Mospeada

[derex3592]

I dunno.....I still like the Beagle versions better. And to be honest, I don't feel like buying one, possibly two new bikes, and then having them flake out on the BEST two, the Blowsperior and Bartley..

[jenius]

Well the Beagle is pretty epic, we'll need to see more of the Sentinel to judge better. I'd bet the Sentinel will have a better transformation and hopefully they learned how to do the suit better. 

Edited August 3, 2017 by jenius

[derex3592]

I will concede wholeheartedly that the Beagle transformation is .... difficult..to say the least.  I've only done both mine like 3 times...over a year apart at least, and each and every time I have to refer to videos and set aside at LEAST one hour per bike...and usually an alcoholic beverage or two! 

Edited August 3, 2017 by derex3592

[Convectuoso]

I think no ride armor figure has a simple transformation

[505thAirborne]

19 minutes ago, Convectuoso said:

I think no ride armor figure has a simple transformation

The old 1/8 Gakken Ride Armors were & still are very simple to transform. (3 minutes tops). 

The Beagle on the other hand, I attempted one transformation and then put mine back to bike mode where it stayed. Way to complicated for its own good. 

[Mechapilot77]

wonder if the sentinel can stand without the included stand propping it up.  hope so.  minimally make the stand out of clear plastic FFS.  not everyone standing the figure up to a black background to take pictures.  or maybe leave it super visible and we see where "stick" gets his name.  lol.   

[davidwhangchoi]

i need a price on these 1/12's!!!!!

[Convectuoso]

1 hour ago, 505thAirborne said:

The old 1/8 Gakken Ride Armors were & still are very simple to transform. (3 minutes tops). 

The Beagle on the other hand, I attempted one transformation and then put mine back to bike mode where it stayed. Way to complicated for its own good. 

I never had a Gakken. Just the CM's and Megahouse ones

[no3Ljm]

36 minutes ago, Mechapilot77 said:

wonder if the sentinel can stand without the included stand propping it up.  hope so.  minimally make the stand out of clear plastic FFS.  not everyone standing the figure up to a black background to take pictures.  or maybe leave it super visible and we see where "stick" gets his name.  lol.   

I'm sure Yeti will make a clear one once this is out.

25 minutes ago, davidwhangchoi said:

i need a price on these 1/12's!!!!!

+1 Me too! I'm not going to judge the price. I just need a headsup how much should I save. 

 

[jenius]

I wonder if we have to wait for winter WonderFest?

[505thAirborne]

28 minutes ago, Convectuoso said:

I never had a Gakken. Just the CM's and Megahouse ones

You'd like the Gakken, even though they're a bit dated. Easy as sin to transform and solid. Just not very poseable or detailed like the Beagles are.  

[danth]

I had to transform my Beagle this weekend to get it back into the box. It took a while...

[Tober]

'Perfect transformation' is an ovrrated concept/gimmick to me now. The Beagle elbowps just prove the point to me.

The Beagle could stand without support if the hips were pushed forward. Or very carefully posed.

I'm optimistic for more ride armors fron Sentinel, but beyong Rey's, I don't think there is any official artwork for them.

[JetJockey]

I like transformable vehicles to transform. But I don't care if they or I can do it quickly. I would prefer that they are solid and well built before quickly transformable. Most of my transformable toys stay in one form. I'll rarely switch up unless I'm changing the whole display.

 

If they made the whole team, they will probably stay in bike form except for Lancer just because I love those sabers and the artwork of it in the Robotech books.

[Slave IV]

On 8/2/2017 at 10:13 AM, jenius said:

Yeah... that looks like a glorified doll stand, I don't think you'll get flying poses unless there are some tricks up its sleeves. 

For those that aren't familiar with Sentinal figures, they often come with several stand options including a metal post for flight poses. Like this:

 

I'm not too concerned about the figure standing and the stand options it comes with...Sentinel preoducts are pretty damn good...probably one of the best and quickly becoming one of my favorite companies. I did ask @ChaoticYeti if he could make an adapter for the Sentinel Re:Edit Hulkbuster a while ago but didn't follow up. I'm sure it would be easy for him.

[Hiriyu]

The Gakken 1/8 is a great toy, still well worth picking up even if you have newer versions of ride armor.

[Giantman]

What are the release date on the new ride armors?  Also, does this mean that Figma, Sentinel, and Riobot are all releasing ride armors?  Or am I missing something?

[Lorindor]

1 hour ago, Giantman said:

What are the release date on the new ride armors?  Also, does this mean that Figma, Sentinel, and Riobot are all releasing ride armors?  Or am I missing something?

Sentinel is the company, Riobot is their toy line. Weren't the Figmas a hoax or have I just completely forgot about them? There's also the Kid's Logic statue, Coleco's hinted retro figures and KitzConcept's hinted toys, if you count the ones from HG's licensees.

Edited August 12, 2017 by Lorindor

[Tober]

10 minutes ago, Lorindor said:

Sentinel is the company, Riobot is their toy line. Weren't the Figmas a hoax or have I just completely forgot about them? There's also the Kid's Logic statue, Coleco's hinted retro figures and KitzConcept's hinted toys, if you count the ones from HG's licensees.

MOSPEADA and a Motoslave were included amongst figma's "planned releases" at Winter Wonderfest 6 months ago. There was no sign of them at Summer Wonderfest a few weeks ago, that I know of.

[Lorindor]

21 minutes ago, Tober said:

MOSPEADA and a Motoslave were included amongst figma's "planned releases" at Winter Wonderfest 6 months ago. There was no sign of them at Summer Wonderfest a few weeks ago, that I know of.

Right, I googled it now and the memory is returning. But there has been just one teaser image? No wonder that I forgot then. 

[arbit]

Have we seen updated images of the cyclone in bike mode?

[seti88]

Nope, really awaiting those pics...maybe end of the month at C3 Tokyo perhaps?

dang checked the exhibitors list and it doesnt seem to have sentinel..

Edited August 13, 2017 by seti88

[JetJockey]

On 8/12/2017 at 6:17 AM, Tober said:

MOSPEADA and a Motoslave were included amongst figma's "planned releases" at Winter Wonderfest 6 months ago. There was no sign of them at Summer Wonderfest a few weeks ago, that I know of.

I didn't see any Mospeada or Bubblegum Crisis Figma news either. You would think when they show the fact that they are working on it at one show, we would get some kind of update or prototype by the next show.

[SuperHobo]

1 hour ago, JetJockey said:

I didn't see any Mospeada or Bubblegum Crisis Figma news either. You would think when they show the fact that they are working on it at one show, we would get some kind of update or prototype by the next show.

Usually when Goodsmile posts one of the art cards on the wall of future releases a physical prototype reveal can take quite a while and I would probably expect to finally see something during winter wonderfest of next year. 

[tekering]

So, while we wait for information on new merchandise, how about a look at a classic Mospeada model kit?

Imai's 1:12 variable-type [sic] VR-041H "BLOWSPERIOR" comes in a surprisingly large box, adorned with the usual gorgeous paintings and bullshit English text --

What?  You didn't realize "Blowsperior" was a mistake?  Seriously?

Well, it should come as no surprise that Shinji Aramaki is a vintage motorcycle enthusiast, and that he named Yellow's specialized ride armor after a high-end line of British motorcycles designed by George Brough.  The "Brough Superior" was the first sports bike, and Brough Superior motorcycles are still prized by collectors to this day.

It galls me that, after three and-a-half decades of advancement in the field of information technology, fans around the world continue to refer to the VR-041H as a "blowsuperior," years after we've learned "Stick" is actually Stig (a Scandinavian name) and "Fuke Eroze" is supposed to be Hoquet et Rose (a French name).  Tatsunoko marketing execs in 1983 were only concerned with the Japanese market, and had no Internet access; you have no such excuses, so knock it off.  It's Brough, not "blow."

Got it?

Good.

Anyway, despite the wide variety of Mospeada toys produced over the last 35 years, this vintage kit remains the most accurate rendition of the Brough Superior released (since Beagle folded before putting their version into production).  Let's take a look inside the box, shall we?

There are numerous parts on multiple sprues (over 150 parts, all told), including real rubber tires, die-cast metal joints, screws and springs.  Since it's designed to be transformable, there are a lot of complex moving parts to assemble.

Another mistake on the packaging is where it says "simplified construction for easy assembly," 'cause it's not.  The instructions are sometimes inadequate (especially if you can't read Japanese!), making for a difficult build, even for someone with considerable modeling experience.  In some cases, you've just gotta muddle your way through and figure it out as best you can.

There are points in the instruction manual where Mospeada characters provide advice, but it's not particularly helpful:

For example, Hoquet's word balloon says "Be careful not to lose those tiny parts."  Good advice, sure, but not very informative.  

Once you get it together, though, it really looks the part.  

The figure and bike are both well-proportioned (look at the size of those tires!), but articulation is somewhat limiting.  There's no elbow or thigh swivel -- just a rather restrictive hinge -- making it difficult to get a good riding pose, and no up-or-down movement for the head, either.  Before I complete any of the subassemblies properly, I'll definitely be adding additional ball joints to bring the articulation up to modern standards.

It's not easy, but you can get the ride armor to stand unassisted if you find the right pose.  It's back-heavy, of course (like any Mospeada ride-armor), but not inordinately so.

Forgive the crude assembly; I'm just figuring out how everything fits together, and which parts will need painting first.

At 1:12 scale, it sits right between the 1:15 Megahouse toys (R) and the 1:10 Beagle (L).  I was hoping for parts a little bigger -- to kit-bash a custom Beagle Brough Superior -- but I just don't think the scales are compatible.

The boots would definitely be an improvement over those dainty Beagle legs, however!

It's important to remember that this isn't a toy, and you have to be really gentle with some of the joints.  It's designed to be transformable, but given the fragility and the potential for paint rub, I'd advise against transforming it once it's completed.  You should probably decide what mode you want to display it in before you build it, and keep it that way.

Of course, having said that, I'm gonna have a hard time deciding which mode I prefer...!  

I managed to acquire this kit for about $30 USD shipped -- twice its original retail value, sure, but still a steal for such a large and complex model.  If you're an experienced modeler -- and you can find it for a decent price -- I highly recommend getting one.  It's gonna look awesome once I'm done with it.  

[Lorindor]

34 minutes ago, tekering said:

"Stick" is actually Stig 

I see this sometimes as an alternative to Stick, but I didn't know it was official. Where does this information come from?

But that's neat! One of my middle names is Stig. But then I'm pretty sure they pronounce it wrong in the show. It's supposed to be a long i-sound ("ee" for English speakers).

Edited August 17, 2017 by Lorindor

[tekering]

Oh, we've known about Stig for years... Tatsunoko was actually really into European names back then.  Look at the cast of Southern Cross, for example:

Jeanne Fránçaix, Louis Ducasse, Claude Leon, Marie Angel, Charles de l'etoile (French)

Lana Isavia (Scandinavian)

Seifriet Weiße (German)

Andrzej Sławski (Polish)

The only American name among the principals is Bowie Emerson... and he's named after a knife.  

[SuperSenpai]

I like the proportions on that Blowsperior kit, especially the legs.  The Beagle toy generally has a good sculpt, and the legs look decent when the rider is not armored up, but they look to skinny in proportion to the rest of the toy in armor mode.  Whereas the Gakken toy has the opposite problem -- in armor mode, everything looks about right (if a bit boxy or bulky), but without armor the rider's legs look ridiculously huge.  The Blowsperior kit splits the difference pretty well.

[Chas]

1:12 and 1:15 are nice, but this custom 1:6  Mospeada blows my mind. I love this fellas blog,

Here's a youtube vid to wet your appetites.

 

Edited August 17, 2017 by Chas
typo

[jenius]

 thanks for the review Tekering, being a non modeler I'm always curious about the models. 

[no3Ljm]

7 hours ago, tekering said:

At 1:12 scale, it sits right between the 1:15 Megahouse toys (R) and the 1:10 Beagle (L).  I was hoping for parts a little bigger -- to kit-bash a custom Beagle Brough Superior -- but I just don't think the scales are compatible.

Great review, Tekering.  

I think it will work fine for kitbashing since @Alex already did it before. Here's some photos he posted.

Too bad he already sold both of his Yellow and Rook's Beagle Customs.

 

[captain america]

I see that Ted has discovered the wonderful, "full-range" joints of the archaic Imai kit. The limitations of the build aside, it also has some very inhuman proportions to contend with. If I had the time, I would start with a 1/6 figure and build all the armor and bike around the figure. Nevertheless, I admire your work and look forward to seeing you transform that old kit into something dazzling!

[derex3592]

1 hour ago, no3Ljm said:

Great review, Tekering.  

I think it will work fine for kitbashing since @Alex already did it before. Here's some photos he posted.

Too bad he already sold both of his Yellow and Rook's Beagle Customs.

 

*siiiiiiiiiiigggggggggghhhhhhhh*...if only....

[tekering]

7 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

I think it will work fine for kitbashing since @Alex already did it before. Here's some photos he posted.

On the contrary, you've confirmed my initial assumption; those model kit parts are definitely too small for the Beagle frame.  

Thanks for re-posting the pics, though.  

6 hours ago, captain america said:

The limitations of the build aside, it also has some very inhuman proportions to contend with.

Actually, given Yoshitaka Amano's impossibly skinny transvestite Yellow Belmont, I'd say the proportions aren't inhuman enough.  

But yeah, it definitely needs work.

9 hours ago, Chas said:

1:12 and 1:15 are nice, but this custom 1:6 Mospeada blows my mind.

By the power of Grayskull!  

The weathering's a little over-the-top, but proportions and detailing are top-notch.  Glorious.

Kinda makes you wonder how Kids Logic managed to frakk up their 1:4 statue so badly, eh?

[Convectuoso]

I had that Blowsperior kit. I didn't feel confident on building it, so I asked my uncle, who is an expert model builder, to put it together for me. 

Unfortunately, he thought adding lights to the bike was much cooler than a transforming bike, so now I have an expensive transformable kit which can't transform into Armor mode