I spent stupid amounts of money on the Takara Headmaster pack just so I could give my LG Brainstorm the right head.

 

Yeah, it's not a political thing, it's one from experience. I've been on the dole before, and it was a pretty soul-crushing experience. I don't need my soul being crushed any more than it already is. Truth is I've got supply teaching to fall back on if need be, though I'd rather it didn't come to that.

 

I forgot to mention the doctor have me the number of a telephone consultant if I need to talk things over.
@joetele thanks for your support too.

 

Thanks! He's been fine since his jaunt so no harm done other than to my blood pressure when I thought I'd lost him! It was soooo lucky he went the route he did and I found him within seconds of hearing something moving and sniffing about in the bushes where I went to look. Doesn't bare thinking about what might have happened had that not been the case but I scooped him up and gave him the biggest hug and he looked totally unflustered as always, he's very laid back compared to Rebecca.

@Imperator,
Voluntary work did me some good, at least to the point of knowing I can operate in a working environment again, and I can confirm what @Seeaich said about it going down very well with DWP jobsworths....after some of the BS I've dealt with it was a good feeling to shut one person down mid sentence with "I've actually been volunteering for a few weeks now".

I just wish I'd been able to stick with it longer than I did but I got really disheartened how things played out at the farm and the past few months have seen me struggling for motivation to try again because I feel like I'm too old to have a realistic chance of turning my employment and social situations around.

 

Over money, of course. I bet they want him for Venom 2.

Oh, you're making us more money than ever? Sorry, we need more money. Fuck off Sony.

 

Gulp. As it stands, looks like Spidey is out of the mcu.

I'm sure they'll work something out.

Edit: ninjad!

Both sides have a lot to lose here. Spidey is now integral to Disney's mcu, and Sony's big hits are very thin on the ground these days. The relationship is almost.... Symbiotic...

 

It's corporate greed at play for sure but TBH I think the Disney machine deserves a bit of a toe-stubbing after some of the stuff they cancelled that was on the Fox slate when they bought it.

 

The saddest part IMO are the Tumblr people who think this means Sony are going to give them more Miles Morales.

Far From Home is closing in on twice Spider-Verse's profits. They're going to keep making live-action Peter Parker movies forever.

 

Sony can't. Pretty sure they only have a 9 picture deal with the option to extend to 12 not including crossovers or spinoffs, but that was circa 2001.

No reason we can't have Peter movies from one and Miles movies from the other company, but I guess with the Fox deal sorted someone had to start being a dick about IPs.

 

Yeah and the stuff they had I was interested in was ridiculously priced I asked how much Action Master Devastator was and he said it was £25! Not to mention I think after I said I was collecting G1 that he must've named evey G1 figure on the table I mean Jesus Christ just let a guy look and if I saw something I liked I'd of bought it. I was actually going to buy a few things but after them trying to sell me everything I thought there was people in that room far more deserving of my money. So Blue Beetle on the off chance you read this sort your shit out I can easily imagine I wasn't the only one turned off by the fact you were trying to sell me your entire table of figures even after I said I wasn't interested.

Also on the topic of TFN traders massive shout out to the spacebridge I asked if they had any G1 Ultra Magnus parts and he said it'd be cheaper to just buy the whole figure so I went and grabbed the one off Toy-Fu for £25 and it was missing a white leg panel so I went back to the Spacebridge to purchase that piece and he gave it me for free. what a guy

I don't have much faith in the rest of the MCU the only things I'm excited for are Guardians 3 and Doctor Strange 2 I would be really looking forward to Thor 4 but it seems they'll be pushing the whole political crap with female Thor (similar to the TF5 trailer with the whole fight like a girl crap ) honestly I'd of been more than happy for them to leave it at Endgame it's pretty clear now that they're just going to run the MCU into the ground with political crap and it won't get a good ending as they'll get overconfident as they did with Star Wars until one of their films bombs badly leading to a mass panic at Disney because we all know that Disney collectively shit themself when that happened.

 

You'd probably qualify for PIP or ESA if you're having problems getting basic stuff done - obviously a totally shit assessment process but if you can get documents of the depression the sooner you can get to the tribunal phase of worst comes to worst. Solidarity - depressive catatonia is the pits, but try and get as much out of your hobbies as you can.

 

I mean, I'm with Sony on this one. Apparently, Disney wanted to split the profits 50/50, on an IP they don't even technically own, after Spiderverse and Homecoming have shown Spidey can stand on his own two feet. Is making all the rest of the money in the world not enough for them? (I mean, obviously not, because that's how the world works now.)

 

Devils Advocate time. I had a really great positive buying experience with Blue Beetle, chatted with him about collecting and why he's selling up, what bits he's keeping etc...
Coming from retail background I like an enthusiastic seller, and the few bits I bought from him were in such stunning condition at least 5 of the Pube Con crew threatened to steal my toys and bought items from his the next day.
Each to their own, I guess he was flying high from a positive weekend and perhaps was too overzealous for some? We are all different after all.

I know some people find my sales techniques too pushy because I say hello and use open questions to start conversations. But fuck 'em, I know how to retail and give a positive shopping experience even if people dont buy anything (which is absolutely fine!), I'd rather that than ignore people or sit and look bored.

Nice to see people recognising Paul Hitchens at Spacebridge as the superb legend that he is. Ironically I know I defended him many times over the last 25 years where some people find him abrasive, not every customer loves every seller and vice versa.

 

COMRADES! HELLO!

Oh wait it's the Swarm again



TFN rocked! Loved seeing those of you I there saw, tunes now arise around ears we grew in ancient days!

(Translation: Neuta got drunk at the pub quiz in the depths South of the River and is now grooving to songs you won't like as if most of history never happened.)

NATION OF TRANSFORMINGDOM! WAKE WORLD AND SEE US!



"And I awoke and found me here, on the cold hill's side."

OH WELL

NEVER MIND

Convention post to follow! May possibly have been the best TFN yet!

You all rock my brahs and sistahs!

Civilisation will be resumed; watch this space (meanwhile, hugs and pints and songs where they don't sing).

             

 

Is the Nite Wotch still a thing......?

Siege is an odd line for me. It hits the G1 homage hard in bots like Flywheels/Skytread, then goes 'same but styled' in Hound and Prime and Astrotrain, and then goes 'screw it, CYBERTRON' with Seekers and Ratchet. I can see the pattern, but its like parts of the line dont even seem to fit other parts of the same line.

That Skyfire though..... Jeez. That looks lovely in all the right ways and I really think that I need that one in my life. It seems outstanding. Meanwhile, I have been revisiting the GenToy Constructicons as part of my moving process. That is a serious team that might have actually been designed specifically for me. They just bring the magic just by picking them up. The styling, transformations, character..... I really appreciate that GenToy gave them all a unique character.

In similar theme, does anyone have the GenToy Protectobots. Good? Recommended? Pricey!

Yeah, its the big stores mostly. Singapore was awesome at getting stuff ahead of even the US until about three months after I arrived, and which point we just get stuff very slow now. I am sure its coincidence. The import shops like OhMyPrimus are still awesome, and we are at least reliable. We dont have wave two on shelves yet.... but I am pretty sure that it WILL show up, which takes pressure off that was a real problem for me in the UK.

Prices are stupid here now though, and constantly rising. Siege Deluxes are now S$35 (21GBP) and Voyagers are S$54 (32GBP). Leaders are S$100 (60GBP). TRU here is full of Siege Shockwave and now Ratchet, Studio Dropkick and Megatron, those three exclusives I already mentioned.....

I have taken a more relaxed attitude to collecting now. I picked up Siege Hound, Flywheels and the Con jet and Bot military micro teams. I will probably grab a Shockwave on clearance as he is everywhere right now. Galaxy Convey has been sighted, but I havent seen him, and I really want a Red Alert. My recent purchases have been odd one-offs - Ectotron from the US, Bulldog, SoC Xabungle and a HiMetal Macross from AE...... The last TF I got from a shelf here was...... BotBots I think. Before that, Siege Hound and FlyWheels. I think that I am going to have to pass on the Seacons too, which pains me. But they are looking pricey for the full set, almost TFC Seacon prices. I dont really have anything that I MUST have right now.... and thats a nicer way to collect for me.

Well ...... damn! Those are epic. I missed this thread!

I ended up with these, including managing to get the Smart Robin extra head from an awesome person on these boards who bought the FP figure it wa sbundled with and didnt have Smart Robin and sold it at a very reasonable price without wanting to gouge other fans. Really appreciated.

I picked up the FP Brainstorm with faceplate, Chromedome second release with more G1 paint, and Highbrow (that I havent opened yet).... and then went to Takara TR for Skullcruncher, Mindwipe and Wierdwolf, which I am very happy with. Add in the IF Scorponok, and the soon to be released Hasbro Apeface and hopefully Snapdragon..... The only hole is FP pissing around with their releases.... I was waiting for their Snarl forever and finally got him for my Dinobots, but gave up waiting for their Hardhead and picked up the TW version for that. He is bigger than the FP Autobot Headmasters, but it kind of fits, so I am ok with that just to not be waiting around for something that FP probably wont ever even release now!

Yeah, my understanding is that Sony and Disney had an agreement, and when it came to renew it, Disney wanted to change it all up from 50/50 to giving Sony about 5%. And honestly, right now, Disneys stranglehold on pretty much everything is something I am really not enthusiastic about.

 

Always Nite somewhere, in a world of fourteen billion eyes.

 

Sheeeeet! Looks like I'm all about the Pipe again.

 

Pretty sure that trying to ensure better female representation in movies where there previously hasn't been much isn't "political crap". I for one welcome more female heroes in the MCU (and movies in general) because to be honest it gets a bit dull seeing the same white males in everything. I would agree that the specific TF5 trailer wasn't representative of the eventual movie, but I appreciate their half-hearted attempt to get young girls to watch the movies.

Anyhoo, not wishing to open a can of worms...

Transformers-related: Does anyone have a spare/junker FOC Grimlock? I only need the T-rex arms, as I unwittingly received an incomplete one via Ebay. I could return it but it's the G1-coloured one and I've been after him for ages.

 

Reading the shit news now that Sony will be yoinking Spidey back - presumably to make total shit like AMazing Spidey 2.

I'm NOT with Sony on this (unsurprisingly) for the above - they were running the character through the floor and they knew it - and the fact is that I frankly don't give a shit about Disney.......it's Kevin Fiege and Crew that have the bottled-lightning on tap right now and I have ZERO confidence in Sony doing anything worthwhile except sitting on the rights till they can't anymore.

They can make a decent Miles Cartoon (hopefully) but Warners were making great DC Cartoons and animateds for years and we all know how well the DCEU ended up. Sony have even less live action "talent" to work with.

The MCU is clearing a Billion dollars a film and Sony have to do FUCK ALL to get their slice. If we are talking "Corpoarte Greed" then let's have that discussion when yet another Actor is committing career suicide trying to play Spidey in a film where he will be Deadpooled off the screen in his own Universe by Venom.

Not for me thanks. Not even with a shotgun to the temple.

And steering away from "Political" (give me fucking strength really?!!) I've got Doc Strange, future Black Panthers and the freaking ETERNALS to look forward to, so I'm going to be good for a while yet.

 

Ooh, Japan Post tracking notice via Paypal invoice from HIQ Parts!