mpchi

Some more of my stuff... 12" figures sure are very fun. Expensive for sure, but they are as real as toys can get, with a lot of room in customization. Just some padding, some paint touch-up, or body swapping/modifying can really bring these things to life.

Here is most of my collection:

More... Cool huh?

Wooooow...a 12" figure thread...how come I never saw this? Some awesome collection I saw from other forums:

Looks very nice.

What scripts/movies did Nolan's brother do before? Is he good? Batman Begins has some pretty good writing and memorable lines. Hope he can live up to that. "SWEAR TO MEEEEE!!!!!!" I love that one. Here is a comparison of the Big Three in the Batman 12" market. Medicom(16800yen), Takara(16800yen), Hot Toys(US$100+). You can find them in many online import toys stores or ebay. Unfortunately, HLJ sold out on them, so less likely you'll get a good price on them. Takara vs Hot Toys Takara vs Medicom Movie reference Medicom's is too short, chest too small(the body inside is skinny) and head too big. Its the earliest release, and most of the flaws were corrected by Hot Toys since Hot Toys' version used Medicom's as their model and modified it. Hot Toys' cheaper, nicest details & accessories of all and more movie accurate in a lot of things, but when everything comes together, Batman look more like a middle aged guy with eyes way too big to be called manicing. And the suit is more like thin bodysuit with layers of rubber armor stuck on it, not a one piece thing, similar to Medicom's. Takara's a bit skinny, neck not as thick as it should on the back(made the head look round), the visible neck seam(though head poses way better than the other two), and some details on the belt & boot are not 100% movie accurate. Takara took some liberty and changed minor details. But its has a very nice one piece (well, more like 2, one for top half, the other the legs) rubber suit that others don't have. And very flexible too. Also, the excellent waist and leg joints that let him pose natural poses the others can't and has the widest range of poses out of them all. DC Direct's(US$80+), while the cheapest, its not even in the same league of these guys. Take your pick.

Wooo Hoooo! A sequel to a great Batman movie! Wonder how different it will be compares to Tim Burton's Batman, since they both centering Joker's storyline this time. Hope they have more news soon. Sure I'll be watching this one on the big screen. By the way. Just picked up the very cool Takara 12" Batman Begins figure. While a bit skinny compares to the movie appearance, it blows the competition away(Hottoys, Medicom, DC Direct...though some of these has some very nice details) in overall look, posebility, and play value. Looks even better in person. Batman Begins fans might wanna check it out! Pictures courtesy from buddies at Toysdaily.

No Ginrai. Calm down. I already mailed back mine once. Its my replacement that cracked again.

Just got an email reply from Yamato USA, after telling them that my replacement cracked at the shoulders as well. They are very supportive, and tell me that they are trying to get a hold of some improved arm assembly replacements from Yamato (Japan, and sounds like the improved shoulders are still in development), and will let me know once they got it. But couldn't tell me a definite time when those would arrive at the moment. Nice guy I talked to, and glad that they have looked into the issue already. Just need to be patient about it. Hope the superglue would hold up until then.

I still like the Garland, even if it means it will eventually have stiff superglued shoulders. But this shoulder thing really hurts this otherwise very well designed, very playable toy. I actually find it more fun playing it than my VFs, to my surprise. Feels sturdy and balances so well in robot mode. If only the shoulders were better made...

Let the horror begin... (pics from my old broken one) After opening my new replacement for a day, with one transformation and very little shoulder posing(being super careful as I learned my lesson), I start seeing a fainted crack cracking from the inside on the left shoulder again. Look similar to the one in the pic above, but smaller and less obvious. So disappointed, and don't think its an issue of being a lemon. since I am getting 3 broke shouldes on a row. Just really bad construction, with that shoulder piece way way too thin on the top. I dipped a big drop of super glue on top of that cracking shoulder part, hopefully it will reinforce the weak connection a bit more from the outside, and avoid the crack from spreading. But not too optimistic about it since it comes from the inside, where there is no way the glue can reach at the moment. Don't think I'll bother exchanging it again. If the shoulders really fall apart again, I'll just super glue them on for good, with no shoulder movement. At least it can still transform....so sad. Mine is US version, but I doubted there is any difference from the import. Looks just like any import Yamatos to me, as all my Macross stuff are import. Garland's package & instruction don't seem look any different, even have the same Japanese questionaire for the product.

Everyone who has a Garland, or is planning to get one, make sure you read Ginrai's posts about the breakage of the outer shoulder joints. Mine broke on both shoulders, with the plastic pieces all cracked up. Don't even think its a lemon, just really weak plastic construction at that joint, as both broke off around the same time and same way, all with normal shoulder posing and transforming and delicate handling. Word of advice, always move that shoulder by grabbing at the joint with your fingers, never pull the lower part of the arm to move it, it will stress the plastic, and crack from within before you can even see it. Also, some of us like to raise the shoulders up higher with that ratchet. Try to refrain from doing so. The ratchet is stiffer when lifted, and again, more stress on the shoulder when pulling back down. Yamato USA is very helpful. After a few emails, I have mine sent back to them and got a brand new replacement in a few days. While this toy is still very cool, really keep an eye on the shoulders, and the metal bar peg. You'll regret it if you don't.

Ha, good that seeing someone like the film finally. And yeah, really don't know what people are expecting from a superhero movie these days. The show isn't meant to be a really deep mind provoking masterpiece, but just a fun joyride with some very cool visuals and pay homeage to a very iconic superhero Superman, who haven't had an appearance on the silver screen for a long time. Think the film did pretty good achiving that.

I think people just over reacted to the breakage thing a little. Of course, Yamato should have designed it more sturdy on that metal bar peg. Then there wouldn't have any problem in the first place. But as I read all these posts, worrying how soon my figure will fall apart before I see it in person, I was thinking...."wait, this is it?" when I was transforming it. I bet people that broke theirs either got a lemon, or didn't expect even metal can break when transforming, stressing those pegs without even realizing it when handling the figure. Like the VF-1 or VF-0, the figure do dangle all over the place while in the middle of transformation. So one could have stressed those pegs by accident without knowing it. But as long as you read this thread, saw those pics of where the weak spots are and read the instructions correctly, you can avoid breakage pretty easily. So no need to be too alarmed and label this cool Garland a piece of crap. And for people that say it looks "too plastic". Well, its made of plastic. Just transform it back to the bike. Its much faster and don't even need the instructions. Can't do that on my VF-0S during my first transformation back to fighter mode. The screws on the bar you can loosen up just a tiny bit, if you worry too much. Its mainly for transformation from bike to robot to ease the stress, since you need to pull out the wheel on each side of shoulder sideway. Loosen those screws make the bar come rightout without much effort to pull (aka stressing the peg). This is a Macross Board crying out loud. If you guys can handle a 1/48 VF-1 or VF-0, Garland is a piece of cake. So no worries.

LOL Guess its always easy to be a critic.

Transformation is a SUCCESS! LOL Its actually not too bad, and don't think it need to loosen any screws on mine. Like Ginrai said, it really has not much to do with the breakage on the other end. Just good to know exactly where the weak spot is (Thanks to Graham's pics & the others' posts), and you will avoid stressing it as you transform. Its quite vulnerable during the transformation and before the robot shoulder is lock especially when you mistaken the wheel/bar connection is the shoulder articulation in robot mode while transforming. Its not. And if you do, and try rotate it as if its a normal shoulder joint, SNAP! Shoulder joint is else where on the outside of the wheel. Suck on mine that one of the forefeet a bit loose, but doesn't affect the stability of the robot much. It stands and balance very well. Hand also hold gun fine. You just need to fold down the thumb joint, while keeping the thumb sit horizontally. The wrist will lock the thumb from moving out of position. The gun is not held very tight, but it won't fall off from posing the figure either. Good enough. Even having Shogo sits in robot mode is not so hard. I really like this Garland. Just need to be careful with it. Worth the $100 admission fee.

I actually want this set. Only thing I wanna change is to have a red Minmay Doll. Guess I can paint one myself if I get an extra from the box. Always wanted some Minmay figures but never end up getting one. So this 'improved' Minmay collection is right on the money!

Same here. Would love to have this Hikaru figure, but the outfit just don't look athat great when compare to the flight-suit in DYRL. And we all want a nice helmet as well. I am too spoiled by the Medicoms, so only want to buy it when I know its the best Hikaru I can buy, with the best choice of outfit. Wonder why they didn't go for the flight-suit in the first place.

Highly doubted Yamato would want to go that direct, making more 1/60 VF-1s, with a new sculpt and design even. Collectors have had enough of them.

I think Spacey is a good Lex too. But would be better if they didn't give away so many of his punch lines in those trailers. I like the pacing too. Seems not much action at the beginning, but not to a point its dragging, and made the action sequences all that much more dramatic when they come. I agreed that it may not be the best superhero movie ever, but is a very good one. And I'm not even a big superman fan. Can't even remember much of the early movies. Haven't watch them like almost 2 decades, could be more. And yeah, Superman needs a more powerful villain next time.

Strange. Mazinkaiser has been released domestically for quite sometime. Should be able to find them easy on many online DVD shops. Otherwise, ebay would be your best bet for non-regional HK copies.

Funny. I watched an early show tonight as well, and planning to watch the IMAX version this Sunday too!!! LOL Great movie! And a great come back for Superman on the silver screen. Go watch it.

Hmm, wonder if someone can purchase a bunch of these as spare parts, so owners don't need to worry as much about future breakage. As I doubted Yamato is still going to have spare redesigned bars in a year or two after release. But thats great news anyhow.

Many old U.C. Gundam shows are very cool. But you have to be open to 70s & 80s style animation, compare to all the flashy stuff we are more used to seeing today. While Wing is good for making the U.S. market familiarized with the Gundam franchise, its one of the few Gundam shows that I actually don't want to watch. When a supposedly serious & very deadly military machines called Gundam uses a dragon head as a weapon or dress like a vampire, you know something is not right.

Hmm...did I missed it when browsing through the posts, or am I the very fortunate few on this MACROSS board? I met Lynn Minmay, or more like Mari Ijima, in an anime con a few years back. And a few others like Robin Williams, Ang Lee, George Lucas, Jason Kidd, and some random HK celebraties before.