VOTOMS

[Retracting Head Ter Ter]

Am I glad I bought the DMZ over the 1/12!

You would think toy companies should playtest their products!

There is a 1/48 AT Transporter on HLJ. Anyone has it? I am tempted.

Edited April 12, 2007 by Retracting Head Ter Ter

[drifand]

DMZ just proves that TakaraTomy is more serious about quality than Yamato.

That's a little bit of misjudgement there, I think. What Takara is better at than Yamato is focusing on playability. Quality is always subjective; for example the quality of sculpt and mechanical detailing on the Yamato 1/12 is definitely superior to the DMZ.

A Votoms fan might still gain quite a bit of satisfaction from displaying the 1/12 Scopedog in a striped-down fashion with a big array of highly detailed weapons options. But if you want to PLAY, then the 1/18 DMZs are where it's at. :-)

[mpchi]

Though having the opportunity to take apart the DMZ-01 for the most part, I do have to say that TakaraTomy did a great job designing those joints. Keeping them snug, and clamped with diecast brackets to ensure tightness and minimum wear. You never see Yamato put in that much thought on the joints. A.K.A. the breakage or tumbling that many Yamato toys are associated with.

So yeah, Yamato has a better sculpt and nicer detail. On the contrary, TakaraTomy enlarged the forearm for the punch arm gimmick, as well as the wider feet for stability. Both changes shooting for better playability. But as a toy, DMZ wins. And the pretty good paint job even brings it up a few notch compare to Yamato's bare plastic.

[kung flu]

I've got two yamato scopedogs along with the Chirico figure. My scopedogs also have problems with balance, but when i bought the parachute pack and round mover set they came with pieces of plastic that you can place in the arms and ankles that help with the balance and posing. They lock or block the joints from moving. I don't know if any of the newer scopedogs have these included, they helped alot, though you still get some loose joints in some areas. If i knew takara were bringing out their scopedog, i probably would have waited for it, but now i have the yamatos, i'll have to settle with them, I won't buy any more scopedogs since they all look the same.

[Shaggydog]

That's a little bit of misjudgement there, I think. What Takara is better at than Yamato is focusing on playability. Quality is always subjective; for example the quality of sculpt and mechanical detailing on the Yamato 1/12 is definitely superior to the DMZ.

A Votoms fan might still gain quite a bit of satisfaction from displaying the 1/12 Scopedog in a striped-down fashion with a big array of highly detailed weapons options. But if you want to PLAY, then the 1/18 DMZs are where it's at. :-)

Well, thank you for that, but no, I don't think it's a misjudgement at all How is the sculpt superior on the Yamato? I don't see that at all, but that's a subjective matter (as is the vastly superior paint on the TakaraTomy, I guess). Being able to stand, by contrast, is NOT subjective. The DMZ is much more stable, with mechanically superior joints. The construction is better, less likely to shed parts. By those objective standards, then, TakaraTomy has produced a much higher quality product.

In any case, your definition of quality as a purely subjective matter (which I don't agree with) begs the question of how any statement about it could be a misjudgement, but nevermind that.

[promethuem5]

Interesting comparisons.... I got my Yamato Scopedog, and I love it to death... the detail is amazing, and I've had very little parts fit issues (altho I did manage to put a slight crack on the one shoulder socket, but even that hasn't made the arm fall off easily.) Once I got the Round Mover set with the extra joint block parts, it stands alright, but I'll admit it's not perfect. I'm definetaly going to get at least one vs. Yamato Scopedog for the RSC weapons and such... and maybe even a Brutishdog, but all this talk about the DMZ stuff has gotten me interested. I see the Yamato VOTOMS stuff just like Yamato valks... playable models, rather than straight up toys. I am going to eventually paint and detail my Yamato Scopedog(s), and am looking forward to it once I get an airbrush... however, I wouldn't mind having a large playable figure still... the MF figure is great and alot of fun, but not very big. If the DMZ line comes out with a Turbo Custom, I'd probably cave real fast and pick it up... even tho I hate Microman figures to death. If the RSC DMZ figure beats the Yamato one out, I might buy that first and then get the Yamato one... the thing is I don't want another plain Scopedog, and I'm not a big Strikedog fan...

[Graham]

Graham, I'm sorry to hear that you're not happy with the Yamato, but, if you are looking to sell them... *cough*me!*cough*

PM Sent.

Graham

[Graham]

Graham I could really use the Chirico figure if you are gonna sell it. Thanks!

Prometheum 5 has first refusal, as he did ask first.

I do want to sell the stuff as a whole set rather than breaking it down piecemeal.

Graham

[Graham]

That's a little bit of misjudgement there, I think. What Takara is better at than Yamato is focusing on playability. Quality is always subjective; for example the quality of sculpt and mechanical detailing on the Yamato 1/12 is definitely superior to the DMZ.

Yamato definitely has an edge on internal mechanical detail, but overall external sculpt is a close tie I'd say.

Graham

[mpchi]

Just watched The Last Red Shoulder OVA last night, as my R2 discs finally came. A very good OVA. Animation not a big jump from the TV series quality, but you can see the difference, with smoother action and characters on model all the time. No secondary crew or keyframe artists making the characters look like someone else. Cool to see the Turbo Customs duke it out with the Bloodsucker squad too. Didn't know Bloodsucker is a mass production model until now. A very nice inbetween OVA that tell some back stories, and fill in the gap between the Uoodo City & Kummen arc. Though a bit surprised that Chirico is already considered as an ultimate soldier specimen(though not quite a PS yet) this early in the timeline by a few characters already, when the same characters seem clueless about him at this point in the TV series. His fighting ability didn't really mature until much later in the TV with the numerous battle with Ypsilon. Might get to my other disc sometime this weekend. The DVDs sure got some very cool cover art.

In terms of people that has a DMZ-01 with a loose visor, it can be easily fixed by a piece od dental floss. Just pick a unscented piece (unless you want your scopedog minty ) and loop it tight around the gap on one of the 'ears' a few times (I picked the ear without the antenna). It gives the swivel a bit more friction. As you get a decent tightness (though don't over do it since it might widen the gap if you loop it too many times), then tie a simple knot to secure the floss. The knot will make it even tighter too, so no need to loop it too much. Think I did it like 3-4 loops. Then just trim off the excess floss and tuck it into the gap. Baam! You got a nice moving visor that holds well at any angle. Easy fix.

[promethuem5]

Good use of oral hygene products you probably could have gotten away with a small slip of paper or tape, or the old standby clear nail polish as well...

I loved LRS as well... it was as good of quality as the best bits from the series, and has some of the coolest of the designs. I didn't realize the BS was a mass produced item until that either, but it's still a slick design.

[mpchi]

Good use of oral hygene products you probably could have gotten away with a small slip of paper or tape, or the old standby clear nail polish as well...

Really depends on the joint you are trying to fix, especially for parts that you can't or don't want to take apart. Dental floss is great since it can slip into really thin gaps in hinged joints, while you can adjust the tightness as you do the loops. Works for me.

[mpchi]

Just watched "Red Shoulder Document: Roots of Ambition" OVA. A very good and trippy show indeed. Lots of cool Red Shoulder battles, and we see more of the mysterious side of Chirico we've never seen in the TV show. Action is much more intense, and its much better drawn on the mecha action even compared to "The Last Red Shoulder". Very good stuff. How great shows like these was never popular here in US is quite beyond me....

SPOILER ALERT!

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For those that watched the show with subtitle, can you tell me the details of what Perzen knows about Chirico's past, when he try to tell Chirico alone in that room, right before Chirico try to choke him to death? Did they ever explain the origin of Chirico's birth? Also, After the choking incident, Perzen thought he killed Chirico. But did he soon found out Chirico is alive and continue staying in the Red Shoulder group? Or did he thought Chirico was dead the whole time until the very very end during the parade? Cause otherwise, I don't quite get how Reeman found Chirico in the Sunsa battle and even challenged him, regardless they are on the same side. My Japanese is limited, so didn't get all the details.

Edited April 16, 2007 by mpchi

[Fort Max]

Please tell us all where you found it.

Pretty please!

[promethuem5]

Was is subbed in English? I'd really like to see the rest of them OVAs besides LRS...

[mpchi]

Oh, I really don't know Roots of Ambition is subbed or not. I just assumed it was as I remember you guys mentioned finding some of the OVA subbed from some bit torrent sites. So thought some of you may have watched it and understand the story better. Without spoiling too much for you guys, there are a couple scenes in this OVA that sure shows that Chirico is not normal...at all. So like I said, quite trippy.

Here is all I can find on youtube right now, a nice long trailer of Roots of Ambition.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LUFkPVPUNw

And now that I watched Roots of Ambition, I kind of have a better guess what the new upcoming series Perzen Files would be about. More likely it would be the downfall of the Red Shoulders & Perzen's political powers, due to what happened in Roots of Ambition. From the look of it, with the released updated mecha sketch of just Scopedog, Standing Turtle, and Diving Beetle, but no advance AT, quite likely the new series will follow the timeline soon after the Roots of Ambition as well. Of course, these are just some wild guess. Hmmmm~! Can't wait.

Edited April 16, 2007 by mpchi

[mpchi]

Just finished the last Votoms OVA: Shining Heresy/The Defrost. This 5 episode series feels quite different from all the OVAs, since its directored by someone else. Unlike the stand alone OVAs, which are usually very straightforward and to the point, with one event stringed to the other pretty tightly, Shining Heresy has the luxury to take its time to build up the story and character development on some of the new characters. However, while the 1st & 5th episodes are great and filled with some very cool action, I feel like they put too much screen time on characters and events that are not important nor very interesting in the middle 3 episodes. Don't feel like a lot of the long political dialogues really add much to the show, especially the 'conspiracy' is much more simple and predictable, unlike what we see in Roots of Ambition. They could have condensed those 3 middle episodes (lots of talking) into just 1 or 2 episodes to get better pacing and make the whole series more action packed in general. Art-wise, its great. Never seen Votoms characters drawn as nice as we see here, and the animation is very good. Makes you feel like watching Gundam 0083 stuff, but in a Votoms universe. So a bit more clean and detailed (things look more advanced, but they can get away with it since its 32 years after the TV series), and feel a bit less gritty. We get a new OP & ED theme song too. While not as nice as the original songs, they kind of fit the feel of this new show, especially the ED song.

While it may not be the best Votoms OVA out of the bunch, it does have a definite closure on the entire Chirico story. So still a good watch, with a bit of a drag in the middle, and very good art.

Really hope Perzen Files won't disappointed, as these OVA really made me looking for more, and got me started on the 1/48 collection, which I tried very hard to stay away from...

Edited April 17, 2007 by mpchi

[Graham]

FYI, the Votoms graphic novel "Supreme Survivor" that is in PDF format on the CPM bonus disc is a graphic novelisation of "Roots of Ambition" OVA, plus a novel called "The First Red Shoulder", plus the first epsiode of the TV series. I'm still reading through it, but so far It's pretty well done.

Graham

[promethuem5]

Here's the promised pics of my detailed MF Scopedog Turbo Custom toy, and a shot of my Yamato Scopedogs (thanks so much Graham!!!)

[mpchi]

Those weathering looks great. Just ordered myself a bunch of 1/48. Looking forward to give it some weatheromg too. I am not expert modeler, but just want to spice up the look of the 1/48s when they arrived.

[promethuem5]

I don't mean to be a pain, but while the 1/48's will look OK with a little weathering, if you really want a good looking figure out of them, there's alot more work to be done, especially in filling gaps, removing mold lines, and filling some of the hollows (like the three-walled arms!! grr.) Post pics when you're done tho... I've got one 1/48 (TC as well) that I intended to weather and whatnot, but I've since decided that if I were going to do it, it really needs to be taken apart and fixed up first, and then completely painted, which I don't feel like doing on such a small toy.

[mpchi]

Looking just OK is good enough . Don't think I have the skill nor knowledge to go all out, especially on something this small. My goal is to add just some weathering wash to pop out some details and give it a decent weathering look. Nothing too fancy.

Not even sure yet if I'll tackle the tiny pilot, or just leave them unpainted. Want to enjoy the toys, and not turn it into a chore painting every little thing. But after seeing the OVAs, I couldn't help from wanting some of those cool Scopedog customs, which is very unlikely to show up in the 1/18 line. HLJ still has the last set of 1/48 Reeman Squad on sale when I was browsing, so I guess thats my calling to the 1/48 line.

Edited April 24, 2007 by mpchi

[Graham]

The Takara 1/48 line is going to have a complete resculpt starting from the upcoming Buglarydog release in May.

From studying the pictures in last months hobby mags, it seems the changes to the new sculpt include the following: -

1) A slightly bulkier (wider) body.

2) Much more molded-on detail, such as panel lines and rivets, especially on the legs.

3) Gone are the hollow biceps. The upper arm is now completely solid and has a slight taper towards the bottom, near the elbow.

4) The small front chest hatch now opens.

5) Possibly some die-cast in the feet (not sure about this).

6) Improved attachment method for the waist gatling gun. The left side chest vent is removeable and provides an extra attachment point for the gattling gun (gattling comes molded with the the chest vent).

7) Recessed muzzles on the GAT-22 rifle.

There are probably other changes, but that's all I can remember off the top of my head.

The Buglary dog will I think also come with a spare set of standard lower legs, so you can coonvert it into a Standard Scopedog.

I'm pretty excited about this. I just hope Takara decide to start prioviding painted pilots.

Graham

[mpchi]

The Burglary Dog does have diecast feet, but only on the 'normal scopedog legs' part, for action poses stability. Unfortunately, the Burglary Dog legs don't have diecast feet. I guess the custom parts has enough weight already. They boast the new AG-Next scopedog sculpt having 250+ parts, versus the 80+ on the original AG scopedog. Guess thats where the high price comes from. With all the given parts & accessories, I feel that 5775yen is still asking a lot for one figure (normally get a set of 3 figures with that price). But I cave in and preordered it anyway, given how cool Burglary Dog is. It better not disappoint us.

[promethuem5]

Sounds neat, good to see the Burglary Dog get some more love, but I still can't say I'm that excited as it's just such a small toy...

[Graham]

I'm hoping the new hobby mags (which I should pick up in a few hours), will have some pics of the upcoming Takara RSC weapons set. If they do, I'll post scans.

I'm hoping by the end of the year we will get a DMZ Scopedog Turbo Custom.

Graham

[promethuem5]

I'm hoping for a Yamato Red Shoulder Custom.... that's aLOT of stuff in 1/12 scale.

[mpchi]

I'm hoping the new hobby mags (which I should pick up in a few hours), will have some pics of the upcoming Takara RSC weapons set. If they do, I'll post scans.

I'm hoping by the end of the year we will get a DMZ Scopedog Turbo Custom.

Graham

And hopefully, by the early next year, we'll see more add on DMZ accessories set like the parachute sack, and the heavy duty OVA mission pack loaded with ammo and chain, to turn it into a Red Shoulder Turbo Custom in Roots of Ambition. Additional tank tread and a new visor/scope mount to make Gregory's custom will be even better.

[Graham]

Looks like Kaiyodo are also getting into the Scopedog game with their Revoltech line of toys.

Graham

[mpchi]

Wow! Thats pretty neat. Though the wording they used is kind of vague, from the little I can understand. While the figure is a revoltech prototype made quite sometime ago and brought it out for photo shoot only because of the recent Votoms hype, they made it as if it could be an upcoming line of revoltech. Though the size would make it a direct competitor of the 1/48 (minus the gimmick but better joint system), which I doubted Kaiyodo would go head on with TakaraTomy. Still cool though.

[Graham]

A small pic of the upcoming 1/18 Microman Vanilla & Red Shoulder Custom Weapon set.

I'll try to do a better scan when I get home.

Graham

[drifand]

Delicious looking afro!

[promethuem5]

What's that... oh, Revoltech VOTOMS? That's the sound of MF being priced out of the market and shot down completely by better figures...

[eriku]

A small pic of the upcoming 1/18 Microman Vanilla & Red Shoulder Custom Weapon set.

I'll try to do a better scan when I get home.

Graham

Thanks for posting that, I've been anxiously awaiting that Vanilla RSC set.

I think I'll be picking up the 1/48 Burglarydog as well.

[Chet]

Wouldn't a Revoltech Scopedog be bigger than the AG's? Probably around the same size as the CM's Blue Knight and the 35Max series?