Monday, July 31, 2017

Marvel Legends Spiderman Homecoming - BAF Vulture Flight Gear Case, now in-stock!

Marvel Legends Spiderman Homecoming - BAF Vulture Flight Gear Case


We have a limited number of stocks available for the Marvel Legends Spiderman Homecoming Case - BAF Vulture Flight Gear. So, make sure to order yours before we run out. Shop Smart with The Chosen Prime!






Storm Collectibles Street Fighter V M. Bison is now stocked and ready to ship!

Storm Collectibles Street Fighter V M. Bison


The famous M.Bison from Storm Collectibles Street Fighter V Collectible Series is now in-stock! Get yours by using the links. Shop Smart with The Chosen Prime!







Iron Factory IF-EX20V Skywing is now in-stock!

Iron Factory IF-EX20V Skywing

Get your Seeker fix by getting the 2nd figure in the IF-EX20 Tyrant's Wings series - IF-EX20V Skywing. Ready to ship. Pre-orders are being processed. Thank you for choosing The Chosen Prime!






Bandai S.H. Figuarts The Dark Knight Batman is now in-stock!

Bandai S.H. Figuarts The Dark Knight Batman

In-stock and ready to ship - Bandai S.H. Figuarts The Dark Knight Batman. Order yours by following the links. Thank you for your continued support of The Chosen Prime!






Storm Collectibles Street Fighter V Ken is now in-stock!

Storm Collectibles Street Fighter V Ken


Storm Collectibles Street Fighter V Ken Masters Collectible Action Figure is now in-stock! Pre-orders are being processed. Get yours by using the links. Shop Smart with The Chosen Prime!






Bandai S.H. Figuarts Street Fighter V Chun Li is now in-stock!

Bandai S.H. Figuarts Street Fighter V Chun Li

Get your Bandai S.H. Figuarts Street Fighter V Chun Li! We have it stocked and ready to ship. Just follow the links and order yours today. Shop Smart with The Chosen Prime!






Generation Toy GT-6 Duron Drill is now up for pre-order!

Generation Toy GT-6 Duron Drill


We now have the pre-order up for Generation Toy GT-6 Duron Drill. ETA of late 4th Quarter 2017 release. Reserve yours today using the links. Thank you for choosing The Chosen Prime!






Bandai Soul of Chogokin GX-72 Power Rangers Megazord is now in-stock!

Bandai Soul of Chogokin GX-72 Power Rangers Megazord


Just arrived today - Bandai Soul of Chogokin GX-72 Power Rangers Megazord! We're currently processing pre-orders. Get yours by following the links. Shop Smart with The Chosen Prime!






Friday, July 28, 2017

Movie Masterpiece Optimus Prime

Having picked up Movie Masterpiece Bumblebee, I figured I might as well get the big blue guy too. Movie Masterpiece Optimus Prime at least looks pretty good in robot mode, but he has a half-assed paint job.

I wanted to like his vehicle mode, but it's so finicky. Panels kept wanting to come undone and stress marks started appearing on the red panels where his legs tab into his arms. I'm aware there is a way to prevent that gap under his front windshield, but I didn't want to stress the plastic anymore. It's a pity. I love how the red on his hood has metallic flakes. Too bad the blue parts didn't get the same treatment. Aesthetically, I think the fuel tanks are a bit small and sit rather high. He rolls fairly well on three pairs of plastic tires, but I think his kneepads will rub against the ground. Unfortunately, the minuscule Autobot log on his grille will disappear in robot mode.

Transformation to robot mode is complex, but not as bad as I thought it would be. He's not quite a floppy mess in between modes; certainly not as bad as Badcube Wardog or Sunsurge. His right abdomen cover doesn't want to peg into its socket unless I position it at an extreme angle. His right kneepad doesn't peg in either. More annoyingly, his back panels don't even have tabs to keep them in place. Going back to truck mode is rather tricky. Quite a few tabs refused to stay plugged in for some reason. I want to repeat that stress marks appeared in various places from tabs pushing on their sockets. There are a also few places where the hinges and swivels are made of transparent plastic.

I think his robot mode does a wonderful job of capturing his CGI model. His face swap gimmick is very easy to use and feels far sturdier than the battle mask on Bumblebee. This is definitely preferable to having to unscrew or remove heads and having to store extra pieces somewhere. I will definitely be displaying him with his battle mask on since I just can't picture Optimus Prime with a mouth. Either face is wonderfully detailed, probably the most sculpted of any figure in my collection. He has Die-cast in his feet, shins, and abdomen, giving him quite a substantial heft. I would be careful about displaying him on rough surfaces because his front grill is the bottom of his feet.

His paint applications seem to be incomplete - the blue and red flame motif only covers the front of his biceps and thighs, leaving the sides and backs in gray plastic; his gas tanks are also only half-painted; his abdomen, shins, and feet are devoid of any paint applications despite the product shots on the box; and I can't believe I have to put an Autobot emblem on an official figure because the spot  on his chest is missing the logo. I'm glad I took up painting minis as a hobby since I think I'm confident enough to add detailing to his Die-cast parts. 

His head is on a hinge and swivel. Although he can look up but not down, doing so destroys his neck sculpt. His shoulders are on hinges and ratcheted swivels. He can raise his arms up and out just slightly past 90 degrees, seemingly being stopped only because of the kibble on his biceps. He swivels at his biceps, wrists, and thighs. His single-jointed elbows can curl past 90 degrees. His thumbs are on hinges and the rest of his fingers are single-pinned, with his pointing fingers articulating separately from the rest. His pointing fingers also have hinges at the second knuckles. Bumblebee has better designed fingers. He doesn't seem to have a waist swivel. His hips are on universals with ratchets along the frontal axis. He can neither perform a full front splits nor a full side splits because of his tire kibble and butt flap. He has double-jointed knees, with ratchets in the upper parts of the joints, which allow him to almost perform full curls. They can also bend forward. Again, I have to ask, why? His ankles are on rockers and hinges and seem pretty stable. At the least, he doesn't lean backwards like Bumblebee tends to.

His accessories include a rifle, two blades, and the Matrix of Leadership. The rifle is mostly gray plastic with some line work and a gradient to black at the barrel. It uses a Masterpiece-styled tab that works surprisingly well. The blades are mirror images of each other and slot onto his wrists behind the back of his hands. They are a mix of metallic silver paint and translucent yellow plastic, with the same Cybertronian character on each blade. All the weapons can peg onto the trailer hitch in vehicle mode. Unfortunately, you cannot store the blades separately from the rifle. Found in his chest, the Matrix of Leadership is all Die-cast, but it is rather uninspired and much smaller when compared to what comes with MP-10. The sculpt is not helped by the peg holes that inexplicably sit on both sides and destroy what could have been some beautiful line work. Like Bumblebee, his instructions comes on cheap-feeling paper. He does not come with a coin.

I have a shelf set aside for Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. Although I'm still not a big fan of this aesthetic, it's kind of growing on me, at least with the toys. Despite the rather subpar paint job, he definitely captures the look of his onscreen source material. Too bad the truck mode is a let down. Seems to be a running theme with these Movie Masterpiece figures. I’ll likely pick up Barricade and not be surprised if the vehicle mode is subpar as well. Hopefully, one of the versions of Megatron doesn't take too long to come out.











Robot Hero R01 Durden & Barney 2pack mini cassettes are now up for pre-order!

Robot Hero R01 Durden & Barney 2pack mini cassettes


New from Robot Hero is R-01 Durden & Barney. This 2 pack mini cassettes fit with the current Takara MP versions. This is their version of Overkill and Slugfest. Reserve your today by following the links. ETA of August 2017 release. Shop Smart with The Chosen Prime!






Thursday, July 27, 2017

Marvel Legends Thor Ragnarok - BAF Gladiator Hulk Case Assortment is now up for pre-order!

Marvel Legends Thor Ragnarok - BAF Gladiator Hulk Case Assortment


We have the Marvel Legends Thor Ragnarok - BAF Gladiator Hulk case assortment up for pre-order. ETA of August release. Reserve yours today. Thank you for choosing The Chosen Prime!






OpenPlay Big Spring Review and Instructional Video




Here's our Video Review for OpenPlay Big Spring. Since the figure itself doesn't come with any instructions, you can view this a one. Enjoy and video and then follow the links to order yours. Shop Smart with The Chosen Prime!






Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Zeta Toys ZB-02 Airstrike is now up for pre-order!

Zeta Toys ZB-02 Airstrike

We have the second member of Zeta Toys' version of Superion Combiner team up for pre-order. Here's ZB-02 Airstrike. You've seen the Video Previews. Now place your orders in. ETA of October release. Thank you for your continued support of The Chosen Prime!






Zeta Toys ZB-01 Flyfire is now up for pre-order!

Zeta Toys ZB-01 Flyfire


We have the pre-order up for Zeta Toys ZB-01 Flyfire. ETA of October 2017 release. Reserve yours today by following the links. Shop Smart with The Chosen Prime!






Monday, July 24, 2017

Transformers Masterpiece Movie Series MPM-4 Optimus Prime is now in-stock!

Transformers Masterpiece Movie Series MPM-4 Optimus Prime

Transformers Masterpiece Movie Series MPM-4 Optimus Prime is now in-stock! Pre-orders are being processed. Get yours by following the links. Shop Smart with The Chosen Prime!






Perfect Effect PC-19 Gorira Jr 2-Pack, is now up for pre-order!

Perfect Effect PC-19 Gorira Jr 2-Pack


Check it out! We have the Perfect Effect PC-19 Gorira Jr 2-Pack Set now up for pre-order. ETA of September release. Get yours by following the links. Shop Smart with The Chosen Prime!






Sunday, July 23, 2017

Fans Hobby MB-05 Flypro Video Review




Here's our Video Review for Fans Hobby MB-05 Flypro. Check it out and then follow the links to order yours. Thank you for your continued support of The Chosen Prime!






Saturday, July 22, 2017

Zeta Toys ZB-02 Video Preview




Here's our Video Preview for Zeta Toys ZB-02. This is their version of Air Raid (test shot). We look forward to being able to offer this figure to you. Check it out and then check the other Zeta Toys offerings on our store. Shop Smart with The Chosen Prime!


Zeta Toys ZB-01 Video Preview



Video Preview for Zeta Toys ZB-01. This is their version of Aerialbot Fireflight. We don't have any pre-orders yet, but we're working on it. Check it out and then check out the othe Zeta Toys products already up on our store. Thank you for your continued support of The Chosen Prime!


Friday, July 21, 2017

Mastermind Creations Calidus - Hot Rod

The Reformatted series of figures has been one of my favorite lines ever since I picked up Azalea and Hexatron seemingly so long ago. Mastermind Creations Calidus is a great addition to this line.

I like his vehicle mode. It's a little shorter in length than I would have liked, but the overall design looks wonderful. I like it a lot more than Masterpiece Hot Rod's vehicle mode, both versions. Unlike Masterpiece Hot Rod 2.0, his tires are nice and large. He rolls very smoothly, but I do worry about scraping the metallic paint on his knees. The underside is fairly clean, but robot hands and legs are recognizable. 

Transformation to robot mode is easier than going to vehicle mode since you are essentially unfolding him. Going to vehicle mode, I simply could not get the exhausts on his chest to peg to the exhausts on his legs.

I love how Calidus looks in robot mode. Now I don't feel so bad about missing out on the Hot Rodimus mold from HasTak. His few paint applications are cleanly applied, but he's a very red figure. There are several shades of red, even if it is hard to notice at a quick glance. I like the metallic silver on his knees and wish more metallic paint had been applied elsewhere. As expected, he has plenty of interesting line work.

His head is on a ball joint. Be careful about scraping his chin though. He can look up a little bit, but not down. His shoulders are on hinges and double swivels. He can raise his arms out to his sides, but not quite to 90 degrees and only if you extend his shoulder hinges. His arm rotation is hindered by his wings. He has swivels both above and below his elbows and at his wrists. His double-jointed elbows can perform full curls. He has fixed thumbs and single-pinned fingers. His pointing fingers articulate separately from the rest. He has waist and thigh swivels. His hips are on universal joints that have ratchets along the frontal axis. He can perform a full front splits and a decent but not full side splits. His single-jointed knees can curl a little past 90 degrees. He has ankle tilts and rockers with separate hinges for his heel spurs.

His accessories include a rifle, a bow, and a spare head. His rifle is gray plastic with some line work. It resembles the rifle we usually get with Hot Rod figures. It uses a rectangular peg that sits well in his hands and the port on his back in vehicle mode. His bow is similar in style to Eupatorium's bow, but larger. It has some orange and silver paint. The ends are hinged for storage in vehicle mode. He can hold the bow easily in either hand. It can also peg onto his back, but the result looks rather ridiculous. The two heads have only the very slightest of differences - a neutral expression in one and a smirk in the other. I'll be using the smirk face.

Calidus will stand on my Reformatted shelf. I definitely like him more than the Boreas, Jaegertron, and Anubis mold. I'm still loving these Reformatted figures and look forward to collecting many more.









Monday, July 17, 2017

OpenPlay Big Spring is now up for pre-order!

OpenPlay Big Spring


We have OpenPlay Big Spring up for pre-order! We should have them ready to ship early next week. Get yours by following the links. Thank you for your continued support of The Chosen Prime!






Friday, July 14, 2017

Masterpiece Optimus Primal

Masterpiece Supreme Commander Optimus Primal

I didn't get into the Beast Wars series. It started just about when I stopped watching much television. Cheetor was purchased on a whim and I liked it so much that I decided to get Optimus Primal. Since I missed the original release, I went with the Supreme Commander edition.

Except for a few obvious robot parts on the back of his legs, Optimus Primal is nearly kibble free in beast mode. He looks great as an upright gorilla, but I'm not able to get him into a more traditional gorilla stance. I couldn't achieve the box art stance without mis-transforming his shoulders and crotch. Even then, his rear feet wouldn't sit quite right. I wished he had the same kind of painted texture that Cheetor has.

Transformation to either mode is pretty easy. There seems to be enough clearance in his torso for the gorilla head, but I do worry about scraping it. Although there is not much to do with his arms, thankfully his legs feature a few more steps. I was worried that his transformation would be too simple.

I think I prefer how he looks in beast mode, but his robot mode is pretty neat. He has a light-up feature for his eyes, but batteries are not included. I like the piston detail in his shins. If only they weren't only decorative. He has flip out shoulder and wrist cannons. I can't help but think that I should have gotten the original version for the metallic paint applications.

His gorilla and robot heads are on ball joints. He can look up but not down. His shoulders are on hinges and ratcheted swivels, allowing him to raise his arms out and up to 90 degrees. His shoulder pads are on ratcheted hinges. They are independent of his arms so you have to move them back down yourself. He swivels at his biceps and wrists. His single-jointed elbows let him do almost a full curl. His thumbs are fixed and the rest of his fingers are single-pinned. His pointing fingers articulate separately from the rest. In beast mode, he has no waist swivel, has severely limited range of motion in his hips, and lacks thigh swivels and knee joints. In robot mode, he has a ratcheted waist swivel. His hips are on ratcheted universals that allow him to do the full Van Damne. He also has double-jointed knees that curl well past 90 degrees. The top parts of his knee joints are ratcheted. His ankles are on swivels and hinges. His toes and heel spurs are on separate hinges.

His accessories include a double-bladed staff, a pair of swords, a mace, an alternate robot face, a beast face, an alternate gorilla face, a storage peg, and a box of bananas. While the staff and swords have plenty of line work, there is not a lick of paint on any of them. The morning star at least has an interesting design with the chain and spiked skull. All the weapons use Masterpiece-styled tabs that just don't work that well. His grip is tight enough to hold the handles in place despite that. I had difficulty putting on the beast face and actually almost cracked it in half so decided to put it away. I think the pegs are crooked on mine, preventing them from going into the holes on the back of his head. The gorilla face is easily swappable, but I am concerned about stripping the screw. The storage peg lets him store his weapons on his back. The box contains small bananas in a bunch. They can separate into individual pieces.

I'll be displaying Optimus Primal on my Beast Wars shelf next to Cheetor and Leonidas. This was another impulse purchase since I don't really have any attachments to the Beast Wars cartoon. I don't have the original version to compare in hand, but judging from pictures I think I would have preferred that one's metallic paint applications and textured gorilla fur. Still, I do like this figure. Here's to hoping that Megatron will be announced soon.










FansToys FT-20 Terminus Giganticus Video Preview



Here's our Video Preview for FansToys FT-20 Terminus Giganticus! It's so MASSIVE! Check it out and then follow the links below to reserve yours! Thank you for choosing The Chosen Prime.










Wednesday, July 12, 2017

TFcon is presented by The Chosen Prime.




TFcon is presented by The Chosen Prime.


TFCON TO KICK-­-OFF EPIC WEEKEND FESTIVITIES
Over 3,000 Fans, Exhibitors and Guests from Around the Globe to Converge on Mississauga.

Toronto, ON. In less then 3 days time, over 3,000 fans, exhibitors and special guests from as close as Toronto to as far as Australia will converge on the Hilton Mississauga/Meadowvale Hotel and Convention Centre (6750 Mississauga Rd.) to participate in the world's largest fan-­-run Transformers convention, TFcon.

From a massive exhibitor room featuring collectables and exclusives to a myriad of popular guest celebrities and voice actors who made Transformers a success; circa 1984 and beyond, there will be exciting opportunities for fans both new and old to experience. Fans who are planning a detailed visit can check out the show's 2017 event schedule located online: www.tfcon.ca/schedule

Furthermore, a special charity auction in support of Make A Wish Canada hosted by special guest Scott McNeil will take place on Friday, July 14 at 8:15 p.m. (Hazel McCallion ABCD room inside the Hilton).

"We are looking forward to an exceptional weekend," says General Manager Colin Douglas. "Excitement and interest in this event has continued to grow around the Globe."

Tickets can be purchased online or at the door. For information, please visit: www.tfcon.ca/tickets

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Storm Collectibles Street Fighter V Akuma, now up for pre-order!

Storm Collectibles Street Fighter V Akuma

We have the upcoming Storm Collectibles Street Figher V Akuma up for pre-order! Reserve yours today. Shop Smart with The Chosen Prime!






TFC Toys Poseidon Enhancement Packs, now up for pre-order!

TFC Toys Poseidon Enhancement Packs

We have the TFC Toys Poseidon Combiner Enhancement Packs available for pre-order. They come in Red, Green, and Blue versions. If you get P-06 Thousandkills, it already comes with the red version as a bonus. If your want a different color, you can choose either the blue or green versions. And if you want something extra or just not inclined to get P-06, you can get the red version. In any case, you have options available to get Poseidon going. Just follow the links to order yours. Shop Smart with The Chosen Prime!


















Friday, July 7, 2017

Takara Diaclone Reboot DA-14 Big Powered GV, now up for pre-order!

Takara Diaclone Reboot DA-14 Big Powered GV

This massive juggernaut is coming out in December 2017. Check out the Takara Diaclone Reboot DA-14 Big Powered GV set. Make sure to follow the links and reserve yours early. Free shipping to the Continental US. Take advantage of the Prime Directives to save more. Shop Smart with The Chosen Prime!






Takara Diaclone Reboot DA-15 Powered Troopers Set, is now up for pre-order!

Takara Diaclone Reboot DA-15 Big Powered Troopers Set


We have the Takara Diaclone Reboot DA-15 Powered Troopers Set, now up for pre-order! ETA of December 2017 release. Comes with 5 Dia-nauts and two motorbikes. Check it out and follow the links to reserve yours. Thank you for choosing The Chosen Prime!






Thursday, July 6, 2017

Movie Masterpiece Bumblebee

I'm not a huge fan of the Michael Bay Transformers. The only other Bayformers I have are Mindwipe and extremely cheap knock-offs of Ironhide and Skyhammer. Movie Masterpiece Bumblebee was an impulse purchase when I saw it was still in stock at TCP after the preorders had been fulfilled.

Getting him into vehicle mode was a pain even though he starts out as a car out of the box. I ended up with a few stress marks on one of the rear side windows so I stopped trying to squeeze him together. The paint applications seem to be pretty clean, but the overall paint work isn't that impressive. The mix of line work and transparent plastic in the front grill is especially well done though. It's a pity I couldn't get him to stay together since I probably would have liked to do a project with his vehicle mode. His doors work, sort of. The rear side windshields are connected to the doors so they can't open all the way. I don't know if the hood is meant to open. In trying to, most of his front came undone . . . more than it already was. His undercarriage is not clean, but it's not extremely messy either. Bumblebee is playing peekaboo through his arms. Despite panels coming apart, he still rolls fine on plastic tires.

Transformation to robot mode was surprisingly very easy. I like how most of the top of the car collapses into his torso. Unfortunately, a few hinges use transparent plastic. Despite watching some videos, I didn't have much luck getting him back into vehicle mode. Since cracks had already started forming on some of the smaller window pieces, I decided against trying too hard.

I think Bumblebee is one of the few Bayformers that stand out, not just because of his screen time, but because of his color. Since most everyone else is a grey, black, or silver, I have trouble telling anyone apart. I'm also not a fan of how busy everyone looks. That being said, I love this figure's aesthetics. The black, gun metal, and yellow contrast really nicely. The line work is more plentiful than on other Masterpiece figures. His face sculpt is done very well. Surprisingly, he actually has light-piping, but you need a lot of light to make it work. He has Die-cast in his torso, shins, and feet that gives him more heft than you would expect. He has what has to be the tiniest tampographed Autobot symbol I have ever seen. He's a little hollow from the sides, but not anymore so than Masterpiece Sideswipe. His door flaps that stick down could have used hinges to fold away more cleanly. The paint on his battle mask gets messy at the edges.

His head is on a swivel and hinge that afford him quite a range of motion. His shoulders are on double hinges and ratcheted swivels. He can raise his arms out and up to about 90 degrees. His elbows are single-jointed and curl to 90 degrees. They also have limited sideway hinges. His arms swivel just above his elbows and at his wrists. He has thumbs and three fingers per hand, but his third and forth fingers are fused together. They are all pinned and have hinges at the second knuckles. He has waist and thigh swivels. His hips are on ratcheted universals that allow him to do a full front splits but not quite a full side splits. His single-jointed knees only curl to 90 degrees. He has ankle rockers and limited ankle tilts. His feet and heel spurs are on separate hinges. He's a bit back heavy. His balance is not helped by his wonky ankles. I wish designers would remember to use tighter or stronger joints on load bearing joints like ankles.

His only accessory is a hand cannon. The yellow paint inside the barrel seems to be a bit thin. It pegs onto his arm and is held in place by his forearm cover. I like how it effectively turns his hand into a cannon, but wished it were a transformation mechanic, like his battle mask, instead of parts-forming. It can store in the undercarriage of his vehicle mode and on his back in robot mode. There is no character card or coin. For a Masterpiece figure, the number of accessories is rather disappointing.

I'm surprised to say that I'll be starting a new shelf for Bayformers that catch my eye. Despite a very finicky vehicle mode, Bumblebee is a surprisingly fun figure. It does a very good job of capturing the aesthetic of the live-action movies. Skyhammer and Mindwipe will most likely stay on my CHUG shelf because the scale doesn't really work that well. KO Ironhide is in my cast-off box. I am looking forward to getting my hands on the new Optimus Prime and Unique Toys Peru.