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Nomenclature Trading Kits Packaging Assortment Chase Info

16bit.com's Case Assortment Future Availability Size 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 Arcee was fully assembled save for one of her shoulder pads. On the other hand, our clear God Ginrai was a bag of parts-- except for the upper parts of each arm, the figure was completely unassembled.

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. Some reports mention broken pieces on clear Starscream or on clear Megatron, but we had no such problem with our figures.

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.

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 boxes from all angles, please view that section on 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.

The odds are said to be 1 in 120 of finding a figure in your case. They're also said to be 1 in 500 cases. So who's to say?

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 1701 box set.

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.

16bit.com's Case Assortment:

Our case was as follows:

Left row, front to back::  Clear Ultra Magnus  Painted Starscream  Painted Optimus Prime  Clear Starscream  Clear Arcee  Clear Megatron

Right row, front to back:  Painted Ultra Magnus  Painted Megatron  Clear Optimus Prime  Painted God Ginrai  Painted Arcee  Clear God Ginrai

Your mileage will undoubtedly vary. Also, it should be noted that Arcee was immensely lighter than her counterparts, so if you want an Arcee it'll be pretty easy to guess which box is hers.

Future:

Act 2 is in the pipeline, with more slated 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.

All we want to know is... where's Soundwave?

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.

Size:

Since we had some trouble picturing figure size without a reference point, we decided it would be a good idea to include an image. Those first shots of Star Wars figures in 1995 sure didn't look the same size as the originals, so here's a pair of reference shots:

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 (roughly $4.10 as of the writing of this feature) which reveals a pretty small mark-up.

Still, if the price is right, any toy is worth owning.