Big s Posted February 17, 2023 Posted February 17, 2023 2 hours ago, oshanmacross said: A fully transformable GR-2 is such a missed opportunity for Toy or Plamu manufacturers. Definitely. I’m hoping that with the new moderoid kit coming up that they go beyond the garland and give us all the cool mecha Quote
RavenHawk Posted February 17, 2023 Author Posted February 17, 2023 On 2/15/2023 at 1:06 PM, Bobby said: The 3 for sale in that listing are the two bikes on the right (Transporter not shown ... pics pulled from earlier in the thread) For size comparison, here's pics of the Garland with some others (Imizu's kits come colored w/some pre-painted resin parts) ... And daBlah featured his Hargun kit earlier as well... Thank you for finding and sharing these! These are great. Quote
daBlah! Posted February 17, 2023 Posted February 17, 2023 21 hours ago, oshanmacross said: A fully transformable GR-2 is such a missed opportunity for Toy or Plamu manufacturers. It's such a nice mecha design. I've to get around to finishing the 1/48 GR-2. Quote
daBlah! Posted March 26, 2023 Posted March 26, 2023 Some Megazone 23 rumblings from AIC. http://aic-r.com/1645 http://aic-r.com/1636 Quote
Bobby Posted March 27, 2023 Posted March 27, 2023 Great find!! Very interesting design of that top down view of the bike ... it's got an Akira reclined seating position. Transformation-wise it seems somewhat reminiscent of a Garland that R-Area created for MOTO Comics back in 5/2019. The transformation is swapped meaning the arms don't tuck under the main body/fuel tank, instead they become the rear saddlebags, and the legs instead of being on the sides of the rear wheel fold in under the entire fairing/fuel tank/seat... Quote
MKT Posted March 27, 2023 Posted March 27, 2023 Megazone 23 reboot with redesigned Garlands? Nice! Quote
Big s Posted March 27, 2023 Posted March 27, 2023 Looks like the arm parts would be well out or the way while tilting in bike mode Quote
RavenHawk Posted April 5, 2023 Author Posted April 5, 2023 On 3/27/2023 at 12:31 AM, Bobby said: Great find!! Very interesting design of that top down view of the bike ... it's got an Akira reclined seating position. Transformation-wise it seems somewhat reminiscent of a Garland that R-Area created for MOTO Comics back in 5/2019. The transformation is swapped meaning the arms don't tuck under the main body/fuel tank, instead they become the rear saddlebags, and the legs instead of being on the sides of the rear wheel fold in under the entire fairing/fuel tank/seat... This looks like that Festival Times stuff from a few years back, where some fans were trying to get an update off the ground and had about a dozen fun variations on the design in there. I don't think anything came of it, and I haven't had luck finding copies of those 2 or 3 issues anywhere short of really ridiculous prices. This also looks like they combined it with the Travertson V-Rex. Quote
no3Ljm Posted April 15, 2023 Posted April 15, 2023 Arcadia is re-releasing 1/24 Garland for June 2023 release. https://www.hlj.com/1-24-scale-megazone-23-die-cast-model-garland-reissue-aca82152-3 Quote
jenius Posted April 15, 2023 Posted April 15, 2023 I wonder if these are reissues or just found stock. Quote
no3Ljm Posted May 10, 2023 Posted May 10, 2023 Moderoid Garland display at the recent Shizuoka Hobby Show 2023. Quote
Big s Posted May 10, 2023 Posted May 10, 2023 Looks a bit chunky, but so far I still like it, curious about the elbow joints since there are two different ones . I’d imagine that the left arm is the design they’re going with Quote
tekering Posted May 11, 2023 Posted May 11, 2023 1 hour ago, Big s said: curious about the elbow joints since there are two different ones It appears they just assembled the left elbow backwards. 🙄 Quote
Big s Posted May 11, 2023 Posted May 11, 2023 3 minutes ago, tekering said: It appears they just assembled the left elbow backwards. 🙄 You’re probably right Quote
MKT Posted May 31, 2023 Posted May 31, 2023 Arcadia Proto-Garland re-issue for Sept release: https://www.hlj.com/1-24-scale-megazone-23-part-ii-diecast-model-proto-garland-reissue-aca82136-3 Quote
Bobby Posted June 17, 2023 Posted June 17, 2023 This set of three 1/48 kits by Imizu-san still haven't sold since Feb. When Arcadia releases their Hargun w/Transporter I have a feeling the demand for these will cool down. Anyway, just a quick example on how much you can save with proxy buying/shipping: buy this set on Japan Mercari [LINK] for ¥66,600 shipped incl. tax ($472USD) + proxy fees + shipping to the US ... or ... buy it direct [LINK] via ebay for $986 + $20 ship + fees. Quote
RavenHawk Posted June 22, 2023 Author Posted June 22, 2023 On 6/17/2023 at 2:24 PM, Bobby said: This set of three 1/48 kits by Imizu-san still haven't sold since Feb. When Arcadia releases their Hargun w/Transporter I have a feeling the demand for these will cool down. Anyway, just a quick example on how much you can save with proxy buying/shipping: buy this set on Japan Mercari [LINK] for ¥66,600 shipped incl. tax ($472USD) + proxy fees + shipping to the US ... or ... buy it direct [LINK] via ebay for $986 + $20 ship + fees. Just can't justify it at that scale and material... but wow. Quote
Big s Posted June 23, 2023 Posted June 23, 2023 10 hours ago, RavenHawk said: Just can't justify it at that scale and material... but wow. The scale and material don’t bug me as much as price. I really wish I could afford that set, so I’m just gonna hope that moderoid does more than just a garland kit Quote
daBlah! Posted June 23, 2023 Posted June 23, 2023 7 hours ago, Big s said: The scale and material don’t bug me as much as price. I really wish I could afford that set, so I’m just gonna hope that moderoid does more than just a garland kit At least with what he's produced could we say it's one of the most complete lines of Megazone23 mecha that's been produced. I've each of them here and await his attempt at the E=X Garland in that scale. Quote
Big s Posted June 23, 2023 Posted June 23, 2023 39 minutes ago, daBlah! said: At least with what he's produced could we say it's one of the most complete lines of Megazone23 mecha that's been produced. I've each of them here and await his attempt at the E=X Garland in that scale. Have you completed them? I would love to see some detailed pictures Quote
M'Kyuun Posted June 23, 2023 Posted June 23, 2023 On 5/30/2023 at 10:40 PM, MKT said: Arcadia Proto-Garland re-issue for Sept release: https://www.hlj.com/1-24-scale-megazone-23-part-ii-diecast-model-proto-garland-reissue-aca82136-3 Replying a bit late, but I got mine back when they originally released. For a long, long time, it was my Megazone 23 grail, and I remain quite pleased with it. It's a bit lamentable that the pilot figs for this new generation of MZ23 toys are truncated to fit in the Slave mode, but the toy is pretty well executed in all other regards in my humble estimation. Granted, I've not handled it much since I bought it- It primarily functions, as do the majority of my crazy expensive transforming toys, as a pricey but beautiful dust collector. But I have transformed it, and nothing broke. As I recall, the old Yammies were prone to shoulder breakage, but AFAIK, the Arcadia's have improved in that area. Both of mine's arms are still attached, and hopefully will remain so. Quote
MKT Posted June 24, 2023 Posted June 24, 2023 5 hours ago, M'Kyuun said: It primarily functions, as do the majority of my crazy expensive transforming toys, as a pricey but beautiful dust collector. I like the way you put it haha.. It's great these Arcadia releases are such top quality. But ironically, the more well made any toys are, the more reluctant I am to handle them and I've been wondering if anyone else feels the same. There's sort of a mental resistance being afraid to foul up anything even though their build has been proven to be robust and Arcadia's Garlands are firmly in this territory. Glad that Arcadia have sold the Garlands and Proto-Garlands pretty well, for them to now do a 3rd issue for both. Quote
Big s Posted June 24, 2023 Posted June 24, 2023 37 minutes ago, MKT said: I like the way you put it haha.. It's great these Arcadia releases are such top quality. But ironically, the more well made any toys are, the more reluctant I am to handle them and I've been wondering if anyone else feels the same. There's sort of a mental resistance being afraid to foul up anything even though their build has been proven to be robust and Arcadia's Garlands are firmly in this territory. Glad that Arcadia have sold the Garlands and Proto-Garlands pretty well, for them to now do a 3rd issue for both. I get what you’re saying about handling theses. I’m less likely to handle the expensive toy than I would be to handle a fully painted less expensive model kit. It’s just weird to think of leaving the toy alone while playing around with a model Quote
RavenHawk Posted June 28, 2023 Author Posted June 28, 2023 It's funny how these vary. I have quite a few variable bikes that are only for display purposes, and I buy them as a completist. However, I really do love transforming and playing with the ones that can handle it. Yammies for MZ23, I avoid handling at all costs, and just look at affectionately. The Arcadia Garlands, on the other hand, I like to have one for display, and one for actually playing with and enjoying the engineering. The funny thing is that, as crappy as the durability is on the Yamato Garlands, the Yamato Motoslaves are one of my absolute favorite toys to transform and play with (right up there with a couple Transformers and Toyworld products). Quote
RavenHawk Posted June 30, 2023 Author Posted June 30, 2023 Hi all, So, it looks like I, yet again, missed a bunch of the preorders for the Proto Garland (in fairness, somehow I missed the first release entirely). BBTS, my usual go-to (they've given me great customer service in the past) is charging what I think is an excessive amount. AmiAmi seems to still have it, but the couple of times I've ordered from them, I feel like the shipping fees were pretty high (it's been a while, so I might be misremembering). PlayAsia (play-asia) has it, but I've never dealt with them. HobbySearch (www.1999.co.jp) has what seems like good pricing (and another item I might get at the same time), but I've never ordered from them. It's a name I've seen a lot and know, but just have no experience with them. Any issues? How are their shipping prices? If anyone can chime in on their advice and experiences, I'd appreciate it. Quote
daBlah! Posted June 30, 2023 Posted June 30, 2023 I think I've ordered from PlayAsia twice before and no issues. A long time ago so not sure what the shipping prices would be like now. Quote
MKT Posted June 30, 2023 Posted June 30, 2023 4 hours ago, RavenHawk said: Hi all, So, it looks like I, yet again, missed a bunch of the preorders for the Proto Garland (in fairness, somehow I missed the first release entirely). BBTS, my usual go-to (they've given me great customer service in the past) is charging what I think is an excessive amount. AmiAmi seems to still have it, but the couple of times I've ordered from them, I feel like the shipping fees were pretty high (it's been a while, so I might be misremembering). PlayAsia (play-asia) has it, but I've never dealt with them. HobbySearch (www.1999.co.jp) has what seems like good pricing (and another item I might get at the same time), but I've never ordered from them. It's a name I've seen a lot and know, but just have no experience with them. Any issues? How are their shipping prices? If anyone can chime in on their advice and experiences, I'd appreciate it. Hobby-Search is the mythical unicorn for Macross POs, because I think no one on these boards have managed to land a PO with them for years. But they are as legit as HLJ & Amiami, in being a 1st-tier store in most people's mental lists. I have ordered stuff from them over the years, they have great shipping rates & they pack well. No idea on their customer service though, as I have not had any situation where I needed to raise any issues with them. You could also try Hobby-Genki, which have pretty good prices for this item: https://hobby-genki.com/en/macross/18254-proto-garland-megazone-23-part-ii-124-diecast-model-4582482821367.html For Hobby-Genki POs, you are supposed to make full payment for the item one month before release date. However, they look like a small outfit with limited manpower, so they do not always follow through their own stated policies. In my small handful of orders with them so far, sometimes they only start asking for payment 1 or 2 weeks after item have been released, but there have also been times they send the appropriate payment requests 1 month before. For their POs, always specify 'private warehouse' option, so they will charge the appropriate shipping rate after item release. Do not specify for shipping upfront, as their shipping estimates can be rather wild for an unreleased item, and I am not sure if they will actually refund you later during actual shipping if you have overpaid during PO. However, general shipping rates have gone up drastically in the past couple of years. Amiami's shipping can sometimes be higher than HLJ or Hobby Search, but in my experience its always only about 10% at most, so if Amiami seems excessive, chances are it won't be much different at the other stores. Quote
Big s Posted June 30, 2023 Posted June 30, 2023 4 hours ago, RavenHawk said: HobbySearch (www.1999.co.jp) has what seems like good pricing (and another item I might get at the same time), but I've never ordered from them. It's a name I've seen a lot and know, but just have no experience with them. Any issues? How are their shipping prices? I’ve never had any issues with them other than in one of my front missions sets, they forgot to send the bonus item, but they realized the mistake before the main package even got to me and sent the bonus parts in a small box for free. Preorders can be tough for Bandai products, but otherwise pretty easy. Quote
RavenHawk Posted July 3, 2023 Author Posted July 3, 2023 Thanks for the advice. I ended up going with HobbySearch. Hopefully it will work out. Quote
daBlah! Posted July 6, 2023 Posted July 6, 2023 It's looking good. I believe they said the design model data was ready in 2019. Hargan Release.... Transporter (possibly depending on Hargan sales I believe Mr.K indicated)... would it be too much of a stretch to cross our fingers for a GR-2 Garland then? Quote
MKT Posted July 6, 2023 Posted July 6, 2023 Was hoping the Transporter be released the same time. Otherwise, where are we gonna put the limbs when it is in bike mode? Quote
daBlah! Posted July 6, 2023 Posted July 6, 2023 (edited) 4 hours ago, MKT said: Was hoping the Transporter be released the same time. Otherwise, where are we gonna put the limbs when it is in bike mode? I believe in a display stand like this https://twitter.com/Mrk_arcadia/status/1675048158693572611?t=4SzmrBmBl3-D8zkBz-2gAg&s=19 Edited July 6, 2023 by daBlah! Quote
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