Author: Dave

Hasbro finally released another Transformers Masterpiece. This time the G1 Bumblebee.  The Transformers Masterpiece Bumblebee Figure does an amazing job or capturing the robot from the cartoon. This line always does a nice job and that’s why I have been waiting for a Mirage figure for so long(I bet that figure is hung up in licensing issues) I found this bad boy at Toys R Us. Its nice they let them use the VW Bug for Bumblebee. I will probably pick up this one pretty soon. I have seen the Takara version on eBay for a bit, but I am always worried about picking up a shoddy Chinese bootleg. So the best way to make sure I get the real thing is to get it from Toys R Us.

Comparing this to the original release is just sad. The original G1 Bumblebee came in red and yellow, I actually really disliked that set of original mini vehicles. They looked cheap and poorly made. The design was crap. That’s why I never purchased any of them in the 80’s. As a character, I just hated Bumblebee too. He was so irritating. But now I guess he is just part of my nostalgia. If I get any Bumblebee figure its this one. I took the pictures a month or two ago, but have been too lazy or busy to post it. But here it is!

Transformers Masterpiece Bumblebee 2016 Hasbro MP 08 with Spike Witwicky

Bumblebee Masterpiece 2016 Hasbro MP-08 with Spike Witwicky Generation 1

On the same visit also saw the Fortress Maximus from the Generations series which is just a huge 22″ figure, but it should be for $150. Since I am not planning to put up a post on it or buy it, here is a quick pic. Its actually a pretty cool robot. I would be pick it up if I had the space.

Transformers Fortress Maximus Generations Hasbro 2016 with Emissary and Cerebros Titan Class Autobot

When in Japan, you walk. A LOT. My feet hurt every day I was there. That is probably why people seem much thinner in Asia, everyone walks.  I was only there for 5 days, so you kinda try to make the most of it. Lab was another electronics store within walking distance of the hotel. It had about the same stuff. But near the elevator was a wall of gashapon. Some of it was kind of hentai – ish. I did not know that was a thing. Anyway literally walls of gachapon machines. Dave was buying a certain line his sister liked. According to my cousin, this was a small collection of machines. I can’t imagine a large wall of machines. Lab Electronics is a good place to buy the latest greatest robot toys. They have the most popular hits but you will not find any obscure toys here.

A wall of gashapon machines at Lab

Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger DX Cube 10 Zyuoh Dodekaioh at Lab Electronics Japan 2016

The Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger DX Cube robots are an interesting bunch. Blocks 123 and 456 create their own robots on the right. Blocks 1 through 10 make the larger robot on the left.

Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger DX Cube 10 Zyuoh Dodekaioh Japan Gattai

Ranma, Lupin, Arcadia SOC Soul of Chogokin Daitarn 3

I was planning to buy a few Soul of Chogokin Tryder and Daitarn from Lab Electronics, but I ended up finding some really nice older pieces at Mandarake. Which is really what I wanted to do.

Autobots Transformers MP-31 Masterpiece Delta Magnus Combiner Computron UW-08 2016

The Combiner Computron was an interesting piece because the packaging looks just like the US packaging with Japanese characters. Shinkalion was in all the stores and it appears to be a very popular line of toys right now.

Shinkalion E5 Hayabusa & Komachi E7 Kagayaki E3 Tsubasa 05 Takara Tomy Plarail robots at Lab Electronics

Shinkalion Takara Tomy 2016 Bullet Train Plarail

The Robot Spirits Tamashii Nations Bandai Arcadia Super Robots at Lab Electronics 2016

Robot Spirits Tamashii Nations Heavy Metal Auge Vifam Aura Battler Lab Electronics 2016

I was a little surprised to see the Aura Battler Dunbine figure. I didn’t think the series was very popular. At least not enough so that they would release new versions.

Bic Camera Ikebukuro Tokyo

The first stop on our robot hunt started at Bic Camera a consumer electronics retailer chain in Japan. We went to the Tokyo Ikebukuro location. They have a solid toy section. It’s like Best Buy if they had a toy department and the store was 7 stories high(If you look at the picture you can see what is on each floor if you can read Japanese. It seems like each building/floor has a directory before you even go in). It has a nice selection of the newer robots like Shinkalion, Sentai Doubutsu Zyuohger Cube robots(look like they are made of Legos), a few Soul of Chogokin, Transformers, Gundam figures and Gunpla, Kaiju and Sentai figures. Half of the stuff I have never seen before. They also had new versions of robots from older anime like Votoms, Macross, Kotetsu Jeeg, Getta Robo, and Z Mazinger which is more my style. They also had a line from the Tomica Hyper Rescue which is a part of the Tomica Town line. The robots transform into cars and combine into larger robots. So Super Cool stuff you can only find in Japan.

They also have a variety of other toys you would see in Japan(kids toys, video games, gashapon, Legos, girls toys, etc). Now how did we end up there? Dave wandered in on a previous trip since it was close to the hotel.

Here are the pictures of what we found out there.

Mecha from the Tomy Plarail Shinkalion line E3 Tsubasa 05 and Tsubasa 06 Takara Tomy 2016

Mecha from Shinkalion the 700 Nozomi 07 and Hikari Railstar 08 by Takara Tomy in 2016 at Bic Camera

Here are the mecha from the Tomy Plarail line – Shinkalion the 700 and E3 series. They are bullet trains that transform into robots and are slotted for a Japan only release(My cousin Dave found this particularly appealing. I think he picked up all 4 of these). Looks like they started coming out in 2015.  Tsubasa 05 & 06, Nozomi 07, and Hikari Railstar 08 by Takara Tomy in 2016. You can see a few videos on Shinkalion.com or more info in English on Animenewsnetwork here. If you want any of these, please pick them up from my Ebay links on the site! They help me keep my site running.

Shinkalion E3 Tsubasa 05 & 06, 700 Nozomi 07, Hikari Railstar 08, Takara Tomy Plarail line

Bic Camera Display of Votoms, Gundam, Jeeg, Mazinger, Destroid Monster, Valkyrie robots

We also found these Tomica Hyper Series Next Stage robots White Hope & Sonic Interceptor Walker Vehicle. If I was going to start collecting a new line it would be this one(I like these a lot more than the Shinkalion robots, I am not really a fan of train robots). I am afraid these are also Japan only releases but I am sure you can pick them up on my Ebay links. Takara Tomy has the complete line here.

Tomica Hyper Series Next Stage by Takara – Tomy White Hope & Sonic Interceptor Walker Vehicle figures 2016

Tomica Hyper Series Next Stage by Takara Tomy White Hope & Sonic Interceptor Walker Vehicle figures 2016

Tomica Hyper Series Next Stage Special Riot Police Takara Tomy 2016

Bic Camera Gunpla

I picked up this Mobile Suit in Action!! figure at Mandarake with the Gaza C figures. This is the Hambrabi RX-139 MSIA 4.5″ from Bandai in 2005. I am not terribly fond of this figure design wise, but it rounds out my collection. The body and color is pretty cool but the head needs a redesign. I am actually surprised this is an Earth Federation Forces mobile suit instead an Axis Zeon suit. Most of the cool suits and variation come from the Zeon suits. It give some much needed reinforcements if I ever put up an Earth vs Zeon display.

The RX-139 Hambrabi is a transformable mobile suit featured in the Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam anime tv series. That is the second Gundam tv series.

Hambrabi RX-139 Mobile Suit in Action!! 4.5″ Bandai 2005 MSIA

Hambrabi RX-139 Mobile Suit in Action!! 4.5″ Bandai 2005

So my Samsung Note 3 broke and I haven’t put a post out for 2 or 3 months. I was using the Note to take my pictures. None of my phones or the cameras on them have been very good. I used an old backup phone my iPhone 4. Reception seems really off and the pictures come off really yellow. The camera is horrible compared to what is out now or just a couple years ago. Anyway, bought a old phone off a buddy.  A Verizon Samsung S4 which is better but is not the same carrier(T-Mobile) which is causing weird issues. I can’t get rid of the Verizon bloatware, the battery which was swelling has since been replaced.

But that is pretty much why you haven’t seen any new stuff up here in a while. the plan was to get the rest of my stuff up, but no go.  Now that I have the new battery it seems to be working better, so I am trying out the S4 camera to run a new post tonight! My last 2 posts were just new edits of old posts. I may do a few more of those if I run into issue. So here is crossing my fingers hoping this work.

Here’s another one I never had as a kid, Wreckgar – leader of the Junkbots of Junkion. He was first seen in Transformers The Movie and turns into a motorcycle. Seems like it was much more important for it to look like a motorcycle when it transformed than to look like the robot in the movie. The toy came out in 1986. By this time I wasn’t collecting Transformers. I did not really care for this character in the movie. But I picked it up a couple of years ago so I could complete the set of Generation 1 Transformers I actually wanted.

Wreckgar came out in 2010 Reveal the Shield which is far superior to the G1 release. And Target has a Exclusive version out right now Transformers Generations Platinum Edition Planet of Junk Clash that includes Hot Rod, Wreck-Gar, and Junkion Scrapheap figures which is pretty nice if you have $75 to shell out.

WreckGar 1986 Transformers Generation 1 Autobot Junkion

WreckGar from The Transformers: The Movie Leader of the robots from Junkion

So coolest thing this year, Netflix and DreamWorks revamped Voltron.  Can’t believe I missed this. So the same guys who made Kung Fu Panda and Shrek just put out Voltron Legendary Defender Netflix and just made my summer. To make it even better, the people working on the show Lauren Montgomery and Joaquim Dos Santos both worked on Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. Avatar being my favorite cartoon tv show of all time! If you have Netflix, you can find Voltron: Legendary Defender HERE.

I was not a fan of the original show, just the robots(For me the original anime lacked in production value, I hated the voice acting, and I did not care for the characters. So pretty much everything). But I actually like this show. It just came out June 10th.

Check out this fresh take on the old 80’s show. It’s something you actually can watch with your kids and relive your own childhood a little too. I have been waiting for a good robot anime to pop up since watching Gurren Lagann last year. Netflix just dropped 10 episodes 2 weeks ago. I have watched 3 and I am hooked! On to episode 4, catcha later…

So I am thinking, when do the toys come out?
Spring 2017 from Playmates Toys

Can’t wait! Guess this was more about the show than the merchandising. More on this later…