Gundam Fix Figuration: Thinking of starting a collection

[Sandman]

Hi. I hope it's ok to start a separate topic but i didn't think it belonged in the Gunplay topic. I was thinking of starting to get into Gundam Fix Figuration toys. On a recent trip to Vancouver i saw a lot of them around and the looked cool though they seemed expensive for their size. I was hoping to start cheap and see how they are like before i jump in with the more expensive ones. The ones i'm currently eyeing are Gundam Alex and Freedom Gundam. From what i've been able to determine there are some bad ones to watch out for. i know a few people here collect them so maybe they can chime in. Is there a site that reviews them like Jenius' anymoon site does for macross toys? I'd like to be able to look up a certain fix figure and see if there are any issues to look for or certain figures to avoid. Any websites/resources out there to help me out?

[eggy99]

I use to collect them but have all but sold mine. I think I only have GP-01 and Crossbone left.

Personally I feel that for the price the quality of the materials used leave a lot to be desired. Instead of the strong plastic used in the 1/100 GFF MC line the 1/144 GFF use a kind of rubbery plastic that is easily deformable and leads to poor fitment of parts on the releases that have accessories. For example: the little beam blades that are stored in Destiny's shoulders always fell out. I ended up glueing them in.

Articulation is also not fantastic. They really are best posed standing straight. Dynamic action poses are limited.

The one up side was the tampo. Nice amount of markings and a bit of panel lining via wash method also.

I think it would be better to invest in the MC GFF line instead. They are much more expensive than old GFF line, but they are vastly superior.

There was also the short loved GFF N line, but there were only 2 releases. AILE Strike and Full Armour Unicorn Gundam. I have the GFF N AILE Strike and it's okay.

I feel the RD line is kind of cool if you want something like the 1/144 GFF series, but with much better mold and great articulation and possibility. Down side is a bit cheap feeling and no tampo.

[anime52k8]

we do have a thread for gundam TOYS (as apposed to gunpla): http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=29348&page=1

anyways, I agree with eggy's take on the GFF line. The original small GFF figures where basically really detailed and elaborate MSIA figures, they were all soft PVC plastic and had sclupts so they tended to have part fit issues and be kind of floppy. I've got 3 left myself, two of them (1/144 GFF zeta plus and GFF RX-78-5) look good but are basically hot messes if you try to move them around, the only semi-solid one is a zeonography Zaku II.

the GFFMC line is really nice but a completely different animal. There all 1/100 scale (except for the Psycho mk.I and mkII which are the same size as a 1/100 Gundam even though it's 1/144 scale). They use die-cast, ABS and POM with very little soft PVC plastic. there quite expensive but worth it as high end toys IMO.

On the GFFN line, there was also a GFFN zeta II and a GFFN ReZEL which are size wise the same as the old GFF toys but construction is closer to the GFFMC minus the diecast.

anyways, I say if you want small and inexpensive Gundam toys, get RD figures. there a little more toyish since they don't carry as much tampo printing but their construction and engineering is vastly superior to the Gundam toy lines that pre-dated them. RD also covers a huge verity of designs and it's still an ongoing line.

Edited September 4, 2013 by anime52k8

[whitestar]

I'll put my two cents in regarding RD as an alternative to GFFN. Don't let the lack of tampo prints fool you -- these toys are highly detailed and well-engineered. The only upside to the GFFN is that they're painted flat like models with tons of tampo-ing. Great for leaving in fixed poses, but the minute you start posing them, your heart will sink.

[Sandman]

Thats good to know. I hate fiddly small toys that fall apart whenever you touch them. i nearly threw a cm's mospeada against the way cause it was so frustrating. I actually have 2 RDs thought they are the two Macross VF-25s. They're pretty cool aside from the part management. I found the Yamato's GN-U line pretty decent too only if i could get them under $10. I would never pay their suggest retail price.

[eggy99]

I totally forgot about the Zeta II and ReZEL. (don't forget about poor Cagali's Strike Rouge too. So rare and expensive)

If they made a MC GFF ReZEL that would be awesome - never going to happen.

Over the years RD line has improved dramatically. I remember not being entirely blown away by the molds in the first year - kind of reminded me of MSIA. The ones that have come out in the last year or 2 have been amazing! The RD Strike is so good! It's practically engineered for awesome poses.

The only RD I have is Strike Freedom, and it's quite impressive. Nice long dragoons, really angular limbs. Very aggressive. The main down side for this particular one was the dragoon wings of light that were a limited edition accessory. They are MASSIVE, and beause they are massive they have more weight than RD Strike Freedom can support. Needless to say I can't actually pose it with the wings of light - such a shame.

Definitely look into the newer RDs that are being released if you are interested in collecting lots of different mobile suits and mecha. Overall the price is very attractive and also it's a prospering line for Bandai so they won't drop it anytime soon. 1 other down side to RD is that it is not an official scale. RDs are slightly smaller than 1/144. Maybe 1/130 or something like that. I think that between each RD the scale is not consistent either, but I could be wrong about that.

Definitely the crème de la crème is 1/100 MC GFF and MB GFF. They're just so spectular. Once you have one in your collection you'll wonder why you ever bought anything less.

Edited September 5, 2013 by eggy99