eriku

Yeah, there is a substantial portion of the truck hanging off Voyager Prime's back, but it does fold a little bit and surprisingly it doesn't affect the balance as much as you might think. For example I didn't think he'd be able to stand straight with all of that junk back there, but he can. Both Prime's have their strengths and weaknesses and both are very good toys and excellent TFs. I'm not unhappy with either of them.

I haven't seen the regular version of Voyager Prime, but Target should be well stocked with their exclusive version of it, which is called the "Robovision" Prime. Robovision has a lighter colored blue and his arms/legs are painted silver rather than bare grey plastic. There are also other little cosemetic differences that I forget. I happen to like the silver bits on Robovision better, but I like the darker blue on the regular version better. I'm unclear if Target will carry the regular version along with the Robovision version so people can compare and decide which one they want. I doubt it though.

Well, I'm not talking about accuracy to whatever the movie Prime was based on, I'm talking about overall look. I personally find Voyager Prime more aesthetically pleasing, in both modes, regardless of what they're based or not based on. Weather it's a mish-mash or not the Voyager Prime still looks like it could be based on a real truck. Leader Prime doesn't exactly pass the accuracy test either with that hand-canon jutting out of the back and it's solid side windows. I also prefer the articulation and proportions of the bot mode on Voyager Prime. I'm not sure if it's a simple matter of "bigger is better", but a lot of people seem to be overlooking Voyager Prime. It's really a great TF, as is the Leader Prime. I'm glad to have both. The one new Prime I do regret buying is the Fast Action Battler. I though he looked cool in a cute and chubby SD sort of way, which he does, but overall it's rather a crappy toy. I was amused though that it's truck mode was almost the same size as Voyager Prime.

Is this another story all about how his life got flipped-turned upside down?

Just got leader Prime myself. While I like it quite a bit, I think it's strange that they left out wrist articulation since they could have very easily added it without changing a thing other than the connection point where the hand meets the plastic panel. One small rivet and they could have rotated. I also think the alt mode on Voyager Prime looks better overall than Leader Prime. Leader is impressive in it's size, but the smokestacks look silly with their three different shades of grey/silver and the side windows being a solid color takes away from the realism too. The little driver in the Voyager is kind of silly looking, but the entire open cab and windows really looks better than the painted effect on Leader. The last problem I have with it is the flip-out blaster. I think it looks pretty awful no matter what position it's in, especially in truck mode, so I was very happy to find that it snaps right off. Truck mode has a bit of a gap without it, but I far prefer the gap to the big wonky blaster sticking out, which looks like nothing but a mistake. I think I'm going to arm Prime with a 1/18 Scopedog rifle. Gripes aside, it really is a fantastic toy that is a load of fun to transform and play with. I like it a lot better than I thought I would from pictures.

Got my 1/48 Burglarydog from HLJ and wow wow wow, this thing is fantastic! Sure, it's itty bitty, but I really like small toys, especially when they're done with a superbly high level of QC and detail like this AG 'dog. It was a blast to attach all of the little pieces onto the main Dog, even though they're so small I could swallow the works in one gulp. The articulation is really great on this little guy, and I found myself having more fun posing it than I do with the 1/18 and 1/12. The joints are all very solid and tight, no floppyness or even slight looseness anywhere. Also, the metal feet allow it to do a killer leaning back pose. I'm really impressed with this toy on pretty much every level. Even the box is cool with it's magnetic flap. The one and only problem was entirely my fault. Instead of cutting the pieces from the sprues I was just twisting them because they are so small. In my impatient removal procedure I twisted the ball joint right off of the left open hand. Oh well, at least it wasn't the only left hand in the box. Seeing this thing next to a 1/48 valk really makes the Dog seem small. Wish I had more time to take photos.

Awesome pics of Revy, and it reminded me that I was going to get that figure but somehow totally forgot about it. She seems to be sold out everywhere now, but Animeniacs of all places still has some, so I immediately placed an order an now have one on the way.

There ended up being a lot more movie toys that look appealing to me than I thought there would! I'm trying to space out my purchases rather than binge, but so far I've picked up: Deluxe Brawl: Tank looks great, bot looks great and is nicely articulated but I can't get the shoulders to lock no matter what tricks or suggestions I try. Deluxe Bumblebee: Fantastic car mode (although it sucks that Japan gets clear windows and we get painted - um, WHY??) and bot mode looks very cool, too. Lots of articulation and fun transformation with lots of 'automorph' going on, which I didn't think I'd care for but it's unobtrusive and pretty cool. Only complaint is that it's got two right hands, which is surprisingly the first toy I've ever bought with that problem. Voyager/Robovision Prime: I L O V E this toy. I didn't like the colors very much online, but in person they looked great, especially the silver paint that defines this version from the regular version. Truck mode looks very real and just downright cool. Lots of detail. Bot mode is nicely proportioned, although there is a sort of backpack thing going on that some people don't like. Doesn't bother me at all because the bot is stable and I'd rather have a backpack than kibble. Articulation is about as good as it can get although the head's not ball-jointed and the ankled don't move side to side. Transformation has a lot of moving parts, like a Binaltech almost, but far, far more intuitive and easy to complete. I'm always amazed that they can engineer something with so many moving and hinged parts to lock together so tightly. The smokestack guns look really good and are a clever design. Prime is one of the few movie toys that actually has a hand-held weapon. Real Gear Longview, SpyShot and PowerUp: All of these are winners, and I plan to get the rest of the Real Gear line as well. Sculpts and colors are very 'real world'. Some people think they're too small, but it's not really that much of a problem. Bot modes on all three are really dang cool looking and have a lot of articulation. I love the pinchers on SpyShot (they move, too!). The transformation on PowerUp is mostly automorph and simple, but it's still fun. Longview and especially SpyShot have some of the most clever and fun transformations I've ever seen. They're not that complex, just unique. I might try to mod Longview into a space cruiser since his alt-mode sculpt could very much pass for one. Next on my list is the rest of the Real Gear line, Ratchet, and maybe even the Fast Action Battler Starscream because he looks like a little SD jet/robot/turtle combination.

Do you guys think maybe Keith Richards is just so physically wasted that he wasn't able to do anything more than what we saw on the screen? I mean, the guy probably needs animatronics to help him move onstage at Stone's concerts. I guess they could have CG'd him kicking some butt. I enjoyed the film overall, but not quite as much as the first two. All of the people I went with agreed that there should have been more swordfighting, and that what little there was (on top of the mast) was fairly lame.

Sounds like a nice improvement. That reminds me that I need to get a Dremel.

Did anyone here get the Microman Fyana with her stasis chamber (or whatever it's called) that came out a while ago? I really like the light-up chamber and was looking for some opinions on it, like if it's worth tracking down.

LOL, I guess you can tell how much I've been paying attention to TF movie news. Cool, I hope his shoulders aren't a problem.

Picked up a Brawl today. Tank mode is absolutely fantastic, and very real looking, and the turrets even rotate. Bot mode looks pretty good, too, but the shoulder problem really sucks the fun out of it. It's so annoying when Hasbro has a damn near perfect TF on their hands that is marred by one tiny flaw of engineering that could have very easily been avoided or fixed. Still, even with the shoulders not locking into place it's a great little transforming tank. And one thing I found interesting is that he's made of a different plastic than most TFs, one that seems to be the same plastic Yamato uses for their 1/48 valks and 1/12 Votoms toys. More of a soft, matte plastic. I think this guy would be really great if done in a larger size, and they'd be able to use a better locking system for the shoulders.

Cool, that is fast. Glad I went with EMS, my impatient soul would probably eat me alive waiting for SAL.

OK, after looking at those new Volks figures again I decided I really like them aside from the heads. That said, I ordered myself a Rei with plans to replace her spooky kiddy noggin with a better head from one of the several other Rei figures I have. I figure among them and their various sizes there has to be one that will work. If not, oh well. Another EVA toy for the pile. Or trade fodder.

Cool, I'm very happy to see the DMZ line (rumored dead a few months ago, although I was never sure why) has a lot of life left in it. On another note, I ordered myself a 1/48 Burglarydog from HLJ. Being my first HLJ order ever I'm a little nervous. I've always avoided that site for some reason. How long does EMS shipping usually take, and was I a fool for spending more on it?

Agreed. They all actually look really good. I doubt they would be able to make toys of those designs look as good, but I sure hope they try!

Microman figures are so weird. My Chirico is absolutely perfect, every joint is tight and nothing falls off or comes apart (unless you want it to). On the other hand I bought a Casshern figure and it pretty much completely disassembles itself if you walk by. Similar to that is the figure that came with the rubber Gojira suit. I can't even put it into or take it out of the suit because it turns into a pile of body parts. Right in the middle is Sakura from Street Fighter. She's tight all around except for one floppy arm and loose wrists. I'm excited for the Vanilla figure (as well as the add-ons of course) but I know full well it's a gamble. As long as he can hold the "spraying the wrong shoulder red with the paint gun" pose, it'll be fine.

Heh, didn't Mazda beat them to it years ago with the Alternators website tie-in?

Good point.

Thanks for the plug! What were the problems on the first issue one again? I didn't handle mine enough to really notice anything. Wasn't there a shoulder problem on some?

Articulation looks great, and they look like quality figures, but I don't care for the stylized look. They look like 5-year-olds with breasts.

Wow, thanks for the review Graham, I've been very curious about this figure. Now it just went from a 'want' to a 'must have'! I can't believe they added that many improvements and paint applications to such a tiny beast, that is incredibly cool.

Ah yes, naturally occurring gears, levers and pulleys. I've got lots of that stuff in the back yard, it's a real b!tch to mow over.

I was thinking of this pic, which probably isn't an official Takara pic.