Same as Kit, I see my toys as a sunk cost. I only buy things I intend to keep, so very rare I move something on and usually only when I have something I know a friend would like, so I expect to see nothing back from them. If at some point I do want to shift things it will be a bonus to get any money back. For now I am building a cool toy collection that expands!

Nice!

 

I don't buy toys with resale in mind, so once I've paid for them, the money's gone as far as I'm concerned. If I sell any on, well, it's nice if I happen to make my money back or even turn a profit, but I realy don't expect to. Which is fine - I buy toys for enjoyment, not as an investment vehicle.

(This applies to my graphic novel collection too. Some are now worth way more than I paid, some I'd struggle to give away. Swings and roundabouts, really.)

 

Never heard of that book I'm afraid... is it an American thing?

Ah, looked it up... Masquerade (book) - Wikipedia... it's a UK book and it's even by a guy called Kit! Haha!

And yes, this is kinda similar actually.

I will say this though, there are 13 letters in this code (hence the 13 spaces at the bottom right of the cover), so aside from finding out what the letters are I'd like you to tell me how they go in order. Just putting it into an anagram machine seems like it'd be too easy I think? Good luck, but fret not, I'll put up a clue or two before the end.

I was able to return the Encore Red Ironhide I bought MISB at TFNation (which turned out to not be MISB at all) to ID Toys, and they even refunded me the postage! Then I experienced a nightmare trying to hunt down another Encore Ironhide/Ratchet for a week or two, because, as it turns out my fellow Pubers were running interferance all over the place because they had got me an Encore Green Ratchet for my Birthday!

So yes, I have a Encore Green Ratchet, but I haven't picked it up yet because the fella getting it to me hasn't had the opportunity to come out to Central London yet. I'm really looking forward to it, not just because the little Dianauts are wandering around wondering 'where the fudge is our ride?'

Thank you for remembering though!

 

The thursday quest is always trouble, be brave fellow compagnions.
And hi.

 

Loooooooooooooooooooovely!
Ah Ha ha ha!

 

I've only ever bought Toys for the usual reasons, for Me and mine to enjoy and for me specifically to collect and hoard like a Dwarf-Lord. Resale value isn't something I've had to worry about until fairly recently when the need to churn some of the excess for space reasons has become a factor. I'm close to drowning in this crap so some of it has had to go.

That said, when you put up a hefty box like Quantron (just look at the wonderful gap it left!!) and get £140 less back than you paid for it a couple of years ago you realise a few things:

1. Greed costs. I didn't need one to keep in box "just in case," as it turns out plenty of other Computrons got made after all. Including the wonderful TT UW version.

2. Very, very few 3P Items are likely to even hold their original retail value over time. The FT Dinos might, MT Downbeat might, Toyworld Constructor just might if Hastak never do get around to making official versions of them. That's "if."

3. The market for an MMC Hoist (original cost of £70) is going to be vanishing small if Takara get around to releasing theirs.

That's really the revenge of the Takara Loyalists around here - they may be an unpleasant bunch of foamy-mouthed arseholes I wouldn't want to get stuck on a long train journey with, but in the end all of their "Official is the ONLY Transformers" is right. The wider market for Toys and TFs specifically will always focus on stuff in a Hastak Box with the real names and the faction badges. That's just real life.

Official Hastak product will hold its value and likely increase over time - even if some of it only slowly. Unofficial won't. There won't be much interest in 30 year old Nottlebots when within a few years from now Hastak are likely to have made their versions and that will be the market settled.

Once I got used to that fact I'm just happy to be buying what I consider "Best Versions" of a particular character. Are Hastak ever likely to make a Tarn or IDW Megs in the way MMC have? No. So I'm fine with that gap being filled and likely never selling those guys. Having them means more to me than any idea that they have to be "worth something."

That's a surprisingly calm and level headed way to start a day - have to do something about that.

 

A little Brainstorm(ing) to kickstart your mental agility this morning.

 

my thanks to @nice sideburns for the very reasonably priced Gen. Jetfire who arrived yesterday....just gotta decide how much I want/need to mod/paint him.

 

Wow, this post certainly pushes the 'nostalgia button'.

 

I seem to remember thinking that the Aerialbots were CW toys that most of the design budget went into, because they stood head and shoulders above the other teams in terms of well thought out design and quality. I think Skydive was probably the first CW deluxe I got and I remember thinking he was the nuts and spending ages playing with him on some autumnal Saturday evening. As ever, memory is a slippery pig and now that I pull Skydive out and have a look at him I think "is that it?". Superion is still the best combiner out of the bunch and Silverbolt's torso form remains impressive.
Maybe it's a result of the high quality of the TR deluxes, that I look back on CW and find it hard to remember what excited me about these guys? That said I'm super grateful to have such updated versions of the 'Special Teams'.

 

FansToys Omega Supreme review is done, link is in my signature below these photos  



All the best
Maz

 

Big love to those dangerously @nice sideburns for fixing me up with the TFNation Animated graphic novel.

Very unambiguously 'of the day', but without being mired by it either. A GREAT READ!

 

Mate, I felt exactly the same tingles when I posted this all the way back.

 

waddayathink of him now? Still doing it for you?

 

He's beast. But a little lacking as one expects a Wave 1 lad might feel come reflection. Air Raid, cut from the same cloth, totally eclipses all of them. Such a toy man's toy.

 

Right, so the Movie Anniversary Lockdown is actually tempting me. Despite his shortness, I didn't mind the original deluxe, but he was missing the alternate head and hook etc. I'm also tempted by the Jetfire from that box set at Kapow - is that basically the Takara version?

 

Well wrote up my callcentre resignation this morning and plan to go back on supply while I've got my bigger wage from training and I'll also get paid for the week I worked in hand. I just know that if I stayed it would destroy me even part time. Can't stand the isolation , having a relentless stream of callers funnelled to you and only leaving the desk for 10mins every 2hours.

Feels like decent jobs are like rocking horse shit nowadays, all seems to be temporary agency work and call centres.

Anyway feels like there is a light and the end of the tunnel now, slugslinger will be arriving shortly from amazon so that should perk me up too.

 

CW Skydive was my first and only planned purchase from CW. I think it was @incapable hulk and @Napalm who warned that he was just the start of enablement, but I held firm.

Superion, Hotspot, Legend Groove, Shockwave, Powerglide and Swindle later, they were right.

I had failed.

 

Looking at the CW stuff, I think it represents part of an evolution design-wise that really hit its stride in TR. I tend to think of the 'modern' Generations line as starting in the middle of the T30 line with the more G1 accurate figures (Scoop, Roadbuster, Whirl) rather than the more IDW stuff we'd been getting. There was a change of design team too, that clearly favoured going back to G1 accurate designs.

The CW stuff seemed to (mostly) nail the designs, but the transformation/retooling wasn't quite there, compared to TR. They're still good toys, particulary when combined, but I think we've been spoilt by the leap to in ambition in TR.

(Looking at POTP, we seem to be getting the best of both worlds. The Dinobot/Terrorcon retooling looks fantastic, and hopefully we'll get some Seacons that hit a similar level! I'm inrigued to see what over retools they manage - Grimlock to Deathsaurus seems very plausible, particularly when you look at Alpha Trion to Broadside.)

 

Ooh, I was just on the radio. Didn't do too well though, got tongue tied because I'm so incensed at the subject matter (being forced to sell assets to pay for your dementia care). Anyway, not gonna get drawn into a row, because y'know. No politics.

Also, Calendars are landing! @Dryl has just got his. I am amazed he still has morning post though.