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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...