My KO Transformers & Etc

Restoration - KO Dinogeist (Yuusha / Brave series)

2012-02-05T06:13:00.000-08:00

Restored another shampoo-bottle-plastic KO again... this time, it is KO Dinogeist from the Yuusha / Brave series... Actually is quite a good KO, with many tight joints, but the molding is quite bad with many mis-alignments and flashes of the sprue... which often affects the joints or functions... The head is also remolded, and even with the forehead "V" shaped crest removed, the head cannot be turned 180 degrees backwards to hide in jet mode...

... anyway, here's Dinogeist in jet mode... very nice and sleek looking... However, fists are exposed without even covering at the top...

... worm's view of the jet mode...

... made a face-mask in the shield to slide up and cover the face in jet mode...

... robot mode... Picture below shows KO Dinogeist removed of stickers (left) and stickered state which he came as (right)...

... close-up view of the remolded robot head... not as cool-looking as the original one...

... This KO comes with only 1 sword (instead of 2) and a shield, which (sadly) I can only fit him on the arms these 2 ways... don't think this is how the authentic one attaches...

... My personal favourite mode is the dinosaur (???) mode... I must admit the "horns" on the dino-head looks weird initially but gradually grew on me... now I think it makes dinosaur mode looks much cuter...

... the spring-out cannons still work!!! (after removing much of the flashes that hinder the spring out motion path, that is...) Sweet...

Restoration - KO Cloudraker (Featuring KO Fastlane)

2012-02-03T02:18:00.000-08:00

Bought 2 cheapo KO (shampoo-bottle) Fastlanes from TaoBao, with the intention of, you guessed it, modding the other to Cloudraker. After these figures arrived and before my commencement of the "operation", I chanced upon a set of KO Autobot Clones with near-identical colours in TaoBao, and at a relatively low price, and struggled whether to buy or not... In the end, gave up the thought, and focused on reviving this figure with my cheapo version... And it was way way more difficult than expected...

.... Legs are ready... restorer is too tired (or rather, lazy) to take pictures anymore...

... finally, Cloudraker is re-born!...

...transformation to jet mode is exactly the same... leg joints are not very well-aligned, but still, I am glad these legs can swivel... The jet canopy seems a bit too short, but heck, at least it is green (and blue)...

Optimus: "Fastlane! Cloudraker! I want you to search the planet until you find the key!"

Cloudraker: "Roger dodger, Optimus Prime!"
Fastlane: "Roger dodger, Optimus Prime!" ...

Minor Restoration - KO Alternators Silverstreak

2012-01-18T01:29:00.000-08:00

KO Alternators Silverstreak... A good piece of KO with most joints reasonably tight enough... well.. except for a few, which I tightened up most of them, with superglue... However, the heels are not (tight) enough to support this heavy bot, as although this is a KO, the diecast parts are still there... And some panels are not matching, a bit misaligned... but overall, a very very very SOLID piece of KO! (Off topic: Why can't Hasbro have this type silver paint on DOTM Sideswipe and HA Soundwave, sigh....)

...doors, boot, bonnet can be opened like the authentic version... Can't figure a way to hold the engine/gun piece firmly, but heck, ...

...superglued some polystyrene pieces (circled in red dots) at the back of the feet to stop the heel pieces from flipping upwards, which will help prevent the robot from falling backwards... works quite well...

... Robot mode... stands quite well...but frankly, quite limited leg articulation, due to the design...

Next missions: (1) Restore KO Fastlane & improvise (2) Rebuild KO Cloudraker from another KO Fastlane...

Preview Custom: Marvel Crossover - Green Goblin...

2012-01-10T05:35:00.000-08:00

...~~preview with only a couple of robot pics as the paint has not dried completely, so cannot transform~~... The head is from an old KO ROTF Sideswipe... Did some mods as suggested by some Youtube-ers too, like the back tab, folding the side abs... Nice... if you don't look too close, hahahaha.... Actually the physical toy does not look so bad, but camera cannot show the dark purple and always show many ugly spots... hahaha...

... comparison with my custom Hellboy ... patch-photos as couldn't find where Hellboy is kept...

EDIT : After taking some more pics then realised I actually got Green Goblin to have a similar pose as what I took for a shot for Hellboy, hahaha...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs & TF (125) - KO Quake, KO Oversize PE Reflector, KO Oversize G1 Reflector, RTS Trailbreaker

2012-01-07T05:30:00.000-08:00

Received my haul from TaoBao just now...

KO Quake
This roughly deluxe sized KO Quake is made by Happywell, and is quite good, with ratcheting joints still there, just without the 2 targetmasters. The blank space is actually the robot with its picture in the bottom corner of the box, but gave it to my nephew before I remember to take a picture... Anyway, my main target is also just Quake, so seems a bit costly too... Price approx. $16.55.

KO Oversize PE Reflector
Could not resist getting this KO of a Third-Party... Have not open up yet so unable to experience personally the super-flexible plastic... Maybe open up later... Sweet... Price approx. $17.15
Edit: Wonderful piece of KO! Most of the joints are relatively tight, and the camera is quite HUGE! Yes, no doubts some of the the shoulder attachments and such are not tight, and some simplifications means some features eg. shield not holdable, etc, these do not affect much of the play value of this KO! ...

KO Oversize G1 Reflector
Yeah, gotten this last piece, which also seems to be the cheapest non-loose piece, in TaoBao... so was quite happy... Price approx. $26.05.
Edit: Wow! Again am pleasantly surprised by the mostly tight joints (except for the middle-guy with quite loose legs... but can be rectified, hahaha...), and good stickers. The middle-guy also has his shoulder "pins" modified (I don't have the authentic one but I seen from Youtube the review, so...), looking like a sloping cone at the tip now, but doesn't affect transformation... These figures are roughly a head smaller than the KO Oversize PE Reflector figures, and so the camera formed is also a bit smaller. But still , great! ... and have fun pressing the red bot's head (which simulates a camera's shooting button)... Oh, the missile launcher works well too! Wicked...

KO Jumpstarter
Its free!!! Hahaha... Was given by the seller of the above KO Oversize G1 Reflector, and seeing how my nephew is a bit gloomy due to his fever, I gave him this too... and he is happy tonight, with a robot "Knight" (he named the earlier robot a Knight as the toy has a shield) and a "super-quick-change" transformer... The pull back motor and auto-snap-transform features are not there, too bad...

RTS Trailbreaker
Refused to call it Trailcutter... Gotten my 1st deliberate loose TF bought (not counting the KO J-Decker and KO Sixshot which the seller sends loose...)... Immediately washed with anti-bacterial soap, hahahaha... Not bad! Joints are reasonably tight, and only need to work on 1 hole which was a bit too tight for the leg peg to fit in when putting the legs together... Very very close homage to G1 Trailbreaker, and improved... Seller also included a free KO Kabaya Chain Gun... $5.05.

Slight Slight Mod & Pics for Fun...

2012-01-03T05:28:00.000-08:00

Cut off the missile tails of Tomahawk and Jetblade, and indeed, they look GREAT!!! Way much better than the original length...

Tomahawk

Jetblade

Wolverine
Tightened the joints of Wolverine, and he just have some amazing poses!!!

"...It's 'claw-ing' time!!!..."

"... Shin Ryu Ken!!!..."

"... Do NOT mess around with me..."

Repaint - Solarstorm (a.k.a. KO Classics Jetfire) => Solar Prime

2011-12-31T04:06:00.000-08:00

Took a couple of days to repaint my KO Classics Jetfire, which the TaoBao seller wrongly deliver a white instead of orange. Initially thought will just repaint without taking out the parts, but realise it will be VERY ugly... so... Below shows the comparison. More about the KO later...

Very nice piece of KO. Although lesser quality plastics used, it is actually better to form the combination without causing so much strain on the Classics Optimus Prime's joints. Only very minor simplifications without any loss of function as compared to the authentic one... Oh, except for the loss of the helmet feature... Basic jet mode below...

Armoured Jet mode... Cannon flipping is manual...

Robot mode... With the lighter plastics, this figure is not as back-heavy as the authentic one... Other than the elbow swivel and knee swivel joints, most of the joints are quite tight, which is quite a surprise for a KO! Amazing... Made the (blue) antennas to be able to slide out for clearance when transforming to jet mode...

So how does he look when combining with my KO Henkei Optimus Prime??? Well...

Ready to combine!!!!

...phase 1! (hahahaha....) ...combine to form...

... Solar Prime !!!!!

Actually he looks funny from the side view, the head is too far forward! Hahahaha...

Awesome combination... Though be warned, KO + Authentic will result in a loose combination; KO + KO might be even a looser one, thus must tighten joints...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of TFs & Etc (124)- Crossover Iron Man (Car), DOTM Leader Ironhide, HA Soundwave, Generations Warpath, Crumple Face Ultraman

2011-12-30T06:22:00.000-08:00

Received these stuff tonight from TaoBao... well, not all these stuff, as the 1st one is bought in Metro with 20% discount...

Crossover Iron Man (Car)
Chanced upon this few weeks ago but did not buy as there was no sales or offer price then. Did not recall ever seeing it anywhere else in retail (especially OG...arrgh...), so bought it. Was thinking of getting the Crossover Venom, but hate the protruding tongue, so put in back in the end... Price ~ $27.90

DOTM Leader Ironhide
Movieverse Ironhide (2007 - 2011)... Salute!...
Ok, gotten this after some struggling... Ironhide is not my favourite character to be a Leader class figure, but... anyway, the price drop is the critical factor that seals this deal... Price ~ $46.45

DOTM HA Soundwave
Sigh... Sigh... and to think I saw many pieces in TRU Paragon today... Sigh... Sigh... Price ~ $71.60

Generations Warpath
Wow! Gotten this at a "high price" compared to the lowest in local retail of $10, but still feel good, because I DID NOT GIVE MONEY TO SCALPERS!!!! Hahahahahahaha.... Refuse to buy at the ridiculous high price in CSC... Price ~ $24.95

Crumple Face Ultraman
This is so nostalgic!!!!! Crumple Face Ultraman!!!! Ugly but nice... Price ~ $8.65

Also bought a Ultraman Zero Twin-Slugger set but nephew was so excited when he saw it in the big plastic bag of haul, so give him 1st, and did not take a picture of it... Hope my next haul will arrive soon... Estimate next Thurs...

Restoration - KO RID Galvatron (a.k.a. Gigatron)

2011-12-25T01:39:00.000-08:00

KO Gigatron!!! Very very nice robot mode, powerful and menacing look... The colours are also quite close to the authentic one... Many important joints are loose, so while transformation is possible, the alternate modes cannot stand/transform properly... Took some time to fix back most of the joints, while a couple of the joints are still not as good as I wanted, the transformed modes are at least quite stable...

After restoring this figure, I realised the official modes for this figure is somewhat ridiculous for most of the modes, for example below...

Bat mode... with nose too long that looks more like a pig's nose???

Flying Dragon... ??? what the... ??

Devil Ostrich (designer's own mode...).. at least it looks a bit funny...

Refused to transform the figure into the other "ridiculous" modes, eg, hand (??!!), elephant/mammoth (??!!), etc...

As with many people, I believe this should be the official "official" mode for Gigatron, at least for the beasts/animals modes... This is because I could not find other proper animal heads other than this mode's dragon heads... But in comparison to say, Doublecross, this is still a bad design. The heads are too big in comparison to the body, or rather, the body is TOO MINI !!!! The dragon arms are too small and badly designed ball joints make tha arms easy to pop-off... Not my most favourite mode, but still I will consider it as the official alternate mode...

Gigatron can also transform into a car (technically speaking, a land transport vehicle), which is one of the three non-beast modes, with the other 2 being the jet and fast-craft/boat modes... I feel the head of the jet is more like the Griffon head, so did not consider the jet mode... And I was thinking, if Gigatron can fly, why would it travel by sea? More relaxing? Lesser fuel needed, with the rising cost of oil?? Well, whatever... Anyway, quite a nice looking car with a sleek look...

Griffon! My favourite alternate beast mode... Simply because it looks good, in both proportion and aesthetics...

"I am 1000 Megatron! I am Gigatron! Hahaha...!!!"

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of TFs (123) - DOTM Barricade, TF Prime Cliffjumper

2011-12-21T21:24:00.000-08:00

Bought these 2 at TRU TP today, along with other hauls for Christmas presents... State of TFs in TRU TP is actually quite pathetic... sigh... anyway, glad to have gotten these 2...

DOTM Barricade
Actually was thinking of getting this piece some time ago, as seen on Youtube reviews that this is actually more movie accurate than the 1st movie toy... Cost approximately $15.50, after the 7% discount by using UOB Card...
Edit: Just a side note, the cardboard's printing is much clearer and darker than those sold in CSC's 1st floor central area... Not sure if this means the CSC ones are of different batch or...? Anyway, its the toy inside that matters most...

Posable! Looks like Barricade teleported out from the laptop screen, hahaha...

TF Prime Cliffjumper
Very scared that this will not have a head, as read in 1 forum, so was checking any ways to identify, on the internet, while choosing a piece. Realised that the head, or rather, the horns on the head, can be seen underneath the car, which you can see if you "peeped" through the bubble-pack. Toyed with the figure and was grumbling he has no weapon, when I found his fist to be able to flip, and the other hand a 3-barrel gun (or sort of, I presumed, hahaha...) Very nice looking TF. Did not go to OG to buy, as when calculated the cost, even with a possible 20% discount, might still even out with the parking charges... A very good TF with both modes looking great... Using a $10 Capital voucher and UOB Card, cost is approximately $15.90...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of TFs (122) - Galaxy Force Autolander (a.k.a. Brakedown), X-Transbots Wild Child / Explorer (a.k.a. Bad Boy)

2011-12-18T02:30:00.000-08:00

Intending to hunt for a HA Soundwave at Orchard area today but plan was disrupted due to the MRT check... Went to Suntec but couldn't find any... Upon returning to CSC, gotten these...

Galaxy Force Autolander (a.k.a. Brakedown)
Yeah! Very happy to see this piece as I have been hunting for it high and low, even thinking of buying a loose one (I hate loose TFs... ) from TaoBao... So I glance at the price, satisfied at $20, picked and paid for him in 1 smooth flow, not much thinking, hahahaha.... Can finally replace the lousier KO that has no fist ball-joint and such... Only negative point is the blade doesn't stay down firmly when extended... Can be rectified....

X-Transbots Wild Child / Explorer (a.k.a. Bad Boy)
An impulse buy!!! Nothing else!!!!... I cannot explain how I can even take out $55 from my wallet to pay for this little third-party of a third-party... Must be impulse buy, hahahaha.... And come to think of it, must be the white and deep dark blue colours that charmed me into buying... very very nice colours... Size is that roughly of a small deluxe, and joints appear to be reasonably tight!!!! ...Ok, I have been too poison by KOs' quality, must not think every non-legit TF is loose-jointed... Now, 1 thing I HATE about this figure is that the FACE IS SEEN FROM BELOW IN JET MODE!!!!! WTF.... Why didn't X-Transbots makers retain the face cover gimmick (as in the original 3rd-party Jizaitoys's version)?... Need to think of a way... Won't be easy though, after examing him, especially if want to leave the front landing gear functional... But think can be done...

Update - KO Kabaya (Styled) Oversized Cassettes : Slugfest, Ratbat

2011-12-14T07:59:00.000-08:00

Assembled these long due KO Kabaya (Styled) Oversized Cassettes - Slugfest and Ratbat. Very nice little sets, joints are tight and parts can be snapped quite tightly too. The molding is also "clean" and accurate, with almost no excess plastics on the sprue, amazing. The 2-colour kit makes the Cassette-cons look less monotonous, but the colours are not quite right for some parts. Anyway, I am not that bothered about this, as I totally like these 2 little figures! As they are made of the typical oily plastic material, painting is not recommended at all...

Edit : These oversized cassettes can fit into the KO Oversize G1 Soundwave that came out a couple of years ago (the one with a Ravage that has non-movable feet)...

KO Oversized Slugfest
The guns have design that looks nice with silver-chrome but looks like armadillo skin in this green colour. The head and tail connectors are not incorrectly shown in the instructions, and I spent quite some time figuring out, after many failed attempts. Printed out some stickers to make the cassette mode looks more realistic...

The spring-up bladed-spine feature is not here, instead, the dinosaur belly has a little handle that flips down and pushing it up causes the bladed-spine to rise up. Innovative!

KO Oversized Ratbat
Has been wanting to get a Ratbat, so when after assembling it, I just have to give it some stickers for its cassette mode (and also for Slugfest)... Very amazing transformation, with small parts (i.e. wing claws) that might be easily missed when transforming.

Ratbat in bat mode! After some time then realise the 2 "things" that points frontward out from the jet-pack are rifles/cannons!

Back view to showoff the jet-pack-rifles!

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs (121) - Transmutation Robot KO Hyper Red Jack Armor ( a.k.a. Sonicwave w/ Laserhawk )

2011-12-13T05:01:00.000-08:00

Bought this Transmutation Robot toy at Funan today, at a offer price of $13.90. ~~Not sure what~~ this mold is based on ~~though~~ the Hyper Red Jack Armor from an old "Armored Police Metal Jack" series. Anyway, I thought since the other Transmutation Robot packaging that has G1 Star Saber is good, this should be good too. However, when I saw the transformation, I was disappointed, as it is a semi-part-former. The legs need to be detached for transformation... sigh... was thinking of throwing it away, but then suddenly, I realised the canopy-backpack attached to the robot's back can actually be transform into a bird-like robot similar to DOTM HA Soundwave's Laserbeak! Just need to paint some eyes at the "head"... Now that's cool... ~~So decided to keep it and try to mod the legs to be fully transformable.~~ Since this Transmutation Robot has a "Laserbeak" counterpart, I decided to name ~~him Sonicwave, and~~ his pet bird, Laserhawk... and give it to Crossover Iron Man (car)...

Hope my Taobao haul will be smooth, or even in time for Christmas... but seems unlikely... hmmm, nevermind...

Edit: WTF!!! WTF!!! Saw in forum that HA Soundwave is out in Metro at $39.90 only!!! And I had to order mine from TaoBao at (est.) $71 including shipping! WTF !!! WTF !!!! ..... Sigh... Sigh... even the $20 savings from Leader Ironhide and probably another $20 (??? Need to check if OG is selling) from Ultraman Zero Eye Slugger Twin Sword set won't be enough... Hey wait, lemme do my Math again... hmmm... maybe can... but still, sigh... fact is a good $31 lost... sigh... and have to wait after Christmas, as even till now the (loose) Legends Trailbreaker still not reached Shanghai warehouse yet... WTH... WTH... sigh... sorry, just to relieve my frustration and disappointment here a bit...

Restoration - Gun Max (Yuusha/Brave Series)

2011-12-08T19:48:00.000-08:00

Restored my KO "Brittle Plastics" Gun Max from the Yuusha/Brave series. I have mainly tighten/loosen the joints for easier transformation and also removed all the cheesy stickers from it. Looks so much better without the stickers. A little surprise that the plastic material is not really that brittle as I initially expected, but definitely not as good as some other KOs. He doesn't come with the original accessories and weapons though. Below is KO Gun Max Amour (Gun Max combined with Gun Bike) in package.

Gun Max
Gun Max is naked!!! Without stickers, that is... Anyway, his arms look terribly small, and head too big. He looks blocky, but he has actually quite some articulations, in terms of head rotation, shoulder rotation, legs and knees can bend, and the feet can even flip a little (due to the transformation). So quite a nice little fellow, but again, weird arms proportion.

Gun Bike
So here is Gun Bike with Gun Max posing at the side. Gun Bike is quite a large motorcycle with 2 red siren lights at the sides. The handlebars can be lifted up/down, useful when posing Gun Max sitting on the motorcycle. The KO makers gave him a random rifle, I think, and with some enlarging of the hole at the side of the motorcycle, the rifle can be stored. Gun Bike is quite stable on the ground, due to the thick (THICK!) wheels it has.

Gun Max Amour
The main play factor is of course combining Gun Max and Gun Bike to form Gun Max Armour. The front of the motorcycle needs to be detached during transformation, but will be re-attached as the chest piece for the big robot.

Picture below shows the official transformation for Gun Max Amour, with the wheels showing obviously in front. While this saves space (at the rear) when displaying him, he kind of looks like... Mickey Mouse, especially if you look at the wrong angle...

I prefer to position the wheels this way. It makes him look much less hilarious and in fact a little resemblance to the Mospeada Cyclone amour bike style (see 2nd picture below).

Articulation wise, his head can turn, shoulder pads can tilt some degrees, but sadly arms can swivel only backwards though. Luckily the elbows can still bend. The legs are static, basically, with only the feet slightly able to flip due to transformation.

Overall, another "like" for him (especially without the cheesy stickers!)!!!

Restoration - KO Guard Diver (Yuusha/Brave Series)

2011-12-07T20:20:00.001-08:00

Another super duper quick review of a Yuusha/Brave Series gestalt, this time: KO Guard Diver...

The members of the Guard Diver in vehicle mode... This is a very very old KO set, although it is packed in the bubble, yellowing of the white plastic parts has occurred...

...in robot mode. Material is of the typical "shampoo bottle" plastic (polypropylene???...), i.e. soft, flexible, invulnerable to almost all superglue except for the Selleys Plastic glue and some others perhaps... Painting is not advisable, as the paint will not adhere to this type of plastic surface easily... Restored all ratcheting joints...

The individual members...

Police Diver
Pinted the back windows purple as the stickers come in blue, which doesn't match the front windscreen originally factory-painted purple. Hope the paint doesn't comes off... The small gun can be attached on the top of the car, so no storage problem... The pegs-piece that attaches in gestalt mode comes misassembled, need to reverse it so that it does not slide and move...

Police Diver has weak robot mode, he has NO upper arms, just lower arms pinned to the side of the body! You will have to use your powerful imagination to think the sides as arms... not difficult, but I would prefer at least a simple shoulder-jointed arm... Police Diver forms the lower torso and thighs of the gestalt.

Drill Diver
A long drill vehicle, this KO Drill Diver comes in green, whereas the original is in orange. It came with molded slot holes for attaching jet wings (see Jet Diver jet mode) and I have to cut them off. His gun can be attached on the top of the vehicle..

Robot head is kind of small... and reminds me of Guy Hawk (Lio Kaiser member that forms the arm) head... Major articulations are the shoulders and knees... Drill Diver forms the right leg of the gestalt...

Jet Diver
Nice jet mode... except for the 2 obvious long pieces of landing gears that will transform into his robot arms... but nevermind, use your imagination, use your imagination... The KO makers are either lazy or blur to use the Drill Diver's part (the top piece with siren lights) on Jet Diver. Weird green piece appears and there is a gap seen... His white rifle is plugged into robot's fist below, making him seem to carry his rifle in jet mode similar to the (Macross) Valkyrie style...

Robot head is similar to Drill Diver's too, a bit too small... Jet Diver forms the left leg of the gestalt...

Fire Diver
Still don't understand what the wheels on his ladder are for... the ladder comes in all white, whereas the original has a black back piece. Fire truck looks ok, but the 2 big robot fists are too obvious!!! Not even an attempt to hide them... well, maybe the attaching of the rifles into the fists count???... anyway, it rolls... slightly...

Bot mode looks bulky, but really, is basically a brick with major swivel articulations at the shoulders and elbows... Fire Diver forms the upper torso and arms of the gestalt...

Now to the main feature of this figures, the combined mode....

Guard Diver
A tall gestalt, measuring 23cm from tip of head to feet. Guard Diver towers over Menasor and the other smaller G1 transformers gestalts... The members attached quite tightly, except for the gestalt's mid body (joints where Fire Diver and Police Diver attach) due to the flimsy flexible nature of the plastic material... Took a long time to rectify and till now, it still is not 100% secure, but will do... He does not have a well-sculpted, V-shaped body, but the broad shoulders make him look beefy... The only glaring flaw will be Fire Diver's fists appear again!!!!!!

Fire Diver's 2 rifles can be attached to his (Fire Diver) fists, and the other 3 members will combine their own weapons to form a slightly bigger rifle for Guard Diver to wield... Guard Diver can split open his legs and move his elbows as main articulation...

Overall, love this figure... hahaha...

Restoration - KO Oversize Shadow Dagwon (Brave/Yuusha Series)

2011-12-05T08:04:00.000-08:00

Gotten this oversize KO Shadow Dagwon set (and comes with some fire-able missiles!) some time ago... very happy then, as I missed out buying a mini Kabaya-style (snap assembly) version of it while I was in Thailand for my reservist some years ago (still kicking myself in the butts whenever I think of it)...

...and after some touching up, the figures are quite playable, and decided to give a super quick review here...

Dag Shadow
A triple changer, Dag Shadow is oversized to roughly same height as Thunder Baron (robot mode). The colours are quite similar to the real one, but the stickers are modified too cheesy, so I took out most of the stickers, which I slightly regretted as now the gestalt mode looks a bit plain... The beast mode has a hollow back and hollow hind legs exposed, weird but still ok. Articulation is only the front limbs swivel, and the head and neck do allow some poses when swiveled. Mouth cannot open though. Wings can flap.

Jet mode - There is a slight gap at the back of the jet, but too lazy to fix it. Sigh, should not have removed the wings' stickers... Anyway, I mis-transformed: the robot arms should be folded more backwards so that they won't be seen from front. No landing gears/wheels, so the canopy droop down when placed on a surface. The main wings look small in jet mode but big in gestalt mode.

Robot mode - The front canopy is plugged onto the back (at the side of the beast's neck), and now it acts as a sheath containing a yellow sword. Swiveling articulation possible for the head, shoulders, elbows and feet. Other than these, he is basically a big block, but very nice aesthetically. The ninja "stockings" are gone in this KO version, thank goodness... But still can't understand why the big elephant symbol on his chest... * Edit: Ok, so it is supposed to be a dragon head...

Guard Hawk
This KO has the wings purple-chromed! The neck of the hawk looks hollow if you push the gestalt head to hide, so I flipped the gestalt head (facing a side) to fill in the gap. Very bad stability, but could also be the looser leg joints for my set... Wings can spread out and flap. Neck has swivel articulation. Do not open the beak too much, else the robot face will be revealed.

Robot mode - Very funny body proportions. He is quite stable due to the long back heel. Articulation is swiveling on his shoulders, hips, knees, and feet. Overall, the weakest of the robot modes, in my opinion, mainly due to the big head and funny body proportions.

Guard Tiger, Guard Wolf
I will review these 2 together, as they are similar with only slight remold differences. There is actually a KO gestalt that has the limbs based on this mold, and I happen to own one ... Hahahaha... Seriously, The pure beasts modes are good, but they are made to carry the big backpack-cannon which might make them look un-beastly...

Beast mode - As mentioned earlier, the beast mode looks very nice. There is only swivel articulation at the joints connecting limbs to body (no knee joints whatsoever for beast mode). Oh, the mouth can open and close. The robot arms are exposed badly (see the white portions in the front legs?)... Same for Guard Wolf.

Robot mode - He comes with a small handgun which I can't figure out a good place to store on the gestalt in combined mode, so might just have to keep them in the bag of miscellaneous. Waist can turn, double-jointed knees but must pull him all the way up to get a good height. The shoulders rotate with elbows swivel. However, when the backpack-cannon is attached to the back, the shoulders are almost locked, leaving only elbows articulation. The cannon can rotate higher if desired. Same for Guard Wolf.

Guard Wolf's pictures here...

Shadow Dagwon
This figure measures 30cm from tip of head to feet! Huge gestalt... The small head is somehow blocked by the dragon/beast head though... He is basically a improved G1-ish gestalt : head can turn 360 degrees, shoulders rotate and arms can move sideways, biceps rotate, elbows bend, fists swivel up/down; but with static legs. Very very nice aesthetically looking gestalt, mainly the jet wings give him a broad upper body look, with a small waist. Arms and legs are chunky, unlike some G1 gestalts with small limbs and slim look (Superion, I am looking at you, hahaha!) The main feature has got to be the big wings that spread behind him, very reminiscence of G1 Predaking, which is also 1 of my favorite gestalt. Yeah, the chest needs some stickers, to break the monotonous blue colour...

The canopy is now stored on his buttock... yeah, right, disgusting...

Overall, I like this oversized KO gestalt VERY VERY VERY MUCH! Hahaha.... So what's next on the restore list? Hmmm... KO shampoo-bottle-plastic Guard Diver!

Some Updates - KO Slipstream, (Authentic) Thunder Baron and Etc...

2011-12-04T09:01:00.000-08:00

Was restoring my KO Oversize Shadow Dagwon, and wanted to touch up using a new (brand name is "Uni") violet colour paint-pen... and then realised this is of a darker purple than my other (brand is "Zig") purple, or rather, lavender colour paint-pen... So decided to repaint my KO slipstream for the painted parts to get a closer tone to the original plastic colour... End result - Not exactly very close but better than the previous purple... And quite pleased with the result... Pity my camera could not bring out purple colour properly...

Stickered up my Thunder Baron last night.. Usually these days I don't like to have stickers on my TFs but this one looks "naked"... So, like the KO G1 Mirage, I have to put the stickers on... and now Thunder Baron looks like Thunder Baron finally...

Took a picture of my commemorative Blaster and his KO Kabaya counterpart... My commemorative Blaster has to press the button hard to open the door, but can open, nevertheless... And my little nephew have a fun time playing with this TF and his cassettes soldiers...

Also have restore my Takara TFA Prowl's left hand (he got 2 right arms instead)... But when want to take picture, then realised I had store him in the deep back in the cupboard... and lazy to take him out... hahaha...

Anyway, seems KOToys is winding up their business, and now might just sell the cheaper chinese KOs instead of the bootleg versions... Sigh, though I have not buy from this place for quite some time already, this is nevertheless my 1st place where I purchase my KOs online...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs and Such (120) - KO Oversize Henkei Sling, (Authentic?) Ultraman Brothers

2011-12-03T00:55:00.000-08:00

Was TF-hunting around Marine Parade area this morning, but it is either no good stuff or lousy price... In the end, managed to picked up these stuff in Parkway Parade...

KO Oversize Henkei Sling
... or Classics minicon Thunderwing, if you prefered... roughly scout size... Gotten in "Comics Connection"... the front canopy (where the fist is near to) is now remolded to flip out using a ball joint, but the motion is too limited to have a proper pose... Think there is also some slight remold in the details... Anyway, the Korean packaging doesn't help, its still the cheap chinese KO... But good enough for me, hahaha!!!!! I love KOs!!!! Hahaha... To be fair, the joints are still not too loose... Intend to make him some proper fists...

Ultraman Brothers
Yeah!!! Very happy when I saw these figures at Action Toyz, finally can get for my 4 year old nephew... Was looking for these figures in a shop selling DVDs at Genting not long ago but was told by the staff that they have ran out of stock... So surprise to find these here at at a (relatively) cheap price too! However, could not find the UltraSeven figure, but should be thankful to found the others... in fact, I bought an extra (original) Ultraman for myself to display... Not sure if these are authentic or bootlegs, as the back of packaging (see last picture) says the company making them ("Ruishi") is given rights by "Chaiyo Productions Co. Ltd", and in front of the packaging shows a copyright sign and Tsuburaya... Anyway, these are fun figures. Press the legs together and the top torso spins... and spins like crazy they do!!!! Hahahaha... Little nephew will be happy... but will give him slowly... hahaha...

(Original) Ultraman

Ultraman Ace

Ultraman Jack

Ultraman Taro

Ultraman Zoffy

Back of the packaging...

Restoration - WST Slag

2011-11-27T23:36:00.000-08:00

Yeap, restoration time! This time is the WST Slag, which unlike the original size counterpart, has teeny-weeny removable fists to attach to the front dinosaur legs to become arms in robot mode...

So to avoid the vulnerable fists to disappear and go missing, I decided to make them slidable in and out, like the original counterpart... Crude, but workable! Hahaha...

Robot mode!!!! Nope, no stickers, at most will be making and giving him the eyes-stickers and an Autobot symbol...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of TFs (119) - TFA Takara Prowl, DOTM Deluxe Topspin

2011-11-27T23:24:00.000-08:00

Went to TRU Forum, Paragon, OG PP, and CSC on Sunday... Sigh.... As usual, not very exciting... In the end, settle for these 2 in CSC, at 2 for $30... And WHAT THE HELL?! Prowl has 2 right arms (and thus fists)!!!! What the... ??!!!!.... sigh... Nevemind, will repair it....

Restoration - KO G1 Mirage, KO (Slightly) Oversize Alternators Rodimus

2011-11-15T06:55:00.000-08:00

KO G1 Mirage
Bought a "Fuitty-Tutty" KO G1 Mirage in September last year, so happy... except the weird colours get too uncomfortable, day by day... so decided to repaint it to near to original colours...

So after painting... still needs something... yes, stickers... Oh, please look with eyes half-closed... Painting is horrible, as usual, I know...

Used some Mirage pictures from the internet and edited using MS Word, and printed out the stickers ... Looks good after sticker-ing!...

Stupid blue paint still not fully dried after 4 days... Nevermind, I can wait... hahaha...

KO (Slightly) Oversize Alternators Rodimus
A very nice piece, can't really understand why I don't quite like it in when I bought it... Joints are relatively tight, and is slightly oversized than the original figure (seen somewhere in the internet, can't remember which though...) Some simplifications in the removal of visor, back of robot (car roof) is molded as 1 piece, back of car (with license plate) is to be removed when transforming into robot mode, missing the original gun... not sure if there is any more, since I don't have the original...

Car mode... looks good...

Back of the car... Since it will be very troublesome to make the linkages to connect the back pieces to the robot legs, I decided to make the back of car to become a rifle...

...Rifle barrel and handle can be swiveled out...

Also make the back piece to be foldable into 2 pieces, not very good as there are still protruding parts to prevent the end piece to collapse fully down... anyway, too lazy to redo...

Now Alternators Rodimus has a big rifle to wield...

What to restore next? Hmmm... Should be making sliding fists for my WST Slag... I think...

Edit: Nope, have not began on WST Slag, because have been busy repairing my KO Galaxy Convoy (aka KO Cybertron Optimus Prime), sigh... wanted to just repair the loose legs, then 1 old "wing" joint broke again.. and when I tried to repair it, it crumbles... yes, literally crumbles.. very weak plastic.. in fact, 1 breakage came after another while I was repairing... even till now there is still the 2nd wing joint that broke as I was attempting to put in OP's "backpack" for his super mode... sigh..may do tomorrow, too tired...

Anyway, saw on some TF website there are already KOs of RTS Legends Trailbreaker and Generations Deluxe Warpath, but I just couldn't find in TaoBao... sigh... well, never-mind, see if got any luck to find some legit ones in CSC on Sunday... if going, that is...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of TFs (118) - Generations Scourge, DOTM Darksteel

2011-11-13T23:45:00.000-08:00

Went to Orchard area just now and try to hunt for TFs... but... went to TRU Forum, not much, only bought a DOTM Darksteel (which is 1 of the 2 Darksteels out of hundreds of TF Deluxes there...)... Then walk over to Isetan and Metro at don't know where... also nothing good, only dominated by Bumblebees and Mudflaps... Then went over to TRU Paragon, also not much choice... got 1 bin of DOTM Deluxes, and 2 bins of Generations TFs... The Generations bins have Wheeljacks, Cybertronian BBs, Scourges, Kups, Thundercrackers... which I already have... Then went over to Takashimaya, where the basement is having a toy sales.. but still... went up to the toy section, and still... in the end, went back to TRU Paragon, and finally got a Scourge, with the intend to paint to black.. or something dark...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of TFs (117) - Generations Skullgrin, DOTM Sideswipe, HA Roadbuster, Star Wars Quad-changer Darth Vadar, KO Ovs Megashoton

2011-11-07T22:39:00.000-08:00

Went over to TRU Suntec, and found some good stuff.... no KOs of course...

Generations Skullgrin
Picked up this guy for $10... because there are not many choices, I have to stop at 1 piece... only left with Thundercracker, Kup, Thunderwing and this... the cashier auntie says this (Generations series) sells well, and some people bought 10... wow, scalpers or not, this may be 1 of the reasons why Scourge is missing from the racks... Anyway, I have gotten the Darkmount/Straxus version before, so expectations for this mold is quite high... will de-tomb later...

Edit: Absolutely nice TF, must think of ways to differentiate it from Darkmount/Straxus... Leg joints are slightly slightly bit loose though... Think maybe I'm just nitpicking, hahaha...

DOTM Sideswipe
$16.65... Was intending to get a Darksteel version but couldn't find any, so thought of getting this for own repaint... Heard that DOTM deluxe versions have Mechtech weapons that don't stay in place, so probably will remove the spring later...

Edit: This is definitely on par with the ROTF version!!! ... well, at least to me... Blades are slim and seems more movie-accurate... but the weird chicken legs (knees)... hahaha... Can I mod the Mechtech weapon to be similar to that of the voyager's version of locking?... hmmm...

HA Roadbuster
Frankly, I don't know if this is kept away secretly by 1 of the TRU staff or something, because I found it, alone, at the most interesting place - deep behind and hidden by some random boxes of TF gift-sets on a higher rack... and the whole pile of HA TFs at the entrance are just Bumblebee and Mudflap... Nevertheless, grabbed it and proceed to pay... and yes, the bar-code scans to read $39.90,which is the offer piece... nice...

Edit: Oh! I gotten the running-change version! The "88"s are nicer... Upon de-tombing, immediately tried to close the open doors... and realised the big gaps... wah... ugly... headlights panels cannot push all the way down... sigh... nevermind, transform it to robot mode... Wow! Amazing looking figure!! The best of my HA TFs!!!! (Ok, got to admit I have only 2 HA TFs, this and the 1-fist BB, hahaha)... After watching the Youtube reviews, have not much difficulty in transforming.. very solid TF... only minor gripe will be the small visor and the chainsaw needs to be position extremely carefully in order to roll the car on the floor...

Star Wars Quad-changer Darth Vadar
Wow, finally decided to get this figure... was struggling a few weeks... seen some reviews... but the main factor that pushes me to buy is it's price... hey, its price is the same as the HA TF! $39.90! Leader-size equivalent!... wow... Of course the Quad-changer is not really true, as the 2 ships can be achieved by flipping the ship to its back (or front)... and Anakin changes to Darth Vadar in while maintaining most of his limbs features... Anyway, will de-tomb and see if it is worth the $...

Edit: No time to get all the loose pieces to assemble and transform, so only manage to play the most interesting features: (1) pressing the button to get the various sounds and voices! (2) switching between Anakin and Darth Vadar (keep twisting the waist to see the head change, damn mindless and fun!!! Hahaha...)

Sigh... have not been buying KOs much lately... Seen the KO PE Reflector in Taobao, but reluctant to buy, as somehow I kindda don't like Reflector... Anyway, waiting for my KO Cutthroat and Rippersnapper to be delivered (will bash them into Sinnertwin and Blot) and also the KO oversize Targetroid Megatron!

Edit: Delivery came just now for the KO Cutthroat, Rippersnapper (to bash next time!)and KO oversize (Targetroid) Megashoton (Megatron) (which has loose joints, as expected)... Lazy to take pics today, tomorrow or Thursday then see how!

Edited Edit:
KO Oversize Megashoton
Took pictures for the KO Oversized Megashoton, loose joints for the legs... implified fists cannot be folded in... and is missing the handle/peg... But found a way to make a gun "handle"...

Size comparison with ROTF Hubcap... about Scout class size!

Restoration - Generations Drift : Left Fist

2011-11-07T06:45:00.000-08:00

Gotten a nice Generations Drift some time back, and was very glad to have this, considering the aesthetics, 3 swords (3! and all able to be stored inside the car/robot!!), amazing posability... But there was a flaw... It came with 2 right fists!!! What the ...

Car mode... Very sleek looking...

So managed to get a very crude left fist, after cutting off the thumb sections and glued them on the bottom of fist, reverse it, and thus the left fist is born... Did not remake new thumb as I can't find matching dark brown colour to paint, and am reluctant to paint the right fist to match left fist (whatever colour)... So... Anyway, click and zoom in the below picture to see Drift's new left fist... Crude, but don't care, am concentrating on repairing the 2 WWE belts at that time...

Superb articulation!!!! Can manage to pose to pull out the sword! This TF can do many many poses, took many pics but will just pose some here...

2-hand-hold for sword!!! Wow!....

Hope can get some good deals tomorrow at TRU...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs (116) - Bootleg (?) WWE Heavyweight Championship Belt, Spinner Belt

2011-11-06T07:59:00.000-08:00

Gotten this at CSC today... Not sure if these are bootlegged or legit versions of the Jakks Pacific belts, but they sure do have KO quality... Price is 2 for $30...

WWE Heavyweight Championship Belt
Hmm... After de-tombing and toying around for some time then realised the front piece is missing a red jewel... the fake leather belt itself seem to be the same for both belts, which means the shape did not follow the front piece's profile... and the side pieces are mounted vertically instead of horizontally... ok, going to make things right later... but will need to cut some patch-ups... hope can find some good materials... "As you can see", the paper for the package is the same for both belts, which is of course the wrong one for this belt... And printing quality is bad.. that is also a reason why I think they are bootlegged versions...

Update:
Managed to reposition the side pieces horizontally, but they are not really aligned to the front piece, slightly higher... All because I am too lazy to cover up 4 more holes, thought will be ugly...

WWE Spinner Belt
Yes, the one John Cena has/had... I mentioned KO quality as the chrome job is not done properly, sprue cutoffs are not that good, and worst is spinning action is not possible... After an initial examination, realised the axle is not secure and wobbles the plate, need to make the axle smaller to fit in hole, or make the hole bigger to fit in more of the axle to stabilize... Will do later, after posting...

Update: Managed to fix the spinning wheel to be able to spin now... not as good as the legit ones seen on Youtube, but at least it goes freely for a few revolutions! Happy... Also swapped the side plates to their right places, and painted a bit (preferred the words "MON NITE" to be in silver though...) ...

... back of the belt, which is also the same for the WWE Heavyweight Championship Belt... Yes, uses velcro... very aesthetically pleasing...

Overall the length is too short for my 35 inch waist... well ,either I need to trim down, or find a way to extend the belt... I think I'll choose the latter... hahaha...

(Crude) Repaint & Restoration - KO (mini) Jetfire, KO Astroplan

2011-11-03T07:48:00.000-07:00

KO (mini) Jetfire
Repaired an old downsized KO Jetfire/Valkyrie, and due to itchy hands, painted it to resemble G1 Jetfire's colour scheme... yes, crude painting at its worst, hahahaha.... just for fun and laughter, peace & joy...

Jet mode looks terrible in picture, but not really that bad in real-life...

Gerwalk mode is possible!

Robot mode... yes, modded the chest piece slidable to look better, as posted in my earlier first few posts...

KO Astroplan
Tighten some joints and made bicep swivel for the right hand, using some STIKFAS parts; the left hand bicep swivel failed as it was too loose, so had to superglue the 2 parts back with elbows now bending the arm forward...

Jet mode is nice.... especially with the "drooping" front... Removed 1 of the vertical tail-fin as this KO doesn't allow the 2 halves to close together well... Oh, yes, the canopy can open...

Gerwalk mode is also possible!!!! Mod the gun handle to be able to fit into fist-hole... Probably this is not the official Gerwalk configuration, but I like it better this way...

Robot mode! Nice... head seems to be sunken in a bit though... Modded arms so that they can bend forward instead of inwards...

Next to restore: KO Fruitty-Tutty G1 Mirage!!! Hahaha...

Restoration - KO Ultra Raker

2011-10-26T00:54:00.001-07:00

Hi, I'm KO Ultra Raker, today I will be talking about my surgical operation that was carried out for 1 month, and recently completed. This is how I looked like before:

After plucking out my forehead spiky hair, my surgeon took a picture of my face, with my consent of course, and decided that more needs to done, mainly, I looked too pale, and mouth is too ugly...

So after a short operation, I looked like this!!!! ... But when I looked into the mirror, I kinda be reminded of someone... a leader of a heroic robots faction... hmmm...

Anyway, these are my 2 split personalities, Mr Green and Mr Blue... no, not the Incredible Hulk show's lines, but they are really green & blue... Ok, so they are Green Raker & Blue Raker... My Rakers are 'born' without heads (whole train section is re-molded as 1 piece), and the whole arm / shoulder 'blades' cannot flip down to this position seen in the picture... and with very weak muscles, limbs wobbly (aka loose-joints-syndrome)... Mr Blue even has a missing back piece (also used to hold-store my big gestalt head, hee hee) that is used to stabilize the limbs and prevent from flipping out...

... So my kind surgeon manages to scavenge the graveyard of the robots and 'chopped' off 2 heads from the Predators team: Talon and Skydive... After a long long surgery, we are reborn...

We Rakers in train mode... Choo choo!!!... oh, wait, we are not steam engine trains...

Gattai!!!... wao, ugly gap in neck to body area.. wonder if my legit counterpart is also like this...Photographer, please shoot from below more...

Better...

My back view... the gray piece is that is used to hold Mr Blue in proper robot mode is also used here to ... well... store it here...

Oh, the gun, the gun... My kind surgeon, who is also a weapons specialist, decides that we should also be able to combine our rifles together, like our legit counterpart... so he used some putty and shaped a section with peg-hole for our rifles to combine... sweet...

My surgeon mentioned he has recently operated on another client... think his name was KO Alternators Prime... and while it was a relatively simpler operation, his client refuse to let his photos be shown to public... anyway, till next time...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of TFs (115) - DOTM Cyberverse Guzzle

2011-10-26T00:47:00.000-07:00

Pick up this little fella in the least expected place... After searching almost the whole of Parkway Parade (Isetan has NO commander class figures!), I gave up and went to Giant supermarket, and there it was, hanging on the rack... Wah..

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of TFs (114) - Generations Thunderwing, DOTM (Voyager) Sentinel Prime

2011-10-23T22:46:00.000-07:00

Was at TRU Suntec today and bought these 2... Wanted to get the Star Wars Quad Changer, but... hopefully tonight strike big in Toto, hahaha...

Generations Thunderwing
Selling at $15, I couldn't resist... has been a long time since I got a Generations figure...Nasty face & organically-shape-look limbs...

DOTM (Voyager) Sentinel Prime
Gotten this to attempt to convince myself to reduce the KO DOTM Leader Sentinel Prime to recycle-parts... Yes, just realised the KO will be TOUGH (actually is time consuming...) to restore, so... but might just mod the sword and shield for this voyager version... Price ~ $19.90... Yeap, I used UNI$ vouchers...

Sad 65Daigou could not help me buy the KO Oversize Targetroid Screamer to ship in time with the others from same seller, so have to cancel the item order... Now short of 1 Scout/Commander class figure...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs (113) - Black Ox (Tetsujin 28 FX)

2011-10-22T06:54:00.000-07:00

Bought this today. A bootleg of the Black Ox from Tetsujin 28 FX. Compared it to some pictures on the internet, and found it to be quite similar to the original with some minor simplifications... And it is DIFFICULT to find pictures of it on internet. Most joints are tight though, and the colours are almost the same as the real one's.

Transformation is simple, but the jet mode is not nice, not nice... I saw a nice graphical render to portray the jet mode, but to achieve the artwork's jet shape, the wings need to be reversed to point in the other direction... or rotate the waist?... wings are small in the first place... anyway, might just make new and bigger wings..

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of TFs (112) - DOTM HA Basics: Drag Strip, Icepick

2011-10-14T02:37:00.000-07:00

Impulse buys today at OG Albert... But since is only $10 per piece, still ok...

DOTM HA (Basics) Drag Strip with Master Disaster
What a funny name, Master Disaster...The wings and colours remind me of LOC Cybertron Scourge... It's generally considered a lousier DOTM HA Basic (together with Icepick) but I don't really mind, due to the low price...

DOTM HA (Basics) Icepick with Sergeant Chaos
Woa, Icepick has his combiner team destroyed? So DOTM is post-PCC timeline... hmmm... Hey! If I get SGT Chaos a black cape, colour his clothes black, extend his helmet back piece longer...
this???

WTF, my red KO Oversize Spiderman (car) Crosover is OOS... which means my other 2 small items are going to be expensive to ship over... sigh...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of TFs (111) - KO Claw Jaw + Rockbuster + Megaligator, KO Tigatron, KO Ligier, G1 Gong, DOTM Shockwave, DOTM Skyhammer

2011-10-10T07:40:00.000-07:00

Haul from TaoBao came tonight.... Happy about the items, but concerned of how careless / more effort needed from the agent to take note of the "Notes", as I specifically ask the agent to repack some items but they still came in the seller's (bigger) box... Nevermind, don't ruin my joy...

KO Claw Jaw + Rockbuster + Megaligator
Megaligator!!!!!! The "Dr. Curt Connors" of Transformers! Hahahaha... OK, actually it is BW Megatron (alligator) since it is green in colour, but I like the name Megaligator more... Gotten this set of 3 Beast Wars scouts, like them very much, but not sure of the quality... Price ~ $14.80 (1 set)

*Edit: Mixed quality, some good joints, some very loose.. Megaligator has a new way of transforming.. very simplified joints that sometimes affect the alternate mode, need to remake the joints... Rockbuster has missing upper arms, need to find replacements...

KO Tigatron
The last piece seller has in stock! Yeah, got the "tiger" version, and was quite glad that the head seems to retain the mutant head feature, and tail also has a gun... but need to open up the tomb and see... should I paint some metallic into it??? Hmmmm.... Price ~ $6.80

* Edit: Bad plastic-ky chemical smell emits out when I detomb it... Plastic is thick... solid feel, for a KO... Almost 95% similar to original colour, transformation is same, and all joints except the arms ball joints, are tight! No "water-gun" feature though...

KO Ligier
Bought this because of the good experience of the green colour version bought earlier... hope this one still retains the tight joints! Price ~ $3.60

* Edit: Yes, all joints, except 1 feet joint, are tight, as expected! needs some trimming though... due to the thin plastic, the waist joint is to be handled with care... but that is really a design flaw...

Moving on to non-KOs...

G1 Gong (Brawn) (Keychain, Takara)
My KO Kabya G1 Gong seems to be giving way in the legs, getting wobbly, so decided to get a legit one, hoping will get a cheap one... and I did... though I later then saw one that was sealed on card... Anyway, quite a good buy... Price ~ $5.80

DOTM Shockwave
Cheap!!!! Cheaper than the 2 for $50 at CSC. This & DOTM Skyhammer cost $23.20 each, and now my DOTM Voyagers total to 4. Not thinking of getting the Sentinel Prime (Voyager), since already gotten the (lousy) KO Leader version... Shall call him Laserwave...

DOTM Skyhammer
Very unique way to store the helicopter blades in robot mode... very nice... Price ~ $23.20

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of TFs & Such (110) - DOTM Cyberverse Legions, DOTM Human Alliance Basics, M16 Toy Gun

2011-10-02T01:42:00.000-07:00

Was at OG PP this morning, and gotten quite some good bargains!!!

DOTM Cyberverse Legions Crowbar
Actually only intend to get the 2-for-$20 Human Alliance Basics TFs, and when I saw the Cyberverse Legions on the normal TF shelves are so typical, eg. Bumblebee, Barricade, Mudflap, etc... Urrggh... Already gotten 4 HA Basics at that time... But somehow I still linger and stroll around.. Then I walked to the pile of clearance section... saw the TFs on sale... and browse through... and suddenly get a glimpse of this! Picked it up...

DOTM Cyberverse Legions Flak
... hoping that I could find 2 more other to meet the number required for the 3-for-$20 sale... So flipped through the pile... and saw others like Legions Topspin and Crankcase, but since already gotten the oversize version so did not pick them up... and then saw this!!!!.... Picked up... Getting nervous.. wonder if can get another 1 more... just need 1 more...

DOTM Cyberverse Legions Roadbuster
... and suddenly saw this piece!!! Legions Roadbuster! Wow, was earlier thinking whether to buy the deluxe version or not... quickly grabbed it... flipped through the pile again, and could not find another Legions Roadbuster... maybe deep inside...

DOTM HA Basic Tailpipe with Pinpointer
Read in a forum that OG also have DOTM HA Basics for sale, so quickly go down and this is the 1st piece that I grabbed... Like the targetmaster included... and probably will keep all my HA human figures aside... hahaha...

DOTM HA Basic Half-Track
Hmmm... can this be the upgraded Beachcomber???... 2nd piece to be grabbed by me... hee hee...

DOTM HA Basic Thunderhead
Picked up this and Whirl as I thought might as well get more of these HA Basics since they are so cheap, effectively only $10 each! Vehicle mode is so... hmmm... futuristic... spider-tank... wonder if can make it look more like a H-Tank instead...

DOTM HA Basic Whirl
The vehicle mode is cool!!!!! But the robot body is ... and the feet... hmmm.... I can only guess Whirl likes to fly in the snow mountains, and as he transforms into robot mode, he will ski down... swoooshh...

Miscellaneous Buy - M16 Toy Gun

Wanted to buy the $65 DOTM Leader Ironhide at CSC, but must resist... no $$ liao...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs (109) - KO Build Team

2011-09-23T08:28:00.000-07:00

Finally this set arrives 2 nights ago!!!!! Very very happy to receive it... The KOs are packed individually in boxes, and each would come with a instruction sheet... but not my Build Boy's... Doesn't matter really, as the instructions only show how to transform into the 3 gestalt modes... Cost me around $49.70 only!!!!

Build Hurricane
The 1st to be opened, as I am eager to rectify his hands that were probably swapped about to prevent legal issues... The picture below is taken after I switch the lower arms... Plastic quality is above average, can imagine how fragile Build King can be if the plastics used are too thin or brittle... Joints are reasonably tight, though still got some loose ones, but overall is considered good... Colours are also quite faithful, at least in the same basic colours... Workable weapon in the claw...

Build Cyclone
Head refuses to sit the peg into the hole in the body... should be the linkage that is causing the problem... doesn't really matter... but need to trim up the holes which fits the pegs of Build Boy when using Build Cyclone as main arms in gestalt mode... Workable weapon in the crane...

Build Boy
Heh heh, notice the G2-like Autobot insignia on his chest? Wow, so this is a "pre-RID" Build Team...

Build Typhoon
Spring for his "Claw" weapon is not working well... but at least it can stay in a 'open' state, right?

Back of the cardboard boxes, all showing the same picture:

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs & TFs (108) - KO ROTF Ransack / Red Baron, DOTM Daredevil Squad 2-pack, DOTM Leadfoot/Ironhide 2-pack

2011-09-17T01:39:00.000-07:00

My haul today at Bedok Central (KO ROTF Ransack) & Carrefour Mega Sales (Expo)... Not de-tombed yet, due to laziness...

KO ROTF Ransack/Red Baron
Will be even better if there is more red plastic used, so no need to paint red too much... Yes, intend to paint it to red, after seeing someone repaint it to the "Red Baron"... Very nice... $3.20 (SGD)

DOTM Daredevil Squad (Grey/Yellow Bumblebee and Backfire) 2-pack
Nice translucent green plastics used on Backfire & BB... But still find BB a bit weird to have gray and yellow colours, too weird for my liking, but... its ok... Bought this as I have not had both these 2 molds... Ok, I admit, I bought this set because it is cheap, only $30...

DOTM Leadfoot/Ironhide 2-pack
Hey, the Commander Ironhide is different from the first Legends mold! Look ma, no fists (in vehicle mode)!!!! Leadfoot looks... fat... and stumpy... but cute, hahahaha.... $15...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of "TF"s (107) - Star Wars Crossover Commander Class: Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi

2011-09-11T02:37:00.000-07:00

Bought these 2 cute little figures at OG PP today!!! With 20% off, they cost me only $15.90/95 each! Sweet, considering that the DOTM Commander class figures are nett priced, in fact all DOTM TFs are nett priced, I believed...

Disappointment: Upon de-tombing, realized that they are actually shell-formers, and almost all robot parts can be seen from the bottom of the vehicle mode, including face, which I hated especially if is a flying vehicle... so was thinking of ways to try to cover up the face... well, maybe next time... and Obi-Wan's shoulder joints seem a bit loose...

Happy: Transformation is a breeze, simple. A few days ago, I was wondering why I preferred the G1 TFs over the recent TFs, especially the Leader class ones... Then I realized that it might be the complex transformation that actually makes me not willing to transform a TF again and again, which is actually THE selling point of a transforming toy! So, mow that these 2 TF Crossovers are simple to transform, I feel happy actually...

Anyway, went over to CSC this morning... Finally saw the forum-ers' description of the wrongly package DOTM deluxe figures, and saw the 2~3 large racks of DOTM Voyager / Leader TFs on clearance... very tempting... luckily, have already ordered my remaining Voyagers online, cheaper...

Hope my 2 hauls process smoothly!

Restoration - Brave / Yuusha Series : KO J-Decker

2011-09-10T07:53:00.000-07:00

Just printed and pasted the stickers onto my KO J-Decker... For those who are not familiar, J-Decker is not a "Transformer", but a transforming robot from the Brave / Yuusha series...

Picture of the robot with ugly stickers that came with it:

After removing the old stickers:

First, the small robot, Deckerd:

He has a small six-shooter!!! Bam! Zam! ... opps, sorry, wrong figure...

Deckerd with the Armada Optimus Prime trailer's counterpart, J-Roader:

J-Decker... Did not really do much restoration, as he is quite ok... very very orange-ish... hahaha...

Yes, hoping my KO Build King / Landfill arrives soon, and my new order of DOTM Voyagers can go through smoothly...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs (106) - KO Cybertron Overhaul, KO Oversize RTS Megatron, KO DOTM Leader Sentinel Prime, KO Oversize G1 Hardhead

2011-09-06T08:28:00.000-07:00

Haul from TaoBao arrived just now... wow... fast delivery, considering only paid the 2nd payment in the late morning... Have no time to de-tomb all KOs, so only open up my most anticipated - Hardhead!!!!! (Note prices stated are current, as I am still waiting for the agent's reply on packaging issue...)

KO Cybertron Overhaul
Wow, a simplified Overhaul... and now he is lime green... immersed in acid???? hahaha... approximately $5.70
Edit: Joints are relatively tight, surprising... the head is not able to turn, so need to restore a bit, else face will show in vehicle mode... no elbow joints, so... else others are ok. Considered as "playable out from packing".

KO Oversize RTS Megatron
RTS Megatron has grown!!!! hahaha... now that is more like it... hey, the tip of the gun barrel is still orange!!! hahaha... approximately $5.45
Edit: Like Cybertron Overhaul, this KO's joints are also quite ok, which is kind of unusual as KOs are usually very loosely jointed... Ok, maybe the waist joint is a bit loose but just be a bit gentle... Also considered as "playable out from packing".

KO DOTM Leader Sentinel Prime
The packaging is DAMN BIG!!!!!!! sigh... should not have buy this... why.... this is the simplified version, so will try to restore him back to less part-forming as possible... approximately $32.30
Edit: This is really lousy... very very simplified parts, so much so that it affects his standing stability (even if joints are tight)... need to mod something to act as his heels... The part-form cabin and side windows might be a major problem... sigh... "Cape" can only split for 1 side... sigh... Water hose is a one-piece-mold... sigh... Leg joints are loose... Considered as "not playable out from packing".

KO Oversize G1 Hardhead
Yes!!!!! Finally gotten a G1 Hardhead, and he is oversized!!!! I measure him, stands 23.5cm tall in robot mode (tip of head to bottom of feet)... Joints are generally quite tight enough... the canopy connector seems to be warped, and needs to loosen the screws slightly to allow the plastic to bend more... head cannot stay in place, keeps pooping out, will need to restore... and Sweet!!!!!... approximately $47.70

Hope my KO Build King / Landfill comes soon!!!!!

Restoration - KO Oversize G2 (?) Insecticons - Bombshell, Shrapnel, Kickback

2011-09-05T07:41:00.001-07:00

Very very happy to have restored (the joints, mostly) the KO oversized G2(?) Insecticons, insecticons!!! I have already bought 2 KO oversized Bombshell and Shrapnel, which are slightly smaller than these, and are also slightly simplified, simplified (eg. Bombshell shoulders joints are replaced by ball joints, no cockpit for the diaclone drivers, etc, etc..).. But the most important thing is: I finally get a Kickback, kickback!!!! Yeah, yeah!!!! In 1 of the cartoon episode, I remember Kickback uses his powerful legs to kick roll a big log, and in another, I think he kick some TF off a plane, plane (can't really remember, remember...) or something, something... And these figures are in BRIGHT colours, colours!!!!! So G2, G2... hahahaha..... with open-able cockpit covers, covers!!!! Wow, wow...

KO Oversized Bomshell
He is the last on my restoration list among the Insecticons... as at that time still can't figure out how to make his lower legs stay in place... Oh, for those friends who bought this, remember to switch the thighs so that the 2 circular shape patterns are facing front, else the lower legs will not log... Absolutely amazing...

KO Oversized Shrapnel
2nd to restore, restore... and he is quite good-jointed (tight joints), jointed... except in the legs to hips area, area... and feet, feet... and rifle, rifle... But after restoring, restoring... Solid figure, figure!!!

KO Oversized Kickback
Yes! Finally gotten a Kickback! And he is OVERSIZE!!!! Hahaha... He is the first to restore, as he has many good joints... Really awesome TF, with a extremely fast transformation!!! The only thing that may make me dislike him just a little is HIS ROBOT FACE IS SEEN RIGHT FROM BELOW IN INSECT MODE!!!! but nevermind, for this TF, I will not attempt to cover his face, like I did to Classics Ramjet or G1 seekers, as I want to keep him as close to the original design as possible... also I remember in 1 of the cartoon episode also show his face in insect mode...

"Insecticons unite!!!! Prepare to munch on the electrons!!!"

In short, I feel this set is more worth to get than the recent reissue, price and size wise... of course the joints need touching up, and face might need some painting, and you might not get any reprolabels (but can DIY though...)... but I still LOVE THESE INSECTICONS!!!! Hahaha... Now looking forward to my haul... KO Build Team, KO Oversized G1 Hardhead... etc etc...

Restoration : KO Animated Snarl

2011-09-02T08:35:00.000-07:00

... might have been a destruction instead... I was trying out with the angle joints piece that connects the head to the chest, way before I realized the correct way to fold in the chest in robot mode... sighz... now I may have made the dino head not able to collapse in properly... but nevermind, too lazy to open up the head again to reattach... anyway, the KO Animated Snarl has many simplifications, eg. the shoulder flames are molded as 1 piece on the shoulder pads, the lower legs have 1 lesser articulation, sides of dino head cannot flip wide out, horns are molded onto the head, etc... But ok, I can live with most of those, just need to restore... and after restoration, here's Snarl:

Dinosaur mode is not compromised despite the simplifications...

The blue transparent club weapon looks good... makes it look like blue energon instead of lava...

Dino head not pressed onto the body close enough as the original's... but good enough for me...

"Me Snarl follow leader Grimlock to smash bozo Decepticons... me strong... me... where is leader Grimlock????..."

p.s. Have restored KO J-Decker of the Brave Yuusha series, but stickers not printed yet, so will take pictures later...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs (105) - Many KOs... & Bootleg???

2011-08-25T08:21:00.000-07:00

Haul from TaoBao came tonight!!!!!

KO Miscellaneous Kabaya Kits
Very happy that finally can get a Universe (2003) Optimus Prime kit... Not very happy that the Spy Changer Mirage is packed with 1 piece of the Universe OP instead... sigh... Anyway... cost approx $3.45 for the 6 packs, so if even is $3.45 for just 1 Universe (2003) Optimus Prime kit is still worth it... for me...

KO Green Classics Mirage
... aka Acid Disruptor... Hahaha.... gotten this to replace my "hipless" old KO yellow version... Have not opened up, so not sure how is the quality... Cost is approx $3.40...

Edit: Joints, except waist, are quite tight!!!! Amazing... Plastic is a bit brittle though, but seriously who in the right mind expects superb quality plastics from a cheapo KO?? This Mirage on this packing comes in red and blue... Highly recommended...

KO Oversize DOTM Legends Crankcase
Upsized to about Scout class... Again, not opened up yet... Cost is approx $2.70...

Edit: A bit disappointing, feet is slightly simplified, ball joints at arms keep popping out, some loose joints and no small little hands at the arms... But the "middle finger" (aka Deadpool's sword blade from X-Men Origin movie, hahaha...) still remains...

KO Oversize DOTM Legends Topspin
Upsized to about Scout class... Again, not opened up yet... Cost is approx $2.70...

Edit: This is an amazing piece... When I lift it out from his plastic bubble tomb, he remain rigid like a statue... I mean, no signs of limbs of parts moving slightly... wow... Joints are indeed tight... and partly probably due the simplicity of the design... wow...simple...

KO Oversize Crossover Spiderman (Racing Car)
Wow!!!! Did not expect this to be an oversized piece, thought is original (roughly) voyager sized... Man, it is huge, around 23 cm... and it is BLUE!!!!!! Blue Venom!!!! Or Aqua Spidey!!! Hahaha.... Not open up, so not sure of the quality... Cost is approx $15.55.

Edit: Plastic is of near shampoo bottle quality... near, but not quite like it... Some joints are tight... and the leg joints, by virtue of the KO-ers missing out the ratcheting part, actually allow the legs to be a slightly wide and more natural position when standing, compared to the original one (that I saw some reviewers mention in Youtube)... Need to tighten the joints on the legs though... Not sure if the original transformation intend to let the hip-piece to be connected to the two long headlight pieces or not, because by doing so, the arms are easier to be posed using the shoulder joints only...

Bootleg DOTM Voyager Fireburst Optimus Prime
Wow, except for a few loose joints at legs, and an axe that needs to recalibrate the gears, all is fine with this bootleg!!!! Had fun and frustration transforming him just now... Cost is approx $28.50.

Now waiting for my other haul to arrive!!! KO Oversize G1 Hardhead, KO Overly-simplified Leader DOTM Sentinel Prime, etc...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs (104) - KO Beast Machines Striker, KO Ironman & Batman Masks

2011-08-21T23:33:00.001-07:00

Went to Bedok Central for brunch... and after that, jalan jalan... bought a KO Beast Machines Striker, a KO Ironman mask, a KO Batman mask, & a Ultraman lantern (which I did not take pictures) for my nephew...

KO Beast Machines Striker

This is the same series as the Lio Convoy which I bought earlier... De-tombed it and fiddled with it for a while...Had a hard time transforming to the dinosaur mode... Here's a quick review about the pros & cons of the KO quality (not the toy review):

Pros
Most joints are tight, as usual. Only exception will be the small pin-tabs at the shoulder -arms joints & dino's 1/2-body-to-body joints, might need to tighten / loosen... The colour scheme is approx 80% to that of the original's, save a few places (inner of legs, etc...)... The simplifications done do not hinder the transformation between the 2 modes basically...

Cons
Plastic is light (as usual too), so please handle with more caution. The simplified parts consists of the head no able to turn, so shows the head in dinosaur mode if you look from below (see picture below)... The spine blades are now molded to the dino's body (halves), no dino skull, but no big deal... Now the major ones I don't quite like are the fists are molded in the arms, making the arms short!!! The elbows are replaced by ball joints, but due to the re-design to show the "fists", the dinosaur cannot pose the front legs correctly... The tail is now a single piece without the "open-the-flower" gimmick, but think it can be better re-designed like that of the KO Lio Junior's tail-rifle...

Overall, still worth the $6.90 paid... in fact, worth more than the $6.90 (though might need to do a little more restoration than the KO Lio Junior...)...

KO Ironman / Batman Masks
Well... They should be classified as KOs, right?? Anyway, at only $1.50 per piece, I bought these 2 and washed them with anti-bacterial soap, now still drying... some plastic burrs around the edges, but can be easily removed with a penknife... The Ironman mask looks hilarious with the "nose", hahaha.... Oh, the packaging is the usual cheapo "T~O~Y~S" plastic bag...

Hope my Taobao haul comes soon... Bootleg Fireburst OP, oversized G1 Hardhead, KO Spiderman Crossover (racing car), KO Leader Sentinel Prime (overly-simplified version), oversized RTS Megatron etc.....

Restoration : KO Masterpiece Optimus Prime

2011-08-13T08:41:00.000-07:00

This time restored the "cheap as hell" KO Masterpiece Prime! Hahaha... Opps, not really in the "cheap as hell" category, because still cost me approximately $62... hmmm... ok, for that price, I don't expect 100% quality like the original one...

I believe there are a lot of reviews (here is a good one ...) for this KO Masterpiece OP, so won't go into 1 (well, I also don't recall having done a decent review before, hahaha...)

Just some nagging... I remember there is an earlier version which more silver-chrome including the faceplate. The one I have here is the later version, with silver faceplate... I did change the smokestacks to longer ones, and tried to use the magnets to strengthen the waist joint, but not very good result... Oh, the auto-open air vents on his shins do work (when you press OP down on his feet)... But the ratcheting joint for his right leg was too tight, I had to repair the broken ratcheting ring and use a softer spring... a bit loose, but better than to keep repairing...

Vehicle mode... Gaps are evident, the most obvious being the front cabin (robot chest) cannot close properly...

Robot mode... painted the rifle with black metallic paint-pen.... not very good, due to the unevenness of paint effect of paint pen over large areas..

Surprisingly, this fella is quite posable... I thought it will be very unstable, but then realised it is still ok.... not that unstable...

Lastly, to clarify :
(1) I am a "he"...
(2) I used to go "out of the way to find and collect KO(s)" in the past, when I am absolutely crazy with KOs, but too lazy now to do (hahaha...)...
(3) I preface (title) "Side-tracked" in my posts whenever I buy ANY TFs (or such), NOT only when I bought "official/genuine" pieces... and finally...
(4) Yes, I am (and/or this blog is) meant to be hilarious and funny, and fun!!!!!! I am hilarious, so are you ¹ (you know who, =) ) Hahahahaha ² !!!!.... I like KOs (of TFs) , enjoy yours too!!!! ... Hahaha!!!!

¹ - reference title by a S'pore guy who has this program/course called "I Am Gifted, So Are You"... Is it (the program) "hilarious"?? You decide... hahahaha....

² - sorry, got into this crazy mode after seeing the post in the forum which you wrote, couldn't help laughing out loud... it's coming back... hahahaha....

Restoration : KO City Commander & KO Classics Ultra Magnus

2011-08-10T00:11:00.000-07:00

Restored my KO City Commander and KO Classics UM recently... Again, used the polystyrene piece to tighten the shoulder and arm armour pieces, works like a charm... Gotten a green translucent sword for him too, to match up with his nemesis!!!

Removed the ugly red Decepticon (with mouth) insignia on his shoulders, tightened some joints, and some slight paint on his mouth-mask...

For the KO City Commander's shoulder and armour pieces, I super-glued a piece of polystyrene on each of the inner surfaces to reduce the space, making a tight fit when sliding in the shoulders and arms. Once again, thanks to the person who suggested this, sorry I'm not able to google out who you are. Works like a charm! BTW, I just realised that it might be that the KO Classics Primes are very very very slightly smaller than the real deal. I remember some people mentioned the KO City Commander fits slightly better on the real Classics Primes, compared to fitting onto KO Classics Primes... Doesn't matter...

The trailer fits well with the KO UM. Looks good... (yes, the sword is able to be stored inside the trailer like the Shadow's...)

Ultra Magnus!!!!! As the set came with a sword holder too, I use it to clip on to the new sword (gotten long time ago)... sweet...

Maximum firepower!!!! (Yeap, configure the BFG to the artillery cannon...)

John Woo style.... hahaha...

Took some time to shave off the sword's handle to fit into the fist-hole... Looks great!!!! City Commander's sword is slightly shorter than Shadow's, though doesn't really matter...

When 2 commanders meet....

On guard!!!!!

Next on restoration list: KO Masterpiece Optimus Prime..... !!!!!

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of TFs (102) - Generations Wheeljack, Universe Skywarp

2011-07-31T02:19:00.000-07:00

Went over to Chinatown today... While at the OG PP, ask the staff about using UOB instant rewards, and was disappointed to know the instant rewards cannot be used with the OG member 10% discount... Sigh... So decided to buy the KO DOTM Fireburst Optimus Prime from Taobao.com... Anyway, went over to CSC and bought 2 TFs at a relatively cheap price...

Generations Wheeljack
Hard to find this in OG, and many other stalls / shops selling this at $26 or more... so gotten this piece at 1 stall at $25... Can't remember if another stall was selling at $20... or was it $26???... Even with OG 10%, price there will still be $25.10.. Hahahaha...

Universe Skywarp
A repaint of RID Storm Jet / Jhiaxus etc... The rubber bands are crumbles after a long time in the bubble... Quite a rare TF to find... Oh, cost $20...

Ordered from Taobao.com through Daigou.com the KO DOTM Fireburst Prime, KO DOTM (Voyager) Dark Crystal OP and other stuff... Hope no hiccups...

Edit:
Looks like a hiccup at first, as the ordered item of KO DOTM (Voyager) Dark Crystal OP is cancelled due to seller OOS.... but later I managed to chance upon a KO Spiderman Crossover (Race Car), and it was like only 30% of the KO DOTM (Voyager) Dark Crystal OP price (which was already cheap, 50 RMB, to begin with...)!!!!

Restoration : KO Shadow Commander & KO Universe Nemesis Prime

2011-07-23T08:57:00.000-07:00

Taking longer & longer time to do my restorations now... And finally restore my KO Shadow Commander... Surprisingly, KO Shadow Commander has the "inner clips" inside the lower arms armor, while the KO City Commander does not have... Still took a lot of trail & error when restoring... Read in 1 website that the loose arm armor parts can be tighten by adding a styrene piece(s) to make the space of fitting smaller... Must thank the person who suggested this, really useful...

Had to also touch up the joints of KO Nemesis Prime... and 1 of the transparent hinge at the leg break... KO Nemesis Prime's colour is all black, looking so much more "darkness" which suits more for a "Nemesis" character...

Debut of the trailer!!!!

Back of the trailer... notice I have a different "waist armor" piece... yeap, my KO Shadow Commander set comes without this piece... so have to make one... took a whole day to do... lots of frustration, but end of the day, it is worth it...

Shadow Commander, robot mode!!! Now the shoulder & arms armor pieces are reasonably tight, staying in place obediently...

Even the KO version's BFG is heavy, it is not possible to place inside KO Shadow Commander hand without damaging the arm joint... So reposition it and imagine it as a mini artillery gun (think Rodimus Prime)... looks small, but at least it can be useful while not forming as a BFG...

KO Shadow Commander in action!!!!

Next to restore - KO City Commander... next week probably, this weekend need to do work brought home from office... sigh...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs (101) - Legends Hound, Oversized Legends Warpath & Cosmos, Cybertron Brimstone, Oversized WFC OP, TFX-04 & 05

2011-07-17T10:06:00.000-07:00

Received haul from 65Daigou yesterday... still feel the pain of paying a huge amount for shipping the oversized WFC Optimus Prime, and after seeing local shops selling it... sigh... and in MOSC condition, whereas mine is TOOBC (Tape on Opened Bubble Card)... hahahaha...sigh... nevermind, life goes on! =) BTW, have not opened up the items yet, except Protector & Sidearm... Let my little nephew play with the Protector in trailer (trailer or Mobile Defense Bay, whatever you call it...) mode... He had fun, especially putting the Hot Rod in and out of the trailer... hahaha...

KO Universe Legends Hound
The Detective (his chinese name on the card) !!!!!! Hahaha... Decided to call him as Tracker... this is also the 2010 repaint version's name...

KO Oversized Universe Legends Warpath
Have to admit I am too lazy to mod my earlier purchase of the "Mega-Path", so gotten this.. but need to do some minor painting... nice...

KO Oversized Universe Legends Cosmos
Sigh, will have to feedback to 65Daigou of their mistake to get the blue one instead of this grey one... worst case scenario will be to paint him blue...

KO Cybertron Brimstone
Awesome TF, looks menacing... not sure how he will turn out to be after opening though, but given the good experience of the dino Megatron in the same packaging, I believe he should turn out fine...

Edit: Opened up the KO & handle for a while... indeed the quality is good! Plastic quality is above typical KO standard, but still a bit light. joints are reasonably tight, and best of all, the Cybertron Key gimmick still works!!!

KO Oversized WFC Optimus Prime
Sigh, don't want to say anymore... happy turn sad story... Should have 'tahan' a bit more and not rush to buy from TaoBao... sigh...

Edit: Sigh... I can tolerate the super-duper loose joints... I can tolerate the wrong pins / loose pins / missing pins used... BUT WHY HAS IT HAVE TO COME WITH 2 LEFT FISTS ?????!!!!!!!... And the whole bubble was a resealed with clear tape, taping over some un-stapled staples... sigh....

FansProject TFX-04 Protector & TFX-05 Sidearm
Sweet, finally bite my teeth and made the decision to get this armour... Now my Hot Rod can become Rodimus Prime!!!! But will still label... I mean call him Protector... Rodimus Prime is reserved for the G1 toy (which happens to be my
cute little KO Kabaya version, hahaha)...

Edit: Awesome!!!!!! The Protector is sweet, and really compared to my KO City/Shadow Commanders, the leg pieces are so much less-frightening to fit in... BTW, saw in some Youtube reviews that the middle wheels (Hot Rod's back wheels) are not touching the ground, and thus not rolling well. I encountered this once, but realised that it might be due to the "Roller" car not placed properly enough for the wheels to touch the ground... Fiddle with it and my Protector trailer can have all wheels rolling...

Might have to stop buying TFs for the moment... have no more space to store temporarily, as I have not yet fix up the shelves for display (yes, have been dragging it for years...)...

Update - (Slight Undersize) KO G1 Seekers : Slipstream, Lightningstorm, Acid Storm

2011-07-15T01:19:00.000-07:00

Did up the other G1 KO seekers... was simpler than the other 2 did earlier, as they have lesser parts to paint, and already have the experience on how to touch up, and which parts to touch up... Took longer time though, as many things happen... and also fell ill...

KO Slipstream
HE is supposed to be the reincarnation of Slip Stream from G.I. Joe! Hahaha... And he is supposed to be all PURPLE!!!!! .... But couldn't find a good colour to match, so the nearest is... Ok, I know Slipstream is more famous to be the female Starscream clone... but upon searching in the Internet, I realized this name is used for male TFs too... From what I know so far, there is no all purple G1 seeker before, so once again, the greatness of KO shines on the TF universe!!!!! Hahahaha.....

Open the cockpit!!!! Hahaha... Need to shave off slightly on the edges of the plane to allow the cockpit to open up... Yeap, the fists, like the earlier 2, are stored at the feet...

Robot mode...

KO Lightningstorm
This is supposed to be the yellow colour G1 seeker in G1 cartoon "Divide and Conquer" episode... Almost similar, except for the lack of red stripes on his wings and silver face, as in the cartoon...

Yes, put a swiveling piece to cover the face in jet mode, like the earlier 3 (including Slipstream)...

Robot mode...

Next to restore... KO Shadow Commander and KO City Commander...

Has been 5 days since made 2nd payment to 65Daigou, but they have not delivered the items yet... sigh...

Update - (Slight Undersize) KO G1 Thrust, Acid Storm

2011-06-27T04:15:00.000-07:00

Recently finished repainting my 2 KO G1 Seekers, which are slightly undersized, to their respective colours. (See earlier post - Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs (56) - KO G1 Seekers, KO City & Shadow Commanders)

KO Thrust
Before...

After... The red colour difference between both pictures is due to camera lightings...

Jet mode... Decided to use black-silver as the black paint doesn't stick well... Turns out to be quite good... Hands are stuck to the feet underneath... Later pics of Acid Storm will show...

KO Acid Storm
Before...

After... Couldn't find a good bright lime green paint,so... but it brings about a bad acidic ooze feel...

Underneath of Acid Storm jet mode... Hands are stored by tucking them onto the feet, hahaha... Hey, where's the face???

Oh, make a simple swivel piece to cover the face, hahaha... did that to Thrust too...

Group photos...

Waiting patiently for my Taobao haul to come... Can't wait to see the (not-KO) TFX-04 Protector... and over over size WFC OP...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of TFs (100) - DOTM Activator Optimus Prime, DOTM Voyager Megatron, HFTD HA Bumblebee, Generations Scourge

2011-06-21T23:32:00.000-07:00

Bought these today, at OG Albert...

DOTM Activator Optimus Prime
Bought this for my little nephew... Hope he enjoys it!

DOTM Voyager Megatron
Very mysterious figure... With the cloak hiding.. Bought this instead of DOTM Shockwave as don't like Schockwave's alternate mode, too ... Cybertronian??...

HFTD Human Alliance Bumblebee
Gotten this because it is selling only at $25!!!!

Generations Scourge
Couldn't resist picking up this guy... Way too poison by G1 TFs & their homages...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of TFs & Such (99) - Iron Man, Iron Man Mark VI, PCC Skyburst with Arielbots

2011-06-19T02:06:00.001-07:00

Bought these at OG PP today... yeap, Iron Man figurines still at $3.90 each, so bought 2... Wanted to buy the DOTM Legends Sentinel Prime, but seeing the blocky fire engine and only a OG member 10% discount... not worth... Decided to buy the cheaper PCC instead... Can give the drones to my little nephew to play...

Iron Man
The older (comic) version... Must learn to get use to the elf hair head... Colour is nice bright comic yellow colour, and metallic red, wow...

Iron Man Mark VI
Iron Man's amour in its 2nd movie, characterized by the inverted triangular chest piece... Colour is a bit dull though...

PCC Skyburst with Arielbots
Was deciding to either buy the car one or this one, but choose this due to the homage look of Skyburst's design to Energon Storm Jet...

Am looking forward to my next Taobao haul... especially the main event (item) is... super oversized to beyond Leader class Cybertronian Optimus Prime!!!!!

Update: Bandai VF-25G 1/72 Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom A Gundam-style Snap-Assembly Kit

2011-06-13T23:29:00.000-07:00

Manage to fix up this model kit a few days ago... or weeks?... Did not have the time nor mood to take photos... until just now... Also modded the "tail" to accommodate the fists in plane mode... initially wanted to make the piece swivel, but... tried a few things, in the end, just glue the tail to the back... Anyway, a nice piece of model, but the plastics feel very thin... its supposed to be a model display, not a toy in the first place, so can understand...

Fighter mode

Gerwalk mode

Battroid mode

Watch out for my firepowers!

Very tired now, need some rest before embarking on my KO TFTM Optimus Prime restoration....

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs (99) - KO Oversize Wreckerhook, KO Oversize Air Hunter

2011-06-13T23:05:00.000-07:00

Bought these 2 KOs a couple of days ago from NTUC Bedok Central... Surprised to find this type of KOs in NTUC... did not hesitate to buy because of (1) Price is only $6.90! (2) Have bought the KO Oversize RM Optimus Prime of this type before, so believes the joints should be tight ones...

KO Oversize Wreckerhook
Slightly oversize compared to my earlier oversized version, is somewhat in between the Voyager and Deluxe class. Joints are tight, bevel gears are working, eyes have translucent light-piping, windows are translucent too... Only small complaint is the legs are not made of red plastic but are painted red, so the pin to hold the 2 legs when closing to each other is stiff... No problem, just need to make the socket a little larger...

Comparison with the older KO Wreckerhook (also oversize)...

KO Oversize Air Hunter
Again, joints are tight, so can stand properly... Good... Bought before a slightly oversize Air Hunter before, and due to its floppiness, it cannot even stand properly... This one also has translucent canopy windows...

Simplest Custom Crossover - Hellboy

2011-06-03T00:36:00.001-07:00

More pics to come... when my camera battery is recharged... Oh, going to scrape off the paint on the horns... Hahaha...

EDIT: More pics of Hellboy... Bought the Tuner Mudflap but did not like the crap head Bay's movie given him, but wasn't really too keen to "operate" on my legit TFs. Only after I started the ops on G1 Ironhide and Ratchet, then decided to give this a go... and will also repeat this op on his brother, Skidz... as the Green Goblin ... hahaha... Anyway, I used a spare KO Energon Rodimus's head... Now Hellboy looks younger... hahaha... Have to paint the big arm to red, if is the normal Mudflap will be easier... but the golden /dull yellowish colour on Tuner version makes this figure looks more like Hellboy in his coat, as depicted in some pictures...

Close-up view of the head...

Poses!

Looking forward to making Goblin's head...

Updated head for KO Nightmare (Stealth Valkyrie)

2011-05-31T10:41:00.000-07:00

Posted the replaced head for my Happywell Stealth Valkyrie (a.k.a. Nightmare) in Feb 2010. Always felt the head, while Valkyrie-like, is not "fierce" enough for this figure. So just now, replaced the head again, this time using a KO FAB TFTM Jazz's head which I had also modded a little before (see 2nd picture) ...

Again, the head and body colours don't match, I don't have a grey colour paint pen... But feels that it is much better than the old one...

Close-up look of the heads....

New head still screams (softly) Jazz... But... heck, don't care already...

Fire!!!

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs (98) - Undersized KO Goldran, Undersized KO Advenger

2011-05-31T08:56:00.000-07:00

My haul from TaoBao finally came tonight... Gotten a "Movie Moments" Sally+McQueen set, but the whole bubble package is torn from the cardboard... taped with a bit of scotch-tape... arrrgh... now cannot confirm if it is 2nd hand or not... hope it is not... anyway, cleaned the cars & internal plastic bubble with anti-bacterial wipes, hopefully cleaned of any germs, if any... Yes, I am a hygiene freak, hahaha... and I am buying this as a gift for my 4 yr old nephew... sigh...

Anyway, gotten these 2 absolutely wonderful KO Braves! They are from The Brave of the Gold Goldran series; undersized, but absolutely faithful to the original (more or less) !!!!

Undersized KO Goldran
Very very bling!!!! The gold chrome is sooooo shiny! And the other parts are similar to the original's colour. I have also seen a reissue (Korean version I think) that gold chromes almost the whole Goldran (or Gorgon, the big bot/dinosaur name)... Wonder if I should tape-chrome my KO or not... Hmm... Anyway, very very nice piece of KO... Dran is not included, the chest piece of Goldran is only a single piece of mold. It includes the long sword with a scabbard/sheath that can be tabbed at the side of the waist! The shins also have the flipped out cannons, less the firing missiles. Joints are reasonably tight for most joints, something not common in KOs. Only little in-perfect will be the tail-halves cannot close properly and tends to pop out... need to trim somewhere... Overall, a very wonderful piece of KO. Think KOToys is also selling this (these 2 KOs, in fact.)... SGD $7.35 with shipping.

Undersized KO Advenger
Another amazing "little" Brave figure. Includes all weapons (I think); has the big shield, and the front chest can also be opened to reveal the rotor! But I am not sure if it can be fired off or not, I can't find any firing mechanism (I don't know how the original is fired in the 1st place as I have not had 1)... Colours are mostly faithful. Joints are reasonably tight like the KO Goldran; in fact, the waist rotation is too tight, might need to loosen... Can't bend the elbows to perfect 90 degrees in train mode though, and the big long rifle is a bit loose when attached to the clip... Oh, also need to remove or mod the red missiles on the back rack to be shorter/smaller, else will lift the train up in train mode... Missile covers on the legs also a bit floppy, can't stay in place, but just need a simple fix... Overall, a very wonderful piece of KO! And yes, the lower legs can be flipped to reveal the correct side.... also SGD $7.35 with shipping.

Am keen to buy the cute little Sentinel Prime... the Commander size one, cuter...

Restore Repaint - KO Predacons / Predaking

2011-05-29T07:58:00.000-07:00

Finally got time to colour my KO white Predacons to their original colours... or close to...

Here's old Predaking... Half-white king....

Above Pic: Wow, so much better now!

Looks nice, but the red colour paint-pen I used on Rampage does not stick well, very much like my KO Kabaya Kits... sianz...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of TFs & Such (97) - Ironman 2 Figurine, HFTD Brimstone, RTS Mindset

2011-05-29T07:25:00.000-07:00

Wah!!!!!!! And I missed out the Toy Carnival!!!! Sighz.... 8pm just now then saw in the net... Arrrgh.....

Anyway, got the following from OG PP today:

Ironman 2 Figurine
Yeap, the one with Repulsor Blast... Initially wanted to get the other metallic-coloured one which got the blast off from feet effect, but could not stand the elf-like "hair"... Only cost $3.90, CHEAP!!!!!

HFTD Brimstone
OK, must admit I already gotten 1 Brimstone last September... When I was walking around the pile of TF RPMs today, I suddenly saw this little figure. So I pulled out and naturally looked at the price tag... and it said... $5.90!!!! Wah! So CHEAP!!!!! Don't care, buy first, hahahahaha.... Going to repaint him into Chopsaw... no, too ugly... I know, since he has a skull-like head and has a sleek chopper mode, I'll repaint into Ghost Rider colour scheme!!!! (Picture below is the one bought in Sept last year)

RTS Mindset
RTS Mindset reminds me of the Crossover Hulk (Tank).... This is a repaint of the movie 2 TF Hailstorm... Found this inside the pile in 1 of the stands... At least OG PP bothers to packed their non-DOTM TFs slightly neater in the stands... Not many good choices left... In fact this is 1 of the 2 remaining Mindsets... Sigh... Must visit other stores... anyway, cost only $12.90, so ok...

Looking forward to my KO Advenger and Goldran... scaled down version, of course, hahaha....

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs (96) - KO Misc. Kabaya Kits, KO Music Knights, KO Crumplezone (Downsized), KO G1 Mindwipe

2011-05-25T01:38:00.000-07:00

Haul from 65Daigou arrived last night... Mixed feelings... Mostly due to the KO Kabaya Kits... damn...

KO Miscellaneous Kabaya Kits
Sign... Ordered 14, only 8 usable, 2 repeat, 3 already gotten, 1 is too simplified... AND THE WORST IS THE SPYCHANGER OPTIMUS PRIME PACK IS PACKED WITH WRONG SPRUES!!!!!!!! #$^&!##... And the bottom leftmost 4 are packed with WET sprues!!!!!! WTF... Dunno what the liquid is, so wash away immediately... Some molds are simplified, eg. Brimstone (beast), now got 2 robot modes instead... sigh...

KO Music Knights
Music Knights (音乐奇侠) is a new China cartoon, and the toys I bought are the KO ones. Seem to be quite good... Basic concept is a rider with a bike that transform into a robot, with the rider controlling it in the middle of the robot body, quite nice... they are basically part formers though, need to plug in the lower arms and lower legs, and some small parts... The KO ones seemed to have the weapons permanently molded in the hands... So need to mod in the end, for minimum part forming.. best is no part forming...

KO Crumplezone (Downsized)
Yes, I suspect this is the downsized version, as I measure it to be around 15.5 cm, which is different from the 18cm as stated in Cliffbee's. Doesn't matter, as this TF is quite good. Although no clear plastic, almost all the joints are pretty ok. Not very tight, but definitely good. Plastic quality is just just slightly below that of Hasbro's... In fact, quite comparable with Hasbro's recent TFs' plastic...

KO G1 Mindwipe
FINALLY!!!!!!!!!! The gem of this haul! So long have I wanted to collect the Headmasters but they seem to have disappear from the surface of earth... So I did not even consider the price when I saw this in TaoBao... Very brightly coloured, Mindwipe is cruel... Why? Because he has chopped off Vorath's arms and legs!!!! .... Hahahaha.... Yeah, Vorath came without his limbs nor the face cover... need to give him limbs... The chest's Tech Specs feature is removed, and weapons are different. So happy to have gotten this piece...

This is hilarious!!!!!!!!!!!! Wahahahahaha..... Batman mode!!!!!!!!! Hahahahahaha.......

Update #1: Simple Mod & Bash - G1 Encore Ironhide & Ratchet

2011-05-22T01:21:00.001-07:00

Remember my earlier post on modding G1 Ironhide and Ratchet without cutting? Well, I give in to temptations and decided to DESTROY my encore pieces, in order for my Ironhide and Ratchet to be "reborn".... Below shows Ironhide done...

Very tough, but tried to follow what the awesome kitbasher in TFW2005 did... but my styrene piece break after I accidentally snapped it... and realised that the piece may be too brittle...

So after some fiddling, decide to use another method... which still allows Ironhide to have a more reasonable arm height position...

I joined the swivel piece (black round part with silver joint in the middle) to the side of the abdomen, which means when I rotate the body down, the arms also rotate downwards. The styrene pieces are used to form structure supports to hold on to the black swivel piece, and the underside, the red linkage piece that joins to the arm had to be made swivel... some trimming are needed, to have a smoother transformation... Then the add-on head lower part needs to be trimmed a little for the body to be able to rotate...

What now needs to be done is to do the mod on the seat as the great kitbasher on TFW2005 mentioned: cut out the part of the seat bottom so that it is not fixed to the windscreen...

Edit:
Ratchet also completed... At last now these TFs look like robots, like in the G1 cartoon... Oh, I also added a piece of styrene to cover the hole in the stomach, and silver stickered the hole in the crotch area...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs (95) - KO Lio Junior (Slightly Simplified)

2011-05-22T00:52:00.000-07:00

Gotten this at a shop around Bedok Bus Interchange in the morning, near the NTUC Foodfare coffeeshop... Price is only $6.90... Weight is light... So is it worth to buy?...

YES! Well worth it. Almost all ball-joints are tight enough, not very tight, but almost like the new legit TFs... Cutting of sprue is quite clean, in fact, I have not seen any jutting out points... Colour painting is still not too bad only... But this KO is slightly simplified and modded... There is no longer Magnaboss II's head, and the tail is molded to lift up slightly to reveal a gun (no more axe feature)... which to me makes some sense, since Lio Junior can always transform to the lion mode to "claw" it out with enemies, and leave the robot mode to more modern shooting (think dinobots in the cartoon, without swords...)

All in all, very worth the $6.90 paid... So good that I break my habit of posting only 1 picture of each of my haul....

Oh yes, 1 haul from Daigou has arrived, but Daigou is charging me with questionable shipping weights, again... nevermind, I shall wait for my next order to be shipped here then I arranged for them to send in 1 trip, will save me $5... Then see if they make mistake again in the shipping weights calculations...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs & TFs (94) - Galaxy Defender Beast, Bandai 1:100 VF-1S Model Kit, DOTM Powerglide

2011-05-19T23:42:00.000-07:00

Gotten these yesterday at Carrefour, HobbyShop & TRU in Suntec respectively... Forgotten to get the Generations Scourge though... sigh... nevermind, next time then...

Galaxy Defender Beast Transformer
Not sure what this is based on but the transformation is definitely not as simple as I think, for the leg part. Instructions given are too simple and did not stated what the shoulder can split up for which mode... There are 3 different types of printings (Galaxy Defender, Something-can't-remember, and Planet Fighter) in the pile, and I choose this because the sword, shield and protective plastic cover is still intact... Has ratcheting joints, not bad... very huge... cost $10 only...

Bandai 1:100 VF-1S Super Valkyrie 3-Mode Model Kit
Took a gamble & bought this to see if it is fully transformable or not... and I lost.. It isn't.... which means now I got to think of ways to mod the legs to swivel down to form in robot mode... and the font canopy too... Anyway, not too bad, because it's a brand new MISB, and cost only $28 plus after discount... Sweet...

DOTM Powerglide
Wow, an awesome TF!!!! Its like G1 Powerglide given an upgrade... I know there are some who prefer the Universe version, but I like this better. I just felt the chest/breast design doesn't look good in the Universe version... in fact, I feel it is awful... anyway, 1 man's poison is another man's meat, so to each his/her own preference... Yes, I don't quite like the bomb, quite stupid to form a cluster of bomb to be held in the hand to fire... not much logic, even for a fictional universe... Is it a bit too small? Well, depends on your preference again... small is cute, but if big (Deluxe or bigger..) probably it may have the aggressive feel then... Can't tell, until the KO makers upsized it ... will they???? Hmmm.... $19.90 is expensive....

Hope my new items ordered soon... And where can I find RTS Trailbreaker/cutter???? Seems to have disappear into thin air...

Custom: KO FAB "Double-Blade" Optimus Prime

2011-05-11T06:35:00.000-07:00

For the KO FAB Optimus Prime... I did a custom Energon extendable blade in Jan 2009, but the blade is WAY too short...

So managed to find some pieces of spare plastics and make 2 blades... Tough work, as have to join the top and bottom pieces together and fill up some part with styrene pieces... made worse by the super glue used, which is supposed to be stronger and more flexible 4x, does not bond instantly...

Anyway, after some tough work over 2 days (night), the new FAB Optimus Prime is born... with weapons to match that of the ROTF FAB Double Blade Optimus Prime!

Blades deployed!!!!! Now much longer and broader than the old one... 2 blades too!!!

Closer look at the blades... Tough work, but end of the day it is worth it...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of TFs (93) - PCC Icepick w/ Chainclaw, PCC Sledge w/ Throttle, Sergeant Kup, RTS Lugnut, RTS Grapple

2011-05-08T03:39:00.000-07:00

Went over to CSC and OG PP today... Saw a set of RID Build Team (individual packed) in CSC but cost $120... way above my budget... very tempted... resisted... Nothing much in CSC... Then go over to OG PP, and bought the TFs on sale... strangely, the RTS Deluxes are not in the advertisement which shows the sales prices of the TFs...

PCC Icepick w/ Chainclaw
Heh, was struggling to decide to buy his KO counterpart or not from TaoBao, but now price is so low... only $9.90... Looks good...

PCC Sledge w/ Throttle
Powerhouse look! The minicon transforms into a drill-head!

Generations Sergeant Kup
Salute! Nope, this piece is not on sale, unlike the RTS Deluxes which cost $13.90, this piece is still priced at $27.90... lucky have 10% discount at least... cannot resist this piece... buy I must, yes... De-tombed him just now but could not put his backpack flat down on his back, need to check next time (have sealed him back into package)...

RTS Lugnut
Wow, the more robotic version of his cartoonish counterpart... the face is too classics already, keeps being reminded of the TFA version... $29.90 is just barely acceptable... Will de-tomb him later...

RTS Grapple
Ok, I refuse to call him Grappel... Have gotten a KO of him before but undersized, so when the price fell to $29.90 for this piece, just bought him without much considering...

Hope my haul from Daigou arrives safely...

Restoration: KO ROTF Voyager Swerve; Update: KO Kabaya Fortress Maximus

2011-04-24T08:26:00.000-07:00

KO ROTF Voyager Swerve
Gotten this KO some time ago, love the robot mode, dislike the car mode... now after taking this picture, understand why... Front of car not wide enough and no side mirrors, hahaha... Technically, it is not Swerve, as the head is still Sideswipe's... and the feet are different... Anyway, did some touch up, tighten some loose joints, and remove some silver paint... now looks better...

Car mode...

Robot mode, in package...

Robot mode, after fiddling... This is my favourite of the 2 modes...

KO Kabaya Fortress Maximus
Gotten some breather and also to de-stress, I finally built up this little fella... Very neat little piece, able to transform into all 3 modes... well, almost... but then, the head is just a head, and has to be unplugged from robot to transform into city or battle-station mode, so... made him a little headmaster Cerebros... yeah, the little yellow-red figure at the bottom of the picture...

City mode...

Battle station mode... yeap, my little headmaster Cerebros can stand inside the cockpit...

Made this headmaster from an extra KO Kabaya Road Caesar kit's brainmaster... Don't want to damage the original head clip, so after some hard work, finally managed to built him... The green piece is the face...

Ready to head on, Cerebros...

Head on!!!! Fortress Maximus!!!! (Or is it Minimus???)

The head is too too wide and causes the shoulders to be pushed out a little... but no big problem, so still ok...

Witness my firepower!!!!!!

So how does the new headmaster Cerebros measures up to his predecessors? Here's a size comparison...

Size comparison in city mode...

Grandfather, father, son...

Hope my haul reach Shanghai & S'pore without hiccups...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of TFs (92) - HFTD Breacher, RTS Jazz, RTS Optimus Prime, RTS Wreck Gar

2011-04-23T00:06:00.000-07:00

Went over to Isetan PP today... And it turn out to be a haul for me... =) ALL TFs cost $13.90 (yeah, I know, stupid to buy the scout class one, same price as the deluxe version... but what to do, so cute..)

HFTD Breacher
Opps, bough this on impulse, as it looks so cute... Face looks like Cybertron Ransack, maybe is his cousin or brother, hahaha...

RTS Special Ops Jazz
I initially wanted to buy him to repaint into Stepper... now got to consider... too much work... anyway, if got time maybe can consider... This piece seems to be the last piece on the racks of TFs...

RTS Optimus Prime
The return of the (shrunk down) Laser Optimus Prime!!!! Wonder if the other places have managed to restore back the no. of pieces for this TF...

RTS Wreck Gar
FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND GOT THIS AT $13.90 ONLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YIPEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!! Have been searching high and low for this piece, refusing to go to CSC just to buy 1 overly-priced Wreck Gar... About 2 weeks ago I saw it at a price of $40 in 1 shop in CSC, so with the hype of scalpers stories, I believe the price will be at least $50? Hmmm... not worth... But this is such a GOOD representation of the G1 character, sometimes I just feel like giving in to go over to CSC and buy 1... luckily... I believe this is the only piece on the racks of TFs in Isetan PP, together with RTS Jazz (maybe got 1 more, not sure) and RTS Optimus Prime... Got 1 RTS Perceptor, but I did not like the mold, so put it back... and it disappear after 15 mins when I walked around the area again... Hope it is someone who likes the RTS Perceptor mold to have bought it, in this case happy for him/her...

Good news from 65Daigou too, my KO Music Knights (Bike-Armours) and KO G1 Mindwipe has been ordered, now waiting for the whole lot to be shipped to Shanghai & to S'pore, hope no hiccups... keeping my fingers crossed...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of TFs (91) - PCC Searchlight w/ Backwind, PCC Leadfoot w/ Pinpoint

2011-04-16T01:43:00.000-07:00

Bought these 2 yesterday at OG Albert, at $9.90 (usual price at $19.90)... Damn, the leader class ROTF Starscream and Hook Optimus selling at $49.90 only.... should have gotten them instead of the coupon 1-for-1 Starscream bought at OG private member sale... Still can't find RTS Wreck Gar... no surprise, after reading all the post in forums... damn the scalpers... will have retributions one (cannot sell and have to lelong in the end, hahahahaha....) hahaha... just being a bit crazy......

PCC Searchlight w/ Backwind

Backwind... *~ p~u~u~u~d~* ... hahahahaha..... Backwind's legs are loose, else everything seems ok... Searchlight is fine... rotor whirl freely... Nice copter mode... Actually I prefer to flip out to have "chest wings" in robot mode.... those who transformed him before should know what I mean...

PCC Leadfoot w/Pinpoint

Awww... don't they remind you of Sureshot with Spoilsport, one of the original Targetmasters? Love this TFs... I like the bigger head of Leadfoot better, but can't transform to car mode with it on ... The biceps' rotating joints are TOO tight... else everything looks good... Love the targetmaster, looks very humanoid.... like the Nebulans in the old days... And transforms into a decent gun...

Finally settle with 65Daigou for the wrong shipping weight, and got the refund... will see if got good TFs / KOs, then order...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs (90)

2011-04-08T02:55:00.000-07:00

Finally haul from TaoBao.com arrive... still yet to settle the wrong shipping weight cost with 65Daigou... But the delivery is fast, just 1 day of arranging... Anyway...

KO Oversize ROTF Legends Optimus Prime

My 2nd purchase of the same mold... Because the earlier one I bought has a single-piece leg (without the lower leg that is flipped out)... Going to combine them... if can... No packaging...

KO Ruckus

Looks like the shampoo plastic type... good....

KO Classics Ramjet

Ok, bought this as one day, I suddenly thought of getting a orange colour seeker o get parts for my custom Sunstorm I did earlier... That Sunstorm's ball-joints on the legs are damaged and repaired one, very loose... and difficult to take out to repair, so... Note this is the very simplified version: no chest-wheels, moulded cockpit on canopy, missiles are moulded with the arm launchers...

KO Snap-Assembly Lio Kaiser

Yes, also the 2nd set I bought, cos really badly wanted to make a good Hellbat, instead of the Doubledealer wannabe... So can probably use the excess Gaihawk to mould into Hellbat...

KO Binaltech Grimlock

Arrggh.... both arms are popped out when I received the item... Face is quite... different??? Hmmm....

KO Movie Barricade

Arrrgh... Again, the return of popped out parts... anyway head is unique, lightly translucent orange!!!! The "POLICE" paint job is good though...

KO ROTF Leader Jetfire

Amazing, what else can't China KO... Choose the orange colour one, as I already have purchased the black one (in the Buster 2-pack)... Face is remoulded... body seems so too...

KO Sixshot

Hahaha... finally got one that is (nearly) in his G1 colours!!!! Plastic quality is not too bad, but already got cracks and such... shampoo bottle plastic still can be torn... lots of excess sprue not cleaned... nevermind, can restore... Front of body is translucent!!!!!!!!!! Hahaha... comes with the 2 guns (not in picture)... pity it is not MOSC...

Recent Restoration & Fiddling with KOs...

2011-04-02T10:21:00.000-07:00

Restore or fiddle with the following KOs these few days... Umpteen left to do...

KO TFA Oversize Optimus Prime

Not much done in vehicle mode... yes, this is the voyager version which has been oversized to leader size...

Made a face mask which is missing... Ugly but still looks better than the un-mask face... Tighten up the joints and such.. Quite a nice piece...

Sorry for the bad picture... Did not fix the picture before posting...

KO Oversize ROTF Dirtboss

This is oversize to deluxe size... Joints are often loose, but without simplification... This should be the correct size for ROTF Dirtboss... same for ROTF Ransack...

Repainted the figure too... Too tired to relink the earlier posts of the KOs before mod, so please do a quick google if you'd like to compare, sorry & thanks...

Love this figure very much... Size comparison below...

KO Mini Inch Up (Cybertron Dirtboss)

Yes, I call this mold Inch Up, its Japanese name, to avoid confusion with the ROTF version... It is roughly scout size, and very cute..

The wheels-spread feature still exists & without the need to use CyberKey!!!!!! Hahahah...

Bot mode... Has a different head sculpt... Quite simplified, guns cannot flip forward, but still, a nice piece...

KO Oversize ROTF Ransack

Yes, the oversize version... The stupid KO maker actually joins up the arms to the wings, so have to pull out the small ... arrghh.. difficult to explain... anyway... restore it back... not able to remove the "missiles" on the top wings, as ... too lazy, hahaha... anyway, it might look ugly after removing, if not done properly... ok, I am lazy... hahaha... Did not realise the weapons on the arms are reverse until pictures are taken, so just leave them alone... The stands on the plane body to support the top wings are too long, got to cut them shorter... Ankle joints are loose too...

Awesome after restoration....

Size comparison....

KO G1 Headmaster Skullcruncher (Repaint)

Just felt like repainting the arms of Skullcruncher, although I do not have the right paint colours... So gotten the nearest colours and did a repaint.. Then realised still can do some more restorations... like ratcheting mechanisms of the lower legs, waist twisting piece, etc... Below shows the before and after of the alligator mode... Looks nicer after repainting the front limbs right? Hahaha....

Bot mode's before & after... Did some minor paint touching up for the face too...

65Daigou has shipped my earlier items to Singapore already, but I am hesitant to make 2nd payment & delivery, as realised the shipping weight could be wrong... also wants to wait till my KO Sixshot (old-D; lousy quality version) is shipped to S'pore, then deliver together... Hope they respond to my enquiry soon...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs (89) - KO Legends ROTF Starscream, KO BlueRacer-Bot, KO Mega(tron)(War)Path, KO Cybertron (King) Starscream

2011-03-26T01:36:00.000-07:00

Went to Bedok Central today late morning and gotten these few KOs... actually not much interesting KOs nowadays in Bedok Central area; in fact, the photocopying kiosk I frequent has reduced the racks of toys when I walk past it today... sad... anyway...

KO ROTF Legends Starscream
Wait, haven't I bought this mold already??? ... well... yeah, see, I bought it as I thought the last one I bought is not the actual legends size, and this one "looks" slightly bigger... then realised it isn't when I get back to compare... Anyway, have decided to paint the neon green one to movie Thundercracker colour scheme... Did not de-tomb this fella...

KO Blue Racer-Bot
Saw this and bought it to complete the set of 3 Racing Bots, which I had bought the yellow one and red one earlier... shall call it Speedstream (a Aquastar or something TF with similar alternate mode & colours)... Plastic used is a bit brittle, so hope no tabs will break... need to work on some arm joints to pose better in bot mode...

KO Mega(tron)(War)Path
Pick up this oversized Universe Legends Warpath, which is replaced by a Universe Deluxe Megatron head and a Movie body. Retracting tank-gun barrel is no more, instead, it has a teeny weeny gun on the shoulder... interesting... Plastic quality is average, but joints are loose... but nevermind, can restore...

KO Cybertron (King) Starscream
Downsized to voyager size version... Comes with a purplish-pink crown for SS's coronation, hahaha... Mold is slightly simplified Supreme class one... Transformation is EXTREMELY simple, which is good... Quality is, well... average KO plastics, half the joints are loose, and can't stand him up... But, nothing is too tough if you've got the reliable superglue, hahaha.... of course with some other tools, too... Hail the king!!!!

Hope 65Daigou will order my KO Sixshot soon...

ROTF Sideways Transformation Fiddling

2011-03-18T09:12:00.000-07:00

Was fiddling with my free TF, ROTF Sideways, when I realised his transformation is quite funny if I follow the instruction sheet given... so after some fiddling, I realised there is a small tab (see 2nd picture below) that the "backpack" seems to be designed to be clipped into. So when done, Sideways looks like the picture below... Notice how the "backpack" seems to be lower?

A closer look at the "backpack" 's (clear plastic) female-socket tab to the red peg... Perfect fit makes me wonder if the designers meant to do so...

Sideways doing his side-kick!!!!!!

Hope my TaoBao haul arrives soon...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of TFs (88)

2011-03-16T01:59:00.000-07:00

Went to the crazy OG Members' Sale at Orchard's outlet in the morning.. Was SUPER CROWDED!!!!!!!!!!!! Crazy.... Managed to squeeze in, and gotten myself some TFs (some impulse buys...) with 30% discount...

(1) (Legends) Cyberfire Bumblebee
Gotten this together with RTS Starscream and RTS Megatron for $20... Hunt all racks for any other good TFs (Legends) but could not find any, so choose this... btw, gotten the KO Oversized version already...

(2) RTS (Legends) Starscream
Lots of it in the racks... and glad to pick 1 up... very G1-ish... pity null-rays are too plain, but the smirk on his face is hilarious...

(3) RTS (Legends) Megatron
I believe I picked up the last piece on the racks (as I hunt around, I did not recall seeing any other of this.... Bot mode is extremely G1-ish (as this wave is), except for the ORANGE TIP!!!! Will colour with silver paint pen the minute I de-tomb him....

Edit: Yes, detombed and repaint, now he looks (slightly) more frightening, mua-haha...

(4) (Scouts) Sunspot
Oh, also seems to be the last piece... Lucky did not buy this last Sunday... Wonder if he looks good combined with Mindwipe... nah... $13.25

(5) RTS Turbo Tracks
Well, another impulse buy... Probably will try to pick up a Wreck-Gar... this Sunday??... Hmm.... Like the robot & car modes, but the flying mode... the wings... sigh... wonder if possible to position them to look better???.... $19.55

(6) (7) HFTD Starscream (Leader)
My 2nd time buying 2 Leader-class TFs in 1 receipt since the Jetfire/OP 2-pack set... Heard this is used for the Takara's Masterpiece version, not very sure... Hands (claws) and feet are finally resembling to PROPER hands (claws) and feet... Used the coupon to purchase for a buy-1-get-1-free, and a 30% discount, so price per piece is $38.475... Cheap.... even cheaper than the HA TFs they are selling at $39.90... So what to do with the other Starscream?... Hmm... Thought of selling it on the spot, but seems not many people keen on buying... Well, in the end decided to spray my remaining silver-chrome paint on 1 piece... hope it turns out good...

Finally TaoBao haul is on its way to Singapore... hope 65Daigou will resume its efficient service soon as promised...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of TFs (87) - Marvel Crossover Ironman

2011-03-13T08:26:00.000-07:00

Bought this piece in OG People Park... Only 10% off... Still buy because got nothing in CSC (actually have, its a mini Kamen Rider Belt, in the same series as the one I bought before ) , and also ordered the KO version in TaoBao through 65Daigou but was later told "Seller hasn't been online for long time, unable to send the item..."... sad... and 65Daigou has been giving POOR service these few months... The reason/excuse is overwhelming orders due to the TV interview, and lack of manpower, and no time to train manpower... and hence, very very late then got notified of no stock, etc... which means they might not have liaise properly with the seller over in China... lots of refunds... sigh... wow, business too good also not good... very chim... hahaha... will not be engaging their service again, not in the near future.... or until a good KO surfaces..

Anyway... Hope more shops bring in Wreck-gar...

Restoration & Mod: KO G2 Grimlock (aka Steel Lock)

2011-03-06T01:21:00.000-08:00

Bought this piece of heavily remolded G2 Grimlock in March last year, and finally got time to restore it to its G2 "glory"...

Did not take a picture of the dinosaur mode before restoring, but you can refer to these pic of front and pic of back (courtesy of actionfigurechecklist.com) of the dinosaur mode...

So after restoration, the dinosaur mode looks like this below... looks more like Grimlock rite? Hahaha... Did not shorten/reduce size of dino-arms, as these seems more in proportion to the big body...

Robot mode before restoration... BIG head, long arms, no biceps...

After restoration.... G2 Grimlock!!! (or 85% similar).... The new head has a neck which I did not remove from the original spare head I used to mod, so the head seems a bit more...bigger... but seems to be in better proportion with body... Arms are shorten, now that the arms-transformation are restored too... I swap the upper arms so that the arms looked more profiled (biceps??), like the original... Did not mod the weapons too...

"Me Grimlock/Steel Lock no bozo; me king!"

Hope all my haul orders are ok...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of TFs & Etc (86) - TFA Activators Bulkhead, TFTM Voyager Thundercracker, Marvel Crossover Human Torch, Masked Rider Belt

2011-02-13T05:46:00.000-08:00

Yeap, went to CSC again... and only manage to get a small Masked Rider Belt handphone accessory sort of thing... and a blue McQueen for my little nephew... so went over to OG PP, and some surprise finds...

TFA Activators Bulkhead
Found this little fella in the pile of "Clearance"... Picked him up almost immediately... Well, got him because he is cheap... the old lelong price tag still exists, SGD 5.... yes, $5 (no further discount as he is red label) ... so got myself a mini Bulkhead, since I got his Voyager counterpart, hahaha...

TFTM Voyager Thundercracker
He is also in the pile of "Clearance"... pick up, put down this fella... only after I walk 1 round then I decide to get this figure... and found that he has a different head compared to the Starscream version (hands are thicker too???) Oh, yes, he cost $29.90 (red label, so no 20% discount)... which is quite a lucky find, as when I walk back to CSC, I saw this figure selling at $45 at a stall!... lucky... thought the packaging is in quite a bad shape...

Marvel Crossover Human Torch
Well, wanted to something to complement the above Thundercracker, so try to search for the new TF Voyagers... but they cost $51.90, even after discount still very expensive... so decide to walk down the Marvel shelf just beside... and saw this... Lots of this... Cost? Hehe, only $34.90... wait, after discount, its only $27.90! Cheaper than the lelong Thundercracker above!!! Grab I must, yes...

Masked Rider Belt Handphone Accessory
Well, this is actually from CSC... found this very cute, its the old old Masked Rider's Belt... press a small button at the side and the inner red circle will spin!!! ... No, not John Cena, way long long time ago, Masked Riders have this feature on their belts already (when they transform)... Cool... pity cannot find the other 2 types...

Hope my TaoBao haul will be ordered soon... KO ROTF Leader Jetfire, KO TFTM deluxe Barricade, KO Binaltech Grimlock, KO Marvel Crossover Ironman...

Update - KO Kabaya G1 Scorponok

2011-02-05T09:24:00.000-08:00

Finally build this little fella... and it turns out to an amazing little TF, with many ratcheting joints... though I was too eager to slice off the ratchet-strips as extra sprue, and had to rebuilt them using my Selley's Plastics Glue, and tissue...

This TF has no headmaster gimmick, in fact the head is molded together with the body, just a swivelling helmet... Chest piece can be open, but nothing spectacular inside... Details are plentiful...

Scorpion mode. Notice the helmet now swings to cover the face... had to trim off some portion and seal the joint covers to prevent the helmet from popping out.

Base mode... or sort of... well, quite close...

Neat little figure, now looking forward to build KO Kabaya Fort Max and the other kits...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs (85) - KO Racing Bots

2011-02-03T22:44:00.000-08:00

Jalan around an empty Bedok Central, and saw the Indian Auntie's kiosk still open... Intially want to buy the multicolour Cybertron Starscream (with crown) but saw $10... and its a bit too small to replace my current KO Oversize Legends Cybertron Starscream... Then saw these... No idea what this is, but still bought them... should be some Chinese-based models or something like that... Complex transformation, most joints are slightly tight enough, but the arms tend to pop out easily as they are only simple pegs... need to mod out the yellow racer's arms to swing without taking out...

Restoration & Mod: KO Oversize ROTF Legends Devastator (Scavenger, Long Haul), KO Oversize Legends Ironhide

2011-02-03T09:31:00.000-08:00

Took some time to do / take photos of some mods and restoration done recently...

KO Oversize ROTF Legends Devastator - Scavenger
Friends who bought this set of KO Oversize ROTF Legends Devastator will know that the Scavenger has simplified wheels connector, so the wheels cannot be properly placed in robot mode. So I restore it back...

Now the wheels are properly placed...

KO Oversize ROTF Legends Devastator - Long Haul

Decided to give Long Haul the proper swivelling arms, an so after some tough work...

Long Haul can swivel his arms now!

Devastator is not affected at all!!!!

KO Oversize Legends Ironhide

Not sure if I had features him before... so here goes... fists are seen in robot mode AND in vehicle mode... no good... so mod him to "keep" his fists in vehicle mode...

Just a little bit popping out... not very visible... Have since acquire an deluxe movie Ironhide...

Till next time...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs (84) - KO Hun-Grr, KO mini Doubledealer, KO Kabaya skyfire, KO Kabaya Titanium Soundwave

2011-02-02T06:01:00.000-08:00

Collected haul from 65daigou.com today, rather unexpectedly, as I thought if they miss yesterday's deadline, I would have to wait till after CNY... But surprise! This is a good display of professionalism, as they mention in the website that they are trying to deliver to customers before CNY as much as possible. Kudos to 65daigou.com. Please keep up the good work (and employ more staff during festive seasons, of course, when the service starts to dipped a little)

KO Hun-Grr
I REALLY SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SO GREEDY TO ORDER THIS, AFTER SEEING IT WRITTEN AS 10 YUAN, AND THOUGHT IT IS A GOOD BARGAIN. I WAS WRONG. And when this piece arrived, I realise I can't swap the hands with my old (undersize) Hun-Grr... sigh... if I use the whole TF (with lousier plastics, non-ratcheted joints, no-chestplate) to replace, it ... ok, maybe give up... use it for spare parts... really expensive spare parts... maybe can tear up for KO Flame Convoy... or repaint????? SG Hun-Grr???

KO mini Doubledealer
It is CUTE!!!!!!!!!! Hahaha... pity, humanoid powermaster cannot transform... maybe troublesome to mod... I think transformation is not simplified... at least not with my KO normal size version... no powermaster gimmick of course...

KO Kabaya Henkei Skyfire
Bought this again as last time bought got a Cybertron Starscream inside... sickening... Luckily this time inside is correctly packed... Then realised that I had bought the legit Kabaya version... Hahahahaha.... nevermind...

KO Kabaya Titanium Soundwave
Wow, this is cute, inside is really parts for a mini Titanium Soundwave.. so now I got both undersize and oversize Titanium Soundwave (which I call him Titaniumwave for easier reference)...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul (83) - Gundam 00 AEU Enact Custom

2011-01-30T02:53:00.000-08:00

Went to CSC today but was too early, stalls are just setting up as I was leaving... Have to leave early as got to go to Chinatown to shop for CNY goodies... but, sigh, post in another blog... Anyway, got this from the OG clearance pile of toys... $10 only...

Choose this because suddenly realise this has an alternate flight mode, which I think can be modded into a Universe version of Animated Jetstorm! Notice the similarity, long legs in jet mode...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs (82) - KO Kabaya mini Deluxe ROTF Brawl, KO Kabaya Donald "Megatron" Duck TF, KO Kabaya G1 Sideswipe

2011-01-28T23:46:00.000-08:00

Collected these from 65Daigou today... Buy 1 get 2 free from the seller, worth, hahaha...

KO Kabaya ~~Legends~~ mini Deluxe ROTF Brawl
3 pieces of parts!!! Certainly complex... It is free...

KO Kabaya Donald "Megatron" Duck TF
Yes, its free too!!! 2 pieces of parts, so should be a easy job to assemble...

KO Kabaya G1 Sideswipe
Initially wanted to buy the whole set of KO G1 Kabaya Wave 1, but due to Go TaoBao Shopping's super-long delay in forming me the particular seller OOS, I can't find another replacement seller who sells whole set cheap... Sigh... Anyway, this one will do... BTW, bro HKcelica, nowadays I got my KO Kabaya G1 TFs (rarely I can find 1 one) from TaoBao.com, through local agency for Singapore only. You might want to search if any international TaoBao agency to get for you if you can't direct-deal with TaoBao (like in Singapore). Price (include 2 freebies) : $18.60

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs (81) - KO Seawave, KO Legends The Fallen, KO Legends ROTF Sideswipe, KO Binaltech Tracks

2011-01-28T00:59:00.000-08:00

Collected the final shipment from Go TaoBao Shopping... yes, I think it will BE the FINAL time I am collecting from them... Anyway, they waived off the sea-shipping and service charge to my (supposedly missing last time) haul this time, so the items are considered cheap...

KO Seawave
Its a freebie thrown in by the seller who sold me the KO ROTF Legends TFs... one of the arm pops out everytime I connect it... very stubborn, need to trim... Made of the shampoo-bottle-like plastics, so... but actually this type of plastic is good for ball joints, don't seem to wear out so easily...

KO Legends The Fallen
Oh no, the mighty Fallen has been shrunk down by a shrink-ray!!! Hahaha, so cute... Very good robot mode, but the jet mode is... transformation??? Or just excellent Yoga-bending of the limbs??? Hahahaha.... Lots of sprue, and some peg-holes and swivel-holes are also filled with overflown plastics... Price : $1.90

KO Legends ROTF Sideswipe
The design of this TF is quite amazing... good in both robot and car mode... as usual with all knockoffs, there will be parts with LOOSE joints... not a problem, can be solved... Price : $1.90

KO Binaltech Tracks
A slightly simplified version of Binaltech yellow Tracks. Yeap, I would have gotten the blue colour version if it is available, but since there is a yellow release, i got the yellow one... Not the usual good quality KO Alt/BT, this one has hole-pegs not fitting, and I can't transform to the car mode properly without touching up... Also, the retractable arm-guns are also left out. Good thing is joints are quite tight... Simpler transformation than the other KO Alt/BT TFs I bought... Overall, good (assuming after touching up) ... Price : $9.90

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs (80)

2011-01-20T06:39:00.000-08:00

Woah, haul from TaoBao (purchased through 65Daigou) came last night, rather unexpectedly... very efficient... later then compare...

KO Kabaya Oversize (???) Night Rescue Team - Prowl / Overcharge
Not sure if this is the oversize version, but know it is FREE! Got it with 1 of the buys, can't remember which... hope it doesn't become wobbly after assembled....

KO Thomas ~~Locomorizer/Might Gaine~~ Gradion
THOMAS (or whoever it is) I WILL TEAR YOUR FACE OFF!!!!!!!!!!!..... literally, hahaha.... Hope it is as big as it seems, will de-tomb him later... Price: $14.45 (include shipping, SGD, round up nearest 5 cents)

Edit: Yes, it is huge! As huge as the KO Oversize Buster Prime!!! ~~Still not~~ figure out if it is based entirely on ~~a Brave/Yuusha mold or heavily remolded one or anything, very mysterious~~ Webdiver Gradion mold... Plastic is the average type, but not too thin. It even has the ratcheting joints and comes with a "typical-chinese-toy" train sound and blinking LEDs when you push the button on its abs... Very nice, piece, just need to touch up...

KO X-Gunner / Delta Seeker
Colourful... saw before someone has the arms mold opposite or something... hope this will not... Price: $4.50

Edit: Plastic is not the typical brittle type, in fact, its a bit rubbery and thick, like the real Robotmasters type... but still not on par though... Good...

KO Oversize Smokesniper
Hmmm... comes with a disc... hope the plastic is good... actually not much to write since have not de-tomb the TFs yet... Price: $7.10

Edit: Plastic is also the thicker & slight rubbery type, sweet... arms are mis-assembled, got to remove the pins, repair some broken joints and then re-assemble back to the correct way... Oh, check out the head (of some other websites, sorry, forgot to take picture), very "Optimus" looking!!! Very nice...

KO Oversize Titanium Thundercracker
I think it is more than 6 inch tall... so organic shaped... round round curve curve... Price: $7.10

Edit: Plastic quality is the average (i.e. only very slightly thicker) type, and some joints are loose, but its ok, cn be fixed... The arms can still slide down but the elbows just flip out, so seems a bit short-arm...

KO Sonic Attack Jet / Jhiaxus
Like the name Jhiaxus better.... Costly though... Price: $28.90

Edit: Yeap, again the slightly thicker and rubbery plastic, sweet... got to slice off a bit of the tab pushing back the inner neck of the robot, in order to close the chest... now this forcing has weaken the right arm joint... will repair... very Cyclonus looking in jet mode, due to the reverse wings...

KO G1 Springer
Wow!!! Finally a G1 Springer I will prefer G1 molds compared to most TFs, so don't ask me why I get this instead of the Fansproject Warbot Defender... Cost is also a factor... hahaha.... Price: $56.45

Edit: Not stable!!!! Need to adjust and adjust the split-tails to help balance this back heavy TF... but ok... Fun Fun... Did not buy this locally last time in CSC as it is still expensive, think was quoted $70 / $80 plus...

KO G1 Scourge
Yes!!!! A G1 Scourge, to complete the post-Unicron movie Decepticon trio (other 2 being Galvatron and Cyclonus)... Happy... Would like to have gotten the Titanium version if can but can't find a suitable one... Price: $47.25

Edit: Stickers are lousy, starting to peel off at the edges which have split parts... One of the hinges that connects the back part of the jet to swing back is broken, sigh.... and it is resistane to normal superglue... but luckily, I have my Selley's Plastic Glue! I tell you, it is useful...

65Daigou is definitely 1 notch above Go TaoBao Shopping, it is a professional dealer agent after all, with the more systematic tracking and fast response to queries and requests... Pay the 2nd payment and the next night, the items arrive at doorsteps. Now still left 3 items from Go TaoBao Shopping and several more from 65Daigou... You can decide for yourself which to go for if you would also like to buy TaoBao items from an agent, up to your decision... I know what I will choose in the future...