LOL, not the best photos but this was good enough to sell it on eBay lol

 

Damn, I bought that Megatron back when it was released and sold it unfortunately. What a cool repaint. I’d still love to see that lava Megatron repaint that was floating around. I would pick that up in a heartbeat.

 

A couple of bros (btw I'm loving this thread, it's so chill and it's awesome to see other people's figures)

 

I was inspired to take Dinobot photos after reading a conversation with fans asking for their reissue. It’s crazy that in 2022, fans are still asking for Dinobot reissues! Not to say they would sell well or recoup their production costs, but that reissue window is closing if you ask me. Make it happen Hasbro! I can’t imagine the vintage community is growing with every passing year.

My two cents, a reissue would be nice because the Dinobots have some fragile pieces (looking at you Swoop).

Starting the photos off with G1 Snarl. Of the five, Snarl is my favorite because the toy was indestructible ! I never owned all five Dinobots growing up but between my cousins and I, we did! Every Dinobot broke except Snarl lol.
Quick question, during transformation, was the tail always hard to bend in? I felt like I had to wiggle mine in if that makes sense.

 

I love Swoop the character but his toy is super delicate. I can’t imagine transforming or moving him that much in the future.

Swoop’s beak and landing gear are common breaking points; thankfully, I’m sure anyone could find 3D printed replacements at this stage. Can verify, we broke maybe 3 of these growing up lol.

Also, I learned maybe five years ago that Swoop’s arms can extend! I thought Swoop was similar to Astrotrain where it only looks like his arms can extend but they really can!

 

On a side note, to those with vintage G1 boxes, are you putting them in any type of protection?

I bought these massive AFA Acrylic boxes during a Black Friday sale years ago to protect my signed G1 Prime and Megatron but they are expensive…. Wasn’t sure if anyone found a cheaper option?

 

I worked in the art industry for 10 years and what I can tell you is that any and all of the paper cardboard those boxes are made of are by their nature acidic and cheaply made.
As I am sure you are aware, sunlight is your worst enemy but none of the materials the boxes are made of are archival in any way. All you can hope to do is slow down the fading. So imo simply keep them out of the sun. The boxes I have are stored on a shelf that is out of direct sunlight.

 

Thanks for try tip! I have all my boxes stored in a closet because I don’t have the display space at this time until the move.

 

Time for Slag! At a point in time, I wanted boxed American and Japanese Dinobots but I never finished buying them lol. I ended up with three American Dinobots (Grimlock, Snarl, and Swoop) and two Japanese (Slag and Sludge).

Differences I notice, could just be me but I feel like the missiles work a lot better on the Japanese copies. Not sure if that is in my head or true.

 

No, you’re absolutely correct. Hasbro used weaker springs than Takara in G1, and ended up removing them altogether for any and all reissues.

 

Swoop and Snarl were the only Dinobots I had as a kid. Of course my Swoop had a broken beak, but Snarl was a tough one. I think one of his back leg tabs was broken, but that’s a fragile part so it’s sort of expected. I loved those two toys and really used them a lot when playing.

 

Pretender Beasts Chainclaw and Carnivac

 

I don't know why but I've always wanted the Pretender Beasts to be reissued. More than any other Pretenders.

 

Takara Sludge! If you are interested in vintage, boxed Takara figures for your collection, they are pricy but worth it. With Hasbro figures, that bubble is a pain to position depending on how it was cut. Also, many figures have a secondary plastic tray/holder to position the figure.

Takara’s G1 run has styrofoam and it’s glorious! Hahaha.

 

It’s that time again, time to remind people that Gunrunner exists for some reason.

I only have Catilla, but the Beasts are the Pretenders I want a complete set of most, aside from the Monsters.

Even more than the Pretender Vehicles?!  

 

Guess I will call this my October Halloween project...building an Overlord, Frankenstein style!

Overlord used to always be just out of my reach financially. Finding one without broken panels or missing cones and accessories for cheap just wasn't an option. But I decided to think outside the box to achieve what I wanted.

First: I purchased an Overlord "body". Intact chest panels were key, but ended up being real hard to find. I got lucky that this one had the wings intact also. Cost: $50



Second: I purhased the tank (legs) and small jet separately for $20-25 each. Bummed the tank didn't have the shield cover but I can get that later. Cost $45



Third: At first I didn't know if I would ever be able to get the knee pad shields, gun or shoulder cones. They are very expensive on eBay. But luckily I found some 3D printed versions!

Colors are not perfect but considering they were a fraction of what each of these pieces seem to go for, I was all in. Added some Overlord labels via Toyhax and we were ready to build him! Cost: $90



Cleaned the parts up, soaked the white and gray parts in hydrogen peroxide, added stickers...and now I finally have a G1 Overlord for under $200 that I'm happy with and will look nice on display with my other G1 figures.



"Rise, Frankenlord!"

 

I've said before, if I was starting over with collecting from scratch, Takara boxes with Styrofoam would be how I'd do it. They just look amazing.

 

And the last one! Grimlock! This is the figure you wanted, but you ended up with Twin Twist because it was the only Transformer available (I know it happened to me lol).


As a whole, I think the Dinobots are probably one of the best sets in the original line. I’d personally love a reissue (going back full circle). These old figures are nice but I’d love a fresh set to manipulate.

 

Hey does anyone have any tips for tightening the shoulders on a G1 Wheeljack?