Bandai METAL Line (MBuild/MStructure/GFFMComposite/MRDamashii/Gundam Chogokin)

[bakerjin]

13 hours ago, 68whiskey said:

1) Kampfer was really cool but the limited allotment was a stupid decision. They could have sold large numbers of that figure.

2) Whats my price on that OOQ FS if you dont want it?

Oh, I didn't know Kampfer was limited release too.  That's wild for a completely new mold.  I haven't decided whether to keep either the original 00Q or 00Q FS, but if I decide to sell the latter I'll definitely let you know first.  I'm currently planning to replace the original, but I've just been too lazy to open boxes...

3 hours ago, bearpig91 said:

Dang... Am I the only Bandai fan 😞?

I love the 00 QanT FS. The recolor is amazing, no issues with joint tightness with mine so far and the only thing that pops off is the right forearm armor. It's otherwise a very solid figure with no paint blotches or misplaced decals. The amount of diecast in the frame is decent as well, although it's lighter than the newer MBs... but I'm not sure if that's to do with the amount of plastic/design though. 

Anyway, I ordered the FS addon set and I have my fingers crossed for new 00 suits! Probably won't happen (anytime soon at least)... But MB Haute or Kyrios would be epic. I'd pay $1000 easily hahaha.

Great point and I agree a lot - Bandai make some exceptional figures.  I really do like most of their new releases (not all of the re-used molds though) for the last couple years, and I think they've stepped up their game and even QC issues (after the well-known paint issues with Hi Nu).

I'm more just venting about their business practices and how they decided to make Strike Noir and 00Q FS event exclusive.  Especially for the latter, it's a slap in the face to owners of the original 00Q since the new backpack could have easily been provided as part of the accessory pack so we wouldn't need to purchase a brand new, event-exclusive figure.  

[68whiskey]

On 12/1/2024 at 9:15 AM, bearpig91 said:

Dang... Am I the only Bandai fan 😞?

 

Yes. As someone who has been into gundam and gundam products since the release of gundam endless waltz on cartoon network I, in my opinion, can say Bandai has progressively gone down hill sometime after 2012. This used to be a hobby to share and be passionate about but Bandais corporate greed has now made it a competition between collectors and scalpers.

Gundamit KO stuff and Moshow Toys have been getting a lot more of my money as of the last couple of years.

[bearpig91]

Ugh, not a fan of the new Gundam... 

The name itself is bleh 😭. I was sorta disappointed with the MS from Reconguista and Witch from Mercury. They're so stylized and look sort of childish? At least my wallet will be safe haha.

 

[Big s]

8 minutes ago, bearpig91 said:

Ugh, not a fan of the new Gundam... 

The name itself is bleh 😭. I was sorta disappointed with the MS from Reconguista and Witch from Mercury. They're so stylized and look sort of childish? At least my wallet will be safe haha.

 

Definitely the ugliest gundam ever and the colors are the most clownish even amongst the usual clown colored gundams. Yuk!!

[Gab]

9 hours ago, 68whiskey said:

Yes. As someone who has been into gundam and gundam products since the release of gundam endless waltz on cartoon network I, in my opinion, can say Bandai has progressively gone down hill sometime after 2012. This used to be a hobby to share and be passionate about but Bandais corporate greed has now made it a competition between collectors and scalpers.

Gundamit KO stuff and Moshow Toys have been getting a lot more of my money as of the last couple of years.

Any good Chinese metal build Gundams from the UC era?

[rsvictor1976]

 

[bakerjin]

9 hours ago, Gab said:

Any good Chinese metal build Gundams from the UC era?

Yes, but due to their nature they don't get re-issues or re-releases often (there are an occasional few exceptions).  There are several 1/72 offerings such as Moshow's Kampfer and McShow's Destiny, but out of 1/100 scale my favorites would be:

 

Jiang Gao Sazabi - excellent paint quality, based on a resin kit for the MG Sazabi VerKa: https://showzstore.com/jianggao-model-1-100-msn-04-sazabi-metal-build-ver-ka_p1552.html

Steel Legend Kshatriya - very solid figure with gimmicks and accessories, though the "added effect kit" needs some tooling to make work: https://showzstore.com/steel-legend-1-100-sl-01-nz-666-kshatriya_p0923.html  This one sometimes has resissues.  There is also a Metal Club one which is slightly smaller with different details but I prefer SL.  Both are great though.

HongLaJiao Sinanju - Decent paint and details but pretty subpar build quality compared to other Chinese robot figures.  I don't think it's better than Metal Build but it's better than GFFMC Unicorn by far, at the very lease: https://showzstore.com/honglajiao-1-100-ms-10s-msn-06-sinanju_p1879.html

There was a Tomemei Zeta but I read it was pretty shitty build quality so I passed on it - moot point now that the MB Zeta is coming out, I suppose.

 

I'm sure there are other Chinese 1/100 equivalents (Moshow's last Gundam-related release was a 1/100 QanT right before Bandai released their MB version; not a KO as it was a completely original mold), but these are the ones I have and can recommend.

[doomgart]

9 hours ago, Gab said:

Any good Chinese metal build Gundams from the UC era?

I agree that Bandai has released many new builds in recent years, in addition to re-releases of old ones, and there are improvements in the new builds. But at the same time, many new builds still contain traditional flaws.

For example, I am afraid to change the hands in all my metal builds (except for Albion), because the joints are impossibly tight. The stand has not changed for decades, although if you look at other / variants, you can find something better, more aesthetically beautiful, or movable, or functional (like the Tastier assembling model has, for example). But the most frustrating thing is the lack of support if you do not live in Japan, while problems with products (such as scratches and breakage) might happen right out of the box.

And their GFFMC Unicorn literally fell apart while standing on the shelf, its knee joints, palms, and bazooka ammo belt burst and crack. I would not complain if I could get support and spare parts from them. Companies that provide service all over the world look more advantageous, especially if the quality of their products is not inferior, or even higher.

As for the Chinese Gundams from UC, I only have the antagonist machines, such as Zaku (Metal Soldier), Kshatriya, Sinanju and Sazabi. They are all well made and I have not had any problems with durability with any of them (except for Kshatriya, its adapter for the stand cracked, but the manufacturer replaced the adapter without any problems).

 

And what's most interesting is that there are no such models from Bandai himself, and to have an antagonist machine you have to buy semi KO

(but after the quality problems with Bandai himself, it upsets me less and less).

Edited December 4 by doomgart

[Gab]

1 hour ago, doomgart said:

And their GFFMC Unicorn literally fell apart while standing on the shelf, its knee joints, palms, and bazooka ammo belt burst and crack. I would not complain if I could get support and spare parts from them. Companies that provide service all over the world look more advantageous, especially if the quality of their products is not inferior, or even higher.

 

I picked up several of the the more recent GFFMCs, the Gouf, Zaku I, RG-79, and 40th anniversary 78. I was pretty impressed by those, in particular the Zaku and Gouf. The stands are quite an eyesore I agree, and the constant stream of crossbones and 00 is not my thing. I plan on picking up the Kampfer, and the Kshatriya. But I'd really like to see things like the GP01, MKII and more of the traditional stuff, I guess they're not gimmic-y enough. 

[Scyla]

Preorder for the Metal Build Quanta Full Saber Options Set at Anime Export (¥8800, pay now): https://anime-export.com/index.php?product=86996

[davidwhangchoi]

15 minutes ago, Scyla said:

Preorder for the Metal Build Quanta Full Saber Options Set at Anime Export (¥8800, pay now): https://anime-export.com/index.php?product=86996

is the option parts fragile as Quanta

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

As I promised in the Recent General Toy Purchase thread, allow me to share a few pics of the Chogokin Sazabi:

My initial thought upon freeing it from its styrofoam confines was what a hefty unit this toy is!  Most of the bulk is centered in the lower half with the metal thighs and inner feet.  I also noted how there were four different shades of red used.  I personally would have preferred it to be all colored with the metallic red used in the shoulders and chest.  As it is, the plain red plastic parts clash with metallic red areas.  Lots of crisply printed white trim to be found.  Although my preference is to delete most of them.

The light gimmick is powered by three watch batteries discreetly stored in the back.

The green lights are quite bright, especially the one on the forehead:

Articulation is right on par with the RG kit version.  However, due to the wiring needed for the lights, the head cannot look as far down or up as I'd like.  Racheted joints at the shoulders, hips, and knees are sturdy enough to allow poses to hold firm despite the weight of the limbs:

Despite my few complaints, this Sazabi is a great piece, no regrets here.

 

 

Edited December 6 by Valkyrie Hunter D

[Scyla]

When the Full Saber set was revealed I was wondering if you need two sets to recreate the image below.

The set only comes with one saber so I guess not…. 

[grogall]

Could someone please tell me the difference between Bandai Chogokin Gundam and  Bandai METALBUILD Gundam!? Thanks...

[Scyla]

4 hours ago, grogall said:

Could someone please tell me the difference between Bandai Chogokin Gundam and  Bandai METALBUILD Gundam!? Thanks...

Sure, Metal Builds tend to have more stylized designs and are mostly from non-UC timelines and. They have a metal frame and are usually fully painted.

Chogokin Gundams are mostly action figures of designs already existing in the form of a Gunpla kit. The usually have softer sculpts (since some of them are upscaled) and less paint. 

Then there are Fixed Figuration Metal Composite Gundams which are Katoki Hajime designs.

All of them are 7-8 inches tall (1/100 scale).

Personally I enjoy the Metal Build line the most. I like the stylized, sharp sculpt and all the painted on details.

They are usually hard to tell apart from pictures but seeing them in person the less intricate construction, duller sculpt and missing paint becomes more apparent.

I would never trade my MB Freedom Gundam Concept 2 for the Chogokin one.

Edited December 12 by Scyla

[grogall]

Thanks for that. I have some of the Chogokin models I'll look too Mandrake on getting a Metal Build to see what their like! Thanks for the quick info! 👍🏻

I have the Sazabi that @Valkyrie Hunter D, has pictured above but won't be seeing it till Christmas, I was thinking of getting the Metal Build Kämpfer to get a comparison between the two units....

Edited December 12 by grogall

[Gab]

4 hours ago, grogall said:

I was thinking of getting the Metal Build Kämpfer to get a comparison between the two units....

Tracking shows I'm getting the Kampfer later today or tomorrow. I have several late production GFFMCs which I love (RX-78s, Goufs and Zaku) and will see how they compare.

[pafy6285]

noticed that chogokin Sazabi is being sold at around 30k yen (brand new) or even less. Isn't the MSRP around 40k yen IIRC. So I guess it binned just like with Chogokin Nu (though I think its value recovered now)

[68whiskey]

On 12/13/2024 at 12:13 AM, pafy6285 said:

noticed that chogokin Sazabi is being sold at around 30k yen (brand new) or even less. Isn't the MSRP around 40k yen IIRC. So I guess it binned just like with Chogokin Nu (though I think its value recovered now)

There are two Sazabis. One with a basic red color and one with a more metallic red. It is possible that the recent release dropped in price. Maybe people werent feeling the metal build price tag on a chogokin 

[grogall]

Well received my Metal Build Kämpfer today, But will open it next week on Christmas Eve with he Sazabi, I wander which on will impress me the most!?

[recon]

On 12/4/2024 at 12:13 PM, bearpig91 said:

Ugh, not a fan of the new Gundam... 

The name itself is bleh 😭. I was sorta disappointed with the MS from Reconguista and Witch from Mercury. They're so stylized and look sort of childish? At least my wallet will be safe haha.

 

They defintely thought that they could incorporate some evangelion design into its design, which makes it worst off

[no3Ljm]

On 12/14/2024 at 2:17 AM, 68whiskey said:

There are two Sazabis. One with a basic red color and one with a more metallic red. It is possible that the recent release dropped in price. Maybe people werent feeling the metal build price tag on a chogokin 

I didn't know Chogokin released 2 versions of Sazabi. With the current yen price, I'm thinking of getting one but I just don't know where to display it. 😅