BTS Toys Sonicron "Not Soundwave"

As big of a fan as I am of Soundwave, I didn't jump on this. I thought it would be uncool to buy this without first owning a vintage one. Upon getting a vintage one, I still didn't jump on it. First of all, it's a third party toy and I knew very little about it and second, I didn't want to fork over 60+ dollars for it. But of course, I eventually found it on clearance and I bought it. I should have been suspicious about its sudden clearance price, but I wasn't. Even if I was, I would still buy it. I am not afraid of toys that get a bad rep for build because I dont play with my stuff, I review it and display it. Anyways, I tried to stay away from other peoples reviews so I could have a clear head when I got mine. I like it. It definitely has a third party feel to it. The box design looks fan made, nothing that would ever get mistaken for a Hasbro product. The box has a flap with magnets which is a really cool touch. The transformation is rather clever in my opinion and the detailing is more than expected. The fit finish leaves a lot to be desired but I am not going to say I regret buying it. It actually is a nice display piece. I can look past it's loose joints, misaligned panels and plastic flash. More picky collectors would probably stay away.

The box is rigid and has a nice matte finish to it.

I dont know if there's is anyone who would cut apart this box, but there are printed cassetes on the box that can be cut out and folded to fit into the alternate mode.

The flap swings open to show the contents.

There are a few accessories included, one of which is an alternate Cybertronian looking head.

I could have probably done a more dramatic pose, but the limp right arm voted against it.

Here is alternate mode. I believe Soundwave should ALWAYS be a cassette recorder. I don't care what year it is, Soundwave should always be a cassette recorder. That's just me. In a world of iPods and MP3's, this alternate mode retains the cassette gimmick.

And you'll be happy to know that G1 cassettes fit. I was only able to test Ravage in it and the door would not close. Bummer. Stay tuned for a full review of this guy on collectiondx.com.

Star Wars The Birth of Darth Vader Battle Pack

Sometimes it's hard to go toy shopping with my wife because we always go to Babies R Us and where there's a BRU, there a..well you know. So I always hit it up with absolutely no intention of picking anything up, but that would be a disservice to my readers now wouldn't it? So I saw the usual crap that I could hold off on because it's not a priority (although that Universal Monsters Dracula figure was soooo tempting). I walked by the usual Star Wars/Transformers isle and was about to leave when it caught my eye. The Birth of Darth Vader. What? my most favorite character has a playset that recreates the most awesome event of the 3 new/old movies? I grabbed it and ran off to show my wife like all little kids do in hopes of their mom buying it. Except my wife isn't buying it. I show her and she says I know you want it so get it, you bought more expensive things in the past, why stop there? Awesome. Gotta love credit cards. It wasn't ridiculous but it was $25 which buys a good amount of other stuff. Had there been others there I could have held off but too many times in the past I do that only to never ever ever find it again. Almost did that with the 14" Lion-O figure and that thing is IMPOSSIBLE to find in any store. Anyways here it is. I can't get myself to open it because it just looks so cool in the box. Like a peek into the movie.

Included in the set is 2-1B, Darth Vader Anakin damaged version with operating table and Galactic Chopper

Anakin's face is freshly burnt. The fat forearm is removable and so are his legs.

The helmet and chest piece are removable.

2-1B

Galactic Chopper

Even though the illustration shows a robotic arm holding Darth Vader's helmet, I don't think it's included in the set. Only the figures and the operating table.

Ultraman GA-95 Chogokin

A diecast Ultraman...need I say much more? Even thought this one is in good shape, it's rather loose so exciting poses are out of the question...well as exciting as a toy from the 70's could pull off. I love it all the same.

He comes with three little rubber Kaiju figures that are much smaller than him.

Sort of a signature move...the best I could do without him flopping around.

He looks so vintagey. I wish I could tighten his joints but they are riveted.

I've been waiting a long time to get this guy into my collection. Now I have him. Yayyyy.

Takatoku Cyborg 009 Joe Shimamura gokin

This is a neat little gokin that I unfortunately knew nothing about before I shot it for this post so I missed out on showing you guys a cool little gimmick.

Here you can see the gimmicks on the back of the box.

He comes with a little catalog, missile baggie and spring-loaded gun for eye-popping action.

You will notice the "buttons" on his chest looks like a separate piece of the chest. That's because they are. The chest flips down to reveal a cyborg inner chest that shoots missiles! Awesome. Not awesome is that I didn't realize it when I took the pics. You can see the chest gimmick on the back of the box.

I thought it would not be my cup of tea, but I enjoyed it. Look at it's excellent unplayed-with condition. Some Japanese kid missed out.

Mini Review: Gakken Genesis Climber Mospeada VR-052F

After messing around with CM's Brave Gokin version of this, it was a relief to fiddle around with this figure and not have it disintegrate in my hands. It has more diecast than it's CM brother. Diecast is in the wheel forks, and legs. It is satifyingly hefty for it's size. Won't win any points for articulation though.

Mini Review: Takatoku Destroid Monster HWR-00-MK II

This is the 1/240 scale Destroid Monster from Takatoku. It is a sweet little block of diecast. The barrels are plastic as are the arms and thighs, but everything else is good old metal. It comes in a nice styro tray. Stickers have already been applied although I dont mind too much since they were applied pretty good and it looks good with them on.

Although stickers were applied, the sticker sheet was still included. Would have been nice to get a good scan of this sheet to get repros made. Oh well.

I'm a sucker for toys like this.