I would've done the exact same. Sweet find.

 

One of my favorite Micromasters. And he can travel through time  

 

What more could be said about Soundwave than has already been said countless times before by countless people.


Soundwave is hands down my most favorite Decepticon ever. This is something that has been said before by me and others I’m sure. But why is he my favorite? It’s simplistically complicated, just like Soundwave.

First of all, there’s his alt mode. Soundwave turns into one of the most iconic pieces of electronics tech ever, a personal Walkman cassette deck. If you grew up in the 80s, you know how important this invention was to pop culture.

A precursor to today’s smartphones and earbuds, a person could clip this beauty to their belt/pocket, put on their headphones, pop in their favorite band’s cassette and let the rest of the world fade away.

This brick with a personality gave people access to the soundtrack of their lives on a more personal level. But for a spymaster like Soundwave, it had a more important function, the ability to record. Using his cassette spies, Soundwave could unassumingly acquire any information deemed necessary on his enemies......or his allies.

This particular version is the Toys’r’Us reissue that was molded with the extended chest plate used for Soundblaster. So this was useful in holding two cassettes to gather more information. But these cassettes hid another important function.

They could take their spy missions mobile. Even the unassuming cassettes, bricks in their own right, could transform into Soundwave’s minions and carry out sabotage and espionage missions with aplomb. These little spies were cool little Decepticons in their own right.

Laserbeak is the most loyal, dangerous, and cunning of all of Soundwave’s spies. One of the most important Decepticons IMO, Laserbeak could obtain information from anyone or anywhere. With his ability to fly, he could avoid being seen if necessary. His ability to hide and record makes him invaluable to the Decepticons ranks and he has helped in thwarting Autobot plans more than once.

Ravage is the fiercely loyal Jaguar spy. Usually playing the role of saboteur amongst Soundwave’s ranks, Ravage stalks from the shadows of which he blends in perfectly. This sleek cat-bot is a highly precise instrument used by Soundwave and Megatron, when efficiency becomes necessary.

These two came together with the Soundwave reissue which made me incredibly happy. They are my favorite of Soundwave’s troop, even if Ravage is possibly the most precarious Transformer to balance.

With all of his abilities and resources as the Communications officer and being the right-hand bot of Megatron, Soundwave is quite possibly the most dangerous of all the Decepticons. Sneaking from behind the lines and gathering all the information and secrets from every corner of the universe he can through the use of his spies and his own ability to read minds, Soundwave could blackmail and hold sway over anyone or any situation imaginable.

Plus, he just looks menacing as hell. His unassuming alt mode hides the form of a truly imposing Decepticon which just adds to Soundwave’s mystique. But even in his alt mode, his menace is just under the surface.

In case there was any doubt, just look for the rubsign. The embodiment of everything about him: his character, his capabilities, his spies, his design in robot and alt mode, his status in the Decepticon hierarchy, his menace, AND THAT VOICE!!! All of these qualities make Soundwave undoubtedly one of the most powerful and dangerous Decepticons. And that is why Soundwave fits the theme of “More Than Meets the Eye” more than any other Transformer I believe. That’s why he is my favorite.

 

I was talking with a friend last week who just learned that Walmart indicates an item is to be returned to warehouse by marking the price down to 3 cents. His scenario was for a TV, but regardless, they're not supposed to sell it for that price. Good find!!

 

Recently rescued my vintage Stunticons. A bit floppy in places (used some good quality card to wedge into gaps and hold by friction), stickers almost completely worn out and metal very rusty (tried some tricks with white vinegar but not willing to disassemble due to fear of cracked plastic), but otherwise a lovely piece from my childhood.

Was wondering if anyone hated the way Menasor figure's head was not on top of Motormaster's but actually a face mask. I did and thought of many ways I could make it look more cartoon accurate.

What I eventually did was attach the "mini roller" vehicle upside down. This covers Motormaster's face and creates a small step between the top of his head encasing and mini roller. Currently, the Menasor "mask" is propped onto the lower step imperfectly, but sits fine if purely on display, not currently any good for anyone actually wanting to play with.

The odd thing about its silhouette will be the placement of the arm connections, as now he is not hunched the shoulders are raised much higher. I found that a pose where you position the arms so that the top of Dragstrip and Dead End touch the shoulders makes the best effect.

It's a silly thing, but I am quite pleased with the new silhouette and Menasor's extended torso. No photos yet.

The next thing now is thinking how to design a new part that clips into the chest zipples and the arm sockets with an anime accurate chest and new arm sockets higher up the arms. Or just find a way to utilise the gap so that there is something to hold the Menasor mask in place...

 

Ah, Soundwaveblaster. Always a lovely toy, but something about the Soundblaster double depth chest door has always bothered me in this colourway. Much prefer the prerub faction logo on the chest though, so swings and roundabouts.

Great photos!

 

TRU used a similar system, but $.03 was donate to charity. If someone had an item at checkout that was that price TRU wouldn't deny the sale, but afterward checked if there were any more in stock. If one finds something at this price at WM and uses self checkout no one would notice to deny the sale.

 

Back in the day, TRU had marked down some movie ornaments to $0.01, which I was told meant it was to be thrown out, but since it rang up with a valid price, I paid my $0.02 for the last two ornaments and went on my way.

 

Always bet on black.

 

MOSC Bumblejumper

 

...Dear mother of God! That is gorgeous!

 

WOW! I've never seen pictures of a sealed one! Nice!

 

Fuuuuuuuuu

 

Neeeeeeeeed this!

 

Gonna start a new series, hope you all enjoy it. This next group usually tends to be a crowd pleaser.

Usually when you start at the bottom, you wanna work your way up. This guy enjoys what he does too much to ever really want to change.

Mixmaster is the resident chemist of the Constructicons. He just loves mixing raw ores and other substances in his cement drum to give the rest of his team the materials they need for whatever their construction project or mission. Mixmaster enjoys coming up with new concoctions, he’s practically an alchemist. And he’s just a tad bit crazy too.


Treating his cement drum like a cauldron, Mixmaster is a wizard at preparing whatever is needed out of almost anything, from raw ore to scrap parts.

Mixmaster was the only member of the Constructicons I had growing up. Probably the simplest vehicle, bot, and transformation of the team. But he’s still got some character to him.

All the Constructicons have a play feature in which their particular construction vehicle mode has a specific function. Mixmaster is the cement mixer, but his feature is very subtle. Where all the other Constructicons have moving parts on their alt modes, Mixmaster’s drum is in a fixed position. It does however spin in place.

This copy of Mixmaster comes from the recent Walmart reissue box set. And man he looks good (so do the rest, you’ll see). The chrome and stickers on these guys is phenomenal. They each have their own unique transformation too. That’s one of the great things about the Constructicons, no repaints or retools with any of them. They’re all original molds with their own individual accessories. And Mixmaster here maybe the simplest of them all, but he’s still just as cool as I remember him.

Mixmaster serves as the left leg of Devastator when combined with his teammates. One of the cool things about these bots is they all have kind of like an attack mode for their alts. Each member is outfitted with a piece of the puzzle that makes up Devastator. Mixmaster gets to hold on to the main gun of Devastor. It’s a fun bonus play feature for all of them that I didn’t have any knowledge of before. It was a nice surprise and it’s a cool way of storing all the accessories.

I’m just blown away by this set as I’ll show you over the course of this series. Devastator was one of my main ‘holy grails’. Fitting that Mixmaster was the only one I had as a kid. I’m starting at the bottom and working my way up. And I get to start it with an old friend, who I prefer to think of as eccentric instead of crazy. It makes him easier to deal with. Just don’t accept any drinks from him. He’s definitely the type to spike the punch.

 

This is an ad for the Hasbro and Milton Bradley stand at the Brussels International Trade Mart 1986, probably from the paperwork/catalogue of that very show (full index of exhibitor stands on the rear). Check out the art for Ramjet dropping a bomb on the series 2 Autobot cars!



All the best
Maz

 

I can't help but LOL at Smokescreen holding his shoulder cannon as a pistol  

 

100% complete. Pretenders and individual weapons not shown. No broken gold plastic. He’s perfect and I’m so happy to have him

 

Cool