Monthly Archives: July 2016

Transformer Toy Reviews

Toy Review – Titans Return Blurr, Hardhead, Scourge and Skullsmasher

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The third in my reviews of the first wave of the new Titans Return toyline, today we are looking at the Deluxe figures.  This is the only size that is evenly distributed, two Autobots and two Decepticons.  And like the Voyager line they all have Cybertronian alt-modes.  So lets have a look at what is predominantly the cast list from Seasons 3 & 4 of a cartoon decades old – Blurr, Hardhead, Scourge and Skullsmasher.

 

Blurr – Robot Mode

The fastest bot in all Cyber-Mexico!DSCF5579

The fastest bot in all Cyber-Mexico!

Whilst not as tall and lanky as the original it does look really good.  You can position the noscone from the hovercar mode either on his arm to simulate the shield the original toy (and the Animated toy) had, or you can put it on his back to simulate the original toys backpack which is where it is supposed to go anyway for transformation.  Very easy to pose with lots of points of articulation.

Hardhead – Robot Mode

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Very indicative of the G1 version of the character. I think it’s a nice touch that you can maneuver the cannon on his back to sit up or over the shoulder. Quite good articulation, well proportioned, good colour scheme, poseable.   Only downside is his size – he could stand to be a bit bigger, especially when compared to his G1 and Universe incarnations.

Skullsmasher – Robot Mode

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The eyes on Grax are a bit too dark, and while this simulates the G1 toy I think the Takara head looks better.  The tail, like the G1 toy, becomes a hand weapon but it’s a bit too big and can’t really be positioned on any great angle.  Out of the four new Titans Return deluxes he is certainly the weakest of the four.  Also his alligator claws come off really easy in this mode.

Scourge – Robot Mode

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Fracas is a bit too boxy and the laser on the top doesn’t stick up enough to be properly noticeable.  Besides that this is a pretty good looking Scourge with a good colour scheme, articulation and the proportions and wings work well.  I think he will be serving as a Sweep next to the G1, Titanium and Generations versions in my collection.

Blurr – Cybertronian Hovercar Mode

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Now THIS looks like the speedster we all know and love, not a recoloured Drift.  Very compact and sleek, it’s a great representation of the character.  The laser under the front even works well.  The little hatch for his Titans Return partner is good and it even incorporates the little gap between the back and the cabin that the original toy had – top marks!  Only one big downside is for a Titan Master to have his own vehicle you unattach the nose of the car which leaves the front of Blurr looking gutted and horrible.

Hardhead – Cybertronian Tank Mode

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A bit flatter than the G1 version, very streamlined, very much how he looked waaaay back at the start of the IDW comics before they gave him his Universe-styled body. Once again the cannon is maneuverable and like the G1 toy you can place a gun in the top of the cannon. Furos can either sit in the cab or the back of the cannon opens up so he can be stood there. He looks a little weird standing right back on the pegs he is supposed to so I personally reposition it so that he looks like he is operating the gun.

Skullsmasher – Cybertronian Gator Mode

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A really good looking gator!  Very long and well proportioned.  They have done their best with the colour scheme so it doesn’t look as sickening as the G1 versions does and I really like the details in the mouth with all those individual teeth and the segmenting detail on the tounge.  The head can swivel somewhat which is good, but it can be hard to make the tail sit flush with the gators arse.  Grax’s compartment actually has a rubber hatch which is an odd choice and the placement has changed, instead of being afraid he would get swallowed like the G1 toy, in this case he already has been and is half way to the gut.

Scourge – Cybertronian Hovercraft

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Like Blurr he is really compact and really good looking.  One of the most triangular of body in shape ones I’ve seen done of the Sweep class, looks a lot like they did in some episodes the Season 3 cartoon.  You can put his big blaster on the front of the hovercraft which makes him look pretty badass, but obscures a lot of the nicer details of the mode.  I actually think Scourge having a small cockpit works, it is flush enough with the rest of the hovercraft that it doesn’t change the aesthetic much, however it’s still noticeable and the dark blue hue suits it well.

 

Overall

The Titans Return toyline, as well as acting as a revival for the Headmaster gimmick, is filling a lot of holes for peoples Generations collections.  We now have a Scourge that’s not a flying wing, a Blurr that’s not a terran car, a Hardhead that’s not a SWAT armoured vehicle and our first Skullsmasher(cruncher) of the line.  G1 fans will be very happy with the appearance of these four, others may be happy with the versions they already have.  But between the great alt-modes, the little Titans Return partners and the overall decent quality I heartily recommend these four figures.

 

Note: For a more detailed review of Hardhead, check out My Hardhead review thread on Ozformers

Transformatorium, Transformer Toy Reviews

Toy Review – Titans Return Galvatron and Sentinel Prime

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The second in my reviews of the new Titans Return toyline, today I am looking at the Voyager-class figures, namely Galvatron and Sentinel Prime.  As both former leaders of their factions its nice to see them get bigger figures based on the characters – lets see if their new triple changer/headmaster forms work shall we (rhetorical question – we shall.  Otherwise you just clicked on this link for no reason and y’all don’t have the time to waste on such frivolous actions now do ya?).

 

Galvatron – Robot Mode

Who says I'm compensating for the lack of a penis?!?!
Who says I’m compensating for the lack of a penis?!?!

We really have needed a Voyager-class CHUG Galvatron for some time, as with the current line up of Generations figures the Generations version just doesn’t cut it.  The closest we have had is the Energon version (which I really wish I had bought back in the day).  The huge orange cannon on him really works well, it looks like it could blast through the side of a space station!  It is very well proportioned and very indicative of the Galvatron cannon.  Only thing is the mask that comes up to cover Nucelon – it doesn’t sit quite flush at the front so it looks like it is a mask covering something else.

Sentinel Prime – Robot Mode

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His robot mode is fairly customizable in regards there are plenty of different places to place his gunds/cannons as well as how much you can angle the wings at the back.  Personally I chose to have the cannons sticking up over his shoulders and the wings as back as I could with them placed there in order to emulate how the character looked in the Origins: Megatron comics on which this character model seems to be based.  He is fairly big and bulky and the Infinitus face looks kinda like Optimus but not quite which is how it should be.

Galvatron – Cybertronian Cannon Mode

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Like we have needed a big CHUG Galvatron figure, we’ve also needed one that turned into a cannon emplacement.  This figure does this quite well, though I can’t say it is brilliant looking.  It does however do the job.  No real spot that makes sense for the Titan Master partner though.

Sentinel Prime – Cybertronian Shuttle Mode

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No cockpit visible which makes sense for a character not intending to carry humans.   Like the robot mode there are multiple places to place the guns/cannons which is cool.  The dimensions of the shuttle work well and Infinitus can sit either in a cannon on the side or in the cockpit on top, I think he works better in the cockpit otherwise the shuttle looks too lopsided to be aerodynamic (I suppose that doesn’t matter in space though).

Galvatron – Cybertronian Jet Mode

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This makes more sense as a third mode than a pistol.  Very Cybertronian-esque and the cannon sticking out the front is indicative of Animated Megatron.  Though this mode also doesn’t look perfect, it looks quite cool and gives the Titan Master figure an excuse to sit in the cockpit.

Sentinel Prime – Cybertronian Train Mode

It's the great space coaster - get onboard!
It’s the great space coaster – get onboard!

Very reminiscent of Energon Omega Supereme.  Lots of cannons all over and certainly wouldn’t fit through a terran train tunnel.  This is the mode that Infinitus works best in the cannon emplacement on the side on.  While the colour scheme is good, the orange and red and too strong and too similar to make out all the little details within the mode, and the cannons could have used their own colouring.

 

Overall

Both these figures work pretty well.  Sentinel Prime has not had a CHUG figure to date (DOTM and Timlines yes) and Galvatron has had one that was far to small in comparison to the rest of the lineup.  What I like about both these figures is that neither is trying to shoehorn in a terran mode – both are Cybertronian characters who have no interest fitting in on earth so don’t try and by not making concessions to do so make their alien alt-modes work better.  As both triple changers and Headmasters they both have a lot of play value and so in my book are worth the associated price tag.

Transformatorium, Transformer Toy Reviews

Toy Review – Titans Return Blaster and Powermaster Optimus Prime

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Well, the Titans Return line is finally upon us.  The successor to Combiner Wars, this line – despite the Titans Return moniker – is pretty much a Headmaster line, with the smaller robots being dubbed ‘Titan Masters’ rather than ‘Heaedmasters’.  So lets look at the first two Leader-class toys – both Autobots – Blaster and Powermaster Optimus Prime.

 

Optimus – Robot Mode

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Very nicely proportioned, though has solid panels under the arms which are quite noticeable whenever positioned in a heroic pose.  The way the helmet goes over Apex is very much like Energon Optimus but it works quite well.  Little touches such as the silver on the chest, shoulder cannons and the red hands are very indicative of the original Powermaster Optimus Prime.

Blaster – Robot Mode

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It’s nice to see a robot that actually looks like Blaster rather than a recoloured Soundwave (though the FOC version wasn’t bad).  The visor/helmet that encases Twin Cast looks very much like a battle version of the original Blaster figures head.   Everything from the set of the shoulders to the hand weapon is a great reimagining of the figure.

Optimus – Truck Mode

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Very compact, I actually thought it would look a bit bigger.  But the red cab and grey paneled trailer we have come to expect.  The black guns on top at the back don’t really add much, looks like he is going to shoot himself, but the two cannons at the front are quite good.  The feet stick out a little at the back but it’s not too noticeable.  It’s a very nice touch you can put Apex in the cab to drive it.

Blaster – Ghetto Blaster Mode

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Looks like a proper ghetto blaster, not that anyone under 20 would know what one of those are these day anyway.  I didn’t think this would have much play value for kids as besides pressing the eject button it doesn’t do anything, however my son picked it up and started dancing which was so cute to see! And he was thrilled when he found out the likes of Stripes and Rewind slot into it.

Optimus – Base Mode

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Probably his weakest mode, the base mode for the original PM prime was far cooler looking and even though it can hook up to Fortress Maximus it does so on a very odd angle so I just sit it on one side.  The fact Apex can sit in one of the cannons like Emissary does with Fort Max is cool, but there is little else for the tiny figures to do.

Blaster – Base Mode

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I’m conflicted here.  On the one hand the base looks much better than PM Optimus Prime, more gun ports, better ramps and overall better proportioned.  However I think they really missed out on an opportunity here to make the set up a DJ booth with dance floor – the speakers lying down could be dance floors, the cannons at the top could have been spotlights, the cassette deck the DJ booth etc – it really would have suited Blasters character for him to turn into a nightclub rather than a battle base.  If ever I get a second version of the figure I might do some heavy modifications.

Optimus – Transformation

Quite straight forward for a leader-class figure.

Blaster – Transformation

Surprisingly it took quite a few moves to get him into his ghetto blaster mode, I suppose it’s the challenge of making such a proportioned robot into what is almost a 2D alt-mode.  Not hard, but more challenging than you would think. His conversion to base mode is fairly straight forward.

Titan Master – Apex

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The face is very ‘Orion Pax’.

Titan Master – Twin Cast

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Considering that you only see the face in alt-mode it’s a shame they didn’t make his body blue instead of red, just makes him look like a tiny Blaster.

Overall – Optimus  with Apex

He is a pretty cool shout out to the original Powermaster Optimus Prime.  Only problem is that he is a Headmaster, not a Powermaster.  This is a real shame because otherwise there is little to fault with this figure.  I’ll be using this one for my ‘Optimus with trailer’ display and getting the Ginrai version as well so I have a Generations version of that character as a robot.

Overall – Blaster with Twin Cast

I really like this figure.  I think it is a and the great rendition of the character and the leader scale works really well for him.  All three modes are winners and the Titan Master feature adds some play value.  Well worth getting.

 

So up to you kids if you get these figures.  Both (especially Optimus) have had plenty of CHUG figures based on them before, and neither are really known as Headmaster (sorry – Titan Master) characters.  But I quite like them and will be glad to pop them on my display shelves.

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Tales of the Trev

The day I learned to have empathy for all women everywhere

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The actual event that taught me to feel sorry for what the entirety of the female population has to put up with took place well over a decade ago (and involves me hightailing it down the road with a fear of sodomization forefront in my mind) whilst I was living in the UK.  But first I will relate what has brought this harrowing (but to you probably humorous) event back to mind.

 

The other day I was walking to work.  A woman in her mid 20’s was walking with her young son in a stroller.  She was dressed very neatly, looked like maybe she was a secretary in a law clerks office or something – business shirt, knee length skirt, jacket etc.  So dressed nicely but neatly – there was no overly ample amount of leg or other body part on show.

Around the corner came a fellow on a pissy scooter, looked like something one should be riding on the way to a picnic in southern France rather than around a country town in the bush.  He was dressed slovenly with a beard that would put Costa from Gardening Australia to shame.

He saw the woman, his eyes went wide and his mouth gaped a little.  He then uttered the following cry in her direction:

“Arghahagrhahghagagr!”

In fact it was less of a cry, more of a guttural gargle.  Apparently they phrase “Whey hey!” was too eloquent for him.  He continued on his little fricken scooter around the corner and was gone.

I saw the woman mentally sigh, straighten her shoulders, and then proceed about her day with her kid in tow.  I felt so sorry for this woman – all she was doing was walking with her son – she didn’t deserve to be gargled at in a lecherous fashion.  And what did the gargler expect to happen?  Was this woman going to throw her son – stroller and all – behind a bush, bare her breasts and run at him looking to copulate right there in the middle of the street?  I mean – what was the end result he was after?

You women have to put up with that kind of stupid crap all the time, and it makes me feel for you.  But what happened to me all those years ago made me feel it all the more.

Stop treating me like a sex object! I'm not just a stellar pair of legs!
Stop treating me like a sex object! I’m not just a stellar pair of legs!

 

I was in my mid 20’s and living in a small town called Grays in the Essex countryside in the UK.  As was my usual routine, on a Friday night I would catch a train for the 40 minute ride to London, party the night away with my mutual backpacker friends, then catch the last train home.  This of course left me feeling very seedy every Saturday morning.

This Saturday morning I’d pulled on some old clothes and left the house to walk the 10 minutes to the shops to grab some groceries.  Not long after leaving my front gate I walked past a fellow about my age, wearing a black mesh singlet and jeans.  ‘G’day’ I say in my friendly yet hungover Aussie drawl as I dragged my carcass off in search of food.

As I wandered the different stores, I must have walked past this fellow a good four or five times, always leaning against a wall.  I was not firing on all thrusters so didn’t think much of it.

On my way home there he was again, leaning against a wall.  He detached himself and wandered over to me with an outstretched hand.  “Hi” he said politely.

“Hi” I said and shook his hand for what turned out to be the limpest handshake I have ever endured.  This must have been done on purpose – no one has a handshake that limp!  It was like he had dropped a raw, deboned chicken breast into my hand!

After some initial pleasantries I began to walk home again and he kept pace, peppering me with questions about did I have a girlfriend (I made the stupid mistake of saying that I did but that she was back in Australia – damn you Truthful Trev!), where I lived, did I have housemates, would they be home now etc etc.  I was fending off this verbal barrage as best I could in my mentally sluggish state but this guy was getting more worked up and insistent with his questioning.   Apparently I must have taken this blokes fancy and he was not letting up in pursuit of his quarry.

Now let me preface what I’m about to say with this – I have NEVER had an issue with gay guys trying to pick me up.  It’s something that has happened to me quite a few times, especially since I have gay friends and we all used to hit the town together.  From bars in Melbourne to nightclubs in London (and even one naked guy in a tribal dancepit at Confest at 1am) I’ve been approached but it’s never phased me and I’ve never really understood why some guys get so angry about it.  Heck – someone finds you attractive and interesting – it’s a compliment!  And every other time it’s happened to me I’ve politely rebuffed their advances and it’s been all good.  In fact, now I’m approaching 40 it’s sadly been a few years since I got to enjoy that kind of compliment from someone of either sex.

But this guy was really starting to ring alarm bells, especially with him being insistent about coming home with me ‘to see where I lived’ and wanting to know ‘if it would be just us there’.  I stopped to look at him.

I looked at him and he looked at me and I realized this guy wanted to f*ck me.  He wanted to f*ck me very, very badly!  His eyes were wide and intense, his hands were grasping open and shut, his whole body looked poised to spring.  I realized that this guy was, with great difficulty, holding himself back from bending me over on the footpath and taking me right there and then!  I did not want to look down because there was NO WAY this guy was not sporting an erection! It made me feel really uncomfortable, I would have preferred the naked guy at Confest taking another crack! A smiling hippy, even one that’s nude, was way less threatening than this guy was coming across!

I made some hasty excuses, turned down a street that was not the one I actually lived on, then sprinted away into the grey English morning mist.

 

And this is how I came to have empathy for all women everywhere, because almost every woman on the planet has had to deal with this more than once in their lives.  It is very confronting to talk to someone and realize that they fiercely want to have sex with you right there and then – that you are basically a warm body for them to use to vent their sexual frustrations.  If it has never happened to you, you might be able to abstractly conceive of what it is like, but when it actually happens it is hard to describe how unnerving it really is (You can still laugh at the idea of me running like the wind to protect my back-door cherry though).

So guys, don’t gargle at women on the street.  And yes, the urge to mate can be overwhelming, I’ve felt it myself, like if you don’t shag right there and then something in you is going to shatter!  But tone it down, chill the hell out, and maybe it will happen.  But when you aim yourself at a stranger like you are an erection with legs, all you are going to do is ruin someone’s day.

 

And I suppose we must spare a thought for the now middle-aged mesh-singlet wearer, traipsing the English countryside at night, mournfully looking for his lost Aussie love… or his lost lust at any rate.

 

Got a story along a similar lines to share or wish to comment on the above?  Would love to read it in the comments section below!

Transformatorium, Transformer Toy Reviews

Toy Review – Timelines Ramjet

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Well, here we are.  The final of the ‘free’ subscription service figures’ you get for paying a small fortune to belong to the official Transformers Collectors Club.  In past years nearly all the figures sent out have been based on G1 or BW figures, but the final one is based on a Universe figure which was originally based on an Armada figure – and the figure in question is Ramjet.  Lets see if he was worth being a subscribing member:

 

RAMJET
Series – Timelines
Wave – The last!
Size/class – Deluxe
New/remould/redeco – Redeco of Timelines Aramada Skywarp
Released here – Only as part of the TFCC
Approximate Retail Price – $50
Approximate Size: 14cm
Allegiance – Decepticon
Alt-mode – ‘Cybertronian Jet Fighter’
Main Features/Gimmicks –Pushfire missiles
Main Colours – White, Blue, Red
Accessories: 2 x Swords

Robot Mode
Very nice paint apps. The face has been done well, especially the fiery mouth and eyes, to portray a servant of Unicron. Well proportioned, feels new yet an obvious homage to the Universe: Ramjet that was based on the Armada: Skywarp figure. I just had some trouble detaching his swords for the robot mode – they seemed pretty jammed.

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Vehicle Mode
I don’t know why, but this looks and feels nicer than Generations Armada Starscream. Really portrays a Cybertronian Fighter Jet. There is the missile firing capability which adds more play value for the younger fans.

Transformation
Very simple transforming from robot to jet and back again. Instructions not needed.

Overall
This is a nice final figure from the TFCC and the quality feels better than a lot of their previous figures that felt like they were put together in sweat shops by some poor buggers earning 13c an hour in 3rd world countries.  I didn’t think I would like this homage to Universe Ramjet as much as I do. But well done to Funpub for taking a very obscure character/toy and giving it a new lease of life. It may not be G1, it may not be BW, but it’s a good enough curtain call for Funpub to feel good about sending it out to it’s members (even if it is sans the Mini-Con figure the original toy came with) in its final year of having the TF licence.

Meaty Goodness!

Burgers Review #2: – The TRADIE, The TRUCKIE & The MALLEE BOMB!

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As a rule if a dish has a manly name like ‘Tradie’, ‘Truckie’ or ‘Bomb’ then it’s going to be something yours truly is going to want to shove in his gob! Why? Well besides desperately trying to hide ones insecurities from the world by appearing macho and gruff on the outside, hiding the wobbly, gelatin-like persona within, it usually means there is going to be lots of MEAT!

On a recent state-crossing trip I had occasion to drop in to three different cafe’s which had foodstuffs like those described above on their menu. So lets examine them and see if they were worth this weary traveller’s mastication.

 

The TRADIE Burger

Location: Gray St Café, Swan Hill, VIC

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Despite the blokey name this came across as a pretty standard, average burger. Cheese, lettuce, egg, bacon, tomato, sauce – the patty was sausage mince with carrot throughout which was kinda different. No onion which was a shame. It was nice that they will change the fillings based on your predilections (I went with two friends; one didn’t want bacon, another didn’t want egg, I didn’t want tomato) but it all came across as something that you could buy most anywhere. If these burgers were boobs they would be B-cups – certainly enough there to sate your appetite, but leaving you wishing there had been more to them. Not really recommended.

 

The TRUCKIE Burger

Location: Balfours Cafe, Birkenhead, SA

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Now we are talking more of a burger! The usual lettuce, tomato, sauce, onion, egg etc but then double meat, double cheese and double bacon! And by Primus the amount of bacon – they easily could have referred to it as quadruple bacon! The amount of oil dripping off this burger was a bit disturbing, the wrapper felt like I could use it to grease myself up and then toboggan on my gut down the nearest freeway. But you know what, after eating what felt like half a pigs worth of crispy goodness I was feeling sexy enough to try! Happily recommended.

 

The MALLEE BOMB!

Location: Cobb & Co Café, Murrayville, VIC/SA border

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I ordered this thinking it was a lamb burger, but when it arrived it turned out to be some sort of weird dissected souvlaki. Chips covered with Mallee Lamb, with cheese, fried onion and garlic sauce drizzled all over the thing! Chuck a few bits of pita bread on top and yeah, it looks like a souvlaki had a bomb implanted in it which subsequently burst on your plate, leaving it’s yummy innards splayed upon the ceramic battlefield. I will say that they were not mucking about when they said they were using Mallee Lamb – this was really top quality meat! Very tender and succulent indeed,  you will walk away from the table feeling fit to burst – the sign of a damn fine meal! Highly recommended!

 

Hobby Farming

How to Transplant a Tree

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Gardens grow (well the good ones anyway), evolve and change over time.  And sometimes what you’ve planted and thought would be a permanent fixture years ago no longer suits the new aesthetic of that area.  Now, the easiest thing is to rip it out so you can replace it with what you want, but if it’s a plant you have nurtured for years, it seems a bit heartbreaking to throw it on the bonfire.  So here is Big Farmer Trev’s tips on how to transplant a tree!

Note: This only works with smaller trees.  With big ones you need an excavator and a crane!

 

I’m going to use the example of the Bay Leaf tree I had planted four years ago.  I did not realize just how slowly they grow so it was being dwarfed by all my natives.  Plus I had a new orchard area set up it would go great in so I wanted to move that sucker – here are the steps I took.

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Step 1: Dig a moat at least a two feet radius from the base of the tree, half a foot or more deep and pop the hose in.  Let it flood and flood and flood!  The main thing that will kill a tree during transplantation is losing all the soil its roots are attached to so you want to be able to pick it up as one big sticky mudball.

 

Big Farm Trev's compost - aged 1 year for flavour!
Big Farm Trev’s compost – aged 1 year for flavour!

Step 2: Prepare your hole where the tree will be going. Unlike a normal tree planting where you want a small radius and really deep, this hole you want only a bit deep but very wide.  Remember, the root system of your tree will have spread out and you will be taking all that soil with you.  Fill the hole half way with compost and then fill that with water so that you will be setting your tree down in a big hole of nutrient rich slush!

 

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Step 3: Dig out your tree.  Keep working in a circular motion around the tree with your shovel, each incision getting deeper and closer to the middle, you are making a cone shape with the point at the bottom.  This will ensure you keep as many roots as possible.  Once you have gotten your cone, lever it out and straight into a wheelbarrow, ready for transport.

 

Happy tree!
Happy tree!

Step 4: Put your tree in its new home, making sure to fill in all gaps with dirt, you don’t want any roots exposed.  Pop some mulch over the top and give the whole thing a great big dose of seaweed juice to feed the tree and lessen the stress it has undergone.  Ta da – your tree is ready to start life in it’s new home!

 

Extra tip: If you can, wait until winter to transplant any tree’s you need to.  Even evergreen’s will be far less active during this time and the more of a dormant state you tree is in, the more likely it is to survive the procedure.  

Transformatorium, Transformer Toy Reviews

Toys Review – TAV08 Gregevor, TAV37 Megatronus & TAV38 Thunderhoof

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The Japanese Adventure Toyline currently being made is an interesting one.  It consists exclusively of recolours from different toylines such as Animated, United and Generations.  Today we will be looking at three Decepticons based on the current Robots in Disguise (15) toyline – TAV08 Gregevor, TAV37 Megatronus and TAV38 Thunderhoof.

Note: We will be looking at Thunderhoof and Megatronus mainly, we will briefly examine Gregevor at the end.
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Robot mode – Thunderhoof
It continues the aesthetic that permeates much of the RID(15) toyline. Quite blocky legs and arms with a rectangular torso. The arms can be somewhat of an irritant. You can keep them in close to the body which looks good but limits their maneuverability, or otherwise you can pull the spindly little connectors that connect his shoulders to his body out which makes them far more poseable but looks extra silly considering the giant shoulder wheels he has. The colour scheme is very nice, much better on the TAV version than the regular Warrior version, although it has that annoying scanner badge on the chest. The antlers do not look much like the cartoon, the 3-step changer does a better job of that, however this concession is required for the vehicle mode to be more screen accurate.

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Robot mode – Megatronus
Actually quite nicely proportioned and the TAV colours make him all shiny and evil.  The small purple and blue highlights work quite well and I like that you can attach his sword staff either to his arm or he can wield it in his hand.  Only part lacking with the toy is the head – it’s a tad small for the figure and it would have been great if it could have had a retractable mask like in the cartoon.

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Vehicle Mode – Thunderhoof
One of the main reasons I grabbed this guy is as a Mallee Boy I just can’t resist a farm-themed vehicle. It’s quite a nice looking and well proportioned tractor and indeed my brother owns one of this same colour. One thing though – it is small. Like, really small! Sure one could say compact but let’s be honest here – it’s small. It’s a good thing they labelled these ‘Warrior Class’ toys because they sure as shinola are not deluxe class, which is shrinking every year anyway.
The fork configuration on this version is far more screen accurate than the 1-step and 3-step changer versions. However I had to look into what this particular type is, it’s a ‘stick push rake’ attachment which you don’t often see in Australia – quite an interesting choice. I’ve never seen one in real life.

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Vehicle Mode – Megatronus
Looking at it, it looks like it should be baring the name ‘Galvatronus’ rather than ‘Megatronus’.  Rather than the Cybertronian tank from the end of season one of the cartoon, which the huge 5-step changer looks like, it really just looks like a cannon with a couple of tank tracks attached.

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Transformation – Thunderhoof
Fairly simplistic which characterises this toyline, the only thing is it can be quite fiddly on the first attempt to get the arms and shoulders in place to become the back half of the tractor. The instructions for this toy surprisingly are not great, they have both missed steps and redundant steps. I find this a bit odd because usually Takara instructions far better than Hasbro ones. Once you’ve transformed him though it takes you about 15 seconds to transform him back.

 Transformation – Megatronus
Once again, fairly simplistic.  You will not be flexing any of your brain muscles in trying to transform this figure in either direction.  Makes it a good toy for a younger TF fan but a bit boring for us of the older persuasion.

 

Overall – Thunderhoof
Well, the puns with this character abound. In robot mode he kinda has a head like a deer, as a vehicle he kinda looks like a John Deere tractor . Chuck in a New York mobster accent for someone that turns into a farming vehicle and he is all over the shop. But he is one of the more interesting Con characters from the new show and has a very nice (but small) looking alt-mode. I don’t mind if I miss a lot of the RID(15) figures but rather glad I got him, even if the arms detract in robot mode and the size detracts in vehicle mode. Grab the TAV version if you can, it’s a perfect example of how a great paintjob can make a difference.

Overall – Megatronus
It’s not like we get a toy of one of the Original 13 Primes every day (though we do have an Alpha Trion coming up in the Titans Retun toyline) so that alone makes him worth getting.  Besides this novelty there is not a lot to recommend this toy, it’s deinetly an ‘ok’ toy but not spectacular in any regard.

 

Toy Review – Gregevor

A basic colour repaint of RID(15) Strongarm (so a sex change straight off the bat!) which in itself is a pretty basic and uninspired toy.  I just got him for the name…

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The tale of his name is an interesting one.  G1 Swindle got recoloured into RID(01) Rollbar. This toy was then named in the Japanese version of the cartoon Greejeeber.  Now this recolour of RID(15) Strongarm has been reoloured as an homage RIDJP(01) Greejeeber but was deemed too hard for western fans to pronounce to got reduced to Gregevor.

I bought this both for my friend Greg, and myself Trevor – Gregevor – get it?!  That’s why mine is will be kept MOSC, because after buying and playing with Strongarm I know I’ll enjoy his name more than the toy.

 

Please note: None of these figures reviewed are available in Australia.  If you are after them you are best to order them from a Japanese online store.

Games & Competitions

Competition Results – Beat Jacinta’s Brainteaser!

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Last month we put up a competition where people were challenged to figure out the following brainteaser

rope

You have two pieces of rope which each burn for exactly one hour. The ropes are not made of the same materials as each other, and each rope is not made of the same materials in its length either. Both ropes will catch fire easily, and burn for exactly one hour, but it is possible that (for example) one might take 52 minutes to burn 25% of its length and then 8 minutes to burn the remaining length, you don’t know.
You have no other form of timing device, no phone, no watch, no clock, no sundial, no sun.
You have a few matches in a match box.
How do you measure out exactly 45 minutes?

 

Here are the three entries we received:

Entry by Doug

1)Cut each rope into their own even 60 pieces

2) Light all the ends at once

3) Once the 30 quickest have burnt out will the remaining 90 strands take 45 minutes?

Trev: Loving the creativity Doug – its not the answer we were looking for but I wonder if that might actually work!

 

Entry by Ross

Use your watch?

Trev: You were not allowed to use timepieces buddy – though I admire anyone who blatantly tries to circumnavigate rules 😉

 

Entry by Mark

Light both same time, but 1 both ends that will burn out in 30 mins then light the other end of the 2nd that will burn out 15 mins later.

Trev: Spot on buddy boy – well done!

 

Mark has declined either prize on offer so will just have to buy him a beer when I see him at a mutual friends 40th next month.  Thanks for playing everyone!

Fan Interviews & Art, Games & Competitions, Transformatorium

Transformers Trump Card Competition Winners!

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Well done to the winners of the Transformers Top Trumps Competition!  People had to either write a poem or create a picture that involved me and the Transformers somehow.  We have our two winners below: Brody wrote a poem chronicling the dramas I had getting my PC fixed when I turned up and the old owner, who was also a Transformers nut, had sold the business.  Scottie (our resident fan artist extraordinaire!) has created a simply awesome pic which hopefully bodes well for the future casting decisions of upcoming Transformer movies.  Well done guys, your Top Trump cards will be sent out to you soon!

 

A poem by Brody

You took your pc to get fixed,
The owner was new,
And he you knew,
He also liked Transformers
It took you a while to remember the former
Rhyming is hard,
I’m not Wheelie,
Really!!
Thirty-Five words,
I’m not the Riddler
I am not a Fiddler
Don’t linger,
Just be careful of Dipstick’s finger!

 

A picture by Scottie 

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