drifand

Simultaneous releases are a move in the right direction. What's left is for a real revolution in pricing for their domestic market. Perhaps the tail can wag the dog this time? Otherwise, this will only be another footnote in the victory of p2p distribution over traditional media. Make it high quality AND price it to fight with FREE, or eat dirt. That's the reality as I see it.

Mmm, quote me on THIS :-) I just shot a couple more pix of my CM's in my room... very hasty setup. I used a laminated board on a stool and a propped-up artboard for background. The uneveness was cleaned up later in Photoshop. Anyway, I've made some more mods to the hands. The easy one is slicing open the 'grip fists' so that they can be used to carry other objects, such as the AT mine that came with Microman Chirico... The modified fists also means that Ley can grip his beam gun much more convincingly. And YES, Stick is balancing without a stand in this shot. A closer look at Ley... I really, REALLY like CM's proper execution of his integrated beam gun. :-) A closer look at Stick on the lam. Of course it isn't practical to pose him like that all the time, but isn't it cool that a diecast 'PT' toy has joints that can do the trick if required? I am SO fired up for CM's Blowsuperior and Houquet types!

You should be OK with the Proto. Haven't read any bad stories about it yet, and the improved features are really cool. I'm actually more keen to hear from owners of the Army Color version... shoulders good? Or crumbly?

Another cunning array of stunts from CM's... <- (I'm only laughing on the outside)

Ah yes... the picture that launched a thousand mods. :-) That's right, folks – have FUN with your toys. I'm definitely going to aim for more cool poses with the CM's this week!

Don't get mad, get even! Let's see more examples of what the MH can do! :-)

We're all darn lucky Bandai makes all these display stands... I've bought 2 gray and 2 white large bases, plus a black one of the smaller type like TwoDucks'. Too bad the peg supplied for the smaller ones don't attach securely to the larger bases... kinda like the CM's L-T link-up situation. :-P

Great to see things back on track. Can't wait to see the ramp in action!

Stick and Shogo arrive at the 118th's forward arming base... and spot some 'irregularities' right away. Can you spot them? :-) As the Scopedog goes to Down Form, we can see that Chirico has borrowed Shogo's civvies for a night's off in town and had just checked in. Two other Armored Troopers have just joined the company: The distinctively 'Mandalorian' chap is handling the striped-down Machine Robo BH-07 Battle Riser, grasping a 'Hargan beam rifle' in place while his generic 3-3/4" headed buddy helps to load the ammo. Shogo, of course is much more concerned with what Ypsilon has done to HIS ride. Seems the Proto Garland has gained a custom bracket on its right leg to hold the beam rifle! Everyone gathers round as Ypsilon fires up the Proto Garland for a demonstration of 'non anime magic' weapon wielding. The 118th troopers look on expectantly... (this pic has been replaced) The Proto Garland quickly rises to full height... ... AND DRAWS HIS RIFLE! Yes! The 118th is ready for action. THE END.

OK, here's more 1/18 action with Stick and Le... um, Shogo! Since Ley's VR-52T is rather lacking in firepower, Shogo has volunteered to add some punch in the form of Microaction Chirico's AT Bazooka. As Stick hands over the bazooka, you can see the custom peg I added to the front of the shoulder-rest, which can plug into the slot on the back of the CM's Mospeada. Stick quickly switches over to Ride Armor mode to lend assistance to the test firing... (Can the MH do this?) Shogo: "Ready?" Stick: "Good to go!" Guess what? The 'useless' seat plug on the CM's is actually pretty useful... it helps to hold the rider in position for 'hands-free' poses like this one! Shogo takes the shot and Stick records the telemetry with his pop-up scope. High five! Target drone destroyed... let's head back to base.

I'm going to TRU to check out any available '1/18-ish' toys to collect some scalps. I need 'generic heads' to form up my 1/18 Irregulars. :-)

I thought about that! I had planned to clear coat the CM's but was forced to consider these points: 1. Have to take apart the whole toy + mask the windshield. Tough. 2. Close-fitting parts like the shoulder armor would scrape off the coating around that area. So, no, I decided not to go that route. Now that I've grunged up the toys, the shiny bits don't bother me any more.

I wondering if any other members are like me... on the move and using a notebook to check email and MW postings via different WIFI hotspots throughout the day. What happens is each new location means having to log-in to MW again. For webmail and e-commerce sites, I can see the need for basic security in checking a user's IP + cookie, but MW Forums? So how about it? Please consider this request to simplify the bbs' behavior to allow persistent log-in. Thanks!

Mmmm... Just finished weathering Ley and bike. I'll dream up some more fun scenarios this weekend. Probably get my 1/18 Votoms into the picture. :-)

So, the big question still stands: Who should play Motoko? I still think Kelly Hu has the right looks but acting skills? Hmm. OTOH, Motoko doesn't say a lot in Oshii's brooding vision. :-D

Not to pick an argument, but I have to disagree here. The CM's design can be transformed with only the removal of the gauntlets. The rear panels CAN stay attached to the white swiveling arms if you take your time. I appreciate the effort taken to incorporate this feature into the toy, and also the provision of choice: If you're impatient, you CAN take the rear panels off to make things easier. Of course this shouldn't take away any enjoyment you get from the MH's different approach. :-)

Too much work, as in real life and also the effort to maintain a toy site. And I'm just about to start my annual shelf reshuffling... Keep kamen riders to showcase Patlabor? Hmm.

I hear ye, my man! I keep wanting to see more worker labors made into toys, whether as Revoltechs or pricey, not-really-worth-the-money soft vinyls. As HLJ is selling the Tyrant now for only 1,500 yen, I'm seriously thinking of buying one more so that I can properly modify it into a full action figure. The internal joints will be easy - just get some Koto or WAVE modeling parts from my local hobby shops; but it's thinking of replicating the cloth covers that makes me hesitate... There was a gorgeous scratch-built 1/35 Tyrant shown in the HOBBY JAPAN "PATLABOR THE 3D BOOK"... made me wish CM's produced a yellow colored version too.

I kinda debated where to put the pix, but in the end, I felt it could do more good in this thread to show some love for a toy that is mostly... misunderstood.

For weathering I used: - Sakura PIGMA MICRON 005 fineliner - Gundam Marker GM03 Brown fineliner - Gundam Marker GM02 Grey fineliner - Gundam Marker Weathering Marker Set (6-colors: sand brown, mud brown, rust brown, silver wash, oily metal, soot black) - Generic teal-colored acrylic paint for touching up the screwheads Oh, and also Gundam Marker 'Gundam SEED Basic Set' (6-colors: Blue, Yellow, Mid Grey, Dark Grey, White, Red)... especially the dark grey for making the gauntlets look more opaque against backlighting. I HATE 'armor' that looks translucent under a bit of sunshine. :-)

Thanks... it's easy when you're having as much fun as i am with these toys. And the PF design just makes it all the more incredible at such a small size. Yes, it's fiddly; yes, Ley's bike needs a custom fix. But hey, like I said, you CAN fix it and the payoff in terms of realism is unbeatable. As for the Garland's scale, I believe Yamato did their best to make an 'impossible' design come true. The 1/15 scale probably refers to the physical dimensions of the bike/robot according to published specs. However, the physical limitations of the cockpit space meant that Shogo had to be '1/18' to fit inside. I guess, you could display it in robot mode next to the 1/15 Motoslaves (and even the various Bandai Kamen Rider trans-armor bikes) w/o any issues. But in bike mode, the exposed 'puny' Shogo would look very odd indeed next to the beefier 1/15 figures from other series. In which case, the Microaction Votoms series would be excellent buddies along with the CM's ride armors.

After the race, everyone's chillin' and 'Ley' gives his ride a tune-up. In his left hand is the original 'too-short' peg that caused the gun-gauntlet fork connection to become misaligned. I bought a set of custom parts by Kotobukiya - Modeling Support Goods (M.S.G) P-121, chose the piston that was closest in diameter, cut it down to size and sanded it a little to fit. The final part is in 'Ley's right hand. With the longer custom peg, the bike is now perfectly 'true'. All it cost was 210yen. For the MH, I don't think you can't easily fix the basic proportions or 'leftover' kibble. As you can see, the 1/15 Shogo is a perfect size-match for the 1/18 Mospeada... Simulated headlights... Shogo can even wear the Ride Armor... sans the boots and gauntlets, of course. No, Stick and Ley can't really fit inside the Garland, but simply plucking out the torso will give a pretty convincing illusion. That's all folks! I'm really hoping to see CM's Houquet and Yellow rides soon! :-)

Thanks! It's easy to find faults with any toy, but the trick is to find joy in what you like. I'm using an 'Action Base 1 White' by Bandai. It supports 1/100 MG kits without problems. I picked the widest 'U' attachment and it fits the Griffon's groin perfectly. :-)

This one's for all the CM's Ride Armor lovers out there... hit the music, Yellow! The thing about the CM's is that 1/18 scale opens up a whole world of toy cross-overs, Microman being just one of the possibilities. The so-called 1/15 scale for the Yamato Garland may be true to the mecha size, but the Shogo figure is definitely closer to 1/18... as you will see. I've managed to add weathering for Stick's ride but haven't completed Ley's. So you can see the difference in later pix. I have also added a custom hardpoint for Stick to mount his rifle onto the bike's front guard. Ley's troublesome fork misalignment has also been fixed... It's Shogo versus Stick in a no-holds barred street race! Stick manages to outpace the Garland in a short sprint... ... and then Bernard pushes over into Ride Armor mode! But wait! Shogo has his own ace up the sleeve... Maneuver Craft mode... ... gives way to... Maneuver Slave mode! What's that light in the sky? Anime-Magic beam rifle, of course!

OK, here are some pix of my two Zeros... they are pricey for what are essentially 2nd-tier quality action figures, but I love 'em anyway. :-) - Special Vehicles Section 2, Platoon 1... Gomioka Tsutomu (Unit 1), Yuuki (Unit 2) - I love that these figures are in-scale with the Brave Gohkin and sofubi labors. Excellent for creating action tableaux. - Gomioka tackles the Tyrant - Break a leg, sempai! - Yuuki versus Hercules - Who's godlike, now? - Full SV-II line-up. Despite the so-so molding and troublesome joints, the production AV-0 Peace Maker looks outstanding when displayed next to the diecast Ingrams. - My CM's Patlabor collection to-date... Can't wait for Brocken and AV-S Economy!