REVIEW: Toyworld TW-M07 Spaceracer

I'm still a Toyworld newbie. In fact, this is only the second figure of theirs that I have even held in hand, having reviewed a test shot of Primorion a little while back. I found that release to be somewhat promising if ultimately a little lacking - not quite enough to convince me that it deserved a definitive place in my collection. Since then it's taken me a little while to give the company another go, if only because I've yet to feel enough temptation for any individual release to bite. So what convinced me this time? Well, the first and most obvious reason was that they put out a character that still currently has not been released by any other official or third party producer in a Masterpiece-style. The second reason is that I thought he looked pretty good!

REVIEW: TakaraTomy Masterpiece MP-11ND Dirge

It was only in my last review that I stated the case for the defence of repaints, and attempted to show that they're more than mere cynical cash-grabs, attempting to somehow take advantage of unwitting collectors. Of course, it would only be fair to consider all sides of this argument, and it would be difficult not to at least ponder the last few releases of the Masterpiece Coneheads as supporting any potential case for the prosecution. That's not to completely write them off, of course, but it's fair to say that Ramjet and Thrust have not exactly been universally acclaimed.

REVIEW: TakaraTomy Masterpiece MP-37 Artfire

Repaints, eh? Who needs them. I mean, it was only very recently that I typed up my thoughts on this figure's mould-mate, MP-35 Grapple (read it here), and even then I'd already done a bit of a write-up on his predecessor, MP-33 Inferno at the start of the year (and read that here). So why do we need another version of this design? Is it just TakaraTomy "milking" the mould for all its worth, in a cynical cash-grab attempt to extract as much money as possible from its gullible fans? I mean, just how much enjoyment can there be in a figure that we've essentially received twice already in the last twelve months? Eh? EH?! Well, as it turns out, there's a lot more going on here than meets the eye... in fact, in the hypothetical case against repaints, I would submit Artfire, and indeed all three versions of this design thus far as watertight evidence for the defence. Let me put it another way; if the repaints we're receiving are this good, then there's really not a lot to complain about!

REVIEW: ACE Collectables ACE-03 Trident

INTRODUCTION
ACE Collectables is still a new and fledgling company, although one already with a bit of notoriety under their belt. For one thing, they were the very first (and as of today still only) third party producer to put out a Masterpiece-styled Cliffjumper (or Hubcap for that matter) with their debut release, ACE-01 Tumbler, potentially plugging a rather gaping hole in a number of collections. Unfortunately that release turned out to be met with a rather lukewarm response, to put it politely, and it was sadly not enough for many fans to be convinced to jump on board.

REVIEW: KFC E.A.V.I. METAL Phase Nine: A Kingorilla

INTRODUCTION
Keith's Fantasy Club continue to be a subject of much discussion in the third party world of Transformers collecting. I don't think any other 3P producer has confounded people as much when it comes to knowing what to expect from each of their releases, whether it's well-received prototypes undergoing undesired changes prior to release, perplexing decisions made on final colour schemes, or a still-present concern from some corners over consistency and quality of final product. Perhaps the one thing that you can say with some certainty is that they're consistently inconsistent. Thought to be fair, that belies the fact that when they want to be they're more than capable of putting out great figures, and they've no doubt been on a mostly upward swing throughout their E.A.V.I. METAL line.

REVIEW: Fans Hobby MB-04 Gunfighter II

INTRODUCTION
Regular readers of this blog might have come across some of the previous reviews I have done of Fans Hobby’s figures. Though still a new and fledgling company, they’ve made quite the impact so far, and are already building up a reputation for solid, interesting and fun releases. So, naturally I jumped at the chance to check out their latest offering, Gunfighter II, which is of course a repaint of their first figure, Archenemy. Except putting it like that really doesn’t do Gunfighter any justice at all, as we shall find out!