Joined: Jan 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 1,028 Location: Burbank, CA
Re: Confirmed: Bandai Macross Quarter DX « Reply #64 on Dec 22, 2009, 8:42pm »
So it arrived. Pretty darn heavy, decent amount of diecast. Bigger than the BPX-01 Yamato, and way more diecast than it.
As for AmiAmi, they get 4.5 stars... FAST shipping, great policy on not paying until the item is in hand, great packing, fragile tape all over the box, nice touch, toy wrapped in bubblewrap, with removable tape so it was easy to unpack, they only lose points for one thing, they use packing peanuts instead of newspaper. Packing peanuts can be deadly to cats... so I frown upon them. But otherwise I think AmiAMi is my new favorite store!
Re: Confirmed: Bandai Macross Quarter DX « Reply #66 on Dec 23, 2009, 11:20am »
I should probably spend more time with the Quarter before declaring it as such, but it's edging pretty close to "toy of the year" category for me. Unfortunately for the Quarter it's one of those releases that kind of falls in between years, and those toys generally get discounted on "best of the year" lists. Sure it technically came out in 2009, but most people aren't going to experience one until 2010.
A question for those who have one- the shoulder articulation seems limited to the U-shaped swing bar that can only be positioned with arms outward, straight down and points in between. When I look at the mechanism attached to the U-bar, it looks like it could possibly rotate 360 degrees but I can't get it to budge. Is there additional movement that I'm not noticing?
That said I am really enjoying this piece. The diecast content seems just right, the overall finish and colors are beautiful in person and the articulation is far more generous than I would have expected from a big battleship bot. There's a very cool little action feature on the carrier where you slide part of the carrier and 8 tiny hatches open simultaneously. I giggled like a little girl when I found that.
There are little problem areas like some turrets being a little warped, but thankfully I don't find it very noticable. While I assume the intent of PVC was to minimize breakage (lots of little turrets sticking out means lots of opportunities to snag one and snap it off while transforming, posing, etc) I do find it curious that they would use PVC on the turrets here when they used a more rigid plastic on the tiny turrets of Iron Gear.
Some folks will also no doubt be bummed by the fact that gravity is not the Quarters friend in cruiser mode. The deck and cannon don't fall straight down, but they do sag a bit. I can understand why that would bother some people, but it really is just a matter of gravity doing what it does best. I'm hard pressed to think of a solution for this. While the deck and cannon aren't super heavy, I think it's the fact that they stick out so far laterally from where the joint is that causes them to sag. I'm actually amazed they just sag and don't drag the arm joints down entirely.
Joined: Jul 2007 Gender: Male Posts: 3,960 Location: Illinois
Re: Confirmed: Bandai Macross Quarter DX « Reply #67 on Dec 23, 2009, 1:21pm »
Someone on MW mentioned that the shoulder joints on the quarter were so tight he didn't think they could move at first; and from what I've seen of the poses and pictures it looks like there IS rotational movement other than the swing-groove piece, but without having mine in hand I couldn't say for 100%. (AKA if you break it, It's not my fault, I swear!)
Re: Confirmed: Bandai Macross Quarter DX « Reply #68 on Dec 23, 2009, 2:02pm »
I read that too. I'm not sure if he means a rotation joint being tight or the U-joint being tight, because the U-joint thing takes quite a bit of force to move it. One thing that prevents me from putting much force on the area is the shoulder cover has a few sliding/moving panels on it that I wouldn't want to crush in my ham-fisted attempt to rotate the shoulder. I've got time over the next five days so maybe I'll see if the area can be disassembeled so I can see what's going on in there.
Joined: Jul 2007 Gender: Male Posts: 3,960 Location: Illinois
Re: Confirmed: Bandai Macross Quarter DX « Reply #69 on Dec 23, 2009, 2:15pm »
Do keep us informed. Yamato taught me long ago that the more I can benefit from others breaking their toys first, the less likely I will be to break my own.
Joined: Feb 2004 Gender: Male Posts: 2,857 Location: Ottawa, Canada
Re: Confirmed: Bandai Macross Quarter DX « Reply #70 on Dec 23, 2009, 6:13pm »
Heh - I'll be extra careful with the shoulders then. It's funny but I'm the sort to be so paranoid there are times where months or years pass before I realize something opens or turns or moves that I assumed was solid.
I got mine from the post office today but I think I'll bring over to my parents' home to enjoy when I get there.
Re: Confirmed: Bandai Macross Quarter DX « Reply #72 on Dec 23, 2009, 11:20pm »
DAMN those are tight shoulders. Luckily everything around the joint seems to be sturdy enough to withstand the amount of torque and leverage necessary to rotate them. I heart the Quarter even more now. And look how happy it is! "Yaaaaay!"
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