Flame Toys Animated Optimus Prime (Wingblade ver) review

It's been a while since I reviewed anything from Flame Toys, huh? Last time I took a look at their model kits was for their take on Windblade, and that was in 2022! Between now and then, I mostly focused on anything made by Yolopark or Blokees; the former was already great at making the live action designs gorgeous in ways Hasbro couldn't fulfill, and Blokees had a fun, more intricate level of assembly that made them worth putting together. I would have gotten Flame Toys' take on Tarn, and maybe some of their lore cuts that I like, but nothing really sprang up as much as the other alternatives. Now that we approach the 20th anniversary of Transformers Animated, what better time than now to take a look at a model kit I was heavily excited for? You already saw me review the Animated Deluxe from the Battle Begins 2-pack, and later the Legacy United Voyager, and now I shall take a look at the Wingblade version of this character courtesy of Flame Toys.

Here we have Optimus fully assembled and stickered up. I should mention that I got this second hand, so it may have some things you wouldn't immediately get. First thing I want to mention is that one of the fog light stickers is left with the white instead of having the yellow circle where it's supposed to be. It might be a quality control error on Flame Toys' part, and sadly the previous owner couldn't get it replaced. That said, thanks to the dynamic style of the show combined with the lack of transformation, this is the closest Optimus has ever looked to being show accurate. Some may argue that the proportions are a little more exaggerated than they were in the control art, but that's likely to be expected from being based on an easier to draw & animate character design rather than a deliberate choice made by Flame Toys. I guess the articulation could explain why he may not be entirely 1:1 with some, but it's nothing like the more "vanilla" G1 releases where they deviate from the old character models. Even the colors are accurate to the show; the red is sweet and cherry like while the blue is somewhat indigo, with the yellow even complimenting the deco without overpowering the rest of the colors. I also appreciate that the grey is matte so as to not make the figure appear cheap for the grille and thighs. The only oddity I'm thinking about would have to be how much the toes point upwards more than normal. Other than that, it's a beautiful recreation of the TFA artstyle. We even get a stylized Autobot insignia for the left shoulder instead of the traditional look, though I'm surprised a normal sigil isn't an option. As for the ports on his forearms, we will get to those in a moment.

Head sculpt is pretty good as well. I think I once said that the mask less look of the Legacy United captures this version of Optimus the best, and now I believe this does an even better stab. I wish the yellow stripes were painted on, though; these stickers aren't the best quality for a somewhat pricey model kit. As for the articulation, he has two ball joints at the neck, shoulder rotation, outward arm movement at two hinges, butterfly joints for moving forward yet no backwards range oddly enough. The biceps rotate, the elbows double bend at two points, the forearms rotate, and the hands are on ball joints. The midriff is on a double ball joint system for the waist and diaphragm, hips are on swivels for moving front and back as well as hinging in and out, thighs rotate somewhat, knees bend at two points, ankles are on double ball joints, and the toes are on a hinge. That last joint mentioned is tighter than the rest of the figure, which is great if you have Optimus by himself, though it may be a concern when attaching his armaments. 

I should mention that while he comes with the battle mask as an option, though the previous owner lost the chin piece for it prior to listing it on eBay. At the very least, he has his signature battle axe, which could use an effect part or at least compatibility like with the Legacy United figure, but it thankfully doesn't swing around at the head, and yes, he can hold it with both hands. And as you can surprise, other than fully clenched fists, he has splayed open hands, and hands meant for said axe.

Normally, that would be it for the original release of this character, because from here, we get new forearm pieces, a whole jetpack, and two shoulder cannons meant for the Wingblade version! I love it! Makes me wish Optimus Prime had Super Modes in modern TF media, but the writers of every show we got since 2020 (as well as Skybound and TFOne) would rather have Optimus act like either a mopey guy who can't lead others competently or a stupid himbo to appeal to the Predditors and Groomblrs. That being said, the wings are loose on the backpack, which makes me wonder if it's possible to tighten the hinges. 

In fact, combining the weight of the jetpack with the Magnus Hammer (which looks great and makes me want to get the old Leader Class Ultra Magnus), and I kind of noticed that the joints are a little looser than I'd like. I'm sure you can use clear nail or floor polish if you'd like, and maybe super glue provided it won't damage the plastic. On a positive note, attaching them onto the figure is seamless, especially with the forearms.

For a Flame Toys comparison, here he is with Windblade. Funny how we have a one letter difference between the form Optimus takes and the name of the first ever fan vote winner. While nearly eye level with each other, Windblade is slightly taller than Optimus. Then again, Animated's version wasn't known for being that tall. Not a bad thing, because he can still kick ass without being written as a joke compared to most versions in the 2020s.

Case in point with scale, this is how I'd imaging Animated Optimus to look next to his TFP and Movie counterparts. As for comparing him to Blokees or Yolopark, I'd say that the Action Editions seem mostly fair to use as a comparison from the former due to the proper model kit aspect as well as reasonably close price points being a factor depending on the retailer. With Yolopark, they work differently from the other two due to them being less like Gunpla models, especially when die-cast and premium paint is used.

That said, is it fair to compare him to the regular AMKs, like Optimus Primal? Keep in mind that prices vary for these items depending on if you get them from their direct sites or on BigBadToyStore. The AMK usually goes for $30-35, while the Flame Toys kit averages around $45. It's a $10 difference give or take, but TFA Optimus is a smaller build than Primal, who is not assembled like traditional model kits and comes with an extra face, spring loaded arm and shoulder cannons, and lacks stickers. I can only assume the price from Flame Toys is due to how they operate differently from Yolopark, though I know some will mention how one may be more affected by tariffs than the other. Regardless, Primal has more value for money than.this Prime, at least the vanilla version.

And here he is with his Legacy United figure for a more contemporary comparison. I know many weren't happy with how much Hasbro changed the design to fit in with the Generations toys better, and while I thought he turned out better than Prowl, he was kind of missing that certain something that gave him his identity. There is a KO from Black Mamba with the old Voyager's head and a retooled torso in addition to the DNA Design upgrade kit that I would like to get. Hell, I'd also get the original Takara Wingblade Voyager because I love this take on a young, inexperienced Optimus. As for this figure, while the price has increase somewhat than originally intended, I still think this model kit is worth picking up; that said, I wish the stickers were better quality, and the same goes for the joint tolerances. Maybe my copy has this issue specifically and yours would be fine, but I kind of want to test that by getting the vanilla set without the Wingblade set. Until then, I hope that either the rest of the main Autobots or their universe's Megatron are in the pipeline. Other kits I would like to get are their Shattered Glass designs, Tarn, and their takes on Power Rangers Megazords.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Nendoroid Ranma 1/2 Male & Female review

Another Nendoroid review, this time one based on the titular gender-bender, Ranma Saotome. Funny enough, Akane Tendo and Shampoo arrived before I got either version of Ranmald McTome and it was mostly due to Amazon claiming there was no stock available from their site for either gender as well we Kirby, and I have to call bullshit on that knowing the way they failed me at times with preorders. Thankfully, I was able to get both versions in other sites, though it took a while to get them given there were other things going on at the time. Now that we have the 2 genders of Ranma Saotome together, let's see how well they turned out.

Here we have both versions of the character together. Given the nature of Good Smile's chibi aesthetic, we don't have much to distinguish the two genders beyond some wrinkles in their clothes. Both of them still have the standard attire the character was known to wear as a guy and a chick. The paint apps for both have no discrepancies or quality control issues at all, but what I also appreciate is that they don't have any differences for the shades of red and blue on their clothes. I also found it surprising that they have differently sculpted torsos, giving Female Ranma breasts while Male Ranma is flat chested. Even some wrinkles on certain areas of their clothes are tweaked somewhat, as are the vanilla hands associated with each character; fists for the boy and open hands for the girl. That said, it does leave me wondering why we couldn't just do a Ranma set that has both boy and girl-specific accessories without splitting them into two separate releases. I know this made sense for the Figuart because it was much easier to distinguish them from body type, but this could have been a Deluxe set in a way reminiscent of the second Lum Nendoroid that gave us the usual tiger stripe bikini and the school uniform. I know why they went this route for the sake of displaying both at once, but at the same time what difference would it make unless Female Ranma had a different outfit?

Articulation is consistent between the two, including the neck joints with asymmetrical disk swivel movement for the seam line. Accessories for Male Ranma include a curious face as well as a surprised one, with a set of crossed arms, hands meant for holding the tea kettle, and those hands that are not meant for thwipping web. 

As for Female Ranma, she comes with a bucket of water no doubt based on her gender changing ability, bent forearms that go with fists if you want her to be angry, and a thumbs up hand with a delighted faceplate and a swappable bent leg to go with the third pose. Swapping the parts here was much easier than with my first copy of Shampoo.

As far as I know, the female version of Ranma is the only figure in the wave that comes with a preorder bonus: a hand holding a taiyaki. It's a Japanese treat shaped like a fish and is filled with either red bean paste or custard inside the crust. Would be nice if a bo staff was included with male Ranma, but as it stands, these two are pretty good to have if you want to own either gender you see fit. I wish we got them as a set, or at least gave the female version a different outfit that could be "unisex" for when you want the male version to wear it instead, but they're pretty good versions of the dude(tte) of the titular anime. Just be aware of the slight price increase and the fact that Amazon failed so many preorders for OVER A YEAR.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (for both)

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball Z Krillin 3.0 (Son Goku's Old Friend) review

What else hasn't been said about Krillin that was already brought up in my last review involving his past two releases? Last time we took a look at Goku's best friend was in the 2.0 version of his Z-era self and the childhood version that was even shorter than Krillin is usually depicted (but not as short as his first appearance in the lore). I don't have the 2013 version, but I know he has the manga accurate white for the eyes and a head looking to the side representing when Android 18 kissed his cheek. This newest version is part of the current 3.0 wave, with Tamashii Nations more likely to do new versions of existing characters than do a complete Z-Fighter roster or anyone major in GT or Super beyond the main faces of each series. Krillin's most recent figure is a Premium Bandai release, and will cost a bit more than the others, but will it be as good of a release as he is a friend? Let's find out.

Here we have Krillin in-hand, who already has an appropriate build with being a bit wide and stumpy yet still powerful as the Earth's Strongest Man. The figure is also sculpted so as not to appear broken up from articulation joints, yet still be as poseable as a Figuart should be. The only unsightly area to me would be the waist area, where you have a bit of a thong look to the figure; it's hidden somewhat by the strands on the waist band, so it doesn't stand out as much as it does on MvC Spider-Man. The skin tones thankfully match between the head, arms, and the exposed area around the neck, and I can confirm that joint tolerances are a non-issue for this figure, though I can sense a slight bit of wiggle within the hip assembly; maybe it's due to the materials used for making the waist. His accessories include four alternate heads, 5 alternate pairs of hands, one set meant to work with the blast effect, and a 2-piece stand for said blast effect.

His articulation includes a double neck joint meant to house in the head swap system unique to Krillin, and the shoulders can move front and back as well as in and out; butterfly joints are part of a more elaborate system so the arms can look naturally connected to the body without compromising the silhouette. He has a double ball peg for the torso, which provides a reasonable amount of range going all around but not much due to his design. Biceps swivel normally, elbows double bend, and while he uses the standard wrist system, swapping the hands is a bit scary given the size of them. Getting PTSD from Wicked Lady's fragile wrist pegs. Anyways, the hips can move around decently thanks to the rubberized waist piece that doesn't disrupt the sculpt, thighs swivel as they should, knees are single jointed, and the feet can swivel, hinge, and pivot.

Let's get this out of the way: his bullet looks like a dick with two balls under it. There is no other way to describe it, especially with the way it's molded. I mean, with a choking hazard label on the box, it's for the best that it also applies to women wanting to get some Krillin action. No wonder he's doing the second pose with all that anguish. 

I'm sure you may wonder if the Dragon Ball from the Planet Named is included with this figure, and it is not. Tamashii only presented it in the stock photo to represent the Namek Saga, but here he is being super excited to meet Peter Griffin. Friggin sweet, indeed.

For some size comparisons, here we have him with the other versions of Krillin that I own. He's in between his kid self and his recently reissued Earth's Strongest Man counterpart. If you ask me, this almost works as a height evolution for the character, but the problem stems from the fact that Krillin shrank over the years in the series. I mean, he's about a head shorter than Goku in the Saiyan Saga, and then in the Namek Saga, he's a few inches taller than the young Gohan. I plan to get the Battle Clothes version someday and see how the scale works.

With Goku (using the Saiyan Raised on Earth version) and Android 18 (Universe Survival Saga version), we're going to have to keep in mind that 2.0 likely represents the height Krillin would normally have if he was still a short king yet grew naturally. 2.0 scales best for the scene where we see the group together in the Saiyan Saga (where Krillin was nearly as tall as Goku). As for 3.0, he scales best for any other saga, at least before Super and Daima shrink him further. Apart from that dilemma, should you get the new Krillin? For the most part, he is good, but as a P-Bandai release (to my knowledge), paying nearly $80 for a figure like this is far from ideal. While the articulation and aesthetics are good, you're getting something comparable to an aftermarket price. Maybe he did need his effect part to compensate for his short height, but it sucks that this was put in premium price hikery. I would only recommend him if you see him for $70 or less, because Krillin deserves more accessibility to collectors new and old despite not being either Goku or Vegeta.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Super 7 Ultimates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) Splinter and Foot Soldier review

A few quarters ago, I took a look at the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from the Super 7 Ultimates line. They were pretty good for the most part, with the biggest issue being the price they all share ($55 a pop). I was still interested in checking out the rest of the lineup because of my love to that version of TMNT, but I would rather wait for the price to go down instead. The first issue that arose was the $10 increase for the second wave, which consists of Splinter, Casey Jones, Shredder, and a Foot Soldier. This time, I'll split the wave in half and review them in pairs for the sake of not delaying things as much as I can. For today's review, we'll see if any more red flags pop up as we take a look at the master and fodder of Ninja Turtle lore!

Here we have Master Splinter in-hand. For anyone wondering, this version was the actual rat owned by Hamato Yoshi, though he clawed Hun instead of Shredder given the different bearers of that title throughout this continuity. What I like about Splinter's design is that it captures the essence of an old, wise mentor as an anthropomorphic animal without making it too cartoony or something that a furry freak would be attracted to. As for the translation from digital animation to plastic, I want to say they mostly nailed the look of the character, but the problem many will bring up is how cheap he kind of feels. Super 7 usually has this PVC look to their toys in order to better make the sculpts smoother, hence being animation accurate, but the company sometimes makes the paint apps somewhat chalky or nowhere near as premium as one would hope. The grey plastic used for his head, arms, and legs is meant to match the animation, yet it kind of feels somewhat flat for a character meant to be in that color. Almost like it makes the white for the eyebrows appear indistinguishable from the shade of grey used for the rest of him. At least they got the legs correct with the digitigrade bone structure, and the tail at least had some lines sculpted to resemble some skin texture found on actual rodents, but alas, no bendy wire implementation. 

The head sculpt manages to resemble how the character looked, and the eyes are thankfully locked out better, but the nose could have been painted better. As for the whiskers, I understand there are some limitations with the size and durability, but they holes used for inserting them could have been a bit less unsightly. Articulation consists of a double ball jointed neck with the standard side to side turn and somewhat limited up and down. Shoulders are able to move front and back with slight hindrance from his robes; in and out movement works fine as well as the bicep rotation yet the elbow joints barely go past 90 degrees. Wrists have tiny pegs for rotation and equally small hinges for moving them in and out, which despite being functional makes me worry about the longevity. He has a reasonably workable torso joint, and while the bottom of the robe inhibits his leg movement somewhat, the legs are able to move around reasonably well on ball joints. He has thigh swivels, double jointed knees, ankle hinges, and a swivel in lieu of ankle pivot given the nature of his legs. The tail is articulated at the base where it connects, but that's it for it.

In addition to the relaxed hands hands and the set of hands in the articulation segment, Splinter comes with a stick fitting for his name, a pair of hands to hold it in either side, a pair of splayed open hands, and a pair of fists. He also has an alternate head with his eyes closed as he meditates. Fits very well for a wise mentor such as himself.

He also comes with his pre-mutation self and a quartet of baby turtles. I like that the paint on them is reasonable, though Splinterat suffers from having the feet and tail off level with the rest of his limbs. 

As for the Foot Soldier, this manages to be mostly better than Splinter interns of plastic quality visuals. The black, gunmetal grey, and light grey combo may be fairly monochromatic, but at least nothing feels as cheap as some Super 7 items come across. Granted, light bounces off a bit on the area where the logo is printed, but he doesn't have a cheap, unfinished look to him compared to Splinter. The grey on the gloves and boots also help from representing protective pads that deflect any cuts from swords or anything similar. The anatomy is slightly stylized, which is appropriate for the show's aesthetics, but it also fits given their lean and agile nature as ninjas, of course. 

Head sculpt is simple in terms of sculptwork, and much like plenty of older Spider-Man heads, does appear somewhat balloonish, yet the creases for the eyebrows and the eyes raised in relief help make it look more like a human is underneath that mask. The yellow eyes are the best part of this toy, too. As for his articulation, the head is on a ball joint, shoulders and biceps work similarly to Splinter, though he has slightly better double jointed elbows, the wrists use the same level of range, torso moves around a bit more, hips have more range than Splinter does thanks to the shorter skirt, thigh swivels are present, double jointed knees actually work on him, and he has the more traditional ankle hinge and pivot.

One of his alternate heads has him with the left eye squinting somewhat, adding a bit of personality to a featureless mask. Not only that, but it goes well with either the bo staff or the throwing stars, which has their own dedicated hands. Thankfully, the bo staff is not reused from Donatello.

He also has a pair of katanas also new to his sculpt, which also helps that his weapon holding hands are able to hinge downwards as all sword wielders should have. He also includes an alternate right hand more gestural than the others with a third head featuring a headset; this represents the Foot Technician, though some wires on the back would have completed the look.

For a size comparison, here they are alongside Leonardo. We'll see who will pop up with Shredder and Casey Jones for their review. As one would expect these match closer to the 1/10 scale more than anything, so you can put the 2003 cast with your DC Multiverse collection for any crossover displays. The turtles will mostly work fine enough for 1/12 scale, though, and moreso than the Playmates Classic Collection molds. So where do I stand with our rat and foe? Sadly, Splinter falls short thanks to his overall qualities being outweighed by his negatives, from how drab the grey plastic looks on him to the head sculpt being let down somewhat by the coloring of the eyebrows and thick whiskers. Not to mention his rat form has some wonky molding to him, and the articulation he has could be better. The Foot Ninja does a better job at being an action figure, and I appreciate the accessories and personality he has for a Super 7 Ultimate. However, the two get points taken away from a $10 price hike. Sure, they're new molds and have a reasonable number of accessories, but are they worth getting at those prices if fans should know the Turtles' prices weren't already that great? I really want to say they're great as a dan of the 2003 series, but I have more issues with them than I do the turtles. Splinter moreso than the Foot Ninja. With discounts popping up here and there, pay around $45 or less for all Super 7 Ultimates. Don't be ripped off by their tariff bs, especially after they did their layoff and went on like nothing happened (which is more noticeable for a smaller company than the average conglomerate given you'd think there'd be more standards for the little guys).

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Splinter)

⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Foot Ninja)