Mospeada

[niomosy]

What the eff? They both have an hourglass figure.

I'm sure it helped his cross-dressing career out a bit.

[Gakken85]

I don't think you can beat the Gakken Alpha's. As a child it was one of my favorite toys, and I still pick up my red Alpha at least once a day.

[JetJockey]

I don't think you can beat the Gakken Alpha's. As a child it was one of my favorite toys, and I still pick up my red Alpha at least once a day.

I sold mine. I thought the landing gear was too small. The plane was low to the ground just like the newer version from Toynami (I think). I believe some here call it a beached whale.

[niomosy]

The Gakkens are definitely awesome. I've got a green one and would eventually like to get others. Sadly, finances have been limited so toy purchases have been pretty heavily limited. Right now, I'm concentrating on picking up a blue Beta.

[Hoptimus]

The Gakkens were amazing back in the day but I prefer the Toynami/Aoshima version as far as looks. If they retooled that toy to match the Beta/tread that matches up to it I would be so happy. I have the CM also but the Alpha is a floppy mess.

[RD Blade]

I'm happy with my one Gakken. And like MilkManX, I prefer the looks of the Toynami. A modern Toynami with the rugged quality and build of the 30 year old Gakken would have been ideal.

[Hoptimus]

I'm happy with my one Gakken. And like MilkManX, I prefer the looks of the Toynami. A modern Toynami with the rugged quality and build of the 30 year old Gakken would have been ideal.

Yeah that would have been so awesome. Alas it is Toynami though. At least their Beta was made very well.

[DarrinG]

Yeah that would have been so awesome. Alas it is Toynami though. At least their Beta was made very well.

The hips and waist on the Beta are not so good though - in Battloid or Soldier mode.

The hips slip out to the extended position FAR too easily, and some other issues that should have been tighter in the waist area...

[SuperSenpai]

It's a wonder that the Beta, which to my knowledge is the only completely original design by Toynami for their Robotech line, is one of their few well-designed toys. Makes you wonder if they could have put out an equally good Alpha or VF had they designed it on their own, rather than adapting an existing design.

Speaking of Toynami, I recently picked up an MPC Cyclone. I think that might be the most amazing transforming toy design I've ever seen. The transformation for that thing is insane -- it must have been a nightmare to design. I love the little touches that made it seem more authentic -- in particular the pistons/suspension parts that link the forearm armor to the main body, and how the leg armor attaches to the thigh pieces, it reminds you that it's supposed to be a powered armor suit. I thought the Gakken ride armor toy had a complex transformation, but this thing is on another level.

[Benson13]

Which one did you get? Scott or Rand?

[SuperSenpai]

I got the Rand model. It's nearly impossible to find the Scott model for what I'd consider to be a reasonable price these days. As far as I can tell, the only differences between the Rand and Scott models are the head sculpts, forearm armor, and under armor fabric colors, but the Rand is a few hundred dollars cheaper. Besides I already have a Scott/Stick Gakken ride armor, so I feel like he's represented in my collection.

Edited April 12, 2013 by SuperSenpai

[glane21]

In the last few days the Toynami Rand Masterpiece Cyclone has jumped from an average price of $150 to $250 or more everywhere that still has them on ebay and amazon. Robotech.com has raised it up to $199, looks like they have 6 left.

[SuperSenpai]

Whoa, you're right. I picked up mine off of Amazon for around $150 with free two-day shipping thanks to Amazon Prime. Looks like I picked a good time, since it was just before the price increases. Usually Amazon indicates that it will get a restock whenever supplies are running low, but for the MPC Cyclones, the page simply points the buyers to 3rd party Amazon sellers. Not a good sign that there will be a resupply. These sellers probably got wind of the fact that there's not going to be a restock of these things, so whatever stock they have left is all they'll be able to sell.

On the other hand, everyone seems eager to dump their stock of Betas. I've seen plenty of steep discounts for the Betas online. I think BBTS is selling them for under $100.

I just checked out the store at Robotech.com -- that place is a ghost town. If they don't plan to restock any of those items (and it looks like some of things have been out of stock for quite some time), they really need to revise the store pages and remove the links for out-of-production items. It just looks pathetic to have a online store with a bunch of dead links -- the online equivalent of a run-down strip mall with boarded up storefronts.

Edited April 12, 2013 by SuperSenpai

[blackconvoy_D01]

Whoa, you're right. I picked up mine off of Amazon for around $150 with free two-day shipping thanks to Amazon Prime. Looks like I picked a good time, since it was just before the price increases. Usually Amazon indicates that it will get a restock whenever supplies are running low, but for the MPC Cyclones, the page simply points the buyers to 3rd party Amazon sellers. Not a good sign that there will be a resupply. These sellers probably got wind of the fact that there's not going to be a restock of these things, so whatever stock they have left is all they'll be able to sell.

On the other hand, everyone seems eager to dump their stock of Betas. I've seen plenty of steep discounts for the Betas online. I think BBTS is selling them for under $100.

I just checked out the store at Robotech.com -- that place is a ghost town. If they don't plan to restock any of those items (and it looks like some of things have been out of stock for quite some time), they really need to revise the store pages and remove the links for out-of-production items. It just looks pathetic to have a online store with a bunch of dead links -- the online equivalent of a run-down strip mall with boarded up storefronts.

Guess the shadow beta is scrapped too then.

[JetJockey]

Sadly, finances have been limited so toy purchases have been pretty heavily limited.

I remember my Gakken going for a surprising amount even without the box and not in mint condition. I was shocked.

The Gakkens were amazing back in the day but I prefer the Toynami/Aoshima version as far as looks. If they retooled that toy to match the Beta/tread that matches up to it I would be so happy. I have the CM also but the Alpha is a floppy mess.

That middle floppy area was another thing that upset me about the Gakken.

In the last few days the Toynami Rand Masterpiece Cyclone has jumped from an average price of $150 to $250 or more everywhere that still has them on ebay and amazon. Robotech.com has raised it up to $199, looks like they have 6 left.

I'm always tempted to get the Scott or Rand versions. But I just can't accept them since I wanted the Rook version sooo much. Plus, I just remember being down right angry at the first Scott Cyclone toy. I can't remember the company's name. But it would always break and crumble.

[RD Blade]

I'm always tempted to get the Scott or Rand versions. But I just can't accept them since I wanted the Rook version sooo much. Plus, I just remember being down right angry at the first Scott Cyclone toy. I can't remember the company's name. But it would always break and crumble.

Are you referring to the vintage Cyclone from the 80's? Never heard of those going brittle. If not, you must mean the CM's Corp Ride Armors. The one I have broke at the arm joint. It has since been glued at the cost of articulation.

[JetJockey]

Are you referring to the vintage Cyclone from the 80's? Never heard of those going brittle. If not, you must mean the CM's Corp Ride Armors. The one I have broke at the arm joint. It has since been glued at the cost of articulation.

This one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Robotech-Scott-Bernard-Cyclone-/251249651099?pt=US_Action_Figures&hash=item3a7fa56d9b

I'm getting angry just looking at it. Maybe I was just rough with my toys. But this toy always made me angry. Pieces would fall off. It certainly wasn't as cool as in the show. Or any of the Yamato valkyries which I love. Or the little mini veritechs which came out at the time. I still have a few of those boxed away.

[Hoptimus]

Hmm I remember the large Gakken Mospeada/Cyclone was pretty good. Not very posable though. The one that was crap was the Tiny Gakken Variable Cyclones. Those were pretty forgettable.

[niomosy]

I have three of those tiny Gakken Cyclones. They're pretty much crap. The larger one is good but I'm pretty careful with it as it seems a finicky piece. I'd love to pick up an MPC cyclone but for now the priority is a Beta, then possibly a Blowsuperior.

If I can find them cheap enough, some of the variable Cyclone models are also on the list as the eldest little one has been having fun putting together the Gundam models I got for my birthday in the 90's (but never bothered to put together). Sadly, even at the cheap prices I've seen for some of them, I get to wait

As to the comments about Robotech.com, it's not only sad in the shopping area. The forums have gotten pretty damn quiet as well. I admit, I haven't been poking in very often to avoid encouraging my Toy Acquisition Syndrome but wow it's a ghost town now.

[SuperSenpai]

The Gakken Cyclones are good, well-designed, quality toys if the customers are adult collectors. But I think they suffered from the problem of being bought by the wrong audience when they were originally released. The original customers were mostly kids, and it may well have been aimed at kids, but it most certainly should not have been a kid's toy. The transformation is too complicated for a kid's toy, many of the moving parts are likely to break with a typical child's handling, and the lack of articulation in armor mode doesn't make it very playable. Compared with a typical Transformer from that era, the Gakken doesn't fare well. In fact, according to anymoon.com, the original designer of the Gakken Cyclone was fired for its poor sales -- not in small part due to these same reasons, I'd imagine.

However, in comparison to other toys aimed at collectors, I think the Gakken fares very well. The transformation, though complicated, is rather ingenious for a toy/mecha whose transformation is not at all intuitive. It's also fairly sturdy in comparison to other toys aimed at collectors (I'm looking at you, MPC Alphas). You have to keep in mind, these things are 30 year old toys, and it's fairly uncommon to find one these days that hasn't been played with at all, so that should also be taken into when evaluating their sturdiness.

The Gakken Cyclones really were ahead of their time, IMO.

[niomosy]

The transformation certainly is complicated. I can see where this being geared toward kids would have problems. It's been an item I've not let near kids. Still, even as an adult, I'm quite careful with this. Perhaps it's just the one I've got but movements can be finicky and keeping certain elements in place isn't necessarily easy. It's certainly more of a display piece that happens to be able to transform than a toy.

[JetJockey]

The Gakken Cyclones are good, well-designed, quality toys if the customers are adult collectors. But I think they suffered from the problem of being bought by the wrong audience when they were originally released. The original customers were mostly kids, and it may well have been aimed at kids, but it most certainly should not have been a kid's toy. The transformation is too complicated for a kid's toy, many of the moving parts are likely to break with a typical child's handling, and the lack of articulation in armor mode doesn't make it very playable. Compared with a typical Transformer from that era, the Gakken doesn't fare well.

I believe this explains everything. I'm remembering more now. My Cyclone always had that piece of armor on the hip/leg area fall off when I moved the leg. It didn't stand well if at all. The locking mechanism on the wheel axle was always loose it seemed in armor mode and wouldn't stay in position. I hated the sound of the plastic on the toy/model.

Compared to the simplicity of the super deformed veritech this Cyclone was terrible to me.

Edited April 17, 2013 by JetJockey

[niomosy]

I believe this explains everything. I'm remembering more now. My Cyclone always had that piece of armor on the hip/leg area fall off when I moved the leg. It didn't stand well if at all. The locking mechanism on the wheel axle was always loose it seemed in armor mode and wouldn't stay in position. I hated the sound of the plastic on the toy/model.

Compared to the simplicity of the super deformed veritech this Cyclone was terrible to me.

This is about right. Keeping it standing isn't too bad. That or I've just gotten used to finding the sweet spot. The hip and leg pieces, though. That always gets me. I'll move it from one spot to another. One of those little pieces falls off. The wheels for me have been decent in armor mode thus far so I can't complain but I also can go a year easily without touching it which probably helps.

[Gakken85]

I think the Toynomi's took too many liberties with the design and had too many quality control issues.

And I still don't think it looks better than the Gakken offering.

I like the Toynomi beta though. It's a decent toy.

[DarrinG]

Gabby?

Didn't he throw hot soup on someone he didn't like? Always thought that part was funny...

https://www.rinkya.com/en/auction-d143240191

[niomosy]

I think the Toynomi's took too many liberties with the design and had too many quality control issues.

And I still don't think it looks better than the Gakken offering.

I like the Toynomi beta though. It's a decent toy.

This is good to hear. I'll probably be picking one up pretty soon to go with my sole MPC Alpha.

[DarrinG]

The Toynami Beta's whole waist an hip area needs re-worked / re-thought, although I like the sculpt of the toy a lot...

[niomosy]

The Toynami Beta's whole waist an hip area needs re-worked / re-thought, although I like the sculpt of the toy a lot...

That shouldn't be too bad, then. My blue Alpha has held up pretty well over the years so the Beta's shortcomings shouldn't be a huge deal.

Though, I am tempted. There's been a lot of Aoshima Legioss/Tread combos up for sale pretty cheap. I kind of want to get one just to check it out.

[Major Focker]

is this what i think it is?

seen at Treasure-Festa 2013

[jenius]

I wish that picture would load for me.

[EXO]

It's a badly proportioned Horizont.

[Lobizon]

I wish that picture would load for me.

[jenius]

That's neat enough, thanks Lobizon.

[Major Focker]

so google gave me this: Horizont= ホリゾント

is this the correct kanji? want to hunt it down. welcome any other search terms i can use to find it, or any leads as to who makes it and where to buy.

thanks.

[EXO]

so google gave me this: Horizont= ホリゾント

is this the correct kanji? want to hunt it down. welcome any other search terms i can use to find it, or any leads as to who makes it and where to buy.

thanks.

The maker of that kit is Model Replica Design. But your best bet is either sending tokyo hunter an email (not a PM) or looking for it on YahooJapan Auctions because they do not take outside requests. They get their licenses for special events.

http://mrd-3d.com/anime/horizont.html