What a KOLD way to finally get Henkei Black Convoy

Nothing really noteworthy happened this week, so I'll skip straight to the hauls.


Wednesday, KOTOYS.COM, I received KOLD Henkei Black Konvoy LE-05.

This here is a knock-off of the once planned WonderFest convention exclusive Henkei Black Convoy, but as we all know it never came to fruition (much to my extreme annoyance). Yes, there are a few 'NOT FOR SALE' prototypes that surface on eBay every now and then, but the prices I've seen for them are bloody ludicrous (£750+ for a black repaint, are you fucking kidding me?!), thus the decision to travel down the route of obtaining a infinitely cheaper alternative was decided upon.

Without getting into the whole knock-offs are evil, knock-offs must burn in hell or whatever your stance on the subject is, this is actually of fairly decent quality. It does have its issues like some pinned connections being replaced with screws, a few loose and misshaped pins, left over jagged bits from the plastic sprues, no (clicky) ratchet joints, and a few casting defects (his face has no fucking nose, man!), the worst being unable to plug the small smokestack gun into the big wind vane gun because the holes were done wrong (one should be positioned lower than the other, but here they're on the same level making it slant to one side if you do manage to connect them).

Given that all that, I couldn't recommend him to everyone. But if you're like me and want a version of this ill-fated black repaint, then by all means get him, just don't expect an exact replica of the original toy though.


Now it's time for the obligatory comparison shot with Universe Classics Nemesis Prime.

The differences are minor and apparent, but of the two the Henkei colour scheme wins me over just that little bit more because its more akin to that of RiD Scourge (and the Nemesis Leader is pretty similar to it too).


Thursday, the_book_depository, I received Last Stand of the Wreckers TPB.

My second copy of Wreckers arrived with minimal damage, but not 100% unscathed (Nemmy's a perfectionist, deal with it). Besides that, I pretty much said what I wanted to say about Wreckers last week.

Scuffed Wreckers, Fooly Cooly and Bruticus appendages

Real life wise I'm still not feeling too great, but apart from that I've just finished Chapter 3 of ef - a fairy tale of the two. (thus far, this VN looks stunningly pretty what with all the effects and animations).

I didn't do too bad on the haul front either.


Tuesday, Amazon.co.uk, I received Last Stand of the Wreckers trade paperback.

First things first, I'd like to say a massive fuck you to the postwoman who was stupid enough to roughly shove this through the letterbox and damage the corners of my Wreckers TPB! I do have a second copy on order, but I'm going to keep that one as mint as possible and use this as my main reading copy.

Nevertheless, everyone and their extended family goes on about how great this comic is, and I'm very much a follower of that sentiment because it truly is that damn good. It got me wanting (no I should say needing) to buy the TPB unlike any of IDW's other work on Transformers in recent memory. There's just something about it (besides of awesomeness of my childhood favourite Rotorstorm) that really appealed to me and made me take a keener interest in this band of Autobots.

The comic alone deserves all the praise in the world (and rightfully so), but seeing as we get Bullets to expand on it as well, what more could you ask for? Now I'll be the first to admit text-only stories grate on my nerves as I get bored (and somewhat intimidated) very easily when there's nothing except walls of text presented before me. However, once I finally got through those 11 pages all I had to say was "holy fucking shit" (and that's all I will say about it for now).


Thursday, mvm_entertainment, I received FLCL Vol 1-3.

Now I've seen a lot of anime in my time, but Furi Kuri is certainly one of more stranger ones. Even when I recently watched it again I'm still left with a sense of confusion and scratching my head, its weird, too weird, so weird that I'm not sure calling it weird is actually fitting.

I wasn't going to pay the price I originally saw it for (which was about £18), but I bit the bullet at £10.


Saturday, Kapow Toys, I received...

• XFire 02A Explorer And Combat Unit Appendage Add-on Kit A
• XFire 02B Munitioner And Combat Unit Appendage Add-on Kit B
  

Let's cut the bollocks, I'll be referring to Explorer and Munitioner as Blast Off and Swindle from this point on cos let's face it, that's who they really are (I did the same with the Warbot Defender after all).

I can't comment on the individual robot modes of Blast Off and Swindle as I didn't want to risk the chance of something breaking (that would really annoy me after the shit that happened with my Universe Classics Bruticus Maximus), so I put these suckers straight into XFire Bruticus Colossus and they'll probably remain connected as him for the foreseeable future.

The combination process wasn't hassle free mind you as the new head was a little tricky to attach, the backpack doesn't properly align with the holes on Onslaught's back, and connecting the hands had some scary moments.


But even with those niggles, the end result is jaw-droppingly awesome. It totally removes the need for Universe Classics Blast Off and Swindle to exist (unless you want to consider them as drones), leaves you a much more poseable gestalt than the XFire Superion Antaeus (and its Snowman repaint), and gives him an lethal assortment of weapons to boot.

Now if we get a repaint of this set that matches the colours of Super Link Bruticus, I would gladly purchase it without hesitation.

The Chosen One strikes again!

I'm still not feeling all that great after hearing about my nan's death earlier this week, so I'll be keeping this post short.

Besides, I haven't been in the mood to do much else expect for playing through the beginnings of ef - a fairy tale of the two. (one of my more major back burner VNs) which I just started for some peace of mind.


Tuesday, HobbyLink Japan, I received Animated TA-33 Rodimus.

Well, there's not much to say here that I didn't say when I got the Hasbro Rodimus.

My opinion is still the same, but unlike that one I had trouble transforming this one easily. However, the main selling point here though is of course the paint job which is lovely and shiny (save for a few dodgy areas).

Rest in peace, Lilian Heard 1918-2010

A few hours ago my last surviving grandparent, Lilian Heard has died.

She reached the age of 92, so you can say she had a good life.

However, I think the news has yet to fully sink itself in as I haven't submitted to the grieve of losing another member of the family.

Actually, I don't think I should yet as I should remain strong for my dad; this will really hit him later cos he was the first to learn of his mum's passing.

How long until my PC gives its final Swan Song?

The fun and games with my PC are still ongoing. I think (and I'm saying that loosely) I've solved the 'NTLDR is missing' problem. However, the floppy disc drive on it seems to be fucked and won't work properly (I know I'm behind the times, but the PC in question is around 5 years old now).

On another note, over the last few days I started and finished Swan Song (again, a back burner VN). I can see why some folk might call it depressing as it doesn't exactly show humanity in the greatest of lights (especially in the Normal Ending, the Good Ending was just too fucking convenient and happy after all the inhumane shit that occurred throughout the story).


Tuesday, oceankingtoy, I received Animated Cybertron Mode Ironhide.

Its Cybertron Mode Ratchet with a new head (and in this case the correct paddles too), end of story.