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Nomenclature Trading Kits Packaging Assortment Chase Info

16bit.com's Case Assortment Future Availability Value

Nomenclature:

Some of you are undoubtedly asking, "Well, what are these things?"

Some people call them PVCs. A "PVC" is an old term for a painted figure with little (usually no) articulation. Japan makes a lot of PVC figures, however since these are a little bit more than that, it may not be the best term for them. Still, if you see "TransFormers PVCs" for sale, this is them.

The "SCF" initials appear on the bases as well as the packaging. What "SCF" means, however, is not spelled out, but we've been told it's Super Collection Figures, a very Japanese sounding name.

So it would seem "PVC" is the term to use. "Collectible Figures" just sounds kind of lame.

Trading Kits:

While a very undtraditional way to sell plastic figures in the USA, unmarked boxes of figures just like these are made in Japan for several Anime series and even some video games.

While the "trading" aspect of the name matches up with trading cards, the "kit" aspect varies with each figure. The 16bit.com Minervas were both more or less completely in pieces, and we could only guess as to how the pieces on her back were meant to be attatched..

Unlike most kits, though, no painting, cutting, or gluing is required unless you wound up with a broken figure or just feel like doing some customizing.

Packaging:

As mentioned above, the TransFormers Generation One Super Collection Figures {whew} come in small, unmarked boxes measuring 4.75 inches tall, 1.75 inches deep, and three inches wide. Each figure is sealed inside a taped plastic baggie with a clear plastic stand floating around in the box. The exception is Optimus Prime (Truck), which includes no stand.

A dozen boxes ship to each case, which is 11 inches deep, just over 6 inches wide, and roughly 5.75 inches tall.

For a complete photo archive of the Act 2 boxes from all angles, please view that section of our archive list or click here.

Assortment:

As these are trading kits, unmarked boxes yield little idea as to what's in the box. Most reports have said that people will almost always get a complete set of clear and painted figures, unless a chase figure is included. In that case, one of the twelve figures will be bumped.

Chase Info:

Rumors and reports abound, and as such we have no solid info about the odds of getting the shiny, sparkly, energy weapon of death clad Optimus or Megatron from More Than Meets The Eye that is your desire.

At the bottom of the case, a letter appears. A few posts and messages here and there hint that a letter "B" means a chase figure is present. True? A post to the alt.toys.transformers newsgroup had a customer with a "B" case and he says he received no chase figures.

If you get one, congratulations, you're obscenely lucky. Since they are more or less repaints and incredibly hard to come by, it's unknown what the demand will be for them in the future. We're hoping somebody does an equivalent of the infamous Star Trek 1701 box set.

For Act 2, the Chase Figures include Hot Rod opening the Matrix of Leadership and Optimus Prime holding Megatron in gun mode.

Since the hands are easily interchangable, we would advise you to keep your eyes open for potential forgeries. Repainting a figure metallic isn't especially difficult, and it's possible someone will attempt to forge/customize the figures. So be careful when shelling out the big bucks for these guys, because bootlegs are out there.

16bit.com's Case Assortment:

Our case was as follows:

Left row, front to back::  Clear Galvatron  Painted Minerva  Painted Powermaster Optimus Prime  Clear Rodimus Prime  Painted Grimlock  Painted Optimus Prime (Truck)

Right row, front to back:  Painted Galvatron  Clear Minerva  Clear Powermaster Optimus Prime  Clear Grimlock  Painted Rodimus Prime  Clear Optimus Prime (Truck)

Your mileage will undoubtedly vary.

Future:

Act 3 is currently available, with several more series rumored to be in the works. The back of the case shows logos for six Japanese TransFormers series, and perhaps it's possible cases would be released for them in the future.

Availability:

Toy importers everywhere are offering these at various prices. If you want a specific, individual character you have two options: ebay, or a stroke of luck at a convention or toy store.

Value:

If you're an old school TransFan, you will probably love these. If you're a toy junkie with a penchant for '80s goodies (like 97% of internet users these days), they're pretty great. If you don't like barely articulated figures dished out at random, these are not for you.

Needless to say, these are not toys in the traditional sense. Don't expect to get much play out of them, and they aren't reccomended for the kiddies. Unless the kiddies are toy collectors.

The 16bit.com Opinion was that while neat, they're a little expensive at the current going rate of $5.50 and up at most toy importers. We highly reccomend them to die-hard TransFormers fans as they're nice, attractive little collectible figures that are everything the decoys weren't: larger, articulated, and painted. Except for the clear unpainted ones, they're still unpainted.

In Japan, they're 480 yen-- that's around $3.84 as of this article.