Transformers Animated : Oil Slick

I have a few MOC figures that I have had for some time.  I think this is the one that I’ve had the longest(from the ones that I plan on opening).  So this guy has been waiting to be opened since last tax season.

Oil slick here was found at Toys “R” Us on clearance for less than 4 bucks around February or March of last year.  My choices were either Oil Slick(the only one), or Cybertron Mode Ratchet(which there were three of).  Now, I am a fan of the Transformers Animated style.  I was only able to catch a handful of episodes when it was on tv, but the animation style was very pleasing to my eyes.  And with these figures, I feel that Hasbro hit their mark in conveying the look into action figure form.  I only wish I started buying them sooner, because there are a few more I would really love to have(Starscream, Bulkhead, Blurr, Lugnut etc.).  He looks cool in both robot and vehicle mode.

The only thing I don’t like is how the front tire doesn’t look like a single tire.  But I do like that ram skull that is on the front, as well as the barrels under the saddle bags(the barrels turn into weapons).  I also like the color scheme, which is reminiscent of military(in color only, not pattern).  So there is more right than wrong with this figure.

You’ll notice that the chain is not exactly what is pictured on the back of the card.  Now I understand that the product may vary from the depiction on the package – – but the chain on the back is black and has many small links.  What you actually get is a gray, shorter chain with larger links.  This looks terrible when compared to the back of the card(so much better).

But there was one other reason for buying this figure(besides being a fan of the style), and that is the domed head.  I find that to be extremely aesthetically pleasing.  There would be only one thing that could make this figure any better…and that’s if the dome was clear, and almost completely filled with green liquid(and if we were in the eighties, it may have very well happened).

Mail Call!!

For the past week I’ve been waiting anxiously for a package to arrive in the mail.  Any time I know something is coming for me, I watch the mailbox like a hawk!  This package was coming from none other than Brian, the man behind Cool and Collected(check it out, I’ll still be here).  He had acquired some stuff he was taking offers on, and we made a deal.

Without further adieu…

These are some freebies Brian included(thanks, man!!).  I already have these McDonald’s Turtles, but I’ll find them a good home.  Plus some Garbage Pail Kids from 2003.  I thought those 2 were the only ones in the box, until my wife was breaking up the box and asked, “Should these be here?”.  There were a whole bunch more that slipped in under the flaps of the box, that were totally hidden from view!  Brian you really know how to make someone smile!

Here we have “ass-less” Army Ants.  These guys came with bright green abdomens, that were for some reason, removable.  Of course we kids would remove them and lose them shortly after.  I remember getting them suctioned to my tongue, like you would with the small tops of Bic pens.  I didn’t have any of these guys in my collection, so it’s not a big deal right now.  Also in this picture you’ll see Bumper from the The Crash Dummies line.  If I remember correctly, he was paired with Hubcat.

On the left we have Megatron from Transformers Animated(another freebie!).  I really dig the figures from the Animated line, and this was one I didn’t have.  He’s from “The Battle Begins” 2-pack from 2008.  I found the Optimus Prime from this set last year, you can see him here.  All I need is Optimus’ axe accessory, and I’ll be set.  To the right, we have Runabout from 1986.  He’s missing his arms, but still a nice addition to the collection.  The rub sign on this guy works even better than the new Reveal the Shield figures(and he’s 25 years old).

And this last one surprised the hell out of me.  It’s one of the aliens from Independance day.  I thought this guy was maybe 8 inches tall.  How wrong I was!

(“Release me.”)

This guy is like a foot tall!  He’s missing one of the tentacles that keep him balanced, but it doesn’t hinder him from standing up.  I put some new batteries in it, and the action features still work.  The “A” function just makes a loud alien noise, while the “B” function makes the noise, and the head splits open!  If you’ve seen the movie, you know this is basically an exo-suit for the actual aliens(who are way smaller).  This thing is awesome!  Now I have to find one of those little aliens(which I used to have years ago).

Thanks again Brian, not only did you give me a great deal, you made my week!

Friday

This past Friday, my wife and I ventured out to Albany to do our Christmas shopping.  We went to the mall and to Wal-Mart, which is where we’ll start the acquistions.

Last Friday, we had our annual Christmas lunch at work.  We have a sort of Secret Santa exchange of gifts(more like a Chinese auction), and I wound up receiving a $5 Wal-Mart gift card.  The first thing I thought about were the Legends Class Transformers that Wal-Mart routinely has for right around five bucks.  I had a choice of three, total.  Granted, they we’re all different, but I kinda felt let down.  But out of the three available, one sounded familiar.

Not only did his name sound familiar.  But, a green dump truck, meant this guy was a Constructicon!  He’s not very detailed and doesn’t have a great range of motion, but for five bucks, he’s a decent pocket sized toy.

While in the mall, I stopped in Hot Topic to see if they had any toys on clearance.  No luck.  But they did have a pretty good selection of candies.  I picked up 3 different ones, but only left with 1(I don’t think $4.99 is a fair price for candy in a collectible container).

So I paid $2.99 for Bob-omb here.  He has a Fun-Dip like, cola flavored candy dust, with a cherry flavored candy stick.  Sounds like a winner to me.

And next up is the great deal that I hyped in the previous post.

First off, I want to show you the receipt for the item purchased.

I had to show you the receipt, because there is an interesting story that goes with this.

I went to the Toys R Us Express in the mall, to check out their selection of Transformers.  And to my surprise, there was a decent selection to choose from.  I had to pass on a few figures that I would have purchased, if we we’re not in the midst of the holiday season.  But, there was a sign on the Transformers rack that more or less said, “Friday and Saturday only: Transformers Animated Deluxe Class figures $6.49.”.  Holy shit!!  The original price they had on these guys was 12 bucks.  The had Oil Slick, Cybertonian Mode Ratchet and 1 or 2 others, including this guy.

I brought him up to the register and he rung up at $18.49.  I explained the sign and showed that this indeed was a Voyager Class Transformers Animated figure.  They looked at the sign and brought over an Oil Slick figure to scan for comparison.  Oil Slick rang up at $6.49.  Oil Slick was also originally priced at $12.00, while Rodimus Minor was priced at $14.99.  And I wasn’t going to buy that figure at any price other than the advertised $6.49.  And that’s exactly what I paid for him.  My guess is that being that Rodimus and Cybertronian Mode Ratchet are Toys R Us exclusives and are priced higher.  I don’t know why they didn’t state an exclusion, but it worked out in my favor and I got this great figure for a penny more than seven dollars!

I love how the sculptors paid tribute to G1 Hot Rod.  It’s the styling of this car that drew me to the figure in the first place.  And in Robot mode, he looks great as well.

I don’t have a full blown review, but if you guys want one I can try.  I was just really happy with such a great Friday that I felt like sharing.

Here are the new guys.  The Batman in the picture was given to me on Saturday from my buddy Clark.  He found him on a beach when he was in Florida and gave him to me.  Now I have to figure out where I’m going to display my new additions.

Transformers Animated Skywarp

So, the day after our wedding, I found myself at a Marshall’s in Albany, NY.  I haven’t been to a Marshall’s in a really long time.  I’ve always known them to be a place to get brand name clothing at a discount price.  Even back in the day, I only ever seem to recall them as a clothing outlet.  So I went in thinking I would see if they had any clothes that caught my eye.  I walked around for about 2 minutes, and saw an overhead sign that said Toys.  I didn’t expect to see anything great, but, to my surprise, they had top shelve lines at a great price!  The G.I. Joe and Transformers toys immediately caught my eye.

While a few new G.I. Joes would have been great to add to the collection, I was interested in the Transformers Animated(Voyager Class) figures they had at $12.99.  These figures, when new, run in the $19.99+ range.  So seven dollars off of the retail price is quite a discount!  I remember trying do decide(briefly), between Skywarp and some other figure(maybe Lugnut?).  And had Swindle been available, it may have been a tough decision.

Beautiful, isn’t it?

I have always thought that the seeker jets from Transformers were some of the best looking characters.  I recall playing with Starscream as a child, but I don’t think that the figure belonged to me.  Skywarp here is basically a repaint of the Starscream that came out earlier in the line.  Which makes perfect sense!  Because, according to the back of the box, Skywarp is a clone of Starscream.

 The seeker mode is a little different from the classic style, but looks good, none the less.  The biggest differences are that these guys are wider than their 80’s counterparts and the wings are facing towards the front of the plane as opposed to the rear.  And the color schemes for the most part are close(Starscream is missing blue from his color scheme, and I think makes him look a bit dull).

But in robot mode is where this figure shines.

 I think the design of this figure is great!  The articulation is great as well.  It allows you to put the figure in all sorts of action poses.  And as a toy, I would think that it has top notch playability.  I give it a 5/5.

 

Two of my favorite figures.

If only they were on the same side, this would make an awesome team!

Skywarp will now introduce the next(hopefully) review piece(coming soon).

Skywarp:  I would vaporize you if Jay didn’t have to review you next!

 Bumblebee:  Thanks!  What can I do to repay you?                                        

                                                                                                                                 Skywarp:  Well…since were in front of a Super Nintendo…I think reenacting a scene from one of my favorite Nintendo games will do.

                                                                                                                                                                  Bumblebee:  Oookkaaaayy…what do you have in mind?                              

Bumblebee:  So what is the scene that this is supposed to represent? 

                                                                                                                                                                Skywarp:  Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!  You’re Lil’ Mac, Nuggit is Referee Mario and I’m Mike Tyson.  The only difference is that I always win!  Because 

the speed of your fingers can’t match the strength of my fists!                

Bumblebee:  You’re such a dork!                                                                           

Skywarp:  Well, I thought it was amusing.                                                         

 The commentary from the toys does not seem to publish the same way that the draft looks.  I hope that doesn’t detract to the little bit of humor I attempted.  As I was taking the pictures, the last one really reminded me of Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!

It’s great to be back!!

Wow!  It feels like I’ve been gone forever.  I don’t have a specific idea to go in depth about, but a few of you made some suggestion as to what you would like to hear about upon my return.  The 3 suggestions were toys, video games and something Christmassy(maybe catoons another time Bobby).

First up…toys.  During my absence, I did aquire a few things to add to the collection.  The first is the large plush ALF(officially licensed), my buddy Clark traded to me.  I also managed to find a Transformers Animated Voyager Class Skywarp(review coming soon) for the low price of $12.99 at Marshall’s.  And lastly, my step brother bought me Cybertonian Bumblebee as a Christmas gift(review coming soon as well…as soon as I figure out how to transform the friggin’ thing).

Next up, we have video games.  Jboypacman suggested that I discuss some of my video game interests.  Well, three letters define my favorite video games…N.E.S.  That’s not saying that I don’t play other systems though.  I still play SNES, gameboy, Gamecube and PS2(as well as a few PS1 games).  I just prefer the old school games.  I would love to get a Sega Master System or a Turbo Grafx 16 or even a Wii.  I collect Nintendo games for all of their systems, up to the Gamecube, but primarily for the NES.  Here are a few pics of my growing NES collection.

And lastly, Bobby suggeted cartoons and something Christmassy.  And while I don’t have anything cartoon related to post, it is Christmas time, so I decided to post a picture of our little Christmas tree.  I want to get a few Christmas related posts up, so I’ll see what I can do.  If you’re a fan of Christmas, I reccomend you check out the Advent Calendar over at X-entertainment, I promise, you won’t regret it.  I’ll see you guys in a few days(when I have something else to write about).