Singapore Toys Games and Comics Convention 2013 (STGCC 2013)

5 month-old Man of Steel (comes with Mom)

This year's STGCC a month ago was a big surprise for me, really--I just wasn't expecting that many people to show up! Lots of people dressed up too--I could hardly turn here nor there without a glimpse of a superhero, a cosplayer, or a Stormtrooper.

Hot Toys Man of Steel (Mom not included)

Also, I have been rather out of the loop about new toy releases. Sure, I've kept up with the usual Hasbro Marvel Universe and Star Wars offerings, and even the occasional DC and Masters of the Universe piece of news, but Hot Toys, Play Imaginative (Super Alloy series) and some of the local stores threw me for a curve--and it was a good thing.

So just how impressive were they?  Let's see!

Transformers Classics Generations Hot Spot (Voyager Class)

It's been too damn long since I last reviewed a Transformer.

No, it isn't because I like them any less, nor is it the because there's been too much great stuff from Marvel and DC. (There has been but that's not the reason: a toy that gets me excited will get me raring to review it no matter what.)

The real reason is that I'm a real G1 fan.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not staunchly "only G1 toys."  In fact, I think those toys are dated.  But I think their designs are timeless.  Clean lines, very human-like faces, yet on the whole very much robot.  And I love it when they take it back to the drawing board and give us a brand new toy with all the bells and whistle but with and update on the classic look.

That's why I love my Henkei Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Cliff Jumper, Generations Hot Rod, etc.

And that's why I love Hot Spot.

This guy and me go a long way back.  After Optimus Prime died in the Animated Movie, Hot Spot was my new favourite.  He kinda looked like Prime, was the leader of the Protectobots, and had a posse that would have his back no matter what.  If things got rough, they could even merge and form Defensor!  Needless to say he was my favourite combiner.

So when I saw thins guy n the shelf, I didn't hesitate.  I knew he was in short supply, since I saw one of him to every three Megatron and Power Dive.  To find out they are all part of an Asian exclusive line just make me think how lucky I am to be living in this part of the world!

Chase Sighting: New Stuff hits the Shelves!

I was in the local Toys R Us near my office today looking for Transformer generations Wheelie before having to put in a shift for Olympics news coverage.  I promised 3B of 3B's Toy Hive that I'd snag one for him since I'd seen Wheelie there a few days before.

But this was all that greeted me:

Generations Springer, Cliffjumper, and Swerve.

Where was wheelie?!?

There were a good three or four of him the last time I was there.  From what I'd seen, he looked like a re-coloured Jazz with a new Wheelie head.  He was way too big for my own taste, so I passed.

But this time, he was missing!  Obviously people like him much better than I do.  So sorry, 3B!  I'll continue to hunt one down for ya!

Transformer Cybertron Con 2012 Day 1

The entrance!

So I really didn't know what to expect despite having a schedule of all 4 days (11th to 14th) of the Con.

Would it really be more like an exhibition and less like a convention?  If so, would there be deals to be had on Transformers toys?  Would there be a greater focus on the movie versions of Transformers rather than other forms to attract the kids?

We thought this was the 22-foot tall Optimus Prime.

Well as it happened, it's never really what you think it is.  And I was glad tat I was presently surprised.

He's happy with the Con as long as the pass tastes good.

Resorts World Sentosa turned out to be a great place to hold Cybertron Con with people of all sorts attending--collectors, families, couples, even tourists.  So we made a family day out of it and with the wife and kid went forth expecting nothing other than a good time out.  Here's a pictorial journey of what went down! (with commentary from yours truly, of course. :P):

Cybertron Con 2012 Exclusive Swag!

Sorry folks, no review here, just an update on the toy-ly ongoings of our tiny island nation.

On the bright side, it's less than 4 days to go to Cybertron Con right here in Singapore and they've revealed a couple of nifty exclusives for the event!

First up, there's the movie Optimus Prime:

I can't quite be sure but it looks like it'll be a Voyager Class figure with a decent sized trailer.  That's a great thing because I think the smaller-sized Primes usually don't have trailers made for them--this one does and has some awesome Con exclusive designs all over it.

Also, Prime comes with this commemorative coin if you're into that sort of thing.

Secondly, some t-shirts for the event have been revealed:

I can't quite articulate how nice it is to see some G1 Transformers, even if they only exist as designs on T-shirts.  :,(

There's a whole bunch of other stuff that'll be on sale, form luggage to masks and all of the toys you've seen on the shelves in stores.

But I hope they give us some G1 TF toy love at the Con.  'Else I'll be nursing a Coke Zero in a dark corner somewhere shedding a tear or five.  Lol.

Transformers Kre-O: Exclusive Optimus Prime Review

**State of the Toy Union: My display room's a mess!  It's made me really not want to open up any of my recent purchases until I get it cleaned up.  I'm making progress with the packing/tidying up though.  So in the meantime, I'm very sorry for the long pause between reviews.  Enjoy this one though--he couldn't wait! ;)**

Call him an SDCC, a Botcon or a (insert your preferred)Con Exclusive, but for us here in Singapore, he's our Transformers Con 2012 Exclusive Kre-On! (That's what they call a Kre-O figure btw).

Messy room--enter at own peril!

That's right, in a month's time from March 11th to 14th, the bi-annual event is hitting our tiny island nation.  So the awesome people in charge sent over this little fella just to whet my appetite!

Now the idea of building a Transformer out of Legos or any other building blocks is hardly a new one because anyone who's ever laid hands on such toys will have at one point or another tried to do it.  But never has there been an official toy company who's gone out a produced a whole range of them--until now.

And while I have to admit that I was pleasantly when I saw Kre-Os on the shelves in stores, I was less than impressed by the sets.  First up, the robot modes aren't all that accurate to the G1 TF forms they were trying to mimic (and neither are their vehicles modes for that matter).  Second, they came with Kre-On (minifig) versions of themselves.  And that doesn't really make sense, if you catch my drift.  Third: the price. At US$30 a pop for the bigger sets, it was kinda hard to go out on a limb and trust the quality of a new building lock brand.

Still, those Kre-Ons looked pretty darn cute.  And they do have a whole range of them out right now--Optimus, Bumblebee, Mirage, Sideswipe, Megatron, Shockwave, and Prowl, just to name a few off the top of my head.  I had even told the Rangerlord what many have expressed online--if they sold the Kre-Ons separately, I'd grab 'em.  He agreed too.

So you can imagine my delight when the organizers of Transformers Con 2012 sent me this little package.  Now I can't wait for the Con to come.   So I guess I'll just have to settle for filling the time with a review of Kre-On Optimus Prime! ;)

Transformers Reveal the Shield: Legends Class G1 Optimus Prime

You'd think a Legend class would be HUGE, bigger than a Voyager and a Deluxe for sure, and beating out the Supreme Class for size.  But in actual fact, a Legends class figure is smaller! How much smaller?  Try the whole way!

Yes, that was one of the things that really appealed to me when I spotted this single Optimus Prime in a sea of Legend Class Megatrons.  He's so tiny, he just had to be full of surprises!  The other thing was that I'd never seen this class of Prime (nor knew that they produced this G1 version) and I'm an Optimus addict--I just gotta catch 'em all! (That phrase is eerily familiar...;P)

But from the get go, this figure turned out to be full of surprises, the biggest one of which wasn't at all good.  Hit it to find out more!

Geekcreek's Top 10 Guest List!

No, this isn't a list of who I've invited to swim in creek...of geeks.  It's a Top 10 List from Chase Variant's first ever guest writer, Geekcreek.  He's a toy geek (like most of us) whose also a globe-trotter (unlike most of us), who takes some of the most beautiful one-shots of GI Joes against real life landscapes.  If you don't know of him, check out his site, simply entitled Greek Creek!

But the guy s not just a one-trick pony, oh no.  He also does lists! If you haven't read those, check this one over at Poe Ghostal's Points of Articulation.

Yeah, he sure loves his Joes! (As do lots of us!)

So without further ado, I give you Chase Variant's first ever Top 10 List by Geekcreek!

The Chase Variant Christmas Stocking!

What a Christmas it has been!  Chase Variant (aka me) didn't get lots of toys this year, but what I did get was awesome.  Quality over quantity, I always say (when I get less toys for X'mas).  So what did I receive from Santa in 2010?

Nothing.

Told you he's awesome! :P

But I did get a Masterpiece Black Optimus Prime from my wife! Thanks Dear, you're the best! :D

Thanks, Bro!

And I got me a Henkei Transformers Animated Voyager Class Black Out from the Rangerlord, all the way from Japan!

And just for good measure, he threw in a DC Superheroes Scarecrow!  Awesomeness!

Now how will I be able to open and review all these on top of the swag I got from the Singapore Toys, Games, and Comics Convention?  How?  How?

I'll also be away for the next two weeks for my much delayed Honeymoon in New Zealand.  Once I get there, I'll have no chance whatsoever to take pictures of toys.  (Photo studio's at home, see?)  I'll also be checking out whatever toy joints they might have and adding to the review backlog!!!  What terrible problems I have, eh?

Anyways, hope all of you had a great Christmas with all the toys you can have and then some.  here's also wishing you only the best for the New Year ahead!

Cheers
-Ewan

(P.s-Don't forget to check out the last review of 2010 on Chase Variant: Transformers Challenge at Cybertron 3-Pack!)

Transformers Universe Challenge at Cybertron 3-Pack

That's right, folks.  It's Cyclonus, Galvatron and Hot Rod!  (I refuse to call him Rodimus despite what the box says.)

I was really happy I got this for the deal I did at the Singapore Toy and Comic Convention (STGCC) two weekend's ago!  After all, I'd held back on Universe and Henkei versions of both Cyclonus and Galvie, and missed out on Hot Rod because...I hesitated (Yes, the cardinal sin of hunting rare toys...)

Despite Hasbro releasing this set more than a month or so back, I still didn't stump up the cash for it. Why?  Because there was a ton of them at department stores islandwide and they were still at retail (S$69.90, that's US$53.75.)  TFs here always eventually go on sale, with prices dropping by as much as 50-70%, depending if there's a sale on top of the clearance prices or not.

Nevertheless, the rare or really popular characters get snapped up as they normally do everwhere.  And Hot Rod was one of these fave characters.  I never really saw the original single-packed Hasbro release on the shelf, let alone the shiny, chromed out Henkei version.  If I did, they would be priced at double retail and I wasn't paying through my nose for it.

So I waited.  And thankfully, I didn't have to wait too long since STGCC threw up a great deal for this set at S$45, that's about 35% off retail!  Happy, happy, joy, joy!--I was finally going to own my very first Hot Rod!!!

But since when did Hot Rod fight Cyclonus and Galvatron on Cybertron?  Didn't Hot Rod's first and last fight with Galvie happen in Unicron, just before he opened the Matrix of Leadership and became (wait for it...porn star name...) Rodimus Prime?  Maybe that's what Hasbro was going for, pretending that lil' Hot Rod here was his 'trixed up Prime self, hence the name on the box.  A lil' lame, but still a commendable effort on Hasbro's part to fool the kids.  Yeah, because we kids who were around in 1986 to watch the movie ain't being' fooled! :P
Packaging strategy aside, let's see how this trio fared against the ranks of the rest of the Henkei/TF Universe!

STGCC Day 3: The Motherload

Even the Predator and Iron Man couldn't stop me from getting good deals

You could say I was looking forward to the last day of Singapore Toy, Games, and Comic Convention the most.  Why?  Because of one thing and one thing only: DEALS! On toys!

And what a bunch of stuff I got.  I know I've written plenty over the last 3 days, so I'll keep this review of Day 3 short on words and long on pictures; pictures of the swag I snagged for cheap!

For those of you who frequent CV and are on my Christmas list (you know who you are), there might be one or two things here you might find in your X'mas stocking come the 25th! ;D

Transformers Fun Time: Compensation Package

Hey folks, been messing around with the html to widen my page so I can fit more pictures in the main post area.

As it turns out, everything is going well except for that silly line down the centre of the page. (Yes, THAT one.) So do not adjust your computers--the fault lies with the page. Please bear with me while I try to figure how to fix it...And come up with a new banner that's not so...patchwork.

But for now, as the title suggests, here's a little compenstation of sorts.

Enjoy!

Optimus Prime: Revenge of the Fallen

Lots of kids who'll be in their 20s about 10-15 years from now are going to look back and say, "Yeah! I loved Transformers, especially Optimus Prime!" And the scary thing is for those of us who grew up in the 80s, it won't be G1 Prime.

It'll be this guy:


Now before we go around screaming blasphemy and condemning these new age fans as heathens, would it really be that bad if this guy was the OPtimus Prime that new fans remember instead of the G1 version?

Well no, if this Leader Class ROTF Leader class toy is anything to go by.


I wasn't going to buy any of the movie line toys but this one just had to fall into my lap. And all thanks to my thoughtful Mel. Seriously guys, if your girlfriend thinks of entering a longshot contest where the chances of winning are just about as close to Bumblebee's chances in a fight against Unicron, and she wins it for you, MARRY HER. Only then should you get back to playing with your toys. :P

ROTF Optimus Prime doesn't come cheap--he retails for about S$110 (US$ 60) here in Singapore. While it's a little expensive for my taste, it's not so for many kids/their parents/collectors. Go to any store, and there'll be rows upon rows of Megatrons left on the shelf but no Prime. This bot sells like hot cakes.

And after opening him up and posing/playing around with him, it's easy to see why:













First, a seamless alt mode--you wouldn't be able to tell this Prime was anything other than an ordinary toy truck. If you didn't already know he was a Transformer. ;)











But then check out his robot mode!




















Impressive, no?

All Transformers can and should transform, but those that pose well are just simply brilliant.

In terms of articulation, this Prime's got:

Head: swivel, can rotate 360 degrees but for his 2 chest plates.

Shoulders: Double-Ratcheted. Can rotate 360 deg and move up and down. Another hinge joint toward the side of his chest allows the arms to also swing forward so he can slouch/hunch/do the Hulk Hogan pec squeeze pose.

Elbows: Ratcheted but arm kibble and folded blades get in the way of full range of motion. Arm rotates 360 deg at the top of the elbow too. :)

Hands: 360 deg rotation, has slots so he'll be able to hold weapons from other bots that fit.

No waist articulation, but has double ratcheted thighs, that have a full range of motion forward, back, and out to the sides. Has thigh cut joints as well bu these rotate only slightly and are probably just to facilitate his truck mode better.

Knees: Ratcheted, bend 90 degrees.

Ankles: Ball-jointed, can rotate 360 deg and also point straight (part of his transformation). This area, coupled with his big ol' feet, allow him to stand in almost any stance you can put him in. And this is the key feature that makes this toy so poseable. ;)

Oh, and his eyes and chest light up when you press down on the foldable lever in his chest!


And as his chest plates move up with his head, he'll say "I am Optimus Prime," at the same time.

He'll also make the transformation sound when you unhinge his legs from his torso for truck mode. And in vehicle mode he'll make truck engine sounds when you hit a small button on his back.

I can't say enough good things about ROTF Leader Prime. Check out the detailing of his head:


And here's a whole bunch of other cool poses Prime can pull off:


Here's how I rate him:

Movie Accuracy: 9.7 - If not for the plastic grey colour that they chose for him (that's meant to be metal/silver), he would have gotten full marks here. They even went ahead to do the blades gimmick--fold them in and flip em out at the flick of a switch (on the inside of his forearm). Neat.

Poseability: 9.7 - For such a large toy and for being a Transformer, he scores high for being able to do the things he does. And if you've gotten this far in the review without looking at the pictures, shame on you! ;P

Aesthetic: 9.7 - The attention to detail for his flame paint job is already awesome. Give him intricate detailing for his head, face, gears in his chest, and a damn good-looking alt mode and he's near perfect. Except for the greyish plastic that's supposed to be metallic on Prime. Even then, those parts have little bits of circuitry and alien-like details molded into them. Gotta give 'em points for all that.

Overall: 9.8 - Yes! A whole 0.1 bonus points just for the fun factor when playing with ROTF Leader Prime. He's fast becoming my not just my fave Transformer or even Optimus Prime, but my favourite toy overall! ;)