Er, oops!

Yeah, ok, so I'm the only person who visits this site regularly, and I was just updating some stuff and cropping pics when I realized I have 8 things I need to add to the site. Reviews for EIGHT things. I don't even think I remember what I was going to say about them now. So this should be pretty epically bad. I at least have some half-assed pictures of them, so maybe they'll jog my memory...

Hopefully, I'll be adding them soon enough. No promises, though.

Bioshock EVE Hypo Injector Replica Review

Hm, ok, so this review isn't really going to be much of a review since I didn't take many pictures. In fact, I only took one picture. It looks mysteriously  like the thing from Bioshock. It was mass produced by NECA, who make the most non-posable action figures ever (They still look really cool, just more like statues--but less like statues than DC's Warcraft figures... but I digress...) This little prop is pretty cool, though. It costs right at $15 on bbts.com.It has an LED light that activates when you push the injector at the top. It nicely clicks in place so you can leave it on. That's about all it does... seriously. Waste of money, I'd say. But, I waste lots of money so it seems like a worthy investment to me!

I should have some more reviews up soon. I got in a TON of stuff since my pile-of-loot from BBTS was starting to look imposing. I was actually waiting for the Fansproject Bruticus add-ons to come out, but that'll have to wait til July. ;-;

Til then, though, I'll have some reviews up on the Alternity Skywarp, Animated Blackout, Revoltech Mari, Revoltech Jack Skellington, and some other stuff I may have forgotten to review.

Knight Morpher Commander KM-01 Review

When I first saw pictures of "Knight Morpher Commander," I couldn't help but think how cool this looked. It's based off "Hearts of Steel"--which is a comic about Transformers from IDW Publishing. It's an elseworld of the Transformers universe if it happened in the industrial age instead of the modern day. I've never actually read it, so I don't have a lot to compare this to. However, Optimus Prime never actually appeared in this comic (so says the internet... Gotta be true, right?), so it gave the creators of this toy a lot of room for creativity.

This figure is very steampunk in nature. So, if you're into Transformers, and if you're into steampunk, then this was made just for you. It's a steam train, and it's Optimus Prime. In his robot mode, he's got a kind of medieval vibe--hence the "Knight" part of his name. A part from the cannon inside of the trailer pulls out and forms his lance. And one of the walls from the front of the trailer can fold out and make his shield. The transformation is fairly simple, but it works. I didn't feel cheated by the simplicity of it at all. I didn't even need to refer to the instructions either. By the way, included in the same baggie as the instructions is a visor piece for him. It makes Prime extra "Knighty."

I like the fact that the trailer section is a decent homage to the G1 series and that it has a gun inside. It's sort of like Roller--minus the car thing. I think they could have upped the ante a bit by putting a Roller-like vehicle inside that was a hand-cart. Just for lawls. It does come with a Matrix of Leadership, which is removable. I thought that was a nice touch. The part that comes out to form the lance from the cannon is oh-my-god-fragile feeling. The plastic that this whole toy is made of feels like the same grade of plastic as a Gundam model. So, it's very thin, light, fragile plastic. The tip of the lance is cool and all, but I didn't want to have this out longer than it needed to be. I was especially wary of putting the cannon back together with the lance inside. I'm actually afraid of breaking this toy. ...and that was a sensation that stuck with me throughout my entire experience with it. I almost feel like displaying it in any way, aside from safely in the box, would expose it to the dangers of breaking.

The paint apps are decent, but nothing I couldn't have done myself. There's a few mishaps here and there, which makes sense since it's a custom mass-produced piece. The thing I don't like is there's obvious signs of when they molded this toy and broke it away from the frame or whatever. Well, that's what it looks like to me, anyway. It's got the whole "I got this gundam kit and I really wanna put it together quickly" feel. Like, which small stabs on pieces, or slight indents where too much was taken off. Basically, the same thing that happens when you pull any plastic piece of a model away from the frame. It seems tacky.

There are a lot of very small things wrong with this figure that kind of ruin the overall experience for me. I still like the toy, but I don't think it was worth what I was charged for it. This could be me being spoiled by Fansproject, though, so don't mind me. I really am not a fan of the color of the cowcatcher. I understand that some trains in that time period were very bright. I wish this one wasn't. I think it looks dumb this way. In fact, I kind of wish they'd have made it silver. The red just doesn't make sense to me.

Pros:

• Original Steampunk Design
• Easy to Transform

Cons:

• Price ($85)
• Quality of plastic seems a bit fragile.
• Paint application is a bit hit-or-miss.

Final Verdict:
There's nothing about this that screams "GOTTA HAVE". It comes down to "Do I like this character? Do I like this design?" For this toy, it has to be both, otherwise you're probably not going to feel justified in the least with spending nearly $100 on this thing. As far as the quality of materials goes, it doesn't feel like $100 toy. For a casual fan, I'd certainly say for you to pass this.

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Fansproject Warbot Defender ("Springer") Review

Warbot Defender is a custom Transformer by Fansproject. They're the same customizers that made the City Commander (Ultra Magnus add-on), and the Aerial Appendage Add-On (Superion Add-On). I have to say that I'm amazingly impressed by this figure. Well, that is, after I spent 30 minutes trying to figure out the damned arms. But, I will get to that later.

The price on this figure is $85 or something like that. Plus shipping. So, it's a bit expensive for the average Joe to pick up. To those that are used to the higher prices of custom toys, and know how much these things go for in the after-market when they're all sold out, then you know it's worth the $90. Of course, that being said, I'm sure that BBTS will never run out of these and it will always be that price and will go on clearance and I'll be sad and out of money I could have saved. Cause that's just how things go with me. (Seriously, I'm supposed to be saving cash for Botcon in roughly 3 months. Holy shit!)

As far as the quality is concerned, this is a very very VERY nicely done figure. I have to give props to the QC team for Fansproject. On my particular figure, everything looks perfect. There's no smudges, no badly applied paint, or issues whatsoever. This looks like a professionally painted figure. The box it even comes in looks amazingly professional. It's much like the Alternity figures plastic boxes. You can open it, mess around with it and then put it back in the box and feel okay about it. (Although some people love to keep their toys in the box... I don't know how, but they do it...)

The toy itself is an obvious likeness of the G1 character 'Springer'. Hasbro probably isn't ever going to go back to that figure, so Fansproject felt the need to give this classic figure a worthy representation. He was an Autobot triple-changer. Robot mode, car mode, and helicopter mode. The car mode on this is more likened unto a tank, which is an acceptable change. And, just like the G1 version, the vehicle modes are very Cybertronian.

Out of the box, you get it in robot mode. You also get 2 pistols and a collapsible sword/copter blades. The guns feel very solid and like they'll last forever. The blades, however, are a bit on the thin and flimsy side. I feel like they could break at any moment. So, I've been treating them with a lot of caution.

There's a short comic that gives the 'story' of this guy, and then it goes into a comic-style set of instructions on how to transform him. The instructions really didn't make sense to me at all until I figured out how the pieces were supposed to be. Then, it was just a matter of moving things around til they fit in place. Let me mention, the only issue I had was with the arms. There's so many swivels and such required for the transformation that it can get a bit confusing. Especially since the shoulder sits on a double-hinge sort of thing. If you pick this toy up, maybe that'll help you to some degree and save you some time.

Size wise, it's about 6 inches tall. About the size of a deluxe-class figure. It fits in very nicely with the size of Ultra Magnus' City Commander Armor, as far as scale goes. It does have some issue standing up, which I think could have been fixed by adding a heel of some sort. But, if you pose him right, it's not an issue. He just can't be standing straight up or he topples. This figure also has die-cast on him. Which, when I heard about that, I was very worried. I had some flashbacks to Alternators and how scratched-to-hell they would get. Ugh. BUT, you really can't tell which pieces are die-cast on Defender at first glance. I assume they added the die-cast to balance it somewhat. I'm not really sure, but it works. I can't complain about it. Btw, the die-cast pieces are the chest and the tail-fins. In helicopter mode, the tail-fins click together to form the... tail... obviously. But, there's luckily a piece of plastic between them to keep the metal from rubbing together.

Pros:

• Accurate representation of Springer.


• Solidly built and painted toy (as is always the case from Fansproject)

Cons:

• Price is a bit high at $85 (but so worth it~)


• Blades are kind of thin.

Final verdict:
I really like this figure. I think it's a very good tribute to "Springer." Despite being a custom, I don't feel like I'm going to break it, which is a plus. If you're a fan of the G1 toys or of the character of "Springer," then I think this is a solid buy.

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Snow Pictures

It doesn't snow in Charleston often.  I also don't take pictures often, but snow is an occasion to brave the elements. I got some pretty decent shots, but I kind of wish I had a better camera. Oh well. Enjoy.

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Motoko Kusanagi: Stand Alone Complex - Variable Motion Figure (VMF) Toy Review

I really like this toy. Really. It was worth every bit that I paid for it. That being said, I got it for $75 off Amazon. My normal source of toys, BBTS.com, was sold out of it and has been for the longest time. Also, I think I got it about $5 cheaper off Amazon, too. So cheers to me!

She stands at about 8.5 inches tall, and is fully articulated. She can make about any pose you can think of. I was even able to get her into some crazy Kung Fu poses and was able to balance her with it on one foot. The joints are tight as hell--which explains why she's able to do such crazy poses. The problem with that is, the joints like to pop out. Mainly the hips and shoulders. But, I'd rather they be too tight than too loose.

She comes with an extra pair of upper arms so you can switch them out when she's not wearing the jacket. Oh, by the way, the jacket's removable. You also get the choice of a handgun, or the big rifle thing--which comes with a silencer piece that can be added. With the awesomeness that this figure is, I'd kind of disappointed in a lack of hand options. I understand the fact that she only has one head. She's not a very emotional character. So, it works with just the calm face. She also comes with a small circular base to stand her on. Although, it's not very necessary considering how solid her stances are.

Over all, I can say that this is one of the best purchases I've made in a long time. I'm glad I did it.

Pros:

• Very articulated.


• Good representation of the character.

Cons:

• Price. $75 - Although it's not an issue to me, since it's a very quality figure, I can see where someone else would think it's a con.


• Lack of interchangeable hands.

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Armor Plus Ronin Warriors: Ryo of Wildfire Toy Review

To start off, I was quite stoked to hear they were remaking Ronin Warriors toys (or 'Samurai Troopers' to others). The figures were even available for preorder on some sites, and even solicited in Previews. However, this was not to be. All orders were canceled, and the only way to get the toy was to import it. So, that means sellers on eBay, generally. I don't like that idea at all, so I used BBTS.com--who I use all the time. They were nice enough to honor the preorders for the toy, but at a higher cost since they had to import it as well. I'd rather pay a couple of dollars more to KNOW I'm getting my product.

I was on the fence for a long time on this, since the price was right at $90. That is a lot of money to me. I really liked Ronin Warriors, though. But, I'm not a fan of Ryo. I actually think he was the lamest of all of them. But, knowing my luck, they'd come out with all of the rest of them, and I'd be missing one and have to pay even more to get it. Of course, now that I've bought the toy, they'll obviously release a cheap American version for half the price. Damned if I do, damned if I don't!

On to the toy itself-- it's ok. For the price you pay for it, you'd expect it to be a little more sturdy. I started off very excited about it because of all of the extras it came with. It's basically the perfect representation of Ryo of Wildfire. He comes with 2 heads (angry/open-mouthed, and calm), and and 3 sets of hands (fists, open hands, and holding swords). He even comes with a black armor dummy to put the armor on for display purposes while the main figure... does whatever he does.

It also has 2 helmets--one with the face showing, and one with the mask down. It's interchangeable, just like the faces. So, you can have it however you like. You can also have it with the swords in the sheaths, swords in hand, OR the swords together as they are in the final attack.

I originally started taking lots of pictures for this, but then got very very frustrated with how the armor is put on. Specifically, the shoulder armor. The white shoulder-piece comes off its hinge, and the hinge of the red shoulder piece goes in its place. It took me about 10 minutes to get ONE shoulder on. I think it was more of just my particular figure having the defect, but there's a lot of room for problems. I think they could have engineered the combination a little better. There also aren't any instructions to speak of. You just kind of have to figure this out as you go. Maybe it was supposed to have instructions and mine didn't have them...?

Now, parts of the armor are die-cast! It makes the figure very heavy for the size. Which, by the way, it's about 6 inches tall. It makes sense that it would cost as much as it does, knowing that it's got metal parts and all sorts of options to go with. While I do really like the figure, it's not really one that I want to mess around with. The pose it's in now is the pose it will be in forever.

I do look forward to future releases of the Ronin Warriors figures if they continue to make them. I'd be more happy to pay this price for them instead of Ryo, him being my least favorite.

Pros:

• Very accurate representation of the character.


• Die-cast armor.


• Lots of options for poses. Heads, hands, swords, etc.

Cons:

• Price is a bit high.


• Difficult to switch armor. It's a chore.


• Kinda heavy.

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