01551: Transformers Therapy

This is how Scoponok is supposed to look

I just narrow escaped the rather heavy afternoon rains. I would have been home a lot sooner, of course, had I not first passed by the Annapolis branch of GreatToysOnline (GTO) on my way home. Allow me to explain.

The other night GTO posted the latest batch of new arrivals on their Facebook page as normal. But to my surprise, this week's update included a number of vintage G1 Transformers including fun finds like the Decepticon Clones Pounce and Wingspan and even an original Cyclonus figure. But the real gem of the new inventory included a nearly complete G1 Scorponok.

I used to own a nearly complete Scorponok and was only missing his companion Fasttrack, his main gun and his shield/tower. The one on the GTO site appears to be missing some of his smaller guns, the silver decals on the legs and Fastrack. But it's still pretty darn complete - and I have to admit I'm totally pouncing on it regardless of the price.

I feel pretty sore about Scorponok since he had actually survived being with me until 2008 at least. Then there was the incident where our Pasay apartment had been broken into and my new camera and laptop had been stolen while at work. Given the trauma, arrangement to move out were quickly made and within the month I had become a Makati resident. But somewhere between the theft and the move, Scorponok disappeared. I suspect the movers took him. So naturally, I remain pretty sore about the loss and I'm determined to get him back. Plus I think I lost my Armada Optimus Prime and Megatron in the same deal since I think they were all in the same bag.

So the item wasn't actually at the store yet despite being posted on the website, so I settled for placing a deposit in the hopes of getting it in the long run. But since I was already there, I also decided to play a deposit for the eHobby exclusive Shattered Glass Soundwave vs Blaster set. Now this seems like a slightly silly purchase since I'm not exactly a big follower of the Shattered Glass continuity. However this is still a set based on G1 molds that includes a total of 5 cassettes. It still rather pricey, but potentially worth it. And you know I'm such a sucker for more Soundwave molds.

And ironcially enough, this will be my very first G1 Blaster, even if he's repainted in a arguably cooler grey color scheme. Plus Sir Soundwave has a headband sticker! how crazy is that!

I've sent out a few messages hoping to negotiate the prices down for these toys since I'm getting them all together, but there's no guarantee. At least I know I should be eligible for a 10% discount for cash purchases , which will still save me a lot of money. And I also made sure to pre-order the last set of Masterpiece Transformers cassettes - Frenzy and Buzzsaw. The main value of pre-ordering the toys is that it ensures I get the first release that includes the commemorative coin that is exclusive to Asia releases. It's a crazy detail, but I want it.

So yeah, Transformers remains the one thing I really go crazy for like this. There goes the last of my leave conversion pay, hehe.