Begin drooling now....

[uminoken]

Oh yeah, I'm definately gettin Mifune, but jeez that's a big sucker

More toys and pics here

[GobotFool]

Wow! I hope he makes more stuff like this. An alien Power Loader would be sweet and now that he's making this thats not such a far off idea.

[NERV]

notice my lack of drooling, i found those mecha to be quite retarded and impractical, they cud at least give the pilot some armor so hes not instaly dead in close combat

[NSJ23]

notice my lack of drooling, i found those mecha to be quite retarded and impractical, they cud at least give the pilot some armor so hes not instaly dead in close combat

Yeah, I wanna' see what they do with those in the Third movie, but I would not buy that.

Now this Sentinel IMO is something to drool over.

Edited November 3, 2003 by NSJ23

[eriku]

I voice a resounding "meh"

But I will embellesh on my "meh".

There is no contesting that the sculpts for those are absolutely fantastic. Some of the best work I've seen. BUT...I don't care for the design of that mech suit, so it follows that I don't care for the toy. Plus, that thing is probably going to be more fragile than a model kit, so I hope McFarlane is bracing themselves for the onslaught of complaints they're going to recieve.

I hope I'm wrong though, and that it's made well and people dig it.

[JKeats]

I'm with NERV, the mech design is horrible. The whole Zion scene in Reloaded kinda turned me off....

[MrDisco]

from a toy production perspective they look amazing. mcfarlane toys sure knows how to raise the bar on action figures. from a toy perspective i'll pass. rather save up for an elint 1/60 valk.

[GobotFool]

Impractical yes. Cool looking sure. Alot of mecha design streaches the confines of reality by well alot. Personally I love the bare bones Industrial look of this machine. It kinda has that we are freedom fighters on sever budget restraints look. While I really like this I will point out a few negative points. Legs are way to short, looks like this thing would waddle not walk. Also yeah the open cockpit is kinda stupid. I didn't realize before seeing this that the whole pilot was exposed, from what little I saw previously I always thought perhaps the head was exposed but their bodies were encased. To a degree I get the impression that these may have been construction mechs before they were combat machines.

Edited November 3, 2003 by GobotFool

[MrDisco]

my first reaction to the mech was 'cool they ripped off the exo suit from Aliens'.

i wonder if originally it was meant as a construction aid and was later turned into military use. that would explain the open cockpit.

[GobotFool]

my first reaction to the mech was 'cool they ripped off the exo suit from Aliens'.

i wonder if originally it was meant as a construction aid and was later turned into military use. that would explain the open cockpit.

Well to be a complete rip off that would require it to be more suit like. As small as it is its not a suite mecha. Its controled with sticks and peddles like a patlabor ingram is.

It would be nice if they explained it as a converted construction mecha. As that would explain why it doesn't look entirely suited for combat.

[Graham]

Let's make a multi-ton mecha, armed to the teeth and leave the pilot completely unprotected....baka!

They should have really hired Kawamori to design the Zion mecha. His Armored Core designs would have been quite suitable IMO. I'm of the firm opinion that non-Japanese just can't design decent looking mecha.

Some of you have been suggesting that the Zion mecha was originally a construction mecha, hence the lack of pilot armor. Well, I completely disagree with that theory. Yes, it may have originally been a construction mecha, but so what. That doesn't mean that they couldn't have welded some armor over the cockpit. I guess the population of Zion never watched The A Team

Graham

[Isamu Atreides 86]

if any of yall saw the animatrix episode Second renaissance, you see how much protection the armored mechs gave the pilots. maybe Zion designed these so the pilots could escape in the event of being pinned down or demobilized. the toy ain't all that, but i still hope macfarlane toys makes a persephone figure...

[GreenGuy42]

In all honesty, if Zion is forced to resort to their point defenses, how long do you think a pilot would survive armored or unarmored? Like Isamu said, human mechs don't last too long against the machines. I'd prefer an escape route, a little better mobility and heavier firepower than a few armor plates that would give me a false sense of security.

About the only use they'd serve would be against project weapons, which the machines don't really seem use all that often.

[Pat S]

If the Matrix has been rebuilt 5 times now, who do you think creates or leaves the Mechs behind anyways? The Machines decide if they have armor or not. You could always weld something on there, but they probably figure why go to the trouble. Plus, they barely have technology to make spoons

They're probably faster without the armor, and look at them, they're just walking guns. The best defense is a good offence...

[GreenGuy42]

They're probably faster without the armor, and look at them, they're just walking guns. The best defense is a good offence...

Precisely. Just aim, fill the air with lead, and pray to whatever god you wish.

[GobotFool]

I still love these things no matter if they defy all reason. Hmmmm most mecha does actually I love the rugged industrial look. Its cool cause its so fugly. But this is coming from a guy who love battletech mecha as well as anime mecha, so go figure

[Mr March]

I'm of the firm opinion that non-Japanese just can't design decent looking mecha.

*snip*

I couldn't disagree more. I beleive the problem comparing western vs. japanese mecha designs resides totally in the mindset of the fans and they way they choose (or should I say DO NOT choose) to classify mecha.

Many of my friends look at the Japanese mecha and use them as some sort of benchmark by which all other giant sized humanoid mecha should be measured. And therein lies the problem. A mecha to them means "giant sized, humanoid mecha" and nothing else can fit. I mention the terminators, from the James Cameron films. Probably one of the most frightening and easily recognizable mecha in science fiction film history, and they look great. To which the response is always "Well, they aren't real mecha if they aren't 20 meters tall and piloted by humans"

Then comes Star Wars and the great desings of the AT-ATs, AT-STs, and the Clone Armies AT-TE. Then the response is always "Yeah but they are slow moving slugs and aren't really mecha cause they can't fight with martial arts"

Then I look at the innumerable examples of powered armor, a concept created by early western science fiction. This concept includes countless examples of talented designs appearing in electronic games like Starcraft, Unreal, Halo, or the brilliant designs that grace the pages of science fiction pen-and-paper role-playing games Rifts, Shadow Run, and the like. The design for Starcraft's Terran Marines or Rift's Glitter Boy can compete with the best of the japanese designs.

I also find it interesting how many of the newer japanese mecha shows are now taking influence from western designed concepts. Kawamori's own Escaflowne is a middle ages, european knight's armor made into a giant mecha and many of the other guymelefs are simply ancient suits of armor from Napal, China, Spain, and other countries made into giant mecha. Need I mention the obvious design lineages for shows like Gasaraki.

I think western mecha stands up quite well to their japanese counterparts. The only difference I see is the presentation. Currently, western mechanical arts have no high profile "mecha" genre in film, animation, or electronic entertainment....so the idea of western mecha is passed over and dismissed in turn.

[Mr March]

On topic, I do like the toy and think it's impressive. However, as far as design goes, the thing is seriously lacking. Yet, the design is very fitting for the setting of the humans of the Matrix universe.

[NERV]

i am liking that sentinal

[NERV]

i would also like to ad that the legs on the mecha are also pointless, the legs are so short that it does waddle very slowly, irememebr when they showe dit in RL, whells would be much for efficient, legs that stumpy arent gonna be doing anything a set of large wheels cant do better with less energy wasted

[GobotFool]

Very well said MR March.

Also keep in mind mecha at least in japanese terminology encompasses all machines of a mobile nature.

Also Mr. March don't forget the Zaku. Alot of Zeon mecha was inspired by german plate armor.

Edited November 3, 2003 by GobotFool

[GobotFool]

Also before we compleatly pass judgment on them, lets see what they can do!

[NERV]

well lack of armor aside, i still tihnk it would be much for effective on wheels or treads, it wud faster and more agile

[Wabbit]

I can't deny that the toy itself is awesome with rich details, but the design itself is quite flawed.

Look at that pilot, look at his hands and arms. I would sue the designer for suffering RSI! Especially with so much firepower the seat is more than uncomfortable, with his feet dangeling outside the mech. The absense of armor is a miss, even if the enemy does not have ranged weapons, this seat design doesn't leave the pilot with a decent escaping method, with no pedals or bottom to set your feet off to jump away from the tentacles. He should lift himself up with his arms and then jump out, but this way is not quick enough to get out if the tentacles are already on their way to pierce him. The pilot should be very brave or completely stupid to steer that thing.

Okay, i'm overreacting a bit..

*breathe in, breathe out*

Edited November 3, 2003 by Wabbit

[UN Spacy]

Any idea how much these lil' beauties are going to be sold for?

[Mr March]

Very well said MR March.

Also keep in mind mecha at least in japanese terminology encompasses all machines of a mobile nature.

Also Mr. March don't forget the Zaku. Alot of Zeon mecha was inspired by german plate armor.

Very true. I was just listing the western influence mecha from anime I could remember off the top of my head. I've actually delved into cross-culture influence in mecha design before and come up with a large number of interesting design influences. Lots of fun.

Good eye on your part GobotFool.

[GreenGuy42]

I can't deny that the toy itself is awesome with rich details, but the design itself is quite flawed.

Look at that pilot, look at his hands and arms. I would sue the designer for suffering RSI! Especially with so much firepower the seat is more than uncomfortable, with his feet dangeling outside the mech. The absense of armor is a miss, even if the enemy does not have ranged weapons, this seat design doesn't leave the pilot with a decent escaping method, with no pedals or bottom to set your feet off to jump away from the tentacles. He should lift himself up with his arms and then jump out, but this way is not quick enough to get out if the tentacles are already on their way to pierce him. The pilot should be very brave or completely stupid to steer that thing.

Okay, i'm overreacting a bit..

*breathe in, breathe out*

I don't think the designers looked for something that really hailed the suvivability of the pilot. Again, if Sentinels got THIS close to Zion, they'd all be dead anyway. Look at it as a final "at least we gave it our best" thing. Humans have an odd way of doing such things.

[NSJ23]

Any idea how much these lil' beauties are going to be sold for?

$24.99 depending on where you buy it.

[CAG]

Am I the only one who wants a 'normal' posed Agent Smith for my desk? Instead I get kung-fu man......Is that really so much to ask?

[NERV]

I don't think the designers looked for something that really hailed the suvivability of the pilot. Again, if Sentinels got THIS close to Zion, they'd all be dead anyway. Look at it as a final "at least we gave it our best" thing. Humans have an odd way of doing such things.

if they didnt even try to protect their pilots than they didnt really give it their best no did they? like building a tank out tube metal

[Uxi]

Jumping out would be to escape the thing blowing up, not to "dodge" Sentinel tentacles. Those tentacles move FAST (watch the Final Flight of the Osiris). I'm sure armor would be added if resources weren't an issue, but it's just not that high on priority given the way these things are likely to be used (mobile guns), so they haven't bothered... or as someone guessed in another thread maybe some (or even all) did have armor but it was removed for materials for ships/hovercraft and what not.

[uminoken]

I can't deny that the toy itself is awesome with rich details, but the design itself is quite flawed.

Look at that pilot, look at his hands and arms. I would sue the designer for suffering RSI! Especially with so much firepower the seat is more than uncomfortable, with his feet dangeling outside the mech. The absense of armor is a miss, even if the enemy does not have ranged weapons, this seat design doesn't leave the pilot with a decent escaping method, with no pedals or bottom to set your feet off to jump away from the tentacles. He should lift himself up with his arms and then jump out, but this way is not quick enough to get out if the tentacles are already on their way to pierce him. The pilot should be very brave or completely stupid to steer that thing.

Okay, i'm overreacting a bit..

*breathe in, breathe out*

Yeah I definately agree with Wabbit on comfortable-ness, the clip online of the mech "standing up" has Mifune getting thrown about in the seat, sounds like major ouchies to me...on the other hand most of the seige footage just shows them standing in one place opening up and "Just aim, fill the air with lead, and pray to whatever god you wish." so I guess they are going for a last stand-line must be drawn here-style fight. If McFarlane keeps up the fabulous sculpts on the Matrix tech toys, my next request is hovercrafts, or at least the Neb

[JELEINEN]

Very well said MR March.

Also keep in mind mecha at least in japanese terminology encompasses all machines of a mobile nature.

Also Mr. March don't forget the Zaku. Alot of Zeon mecha was inspired by german plate armor.

Or even non-mobile. Guns, computers, etc. are all mecha.

[Jolly Rogers]

Am I the only one who wants a 'normal' posed Agent Smith for my desk? Instead I get kung-fu man......Is that really so much to ask?

The original Agent Smith figure made by N2 Toys was "normal" posed.

[Zentrandude]

the pilot would kill himself if that apu fell forward. that poor design of a cockpit would be easily crushed but the bots weight.