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http://www.centurysendsavior.com/ToyFairMedicom.html Man...for the first time, I actually find myself liking Raiden more than Snake... You guys got to check out those pics.

Don't like them either. Both the designs and the music. Not really bad per se, but just not that good. Dancouga really don't look that good in here. Kind of generic and lose most of the nice details the original has.

Haha. I took the easy way out and will avoid Yamato stuff from now on. Glad they made me some very cool 1/48 toys. But the 2 broken Garlands and the cracked VF-0S shoulders left me a major sour taste for the price I paid these things. Just want my money to be more well spent.

Oh. Pretty sure its made in China. And don't think there is a HK or variant version I know of. Wave is not big like Bandai to have different versions in different countries.

The common one is in cruiser mode, the two towers don't lock well together and easily split back apart. But can be easily fixed by thickening their connection peg on each side with a tiny bit of super glue. Other than that, not much else. The other occasional loose joints are case by case, due to Wave not being super consistant on the assembly. But nothing major or parts very floppy.

Haha. Your SDF-1 is especially short in your pic (mainly because you have not extend the legs, though the towers should be pushed back, so there you lose half an inch on height)

Wasn't planning to buy this, but end up finding one on ebay at a decent price. Nice details and paint (even though mine has a couple paint hiccup spots), while not bad diecast content actually. Part of the center torso block is also diecast, not just the legs. And while its small compare to bigger Macross toys, the size itself is not that bad. Kind of like the early SOCs with a super tall shoulder/back towers. Joints in general are sturdy and tight, but a bit inconsistent. Like its tight on one hip swivel, but a little loose on the other side. And since there is no screw holes, I guess there is no way I can fix minor things like that. Elbows and shoulder mechanism is extremely fragile! Handle with great care, or the pegs will snap off for sure. Overall, kind of feel like the earlier 1/60 Yamato VF-1, which looks good, has some weight, bit a little fiddly, with an occasional loose joint or two. Hard to hold the thing in cruiser mode without moving some parts out of place unintensionally. Almost wish that they might as well take out all the joints on the legs, just to have a sturdier thing to hold. But not bad enough that its floppy. Most joints are tight. Parts don't lock tight in transformation with pegs like u see in Takara transforming stuff, but there is some good design that help parts sit nicely in place that don't move around. The hip ratchet is strange, doesn't let the legs to stand straight, but spread out. As if the increments in the ratchet are too big. So while its pretty good, and a great looking piece (the display stand is great), you do feel like there is a lot of room for improvement in terms of execution. A good toy, but not great.

I got mind from HLJ early bird. They are all out by now. Mind came in perfect shape, especially since Takara has an extra cardboard box package. HLJ usually pretty good on the boxes. Just get some not so nice ones occasionally, and usually on cheap stuff. I doubted its their packaging, but rather, thats what they have in stock, with some boxes not so mint. Though $179.99 from BBTS is still pretty good. Not a big difference since HLJ ships EMS for this expensive one. Maybe like $5-10 more at BBTS shipped. So people that wants this, better hurry before BBTS runs out. As this figure goes easily pass $200 anywhere else.

Hard to get this one cheap at all. Unless you pre-ordered it way back from HLJ, you can hardly get this figure without a mark-up unfortunately.

Got my R1 set and finally watched the who thing in one sitting. Only have seen episode 1-3 before, so finally get to see the ending after all these years. Not a hardcore fan of the series, so luckily the changes didn't bother me too much. Though I find the cover box doesn't look too nice, with the Kaiyodo figure, the fake grass, the sky, and Mikimoto's illustration of the 3 girls seem quite out of place. Though good that they at least included the R2 box art illustration in the inside. Booklet is not bad. Though its still quite inferior in terms of packaging design when compared to most R2 anime releases, regardless the obvious effort they put in. I do have a question though, regarding the "Okaerinasai" appeared in the show & booklet cover. Is there a reason or implied meaning in having the last katagana character "i" printed backwards? Couldn't figure this one out.

Don't have the box with me at the moment. But the stickers pretty much say 'assembled gun place here' and the other says 'assembled backpack place here'. And yup, Takara purposely make those extra storage for you so you don't have to take off or disassemble everything, just to put them back in the box. Kudos for Takara. Never seen a release of 12" figure that goes this far for the customers' convenience. The only other release that is similar is the SOC Gunbuster, with a display stand that solely designed for the convienience and play in mind. One of the reasosn I like this Protect Gear release so much.

Yeah, like what everybody said. Great paint work, but way too many bullet holes on that thing. The guy in the suit sure would be dead by now, from all the blood lost from the un-armored upper arms and thighs LOL.

Added pics. Midori is also using this bad boy (the extended Mauser C96) in the comics.

Just found out not only does the big MG34 machine gun can be opened up to take out the inner gun barrel, the small Mauser C96 can also combine with the wood gun holster to make a longer version! O_O It works just like how it is shown in the pic with the German trooper back in the days. And also this extended version of C96 turn out to be Midori 's (é·²å°¾ç¿ ) favorite weapon in the Kerberos Saga comics. This figure is just full of pleasant surprises that the instruction sheet never shown!

It cost quite a bit more though, $99 bucks + tax + shipping, versus the domestic release at roughly $44 shipped if you find it cheap. I understand that a good number of you guys are concerned with the minor changes made. But I don't know if the differences justify the extra cost. Though I do like the box art on the R2 version quite a bit more.

This is pretty much what I just saw out of both of my VF-0S' shoulders. Yup, both of them. Didn't even aware of this thread until a friend mentioned this issue to me a week ago. Finally remember about it tonight and bust out my screw driver to take a look inside. Of course, what I found out is not very encouraging to say the least. I already had 4 broken Garland shoulders...and a very dismembered toy in a box. Funny though, I still remember when I first got my VF-0S and posted my thoughts and comments on it. Pretty much a 'cool but fragile' toy. Then I saw Graham's " The VF-0S is a very sturdy toy..." reply in bold. Guess I wasn't that much off the mark on my comment afterall...LOL (Well, LOL in a sad kind of way...) I did loosen up the screws a bit, and since there are screws holding the shoulder together, hopefully it won't fall apart like the Garland's did, especially now that people are aware of the issue. And I've only transformed it like 4-5 times. Sigh.

Hot Toys did made some Rambos already. In fact, there are 3 versions already. First Blood Part II version First Blood Part II Halo Jumper version First Blood version

Yeah. I think how recent the kit released has a lot to do with its quality. Early ones I heard is a pain to put together. But on the more recent ones, they improved a lot.

While I haven't seen the movie yet, still couldn't help but get swept by the heat of Rocky (after rewatching the old movies) and picked up the recent HK Hot Toys Rocky 12" figure. This Rocky has a brand new Hot Toys muscular body unlike the one from Rambo and other previous military release. Even more impressive, Clubber Lang (Mr.T) also has another new muscular body with a sculpt very different from Rocky's. Kudos to Hot Toys for developing two new bodies instead of one. The figure turns out very nice. The body seems a bit more solid compare to the older muscular body, especially on the armpit. Less stress is on the rubber when the shoulders are raised. Poseability is similar to the old body. Limited, but enough to pose some nice boxing pose. Nothing too dramatic though. Likeness is pretty good too as shown in the pics, though most likely you'll need some paint to improve the eyes and hair (which I did) to make him look less sleepy and more Stallone. The eyes could be more round and droopy, while the nose could be a tad narrower. Neck could be a bit shorter too. So while its not perfect, it does look quite good at certain angle and lighting. It also comes with some nice accessories like an extra pair of taped fists, the championship belt, a white boxer rope, a small towel, and a big American flag. Nothing very fancy, but adds some play value. The belt is especially nice and quite detailed, with printed pics of all four main boxers appeared in Rocky I - IV. Very nice touch. So in conclusion, this is a very good buy. May not be an end-all figure like the Takara Protect Gear release, but its great at doing what it does, being the best Rocky figure in the market right now. Rocky fans would sure don't want to miss this one.

http://www.geocities.jp/hetare_d_max/galle...ebeinBoxer.html If you want a Hucky, this might be your best choice. Four stars out of 5, not bad. And that is an unpainted kit you see in those pics, in case you wasn't paying attention. I haven't build mine, but in general, the more recent Kotobukiya SRW kits are pretty good. Very good color separation, and decently nice fitment. Not quite Bandai plastic kit quality, but still pretty nice. P.S. If you just want just a brand new stand alone Hucky Mk III kit (no Boxer unit) for decently cheap price, I have one for sale.

Don't like the Shun figure that much (even though he looks pretty good), since I actually find that part of the Hades story kind of stupid. Kind of pointless to pick Shun as Hades, just to add needless drama to the story, then all of a sudden, Hades doesn't need him anymore and move on... So didn't really care for this one.

Even more interesting, the gun outer barrel can be twisted open at the section shown in this pic, to take out the inner barrel (just like in the movies) and place your second one on the backpack. Do need to be careful not to break the hinge though when try opening. It twists one way, but not the other. Though I don't have the thing with me at the moment to tell exactly which way to open it. And that explains why the backpack has 2 slots for inner gun barrels, even though only 1 came as accessories. Check the MG34 gun section on the second link, with a pic showing the opened gun barrel. http://www.takarahobby.com/kaihatsu/0612kerberos/index.html http://www.takarahobby.com/kaihatsu/0612kerberos/0002.html

Fuse's Protect Gear in Jin-Roh movie exist in a earlier timeline in the Kerberos Saga (1950s of an alternate Japan). The one Takara just released is of later days (year unknown), therefore a different weapon. There are quite a few different versions of the Protect Gear appearing in different live-action films, manga, and the anime. At one point, the MG34 gun was used in the life-action films The Red Spectacles (1987), and Straydog (1991), while Takara labeled this new version of Protect Gear "Type-92", which I guess is a supposingly updated version of the "Type-92" Gear appeared in manga (1988). I do like the MG34 look better than the MG42. Thanks to the Wikipedia, these background info of the Kerberos Saga turned out to be quite interesting.

Don't mean to sound like a blasphemy, but you might actually get quite a bit more satisfaction out of this one than our normal dose of Yamato Macross goodness. Given that we are quite used to what to expect out of Yamato's valk releases. No bendable fingers, but with a few pair of extra swapping hands instead. Bendies for 12" fingers usually don't look that great and can't hold weapons well, similar to the Hot Toys bendy hand from the Rambo figure. Though Takara's hands are one of the best. Secure connection to the arm, awesome 2-axis ball joint rotation wrist, and good posture. Also no paint rub-off like some of the Hot Toys painted hands. All of them are molded hard PVC with a matte rubbery feel, which gives weapons a good grip too.

A nice gallery from fellow Mr. Elljay's blog. http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/elljay-besttoy/...3&next=1377