Spent a couple hours transforming my corner of clutter and boxes and crap into the Corner of Awesome. Put together 3 small shelves, moved everything ,dusted took a couple hours but mostly done for now.

Will likely rotate G1 Scorponok in there - but he's out back right now under like a heap of boxes and tubs, so Abominus has a temporary home.

The plastic bag is Brunt to go with Trippers, I keep meaning to re-assemble him.

 

I love these! Inspired me to do something similar with my (tiny) collection.

Death, Rebirth, and Evolution

 

CW Scattershot makes two very different combiners:

 

Transmortal Kombat
Part 2
Windblade Vs. Refraktor

Spoiler

Windblade - "Awwwww are you my three o'clock punching bag?"

Refraktor - "Who the hell are you? Hooker-Clown Bot?"

Windblade - "I'll rip out your heart for that!"

Refraktor - "Show me!"

Announcer - "FIGHT!"

*SWOOOSH!!!

*CRAAACK!!!!

Windblade - "Are you watching?"

*SNAP!
Refraktor - "AAAHH!!!!!"

*RIIIIIIP!!!!!
Refraktor - "AHHHHHHH!!!!!!"



Announcer - "Windblade wins!"

Announcer - "Fatality!"

 

Man, I haven't seen TR Optimus and ER Optimus beside each other before. That scale REALLY works well.

They've done well in getting me with the troop building in WfC. First, it's Reflector, and now this lad. And what a brilliantly poseable little thug his is! the articulation in his neck and legs really takes him to the next level. Rarely have a seen a Generations Deluxe that can...look up as well as this guy can.

 

Pewpew photoshop

 

Poor old Chainclaw.
"...got to run..."
From TF:UK #228 '(Double) Deal of the Century'

 

"Name's Double. I was meant to be guarding Chainclaw. Guess I failed miserably, huh?"
From TF:UK #228 '(Double) Deal of the Century'

 

"Autobots! It's up to us to stop this devastation!"

 

CHUG looks so great these days...when I came back to Transformers in 2017 I made a decision to not go 3rd party MP and Hastak has been awesome..I love all the pictures people post. And now something different....

 

It's been a shit year but 2021 is gonna be YEAR OF THE CHUG - bring it on!

CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG!

 

Wait. A double agent who’s both an Autobot and Decepticon? Haven’t we done this before?

For me, Doubledealer was one of those late-period TF’s who had an intriguing concept but didn’t make much of an impression, such as Quickswitch. In fact, Quickswitch makes for a very good comparison. Part of the ’88 line, with a gimmick unique within that year, that didn’t appear in the US comics but made it to a single UK issue, and for whom I didn’t see the toy until I was all growed up. I should make these guys hang out more often. They could share their woes.

I remember liking that single issue appearance (‘Doubledeal of the Century’), though even back then it felt a bit disposable. It’s a fairly predictable bit of fluff where ‘Dealer'( the ‘con) steals some underdeveloped McGuffin. Prime lectures some ruthless Autobot newbs, namely the Racecar Patrol, before ‘Double’ (the ‘bot) comes along and offers to transport the ransom. ‘Dealer’ takes his payment from Scorponok for the McGuffin and then sets both factions on each other having got a double payday, hence the title. And that’s it. We never see ‘im again.

To be honest, I’ve got a stronger memory of this guy from the early IDW comics. Admittedly, it’s pretty much the same arc, but with more comeuppance but (somewhat inevitably) it’s a lot darker and richer. And I liked the defining impact that Doubledealer’s duplicity had on other characters.

I didn’t really intend on getting Doubledealer. I wound up acquiring him quite early on in my G1 voyage, as he came in a bundle with Blaster and a couple of Minbots. Of course, he had no accessories. No big missile. No Nebulon partners. No cute little chest plate. If I wanted to transform him I had to go primitive and push the little Powermaster switches with my thumb. He looked pretty dopey in bot mode, with his big empty chest, but the bird mode looked pretty much complete.

And so he stayed in bird mode for a couple of years until I splashed out on a second copy complete with all accessories. Suddenly, that ‘bot mode looked a hell of a lot better, and the whole toy became a lot more satisfying. In fact, it’s a pretty handsome ‘bot mode. That headsculpt is awesome. I loved the unique silhouette that the missile clips on the back of his head gave him. Ever since I got Topspin, way back in ’85, I’ve always loved some ‘antennae’ on a TF helmet. And the whole figure has fantastically heroic proportions. It’s only when I really start to look closely do any flaws jump out, and they’re all in the limbs. From the elbow down those arms are incredibly wimpy looking, all hollowed out with barely formed hands. And the legs look great, but the fact that all the joints only bend outwards really sucks. Unless you like posing your TF’s bowlegged. In which case more power to your elbow!

Of course, with yon ‘bot mode looking cool again the bird mode suddenly looks a bit dorky. That’s maybe a little unfair, as there are lots of cool touches in this, his Decepticon mode. But it is a brick with a bird head, wings, and a pair of bird legs stuck on it. But in all three of those features, there is a ton of detail that elevates the final product, from the scowling headsculpt with its articulated jaw, to the lovingly rendered feathers, to the genuinely inventive leg design. Still a brick, though.

The final, ‘faction neutral’, mode is a bit like the ‘bot mode, in that it looks lame without its essential accessory. But man, when you clip that ICBM into its housing it all suddenly looks rather cool. I mean, don’t squint too hard at it, as you’re going to see all sorts of unsightly kibble in the back, but if you focus on the front it definitely looks cool. And totally Decepticon. I mean, I don’t know who he was trying to fool with a few touches of Autobot red. This guy has a ‘con deco through and through. Specifically the ’88 ‘Con deco, with all that teal and purple. It does make me think about what a pity that Overlord wasn’t released in the west in ’88, as he makes quite the set when placed with this guy and the other two ‘con Powermasters.

I was kinda surprised to see this guy getting the WfC Leader Class treatment. Sure, the price point makes sense in terms of engineering and accessories (though we’ll return to the question of how naughty it is to spread someone’s accessories over different packages), but in terms of status? Bold! It’s not like this guy has become a fan favourite due to recent media exposure or anything.

So, allow me an admission; I have been procrastinating about writing about the ER Doubledealer. I’ve had him for almost 2 months and in that time I’ve leaped at the chance to write up Hubcap, Rotorstorm, Frenzy, and Snapdragon. It’s not just because I seem to have mislaid the instructions (though that has contributed). It’s not just because I wanted to wait until I had Knok and Skar from the Spy Patrol. The truth is I have just struggled to summon any enthusiasm for this figure.

And I think that’s because when I look at this guy I don’t see Doubledealer. This guy looks more like Hammerstein from the A.B.C. Warriors. All barrel chested hench and artillery. For me, Doubledealer was a sleek, yet well armed figure. To see him as puffed up as this just feels a bit weird. And they’ve got rid of that unique silhoutte and left us with something much less distinguished, which I think is a terrible shame.

But all that feels kind of unfair, like I’m judging the figure on my platonic ideal rather than the actual merits of the toy in front of me.

Alright, I’ll give that a punt.

I don’t like it. The chest feels absurdly disproportiante. The legs feel messy and somehow incomplete and the head is tiny incomparison to the rest of him. I’d almost believe Rob Liefield did the concpet sketch if his feet weren’t so big. The arms are well articulated. I’ll give it that much.

Even the weapons frustrate me. The rifle section of the rocket is absrudly long. Like, it’s over half his height. He can’t hold it by his side because it hits the ground. It’s dumb, and not in a an enjoyable way. It also doesn’t peg into his fist very securely. Who’d make such a massive weapon with such a small handle. It’s beguiling!And you can’t get his shoulder mounted missile to sit straight if you want to peg his ramp attachment on this back (like, if you’re the sort of person who gets anxious about a piece like that going astray and wants to keep it on the figure).

I don’t think the bird mode is great either, but I kinda feel like they’ve got one hand tied behind their back in updating this mode. You could try and work some magic to make a bird mode that didn’t look like a brick with a bird head and wings…but would it be Doubledealer (and would it cost the same as Commander. I mean, that’d take some serious engineering budget). So while I feel churlish criticising it, I’d feel more than a wee bit disingenuous giving it a free pass. The good points are the detail and articulation on the head and wings, both of which are done very well indeed. The extra joint in the neck and the articulated jaw do make him fun to pose, and they’ve put real effort in making those wings as expressive as possible. They really didn’t need that extra joint at the tip, but I’m not complaining (about that, at least). But you know, there’s only so much you can polish a brick with a bird’s head and wings sticking out.

Sadly, I find the missile carrier mode to be a kibbley mess. Unlike the original there’s not really one bit you can focus on to guide your eye away from the kibble. Sure, it’s got tires and a cockpit, but other than that it doesn’t look much like an actual vehicle. I think one of the most egregious features is the big gapping hole right at the front. It’s not all bad. I do like the fact you can angle the rocket for varying degrees of launch. But angleable rocket a good mode does not make. I also found getting the legs to to tab just so they form the front of the vehicle to be a pretty joyless faff.

And then we have Knok and Skar! I mean, as individual toys, they’re pretty cute. Skar steals the show, but then that was always going to be the case. The problem is you have to buy a Selects release with a shit version of Frenzy and a lazy repaint of Siege Ratbat. I’ve been appreciative of Hasbro’s approach to Selects and other such exclusives in as much as they’ve given us figures we might not otherwise have got. But this feels less like that and more like cheap exploitation.

I think the thing that disappoints me most about this take on Doubledealer is that…well, he’s such a niche character that it’s probably going to be a long time before we see another take on him. I was 35 when the T:30 version was released. I’m 41 now. I could very conceivably be approaching 50 at the point this guy gets another pass. For the most part, the last six years or so of Generations have trained us to believe that if we don’t like this year’s version of any given character we can probably just a year or so for a new take it. But obviously, it’s not so true for everyone.

So I guess, for better or worse, I’m stuck with this guy.

 

I like CHUG

 

"What I'd like, more than anything, is for us to be friends!"
Away and hang yer laundry, ya big chonk
From 'Spotlight: Hot Rod'