Soul of Chogokin - part II

[VFTF1]

Maybe I should rephrase my criticism and comparisson this way:

Soul of Chogokin: Getting progressively better and better

Transformers: Getting progressively worse and worse

I agree that Takara-Tomy did some excellent, innovative things. Beast Wars ball joint poseability (although it started in G2), MP, etc etc - I'm not going to repeat the priases you typed out because I agree.

The problem is that while it seems that most other companies are making Progress, Takara and Hasbro are in a rut. The movie toys are cataclyismic IMO. MP is moving at a snails pace.

I mean - come on. Look how many new moulds Yamato has put out in Macross. New moulds - not repainted V-F1s. Look at that and then compare it to the snails pace at which we get new MP releases. Why? Takara-Tomy surely has more money to invest in MPs than Yamato does to invest in new Macross moulds - and yet Yamato turns out more new stuff.

And to bring it back to Soul of Chogokin - look at the tempo with which Bandai brings these out and compare it to the horribly slow pace of MP.

Finally, look at the advances made across the board with figures, models and toys from other companies and look at Takara-Tomy who IMO are now stuck in a rut.

It's bad when Car Robots and Beast Wars Neo - which came out in 1998 and 2000 respectively - are more appealing and technologically advanced and have better paint and details than toys tied to multi million dollar movies or even the Unicron Trilogy stuff which came out later and should have benefited from better tech.

But this just goes back to the essential difference IMO between SOC and Transformers stuff - even hig hend TF stuff: namely ... no love.

There is a LOT of love in Soul of Chogokin. The robot is meant to embody the "soul" or "spirit" of what makes the character great and memorable and each one is really really a labor of love.

Tranformers doesn't do this. Little things like the unpainted Dr. Archeville with the MP Starscream, things like the totally stupid faces on Thundercrack and Skywarp. Megatron did at least come with Kremzeek...

But again - that's really four TF moulds in 5 years that are awesome. Compare that to all the moulds Bandai has put out.

As for playability - I disagree.

Check out my photo comics linked below. Although there's a lot of (bad) photoshopping done there - I take the pictures outside and I play with these things. Yamato, Bandai - I handle them pretty ruggedly and they are great for play.

Just look at Yamato's Japanese based tv advertisements - kids are playing with these things in those adds.

I understand that we as foriegn buyers with no access to Yamato customer service or Bandai customer service are way more paranoid -if we dent or scratch or bust up our SOC or Yammie - replacing the part of the piece is an additional couple hundreds bucks maybe....

But still - these are very very good for play.

Pete

[nugundamII]

Maybe I should rephrase my criticism and comparisson this way:

Soul of Chogokin: Getting progressively better and better

Transformers: Getting progressively worse and worse

I agree that Takara-Tomy did some excellent, innovative things. Beast Wars ball joint poseability (although it started in G2), MP, etc etc - I'm not going to repeat the priases you typed out because I agree.

The problem is that while it seems that most other companies are making Progress, Takara and Hasbro are in a rut. The movie toys are cataclyismic IMO. MP is moving at a snails pace.

I mean - come on. Look how many new moulds Yamato has put out in Macross. New moulds - not repainted V-F1s. Look at that and then compare it to the snails pace at which we get new MP releases. Why? Takara-Tomy surely has more money to invest in MPs than Yamato does to invest in new Macross moulds - and yet Yamato turns out more new stuff.

And to bring it back to Soul of Chogokin - look at the tempo with which Bandai brings these out and compare it to the horribly slow pace of MP.

Finally, look at the advances made across the board with figures, models and toys from other companies and look at Takara-Tomy who IMO are now stuck in a rut.

It's bad when Car Robots and Beast Wars Neo - which came out in 1998 and 2000 respectively - are more appealing and technologically advanced and have better paint and details than toys tied to multi million dollar movies or even the Unicron Trilogy stuff which came out later and should have benefited from better tech.

But this just goes back to the essential difference IMO between SOC and Transformers stuff - even hig hend TF stuff: namely ... no love.

There is a LOT of love in Soul of Chogokin. The robot is meant to embody the "soul" or "spirit" of what makes the character great and memorable and each one is really really a labor of love.

Tranformers doesn't do this. Little things like the unpainted Dr. Archeville with the MP Starscream, things like the totally stupid faces on Thundercrack and Skywarp. Megatron did at least come with Kremzeek...

But again - that's really four TF moulds in 5 years that are awesome. Compare that to all the moulds Bandai has put out.

As for playability - I disagree.

Check out my photo comics linked below. Although there's a lot of (bad) photoshopping done there - I take the pictures outside and I play with these things. Yamato, Bandai - I handle them pretty ruggedly and they are great for play.

Just look at Yamato's Japanese based tv advertisements - kids are playing with these things in those adds.

I understand that we as foriegn buyers with no access to Yamato customer service or Bandai customer service are way more paranoid -if we dent or scratch or bust up our SOC or Yammie - replacing the part of the piece is an additional couple hundreds bucks maybe....

But still - these are very very good for play.

Pete

ps im not retarded or drunk. i have this new acer laptop and the keybourd is slightly skewed to the left side than what i am used to so i am using a lot of backspace!

ok

do you even have the new prime from movie 2 cause your really missing the point here but anyway

i did check your website out. with my croatian i can browse some of the other pages i got registration help and contact dont know what regulamin is

but i can read a little bit from the page anyway nice website. i need to finish mine next year. you must be doing well on the european market who knows maybe your the next hlj or bbts of poland

i didnt check the exchange rate but judging by the prices i see a loaf of bread again might cost 1000 dollars :lol: :lol: :lol:

mp convoy for 1500 that must mean the average poljoe must make 400000 a year'

i guess the reforms of the early 90s finally fizzaled out now its back to the old red

Edited December 28, 2009 by nugundamII

[VFTF1]

ps im not retarded or drunk

If you had read the HG/Robotech thread - you would know that the proper spelling is "retarted"

do you even have the new prime from movie 2 cause your really missing the point here

Fair enough. I don't have any ROTF toys. I have seen the pictures though - especially of Buster Prime. And yes - he's nice. But that only underscores my point: namely there is no love in the TF line. Since Hasbro/Takara-Tomy can make Buster Prime - why do all the other ROTF toys look so bad? Why is Devastator so terrible? Why don't his individual parts even transform?

For that matter - why is Buster Prime a Japanese exclussive?

That is my point: they can do a lot better - but they just don't want to for such a large range of figures.

with my croatian i can browse some of the other pages i got registration help and contact dont know what regulamin is

Oh that just means "rules" -- it's kind of like Terms of Service or something like that...

you must be doing well on the european market who knows maybe your the next hlj or bbts of poland

I wish.... Maybe ten years from now... would be nice ... ... for now I'm into my third year and still haven't hit paydirt

mp convoy for 1500 that must mean the average poljoe must make 400000 a year'

i guess the reforms of the early 90s finally fizzaled out now its back to the old red

Those aren't dollars We had MP04 for the equivalent of 200 bucks (600 PLN) when the re-issue was announced back in September/October. Now that he's out of production, that's the price for backorders 1500 is about 400 bucks which is what he unfortunately now costs if you live here.

The other prices - at least for stuff which isn't out of production - are actually good for Polish standards - meaning for people who have to add a 22% tax to everything they buy

i guess the reforms of the early 90s finally fizzaled out now its back to the old red

Yes.

Back in the 1990s things were great here - privatization and opening up markets. Now it's all about taxing things and redistributing EU money. Too bad really; the country went from a dynamic emerging market economy to Welfare Queen of Europe (that is my drastically oversimplified history of the last 10 years in Poland )

And to move back to SOCs ---

Yes - of course you can point to particular Transformers that are excellent - no one is disputing that. My problem is that I think on the whole there are far fewer breakthroughs and when you compare even the higher end TFs to the love Bandai puts into SOCs (not to mention other lines) .... one is saddened.

But whatever - oh well. We'll see

None of this changes the fact that I need Ideon next year

Pete

PS - Are you from Croatia?

If you are - then I think your country is one of the most beautiful in Europe. I was in Dubrovnik for summer vacation and daaaaaaamn! It's paradise on Earth! Really - the place is like Switzerland without snow and with lots of beaches and hunnies Very nice!

Edited December 28, 2009 by VFTF1

[ruskiiVFaussie]

Some better photos from here:

http://artstorm.co.jp/exgokin_gatchaman_me...ction_aset.html

http://artstorm.co.jp/exgokin_gatchaman_me...ction_bset.html

They are not from Bandai. They combine in the show, but not these toys.

They are also VERY damn expensive too.

thanks for those links~~~! yeha i know they are not SOC.

[QuinJester]

Completely unrelated to any of the discussions currently going on: the SOC Spec Dragonar and Falguen are beyond excellent. I would rate them among my top 10 toys of all time.

Nice diecast inner frames, excellent fit and finish, immaculate paint detailing, and just the right amount of accessories and poseability to make them near-ideal toys for both the display case and the desk as handling-fodder.

[nugundamII]

Completely unrelated to any of the discussions currently going on: the SOC Spec Dragonar and Falguen are beyond excellent. I would rate them among my top 10 toys of all time.

Nice diecast inner frames, excellent fit and finish, immaculate paint detailing, and just the right amount of accessories and poseability to make them near-ideal toys for both the display case and the desk as handling-fodder.

agreed these soc specs are great i have both and they are top notch

[CAIN MKII]

I hope HLJ will have it for pre-order soon, I want one.

Edited December 29, 2009 by CAIN MKII

[macrossnake]

I hope HLJ will have it for pre-order soon, I want one.

HLJ had them 'early bird' order a little while ago... it is a limited run.

HLJ site should accept new pre-order on 31 Dec.

http://www.hlj.com/product/ALA26005

Edited December 29, 2009 by macrossnake

[chen]

Well it seems no ones posted it here but here's the painted Daitarn.

[nugundamII]

same here, looking forward to the re-issued Max gokin Mazinkaiser very much.

anybody get this??

[mr.chogokin]

I got it the first time it was released. Highly recommended!

[nugundamII]

I got it the first time it was released. Highly recommended!

Could you please post comparison pics to a SOC Mazinger by Bandai. I want to know how it compares. I want to know what the metal content is and how the quality it. I saw a fewture figure for 250 US and its pretty similar to the going rate on Ebay.....

Thanks

[mr.chogokin]

Could you please post comparison pics to a SOC Mazinger by Bandai. I want to know how it compares. I want to know what the metal content is and how the quality it. I saw a fewture figure for 250 US and its pretty similar to the going rate on Ebay.....

Thanks

A bit difficult for my copy to be photographed at the moment... as it's currently boxed away in storage. IIRC, the metal parts on this Mazinkaiser are on his shoulders, torso, thighs, lower legs and shoes. Compared to most SOC Mazingers' metal content, this Mazinkaiser only losses out at the arms as they are mostly ABS plastic. But the plastic quality is good. The overall quality imo, is slighly better than the SOC Mazingers, but only by very little. Its paint quality is excellent. I think you'd be more happy with the Maxfactory Mazinkaiser than any Fewture stuff. It's also cheaper. Also, if you're getting this Mazinkaiser, becareful with handling his shoulder sword hilt covers... it's made of plastic and there had been reports of it breaking easily. Mine is still okay though.

Here's a photo for physical comparison I dug up from robojapan.com

[m0n5t3r]

thanks for the pic and the info mr. c... just got wind that my buddy was able to get me that Max Mazinkaiser for HK1,160... yay! i am soooo glad i didn't bite on the 1st issue i saw last year selling for HK2,500... whew! BTW, aside from the shoulder hilt covers you mentioned, i remember someone mentioning that the swords get scratched when you mount them on the stand??? TIA.

and that Daitarn is looking mighty fine... might get tempted to get one if it's released by the time i go to HK this april...

Edited January 19, 2010 by m0n5t3r

[mr.chogokin]

At one time the appreciated prices were crazy when all the MF Mazinkaisers disappeared from the market. Even this reissue is going for slightly more than the first issue's retail price. Hmm... fluctuation or opportunism at play here? Anyways, it's just a slight increase, and cheaper than the 1/60 GBP set. It's more worth the money and has no breakage issue. Gotta grab the chance to have it!

Edited January 20, 2010 by mr.chogokin

[m0n5t3r]

probably inflation for the slight increase for the re-issue... definitely opportunism for the way the first issues' prices went crazy.

i'm just glad i got one for a good price ~$150... locally it costs ~$200. ... can't wait to get my hands on it!

Edited January 20, 2010 by m0n5t3r

[macrossnake]

New pic of the GX-54 Ninja Senshi Tobikage

I hope it is not going to be crazy expensive.

[Macross73]

i dont get all the chogokin stuff so... anyway, recent stuff I got includes

86 Hero Mickey Mouse -

nice figure plenty of metal , extra hands and

Santa hat , hands do fall off they dont want to stay put

SOC Getter Robo - small yes , great figure yes.

SOC Getter Dragon - same as above.

SOC Big O - wish there was more metal , but a Solid figure .

SOC Energer Z - love this figure

Some Items I'm Waiting for and some coming soon

Fewture Shin Getter

Drossel

Daitarn 3

Tobikage - skipping

es Alloy Getter 1

es Alloy Getter 2 - skipping

es alloy Getter 3 - skipping

es alloy Steel Jeeg + Parnsaroid - skipping - already out

es alloy Goshogun

es alloy Gowappa 5 Godamu

Dorvack EM Alloy 01 Mugen Calibur - skipping

Dorvack EM Alloy 02 Generic Calibur - skipping

[Temjin]

New pic of the GX-54 Ninja Senshi Tobikage

I hope it is not going to be crazy expensive.

Looks really cool, are they releasing two versions anyone know?

[shiroikaze]

You know, I thought Chogokins are all about big, badass robots, but this totally came out of left field:

Hatsune Miku to get a Chogokin

Preorder @ Play-Asia

I like Vocaloid and all, but this kinda boggles me...

Edited April 3, 2010 by shiroikaze

[ruskiiVFaussie]

Grabbed myself this - 45% off amiami!

http://reggiocomics.blogspot.com/2009/10/s...to-closeup.html

Edited April 4, 2010 by ruskiiVFaussie

[macrossnake]

Grabbed myself this - 45% off amiami!

Beautiful design.

I want one...

[Snail00]

Just got this

Not worth the $110 Price tag but its neat

[macrossnake]

Just got this

Not worth the $110 Price tag but its neat

Yes, it looks very cool and details.

Shame it is a little small and expensive.

[Vostok 7]

Completely unrelated to any of the discussions currently going on: the SOC Spec Dragonar and Falguen are <i>beyond</i> excellent. I would rate them among my top 10 toys of all time.

Nice diecast inner frames, excellent fit and finish, immaculate paint detailing, and just the right amount of accessories and poseability to make them near-ideal toys for both the display case and the desk as handling-fodder.

I just got the Dragonar 1 with Cavalier version on a whim since it was on sale at HLJ and I am very impressed. Will be picking up the Falguen ASAP, and maybe the Opening Silhouette version if I can find one, your pictures make it look pretty good.

[Funkenstein]

Bandai revealed a new chogokin line called Super Robot Chogokin. Its figures are smaller than SoC and thus less expensive. Its coming out with Mazinger Z and SRW stuff.

[Black Valkyrie]

Bandai revealed a new chogokin line called Super Robot Chogokin. Its figures are smaller than SoC and thus less expensive. Its coming out with Mazinger Z and SRW stuff.

Nice a cheap line, never owned a SOC, due to high cost and shipping. Now I hope they can produce all of the main ones :

http://ngeekhiong.blogspot.com/2010/05/super-robot-chogokin-mazinger-z-great.html

[Black Valkyrie]

Preorder available now at HLJ :

http://www.hlj.com/hljlist2/?Word=super%20robot%20chogokin&Maker1=BAN&Dae=Fut&DisplayMode=images&Title=New%20Super%20Robot%20Chogokin%20line%20from%20Bandai!

[UN Spacy]

A brand new SOP Yamato is in the works.

It's the same scale as the previous one (1/625) with a redone mold (sans gimiks and electronics). Also included is the drill missile from Episode 22 of the original series.

http://www.amiami.jp/shop/shop?vgForm=ProductInfo&sku=TOY-RBT-1207&template=e_review.html&set=english

[EXO]

Geez. I'm glad I sold mine. But I don't get how people buy the Yamato SOP when you know they're gonna keep changing it. Unless you collect each and every iteration.

[Snail00]

A brand new SOP Yamato is in the works.

It's the same scale as the previous one (1/625) with a redone mold (sans gimiks and electronics). Also included is the drill missile from Episode 22 of the original series.

http://www.amiami.jp/shop/shop?vgForm=ProductInfo&sku=TOY-RBT-1207&template=e_review.html&set=english

Wow Nice

Im not really into Space Ships but that is something I can see owning and having on my desk at work.

How much will that retail for?

On an other issue. I just won the Max Factory Mazinkeizer first version for 100bucks. In excellent condition. I like the look of it. But the second verion is so expensive for something the same size as a Bandai SOC. Also got the SOC Phone Braver from Bandai on sale from HLJ. Its another one of those Items i could see on my desk. Oh also got the SOC Dark Raideen on sale from HLJ. This is a special mecha for me as I had one as a kid that was as tall as me. All plastic and mobility sucked where you could only raise the arms to fire finger missles and a fist missle.

[Kyp Durron]

A brand new SOP Yamato is in the works.

It's the same scale as the previous one (1/625) with a redone mold (sans gimiks and electronics). Also included is the drill missile from Episode 22 of the original series.

http://www.amiami.jp/shop/shop?vgForm=ProductInfo&sku=TOY-RBT-1207&template=e_review.html&set=english

I'm gonna pre-order this joker ASAP.

-Kyp

[Vifam7]

I don't know... I like the sculpt of the SOP release better. But if this one features a lot of diecast metal, I might spring for it.

[Kyp Durron]

Pre-ordered.

-Kyp

[UN Spacy]

A bit more info on the Yamato v2.0 from HLJ.com

http://www.hlj.com/product/BAN961147

Back in 2001, Bandai's Soul of Popynica Space Battleship Yamato came out to thrill fans and collectors alike. Beautifully proportioned and sporting gimmicks galore, it was the Yamato toy to have...until now! Nearly a decade of technological advances later, and with the upcoming "Space Battleship Yamato" live-action film firing up Yamato fever like never before, Bandai now presents an entirely new rendering of the iconic ship!

Measuring 425mm in length (nearly 17 inches!), this lovingly detailed Yamato is packed with great gimmicks. An infra-red remote control (four AAA batteries are required) cues four music tracks, six different digital sounds, and the full-color LED lights of the Wave Motion Gun, main engine and sub-nozzles, and main bridge. Panels and hatches open, revealing inner detail and accommodating the included eight small spacecraft (Cosmo Zero, two Black Tigers, Kato and Yamamoto's Cosmo Tiger IIs, a three-seat Cosmo Tiger II, an ambulance ship, and a Type 100 search craft). The main guns pivot in unison via a hidden dial, and the gun barrels can all be elevated individually. Small deck guns also pivot simultaneously with hidden dial. The main smokestack missiles can be raised and lowered, and the ship's wings pop out via a hidden switch release.

A sleek black base is provided to display the Yamato either horizontally or canted upward, and holds the infra-red remote control as well. And the initial release of this proud new Yamato will also include an in-scale Drill Missile, able to be fitted into the bow to recreate one of the enemy Gamiras' most memorable attacks!

Made of ABS, PVC, and die-cast alloy, this epic all-new entry in the Soul of Chogokin line is fully painted, but requires minor assembly of small parts (no cement needed). Bandai's latest, greatest Yamato will launch in November--get aboard now!