Kool Kollectibles content

21 Nov 2018

Some recent pics of 1/6th scale figures

Here are some of my recent photos of 1/6th scale figures in my collection. Need to figure out how to photo shop in some decent backgrounds instead of this boring white lightbox I have :D

The old Hot Toys DX12 Batman figure lacks the articulation and size of the newer figures, but still looks pretty great standing at attention on the base.




I got the Deluxe version of the Hot Toys Boba Fett with the Sarlacc Pit, but it does look pretty weird next to the figure. It's really only good for perspective shots in the background. Either way, the figure itself looks nice posed in the standard Boba fashion.





Sideshow doesn't do great work with human figures, but troopers and aliens are where they excel. I love their original trilogy pilot figures. They have the flight suit down pat, and their helmet work is generally good. This TIE Fighter pilot does have the tailoring issue that makes it appear to have a very small, feminine waist. But other than that, the figure is a great representation of the TIE pilot.




Sideshow continued the great work with their similar AT-AT Driver. Again the helmet work is very nice as is the chest plate. The boots and gloves are little too rigid, but overall poseability is enough to look cool on display.


20 Nov 2018

Some recent pics of Transformers Masterpiece figures

Here are some recent pics of the Transformers Masterpiece figures in my collection. Here's hoping to some new molds in 2019!

These Robots In Black still look great!



The Bumblebee mold still looks great. I like the combat mask on the G2 gold version!





Tracks isn't the favourite of a lot of MP collectors, but I think it looks fantastic. In my book, the mold is a perfect mix of G1 cartoon aesthetics, articulation, and gorgeous official car mode!




The new Sunstreaker mold late last year was awesome, and this new police car Diaclone repaint is the perfect homage to the original toys by Takara. Love the head sculpt and additional paint and molding details.







The anime version of Prowl looks pretty nice too. Definitely prefer it in the bot mode though rather than the car mode. The original release just looks classier in car mode.






The anime versions of Sideswipe, Prowl, and Red Alert look fantastic in bot mode. They really fit in much nicer with the more recent MP figures that essentially have their anime paint apps straight up!



Here's hoping for a Diaclone black Ironhide repaint soon!


14 Nov 2018

Transformers Masterpiece MP-17+ Prowl (anime colour edition)

I have the previous anime repaint editions for Sideswipe and Red Alert in this Transformers Masterpiece series. I was going to pass on this latest Prowl repaint, but I caved and preordered anyway. It's been such a slow year in the MP series, I had to get my fix somehow!

Click below for my full review over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel. Hope you can give the video a thumbs-up and subscribe to the channel too! :)



Packaging and contents are all stock standard for the MP series. I did note that the quality of the box cardboard seemed a little off compared to MP-42 Cordon. Also, the collector card seemed to be cut off centre, so the grid doesn't look quite right. This was a drop in quality that I wasn't expecting from Takara, and I definitely hope it's not because of this one being made in Vietnam instead of China!



Straight out of the box I was actually a little disappointed. The white paint has a very matte finish, and I was expecting more gloss. Strangely when I compared it to the original release, that one had a fairly matte finish as well! The think the slightly off-white tint of the new paint app compared to the bright white finish on the original gives an impression of lower quality.

The black paint has the nice gloss, but the front of mine had a drop in quality with some stray hair/dust marks embedded in the paint. The original was perfectly clean. So again that disappointed in for the car mode.



The blue windows is more cartoon accurate, but in car mode I think the original clear grey windows looks better. The painted blue rear side windows doesn't look that great either. The black paint on the original doesn't seem to stand out as much as this light blue.



I do like the grey bumpers on the front and back though. They help to break up all the black on the original release, and again is more cartoon accurate. But of course the little Z insignia on the original is much nicer than the black nub that's on the new version.



The transformation to bot mode was a struggle with the feet areas, where it was very tight trying to pry the rear sections of the car open for the feet and shins. Once transformed though, I think the bot mode is where this anime version looks its best.

The grey front bumper looks great, and the blue windows this time highlight the lower legs really well. The little blue highlights in the front lights also looks great in bot mode. The matte grey finish on the face and thighs isn't as nice as the metallic grey on the original, but I guess that's in keeping with their cartoon accurate styling these days.



I do wish that they had put in the effort to make the black elbow joints a white plastic like they did with Sideswipe. That would've blended the arms much better. But overall, I think this anime repaint looks great in bot mode next to the other two anime versions. Now it's just the wait for the anime repaint for Wheeljack next year!



13 Nov 2018

Transformers Masterpiece MP-42 Cordon

Those that follow the channel and Facebook page will know that I love the Diaclone repaints in the Transformers Masterpiece series. Takara always does a pretty awesome job with these homages to the original colourways preceding the Transformers brand. This new MP-42 Cordon repaint of Sunstreaker in the original police car deco is no exception!

Click through below to check out my full video review over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel! Make sure to give the video a thumbs-up, and subscribe to the channel! :)



The packaging and contents are the usual style that all Masterpiece collectors know and love. I still hate the new style of collector card art, and one day I might get over the fact they changed it ages ago! But for now, I'll continue bitching about it :)



The accessories aren't as plentiful as with the standard Sunstreaker release (eg. alien mask, Chip etc), but the new hand gun is nicely chromed and a great way to pay homage to the G1 toy design. The swap out mechanism is pretty straight forward and it looks great in bot mode.





Of course the other stand out feature in bot mode is the new head sculpt that is more accurate to the G1 toy. It is a nice looking sculpt with those red eyes and side ears. The metallic face also looks fantastic, but watch out for some minor paint rub on the tip of the nose.

The way in which the police lights change between car and robot modes is nice, with a simple mechanism to push it to either side of the rotating roof. Some people seemed to hate the "cheat" in getting the roof to be accurate in car and bot mode, but I think it's toy engineering perfection. The cartoon itself cheated, and this reflects that exactly, with the insignia appearing in bot mode just like on Sunstreaker.



The extra molded details also sets this figure apart from the original. The high black gloss and molded highlights really show off the character from every angle. I still am in awe at how Takara designed the lower legs, and it's far better than any of the 3rd party attempts.



In car mode, it has all the possible combinations that Sunstreaker had. You can have it with the exposed engines (as I prefer), or you can hide those away to make it more of an accurate Lamborghini Countach. I much prefer the engines exposed to clearly differentiate him.



The police car deco is just awesome. The paint application is beautifully done, with clean lines all over mine. There's minimal paint slop, and the decals are all sharp. The extra painted areas in black against the white makes it pop, whereas the original Sunstreaker went for less paint details for cartoon accuracy.



Displayed next to the MP-14C Clampdown Diaclone homage, they really do represent this Lamborghini mold at its best. I'll definitely stick with displaying these Diaclone repaints in their car modes. Just great work by Takara!



I've collected all the Diaclone or Micro Change repaints so far in this series I think. They look fantastic together! I just wish Takara would hurry up and release the Diaclone black Ironhide for crying out loud! I have no idea why they haven't announced it yet, but hopefully it's still in their plans. If it's not, it would be a curious and very disappointing case of being the only car mold without a Diaclone homage! Either way, I'll continue to wait eagerly for it!

If you're a fan of these Masterpiece figures and love the Diaclone homages, then this new MP-42 Cordon comes highly recommended!


8 Nov 2018

My thoughts on the debate about collectible value and exclusivity

A topic that regularly comes up within the collecting community revolves around reasons why we collect these toys, cards, figures, statues.....anything.

Some collect it for the love, some collect as they see an investment opportunity, some collect due to exclusivity or rarity of items.

Here I give my thoughts on why I collect. Hope you can check it out and comment with your thoughts too! :)