jenius Posted February 15, 2007 Posted February 15, 2007 (edited) Interesting notes from this picture: 1) The action figure can "hunch" at the waist (lean forward or back) 2) The arms move independant of the shoulder armor so it seems possible that, while the Cyclone's shoulders won't move more than a slight pitch, you still may be able to have the arms posed out-stretched. 3) Is it an optical illusion or does the head seem someone leaned back ever-so-slightly in this pic? If it is then that would bode well... if it's just my exhausted eyes playing tricks on me then the wait continues. Pic 26 is more from above and it definitely looks like there's room for a joint there to make the head lean back. 4) That helmet definitely doesn't come off of the head... what are the odds they'll include un-helmeted heads that we can swap out?? Edited February 15, 2007 by jenius
Sam Posted February 15, 2007 Posted February 15, 2007 After owning/building the Imai model of this, I am hopeful that they make some key areas from diecast/metal, namely the swingbars for the wheel attachements, and hopefully a mechanism that holds the wheels up better in soldier mode, as on the model the handlebars hold it up, but not with much success as the wheels are too heavy sometimes and pull away from the handlebars. Im still looking forward to this. If they manage gakken durability with imai type proportions, i will be happy enough. I do hope i like it better than my legioss though =) I want a playable toy this time please ;-) bring em on !
mechaninac Posted February 15, 2007 Posted February 15, 2007 (edited) [attachmentid=40446] If you look at the neck on this picture, it looks like it is only able to rotate... no pitch allowance that I can discern since the helmet/upper neck look like a single molded piece. As this is a prototype, this may change and the head could get a ball joint (it works fine for the 3.75" clone trooper figures so there is no excuse for not having something similar here). [attachmentid=40447] On this picture, it appears that there may be some pivoting capability at the torso junction of the neck, but this would be a very odd place to have it articulate. In any case, it is still too early to make a definitive determination. I look forward to seeing more info on this line in the months to come. Edited February 15, 2007 by mechaninac
jenius Posted February 15, 2007 Posted February 15, 2007 Agreed, if the neck pitches it does so at the base of the neck where it meets the chest (parallel with the shoulders). That's the area i was refering to in pic26. I think that would work well enough... but if that were in conjunction with a ball-joint head that'd be much better (clearly not the case).
Jasonc Posted February 15, 2007 Posted February 15, 2007 I think it would be an even better selling point if they have helmet-less swappable heads. There'd be nothing cuter than to have a Rook Bartley without her helmet on a bike. The Sue Graham version would be nice too, but the characters without helmets would make a nice detail point.
EXO Posted February 16, 2007 Posted February 16, 2007 I think it would be an even better selling point if they have helmet-less swappable heads. There'd be nothing cuter than to have a Rook Bartley without her helmet on a bike. The Sue Graham version would be nice too, but the characters without helmets would make a nice detail point. I agree... swappable ball jointed heads would be cool. Then they can sell other characters like Marlene that don't need armors.
gerwalk25 Posted February 17, 2007 Posted February 17, 2007 I found some video (courtesy of collectionDX.com) on Youtube of MPC Voltron, Ride Armor, Tread, SC Legioss plus 12" DYRL Hikaru and Bleach Figures.
Jasonc Posted February 17, 2007 Posted February 17, 2007 Damn, after seeing that, I realize more than ever, make the damn Beta!!! I could careless about the freakin' new alpha colors. screw those, I want my damn Beta now!!!
Guppy Posted February 17, 2007 Posted February 17, 2007 seeing the vid of the cyclone killed my interest. I already have a finished IMAI kit and the 1:12 Gakken toy. This thing doesn't look any better than either. Beta looks cool - trying to place where they kit bashed the hands from. And the lavender legioss? ha ha ha!
promethuem5 Posted February 17, 2007 Posted February 17, 2007 I must admit, while I really want a new highly detailed RideArmor toy, those pics do the same for me Guppy... show us nothing new or improved. Even the hands are still big chunky 80's mecha hands... what the hell? And I agree, we don't need any more Legioss toys, just release a fricken Tlead...
GobotFool Posted February 17, 2007 Posted February 17, 2007 They at least could have tried to make them 1/6th scale.
jenius Posted February 17, 2007 Posted February 17, 2007 at *least* could have made them 1/6 scale? I would still buy it if it were 1/6 scale but I'm happy they went smaller than that. I don't collect 1/6 figures.
Lynx7725 Posted February 17, 2007 Posted February 17, 2007 Putting them at 1/6 won't be a good move, even though as consumers we might be happier. 1/6 scale would mean added cost which would be passed to the consumer, but more importantly, 1/6 scale would also invite comparison to other, more established products (such as Dragon, Takara etc.) that would inevitably go unfavourably for Toynami -- simply because Dragon/ Takara oozes experience with 1/6 dolls while Toynami doesn't. Sure, I suppose Toynami can work out a deal with existing doll makers and adopt their base bodies, but that's added cost and they still have to develop the Cyclone as well as the body armour. If Toynami is just developing accessories for 1/6 bodies, then yeah, it makes sense. But Toynami would want to sell entire products (mainly for appearance's sake IMO), so it doesn't make much sense to go with 1/6 scale for Toynami.
promethuem5 Posted February 17, 2007 Posted February 17, 2007 After seeing the Protect Gear figure from Jin-Roh, someone should find a way to get Dragon to make the Ride Armor
Lynx7725 Posted February 18, 2007 Posted February 18, 2007 After seeing the Protect Gear figure from Jin-Roh, someone should find a way to get Dragon to make the Ride Armor Now that's a good idea.
EXO Posted February 18, 2007 Posted February 18, 2007 Putting them at 1/6 won't be a good move, even though as consumers we might be happier. 1/6 scale would mean added cost which would be passed to the consumer, but more importantly, 1/6 scale would also invite comparison to other, more established products (such as Dragon, Takara etc.) that would inevitably go unfavourably for Toynami -- simply because Dragon/ Takara oozes experience with 1/6 dolls while Toynami doesn't. Sure, I suppose Toynami can work out a deal with existing doll makers and adopt their base bodies, but that's added cost and they still have to develop the Cyclone as well as the body armour. If Toynami is just developing accessories for 1/6 bodies, then yeah, it makes sense. But Toynami would want to sell entire products (mainly for appearance's sake IMO), so it doesn't make much sense to go with 1/6 scale for Toynami. Toynami already owns base bodies for 1/6th figures. But if they can't even release the Betas something they already made the sculpt for, how can they even afford to make a 1/6 scale cyclone? But yeah something in that scale would kick ass.
Lynx7725 Posted February 18, 2007 Posted February 18, 2007 Toynami already owns base bodies for 1/6th figures. But if they can't even release the Betas something they already made the sculpt for, how can they even afford to make a 1/6 scale cyclone? But yeah something in that scale would kick ass. Where did they get the bodies from? Just curious really, 'cos I don't recall any Toynami Robotech product in 1/6...
EXO Posted February 18, 2007 Posted February 18, 2007 http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=21656 The Popbox figures uses Toynami bodies. they also have Inuyasha figures.
jenius Posted February 18, 2007 Posted February 18, 2007 I think we need to consider who owns what and what the relationships are here. It was my understanding that Toynami only distributes the Popbox figures... not actually owns them. It's like the old Bandai SDF-1 that was distributed by Matchbox. Did Matchbox make it? No. Did Matchbox own it? No. Did Matchbox have the rights to distribute a toy that someone else made all over the world? Yes. I *think* it's the same case with the Popbox figures (and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). *IF* I'm right, that would mean Toynami would have one more person they'd have to pay (and let's be honest, Popbox does great work but it's not like they've been ultra speedy on the production of products so that's one more delay to incur) and Toynami would have had to create a toy around a sub-company's product that is quite large. Now, with Toynami's established group of fans complaining in most places that their products aren't worth $79.99 we're now asking them to create toys where the action figure alone retails for $79.99. If that action figure is that expensive how much more would we expect to pay if it was bundled with a transformable bike??
EXO Posted February 18, 2007 Posted February 18, 2007 I think we need to consider who owns what and what the relationships are here. It was my understanding that Toynami only distributes the Popbox figures... not actually owns them. It's like the old Bandai SDF-1 that was distributed by Matchbox. Did Matchbox make it? No. Did Matchbox own it? No. Did Matchbox have the rights to distribute a toy that someone else made all over the world? Yes. I *think* it's the same case with the Popbox figures (and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). *IF* I'm right, that would mean Toynami would have one more person they'd have to pay (and let's be honest, Popbox does great work but it's not like they've been ultra speedy on the production of products so that's one more delay to incur) and Toynami would have had to create a toy around a sub-company's product that is quite large. Now, with Toynami's established group of fans complaining in most places that their products aren't worth $79.99 we're now asking them to create toys where the action figure alone retails for $79.99. If that action figure is that expensive how much more would we expect to pay if it was bundled with a transformable bike?? Popbox USES Toynami bodies. That means Toynami manufactures the doll bodies that Popbox uses. Does Toynami own the bodies used? Yes. Did I say Popbox would make the transformable bike? No. Do you understand the relationship now? (You have been corrected.) The problem with Toynami is they are selling cheap toys to a collectable market. So you have the cheap toys at a barely affordable price. But the thing is, most collectors don't want the cheap crap. They'd pay the extra cash to get the toys that have all the bells and whistles. Hot Toys just came out and they took they're licenses and ran. Now they're being distributed by Sideshow. I think if Toynami would stop with the 1/55 and 1/100 crap and just go with the bigger and better mentality it would be easier for them to design this stuff. The only defense they have is making the Alphas at 1/55 so that the beta wouldn't be so big. But I would buy a 1/32 scale Beta even if it costed $250, as long as it wasnt manufactured poorly. It's what collectors do.
jenius Posted February 18, 2007 Posted February 18, 2007 Very interesting. So Toynami has this great 1/6 scale figure body but they're so inept they need to go to a separate company to get a head and suit for it made? All things considered though, maybe it's best they leave the work that will actually be visible to the consumer to an outside company. As to the price point, the RT boards have a fair number of users insisting that they simply can't afford the current MPC pricing (or the pricing of the 1/6 figure). There seems to be a difference between the Macross collector and the Robotech collector in this regard. Fans of Macross and the original series seem to be much more vested in those series and willing to pay a much higher premium for higher quality merchandise. It seems the average Robotech fan is more plentiful, more casual, and more price averse.
promethuem5 Posted February 18, 2007 Posted February 18, 2007 I haven't seen the comments, jenius, but it seems like even with the RT crowd, it could be willing to boil down not so much to how much are you willing to pay for a good toy of your franchise love, but how much are you willing to pay for a flawed toy? If the MPCs were perfect, would they still have trouble with the $80 price point?
HoveringCheesecake Posted February 18, 2007 Posted February 18, 2007 I haven't seen the comments, jenius, but it seems like even with the RT crowd, it could be willing to boil down not so much to how much are you willing to pay for a good toy of your franchise love, but how much are you willing to pay for a flawed toy? If the MPCs were perfect, would they still have trouble with the $80 price point? Using the Alpha as an example: if the arched back was removed/fixed in the design, the die cast was placed in places that actually made sense, the joints weren't loose, and the hands didn't break so easily then yes, I would be willing to pay $80. As it is now $50 is my ceiling. Chances are I won't find a Bernard for that price though.
jenius Posted February 18, 2007 Posted February 18, 2007 (edited) Anyone on this board I would venture falls outside of the scope of what I was suggesting the "average" Robotech fan was (the fact those people are on RT.com almost puts them outside of the "average" also). By taking the time to research the originals and check out the histories of the various toys and what's available out there it's clear you're more of a collector than Joe or Bob on the street who has heard of Robotech and might see the toy at Gamestop. Edit - totally not trying to derail this thread into a heated discussion of Toynami's businesses practices. Obviously we are not your average consumers and companies have market research they conduct to determine their own practices. What may seem best to us may not be a completely universal truth... even if WE all agree about it. Edited February 18, 2007 by jenius
eugimon Posted February 19, 2007 Posted February 19, 2007 I would have to imagine that the "average" fan would be more put off by the high price point and poor construction of the alpha and VF-1s... when I worked for a toy store, I would have people look at the toynami stuff all excited and keen to relive their childhood and then walk away after actually handling the toy.
Alpha OTS Posted February 19, 2007 Posted February 19, 2007 No official word on the Beta, but the fact they've started showing the proto again is likely because they have another Alpha to sell which lends more strength to the claims that Toynami's linked their intention to release a MPC Beta based on strong MPC Alpha sales. 'course that leads to the a Catch 22, Toynami won't release the MPC Beta unless more people buy MPC Alphas, where a lot of people have held off buying a MPC Alpha until Toynami produce a MPC Beta... I have a funny feeling since they're showing the Beta again *and* promoting SC Alphas, we're going to see a Beta, but in SC colors to get those of us who already bought Alphas to buy another one to match the coloring of the Beta.
Phyrox Posted February 19, 2007 Posted February 19, 2007 I have a funny feeling since they're showing the Beta again *and* promoting SC Alphas, we're going to see a Beta, but in SC colors to get those of us who already bought Alphas to buy another one to match the coloring of the Beta. I think even that is overly optimistic.
promethuem5 Posted February 19, 2007 Posted February 19, 2007 I just finished watching Mospeada (finally!) and I must admit, I really want a Tlead now... i just wish it would come out, even if it was flawed... I've grown really attatched to my MPC Legioss (even tho it needs new hands!)... what's wrong with me?
Alpha OTS Posted March 9, 2007 Posted March 9, 2007 (edited) Just got this email from BBTS: ROBOTECH MASTERPIECE CYCLONES: Toynami brings pack the 'Forever Mint in Box' packaging with the advent of their new Masterpiece Cyclone line. They have announced the #1 Scott Bernard, #2 Lancer, and #3 Rand figures - each priced at $79.99. We have an image of the Scott Bernard set and it looks great - check them out here: http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/menu.as...p;category=3540 Not really surprising, although I'm not sure if that price reflects BBTS's typical overpricing or not. If so, it's probably only a matter of 10 bucks. Edit: Release date according to BBTS is November 2007. Edited March 9, 2007 by Alpha OTS
Phyrox Posted March 9, 2007 Posted March 9, 2007 I think I am going to skip those. Me too. I think they are gonna find it was a mistake to do these instead of the Beta. At least that is my hunch, knowing nothing about their internal finances and whatnot. I've never known anyone who really, really liked the cyclone. Then again, the Beta's fans may just be a very vocal minority.
CoryHolmes Posted March 9, 2007 Posted March 9, 2007 I've never known anyone who really, really liked the cyclone. I love the Cyclones to death. I'll probably be buying all three models.
danth Posted March 9, 2007 Posted March 9, 2007 The second Cyclone will be Lancer's? No way in hell. Mark my words, Rand's will be number 2. Once they realize they have to make a whole new Cyclone for Lancer, they'll push that off to some time later, and it will eventually become vaporware. I'll even wager money on it.
Godzilla Posted March 9, 2007 Posted March 9, 2007 I have a funny feeling since they're showing the Beta again *and* promoting SC Alphas, we're going to see a Beta, but in SC colors to get those of us who already bought Alphas to buy another one to match the coloring of the Beta. If they do that, they (toynami)can kiss my @$$. I bought 4 scott's in anticipation of the the Tread plus two of each of the rest. I am really debating on selling my MPCs since CMs is making the new legioss-tread.
Lynx7725 Posted March 9, 2007 Posted March 9, 2007 ROBOTECH MASTERPIECE CYCLONES: Toynami brings pack the 'Forever Mint in Box' packaging with the advent of their new Masterpiece Cyclone line. They have announced the #1 Scott Bernard, #2 Lancer, and #3 Rand figures - each priced at $79.99. We have an image of the Scott Bernard set and it looks great - check them out here: http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/menu.as...p;category=3540 $79.99 ??!!? (Ok, $69.99.. so let's discount that to "??!!" instead..) Sorry, my wallet insist on me not spending so much on a box and air. As good as that seems, it's simply not on the "buy" list for me.
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