Planet X PX-C01 Ismenios, is now in-stock!

Planet X PX-C01 Ismenios

Planet X PX-C01 Ismenios is now in-stock! Order yours today by following the links. Shop Smart with The Chosen Prime!

Mastermind Creations R-42C D-Zef (Continuum), is now up for pre-order!

Mastermind Creations R-42C D-Zef (Continuum)

We have MMC R-42C D-Zef (Continuum) up for pre-order!  Great for those looking for an updated G1 look for Deathsaurus. Reserve yours early. Thank you for choosing The Chosen Prime!

Mastermind Creations R-42 D-Zef, is now up for pre-order!

Mastermind Creations R-42 D-Zef

Wow! Check out MMC's R-42 D-Zef. We have it up for pre-order. Use the links and reserve yours early. Shop Smart with The Chosen Prime!

TFC Toys Wild Hunter - Blacker

Although I love the idea of combiners, I find them a pain to assemble. Their joints invariably weaken over time even if they weren't a floppy mess to start with. TFC Toys Wild Hunter is the final piece to their Trinity Force. While I love the way Trinity Force looks, only time will tell if I will break him down to his component figures like I have done with most of my other combiners.

His dune buggy mode is surprisingly large. I like the general shape of the vehicle. The view from the front, sides, and top look wonderful. The back, not so much. The transparent plastic and metallic highlights break up the solid reds and blacks. Unfortunately, the silver metallic paint of his spoiler and the orange paint of his headlights were chipped and scratched right out of the box. I like the springs on his shock absorbers and front grill. Although they are real springs, it's too bad they are just decorative. I was surprised to see that he dwarfs the Masterpiece cars and almost rivals MP-10 in size. The cockpit canopy does open to reveal a spot for the Transtector to sit in, but the fit is really tight. Like the previous figures, it's also a pain to open. The undercarriage is fairly clean. He rolls beautifully on four large rubber tires.

Transformation is a fair bit involved. There were a handful of spots where I had to flex plastic to make parts move past one another. Tabbing the chest to the neck plate was annoyingly fiddly because the neck plate kept wanting to swivel away. I'm not sure that I formed his backpack quite correctly. It seems like it should tab down, but it just sits loosely with the wheels providing a bit of friction to keep it in place. Transforming back to vehicle mode is not that difficult.

His robot mode looks alright. He ties in very well to Red Knight and Raging Bull. The metallic silver paint and transparent accents again are needed to break up all that red. He is a bit top heavy, but his heel spurs keep him from toppling. His forearms are large and kibbly. The spoilers on his shins don’t have a specific stopping point, which messes with my OCD.

His head is on a ball joint. Like the others, the Transtector gimmick is not implemented as well as on Masterpiece Star Saber. The face plate locks the head into place, removing all articulation. The ball joint socket on the alternate head doesn't sit quite right, resulting in him always looking slightly upward. His shoulders are on ratcheted swivels and hinges. He can raise his arms out and to the sides parallel to the ground. He swivels at his biceps, wrists, crotch, thighs, and shins. His elbows are single-jointed and can only curl halfway. His thumbs are fixed. The rest of his fingers are single-pinned and articulate as a single unit. His hips are on ratcheted universals. He can perform full front and side splits. His knees are double-jointed and ratcheted and can perform full curls. His toes are on hinged ball joints. Depending on how you transform the back of his legs, he can have heel spurs.

Not unexpectedly, transformation to combined mode is a pain. While Wild Hunter himself is not too difficult to transform, Raging Bull and Red Knight basically require returning them to their vehicle modes. This means dealing once again with that dreaded ball-jointed armature of their doors. In the end, I cheated and removed those things to complete the transformation. I also don’t like how the back of his arms just sit loosely and are prone to swiveling open. Happily, Red Knight is unaffected by the broken piece of his hood.

Not surprisingly, combined mode is very striking. I was worried that being only comprised of three robots we would end up with Fall of Cybertron Bruticus proportions. Fortunately, that is not the case. He is shorter than I would have hoped if he is meant to take on Hades.  Without the large expanses of red, the line work and paint details on his body really shine through.

His head is on a ball joint, but it has a very limited range of motion. His shoulders are on ratcheted swivels and hinges; they were previously his knee joints and shin swivels. He can raise his arms up and out parallel to the ground. His wings get in the way of raising his arms in front of him though. He has ratcheted, single-jointed elbows. He swivels at his biceps, wrists, waist, thighs, and knees. All his fingers are on large ball joints. His thumbs have one knuckle while the rest of his fingers have two each. His hips are on ratcheted swivels and hinges; they were previously his shoulder joints. He technically has knee joints, but I find them hard to manipulate without popping apart the parts of the cars or his thighs. His feet are on solid (for now) ball joints.

His accessories include another Transtector, an alternate head, a pair of rifles, a sword, a pair of hands, an alternate combiner face, and some screw covers. The Transtector is just as minuscule as the previous ones. At least, he has the benefit of not carrying a face on his back. The alternate head restores neck articulation. Since I will most likely be displaying the entire set in combined mode, it doesn't really matter which one I have on there. Of note, the Transtectors for all three cannot stay in the bodies. The rifles don't look all that convincing and don't sit well in his hands. As feet, they function well. The combined sword is nearly as tall as he is. He can put on a scowling expression with the alternate face. The screw cover bits go on his abs in combined mode.

I’ll probably display Trinity Force next to Masterpiece Star Saber (once I dig him out of my garage). It’s too soon tell how the joints will hold up over time, but since he doesn’t have the added weight of two more figures, I’m holding out hope. I like these voyager sized figures from TFC Toys and hope they continue to bring us more.

Takara LG-EX Greatshot, now in-stock!

Takara LG-EX Greatshot

Another six-changer has arrived. Here's Takara LG-EX Greatshot. Ready to be shipped. Orders are currently being processed. Get yours by following the links. We look forward to serving you.

Hasbro Platinum Edition Combiner Wars Liokaiser is now up for pre-order!

Hasbro Platinum Edition Combiner Wars Liokaiser

Hasbro Platinum Edition Combiner Wars Liokaiser is now up for pre-order. Stock is coming in next week. Make sure to reserve yours by following the links. Shop Smart with The Chosen Prime!

Fansproject Saurus Ryu-Oh Dinogo, pre-order is now up!

Fansproject Saurus Ryu-Oh Dinogo

Up for pre-order is Fansproject Saurus Ryu-Oh Dinogo. The 5th member in this combiner series. Follow the links and reserve yours. ETA of May/June 2016. Thanks for choosing The Chosen Prime!

http://www.thechosenprime.com/APS01U

Prime Spotlight: Perfect Effect Leonidas

Perfect Effect Leonidas 

by matty @stayinginthebox

The Gist

If you’re looking for a figure that will command attention on your shelf, a high end robot with articulation, diecast, and plenty of accessories, while not being overly concerned with a sub-par transformation, an average beast mode, and a zoid-esque aesthetic, this figure is for you.

Perfect Effect’s Leonidas has that “it factor” and you can feel it as soon as you pick it up. The robot mode is where this collectible shines with great points of articulation, diecast placement in all the right places including its swords, and a sculpt that can only be described as clean and sharp. However, you’ll need to forgive its transformation, which besides a difficult process of aligning its lion head is essentially dropping it on all fours. The lion beast mode itself is average, looking absolutely stellar from the front, but suffers from other angles. Even with its minor flaws, Leonidas will make more than one “figure of the year” lists.

The Details

Robot Mode:

Leonidas’ robot mode can be described nothing short of “high end.” The moment you first remove this figure from the packaging you can immediately feel the quality Perfect Effect put into it. Diecast is very well placed to give the figure the right amount of heft without being too heavy. Even the katanas are diecast, which was a welcome surprise. In addition to the katanas, other accessories include two Optimus Prime look-a-like blasters, articulated tail whip, two daggers that detach from the tail, and a display stand.

Articulation is very impressive. You’ll be able to produce some significant poses with the range of motion, which stems from several ball joints, pin/hinge joints, ankle tilts, and even individually articulated toes/claws, which helps a ton for the balancing poses. One thing to take note of is the tightness of the shoulder areas. They are tight out of package and take a bit to get use to, so take your time and move them slowly to understand how they best move, which is actually based around two different types of joints.

Perfect Effect definitely took liberties with the aesthetic of Leonidas. A common remark you will hear is this figure carries a “zoid” aesthetic, which is definitely true. Less apparent in the robot mode, there are still very sharp lines and hard edges to the mold, a departure from the original toy which maintained its organic curves. Your mileage is going to vary with the aesthetic, I think overall Perfect Effect could have rounded things off a bit more.

Beast Mode:

The lion alternate form of Leonidas is where this figure suffers. After going through a difficult process of aligning its head, which consists of the two shoulder pad areas from robot mode, there’s little involvement left to produce the beast mode. The instructions call for the smaller shoulder pad to peg into parts of the lion head, but I’ve found it easier to align the two rather than peg them in (it’s secure enough). Straight on, Leonidas has an absolutely stunning lion head sculpt, but from all other angles the “drop on all fours” syndrome is clearly apparent.

Articulation is limited in this mode as well, so don’t expect to get too many dynamic poses as if you were on the hunt. There is some wiggle room with the limbs, but you won’t get too far without exposing parts of the robot mode.

Beast mode does lend itself well to having a nicely armed alternate form, though. You’ll be able to get a decent pose arranging the array of weapons (two back blasters and attachable swords) while also having the option to move a fully poseable tail. The tail has several points of locking articulation, a bright spot in an average beast mode. Unfortunately beast mode is where the “zoid” aesthetic is most apparent, most likely being the biggest “your milage will vary” points of the entire figure.

Continue on for more shots of Perfect Effect’s Leonidas. Ordering information at The Chosen Prime can be found here.