All things Voltron

[Jeremy007]

I would hold off. I know some company is going big with him this year. Probably why BBTS is selling them on the cheap.

if you dont mind me asking, where did you get this info? do you know what company? is it a chogokin? I have not been able to find any info at all on any upcoming golion release.

thanks for any info.

[Gakken85]

CollectionDX has been hinting at it all year. and I'm going off a poster over on RobotJapan who is in the know about the companies involved.

I don't have any solid information and I'm sure you won't find anything online, I just know there will be a big Go lion release this year, and it won't be Bandai.

I'm assuming it will contain diecast and be high quality.

[Jeremy007]

if its not a bandai chogokin, i dont have as much interest....but i'll remain optimistic. i really hope its a legit japanese company and not a 3rd party chinese knockoff.

thanks anyway...

[Gakken85]

Soon as I get info I'll update this thread.

My money is on Takara, but I'm not sure.

Could maybe be Max Facotry too.

[anime52k8]

CollectionDX has been hinting at it all year. and I'm going off a poster over on RobotJapan who is in the know about the companies involved.

I don't have any solid information and I'm sure you won't find anything online, I just know there will be a big Go lion release this year, and it won't be Bandai.

I'm assuming it will contain diecast and be high quality.

yeah, personally, I've stopped listening to anyone who claims to be "in the know" about anything related to Toy companies.

In any event, I don't want, need, have room for or can afford a big lion Voltron. what would really get me excited is a Super Robot Chogokin Golion.

[EXO]

That looks great. They look good together. These two well sized die cast toys would probably as far as I would go with Voltron. Glad I didn't touch that Mattel one.

[David Hingtgen]

My wish for a new Voltron is the same as always---NECKS. The lack of necks always make the lion modes look awful. And means you can't do the iconic poses at all.

http://boonage.pjss2.net/2007/06/11/voltron-defender-of-the-universe/

It's been a quarter-century and Voltron has a simple transformation. Surely we can now engineer a good combined form while having lions that don't suck.

I do NOT want "the same old thing" with ball joints and diecast. I want something like a v2 Yamato or Bandai renewal showing IMPROVED SCULPT/PROPORTIONS.

[JetJockey]

Same here. Seems like companies are sticking to the easy route with Voltron. But SDCC is coming up. Maybe there will be a Voltron surprise.

[Gakken85]

I've always liked Dairugger more than Go-Lion, but I'm interested to see which company won his rights.

Edited June 23, 2013 by Gakken85

[EXO]

Is it possible to have necks on the lions and still have the transformation features? The proportions on the lions in the animation vary greatly between individual and Voltron mode. The legs on the lions also get huge when by themselves. There's a lot of room to improve on the Toynami one but not enough to interest me.

[David Hingtgen]

MMC got necks on their new not-Predacons, and they have much more complicated transformations. Really, Voltron has never passed GoBot level transformation complexity in any toy---it seems every company just does the laziest way possible--see Black Lion's front legs in the new Mattel. As I said before--I want to see a Yamato/Bandai style re-vamp, where they make it much better than before in every way, by trying new things.

Get rid of pointless gimmicks nobody ever uses---use the internal space for critical stuff like the transformation/COMBINATION. Why not have two sets of legs or something? Big articulated ones for lion mode that flip inside for Voltron mode, and "small, permanently tucked-up" ones that do the opposite. Etc.

Having a grossly-out-of-scale pilot inside is not the best use of space. Nor is having spring-loaded firing heads, for an adult collector toy. Would rather have good legs and necks...

[anime52k8]

Having a grossly-out-of-scale pilot inside is not the best use of space. Nor is having spring-loaded firing heads, for an adult collector toy. Would rather have good legs and necks...

I really think it should be possible to have fully articulated wrists and proper lion necks while still retaining the rocket fists.

[EXO]

Those Mattel gimmicks sucked bad. I would love to see a Lion Voltron that can do all those things.

[David Hingtgen]

Really, what was Mattel thinking with the keys and where they went? "Yeah, this is totally what people want!"

[renegadeleader1]

Those Mattel toys were fun as a kid, and were meant for kids so I see no reason to crap on them. I don't see you guys crapping on some of the more goofy child toy versions of other giant robots out there, and that's because you accept them for what they are. I also think there is a ton of bias around here against american companies versus Japanese ones no matter how brittle, poorly made, sloppy painted, or prone to random disintegration the $500 to import MECHABLASTOR Z FINAL GETRO VERSION DX from Japan is.

That being said there should be a high end version that exists and adresses things like transformations, and joint manuverability for those that want them.

[myk]

Those Mattel toys were fun as a kid, and were meant for kids so I see no reason to crap on them. I don't see you guys crapping on some of the more goofy child toy versions of other giant robots out there, and that's because you accept them for what they are. I also think there is a ton of bias around here against american companies versus Japanese ones no matter how brittle, poorly made, sloppy painted, or prone to random disintegration the $500 to import MECHABLASTOR Z FINAL GETRO VERSION DX from Japan is.

That being said there should be a high end version that exists and adresses things like transformations, and joint manuverability for those that want them.

I think everyone's bagging on the recent giant-scale lion release with the 3.75" pilots and "key gimmicks."

[RD Blade]

That's what I took from the discussion. The Matty Voltron was aimed at adult collectors, not kids. Had that been the prevalent line of thought from concept to execution, many of its gimmicks would have been dropped in favor features that would have earned praise from collectors rather than their ire. Smaller pilots, more complex transformations, and lions with necks, for example.

[Gakken85]

I thought it just looked cheap. haha.

[EXO]

I thought the Mattel version looked fun. And I was OK with the added pilots because having character figures is always a cool bonus. But at the end, the gimmicks didn't really work. Like people have mentioned, the key thing was really hokey and unneeded. The blazing sword stand was designed really badly, because once you secure the sword into it, it was impossible to take out. the lion's legs folded in weird ways, especially when the animation shows (on a daily basis) which ways the joints were suppose to bend. I'm really more of a casual fan and I think the Toynami one is OK. Suprisingly OK. But if they made one that can do the things David and Anime52k8 are talking about and made it look as good as T-Rex is making Macross toys look good, then that would really pique my interest.

[anime52k8]

I also think there is a ton of bias around here against american companies versus Japanese ones no matter how brittle, poorly made, sloppy painted, or prone to random disintegration the $500 to import MECHABLASTOR Z FINAL GETRO VERSION DX from Japan is.

Go say this in the Pacific Rim Thread, it would be more relevant and I don't actually want to argue that point myself.

[David Hingtgen]

I think everyone's bagging on the recent giant-scale lion release with the 3.75" pilots and "key gimmicks."

Yup. It's a high-priced adult-oriented toy---with the gimmicks and design that'd appeal to a 5-year-old. They really missed the mark.

[renegadeleader1]

Go say this in the Pacific Rim Thread, it would be more relevant and I don't actually want to argue that point myself.

That's what put me in this mindset, but like I said I thought people were discussing the original Voltron toy. Still after looking at this new version it still doesn't deserve the crapping on its getting. Yes it's a collectors item, but designed to be a nostalgia toy to recapture the essence of the original with similar features. Its kinda like the G.I.Joe 25th line and the retooled Skystriker that got released.

[kurdt_the_goat]

CollectionDX has been hinting at it all year. and I'm going off a poster over on RobotJapan who is in the know about the companies involved.

I don't have any solid information and I'm sure you won't find anything online, I just know there will be a big Go lion release this year, and it won't be Bandai.

I'm assuming it will contain diecast and be high quality.

Strange you mention it won't be Bandai cause that was clearly who CollectionDX were teasing would do something back in Episode 61!

In the end i just hope whoever does it, finally does it justice. My Toynami Lion Voltron looks like a baby's toy compared to...

..my MP Vehicle Voltron! It arrived earlier this week and i'd say overall i'm more than happy with it. Some people around the place have had QC issues and i wasn't completely exempt, one of my hand pieces (for holding spears/rotors) snapped in a minor fashion. But for me, all the positives far outweigh any negatives. It looks incredible on the shelf and is great fun to pose, being more capable than most of the toys in my collection. I ordered mine from Chimungmung and the service was excellent so they come highly recommended.

Edited July 3, 2013 by kurdt_the_goat

[JetJockey]

That's what put me in this mindset, but like I said I thought people were discussing the original Voltron toy. Still after looking at this new version it still doesn't deserve the crapping on its getting. Yes it's a collectors item, but designed to be a nostalgia toy to recapture the essence of the original with similar features. Its kinda like the G.I.Joe 25th line and the retooled Skystriker that got released.

There are a few good Matty Collector Voltron reviews on youtube that really show what a mess the new toy is. I thought they were funny. I think one is by RetroBlasting and the other CollectionDX.

It's time for a real modern Voltron toy/model whatever you want to call it. Even if they have to make it non-transformable just to get the Lions and proportions right. That way people who want the Lions can get those. Or people who want Voltron can get him. Honestly, I always displayed my Voltron as the Lions.

[myk]

Personally I thought the Masterpiece Voltron was good enough, with the latest toy being a "big" step in the wrong direction. Are the lions supposed to look like the ones in the zoo, that like roar, eat animals and other stuff? Not in my opinion anyway; Voltron's body is made up of "robot lions" and that's how I want them to look...

[David Hingtgen]

Are the lions supposed to look like the ones in the zoo, that like roar, eat animals and other stuff?

No, but they should look like they did on the show. Blue and Yellow always turn out the best, Red and Green the worst. Black varies between "pretty bad and pretty good". But if ever a set had a GOOD red and green, I've not seen it.

Give me this:

[Gakken85]

Hate to say it, but I'm going to cancel my order on the MP Vehicle Voltron.

I was expecting it to ship 2 weeks ago and still no word, and all I've seen in the last month and half is QC issues, broken pieces, and banged up parts.

MP is shady as crap, and its a damn shame. I was really, really excited about this release... but at the end of the day it's a 3rd party with a really low integrity level and not worth the price.

Maybe somebody else will buy the mold and make things right... but I doubt it.

[myk]

No, but they should look like they did on the show. Blue and Yellow always turn out the best, Red and Green the worst. Black varies between "pretty bad and pretty good". But if ever a set had a GOOD red and green, I've not seen it.

Give me this:

Eh, I see what you're saying but I can live without the necks. Again, the MP Voltron would've been good enough for me, of course that thing is priced into the stratosphere now so I can forget about it...

[m0n5t3r]

Hate to say it, but I'm going to cancel my order on the MP Vehicle Voltron.

I was expecting it to ship 2 weeks ago and still no word, and all I've seen in the last month and half is QC issues, broken pieces, and banged up parts.

MP is shady as crap, and its a damn shame. I was really, really excited about this release... but at the end of the day it's a 3rd party with a really low integrity level and not worth the price.

Maybe somebody else will buy the mold and make things right... but I doubt it.

Lol, and i thought that was your own MP Vehicle Voltron you were posting pics of...

I'm still on the fence... but here's a video made by our local distributor for this MP Voltron saying "improvements" are being made for the supposed "version 2" that's coming out this August (kinda like that sh!t that Takara pulled with MP9)... He also mentioned that this is an officially licensed Voltron product...

[kurdt_the_goat]

Maybe i got lucky, but mine that was shipped 3 weeks ago has all the "improvements" mentioned in that video already.

The hand sockets were always easy, they never looked like they were going to crumble or collapse in, the paint is sharp, the rubber tracks don't come off easy etc..

Obviously some people have got duds, or broken things through carelessness, and the design is not without engineering issues - but i have no regrets, and it was *not* cheap! I couldn't imagine my collection without it now, so I'd recommend it greatly, but if possible, get your seller to inspect it before sending just to be safe, rather than missing out altogether.

[Gakken85]

They are recreating some of the pieces and making new molds.

MP has not shipped any additional product, beyond the initial pieces (around a hundred units). They have addressed the factory QC issues and have created a new mold for a handful of pieces they felt needed improvement. Anyone who received an original unit, can obtain the improved piece through the retailer they purchased their Voltron from. They are doing everything possible to take care of their customers. I am out of town working, but will make sure the shop gets your cancellation processed. Thanks!

I'm going to get my money back and wait.

If they fix everything and other people confirm that it's fixed I'll think about it.

Edited July 16, 2013 by Gakken85

[Lobizon]

Giant Robots Rule The World: Robotech Returns In Crossover With Voltron From Dynamite

SDCC: Giant Robots Collide In "Robotech/Voltron" Crossover

[UN Spacy]

Hahahahaha...thanks Tommy Yune.

[Gakken85]

So Toynami got the rights to Voltron. This is the big ticket item I was talking about:

[Twoducks]

Could Vehicle Voltron be far behind? Well, in Toynami time that could be a long way off.

Now I wonder if Miracle Productions will sell Toynami their VV design. Toynami likes to cut corners that way like when they brought the Beagle ride armor instead of doing their own version.

If they do, they need to drop all the stupid diecast on the MP VV. All that weight ruins the toy (it is not very fin to pose).