Author: Dave

Transformers Masterpiece Bumblebee

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 2017 Hasbro MP 08 with Spike Witwicky Autobot front of box

Transformers Masterpiece Bumblebee 2016 Hasbro MP 08 with Spike Witwicky



Bumblebee Masterpiece 2017 Hasbro MP-08 with Spike Witwicky Generation 1 Autobot G1 Generations

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 2017 with Emissary and Cerebros Titan Class Autobot front of box

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

Toy section at Lab – a Electronics retailer

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 gachapon machines at Lab electronics - gashapon (ガシャポン) or gachapon (ガチャポン) refer to variety of vending machine-dispensed capsule toys popular in Japan and elsewhere.

A wall of gashapon machines at Lab

バンダイ ジュウオウキューブ/ジュウオウジャー Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger DX Cube 10 Zyuoh Dodekaioh at Lab Japan 2016 Gattai

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.

バンダイ ジュウオウキューブ/ジュウオウジャー Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger DX Cube 10 Zyuoh Dodekaioh Japan Gattai

Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger DX Cube 10 Zyuoh Dodekaioh Japan Gattai

SOC Soul of Chogokin Daitarn 3 Lupin Ranma Arcadia バンダイ 超合金魂

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 Masterpiece Delta Magnus Combiner Computron 2016

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.

シンカリオン 新幹線, 変形 Shinkalion E5 Hayabusa & Komachi E7 Kagayaki E3 Tsubasa 05 Takara Tomy Plarail robots at Lab Electronics front of box

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



Shinkalion Takara Tomy 2016 Bullet Train Plarail back box at Lab Electronics シンカリオン 新幹線, 変形

Shinkalion Takara Tomy 2016 Bullet Train Plarail

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

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



ROBOT魂 Robot Spirits Tamashii Nations Heavy Metal Auge Vifam Aura Battler 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.

More pictures from Bic Camera

So I guess there was a decent amount of stuff if I have to make another post for Bic Camera. If I had to guess I think Bandai wanted to get into the  building block business. So they came up with the Doubutsu Gattai ZyuohKing show to cash in on the cult that is Lego or maybe to give the robots a Minecraft look. They are kind of cool. Big, heavy, blocky, robots. It is an interesting idea at the very least. I would not buy any, but they did catch my eye every time I popped into a toy section of any department store in Japan. The DX Cube 123 King Zyuoh & 456 Dodekaioh were in a display where you could play with them hands on at another department store name Lab.

バンダイ ジュウオウキューブ/ジュウオウジャー Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger DX Cube 123 King Zyuoh 456 Dodekaioh by Bandai Japan Gattai from tokusatsu tv show (動物合体ジュウオウキング Dōbutsu Gattai Jūō Kingu, Animal Combination Beast Monarch King)

Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger DX Cube 123 King Zyuoh & 456 Dodekaioh by Bandai Japan



Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger DX Cube 123 King Zyuoh Bandai Ultraman Japan Gattai 2016 バンダイ ジュウオウキューブ/ジュウオウジャー

Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger DX Cube 123 King Zyuoh Bandai Ultraman figure Japan Gattai 2016

Is Ultraman still a thing? Just checked now, I guess that show is still going. I did not know it was an ongoing show. Just like the Super Sentai (Power Rangers in the US).

Getter Dragon, Getter 1, Z Mazinger, Destroid Monster Macross Bic Camera pictures

Getter Dragon, Getter 1, & Z Mazinger Dynamite Action, Destroid Monster Macross at Bic Camera

The Dynamite Action Getter Dragon figure looked pretty good. It looks like it popped right out of the cartoon. Based on what I see, I prefer it to the Soul of Chogokin version. They also have a Tetsujin 28 figure that looks pretty good. Their line of robots are totally up my alley but they seem a little pricy. I guess I will have to see how big they are.


Kaiju, Mecha Godzilla, Ultraman and more figures!

Kaiju, Mecha Godzilla, Ultraman and more figures!

Did I ever mention I was a Godzilla fan?

Tomica car display at Bic Camera

Tomica Cars

The cars by Tomy are cool just because of the packaging for me. Japanese packaging has always been something I have loved about the toys. You can take them out, put them away and practically keep them brand new. In US packaging you have to destroy the packaging to take the toy out, think Matchbox cars for example.

Tomica car display at Bic Camera

Tomica Cars



The Robot Spirits Tamashii Nations Bandai Unicorn Gundam, Zaku & Sniper ROBOT魂

The Robot Spirits Tamashii Nations Bandai Unicorn Gundam, Zaku & Sniper

More robots under the girls anime display, which I assume is more for guys than for girls. The Robot Spirits line by Tamashii Nations has a good selection of Gundam mobile suits and 80’s robots in the line. It seems to me to be the line that replaced the MS in Action!! line.



More Robot Spirits Gundam, Iron Man, Star Wars, Dragonballz figures at Bic Camera ROBOT魂

More Robot Spirits Gundam, Iron Man, Star Wars, Dragonballz figures

Checking out the Bic Camera toy section Ikeburo, Tokyo

Bic Camera Ikebukuro Tokyo Japan 2016

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.

シンカリオン  新幹線, 変形 Mecha from the Tomy Plarail Shinkalion line E3 Tsubasa 05 and Tsubasa 06 Takara Tomy 2016 from Shinkansen Transformation Robo Shinkalion (新幹線変形ロボ シンカリオン)

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

Mecha Shinkalion 700 Nozomi 07 and Hikari Railstar 08 Takara Tomy 2016 from Shinkansen Transformation Robo Shinkalion (新幹線変形ロボ シンカリオン)

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 back of boxes シンカリオン  新幹線, 変形

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

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.

トミカハイパーシリーズ Tomica Hyper Series Next Stage from the Tomica Town line 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 from the Tomica Town line by Takara Tomy - White Hope & Sonic Interceptor Walker Vehicle figures 2016 back box トミカハイパーシリーズ

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

トミカハイパーシリーズ Tomica Hyper Series Next Stage Special Riot Police Takara Tomy 2016 from the Tomica Towns line

Tomica Hyper Series Next Stage Special Riot Police Takara Tomy 2016

Bic Camera Gunpla Zaku II Zakucannon 2016

Bic Camera Gunpla

Hambrabi RX-139 MSIA 4.5″ Bandai 2005

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.

 

MSIA ハンブラビ Hambrabi RX-139 Mobile Suit in Action!! 4.5" Bandai 2005 from Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (機動戦士Ζゼータガンダム Kidō Senshi Zēta Gandamu) 1985 anime tv series.

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



MSIA ハンブラビ Hambrabi RX-139 Mobile Suit in Action!! 4.5" Bandai 2005 from Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (機動戦士Ζゼータガンダム Kidō Senshi Zēta Gandamu) 1985 anime tv series.

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



Gaza C AMX-003 MSIA 4.5″ Bandai 2006

Here are a couple Gaza C AMX-003 MSIA 4.5″ figures from Bandai that came out in 2006. I picked up a magenta one for $8 and gray one for $5 at Mandarake. I had been seeing these at $15. I have a lot of these figures and I love the enemy armors as the variety and design are more appealing. At $15 I really could not justify the purchase and hauling these home, but at $8 each I picked up 3 I did not already have.

The AMX-003 Gaza C figures are from the Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (機動戦士Ζゼータガンダム Kidō Senshi Zēta Gandamu) 1985 anime tv series.

Gaza C AMX-003 Mobile Suit in Action!! 4.5" Bandai 2006 MSIA

Gaza C AMX-003 Mobile Suit in Action!! 4.5″ Bandai 2006

The Mobile Suit in Action!! series is one of my favorite toy lines and one of the most extensive parts of my collection. The paint application, range of motion and articulation, attention to detail and all the accessories are why I love these.  The Gaza C really is very faithful to the anime version and is a really nice looking robot.

Gaza C AMX-003 ガザC改 Mobile Suit in Action!! 4.5" Bandai 2006 MSIA from the Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (機動戦士Ζゼータガンダム Kidō Senshi Zēta Gandamu) 1985 anime television series.

Gaza C AMX-003 Mobile Suit in Action!! 4.5″ Bandai 2006 MSIA




Gaza C AMX-003 ガザC改 Mobile Suit in Action!! 4.5" Bandai 2006 MSIA from the Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (機動戦士Ζゼータガンダム Kidō Senshi Zēta Gandamu) 1985 anime television series.

Gaza C AMX-003 Mobile Suit in Action!! 4.5″ Bandai 2006 MSIA ガザC改

Gaza C AMX-003 ガザC改 Mobile Suit in Action!! 4.5" Bandai 2006 MSIA from the Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (機動戦士Ζゼータガンダム Kidō Senshi Zēta Gandamu) 1985 anime television series.

Gaza C AMX-003 Mobile Suit in Action!! 4.5″ Bandai 2006 MSIA



Gaza C AMX-003 ガザC改 Mobile Suit in Action!! 4.5" Bandai 2006 MSIA from the Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (機動戦士Ζゼータガンダム Kidō Senshi Zēta Gandamu) 1985 anime television series.

Gaza C AMX-003 Mobile Suit in Action!! 4.5″ Bandai 2006 MSIA ガザC改

No posts for you!

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.

WreckGar – Transformers G1

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 G1 Autobot C-81 Hasbro Junkion Junkbots motorcycle Foreign names Japanese- Wreck-Gar(レックガー Rekkugā), French- Ferraille(Scrap), Italian- Chopper

WreckGar 1986 Transformers Generation 1 Autobot Junkion

WreckGar from The Transformers: The Movie G1 Autobot C-81 Leader of the Junkion Junkbots motorcycle Foreign names Japanese- Wreck-Gar(レックガー Rekkugā), French- Ferraille(Scrap), Italian- Chopper

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



Sunstorm – Transformers G1

Sunstorm - Generation 1 Decepticon 2003 eHobby Japanese ID number: 89 (サンストーム Sansutōmu)

Sunstorm Generation 1 Decepticon 2003 eHobby

 

Here’s the last of the Decepticon jets – “Sunstorm.”  This was never issued originally with the G1 robots in 1984 even though he appeared in the first episode of the Generation 1 cartoon.  I think I have all 7 of the Seekers now, unless there are others I do not know about. The Hasbro Masterpiece Sunstorm just came out, but the colors are awful. This will be the only Sun-storm in my collection, unless they make a nicer one.

This is another one I got in Akihabara, Japan. This appears to be made by e-Hobby a store affiliated with TakaraTomy that has made several exclusive Transformers redecos.

Sunstorm(サンストーム Sansutōmu) - Generation 1 Decepticon 2003 eHobby Japanese ID number: 89

Sun-storm – Generation 1 Decepticon 2003 eHobby

 

Voltron Legendary Defender Netflix

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.
Voltron Legendary Defender Netflix Dreamworks 2016
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…