Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of 3rd-Party TFs (219) - 模匠 Arcisan Papa Toys PPT-04 Flame Warrior 火焰战士 a.k.a. G1 Transformers Hot Rod

Bought from Taobao, can't remember the price. Initially wanted to wait for the MFT version, but realized MFT seemed to be having too many on their hands waiting to be released. I pasted the Autobot insignia sticker on it. Very nice TF that is very close to the G1 Hot Rod robot mode. Car mode seem to be to "rounded" for my personal preference, will prefer the "sharper" MP car style, and the spoiler seem a bit too small in car mode, but still quite nice car mode overall. Some joints initially are super tight and needs a bit of fiddling and transform more times to get them to be smooth. I prefer to leave the spoiler nearer to the rear. The back-pack pieces can actually be folded and pressed literally down to get to a smaller and flatter back-pack. Overall a very nice Hot Rod TF figure.



Mine came with a chipped paint on the eyeball, hence disassemble and painted the eyes back with a navy-blue paint pen.



Notice the robot arms can be pulled slightly outwards for slightly more clearance when swinging the arms.


Also the backpack can be pressed downwards to achieve a slightly flatter back-pack. See video clip on how it can be done. Do it slowly and carefully at first though.


Robot mode. Very closely resemblance to the G1 counterpart. In fact, I consider it to be sort of a mini-masterpiece... sort of...


Robot mode comparison to MFT Kup and Studio Series SS-18 Bumblebee...



Car mode... Spoiler looks a little too small... I leave the spoiler position fixed nearer to the rear, too lazy to keep switching it between modes..



Car mode comparison with MFT Kup and SS Bumblebee...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of TFs (218) - Transformers Studio Series 18 Bumblebee

Bought this Transformers Studio Series 18 Bumblebee at Kiddy Palace after my Kusu Island Trip... Very expensive, costs SGD36.90 ... But I cannot resist the Volkswagen Beetle car mode... sadly, I don't think I can buy the VW Beetle Cabriolet which I had planned to buy in 2 to 3 years time now, as VW has announced they are stopping production of the Beetle... sigh... anyway...



Robot mode... The upper thigh (to crotch )joints are loose, and had to use superglue+tissue paper method to slightly tighten.. but they seem to get a teeny bit looser over time.. will see how... also tighten the elbow joint at the removable-arm side with a drop of super-glue... Did not like the way of changing to battle-mask mode, so in the end, I keep the mask part away, and also same thing happen to the arm cannon part...


Notice how the grey back part has a profile that fits the car top cover and hinge when completely fold up all the way... but it is very hard (and scary) to pull down the piece for transformation, if fold up completely...


Size comparison with 陆霸 Lu Ba (Slightly) Oversized KO SS Optimus Prime, robot mode...


A major negative feedback from many TF fans about this mold is the panels do not fit well and leave big seams or gaps... The back of the car can be slightly improved by shaving teeny bits off the space where the pegs of the back car cover piece will tab in... especially the area near the arrow head seen in the picture below... you have to try to know what I am talking about... It will not a 100% fit after the trimming but will make it look better and also slightly easier to tab in with lesser effort...


Car mode... with less visible gaps and seams now...


Back view of car mode... much better now...


Size comparison with 陆霸 Lu Ba (Slightly) Oversized KO SS Optimus Prime, car mode...


I prefer to hide Bumblebee's face, which of course, will not be accurate to the new movie...

Lu Ba 陆霸 Transformers - Slightly Oversized KO Studio Series Optimus Prime

Gotten this at Taobao.com for approximately SGD15. This is a slight oversized KO of the SS Optimus Prime, height from feet to tip of head antenna is about 19.1 cm,  with some changes, including: Wrist cannot rotate, Back "gas-tanks" missing 1 folding joint each, Removed lower legs' wheels transformation, Longer smokestacks, Added tab pieces for the front grill ( which 1 broke when transforming earlier but still secure ), Die-cast feet, Translucent black swords, Extra face without mouth-plate, Added-Missing minor paint job... and I think that's all, not sure, as I don't have the original SS version. Plastic quality is actually quite good,  not the fragile type. Joints are also nicely tight enough for a smooth transforming feel and posing. Overall I felt this is way way worth the SGD15 spent, very good KO.

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs (217) - 陆霸 Lu Ba ( Slightly ) Oversized KO Studio Series Optimus Prime

Bought at Taobao for SGD15 in total... Will post video if possible... but very sad now so... but that is another matter...

MFT Grmlock a.k.a. Grimlock : Silent Video

To show the transformation of this very nice figure with a quick showcase of how it looks with some of my other Grimlock figures and the other 4 MFT Dinobots...

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of KOs (216) - Mech Fans Toys MFT MF-25 Grmlock a.k.a. Grimlock

MFT finally released the last of the KO oversized Dinobots. This is the KO oversized of the DX9 Rager. I don't have the original DX9 Rager nor the G1 Grimlock to compare. Not very good QC, as there are quite a lot of plastic to shave, trim and tighten (with superglue and tissue paper), before it is at least decent. The leg-halves tabs initially are stuck in the tab-holes, and I suspect they are not dried completely after painting. Also, my figure had some silver paint chipping right out of the box. However, as with the metallic colour version of the MFT Dinobots, this has very nice appearance with the paint. In fact, among my collection of G1-ish Grimlocks, this is by far the most accurate in robot and especially dinosaur mode. Very happy to complete the 5 Dinobots, hence will likely not be getting the KO oversize POTP Dinobots/Volcanicus.

Side-Tracked: Recent Haul of TFs (215) - POTP Beachcomber

Gotten this at Kiddy Palace today... Price on picture... Dunno why I buy...sigh... but that is another matter...


Got this red collectors' card...


And the vehicle mode can sit a Titanmaster figure!


Vehicle mode...



Comparison of vehicle mode with G1 bootleg counterpart...


Robot mode...




Comparison of robot mode with G1 bootleg counterpart, and MFT Kup...