IT'S A fireTRAP!

So I found another one of those Transformers Scout Class figures on sale for 5 bucks, and I just couldn't resist.

This is Firetrap. His card says he's some kind of Autobot weapons enthusiast. Whatever. He has guns and turns into a truck... what more do you need to know?



I'm not sure if this is a real type of truck, but I want one. I've always said I needed a cattle pusher on the front of anything I drive-- combine that with big freakin' cannons on top, and you get my perfect vehicle.


The bot mode is REALLY nice-- the main reason for getting the figure, in my opinion.


He has a really cool helmet and gas mask kind of face going on. Not exactly sure why a robot needs a gas mask, but who cares? He looks awesome. You can't really make it out in any of my pics, but the dark spots where the eyes are are quite recessed and have little goggle-type eyes inside of them. Pretty darned detailed for such a small figure.


As you can see, he has a very dynamic sculpt with lots of personality. He looks like a bruiser. He's a tad shorter than the other Scouts, but I think that gives him a certain charm. His color scheme and diminutive nature make me think about the old Generation 1 Transformers character Brawn. He's kind of like Brawn meets Ironhide.



Now... about those guns: this guy has 'em! He has two wrist-mounted cannons that can swivel on their bases and pivot up and down. This works in both modes, and it is awesome. The cannons aren't really meant to be removed, but you can pop them out of the sockets. They just look better on the wrists, and there's really no where else to store them anyway. He's poseable as all get out... he has at least 16 points of articulation in bot mode that aren't solely for transformation, so he can be put in all kinds of crazy poses!


And best of all? He looks great with the other Scouts. I've pretty much pledged that I'm only collecting Scouts from here on out (unless it's Optimus Prime-- that's a whole other issue). I mean, these little dudes are super awesome, super detailed, and super affordable-- what's not to love about 'em?

Cheap and Classy!

The other day I got my latest Transformer figure. Walmart is having what appears to be a regional if not nationwide price cut on their TF figures. The Voyager sized figures are $13, the Power Core Combiner 2 packs are $7.50, the Scout class figures are $5, and the Legends class are $3.50. Not the greatest sale ever, but it makes each one just a bit more attractive to the thrifty TF fan!

I picked up one of the Scouts that I had been wanting to get, but the price kinda kept me from pulling the trigger. Scouts aren't the biggest Transformers (they stand roughly 5 inches tall), but they are very nicely made. Seeing one for $5 is much better than seeing one for $10.



This is Hubcap. He's an Autobot warrior (I guess-- they used to give them neat titles like "spy" or "commando", but now they just call them "Autobot" or "Decepticon.") who transforms into a classic hot rod. My dad says it looks like a 35 or 36 Ford... they can't really mimic some cars exactly due to licensing issues, so they sometimes get really close without being exact.



The car mode has a lot of style. I love classic cars, and it's really rare to see a Transformer who turns into one.



The car has a LOT of detail hidden here and there that didn't really need to be addressed in such a small toy. The door handles, gas cap, rumble seat handle, and even the tire air nozzles are sculpted in minute detail. On the front right tire there is even a sculpted tire balance weight that isn't sculpted on the others. That's a really nice bit of detail that really makes the toy stand out!



He's perfectly scaled to the Classic Voyager Prime, so that's nice. I love scale, but I've learned to live without a set scale in the Transformers toy universe!



The robot mode is just fantastic. He has a very dynamic build with just enough bulk to make him look adequate as a warrior, but with a lean enough frame to make him look like a spy.



Curved forms are rare on Transformers, so it's always nice to see it used well.



He's very poseable with at least 17 points of articulation (not including the parts that move when he transforms). So he can take on great action stances...



... as well as more subdued poses.



He looks great with other Scouts...



... and even better with the larger Voyager class figures.



Pretty spiffy!

The only drawback to the figure is a blatant lack of weaponry of any kind. His hands are molded open, and he can't really hold any standard TF weapons, which kinda sucks. I'd have been happy with guns molded into his arm panels, or the exhaust pipes pointing straight back in the car mode so they could be arm cannons in the bot mode... instead they bend outward, so they can't really be used that way.

Other than that, this is one cool little dude. If you dig little toys, robots, Transformers, and/or classic cars, take a look at Walmart while they last. $5 ain't bad at all for a super poseable action figure that's engineered to turn into a classic ride!

Clarity of thought before rashness of action.

Georgia on my mind...

I was gone all last week. I went to my brother and sister-in-law's house in Georgia to visit with them a while. I had a blast going to the zoo and the aquarium, hitting all the stores we don't have here, and plundering the antique stores of Braselton. I also got to hang out with some good friends from the area. It was a pretty wicked awesome week.

While I was in Georgia I picked up a few things at Toys R Us, and I received a few things from my friends. Just thought I'd share the haul here:




This is the War For Cybertron Cybertronian Optimus Prime figure from Hasbro. It pretty much rules. He's based on the in-game character design from the Transformers: War For Cybertron video game.



It's a deluxe figure, which means it's about 6 inches tall and costs around 12 bucks. This is the first time in a long time I have felt like I got my money's worth in a Transformer this size. He's well articulated and looks pretty darn dynamic in just about any pose.



His weapon stores on his body when not in use, which is a big plus for me... I always dug it when they designed them to do that.



Prime has ball joints all over the place, so he's able to stand really well. The gun he comes with stores on his back...



...or on the back of his forearm. It folds up and is spring-loaded so that it snaps back into shape with the touch of a trigger.



There are several ports on the body that the pegs on the gun fit, so you have all kinds of options for storing/displaying the weapon. The ports are sized to fit classic Transformers weapons, so you can deck him out like crazy!



See what I mean by poseability? He looks so awesome!!!

The design of the figure is deceptive... you think he's going to be easy to transform... and then...



SCIENCE!!!



This is his alternate form... some kind of Cybertronian lowrider.



It's a really powerful looking vehicle with exhaust pipes and extra wheels.



The kneepads fold up to become the tail lights, which is kinda cool. I wonder if they blink when he turns left in robot mode...



It's nice to see the windshields through the armor there. It suggests slightly the big truck Prime would eventually become without being overly earth-vehicle-like in nature.

A very nice figure that's well-worth the price. Grab one while you can... these suckers are hot right now!

A few days later I found a figure I had been looking for since it came out, but I had always missed it in stores.



This is the Mighty Mugg Boba Fett. I'm not really crazy about Mighty Muggs, but I am nuts about Boba Fett. He's a cute little chubby guy, and he makes a great addition to my Boba collection.



I was kinda shocked when I saw him on the shelf. It's the old figure... the package had a fine layer of dust on it, which makes me think it had been in a store room or something. I got him for about half the price of a new one, so YEAH! Oddly enough he didn't come with a gun... that's pretty unusual in my book. I'll have to make him one.


I met up with some friends, and they had a few things for me. We always send stuff to each other because we're pretty much awesome. Yeah. They surprised the crap outta me when they handed me all this awesome stuff...



This is Dark Zagi, a character from Ultraman Nexus. I haven't ever seen any episodes of Nexis, but this dude just looks unbelievably awesome.



He's all armored and shiny black... what a cool looking guy! Evidently he's the master of dark evil or something. I bet Ultraman can whupp him!



This is Skull King. He's one of the Kaiju For Grown Ups from Wonderwall. Japanese artist Touma designed this wicked dude, and this version was released in an extremely limited quantity.



He has a really cool bone-like texture over his body, and he appears to be made of individual bones.



He has a very distinctive look that marks most of Touma's work. He has very sharp, curved lines and a saw tooth grin.



He stands about 8 inches tall and is clear blue rotocast vinyl. I have him stuffed with glow in the dark Glyos parts right now, but I'm going to replace it with glow in the dark Airsoft pellets as soon as I find some. It looks great glowing from the inside out!



This is Armada Optimus Prime. Another friend of mine gave me this this past week because he knows I dig Prime.



It's a really ruggedly awesome looking robot with nice, chunky body parts.



He has electronic features, but the button cell batteries are dead, so I'll have to get some new ones.



He comes with a trailer, but I forgot to get pics of it. Maybe I'll post those at another time. He's so cool looking!



My sister-in-law's son has grown out of his toys, so he let me rummage through his stuff and pull out what I wanted. I snagged this awesome 5 inch Goldar figure...



... and this pretty spiffy American Godzilla. I've never really liked the American Godzilla, but seeing as he appears in Godzilla: Final Wars I couldn't pass him up!



He has a whipping tail, moving jaws, and a roar sound effect. He actually looks really nice sitting with my other Godzillas!

This isn't all the goodies I got on my trip... I just thought I'd show the highlights! Hope you enjoyed it!