Takara Transformers

G.I.*EDDIE

gobbles a LOT of cock
Founder
Mar 14, 2011
43,432
428
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S.E. Mich :(
Fellow member Rider found and shipped this to me from France. Sure, it's not 100% race ready Wheeljack, but it's close enough for my 1:18th TF collection.

IMG_4842.JPG
IMG_4844.JPG
 

nacho

"Big Guns"
Founder
Nice, it's a cool Lancia Stratos, just not a Group 5 Turbo.

I have one of those in 1:18 diecast too that I have grand plans to customize into a wheeljack. It's only 2843rd on my customs-to-do list. I have a grand plan for a whole slew of 1:18 diecast autobots. I have the lambo twins from Kyosho, bumblebee, cliffjumper Autoart Porsche 924 turbo, a red 80's Trans Am, silver and white 240z's, and a Porsche 935 in Martini livery (but it's number 40 instead of 4). And I think I have that same Willys jeep. I bought one from Ewok many years ago during one of his purges.

Is your Mirage the Tamiya 1:20 model kit? I've got one of those kits, but I haven't built it yet b/c I'm trying to get closer to 1:18. I've got a 1:18th late-70's Renault F1 car that's practically identical to the Ligier JS11 styling-wise, but I haven't made time to Citanes him up.

I'm impressed, as I didn't know anyone else but me was "working" on a full set of 1:18 autobots. You have great taste! We should compare notes. I don't know what Gears, Brawn, and Huffer are based on. Trailbreaker is screwed b/c 1:18th toyota trucks of any kind are non existent, ditto for the vanettes.
 
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G.I.*EDDIE

gobbles a LOT of cock
Founder
Mar 14, 2011
43,432
428
83
S.E. Mich :(
Yeah, it's the 1:20th kit. I didn't learn this until after I build, decaled and cleared the model, but there are new decal sets out there for that specific kit. The included ones are quite brittle and do NOT go one easily. Get your kit together and do a side by side with your 1:18th F1. I wanna see just how underscaled 1:20th really is. Doing some calculations, IIRC, the JS11 was around a ½" shy width and length. That was acceptable for me.

I too want to widen "Wheeljack", but don't want to cover up his tampos. If I knew where to get some waterslides for him I'd go for it.

I wanted to get that 935 but I just couldn't bring myself to fork over the cash for it. I would put in my cart, then remove it. Then put it back in, and then out again. Same for the 924.

I really wish that there was a 1:18th company that would just tackle a TF 1:18th diecast line. That or the company that did the knocked-up Sideswipe would carry on knocking up TFs...the figure that got me wanting a 1:18th TF collection.

Aside from Motor Master, the Stunticons aren't too difficult to assemble.
 

nacho

"Big Guns"
Founder
My "wheeljack" is white but came with a different livery. I took the notion that I'm going to have to redo all the decals after I mod the thing anyway, so why bother getting the Alitalia scheme. So I bought one with a white base with red wheels, one less thing to paint. I think it's this deco, iirc:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lancia-Stratos-Tour-De-France-1981-2-B-Darniche-A-Mahe-SUN-STAR-4516-1-18/112974859627?hash=item1a4dd38d6b:g:JjoAAOSwlspav2-q:rk:26:pf:0

There is a newer version of the 935 Martini that just got released in the last few months from a company called Norev. It's still not cheap, but it can be had for around $100, not the $300-$600 that the previous Exoto versions command. Downside is that the doors don't open, but I figured I could live with that. I have an Exoto 935 in dark metallic green that I planned to repaint, but not sure if it's worth the trouble now. The Norev is not going to make me forget about the Exoto/Kyosho/Autoart's of the world, but it's solid.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Porsche-935-40-4th-24h-LeMans-1976-Stommelen-Schurti-1-18-Norev-Diecast/253926556359?epid=5022032696&hash=item3b1f33c2c7:g:tgIAAOSwk3RbvSOy:rk:11:pf:0

I'll check on the Renault F1. While I haven't opened the Tamiya kit, I'm gonna guess the Exoto Renault will dwarf it. I think the Renault is larger than the Tamiya box. Here's a listing for one just to give you an idea (Note: I did not pay nearly that much for it, just the first listing I found with good pics).

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-18-Exoto-F1-Renault-RE-20-Turbo-1980-GP-France-15-Jabouille-GPC97090-RE20/113230364866?epid=23023317164&hash=item1a5d0e40c2:g:zcYAAOSwn6Rbi774:rk:62:pf:0

Yeah, the stunticons could be assembed, but I doubt I could find them in all the right colors, and I don't care enough about them to do more painting. I know for certain that they'd never make it to the top of the cue. I already have too many customs I want to do more... that I know I'll never get to, so no use in adding to the Pile of Futility™.
 

G.I.*EDDIE

gobbles a LOT of cock
Founder
Mar 14, 2011
43,432
428
83
S.E. Mich :(
I think the only Stunticon that wasn't correctly colored was Dragstrip. The rest could be had proper. Though you'd need to do the detail paint.

Thanks for the link to that more affordable Jazz. Think I'll get one for myself for Christmas.
 

Rider

Au Soleil !
Jul 30, 2015
185
12
18
Marseille
cobra.4umer.com
Nice Eddie !
Like the line up
Happy to help !

I know it's not the closest to QheelJack but with some minor mods it can be near perfect !

And Nacho !
Just like Eddie, I started to gather some 1/18 TF cars lookalike just after Tanaka Sideswipe release
I have Prowl and Jazz, WheelJack and Bee, and I made a Red Alert which is not finished yet and a nice Hound since I've found the exact car model this summer
But it is difficult to have them all in 1/18 since it super expensive ...

And I don't even start about my bots modes, I cheated and used 1/16 since it cheaper ^^

(Oh and its Gitane but I'm sure you already know right ? ^^ )
 

nacho

"Big Guns"
Founder
(Oh and its Gitane but I'm sure you already know right ? ^^ )

Certainly! But I prefer the incorrect toy spelling because it's the one we grew up with... and neither word actually means anything here (that brand doesn't exist). It would bug me if it was a misspelled english word, like MMC's Mirage and their stupid GoooYear tires. But "Citanes" is correct in my feeble brain, at least as far as Mirage is concerned. Obviously, if I lived in Europe or spoke french, I'd probably feel differently.

Heck, I was grown before I ever learned what wheeljack's sponsor was. It's not like we have italian airlines here either. Just part of growing up half-a-world away in the pre-internet days I suppose.
 

Rider

Au Soleil !
Jul 30, 2015
185
12
18
Marseille
cobra.4umer.com
Exactly the same here but on the other way around
Long time ago with the comics, Wolverine wasn't easy to say for young non English speaking Frenchies (sounds like "Volvareen" when pronounced with French accent... The first movie made my ears bleed when they do so... ^^)
so they wanted to change but the real French name would be "Glouton"
Which means "someone that eats a lot" (ish) not really close to Logan... so they changed it to "Serval" and up to these days I still call him that way!! ...
(Serval is another kind of big wild cat with pointy ears. . Much more efficient!)
But now they're back to Wolverine... It's better for selling they say...)

As for Gitane since it's a smoke brand.. It can't be allowed anyway so it's not a problem ^^

OH and please do not pay attention to the background buildings on the Pic since it is not finished yet!
 
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Dropshipbob

Turtlenap, Hanger Alpha
Mar 29, 2011
6,922
92
48
I just found out that Target has a TF exclusive of Soundwave that comes with a few transforming cassettes. Pictures on line make it look pretty cool. Any of you have it?
 

nacho

"Big Guns"
Founder
I don't, but I've seen the pics. It’s a retool of the previous Titans Return Soundwave. It's a decent looking figure, but not quite G1 enough for my tastes. But then again, I dropped out of the Hasbro target audience many years ago.

These days, if it's not G1 MP/3P, it's off my radar... with an exception for some of the new 3P Legends/Legneds+ figures. They're small and awesome.
 

G.I.*EDDIE

gobbles a LOT of cock
Founder
Mar 14, 2011
43,432
428
83
S.E. Mich :(
(Serval is another kind of big wild cat with pointy ears. . Much more efficient!)

A guy at work used to have one. He had to feed it whole, raw chickens. I never saw it in person, but the pics were awesome.

If you've ever heard of a Savannah cat, it's a cross between a Serval and domestic cats. They are cool as well, but VERY pricey. https://www.google.com/search?q=savannah+cat&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjf5I3IyJDeAhWpmeAKHXNiAiIQ_AUIDigB&biw=1024&bih=495
 
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Bravestarr

Molon Labe!
Founder
Mar 15, 2011
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In general, the broadcast masters just look dirty and faded. The digital is far more vibrant, has phenomenally better contrast, and generally looks more like it was intended. I suppose there could be some nostalgia for the broadcast master "look" since that's more like what we saw on crappy 19" tvs back in the day, but generally, the digital is vastly superior.

The digital in that video is supposedly the Rhino dvd release. Those were done in the early 2000s. I wonder how the Shout-Factory version looks in comparison. Did they just copy the Rhino versions, or did they do some decade-later improvements to the overall quality? I own both sets. I ripped the Shout version to my media server, and they look good, but I've never taken the time to examine them side by side. At some point, the limiting factor becomes the questionable quality of the original animation, for which there is no fix.

I would really like to see a restored version of "Heavy Metal War" with the original animation simply cleaned up. The re-release of that particular episode is horrible, with many new animation errors and some of the changes brought in weren't even from the scenes originally drawn.

This is a funny, yet accurate, summary of the original version of HMW versus the re-released versions from Rhino and Shout Factory.

https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Heavy_Metal_War
 
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pcsguy88

Deuce Deuce
Staff member
Mar 14, 2011
12,421
635
113
KC
www.fighting118th.com
Aaahh, you got the WeiJiang version of Omega Supreme.

How is that version of Omega, as compared with the Fans Toys version?

I love it, but totally understand why it’s so divisive amongst the fans. It’s nowhere near toon accurate which is exactly why it speaks to me. I love the molded details and skeletal frame that looks like steel girders, the lights, the crystal clear audio clips and the fact the tank actually drives around the track (even if it’s horribly loud). My only gripe with it is the head articulation since the rotation is off centered and can’t really look up or down. Well worth it being the cheaper of the 3 while also being the most dynamic posing wise.

Just to give you a true sense of scale:

45FBE65A-D5E3-45CB-8926-E3D276DACC65.jpeg
 

nacho

"Big Guns"
Founder
I had the G1 toy, and aside from Ratchet, Ironhide, and maybe Broadside, it was basically the worst. I'll admit that the IDW comics have helped Skids popularity by several orders of magnitude, and if this was the IDW incarnation, I might have even been tempted. But a faithful MP of a terrible '85 character, that's a big "nope".
 

G.I.*EDDIE

gobbles a LOT of cock
Founder
Mar 14, 2011
43,432
428
83
S.E. Mich :(
I mean, I know jack squat about the character, and until the XTB figure came about I didn't even know about the G1 figure. But that XTB, figure...I'm liking it. Not sure if it's enough to get me to actually buy it, but man, I just love a figure with its car parts to obviously visible. And THAT is why G1 rocks. "I'm this insert car model here. It's clear. Get used to it!"
 
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pcsguy88

Deuce Deuce
Staff member
Mar 14, 2011
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www.fighting118th.com
I feel the same Eddie. The price is too high for me to bite at the moment, but his MP form really invokes nostalgia hit that I got when picking up G1 Skids at a con earlier this summer. I had totally forgotten the character existed until I saw the toy in the box and memories of what was probably my last TF as a kid came rushing back. I think it's the color scheme that has always made me love him.
 
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G.I.*EDDIE

gobbles a LOT of cock
Founder
Mar 14, 2011
43,432
428
83
S.E. Mich :(
Yeah, I really like his colors as well. With the striping and all. I do think his head a hint on the large side, but it's a cool figure nonetheless.
 

nacho

"Big Guns"
Founder
No doubt, he's got G1 all over him. I just hate his little shitbox alt mode. As a kid, I always equated the awesomeness of the vehicle with that of the overall character. Sideswipe, Mirage, Jazz >>> Hound, Ironhide. When skids came out with his econobox minivan, he got on my list of worthless characters pretty quickly. I have to admit though, IDW did a pretty good job of making him relevant.
 

G.I.*EDDIE

gobbles a LOT of cock
Founder
Mar 14, 2011
43,432
428
83
S.E. Mich :(
I even like his alt mode. But only because it's painfully 80's. If that exact figure turned into a modern boxy car like a Skion or some other ugly trash, it could get bent.
 

G.I.*EDDIE

gobbles a LOT of cock
Founder
Mar 14, 2011
43,432
428
83
S.E. Mich :(
I've avoided this set for as long as possible. This is where I cave HARD.

 

nacho

"Big Guns"
Founder
It's not a bad figure. I have the metallic red version, and he's spot-on blaster. He's not "heavy" like a typical FT figure, but KFC did a good job as far as I can tell.

I've been eyeballing Dumpyard. KFC's wreck-gar is a sweet figure, and I've always wanted the alternate deco/repaint. But I fear I'll feel compelled to amass more junkions if I go beyond one.