Received my Kingdom Red Alert for ID toys last week. Very nice figure, but I did do some touch ups on the rear lights and vents on the doors. I also added a nicer Autobot symbol on Red Alert's Chest.

I did see the news on the Kapow Toys site about Sandstorm being delayed and no date when it will be available. That was a bummer as I am looking forward to that figure.

 

So here's a genuine criticism of Kingdom Galvatron - his hands. They're well-moulded as hands go, but it grates a little bit that the tooling budget had room for the TWO spaceship guns AND the matrix-onna-chain... but not hands that open like ER Optimus or SS86 Hot Rodney. I would happily have given up the spaceship guns in return for hands that can grasp the matrix properly.

Roll on upgrade kits I suppose, but perhaps I'll wait to do it for the grey version only.

You know, my childhood lego frequently ended up with tooth-marks in from using my stupid gob to prise them apart, but throughout my entire life I never managed to accidentally ingest a single piece. That's got to be an achievement.

You can have your red Mirage AFTER I get my Slapdash.

 

absinthe?

 

I'd like a Xaaron as a new-scale Deluxe. He's meant to turn into a tank, although it doesn't matter much because he hasn't transformed for centuries, so anything yellow would do and we could just say it's been so long everyone forgot what he turns into, including him. Impactor retool without the shoulder-cannon, maybe? Though Impactor was always portrayed as taller, so we'd have to say Xaaron got an upgrade to fix the issues with his old body not transforming. And not because he kicked his secret Nucleon habit at last.  

 

Oh man was this actually a book most people read in the UK? Bringing back memories of my Kindergarten days back in NZ.

So weird to see OZ stuff outside of Australasia.
Like the jarring sensation I get when I see Fosters trying to pretend it's a premier beverage in UK pubs...

 

We are now guaranteed to get Red Mirage first.

Formaldehyde. His designers had it shipped to me.

Although to be fair, his train mode, while not as funny as the above pair of identical portraits, does actually manage to look like a train...or a coach with delusions, maybe; take your pick.  

I definitely read it as a kid, which led to me looking up "what am I?" and then finding that Warblebee was much more sinister than that poor old Bunyip, so it was obvious what transpired.  

 

And they look like they're made out of 2 pieces, too, which seems like a bit more effort than really required for guns I never want to use.
I'll add on a bit of a gripe about the tank treads - clearly some thought went into them to work out how to get them to slide forward and angle... but in robot mode they just seem to get in the way. If they could either slide up a little higher, or telescoped into themselves I'd really prefer it. No idea why they added the tabs to the top of them which lock the arms rotation if you use them- I've even seen people clipping them off to get a little bit more maneuverability in bot mode. They are one of the few parts that are screwed together rather than pinned, so there's maybe some hope someone comes up with a mod/upgrade for those.
Otherwise, once I get him some new shoes, he's pretty great.

 

100% agree on the hands. If it’s any character at all that needed then it’s him, although the fists are alright just wish he had hands that open. It should be a standard on Voyager and above after WFC I think.

Regarding Red Mirage and Slapdash, Hastak are more likely to do Red Mirage first I think  

 

You will be pleased to know that an Aussie colleague made us all do a blind taste-test of Penguins vs. Tim Tams and Tim Tams were triumphantly victorious. We then failed to locate further Tim Tams, so perhaps that was the only packet. I did find a jar of Vegemite in a newsagent in West London, but it had Vegemite in it, so I had to throw it away.   

 

Thanks dude, let me have a look if it is relevant to me and I will shout you,
sorry, I don't get the time to come on here over the weekend, between housework and whatever project I am spending time on at the moment (this week was stripping paint off more WH40K stuff, whoops, melted a jump back pretty badly by leaving it in alcohol for four hours, and also continued sorting of the hoard).

Speaking of the hoard, some very red bits this week.....amongst others, cough, cough...., big red Grim from nice man on here, one step Swipe from the boot, and red Dino from Retroformers, but as usual with me, my favourite bit is a silly little one, the red sword OS Grim is holding here was from the bottom of a box, possibly related to the Hulk Masher I pulled out of it (complete with burger and pizza), but fits Grim absolutely perfectly, even has a little dent either side of the handle for his wrist nubbin!!!

Laters.

 

In fairness, there's not a single person in the country who's taken in by that shit. Fosters is rubbish, like American Budweiser and British Carling. Terrible lager is a game that has no borders.

Absolutely, if only just to spite me. Why do you think there's been no Thunderwing? They know I want one. They know.

There may be other factors which bump up the cost - small, intricate parts maybe? - but making hands from two pieces of plastic and a metal pin can't be THAT much more difficult than a single piece, surely?

In general, while the quality of figures in general improved during WFC, I feel like the hand game went downhill for the most part. We're back to solid blocks with cylindrical holes drilled through. Back in the first years of Generations most of them were at the least moulded like proper hands, and some could open and close. (Straxxus!)

 

Red Mirage with silver or red Mirage with gold? I'm quite partial to the gold.

 

One of these.





https://www.amazon.com/Marvel-Thor-Hammer-Officially-Licensed/dp/B07BZY9C9H

Got it ages ago when they were first released. Works great as a 'grab and go' toolbox as it can do most small jobs.

 

Maybe if we are lucky, Mirage will become the new Sideswipe.

 

Happy Birthday

 

I'm planning to customise Siege Mirage into the red version (with toy face) as soon as I have his Kingdom toy in hand. So, sods law means they'll bring out an official Selects version!

 

It ought to be chromed for the correct effect, so I'm going to say silver as it'll look better when it's just plastic or paint. A G1-colours, non-transparent, toy-head Mirage too please, and of course Gatorage must also come to pass.  

I'd really like an updated Magnificus from SS86 Percy. **Hasbro cackles and phones the factory to cancel the planned retool, re-releases Deluxe Thunderwing in Slapdash colours, says "foolish fans, you cannot outwit Rhode Island so easily!"**

Brilliant, that ought to do it! And we'll be able to look at pics of your custom while waiting for our Selects orders to arrive.  

 

Not yet, Hasbro haven't even officially announced wwave 4 yet (though we have seen the artwork for Waspinator, Pipes, Slammer and Shadow Panther and reviews for Waspy and Tigatron)

 

I know Pipes is a Huffer retool, but I really want to see how he turns out. I wonder if he’ll get two of the Cliffjumper blasters for his arm guns rather than a new weapon. I could see them giving him Huffers gun tbh…

I really want to see how Slammer turns out as well.

 

Well after 14 years of both putting it off until 2016 then having on and off lessons, failing 3 times and feeling like I'll never do it I'm delighted to say I've got back on it this year and finally passed my driving test!

Doesnt seem real honestly, over the moon.

Still can't quite beleive it