On paper, I am very familiar with the size of a Microman figure. Theoretically, there should be no reason whatever to mentally readjust from seeing the stock photos, to having the item in hand. ….

You’re probably familiar with View-Masters (which are just a kid-version of the Victorian stereoscope). Transformers of course had View-Master reels, and they’re not very difficult to scan. If you tear a View-Master reel open, it is just film glued to paper, and film scanners are readily available

The way Takara SF Land toy lines worked wasn’t spin-offs, as much as “trying to capture a different market” Giant robots were popular, they made Diaclone. Microman moved away from interchangeability, they made Blockman Timanic was designed as serious science fiction, for kids who outgrew Microman

The 2024 McDonald’s Changeables Neon Genesis Evangelion crossover is a real thing that happened. They were ¥3,900, not free in a Happy Meal. Unfortunately, this makes it harder to give them to your traumatized son, and force him to play with them as you glare unapprovingly.

The original patent for Punch-Counterpunch confirms the fan theory that the figure was designed to use the leg transformation which would result in a shorter Autobot. This transformation also makes Punch’s stubby little arms proportionate.

The Micro Change Gun Robo came with little cardboard targets of AcroSatans and Marshal Admiral AcroDevil to shoot at. These usually go for crazy prices, so please enjoy some scans. Just promise not to destroy the secondary market with counterfeits?

Super BomBom, November 1987 Transformers Side Story: Beastformers, by Masahiro Kanda English translation 1/4

@msipher.bsky.social Psssst! bsky.app/profile/necr...

Super BomBom, July 1987 Transformers: Beastformers Volume, by Ikuo Miyazoe English translation 1/5 This is the one you wanted to read, right?

Something which has always stood out to me about Beastformers, is how open it was to different artistic interpretations. Each artist who worked on it seemed to reinvent the wheel, developing a unique style, and disregarding any prior art. This is especially noticeable, with the manga.

SF Land Evolution (which is all about the influence of older lines) provides an interesting theory connecting Beastformers to Diaclone. For the fortresses, they didn’t make something like a castle, or a volcano. Instead, they chose mobile Great Robot Beasts, which open to reveal the playset inside.

Have you even seen The Prisoner, if it wasn’t in the original Japanese? Prisoner No.6 (プリズナーNo.6) originally aired in Japan from March 2nd - June 22nd 1969.

“Aw yeah, I’m gonna chop that fire so good!” Why does the Legacy G.I. Joe Firefighter come with two little hand axes? I figure he either throws them like a carnival act, or he’s the Benihana chef of firefighters

1. G.I. Joe was using drones in 1983 2. They put a flamethrower on it 3. It was worth half a flag point

Oh no It would be the absolute worst thing ever if these get really popular, and Takara finds out.

If someone tries to outbid you at the very last second, but it doesn’t work and you still win the auction… How do you send them a Venmo request for the extra money they just cost you for no damn reason?

Bad news: the new Matchbox Motocompo is too big for a Dianaut. Good news:

When a blog shuts down, all of the intrusive watermarks on their images should fade away, like a wizard’s curse being lifted by their death.

It is very hard to describe the subtle differences of the Micro Change Gun Robo figures’ chrome, without sounding like some pretentious jerk describing wines. The chrome on the original red version is cool and dark, while the later blue release is bright and warm, almost like rose gold.

1/5 Every month TV Magazine ran a contest, giving away toys provided by the companies. These were colorful fold-out spreads with an overwhelming number of robot toys. Interestingly, the images used were often prototypes. Nothing really worth translating, so just enjoy some pictures of robots.

The Skyscraper robot from Big was a kitbash, which doesn’t appear to use a pre-existing skyscraper toy (the arch above the doorway is a peanut butter jar lid). The main robot components look like they come from one of the many, many Horikawa robot releases. Do you get it?

Part Two! Today we’re Repairing Radio Cassette Robo himself! As you already know, the cassette is the actual radio, while the robot is really just a speaker. Inside the tape compartment is a little 2.5 mm jack which plugs into the cassette when it’s inserted, so he WILL NOT hold cassette robots.

Believe it or not, this is a radio. Pretty cool, huh? Well, it WILL be a radio, once I solder that tiny black wire back onto the board. It's powered by an LR-44 battery, but you can get away with a 357/303 instead. Okay, soldering didn't go too bad. I didn't singe the antenna, so that’s good.

It’s kind of bonkers how every re-release tries to fix Zarana’s face, huh? This impossible task has humbled multiple generations of sculptors.

In “What if Things Were Different?”, TV Magazine explores a world where kaiju are able to stop fighting, and get along. They’d wear clothes, have jobs, start bands, and Ultraman and Windom would finally be free to express their love. It’s a sobering look at a life just outside our grasp.

At a 2017 HasCon presentation, Hasbro revealed there was a point they were considering a G.I. Joe series of missile-launching armored horsies.

Calling it now: After credits scene for the new Masters of the Universe movie will be a badly beaten Skeletor begging someone offscreen for more power, to defeat He-Man. Then we get a quick reveal of the ghostly image of Hordak in another dimension, like the Thanos cameo at the end of Avengers.

@necronomitron.bsky.social Suddenly this pre-Transformer got an update:

In 1983, TV Magazine attempted to answer the playground argument once and for all, with “Gamera vs Godzilla”! (a thinly disguised ad for a new Gamera model kit) After comparing their strengths, it concluded they were evenly matched. From an academic standpoint: that is absolute horseshit.

There are times when the fourth wall of your hobby cracks a little, and you have to step back to admit, "From an objective point of view... this is pretty stupid." Today, that was after receiving a box stuffed with bricks of vintage TV Magazine and stacking them on a desk, like a manga drug lord.

The “Microman Missing Link” go cart they just unveiled doesn’t LOOK very exciting, but the game changer will be if they kept the transformation. The Spy Magician vehicles all changed into role play spy gear. “Drag Tiger” (aside from being an amazing drag queen name) turned into a crossbow pistol.

Pssst, Tracks isn’t really part of Diaclone. He’s a Transformer in disguise. So, Japan and America don’t like the same cars. While they love trains and rally cars (it’s no coincidence half the G1 cast was covered in sponsorship decals), we prefer off-road vehicles and sports cars.

When alt-modes come up, US Transformers fans often hear trains are more popular in Japan. That's underselling it though: Japan is REALLY into trains. In 1978, "The Blue Train" became crazy popular. These kids aren't getting in, they're swarming just to take pictures. Yeah, I don't get it either.

Please, never forget Trypticon is just a cheaky Godzilla gag. The archenemy of the city transformer is a giant stomping dinosaur.

That story’s not so fun. Marina Ono had only been the new Licca-chan for a year, when a tabloid leaked the stage name from her past career, as a nude model. The negative publicity made Takara nervous, especially since Licca is canonically 11 years-old. Ono was “asked to step down from the role”.

Okay, it's been 40 years. It's probably time to learn the Dinobots are an elaborate Henshin Cyborg homage. Well, to learn again, it’s a repost from that other site that got ruined. Anyway, Dinobots!

In Japanese fandom, the G1 Rodimus Prime figure is derided as having “frog eyes”, and now I can’t un-see it. Takara was going for a steely-eyed glare of determination, but ended up more like Brock instead. However, Transformers scribe Hirofumi Ichikawa believes this is the result of a paint error.

The story goes like this, in 1967 a little girl called Takara’s customer service number, and asked to speak to Licca-chan. Not wanting to crush a little kid’s dreams, the operator quickly replied “Hello, this is Licca-chan!” Very cute, totally harmless. …right?

Blokees Ultra Magnus makes a perfect Ultra Magnus Jr. from the “Mystery of Convoy” manga. Also, Missing Link Bumblebee apparently has a flight stand port? I choose to believe it is exactly for this reason.

The faces of the 1987 McDonald’s Changeables had a quirky Diaclone /‘84 Transformers inhuman robotic design quality. 1988’s aesthetic was more like the ‘86 Movie’s human-like faces, and even G2-style reissues in garish colors. The 1990 dino series were organic creatures, a precursor to Beast Wars.

From the collection of Anthony Lopez, a 1980’s store display standee from Greece. This is my spirit animal.

For a change of pace, let’s look at a silly He-Man figure! This is Cy-Chop, an original character from Masters of the Universe Classics. An evil cyborg with giant scissor hands, he’s a little goofy but his unique design is endearing. Actually, speaking of his design, it looks kind of familiar….

I love Godzilla toys, but how the hell are you supposed to put these things on a shelf?

Vintage Diaclone TV commercials 1-7, with English subtitles.

“Takara SF Land Complete Collection” (1999) included the bonus CD-ROM, “Commercial Film Collection”. In addition to commercials for Henshin Cyborg, Microman, and Machine Saurer, it included 21 Diaclone commercials. Unfortunately, as a CD-ROM, the quality is not great.

Let’s go over some vintage manga archival tips. Now, because my goal is clean scans, I remove the staples, disassemble the book, and slice out the pages I’m going to scan. This makes some collectors uncomfortable, but counterintuitively, it also makes the archiving and preservation more successful.

Most of Takara’s 1986 G.I. Joe file cards had minor changes (often related to making G.I. Joe a multi-national task force), but Snake Eyes had one especially notable addition. See if you can spot it in this English translation. Larry Hama would be happy, and Henry Golding might deserve an apology.

In 1986, Studio OX drew the art for a G.I. Joe picture book which features Flint smoking, and Gung Ho flipping you off. “Strongest Expert Team on Earth: G.I. Joe, Big Illustrated Encyclopedia”, English translation. (Exporting remainder of translated G.I. Joe from previous account) 1/2

1/3 The Keibunsha G.I. Joe Encyclopedia was a resource devoted mostly to the cartoon, and had no direct connection to the Comic BomBom manga. The simply-written short comic included could be generously described as an origin story, which wasn’t really touched on in the show (Reposting by request)

BTW, because social media compresses images so much, and downloading one page at a time is tedious, I usually also post hi-res versions on Archive: archive.org/details/gi_j... (Reposting since the URL changed after I rearranged the images in the correct order)