1 Year Anniversary
One year of making reviews was something I did not think I'd accomplish if I'm being honest. There has been so much to review ever since I made pictoral reviews back on Google Plus with Studio Series Bumblebee. And they were also brought over onto Instagram, which made me very happy to post an Instagram account on there in the first place. When posting my reviews on a small G+ community and a site with multiple other individuals wasn't enough, I took what was an old Blogger site meant for a now shelved fan film I once dreamt of into a review site for me to share my extended thoughts on action figures. And thus, Thoughts of the Surge was born! Studio Series Bumblebee was the first Transformer I reviewed, and looking back now, it's not quite the best figure in the line since others have surpassed it (especially Camaro Concept Bee), but I'm still grateful to own a Transformer that further kept me interested in collecting the line and other Transformers, too! TLK Optimus got my interest again, but Studio Series Bumblebee added to the big flame of collecting interest. And I wasn't trying to collect normie shit like Funko Pops or Amiibos, I wanted to buy full-on items that weren't just normal products but ones that had a bit more meaning to them. I've never had a proper display of movie Transformers until AOE's team came around, but the Studio Series gave me a collection that was better than I expected. They may seem a little smaller than I'd like, but they are the perfect way to get into collecting Transformers again after not being able to buy other figures.
Then came the next series to have spotlight, that being Power Rangers, with Beast Morphers being possibly the only mainline that I've truly delved into. While I own bits of the Disney era and attempted to get into Samurai and Dino Charge, Beast Morphers was a line that kept me interested when it first came out, thanks to the figures that were great quality and got bigger yet had the same Bandai price, Morphers that did more than just press a button with few sounds, and Zords that make up for their cheaper plastic by being complex and even poseable for the Racer Zord than any of Bandai's recent stuff. 2020's offerings for Beast Morphers was a little lacking, and judging by Hasbro wanting to use MMPR as an aspect of appealing to the kids that want to learn about the past yet can't buy any Bandai Legacy stuff, then I feel Hasbro can win them over easily. I haven't gotten any of the MMPR stuff from the basic line, but I'd like to at least get the Megazord and some of the basic figures when I saw that MMPR Red was in a three-pack with Dino Thunder Blue and Dino Charge Pink.
Siege was another toyline I loved to buy from, as it was a Generations line that felt more worthwhile than my experience with the Prime Wars line (which felt lackluster if you ask me). Siege was more capable of giving out figures that were purely designed to feel interesting on their own without requiring you to buy additional limbs that feel the same in some ways. I was a lot more interested in paying for that than I was the Combiner Wars and Power of the Primes lines, and Titans Return barely showing up at my only Walmart when I was in my junior year made me lose interest in the line immediately. I was initially hesitant with getting the Siege line, but seeing some of the figures and how they turned out got me interested. I loved getting Shockwave for Christmas, Megatron with the Dreadwing twins one day, Optimus with Movie Bonecrusher together, etc. I was also super lucky in getting an eBay haul that had plenty of Siege figures that I hadn't gotten yet, including Springer, Impactor, a Refraktor, Skytread, and the three Weaponizers. Now, I'm nearly complete with the mainline Siege stuff aside from missing Crosshairs, and I've even gotten some repaints like Hotlink and Bluestreak. Now I need to buy more Studio Series repaitns soon.
The Lightning Collection was another line I bought from regularly, and while I was extremely late in the party since I completed Wave 1 on December, I was happy to have these figures since I always wanted Power Rangers that felt like how they looked on the show: less fake muscles and smooth details, more proper proportions and realistic suit details. The accessories and attention to details is quite stunning, especially considering how we've had figures that all had that same rigid structure since 1993. Sure, there were some things worth complaining about (i.e. Zeo Blue's missing Tonfas, Dino Thunder White's black visor outline not painted on), but everything else is easy to get over IMO. These figures are as good as the Jungle Fury and Super Legends figures were, and I'm happy to own these than get some Figuarts that would be more uncomfortable to handle. I've gotten just about every release I could get, with the exceptions of Rita and Zedd, Dino Charge Black, Dino Thunder White, and Wave 6. I don't think I'd be getting the SDCC 2-pack or Drakkon Evo III right away.
I've covered plenty of Transformers not from Siege or Studio Series. I've done two Masterpiece figures, some Prime Wars stuff, some pre-2015 Generations figures, a couple of TLK and TFP reviews, I've reviewed Movie figures made before TLK, I've had at least one review for Beast Wars, Energon, RID15, and Cyberverse, though I want to expand on those. And when I wasn't reviewing anything from those lines, I'd review superhero stuff like Marvel Legends and DC Multiverse. I'm not going to return to the DC figures unless I see some at cheap prices, but I'm more than happy to continue the Marvel Legends lines because those figures are more worth the value for money they're going for. Seeing X-Men and Venom get attention makes me hope we get Raimi Trilogy figures (even if I don't want Disney ANYWHERE NEAR that series).
Future Review Plans
So now you might be wondering what could be next for the reviews. Well, let's break it down for a bit. I'm kind of missing figures from key waves, or I'm not in the possession of certain figures. In terms of waves I want to get done soon, they are Studio Series 2020 Wave 3, Earthrise Wave 2, the final bits of Beast Morphers as well as some MMPR stuff Hasbro is making, and the recent Lightning Collection waves. In terms of other stuff that's a bit more flexible depending on what happens in the very near future, the X-Men Movie Marvel Legends are ones I will try to get, but if other lines have more important things to worry about, I'd more likely skip some in favor of others. But let's cover the first four lines that I have mentioned:
Studio Series 2020 Wave 3: That is a wave I want to get to soon since they're starting to trickle into retailers after months of just seeing TonTon and PrimeVsPrime make their reviews. I've gotten Overload after months of waiting for him to come to my doorstep, and instead of arriving at October, he appeared on August and at the same price I paid for him at $31 dollars! But I'm missing some other guys in the wave. ROTF Soundwave, Topspin, Cliffjumper, Leadfoot, and Blitzwing are ones I need to get soon, with Skipjack being a maybe type of option since we'll see how things go with him. I know the others will be easy to find anywhere I go, but Leadfoot will be a little tricky since he's a Target exclusive. And sadly, there is no Target that's near me as of this moment. We'll see how it all goes, but all I can say is for you to wait.
Earthrise Wave 2: I'm getting Arcee soon since I knew she'd be hard to find, but like with SS2020Wave3, some plans were heavily altered thanks to certain things that you may be familiar right now preventing me from going to the city at the moment and requiring me to go to my more local stores when needed. I'll have to try and get Smokescreen, the Allicon, Snapdragon, and Doubledealer in some way, especially given how much of a pain in the ass Earthrise was hard to find in the first place. Same plan for Earthrise Wave 3 and some of the exclusives in the line. God, why must it be hard to complete the WFC line, let alone get the ones I wanted? Life is pain and all that. Also, Airwave is excluded so I can focus on the other figures, though I'll get him and Ironworks like I did with the Weaponizers so they won't be excluded. I'll also try and get Astrotrain ONLY when he's a lot cheaper than his current price.
Beast Morphers 2020: I'm waiting for more updates in this line, because while last year was quite plentiful for me, this year felt quite sparse in stuff that I'd want to get. No additional basic figures, no proper converting Zords, and it seems Hasbro wants to replace the Beast Morphers stuff with the Mighty Morphin stuff because we know they'd want to at some point. I get that MMPR is iconic and all that jazz, but is it too much to ask for stuff like a Purple Roxy, a Scrozzle, and the Beast-X King Zord? And I thought finding stuff in 2019 was bad enough! Anyways, I do hope that we get more BM stuff, but I do at least plan to make a slate of PR reviews where the Beast-X King Red Ranger and the three Dino Rangers (MMPR Red, Dino Thunder Blue, and Dino Charge Pink) are in one review. Then I'll cover the Dino Megazord in one go rather than split up the three sets because that's not as exciting as reviewing the entire Megazord or the 5 Beast Morphers Zords individually. After those, we delve into...
Lightning Collection Wave 5-onwards: I've just gotten Wave 5, and that'll get its pictures ready. I'm waiting to get Wave 6 in some way, either one by one or from that contest Hasbro Pulse made, which makes me hope I can get those figures in one go. I also need to find Dino Thunder White (with or without that visor fix) and Dino Charge Black since they're retailer exclusives. Now what about Rita/Zedd and Alpha/Zordon? Well, it depends on how soon I get them, if I do, they'll be covered in one review. Also, I'll see if I can get the Power Morpher and Dragon Dagger at some point, especially the Morpher. I won't likely get the Red or White helmets as much as I'd like to, and I don't plan on getting Lord Drakkon Evo III because the price it's going for is not enough to justify a figure that doesn't come with a throne to go with the figure, helmets, and huge lightning effect piece.
I'll see what I can do with the other figure reviews, like the X-Men waves and the other Transformers stuff not from Studio Series or Siege, but if you want to know how the slates will go at some point in time, here you go:
Studio Series 2020 Wave 3: ROTF Soundwave on Sunday, Topspin on Monday, Cliffjumper on Tuesday, Blitzwing on Wednesday, Overload on Thursday, Leadfoot on Friday, and Devastator on Saturday (with or without Skipjack)
Earthrise Wave 2: Smokescreen on Monday, Arcee on Tuesday, Allicon on Wednesday, Snapdragon on Thursday, and Doubledealer on Friday
Power Rangers Beast Morphers 2020 Fall Wave: Basic Figures on Monday, Dino Megazord on Tuesday
Lightning Collection Wave 5-onwards: Wave 5 on Wednesday, Wave 6 on Thursday, and maybe Zedd/Rita/Alpha/Zordon on Friday
I'm not going to ask you to send me these figures to me because I don't think I'd repay you in any way, so all I can say is to see these slates as how I plan to upload their reviews someday.
Youtube Stuff
Now let's finish off this post with what's going on at Youtube. I'm doing more videos on there than I normally am, which is good because I've gotten a bit more free time and have more creativity in mind. After saying I'm going to make my channel grow, I'm taking my words seriously with stuff like the podcast and other videos I've been making! I already posted some tests for OBS as well as make some miscellaneous stuff like an Adult Swim reference and a video on Peter B Parker, but I've done videos that require a little more effort, including my podcast-related videos, a rant on ScreenRant's wrongly timed article on what Marvel Studios can do on Black Panther 2 without Chadwick Boseman, and a recording of the 2002 Spider-Man video game's anti-piracy screen. I want to do more videos aside from the podcast stuff, such as shitposts and stop-motions. I may clear out some videos that I don't think are fit for what my channel is like moving forward, so if you want to see some of my older and cringier videos, do so now before they're gone. I may post some videos here and share them on this site, which would especially be helpful given it'd give some attention to this site rather than let it collect dust.
So all in all, I'm very happy to have run a small but meaningful blog that lets me review figures my way, and I'm looking forward to reviewing again in some capacity. I'll post other things in the meantime, so all I can say is to keep your eyes peeled with what's to come in the near future. And remember, I'm not quitting until I say so. I've had it with quietly dropping projects I thought would make a bit of an impact in the past 5 years, so now I'm going to say that this is less of a "goodbye" and more of a "we'll talk about that later".
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