Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Wonderfest Retrospective Part 5: 2008 Revol Shockwave

Like I mentioned in previous posts, Shockwave and Soundwave got some Revoltech-like love at Wonderfest 2008 and here it is. Shockwave (who I always felt got it right the first time with his G1 toy..... and honestly really didn't need much more outside of that) now has a "Revol" series release. 8000 Yen!
Molded in white with a bunch of polycaps and joints included, Shockwave really should have been molded in purple but....... alas, a garage kit is a garage kit.


Unless your a Shockwave fan, it's an easy pass.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Wonderfest Retrospective Part 4: 2008 Sharkticon Gnaw

Sorry for the late post, the week started a little crazy. Anyhow today we talk quickly about Wonderfest 2008's "Revol Sharktron" (Or as we know him better, Sharkticon / Gnaw). Again part of the same series of the previous Revoltech like figures, this one only has it's shark mode.
Molded in solid white, with sticker transfers for just the eyes, Sharktron has articulation at only the arms and tail. Interesting fact is this kit was very popular and in demand with the Japanese con goers because the original G1 Sharkticon Gnaw as we know him back home was extremely limited in Japan. Originally you could only get him as a mail away via 1987 Beast Formers (The Battle Beasts in Japan) and later again only as a mail away via 1988's Masterforce.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Wonderfest Retrospective Part 3: 2008 Wheelie Find Friend Today (Grimlock)


Jumping back to Wonderfest 2008, we have a garage kit by the same guys who did the "Revol" series of Transformers. What we have here is a mini bust of Wheelie and Grimlock, reinacting the scene from Transformers: The Movie when the Dinobots raided the Quintesson court room.As you can see, like most garage kits, painting and assembly with glue is needed. Grimlock's bust is molded in solid grey, while Wheelie is in orange. Some transfer tampo stickers were included for Grimlock's eyes. The set sold originally at Wonderfest 2008 for 6000 yen.

Nothing super special, but normally overlooked or unknown compared to the more popular Wonderfest kits. I am sure there is a Wheelie fan out there that is happy........ wait...... a Wheelie fan....? Guess I am the only one. - Protoman -

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Wonderfest Retrospective Part 2: 2009 "Revol" Ultra Magnus


Next up is one that I missed when Wonderfest 2009 came and went, a small kitting group was making their own spin on the Revoltech concept with their line of Revoltech-like Transformers called "Revol Transformers" (Shock!). In 2009 they debuted and sold their figures of Soundwave, Laserwave (Shockwave) and Ultra Magnus. The one I missed was Ultra Magnus so he will get the focus today. Ultra Magnus unlike Soundwave and Laserwave, cost only 8000 yen at the show instead of the asking price of 9000 yen for the other 2, which led to the english speaking Transformers fandom to speculate why the price drop. One common rumor was that since these were your typical garage kit that you have to assemble and paint, they figured it was an upgrade armor for your Official Revoltech Ultra Magnus. I guess everyone was still on the City Commander high at that point.
Anyhow, the truth of it all was not too far off. It was only 1000 yen cheaper because the person was expected to use parts and polycaps from the Official Revoltech Ultra Magnus to complete this one (Unlike Shockwave/Soundwave that were complete kits). This is not a rare thing at Wonderfest as some kits are sold "As is" but the buyer is expected to buy extra joints or polycaps to complete the figure that it normally not included. All and all, an interesting figure, Ultra Magnus much like Cliffjumper is one of those characters that has the problem of ending up a repaint 9 times out of the 10 toys instead of being his own unique mold (The term "Repaint Brothers"), so it's nice to see him get something that ain't just WHITE CONVOY. Putting the Ultra in the Magnus. - Protoman -

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Wonderfest Retrospective Part 1: 2009 Wheelie and Springer

So we crack open the expensive insanity from Wonderfest, with GUNGS Borchitect's "Nanoscale" Transformers (2009 release). Title aside, the "nanoscale" really means WSTF aka World's Smallest Transformers scale. Both came packed in simple clear flexi-plastic boxes and were priced 6000 yen (Wheelie) and 9000 yen (Springer). Unique to most Wonderfest items, these were pre-assembled and "painted".
Wheelie sports a slightly different transformation from his original G1 1986 toy. Akin more to say G1 Tracks, his head flips out from the back while "hooded" (instead from behind a windsheild like original) and has a form of shoulders that leed to mild arm articulation. Atleast this time his face is spot on.


Springer is a marvel beyond marvels. Not only did they manage to engineer both modes into this small toy, not only did they give him better arms/shoulders unlike his G1 toy, they got his head right, the moehawk is standing proud. This was worth all 9000 yen (90 bucks)




Just a quick shot of how everything looks in scale with WSTF Wave 1 Convoy. While Wheelie is a little oversized (Can you blame them, you want a grain of rice to transform?), Springer fits in just nicely. Ah........ the wonders of Wonderfest. See you next post! After all.... you just might learn something. - Protoman -

Wonderfest and Transformers; A Retrospective


Ahhhhhh... Wonder Festival Japan AKA Wonderfest AKA Wonder Fest AKA that place with the EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE Transformer toys you have to glue, build and paint....... for many that is an automatic FORGET THAT situation, but for the rare few, they look beyond the "Assembly Required" and see the glory of these models that cost a month's rent. So to kick off Proto Retro's blog debut, over the next couple of blog posts, I will be taking a look back at some of the creations that came out of this crazy show. I am going to start off with favorite year, the 2009 show. Why 2009? What with the 2010 one just behind us, I feel the 2009 show had the most diversity, range and ammount of Transformers related kits. So sit back, enjoy and heck...... you just might learn something. - Protoman -

Monday, August 23, 2010

The Matrix has been opened, Protoman on Blogger.

And so it begins, I had Blogger registered for awhile, but it was a sword that was always left in it's sheath..... till now. In the next coming months, we are going to see a reboot of my youtube page, my actual webpage/.com and of course this very blogger. Stay tuned, you can never go wrong with "The Goddamn Protoman"....... how did I ever end up with that title?