TF Sightings | Babes Children's World

05.29.2019 – In Metro Manila there have so many options for collectors to acquire their coveted toys ranging from diecast cars to high end actions figures. Local retail is fairly standard default option for anything that appears in every toy shelf in the country. But sometimes it’s quite a challenge if the one you looking for is sold out. There are A LOT of specialty shops out there that offer the same toys, but sometimes the price is not about right. You’d be surprised that some of the toys that already disappeared in toy shelves end up in those stores, but not Babes Children’s World.

TF Sightings | Search for LG-25 Hot Rod

05.28.2019 – There was an unexpected sighting yesterday at Toy Kingdom’s flagship store in SM Megamall. The toys that were sighted are Evolution Nemesis Prime (Amazon Exclusive), Transformers Legends Hot Rodimus, and Bumblebee Vol. 1 Retro Rock Garage that were available in the store. In the three mentioned the most sought after is the Transformers Legends LG-25, which Takara Tomy version of Titans Masters Autobot Hot Rod that was only available in selected markets outside Japan until it became available locally.

Little Changes: The Saga of Q-Transformers!

THE great Japanese tendency to take the usual and transform them into smaller, cuter iterations is easily encapsulated by eye-popping, aww-inspiring world of Super Deformed (SD) toys. Being one of the great toy lines of the world, Transformers have seen several different manifestations of the SD effect, but the newest, most multi-faceted iteration is the new Q Transformers line of tiny transforming figures.

            The long story of the Q TFs begins with another toy altogether, Takara’s Choro-Q line in 1978 (the company is now known as TakaraTomy). The Choro-Q toys were 3-4 inch cars boasting oversize rubber back wheels and pullback motors.; they were officially licensed. These toy cars were a hit in Japan and in the United States, where they were known as Penny Racers.

            When Takara was building its Microman line, they decided to include robots that transformed into tiny toy cars. Take note: The cars were toy-sized, so the robots were supposed to be tiny. Takara called them MicroChange robots. These toys were the fat, short versions of cars like the Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 924 Turbo, keeping the same big back wheel but dropping the pullback motor. When Takara and Hasbro put together the Generation 1 Transformers, they included these two MicroChange robots—which are now instantly recognizable as the original Bumblebee and Cliffjumper toys.

            Through the years, Takara has paid tribute to the idea of Choro-Q, but never fully committed to an actual, mainstream toyline until 2014, when they began releasing the Q-Transformers. Take note that the line’s name includes the (listen carefully) word “Cute,” so you know what they were aiming for.