Kool Kollectibles content

28 Mar 2020

Transformers Masterpiece Moments #3 - March 2020

I realised that the last time I had done a Transformers Masterpiece Moments video was almost 4 years ago! So I figured it was about time for another one to go through my favourite aspects of the Takara Transformers Masterpiece releases that I've collected over the past few years.

Hope you can click through below and check out the full video over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel! Let me know in the comments what your favourite TF moments are too!



Class of 2016:


Class of 2017:


Class of 2018:



Class of 2019:


27 Mar 2020

Hot Toys MMS517 Luke Skywalker Deluxe

The announcement of this Deluxe version of the Return of the Jedi Luke Skywalker figure was bound to rub many collectors the wrong way, especially those that had already purchased the original MMS429 Luke Skywalker.

But the alternate head sculpts and hair, along with the additional Endor outfit and accessories, made it a pretty easy decision for me to get this Deluxe version too, even though I had the first figure. When they announced the Endor Leia and Wicket figures, it solidified my decision to get this to display the core cast of characters in their Endor outfits, as well as Luke in his classic outfit from the Jabba skiff battle.

Click through below to watch my full review of the new Deluxe version of this Luke Skywalker figure. Also further below is my original review of the first release of this figure. Hope you can check that one out too!



As all Deluxe sets should, this comes with a decent array of accessories. Some I probably won't ever use, such as the deleted scene desert cowl and googles. They're a nice to have, are look to be pretty nice quality, but I just wouldn't have Luke displayed like that in my cabinet.

The sand base is a reuse of the mold used for other figures like the Sandtrooper and Snowtrooper, so is getting a bit boring. It doesn't really suit the Endor environment either. I think the forest flat printed base shown for Leia and Wicket looks much better.

The lightup arm and saber are the same as before, and I never use them, especially for figures like this where it's been reported to be an absolute pain in the arse to swap out. The hands are nice, with a few that are unique to this set. I'll definitely be going with the gloved hand holding the pistol for my display.


The alternate head sculpts are surprisingly good! I didn't think I'd like the slightly open mouthed head sculpt, but in hand I think it looks great! I'll be using that with the windswept hair in his classic Jedi outfit and robe/sash. The paint application is fantastic, and both are obvious improvements over the original head sculpt that seems a little flatter and less detailed. Even the paint app for the hair pieces seems more detailed with better variation.

The pic below shows the new figure on the left, with the original figure on the right. The fat suit they used on the original figure does make it look too bulky in the chest/torso area. The new figure doesn't use a fat suit, and so the proportions are more accurate to his look in the movie. The outfits are essentially identical, although the newer one on mine seems to be tighter around the neck.


The Endor cowl and helmet are nicely done. I was surprised that they used fabric on the top part of the helmet, which adds a nice touch of realism. The cowl is a nice material with a very thin wire along the edge to help with posing.

The stitching around the hood is very good and allows it to fold flat against the back and shoulders for a natural look. The camo colouring is decent, and fits nicely over the original figure to hide the bulky chest.

For both figures, I've used the two new head sculpts, since I find them far better than the original. Sure it's a shame Hot Toys didn't release a two-pack with all of this stuff included. But I think this separate release gives all the options for collectors to buy which look they prefer, or everything!

The new "looking to the side" neutral sculpt looks great especially when setup in his Endor gear. No I have a spare neutral sculpt from the original figure I need to find a use for! With the two figures now all setup, I can't wait to get Leia and Wicket later in 2020!


26 Mar 2020

Transformers Masterpiece MP-19+ Smokescreen

The Takara Transformers Masterpiece + series keep rolling on, with perhaps their best release so far with Smokescreen! The paint app and swap out head sculpts on this one are so awesome! Click through below to watch my full review over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel.


Love the smoke plume accessory included with this set. You can keep it in one full plume, or split it into two to display on either side of the figure. The transluscent plastic and mold really adds a nice bit of dynamic display detail to the set.


The paint app follows the cartoon accurate styling as per other carbot + versions. Despite it having a plainer style, the glossy nature of the paint somehow really makes it look so much nicer! The red is a lighter share, the blue and white pop in all the right places, and the blue tinted windows just tops it all off.


The original has a darker shade of red, but the decals and other paint details seem to almost detract from the overall look, especially in bot mode. It's very strange, and only really becomes apparent when you see them side by side in hand.


The built-in shoulder cannons are a little fiddly, and the smallish nature of them takes a little getting used to. I think the larger ones still look pretty good on the original. Where the new one blows the old away is in the face sculpt! That large chin and smile just give the figure so much character!

I think it portrays the cartoon character perfectly, and the three different faces give you all the display options you need. I'll definitely be going with the open mouthed smile for my display. With the shade of grey instead of darker black, the figure oozes that cartoon style. All in all, the bot mode is a winner.


The original with its realistic racing car decals still looks great too. It certainly goes well with the other original releases, that I all display in their car modes.


I never thought I'd collect so many Nissan Fairlady Zs in the MP collection, but here they all are! Love the Diaclone repaints too, and the originals give all that G1 toy and realistic styling that looks fantastic in car mode. I think that's pretty much all the repaints they can make for this mold. I just hope they give us some more repaints for the Tracks and Ironhide mold!


18 Mar 2020

Transformers Masterpiece MP-47 Hound

It's always great when new molds of G1 characters are released in the Takara Transformers Masterpiece series. They seem to be coming out slower and slower these days, so the anticipation really builds up. Hound is no exception, and for the most part Takara has designed a fantastic figure.....except for one key aspect in production that has ruined it for many.

Luckily for me the widely reported cracking plastic has not happened to my figure. I have only been able to see a tiny crack on the neck armature piece near the back of the head at the rear. It's show in my video review at the link below. Click through to watch the full review over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel!


The packaging is as we all know and love in the MP series. The contents are well stacked with accessories as shown below. The jeep hood and hologram effects are nice to have, but I won't be using them in my display. Many of the car parts that can be left attached during transformation I also left off, such as the rear cannon and spare wheel and fuel canister.

The new Spike figure included in this set is scaled well with the jeep mode, but this means it's quite a bit larger than the previous Spike figures that came with Bumblebee and Optimus. At least this one, with the larger size, doesn't keep popping off its arms and legs like the others!


The jeep mode is beautiful, has that official licence aesthetic to it, and the paint app is a gorgeous matte green which I really like. I'm glad they went with this colour and not a darker green like the original G1 toy. I much prefer the cartoon style.

The first thing pretty much everyone will do when unboxing in this jeep mode is check it over for cracks. Straight out of the box, mine was fine. The usual places for cracks include the side footrest hinges, the front pins/hinges near the front wheels, and the hinge at the rear panel that needs to be pulled out slightly.

It will do well for people to watch transformation videos on YouTube that clearly show where you should avoid placing pressure. This will definitely help in preventing cracks or breakages with your figure.


The transformation is rather complex, at least for me. I took my time and slowing manipulated every panel as I watched transformation videos. The engineering in the feet and lower legs is fantastic, and definitely the Masterpiece Moment for me on this one. If you go slow, and make sure the panels are all folded in the right way, the lower legs and feet will collapse together really well, and shouldn't stress the plastic.

The upper body transformation does have a couple of scary parts, especially the cannon and head armature piece. There is a single screw at the rear hold that armature in place as it swings, and it is screwed in very tight. Moving the arm is what causes many of the cracks. General advice has been to loosen that screw, but even as I did that I saw the tiny crack appear.

Luckily that's the only place that I've seen cracks, but many also have cracks at the back of the knees along the hinges there, and near the sides of the chest. Now that I've transformed mine into bot mode, he'll be staying that way pretty much forever in my display cabinet.

The bot mode is simply amazing, and for me is by far the best looking Hound out of all the options at the moment. There's barely any kibble that people love to complain about, and he looks very accurate to the cartoon. He fits in beautifully with the new Optimus and Bumblee, and complements the + versions of the Lambor and Nissan molds really well too.


Overall, I think Takara designed a fantastic figure, but let themselves and collectors down with sub-standard plastic. The hinges or the pins are simply putting too much stress on the plastic, resulting in many reports of breakages. It's certainly ruined the experience for many collectors. Hopefully if they do a repaint or a reissue, the plastic quality is improved, because this design deserves to be given the best production value it can.

If it wasn't for all the reports of breakages, I'm pretty sure Hound would go down as one of the best figures in the MP series. But as of now, it's really a matter of what could have been! Mine's still holding up ok with a few pose changes, but here's hoping it doesn't start falling apart!


1 Mar 2020

Toy Notch Sun Wukong Monkey King

Toy Notch is a company that I've never heard of before, but was pleasantly surprised when I saw a company willing to release something a little bit different! This classic Sun Wukong (Monkey King) from the iconic animated movie from the 1960s is one that I've remembered since childhood! My parents certainly had some old Chinese art books that depicted this character, and I certainly wanted this for my collection.

Click the link below for my full video review over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel. Make sure to subscribe too and stay tuned for upcoming reviews! :)


The set comes with a decent array of accessories, and they're all of pretty good quality. I especially love the staff that is actually made of metal. I was expecting just painted plastic, but the fact that they went the extra mile with metal is pretty nice.

The swap out face sculpts are nice too, with all the options you need for the various moods of the Monkey King. The swap out hands aren't all that great, but decent enough with the posing options. Be careful swapping them out, and especially when inserting the staff. I would put the hand for the staff in hot water first to soften the plastic.

The magic cloud is a great touch, but I really wish they had included some sort of elevated display base or dynamic stand for it. Another annoying feature is that the molded part to insert the foot is too small for the actual foot of the figure. This makes it extremely difficult to insert the foot and get the figure to stand in a stable manner. Even with hot water I could not really get the foot in there properly. So it's a great idea, just not executed as well as it should have been.


The figure itself is very nicely done. The quality is pretty much on par with other similar sized figures from Bandai S.H.Figuarts or the Revoltech figures. The joints are very similar to those figures, so if you have any of those then you'll know what you're getting into.

Overall the paint application is pretty clean and sharp, with only minimal bleed in the skirt. All other areas on mine were good. The yellow in the shirt is nice and I like the way they did the red pants too. There's no real risl of paint chipping when posing this figure.

Articulation is as you would expect, however it would've been nice if they had figured out a way to get more into the head. It cannot look up very far at all due to the back of the head sculpt and his head gear. But other than that, I think you can get him into some pretty dynamic poses. Even in static poses, the joints aren't so obvious to make him look strange.

For fans of Chinese mythology or for those looking for something a bit different in their collection, I think this figure fits the bill perfectly. It will be interesting to see what else Toy Notch have coming up - this is a pretty good start!