80's Metal, 70's Soul

[drifand]

Here's yet another old skool robot for 80's mecha fans - the DX Machine Henkei Gattai XABUNGLE. As Real Robots go, it is one heavy clunker. But it has a charm of its own! Head on down to TBDX and read all about the SOLID DISCO ROBO today. :-)

[GobotFool]

The walker galliar is the best looking of the lot

[rnurmin]

cool

[DestroidsRage]

It really pisses me off that toy collectors make a big hardcore deal about collecting dorky /toys/, when they dont even like the show. They'll spend 500 dollars on a diecast Goshogun, but they've never even seen Goshogun, and if they did, they'd hate it. What is the MATTER with those freakin idiotic toy collectors? Fools with mental difficulties I think. Thats the only explanation.

Like all those people that spend 250 dollars on Dorvack toys, then go and say "Dorvack was a pretty lame show."... If there is /anyone/ that is lame, its those stupid collectors. Maybe someone else has thoughts on this. I make these statements because I doubt many of the people who look for this toy have even seen Xabungle, and if they have, I betcha they hated it.

I personally, have seen around 4 episodes of Xabungle fansubbed and I love it. Its classic mecha action, with a great plot, and ridiculously interesting mecha. So yes, YAY for xabungle ^___^

And no Drifand, I dont neccesarily mean you I mean a lot of toy collectors in general, especially a lot of people at Toybox DX. Of course, I know im going to get slammed now, but yah.

-BEN-MAN-

[JRock]

*Still waiting for the definitive GoLion and Dairugger XV reviews*

[drifand]

Hi GBF,

Sometimes it's the toys that really outshine the show... and I'll always take a cool toy no matter how dorky the show might have been. The problem then, might be what do we mean by 'cool'? For some folks that means ultra retro diecast toys that cost $$$. And they'll love it regardless of the show! Take the original Clover DX Gattai GUNDAM for example. How many MODERN fans of MS Gundam would even want to buy that very expensive, clunky toy? And yet it is highly cherished by vintage collectors precisely because of it's inaccuracies and outlandish gimmicks. It's part of Super Robot history and some folks really dig that!

Personally, if a show turns out super cool AND the toys are great, then it's a bonus. I mean I haven't even watched Orguss and my handle is 'drifand'!

And to JRock,

DX Dairugger XV sounds like a really good idea! I'll see if i can pull it off...

[GobotFool]

Hi GBF,

Sometimes it's the toys that really outshine the show... and I'll always take a cool toy no matter how dorky the show might have been. The problem then, might be what do we mean by 'cool'? For some folks that means ultra retro diecast toys that cost $$$. And they'll love it regardless of the show! Take the original Clover DX Gattai GUNDAM for example. How many MODERN fans of MS Gundam would even want to buy that very expensive, clunky toy? And yet it is highly cherished by vintage collectors precisely because of it's inaccuracies and outlandish gimmicks. It's part of Super Robot history and some folks really dig that!

Personally, if a show turns out super cool AND the toys are great, then it's a bonus. I mean I haven't even watched Orguss and my handle is 'drifand'!

And to JRock,

DX Dairugger XV sounds like a really good idea! I'll see if i can pull it off...

Ummmm drifand I wasn't the one ranting about collecting the toys and not watching the shows. that was destroid rage. I collect alot of toys whose shows I have never seen or don't really like. All I said was I thought the best looking toy out of the Xambungle line was the Walker Gallier.

In response to detroid rage. I buy a mecha toy because I like the design. For example valks. While I don't hate the original saga, actually I am very fond if it in a retro way, I don't buy my valks out of love for the series. I buy them out of love for the Valkyrie design. The same goes for my transformers. The same also goes for my Dancougar. I love the toy. I have never seen the show. Thats also the same for my Aoshima Shin Getter. I love the design I look at it as a work of art, not as a representation of my favorite charactor. If your beef is say with the people who buy a toy simply because it is expensive then I agree destroid rage. However if you are ranting against people who collect toys because they genuinly like the design, despite the show. Well over at toybox, its about not a love for the shows the toys were based on, but an apreciation for any toy that was well built, and fun.

Edited October 31, 2003 by GobotFool

[DestroidsRage]

I think you have to like the show, at least a bit, in order to like a design. But thats probably just me.

I really like Destroids because of how cool they were in Macross. I agree, you can like a design to a point, without liking the show. But I would absolutely never buy a multi hundred dollar toy, if I didnt know a slam dip-crap about the show its from!!

The Dancougar mecha is sooo much cooler when you know how they act in the show, and the personalities of their pilots. The Votoms mecha are simply dorky if you havent watched the show and realise how awesome they are in context! The Gold Lightan is a completely bonkers acid hallucinated piece of crap, unless you see the show and realise that its actually one of the coolest robots ever, in an incredibly funky, but legitimate, way. Its a similar way with Dougram, Dorvack, Xabungle, all of that.

And yet people seem to think that collecting the zillion dollar toys is "Awesome!" but watching the actual freaking shows is "Kiddy, and stupid". Most toy collectors have a serious problem. They'll defend a funky vinyl Iron Gear to the ends of the earth, but they'll jump you and make you out to be a "kid" when you say how awesome Xabungle as a show is. They have /problems/ man. And again... Im not neccesarily talking about anyone in this thread. Im talking about people I've met at conventions, and people at Toybox DX, etc.

At any rate..

-BEN-MAN-

[GobotFool]

Personally I love mechanical Design DR. Votoms I love how they look, but that may be because I love heavy gear, and HG kinda ripped votoms off. Also I love anything that transforms, as that is my favorite toy gimmick. Personally collecting toys is very kiddy. I am under no illusion of that. But to have to love the show or know the show to love the visual design? Naaaaaa. I love Mecha design in the same way some people collect toy cars or aircraft they have never flown or driven, they enjoy the aesthetic design. Votoms look very realistic to me. And that’s why I love them, same goes for Dorvac. I saw the design and said, that’s really cool! Valkyries are the ultimate example of this. I was drawn to macross not for the plot or characters, but by the valks. I was drawn to gundam for the same reason I love MS design. I know almost nothing about the series, at least to the degree a lot of other gundam fans do.

To love a toy, and to love a show, you can do this separately. As there are terrible shows that have great toys, and there are great shows whose merchandise absolutely stinks (new SW toys come to mind when I think of this)

Though I can see your frustration DR. People who collect toys calling you kiddy for watching an old TV show. There is something wrong about that in a major way. I run into similar things when people call me a poser for collecting the toys and not watching the show. Hey I like toys, I don't pretend to be a fan of the shows, I am a fan of well made toys that look cool, is that being a poser? I don't think so.

Edited November 1, 2003 by GobotFool

[drifand]

Sorry GBF, I was still groggy from an all nighter

Hi DestroidsRage, I get SOME of what you're saying. But I for one will buy a toy just for itself if it's really cool, even if it does cost a bomb. I never got to watch any of the shows that inspired the old Godaikins but I already loved those toys when I was a kid. Regardless of whether the show is cool or not, it won't change how I feel about a toy I like. Here's one example: I'm drooling over the possiblity of owning one of those Zillion bike-armors made by SEGA. Watched the show? No. Is the design cool? YES! Expensive? Very. Still want to buy it? Hell, yeah (If I had the cash)!

[GobotFool]

Sorry GBF, I was still groggy from an all nighter

Hi DestroidsRage, I get SOME of what you're saying. But I for one will buy a toy just for itself if it's really cool, even if it does cost a bomb. I never got to watch any of the shows that inspired the old Godaikins but I already loved those toys when I was a kid. Regardless of whether the show is cool or not, it won't change how I feel about a toy I like. Here's one example: I'm drooling over the possiblity of owning one of those Zillion bike-armors made by SEGA. Watched the show? No. Is the design cool? YES! Expensive? Very. Still want to buy it? Hell, yeah (If I had the cash)!

Man that Zillion armor is too cool. I have seen these pop up in ebay, always way out of my price range though.

[JRock]

Hi GBF,

Sometimes it's the toys that really outshine the show... and I'll always take a cool toy no matter how dorky the show might have been. The problem then, might be what do we mean by 'cool'? For some folks that means ultra retro diecast toys that cost $$$. And they'll love it regardless of the show! Take the original Clover DX Gattai GUNDAM for example. How many MODERN fans of MS Gundam would even want to buy that very expensive, clunky toy? And yet it is highly cherished by vintage collectors precisely because of it's inaccuracies and outlandish gimmicks. It's part of Super Robot history and some folks really dig that!

Personally, if a show turns out super cool AND the toys are great, then it's a bonus. I mean I haven't even watched Orguss and my handle is 'drifand'!

And to JRock,

DX Dairugger XV sounds like a really good idea! I'll see if i can pull it off...

If you need help on a Voltron toys feature, lemme know! (I am to Voltron what FBRD is to Southern Cross and noriko-takaya is to GunBuster!)

[GobotFool]

Hey Drifand if you ever get a Zillion armor you must rumble it

[drifand]

Hi JRock,

Thanks for the offer, I will definitely keep you in mind. I think the reason Voltron/Golion hasn't been Rumbled on TBDX is... because it has such a separate and popular fan base that there're already tons of other sites that have more detailed info on it than any short article could ever pull off. If I were to do a Rumble, it would more likely be on the TOY's merits itself. Perhaps the best time for such an effort would be when the announced Toynami 'Masterpiece' Voltron is finally revealed. A retrospective would be excellent for fans of the series AND toy lovers to remember how good it was - and what the new toy is up against. What do you think?

And GBF,

You bet I would if I managed to snag one! :-)

[GobotFool]

Hi JRock,

Thanks for the offer, I will definitely keep you in mind. I think the reason Voltron/Golion hasn't been Rumbled on TBDX is... because it has such a separate and popular fan base that there're already tons of other sites that have more detailed info on it than any short article could ever pull off. If I were to do a Rumble, it would more likely be on the TOY's merits itself. Perhaps the best time for such an effort would be when the announced Toynami 'Masterpiece' Voltron is finally revealed. A retrospective would be excellent for fans of the series AND toy lovers to remember how good it was - and what the new toy is up against. What do you think?

And GBF,

You bet I would if I managed to snag one! :-)

are they going to release these lions all seperatly for 80 a pop? That comes to 400 dollars I'd rather pay that much for the old gokin than the new toynami.

[drifand]

GBF, unless the Toynami versions are really superior in some way to the original DX, I wouldn't be in the market for it as a set or otherwise. I mean, we still haven't seen what the Mospeada Legioss (and hopefully Tread Bomber) will turn out. Toynami's predeposition for premium pricing sure doesn't help.

[GobotFool]

GBF, unless the Toynami versions are really superior in some way to the original DX, I wouldn't be in the market for it as a set or otherwise. I mean, we still haven't seen what the Mospeada Legioss (and hopefully Tread Bomber) will turn out. Toynami's predeposition for premium pricing sure doesn't help.

Only way I can see it being any better is to imrove the posibility of the legs and waist. other than that the old one is fine. Hopefully the toynami will be nice, but I really don't hold my breath on that.

[Hubert]

Is Voltron a good candidate to be one of the next SOC ???

Otherwise the come back to the first post, in france during the 80s when I was kid, we had many japanese robot toys at the middle of the 80s and most of them did not have the show on tv. At one xmas, I had the denjiman robot and I ve still never seen the show, I still have this toy and I love it.

There s no real relationship of value between a show and the toys, u can love the toys not the show, and you can also like the show and not the toys, badly there is more good show with bad toys. For other example, dinoriders and visionaries toys are great whereas the show suck, for me it's the macross toys who bring me to macross. I dont like people who come to toys just because the value of them.

About very old stuff $$$$$, I dont understand people who buy it. For sure many of us can now afford toys that we did not have ; but there are also some people who look so frustrated who want to buy everything whatever it is. weird.

[drifand]

Hi Hubert,

Yes, I can really understand what you're saying there! For me, I may occasionally spend big money on a vintage toy I really like. But where I draw the line is: If the toy is really OLD and I can't actually PLAY with it because it is fragile etc, it is no longer a toy but a real ANTIQUE. And I don't collect antiques! :-)

So although I have paid hundreds of dollars for vintage toys, I love them because I like to play with them, not because they are worth a lot of money. Sometimes a friend will tell me: XX Toy you bought for $400 is available for a lot less now on eBay! Do I care? Not really. I got the toy I liked and that's all that matters to me.

[JRock]

Is Voltron a good candidate to be one of the next SOC ???

Hubert, ever since the SOC Dancougar came out, Voltron fans wondered out loud how well Bandai could make a SOC Voltron. Truth of the matter is that it won't happen because World Events Productions flat out bought the rights to GoLion from Toei, and is the sole licenser of it. They gave the toy rights to Toynami.

The rights to Dairugger XV however expired sometime in the 90's due to lack of interest from the fans and WEP, so Toei does have it. But DXV, and GL is only remembered by people in the west, so a SOC DXV will never happen.

I personally would LOVE to see Bandai work its magic once more (The Dancougar is beautiful, but super expensive for a new toy at $250USD+), but I can only pray for the best as Toynami is designing their "Masterpiece" Voltron.

[GobotFool]

Is Voltron a good candidate to be one of the next SOC ???

Hubert, ever since the SOC Dancougar came out, Voltron fans wondered out loud how well Bandai could make a SOC Voltron. Truth of the matter is that it won't happen because World Events Productions flat out bought the rights to GoLion from Toei, and is the sole licenser of it. They gave the toy rights to Toynami.

The rights to Dairugger XV however expired sometime in the 90's due to lack of interest from the fans and WEP, so Toei does have it. But DXV, and GL is only remembered by people in the west, so a SOC DXV will never happen.

I personally would LOVE to see Bandai work its magic once more (The Dancougar is beautiful, but super expensive for a new toy at $250USD+), but I can only pray for the best as Toynami is designing their "Masterpiece" Voltron.

if it turns out bad arn't there some nice diecast boots being produced? I thought I heard it mentioned cept for the box its almost identicle to the original.

[JRock]

if it turns out bad arn't there some nice diecast boots being produced? I thought I heard it mentioned cept for the box its almost identicle to the original.

The most accurate boots out there are the Lionbot. Quite possible the most perfect bootleg out there. Problem is the latest shipments of the boots end up in Cali where they are scooped up by Ebay scalpers charging up to $120 for them. Personally, I wouldn't pay no more than $70 for them (After all, they are still being made in diecast). The box is near identical to the Original Popy version. People fluctuate on how much the original Godaikin cost at the time. My opinion is it could not have cost more than $50 in 1982.

I saw a boot of Dairugger XV at of all places, K-Mart for $10. It was actually distributed by K-Mart, which it perfectly legal as WEP lost the rights.