Toy Review – EX-01 Nicee

 

I find it hard to resist buying an Arcee figure.  As a multiverse collector this is the case with a lot of G1-originated characters for me, but there are characters that I nearly always get and Arcee is one of them.

   Why?  Not sure.  Maybe because she was such a well known character from the 1986 movie, as well as Seasons 3 & 4 of the G1 cartoon but never got a toy of her own.  I had to wait until I was in my 20’s before I got my first representation of her as a statue bust.  But since then I’ve gotten her in so many lines – Alternators, Energon, Prime, Animated, Thrilling 30, Q and most recently Cyberverse and Earthrise.  Heck, I even have her in Mouse Pad form!  However none of these figures ever really captured Arcee for me and how cool she is, especially her vehicle form.

 

Arcee is getting the Masterpiece treatment as we speak and that figure is due to be released soon.  But in the meantime I did something I almost never do.  Despite having about 3500 Transformer figures in my collection, you could count the amount of 3rdparty figures I own on one hand.  Given some of the complaints about the aesthetic of the new MP Arcee coming out, I decided to shell out and purchase a 3P figure of her where the aesthetic goes in the opposite direction.  So lets take a look at EX-01 Arcee NICEE from BIGFIREBIRDTOY.

The packaging wont win design awards for subtlety…
…but then neither will the toy inside

 

Robot Mode

“Hi everyone! I’m the toy your girlfriend probably hates”

 

Aesthetic

An incredibly stylized version of Arcee Nicee.  Considering the popularity of the differently styled aesthetic of Animated, I’ve never really understood why Transformers would not try for a Japanese influenced Anime theme.  This figure is extremely anime in its aesthetics, from the long slim limbs to the quasi-angelic wings and armour that almost appears to be a battle bikini.  It really is a fantastic looking figure.  Before we go further however, lets address the elephants in the room…

“What? These? My lovely lady lumps?”

 Let’s get this out of the way.  Yes she has boobs.  Her armour is specifically shaped to enhance this.    There is no getting away from it and given the picture on the front of her box it seems that this is supposed to be a big selling point for Arcee Nicee.  Now I totally get this kind of thing not being everyone’s cup of tea.  Completely understandable.  But here’s the great thing….

…. If you don’t like it you don’t have to buy it.  Lucky you! 

“Lets all just get along eh mate!”

 

 

Interchangeable Body Parts

Nicee comes with two heads, two chests and 8 hands (4 left and 4 right).  The reason for so many hands is each one is designed to hold a different weapon, be it blunt or ranged.  They look rather skeletal and kinda freaky to be honest.  The chests are completely identical except one is white and the other is shiny white.  The heads are slightly different to each other, in particular the face.  For those of you who don’t like Arcee Nicee having metal hair, you can remove it.  This is one of the instances where the figure lets me down – I wanted her to have a head more in keeping with her usual look, and while removing the hair allows this, it also leaves a big gap above her forehead which ruins the effect.  So if you are not a hair fan too bad – better a bob than a hole in the head I guess.

 

Poseability 

The figure has really good tight joints and multiple points of articulation.  She is able to be put into all manner of poses and stances, balances fairly well and possesses good flexibility.

“4 million years old and not a touch of arthritis!”

 

Vehicle Form

How friggin sexy does this look!  As I’ve mentioned I don’t usually buy 3P figures but if they are all like this then I understand why people do.  Nicee puts every Arcee figure in my collection to shame.  The aesthetics are just wonderful; the sleek lines and subtle curves interspersed with straight lines really make this a beautiful alien car to behold. 

The paint job is very high quality and the bright translucent blue used for the windscreen, headlights and taillights ad a nice counterbalance to all the pink and white.  There are all sorts of little details that add to the beauty of this figure, in particular I like the steering dash and moulded seats.

 

 

 

Weaponry

Nicee comes with multiple weapons including spear, sword, pistol and shield.  Also you are able to remove her backpack and combine it with the spear into a sort of energy bow.  Given her ability to be put into all manner of poses this sets you up for some great battle shots!

 

 

Transformation

The transformation is fairly straight forward and the instructions make it look more complicated than it actually is.  In fact it is sorta reminiscent of Thrilling 30 Arcee.  The shield becomes the top of the vehicle but this is no way means she is a simple partsformer.  My only two gripes would be that if you don’t position the high heels just right they can impede the front wheels rolling in vehicle mode, and that there are lots of little tabs that need to go together – often when you are tightening one another pops out of place.  However a good transformation on the whole.  You may find it convenient to take her hands off when putting her in vehicle form.

 

Worth Getting?

This on the whole is actually a pretty great figure, and given how expensive 3P items are the price tag is fairly acceptable.  But what is going to be the deciding factor for people here isn’t going to be the articulation or transformation or plastic quality – it’s going to be the aesthetic.  Some people are going to think this figure looks great, some are going to think it’s an abomination.  So if the idea of an anime styled transformer appeals to you then you are going to love Nicee.  If the idea of transformers being sexualized in any fashion is enough to send you on a month long twitter tirade then steer well clear.  Just remember no matter what side of the fence you fall on, don’t hate on the other side – just be…. Nicee

 

 

 

 

Got something to say about this figure?  Pop it in the comments section below!

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Meat Recipe #14 – Trev’s Prawn Paella

Living in a rural area, most of my meat recipes involve some form of farm animal.  But today it’s something a bit different.  See, out here in the bush we often forget that that big blue wobbly thing called the ocean that is so far away from our location is full of all kind of weird and whacky looking creatures that can be cooked up and popped in our tums.

In our tiny town we have The Fish Man. The fish man is a man with a refrigerated van full of seafood from the Sydney fish markets that morning, who tours the small rural towns once a fortnight and is our only chance to buy really fresh seafood.

When my wife and I were in Spain I had some fantastic Paella – great stuff!  I’ve never been able to replicate it since but below is the recipe I use that comes the closest.  It’s easy to make and tastes damn good!  So without further ado lets look at Trev’s Prawn Paella!

 

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 1 onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 red capsicum, deseeded and chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 tsp Mixed Spice
  • 2 tsp Ground Paprika
  • 500g Arborio Rice
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 1L chicken stock
  • 1 bunch broccolini, chopped
  • 800gm’s shelled green prawns
  • Juice of 1 lemon,
  • 1 lemon but into 8th’s
  • Flat-leaf parsley, shredded

 

Method:

  • Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add onion and capsicum. Cook for 3-4 minutes until softened.
  • Add garlic and spices and cook for a further minute.
  • Add rice and stir to coat. Add wine and stock. Simmer for 15 minutes.
  • When all liquid has been absorbed by the rice stir through broccolini and spoon into baking tray
  • Layer prawns over top of paella. Sprinkle lemon juice over dish. Add segmented lemon pieces.
  • Roast for 15 minutes in oven at 220c
  • Remove from oven & sprinkle over shredded parsley. Serve.



    And there ya go, a fabulous Spanish Dish that tastes great! Cook and enjoy!



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Star Trek V: Kirk vs God

While I quite like Star Wars – the first three movies made at any rate – I’m much more of a Trekkie.  And like my feelings on Star Wars, I much prefer the original stuff to the new stuff.  Oh there have been some quite good new movies made in both franchises, but it’s the old stuff that revs my engine.

Before Star Trek: The Next Generation debuted, there were 6 Star Trek movies. Admittedly the first one was a dog’s breakfast, an absolute shitshow which even the most die hard Trek fans struggle to like. The others were more well received but there is one that still cops flak – unfairly in my opinion – to this day. And that is Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.

Or as I like to call it – Kirk vs God.

Back in The Original Series Kirk faced down not only supremely powerful aliens with god-like powers routinely, but even met old gods from Earth like those of the Greek Pantheon.  In these encounters Kirk either had sex with them or beat them up – a winning formula for a Starship Captain on the frontier. 

Kirk: “I don’t care if he is in a dress – I’m not boning this one”

In Star Trek V this attitude of James Tiberius is taken to the extreme.  Let’s look a short synopsis of the plot:

 

*Kirk, Spock and Bones go camping, play with jet-boots and get drunk.

Kirk: “I was pissed and napping. I ain’t getting fully dressed for whatever this is”

*Spock’s half-brother Sybok brainwashes the crew of the Enterprise (bar Kirk & Spock) to fly the Starship to the center of the universe to find God.

*Klingon’s follow as their Commander wants to destroy Kirk since doing so, as his second in command states, it would make him “The greatest warrior in the Galaxy”.

*They find God.  Kirk, Bones, Spock and his brother beam down to a planet and have a chat with him.

God: “Hey, I’m God. I’m all loving, so do as I say or die!”

*Kirk doesn’t like the cut of God’s jib – Kirk thinks God is coming across as a bit of an arsehole.  So since God isn’t female Kirk picks a fight! God, wisely knowing that if he gets into a brawl with Kirk he will get his celestial arse handed to him, shoots at them with energy bolts instead, then has a wrestle with Spock’s brother and kills him.

*Kirk knows God’s cheating with the energy bolts so returns the favour by having The Enterprise shoot God with photon torpedoes. Kirk’s near where the blasts will impact but knows he can withstand it, whilst God himself sustains a nice bit of damage.  Kirk has his friends beamed away so he can finish the fight one-on-one.

*Kirk and God square off.  Before Kirk can headbutt him, the Klingon Bird of Prey spaceship shows up and shoots God in the face, killing him.  The gun then swings towards Kirk.

*Kirk’s pissed off – that was his fight!  So standing there he calls the Klingon’s bastards (despite the fact THE GUN THAT JUST KILLED GOD IS BEING AIMED RIGHT AT HIM!) and challenges the hovering Klingon Battleship to bring it on!

*Just before Kirk can punch on with the battleship he gets beamed up and turns out it was Spock in the Klingon battleship that shot God, as he was the Vulcan equivalent of pissed off at God for killing his brother.

*Everyone gets drunk again.

 

Now to me, that is good cinema.  Oh, besides the camping scene, the first half of the movie is forgettable with Spock’s half-brother running round curing peoples inner pain and whatnot.  And there was plenty of other stuff that probably could have been cut as well.  However the ending is great!

But then… could the ending have been EVEN BETTER?

I think so.  Frankly I wanted to see Kirk and God duke it out.  It might have been one of the few times Kirk was faced with an actual challenge – the two most powerful entities in the universe getting stuck into each other would have looked great on the big screen!  I also would have liked to see Kirk get into a fight with the Klingon Bird of Prey. Would have Kirk’s fists been enough to take down a heavily armed and armoured alien intergalactic battleship?  Personally I have faith they would have been up to the challenge, but I guess now we’ll never know.

Kirk vs Spaceship – lets get ready to rumble!

So yes, while many prefer the later Star Trek shows and movies, with Picard constantly drinking Earl Grey tea and Janeway talking to others about their feelings instead of, you know, making some tough decisions and actually getting her crew home quick, I shall always be a fan of the Original Series. And the last half hour of Star Trek V, where you get to see Kirk face off against the The Almighty himself and put the smack down, should be treasured by all those fans of Trek.

 

God something to say about this classic piece of cinematic history?  Pop it in the comments section below!

 

Related Article:

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Transformer Fan Interview – Steve

It’s been a while but we welcome the return of the very popular Transformer Fan Interviews!  In this latest interview with Aussie TF collectors we are talking to Steve, a great bloke I was privileged to meet at a Collectormania Toy Fair  and who, like me, was an avid Transformers TCG player.  So lets chat to this fine fellow and avid collector of all things Cybertronian.

 

Name and/or nicknames:

Wattsy, Sharky – do you need a background story??

 Family?

Married with 2 little Sharkticons

 Career?

Retired Commercial Electrician now work in the Engineering Space for Transport Infrastructure

 

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’?

C3.. not quite a full blown junker but working myself there with heavy wear.

 

 How would you rate your attraction to Big Angry Trev? With one being ‘very’ to 10 being ‘I even send him Action Masters in the hope I get an extremely physical and rough thanking’?

This has to be 10 by default, right?? I mean I sent the Action Master… I’m just waiting for the Rough and Physical Thanking – but we are responsible adults mostly and under current circumstances (its 2020 people in case your reading a “retro revisited blogedy vlog blobTM” fifty years from now) we maintain that social distancing!!!

Editors Note: I could thank you while we both wear HazMat suits maybe?

Fan/Collector since (year)?

Since it began in 84

 

Transformers Allegiance, if you had one?

Autobot

 

Your Techspec motto if you had one?

‘If it is to be it is up to me’

 What existing, official Transformers character best describes you?

Ratchet – always fixing other people shit

Which special ability of any Transformers character would you want to have for yourself?

Skywarps Vorping….

What drew you to Transformers, making you become a fan/collector?

That original opening sequence when prime is rolling along and then transforms and then the 3 jets fly in and turn into robots… first time I saw it, it was soo awesome…. Still is. The concept of a vehicle and a robot in one toy Brilliant!!!

Do you think you will collect Transformers until you die?

No, I seriously think I will “retire” at the conclusion of the War for Cybertron Trilogy and Unicron when it arrives… but like any professional athlete that retires, they will still stroll out for a game or two and I am sure there will be a few bots picked up along the way

Do people outside of the hobby know you collect TFs (like at work/school)?

Yeah, they do, most think it is cool but I also don’t care, I don’t collect for them!!

Were your family/parents supportive of collecting toys or did you have to hide your passion from them and friends?

I did not hide it – not sure if it was fully supported but they never were negative to me about it.

 

 What does your partner think of your hobby?

Ill ask her. – “He has more toys then our kids…..”

 

Have you attended any fan-meets, Fairs, Conventions?

Yes. Yes and yes, many moons ago when those sorts of things where considers normal.. well normal in the nerdy/geeky/popculturey way anyway.

 

Any creative endeavours with Transformers (drawing, writing, customising, etc)?

Nah nothing like that at all, not creative at all…

 

Favourite series/era/year, and why?

Always G1 cause that’s what I grew up on, but Animated was outstanding the cartoon style and the way the toys could maintain that aesthetic and still function was outstanding

 

Collect any comics?

Too many…..

Favourite Comic issue/story, and why?

Transformers or in general???

Transformers my favourite arcs where from the old UK Issues, City of Fear and Space Pirates in other franchises Marvels Annihilation event was brilliant and always gets a reread

Favourite Cartoon episode/story, and why?

To many to name one I think, there is always a great episode from every series, but I think call of the primitives from G1 is always a favourite or Grimmy new brain, or Starscream’s ghost if I had to pick a handful…. And can’t remember the episode names from Animated or prime…..

Favourite Character, and why?

Sludge – just because I love the big bastard of a Dinobot, Ratchet would be a close 2nd

Sexiest Transformers (robot) Character?

Sludge

Which Transformers character would you want to exist for real?

SLUDGE!

Approx TFs toy collection count (or give a range like 200s, 300s, etc):

Lots and lots and lots under the cosmic unified numbering technique system…. There was an acronym, but I’m not allowed to use it.

But over a thousand

 

Sealed collector or out-of-packaging collector?

Yes mostly the ones that are sealed are really, really old or I don’t have time to open them yet.

 

How much do you think you’ve spent on your collecting habit?

That I would love to and not ever know the answer too

Any rare/expensive figures in your collection?

Probably, but I don’t keep track of those sorts of things

What interesting Licensed Merchandise items do you have?

Nothing that is out of the ordinary, I have a chunk of Ironhide’s Tyre from Dark of the moon, Leonard Nimoy’s Autographs as Sentinel prime, and a bunch of the 1st movie actor scribbled their name on a poster

Editors note: Nice!

First Transformers toy?

Optimus Prime

One toy you most want?

Optimus prime, still sealed in that original g1 box

The centrepiece/favourite toy in your collection at the moment (and why)?

I don’t really have a centrepiece my collection is all over the place between storage and display, but my First year G1 is always my fave!

Favourite toy in your early years of collecting?

G1 Highbrow when I got this guy he was my first “futuristic” styled transformer and I loved the headmaster concept and the  figure.

Worst toy(s) ever in your opinion?

So many from Armada…..

Toy(s) that were most disappointing when you got them?

So So So Many from Armada…

 

Thoughts on gimmick and non-convertible Transformers toys?

Remember when a car that transformed into a robot was a gimmick…..i think gimmicks are cool they need to freshen up every now and then otherwise we just keep getting Optimus Prime,  Bumblebee, Megatron, and Starscream over and over again……

Also Non transforming Stuff… Love it… I would love a super articulated action figure if it didn’t transform, screen accurate highly detailed Action Masters!! Also Statues I have wayyy to many but love it , Transformers are a brand and we can enjoy that brand on anything we desire, shoes, underwear, hats, non transforming action figures, bobble heads the possibilities are limitless and if you enjoy it who cares if it doesn’t transform!!!

 

Which single TFs toy should every fan own?

I would say it would have to be Optimus Prime, I will allow modern versions of the Autobot leader but the G1 is such a classic iconic toy that it should be apart of anyone’s collection.

Which Transformers toy/product would you give as a wedding present?

It would depend on the person getting married I would tailor the gift to the person somehow, like an action master in a custom tuxedo. on a side note my wife gave me a Movie Bumblebee with an engraving on his rear window with “Just Married” for our wedding day, sits proudly in my cabinet (only transformer my wife has ever bought me).

 

Do you collect other toys?

Yes amongst other things too,..would you like to know more?????

I have a heathy collection of Guardian of the Galaxy figures and POP!s, Trading Cards from Movies and Sports, other sports and movie/tv memorabilia, I like to chase autographs from actors of my favourite shows. Comic Books

 

 What is your favourite TF themed post on this website?

There are so many good entertaining posts, I have enjoyed watching the transformatroium grow the toy reviews are good because its just a “this is how it is approach but some of the most entertaining ones would be the ones not about transformers (*GASP*) the Tales of the Trev stories or the hot sauce reviews. (pssst hey You, you out there reading this. Don’t limit yourself to just reading about transformers there is entertainment value all over the dark little corner of Trev’s blog)

Editors Note: Best response to this question EVER!

How did you find out about www.bigangrytrev.com ?

I remember in the golden age of message boards Trev Posted a thread up about his blog.. Check it Out he wrote. (sounds like a good name for a show….) so I did…

 

Questions from other Fans:

Stu  (via Twittah)

With so many great teams in the NRL why on Earth would you be a Sharky’s fan?

Way back in that magical time called the 80’s I spent those early years living around Bankstown my Parents Supported the Bulldogs My Grandparents Supported the Bulldogs and Souths my Uncle Parramatta, but me a young and impressionable kid just loved the way this teenager at fullback of the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks played the game. Andrew Ettingshausen was the reason I started following the club, I had no allegiances or commitment prior to then and I followed the club ever since!

 

Dallas  (via Twittah)

Do you have collecting Goal? You have a Spectacular Display Space; how do you plan to collect as it fills up?

 Since the Sharkticons and life the collecting has slowly reduced, I don’t really have a collecting goal I pick up things that I like, my main goal I guess would be getting the majority of my collection actually out on display not just sitting around waiting to be set up. Its just finding that elusive time to do it.  I mentioned a bit earlier in that I am entertaining the idea of retirement, collecting as it fills up will probably be focused around on how or if it will it display better, and maybe going back and replacing a few existing pieces or retro-filling gaps in some of the older lines I missed over adding more and more new stuff.

 What’s your favourite non g1 series?

 That would be Animated, the shift in animation style and aesthetic was refreshing, the cartoon was fun and the toys able to match that styling mad them a fun series to pick up

 Did Beast Wars/Machines really save transformers?

 This is a tricky one, and I am going to say no it didn’t, you see the end of “g1” came about when 98.35% of the target audience grew up and was venturing into the world of Highschool and hormones so the interest petered out. But the younger siblings or newer families where coming of age, and I always feel toys follow a cycle, introduced – evolve – die off and then they a refreshed every 6-7 years years for the newer generation going through a fresh “jumping on point” so it was fresh imaginations and a resupply of young children that saved transformers, beast wars was just the gimmick of the time….  Much like how nostalgia now has parents buying care bears and MLP and MOTU and Strawberry Shortcakes for their children now.

 Why hasn’t (named redacted) blocked you yet?

 That’s a question you should ask him yourself…wait….you cant….

 

Michael  (via Twittah)

I’m increasingly curious about people’s social media interactions, especially in regard to TFs – maintaining them, where they go and why?

 Once upon a time I used to frequent the big American and Australian TF message boards but they became a tedious chore full of elitists nobodies which made them an unenjoyable place to go, then I joined (and in some cases left) facebook groups these suffer from a lot of the same negatives as message boards. These days I am on twitter where I can get the “news” and a part of a few small group chats of fellow collectors where we can just bounce stuff off each other, I also frequent/read a few odd blogs that people post random stuff up for entertainment, and I am pretty happy about that, I guess when it comes down to it, it is just easier to have a quick scroll through a twitter feed then to navigate the depths of message boards.

 

Hursticon (via Twittah)

Which do you derive more enjoyment from – toy or trading card collecting and what differences between the two worlds or fandoms keep you maintaining the two?

 I wouldn’t say I get more enjoyment out of one or the other, but They are two different worlds, transformers you know what you get, chunk of plastic in a cardboard box that shifts and folds, Trading Cards, I guess is it is like gambling, hit that signature or short print card or that elusive 1of1 and it bring excitement and joy, it’s the combination of all things that I enjoy, sort through some card board or transform some figures, both are forms of relaxation, but like anything you need to find a balance, you cant get everything, and you have to accept that, and never spend beyond you means…. It would be awesome to own that Michael Jordan Rookie card or that MISB G1 Fortress Maximus but also I rather like eating and doing things with my family!!

 

Kenan (via Faceybook)

Biggest case of buyers remorse?

 Not really one to be too remorseful about purchases but there were a lot of transformers from armada I could of really done without, but if we are talking other things it would have been maybe a case of 2018 NRL elite, where all I hit where shite cards or my youngest daughters bunk bed, that was a nightmare of thing to make every day.

 

Thank you so much to Steve for doing this fantastic interview!  If you have any other questions for him please pop them in the comments section below and I’m sure he will do his best to answer them.

 

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Recipe – Curried Duck Eggs

Don’t ya hate it when your poultry has a secret nest?

I have all these great laying drums set up for my ducks, but for some damn reason half of them prefer to find some nice secret spot in the garden and lay their eggs there every day until I discover it a few weeks later.

This just happened yet again, so we’ve gone from no duck eggs to having well over a dozen that have to get used up pretty quick from not being refrigerated.

So I decided to try out a recipe of my sisters to use them up – her magnificent curried eggs.  She makes them that mouthwatering that for years I’ve insisted on a plate of them instead of birthday gifts from her.

While I can’t profess to make them as well as her, I gave it the ol’ college try and they still came out pretty damn good!  And it’s a simple recipe so really easy to make.  So here is Big Angry Trev’s sisters recipe for Curried Duck Eggs.

 

Ingredients:

*16 Duck Eggs – boiled

*120gm Butter

*4 tbsp Cream

*2 tsp Curry Powder

*1 tsp Mustard Powder

*Black Pepper

*Paprika

*Chilli Flakes

 

Method

*Boil the eggs, slice in half and scoop out the yolks.

*Put yolks in a bowl and add butter, cream, curry powder, mustard powder and season with black pepper.  Mash.

*Spoon mix back into egg whites.

 

Seasoning

How you season your eggs is up to you.  Typically as the househusband I have to cater to everyone’s particular tastes so I divvy the eggs up into 3 lots.

First lot I put on no seasoning for my kids.

Second lot I put on paprika for my wife.

The third I put on paprika and chilli flakes for myself.

I’ve yet to try them with hot sauce but that’s only a matter of time.  But I definitely recommend the paprika, it really makes the flavour pop!

 

And there ya go, a simple recipe that is an effective way to use up all those extra eggs you find lying around the farm.

 

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