GobotFool Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 (edited) The title says it all. I have seen varying pictures, in some the figure looks great, in others horrid, for those who actually own one, your impressions? Does anyone here own one? Or at least has anyone here seen one IRL? I don't mean the Panzer Cop from Yamato/Dragon figures, I have seen those and they are amazing looking IMHO. Edited February 10, 2004 by GobotFool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoBe-Patt Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 man, I wish I had the medicom one. I only got the dragon one. The medicom one has got to be like 200+ bucks by now. I was looking at the auctions for those last year and those went through the roof with prices!! Good luck finding one! I'm just happy to have the dragon one. I still do want to get the light up eyes version though. So if anybody knows where I can get one for cheap, drop me a PM!!! Thanx!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drifand Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 (edited) The Medicom 1/6 Jin-Roh is very accurate to the ANIME film, but having it pose nicely depends on a couple of factors. 1. The parts have nice molding/sculpts, but the 12" figure underneath is barebones. ie. lousy poseability. The knees and elbows can't even go beyond 90-degrees. So that leaves 'straight-up' stances only. 2. The figure includes 2 right forearms (closed fist and gun-holding) and 1 left forearm (closed fist). ie. No super 2-handed MG-42 firing action ala from the anime. Only one-handed gun-toting pose. 3. Includes a very accurate sculpt of the unmasked Fuse as well as the fully goggled head. Trick is to fully insert the selected head into the neck joint. Failure to do so means the head bobs too high - making the figure look more cartoony than menacing. The masked head has its googles painted a bright red. If you ask me, I think they look just fine and are more practical than tricky 'light up' gimmicks in the Kerberos version. The breathing hose is a piece of coiled metal spring, which flexes nicely when you position the head to the left or right. If you live in the tropics, the hose might rust! 4. If you're like me and prefer the fully masked head, be aware that the helmet is a separate piece and may sit 'too low' over the head if used 'as is'. Real-life helmets usually have some kind of padding to leave about a 1-inch gap between the inner surface and your skull. I chose to put some black electrical tape 'padding' of my own to: a) prop up the helmet above the head, and b) help keep the helmet in position with the rim just above the googles. 5. The provided MG-42 is a 3-part affair, requiring you to use your own pin & glue to join the ABS halves plus the white-metal bipod. The completed gun is actually quite heavy and the provided hand can barely hold it properly. What's really sad is the supplied 'ammo belt' which is all PVC and not even cut to shape. What I mean is the whole strip of bullets includes a thick flange of excess PVC mold all around it. Bad, bad, bad. Solution is to buy the beautifully detailed Dragon Models 1/6 MG-42 with either the nicely molded PVC ammo-belt, or the more limited version with individual diecast bullets inserted into a plastic chain-link belt. Go for the metal bullet version - you won't regret it! (It's also the same version provided in the Dragon Models Kerberos Panzer Cops figure) 6. The included backpack comes with no antenna and no way to attach to the chest armor! I had to drill corresponding holes and insert plastic pegs to attach the back pack. I also cut a piece of hobby wire and inserted it for the antenna. Also, if you want to complete the 'look' with the ammo belt coming out of the pack and clipped onto the front of the armor, you CAN'T do it with the supplied crap ammo-belt. I did a custom job with the metal-ammo from the separate MG-42... One other thing I found lacking in the figure is the 'translucency' of the PVC parts. The helmet is molded in black but if you shine a bright enough spot light on it, it is clearly not 'solid' looking enough. For this minor problem, I simply painted the inner surface with an opaque marker (black, of course). I was seriously considering removing the whole costume to replace the crap body with one of those modern ones by bbi or Dragon Models. Unfortunately, several pieces of the armor (body and legs) are superglued together as part of the assembly. I don't have the confidence to remove them cleanly without causing any damage, so I scrapped the plan and stuck with what I have. If all this sounds like too much work, it is. Medicom charged a premium price for a Japan-only mail away collector's figure, but all the 'value' goes into the detailed molding (which probably came from the older Kaiyodo vinyl kit anyway), and the 'exclusivity' of the figure. The lack of a proper supporting left-arm for the firing pose is a real let-down. Still... it's probably the largest and best looking Jin-Roh figure you could own (for now), unless you're happy with the smaller Kaiyodo action figure. Here's the Jinroh and Kerberos with my other 1/6 figures... And a pic from my old TBDX Rumble on the Kerberos... Edited February 10, 2004 by drifand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_vandermeer Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 Great critique Drifand. I remember your article and the great pics from TBDX too. In any case, it looks good to me, but i do wish Dragon would get the opportunity to take a crack at it. I wonder why they haven't? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppy Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 Drifand, that article was what made me seek out and buy the Panzer Cop! I have the Dragon version and it is truly amazing. if you see it, BUY IT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GobotFool Posted February 10, 2004 Author Share Posted February 10, 2004 Thanks for the review Drifand. It looks good, to bad its so rare these days. I think I'll just settle for the Dragon Kerberos for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Lord Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 (edited) Drifand, that article was what made me seek out and buy the Panzer Cop!I have the Dragon version and it is truly amazing. if you see it, BUY IT! DITTO! Joe P. Edited February 10, 2004 by Dragon Lord Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drifand Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 Glad to know you folks managed to get the Kerberos version at least! I'm also hoping that Dragon will do a similar take for Jin-Roh... Maybe the licensing is an issue? I don't know about eBay listings for the Medicom Jin-Roh, but I still see one or two for sale in Singapore. Not cheap... at least S$250 or US$150, MIB. I also recall some of the earlier Medicom Kerberos figures going for really insane prices, like S$600(!) each. Competition is a Good Thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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