toy" ever made. It appeared first in Takara's Car Robot Series in 1982 before being used in the initial wave of Hasbro Transformers in 1984.

Autobot Mirage

2008-11-15T23:14:00.000-08:00

Transformers Vintage G1 Mirage

I love the original Transformers/Takara car robots, Mirage is a perfect example. The car mode is nice and realistic, with rubber wheels and a bit of chrome. Bot mode seems to come from nowhere but has well formed arms,legs and some articulation also. I never realized what a cool head sculpt he has, very cool stuff!

G1 articulation, aww yea!

Autobot Hound

2008-11-04T17:11:00.000-08:00

Transformers Vintage G1 Hound

Hound was one of my earlier Transformers, and after looking at him again after many years I am very impressed with all the details. The Neat Army deco, the chrome bits and guns, Hound is a great Toy!

Hound was released as part of the initial Autobot assortment in 1984, transforming into a Mitsubishi J59 Jeep. Hound was originally released in the Japanese Diaclone toy line in 1982.

Transformers Alternators

2008-10-25T16:37:00.000-07:00

Transformers Alternators collection

Universe Dinobots

2008-10-18T15:32:00.000-07:00

Transformers Universe Dinobots

These 2 dinobots were purchased at a time before I was really buying toys, I just happened to see them at the store and picked them up for nostalgia reasons I guess. Also I love dinosaurs and these dino modes are very cool, unfortunately the robot modes are not good in my opinion. These guys will be staying in package for display purposes even though I generally open box my Transformers.

Optimus Prime - all the time!

2008-10-18T13:29:00.000-07:00

Transformers Optimus Prime Collection

This is a recent shoot I did to get a better idea of how many Prime figures/collectables I have now. It was fun but time consuming setting it all up. There area few other things not in the picture such as the "Built to Rule" Megablock Prime and a few Transformers 08' Movie items like the Titanium set of 2 Primes and a special truck mode.

Lighting this up was a bit tricky so the quality of my pics is not up to par, but I will continue shooting my toys 1 at a time as usual to show thier detail. Its nice to see them all together though and makes me really want to get into a bigger house where I can start displaying some of my robots properly.

Decepticon Leader Megatron

2008-10-08T19:04:00.000-07:00

Transformers Vintage G1 Megatron

Here we have my original (1984) Megatron figure pictured in gun mode only as I'm too afraid to damage him while transforming. I have all his attachments but for this shot wanted to focus on the detail of the gun. The little Megatron figure at the top is the special metal paint version from the modern Robot Heros line.

Dinobot Slag

2008-10-08T18:50:00.000-07:00

Transformers Vintage G1 Slag

My favorite Dinobot! Slag was a badass in the 80's cartoon, that in combination with the Triceratops being my fav dinosaur made this toy a must have as a boy. Slag was originally part of Takara's Diaclone Dinosaur Robo series.

Dinobot Grimlock

2008-10-08T18:44:00.000-07:00

Transformers Vintage G1 Grimlock

"Me Grimlock!" yea it sounds dorky but also cool at the same time. I love the dino mode on this guy, bot mode is not as good, still few Transformers were cooler than this guy back in the day. Like the other dinobots, Grimlock was originally part of Takara's Diaclone Dinosaur Robo series.

Dinobot Swoop

2008-10-08T17:38:00.000-07:00

Transformers Vintage G1 Swoop

My Swoop is definatley a prized part of my collection. Not only is he cool in dino and robot mode, but this is one of the more rare G1 Transformers especially in this condition. Swoop was originally part of Takara's Diaclone Dinosaur Robo series.

Autobot Roadbuster

2008-10-08T16:12:00.000-07:00

Transformers Vintage G1 Roadbuster

This is a cool and unusual Transformer. It was licensed from a different toy line than most, usually Takara. Roadbuster comes from the Japanese anime series Dorvack (1983-1984) and was originally called "VV-54 AR Mugen Calibur", Katsumi Itabashi and Nobuyoshi Haraba designed the mechs in Dorvack.

He is pretty rare in complete form as there are many parts to loose with all the armor and backpack parts that attach after transforming it. Also this mold is no longer licensed to Hasbro so reissues are more than likely not going to happen.

Revoltech Optimus Prime

2008-09-27T20:29:00.000-07:00

Revoltech Optimus Prime

2007 "Movie" Autobot Bumblebee

2008-09-15T09:38:00.000-07:00

Ultimate Bumblebee

2008-08-18T09:44:00.000-07:00

"Appleseed's" Briareos Hecatonchires

This figure is of my favorite mech character in all manga/anime, Briareos is one bad mother! This was part of a "preview" dvd set. There is another similar figure that was sold with the actual movie dvd release and I have that one also but this sculpt is the better of the two, even with it's lack of articulation. The gun shown is actually the one belonging to the other Bri figure, It is more detailed so I'm using it here.

I am working on a new setup for my toy shoots and this is the first test, I hope to improve on the lighting and backdrop and not be so dependent on daylight. A note about the pic above, if you look at the right hand holding the gun you will see that two fingers are resting off of the trigger. Mr. Shirow has said that he was the first manga artist doing that back in the late 80's, but that it's common to see now. I love little details like that in a figure.

Above is a dramatic lighting shot, below is a photoshop edited image. I really like the proportions of the figure. He is looks exactly like in the manga, even the way the "rabbit ears" move from front to back. This figure is currently on my desk at home, where he will stand guard for a long time to come.

2008-07-25T06:35:00.000-07:00

Transformers "Animated" Optimus Prime

Here we have a new toy, my newest Transformer from the latest animated cartoon. I have yet to see the new cartoon and I don't think it's really something I could get into myself, but a new toy of Optimus Prime is always cool. This design still holds true to the original Prime, and I really like the style of it. Over all the "Animated" toys are not for me, and many of them look cheap, but I have to say the articulation is great ( at least with this one ) and the robot mode looks cool.

There is little detail with him, but the clean simple style looks good, and I really like the muscular upper body he has. The transform is fun and lends itself to giving Prime all the articulation he has. The shoulders move up and down in addition to the arms having free 180 rotation, this allows him to hold the axe with both hands over his head. Cheap but effective ball joints give movement at the elbow and leg/hip areas which really adds to the poseablilty of this guy. The head has "light pipe" eyes which is a feature I love with many newer Transformers, and the translucent front chest, axe and sheild are nice touches. Over all for a 10$ figure this Prime is a worthy addition to any robot collection. There is another animated style Optimus Prime that is the next step up from this and looks to be far nicer than this one, I will be picking him up soon!

2008-07-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

Eva-01 " The Hard Core Mode"

Welcome to your weekly dose of toy coolness! This figure is really more of a statue than toy, as it has limited articulation with only the arms and hands having some posability. It was sculpted by Shinobu Matsumura, painted by Artasylum, and is a Kaiyodo/Xebec release from 1997? First I have to say it was a blast shooting the pics for this one (so there are a lot of pics here) and I felt a creative process happening after I had taken the first 20-30 pics. The first 2 images here are from that first round of "clinical" front, side and back shots.

The figure's body is nicely sculpted plastic, as are the spare hands and head, but there are several nice metal parts included. These parts were the blades on the fore arms and below the knee, the removable chest piece and the knife. Artasylum did an awesome job with the paint details, even putting great detail in the back on the chest armor which is only seen when you remove the part for storage. Over all the paint has a nice metallic sheen, fitting for a great design like the Eva. The display base of a defeated "angel" is reminiscent of a early part of the Neon Genesis Evangelion series. If you have never seen the complete series I highly recommend it, it's one of the greatist anime out there. This figure captures the power and rage of the Eva just as it faces defeat, when it's true power is revealed.

Below are some of my favorite shots while I was having fun changing light conditions and posing. One of my favorite things with this figure is how they captured the utter coolness of the Eva's head, with the mouth and teeth you can almost hear it roaring! Enjoy the pics below!

2008-07-08T08:03:00.000-07:00

Electric Star Beast Dol

This neat toy is from the 1982 tv show "Uchuu Keiji Gavan" (translated in English as Space Sheriff Gavan) and is probably a knock off. I got it at a local flea market while living in New Mexico, at the time I'm sure I had no idea what it was but that it was from Japan and a cool dragon. After some searching on Google I found out what this was, basically the show it's from is like Ultraman or Godzilla where people in silly uniforms fight monsters, which are really people in even sillier foam monster suits. These movies were great fun to watch as a kid!

This toy was played with quite a bit and it shows, but it has held up well. The transformation here is simple, just pull apart the mid section of the body and flip out the head and tail sections. Then you slide the body back together, the end of the tail pokes out of the bottom front of the ship.

The construction is diecast, plastic and a rubbery plastic (for the dragon neck, tail, etc.) and the paint has a nice metallic fleck in it. The chrome parts are all in great shape, the stickers are showing the most wear and some are missing. This is one of those weird toys that doesn't fit in with my collection as well as most, but then having it really makes things more interesting. I have on more than one occasion thought about throwing it away, but I'm so glad I didn't.

2008-07-02T13:34:00.000-07:00

Aura Battler Dunbine

This is a special robot for me, in my collection. This piece is called Dunbine (from the 1983 anime of the same name) and has an awesome design that holds up well against any mech made in the past 25 years. There is a good bit of mobility for a toy made in the early 80s, unfortunately there is some looseness in this one. He stands well and can hold a few poses but trying to set up more dynamic poses results in a pile of robot parts. I have had this toy since the early/mid 80's.

The wings are one of my favorite features with this guy, they fold down and are covered with the thruster pack as seen in the pic below. A robot with wings like this always seemed so original to me. The cockpit clips off and there is a pilot in the chest (you can see him in the pic above) also there is a free standing pilot and sword (not pictured). Located just above the hands are a set of claws that can be removed.

I chose this 3/4 rear shot instead of a straight shot to show the profile of the head and the details of the thruster pack. Also I think this was one of the more dynamic shots I took, He is holding the sword in this one (but you can barely see it) and it looks like some robot ass kicking is about to begin when he turns around! I tried to find out specific info on this toy but found nothing exactly like this, I do think it was made by Clover (Japan) but it might be a 2nd release made after Clover went under and sold their mold. The original Dunbine from the anime is a purple color, but I love the black one I have. If you have any info on this guy let me know.

2008-06-23T08:33:00.000-07:00

SD (Super Deformed) Ingram "Alphonse"

Here we have a toy from Patlabor, which has some of the best mecha designs of the 90s. This one in particular, the Ingram is a great design although to really appreciate the realistic style of the mechs from this series you should see the regular versions. The SD version here is basically a Japanese thing where they shrink and morph a design to make it look cute or funny. This SD Ingram still looks detailed and ready for combat, even with his diminutive size. There are a variety of weapons he comes with including the shot gun in the picture above. In the anime series the most common weapon used is a revolver, and there is also an electric stun baton.

The best feature of this toy is the electric lights and sound. Each button on the back activates the lights and a different siren sound. Another cool play feature is the opening leg compartment where you can put the revolver, although the gun doesn't completely fit in like it would on a regular size toy. I would normally not buy an SD toy but this one was too cool to pass up. I bought it in Little Tokyo, LA at a long since closed toy store called Pony Toy Go Round. Man I wish there was a store like that around me, but that's what the internet is for now.

Takara calculator watch/robot

2008-06-17T10:05:00.000-07:00

Takara Calculator Robot

Here is a real treasure from my childhood, I can remember having to go somewhere boring with my parents and always having this little guy on my arm to play with . Yea, I used to rock this watch, it was the 80's after all! There is a simple transform with just flipping the legs and then arms back, and then it simply clips into the watchband base.

He was a lot of fun to play with and has good articulation for a toy made in the early 80's, He has held up well over the years. Even the chrome like paint still looks good. I'm sure my parents got it for it's math ability (I have always sucked at math) but for me this was a great toy. Unfortunately he has become my first toy blog casualty, After the shoot while transforming him
back to watch mode a leg snapped off :( !!!!! I think I can glue the leg on but for now Takara Calculator Robot rests safley bagged and stored within the multitude of other bots in my trunk.

80's Robotech and other coolness

2008-06-10T07:22:00.000-07:00

Vintage Robotech M.A.C. II Monster "Destroid"

This is part diecast and sold under the matchbox line in the USA

(originally made by Tankatoku Toys in 1983, click the link for the original). http://www.collectiondx.com/node/1276. This is one of my favorites with all the cool weaponry and good bit of detail, what's not to love about a huge walking cannon!

Vintage Robotech Destroids left to right they are the Defender, Tomahawk and Phalanx ( Matchbox versions )

These are similar to the big guy above in construction. I love these little guys, Good details and stickers that hold up well. The Tomahawk is one of my all time favorite mech designs, the perfect combination of weapons and mobility on the ground.

This last Mech is a "Dual Model" Dougram from
the tv anime "Fang of the Sun Dougram"

It is 1:48 scale and has a zinc-diecast endoskeleton with plastic armor and weapons that snap on. There is also a kind of shock absorber built into each lower leg. This looks like new ( as he was never played with ) and I still have the decal/sticker sheet and instructions too!

2008-02-28T20:18:00.000-08:00

This is an easy little guy to start out with as he resides on my desk by drawing and art books. This is a Fuchikoma from Ghost in the Shell, and in additon to some nice detail from a figure this size his 4 legs are posable. There isn't too much more to say here, I plan to shoot some of my "Movie" Transformers soon.

Wow I just made a blog!

2008-02-28T09:15:00.000-08:00

Ok, I plan to use this as a digital showcase for my collection of toys. I hope to get my whole robot/mecha collection up here some day, but that will take some time. Wish me luck!