Big Angry Trev discusses the beautiful wonderful world of Transformers!
Due to people really enjoying the written review I did showcasing the differences (were there any?) between the Legends and Titans Return versions of Trypticon, I have followed it up with a short video comparison of the two – enjoy!
Related Articles:
Toy Review: LG43 Trypticon vs Titans Return Trypticon
Transformatorium: Titans Return Trypticon – the simple hip fix!
When I wrote the comparison blog between Takra Tomys Unite Warriors Computron and Hasbro’s Combiner Wars Computron it took me about two days to take all the pictures, write up all the subtle differences and overall decide which set was better.
With Legends Trypticon and Titans Return Trypticon? I should be done by the end of the commercial break.
Here is a comparison of the boxes, the boxes are indeed different.
Here are the instructions for the Legends version that have a comic on the back. That’s kinda different.
Here are the sticker sheets. The stickers are exactly the same, though I suppose the size of the sheet they come on is different, I guess.
The way the Legends version and the Titans Return version have been strapped in their boxes is different in layout I suppose.
Now to Trypticon himself, the differences are…. they are…. um….
The differences are non-existent!
That’s right kiddies – there is absolutely no difference between the two versions – none! All the things you may have previously been lead to believe, such as the teal was darker and the purple richer in the Legends version are not correct. That the paint apps are built in and you don’t have to apply stickers like the Hasbro version – false. The only way I could keep the two from getting mixed up when taking photographs was that I had already applied some of the stickers to the Titans Return version. The same goes for their smaller partners.
In the end I didn’t even bother transforming the Legends version. I packed it straight back in its box and am going to carefully store it for a decade so hopefully I can in the future sell it (and make back the extra $80 I paid getting it shipped from Japan) as relatively MIB. In a day and age where toy producers are conscious that some collectors will shell out big money for multiple versions of an expensive toy for even the slightest difference, I was honestly surprised there was none here. Not even an extra gun like Metroplex or a new hat like Malibu Stacy!
Is one worth getting over the other? Nope. The only thing is that some of the Titans Return versions have the dodgy hips (for an excellent way to fix that see HERE) whereas none of the LG43 versions have had that problem reported as yet. So if the fact you don’t have to worry about this possible defect is worth the extra costs of shipping to you then grab that one. Otherwise, unless you are rolling in cash and want to have both types of box to display, go down to your local toy store and grab the Hasbro one.
Got something to add? Would love to read it in the comments section below!
Related Articles:
Transformatorium: Titans Return Trypticon – the simple hip fix!
Video: Comparison of LG43 and Titans Return Trypticon
Fanscan Interview: August 2017
Subject: Big Angry Trev
Interviewer: Dr. Hook, PhD, OBE, FIBRIR
Master of Processes: Mr. S Megatron
Dr. H: (takes a seat) Thank you for joining me here today.
BAT: (takes the seat opposite) No probs.
Dr. H: Care for a water? Or tea?
BAT: Na. Got any beer? Maybe some jerky or a couple of rissoles?
Dr. H: Er… no.
BAT: I take it a fried egg & bacon sandwich is out of the question?
Dr. H: We have no meat or alcohol on the premises
BAT: Shit, really? Don’t worry then
Dr. H: Ok, we are going to go through some of what are referred to as the ‘stock’ questions, then some questions from some of the Aussie Transfans out there.
BAT: (leans back) Go for it.
Dr. H: Getting straight onto the topic of Transformers, if you had an Allegiance, what would it be?
BAT: Decepticon. I find humanity for the most part to be made up of fricken idiots! I’d love to rule the planet and thusly run it the way I think it needs to be run, under the threat of force from my giant army of killer shape-changing robots from space!
Dr. H: (Underlines ‘messiah complex‘) What would your techspec motto be?
BAT: All shall love me and despair
Dr. H: You stole that from LOTR didn’t you.
BAT: (shrugs) Don’t give a f*ck – always really loved that phrase.
Dr. H: Which existing, official Transformers character best describes you?
BAT: Back in my hippy/backpacker years I would have said Beachcomber. When I was a brash young man I would have said Hot Rod. Now, I dunno, I guess maybe Brainstorm from The Lost Light? Good deep down but a smart arse, slightly amoral and thinks he is more intelligent than everyone else. Chuck in a bit of Whirl psychoticness for good measure andSwerve’s obsessive need to amuse in the hope he will be accepted by his peers.
Dr. H: Which special ability of any Transformers character would you want to have for yourself?
BAT: Blurr’s super speed, I reckon that beats almost every other power if you are too fast to stop or hit. But since I’ve been a kid I’ve dreamed about flying. To have personal flight like the G1 cartoon Cons (a Disney-Movieesque sparkle enters his eyes), what freedom that would be!
Dr. H: How would you rate yourself on a C scale, C10 being MISB Mint perfection to the lowest C1 ‘junker not worth it even for parts’?
BAT: For a long time I’ve felt like C3 at best. In the past few months with no booze, smokes and energy drinks I reckon I’d be a C7 or 8. Or as close to as someone my age can be. I’ve lost nearly 10 kilos and do physical work all day with breaking nary a sweat.
Dr. H: How long have you been a fan of Transformers?
BAT: Since the very first episode aired on TV here in Australia back in 1984 – love at first sight!
Dr. H: And how long have you been a collector?
BAT: As a kid you just take what toys you are given so I reckon I started being a ‘collector’ as a teenager. I started collecting a lot of the reissues that I had originally missed like the combiner groups and stopped when G1 finished. I then started collecting again when a friend gave me a G1 Optimus for my first wedding in 2001 and have been going ever since.
Dr. H: Do you think you will collect Transformers until you die?
BAT: Is that a threat?! (smashes bottle on side table and brandishes it) IS THAT A THREAT YOU FILTHY BASTARD?!?!
Dr. H: (looking shocked and slightly disgusted) No! Now sit down sir.
BAT: F*CK YOU!
Dr. H: I SAID SIT DOWN SIR!
BAT: (sits, looking properly chastised) Ok, no need to be snippy.
Dr. H: Ahem. Now. Do people outside of the general Transformers fandom know you collect TFs?
BAT: (grinning again) Oh my yes, have you seen my ute?
Dr. H: Were your family/parents supportive of collecting toys or did you have to hide your passion from them and friends?
BAT: Mum ran a little toy shop so during my teens I got all my TF’s at cost price. I vaguely remember her being annoyed once when I bought my 3rd pack of Micromasters in the one fortnight. Dad, well, Dad stayed on the farm all his life and had a few issues so to be honest probably couldn’t have told you what I collected, since if it wasn’t related to the farm he wasn’t interested. My friends have always been really supportive of my collecting as an adult.
Dr. H: Given your rather gregarious nature, have you attended any fan-meets, Fairs, Conventions etc?
BAT: When I lived in Melbourne I used to go to Supernova each year but was never aware of any Transformer-specific events.
Dr. H: Being creative, do you do any such endeavors with Transformers such as drawing, writing, customising etc?
BAT: I used to write fanfics about 15 years ago. My Soundwave vs The Borg one was the top rated on Lexicon for quite a while. But no, not really, except for reviews on my blog.
Dr. H: What is your favourite series, era or year, and why?
BAT: I’m a geewunner through and through. I have enjoyed pretty much all the iterations of the Transformers, even the movies, but G1 wins hands down for me.
Dr. H: And your least favourite series/era/year, and why?
BAT: I really didn’t like the first Robots in Disguise series back in the naught-ies. I found the cartoon awful and while many of the toys alt-modes looked fantastic – the best I’d seen since early G1 – I found the majority of the toys had needlessly complicated transformations, especially the 3 Autobot brothers.
Dr. H: Do you collect any of the comics?
BAT: I’ve collected most everything from the Marvel G2 run onwards and have since gotten a lot of reissues of the Marvel G1 ones.
Dr.H: And what have been your favorite comic stories?
BAT: I really loved the first half of the IDW ‘All Hail Megatron’ storyline. It was great to see how easily the Decepticons handed humanity their arse! I quite liked the Sunstorm story arc from Dreamwave and am currently enjoying MTMTE/The Lost Light. And since they were the first comics I ever owned the entire run of, I really enjoyed the G2 twelve-parter, even if the second and third issues were pretty weak.
Dr. H: Collect any cartoons?
BAT: (looks up a pic on his phone and holds it up smugly) You tell me doc.
Dr. H: Er, yes, well done. Do you have a favorite cartoon or episode?
BAT: G1 is da bomb baby. Do people still say that? F*ck it – I’m bringing it back! The mutha-f*cking bomb yo! Optimus Prime actually sounded happy and used to laugh back then! Call of the Primitives was an awesome episode from season 3 but I could happily watch nothing but seasons 1 & 2 for the rest of my days.
Dr. H: Who is your favourite character, and why?
BAT: Aw man, that’s like asking a guy to pick his favorite kid again. Don’t have an absolute favorite but I really dig Soundwave, Swindle, Shockwave, Starscream, Grimlock, Hot Rod, Omega Supreme, etc.
Dr. H: Who do you think is the sexiest Transformer?
BAT: (looks aghast) Dude. They are giant alien robots. There is nothing sexy going on.
Dr. H: I took the liberty of looking at your blog before this interview started. Care to explain this image from one of your reviews then?
BAT: I..I like to have a comfortable mousepad for my wrist is all.
Dr. H: So why did you need two?
BTT: I’ve…. got two wrists?
Dr. H: (sotto voce) And I bet they both get worn out pretty often.
BAT: What was that?
Dr. H: Nothing.
Dr. H: Which Transformers character would you want to exist for real?
BAT: Omega Supreme. Always loved him, plus he is big enough to intimidate entire countries and get me off planet if needs be.
Dr. H: Favourite TFs movie?
BAT: The animated one from 86’ – I can recite every word off by heart and have the soundtrack in my twincab CD player permanently.
Dr. H: Which was your very first Transformers toy?
BAT: G1 Dirge. Got given it for my birthday from a lady my mum used to babysit for. I went that nuts that when it was Xmas the next month I scored both a Mirage and a Cyclonus from my siblings.
Dr. H: Given you have been collecting for over 30 years then, approximately how many Transformer action figures in your collection now?
BAT: I haven’t done a database update for a while but I know earlier in the year I passed the 2000 mark. And I’ve got about a thousand other TF items like clothing, books, mugs and stuff.
Dr. H: Do you keep the action figures sealed or do you take them out to play with?
BAT: I reckon I’ve got maybe 100+ that have never been opened. Half of those would be because I never got around to it, like a lot of the DOTM Human Alliance toys.
Dr. H: Given your impressive collection, how much do you think you’ve spent on your collecting habit all up?
BAT: Oh f*ck knows – thousands, probably tens of thousands all up.
Dr. H: Are any of these particularly rare or expensive?
BAT: The MP Coneheads were stupidly expensive. I spent about $500 on a MIB G1 Scorponok about 5 years ago and over a grand on a 100% complete G1 Fortress Maximus the year before that. Of course 5 months later they announced the reissue that was going for a quarter of that price – was kicking myself. Also got the Botcon Stunticon lot shipping as we speak. As for rare, I do have a G1 Bumblebee red-variant somewhere.
Dr. H: What interesting Licensed Merchandise items do you have?
BAT: I have a tshirt from the actual visual effects team from the first live action movie. An American mate of mine had a friend who worked on TF1 and he passed it along. I’ve also got Big Grim from TF4 as well of course, though he is currently awaiting repair.
Dr. H: What’s one toy you most want?
BAT: One? Bwah haha! You are joking mate – there are bloody tons! If I was to make up a list off the top of my head though from different continuities I’d say:
G1 Overlord
G2 Megatron
BW Blackarachnia
BM Obsidian
RID(01) Scourge
Armada Powerlink Thrust
Energon Beachcomber & Galvatron
Cybertron Skywarp
Animated Blackout & Ratbat
Prime Bludgeon
RID(15) Cyclonus
RescueBots Salvage
Movieverse TLK Leader Megatron
Timelines Slicer
Henkei Ratchet
Arms Micron Breakdown
Titanium Prowl
Dr. H: Whoah – that’s quite a list! I can’t believe you came up with that off the top of your head! One would almost think you Googled the toylines in advance in anticipation of my question.
BAT: (looking shifty) Na, I wouldn’t do that. Hey look over there – that wall is pretty rockin eh!
Dr. H: Moving on. What is the current centerpiece or favoured toy in your collection at the moment?
BAT: Titans Return Trypticon with G1 Overdrive an honorable second.
Dr. H: What was your favourite toy in your early years of collecting?
BAT: As a young kid it was the Stunticons as it was the only combiner group I had.
Dr. H: Which Toy do you like transforming most and why?
BAT: The reissue Powermaster Optimus Prime. That’s so much fun and so satisfying.
Dr. H: What’s the worst toy in your collection?
BAT: RescueBots Quickshadow – what a f*cking piece of shit! Only one damn movement to transform and it still f*cks up!
Dr. H: Along those lines, which toy was most disappointing when you got it?
BAT: Masterpiece Star Saber. Paid a ton for it and its just such an underwhelming toy.
Dr.H: What do you think about gimmicky and non-convertable Transformers toys?
BAT: I have almost zero interest in toy gimmicks, like I’d probably be happier if a lot of the Titans Return toys were not Headmasters. As for non-convertible, if it’s a display piece like a bust or statuette that’s cool, otherwise I don’t see the point of them. I do have most of the Robot Heroes though and love those little guys!
Dr. H: What do you think about unlicensed fan-project figures and accessories?
BAT: I don’t touch’em usually. I got an upgrade kit for my CW Menasor because frankly he looked shit compared to the other gestalts. I also picked up some 3P Quintessons simply as otherwise I’d have no toy of them at all.
Dr. H: Thoughts on the Transformers Brand over the last five years?
BAT: Pretty damn good – it’s an awesome time to be a collector, even if it hits the wallet pretty hard. The Beast Hunters cartoon and the Generations toyline are the definite highlights of the last half decade. The fact we have had two high-grossing live action movies bodes damn well for the franchise as well.
Dr. H: Best Memory with Transformers?
BAT: I’m forming new ones with my son every week.
Dr. H: Worst memory with Transformers?
BAT: When I was a kid I scored Omega Supreme because I literally got down on my knees and begged when I saw him in the shop on a family holiday. A few weeks later the movement gimmick of him stopped working and my mum returned him. A few days after that I was telling a mate at school and he said “Why didn’t you just keep it anyway?” It was such an obvious thing to do, I was kicking myself! Think I even went away and had a little cry.
These days it’s all the fighting and negativity that seems to permeate the fanbase. People seem to think that making personal insults to strangers, over something like a difference of opinion about toys, is fine because its online. My motto: ‘If you wouldn’t say it to someone in the pub because you’d get a smack in the mouth – don’t say it online!’
Dr. H: In your opinion, which single TF toy should every fan own?
BAT: There are two, both masterpiece. MP Optimus with the trailer and MP Soundwave with the cassettes.
Dr. H: Which Transformers toy/product would you give as a wedding present?
BAT: I got a G1 Optimus for my first wedding and was thrilled, can’t think of a better one to give anyone else.
Dr. H: Do you collect anything else?
BAT: During the post-G1 years I collected memorabilia from the TV show Home Improvement. Clothing, mugs, board games, trading cards – the lot! A few years ago I was collecting anime figures like Super Sonico & Pochaco but it was cutting too much into my Transformers budget and stopped.
Dr. H: (subtly Googles ‘Pochaco’ on his phone, then writes under the other observations ‘probable mazophiliac’) What other interests do you have that are non-toy related?
BAT: Mainly hobby farming. For every minute I spend playing with my Transformers I probably spend a full day working on my farm. Everything from building cubby houses, pirate ships and sandpits for my kids to organically growing fruit, vegetables and the like. I have goats, chooks, ducks etc. I really do love living on a farm in the nice, quiet, beautiful countryside and growing plants and animals. I’ve quit teaching to see if I can make a go of it as a living.
Other stuff? Well I love meat – like I REALLY love meat! My wife was a vegetarian when I first met her 15 years ago – didn’t take me long to lure her back to the winning side. I intend to start making my own sausages soon as well as brewing my own beer.
I’m a big fan of Deadpool and also The Tick.
I’d say my family but that’s not an interest – that’s my reason for existence.
Dr. H: What entertainment do you enjoy for leisure? As in music, movies, tv, books and the like?
BAT: When it comes to music I don’t give a damn what is popular or what genre it is, it’s whether I personally like it. So back in the day I was just as likely to listen to The Spice Girls as I was hard rock. If I have a particular genre I like best it’s probably Speed Metal. The best way to describe it is, if the song makes me want to charge into battle and headbutt a tank then that’s the music for me! If I have a favorite band at the moment I’d say it is Baby Metal. What it will be in 6 months I honestly don’t know. Quite like Hilltop Hoods, Rammstein and The Wombats as well. Best show I’ve seen live was the Jon Butler Trio a few years back.
Movies, my tastes are fairly wide but generally action and/or comedy are the ones that appeal to me. A good sci-fi/horror gets my vote as well. Anything that talks about feelings – no thank you! Anything animated – yes please! I don’t watch movies that much because frankly you can figure out the plot and the probable ending in the first 5 mintues of a flick these days. I really liked Seven because it didn’t have a happy ending.
Television, I don’t really watch much as I’m an outdoors person and of a night we have the kids routine to work through. The shows I make time for would be Criminal Minds, Law & Order SVU & Mad as Hell. Just finished season 2 of Arrow. My fav show at the moment would be Rick & Morty – it’s awesome! I’m really hoping the new version of The Tick does justice to such a great character. The only reality TV show I’d ever watch would be if it chronicled me hunting down the f*cker that invented reality TV in the first f*cking place and shoving a movie camera forcibly up his bastard arse! Stupid f*cking shit that it is!
Books, don’t have much time for sadly which is a shame because I’ve always been a prolific reader. I enjoy reading classics that I’ve never encountered before, the latest one would be The Day of the Triffids and before that it was Animal Farm and One flew over the Cuckoos Nest. I’ve read the Discworld series to death and when younger used to read Footrot Flatsover and over. I like Deadpool comics as well.
Dr. H: If you died today, and no that’s not a threat, what would your tombstone say?
BAT: Realistically, and most accurately, probably ‘Loving Husband and Father’. But I wouldn’t mind it saying ‘Trev’s on his way – duck and cover God!’
Dr. H: And before we move onto the submitted questions from other Aussie Transfans, is there anything else you would like people to know about you?
BAT: Not really, I’m a very private person.
Dr. H: Yes, evidently so.
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Question by Bas
 Did you really get shitty at the thought of Prime being a primate?
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Question by ‘The Raider’
Monkey or Truck? 😛
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BAT: Ok, let’s put this Beast Wars thing to rest once and for all.
My G1 collecting massively slowed down in the late 80’s as the majority of the Decepticons became weird monster things rather than vehicles. A few monsters and animals I didn’t mind being in there for variety and loved groups like the Dinobots and Predacons, but it was getting too much by 1988 and taking up too much of the line. Hence why I had groups like the Triggercons but not the Decepticon Headmasters. Then came the Pretenders and I absolutely hated them – organic shells seemed so stupid! Where were the armies of giant robots that turned into jets and trucks and sports cars and stuff that I fell in love with in 84’? So my collecting slowly died and I bid Transformers what I thought was a final sad farewell, with the Predator team being the last lot I collected that I really liked.
Animorphs came and went which I didn’t even credit as being Transformers. Then one day in 1996 I was flicking channels and there was some talking rat who looked up to a gorilla standing next to him and called him ‘Optimus’. What. The. F*ck!? I watched a bit more and found out that THIS was the new version of Transformers and that Optimus turned into a gorilla and Megatron turned into a T-Rex and both they and their armies were all really small and had organic alt-modes now. Also they were called Maximals and Predacons instead of Autobots and Decepticons which seemed to be just a bunch of new-age bollocks.
It was blasphemy! It was bullshit! It was a kick in the face to everything I had loved about the franchise! I was beyond pissed off and ranted, usually over several beers at the Uni pub, that this was everything that was wrong with the world and they might as well start dropping the bloody nukes right now!
Of course many years later on I learned better. I learned that these were not the original Optimus and Megatron and that the series actually paid a lot of homage to G1 and was a continuation of it rather than a replacement. Then came Transmetal bodies, The Ark, appearances by Ravage etc and I got right into it. So now I have the DVD box sets, a couple of toys, some comics, a poster etc. Yeah it’s not my favorite iteration of Transformers, not even in my top 5. But I can appreciate it for what it is and there are some episodes from late in S3 I’d happily watch again and again. I really like Depthcharge and have a soft spot for Waspinator.
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Question by Scott
So I hear you’re the current Ozformers Member of the Year (2016). The website owner has held this prominent position for many a years. Do you think the voters got ‘boss fatigue’ & voted for a non-traditional member? (just like Donald Trump for the White House)
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BAT: I am nothing like Trump!
I don’t think I was Boss fatigue per’se, it was just a bit of fun to vote for someone different. In fact I think he himself had been encouraging people for years to not vote for him. If there is any element of what you are suggesting involved, at most it may be that the site owner is often forced into the teacher role trying to control peoples behavior whereas I’m often at the other end of the spectrum in the naughty-scamp role, stirring shit hither and yon.
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Question by Scott
The elections on that site are always shrouded in mud slinging & dirty campaign tactics but never get the light of day. Can you give an insight on how your campaign team was so overwhelmingly successful to achieve 29% of all primary votes.
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BAT: It was all a bit of fun really. I Give all the credit to Scotty for doing campaign art!
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Question by Megatran
You’ve got more Transformers apparel than most people. Which Transformers apparel are you most fond of? How’d it come into your possession?
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BAT: Well I already talked about the tshirt from the visual effects team. I’ve got a light-up Autobot tshirt somewhere that I like for the novelty value and about 8 different G1 Soundwave tops. I think my favorite one at the moment is my Optimus one where he is a Truck because of the message on it.
It’s not remotely PC which always gets my vote but also is self-mocking via the fact that anyone wearing a Transformers tshirt in public is actually very unlikely to be mobbed by the opposite sex.
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Question by Michael
My question: It’s no secret you have young kids. What do you do (if anything) to pass the torch of TF fanship to the next generation? Is it a concern for you if they decide to not pursue TFs as a hobby/interest?
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BAT: Well considering my sons given names the poor little sod never had much of a chance to avoid the Transformers world. He truly loves it though and to be honest sharing it with him is now the highlight of the hobby for me! I never open a new toy without him and he loves putting the trading cards in my folder, holding the Titan Masters and weapons while I transform the figures and playing with them in both modes. He has a pretty extensive collection for a 4 year old, with the majority of the Rescue Bots, a lot of the Happy Meal figures and a few huge figures like the Stomp’n’Chomp Grimlock and RID(15) Bumbebee. He’s got tons of TF clothing himself as I buy it for him whenever I see it.
I have a crate up in the cupboard full of Transformer stuff for him for future birthdays, many based around his namesake.
My daughter has not fully escaped either. At only two years of age I’m getting her right into my little pony and even made a display of TF/MLP comic crossover covers for her wall.
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Question by JUST CHILEN YO
If you could go back in time to collect a MISB Transformer, either Hasbro or TakTom, what would it be?
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Back in May we had a look at the two first wrist-rest mouse pads made with a Transformers theme, those being modeled after Acree and Windblade respectively.
Most people, whether they liked them or were horrified by them, were none the less fascinated and speculated whether there would be any more. Now a few months later we have our answer. Another femmebot has let her form grace the pad so that Transfans and netnerds everywhere can click away without thier poor wrists getting sore, that femmebot being Elita One.
Elita One is looking just as buxom as her femmebot comrades here. Once again we have the soft silicone at the bottom that feels quite smooth to the touch and the top gives you plenty of room to manuver your mouse around when you are looking up websites about, er, morality and self-denial.
I actually do really like the artwork here. There hasn’t been a massive amount of artwork of Elita One. She has been in IDW for the past couple of years as a warrior space captain, often depicted with her damaged helmet and sitting upon her throne made up of the skeletal remains of the previous ships leaders. Even without the ‘wrist rest’ parts this is a far softer depiction of her and a nice change of pace.
But of course all the rationalization in the world wont get you away from the fact that this is a booby-pad – designed to appeal to a combination of Transfan and Mazophiliac. Once again, you can leave it in the packaging so that you can hang it on the walls to impress your friends and family if you wish.
Related Article: Transformers Wrist Rest Mouse Pads
Competition Time!
When the first two of these mouse pads appeared online a lot of people speculated which character would come next, the majority believing it would be Beast Wars Blackarachnia, especially given her comic art from her Legends toy. But since we got Elita One instead we are back to wondering – who will be next?
Here is the competition. In the comments section below list 5 femmebots you would like to see given the wrist-rest mouse pad treatment. If your list of 5 turn out to be the next five made, even if not in the same order, you win a prize! I’ll sort out the prizes when the time comes since it will depend on how many winners there are and what – heh – what could be considered acceptable in their households, but it will definitely be femmebot related.
Competition Update: Well done to Jazzcomp, Raider, DH, MayzaPrime, David, Jazz1984 & Kaijuguy. Blackarachnia was the next Mouse Pad released so you are all still in the running for a prize! Hopefully there wont be such a delay before the next Mouse Pad is released.
Until that day, Until all look like Elita One – happy clicking!
Trypticon – the big bad! The latest Titan Figure for the Titans Return line and the biggest Decepticon toy ever created!
However this titan has a titanic problem – his hips!
Though they are cropping up far less (still occasionally however) in later waves, the first batch of this toy came with some major issues that were in turn causing major damage to a pretty expensive toy. These problems were:
1: The springs in the hips were far too strong and causing damage to the workings inside.
2: The teeth on the ratchet system for the hips were too big and would more often than not lock together instead of sliding over one another.
There have been quite a few fixes to these problems crop up on various Transformer sites and youtube. These have ranged from cutting the springs in half to address the strength issue to filing down the teeth of the ratchet. Some people have even removed the spring and half the ratchet altogether and replaced them with cardboard disks in order to turn the hips into a swivel system.
Well I am here to give you what I believe is the easiest answer to the spring and ratchet problems and guess what? No cutting, filing or permanent removal of parts is necessary! Follow the below instructions and your Trypticon will be ready to start smashing bots instead of his own hips in no time!
Before I start I would like to thank Grant in Blacktown and Michael in Melbourne for this. Grant was the one who came across the method of fixing the spring and Michael created the solution to the ratchet teeth issue. Well done guys – you both rock!
Tools:
1 Screwdriver
1 Pair of Scissors
1 Marker Packet
1 Black Marker
Method:
Step 1: Remove Trypticon from his box. Note that his legs come unattached. Do not attach them yet. Even if you believe your Trypticon may be one of the ones sans the spring/ratchet issues I recommend being safe rather than sorry. Use scissors to cut the ties and take out the legs.
Step 2: Take your screwdriver and remove the two screws from the teal bracket. Loosen the 3rd screw on top and remove the bracket completely.
Step 3: Remove the two screws from the black ratchet cover. Be ready because the ratchet is underneath and the pressure from the overpowered spring will launch it sky high if you let it. Have a finger ready to suppress its firing.
Step 4: Remove the two parts of the ratchet and the spring. Now do the same for the second leg. You should end up with a bunch of parts looking like this:
Step 5: Now to solving the problem. First the spring. No need to cut it, all you need to do is squeeze it. 10 minutes of compressing and relaxing the spring in your hand will take a bunch of the tension out of it. Do one spring for 10 minutes and then see if it feels weaker than the spring you haven’t touched yet. If so then you have done it right. Personally I find watching an episode of Rick & Morty to be a good timer. Half way through the episode change to the second spring. Yes your fingers will get a tad tired (if you are a hardcore Transfan you have probably spent a hefty period of your life doing repetitive hand movements anyway) but persevere. Once done replace the springs.
Step 6: Take your marker and draw an outline of the smaller ratchet piece on the plastic. Then cut it out with your scissors. Repeat. This should leave you with two thin, malleable plastic dics.
Step 7: Take one plastic disk and put it on the smaller ratchet piece. Then place the larger one on top. The teeth of the ratchet will mush it into place where it will provide that bit less friction for the ratchets future operation. Repeat with the second ratchet.
Step 8: Place the ratchet back on top of the spring and push down into place. Put the ratchet cover over the ratchet and tighten the screws. Reassemble the teal piece over the top making sure that the side with the 3rd screw hole is facing towards the back of Trypticon’s legs – it does make a difference when attaching to the main body.
Step 9: Attach the legs to the side of the body. Rotate head and arms and stand up.
Step 10:
Go play with your awesome new toy without fear of it breaking itself!
And that’s it! As stated – no cutting, filing or permanent removal of parts necessary. Once again, many thanks to Grant and Michael. I got my Trypticon the day he came out in Australia which almost garunteed he was one of the faulty batch and thusly I had been afraid to open him. Now I can have some worry-free, titan-sized fun, as can you!
Got any other tips on how to fix a faulty Trypticon? Write them in the comments section below!
Related Articles:
Toy Review – LG43 Trypticon vs Titans Return Trypticon
Video: Comparison of LG43 Trypticon and Titans Return Trypticon
In Part 1 of Moving your Transformers Collection we looked at packing your Transformer collection safely in order to get it ready to move to its new home. In part two we are going to look at the moving itself. What method you use will depend on whether you are moving yourself or having movers do it for you.
If Hiring Movers
If Moving Yourself
Keep a Record of your Collection
If you have a large enough collection, you might not notice until it’s too late that somehow a rare and tiny Arms Micron or Decepticon Cassette got left behind. To try and remedy this do a thorough check at both ends that all your pieces are present and correct. However if even this is too time consuming at least have a complete list of your action figures so that you can make an insurance claim. I do this in two ways:
By following the advice given in part one regarding sorting and packing along with the advice imparted above regarding the actual move, you stand a damn good chance of getting all your Autobuddies and Deceptipals to their destination without a single bot getting lost or damaged. It may never be a stress-free experience (moving never is) but at least you won’t lie awake at night wondering if Springer’s Sword is lying on a roadside somewhere. Good luck!
Got any extra advice to add to that above? Would love to read it in the comments section below!
Here we are – the fifth installment of the live-action Transformers movie franchise.
These movies have caused a lot of debate over the years. Many of the critics and your more traditional Transformer fans have hated them – citing such things as poor plots, juvenile jokes and lack of characterization. However the general public has loved them – all four previous movies still remaining in the top 100 highest grossing movies of all time.
So will Transformers: The Last Knight fare any better than the previous four with the die-hards? Let’s find out!
Oh, and SPOILER ALERT! This is a movie review – so if you haven’t seen the flick yet and don’t want to know what happens, read no further (but please do come back after watching I implore you).
This movie picks up not long after the events of Transformers 4, and unlike that movie brings back a lot of what happened in Transformers 3 as well. The Transformers are still all hated and hunted by the human governments, yet they keep arriving. Most of the Autobots are living in a junkyard which they periodically leave as they try to find more of their lost brethren with the help of Cade. Megatron (Galvatron being just a phase he was going through) is enacting plans with the help of his henchman Barricade and Optimus Prime is off in space trying to find the creators of his race so he can put the smack down. Oh, and the new plot has flashbacks of Merlin dealing with a bunch of Cybertronian knights that can combine into a 3-headed space dragon – now there is a twist that not a lot of movies can boast eh!
The first half of this movie advances these plot lines. Megatron does a hostage swap of some humans in order to get some of his captured crew back from the military. Cade and the Autobots hiding out unwillingly adopt a 14 year old orphan girl and Optimus lands on Cybertron to meet Quintessa, his creator. Soon conflict (and Bayesque explosions) come into play. Megatron (tracked by the military) finds the Autobots and has a scrap, most of his henchmen we had only just met being killed in the process. Quintessa brainwashes Optimus into becoming Nemesis Prime and sets the broken planet of Cybertron (which got royally f’ed up at the end of TF3 by a spacebridge explosion) on a course to Earth to siphon its energy to make the metallic husk pull itself back together. We also get introduced to two new plot lines: The first is that Anthony Hopkins rocks and has a bunch of old Autobots at his disposal (including a quite psychotic character named Cogman) and is trying to figure out the whole Merlin angle. The second is that, like the TFPrime cartoon, Earth actually is Unicron and he is extending his horns out through various parts of the planet!
Phew – that’s a lot going on eh?
To prevent this they…..
…you know what, bugger it – if I list the 8 millions plot twists this review is going to become a novel! Chances are if you are reading this you have seen the movie and know what happens! So how about I save us all a bit of time and go on a few pro’s and cons eh?
PRO’S
*Lots of explosions
*Tons of action
*Nice boobs for the boys, nice ab’s for the girls
*Anthony Hopkins was awesome
*Cogman was funny
*A good variety of different robots
*Great fight scenes
*Expanded the movie lore
*Genuinely funny moments
*At least some characterization of Decepticons
*The action was not too close up and frenzied so you could actually tell what was going on most of the time
*Cullen and Welker reprised their roles as Optimus and Megatron respectively
*A Transformer clock killed Hitler
*Autobots, Decepticons, Quintessons, Combiners, Cybertron and Unicron!
CON’S (no, not those Cons)
*Bumblebee coming apart and coming back together contradicted a lot of TF deaths from the previous movies
*So many Transformers didn’t actually transform! Grimlock, Slag Slug, the baby Dino’s, Cogman, Wheelie, Sqweeks, whoever the female submarine was etc. It was like reading an IDW comic!
*A lot of the Transformers that did transform never did it on screen, such as Optimus himself.
*Contradictions in plot
*Too much human focus
*Hot Rod is french?!
So overall, is this movie worth watching? Well I’d have to say yes. All the people that complain about the Transformer movies would do well to remember that these flicks are based on a cartoon from the 80’s about shape-changing alien robots fighting a civil war. It’s not supposed to move you and make you cry – it’s supposed to entertain you! In that regard Transformers: The Last Knight certainly delivers the goods! It (like all the others) is a long movie but I can’t say there was any point where I was bored and frankly I found the whole movie quite fun! It’s not a movie you are supposed to take too seriously and I think some of the critics and die-hard fans need to remember that sometimes. Overall I’d say that this was not as good as TF1, about on par or slightly better than 3 & 4 and much better than 2. I had a great time watching it with a half dozen mates and I can’t wait to see what happens with the Unicron angle in number 6!
This movie gets 4 out of 5 energon cubes.
Got something to say about the movie? Would love to read it in the comments section below!
Dirge, oh Dirge. Nobody loves you but me.
Dirge was my very first ever Transformer figure over 30 years ago and as such he holds a special place in my heart. For others not so much, arguably the least popular Conehead. He only ever used his special power of fear-inducement once (as far as I can remember) to freak out Silverbolt in a Marvel Comic and he even committed suicide when getting eaten by The Swarm in the G2 Comics. In IDW he has done a bit better for himself, even becoming a central character to a plot line that extended for some time. But whether you like Dirge or not, here he is – perhaps the last outing for the Masterpiece Seeker mold. He comes with a very hefty price tag – let’s see if he is worth it.
Robot Mode
Despite being pretty much the same figure, for some reason Dirge strikes me as less stocky than say MP Thrust (for a review see HERE). The colours are quite good though I would have preferred to see a pure black like the toy rather than dark grey like the cartoon. He has the guns that most of the Seekers shared in the cartoon but these can be covered by bigger guns to resemble the machine guns that the toy had. These have been retooled from MP Ramjets rockets so are slightly different but overall look too big and bulky (which they need to be cover the null rays) and resemble missiles rather than machine guns. Dirge is as poseable as any of the other MP seekers but there have been no real improvements. At least the missile racks built into his chest make sense as opposed to the likes of some other Seekers since he actually did deploy missiles from there in at least one episode of the cartoon (The Girl who loved Powerglide).
Vehicle Mode
A faithful representation of the character from both the G1 cartoon and the toy. Dirge has the Decepticon emblem on his nosecone that the toy had but the ones on his wings are smaller than both the original toy and its cartoon depiction. The guns can be repositioned under the wings but again they really needed to be smaller. You can put (yet another) holographic pilot in the cockpit but I really would have preferred to see Shawn Berger, since he appeared in two episodes and did go for a ride in Dirge at one point. Given the huge price point and the fact we are getting a range of different humans in the Autobot line, I think a little Berger figure was warranted (but then maybe not – really rich guys using their power and fame to gain high political office seems to be a bit of a sore point these days).
Overall
This is the most expensive MP Seeker figure to date that wasn’t a variant of one that has already been done. That combined with the fact that Dirge was not hugely popular means that this will be a miss for a lot of folk. But if you are a MP or Seeker completionist or otherwise, like me, are one of the few Dirge fans out there then this is a nice way to end the Masterpiece Seeker line and will complete your collection nicely.
Got something you want to say about this figure? Would love to read it in the comments section below!
Packing and moving. Truly a terrible job. Having to pack up the entire contents of a house and get them to a secondary desitnation safely is time consuming, back breaking and frankly boring. But you can add to that list a hefty amount of stress if you have something like an expensive collection you have to move.
When I moved out of home at 18, I was able to fit all the belongings of both my buddy and me in a small station wagon and my small box of G1 Transformers stayed at Mum’s. When I moved to the country at the age of 33, I had accumulated over 900 TF figures and had a respectable amount of comics, books and clothing to go with it, it took up a nice bit of space in the moving truck.
Now nearing 40 I am moving again and this time across states, a solid 10 hour drive from where I am now. And my collection has grown expodentially! Currently my collection boasts:
So probably about 3000 pieces all up.
Moving all this is very daunting. Not only the sheer scope of packing it all in the first place, but packing it all in such a way that nothing will get lost or broken. In this two part blog I will be sharing my tips for how to move your collection in such a way that it stays safe. And thus we will start with Part 1: Packing.
Step 1: Sorting
Sorting action figures
To make sure you leave nothing behind I strongly suggest you sort your collection. How you do this is up to you. You may choose to sort via the toyline (G1, Beast Wars, Armada, Movieverse etc) but personally as a Multiverse collector I choose to go by the individual character. This has the advantage of being able to bag them to keep them grouped whereas an entire toyline , especially ones that have big figures like Cybertron, might be too big for a single crate. Also if your collection is smaller you might take the time to transform them all into vehicle modes to be more compact, though this was something time precluded me from doing.
In cases where you have a lot of characters you might even give them their own crate. I have these for Optimus, Bumblebee, Starscream, Megatron etc. With my Optimus I needed two huge crates, one for loose figures and one for MISB’s.
Sorting Paperwork
I have to give my wife credit for this one. Very occasionally I get stuck with a TF that I haven’t transformed in many years and have forgotten how. When this happens rather than dig through over 1000 instruction manuals I turn to youtube. However where we are moving we wont have internet for quite a while so my wife sorted all my instruction manuals into 26 individual alphabetical plastic pockets. This was also handy for checking I was not missing any accessories.
Sorting accessories
Primarily you want to have them bagged with the figure they come with. However if you have thousands of the buggers time may stop you from doing this. In that case I recommend sorting them into bags of missiles, rifles, shields etc. I’d also bag all your smaller figures like Kre-O in a similar fashion.
Step 2: Packing
As I’ve shown above, large plastic sealable bags are the go for keeping your robots separate. But now the larger packing begins. For this you will mainly use three different materials: cardboard boxes, cardboard tubes and plastic crates.
Cardboard boxes
In these you can pack items that are not breakable. This includes TF boxes you have kept (such as perhaps Unite Warriors or from busts) and Transformers clothing. Other misc items such as backpacks, lunch boxes etc can be packed the same way.
Cardboard tubes
Used for all your Transformer posters.
Plastic Packing crates.
Now these are really what you need for your figures. The stronger construction will protect the figures from getting damaged and you can buy them up to a 140L size for around $20 each from places like The Reject Shop. When packing these crates, try and pack them with similar toys. I have all my versions of the Combaticon and Stunticon characters in one crate, all my versions of the 84’ Autobot cars in another and so on.
Bubble Wrap
If you wanna go the extra mile and pad all your plastic crates with bubble wrap on the inside it’s a good idea. However if you have a collection as big as mine its probably impractical and I would suggest just bubble wrapping any of your irriplacable or particularly fragile items.
So, by following the above you should be able to get your collection, no matter how large or small, ready to move to its new home. Please check back for part two – The Move!
Got any tips to add to the above? Would love to read them in the comments section below!
The sixth of my Multiverse galleries. Blurr first showed up in the 86′ toyline and animated movie. We had to until Armada to get another version of him but since then the speedster has taken off once again!
For my review of Titans Return Blurr see HERE
For my review of Combiner Force Blurr see HERE
Individual Figure Pic’s
Comparison Pic’s
