During the ebay flash sale today, it was a tough choice between him and Backdraft. I chose Backdraft, but I think Terraegis will by my next acquisition.

 

I like to think of them as a special UK Infiltration Unit.

The band's back together.
IMG_20170625_191550 by Dark Potchez, on Flickr

IMG_20170625_191642 by Dark Potchez, on Flickr

IMG_20170625_191609 by Dark Potchez, on Flickr

 

Thanks for the review of MMCs Terraegis. I'm torn between the MMC offering and the upcoming FansToys release.

I have the MMC Backdraft and love it. It truly captures the Mitsubishi Fuso fire truck used in Japan/Singapore during the 80s. And I was able to transform it without ever having seem a YouTube tutorial... a rarity for my limited intellect.

Every image of Terraegis looks striking, no matter the figure's mode or camera used to capture. I drive a wrangler, so I love Terraegis' knobby tires. The tread looks real and in every image I see, they look great!!

Naturally, the biggest issue we face when purchasing any item is quality control. While I can deal with some minor inconsistencies that do not affect the overall functionality of the figure, parts snapping or falling apart is an awful experience... especially for the money and time we collectors spend on these trincates of plastic, rubber and die cast.

For that reason, I've been kicking around waiting on the FansToys release. Supposedly their release will be in October... but we are mid way through and so far, I've only seen grey prototypes for the FansToys offering. However, I do love their addition of the satellite dish. Definitely a nice touch.

Now onto the point of this very late response. To be fair, at the time I did not yet have an account.

In your review, you mentioned something called "Future". I am unfamiliar with this "Future" of which you speak... with the exception of the state of time in that the future is ahead of the present.

What is "Future"? Is it a puddy? Is it glue? Is there a link that might explain what this "Future" is?

As you can guess, it's difficult to do a Google search on the Future, as it is a nebulous concept.

Thanks again for your review!!

Cheers!!

 

Future is the former brand name of a floor polish that is used hobby-wide to paint/drip into joints, such that when it dries overnight, it hardens and fills the gap as to provide extra friction on loose joints. It is now sold under the name "Pledge Floor Care Finish: Multi-Surface Finish". It's no longer branded "Future" but all of us old-timers still call it that out of habit.

 

Wow. This came outta nowhere. I have terraegis and love him. The only gripe being the gap in the alt mode's tailgate. future is an acrylic floor polish/protector made by pledge.

 

I have Terraegis, and I think he looks great. Not an MMC fanboy, as I have Sphinx, and I'm pretty lukewarm on him (I'd replace him in a heartbeat if a better Mirage came along), but this is definitely my Trailbreaker. I'm not a big fan of MMC's transformations, but all the other offerings have major aesthetic issues that I couldn't get past. Terraegis definitely looks the part, and at this point, that's my overriding criteria. I've had no QC issues to speak of.

 

Just make sure to read the ingredients and verify that it contains acrylic.

 

That's why I included a pic of the bottle, as "acrylic" does not appear on the current label.

 

This is fascinating!! I just discovered a few tutorials on YouTube!!

Thank you so much!!

 

Oh yeah, it’s definitely acrylic. It’s been used for decades in the model making hobby. I use it through an airbrush as a glossy varnish/top coat on models. You can dip clear windscreens and canopies in it to remove any scratches or marks and make the plastic look even more clear. And add a little colour to it (ink, paint, even food colouring) and you get a great translucent paint. Dip a canopy in this coloured mix to get tinting of different colours. It’s basically a self-levelling, ultra-clear, quick drying, acrylic floor varnish which is actually way better as a model tool than as a floor treatment. And because it’s self levelling and ultra clear, adding it to loose joints essentially thickens up the plastic in the joints, making them way more solid. It’s amazing stuff which you can’t even by here in Australia but I happily paid a heap of money to import a few bottles and haven’t regretted it for a moment.

 

When I was first here I asked the same question. If you have a Wal-Mart near you they sell it in the floor cleaner aisle. I was really skeptical at first because the stuff is like water. Leave it for 24 hours and don't touch it until it dries. A few drips (don't over do it) and the next day it makes the joints way tighter. It's amazing and must be seen to believe how well it works.

 

I am blown away by this revelation!!

So if I have an old DacaToys Kronos that's got a floppy right arm, some of this floor finish might help with that.

If too much were used in a joint, could that make a joint immovable?!

I picked up a KO Soundwave a few weeks ago that arrived in a real Takara Tomy box with very loose tape and a fused shoulder that wouldn't move. I'm wondering if my KO Soundwave was previously returned to the seller after the collector applied too much "Future". That might explain a few things...

Thank you so much for expanding my horizons on the possibilities of Pledge Floor Care Finish!!

Cheers!!!

 

Yes in theory you could fuse a joint with adding too much but it's unlikely. It's pretty thin, has a texture like water and "self-levels" so drips and dips tend to even them selves out to produce a flat surface. Also, as it's only acrylic, it sticks to the top surface of the plastic without having a hugely tight bond - things like lacquer, resins and even superglue form great bonds by melting both surfaces of the plastic and fusing them together forming a type of plastic "weld". Future and other acrylics are purely a surface treatment that sits on top of the plastic without altering or melting it. Part of the reason why acrylic paint is a lot more prone to chipping than enamel or lacquers. Too much future may kind of stick the joints a bit but it wouldn't take much to break that bond and get it moving again. I used a lot of it on the ankles of my Apollyon and he stands perfectly upright now. The other thing I did with it was to coat the chrome on my MP Hot Rod, Ironhide and Ratchet as well as the chrome on my FT Dinobots - it's a protective coating that helps to prevent the chrome wear that those Takara MP's are prone too (I did the FT Dinobots more as a better safe than sorry thing as their chrome is very solid)
If you want to know more about Future, there's an awesome page:
The Complete Future
has tons of info and some great tips on using it.

 

You can see the content when viewed in person, if you look through the back of the bottle (writing on the back). Some listings on the web say the name of the product, but not the contents. Not all Pledge floor polish has that.

See above...



EDIT:

Apparently, they don't state "acrylic/acrylate" anymore in the ingredients... It's "Tributoxyethyl Phosphate" - plasticizer (Tri (butoxyethyl) Phosphate, (TBEP) - Chemical Supplier Distributor Chemceed)

 

Kinda weird that this link hits me in the feels lol. That page and Fichtenfoo were like bibles when I decided to try and kick my modeling skills up a notch.

 

If you're going to be in this hobby seriously, definitely pick up a bottle of this stuff. One will last you a lifetime but I wouldn't be able to count the times I've gotten a figure and gone "Oh that's loose as hell...well a little Future will fix that right up...."

 

Just picked this figure up on a sale, and am really liking it. The one thing that bugs me is the ugly grey plastic on the firearms and upper legs. I don’t necessarily want them chromed like the original Trailbreaker figure, but a finish that made them look a bit more like metal, maybe a silver paint, would have been nice. Anyone tried painting them?

 

Found this guy under the tree on Monday...





A great representation of an old 80s Chevy Trailblazer or a GM truck with a cap!! However, in vehicle mode, I think it's a little small...



I know... I know... Starscream should be longer than Optimus Prime is in jet mode, Brawn would be bigger than Hound in vehicle mode... scale is a fools game... like continuity in the Marvel comics universe.

Even my cat tried to point this out to me... what can I say, I'm a little thick.



But it still looks strange to see a tiny Datsun 240 Fairlady, a Corvette, or a Lamborghini Countach that is as long as a Chevy truck.



Hope to transform Terraegis at some point over the New Years weekend!!

Cheers!!

 

He's not the best, but he fits the bill  

 

Well, a Toyota Hikux wasn't that big. Japanese and European trucks are smaller than american ones.
I don't know because Trailbreaker is not a standard one. But the wheelbase of a Hilux was marginally longer than the wheelbase of a Countach, for example...

Tracks is more "out of scale", for example.


It's weird, but in real life Ironhide (Nissan Vanette) it's actually quite a bit smaller than Bumblebee LOL...