Takara Legends Arcee and Nightbird

As part of the Legends series, Takara released 6 figures nicknamed the Fembots because.. well, they were female. Unfortunately, for some odd reason, I completely dropped the ball when it came to preordering ALL of them, so it's a slow, painful crawl to acquire them all.

I'm finally up to three of them, with the focus of this blurb on two toys that share moulds - Arcee and Nightbird.

Arcee is a character that I've gotten a few figures for, and should super very familiar to those even only remotely interested in Transformers lore. The Legends toys was released by Hasbro as part of the Generations line... sort of.

Arcee was one of the toys that Canada got completely shafted out of due to some language law kerfuffle, so my choices were pretty much to either buy a scalper price US version, or just go Takara.

Easy choice.

The toy is of course, based on her G1 appearance. The silhouette of the figure is quite nice, definitely quite feminine in appear without being over the top. Arcee is armed with two swords and two guns. I don't exactly remember her ever using the swords in the original series, but this could have been influenced by her Animated appearance as well.

The only real sore point of this figure is the absolute lack of waist articulation, which is unfortunate, but not quite possible given the transformation she uses. I also noticed the upper right shoulder on mine looks like it was stressed by being pulled the wrong way, but I suspect I got a bum one from the QC department.

Vehicle mode is nicely sculpted, and even has a painted interior with some nice detailing.

The main differences between the Hasbro version and the Takara version are the strength of the pink used, and the paint apps on her face. I don't think Hasbro Arcee had a pink face, and definitely it's a Hasbro "No No" to have any form of actual expression on their toys.

Nightbird is a character that I'm not familiar with myself, but it seems she was a G1 character that was the creation of a Mad Scientist, designed to be a robotic Ninja.

It was the 80s.... all Mad Scientists did WAS cause shit.

Her toy is a predominately silver and black repaint of the Arcee toy, and while in vehicle mode the two look very similar, they are almost like two different toys.

For starters, the use of of metallic silver paint is a stark contrast to the black plastics and highlight various body parts more so than with Arcee, especially in the legs. Obviously, there is that new headsculpt, and equally obvious should be the addition of two melee weapons, a pair of Sais.

Naturally, as one would expect, the two figures share the same strengths and weaknesses. I guess if I had to add one more thing to the Nightbird side of the equation it's that I wish the wheels weren't black as aesthetically they tend to blend in with the chassis of the car.

I preordered and bought a Wii U game :O

A bonus book for those who preordered Ryan's new Book. The only way to get this book was to be one of the first to preorder the book Infinity Blues.

The doll that caused me to become a doll collector. Milou, by designer Wendy Roper, is made of white vinyl. She has a Art Deco air about her and a 40s wardrobe (well, just this one gown so far). I preordered her last December and production delays caused her to only just arrive last week. It was worth the wait for I am delighted with her!

More Transformers goodness that has been sitting there for about 6 months now.

One of the more awesome things to come out of the PotP line was Abominus, the combiner formed from the Terrorcons. This combiner was, as expected, a G1 character that was released to oppose Computron, whose updated set was release during the Combiner Wars line. Unlike Computron, however, Abominus saw zero screen time during the recent animated trilogy, which is a shame because I'd like to have seen him interact with Computron.

I had cracked open Hun-Grr and Rippersnapper last year, but gotten the rest of the team by the Summer. didn't really open anything else up because I was waiting for the one thing to bring them all together - the Transform Dreamwave upgrade kit.

Transform Dreamwave (TDW) is one of the newer 3P companies to come on the scene, and effectively presents itself as better valued Perfect Effects (PE) alternative. I only have one PE upgrade kit - the one for Computron, so I can't really comment on any of their hands and feet options. But the PE stuff I did get was very well made, and Abominus needed some love so I figured why not?

Well, the set finally arrived, and I unpacked everything and did some photos, made some notes, and now present to you my findings, starting with my assessment of the rest of the Terrorcon team.

As with most combiner limbs, regardless of the era, they're generally functional in all modes with no real winner as there is reuse and remoulding of parts as much as possible to reduce production costs. To complicate matters, as it were, the Terrorcons are all monsters of sorts, so even their alt modes are kind of arbitrary. Also, as is the new norm, the accessories they came with are rather meh, though I'm trying to decide which is more boring - the weapons, or the fist/armour bits.

Having said that, some are less boring to look at than others, and my vote for best Terrorcon limb goes to Blot, the black and purple fellow. I love the colour scheme and the "not quite a block with arms and legs" look he's got going for him.

Overall, winner by a large margin.

So back to TDW. They actually came to my attention first with their Volcanicus upgrade kit (soon to be discussed) but when I preordered the Abominus kit the Volcanicus kit had not arrived yet, so I did so with blind faith.

For those who are unfamiliar with TDW and PE, as you suspect, their upgrade kits make the default combiners from Hasbro/Takara into magnificent looking bastards which sadly still have the underlying problems of really crappy loose joints.

Much like the PE set, the TDW set has their combiner fists and feet being able to separate and transform, as applicable, into weapons for the smaller bots and wield. The TDW sets try to one up PE by making EVERYTHING into a weapon or accessory for the smaller bots, thus increasing it's value as it were, but honestly I don't know of many people who would be taking advantage of I'm fairly confident that most folks would stick with the combined mode anyway because lets face it, the individual bots are above average overall.

Unlike PE, however, I've noticed that TDW has parts to increase thigh thickness of the combined mode, as well as in the case of Abominus, additional parts to expand the torso size due to the installation of the chest shield.

Installed, the set does definitely do the job of making the combined mode much more visually appealing, which as mentioned, is limited by the crap joints that are in the base product.

I know there are lots of people who complain about the QC on Hasbro products, but generally it's an issue with poor paint apps. The QC with these sets is all over the place, which I guess is not out of the realm of expectations for a smaller manufacturer, but it really does put the reality of Hasbro and Takara being better at something in perspective.

Between Volcanicus and Abominus, the biggest issues I saw were:

- poor paint apps, most prevalent on the silver guns in the feet

- poor hinge tolerance on the feet, leading them to split apart when weight is applied

- peg tolerances being too large resulting in difficulty inserting into the figures

So yeah, buyer beware, but again if you're not looking too closely you're generally good to go.

Yeeeah baby! Guess who I'm getting for my birthday~!!

Which isn't until April, but you know. xD

I'm so excited!!

Also should be buying Sebastian Tutor Version and Little Dal+ Ximing later this week. Awesome!

And yeah, still no more real photography. I'll get to it. What do you want to see? Monster High? Pullip? Something different?!

Edit: ...I spelt preordered wrong! xD

To be fair it was 1 am.

More Transformers goodness that has been sitting there for about 6 months now.

One of the more awesome things to come out of the PotP line was Abominus, the combiner formed from the Terrorcons. This combiner was, as expected, a G1 character that was released to oppose Computron, whose updated set was release during the Combiner Wars line. Unlike Computron, however, Abominus saw zero screen time during the recent animated trilogy, which is a shame because I'd like to have seen him interact with Computron.

I had cracked open Hun-Grr and Rippersnapper last year, but gotten the rest of the team by the Summer. didn't really open anything else up because I was waiting for the one thing to bring them all together - the Transform Dreamwave upgrade kit.

Transform Dreamwave (TDW) is one of the newer 3P companies to come on the scene, and effectively presents itself as better valued Perfect Effects (PE) alternative. I only have one PE upgrade kit - the one for Computron, so I can't really comment on any of their hands and feet options. But the PE stuff I did get was very well made, and Abominus needed some love so I figured why not?

Well, the set finally arrived, and I unpacked everything and did some photos, made some notes, and now present to you my findings, starting with my assessment of the rest of the Terrorcon team.

As with most combiner limbs, regardless of the era, they're generally functional in all modes with no real winner as there is reuse and remoulding of parts as much as possible to reduce production costs. To complicate matters, as it were, the Terrorcons are all monsters of sorts, so even their alt modes are kind of arbitrary. Also, as is the new norm, the accessories they came with are rather meh, though I'm trying to decide which is more boring - the weapons, or the fist/armour bits.

Having said that, some are less boring to look at than others, and my vote for best Terrorcon limb goes to Blot, the black and purple fellow. I love the colour scheme and the "not quite a block with arms and legs" look he's got going for him.

Overall, winner by a large margin.

So back to TDW. They actually came to my attention first with their Volcanicus upgrade kit (soon to be discussed) but when I preordered the Abominus kit the Volcanicus kit had not arrived yet, so I did so with blind faith.

For those who are unfamiliar with TDW and PE, as you suspect, their upgrade kits make the default combiners from Hasbro/Takara into magnificent looking bastards which sadly still have the underlying problems of really crappy loose joints.

Much like the PE set, the TDW set has their combiner fists and feet being able to separate and transform, as applicable, into weapons for the smaller bots and wield. The TDW sets try to one up PE by making EVERYTHING into a weapon or accessory for the smaller bots, thus increasing it's value as it were, but honestly I don't know of many people who would be taking advantage of I'm fairly confident that most folks would stick with the combined mode anyway because lets face it, the individual bots are above average overall.

Unlike PE, however, I've noticed that TDW has parts to increase thigh thickness of the combined mode, as well as in the case of Abominus, additional parts to expand the torso size due to the installation of the chest shield.

Installed, the set does definitely do the job of making the combined mode much more visually appealing, which as mentioned, is limited by the crap joints that are in the base product.

I know there are lots of people who complain about the QC on Hasbro products, but generally it's an issue with poor paint apps. The QC with these sets is all over the place, which I guess is not out of the realm of expectations for a smaller manufacturer, but it really does put the reality of Hasbro and Takara being better at something in perspective.

Between Volcanicus and Abominus, the biggest issues I saw were:

- poor paint apps, most prevalent on the silver guns in the feet

- poor hinge tolerance on the feet, leading them to split apart when weight is applied

- peg tolerances being too large resulting in difficulty inserting into the figures

So yeah, buyer beware, but again if you're not looking too closely you're generally good to go.

Takara Legends Targetmaster Windblade.

Windblade is a relatively recent addition to Transformers lore. If you've watched the recent web series for the Prime Wars trilogy, she's one of the main characters. If you're look a bit further back, she was featured prominently in the comics, and received a toy after being the winner of the first toy design for mass production based purely on fan input.

Unfortunately, as Windblade has a very vibrant and colourful deco, the Transformers Generation toy didn't quite capture the character fully, and I missed the boat on the Legends release. With Windblade recently being featured in the Titans Return line, I immediately preordered the Legends edition as soon as I had a chance.

Like all of the Deluxes in the last wave of the recent Legend entries, Windblade has been deemed to be a Targetmaster, one of those characters with a little bot buddy that transforms into a weapon.

Fundamentally, the two toys are the same. Based off the Triggerhappy toy for transformation, but strangely doesn't share the articulation that the other toys enjoyed. Most notable would be the lack of waist movement. Other changes over her Generations appearance are that she is now a Headmaster, and that you can no longer remove the fan off the top of her head.

However, the two do differ in several ways, none of which should be overly surprising:

- Takara has the collectors friendly packaging

- Takara has more/different paint applications, translucent plastic, and the base red plastic is a richer colour

- Takara comes with the Targetmaster

- Takara comes with the sword the first Generations/Legends toy came with instead of the twin blades the Hasbro version comes with.

- Takara costs twice as much.

Obviously, there is quite a significant different in jet mode, with the fuselage being completely different colours as is the canopy, and the Takara version has painted VTOL fans. Also, the Titan Master/Head Master is missing some paint on the small robot face as well as on the arms and legs.

What I didn't expect was how subtle the changes in robot mode were.

The crest under her neckline is painted dark blue on Hasbro versus the translucent blue plastic used on the Takara. Takara version has blue knee paint applications and fully painted hands.

Even more subtle is her face - unlike the Generations toy, both have opted to go with the softer, more anime inspired face that the Legends version. The gold crest on the top of her head is slightly different, and you'll notice that the paint apps under her eyes are larger on the Takara, and that the Takara version is slightly smiling over the more neutral look of the Hasbro version. IIRC, Hasbro like neutral expressions on everything they make.

The blue paint apps on her eyebrows and sideburns, for lack of better terms, actually exist on both figures, but are very dark blue on the Hasbro to the point where I only noticed them when doing these pictures.

Unique to the Takara version is the Targetmaster. This is the first Targetmaster Legends I've purchased, so I don't know if the part is repainted from another figure or anything like that, and it certainly doesn't act anything like the Targetmaster I got with my Cyclonus years ago. It does have spiffy paint work, and decent articulation for a piece of that size. I'm thinking perhaps of the production costs for this piece (and possibly because of looks) the Targetmaster version went and reused the original Legends weapon rather than went with those twin blades the Hasbro one came with.

Overall, I feel the Takara version looks nicer, but the difference in robot mode isn't as great as it was on the Generations toy. Is it worth the extra $20 CAD? Ehh.. it depends - if you display in jet mode, the looks are significantly different ,but if you display in bot mode, it's going to come down to whether or not you like the extra pieces that the Takara version comes with.

I so hope that she will arrive soon !

Takara Legends Targetmaster Windblade.

Windblade is a relatively recent addition to Transformers lore. If you've watched the recent web series for the Prime Wars trilogy, she's one of the main characters. If you're look a bit further back, she was featured prominently in the comics, and received a toy after being the winner of the first toy design for mass production based purely on fan input.

Unfortunately, as Windblade has a very vibrant and colourful deco, the Transformers Generation toy didn't quite capture the character fully, and I missed the boat on the Legends release. With Windblade recently being featured in the Titans Return line, I immediately preordered the Legends edition as soon as I had a chance.

Like all of the Deluxes in the last wave of the recent Legend entries, Windblade has been deemed to be a Targetmaster, one of those characters with a little bot buddy that transforms into a weapon.

Fundamentally, the two toys are the same. Based off the Triggerhappy toy for transformation, but strangely doesn't share the articulation that the other toys enjoyed. Most notable would be the lack of waist movement. Other changes over her Generations appearance are that she is now a Headmaster, and that you can no longer remove the fan off the top of her head.

However, the two do differ in several ways, none of which should be overly surprising:

- Takara has the collectors friendly packaging

- Takara has more/different paint applications, translucent plastic, and the base red plastic is a richer colour

- Takara comes with the Targetmaster

- Takara comes with the sword the first Generations/Legends toy came with instead of the twin blades the Hasbro version comes with.

- Takara costs twice as much.

Obviously, there is quite a significant different in jet mode, with the fuselage being completely different colours as is the canopy, and the Takara version has painted VTOL fans. Also, the Titan Master/Head Master is missing some paint on the small robot face as well as on the arms and legs.

What I didn't expect was how subtle the changes in robot mode were.

The crest under her neckline is painted dark blue on Hasbro versus the translucent blue plastic used on the Takara. Takara version has blue knee paint applications and fully painted hands.

Even more subtle is her face - unlike the Generations toy, both have opted to go with the softer, more anime inspired face that the Legends version. The gold crest on the top of her head is slightly different, and you'll notice that the paint apps under her eyes are larger on the Takara, and that the Takara version is slightly smiling over the more neutral look of the Hasbro version. IIRC, Hasbro like neutral expressions on everything they make.

The blue paint apps on her eyebrows and sideburns, for lack of better terms, actually exist on both figures, but are very dark blue on the Hasbro to the point where I only noticed them when doing these pictures.

Unique to the Takara version is the Targetmaster. This is the first Targetmaster Legends I've purchased, so I don't know if the part is repainted from another figure or anything like that, and it certainly doesn't act anything like the Targetmaster I got with my Cyclonus years ago. It does have spiffy paint work, and decent articulation for a piece of that size. I'm thinking perhaps of the production costs for this piece (and possibly because of looks) the Targetmaster version went and reused the original Legends weapon rather than went with those twin blades the Hasbro one came with.

Overall, I feel the Takara version looks nicer, but the difference in robot mode isn't as great as it was on the Generations toy. Is it worth the extra $20 CAD? Ehh.. it depends - if you display in jet mode, the looks are significantly different ,but if you display in bot mode, it's going to come down to whether or not you like the extra pieces that the Takara version comes with.

HAHA JK! I hope you like this shot. I just preordered the 70-200 f/2.8L IS II! So in about a month or 2 I will buy an L macro lens! I am super excited :-) My first telephoto

Day 4 - 365 Toy Project - 10/29/07

Base Ball Dog Rement! ;)

Brandon and I went to Mitsuwa and tried to get the heaviest blind-box. And it was this one, the one I wanted! ;)

Comes from Am I a Dog?. When I opened the package I realized you could switch their clothes and hats! Oh, if I knew I would have preordered at HLJ. XD But I love my dog. He's perfect! ;)

One of the most memorable Sega Arcade Classics is Golden Axe. My time was mostly spent with the Master System version, so it blew my mind to find out that there were actually three characters to choose from, as opposed to just Ax Battler.

Storm Collectibles "recently" started their lineup from this beautiful game. Bored out of my mind due to lockdown, I preordered one directly from Storm in HK, as our local "dealer" in Toronto is not really reliable.

The figure itself follows the tried and true Storm design, featuring a base figure that has all the major bases covered, with a soft rubber upper torso, which normally would have allowed for neck motion without visible joints.... but they seem to have gotten rid of that a while ago.

Not that there was a non Deluxe version, but I suppose for the $128 its a decent value. You get 8 additional hands, her sword, and her noble steed the Blue Dragon. It's a shame that you don't get any little elves to beat up for meat and magic potions.

The Blue Dragon itself is nice and hefty, and also has a decent amount of articulation. Flame effect is meant for use with it... unless you're bored like me.

Ticket To Ride

January 15th 2010

That's my puppy Kacey who decided to jump in the picture.

The words are Brand New lyrics. :]

I preordered their new album yesterday!

More from today in the comments.

I posted them in my blog, but I'm assuming very few people actually look at my blog.

This is the prototype of the Greasebat in Orange and the first version on all Black. We preordered the Bluegrass edition and will be here in a few weeks.

The Little Lodge at St. Kate's Wood

On Pioneer Trail, southhwest of Heavenly Ski resort in South lake Tahoe surrounded by 80' pines, this stunning new 2 master suites 2.5baths, diminutive and dramatic lodge style house with 3 gas fireplaces has become available for Christmas December 23th-26th @the reduced 3 night minimum rate of 225/night. Fully equipped and furnished in comfort and contemporary high fashion mountain decor as devoid of the usual kitsch as it is yet full of the charm and romance of a Europeon hunting lodge, a parodized "hermitage des chasseurs".

In addition to cable and wifi connections pricing includes welcoming upon arrival valet service ensuring shoveled drive and walkway, purchase and stocking of preordered groceries, unloading and unpacking of luggage and departure maid service.. Promotional video on youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PIZj-1TrKU depicts additional bedroom and bath renditions prior to upgrades.

Pricing reflects offer for a respectful, non smoking occupancy of 4 guests only please

Coveniently located off of Pioneer Trail near Heavenly Ski resort.

Floorplan: www.flickr.com/photos/57320325@N06/

CALENDAR:https://www.homeawayconnect.com/cale ndar.aspx?propertyid=659828&culturename=e n-US&mode=1

<3

We saw the Bob Schneider show on 12/10, and I preordered the live CD of the night's performance. Something malfunctioned, and the CD had to be mailed. But the malfunction was present on the recording of the first CD--lots of loud pops and wobbles. Very annoying.

I wrote to the merchandise manager to complain, but in a nice way. I said I was excited to hear the CD, but it was noisy, and wah! And it wasn't even signed.

I attached my Christmas picture to the e-mail.

In seconds, I got an automated response saying that if it was a problem with the CD, they'd gladly replace it in person, at the next show.

Then, minutes later, I got an e-mail from the merchandise manager asking if I'd like a signed CD from another show. DUH! He thanked me for the picture, too. ;)

Just when I thought he might have forgotten, this package arrived in the mail.

I came in with it, grinning, and my husband said, "You whore! Put it on; I want to hear it."

Thank you, merchandise manager. And thank you, Bahhhhhhhb!

jbroe.bigcartel.com

Takara Legends Targetmaster Windblade.

Windblade is a relatively recent addition to Transformers lore. If you've watched the recent web series for the Prime Wars trilogy, she's one of the main characters. If you're look a bit further back, she was featured prominently in the comics, and received a toy after being the winner of the first toy design for mass production based purely on fan input.

Unfortunately, as Windblade has a very vibrant and colourful deco, the Transformers Generation toy didn't quite capture the character fully, and I missed the boat on the Legends release. With Windblade recently being featured in the Titans Return line, I immediately preordered the Legends edition as soon as I had a chance.

Like all of the Deluxes in the last wave of the recent Legend entries, Windblade has been deemed to be a Targetmaster, one of those characters with a little bot buddy that transforms into a weapon.

Fundamentally, the two toys are the same. Based off the Triggerhappy toy for transformation, but strangely doesn't share the articulation that the other toys enjoyed. Most notable would be the lack of waist movement. Other changes over her Generations appearance are that she is now a Headmaster, and that you can no longer remove the fan off the top of her head.

However, the two do differ in several ways, none of which should be overly surprising:

- Takara has the collectors friendly packaging

- Takara has more/different paint applications, translucent plastic, and the base red plastic is a richer colour

- Takara comes with the Targetmaster

- Takara comes with the sword the first Generations/Legends toy came with instead of the twin blades the Hasbro version comes with.

- Takara costs twice as much.

Obviously, there is quite a significant different in jet mode, with the fuselage being completely different colours as is the canopy, and the Takara version has painted VTOL fans. Also, the Titan Master/Head Master is missing some paint on the small robot face as well as on the arms and legs.

What I didn't expect was how subtle the changes in robot mode were.

The crest under her neckline is painted dark blue on Hasbro versus the translucent blue plastic used on the Takara. Takara version has blue knee paint applications and fully painted hands.

Even more subtle is her face - unlike the Generations toy, both have opted to go with the softer, more anime inspired face that the Legends version. The gold crest on the top of her head is slightly different, and you'll notice that the paint apps under her eyes are larger on the Takara, and that the Takara version is slightly smiling over the more neutral look of the Hasbro version. IIRC, Hasbro like neutral expressions on everything they make.

The blue paint apps on her eyebrows and sideburns, for lack of better terms, actually exist on both figures, but are very dark blue on the Hasbro to the point where I only noticed them when doing these pictures.

Unique to the Takara version is the Targetmaster. This is the first Targetmaster Legends I've purchased, so I don't know if the part is repainted from another figure or anything like that, and it certainly doesn't act anything like the Targetmaster I got with my Cyclonus years ago. It does have spiffy paint work, and decent articulation for a piece of that size. I'm thinking perhaps of the production costs for this piece (and possibly because of looks) the Targetmaster version went and reused the original Legends weapon rather than went with those twin blades the Hasbro one came with.

Overall, I feel the Takara version looks nicer, but the difference in robot mode isn't as great as it was on the Generations toy. Is it worth the extra $20 CAD? Ehh.. it depends - if you display in jet mode, the looks are significantly different ,but if you display in bot mode, it's going to come down to whether or not you like the extra pieces that the Takara version comes with.

When OMD announced their new album a few months back, I preordered it through Pledge Music, as a signed deluxe copy was about the same price I'd expect to pay for a normal new CD elsewhere. Last Friday the album was released and today I picked up the package from my parents' place, signed by Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys.

preordered

Takara Legends Targetmaster Windblade.

Windblade is a relatively recent addition to Transformers lore. If you've watched the recent web series for the Prime Wars trilogy, she's one of the main characters. If you're look a bit further back, she was featured prominently in the comics, and received a toy after being the winner of the first toy design for mass production based purely on fan input.

Unfortunately, as Windblade has a very vibrant and colourful deco, the Transformers Generation toy didn't quite capture the character fully, and I missed the boat on the Legends release. With Windblade recently being featured in the Titans Return line, I immediately preordered the Legends edition as soon as I had a chance.

Like all of the Deluxes in the last wave of the recent Legend entries, Windblade has been deemed to be a Targetmaster, one of those characters with a little bot buddy that transforms into a weapon.

Fundamentally, the two toys are the same. Based off the Triggerhappy toy for transformation, but strangely doesn't share the articulation that the other toys enjoyed. Most notable would be the lack of waist movement. Other changes over her Generations appearance are that she is now a Headmaster, and that you can no longer remove the fan off the top of her head.

However, the two do differ in several ways, none of which should be overly surprising:

- Takara has the collectors friendly packaging

- Takara has more/different paint applications, translucent plastic, and the base red plastic is a richer colour

- Takara comes with the Targetmaster

- Takara comes with the sword the first Generations/Legends toy came with instead of the twin blades the Hasbro version comes with.

- Takara costs twice as much.

Obviously, there is quite a significant different in jet mode, with the fuselage being completely different colours as is the canopy, and the Takara version has painted VTOL fans. Also, the Titan Master/Head Master is missing some paint on the small robot face as well as on the arms and legs.

What I didn't expect was how subtle the changes in robot mode were.

The crest under her neckline is painted dark blue on Hasbro versus the translucent blue plastic used on the Takara. Takara version has blue knee paint applications and fully painted hands.

Even more subtle is her face - unlike the Generations toy, both have opted to go with the softer, more anime inspired face that the Legends version. The gold crest on the top of her head is slightly different, and you'll notice that the paint apps under her eyes are larger on the Takara, and that the Takara version is slightly smiling over the more neutral look of the Hasbro version. IIRC, Hasbro like neutral expressions on everything they make.

The blue paint apps on her eyebrows and sideburns, for lack of better terms, actually exist on both figures, but are very dark blue on the Hasbro to the point where I only noticed them when doing these pictures.

Unique to the Takara version is the Targetmaster. This is the first Targetmaster Legends I've purchased, so I don't know if the part is repainted from another figure or anything like that, and it certainly doesn't act anything like the Targetmaster I got with my Cyclonus years ago. It does have spiffy paint work, and decent articulation for a piece of that size. I'm thinking perhaps of the production costs for this piece (and possibly because of looks) the Targetmaster version went and reused the original Legends weapon rather than went with those twin blades the Hasbro one came with.

Overall, I feel the Takara version looks nicer, but the difference in robot mode isn't as great as it was on the Generations toy. Is it worth the extra $20 CAD? Ehh.. it depends - if you display in jet mode, the looks are significantly different ,but if you display in bot mode, it's going to come down to whether or not you like the extra pieces that the Takara version comes with.

Those of you who know me pretty well know I'm a huge fan of Dredg. Back when they just released "Leitmotif", their first album, before they got signed... Back when they were a lot more... Odd, I guess... More rock-ish too, but really off-kilter (seeing them in Chico was amazing, because out of the whole crowd, it seemed to be less than five people who were headbanging and moshing with the band, since tempo changes kept fucking everyone else up hahaha).

This is their newest release, it's a live album that came out in the beginning of November or so, and I preordered it, and also have an autographed poster with it too. I'll photograph that later.

But of course, like all other Dredg recordings, it's highly recommended.

I’ll be honest, I have a love/hate relationship with Trick or Treat Studios. They make stuff I dreamt about owning my entire childhood, but many of the expensive items I’ve purchased from them have poor paint jobs and the colors literally wipe off when I dust them...they also have THEE worst customer service of any company I have ever encountered. They treat their customers like absolute shit. But I won’t get into that now.

.

I have to give it to them here...they totally knocked it out of the park with this one. I am HIGHLY impressed with the sculpt and overall look. The photos they released several months ago teasing this figure looked just ok. And the hands looked too smooth and “girly”. But it actually looks better in person, which is seldom the case.

.

For a price tag of $130, I’d say it’s worth every penny (if you’re a Myers freak like me)

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I preordered the Sideshow Myers statue a few months ago, that cost $600. It is twice the size of this guy, has real hair and comes with a light up jack o lantern...this is gonna be hard to beat, though. I’m just hoping for $600, it does. Haha.

.

My only issue with it is the knife is super cheapo. It broke while I was inserting it into his hand (he comes with two hands, one opened, one in a fist to hold the knife). I had to super glue it twice. But other than that, I love this thing.

i have been waiting for volume 8 of the walking dead to be released since april 16th. they kept changing the release date on it. i preordered this book back in march on amazon.com.

i actually didn't get into the walking dead series until february i believe. robert and i tore through 7 volumes in only a few weeks...these graphic novels are that good! if you have not already read this series, i recommend it. there is so much depth in this story. i really wish they would turn this into a t.v. series and put it on HBO or Showtime.

How many hours

are in a day

when you don't spend

half of them watching television?

When is the last time

any of us

REALLY

worked to get something that we wanted?

How long has it been

since any of us really

NEEDED

something that we WANTED?

THE WORLD WE KNEW IS GONE.

The world of commerce and frivolous necessity has been

replaced by a world of survival and responsibility.

An epidemic of apocolyptic proportions has swept

the golbe causing the dead to rise and feed on the living.

In a matter of months society has crumbled,

NO GOVERNMENT,

NO GROCERY STORES,

NO MAIL DELIVERY,

NO CABLE TV.

In a world ruled by the dead,

we are forced to finally start living.

~back cover of the walking dead~

preordered

- Daisee is the 1st doll I ever preordered. It was so exciting. XD

- She's supposed to be my Christmas gift, but I received her in august. ^^'

- When she arrived, my mother told me "you should call her desired" (it's a french expression, I don't know if it exists in english). So I looked at english names which could correspond to, and I found that the name Daisy, in stead of coming from the flower like I thought, comes from "day's eyes". That I found very poetic. And as my girl has beautiful blue eyes, I thought this name was perfect. And I chose the spelling "Daisee" because I think it looks good. :)

- She is my most expensive doll ever. Because I took her full set, but I loved everything in it. ^^; And I'm not deceived at all.

- Her face up is simple yet classy. And her pouty lips are absolutely lovely.

- Her mouth is sculpted but it's so small that I just can't take it properly in pictures. :( I assure you it's way more beautiful in real!!

With all the attention that the Marvel Cinematic universe, several companies have jumped on the bandwagon to produce figures, especially Iron Man ones.

The Midas is one of "blink and you'll miss it" suits featured during the epic House Party battle at the end of the movie.

When the original solicitations were shown, this Revoltech figure featured painted gold and chromed gold pieces. Seeing how this was a Japanese release, the final product didn't typically differ from the prototype drastically, so I bit and preordered one. I was also interested in the figure because it has been quite a few years since my last Revoltech purchase, so I was curious to see how things had changed.

What I received was a poorly painted figure with qc problems. As my photos show, the paint finish is not very smooth, and I could not actually get the joints aligned properly so that the figure could STAND properly.

Also disappointing was the lack of a stand that would permit flying poses.

Gonna stick with figmas.

Ok, fine, you get another teaser, this time of a pretty variety.

I have reached the pre-order stage for calendars!

The calendars will be $17 + shipping (no handling charges). Most likely they will be avialable sometime in the middle of November, and I will ship them to those who preordered.

I am printing 25 copies ONLY so please pre-order yours sooner than later.

I will definitely be posting more previews, so you can get a pretty good idea of what you'll be getting.

Flickrmail me if you are interested.

Ugh. Ugh, ugh, ugh. Poor Tina Dal. She's lovely and wonderful (okay, her hair needs a bit of work!), but the fur in her stock outfit is REAL FUR. Sadly I didn't realize that this was a possibility until AFTER I had preordered her, and I had to open the box to see if it was real or fake. But if the possibility of the fur in her outfit bothers anyone else. . . yes, it's real.

I plan on writing an email to Groove letting them know that I am terribly disappointed that they are using real fur in their dolls. The email I found if you are also interested in emailing is pullip@pullip.net . I encourage anyone who dislikes the idea of real fur being used in such products to drop them a line and let them know. One voice won't mean much to them, but hundreds will . . .

by rixtonofficial ift.tt/1K4AMYZ

I preordered the new Cake CD from them a few months ago...I was SO excited to see it in my mailbox today!!! Yep, I'm jammin' to it right now. :^)

Just so you know....Cake is the greatest band in the world. :^)

More Transformers goodness that has been sitting there for about 6 months now.

One of the more awesome things to come out of the PotP line was Abominus, the combiner formed from the Terrorcons. This combiner was, as expected, a G1 character that was released to oppose Computron, whose updated set was release during the Combiner Wars line. Unlike Computron, however, Abominus saw zero screen time during the recent animated trilogy, which is a shame because I'd like to have seen him interact with Computron.

I had cracked open Hun-Grr and Rippersnapper last year, but gotten the rest of the team by the Summer. didn't really open anything else up because I was waiting for the one thing to bring them all together - the Transform Dreamwave upgrade kit.

Transform Dreamwave (TDW) is one of the newer 3P companies to come on the scene, and effectively presents itself as better valued Perfect Effects (PE) alternative. I only have one PE upgrade kit - the one for Computron, so I can't really comment on any of their hands and feet options. But the PE stuff I did get was very well made, and Abominus needed some love so I figured why not?

Well, the set finally arrived, and I unpacked everything and did some photos, made some notes, and now present to you my findings, starting with my assessment of the rest of the Terrorcon team.

As with most combiner limbs, regardless of the era, they're generally functional in all modes with no real winner as there is reuse and remoulding of parts as much as possible to reduce production costs. To complicate matters, as it were, the Terrorcons are all monsters of sorts, so even their alt modes are kind of arbitrary. Also, as is the new norm, the accessories they came with are rather meh, though I'm trying to decide which is more boring - the weapons, or the fist/armour bits.

Having said that, some are less boring to look at than others, and my vote for best Terrorcon limb goes to Blot, the black and purple fellow. I love the colour scheme and the "not quite a block with arms and legs" look he's got going for him.

Overall, winner by a large margin.

So back to TDW. They actually came to my attention first with their Volcanicus upgrade kit (soon to be discussed) but when I preordered the Abominus kit the Volcanicus kit had not arrived yet, so I did so with blind faith.

For those who are unfamiliar with TDW and PE, as you suspect, their upgrade kits make the default combiners from Hasbro/Takara into magnificent looking bastards which sadly still have the underlying problems of really crappy loose joints.

Much like the PE set, the TDW set has their combiner fists and feet being able to separate and transform, as applicable, into weapons for the smaller bots and wield. The TDW sets try to one up PE by making EVERYTHING into a weapon or accessory for the smaller bots, thus increasing it's value as it were, but honestly I don't know of many people who would be taking advantage of I'm fairly confident that most folks would stick with the combined mode anyway because lets face it, the individual bots are above average overall.

Unlike PE, however, I've noticed that TDW has parts to increase thigh thickness of the combined mode, as well as in the case of Abominus, additional parts to expand the torso size due to the installation of the chest shield.

Installed, the set does definitely do the job of making the combined mode much more visually appealing, which as mentioned, is limited by the crap joints that are in the base product.

I know there are lots of people who complain about the QC on Hasbro products, but generally it's an issue with poor paint apps. The QC with these sets is all over the place, which I guess is not out of the realm of expectations for a smaller manufacturer, but it really does put the reality of Hasbro and Takara being better at something in perspective.

Between Volcanicus and Abominus, the biggest issues I saw were:

- poor paint apps, most prevalent on the silver guns in the feet

- poor hinge tolerance on the feet, leading them to split apart when weight is applied

- peg tolerances being too large resulting in difficulty inserting into the figures

So yeah, buyer beware, but again if you're not looking too closely you're generally good to go.

The Little Lodge at St. Kate's Wood

On Pioneer Trail, southhwest of Heavenly Ski resort in South lake Tahoe surrounded by 80' pines, this stunning new 2 master suites 2.5baths, diminutive and dramatic lodge style house with 3 gas fireplaces has become available for January 1st-4th @the reduced rate of 225/night. Fully equipped and furnished in comfort and contemporary high fashion mountain decor as devoid of the usual kitsch as it is yet full of the charm and romance of a Europeon hunting lodge, a "hermitage des chasseurs".

In addition to cable and wifi connections pricing includes welcoming upon arrival valet service ensuring shoveled drive and walkway, purchase and stocking of preordered groceries, unloading and unpacking of luggage and departure maid service.. Promotional video on youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PIZj-1TrKU depicts additional bedroom and bath renditions prior to upgrades.

Pricing reflects offer for a respectful, non smoking occupancy of 4 guests only please

Coveniently located off of Pioneer Trail near Heavenly Ski resort.

Floorplan: www.flickr.com/photos/57320325@N06/

CALENDAR:https://www.homeawayconnect.com/cale ndar.aspx?propertyid=659828&culturename=e n-US&mode=1

wtf am i gonna say about buttons? he's just a pintsize badass. he was my first foray into tinies ownership (i preordered him when pipos first came into being) and got me hooked on owning them. literally, too, since he won me yuki in a contest pipos held. i don't remember what inspired me to make him all patchwork. i just vaguely remember excitedly telling my husband about my idea over the phone. but i made him brodwyn's golem in a desperate attempt to somehow fit him in and justify buying him, and even though it was kind of a weird idea at the time, now it just fits. i have a newer body for him with a jointed torso that i've never gotten around to decorating, but i wonder if it would even work? he's yellowed into a creamy color while the body is just stark white. so he may have to stay the way he is, even if he can't pose worth beans.

Im getting soo impatient for all the dolls I preordered.

I ordered Ms Sneaky on 2/23. They Say it takes 30 days from Order Confirmation. And I just got word that she ships at the end of the month :(

Im so bummed cause I was hoping she would be here like this week cause its been over 30 days :(

and Christmas lea, Ill probably see around Christmas with my luck.

I think I am seriously about done with Preorders, Im seriously sick of waiting all the time for everything while $$ is tied up in them :(

The children were provided pre-cut masks and supplies to be glued onto the masks. Although these were preordered products, you can see that with a little extra items to add on each child can create their own individual masks according to their own likes/taste.

So interesting story about this figure. This is actually an older release - I mean, most of them are by the time they get to me - but in this instance I mean it was clearanced on Black Friday, but I actually preordered it when it was first annouced.

It's just that for whatever reason, over a year later my selected Canadian retailer still had not gotten it yet. So I ended up cancelling and ordering the figure from Bandai directly for like half the price.

Win-win?

The details escape me now, but there were two versions of this figure announced, with this being the Deluxe version. I believe it had to do with some stickers and the postcard.

This is also my first Blitzway product and I have to say they're pretty good from an end product perspective. I've never seen any other company, especially one making figures at this size/price point, actually put a plastic baggie over each individual hand.

Now THAT'S quality concerns.

While this figure isn't really about the articulation, Waldo (or Wally) features some decent articulation. He's no Black Widow, but he can at least keep up with your action figure, albeit one with no waist.

The finished product is, as mentioned, quite clean. It's very simple by comparison to other figures that I've purchased, No issues with regards to blemishes or poor paint. The host of accessories are well done.

At the end of the day, chances are unless you're a fan of Where's Waldo/Wally, you're probably going to skip this. It doesn't come from any exciting franchises, and it's really not a figure that fits into most peoples collection.

But it IS a refreshing change of pace. So if you're looking for something like that, look no further, though you might want to wait for another sale.

package from sweden arrived today... can't remember why i preordered the touchmods mic in white, but, well, it shoudl work anyway

Preordered!

GT5 which I preordered was released on the 24th of november, but apparently I won't be getting it before dec 31st.

The Little Lodge at St. Kate's Wood

On Pioneer Trail, southhwest of Heavenly Ski resort in South lake Tahoe surrounded by 80' pines, this stunning new 2 master suites 2.5baths, diminutive and dramatic lodge style house with 3 gas fireplaces has become available for Christmas December 23th-26th @the reduced 3 night minimum rate of 225/night. Fully equipped and furnished in comfort and contemporary high fashion mountain decor as devoid of the usual kitsch as it is yet full of the charm and romance of a Europeon hunting lodge, a parodized "hermitage des chasseurs".

In addition to cable and wifi connections pricing includes welcoming upon arrival valet service ensuring shoveled drive and walkway, purchase and stocking of preordered groceries, unloading and unpacking of luggage and departure maid service.. Promotional video on youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PIZj-1TrKU depicts additional bedroom and bath renditions prior to upgrades.

Pricing reflects offer for a respectful, non smoking occupancy of 4 guests only please

Coveniently located off of Pioneer Trail near Heavenly Ski resort.

Floorplan: www.flickr.com/photos/57320325@N06/

CALENDAR:https://www.homeawayconnect.com/cale ndar.aspx?propertyid=659828&culturename=e n-US&mode=1

Last week, I found out that Good Smile Company was attending the 'Made in Asia' con in Belgium. Originally, I had no intention of going but once I knew they were selling Wonfes items, I had to go.

I already preordered Snow Miku but I couldn't resist the chance of getting her earlier.

I was so worried that Snow Miku would be sold out by the time I got there. But I was in luck : I could buy Snow Miku and Rin Shibuya. So happy!!!