Import Monster Review: Transformers Masterpiece -03 Grimlock (2014 TRU Exclusive Re-issue)

                              Hey look, it's still "Figures I Like From Lines I Don't Collect By Companies I Hate Week 2014"!  This review was supposed to be posted Tuesday, but hey....  here it is on Thursday instead.  Enjoy.                  

Introduction:

Let me get this out of the way first:  I am not now, nor have I ever been, a Transformers fan.  Robots in general bore me.  I was also never one of those guys who loved cars, either.  For me vehicles are a means to an end…  A way to get from Point A to Point B.  So a franchise that involves robots that turn into vehicles would most likely have nothing to offer a guy like me…  Right?  Well you’d think so, but you’d be wrong.   You see, there is a certain faction of Autobots, with a very distinct sort of transformation.  Sure, they’re robots some of the time…  But when they’re not they’re dinosaurs!  You can keep your Optimus Prime, and Bumblebee…  I’ll take Grimlock and The Dinobots any day!

Interesting thing about the 80s (brace yourselve, kids this might be disturbing):  Back then Amazon.com and eBay didn’t exist.  Our parents had to use something called a “telephone machine” to track down the toys we wanted.  As such, getting the EXACT figure that we desired could be an arduous task.  Often we had to settle for second or third best, rather than the exact gift that we wanted.  I remember one such elusive first choice:  The Transformers G1 Grimlock.  As far as the Dinobots went, this guy was always tops for me.  He was tough, he was in charge, and he was a Tyrannosaurus Rex (my all time favorite).  I wanted one sooooo bad, but this figure always seemed to elude my parents.  In the end I got Swoop the Pteranodon, who I broke almost immediately.  Boundless Joy!

Fast forward to 2009 (or 2010…  I don’t exactly recall), when a friend of mine introduced me to the Takara Transformers Masterpiece -03 Grimlock.  I thought it was the coolest damned thing I had ever seen, and I immediately wanted one.  That is until I saw the ludicrous price tag.  It’s a rare occasion when I will spend over a hundred dollars on a figure, and this was not to be one of them.  However, much like Rattlor (same friend and everything), an opportunity recently arose for me to get the 2014 Hasbro reissue for a steal.  Naturally I jumped on-  Wait a minute it…  Back up.  HASBRO???

Yes, Hasbro.  Remember those guys who licensed your childhood?  Star Wars, G.I. Joe, Transformers, Jurassic Park, Marvel, and so on…  These guys practically have the market cornered when it comes to the Boy’s Toys That Matter.  I have quite the history with them as an adult collector as well.  Up until recently (well, 2010 or so) I collected the 3 ¾” Star Wars line, in a cherry picking sort of way.  I even dabbled briefly in the 6” Black series, as well as various Marvel figures.  I stopped collecting Hasbro figures around the same time I started collecting import figures.  What a strange coincidence!  In all seriousness, Hasbro figures in general aren’t what I would consider “collector figures”.  The Star Wars Black and Marvel Legends Infinite series have taken steps to remedy that, however, but I think that Hasbro often has a hard time straddling the gap between “kid-friendly” and “collector-geared” figures.  Oh and did I mention that their quality control often sucks?  Particularly paint applications on human faces.  Good luck finding a Winter Soldier Cap without blue mask paint slopped on his face.  You know…  Like in the movie?

Anyway, we seem to have gotten a bit off track.  Hasbro releases the Masterpiece Transformers stateside, and the figure my pal had found was the latest reissue of the Hasbro retool of the Takara MP-03.  Of course I jumped on that dirt cheap Grimlock like an enraged baboon.  Transformers collector or not, nothing could free me from the grip of my Nostagia-fueled insanity.  Finally I had my very own G1 style Grimlock.  Not only that, but this was a larger, vastly improved version.  So was it everything I had hoped for?  Or should I have let it stay buried, like the hidden bones of some massive prehistoric beast?  Read on and find out!

Import Monster Review: Masters of the Universe Classics Rattlor

 

Introduction: 

 

  The first toy I'll be reviewing for "Figures I Like From Lines I Don't Collect By Companies I Hate Week 2014 " (it just rolls off the tongue!) is a  very nostalgic piece for me. It's a figure from the He-Man series, or rather the Masters of the Universe Classics line by Mattel:  Rattlor!!  I had the original Rattlor when I was a kid in the 80s, and he was one of my favorites.  He sported a neat collapsible neck that could stretch out for viper bite action, and his body made a rattling sound when you shook him...  Just like a real snake!  This was so freakin' cool to five year old Justin, and more often than not the heroic toys ended up dying horrible, venom related deaths.  I was just warped that way.

 

Fast forward over two decades to the current MOTUC line, and the announcement of Rattlor himself.  Initially I was very excited.  Why wouldn't I be?  This was essentially the figure I had loved all those years ago, only larger and super articulated.  I'd be nuts to pass that up, right?  But pass it up I did, and whether it was due to lack of funds or my dislike of Mattel in general, I don't recall.  Oh I didn't mention that I don't like Mattel?

 

 

I don't like Mattel.  I have my reasons, of course.  The lion's share of that dislike comes from being a former DC Universe Classics collector, and from experiences a close friend had collecting their MOTUC line.  Half assed QC, odd character selection, and excessive reuse of parts turned what should have been THE definitive DC line into a monotonous mess.  Which is interesting seeing as Mattel has a very talented team of sculptors (known far and wide as The Four Horsemen) at their disposal.  But hey, I guess even really good stuff starts to look like crap after reusing the same buck for the thousandth time, or after the factories have chewed it up and spat it out....

 

  I hopped off The Completist Express around Series 4, though I continued to cherry pick occasionally(often to my disappointment).  Now regarding my good pal and MOTUC...  I'm not gonna go into too much detail, but that line was a collector's nightmare of delays, garbage QC, and holy crap! the reuse.  Pretty much Mattel's usual, but amped up to extremes.  I wouldn't wish that subscription hostage situation on my worst enemy.  Long story short, I don't consider Mattel a collector friendly company.  Therefore, they are generally quite useless in my eyes.

 

  At any rate, the aforementioned friend just so happened to have a Rattlor with him the other day, and he hooked me up.  Been messing with him for a while, enough so that I have a general idea of the quality.  So did Masters of the Universe Classics Rattlor Delight or Disappoint?  Read on and find out...

 

Import Monsters Theme Week

Figures I Like From Lines I Don't Collect By Companies I Hate Week 2014

 

Import Monsters was founded with one goal in mind:  To share our love of imported, super articulated action figures with our fellow fans.  Well, times are changing...  And we have been feeling the need to expand; To broaden our horizons.*  With lines like NECA's Pacific Rim and Hasbro's Star Wars Black series, we feel like perhaps an eye should be kept on our own shores as well.  And while these companies re no doubt producing some interesting figures, it doesn't necessarily mean we're all gung ho...

 

Whether it's Hasbro, Playmates, Mattel, or Bandai, there's no doubt that most collectors have at least sampled some Western product.  Many even swear by Western lines such as Masters of the Universe Classics or Transformers.  Well...

 

Not This Guy.  I'm an S.H. Monsterarts collector first, and a toy collector second.  However, there have been some figures that slipped through the cracks...  Whether it be for nostalgic reasons, or similarities with my main focus, these toys SOMEHOW ended up in my collection.

 

And that's what this week is about.  The toys I like from the lines I DO NOT collect...  From companies that Frustrate me to no end.  Each night is gonna be a review of toys both old and new, running the gamut from Hasbro to NECA.  And these aren't gonna be your typical IM reviews either.  The tone's gonna be laid back and sometimes brutally honest.

 

Western figure fans beware, this IS the point of no return.  First up, Masters of the Universe Classics Rattlor...

 

 

 

*Steven has already done some reviews of NECA Pacific Rim figures on his Youtube Channel, so this isn't completely foreign territory.