"Upgrades" Part 23 - Fanstoys Phoenix, Terminus Giganticus, Koot, and Spindrift

Some upgrades from Fanstoys this time, their four most recent releases. All of them excellent as far as I'm concerned.

Seacons Finally

Finally got around to de-reissuing this set. This combiner was released in Masterforce as well as the US market. I will include their Masterforce names in parenthesis if they were different. Pretty glad to have the vintage ones finally. He was the last Decepticon reissue I had in my collection. Three more Autobots to go. Thanks to Megatoyfan for the deal on him.

Now Live on Kickstarter

Live on Kickstarter: Transformers G1 Unofficial Photographic Archive (Volumes 1 & 2)

I would like to say, 'please read my entry before heading over to check out the project on Kickstarter', but this is one instance I do not mind you heading over to Kickstarter first, then coming back here. So, here is the link!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1052752228/transformers-g1-unofficial-photographic-archive-vi

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So now the "secret" behind my long and sometimes frequent absence on the blog here. It is not because there have been no acquisitions, it is not because I have nothing left to say about Transformers, and it is certainly not because I have left this blog for good.

It is, however, because G1-junkie / Hyperoptic, Heroic Decepticon and myself have been working on a very special project - the Transformers G1 Unofficial Photographic Archive!

[Optimus Prime double spread from Volume 1]

It's a good long title, to be sure. It was what we have settled on. Something that was suggested by HD's E was along the lines of "Photographic Memories of G1 Transformers". Poetic, yes?

[Sky Lynx spread from Volume 1, incidentally, one of E's favourite toys!]

So, back to the Photographic Archive, which is actually a collection of 2 books. Volume 1 is 300+ pages and features all US released G1 Transformers from 1984 to 1990.

[Apeface and Snapdragon spread from Volume 1, incidentally, 2 of my favourite toys!]

Volume 2 is 200+ pages and features Japanese exclusive G1 Transformers from 1985 to 1992, and European exclusive G1 Transformers from 1984 to 1994.

[Blue Bacchus and Black Shadow spread from Volume 2]

In total, we are talking about 500+ pages of the good stuff, the solid G1 stuff. With hundreds of hours of shooting photos and writing and after more than 10,000 photographs, the books are now 90% complete.

Approximately 21 hours ago, we launched our campaign on Kickstarter. Here is the link again:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1052752228/transformers-g1-unofficial-photographic-archive-vi

As of this moment, it is about 25% funded, which we are really happy about.

If you like G1 Transformers at all, do head over to Kickstarter (link above) to check out the project and if you like what you see, any support you can lend towards getting the books fully funded would be very much appreciated!

Bumper Contest Giveaway

Kickstarter for the Ocular Echo Books Incoming

We took a bit of time to make this animated GIF for the Kickstarter page. Think we'll make more of them, they're tricky to get looking right, but it'll spice the page up a bit. We all know how much of a niche market vintage Transformers collecting is, so we'll need all the help we can get to make these books a reality. We are aiming to get the campaign up and running in two weeks. We'll keep you posted, there's a lot of moving parts to this. Please stay tuned.

Here's a link to the promotional video that showcases the project:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bbHYP2yI0g&feature=youtu.be

Like or follow our page for future updates:
https://www.facebook.com/OcularEcho/

Sixcombiners Everywhere!

This will be a quick one, but I finally finished the full set of Six-combiners with the Chase Sixturbo showing up at tfcon.

"Upgrades" Part 22 - Carnifex, Shockwave, and Contact Shot

Another batch of figures gets the upgrades treatment. I picked up a couple of figures a couple weeks back, figured I should toss them in the tent for a shoot. 

"Upgrades" Part 21 - Dinobots

Finally completed the Fanstoys set. After a couple years of waiting impatiently, they're all here.

Decepticon Small Pretenders

Finally got the last one to finish this trio. I've been a little lax on my US G1 collection since I started going for the international releases. But when a decent deal comes up on one, I can't say no.

Unofficial Photographic Archive vol. 1 and 2

So, I've been a little lax lately in my posting, but this is the reason, so stoked to finally be able to share this with you guys:

Brought to you by Ocular Echo, over 700 hours in the making, more than 10,000 photos shot... from Afterburner to Wreck-Gar, Headmasters to Targetmasters and Minispies to Mailaways... we present you the unofficial Photographic Archive featuring all US, European and Japanese G1 Transformers. Coming to a solar system near you in 2017. Enjoy an energon fizzy for sharing and two if shared with a robotic lifeform!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsRNIAb37LE&feature=youtu.be

"Upgrades" Part 20 - Masterpiece Prime and Megatron

"Upgrades" Part 19 - Masterpiece Seekers

After getting Skywarp yesterday, it's finally time to do a quick Updates post on the trio. There's a lot of extra stuff built into the Masterpiece mold that wasn't on the original, and more gimmicks than you can shake a stick at.

"Upgrades" Part 18 Masterpiece Star Saber and KFC Simba

I had to do these two together, Star Saber is my favorite Masterpiece so far, they went above and beyond on the screen accuracy and gimmicks without harming the figure's overall build. Couple him with KFC Simba, and they are amazing together.

Zone Variant and "prototype" custom Micromasters

I've been after the set of  "yellow weapon" Battle Patrol for a while. Finally scored a set from Artfire2000 this week.

"Upgrades" 17: Some MP jets and cars

Been a while, but I wanted to do some of the recent official mps and a few older ones.