Santa Prime is coming to town ? 2023 Advent

[jtkv]

Are you not posting pictures any more?
Your descriptions are not accompanied by any pics for the last 3 postings...

[wervenom]

Originally Posted by jtkv

Are you not posting pictures any more?
Your descriptions are not accompanied by any pics for the last 3 postings...

Maybe something up with your browser? I see pics on every single post.

[jtkv]

Originally Posted by wervenom

Maybe something up with your browser? I see pics on every single post.

Hmm.. The issue is at my end.
Pictures are showing on another computer, but not on my main computer.. under both IE and Chrome.
Thanks...

[wervenom]

December 19 - Cang Toys CT-Chiyou-05 Thorilla

Posted 1/2/23.

15,957 likes

I guess at some point there was a change in his name as I recall it being Thorgorilla when the pre-order came up a long time ago but I like the shortened version better. Rolls off the tongue better but I am guessing Thor because of his hammer? Quite frankly they could have named him Monkey Pants since he technically kinda fits that bill but regardless it can't take away from how this guy looks. I have been impressed every time I have opened these figures. First thing to note is you will have to make some adjustments out of the box such as folding up the bottom panel on the shoulders and removing the clips from the waist. For me I also removed his arm cannons for a few shots as I was hoping they would fold up and not always be visible like Primal but no such luck. Also before I did anything with him, I took out Landbull and installed the two shoulder pieces for him just so I could get that out of the way.

Getting into Thorilla, man is he a big bot and I mean big. I'm going to have to get a figure out that most can relate to just to show his size (actually he is a bit taller than MP-10 & MP-36 so that should give you an idea). Beefy too I might add, very imposing stature, almost like Primal on steroids. So figure moves pretty well so far but I have a problem with my copy, nothing major but annoying. On the right shoulder the front panel falls off whenever I move it forward/up. If it happened once I would think it wasn’t on correctly but it happened repeatedly so I don't know if there is a small crack in the c–clip of if I am just being too heavy handed with it. I absolutely do not like his gun regardless of whether or not those unknown pieces are on it. It's big, it's ugly and he doesn't hold it well and with his forearms being so bulky you pretty much can only get it posed one way and for some reason he holds it better in his right hand as opposed to his left. Again my copy so YMMV.

The hammer looks really nice but I wish the shaft was about an inch longer only for 2 handed holding. Because of how his arms bend, the bulky forearms and the "wrist" blasters you can only use on tab at a time. If there is anyway someone got it to tab into both hands and still look natural, I'd really appreciate the tip. I guess with him being as bulky as he is, his overall articulation suffers. Can't get him into a good kneeling pose as his thigh gets to almost 90 degrees but despite having a double jointed knee, his calves are so thick you only getting to about 90 there as well. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining at all, just had certain poses planned in my head that didn't really work out as well as I hoped. Ankles are OK but would say he has about the same as FT Phantasm. Now I forgot to use the "boxing gloves" before I transformed him but I'm OK with not having included them.

Alt mode looks great but loses a bit in the articulation department as he can't look side to side unless he is standing up. On all fours it kinda "tilts" and no waist swivel unless you un-tab the crotch plate (not much different from it being the butt plate in bot mode).

I can't say too much more than that and can't wait for Huge Rhino to get this team finished but I am concerned with what he will come with accessory wise. I have assemble both the sword and cannon based on the parts I have now so from promo pics released to date he comes with 1 sword piece and 1 gun.
Theoretically the cannon would be complete but I am missing 2 parts of the sword and I don't recall them coming with anyone else so I assume he should have the last two pieces as well? I dunno, all I do know is I'm anxiously awaiting his release to finish this off after 2 years (I think).

[wervenom]

Getting into the top 5 tomorrow morning and remember if you want to win read the first post.

[wervenom]

December 20 - Magic Square MS-02EX Light of Peace

Posted 5/18/23.

17,870 likes

Well, I've had many different types of MP Primes over the years but this will be my first foray into Magic Square and I am eternally grateful that I have stayed away from this company until this release since (if I understand correctly) this would be THE must have from them.

A quick little side story before I get into MS OP. The Hasbro version of MP-10 has long been my Prime and to be fair he always will be although I wasn't a fan when I saw the promo pics way back when. MP-1 was what I really liked but when MP-4 came out that was my ultimate (and for the record it just sends my OCD into a frenzy when I see collectors refer to them as MP-01 and MP-04 and have to resist the urge to become the ultimate "keyboard" warrior). In any event, had Takara not reduced the size of masterpiece to what it became with MP-8, I would have long stuck with the MP-4 and MP-5 heights. So along comes MP-10 and despite the limitations now, I still think it is a great looking Prime and he will stay on my S1 shelf and MS will be displayed on my S4 shelf.

For MS though, I legit have mixed feelings on a number of things. I think it is a great looking sculpt and far improved over V1 (which I have never owned). Now I say sculpt because the lack of paint or inconsistency in colour throws me off. If this is what Magic Square calls "premium" paint, they really need to go back to the drawing board. His colours don't pop like the Takara/Hasbro iterations and I've never had TE in the original colours so I can?t say but it still looks "dull" to me. There is definitely an inconsistency in the reds on various parts of the figure and I just can't ignore that. He does have some die cast but I don't necessarily find that he has any genuine heft. I got in a "disagreement" with someone recently because for some reason he keeps equating mass and grams with quality in every single review he does so I'm sure he'd have a field day with this. I don?t agree with him one bit so I'll let his weight (MS Prime) slide. I don't think he needs anymore weight as he does feel just fine.

One thing where TE shines is the sculpt but the lack of articulation irritates me and that is definitely NOT the case here. MS has some crazy a$$ articulation and poses like a champ with the exception of one area. The ankle tilt is there but because of how the bottom of the leg is, it can interfere depending on the pose. He isn't MMC Optus crazy, but a close second. The auto morphing thigh skirts can be a bit of a nuisance when bring the leg back down but not a deal breaker by any stretch.

The accessories are nice, pretty much standard with any Prime and since I have the MP-10 trailer, I'm grateful it came with the adapter for it. Energon axe is OK but would rather it attach to the end of the forearm or be less translucent so you don't see his hand through it. I considered painting it but decided not to since I'll never use it after the shoot anyway. Rocket pack is a nice add but with it not being painted, it just adds to more of the inconsistencies of red colours all over the place. It can hold the Hasbro blast effects nicely so bonus there. The rifle is considerably longer than MP-10 (maybe TE but can?t remember) but has no gimmicks which is not a bad thing but some people may like the folding gun like MP-10 or the lights like TE. He seems to hold it better in his left hand than his right for some reason but that could just be my copy. I wish the fingers had a third joint as it makes his fists look odd but it is what it is.

I can't really go over the articulation but he just moves every which a damn way. To achieve some poses you have to break up the sculpt but I don't mind as I don?t think I've ever had a "G1" Prime move this way so the gallery is most likely going to be the largest Prime gallery I have ever done.

Transformation isn't too bad, pretty intuitive. For the most part I'm OK with it, I'm just not a fan of how the wheels spin around to get into the proper orientation. Once in alt mode, this is where I would say I was disappointed. It seems so bland in this mode. I don't like the gap between the windshield and the door, the mirrors are incredibly loose and the clearance underneath is just awful, like MP-9, MP-28 awful. I have done my best to get the panels as far up as I can to get the wheels to spin but I still feel resistance somewhere. I thought it was just me but after seeing a couple reviews, it's just the way it is. Maybe in terms of a realistic alt mode vs an animated Prime alt mode I might say it looks more real world and if that was what they were going for, I really don't know.

In the end, is it worth it? I dunno maybe. I would imagine it depends on what you need it for. Did I need it? Nope. Did I want it? Yep.

[wervenom]

December 21 - TransArt BWM-09 Blade Leopard

Posted 7/5/23.

18,530 likes

I would say this was kind of an impulse purchase. I had it in my watch list for a long time but wasn't going to bite until I knew the final price. Once I saw it I decided to go ahead. Overall I like it, has its pros and cons but worth it IMO.

He's pretty close to screen accurate, nowhere near as impressive looking as TM Megs or Rattrap mind you. He has a good range of motion but lacks double jointed elbows which are really a thing I think needed on any TF or action figure for that matter. Hands and fingers are OK but thumb is way too long but I get it from a production standpoint that they are trying to keep the costs down buy just making one part (like the ankles being exactly the same so there is no real left and right unless that?s just my copy). Head is tight and would have been better served with a slightly longer neck joint or being a smidge more forward. When you turn the head it's forced to go either up or down and you really can't open the mouth in that position. The plastic feels "off", not bad just "off."

Beast mode looks great; transformation is pretty simple, He can pull off a fair amount of cat poses I guess, just needed a bit more side to side movement. With the plastic feeling thinner you may be worried about breakage seeing what happened with TM Blackarachnia or Rattrap but honestly I didn't feel at any point of posing or transforming that anything was going to break. One thing of note when going to beast mode are the hands/front claws is that the thumb moves underneath or inside the hand.
Some people see it and others don't but I guess that is your choice. When I tried it just looked foolish so I removed the thumbs all together and just made it easier to work with.
He does come with various stickers for the eyes in either mode but to be honest I never had any intention of using them so they will just stay in the box. I'm also glad that the TM Cheetor didn't sell so I could at least get a comparison with them together. I did ask the question before about him "growing" and people were kind enough to point out that he did but I think what showed in the animation was nowhere as large as the figure itself but no matter. He is here now so just have to figure out where he will display.

[wervenom]

December 22 - Jinbao Devy “Like Toys” Upgrade Kit (Version 2)

Posted 1/16/23.

18,928 likes

I bought JB Devy long ago, sold it, bought another one once the V1 upgrade came out but it still bothered me that he wasn't as tall as the new "scale" for MP combiners so when this set was announced I was all in. The box it came in is huge and the instructions are not very clear so I am hoping by the time I am ready to start with this thing that there are a couple videos up. Well later on there was only 1 so I used that as a basis to put this together. Originally I had considered putting together a whole new shoot (and maybe one day down the road I will) but as for now I think these few pics will be enough to help ppl decide. IMHO it is totally worth it and it gives him so much more height. I used WJ Omega as the comparison piece. Ratchets are solid, stability is so much better and the new head sculpt is also bigger and better. I had no issues switching the led for eyes from one head to another and quite literally had just enough clearance to put him back on the shelf where he came from.

Once April hits and I get my car out of the garage I'll try and find the drills and give the "new" Devy a better gallery. Oh, I also removed Longhaul's legs as I do prefer the cleaner look without them on.

[wervenom]

December 23 – TFC Hades Box Set

Posted 3/24/23.

21,120 likes

So, first things first. I watched EmGo's review of Hades as I knew he had V1 so at least I'd be able to tell if the alleged improvements would be any good and I would say the new joints are definitely an improvement. Having said that I would advise that when you are attaching the limb bots to make sure that their perspective ports are slightly bent when attempting to combine. I had all of them in a relatively straight position and thought they were all the way in and then my first attempt to pose they fell off. When you have them on an angle you have more space and they need to be pushed in all the way until you either hear it click or feel it lock. Once I had done that I had no issues with any of the bots falling off. As near as I can tell the old joints were ratcheted where the new ones are friction based. Another thing to note however is that even though the joints are improved, everything else that fell apart, came loose, etc. in his review still happens with this one. The tops of the arm bots (where the wings secure) will still come loose or pop off when posing and the arms going around the back will do the same so with every pose so far I've had to re-adjust them.

I will keep him with the clawed hands for display but will integrate some shots with his cannon hands since they are easy enough to switch around. Speaking of the hands, the thrusters can get in the way to a small degree as there isn't enough clearance when using the wrist rotation. Ankle pivot is very limited even when trying to use the ratcheted parts but it is what it is. One thing I would have wanted (and I only say it now that I finished with the shoot) is that the hip joints on the arms bots were stronger. Since the technically become the elbow in combined mode, they weren't strong enough to hold the gun if the arm was pointed straight out but can’t do much about that.

I am glad that they went back to revisit and improve this combiner as I wanted it from way back then but having seen the reviews from that time, I am glad that I waited for this to come along. I did like the Hasbro version as well at the time but having sold most of my CHUG figs to go MP, this guy will fit in nicely especially with how he scales with MP Star Saber. One day I'll have to form Victory Saber to see what they look like together but won't be today as I really don't want to go the headache of putting him together and taking him apart again. Instead I'll just shoot him with Star Saber and Victory Leo and hopefully one day will be able to pick up either the G1 MMC toy version or the XTB version of MP Deathsarus assuming they ever get around to it.

[wervenom]

December 24 - Cang-Toys Thunderking

Posted 2/2/23.

28,937 likes

"It is a day so long in coming I am uncertain how to celebrate it." Quintesson face of War from Five Faces of Darkness Part 3

"My God, It's Full of Stars." 2001: A Space Odyssey David Bowman.

So here we are at long last. As I have stated before, I would imagine that the fandom would be split on this figure given how stylized he is. I"ll be honest it is a far cry from a G1 Predaking look but I"m good with it. Predaking is my favourite G1 combiner but in terms of what I actually own TFC Poseidon is my hands down favourite looks wise or at least has been up until this point. I"m not saying Thunderking changes that view it just hasn"t fully sunk in yet.

So right at the current moment I am actually taking pics and need a break and may as well get my thoughts jotted down while they are fresh. Bear in mind these aren't complaints, just observations. I don't know who took the pic of him in a super hero landing pose but whoever that is that are a freaking genius because I can't figure it out. Certain joints are far too tight and others loose by comparison. That's not to say that they are loose just not as strong as others and one case as it needed to be. On Divebomb the outward shoulder movement is facking ridiculous but forwards and backwards it's not strong enough. I only say that in comparison to Rampages joints as his seem to work exactly as they should. With the X-Ray cannon on his arm he can't hold it straight out for long. The hip joints are great but you have to make sure you are moving it because the knee joint on Thorilla will move before it so when you think you are moving one you may actually be moving the other. In terms of the knee braces they are fricken useless beyond looks and makes it more difficult to bend the knee. Not to worry because if you do manage to bend the knee the damn things pop out anyway, so I had to try and hide them. Now with the spikes of Thorilla's hammer going to the top of the feet, they will pop out once you start moving the feet and you're not likely to get them back in unless you remove the feet. I'm not going to do that until I put him away in the display. The weight can be a hindrance so in order to try certain poses I removed the torso every single time so I could get the legs in the position I wanted and then reattach the torso and as much of a pain that may sound like, it helped me immensely. I am by no stretch a 'posing champeen' with figures so I am hoping that the great figure photographers we are all familiar with can pull off more than I did cause he was tuff on the hands for me.

He does have a lot of parts that don't tab in so bear that in mind when posing since you will have to reposition them often. The LED in the head is really bright so hopefully that shows up clearly in the pics. The head design is really nice and the fact that they gave him an opening face plate with a cannon in the mouth to match the lion head on the chest works for me. It gives this version of Predaking even more of an arsenal to work with as if he actually needed it lol. Another saving grace is that he is by FAR, the most stable combiner I own as I am literally taking out Zeta Bruticus and JB Devy with the upgrade. You see why later on. IF FT ever finishes their Menasor and does take cues from all the die cast then theoretically it should be just as stable and honestly overall I think CT did a bang up job for a 12 lb. combiner.

In closing if you want a figure that can pose like a champ, this isn't for you but if you want something that really is breathtaking in hand, this is definitely the combiner for you.