Consolidated Megazone 23 Toy/Model Thread for 2017-2018

[Bobby]

@ 4:31 ... the moment you realize what the entire transformation's gonna be like

Edited July 1, 2018 by Bobby

[JetJockey]

We'll see what Arcadia brings later this month. I want an E=X Garland with Eve. But I want both bike and robot modes too. More bike than robot though. The transformation instructions look crazy.

[jenius]

I haven't made it past bike mode yet... but bike mode is spectacularly awful (Freeing). Expectation for bot mode are quite low.

Edited July 7, 2018 by jenius

[F360]

looks like this is one of those transformations that you need to do put it on a table while trying to transform it.

[jenius]

My E=X Garland review is up! Spoiler: I am not a fan.

 

[dizman]

What a shame, I was really hoping they could do it. Maybe Arcadia will give it a shot but I wouldn't blame them if they decide to skip it. 

[505thAirborne]

Great Review! 

Not so great toy. 

[SuperHobo]

Whew wee.......I think we have a candidate for worst toy of the year. Thanks for the review Jenius. 

[M'Kyuun]

'Tis a shame that it's such a floppy mess. They totally nailed the aesthetic; it's a beautiful display piece if you can coax a decent pose out of it and get it to maintain. But for the asking price, this should absolutely be a solid figure. As Jenius said in the review, they had to have handled this thing a lot during production and known beyond doubt that it was not ready for release. Perhaps Arcadia will give it a shot; just looking at this figure gives an idea of the difficulties and challenges in making it work. That's probably why they made it a smaller figure, and yet it's still too hard on the joints.

Edited July 17, 2018 by M'Kyuun

[JetJockey]

I can't get that figure for that price after seeing the review. Seeing it collapse reminds me of old bad toys that I sold. I really want an E=X Garland in bike mode too. But having to put the engine in and then see those side and underneath attachments come apart so easily is just not good at all. And for the price without an Eve figure, I don't know where they got that price from. Arcadia has to try one after all the different Garlands they are making. At least I hope they try.

[jenius]

If you just wanted to keep it in bike mode you could do a bit of gluing and probably remove the offensive kibble and it should look like a pretty good facsimile. Same with slave mode. If you did some gluing and abandoned the transformation of the toy it would work out pretty nice. 

[M'Kyuun]

Sucks to pay that much just to glue it into a static model. The transformation is, after all, the selling point.

Hopefully Arcadia will take a stab and, learning from this figure, make a solid toy. But, first things first, let's hope their Garland is solid before making future projections. Digits crossed- I want a Proto Garland, so I hope their Garland is awesome.

[oshanmacross]

Uggh!
Garlands are such a beautiful design, Price point is actually right-on for nostalgia. 
Not thinking much of these were sold in the Japanese market. 
Maybe to some industrial designers for Honda in their 40's or 50's?

Wondering if Shinji Aramaki is respected as much as he should be in Japan.

He is all about CG now, has a production office stones throw away from my house.

[JetJockey]

6 hours ago, jenius said:

If you just wanted to keep it in bike mode you could do a bit of gluing and probably remove the offensive kibble and it should look like a pretty good facsimile. Same with slave mode. If you did some gluing and abandoned the transformation of the toy it would work out pretty nice. 

I glued an old toy once because I just wanted a display of the character. But after a while it just bugged me that I had to glue a transformable toy. That the company couldn't make a good toy that would stand well and not fall apart.

[Bobby]

Hmmm...always wanted to completely dip a toy into a bath of future floor polish 

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

Nippon Yasan tells me that Arcadia's Garland will be in stock soon and that they are awaiting payment.  It's been a long time coming, but now it's time to pay the piper.

[M'Kyuun]

Hoping reviews, and sales, are stellar for this figure. I want a Proto-Garland, but that probably won't happen unless the Garland is successful.

[Ignacio Ocamica]

15 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Hoping reviews, and sales, are stellar for this figure. I want a Proto-Garland, but that probably won't happen unless the Garland is successful.

They've shown the Proto-Garland prototype.

There's a high chance we'll get it, barring unexpected disaster with the Garland.

[M'Kyuun]

Wasn't aware; thanks for the heads-up. Hope it'll see release.

[slaginpit]

Thank god I cancelled my pre-order on that Freeing. Delay after Delay and it still turns out to be some expensive garbage

[Ignacio Ocamica]

Proto-Garland pic:

[jenius]

My Yamato proto Garland review is going to make the freeing look good.

[Ignacio Ocamica]

20 minutes ago, jenius said:

My Yamato proto Garland review is going to make the freeing look good.

It has not stood the test of time?

Mine is still doing ok. Not as tight as new, but not a floppy mess either.

[jenius]

It broke in like 5 places during the review. Incredibly brittle plastic.

[RavenHawk]

3 hours ago, jenius said:

My Yamato proto Garland review is going to make the freeing look good.

Both of mine are still in really good shape. One has the broken shoulder bit that it had since day one but other than that I'm happy with how they've held up. Actually, all four of mine have lasted well.

[jenius]

I believe mine was new in box before it crumbled literally the moment I pulled it from the tray. If you have ones you think are in good shape, my advice to you would be to not touch them.

[M'Kyuun]

Y'know, that sort of thing just amazes me, as, aside from inflicted or accidental damage, none of my LEGO or other plastic toys from the 80's have ever crumbled. Heck, I have LEGO from the '70's that's still in good shape and viable- wouldn't hesitate to use it in a model today. Yet my Yamato YF-19's shoulder crumbled-just sitting on a shelf, not being touched. 

So I have to wonder what's up with the materials being used in these premium toys- we pay a pretty decent chunk of change for them, just to have them disintegrate before our eyes, or sometimes, as Jenius mentioned, still in their boxes without having ever been handled since the factory. I count myself fortunate, as my old YF-19 is the only poor plastics casualty in my collection thus far out of around 30 or so Macross toys. I've never had any of my Transformers crumble, either, and I have hundreds of those little beasties, and they're all, presumably, made from plastics originating in China and Japan. So, again, I have to wonder what's different about the plastics being used in some of these collector's toys. 

Digression aside, looking forward to seeing RavenHawk's review of the Proto- pretty sure I watched a vid of the old Yammie years ago, but it's nice to get another perspective, as the toy has some years on it now, and it's nice to see, in hindsight, what they did right, what could have used a tweaking, and what was just flat out wrong, as I hope Arcadia would have done prior to creating this new version.

[dizman]

10 hours ago, jenius said:

I believe mine was new in box before it crumbled literally the moment I pulled it from the tray. If you have ones you think are in good shape, my advice to you would be to not touch them.

I put my Proto Garland back in its box a few years ago, if I opened it up now its probably just a pile of plastic dust . Didn't it use gold plastics on some of the joints, that's never a good thing.

[Desert_tiger]

I think it is the Hargun (with the truck) that will be the figure that depends on the success of their pt 1&2 garlands.  I sooo want a hargun and truck; but not sure if I will cough up the cash for the garland lineup....again.

[jenius]

Anyone come across any Fewture or Arcadia Garland pics at this Wonderfest? I'm more curious if Fewture is even showing it any more so that we can all go on accepting it's vaporware. I'm also curious if Arcadia will be showing their blue/white version.

[wmkjr]

Courtesy Dengeki Hobby:

[tekering]

Yes!  Go, Arcadia, go!

[jenius]

Yeah, looks like Arcadia is all in... And seems dim for fewture.

[SuperHobo]

10 hours ago, jenius said:

Anyone come across any Fewture or Arcadia Garland pics at this Wonderfest? I'm more curious if Fewture is even showing it any more so that we can all go on accepting it's vaporware. I'm also curious if Arcadia will be showing their blue/white version.

From Fewture's twitter, the mold needed to be adjusted and has been completed ( about damn time). Production is going to start, but it's being delayed another 4-5 months. 

[jenius]

Wow, looking great. I will consider this timeframe when shipping goods, thanks!