Tag Archives: G1

Meet & Greet at the Collectormania Fair

You know, it’s not all gravy being Big Angry Trev.  I know what perceptions that a lot of the public hold of me; that I eat imported lobsters off plates of gold, served up by nubile & busty fangirls who pay for the privilege of catering to the every whim of their idol.

But no, sometimes it’s damn hard work.  Especially when your online fandom want a real life public appearance.  On this site, of course I am known to you all as Big Angry Trev, purveyor of whimsy and wisdom.  Then to the Transformers community I am known as Big Transformer Trev, collector extraordinaire and Ozformer of the Year.  It’s an honor to be venerated by ones peers on the world wide web but sometimes you have to give a little something back.  You need to show up, shake a few babies, kiss a few hands and generally let people feel the warm glow of bathing in the light of your reflected glory.

 

To this end, I made a public appearance at the Collectormania Toy & Hobby Fair in Penrith.

 

It’s a bugger of a drive, I can tell ya that!  Espeically on a rainy Sunday morning.  The Blue Mountains seem to consist of constantly changing speed limits enforced by a plethora of speed cameras and cop cars just waiting for you to miss a single sign.  Combine that with half the time you are driving on the edge of a precipice and it does not make for a relaxing country jaunt.

When I finally reached my destination I was greeted at the door by Shannon, one of the main pillars of my Ozformer of the Year campaign and a stalwart supporter.  Like many celebrities I have let many of my basic social and survival skills whither so Shannon was to be my guide to the toy fair as well as a buffer between me and the general public.

Big enough to hold back the adoring hordes

Not long after entering I was quickly accosted by one of my long time fans Adam.  Adam has been a bit of a Fanboy of mine for 20 years, even back at the start when I was doing movies and television for a living.  Adam had his usual reaction to seeing me – a girlish squeal of delight and the development of a mild erection. Given the regularity I illicit these reactions from my fans I was able to still smile and give him a hug, albeit from the side rather than the front.

“Yes yes, I am your sexy god. I get that a lot”

Shannon then gave me the tour of the Fair.  This was my first toyfair and I found that they are significantly different to pop culture expos.  No cosplay for a start.  No huge displays either.  And there were very few women to be seen.  I think I saw less than a dozen the whole morning and those that I did see might as well have had ‘wife’ or ‘daughter’ stamped on their foreheads.

It was very hot in there too.  I had to lose my trademark black jacket after 20 minutes, lest I start to perspire and smell like a lot of my fellow fair attendees.  There was a definite essence in the air that suggested many of these guys were leaving their parents basements for the first time in a long while and bathing beforehand had no occurred to them.

It seemed like most of the stalls at the Fair stocked one of two things – either Pop! figures or Matchbox cars.  Neither are really my cup of tea but I was able to find at least one I liked.

And of course, courtesy of my trusty guide Shannon, I was able to locate Transformers.  I’ve never been a 3rd Party collector, considering how many official toys there are to collect, but I will say that a 3P Bruticus I came across was a thing of beauty to behold and it took a force of will to walk away.

However I was rewarded with some G2 goodness!  G2 Optimus AND G2 Megatron!  Shannon was even able to haggle me a better deal on the Optimus.  Given how much one pays online for toys like these, I was starting to see the Toy Fair’s appeal.

As Shannon showed me around I got to meet many of my fans from both the blogging world and the Transformers community.  I got to meet Cranky – who was surprisingly cheerful – and Carlo and Dallas who couldn’t wipe the smiles from their dials.  Also Hursty who has a Soundwave collection that surpasses even my own! Then came Brendan, the self-styled ‘Angel of Death’ who used his dark powers to lure me out to the carpark where… ehem… some shady deals were made (yes I lost LG43 Trypticon but I came home with some G1 goodies to replace him).

The Carlo Kid
Trev: “So whats your favorite thing about meeting me so far?”
Dallas: “Well, we met 2 seconds ago so I’d say ‘this moment right now'”
‘Shannon 2’ as my tour guide most unfairly referred to him.
Fan sandwich

Soon it was time for refreshment.  Meat and beer were highly sought after so I took a cadre of my more presentable fans and we ‘did lunch’.  When Dallas turned up with some dark beer it earned him a place of honor next to yours truly, much to the admiration and jealousy of his peers.

Liquid social lubricant

 

And that was it.  Quite the experience.  Again, this kind of thing is expected of one from time to time, but I will say that the lads I got to spend time with and the rare toys I walked away with made the trip well worth while.  I hope next time I have to do Big Angry TrevBlogger, or Big Transformer TrevOzformer of the Year appearances I get to meet such great guys again.

 

Related Articles

Meet your favorite Blogger

Ozformer Member of the Year Acceptance Speech

The Big Push for the Decagon

Multiverse Blurr Toys Gallery

The sixth of my Multiverse galleries.  Blurr first showed up in the 86′ toyline and animated movie.  We had to until Armada to get another version of him but since then the speedster has taken off once again!

For my review of Titans Return Blurr see HERE

For my review of Combiner Force Blurr see HERE 

 

Individual Figure Pic’s

Name: Blurr
Toyline: Generation 1
Mode: Robot
Mode: Cybertronian Hover Car

 

Name: Blurr
Toyline: Armada
Mode: Robot
Mode: Cybertronian Speedcar

 

Name: Blurr
Toyline: Animated
Mode: Robot
Mode: Cybertronian Speedster

 

Name: Blurr
Toyline: Generations
Mode: Robot
Mode: Sports Car

 

Name: Blurr
Toyline: Rescue Bots
Mode: Robot
Mode: Race Car

 

Name: Blurr
Toyline: Titans Return
Mode: Robot
Mode: Cybertronian Hover Car

 

Name: Blurr
Toyline: Combiner Force
Mode: Robot
Mode: Race Car

 

Comparison Pic’s

Robot Modes
Vehicle Modes

Multiverse Sky Lynx Toys Gallery

MULTIVERSE SKY LYNX GALLERY

Please note: The photo set I had built at my last farm was destroyed in a move, so while I have added photo’s of Earthrise Sky Lynx to this gallery, he will not be properly shot like the other three figures until I build a new one.  It will happen!

 

Individual Figure Pic’s

Generation One Sky Lynx

Name: Sky Lynx
Toyline: Generation One
Mode: Cybertronian Beast
Mode: Cybertronian Dinobird
Mode: Cybertronian Lynx
Mode: Space Shuttle

 

Combiner Wars Sky Lynx

Name: Sky Lynx
Toyline: Combiner Wars
Mode: Cybertonian Beast
Mode: Space Shuttle

 

Preadacons Rising Skylynx

Name: Skylynx
Toyline: Beast Hunters – Predacons Rising
Mode: Cybertronian Beast
Mode: Robot

 

Earthrise Sky Lynx

Space Shuttle Mode
Dinobird Mode
Troop Carrier Mode
Lynx Mode
Space Shuttle Transport Mode
Space Dragon Mode
Launch Base Mode

 

Comparison Pic’s

Cybertronian Beast modes
Cybertronian Beast Modes
Space Shuttle modes
Space Shuttle Modes
Dinobird Modes
Lynx Modes
Space Dragon Modes

 

Related Articles:

Toys Reiew: CW Sky Lynx and BH Skylynx

Toys Review: Team Sky Reign

Toy Review: Earthrise Sky Lynx

Legends ‘LG35 Super Ginrai’ vs Titans Return ‘Powermaster Optimus Prime’

Super Ginrai.  Not just the Japanese version of Powermaster Optimus Prime but a character unto his own right.  Finding himself to be not just an ordinary human but to be an actual Autobot Godmaster (how’s that for a bitchin subgroup name!) who could bond with a Transector in order to don the visage of legendary Autobot leader Optimus Prime and fight the evil Destrons…

… or so the story goes.  It may be a different character technically but in reality it’s pretty much the same damn toy.  The G1 Super Ginrai and Powermaster Optimus had very few differences, even if one was a little Japanese dude obsessed with his big hair in a mech suit and the other was Optimus Prime on steroids.

Here we are 30 years later and we have a similar thing happening.  The (US) Titans Return toy is ‘Powermaster Optimus Prime’ whilst the retooled (JP) Legends version is ‘LG35 Super Ginrai’.  Both toys have their pro’s and cons.  Six months ago I reviewed the Optimus toy (which can be read HERE); today I’m going to give a quick overview of the Legends Super Ginrai version and then most importantly engage in a comparison.  This way you, my loyal readers, will know which to shell out your hard-earned money on.

 

First off – Super Ginrai!

I’m not Optimus Prime, I swear!

Truck Mode

No, I’m not Optimus I said!

Very nice and solid.  Unbeknown to most there is a small screw between the cab wheels you can loosen so that the cab does not have to sit flush with the trailer.  The trailer is very reminiscent of the original toy and the trailer has all the armament that the G1 version did.  The end result is a Mad Max’esque tractor trailer in a world gone mad – nice!

 

Robot Mode

Look, I’m not f*cking Optimus Prime OK!?!

Instead of Ginrai turning into the engine of his Optimus (but not Optimus) mech he now turns into the head. While still a cool concept I liked the engine gimmick better simply as it was that bit rarer.  Very nice proportions, decently articulated and a nice paintjob.  Good overall.

 

Base Mode

And no, I’m not ‘Optimus who got stuck in a particularly challenging yoga pose’ either you f*cking smartass!

Really does not stand up to the original G1 toys base mode.  There are some gun turrets that Ginrai can sit in and all the guns from the other two modes are useable here.  But it looks sparse and everything looks a bit flimsy – like he got stuck in mid-transformation.

 

Comparison between Legends LG-35 Super Ginrai and Titans Return Powermaster Optimus Prime

Vehicle Mode

Ginrai looks a lot more similar to the original toy whereas Optimus looks like an updated version, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  The black guns on the top of trailer work a lot better on Ginrai and his robot feet sit a lot more flush at the back.  I have to give points to Optimus for a new style and Ginrai for a more balanced look.

Base Mode

6 of 1, a half dozen of the other.  Both don’t look flash to me.  There are a few differences with the different chest pieces that come up to be the central seat for the Headmaster. The towers on Ginrai work being put higher due to you being able to place the black guns half way up, something you cant do with Optimus due to his robots hands not rotating.

 

Robot Mode

‘One of these bots is not like the other…’

One of the most significant differences are the ankles.  Ginrai’s have been extensively retooled in order that they pivot better and provide more height.  This makes Ginrai slightly taller than Optimus overall.  Optimus’ hand guns look that bit more impressive but Ginrai is able to hold his better due to maneuverable wrists.  The chest armor is slightly different as well.  Overall I think Ginrai does look that bit better than Optimus here.

 

Apex vs Ginrai

Two heads are…. no, wait, too obvious a joke. I’ll come back.

Apex is the name of Optimus’ Titan Master partner whereas Ginrai is, well, Ginrai but as stated turns into a head instead of an engine.  When comparing the two, Apex transforms into a head which looks a lot like Orion Pax, with the Optimus helmet going over the top.  Ginrai turns into an Optimus head with… er… an Optimus helmet going over the top (the definition of redundant).  So Apex wins the alt-mode race but the robot/human mode race is no race at all.  Ginrai has lots of detail and (even though you probably cant tell with my bad camera) even has a little human face. Apex by comparison has bland colours and a featureless head.

Ones a robot, ones a human in a mech suit. Both have absolutely screwed torsos

 

So who to choose?

Look, I got both because of the displays I wanted to create.  One display is of Optimus Prime figures which turn into trucks and have a trailer so Powermaster Optimus Prime goes there.  The other is robot modes of all the different Generations (and Generations subsets) characters and while I have plenty of Generations Optimus figures I didn’t have a Ginrai one so he goes there.  That said, I still feel like I wasted my money a bit by getting both.  They are just too similar to warrant the expenditure on two Leader-class figures.

If I was to pick one I’d pick Ginrai.  The robot mode is better and the Headmaster partner is a lot better.  Ginrai wins.  But then I guess, if you get both, you can at least join them up in to one super base like I have below!

 

Got something you would like to add to this ‘comparison of toys’ review?  Would love to read it in the comments section below!