June 2008 Archives

Giga brought home the one he bought during the Cinci toy runs at Botcon and added it to the Crack Den.

TF Animated Bulkhead is the 2072nd Transformer that I've acquired.

Giga brought home the one he bought during the Cinci toy runs at Botcon and added it to the Crack Den.

TF Animated Prowl is the 2071st Transformer that I've acquired.

The World's Most Beloved Official Mascot of The Crack Den™ was waiting at the front door today.

Behold his awesome glory!

I picked up and put back Animated Voyager Prime, the Megs/Prime 2-pack, and a Voyager Bulkhead.

See?

I'm getting better.

All I gotta say is if the BBC pulls another f'n big ass Star Trek reset button next week (like they did last series) I'm gonna be pissed as hell.

Yes. I will!

With that said...

*possible spoilers ahead*

Trailer for tonight's UK episode of Doctor Who. US won't get this for about 3 weeks.

Spoiler warnings obviously apply if you haven't been keeping up.

Unfortunately, a character returns that I really have never been able to stand.

OK.

Opinions.

Botcon sets since Fun Publications took over.

Which should I keep?

Boxed set or a loose but sealed bagged set?

So. How ya been?

That bad eh?

Yeah. Pretty much same here.

Spent all morning moving pallets and shit on a humid dank loading dock at work. Between that, the feeling of puking from the stickiness, and my back and shoulder blades hurting like a mo fo this is looking to be a shitty weekend.

The robots?

Nah. Haven't got the room done yet.

I pull a few out every day and throw 'em up on the shelf. I try to dust them off at least.

No. I'm still not completely sure what the hell I'll be getting rid of.

Huh? Oh yeah, I'll probably be selling off a bagged set of Botcon Games of Deception that I shouldn't have bought.

No. Black Fire Convoy is not for sale.

Hah! That's funny. You are right. I have absolutely no idea how Botcon Ratchet's head managed to get stuck and won't flip up. Maybe I'll let Arjun play with him and he can figure it out. Those Ukraindian kids are clever like that.

Comfest? Ugh. No. If you've been to 15+ Comfests you've been to them all. And the gays just had to move their gay parade to the same weekend at the same location so as to make the last week of June even more horrible.

Hah! You too? I almost ran over a drag queen once too but with a 1981 Pontiac Grand Prix!

No. There's never been a Grand Prix Transformer. Bears. Bunnies. Giraffes. Bugs. No. No Grand Prixes (sic). No. I don't think there have been Otters either.

Me? I'll probably go home and lay on an ice pack for 30 minutes or so. I may take a vicodan. If I'm gonna spent the night messed up on goofballs for my pain I should probably hit Target and snag The Beast With A Billion Backs on the way home.

3:30.

Maybe earlier.

No. I already took off 2 hours early to go home and lay down.

Hah! Funny you should ask about all the work I haven't got to. AEP came over yesterday. The Hoont was barking his head off and woke me up. Sure enough the guy was at the door.

Yeah. I managed to get them to agree to tear down those 2 awful and bare pine trees that are in the back yard. They reach up into the power lines somewhat but apparently it isn't something to worry about.

They'll cut them down but they'll leave the waste in the yard. They'll cut them to a safe area and then I'll have to chainsaw them down to the stump.

No. I don't know if "to chainsaw" is a verb or not.

I've got a shitload of other debris that needs to get carted to the dump. Apparently they'll take the wood from the pine trees.

Sell it? Hah! And what, buy more useless robots? Not on your life.

Daddy needs new deck and patio furniture!

"Besides, if I didn't buy Final Crisis, I'd just spend the money on booze and hookers."

My how that so easily translates to "If I didn't by transforming robots I'd just spend the money on pot, house remodeling, dog food, and hookers."

I'll drink a Corona Light and sing Sto Lat tonight in your honour!

They look pretty decent together in a way that most individual figures haven't in ages.

The generally consistent color palette at least makes them look like a team of some kind as opposed to a motley ragtag band of miscellaneous repaints.

Only 2 more years to go and I'll have the whole team!!!

Yippee!!!

---

Botcon Mirage has really grown on me.

Now the mold I've loved since day one but the dark translucent blue was kind of meh.

Yeah yeah... I know... the clear plastic likely would have yellowed. Believe. I know. My Osaka Toysland Clear Mach Alert is yellowed.

But I think he would have looked incredibly sweet clear with this same blue as the wheels.

---

Here's something that sucks the balls!

Botcon Ratchet's head refuses to pop up!!!

The greatest website ever!

So there I was walking up the steps and got all excited thinking it was my Shockwave Munny but alas, it was just a Transformers Club membership figure.

Not as translucent as in previous figures. Well... at least the jet/plane one.

TF Club Topspin is the 2070th Transformer that I've acquired.

(And yes, I like him holding two guns instead of the official instructions!)

Megs has some issues. What's sad is that they were there right out of the box before I even transformed him.

There's plastic stress on some of his pins. Hell. The one pin doesn't even look like it was inserted right and had to be cut or something.

Who knows what our Chinese overlords are doing with toy production these days.

All I know is that mine better have a shitload of lead in the paint.

It tastes better that way.

The jury is still out on the new camera.

While I love the monochrome quality of it, I can't say I see much difference at all in the higher ISO settings that I really expected to see.

Yeah... I don't have a $500 macro lens for it, and the lenses I do have are either pretty basic or a generic telephoto, but there's just something more I expected.

I know I have a lot to relearn on this, but I'm got this overwhelming feeling that I probably should have just stayed with my Powershot A620 for a bit.

Damage is done already though so I might as well experiment and learn the damn thing.

I really don't want to add another movie figure to my mix but damn, whilst I was at the Target I came across Deep Space Starscream and all I can say is that's one sweet paint deco.

Damn!

I mean... I've got a fetish for monochromatic color palettes and damn if Hasbro didn't nail this one exactly to bunch my boxers up!

It actually makes the damn think look decent... and I'm no fan of the mold!

I don't know.

I just expected more.

He's just... I don't know.

That face just doesn't quite have the character of Megatron from the show.

I like a certain regal arrogance in my Megatrons. Hell, I'd have settled for the Beast Wars Reborn retooled smirk even.

I think my favorite new part is the disclaimer on the instructions: "Some parts are made to detach if excessive force is applied..."

Yeah. His legs fell off while Transforming him.

Then again, he's not all that solid or sturdy of a figure in bot more his cyberthing mode.

---

TF Animated Megatron is the 2069th Transformer that I've acquired.

Evebird said...

So is the Energon Arcee motorcycle officially the TF with the most repaints ever? With BotCon, Target Sector 7, and mass releases in US and Japan, there have got to be 10-12 different shades of that thing.

... and that got me thinking.

While it certainly has been repainted a shitload of times, personally I'm betting on one of the G2 Spychanger molds being one of the most repainted figures.

Some of them were done so many times as Car Robots Spychangers, Super Spychasers, Jusco Spychangers, RID Spychangers, the many variations on that, Tiny Tin Spychangers, the G1 repaint Spychangers, not to mention some of the other Japanse chase versions.

I'd have to say, just looking across my crack, that one of these 6 Spychangers is likely the most repainted Transformer ever.

Your thoughts?

Why haven't the robots been politely saving?

I'm in need of a fix.

So I've been thinking of actually keeping a bit more crack than originally planned.

There's no reason I have to get rid of some of the things I'd originally planned to.

Hell. I can even rotate some things in and out as I feel the need to refresh the shelves so to speak.

So... I'm thinking I'll get rid of...

Most if not all of the G2 stuff
All non-show appearing Beast Wars figures (with the exceptions of a few Japanese Neo ones)
95% of Armada/Micron Densetsu
95% of Energon/Superlink
60% of Cybertron/Galaxy Force
Some Botcon stuff

So... that'll still allow me some shit to make people want to puke when they visit and yet also not make me feel like the tens of thousands of dollars I've wasted in my life on this shit hasn't been in vain.

Then again, I could just haul up a dumpster and be free of it all.

Ok.... when you think of G1 Ultra Magnus... what are the 2 predominant colors you think of?

Ugh!

Learning a new camera, especially an SLR, oh so much fun.

Ye olde stinky meowy butt.

So I dropped some cash down on a Canon EOS Rebel XSi SLR today.

Battery is charging up.

Of course, being that is is a higher-end camera, it doesn't take AAs like all my point-and-shoots have.

I bought a second battery too ($50 frigg'n dollars) but she gave me the wrong one so it'll have to go back tomorrow or later today.

I'm in that weird post-purchase guilt phase that I slip into after buying any single one thing that is more than $20 or so.

I know it'll pass in a few days... but I always hate it when it hits. Not like I haven't been planning this for a while.

It has probably been close to 15 years since these Scramble City combiners were separated.

And man... are they dusty.

So I've been saving up money lately to buy a new digital camera.

I'm going to buy a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi on Saturday morning.

I almost bought one yesterday but the girl at Ritz told me they were going on sale this Saturday for $100 less so I'm waiting.

I've been wanting an DSLR for some time now and well... it is time.

Yes.

I bought her Shockwave Munny.

And no, you may not touch him.

Gotta admit... as far as repaints go... these are surprisingly fun.

When it comes down to it I don't have much attachment to most of this G1 stuff.

Maybe a few gestalts... Maximus... my Micromasters... but that's it.

Not like a lot of it is in any kind of perfect shape anyway.

And my favorite...

"The Shelf of I Forgot How To Transform You"

I just just leave all the shelves like this.

You can bitch and whine all you want, but God Magnus comes down as the most-kickingest-ass-trouncing Ultra Magnus of all time.

And he's a total dick too!

If you ignore Hasbro's forcing of "Galvatron" on his American counterpart, Car Robots' Devil Gigatron is a pretty beautiful figure.

He's busy with a lot going on color-wise but it works for me.

I don't think I'll be keeping Masterpiece Suckitude here.

He's really quite a shitty $100 figure.

I have to frigg'n lean him up against the wall just to get him to stand on those wobbly spindly legs.

Black Fire Convoy makes his first appearance in the Plastic Crack Den.

And I ask myself... do I really need any other Transformer?

Ok kids. It will happen quite soon.

Over the next few weeks I'll be pulling out stuff from storage and preparing the sale of the The Toy Collection Formerly Known As The Attic of Love But Now Has To Be Reduced To The Crack Den Of Love.

I've got a general idea of what has to go but until I start sorting I won't know for sure.

I definitely know what won't be going.

Stay tuned.

It'll take me a while to do this since I start the garage repairs in a few days but I'll try to do a few per week.

Why the hell did I buy this both in box form and in loose bag form?

This so has to go.

Anybody interested?

Well I played around with the space... what there is of it... and the shelves really need to be against all the viable walls.

That leaves a condensed version of my computer desk to go in front of the closet door.

I have another door to the closet in my bedroom so it isn't a big deal.

I suppose I can hang my Car Robots poster against the door once I get it framed or something.

My Father's Day present.

TF Animated Bumblebee is the 2068th Transformer that I've acquired.

So today I'm trying to wrap up the shelf assembly for the new Crack Den.

What a pain in the ass these are to assemble.

It is taking me close to 90 minutes per shelf.

Somebody with a better back could probably do it a lot faster.

I just want these 2nd floor projects done!!!

I haven't written about it in a long time.

Hell... I haven't had much time to internet much about anything non-domicile modeling related.

But I just have to say...

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA FUCKING ROCKS MY BALLS!!!!

That is all.

I had very high hopes for him.

But out of the package, his cockpit won't really close and the one turret keeps falling off.

Not good.

TF Animated Lugnutis the 2067th Transformer that I've acquired.

TF Animated Grimlock is the 2066th Transformer that I've acquired.

There's nothing that could possibly make me more angry than going to Target and seeing that they've decided to REFUCKINGSTOCK the shelves that I wanted for the Crack Den!!!

You know.

Those PERFECTFUCKINGSHELVES that were exactly what I wanted for the toys!!!

Grrr...

I stopped posting and even really viewing the Flickr Transformers pools I belong to a long time ago.

Alas, I haven't seen Revlimit's stuff in a while and damn, if this Masterpiece Megatron pic isn't fantastic!

I never bought the add-ons for mine.

In fact, I don't think I ever put him in gun mode either.

TF Animated Blackarachnia is the 2065th Transformer that I've acquired.

So on the way home from dinner we passed Wal-Mart and stopped in. They were cleaned out of quite a few figures but I snagged a Ratchet.

I'm kinda shocked though.

He's more light grey than white.

TF Animated Ratchet is the 2064th Transformer that I've acquired.

So I got this email from Evebird yesterday...

FYI, WalMarts in Cols are receiving TF Animated toys. I just bought Lugnut and Grimlock on Bethel Rd. They have all the deluxe size figures--Ratchet, Blackarachnia, Bumblebee, Lockdown, Prime, Prowl, plus Bulkhead, Starscream, Megatron, two-packs, etc.

Man. Those days are so long gone now.

I kind of want Ratchet and Bulkhead but there is no longer that "gotta have now" feeling in me that used to be there.

And then I read...

"I'd love and think we could almost barely manage ten on each side," wrote Mr. Orci on the Don Murphy message boards.

Oh yes. You did such a wonderfully fantastic job with characterization and dialogue with 5 on each side in that first movie.

Whatever.