Transformers Report: Universe Stockade & Magna Stampede (with Mini-Cons)

Sorry for the washed out images. Sadly I goofed in editing.

Our next set of Transformers Universe figures were sold together so that’s how I’ll be reviewing them, if only to move things along. They share an instruction sheet, which is how I know they came together. And yes, it’s another set including Mini-Cons with figures who can’t use Mini-Cons. As you’ll see it’s worse this time though.

I’m not sure why these four were sold together. There’s no connecting theme. At least Whirl’s Mini-Con pals were some kind of aircraft. Magna Stampede and Stockade are original characters based on molds from the Beast Machines line while Terradive and Prowl weren’t even on the same Mini-Con team, yet share a feature their friends are unable to use. I get the feeling the Mini-Cons of this group are pretending to be Micromasters to not be used as power boosters in the Universe arena, like it’s their chance to just be seen as any other Transformer. At least that’s the canon in my head since Universe is about dragging Transformers from across the multiverse. I’m going to limit photos to robot and alt mode and will give my thoughts individually. Of course we know the Mini-Cons are safe but what about the other two?

Advertisement

Quick Report: Moving A Pile

I had a lot of time-swiping events happen this week so I didn’t get to do a full project. I did however manage to do something with this pile left over from the manga and software projects as well as the most recent non-fiction book sorting project. I still need to go over that software but I’ve had this stuff in a rather inconvenient pile in the studio. A few things I actually managed to find a place for, like the video game books. Other stuff I still need to go over, mostly the manga and software. I still plan to but getting close to Christmas and having another project I want to get to after next week’s Transformers Universe review I at least made things a bit easier on myself.

There are times I wonder if once a week is enough but I tend to have a lot of different kinds of projects and a poor job managing it all.

Transformers Report: Universe Micromaster Constructicons

There were only four teams in the Universe Micromaster Combiners, but I would have loved to have gotten other Japan-exclusive molds in a US line. The “Multiforce” (which actually had been released with Japan’s counterparts to the Universe Micromasters around this time and could themselves combine into a larger robot of all six members) had two robots that combined into one, similar to the Autobot gimmick of the Energon line. They could have also released the G1 US Micromasters where the vehicles could combine to form more vehicles. By the time Micromasters came out in the original like I was too old for my parents to buy me Transformer toys and I didn’t have a job because…let’s just say I had bullies and leave it at that for this site. These four teams are as of this writing the only Micromasters I own. I still think Mini-Cons are cooler but my love of Mini-Cons does at least allow me to enjoy these predecessors even if they can’t combine with the larger robots.

Although the ones who form arms and legs can fake it thanks to the connectors being the same size as the Powerlink ports on the “Unicron Trilogy” figures and the rifles of these last three teams can be used by the Mini-Cons by connecting them to the plugs on the Mini-Cons. (The Railbots have other ways of interacting with Mini-Cons since they’re a different design, but the Aerialbot and Protectobot Micromasters share this and they all can swap an arm of their combined forms out with a Mini-Con who would be rather unuseful). Today we’re looking at the last of the Combiner team in the Universe line, the Constructicons. Named after and inspired by the G1 characters they’re the only Decepticons of the Micromasters in this line. Their parent characters, Sixbuilder and the Build Team, were actually Autobots who had a Decepticon clone. Don’t ask me how. I don’t think their story made a lot of sense. Luckily we’re here to talk about the toys, and I can see why they went with the G1 homage, although they didn’t keep all the names. Considering how many I change anyway I can live with that.

Fixing My Hat Rack

Hanging near the Bumblebee Shelf are my hats. My mom had come up with the idea of using…I think it’s some kind of pan rack or something not designed for hats, but given all the hats I own (I went through some weird and long collecting phases) it seemed like the best option. Even after this project I don’t think they hang right but I’m not going to waste money on who knows how many racks and while I could build my own I have more important projects right now.

Yes, I collected hats until I had too many, although I might still get one in the future if I really like it. (For one thing I want a good Superman hat to go along with my Batman hat.) Many are based on my favorite shows, places I’ve been, or just have some personal tie to. I did have an outstretched headband I tossed out but otherwise nothing is going in this one. I just have to make it easier to find the hat I want. I have a bad habit of just putting the hat I wore last on a coat rack with the intention of putting it back on the rack later and then failing to do so. I think that’s how clutter starts for all of us. So when I want a particular hat I have to hunt to find it while knocking other hats behind the couch piece or I have a big stack of hats on top of my coat rack. I know I’m going to be doing this again in the future, so here’s how I did it this time.