Consolidated Megazone 23 Toy/Model Thread for 2017-2018

[jenius]

Here's how it stacks up to other boxes.

[SuperHobo]

Enough brown box pictures. Let's see how this 3.5 year delayed figure stacks up with some hot in-hand photos

Edited December 5, 2019 by SuperHobo

[Bobby]

Well I thought we could wait a few more months at this point

So when you open the big box there's a nice sticker that says "DO NOT OPEN" on the middle box that has another box in it...

Just kidding (but not about the sticker) so quick first impressions (gonna leave the actual reviewing up to the reviewers):

- for starters...this is NO froppy mess! (in bike mode it does not snap undone like in video poster earlier), however, in slave mode he's kinda top heavy but nothing a little future floor wax can't remedy

- you can fully transform it without removing the arms! Yah!

- it is a very unique and ingenious transformation that has lots of little gimmicks you can appreciate (where things fold up is pretty cool)

- impressive to hold (feels heavy at 20.8oz compared to Arcadia's 11.5oz) and so much detail (ex. mesh vents, Bahamut stamped engine, moving shift pedals, Garland logos)

- at first it's pretty confusing...make that very confusing. everything is such tight clearance you have a bunch of "oh man am I gonna break this thing" moments

- since some assembly's required upon opening it is not advised to try anything without the manual, there are A LOT of cautions, sharp edges, and non-intuitive rotation (for ex. where you think the legs attach on the sides in bike mode is not what you think, but it also makes sure that the Freeing E=X failure collapse will never happen)

- make sure to PAY ATTENTION to anytime in the manual there is a yellow circle with a "!" in it!!! (already having paint chips near the tail lights due to how tight the clearance on the rear hatch is

- was it worth the wait? well that of course lies in the eye of the beholder but for me since placing the order in 5/2016, I would say unmistakably a resounding YES!!!

[jenius]

Oh Thank God Bobby got it so when i'm stumped I have a pro I can pester for answers. Also thanks for the first impressions! So far I opened the box and looked inside... and scanned the user manual WHICH WAS HUGE. 

[MKT]

@Bobby Thanks for posting up initial impressions. Great to hear that all the years waiting finally pays off, and the details look swell!

It's a relief that its not a partsformer. Still, the shoulder swing bars look a bit thin and look like a fragile piece. Is that part plastic or metal?

Sculpt wise from the pics, I'm a fan of the stylized bike mode, feels more like a modern interpretation of the original's blockiness. Slave mode always looked a bit off, because of the elongated waist area that makes the chest and legs look very detached. But overall, looks like the build of it makes it worth the design risks Fewture took.

[tekering]

Christ, it's beautiful.  Thanks, Bobby.

[ . . . ]

Wait... it's smaller than the Yamato?  

Why's the box so stupidly huge?  

[SuperHobo]

5 hours ago, Bobby said:

Well I thought we could wait a few more months at this point

So when you open the big box there's a nice sticker that says "DO NOT OPEN" on the middle box that has another box in it...

Just kidding (but not about the sticker) so quick first impressions (gonna leave the actual reviewing up to the reviewers):

- for starters...this is NO froppy mess! (in bike mode it does not snap undone like in video poster earlier), however, in slave mode he's kinda top heavy but nothing a little future floor wax can't remedy

- you can fully transform it without removing the arms! Yah!

- it is a very unique and ingenious transformation that has lots of little gimmicks you can appreciate (where things fold up is pretty cool)

- impressive to hold (feels heavy at 20.8oz compared to Arcadia's 11.5oz) and so much detail (ex. mesh vents, Bahamut stamped engine, moving shift pedals, Garland logos)

- at first it's pretty confusing...make that very confusing. everything is such tight clearance you have a bunch of "oh man am I gonna break this thing" moments

- since some assembly's required upon opening it is not advised to try anything without the manual, there are A LOT of cautions, sharp edges, and non-intuitive rotation (for ex. where you think the legs attach on the sides in bike mode is not what you think, but it also makes sure that the Freeing E=X failure collapse will never happen)

- make sure to PAY ATTENTION to anytime in the manual there is a yellow circle with a "!" in it!!! (already having paint chips near the tail lights due to how tight the clearance on the rear hatch is

- was it worth the wait? well that of course lies in the eye of the beholder but for me since placing the order in 5/2016, I would say unmistakably a resounding YES!!!

Thank you for your first impressions! How well does it pose in slave mode? All I've seen is of pictures of it just kind of standing there. How are the joints? Any ratchet joints? 

[Bobby]

14 hours ago, jenius said:

Oh Thank God Bobby got it so when i'm stumped I have a pro I can pester for answers. Also thanks for the first impressions! So far I opened the box and looked inside... and scanned the user manual WHICH WAS HUGE. 

Hahaha...sure anytime  yeah, the manual's like a little book which is quite the contrast to the "unfoldable poster" instruction sheet we sometimes see 

13 hours ago, MKT said:

@Bobby Thanks for posting up initial impressions. Great to hear that all the years waiting finally pays off, and the details look swell!

It's a relief that its not a partsformer. Still, the shoulder swing bars look a bit thin and look like a fragile piece. Is that part plastic or metal?

Sculpt wise from the pics, I'm a fan of the stylized bike mode, feels more like a modern interpretation of the original's blockiness. Slave mode always looked a bit off, because of the elongated waist area that makes the chest and legs look very detached. But overall, looks like the build of it makes it worth the design risks Fewture took.

Lol...I actually thought about that when swinging the bars around and wishing they were made out of metal,... sadly they are not and we'd all feel better if they were 

I like the sculpt as well...it is just so sharp and aerodynamic. The sleep proportions and overall wedgieness in bike mode kinda reminds me of the blue Garland from the PS3 game...(pics pulled from Ravenhawks earlier posts...btw...where's he been?)

The sculpt also reminds me of the cover of the Manuever Book...

But for bike mode perhaps the Arcadia looks the most like the Maneuver Book version...

10 hours ago, tekering said:

Christ, it's beautiful.  Thanks, Bobby.

[ . . . ]

Wait... it's smaller than the Yamato?  

Why's the box so stupidly huge?  

It's close...you can see in bike mode they're about identical (Arcadia, Fewture, Yamato)...

but in slave mode The "Fewture's" the Winner! 

Speaking of box size and the inordinate amount for shipping, the presentation and boxing for this product as a whole was disappointing. It seems like the "printing" portion for this project might have been rushed. While not unusual to still be using the prototype for the pics in the booklet (for ex. screw-covers are missing in the shots), the image quality for the box cover, the cover of the booklet and sections inside showcasing the product are just way sub-par. The levels and exposures are quite off and it reminds me of the image quality you often see on KO boxes  ... this should not be for a product of this caliber. On a positive note, you can tell that the folks at Fewture understand presentation is king so when you slide off the huge box sleeve, and remove the box top, to reveal solid black folding panels, which uncover a nice spread of accessories, surrounding the Garland in a halo fashion etc. you experience some nice foresight in their concept, however, their execution is a whole 'nother story ... the design and layout and image quality are just quite amateurish (on the box and booklet) which is not an accurate reflection for what's inside and diminishes its sales presentation potential. With that said, I'm obviously VERY glad that this neglect only happened here and not with the Garland's design/engineering!

9 hours ago, SuperHobo said:

Thank you for your first impressions! How well does it pose in slave mode? All I've seen is of pictures of it just kind of standing there. How are the joints? Any ratchet joints? 

For starters, there is a very clever hinge located at the base of the Bahamut engine and the hip/pelvis area which allows the Garland to rotate at the hips for turning poses (something previous versions have not been capable of). In addition it has 3 ratchets so it can lean forward or backward a click for hunching over or arching backwards.

So yes, there are ratchet joints and pose-ability is quite good and there are some Obari-esque moments.

Some of the joints even have additional hinge movement AFTER the ratchet click (like at the elbows) for further pose-ablity. It's a mixed bag when judging it overall though, for example, the head moves up and down amazingly for great looking up/flying poses, but it can barely turn left and right; and the elbows and shoulders have so much pose-ablity, but knees are really limited on their full bending range.

Perhaps the most noticeable thing is it suffers from the same problem that Toynami's Ultimate Voltron EX and Transformers Generations Titan Class Metroplex (2' tall) suffered from...being too top heavy due to upper body bulk resulting in major balancing acts/issues for posing . If the leg ratchets are at their limits for some extreme poses, the sheer weight of the Garland's upper body will make it collapse cause the leverage becomes too great. It's kind of a trade off, because it's due to this weight that it feels so good in your hands! But on a flightpose for example, you'll have a great time!

Another observation is some joints have screws holding it together which may mean (I dare say) that if the joint ever gets too loose, you can maybe give it a slight turn with a phillips?!

After additional transformations this thing is really tricky, specifically 3 areas: the rear hatch, the shoulders, and the front cowling (but everything else is really wonderful) and here's a couple more "Watch-Out" spots...

• DO NOT attempt to lift the front half windshield glass to insert the head during transformation from slave-to-bike like you would on Yamato's, Arcadia's, or Aoshima's 1/24 version as it does not open nor is it supposed to. Another unique aspect of Fewture's method for transformation.

• DO NOT attempt to lift the back hatch when the seat is in place when going from bike-to-slave mode. You may think you can but you have to move some things around before you can open the hatch.

Speaking of the shoulders there is a hook that is used on both sides that looks more like it came out of a lego set than on something like this and I would have preferred a simple swivel out tab with a hole in it because it appears kinda dainty and afterthought-ish but the effectiveness for holding the arms/front wheel suspension in place in bike mode is definitely appreciated!

Ok, that's enough ... all in all I gotta say that I'm really lovin' this thing and it just wreaks of quality all over, in looks, design, engineering, etc. so if you're a Megazone fan I think it's a must!

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

Fewture's Garland looks killer, thanks for the review, Bobby!  I'm glad I didn't stop my preorder.

[SuperHobo]

@Bobby  Thanks for the action poses! I'm glad to see the waist is adjustable. If I do pick one up I'll leave the torso more collapsed to eliminate the elongated torso look.  Urge to buy rising.....

[MKT]

Very informative there @Bobby. 

That design of the blue Garland looks real nice as well. Sadly, Megazone 23 as a whole seem to be a fringe anime; perhaps the original anime & its sequels were just average and didn't capture many fans. Till today, outside of Anymoon, it's quite hard to find any reviews of Arcadia's recent Garland. Hopefully Arcadia eventually get around to making that blue Garland after, and if, they eventually make the Hargun. I'd like them to take a stab to make the E=X Garland as well. Heck, perhaps an updated Motoslave too whilst they are at it making bike mechas.

It's reassuring to know that companies such as Fewture & Sentinel are capable in making pretty solid first attempts in today's era of complex transforming toys (The Fewture Ex Gokin R-Jetan doesn't count in my books, because it's just tucking in arms and legs for that classic robot hanging off the plane look), especially after reading & hearing disheartening stories of Evolution Toys & Good Smile's attempts at transforming toys.

 

3 hours ago, SuperHobo said:

@Bobby  Thanks for the action poses! I'm glad to see the waist is adjustable. If I do pick one up I'll leave the torso more collapsed to eliminate the elongated torso look.  Urge to buy rising.....

Nippon-Yasan seem to be the cheapest at moment for this item. They have not jacked up their PO price of this item even after release... yet. And big surprise, their shipping of this item is actually cheaper than HLJs!

[Bobby]

9 hours ago, Valkyrie Hunter D said:

Fewture's Garland looks killer, thanks for the review, Bobby!  I'm glad I didn't stop my preorder.

I have a feeling you won't regret it 

5 hours ago, SuperHobo said:

@Bobby  Thanks for the action poses! I'm glad to see the waist is adjustable. If I do pick one up I'll leave the torso more collapsed to eliminate the elongated torso look.  Urge to buy rising.....

Oh...good point, I retracted it and it looks a lot better!

1 hour ago, MKT said:

Very informative there @Bobby. 

That design of the blue Garland looks real nice as well. Sadly, Megazone 23 as a whole seem to be a fringe anime; perhaps the original anime & its sequels were just average and didn't capture many fans. Till today, outside of Anymoon, it's quite hard to find any reviews of Arcadia's recent Garland. Hopefully Arcadia eventually get around to making that blue Garland after, and if, they eventually make the Hargun. I'd like them to take a stab to make the E=X Garland as well. Heck, perhaps an updated Motoslave too whilst they are at it making bike mechas.

It's reassuring to know that companies such as Fewture & Sentinel are capable in making pretty solid first attempts in today's era of complex transforming toys (The Fewture Ex Gokin R-Jetan doesn't count in my books, because it's just tucking in arms and legs for that classic robot hanging off the plane look), especially after reading & hearing disheartening stories of Evolution Toys & Good Smile's attempts at transforming toys.

 

Nippon-Yasan seem to be the cheapest at moment for this item. They have not jacked up their PO price of this item even after release... yet. And big surprise, their shipping of this item is actually cheaper than HLJs!

Did Arcadia say they were thinking about making the blue Garland?!?!?! Wow...that would be really cool!

You're right about their R-Jetan, it looks GREAT but the transformation... is like you described. Seeing more and more company's attempting complex transformations is very refreshing. With so many recent attempts by numerous companies to do this but ended up being rather disappointing (i.e. Freeing E=X), it's made me realize just how great a company Yamato was and their products in their time.

That price at NY is really good...especially considering they offer so many less expensive shipping options 

[MKT]

3 hours ago, Bobby said:

I have a feeling you won't regret it 

Oh...good point, I retracted it and it looks a lot better!

 

Agreed.. so much better! Torso still slightly longer than I would have liked, but at least there's those great panel washed-looking mechanical detailing to look at there.

 

3 hours ago, Bobby said:

 

Did Arcadia say they were thinking about making the blue Garland?!?!?! Wow...that would be really cool!

Oh Arcadia didn't announce anything about that. It was just myself projecting my wish for Arcadia. Apologies if it came out differently.

 

On side note, my copy arrived today! I only managed to open the box to inspect what's inside, before having to go away for the weekend. Quick thoughts from 5 minute unboxing:

1. The box is huge. It's somewhat like old Yamato's 1/48 VF-1 box size, except the whole package is quite a fair bit heavier. Opening it, I realised that it's not so much the toy is really heavy, but a fair bit of the package weight come from the very stiff & sturdy thick cardstock used for the main box, and perhaps the chunk of styrofoam block used to hold the toy and its accessories. I agree with @Bobby , the presentation style planning is admirable, but the printing of the graphics on the box and its sleeve are horrendous. They could be better off emulating Arcadia's 'premium' style boxes by not bothering with any graphics, but just words in shiny fonts.

2. How's the toy itself? Didn't have time to play or assemble it, only taking out each part to inspect for any apparent defects. Toy comes in Slave mode, but with the arms packaged separately beside it in the styrofoam tray. There's no articulated hands already attached to the arms, instead there's a variety of fixed posed hands. The toy itself feels tight, sturdy when I picked it up. It appears all the red areas are painted metal, whilst the silver or metal looking parts of the bike are plastic. But I didn't look closely enough to determine if these plastic parts are molded in colour, or painted as well. However, the colours of all the exterior parts seem to emulate real bikes in its granularity of paint and slight metallic undertones. Even the white areas are not truly white, but subtly pearlescent with very fine metallic speckles.

So far, so good. Can't wait to return and properly handle it. But oh, I have one weird paint defect, and it is similar to the tweet posted one page back:

On ‎12‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 8:09 AM, daBlah! said:

Just noticed this post while scrolling Twitter.

 

 

There's like, a somewhat circular paint splotch in the exact same area as the pic above, and it is only on the left chest, not the right. It looks like someone dabbed a slightly different paint on that area to touch up something. So I do not know if this is a batch defect, or it appears on all copies.

 

[Bobby]

34 minutes ago, MKT said:

Oh Arcadia didn't announce anything about that. It was just myself projecting my wish for Arcadia. Apologies if it came out differently.

 Ohhhh...no prob, you did get my hopes up!  

22 minutes ago, MKT said:

There's like, a somewhat circular paint splotch in the exact same area as the pic above, and it is only on the left chest, not the right. It looks like someone dabbed a slightly different paint on that area to touch up something. So I do not know if this is a batch defect, or it appears on all copies.

 

So that's actually a painted screw cover that'll be on all copies. Since the cowling is diecast they needed a centralized, sturdy location between the two halves to securely fasten them together, but also forward enough to provide clearance for transformation...and (unfortunately) that's where the access hole ended up. When you start to fiddle with it and look under the cowling you'll see the chassis-like cross bar go straight through from side-to-side.  You'll also see that the rear hatch, arms, thighs, lower legs, and a few other places have painted screw covers on them as well. Most of them are symmetrical and really well done (looks like panel lines, hatches, gas lid, etc.) and imo really isn't that noticeable.

[RavenHawk]

On 12/5/2019 at 5:38 PM, Bobby said:

(pics pulled from Ravenhawks earlier posts...btw...where's he been?)

Sadly, life has been keeping me pretty busy lately. Still watching the threads though, just not buying as much fun stuff...

[Bobby]

Sorry to hear RH, but good to hear from you and hope things improve over the holidays!

--

To keep things balanced, Amazon.co.jp had 1 poster recently give it 3/5 star review.

He mainly stated that he had been waiting for this release since it was announced. He commented/complained about the box and that even though it seemed well protected, the corners on his box sleeve were damaged a bit.

He mentioned how the arms have to be attached in order transform into slave move and when transforming to bike mode, the manual recommends the arms be removed to prevent paint /chipping peeling and to save it for last (I personally don't think this is necessary and it seems like more trouble than it's worth as it might weaken the tightness of that ball joint to continuously be popping it in and out).

He commented on how the proportions appear the same as the prototype and its looks are done in a very brave/heroic style. And that there is a lot of alloy used in the upper body, and the lower body is also heavy. He also said that while each one may vary from the next, his has some issues when trying to pose it with the gun from loose joints.

He wraps up by stating that while the figure overall moves/posesd well the waist is giving him issues, that the set comes with 2 stands, that the instructions are very detailed and you can visit Art Storm's Youtube channel if you get stuck.  And lastly, that it's difficult to compare to other Garlands because of the size and price, but closes with if you like Arcadia's Garland you'll probably like this since Fewtures EX alloy is highly detailed and very impressive.

--

So the more I handle it, I have to agree with the waist and shoulders observation becoming/being an issue. The shoulders are great for regular poses but not quite strong enough for holding up the gun...and the Garland is so top heavy that if you don't balance it just right it will fall over at the hips (especially backwards) which is rather unfortunate due to weight. As I mentioned in an earlier post, some future floor wax totally remedied these weakness, however the balancing part is still an issue cause gravity defying liquid doesn't come in a bottle yet 

Many of you already know all this so here's what I did and as you know the key is precision and that can easily be achieved with a Monoject 412 [LINK] [LINK] via a tiny drop of Future Floor Finish (now called Pledge Revive It Floor Gloss) [LINK] which goes a long way.

To sturdy up the shoulders to easily handle the gun and not droop as the Amazon reviewer noted was just one tiny squirt in the front, work it in by rotating the arm and then again in the back and work the joint. In about 30 min and you'll notice quite  a difference and no problems holding the gun!

To sturdy up the waist (the forward/backward direction as the turning part is fine) you can easily add a drop on each side of the large hinge (both front and back) and work it in...

Once you let it seep in the crack it will move halfway around the joint automatically by capillary action and do the other side for the other half. Any excess you can dab away with a q-tip so it won't leave a shiny spot...

And again due to the upper body weight I did the hips which also really helped firm it up...front and back, both sides, a little-dab-a-doo-ya...

And lastly another spot to prevent it from leaning too far forward and strengthening dynamic poses when on its tip-toes was adding some to the joint for the front half of the foot. If you look behind the ball of the foot in the arch area you'll see where you can squirt a tiny bit and then work it in...

Once done you cannot see the wax at all and I've done this for many years without any ill effects on any figures (no rust, residue, marks, etc.). I don't know if this has ever happened to you, but I've had a nice figure fall off the shelf and break-a-leg, literally...and in an effort to not let that happen again this solution really gives a lot of peace of mind when posing the more expensive figures on the top shelf! 

A couple more closing thoughts...

i. Disappointment in the sculpted hands. They look great, fit very well during transformation, but on a premium figure like this I would have liked the option of a set w/poseable fingers (Yamato's had 1 joint at least and Arcadia's had 2 joints per finger). 

ii. Is there such a thing as too much weight? You might think that with this guy because at this price, you wouldn't think you should have to do any 'joint strenghtening' and for ex. SOC Lion Voltron is as heavy as all get out and has no trouble standing up whatsoever. So this issue ends up being an engineering flaw/shortcoming for the Garland that many may find to be pretty disappointing.

 

[SuperHobo]

@Bobby  Out of the box the Garland is a kind if unstable at the hip joints? The figure also couldn't hold the gun up due to weak shoulder joints? If so that is a shame at this price. The Arcadia Garland also had oddly toleranced shoulders that after a handful of poses got very loose.....and needed a thin layer of super glue to be brought back to life. 

[Bobby]

Yes, noticed that too on the Arcadia Garland. And I regret to inform you that the answer to your question sadly is a solid yes. But perhaps for a slightly different reason than usual though...it's not that they're cheap joints...it's the weight. And for that reason, you could argue that they aren't the right (or best) joints for handling this weight (perhaps an engineering shortcoming afterall). The die cast in the arms is heavy, but also fairly balanced as-is for posing to where the shoulders can reliably handle poses with the arms extended straight out to the side. But add the gun and it's like it tipped the scales and became too much in certain extended poses if that makes sense. And likewise, the sheer amount of die cast in the upper-body/cowl makes for quite the top heavy load right at the hips resulting in this same drawback. This indeed is pretty disappointing for the price...but at least like you were able to revive the Arcadia Garland's shoulders, the floor polish injected at the affected areas notably improved these issues rather well in my opinion. But not completely, cause gravity.

Edited December 11, 2019 by Bobby

[SuperHobo]

3 hours ago, Bobby said:

Yes, noticed that too on the Arcadia Garland. And I regret to inform you that the answer to your question sadly is a solid yes. But perhaps for a slightly different reason than usual though...it's not that they're cheap joints...it's the weight. And for that reason, you could argue that they aren't the right (or best) joints for handling this weight (perhaps an engineering shortcoming afterall). The die cast in the arms is heavy, but also fairly balanced as-is for posing to where the shoulders can reliably handle poses with the arms extended straight out to the side. But add the gun and it's like it tipped the scales and became too much in certain extended poses if that makes sense. And likewise, the sheer amount of die cast in the upper-body/cowl makes for quite the top heavy load right at the hips resulting in this same drawback. This indeed is pretty disappointing for the price...but at least like you were able to revive the Arcadia Garland's shoulders, the floor polish injected at the affected areas notably improved these issues rather well in my opinion. But not completely, cause gravity.

Yikes, what was fewture thinking of putting diecast in the forearms without using some proper weight bearing ratchets to overcome gravity. Thanks for all your input man. In the end I think I'll just settle with my Arcadia Garland for the time being. 

[jenius]

Yeah, I've barely handled the Fewture but the lack of ratchets in the feet where the toe and heel move freely reminds me of the V1 Yamato Scopedog. Lean it forward and the toe gives and the thing falls forward... but lean it back and it falls backward. It comes with a stand though so maybe that's the way to go.

[daBlah!]

 

[M'Kyuun]

7 hours ago, daBlah! said:

 

This is what I'm waiting for. Anybody care to translate the post for us kanji-illiterate types?

[jenius]

It's a handsome box

[Grey728]

51 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

This is what I'm waiting for. Anybody care to translate the post for us kanji-illiterate types?

from google translate:

And the proto package sample Arrived. This time too, Mr. Tsukasa Kobuki drew the package illustration! Nice! Please wait a little longer for release!  # Megazone 23 # Garland

[Kuma Style]

So what is the "definitive" garland to buy at the moment? I've waited for the EX Gokin forever but it seems to be universally disappointing. I don't mind polishing joints and if that makes it THE Garland to get I'm in but if there's a better one out there I'd rather prioritize that.

Great write ups @Bobby

[RavenHawk]

4 hours ago, Kuma Style said:

So what is the "definitive" garland to buy at the moment? I've waited for the EX Gokin forever but it seems to be universally disappointing. I don't mind polishing joints and if that makes it THE Garland to get I'm in but if there's a better one out there I'd rather prioritize that.

Great write ups @Bobby

I'm very happy with the Arcadia one.

Honestly, I like all of the others too, but don't think they're worth it unless you get a really REALLY good discount off the asking price. The Arcadia is, in my opinion, worth what they ask (considering the niche market, of course).

[M'Kyuun]

On 12/14/2019 at 11:19 AM, Grey728 said:

from google translate:

And the proto package sample Arrived. This time too, Mr. Tsukasa Kobuki drew the package illustration! Nice! Please wait a little longer for release!  # Megazone 23 # Garland

Thanks!  According to BBTS, it was projected to release this month. Guess that's not happening. All things being equal, if they need more time to put finishing touches or address quality issues, I'm more than happy to wait. At the prices these things go for these days, I'd just as soon give the companies time to work out the bugs instead of issuing lemons.

That Fewture Garland is a beautiful piece. I think the stylized sculpt works, especially the angle of the legs in bike mode to give it that swept back wedge look. I prefer the larger legs of the Arcadia, though. Too, while metal content feels good in the hand, all it says to me is greater wear over less time in the joints, so I think I prefer the higher plastic content overall for durability.  Once the Proto-Garland releases, it'll be my first Garland toy, one I've been waiting for for a long time. I just want it to be as polished as it can possibly be.

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

8 hours ago, Kuma Style said:

So what is the "definitive" garland to buy at the moment? I've waited for the EX Gokin forever but it seems to be universally disappointing. I don't mind polishing joints and if that makes it THE Garland to get I'm in but if there's a better one out there I'd rather prioritize that.

Great write ups @Bobby

The Arcadia one is more accurate to the canon work, so it gets my vote. And it will look great paired up with the upcoming Proto Garland.

[tekering]

Aside from the undersized Shogo figure (which is admittedly, a problem with every transformable Garland toy), the Arcadia is perfect.  

Can't wait for their Photo-Garland to ship!  

[jenius]

Still working on the full review but for anyone who wants a video to help them through putting the arms on or transforming to Maneuver Craft mode, here you go!

 

[SuperHobo]

38 minutes ago, jenius said:

Still working on the full review but for anyone who wants a video to help them through putting the arms on or transforming to Maneuver Craft mode, here you go!

 

Oh boy that's a complex transformation and fiddly transformation. Although not as bad as the dumpster fire that was the EX-Garland from part III. 

[M'Kyuun]

After watching your Fewture review, I went back and watched your Arcadia review.  I'd liken the comparison between a Hasbro CHUG figure (the Arcadia) with a MP figure (Fewture), such is the extent of detail and complexity involved in the latter. I love the detail of the Fewture, but I think I prefer the simpler transformation of the Arcadia. I find as I get older, I'm less inclined towards all the small fiddly bits that need to be aligned to get the bigger stuff into place. Too, the Arcadia skews much closer to the lineart, and I like the chunkier Slave proportions. Both are beautiful toys, but the Fewture by far outclasses the Arcadia in just about every other area.

[SuperHobo]

14 hours ago, Kuma Style said:

So what is the "definitive" garland to buy at the moment? I've waited for the EX Gokin forever but it seems to be universally disappointing. I don't mind polishing joints and if that makes it THE Garland to get I'm in but if there's a better one out there I'd rather prioritize that.

Great write ups @Bobby

As far as animation accurate Garland toys go, the arcadia is the best one so far with an excellent transformation scheme and good articulation minus anything at the waist. With that being said the Arcadia one has points such as the knees and chest that are prone to paint chipping. Just bending the knee can scrape the grey paint off. Additionally, you'll probably have to add a thin layer of super glue to the inside of the shoulder joint as it's a metal mushroom peg around a plastic socket and there's not much friction going on in there. On the bright side, no reports of breaking or disintegrating parts like the old Yamato ones......

[jenius]

38 minutes ago, SuperHobo said:

Oh boy that's a complex transformation and fiddly transformation. Although not as bad as the dumpster fire that was the EX-Garland from part III. 

I think it's important to remember that the arms flopping around make that transformation look much more fiddly. I will definitely be removing them and reinstalling them for any future transformations but I know if I did a video of my doing that people would ask me about leaving the arms on so I figured it was more prudent this way.

[jenius]

5 hours ago, tekering said:

Aside from the undersized Shogo figure (which is admittedly, a problem with every transformable Garland toy), the Arcadia is perfect.  

Can't wait for their Photo-Garland to ship!  

Buy both to solve the small Shogo on the Arcadia issue. This one was inspired by your previous efforts with the Yamato Shogo.