Transformers Bumblebee Studio Series Optimus Prime

Megatron must be stopped! No matter the cost!

The only way the Transformers Bumblebee Studio Series Optimus Prime could be better is if he were made of die-cast metal.... and was bigger. Paging 3rd party groups!

We enjoyed the Bumblebee movie - although how it fits into the Bayverse is beyond us. Personally it would have been way better if they just admitted that this was a re-boot.

As you can probably tell, we loved Optimus Prime's cameo in the film, and we particularly loved how Travis Knight created an Optimus Prime that was closer, truer to his appearance in the G1 cartoons. Something Bay utterly failed to do - not that we didn't like the updated Optimus Prime look, but... if this was possible why wasn't it done in the first place?

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Transformers Siege War for Cybertron Hound

If you can't protect yourself, die and get out of the way of those who can.

The Transformers Siege Hound is the Hound that we want, and the Hound that we deserve.

In 2008 HasTak released  what we then thought was the "perfect"version of Hound - and to be fair in some aspects that we will get into later, it is better than the Siege version - but that version can be classed as.... cartoony. The Siege version has this "War-Machine"appeal to it, and - even if we're not a fan of the "effects" that you can purchase with the rest of the Siege line.

If we're right this is the first of the Transformers toys to precede the video game that it is based upon. We wonder if that's a software development deadline problem or if the developers were simply afraid that the third installment of the Transformers War for Cybertron trilogy would be a flop.

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Transformers Takara LG 15 Nightbird Shadow

Shadow KICK!!!!!

Nightbird Shadow is a beautiful retool of the Transformers Generations Arcee figure and a nostalgic tribute to a great G1 cartoon episode.

To the uninitiated, this is Nightbird Shadow: originally a drone built by Dr. Fujiyama to "benefit mankind" (He probably meant to "Protect mankind" against the big giant robots who've come to fight a war on Earth).

Anyway the Decepticons stole her and Bombshell (Yes, the Insecticon) implanted a consciousness chip into her brain turning her into a sentient super-ninja Autobot butt-kicking Decepticon!

That the Autobots eventually captured and put into cold storage never to be seen again.

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Missiletank Robo - Gobots Guardian Blaster

The best there is at what he does.

If he was tan and had a little more brown, we would say that Action Toys was looking to create the Gobot equivalent of Wolverine with their version of Missile Tank Robo.

We had two or three Gobots when we were younger. We definitely had a submarine, the SR-71 Blackbird whom we now know as the Gobot Renegade Snoop the Guardian Submarine Dive-Dive, and this guy - the missile carrying Blaster.

But then we grew up in an age of typewriters, rotary phones and black-and-white dial controlled televisions - we actually didn't know back then who were the bad guys. Snoop, to us, had a to be a good-guy because he was an American spy-plane. Blaster, obviously had to be a Renegade because he looked like one of those Russian missile launchers that we would sometimes see on the news.

Years later, we found out it was the other way around.

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Takara TLK-15 Calibur Optimus Prime

The Shield of Optimus

The Takara TLK-15 Calibutr Optimus Prime is the toy maker's way of saying to its fans: "I see what you did there."

When the Transformers Age of Extinction Optimus Prime came out, both the Takara and Hasbro and Takara versions had these use backpacks. This heralded the age of the personally despised "Shell-former." We hated it because it smacked of laziness.

Even our beloved Takara Armor Knight Optimus Prime came with a backpack.

Then the internet started filling up with a simple user solution: "Get rid of the backpack." Which we didn't do because - even if it was just one pin - getting rid of the backpack also  meant getting rid of his thigh armor - his skirt - which made him look downright anorexic.

This: the Takara TLK-15 Calibur Optimus Prime, is Takara improving on that simple user's solution.

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Takara Decepticon Slipstream

The time has come to purge the universe of that accursed Megatron!
And forever seal my destiny as the one true ruler of the Decepticons! 

The Decepticon Slipstream from Takara is purple, green, smiling and a fine representation of the robotic female form.

Personally we're still mystified that a robotic race bothers with gender - to the point that recently, IDW did a "Spotlight: Arcee" issue where it was revealed that during the Golden Age of Cybertron, a scientist named Jhiaxus decided to play with the Cyber/Nano Algorithms (CNA) of Cybertronians, creating female robots. Jhiaxus tried to build the perfect female Transformer - Arcee - but she fell short of his ideals and he discarded her.

Which created a very pissed off woman.

Later IDW decided to take this concept further by revealing that Anode and her lover, Lug, were transgender Transformers in transition - so Transforming Transgender Transformers. Seriously WTF!!!!

Takara God Ginrai - Optimus Prime - Super Ginrai & Godbomber

Upgrades

God Ginrai - the product of the Takara LG-42 Godbomber upgrade - is the kind of upgrade that we’ve been waiting for, for a long, long, looong time.

And that's saying a lot.  If you go through this blog you'll find countless 3rd party upgrades. And we dare to state that, in terms of playability and sheer joy, the 3rd party upgrades have given us far, far more  happy-happy-joy-joy than their legit counterparts.

Check out some of our 3rd party upgrades by clicking here. 

Then the LG-42 Godbomber came along. 

We're glad that the toymaking gods are finally listening to their worshipers. 

For Part 1 of our Takara LG-42 Godbomber review, do click here. 

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Transformers Takara Titans Return God Ginrai Part 1: Godbomber

Godbomber doesn't talk

Takara's Titans Return Godbomber is one of THE nicest non-3rd party upgrades you'll find in the market today. A must have. 

To the uninitiated, this is the Transformers Godbomber. He is the result of the "Bomber Project" and was created by humans who worked in a British Motors factory in Canada.

God Bomber was meant as an enhancement for the Transtector Super Ginrai - Optimus Prime -that would further increase his power and allow him to fly - who was getting his butt handed to him by the two Transtectors that formed Overlord.

Godbomber gained sentience when he somehow heard "The cry" in Super Ginrai's heart. Before that he was pretty much a drone.

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Transformers G-Studio Ultra Maxmas Optimus Prime

Yeah I look good

The G-Studio Ultra Maxmas - Optimus Prime - Transformer is.... an acquired taste.... a very acquired taste.

So basically this is G-Studio's take on IDW comic's Optimus Prime. It's not the first take on this particular Optimus Prime that we've seen or is in our collection. If we're right it's the fourth right after the 30th Anniversary Transformers Generations Optimus Prime, Toyworld's Orion, and the SND-01 Primo Vitalis upgrade for the Combiner Wars Optimus Prime.

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Transformers Takara Leo Prime

Bend before the ways of Heavy Metal! 

The  Takara Leo Prime is a regal, kingly, headmaster that sadly fails to be an inspiration in his alt modes.

If we understand his history correctly - which we really don't - this is the main protagonist of the comic book series Beast Wars: Uprising.

This is Lio Convoy, AKA Leo Prime, the Guardian of Order and keeper of the Energon Matrix. He becomes disillusioned with the new caste system of Cybertron and kicks off the Grand Uprising AKA the 4th Cybertronian War. Dubbed a terrorist, Leo Prime would battle the forces of the Builders - the descendants of the Autobots and the Decepticons.

Sometime towards the end of the war, he would sacrifice himself to defeat his arch nemesis, Galva Convoy, and would be rebuilt into the triple-changer you see here.

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Perfect Effect PC-15 Optimus Prime Upgrade

I can see you

The TF Perfect Effect PC-15 LG-35 Ginrai Power-master (Head-master) Optimus Prime Upgrade Kit is a must have, and a fine teaser for what is to come. 

We are such big fans of Takara's LG-35 Powermaster Optimus Prime that we forgave them for making him a Headmaster - especially since the smaller Optimus Prime head formed by Ginrai is virtually useless.

Frankly we were not too keen about modifying a Takara, but Perfect Effect made him better, so.... here he is (And we absolutely hate the Hasbro version) with PE's Perfect Combiner - 15 (PC-15)

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Transformers: The Last Knight - Kids' Choice Awards Clip - Parmount Pictures

Iron Factory Lady Commander Alleria - Elita One - Review

Optimus Prime's main squeeze

Welcome to a review of the Iron Factory EX-16-A Lady Commander Alleria AKA Elita One.

Lady Commander Alleria here came free with the early-release editions of the Iron Factory IF EX-14 Ultimate Commander God Ginrai / Optimus Prime which we reviewed a few weeks back.

And we have to say she's one of the nicest bonuses we've ever gotten our hands on.

To the uninitiated, in the cartoons, Elita One and the female counterpart of Optimus Prime. The two were together back when Optimus Prime was just Orion Pax and she was known simply as Ariel.

For our Orion Pax review, click here.

When the Decepticons began their war of conquest, both Orion and Ariel were destroyed and rebuilt by Alpha Trion. For 5 million years, the two led the Autobots and battled the Decepticons side-by-side. When the Ark left Cybertron for Earth, Elita One was presumed killed. She was not. For 4 million more years she would lead the Autobots against the Decepticons on Cybertron while Optimus Prime slept. 

That means she's led the Autobots longer than Prime has.

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Sonokong Big Convoy Mammoth Optimus Prime

I'm not a Shellformer, this is all armor

Welcome to a review of the Sonokong Big Convoy AKA the Mammoth Optimus Prime from the Super Life-Form Transformers Beast Wars Neo (Is it just us or do the Japanese - and Koreans - really like long names?)

Before Hasbro got lazy and created a modern generation of Transformers "Shellformers", there was this guy.

The literal king of kibble.

This is what it means to be a "Shellformer"

To the uninitiated, Sonokong's Big Convoy is also known simply as "Big" or "Slammoth". He bears the title of Supreme Commander of the Maximals (It's a military title). But unlike other Supreme Commanders who are level-headed and friendly, Big Convoy is a "One-Man-Army" with teamwork issues and a penchant for simply destroying what is in front of him with his Big Cannon.

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Iron Factory IF EX-14 Ultimate Commander God Ginrai / Optimus Prime Review

THERE'S SOMETHING ON MY BACK!!! GET IT OFF!!!!

Welcome to a quick review of the IF EX-14 Ultimate Commander - not God Ginrai or Optimus Prime depending upon the mode - from Iron Factory.

The early release packs of the Ultimate Commander from Iron Factory came with a nice bonus: IF EX-16A Alleria, The Lady Commander - AKA Elita One (Only NOT Elita One :) ) And not to be confused with their just announced EX-016 Pink Assassin which looks sooo coool) which is a very nice bonus from Iron Factory.

Iron Factory built the IF-EX04 City Commander figure. Feedback for this NOT-Ultra Magnus was favorable because Iron Factory built him to be compatible with the Transformers Generations Metroplex.

So they went and built an Optimus Prime. 

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Takara Super Ginrai Powermaster Optimus Prime Review

Optimus Prime - yet not Optimus Prime

Welcome to a review of the Takara Super Ginrai - Powermaster Optimus Prime!

To the uninitiated: In the cartoon series Super-God Masterforce, Ginrai refers to a human  - not a robot (though later the robot gains sentience and uses the name Ginrai) who is a GodMaster (AKA PowerMasters) - not a Headmaster - who had the ability to combine and power a Transtector - or basically power-armors used by the original Cybertronians (Who were tiny).

Super Ginrai is what happens when Ginrai first combines with his Transtector, then the Transtector combines with his trailer.

There's one more upgrade coming that we're looking forward to called God Ginrai where Super Ginrai combines with another Transtector called the God Bomber.

Shortly after gaining sentience and leaving Ginrai, the Transtector Ginrai would become so wounded that he submitted himself to a rebuild where he would become the lion-bot Victory Leo.

If you want to see the original Transformers Super Ginrai to God Ginrai, click here. 

If you want to see Xovergen's version of God Ginrai, click here.

Cousins

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Dark Lord Dungeon 2016 Toy of the Year

Welcome to the Dark Lord Dungeon 2016 Toy of Year award! 2016 was a rough year for us, filled with soul-searching and new directions - all for the good. There were dark times. You'll note that there is no entry in August because we wanted to shut down this blog in August. The Higher Powers said no, so here we are. Thank you for being a part of this journey. Thank you for continuing to be a part of our journey. Here's to a great 2017!

This year's finalists

SND-01 Primo Vitalis Optimus Prime Upgrade Kit Review

Primo Vitalis Optimus Prime

Welcome to our SND-01 Primo Vitalis Optimus Prime Upgrade Kit Review!

First of all Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Please do also check out our Primo Vitalis Upgrade Kit Assembly Guide by clicking here.

To the uninitiated, this particular "look" of having a split chest and shoulder pads was conceptualized by IDW Comics for their Transformers Title.

We've since seen this design incarnated into the Legends Class Transformers Generations Optimus Prime, and; into Toyworld's Orion.

Neither Hasbro or Takara have come up with an official IDW Split-Chest Optimus Prime, but we're sure it's just a matter of time. Til then we have Shigeru Ningyo Do (SND) to thank for their Primo Vitalis Upgrade kit for the Transformers Combiner Wars Optimus Prime.

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SND-01 Primo Vitalis Optimus Prime Upgrade Kit Assembly Guide

SND-01 Primo Vitalis Optimus Prime Upgrade

Welcome to an assembly guide for the SND-01 Primo Vitalis Combiner Wars Optimus Prime upgrade kit.

We had the chance to discuss the SND-01 with several other Transformers collectors and the consensus seems to be universal that this is without a doubt one of the best upgrade kits ever to be released in the market.

However a lot of collectors are overwhelmed by the a) Suggestion that the Primo Vitalis is less of an upgrade kit and more of a kit that creates a new toy, and; b) Idea that doing so means that you have to deal with the "exploding" joints of the Combiner Wars Optimus Prime.

Both ideas are true. Unlike car upgrades, most Transformers upgrades can be reversed or removed. While the SND-01 Primo Vitalis can be reversed, it would require a hell of a lot of work. And a quick trip to YouTube to watch some people bully through the instruction manual will show just how explosive the hip joints of the Combiner Wars Optimus Prime can be.

Hopefully this assembly guide will help.

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Transformers Mini-Con Assault Team: Centuritron Quick Review

Transformers Mini-Con Assault Team:Centuritron 

Welcome to a quick review of the Transformers Mini-Con Assault Team: Centurion.

To be perfectly honest, when Hasbro released the Mini-Con Assault team, we assumed that, yes while they could be combined to form Centuritron, they could be used as building blocks to build even bigger Transformers.

Looking back, yeah that was a bit naive, but they were practically unstoppable in the comic books because they could combine.

Alas they cannot and all we have is this tiny Mini-con made out of three even smaller Mini-cons - though actually they aren't Mini-Cons, they're Ammonites - a race of omnicombinational beings that have the power to combine with other Ammonites. Now imagine 70Billion of them coming to attack you.

Sadly they all exploded.

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