glazios

Hey all! London MCM Comic Con 30 has come and gone, and it's journal time. Apologies for the long delay, I've been waiting for a couple things to turn up so I could take photos. “Pics or it didn't happen”, right?

So, time for the after-action report and loot count. It was, as always, a great time overall. The journey to London was mostly uneventful, save for the first leg of the trip, where we had a not-so-great start to the morning; our train to Cardiff arrived on-time, but sat around for 20mins as they were having mechanical problems with one of the doors, and basically the train physically couldn't depart the station until they could get the door to close properly. Eventually they got the train moving, though, and we arrived in Cardiff with plenty of time to make our connection. Once we were underway, the rest of the trip went swimmingly, and we arrived at Paddington Station, then moved on to the hotel without incident.

The event kicked off on Friday as usual, though this year the security was doubled, due to the attack on Manchester Arena – not surprising, but among other measures taken by ExCeL, we had to go through three mandatory bag checks every time we wanted to go in. I understand the necessity of it, but it did become a bit tedious after a while, especially considering we had to walk all the way to the back of the ExCeL Centre to enter the building – that's a quarter of a mile's walk just to get back in, then wind your way through the queuing hall and bag checks all over again, costing you a good 30mins - all that for a 5min breather outside. And that applied to everyone, regardless of what ticket you had. Needless to say, a good number of people simply chose to stay inside, which made it a bit packed, and considering it was a very warm weekend... Well, it could have been handled a bit better, I think.

Being an amateur videographer, I don't really have photographs of the event as such, just a few quick shots of displays, etc – but I do have 47.6GB of video, shot at 720p, 60fps. At roughly 30mins per-video, that's about 11 hours of me wandering aimlessly around the con with a camera strapped to the side of my head, haha. Also, sadly no on-site photos of me, Brad or in our cosplay for this one; honestly, we straight-up forgot. I know – useless bunch of sad-acts.

Bit disappointed that I didn't get to meet up with my mate Steve Phiakkou; life got in the way on his end, so we didn't get to settle our little business transaction. Sod's Law and all that, no point crying over what wasn't meant to be. Fortunately, I did manage to square the set I intended to purchase from him elsewhere following the con, with his blessing. So I am now the proud owner of a complete set of Mastermind Creations' Feralcons and Feral Rex, aka the Predacons and their massive combiner, PREDAKING! That seems like a good jumping-on point for the Loot Report, so I'll stop beating about the bush – time to take stock!

LOOT REPORT

Media Haul
I think I did well this year, all told, between the media and the figures. Picked up a few complete-season and complete-series box sets, but as usual there were one or two volumes on my list that for reasons weren't available at the con, and had to be acquired afterwards. All have now arrived, so the completed list is as follows:

Figure Haul

Before I get into what I picked up Transformers-wise, I'll just say that, by-and-large, I haven't been too enthused by Hasbro/Takara's offerings, of late; the 'Titans Return' line hasn't really done much for me, and much as I enjoy the Headmaster gimmick, I don't pick up Transformers for the gimmick. I like well-engineered and interesting transformations, and sometimes I pick up figures just because I'm attached to the particular version of the character they're based on. I'm more of a Third-Party collector anyway, but I still keep an eye on what the brand's gatekeepers are knocking out; it doesn't happen often in my book, but on the rare occasion they get it right, it's only right to give credit where it's due; it keeps the brand ticking over, just as it has for the last 30+ years. So when I pick up an official figure, from either Hasbro or Takara, it's a pretty good indication that I really bloody like the thing.

Also, for clarity's sake, this portion of the report isn't limited specifically to what I picked up at MCM, but rather it's a report of what I've picked up since my last report, 'New Acquisitions!', which was posted the better part of a year ago now – and believe me, the collection's expanded a fair bit since then, with several individual figures, two new third-party combiner teams forming LARGE gestalts, and one particularly-sizeable solo figure. So, enough rambling – on to the haul!

First and foremost, have a group photograph...

  Mastermind Creations' Feralcons & FERAL REX!
Of Generation One Season 3 infamy, the Predacons are a Decepticon combiner team whose alternate modes are large predatory or otherwise-dangerous beasts (obviously). As a combiner team, the Predacons form Predaking - the most unique of all the Decepticon gestalts; while Devastator, Bruticus and Menasor are thrashing, flailing lunatics disturbed by their components' inability to work together cohesively, rendering them fit only for turning loose on the enemy as their allies run for cover, the Predacons have something that gives Predaking a relatively sane and stable mind -- relatively being the operative word, as the thing they share is a love of the hunt. As only predators do, they live to chase, catch, rip, tear, gore, trample, and kill. The Predacons are consummate killers, more than any other Decepticon can claim to be, and as Predaking, that love of the hunt makes the King of Beasts the most deadly-dangerous of the G1 combiners; if Predaking is on your tail, be you meat or metal, you are dead. As a weapon, he is without equal; as a warrior, only one other stands capable of rivalling him - his fellow beast-former, the Autobot Sky Lynx. But his dedication to the hunt is also a weakness, for once he begins tracking his prey, he stops for nothing - not for Galvatron's command, not even to refuel, tearing through any obstacle in his way with a rage like few living things know. Predaking would fall into stasis lock for lack of Energon, before he let his quarry give him the slip. The Predacons are:

- Razorclaw (Lion, Team Leader; torso)
- Divebomb (Eagle; left arm)
- Headstrong (Rhino; left leg)
- Tantrum (Buffalo; right leg)
- Rampage (Tiger; right arm)

Now, Hasbro have yet to produce a modern take on the Predacons properly, so it was basically inevitable that the Third-Parties would give it their best shot at filling that gap, and three groups in-particular decided to take a crack at it - TFC Toys built 'Ares', named for the Greek God of War, Unique Toys built 'War Lord', and Mastermind Creations produced 'Feral Rex'. TFC had experience with combiners at this point, having already produced their take on the Constructicons and Hercules, kicking off the 3P combiner craze while they were at it, and while Ares' aesthetic appealed to some, it was Feral Rex that captured my attention. When I first saw this monstrous thing completed and assembled by various YouTube reviewers, it went immediately to my "One Day I Will Own This" list, and now I have it. And I'm bloody thrilled to be able to say that. Individually each of these Voyager-scaled figures is a not-so-little cracker, and in combined mode, they are damned majestic. Feral Rex is a thing of beauty. Terrifying, primal-raging, bone-shattering beauty, with the Oppenheimer Blade, comprised of the Feralcons' individual blades, forming an equally-monstrous sword that could only be fit for the King of Beasts.

Having ordered this otherwise-perfect set of masterpieces, I had to order one particular add-on kit to go with it: Crazy Devy's CDMW-39 King's Power Parts Chrome-plated wings. This thing HAD to have gold chrome-plated wings. They look spectacular, and they really give the combined mode so much more presence - not that it doesn't have bags of that already, but I digress. I am currently looking for one more add-on kit by Dr Heisenberg, the King's Claws kit, to give the combined mode its traditional claw-tipped hands. It just completes the look of the set.

Hasbro Titans Return Deluxe Topspin & Triggerhappy | Takara Legends LG20 Skids | MMC Reformatted R-18 Anubis | Perfect Effect PE-11 Scouting Force X
I decided to bunch these figures together for convenience (yes, I'm lazy). Also, for transparency, the PE-11 set was part of the same package as the Crazy Devy Chrome Wings, so not strictly-acquired at Expo itself; I photographed them as a group to show a friend, so I figured rather than photograph them all over again, I figured I'd show that photo here too (See? Lazy. ). So, Topspin and Triggerhappy. Remember what I said earlier about well-engineered and interesting transformations in official products? These two are prime examples of that in action. Both have unique transformations that drew me to them when I saw them reviewed, and I knew I'd be picking them up if I saw them. Not exactly sure whose stall it was where I bought Triggerhappy, but I picked up Topspin from In Demand Toys, from whom I also picked up Takara's superior repaint of the Skids figure, released by Hasbro in 2013 as part of their 'Thrilling 30' campaign to celebrate Transformers' 30-year anniversary. Now, I say it's a superior repaint because a) Takara's take on a given figure is often (and notoriously) better-painted than Hasbro's own effort, and b) it's far more deco-accurate to Skids' appearance in the TF: More Than Meets The Eye/Lost Light comic, making it a must-have for me as I enjoy the character.

MMC Anubis was a special purchase; the character of Death's Head, whom the figure homages, has a long-running history with the Transformers, though not a Transformer or even Cybertronian himself. I've been a fan of the Freelance Peacekeeping Agent for a while (not a bounty hunter, yes? ), due to his appearances in Marvel's TFUK comic run back in the 80s, and after a certain acquaintance of mine revealed himself as the artist who drew the artwork for the comic packed in with the figure, I decided I had to add it to my collection. So I sought out Kapow! Toys' stall at Expo with the express purpose of purchasing it, knowing they were the only UK-based online retailer to still have it in-stock on their website; sadly, they weren't carrying any 3P figures on their stall for the event, but one of the guys offered me a solution -- they were running a 5%-off leaflet promotion, and he told me that they have a policy where, if you order a figure before 1pm, the warehouse would ship it direct to my hotel the next day by courier. Needless to say, I jumped right on that, and got a nice discount off the purchase price too.

Perfect Effect's PE-11 Scouting Force X was another set that'd been sitting on my list for a while; it's a neat little homage to the Decepticons' Reflector trio, comprised of Spectro, Spyglass and Viewfinder, who combine to transform into a single, collective alt.mode, and it was really-well executed for the time; other companies, most-notably TFC Toys also did their own version of Reflector, but I didn't really take to it as well as I did PE-11.

Well, it's almost that time of year again. In exactly 8 days time, me and the lads will be leaving for London, and the MCM Expo -- pardon me, the London MCM Comic Con, as it's known these days. We're heading up on the train this year, for a change of pace (truth be told, Brad's decided he doesn't like travelling long distances by bus, and who can blame him? Who really wants to be all cramped and shit on a three- or four-hour bus trip?), and we'll also have our good mate with us for his first big con. Don't know if he'll post photos of his outfit - he should, though; it looks badass! - but head over to his page and check out his stuff anyway.

So everything's booked and squared away, now it's just the packing and the waiting for the day to roll around. Fffuck, I hate waiting. Custom House for ExCeL DLR station is closed this year - like, the whole year - for maintenance and refurb; not that that makes any difference to us, we disembark one stop prior and we're still on the ExCeL complex, but I can see it confusing and pissing-off a lot of people over the course of the weekend. Oh well; c'est la vie, as the French say. Also there's the Iron Maiden gig at the O2 on the Sunday night, I'm looking forward to that too, but mostly I'm looking forward to meeting in-person someone whom I've come to consider a friend, that being Steve Phiakkou, the fine gentleman from whom I purchased TFC Hercules last year, and finalising another 3rd-Party Transformers purchase from him; more on that as events unfold... -_^

As cosplay matters stand, I think the kit is finished...I think. My particular kit is never truly finished, it's forever a work-in-progress, but it's right about where I wanted it to be for this particular iteration and outing; whether the adjustments for ventilation will have the much-needed impact or not, that remains to be seen. New shoulder armour this year, too; looking forward to breaking in that part of the kit. At the time of writing, I have to yet to test-wear the whole kit, something I mean to remedy before this week's out. I'll have pre-con photos snapped and uploaded before departure, and of course, on-site photos will follow...at some point...eventually. Anyone who's followed these journals over the years of my MCM Expo exploits knows damn-well what I'm like when it comes to photos, etc. But I am very pleased to have a scythe to take with me this year! Seriously -- FUCKING YES!!! It's about damned time! Along with the new lighting kit in the arm cannon, I'm quite proud of my advances for this year. God only knows how I'll move forward to new props after this, but I'm glad to have arrived at this point at long last. I might wear the kit on the Friday and Sunday this year, not sure yet; I usually wear it on the Saturday, but I might change things up this year to the days when the crowds are less substantial, for reasons of mobility and a reluctance to part with half my body weight in sweat...

Whether I'll post another update before the con, I can't say for sure; where there's due reason, I might knock one out. Otherwise, anticipate some pre-con kit photos before next week, and I'll likely post another Journal post-con with a loot report.

Peace out, guys!

p.s.: If you're attending Expo yourself, don't be shy! Drop a comment, say 'Hi!', and maybe we'll run into each-other at the ExCeL!

UPDATE 21/5/17
As promised, here's the pre-con reveal of the Hydroknight, Human Variant 4.0 outfit, along with a look at a complete layout of the kit disassembled. Let me know your thoughts!

Well, it's that time of year again...but unfortunately, I won't be going to the MCM Expo this October; plans are afoot to attend in May next year instead, but that's a long way off yet. So, to cheer myself up, I basically went shopping...and found me some treasures.

• Unite Warriors Technobots and COMPUTRON!

These guys were a special purchase for me; I've never owned the Technobots before, and Hasbro's Combiner Wars equivalent, while appealing to some, was really not much more in my eyes than a set of glorified repaints and minor retools. Takara's UW version is vastly superior, and easily the better option for completing my collection of the classic G1 Autobot gestalts. Nosecone and Strafe are probably my favourite figures in the set, in that order - Nosecone was the figure that convinced me to pick up Takara's Computron over Hasbro's offering, whose own version of Nosecone is utterly sub-par.
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• Combiner Wars Protectobot Groove

An honourable mention is much-deserved by Takara's Deluxe-class Protectobot Groove, whom I picked up to complete my collection of the Protectobots proper. Honestly, I'm really not fond of the Legends-class version; though it does score points for being more in-scale with the other 'bots, it's much too simple for me, and Groove deserves his traditional place as Defensor's right shin. You'll notice that Takara repurposed Groove to make the Technobot Afterburner - a fine figure in its own right!
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• TFC Toys HERCULES

Now this is the coup de grâce, boys and girls! This purchase was a very long time in the waiting! I've had my eye on this set since the individual figures began to appear a few years ago, but until now I've been unable to justify the inordinate expense of acquiring this fantastic Third-Party collection; that changed last week when I discovered a fine gent parting with his own set on eBay for an incredibly reasonable price (as opposed to the usual aftermarket price this set tends to go for, which is near-enough the same as it would sell for mint in sealed box! It's insane how expensive this set still is, so long after its original release!), and I decided it would be properly mental of me to pass up this exceptional opportunity to lay my grubby mitts on this truly amazing set. TFC Toys' HERCULES is a literal benchmark in the Third-Party Transformers collecting scene, representing the first time a relatively small indie company dared to produce a set of figures, capable of combining together, completely independent of any Hasbro product.
Now, what I mean by this is, Hercules and his six component figures are stand-alone entities - they're not upgrade kits, and they don't require any official Hasbro product in-order to function. They are literally TFC's very own take on the Constructicons and their gestalt, the mighty Devastator. And this thing is an absolute BEAST! It's massive! And lest we forget, this was the first time any Third-Party had ever attempted to produce something so ambitious - before Hercules, no Third-Party company had ever attempted to tackle a combiner team, much less to produce their own take, completely independent of Hasbro's own products. Hercules was not only a roaring success, but it also set the precedent for other indie companies to follow...and follow they did. TFC has much in the way of competition these days, many having produced combiner sets of their own that have surpassed the quality and sheer awesomeness that is represented in Hercules - but it remains incredibly sought-after, because this was the set that set the standard; with Hercules, TFC laid the groundwork for others to build on, a foundation for others say, "This is what we need to beat," and it's a hell of a mountain to climb.
Interestingly, included in the lot with the figures themselves was TFC's own official upgrade set for Hercules, The Rage of Hercules, which introduced additional parts that allow the figures to combine in a slightly different way, and alters the gestalt form by lifting the shoulders, giving it new forearms and a new head design, including an angry face for accentuating more aggressive poses, and generally giving the gestalt mode a more Generation 1-accurate appearance, which many collectors clamoured for during Hercules' production run, as the standard configuration is based in Devastator's design as he appears in IDW's Transformers comics. I prefer the IDW design myself, but that's not to say I don't appreciate the additional options for display that the Rage kit brings to the table, as the new pieces can also be used by the individual Constructicons to tool up their robot modes with some serious firepower.
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At the time of my writing this, there is still one recent acquisition I've made that has yet to arrive on my doorstep, so stay tuned - the package is running a few days overdue, but I'm hoping it will show up before this weekend is out. I'll update this post with a rundown on my impressions and some pictures of this one when it arrives -- and take my word for it: this one's going to be every bit as worth the waiting-for as Hercules has been for me, these last few years.

Update: 06/10/16

• Mastermind Creations Terminus Hexatron Continuum

Well, it finally arrived! A week later than expected due to complications with the postal service, but nonetheless -- MMC's Terminus Hexatron, alias Sixshot, the Phase 6 planet-killing, six-changing Decepticon one-robot assault force. This thing is an engineering masterpiece.

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And here's a twist in the tale! This thing has a secret seventh hoverboat mode, along with a whole bevy of fan-modes. It's insane! My favourite alt.modes are the Tank, the Starfighter, and the Hoverboat; I'm not too enthused with the APC mode, as I think the wheels are set a bit too far back to be realistic, the Winged Wolf mode just doesn't really look right however you go about it, and the Laser Pistol mode, while fun for what it is, it's just a bit...ehh. Honestly, I prefer to think of the Hoverboat as the sixth mode; it's not official, but then neither is this figure, right?

Being able to acquire these figures over the last few weeks has been an absolute blast, and totally makes up for the fact that I won't be attending the MCM Expo at the end of October this year...but as I mentioned at the top of this entry, there are plans afoot to go in May next year...and they're not just plans any more - we're now most-definitely going, because we've just picked up tickets for Iron Maiden's show at the O2 Arena, just across the Thames, on that very same weekend.

Peace out, people!

Yo!

So it's not often that I do an Expo Retrospective - this may be the second occasion, I think - and it's definitely not often that I brag about what I picked up while I was there...but this time I feel like making an exception, as there were one or two things that I wanted to pick up but couldn't, either because I didn't have room in my luggage to get it home, or because it simply wasn't available at the event; these items I then ordered from their respective retailers, and have been waiting for them to arrive...and now they're here. So have some photos.

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So glad to have TF Combiner Wars Defensor and Unite Warriors Superion in my collection, and definitely a proud owner of CAPCOM Figure Builder Morrigan Aensland! I had the original Transformers Defensor as a child (which disappeared along with the rest of my collection during a move T_T) and I've never had Superion or any of the Aerialbots, so I'm definitely happy to have the more modern takes on both of these great figure sets. I collected the individual figures to build Defensor at Expo on the Friday, and had to order the Japanese Exclusive boxset of Superion when I got home, as no-one was stocking it at the event, which disappointed me somewhat, I'll admit - though, in retrospect, I'm not sure I'd have been able to get the packaging box home, which would've been a real kick in the pants because the artwork is awesome.

As for Morrigan...well, what can I say; I'm a big fan of the Queen of the Succubi. I saw this beautiful piece at Expo on the Sunday, and was really torn about whether or not to pick it up, because I've always wanted a Morrigan piece and the retailer was offering it for a decent price (unlike the massive scalping that another retailer was trying to get away with for hideously-overpriced Rias Gremory pieces; the guy wanted £300 for one of them, and that was my entire spending budget for the weekend!). Unfortunately, due to space limitations, I couldn't say for sure whether or not I could get this piece of art home...so with great reluctance, I left it, and ordered it immediately when I arrived home. The retailer I saw at the event unfortunately didn't have it on their website, so I had to get it from somewhere else...and they ordered it especially from Japan, and it took some time to get here. I am SO pleased to have this; I just wish they'd made one of Lilith to accompany it. =/

Anyway, that's my Loot Report from London MCM Expo #28. Enjoy the photos, and I'll catch you all on the flipside!