I finally have all the Dinobots ... ...

However, it wasn't the G1 version. I used to own Swoop and Snarl but sadly I've sold them off.

Michael Bay in the latest Transformers Movie Age of Extinction revived the Dinobots but he as usually did radical changes to the original designs and the names of most of the Dinobots are dropped as well, except for Grimlock.

303 Toys Zhao Yun ... ...

Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a classic Chinese Literature that is part Historical, legend and mythical. The main Characters are familiar to many Chinese around the world and even the Japanese has adopted this literature to create anime using Gundam Characters. See here.

This is Zhao Yun made by 303 Toys and this is my first Romance of the Three Kingdoms character and probably my last. Information of Zhao Yun can be found here.

Part II of Batman Armory from The Dark Knight ... ...

The previous entry focused on the armory so in this entry let's take a look Bruce Wayne and Alfred from this set. I will not be featuring the Batman Suit because it's the same as DX12 released earlier.

Hot Toys Alert! Batman Armory from The Dark Knight ... ...

I am so very excited about this and I was really anticipating the making of it and it's still rather surreal that I have this amazing display in my possession.

I really did not wan to blog about it tonight but I guess I really got carried away. So, this entry will just be an photo entry. More details in the next entry.

Merry Christmas from a Galaxy Far Far Away ... ...

Merry Christmas to everyone and whoever that reads my blog. Today, I opened the Star Wars Advent Calendar 2014 and had some fun with the contents.

 Emmet isn't part of the set. I needed him to say "Awesome!"

Injustice Batman, Gods Among Us ... ...

I have no idea I will get another American based character from a Japanese based toy company so soon. I'm talking about Batman from the video game Injustice: God Among Us.

Being familiar with S.H.Figuarts, I have no problem clicking pre-order. My previous encounter was Iron Man Mark XLII.

Fewture Black Getter Final Battle Set ... ...

It's amazing that toys company like Fewture has such confidence in their customers for releasing add-ons after a year or two of release.

Fewture released Ryoma Mode Black Getter in 2012 and in 2014 released the Final Battle Set which Getter Robot here destroyed the Dinosaur Empire backstabbing missile with his bare hands.

Soldier Story Part II ... ...

as I expected, these little guys are all over the place and it's just a few hours of jam away. Anyway, I believe if I put in some effort to scout Taobao, I should be able to find them too.

MP21 Bumblebee ... ...

I wasn't exactly a fan of Bumblebee when I first watched Transformers as a kid. I find him annoying and useless. However, the recent reincarnation of Bumblebee from cartoons to movies seem to portray a much braver but reckless teenager; as what Prime said of him in the recent Age of Extinction movie.

Takara decided to add the nostalgic 80s G1 version of Bee to the Masterpiece line and I had my struggles of buying him. However, I chose to go along with it.

The alternate mode is a vintage Volkswagen Type 1 and as all Masterpieces, it's well-made.

Soldier Story (not the onesixth type) ... ...

but they are soldiers nonetheless. I've got my hands on the Convention Exclusive Oritoy Agurts Infantry which I didn't managed to get simply because I wasn't at STGCC.

Those above are from the Land of a Thousand Smiles and I remember seeing something like them at a Singapore Lego specialty shop and these were retailing for at least $50 with the label of 'customized'.

Bandai 1/72 Tie Advanced x1 ... ...

continuing from the earlier post of X-Wing, we have here Darth Vader's Tie Advanced x1 prototype in hot pursuit from the scene of the trench run before Luke launched the proton torpedoes and blowing the Death Star to kingdom come.

Let's put our attention on Vader's ride.

Bandai 1/72 X-Wing Starfighter ... ...

still excites me like it used to and so when Bandai jumped in the Star Wars bandwagon, I bought my 3rd X-Wing.

This is a snap-fit model kit by Bandai and being familiar with Gunpla products, I'm sure they will do a good job. I was expecting a lot of colored parts like Gundam but to my disappointment, Bandai did such a good job, the X-Wing really came in white.

Transformers 30th Anniversary Exhibition isn't for Fans ... ...

For those who are fans of Transformers, this exhibition is definitely not for you as I have found out the hard way parting $27 to see what toys I do not own at the so-called quote "This exhibition will set visitors on an adventure as they embark on a quest to find out more about Transformers"unquote.

 

Prime is situated at the pedestrian crossing leading to Science Centre telling you "Don't go in!" Too bad that I drove in and did not see his warning. I would have heeded the advice of the supreme and heroic leader.

It's my personal opinion that this isn't going to excite you or wow you if you are truly a fan and already have enough knowledge of Transformers; there's always the WWW. if you are from the past. Or your house can almost pass off as a museum.

I shall not post pictures of what I saw inside as I believe the people who organized this believe they have done a great job and there are those who might or will be fascinated by what they see at the exhibition.

 

I shall leave you with the warning from Optimus Prime "Calling all Fans, stay away from what's behind me"

Hot Toys Mark XX Python Repaint ... ...

Iron Man III introduced what a genius and how free and rich Tony Stark is to create suits for various purposes. This obviously opened up the cash register for Disney who owns Marvel now and Hot Toys, one of those licensed company which has been churning out the suits since Iron Man. 

The irritating part about Hot Toys is those exclusives that you can get only if you attend conventions which I'm not too keen to spend the time and money for. So, I have to give those that are on sale only during such events a miss. Mark XX Python is one of those.

However, if you study Python properly and you will realized, it's basically made up of various other releases and recolored.

1:1 Scale Beats Studio Wireless (This is not a toy) ... ...

There's definitely a geek in me for the things that interest me. There are a few things that I really like and sound is one of those.

Finally, I landed myself an original Beats Studio and this comes without the wires or did it?

Acid Rain MK I Raptor ... ...

I know the price of this indie toy company is on the high side but somehow this AT-RT design knock off appeals to me.

I could say here that this will be my last from Acid Rain of Oritoy but who am I kidding?

Coo Bods ... ...

Got these 2 latest Coomodel bodies lately and here's a simple review on them.

Coo Model has 4 bodies release this time and I chose the normal height options rather than the tall ones. If you have noticed they are sitting on a Acid Rain toy, then you will have to read the next entry about it.

Hot Toys Mark XVII Heartbreaker; Box Office Maker, Dream Taker ... ...

Finally, I am excited about Iron Man made of pure plastic. Hot Toys's Mark XVII from the Iron Man III movie is indeed a heart-breaker if you did not order yours.

Good evening, Colonel. Can I give you a lift?

Art Figures Dredd, Remastered ... ...

Decided to add dashes of gold and green to where they are supposedly meant to be.

Art Figures Judge Dredd or is it Dae dd... ...

"Negotiation's over. Sentence is death"

It almost suffered the fate of death as this product ran into some licensing issues. However, it is out in the shops and as long as Disney doesn't own it, the product comes cheaper.

More Hot Toys Black Widow Actions ... ...

Agent Natasha Romanoff or Romanova does deserve a second look and yes, Hot Toys did pretty well in bringing out the Black Widow from The Winter Soldier.

You can say that she is one Hot Toy.

SHFiguarts Mark 42 Landing Pose on Soul Effect Impact ... ...

Just wanted to see if this combo works out ...

Hot Toys Alert! Black Widow from Captain America: The WinterSoldier ... ...

This version of Black Widow isn't the first from Hot Toys and I haven't been impressed till now. However, the head sculpt seems a bit off comparing to those from the promo pics from Hot Toys.

The earlier releases were from Iron Man 2 with her curly hair and The Avengers with short hair but I think I prefer this rebonded hair version. I learned from the instruction manual that Hot Toys have already applied gel on her hair.

Hot Toys Hall of Armor with Mark XLII ... ...

This shot took 5 years in the making to compose. When I first experienced Hot Toys in 2009, I had never imagined I will be taking a shot like this.

Anyway, I had wanted to correct the landing pose featured in the earlier post which I felt was a bit off. Iron Man did not land with this left knee on the ground but it was bent but no contact with the ground as seen above.

Dinobot Snarl Reboot in Age of Extinction ... ...

Dinobots from Transformers to me are fantastic additions to the series simply for the fact I love both dinosaurs and robots; what more for transforming dinobots!

The same sob story of how deprived I've been growing up carries on here in this post as I review Snarl from the latest TF movie, Age of Extinction. However, this guy didn't make the cut to be featured in the full length movie.

Can't Get Enough of Mark XLII ... ...

but this time, it's a miniature version from Bandai's S.H.Figuarts.

Oh yeah, this one comes with the couch. Carpet is blogger's own.

MP-20 Wheeljack ... ...

			"Never do what your enemy expects you to do."

Who is Wheeljack? Read Here.

Growing up, watching episodes after episodes of Transformers made me wish to own the toys but the G1 toys back then were a luxury item and the articulations were extremely limited. That's why Masterpiece has always intrigued me as I catch up on things I've missed.

Age of Extinction Breakout Set ... ...

It's really been a while since I last bought Transformers toys from the Movies and somehow I went for this set for that G1 nostalgic feel of Prime.

This is the scene where Prime was located by the humans and Lockdown alliance and Prime transformed to protect Cade Yeager and his daughter from Lockdown's attack. There is something amiss in this set and that's Rollbar and Crankcase.

MMS 213: Hot Toys Mark XXXIII Siver Centurion ... ...

The House Party Protocol summons the suits that Tony has been tinkering with in his spare time. Introducing Mark XXIII, aka Silver Centurion. Info about him, here.

Pictorial review, here

This is Hot Toys's regular material Iron Man Suit from Iron Man 3, MMS213. I have lowered my expectations of what Hot Toys is dishing out for me.

VERY COOL MAGIC CUBE Kitbash Black Female Shooter EASY & SIMPLE PLAY TOY ... ...

I had always wanted a female PMC sniper and along came Magic Cube Toys (MC Toys) with their Black Female Shooter kit. I had attempted to use a Phicen body for this but the nondetachable feet of the Phicen figure left me with little choice to get this Play Toy figure with an Asian head sculpt which I have no idea who she is.

Complete figure with the MK20 Sniper Support Rifle from Easy & Simple

MMS197 DS-02 Mark XLII Part II ... ...

I need to retract an negative comment about Hot Toys Mark XLII which I made in my previous post.

This post will devote solely to feature what I deemed as good enough "Landing Pose"

Announcing the Arrival of Mark XLII ... ...

After all the hype and anticipation, Hot Toys finally shipped out the much anticipated MMS197 Mark XLII from Iron Man 3.

I have been waiting for this since the trailer of Iron Man 3 and since the Suit Test Version. Well, it's in my hands now and ... ...

More than Meets the Eye, Alternators Rodimus & Mirage ... ...

I can't believe that I actually have the Alternator Rodimus for 7 years and this item was the 2nd item to be posted here in this blog. This is a Hasbro Alternators line released back in 2007 and the vehicle mode is the Ford GT. A concept car made into a production roadster.

In fact, I like the vehicle mode so much I have the Mirage version and the eHobby Rijie version. I shall leave eHobby intact while Mirage shares the same stage as Rodimus (Hot Rod) today.

Head Play with Storm Shadow of Hot Toys and Sideshow ... ...

I mentioned earlier I wanted a head switch to perfect the Sideshow Storm Shadow look in this post. Here we have it after some determination.

 He looks so much better.

August Random Purchase ... ...

I was just saying in the earlier Ghostbusters post that I kind of want to stop buying bootleg lego but Sheng Yuan Toys simply wouldn't give up making good stuff!

Next up is World Box AT-002, 1/6 Durable Body 2.0 with Head Sculpt (Guy Pearce). This is my second purchase of World Box durable body offering. The first is AT-001.

Let's take at look at them.

Lego Ideas - Ghostbusters Ecto-1 ... ...

"If there's something strange in the neighbourhood, Who you gonna call?"

I've mentioned before that I grew up not owning a single Lego toy as they were simply too expensive for my parents. As an adult, Lego has never caught my interest but these days, they are doing something right to make me part my dollar for these super non-articulated figures aka minifigs. In my previous entries, I have been indulging the bootleg market with cheapo fake minifigs but the Lego Movie did have its effect on me when I bought some of the minifigs. However, this time, it's the ECTO-1 that had me sold.

It was quite a blast getting this set done and it really brought back quite a bit of memory of watching the movie.

G.I. Joe Retaliation's Storm Shadow ... ...

Resistance is indeed futile and I stopped retaliating and purchased this since it is still 'in stock'.

This Storm Shadow is from the Movie "G.I. Joe Retaliation" portrayed by Byung Hun Lee.

Takashimaya 18th Craziest Toy Sale ... ...

into its 18th year of craziness and perhaps, it has evolved to regain sanity. Anyway, I wasn't there during opening day to witness what I used to see; toy shop owners scouring the ground with their employees or friends for cheap bargains and retailed them back in their stores at markup prices.

That's one of the reasons why I gave up expecting much from this annual event but I have to admit it still draws me to just take a look what I can pick up.

This year, prices aren't that sweet anymore with Robot Spirits item going at $25-35 minimum. I feel that this year, it's more targeted at young children. I still managed to picked up some Halo stuff with 60% off and 6" Robocop 3.0 for $8. This entry only features the Halo Micro Fleet I got.

The Matrix Revolutions ... ...

I have this set of Hacker World Set from CM Toys aka The Matrix Revolutions for sometime and I put them together in a hurry when I shifted to my current address.

Since toy companies these days seem to be churning out toys for fanboys, I figured I play with a bit of the nostalgic feel into this entry as essentially the first of the Matrix trilogy, The Matrix, was screened in 1999.

I have to say the Matrix trilogy is in my list of top movies amongst Star Wars and Back to the Future. Bullet time is one of those wow factors back then along with that incredible freeway chase scene in The Matrix Reloaded which sealed the deal for me.