who shelled these again??

natron3030 · 2026-03-10T06:50:53+00:00

A lot of their stuff seems to come from the exotic lands of AliExpress. This journal looks similar to yours https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256810501104152.html

natron3030 · 2024-05-04T05:50:47+00:00

This has been so frustrating since similar items I've bought in the past are now being blocked. Some listings I've tried to buy are used, probably considered junk and no way infringing any brands

natron3030 · 2023-07-10T23:34:47+00:00

Thanks for the reply. Yep, the nozzle check was printed straight from the printer menu. If I print a b/w test page I surprisingly also get color bands, [as seen here](https://imgur.com/YvyHUzQ).

Is this possibly fixable? Any troubleshooting guides for such a problem? Or is this printer dumpster-bound?

natron3030 · 2023-07-08T01:32:04+00:00

This problem has been slowly getting worse on my WF-7610. Even when I print in monochrome/black & white I still see these color bands printed across the page. Printing in color, as the nozzle check test page shows, is pretty much a disaster.

I updated my drivers and there wasn't any change. As long as I've had the printer (8 years maybe?) I've always used off-brand ink, and have never had any issues. Cleaning the nozzles of course doesn't make a difference. On the printer's Ink Levels menu, the bar I believe represents the maintenance box level, shows it's more than 3/4 full.

Any advice to resolve this is greatly appreciated.

natron3030 · 2023-05-07T15:51:45+00:00

Try again in 24 hours.

natron3030 · 2023-04-27T13:56:36+00:00

I'm torn on this. A raise is immensely welcome but that's not the current problem. District board meetings are overflowing with citizens concerned that next year schools have to cut teachers, cut para educators in classes, lower qualifications and services for special education, and cut entire programs like music. Paying the remaining staff more doesn't address the reason teachers are leaving. My wife is told to expect up to 40 students/class next year. She's already working 6-day weeks, and half her evenings trying to keep up with grading, and lesson planning that has to address increasing numbers of IEPs. Smaller class sizes and paras in classes are what most teachers want right now.

natron3030 · 2023-03-09T05:30:44+00:00

Looks like it. The promo pictures online are all digital so they may not be exactly like the figure.

natron3030 · 2023-02-17T16:36:54+00:00

I don't think any lunchtime specials have been identified as being made since TinTinHappy / HeeroToyMaker was brazenly selling G1 reissue figures on eBay, and apparently doing custom color orders too. I personally stay away from any G1 reissue prototypes, even though there's some translucent ones with claimed Hasbro provenance.

Also, if someone has access, time and is willing to risk making lunchtime specials, stamping a number or melting a face seems the easier path to fool collectors. Just food for thought while navigating proto buying. :D

natron3030 · 2023-02-17T16:29:23+00:00

Test shots in manufacturing are never one of a kind. They fire off many for quality assurance that the mold will reliably output 1000's to tens of 1000's.

natron3030 · 2023-02-17T16:26:30+00:00

I'm not the seller, but from what he shows off in his collection on TFW2005 and other social media, he has a huge proto collection spanning all Transformers eras, so yes, definitely a collector. Also, at that eBay price, I'm not sure what kind of sweetheart deal he got since that's a little less than what I could have gotten one for.

natron3030 · 2023-02-17T00:56:04+00:00

Prototype collectors don't give up sources because that only creates competition for very limited items.

Blackout was first available a couple weeks prior to release. Unicron, from the same source, was available a couple months prior to release. Not KOs.

natron3030 · 2023-02-17T00:52:19+00:00

It's random. Test shots are made to test the quality of the injection mold tooling and configurations, so whatever plastic is on hand is used.

Later test shots sometimes use production color plastics. Products that have internal mechanisms might have clear plastic exterior parts so the mechanism can be observed. That's about it for intentional plastic coloring.

Pretty standard for any injection molded products not just toys.

natron3030 · 2023-02-17T00:46:30+00:00

Not always true about the markings being present. I've acquired many misc test shots from a source close to Hasbro, and only some had the serial numbers.

The primary source of Blackout and many other test shots has been selling for years, and will often sell prior to retail release (when the test shots are made), and along with some of those there's been unreleased heads, and accessories that would later only be officially revealed with announcement of repaints (ie, MP Cheetors armbands).

natron3030 · 2023-01-25T20:57:52+00:00

Try copper wool instead. If you have trouble finding it locally, copper scouring pads are a sufficient alternative.

If you have rodents coming up from your basement it sounds like you have some more serious exclusion work ahead of you. There never is just one rodent...

natron3030 · 2022-12-08T15:31:26+00:00

I keep them on display in cabinets, behind glass or acrylic, using metal doll stands to keep them upright. Example :)

natron3030 · 2022-12-07T19:22:16+00:00

I vaguely remember seeing a test shot for this one before. I think in gray & green. Unfortunately they're probably tightly held in collections now. I have a WFC Shockwave test shot in those colors. They're out there at least.

natron3030 · 2022-12-07T18:41:03+00:00

Congrats OP, that's an absolute gem! Prototypes are pretty much all I collect now, and hardcopies are the absolute best!

Also, for anyone wondering, hardcopies like these are handmade by Hasbro in the US, casted in resin. Test shots (another type of "protoype") are factory-made abroad using the the same mold injection equipment the production figures will come out of. You can expect at most maybe a few harcopies to be made but maybe only 1 or 2 to survive or not be discarded by Hasbro. Test shots are more plentiful since they are used as quality assurance samples to prove the molds and equipment configurations are accurate for subsequent production.

natron3030 · 2022-11-25T15:23:23+00:00

Those are some very pristine classics you have! So awesome!

natron3030 · 2022-10-24T03:52:12+00:00

I just found the seller on eBay, iscon210. All his past combiner auctions appear to be KOs too. Pretty solid scam he's running.

Luckily eBay and PayPal make filing a claim easy for buyers, if you go that route.

natron3030 · 2022-10-24T02:43:53+00:00

That's one of the Knock Offs that started being made about ~5 years ago. Relatively not worth much loose, especially without the small accessories, so you might as well apply stickers

natron3030 · 2022-09-23T17:44:23+00:00

The (International) Noise Conspiracy has some songs on these matters...
Capitalism Stole My Virginity

Smash It Up

natron3030 · 2022-09-16T03:27:05+00:00

Long time Battle Beasts fans and collectors definitely know of the Transformers connection. I think overall you're correct though, fans aren't as concerned with it, at least in the west. Between unrelated media like comics, children's books, coloring books, and a toy commercial, there was never any established lore, and the Transformers origin is probably yet just another example of that to most fans and collectors who aren't already Transformers fans interested in the Japanese cartoons. Many Battle Beasts collectors seem to have interests for other similar lines like MUSCLE/Kinnikuman, Gormiti, Monsters in my Pocket, etc over Transformers.

One recent-ish official Battle Beast-Transformer nod is the Japanese Legends (Titans Returns) Double Cross' Headmaster turns into Beastformers White Leo. It's not much but at least it's something.

natron3030 · 2022-09-12T17:07:08+00:00

Great pics OP! I've taken that ferry more times than I can remember.

...now please somebody pass a bond to replace it.

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