Monday, November 30, 2015

X-Transbots Andras - Scourge

I was not a big fan of the way Scourge looked, preferring the original Seeker design. However, it's great that there aren't six different repaints of the same character.

Spaceship mode is fairly accurate to the cartoons, but it reminds me of a giant, blue slipper. It's unfortunate that there are so many screw holes on each of the tail pieces to allow for the light-up gimmick. I'm not a fan of putting batteries in my figures so will never use it. The darker blue nubs are also prone to falling off. The vents near the front can pull out. There is storage for the rifle.

Unfolding the wings involves a lot of flexing plastic to untab everything. Don't force anything and watch for hinges and tabs to be free and clear before extending or rotating the wings out of the way. Despite being careful, stress marks appeared on some of the hinges. His head needs to be pulled up on a pole and pushed back down, but the motion is incredibly stiff. The feet weren't bad at all. Maybe I got lucky. Have the calf folded out at 90 degrees; this gives the largest opening. By folding the toe on top of the heel spur, you can then push from behind the entire foot assembly through the opening. Just take care because, while the foot is made of die-cast, the hinges and assembly are made of thin plastic. Don't forget to fold down the tops of the calves and rotate the landing gears out of the way before trying to snap shut the calves. I have not tried going back to spaceship mode.

Robot mode looks fantastic. I'm not a fan of the old man face, but it is accurate enough to the cartoon. I wished there was metallic paint on the eyes or light-piping instead of a light-up gimmick. The wings give this figure an impressive silhouette and don't impede his waist rotation. The paint application is sparkly with metallic flakes.

His head can swivel side to side, but there is no up and down. If you move the entire platform his neck is on, you can get some upward motion while breaking the aesthetics of the figure. His elbows are double-jointed, but his knees are single-jointed. He swivels at the biceps, wrists, waists, and thighs. He has a decent amount of toe, heel, and feet articulation to give steady poses. I'm not a big fan of the incredibly tiny ball joints found on the individually articulated fingers and thumbs. The right thumb wasn't connected and fell out of the forearm compartment when I opened it to flip out the hands. There were already stress marks on both thumb joints. The wings can be placed in a variety of positions thanks to several ratcheted joints.

His accessories include a rifle, a Nebulon, a flight stand, a pair of shoulder joints, and a connector piece for Apollyon's mace. The rifle uses a Masterpiece-style tab and is prone to falling out when you're moving his arms or wrists. I absolutely hate this system for weapon holding. Unlike Apollyon, Andra's shoulders are fine so I don't think the extra shoulder joints are for him. If they are anything like the replacement joints I previously received, I would rather just use floor polish to stiffen up Apollyon's shoulders because those new joints were incredibly tight. I would rather have loose shoulders than a broken ones.

Rimfire is a quite disappointment in rifle mode. He does not look good at all. As a mini robot, he's actually pretty well articulated. I'll probably just have him standing off to the side.

As a display piece, Andras won't disappoint. He feels improved in quality over Apollyon, but suffers from a finicky transformation because of clearance issues in a bunch of places. Stress marks and paint chips appeared or were already present in some of the joints, especially in the wings. I'm hoping Fans Toys won't disappoint with their version, in which case, Andras will be regulated to be Sweep Two, Six, or Seven.











X2Toys BG-A Background Set (AutobotColors), now up for pre-order!

X2Toys BG-A Background Set (Autobot Colors)

Here's the X2Toys BG-A Background set in Autobot colors. Pre-order and setup your display. Thanks for choosing The Chosen Prime!





X2Toys BG-AP Background Set (Decepticon Colors), now up for pre-order!

X2Toys BG-AP Background Set (Decepticon Colors)


Want a display base for your figures? Well, check out this product from X2Toys. Here's the X2Toys BG-AP Background set in Decepticon Colors. Pre-order yours today. Shop Smart with The Chosen Prime!




Takara MP-11NR Ramjet is now up for pre-order.

Takara MP-11NR Ramjet


The first of the Coneheads. Here's Takara MP-11NR Ramjet, and he's up for pre-order. Reserve yours. Scheduled to be released in March of 2016. Thanks for choosing The Chosen Prime!




Sunday, November 29, 2015

TCP Family Review Episode 12



Fans Toys FT-11 Spotter Preview Review



Thanks to Benscollectables, here's a preview review of Fans Toys FT-11 Spotter. Enjoy the video, and then head on over to our store to reserve you set. Shop Smart with The Chosen Prime!




Saturday, November 28, 2015

Generation Toy Mixer - Mixmaster

Although I like the design of this cement mixer, I'm not too fond of the cab. Maybe it's because it looks too old fashioned. If pegged in loosely, the cab can swivel slightly. Unfortunately, the drum does not spin. It does split open to reveal weaponry and a peg for the gun. His weapon can also store in the undercarriage. The grey flap at the back can open to reveal a small compartment. The tires are rubber so I'll be applying a preventative layer of Armor All.

While transforming, be mindful of the side mirrors and ladders. They do pop off, which is better than breaking, but I would rather small pieces like these fold away completely. The process is pretty straight forward, but I did get hung up on the legs because of the way the cab halves unfold and then peg into the shins. There are a couple of options to handle the backpack and hood. I prefer the more cartoon inspired manner. While splitting the drum, take care not to scrape the silver barrel. The shoulder kibble is a bit of a disappointment because they just seem an afterthought with no proper place to go.

Mixer is another very chunky robot. Although his crest is different, his face is very similar to Scraper because of the mask. The light-piping is completely blocked by the hood. Out of the box, mine had paint scrapes in some of the silver parts.

With the hood positioned as shown, his head articulation is limited to a side-to-side swivel. The drum interferes with his waist rotation unless you detach it from his back and position it a little higher. He has swivels at the wrists, biceps, and upper thighs. His thumbs are fixed and his fingers articulate as one unit. He has double jointed knees, but single jointed elbows. His feet have limited articulation because the shins get in the way.

His accessories include a gun and repair parts for Scraper. Unlike Scraper, the gun sort of sits loosely in Mixer's hand. He also lacks the forearm indent that Scraper has for his gun. While the gun spins loosely in his grip, it won't just fall out. I haven't gotten around to retrofitting Scraper. From watching videos, it seems to be a pretty long process.

The black foam insert, while great for protecting the figure in the box, leaves a lot of black flecks on the figure. Scraper had the same issue. It only takes a moment to blow it all off, but it is an annoyance.

Comparing to TFC Mad Blender's engineering isn't quite fair since TFC put out their figures 3 years ago. However, Mixer is far closer to the mark in terms of aesthetics in both alternate and robot modes. Mixer also has more and better paint applications. Mad Blender still holds up very well as a toy and lends itself to being played with.

Mixer is another strong addition to Generation Toy Gravity Builder. I'm loving the chunky aesthetics and fun posability these figures offer.














KFC Toys E.A.V.I. Metal Phase 4 Transistor with Hifi (Non Metallic Version), now up for pre-order.

KFC Toys E.A.V.I. Phase 4 Transistor with Hifi (Non Metallic Version)


We now have the KFC Toys E.A.V.I. Phase 4 Transistor with Hifi (Non Metallic Version) up for pre-order. Reserve yours today and take advantage of the Prime Directives!




Friday, November 27, 2015

GCreation SKR-03 Wrath, now in-stock!

GCreation SKR-03 Wrath


Just arrived today. GCreation SKR-03 Wrath is now in-stock, and we're currently processing pre-orders. Get yours today. Shop Smart with The Chosen Prime!




Planet X PX-07 Triton is now up for pre-order!

Planet X PX-07 Triton


Pre-order for Planet X PX-07 Triton is now up. Coming out in the first quarter of 2016. Thanks for choosing The Chosen Prime!




Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Prime Spotlight: X-Transbots Toys MX-II Andras and Rimfire

X-Transbots Toys MX-II Andras with Rimfire


Here's our album for X-Transbots Toys MX-II Andras and Rimfire. Please enjoy and head over to our store to order yours. Thanks for choosing The Chosen Prime!