I was fiddling about with my Studio Series Optimus Prime, and while some of
the charm of that mold seems to have faded (he looks the part, but too many
stupid little parts that have to be moved about), I was struck by just how
nice his swords are.

They stick forward rather than up, and are gripped with pegs that come up
through the bottom of the fists. A bit movie-styled, as one would expect,
but not altogether incompatible with Siege level greebles. And they look
only mildly out of place on Kingdom Skywarp (the Eagle, not Earthrise
Skywarp the jet).

Im not sure we have similar swords with any other figure. There’s a third
party add-on bit for Bumbleverse Brawn’s drill that is a little similar,
but nothing official.

This is how toys get separated from their weapons in my house, as much as
the weapons being at the bottom of a bin and not dragged out with the toy.

Another favorite is the rotating machine guns that came with Fall Of
Cybertron Starscream, and his siblings. Very distinctive, but fit nicely
onto all sorts of other figures. Skywarp’s purple ones are currently on
Netflix “Decepticon” Mirage, and Starscream’s red ones seem to keep getting
paired with Titan Return Getaway.

The FOC Seeker mold is very nice, but not as nice as those guns. Every once
in a while, one of them will get brought out and be reunited with their
guns for a while.

The Giza sword that came with PotP Nemesis Prime transforms into a bird and
should get a few dozen releases elsewhere to ensure everyone has one.
(Pretty sure he came with the Netflix Nemesis Prime spoiler pack too, as I
have two, but he should be released with some very common toy)

And, of course, Classics or Universe or whatever Cyclonus’s Targetmaster
Nightstick(?) remains the best Targetmaster to date.

Anyone else have favorite weapons that are part of the permanently on
display collection?

(The sword for Titans Return Alpha Trion looks better with Kingdom
Galvatron, but that’s more those two guys sharing a weapon rather than the
weapon always staying out… plus, it is needed to complete Alpha Trion’s
lion mode. Alpha Lion)

On Monday, June 20, 2022 at 6:09:13 PM UTC-6, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:
> Anyone else have favorite weapons that are part of the permanently on
> display collection?

Well, almost nothing is on display right now except for my Masterpiece toys.. Even my G1 toys are still in boxes, which breaks my heart a little bit every day. But, I need proper display shelves. I posted a picture of my Masterpiece toys on a Walmart bookshelf and I got ripped apart on Reddit. Those people are real assholes sometimes.

I would say the weapons that have made me the most happy lately are the Nonnef Productions add-ons, because they frequently help to complete a toy that is otherwise feeling incomplete. Like, Studio Series Leader-class Grimlock gets a big, red sword and feels a little more like the G1 toy. It's been a minute since I bought any add-on parts. I used to just throw money at Nonnef every time they came out with a new set.

But, perhaps that's not what you're asking.

I dug out the Beast Wars toys the other day so I could show my son some of the original versions of the characters (he has really only ever known the Kingdom editions) and I had some fun taunting him with Beast Wars Bonecrusher. Like, the dude vomits missiles at his enemies. The entire toy is a missile launcher, essentially. It reminds me of a Puss in Boots action figure from one of the Shrek movies that would launch hairball missiles from his mouth. I never bought that toy, but now I wish I had. Damn, I might have to check eBay in a second.

The G2 Laser Rods remain some of my favorite toys to this day. Each sword is shaped differently and seems to say a little about each character. Electro has a lance, like a lightsaber—straight, unassuming, and functional. Sizzle has a jagged-edged blade, like a lightning bolt. Volt's sword is tapered at the tip, sort of like a medieval knight might carry. But the best one is Jolt's sword. It's rounded and curved and shapely, and he talks to it like it's his closest companion.

I don't play mix-and-match with characters and weapons the way you do, though. If I did that, it would erode my memory of which accessories actually go to which characters, and that would be a disaster.

Zob (looks like Puss in Boots goes for about $30 these days, but I think I need a trench coat for my four-foot tall Michaelangelo a little bit more than I need a cat action figure that shoots hairballs out of his mouth)

On Monday, June 20, 2022 at 8:09:13 PM UTC-4, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:
> I was fiddling about with my Studio Series Optimus Prime, and while some of
> the charm of that mold seems to have faded (he looks the part, but too many
> stupid little parts that have to be moved about), I was struck by just how
> nice his swords are.
>

The swords are fantastic. I'm considering picking up the recent KO just for the weapons accessory pack that comes with it:(https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256803449821509.html)

>
> Im not sure we have similar swords with any other figure. There’s a third
> party add-on bit for Bumbleverse Brawn’s drill that is a little similar,
> but nothing official.

I've repurposed JRC's Grimlock sword as a substitute Star Saber for my Armada Megatron, and it somehow works...

(https://www.jrcdesignstore.com/product-page/grimlock-sword)

> And, of course, Classics or Universe or whatever Cyclonus’s Targetmaster
> Nightstick(?) remains the best Targetmaster to date.

The blast effects are what seal the deal for me, which is about the only nit I can pick with Nightstick...

>
> Anyone else have favorite weapons that are part of the permanently on
> display collection?
>

I admit to liking the Siege Targetmasters, and the recent Five Below sale offered a great opportunity to pick up extras for a nominal cost. Coupled with their blast effects, they work well with bots from different eras. And the Lionizers make great melee weapons for the Kingdom Beasts...Beast Warriors wielding Beast Battlemasters...what a concept.

I'm surprised more 3P companies don't just churn out weapons packs, either with designs rooted in the brand or original designs. Seems like they'd be pretty popular.

I loved Wierdwolf's sword when I was a kiddish teen. I would poke a hole in aluminum coke cans with it and then slice big gashes down the side with it.. It's all pockmarked and scratched but it looks like a real weapon of war. You couldn't do that with those wimpy Dinobot swords!

Slightly unrelated, when I was a kid I sliced a gash in my He-Man's head just above his right eye and plunged Skeletor's sword into it. I guess Skeletor and Wierdwolf's are my favorite bladed weapons ever.

The Japanese G1 Megatron sword is cool. I always wanted it. So I bought
a Microchange Walther-P38 UNCLE when I was living in Japan. I think it
cost me around $200; I thought that was SO expensive at the time. I bet
it goes for 10 times that now.

I actually filled out the vintage customer survey card and sent it in to
Takara as a joke.

Then Takara reisssued the mold a few years later and I kinda felt like a
dope. But the original vintage sword is a lot pointier than the reissue.

Codigo Postal <codigopostal959@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Monday, June 20, 2022 at 8:09:13 PM UTC-4, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:
>> I was fiddling about with my Studio Series Optimus Prime, and while some of
>> the charm of that mold seems to have faded (he looks the part, but too many
>> stupid little parts that have to be moved about), I was struck by just how
>> nice his swords are.
>>
>
> The swords are fantastic. I'm considering picking up the recent KO just
> for the weapons accessory pack that comes with
> it:(https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256803449821509.html)
>
>
>
>>
>> Im not sure we have similar swords with any other figure. There’s a third
>> party add-on bit for Bumbleverse Brawn’s drill that is a little similar,
>> but nothing official.
>
> I've repurposed JRC's Grimlock sword as a substitute Star Saber for my
> Armada Megatron, and it somehow works...
>
> (https://www.jrcdesignstore.com/product-page/grimlock-sword)
>
>
>
>> And, of course, Classics or Universe or whatever Cyclonus’s Targetmaster
>> Nightstick(?) remains the best Targetmaster to date.
>
> The blast effects are what seal the deal for me, which is about the only
> nit I can pick with Nightstick...
>
>>
>> Anyone else have favorite weapons that are part of the permanently on
>> display collection?
>>
>
> I admit to liking the Siege Targetmasters, and the recent Five Below sale
> offered a great opportunity to pick up extras for a nominal cost. Coupled
> with their blast effects, they work well with bots from different eras.
> And the Lionizers make great melee weapons for the Kingdom Beasts...Beast
> Warriors wielding Beast Battlemasters...what a concept.
>
> I'm surprised more 3P companies don't just churn out weapons packs,
> either with designs rooted in the brand or original designs. Seems like
> they'd be pretty popular.

I love the Siege Targetmasters. I want more. Repaints, remolds, the works.

I should see what ones I can still pick up cheap and see if I can get the
redecos to swap parts and create “new” ones.

On Saturday, June 25, 2022 at 9:37:55 AM UTC-7, Travoltron wrote:
> The Japanese G1 Megatron sword is cool. I always wanted it.

Oh yeah that one is beautiful. It's really an alien looking design, like something a culture of warring sentient robots would create.

> So I bought a Microchange Walther-P38 UNCLE when I was living in Japan.

Does the UNCLE version really have a slight gold tint to the chrome? I've seen so many Microman ads and booklets where they color it gold but I've never been able to see the difference in pictures.

> I think it cost me around $200; I thought that was SO expensive at the time. I bet
> it goes for 10 times that now.

Of course 200 is a steal nowadays. There's one auction for just the box and styro with the sword and bullets and the seller wants $285 for it. Things are so crazy nowadays even that seems like a deal. I don't see any completed sold auctions for an MC-13 on ebay but there are a couple sellers asking $1,999 for opened/incomplete ones. Looks like the nicest one has an asking price in the range of $1,700.

Seems like any MC12-13 mold Megatron is super expensive nowadays. We've been in the midst of Megatron mania for a while now. I guess it being a really breaky mold never reissued in the states makes a good condition original highly coveted.

> I actually filled out the vintage customer survey card and sent it in to Takara as a joke.

As my kid would say, "Odd flex but okay!" It does actually sound like something I would have found hilarious at the time.
So what are the questions on those anyways? Do you remember? Was it kind of like this Kronoform customer survey:

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/DgUAAOSwr6lisM2d/s-l1600.jpg

> Then Takara reisssued the mold a few years later and I kinda felt like a dope.

I'd say just the memories of buying an MC-13 in Japan are worth $200 alone. If we ever get to the point where people can download and upload memories I would spend as much for someone's interesting memories of buying them as I would for the actual toys.

> But the original vintage sword is a lot pointier than the reissue.

You're making me want to pay that seller of the box $285 just for the sword alone! But I wonder if it's the original because it doesn't seem super pointy from the auction photo. I've noticed Megatron swords are not easy to get on the secondary market. I felt like a dope after I broke the handle off my 16 Special's sword on purpose to fit in the hand of a Megatron statue I made. That omelet was not worth the eggs I broke to make it. I did eventually find a replacement.

On 6/26/2022 3:36 PM, Evil King Macrocranios wrote:
> Does the UNCLE version really have a slight gold tint to the chrome?
I don't recall that. If it's there, it would be extremely slight.

I don't remember exactly what the questionnaire said. But it was
something like that Kronoforms one.

I'm sure I got put on some mailing lists from filling those things out
and that the next person in my dorm room got some fun mail for a while.