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Collectible of the Week Part 1

PULSATING LIGHT AM RADIO

-Special Features: Pulsating Light, Working AM Radio
-Manufacturer and Year: Nasta, 1985
-Key Words: Transformers, Ultra Magnus, Radio

The Story So Far:

There is quite simply no better choice to begin the Collectible of the Week than the Transformers Pulsating Light AM Radio, simply because of the sheer effort it took to finally bring it into my collection.

(4" Munny Goldbug provided for size comparison.)

I honestly don’t know the origins of this particular artifact, other than it was manufactured by a company called Nasta in 1985,  as I don’t recall any pictures of it showing up in Canadian advertising. However, it first became known to me in August 2006 when, in the early days of myspace, I stumbled upon a picture of it in the blog of Screamer, she of Cosplay Soundwave and Wheeljack fame. The picture made the radio look impossibly large, and I was completely gaga over the idea of a radio moulded precisely like the toy rendition of one-time barrier of the matrix.

It became an obsession to own, and one that literally took almost four years to satisfy.

(Original 1986 Toy Head for comparison. Note the similar construction down to the small circles over the eyes.)

You see, for an item that seems to have been marketed in good quantities, it became incredible difficult to find, even using eVilBay. It just didn’t seem to turn up under multiple searches. The few times it did, I was also outbid at the last minute and left wanting. And then there was the farce of December 2006 where I actually won an absolutely pristine, mint in box version of the radio, only to have the seller provide contradictory information as to when and how it was shipped and leaving me going back through PayPal to get my money back. In fact, it was like the stars themselves were against me, for I even found a loose one on eVilbay at the beginning of the year, for US$50, for which I could not get a response out of the seller and which remains for sale to this day.

(Back of Radio. Note that Ultra Magnus requires 4 AA batteries to operate.)

(Just think. If he had actually answered his email, the seller would be rid of the item and have saved himself quite a bit of financial charges. It’s all quite funny when you think about it.)

Anyway, sometime after that, in the weeks leading up to Botcon, I found another boxed version of what by now had become the holy grail, but the seller was unwilling to ship to Canucktown. Fortunately, it was this site’s favourite Rhode Islander to the rescue, as Teresa agreed to receive the grail and ship it to me after the fact. And if things had been farcical before that, it really got downright silly after that, because shortly thereafter, what do you suppose I stumbled upon at Botcon, again prestine in box for about $70? Having not yet received the shipment of the eVilBay version, I almost bought it then and there (and of course when I decided to, just as a precaution, it was long gone.)

(Ironically, the opened speciment has a box in better condition.)

While the radio did in fact arrive, I am sad to report that while the radio functions, the pulsating lights do not. However, proof positive of the dangers of obsession, I subsequently found a second radio on eVilBay in fall 2009. Surprisingly, given all I went through, a casual bid in the mid $20s was enough to secure it for the collection, although I am sad to report that this time, neither the radio nor the lights work. Given that the box had clearly been opened at one time or another (to say nothing of the radio’s rattle), this is not actually surprising. Nonetheless, my kingdom for a bit of knowledge of AM radios…

So, in summary, I now have two Magnus radios. And while there is always the danger that the non-working version will suffer a repainting odyssey as Powered Convoy, the subject of at least one and possibly a second obsession, for now he rests comfortably.

(Back of package. Note the glowing forehead and eyes.)

One thing that you will notice in particular is, like the Optimus Prime cookie jar resembles the original Optimus Prime head, the radio very closely resembles the actual toy. The notable exception is the clear piece of plastic between the eyes, which, as demonstrated on the back of the package, is intended to light up. (You’ll also notice that, unlike the actual toy head, the radios have not discoloured to this point in their history.)

In any event, a gorgeous addition to any collection. Both times in my case, as it were. Makes you long for a Galvatron version.

I had really hoped to spend today gloating.

And really, I totally should be. I should be talking about the total success of a little idea that dawned on me back on January 2, 2009 to run a new Transformer entry each day for the 365 days that was 2009. And with a few hiccups, I did too, until December 1. Who knew that a new, faster, shinier computer would completely knock apart my efforts due to incompatible software (and the inability to get my ten year old toaster to read a memory stick.)

Nevertheless, I do want to claim a partial victory on making it through 334 days and pledge to round out the 2009 year soon, as well as a review of the effort including metrics (yes, I am just that bureaucratic…) Maybe I’ll even find the time to put something more permanent together based on my efforts over the past year.

There are no new ideas.

Changing the subject, I noticed something this week that is the title of this piece, mainly the absence of new ideas. I don’t mean to say there are no new ideas but rather that the ideas are not as “new” as we think them.

At the end of the day do any of us truly have original ideas or are we simply mislabelling just mashing preconceived thoughts and contexts from around us and calling them new.

Case in point, I was reading Dark Horse’s Dr. Horrible one-shot yesterday and, in the editorial section, my eyes fell on a new tag line for the company: “You Love Comics. We Love Comics Too.” And my mind wandered back to my original fairplaythings.com business cards, the ones I’d put together back in fall 2008 and had been using until Teresa put together the specs for my new cards (with the new logo), which can be seen in the attached picture.

The old tag line? “You like toys? We like toys too.”

But there are new configurations.

Despite December’s challenges, the TF of the Day was a very satisfying accomplishment, a way to show that I could have something ready on a (mostly) regular basis for readers. So I thought I’d learn from it to undertake a new exercise for 2010.

GIJoe of the Day…

Just kidding. While I’d love to do a project like that, given the nature of the Joeworld, it would take a lot more planning. So I’ll shelve it for the time being and announce the real thing for 2010. It ties into a pledge I am making this year to take the collection, scattered throughout the house in boxes and half displays, and do something meaningful with the best parts of it, while cataloging the rest, and putting some pieces up for sale. And to use this website, which I hope to reconfigure and refresh, as it was intended - as a place to show off my custom works and celebrate toys of the past (and present), as well as provide an avenue to sell and trade doubles and items procurred just for this reason.

What better way to encourage the organization of the collection than to showcase a part of it. In that vein, I am unveiling this weekend the Collectible of the Week. The Collectible of the Week is something or somethings in my collection of which I think is particularly rare, unique or just cool that I want to show off and to hear discussed. It won’t always be toys and it won’t always be Transformers, but it will (try to) appear every Friday and hopefully be something fresh. And it will be weekly, instead of daily, so that I don’t underwhelm the collectible (to say nothing of my other posts) by knocking it out of its spot with a new collectible each day. And, admittedly, to aid me staying on track this year.

The first one will be up this weekend. Do come back and check it out. For it is the year 2010. Happy new year!

Remember how I said I was back on track with the Transformers of the Day? I lied. Yes, I got some of the work caught up and then completely fell behind again. I am trying to imagine a solution now, and should have some help in the form of a proper Photoshop package from familiar friends in Rhodes Island (waves!) I can either retroactively establish the characters for December, or write them off altogether and make January the new December. Thoughts?

Also, because Mr. Willis’ laments about Hawkgirl today dovetailed nicely into my thoughts on DCUC (DC Universe Collection) versus MOTUC (Masters of the Universe Classics), I thought maybe I’d write a few words about the two lines here.

Let’s start with DCUC. While I don’t want to discount the phenomenal success of DC Direct at filling out the collection of comic collectors everywhere with common and uncommon figures, DCUC is satisfying in that it (mostly) appears at retail and has a similar scale and poseability ratio across the line. Who knew that the humble beginnings of the line, with Batman, Penguin and Orion, that we would move to our current status quo, a range approaching 100 figures that is simply the natural successor to the late, great Super Powers collection of the mid 1980s. I am mostly loving this line and the figures that come with it.

However, even with these positives, I can’t help but wish it was as great as the MOTUC.

I was never a He-Man fan. Other than a few figures (Battle Damage anything, Hordak, Mekaneck), I never really ooowed and awwwed over the line until NECA turned its attention to producing the Four Horseman-sculpted figures that rounded out the He-Man collection of the early part of the 2000nds. But serious, ignoring the complications of the line being a direct-to-market release, Mattel has got it going on with MOTUC. The figures are gorgeous, and the attention to detail is stunning, and it makes you want to be a fan. Heck, I couldn’t even resist the allure of He-Ro and Hordak, and am certainly going to fall victim to the Battle Damaged figures (even if they don’t have the swivel functions), Battle Cat and Adora.

And here is where the comparison comes in. Put He-Man and Superman together and you can notice the difference in terms of the scale of the figure and how it looks. It’s even more striking when you compare a Teela with a DCUC female like Hawkgirl (who is certainly my vote for DCUC figure with the most shortcomings already given the waist articulation issues and the absence of a belt loop to stow her third weapon). Though I’ve not held one out of the box, she looks like she can hold her weapons well and has more… er… meat on her plastic bones than the DCUC woman.

She also looks like she can properly stand up. Always a plus as a action figure.

So I am happy for both lines. But kind of wishing the DCUC was more He-Man than He-Man, if you know what I mean.

Back on December 6, I vaguely referenced “technical difficulties” that were keeping me from regular updates to the ongoing Transformer of the Day challenge. Actually, what has happened is the changeover to the new computer has left me without access to a Windows 7 compatible version of Photoshop. My unfamiliarity with Gimp and the limits posed by Paint has meant I’ve not been able to provide the great pictures to showcase these characters. And without the pictures, I’ve kind of backed away from the project.

But no longer! Given that I will surely get Photoshop sometime soon, I figured the least I could do is put up the characters and text in the meantime, and come back to finish out the details at some later point. So this is what I will endevour to do in the coming days. Catch up. As we enter the home stretch…

Transformer of the Day for December 13, 2009

OCTOPUNCH

-Faction: Decepticon (Pretender)
-Era: Generation One (1984-1992)
-Function: Salvage
-Motto: “Anything that Can Sink is Worth Sinking“
-Notable Toy: Deluxe (Hasbro, 1989)

Notes: Yes, Octopunch is another monstrous Pretender. But he hides his monster head within a primative divers helmet, making him this odd amalgam of both the fish and the fisherman. While I am not necessarily a fan of the colours, I am a fan of the mould. Oh Octopunch, you are nothing if not unique.

Transformer of the Day for December 10, 2009

MEANSTREAK

-Faction: Autobot (Powermaster II)
-Era: Generation Two (1993-1995)
-Function: Street Fighter
-Motto: “Leave Nothing But a Blurr”
-Notable Toy: Powermaster (Hasbro, 1995)

Notes: I’ve always wondered the origins of European exclusives like Meanstreak. Were they a throwback to the days when Hasbro relied on other companies like Palitoy to distribute their wares, or someone getting creative in head office with tailenders? Even stranger, just as Generation Two was moving forward into something approaching the articulation of what we would see in Beast Wars, these Powermasters have battle charger levels of mobility. Still, can you complain when you get a rare toy racing across the floor?

Transformer of the Day for December 11, 2009

SWINDLE

-Faction: Decepticon
-Era: Animated (2008-2009)
-Function: Weapons Specialist
-Motto: “Hey, Man, Wanna Buy A Plasma Cannon Cheap?”
-Notable Toy: Deluxe (Hasbro, 1989)

Notes: The original Swindle was the sole Combaticon besides Onslaught to get decent face time in the cartoon. Somehow Animated Swindle gets even more, and a better transformation to boot. Given his personality, he seems much more appropriate operating on his own, with his own ghost zone for supplies. He certainly makes for a terrific toy.

Transformer of the Day for November 15, 2009

SOUNDWAVE

-Faction: Decepticon
-Era: Armada-Energon-Cyberton (2002-2006)
-Function: Communications
-Motto: “Leave No Trace but Your Reputation“
-Notable Toy: Voyager (Hasbro, 2006)

Notes: The hardest thing to do with a revision of Soundwave is to turn him into something other than a cassette player. Since his Generation One days, he’s been a Gobot (G2), a missile truck (Machine Wars) a mutant bat/crocodile fusion (Beast Wars), a satellite (movie) and an SUV (animated). Turning him into a space ship is just par for the course. Where Hasbro showed a little love and care is to give him his own mini-con, in the form of a depth charge-changing Laserbeak. This one touch made the rest worthwhile.

We’re having some software difficulties, preventing the upload of new information.

As soon as we can get the proper software fix, we’ll be back. Keep watching.

Transformer of the Day for December 6, 2009

WING SABER

-Faction: Autobot
-Era: Armada-Energon-Cyberton (2002-2006)
-Function: Transport
-Motto: “Courage and Fortitude are the Foundations of a True warrior”
-Notable Toy: Two-Pack Exclusive (Hasbro, 2006)

Notes: Wing Saber is somewhat notable for having been introduced in Energon and then continuing to have a role in Cybertron. In both cases, he is capable of merging with Optimus Prime to do battle, and you wonder if this transformation wasn’t the basis for the Movie’s partnering of Optimus Prime and Jetfire. While the Energon toy is somewhat unique in that it was not subsequently redecoed for sale, you really can’t go wrong with a two-pack of this calibre, which originally offered a hundred dollars of action for less than $40 at Costco.