REVIEW: Ocular Max PS-02 Liger

Though we're only a few moulds in, the Ocular Max "Perfection Series" line is shaping up very nicely indeed. Equally, I've been a huge fan of the Diaclone repaints that the official TakaraTomy Masterpiece line has been putting out for some time now, and so was especially excited at the prospect of Ocular Max repainting their Sphinx mould into red as a homage to the original pre-Mirage.

For those not in the know, the pre-Transformers Diaclone line released both blue & red versions of the Ligier mould, that would later go on to become Mirage when repackaged for the first wave of the Transformers line in 1984, although the red version was only ever available packaged in a box set with Powered Convoy (which, interestingly enough, is about to receive its own homage in the form of MP-31 Delta Magnus!).

REVIEW: DX9 Toys D-08 Gewalt

Like combiners, triple changers are a kind of Holy Grail that the official TakaraTomy Masterpiece line has yet to properly tackle (outside of the likes of Tracks' flight mode, if you count that). Fortunately, a number of third party outfits have stepped up to the plate, and we now have no less than three (why is it always three?!) different versions of Blitzwing on the horizon!

First out of the gate is DX9's Gewalt, who, from pictures at least, appears to be a big chunky bruiser that also seems to be one of the company's most cartoon accurate releases thus far. I'm quite a big fan of one of their previous figures, Tyrant, although I'll admit that I was initially going to hold off on Gewalt over some concerns about the two vehicle modes from pics. However, a slew of mostly positive reviews have finally hooked me in. So, was it worth it, or should I have waited for either KFC's Ditka or FansToys' Berserk as my definitive not-Blitzwing?

REVIEW: KFC E.A.V.I. Metal Phase Five Opticlones

INTRODUCTION
There was a time when third party skirted carefully round the fringes of the Transformers character roster. The various companies seemed to have an uncanny knack of choosing characters that neither the official TakaraTomy Masterpiece line nor any of the other 3P outfits were looking to attempt. Well, that bubble has now well and truly burst, as it seems more and more commonplace for us to see multiple different versions of the same characters rolled out one after the other. If anything, fans have learnt to expect it! However, I'm not sure that many would have predicted that treatment for a relatively minor character such as Reflector.