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Post by locidm on Feb 5, 2012 0:16:44 GMT -5
Weird. Just a weird toy. I think a Looney Toons Marvin Martian would be cooler. He is weird even in one piece standard, but if you are familiar with the series, you'd love his weirdness! The guy uses cola as his one and only energy source....
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Post by silverdonz on Feb 5, 2012 0:36:45 GMT -5
Weird. Just a weird toy. I think a Looney Toons Marvin Martian would be cooler. He is weird even in one piece standard, but if you are familiar with the series, you'd love his weirdness! The guy uses cola as his one and only energy source.... there's even an episode that he uses coffee, lol
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Post by xtrlowz75 on Feb 5, 2012 0:43:49 GMT -5
Haha coffee! This guy uses Caffeine as a weapon. I guess that could be fun.
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Post by mpchi on Feb 5, 2012 0:52:29 GMT -5
So mpchi, the Figuarts are the only to scale figs to chogokin Franki? I’m new to the world of One Piece merchandize and there are a TON of them by different companies. I am not an expert on One Piece merchandise either, but did do some research since I have some interest in Franky. Figuarts Zero (statues) and S.H.Figuarts (action figures) are both made by Bandai, so its natural for Bandai to build the Franky gokin to fit their scale. However, while the Figuarts Zero line bloomed into a couple dozens of releases already, the articulated S.H.Figuarts figures only got 4 releases, and haven't had anything new for almost a year. Their sculpt are not ideal, and have very thin limbs and small joints to keep them from being very sturdy. Bandai may have shy away from the action figure line, seeing better sales from the statues line. Many of the Zero statues are sold out everywhere, while you can still find 3 of the 4 S.H.Figuarts in HLJ bargain bin. The other main line is the Megahouse's P.O.P. 1/8 statues. They have the best likeness and paintjob, and also has decent part swaps for different poses or expressions. Megahouse has been making these for a few years now, so the collection is decently big. But they are too big to be in scale with the Franky gokin. They go around 5000-6000yen a pop, but most of them are hard to find now and almost doubled the value on ebay. There are some side Banpresto and gashapon ones, but I am not familiar with them.
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Post by locidm on Feb 5, 2012 0:53:04 GMT -5
He is weird even in one piece standard, but if you are familiar with the series, you'd love his weirdness! The guy uses cola as his one and only energy source.... there's even an episode that he uses coffee, lol Coffee? Wow I don't remember that. But I would totally believe it. Such an epically lengthy series full of awesomeness.
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Post by silverdonz on Feb 5, 2012 1:46:09 GMT -5
my bad, its actually tea. ;D
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Post by mpchi on Feb 7, 2012 19:04:33 GMT -5
For those that are interested in Franky, and want some in scale statues to go with it, I found another option aside the Bandai's Figuarts Zero line. Its the Banpresto DX Grandline Men series (also has Grandline Lady for girls). They are the UFO catcher prizes, and are pretty much same scale as the Bandai's Figuarts Zero (around 15-16cm tall, while Franky I believe is 19cm). They are less widely available in stores, but they also don't suffer the high aftermarket price or bootlegs of the Zero figures. And surprisingly, from photos I've seen from various collectors on the actual product, the paint job and some sculpt are superior to the Zero line, more shading, and less saturated colors (they try to make it look a tad more realistic on the paintjob). Its a big line and has been going on since 2006. While price is still high on ebay (around $20-30 a pop), its less crazy than the Zero (Zoro is around $70, when it retailed for $20+). Figuarts Zero is more mainstream, brighter colors, can be found in many stores, nicer packaging, and has a nicer base with printed names and logos. Some figures also has swappable parts. But Banpresto's Grandline series seem to have better sculpt and paintjob, and slightly cheaper if you don't mind the plain base and box. Bandai Figuarts Zero LuffyBanpresto DX Grandline Men LuffyJust want to throw it out there, for any One Piece fans that are on the fence of Franky, like myself. HLJ still has Franky on 32% Off (cheaper than amiami, which sold out long ago). On a side note, got to share this clip of Franky. How can you not love this guy?!!! A little hint, Franky has the same voice actor of Shinobu in Dancouga, and the "Yat-te-ya-ru-ze!!!" is definitely a funny node to the show. Enjoy.
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Post by twoducks on Feb 8, 2012 17:30:33 GMT -5
And wait until you see what the New World Franky can do, mpchi . The Chogokin is now missing stuff LOL. Bandai could make a few more toys thanks to Franky. Yeah, those Banprestos look nice. My eyes are now on the Banpresto DX Buggy. There is the “Super Modeling Soul” gashapons by Bandai, but they might be too small (around 12,5 cm) 3.bp.blogspot.com/-gt12ZtzXkxc/TpROWMqHYJI/AAAAAAAAAs8/4WArJUWhCoo/s1600/706517.jpgGuys, I'd highly recommend reading the manga instead of watching the anime. The anime is slow paced with subpar voice acting. The manga is sooooo good. It will also save you time and keep you up to date on the latest plot development. One piece is pretty awesome. I believe it already is one of the longest running manga of all times and it's only supposed to be half way done. Jesus, not only is this series epic, I keep laughing my ass off with it. My poor brother has wanted to talk about the manga for years; now I'm finally up to day with the manga too. I just wanted to see the last episode to be broadcasted before jumping to the manga (crazy moments like Sogeking do take advantage of the anime medium).
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Post by arkboy on Feb 8, 2012 21:47:55 GMT -5
And wait until you see what the New World Franky can do, mpchi . The Chogokin is now missing stuff LOL. Bandai could make a few more toys thanks to Franky. Agree Bro, dun want to give away too much spoilers since there's some cool Franky stuff in the mange thou the anime is not up to date yet, hope that "Franky stuff" get made, that would be freaking awesome!
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Post by mpchi on Mar 6, 2012 15:01:55 GMT -5
Had a quick moment this morning opening this guy up. While not having much time to mess with the gimmicks, the first impression is good. In fact, very good. The legs and feet has some pin hinges, but they are very snug and feels sturdy, enough to support the overall weight. However, it would be wise to use the display stand most of the time to minimize the wear on the legs. Hips and shoulders have tight clicking ratchets, while both elbows have very light ratchet that feels more like a friction joint with very faint clicking sound. But the joint itself is nice and snug, so not an issue at all. Just rarely come across a ratchet joint that clicks so light. The figure itself is quite big actually. Not very tall, but sure is very wide. Diecast are on the speedo and the legs. Upper body is mostly plastic with some soft PVC parts, like the head, hands and the Hawaiian shirt. Colors are actually slightly less saturated or colorful as promo pics suggest. So it turn out a perfect match of the Banpresto Grandline Men figures I start collecting. For 6000yen+ (HLJ discount) plus shipping, there is a lot of toy in this guy.
I'll post more comments on Franky when I get more playtime with its gimmick and find out more about this guy. It does kind of feel like how it is in this clip, as you try out Franky. ;D
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Post by silverdonz on Mar 8, 2012 4:21:17 GMT -5
THIS GUY IS GREAT !!
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Post by mpchi on Mar 18, 2012 14:33:55 GMT -5
Finally got more time fiddling with Franky, and it does have quite a bit of ratchets in the body. Shoulders are ratcheted in both directions, elbows have ratchets with very light click. Ratchet in the waist swivel, as well as the hip ball joints. Franky does have very little diecast. The few main pieces are his speedo, his knees and silver part of the lower leg all the way to the ankle, and a little bit inside the joints. The rest are all plastic. However, the connecting fork tip on the display stand is diecast. His gimmicks work well for the most part, but a little finicky at times. The shoulder missiles are great, and fires the best with decent traveling distance (2-3 feet). But you have to set in the missiles in a certain order for the springs to catch the missiles well, and you need to use Franky's wrench to set them in the narrow slot (as suggested in the instructions), which is pretty interesting. His 'Weapons Left' arm missile shoots well, but super weak. Guess either the spring is too weak or the missile is too big. Shooting range is less than a feet. 'Strong Right', aka his right chain knuckle is very nice. It doesn't shoot out per se, but clicks in and out nicely for action poses, as long as you find something to support the flying fist. The right arm tool compartment also works well housing the couple tools, with the hammer having slight tendency to come loose. Belly cola fridge is awesome, but the one touch flip up hair gimmick doesn't work well as intended. The hair piece would have hit either the PVC shirt or the back plastic door before reaching the head, so there really is no 'one-touch' action. More like 'one-touch then pry your way through excessive bits until the hair is clear and wiggle it up to the head' gimmick LOL. But once its all done, Franky does look cool with his new hairdo, though the added hair limits the neck movement somewhat. With a very funky design, and gimmicks that pay great homage to old school super robot shows, and a very nice price at 6460yen (HLJ 32% off discount), its hard not to like Franky, even if you are not a One Piece fan. It reminds me of Panda Z gokin from a few years back, but have the diescast content in exchange for a more quirky design, gimmicks, and a lot more plastic (Franky is a lot more bigger). If you like funky toy with some shelf presence, give Franky a try! And as you can see, Franky matches nicely with the Banpresto Grandline Men/Lady figure collection (UFO catcher prizes), which has nicer sculpt and paintjob than Bandai's own Figuarts Zero collection most of the time, the series Franky was meant to display with. Though if you are shopping for the Grandline Men/ Grandline Lady figures, make sure you buy from sellers that indicate they are authentic Japan or Hong Kong imports (Gold Toei sticker on the box for Japanese releases, Silver Toei sticker for HK), as there are bootlegs floating around on ebay. Don't fall for those scams.
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Post by silverdonz on Apr 5, 2012 7:22:17 GMT -5
i heard there's a TANK add on coming out ?
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Post by twoducks on Apr 5, 2012 12:34:10 GMT -5
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Post by mpchi on Apr 5, 2012 14:09:16 GMT -5
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Post by chachipower on Apr 5, 2012 14:26:04 GMT -5
I didnt know he turned into a tank?! To think I cancelled this preorder...I like him but I'm trying to prioritize my collecting...but the whole tank thing is awesome
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Post by silverdonz on Apr 6, 2012 5:46:47 GMT -5
hahaha i was right !! thanks for all the pics, with this coming out there's no doubt that other gatai combo of his gonna come too !!
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Post by nikodiablo on Apr 9, 2012 0:31:20 GMT -5
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Post by silverdonz on Apr 24, 2012 13:17:53 GMT -5
Fun with franky
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Post by mpchi on Apr 24, 2012 15:05:02 GMT -5
Thats awesome. I can hear Franky's theme music rocking in the background already just by seeing that pic!
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