Vinyl is Retro

I teased these little guys in my first entry so why wait any longer? I know, I know suspense would make a great entry but I have not been one for suspense and besides the more I handled these guys the more I was enjoying them. I present to you The Loyal Subjects 3" Vinyl Figures Series 1 of some G1 classics.

Now I do not have the complete set (as of yet) but 4 out of 8 is not that bad. I found these figures at my local comic book shop, Heroes Comics and it was the package that instantly drew me to them. They are packaged in a simple box with graphics that channel the original G1 toys that these Super Deformed (SD) are inspired by. Red and Black with a grid, classic fonts and artwork depicting one of 8 possible figures inside.

Inside each box there is a foil bag making this a complete mystery on which figure you will receive. In the complete series you have Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee and Starscream and the in addition to the four have. Soundwave, Jazz, Thundercracker and Grimlock.

Each figure comes with a weapon, in the case for Jazz has a very simplic representation of his G1 toy gun. Thundercracker it appears they didn't even try on his weapon, but the addition of the wings is a nice touch. Now be careful with those wings as they are attached to the back via two small pegs. Take your time attaching them, even though the material they used is not cheap, they can bend easily and from my experience if it bends too much it may break.

Now we come to the stars of the show in regards to weapons. Soundwave has his iconic cannon that can be held in his hands, sadly there is no mounting point for an additional shoulder cannon, as there is just no room beside the larger head. Grimlock surprised me the most. Not only does his come packed with his double barrelled gun, he also comes with his sword. I dare you call him a bozo now.


The paint application on these figures is sharp and the placement is spot on. Jazz has his Number 4 and Martini logo with the lettering replaced with Loyal 1, as well as tail lights on the his back, and yes the paint apps do make up for the lacklustre weapon. Thundercraker chest is representative of a Seeker with the traditional pin striping and Decepticon logos on the wings. Grimlock's gold chest is actually lost with the multiple colour on him, but on each hand are small dino claws. Soundwave has all his buttons painted along with a Descepticon logo on the tape door and shoulders. Going back to the original toy versus the cartoon series he also come with yellow eyes.


The quality of these still impress me. They are hollow vinyl but they don't feel like a dog's chew toy and surprisingly there are articulation points! The head and waist swivel, now show me a dog's toy that does that. The arms could move a full 360, but the large heads on these figures prevent that as well there is an upper arm swivel that makes holding the weapons easier.

The most impressive little addition to these blind packs is the inclusion of a bio cards. They are inside the foil bag and that process does place some slight bends in the cardboard which is easily resolved by placing them under a flat, heavy weight. A brief bio on the character along with tech specs that make you want to look for an old G1 decoder to read. The backs of the bio cards show the Autobot and Decepticon leaders.

With Series 2 right around the corner, I honestly cannot wait. The completionist in me would like to complete the Series 1 set but there are a few gems in Series 2 that I would rather have over yet another Bumblebee. The new release should include Shockwave, Dirge, Ramjet, Thrust, Prowl, Mirage. There also appears to be a Optimus Prime with an Energy Axe, a new Grimlock with T-Rex Arms and Dino head on his back and he appears to be joined by Snarl and Slag (or Slug or Snarl, oh wait they have a Snarl) Sideswipe, Sharpnel and possibly Skywarp.

Now this information is purely based on photos I have seen from the latest round of Toy Shows, so we all know that the details are subject to change. If there is only a small chance some of the above mentioned bots are released, in my opinion with the quality and surprises of Series 1, Series 2 will be the one to get.

TheRealRonin
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Bricks of Articulation

For many of those who review toys online we do it because we are giant kids at heart. Generally our first review are a personal favourite, a rare find to share or a collector's personal holy grail. With my first review I am going to go against tradition, and review a toy that actually not only made me giddy to find out about but was an absolute joy to play with and in the end, got my creative juices following. I present to you Knock Off (KO) Generation One (G1) Seekers.

In the Transformers Universe, my favourite character hands down is Starscream. In 1986 when people cried from the death of Optimus Prime, I cheered! When Galvatron turn Screamer into a pile of rust and stepped on his crown, I will admit, I did tear up. There was no character in the original series that I could gravitate towards more. Not only was he second in command, but had his own troops that would be affectionately known as The Seekers, but Starscream and some of the best lines one character could ever have. Sure, both the toy and cartoon characters were identical outside of the obvious paint jobs, and well let us not forget the "Coneheads" with their different wings and one very important transformation step left out, but in the end Starscream was and always has been my favourite.

Now part of the time spent collecting Transformers is not the hunts in store or online, but actually seeing how the toy works in real life. Some of us do not have the luxury of tons of disposable cash or sponsorship, so we look to online reviewers of the toys we want or did not know we wanted. One such reviewer I have bookmarked is Cybertronian Beast, you can check out his You Tube page just by clicking on the link. Recently he posted a video of KO Seekers and a quick couple of emails back and forth, I was able to gather the location of the figures and where to pick them up and so I shall review for you. I present to you Transformable Robot!

There were three to choose from, one yellow, red and purple. The purple one is slightly different as it comes with Thrust's wings. In a simple bubble card back, with no instructions or writing on the back at all, these figures come packaged in their F-15 alt mode.

 

Everything is there, one F-15 KO Seeker, two Fists, 2 short Missiles, 2 long Missiles and what is not shown is two Launchers, and a front Landing Gear! I enjoy the fact that the cockpit canopy opens, but the nose cone looks a little off. It appears they moulded in upside down.

Transforming these figures brings back fond memories of some of the seekers I had as a child, and nothing has changed here. The plastic quality is exactly what you would think of a cheap KO. The chest piece is not die cast and the nose cone is not rubber. There is noticeable plastic flash that was not trimmed away, but the joints are surprisingly tight and the figure does stand upright quite easily.

If you are familiar at all with the original G1 toy, nothing new here at all. It is a little transformation mixed in with partsforming. First pop the wings off, next you pop the canopy on its hinge from the fuselage. Now you are free to move the arms out from the main body and rotate them outwards and around. Separate the nosecone from the canopy and using the hinge joint and feed the nose through the opening created by moving the arms out of the way, and take the cone and flip up and over. This is the difference in steps between a Conehead and a Seeker, if you wish to display in the traditional Seeker look, flip the cone back, if not you have a Conehead. Take the fists and place them on the arm stubs, remove the cannons from the wings and place then in the holes on the sides of the arms. Place the wings back on the body but switching their sides, right wing in jet mode to left side in alt mode and visa versa. Flip the feet down and if you have a traditional seeker, take the side elevators and rotate them 90 degrees with the flaps facing the front of the robot.

As I said a very simple transformation, it will perhaps take you longer to read the instructions versus doing it, but each time I transform them I have a grin on my face. There is something to be said about the toys from my past that cannot be replaced by the 100 step transformation that have become common place these days. No head, waist, elbow, knee, foot or hand articulation, you get one and that is the shoulder.

The head sculpt is plan, but the details are there, but as you can see the overall fit and finish from these photos as it is not on par with the original releases that these seekers are inspired from. The right foot on Seeker Red clearly shows the separation in the two pieces.



The figures come with their stickers already applied but in the wrong areas. The pin striping is in the correct spot and almost spot on, but the knee stickers have been placed on the wings where the Decepticon symbol would normally be. Now there is an additional sticker application on the Purple Seeker, harking back to the inspiration of where these figures came from.

Now having played with these figures, I cannot help but smile. I now own three classic seekers that I did not spend an arm and a leg on. They were only $2.50 each, and I gathered the three different ones that were available on the shelves.

As I held them I recalled an episode of the original Transformers series titled 'Divide and Conquer' and this is when my creative juices began to flow. In that episode Megatron calls to Cybertron and instructs three unnamed seekers to halt the Autobots from their task of gathering a part to repair Optimus Prime. In 80's cartoon fashion, of course they failed in their task.

Here is a screen capture from that episode, and you see the three unnamed seekers. We know that the green one would later to go on and earn the name 'Acid Storm'. What am I planing on doing is cleaning up the plastic flash left behind, repairing any noticeable gaps and blemishes and swapping out the red cockpit glass on the Yellow Seeker and placing it in the Purple Seeker. The reason for that is to set him apart from the others as the "leader". Once the stickers have been removed and the parts ready for paint, I will be paying my own homage to this episode. With a fresh coat of paint, some Reprolabels I believe that I was have a unique addition to my collection that will most definitely be a conversation piece.

I will keep you posted on that project, maybe an update or two as it progresses, but in the meantime I am gathering my thoughts for my next review and looking to my shelves and wonder which one of them will be in the spotlight.

TheRealRonin
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Opening the Matrix.

Greetings fellow Cybertronians,

This is my first entry in what I hope (I know famous words on a blog) of a weekly review of various Transformers related toys. Every week I plan to bring to you my take on Hasbro and Takara releases, Third Party figures and add-ons as well anything that may have an Autobot or Decepticon faction logo.

A little about myself, I have been collecting figures, both big and small and pretty much anything that grabs my attention. That being said I shall be working from my own personal collection, but if given the chance I will review items that have been donated to me for the purposes of a review.

I have a few ideas in mind that may just set me apart from other reviewers. I am by no means attempting to outshine them, but just bring my own take on things to the plate. Now what to select first? A new figure or an old one? A small one or large one? Domestic or Import? Legit or Knock Off? The choices or almost endless.

With 2014 starting in full swing and with the coming release of Transfers 4 The Age of Extinction along with it's toy line, I am almost certain the amount of material that will be flooding in will be almost endless.

In the meantime, here is a little something I have recently picked up at my local comic book shop (no names unless I get sponsorship, that is how the world works, right?) The photo shows you The Loyal Subjects vinyl figures of Generation One, Grimlock, Soundwave, Thundercraker and Jazz.

From Left to Right: Grimlock, Soundwave, Thundercracker, Jazz

Now perhaps one of those little guys will be my first review. Only one way to find out and that is to keep posted on what will be appearing in the coming weeks.

TheRealRonin
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