drifand
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Everything posted by drifand
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Just returned from a midnight screening... wow! The testosterone was spilling out from the screen to drench the entire audience!!! Definitely entertaining, although I don't give much credence to the visual and cinematic depiction of the Persians... it was all too comic-book (yes, yes, I know...) in painting them as demonic, all mighty conquerors just waiting to be humbled. Most of my friends agreed, it would make a great rah-rah morale booster propaganda film for our local army boys. Other observations: - Once in a while, a character's outline would become a bit too obvious when seen against the lush CGI landscapes. Could be better. - Quite a few of the Persian emissaries who would harangue Leonidas to submit have accents that were too American; suddenly I was imagining the dude wearing hip-hop gear and a couple of big gold chains. Distracting. - The deformed traitor was overdone... 'gollum' was on everyone's lips.
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88 USD! You guys in HK and China are damn lucky!
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I say sc**w the chick and wait for a real reissue of the Red version. I think Yamato only holds back reissues for toys that really don't do too well: Escaflowne, Konig Monster & Q-rau come to mind - and all three seem lacking in one way or another. The Garland is more like the 1/48... almost perfect and massive top-seller if only they'd thought things out a bit more. If they'd really fixed the joints on the brown Garland, you know a reissue for the red one can't be out of the question. So I'm gonna sit tight and wait for the reviews. My heart is hardened. For a different perspective, the CM's diecast Patlabor has been a revelation. It is definitely expensive and cunningly marketed to 'gouge' the fans (the 'dance of the heads' is so blatant). It's also slightly flawed in terms of the screw holes and hard-to-access cockpit slide. But otherwise, there are no SHOWSTOPPERS like breakaway limbs. This kind of 'profiteering', while not good for my wallet, I can at least grudgingly accept because of the perceived value.
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Well, as Graham said, I'm a fan of the Takara 1/18s... the painted and weathered DMZs, while not exactly master-modeler level in perfection, is really nice for a toy that you can handle without any worries. I think it beats the raw plastic look on the 1/12s. The relative 'lightness' of the DMZ is an advantage as it allows dynamic poses that do not require additional parts to hold the joints in place. I actually took apart the feet of my two DMZs and added some ballast to allow 'lean back' action poses... something I don't think the 1/12s can ever achieve without external props. I think ideally, a real Votoms fan would want to own at least ONE of the 1/12s, simply for the satisfaction of having all the mechanical bits in such high detail. But for a line-up with real variety (i.e. not just minor variations of the main Scopedog), it seems Takara is doing great with the DMZ Strikedog and Rabidlydog. The upcoming 1/18 Zeverus from CM's Corp seems like a very interesting development too: http://ga.sbcr.jp/g-toys/wonfes07win/42/02.html http://ga.sbcr.jp/g-toys/wonfes07win/42/03.html http://ga.sbcr.jp/g-toys/wonfes07win/42/04.html TakaraTomy's product page for MicroAction DMZ series: http://www.takaratomy.co.jp/products/micro..._vot_top01.html
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Came across an old Japanese link that reviewed the original color DX Aquarion: http://members9.tsukaeru.net/ty1_toys/toys/DX_Aquarion01.htm
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All interested buyers should take the time to visit this link posted previously: http://pony-hp3.web.infoseek.co.jp/BRAVE-INGRAM.htm Loads of pix and don't forget to click the link at the very end to see No. 2 as well. FWIW here's the shot the reviewer took of the accessories pack: [attachmentid=40945] I think ultimately, CM's is playing a very cunning game... if you want all three labors in the same continuity, it HAS to be the TV version, because No. 3 didn't appear in the 1st movie. And since the TV edition only comes with 1 & 3 heads, you need to buy a movie edition to get the No. 2 head, PLUS one more TV-ed to get the right shield. Either that or you swap a No. 3 head with another collector, like what Graham has in mind ;-) Edit: Here's a 30 sec clip of the LEDs in action, first in darkness then briefly in normal lighting. http://homepage.mac.com/drifand/CMS_PATLABOR/LIGHTS.AVI Right-click on link to save, the MPEG4 encoding may or may not work correctly in browsers. Oh, and: TOY DOES NOT COME WITH SOUND.
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Sorry, man - no 1/48 Valks allowed in my house! If you love Patlabor you should get at least ONE. It's so much better than: - 1/32 DX Patlabor: battery-op lights & sound BRICK. - 1/60 Cloth Gear series: pricey (~80USD or more), so-so sculpt, low poseability. Only consolation is the nifty Python Labor. - 1/60 plamodel series: rubber shrouds eat the joints if you forgot to wash them first. - Labor in Action series... what SERIES? - 1/35 Master Grade series: Lots of time & effort to make it right. Lights are extra $$ - Revoltechs: Excellent! But not exactly DX impressive. Unless Bandai decides to up the ante, this is IT.
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Took a couple of quick snaps this evening... I liked the 02 head's shared heritage with the original design. Just pop off the 'goggles' and you'll find an Ingram underneath. The toy is either 1/48 scale or very close to it. My spare figure for Noa fits nicely in the vacated cockpit of the 1/48 Actic Gear Brutishdog. Both Noa and Ohta have been slightly detailed up around their faces with Gundam Markers. The kneeling pose is actually pretty decent and the lights look good too. I'm quite amazed at how CM's managed to fit the wiring and still allow the shoulder armor to pivot on its own ball-joint. RED ALERT! BERSERK LABORS ON THE LOOSE!!! Really hope to see a CM's Type-Zero or Griffon someday soon :-)
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So wait... forgetting the issue about 'knees', the screen cap shows the SDF-1 CAN rotate its 'legs' at the hips at least?
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That's the spirit! I think it could make a fairly decent display piece, but I'm really hoping for a more thorough execution from Bandai... like a SOC or SPEC release. You should follow up with a review when it arrives. I'd love to hear a second opinion.
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Well, it is OOP. It used to sell for US$150 or more here in Singapore. The most recent one I saw in a shop was a pre-owned specimen going for about US$130. So looks like you got a fairly good deal if the toy is indeed MIB.
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Hate to be the pessimist but the Megahouse L-Gaim (and Vatshu) has been quite disappointing in the only major review seen so far: http://pony-hp3.web.infoseek.co.jp/MEGA-L.htm What I understood from his rant: - "The photos may look nice but don't be fooled! The paint is unevenly applied." - The shoulder joints for L-gaim are unbalanced. - Meagre selection of accessories for the price. NO BACKPACK!!! - Lousy paintjob on the Spiralflow, plus... - it doesn't stow away correctly in the chest cavity. - Power Launcher and shield doesn't fit well on forearms. - Limited posability (I'm damn curious about the seemingly crippled hip joints) - Stupid situation for the saber because the un-fired ones are permanently molded on arms. Hope you didn't pay full price for it :-/
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I suggest a look at this discussion on TBDX: http://toyboxdx.com/phorum/read.php?1,133256,page=1 All the drama and expectations from 2005 announcement thru release and post-mortem... And, no, I don't like the toy or design
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'Old school' is right; the slight miscues (eg. exposed screws) makes this feel more like a Bandai DX toy from the 90s than a modern 'collectible', but then again, I'll take what I can get especially if it's this well-made. I agree the 'riot visor' gimmick could've been better designed, but I really appreciated another aspect of the No. 2 head... its shared lineage with the original No. 1 Ingram head is beautifully realised in the modular head parts. From the series storyline, it was explained that because Ohta got into fights so frequently, the factory ran out of original spare parts for his labor. So, they were 'forced' to develop new parts for his machine. The CM's No. 2 head actually looks 80-percent like the No. 1 if you remove the distintive oversized visor! Now I can see that 'over visor' as additional protection for the main camera/visor... kind of like a huge pair of tactical goggles. Nice! I went back to the local toy haunts today but the Movie edition is already sold out everywhere. For a while, I was actually considering waiting it out and buying THREE of the TV editions (making 4 in total) so that I can have No. 1, 2 & 3 in their proper livery. But sanity ruled
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No, it's not as big as I hoped for, but it IS very nicely made. Once you have it in your hands, you'll be glad to own it. I'm thinking ahead of how to slow down the inevitable yellowing, especially for the plastic parts. Most likely, I'll take it apart and spray a gloss clear coat over affected areas. And keep it out of direct sunlight.
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OK, I just opened mine - 170 SGD here in Singapore. I think it's worth every penny. The metal content is so high even the riot shield is diecast! What's NOT metal? Head, modular shoulder armor, upper arm armor, cockpit hatches, battery cover, hands, swap-out chest lights, soles of feet, antenna & weapons. Since the toy is roughly 17~18 cm tall, that makes it about 1/48 scale. I took out my 80s-vintage 1/48 Dougram for a quick comparison... Although the Ingram is 'only' 3/5 the size of the Dougram, it actually weighs more! Details & Gimmicks: - The cockpit hatch works well, although the PVC figurines are not so easy to fit inside. It was fun to raise the seats up to expose the pilot's head in the neck hollow. - Leg hatch for the revolver cannon is also diecast, and is linked to the pallet. Opening the hatch will slide the pallet+gun upwards so that the extended right forearm can reach it more easily. I think only the MG kit has this feature? - The battery-op patrol lights in each shoulder are actually 5 LEDs that twinkle in series to give the illusion of 'revolving' lights. Not cheesy at all. Nice! - All 'clear parts' like visors, cockpit windows/HUD, orange warning lights are indeed clear plastic. - Major insignia are clearly tampo printed. Only stickers are for unit 1 & 2's 'license plates', and unit 1's 'Alphonse'. Posability is actually pretty good. The legs are of course not as flexible as the Revoltechs, but I like the neutrality of the hip joints which allow a far more realistic kneeling pose than I though possible. I'm currently displaying mine as Ohta's machine... I think I'll need to find another one for Izumi soon!
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Nice picture review of the SPEC Layzner from Pony-san, although he feels the sculpt is slightly off: http://pony-hp3.web.infoseek.co.jp/TS-LAYZNER.htm I bought this today because the window box allowed me to see the gleam of metal in the chest, elbows and whole of the lower legs. Pretty well made although I found the leg armor tends to slip out of position when posing the legs. I enjoyed the fact that there was ZERO sprue-cutting required. Haven't ried the SFX in the stand but it is very sturdy and well-detented. Layzner's groin clips securely onto the post for plenty of great poses. I paid 90 SGD for mine.
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Shanghai isn't exactly a toy paradise... there's only one street there with any collectible merchandise and the prices are higher than in HK.
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Kicker, you need to 'open' the chest intakes sideways on the 1/3000 SDF-1... otherwise the proportions are too straight-up-straight-down. :-)
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The first issue SOP Yamato is a nice enough display piece, but I was very let down by the cheap electronics parts (shorted out after a month). If this has indeed been addressed, then it might be a worthwhile purchase. The new 1/350 ship is a whale of a KIT. With unpainted brass cannon barrels and photo-etched parts. ASSEMBLY IS VERY REQUIRED. It's all up to you :-)
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In case it's not clear to any Yamato Defenders: I am not masochistic enough to revel in the current poll standings. I would much rather have the joy of owning and voting for a glitch-free '19 – not because of LUCK, but because it was actually properly thought-out, produced and checked. For those currently lucky enough to own a relatively problem free '19, cherish it and, as a fellow Macross fan I hope your luck keeps up. For me, nothing would beat a SV-51 1st release followed by pages of glowing customer reports for the next month. :-)
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Toysaddict, Thanks for chipping in with your insight. I, for one, have not pointed any fingers at the retailers. My ire is strictly for Yamato's consistent inability to produce a truly worry-free 1st release. As some others have said, if Yamato really made things well, we FANS will suck up the wallet abuse with a (painful) smile. For most customers, the high final prices (for WHATEVER reasons) inevitably create HIGH EXPECTATIONS. Unfortunately for quite a few customers, those expectations were not met on the VF-0 or the '19 (or the tragically beautiful GARLAND). Hence the resulting perception of 'price gouging'... or more accurately, 'not getting what I thought I was paying such a HIGH PRICE for'. As prices are unlikely to go lower, we really just want to get our money's worth - from the very first release. But as this too seems unlikely from the company's track record, many will start to skip 1st releases. We won't gain ANY SATISFACTION from denying ourselves or Yamato... but at least we'd lower some of the chances of being hurt.
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The 19 is gorgeous, who can deny it? The only real POSs are ones who didn't THINK it through during the CAD process and subsequent planning for materials/manufacturing.
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It is not a 'solution' when you're a FAN, Graham. These folks are hurt! Let me put this to you: Surely SOME lucky folks had no problems at all with the GARLAND, but would YOU still go out and buy another 1st issue GARLAND, or even recommend it wholeheartedly to a M23 FAN after your own experience with it?
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The MBG-24A was probably one of the very last toys to come off the Takatoku lines, and AFAIK, it only comes in smooth boxes. The company was in bad shape and was about to fold. I have always thought that the smooth box is a testament to last minute cost-cutting mesaures.
