Mechamaniac Posted February 23, 2004 Posted February 23, 2004 OK, here's the brief rundown...pics to follow... Where and how much Place - Target Price - $19.99 Size Toy height - 7.75 inches Actual height - 19.2 meters Resulting scale - 1/98 (ok close enough to 1/100) Materials, Finish & Detailing Materials - PVC of varying thickness. Color - Same coral pink color as the motorized Char's Zaku Detailing - Very little, some shading in certain parts. Finish - OK, some color inconsistencies in the light coral color. Panel lining is almost NIL, (except on thet hands) and there is very little weathering of any other type. There are clusters of thrusters under the rear armor plate, and under the calf armor plates as well. These look OK, and are painted in color to simulate flame coming out of them, but they are mounted on a single bar, and the joint does not support their weight, so in short, they cannot be moved much beyond where they hang. Also, the thrusters are not on individual ball joints, so they are frozen where they are. Durability & Poseability - The main durability problem that I see is with the waist joint. It has an internal joint that allows for some downward motion of the upper torso on either side. The problem with this is when you attach the shield to the left arm, it drags the left side of the body down as long as the shield is attached. I will attempt to open the body up and see if I can tighten the joint. Other than that, it seems as durable as the other Arch Enemy toys. Obviously, due to the large flared leg armors on the Zaku suits, you don't get the solid cast legs that the Gundams and the Tallgeese III had, but it's pretty solid overall. Poseability is OK. Legs - The ankles can rotate a full 360 degrees horizontally, and they have sufficient side to side movement as well. The tops of the thighs can only twist about 20 degrees outward due to the flaring on the hip armor. The knees are standard 90 degree backwards bending only. Shoulders, Arms, and Wrists - The shoulders are pretty much standard, they will rotate a full 360 degrees. The elbows are much the same as the knees, offering 90 degree forward bend only. There is no rotation at the elbow joints, but full 360 degree rotation at the tops of the arms under the shoulder joint, so you can achieve a nice cross the body pose with the rifle. Accessories Shield - Attaches to the left arm. The mounting point on the shield will rotate 360 degrees. There is also a spare shield attachment that stores the Beam Sword hilt, and mounts the shield on the back of the toy/ Spare hands - The standard hands are typical balled fists, but there are spare left and right hands that are molded open with extended trigger fingers that actually match the trigger position on the rifle. The open hands are bendable enough to allow for a grip in the barrel of the rifle etc. Twin Beam Sword - A little Darth Maul action here, the handle is independent of the blades which are swappable. You can have either the curved naginata style blades inserted into each end., or a single flared type blade in one end. The Beam Sword Hilt stores on an opening clip on the rear armor plate. Beam Rifle/Beam bazooka - What can you say, they're guns, one little, one big. One thing to note that is nice about the Beam Bazooka is that the pistol grip rotates downward about 45 degrees so that the hand can hold the grip and the bazooka can be mounted on the shoulder!. The sight actually comes on line with the mono eye when this is done, a pretty nice touch IMHO. Backpack - Nothing too special here. Overall, a very nice toy for $20.00. Weathering and detailing does not come even close to any of the other Arch Enemy releases, and I really don't like the coral pink color, but overall, very much worth the money. Pics to follow, and will accept Pic requests.... Quote
Mechamaniac Posted February 23, 2004 Author Posted February 23, 2004 OK, pics now... No, the markings are not standard, they are leftover Stickers from a PG Zaku. But, I tried to do one where you can see most of the accessories, so here's the Gelgoog "loaded for bear" so to speak. And here's the back image... Quote
Vostok 7 Posted February 23, 2004 Posted February 23, 2004 Bleh, once again I am turned off on a toy because it's painted Char's Gay Pink. Good thing paint is readily available Other than that it looks decent. I'll pick one up just 'cause. Vostok 7 Quote
Montarvillois Posted February 23, 2004 Posted February 23, 2004 Looks like a transgenic experiment between a chicken and a blender to me... Never been a big fan of gelgoogs Quote
Stamen0083 Posted February 23, 2004 Posted February 23, 2004 Bah. I don't understand Bandai's fascination with retro ugliness. I've said it for the Arch-Enemy Rx-78-2, and I'll say it again: No way in hell are those things ever coming anywhere near my room. And this, folks, comes from a fan of the Rx-78-2. Quote
Anubis Posted February 23, 2004 Posted February 23, 2004 If it was red, and not pink, I'd run out and buy it. As it stands, unfortunately no. My HGUC Gelgood Marine will suffice. Quote
Sebastian Posted February 23, 2004 Posted February 23, 2004 I have the Talgesee III from this line and I REALLY love it! The details, paint job and weathering is amazing for a 20 US$ toy. Also the size, poseability... It looks like a Fix line toy should been made. The only bad thing is there is not marking, but ho well. Anyways, this new release looks like a resized MSIA, too bad BanDai is screwing with this line. Quote
Jolly Rogers Posted February 23, 2004 Posted February 23, 2004 Based on your review it sounds like a major step down from the MG (whereas the RX-78 was at least close enough to the MG). Wasn't the beam bazooka meant for the Rick Dom series? WTF is it doing with a Gelgoog anyway? Quote
Mechamaniac Posted February 23, 2004 Author Posted February 23, 2004 Well, all in all, it really is a very solid, and nice toy. My major gripes with it are the color, and the lack of detailing that as Anubis said, was so damned good on the Tallgeese III, and the Wing Gundam, and even the RX-78 2. I think this one suffers from a bad color more than anything. In my pics, you can see that they did weather the thing, but only with a slightly darker shade of faggy pink, which as you can see only comes out under direct and very bright light, like the flash of my digicam. In short, it is a great toy, well worth the bucks, especially with all the accessories, but the paint job is lame, and IMHO, I shouldn't have to cannibalize old Zeon kits for a Zeon logo here and there... Quote
Apollo Leader Posted February 23, 2004 Posted February 23, 2004 (edited) Looks like I'll be paying the local Targets a visit in the next week or so. Edited February 23, 2004 by Apollo Leader Quote
Isamu Atreides 86 Posted February 23, 2004 Posted February 23, 2004 *patiently waits for Ez-8 and Gouf Flight/Custom Arch Enemy series* Quote
Anubis Posted February 23, 2004 Posted February 23, 2004 Thing is, the MG version also had a rather crappy color. My brother has one, and if there's a MG that could use a paint job, it's that one IMO. I'm still waiting for a MG Gelgoog Marine, which is the only Gelgoog I really like. Quote
Mechamaniac Posted February 23, 2004 Author Posted February 23, 2004 *patiently waits for Ez-8 and Gouf Flight/Custom Arch Enemy series* LOL, and at the rate they're going, we'll only have to wait another two years for them! Quote
Isamu Atreides 86 Posted February 23, 2004 Posted February 23, 2004 *patiently waits for Ez-8 and Gouf Flight/Custom Arch Enemy series* Â LOL, and at the rate they're going, we'll only have to wait another two years for them! *weeps bitterly* as long as they make them someday, and Bandai gets off its ass and finally makes a Gouf Flight MG, i'll be okay. If not, i may have to nuke Bandai from orbit.... ...its the only way to be sure. Quote
Vostok 7 Posted February 23, 2004 Posted February 23, 2004 *patiently waits for Ez-8 and Gouf Flight/Custom Arch Enemy series* Â LOL, and at the rate they're going, we'll only have to wait another two years for them! *weeps bitterly* as long as they make them someday, and Bandai gets off its ass and finally makes a Gouf Flight MG, i'll be okay. If not, i may have to nuke Bandai from orbit.... ...its the only way to be sure. Nuke? Nah. COLONY DROP!!! Vostok 7 Quote
NERV Posted February 23, 2004 Posted February 23, 2004 ew, they shudve used the newer style rx-78-2 and a green zaku not a flaming pink anything Quote
Jolly Rogers Posted February 23, 2004 Posted February 23, 2004 Thing is, the MG version also had a rather crappy color. My brother has one, and if there's a MG that could use a paint job, it's that one IMO. I'm still waiting for a MG Gelgoog Marine, which is the only Gelgoog I really like. The MG Gelgoogs have better articulation and details - even the boosters in the skirt are independently articulated, unlike this cheapo toy that looks cheap both on the outside and inside. Quote
Vostok 7 Posted February 23, 2004 Posted February 23, 2004 Didn't they release a second version (but not Version 2) of the MSIA Char's Zaku because it was that color pink? And yeah, I would have much rather seen an Arch Enemies with the RX-78-02 and MS-06 Zaku Char's Custom from The Origin. Vostok 7 Quote
NERV Posted February 23, 2004 Posted February 23, 2004 Didn't they release a second version (but not Version 2) of the MSIA Char's Zaku because it was that color pink? And yeah, I would have much rather seen an Arch Enemies with the RX-78-02 and MS-06 Zaku Char's Custom from The Origin. Vostok 7 i tohught the second release was more pink than the first? Quote
drifand Posted February 23, 2004 Posted February 23, 2004 I actually LIKE the slightly retro look of the AE Gundam... I mean, it's a good re-interpretation of the original design without becoming Katoki'd to death. Check out Tim Brisko's awesome shot of the AE RX-78 on the TBDX homepage! This one is a must-buy for me. As for the Gelgoog, I was hoping for more details... It looks like the old MSiA had more lines scribed onto it than the AE version. At least it'll be more poseable than the old brick of an MG! Guess I'll have to see the real thing before deciding to open the wallet. Quote
Anubis Posted February 23, 2004 Posted February 23, 2004 Thing is, the MG version also had a rather crappy color. My brother has one, and if there's a MG that could use a paint job, it's that one IMO. I'm still waiting for a MG Gelgoog Marine, which is the only Gelgoog I really like. The MG Gelgoogs have better articulation and details - even the boosters in the skirt are independently articulated, unlike this cheapo toy that looks cheap both on the outside and inside. Not to say the MG's didn't have good detail and mechanics. It even had accordioned ruber for the shoulder joint. Just the color of the Char's Gelgoog sucked is all. Quote
Vostok 7 Posted February 23, 2004 Posted February 23, 2004 i tohught the second release was more pink than the first? Not that I remember... I thought it was redder. From what I remember, the first release was really pink and then the second one was more red. Vostok 7 Quote
fulcy Posted February 23, 2004 Posted February 23, 2004 *patiently waits for Ez-8 and Gouf Flight/Custom Arch Enemy series* Â LOL, and at the rate they're going, we'll only have to wait another two years for them! *weeps bitterly* as long as they make them someday, and Bandai gets off its ass and finally makes a Gouf Flight MG, i'll be okay. If not, i may have to nuke Bandai from orbit.... ...its the only way to be sure. Be patient young one - once I get some time on my hands, that's my next project - to convert the HY2M Gouf into a Custom first, and then a Flight Type... Quote
Stamen0083 Posted February 23, 2004 Posted February 23, 2004 ...that's my next project - to convert the HY2M Gouf into a Custom first, and then a Flight Type... I don't do toys, so I don't know this well, but isn't there already a Gouf Custom HY2M? I know I saw a prototype shot of it somewhere. Quote
fulcy Posted February 23, 2004 Posted February 23, 2004 ...that's my next project - to convert the HY2M Gouf into a Custom first, and then a Flight Type... I don't do toys, so I don't know this well, but isn't there already a Gouf Custom HY2M? I know I saw a prototype shot of it somewhere. I dunno if there's a Gouf Custom HY2M - the Gouf released under the HY2M line was a normal Gouf, not the custom - though, someone may have beat me to the punch with the Gouf Custom conversion - unless you are talking about the POS Gouf Custom conversion for the PG - which I own, and have tried mating to the Gouf HY2M - it just don't work. Besides being a crappy sculpt and casting job, the armor pieces are too small to work on the HY2M... Quote
Stamen0083 Posted February 23, 2004 Posted February 23, 2004 I dunno if there's a Gouf Custom HY2M - the Gouf released under the HY2M line was a normal Gouf, not the custom - though, someone may have beat me to the punch with the Gouf Custom conversion - unless you are talking about the POS Gouf Custom conversion for the PG - which I own, and have tried mating to the Gouf HY2M - it just don't work. Besides being a crappy sculpt and casting job, the armor pieces are too small to work on the HY2M... No, I'm not talking about the conversion set for the PG Zaku. I stand corrected. I must have seen the prototype shot of the GS Gouf and its gorgeous line, and told myself that it must have been the Gouf Custom I saw, because the regular Gouf is ugly beyond hideous. I would love to see someone put the Flight Type designation on a GS Gouf, along with the proper design elements ;-) Quote
Mechamaniac Posted February 23, 2004 Author Posted February 23, 2004 ...that's my next project - to convert the HY2M Gouf into a Custom first, and then a Flight Type... I don't do toys, so I don't know this well, but isn't there already a Gouf Custom HY2M? I know I saw a prototype shot of it somewhere. I dunno if there's a Gouf Custom HY2M - the Gouf released under the HY2M line was a normal Gouf, not the custom - though, someone may have beat me to the punch with the Gouf Custom conversion - unless you are talking about the POS Gouf Custom conversion for the PG - which I own, and have tried mating to the Gouf HY2M - it just don't work. Besides being a crappy sculpt and casting job, the armor pieces are too small to work on the HY2M... Yup, what he said.... I have the PG Zaku, and the HY2M Gouf, and the Gouf is a good half inch taller than the Zaku. Even if that were a negligible difference, the proportions are different, IE, the calf sections are so much longer on the Gouf than on the Zaku, that there is no way to make it work. Quote
Isamu Atreides 86 Posted February 24, 2004 Posted February 24, 2004 *patiently waits for Ez-8 and Gouf Flight/Custom Arch Enemy series* Â LOL, and at the rate they're going, we'll only have to wait another two years for them! *weeps bitterly* as long as they make them someday, and Bandai gets off its ass and finally makes a Gouf Flight MG, i'll be okay. If not, i may have to nuke Bandai from orbit.... ...its the only way to be sure. Be patient young one - once I get some time on my hands, that's my next project - to convert the HY2M Gouf into a Custom first, and then a Flight Type... *bows down* that would own. please show pics if you do!!! Quote
Apollo Leader Posted February 24, 2004 Posted February 24, 2004 I didn't see Char's Gelgoog at the Target I stopped at this evening, but they did have some of the first HG Gundam Seed models... Quote
Stamen0083 Posted February 24, 2004 Posted February 24, 2004 ...they did have some of the first HG Gundam Seed models... Already!? The invasion begins! Hmm... What does this mean for my Astray? Quote
Blaine23 Posted February 24, 2004 Posted February 24, 2004 Thanks for the review, MM... I already know I won't be getting it, for the same reasons I haven't gotten any of the Archenemies releases... too damn small. The 12" version of Archenemies Wing Zero is awesome... I don't see why they don't just release them like that. But I do love to say... Gelgoog! Quote
Mechamaniac Posted February 25, 2004 Author Posted February 25, 2004 (edited) LOL, something wierd happened... I had the AA Gelgoog, and my MG Kampfer next to each other for scale, and my PG Zaku and MG Alex on the same shelf. All the Zeon figs were behind the Alex, which was a good couple of inches from the front of the shelf. Came in this morning to find the Alex on the floor!!. It has been standing in that postefor months with no problems (on a shelf full of Feddie suits). Only possible conclusion? - Those nasty Zeon kids pushed Alex off the shelf Hmm, maybe the toys really do come to life after I go to bed... Edited February 25, 2004 by Mechamaniac Quote
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